Ch.45Anne’s Diary (1)

After the investigation was over.

We took a carriage toward the dormitory wing.

Since the sun had already set and darkness had fallen, we planned to return to our respective rooms first.

The children were all completely exhausted.

“I can’t believe it’s already so late… No wonder I feel tired.”

“I-I also feel like my eyes are closing.”

“You’ve been crying all day. It’s surprising you didn’t collapse sooner.”

“R-Really…?”

“Do you have any idea how troublesome it was because of you?”

“I-I’m sorry…”

“…I didn’t say that to make you feel down.”

The carriage rattled along.

The two girls sat side by side, conversing with each other.

Just hearing their conversation, one might think they were bickering, but seeing how close they sat together suggested otherwise.

The atmosphere between them had softened, whether they realized it or not.

‘Better than expected.’

Perhaps it was because of the memories from the basement.

Having relied on each other and faced the monster together, a strange bond seemed to have blossomed between them.

A villainess allowing the protagonist to sit beside her?

This was a scene I couldn’t have imagined in the original work.

I smiled slightly, feeling proud of them.

“Hehe.”

“…What are you smiling about?”

“Nothing at all.”

Well, what was I so happy about?

Perhaps it was relief that the episode had concluded well.

Although we had deviated somewhat from the original plan… I think it was a story worth telling.

After all, I had discovered a new light.

‘I should be able to do better from now on.’

So far, everything was going smoothly.

I quietly savored my anticipation for what was to come.

***

And then.

That anticipation was shattered as soon as we returned to the dormitory.

“……”

A cold silence had settled over the space.

It was a stillness tinged with strangeness.

Originally, I should have heard a voice greeting me, asking if I was back, albeit reluctantly.

But now, only a heavy silence prevailed.

There was no sign of life in the darkened room.

“…Miss Irene.”

I called her name, hoping against hope.

But as if mocking my last bit of patience, no answer came.

Only a terrible emptiness lingered.

Dense darkness swallowed the surroundings.

The night sky visible through the window.

Perhaps because of the clouds, no stars were visible tonight.

I stood frozen for a moment in a landscape that faintly depicted loss.

-Several assailants appeared in the shopping district.

-The shopping district… that’s not far from the dormitory wing.

-Were there any casualties…?

-None reported so far.

-That’s fortunate.

-Well, we don’t know if there might be hidden victims.

A conversation I had dismissed earlier flashed through my mind.

An ominous feeling flickered.

My inner joy, which had been abundant until just now, turned cold.

I murmured quietly.

“Where could she have gone?”

Clap-!

I clapped my hands.

Immediately, the scenery before my eyes changed.

Teleportation activated in an instant. Suddenly, I was outside the dormitory building.

I looked around but saw nothing unusual.

Clap-!

I clapped my hands again.

This time, I was at the path leading to the shopping district. Again, nothing special was visible.

I continued clapping without stopping.

Clap-!

Carriage station, nothing.

Clap-!

Downtown, nothing.

Clap-!

Side street, nothing.

Clap-clap-clap-clap-clap-!

Dozens of claps echoed, and with each one, the background rapidly changed.

By now, my clapping had become emotional.

My vision flickered ten times per second.

I fiercely tracked the fox’s traces.

Clap-!

The repeated clapping finally stopped at an alley not far from the shopping district.

It was a place students rarely visited, perhaps due to its complex, winding paths.

I quietly gazed at the ground.

“……”

A basket had been dropped.

As if someone had dropped it while shopping, spilled ingredients were scattered at my feet.

It was the basket the fox always carried when going to the shopping district.

‘Why.’

Why do bad premonitions never miss their mark?

Next to the messy ground, a distinct energy lingered thickly.

Although it was so faint that ordinary eyes wouldn’t even notice it… it was clearly a trace of black magic.

My eyes couldn’t be deceived.

Whoosh-.

Shadows fluttered with the passing wind.

After being immersed in silence for a moment, I soon let out a hollow laugh.

It was a bitter sneer.

“Ha.”

Baobv.

These bastards.

***

Meanwhile

The fox woke up on a cold floor.

“…Ugh.”

Eyes opening to a splitting headache.

What her trembling pupils saw was nothing but a landscape covered in darkness.

She felt the distinctive coldness of stone against her back.

A dizzying moan escaped between her dry lips.

“Ugh, haa……”

Despite furrowing her brow at the dizzy vision, the girl slowly raised her upper body.

She couldn’t breathe properly.

It was because of the shattering pain that permeated her entire body.

It felt like being broken into pieces, like glass on the verge of shattering.

A side effect of excessive sleep magic.

“Ugh, kuhk, haa…!”

Especially for Irene, who had no immunity to magic.

The fox had to writhe on the ground for a while, swallowing her screams.

After that moment passed.

“Haa, haa……”

The headache gradually subsided.

As her rough breathing slowly returned to normal, she was finally able to look around.

It was a space completely covered in pitch darkness.

The fox murmured blankly.

“Where am I…?”

A dazed soliloquy.

The first feeling that washed over her was bewilderment.

Her black eyes scanned the surroundings.

How did she end up in such a place?

The girl pondered her hazy memories.

She had definitely been shopping in the shopping district, but from the moment she entered the alley, she seemed to have heard footsteps following her.

Sensing something suspicious, Irene had remained vigilant.

The moment she turned around, grabbing the sword at her waist.

“…I was caught.”

Her consciousness had cut off there.

The last thing her vision captured was a flashing red light.

An unpleasant light.

Irene quietly held her breath.

First, she needed to assess the situation.

Her black pupils scanned the darkness, dissecting the surroundings one by one.

The most noticeable thing was the iron bars.

“……”

The fox was trapped in a narrow prison.

As she examined the densely arranged iron bars, she suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.

“Damn it.”

A curse spontaneously escaped her lips.

Because until just a few months ago, she had been in a similar place.

The slave auction house where numerous beasts had been gathered. The girl bit her lip at the memory that passed like trauma.

Could it be their doing again?

“No, surely they couldn’t have followed me all the way to the academy……”

Then who could it be?

To kidnap someone in broad daylight from the continent’s finest educational institution.

At least she could tell they weren’t in their right mind.

Her head was filled with confusion.

Mental anxiety turned into stress.

Eventually, as a headache crept up and she was groaning with her hand on her forehead, suddenly an alien noise reached her ears.

It was someone’s footsteps.

Thud, thud-.

Footsteps echoed in the long corridor.

They were approaching the iron bars where Irene was confined at a leisurely pace.

Just then.

“Don’t just sit there dazed, curl up…!”

“…?!”

Something touched Irene’s shoulder.

Startled, she turned around to see fingers protruding through the bars.

It seemed to be a person confined in the adjacent cell.

The youthful voice whispered softly.

“Sister! Quickly, pretend to be asleep…!”

“What, what?”

“Hurry before the demon comes…!”

The footsteps were now close.

After hesitating, Irene decided to follow the advice and lay down.

As if she hadn’t woken up yet.

“……”

Thud-.

Then the footsteps stopped in front of the iron bars.

As she continued breathing calmly, two men began conversing with each other.

“She doesn’t seem to have woken up yet.”

“It appears so.”

“What would you like to do?”

“Leave her be until tomorrow. We still have many test subjects to deal with.”

“What about the failures we worked on today?”

“Move them to the lowest level.”

“Yes, understood.”

Test subjects, work, failures, lowest level.

These were somehow significant words. The fox unconsciously clenched her fist.

She felt like her tail might move due to tension.

“By the way, we’ve received quite a useful material.”

“Indeed. We haven’t had many experiments using fox beastkin as samples until now.”

“It was an infiltration operation conducted with illusions… I never expected it would bring us such an interesting creature. I should reward the surviving members.”

“Everyone will surely be pleased.”

“She’ll make a good offering for Him.”

A blatant gaze could be felt.

It was a sticky resonance that tainted the darkness, a voice gleaming with vile desire.

Irene couldn’t help but think.

“I’m looking forward to the upcoming experiment.”

Something was wrong.

Very, very wrong.

***

Cold.

It felt as if my heart had stopped beating.

In the chest of that young child from those days, there was always an ice pick embedded.

It’s a sensation I had forgotten for a long time.

‘How long has it been.’

The air swirled coldly.

My mind was cold, prickly, and quiet like snow falling on a winter night.

A cool breath flowed between my lips.

I was strangely calm.

Not a trace of wavering existed within me. I was swimming in a world that was gently colored.

The feeling of slowly sinking gave me a strange sense of stability.

A brief meditation.

As I sat with my eyes closed for a moment, suddenly a girl’s voice called me.

“Captain.”

“……”

“All members are ready.”

“……”

I raised my head, which had been lowered.

What I saw before me were the members of Astro. Each one was wearing a white robe.

They were waiting in a disciplined posture.

It’s about time.

I slowly rise from my seat.

The members’ gazes focus on me.

A fierce killing intent swirls. They stood in place, each armed and ready.

They were assassins waiting for orders.

“The Tree has declared war on us.”

“……”

“I wouldn’t say they picked a fight exactly… but unfortunately, they touched a friend I care about.”

I had no intention of letting it slide once they crossed the line.

If something was taken, it must be reclaimed.

I intended to show them exactly whose possession they had dared to covet.

“It seems we need to do some cleaning… will you join me?”

“All according to your will.”

The members all bow their heads in unison.

Satisfied with this, I smile, and the vice-captain hands me my robe.

It was also pure white.

“Captain.”

“Thank you, Miss Neria.”

Flutter-.

I don without hesitation.

After tidying my disheveled collar, I lift my feet from the ground.

It was time to go observe.

“Well, shall we go?”

I murmur in the flickering shadows.

“To find the fox.”