Ch.53Miraculous Story (3)

Kyle’s daughter woke up safely.

I had worried about possible aftereffects, but fortunately, she seemed to be recovering healthily.

It was thanks to her father’s devoted care.

And so, Astra gained a new family member.

“Dad! Today I want to play with other friends!”

“My goodness, Eileen… to leave your father for other children, could it be that you’ve already grown tired of daddy?”

“That’s not it!”

“Then why…?”

“When I’m with you, you give me piggyback rides all day and never put me down! I want to walk on my own feet too!”

“T-that’s because I’m worried you might get hurt if you walk…”

“Hmph! I don’t care! Today I’m going to play with my friends!”

“E-Eileen…!”

Eileen turned away coldly and walked off.

Kyle stood there, fidgeting anxiously.

Watching these two with their somewhat peculiar chemistry, I soon found myself smiling.

I patted his dejected back.

“Hoho, it seems parenting after so long isn’t easy, is it?”

“…Commander.”

Red eyes looked in my direction.

Swallowing the laughter that was about to burst out, I spoke in a comforting tone.

“Don’t be too disheartened.”

“…”

“Isn’t it fortunate? That she can smile so brightly even after experiencing such terrible things.”

“You speak the truth… it’s a miracle I never thought possible in my lifetime.”

“She truly is a beautiful child.”

“I know this is also a blessing you’ve bestowed upon me, Commander. I don’t know how I could ever repay this kindness…”

“It’s troublesome when you get teary-eyed like this every time.”

This had become a recent problem.

The man once called the strongest on the continent now tears up just from making eye contact with me.

As if he can’t contain his overwhelming emotions.

“Please try to endure it.”

“Ugh… I understand.”

You’re making the other members act strange too.

Someone with your light-hearted personality shouldn’t become so serious.

“Ahem.”

Anyway.

It was a fairly good ending.

Though I wonder if this space might be a bit too dim for a young child to live in, but I suppose it’s fine since she has her loving family by her side.

I should spend some money to make the headquarters a bit more cozy.

Children should grow up surrounded by nice things.

Otherwise, they might grow up to be bad adults like me.

“Eileen! Let’s play together!!”

“I’m playing hide-and-seek with big sister Anne! I need to hide without being found!”

“Hehehe! Let’s hide where the teachers are…”

“Hey! That’s cheating, you know?!”

The little foxes also welcomed their new friend.

As is typical for children that age, they didn’t reject each other and got along well.

I smiled softly.

‘It was worth the effort.’

Though I coughed up blood for the first time in a while, it was worth it to see the smiles of these little ones.

Personally, it was a satisfying choice.

“Hoho… children, you must be careful not to get hurt.”

“Oh! It’s the Commander!”

“Wow~ Commander! Please play with us!”

“Silly, the Commander is always busy, you know?”

“Irene is here too! If you play with us, I’ll let you marry her later!”

“Hey! Why are you giving away my sister as you please?”

The children bickered among themselves.

I laughed at their adorable behavior.

“My~ Marriage with Miss Irene, that’s quite a tempting offer!”

“Right? I’ll put in a good word with my sister for you!”

“Wonderful! Well then, shall we have some fun?”

Our peaceful daily life continued.

We spent several days like that.

***

Irene and I prepared to return to the academy.

Having already been away from school for a week, it was time to go back to maintain our attendance.

Of course, Irene would come along.

We were waiting for the carriage to arrive.

“Are you leaving?”

“Miss Neria.”

As I stood by the stairs for a moment, the vice-commander approached with a gloomy expression.

Her silver hair hung limply.

She seemed disappointed about our departure.

I gently patted the girl’s head as if to comfort her.

“I have things I need to do.”

“Hic, huu… I-I understand.”

“I’ll entrust the command of Astro to you. Thanks to our vice-commander, I can leave with peace of mind.”

“Uhuuu… th-thank you.”

“Hoho.”

Neria melted instantly.

She clasped her hands together shyly. Her pale cheeks were already flushed with heat.

I enjoyed her cute reaction for a moment.

Then I heard the voices of other members.

“We’ll be waiting for you, Commander.”

“Hahaha! Take care of yourself wherever you go!”

“Call on us anytime.”

I acknowledged each of their farewells.

After all the noisy goodbyes, just as I was about to leave the headquarters upon hearing that the carriage had arrived…

“Big brother!”

A girl peeked her head out.

Brown eyes blinking.

I smiled when our eyes met.

“Miss Anne.”

Tap tap tap-

Anne approached with adorable steps.

The girl seemed to hesitate for a moment, then suddenly spread her short arms and hugged me tightly.

Her warm temperature colored my chest.

“My my… what an impulsive farewell hug.”

“Hehe.”

It was a purely innocent smile.

After clinging to me for a while, the girl looked up at me intently.

“Uncle Kyle told me.”

“Told you what?”

“That when you go back to the academy, it’ll be hard to meet for a while, so I should say anything I want to say now!”

“Our chef explained it well.”

That must be it.

Though she’s staying at Astro now, soon Anne will have to return to her family.

I was planning to send her back next week at the latest.

‘If we part like this… it would be difficult to meet again.’

The Frank Baronial family.

A family located in a very remote countryside. It would take at least a month by carriage to travel from the capital.

So it wasn’t an environment conducive to easy interaction.

When the distance is too great, it becomes burdensome for either side to casually visit.

Of course.

This childish reason wasn’t the whole story.

The previous explanation was just an excuse to persuade the child; the real reason was different.

It was my decision.

‘I hope we don’t meet again.’

I wanted Anne to live a normal life.

Having just awakened from a terrible nightmare, I hoped she would be happy with her family from now on.

I wanted to give the girl a life free from danger.

‘There’s nothing good that comes from being involved with us.’

Astro is, after all, a criminal organization.

It was too dangerous a world for a fifteen-year-old girl to step into.

“As much as there are meetings, there must also be partings.”

“I know.”

The girl nodded calmly.

“So… since this might be the last time, I really wanted to tell you.”

Anne stared at me for a moment, then soon wore a clean smile on her lips.

A faint starlight descended.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to have hope again.”

“…”

“I was so scared, tired, and lonely… thank you for reaching out to me.”

A bright smile curling at the corners of her mouth.

What Anne offered was a thank you note, carefully folded with warm feelings.

I quietly thought to myself.

Looking at it this way, so much has changed.

The girl who was mercilessly crushed in the original story has now been given a chance to live anew.

Perhaps this time I’ve done something right.

“Miss Anne.”

I bent down slightly.

Matching my eye level with her brown pupils, I unconsciously poked her cheek with my finger.

A soft sensation touched my fingertip.

“Don’t lose hope in the future.”

I recited calmly.

Adults generally don’t remember their childhood.

It is both a disease that adults suffer from and, in a way, a blessing that only they can enjoy.

Children forget their younger years as they grow older.

“Sometimes there might be difficult times. Perhaps unreasonable misfortunes like this one will block your path again. At those times, you must have faith.”

Originally, the girl was destined not to complete even that process.

Having breathed her last before becoming an adult, she ultimately closed her eyes without forgetting her childhood.

But this time was different.

“Faith that after the pain, a better tomorrow surely awaits.”

Because she had been given a chance to live.

I wanted Anne to experience many things, meet many people, grow old through many years, and gradually forget her childhood.

I hoped she would become an adult that way.

“You can do anything, Miss Anne. You can become whatever you want, and dream of whatever you desire.”

Children are possibilities.

And this was one possibility I was gifting to you, who couldn’t become an adult 1,943 times.

“So, please become a wonderful adult.”

I wonder what it would be like if she came to find me someday, all grown up.

While hoping such a future wouldn’t come, part of my heart was tinged with bittersweet anticipation.

I whispered faintly.

To my beloved little writer.

“That alone would make me as happy as if I owned the whole world.”

A voice filled only with sincerity.

The girl, who had been exchanging glances with me, soon bloomed into a bright smile.

“Yes, big brother…!”

A pure white lamp that completely illuminates the once dark world.

“I will! I’ll become a wonderful adult and come back to meet you and big sister!”

“Hoho… I’m looking forward to it already.”

I turned to leave.

Stepping down the stairs leading outside, I bid farewell to the silhouette left behind.

It was a brief, simple goodbye.

“Well then, farewell.”

From behind me came a cheerful voice until the end.

I savored the nostalgic background sound as I boarded the carriage waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

Neigh-!

The coachman immediately cracked his whip.

The wheels began to roll slowly.

As I gazed at the scenery outside that gradually sped up, a belated realization washed over me that all of this had ended.

Now it was truly time.

Time to return to the academy.

***

After spending a day in the carriage, the snake and the fox returned to the academy.

Perhaps because they arrived in the late dawn?

The school was immersed in tranquil silence.

The scenery reflected in the night sky was so peaceful that the events of the past few days felt like a dream.

Irene had to pause for a moment at that sense of dissonance.

“…”

Inside the spacious dormitory.

The fox, who had been staring out the window, suddenly turned her head to look somewhere.

Where her eyes were directed, a blonde boy was sitting.

Breathing softly-

The snake was leaning against the sofa.

He seemed to have fallen asleep just like that.

It was difficult to tell because of his habitually narrowed eyes, but she could infer from the steady sound of breathing.

Irene quietly asked.

“…Are you sleeping?”

The words scattered.

There was no answer.

Only then did the girl relax her tension and gaze at the snake sitting beside her.

She examined him carefully.

The boy exuded a mysterious atmosphere.

Even though he had clearly dozed off in the chair, there wasn’t the slightest disarray in his posture.

There wasn’t even a wrinkle to be found on his clothes.

He simply maintained his dignity.

“What a severe person.”

A sigh escaped involuntarily.

Irene glanced around.

After standing there blankly for a while, suddenly a certain scene came to mind.

The voice that had saved her a few days ago.

-Miss Irene.

-If it could make you even a little less unhappy, I would gladly lend you my strength.

Lips whispering kindly.

An exceptionally vivid memory.

The girl found herself clenching her fist without realizing it.

What filled her mind was none other than the question she couldn’t resolve last time.

‘Why… why does this person care about me so much?’

Looking back, it had been that way from the beginning.

She had received help countless times.

He had rescued her from slave traders, and afterward provided her with a safe place to stay.

He had taken in her siblings who had nowhere to go and cared for them with devotion.

This time, he had even come to rescue her personally when she was kidnapped by dark mages.

‘What am I worth?’

What could he possibly want?

What could he want from this wretched beast that made him pour such heavy affection?

Irene bit her lip in confusion.

-I don’t trust humans.

-I know how vile and cruel your kind can be.

Her resolve from back then remained.

The fox did not trust.

The traces of burns that had scorched her past remained as indelible scars.

Distrust of humans.

However.

‘I can’t understand what he’s thinking.’

She just wanted to know.

About the blind devotion that kept confusing her.

-One must always take responsibility for what one has tamed.

-Does that answer your question?

The snake had clearly said that, but it wasn’t an answer at all.

It only felt more perplexing.

Because the fox didn’t yet understand what it meant to be tamed.

When one doesn’t grasp the meaning, sentences are merely empty shells.

The same was true for Irene.

“Let it go.”

Once again, she couldn’t reach a conclusion today.

She was only postponing it.

Rustle-

The girl carefully unfolded a blanket that was beside her.

Then she gently covered the boy sleeping on the sofa with the thin fabric.

With a voice that wouldn’t reach him.

“…Sleep well.”

It was the fox’s own way of saying thank you.