Ch.81Concert (2)

The next day.

I boarded the carriage alongside Irene.

Our destination was, as always, the Astro headquarters.

Though I casually called it a date, in reality, we were heading toward quite a serious matter.

The fox, who had been staring out the window, speaks as if she knew all along.

“Well… I expected as much.”

“Were you perhaps looking forward to it? I’m feeling a bit sorry now.”

“Who knows.”

Irene responds indifferently.

Her expression was strangely unreadable.

Given the various hardships she’d endured recently, perhaps she had been looking forward to a day off.

Right now, we were heading to headquarters because there was separate business to handle.

I speak as if to comfort her.

“Next time, let’s definitely go out for fun.”

“That’s not really necessary… I’m not particularly upset anyway.”

“I think I’d feel uncomfortable otherwise.”

“Well, if that’s the case.”

The girl nods.

Though her face remained indifferent, the tail on her back was swaying happily.

I smile gently and stroke the fox’s head.

As I continue the gentle caress, I can clearly feel the sensation of her perked-up ears.

I was touching her wide ear lobes as if entranced.

“Mmh…”

The girl lets out an inevitable moan.

Even as her breathing became increasingly uneven, the fox neither avoided nor removed my hand.

She simply kept her head down, letting out hot breaths.

I suddenly asked out of curiosity.

“Miss Irene.”

“Hmm…?”

“About your ears. I was wondering why you tell me not to touch them in front of others.”

“Ah.”

I was referring to what happened yesterday.

When I tried to touch her ears in front of the other children, her hand quickly flew in to stop it.

Then, with an uncharacteristically reddened face, she shook her head.

-No… that’s only when we’re alone.

-Don’t do it outside. In exchange, I’ll let you touch them as many times as you want in bed.

Irene said while holding onto my sleeve.

I had to nod.

I asked the question because that scene suddenly came to mind.

As I stare at the girl with a question mark, her black eyes soon avoid my gaze and lean against the window.

She seemed to be avoiding answering.

“Just… it’s nothing.”

“Hmm?”

“I was bothered by people watching. I’m still reluctant to deal with humans.”

“If that’s the reason, I suppose it can’t be helped.”

Well.

Even I took time to get close to her, so it’s understandable she’d be reluctant to show vulnerability in front of children she doesn’t know.

Especially since Irene’s inner self was full of distrust toward humans.

Considering that I’m one of the few people she follows, her future human relationships seemed truly bleak.

I throw out a childish joke.

“I’m human too, you know.”

“You’re fine.”

“Why?”

“Because I can trust you… no, because I decided to trust you.”

“What if I betray you?”

“Then I’d die.”

“What?”

“I said I would die.”

Eyes gazing intently at me.

On her faintly smiling lips lingered the bitterness of days past that she couldn’t quite erase.

“If even you betray me, I don’t think I’d have the courage to keep living.”

“……”

“So.”

Once again, her tilted head touches my shoulder.

Irene, leaning her body against me as if entangled, calmly whispers in my ear.

“Don’t betray me.”

“……”

“Don’t abandon me, don’t hate me, don’t leave my side. If you just keep that promise, I’ll give you everything in return.”

“Responsibility… that’s what you mean.”

“Something like that.”

Responsibility is like a shackle that works both ways.

Both the person who tames and the beast that is tamed bind each other according to the time they’ve invested.

Perhaps it resembles a tightly stretched rubber band.

Because relationships collapse the moment one side lets go.

People live their lives taking responsibility for everything.

“…I’ll try my best.”

I quietly nod.

The reason I couldn’t answer with certainty was because it was a wish for the promise to be kept, while simultaneously knowing it couldn’t be kept, so I gave an evasive answer.

It probably didn’t sound very reassuring to her.

But as if that was enough, the fox wore a gentle smile on her lips.

We spent time like that, pressed close together.

Clunk, clunk-

The carriage body transmitted some shaking.

Even as we conversed, the carriage continued to move.

As the foggy city gradually came into view outside the window, Irene finally asked curiously.

It was a question about this assignment.

“By the way… what are we going for this time?”

“Something quite serious has come up.”

“Something serious?”

“One of our members was attacked.”

“What…?”

A few days ago.

It was a report that came in right after returning from the school trip.

I explain briefly.

“Rather than a member, it would be more accurate to call them a collaborator. They’re from the church, and we’ve received a lot of help from them in various ways.”

“You even have connections in the church? I shouldn’t be surprised at this point…”

“I needed to keep an eye on their situation too.”

“Anyway, so what happened?”

“From what I hear, there seems to have been an incident at the cathedral where they were staying. All the priests belonging there have gone missing, the interior was covered in bloodstains, and traces of Demonic Energy were even found nearby.”

“Demonic Energy…?”

“I’ll explain the details separately.”

“Alright. We’re almost there anyway.”

Irene prepares to get up from her seat.

I add a few more words.

“Originally, this would have been a problem for us to solve on our own, but now that Miss Irene is also a member of Astro, I thought it would be good to accompany me while announcing your joining.”

“I’ll do my best… if that’s what you want.”

“That’s a reassuring attitude.”

The carriage had stopped by now.

We headed straight for headquarters.

When we open the door hidden at the end of the stairs, dozens of members waiting come into view.

They were all wearing pure white robes.

“Master. We’ve been waiting.”

Neria stands in front of the lined-up members.

Long silver hair, transparent eyes.

I heard she had been dispatched until a few days ago, but it seems Rena urgently brought her back after hearing the news.

The girl pays her respects properly.

“The members are ready. I’ve selected only the elites, forming a group of 30.”

“Let’s depart immediately.”

“Understood.”

I signal to Rena, who was standing beside me, and she begins to create a portal to our destination.

The dimension slowly distorts.

Thus, a door leading to another space opens, and the robe draped over my shoulders flutters in the swirling mana.

We took steps toward our destination.

***

The Great Purge.

The war that drove out the black magicians who were rampant in the Empire five years ago.

The Empire, having finally achieved peace, proceeded to place organizations that oppose cultists in each city to prevent similar dangers from recurring.

Their name is Licht.

In ancient language, it means ‘light’.

They were an assembly of clergy who protected a city, existing to guard against potential dangers and protect their district.

As they performed the role of guardians, it was a position entrusted only to some veterans.

In other words.

A spear established solely to check cultists.

A shield covering the city with holy words.

If someone directly attacked a branch of Licht, it could only mean one thing.

“A declaration of war.”

“I think it’s likely to be that side.”

Neria nods and answers.

The girl slows her pace and calmly delivers a briefing.

“Only the cathedral was attacked. Not even slight damage was left in the nearby city. I think they might be explicitly showing hostility toward the church.”

“That’s a plausible speculation.”

The Church.

After all, during the Great Purge, it was the Church that played the second most active role after the ‘Red Sword Saint’.

The world doesn’t know that Kyle is alive.

That’s why they targeted the Church.

By attacking ‘Licht’, which symbolizes peace after the Great Purge, they were trying to say:

That they have returned.

“It seems they’re starting to move in earnest.”

“They probably judged that they’ve recovered enough during the past five years. Still, they seem to be exercising caution. The branch they attacked this time was one of the smaller branches among Licht.”

“Indeed, targeting the large branches in the capital would be burdensome even for them.”

“Anyway… the problem is that one of our collaborators was stationed at that branch.”

“That would be Miss Medro.”

“Yes. The missing person is Medro Gardnier. She held the position of vicar general and was also the person in charge of overseeing that branch. Currently, all contact with her has been cut off.”

“She was such an upright clergy… I hope she’s safe.”

I illuminate the surroundings with the candle I’m holding.

Light driving away darkness.

In the flickering view, the interior of the disordered cathedral comes into sight.

As soon as we arrived in the city, we infiltrated the branch and were in the midst of investigating, slowly examining the scene.

We had knocked out the guards who were watching the scene nearby.

“…It’s a mess.”

The fox mutters quietly.

As she said, the scene in the cathedral was truly chaotic.

Blood of unknown origin was splattered everywhere.

There were no broken, shattered, or damaged parts, but that very fact made one’s spine tingle.

It was a scene somewhat beyond common sense.

“With so much blood… you’re saying no bodies were found inside the cathedral?”

“That’s correct. That’s why it’s being treated as a disappearance rather than a death.”

“This is quite a headache.”

“The guard seems to have concluded that the priests were kidnapped. Most of their forces are concentrated on the city rather than the cathedral.”

“Thanks to that, infiltration was smooth. That’s one thing I like.”

We walk through the pitch-black background.

Members continuing their thorough search.

Finally, they finished checking even the basement.

Rena shakes her head. It meant she couldn’t find anything special.

“We searched every corner but found nothing special. I think, as the guard suspected, they might have been taken elsewhere.”

“Hmm…”

I let out a deep sigh.

Just as I was wondering if we should start tracking outside.

A small gap appears in my field of vision.

“What’s that…?”

A thread-like small gap was engraved on the wall, almost indistinguishable to the naked eye.

I cover my pupils with a bit of deception.

Only then do I see the traces hidden beyond.

I laugh mockingly.

“Ha.”

No wonder the guard couldn’t find it.

Remnants of black magic were coating the wall, woven in dozens of layers.

As if trying to hide something.

I charge power into my fingertips.

Then, creating a single bullet, I aim it directly at the heart of the barrier where the Demonic Energy was entangled.

Without hesitation, I chant an incantation and the bullet is fired.

“Break.”

Crash-!

The wall shatters like a mirror.

Through the scattered fragments, a space hidden behind the barrier is revealed.

A long-stretching corridor.

“Such petty tricks won’t work.”

I take a step with an ominous smile.

Thud, thud-

Many footsteps follow behind.

We moved toward the scene where the missing people might be waiting, our pure white robes fluttering.

Music seemed to be playing from somewhere.

***

Meanwhile.

There was a girl watching the snake.

Hidden in the stairs connecting to the underground, she couldn’t hide her surprise as she saw those entering the mysterious space.

It was because she recognized a face among them.

“Judas Snakus…?”

Blue eyes blink.

Through the deeply worn robe, strands of platinum blonde hair peek out.

The girl’s identity was none other than Sharlotte.

The First Imperial Princess of the Empire and one of the protagonists of the original game.