A Miraculous Story (3)
Kyle's daughter woke up safely.
I was worried that there might be some aftereffects, but fortunately, she seemed to be recovering well.
It was thanks to her father's devoted care.
Thus, a new family member was added to Astro.
"Daddy! I want to play with other friends today!"
"Oh my, Eileen... You're going to leave your dad and go to other kids? Don't tell me you already hate your dad?"
"That's not it!"
"Then why...?"
"If I'm with you, you'll keep me on your shoulders all day and won't let me down! I want to walk on my own two feet too!"
"Th-that's because I was worried you might get hurt while walking..."
"Hmph! I don't care! Today, I'm going to play with my friends!"
"Ei-Eileen...!"
Eileen turns around haughtily and walks away.
Kyle fidgets and reacts.
I watch the two of them with their somewhat quirky chemistry and soon let out a chuckle.
I pat his pitiful back.
"Hehe, it seems like parenting after a long time isn't easy, is it?"
"...Captain."
Red eyes look this way.
I swallow my laughter that's about to burst and speak in a comforting tone.
"Don't be too heartbroken."
"..."
"Rather, isn't it fortunate? That she can smile so brightly after going through such terrible things."
"You are right... It's a miracle that will never happen again in a lifetime."
"She's a truly lovely child."
"I know that this is also a grace you have bestowed upon me. How can I ever repay this kindness...?"
"It's difficult when you get teary-eyed like this every time."
Lately, this has been the problem.
The man who was once called the strongest on the continent now gets teary-eyed just by making eye contact with me.
As if he can't contain the overwhelming emotions.
"Please bear with it."
"Ugh... I understand."
You're making the other members weird too.
Someone with a lighthearted concept like you shouldn't get so serious.
"Ahem."
Anyway.
It was a pretty good ending.
I wonder if it's a bit gloomy for a young child to live in, but it'll be alright since she has her loving family by her side.
I should spend some money and decorate the headquarters a little more cheerfully.
Children should only see good things while growing up.
Otherwise, they might grow up to be bad adults like me.
"Eileen! Let's play together!!"
"I'm playing hide-and-seek with Anne! I have to hide so I don't get caught!"
"Hehehe! Let's go hide where the teachers are...!"
"Hey! That's cheating?!"
The little foxes also welcomed their new friend.
As children of that age usually do, they didn't exclude each other and got along well.
I smiled faintly.
'It was worth the effort.'
It's been a while since I coughed up blood, but thanks to that, I was able to see the smiles of these little ones.
It was a personally satisfying choice.
"Hehe... Children, you must be careful not to get hurt."
"Oh! It's the Captain!"
"Wow~ Captain! Play with us!"
"Silly. The Captain is always busy, you know?"
"Sister Irene is here too! If you play with us, we'll let you marry her later!"
"Hey! Why are you giving my sister away as you please?"
The children bicker and fight amongst themselves.
I laughed at their cuteness.
"Oh my~ Marrying Miss Irene, that's a tempting offer!"
"Right? I'll put in a good word for you with my sister!"
"Alright! Let's have some fun, shall we?"
A peaceful daily life continues.
We spent a few days like that.
***
Irene and I finished preparing to return to the Academy.
It had already been a week since we left the academy, so it was time to return to keep up with attendance.
Of course, Irene was with me.
We were waiting for the carriage to arrive.
"Are you leaving?"
"Miss Neria."
As I stood by the stairs for a moment, the Vice-Captain with a sullen expression spoke to me.
Her silver hair drooped listlessly.
It seemed she was sad about us leaving.
I gently stroked her hair as if to comfort her.
"There are things we need to do."
"Sniff, I-I know."
"I'll entrust the command of Astro to you. Thanks to our Vice-Captain, I can leave with peace of mind."
"Th-thank you..."
"Hehe."
Neria melts instantly.
She clasps her hands together as if embarrassed. Her white cheeks are now flushed with warmth.
I enjoyed her cute reaction for a moment.
Then, the voices of other members are heard.
"We'll be waiting, Captain."
"Ehaha! Be careful wherever you go!"
"Call us anytime."
I accepted the greetings of each and every one of them.
After the noisy farewell, as we were about to leave the headquarters upon hearing that the carriage had arrived,
"Brother!"
A girl peeked her head out.
Blinking brown eyes.
I smiled as our eyes met.
"Miss Anne."
Pitter-patter-.
Anne approaches with playful steps.
The girl seems to hesitate for a moment, then opens her short arms and hugs me tightly.
Warm body heat fills my chest.
"My, my... What an assertive farewell hug."
"Hehe."
It was a purely innocent smile.
The girl, who had been clinging to me for a while, soon looks up at me intently.
"Mr. Kyle told me."
"What did he say?"
"He said that if you go back to the Academy, it will be difficult to see you for a while, so if I have anything I want to say, I should say it now!"
"Our chef explained it well."
That must be it.
She's staying at Astro now, but Anne will have to return to her family soon.
I was planning to send her back next week at the latest.
'If we part like this... it will be difficult to meet again.'
Baron Frank's family.
It was a family located in a very remote countryside. So far that it would take at least a month by carriage to travel to and from the capital.
As such, it wasn't an environment where interaction was easy.
If the distance was too far, it would be burdensome for either side to readily visit.
Of course.
This childish reason wasn't all there was to it.
The previous one was just an excuse to persuade the child, and there was a separate, practical reason.
It was a decision I made.
'I hope we don't meet again.'
I wanted Anne to live an ordinary life.
She had just woken up from a terrible nightmare, so I hoped she would be happy with her family from now on.
I wanted to give the girl a daily life that was no longer dangerous.
'It wouldn't be good for her to be 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.
"Just as there are encounters, there are also times when we must part ways."
"I know."
The girl nods calmly.
"So... since this might be the last time, I really wanted to say this."
Anne stares at me for a moment, then puts on a clear smile.
Faint starlight falls.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, I can have hope again."
"..."
"I was so scared, tired, and lonely... Thank you for reaching out to me like that."
The corners of her lips curve into a smile.
Anne's gratitude is a heartfelt expression of her warm feelings.
I think quietly.
Looking at it this way, a lot has really changed.
The girl who was ruthlessly crushed in the original story now has a chance to live anew.
Perhaps this time, I might have done the right thing.
"Miss Anne."
I bow slightly.
Meeting her brown eyes at eye level, I poke her cheek with my outstretched finger.
A soft touch reaches my fingertips.
"Never lose hope."
I utter calmly.
Adults usually don't remember their childhood.
It's a disease that adults suffer from, but at the same time, it's also a blessing that only they can enjoy.
Children forget their early years as they grow older.
"There may be difficult times. Perhaps, like this time, unreasonable misfortune may block your path. You must have faith every time that happens."
Originally, the girl was destined not to even finish that process.
She died before becoming an adult, so she closed her eyes without forgetting her childhood.
But this time was different.
"The belief that a better tomorrow awaits you, as much as you have suffered."
Because she was given a chance to live.
I wanted Anne to experience many things, meet many people, grow old through many years, and gradually forget her childhoodI wanted her to become an adult.
"Miss Anne, you can do anything. You can become anything you want, and you can dream of anything you desire."
Children are possibilities.
And this was a possibility I gifted to you, who couldn't become an adult 1,943 times.
"So, please become a wonderful adult."
What if she visits me someday, all grown up?
While hoping that such a future wouldn't come, a bittersweet excitement filled a corner of my heart.
I murmur faintly.
To my beloved little writer.
"Just that alone would make me as happy as if I had the whole world."
A voice filled only with sincerity.
The girl, whose eyes were locked with mine, soon bursts into a bright smile.
"Yes, brother...!"
A pure white light that illuminates the dark world without a trace.
"I will! I'll become a wonderful adult and come back to see you and sister again!"
"Hehe... I'm already looking forward to it."
I turn around.
Stepping onto the stairs leading outside, I bid farewell to the silhouette left behind.
It was a short, insignificant phrase.
"Then, goodbye."
A cheerful voice could be heard from behind until the very end.
I savored the nostalgic background music and boarded the carriage waiting at the end of the stairs.
Neigh-!
The coachman immediately cracks his whip.
The wheels begin to roll slowly.
As I gaze at the scenery outside, which gradually speeds up, the belated realization that all of this is over washes over me.
Now it's really 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 we arrived late at night,
The academy was immersed in a 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 distance herself from it for a moment.
"..."
Inside the spacious dormitory.
The Fox, who had been gazing out the window, suddenly turns her head and looks somewhere.
Her eyes are fixed on the blond boy sitting there.
Snore, snore-.
The Snake was leaning against the sofa.
It seemed he had fallen asleep just like that.
It was hard to tell because of his usual half-closed eyes, but she could deduce it from the steady sound of his breathing.
Irene asks softly.
"...Are you sleeping?"
Her sentence trails off.
There was no response.
Only then does the girl relax her tension and stare at the Snake sitting next to her.
She examines him carefully.
The boy exudes a mysterious aura.
Even though he clearly dozed off on the chair, there's not a single imperfection in his posture.
There wasn't even a wrinkle on his clothes.
He simply maintained his dignity.
"You're a strange one."
A sigh escapes her lips involuntarily.
Irene looks around curiously.
As she stands there blankly for a while, a certain scene suddenly comes to mind.
The voice that saved her a few days ago.
-Miss Irene.
-If I can make you even a little less unhappy, I will gladly lend you my strength.
His lips whisper kindly.
A particularly vivid memory.
The girl unknowingly clenches her fists.
Her mind is filled with nothing but the question she couldn't answer last time.
'Why does this person... care so much about me?'
Looking back, it had been like that from the beginning.
She had been showered with help.
He rescued her from the slave traders and provided her with a safe place to stay.
He took in her homeless siblings and cared for them devotedly.
This time, he even came to rescue her when she was kidnapped by the black wizards.
'What am I to him?'
What does he want?
Why does he pour out such heavy affection on this wretched beast?
Irene bites her lip in confusion.
-I don't trust humans.
-I know how despicable and cruel your kind can be.
The vow from that time remained unchanged.
The Fox didn't believe.
Because the burn marks that had scorched her past remained as indelible scars.
Distrust of humans.
However.
'I don't know what he's thinking.'
She just wanted to know.
About the blind devotion that kept confusing her.
-You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.
-Was that the answer you were looking for?
The Snake had said that, but it wasn't an answer at all.
It only felt more perplexing.
Because the Fox didn't yet understand taming.
When the meaning is not grasped, sentences are nothing but empty shells.
It was the same for Irene.
"Let's stop."
She couldn't come to a conclusion today either.
She would just postpone it.
Rustle-.
The girl carefully unfolds a nearby blanket.
And then, she gently drapes the thin fabric over the knees of the boy sleeping on the sofa.
Along with a voice that wouldn't reach him.
"...Good night."
It was the girl's own way of expressing gratitude.
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