I Became the Mastermind Who Betrays the Heroines

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 32 - Astro (4)

“Well, this is surprising.”

“Pardon?”

“That you recognized me. I’ve heard beastfolk usually show little interest in other races.”

“…You’re not wrong. Foxes are the worst about that.”

“Oh?”

The man spoke casually as he struck up a conversation.

Irene furrowed her brow for a moment before answering in a somewhat reluctant voice.

“I learned about you from my teacher.”

“Your teacher, you say?”

“From swordsmanship. They’ve looked after me like a parent since I was young, and they were one of your most ardent supporters.”

“Hearing that makes me feel a bit embarrassed. Hahaha!”

“I was sick of it.”

The girl vividly remembered.

A wheat field swaying with the gentle breeze, the earth glowing golden to prove its abundance.

In that nostalgic landscape stood an elderly man with silver hair.

–Haven’t I told you before, Irene?

–A sword must always carry the light of righteousness.

–Just like the Red Sword Saint… who would break easily but never waver, fall easily but never lie down. You must become such a person.

–Go find your own star.

Back then, she had brushed it off, thinking it was just another lecture.

“Every time I got a lecture, your name would come up.”

“Well, that’s unfortunate.”

“Having the subject of those lectures standing right next to me now… it’s strange, almost surreal.”

“Mmm!”

The Sword Saint nodded as if he understood.

Their conversation continued in short bursts, with Irene holding onto a brief silence before asking the question that was hardest to believe.

It was a direct pitch, getting straight to the point.

“I definitely heard you died two years ago.”

“…”

“What happened?”

“…”

Was he unwilling to share?

The Sword Saint closed his mouth.

The cheerful atmosphere from a moment ago vanished, and a cold silence settled over them.

The air grew chilly in an instant.

‘Did I mess up?’

From his reaction, it didn’t seem like a pleasant topic.

Maybe she should’ve been more subtle with the question.

As the nervous girl started to sweat, a low chuckle broke the silence.

“Pfft… Puh, hahahaha!”

“…?”

“My apologies! You looked so serious that I couldn’t resist playing a little prank.”

The tension melted away.

The Sword Saint, now laughing heartily, looked every bit the middle-aged man he was.

Friendly, yet… maybe a little unsettling.

Leaning back against his chair, he naturally continued the conversation.

“There’s really not much to tell.”

“…”

“I was simply too blindly devoted to ‘justice,’ and I paid a bit of a price for it.”

His tone was playful, but there was a deep meaning behind his words.

His clouded eyes flickered with fleeting emotions.

But his lips spoke calmly.

“I should have died. Just as the records say, a hollow and empty end.”

The fall of a once-brilliant star.

Yet, even in the depths of that despair, someone reached out a hand.

“The Captain saved me.”

“That shady person…?”

“It was nothing short of a miracle. Since then, I’ve lived by dedicating my loyalty to him.”

The Sword Saint’s lips faintly curled upward.

Though his smile carried a hint of playfulness, it wasn’t a lighthearted one.

It was a worn expression, one only an adult could wear.

“It’s the same for the others. Every single one of them owes their life to the Captain.”

“All of them…?”

The members who seemed like fanatics worshipping the boy.

Even their unsettling devotion appeared to have its reasons.

“Poor orphans, unjustly condemned criminals, wretched beggars… and even a fallen star.”

Lives that were no better than street trash.

“But the Captain didn’t turn his back on us.”

The world had abandoned them.

Their hearts broken, their will withered, their hope lost.

It was during that slow death that the golden snake found them.

“That’s why we believe in him.”

“…”

“And that child serving as the Vice-Captain is especially special. Her attachment to him is understandable.”

“Was there something that happened to her…?”

“That’s not for me to say.”

“I see.”

“Anyway.”

The man casually shifted the tone of the conversation.

The Sword Saint shook off his earlier seriousness and left her with a few more words.

“To form a bond means to be ‘tamed.’”

That was something the Captain used to say often.

Things untamed have no true color of their own.

Only those tamed by something can see the meaningful landscapes ahead.

The resplendent golden light.

“I pray that such a moment comes for you too.”

“…”

A bond, and being tamed.

She had heard those words before, but still, their meaning eluded her.

It felt like she was grappling with an unsolvable question.

No fitting response came to mind.

The fox stood there, frozen for a while.

In the end, she only nodded quietly.

***

The day had passed in a blur.

It was almost evening, and to make it back in time for curfew at the dormitory, she had to leave soon.

Irene was saying a brief farewell to her siblings.

“Sis… are you leaving already?”

“Can’t you just stay here with us? The teachers are all so nice…”

“Sniff…”

The children, on the verge of tears, clung to her.

Irene, offering a complicated smile, gently comforted the young foxes.

“I have things I need to do.”

“Do you really have to go…?”

“I made a promise. You remember, don’t you? I told you not to break a promise with a friend.”

“Yes…”

They answered dejectedly.

Of course, the children weren’t truly intent on throwing a tantrum or refusing to let her go.

They knew how much their sister had sacrificed to protect them.

They had grown up too fast.

Having lived under such oppression for so long, perhaps it was the world that had forced them to mature early.

Forcing them to forget their childhood.

Turning them into adults before their time.

“I’ll come back again during the break.”

Irene smiled bitterly.

As she turned to leave, the boy beside her interjected with a sly grin.

“Oh, come on~ Wonderful foxes don’t get sad over something like this!”

His hands expertly rummaged through his pockets.

Soon after, a flood of chocolates and candies emerged from the small space, almost as if by magic.

He handed the children a handful each, adding a little wink.

“These are my gifts to you.”

“Sniff… thank you…”

“Sniff… Thank you so much.”

“Heh, no need to thank me.”

The boy grinned.

His lighthearted tone lifted the mood effortlessly, as he skillfully handled the children.

Perhaps it was his way of helping Irene as well.

‘What in the world.’

The fox watched the snake with a complex gaze.

The voice she had heard earlier and the lingering questions played over in her mind.

‘Why… is he doing all this for me?’

Thinking back, it had been this way from the start.

He had rescued her from that hellish cage and protected her siblings.

Though he often acted suspiciously.

He had never once done anything to harm her.

In fact, it felt like he treated her with care.

‘It’s strange.’

Humans are a treacherous breed.

They exploit others’ goodwill, deceive, and eventually take everything away.

She had learned that truth at a steep cost.

–I’m sorry, Irene.

–I wanted to stay by your side forever.

The day she lost her teacher, she made a vow.

Never to trust a human again.

No matter how sweet their words, she would laugh and scorn them.

And yet.

“It’s time to go, Miss Irene.”

“…Yeah.”

“Don’t be too sad. It doesn’t have to be during the break. You can come visit anytime you want.”

“…”

She didn’t know what to do.

Despite her efforts to push him away, the smiling boy kept coming closer.

It felt like the solid walls she had built were starting to shake.

Such a heavy sense of goodwill… it was new to her.

Perhaps it was because of the past two years, where she had to fight tooth and nail to survive.

She almost felt as if she had grown weak.

Irene shook off her idle thoughts and spoke with a steady voice.

“I trust that your members will take good care of the children.”

“Of course. I’d send them to the orphanage run by Astro, but… as you know, it’s still a time to be cautious.”

“An orphanage? You run something like that?”

“It’s a modest one.”

“That’s still impressive…”

Her quiet response hung in the air.

The boy froze for a moment before replying in a calm tone.

“I just didn’t want the children to be alone.”

The snake’s lips curled into a soft smile.

“Because childhood loneliness… leaves scars for life.”

His voice echoed with a quiet intensity.

Though he wore his usual smile, there was a sadness in his expression.

As if hinting at a distant past.

“...?”

“Well, well! Enough with the gloomy talk, shall we?”

While Irene tilted her head at the strange atmosphere, the boy walked ahead toward the exit.

He exchanged greetings and jokes with the members as they passed by, the golden figure promising to return.

“…”

Irene, who had stood there dazed, finally moved her feet.

Following the fading silhouette of the snake.

***

Meanwhile.

In an unknown location.

A few hooded figures had gathered in a dark and silent room.

They were seated around a round table, exuding an ominous air.

“It’s almost time.”

The hooded figure at the center murmured.

Though he said nothing more, the others nodded quietly.

“We’ve been lying low for a while, but now… it’s time to take root once again.”

At the center of the black round table, there was a golden emblem.

A design that resembled an inverted tree.

There was only one group that would don such a sinister symbol.

The largest group of dark magicians on the continent, Baobab.

After years of dormancy, this heretical order was stirring once again.

“Exactly two years ago today, we killed the one who had been such a nuisance to us… the Red Sword Saint.”

Though the cost had been high, the result was worth it.

Now, there were no longer any warriors on the continent capable of stopping them. This time, they would carry out their master’s will.

“I hear there are some promising students at Gallimard Academy.”

A summoner who commands dragons.

The Empire’s First Princess, known as an unparalleled genius.

The twin siblings of the Vanity family.

And even the rising star of the Snakes family.

“They will all make fine offerings to him.”

–Bang!!

Behind the robed figures was a massive iron cage.

Something enormous was thrashing inside, a grotesque structure covered in human flesh.

It let out a blood-curdling scream, as if hungry for slaughter.

–Screeeeeech!!

The piercing noise tore through the air, but none of the robed figures so much as flinched.

Instead, they broke into maniacal laughter.

“Prepare everything.”

Their eyes gleamed with greed.

In their minds, they already envisioned a continent covered in blood and fire.

Shivers of excitement ran down their spines.

“The time has come for us to reemerge.”

Take root, oh cursed trees.

“All for the sake of the One, the source of all things… our lord, the Demon God.”

“For the Demon God.”

In that dark and silent place, danger was quietly taking root.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]