33 Role

"But something like this is not…"

"I will not speak any further."

"However–"

Passing through the wooden door leading up to an open office, Yuuto and the others were able to hear hushed voices speaking about an unknown topic.

Following Gepard into the room, the two people already inside turned towards the source of the distraction that prevented them from talking any further.

Yuuto's eyes mindlessly wandered around the office that was littered with desks and multiple books occupying majority of the walls.

Further towards the back, a desk that stood on an elevated platform, overshadowed a person who's long gray hair moved as she looked slightly frustrated seeing that the person she was talking to shifted her focus elsewhere.

"Bronya, you may leave now. Visitors have arrived."

"...I understand.. mother..."

Bronya took one last look at the person she called mother before turning around and making her way out as told.

She didn't forget to take a quick look at the strangers who came in and gradually passed by Yuuto who made eye contact with her.

Yuuto showed her a faint smile and nodded his head to which Bronya looked at him for a second longer before turning her head away.

Exiting the office in the process.

"Madame Guardian, I have brought the visitors as intended."

"Thank you Gepard, You may leave them to me now."

Hearing her words, Gepard saluted and also left the room leaving the four with the supposed 'Supreme Guardian' of Belobog.

"It may be a bit late but welcome visitors from beyond the sky. I'm Cocolia Rand, the Supreme Guardian of Belobog. I would appreciate it if you tell me the reason for your visit."

The woman named Cocolia smiled as her purple eyes calmly looked at the new faces that suddenly appeared right in front of her.

Previously noted by a messenger in advance, Cocolia took her stance as she wanted to learn more about who they were and what they were suddenly doing on this planet.

"It seems like you accepted our identity pretty quickly."

Dan Heng noticed the tone of her voice that barely spoke of any doubt of their current status.

"Records before the Eternal Freeze are quite bountiful within the books that the Architects left behind so remembering some parts of the past isn't too difficult." 

Cocolia ran her fingers across a book situated snuggly across her desk.

"Especially parts that speak of existences that come from beyond the sky. So I have no doubts about your identity. However, I wish to know why you've come?" 

Cocolia stopped what she was doing and looked towards the four who patiently waited for her to finish speaking.

Dan Heng glanced at the other three before he started talking about the reason they were here in the first place.

While he was talking to Cocolia, Yuuto's attention didn't leave Cocolia's face or to be more exact the space behind her head for a single second.

'Yeah, that looks disturbing.'

Dark transparent yellow light filled the space around her head as if branches from an unknown source wanted to corrupt the person standing in front of him.

From the ceiling and through the walls, these batches of light wrapped itself onto Cocolia without any intention of letting go.

'And she looks unfazed by this too. I wonder if her [Nexus] looks the same.'

Yuuto looked deeper, adding [Clarity] to the mix and saw the internal structure of her [Nexus]. 

Compared to the dark space that had bright clear fragments, Cocolia's [Nexus] held a dreadful color with the branches he saw outside digging into each of the fragments in her possession.

They looked dull while some were completely distorted, shattered even, and released the same yellow color.

"So what you're saying is that you want to find this so-called Stellaron and seal it?"

"That is correct."

Yuuto stopped examining Cocolia's [Nexus] after seeing the amount of corruption she received from the Stellaron. Hearing the direction the conversation was going, he decided to listen to the end and see what she had to say.

"If it's really true that this 'Stellaron' is the cause for the Eternal Freeze, I will happily assist you in finding this Stellaron."

"So you believe us?"

March looked slightly surprised after hearing Cocolia's agreement to which she just covered her lips to hide her smile.

"As the Supreme Guardian all I wish for is the better future of Belobog. Plus I don't hope to impede our visitors from leaving as you also offered to help us solve this crisis."

"Thank you, Supreme Guardian!"

"Thank you."

March and Dan Heng showed thanks aftering hearing Cocolia's words. While the person in question just smiled at their actions.

"I should be the one saying that. If you don't mind I will begin looking into relevant records that may help with the search. As you guys are guests, I hope you can look around Belobog and enjoy your stay for the time being." 

"We understand."

Saying some last few words the four left the office under the guidance of Gepard who waited outside leaving Cocolia inside the room by herself.

Seeing the door close shut, the amicable smile she had disappeared and turned her head towards the large window behind her.

{...}

"Of course, I understand. I figured out some ways."

{....}

"Wait, what do you mean 'watch for the eyes'…"

{...}

"You felt something unknown expose you…."

***

"There are a few attractions that you may like around the Administrative District so feel free to look around."

"Do you have some recommendations!"

Leaving Qlipoth Fort, Gepard stood at the foot of the large staircase and gestured the four towards the large opening of Belobog's Administrative District.

Having received orders from Cocolia, they can now freely move around Belobog with no worries.

"There's the Golden Theater if you wish to see some plays and if you like music well…" Gepard hesitated before continuing on what he was going to say. "The Neverwinter Workshop has a… moving artist if you wish to hear her music."

"That sounds interesting…."

March's interest was caught after hearing the options Gepard listed and looked around to see if any of those places were near them.

"Ah! The workshop is right there, let's go!"

Grabbing onto Stelle who was mindlessly staring at her surroundings, the two ran off to the workshop leaving behind the three.

"I will return back to my duties. Feel free to ask questions whenever you have some."

Gepard bumped his fist against his chest before leaving Yuuto and Dan Heng on their own.

"What are your thoughts on the meeting?"

".. it went well but I have some doubts."

Dan Heng voiced his honest thoughts towards Yuuto's question who looked like he was expecting him to say it.

"I guess mister over here really has some sharp eyes~"

"I'm assuming you felt it too."

"Yeah, something else was watching us while we were talking with Cocolia."

Dan Heng's expression turned serious after hearing Yuuto's similar experience.

"Let's just keep a backup plan in mind."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm just going to roam around."

Yuuto looked at some of the districts that were blocked off and wanted to see if he can get some useful information while he was still here.

"....Are you going to be fine?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"You won't suddenly return with some ripped clothes again, right?"

"That was just a one time thing…"

Dan Heng felt skeptical as if he wasn't going to buy it and felt like something always happens whenever Yuuto goes and 'roam' around, 

Leaving Dan Heng, after hearing that he will also do some investigations of his own just in case.

'If that person doesn't arrive I should find the original escape route and see if it's still available.'

Walking a few meters away from Qlipoth Fort, Yuuto made his way past people who wanted to sell him papers and wares before reaching an area where people began to avoid.

"P-Please! I need to get my documents. I—"

"Sorry but you can't enter. The corrosion has already eroded the block so you must contact the administration office if you wish to have someone get it."

A few guards crossed their axes as a citizen pleaded towards them hoping to invoke some form of sympathy.

Yuuto looked past the guards and saw the thick black crystals glowing with an ominous yellow hue.

Past the initial chucks, the situation Belobog was facing became more apparent that a majority of the block will continue to endure the Stellaron's corrosion until all of its buildings are covered.

'But there seems to be ripples in the space already being formed.' 

Seeing what seemed to be a portal forming by the wall of a house, Yuuto kept the location in mind as he wandered around the area.

'This is finally what I was looking for.'

On an elevated platform near the location the guards were hiding, a small line of fragmented crystals reached over the rails of the platform.

Mist gathered in Yuuto's hand and a small knife formed. He struck the end piece of the corrosion separating a single fragment from the initial crystal.

Feeling the rough texture, he noticed the crystal he got fitted perfectly in the middle of his palm. 

"Fragmentation is created by a Stellaron's influence so…"

Yuuto clenched the fragment into his hand and stimulated the engine to absorb the lingering energy within the crystal.

The black crystal released a faint light as a trail of golden energy escaped the rock and entered through Yuuto's body. He willed it to go towards a certain direction before eventually meeting the Stellaron he had within his body.

"The amount has grown a bit."

It might have been only a small amount but it was certainly an increase from the initial amount the Stellaron inside him had.

Yuuto smiled happily and let go of the shattered dust that appeared in palm from the residue the fragmentation left behind.

"I need to analyze the crystal more since my conversation rate is horrendous compared to what I know I could do. I should also be careful of any corruption I can potentially experience if I absorb it incorrectly…"

That small crystal he absorbed was like pouring a drop of water into a vast empty ocean but that didn't discourage considering the amount of fragmentation this planet had. 

"There's also that other crystal I wanted to try out…"

"You over there. What are you doing?"

"Hmm?"

Yuuto heard a voice suddenly call out to him as he continued to stare at the corrosion reaching over the railing.

Her long gray hair that curled into drills near the tip, moved gently in the air as she looked suspiciously at Yuuto who looked equally as confused.

"Miss, are you talking to me?"

"I don't see anyone else around here so yes."

Following what she said, Yuuto looked around and noticed that there was an absence of people in his surroundings.

"I swear there were a few of them here just a second ago…"

"So what are you doing being so close to the fragmentation zone?"

"Nothing really. I was just looking at the view."

"The view…"

Looking past his shoulder, all she saw were buildings covered in dark crystals while chunks of concrete threatened to fall off from the building.

Yuuto watched as her eyes looked towards the battered surroundings and cleared his throat hoping to take her attention elsewhere. 

"But before all of that I must say that it is an honor to meet Bronya, the acting commander of the Silvermane Guards. I have heard stories about you whenever I pass by the people of Belobog."

Yuuto showed Bronya a kind smile trying to ease the situation he was found in and noticed that she looked straight at him.

"How do you know my name? You were one of the visitors mother had said that came from beyond the stars?"

"I heard that the acting commander was a beauty based on the rumors so I just assumed it was you."

"....."

"If that is all, I will continue my visit around!"

Bronya froze at the words she didn't expect to hear from him and Yuuto took this chance to leave while secretly breaking some more fragmented fragments behind him.

He began to blend into the crowd in an attempt to hopefully get her attention away from him.

However it was proven hard to do so.

"She really is persistent for some reason…"

From the corner of his eyes he saw Bronya seemingly blending into her surroundings as she watched where Yuuto was going.

"But it might be a good opportunity to plant something."

Yuuto took one last look at her before he walked towards a vending machine that was situated near a corner of a shop.

'Two drinks…'

Bronya saw the two items that he bought and watched as he turned to go towards a building.

"What am I doing…" Bronya began to reflect on her actions seeing that he was just visiting various spots by himself. "...I'll leave him after knowing where he's going last.."

Bronya said to herself and turned the same corner Yuuto went.

"Wow, I thought you finally gave up on following me~"

"W-What!?"

Bronya jumped back as Yuuto stood near the corner, drinking a bottle of soda he bought from the vending machine.

Seeing him hiding his laugh, Bronya felt embarrassed by her improper scream and turned around to walk away.

"I-I will leave you to your own devices now…"

"Ah, so our little game of tag is officially over?"

Yuuto noticed that she was not willing to reply back and felt like teasing her more after seeing her reactions so far.

"Why don't we have one last chat since I'm about to meet up with my companions soon."

Yuuto walked past Bronya who stared at his back and thought about his offer. After debating in her head, she followed behind him until they reached a small metal bench.

The two sat down with Bronya sitting a distance away from him and looked at the scenery flowing around her.

"Here."

By her side was a glass bottle sitting on top of the bench and Bronya looked at Yuuto who was drinking a similar one.

"Thank you."

Bronya accepted the drink and twisted the cap to taste what was inside.

"If you don't mind telling me, how is it being the acting commander of a city? I'm pretty interested considering the way people seem to show a lot of respect for you whenever you pass by."

Yuuto leaned his body into the bench and looked at the people around him.

"Even Gepard looks like he takes in a lot of pride working as a member of the Silvermane Guards."

"...Being in this position brings in a lot of hardships…"

Bronya tapped on her drink and revealed a bit of her thoughts as she felt oddly relaxed.

"But if it means taking all these hardships and helping all the people of Belobog pursue a life that they want, then I will always take it without hesitation." 

She continued to say her piece with her voice being firmer with each word she said.

"That's very admirable of you."

"...Thank you."

Yuuto felt a genuine admiration for the person beside him as it required quite a strong mindset to consciously take on hardships just so that the people with her can live a better life.

But remembering the conditions of the Underworld, Yuuto took one last sip of the soda he had.

"Let's say hypothetically."

"Hypothetically?"

"Yes, let's say hypothetically you lead your troops and follow orders towards protecting the people of Belobog. You fight against the various monsters and defend your home with all you have."

Yuuto continued on and Bronya listened intently to what he had to say.

"Doing this you give the people a life where they honestly think they're safe. However, this causes another part of your city to turn into shambles and experience many hardships many times over."

Bronya's heart began to feel cold at the thought but Yuuto continued to speak.

"That part gets no protection from monsters and supplies begin to become harder for them to gather, turning that part of the city into ruins."

Yuuto lowered the drink he had and spoke one last sentence. 

"Would you still continue to take on the role as a leader despite knowing this?"