Chapter 20

"I'll eat it!"

Alice said as she smelled her pie. For your information, eating was done from the upper mouth rather than the lower mouth. Now that I say it, it sounds a bit strange. Anyway, that was the truth.

"This cherry pie is really, really good! I could eat a hundred of them, a thousand of them!"

"Sure, sure. Eat up, tomboy lady."

The old woman smiles with satisfaction at the sight.

And as Aria, whose eyes were covered by a black bandage, groped in front of me, I wordlessly cut a piece of pie and held it out to her with my fork. Gently, our hands touch.

"Ah...thank you, brother."

Aria smiles shyly and laughs. The grandmother chuckles at the sight.

"Ho-ho, this is so sweet. In this day and age, how nice to see such a friendly brother and sister!"

"As for my brother, I'm one-sidedly indebted to him."

Aria said, smiling bitterly. She mimicked the look of a blind, shielded sister.

"I will always be nothing but a burden to my brother."

"─Aria."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude again...."

Aria ducked her head like a frightened mouse. Was she enjoying her role? I couldn't tell how much of it was real and how much of it was false, or if it was even a pretense in the first place.

So I decided not to think about it. Suddenly, I felt like burning a cigarette. Lately, I don't burn cigarettes for a reason, I feel like I'm looking for a reason to burn a cigarette.

As I turned my head to soothe my thirsty mouth, I caught sight of the frames on the dresser in the corner. One of them was an SS medal with the symbol of several hawks flying over a corpse.

It was personally inscribed with the signature of the Führer of the Duchy, Gustav Whitley.

"Ew, look at me. I'm old and stupid. I still left that there!"

The old woman who rented us the bunkhouse clicked her tongue in embarrassment.

"Forgive me, sir, for letting the young people who traveled all the way from the Empire to come here to see such a horrible thing."

"I don't really mind."

"Ho-ho, it's nice of you to say so."

I replied casually. Of course, I wasn't oblivious to the significance of the commendation.

Fourth Division of the State Security Service of the Duchy. Better known as the Corpse Falcons, it is the country's commando organization.

"Still, it's not like I'm going to go around bragging about it, let alone kneel down and bow my head in front of the Empire's guests!"

"Oh, no, don't be too concerned, old lady."

"Ho-ho, young lady, you have a fine face and an even finer heart."

Apparently the old woman had received the award herself, and in her younger days, she had been a commanding officer in the Duchy's Imperial Guard, which is not something I can easily imagine.

Besides, it's unlikely that a member of the country's top elite would spend their golden years in such a shabby-looking house.

"Still, to an old woman, the things of her youth, no matter what form they take, are things she wants to remember.....Good or bad, beautiful or terrible, even the ugliest."

As she spoke, the old woman's voice took on a deep, dark shadow that no one could easily imagine.

*

That night.

"Excuse me, sir."

The voice whispered in my ear, startling me out of my reverie.

Quite calmly, aside from a heart that was pounding so hard it was paralyzing.

After all, the leader of the villainous group is human and needs to sleep, and it's hard to stay awake when someone wakes you up. I'm so sleepy.

"What's going on?"

Apart from that, I listened to her with my eyes wide open, as bright as broad daylight. I think my eyeballs are going to fall out. I suddenly need a cigarette.

"Outside, uninvited guests."

Her eyes are covered with black bandages, and in exchange for two pupils trapped in darkness, she can see much farther and much more than I can.

It's not until a few more seconds pass after Aria speaks that I, too, become aware of suspicious activity outside.

Two men in suits crossed the street and approached our house. They stand outside and knock lightly, and an old woman greets them as if she's been waiting for them.

Even the knock is secretive and quiet, as if sending a cryptic message.

It's dawn, with no sign of the midnight moon.

The two men walk into the living room on the first floor – they don't even sit down, they just stand there and start talking.

For the record, we are renting the entire second floor. Three people are sharing a room at the end of the hallway.

Aria and I share a king-sized bed, and Alice is locked in the closet.

The darkness in the closet, which children fear the most, is where she feels most at ease.

"I beg your pardon, my lady, in the middle of the night."

"Don't you people know it's rude to come in the middle of the night and disturb an old woman's sleep like that?"

"I received a report."

"What report?"

"That suspicious people are staying here."

Common sense tells us that this is not the place to hear their story, but it's not like we're going to be judged on common sense.

It's their common sense that should be concerned, not ours.

They're going to believe they're out of earshot, because they're going to think it's common sense.

"Phew, did old man Schultz next door spoil me again and call the cops? Look at that damn country bumpkin! Don't be suspicious of young people, get lost."

"Well, that's a surprise, by the way."

Hearing that, the man in the suit laughed.

"I can't believe the old lady would allow a bunch of young people to stay in her house."

"The man says he'll do some painting for rent, do you have anything to say?"

"I heard you had a nice chat with him, even served him a pie."

"...."

"They must have liked it, because I hear there was laughter in your house, which is rare."

"...."

To my surprise, the old woman's nuances seemed far from trying to sell us out.

"What is there to say?"

"You know better than I do what kind of 'answer' you want us to give."

"I've told you all I know. Besides, I've got dementia now, and I'm forgetting things. What the hell do you think you know?"

"Since you don't know, I'll tell you."

The man finally spoke up, raising his voice.

"I'm talking about the <Commander Secret> you're hiding from us, High Leader Hella!"

Commander Secret. I gulped quietly at the unexpected name.

"It's not too late, Lady Hella. Meekly reveal the truth and hand over your stash."

" "Rather than holding you accountable, you will become the hero of the country who found the legendary grimoire."

"That grimoire is a fiction that doesn't exist!"

"I hope it's not fiction, Colonel Hydra is hoping for that too."

Appeasement, childish coaxing, trade offers, even begging.

It was only a matter of time before their voices rose, oblivious to our presence.

"More than anything."

One of the men spoke up.

"Because while you've been silent, the 'crimes' of those dear young ones upstairs have been piling up."

"Hey, what about theft?"

"Too tacky. How about murder?"

"Let's throw in body disposal while we're at it. Turns out they're not just low-level criminals!"

"Yeah, they're some pretty heinous bastards!"

"Well, we'll have to show these scoundrels the bitter taste of justice!"

In the midst of the men's conversations, I stared at Aria in silence.

She stared back, too.

Wow, how did they know?

An awkward silence descended.

"Don't be ridiculous!"

It was the old woman downstairs who broke the silence.

"You treated me like a dog for serving my country, trampled on me, threw my family into camps, and stole my life away from me based on delusions that didn't exist, and now you're going to drag out a bunch of young men and threaten them for knocking on the door of a dying old woman's house?"

"You kept silent when your whole family was dragged off to a camp, why would you care if a couple of kids die?"

"Then you'd better know for sure, you're not going to die a pretty death!"

"Come on, let's go teach those villains hiding on the second floor the definition of the Duchy Secret Police!"

At the same time, I realized.

Why Rain Grey had picked this house, in this city, and why he had signed a lease to stay.

"You, sir, expected this from the beginning and-"

Aria looked at me with a look of renewed surprise, as if she hadn't expected it either.

After looking at me, she spoke in a voice that sounded a bit bitter.

"The kindness you showed me in front of her...was for this."

I kept my composure, not bothering to add anything unnecessary, shoved my hands into my pockets, and pulled out a cigarette and put it in my mouth.

The fire didn't start. However, judging by the sound of men's footsteps approaching this place, it seemed that the time to light the fire would come soon.