Silence: Did I Say I Wouldn't Raise Her?!

Boss: "..."

Ifrit: "..."

The two walked in silence along the road leading out of the city.

Ifrit sat on the Calcification crystal platform with her knees hugged to her chest, her little face buried in the crook of her arms, saying nothing.

The real world was silent, but the [Mental Chat Group] was in an uproar.

[Boss: What do we do, what do we do?! I got carried away and brought her with us! I forgot she has a mom!]

[Fourth: Mom? What nonsense are you talking about, Boss?]

[Boss: Isn't that white-haired woman her mom? They look pretty alike, don't they? Both have horns, tails, and white hair!]

[Fourth: No! They aren't even the same race! Saria is a Vouivre, while Ifrit is... uh, a modified Savra! At most, that makes her... an adoptive mother? Or an important guardian?]

[Second: Stop obsessing over that irrelevant question. You've already brought her out—are you planning to send her back now?]

Boss glanced at the tiny figure curled into a ball in his palm.

[Boss: We can't... Look at her now. If we send her back, this kid will completely fall apart...]

[Third: Then we raise her?]

[Fourth: Yay! It's a raising sim! I never thought I'd get to raise a daughter in real life! And she's a little fire dragon!]

[Second: Get lost! Do you even know how to raise a kid?!]

[We just arrived in this world ourselves. We haven't even figured out what's going on—what are we supposed to raise her with? How do we ensure her safety, health, and... education?]

The group fell silent for a moment. Second's concerns were always the most practical and the sharpest.

[Boss: Then what do we do now? Should I bring her to the hall?]

[Second: ...That's all we can do for now. At least we can make sure she isn't harmed by the outside world.]

[By the way, Fourth, is she Infected?]

[Fourth: ...]

Fourth's silence instantly made the atmosphere in the link turn grave.

[Second: ...I understand.]

[All members should avoid contact with Ifrit's bodily fluids and Originium crystals.]

[Fourth: Hey, hey! Isn't that a little excessive? She's still a child!]

[Second: We must remain maximally vigilant against all unknown risks! This is for all our survival, and also for...]

Second's impassioned tone suddenly sank.

[...Sigh.]

[If something happens to us, then she really will have no one to rely on. Do you understand?]

[Fourth: ...I understand.]

[Second: ...I never said she wasn't allowed in. We still have to raise her—and we have to raise her nice and chubby!]

[Fourth: Yay!]

[Third: Yay!]

[Boss: Yay...]

[Second: No yay!]

Second irritably cut off the atmosphere before it could derail again.

[Second: Now, Boss, hurry out of the city and find somewhere secluded to teleport back to the hall.]

[Boss: Roger.]

[Third: +1.]

[Fourth: +1.]

[Second: ...(So tired)]

By the time they finished talking, Boss had already brought Ifrit to the edge of Trismounts.

When he raised his head, a towering mobile city wall loomed before him, intimidating beyond measure.

The two giant hands behind Boss steadily held the crystal platform in place, preventing Ifrit from falling during what came next.

The next instant, the two hands in front of him flared with blinding light, like red-hot brands.

"Boom!"

His giant fists shot forward, carrying extreme heat as they brutally punched into the thick iron wall.

The instant they made contact, the sturdy alloy melted like butter under a hot knife, leaving behind a massive crater flowing with molten metal.

Boss did not pause for even a moment. His lava-like fingers dug deep into the edge of the crater, using it as a foothold as he rapidly climbed upward.

"Waaah!"

Ifrit was jolted awake by the sudden commotion and helplessly grabbed the edge of the crystal platform.

Gale-force winds howled past her ears, while the ground below grew farther and farther away.

Boss climbed with complete focus. Given his immense body and current power, this height was nothing to him.

Before long, his head rose above the top of the wall.

He "snapped" a picture of the scene outside the wall and sent it to the group.

[Mental Chat Group]

[Boss: (Wasteland scenery.jpg) Sigh, I thought I'd get to see some magnificent natural scenery.]

The image showed a desolate, ravaged land crushed beneath the tracks of the mobile city, with only scattered hardy weeds and exposed rocks remaining.

[Fourth: Columbia was carved out of a wasteland to begin with.]

[Besides, how could there be any intact land where a mobile city has passed? It'd already be good enough if there was even a little soil left.]

[Second: You told us about the whole mobile city setting before, but seeing it in person is still pretty shocking.]

[Third: They can build something this massive, yet they can't fly off the planet? Is this world's tech tree really that crooked?]

[Fourth: Circumstances forced their hand. Catastrophes can strike this world at any time, and they can occasionally excavate advanced technology from archaeological sites. It's already impressive that they've developed this far.]

In reality, Boss let out a low, soothing growl at the still-shaken Ifrit in his palm.

He took a few steps forward and reached the outer edge of the city wall.

Ifrit looked at him in confusion, unable to understand what he was about to do.

Just as she stood there in bewilderment, Boss showed no hesitation whatsoever. Holding her up, he leapt straight down from the several-hundred-meter-high wall.

"AAAAAAAAAH—!!!"

The sudden sensation of weightlessness made Ifrit scream in terror. She instinctively flattened herself against the crystal platform, clutching its edges with both hands.

Fierce wind surged upward from below, pulling her hair back until it was nearly parallel to her body.

She squeezed her eyes shut, her heart nearly pounding out of her chest.

As Boss watched the ground rapidly approach, a thought crossed his mind.

[Energy Shield]

A crimson lava field instantly spread out beneath him like a massive cushion.

His enormous body landed on the ground, but the earth-shattering impact Ifrit expected never came. It did not even make a sound.

All the kinetic energy of the fall was converted into pure energy the instant he made contact.

Ifrit: "?"

The crushing impact she had expected never came. She did not even feel the slightest tremor. Ifrit cautiously opened her eyes.

Solid ground now filled her view.

She raised her head and looked at the tall figure before her.

He still held her steadily in his palm, as though that perilous free fall had been nothing more than an illusion.

A sense of safety quietly seeped into Ifrit's exhausted heart.

He really is protecting me...

At that moment, Ifrit could not help thinking of Saria again—the figure who had shielded her from every storm.

Ifrit simply lay down and looked up toward the top of the mobile city.

If it were Saria... would she get hurt jumping down from somewhere that high?

She knew Saria was strong. Very strong.

But from that height... without any cushioning...

She would definitely get hurt, right?

As soon as the thought arose, her breathing, which had only just calmed somewhat, became labored again.

Silence's final anxious, pale face. Saria's cold, shattered body...

Ifrit's little hands clenched unconsciously, her nails digging deep into her palms.

Silence... Saria...

How are they now?

Inside Rhine Lab's medical room.

"Her vital signs are temporarily stable, but even a Vouivre's physique is nearing its limit..."

"Multiple internal organs have ruptured and are bleeding. Her Originium Arts have been severely overdrawn. The most troublesome part is her right arm..."

"...Director Silence, the neural connection has been completed, but extensive areas of bone and muscle tissue have died. The success rate of conservative treatment is below thirty-five percent..."

"...There's no time to transfer her to a better-equipped medical center. We have to operate immediately, here!"

Silence stood in the lead surgeon's position. Her gloved hands were steady without the slightest tremor, but beads of sweat covered her forehead behind her protective goggles.

She stared intently at the complicated display before her. The screen showed Saria's utterly dire condition.

"Prepare... amputation."

Silence's voice was dry. The assisting medical staff silently and efficiently prepared the instruments beside her.

Yet when the high-speed bone saw approached Saria's right arm, which had barely retained its shape, Silence's hand still began to tremble.

Silence handed the task over to someone else and assisted from the side.

She could not bring herself to cut into Saria... even to save her...

"Bzzzz—"

The saw blade met bone. Despite the anesthesia and hemorrhage-control measures, the process remained visually harrowing.

Time slowly passed amid silence and the hum of machinery.

Once Saria's right arm had been completely removed, Silence immediately carried out the follow-up procedures: hemostasis, debridement, and treatment of the stump.

Her movements were precise, but noticeably faster, as though she were fleeing from some emotion.

Only after the initial treatment was complete and Saria had been sent into a life-support chamber for deep observation did Silence seem to have all her strength drained away.

She staggered out of the operating room, leaned against the cold corridor wall, and slowly slid down to the floor.

"Phew... phew..."

The sensation and sound of Saria's arm being sawed off replayed over and over in her mind.

Silence raised her hands and watched them shake violently beyond her control, no matter how hard she tried to stop them.

Then, a female voice with a distinctive mechanical quality sounded beside her.

"Director Silence, your vital signs indicate extreme fatigue and stress. Under medical protocol, you require immediate rest and mandatory sleep for at least six hours."

It was Ptilopsis.

No one knew when she had appeared. She looked calmly at Silence.

Startled awake by those words, Silence abruptly raised her head, and focus returned to her unfocused eyes.

She harshly wiped her face with the back of her hand and struggled to stand.

"No... I can't rest yet..."

"Ifrit... I... I still have to go get her! Prepare a vehicle for me! Now!"

She shouted into the empty corridor, hoping a passing staff member would hear her.

However, the only answer was the echo from the far end of the hallway.

Those subordinates who had previously obeyed her every command now seemed to have vanished.

Occasionally, figures in white coats hurried past a distant corridor intersection, but they ignored Silence's cries. They did not even spare her a glance.

They had heard her, but chose indifference.

Watching those cold backs, Silence gritted her teeth and forced her weak legs to hold her up as she headed toward the vehicle dispatch room.

Ptilopsis silently followed and reached out to support her unsteady body.

"Director Silence, in your current physical condition, you cannot safely operate any vehicle," Ptilopsis stated matter-of-factly.

"Ptilopsis... you don't need to..." Silence tried to push her away, only to find that she no longer had even that much strength.

"Based on logical assessment, Director Silence's current condition requires my accompaniment. Otherwise, you will be unable to reach your destination and may even suffer an accident en route."

Ptilopsis's tone did not waver, but the hand supporting her was steady.

"This is the optimal solution."

Silence opened her mouth, but in the end, she could only close it weakly.

The two stopped relying on anyone else and headed for the garage themselves, where they found an off-road vehicle that was still usable.

Ptilopsis took the driver's seat. Silence collapsed into the passenger seat, nearly falling asleep at once, only to force herself awake through sheer willpower.

"Quick... go to where we left Ifrit before..." Silence said with the last of her strength.

The vehicle started up, drove out of Rhine Lab, and sped toward the area that had just suffered devastation.

However, by the time they reached that street, Ifrit had already disappeared.

"Ifrit—! Ifrit, where are you?! Answer me!"

Silence shoved open the car door and shouted, her voice full of terror.

Behind the tightly shut doors and windows on either side of the street, watchful eyes appeared once again.

But this time, all that remained was indifference and faint condemnation toward Silence, the "derelict guardian" and "troublemaker."

Silence's cries echoed through the ruins, receiving no response.

Just as Silence was about to despair, that familiar residential door was pushed open again.

"Stop calling out, little girl..." Old Pelo sighed, his clouded eyes fixed on Silence.

"That child... has already been taken away by that big thing."

"Ta... taken away?" Silence was struck dumb, her legs giving out as she collapsed onto the ground.

Watching the devastated Silence, the old man hesitated before finally recounting what he had seen.

"That huge monster... seemed to be protecting the child. It shielded her beneath its body... and in the end, the child followed it away of her own accord."

Hearing the old man's words, Silence showed no sign of relief. Instead, her expression grew even more bitter.

Protecting her?

Even if it really was protecting Ifrit...

But... what about Ifrit's body?

The stability of the Flame Demon fragments inside her, the medication she might need regularly, the monitoring required for her condition as an Infected...

Could that Flame Demon handle any of it?

"Ifrit..." Silence sat slumped on the ground as tears finally slid down her face in silence.

"Saria..."

"What am I supposed to do...?"