Brunaulf POV:

A few days passed by, and I refrained from returning to the Organization. When I wasn’t looking after Belle, I sat down in the apartment, staring at the ceiling aimlessly.

***

Wednesday.

The sound of someone knocking on the door startled Belle. She started biting her fingers while cold sweat ran down her neck. Her pupils dilated, and her eyes darted around in a panic.

“It’s okay, Belle.”

I stroked her cheek gently, slowly calming her down. She soon fell asleep again on the bed before I made my way to the door.

“I apologize if I’ve inconvenienced you, Administrator.”

Kumo stood outside with a batch of papers in her hand. She adjusted her glasses while shifting her gaze to Belle, who was sleeping.

“...It’s not a problem. We’ll discuss matters in the other room.”

She bowed her head, and I let her into the apartment. Whenever Kumo wore glasses, it meant that she was in what she described as ‘serious work mode.’ A lot must have happened during my continued absence away from the Organization.

‘...’

I still had responsibilities. What right did I have to mope around here? I closed the door behind me and took Kumo to the next room.

“May I?”

I nodded as Kumo took a seat by a low table in the centre of the room. She placed the batch of papers down neatly and took a deep breath as I sat opposite her.

“Firstly, I’m truly sorry. The Senior Vices and a few of the other high-ranking members within the Organization are aware of the situation regarding Vice Denise.”

I remained silent, my gaze resting on the floor in front of me. I flicked my fingers, telling Kumo to proceed; I didn’t want to talk about that right now.

“Let me first start with District 3. The battle between Enigma and the Ruler has completely ended, but both parties have left the District in an almost irreparable state. I have sent Sindel and Orga there to take control of the situation.”

“...You did what?”

My hands balled into fists as my eyes narrowed. Even if the battle between those two groups came to an end, it wasn’t wise to get involved with District 3 at all.

“...Administrator, I can’t imagine the pain that you’re in, but please remember our goa—”

My Ki flared as Kumo instantly shut her mouth. She bit her lip while tears began to pool at the corners of her eyes. Her head dropped down as she bowed. I sighed inwardly, returning the atmosphere in the room back to normal by dispelling my Ki.

“I haven’t forgotten, Kumo. Explain your reasoning.”

I didn’t see the merit in taking over a broken District. Even if I looked at it from a strategic point of view, it still didn’t offer many advantages. The District Leader wasn’t planning to have a full-scale war with the Ruler, so it wasn’t necessary to see District 3 as a tactical point of launching a surprise attack.

“The District Leader won’t lose. It is our job to make sure everyone knows what kind of ruler he is. It was you who told me these words.”

My eyes widened slightly as Kumo continued.

“We took in those fleeing from their homes, now we should show them the next appropriate step: restoration.”

Kumo got to her feet and picked up the batch of papers she had been carrying. She removed her glasses as her lips formed her signature cute smile.

“To me, you’ve always been the person I look up to most, Vice Brunaulf. I know it will be incredibly difficult, but please return soon.”

Kumo bowed her head once more, hiding her slightly red cheeks. She put the glasses back over her eyes as I sent her off. I stood beside the open door for a while before closing it.

My back slumped against the wall while my hand ran through my messy hair. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

***

Thursday.

Belle's reaction to someone knocking on the door wouldn’t improve so quickly. I calmed her down yet again, and she soon fell asleep. Thankfully, she had been eating well, so her body was recovering at a steady pace.

I opened the door and saw an unexpected face. Isabelle held dozens of bags over her arms while she greeted me with a short smile.

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“Can I come in? There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“Alright. Let’s talk over there.”

I pointed to the next room as Isabelle made her way inside. Her natural black hair with yellow highlights reached just above her shoulders while she placed the bags down on the floor.

“I know we haven’t spoken much, but I heard about your situation from Kumo.”

Isabelle didn’t waste any time and got straight to the point. My eyebrows quivered as the topic was brought up again.

“Take a look at this.”

I watched her dip her hand into one of the bags. The object she pulled out had two medium-length ears with the canal coloured a bright shade of red. Its circular shape curved into a small black nose that jutted out.

A thick, black line of paint curved down the protrusion and formed something akin to lips. The end parts of the paint overlapped with a blotch of red.

The black scleras contained two golden eyes with a circular iris that almost seemed to glow, and the red paint formed eyelids and whisker patterns on each cheek.

It was a unique mask that I had never seen before. The quality, texture and ability to convey a serious expression were impressive, to say the least.

“A Kitsune mask. It was given to me many years ago by someone I hold close to my heart. He told me that these masks are quite popular in some places in the continent of Xera.”

“It’s impressive, but why are you showing me this?”

Isabelle scratched the back of her head slightly.

“Cover your face, change your voice and come back to the Organization. Denise won’t be able to recognize you, right?”

“...”

That Kumo... My lips spread into a thin smile as I took the mask from Isabelle’s hand. Triste made it clear that Denise only remembered after looking at their faces over the course of a few days. In other words, instead of watching her from afar, I could now be closer to her.

“I really appreciate it, Isabelle.”

Isabelle grinned as she got to her feet. She organized the bags neatly to one side of the room before approaching the door.

“We're a community. Supporting one another is something that should come naturally to us.”

Isabelle smiled to herself and opened the door. She glanced back at me while pointing to the dozens of bags left behind.

“I got some clothes for your sister. I don’t know what she likes, but there’s a variety there. Also, take good care of that mask, Administrator.”

Her lips curved upwards, and I smiled in response.

“I will.”

I thanked her for the clothes as I saw her off. The door closed once more, and I sat against the wall. I looked at the mask, its eyes eerily similar to my own, while I smiled.

***

Friday.

Belle wore loose clothes as she sat on the edge of the bed. She yawned while I examined her closely. Her body looked significantly better than yesterday, and the colour of her skin was a lot healthier—something was strange.

It wasn’t possible for a normal person to recover this quickly. Belle had almost died a few days ago, and yet she was already able to move around slowly by herself.

‘...’

I placed my hand against her back while I closed my eyes. The Ki fragments that should be scattered all over her body had mostly been gathered into her solar plexus, forming an incomplete Ki Center.

‘How is this possible?’

The only possibility I could think of was that someone had taught her in Inner Astril, but that seemed highly unlikely. Teaching Belle would give her a means to escape, yet her words when she saw me didn’t convey that she had any way out of her situation physically.

“...Belle, who taught you how to form a Ki Center?”

Her lips remained tightly shut as she glanced at me briefly. I moved to the front and held her hand. If it was another traumatic memory, then it was better to leave it alone. All I wanted was for her to recover as soon as possible.

“...You did.”

After a long drawn-out silence, her lips finally parted. Her response left me even more confused as I placed a hand to my head. I scoured my memories, but couldn’t find a single instance of me sitting down to teach Belle, and it was obvious why. I was too busy doing... other things.

“...I learnt it from you on the way home.”

“What?!”

My eyes widened as Belle avoided my gaze. Was she a genius? In the span of a few days, she had completed her Ki Center to such an extent? My head whirled as I struggled to make sense of this situation.

‘!’

I recalled how Belle kept crawling back into my lap—the defence mechanism that triggered due to her trauma may have awakened her in some way? I wasn’t sure, but Belle was somehow gathering the Ki fragments during her sleep.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

I smiled softly while watching Belle rub her eyes as she yawned again. Once her Ki Center was complete, I planned on teaching her how to defend herself.

“...Door.”

*Knock, Knock*

My gaze shifted to the door, then back to Belle, whose eyes grew heavy with sleep. Maybe it was better that I consult someone about this after all.

I let go of her hand and opened the door. There had been a lot of visitors lately.

“H-Hey, Brunaulf.”

Ven greeted me awkwardly as Gunnar stood beside her with his arm wrapped around her shoulder. Ven blushed in embarrassment, and I couldn’t help but envision a scenario where Denise and I could be close like that. I smiled bitterly while greeting the two of them.

“Is it alright if we talk for a while?”

“Come in.”

I closed the door behind them as they stood in the living room. Ven looked at Belle and cocked her head to the side.

“I’m Ven. It’s nice to meet you.”

Ven smiled brightly as Belle glared at her. Her eyes shifted towards Gunnar, then back to Ven before her gaze softened.

“Likewise...”

Belle turned around and went back to sleep. I moved the two Senior Vices to the other room and sat down opposite them.

“You two sure do look alike.”

Gunnar leaned forward, his open jacket hanging over Ven's shoulder. It was clear that the incident in District 3 had brought the two of them even closer together.

“What brings two Senior Vices here?”

“...There’s no need to be so formal. If it wasn’t for you, I would have lost Ven...”

Gunnar rose to his feet and peered down at me.

“I never got the chance to say it, but thank you. Thank you for saving them.”

He bowed his head as Ven smiled at him proudly. I didn’t save any of them, it was the District Leader who put his life on the line to fight Storm.

“...Though I didn’t do much, I appreciate it.”

Gunnar furrowed his eyebrows but didn’t push the issue any further. He sat back down next to Ven as the conversation moved onwards.

“...Denise is doing well. We planned on moving her away from here, but she stubbornly refuses each time. Actually, she even gets a bit angry, haha...”

My heart throbbed as I glanced at Ven.

“Sorry... I just wanted to let you know that she’s doing well...”

Gunnar rubbed her shoulder gently as a few tears fell from her eyes onto the wooden table.

“Everyone misses you at the Organization, but take your time. You’re not the same man you once were. You’ve changed plenty already, Brunaulf.”

I smiled wryly. I never expected Gunnar to be the one consoling me.

“We... Should get going now.”

“Thank you both for coming.”

They shook their heads in unison and looked at me with eyes that said we should be thanking you. I saw them off before sitting back down against the wall.

Belle crawled into my lap, burying her face into my chest. She was fast asleep, and I sensed the Ki fragments moving around at a frightening speed.

The corners of my mouth rose as I gazed at her. My sister really was a genius.