Chapter 34

1.

“I’m going to meet the Leader.”

[…Have you fully considered your decision?]

“Of course.”

A decision made after a few days of contemplating since my arrival at Gehenna.

It was to meet and talk with Hina, the Leader of Gehenna.

The reason was simple.

To continue activities in Gehenna, it would be smoother to have a friendly relationship with the Leader.

Moreover, with the slight confidence that Hina, who I knew, wouldn’t be hostile towards me, and a small personal desire.

Hina was a character I had liked in my previous life,

so the idea of coming to Gehenna and leaving without meeting her seemed somewhat regretful.

Of course, Himari, my senior, expressed her concern upon hearing my decision, but after persistently persuading her, she finally sighed and agreed.

[…I feel uneasy for some reason.]

Perhaps anxious about the possibility of me getting caught by the Leader, Himari softly murmured. I reassured her confidently.

“You know my skills. I won’t be easily caught, right?”

[My worry isn’t about you getting caught… but rather the other way around… never mind. Come back safely…]

“?”

Though Himari still appeared uneasy, I just tilted my head in confusion and went off to meet Hina as I had declared.

I gathered information beforehand on routes of entry, internal force arrangements, Hina’s schedule, and planned accordingly to meet her at the optimal moment.

Thus, on the sixth day since arriving at Gehenna,

I met Hina, and I couldn’t help but freeze in place.

‘…Wow, insane.’

Small stature, snow-white hair, sharp and glowing purple eyes, long eyelashes, and an overall languid demeanor. When I saw Hina in her office, the numerous plans I had just made crumbled in my mind like bubbles.

My first thought was, “She’s beautiful.”

No, not just beautiful; she’s incredibly beautiful.

Realizing that the game illustrations hadn’t captured her full beauty, my immediate next thought was…

‘Himari, I’m sorry.’

I could feel that things wouldn’t go as originally planned.

With that premonition, I silently apologized to Himari.

‘Maybe I’m into people like Hina?’

Realizing I didn’t even know my own ideal type, I couldn’t help but stare at Hina’s face.

…Incredibly beautiful.

Can’t I just touch her cheek once?

2.

Ultimately, my meeting with Hina shifted quite a bit from the initial goal of building rapport and exchanging information.

Of course, we did properly establish a connection, and I was able to share the information I knew. Particularly—

“Makoto and Arios?”

The details about the upcoming Eden Treaty.

And numerous other pieces of information I had.

Even if these stories hadn’t yet unfolded in the present timeline, it didn’t matter. If the information I provided were to prove true in the future, it would still greatly assist Hina.

Fortunately, Hina listened earnestly to what I had to say. In fact, she listened with such interest as if to every story I shared.

‘Really beautiful…’

During our conversation, when Hina occasionally smiled, I could feel a tickle in the corner of my chest. Each time that happened, I found myself involuntarily drawn to Hina’s upward curling lips.

To the point where I sometimes unconsciously said things.

“Hina, you’re really beautiful.”

“Uh, what? Me beautiful? Wh-what are you talking about?”

“Just… looking at you makes me want to keep following your gaze. I think I’m falling for you, Hina.”

“…”

Whenever I said something like that, Hina’s words became noticeably fewer.

Her slightly flushed face and trembling eyes were adorable. Satisfied with her reaction, I smiled brightly and smoothly changed the topic.

“Anyway, I’ll probably wrap up my activities in Gehenna soon and go back. Of course, it doesn’t mean I’m completely ceasing operations.”

“…, alright. Thanks to you, Gehenna has stabilized somewhat, so we can handle it from here. At this stage, our guidance department alone should be sufficient to normalize Gehenna.”

“Good to hear that. All the hard work paid off.”

“Yeah. Thanks to you.”

We exchanged wry smiles as we looked at each other.

Since the goal of implanting the “Break” into the delinquents of Gehenna had already achieved satisfactory results, it was time to leave. I probably would stay a day or two more, but by now, I had likely been etched into everyone’s minds as a symbol of fear.

“Still, I’ll keep visiting Gehenna whenever I come to see you, Hina. Greetings only.”

“… Really, you’d do that?”

“Of course. I don’t think I can live without seeing you now.”

“Fufu… alright. Thank you.”

After leaving Gehenna, I would still regularly visit. In fact, I might focus more on Gehenna than other places in the future.

Since Gehenna was always much more chaotic than other districts.

“Probably, our guidance department won’t have a reason to detain you in the future. Originally, we’ve been supportive of your activities.”

“Then that’s fortunate.”

Afterward, Hina and I exchanged momotalk numbers, finished up some pending conversations, I touched her horns a few times, and even shared a hug to conclude our talk.

“So, count on me to keep coming back, Silk.”

“Ye-yes! Hina-neesan!”

“…”

“Can I call you neesan?”

“Mh, sure, go ahead.”

That’s how my first encounter with Hina successfully ended.

3.

Ako, the senior administrative officer of Gehenna’s Guidance Department, had spent long years with Hina, confident that no one in Gehenna knew Hina better than she did.

From Hina’s favorite tea and style preferences to her methods of organizing documents and her sleep schedules.

As an advisor in the Guidance Department, her sharp intellect was often employed not just for administrative tasks but also dedicated to ensuring Hina’s comfort.

Given her deep familiarity with Hina, Ako has recently felt puzzled.

“Ho ho. Still working hard, I see.”

“…?”

Though Ako knew that Hina had recently taken an interest in a certain person named Silk, who kept increasing her workload, she sensed that this interest had become peculiarly different of late.

Why? Before, when Hina saw news about Silk, while she would listen attentively, her eyes and hands would remain focused on her paperwork.

Recently, however, whenever news of Silk appeared, Hina would smile happily and focus entirely on the screen.

What had happened within these few days?

‘Could Hina-sama have met Silk when I wasn’t around? That’s impossible… I was present for all of her recent schedules…’

Not suspecting that Silk might have infiltrated the Guidance Department’s office, Ako could only tilt her head in confusion at Hina’s change.

And at the same time…

‘W-why is she smiling so joyfully…?!’

Ako felt an inexplicable sense of loss.

That pure smile, which Hina rarely gave even to Ako, was now being completely monopolized by the wicked Silk!

“Grr…”

The change between Hina and Silk.

Ako felt a surge of jealousy and helplessly gritted her teeth, powerless to act in this moment.

She could only despair at the fact that Hina now had more secrets from her.

‘Just what have you done to my superior, Silk…?!’

4.

While Ako was sending real-time jealousy Silk’s way, Silk was also experiencing something similar.

Due to her own senior.

[So, you’ve become casual with the Leader?]

“That… unexpectedly, things went smoothly -”

[It seems you’ve become quite close to the Leader, Nanashi?]

Why are you suddenly addressing me by my last name…

The strongest beauty of Millennium cried out, and I could only tremble with fear. Whimper whimper.

“I really just became friends, that’s all…”

[…Sure. I’m sure it’s just friendship to you.]

“Umm, is there something else beyond that?”

[There is something you don’t know about. So, please stop looking at me with those pitiful eyes. Sigh, you really are…]

Himari, sighing deeply as if annoyed, shook her head from side to side. Seeing this, I felt apologetic and could only scratch the back of my head.

…Did I really do something wrong?

[Alright, never mind. After all, I kinda expected this. So, are you coming back now?]

“Ah, yes. I’ve already bid farewell to everyone.”

[Then hurry back. With Hiiro gone, the office is about to become a freezer.]

“Freezer…?”

[…Amy says it’s getting too hot, so she keeps the air conditioning on. Please come back and take her side when you return.]

“Alright, I will.”

Even as I was in Gehenna, Millennium remained unchanged.

Laughing heartily, I nodded in agreement.

“It’s been a really long week.”

After finishing my call with Himari, I looked up at Gehenna’s sky and muttered to myself. Even though only a week had passed, it felt like several had.

A testament to how tough the days in Gehenna had been.

“Let’s go back.”

To Millennium.

It was the moment the Hero who had plunged Gehenna into nightmares had returned to his base after a week.

---