Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Axiom's Invitation
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"Waah."
Axiom had no such word as "sense of belonging" in its dictionary.
They didn't follow any rules.
To put it in metaphor, it was like a delinquent school that had tossed the rulebook ages ago.
Or more accurately, like trying to corral a pack of untamable wild beasts into one enclosure.
Naturally, incidents never stopped happening.
In the game, whenever a sub-event blew up into a mess, seven out of ten times it was Axiom's doing.
In reality, things had gotten to the point where people would say, "Just blame Axiom first," whenever trouble cropped up.
Normal people were that rare in the group.
Everyone fended for themselves.
Survive on your own, endure on your own.
Some stuck together with like-minded folks, but that was just personal preference.
It couldn't be called Axiom's overall culture.
There were gatherings sometimes.
But it was more accurate to say there weren't.
And yet, an invitation?
To me, no less?
Setting aside the current me, the past Asrania had killed plenty of Axioms.
So what did this invitation even mean?
I had no idea.
I rubbed the edge of the card with my fingertip, racking my brain.
Just going through the motions?
Thinking it over again, Axiom probably wouldn't bat an eye even if someone died.
They must have sent it simply because my name was on the Axiom roster.
That explanation fit Asrania's past better.
She wasn't the type to show her face often anyway, and even inside Axiom, she never made a point of standing out.
Dye her hair, hide the greatsword, and she'd pass for any random pedestrian A.
Well, a pretty pedestrian A, anyway.
"Asrania, what's that paper?"
Esira sidled up beside me, tilting her head.
"An invitation."
"Invitation?"
"Yeah. Some Axiom gathering."
Esira's eyes sparkled in an instant. She looked just like a kid who'd stumbled on a treasure map, curiosity bursting forth.
"An Axiom gathering? A gathering..."
She clearly wanted to go. Her eyes screamed it.
Stuck in the forest all this time, the outside world had to be intriguing.
And with superhumans gathering? Who wouldn't be curious?
I wasn't completely uninterested myself.
Attending a gathering I'd only ever seen described in the settings?
Honestly, it was tempting.
The problem was my identity. Could I really show up like this?
"Interested?"
"Just curious, that's all..."
Esira nodded, then sneaked a glance at me.
"You going, Asrania?"
"Dunno."
I put off answering, rubbing the invitation between my fingers.
No need to pick at it and start trouble.
Just turn it down.
No real loss if I skipped.
Asrania showing up to a gathering?
That'd be the real anomaly.
I was about to settle on that when...
"Ah..."
Esira's shoulders sagged ever so slightly.
Her lips pouted. A sulky look plastered across her face.
She hadn't said a word, but her expression shouted it loud and clear.
'Ugh, I wanna go so bad. But I'm an outsider. No way I can. And Asrania doesn't seem into it...'
Something along those lines.
I could practically see those droopy puppy ears.
"..."
Damn. How do you say no to a face like that?
In my head, I'd already picked the "Go" option.
I unfolded the invitation I'd been about to crumple and dusted it off on my palm.
"Esira. Let's go together."
"...Really? I can come too?"
"Of course."
I folded the invitation and slipped it into my pocket.
Axiom always did whatever it wanted.
To reiterate, there were no rules.
"If I'm going, who’s gonna stop me?"
"...Ah, I'm gonna die."
The commander collapsed onto the sofa after wrapping up the mission, sprawling like a boneless mollusk.
"Commander, you did amazing today too!"
Reina beamed and hurried over, but...
"I nearly died for real today. So I need lap pillow service now."
She straightened up the moment she heard his demand.
"Please, no lap pillow events...!"
"No way. Beatrice will chew me out."
"Reina, if it doesn't get found out, it's not a crime!"
"What kind of logic is that?!"
Reina puffed out her cheeks. Grumbling all the while, she plopped down on the sofa anyway and offered her thigh.
"...Just for a little bit. Exactly five minutes."
"Okay. Just today."
"I said a moment!"
The commander grinned without a shred of shame and plunked his head right down on her lap.
It was so natural.
Reina started to snap at him again but stopped, jutting out her lower lip instead.
"Don't get hurt for real."
"Yeah. I won't. But my mental game's already half AWOL today."
"Nothing happened, right?"
"Nah, no graffiti on the walls, so we're good."
"Are you a kid or something, Commander?"
The commander paused to think it over, then nodded.
"Waah."
"Commander..."
Reina scrunched her brows sharply.
Even so, her hands never stopped. She gently smoothed his tousled hair.
"...Really just a moment."
"Yeah, yeah. Promise."
"Break it and I'll tell Beatrice everything."
"That's premeditated murder!"
"Then lie there and behave."
"Yess—."
On the battlefield, no one was cooler or sharper than the commander.
One word from him could shift the entire flow, one decision drawing the line between life and death.
Today too, his spot-on calls had brought everyone back alive.
The issue came after the mission ended.
Once it was over, he acted like he'd lost not one screw, but five or six.
The charisma that had dominated the field moments ago? Vanished. Now he was just splayed on the sofa babbling "Waah."
The temperature swing was so extreme that Reina still struggled to adjust.
Sunlight streamed warmly through the window.
Reina stared blankly out at it, but her hands kept petting his hair without pause.
Seemingly pleased, the commander mumbled through pursed lips.
"...Reina."
"Yes?"
"Got a favor to ask."
Reina's eyebrow twitched.
This was the same guy who'd been cooing "Waah" just now. Her guard went up—what nonsense was coming next?
"...Gonna say something weird? No extending the lap pillow."
"Nah, not that. Don't you need a massage or something?"
"Huh? Massage?"
Reina blinked wide-eyed, and the commander cracked one eye open to peer up at her. An oddly serious gaze.
"Your legs have been looking strained lately."
"My legs...?"
"Saw it during the op earlier. When you rushed the right flank, your ankle wobbled a bit. You walk fine, but aren't the muscles all knotted up?"
Reina's mouth fell open in a daze.
Explosions everywhere, monsters swarming in chaos. He'd been focused on the big picture.
Yet he'd spotted her ankle shake?
'...I really can't handle him.'
He played the fool most days, then struck deep at the crucial moments.
She tamped down the ticklish flutter in her chest and asked casually.
"Just call a doctor, Commander."
"Eh, they're swamped. Leave it to me."
"Leave it to you?"
"I can work wonders on a leg. What do you say?"
"Hmm..."
"Special service. Don't do it for just anyone."
The problem was his fixation on legs and feet.
Hard to tell if it was pure goodwill or him indulging some selfish interest.
"...No weird stuff, right?"
"Reina, what do you take me for? This is sacred healing work."
"Your eyes say otherwise."
He was so brazen about it that Reina finally sighed in mock defeat.
"Commander, don't make it hurt."
Grumbling under her breath, she cautiously extended her leg anyway.
The commander seized her calf like he'd been waiting for it.
The touch came through her thin stocking, sharp and clear.
'Maybe I should call it quits...'
Regret bubbled up—but then his thumb pressed firmly into the knotted spot.
"Ah, ack...!"
"See? Right here's all tensed up. From pushing too hard earlier."
"Ah, it hurts..."
"Hang in there. It'll feel great soon."
It was too precise to pass for some pervert's leg fetish.
He followed the muscle grain with gentle sweeps, firm presses where needed.
"How's that, Reina?"
"Honestly... not bad."
The commander shot back in a teasing lilt.
"Doing my best 'cause the legs are pretty."
"You're great at everything, Commander. Just tone down the desires a bit."
"World's too grim right now. Gotta loosen up with jokes."
"You say stuff I can't follow sometimes. But that's not really a joke, is it?"
"Call it half a joke, then."
Reina's expression softened completely.
Maybe from the unexpected tenderness.
A smile nearly slipped out—
Bang.
The door flew open, no knock.
"Ha! Commander, got a killer cute lead here. Wanna peek?"
Malboro strode in, Hawaiian shirt with jacket slung over his shoulders.
He barreled in full of energy, then froze solid at the sofa.
Reina half-reclined.
Commander kneading her legs.
Reina's face faintly flushed.
Malboro's eyes bugged out.
"...Oh, mother fucker."
His jaw dropped in horror.
"Holy shit. What the hell am I looking at? You two, broad daylight in the sacred office, going at some steamy workout!?"
"...Huh? What're you talking about, Malboro?"
Malboro slapped hands over his eyes, then peeked through his fingers.
If he was gonna peek, why cover them at all?
"Lock the damn door at least! You okay polluting my innocent eyes like this?!"
"Kyaaak!"
Reina finally clocked the misunderstanding and shrieked.
She sprang up like a spring, shoving the commander away.
"Guh...!"
He tumbled limply off the sofa.
"N-No! It's not like that!"
"Not like what! The vibe was straight-up sticky and hot. You were about to wrap up a quick one—"
"Massage! It was a leg massage!"
"Oh, that so? Thought you were attempting nuclear fusion."
Malboro scratched his head.
Reina ducked her head, face beet red.
"...Malboro."
"Yeah? What, Reina."
"Knock next time, please..."
Malboro shrugged.
"Okay, okay. My bad. Sorry."
The commander propped himself up from the floor, rubbing his smacked side.
His face dripped with injustice.
"So. Malboro. What brings you here? You wrecked the perfect moment."
"Ah, right. This thing."
Malboro fished a sheet of paper from his pocket and waved it like a flag.
Coated texture, oddly unlike normal paper.
"Paper...?"
"Invitation."
"Invitation?"
Malboro tapped the corner with a finger.
A pattern flickered up, then faded.
Reina whipped her head away the second she saw it, pretending not to notice.
The commander narrowed his eyes, staring it down.
"Axiom?"
"Bingo."
Malboro flashed a grin. He seemed suspiciously hyped.
"Been forever. An actual Axiom gathering."
"Gathering?"
Malboro flung his arms wide dramatically.
"Thought it was spam at first. Some prank? But the seal's legit, date's set, location too. Perfect spot for types like us."
"And?"
"And."
Malboro dangled the invite right in the commander's face.
"Commander, wanna tag along?"
Reina sucked in a breath.
"C-Commander's busy!"
"Whoa, easy. Axiom doesn't just slaughter folks willy-nilly. Plus, I've got your back. Look at me—angel material. Safety guaranteed."
The commander rolled the word around once more: "Axiom."
His lips curved up slowly.
"...Could be fun."
"Sweet. Deal? Woulda been boring solo."
"Not boring. Your survival odds just tank solo."
"Pfft, these gatherings got an unspoken rule: Axioms don't kill each other."
"For real?"
"Yup. Number Four ain't showing anyway."
"Number Four..."
Malboro's face turned serious for the first time since walking in.
All the playfulness drained from his eyes.
"Yeah. Asrania."
"Haven't seen a city in ages. Excited, Esira?"
"Yeah!"
Esira clutched the invitation tight in both hands, humming a cheerful tune.
For a kid who'd spent her days cooped up in the forest, this whole trip might as well have been a picnic.
I pulled my hood down a bit lower.
Not like I was trying to hide who I was, but better than flaunting it outright.
I felt a flicker of anticipation. What faces would I run into?
