"Rentaro, you can do this!"
Rentaro muttered to himself and continued walking. However, when he approached the area a few hundred meters outside the wall, he suddenly felt a sense of danger covering him.
Rentaro stopped. At this distance, he realized that the wall was not merely a wall, but a series of military fortifications. Secret gun barrels extended from within the wall, sending a chill down Rentaro's spine. The sense of danger originated from these barrels.
Not one, not two, but dozens of barrels were aimed at him within his range. Rentaro had no doubt that if he made any attempt to attack inside, his entire body would certainly be shot into a human honeycomb.
And this was only the area he was approaching. Seeing the rampart continue to stretch out indefinitely in both directions, the amount of weaponry dedicated solely to the outer wall must have been equivalent to the gear of an entire army.
And this was not to defend against the Gastrea, but against people.
The best approach right now was to show sincerity.
He lowered his umbrella and tossed it aside, raising both hands high, doing his best to show he was unarmed. Sure enough, as he cautiously moved forward, the sense of danger remained the same, but no bullets pierced Rentaro's heart.
"I am Satomi Rentaro! I didn't come here with any hostile intentions; I just want to find someone!"
Rentaro was very tense, his voice shaking slightly, but he had done everything he could.
A moment later, the large gate in front of the rampart opened, and two robots stepped out. They escorted Rentaro inside. He complied without any resistance.
Upon entering, it was confirmed that the rampart was not just a wall, but a comprehensive system of fortifications, defensive works, and a warfare system encompassing the entire dominion. Behind the thick, rigid wall was a connecting corridor system running through various rooms. At every junction, four robot sentries were on duty; it would be difficult for even a fly to pass through. Rentaro could hardly imagine how vast this entire place was, because the things within his line of sight were already a miniature system—a fully militarized miniature city.
This was the other face of the Silver King's Dominion. It was also where most of the later recruits stayed. Only a select group who passed the trial, becoming truly trustworthy individuals, were qualified to move in and out.
As for putting spies and dangerous elements within the dominion's most terrifying warfare system—would that be a problem? Of course, there might be a few issues; absolute perfection couldn't be guaranteed. But in a place where monitoring was so tight that even an ant crawling on the ground was recorded, and with robot security on duty 24/7, even if a flare-up occurred, it could be quickly and thoroughly neutralized. Moreover, even if the entire warfare system turned against the dominion, what they would face would be their master, giving them fundamentally no chance of overturning the situation.
Inside, considering the children, Asahi couldn't be so repressive. He needed the most natural environment possible, so they wouldn't feel restricted or bound. Thus, allowing people with malicious intent inside could lead to very serious consequences.
Rentaro was led into a square, empty room, measuring barely nine square meters. The only objects inside were a chair and a table, immediately creating a stifling atmosphere.
Making it slightly less suffocating was the fact that the two robot guards did not accompany him inside but stood watch outside. When the room door closed, Rentaro let out a quiet breath.
He sat down on the chair, placing his hands on the table, waiting for someone to arrive.
After waiting for a few minutes, the sound of the door opening came, and Rentaro turned his head, seeing a young man about his age appear in the doorway—a man with a high forehead and orange hair with the roots left undyed. He looked a bit like a delinquent but was also handsome.
More surprising was that before Rentaro could open his mouth to say anything, the person opposite spoke first.
"Hey, are you really Rentaro?"
Rentaro was slightly astonished, because this person's tone was fundamentally unlike someone conducting an interrogation. Furthermore, he seemed very familiar with him.
An acquaintance?
Wait a minute...
Rentaro frowned. A person like this seemed to have appeared in his memory before. The face of the smugly smiling guy in front of him slowly overlapped with the face of a kid in Rentaro's memory.
"You... are Suibara?! Suibara Kihachi!"
Rentaro's premonition was perfectly accurate. The young man showed off his white teeth, smiling joyfully.
"That's right. You're Satomi Rentaro, 4th year, Class 5, registration number 9, aren't you?"
"Then you really are that devil!"
As he spoke, Suibara quickly put his arm around Rentaro's shoulder, greeting him warmly.
The enthusiastic welcome from his long-lost friend surprised Rentaro, but compared to this unexpected joy, Rentaro also felt extremely confused.
Why was Suibara here?
Moreover, why could he casually enter this "holding room"?
But before he could ask, Suibara urged Rentaro to sit down and chat.
"Do you remember the first time you and I met?"
"Maybe... I generally remember..."
Rentaro's memory flowed back to the past, when he was in elementary school. He must have been ten years old at the time.
At that time, four years had passed since Rentaro lost his right hand, right leg, and left eye. Because he underwent surgery when he was too young and still developing, his prosthetic limbs had to be replaced frequently to match his body's growth. That meant every so often, Rentaro had to undergo surgery to remove and attach new prosthetics, a pain no different from having his arms cut off and reattached countless times. Rentaro lived in pain almost every day, to the point where he nearly committed suicide.
The metal surface of the new prosthetic parts was covered with bioskin, helping him look normal in the last few years, as he had developed significantly. In other words, Rentaro's difficult childhood was spent with his black prosthetic limbs exposed 24/7. And a child this aberrant was absolutely not welcomed.
"Everyone found my black leg and arm disgusting and kept their distance from me. Only you were different. I remember you had a Cursed Child as a family member; that was also the reason the whole class ostracized you."
"Yeah, my younger sister."
Suibara's story and his sister's were like many other tragedies that happened during that time.
Since the rumor about having a Cursed Child in the house spread, it naturally provoked the resentment of many people. Suibara's mother was the one who collapsed after being tormented by neighbors for a long time. She constantly muttered, "I wish I hadn't given birth to her," like a mental patient, continuously cursing everyone. And every tragedy also had a death.
"Both of us were surplus. So we could only play with each other."
"Yeah, what a nostalgic memory. You knew about things like insects and fish, so I could amuse myself by learning all sorts of knowledge while running around the mountains with you."
Following Suibara's topic of conversation, Rentaro felt the memories of his turbulent childhood flood back like opening an old, dusty box kept in the attic. When he had no friends and couldn't go out freely to play, he spent his days reading books about insects and plants in the study at the Tendou mansion.
"In return, all your curses and swear words just infected my head."
"I remember you were very polite when I first met you."
"Shut up... When I imitated your way of speaking, Kisara even said she thought I had turned into a delinquent."
The two talked happily about the past, but Rentaro had not forgotten the purpose of his dangerous venture here.