The Fire-Chasing Herrscher Who Destroyed the World

"This...this...Mikael, is this the gift you are talking about?"

Kevin was carrying ten pounds of flour in one hand and a chicken in the other. He looked at the butter in Bronya's hand, and a strange feeling of confusion arose.

"Otherwise, what should I buy? Prepare a big red envelope for each child?"

"Uh...no, that's not necessary. I just think...isn't such a gift a little too shabby?"

"No, what you call is shabby in the eyes of the children in the orphanage."

Bronya stood aside holding butter and coldly observed the conversation between the two.

There is really nothing to say. Although when she entered the orphanage, the anti-entropy branch led by Cocolia was already the most powerful force in Siberia, her ambitions were too great and she needed to invest resources in too many places. Siberia's own natural The conditions are like that, so the quality of life in the orphanage is only about food and clothing - there is no shortage of potatoes.

At that time, what children dreamed about day and night was cake, the next best thing was bread with butter, and the other was hot broth.

As for more, I have never seen the children in the orphanage, how can I think about it, how dare I think about it?

It seems that Mikael has a very clear idea of ​​what these orphans need and want, as if... he was once one of them...

Bronya swore that she was not interested in Mikael's childhood at all. The reason why she was thinking about this issue was purely because she wanted to find out the past connection between Mikael and Seele, nothing more.

"So, how do we get in?"

Bronya asked, covering her head.

"Knock on the door."

Mikael said.

"Are you sure the people inside can hear the knock on this iron door?"

Kevin put the flour on the ground first, stretched out his hand hesitantly, and looked at the huge iron gate. For a moment, he felt like he didn't know how to start.

Is it buckling or knocking?

The orphanage occupies a large area, so if you just knock on it, you probably won't be able to call anyone. As for electronic doorbells, don’t even think about it.

Maybe shouting at the top of your lungs or waiting for the orphanage people to find out for themselves is more reliable than this...

His knuckles touched the iron door. Before Kevin could exert any force, he heard a "squeak" sound, and the door panel he touched seemed to tilt backward.

"Eh--"

"boom!"

…………

Five minutes later, in the front yard of the orphanage, Bronya watched Mikael explain the situation to a woman whose name, appearance, and figure were exactly the same as the "Cokolia" in her memory, while speaking from time to time. Take a look at Kevin, who is carrying the iron gate alone and struggling to repair it.

"Twilight Street Volunteer Association? I'm sorry, it's not that I don't believe your identity, but it's simply impossible for so-called 'volunteers' to appear in Twilight Street, right?"

Cocolia showed a regretful smile, and slowly lowered her clasped hands on her chest.

The last glow of dusk burned the earth relentlessly, and the wind blowing earlier than nightfall blew through her slightly loose nun's robe, clearly outlining the outline of the dagger and pistol under her nun's uniform.

"You must also know what kind of place Twilight Street is. Instead of believing that there are volunteers coming to deliver warmth here, it is better to believe that after a good sleep, there will be a few more cans of luncheon meat in the orphanage warehouse out of thin air."

The blond hair pinned to her ears fell down as she lowered her head, but this was not a guilty conscience or sadness, but rather conveying her attitude of rejection.

Mikael chuckled lightly.

"Ms. Cocolia, I think you may have misunderstood. The Volunteer Association of Twilight Street is not necessarily formed by people from Twilight Street, right?"

"Aren't you from Twilight Street?"

Cocolia raised her head suddenly and took a step back with her right foot.

If it was just "rejection" just now, this action now has directly skipped the vigilance and entered the confrontation period before the actual action.

Bronya's eyes narrowed. Mikael had previously hinted that there was something wrong with Cocolia in this world, but her reaction was so violent when she heard that the three of them were from outside Twilight Street. Is this really the case? Mikael wanted to test her on this? Just use this to test Bronya?

That would be too...

"Don't be so excited, Ms. Cocolia."

There was no overly exaggerated tone, no stage-drama-like body movements, and Mikael didn't even shrug his shoulders.

"We were originally from the Brindi City Volunteer Association, and Twilight Street also belongs to Brindi, right? It was precisely because we heard about the situation here that we decided to recruit a group of people from the volunteers in Brindi City Come to Twilight Street to help. Yes, it’s the three of us. We just came to Twilight Street today and heard about the situation in this orphanage, so we came to see if there is anything we can do to help.”

Cocolia's body straightened up a little, but she still didn't take off her guard.

"Why do your uniforms look like those of the military or police?"

"this one?"

Mikael patted his chest. He had taken off the collar badge of his shirt and the Fire Chaser logo when he entered Twilight Street, as had Kevin and Bronya.

"It's just a tactical style outfit. I heard that the streets are very chaotic at dusk, so I put on an outfit like this. Look..."

Mikael took out a pistol and a knife from his back and showed them generously to the woman in front of him.

"I'm just afraid that something might happen, so I've equipped all these things. How about it, is Ms. Cocolia in any trouble?"

"No, it's just...since you have heard about the situation in Twilight Street, you should also understand the reason for my vigilance. The children hiding behind me are all helpless children, and there are also beautiful and clever boys and girls among them. So I have to be careful with everyone who comes to contact me.”

"oh."

Mikael responded softly and glanced at Bronya without any trace.

"It's a pity that we are only volunteers, not real military police. Otherwise, we could have taken you and those children out of Twilight Street directly."

"With all due respect, this behavior makes no sense."

Cocolia clasped her hands together again, her expression unchanged.

"Why do you say that?"

"Suffering, no matter where you go or where you are, as long as there are people around, the world is full of suffering. In comparison, if you stay on Twilight Street, you may be short of material supplies, but you don't have to face it. more danger and pain.”

"But the problem in Dusk Street is not just the lack of supplies, right? You just acted like you wanted to fight."

"You don't need to worry about this. The fact that I can gather these orphans here for several months without any accidents has already proven my ability, right? Even if I die one day... it's still early. We'll talk about it then. Bar."

That's it...

Mikael's eyes became intriguing.

"Well, we respect your opinions and believe that you must represent the opinions of most children. However, please accept these gifts. A chicken, ten pounds of flour, and one pound of butter. To be honest, these are really It can only be regarded as a small gift, because it is a temporary idea, and it is not easy to collect these supplies in a short time in Dusk Street. "

Cocolia slowly closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then...well, thank you for your good deeds, and God will bless you."

"Hmm...but, I wonder if you would like to let us have contact with those children?"

"Um?"

Cocolia's brows furrowed again, her body muscles tensed, and she was obviously on guard again.

"Don't be so nervous, Ms. Cocolia, this matter, um... how should I put it... this may involve some private requests of me and my sister..."

Bronya was suddenly noticed. She was stunned for a moment, and then she understood something. She didn't need to perform at all, and tears were already shining in her eyes.

"us……"

"Squeak——"

"Mama Cocolia, the kids... eh?"

It’s not clear whether it was intentional or not, but the closed door behind Cocolia opened at exactly this moment. Following the sound, Bronya’s sight spanned an insignificant distance, and seemed to span countless time and worlds. The distance finally fell to the girl who timidly exposed half of her body from the crack in the door.

"..."

"..."

The two girls looked at each other in silence, but did not call out each other's name for a long time.

Mikael, who was standing aside, knew very well that the two girls had fantasized about reuniting with each other countless times before this moment, but what happened in reality did not belong to any of the situations they had imagined.

Probably, both of them are not sure whether the sister Bronya or Xier in front of them is a character in this world, or the person they are really familiar with?

If you blindly call out the other person's name, how should you explain it if unnecessary misunderstandings are caused?

No, this may not be the most important thing.

What really prevented the two from calling out each other's names was probably fear.

I am afraid that the other person is not the person I am familiar with, and I am afraid that my full expectations will end up in vain. Silence is the least likely decision to hurt.

Cocolia's eyes first fell on Xi'er, then on Bronya, and finally on Mikael.

"Xier, do you know them?"

"Yeah. Cocolia mother, they are all good... they are not bad people."

Seeing Mikael's deliberately averted gaze, Xie'er finally secretly changed her way of expression.

"Then...well, since you and Xi'er know each other, and...but, can I ask you a favor?"

"Speaking."

Mikael patted Bronya on the shoulder to suppress her restlessness.

Cocolia seemed a little embarrassed, but in the end she chose to be more honest:

"Some of the children here... may look a little special physically. But don't worry, there is nothing wrong with them."

"Really……"

Mikael nodded.

"You haven't started making dinner yet, have you?"

He changed the subject without leaving a trace.

"No, but it's time to do it."

Although she didn't say it, Mikael and Bronya looked at each other quietly, and they both understood the reason why dinner was cooked late——

It's hard to fall asleep when you're hungry.

But there seems to be no need to clarify this topic.

"Kevin, is the door fixed?"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, I'm about to get in!"

"what are you saying?"

Mikael pursed his lips and shook his head.

"Bronya, you and Xi'er go to play with the children. Ms. Cocolia, if you don't mind, how about sharing some of the dinner tasks with me? It's probably too late to bake the buttered bread now, but you can simmer it in a pot Chicken soup, the weather is starting to get colder again, and the children can sleep warmer after drinking the soup.”

"Uh... ok."

After a brief hesitation, Cocolia nodded.

…………

“Here comes the chicken soup!!”

A large wooden barrel like a footbath was steaming and was placed heavily on the table. Bronya volunteered to distribute staple food to the more than 20 children sitting there with Xier.

Yes, more than twenty. Judging from this number, what Mikael and the others brought was really too little. Especially the chicken, because the soup had to be enough for at least one bowl for each of the more than 20 children. Mikael poured water on it crazily, and there was not much difference between the bland soup and pure water.

Speaking of which, the scene in front of me was really familiar. It's obviously a different time, a different place, different people, and even the food is different - mashed potatoes will certainly not be absent, but the children can also choose brewed polenta paste.

Mikael would rather not have this option. The taste of polenta is not as smooth as mashed potatoes, and it also has a strange smell that is unique to corn...at least he doesn't like it.

However, the method of sprinkling a thin layer of salt on the corn cobs after cooking them tastes pretty good. This is almost the only work that a woman who has been immersed in the laboratory all year round can come up with. Of course, she can come up with such a method. , in fact, it was also because she forgot to put salt in the water when cooking corn while reading the report, and after taking it out, she sprinkled a thin layer on it to make up for it.

The effect is surprisingly good.

Don't know why I think of this.

Putting down the wooden bucket of chicken soup, Mikael covered his cheeks with his hot palms and silently retreated to the corner.

Why do you think about this...

Why do you think about this...

Chicken soup, mashed potatoes...and the unconscious shout of "Here comes the chicken soup".

At this time... shouldn't...

But I can't remember, I can't do it... At least for now, it's suddenly hard to remember anything related to Ai Li.

Only at this time will you realize that it was already 18,847,05 days and nights ago...

"Are you OK?"

Cocolia stood in front of Mikael, leaned forward, stared and asked repeatedly:

"Are you okay?"

Mikael waved his hand.

"Come and eat with the kids?"

"No, Kevin and I still have some biscuits. If we two have big appetites, the children will not be full."

Cocolia said nothing more, but walked back to the dining table and started praying before the meal with about twenty children.

Mikael watched this scene in trance, and his eyes followed Bronya and Xier who were sitting together. Both children did not believe in that kind of thing, but at the moment they both closed their eyes and clasped their hands, regardless of whether they were pious or not. , but he is indeed praying for something.

"I said, it's okay if you don't eat it yourself, but you dragged me into the water."

Kevin leaned over to Mikael and patted him hard on the shoulder.

"Hmph..."

Mikael shrugged his shoulders and chuckled twice, staring at Kevin closely, the pink in his pupils becoming brighter.

"Let's go, if you have anything to say or anything to do, let's talk about it outside.

"You are right, my old friend." (End of Chapter)