Chapter 291: A Moment Together

Hans left the Research Core carrying another folder and one of Tyrus’s old drives. It seemed that ordinary blizzards were no longer the thing he should be worrying about.

He looked at the report while walking through the Tech Center corridor.

Tyrus sounded confident in connecting the situation to an old DAEDALUS program centered on Weather Control.

Whether it was limited to Pylow was another question. Aurelia probably had a few more research centers dealing with different aspects of weather control anyway.

Regardless, Hans no longer had any interest in further understanding the scale of the Shearman Network. Ignorance was bliss, as one famous phrase from his previous life had said.

"Commander."

Hans looked up and saw Johannes waiting farther down the corridor.

"Feeling more confident now?"

"I have never doubted your intentions, Commander. I just wanted to know what happens."

"And sacrificing your subordinate over it?" Hans joked.

Johannes’ mouth twitched. From the way it happened, that was almost exactly what it looked like.

He glanced toward the folder instead.

"Another one of your reports, Commander?"

"A few more mysteries of this planet. Tell me, what would your reaction be if someone was actually researching how to control the weather somewhere on this planet?"

Johannes raised a brow. "I would be very surprised, but I guess it’s understandable. If superhumans are viable, weather control and other magical things could be... scientifically possible."

Hans shrugged. "You sound like a philosopher now."

The two walked together outside the facility.

"Where is the facility located, Commander?"

"Exact location unknown. Right now, my troops up north are slowly crawling their way toward Pylow. It would actually be great if the Directorate contained records about that."

"Perhaps Marcus can help with it when he wakes up."

"I hope so too. The longer this goes on, the harder it will be. Would be ironic if my army is devastated and frozen due to whatever kind of Weather Control project this is."

Johannes looked ahead as they continued away from the Tech Center.

"At least the northern force hasn’t suffered any serious losses yet."

"Yet."

Hans didn’t like that word, but it was the correct one.

If Tyrus was right, then the people moving toward Pylow were dealing with something more troublesome than bad mountain weather. It also meant that sending more aircraft or soldiers into the same conditions wouldn’t magically solve anything.

They needed to know what was causing it first, and where it was coming from.

Hans looked down at the folder and realized that it was another DAEDALUS problem. As if Silverpeak hadn’t already given him enough of those.

"Commander."

Hans stopped while Johannes also slowed beside him.

Someone was standing farther along the path outside the Tech Center—a blindfolded blonde girl.

"Kimmy," Hans muttered under his breath.

Johannes looked between them and slowly spoke. "I will be taking my leave first, Commander."

Hans responded with a nod, then approached her.

"You’re here. Did you miss me?"

Kimmy pursed her lips. "A lot. And you didn’t even visit me."

His brows twitched. "I’ll make it up to you. How about a little flight around the old blocks?"

"I don’t need that. I need you."

Hans lowered his shoulders and released a soft sigh. "This is a workplace, you know. What if someone sees us?"

"Then let us go far away from here, with just us. Together."

"Alright then."

Hans kept the folder in one hand while taking Kimmy’s hand with the other.

They left the Tech Center and followed the paved access road toward the wider Main Base routes.

The area was busier than it had been when the Tech Center was first deployed. Utility vehicles moved between the surrounding facilities, personnel crossed between buildings, and somewhere farther behind them, another aircraft descended toward one of the landing areas.

None of it followed them closely.

Several DASF personnel remained somewhere farther behind, keeping enough distance that Hans could almost pretend they weren’t there.

He didn’t bother looking back, and Kimmy did the same.

For once, nobody was asking him about Silverpeak, Hawford, Pylow or another hidden laboratory.

"I’m sorry if I couldn’t be with you the past few days."

"It’s okay. We’re together now."

Kimmy settled her head against his shoulder as they walked, her fingers moving slowly along his forearm.

Hans let his pace drop without really thinking about it. There wasn’t any reason to hurry anyway.

He had spent most of the past few days moving from one problem to another even while remaining inside Main Base. Reports arrived, new problems replaced old ones, and the moment something finally became manageable, somebody discovered another underground facility.

Kimmy asking for nothing more than his time suddenly felt strangely difficult to refuse.

"How was it, anyway? The Directorate. And the rooms."

"The million-strong hordes of infected don’t terrify you?"

"No. But what happened inside the Directorate did."

Her fingers stopped moving against his arm.

"The bodies. The people. I could still see traces of what happened there before. It was... very horrifying."

Hans looked toward her more closely.

Kimmy’s ability had changed significantly since Highcross. She could sense things left behind by what happened in an area in greater detail, sometimes enough to glimpse pieces of the past.

Usually, Hans thought of that as another useful ability.

Hearing Kimmy describe it like this reminded him that she was the one who actually had to experience whatever was left behind.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Do you want me to?"

"I should be asking you that."

"Then let’s not. I... it’s not good."

"Then we won’t talk about it. What else do you want to talk about?"

Kimmy remained close to him afterward.

Hans didn’t ask again. There were times when knowing more was useful and this wasn’t one of them.

"The recruitment. Why are you taking so many people in? You were not like this, before. Your soldiers, they... they were just magically appearing."

"Let’s just say I have a change of heart."

"Liar." Her voice turned low.

Hans glanced down at her. Of course she wouldn’t accept that answer.

Kimmy had been around for so long that she knew that Hans rarely changed something this large because of a sudden burst of kindness.

"Tell me, what’s the reason?"

Hans looked toward the road ahead. Months ago, almost everyone inside his military had come from the System. That setup was convenient for him.

He just had to train a soldier, wait a few minutes, and another person appeared already knowing how to use his weapon and follow orders.

Real people were more troublesome.

They came with old jobs, old loyalties, families, bad habits, useful skills and opinions Hans had never asked for.

They were also becoming impossible to ignore.

Grefort was alive again. Silverpeak had its own authorities. Saicine had survivors. More settlements were appearing everywhere his forces went.

If the Golden Eagle Army was going to become something larger than an army magically produced around one man, sooner or later it had to learn how to use the people already living in the world.

"I need more specialized people for the army. I can’t just make them out of thin air."

Hans complained. "You said you’d support me in conquering the world, right? Why all the questions?"

"That doesn’t mean I can’t question you about it." Kimmy harrumphed, then her face turned somber. "Will I be part of that too?"

"You?"

Hans looked ahead and only then realized how far they had walked.

The industrial buildings around them had thinned enough to leave a small open space between two restored blocks.

A park occupied most of it.

It wasn’t large. A few paved paths crossed between young trees and older ones that had survived the Event, while repaired benches lined the wider sections. Grass had returned unevenly across the ground, greener in some places and still thin around areas that were recently repaired.

Beyond the trees, factory roofs and utility structures remained visible.

It was still the northwestern industrial corridor, just a quieter part of it.

Hans stared at the park for another second. Huh.

He didn’t even mean to bring her here, yet here they were.

"What’s taking you so long? Answer the question."

"You can become part of it."

Kimmy pinched his arm.

"Ow."

Despite his complaint, she didn’t release him. Hans looked down at her hand.

"...You will be part of it."

The pressure disappeared.

"Good."

Hans rubbed the spot she pinched. He did not mean the answer as a refusal.

Kimmy was already part of everything he was building as far as he was concerned. The only question was what she eventually wanted to become inside it.

System, if I have a wife someday, can I share some of these System things with her?

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[ Warning: Nuptial services are not offered. ]

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So I can’t go around and—

Another pinch landed on his arm. Hans immediately stopped whatever direction his thoughts were going and accepted the pain.

Kimmy took another few steps before slowing. Her head turned slightly.

"Did something happen?"

"Shut it."

Hans straightened. Meanwhile, her awareness spread outward.

The trees were the first things she noticed. Then the paths. The benches. The wider open space between them.

Kimmy released his hand for a moment and turned slowly toward the center of the park.

"Hans."

"Hmm?"

"Where did you bring me?"

He looked around.

"A surprise for you. Something you wanted to see for a while now."

"Is this... a park?" Her voice almost broke as she spoke it.

Kimmy became quiet.

She slowly released the rest of her hold on Hans and stepped farther into the open space. Her awareness spread with her.

The nearest tree came first. Its trunk, the branches spreading above them, the leaves shifting under the wind. Then came the paved path beneath her feet, the benches farther away and the wider patch of grass stretching between them.

Kimmy turned her head toward one side.

A row of younger trees followed the edge of the path there. Some were still supported by wooden stakes from the restoration work. Farther ahead, several older trees had survived long enough that their branches reached across one another above the walkway.

Hans followed several steps behind. He kept close out of habit, though Kimmy hardly needed someone guiding every step anymore.

She moved carefully at first, then moved a little faster.

Her hand reached toward one of the trees, fingers touching the bark.

Kimmy stopped there for several seconds while Hans said nothing. Back when she first mentioned parks, she had described them through sound.

Children running.

Water from fountains.

Wind.

People taking photographs.

She had known those places without ever knowing what they actually looked like. Now there weren’t many children here. There wasn’t even a working fountain in this particular park.

But the trees were here.

The paths were here.

The open space was here.

And for the first time, Kimmy could actually understand how they fit together. She moved away from the tree and slowly turned in place.

"It’s bigger than I thought."

Hans looked around.

"This one’s actually pretty small."

Kimmy stopped.

"Don’t ruin it."

"I’m just saying."

She harrumphed and continued walking.

Kimmy reached one of the benches and ran her fingers across the backrest before sitting down.

Hans joined her a moment later.

From there, the park opened toward the quieter side of the industrial corridor. Several restored buildings stood beyond the trees, their windows reflecting the morning light. Trucks still moved along the farther road, though the noise was softened by the distance.

Somewhere above them, an aircraft crossed toward Main Base.

Kimmy raised her head.

"Was that a Falcon just now?"

"Yeah. Your range is improving."

Kimmy rested both hands against the bench.

"Hans."

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

He looked toward her. "You’re very welcome, dear."

"Hmph. Liar."

"You can even tell from that?"

Kimmy dropped her frown and replaced it with a smile. "You looked surprised when we arrived."

Hans clicked his tongue. His attempt to take credit for fate had lasted less than expected.

"But even then," she said as she leaned closer. "I still thank you, dear."

They stayed there for the rest of the morning, neither of them in any hurry to return yet.