PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

“Okay, just remember that I can’t make much of an effort”

“Mmmm, then just a little more, Kurururu”

Sitting on the wooden floor, Desmond with a calm smile brushed Athena’s feathers carefully, the harpy on the other hand couldn’t seem to be happier than she was now as she shook her cute little head from side to side.

Right now inside Athena’s treehouse, the bitter cold of winter seemed unable to penetrate the dense foliage of the magical tree that was used to create the house so Desmond and Athena could sit quietly enjoying the comfortable warmth always present within the tree.

This scene played out for at least another dozen minutes when a third guest appeared in the tree looking at Desmond with a dissatisfied face.

“Desmond, don’t you think you’re taking too much advantage of your medical leave? I know you’re technically free of military responsibilities until you recover but you should at least make an appearance to show some solidarity; especially today... The funeral ceremony for those who fell in combat is in a couple of hours” Surprisingly it was Silvia who entered the treehouse while she looked slightly warily at Athena.

This is because she was one of the few people who saw Athena’s intervention in the battle two days ago, which led to Desmond having to put up with her incessant questions; in the end, Desmond chose to tell her the truth about Athena mainly because he thinks it would be useful for his secretary to know certain things about his personal life to make his life easier.

Of course, if Silvia knew about Desmond’s reasons for telling her the truth, the girl would most likely try to freeze Desmond to death for being an asshole.

.....

“Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten, first of all, I’m here to thank this adorable harpy for saving my life; but I don’t plan on missing the ceremony,” Desmond said, gently stroking Athena’s feathered head before standing up and taking his coat.

Only then did Silvia notice that Desmond was wearing his military uniform for ceremonies along with a jet black coat.

“Still, thanks for coming Trevstone; You shouldn’t worry too much about her by the way...she’s basically a little girl with wings” Desmond commented as he prepared to leave.

Of course, although Silvia didn’t comment on it, the truth is that she still hasn’t lowered her guard against the harpy; after all, she had seen how powerful Athena was.

“I’ll come another day to play Athena,” Desmond said goodbye giving a strong bear hug to the slim figure of Athena who only let herself be enveloped by Desmond’s warmth with a loving smile on her sharp face.

Emerging from the treehouse, Desmond soon found himself in a world of white surrounded by colorful mist giving the landscape a dreamlike appearance, smiling at the irony that the colorful mist is actually poisonous; Desmond set off with Silvia following behind as they both used mana to repel the mist field.

“Master, that woman does not treat you with the respect you deserve; Do you want me to teach her a lesson?” Revna’s voice reached Desmond’s ear in a soft whisper.

Giving only a very brief reproachful glance at his shadow, Desmond refused to answer and continued on his way.

Back in the city, Desmond and Silvia walked through the streets on their way to the headquarters while the sight of damaged walls and destroyed houses decorated the background, the gloomy air went beyond just the people; the city itself looked devastated.

However, humanity had always been a tenacious race, everywhere people could be seen carrying out reconstruction tasks, some people handing out food to workers, and even much military personnel could be seen working on reconstruction.

Along the way many people stared at Desmond, respect, and admiration shining in their eyes as words and stories were whispered; Right now Desmond’s prestige in the city was nothing to be despised.

After all, there were many witnesses to his many exploits during the defensive battle, especially the last part where Desmond went toe-to-toe with the most powerful mutant beast of them all; being Desmond who finally devoured the wolf made of lightning.

It was because his opponent was precisely Keneth and because Desmond’s ultimate technique was precisely the head of a wolf that many people had already given Desmond various nicknames; such as The steel wolf, the black wolf, or Fenrir.

For this, the people of Green Seed Town had nothing but appreciation and respect for Desmond at this time, it was to be expected; who doesn’t like heroes?

Those good intentions were even heightened when people saw Desmond in person and witnessed his devilishly handsome appearance as well as his commanding temper further reinforcing the nicknames he was given and even Desmond’s injured right arm at this point motionless it became another medal for Desmond in people’s minds.

“Hump, at least these humble people know how to recognize the greatness of the master.” The complaint that came from Desmond’s shadow this time was almost loud enough for Silvia to hear so Desmond glared at his shadow for a brief moment while Silvia looked around confused.

Thus, the duo arrived at the headquarters where the preparations for the funeral ceremony were being carried out, even within the headquarters the looks of respect and admiration did not stop but grew stronger since among the military nothing inspires more respect than personal strength.

Desmond maintained the cordiality with a calm smile, but it was not easy for him to hide the cold indifference in his eyes which gave people a somewhat peculiar impression of being in front of a lazy but dangerous beast.

It wasn’t until the duo reached Desmond’s office and closed the door behind them that Desmond’s smile finally relaxed as he sat exhausted in his usual seat.

“Do the people out there bother you that much?” Silvia asked as she passed a stack of documents over Desmond’s desk.

Desmond paused for a brief moment with his countenance suddenly turning serious as he replied with a cold and extremely distant look, “You wouldn’t understand.”

The answer alone could mean anything, but Silvia got the impression that whatever the reason behind Desmond’s discomfort was, it was anything but simple, so she didn’t want to continue the topic and instead explained, ” For now I’ve already taken care of all the paperwork and anything that required your immediate attention, but you should still read some of those files so you’re aware of everything that’s going on; just remember that the ceremony is in a couple of hours”

Seeing Desmond nod nonchalantly, Silvia regretted asking a question that had put Desmond in such a bad mood but kept her awkwardness to herself as she left the office only to find another woman about to enter.

“Hello, your name was...Tania, right?”

The mature-looking girl with long, copper-colored hair replied with a smile full of warmth and kindness, “That’s right, I’m the owner of Garden and I came to personally deliver Lieutenant Astryd’s lunch; I figured it would be a nice gesture for the hero of Green Seed Town.”

The soft, calm air around Tania was almost like an aura of bewitching calm that kept Silvia from doing too much to question the woman though she found Tania’s presence unusual but thinking what kind of a womanizer Desmond was and how now he was the idol and crush of just about every young woman in town; Silvia stopped thinking about it as she cursed Desmond’s womanizer in her mind.

Noticing Tania’s arrival, Desmond’s expression turned slightly interested as he watched her close the door behind her: “Anything to report?”

Tania’s eternally serene and mature appearance turned serious and respectful in front of Desmond once they met in private and if one paid a little more attention one could see that there was a glimmer of adoration and something else deep in the pupils of the woman with a sensual air.

“Everything is in order, people are talking about you and we have made sure that your exploits spread as much as possible with the help of Kira and Yulei who have been making food deliveries around the city to the people in charge of the reconstruction tasks; Since there are many people who can corroborate the story, it was not more than a day before this city began to see Desmond Astryd the steel wolf as a hero.”

With a wry smile and a helpless expression, Desmond replied, “Were nicknames really necessary?”

“It was the girl’s idea, they thought it would be easier if people associated your name with some cool title and the wolf theme seemed right; even Revna supported the whole thing by naming Fenrir’s nickname” Tania explained with an affectionate and natural smile.

Shrugging, Desmond merely replied, “As long as it’s worked, I’ll need the reputation and status for my plans, these’ll come in especially handy when it comes time to use what Revna got from the commander’s office and house during the attack”

As an act of spontaneous combustion, all the soft demeanor disappeared from Tania giving way to an expression of resentment and anger when she responded to Desmond’s comment: “That man deserves death, he is supposed to be the one who protects the people of this city but what he does while no one is watching makes me nauseous; It’s because of bastards like him that the girls and I”

Tania’s speech stopped when she felt Desmond’s hand on her shoulder and when she snapped out of her little fit of anger the first thing that entered her eyes were two sapphires full of tenderness and care.

“Rundert will pay, he was already an obstacle to my plans but now I am more than determined to make him pay; but that will take time... please understand Tania”

That spark of adoration within Tania grew slightly more intense as she sensed the care in Desmond’s words and actions. And no matter what kind of traumatic experiences she had been through at the hands of men, the abuses her mature body had been subjected to and at her age; A blush couldn’t help but settle on Tania’s cheeks as she lost herself in the blue gems that were Desmond’s eyes.