With a strange feeling of hesitation, and a glance back that kept breaking off, Raym kept walking beside the Supreme Commander toward their destination, sensing that something was happening in his absence.
Seroh let out a slow sigh, and said to Raym in a calm, assured voice:
"Don't worry, kid — Raym. With Leo and Irene both there with them, I don't think any harm will come to them."
Raym's expression stilled for a moment, then he said with relief:
"Oh, right. They're strong. I'm worrying over nothing."
Then he continued to himself: But I'm not at ease, for some reason... as though I've forgotten someone. Or something.
Some time passed, charged with the same measure of tension and unease, until Seroh's steps slowed, and he said with relief, in a voice a little louder than before, carrying a sense of accomplishment:
"Look, Raym — we've arrived."
Raym looked for a moment... then glanced left and right, disappointment rising in his face, and said in bewilderment:
"Lord Seroh... this place looks like a barren desert. There's nothing but a few walls from ruined houses!!!"
Seroh smiled at him, and said with confidence:
"Yes — exactly. This place was designed to fool our enemies."
Seroh walked a short way toward one of the ruins, shifted a boulder aside, and beneath it appeared something like a strange, heavy metal gate. He opened it slowly, with the grating of worn-out metal, until the curtain was drawn back on a colossal pit, its bottom barely visible.
Raym felt a slight chill, and the Commander steadied him, taking hold of his arm firmly, forgetting its condition. Raym winced suddenly, and the Commander apologized — but Raym told him he'd forgotten about his injury too.
The two of them descended into the pit a little way, and then a majestic sight unfolded before them.
That bottomless depth, and all along its circular walls were carved places, houses, windows — even whole districts — thousands of lives here and there, as though all the world's remaining people had gathered here to hide.
Raym was utterly astonished. He had never seen any life outside the camp, save for the SI army and Araki's cult, and perhaps one other place he couldn't remember...
The shock did not leave his face for a long while, and it was as though hope had suddenly returned to his dimmed features, making him forget what he'd been feeling since they set out.
The Commander felt relieved to see him like this, then smiled and said to himself:
Hm... Leo. What a person you are...
As they kept descending in a spiral — for the city continued all the way down to the bottom, and one could go down by a winding staircase along the carved path — it seemed that everyone there knew the Commander. Some began whispering at the sight of him, wearing expressions that couldn't be read, while others welcomed him as though they'd spotted an old friend.
Amid all that walking and wonder, time passed unbelievably fast.
Then suddenly the Commander felt a strange pain in his head. He stopped short and swayed, leaning against a nearby wall. Raym was startled, and came close to him with worry and fear on his face — and as he drew near, the Commander raised his palm before him to reassure him, and said in a calm voice:
"Don't worry. Just a minor headache."
Then he sighed slowly, and said to himself, sweat beading his forehead:
Leo...
And an image of him formed in his head. He paused a little, and then seemed to regain his balance. He said to Raym, in a voice a little tired:
"Well — let's rest for a bit. I know an old woman close by. We can stay with her a while."
Raym looked at Seroh with a look that carried some suspicion. Their eyes met, and then deep embarrassment came over Commander Seroh's face, and he stammered:
"No, wait! It's not what you think! She treats me like her son!"
Raym sighed, lowered his head a little, then smiled and said to the Commander:
"Alright, Lord Seroh. It's fine."
A simple knock — and a simple, solitary old woman answered, opening the door. The moment she saw Seroh, her expression changed to joy, as though it were something she'd been waiting for a long time.
Raym kept staring, now at her, now at the Commander, saying in his head: It seems the Commander has another side. And he felt a strange warmth coming from that old woman. She was alone, and it seemed poverty had left no door unknocked.
The Commander sat down at her place as though he were at home, and began telling her what was going on. The old woman smiled at him, noticed his tension a little, and said in a gentle voice:
"Oh, my little one — you look tired. Let me make you something to settle your nerves a bit."
And she went on her way.
Raym sat with the Commander. It was the first time he'd sat with him like this, in quiet, outside the tension of the camp — in fact, the first time he'd ever sat with him alone at all. Opportunities to see the Commander were rare.
Raym began thinking of a thousand things he could ask in this chance. He thought of one, and another, and another... but suddenly a question rose that overwhelmed them all.
Raym adjusted his seat, fixed his eyes on the Commander's, and asked him with force:
"Lord Seroh... who is this man called Magnum???"