Reincarnated With the World Domination System-Chapter 39: The Future

After spying on the military officials, Rael slipped back into the orphanage’s background. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

News of children dying in the junkyard shook the city, yet no report mentioned the lost orphans.

The police questioned the orphans, but none betrayed Rael.

A funeral for the neighborhood children approached, yet their parents’ prejudice barred Rael from attending.

He watched from a distance.

Every orphan attended the service for their fallen friends.

The days that followed passed quietly.

Everyone tried to return to normal, and Rael rarely used his powers.

Each day he spent an hour forging siblings for Farve, slowly raising a small army of autonoms to guard the orphanage.

The rest of his time he used to rest and refine his plans.

For that reason he had not yet met Alexandra von Karmesinthal.

He guessed she would demand his next move or enroll him in a regular school.

A week later, on a warm afternoon, Rael gathered his closest companions in his private virtual reality room.

"Are you going to speak about your next plans, Lord Rael?" Dominica asked, walking a little awkwardly on her human legs.

Rael nodded. "Yeah, take a seat."

Shiran already sat beside him, while Togis, appearing as a tiny tortoise, perched comfortably on Rael’s lap.

All their eyes fixed on Rael, and not a trace of his former social anxiety showed.

"There are two paths ahead," Rael began. "I can vanish from sight, grow stronger, and shield the orphanage from the shadows, or I can hunt the people exploiting orphans across the continent."

"Each path bears its merits and its perils, My Lord," Togis said.

Proper schooling was required for Rael to reach his first goal of Colonel of Conquest.

By ignoring the outside world and focusing on the orphanage he could study, train, and deepen his link with the Commander.

The second path offered experience but forced him back into danger and stole time from his own growth.

He would spend those days chasing clues at orphanages instead of forging himself.

"Lord Rael! No matter what you choose, I’ll follow you! I’m your sidekick!" Shiran declared.

His eyes sparkled, and Rael, long accustomed to Shiran’s heroic tone, stroked the lion cub mane at his crown.

Togis watched them with quiet warmth.

"Your decision will start a new quest, and there is no need to rush while Lord Rael’s youth still limits his reach," Dominica said.

Rael clenched his fists. "This youth also opens a door I refuse to miss."

Dominica met his gaze, eager for explanation.

She had surely run more simulations by now.

"I can enter Future Eden, and no one will suspect me," Rael said.

Several days passed without Rael visiting Alexandra von Karmesinthal’s virtual reality world.

Her realm had not changed, her adepts still battled countless insectoid foes, and Alexandra showed no outward sign of worry, yet her gaze often drifted to a monitor that displayed the clearing where Rael usually arrived.

For days the screen remained empty.

Sitting with her ankles crossed beneath the table, Alexandra folded her arms and brooded.

He couldn’t have lost to the devil, could he?

The idea twisted her features until even her closest advisors kept their distance.

How could I let a child fight alone? I should have forced him to reveal his orphanage and faced that devil myself.

At that moment Rael materialized in the clearing, and Alexandra sprang from her chair.

She stood like the captain of a grand ship before the wall of windows, her eyes locked on the feed that tracked Rael’s ascent to her command deck.

Only when he reached the door did she exhale, drop into her chair, and wait.

"Long time no see, Ma’am!" Rael said. "I’m sorry for not contacting you, but a lot has happened."

Alexandra faced him with her chair still turned and crooked a finger, calling him closer.

When he obeyed, her clenched fist met the crown of his head.

She rubbed her knuckles hard, and Rael squeezed his eyes shut with a groan.

"I... I defeated the devil!" Rael yelped.

Alexandra stilled her hand, then spread her fingers and mussed his hair before emotion overwhelmed her and she crushed him against her chest.

"Good work," Alexandra said, her voice suddenly soft and warm.

Rael closed his eyes and breathed in her scent.

After several long seconds the tenderness shattered, and she delivered another noogie that made him squeal.

"If you were in my regiment, keeping me waiting like this would earn you toilet cleaning duty with a toothbrush!" she barked.

A shiver ran down Rael’s back, and he snapped to attention.

"I apologize, Ma’am! I needed a lot of time to think about my future, and I’ve made my decision!"

"Oh? Speak," Alexandra said.

What has this child devised now?

It was difficult to imagine what Rael wanted to do now.

He was still only six years old and knew nothing of the world.

He should be playing with other kids instead of embarking on dangerous missions or fighting the evil in this world.

Alexandra deeply hoped that he had not devised something as reckless as confronting the devil in his orphanage and instead wished to train under her watchful eye.

Alas.

"I want to use this chance while I’m young to infiltrate Future Eden," Rael said.

He had no time to outline the reasoning behind his plan because Alexandra stared at him in blank disbelief.

She rarely doubted her instincts.

Has this child just conceived something even more dangerous than fighting the devil?

"Care to repeat that?" she asked.

"Yes," Rael said. "I want to enter Future Eden..."

"Are you dumb?!" Alexandra leaped to her feet and cupped Rael’s cheeks, pinning him with an intense stare.

"As much as I despise that project, even I, a commander, cannot shut it down," she said. "Killing one person behind it will not end anything, Rael. Dismantling it takes more than that, and a child like you has no chance."

Rael clenched his hands and met her gaze, wordlessly proving he arrived prepared.

She released his cheeks, sank into her chair, and crossed her legs.

"Convince me, then."

Rael nodded.