[──Why have you summoned me? It seems you haven’t gathered enough souls to fulfill the contract.──]
In an eerie space, a “voice” echoed.
The dark place resembled a vast cave, its surfaces pulsating like living flesh, a labyrinth where up and down were indistinguishable.
“I can’t… go on. There’s not enough time…”
Kneeling on the writhing, organ-like ground, Geass, now a skeletal figure, wept in despair.
The number of souls required by his contract with the “Evil God” was five hundred thousand. Stronger souls could reduce the number, but in reality, he had far fewer, and to turn back three years of time, he would need an additional one hundred thousand.
[──Oh? Why give up? If you pour half of the souls you currently have into that “number,” time will return to its initial state.──]
“I can’t do it anymore! My body can’t take it!”
After fifty years of reincarnation… in just fifty years, Geass’ body had withered like that of a century-old man.
Pushing himself to the limit, recklessly gathering souls, and pouring them into the “number” to turn back time had driven Geass’ body and mind to the brink.
[──Then will you give up? Even if a few years pass, it’s fine, right? Even if she has a child with another man and walks a new path in life, you can just take her back──]
The space seemed to writhe and expand, and within its depths, a throne appeared. Upon it sat a man whose form seemed to coalesce from writhing flesh, his legs crossed as if he had casually taken shape from the chaos.
He was tall and slender, with a strikingly beautiful face and pale, almost ghostly skin.
Dressed in a nobleman’s attire the color of blood, he twirled strands of his rust-red hair around his fingers, his golden serpent-like eyes fixed on Geass with a look of amusement.
“……The ‘Demon Emperor of the Netherworld’……Hiraines……”
The true identity of the “Evil God”—the being Geass had uncovered in his quest to gain an advantage in their contract—was something that only plunged him further into despair.
The god of the demon realm—one of the seven “Demon Lords,” the highest-ranking demons.
The Demon Emperor, Hiraines, the Crown Prince of Hell.
“Indeed,”
Hiraines spoke, his voice smooth and calm. He rose from his throne and approached Geass, whose body was bound by the oppressive aura of the high-ranking demon. Leaning close to Geass’s ear, he whispered softly,
“Well, human hearts are fickle, aren’t they? Even if she belongs to another man now, you could always kill him and take her back. Who knows? She might even love you again. ……Heh, simple, isn’t it?”
“……That’s……”
Hiraines knew that Geass was at his limit.
Not only his body, but his mind, worn down by guilt, was on the verge of collapse.
Perhaps it was time to shatter his heart completely and claim the blackened “soul” that remained.
“Come on, just a little more. Kill, take—haven’t you done it before? Taken the lives of those who were innocent? For you, it’s simple. If she won’t be yours, then kill her and make her yours forever……Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
“Al, aren’t you going?”
“……Wh-what are you talking about? If that hero couldn’t do it, there’s no way I can.”
In a corner of the battlefield, Anticova’s words were met with a forced response from the self-proclaimed hero, Alfio.
This was his first war, and he had quickly learned how easily lives could be snuffed out with even the slightest mistake.
The true power of the hero he had witnessed was awe-inspiring. Even that hero had been pushed to the brink by the “Flame Demon,” and the true saintess, who even the enemy general feared, had healed thousands of wounded in an instant and brought the war to a halt.
Alfio couldn’t help but feel the unfairness of the world—such power was truly cheating.
And yet, that saintess hadn’t just ended the war with the demons. To defeat the evil that had started the conflict, she had ventured into the “Black Vortex,” a place even the hero had been repelled from, with only a handful of followers.
The “Black Vortex,” which seemed to lead to the depths of hell, radiated an evil aura as if it housed the final boss of the world’s destruction, forcing both demons and humans to grasp the severity of the situation.
Alfio had never truly fought for his life before.
His memories of a past life made him value his own survival above all else. In this world where people died so easily, he saw those who willingly marched to their deaths as fools and only engaged in battles he knew he could win.
To someone like him, diving into that “Black Vortex” for mere fame was unthinkable.
But Anticova, who was also called a saintess, had been shown the vast gap in their power and still demanded that Alfio possess the same “courage” as a true hero.
Even if they were fakes, she believed that at least their “pride” was genuine. Yet, seeing Alfio’s attitude, she could only sigh deeply.
“I see……Then, I shall walk my own path from now on.”
“Eh……Anko?”
Anticova brushed off Alfio’s outstretched hand and quickly readjusted her belongings.
“Let’s go, Cheria.”
“Sure.”
“W-wait, Cheria!?”
Seeing the warrior Cheria also adjust her pack and stand beside Anticova, Alfio’s eyes widened in shock. Cheria opened her mouth apologetically.
“Well, you see……Al. If you were the ‘hero,’ I would’ve stayed to help, but……my parents have been nagging me in their letters to settle down soon……So, I’m heading back home.”
Though she gave various reasons, it seemed she had no real reason to stick around with Alfio, who wasn’t a hero.
“W-wait……You’re kidding, right?”
“Well, it’s been fun, Al. I’ll be guarding Anko on the way back to Sigres.”
“Thank you for everything. Cheria, let’s go.”
As if they couldn’t hear Alfio’s hoarse voice calling out to them, the two women walked away from the battlefield without so much as a glance back.
“……What……the hell……”
Left behind by the two women who had been with him all this time, Alfio fell to his knees, utterly defeated.
They had started their journey together as a trio. Though Alfio had never been able to cross the line, he had been crushed by the change of heart in his lovers.
All he had wanted was to live peacefully and happily with them. What was so wrong about that? The pride of a hero? In Alfio’s logic, the one who won was the hero. The one who won and stood out was praised as a hero, and the girls would flock to him.
Wasn’t it infinitely better to live happily than to fight and die for pride?
Crushed by these unanswerable questions, Alfio hung his head low. Then, quietly, a shadow approached.
“U-um……Lord Al?”
“…………Aureline?”
Recognizing the voice as Aureline’s, Alfio looked up with dull eyes.
When he thought about it, he realized he had hardly ever spoken to Aureline. To him, she was simply “the younger sister of the beautiful noble sisters.” When they had been introduced to him by the Costel Church, Aureline had been only eleven, and unlike her sister, who had matured at twelve, she had seemed like just a child.
Aureline wasn’t the type to put herself forward, and most of the conversations had been dominated by her strong-willed sister. Alfio had been too busy trying to catch the attention of the more mature older sister to pay much attention to the younger one.
“Um……”
And Aureline understood this about herself.
She was the sister who couldn’t do anything without her older sibling.
She had always followed in her sister’s footsteps, imitating her every move. She lacked confidence. She lacked a sense of self. Her sister had understood this and had watched over her, always supportive of her imitative little sister.
But today was different. Without her sister’s protection, Aureline finally took a step forward on her own.
When she had first met Alfio, Aureline had taken a liking to him.
Though she, like many in the Holy Kingdom, had admired the “hero,” she had empathized with Alfio’s struggles to put on a brave face.
Aureline was more timid than most, so she often observed others closely to understand them. That’s why she had been so afraid of her half-sister, whom she found difficult to get along with.
But Alfio wasn’t a strong person. He was someone who put on a front, who boasted and got carried away, someone who tried a little harder than most. That was something Aureline had wanted to do but had never been able to.
So Aureline wasn’t disappointed when Alfio ran away. She understood that he was just a weak person who was trying his best.
“U-um……Lord Al……Please cheer up. Those two……um……if you work hard, I’m sure they’ll come back to you!”
With her own words, clumsy as they were, Aureline tried to encourage Alfio.
“Aureline……”
A faint light returned to Alfio’s dull eyes.
He had never really looked at Aureline properly. But now, as he did, he felt like he was seeing the real her for the first time.
She was timid, lacking in confidence, and unsure of herself. But she was kinder than anyone else and had truly seen him for who he was. Tears blurred his vision as he saw Aureline’s gentle form.
“U-um……Lord Al……?”
“Aurelieeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!”
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”
Alfio, tears streaming down his face, hugged Aureline tightly, burying his face in her stomach. Aureline let out a scream and fell back onto her bottom.
“I was such an idiotdddddddddddddddd……Only you understood me, Aurelieeeeeee! Let’s go back to Sigres together! I’ll take over the family business! I’ll farm! I’ll do food processing and crop improvement seriously! I’ll never let you be poor! I’ll never cheat on you! So, please marry meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
“Eh, uh, yes. …………Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?”
Caught off guard by the sudden proposal, Aureline’s eyes widened in shock, but she found herself nodding in agreement. As Alfio cried like a child on her stomach, she gently patted his head.
Alfio, in his second life, had finally found the “courage” to live as a human being. And Aureline, for the first time, had faced someone with her own will.
“U-um……I’m fifteen this year, so……I’m an adult now……I can get married……”
“Yay! Can I introduce you to my family!?”
“Y-yes……”
What would the other two say if they knew about this situation?
Would they be surprised? Would they congratulate them? Or……
“Ah……”
“Eh, what’s wrong now?”
“Nothing……”
As the Sigres hero (temporary) party had always walked in the back, Aureline had seen the “Wanted Poster” on the wall as they fled the last town.
(……They told me not to talk about that country anymore, but……since elves are rare, Anko’s description was on the wanted poster……Will the two of them be okay entering the town……?)
And……
(Sister……where did you go……?)
With all the commotion from Alfio, she hadn’t had time to think about it, but Aureline couldn’t recall when her sister, Ataline, had disappeared.
TLNOTE:
Hopefully the English publisher won’t ask me to stop translating this series!
Otherwise check the internet archive
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
