Cogs That Don't Mesh

Translator: DeepL lmao

Editor: meepilee (you'll be seeing me evens, o/)

Slight note before the chap: we have no clue if kuro has actually dropped this or not, they only translate a chap every few months tho so may as well pick this up. If they haven't dropped this, well oops sry

"We were sure of a bright future when we grew up, and we were sure that we would be able to work on our own. But then, just before we were about to get married, the incident occurred."

The smile disappears from Dafiz's face.

The memory of those days were still vividly etched in his brain, unforgettable.

Susie* was a grade-A adventurer. Another adventurer, jealous of her, trapped her, roughed her up, and then killed her. When he returned to the town, her corpse was in such a terrible state that ...... he collapsed on the spot and wept for three days and three nights, clinging on to the corpse.

Even when decomposition began sometime along the way, and a strange smell enveloped the area, he had still refused to leave.

He was buried in so much grief during that time that even that smell he thought, was sweet since it came from her.

He spent the next few months grieving. He was in the depths of despair, living his life as if it had died with Susie's corpse, but later it was the Origin Church that gave him hope. He gradually became absorbed in religion, and before he knew it, he was involved in the study of the origin core.

As a new recruit, he had worked hard to try and take his mind off of Susie, working day and night, always feeling on the cusp of discovering something within him.

That effort paid off.

As he studied there, he found that he had the power to bring the souls back from the underworld. He realized that with this power, he could bring his love back to life. He wrote a paper and submitted it to the Cardinal, and to his surprise, it was accepted as one of the major projects, along the Spiral Children, for the future of the Church. And so his team was born, around the field of Necromancy.

From the launch of the team to the present, there were many hardships.

However, after more than a decade of research, they were finally at the day which Dafiz had longed for all this time.

"Our goal is to completely revive the dead, not to be transformed by the influence of the Origin, but to regain their original human personalities and lives."

It sounded strange for him to say this, since he was so absorbed in Originism, but he really didn't care about the convenience of God or the church. He simply wanted to revive Susie.

To do so, he not only had to revive the dead, but also had to devise a means to regenerate their decomposing body.

This specific part of the research is a private affair.

"I am sorry to the researchers that it took me longer than necessary to complete it because I was so concerned about Susie's resuscitation," he thought.

However, when he saw Susie sitting next to him and the smiles of her daughter ・・・・ Rukou, who was sitting on her lap, he felt from the bottom of my heart that he was glad he did it.

"The resuscitation of Mrs. Claudia and Mr. Kinder 1 is necessary for the completion of our research. Even if we revived them, it would be meaningless if their personalities were taken over by Origin. To suppress this, we needed the knowledge of the two of you who have been involved in human experimentation. Therefore, let me hereby make it clear that it was never our intention to undermine the departed relatives/friends of the heroes."

"Then ...... why did you also revive Gadio's wife?"

Eterna asked in a somber tone.

Although she and Thea had never met, she knew her from her adventures with Gadio and the rest of the hero party.

If he had no intention of confining Gadio, then what on earth was he doing implanting the origin core in Thea?

"Originally, Thea's body was stored in the Spiral's laboratory. Since she was an S-rank adventurer, they likely thought that she might have a use one day. But one day I happened to learn about Gadio's past. When I heard about it, I simply couldn't believe it was anything but my problem. After all, since I had the resources to do it, ignorance is just as bad as guilt."

Dafiz was a very strange man. He did not conceal the fact that he was from the church or that he was involved in necromancy, and he simply appeared in front of Eterna in an unassuming manner.

His status was also ordinary, with no signs of having taken in an origin core, and physically he was really just an ordinary person.

Moreover, he answered almost all of her questions, it didn't look like he was lying.

No, to begin with - he had a timid, good-natured demeanor that makes it hard to believe that he is involved in human experimentation at the church.

And the way he plays with his wife and children, he seemed like the father of a happy family.

For that reason, Eterna could not bear any animosity toward him. But what further solidified that resolve was this:

"Because I too have experienced the pain of losing my wife."

Dafiz's face turned dark as he recalled this loss. Suzie silently took his hand in hers. Seeing this, Luko reaches out her hand as well, as if to say, "Join me."

"The proposal ・・・・・ is only a proposal in name. Even if Ms. Eterna does not want to do so, I promise that when the influence of Origin is completely removed, Mr. Kinder and Ms. Claudia will be completely free."

"For what purpose? I can't think of any reason for you to do this."

"If my research makes someone happy, what more could I want?"

Dafiz said with a smile.

Eterna left the hotel and walked back to her house. The sun was already setting and the sky a dark blue.

Today, Milkit was cooking a more luxurious meal than usual to celebrate Ink finally being able to leave her room.

Yet, Eterna felt self-loathing as she walked around this place without helping out.

"I wasn't a good enough adult for anyone to depend on. No matter how big you sound or how mature you act, if you don't have substance, it is meaningless."

Right now, Eterna is betraying Flamm and indulging in herself, working with the church.

But ...... She couldn't stop, she just couldn't.

Before setting out on her journey to defeat the demon king, Eterna had searched for the whereabouts of Kinder and Claudia.

The place she arrived at was in front of a gravestone with only their names inscribed on it.

She collapsed and burst into tears.

"I'll never see them again" -- that realization came to her, and the sense of loss that she had left behind fifty years ago enveloped her all at once.

"The truth is, I've always wanted to see you again. I had hoped to see you, hug you, talk to you a lot, and spend just that little bit more time with you."

It was a dream that spilled out from her.

You can't throw away a dream for the sake of a mundane sense of justice.

She had found herself in front of her house.

Eterna stopped and mumbled something to herself.

"...... Sorry, guys."

"Are those words for the betrayal I was currently committing, or are they words for the future--or are they words for the future of the world?" She thought to herself.

Ink was the first to greet her as she opened the front door and said, "I'm home."

She stood up the moment she heard Eterna's voice and gave her an innocent smile,

"Welcome home."

Her heart ached.

It felt painful enough for her to die.

She said, "I told you dinner is ready, let's eat already.　I'm starving."

Four days had passed since Eterna had been revealed that she could reunite with those people

Ink did not know anything. Flamm and Milkit had no idea what was going on inside her head. None of them had any reason to suspect anything from Eterna after all.

She felt nauseous - or rather, she wanted to vomit blood and suffer. But no matter how much she blamed herself in her head, nothing would change.

Her experience with the hero's party, dictated that if something was bothering you, you should reveal it, talk about it, etc, otherwise it would end up hindering your own effectiveness and be bad for all people involved.

"It smells so good, I'm getting hungry too."

And yet she said nothing.

When she went up to the house, she walks past Ink and into the living room where Flamm and Milkit are waiting.

"Hey, Eterna,"At that passing moment, Ink called her name.

Surpressing her surprise, Eterna stopped and turned around, "What's up?"

"...... oh ...... no, its nothing."

She waived it off as such.

Even if she couldn't place her finger on what was wrong, it didn't mean she didn't notice how distraught Eterna felt.

In particular, she must have noticed the emotional swings in Eterna's voice, as she had a well-developed sense of hearing, perhaps due to the loss of her sight.

Eterna pretended to herself that she doesn't see it, that she shouldn't be touched by it.

A healthy good will.

Eterna trampled on it today, too.

Of course, with this guilt there was no way she could understand the taste of the food that Milkit had put so much effort into making.

It was the morning after that that Eterna suddenly disappeared without telling anyone.

All that was left was a note on the table, found by Milkit, who was the first to get up.

"I'll be back in a couple of days."

A brief note like that would not convince Flamm.

She ran out of the house and headed for Gadio's mansion.

She thought that he might know something about her, since they had traveled together.

However, Gadio had also left home, just like Eterna, and all that was left was a letter, which was more polite than a note.

"I've gone to catch-up with my wife, who is supposed to be dead."

Hearing Celena's explanation, Flamm was momentarily startled, "Thea just suddenly came back, Gadio had told me that she was dead, but then she came back here as if she had risen from the grave, laughing as if she was never gone. I don't know exactly where he is, all I heard was that he was going to a facility somewhere.I don't know where it is."

You are reading story Do You Think Someone Like You Can Defeat the Demon King? (WN) at novel35.com

"Dead people coming back from the grave ......? That can't be go-"

"But I think it's best to leave him alone."

"What makes you say that?"

"It was definitely Thea. I've spent a lot of time with him and Gadio assures me that it was definitely Thea. I've been thinking about Thea for six years now, and I've been beating myself up about it. But Gadio has finally reunited. It isnt something that someone like you should be interrupting."

Despite Celena saying that, even Gadio must have realized that Thea's resuscitation had something to do with the church and Origin.

I believe Eterna was also aware of it, but she didn't tell anyone close to her about it.

It was a sign of guilt.

"I don't think so. If you can be happy to let go, you should be proud of it.(?) I think he had some guilt or insecurity somewhere, so he tried to cover it up with a letter."

"Even if that were the case, there is nothing I can do about it. The most important thing to remember is that you can't take away Thea from Gadio. I've seen how well they get along with each other."

Celena had no intention of going after someone that was originally and now is a citizen.

After exchanging a light farewell, Flamm leaves Gadio's mansion and walks through the streets of the East District.

If Gadio and Eterna were walking around early in the morning, they would stand out whether they wanted to or not.

She might as well ask around and gather more information...

"Ms. Eterna and Mr. Gadio voluntarily disappeared. Assuming that the cause is the same, I wonder if Eterna also had a close partner who was revived. That's why she started going out without telling us. ......"

"No, before that, I'm curious about what Ink said she heard the old people talk about"

Eterna must have been acting strangely since that event, meaning that those two people could be her relatives who were revived by the church.

The first step is to identify who those people are.

Flamm went straight back to the house and decided to hear from Ink first.

She was sitting in a chair with Milkit in the living room of her house, silent with an anxious expression on her face.

Their faces lighted up at the sight and sound of Flamm's footsteps when she returns.

"Welcome home, master."

"Welcome back. How was it?"

Seeing the faces of Milkit and Ink lightened Flamm's heart.

However, the situation was getting worse, not better, and this was no time to be relieved.

" Gadio was gone, too."

"Oh, no!　I can't believe he left at the same time as Eterna. ......"

"Of course I'm going to look for him too. Hey Ink, did Eterna ever tell you about any old friends or family members or ...... anyone like that?"

"Why?"

Ink tilted her head and her black ponytail swayed softly.

She had been a member of the Spiral Children, and there was no need for her to hide anything from them. "They were working on something that can bring dead people back to life."

"Are you saying that you followed someone who died and disappeared?"

"I think that's a strong possibility, since it seems that Gadio's dead wife suddenly appeared in his life."

"And Satyllus* must also have been brought back to life by the church for some purpose."

Ink, wearing a dowdy shirt, said, shaking her feet, which were not on the floor, "Eterna told me she used to live in this house decades ago."

"How many decades......?　.... um how old is Eterna?"

"I don't think you should worry too much about her age, because it's not the first time she's been indeterminate. The most important thing to remember is that she couldn't find a house so she stayed here."

"Then she wasn't trespassing for no reason."

"I suppose trespassing is still trespassing."

"Aside from that, I heard that Eterna, who was being experimented on like me, was being raised by a couple of men and women who took over for her parents."

The two were surprised to learn that Eterna had been the subject of human experimentation.

And Flamm surmises that her ageless body may be the result of that. Or perhaps the enormous amount of magic power for a human could also be a result of that.

"He seems to have been so important to her that she saw him in her dreams, so if he really came back to life, she might follow him."

Ink said disinterestedly, but her expression showed his loneliness.

She had spent most of her time with Eterna since she came to this house.

She must have opened my heart to her in no small measure.

To disappear without saying a word to someone like that is not something an adult should do.

"Come to think of it, not too long ago, Mr. Rich* told me he met the previous owner of this house ......."

"Are you saying that those are Eterna's parents who are supposed to be dead?"

"I think that's a strong possibility, given the timing. Thanks for the information, Ink. I will go to Mr. Rich's place and ask him about it. You two will have no one to protect you for now, so make sure to lock up tight and never leave the house," Flamm advised them, and they shook their heads in agreement.

Smiling with satisfaction, she left the house and headed back to the East District--and back again.

If one were to continue straight down the street, you will reach the East Ward as is, but one could save time by using a shortcut known only to locals.

Normally, she does not often use that road, which is not very safe, but Flamm, who was not wasting a single second of her time, unusually took advantage of that alley.

It was mid-morning, but there was no sunlight, and the street was covered with shadows and empty of people.

While walking down the alley, Flamm suddenly stopped.

She turned around, pulled out her Zwei Soul Eater, and swung her sword toward the empty sky.

Phong!

At first glance, the action seemed pointless, but the jet-black blade was perfectly placed on the neck of the blue-haired boy who suddenly appeared on the spot.

"Ah-ha!　That's an incomparable reaction to what I saw the first time I saw you!"

Nect* said, contorting the spiral of flesh that covered his entire face, and disappeared from the scene.

Zok-

Flamm felt a chill behind her.

But already, Nect's cold palm was on her neck.

"Let's join, Connection!"

"Reversal!"

Buzz!

The reversal magic, which was quickly casted, won over against Nect's "Connection".

His entire body was blown away, and he looked at his bloodied right hand and grinned, returning to his human face.

Flamm glared at him and thrusted the tip of her sword into his neck.

"I see," he says, "that's certainly a problem. At first, the church said you were not a threat, but now they are wrong. They are afraid of death, just like the heroes, so--"

"Cut the chatter, and just tell me what you want. Why don't you just kill me?"

"I don't feel like it."

There is no way that a boy who could not be killed by even Gadio could be overpowered by the strength of Flamm.

Nect's relaxed expression was not an act at all.

On top of that, he set up Flamm to the extent that he took such an injury and wasn't retaliating - no doubt, she was being played.

"That kind of understanding is another sign that you have grown up, friend," he said. "Well, that's tricky, and it's going to be a while before we can come to a conclusion on this one."

"I thought I told you not to waste time talking."

"Hah ...... you're so impatient. I've been very busy moving because someone messed up my previous base, you know?　I hope you'll forgive me for this kind of shenanigans. All right, then I'll be short and concise, as youve requested."

Nect, who had given up on rhetoric, suddenly turned serious. Then, in a cold voice, he told her.

"I hope you crush Necromancy."

The Children and Necromancy were supposed to be projects of the same church.

Yet, this boy asked her to destroy it.

"What do you mean by ......?"

She couldn't read the intent at all.

Their thinking was extremely different from that of ordinary people, and as such she had no idea how to make predictions.

Sweat beaded on her palms as she grip the handle.

Flamm narrowed her eyes and stared at Nect.

You can find story with these keywords: Do You Think Someone Like You Can Defeat the Demon King? (WN), Read Do You Think Someone Like You Can Defeat the Demon King? (WN), Do You Think Someone Like You Can Defeat the Demon King? (WN) novel, Do You Think Someone Like You Can Defeat the Demon King? (WN) book, Do You Think Someone Like You Can Defeat the Demon King? (WN) story, Do You Think Someone Like You Can Defeat the Demon King? (WN) full, Do You Think Someone Like You Can Defeat the Demon King? (WN) Latest Chapter