Due to the long rain that has been falling for the past few days, the sun does not shine even during the daytime, and it is still cold, and dark. It was as if it represented the feelings of Satoru and his magical slaves who were taking care of him.
The hut where Satoru was lying was temporarily in a state of stillness. The only background music was the sound of rain leaking through a small opening that allowed a view of the scenery outside, which could be called an air hole.
Satoru remains lying down. He opens his eyes, blinks occasionally, but doesn't move a muscle.
「Excuse me.」
Satoru did not respond at all to the girl's voice coming from the entrance. The girl staggered to Satoru's bedside and sat down there with a plop. It was Liz.
「I heard the story from Leia. ...... Really, you've been sleeping all the time」
Liz muttered to the sleeping Satoru as if to remind him. Gently, the girl's small hand caressed Satoru's cheek. His face, which resembles her late father's in some way, does not move even a single bit as she is stroked.
Each of the things that Leia told her was incredibly shocking.
Satoru, who was shocked to hear that Reine was dead, caused a tremendous explosion, almost like a violent outburst.
Leia, who sensed the danger, pulled Liz into the shadow in the nick of time.
At that time, the 【Immortal King】 had no time to control her special ability of 【Life Force Absorption】, and Liz's life force was lost, and she was on the borderline of life and death.
To save her, Satoru had sexual intercourse with Liz as a means of saving her weakened life force.
Liz gently held out her hand to her lower abdomen. There was still a dull ache there.
The moment she woke up, she felt a dull throbbing pain in her lower abdomen and Liz knew she was alive.
She looked around with a foggy head and wondered where she was, but the strange ceiling didn't answer her question, and when she tried to get up, she was surprised to find that her body didn't follow her at all.
Fortunately, Minerva noticed that she was awake and called Rico, who was also relieved and told her to rest.
She was told that she was in the hut of a tree made from the seeds of the World Tree, and in a moment of wonder and relief, Liz had a strong panic attack when she remembered her mother.
She screamed and went berserk. She couldn't believe that her mother was dead. She mourned and grieved.
Minerva held her in her arms. Minerva hugged Liz tightly when she was about to panic. She cried a lot and fell asleep once more.
When she woke up, she found no one but herself ― No, more precisely, there was something wrapped in cloth, but she was too scared to look through it, and when she managed to wake up her body, she went to where she heard the voice, and there was a pale-skinned 【Immortal Family】 with Rico and Minerva―That was the situation Liz was in a moment ago.
They also talked about Satoru. He had been summoned to this world from another world where magic did not exist by Leia's forbidden art called 【Otherworldly Summoning】. He has a soul of unmeasurable size, and he has Leia, Minerva, and Rico as his slaves. To return to his original world, he is searching for 【Immortal King】 Yarth, Leia's master, who may know the art of repatriation, and...
「In your original world, you have a sister just like me, don't you, Onii-chan?」
Liz continues to stroke Satoru's fearless face. His eyes are vacant and there is no response.
After being told that much by Leia, she learned of Helmera's visit. The elves were so surprised when they saw Leia, the 【Immortal King】, that they were on tenterhooks, but she managed to intervene. Then, Liz was asked. Whether to return to the village or not.
「Onii-chan......」
The hand that had been caressing his face reached for his head. Satoru's hair is bristly, and depending on how you touch it, it stings. But it doesn't feel bad.
Helmera had asked Liz to adopt her, and it didn't seem so bad to be sisters with Helmera's daughter Arne, who was a good friend of Liz. She would receive some sympathy for being the daughter who had lost her mother, and she would also be treated as the grandchild of Bauers the Elder, so she would receive some respect. Besides, Bauers had pledged to end discrimination against half-elves based on his name.
But still, discrimination would definitely remain. The perceptive Liz understood this.
And it is nothing but pain to continue to receive that scornful gaze.
After thinking about it, Liz chose to stay with Satoru.
Now that she had lost her mother, there was no reason for her to actively return to the village. She had a longing for the outside world, and above all, her mother Reine's 【Last Word】 had entrusted her to Satoru.
Above all, she did not want to be separated from this young man who resembled her late father. Satoru had come to occupy a large part of her heart.
She knew from Leia's words that Satoru was comparing Liz to his sister in his original world, who was very similar to Liz. But still, it was true that Satoru was kind to Liz. It was also true that he had done a lot for her. There is nothing wrong with being compared to his sister.
However, Leia had said that she needed Satoru's permission for Liz to accompany him on the journey, so she had to get his approval even if she wanted to go with him.
After parting with Helmera, Liz talked with Leia and Rico some more.
Leia also said that if Satoru's consciousness did not return after one season, Liz should leave. Leia, as well as Rico and Minerva, are prepared to stay with Satoru until the end even if he does not regain consciousness, and Liz, who is not his magical slave, does not need to stay with him that long. Leia also added that Liz would be fine either in the elven village or in human society.
Rico told Liz how hard it is for a girl like Liz to live in human society. Rico also said that if she had to go back, she would prefer the elven village, even though she knew it would be hard for her.
Minerva watched over them without saying a word.
After listening and talking to them. Liz came to a conclusion. That is why she is here now.
「......Wake up, Onii-chan. Everything, I forgive you for everything. If Onii-chan doesn't say it's okay for me to be here, I'll ......」
A large tear spilled onto Satoru's cheek and trickled down. It was a tear that had been spilled by Liz.
This man did the unbelievable thing of defeating the demon race for herself and her mother, Reine, without regard for his own personal safety. She had lost her mother to a rogue, and not only did Satoru take his enemy's life, but also saved Liz's life.
I have done nothing.
I just took what he gave me.
Closing her tear-stained eyes, Liz kissed Satoru on the lips.
With her heart.
(I'll be waiting. I'll be waiting for Onii-chan to come back. Forever!)
I won't say, "You didn't have to save me". I can't say that. But it is more than half my fault that Onii-chan became like this. That's why I want Onii-chan back, even if I have to give up everything I have...!!
The overlapped lips, the tears of Liz running down Satoru's cheeks.
――Thump.
Liz's lips parted as she felt Satoru bounce. Wiping her tears, she looks at Satoru's face.
Satoru was blinking. The earthy color of his skin gradually turned reddish. Moving his head in a small motion, he looked at the girl whose eyes were moistening on her face.
「...... Alice?」
「...... Good morning, Onii-chan. You're a sleepyhead, aren't you?」
It doesn't matter. Onii-chan wakes up...
Tears accumulated again in Liz's eyes and overflowed. The girl raised her voice and clung to Satoru's chest.
* * * * * * *
What spreads out before his eyes are a dark, stagnant world with no light at all. Naked and wearing nothing, he continues to drift in the sticky black sea.
The young man was in a dark quagmire.
(It's your fault.)
A voice choking itself.
The young man has no words to reply. Because he knows. It is his own fault.
(Can I change the world? Don't get cocky.)
I know that. That is why I have never tried to change this world. But I can't say that somewhere in my heart I didn't think it was okay to do so. I can't say that.
Every time I see people who have become my friends suffer, every time I see people who are struggling as slaves in the towns I happen to visit. I have thought once or twice that if I had a soul of such extraordinary capacity, I might be able to save them.
(You couldn't even protect the ones you got close to.)
(What's more, you've used that power to hurt the people who have looked up to you as their friends.)
(What is this about going back to your sister? She won't accept you, you filthy little shit.)
――Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!!!
The young man shouts. With all his might.
But his voice does not resonate. His voice is swallowed up in the empty black space.
(Weren't you just getting a good feeling by dissipating the woman's first time who had clung to you?)
(Still, didn't you ever feel comfortable with a woman depending on you?)
(Who the hell do you think you are?)
A beautiful brown-skinned girl passes through the young man's mind. A healthy, well-styled, yet homely girl. The girl's smile fades away, and the girl's crying face runs over and over again in the young man's mind.
It is not that he looked down on the girl. But since he could do as he pleased with the girl, and since she could not resist him, he could violate her as he wished―he could not say that he was free of such black greed. The girl had accepted even a small part of his own blackness, and she had even offered her anus to the man and wept.
At that time, I took pleasure in it ― no, that was wrong.
No. That's not different.
(When the dragon became human, and when she became a girl, somewhere in the back of your mind, Hell yeah! I know you were thrilled to be a part of it.)
(Didn't you ever think that when she said she wanted a child, you'd be able to cum inside her all you wanted?)
(She called you Danna-sama. What kind of a play is that? )
This time, a voluptuous beauty with deep indigo hair passed through the young man's mind. She was always smiling―but sometimes she had a melancholy expression on her face.
He was so comfortable having beastly sex with the girl who loves him as her Danna-sama, that he tried to have intense sex with her and violently fucked her with a lot of sexual pleasure. He holds her breasts and spanks her buttocks. He had sex with her without any reservations, because she wanted to have a baby.
The young man was outraged at the sound of voices echoing from nowhere. But it shows no sign of abating.
(It's the same with the girl you recently got. She's a hell of a beauty, that one.)
(You thought you could have that woman all you wanted from now on, didn't you?)
(Didn't you enjoy it tremendously when that woman got wild?)
A beautiful woman with light blue hair and translucent white skin passed through the young man's mind. He has only had physical contact with her twice, but he had never felt that it was not enough. Did he think that he was being too careful about other women when he had a beautiful woman in front of him whom he could hold as much as he wanted? No matter how reckless he is, she is just a doll, and he doesn't mind if she's broken. He wants to have violent sex, and he wants to force a woman into submission.
No, that's wrong, that's wrong!! Sex is only possible when we understand each other―
(How idealistic that is)
The voice in the shadows laughs.
(Think back, me. What did the women you've dated in your former world say to you?)
In his mind, he hears the voices of the women he has been close to, which are not numerous.
『Kasahara-san, aren't you somehow ...... too dreamy about sex?』
『You were so gentle, but when it came to sex, you were so aggressive. Frankly, it's gross.」
『I think it's not a bad idea to spend a little, you know, money on the girl you're dating.』
『You're always talking about "My little sister this" and "My little sister that". What a sis-con!』
『Super Lolita on top of being a sis-con!? That's not good!』
『...... The worst. I wish I never had sex with you.』
Each one of them gutted the young man. Although the young man does not have a long history with women, he has heard them all in the past. He has heard many slanders that should have lain dormant in the depths of his being.
A girl a year younger than himself whom he happened to date thought he was a man with money. The girl was a high school student at the time and saw the young man, who had dropped out of high school and was already working, as someone who could handle money more freely than his age. The young man's expenses at the shelter were so heavy that he had little free money on hand at the time. He had to make do with the insurance money from his parent's death, a small inheritance, and the money he got from selling his house. He wanted peace of mind, but his partner only thought of him as a money lender.
When the girl founds out that the young man did not have much money to spend freely. The girl broke up with him.
The girl he dated for only three months two years ago was a water businesswoman of the same age. At first, she has very attached to himself anyway, and there was a sweet time there. But that was only for the first month. Because of the time difference in their work hours, they had numerous fights, and he started spending less and less time with her, saying that he had to go out with her after work. In the end, the woman who could no longer stand the restraints left him.
With the last word that the darkness showed.
It was at this time that the young man fell into a definite distrust of women.
(The woman who brought you into this world... do you really believe in her too?)
Of course! The young man exclaims.
(Then why don't you ask her about her past? Because of a scar? Don't be naive, all right? If you really want to understand each other, don't you have to listen to and accept the past as well?)
That's―
(You've already had sex with that woman many times. In the end, it's all about self-indulgence. You were just doing what you wanted with that woman!)
No, it's not! That girl is―That's not what Leia is!
(And even save lives at her initiative? Haha, how was the taste of virginity for a girl who looks like your sister?)
(You were going to take your real sister's virginity eventually, weren't you?)
(You don't want to give her to another man, that's why you want to go back to your world, right?)
You're wroooong!!! Wrong-wrong-wrong-wrong!!!!!
The young man scratches his head violently. He scratches his head so hard that it bleeds.
(You made the decision to quit school for your sister.........You bowed to the president, which you didn't want to do.)
(You loved your sister, that's for sure, but you felt it was unreasonable that you had to suffer for her.)
(You were trying so hard to fool yourself.)
"Ha," the young man stopped moving. He stared at his hands, which were trembling.
This was the part of his body that he had forbidden. A part of his heart that he had kept locked away, a part that he had forbidden himself to touch.
The young man was upset because that part of his heart was clearly cut out.
(You killed that girl's mother.)
(Maybe you killed your mother, too.)
(So did your father. Murderer!)
「Aaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!」
Around him, his real father, mother, Reine, and the men who were there ― all of them fade into and out of sight.
They all hurl curses at the young man in unison.
The young man is swallowed up and continues to struggle in the darkness.
『Onii-chan』
Suddenly, a soft girl's voice sounded from nowhere.
The young man looked up. It was the only hope, a small, slender link between his former world and the world he was now in, the only hope that had held his heart together when it had almost been burnt out.
The world that had been dark was now illuminated by a tiny light. The young man almost reached out his hand toward the light but hesitated.
He did something unforgivable. Just as "someone" had told him in the darkness, he had committed a crime that he could not atone for.
Is it really okay for me to be like that? Is it really true that I should stay in the darkness and be punished endlessly?
「Wake up, Onii-chan. I forgive you for everything.』
The light shone stronger. It was as if it was illuminating the young man.
The warmth on his cheeks.
Something touched his lips―and at that moment, a torrent of light enveloped him.
Tears streamed down the young man's cheeks.
Was it his own tears, or were they tears that he had shed himself?
That's right―I.....
The face of his beloved sister flashed through the young man's mind.
A girl who was summoned to this world without warning and left alone in the original world. Wasn't he supposed to return to the girl whose only living relative was taken away from her in this world? Wasn't he supposed to return to bring back the smile of the girl who was probably crying?
―Is it okay to leave things as they are?
―There's no way that's okay.
「I'm going home ......」
The young man muttered. Slowly, his consciousness emerged.
『I'll be waiting. I'll be waiting for Onii-chan to come back. Forever』
That's right. I am sure that my sister is still waiting for my return.
The friends who have traveled with him are also waiting for his return.
「I'm going home...!!」
The young man was determined.
He felt as if his consciousness, which had been drifting unsteadily and unreliably, was being lifted powerfully upward. He turned his consciousness upward.
He did not care what people said about him. I'm going home.