Chapter 7: Volume 1 - Epilogue

The cries of cicadas resounded in a Japanese-styled zen garden.

A refreshing wind blew through the vast bamboo grove into the open sliding doors and made the wind chimes tinkle.

The zen garden belonged to a large wooden house reminiscent of historical Buddhist temples. In the middle of one of its reception halls sat Auguste Nathan. Although he was sitting on the wooden floor and not on a cushion, his back was straight and he didn’t move an inch. In other words, it was a perfect seiza.

Eventually, the bamboo blind in front of him rolled up and a woman appeared from the other side.

She wore a luxurious long hakama that looked to be something from the Heian period, and her long, black hair reached her waist.

The crest on her hakama was that of the golden-winged bird──which was the symbol of the imperial family.

She looked to be barely over twenty years old. Although she carried herself in a dignified manner, her expression was soft and she had a mischievous air around her, like that of a kitten.

“Did I make you wait, Auguste?”

As Nathan deeply bowed, the woman called out to him in an intimate manner. Her lovely voice resembled the chirping of a small bird.

“Not at all. You are right on time, Karura-sama.”

Keeping his head bowed, Nathan gave a dry response.

Perhaps dissatisfied with his attitude, the woman called Karura pouted.

“Would you like a drink? We have some fine gyokuro[1] on hand.”

“With all due respect, it’s unnecessary.”

“What about some sweets? They just arrived from the Myoujiin main family estate.”

“It’s unnecessary.”

Karura continued to act intimately, however, Nathan kept up his formal attitude. Eventually, Karura sighed as if giving up and straightened her expression.

“──Let’s hear the report, Sir Nathan.”

She declared in a dignified tone completely different from before.

Nathan raised his head without a change of expression and nodded.

“『AvaritiaFire Dragon』, who was hiding in the 23 wards, is now under Galerie Berith’s care. We suspect that the Beriths’ main family would soon reach out to Ganzheit.”

“Galerie Berith……”

Karura’s eyebrows rose as if that had caught her interest.

“It is not really unexpected, is it?”

“The Beriths are one of the old families of alchemists, so I think they are used to dealing with dragons.”

Nathan replied without a pause as if he had prepared his words beforehand.

Since dragons had a deep relation with gold, alchemists were not unrelated to them either. Ouroboros, the major symbol of alchemy, was said to be a dragon that ate its own tail and formed a cycle. God Mercury, the founder of alchemy, was also symbolized by a three-headed dragon.

“I understand. If it’s those dolls, then they will surely do well. But make sure to keep an eye on them.”

Hiding the slight envy she felt towards the Berith twins, Karura replied. Even though both she and the twins were raised similarly as caged birds, the twins could move freely. That was something Karura yearned for.

“They also dealt with the parting gift we left behind without any difficulty.”

“Count Raimat…… He was such a pitiful man. We had warned him so many times that seeking a power more than what his body could handle would just be the same as inviting destruction.”

Feeling sympathy for the Count who had lost his life, Karura cast her eyes downwards.

A different agent had already informed her of the final moments of the Count. After receiving the ichor and turning into an incomplete wyrm, the Count was incinerated by 『AvaritiaFire Dragon’s』 regalia 【Blaze】.

As dragons were something like a poison that brought to light the desires lurking deep within a person, it was, in a way, a foregone conclusion that the Count, who longed for immortality, would turn into a wyrm. Narusawa Sui, who had anticipated this but still chose to hand the ichor over to the Count, was probably satisfied with the outcome.

“Did you retrieve the data on the F-med?”

“Yes. It will be released publicly into the foundation’s archive. After all, raising the level of secrecy too high could result in unnecessary speculation.”

“That’s fine. Even the ambitious soldiers would have to accept it if they learn that Fafnir soldiers cannot be a replacement for a Lazarusimmortal.”

Karura smiled in satisfaction.

Nathan’s objective wasn’t to put Fafnir soldiers to practical use. Instead, it was the exact opposite. The mission assigned to him was to prove that Fafnir soldiers couldn’t be used as a weapon──that they were failed products who were no match for a Lazarusimmortal.

The actions taken by Narusawa Yahiro helped accomplish that objective. Since a single Lazarusimmortal managed to easily annihilate a squadron of Fafnir soldiers, forces that would carelessly try to use the dragon’s blood for military purposes won’t appear for the time being.

“With the appearance of 『AvaritiaFire Dragon』, there are now six pieces on the board──with 『Heaven』 and 『Lightning』 being the only remaining ones. It is about time for the impatient lot to make their move.”

A cold light dwelt in Karura’s eyes.

The birth of six dragon priestesses had been confirmed since the J-nocideGreat Massacre four years ago.

However, this country didn’t need six dragons. After all, dragons were existences that needed to be killed.

They needed to be killed at the hands of the dragon-slaying hero.

“I have something more to report.”

Nathan spoke after a short silence as if he was hesitating.

“I allow it. Continue.”

With a demeanor that was used to giving orders, Karura prompted him to continue.

Nathan nodded and slowly opened his mouth.

“『SuperbiaEarth Dragon』 really seems to be growing weak. She is still afflicted by the uncertain periodical long sleep, and the frequency of those sleep is gradually increasing. I doubt that she is as strong as she was four years ago.”

“And do you know the reason for that?”

“This is just baseless speculation, but it may not be unrelated to the fact that Narusawa Yahiro continued to be a Lazarusimmortal.”

In the depths of Nathan’s eyes which were devoid of any personal feelings, a flicker of emotion similar to a flame flashed. However, it lasted less than a moment and when he blinked, he had returned to his previous expressionless self.

“I see. That was a very interesting piece of information.”

Narusawa Yahiro── Saying the boy’s name, Karura made a bewitching smile.

On her chest shone a crimson jewel that seemed to be the crystallization of dragon’s blood.

†

“I love you, Nii-sama. I really love you.”

In the middle of the cold downpour, the girl muttered.

She was wearing a middle school uniform and her entire body was wet.

Fresh blood was endlessly flowing out of the deep cut on her left wrist.

Standing on the rooftop of a building still under construction, the girl turned around and made a fleeting smile.

Clear tears were flowing out of her eyes that held nothing but despair.

The boy shouted her name. He tried to appeal something with an earnest expression. However, his voice didn’t reach the girl.

The wind blew, and her pure white hair gently fluttered.

And in the end, the girl declared.

Her voice was quiet as if she was praying. Her face was adorned with a smile of madness.

“I wish this world where we can’t be together should just be destroyed.”

†

The home Yahiro returned to after a few days felt really dreary.

It was located on the site of a private university on the outskirts of the 23 wards. Although he had been using that laboratory as his base for quite a long time and had supposedly gotten used to it, right now the place felt really distant and he couldn’t calm down.

He knew that it was because the noisy twins, the guys from Galerie Berith, and most of all Iroha weren’t with him. But he chose to avert his eyes from that fact.

He wouldn’t mind if he was deceived or betrayed.

However, he wouldn’t be able to bear losing the things he holds dear again. If that were to happen, it would be better to not have anything at all from the beginning. It might be a common thing, but that’s what he thought.

He had been living alone for four years. That’s why he didn’t want to admit that he had been influenced by the people he had been with for a mere day or so.

Since he was having such thoughts, perhaps he had already gained something unnecessary. It wasn’t as if he was not aware of that.

“They were the ones who brazenly took my hand, so I couldn’t help it.”

Yahiro mumbled those excuses which were intended for no one in particular.

He hated troublesome things. He hated to have precious things taken away from him. He also hated to cut himself off from those things.

However, since he was a Lazarusimmortal, one day they would all disappear from him. Then, at least till then, it might be fine even if he was to grasp that hand back on a whim. 

Moreover, those people were useful.

He needed the help of Iroha and Galerie Berith if he wanted to fulfill his purpose.

And that was to find Narusawa Sui and kill her.

He had to kill his sister who would continue to take many more lives.

That was his sole desire.

All he wanted was to stop the madness of his sister who had told him that she loved him.

That’s why he didn’t have the leeway to be saddled with a different thing.

His reason to grasp the hand they offered would only be to make use of them. It should be that way.

“…………”

Why am I even thinking this? Yahiro shook his head, feeling ridiculous. 

The reason why he returned to this place was not to indulge in worthless sentimentality. It was to prepare for moving out. He had come to collect the necessary luggage since he would be accompanying Galerie Berith for a while.

“But then again, I don’t have a whole lot to bring with me.”

Few foreign currencies he had gathered in the period of four years and some change of clothes. That constituted almost all of Yahiro’s assets.

Besides that, he also had his modded smartphone that could be charged through solar energy. Booting it up due to his usual habit, he unconsciously made a wry smile.

It was because he thought that he would no longer be able to watch the streams of Iroha Waon which he always looked forward to.

Now that he knew her true identity, it would be difficult to enjoy her streams as much as he did before. He was now aware of what kind of a person Iroha actually was.

But that didn’t mean he had come to hate her.

In fact, she was even more attractive than he had imagined.

“Well, I guess watching her streams one last time shouldn’t be a problem──”

Yahiro turned on his phone while convincing himself that it would be a good substitute for background music. Right when he did that──

“Waooon!”

“Woah?!!”

Suddenly hearing Iroha’s voice close to his ears, Yahiro let out a scream.

When he turned around, he saw Iroha standing proudly with her hands on her head, making animal ears.

“Ahahahaha, were you surprised? Hey, tell me were you surprised? Good mooorning!”

“……Iroha…… You…… What are you doing here!? Don’t you know this place is still in the 23 wards?”

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“This place is really dangerous,” he scolded her since she had come to the Isolation Zones where a lot of Spirit Beasts gathered.

However, Iroha burst out into a laugh as if she had heard a funny joke, and said,

“Even if you say that, for me, the 23 wards are just like my backyard…… Plus, I have Nuemaru with me so it won’t be dangerous.”

“I don’t think he’d be of any use……”

Yahiro made an exasperated expression and looked at the lightning beast which was as big as a medium-sized dog and was clinging to Iroha’s feet.

Although he couldn’t have understood Yahiro’s words, the lightning beast somehow knew that he had been ridiculed, and electric sparks crackled around him as he glared at Yahiro.

“Hmm…… So this is where you were living. It’s true, this has your smell.”

Brazenly diving into the sofa, Iroha buried her face into the blanket and said.

“Don’t go sniffing someone’s home so naturally!”

“Hey, is this your smartphone? Is it okay if I look at the photos?”

“No, it’s not okay. And why do you want to see them anyway?”

“Well, I thought I might find screenshots of me.”

Iroha raised her face and grinned. Looking at her, Yahiro sneered.

“I don’t have anything like that.”

“Really? But why? Don’t boys usually look at the photos of the girls they like with indecent eyes?”

“And why did you even think I like you?”

Yahiro glared at her with half-opened eyes and said, “Don’t make up stories about someone’s past.” Just because he used to watch her live streams didn’t mean he had romantic feelings for her. He was annoyed at her for making that assumption.

“That said, for me, Waon wasn’t someone like that. I mean, she wasn’t someone I’d look at with lustful eyes.”

“I-I see…… Maybe you thought that she was an earnest girl you shouldn’t tease……?”

“Huh? Earnest?”

“W-Well…… It’s really embarrassing to have someone actually say that to my face…… Ahaha……”

After hearing Yahiro’s explanation, Iroha blushed up to her ears for some reason and crouched. Although she had pointlessly high self-esteem, it seemed like she was the type who was weak against direct compliments.

“Let me say this now, but that’s because I looked at her as a pet or family.”

“Family……”

“And also because she seemed kinda stupid.”

“Huh!? Stupid!? What part of me are you calling stupid!?”

“How cruel,” she said while standing still in shock.

By then, Yahiro’s modded smartphone had finished booting and was on the lock screen.

An old image was displayed in the randomly changing wallpaper.

It was a very common family photo taken at the beach.

The two adults who were the parents, with their eldest son and his little sister who looked nervous.

Realizing that it was Yahiro’s family, Iroha’s expression stiffened.

“……Sorry…… I didn’t really mean to look. I’m really sorry……”

“Don’t worry, it’s fine. Even I had forgotten that I had set it as the wallpaper.”

Yahiro shook his head as if it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t a photo he would mind others seeing, even if the parents displayed in that photo no longer existed in this world.

“It’s the picture of the day Sui came to live with us……”

Yahiro looked at the girl in the picture and said.

Iroha gasped in surprise.

Biting her lips, she lowered her eyes. After a while, she seemed to have made up her mind and looked up.

“Yahiro, do you ever think of returning to the world before the J-nocideGreat Massacre?”

“Eh?”

Iroha looked straight at Yahiro and clenched her hands.

“……You see, I don’t have a family. I don’t even remember my childhood. When I became aware of my surroundings, I was already living in an institution…… So when I got a lot of siblings after the J-nocideGreat Massacre, I was honestly a bit happy.”

Her unexpected confession made Yahiro forget to breathe for a while.

A girl with no memories and family. That was the same as Sui.

Sui didn’t know her biological parents, nor did she have any memories of her birthplace. They couldn’t find even a trace of how she had lived until then. It was as if she had suddenly wandered over to this side from a faraway world.

Iroha, who was also a dragon priestess, was the same as Sui── Yahiro wondered if that really was a coincidence.

Without noticing what was going on in his mind, Iroha continued.

“But I’m sure they all had real families. They could’ve lived happier lives. If I fight the other dragon priestesses, be the last remaining one, and create the world I want, would I be able to make it so that it never happened……? What am I supposed to do?”

Her voice became muffled midway and she spoke short words.

While caressing Nuemaru who was on her lap, she hung her head and fell silent.

Staring at her beautiful profile, Yahiro sighed.

At that moment, he recalled what Rose had said during the battle with the Count.

The blue-haired girl had answered his question of why he was the one who could use the regalia.

A dragon can only bestow the regalia upon the person the dragon priestess falls in love with, after all──

“Why don’t you do as you like?”

Before he could even think of what to say to her, those words left his mouth.

“Huh?” exclaimed Iroha as her eyes widened in surprise.

Yahiro looked away as if to escape her gaze and said in a cold tone.

“Didn’t I say this before? You can do whatever you like. If the other dragons get in your way, I’ll be at your side to protect you.”

“Yeah──”

Iroha awkwardly nodded. Her eyes were still wide open, and tears began to well up in them. Yahiro became uneasy and prepared himself, wondering if she was about to cry again.

Although Yahiro was used to being cursed, scorned, and even killed, he could never get used to seeing Iroha cry, and he was sure he never would. Watching her cry made his chest hurt more than being slashed by a knife, so he really prayed she would stop if possible.

Perhaps his prayers had been answered by the heavens, but Iroha didn’t actually cry.

It was because new trespassers had barged into the room.

“Ro-chan, did you hear that? Yahiro is so cool, isn’t he?”

“That’s right. His words can also be interpreted as a contract that guarantees the safety of Mamana Iroha from the attacks of other dragons. Let’s add that to the contract between him and Galerie as well.”

“Even you two?! What are you doing here?”

Yahiro shouted at the twins who had appeared out of nowhere and were saying whatever they wanted.

“We came here as Iroha’s guards, as well as to help you pack your stuff.”

“Who did you think brought Iroha all the way here?” asked Rose, feeling exasperated.

In the meantime, Giulie quickly spotted the laptop on the desk.

“Ah…… Found your laptop. Hey, can I open the pictures folder?”

“Stop it, you idiot! Don’t open it!”

Unlike the time with the smartphone, Yahiro’s panic was clearly visible.

Feeling extremely impatient, he tried to grab the laptop but Giulie quickly dodged his hands.

Seeing him so flustered, Iroha couldn’t hold back anymore and burst out laughing.

Her voice was cheerful as if she had been freed from the distress troubling her.

After laughing for a while, she wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and held out her left hand in front of Yahiro. Although a smile still remained on her face, she said in the most serious tone she could muster.

“Hey, Yahiro. Let’s make a pinky promise.”

“A pinky promise? I’m okay with it but what are we gonna promise?”

Yahiro asked in a casual tone.

Since Iroha had seen Giulie do the same before, he couldn’t refuse her, even if it was a hassle.

While he didn’t think Iroha would be jealous, it was possible that she was feeling a sense of rivalry against Giulie. It would be a bother if Iroha started crying if he refused her.

Yahiro knew that he shouldn’t hold anything unnecessary with the bloodstained hands of a Lazarus. However, he felt that if he rejected even the hand offered to him, he would forget that he was a human and become a real monster.

For some reason, Iroha was looking at Yahiro, who couldn’t hide his inner conflict, with the eyes of a guardian.

“Stay with me until I make my wish come true.”

“Don’t you think that’s too vague?”

“Can’t you be a bit more specific?” he asked while frowning.

The contents of the promise were so vague that its duration could be considered indefinite.

Perhaps aware of that, Iroha nodded without arguing.

“You’re right. Then, let’s do this.”

She entwined her pinky finger with Yahiro’s.

Before Yahiro realized it, her face was so close to his that he could feel her breath.

Iroha was the dragon priestess. A girl who was intended as a sacrifice and carried the regalia.

Yahiro could feel her power flowing into him from their entwined fingers.

Maybe it was the power to destroy the world.

Maybe it was a cursed power that could cause the deaths of many people.

Even so, his promise to the girl would still be fulfilled.

The small wish of the girl who just wanted him to be by her side would be granted.

That was because the Lazarusimmortal boy would fulfill his contract.

Until the moment of the promise that would come one day.

And so, Iroha narrowed her eyes mischievously.

She uttered the words of a pure and innocent promisecurse──

“Until death do us part.”

[1] Gyokuro is a type of shaded green tea from Japan and is the most expensive green tea.

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