Before I realized what was happening, I was in a completely white
room. A completely white space where nothing existed.
Normally, this was the point where I started to feel disgusted. I would
return to being that hideous thing I'd gotten used to for thirty-four years, and
memories from my previous life would flash before me. Regret, conflict,
vulgarity, and thoughts of entitlement. The memories I'd formed in the last
twelve years would grow distant and dejection would well up. I would be
consumed with the sense that I'd been caught in a long dream, and a sense of
unease would fill my chest, as if chipping away at me.
This time, however, was different. The usual feelings of self-contempt
didn't rise up. Instead, I experienced a sense of loss, as if I had a gaping hole
in my chest. I looked down to find there was indeed a large opening there.
Ah, I knew it. I really did die…
"Welp."
The Man-God was standing there all of a sudden; I hadn't noticed him
before. He had his usual irritating smile on his face, but for some reason, it
didn't annoy me today. I wondered why. Maybe because of the hole that had
opened up in my chest. Or maybe I'd decided earlier to stop being so hostile
toward him.
"Well, what can I say, it's unfortunate."
Yes, it really is unfortunate.
"You're different than usual. Are you okay? Not feeling good?"
As you can see, I've got a hole in my chest. Hey, do you mind if I ask
you one thing?
"What is it?"
That guy, the one named Orsted. He attacked me the second he heard
your name. Why's that?
"Because he's a terrible Dragon God. Despite how virtuous I am, he holds great enmity toward me."
Virtuous, huh…? Well, you are an easy one to hold enmity toward. But
if that were the case, shouldn't you have told me this beforehand? You can
see all kinds of things, can't you? You knew that I was going to run into
Orsted then, right? If you had at least said something to me about not
mentioning you if Orsted asked, I would've—
"No, sorry. The truth is I can't see anything that has to do with the
Dragon God. Not the future or the present. I had no idea you were going to
run into him."
Oh, so that's it… But why?
"He's got a curse on him that makes me unable to see him."
Curse? So those actually do exist?
"Yes. You didn't have them in your world? Someone who was born
possessing an unusual power thanks to an abnormality triggered by mana?"
We don't even have the concept of magic in the world I'm from. There
were some who said they had the ability to sense the supernatural, but to be
honest, they lacked any credibility.
"Aha, I see then. Well we have them here—Cursed Children we call
them—odd ones. Orsted is one such example. Well, he's got about three
other curses as well."
So four, huh? That is pretty incredible. Oh yeah, I've actually heard
about that. Blessed Children and Cursed Children, was it?
"Yeah, that's it. They're the same thing, actually. Humans just like
binaries."
So that's it. So, what kind of curses does he have?
"Well, you saw how Ruijerd and Eris were terrified of him, right?
That's one of his curses. Every living thing in this world either hates or fears
him."
Everyone hates him? Well that's…kind of unpleasant. My spirit would
break instantly if that were me. I understand how it feels to be hated.
"Hold on, you don't need to sympathize with him. He was born that
way. He's an evil being who's trying to destroy the world."
Come on, don't say that. Anyone who was constantly surrounded by
people who hated them would end up wanting to destroy the world. I had the
same kind of thoughts in my previous life. I often grumbled about it on the
Internet, saying how I wished everyone would just die.
"Hmm, you think so? I hate him, and I don't really care how he feels."
Hm? Does that mean you're affected by the curse, too? The fact that
you can't see him is because of one of the curses placed on him? So he's got
a curse that makes him be hated, a curse where you can't see him… What
else?
"Who knows. I can't see him, so I don't know."
Okay… But if he's that dangerous, then it's all the more reason I wish
you'd told me that someone like that existed.
"I never dreamed the two of you would ever meet. Walking about a
world as vast as this one, the chances of running into him would be…"
Like finding a needle in a haystack, right? Come to think of it, I
actually didn't feel any hatred or fear toward him. Why is that?
"Isn't that because you came from another world?"
So those from another world aren't affected by the curse?
"That's what it looks like. The same thing happened when you met
Ruijerd, right?"
…Huh? Hold up just a sec, what are you talking about? Is Ruijerd one
of those Cursed Children, too?
"Nope, that's just the curse of Laplace's lance. Laplace also had a
curse of fear on him, but he transferred it to his spear and passed it to the
Superd tribe instead. He made their green hair the key to its effectiveness."
Curse? He passed it off…? Hey, what's going on? You knew about this
from the beginning? You knew about it and that's why you made him help
him? You made me waste my time and effort?
"No, don't get the wrong idea. The curse on the entire Superd tribe will
gradually fade away with time. A bit of it remains with Ruijerd, but since he
cut his hair, that immediately reduced its effectiveness."
Now that you mention it, Sylphie was bulled about her hair, but I didn't get the impression she was feared. That aside, why the hair? Because it's the
source of their mana?
"Because Laplace's hair was also green."
Ahh, now I get it. There was something similar to that in my world, too.
Using points of commonality and wordplay to put curses on people or remove
them.
"At any rate, thanks to his involvement with you, his curse is fading.
There's still a deep-rooted sense of discrimination that remains, but with
time, and Ruijerd's own efforts, maybe he can do something to change that."
So it wasn't a total waste after all? I'm glad to hear that, then. I guess
you do put some thought into your actions.
"Well, it'll be difficult for you to completely erase all the prejudice
against the Superd."
It is a complicated matter, after all. Still, yeah… At any rate, that's
great.
"Yes, great indeed. Looks like it was worth introducing the two of you
to each other."
That's the reason you introduced us? If that's the case, shouldn't you
have just told me that?
"You had no intention of listening to what I had to say at first, did you?
I didn't get the chance."
…Well, guess that's true. I was pretty hostile when I turned you away.
Can't deny that. That aside, even Ruijerd was easily bested by Orsted. I never
imagined he'd be that easily defeated.
"Given his opponent, of course Ruijerd would lose."
Yeah, he is one of the Seven Great Powers, after all. How could you
defeat him?
"You can't."
You can't? I guess there really is that great of a difference in ability?
"He's the strongest person in this world, even as restricted as he is by
all of those curses."
The strongest? But the Dragon God is only second on the Seven Great
Powers list! What about first?
"The Technique God is strong, too. But if Orsted actually went all-out,
he'd be the victor. Orsted can use all of the skills and techniques that
currently exist in this world, and on top of that, he can also use his own
unique magic that's specific to the Dragon God."
All of the skills and techniques, huh? Sounds like a certain post-
apocalyptic savior I know.
"Oh? You have someone like that in your world too?"
They can copy all of the techniques of every opponent they've ever
fought. Although they're plenty strong even without that ability. Enough to
destroy their opponent with the tip of one finger.
"With just the tip of one finger? That is incredible. But so is Orsted. If
he got serious, he could destroy this entire world."
Just calling him strong seems a bit vague. How strong are we talking?
Abnormally? Disastrously?
"Either way, he can't unleash his real power thanks to a curse."
So that's the problem. Those curses sure are a pain. By the way, can I
ask something?
"What is it?"
Just a second ago, you said you didn't know about his curses, right?
You said you didn't know about them other than the one where he's hated
and the one where you can't see anything to do with him, so why do you know
that he can't unleash his real power because of a curse?
"Uhh…"
It's fine. This is the end, so let's just get along. I won't make a fuss, no
matter what it is you're hiding from me. I understand you cared about
Ruijerd after all. And it was also thanks to you that Lilia and Aisha were
saved. I'm not going to quibble over these little lies you've told. No matter
what your plans were for me in the future, they ended up being short-lived,
anyway.
To be honest, there's a lot of other things I'd like to ask you, though. Such as why you introduced me to the Demon World's Greatest Emperor and
stuff. Or where some of the other missing people are located. Or what your
real objective even is in the first place. All things that are a bit too late to be
asking now.
Well, what can I say? We're both failures, so let's be friends. Let's
drop the formalities and have a blast together. We can dance naked, show
our hidden talents, and of course, I don't mind if we draw faces on our bellies
to talk to each other, either.
"The end?"
Yes, this is the end. I mean, isn't it? I died, after all.
"Oh, I see. You've lost all hope and given up…the complete opposite
of how you were when we first met, no?"
Back then, I died without knowing what the heck was going on. This
time, well, there's nothing I can do about it. Besides, I more or less knew that
when I died, I'd wind up here. I have no idea where people go when they die,
but I thought you'd come talk to me when it happened.
…Ah, looks like my consciousness here is fading. Looks like it's about
time for us to part ways. I'm glad we were able to have a calm conversation
here at the end, at least.
"So that's what this is about… Well, then I have good news for you."
Hm?
"You're not dead."
Before I knew what was happening, the hole in my chest had
disappeared.
***
Suddenly my eyes snapped open. Eris was right there—right before my
eyes. I was lying on the ground, looking up at her. The back of my head felt
warm, and I soon realized it was because she was cradling my head in her
lap. Her face was full of anxiety as she gazed down at me, as if she were
looking at something she didn't want to see. But when I opened my eyes, relief shone visibly on her face. Her eyes were bright red. "R-Rudeus…
you're awake?!"
"Yea—blegh!" I tried to talk, but instead blood came out.
"Rudeus!" Eris wrapped her arms around me.
"Gghh…gack…!" I stopped coughing up blood, only to start choking
violently.
Eris stroked my back. "Are you okay?"
I saw the look of confusion on her face and tilted my head. "Why am
I…alive…?"
The wound in my chest had closed up completely. Well, the word
"completely" might have been a little misleading. There was a gaping hole in
the center of my robe, and beneath it a scar, as if someone had welded me
shut. Holy crap, this is weird, I thought. My right hand didn't have an alien
parasite attached to it, though.
"Just a moment ago when that girl said something, uh, Orsted or
whatever his name was, used magic to heal you…" My question had been
mostly rhetorical, but Eris incoherently fumbled out a response for me.
"Girl?"
"He called her Nanahoshi."
Nanahoshi. That girl from before. Yes, I recalled that's what Orsted
called her. But hold on, Nanahoshi…? I felt like I'd heard that somewhere
before. Sometime in the last year, no less. Where was it, though? I couldn't
recall.
"So he went out of his way to heal the person he'd just killed…?"
What was he thinking? I was sure he'd pierced my heart. Severe
damage to an internal organ couldn't be fixed with Intermediate healing
magic. That meant he must have used Advanced-tier magic, or something
even more powerful. Orsted must have possessed healing magic of such
power that it could instantly save someone who had sustained a fatal injury. It
seemed the Man-God hadn't quite been lying when he said that Orsted could
use any skill or technique in the world.
"I was utterly defeated."
Even if he was on a completely different level from me, it was still an
accurate statement. He ranked second among the world's Seven Great
Powers. According to the Man-God, he was actually the strongest. Clearly,
the title wasn't just for show.
"What about Ruijerd?"
"He hasn't woken up yet."
Upon further inspection, I realized Ruijerd was sleeping on the edge of
the road. The carriage had also been pulled aside, and a fire was crackling.
Had Eris done all of that by herself?
"This is the first time I've seen Ruijerd lying on his side like that," I
said.
"Rudeus, you shouldn't talk yet. You were just choking up blood."
"I'm fine now. Those were just dregs still left in my throat," I said,
even as my head remained in her lap. I didn't want to move. I was going to
stay here forever.
I wondered what would happen if I flipped over and turned my face in
a certain direction. In fact, that was the only thing I was thinking about. This
was most likely part of humanity's innate survival instinct. When faced with
death, people wanted to leave behind offspring, after all. Ah well, whatever.
Let's not overthink complex matters. Let's just dive in.
"Being alive is a wonderful thing," I said as I spun my body around
and wrapped my arms around Eris' waist. I took a long, deep breath and her
scent filled my nose.
"Rudeus…you're awfully enthusiastic."
"Hmm, I feel kind of like…everything just seems to be overflowing."
More than usual, anyway. No doubt because of that man, Orsted. Or because
I'd had that dream with the Man-God. I'm repeating myself here, but there
was no doubt that I'd felt unusually energetic since I woke up.
"Then I'm fine to hit you, right?" There was a tremor in Eris' voice as
it floated toward me. An angry one, by the sound of it. Oh well, not like I
could blame her. She'd been so worried for me, and I'd taken the opportunity
to sexually harass her. I'd be pissed off in her position, too.
"Sure, go ahead."
She punched me. Thud.
Then she pulled me toward her chest and wrapped her arms tightly
around my head. Her chest was soft against my cheek. I could hear the
pounding of her heart deep within, and from above came the faint sound of
her sobs. She was quietly crying. "Thank God…" she whispered.
I languidly reached up and patted her back.