CH 26

[The Heat Abusing King and The Laughing Idiot]

―――― 、――.

I feel like I forgot something important.

I will try to pick up what are left in me one by one.

I feel like I have a father and a mother in my family.

I don’t have siblings. My father’s name is——Babi Niflheim. I don’t know my mother.

I feel like I have some friends. But I can’t remember who are they.

Lover, acquaintance, colleague, superior.

Even though I feel like someone, he, was there, I can’t remember.

Was I such a solitary person, I wonder?

I don’t know, I can’t remember. My heart is lonely and cold.

Cold, cold, cold. Something like ‘heat’ is drawn out from all parts of my body.

My fingertips can no longer move as though they are frozen.

“I have said a little more, just a little more, have I not? Unnecessary, unnecessary, unnecessary, aahhh why are there so much waste here! Do you really need that many things to remember!? Even though your everything is mine, why do you remember unnecessary things without permission!!”

“I am, sorry. Father.”

There is another person beside me in this cold place. It’s father who gives off ‘heat’ through his eyes.

Without him, I would have been frozen. Even in the next moment, I might turn motionless.

I must be grateful to him, I must serve him.

Otherwise, he won’t give ‘heat’ to me.

“That’s right, that’s how it should be. Before I put it into words, you should understand my intention and serve me, before I act, you should get everything ready, and do nothing but what I instructed you to do. You can do at least that much, right? You must be able to do them! Because you are my daughter! Because you are my closest ‘family (daughter)’! Understand!?”

A ‘heat’ so fierce to the point of being painful, is inserted and going through all over my body. Receiving that ‘heat’ so hot that my body feels like it’s burning, I manage to move my limbs.

After becoming able to move, a fear of loss boils up in me this time.

The coldness that bit by bit freezes me from my fingertips to my heart. The fear that the coldness will inevitably takes away something that is warming me up inside me climbs up to my throat.

I hate it, I hate the chill. I hate the cold. I hate being frozen.

“Under… stood.”

“Oi, what’s with that pause? What were you thinking in pause? Answer me. Answer me, Iris! Are you dissatisfied!? At this me!? Answer me, Iris!? Iris!!”

“I don’t dare.”

“In that case, why can you deny it so fluently!? You must not hide anything from me! You hear me! Your awareness of who have let you to be alive is lacking!! Do you feel no ‘gratitude’ to your father, Iris!!”

I continue to apologize to my father who is bellowing and hitting me.

Continuing to apologize, I avoid father’s question. I didn’t even know why I did that.

Just that, there must be something. That something that I can’t remember is something that I can’t help but to really, really desired. I’m sure it must be different from father’s ‘heat’, something that warms one up to the core.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“Did something you have to apologize for come to your mind, Iris!? Did your denial a while ago was a lie!? Did you lie to me!? Did you lie to your ‘family (father)’ Iris!!”

It’s cold, it hurts, it’s chilly, it hurts.

‘ ’-san, ‘ ’-san, ‘ ’-san.

Someone, someone. Anyone is fine, please warms me up.

““Flame Sword ・ Blaze——’Double-Headed Fire Snake’!!””

The ice space is surrounded by flames.

A double-headed snake made of flame separates me from my father and curls as if to protect me.

Meanwhile, a girl rush towards me inside it.

“Iris-san! Are you okay!?”

“Who?”

“~~ng dammit! I will save you now, so please stay still!”

She swings the sword in her hand – cutting off the chains that bound my hands, put a cloth in my mouth and pulls out the spear in my stomach in an instant.

She sprinkles a green miracle drug on me who is moaning in agony, and my wounds begin to close visibly.

“Youuuuu! What, what are you intending to do with my Iriiiisss!!”

“Sakurai!”

“Aiiight!”

Along with a roar, the flame surrounding us is split apart and father brandish his battle ax.

The moment he swings down toward the girl holding me, a boy forces his way through from the side.

“Flame Sword, ‘Touka Otoshi’.”

He swings the sword in his hand as though to scoop up the surrounding flames. The flames that clad him burst, and the sword he swings accelerates abruptly.

The boy strikes the side of the approaching battle ax with his flame-cladded sword, deviating it, jumps into the air as though using the impact from the battle ax striking the ground as a spring, and kicks my father on the side of his face flying.

“What about her injuries?”

“It will take dozens of seconds more to heal.”

“Okay. As soon as they healed, escape with haste. I can’t fight for a long time while protecting people.”

The boy who put his flame-cladded sword on his shoulder while focusing on my father who he kicked flying.

The girl who is treating me as though to speed up my injuries closing even a little bit faster while holding me as if to protect me.

The ‘heat’ they emitted is strong and warm.

The wall of flame that wraps around me as if to protect me from father’s ‘heat’ while having a fierceness close to that of my father’s.

In particular, the ‘heat’ that the boy released spreads widely and firmly as though dividing the inside of the room into two with my father.

“You, you, youuuu!! What!? Who are you!? You are not Anubis, you are merely a lowly human! Why are you here! Why do you get in my way!? Who gave you the permission to touch my Iriiiis!!”

“Uu—wa, your shrieking makes your voice crack and your words unclear you know. Rather, I know what kind of person you are from the original work, but you sure are quite unpleasant to see in reality.”

“Ahhhhhhh! Don’t make a voice, don’t chirp! My head hurts! It’s your fault! For an insect-like human to appear in my sight and does something that doesn’t meet my intentions! I didn’t order you to do such a thing, did I? Why did you do such a selfish thing, don’t bother me! Don’t bother me!!”

“Craap, this guy’s real voice is more unpleasant than I imagined. But for some reason, it’s pleasant to hea——oops!!”

The 10m distance is closed to 0 in an instant by father.

His speed creates an afterimage, that after image is readying its battle ax in a mowing manner, following after father who hold his battle ax aloft. For whatever reason, it takes an independent move and attacks the boy as if pincer attack him.

In response, the boy skillfully manipulates the roundness of the shield attached to his left hand – deflecting the trajectory of the swung down battle ax diagonally, and then continue with striking the other approaching battle ax with his shield as is.

As though stitching up the gap created, he slashes father with one-handed sword in his right hand.

“You dare, you dare to wound my majestic body! Bastard, are you not afraid of me!? Even though you have attacked me, the supreme god, do you not have a sense of guilt!?”

“It will automatically regenerate anyway, stop yelling. Rather, doesn’t your throat hurt yelling like that? Or are you actually a professional opera singer?”

“Are you intending to ridicule me, human!?”

“Are you out of vocabulary to disparage me? If it’s only at the level of repeating ‘idiot, idiot’, even a brat can do it though.”

The boy continues to draw father’s attention with frivolous talk as he repels father’s fierce attacks that is swung in anger.

As if I am an outsider, I thought that the circular spark that popped up every time the weapon and armor collide is ‘beautiful’.

“Alright, you should be able to move now. Iris-san let’s go.”

“You… why, where to…?”

“Iris-san’s place isn’t under such a foolish man. You don’t know anything now so it can’t be helped, but first of all, let’s get you to a place out of that man’s rea——!”

“Where are you going Iriiiiiiisss!!!”

“To a place infinitely far away from you, Mr. daaad!!”

The boy rushes on father who is chasing after us.

The girl winds up my arm around her neck and walks while supporting me who have unsteady gait.

Two ‘heats’ clash the moment I turn my back.

And the ‘heat’ of the girl next to me is transmitted to me.

Two ‘heat’ trying to protect me from the ‘heat’ father emitted.

I should’ve known it, but I feel a mysterious sensation at the unknown freshness, I feel an uplifting feeling as though I am delighted with the growth of something.

I’m sure these two knew me and came for my sake. That’s precisely why the fact that I can’t remember anything vexed me, and makes me feel sorry.

Perhaps realizing my inner feelings, the girl gently talks to encourage me,

“It’s okay, Iris-san. We will definitely do something about your memories and the curse that was applied to your recognition.”

“Why are you… going that far…”

“You saved us when we were about to go on the wrong path. That’s why we also came to save Iris-san. Now then, we’re almost at the exit!”

Just before I step on the shining transition gate, I turn back my face slightly.

There I see father who is reaching out his hand this way even while throwing his obstacle to the ground, and the bloody boy who falls but rises back up and runs toward father and hit him with the edge of his shield.

Even though he is swung away due the difference in physical strength, he stands still to block the transition gate from father. Perhaps he notices my gaze, as he raises his thumb without looking back as if to cheer me up.

Shrouded in light, the girl and I head for the other side of the transition gate.

During that time, I feel that the ‘heat’ the boy emitted changed in quality.

It should have been a ‘heat’ that I had just learned very recently, but I missed it very much; I’m sure that at this moment he is making a happy smile so wide as though he pasted the crescent moon on his mouth – so I thought for some reason.

“Good grief… what a big fool, aren’t you?”

Although I shouldn’t remember anything, such words naturally leak out of my mouth.

At the next moment, my sight changes to the other side of the gate; there are some people there other than the girl.

Without being able to tell who is who, strength seeps out from all over my body and I end up falling forward.

The one who catch and hug me is the black and well-built ‘ ’, who is almost twice as tall as I am.

I’m gently and powerfully hugged in his steel-like chest.

I quietly let go of my consciousness while feeling the heat of ‘ ’.