CH 20

There was a smart boy.

No, smart was an understatement.

The boy began to feel “strange” when he was five years old.

No one around him could understand what’s normal to him.

As their intelligence was terribly low.

He couldn’t believe they were the same “human being” as he is.

He succumbed to overwhelming loneliness.

And faced the harsh reality.

It’s boring.

The world is so boring.

From that day on, the world as seen through the eyes of the boy slowly but surely changed into something dull.

Hope for the future gradually withered, and the boy lost his purpose in life.

The impact of this was significant, and the boy’s spirit gradually became distorted.

He didn’t care if he died now

By the time of his ninth birthday, the boy had completely lost his attachment to this world.

He was just living because he hadn’t died yet.

Living an extremely passive life.

But one day— the world smiled on the boy.

It was when the boy had a minor injury from something trivial.

There was no need to worry.

It was just a small injury, like a child falling while playing in the fields.

The boy himself didn’t seem to mind it at all either.

─── “Are you okay, brother?”

There was a voice that spoke to him.

It was Alice, who was four years old at the time.

That was the first time he recognized his “sister” directly.

Because she was such an insignificant existence, she was reflected in his eyes back then but he unconsciously ignored her.

───Angel.

A ray of light shone in the darkness.

This was the moment when the boy’s world regained its color.

A heart too innocent.

A kindness with not even a speck of impurity.

What do you call this existence if not an angel?

It was a trivial incident.

However, as if everything that had happened up to that point was a lie, the boy found the meaning of life in a frighteningly simple manner.

But it was just too late.

It was way too late.

The boy’s mind had already been twisted by the days of despair.

───What if I corrupt this “angel” into a “devil”?

An evil desire that cannot be understood by ordinary people dominated the boy’s heart.

To change those eyes filled with nothing but pure love and compassion into ones filled with coldness and contempt.

─── Would be so exciting.

At the thought, the boy feels a numbing sensation to his spine.

Then, goosebumps of pleasure shot through his entire body.

The boy made up his mind without a shred of hesitation.

He committed to “control people’s hearts and minds” with all of his abilities.

To control and manipulate the hearts of everyone around Alice, including himself.

And by dominating the numerous factors involved in personality formation —he would turn the angel of a sister into a devil.

The boy’s fearless and devious plan began on this day.

His despair of this world, and even the fact that he had lived so apathetically until now seemed like a blessing now.

People around him thought he was incompetent.

It was convenient.

The boy then slowly nurtured it by repeating trivial routines.

───The “tastes” that would turn Alice into a devil.

He completely dominated and manipulated those around him.

There was no way a single person could do that.

But God had gifted him.

With a terrifyingly superior intelligence.

Something which shouldn’t be given to just anyone.

And when the boy became a young man, it finally came to fruition.

─── “Brother, can you stay away from me? I feel disgusted when you’re around me.”

───“… hah-hah”

Everything went according to his plan.

The Angel was turned into a Devil.

The days that followed were like heaven for the young man.

He was truly surprised at how colorful the world can become depending on how one’s mind is built.

Every time he catched Alice’s contempt-filled gaze, a tremendous sense of pleasure and happiness filled his entire body.

However, just as “light” came suddenly to the boy’s world one day, “darkness” also came suddenly.

Alice, now 12 years old, was invited to a party.

─── A party was held for a boy named “Luke Wizaria Gilbert”.

The young man was not allowed to attend the party by his parents, who were concerned about his appearance as a venerable aristocrat.

It was a sort of inevitable consequence of playing incompetent.

But for the young man who didn’t care about everything but Alice, it was inconsequential.

And then ───tragedy struck.

Only after one day.

In just one day, Alice had been changed.

He has spent several years of his time nurturing Alice’s sadistic tastes.

All of this was painted over in a single day by a boy named Luke.

The young man understood immediately.

When Alice returned from the party, he saw that the former “devil” he created was nowhere to be found.

It was not like her sadistic heart had disappeared.

However, what dwells there now was a very strong “taste for oppression” and “love,” just like himself.

Her brother was no longer reflected in her eyes.

An event that cannot be understood by the young man.

What on earth could change her mind so much and even in such a short period of time?

It would still be understandable if Alice had just fallen in love.

But what was the color of ‘oppression’ in her eyes for then?

What did she see and hear?

How did it change her so much?

When Alice’s engagement was finalized a few days later, the young man had no choice but to laugh.

He was reminded that his own happiness had been built on thin ice.

But strangely enough─── there was no despair.

The days he spent with Alice had changed the young man’s mind.

The young man had become ‘human’ to the extent that he could honestly rejoice in his sister’s happiness.

Later he met with the boy named Luke.

As a matter of fact, the young man was very interested in him.

He wondered about the person who had changed his sister in just a few days.

By meeting him, he understood at first glance.

He was convinced of this by feeling the atmosphere directly and exchanging a few words with him.

That the boy named Luke was the same existence as himself, or even more, which he thought did not exist in this world.

I see, the young man thought.

Luke did not change Alice.

She returned to her original state.

It would have been a blessing for Alice to have met such a man.

But why?

This was because Alice’s underlying desire was the same as that of the young man.

─── “Wanting to be dominated by someone who surpasses you in every way and whom you could love with all your heart.”

This distorted desire bound the young man deeply.

There was no one who could be considered his equal.

It was questionable whether he would be able to find someone like that in the future.

That was why he tried to turn Alice into a “devil.”

The young man laughed.

He became a little jealous of the thought that now Alice could truly be happy. 

There couldn’t be a better match for her, the most beautiful and precious sister in the world, than Luke.

There was no way he could interfere.

However, that did not mean that he had given up on his own happiness.

That was why the young man discarded all his previous plans and began to act under a new guideline.

＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋

“… Ha?”

” ───So that’s the deal. Iyaa, youth can be so scary, you see?”

I thought he was going to talk about today’s class looking so serious.

But what did I just hear?

───He confessed that he was the one who had carried out the most horrible plan in the world, the “Hikaru Genji” plan.

[TLN- Google]

I felt a chill run down my spine.

“So let’s talk about the future. ───Will you keep me by your side as your pawn?”

“… What have you been saying all this time?”

“Ahaha, you can understand, right?”

… Why is this guy smiling as if it’s so simple?

Now I may be seeing a glimpse of the most terrifying thing on earth.

“There are three advantages.”

“………”

My head hurts.

What is this?

I feel a strong déjà vu.

“First of all, you’ll have me, an extremely talented and useful pawn. I’ll do whatever dirty work you want me to do, and I’ll do it perfectly. Well, now my trust and credibility are still not enough, but I will show it from now on, so please rest assured.”

“………”

“Next, I’m a master of the human mind. Well, he should be here by now… Oh! Here he comes.”

At that moment, a skin-headed man appeared floating from the sky and knelt on one knee in front of Yolande.

“Sorry to make you wait, Yolande-sama.”

“It’s alright, you’re right on time.”

He was wearing the uniform of the magic division.

It’s quite a feat to be able to use flight magic, but frankly, it doesn’t matter much to me right now.

I’m tired.

Do I really need to hear any more from this guy?

“I’d like to introduce you to Goldova. He is the Commander of the 2nd Attribute Magic Division, to which I belong.”

“…”

Yolande, the deputy division commander, had a man named Goldova, the Commander, down on one knee.

I see.

This guy proved it and showed it.

His own competence.

“Okay, you can leave now.”

“Ha! Excuse me!”

Goldova floated again and flew away into the sky.

He called him just for this purpose.

“… you’ve trained him quite well.”

“That’s because I worked hard. Already, the majority of the 2nd Attribute Division has pledged loyalty to me. ───In other words, what you’ll get is not just a pawn like me.”

“…”

By now, it’s already madness.

Why do you go to such lengths to try to get to me?

I can’t understand the thoughts of a madman like this.

“Lastly… I don’t know if I can call this a benefit. I mean, you can show me how happy you and Alice are… Well, wouldn’t that make you feel great! You could feel superior! … hah-hah… and all I can do is comfort myself in misery… Oh, that, eh, Luke-kun!”

I walked away.

Without looking back at all───.