Chapter 374

Chapter 374

“Wahhh… Dad, what are you doing?”
“Iril?”
Iril yawned.
Cain, pacing back and forth in the yard, turned his head.
Her snow-white hair, just like his own, glistened in the moonlight.
He stumbled over and picked her up.
“Why are you out of bed?
Did you have a nightmare?”
“Woof, I woke up wanting to go to the bathroom.”
Iril rolled her eyes.
Sleepiness still clung to my eyelids.
Cain smiled at the sight.
Iril, now eight years old, was his treasure.
Looking at her adorable daughter was enough to make Abel forget the pain of the stab wound in his abdomen.
“Okay, go back to bed. It’s still too early to get up.”
“Nye-e-e–But Daddy, why are you crying?”
“Huh?”
“It’s raining from the snow.”
Cain brought his hands to his face in frustration.
She was right.
Transparent tears were streaming down my face.
It runs down to my chin and I don’t even notice it.
He wiped his face with his sleeve and shook his head.
“—I’m sorry, I don’t know why I did this.”
“Are you sick, or is something bad happening?”
“No. That’s not possible. We’re with Iril.”
“Don’t cry—if you cry, I’m sad.”
Iril gasped.
It’s been that way since time immemorial.
When she saw other people crying, she would feel sad too.
After a moment of silence, Cain patted her on the head.
“Iril. You are such a good girl.”
“Cool—neh?”
“I’m so glad you’re the one who inherited that power. I’m a very happy man indeed, and I hope your little brother, who will be born soon, will have a good heart.”
“Power—?”
Iriel scowled.
I couldn’t understand what he was saying.
Cain kissed her forehead.
“But one day, your kind heart may get you in trouble. The world may give you a hard time, and then—”
I don’t really remember the rest of it.
****
“I tried to reason why he was crying then, and I think maybe he already knew his fate – that he had to leave my mother and my siblings behind.”
Iril smirked.
She was still in the lead, walking up the mountain trail in the middle of the night.
Schlieffen, who was following, nodded.
“I see, you had such a thing with the Savior—.”
It was a different feeling.
I didn’t expect to hear about the Savior’s past like this.
Even though they are together all the time, they often forget that she is the daughter of a transcendent being.
Iriel said, his voice husky.
“But it was a happy time, I had both my parents, and they loved me, and I couldn’t understand my father’s words that the world was going to be hard on me.”
Cain and Kasha were good parents.
Under their care, Iril grew up to be the brightest child anyone had ever seen.
The people were friendly, and everyone my age in the neighborhood was a friend.
The problem came after Cain left.
Or, more precisely, since his mother died giving birth to Ronan.
“Well, it didn’t take long.”
It wasn’t a very pleasant memory.
Unfortunately, the more memories you have, the more vivid they are.
Before the power to grant wishes was unleashed, when the people around her weren’t always good.
****
“Why, why are you doing this, Inge? We were just playing together not long ago—.”
“I heard you’re an orphan now. You want to hang out with us when you don’t even have a mother?”
Inge giggled.
Unusually large for her age, she was the alley bully who ruffled the feathers of Nimburton’s children.
Iriel was surrounded by Inge and his men.
I got caught on my way home from the market.
In a swaddling bag on his back, Ronan was asleep, just beginning to babble.
“No! I have a dad!”
“You’re an asshole, if you left it, you don’t have it. That’s why there are no parentless kids.”
“That’s right, they’re all flowers.”
The bullies next to me laughed along.
They were the same kids who had been hanging out with Iril not too long ago.
“I never liked her, she’s just a pretty face and an installer.”
“Me, I never did that—.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Wilhelm from the next town over confessed and got dumped!”
Inge beeped.
Even thinking about it made my blood boil.
Wilhelm was the boy she had been crushing on for over a year.
Iril shook his head.
“—Nope. It wasn’t my favorite. But why?”
“What, what’s going on? Ah…!”
“Inge!”
Inge grabbed the back of his neck and swayed.
The girls by her side supported her.
“Go, orphan bitch, know your subject. Taste?!”
“It’s an asshole anyway, let’s bury it today!”
The other girls were looking at Iril with hateful eyes.
It was because he had stolen all of her mates.
The boy he was dating, as well as the boy he had a crush on, were all taken away by Iril.
Of course, Iril wasn’t interested in a relationship, so in the end, everyone ended up hurt.
Inge, breathing raggedly, shook her head.
“Whoa—forget it. Shut up and leave, Iril, with everything you bought at the market, and of course your money.”
“Shi, no—this is for Ronan to eat. I can pay you, but not this.”
Iril hugged the sack.
It was filled with ingredients to make baby food.
I spent a lot of money on it, so I couldn’t let it go.
Inge shouted.
“This bitch still hasn’t gotten her shit together? Take that away from her!”
“Great!”
The rascals had been waiting.
It was like a pack of hungry hyenas.
Iril narrowed her eyes and balled her fists.
“Kaaaagh! Don’t do that!”
“Kaboom!”
A cheerful slap sounded.
The guy running in front of me fell out.
His body flew a good two meters and landed on the ground.
The way my limbs stiffened and twitched made me feel like I’d been electrocuted.
“What the—!”
“Ju, aren’t you dead?”
The bullies’ faces hardened.
His chest was caved in by a blind fist.
He was well known in the neighborhood for his fighting skills.
“Muh, what kind of force is that? All at once—heh.”
Inge froze, about to say something.
I glanced away for a moment, and Iriel was right in front of me.
None of the bad guys caught her movements.
Iril’s face was beautiful, even though it was a mess of tears and snot.
Inge sucked in a breath at the sight of the clenched fist.
“Now, wait—”
“Don’t touch my sister!”
Iril called out in her main voice.
I didn’t mean to touch him. I tried to plead my case, but I didn’t get a chance.
Pfft!
The fist that flew like a comet landed in Inge’s face….
“Nuh-uh!”
“Right, right. You’re hungry, right? I’ll make you mamma in a minute~”
Iril laughs as he gets home late.
She put a crying Ronan in his bassinet and headed for the kitchen.
Luckily, she was able to save the food, but the dress her late mom had bought her was tattered and torn.
“—you know, why do people hurt each other?”
Iril said to herself, her voice cracking.
One punch to the face and Inge was instantly pissed and passed out.
She got the bullies to promise not to bother her again (or, more accurately, not to come anywhere near her), but her heart ached like it was going to break.
“Why can’t everyone be happy, why can’t we treat others with kindness, why are we hurting them?”
It wasn’t just the Inge crew.
This absurdity had been happening more and more since my parents left.
Cain was right on the money.
The world was too harsh a place for a girl who was alone.
His natural physical abilities allow him to improvise, but when bad adults start to get involved, there’s a limit.
She glanced back at Ronan.
“Ugh?”
“Ehhhh.”
Ronan scowled.
I couldn’t help but smile as I watched him squirm.
His fierce eyes made everyone around him think he was the cutest baby ever, but in Iril’s eyes, he was the cutest little brother in the world.
“I love my brother so much, I never get tired of seeing him every day, and I can’t stand the thought of Ronan going through something like this later in life.”
I looked out the window and saw the night sky.
The sky where my mother rests and the stars that shine on my father are reflected in her scarlet eyes.
“So—if anyone is there, please listen.”
Iril, leaning against the window sill, clasped her hands together.
The fern-like palms overlapped.
A single tear rolled down her cheek as she mumbled.
“I hope the world my brother will live in is a little kinder.”
****
“Yeah! That’s it! That was fun, wasn’t it?”
When she’s finished, Iril claps her hands.
Schlieffen shook his head in disbelief.
“——Not at all, thank you for sharing your valuable story.”
“Ehehe, thanks.
I haven’t told anyone yet. Haha, I’m so embarrassed, this.”
Iril wrapped her hands around her burning cheeks.
It was something I hadn’t told Ronan yet.
She waved her hand in the air.
“Honestly, it was a bit difficult, because it’s not easy for a young girl to raise her brother by herself. My father left me quite a bit of money, but it was almost all gold coins, so it was hard to spend.”
Cain’s blindside.
He hadn’t anticipated that Iril would be alone.
Gold coins were too much money for a young girl to carry around.
“Forgive me if I’m a little rambling, but it’s just–I don’t know if it’s just me, but I find that hearing about what someone else has been through can really strengthen my resolve, and I’m like, ‘Awww, that person has been through such adversity and they’re doing so well!”
“—I think I know what you mean.”
“I know. I just wanted you to hear my story and hope it would cheer you up, because I was actually happy back then, too. It was hard, but at least I had Ronan by my side, and now you have me and Aria.”
Iril laughed.
Even with my back turned, I thought I could see the smile.
Schlieffen chewed his lip wordlessly.
I couldn’t look up in shame.
“That’s pathetic.
I’ve caused too much trouble around here just because I couldn’t get it to test.
He celebrated his body and spirit, and worried about his wife and daughter.
Schlieffen was about to say something.
“Ah. We’re here!”
Iril turned his head for the first time since he started climbing.
Her face, flushed red from the lanterns, was drenched in sweat.
Schlieffen looked ahead.
At the end of the tunnel of trees, there was an open space.
“——!”
“This is my favorite secret spot.”
Schlieffen’s eyes widened.
Iril tugged on her husband’s hand as he stood there stunned.
The rocky clearing was wide and flat, out of place at the top of a mountain.
They stopped in the center of the clearing.
Iril spread his arms wide.
“Hahhh…! The air is clear because it’s high up. The stars look great, right?”
“—Yes. I see.”
Schlieffen nodded.
An ocean of stars swirled across the night sky.
The immeasurable number of celestial bodies were all light from the past.
The Milky Way and nebulae were clearer than ever, reminding me why this place is a treasure for Iriel.
“I used to come here whenever I was down, and I would sit down on a random rock and pray that people would be good, that the world my brother would have to live in would be kind. But my God, one day, people actually started to be good!”
Persistent prayer eventually broke through the curse of Cain.
The people around her gradually became good and no longer treated others with malice.
The price of fulfilling his wish was a little more sleep, but it was nothing compared to what he’d accomplished.
“So this time I’ll pray for you: may I pray that my husband, Schlieffen de Siniban Grancia, will be the best prosecutor in the world?”
“Oh, no. Don’t do that, ma’am. Strength is something I must achieve for myself!”
“But if I don’t do something about it, you’re going to get cold feet again. You’re not coming home as often. You’ll spend less time with me.”
Iril’s mouth pouted.
His tone was playful, but his eyes were full of concern.
Schlieffen waved urgently.
“Now I won’t. I just realized that the seat of swordsmanship is just an ideal, and I’ve been neglecting more important things to achieve it.”
“Hmmm, what is that?”
“My wife and Arya’s happiness. My vow to Ronan had nothing to do with becoming a swordsman. Even if I’m not good enough to become a swordsman, I can protect you for all eternity.”
Schlieffen grabbed Iril’s shoulder.
Her face flushed as she leaned in closer.
Iriel smirked as he stared into the dark eyes.
“Ding. Wrong.”
“What?”
“You didn’t include your happiness. Correct me if I’m wrong, it’s my family’s happiness. Anyway, you’re too focused on other people.”
“Mrs. ——.”
“Ehhhh, but I’m close, so I’ll do what I was going to do and pray, and you just stand there and watch.”
Iril’s hands clasped together.
The power of manifesting wishes was about to unfold.
Power is powerful enough to change the world, but it comes with a price.
A furious Schlieffen tried to stop her, but Irene had already recited the first verse of the prayer.
“I want my family to be happy for years to come, as happy as I feel now.”
“——!”
“I don’t doubt your promise to Ronan. You will protect me, our treasure, Arya, no matter what danger comes. I trust you more than anyone else in the world.”
Despite another wish, Iril did not fall asleep or collapse.
It was inevitable.
Nothing comes without a price.
Opening his eyes, Iril looked up at Schlieffen.
“Thank you for telling me you loved me back then, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”
“I am—.”
Schlieffen couldn’t answer.
I just swiped my hand across my tinted eyes.
Iril said in a slightly main voice.
“Why are you crying, on this fine day.”
“I’m not sure–I don’t know.”
“Oh my. Come here.”
Iril hugged Schlieffen.
Aria woke up briefly, but her eyes fluttered open and she fell back to sleep.
Iril, who had been burying her face in Schlieffen’s chest, smiled at the bash.
“The stars are beautiful, there’s no music, but do you want to dance?”
Iril held out his hand.
Schlieffen hesitated and clasped her hands.
I could no longer hear my inner voice telling me to become a censor.
“I’m honored.”
Schlieffen blurted out.
The breeze from under the stars was blessing them both.
And ironically, it was under the stars that Schlieffen reached new heights.