Ch.BONUSSide Story – A World Without You Is Too Hot and Cold

I still dream.

With the strength to overturn mountains, I carry lumber,

And close my eyes in a world where eating street food is permitted amid wealth that fills rooms with iron and gold.

A darkened landscape. Consciousness melting beneath the surface of sleep.

What unfolds within are fragments of the distant past. As if scolding me for daring to turn my eyes away from life’s trajectory whenever I’m about to forget, suddenly I find myself there.

The world I loved and was disappointed by, living through three cycles of a human lifetime. In our world where Irefi’s hair was white and her eyes held blue lakes, I am crying.

No tears flow.

My eyes, like rotten pollack, have lost their light. Whether rain falls or the sun blazes, the man comparable to a corpse has kept his place steadfastly.

On a sunny lawn situated in the grand mansion of a Founding Noble. There stands a white tombstone that rises gently, never losing its light like her pure white hair. I rest my shoulder and temple against the tombstone. The posture looks exactly like someone desperately trying to bury himself.

Because if I press my temple firmly against the tombstone, I feel like I might hear something.

Because I feel like you, who now remains only as an afterimage, might perform a miracle.

I wander alone through the forest of time to which I can never return, laughing, crying, despairing, arbitrarily hoping again, and cursing the providence of the world that took you away.

Then I change my stance and beg again. I grovel submissively, apologizing to the world’s providence. Fearing that any miracle might betray me, I become a thorough servant of providence and beg, beg, beg, beg, beg, ah, now I’ve forgotten.

Irefi.

Irefi.

Irefi.

Irefi.

Irefi.

Compared to the infinite time I have left, it seems like only dust has passed, yet desperately, you remain unforgotten.

I miss you. Let me hear your voice. Not the same scenery and conversations repeated dozens of times in my head, but a new you engraved in my ears.

Despite harboring futile hopes, I try to deny the adjective “futile” by listing illogical evidence, wishing you would let me feel you.

Warm winds blew.

The sun blazed.

Rain fell.

The temperature cooled.

Days grew shorter, and the time when the moon that gave luster to your hair crawled across the sky grew painfully longer.

White snow fell.

And warm winds blew again.

…

……

…… …

How many times must I repeat this narration?

When that thought suddenly occurred to me, standing before me was a little girl with white hair.

Beneath the hair dyed in the same color as yours were green eyes, the symbol of the Chester family’s direct line, filled with moisture.

“Godfather…”

She murmured.

Godfather. She calls me godfather.

Yes, I was certainly called that. The children who could call me godfather were extremely limited.

“You’re Miren’s descendant.”

“…Yes.”

The child answered after a pause.

I don’t know how many generations have passed, but she’s quite grown. So, that kind of appearance is usually around what age? Providence robbed me long ago of the ability to infer using the yardstick of ordinary human lifespans.

So I told her she was young and cute, befitting Miren’s descendant. To the child with slight wrinkles around her eyes, dressed in a gown that ladies enjoy wearing, I complimented her as if addressing a debutante who had completed her debut.

There was no particular response to my vague lip service.

Only her purpose flowed from her pitiful lips.

“Godfather, how long… will you stay here like this?”

“Is the Imperial family going to take back the mansion?”

“Of course not… That couldn’t… happen, right?”

“Right.”

The brief conversation came to a futile end.

But Miren’s descendant didn’t give up on the conversation. Her tightly closed lips trembled, and clear droplets clouded the light in her eyes like a leak.

She must be very sad. But what is she sad about? Should I know? Does she have personal resentment? Somehow, I’ve come to know nothing.

Time continued as I kept feeling Irefi, and the child remained silent. How long did it continue? Well, compared to the time I have left, it probably continued as long as a tiny speck of dust on a grain of sand.

In any case, one thing was certain.

The moment our disconnection ended was when Miren’s child moistened a blade of grass with a single tear. Just that much.

“War is coming.”

The child said.

“The kingdom has absorbed all the foreign tribes. It’s formed a powerful force that could be called its golden age, but the border has already been breached. All the Chester family’s forces have been defeated too. There’s a great warrior who even the head of the Chester family couldn’t handle.”

“…”

“It’s an unstoppable force. They say it won’t even take a quarter to conquer the islands. The enemies are too… too powerful… and we’ve become too weak…”

“…”

“Please help us, Godfather. Please… I’ve heard stories about you. That if it’s you, somehow… somehow… you could do something… I’ve been sent with persuasion from the family and the Imperial family… Please. Godfather. Save us…!”

The child approached and knelt before me. Dirt stained her pretty dress. Grass stained her delicate hands, and small insects crawled over them. Still, the child didn’t mind. Her tearful eyes looked straight at me.

“…”

I speak.

“Child of Miren, are you afraid of war?”

“Yes, I am afraid. I value my life, and the thought of my memories being trampled under hooves makes me shudder.”

“What happened to Riedrall Village on the border?”

“Yes? What?”

The child hesitated to answer promptly, then gathered her thoughts and replied.

“They say nothing remains in its original form except for a well…”

“I see.”

Riedrall Village.

A beautiful place under the domain of the Duke of Chester, known for its impressive scenery of golden rice ears swaying in the breeze. A place where Irefi, who had completely relinquished her title of Marchioness, and I briefly settled during our journey and spent peaceful days together…

Looking back at the memory, Irefi murmurs her impression with a gentle face.

[It’s a nice village. Enough to want to see such scenery for a lifetime…]

To which she added.

[Tomorrow, the day after, and on and on…]

On and on. Forever. The scenery of Riedrall Village was a place where golden rice ears should sway in the breeze, showing their beautiful form. That was Irefi’s wish and our memory.

But now it’s just part of a desolate land.

They’ve trampled on Irefi’s wish.

“Child of Miren.”

“Yes, Godfather.”

“It’s all right. Everything.”

“Pardon…?”

“Point your finger in the direction from which they are coming.”

“Are you planning to go there yourself, Godfather?”

I nod my head in affirmation. The child’s face turned pale.

“That’s absurd! It’s a war?! Going alone won’t be of any help…!”

The child was about to cry out instinctively but covered her mouth. She seemed to be watching my reaction for a moment. I reassured her by patting her head.

“It’s all right. Child of Miren, nothing you need to worry about will happen. I will make it so.”

“Godfather…”

Reluctantly, the child revealed the position of the army.

Toward the malicious horde that made Miren’s descendant cry and scattered Irefi’s wish and our memories into pieces.

◇

“Aaaaaahhhhh!!!”

Squelch.

Sharp weapons from the surrounding encirclement cut through clothing and tore flesh. Blood soared into the air, then fell limply to the ground with a splat. The bubbling black blood soon became a puddle spawning hideous insects.

I walked.

I slowly advanced, squeezing through the gaps in the army where barbaric madness was overturning heaven and earth.

My legs were chopped off by roughly ground blades.

A massive mace pulverized my skull.

My lungs were pierced, my neck flew off, and my body was dismembered, yet none of these horrors could stop my leisurely stroll.

As the wounds opened and healed, the beasts of black sorcery only multiplied. Like the monsters of a Chainlich.

“Fuck… fuck… what, what the hell is this…! Are there non-humans in the Eld Empire too…!!!”

Just brushing against the Malice I emitted made ordinary soldiers vomit blood and collapse. Those weak ones exposed to the foul energy convulsed like worms accidentally stepped on, until all their life force was depleted.

“Out of the way, you lot! Weaklings who collapse just from feeling a bit of energy are in the way!”

From the other side, a large man gave thunderous orders. Even at a glance, his trained energy was considerable. I instinctively guessed that he was the warrior who had defeated the current head of the Chester Duke family.

“Haha, cutting up a peculiar fellow who doesn’t die would be quite special.”

His tone was arrogant. He curled his lips into a sinister smile.

“Let’s experiment to see how much cutting it takes to kill you! Kuhahah.”

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

The warrior, who had removed his upper garments rather than wearing armor, charged violently. His body itself seemed to have reached an indestructible state. For such a person, protective gear would only be shackles.

This man was close to being the kingdom’s strongest force.

In the moment the man took a step.

There was enough time to use the Ever-Changing Forms sorcery to pull up the ground and sculpt it into the shape of a Conqueror’s Sword.

And when the man’s next step touched the ground, a large amount of blood sprayed from the sky.

The man was still standing firmly, but his chest connecting to his abdomen was nowhere to be seen. The soldiers searched for an answer to this mysterious phenomenon by rolling their eyes.

The coordinates where warm blood poured from the sky. There, the man’s upper body, cut horizontally from the lower chest, was flying around.

“Ugh… ughh… aaaaaahhhhh!!!”

“Damn it! This can’t be… ugh…!”

“It’s not human… The Eld Empire has immortal monsters living in it…!!!”

The soldiers who had been stabbing and cutting so well hesitated.

With each step I took forward, many figures retreated slightly. I knew this change wouldn’t last long. The herd mentality that clouded judgment would give them courage, and we would fall into an endless swamp of slaughter.

Then I might as well imprint it on them.

So that the herd mentality would turn to despair.

“Ever-Changing Forms.”

Black energy dyes the earth.

The earth becomes moist with Malice. From the surface to underground, I infuse Malice and activate my versatile technique.

I grasp the range of Malice emitted to its limit. Controlling it at will, I lift the ground. Debris, pebbles, damp soil, and buried rocks all soar and unite into a single structure.

Shade fell over the vast plain.

The floating earth formed a massive hammer shape that reached the clouds and blocked the sunlight.

Clang!

The sound of weapons dropping was heard. And the hollow metallic sound spread faster and faster.

It was the sound of despair as humans gave up hope when faced with inevitable death.

“With something like that in their country, we’re supposed to win…? Ha, haha… The king is such a fucking…”

That was the last.

The mass bombardment that buried Jahakar, the dragon of another world—Feita’s final move—engulfed the battlefield.

A thunderous sound shook the world, causing the ground to tremble at the adjacent boundaries.

Soil dust scattered, causing a wide yellow sandstorm. Under the yellow sky, the only life forces remaining were the lucky forces positioned at the very rear.

I turned back on my way.

Because it was already crystal clear what choice such a small group would make.

The future that Miren’s descendant feared was cleanly erased. That was enough.

◇

As soon as I returned to the islands, flower petals rained from the sky.

The nearby people applauded until their hands were worn, and a ceremonial procession centered around me was prepared.

I bit my lip.

It wasn’t something to expect anyone’s welcome for.

I was sad to see Miren’s descendant grieving. I was afraid that the memories I shared with Irefi would be damaged. That’s all there is to the story.

The excessive enthusiastic cheers seemed to forcibly pull me out of the forest of time. I felt as if I was being forced to stay in the present where I didn’t want to exist.

The imperial palace I arrived at inadvertently remained the same.

The only difference was that all the faces I knew had completely weathered away in their time. The emperor of the current era sought me out in the imperial palace where not even traces of connections remained.

“When I found clues from the records of previous generations… honestly, I didn’t believe it. No, I couldn’t believe it.”

The current emperor emphasized the memoirs of the previous Emperor Riharm about me several times before getting to the point.

“Thank you. From now on, you are the Guardian General of the Eld Empire.”

One who reigns but does not govern.

Just an honorary position that ranks above the four duke families in terms of protocol.

It wasn’t any different from before. I never cared about it in the first place.

I maintained an expressionless face and was too busy wandering through the past to see the emperor’s face. Therefore, I couldn’t judge what expression he had when he bestowed the position of Guardian General upon me.

I only realized later.

That the emperor, supreme above all people, feared me.

To them, I was an unknown terror.

An immortal monster who could become a hero of national salvation after just one battle, alone.

And so I bury myself again in our mansion where Irefi waits—on a sunny lawn.

…

……

In the distant future.

After more time has passed.

The story of a child, in whom even traces of Miren have faded, regarding me with suspicion is yet another tale.

[Irefi? What are you writing?]

[Hmm, I thought it might help Nepy someday.]

[Help?]

[I’ll keep it… a secret. I’m sorry.]

She gives a bitter smile.

[Someday… sometime in the future… when you feel it’s time, please take it out. I’ll put it in this drawer, okay?]

The fact that the object Irefi sealed in the drawer was a manual describing her swordsmanship is also another story.

And I awaken from my dream under a dim orange light.

With a small murmur in the arms of my beloved.

“Mmm…”

“You’re waking up late.”

“Sorry… Irefi.”

“Geez, I’m not Irefi, you know?”

“Yeah, Yuha.”

The soft bed sheets warmly embrace my fragile body. The bed trying hard to comfort a body that is no longer immortal, but an ordinary human body, felt comfortable.

Additionally, tremendous fatigue attacked my eyelids.

“Yuha, you… really haven’t changed…”

“I’ll pamper you as much as you’ve worked hard. Should I give you some pocket money?”

“I’m not that desperate…”

It’s not that my pride won’t allow it. I just don’t want to be a problematic person living off my lover’s pocket money.

“So, what shall we do today?”

I pull Yuha’s slender waist close and feel her skin.

“How about just staying like this?”

“Why are you being so cute today?”

“Because I want to be. Yeah. Just… just because.”

Yuha silently shifted her center of gravity backward and pulled my nape.

Naturally, my weight was entrusted to Yuha and sank onto her body lying on the bed.

Eventually, we fell asleep.

In a world where such peaceful daily life is permitted—entrusting a languid morning to cozy sleep and listening to each other’s breathing—we held hands.