episode_0036

Succubus Cecilia

“…! How did you know I was here…?”

“Well… because there’s been a rustling sound coming from behind you since a while ago?”

“What… Ah..!”

I’d been hearing strange sounds while comforting Aria, so I had already realized there was someone behind us. Moreover, when I glanced back earlier, I saw something like a bat’s wing, and I immediately figured out that Cecilia was behind the rock. Cecilia, seeming to realize her wings had given her away, touched them and spoke.

“… It was my wings that gave me away, right?”

“That’s right. Now… oops…”

“…?! What are you doing?!”

What was I doing? Just sitting next to her, that’s all… I had Aria lean against the rock and sat her down on the ground next to me, then I sat beside Cecilia. Why was she making such a fuss just because I sat down?

“I… I don’t need your pity, human!! I don’t want to hear your belated apologies or excuses!!”

“So I offered you forgiveness?”

“Why are you forgiving me, human?! Because of me, the black human died, and many lives were lost to my venom!! You saw my memories, so you should know!!”

“Yeah.”

“… What kind of answer is that…? Are you crazy…? Why are you so nonchalant…?”

Hearing Cecilia’s words, I was suddenly dumbfounded. Because… she was treating a perfectly sane person like a madman… So I lightly flicked Cecilia’s forehead with my finger and had Aria, who was leaning against the rock, lie down on my lap. Cecilia, whose forehead had been flicked, covered her forehead with both hands and shrieked.

“Ow, ow, ow… Why did you hit me all of a sudden!!”

“Why? You were talking as if I was going to kill you, so I just gave you a light flick.”

“What?! You’re trying to insult me—”

“… What exactly are you?”

“What? Can’t you tell?! I’m a succubus! Just like the memories you saw, in ancient times—”

“No, who asked about that? What on earth do you want?”

“What…?”

“I said I would forgive you, but you keep thinking I’m going to kill you. Even when I offer forgiveness, you think it’s a lie. Is there a scenario all laid out in your head, like a pre-determined play? And because I’m not acting according to your script, are you trying to make me act the way you think I should?”

“Th-that’s… that’s!!”

“That’s what?”

“That’s…”

Cecilia, who had been angry at me, listened to my words and slowly began to unclench her fists. Then she lowered her head and started breathing roughly. Seeing Cecilia like that, I felt a stark contrast between her current appearance and how she had been teasing Rascal-ssi and me just moments ago.

“Why on earth are you forgiving me…? You said earlier you’d kill me, that you wouldn’t forgive me…”

“It was Rascal-ssi who said he’d kill you… well… I did say something like that. But in the end, I said I’d forgive you.”

“So why are you forgiving me…? I just can’t understand… I can’t predict it at all… I’ve never seen a human like you before… To apologize to me… to *me*, a demon… You must be crazy.”

“Isn’t it the other way around?”

“… No… You’re crazy—”

“You were blinded by revenge, unable to decide for yourself what was right or wrong, you poisoned lives, lost your reason, and even tried to control Aria. But having seen your memories, I know you weren’t originally like that. So who do you think is insane? Me, acting against your expectations? Or you, whose appearance has completely changed?”

“…”

“That’s why I’m forgiving you. Because I saw your memories, I—?”

I delivered a sharp remark to Cecilia, who kept insisting I was strange. No, should I call it a sharp remark? I thought Cecilia was completely consumed by revenge and unable to discern right from wrong, so I spoke a little pointedly. Cecilia slowly lowered the hand she had been pointing at me, then bowed her head completely. Was that a bit too harsh? I felt slightly sorry… Huh?

“Sob…”

“Huh…?”

“Sob… sniff… waaaah…”

This… this isn’t Aria’s sound, is it? Anxiously, I looked at Aria, who was sleeping with her head on my lap. Huh? She’s still… motionless? Th-then the owner of this sobbing… Could it be…? With a surge of unease, I looked at Cecilia and was greatly startled to see something falling from her face.

“Oh…?! Oh oh oh?!”

“Waaah… The crazy one… was meeeeee… Just as you said… the crazy one… sob… was meeeeeee… Waaah…”

When Cecilia lifted her head, I saw her face was soaked with tears. Ah… no, I didn’t mean to make her cry this much?! Seeing Cecilia crying profusely, I started to feel sorry instead.

“Ce… Cecilia, stop for a moment…”

“Waaaaaaah… sniff, waaah…”

“Ah… wait… I… I didn’t mean to make you cry like this?! S-stop it! Just stop! This is making me feel guilty!! D-did I say something too harsh?!”

“I’m sorryyyyy…. I’m sorryyyyy…. I’m sorryyyyyyy…”

Suddenly, Cecilia prostrated herself and apologized to me while crying. I took a deep breath to calm my chaotic mind. Seeing Cecilia, who seemed so proud, prostrate herself and apologize like this… I did feel sorry for her… Still…

“It was my fault… I’m sorryyyyy… sniff, waaah…”

“Not to me… You should say that to the people you caused pain to… I’m forgiving you, I told you. So stop it, just stop.”

“Waaaaaaaah… sniff…”

I continued to pat Cecilia’s back as she remained prostrate and crying. Yes… she’s been through a lot of tragedies too. For now, let’s just pat her back and calm her down… After crying her heart out for about two minutes, Cecilia stopped, sniffed, and sat next to me, looking straight ahead.

“… Zeke…”

“Why?”

“Sorry…”

“Oh… I told you I’m forgiving you… You can stop now…”

“But because of me, your precious friend died, and I even controlled this woman… You must be angry, it’s only natural… Don’t just easily forgive me out of pity…”

“No, seriously, it’s fine… Don’t be stubborn in such strange ways only now…”

“… Why did you forgive me?”

“Hmm… After experiencing those memories, all the resentment I had for you just vanished. Well… I didn’t see everything, though.”

“… Pervert.”

“Did I want to see that?!”

No, this is absurd… I didn’t even want to see it, so why is she calling me a pervert?! As I bristled, Cecilia, who had suddenly looked sad, gave a small smile and began to chuckle quietly. What’s so funny?! I’m suddenly annoyed at being called a pervert!

“Hehe…”

“Ugh… Anyway, for that reason, I’ll forgive you. Rascal-ssi will surely forgive you too, once he knows your circumstances.”

“… I’ve tried to show my memories to other races and explain.”

“What?”

“But no one believed my memories. The angels had spread the word that our race is all ugly and wicked. So… I’m happy. Even though so much time has passed…”

Suddenly, Cecilia, having just told me that she had previously tried to explain her memories to other races but no one believed her, took my stunned hand and spoke, showing me an increasingly wide smile.

“I’m so happy that there’s someone who believes me, even now… And you forgave me even knowing my evil deeds. Thank you so much, Zeke… This is the best day of my life… Truly…”

“… Didn’t you already say that when you got the cake from the neighbor?”

“…!! Th-this pervert…”

“No, did I *want* to know that?!”

Is she teasing me again because she’s in a good mood?! As I got angry again, Cecilia… smiled a distinctly different smile from before and started laughing a bit louder. Well… after experiencing Cecilia’s memories, I can understand why she’s acting like this now. This was Cecilia’s original personality, after all.

“Didn’t you used to mess with your friends like this before? By implanting your memories into others’ dreams with your succubus abilities.”

“That’s right… I did. Every time, everyone knew I was the culprit and chased me with sticks. They’d make such scary faces…”

“Right… And didn’t you smile like this when you ate cake too?”

“That’s right. But I hate carrots, so there were times I’d get a teary face when my mother gave me food with carrots in it.”

“I didn’t know that. I didn’t see everything, you know.”

“Oh? Shall I tell you a bit more?”

“Uh… yeah.”

My explorer’s curiosity awakened, I grew very curious about Cecilia’s story. Cecilia then spoke without stopping, telling me all about her life: the man she fell in love with at first sight, the pleasure she felt when she first wielded dark elemental power, that her favorite foods were cake and skewers, and that she disliked carrots and cucumbers.

“So, you know…! When I first used dark elemental magic!”

“Ah, I know a little about that. I saw your memories of you being good at handling dark elemental magic.”

“That’s right! And how ecstatic I was when I first flew with my wings! Other demons told me I seemed like a natural messenger, so I immediately applied! And I passed on my first try!”

“I see. A messenger is a job that delivers others’ communications to distant places, right?”

“That’s right! Sometimes I had to go to far places, so demons who were good at flying…”

While talking about the past, Cecilia suddenly started getting more and more dejected. Then she wrapped her arms around her knees, bowed her head, and began to sniffle. Why is she suddenly like this again…? Ah…

“I miss my friends… and the old woman… sniff… My mother and father… I miss them all… sniff…”

“As expected… Ugh… It’s getting chilly… Just a moment.”

I started looking for something to use as kindling in the small backpack I brought. Hmm… Is there nothing…? Oh? This… Yes… This is just… a nuisance to me right now. I took out the item and set it on fire. Cecilia then raised her head, saw the burning item, watched it intently, and immediately looked greatly surprised as she realized what it was.

“Zeke… this is…”

“Ah, this? Legends of the Celestial Demon War. And this is a dictionary on demons… Hmm…”

Cecilia stared blankly at me as I continued to pull out books related to demons from my backpack and set them on fire. These books were unnecessary. Because…

“Why are you burning these…?”

“I’m an explorer. Books full of lies like these aren’t even worth calling items to me. Ugh… All the books in my backpack were related to demons…?”

Seeing that there were no more books in the backpack, I sighed, realizing that all the burned books were related to demons. At that moment, Cecilia suddenly hugged me and said, tears streaming down her face.

“Thank you so much… I feel like I’ve received so many blessings from you… Thank you truly, Zeke… Truly…”

“… Honestly, you were scared of my words of forgiveness, weren’t you?”

“… No…”

Huh? No? I clearly thought Cecilia was scared of forgiveness because she hadn’t heard it in a long time… But that’s not it? When I made a questioning expression, Cecilia stopped hugging me and looked up at the sky, speaking.

“I felt like my life would become miserable. With just those words… I didn’t accept your forgiveness because I was afraid that long life I spent sharpening the blade of revenge would become wretched… So I didn’t know that words of forgiveness could be so terrifying… Ha… haha….”

“I see. But how will you live now?”

“I don’t know either… Until I heard your forgiveness, all I thought about was taking revenge on the world… Zeke… can I also forgive the world like you?”

“You don’t have to forgive the angels. Those fools are the ones who did the crazy deed of changing history. I don’t want to forgive those guys either. Ah, only the ones who tried to change history, of course.”

“I understand. Still, I want to become as kind-hearted as you, Zeke… If I were to follow you…”

“Aria might crack your head with her staff. I’m extremely reluctant to bring companions along.”

“What…? Wait… Weren’t you this Saintess’s porter? You were supposed to be on this Saintess’s journey…”

“It’s the opposite, the opposite. Don’t you remember? Aria said she’d hinder my journey.”

“I thought that was just words from my control… Ah… So this Saintess joined your journey…”

“That’s right… Ah, Cecilia. Even if you can’t accompany me, I’ll record the truth about demons in my explorer’s log.”

“What…?”

“I’m an explorer who loves the truth. Earlier, when I was digging, bricks and finger bones from the city you lived in came out. So that also proved your memories were true. With so much evidence of the truth, there’s no reason not to record it.”

“… Really…? But if other humans harm you, calling it sacrilegious…”

“… Her.”

As Cecilia continued to worry about me, I pointed a finger at Aria, who was sleeping deeply on my lap. Cecilia, who knew Aria’s strength, immediately understood and smiled.

“Right… Who could defeat this Saintess…”

“Exactly? So, how will you live now?”

“Even though you’ve forgiven me, I’m still a demon who has committed many sins. I don’t have the face to live in a village or such… So I plan to live alone in a secluded place… There’s a cave this Saintess modified for you before. I’m thinking of living there… As for helping others…”

“You don’t have to say it. So, are you going to stop seeking revenge now?”

“Yes… But even if I stop my revenge, the world won’t welcome me… Still, if I always remember that you, who welcome me, exist in this world, I think I can live even in a world like this.”

“That’s a relief. Cecilia, when this journey ends, I will definitely let the world know that not all demons are evil. And the truth about the Oghfoslia legend too.”

“Really?”

“Of course! Let’s make a promise.”

When I smiled and held out my hand, Cecilia stared blankly at it. Then she gave a soft smile and firmly held my hand with both of hers, saying.

“Thank you… By the way, it’s been a long time since I held hands with anyone like this… Truly… I had forgotten… this feeling.”

“That’s good to hear.”

That night, Cecilia and I shared both laughter and sad stories. I talked about my and Aria’s journey, and Cecilia told me about the things she did when she was a messenger. And finding lost pets, too…? As I spent a pleasant time with Cecilia, the next morning arrived.

“Yawn… Ah…! Zeke-nim! Zeke…”

“Don’t look back, Aria. I’m also turned away, only writing, so I don’t see you right now.”

“Huh…? Why suddenly… Shriek?!”

Aria realized she was naked and was greatly flustered. That’s why I’m currently turned away and focused on writing… But for such a scream to come out of Aria’s mouth… The world sure has all sorts of interesting things happening…

“C-could it be Zeke-nim who…?!”

“Would I do that?!”

“… Tsk.”

I must have misheard just now. Isn’t it more fortunate that I *didn’t* undress her? But instead of being relieved, why is she clicking her tongue…? Ugh… Still, since she seems to have regained her spirits, I should say what I need to.

“Aria.”

“Yes?”

“What happened before…”

“I know, Zeke-nim.”

“Hm?”

I expected Aria to become dejected again if I brought up what happened before. But the voice I heard from Aria now felt full of hope instead of despair.

“How kind you are, Zeke-nim… How gentle you are… I received all of that heart that night…”

“Is that so?”

“Yes… And I realized something.”

“Realized what now…?”

Why do I suddenly get goosebumps whenever I hear the word “realized”? Is it because Aria said she realized something when Cecilia controlled her before…? Or… am I instinctively predicting something now?

“That I had been doubting if Zeke-nim would leave me, and trembling with anxiety… But when Zeke-nim encouraged me, I realized… Zeke-nim… would never abandon me…”

“That goes without saying. You’re a precious companion, after all.”

“And… that the love I have now is not one filled with doubt…!”

“What?”

Suddenly, upon hearing those words, the hand holding my pen stopped moving. It was because I instinctively felt something. What is it? Why do I feel like I need to run away from here again…?

“I am now… truly in love, ready to dedicate my everything…!! Now I can truly trust and love Zeke-nim…!! Zeke-niiiiiim!!”

“Ah… huh?!”

Suddenly, I heard footsteps, closed my eyes, and turned around. Because… Aria was running towards me without her clothes on!!!!

“Waaahhhh!!”

“Zeke-niiiiiim!! I truly love you!!!”

“Before that, please put some clothes onnnnnnnn!!!!”

Since Aria was naked, I couldn’t open my eyes at all and used all my strength to grab her arms and resist. And the villagers outside, hearing this noisy commotion, let out hollow laughs and went about their business.