Prelude (16)

,Ah, eugh. Sseuup…”

However, the childish behavior didn’t last long.

-Mom. Then, will Daddy hate me?

I swallowed the saliva that was about to drip down.

Unlike Hajin, who would offer up his pussy to the Iron Bear Tribe at any time-a guy with absolutely no self-control-Aileen knew how to control her desires. Well, it was pointless to demand restraint from a guy without a soul.

,…Right. This isn’t the time for this.’

Thanks to that, the desire to exploit the ‘male’ before me forever disappeared without a trace. What I needed to do now was create a new point of intersection between Shuriel and Aileen.

A meeting without a point of intersection was just an indefinite wait. A continuous wait, spending time endlessly while hoping for a connection that might happen someday.

Of course, Aileen had been waiting and waiting for a long time, but unfortunately, despite the time she’d invested in her efforts, Shuriel hadn’t shown any particular reaction. If you only looked at the fact that they were father and daughter… it was a huge point of intersection that didn’t need anything else, but the problem was that it was shallow.

The two of them were surprisingly awkward for being father and daughter. A body created by the World Tree. A rapidly grown physique. A mind that had already surpassed adulthood. None of that could become a medium to connect the two of them.

Even if they had a physical relationship, nothing would change. Those two needed… something more spiritual and empathetic.

,―Ahem, ahem.”

I erased the lewd female expression and returned to a serious one. Shuriel’s face became subtle at the rapid change in expression, but he didn’t expect his daughter to show a normal reaction. Considering his actions so far, it wouldn’t be strange if she tried to monopolize the empty spot.

,I don’t know if anything I say will make you feel better… but if you’re satisfied with just hugging like this, I’ll do it as much as you want.”

Shuriel felt a sense of unease and relief at his daughter’s lack of sadness, and he felt even more self-loathing at that fact. He was simply mechanically repeating actions that his daughter would like.

I shuddered, feeling ecstasy at the touch of his hand stroking my head and running down my back. There was no lust in that touch, but it contained a precariousness that could be altered by a single word from his daughter. Yes, to define it, it was unstable. A soft lump of iron that bends as you hammer it.

I could understand, at least a little, why Aileen harbored such feelings. If the person she had so desperately wanted fell into her hands in such an unstable state, she couldn’t help but be tempted.

But I didn’t want those two to connect in this way. I opened my mouth while being held in Shuriel’s arms.

,Daddy.”

,What is it?”

Shuriel’s voice was emotionless. What is it? Answer me. I understand. I will do that… The words he had said so far flashed through my mind.

Why did he have to change like this? Still, at first, he had a bit of the smooth, playboyish charm of his brother.

Well… I can’t deny that it’s because of me. From the moment I carried his seed, guilt never left his shoulders.

I gently pulled on Shuriel’s cheek.

,Mom. There’s a way to save her.”

I put a ray of light into the ear I pulled. At the same time, it was a rope of hope.

,What do I have to do?”

Shuriel stiffened his body like steel and answered. It was an immediate answer. I could feel his will to do it no matter what it took.

-As expected, Daddy is single-minded.

Aileen let out a faint nasal sound and felt bitter. And deep in her heart, in a corner like the bottom of the deep sea, a dark emotion stirred. I immediately accelerated my thoughts and spoke to Aileen.

,Don’t feel lonely.’

-How can I not? There’s… nothing between Daddy and me.

,It’s going to happen now. With you saving me.’

-And then what? Daddy will be grateful, and that’s it?

Aileen answered sulkily.

-Do you think Daddy will even be interested in me?

Love was curiosity. What does the other person eat for lunch, can I eat with them? Can I walk side by side with that person? Love was made up of such interests.

And that was something I couldn’t do anything about. The meeting with the World Tree, which was the beginning of everything, was not intentional.

-Daddy will be grateful, and that’s it?

Again, Aileen was furious. Her words were calm, but the anger within them could not be hidden.

Aileen thought to herself. I’m just a rolling stone. Just a pebble that fell on a huge meteorite. No matter how much it falls, the stone will never fall out.

It was truly pessimistic.

Shuriel had always loved and cherished Aileen. Like embracing his daughter, passing over the committed betrayal. But the situation wasn’t good enough to defend Aileen as pessimistic.

,If that’s the case.’

I say to my daughter, in a slightly unstable voice.

,Make it so he can’t forget you.’

At first, I was just going to create my body, drag my soul over, and settle it, but Aileen wanted something more intense than that.

,Sacrifice something.’

-Sacrifice?

,Don’t worry, I’m not saying anything crazy like sacrificing your life.’

Sacrifice…

Shuriel had sacrificed so much for me, but the things I had sacrificed for him were so insignificant that it made me laugh. I’m just a parasite, clinging on and being understood.

But this kind of relationship was because I was lacking. There was no place to rely on mentally, and I was on the verge of completely crumbling, so there was a lot of room for things to come in. I was a sponge with holes, and Shuriel was the water that soaked me.

,It just means you need a little less.’

I never thought that Aileen, who shared my bloodline, would live a normal life. I just hoped for it. An ordinary life. Days of living mixed in with others.

But as you can see now, Aileen was too perfect to be able to mix in. Aileen, who was perfect from birth, didn’t need to learn and didn’t need to work to get anything.

But that’s why she felt so keenly what she hadn’t gotten. Right now, for Aileen, it would be her father’s love.

-Less?

,Aileen, you’re too perfect.’

We are such a destiny.

,Even if it’s acting, it doesn’t matter. Just become less than you are now. Become someone who can’t be overlooked if you’re not paying attention.’

She had the power to destroy the world, but she only wanted one thing.

The desire to mix in.

,To be understood, you have to lower yourself.’

-Oh, would it be like Mom?

,…No. Absolutely not. Let’s find a slightly different way for you.’

Was she going to become a masochistic bitch like me? A chill ran down my spine at the thought.

,How about you decide? Except for becoming like me.’

-Things to sacrifice for Daddy?

,I’ll say it again, even if it’s acting, it doesn’t matter. Strictly speaking, it’s my fault, and there’s no need to take anything away because of me.’

In the midst of swirling thoughts, Aileen split and split her thoughts, stretching time to its limit. Finally, after agonizing for a time comparable to the waiting she had done so far, she was able to come to a decision.

-Uhm. I’ve decided.

,What will you sacrifice?’

To my question, Aileen answered in a bright voice.

-Everything about me.

• Pajik.

At that moment, my mind was greatly distorted. It felt like the world was collapsing. It meant that Aileen was pushing me away.

,Aile, en.’

The initiative is being passed over. Aileen was pushing me away more sincerely than ever before.

-I should tell you about such an important moment with my own mouth, shouldn’t I?

Aileen knew what I was going to do. I thought deep down so that Aileen wouldn’t be able to read it, but that was also being read. Even the monologue I’m doing now is probably being read.

• Pajijik….

In the end. It’s being passed over. I sighed, feeling myself being pushed into a corner.

,Ah, ha… Daddy.”

I release the thought acceleration. Shuriel was on high alert again at the sight of his daughter’s drastically changed appearance. He could let it go once, but since she kept showing this kind of appearance, he was worried that something was wrong with her mind.

,Daddy is… so kind.”

She pushes Shuriel away. Aileen, who had stepped back three steps, bit her finger and began to draw a magic circle in the middle of the floor.

,…Mom. Doesn’t die that easily.”

Shuriel, who was looking at the blood-stained magic circle, felt relieved at Aileen’s words and said.

,Are you thinking of using resurrection magic? The resurrection of the dead is prohibited by law, but… I’m not in a position to argue about that.”

,It’s similar. To be exact, it’s just a technique to drag and implant a soul that actually exists… This magic circle is just a simple guide.”

A soul that actually exists.

Aileen was talking about spiritualization. The soul of a dead person originally returns to God’s embrace immediately, but as I showed in the fight against the Agent, I can give up my body and stay in the mortal world for a certain period of time.

,I’m going to call Mom here now. I don’t know… where she is or what she’s doing.”

Actually, I know.

Mom is in my head right now.

I wanted to shout that, but I held back.

,……But. Daddy.”

,Speak.”

,Calling a soul is… not something anyone can do.”

I realized that this was acting for sacrifice.

,Not something anyone can do?”

,I said it was a guide, right? Calling a soul is something only someone close to God can do. For example… an ‘Agent’ or something.”

,….”

Shuriel couldn’t easily open his mouth at the word ‘Agent’.

A disloyal Agent. An Agent who curses God. A half-baked Agent without divine power. Of course, he knows how to use divine power now, but the modifiers that follow him are far from an ideal Agent.

,I know. Daddy is far from being devout.”

,…I’m sorry.”

,Don’t worry. Thanks to Daddy, I was born with divine power.”

Perfect.

A word that modifies Aileen.

,With my and Daddy’s divine power, guiding Mom’s soul should be easy.”

,If that’s the case――”

,But, the technique can only be activated by one person.”

,….”

It wasn’t a lie. This magic circle could only be activated by Aileen. That’s because there’s no one else who understands the magic circle besides her. Even if someone understood the magic circle, they would need mana that matched it. Considering these conditions, there was no one in Astra who could activate this magic circle…

-Aileen.

,Daddy.”

-It’s dangerous.

,There is a way… would you like to hear it?”