Chapter 29 (1/2)
“Thank you for sharing your past with us.”
h.e.l.lo all, sorry for being late i deleted my files and took time to get them back. let me now if i messed up anywhere, Thank you
“Well, that ‘s the story. How was it human? I don’t know if it was what you were hoping for, but that’s the story of my betrayal. I destroyed a nation just so I could get revenge for my wife.”
“….”
This is heavy stuff. All I can feel is the tension in the air.
To be honest, at first, I wasn’t sure if I would believe his story.
However, looking in his eyes I can see the toll he has paid over the past 200 years. There’s no way he’s lying.
I’m at a loss for words, this retired old man is amazing.
It is truly amazing to love somebody like that. At some point, the story made Root begin to cry. I can feel myself welling up with envy or maybe it’s jealousy.
I have new questions for myself.
Could Alto feel that intensely about me? If I was killed, would he continue living for 200 years just to remember me? To tell the truth, he might just be interested in me for my body.
“Sorry, I’m not really sure what to say. It was a very intense story.”
“Don’t worry about it. Getting to talk about my beloved wife is my favorite thing in the world. Since you already listened to me this long, let me tell you more about my wife until dawn.”
As Warltrip spoke, he squinted his eyes and a calm smile spread across his face. Warltrip really did love his wife. He began to tell us the memories of his wife. His expression was different now, it displayed an element of innocence. He looked cautious before but now he just looks unbelievably happy.
I’ve got it! I’ve thought of a way we can pay him back for his touching story and give him something good to think about.
“Hey, Demon Clan Warltrip, I’ve got something to tell you. My pal Root here has a special gift.”
“Huh? What is this about? I’m just about to finally tell the story about how I met my wife.”
“It’s fine, just listen to me, old man. So…?”
“That’s fine. I mean if it’s true I’d like to help….”
“Oh, o —”
Root is the spitting image of his wife. Root also loves wearing women’s clothes. I just had a revelation thinking about how to put these two things together.
It would make everybody happy if Root could wear some of Warltrip’s wife’s leftover clothes. Of course, I’m a genius.
“What is it, Fio? I want to tan your hide.”
“Huh? Don’t break character while you’re wearing those clothes. The image the old man has given me about Reine is much nicer than that.”
“Yeah, alright. I’m going to remember this Fio.”
Wow, Root’s face looks like he wants to kill me. This is the first time Warltrip will get to see his wife in 200 years, don’t ruin it. Come on man, put your heart into it.
“Reine, Reiiiine, sorry, I’m Reine”
Warltrip, on the other hand, is completely destroyed. It’s almost hard to believe, Root looks like the demon man’s painting has come to life. Root looks so much like Reine that I almost can’t believe this is real life and not a dream.
His eyes widened and the flow of tears started pouring out. He was crouched down as if he was pleading to Root.
“Sorry, sorry human. I’m alright. Could you, just once…. Could you call me big poppa?”
That had to be the pet name Reine used to call Warltrip. After listening to his request, Root made a very troubled face and calmly closed his eyes.
“…Big poppa.”
“Ah. Reina, I—“
After hearing his mumbled reply, Warltrip was immediately standing before Root.
It’s almost like he’s seeing his wife again after 200 years. I can’t imagine what is going through Warltrip’s mind right now. With his hands trembling, Warltrip reaches out to embrace Root--
“How long do you plan on grieving? You old fool!”
Root looked up and gave Warltrip an unrestrained smack.
What?
”Uh, hey Root, what are you doing?”
“Listen, big poppa, I know demon men have long lives but this is ridiculous. Yes, it’s terrible that I was taken from you so suddenly. How many years are you going to continue to drag this around with you? You d.a.m.n fool.”
”Reina? No, it can’t be. Are you really Reina?”
“What? Take a good look, I’m not Reina. How could I be? I died a long time ago!”
What is going on? Root just started acting like another person and lecturing Warltrip.
“Wha, wha, what? How can you be Reina? I need—“
”We just look the same. Do you get it? Come on, this body is a male.”
“Ah, Ah, Reina, Reina, I should have protected you, I could have protected you! If I was just there, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing and listen, big poppa. I need you to listen to me, it’s time for you to forget about me. It’s enough, you’ve proven your feelings more than enough.”
Root is acting completely different. Even the way he’s counseling Warltrip is completely different from how he speaks.
What is this? Has Root really become Reina? Did Reina possess Root?
No that can’t be it, Reina died 200 years ago. Even if she became some kind of undead creature, she wouldn’t have her own consciousness still.
I can only think of a single answer.
This must be a performance. Root must have thought of a plan to try and cheer Warltrip up by pretending to be Reine.
Wait, that can’t be right. There’s no way he knew what kind of personality Reina had. Seriously, what the heck is going on?
If he had my brain then he could run a simulation of her personality and play it back. That is all I can think of for now.
Warltrip is actually convinced Root is his wife. Root must be acting pretty close to how Reina actually was.
“Here, look at this, Reina. This is a painting of when you and I went to the lakeside.”
“Yeah, you painted it really well. I remember it fondly too.”
“This poem here, I wrote it with the words I used when I first told you how I felt.”
“I’ve heard it, I’ve heard it so many times. I know you poured your heart into making a song for me, you don’t have to sing it every night.”
Root was nodding along to his words and stroking his chest like relaxing a child. They really did look exactly like lovers.
It’s weird. This really doesn’t look like a performance.
“But, I’m not part of this world anymore. It’s time for us to say our goodbyes, big poppa.”