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Defiled Hero Chapter 001

Defiled Hero

Five Years in the New World

「...Have executions by drowning in the sea become popular as of late?」 (?????)

The ocean expanded before him, illuminated by moonlight.

Drenched by the cold seawater, crushed by the waves, treading water so as to not drown, he thought as such.

What is this!?

Looking around, he could faintly see land two kilometers away.

Let's think about this calmly after getting to sh.o.r.e.

Certainly, there was an attempted a.s.sa.s.sination, but it must have been a failure.

I should have been sent to the gallows, but before I knew it I was in the middle of the sea.

I'm clueless. I don't understand.

Not knowing anything, and understanding only a single thing, I found a clue.

Stepping onto the sandy beach, I exited the water without stumbling.

Taking off my waterlogged clothes, the night wind began to steal away my body heat, so I put my drenched clothes back on.

The beach was lined with withered, leafless trees, with a silent forest beyond.

There were no signs of humans or animals or anything else.

A remote beach... huh.

Shall we ascertain the one clue I have, then?

I laid down on the barren ground and closed my eyes..

「How are you feeling?」 (????)

I heard a young girl's voice as she quietly spoke right next to my ear.

Is she mocking me? ...I knew it.

「What are the requirements?」 I spat out with a stiff voice while lying down, staring at the pure white sky that stretched infinitely in every direction. (?????)

「Geez, no need for that scary reply, it's fine isn't it? It's been 5 years since we last met. ”I wanted to see you~” or something like that is fine, you know?」 (????)

「Not at all.」 (?????)

「Eeeh?」 (????)

「Hurry up and tell me the requirements.」 (?????)

I urged her to tell me.

Tilting my head to the side, I met her eyes.

「Astrea. Please answer seriously. Why did you summon me to this world again?」 (?????)

The ”pet.i.te girl”... no, ”little girl” would be more correct.

Astrea. The owner of this place.

She stared into the depths of my eyes, unmoving.

There's n.o.body in this pure white s.p.a.ce except for Astrea and I.

The wind isn’t blowing either. With neither of us speaking, all that could be heard was the sound of our breathing.

An appearance so pretty you would hesitate to touch it.

Astrea held me in her arms, quietly, and at ease, and whispered in a voice that threatened to disappear at any moment.

「...You've changed quite a lot. Izayoi.」 (Astrea)

That's all she said. And with only that, I felt a crus.h.i.+ng sense of loss.

“Changed.” That's all she said, so why did I avert my eyes from her?

”Why do I feel like running away right now?” I thought to myself.

Astrea put her hands on my cheeks, but didn't pull them.

「Truly, what beautiful eyes this young boy has... but why does he have such a sour expression, and he's lost his left eye too. With an eyepatch he completely turns into a villain.」 (Astrea)

「...You haven't changed at all.」 (Izayoi)

He was unable to say anything more.

With a smile as though she had seen through him, Astrea gazed deep into his eyes and neared his face.

*Kiss*

「Izayoi~ I wanted to see y— *awawa*!?」 (Astrea)

I silently grabbed Astrea's face with my right hand and tightened my grip.

「Ow!? Owowowowow!? Forgive me! Stop! My face, my pretty face is going to break!」 (Astrea)

No matter how many years pa.s.s she'll still be noisy.

「*Haa~* That was dangerous. My famously pretty face is... huh? Did your face become cuter?」 (Astrea)

「It did not.」 (Izayoi)

Five finger marks could be seen clearly on her face.

「So, what were we talking about again?」 (Astrea)

「...Why I was summoned to this world again.」 (Izayoi)

「Ah, yes, yes. That's what I wanted to talk about, Izayoi.」 (Astrea)

I straightened my posture.