Volume 5 Chapter 7 (1/2)

”Fuguu.”

It was all over and Ayumi, my zombie little sister, was puffing out her cheeks like a blowfish.

”I don't care about that world crisis or evil demon lord or whatever. When you get down to it, this was you being selfish, Onii-chan. Make sure you make up with mom.”

She was blunt but right. And I did not need Ayumi to tell me that while she dived onto the sofa and kicked her legs around. The kitchen trash was full of empty cup noodle containers. Erika could do housework, but the house seemed to fall apart without my stepmom.

Erika sighed while wearing an adult negligee.

”Well, I bet mom will forgive you for everything once she knows you're back. …Our family doesn't have anyone willing to do the thankless task of lecturing you.”

”…Um, Erika? I'm not sitting on the floor here because I'm waiting for a reward. I'm simply afraid of that 'my, my, eh heh heh' aura coming from you.”

”But, Onee-chan, you sure came back to life once you knew Onii-chan was coming home. You suddenly took a bath and got dressed up. And after sitting by the wall with your arms around your knees the whole time he was gone.”

As they threw dubious information back and forth, my ordinary life was returning.

The Remora-infected people had been quickly released. They had gone to the police about the small creatures filling their bodies and the flooded battlefield, but the glowing ocean had apparently been especially problematic. Everyone a.s.sumed it was a hallucination after taking some kind of drug. Feeling like you have small bugs crawling under your skin is apparently a standard hallucination.

Thanks to that, no one was spreading the story much. Since drug use was viewed so harshly, they were apparently afraid that talking it up too much would actually lead to more people trying it.

No.

According to Minaki-san the Siren, she had been targeting people connected to Absolute Noah who had infiltrated the city. In that case, they may have been afraid of making waves and revealing the existence of their ark.

”…Mom.”

The next day, I visited the hospital afterschool.

My stepmom had been injured on the stomach, but the doctor said she would not have a scar. Perhaps that was thanks to being a great demon lord.

”Here's some fruit.”

”Couldn't you bring something with more charm? And my stomach is healing, so eating that would only make it hurt worse.”

What else was I supposed to do? It would look pretty weird if I brought flowers for my extremely young-looking stepmom.

”But since you're visiting, can I a.s.sume our little civil war is over? Are you ready to come back home?”

”No.” I shook my head. ”You still haven't scolded me for it.”

”Silly boy. You're safe and that's all I need.”

…That was probably all it had been for her throughout. To a sad extent. To the point that she would make an enemy of 7 billion people.

So I had to say it.

Our ridiculous family fight was over. I was sick of running away from home so I didn't have to see her anymore. But that did not mean we had resolved our differences.

I would face her.

As someone I had decided was family.

”Mom, I cannot accept what you're doing.”

”I suppose not. …Who would have thought you could raise your kid too well? It kind of makes me happy, which makes this all the more complicated.”

”And I defeated the Leviathan this time. I've proven that even a demon lord in charge of deadly sin can be defeated using the right method.”

”Wait, Satori. What did you do to the Leviathan…?”

We could discuss the details later. There were enough of them to fill a whole novel. But my conclusion had to come first.

”Let's fight, mom.”

I was irreverent.

This was the result of a shameless human who got in one lucky punch and let it go to his head.

But it had to be here.

Now was the only time. If I didn't go with it, things would only get worse until it was all over.

”I won't run from you anymore. I won't run from Absolute Noah. I won't run from the Calamity. I'll give this serious thought and find an answer different from yours. So let's fight. And I'm not talking about a mere fistfight. I mean a more intellectual, higher level, and - most importantly - more meaningful fight. …To put it simply, let's fight over who has the best method of overcoming the Calamity.”

My stepmom sighed on the bed. She looked at me like I was a stubborn child.

”…Do you have any idea how many calculations I've run?”