Chapter 101: Family (3) (2/2)

“Oh, I still have plenty of time. What about you… uncle?”

I looked at Yeriel and frowned slightly, but then she backed away as if frightened.

“…Uncle?”

“Yes? Yes, yes, yes, yes…”

Her short-tongued voice was cute, causing me to smile. From her point of view, I was an uncle.

“Well. I don’t know when to go. I’m looking for a way back home.”

“Oh…”

I looked at Yeriel. The girl who was proud of her magic until now sat down on the ground.

“By the way, do you also have a younger sister too, uncle?”

And then the topic suddenly changed. It was a little uncomfortable, but I managed a bitter smile as I nodded. Follow new episodes on the lightno​velpub.c‌om platform.

“Yes.”

“Aha… then… do you hate your sister too?”

Yeriel’s voice while asking that question was low and heavy. She suddenly seemed depressed. After all, at this age, one’s emotions must have very turbulent ups and downs. The reproduction of this memory was uselessly real.

“…Well.”

I looked up into the clear sky. For some reason, I felt at peace. Come to think of it, I was still sitting on the grass. I left my clothes untidy, but it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. For some reason, it felt that I had returned as Kim Woojin.

“Yeah. That’s right.”

Young Yeriel ripped up the grass at my response, but I glanced at her as I continued.

“In the past.”

“…?”

Yeriel turned to me. Her eyes widened with surprise.

“I used to not like her a lot. I almost hated her. But…”

I recalled my sister. That child who died too young, too early. Unlike me, who was growing old, she had become young forever.

“Not now.”

“…Eh?”

Yeriel seemed perplexed for some reason. I messed up her hair and laid on the grass. That blue sky seemed to fall over me like a blanket.

“T-Then, do you like her now?”

Yeriel was holding her knees close to her chest as she asked the question.

“…Yeah.”

“How much…?”

Asking childish things. Well, she was a child.

“Pfft.”

As I chuckled, her eyes narrowed, and she jumped up in a flash.

“Don’t laugh!”

“…Well. How much?”

I paused for a moment. Young Yeriel held her breath as she waited alongside me. That reaction was too adorable.

“Enough to give up my dreams for her.”

If I continued to pursue my dream of becoming a painter, she would have starved to death. Her dream was more important than mine.

“…”

There wasn’t an answer. Yeriel remained silent for a long time following that.

Whooosh…

A refreshing and gentle breeze tugged at my collar and ruffled her hair. Only then did Yeriel respond in a thin, small voice that seemed likely to scatter at the slightest movement.

“…I see.”

“Right.”

“But… why didn’t you like her?”

“…”

This was my secret anger; I hadn’t told anyone why. It was a sinful, painful memory, and talking about it was too much.

However…

“What… was the reason? Because my older brother… also… doesn’t like me….”

Those tearful words pulled at my heart. I turned to the Young Yeriel. This little girl was nothing more than a reproduction of memory anyway.

“…I used to think she stole the one I love. At that time.”

“The one you loved?”

“Yes.”

My mother died giving birth to her. My father continued to grieve until he died of cancer five years later. All that was left to me, an orphan, was a six-year-old who could not speak properly. A burden. The one who stole everything from me.

However, in the end, that child became my everything. My younger sister, who passed away soon after I realized what she meant to me.

“I was a fool. So, I’ve regretted it a lot.”

“…”

Maybe that’s why I didn’t hate Yeriel. Of course, Yeriel wasn’t my real sister, and she couldn’t ever replace her… even so. I looked to Yeriel. She was on the verge of tears, had my words reminded her of the past?

“So, don’t worry.”

I placed my hand on her little head. Yeriel flinched, her ears drooping like a frightened puppy.

“One day, your brother will love you too.”

“…”

Yeriel didn’t say anything. Instead, she stood up and ran away. I tried to catch her, but Yeriel disappeared without a trace.

“…Is it recorded up to this point?”

It was a memory in a diary so that it wouldn’t last forever. With that in mind, I stood up.

“Huh?”

Then, suddenly, it started to rain.

Pitter-patter…

It was raining despite the clear skies. I caught a few drops on my hand and tasted them.

“What is this?”

It was salty. How was rainwater salty? My brow furrowed, but at the same time, I laughed.

“Pfft.”

I took a big breath.

“Haaaah…”

I felt at ease. It was refreshing to feel that the pressure that had been bearing down on my body as Deculein had disappeared. After a very long time, I was now only Kim Woojin.

“But… that’s that.”

I scratched at my head.

“How do I get out of here?”

I needed to think about escaping.

* * *

Yeriel fled from her memory. She leaned against the wall, clutching at her heart.

“Nonsense…”

The words that Deculein had spoken to her still lingered in her ears. As if whispering them over and over, they wouldn’t go away.

“How…”

Yeriel read the notebook, 「Deculein 」, again with trembling hands. The diary was still being recorded.

[Yeriel disappeared without a trace. It was a memory in a diary so that it wouldn’t last forever.]

Drip-

Drops of water dripped down the notebook, hitting the page and spreading out. She had begun to cry before she realized it. Yeriel raised her face in surprise.

“…Huh.”

This was also recorded in the diary.

[It was raining despite the clear skies. I caught a few drops on my hand and tasted them. It was salty. How was rainwater salty?]

“Don’t drink it, you fool… these are my tears. That’s ridiculous. You don’t even like dirty things.”

Yeriel laughed softly. As she read Deculein’s thoughts, her tears quickly halted.

[I felt at ease. It was refreshing to feel that the pressure that had been bearing down on my body as Deculein had disappeared. After a very long time, I was now only ■■■. ]

The pressure as Deculein. Yeriel agreed with the passage’s meaning but frowned at the blacked-out letters. Why did these three letters keep appearing as code?

“Yeriel.”

Then the diary appeared.

“Have you made a decision?”

“Yeah.”

Yeriel nodded firmly.

“Okay. Tell me.”

“Everyone will come back. Deculein, my brother, and everyone else.”

“…Come back?”

The diary frowned.

“Do you not want to be the successor?”

“…I don’t know.”

Deculein said:

– Enough to give up my dreams for her.

She didn’t know exactly what that dream was, but Yeriel knew one thing for sure. She knew that she had misunderstood him so far.

“It doesn’t matter now. We can talk after we get back.”

Of course, there were still many unresolved issues. What Ganesha’s request was, and what he asked for, but the rest was something she should ask him herself.

“You will regret it.”

“…What?”

The diary said something strange. Yeriel, frowning, looked down at Deculein’s notebook.

[ …As I thought, the guy in the diary is not a diary. He’s a dangerous guy ]

Yeriel didn’t show any emotion. However, the diary was staring at her with ferocity in his eyes all of a sudden.

“You will regret it.”

Yeriel shook her head, clutching the key in her arms.

“I won’t regret it.”

“No. You will regret it.”

“…Are you a diary? What kind of diary disobeys its owner? Do you want to die?”

“…”

Then, his eyes turned red. Yeriel backed away in surprise.

“I am the learning intelligence of Master Decalane. The master entrusted me with the qualification for succession as my top priority.”

“What?”

“The result is that both of you are to be eliminated.”

Mana surged from him. No, it was a power different from mana. It was dark. Taking one step back, then two, Yeriel asked.

“…What happens if we both are eliminated?”

“I, the learning intelligence, take the place of your personality. I am the most like my master, a more worthy successor than the deficient you.”

She was startled by his out-pouring nonsense but soon gathered herself enough to yell back.

“Bullshit, you moron!”

“I will take your body.”

“You’re just made out of magic. Do you think you can do something?!”

“I’m hundreds of times superior to you. You are not greedy enough to become his successor.”

Tentacles appeared from his back. Yeriel clenched her jaw. She had put up a good show, but the level of magic he emanated was more than she imagined. The most up-to-date novels are published on lightno­velpub.c‎om.

“Give yourself up.”

The tentacles stretched out. Yeriel turned back and ran down the hallway. At the same time, she pulled out Deculein’s notebook. She thought he would know the answer to this situation. The tentacles smashed the walls around her in close pursuit. Several sentences were forming in the notebook, but the content was too complex to understand while sprinting.

Boooooom─!

Tentacles protruded through the wall in front of her, blocking the way. Reluctantly, Yeriel put the key in the closest frame of memory. Without any further hesitation, she dived in with a loud shout.

“Brother-!”