Chirem Act 6-4.2
Act 6-4: It Was Supposed to be A Peaceful Day
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
R1[1-3], R2[4-7]
Part 4
「No, no, no, no! Wait a minute! Why?! Why is this suddenly about that?! Mate?! Holding her?! What the hell?!」
「Oh man, you’re in total chaos right now, big bro. Look, we can’t stay in limbo forever. For us Helma tribe, choosing one’s sex is an important rite of passage. Back in the dark era, when humans and demons were fighting each other for domination and survival on the continent, countless men were killed in the war, and our race was on the brink of extinction. That’s when some of the surviving women transformed so they could take on the role of males, and thanks to that, we barely managed to continue our bloodline. That’s what our Helma tribe is. That’s why choosing one’s gender is a crucial ceremony that marks us as adults. Yet sis can’t let go of her dream and still hasn’t made up her mind. No matter how much fame she earns as a soldier, she won’t be recognised as a fully-fledged adult like this.」
「So, to help her finally make that choice, you want me to… have s#x with Chris? I get your reasoning, but still…」
「Well, I get why you’d feel reluctant. But, y’know… To borrow sis’s own words, you are the one who turned her into a girl, right?」
Yuri’s grin faded, his expression tightening as his eyes sharpened into a piercing glare.
Hit by that uncompromising gaze, I averted my eyes and fell silent.
「Ever since that day when she suffered that unreasonable defeat at the hands of Yuiitsu, sis has completely lost her stride. Whether it was a blessing or a curse, she stopped going berserk like she used to and managed to get promoted to the Gold Class… But she’d lost sight of her goal. It was you, big bro — you were the one who gave her the chance to be saved and get back on her feet. And that encounter… is what turned her into a woman.」
「That’s...」
「She aimed to become a strong man because she grew up watching our father’s example. But you’re different. What she felt towards you wasn’t admiration for a strong man — it was a flutter of the heart toward a kind, dependable man. That feeling pulled her body, which had been leaning towards the male side, completely over to the female side… which is why she came to that crazy conclusion that if she killed you, she’d be able to return to being a man.」
And finally, Yuri put on his usual carefree smile, shrugging lightly as if to say, honestly, what can you do…
「But doesn’t that basically mean she’s already confessing that, deep down, she wants to be your woman? Sure, she keeps saying she’ll kill you and all that, but the truth is… she’s really fond of you. Sis really likes you, y’know? That’s also why I call you ‘big bro’. You do realise that… right?」
「I mean… That almost sounds like you’re talking about me and Chris getting married or something…」
「Ahahahaha, you don’t need to take it so seriously. Sis is just a little… out of sync with other people, that’s all. For us, the Helma tribe — well, for demons in general — s#x is basically just another form of communication. It’s not ‘with marriage in mind’ or anything like that, more like ‘a nice memory of a single night’. This is something important for her too, y’know.」
「E-Even if you say so...」
「Huh? Still not convinced? Or is it that… you’re just not interested if sis is the one you have to do it with?」
「Ouwa?!」
Yuri stepped away from me, grabbed hold of Chris’s arms as she sat slumped on the ground, and forcefully pulled her to her feet.
While restraining the flailing Chris, Yuri dragged her over in front of me.
「See? What do you think? Even though she’s my sister, I have to admit she’s got a pretty cute face, right? Sure, she might be a bit small in various ways, but still. Doesn’t it get you excited when you imagine being able to do whatever you want to this cheeky little brat?」
「H-hey, you idiot! Yuri! L-let go of me! Do you really think you’ll get away with doing something like this to your big brother?!」
「Shut up, you stubborn idiot of a sister. Don’t think I don’t know exactly how you feel. Even though you refuse to admit it, you keep pestering our big brother just because you can’t accept those feelings. Try being the one who has to clean up after you every single time. I’m sticking my neck out for you since you’re too damn stubborn to be honest, so you should be grateful to me instead.」
「Auuu, hick...」
「H-hey. She clearly doesn’t like this, so how about you let her go now? I know the ritual is important for your people and all, but you could think a bit more about Chris as w—」
「...It’s not like any man would do, you know. It’s because you’re our big brother. Because I believe you can be trusted to take care of her, that’s why I’m going this far. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be resorting to something this extreme. Besides, didn’t you tell her before? That you wanted to make amends?」
Ugh… Yes, I did say that before. But that was an apology for getting in the way of the duel with Yuiitsu, not some declaration of intent to make Chris into a woman or anything like that...
「I’ve been watching over her, believing that one day she’d face her own feelings and accept her life as a woman. But if we keep putting it off any longer, nothing will ever move forward. It’s about time she made up her mind. More importantly, what about you, big brother? What do you think about her? She’s cute, isn’t she? C’mon, she is cute, right?!」
「Eh? W-Well, yeah... I do think that she’s really cute.」
「K-Kyaaaaaa?!」
Overwhelmed by Yuri’s intensity, I ended up answering — and a puff of steam suddenly burst from Chris’s head.
W-whoa, just like in a manga… — no, no, this was no time to be escaping from reality!
「See? He said you’re cute! Even big bro thinks you’re cute, sis! Isn’t that great?! All that effort you put into dolling yourself up really paid off!」
「Unyaaaa~...」
「You were all nervous about it, weren’t you?! The whole way here, you kept worrying whether big bro would give you a weird look for suddenly dressing like a girl! During our breaks on the way back, you kept checking yourself in the mirror over and over, blushing bright red and going ‘ahh, ahh…’ every single time!!」
「Stop it already~」
「Yuri! Please stop right there! I’m dying here! Your big sister is seriously about to die of embarrassment!」
「Huh?! You did say she was cute, didn’t you, big bro?! Which means you admit that you can mate with her, right?! You could embrace Chris as a woman, yeah?! That’s what you’re saying, isn’t it?!」
「Eh? Well, I mean...」
Under Yuri’s relentless questioning, I couldn’t help but glance at Chris. At that, Chris, seemingly pushed past her limit, began to roll her eyes wildly, tears welling up.
「GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!?!?!?!」
「GAH?!」
With a feral scream, she thrust both arms upward with all her strength. One strike landed squarely on Yuri’s jaw, sending him toppling to the ground. Freed from his grasp, Chris quickly snatched up her fallen greatsword and pointed its tip straight at me.
「What are you talking abouuuuuuuuuut?! I don’t even like Rakuichi or anything?! I’m not thinking about wanting to be held or anything like that?! On the contrary, I’m planning to kill him?! This outfit? It’s something that Yuri forced me to wear, understand?! I don’t get it one bit!! Pffft, pffft, pffft!!」
「Waaaah! My sister’s completely lost it!」
「Ahahahahaha!! That’s it! I’m done! I’m going to destroy everything! Rakuichi, that woman over there, everything—I’ll tear it all to pieces!! Gyaooooooo!!!」
「EH?! W-WAIT A SECOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOND!!」
Then, Chris—completely unhinged and losing her sanity—swung her greatsword as she lunged at me. I quickly scooped Bell under one arm, spun on my heel, and bolted.
「R-RAKUICHI-SAN! PAUSE FUNCTION, NOW!」
「G-GOT I――WOAAAAAAAAH?!」
Prompted by Bell, I silently whispered in my mind, “Status Open.” The status screen appeared before me, and I reached out toward it—only to jerk my arm back immediately.
In the next instant, the shockwave from Chris’s slash sliced past me, grazing my side. That was close—if I’d kept my arm out, it would’ve been cut clean off for sure.
But there was no time to breathe. Chris’s attacks came one after another, relentlessly. I was barely managing to dodge, with no chance to press the PAUSE button.
The only weakness of the Pause Function—a power granted by the gods—was that it had to be activated manually. With attacks flying nonstop, and one arm occupied holding Bell, activating it was nothing short of impossible.
But I couldn’t keep dodging forever—and worse, at this rate, the city would suffer massive damage. I had to do something, and fast...!
「DIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!」
「Uwaaa!」
「KYAAAA!」
Finally, caught in the shockwave from a slash that slammed into the ground, Bell and I were blown away and tumbled to the dirt.
――Thud.
As I lifted my head, something caught my eye—a slender device that looked like a ballpoint pen. It was the emergency escape magic tool I’d brought along, just in case, before leaving the general store. It must’ve flown out of my pocket when I fell.
「THIS IS THE END!」
Chris leapt high into the air, sword poised downward as she came plummeting toward me. Damn it, there’s no time to think! I wasn’t thrilled about this, but... this was the only way out!
I hastily grabbed the magic item, held Bell tight with one arm, and pressed its switch.
In that instant, my surroundings changed in the blink of an eye.
「...So, I’ve ended up here after all.」
The place had shifted from the chaotic city streets to a wooden terrace built onto a large structure. From there, the view stretched out over a radiant field of blooming flowers, basking in the brilliant summer sunlight.
It was a magnificent, resplendent world—so breathtaking one might mistake it for heaven itself. Amidst the flutter of petals dancing in the fresh morning breeze, a lone figure stood quietly, all by herself.
Clad in a deep-green maid outfit, her long, lustrous purple hair flowed gracefully down her back. She was the gardener responsible for this field of flowers, the villa that stood within it, and the surrounding forest.
Noticing our arrival, the figure turned toward us and began walking slowly. Stopping at the foot of the terrace stairs, she looked up at me standing above and gave a soft, gentle smile.
「Long time no see~」
「Yeah... Long time no see, Silvia.」
In response, I returned a somewhat awkward smile.
The next moment, the gardener suddenly broke into a sprint, dashing up the stairs in a single bound. Then, without warning, she threw herself into my chest, leaving me stunned by the sudden turn of events.
Wrapping her arms tightly around my waist and pressing her cheek against my chest, she whispered softly—
「I've missed you so much... Daddy.」