7DP 195
195: Nostalgic Face
TL: Cnine
ED/PF:
Part 1
―― Before I knew it, I found myself standing in a garden overgrown with plants and trees.
There was something strangely nostalgic about it.
It felt dark, yet bright at the same time
Was it dusk? Or perhaps dawn?
『Where… am I?』
Feeling oddly unsettled, I touched my chest, and the softness of the fabric caught me off guard.
Startled, I looked down to find myself dressed in a cute little gown
…The same kind I used to wear every day, long ago.
『Ah!』
Why did I ever forget this place? Of course, this garden should’ve felt nostalgic!
This was my home.
The courtyard of Baron Da Rosa’s mansion!!
I couldn’t help myself. I grabbed my dress and took off running.
The hedge maze. I’d played in it so many times as a kid, I could’ve escaped with my eyes closed.
But my body felt weirdly slow, like I was moving the way I did when I was littleone tiny step at a time.
Still, I somehow made it out of the maze.
『Aaaah!』
The mansionburned down years agowas standing there, just as it used to.
And at a round table, calmly enjoying tea, sat a gentleman with a magnificent moustache.
Beside him was a gentle-looking young man of average build
『Father! Big Brother!』
The nostalgia hit me so hard that tears welled up.
『Hey, Barbara… It’s been a while, hasn’t it?』
My brother stood up and smiled, the exact same smile he had back then.
『!!』
I couldn’t even speak. All I could do was let out a choked cry, sprint forward, and hug him tight.
He patted me gently on the back, just like when I was little, soothing me…
『I... I’m sorry!』
Those words slipped out on their own.
『You don’t need to apologise. Not at all.』
My father set down his teacup and spoke in a gentle voice.
『The ones who should be apologising… are us.』
My big brother looked truly remorseful.
『The family head and heir, both killed in battle… you ended up shouldering the burden we left behind...』
『Your eldest sister, Tina, was only ever taught how to marry. And so you, the second daughter, ended up supporting the entire baronial house…』
My father lowered his gaze, his expression heavy with pain.
『I’m sorry… it must have been so hard for you…』
『We really are sorry…』
As they bowed their heads, Barbara wiped her tears and shook hers firmly.
『It’s all right… Father. Brother…』
They had fought with everything they had… yet they could not return.
『The Demon King’s army… they were far too strong…!』
They went out to defend their homeland.
I didn’t need to be told what happened.
I already knewknew it so deeply it physically hurt.
How awful it must have been for them. How much they must have hated leaving their family behind and dying first…!
『I… I’m so frustrated…!!』
So this is what it means to be unable to rest even in death.
My final battle resurfaced before my eyes in painful clarity.
Even with our finest warriors, even after fighting with every last ounce of strength,
We couldn’t even defeat a single demon prince.
『Will I simply remain here… in this mansion…』
All I could do was wait helplessly for the relatives and acquaintances left behind by Evaloti to arrive.
Crushed by regret and guilt, my tears kept streaming no matter how many times I wiped them away.
『Yes… it seems all we can do is stay here… and wait for everyone.』
My brother gently stroked my head as he spoke, soothing me.
『But, you know, Barbara… it looks like you’re the odd one out.』
Suddenly, a small, wry smile crept into my brother’s voice.
…Why? Why did his voice sound so far away?
When I raised my head, I saw my brother, my father, and the familiar mansion and garden
They weren’t fading away.
I was the one being dragged away!
I was pulled toward some far-flung edge of the world――
『Barbara. This is only a temporary farewell. You still have something you need to do.』
My father stood and gave a solemn salute.
『Sorry… we can’t help you with this.』
My brother waved, wearing that guilty, lonely little smile of his.
『But we’ll always be watching over you.』
『You are our pride and joy, Barbara.』
May good fortune be with you wherever you go.
Their voices grew fainter and fainter
『Brother! Father!!』
I reached out, only to find my hand had changed.
No longer the hand of a sword-obsessed young lady,
But the scarred, armoured hand of a sword saint.
The world suddenly flipped inside out.
Barbara felt her entire being dragged upward, like something pulled from beneath a still surface――
†††
Dark.
Barbara understood at once: she was in a dark room.
Cold.
Not the ordinary kind. The surroundings weren’t cold at all.
Her very sense of being felt fragile and blurry, as if she might crumble into faint heat and drift away if she let her guard down.
She instinctively sensed the fragility of her state, and her mind labelled it as 『cold』.
Strangely enough, she grasped that idea with perfect clarity.
She understoodfar more than she should have.
『Where… am I?』
She tried to focus, though she had no 『eyes』 to use. Everything reached her through pure sensation.
Little by little, something elsesomething that wasn’t herbegan to come into focus.
「...」
A fair-skinned girl watched her with bated breath, golden eyes shining like tiny suns. Straight horns grew from her head, unlike the twisted, sinister horns of the demon race.
「... Woof」
Beside her stood someoneperhaps a womanso breathtakingly beautiful it made her pause, yet her form remained oddly indistinct.
Pointed ears? An elf?
But her skin wasn’t sun-tanned at all…
「Uhm...」
Standing beside her was a girl whose presence felt downright uncanny.
Too young to be called a woman, yet far too seductive in aura to be called a child.
Arms crossed, she gazed quietly ahead, demon-like horns sprouting from her head as well.
The whole group was far too suspicious.
…At the very least, she now understood that she’d ended up somewhere she absolutely shouldn’t be.
And more importantly, standing before her was
A demon. Completely unmistakable at first sight.
A face so cold and beautiful it made her skin crawl.
Two sinister horns jutted from silver hair. Bluish-white skin. Crimson eyes.
A young figure no more developed than a human boy’s, yet the sheer magical power pouring off him was so intense it felt suffocating…!
『YOU LITTLE!』
There was no doubt about it. This fella is!!
『JILBAGIAS REIJU!!!』
Even as rage and hatred surged so strongly it felt like she might fall apart
Somewhere deep inside, a creeping terror took hold.
How did I end up in this place when I’m supposed to have already died?
There was only one explanation she could think of.
The darkling-users’ heretic arts, those that twisted and toyed with life itself…!
Necromancy.
「Barbara Da Rosa...」
Hearing the Demon Prince call her by her full name sent a cold shock racing through her.
How does he even know my name!?
What is he going to do!?
One impossible scenario after another flashed through her mind, and Barbara simply couldn’t keep up.
The Demon Prince advanced, slow and deliberate, as if savouring each step.
『W–what… what ARE you trying to do to me!!?』
As Barbara’s cry rose into a full-on shriek, Jilbagias
THUD!
threw himself to the floor.
Rather than merely lowering himself, he planted both hands on the ground and struck his forehead against it.
「My deepest… sincerest apologies!!」
His voice thundered through the room.
It was an apology delivered with every fibre of his being.