Translator: Nox

Chapter 58

“…Is Allen dying?”

“No, he won’t die. So go back to your room, alright?”

But if things stayed like this, Allen would die.

Bunny knew it. She had seen so many people dying.

In Bunny’s eyes, she could see it—the haze of death rising from the body like heat waves when a person was about to die.

“If he dies… I won’t be able to see him anymore.”

At Bunny’s words, Kiriel roughly ran a hand through his hair.

He composed his expression with effort and looked at the child before speaking.

“…Bunny, as you can see, Allen’s hurt bad and in a lot of pain. I know it’s upsetting, but for now, go back to your room with Levon…”

“If I go now… I won’t see Allen again.”

“Bunny.”

“Yeah, I won’t see him… What do I do? If he dies, I won’t see him…”

She didn’t want to not see him.

Allen had shared his little cookies with her, always held her hand, and said he liked Bunny. So she didn’t want to lose sight of him.

Muttering softly to herself like a soliloquy, Bunny blinked.

Her pink irises slowly shifted, and her pupils began to narrow bit by bit.

It was the moment when Bunny, with a dazed look, slowly reached out her hand.

Tweet!

The little red bullfinch that had been dozing on Bunny’s shoulder hopped up and flew into the sky.

Whoosh—

The sound of flames roaring to life rang out.

Bunny’s eyes widened round as she looked up. There was no little bullfinch in the sky anymore. In its place was a massive bird wreathed in flames.

“Fwiery dwagon…?”

It was a red bird.

A beautiful, majestic bird with every feather ablaze.

The bird, as large as an adult man, swayed its yellow-tinged tail feathers gently.

The amazing thing was that, despite the fiercely burning flames that looked dangerous at a glance, they weren’t hot at all.

“…This is.”

Kiriel’s eyes widened endlessly at the sight of the enormous bird blazing above Bunny’s head.

The bright red bird circled largely once above Bunny’s head.

“A burning bird…?”

“…Phoenix.”

As murmurs rose softly from the gathered crowd, the buzz grew louder until someone finally shouted.

“It’s a phoenix!”

At that cry, Bunny’s eyes went wide.

“Phoenith?!”

Her face lit up with surprise in an instant, as if she’d never worn that dark expression, her eyes sparkling.

It was the moment the phoenix folded its wings and slowly descended to the ground, lowering its head toward Bunny.

A pure white light burst forth from Bunny’s hand.

It was Holy Power.

“Eek?!”

Kee-yahhh—!

With a sharp cry, the phoenix flapped its wings once and soared up. The extended white light slowly seeped into the phoenix.

The startled Bunny’s eyes widened as she flailed the hand emitting the pure white light.

‘Bunny’s hand is gone!!’

“Waaah. Daddy! Bunny’s hand, hand! Hweee.”

No matter how much she flailed her hand or jumped up and down in place, the pure white light pouring from her hand showed no sign of stopping.

Kiriel scooped up the stamping Bunny into his arms and patted her back.

“Baby, Bunny, calm down. It’s okay. It’s just Holy Power. It seems the divine beast needs your Holy Power, miss.”

At Kiriel’s soothing words as he patted her back, Bunny’s head tilted sharply.

‘Bunny’s Holy Power…?’

Bunny blinked.

“Eek……?”

Bunny had Holy Power?!

It was the moment the phoenix gave a mighty flap of its wings.

A single burning feather the size of an adult man’s fist drifted down and landed softly on Allen’s chest.

Everyone watched the scene in a stunned daze. Even as the bright red feather blazed with fire, the entire moment felt utterly sacred.

The moment the fallen feather slowly seeped into Allen’s body and vanished completely—

Flash—!

The light that spread out enveloped Allen’s body.

Soon, even the sacred light that had made breathing impossible faded away.

And Allen, who had seemed on the verge of death, was breathing evenly with a peaceful expression, as if nothing had happened.

The grievous wound that had looked so dire was already completely gone. Then, Allen’s eyelids fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes.

“Ah, it’s gone.”

The Holy Power that had sparkled from Bunny’s hand had completely vanished.

“Phew.”

It was the moment when Bunny, who had been flailing her arms, let out a small sigh and snapped her head up.

Huh?

‘The world’s spinning.’

Bunny’s body swayed sharply.

“Bunny!”

That was the last she saw of someone rushing over before the world went black.

* * *

“Can you believe it? This is our peace, As.”

“…I cannot comprehend the peace you so fervently proclaim. This is merely a lump of flesh and cannot be the key to the peace you desire. The world rejects what is different from me. This thing, no different from a foreign substance, will simply be crushed, trampled, and crumble away.”

“No, it’ll be fine. Surely… she’ll grow up well.”

A snow-white hand gently stroked the chubby cheek full of baby fat with tender affection.

“Ah-goo.”

“Have you thought of a name? As.”

“Not particularly. To us, children hold no value or meaning whatsoever.”

Watching the beautiful woman append those dry words about children being an inevitable byproduct of instinctual acts—since their kind was even more devoted to desire than humans—a man with a rather plain face burst into laughter.

“Still, couldn’t you think about it and let me know? I want to give her my family name. So… As, you could give her a name.”

The woman’s brow furrowed unpleasantly at the soft, gentle voice of the simple man with his water-colored hair that looked fragile and mild.

After a long silence, the woman leaning against the bed headboard slowly blinked.

“…Bernadette.”

At the low voice that came after a long while, the man holding the child preciously in his arms widened his eyes and turned his head.

“Bernadette. What a pretty name. Berny would be a cute nickname. Since she’ll grow up to be a lovely little girl.”

“Your tastes remain incomprehensible even after all this time.”

The tiny baby with adorably beautiful pink eyes blinked her clear gaze, taking in the one who stroked her head so affectionately.

That was the first warmth Bunny ever knew.

* * *

Snooore.

Snooore.

Kiriel let out a short sigh as he watched Bunny sleeping peacefully with a relaxed expression after suddenly collapsing from using Holy Power, and next to her, Allen, who had stubbornly insisted on waiting until Bunny woke up and ended up falling asleep snoring alongside her.

Allen’s stubbornness after waking up was one thing, but what Bunny had done was giving him a headache too.

‘Kids never do as they’re told.’

He’d named them daughter and son and taken them into his arms, but nothing went his way.

“You’re a splendid parent at heart. Though how long that mindset will last is another question.”

“…What?”

“Kids never follow orders by default. Even parents who try to control them have their reasons.”

Of all times, Levon’s voice echoing in his head right now was thoroughly unwelcome.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Kiriel sat down in a chair.

‘…Demon energy again.’

Kiriel slowly closed his eyes and opened them at the sensation prickling sensitively against his skin.

‘How did it come to this?’

Right. At first, he’d kept her around solely because of that demon energy. Allen reminded him of his younger self, so he’d taken care of him as a bonus.

If it had just been concern, he didn’t need to go with the cumbersome labels of guardian or child. Being a mere patron would have sufficed.

‘But now…’

For some reason, in this bizarre, patchwork thing that could hardly be called a family—stitched together like rags—Kiriel felt a strange sense of stability.

When Allen had been hurt earlier, his heart had lurched.

When Bunny had staggered and collapsed, his heart had pounded so fast and hard that his mind filled only with the sound of it.

“…Bunny.”

Kiriel slowly reached out and gently infused Holy Power into the child’s body.

Sure enough, he felt the pitch-black energy pooled inside her.

“Who exactly are you?”