Chapter 374
Chapter 374
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 374
Chapter Title: Side Story 59. Sword and Star (4)
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"Huaaaah... Daddy, whatcha doin'?"
"Iril?"
Iril yawned.
Cain, who had been pacing the courtyard with his hands behind his back, turned his head.
Her snow-white hair, identical to his own, sparkled under the moonlight.
He scooped up his daughter as she toddled over.
"Why'd you come out in the middle of the night? Bad dream?"
"Unh... Had to pee, so I woke up."
Iril rubbed her eyes.
Sleep still clung to her eyelids like dewdrops.
Cain smiled at the sight.
His eight-year-old treasure was irreplaceable.
Watching his beloved daughter even made him forget the pain of Abel's blade piercing his gut, if only for a moment.
"I see. Go back inside and sleep. It's too early to be up."
"Yeees... But Daddy, why're you crying?"
"Huh?"
"Rain's falling from your eyes."
Cain hurriedly touched his face.
She was right.
Tears were streaming down transparently.
He hadn't noticed even as they dripped to his chin.
He wiped his face with his sleeve and shook his head.
"...Sorry. No idea why."
"Does it hurt? Or somethin' bad happen?"
"No way. Not with you here, Iril."
"Don't cry... Makes me sad when you do."
Iril sniffled.
She'd always been like that.
Seeing others cry made her sad for no reason.
After a moment of silence, Cain stroked her hair.
"Iril. You're such a good girl."
"Sniff... Huh?"
"I'm so glad you inherited that power. I'm truly happy. I hope your soon-to-be-born sibling has a kind heart too."
"Power...?"
Iril tilted her head.
She couldn't make sense of it.
Cain kissed her forehead.
"But someday, that kind heart might get you in trouble. The world might be harsh on you. When that happens..."
The rest was hazy in her memory.
****
"Looking back, I think Father was crying because he already knew his fate. That he'd have to leave Mother and us siblings behind."
Iril smiled faintly.
She was still leading the way up the midnight mountain path.
Schlieffen, following behind, nodded.
"I see. To think the Savior went through something like that..."
It hit differently.
He never expected to hear such a personal story from the past.
Even living together, he often forgot she was the daughter of a transcendent being.
Iril continued in her gentle voice.
"Still, it was a happy time. Both parents were around, and everyone loved me. I couldn't understand Father's words about the world being harsh back then."
Cain and Kasha were good parents.
Iril grew up brighter than anyone under their care.
The villagers were kind, and all the neighborhood kids were friends.
The problems started after Cain left.
More precisely, after Mother gave birth to Ronan and passed away.
"Didn't last long, though."
Not a pleasant memory.
Unfortunately, the painful ones stick clearest.
A tale from before her wish-granting power awakened. When those around her weren't all so kind.
****
"Why're you doing this, Inge? We were playing together just a bit ago..."
"You're an orphan now, right? No mom or dad, and you wanna hang with us?"
Inge snickered.
Bigger than most kids her age, she ruled the Nimberton children as the alley boss.
Iril was surrounded by Inge and her gang.
They'd grabbed her on the way back from the market.
Ronan, just starting to babble, slept in the bundle on her back.
"No! I have a dad!"
"Dumb bitch. He ditched you—that means you don't have one. This is why kids without parents suck."
"Yeah. All brain-dead idiots."
The other brats laughed along.
They'd been her playmates not long ago.
"Always hated your pretty face anyway."
"I-I never acted like that..."
"Bull! You rejected Wilhelm from the next village when he confessed!"
Inge shrieked.
Even now, it boiled her blood.
Wilhelm was the boy she'd crushed on for over a year.
Iril tilted her head.
"...Yeah. Not my type. But why?"
"Wh-what?! Aaaah!"
"Inge!"
Inge clutched her neck and staggered.
The girls beside her caught her.
"Y-you orphan bitch need to know your place! 'Not my type'?! "
"So annoying. Let's bury her today!"
The other girls glared at Iril with hatred too.
She'd stolen all their crushes.
Not just the ones they liked from afar—even the boys they were dating left for Iril.
Iril, uninterested in romance, left them all heartbroken in the end.
Inge steadied her ragged breathing and shook her head.
"Huuu... Whatever. Shut up and hand over what you bought at the market, Iril. Money too."
"N-no... This is for Ronan to eat. I can give money, but not this."
Iril hugged her bundle tight.
It was stuffed with ingredients for baby food.
Bought with great haggling—she couldn't let it go.
Inge yelled.
"This brat won't learn? Snatch it!"
"Got it!"
The brats lunged like starving hyenas.
Iril squeezed her eyes shut and swung her fist.
"Kyaa! Stop!"
"Gah!"
A crisp impact rang out.
The frontmost kid flew back.
His body tumbled nearly two meters, limbs stiff in spasms like he'd been electrocuted.
"What...!"
"H-he dead?"
The brats' faces hardened.
His chest was caved in from the blind punch.
He was known as a tough fighter locally.
"Wh-what kinda strength... One hit... Hic."
Inge froze mid-sentence.
In that blink, Iril was right in her face.
None of the brats caught her movement.
Her tear- and snot-streaked face was still beautiful.
Seeing the clenched fist, Inge gasped.
"W-wait..."
"Don't touch my brother!"
Iril screamed hoarsely.
No chance to protest they weren't aiming for him.
Bam!
The fist slammed into Inge's face like a meteor...
"Nuya. Waaah!"
"There, there. Hungry, huh? Sis'll make food quick~"
Iril, home late, smiled.
She laid the wailing Ronan in his cradle and headed to the kitchen.
Thankfully, she'd saved the ingredients, but Mother's gifted dress was torn to shreds.
"...Why do people hurt each other?"
Iril muttered flatly.
Inge, punched once, pissed herself and passed out.
Iril got promises they'd never bully her again (or even come near), but her heart ached like it was ripping.
"Can't everyone just be happy? Can't we be kind? Why hurt?"
Not just Inge's gang.
After her parents died, injustices piled up.
Cain's words rang true.
The world was too cruel to a lone girl.
Her innate physical prowess handled it for now, but once bad adults got involved, limits would come.
She looked at Ronan.
"Ooga?"
"Ehehe."
Ronan tilted his head.
His chubby cuteness made her smile.
Folks teased his fierce eyes meant no baby this cute, but to Iril, he was the world's cutest brother.
"I love my brother so much. Never get tired of him. Thinking he'll face this someday hurts too much."
The night sky showed through the window.
Mother rested there, Father's stars reflected in her crimson eyes.
"So... If someone's listening up there."
Iril leaned on the sill, hands clasped.
Tiny palms together.
A tear rolled down her murmuring cheek.
"I hope my brother's world is a little kinder."
****
"Yep! That's it! Super boring, right?"
Iril clapped, ending her tale.
Schlieffen, lost in thought, shook his head.
"...Not at all. Thank you for sharing something so precious."
"Ehehe, thanks.
Never told anyone before. Hoo, so embarrassing."
Iril covered her burning cheeks.
Not even Ronan knew this.
Fanning herself, she continued.
"Honestly, it was tough. Raising a brother alone as a kid ain't easy. Father left plenty of money, but mostly gold coins—hard for a girl to spend."
Cain's oversight.
He hadn't foreseen her alone.
Gold was too bulky for a child.
"Might seem random, but... I dunno, hearing others' hardships steels my resolve. Like, 'They endured that and survived!'"
"...I think I get it."
"Yeah. Hoped it'd motivate you. I was still happy then. Tough, but Ronan was with me. And now, you've got me and Aria."
Iril smiled.
Even facing away, it shone through.
Schlieffen bit his lip silently.
Too ashamed to look up.
'Pathetic.'
Just for not becoming Sword Saint, he'd burdened everyone.
Wasting away body and mind, worrying his wife and daughter.
As Schlieffen opened his mouth—
"Ah. We're here!"
Iril turned for the first time since starting the climb.
Her lantern-lit face glistened with sweat.
Schlieffen looked ahead.
The tree tunnel ended at a wide clearing.
"...!"
"Tough hike, huh? This is my favorite secret spot."
Schlieffen's eyes widened.
Iril pulled her stunned husband's hand.
The rocky clearing was surprisingly vast and flat for a mountaintop.
They stopped at the center.
Iril spread her arms wide.
"Haaaah... Air's so fresh up high. Stars are amazing, right?"
"...Yes. They are."
Schlieffen nodded.
A cosmic sea rippled far in the night sky.
Innumerable celestial lights from the past.
Clearer Milky Way and nebulae explained why this was her treasure.
"I'd come here when tired. Kneel on any rock, pray for kind people, a gentle world for my brother. And get this—one day, people really got nicer!"
Her endless prayers pierced Cain's curse.
Folks around her softened, no more malice.
Price was more sleepiness, but trivial compared to the win.
"So this time, I'll pray for you. 'May my husband Schlieffen Sinivan de Grancia become the world's greatest swordsman'?"
"N-no, don't, dear. Strength must come from within!"
"But if I don't, you'll waste away again. Skipping home, less time with me."
Iril pouted.
Playful tone, but worried eyes.
Schlieffen waved frantically.
"I won't anymore. I realized—Sword Saint is just an ideal. I neglected what's truly important for it."
"Hmm? What's that?"
"Your happiness, and Aria's. My vow to Ronan had nothing to do with it. Even if I fall short, I can protect you forever."
Schlieffen gripped her shoulders.
Her face flushed up close.
Gazing into his steel-blue eyes, Iril smiled with hers.
"Wrong. No ding yet."
"Pardon?"
"You forgot your own happiness. Make it our family's. Always thinking of others."
"...Dear."
"Ehehe, close though. So I'll pray like I planned. Just watch."
Iril clasped her hands neatly.
Her power to manifest wishes stirred.
Mighty enough to reshape the world, but demanding equal price.
Schlieffen startled to stop her, but she'd begun.
"I hope our family stays happy forever. As happy as I am now."
"...!"
"I trust your promise to Ronan. You'll protect me, our treasure Aria, no matter the danger. More than anyone."
Another wish granted, yet Iril didn't sleep or collapse.
It was inevitable.
No price for the obvious.
Eyes open, Iril looked up at Schlieffen.
"Thanks for saying you love me back then. I'm the happiest I've ever been."
"I..."
Schlieffen couldn't reply.
Just wiped his blurring eyes.
Iril said hoarsely.
"Why cry? On a night like this."
"I don't... know."
"Sheesh. C'mere."
Iril hugged him.
Aria stirred briefly, rubbed her eyes, and slept again.
Burying her face in his chest, Iril beamed.
"Stars are beautiful. No music, but shall we dance?"
Iril offered her hand.
Schlieffen hesitated, then took it.
No more inner voice demanding Sword Saint.
"My honor."
Schlieffen bowed.
The starlit breeze blessed them.
And paradoxically, under these stars, Schlieffen advanced to a new realm.