Chapter 196
Chapter 196
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 196
Chapter Title: Strawberryless Strawberry Cake
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"Assimilated? What... what do you mean?"
It was an answer Father hadn't expected, so he asked again. A flurry of emotions played across his face, unable to hide them.
Bewilderment, anxiety, anger, guilt.
"Don't tell me you took on the duty in my place...?"
"No."
Dios swiftly cut him off once more and offered Father a mushy strawberry cake.
There were no strawberries in it, but it was strawberry cake all the same. That was what his younger self had insisted back then. Honestly, he'd long forgotten the recipe and had thrown it together haphazardly, but it didn't matter. Being tasteless made it all the more like that day.
Father stared at it in silence before picking up his fork.
"The taste... hasn't changed a bit."
...He means it tastes awful. Dios glanced down at the strawberryless strawberry cake he'd made, then continued.
"...About three hundred years ago, a powerful demon was summoned to the mortal realm. In the process of dealing with it, I gradually assimilated."
"Then... don't tell me it was because of me...?"
"Why wouldn't it be? This is all your fault."
So you have to accept me, no matter what I look like. It's all because of you.
"That might be why I avoided oblivion, too."
As long as I carry a piece of you intact within me, denying you would mean denying my own existence.
Dios shrugged deliberately lightly.
"If I'd known it'd turn out like this, I wouldn't have gone through all that trouble."
"...I'm sorry, Dia."
"Yes."
And that was that. Dios watched his father resume eating the cake and held out a handkerchief.
"It's not just that your body's smaller—you've really turned into a child?"
You've got it all over your face. Dios wiped away the mushy cream smeared on his cheeks. It looked truly awful.
"This... seems to be from mimicking the kid. Ah, could you send a letter to the palace? They're surely worried. I won't stubbornly insist on coming back right away, so just send word first."
Father tried to soothe him gently, but Dios replied coldly.
"Cut ties now."
"...Pardon?"
Dios looked down at his father, who had gone rigid.
"Spreading a rumor that the wicked demon grand duke kidnapped and killed the child would be child's play."
"...Dia."
"Don't regret it later. Cut them off now."
"......"
There was no response. That meant no. But Dios resolved to press on firmly. Before, he might have simply stood by, but not now. He'd already lived with the fear of rejection.
He now knew how cruel and vicious it was to love something while steeling yourself for farewell.
"Requies."
"......"
Even at the quiet call, Father kept his head down, silently eating his cake. He seemed quite taken with the mushy lump.
Dios agonized. Sympathizing with his father's plight wouldn't sway him. His father was the type to endure even that. There was only one way to convince him now.
Dios felt himself truly cruel but stubbornly spoke up anyway.
"...Experiences from childhood leave lasting effects into adulthood."
Because of you, that child will be unhappy.
"And that holds true even if the memories are erased."
The fork came to an abrupt halt. But it soon started moving again. Dios sighed as he watched his father dutifully finish the awful cake he'd made, despite how uncomfortable the conversation must have been.
Frustrated, he swept a hand through his hair—the shortened locks felt light yet utterly unfamiliar.
"That mushy lump already depends on you far too much. You know dependencies like that lead to even worse side effects when memory gaps form later."
It won't end pleasantly for you or the child.
"If it's hard, I can help you...?"
"Dia."
At that moment, his father's lowered head lifted, and eyes like opals stared straight at him. Dios froze briefly under that clear, insistent gaze before replying curtly, feigning composure.
"...What."
"Has something happened?"
"......"
That's why you're a problem. You see right through everything with just a few words.
"Dia."
"...No."
He barely managed a response to the urging call. He could have brushed it off as nonsense, told him to drop it—but his throat felt clogged, the words wouldn't come.
"Come here, my little one."
"......"
To you, I'm still a child. Unthinkingly, Dios drew near and rested his head on his father's lap. You've shrunk, but you're still so big.
A hand soon began stroking his hair. That gentle touch seemed to revive emotions long forgotten over centuries. He had so much he wanted to say.
Father, I'm still too scared of my clairvoyance to face myself in the mirror. I still feel human, yet humans call me a demon.
Absurdly, I keep hunting demons just to maintain this body. Afraid that if I become human again, I'll be denied like you. I want to be like you, but I don't.
I resent you for turning my body into this, yet I endlessly pity you, for whom this was everyday life.
The little one who comforted me with the lyre has grown old and crumbled away, while I'm still in the same place. I've come to understand your emptiness all too well.
Which is why, all the more...
"My stance hasn't changed."
"......"
"Cut ties."
"...Dia."
I can't back down.
Dios swallowed his words and lifted his face to meet his father's eyes directly. Even amid it all, that unwavering gaze was infinitely tender. Regretting that the stroking had stopped, he took his father's small hand and placed it back atop his head—a light laugh followed.
"Still as sly as a fox, Dia."
"......"
Dios ignored it.
"Dia."
"Yes."
"Shall we make a bet?"
"A bet...?"
"I don't want to give up, but my little one won't yield either, so let's find a way."
"......?"
"I'll give you unlimited chances. Whenever our opinions clash, you can propose a wager anytime. And if you win, I'll give up cleanly."
How about it? Father said with a bright smile.
But Dios didn't reply right away. It seemed utterly advantageous to him, yet his father wouldn't stake a fight he wasn't confident in.
"Then...?"
Just then, the communication orb on the table flickered. It had gone quiet—or so he'd thought—but now it started up again. Unable to ignore it any longer, Dios picked it up.
"Lex...?"
-Uh? I-is this connected?
"...?"
A child's voice?
Dios's brows furrowed slightly. The orb kept emitting a dazed voice.
-Wh-what do I do? What should I say?
Why on earth was the orb in a child's hands? How were they even managing...
Dios's head throbbed. Resigned to handling it himself, he was about to disconnect when a voice came from the other end.
-Um, h-hello, Grand Duke.
"......"
-I'm Rian, Nil's friend...
"......"
-Is Nil there by any chance...?
Haa...
Lianus stared blankly at the communication orb. It didn't seem disconnected, yet no reply came.
He'd even properly introduced himself and stated his business—what had he missed?
Suddenly, he recalled how the grand duke had addressed him differently.
"Ah, it's the little Lex!"
-Hoo...
Ah, he could hear!
It was just a sigh, but definitely a sound. Lianus hurried on before it cut off.
"Um, I need to have a snack with Nil—could you send him back?"
-......
"I saved the prettiest pudding for Nil's share."
-......
Of course, even the prettiest one was riddled with holes, but...
Lianus wisely left that part unsaid.
Then, a rustling came from the orb, followed by a welcome voice.
-Rian.
"Nil!"
He'd been worried with no response—must've been handing the orb to his dear friend!
"Nil, did you have lunch?"
-I ate cake.
"What?! That's not a meal! The grand duke didn't even feed you properly?"
I never took the grand duke for that—he's awful! How could he?
Upset at the thought of his friend going hungry, Lianus yelled and stomped around before freezing mid-step.
"...Is the grand duke listening, by chance?"
He asked cautiously, and Nihil's low chuckle came through. Lianus paled and rushed to explain.
"N-no, Grand Duke, I didn't mean you're bad or anything. I like you."
-......
"But, y'know, I swore I'd never let my dear friend go hungry? Ah, not that you starved him..., if you feed him late, it doesn't count as starving..., Ah! If you're busy, Grand Duke, I can feed him. Could you send my friend back?"
Convinced he'd found a perfect excuse, Lianus chattered on.
"Nil likes meat. Spicy stuff too, and oh, he eats bell peppers great. Impressive, right?"
Though, I'd prefer less bell peppers for me. Especially the kind just barely grilled on the outside. Weird taste and texture. Half-cooked carrots too...
-Rian.
"Uh, y-yeah?"
Catching himself complaining unwittingly, Lianus flinched at Nihil's voice.
What if he got scolded for being picky?
"Listen, Nil, it's not that I won't eat bell peppers or anything..."
-Rian.
"Yeah?"
-Rian.
"Yeah."
Nihil simply repeated his name, nothing more.
Perplexed but responding each time to the call,
-I...
"Yeah."
Nihil paused after that. Thinking the connection dropped, Lianus picked up the orb again when a mutter like self-talk came through.
-Can I... come back?
"What? What're you saying? You weren't gonna come back?!"
Betrayal welled up; Lianus shook the orb furiously, demanding how he could.
-Rian, I'm dizzy.
"Ah, uh? S-sorry!"
Startled by the dizziness claim, Lianus hastily set the orb down gently on a cushion. Laughter soon followed from the other side.
-Lies. Shaking the orb wouldn't make me dizzy. I can't even see you.
"......"
Kidnapped, and he's casually teasing people.
Lianus pouted needlessly, and more laughter came. Says he can't see, but he totally can.
-I'm gonna keep making you eat bell peppers.
"Huh?"
-Carrots too.
"Uh......"
-Might baby you sometimes.
"It's not 'sometimes.'"
Lianus grumbled. He needed to grow tall and strong quick so Nihil babied him less.
-Still okay?
The question felt laden with so much; Lianus clamped his mouth shut before forcing it open.
"......Hurry up and come."
The pudding's gone cold.