Moonlit Confessions
"The liquor's not bad."
Unable to hold out any longer, Beatrice had fallen asleep. Sina, who had returned to the cabin and cracked open another bottle, perched on the windowsill, basking in the moonlight with a smile. The alcohol she was tasting after so long had gotten her tipsy, immersing her in a pleasantly mellow mood. Even the complicated feelings she'd harbored upon stepping onto the Eastern continent after a thousand years quickly faded away.
Sina glanced sideways and held out her glass casually to the man across from her.
"What's this? Planning to let your daughter drink alone all night? Come on, join me."
"Mm…."
Kyle, who had been taking a brief break on his own, had no choice but to pick up his glass awkwardly. Her words were leisurely and melodious, but he knew better than to be fooled by Sina's demeanor. After witnessing her throw her first-ever tantrum when he politely declined just a few dozen minutes ago, he had no room left for refusal.
With no other option, Kyle took a sip of the high-proof liquor and shot Sina a sidelong glare. Her cheeks, always as pale as her snow-white hair, had long since flushed red from the alcohol. A loose, carefree smile played perpetually at her lips, a clear sign of her elated state….
At a glance, she might seem weak to drink, but Kyle knew the truth. She had already downed more than three times his own amount. Even he, a Sword Master, wasn't particularly susceptible to liquor, yet she had polished off three times that alone? It simply meant Sina's body far exceeded human limits from the start.
Of course, that was only natural given her possession of the Monstrous Strength Chaos God's power.
'One slip, and I'll lose my senses without even realizing it.'
Kyle narrowed his brow at the dizziness starting to creep in and set his glass down with a clink. Before Sina could shoot him another cheeky look, he seized the initiative.
"Sina, dawn's almost over. How about we call it a night? If you get too drunk, it might be hard to move in the morning."
It was the gentlest way he could suggest wrapping up the drinking session. Honestly, even for Kyle, keeping up any longer was proving difficult. Meanwhile, Sina's face was only slightly flushed; she seemed nowhere near her limit.
"No need to worry about me. My body's tougher than it looks. Worst case, I can just burn off the buzz with mana."
"…."
True enough. Kyle couldn't find a rebuttal to Sina's response. Superhumans of their caliber were rarely ever truly felled by alcohol. Selectively incinerating the booze in their system wasn't all that hard.
"Hoo."
Resigned, Kyle gently stroked the blue locks of Beatrice, who lay asleep on his lap, dooming himself to continue the session. How many times had they clinked glasses against Sina's satisfied smile?
'…Ugh.'
By the time Kyle's upper body began to sway ever so slightly—drunk enough that even his Sword Master grandfather's grandfather couldn't have held out—
"…I had a master. Back in the old days."
"…."
Kyle forcibly clung to his senses at Sina's sudden, out-of-the-blue remark. Those few short words carried more weight than expected.
He narrowed his gray eyes and gazed at his second daughter, leaning against the window.
…Even after a year together, a subtle distance lingered between them. He couldn't deny they'd grown quite close, but not to the extent of Beatrice.
Natural, really. Building surface-level rapport was easy enough, but delving into the deeper recesses of the heart was another matter entirely.
That was why Kyle had never tried getting too close to Sina from the start. He vaguely sensed she wouldn't want it.
Sina always wore that bright smile, but she had a wall around her. An impenetrable barrier that, if forced, might invite unknown resentment.
"…Ngh."
Maybe this drunken moment was the only time he'd hear such a story. Once that thought took hold, he couldn't let himself drift off.
Forcing his drooping eyelids open, Kyle shot Sina an exasperated look. Unfazed—or perhaps oblivious—she smiled hazily and continued.
"She was beautiful. A renowned heroine in the East, who took in an orphan like me and raised me as a martial artist…."
"…."
"She was also the captain of the Divine Death Corps that gathered to subjugate the first Monstrous Strength Chaos God. Sadly, she passed before the final battle."
Pour, pour—
This time leaning not on Kyle but pouring her own glass, Sina wore a wistful expression. Was she merely reminiscing? Or lost in one of her few cherished memories from back then?
Either way, for the first time, Sina had lowered her wall and opened her heart to Kyle.
"…I saw her as my master, sometimes as a parent, sometimes as a sister. To the me of those days, she was probably the one and only 'precious person' in my entire life."
Her golden eyes shimmered with complex emotions as she recalled the past—bittersweet, yet joyful and nostalgic.
Sina tossed back the liquid in her glass and smiled faintly.
"Do you know why I'm telling you this all of a sudden? Kyle… no, 'Dad'."
"…."
It was undoubtedly the first time he'd heard that from her. At least from Sina. It had taken far longer than with Beatrice. And after tonight, hearing it again might prove difficult.
Kyle's eyes flickered with confusion as he downed his own drink and wiped his mouth.
"…Kuh."
Then he answered the question.
"The grave you're visiting to pay respects is where that master rests. Am I wrong?"
"…No, you're right."
Sina nodded softly. But as if that wasn't all, she added,
"Truth is, a year ago, when you came to the snowy mountains of Handel, I accepted your proposal with the most lukewarm attitude. You know that?"
"…."
"As you said, five years isn't so long for someone like me anymore. I figured I could treat it like a game."
Clunk—
Sina finally set down the glass she'd clutched since the drinking began, on the windowsill. Turning not to the moonlight outside but to Kyle in the room, she continued calmly.
"Honestly, I still believe I'll win that bet. You're an exceptional swordsman for your age, but growing enough to take my head in five years? Probably impossible."
"…Long or short, we'll see when we get there. Isn't it a bit early to declare victory?"
Kyle narrowed his eyes in retort, and Sina brushed back her bangs with a grin. Her golden eyes held an oddly girlish freshness tonight.
"Wasn't trying to bruise your pride. Sorry if it did. Anyway, that's not the point…."
Trailing off briefly, Sina's expression darkened as she murmured weakly.
"Just… yeah. Turns out I like you more than I thought. You're a good man. The only one who's treated a 'monster' like me—like me—as just another person…."
"…Sina?"
Kyle raised a brow at the abrupt shift in mood and called her name, but Sina merely glanced back with a lonely look. Rising from her seat, she continued.
"That's why it's such a shame. If—if I'd met you a little earlier, say a hundred years before now, or even just fifty… maybe there could have been another path…."
"…."
"…A future where I didn't lose my ancient nature and still accepted you as 'Dad' out of loyalty, becoming family."
"…Sina."
"…."
Sina fell silent after that, her hopeful, idealistic expression—fleeting as it was—quickly cooling to indifference. She lightly shook the now-light bottle and twisted her lips in self-mockery.
"We're out of booze. Guess that's it for tonight?"
"…."
"Forget what I just said, Kyle. It doesn't matter anymore anyway."
She didn't wait for a reply. Or rather, she wouldn't hear one. With a cold expression, as if declaring as much, Sina brushed past Kyle and entered her room. Leaving only a brief farewell.
"Sweet dreams, Dad. See you tomorrow."
For a moment, her softened tone made Kyle wonder if it wasn't Sina—or the Monstrous Strength Chaos God—speaking, but the girl from a thousand years ago. An inexplicable sense of foreboding accompanied the thought.
*****
Two days passed.
We arrived at Mokje, the city in the Shin River region—Sina's intended destination—secured lodging, spent a late night, and greeted an early morning. Leaving Beatrice behind at the inn to enjoy her lingering sleep…
Sina and I headed to the grave where her master rested. With a single pure white flower she'd clumsily picked by the roadside.
But there was one problem.
"…."
The master of the traitor who betrayed humanity lies buried here. The Heavenly Demon Divine Church hereby designates this site as forbidden ground.
The grave where Sina's master was supposed to rest had been so violently desecrated that no tomb-like shape remained—it was utter ruins. And stabbed into the ground was a single nameless stele bearing the Demonic Cult's declaration.
It was only natural that Sina's golden eyes lost their light upon seeing the sight. The flower in her hand slipped powerlessly, crumbling to the dirt.