Chapter 6
Chapter 6
“Contracts can’t be forced, right?”
“W… well…”
For once, the answer I had repeated like a recording machine refused to come out.
It would have been easier if she had hated me.
If she had screamed that I killed him, that I made him do it, that it was all my fault. That would have been easier.
Then I could at least cling to the excuse that it was a legitimate contract.
That contracts cannot be made under force.
That the signer understood the price.
That there was no coercion involved.
Those pathetic excuses might have let me breathe, even a little.
“Right. They can’t be forced.”
“I… see.”
Rina said nothing more.
And I had taken away her only family.
If I had known Major Marcus had a daughter, would I have made a different choice?
The fact that I couldn’t answer that question made me feel sick.
I covered my mouth and forced my breathing to settle.
Rina waited patiently for me, without a word.
A quiet silence stretched between us.
Until the tea in the cup went completely cold.
The demon said nothing, simply watching.
“…About my dad.”
Rina finally spoke again.
“I think… he probably wanted to run away. I’m sure he did.”
Her small fingertips trembled again.
“He said he would never leave me. He promised he’d always come back.”
I silently looked over the documents she had brought.
The appointment letter, the death notification, and the post-action report.
It included military procedures for families of the fallen, along with support plans for the daughter left behind.
Financial support until adulthood. Identity guarantees. Assigned guardians from his comrades.
He had prepared everything for after his death.
“I don’t know… why he did it.”
I tried to speak several times, but it felt like sand was stuck in my throat.
I had heard nothing. Nothing at all.
I took a breath and forced the words out, like scraping something from inside me.
“I was the one who pushed him into the contract.”
That was the only truth I could say.
“Why… was it my dad?”
Of course she would ask that.
But hearing it made my mind go blank.
I knew whatever I said would sound like excuses to her.
I had led him to it.
I had effectively sent him to his death.
No different from pulling a trigger, just using words and contracts instead of bullets.
When I couldn’t answer, Rina looked straight at me.
“I still don’t understand why my dad chose that contract.”
Then she spoke slowly, carefully.
“I didn’t need him to be great.”
Her small hands tightened on her lap.
“He didn’t have to be impressive. Or strong. Or anything like that.”
She did not look away.
“Just being there was enough.”
Her voice broke slightly.
“I just… wanted him to come back alive.”
She looked at me with eyes full of tears she refused to let fall.
“You’re a demon broker, right?”
“…Yes.”
“I heard brokers help people make contracts with demons.”
Her trembling hand reached toward me, as if asking for help.
“Then… can you help me say goodbye to my dad one last time?”
“That… is…”
The words wouldn’t come.
I looked at her face again.
She looked like she would break if she blinked too hard.
And yet she still waited for my answer.
That hurt more than anything.
The demon beside me lifted its teacup quietly.
It watched me with amused expectation.
I bit the inside of my lip until I tasted blood.
I am a hypocrite.
If I am, then I should at least act like one properly.
I cannot afford to hesitate in front of this child.
“Rina… the dead cannot be brought back.”
I spoke firmly, forcing my voice steady.
Her eyes wavered.
I did not look away.
“No matter the contract. No matter the price. It’s impossible to bring the dead back.”
The room went quiet.
“…I see.”
Rina lowered her head.
The demon finally spoke.
“That depends on what you mean by a final goodbye.”
“Hey—!”
The demon raised a finger, cutting me off.
I clenched my teeth.
“Ah, seeing the father again, you mean?”
“It is impossible to resurrect the dead, yes.”
The demon snapped its fingers.
The empty cup filled with tea again.
“But there are other ways. Dreams. Memory reconstruction. Many possibilities.”
My stomach turned cold.
No way. No, surely not.
Rina’s trembling eyes wavered.
I did not want to hear what came next.
“I’ll do it. I’ll pay the price. Anything.”
Just one sentence like that would be enough.
I would never be able to look at her again.
The demon never said the price was small.
I cannot interfere if she chooses.
That is how contracts work.
Please… don’t say it.
Rina took a small breath.
“…I was just asking. I know I shouldn’t. Dad told me not to.”
Among the papers she brought, there was a letter from him.
I had not been able to read it.
“I just… miss him.”
Her small voice trembled.
“He said I shouldn’t treat him like a hero.”
A tear finally fell.
“I want to remember him as someone who saved people… who flew through the sky and stopped that monster.”
She wiped her face, but more tears followed.
“Rina…”
I called her name without thinking.
Her shoulders shook.
“Did he hesitate because of me?”
That question struck me harder than anything.
I exhaled slowly.
“I can’t answer that.”
Her eyes widened slightly.
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t know.”
I spoke honestly.
“I never tried to find out.”
That was the truth.
I only needed his signature.
Not his reasons.
Not his thoughts.
Not even his last expression.
If anyone had the right to hate me, it was her.
Rina spoke one last time.
“Then… was my dad cool? At least that much… can you tell me?”
I saw it again.
A plane flying through falling fire, a man who never ran away.
But I could not tell her anything.
I had no right to.
“I’m sorry.”
I bowed my head until I could see her feet.
“I’m really sorry.”
Her sobs finally broke free.
I did not reach out.
I did not comfort her.
I only clenched my fist until my nails dug into my palm.
Because I had no right to do even that.