Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Birthday Gift
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"It's a gift. It's your birthday today, right?"
The Commander gazed out the window. The sky was exceptionally bright.
Maybe that's why.
'Things might go smoothly today, at least.'
He harbored that small hope, oblivious to his own limitations.
Lately, incidents had been piling up relentlessly.
No minor mishaps he could brush off with a laugh—only horrors that made him want to shut his eyes, one after another.
The Commander pressed his brow. Exhaustion seemed to seep from every pore.
Among them, the one that unsettled him most was Esira.
She was still just a child.
Always so vibrant, wearing her affections on her sleeve.
Especially when Asrania was nearby. She exuded that innocent charm unique to her age.
Dreaming of the future, counting down to her birthday, acting cute with her mom.
But the recent Esira...
She had changed.
That word fell short.
Even knowing it was cruel to pin on a child, the Commander had no choice but to admit it.
She had gone mad.
Her actions spiraled with no brakes in sight.
Someone had said it outright.
Not a child, but a monster wearing a child's skin.
The one who said it was an agent he worked with.
He should have refuted it.
Insisted Esira wasn't a monster, that it couldn't be true. He should have scolded them.
'But after seeing that... how could I?'
The last time he'd faced Esira, she stood in the heart of the slums. Corpses littered the ground, the air thick with the stench of blood.
The girl who had slaughtered them all, standing there as if it were nothing.
'Can I even call that a child?'
It was believable enough that the Abyss had overtaken her.
Far more chilling than the 'fake Esira' he'd seen in the cave.
After witnessing that scene, the Commander was speechless for a long while.
At first, he'd thought:
She's young, still a kid in the end. If her power overwhelmed her, someone would step in.
That notion didn't last.
Whether fortunate or not, Esira was far too strong.
Now, most people couldn't even stand before her—they collapsed instantly.
Asrania's blood ran true, after all.
There were few in this world who could stop her.
'Did she awaken because of her mother's death?'
One more despairing fact.
Marigold was glued to Esira's side.
Like a shadow, guarding the girl perfectly.
Dangerous enough alone, but with someone egging on her rampage...
Conflicting thoughts clashed in the Commander's mind.
Thank goodness Marigold was there.
But with Marigold there, it was even more hopeless.
The Commander glanced up at the sky once more.
He'd hoped the bright heavens would feel like a blessing today, but now they mocked him.
"......Damn it."
He wanted to scrap everything and start over from the beginning.
The cave where Asrania died. If he'd chosen differently there, would the future have changed?
This path he walked felt like nothing but a bad end.
After Asrania's death notice spread, reactions here were uniform.
Shock at an invincible Exim falling, or prying into the details.
No one truly grieved.
Then again, what could you expect from Exim, where killing and crushing foes was daily life?
It wasn't strange at all.
Exim wasn't some noble group bound by camaraderie—it was forged in murder, schemes, and enmity.
The odd one out might be him.
The Commander bit his lip. A lump of unspoken words hardened in his throat.
Right then.
Knock, knock.
A knock at the door.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Beatrice entered. As always, she straightened her lab coat hem and set down a single sheet of paper with an impassive face. But today, her eyes held an oddly sharp glint.
"I've got news."
"What blew up this time?"
The Commander asked bitterly, but Beatrice shook her head.
"No. Something interesting."
Beatrice nodded toward the paper.
"Someone wants you to come to these coordinates."
"Coordinates?"
The Commander's eyes narrowed.
"You alone."
"......Who sent it?"
It looked suspicious at first glance. Like a declaration of 'I'm going to assassinate you.'
Beatrice paused briefly.
"Feels like Exim."
"......"
The Commander's face hardened instantly.
Normally, he'd crumple something like this and toss it without a second thought.
High chance of a trap, and Exim never meant well.
But Beatrice coming all this way to deliver it meant...
High likelihood it involved Esira.
The Commander took the paper. Coordinates were listed, and he read the key phrase.
Esira's Birthday
"......Birthday?"
"Seems like it."
Beatrice crossed her arms.
"That's why—don't go."
"......What?"
The Commander looked up, and Beatrice drove the point home without changing expression.
"You're not her father. Not Asrania's husband. Why risk it?"
"It's from Exim."
"Exactly why not. 'Alone' reeks from the start."
Beatrice exhaled like a sigh.
"If you go to those coordinates, getting out won't depend on your luck—it'll be their whim."
The Commander slowly set the paper down.
Esira had no family left now. No mom, dad, or siblings.
He wasn't Asrania's husband.
An outsider.
But could he just watch her isolate herself?
The Commander clenched his interlaced hands, then slowly released them. A long breath followed, as if sorting his tangled emotions.
"I'm not going as Commander."
"......Then what gives you the right?"
"As a comrade."
Considering the location, it was reckless.
Beatrice answered with silence for a moment.
"If I have to play father, I will. If she needs a pillar to keep her from crumbling."
"That's unusually serious for you."
"Haha, is it?"
"But."
Beatrice stared at him intently. Her gaze mixed frustration.
"Just because that role's needed doesn't mean you're obligated to fill it."
The Commander closed his eyes silently, then opened them slowly.
His gaze reconciled harsh reality with unyielding resolve.
"I've already owed Asrania my life once."
The karma of a survivor.
He had no intention of shirking the weight.
"The debt isn't settled yet."
"......Ha."
Beatrice stared at him a beat longer, then smirked.
"Yeah. Figured you'd say that."
Beatrice slid the paper toward him smoothly.
"If you're going, I won't stop you. But prepare thoroughly. I hate funerals—especially yours."
"......Got it."
"One more thing."
"What?"
"Don't go alone."
The Commander looked up puzzled, and Beatrice cut straight to it.
"It says come alone, but that's just wishful thinking. Think about your position. I trust you get it without me spelling it out."
Beatrice turned away.
Her lab coat hem brushed the doorframe as she left, and the room fell quiet again.
The Commander stared at the paper for a long time.
"I know that much without you telling me."
When she opened her eyes, for some reason, she half-expected her mom to ask, "Sleep well?"
Stroking her hair like nothing had happened, setting out a warm meal.
She knew.
Mom was already dead.
Even so, sometimes—just sometimes—she hoped she'd come back, apologize.
Say sorry for being late.
Smile through her regrets.
Today was one of those days.
An ordinary day, just like any other.
Esira silently picked up her sword. She twirled it slowly, loosening her stiff wrist from the night.
Her reflection flickered briefly on the gleaming blade.
Dull eyes.
She had to get stronger.
Today, too, she prepared to head out.
The moment her hand touched the doorknob.
"Esira."
Marigold peeked through the door crack, her eyes curved like crescent moons.
"Wait. Before you go."
"What."
Marigold pressed a finger to her lips.
"Shh. It's a surprise gift."
"......Surprise gift?"
Esira only furrowed her brow, no smile in sight.
What gift at a time like this?
She wasn't in the mood. Marigold opened the door wider and whispered.
"You'll be shocked. For real."
Not excited—holding her breath, like someone reining in anticipation.
Esira hesitated, set down her sword, and followed Marigold.
Down the hall to the living room.
"......Huh!?"
Esira's breath caught. Her heart plummeted like a stone.
A hand draped loosely over the armrest. Hair spilling over her knees.
Asrania sat there.
"......Mom?"
The word, unspoken for so long, refused to settle.
"......One thing first—it's not the real her."
Marigold quickly clarified.
The word 'fake' brought instant disappointment.
But Esira stepped forward, entranced.
Her mom sitting there so beautifully.
So lifelike.
She could only move slowly, fearing she'd vanish like smoke if she got too close.
Even if it was a cruel illusion, fine.
Just to see her up close, even briefly.
Asrania sat in the chair with eyes closed.
Like she was in deep sleep. Fake or not, she was identical to the mom she missed so dearly.
Her breath seemed audible—maybe not.
Esira reached out a trembling hand, then stopped.
Marigold spoke cautiously from behind.
"It's a gift. It's your birthday today, right?"
"......I forgot it was my birthday."
"It's not real. You know that. But even like this, just for a bit... I wanted you to feel less alone."
Esira couldn't respond.
Unable to hold back, she rushed to Asrania and peered into her face.
Esira's lips quivered.
Her jaw trembled silently.
"Mom...... Mom, I......"
The words wouldn't come. Even inhaling hurt, like her chest was gripped tight.
Finally, Esira wrapped her arms around Asrania.
If she let go, everything would end. She felt she'd shatter without this.
Then Marigold added, almost defensively.
"I replicated everything perfectly."
"......"
"Inside too. Skin. Organs. Body heat. Just like the real thing."
Esira barely registered it, hugging deeper.
It was warm.
Not cold.
"......It's warm."
Asrania's eyes remained closed.
A sleeping face. A silent face.
Yet precisely because of that.
Esira couldn't loosen her grip.
To confirm the heat, to hold on longer.