It Could Remain (6)
Reality is often more extreme than any novel or drama.
There was simply no helping it. Nothing in existence is as fickle or as wayward as the world itself.
“Do you really think slapping the word ‘coincidence’ on everything makes it fine?!”
The trouble starts when those things suddenly require an explanation.
When something that unfolded like fate, like inevitability, forces you to assign cause and effect and justify the whole mess.
“If you can explain a coincidence, do you still believe it counts as one?”
But can you actually put that into words? An event with no reason that still happened; a result without a cause that nevertheless exists—can you describe something like that clearly?
“Come ready to talk. I have no interest in ranting at someone who has no intention of listening.”
Demanding reasons for a coincidence is ultimately no different from asking why “why” is “why.”
In other words, it is a foolish act. Natural disasters have principles behind them, but no purpose, yet people slap labels like divine wrath on them and raise hell anyway.
“You...!”
In that sense, I hope you’ll stop blaming yourself for everything. You might find it chilling, but I’m just as flustered.
“I told you it was a coincidence.”
“And I’m supposed to believe that?!”
“Brother, we promised we would talk this through.”
“You’re just digging in your heels because you don’t want to accept it.”
“I’m not digging in my heels...!”
For heaven’s sake. If I’d known it would turn out like this, I would’ve just... hmm...
Wait. No matter how hard I think about it, there doesn’t seem to be a single part I could have undone.
Right. Calling even crying on the street a mistake is going too far. I didn’t approach the child first, and everything that followed was the same.
“Let’s go back to the family now! We’ll hear their side of the story as well!”
“Yeah. Let’s go. These things are best when you hear both sides, right?”
“...Even if we do.”
“Even if we do what? Is anything the young master said wrong? If you’re not going to listen and just dig in your heels, then leave already.”
“......”
So none of this is my fault. The situation and everyone’s positions simply happened to be unfortunate.
...Probably. That’s how it is.
“Come on, let’s go. Let’s go.”
“The later it gets, the harder it’ll be for the family! So hurry!”
Separately, if those guys go and hear about the situation now... they’ll find out I was crying, won’t they? That’s a bit awkward.
“Once we hear their explanation, your misunderstanding will clear up for sure, Brother.”
No—it’s really awkward...!
I’m screwed!
“Danny! What were you thinking, bolting out like that all of a sudden?! I was worried sick!”
“What on earth were you saying earlier... Ah, guests?”
Daniel opened the door with a slow hand. Waiting for him—having even lit a precious candle—were the people who still remained as family on this land.
“...I’m sorry for worrying you.”
“As long as you weren’t hurt, that’s enough. It’s not as if I don’t know the work you do is dangerous... But next time, please try not to do that if you can help it.”
“Yes.”
The worry they offered him was bittersweet and unavoidably gentle. Daniel allowed a faint smile to surface at the warmth that tenderness carried. It was warm.
“More importantly, the people behind you...?”
“Ah... these two are...”
Then he faltered again. He had no idea how to introduce them.
One held a far higher rank than he did, yet it was not something he could casually announce; the other he barely knew himself.
“Hello. Though it is more than I deserve, I work as an Inquisitor. I apologize for calling so late at night.”
Fortunately the others spoke up before he had to. Daniel simply stepped aside a little.
“Ah, and please forgive me for being unable to give my name on account of my profession. Feel free to call me whatever is convenient!”
“Ah, if you’re an Inquisitor that makes sense. I understand completely.”
Demon worshippers sometimes cursed people through their names.
Of course, a curse cast with nothing but a name was extremely weak—almost meaningless—and easy to track, so actual cases were rare... but the world was full of unknowns by nature.
That went double for someone who clashed with demons as directly as an Inquisitor. Being careful never hurt.
It was not a rule that had to be followed, and there were even people who deliberately revealed their names so they could turn the tables—people like Daniel himself—but still.
“We’re no different from usual. This child of ours simply frets so much...”
“I can only thank you for your understanding.”
“As for me... just call me an adventurer, more or less.”
“Yes, Adventurer.”
In any case, knowing those circumstances, Daniel’s family chose not to press. That was the end of the brief introductions.
“Well then, please come inside for now.”
After that they entered the house and took their seats. It was a place the couple had prepared once they learned the visitors had come to ask questions.
The candle already burning and cups of mulled wine were set out on the table.
“Let’s light it with mine instead.”
At that moment Deathbringer replaced the light meant to drive back the dark. In place of the candle he set a magically powered lantern on the table.
The couple pretended not to notice the quiet consideration, but they were clearly pleased. Even for people who owned several candles thanks to their Inquisitor nephew, wax was still precious.
“So... what exactly did you come to ask about...?”
“Nothing major... do you remember the guest who visited today?”
“Yes, of course. But is there some sort of problem...?”
“That boy heard something about him and ran out. Is that adventurer a criminal or something? He didn’t look like one...”
“No, no! Nothing like that.”
“Then...?”
At the couple’s puzzled looks the Inquisitor and Deathbringer exchanged glances, then carefully chose their words.
How the Demon Knight had happened to meet them, what they had talked about, whether he had shown any unusual behavior—every phrase was selected to avoid prejudice.
“Please tell us as much detail as you can, Aunt. It’s important.”
“It’s not a difficult matter, so I don’t mind...”
Still... the couple’s gray hair looked rather like someone’s. Their features were completely different, yet gray hair was rare enough in other regions that a sense of kinship rose unbidden.
Deathbringer’s and the Inquisitor’s gazes kept drifting toward the couple’s hair.
“Schutz approached that adventurer first. Ah, Schutz is my child. He’s still little, and he’s asleep right now, so I didn’t wake him.”
“Yes.”
“Ahem, anyway, it seems the man had been crying in the street. So Schutz went over first...”
“Excuse me? What did you say?”
“Crying??”
Then came a statement they had never imagined. The Inquisitor’s and Deathbringer’s mouths fell open. Daniel was just as startled.
There was something about the Demon Knight’s tears that stunned both those who knew him and those who did not.
“H-how exactly was he crying...?”
“It wasn’t as if he was sobbing for all to see. Even I only noticed once I got close because of Schutz. He just had a blank face with a few tears trailing down...”
Oh, so he hadn’t been wailing. No—crying at all was already enough. They had thought only blood existed in him, yet apparently he did have tears.
Inside both their heads, the image of the Demon Knight fell into chaos.
“D-do you know why he was crying...?”
“That, even I...”
Well, of course they wouldn’t know that much. The two of them deflated and waited for the rest. What followed was predictable.
The Demon Knight had accepted the invitation, spoken a little, and parted before the sky turned red. That was all.
There were far too many variables for it to have been intentional; it could only have been coincidence.
Of course, the way the couple described the Demon Knight as endlessly gentle... and gentle... far too gentle still sat strangely with them.
“The Demon Knight was actually capable of explaining himself...!”
“Well, I mean. He’s pretty kind to kids, isn’t he? So it’s not completely impossible... right...?”
“......?”
Before they even tried to persuade Daniel they put their heads together and tried to quiet the confusion.
It was not easy. He was far too different from the Demon Knight they knew.
“But was he really that different...?”
“I don’t know either. Still, he does treat people who aren’t us pretty casually sometimes... when he takes commissions or visits the guild...”
“Th-then is it only with us...?”
“Probably, yes...”
“As I thought, we’re...”
And so, midway through thinking, they sank into self-loathing. Even Daniel, who had been agonizing over his suspicions of the Demon Knight, was taken aback.
“W-why are you like this?”
“D-did that adventurer do something wrong...?”
“N-no, nothing like that! He’s just... he didn’t do anything wrong, but...”
The Inquisitor trailed off and slumped again.
Just as the Demon Knight had helped her, she wanted to help him in return... yet she realized she was in no position even to ask why he had been sad.
“We...”
She had never even received the level of kindness those two had.
Probably for the same reason as before... the retribution brought on by her own ignorance, foolishness, and weakness...
Even so, sadness was still sadness. The Inquisitor’s face crumpled.
“S-so just to confirm, the adventurer didn’t harm either of you, correct?”
“Of course not. If anything he played with Schutz so well... and he was extremely polite with me as well. But are you certain there’s no problem?”
“Absolutely. He’s someone who travels with us, you see. But this In— this person here was far too suspicious of the young master... so we came to clear that up.”
“Ah...”
In the meantime Deathbringer, face as damp as the Inquisitor’s, managed to wrap up the conversation.
Even the densest person should drop their suspicions after this much. Even while unsettled he still cast a glance toward Inquisitor Daniel for good measure.
“I don’t know what misunderstanding you were under, but let it go. I may be saying this because I don’t know much, but... he didn’t seem like a dangerous person.”
“Right. I only saw him while watching the shop, so it wasn’t long, but... I got a similar impression. He seemed more like the type who’d suffer misfortune than the type who’d cause it.”
“......”
After hearing even that defense and testimony, Daniel had no further desire to keep doubting.
The part of him that still hated to believe remained... but that was pure stubbornness. That was a problem he would have to resolve himself.
“...Yes. It seems it was my misunderstanding after all.”
Thus he answered while suppressing the instinctive revulsion and rage that rose in him. The incident born of circumstance colliding with circumstance finally settled.
“If the misunderstanding is cleared, there’s no reason for us to stay longer. Sorry for the late hour. We’ll be going now.”
“Ah, I too... thank you for your cooperation, and I apologize for disturbing your rest. I hope you have a good night.”
“It was nothing. More importantly, will you be all right leaving like this? It’s late—do you have somewhere to stay...?”
“We are staying at the temple, so it is fine.”
At any rate, once the conversation was finished there was no further reason to linger.
Deathbringer gathered the Inquisitor and prepared to leave. Berserk would have passed the word along, but it was still far too late for anything good to come of it.
“Take care.”
“Please come by anytime, Inquisitor.”
“...I’ll see you out.”
The two of them left the house under the family’s farewell. Daniel also felt a sense of responsibility and followed a certain distance.
“I’m sorry about today.”
“Apologize to the young master instead.”
“...I will.”
“For the record, I’m not apologizing for throwing the first punch.”
“...I don’t mind.”
That sort of courtesy was hardly necessary. Once someone got under your skin, the grudge did not vanish easily. In the same vein, he almost hoped never to get involved again.
“...He.”
Yet Daniel still seemed to have something left to ask. Deathbringer pouted and dug at his ear with a finger—an attitude anyone could tell was deliberately rude.
“You told me you didn’t know what sort of person he was. How he was holding on, what state of mind he stood with.”
But Daniel was not the sort to back down easily either.
No matter what Deathbringer did, he asked steadily.
“What did that mean?”
It was a question seeking something that might help loosen his own stubbornness.
“Why would I go around talking about someone else’s business?”
“...That’s true as well.”
But it was not something he absolutely needed. He was already aware that his question was somewhat rude.
So Daniel simply accepted it and prepared to withdraw. What he did not know was that the gesture only irritated Deathbringer more.
Misfortune—carved under the names of adversity and trial—was something one must not discuss lightly, yet something one often wanted others to understand.
“Still... you’re not the only one who’s lost family.”
“......!”
“And while you at least have relatives left... there are people who don’t even have that.”
“...I see.”
At that, Daniel lowered his eyes to information he had overlooked, or had refused to face directly.
Having already experienced loss, yet still not knowing the full weight of losing everything, he could not add a single word.
“...I’m sorry.”
“Didn’t I tell you to save that for the young master?”
“I will.”
Daniel looked up at the dark sky and let out a breath.
“I will... definitely apologize.”
The old saying that if you cast off self-righteousness and prejudice you would see farther seemed to reach him, if only a little.
“I have one more thing I wish to say.”
“What.”
“This matter was clearly my mistake. Even so, do not treat the words I spoke as meaningless.”
“Don’t trust the young master, you mean? Still going on about that?”
“Not that... I mean remember that demons are crueler, more cunning, and more detestable than you can imagine.”
He cleared his throat and spoke once more.
“Never... underestimate them.”
At that the previously dejected Inquisitor and Deathbringer looked at him. One pair of eyes sparkled; the other clearly thought, Ugh, what a preachy old man!
“Don’t worry! We already know that well enough!”
“I know better than you do, so don’t worry about it.”
“Yes. Then... until next time.”
Had his advice reached them, or had it not? Even if the latter were true, there was nothing more he could do.
Just as Daniel himself had only been able to accept the truth after seeing every piece of evidence, they too would find it hard to understand until they faced it themselves.
“Please stay healthy.”
So he prayed that they would either realize before making a mistake, or that even if they made one it would be something they could still recover from.
Daniel offered the prayer for those younger than himself. It was the prayer of someone who had simply lived a little longer in the world.