Acceptable (11)

[…Is that all?]

“What else did you expect? That I’d get angry at the kid, wail, and pour out every last scrap of resentment?”

I gave a faint smile.

“But you know what? I hate big corporations that break the law more than some street stall running without a permit.”

Nine years without a single proper night’s sleep. Nine years of enduring the burning agony the demon could trigger at any moment, while everyone treated me as an enemy. Nine years of pain that could no longer be dulled, that I would have to take raw and unfiltered. Could I really do it? Could I last?

A human gets foggy after one night without sleep. Not ten days, not a month—nine full years. Could I actually endure that long?

“And I hate child abusers like you even more.”

Still, I couldn’t abandon that child’s round little head. I couldn’t coldly ignore the cheeks that glittered with the sorrowful sheen of silent tears.

Fuck. Life was pure garbage and the world was dog shit, but I still couldn’t just sit there and do nothing.

[Ah, Gretchen, you really are…]

So I made my decision. You held out for eight months; I could manage at least that much. If a kid could overcome it, then as an adult I’d be too ashamed not to. I could do at least that much.

[You’re remarkably skilled at deceiving yourself.]

I was sure of it.

[If the Original Sin of Falsehood ever gained a throne, your name would surely sit in the very first seat.]

My true feelings hid behind the child’s tears. Somewhere in my heart an adult was still crying, crushed so tightly he couldn’t even breathe.

An adult who couldn’t cry because a child was already crying, choked and crushed under the weight of it.

[O you who deceive yourself so thoroughly. How far will you go in offering yourself as a burnt sacrifice? How long can a soul hollowed out by sacrifice keep its original shape?]

It was wretched. Pitiful. Miserable. It made me furious. I was hurting too. I was in pain. I needed someone to soothe me. Someone to tell me it was okay. Me too.

[The good deeds you cling to in order to protect that last handful of humanity only end up destroying you—a contradiction you—]

I missed my family too.

KWAANG!

The world shook. It was a vibration that shattered both pure black and pure white. The broken walls gurgled and spat blood.

[…You worthless little bug!]

What now? I blankly lifted my head and watched blood droplets pour down like a waterfall. Strangely, I felt nothing special about it.

Guess something went wrong. That was all. A dry evaluation with zero empathy drifted through my mind.

「There’s an impact from outside…」

[A stupid beast dares attack me without knowing its place?]

The other two, however, reacted differently.

The black-and-white world turned translucent for an instant and reflected the outside. It was a slightly wider field of view than normal vision, like a shoulder-view game camera.

KWAANG!

At the same time, sound slammed into my ears as if someone had cranked the speakers all the way up. The two-handed sword that had been wrapped around my body in a cocoon shape to protect it—Latel—was fighting the enemies that had invaded.

White fragments, more like joint guards than ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠full tights, moved my body on their own. Both legs leapt high to dodge a giant fang, while both arms cleaved through the approaching insectoid masses.

[Foolish beast, I shall tear you apart exactly as I will your master.]

But the movements were truly minimal; they couldn’t overwhelm the enemy. The blood that kept flowing into this space made that fact painfully clear.

A body focused more on evasion than attack twitched unnaturally, like a corpse.

「…You think I’ll just let you go?」

[…You little brat who can’t even grasp the situation!]

At the same time the demon, who had been about to do something, was also seized by the chains. The cracked and fractured links looked ready to snap at any moment, yet surprisingly the demon couldn’t throw them off.

Crrrk. Crrrk. Every time the demon clenched its fists, the crumbling chains bought more time.

[At this rate we all die. You can’t be unaware of that.]

「…….」

[Do you think only this body needs to die? Little one. That plague won’t just devour this carcass and leave. Absolutely not! That greedy thing would never settle for that!]

Was it displeased with that outcome? Or was it simply afraid that in the meantime the body would be chewed up by death?

Even as the demon thrashed to break the chains, its tongue never stopped.

[Child.]

In an instant the voice dropped into a gentle, sweet cadence that carried a cloying fragrance.

[The hometown you tried so hard to protect—even abandoning your benefactor—lies just beyond this.]

「…I…」

[Then you must protect it. You have to protect it, little one. Choose before your attachment to something you’ve already thrown away makes you lose everything.]

「…I!」

[Or would you rather watch me burn your hometown to ash as well?]

「……!」

Hidden inside that sweetness were fangs dripping with vicious poison. The boy’s face twisted. The dried tear tracks glistened whenever light struck them.

[Let go, little one. Free me now and I swear upon my name that I will spare only your hometown.]

Sssrk. The chains binding the demon loosened a fraction. [Yes, good boy.] The demon smiled.

Chrrrk.

「…I don’t care. Even if it breaks, even if it shatters, even if it burns.」

And once again the chains went taut.

「You’re right. I… I chose Munmunt’s safety over your well-being. Because the memories left there were too precious. Because even the remaining fragments felt too precious to lose. Because I wanted those people, at least, to live happily.」

The boy’s gaze turned to me.

「But… but it’s okay now.」

The child was no longer crying.

「I won’t be greedy anymore. I’ve finally realized I never had the right.」

Ashen, faded gray hair stirred in a wind that came from nowhere.

「That’s right. Someone who trampled thousands of lives, who dragged an innocent person into this… wanting to protect something precious was wrong from the start.」

Blood rose as if it meant to swallow us. Layer upon layer of sins, the tears we had shed, the karma we had to bear—they covered our knees and swept around our waists.

「I’m sorry. I know a single word can’t atone for this crime, but I’m still sorry.」

Ah, if only…

「And thank you. For letting yourself be swayed by my selfishness, for telling me I held on well.」

A soul that could overcome malice.

「Go now, to the place where you originally belong.」

A strong being that would not fall before evil.

「…I’m truly sorry for summoning you of my own accord and trying to end it of my own accord. But if I miss this chance, there will never be another.」

Someone who could achieve victory over demons.

「…I should have sent you back long ago.」

…Can you hear my voice?

[This damn little brat—!]

「Ah.」

If you can hear it.

If this voice reaches you…

「It hurts…」

Please, help me…

[If you don’t let me out right now—!]

Black flames pierced the boy’s heart. The tears that gushed forth melted into the rising karma without leaving a single trace.

As if the boy’s sorrow meant nothing before sins of this magnitude, they vanished without a mark.

[Damn it, at this rate…!]

Even so the boy did not fall. Even as the flames consumed his body and turned him to ash, he did not bend his knees.

It hurts. A scream that could not be heard was swallowed by his throat and faded. Blood, blood flowed.

[This damn brat to the very end…!!]

Blood poured without end.

To contain the fire, blood that carried sin became a river, then a lake, and finally formed a sea. The boy who had once bled just to stay alive sank into the blood-sea.

“If I manage to last nine years,”

But I was taller than the boy, so I was not swallowed. I caught the boy whose lake of blood had reached his chin.

“Let’s say I make it back. What happens to you?”

I didn’t want the child submerged in sticky blood. So come out.

I lifted the boy with one hand under his backside. Cough. The child dyed red looked at me with tears hanging in drops from his lashes.

「Why are you asking…」

“Answer me. You or your kid.”

[…That child will become free, and I promised to fall.]

“So roughly speaking, you’ll leave this body and die?”

[Yes. I won’t die, but I won’t have the strength left to do anything either.]

A red droplet hanging from ashen lashes fell with a soft plip. [Why ask that? Have you suddenly decided you want to stay?] The one worn thin by impatience sneered as if putting on a brave face.

“Nah. I just started thinking—that promise was exchanging the truth for Munmunt’s safety, right? Which means I probably have to take down that monster too.”

If that made me look like a hedgehog with all its spines raised, was I being too generous? I quickly discarded the image that had briefly appeared. After a little more thought I decided the comparison was unfair to hedgehogs. Yeah, definitely.

「…You can’t.」

“Are the truths I’ve heard so far and the threats I’ve eliminated really equal in value?”

「You can’t, please…!」

“What do you think, demon?”

「Please, please…!! You can’t suffer any more!!」

[…Are you asking me?]

“Is there any other demon here besides you?”

「I… this land has no right to keep living at the cost of your pain!!」

[If this body dies you can return. And you’re still going to help?]

“If you don’t like it, then don’t.”

「You… you can stop hurting now…!!」

[…No. I’d welcome it if you did.]

「Stop, please… stop…….」

Still, above the image of that disheveled hedgehog, I wondered: Would I come to regret this choice?

“Then let’s remake the promise.”

I didn’t know. I wasn’t someone who could see the future.

But I knew for certain that if I went back like this I would definitely regret it. That much I knew well.

“You won’t try to hijack my body while I sleep, you won’t deliberately cause the burning pain just to hurt me, and you won’t randomly detonate Demon Energy. Basically, you absolutely will not pull any stunts to steal my body. Oh, and cancel that truth-delivery penalty thing too. From now on, no matter what that kid tells me, I don’t take any more penalties.”

Therefore I decided to try once more… just one more time.

With the mindset that if these conditions weren’t accepted I would simply leave—just once more.

「Stop it. You already went through this in Bemyurhen…! You… you stayed for those people, and after that you suffered so much…!! So… so…….」

“…What are you talking about? I stayed for those people?”

[Ah, you wouldn’t remember. We ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠erased it.]

“You bastards really did a hell of a lot of unforgivable shit to me…….”

…Oh. This was something I genuinely hadn’t known. I briefly re-evaluated the newly learned fact, then opened my mouth again.

“I’ll hear about that later. Anyway—are you going to promise, or not?”

[That’s far too disadvantageous for me—]

“If you don’t like it, then die.”

At the same time I rose slightly onto my toes to keep the blood that had reached my philtrum from going any higher. I had no intention of being completely taken in like a child. I needed to get what I could get.

[Then restore my memories to the state before we spoke…]

“Hey, do I look easy? Or do you not want to live?”

[Then at least swear you won’t intentionally die…]

“I told you, if you don’t want to live then don’t.”

[Damn it, are you telling me to give up everything just to survive?!]

“Of course. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

My gaze locked with the demon’s.

“You’re the one who said the one who gets taken advantage of is the fool.”

Even inside the blood, those vivid red eyes bellowed meaningless screams. It was a meaningless act. Its own baseness was the karma ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it had piled up.

“So? Are you doing it or not?”

[…You’ll regret this.]

“Yeah, people who say that are never actually scary.”

[You take my words as a joke.]

“Isn’t it only natural to ignore a dumbass who was grinning thinking he’d already won without even anticipating that Gluttony would target him?”

[…We will proceed with the contract.]

See? The bastards who go around saying the one who gets screwed is the idiot never blame ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠themselves when they’re the ones getting screwed.

I swallowed the words that tried to jump out. If that fucker flipped out and stubbornly refused the contract, I’d be in a tough spot too.

Chrrrrrk.

Fortunately the bastard produced a contract. Paper that didn’t get soggy even in blood appeared and displayed the clauses one after another.

“This should be fine.”

The clauses were tight, but since I was just as short on time I couldn’t check every detail carefully. Still, at a glance it seemed most of the tricks the bastard could pull had been blocked.

That was enough. It would probably be enough.

「Why… why go this far…….」

“…If I leave like this, everything I’ve suffered becomes meaningless.”

「Please, please…….」

No—honestly, even if it was incomplete that was fine. As long as I secured the guarantee of sleep, the maintenance of pain reduction, and the removal of deliberate burning agony, enduring would be more than doable.

Humans have survived three years with their legs shattered and their dreams crushed. With conditions like these, nine years should be somehow livable.

「You… you’re allowed to be happy now…….」

“I won’t deny that. It’s not like I have zero sins of my own, but I don’t think I deserve to go through this much hell. If I think about it that way, don’t I at least have the right to be happy?”

With that thought I buried my face against the shoulder of the child who was bawling. Since I was already holding him, our heights matched and it was possible.

「But why. Why…….」

“Because, fucking hell, right now the only person who can help you is me.”

Then I held the contract out to the demon.

“Hey, add one more clause. Besides the acts listed in the contract, any action I judge to be a body-seizing trick can be newly added and banned at any time.”

[…I’d rather die than accept that!]

“Oh, okay. Then die.”

[……!!!]

In a chicken game where one side had almost nothing to lose—except not going home right away—the demon ground its teeth. Splash! Blood was forced back, creating space for us. That was nice. Would have been nicer if it had done that earlier.

[…Don’t you think a clause that relies on your judgment has far too much room for abuse?]

“Only for you?”

[…Change it to the judgment of ancient magic. Then I’ll agree.]

“I don’t wanna.”

[How am I supposed to accept something that might even count the mere fact of parasitizing a body as a ‘trick’?!]

“…Oh. As expected, a scammer really is on a different level. Spotted the loophole right away.”

Was dealing with this bastard really the right call? I hesitated a little, then looked at the boy in my arms and let out a deep sigh.

What else could I do? I couldn’t abandon the kid.

“I have no idea whether ancient magic is a fair bastard or not.”

[I swear upon my name.]

“…Even if you say that…”

[Do you intend to make the contract or not!!]

I did, but I just couldn’t trust it. I glanced at the boy. “You sure?” At my question the boy nodded with difficulty. 「…Don’t do it. Please don’t.」 Even while telling the truth, the hitching breaths kept trying to stop me until the end.

“I can’t. The way you asked for help was messed up, but in the end there’s a kid here who called for an adult to rescue him. If there was someone else who could help it might be different, but right now there’s only me.”

If ancient magic had credibility, that should be fine. I raised my free hand. I needed a pen. The moment I thought it, a pen appeared.

“It’s not a lifetime, just about nine years… I’ll just think of it as going on a long overseas volunteer trip or something.”

Now I just had to write my name here? I stretched the pen toward the bottom of the contract. 「You’ll regret it.」 The child snatched it away.

「Helping trash like me… you’ll definitely regret it.」

“Maybe.”

「You really will regret it…….」

The child dropped tear after tear while properly gripping the stolen pen. “Why are you holding it?” At my question the boy managed to speak even while hiccupping for breath.

「…You mustn’t give your name to a demon.」

“Then how the hell are we supposed to make a contract……”

Scratch, scratch. Letters were carved into the contract before the ink could even dry. Thankfully it wasn’t the signature field.

「…I’ve already given my name to a demon, so just use mine.」

Mephistopheles shall not attempt to seize Gretchen’s body.

Acts considered seizures of the body include… (abridged)…

In the place where my real name should have been written, the name the demons used for me was entered instead.

“You’re not pulling some loophole by not writing the real name, right?”

「…That’s impossible. Our concept recognizes Gretchen as you.」

With red-rimmed eyes the boy looked at me again.

「The moment my name is written in the signature field, you will have to endure another nine years in this land.」

Plip. Another pearl-like tear fell.

「Are you… really, truly okay with that?」

That was what made my choice worthwhile.

“Yeah.”

The boy sobbed as he wrote the name on the contract.

Faust. The name of the one who contracted with a demon yet was saved by Gretchen. I rather liked it.