A Smile Worth the Pain
In this twisted, shining world, beneath a clear sky, with a beautiful woman by his side—how could there be a more beautiful moment than this? No, there could never be. Demian stared up at the sky with a dazed expression before lowering his gaze to the woman in his arms. Ellyse witnessed the man’s lips curving into a bashful smile. It was the first true smile the boy had worn since losing the family he loved. Even without knowing that, the lift of his mouth was so refreshingly bright that she smiled back at him, fresh and clear. That, too, was beautiful. It was a fleeting happiness.
When morning came, the creatures of the night would vanish. A brief grace period was all they had. Demian set Ellyse down in a safe place and knelt on one knee, gazing at her for a long time. Without a word, he drank in the sight, committing every detail to memory. The image was so perfectly identical to the one from his childhood that she felt a fresh flutter in her chest. Had he once looked at her with that same warm smile? The only difference was that the tearful child had grown into a man. He had become a splendid, upright figure no one could criticize. And what had not changed was the certainty that he would leave her.
......He was leaving.
Ellyse watched his back recede into the distance and let out a short sigh. Then she smiled. She did not cling to him with bitter tears. She let him go with grace. Of course she was sad; she had barely held back the flood of tears that rose exactly as they had when she was small. But the joy of their reunion outweighed the sorrow of parting, so she sent him on his way, looking forward to the day they would meet again. Ellyse Bertman returned her prince to the kingdom where he belonged. Then she checked herself into the hospital.
Only after her prince had gone did Ellyse realize every bone in her body was broken. Had her brain numbed the pain to protect its master? Or had the excitement of finally meeting the person she had waited for so long delayed her awareness? Whatever the reason, the agony that crashed over her afterward was the most horrific experience of her life. She never wanted to feel it again.
Yet Ellyse Bertman, lying in her hospital bed, suddenly had a shameless thought. If this pain was the trial she had to endure in order to see her prince once more, she would bear it hundreds of times. It sounded perverted even to her, but she truly wanted to suffer. Because she wanted to see him that badly.
In any case, that was why Ellyse Bertman did not fear pain. She did not regret her past. No matter how many times she returned to it, she would always become an inspector, storm the monster-infested laboratory, and chase after the hero from her childhood. And someday she would surely meet him. Therefore she felt no regret for what she had done. She believed the future would be the same.
At least, that was what she had believed until yesterday.
“Ahahaha! I almost died crushed under the laboratory building! Oh my god, the whole thing collapsed! I never imagined you’d go that far! To survive all that only to get squashed to death would have been utterly humiliating! Don’t you think, Ellyse?”
Ellyse Bertman stared with a blank face at Inspector Ellyna, who was babbling from the next bed. Then she smacked her own forehead. She resented her own choices.
......Why did I do that?
She was currently on medical leave after completing the operation. Six weeks until full recovery, one week of hospitalization. The department had generously provided a superior double room for the two who had carried out their mission perfectly, and Ellyse had accepted without protest. She had no desire to burden her parents, and since the merit was hers, she intended to enjoy it.
The roommate she ended up with was none other than her teammate, Inspector Ellyna Bastard. Having survived that nightmare by encountering her, Ellyse had thought sharing a hospital room would be no problem at all.
She had been wrong. Completely, utterly wrong.
“Oh! Ohhh! It’s flying! It’s flying! …Huh? No, look at this idiot! Who hits it so it gets caught on the fly? You’re supposed to hit a home run! You thick-skulled moron!!!”
Ellyna, watching the baseball broadcast on the room’s TV, shot upright and roared. The players couldn’t hear her, yet she screamed at the top of her lungs, jabbing her finger at the screen in obvious fury. Ellyse Bertman, who had been forced to witness the spectacle for hours, squeezed her eyes shut.
......Ellyna Bastard. She had forgotten that while this woman was rather cool in battle, she was horribly loud in everyday life. It was fine when her overflowing energy led conversations, but she talked nonstop from dawn to dusk. The moment it seemed she might quiet down, she would start commentating on the game whether anyone cared or not. And because she was Ellyse’s direct superior, there was no way to snap at her. Asking for a room change now would be too obvious. All she could do was endure.
......Three more days. Just kill me now.
Realizing her brow had furrowed deeply, Ellyse slowly smoothed it out. When her parents had offered to arrange a private room, why had she refused? Why had she willingly drunk from this poisoned cup? For the first time in her life she regretted her decision. She closed her eyes and lay back, praying for a swift discharge and trying to flee into sleep.
She might have succeeded if the devil had not noticed and quickly leaned close to her ear.
“What, what? Ellyse, you’re sleeping already?”
“Yes. It’s already evening, so please turn off the TV so we don’t disturb the other patients.”
“Ellyse, did you know? You’ve gotten incredibly cold to me since the operation.”
“I believe I’m still being perfectly respectful.”
“Ehh, liar!”
Liar, my ass. Ellyse wanted to show her what real coldness felt like. She wanted to teach her a proper lesson.
…Thinking that, Ellyse simply sighed and turned her back on her.
“Hey, Ellyse. I’m bored. Can’t we chat a little before sleeping?”
“……I’m very tired.”
“Then just answer one question and I’ll sleep nicely!”
“……One question?”
“Yeah! Just one thing!”
The woman who could normally chatter for hours was suddenly asking for only one question? Had she finally learned pity?
Ellyse Bertman turned slightly and opened one eye. Ellyna was smiling brightly, practically glued to the side of the bed.
......She really is a leech.
As her intuition had warned, Ellyna Bastard was indeed persistent.
“So, Ellyse, who was the person you chased after that time? A researcher? A guard? Or someone else? You did meet them, right?”
She had relentlessly kept asking the question Ellyse had refused for days. She did not believe the official report at all: ‘I met no one; I was simply desperate to survive the explosion.’
......But I can’t tell her the truth either.
That she had met the hero from her childhood in the laboratory, that he had saved her, that the hero had killed many humans yet was actually a good person… Explaining it all would be difficult, and more than that, she did not want to cause him any harm. So Ellyse kept silent.
It was the same now. She shut her eyes tightly and turned away from her damn superior once more. But a leech does not fall off so easily. Ellyna Bastard clung to her back and whispered into her ear.
“Ellyse, do you know why I’m asking so persistently?”
“……What is it, exactly.”
“After that day your expression, your whole aura, has completely changed.”
The leech whispered in a sly voice.
“You’ve been spacing out with a silly grin like a girl head over heels in love. It’s quite a sight, you know?”
“……!”
“Like a total pervert, really.”
Ellyse Bertman bolted upright, face burning. She glared at her superior.
“Well, it looks good on you,” Ellyna said, winking with a very sly smile.
I knew how vicious the demon was, so I had no intention of blaming my partner. Moreover, a colleague bound by the leash of family could never betray me; such a man deserved to be treated well for a long time. Even though he had joined hands with a bug, he himself had not become one.
“……Something good, huh.”
Had it shown so clearly? I stared blankly at the study ceiling, recalling someone’s face. A small chuckle escaped me as I tapped the birdcage beside the desk. The owl hooted in reply. She was probably with it right now.
After a moment’s thought, I told the bird, “I’ll come to the mansion.”
It was time to collect the price from the demon.