Chapter 3: Juniors, Your Senior Is So Sorry
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 3: Juniors, Your Senior Is So Sorry
A lifetime.
The trajectory of a life.
I don't know about my past life, but in this one, I couldn't be happier. They say you shouldn't throw around a word like 'happiness' so lightly, but regardless...
'Happiness.'
That was the only word I could think of to describe the sheer fulfillment of this life.
Maybe that was why I didn't have the concept of a dream. By definition, a dream is the projection of a desire.
But currently, I had nothing more to wish for.
To tell the truth, though...
There was a specific reason why I stopped having dreams.
I swept away the False Gods. Using my Daixo Sashimi knife as an eraser, I wiped their very existence from the universe.
And thus...
I became a godlike entity.
Though calling myself a god felt a bit distant from what a typical 'god' is.
For one, my humanity remained intact. I had the woman—or rather, womans—I loved. That would be impossible for a true god.
Even with martial power rivaling the Sword God, my soul was merely that of a human.
I was optimistic.
I believed I would never awaken from this sweet reality.
However...
* * *
"Ugh."
I blearily opened my eyes. My vision was thin, hazy as if covered by a film.
I blinked slowly.
"What is this?"
Setting my sigh aside, I looked around. Specks were scattered across an oil-black background. A boundless sea of stars stretched out before my eyes.
Ssssssh...
The stars gathered in clusters, turning into galaxies. Without stopping, the galaxies condensed to form a massive Milky Way.
The next moment, the galaxy parted slightly at the top and bottom. It looked just like a long, torn pair of lips.
Without fail, a voice echoed out.
[Completion of the world: 98.99%.]
[Fill the missing gap as soon as possible.]
[Achieve the perfection of the world.]
On the night I returned to Joaquin Academy and spent time on the couch in the academy principal's office with my wife, Saki Ryozo... I had a dream I hadn't dreamed in ten long years.
[Notice to the Absolute God candidate.]
[You must abandon your 'humanity.']
[It is an unnecessary impurity for 'perfection.']
An utterly dry voice.
The unknown entity urged me to abandon my happiness. It was a threat disguised as a notification.
To me?
"What a bullshit dream."
I had experienced a similar situation before.
The difference between then and now was that I was no longer intimidated by garbage entities like this.
Schwing.
In the dream, I drew Murasame, the soulmate of my soul. The reverberation of the blade resonated to every corner of the universe.
Just as I was preparing to slice up the cosmos...
/@/- G-e＃%o!$m-m-a
Huh?
The universe lurched. Celestial bodies scattered, trailing tails of light left and right.
No, it was the opposite. A moment later, I realized that it was my vision that was shaking.
A small groan escaped my lips. I, who didn't even get seasick, was suffering from cosmic motion sickness.
I was someone who could manifest a sashimi knife out of thin air and draw it even inside a dream.
Yet, I couldn't resist this voice at all.
Though I lived under the thumb of this voice's owner in reality... to think it would be like this even in my dreams.
While I was experiencing this reality check, the dry voice that had spoken first emphasized once more:
[In case of non-compliance, the Counterforce will intervene directly.]
[This is an unavoidable, already predestined Causality.]
However.
/@/- G-e＃%o!$m-m-a!!
The voice was scattered by the second caller. Whether it was the Counterforce or whatever else, it didn't stand a ghost of a chance against her.
My temples throbbed. It felt as if the needle of a seismograph inside my head was shaking violently.
Amid my dizzy mind, she shouted once more.
/@/"Wake up!"
My eyes snapped open. In the blink of an eye, the universe vanished. Replacing it, a ceiling filled my vision. Soon after, she—Saki Ryozo—thrust her face forward, pushing the ceiling out of my line of sight.
"How long are you going to sleep?"
"..."
Ryozo was straddling me, taking the top position. I pulled up my upper body. Even as our faces came intimately close, she didn't pull away.
Seriously.
You've really changed a lot, Ryozo.
Back when we first started dating, her face looked like it would explode if we just held hands...
Now, she had the eyes of a hungry wolf. It was hard to find even a shred of embarrassment. Truly fitting for the top output of the Wolf Class.
"The sun is high in the sky."
At Ryozo's words, I looked toward the window.
The bluish tint of dawn hadn't even faded yet. The sound of birds waking the morning tickled my ears.
"...It's still dawn...?"
"By the time you wash up and do things, it'll be morning soon enough. Besides, it feels good to start the day earlier than others."
During her school days, Ryozo was a nerd.
Having her sleep schedule flipped upside down was routine, and skipping meals was a habit. But the position of academy principal had semi-forcibly turned her into a morning person.
On the flip side, it wasn't good for my mental health. Well, thanks to that, Ryozo's life had become healthier. I decided to consider it a win-win.
Still.
"They usually say the day starts in the morning, not at dawn, Ms. Ryozo."
I playfully expressed my complaint, twisting my voice slightly.
"I guess that's how it is in Gehenna. But what to do? There's no such rule in the Human Realm. And even if there were, if I say it is, then it is. At least here at Joaquin Academy."
"Isn't that an abuse of power, Madam Principal?"
"Abuse of power, to someone like me who eliminated discrimination against Special Admission Students? You sure have a funny way of putting things, Heavenly Sword."
Ryozo systematically buttoned up her shirt from her chest on down. Then, with a soft chuckle, she added:
"And you know, the early bird gets the worm. There's nothing bad about being diligent. Come on, let's hurry and eat breakfast."
Isn't it way too early in the dawn to eat breakfast? I swallowed the rebuttal rising to my throat.
"There's an opposite saying, too. The early worm gets eaten."
I said it jokingly to clear my mind of that dream. That single sentence was a mistake.
"Gets eaten... is it...?"
Ryozo muttered quietly. Before I knew it, the hand tidying her clothes had stopped.
"You said in Gehenna, the start of the day is morning, right?"
"That was just a joke—"
"Then it's still March 9th."
"Ryozo?"
"The early bird fills its stomach early, after all."
A bad feeling washed over me. Ryozo's hand, which had stopped holding a buttonhole, moved. Instead of moving up, it moved rapidly downward. A series of pop-pop sounds followed as buttons unfastened.
"Um, Ms. Ryozo."
I had let my guard down. Ryozo possessed an IQ that could steamroll a truckload of Mensa members, and she was an archer whose very lifeblood was insight. I would lose every verbal argument without fail.
Thump.
She reached out and gave my chest, right near my heart, a firm push. I fell backward helplessly. The sting of an archer's hands was demonstrated at a time like this.
"Silence in the academy principal's office."
Ryozo pressed her index finger to her lips while looking down at me. Still lying down, I turned my head to the side.
Cruelly, the clock hands pointed to the number 5. According to Ryozo's logic, March 10th hadn't arrived yet. I had dug my own grave.
Haha.
To think a self-proclaimed Sword God has turned into a worm.
The fleeting anxiety caused by the dream was bleached clean away.
After an odd-numbered day comes an even-numbered day. An inescapable infinite loop.
Suddenly, the voice of the cosmos came to mind.
- This is an unavoidable, already predestined Causality.
It's all because of you.
So I will slice you down without fail.
Meanwhile, as if hypnotizing myself, I recited it over and over again.
'Happiness.'
I'm happy, I'm so happy...
But why are my eyes welling up with tears?
From the crack of dawn, I was feeling the joys and sorrows of a married man deeply and firsthand.
It was spring.
* * *
Rustle, rustle.
Low-growing grass brushed against her ankles. The faint, lifeless blades crumbled to powder the instant they touched flesh. It was a scene that vividly displayed the barrenness of the Demon Realm Gehenna.
Regardless, Hon moved her feet nimbly. She was a dragon. Although she always longed to go to the Human Realm, her homeland was nonetheless the Demon Realm.
The faded landscape whizzed by.
How long had she been running?
A pair of figures from behind caught Hon's eyes. Her face brightened, and she waved her hand.
"Lord Leon—!"
The Hero, Leon von Reinhardt. He turned around and soon offered a smile. It was an unshadowed arc that didn't suit Gehenna at all.
"Hon, you're here?"
Leon was residing in Gehenna to support his father, Metatron. As an act of atonement, he had left the comfortable Human Realm to wander the Demon Realm.
Every time Kang Geomma visited, Leon passed on the information he had gathered. They were still somewhat awkward around each other. Naturally so, since each knew the other's true identity.
And yet, the bond between the two was woven with something stronger than friendship. While they couldn't confide their innermost feelings, they were gradually expanding their conversations.
"You've grown so much, Hon. You're a full-fledged lady now. You look so pretty that I recognized you from afar. At this rate, maybe you should enter Miss Gehenna."
The woman standing arm-in-arm with Leon gave a faint smile. Hon, having arrived right in front of them, lowered her eyes sheepishly. Then, in a barely audible ant-like voice, she spoke.
"Lady All-Power is much prettier... Compared to you, I look like... a total squid..."
"My, look at her."
All-Power, Meain Poison. The twin sister of former academy principal Medea Poison and master to the Seven Stars.
She spent her time studying every corner of Gehenna, while occasionally checking on Metatron's condition.
"I wish I were beautiful like you, Lady All-Power..."
"If you gild the lily that much, it sounds like empty flattery."
"E-empty flattery?! I really mean it!"
"I know."
Meain stroked Hon's head with a benevolent touch. She, too, had been an academy principal. When it came to dealing with teenagers, she was beyond an expert—a true master.
"Still, Hon, as you hit puberty, you need to build up your self-esteem."
"Yes!"
Meain paused as she withdrew her hand from the crown of Hon's head. She asked Hon:
"Hmm. Hon, how old are you again?"
"I'm 713 years old this year!!"
"...Uh. Your puberty is a bit late. I'm an Ancient, so I'm pretty old myself, but... can I call you Big Sister Hon?"
"Lady All-Power!"
"Just kidding, Sister."
"Seriously!!"
"Alright, alright."
Hon pouted. Only after teasing her thoroughly did Meain shift her gaze. Leon was watching them with a pleased smile.
"So."
Meain broached the topic.
"What did you find that made you call even the future Dragon Elder, Leon? She made a precious trip all the way here. Out with it."
"Reeeally! Stop teasing meee!"
Tears welled up in Hon's eyes. Leon, who had been softly smiling, straightened his expression and explained.
"Well, it seems like Gehenna's environment has been changing recently. I've been keeping a close eye on it for a while, but it seems even more pronounced lately."
Leon bent one knee. Plucking a blade of grass, he opened his palm.
"...!"
"The grass of the Demon Realm... is alive?"
A fresh sheen clung to a weed that had lost its roots—and a weed grown in Gehenna, no less.
This was a problem. Vitality belonged to the Human Realm. Yet traces of it were being found in the Demon Realm. It meant an anomaly was occurring in either the Human Realm or the Demon Realm.
"This is just my personal opinion..."
Leon dusted off his hands as he continued. Swept by a south wind, the grass dissipated in the air.
"It seems the environments of both Gehenna and the Human Realm are gradually merging."
"And the reason... is obviously still unknown."
"Yes."
Meain brushed her hair back. Organizing her thoughts took only a moment. She looked back at Leon.
"Did you tell the Heavenly Sword?"
"No. I discovered it right after he left yesterday."
"Then shouldn't we inform him now?"
Leon shook his head firmly.
"It's his first time going home in two weeks. Let's let him rest. It's not like the Demon Realm lacks manpower. He has his family there, so I think it's best to let him stay in the Human Realm for at least a month."
"True, we have you, me, and Hon. Alright, let's investigate among ourselves first. Besides, he's hot-headed. He'll secretly love it if we compile the info and hand it to him."
"Let me do that."
"What should I do?"
Hon tilted her head.
"Tell the Dragon Elder. He's the practical ruler of Gehenna, so he needs to know."
"Understood!"
The conversation ended there. As Meain turned around, she suddenly stopped and asked Leon:
"By the way, what did he say he's doing at the academy?"
"Well..."
Leon hesitated before answering.
"He said he's serving as a special guest lecturer."
"..."
Meain and Hon blinked in silence. After looking at each other, they burst out in alarm:
"The Heavenly Sword?"
"Master Geomma?"
Leon gave a subtle nod.
"He's teaching someone?!"
"...Yes..."
"Oh dear. There's going to be a mass funeral at the academy."
Tell me about it.
At a loss for words, Leon stared up at the sky of the Demon Realm for no reason.
He knew. Kang Geomma might be good at everything else, but he was completely useless at teaching. The Heaven Class was living proof.
As a senior at the academy, Leon offered a silent prayer for the repose of his juniors' souls.
The sky was unusually full of dark clouds today.