Chapter 26: One of the Two Dies (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 26: One of the Two Dies (7)
How strange.
The beating of a heart echoed quite loudly. I couldn't tell which of us the sound originated from.
It could be me, or it could be her.
Or perhaps both.
“……”
“……”
Even though Antarctica was frozen year-round with blood-chilling cold, the bedroom was growing gently warm.
She sat perched on the bed beside me, hugging one knee and resting her chin upon it.
Medea's hair flowed down her slender leg. It gleamed as if glossed with castor oil, while she continuously fanned her face with a hand as if trying to hide the flush on her cheeks. Her wandering gaze was enough to wring a man's heart.
Medea was my teacher back in the day. Creating an atmosphere like this with her felt... well, morally...
...Wait, questioning my morals is moot when I already have two wives.
As I've said time and again, applying Earth's moral standards here leaves me with nothing to say. Nowadays, it was actually rare for polygamy or polyandry not to be legally permitted.
‘It's because the hero population plummeted during the 2nd Human-Demon War.’
This world passed polygamy laws as a stopgap measure. What should I call this—a revolutionary spirit that went beyond mere reform?
Shake, shake.
I shook my head.
Sealing away embarrassment with random thoughts was a bad habit of mine.
“Are you hot?”
“Ah, no. I'm fine.”
“Mmm.”
Feeling awkward for no reason, I raised my head. Although it was spacious, it was still an enclosed room with nothing much to see, but I tried to cast my gaze into the distance.
Otherwise, I felt like things would reach a point of no return. The surprising part was that she hadn't even brought up her main topic yet.
“I heard the news a moment ago...”
Unable to hold back any longer, Medea broke the silence first. Thanks to that, the warmth didn't escalate into heat.
“I heard you decided to hold an Exchange Meeting with Parsi Academy this time.”
“Ah, yes. That's how it turned out.”
“I figured those kids would cause trouble, but I didn't expect them to move so fast.”
“Everyone is working hard so Joaquin's reputation doesn't get tarnished.”
“You've got Ryozo and Abel. I'm sure they'll do just fine.”
Medea shrugged.
“Is their principal still Mr. Parsi? When he was young, he confessed to me about ten times, and when he realized that wasn't working out, he jumped straight to proposing.”
“To you, Principal?”
When I showed my surprise, Medea turned her head toward me. Resting her cheek on her knee, she smiled.
“Why, does that make the generation gap feel real all of a sudden? I'm telling you, that potbellied old man proposed to me.”
“Ah, no. Of course not.”
At least for Ancients, the term 'generation gap' was useless. They were a race that lived vastly longer than heroes, whose average lifespan was already a hundred and fifty years. Strictly speaking, Medea's biological age would be around her early-to-mid twenties.
‘She's younger than me.’
Just as the moral standards of my original world lost their utility here, the preconceptions and prejudices from that world were equally meaningless.
“Besides, I'm not the academy principal anymore, yet you keep calling me 'Principal,' Geomma. Why, are you trying to keep your distance from me?”
The physical distance between us was barely two hand-spans. It was a tantalizing gap where our pinkies almost touched.
‘She's really driving me crazy.’
Looking back, if someone were to ask me, 'Did you have a first love after falling into this world?'
My answer would be 'YES.' The person closest to a first love for me was, without a doubt, Medea.
‘Even if the reason I started playing Miracle Blessing M was that the female characters were pretty.’
Back then, it was the affection of an uncle looking at his niece; I didn't feel any romantic feelings. I was merely a pure user enjoying the game cleanly.
“……”
Really.
Anyway, even after possessing this body, I rarely felt romantic emotions toward girls my age. That was because the gap in our mental ages was significant.
Amidst all that, Medea sincerely helped make my student life comfortable. Whenever something happened to me, she rushed over without hesitation. As an educator, an elder, and a guardian, she truly did her absolute best.
“It's not that I want to keep my distance... really...”
My lips twitched. The thread of my thoughts tangled up.
Medea patiently waited for me as I mumbled my response, a bright smile gracing her lips.
‘That smile is a smile she only showed to me.’
Her second epithet was Tyrant.
Because of that, some had grumbled that she favored me.
But then I rose rapidly as a key figure in the 2nd Human-Demon War.
Through that, not only was Medea proven right, but her prestige as an educator also soared.
‘With her doing so much for me, how could I not fall for her?’
Back then, I simply didn't know the truth that she was an Ancient, so the age difference felt overwhelming.
‘I wanted to be a student Medea could be proud of.’
Whether in my past life or this life, I was an orphan.
Quite a cruel twist of fate, indeed.
Yet, bringing my self—which could easily have succumbed to solitude—out into the light had always been the work of my masters.
‘In my past life, Balor Joaquin.’
And in this life, it was Medea, this fatally beautiful woman.
Whether this feeling toward a master was respect or romantic affection, even I wasn't sure.
That is the nature of emotions. They aren't simple propositions that can be neatly categorized. The dynamics of emotion repeat a cycle of pulling close and pulling apart, like a swirling spiral dance.
‘If it were simple, I would have immediately abandoned my humanity and ascended as a god.’
Then the Apocalypse wouldn't come.
But Yoo Se-in didn't urge me to give up being human. Rather, she subtly implied her desire for me to remain a lukewarm human.
If Medea had known the full story too...
‘...she would have said the exact same thing.’
In fact, she would have reacted even more passionately.
‘Because when it comes to me, she loses all composure.’
I was touched and influenced by such a Medea.
My way with words isn't great, so I don't have a good way to explain it.
I've heard of siscon, brocon, and fathercon, but is there a teachercon? I should look it up on Wiki.
“It's just,”
Wrapping up my thoughts, I parted my lips.
The only words I could squeeze out as I suppressed the emotions surging from my chest were...
“...I'm sorry. It just became a habit.”
At my level, this was the best I could do.
“Sigh, habits are scary like that. Once they set in, they last a lifetime.”
“Does that apply to Ancients as well?”
“Of course! Ancients are strictly human too, just with longer lifespans than ordinary humans!”
“Humans... usually don't call other people 'humans.'”
“Look at him! Look at him! That's racism! Ah, I raised this kid all wrong!”
“Are you making your student out to be a racist?”
Medea wrapped her arm around my head. Trapped against her side, my crown received a few light nugs.
The stiff atmosphere softened.
After a brief tussle, Medea loosened her arm. Just as I was carefully trying to pull my head free—
Her two hands suddenly reached out and cupped my cheeks. Our gazes locked at ultra-close range. Positioned as if about to burn straight into my retinas, Medea parted her lips.
“Geomma, it was you, wasn't it?”
“...Pardon?”
“The one who saved the progenitor of us Ancients.”
Ah.
For a moment, my vision shook. An intense sense of déjà vu rattled my brain. It was because Medea and her ancestor, Mesther, overlapped in my sight.
“'Poet's Blessing' isn't actually something like future foresight.”
This was news to me. Miracle Blessing M didn't cover 'Poet's Blessing' in such detail. It was merely one of countless blessings.
“Ancients usually live far longer than humans. Thus, the density of each individual's life is high.”
With my cheeks still held, I managed a nod with effort.
“Poet's Blessing inherits the memories of our ancestors. By looking back on human history through their memories, we predict the future to be 'as close to fact as possible.'”
“So it's like déjà vu. A more accurate version of 'I feel like I've seen this somewhere.'”
Medea smiled as if impressed.
“You always underestimate yourself, but you were a better cadet than anyone else. I'm human too, so I thought I couldn't help but favor you...”
“……”
“...While conducting research with Dad this time, I manifested Poet's Blessing to its limit. In doing so, my memories traced all the way back to our progenitor...”
I flinched.
Medea continued speaking while looking deep into my eyes.
“You were there, saving the progenitor from the angels.”
“……”
“I won't pry into the details. However, learning that you have circumstances and power that even I dare not comprehend... I suppose that's quite a harvest in its own right.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“I should be the one thanking you.”
Medea pulled my face closer. The arc her head traced dipped slightly downward.
“Thank you for saving my progenitor. And let me thank you in advance for one more thing. Because you, Geomma, will stop the impending Apocalypse as well.”
Then, she gently stroked my cheek.
“Above all, the fact that you are my student—that's what I'm most grateful for.”
They touched. A soft pink flesh tickled my teeth before returning to the outside world.
Haa... Haa...
A transparent string connected our lips. A faint strand of indigo light streaming from outside the bedroom reflected off it, making the drooping curve glisten.
Dazed with hazy eyes, I let out a dry cough after a moment and looked at Medea.
She avoided my gaze this way and that, then soon got up from the bed.
Before leaving the room, Medea's lingering hand gripped and released the doorknob several times. Then, showing me only her back, she spoke.
“Let's postpone taking the next step until after the world is safe.”
Ah.
Mmm.
‘Gasp.’
What do I do?
I'm screwed, aren't I?
A belated surge of anxiety rushed over me.
“Afraid Ryozo and Abel might find out?”
She seemed to have read my mind.
Medea turned her head halfway back and smiled with her eyes.
“So what if they find out? What can they even do?”
True.
Medea is right.
Even if they catch us...
‘Mmm.’
But if by some slim chance...
If we get caught by even a one-in-a-million chance...
—One of the two dies. End.
* * *
The Poison father and daughter judged that it was still too early to announce the theory of the Apocalypse.
Not only was little clearly uncovered, but if they were branded as conspiracy theorists during an era of peace, their voices might be diminished in the future.
“Still, I have no intention of sweeping it under the rug like the Joaquin Disaster. Once concrete evidence emerges, Heavenly Sword, I plan to announce it right after consulting with you.”
“Gathering evidence will take some time. Though it's just a hunch, I don't think the Apocalypse will come tomorrow or anything... but since that could be naive thinking, I'll try to do it as quickly as possible. So, hurry up and go back home! What if sparks fly to us for no reason!”
Doesn't sound like something a family arsonist should say, though.
Anyway, unable to overcome the nagging of the Ancient father and daughter, I headed to Joaquin Academy as soon as day broke. On the way, I was nervous to death.
Weak thoughts of changing course and taking refuge elsewhere crossed my mind every now and then. Then, feeling pathetic for acting like such an avoidant person, I finally stepped proudly into my home, Joaquin Academy.
Golden time was running out. Without a moment to delay, I entered the Principal's Office.
“I'm ba—”
As if orchestrated, a small-scale reunion had just begun in the Principal's Office. Leon and Weapon were here again. Seeing those two often usually meant a high probability of something bad breaking out.
“You're back?”
“We've been waiting for you.”
“……”
I expected a cold reception.
But Ryozo and my wife welcomed me with the warmest expressions they could muster. It was terrifying.
Just when I was deeply regretting returning so hastily, wondering if I should run away right this second—
I felt a presence behind my back.
“……!”
Lowering my eyes slightly, I saw the pretty crown of a head. The hair color swirling around the cowlick was...
‘Black?’
As if day and night were swapping, the black lifted and white fell over it.
A girl I had never seen before popped her head out and looked up at me with a prim expression. Then she tilted her neck like a deer.
The girl blinked her dark eyelashes. Then she opened her mouth slowly.
“Oppa.”
Instantly, the air turned warm and heartwarming.
...Something, something is going wrong.
What on earth happened while I was away?