You Are Now Mine
It looked like I was about to gain some power, but… what the hell was this? The whole thing had happened so fast that I was completely stunned. This scene couldn’t be a dream, could it? Apocryon, who had been fighting Charlene on the other side, suddenly came flying straight toward us… and a massive scythe was blocking his greatsword. A scythe? Charlene? No. It wasn’t her. Who was this woman who had just appeared out of nowhere?
The scythe and greatsword stayed locked together, both of them shaking violently. An unbelievable amount of power was colliding between them. “Who are you?” Apocryon asked gravely, gripping his greatsword with both hands.
The blonde woman who had suddenly appeared answered in a tone full of confidence. “A Demon King piece of trash like you dares to mess up the human realm…”
Demon King piece of trash? Who, who was this woman? The newcomer was wielding a huge scythe just like Charlene. No way… was she a Grim Reaper too?
Everyone was equally shocked by the woman’s sudden appearance. Whispers rippled through the crowd at the scene unfolding right in front of the castle walls. “Who is that woman? Do you know her, Mr. Kailon?” Princess Mage had somehow ended up standing right beside me.
Tsk. Even if she asked me… “I-I’m seeing her for the first time too. I have no idea who she is.” “Really? I thought for sure you would know her, Mr. Kailon…” Did this princess think I was some kind of encyclopedia? Anyway, the battle continued in the meantime.
The scythe and greatsword clashed again with a sharp clang! Apocryon retreated. It seemed he had realized his opponent wasn’t an ordinary human. “Who are you? Are you the same kind of being as that maid over there?”
In response to Apocryon’s question, the blonde woman spun her scythe skillfully in a quick circle and answered, “I have no obligation to answer questions from Demon King scum.”
She spun the scythe in the opposite direction again, rested the blade casually on her shoulder, and grumbled as if the whole thing bored her. “Dragging me out on a business trip for something like this. What has Charlene been doing while living in the human realm?”
Business trip? Just as I thought… I immediately knew. This blonde woman was also a Grim Reaper. And she definitely knew Charlene. Whew. At least I was saved. Just from the atmosphere, I could tell—this blonde Grim Reaper was stronger than Apocryon.
Apparently displeased with the situation, Apocryon gripped his greatsword with both hands and spoke in a voice trembling with rage. “I thought the human realm was full of nothing but weaklings. Where did these kinds of humans come from? Whatever. You die too.”
Apocryon was brimming with confidence as well. Boom! A tremendous shockwave erupted as Apocryon charged at the blonde woman with his greatsword raised. The demonic energy was overwhelming. I could even feel his killing intent—
Thud!!
Huh? The moment the blonde woman threw a front kick, Apocryon took a direct hit to the abdomen and shot backward in a straight line. Crash!!! Sent flying at terrifying speed, he slammed straight into a boulder in the distance. A massive cloud of dust rose even from where we stood.
The blonde woman tilted her head and muttered indifferently to herself, “I told you. You’re just a Demon King piece of trash.”
What… what was that? What was this overwhelming power? Everyone held their breath at once and watched the scene in silence. No one could speak. Who was that woman? Another Demon King? An unknown mage? A heavy silence filled with those questions hung in the air.
The blonde woman spun her scythe once more, snapped it away, then turned her head to look at me. And she shouted, “Kailon! Come here! I have something to tell you!”
Huh? Me? How did she know my name? I didn’t know her at all. Princess Mage, standing behind me, bit her lip. “Mr. Kailon? Didn’t you say you didn’t know that blonde woman?” “Y-yes? I really don’t know her. That is…” “Anyway, hurry up and go down. Whoever she is, she just sent the Demon King flying with one kick. Go on. Quickly.”
Sigh… How on earth had my life come to this? And who was this woman?
The castle gate opened with a long creeeak! I swallowed hard and walked toward the blonde woman. Why was she looking for me? Was she planning to kill me?
As I approached, the blonde woman who had been watching me also walked forward slowly. Hmm. Unlike Charlene, she had a dazzlingly beautiful face. Her vivid features suited her golden hair perfectly. When I stared at her with a completely tense expression, she looked straight into my eyes.
“W-who are you? What business do you have with me?” I asked in a trembling voice. She suddenly burst out laughing and reached out to ruffle my hair. What the—?
“Thank you, Kailon. For taking such good care of Charlene. She’s like a little sister to me.” “Pardon? Then…” “That’s right. I’m an active Grim Reaper. My name is Annette. Does Charlene give you a lot of trouble? That girl has always been so willful.”
Whew. Good. It didn’t seem like she was hostile toward me. At that moment, Charlene came rushing over from the other side. “A-Annette sis!”
Annette sis? This was the first time I had ever seen Charlene’s face turn bright red with panic. “Charlene. It’s been a while. How was life inside the ice?” “Why are you here, Annette sis? And get away from Kailon. Get away right now.”
Suddenly Charlene shoved herself between us and spread her arms wide. “Oh my. Charlene. Are you jealous of me right now?” “J-jealous? Annette sis, you still have that princess complex. Kailon? What did this woman say to you? She didn’t say anything weird, did she?” “Huh? N-not really…”
Annette, happy to see Charlene after so long, reached out and gently stroked her bangs. “I came on a business trip by order of old man Hades. It looked like the human realm would be destroyed if the Divine Realm didn’t step in. Charlene? You really struggled that much against a single piece of Demon King trash?”
“Sis! I’m stuck in a human body right now! If I had my original body, I could have crushed a guy like that in one hit. You know what I’m capable of!” “Isn’t it your own fault you’re trapped in a human body? I mean, why did you go and take an innocent person’s soul… Tsk.”
I glanced back at the top of the castle wall. Everyone was watching us. Fortunately we were far enough that they couldn’t hear our conversation. Sigh. I hated being the center of attention like this. I needed to wrap this up quickly—
“U-um, Annette? That Demon King doesn’t look dead yet. Shouldn’t we finish him off first?” Annette laughed cheerfully at my question. “My job is already done. Defeating Apocryon is something you humans must handle now.” “What?”
“If a Grim Reaper interferes too much with the human realm, it breaks the causality here. I only stepped in because old man Hades ordered it in this unavoidable situation. Now that I think about it, it looks like that Demon King ran away.”
Huh? She was right. Apocryon was nowhere to be seen. He must have fled while we were talking. Heh. So much for the dignity of a Demon King. Annette looked around and said, “There are too many eyes here. I want to speak with just the two of you. Is there somewhere quiet?”
Charlene placed a hand on my shoulder. “The teahouse should work. Master? Let’s go back to the shop. We’ve driven off the Demon King anyway.” “Yeah.”
I gave the castle an okay signal that everything had been resolved for now. The soldiers on the walls all cheered at once—hurrah! We won! Victory shouts rang out from every direction. Well… I guess we had won?
Inside the teahouse. We locked the door tightly so no outsiders could come in and sat facing each other. “Charlene. How do you plan to survive in the human realm when you’re that weak? Hm?”
The moment we sat down, Annette started scolding her. “S-sis! I already told you. It’s because I’m in a human body right now. Can’t you talk to old man Hades and get my original body back?” “No. You’re a Grim Reaper under discipline. You have to keep using that body.”
Annette slurped her tea, then suddenly stared straight at me. Huh? Why was she looking at me like that again? “That aside, even old man Hades said he was surprised about you, Kailon.”
The god of the underworld, Hades? Surprised about me? Charlene reacted with shock too. “Old man Hades was surprised about Kailon?” “Yeah. He thought no human would ever appear who could melt the ice that had sealed you, Charlene. But Kailon melted it. Both the old man and I were shocked.”
What… what did she just say? Annette took another sip of tea and continued. “It’s an order from old man Hades. Charlene, cooperate as much as possible to defeat Apocryon for now. Since you’re currently using a human body, intervening in human realm matters won’t break causality.”
“Oh my. I knew it would be something like that. How annoying.” “And…”
Suddenly Annette gazed at me with deep, meaningful eyes. What now? Again? “Kailon. Don’t you need power too?” “Pardon?” “You’re a weak, ordinary human, aren’t you?”
The moment she said that, Charlene slammed both hands on the table with a loud bang! and shot to her feet. “A-Annette sis! You can’t possibly mean…” “Why are you so surprised? It would be inconvenient if the human who has to control you in this realm has no power at all, wouldn’t it?”
Huh? What were they talking about? Charlene’s face had turned bright red. “E-even so, that’s not okay! Why does it have to be you, Annette sis? Call another Grim Reaper instead!”
Why was she getting so serious? What was going on? Annette laughed brightly. “To be honest, I find you rather likable too, Kailon. Why? Charlene, are you jealous?” “You really haven’t changed at all. Hmph.”
Charlene’s face was scarlet with real anger as she spun on her heel. After a short silence she asked, “Annette sis. Is that also an order from old man Hades?” “No. It’s a suggestion. You know what that old man is like.” “Of course. Then it’s basically an order. There’s no helping it.”
Charlene answered that way and stomped up the stairs to the second floor. Annoying. That was the parting remark she left behind. In the end I couldn’t stay quiet any longer. “What exactly is going on that you two are fighting like this? It seems related to me, so shouldn’t you explain it to me too?”
When I made a serious face and politely protested, Annette, who had been watching me with her legs crossed, gave a light smile and answered. “Kailon. You are now mine.”
What?