Sincerity Does Not Equal Love
It was a question carrying a measure of genuine intent, but with Deciever’s back turned, Raven could not see his face. He rested his chin in his hand and answered in a lukewarm voice.
“At least it’s not something you’d do to me.”
“Then I suppose I love nothing at all.”
He could hardly claim to love himself when he had not even become a proper demigod; the sight of his own form disgusted him. The only remaining possibility had been “father.”
“Yet my heart toward father is sincere.”
And because it was sincere, the matter grew all the more troublesome.
At that moment, Raven’s shoulders began to tremble faintly. Deciever’s eyes narrowed as he recognized the motion for what it was—laughter. Soon Raven turned to face him, still chuckling under his breath.
Deciever had been repeating meaningless strokes of treatment on the already-healed wound and saw no reason to stop him. In the next instant he discovered a clear, mocking smile directed straight at him.
“Sincere… I see. Now, how should I answer that? I suppose I should start by saying thank you.”
“……”
“But sincerity does not necessarily become love, my child.”
The voice was utterly artificial, yet so affectionate that Deciever’s eyes widened a fraction. Raven paid it no mind; he laughed again, snatched the pouch of herbs lying beside the demigod, and began tending to the arm.
It was the wound he had carved into himself to draw Rowina’s attention.
“Now that I think of it, I heard something interesting.”
“What is it this time…”
“When you grant wishes, you fulfill them in the opposite manner, don’t you? Not on purpose—truly, instinctively.”
Deciever, who had been reaching for the herbs with an offer to do it himself, froze mid-motion.
“Looks like I’m right.”
“…What led you to that conclusion?”
“I heard the story of what happened nine years ago, when the Holy Kingdom fell.”
Thanks to Edardo, head of Aurell, who had provided far more detail than expected, the truth became clear.
The remark urging an “enemy,” not an ally, to make a wish to him. The affirmation that it would be granted. The result that had been the exact opposite.
It was obvious. Raven laughed softly.
“That is the nature of you who were born an ‘Error.’”
Because you are not a complete demigod, whenever you attempt to wield power as one—whenever you act with enough sincerity to draw upon divine strength—the outcome becomes its perfect opposite.
Even while remaining as disciple and son, Deciever had always tended to leap in the contrary direction. That was why Raven had predicted that the moment he wished to live, Deciever would try to kill him; the current deceptive, playful version of the demigod only reinforced the theory.
But…
I thought his twisted disposition was simply the result of being born an Error demigod.
What he had taken for mere personality and tendency—could it have been something else?
The smile vanished from Raven’s face as he studied Deciever.
Green eyes roamed over the demigod’s features, searching for truth or perhaps the remnants of the past. Deciever stared back in silence, lips parting once before he turned away.
“Leaving already?”
“Does it displease you?”
“No. It’s simply unlike you to be this quiet. It feels strange.”
“…Because I sense an existence I would rather not deal with approaching.”
As though he truly had no desire to remain a moment longer, Deciever vaulted through the window and disappeared.
I still needed to confirm those rumors about the Lofty group…
He had hoped to settle everything at once while they were together. Raven gazed at the window with lingering regret, then his expression hardened at the sudden rush of crows pouring into the room.
These were not Dan’s sculpted souls. The aura they carried was far more insidious, viscous, the kind that stirred instinctive revulsion in any living thing.
He could guess who the “existence he would rather not deal with” was—the one that wretched demigod had mentioned.
“…Death.”
“Time truly passes quickly, does it not?”
A whole month had already gone by.
From the center of the swirling crows, a man shrouded in darkness stepped forward at a leisurely pace.
“I have come to inform you of the location of the soul that must be reaped.”
“……”
Death had come in person rather than sending word through the crows.
The fact was so ominous that Raven’s already taut nerves snapped. He clenched his fist until the knuckles whitened and spat the words through gritted teeth.
“Liv is not allowed.”
Words that could never work.
The time required varied according to the size of the lost soul fragment, but unless it was something as insignificant as a mosquito or fly, the soul owner who had lost their sculpted soul would eventually die.
Yet Liv still lived. When one considered that her sculpted soul had been a jaguar, the situation was truly exceptional.
Raven had realized that some skilled shaman had bound the portion of her soul attempting to follow its fragment back into her body. Such an act defied providence and meant that Liv’s soul had risen as a candidate for the one he must reap.
Hwan…
He spared only a brief thought for his foolish disciple who had burdened herself with such heavy karma before fixing Death with a glare. His eyes remained utterly steady, yet the color within them flickered like a candle flame trembling in the wind.
It was a desperate, resolute stance, but Death merely let out a soft, contemptuous laugh.
“No matter how you struggle, if I command you to reap, you must obey.”
“……”
“Was the connection you built not prepared with exactly this in mind from the beginning?”
“…Who in their right mind would build a connection while preparing for farewell?”
By the time one regains their senses, the bond has already grown deeper than they can bear. All that remains is to endure it. To endure and endure until, at last, they can bear no more and collapse.
Of course, to Death—who wished Raven would abandon everything and cling to him as soon as possible—such a sight would be most welcome.
Despite an attitude that suggested he might enforce his will at any moment, Death met Raven’s glare for a long moment before shrugging.
“Well, since the one you are thinking of is not the target this time, we may set it aside for now.”
“…Not her?”
“Correct. The current subject is an old man stubbornly clinging to a lifespan that should have ended long ago. Consider it fortunate.”
Then why come in person…?
Whether Raven’s expression turned dazed or not, Death delivered the location of the soul and promptly departed. Raven, lost in thought over the entity’s true intentions, failed to notice.
That among the crows surrounding Death, Dan’s sculpted soul had been hidden.
“……”
And Dan witnessed the being called Death raise a finger to his lips and smile directly at him.
When Raven returned to the room, his disciples had convened an unexpected emergency meeting. The subject was Rowina’s problematic behavior.
She had claimed that when she found their master she only wanted to talk and spar a little.
“What the hell is wrong with Rowina? Did she get hit in the head during the Gate incident?”
Has the time finally come to throw this idiot into the psych ward?
If not, why is she pulling stunts on Master? And what’s with the marriage proposal? Liv crossed her arms and tilted her head skeptically.
Altare, who had been listening quietly, offered a remark.
“For the record, the first thing she said after reuniting with Master and regaining her senses was also a marriage proposal.”
“That wasn’t regaining her senses. She’s completely lost it. Hwan, tell them to prepare a beast cage in the ward.”
“Make it sturdy enough to contain monsters as well.”
“Good.”
“What’s good about any of this!”
I could marry Father too!
Grrrr—
Rowina bared her teeth. But only for a moment. Realizing her sudden change in attitude must seem bewildering to the others, she let out a heavy sigh and planted both hands on her hips.
“Anyway, if Master and I get married, it would benefit all of you too, wouldn’t it? It creates a surefire way to keep him bound.”
“What the…”
“So cooperate while you have the chance.”
Her utterly shameless and confident demeanor left the others speechless.
Regardless, Rowina, who had been pondering any possible obstacles to marrying their master, suddenly recalled an irritating possibility and frowned.
“But wait… it couldn’t be that the reason Father doesn’t date or marry is because he’s already carrying some deep, passionate love, right? Like he can’t forget a past lover or something…”
“……”
“That would be troublesome.”
They say you can never win against the dead.
Liv caught the thread of genuine feeling beneath the mutter and called out with a complicated expression.
“…You do know what Altare’s objective is, don’t you?”
“Ah, that.”
To kill Raven.
Before meeting him, she hadn’t cared whether the person called Master lived or died. Now it was different. Rowina glanced at Altare.
“I genuinely like Master. First of all, unlike you, he never knocked me unconscious multiple times to stop my rampages. That alone is appealing.”
For a second Altare wondered if Master possessed some pheromone that only worked on beasts, then let out a hollow laugh.
“That’s simply foolish. To injure his own body just to safely calm one rampaging beast.”
“Exactly. That attitude—completely opposite to your shitty one—is precisely what I like.”
Honestly, given our personalities, I thought I could guess what kind of person the master who raised and taught us would be. How surprised I was when he turned out completely different.
Rowina recalled the hand that had comforted her instead of pushing away, even when she had pretended to embrace him only to drive her nails toward his heart. She grinned.
“So I’ll say it now, in advance.”
“……”
“I’m sorry, but if you don’t change your mind about wanting to kill Master, you’ll have to fight me.”
“……”
Altare remained silent.
Liv watched the two of them in turn, scratching her cheek with a wry look before speaking.
“Still… does the marriage partner have to be you?”
“Then who else? Surely you’re not volunteering.”
“Well… I could find a suitable person and arrange things. And if the effect seems too weak, there’s nothing stopping me from stepping forward myself.”
“Even though you don’t love Master?”
“You’re no different.”
“At least I like him.”
“So do I.”
Liv brushed her forehead and smiled softly.
“Besides, I believe I could hold onto Master far better than you.”
Who do you think kept him tethered here before you arrived?
The rather unpleasant implication made Rowina burst out with a savage laugh. As the situation devolved into a contest of pride between the two women, Hwan clapped his hands twice to draw everyone’s attention, deciding there would be no progress otherwise.
“Then how about I do it?”
“…The marriage?”
“Have you lost your mind?”
“It’s not impossible… I was joking. In any case, marriage cannot be accomplished by the will of only one party. I doubt Master would accept it. Therefore, perhaps we should end this meaningless conversation here.”
“Ugh, whatever. I’m going to marry Master. As long as he accepts, that’s all that matters.”
“That’s exactly why he won’t—”
“Don’t interfere with my goal.”
I don’t know how many times today I’ll have to shut my mouth. Hwan, rendered speechless once again while staring at Rowina, rolled his eyes in thought for a moment before asking a question.
“If the goal is simply to keep him bound, there are many other methods. Why insist on marriage?”
“Because it’s the most peaceful option. Besides, he’s handsome, isn’t he? He’s one of the few who can calm me down, and he lacks nothing as husband material. No matter how you look at it, he’s someone who must not be missed.”
It wasn’t once or twice that she had been beaten unconscious by Altare during her rampages. He seemed to have tried his best to make the fainting as clean as possible, yet the back of her neck still throbbed. When she came to her senses, she had been wrapped in gentle warmth with no pain anywhere. That memory pleased her greatly.
Rowina smiled, determined to bind him to her side by any means necessary.
As soon as dawn broke, Raven left the mansion.
During his preparations, Hwan had come seeking conversation, and Altare had persistently asked where he was going and for what purpose. The moment Raven mentioned personal business, Hwan promised to speak another time and withdrew obediently. As for Altare…
“Altare? Why are you…”
“…Please go.”
He had lifted the hem of Raven’s clothing to check whether the wounds on his back had healed, then sent him off without another word.
By now the disciples had gathered, watching him with various expressions. Raven scanned them, paused to gaze at Liv for a long moment, then drew her into a light embrace. Rowina promptly pushed her head forward as if not to be forgotten; he kissed her forehead. Next he ruffled Hwan’s hair with a touch of playful spite before kissing the young shaman’s forehead as well.
Hwan stared back with a dazed face, clearly not having expected the gesture to reach him. Altare had taken several wary steps back. Raven chuckled at the sight of them and waved his hand lazily.
“I’ll be back.”