“Thank you for sharing your past with us.”
h.e.l.lo all, sorry for being late i deleted my files and took time to get them back. let me now if i messed up anywhere, Thank you
“Well, that ‘s the story. How was it human? I don’t know if it was what you were hoping for, but that’s the story of my betrayal. I destroyed a nation just so I could get revenge for my wife.”
“….”
This is heavy stuff. All I can feel is the tension in the air.
To be honest, at first, I wasn’t sure if I would believe his story.
However, looking in his eyes I can see the toll he has paid over the past 200 years. There’s no way he’s lying.
I’m at a loss for words, this retired old man is amazing.
It is truly amazing to love somebody like that. At some point, the story made Root begin to cry. I can feel myself welling up with envy or maybe it’s jealousy.
I have new questions for myself.
Could Alto feel that intensely about me? If I was killed, would he continue living for 200 years just to remember me? To tell the truth, he might just be interested in me for my body.
“Sorry, I’m not really sure what to say. It was a very intense story.”
“Don’t worry about it. Getting to talk about my beloved wife is my favorite thing in the world. Since you already listened to me this long, let me tell you more about my wife until dawn.”
As Warltrip spoke, he squinted his eyes and a calm smile spread across his face. Warltrip really did love his wife. He began to tell us the memories of his wife. His expression was different now, it displayed an element of innocence. He looked cautious before but now he just looks unbelievably happy.
I’ve got it! I’ve thought of a way we can pay him back for his touching story and give him something good to think about.
“Hey, Demon Clan Warltrip, I’ve got something to tell you. My pal Root here has a special gift.”
“Huh? What is this about? I’m just about to finally tell the story about how I met my wife.”
“It’s fine, just listen to me, old man. So…?”
“That’s fine. I mean if it’s true I’d like to help….”
“Oh, o —”
Root is the spitting image of his wife. Root also loves wearing women’s clothes. I just had a revelation thinking about how to put these two things together.
It would make everybody happy if Root could wear some of Warltrip’s wife’s leftover clothes. Of course, I’m a genius.
“What is it, Fio? I want to tan your hide.”
“Huh? Don’t break character while you’re wearing those clothes. The image the old man has given me about Reine is much nicer than that.”
“Yeah, alright. I’m going to remember this Fio.”
Wow, Root’s face looks like he wants to kill me. This is the first time Warltrip will get to see his wife in 200 years, don’t ruin it. Come on man, put your heart into it.
“Reine, Reiiiine, sorry, I’m Reine”
Warltrip, on the other hand, is completely destroyed. It’s almost hard to believe, Root looks like the demon man’s painting has come to life. Root looks so much like Reine that I almost can’t believe this is real life and not a dream.
His eyes widened and the flow of tears started pouring out. He was crouched down as if he was pleading to Root.
“Sorry, sorry human. I’m alright. Could you, just once…. Could you call me big poppa?”
That had to be the pet name Reine used to call Warltrip. After listening to his request, Root made a very troubled face and calmly closed his eyes.
“…Big poppa.”
“Ah. Reina, I—“
After hearing his mumbled reply, Warltrip was immediately standing before Root.
It’s almost like he’s seeing his wife again after 200 years. I can’t imagine what is going through Warltrip’s mind right now. With his hands trembling, Warltrip reaches out to embrace Root--
“How long do you plan on grieving? You old fool!”
Root looked up and gave Warltrip an unrestrained smack.
What?
”Uh, hey Root, what are you doing?”
“Listen, big poppa, I know demon men have long lives but this is ridiculous. Yes, it’s terrible that I was taken from you so suddenly. How many years are you going to continue to drag this around with you? You d.a.m.n fool.”
”Reina? No, it can’t be. Are you really Reina?”
“What? Take a good look, I’m not Reina. How could I be? I died a long time ago!”
What is going on? Root just started acting like another person and lecturing Warltrip.
“Wha, wha, what? How can you be Reina? I need—“
”We just look the same. Do you get it? Come on, this body is a male.”
“Ah, Ah, Reina, Reina, I should have protected you, I could have protected you! If I was just there, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing and listen, big poppa. I need you to listen to me, it’s time for you to forget about me. It’s enough, you’ve proven your feelings more than enough.”
Root is acting completely different. Even the way he’s counseling Warltrip is completely different from how he speaks.
What is this? Has Root really become Reina? Did Reina possess Root?
No that can’t be it, Reina died 200 years ago. Even if she became some kind of undead creature, she wouldn’t have her own consciousness still.
I can only think of a single answer.
This must be a performance. Root must have thought of a plan to try and cheer Warltrip up by pretending to be Reine.
Wait, that can’t be right. There’s no way he knew what kind of personality Reina had. Seriously, what the heck is going on?
If he had my brain then he could run a simulation of her personality and play it back. That is all I can think of for now.
Warltrip is actually convinced Root is his wife. Root must be acting pretty close to how Reina actually was.
“Here, look at this, Reina. This is a painting of when you and I went to the lakeside.”
“Yeah, you painted it really well. I remember it fondly too.”
“This poem here, I wrote it with the words I used when I first told you how I felt.”
“I’ve heard it, I’ve heard it so many times. I know you poured your heart into making a song for me, you don’t have to sing it every night.”
Root was nodding along to his words and stroking his chest like relaxing a child. They really did look exactly like lovers.
It’s weird. This really doesn’t look like a performance.
“But, I’m not part of this world anymore. It’s time for us to say our goodbyes, big poppa.”
“But, I’m still here.”
“No, No more buts. Just agree, big poppa.”
As Root continued to play Reina, Root gently rubbed Warltrip’s cheek that was still red from the earlier slap. Root had a gentle expression.
Just then, tears began running down her cheek.
Root’s normally calm expression is gone, in its place is a red swollen face, with tears pouring out.
Roots whole face was a smile as he held Warltrip tightly.
“Thank you for loving me this whole time, big poppa.”
It was a pure declaration of grat.i.tude.
Upon hearing those words, Warltrip fell to his knees, almost as if a mountain was collapsing, and embraced her back.
With his face covered in tears and his mouth quivering in anguish, he nodded his head in agreement over and over.
It had been a long time since this estate echoed with the weeping of a demon man. I can tell from his voice that it’s not the sound of grief.
These were the roars of a man who was finally able to take a step forward towards saying goodbye after putting his life on hold for so long.
“Root, you are amazing.”
Time seemed to stand still as Warltrip and Root held each other. Eventually, Warltrip wiped the tears away from his red eyes.
After lovingly cleaning Root’s face with a cloth, Warltrip gently removed his arm from Root’s back and said in a low voice, “Thank you for that.” That was it.
In the end, we ended up leaving with our memories intact and a handshake goodbye. I don’t know if he’ll continue living there. Roots words really did seem to help him say goodbye to his past.
When we left the estate and saw Warltrip for the last time, he had a look of relief on his face. Like he finally got rid of some baggage that he has been carrying for a long time.
Just like that, Root saved Warltrip all by himself.
“I didn’t even do anything.”
“Don’t be silly. It was because you told me to put my heart into my Reina performance that I was able to reach Warltrip.”
I don’t know how Root knew Reina so well. Warltrip was totally convinced he was really Reina though. It had to be a very accurate performance.
No doubt about it, Root saved Warltrip.
“You know how I can read the wind and the stars? Well, it also lets me channel shades.”
“Huh? Um. What’s that?”
“She had become a shade.”
“…huh?”
What Root is saying is way beyond what I had imagined it was. This sounds like a miracle.
“Well, shades aren’t something that are generally born from people.”
“So, are you saying that shades are just born on their own then?”
“No. Shades are born from pieces of dead people’s souls joining together. That’s why normally the personalities of the dead affect the shade. A shade that is born out of an area that suffered a drought is very dark and gloomy. A shade born out of a city with overwhelming prosperity would maliciously look down on other people.”
“Okay, I see but this area hasn’t had anybody living here for a long time. Old man Warltrip scared everybody away with his constant crying, people haven’t been here for a while.”
If what Root is saying is correct then there shouldn’t be a shade here. The demon old man has been the only one here. There haven’t been any hum-
No way.
“Shades are normally born out of a bunch of different souls. However, what if there was only one human here and the shade was born just out of their deep affection?
“No way, come on. Reina was dead over 200 years ago. It’s ridiculous.”
“It was her. A soul without a body. Reina couldn’t leave Warltrip behind crying over her loss. For 200 years she stayed by his side, trying to console him even though he could not see or feel her.
Human spirits with just strong emotions should eventually lose their awareness and become undead. If they didn’t have strong emotions, then their spirit would just disperse into nothingness.
But this girl Reina, she was able to keep her sanity and exist as only a soul for 200 years. She even managed to become a shade by herself.
“When we entered the house I noticed there was a shade there. I could feel that it wanted to say something, so I lent it my body for a little bit. Those words were truly Reina’s words, as were her actions. I’m sure Warltrip knew that. There’s no way he couldn’t figure out if I was really Reina or not. All I did was let her borrow my body. If you want to say that somebody saved Warltrip, it was Reina.”
“Wow….”
“It is an amazing story, but it’s true. Warltrip thought he was there all alone for those 200 years, now he knows he was with his love together the whole time. That is what saved him.”
“So, it was their love together that was amazing.”
Reina was a girl that fell in love with a demon. Not only that, but she loved Warltrip, as much if not more than he loved her. That’s why she managed to become a shade and keep herself together for 200 years.
She was waiting this whole time. Waiting for somebody like Root, somebody that could talk to shades, to find their way there.
“While she was borrowing my body, I could feel her emotions, thoughts, and memories as they flowed through me. Throughout all of them, I could feel that it was pure love. Is it not kind of ironic that a love like that was shared between an interspecies couple. A human and a demon.”
“It’s a good story, it really is amazing.”
What was supposed to be a quick stop on the way to Mikual, turned into an amazing experience. Let’s head back proud.
I don’t know if anybody will believe this story. I don’t know if it’s something you can believe without experiencing it yourself.
“However, there are a couple of memories I don’t really understand knocking around in there now. They make me feel kind of gross to think about.”
“Hm? What, did you see them doing it? You pervert.”
“NO! I would not look at those kinds of memories.”
“So, what is it?”
I don’t really get what kind of memory could make you feel sick. I don’t think it’s possible. What kind of memory could be so appalling that just thinking about it could make you go nuts?
I mean he is an ancient demon, he could have had cosmic level experiences.
“I am not totally sure but it is a memory of Warltrip. He is standing there completely naked with his legs spread out and gyrating. I did not think Warltrip was that kind of person. Maybe it is some kind of Demon Clan ritual.”
“Forget it Root. That is knowledge that you don’t need, it’s a ritual you are better off not knowing about.”
“Fio? Do you know about it?”
“Just hurry up and forget it. That knowledge is just going to bring you bad luck, there is nothing good that can come from it.”
“Al, Alright.”
“I thought that form was Alto’s special move. Is it really just a standard form people use?”
I feel like I briefly glimpsed a tiny fragment of the true depth of the darkness in this world I was reborn into.