53 Episode 52 ~ Truth ~






It's a tremendous shock.
My shadow magic has eaten the wind granting magic rampant, so there's not much damage yet, but otherwise it wouldn't have been enough to send a few elves flying.
Amelia, who doesn't know what's going on, screams in my arms.
I'm taking all of the impact, so I'm sure it's a scream for Kirika's slashing at me.


''Kirika! What are you doing to Akira!


Amelia reaches out to Kirika, as if her memory is confused.
I'm sorry, Amelia.
I muttered in my mind and dropped the hand I was holding Amelia by the neck.
I hug Amelia again as she collapses.
I don't have time to explain right now.
Besides, I didn't want Amelia to see it.
Including the fact that my sister had set up everything that had happened.


'Hey, Kirika Rose Quartz. Why is your sword crying so hard?


I asked Kirika that after I was sure Amelia had fallen.
It's a question I've felt ever since we crossed swords in the duel.
The sword carries all the emotions of the person wielding it, Commander Saran had said.
At first I wondered what he was talking about, I thought he had finally lost his mind, but I finally figured it out.
At about sixty layers of the labyrinth, they encountered a humanoid demon with a sword as a weapon.
Their bodies were rotting in places, so it was probably a rich or something like that.
As I crossed swords with them, I could feel their thoughts running through my sword.
The demons didn't think about anything, only that they had murderous urges, but that wasn't the case.
Sure, most of them would only be thinking about murder.
But there was certainly an emotion in that, too, that said 'I want to live'.
When the immortal Rich said he wanted to live, it probably meant that he wanted to be human again.
Anyway, the sword conveyed emotions that he was not even aware of.


''Kirika, what are you crying about?''


He shoved his way into a brutal battle and forced him to use force to keep his distance.
Kirika was blown away, but she writhed in the air and landed without a hand in the air.
Empty blue eyes stare at me.
Kirika's face twisted.


'I'm crying? You don't talk in your sleep as you open it. See, I'm smiling properly.


Oh, is that a smile?
Is that supposed to be a smile?
I didn't see that one coming.


"Hey, man, do you hate Amelia?
Hate?


When I asked her a question, Kirika looked down.
At some point, the people who were released from their fascination, including the king, stopped running and started listening to the conversation between Kirika and I.
I laid Amelia down at a distance for now.
Kirika knows this and doesn't attack me.


'Of course you hate her,'
It's not because Amelia is an abomination, is it?


When I said that, Kirika slashed at me again.
But this time, due to her emotional turmoil, she doesn't even activate her magic, it's just a slash.
Of course, I take it with great care so that not even a single breeze goes to Amelia behind me.
Kirika's eyes staring at me were even emptier than before.


''Abomination? Such lore is a fiction. I heard that there was such a story in the olden days that Katahira was killed, but it was discontinued in the generation of his great-grandfather who died. But it was abolished after his great-grandfather died. On top of that, it's hard for the elves to have children. They didn't want to kill their precious children with vague lore.


Kirika said and drew her sword.
Her eyes looked at Amelia, who was lying there.


''Oh, my beautiful sister. You were born with hair and eyes the color of your hair and eyes that did not appear to the elves or to the high elves. Just a few seconds before me.


Kirika looked at me again.
Her eyes, which had been empty, were filled with fire.


'You have no idea. A legendary profession has appeared in a person who was discriminated against as an abomination a few hundred years ago, and it's a celebration that has taken the continent by storm. My sister, I am just a granting magician. There's no way I'm going to be able to compete with a godson.


The inferiority complex and jealousy that I had been holding onto and pent up for so long finally exploded.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the king's startled face.
Apparently, it was completely new to me.
I marvel at his acting ability to keep his immediate family from realizing this perfectly.


You have no idea. 'Neither you nor your sister! To you guys who have been living your lives for so long, being loved by everyone and being recognized for being there in the right place!


Finally, the mask of acting, which had been ironclad, was removed.
Kirika, who had been acting like an adult until now, was sobbing like a young child.


''I'm after all an accessory to your sister. No one will understand my efforts. What you say is definitely quintessential sister. Most people couldn't remember my name. No matter how much you polish your sword, they will only think that you are working hard to protect your sister or that your genius is amazing!


I took a step closer to Kirika.
While crying, Kirika slashed at me with her messy movements.
I didn't catch it, but took it with my body.
The outside world groaned when they saw that.


''It's not for your sister! I'm for me! To get my approval! I have honed a sword that is only as talented as the rest of my kind! And yet! I am not a genius!


The sword, which doesn't have much power on it, cuts my body into thin slices.
My body, which had become as durable as a monster, was barely injured, and the blade stopped without reaching my muscles, just enough to tear my skin a little.
Rather, Kirika's sword was more damaged, and the blade finally snapped off with a snap.
I catch my hand gripping the sword, which is now only the sword's grip on the sword, which is now only the sword's grip on the sword's grip on the sword, which is now only the sword's grip on the sword's grip on the sword.


''I... I... Everything was taken away from me by your sister, and Liam-sama, the only one who recognized my efforts, also became your sister's fiancé. So I raised my level of fascination and took everything that was taken from me away from your sister. I took Liam-sama from her, got your father on my side, and took the time to charm all the elves to betray your sister. I didn't mean to kill her, I just hoped that your sister would experience the same feelings I did. No, I just let you shoot the arrow, hoping that you would die. But the arrows didn't reach me, my fascination was broken, and my only pride in my swordsmanship didn't reach you.


I sat there with Kirika as she slumped down.
I stroked Kirika's head like I always do with Amelia.
I'm sure Amelia will forgive me.
After all, she's Amelia's pride and joy.


'Hey Kirika, let's have a little chat about the past.
A long time ago. - Story? Now?
It's got to be now.


I smiled as I looked up at the sky, which was getting darker by now.


'In the land of the elves the child was born a princess. And her twin sister.


Kirika's eyes widened quietly.
Well, you know what I mean.
I'm not very good at pretending that I don't understand these stories.
But you have to listen to Kirika.
And so do the people out there underneath the platform.
Amelia also seemed to have regained consciousness by the time Kirika's mask came off, and the fact that she hadn't gotten up until now means that she's going to leave it to me.


'The twins had the same face, but their hair and eyes were a completely different color,'


I spoke out slowly.


â€


My sister's name was Amelia.
Her sister was called Kirika.
The two of them were one of the most beautiful elves of the beautiful elven tribe, and they were also one of the top high elves of all time, with the older sister excelling in academics and the younger sister excelling in martial arts.

But there was another difference between the two of them besides their appearance.
That was their professions.
The older sister's occupation, Kamiko, as her name suggests, is a child of God.
Just by existing, everything moved as she wished, and she also possessed unlimited magical power. And although it was only a bow, she had a talent for martial arts as well.
In contrast, her sister was a rare but not very rare granting magician.
At that time, the elven race was not yet a meritocracy, and since they were a peace-loving race, the difference in the rarity of their profession was not an issue.

In that situation, an incident occurred.
Kirika had fled in the arms of her father, the king, and she was a child, so she would hardly remember it all, but Amelia remembered it all.

It had been about seven years since the twins were born.
Demons were pouring out of the labyrinth in the elven tribal territory.
The reason for this was that my sister had accidentally scattered food to attract the demons while she was training in the labyrinth.
The labyrinth in the elven tribe's territory is the complete opposite of the labyrinth in the human tribe's territory, where there are only demons that are almost only effective against physical attacks, so it was perfect for training steadily and persistently.
Calling up demons was something that the elven race could do.
The problem was the amount of them.
My sister scattered ten times the normal amount of food.
Of course, my sister had no ill will.
For the most part, she acted like a child and acted without thinking, thinking that she could do more since she was able to defeat the demons by herself.
At that time, the elven tribal territory labyrinth had seventy-three levels to reach.
However, because of that scattered bait, even the demons that would be even deeper than that had been called in.
And it wasn't just dozens of them, but hundreds and thousands of them.
The king immediately evacuated the non-combatants.

A strike force was formed and a number of elves died.
In the midst of all this, my sister, who was supposed to have been evacuated, came over and used magic generation to wipe out the demons that should have been almost ineffective in magic attacks using gravity magic, a magic that was only an ancient legend.
Furthermore, a few days later, she used resurrection magic to raise the dead.
The damage on the elven side was practically zero, and the people thanked and revered their sister.

Her sister, who didn't know what she had done and what a disaster she was, suddenly felt inferior to her sister, who was revered.

In truth, the event was supposed to be safely erased from people's minds and faded away.
But then, a few hundred years later, another incident would occur.

It was the arrival of a bard in the elven tribe's territory.
Because of the bard's desire to hear about the old days, the incident was once again exposed to the public, and on top of that, everyone in the elven tribe found out that it was his sister who was responsible for it.

While the dead were not fortunate, some were unable to remember the moment of their deaths and were unable to fight, and others were missing limbs.
No one knows what they will do more than those driven by fear.
Perhaps my sister's safety may be in danger.
The king, who loves his daughter, took one action.
He used his extra skill to erase the memories of his people.
Kirika's existence was completely erased from people's memories without her sister being informed.
Only her sister and the king remembered everything.

Kirika's existence was erased from people's minds, and Kirika herself, who was not informed of this, was suddenly ignored by her compatriots.
...or rather, she was treated as a stranger.


...


That's the truth.
In fact, I had heard this story from Amelia when I was in the labyrinth.
I thought it was a fiction at the time, but it became more and more real after I came to the Elf tribe territory, and it was when Kirika was shouting that I remembered this story itself.
This was the true nature of the uncomfortable feeling I had been feeling since I came to the Elf Tribe territory.


'Why, why didn't your father tell me...'


Kirika mumbles to herself as the story goes on too long and the stars are blinking above her head.
Before I knew it, the king was sitting next to Kirika, looking up at the stars.
Next to me is Amelia, and the other elves are looking up at the stars in their own places.
Not the starry sky, which is not so visible due to the polluted air in Japan and other places, but the dazzling starry sky.


The reason for this is twofold. One is that you don't remember what I told you, just that you didn't take the right amount of bait, and you didn't check. You didn't check, because it was Kirika's squire's fault at the time. Secondly, even though it wasn't your fault, you still killed your own people. I didn't think you, kind-hearted man, would be able to accept that.


Of course, the king was going to tell him one day.
Even now Amelia and Kirika are as good as babies to the high elves who will live for nearly infinite years if only they take care of their illnesses and war deaths.
So he was going to wait another hundred years or so before telling them.
But Kirika's flawless performance fooled the king, and finally all the accumulated material erupted.
The king didn't know that, and believing the lie of training flaccid soldiers, he effectively allowed the use of charms, and Amelia was banished from the elven tribal territory, eaten by a slime-like demon of sludge, and met me.


''Oh, sister, did you know all this? You know and are fascinated?
'Nope. I didn't even realize I was being charmed. That's what I thought of you, Kirika. You've practiced a lot, haven't you?


Good, good, and Amelia strokes Kirika's head as she usually does herself.


I'm not sure if I'm wrong about that. Does that mean your sister did nothing wrong and I was spinning my wheels?
'That's not true. It was my fault for assuming you were still a child and not teaching you. I'm really sorry, Kirika. That's the way it is, Kirika. I've been spread so thin that I didn't even realize I was being charmed.


The king hugs Kirika as he says that.
Kirika cried at the warmth she hadn't felt for a long time.


'I have been very rude to your father, your sister and the rest of you.
'Kirika, I don't mind. I worked hard because I knew Kirika's efforts from early every morning until late at night. Even during that incident, I destroyed the demons without feeling fear.


Thank you.
Kirika's tear glands collapsed as Amelia smiled at her saying that.


''Sister, father, Akira-sama, everyone, I'm sorry! Sorry, no.


The twins and their father hug each other, crying.
The elves around them were crying too.
I quietly slipped out of the place and climbed the trees growing around the square and rested my body on their trunks.


耐えられなかった。


母と唯を思い出して。
俺と唯も、本当は双子なのだ。
俺が生まれた直後に日付が変わり、唯は一つ下ということになってしまったが、二卵性双生児として俺達は生まれた。
二人も産んだ母は元々弱かった体調を崩しがちになり、父がほぼ一人で育ててくれた。

大きくなった今だから分かる。
朝早くから朝食、昼食の準備と弁当三つを作って俺達を起こし、ご飯を食べさせて幼稚園に送り届け、自分はそのまま仕事。
仕事が終わってヘトヘトなのに幼稚園まで俺達を迎えに来て家に帰ると晩ご飯を作り俺達と母に食べさせて
寝かせ、自分は一人で食器を洗い、洗濯をして日付が変わった頃に就寝。
俺達の夜泣きもあっただろうからほとんど寝れてないに違いない。

それでも、あいつは俺と唯を小学校五年生まで育ててくれ、それまでずっと母の面倒と家事と仕事までしていた。
誰の手も借りず、一人で。
だから、俺は小学校五年生の時に突然居なくなったあいつを恨んではいない。
確かに、逃げ出したことには怒りを感じるが、それでもそれ以上に感謝していた。

だから、アメリアとキリカに嫉妬した。
そして共感した。
今回のことは、それぞれが一人で抱え込もうとしたから起きた悲劇だ。
もし、相談しあっていたらこんなことにはならなかっただろう。
あいつと同じように。

あちらの世界に戻ったら本気であいつを、俺達の父親を探してみよう。
幸せに暮らしているのなら、それ以上の干渉はしない。
でももし、不自由にしているのなら、もう一度一緒に暮らしてくれるように。

唯もきっと賛成してくれるだろう。
そう、しよう。


そう思ったのを最後に、俺の記憶は闇の中に沈んだ。