"...Grandma...?"
"...What nonsense are you spouting? I’m only a little over 500 years old... though I suppose you don’t really care about that, do you?"
"No, if you’re 500 years old, then you’re definitely a grandma. So why did you call me here, Grandma?"
Kuzunoha’s face twisted as if she were angry, then she forced a smile back onto it and glared at me.
"I think... staying here for too long has filled this place with far too many brats like you... wouldn’t you agree?"
"No, Gra—"
She stared at me with an expression that felt weirdly familiar.
"...Yes. Sorry."
"Hoo... In the old days, I would have given you a two-hour sermon, but... I’m short on time now, so I’ll lecture you, educate you, or whatever else later."
"So why’d you call me, old lady?"
"You keep calling me grandma, grandma... If you make me angry one more time, I’ll really separate your head from your body then."
"Like you’ve got the strength to do that, old lady."
Swish
"...Huh?"
At Kuzunoha’s gesture, a blade shot out and stabbed into my arm.
Slice!
"...Ghk... no... what the hell... for an old lady, you fight pretty well...!"
Since I couldn’t just keep taking hits, I knocked the blade away with my fist, and Kuzunoha looked at me with an intrigued expression.
Clang!
"Haa... stop saying nonsense like illusion magic and all that... and call me big sister. Grandma sounds awful."
"...?"
As soon as Kuzunoha finished speaking, the pain and the blade vanished.
"...What is this... Gran— no, big sister?"
"Good... that’s more like it, you insolent brat."
"So why did you call me here, big sister?"
Then Kuzunoha placed tobacco leaves into a kiseru pipe, lit it, took a long drag, and slowly exhaled before speaking.
"Haa... Haruta... what exactly have you been thinking all this time?"
"...Well... I’ve been living like my life doesn’t matter, putting my life on the line first, I guess?"
"Yes... that’s why I’m the second person I’ve seen whose people worry about them so much that it’s obvious."
"Huh? There’s someone else besides me?"
"Yes... both of you are people from the same era."
"Who is it?"
Kuzunoha glanced at Haruta as if amused, then turned toward the setting sun and asked,
"What do you think when you look at that?"
"Huh? What?"
"That... setting sun over there."
"Hmm... Cassidy?"
"Haa... would you stop with that nonsense already? You keep ruining the mood."
"That...? Haha, seeing that reminds me of something my father used to say."
"Oh... I had thought you were the same kind of being as Sensei, but... so your homeland is the same as well."
"He’s gone now... so it doesn’t matter."
"...That’s unfortunate. Then what did your father, wise as he was, think?"
"...He used to say things like, ‘The sun is bright, so let’s see a bright smile from our little one too,’ or ‘My beloved little one, Dad is always on your side,’ or ‘Dad loves our little one very much,’ whenever I woke up at sunrise."
"Oh... well, the essence isn’t all that different from what I had in mind, but... I’ve never really been loved by anyone, so it doesn’t quite resonate with me."
"So? Just tell me why you called me here already."
"Do you know how long it takes for the sun to rise again after it sets once?"
"Well... according to you, probably... six hours... or so?"
"Heh... you do know? You really are an extraordinary child..."
"Yeah... isn’t it kind of strange? How it keeps changing depending on the season and the weather?"
"So?"
"You shine as brightly as the sun... but one day, that sun will set. And when night comes, you too will shine brightly like the stars."
"Well... I know I’m going to die someday, so don’t beat around the bush and just say it already. I already know what all of this means."
"The mystery that is your essence, and the source of your great power... its master is, quite literally, ‘God’ itself."
"...? Some lunatic in a black suit with a mystic gimmick once said something about false gods and whatever."
"Hahaha!!!"
Kuzunoha burst out laughing, then after a while looked at me again and said,
"Hahaha!!! God took an interest in you and gave you all of that power... hahaha... that’s why you were able to make those fantasies real."
"...Really...?"
"Yes... the one even I cannot dare to touch... the being who stands alone above heaven and earth, the one commonly called ‘God,’ the creator of all things... that ‘God.’"
"...So?"
"...?"
Kuzunoha looked at me in surprise, then turned her head back for a moment before looking at me again. She smiled faintly and gestured.
"Huh...? Grandma...?"
"Haa... how many times do I have to tell you to call me big sister?"
"Uh...? Wait a sec—"
"Remember this well. If you are ever forced to make a sacrifice, then trust your own choice at that moment."
"Grandma!! I’ll come back later!!!"
"...Haa... yes. Come again..."
And then I slipped out of there, and an unfamiliar room and ceiling came into view.
"...This is... my room..."
When I opened my eyes, I saw the bunk bed, the tumbler placed right beside it, and the figures.
"...This is... my... house..."
The scenery I had wanted to see again and again before I left on my trip... the days I had missed so badly.
"...Yeah... when I lived here... it was good..."
Drip
"..."
Drip...
"..."
Why couldn’t I call out? Was my throat already completely ruined? Why couldn’t I even say one short sentence?
"...Since I’m here like this... I kind of miss Dad..."
Then I left the room and looked around the other rooms.
"...This is... the room Mom... used to use... haha... it’s still exactly the same... even the panda sticker on top of the laptop... how could it be..."
And, lost in memory, I lay down on the bed.
"...It’s hard... but it was always like this... what am I even thinking... yeah... that’s right..."
Then I left the room and headed toward the room my father used to use. Just in case. In case there was something there.
"...Hoo."
Knock, knock
I knocked twice on the tightly shut door.
"...Dad... it’s me..."
Creak...
"...He’s not here... right. He was always... never home because of work. Back then... when I said I was going on a trip..."
I sat on the sofa in the living room and stared up at the ceiling.
Drip, drip
"..."
I wiped at my eyes with my hand, but the tears wouldn’t stop, and I couldn’t wipe them away.
"...Hoo... so... there’s no way I’d still be here now. And since there’s no one around, this place is..."
Kshhhk
Zzt
"...As expected... there really is something here."
"You noticed?"
"...Haa... what an unpleasant face."
"Really? I was hoping you’d be happy to see me."
The wall split open as if it had always been there, and before long, a familiar bastard popped out.
"...So... why did the great and mighty God call me?"
"Yes... I’m what people commonly call God... or something like that."
"But didn’t that all-knowing, all-powerful being make a mistake and get stuck with the nickname ‘false god’ or whatever?"
"Heh... so you figured that much out? Impressive. Well... you’re not wrong, so I won’t deny it or add anything else. Yes, even an all-knowing, all-powerful god can make a mistake and end up falling like this."
"Then what am I? You made me, didn’t you?"
"Yes... well... that’s true. But you’re a somewhat unusual case. The students of Kivotos you like so much only have one kind of mystery, don’t they? Like that Horus bastard, for example?"
"Haa... so?"
"You are a being created through collusion between me, a heavenly existence, and hell. Your very essence is different."
"...So?"
"You’ve probably heard of the seven sins, right? You like anime too, after all."
"Yeah... but what does that have to do with... don’t tell me?"
"Yes. I’m Lucifer... well, that one was pretty resistant, but the other demons in charge of the remaining sins helped too. But... Baal... that bastard never showed up. Kept babbling about giving you some kind of power or whatever."
"So... even if it’s unfinished... you’re the unprecedented monster, the being who stands alone above heaven and earth! That’s you!"
My head was in chaos. No, seriously, there were too many questions. How did angels and demons, no, the creator of angels, end up asking demons for help and making me? I had so many things I wanted to know.
But for now, I had to sort out the immediate situation.
"But still?"
God fell silent for a moment, then spoke again.
"Didn’t you notice something strange?"
I searched through my mind for a moment. Then I heard from his mouth something so obvious I hadn’t even thought to question it.
"You know that thing you usually call a portal? Didn’t you notice anything strange about it?"
"..."
"That is a being capable of fulfilling everything I can imagine. But you can’t do that because you think of protecting Kivotos. That’s the path you chose."
"...Got it. Then tell me where my limits are right now."
"Well... with your current power, you shouldn’t have any trouble protecting Kivotos. So relax."
"...If it’s that much, then it’s fine."
"Ah, then should I send you back now?"
"Yeah... if I stay here too long, I feel like I’ll keep missing it. Those times."
"Take care. Ah, later, #%#@$@####$$@%"
The last part cut off, but it didn’t matter. Fate is something I make for myself.
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