Chapter 204: The Plaza of the Sun (2)
‘Sister,’ Kristina silently called out Anise’s name while still walking with Eugene.
Though, in fact, there was no need for her to call out like this. Anise was already reading Kristina’s inner thoughts.
[I don’t want to,] Anise responded without any hesitation.
This was because Anise felt that, as someone in her position, such a response was only natural. Kristina felt Anise’s resolve in her reply and a refusal to back down.
[I also admit that I do have quite a lot of regrets left over from my life. From now on, there will be a few times when I will need to borrow your body, but not in a situation like this,] Anise sternly refused.
‘Why not?’ Kristina asked.
Anise responded sarcastically, [Why ask such an obvious question? It’s because my lingering regrets might transform into greed for your body. While I’m familiar with enduring my desires, what if I’m unable to continue enduring them? It would be better for both you and me to not do something like this.]
‘We deserve to be happy. You’re the one who told me that, Sister,’ Kristina reminded her.
Anise faltered, [...Something like this… isn’t true happiness. It might even turn out to be a curse. Kristina, I really do like you. I don’t know how much longer I can remain in this world in this form, but as long as I’m here, I want to be like a caring sister to you.]
Anise fell silent for a few moments. Kristina didn’t rush Anise into concluding her decision, but the pace at which she had been walking with Eugene naturally slowed down a bit. Eugene glanced at Kristina, who was walking without saying anything, but he didn’t inquire into the reason for her continued silence.
[...If my lingering regrets do transform into greed, then I might gradually want even more and more of your time,] Anise eventually warned Kristina.
Kristina promised, ‘I’ll do my best to give you what you want, Sister.’
[What if I end up wanting to take your body for myself completely? What if I end up regretting my death and want to fulfill my desire for life by gaining total possession of your body?]
‘If that is what Sister wants, I will gladly yield my body. You deserve happiness more than I do, Sister.’
Anise sighed, [You really are such a sinister person. You can say something like that while believing I would never do such a thing.]
Kristina thought innocently, ‘It would be sinister of me to doubt you in the first place, Sister.’
Anise chuckled at Kristina’s response and said, [You… if you’re really okay with it, then fine, Kristina. I will gladly accept your offer. However….]
‘However?’ Kristina repeated curiously.
[Until… the sun is about to set, just let me use your body until then. While that brilliant Light from the heavens still illuminates the earth, so that I won’t dare to harbor any sinful desires….]
‘Alright.’
Kristina smiled faintly at getting her desired answer. She then took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
‘Sister.’
[Yes?]
‘Happy Birthday.’
Their consciousness switched.
Anise unconsciously burst into laughter at Krisitina’s last words. To think that she would still be able to receive such congratulations. It had already been two hundred years since Anise had died.
On this day, three hundred years ago, Anise Slywood was born into the world. Her birth was rather miraculous. The imitation of the Incarnation of Light who conceived her was unable to endure the rigors of childbirth and died prematurely, so in the end, Anise could only emerge into the world after her dead mother’s stomach was sliced open.
Naturally, Anise didn’t remember that moment. She didn’t even know what the mother who had given birth to her even looked like. Her mother’s name was also kept a secret. However, ever since she was young, there was one thing that she knew for sure.
She was never going to give birth to her own children.
Likewise, another thing Anise was sure about was that she wished she hadn’t been born into this world.
For the young Anise, her birthday was never a happy occasion. On her third birthday, Anise was forced to go to the Fount of Light for the first time and perform the ritual. From that point onwards, her cyclic visits to the Fount grew ever more frequent, but no matter how short the gap in the cycle was, she would be forced to perform the ritual at the fountain on her birthday.
Anise was also well aware that one’s birthday was supposed to be a very special day. But while the other kids received something on their birthday, Anise never received a single present. She wasn’t even given a chance to ask for one.
However, there was one time… though when exactly was it again? One of the nuns who took care of Anise once gave her a small stuffed toy on her birthday.
‘Though rather than a shabby doll like this, the Light that surges within you on your birthday is a much more gracious gift for the Saintess.’
Had those words been meant as a consolation for the expressionless young girl? Anise smiled wryly and shook her head.
So every birthday, she would need to go to the Fount of Light and perform the ritual, absorbing more of the Light into her own body. However, she had never once considered it to be a gift. That stuffed toy was the first and last birthday present that Anise had ever received in her childhood.
Then, after meeting Vermouth and leaving Yuras—
“Anise,” Eugene suddenly spoke up, interrupting Anise’s train of thought. While openly staring at Anise, who had a faint smile on her face, he tilted his head to the side and asked, “What shall we do for lunch?”
Although Eugene’s voice was as nonchalant as ever, Anise was well aware of the consideration laced into his words. So, with a broad smile, Anise skipped past Eugene.
“Let’s go to a place with some great beer,” Anise decided.
The golden beverage made from fermented barley was one of Yuras’ most famous specialty products. Among the many monasteries scattered throughout Yuras, there were several that specialized in brewing beer, and those whose brews were particularly good would export their beer abroad with labels bearing the name of their monastery.
Anise was especially fond of the beer from Corradict Monastery. When she was in Helmuth, she rarely drank any beer, but after returning from Helmuth, she would drink beer every day while living at the Corradict Monastery.
Thanks to such a connection, many shops purchased and sold specialty beer from the Corradict Monastery during the festival for Anise’s birthday. Anise walked out into the street and quickly wove her way past all the waiters offering beer mugs. She didn’t even need to try and take a sip from any of them. The aroma of the beer she had drank every day for decades had already permeated her soul.
“The quality of those mugs is all bad. It seems like they’ve even watered the beer down a bit. Some of the stores are even selling a completely different beer under the Corradict label. If I had my way, I’d like to crack their skulls a bit, but there isn’t really any need to. People like them will all die and fall to hell anyway,” Anise said gloatingly.
The place that she eventually selected with care was an old pub whose sign hung up in an alleyway. However, the inside of the pub didn’t look aged. Anise immediately liked the orange light coming from the large fireplace as well as the familiar din found in all pubs. As soon as she took her seat, she ordered two beers along with their meals.
Anise began, “Although I’m only saying this now, I never imagined that a day would come when we’d be able to drink at a store like this with just the two of us.”
Eugene hummed, “I feel like we’ve been to quite a few pubs even livelier than this one.”
Anise frowned, “Hamel, I made it obvious, so why are you pretending not to notice? Didn’t you hear me say, ‘just the two of us’?”
With a wry smile, Eugene lifted his beer mug. Indeed, this was the first time he and Anise had gone out to drink all by themselves.
“Well, if I have to be honest, rather than just the two of us… I’d rather have more people sitting with us like in the past,” Eugene confessed.
Vermouth, Sienna, and Molon — Eugene and Anise recalled the three missing members of their party.
“We’ll be able to come here someday with Sienna,” Anise said optimistically.
Their beer mugs were clinked together.
“We might be able to bring Molon with us as well,” Eugene reminded her. “No matter how much I think about it, I don’t believe that bastard is dead just yet.”
“Don’t be too sure of that. If you get your hopes up like that, and it turns out Molon really is dead, you’ll end up very disappointed,” Anise warned Eugene.
Eugene denied this, “Not really. If he’s dead, then he’s dead. Even I’m aware of how long three hundred years is.”
“As for Sir Vermouth… even I’m not too sure about him. But is there any point in talking about this sort of thing now?” Anise asked with a smile as she brought her beer mug to her mouth.
The glass mug was as large as her head, but the beer that filled it to its brim was poured down Anise’s throat in one gulp.
“Aaaah!” Anise trembled with ecstasy as she set down her empty glass and continued speaking, “What’s important right now is that you and I are here drinking our beers.”
While they waited for their food to be served, they talked about various topics. While Eugene was examining the White Flame Formula while staying at the inn, Anise — no, Kristina had gone to the Department of the Inquisition and the Department of Divine Magic Research. The Pope and Cardinal Beshara, who had become the sole remaining Cardinal, didn’t dare to stand in Kristina’s way, and Raphael, the leader of the Knights of the Blood Cross, had personally drawn his sword and accompanied Kristina.
“The two organizations are really quite similar. They’ve grown a lot from what they were like when I was still alive. The Department of Divine Magic was trying to create new sanctuaries and holy relics through the use of Light and miracles,” Anise said without feeling the need to go into detail about what methods they might have experimented with.
Although their food wasn’t out yet, it was clear that she would lose her appetite if such topics were to leave her lips.
Anise continued, “As for the Inquisition… it seems that they might have gained some kind of inspiration from a Saintess who lived quite a long time ago. Apparently, they’ve been trying something for quite a long time, and it seems that Sergio Rogeris, who was once a member of the Inquisition, had been providing them with steady support.”
“What are you talking about?” Eugene asked with a frown.
Anise explained, “To put it in simple terms, the Inquisition was trying to make its own divine weapon. Rather than a biological weapon that focuses on the use of miracles and the Light like a Saintess, their version was more specialized for combat. Well, in my eyes, it looked no different from a Chimera’s nest….”
A Chimera’s nest.
Eugene knew that such a term was, in fact, an oxymoron. Chimeras didn’t lay eggs or give birth to young, let alone build nests. Chimeras were just creatures made by mixing the body parts of different monsters or even humans.
“They must be crazy,” Eugene cursed.
“They really are,” Anise agreed. “Thanks to that, the Crusader had to cut the throats of quite a few of them. I’m only saying this now, but I think I quite like that paladin.”
“Don’t you think he’s a bit too insane?”
“Hamel, do you really think you’re in a position to call someone else insane?”
“What about me?” Eugene protested defensively. “I’m also only saying this now, but I think that of all of us , I was the most normal.”
“Now that’s insane,” Anise said with a laugh as she shook her umpteenth beer mug. “In any case, since we cleanly wiped them out and smashed and burned their research, I feel really relieved. The remains that hadn’t already disappeared were also returned to the Light with a sacrament….”
Anise lifted her white robe slightly. Then, with a bright smile, Anise showed the flail she was wearing at her waist.
“The mace that I once used was also modified to make it easier for Kristina to use,” Anise revealed. “Though to be honest, I think her skills are still quite immature…. Haha, in fact, it should be because my standards are just too high.”
“It can’t be helped. After all, three hundred years ago, we were the best,” Eugene said with an identical smile to Anise’s.
At these words, Anise pounded her beer mug on the table and burst into giggles.
“Aha, ahahaha! Ahahaha! Ye-yes, that’s right. We… ahaha! We were the best. Though Hamel, I think you were still a bit lacking,” Anise insisted.
Eugene scoffed, “Are you being serious?”
“Hey now, did I touch your ego? Don’t take it too seriously. I’m talking about you from when we first met,” Anise calmly clarified.
Their food finally came out.
As she skewered a sausage on a large fork, Anise chuckled and said, “I can say this with all certainty, we were definitely the best. However, Hamel, when you first met with us, you weren’t all that great. Even now, my memories of that day are still clear. Sienna, Molon, and I were all unable to understand just why Sir Vermouth wanted to accept you as one of his comrades.”
“Do you think I understood that?” Eugene grumbled as he sliced his meat.
Eugene was also very familiar with this story. In that port, three hundred years ago, Vermouth had single-handedly tried to recruit Hamel into his party without even receiving the understanding and consent of his other party members. In the end, the other party members also acknowledged Hamel’s potential through his challenge to Vermouth and accepted him as a party member. But the Hamel that they had first met definitely did not fit the image of a ‘Hero’s Companion.’
“In the end, Sir Vermouth was right,” Anise sighed.
It had been a long time since she last had a drink, and more importantly, Kristina’s body had never partaken in alcohol, so it quickly grew intoxicated. Anise enjoyed this languid state of drunkenness. If she wanted to, she could easily shake it off like a cloud of dust, but Anise didn’t bother to do so. She slightly tilted her ruddy face as she stared at Eugene.
Anise hesitated, “We were… perfect together. It was because there were all five of us that the party was perfect. So the absence of one of us proved fatal.”
“Are you also trying to reprimand me for dying first?” Eugene complained.
“I guess that means Sienna already reprimanded you?”
“She’s too weak-minded. She couldn’t even muster up a reprimand. Instead, after talking about something like that, she just started crying by herself and begging for my forgiveness.”
“Aha… I think I know what you mean,” Anise nodded. “Sienna couldn’t get over her petulance and said something like this to you, right? That you went and died on your own or something of that.”
“Something similar,” Eugene confirmed.
“It seems that Sienna also hasn’t changed,” Anise noted fondly. “Even though she couldn’t bear to say such a thing, she still said it and then burst into tears on her own. Ah… Hamel, do you remember the dream that I showed you? What did you think?”
“What do you mean?” Eugene demanded.
“Didn’t it make you sad? Did you feel heartache or longing?” Anise asked with a mischievous smile.
This smile that made Anise look so cunning was why Eugene and Sienna had called her a ‘snake’ behind her back during his previous life.
“Wouldn’t you?” Eugene admitted reluctantly.
“It still feels a little unfair,” Anise pouted. “At that time, Sienna, Molon, I, and even Sir Vermouth were shedding tears, but I’ve never seen you cry.”
“It’s better if you don’t see it. My crying face is really fucking ugly.”
“Ahaha! Is it even possible for you to make an ugly expression with your current face?”
“Why can’t it be done?” Eugene grumbled as he reached out for his beer mug.
At that moment, Anise leaped up from her seat. She leaned forward as if she was collapsing over the table, then her hands grabbed onto Eugene’s cheeks. Anise’s face suddenly drew closer.
“...Fufu,” Anise chuckled to herself.
Their lips weren’t touching. With only a slight distance between them, Anise stared at Eugene with a smile on her ruddy face.
“I really have to hold myself back,” Anise whispered.
Her hands pressed down on Eugene’s cheeks. Eugene’s face transformed into that of a goldfish as his lips were foolishly pushed forward into a pucker. Anise chucked at this appearance before letting go of Eugene’s face.
“If I act on my urges once more, Sienna might really go crazy and try to get rid of me. It would be fine if I intended to stay here, but once I finally ascend… won’t that leave poor Kristina to be harassed by Sienna?” Anise reluctantly murmured.
“...Really now,” Eugene coughed.
“Stupid Hamel, what are you going to do now?” Anise asked challengingly. “Now that I’ve made it so assertively clear that even a fool like you should be able to understand it, and Sienna must also have conveyed her feelings to you, even if she wasn’t quite straightforward as I was.”
“She definitely didn’t do what you did. In fact, she didn’t even try to say something directly. Sienna is really the exact same as she was three hundred years ago,” Eugene let out a deep sigh and pulled his beer mug over. “Truthfully speaking, I’m flustered and… um… surprised. I never really thought of you two that way—”
“Are you a eunuch?”
“Cough!”
Eugene spat out the beer that had just flowed down his throat. Anise quickly pulled herself back to avoid the spray of beer.
Eugene yelped, “H-hey! How could you say something like that…! No, wasn’t it only natural? Where did you find the time to think about such things three hundred years ago…?”
“Who wouldn’t think about such things when there was an opportunity to relax? Sienna and I only started thinking about what happened between us after the war had ended. Unfortunately, the war ended in such a way, and you had already died,” Anise said with a wry smile as she drank more beer. “Well… at the time, I had no intention of revealing my feelings for you throughout the rest of my life. I was disillusioned with many things, and I knew that my existence wasn’t one that could afford to pursue such happiness. However, since I’ve already died like that, I just want to know if it’s alright for me to pursue it now.”
“Ahem,” Eugene cleared his throat instead of answering.
“I already know. You’ve never held such feelings for me, right? Hamel, your feelings for me were that of friendship towards a fellow comrade and… sympathy. Isn’t that right?” Anise asked resolutely.
“Mhm,” Eugene didn’t avoid answering this time. “I felt sorry for you. You never once let out a scream of pain, even though your back was drenched in blood. You drank alcohol every day to endure the agony, and you still stubbornly tried to save those bastards who just wanted to die without taking care of your own body, so I did feel sorry for you.”
“I really liked the way you cared for me,” Anise said as she rested her chin in her hand and stared at Eugene. “I liked the way you treated me like a fragile piece of glass. Hamel, you’re usually incredibly rough and violent, but I…. Whenever blood was pouring from my Stigmata, and I exposed my back in front of you, your rough hands that were covered in calluses and had slaughtered countless demons… they felt very soft and delicate.”
“In that case, should I dig out a few more wounds for you?” Eugene asked sarcastically.
Anise immediately exposed him, “You’re embarrassed. I also like that side of you. No matter what you might think of me, it doesn’t really matter. Fortunately, thanks to the help of the Light, I am able to remain in the world like this, and Kristina was considerate of me and even gave me this chance to resolve some of my lingering regrets.”
“Well, about that… I still don’t really know what I feel. You like me? And Sienna… she also likes me?” Eugene asked with some disbelief.
“In Sienna’s case, you already had a few guesses, right?”
“Well… maybe a little….”
“It seems like you also at least feel something towards Sienna,” Anise observed. “You probably have more feelings for Sienna than you do for me, right?”
Eugene complained, “Can we just drink our beers…?”
“I’m not going to rush an answer from you.”
The waiter brought them new beer mugs. Anise raised her glass first, and Eugene responded by raising his beer mug to meet hers.
“I’ll do my best to make you love ‘us,’” Anise promised while still conscious of Kristina, who was listening from the other side of their shared consciousness.
Their beer mugs clinked together. While Anise was draining her beer mug in large gulps, Eugene just tilted his head to the side without drinking any of his beer.
“...Us? Are you talking about Sienna and yourself?” Eugene asked inquisitively.
“Stupid bastard,” Anise said with a sincere tone of voice.
Why did she feel the need to curse at him…? Eugene just clicked his tongue instead of asking and reached his hand into his cloak.
“Happy Birthday,” Eugene said, even as he felt strange for saying those words to Anise, and placed a gift-wrapped package on their table.
Anise hesitated, “This… what on earth is this…?”
“Today’s your birthday, isn’t it?” Eugene pointed out awkwardly.
“Hamel…! Did you really prepare a present for me?”
“It’s nothing that impressive—”
“Hold on, don’t tell me what it is. I want to confirm it personally with my eyes,” Anise said as she quickly tore the wrapping paper off of her gift.
Could there be a letter inside the wrapping along with the present? Anise thought about it for a moment, and Kristina, who was still watching from the other side of their shared consciousness, was also full of expectation, so she also looked into the gift box through Anise’s eyes.
“...Tsk.”
There wasn’t any letter. Anise clicked her tongue at having her expectations betrayed.
Hamel complained, “No matter how much you dislike it, isn’t it a bit too rude to click your tongue like that…?”
“Hamel! I wasn’t clicking my tongue because of that! I was just hoping that you might have included a letter along with the present—” Anise’s expression abruptly changed.
She smiled sincerely as she clasped her trembling hands in front of her chest. Inside the gift box lay a beautifully crafted necklace. There was only a string, without any decorations, so it was for Anise to recognize what this necklace was meant for.
“Your rosary—” Eugene began.
Anise currently had a rosary hanging from her neck. It was the rosary that Anise had used in her previous life and that they had since retrieved from the Vatican’s Special Relics Vault. The handcrafted cross still gleamed beautifully, but the necklace’s string was only made of leather, so it had since become faded and worn out.
“—Its string has gone bad,” Eugene finished.
“...Fufu.”
Anise took off her rosary with a laugh. She changed the string for the one she had just received as a gift and then pulled back her hair so it would be easier to put the rosary back around her neck. Seeing this sight, Eugene got up without thinking much about it and hung the rosary around Anise’s neck.
Looking up at Eugene’s face that was titled towards her, Anise felt a strong urge to raise her head to meet his. Should she just lean a little more forward? It is often said that the first time is the hardest and the second time is the easiest, and hadn’t Anise already overcome the challenge of the first kiss?
[Sister…!] Kristina screamed inside of their head.
If Anise had really decided on doing this, it couldn’t be helped, but Kristina felt far too embarrassed watching it happen from here….
‘I’ll be patient,’ Anise assured her.
Sure, she really did want to go through with it, but Anise still held herself back. It was for the sake of Sienna and Kristina.
“What are you looking at?” Eugene eventually asked.
“I’m looking at you,” Anise replied with a smile.
Eugene just grinned and sat down again. “We’ve finished eating, so is there anywhere else you want to go from here?”
“I still haven’t finished yet. I want to drink some more beer,” Anise answered as she caressed the necklace around her neck.
Three hundred years ago, even after leaving Yuras, she had never really celebrated her birthday. That went for Vermouth, Molon, Sienna, and Hamel as well. When it was someone’s birthday, they would at least give their congratulations, but they never exchanged presents.
This was because they all didn’t have the sort of personality to care about such a thing. However, even if they didn’t exchange gifts… having other people recognize that it was your birthday still made the day quite enjoyable. Even in the terrible Devildom, when the time came for someone’s birthday, they would set up camp early and open up their carefully preserved stores of liquor.
Anise had felt that each and every day of her travels with her friends was a gift to her.
“Just a little more,” Anise muttered to herself.
That went for a moment like this as well.
Anise smiled as she felt a pleasant drowsiness settle over her.
The hustle and bustle of the pub.
The sound of firewood burning in the fireplace.
The noise of beer mugs clinking.
And with Hamel sitting in front of her.
All of these made Anise feel grateful that she was alive.
“I want to stay here with you until the sun goes down,” Anise said with a smile as she raised her beer mug once more.