CH 65

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『Setsu(節), there’s something I have to tell you』

In the pure white space was a still very young boy and a pretty woman who looked like his mother.

I am floating and overlooking the two from above.

Where could this place be?

My head strangely hurts when I look at them.

It’s as if I’m forcibly digging up my memories――――――――

――――――Is that so. this is…… Memories of the time when I was neither Setsu(セツ) nor Setsu(雪).    (TL: 雪 setsu is how he went by in current life’s Japan; セツ is how he is called by everyone in the world he’s currently in and currently he’s called 節 which you could also speak out as setsu)

It’s my previous life that I fed to Gluttony.

『Even though I say that, I bet you’ll end up forgetting it even if I tell you now I guess…… That’s right, I’ll carve it into your soul. 』

Mother put her hand on the chest of the very young me and talked.

『……You are my son. And I think you will bump into a lot of suffering because of that. You should have the options at the necessary hour and there will come a time where you will rob someone of their life. But you should do what you yourself want to do. 』

Mother’s voice penetrated.

It has the feeling of having each of the parts that made me confirm it.

『Beat up the fellows you want to beat up and protect the fellows you want to protect. You’re going to become strong enough to be able to do that』

Said mother with a smile that is bad enough that it feels good.

『But, you have to keep a promise with me』

She shortly put the other hand on my head while saying so.

While slowly patting the head of the very young me’s head, mother continued.

『You have to, rob one “person” of their life, only a single one before you die. You won’t  become ―――――― if you don’t. 』

Noise ran for an instant and there was a small part I couldn’t catch.

Isn’t that part like the most important part…?

『Not killing is wrong and killing too much is wrong too. If you don’t kill, then your soul will disappear along with your death. On the other hand, if you kill too much then you’ll be degraded to a regular criminal and then I’ll have to perform the last rites to your death. You don’t want that do you? 』

The very young me didn’t understand what this was about.

Of course he didn’t, the current me doesn’t understand it either.

“Well, you broke your promise and ended up killing two people though~”

“-!?”

When I noticed, my consciousness went into the young me.

The woman’s way of talking stopped being like that of a past.

This girl, she’s talking to the current me.

Not to the young me, but the me who now has ended up killing two “people”……

“You who end up robbing two people of their lives has to be shown the way to your death by my hands. And why I have to do this is…… You don’t know do you?”

“…… Of course I don’t.”

“You don’t have to know, you will be dying here in any case.”

The woman’s thin arm extended towards my throat.

Her hand was a little cold.

The body of this young me doesn’t have the strength to brush off that hand.

Even if that’s the case, I can’t struggle and escape.

If she…… If this person says it’s the end, then it’s already the end of me.

“……Don’t make it very painful please, mother. I hate pain even at this age.”

“Hmph……Despite not remembering it at all…… you did well calling me something like mother.”

“Even if I lost my memory, I’ll still immediately know you’re my mother. Even if I lost my memories, the fact that I was born from your womb, the words you’ve given me, your teachings too, all of them is carved onto my soul. You carved it in there didn’t you?”

Souls and stuff, it’s vague whether they’re honest or not.

Even so, I remember it, in spite of losing my memories of my previous life.

I remember that this person is my mother.

At a place much deeper than my heart, much deeper than my memories.

“Why did I forget about it…… that the cause of me not killing people was my mother.”

“……The time I talked to you about this was that time with that body of yours after all. It isn’t unreasonable to not remember. Even so, your soul should have remembered about it.”

I look at my mother’s hand touching my chest.

I see…… She can carved it on me that way.

“……I……have violated your orders I guess. Then so it really… is inevitable for me to be erased…”

Honestly, I still can’t comprehend the size of the matter.

Why only I can’t kill two people, I couldn’t accept it because I could not catch the important part.

But, I couldn’t bring myself to oppose her.

Even if I go against mother, I probably won’t be able to win.

This person is not standing in the same place as us.

“If you’re doing it, then do it in one go please… You can do that right?”

“……-haha! You’re really my kid.”

Mother separated her hand from me, sat cross-legged and laughed as she struck her knees.

She’s terribly mannish and yet like a parent.

“I can erase you anytime, so~. Let’s reminisce for a bit. I can’t recover your lost memories, but I’ll talk about what kind of life I… no, our family lived.”

“ …… Yeah, please.”

If my life ends either way, then I’d want to hear about myself in the end.

About the time I was a “person”.

Yeah…… it doesn’t matter anymore

What happens afterwards, what happens to those people…… none of it――――――――――――

――――――――――――――matters anymore.

“<Flying Lance>!”

From Saiga’s pushed out spear, a thrust of magic appeared.

Shironeko twisted her body and intersected with that. Then she got in his bosom.

(Wha-…… I knew she’s fast)

The nail that was swung towards Saiga’s defenseless body, Saiga defended it by forcibly bringing back his spear.

Both of them were repelled together with high pitched sound and each of them took distance.

“Fushuu…… “

Having slowly taken a short breath she had held in, Shironeko slowly sharpened her senses.

Because Saiga understood that Shironeko was slightly the stronger one, he could not carelessly leap upon her.

She was grateful for that and though it was little by little, she was able to turn her consciousness towards Mineko.

(Well, I don’t even need to worry about her desu……)

At the corner of her sight, the figure of Mineko kicking away Kuroinu’s stomach was projected.

“Gahah…… “

“Haah!”

When Kuroinu flinched from having received a powerful dropkick in her stomach, she perceived a high kick following up on that.

The surprising part of Mineko was the part where she throws a follow-up with only the twisting of her body and her physical strength in spite of floating due to having done a dropkick.

And unlike Kuroinu who rolled unsightly on the ground, Mineko landed firmly on the ground.

“Don’t get carried away… You lowly cats! <Flame art – Cannon>!”

“You say, but aren’t you a dog…… ”

Kuroinu got up and shot out an enormous flame sphere.

That which came flying straight towards her, Mineko watched it calmly and immediately saw through it.

“<Heavy Leg>!”

The roundhouse kick filled with magic power caught the flame sphere.

Receiving the impact from right beside it, the flame sphere flew away to the side without hitting her.

“…… It didn’t break…… I guess I need more training……”

“Kuh…”

Kuroinu was impatient within her mind.

It was because although she had a trump card, there was a chance that it would be overcome as is because she was being pressured in this situation.

While that may be true, she would certainly be defeated if she end up using her trump card and she couldn’t bring her down even for an instant.

At the very least it was out of the question if she couldn’t stop her movement.

(It is annoying, but…… I will call Saiga for cooperation and――――――――――)

“Uooooh!?”

“…… What are you doing?”

Suddenly, Saiga fell down beside her.

From the fact he was out of breath and there were small wounds on his body, she could see he was attacked quite well.

“Tch…… Scratches all over my body, dammit……”

“Miserable aren’t you”

“Right back atcha, aren’t ya pretty flustered there?”

“Gh!…… Shut up, you.”

A little after Saiga fell down, Shironeko landed beside Mineko.

Naturally, she was uninjured unlike him.

“Why did you come flying, big sis……”

“It was an airbattle desu. That aside, that boy called Saiga or something, he’s quite good desu.”

“…… Looks like it.”

When the elder sister finished the fight with minor injuries, Saiga’s ability was acknowledged.

And of course Shironeko also acknowledged the strength of Kuroinu who fought with Mineko and still hadn’t collapsed.

“…… A drawn out battle might be bad desu.”

“Eh?”

“These people, they’re absolutely hiding something desu. I want to at least…… take down Kuroinu desu.”

“…… Okay.”

The glint in the eyes of the two sharply glared at Kuroinu.

“We’re doing that desu”

“Yes”

Bloodthirst of the two calmly preparing catgirls had enough intensity to make ordinary men faint.

Enough to make Kuroinu and Saiga reflexively take a step back……

“Operation, Nyan nyan hide and seek――――――――desu”