Chapter 66

The evening school grounds.

A few children who had finished their meals were taking a walk.

Cheesia and I sat side by side on a pergola on one side of the school grounds, and we didn't speak for a long time.

"Cheesia, you."

"Yeah."

"You were so good at talking...?"

You always managed to catch my mom, who always ran away when she saw me, and explained things and cleared up misunderstandings.

Of course, it was a bit scary how aggressive you were.

Why do you keep your mouth shut about your own affairs when you can burst out like a soda?

You're such a mystery.

"Thank you... I was really frustrated, but talking to you made me feel so much better."

And you silently stayed by my side, comforting me.

I suddenly felt overwhelmed.

"Hey, Cheesia."

"Yeah."

"Remember when I told you that I was fine without my mom...?"

"Yeah."

"I really thought I would be fine, but when I saw my mom's face, well, it wasn't like that..."

"..."

"I thought I could talk to her, even if we didn't live together."

I felt a bit embarrassed to open up, but I kept talking, fidgeting with my fingers.

"I even thought about what to say if she asked how I've been doing. And, about my little brother... I decided I would be nice to him."

"..."

"But just now, it seemed like she didn't want to."

Maybe because Cheesia was listening to me so quietly, I couldn't stop talking.

"I'm still young and haven't had a child yet... so I don't really know."

"..."

"But because she's my mom. Even though she didn't raise me, she did give birth to me."

"..."

"I thought we could at least greet each other."

In my previous life, I was an orphan.

That's why I always envied friends who were loved by their parents.

Whenever I tried to recall my previous life, I always felt this way.

Feeling this way also made me feel guilty towards my dad.

I've already been reborn and am not an orphan anymore, and I'm loved by my dad.

"I must be greedy."

Maybe it's because of the memories from my previous life.

I thought it was fine to have just my dad.

But the moment I saw my mom,

I wanted her to call me by my name affectionately and to love me.

"Sigh."

I sighed, looking at Cheesia.

In front of Cheesia, who has been abandoned by both her parents, my complaints felt really petty.

"I'm sorry for saying this, Cheesia..."

"You don't have to try so hard."

"Huh?"

Cheesia looked at me intently and said,

"There are many people in the world. Some abandon their children, some don't love them. Some even discriminate among their own children."

"Uh, yeah. That's true."

"Your mom, who raised her son but not you, might feel more affectionate towards him. She might not have the capacity to love you too."

"Yeah..."

"So don't try so hard. There's no need to try to be loved by someone who doesn't want to love you."

I stared at Cheesia blankly.

"Besides, you have a dad who loves you enough."

"...Right."

My dad must be upset seeing me depressed over my mom.

Even without my mom, my dad has never failed to show me love.

"Hmm!"

I clenched my small fists.

"Right! You're absolutely right! Thank you, Cheesia!"

Cheesia smiled slightly, seemingly pleased with my brightened expression.

"But are you not hungry? You didn't finish your meal because of me."

"No, I almost finished. You..."

Cheesia, who was speaking, looked at me with concern.

"Should I take your tray back?"

I looked at Cheesia.

The evening moonlight gently illuminated his red eyes and face.

Unlike when we first met, Cheesia's eyes were no longer empty.

In fact, the way he looked at me was even affectionate.

"Hehe."

I laughed, feeling happy.

"No! I finished too. And just looking at your face makes me feel full. You're so handsome."

"What? Don't say things like that."

I leaned in slightly, responding to Cheesia's gruff reply.

"Really, thank you, Cheesia. I'm completely fine now. As you said, even without my mom, I have my dad."

"Yeah."

"And."

I rested my head on Cheesia's shoulder.

"And you're here too."

"..."

Cheesia, who had offered his shoulder, stayed by my side for a long time.

Noticing his right hand twitching, I said with a smile,

"Pet my head!"

Cheesia's hand, which had been hesitating, touched my head.

The touch was clumsy but affectionate.

"Hehe."

As I inhaled the evening air, I suddenly missed my dad.

"What is Dad doing now?"

"Already missing him?"

"Well, not exactly..."

My lips pouted involuntarily.

"To be honest, I've missed him since yesterday. I feel scared and awkward sleeping alone without my dad..."

Cheesia sighed.

"He's probably working."

"Yeah, he probably is..."

* * *

Swoosh!

A wind like a blade sliced through the air.

The horde of about a hundred demons, which had been bunched together, burst into blood and collapsed with a single precise strike.

Elevado.

A technique that sends mana in the form of numerous swords, allowing those who have reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship to face thousands of enemies.

'Still insane.'

Deus Order's deputy commander, Axion Libre, felt the unbelievable power of a single person and whistled.

His subordinate, Philip, was equally amazed.

The sound of swallowing was clearly audible.

"Commander, what are you...?"

Philip marked an X on the empire map he was holding.

There were already seven X marks on the map, indicating areas where extermination had been completed.

Philip shivered.

"This is really happening."

Enoch Rubinstein picked up a sword as soon as his daughter entered the training facility.

And like someone finally tackling a long-postponed assignment, he planned to go to every demon sighting in the empire.

"Deputy Commander, may I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"How long have we been on this extermination mission?"

"How long? It's been eighteen hours."

Philip was taken aback.

Even that time included the travel time between regions using warp gates.

When they actually faced the demons, the extermination took less than ten minutes.

"Let me ask one more thing."

"Sure."

"How many people are in our extermination team...?"

"Are you really asking because you don't know?"

"I know, but I can't believe it."

"You, me, and him."

Axion pointed to Enoch, who was approaching from a distance.

"Unbelievable, really..."

A typical extermination team consists of at least fifty to as many as three hundred people.

It's a principle to include defensive and healing ability users.

Extermination is a dangerous and labor-intensive task.

Of course, this principle doesn't apply to a monster like Enoch Rubinstein.

"!"

Rrrr.

At that moment, a growl came from the rocks above the gorge.

Axion and Philip quickly looked up.

"Oh..."

But it was a surprising sight.

The wolf-like demon was drooling and trembling, as if in fear.

Demons, which lack intelligence, are fearless and cannot communicate. Yet, it was clearly trembling in fear.

It was obvious what it was afraid of.

Axion felt a pang of pity for the demon he was supposed to kill.

It was a strange feeling.

"Right... You were just trying to survive, weren't you?"

Philip also looked up with a sympathetic expression, extending his hand.

"Aw, the poor thing. It just had the bad luck to appear when the commander was around..."

Swoosh!

In an instant, the demon's head was severed.

Philip swallowed hard and turned around.

Enoch, who had approached, looked at Philip with a cold expression.

"What are you doing? Do you need a pet?"

"N-no, not at all!"

Philip straightened up, his military bearing stiff.

Enoch, who looked displeased, sheathed his sword and walked past them.

"Next."