Chapter 213 Father and Son
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
(Shinshi’s POV)
(Inside my ‘inner self’…)
I close my eyes and quietly meditate.
(Hiroya──are you there…?)
I asked this question in my heart.
Eventually… I found a faint light in the darkness and focused my consciousness on it. There, I saw──
”Hiroya… is that you?”
A boy, hugging his knees, was staring intently at what seemed to be a screen in front of him. No doubt about it. It’s Hiroya, probably in upper elementary school or middle school.
”What are you looking at?”
”Oh… it’s you, Dad. That outfit… it’s you before I was reborn.”
Hiroya gazed at me with slightly teary eyes.
”I was shown memories from your younger days. ──You really went through a lot, huh? Dealing with these monsters in secret…”
What was reflected on the screen were tales of my adventures from my youth. A quiet battle of wits for humanity’s survival against the ‘Crawling Chaos’ alongside my reliable companions.
”…I’m sorry.”
”What for?”
”I didn’t want you to walk such dangerous paths. ──I just wanted you to quietly follow in my footsteps.”
”Yeah. I understood that after seeing this.”
Hiroya shifted his gaze back to the screen.
”I realized… I was cherished by you, Dad… I understood that by watching this.”
”In the end, it seems you went to another world… and got caught up in adventures.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
”Everything you taught me has been incredibly useful. Especially the ‘Obu Muso Style’.”
The Ancient Iai passed down in our family. Hiroya’s skills were indeed exceptional. My master and father, Shinichiro, was called the ‘Strongest of All Time,’ but Hiroya probably surpassed him.
”Your skills were definitely ‘the second best of all time’.”
”…In the end, I couldn’t beat you, Dad. You really lived up to the title of ‘the Strongest of All Time,’ surpassing even Grandpa.”
Hiroya stands up. He looks to be around 11 or 12 years old.
”I’m still only 9, though. It seems like kids over there grow up pretty fast until about 15. After that, the growth rate slows down.”
”Then, you still can’t beat me.”
”In my past life, I was good at reading movements too… but Dad, you always got the jump on me. It was frustrating.”
Hiroya looks up at me and smiles.
”Yours was just ‘predictions based on experience.’ Dad was cheating.”
”Cheating?”
”You were using your ability to see spirits to ‘predict’ my movements.”
”…that’s, well… dirty…”
Hiroya glares.
”Anyway, what about over there?”
”It’s a nice place. I’ve made a lot of friends who feel like family. Mom is doing well, and the dad over there is really caring. Seeing that dad over there──.”
Hiroya sits down at my feet. I sit down next to him.
”──made me think that maybe I misunderstood my dad from my past life.”
”I see.”
”I’m happy that my mom, who passed away, is doing well over there.”
”Ah… about that, Hiroya. The Megumi over there…”
I talked about his mother, Megumi. How she didn’t die but went to another world on a mission. Most likely… no, without a doubt, the mother over there is the same Megumi who gave birth to Hiroya in this world.
”I see… I must be so lucky. To have my beloved mom give birth to me twice.”
”Yeah.”
Hiroya smiled happily.
”Is Ms. Kazumi doing well too?”
”Yeah. We’re getting along well. …But I was surprised. Her husband was cheating.”
”──I should have investigated sooner. Since Hiroya was so interested, I felt bad but looked into it. She was a wonderful lady. I found out about her husband’s cheating while I was at it.”
”I see.”
* * *
”Aren’t you going back? Ms. Doll said everyone over there is worried.”
”Doll… the succubus Doll?”
”Seems like she had to dive into your dreams to wake you up since you wouldn’t come to. ──I can’t believe your consciousness is syncing with me. She was surprised too.”
”…Despite how she looks, she’s a good girl. Though, her preferences are a bit twisted.”
Hiroya chuckled softly.
”Anyway, get home soon. Ms. Kazumi, Megumi, and even your dad over there, along with your family-like friends, must be worried.”
”Yeah. ──I’m really glad to see you again, Dad.”
I felt tears streaming down my cheeks.
”I’m sorry for leaving you all alone, Dad…”
”Don’t worry about it. You just make sure to live well in that world.”
”Yeah… Take care, Dad…”
With that, Hiroya turned his back.
* * *
(Hiroya’s POV)
”Hiroya… I want to give you this.”
Dad called out to me as I turned away.
”What?”
”It’s a power I no longer need. Use it wisely.”
He extended his hand, shining with light.
”It’s my power. You need it more than I do in that world.”
As I reached out to Dad, the light moved to my palm… and then disappeared.
”You’ll be able to see spirits, auras… maybe even souls. ──With this, I won’t be able to win against you in a fair fight anymore.”
I watched as Dad’s smiling figure faded away.
”Dad!”
”Yeah, I passed my power to you. …Now hurry back.”
And then, I was left alone in the darkness.
”Well then… let’s head back.”
I started walking through the darkness.
* * *
(Shinshi’s POV)
”Oh, finally awake, huh?”
As soon as I opened my eyes, Doll’s worried face was right in front of me. When our eyes met, she shyly turned her face away.
”So, how was it?”
”Ah, he probably already went back.”
”Probably…”
Doll gulped down her whiskey, looking a bit annoyed.
”I passed my ‘power’ to Hiroya. I got back first.”
”…That’s troublesome… that kid’s gonna get stronger again, isn’t he?”
”Is that a problem?”
”No… I don’t really care. If something happens to my boss… I’ll just beg for my life from those kids.”
Doll laughed as she said that.
”Doll… I really appreciate you. Thanks to you, I was able to reconcile with my son.”
”If you really appreciate it, I’d like to see you show it with your attitude──.”
I knelt down, took Doll’s hand… and kissed the back of it.
”…Is this good enough?”
”Wh──!”
The face of Doll, whom I looked up at, was──bright red.
”Even though you’re a succubus, you were that innocent, huh?”
”That’s not… I was just surprised by the suddenness!”
Saying that, Doll took off the silver bangle from her wrist and offered it to me.
”Take this. You must be lonely being all by yourself──I’ll come to play again. This will tell me your coordinates.”
”Are you going to come into my dreams and suck my life force?”
”I wouldn’t do something like that. ──I’ll come to see you in real life. You want to know more about Megumi, right?”
Doll winked and slipped the silver bangle onto my wrist.
”Well, I’m heading back now. ──See you again, okay?”
”Yeah… I had fun. See you.”
With a smile, Doll… vanished as if to erase herself.
(Tomorrow, I have some free time. I’ll go to the Miura couple’s place before Ms. Kazumi’s funeral at night…)
I don’t know if anyone would believe such an absurd story, but… at the very least, I want to tell that couple that Ms. Kazumi is happy.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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