92 Chapter
“Look, Aintern. It’s our baby.”
Frikkanrisk held the swaddled baby in her arms, radiating an expression of sheer love.
She always wore a face as cold as ice, which had led to some not-so-great rumors about her in the past, but anyone seeing her like this now wouldn’t dare say a word.
“Is it really that great?”
Aintern, who was preparing dinner from a distance, immediately came over at her remark. Frikkanrisk must have said something like this at least twenty times already.
“Does that mean you don’t like it?”
“Of course I’m so happy I could die from happiness!”
“Don’t joke about that, Aintern.”
“Haha, sorry about that.”
Aintern placed his finger on the tiny palm of the baby.
At that, the baby instinctively grasped his finger, and feeling the tiny strength emanate from that little body made him smile.
“With round eyes and a nose that’s just like Iris’s!”
“Her mouth and ears look just like yours.”
Iris was Frikkanrisk’s real name. Before she received the name Frikkanrisk, it was the name her parents called her.
Now, only her husband Aintern knew her true name in this world.
“I’m worried. What if our baby inherits too much of Iris’s genes and ends up too pretty, leading people to mistake her for a girl later on?”
“Don’t worry; you have your genes in there too.”
“Does that mean you’re saying I’m ugly?”
“Well, not exactly ugly.”
The two often played around, living happily together.
Their dwelling was a small cabin on a snowy mountain in the northern Troa, and unless they transformed out of Polymorph, it was more than enough for just the two of them. With the baby, it felt like they had everything in the world.
There were times when Aintern’s duties as a Hero kept him away from the Church for a few weeks or even months, which made things a bit lonely, but that was about to change soon.
He was ready to humbly lay down his lifelong commitment as a Hero for the sake of his wife.
“I’m sorry for being so selfish.”
“Not that again! I quit being a Hero because I wanted to, so why do you think Iris should apologize?”
“Because I can’t live among people like you do.”
Frikkanrisk was bound by an unwritten rule to not interfere in the affairs of humans.
Breaking it wouldn’t bring her immense harm, but it was a deeply rooted belief, a kind of curse that she couldn’t ignore.
“Iris.”
Aintern raised his eyebrows inappropriately and called out to her. Iris tried to hold back her laughter as she watched.
“Now you should expect to get scolded every time you say you’re sorry to me.”
He tried to sound intimidating, but he was inherently a softie. Instead of sounding powerful, it only came off as awkward.
Iris didn’t want to ignore his warning, so she suppressed the ticklish feelings that threatened to escape and replied.
“How dare you try to scold a Divine Beast?”
“Right now, before I’m a Divine Beast, I’m your husband.”
Iris burst into laughter. It was bright and beautiful, like flowers blooming in spring. She said,
“You’re right. Being your wife comes before being a Divine Beast.”
Hypnotized by the sight of her, Aintern said,
“Did I tell you I love you today?”
“Wha… suddenly…?”
“I just wanted to say it after seeing you smile. I love you, Iris.”
“…You’re doing this again. You think I’ll be flustered every time, don’t you?”
“Too bad. I think you look cutest when you’re flustered.”
“…….”
“Oh, your face turned red.”
The news of a child coming to Frikkanrisk and the Divine Beast was a sign that the remaining life of the Divine Beast wasn’t that long.
About 50 years left. Compared to the long 500 years she had lived, it was incredibly short.
However, Frikkanrisk wasn’t sad.
The next 50 years ahead felt more precious and worthwhile than the 500 years she had lived so far, and she was soaked in a happiness she hadn’t experienced in her life.
She had always only received pain and wounds from people. She thought the human race was just full of such people.
But humanity.
Men.
Her husband, Aintern.
Were such huge gifts that she never expected. If she could raise a child with him and finish her life, it would be perfect.
It would be 50 years that couldn’t be exchanged for anything.
…Or so she thought.
Until that man showed up.
*
“Are you sulking?”
“I’m not sulking.”
“You are sulking….”
“I told you I’m not sulking.”
“Hey… Frikkanrisk. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought someone else here without permission. I was reckless.”
As Aintern persistently pushed, Frikkanrisk, who had been turning her head to avoid eye contact, turned back to glare at him.
“Aintern, what do you think of the Twelve Divine Beasts? Didn’t I say that I wouldn’t be upset over something like this?”
Iris almost blurted out that Frikkanrisk only spoke in a condescending tone when she was flustered or upset, but swallowed it down with her saliva.
At that moment, the man who had been watching the situation from a distance slowly approached.
Frikkanrisk’s sharp gaze made him stop in his tracks.
“If you get any closer, I’ll cut off your legs… no, wait….”
She couldn’t finish her sentence.
Regardless of how dirty the stranger’s feet were on their precious home, this man was Aintern’s long-time friend and companion.
“I let slip some rude words to my first guest.”
At Frikkanrisk’s words, the man shook his head. His voice resonated.
“No, Divine Beast. It’s only natural to be treated coldly since I had to beg Aintern several times to let me come….”
His voice was weak and low.
He continued to speak seriously.
Clearly lowering himself.
“If I intruded, I apologize. I think I should take my leave for now.”
She felt displeasure.
She clearly saw the reaction that the man displayed the first time he saw her.
The first time she saw herself, she clearly noticed her reaction.
Inside the dark cave, she heard the sound of expanding pupils and the irregular breathing that suddenly changed.
Frikkanrisk’s cold demeanor towards Aintern wasn’t just because she’d brought a stranger.
‘That man is ominous.’
That thought made her anxious.
Just in case, she covered her child’s face with a cloth so the man wouldn’t see. She absolutely didn’t want to show her child.
Then, the dark man left.
“Iris, I really messed up. I should have clearly turned him down.”
“……”
“How can I make it up to you… Should I put the child to sleep for a month? Of course, I’ll handle waking up in between. Ah, no, Iris, don’t do anything. I’ll take care of all the housework and childcare!”
“……”
Frikkanrisk sighed. Aintern would definitely handle things as expected.
“Not that.”
She suggested something different from what Aintern proposed.
“Just don’t bring that man around again.”
“I’m really sorry.”
“……”
He was definitely an unsettling and eerie man, but she felt uneasy about badmouthing someone close to Aintern behind his back.
Aintern had given up everything to come here for her. She couldn’t just say not to associate with him or speak ill of him just because she had a bad feeling.
“Really, you’re saying I shouldn’t bring him?”
She only told him not to come.
…Why?
Why did she think that?
“Okay. If I quit being a Hero, I won’t have to meet ‘Craine’ much anymore. Don’t worry.”
“That’s a relief….”
When that guy named Craine came here.
She had sensed something off.
She should have killed him right then and there.
Should have chopped off his limbs and smashed his head.
Things would have changed if she had……
⎯Snap.
Frikkanrisk gritted her teeth, recalling that nightmarish moment from the past.
Thinking of the prime suspect who was presumed to have kidnapped her son made her veins throb and her mana stir.
“……”
Calm down.
If even a little mana escapes with her emotions, the risk of being detected increases.
She had once used it to turn the two who badmouthed Aintern into powder, so the encirclement must have tightened.
Currently, she was in the coldest and saddest place in Dortmund.
The shadows of the desolate trees caressed the large monuments, comforting them. Below this land, the once hot flesh had disappeared, buried as cold bones.
Frikkanrisk stood before one of the tombstones.
The name was etched upon it.
「Aintern」
This was the name of her husband.
The name of her son’s father.
The name of a Hero who died fighting against the enemies of humanity.
“……”
She couldn’t lay even a single flower here. She couldn’t light incense, nor could she recite a eulogy.
She didn’t have the right.
Frikkanrisk thought so.
“Husband.”
Her cold hand touched the colder tombstone. She remained unchanged, but Aintern had changed so much that reaching out was impossible.
Without touching, she couldn’t even feel the sensation. She could no longer hear his comforting warm voice. She couldn’t feel that warmth anymore.
“…Just wait a little longer.”
Frikkanrisk stood there for a while.
She stood there for a while.
As if to represent her emotions, the dry wind of winter pushed away summer, carrying the scent of someone else.
Before the identity was fully revealed.
She relayed it back to her husband.
“I’ll finish the first revenge now.”
“It’s been a while. Right?”
A grotesque scythe made entirely of assorted bones. A disturbingly pale boy casually wielding it.
In one hand, the boy held a black rat. It no longer moved; its life was already gone.
“If you stay here, uninvited guests will be coming soon. What will you do?”
The boy spoke with a playful voice.
He didn’t care where he was, but if she wanted, he could change locations.
“Ami. How brazen of you to show up before me.”
The boy’s name was Ami.
He was one of the Archbishops of the Goddess Church.
“I have my reasons, you know? I looked for you. But your hiding skills are extraordinary! It was quite the struggle.”
Ami said this as if there was no need for him to fight.
“All I need are your horns. If you just cut off one of those horns and give it to me, I’ll give you a tremendous gift.”
He continued with a giggle.
His slitted pupils held a mocking glint.
“A gift that’s a whopping ‘I’ll spare you!’”
In that moment.
Ami dashed forward, wielding the massive scythe.
He drew a line as cruel and sharp as a reaper attempting to snatch souls.
Clang⎯⎯!
However, unable to slice the horn, the scythe was intercepted.
Frikkanrisk’s left arm transformed into something akin to ice, blocking the blow.
As they struggled, she asked.
“Why did you kill my husband?”
Ami scoffed lightly, as if it wasn’t even worth responding to her question. His eyes were as cruel as a devil’s.
“Does Altife need a reason to kill a hero?”
“You’re still trying to wiggle out of this, huh?”
Using her enhanced body, she deflected the scythe and grabbed Ami by the collar.
Her body radiated cold, dropping the temperature threatening to freeze everything around her.
The white mist enveloping the graveyard froze, sticking to the ground.
Ami made no significant attempt to resist, remaining still.
Even as he slowly began to freeze from the neck down, he didn’t seem to mind. He clawed at his neck with his nails, rolling his eyes elsewhere.
Two figures charged quickly towards them.
There was no hesitation at all.
“Ah, what did I say? Uninvited guests are coming… Huh?”
Ami’s eyes widened upon seeing the targets.
The nerves signaling sensation shook violently as he unexpectedly faced joy.
His heart thumped as if experiencing first love, and his lips stretched wide, revealing all his teeth.
“Let go of this.”
In an instant, Ami freed Frikkanrisk from her grip.
His small body that had been hanging fell to the ground and, like a mindless beast, he crouched down on all fours.
Soon after.
Boom⎯⎯!!
Ami exploded into action like a spring that had been tightly coiled for too long.
In his shiny eyes, there was the long-awaited.
The finest meal, aged for an entire fifteen years.
How long had he waited for this moment?
Though the timing was early, what did the promise matter? How could he be patient when he had him alive right in front of him!
Ami roared with joy.
Finally. Finally, they met.
They finally met!
“Helion…!”
