I’ve come to the demon gods’ village again, so I might as well stay here for a few days.
I’m a little worried about monsters destroying our house if it stays empty, but Wil is staying there, so it should be fine.
Right now, I’m going to Sakuya’s place with Zephir, Edinburgh, and Reina, but I hear arguing.
That voice sounds angry, and its power is felt even out here.
“That’s Gyes, right? What happened?”
“Should we go in?”
I ask Reina, and when I turn around, the other two have grave looks on their faces.
“Mister Arata, do you feel nothing before this power?”
“Eh? It feels pretty strong, but… Ah, that’s right.”
This used to feel really strong, but I’ve been fighting Wil lately, so I’m numb to it.
The oldest and strongest true ancestral vampire is just too powerful.
Gyes and Tiltue for example might have similar power, but they’re too young.
The only people on this island who might rival Wil’s real power are ones like Suzaku or Sheryl the darkness great spirit. People who have been alive for a long time.
“But Reina is fine.”
“Not really, but I’m used to it by now. I might have fainted if I felt it when I first came to this island…”
Zephir looks ill, but not enough to faint.
Edinburgh looks wary, but not really overpowered.
That said, I can’t take them inside like this.
“We’ll go in and see what’s going on, so can you two wait for a bit?”
“Yes, that is for the best.”
“Understood.”
So we go inside Sakuya’s house, and hear the yelling more clearly.
“I said what we’re doing is a divine ritual, so if you know that…”
“Gyes, we could hear you outside. What’s going on?”
When we open the door, we see Gyes drawing closer to Sakuya.
And Sakuya has a sad expression, instead of the usual graceful air around her.
“Mu? Ah, big bro! Just in time! Tell Sakuya too!”
“Tell what…”
“…!?”
The moment Gyes turns his eyes, Sakuya starts running with tears in her eyes.
“Ah! I’m not done yet!”
“Arata! I’ll go after Sakuya, you stay with Gyes!”
“Ah, yes.”
Gyes reaches out to catch Sakuya as she runs, but I grab his arm and hold it.
And Reina goes after her as she leaves the house.
“Big bro! Why are you stopping me!?”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but… Sakuya was crying, so…”
“Ugu…”
Maybe Gyes just flared up with anger, because when he hears that, he loosens up.
And then he sits down on the floor.
“Why were you so angry?”
“Do you want to hear?”
“Of course.”
I’m worried about Sakuya too, but she’ll be fine since Reina went after her.
But then I remember the two waiting outside.
“Hold on a second.”
I go out, but only see Zephir.
“Oh? Where’s Edinburgh?”
“She went after Miss Sakuya and Reina…”
“I see.”
Well, she should be fine.
Reina and the others’ reactions tell me she was up to a lot of things in the past, but…
At the very least, she’s been a nice person ever since she lost her memory and started living on this island.
I feel like she’s reliable and can handle it in a mature way.
“…Gyes is feeling calmer now, but what do you want to do, Zephir?”
“People of this village helped me, so if I hear what is going on and am able to help…”
“Then come inside.”
I go in again, and Gyes looks clearly depressed.
“Uu… Big bro. I’m a failure as an older brother…”
“Don’t say that, just tell me what happened.”
“…Well…”
Gyes starts speaking little by little.
It all started with Sakuya saying she wanted to watch a duel between demon gods and ancient dragons. This is a coming of age ritual for demon gods. A sacred one.
Gyes being the leader means he holds particularly strong feelings towards it. At the same time, he understands his wrongdoing.
“As you know, I already know the name of my ancestor.”
“Yes.”
“But I haven’t talked to Sakuya about that.”
“…Yes, I see.”
“What do you mean?”
I know right away what that means, but Zephir hasn’t been on this island long enough to understand.
“Hum, demon gods like Gyes and ancient dragons have a fierce rivalry to better each other.”
“I think that’s good.”
I see emotion on Zephir’s face. Did something happen in the past?
“When they become strong, they learn the names of their ancestors, and become adults.”
“Hm… I feel Mister Gyes is very strong, but you are saying he is not yet an adult?”
“Well…”
I peek at Gyes. I don’t think I should be the one to talk about that.
“I’m already an adult. And when divine gods become adults, they have to go back to the mountain.”
“So… You are hiding that?”
“Yes. Just from Sakuya.”
None of the divine gods in this village are adults.
That’s their rule, but Gyes wants to stay here with his friends and Sakuya.
He told the others about that, but they don’t tell him to go to the mountain anyway.
“He hasn’t told Sakuya.”
“She’s so serious. If she knew I broke that rule, she’d tell me to go to the mountain right away.”
“…”
It’s not like he can’t see her just because he’s an adult. But demon gods are proud people, so people don’t go to the mountain where adults live before they reach adulthood, and the opposite rarely happens either.
“Then what just happened…”
“She said she wants to see us fight, and I flared up. From her point of view, she might just want to see her big brother looking cool, but I… I…”
He got mad because of his own circumstances, and that came as a big shock to her.
But I’m pretty sure she just wants to meet Graham.
I’ll just be kicking him while he’s down if I say that, so I won’t.
“Reina went after her, so I’m sure she’ll be fine. But make sure you apologize when she comes back.”
“…That is for the best. And I’m sure Miss Sakuya will forgive you.”
“Yes. I’ll help too.”
“Big bro… and Mister Zephir…”
Gyes’ eyes look moist, and he sounds moved.
He’s big, but he’s just like a kid.
Maybe it really is too early to call him an adult.
But as I think that, and the three of us laugh, Reina and the others return.
“Ah, welcome back Reina. We actually…”
“Big brother…”
Sakuya steps forward with a serious expression, and speaks.
“I will be leaving the house for a while!”
“Eh?”
“Well then…!”
She then leaves before we can say anything.
Reina and Edinburgh go after her, and us three guys are left here again.
“…”
“…”
“…”
None of us can speak, and the mood just turns awkward.
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Thanks for the treat.