༺ To Children, Parties Are Like War! (4) ༻
Creak—
Brigitte unlocked the door with a key and opened it.
As she did, she saw curtains fluttering in the breeze from an open window.
The room was spacious.
Despite being filled with furniture like beds, desks, dressers, and closets, there was still plenty of space left.
The first thing that caught Brigitte’s eye was a teddy bear on the bed.
Worn and tattered, but upon closer inspection, it was neatly mended with clean fabric.
“Is that Aru?”
“Yeah. I fixed it up for now.”
“My goodness. When did you prepare all this?”
Brigitte was genuinely impressed.
Then the man scratched his nose and said, “Well, I’ve been quite busy in various ways.”
Brigitte stepped into the room, running her palms over the bed and touching the curtains.
The man said, “You can consider it your room if you want,” but honestly, it didn’t quite feel like her own room.
Most of the rooms Brigitte knew were dark and cramped.
This one was too spacious.
“It’s wonderful. I’ve always dreamed of living like a princess in a place like this. Though it’s a bit late to be called a princess now.”
“So, how is it?”
The man asked.
After a moment of thought, Brigitte said.
“Judas, why do you want me to live in this house? Is it for the reason I’m thinking? If that’s the case, I honestly don’t feel confident. Being a good wife, or a good mother…”
A Home environment.
Brigitte knew all too well the impact it had on a person’s life.
Her own childhood had been so poor that it had affected all she saw, learned, and grew up with.
She was certain she couldn’t perform the roles of a wife or mother.
That was why Brigitte rated herself as not likely to be Naru’s mother.
Because Naru was a bright and hopeful child.
She gave off an aura of being loved by her parents from a young age; her mere presence seemed to empower people.
But Brigitte didn’t trust herself to raise a child that way.
A healthy relationship between a daughter and a mother.
Brigitte had never experienced it.
Creak—
At that moment, the man pulled some kind of rope that was hanging in the room.
Then, a bookcase in one corner of the room slid aside, revealing a passage.
“A secret passage?”
Brigitte asked.
The man bared his fangs and said,
“Having a secret passage in a thief’s house is kind of common knowledge. You like secret passages, don’t you? It’s obvious that wizards love secrets.”
“Hmph, you sound so full of yourself, but you’re right. So what is this? An escape route leading underground? A room full of weapons? A path to a treasure vault?”
“No.”
The man pointed upwards.
“This goes up.”
Up?
Brigitte felt puzzled as she entered the secret passage and saw stairs leading upwards.
After following them for a while, a rooftop appeared.
It was brightly illuminated by the pretty moonlight.
Below, she could see the thronging crowd of partygoers.
The lights of the packed party were quite dizzying.
But the rooftop was so quiet that no one else set foot there except for Brigitte and the man, as if it was a separate world.
I wonder if the demigods looking down upon the world feel this way.
Brigitte said.
“Don’t escape routes normally go underground? There’s only isolation if you go to the rooftop.”
“It depends on what you’re running from. This place, you see, is a path to escape from the world. How about it, cool, right?”
Judas asked.
At those words, Brigitte chuckled.
“Why run from the world? Well, it makes sense. Judas, if one befriends someone as bad as you, there won’t be just one or two chasing after them, right?”
“Just so you know, I am not a bad person.”
To Brigitte’s words, the man shook his head.
Knowing this dialogue, Brigitte lightly retorted.
“I know. You’re not just bad, you’re terribly bad, right?”
“……”
The man did not reply, just looked up at the sky.
Today was the day of the twin moons.
A perfect time for a party.
However, the man’s appearance under the moonlight was unusually dark and anxious.
Brigitte felt a different kind of anxiety from that of an ominous premonition.
It was the anxiety that the man could shapelessly disappear like the wind as if it were a matter of course.
To Brigitte, the man was like the wind.
A free wind that does not stay in one place.
That such a man would buy a house.
Brigitte considered for a moment whether this would become like a prison, holding him down, then she asked.
“You said you’re not a bad person. But then, Judas, I realize I know nothing about you. You said you were a barbarian, but it doesn’t seem true. Who are you, really…?”
Swoosh—
Judas pointed to the moon with his hand.
“Where I come from, there was always just one moon. For now, that’s all I’ll tell you. Actually, I’ve never told anyone else about this before. You’re the first I’m telling.”
“……!”
Brigitte was surprised.
A world with only one moon.
It could mean many things.
But, to Brigitte, it felt like she was finally beginning to unravel the mystery around this man’s strange aura.
“…So, will you ever go back? To that place with only one moon?”
“I wanted to at first. But now, it’s no longer possible. I’ve bought a house. Here is my home now. This is where I’ll return.”
“……”
“And I would like you to be there too when I return.”
The man said, scratching the bridge of his nose.
The dazzling light of two moons.
It was so bright that Brigitte almost wanted to frown.
Brigitte now slowly bowed her head towards the ground.
“I…”
She hesitated for various reasons.
‘Home’ was a complicated subject for Brigitte.
‘Family’ was even more complicated.
With that small hesitation, Brigitte closed her lips, and the man’s shadow cast in the brilliant moonlight seemed particularly dark.
Looking at it, Brigitte said.
“…You live quite the dangerous life, in more ways than one.”
“It’s okay. According to Naru, I can live for at least another six years.”
“……”
Brigitte fell silent instead of replying,
The future six years after Naru’s arrival.
By then, Judas might have been alive-.
But the future was changing.
Because Naru had come.
After all, Naru came to the past through time magic to change the future.
In other words.
There’s no guarantee that the man could survive until six years later.
As if to confirm it, the man’s shadow looked oh-so-dark.
As if.
… The presence characteristic of the living was growing fainter and fainter.
* * *
A fabulous party.
Delicious food and drinks.
A large room and a teddy bear.
Secret passages.
A rooftop under a night sky with two moons.
Each element could be called a finishing move.
Even more so when combined together.
Brigitte wasn’t an easy woman to deal with if you let your guard down.
“……”
But.
Even with all my efforts, Brigitte didn’t respond easily.
Was my confession going to be rejected again?
As I felt this ominous thought, I felt a shiver on the back of my neck.
“Brigitte, evacuate everyone.”
“…What!?”
“I don’t know! Doesn’t look like I’ll have time to explain!”
Kyaaargh—!
Agh—!
Screams echoed from the garden.
I quickly looked down from the rooftop and saw Enkidus locked in a power struggle with a masked man.
“Mara…!”
“Enkidus. Where is the Duke’s grandson? No… at this point with the plan gone awry, I couldn’t care less about that brat. The vessel… Where is that man?”
Clang— Clangclang—
The sound of fists and legs colliding was identical to the tearing of metal.
Each exchange of blows made the air crackle and people scream.
“Hey, Enkidus! What’s happening!”
I shouted from the rooftop towards the garden.
Then Enkidus, without turning his head, shouted back.
“Judas, do not intervene! This is a matter of our Sunlight Ascension Sect!”
“… So you were here, Judas.”
A masked brute looked at me.
His gaze alone was as menacing as a dagger pointed at one’s face.
Among the enemies I’ve recently seen, I instinctively knew he was the strongest.
This masked man must be ‘Mara’.
He spoke low and ominously.
“Enkidus, you can only exert your full power when the sun is up. That’s your limitation. But now it’s night. You can’t defeat me who has renounced the doctrines of the sun. Stand down. Otherwise─.”
“…Force Palm!?”
Boom—!
Enkidus, who was locked with the masked man, was sent flying into the fountain.
Seeing this, the gold-rated guests tensed up.
Was that Enkidus…!? This masked guy doesn’t seem like your average troublemaker!”
“But to come alone to a party where we’re staying, honestly, it’s an insult to our pride. Cleric, please evacuate the people.”
“I’ll send them inside the mansion for now! This mansion seems to be built more solidly than I thought! Now that I see it, it’s almost like a fortress. What? What kind of mansion is─.”
“Let’s get inside for now!”
Rumble—
People began to rush into the mansion.
I too thought I couldn’t just stand by and was about to jump down to the garden when Brigitte grabbed my wrist.
“Judas, you stay put. You shouldn’t get involved in this any further.”
“……”
“Go to Naru and the kids! Cariote! Are you near!?”
“Yes. I hate noisy places, so I wasn’t attending the party.”
Pat—
Someone gently leaped down from the air.
It was the hunter Cariote.
“Cariote, we need to subdue them as quickly as possible before any casualties occur.”
“I know.”
Cariote and Brigitte coordinated.
Perhaps they were more compatible than I had thought?
Then, I detected an odd presence in the garden.
As I turned my gaze, something was crawling out from the shadow of a masked man.
It held a sharp dagger and thrust it forcefully toward Mara’s nape.
Pat—!
“Guuh!”
Mara let out a short death rattle.
The silver-veiled thief who had emerged from his shadow laughed with a ‘Ho-Ho-‘.
“Well, that’s about it. No matter how strong the monks are, they can’t win against thieves under the reign of darkness, right?”
Salome?
Salome had used the A-grade skill 「Shadow Step」 to ambush Mara – that’s what I thought when a brute hand of a man grabbed Salome’s nape with a choke.
“What? How did you… the scorpion poison…”
“…Princess of the Back Alleys… Powerful indeed. But unfortunately, Mara is immune to such poisons. I, Mara, am the venom that devours the world. The very embodiment of the darkness.”
“To hell with you!”
Salome struggled as she was gripped by the man’s thick arm.
And before I knew it, my body had moved on its own.
When I came to my senses, I was slashing at the masked man’s wrist with a dagger.
Swish—!
The man sprayed blood from his hand and let go of Salome.
Thud—
Salome sat down on the ground, catching her breath.
“Judas! I could have handled it on my own! Pretending to be hit to induce carelessness is a basic skill. You know that, so why interfere?”
Salome said this and removed the veil that had covered her face, revealing several needles on her lips.
Indeed.
A classic attack for thieves.
But now that I had interfered, it didn’t matter anymore.
“I─. We have finally met.”
Crack—
The masked man clenched his fist and the bleeding from his wrist stopped immediately.
Despite it being a fatal cut through a vein.
* * *
“Judas!”
Brigitte shouted, looking out at the garden.
It had been only a few seconds since she had said not to go out.
But Judas was already facing off with a stranger in the garden.
“Really…! Why do you always rush into trouble…!”
When Brigitte slightly raised her voice in anger, Cariote calmly loaded her crossbow and arrow, saying,
“It’s not about rushing into problems. All sorts of problems come rushing towards that man, Judas. He’s like a magnet for evil. As a mage, you should know that.”
“……”
“I will join him first. That man Mara- he’s strong. And he likely has ties to demons.”
When Brigitte was unable to respond, Cariote leaped down into the garden.
Despite the considerable height, her jump was graceful, as if hopping over a light fence.
However, Brigitte could not leap down the rooftop.
Though her physical abilities were superior to those of ordinary mages, she was still a mage after all.
‘If only I could use some magic to fly. Damn it.’
Clicking her tongue, Brigitte came down the stairs.
As she was about to rummage through the mansion towards the garden, she saw someone at the end of the quiet corridor.
It was Elle Cladeco.
“Professor Brigitte. You’re safe.”
“Headmaster Cladeco, you seem to be unharmed as well.”
The two mages looked into each other’s eyes.
Brigitte could discern the various worries shining in Cladeco’s golden irises.
It was obvious that this attack was related to Elle Cladeco.
Normally, Brigitte would have pretended not to notice.
She would have cornered Cladeco where there was no escape and gathered perfect evidence before striking a decisive blow, like a dagger.
Surely, her future self six years later would have done the same.
“……”
Brigitte thought for a moment.
To change the future, she couldn’t act as usual.
Choosing the action that she would not take.
The action she wouldn’t have taken even six years in the future.
That was what she needed to do now.
“Elle Cladeco. This incident. It was your doing, wasn’t it? Why are you associating with the demons? Maybe you’re planning to resurrect the Demon King? No, you can’t be that foolish. What’s your real objective?”
“……!”
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