Chapter 24: 24. Both Son and Mother are Selfish
"Did Mitsuri encounter a demon?!"
Just the thought drove Kotaro berserk. Before he could think calmly, his legs moved on their own, and before he knew it, he was outside, running frantically in search of her.
"Mitsuri! Mitsuri, can you hear me?"
He shouted into the dark, desperately hoping to hear even the faintest cry from her. He continued running along the path toward Kiyo-san's house when he heard the sound of footsteps.
The darkness made it impossible to see the figure, but the voice that followed told Kotaro exactly who it was.
"Kotaro-sama!"
"Mitsuri!"
Mitsuri, who had found him, cried out in relief and jumped at him, wanting to embrace him. However, her momentum caused him to fall down.
But still, he wasn't complaining. Because Mitsuri was alive. She was safe!
"Mitsuri, are you alright?"
"I-I was so scared! The demon... the demon said it would eat us!"
"Us? Don't tell me…!"
"A-Aiko-san told me to run, and she…"
Big tears started to spill from her green eyes, and Kotaro's mind went blank. He could see Aiko, trying to sacrifice herself to save Mitsuri.
'Damn! That woman, doing something unnecessary!'
As much as he scolded her in his mind, his eyes grew wet. But still, he didn't want to accept her death. Not so easily. He hoped—no, he wanted to believe that there was another possibility.
'She might still be alive.'
If luck was on their side, then maybe the demon hadn't killed her yet. Kotaro realized this and understood that now was not the time to lie down in the road.
He wiped away the tears that were just about to fall, released Mitsuri from his embrace, and stood up with resolute eyes.
Every second counts!
"K-Kotaro-sama?"
"Mitsuri, you return home. I will go to save Aunt Aiko."
Truthfully, he was shivering. He was just a normal human, and his basic instinct was telling him to flee. But he knew that if he ran away now, knowing there was a chance to save Aunt Aiko, and he didn't take it out of fear...
Clap!
Kotaro clapped his cheeks to stop his shivering. What is death?
This is his second life. He has died once already. This kind of face-off with death, he's experienced it before. When he was reincarnated, he promised himself to live this life without any regrets.
That's why he married Mitsuri despite all his inner turmoil.
The plot might go awry? The demons might arrive? The demon progenitor might survive? Fuck that shit!
He wanted to marry Mitsuri, so he married her.
Now, it is the same.
There is no need for logical and rational reasons.
He wants to save Aiko, and that's why he's going to save her!
…
"Huh? What is this?"
The demon looked at Aiko, facing him with a smirk while letting another woman escape.
"Can't you see it? I'm letting her go because I alone can pummel you down."
Aiko just raised her fist, trying to act tough, but the demon's sharp eyesight noticed her trembling under that facade.
"Sacrificing yourself to save others…"
The demon looked at Aiko's act, trying to act as a noble sacrifice to help another woman escape. To him, a demon, these were all just…
"How… repulsive!"
The smiling face turned into an angered one. This act portraying humanity, the act of sacrifice… It just enraged him beyond belief.
[Save me… Brother!]
"Damn! These memories!"
This act triggered his past memories, the ones he buried when he became a demon. The time when he too was human, and a frail one, wanting someone to protect him.
But…
"You're afraid too, aren't you? You want to escape too, right? Don't try to act as if you're some noble one!"
With an outburst, the demon, with a ferocious roar, pounced on Aiko, who rolled sideways the moment she saw him disappear.
It was fast, but she dodged just at the critical moment.
If she died that easily, then how could she stall time for Mitsuri to escape?
The demon's claw hit the road beneath, cracking the ground with sheer force. The demon's fingers were broken by his own force, but in a second, those fingers just twisted as if they were alive and healed back to normal.
'That healing power… I guess those tales didn't lie.'
Aiko witnessed the absurd healing power of the demon and just smirked sarcastically. The descriptions of demons from the tales—it seems those were true.
She wished at least those tales had been untrue, giving her a bit of hope of defeating the demon, but it seems reality is cruel.
She had resolved to stay here, knowing she might die to let Mitsuri escape, but no matter how beautiful it is, it's a truth that she doesn't want to die.
'You're afraid, aren't you?'
'Yes, I am afraid.'
'You want to escape, right?'
'Yes, I want to escape too.'
'Don't try to act as if you're some noble one!'
Aiko just laughed at the demon's words. He thought she was some kind of noble person? She wasn't some kind of hero who would sacrifice herself to save other people.
She too was human, and she was selfish.
And because she was selfish, there were some things she had to do for herself.
'Noble? Ha! I'm not a noble person. I'm just an unmarried woman, blackmailed by her son to carry out a promise. That's it.'
===
A/N:
Is the chapter all right?
If you have any suggestions, just write them down. I'll adopt them.
In this chapter, I aimed for some deep character development, so I added a bit of spice. I also wanted to make the demon more human—you know what I mean.
"Humans are selfish, and because of that, they can truly become selfless." --- A quote from CherryBlooming.
P.S.: From now on, I'll update regularly, except on Sundays. One chapter each day. I realized that if there are gaps, I get lazy. So, a regular schedule is a must! And support me at patreon if you like the novel. See ya!
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