kscans

Chapter 218 - Confession, Part One

"Sakuya-chan! Daddy's home!!"

"Welcome home, Hero-ojisan. But what's with the high spirits?"

"What's with me? I'm just my usual daddy self. What kinda silly thing are you sayin'?"

"You're the one being silly. Come back to your senses."

Pasha. Magic water was splashed on my face. Huh? What's with this cold shoulder? I'd be one thing if it was anyone else, but coming from Sakuya-chan, this really bums me out.

"Ah, you're finally back to your senses."

"No, I'm telling you, I was fine from the start... huh?!"

As I said it, I realized. Until a moment ago, I had definitely been corroded by the WEST wind. The cause... well, I don't even need to think about it. It was probably those tiger fanatic aliens. I brought the tiger fanatic aliens to Japan, placed Kisshou's remains and belongings in the Koga family grave, and then acted as a liaison with the Japanese government. For the time being, it was decided that Japan would be the representative for diplomatic relations with the tiger fanatic aliens. After that, I was formally requested by the government and the Mutual Aid Society to entertain the guests of honor, and until today, I had been running around acting as a guide. We went all over (mostly to places related to the Barbarian Gods), and on top of that, every single one of them was a tiger fanatic. It seems I was corroded without even realizing it. By the way, as for work, they used a shell company to make it look like I was on a business trip.

"Anyway, what happened?"

"Well, I was entertaining some aliens and I think my head got a little messed up."

"Eh?"

"More importantly, do we have guests?"

Judging by the shoes, it looks like the usual crew of Hikaru, Rika-chan, and Sarna-chan. If they're not my Surface World friends, then I don't need to be considerate and leave.

"...They actually have something they want to talk to you about, Hero-ojisan."

"Me?"

"Yeah. Sorry to bother you when you're tired, but is it okay?"

"Of course. Even if I'm tired, it was basically just sightseeing."

I handed my suit jacket to Sakuya-chan and went into the living room. Judging by their expressions, it seems Sarna-chan is the one who wants to talk, and the others are here for support. What could it be?

"I'm sorry to bother you when you're tired."

"Don't worry about it. So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"..."

Sarna-chan fell silent with a troubled expression. Her nervousness was plain for all to see. I didn't rush her. I waited patiently. Eventually, prompted by Hikaru and the others, she nodded as if she had made up her mind and opened her mouth.

"Actually, I'm not human."

"Hmm?"

Well, she does have a Death God in her ancestry, so I guess she's not a pure human. But that didn't seem to be it. After a slight hesitation, Sarna-chan confessed.

"I am the daughter of Hades."

"...Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?"

No, no, no, that's not a funny jo...

"If you were to investigate with even a little of your full power, Hero-san, I believe you would understand."

Overwhelmed by her serious expression, I decided to give it a try. The result was...

"Wow."

I remembered Persephone's words from long ago. The authority of Hades as King of the Underworld, which had been missing. It certainly existed within Sarna-chan. It hadn't been stolen. I could even tell that it had been formally transferred. What's more, this probably means Sarna-chan's real age is...

"I am prepared to accept any punishment, as long as it is not death."

I immediately got on my knees and bowed my head to the floor. I couldn't die. But I had to atone for the sin of taking a child's parent from them. Even if Hades was at fault. He may have been a troublesome old skeleton to me and the others, but to his child...

"...Then how about you take responsibility and make me your bride?"

"Sarna-chan?"

Rika-chan was making an incredible face. Well, I get it. In the middle of such a heavy conversation, to suddenly drop a joke like that...

"...I'm kidding. Ahem. I have no intention of blaming you, Hero-san."

"But..."

"My father had his own reasons. Humans had their own reasons. This is one of those stories, isn't it?"

"Even so, personal feelings are a different matter, aren't they?"

"I am fond of you, Hero-san. That is my personal feeling."

Her words were so strong they left no room for rebuttal.

"Besides. In a way, you could say that you are my benefactor for destroying my curse."

"Curse?"

"I was created as an insurance policy in case anything happened to my father."

She then told me her life story... and honestly, I don't think it's the kind of story you tell in such a lighthearted tone.

"...That skeleton."

"At first, I didn't even question the meaning of my birth. But as I lived as a human, emotions began to sprout within me."

I have no intention of inheriting a borrowed ideology, Sarna-chan declared firmly. I was relieved, but at the same time, I felt a sense of complexity. I understood that Hades was a terrible father. But if I had been aware of Sarna-chan's existence...

"I might have been able to thoroughly train that idiot skeleton into a respectable family man."

"Satou-san, Satou-san. I don't think it's appropriate to talk about training another family's father."

"And besides, from what I heard, Sarna-chan's dad was pretty stubborn, wasn't he?"

"Turning him into a family man... wouldn't that just be personality destruction?"

"Nah, he deserved at least that much."

He really was a constant source of trouble. I think it's a win-win IF that wouldn't have caused any harm to anyone but Hades and his cronies.

"It might be strange for me to say this, but my father becoming like that would be plain creepy."

H-Hades-kun...

"Putting that aside, I apologize once again. I'm sorry for keeping this from you for so long."

"No, it's fine. It's not like you had any ill intent."

From what she said, at first it was a sense of mission. After interacting with Rika-chan and the others and developing emotions, she must have felt a sense of guilt. Just as Sarna-chan has no intention of blaming me, I have no intention of blaming Sarna-chan. The other children, who must have heard the story beforehand, probably feel the same.

"Are we done with that? Then let me say something. Uncle, I don't think that was okay."

"What?"

Rika-chan voiced her complaint with a sour face, but I had no idea what she was talking about. However, the other kids seemed to get it, making faces like, "Ah..."

"It's about Thanatos and the others, Satou-san."

"Even characters in gacha games aren't that extreme, Uncle. That would definitely get censored."

"It might be out for an all-ages gacha game, but for an 18+ one, that's probably fine."

"Hero-ojisan, we're not talking about gacha games."

Ah, my apologies.

"What kind of punishment game is it to have a girl of that age have her personal needs taken care of by people like that?"

She's absolutely right. I have no words to retort. That said, it is a punishment. Now that I think about it, Sarna-chan was probably involved, but from what I heard, she herself was just going along with it.

"No, in fact, considering they were trying to do something stupid using a five-year-old as their figurehead..."

I'm even starting to feel like they deserve more punishment. The kids' faces contorted in a grand display of revulsion at my words.

"That said, it's also true that it's not good for Sarna-chan's mental health... alright, a compromise."

""""A compromise?""""

I instantly created a spell formula and remotely carved it into the transformed death gods.

"Hero-san, what did you?"

"Hm? I just added a filter."

""""A filter?""""

"You know those deformed angel characters. Like Cupid?"

Well, Cupid isn't an angel, but let's put the details aside.

"A lot of those are naked, but most people don't think of them as lewd when they see them, right?"

"Finding something like that lewd means you're finished as a human being."

Well, but there are some deeply sinful people in the world... but that doesn't matter right now either.

"I added a filter so that when a minor sees them, they'll look like that."

"""Isn't that not a fundamental solution?"""

"Well, if it's like that, then..."

"""You're okay with it?!"""

If Sarna-chan, the one who's most inconvenienced, is okay with it, then there's no problem!

"Kukuku, it's a two-birds-with-one-stone compromise that's considerate of Sarna-chan and also serves as a new form of harassment for those guys."

They're the ones who tried to do something stupid while spouting nonsense about fearing and respecting death. For them, the death gods, to be seen by children as nothing more than goofy mascot characters with no sense of awe or reverence must be quite the humiliation.

"Fuhahahaha! I'm still as sharp as ever!!"

"You're the incarnation of practical jokes."