HP9999999999

"Serena."

Before the next word came out of Serena's mouth, I said it in a strong tone.

"Stop having feelings for me like that."

"... Huh?

I don't know what you're talking about, Serena's face.

He's still keen on people's feelings. I was slightly aware of Serena's change in mood for me. That's why I'm not going to run away in such a way that I suddenly suffer from hearing loss or get attacked by sudden sleep. I confront Serena's feelings from the front, and I'm obliged to deny it.

"I have a secret that no one can tell me. If you like me, you'll regret it."

I am the king. You can't have such a relationship with a human girl. Even if you ever make Serena unhappy, you never make her happy.

"I'll be leaving soon. So I want you to forget about me. I'm sure Serena will find someone better than me."

Serena's finger leaves my sleeve. Silence flowed for a while.

"... why would you... say that...?

Turn your face towards Serena. A large tear had fallen from his eyes.

"So much... so much scratching Atashi's heart... such cowardice..."

"... eh"

I was prepared for this to happen. But when I had to face it, I felt painful so that my chest could be tightened.

"Feelings of Atashi... Give it back..."

Serena ran away from me, holding her face down with both hands.

"Serena!!"

I tried to go after Serena, but my legs stopped unconsciously.

"... Now I'm glad. Now..."

I told myself to hold my fist tight. [M]

I walk down the stairs, step by step, leaving the roof. How long have you stood on the roof since then?

I have no regrets. It felt like there was a big hole in my chest.

"... I knew I'd leave now"

It's awkward to be in Azito any longer. I have decided to return to King's Castle. At least I'll stop by Sasha's room to say hello one last time. I knocked lightly on the door, wondering if she was still awake.

"Go ahead."

Sasha's voice returned, so I opened the door quietly. It was so tidy there that I didn't think it was a six-year-old room.

"Sorry, were you asleep already?

"I was just about to go to sleep. What's going on at this hour?

"... I thought I'd say my final greeting because I decided to go back to King's Castle."

"This is sudden again. Why?"

…………

Sasha took a small breath when I was worried about what to tell her. [M]

"You waved Serena"

"Duh, how did you see that?!? Did you see it in [Chili Eye]!?"

"I don't do wild imitations that peek into people's confessions. That's about all anyone can tell by looking at your face right now."

Apparently, that's what he looked like within the unnoticed of himself.

"People have their own heterosexual preferences. Whether you accept Serena's feelings or not is your freedom. But from me, you did something you couldn't do. If you were a woman like Serena, there would be as many men as there are stars who want to make it their own."

"... no body, huh? Sure, I might."

I said with an empty smile. [M]

"If you think so, why did you shake it? After all, when you're a man like you, how much Serena can't match your opponent?

"... that's not the problem"

"Then why?

…………

"... well, why don't you just sit down"

That's what Sasha told me, and I sat down in a chair nearby. Then Sasha offered me a teacup made of tea.

"... what does Sasha think of her own parents?

I asked, looking at my face in tea.

"That's an abrupt question. Why would you ask that?

"... Sasha told me before that she had been discriminated against because she was a child born between angels and humans."

"Oh."

"So the... I don't know if you've ever resented your parents."

Sasha tilted her little neck with a strange face.

"Why should I resent my parents?

"'Cause you do, don't you? Because Sasha wouldn't have been discriminated against if her parents were both human or angels."

When I said that, Sasha gave me a look like she understood everything.

"I see. The reason you waved Serena was because you thought it was wrong for the devil's self to be bound to a human woman? Is that why you asked me that?

"... you're still sharp"

"It's frightening. No matter how powerful you become, you're still mentally immature."

"Become...!? What do you mean, it!

I felt like I was being kind of ridiculed, so I accidentally made my voice absurd.

"Listen carefully, Ute. Not even a second of resenting me for my own father and mother. If I resented him more or less, I wouldn't be trying to get my father's soul back."

"It's..."

"It is true that I and my father have been subjected to various forms of discrimination so far. But why should I resent my parents for that? If I were to resent you, it would be against the world that has turned a hateful eye on us."

Sasha's words had a definite will at their root.

"Someone dies just because two people of different races are united? Someone's gonna get sick? What is wrong is that the public is deciding, for no reason, 'to be bound to a heterogeneous is an abomination'. Didn't I?"

……

"But people's thoughts are thousands of different kinds. There is no choice but to have someone who denies my philosophy. But it doesn't seem funny that even men like you are imprisoned by such values and care about the eyes of the public."

Yeah, I wonder what bothered me about all this boredom. My ideal was to build a world where humans and demons could coexist. Why did I do something against that ideal? [M]

"My mother died when she gave birth to me, but my father was always happy to talk about my mother. There were many hard things, but I can confidently say that my father, my mother, and I were not unhappy"

If you tie me up, you'll make Serena unhappy. For me to think so, Sasha's words had a stab in my heart.

"That said, Serena is not like me. I don't know how Serena feels when she finds out you're the king. If you think it's better this way, that's fine too."

Yes. What Serena has seen so far is only me as a human being. There is no guarantee anywhere that knowing who I am will not change Serena's mind.

"I just want you to let me hear one thing. What do you think of Serena? It doesn't matter if he's a king or a demon, he's a man."

"! I..."

Serena's face floats behind her brain. Why was I so furious when I was hurt Serena when I didn't remember the bandits attacking the villagers or the Gabriel taking the soul of a woman? When both lower angels were being pursued in "The Sanctuary of the Sky," why were you so restrained from defending Serena?

That... you won't have to think about it anymore. Then you won't get lost. I got up from the chair. [M]

"Thank you, Sasha. Thanks to you, I woke up. I'm gonna go talk to Serena again."

"... right"

"Even so, Sasha's really six, isn't she?

"Don't make me say it again and again. I'm six for real."

It was such an objective statement that I didn't think I was six years old. I even think it might be the second circle of my life.

"Well, I'll be there."

With renewed determination in my heart, I ran out to Serena.