Chapter 128 - A Wizard's Natural Enemy (4)

“Haa... haa....”

Gremory sat collapsed on the floor, her red hair hanging loose as she spoke in a trembling voice.

“Lusting after the person who raised you with love... Wizards really are something else.”

I answered Gremory's sarcasm lightly.

“Common sense is ultimately just whatever the masses consider common sense.”

I looked down at Gremory with calm eyes.

“Don't try to judge a Wizard by standards like that.”

Step- step-.

I approached Gremory. This time, I didn't back away.

I dropped to one knee, bringing our eyes level.

Instead of using the Chains of Light created by the grimoire, I reached out with my own hand, gently placed it beneath Gremory's chin, and forced her bowed face upward.

Gremory's pretty face came into view, flushed bright red, trembling tears gathered at the corners of her eyes.

“.........!”

“And you're turning red over something this small. That's cute.”

It felt a little wrong to think a crying woman looked pretty... No, maybe Gremory was just pretty?

I smiled in amusement and said,

“Looks like you've had quite the sheltered upbringing, young lady.”

“⸻!?”

Gremory's red eyes flew wide open. A moment later, the corners of her eyes trembled as she pressed her lips tightly together.

Gremory's red eyes flashed.

My vision blurred, and my body staggered.

“—!”

'What the...!?'

***

A bed covered in pure-white sheets.

Gremory sat with both legs folded diagonally to one side, blushing shyly as she covered her mouth with one loosely clenched fist.

I stared down at Gremory in shock.

“Whaaat? Mom's a virgin!?”

At that moment, an image slammed into my mind.

Gremory, wearing a pink apron over a sweater, smiled seductively.

[Gremory Mama and Yohan's Heart-Pounding Story: Abridged!]

Information flooded into my head on its own.

Right. We weren't actually related by blood in the first place....

A young Gremory had found me as an abandoned baby and raised me.

'Oh? Why is there a baby in a place like this!?'

'Agoo~.'

Gremory watched me stagger for a moment before speaking. Her long eyelashes fluttered.

“Yeah... It's ridiculous that I'm still awkward around men at my age, isn't it....”

“I'm not laughing.”

Seeing Gremory get pointlessly dejected irritated me enough to make me frown, but I soon relaxed my brow.

“You only never had time to date because you were busy raising me when I was little.”

Embarrassed by my own words, I quietly looked away as I added,

“...If anything, I'm glad I'm your first.”

“Eeeh~!”

Gremory's face flushed as she stared at me in surprise.

The room filled with a warm, rosy romantic mood.

Warm and fuzzy~.

***

“Kgh-!”

I coughed as I came back to my senses.

'Fuck! What the hell was that!? Not even the most degenerate otaku light novel would pull a scenario like that!'

I planted one hand against the floor to steady my swaying body.

Gremory briefly stuck out her tongue before pulling it back in, mocking me.

“Hehe~ So this is what you're into?”

She narrowed her eyes and smiled. Her red eyes flashed.

“Come at me all you like. I'll play with you.”

“-Ha!”

A laugh burst from my lips.

'Right. So she has no intention of letting me win that easily?'

I twisted my lips into a savage grin and shot back.

“Compared to that sweet little smile of yours....”

I stared straight into Gremory's gleaming red eyes without looking away.

“I do prefer this side of you.”

To settle the match, I entered the World of Dreams Gremory had created once again.

There, I spread my mana throughout it and began manipulating the world.

The winner of this fight would be whoever could hammer a more concentrated Nonexistent Memory (Trash Drama) into the other's head.

Wizard and Archdemon.

The two minds twisted around each other in a spiral like snakes, jaws gaping as each fought to seize control.

Dozens of Nonexistent Memories collided.

***

A festival night in the university district.

Gremory beamed as she pressed herself close against my side and linked arms with me.

“Ooh~ So this is what festivals are like these days.”

“I told you not to cling so close when we're outside.”

“Huh? Y-you don't like being close to Mom? Sorry....”

Gremory flinched and started pulling her arm away, but I quickly caught her.

“...That's not what I meant.”

My face felt hot in the night air, but I made myself say it clearly.

“People keep mistaking you for my girlfriend.”

“.........!”

Gremory's eyes widened as she looked up at me. Then her face turned red, and she lowered her head deeply.

“I know....”

She rested her bowed head against my shoulder and whispered.

“...That's why I'm doing it.”

When it was time for the fireworks, explosions blossomed across the night sky.

Baaang! Bang! Baaaang!

While everyone else looked up at the sky, we pressed close together in the shadows, laying our hands over each other's.

***

“Huhk!”

“Haa!”

Gremory and I returned to our senses at the same time.

We both raised a hand to our faces, trying to steady our spinning heads.

'Who made that memory just now? Me? Gremory?'

My head was a mess.

Getting a few surprise hits in on Gremory at first had helped... but in the end, the difference in supernatural power and mana between us was overwhelming.

The number of bullets we could fire wasn't even comparable.

The damage from the Nonexistent Memories steadily built up inside me.

Gremory smiled with a slight grimace as she watched Yohan sway.

To declare her complete victory, she immediately made her red eyes flash again.

And then, unintentionally, she caught sight of a certain memory through a gap in Yohan's mind created by his exhaustion.

***

Gremory looked around at her surroundings.

'Where is this?'

It was the garden of an ordinary church covered in snow.

And Yohan stood there quietly in his white coat.

“~.”

Gremory approached Yohan with a cheerful smile.

“......?”

Something was strange.

In every Nonexistent Memory until now, Yohan's gaze had always been directed at her. But now, he stared blankly at something else.

Gremory slowly turned her head, following Yohan's gaze.

There, a gentle-looking nun with long black hair and blue eyes was diligently clearing away the snow. Then, perhaps sensing Yohan's gaze....

The black-haired nun, Ellie, tucked her hair neatly behind one ear and smiled brightly.

“Yohan-ssi! You're here?”

At the sight, Yohan merely smiled faintly.

Gremory's red eyes widened.

The minds of the Wizard and Archdemon were forcibly torn apart, like a pane of glass shattering.

The World of Dreams Gremory had created shattered.

***

I came back to my senses again.

“.........!”

For some reason, Gremory had been the one to dispel her own world first.

'...What's she after?'

I looked at Gremory, but she lowered her head and spoke in a trembling voice.

“...Who is she?”

“What?”

“Who's that black-haired, blue-eyed nun? Who's Ellie?”

I blinked without meaning to.

Gremory raised her head and tilted it slightly to one side. Her red hair spilled down with the motion.

“You said you liked me... Then why were you looking at that girl so tenderly?”

Her red eyes had gone dark, gleaming coldly.

“.........!?”

Sensing danger, I reflexively thrust out an arm and shouted,

“W-wait! I can explain!”

Gremory, her face red and tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, breathed heavily as she waited for me to speak.

“Hoo, hoo... hoo....”

That startled me even more on the inside.

'Damn! She's actually waiting for an explanation!?'

I'd assumed she'd attack me immediately. I'd only said it to be polite....

She wanted me to explain why I'd looked at Ellie so tenderly, but what the hell was there even to explain?

After thinking for a moment, I eventually lowered my hand and looked away.

“Sorry. Truth is, I've got nothing to explain.”

“-I'll kill you!!!”

Red mana billowed around Gremory and exploded all at once.

It erupted into crimson flames, scorching everything around her.

I sprang to my feet and hurriedly dodged.

Now that Gremory had resorted to physical force, I could use <The Lesser Key of Solomon> as well.

Fwap-!

I flipped open <The Lesser Key of Solomon> in my hand and tried to summon the Chains of Light to subdue Gremory.

“..........”

...No chains appeared.

I frowned and clenched my teeth.

I had a pretty good idea what had happened.

'Damn it... a side effect of Nonexistent Memory!'

Just as Gremory had suddenly gone berserk, the buildup of Nonexistent Memories had made me perceive Gremory not as an enemy, but as someone precious to me.

But things were dangerous if this continued.

Gremory glared at me and sent flames spreading through the temple.

“You said you liked me! You said you'd marry Mom when you grew up! It was all lies!”

Boom! Booooom! Fwoooooosh-!

I stopped caring about dignity and hopped this way and that, running from the flames rushing toward me.

At this rate, the difference in strength would let Gremory overpower me, and there was no telling where she'd drag me off to afterward.

“..........”

...Think of a way out.

A page of <The Lesser Key of Solomon> slowly, cautiously turned.

My eyes narrowed at the page it opened to.

...But then again, I'd thought of this possibility too.

Fwoom-!

I ducked beneath a fireball and kept running.

My target was a large, round dish filled with Anointing Oil, apparently left there as decoration inside the temple.

I snatched up the dish and called out to Gremory.

“I wasn't lying when I said I liked you.”

“.........!”

That part was true. And it was also a stalling tactic.

While the red flames pouring toward me faltered for a moment, I splashed the Anointing Oil around myself in a circle.

The ring of oil ignited, forming a summoning circle.

Flap-!

<The Lesser Key of Solomon> in my hand shone with light.

The connection from the previous summoning was still intact.

And the mana for the summoning came from the grimoire.

Fwoooooosh-!

Golden flames surged from the summoning circle and forced back the red fire pouring toward me.

With me between them, the wall of Crimson Blaze and the wall of golden fire faced off.

“I'd walk through fire.”

A bright, melodious voice rang out from the golden fire.

“Go slow dancing with a tiger.”

“I'll do anything you like if you just say so.”

My eyes narrowed.

This song was byjaye's 'Say So'.

I'd thought this before....

“Kicking down doors.”

“I don't need keys.”

“Got me on call!”

That bastard might be annoying, but at least the music taste was good.

“They say who that, who that?”

“Who that, who that?”

The wall of golden fire rippled as the Fire Elementals roared the name of their king.

“Paimon! Paimon! Paimon-!!!!!”

The wall of fire parted like a curtain being drawn.

Fwoosh-!

A beautiful girl with blond hair and golden eyes appeared, dressed in pink camisole pajamas that contrasted sharply with the elaborate crown on her head.

More precisely, she was a Demon in the form of a beautiful girl....

Ninth among Solomon's 72 Demons.

King of the West in Hell, King of Fire Elementals.

Paimon curved her lips into a grin and cried out,

“The prettiest girl in Hell is here!”