Volume 2 Chapter 25

Volume 2 + Chapter 25: [Hatsuka Route] Even So, I Still

Even when I came to her side, very close, Hatsuka Inoue didn’t react.

Hey, hey, hey… little girl.

Aren’t you afraid that a bad person might come and carry you away?

Crouching next to Hatsuka, I looked at her as she kept her head down. Because her hair covered her face, I couldn’t see her expression.

All I could see was that now and then, teardrops would fall onto the ground.

I didn’t know if she was lost in her sadness or just didn’t want to deal with the outside world.

Hatsuka Inoue just cried and cried, cried and cried.

She couldn’t even be bothered to lift her head, just kept shedding tears.

At first, I felt a bit tired of it, so I just crouched there watching her tears.

In my mind, I had started by calling her by her full name to keep a distance.

But her tears, drop by drop, like clear water, washed away my reluctance and my desire to maintain that distance.

For some reason, my heart softened. I sighed and made a sound.

[Hatsuka? Why are you crying here?]

[Yu…u…?]

Hearing my voice, Hatsuka finally came to herself and looked up.

The corners of her eyes were red, her expression pitiful.

Someone once said that even a beautiful person looks ugly when crying.

But that person must have never seen a beautiful person cry.

Otherwise, they’d discover a cruel truth: when a beautiful person cries, not only is it not ugly, but there’s a different kind of beauty.

Like a lotus emerging from clear water, a lovable, delicate beauty.

So truly, it was very beautiful.

I’ve said before, Hatsuka’s looks really match my aesthetic.

And her pitiful appearance, with tears in her eyes, made me want to lick away those tears with my tongue.

But doing that would be no different from being a pervert. I restrained my improper thoughts.

With my hand braced on the ground, I slowly moved closer to Hatsuka. Acting on some strange impulse, I closed my eyes and kissed her forehead.

The tip of my nose and my chin brushed against Hatsuka’s hair, soft, and carrying a pleasant scent.

Let me state clearly: I am not a lolicon.

Loving beautiful things is human nature and instinct. Still, I felt somewhat embarrassed after kissing her.

Surprised by my own behavior, I solemnly made excuses for myself in my mind.

I slowly pulled away and opened my eyes to see Hatsuka with both hands covering the forehead I had kissed, her face completely red.

Her purple eyes sparkled as she looked at me, her pink lips trying to close tightly but trembling slightly.

So cute.

[………]

She opened her mouth, then closed it again. It seemed Hatsuka couldn’t quite find the right words for such a situation.

[Hatsuka, why are you crying here?]

I repeated my earlier question. Successfully redirecting her thoughts, Hatsuka’s expression turned sad again.

[…M-Mother, she…]

Hatsuka’s mother, whom I had never seen, made her appearance.

The things Hatsuka was about to tell me must be about her mother.

From Hatsuka’s expression, it seemed to be a very difficult family matter.

I don’t like getting involved in other people’s family affairs, but seeing Hatsuka with her head down, sad and looking so helpless, made my heart soften time and again.

After all, even a rotten person is still human, and has sympathy. Helpless, I continued listening to what Hatsuka had to say.

Because there was so much to talk about, Hatsuka and I slowly sat down on the bricks by the flower bed.

A little kid doesn’t really care so much about whether it’s clean or whether they’ll get their clothes dirty.

And I wasn’t going to fuss over such things during such a serious matter.

After hearing what Hatsuka said, it was indeed a very serious topic.

It seemed that before becoming pregnant with Hatsuka, her mother had been a very powerful [Spirit User], one who could rank among the best.

But for some reason, when Hatsuka was born, all the power of a [Spirit User] transferred to Hatsuka.

Lost power could be regained through practice, but lost talent meant everything was gone.

She could no longer even see [Spirits]. No matter what methods she tried, she couldn’t get any response from [Spirits] again.

Because of this, her mother, who had been wasting away, started to change. First, she threw things at her father, blaming him for wanting a child.

After a while, she tried to strangle Hatsuka right in front of her father. To protect Hatsuka, her father got his head bloodied.

Her mother, seeing the blood on her father’s head, became erratic and often screamed at the top of her lungs, “If only this child had never been born.”

After that, her mother’s health deteriorated further, and this year she had to be hospitalized. But instead of getting better, she only grew worse.

The doctor said that Hatsuka’s mother had no will to live.

While her father was talking with the doctor, Hatsuka sneaked into her mother’s hospital room to see her.

Even though she was sick, her mother was still beautiful. But precisely because her mother was so beautiful, the twisted, horrifying expression she made upon seeing Hatsuka only filled her with greater fear and terror.

[“Why do you make me look at you!!!!!”]

[“Why were you even born!!!!!”]

[“I wish you would die!!!!!!”]

[“Why did I give birth to such a monster?!!!!!”]

[“Why hasn’t this happened to anyone else!!!!! Only me!!!!!”]

[“Aaaah………….. Why won’t you just die already!!!!!”]

Her mother, clutching her head in despair and screaming loudly, succeeded in bringing her father and the doctor, who had been talking outside, running in.

Her father, also in great anguish, held her mother as she clutched her head and broke down, crying and apologizing over and over.

Feeling as if the blood in her veins had frozen, her hands and feet ice-cold, Hatsuka left that suffocating environment in a daze.

Outside the hospital, warmed by the sun, Hatsuka started crying for no reason.

Unable to stop her tears and not wanting anyone to see, she hid by the flower bed and crouched down.

That’s when I found her.

Suddenly, the atmosphere grew very heavy. I looked at Hatsuka, who was crying again, and turned my gaze to the sky.

Today’s air was fresh, and the sun was beautiful.

The blue sky looked so clear and lovely.

Seeing this scenery, for some reason, I made up my mind.

I took Hatsuka’s hand and, seeing her look at me in confusion, I smiled.

[Hatsuka, do you regret being born?]

Hatsuka shook her head. Even though her heart was conflicted, she still spoke her true feelings.

[…No… I don’t… regret…]

[Right! That’s how it should be!]

I showed a smile I had never shown before, a smile of pure joy, and jumped down from the not-low brick edge.

I did a light spin in front of Hatsuka and spread my arms wide.

[As for me, the fact that I was born makes me very happy!!!!!]

[Even if my birth causes trouble for someone! I still think that being born is truly…!!!! Wonderful!!!!!]

I shouted these words out loud, looking up at the sky.

It was embarrassing, no doubt.

But so what if it was embarrassing?

I lowered my head, smiling with great joy, my eyes meeting Hatsuka’s.

Hatsuka seemed surprised that I would do such a thing.

She didn’t even notice that her mouth was slightly open.

Maybe Hatsuka also thought I wasn’t the type of person to act like this?

But so what if it’s just once in a while?

I took another deep breath.

[Because! If I hadn’t been born! I wouldn’t be able to see such a beautiful sky! I wouldn’t have met such a beautiful Hatsuka!

I would hate not being able to see the sky I love! And I would hate not having met the Hatsuka I love!]

[So! If anyone ever tells me I shouldn’t have been born! I will definitely shout, I! Do! Not! Agree!]

I pulled Hatsuka up from the brick edge. With a firm belief in my eyes, I looked at her and asked with a smile.

[Hatsuka, would you be willing? To be willing not to meet me? To be willing not to meet Pika?]

Tearing up again, Hatsuka covered her mouth and shook her head, sobbing.

[Are you willing?! Use your voice! Tell me clearly! Are! You! Willing?!]

My tone was very harsh, and my gaze was sharp as I stared at Hatsuka.

[…No… sob… no… I’m not… willing…]

Even her nose was running. Hatsuka like that wasn’t beautiful at all, but she was still very cute.

I took a handkerchief from my pocket, first wiped Hatsuka’s tears, then wiped her nose.

[That such a wonderful Hatsuka was born is truly a great thing.]

[Let’s make Hatsuka’s mother realize that too, shall we?]

Gently stroking Hatsuka’s hair, I touched my forehead to hers.

[H-how… sob… do we… do that…?]

Though her eyes still held tears, they no longer had that empty, dark feeling.

To Hatsuka, who was still hiccuping, I straightened up and softly patted her head.

With my other hand, I took out my phone and made a call. I smiled at Hatsuka, who was confused by my actions.

[I have a way.]

[Du… du… Hello?]

The phone rang twice, and Yuna’s voice came through, tinged with confusion.

She didn’t seem to understand why I was calling her.

Hatsuka, equally confused about why I was making a phone call, just blinked at me.

[Yuna, can you check with Hina to see if that book she agreed to lend me is with her?]

[…Just a moment… Yes, it’s here.]

It seemed Hina was nearby. Yuna replied after a short while.

[That’s great. Could you please bring that book down? I’m right outside the hospital.]

[What???!!!! You haven’t left yet?!]

[Alright, hurry down.]

[I still have things to do later.]

With that, I hung up on Yuna. I took Hatsuka’s hand and led her into the hospital.

While waiting, I turned to explain the reason to Hatsuka.

[A friend of mine promised to show me a rare book about [Spirit Users].]

[We’ll look up information about [Spirit Users] and find a way for you to use the [Spirit] power you received from your mother as soon as possible.]

[Why don’t we look for a way… to get mother’s [Spirit] power back?]

Hatsuka asked me, confused.

I smiled and said something very cruel to Hatsuka.

[Because that is impossible.]

[…Im… possible?]

Hatsuka’s body swayed. Ruthlessly, I continued to shatter her naive thoughts.

[If your mother, one of the top-tier [Spirit Users], couldn’t find a way, do you think we, mere children who aren’t even [Spirit Users], could find it?]

[The loss of a top-tier [Spirit User] is a significant loss to the country. Do you think the country wouldn’t put in effort to help your mother regain her power?]

[If even the country couldn’t do anything, what makes you think we could find a way?!]

They were harsh words, without doubt. Question after scathing question, too much for Hatsuka to bear.

I caught Hatsuka as she stumbled and continued.

[Between someone who gained power passively and someone who lost power passively, who suffers more?]

[I think the one who lost power passively suffers more!]

Frowning, I grabbed Hatsuka’s shoulders with both hands and made her look up at me.

Even as Hatsuka cried, I kept speaking.

[Instead of letting your mother’s power go to waste inside your body, it’s better to tell her sooner, ‘Your power has been well inherited in me!’]

[Make her accept the fact that she lost her power!]

[This method is far more reliable than your naive one, one that can’t be seen or touched!]

It seemed she had figured it out. Hatsuka grabbed my hand to steady herself.

Even through her tears, her eyes showed a newfound determination. Seeing this, I smiled with satisfaction.

[Most importantly, your mother doesn’t have the spare time to wait for two little kids like us to find a way to restore her power.]

[Isn’t that right?]

Releasing Hatsuka’s shoulders, I softened my voice.

[………]

Hatsuka kept her head down and was silent for a while.

[…I… will… do my best.]

[I’ll help you too.]

I smiled and patted Hatsuka on the head. She raised her eyes to meet mine.

Her purple eyes were no longer filled with tears, and she showed a beautiful smile.

[Translator’s Note: Please join the Gravity Tales’ Discord Server, if you want to hang out.]

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