Grimoire x Reverse ~Reincarnated Demon Romance Tale~ - Volume 2 - Chapter 3

Volume 2 Chapter 3

Abandoned Village of Rene II [His Past, Her Past]

AN: The ages were added to the character introductions.

The fifth chapter has been edited. The main character Shuten cannot go back and forth to get to the Demon King. (魔王とはまだまだなぐり合うようなことはできません。)

I apologize for any incorrect or misleading information. Thank you for your continued support of Grimoire x Reverse.

TL: I was waiting to finish this chapter to see if the “folding” phrase from last chapter was clarified. But no. Thanks everyone for the feedback on comments on that! Also, sorry for being so slow in updating…

On a side note, I’ll be changing the four heavenly demon kings to demon lords in previous chapters, for clarity.

In front of a warm campfire that flickered and shone red. I stared at the face of Hiragi roasting the monster meat for awhile. Her shiny black eyes, focusing on the meat, and illuminated by the flames were beautiful. But although I found her pretty, I was concerned about her as she had been worrying since we entered the Empire. (微笑ましいと思う反面、帝国入りしてからどこか思い悩んでいる彼女のことが少し心配な俺だった)

“What’s with the staring?” (Hiragi)

“What is it…the same as I expected (俺も大概だなーと思ってよ).” (Shuten)

“Ha?” (Hiragi)

Even though I won’t interrogate her that much, there is the subtle dark expression like this being made. I hesitated because I do not know what she is thinking nor what she is going to do with such a vague expression, but somehow a sigh came out of her, my kindred-chan, who rolled her eyes.

I sat down on one of the stumps from the trees that had been cut down in the surrounding area. By my side the Demon Slayer quietly reflected the orange light.

“Sitting around a campfire like this, I remember our first meeting.” (Shuten)

“It has not even been five days yet.” (Hiragi)

“I think that I have been able to open up, but what about you?” (Shuten)

“…Wh-what do you mean? Why would you think that?” (Hiragi)

“You are not being honest.” (Shuten)

“Shut up.” (Hiragi)

Huh, she sniffed and turned away.

At first it seemed completely aimed backward, but apparently this deflection of her gaze when things don’t work out her way is just a habit. This girl.

“Can’t you turn into a fox?”

“Always so abrupt…There is no reason to do it, so I won’t.” (Hiragi)

“Although you can transform between a fox and a humanoid, you cannot erase your nine tails, doesn’t that make you a defective item?” (Shuten)

“Didn’t your teasing become harsh after becoming Kin!?  Hey isn’t this too strong of a blow after becoming kindred!?” (Hiragi)

I close my eyes as Hiragi protested.

Yeah, from here I shouldn’t go any further. I, Shuten, remembered.

I grabbed a stick of the skewered meat. I want salt. I wonder if I could barter and then buy it from Miss Matilda.

“That reminds me, I do not understand the benefits of Kin.” (Shuten)

“Benefit…? Doing this will allow you to know of the survival of your partner and be able to supply magical power afterwards, I mean, that’s it for now.” (Hiragi)

“Is that how it is?” (Shuten)

“Since I am considerably weakened now…I think if I regain my strength with magical powers once again then we would be able to converse through our thoughts though.” (Hiragi)

“Oh, you seem comfortable. So from now on it shouldn’t be any trouble to bathe in the same water.” (Shuten)

“Why are you declaring that you want to see me!? I thought you were stupid before, but in the end you are even more idiotic!” (Hiragi)

“I have to declare it? (申告しなきゃいいのか) It seems I’ve heard something good.” (Shuten)

“What’s good you idiot?” (Hiragi) (いいわけあるかアホ)

“Is something wrong messy tail?” (Shuten)

“Why the messy nickname!?” (Hiragi)

Wuah! Hiragi bared her teeth in anger. She is too easy for me to tease.

Moving on, it seems like Hiragi’s clothes changed since I came back from bathing.

“Hiragi, Hiragi, what brand of clothes are those?” (Shuten)

“Brand…? Thinking about it, it was an Imperial military uniform and was a bit dirty, so I washed and altered it a bit. Wouldn’t it be easy to turn the Kinagaishi into a Yukata? Would you like me to change it?” (Hiragi)

“Stop it~!” (Shuten)

What a terrible thing! It is nice to wear a Kinagaishi as a Kinagaishi!

…since she is not an actual Imperial soldier, is it alright like this?

The clothes that Hiragi were wearing were the basic black uniform of the Imperial Academy members, but after her smart remodeling it had somehow become a cute and cool military dress outfit.

The place where her tails come out had also been wonderfully adjusted.

“It looks good on you, maybe you could try adding a beret or something.” (Shuten)

“…Oh, maybe a white beret would also work.” (Hiragi)

I said my thoughts aloud, and they were unexpectedly accepted. Perhaps she really likes clothes and that sort of thing.

…Yeah, I feel like I got a tiny peek into her head.

“The military boots might suit you.” (Shuten)

“Why are you so familiar with girl’s clothing?” (Hiragi)

“…Well, there was a time long ago that I thought I would like to try something like that out.” (Shuten) (TL: haha, was our Shuten thinking he wanted to be some kind of fashionista? xD)

“…really.” (Hiragi)

Ku.

I wonder why I am suddenly thinking of the past. It is like a relapse of darkness.

I do not want to talk much about my past life. I cannot deny that I was slightly naïve. Look, I died from a train accident, and I can only think of my regret. There was something I wanted to do with my future.

No, doesn’t this former student have a great life now, you ask?

Hey, if you actually look, you can easily see that my previous life was a sky full of stars. (ほら、見上げれば前世ではそう簡単には見られなかった、満天の星々) I am thankful the memory of my previous life has returned. I mean, I have even been able to see the beauty of the Silverwhite Highway, which isn’t a bad thing.

“…Shuten?” (Hiragi)

“Huh?” (Shuten)

“Did something break you from your past?” (Hiragi)

“Even if I had such a heavy past that it would break me I do not have to share it…Oh, no wait.” (Shuten)

After a moment passed I made up my mind to say so. I decided to say it after all, even though I hesitated a moment. I looked closely at Hiragi who had stopped moving and was looking at me.

“…Only one part, I don’t mind.” (Shuten)

“Eh?” (Hiragi)

Come to think of it, there was something. One thing from life that I hated.

This was before the memories of my previous life returned. As the leader of demons who is not a college student, I got this memory as a demon and I want to forget it, but it is a bad past I cannot forget.

“Well, are you sure? Wait a moment…” (Hiragi)

A handmade wooden cup made by hollowing a tree branch. Staring at the surface of the water, Hiragi slightly lowered her head. Her hands held the cup out weakly, and it can be seen that she is obviously worried.

“…On a mountain where I used to live a long time ago, not to boast but I was the strongest demon. Well, I was called by ‘Captain, Captain’ but thinking about it now on a side note I feel bad about that.” (Shuten)

“…alright.” (Hiragi)

___Captain, I feel like it was that kind of generic nickname…I am unhappy, remembering that name.

“But even though I was big, as an Oni I am weak to magic…so when I was suddenly attacked by a guy claiming to be a subordinate of the Demon King, I was caught by the magic of that creep, Gaius, and sadly my consciousness was blown away…The voices of those kids screaming ‘Captain! Captain!’ are still burning in my ears. At that time I could not do anything.” (Shuten)

I found myself getting angry when I remember it. It might have been good to make Gaius suffer a little more.

“I’m sorry…I did not intend to pry into the details.”

“Well it’s fine…For this reason, I do not mean to drag it out but, even now I can’t quite decide if I will go to that demon village. And so, it’s impossible to say if I was broken by my past, but someday I am going to return to that mountain to see.” (Shuten)

“…I see.”

Uh, it ended up becoming a dark story unintentionally.

Hm, Hiragi seemed to have received it strangely as her face has slightly darkened.

…that’s why I didn’t really want to talk about it.

“So then, even considering various things, I think you really don’t need to worry about it. Though would that make us friends?” (Shuten)

“It’s an obligation of Kin.” (Hiragi)

“What, you can ride there?” (なんだよ、そこは乗れよ)

Whew.

I stood up from the edge of the stump. Carrying the Demon Slayer on my shoulder, I had a thought and turned towards Hiragi.

“Will you go to the capitol or come southwest with me? Think about it carefully. Either way you can stay here awhile…I’m going to sleep.” (Shuten)

“Yeah…um” (Hiragi)

“What is it?” (Shuten)

“Sorry.” (Hiragi)

“I don’t mind. Don’t worry about it.” (Shuten)

…I’m going to bed. I really don’t remember much. My mind is not that sharp. I will head out again tomorrow, though I wonder if I can fall asleep after bathing in cold water. Two days, Empire. Cold…water.

The light from the sparking campfire had disappeared for a long time. There were several monster bones among the black charred firewood.  Occasionally the exhausted firewood snapped and collapsed, the empty sound echoing through the midnight silence of the abandoned village of Rene.

It is the time when monsters become active.

Yet nothing happens around that shadow, and now monster attacks…It is inevitable, considering that there is no circumstance where they could approach that person who sits quietly. It was the figure of a man sleeping with his back to the chimney, a big axe lying next to him.

After all, it is said that bestial monsters perceive strength and will give the shadow of such creatures a wide berth.

This abandoned village in the middle of the mountain combines the beautiful feeling of being in the woods and being near the sky at a reasonable altitude. Thanks to the heavenly starry sky, no matter how far the evening sun falls it will never be true darkness.

Large lights and small lights. Whether there was difference in brightness, the scattered stars were increasingly beautiful.

“…Shuten is probably asleep.” (Hiragi)

Beyond his shadow was a large silhouette. Illuminated by starlight, her many tails were revealed. Behind her gaze is the one abandoned shop. In other words, the shadow of that man on the roof.

What is this?

“………a branching point?” (Hiragi)

She thought she wanted to quickly head to the Imperial capitol.

Even so, she thought that she didn’t want to leave him.

He said he was heading southwest. She was also going southwest. However, if she accepted this reasoning, it seemed like there was no reason to go to the capitol, was the feeling she got. (だがもしそれを受け入れてしまえば、帝都に赴く理由は無くなってしまうような、そんな気もしていた)

“…Today, it was…fun…” (Hiragi)

She was surprised herself at the words that came from her mouth.

To even be able to afford the feeling of “fun,” and also to accept that emotion obediently. It was a memorable and nostalgic feeling.

Sealed a hundred years ago, to then just wake up and live life just as usual. Although the question had been raised if she held a grudge, was he really going to give up on asking that after that? Ah, surely she would have died like that. She wondered if she would have run out of magical energy and died if the seal hadn’t been undone.

In fact, she was considerably weakened.

That was something she had realized immediately after the stone was broken. If she had been trapped for ten more years, then her power would have dropped to a dangerous place where even the monsters of the Wendell plateau would become enemies.

So when she escaped, her feelings were complicated.

To be able to move freely was a pleasant thing, and those things she had planned to do once free could now be put into action.

But suddenly being seen naked by the teasing man who she had randomly come across, then defeated by a strange organization previously unknown, furthermore, in an attempt to help the guy who repelled the organization’s agent she had made him kindred.

“…in retrospect, this all rather sudden.” (Hiragi)

She sighed.

She shouldn’t be so merciful (情けないったらありゃしない). Is this appearance of the Nine-tail’s presence so thin? Originally, she should be a creature more feared and not be to be made fun of like that, compelled to apologize, much less awkwardly trying to bathe together.

“But why, why…” (Hiragi)

Although in her circumstances the appropriate response would be anger, hatred, and resentment, the emotion that dominated her mind is “fun.” Embarassment, foolishness, frustration, laughter, annoyance. How often had she ever felt these pure emotions before being sealed in the stone for a hundred years?

“…it was only once, wasn’t it?” (Hiragi)

She was reminded of the year before she was sealed. Just that memory cannot be forgotten. Even as a demon, with a body cursed by an enchantment, for one year she had fallen in love with someone.

And so, because of that, it was said the Empire was manipulated…there is the thought that it was all her fault.

Shuten had said he had been thinking about revenge. But he cannot help but wonder if it is his own fault自分に落ち度があったら踏ん切れないかもしれないと(). He surely said as much. If something is your own fault, you cannot say blame anyone other than yourself.

“Shuten…?”

If she thinks about it, he resembles someone.

“That person I liked a long time ago…was such a foolish man.” (Hiragi)

To think that the man resembling her fancy would harass her, but it was somewhat refreshing even though she was helpless.

“Leaving me to decide where to go…Somehow, he’s cunning.” (Hiragi)

Moreover.

“…I faced a terrible foe last battle. Though I do not know if I could even run away from such a cheat.” (Hiragi) (アイツ最後ひどい顔してたし。誤魔化してるつもりなのかはしらないけど)

She realized she was not the only one with a tragic past.

She also knew not to take the words of a stranger at face value, and still thought she was the most unfortunate. But Shuten had left cuts in her heart.

It is still scary to abandon the past.

He certainly said that too. But that part of him always facing forward was very dazzling.

“…Yeah, I’ve decided.” (Hiragi)

She nodded.

It is because he was there that she can be her present self. Then, those things broken from the past might also be repaired. At this time, she chose one of options before her.

“Let’s follow Shuten… southwest. It is not breaking from my past…however, it is likely that I will be able to think positively.” (Hiragi)

The capitol is the path of revenge. The southwest is the path of settling her past.

“Clearing up my past alongside this guy, I will let him know that I am his older sister.” (アイツより先に清算して、私の方がお姉さんであることを思い知らせてやらないと)

However, if she thought of Shuten, she felt like it will be a little easier. She knew she would be fine with this self. (空元気であることは自分でも分かっていた)

She was able to smile due to the influence of a single person.

“Yeah…I’ve decided…I will tell him tomorrow…I will say to him…I will say it cannot be helped…I will follow you…okay, I do not want you to misunderstand…it’s not that I want to go with you, got it?” (Hiragi) (TL: Awh, what a cute tsundere xD)

Hiragi slowly returned to the nearby abandoned building where he had made his bed. She glanced at the man who had been breathing deeply asleep for awhile, and smiled.