The Daughter of Evil - Volume 2 - Chapter SS1

song of the black bird; scene 1
Song of the Black Bird short story

✠ Lich ~In the Country of Elphegort, “Millennium Tree Forest”~

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A broad forest lay before my gaze.

To me this was my place of origin, and also a location I never wanted to return back to.

Those who lived in the forest likely didn’t remember me any longer.

–Save for one.

.

When I dropped down to the center of the forest, I heard a displeased voice come from the old tree right before me.

“…Why is a black Rollam bird in this forest?”

The great land god Held.

He was the ruler of this forest, and the one who had banished me from it.

I had known from the start that he wouldn’t be pleased with my return.

“How do you do, Held? …You seem to have grown a fair bit weaker than before. It seems to me that it wouldn’t be out of place for you to wilt soon.”

“Did you come back here knowing that? –It’s as you say. The day when I depart this land isn’t terribly far off.”

I didn’t hear any particular pessimism towards the ground world’s future in Held’s tone as he said that.

When the great land god had died, what would happen to this forest?—and the ground world?

…Nothing would change. That was the answer. A long time had passed, and the living things on the ground world including humans had all already achieved independence. It was still frail yet, but it wasn’t to the extent that they would need a god’s direct intervention.

Held likely knew that as well.

“…What is your motive for coming back here?” Held asked me, a calm anger in his voice.

“Don’t be so hard-hearted. I merely came here to give my goodbyes.”

“Because the day when I leave the ground world is soon?”

“There is that…but I’ve also been wanting to leave this continent behind.”

“…?”

“There is a forest in the island nation of Marlon to the west. I intend to make that my new berth.”

“I see…”

Held did not ask me the reason.

Maybe he already knew, or maybe he simply didn’t care.

“Well, do as you wish. If that means that you’re not going to be hanging around this forest any longer, then that’s welcome for me. That means now I won’t have to worry about you meddling with the other spirits.”

“Are you…talking about ‘Michaela’? That would be your fault there, wouldn’t it? They defied your explicit instructions and snuck out of the forest without permission. I was merely handing out a little punishment. In your place.”

“Ho, is that your excuse?”

“The outside world isn’t lukewarm like in the forest. It’s survival of the fittest, eat or be eaten. I was merely giving a lesson through experience as their senior—"

“Silence!” Held’s deep voice echoed through the forest. “Enough with this ‘protector’ affectation. You are no longer a resident of this forest. You have no right to do such a thing.”

“I suppose so…But then, in that case I also have no more obligation to obey anything you say.”

“Don’t give me that nonsense. You stopped listening to what I told you a long time ago, after all. And the result of that—was that ‘Mud King’.”

I had once revived a dead man through a forbidden technique.

I had packed a soul into a doll made with cursed mud that lay in the corner of this forest. He became a great king afterwards, and done great deeds over the continent, but I had earned Held’s ire and was banished from the forest nonetheless. …So it happened.

Several decades had passed since then, but it seemed Held’s anger hadn’t abated even now.

“You haven’t changed a bit. No matter how much time goes by you’re a blockhead. You’ve forgotten your debt to me for allowing you, one who has failed to become neither god nor demon, in my forest as a spirit!”

“Hahaha…Quite right. You’re a very kind soul. But, hey…Not everyone’s looking for compassion. If you’re seeking true peace, you shouldn’t have invited in a heretic.”

“A heretic…Yes, perhaps that is what you are. But at the same time, for us you were also a most precious colleague—”

“That doesn’t just apply to me. Even ‘Seth’ is—”

“Don’t you speak that name here!”

Once more he shouted in anger.

But this time I could hear a little bit of an expression of fear in there too.

Yes—Held was afraid. Afraid of the other spirits who were likely nearby overhearing that name.

Afraid of them recovering their lost memories.

“Held…You are kind. But at the same time you’re also a coward. You’ve stolen some memories from the spirits inconvenient to you. Those of me as well…and those of that ‘ark’.”

“That—is because that’s a happy thing for everyone. There’s no need to keep them always carrying around memories that are useless to a new world.”

“If that’s the case then you should erase your own memories.”

“…”

“You can’t do it, can you? You are more selfish than anyone. It’s because you know that yourself that you’ve resigned to being this old tree, a god in name only.”

“…That’s enough. This conversation is over. Leave here at once. You may go wherever you wish in Marlon.”

“I appreciate you letting me do so. I wish you too a pleasant remainder of your life–”

It happened when I moved to fly into the air after I finished speaking.

I realized some kind of anomaly with the scene before my eyes, and stopped flapping my wings.

“—What is this tree?”

I had realized that there was a small sapling growing right next to Held.

“…Nothing important. Just something some nuns who live near the forest planted.”

“Huh…Now, isn’t that peculiar. Nuns planting a tree right next to the Millennium Tree that is their object of worship—”

“—Did you not hear what I said to you earlier? I told you to get out of this forest right now!”

Held was newly agitated.

Without a doubt, there was something about this—this sapling.

…It can’t be!?

I once more peered at the tree.

“—I see now. So that’s what this is. This is their…You intend to make them into your successor.”

“…Indeed, that is true,” Held murmured resignedly. “Michaela has been reborn as a tree. Right now it’s like they’re a child. They probably can’t even understand the contents of our conversation.”

“But eventually it’ll grow into a great tree…And suck up all of your nutrients and knowledge. And if that happens, the knowledge of me too—”

As I spoke, I approached the sapling.

“Wait. What are you trying to do, Lich?”

“—What? I’m just trying to ‘nip it in the bud’, as the saying goes.”

I opened my beak, and brought my face close to pluck the sapling.

“Cease your foolishness! Don’t add on to yourself any more sins!” Held cried, but naturally I wasn’t inclined to listen.

Powerless old fool tree. Just stay right there and make no move to interfere with me–

“Hey!”

–I unexpectedly heard an angry shout from behind me, and halted in my movements.

A blonde girl wearing a nun’s uniform was sprinting towards me, brandishing a tree branch.

“Shoo! Shoo!”

The girl started to wave the branch with all her might, trying to chase off the black Rollam bird that was trying to pluck the sapling.

…Good grief.

I resignedly flapped my wings and flew up to the sky.

Then I left the forest, and headed west.

…When it came to being powerless, I myself hadn’t changed one jot on that.

Whether or not my true identity was as a spirit, to humans I was a simple black Rollam bird—

–Hm? I feel like I’ve seen that girl from earlier somewhere before…

I wracked my memory a little, and immediately arrived at the answer.

…Hahaha, I see…So this is where you were—“Daughter of Evil”.

She and her little brother had once for a time been some very interesting objects of study for me.

 For the two of them—were miraculous children, “Irregulars”.

But…now I didn’t care about that.

My interests had already turned elsewhere.