On a bed in a dimly lit room, there lies an old woman.
With a skinny body, while trying to keep her weak eyes…… The old woman calls out to the girl beside her, who continues to stare at her.
[……Good grief…… I tried…… to persevere but…… as expected…… I’m almost reaching my limits…… 150 years huh…… Who would have thought…… I’d be able to live this long just because of my clinginess.]
[…………………]
The old woman slowly speaks her words, as her body hardly moves anymore, and her face only slightly tilted towards the girl.
She was the woman who clings to life the most in the world. She took various life-prolonging measures and continued to chase her dream of becoming an immortal until the day she lay on her bed.
However, it was never for her own sake…… She continued to fight against the barrier of human lifespan, trying not to leave behind one important…… really important person in her life.
But unfortunately, the old woman couldn’t get over that wall…… and so, her life would soon run out.
[However…… Well…… Being on the verge of death like this…… makes me understand. I am…… a lucky fellow…… If I were to wish more happiness than this…… I will be struck by divine punishment.]
[……………….]
[……It’s just that…… there’s one thing…… I regret…… That I was unable to be with you…… Until the end……]
[………………..]
[……I’m sorry…… I will…… be leaving you…… I’ll be going first.]
She realizes that she is dying and apologizes to her best friend, with whom she has spent most of her life with, for dying first.
Thereupon…… many tears fall into the old woman’s hands.
[……No……]
[……Unnn?]
[……I don’t want this…… Iris…… Don’t die…… Don’t leave me alone……]
The girl who became immortal burst into tears and told the old woman not to die.
The old woman was the last one already…… The last among the beings the girl loves with all her heart…… and other than this old woman, the others have already died.
[……You’re still…… as selfish as usual…… but, sorry……]
[…..Iris……]
[……Hey, OOOOOO? Do you mind…… if I ask you…… one favor?]
[……Eh? U- Unnn.]
Reaching out a withered hand to the girl’s eyes, wiping away the girl’s tears with her trembling hand, the old woman slowly…… spoke with a smile.
[……Do you remember…… that bet we made a long time ago? You know…… that bet we made…… in the trading city……]
[Eh? Unnn…… That bet is about “who can have a lover first”, right?]
[Yeah…… In the end…… The both of us never had one……]
[……It’s not that Iris couldn’t, it’s that you didn’t, right? For my sake……]
It was just a small game they played a long time ago. Two girls who had never been in love and made such a small bet to see who could fall in love and have a lover first.
But in the end, the bet never came to an end. The reason why the girl who became an immortal monster couldn’t was obvious, but even though the old woman had such an opportunity, they were all rejected without hesitation…… She chose to remain with the girl.
[……No…… In the end…… I wasn’t able…… to find someone…… better than you.]
[It’s the same for me. I couldn’t find anyone I would feel more comfortable with, Iris.]
[……I see…… Hey, OOOOOO?]
[What is it?]
Her muffled voice calls out the girl’s name, the old woman utters her small wish.
[…… I want you…… “to experience love”……]
[Eh?]
[……Fall in love…… Find your significant other…… and then…… be happy……]
[……Why….. are you……]
The girl, perhaps sensing what the old woman is trying to say, opens her eyes wide and has a shocked expression on her face.
That’s because the wish uttered by the old woman…… is a restraint for the girl after she loses the old woman……
[……I’m sorry…… I know that…… you’ll suffer…… because of this. You’re free to resent…… this dying woman’s selfish wish……. However…… even so…… I…… “want you to live”.]
[ ! ? ]
[……That’s why…… please…… if you still…… think of me as your best friend…… This final wish of mine…… please grant it. And then…… someday…… you’ll be able to smile again…… just like back then……]
[Iris? Iris!?]
Even as she was speaking, the old woman’s voice was getting weaker and weaker…… and the girl could painfully feel that her life was about to run out.
So, the girl shed tears and desperately called out to the old woman…… Asking her not to die……
Looking at that girl, the old woman smiled…… and with the gentle smile on her lips, she said her last words.
[……For…… the…… good…… fortune…… of meeting…… you…… thank…… you……]
[Iris!!! A- Aahhhh…… aaaaaa…… Uuuuuu…… Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!?]
It’s truly ironic, as the girl’s Heart Tool of bonds called Ἑκατόγχειρες, as the death of those she had weaved her bonds with was too vivid, as if it was painfully piercing deep into her heart.
Hearing the sound of the breaking bond that she weaved…… What remains in her heart is the proof that such a person existed…… a small and unfeeling fragment of that bond……
In that empty room, within the dim darkness…… the girl’s sorrowful wails echoed……
After quietly finishing her final conversation with her best friend, Alice wiped the tears she shed before she knew it.
[……I want to go to where my best friend…… and all my important people are. However, by doing so, I would be stepping on the last wish of my best friend, who has been following my selfishness all along. Since that day…… I couldn’t afford to die.]
[………………]
[I somehow wanted to fulfill my best friend’s wish. However, my mind had already started to think that all the people I met…… I’ve come to treat them on the premise that I would separate from them on their death…… And in the end, I couldn’t have any kind of romantic feelings for them.]
I see, so that’s why Alice…… called those last words as a curse. She wants to die, but if she dies, she will betray her best friend.
It’s the last wish of someone really precious to her, and that’s why those words bind her heart more strongly than anything else.
[……From then on, I tried a lot of things. I played a musical instrument, painted, made things…… The only thing I had was a staggering amount of time, so I used my time to master every single thing there is.]
[……Unnn.]
[In the process, I also met and befriended new people…… and watched them die many times. I kept looking at the shifting world and continued to see many deaths off. I felt my heart grow colder and colder, until I eventually felt nothing at all……]
I suppose it’s not just a matter of years or even decades…… Maybe Alice has been living through thousands or tens of thousands of years of that mind-boggling time, fulfilling her best friend’s last wish. Only having that goal……
[However, after spending a staggering number of years…… I thought. In a world where there are only humans, I will definitely never be able to fulfill my best friend’s wish forever…… So, I did a lot of research on how to go from my world to another world.]
[Does that mean that Alice came to this world on your own?]
[Yes, well, I found a way to do it but…… the catalyst was a bit of a problem…… so I stole the core of the Evil God that was tightly sealed up and used it!]
[ ! ? ]
She somehow smoothly said something outrageous again…… No, well, compared to the method of being summoned to this world just like how I came here, going to another world on your own seems to be a higher hurdle……
[Then, taking the “ashes” of my closest friends into my body with Ἑκατόγχειρες, evolving into an even more monstrous creature, I then powerfully invoked the Great Magic of Different Dimension Teleportation. Also, it was just a side effect, but somehow, after taking in their ashes, I was able to transform into my closest friends for a long time. Even though it was my own power, I still feel like Ἑκατόγχειρες has lots of mysteries……]
[……And it’s into this world?]
[Yes. No, well, I was also surprised. I’ve become even more powerful, there’s also the fact that I still haven’t mastered my own power yet but…… I was beaten to a pulp by Kuro-san as soon as I came to this world.]
[……S- Speaking of which, Kuro also said something about fighting Alice……]
Apparently, for Alice, Kuro was the first person she met when she first came to this world…… but what kind of exchange did they have that it immediately led to a battle between them……?
[It’s that, you know? After defeating the last boss, I dove into the hidden dungeon with great enthusiasm, and it was like the first one who greeted me was the hidden boss that I should be facing in the end…… Well, seriously, Kuro-san was super strong.]
[……That way of speaking……]
[Anyway, that’s how Kuro-san called out to me and taught me how to use my power~~. From that point on, Kaito-san should know about it to some extent, right? I was called Shalltear, meaning I was the same person I used to be, and at the same time, as one of the members of the Six Kings, I began to call myself No Face.]
Then, 20,000 years ago, she fought in that war against the God Realm and became friends with Fate-san…… wait, arehh? I don’t think I know about the fine details that much.
With that in mind, I was going to ask her about that topic, about her promise to her best friend but…… Alice looks me straight in the eyes and gives me a beautiful smile that seems to suck me in.
[……And then, I met you…… and fell in love.]
[ ! ? ]
Dear Mom, Dad———– Those words she unexpectedly told me along with her past. She has been jokingly telling me those words before but…… I wonder why? Those words I heard just now———— they had a completely different impression than before.
<Afterword>
? ? ? : [Whoa there, I’m making an appearance three chapters in a row? Aren’t I considered a regular already? ……Erhem, finally the middle stage of Alice-chan’s arc is coming to an end! Next chapter, the story of how she and Kaito-san met and their relationship is finally…… As expected of Alice-chan, your heroine power is really high! Isn’t it good enough to say that Alice-chan is the main heroi…… Eh? The main heroine is Kuro-san? ———Ah sh*t, I’m gonna die……]