CH 123

[Parent and Child, and Parent and Child]

There was a private room provided for the saintess in the upper part of the cathedral.

Its size was about 12 tatami mats (36 by 72 ft), but rows of bookshelves lined up by the walls, a clothes dresser that seemed to be also used for office desk was put at the end of the room, and even a simple bed was stuffed at the corner, so in respect to its actual size, there weren’t many spaces where one could move around freely inside the room.

A single person living here might not find a problem, but it would be a bit cramped for two, and as for three and more people… it needn’t to be said— such was the room provided for the saintess who represented the religious organization.

Warm dishes were lined up on the dining table that had just been brought into that private room.

However, they were terribly simple for dishes provided for one with the grand title of saintess; they were about the level of general home-cooked dishes.

However, even these were more luxurious than the usual dishes, which was why Ethel couldn’t help but make a bitter face to the circumstances surrounding the saintess.

“…………”

“…………”

During the meal, both Cordelia and Ethel were silent.

For the saintess, eating was a ritual to give one’s gratitude and to assimilate the food into one’s body, and she was taught that talking during mealtime was violating the etiquette.

Despite having ran away, Ethel was brought up with such a teaching as well, so even though she didn’t intend to keep it, she usually spoke less during mealtime.

Moreover, since both were waiting the other to strike up a conversation, it could be said that this situation was preordained.

(Ahh, mou. Just what should I talk about. Or rather, that Tōru, just how did he find out the reason I was making money… uwah, creepy.)

While sipping the after-meal tea, Ethel worried while escaping from reality.

Even if she was told to speak her mind, even if she wasn’t seeking for her to agree with her thoughts, she didn’t know how to say out loud the words stuck in her heart.

Thus, despite having received the opportunity to have conversation with her mother, Ethel was unprecedentedly reluctant to talk because she predicted that they would be unable to find a point of compromise.

By the way, Sakurai’s take on the matter was ‘I don’t care about your family matter, so just quickly resolve it and get me the permission to use the great library’.

Fortunately, he had acquired enough humanity to not say it straight to her face. So naturally, Ethel hadn’t the slightest idea about it.

On the other hand, her mother, Cordelia, was also worrying under her calm façade.

She had no clue as to how he had found about it, but everything that her daughter’s male friend said was true.

(……I wonder what I should do now.)

Cordelia, like Ethel, had been educated to be a saintess since her childhood, and now, she had become a splendid saintess.

As a result, she’d believed that the circumstances surrounding the saintess was natural, and even after realizing that being a saintess was no different from being a labor slave when looked at from outsiders’ perspectives, she thought ‘that is exactly why a saintess’ words hold much weight’.

It was a job that no one wanted to do, but it was certainly indispensable, and for one to be willing to take it upon themselves was very noble.

And Cordelia felt a strong sense of accomplishment from the fact that conflicts were settled thanks to her working. She was able to have a peace of mind from the fact that her hard work was not in vain.

Therefore, she was proud of her position, that was the ‘saintess’. And she had wished her daughter to succeed the job.

But her daughter had escaped from the cathedral and had became an adventurer.

While it was no exaggeration to say that she was a workaholic, Cordelia had believed that her daughter should have freedom in choosing her own path. That was what she’d believed not as a saintess, but as a mother.

Therefore, she’d purposely loosened the security of the cathedral when she’d learned that Ethel was trying to escape, despite finding it regrettable.

On the other hand, the reason why she hadn’t questioned Ethel even though she’d learned of that fact was solely because she was timid as a mother.

And exactly because she didn’t ask, she’d become extremely flustered when she’d learned that her daughter was aiming to become an adventurer.

Not even in her wildest dreams did she expect that her beloved daughter would someday aim for a profession with high-risk to one’s life like that.

Cordelia had been worried sick about her to this day.

As a mother, she’d disapproved of her becoming an adventurer, but she’d wondered if she even had the right to say it out loud as the one who had sent her off without asking anything about her plan going forward.

If, for example, she said it out loud and it turned out that her daughter really wanted to be an adventurer from the bottom of her heart, would then asking her to give up be the best for her? What if her daughter ended up extremely hating her?

Still, however, but.

So, she had been worrying by herself, and then a request for cooperation came from the adventurer academy.

Receiving the request from the adventurer academy that was the source of her distress made her lost her composure, and so, she had instinctively agreed when the Tradionalists suggested her to call Ethel back and make her to be the saintess.

It was an irrational decision as a saintess, but Cordelia at that time was overwhelmed by her feelings as a mother.

Then, as a result of everything being completely exposed, her spirit had dampened like it was poured with cold water, which then ended up making Cordelia once again wondered to herself whether she had the right to speak to Ethel.

“Forget it. We’ve finally able to meet again after such a long, so I should face her,” with that in mind she had invited her to dinner, but when the time had come, Cordelia was stuck in words.

“Mom.” “Ethel.”

Both started speaking at the same time, with the same thought that they had to say something.

After a brief of silence, the one who braved herself to speak first was Cordelia.

She had come to the decision that the conversation had to be started first and foremost, and not as a mother, but a saintess, she decided to talk about Ethel’s purpose in coming to the cathedral first.

“Ahem. Well then, there should be no problem for you to use the great library. Tomorrow morning, we will be holding a brief ceremony for my re-inauguration to the saintess position and, after which I will be giving you the permission to use it. However, going into the forbidden book section requires the accompaniment of the saintess that is me. And in addition, some escorts will be following us, so I hope you don’t mind.” (Cordelia)

“Hm, got it. Rather, I’m grateful that there would be more people monitoring so that the idiot on our side doesn’t do anything strange.” (Ethel)

“The library will be available to use from the afternoon, so you are free to do anything in the meanwhile. You will be required to do entry procedures, so please wait at the reception desk of the library when the time comes.” (Cordelia)

“Un. Got it.” (Ethel)

“……Also, you are probably not familiar with the great library. Therefore, I will be helping you gathering information regarding this case.” (Cordelia)

“Eh? Umm, don’t you have other works to do?” (Ethel)

“No need to worry. Please think of it as my apology for involving you in a silly plot.” (Cordelia)

“I see… thanks, Mom.” (Ethel)

Mom… being called that gave Cordelia a little bit of courage.

For her, who as a mother, was stuck in words, that little bit of courage was essential. It pushed the words in her chest out little by little.

Still, Cordelia unknowingly dropped her gaze to the center of the table and lowered her face like a child afraid of being scolded.

However, even though she was intimidated to face her daughter, she was able to spit out the feelings that were continuously swirling in her heart.

“Ethel. I don’t want you to continue being an adventurer.” (Cordelia)

“Why?” (Ethel)

“Because it’s a life-threatening profession. Adventurers don’t know when and where they will die. And sometimes, even their bodies may not be recoverable.” (Cordelia)

“Like Dad?” (Ethel)

“……Yes.” (Cordelia)

Dad, to that word, Cordelia replied with affirmation as if she was squeezing it out.

‘Saint’ Raymond Tyner, Ethel’s father and Cordelia’s husband, and also once the top of the knights who guarded the cathedral.

In this nation, there was a saying that went “If the Sword Saint is the halberd of the nation, then the shield of the nation is the Saint”; a testament of his strength. He was capable to protect a whole army with his high-level ‘Sacred Magic’ and ‘Barrier Arts’, and combined with the ‘Faith Shield’ to protect himself, people even described him as an impregnable man-fortress.

He had participated in the ‘Dragon Raid’ three years ago, and had become one of the many who was unable to return.

“I understand that the event three years ago was a special case. But at that time, of the 740 subjugation force members who were made up of especially selected adventurers and knights from within the nation, only 60 returned. Most of them were people who provided support from the back line, and from the frontline, there was no one but the half-dead Sword Saint-sama who had managed to return.” (Cordelia)

And those who played the role of stopping the attack directed at the rear guard, including Raymond Tyner, had turned into lumps of meat in the battle.

The only things lying under his grave in the public cemetery were the medal given to him as one of those killed in action as a burial accessory and the remains of the armor that was bequeathed to him by the nation that Cordelia secretly put in as an offering.

“Hearing the news that my only remaining family members has died. I don’t want you to be in a profession that makes me imagine such future. So, I would like you to return to the cathedral.” (Cordelia)

It was a natural feeling as a mother who had lost her husband in battle.

Hearing her talking about her feelings was the first time for Ethel, and so, she was moved by her words, who was speaking in the capacity of not the saintess but a blood-relative, and became inclined to acquiesce to her wish, but…

“Ahh, mou!” (Ethel)

…Ethel strongly slapped her cheeks and re-lit her resolve.

Slap! At the sound that suddenly echoed, Cordelia involuntarily raised her face and opened her eyes wide in surprise. Ethel, her slightly reddened cheeks tingling with pain, looked straight at her mother with a strong will in her eyes.

“Mom! I don’t want to be a saintess and I really hate everyone in the cathedral! Do you know why!?” (Ethel)

“……No, I don’t know at all.” (Cordelia)

“Then, let me tell you! You’d always been helping the people in the cathedral, yet when you needed help, no one, not a single one of them, helped you, even though you were the saintess! They’d always had their mess cleaned up by you, yet they didn’t even try to help! That’s why I hate them! That’s why I don’t want to be a saintess!” (Ethel)

Cordelia looked at Ethel’s raging with a puzzled face.

After all, she believed that mediating and settling conflicts were a saintess’ duty in the first place; wasn’t being given a guarantee in terms of food, clothing and shelter for it already plenty enough as a reward?

Ethel knew well that her mother would think so. After all, she used to be indoctrinated that way as well.

The only reason why she had managed to free herself from it was because the strong influence of her father.

“Dad always said, “I want to make your mom happy as an ordinary woman”. He had wanted to let you know about ordinary happiness such as wearing beautiful clothes, eating lots of good foods, and enjoying stimulating stories… that was why he had decided to marry you and started a ‘family’ with you.” (Ethel)

Having seen Cordelia in her youth and learned about her circumstances, her father was strongly opposed to the system despite being the saintess’ husband.

He believed that the role and responsibility of a saintess should be borne by an organized group rather than an individual, and the brainwashing education that produced a sacrifice, that was a ‘saintess’, that had been carried out since the candidate’s childhood should be abolished.

That was why, after their marriage, he kept working very hard every day in order to give Cordelia a ‘family (private) time’. And he continued to try to make her understand how crooked the saintess system was.

Therefore, he made a lot of enemies along the way, but thankfully, he made a quite a few friends as well. And using the time he managed to make thanks to their assistance, he taught her a lot about the outside world, which she couldn’t see from the standpoint of the saintess.

At times, he brought her foods, of which she was forbidden from eating with the reason of them not being suitable for a saintess, and treated her to his hand-cooked meals.

And at other times, he gave her brand new clothes as presents while taking into account Cordelia’s sensibilities as a saintess, and brought her trending books and read them to her in ridiculous and over-the-top manner.

Although he couldn’t stop the cathedral from having his daughter, Ethel, went through the education as a saintess candidate after she was born, by interfering with the curriculum using his position as the saintess’ husband, he managed to change the education to a much better one compared to the one that was received by her mother, and in order to have her cherish ‘family time’ even more, he worked even harder to make time for the three of them.

Thanks to Raymond’s dedication, Cordelia, who at the time worked as a saintess without much thought or feeling like a machine, was able to learn what it felt like ‘to be loved’, though she didn’t really get it back then.

Thus, as time passed, she, too, came to have the feeling of wanting to return the love to her husband, and now, although she was clumsy in expressing it, she loved and treasured her family so dearly.

“I was also able to learn about the lives of ordinary people thanks to Dad. Good foods, fashionable clothes, stories, plays, songs… I learned about various ‘luxuries’ that were so dissociated from the life of a saintess, realized the fact that they were just normal things; that they were neither luxurious or anything, and began to feel that a saintess who wasn’t allowed to have or do such normal things was strange.”

To Ethel, having a father who affirmed her doubts and was willing to answer them happily was a fortunate thing.

She spent more time with her father than her mother, who kept being chased by works, and therefore was more influenced by him.

As a result, despite having continued to receive education to be a saintess, Ethel succeeded in establishing a non-saintess ego and way of thinking. Before she ran away from the cathedral, she also wondered if she could change the saintess system like her father.

“So, at first, I thought maybe I could do something about the system; maybe I could change it once I become a saintess.” (Ethel)

“Ethel.” (Cordelia)

Cordelia called her daughter who, for some reason, began to distort her face in anguish, to stop her.

Still, Ethel gritted her teeth, enduring her overflowing anger and sadness. She was resolved to convey her own ugly selfishness.

“But then, Dad passed away. And Mom was entrusted with the national funeral of the ‘Dragon Raid’…”

All those who had lost their lives in the ‘Dragon Raid’ were hailed as heroes without exception. Although royalties and aristocrats were included in the list of casualties who had died in battle, in order not to break the premise that was ‘everyone is a hero regardless of their status’, the royal family had organized a national funeral. And it had entrusted the proceedings to the religious side, or to be precise to Saintess Cordelia, who didn’t belong to any denominations.

While coordinating with the royal family and assigning aristocrats and denominations with works, taking into account the fluctuating political dynamics, she had thoroughly checked the victims’ identities and the customs and taboos regarding funeral in their hometown. No one could be dissatisfied with the way she had worked.

Also, she had even created a consultation service where the relatives of the deceased who might wish to hold a separate funeral could consult to so that the body of the deceased would be stored until the burial, and as for the deceased whose bodies couldn’t even be recovered, the consultation service would even take care of the legal procedures of the burial and prepare the burial site as the relatives wished.

In addition, Cordelia herself had gone around to various places to comfort the bereaved families, provide mental care to them, help to eliminate their sufferings, etc… and thus, she was left with less than one hour of rest a day. Yet, Cordelia had managed to accomplish the severe work, which was no exaggeration to say to be murderous, splendidly.

Many people had leaked words of admiration for her superhuman accomplishments and felt gratitude toward her, which in turn strengthened the authority of the saintess and also the presence of the religion in the nation.

“……I became really infuriated by those guys around Mom.” (Ethel)

Increased authority, strengthened presence.

Those who gathered around the saintess began to make use of her authority to increase their own authority and their family’s prosperity.

Some had taken advantage of their position as the saintess’ servant to seek preferential treatment from their surroundings and acted domineering.

Some held fundraises in the name of the saintess, renovating their church and mansion to be more luxurious.

And the particularly common were those who had passed the work assigned to them to the saintess using various excuses and acted as if they were the ones who completed it.

In their reports, they had exaggerated the problems and works they’d needed to solve and made excuses that they couldn’t solve them with the discretion given to them, and as a result of them being unable to meet the deadline, the saintess had to take care of the problems and works herself… thus, ‘procrastination’ had begun to spread.

And the cause of it was Saintess Cordelia’s superhuman working ability.

Ultimately, due to the fact that she was able to complete series of tasks that started with the national funeral without showing any fatigue, the thought ‘even if we cut corners, it won’t be a problem with the saintess around’ was born in the minds of those in the cathedral, resulting in the habit of procrastinating spreading in their midst like a virus.

“‘It’s fine as long as the saintess is around’ they said, ‘we just need to leave it to the saintess’ they said. Every single one of them spouted out bullshit and began to procrastinate. Nobody even tried to help Mom even though you had been helping them all the times! Even though Mom lost Dad, too! Even your time to mourn had been robbed by them!” (Ethel)

“Ethel…” (Cordelia)

“They even had the gall to tell me to become as good as Mom! Had they lost their mind!?” (Ethel)

“I knew that there were such people, but not every person in the cathedral were like them. They’ve been punished appropriately, so it is no longer the case.” (Cordelia)

“Still!” (Ethel)

As if pushed by the anger welling-up in her chest, Ethel stood up and slammed her hands on the table.

The chair she had been sitting on rolled on the floor with a loud rattling sound.

When the sound reached her ears, Ethel came to herself and realized that she was about to vent her anger on her innocent mother.

She was ashamed of it, but she couldn’t help but utter with a sour face like she had just consumed a bitter bug,

“Still… I can’t be a saintess anymore, I don’t want to. I can’t work for that kind of guys. I can’t, persist in being a saintess like Mom.” (Ethel)

Anger towards the ugly behavior of her surroundings, disappointment-like sadness at the circumstances of the saintess.

And above all, her awe and complex for her mother who fulfilled her role without even a change in her expression despite those circumstances.

All of them came from her own selfish feelings. Because Ethel was aware of that, she strongly refused to be a saintess.

“So, I became an adventurer… I wanted to fulfill at least a part of Dad’s wish.” (Ethel)

Grasping tightly the cross that was the only memento of her father to gain courage, Ethel raised her face and said so.

“Raymond’s wish?” (Claudia)

“‘I want to make your mom happy as an ordinary woman’. Although it is impossible now, when Mom retires from being a saintess, I want to pull Mom’s hand and teach you about various ‘luxuries’. For that, I need lots of money. That was why I decided to become an adventurer.” (Ethel)

Since she had thrown away the position of saintess on her own accord, she no longer had the right to meddle in anything regarding it.

That was why she at least wanted her to spend a ‘luxury’ lifestyle when she really retired from being a saintess, to counterbalance the hardships she had so far.

Delicious and extravagance foods, gorgeous and beautiful clothes, a play that touched one’s heart.

A leisure trip where one could enjoy themselves without worrying about work or anything… everything, she wanted her mother to enjoy.

And she would also be next to her mother. She wanted to in the part of what her father’s wish for her mother.

So, she had to make money.

Moreover, the amount of money wasn’t something that could be raised by being in a normal profession.

Adventurer was the most suitable profession to fulfill her goal. She had aimed to become an adventurer knowing fully well that it posed life-threatening risks.

“I have not the slightest intention of dying. Whether it’s from dungeon or outside the wall, I’ll definitely come back alive and make lots of money. That’s what I’ve decided, so I’m not going to stop being an adventurer.” (Ethel)

The daughter looked straight at her mother and spoke of her reasons and determination, and the mother accepted all of the daughter’s.

Cordelia closed her eyes for a few seconds before letting out a sigh, convinced that there was nothing she could do to persuade her otherwise.

“So, you’ve made your resolve, Ethel?” (Cordelia)

“Yes, Mom.” (Ethel)

“If you want to inherit your father’s will, I won’t say anything against it as your mother. But I still strongly wish that my daughter not to face danger.” (Cordelia)

“I understand Mom’s feelings. And uhm… it’s a bit embarrassing to say this myself, but now I’ve known that you love me more than I imagined, I think.” (Ethel)

“It’s only natural that I love you.” (Cordelia)

“Stop it, it’s embarrassing… Anyways, I understand Mom’s feelings, so I’ll avoid danger as much as possible. But I’m not going to stop being an adventurer.” (Ethel)

“I understand. However, if anything happens, please rely on me right away. While I won’t have you become a saintess, if you ever get seriously injured to the point that you’re close to death, I’ll take you back with me, even by force. Also, send me a message about your condition once in a while. And—” (Cordelia)

“Wait, wait, stop. Don’t restrict your daughter too much just because she is trying to be independent from you, Mom.” (Ethel)

“………………Alright, let’s settle with that for the time being.” (Cordelia)

Seeing Cordelia making a really reluctant face, Ethel smiled a little, never expecting her mother to make such an expression.

And inwardly she decided, “Let’s keep the fact that I almost lost one of my hands in the opera house incident a secret.”

“We’ve been engrossed in conversation before anyone noticed, it seems. I will clean up, so you should go back to the inn. It’s dangerous to walk alone, so I will send someone to escort—” (Cordelia)

“Ahh, Mom. Uhm, if you don’t mind…” (Ethel)

“What’s wrong, Ethel?” (Cordelia)

“Can I… stay the night?” (Ethel)

At the question Ehtel said shyly, Cordelia was slightly surprised, and soon after, she smiled softly and replied in a gentle voice, “Anytime.”

Thus, the discord between the two was finally resolved even without the help of a certain blabbermouthed idiot.

As if to make up for the lost time, the two talked a lot, made compromises, confirmed their feelings for each other… and then, they fell asleep next to each other on a single bed while holding hands.

———

At midnight, a mansion located slightly away from the cathedral, which was owned by an old elf named Terrence Kendall.

The old elf, who led the so-called ‘Traditionalist Faction’ who respected the lineage of the first saintess, fell on his knees on the floor in a dim bedroom illuminated by several candles.

“Gah, khak…!”

His body was restrained by chains ejected from a magic circle, and a silver trident was deeply pierced in his back.

What flowed out from the mouth he tried to open to scream for help wasn’t a voice, but blood that had raised up to his throat due to his lungs having been pierced.

The prongs of the trident on Terrence’s back had pierced his heart and both lungs accurately, reaping his life.

“……!”

The chains that bound his body melted away, and the trident deeply piercing him was forcibly pulled out, causing the old elf’s corpse to roll on the floor while making some noises.

However, no one could hear the reverberating noises anymore. After all, every single person in the mansion had turned into silent corpses earlier than Terrence.

The one who was grasping the pulled-out trident was a girl with a skin so pale that it showed no sign of vitality.

She was Asanaga Ayako, someone who had separated from the Black Sword and now belonged to the Nanashino Faction. She lightly combed her slightly messed bob-cut black hair with her fingers.

When her characteristic large, round, upturned eyes, and her hair which was fading and turning white the closer it got to the tip combined with the atmosphere of the dimly lit room, everything became looking creepy.

“Now then, this will make it the last one, won’t it?”

What appeared from the other side of the open door was a person dressed in a blue robe holding a lit candlestick in one hand.

Their voice clearly indicated the they were a man, but the face under the hood that should be illuminated by the candlelight was covered by pitch black ‘darkness’ to the point that even the contours of their face couldn’t be make out.

Only the turbid pair of eyes that could be slightly made out from the ‘darkness’ indicated that the face was that of a man.

Why was his face like that, or could he perhaps be using some means to conceal it… Asanaga wasn’t interested in such questions at all.

Rather, she was disgusted by the man’s joyful tone of voice to the point that she couldn’t keep her indifferent face. She even wished to take as much distance from him as she could, if at all possible.

However, that wish would never come true.

After all, the man was insanely obsessed with Asanaga Ayako’s body, and she would only end up being captured by the ‘demon’ he possessed.

“Sorry I was late, Ayako. I tried to process the subordinates as fast as I possibly could, but… it’s been a very long time since I was last in a fleshy body, so I couldn’t move it well.”

While saying that, he put down the candlestick, hugged Asanaga with one hand, and used his other hand to stroke her from the top of her head down to her nape.

Asanaga didn’t resist, she couldn’t resist.

Even though emotional storm was raging in her heart, her freedom to reject him had been deprived by him from the time she was born.

“But there’s no need to worry, Ayako. Although the saintess just retired all of a sudden, she will return to be a saintess tomorrow. ‘The pure blue stains the saintess’ blood, staining it to the color of sin’…was it? Since we didn’t have the means to verify the information from Katsumi-kun, we couldn’t proceed if the conditions wasn’t according to the information. I don’t know what made her to change her mind out of nowhere, but it is fortunate for us now that the situation has returned to the original.”

Saying that, the man released Asanaga in a regrettable fashion, crouched down beside the fallen Terrence and touched the still warm corpse.

“Puppet Creation (Manipulate).”

All of a sudden, Terrence’s body began to convulse.

At the same time, crunching sounds echoed from the body. Its convulsions were linked to the sound.

When the man let go of his hand, Terrence, who was supposed to be dead, used his hand to prop up his body and slowly stood up.

The wounds that came from the trident and the blood he had vomited had disappeared. And while he appeared to be in an orderly manner, his expression was so dull that he didn’t seem to be alive.

However, that was only for a few seconds.

Terrence (doll), who was created from his own corpse by the command of the man, regained his facial expression, and after several vocal exercises to check his condition, he slipped into the bed in the room.

The man had used the same magical technique to make all the victims in the mansion into dolls.

‘To process the subordinates’, held such meaning.

The man wasn’t bothered in the slightest about blaspheming the dead, neither was Asanaga who had finished them with her own hand.

“The situation returning to the original means that we can proceed as originally planned. Leave the rest to me, Ayako. I’ll give you everything you want.”

The man who had done what he needed to do pulled Asanaga’s hand, sat on the edge of the bed where Terrence who had been turned into doll was lying, and hugged her body.

He didn’t do anything, but just silently loving her. He continued to enjoy the sensation of touching her living flesh that he usually couldn’t enjoy in his skeletal body.

“Ahh, Ayako. The throat that spins my words is trembling, but I truly have forgotten how comfortable it is to hug you with a physical body. I abandoned my body to stay with you forever, but… it may not a bad idea to regain it and voice out my love to you once in a while.”

“…………”

“Oops, it came across weird, didn’t it? Rest assured, our relationship is that of a father and daughter. A father who puts his hand on his own daughter isn’t qualified to call himself a dollmaker.”

He had wanted to love the doll (daughter) he had created forever, and in order to do so, it was necessary for him remove the shackle that was his body.

The man had chosen to become a ‘demon-kin’ for that purpose, and in return he had offered the ‘demonic skill’ he had cultivated to the organization.

The reason why he, who should have had his wish fulfilled and gained peace, regained his body again, was because his beloved daughter had given a request to him.

His daughter couldn’t speak words and had never been taught letters, yet she went out of her way to rely on that ugly filth Pygmalion to learn to read and write in order to convey her request to him.

Seeing the poorly written message, the man had instantly imagined his daughter, who was in rebellious age, gazing at him with adoration and respect in her eyes.

As a father, it was impossible for him to be unmoved by it. The man was delighted with his daughter’s growth and promised his cooperation.

“I will definitely get the ‘Deadly Sins Holy Staff (Punisher)’ and present it to you. I promise, Ayako.”

What was it, what was it used for, and why did she want it.

Throwing all those doubts into the wind, the man had vowed to do his best.

And when his daughter made a little smile after he made his vow, he had felt his love for her deepened.

How big of a smile his daughter would make if he gave her what she wanted tomorrow?

While using 30% of his brain capacity to give instructions to those who he had turned into dolls, he fully used the rest to fill his mind with imaginations.

The man who had regained a physical body but still didn’t need sleep or food decided to spend his time by doting on Ayako until the planned time arrived.

He didn’t realize that the girl who he called his beloved daughter in his embrace was aiming for his life.

He had robbed her of the freedom of speaking because he wanted her to be his ideal (fetish) ‘quiet daughter’, after all.

The affection of ‘Joseph Asanaga’, the man had created Ayako and pride himself on being a loving father, was and would forever be one-sided.