Back in my previous world, New Year’s was always marked by the snow of winter, wrapping everyone in its cold embrace. But in this world, New Year’s should feel warm, almost like the beginning of spring, yet my body is strangely enveloped in an unpleasant chill.
I don’t need to think too hard about the cause—the answer is clear: it’s the entity before me. The cold I feel isn’t just physical, it’s as if my very soul is frozen.
On the way home from my date with Kuro, I encountered this woman, whose strange presence unsettled me as she asked if I was a Hero.
I know I need to respond, but my body shakes and refuses to move, despite my instincts screaming that I must answer, that she is not someone I should ever defy.
[……I repeat…… Are you…… the Hero?]
My silence seemed off-putting, and with a change in tone, she asked the same question again, this time more forcefully.
It felt as if an invisible hand was choking me, pushing me down with an oppressive, suffocating weight.
[……I’m an… otherworlder, but… I’m not… the Hero.]
[……I see.]
The woman nodded at the words I barely managed to force out, without showing any particular reaction.
The silence hung heavy in the air. It felt as though the very atmosphere had weight.
The trembling in my body intensified, urging me to escape this hellish sensation as quickly as possible.
After a few moments, the woman extended her hand to me in greeting.
[……I’m… Isis… Isis Remnant… Nice to meet you.]
[ ! ? ! ? ]
The moment I saw the outstretched hand, an intense sense of discomfort surged through me.
Fear… a fear far greater than my mind could handle, and I felt nausea rising from the depths of my stomach.
I have to escape, escape, run… My instincts screamed at me to flee.
The hand that should have appeared white and beautiful instead looked like the sickle of the Grim Reaper.
I mustn’t take that hand. If I do, I will die. Don’t defy her, don’t go against her, don’t take my eyes off her… The warnings echoed in my mind like an alarm clock jerking me awake.
[……………….]
Seeing me like that, the woman slightly lowered her eyes, and in that moment, a single emotion surged within my heart.
A deep sorrow and overwhelming loneliness… A feeling of isolation so intense…
Those were the emotions my Sympathy Magic picked up. As soon as I understood that, a thought began to form in my mind, one that was different from what I had felt before.
I couldn’t explain the logic behind it, nor could I find a clear reason or basis for it. But for some reason—if I were to run away now, I felt like I would regret it for the rest of my life.
[……!?]
Without thinking, my body moved… and I found myself slapping my cheeks with both hands.
The bizarre fear that still gripped me hadn’t disappeared. However, the thoughts racing through my mind were shifting into something entirely different.
Get your head out of your ass! Think about the situation more seriously this time!
What did this person even do to me? Did she harm me or direct any hostility toward me? No, she didn’t… She just asked if I was the Hero, introduced herself, and asked for a handshake. She hasn’t done anything strange.
I stare into the woman’s red eyes, which seem somewhat startled, and as I reach out to accept the handshake… an intense sense of discomfort assaults me again.
Clenching my teeth against the dizzying fear and unease, I still try desperately to move my hand.
I have no reason for this, no logical basis for my actions. I don’t even know why I’m so desperate… But I feel like I have to hold this person’s hand… right now.
If this had happened before I came to this world, I would’ve definitely run away.
But after coming to this world and meeting Kuro… I learned that even a single act of goodwill can heal a person’s heart. I realized how grateful I am that she reached out to me, even when I was hiding in the darkest depths of my heart.
For this reason, if I’m the only one who can reach into the depths of this person’s heart at this moment, then… There’s no way I can run away.
Kuro had mentioned it before—that my body would naturally try to adapt to non-hostile magic power… If I were to attribute this overwhelming fear I’m feeling to the magic power the woman before me is clad in… Then stop shaking like an idiot and just adjust to her magic power already!
I’m not sure if my inner scream was somehow answered… but clenching my teeth so hard that my lips were bleeding, I forced myself to reach out. Little by little, with every centimeter closer I got to her hand, the discomfort I felt seemed to soften.
The trembling in my hand gradually subsided, and slowly, as if time itself had slowed down, I reached for the woman’s outstretched hand.
How much time passed? Regardless, my hand finally met hers, the woman who had been waiting an eternity for me to take it.
I grasped her cold hand, closed my eyes for a moment, and with a smile on my face, I spoke.
[…My name is Miyama Kaito. It’s nice to meet you, Isis-san.]
[…!?!?!?]
As I shook her hand, the fear and discomfort I had been feeling melted away, and I was able to speak to her naturally.
Isis-san stood there, stunned, staring at me. After a brief pause, she nodded once and spoke. Her voice was cold, yet it trembled, and I could sense a hint of relief in her words.
[…Miyama Kaito… Can I just… call you Kaito?]
[Yes.]
[…Kaito… “Let’s get married.”]
[Please hold on a second, I have no idea what you’re talking about.]
Something’s off… Just when I thought I had finally introduced myself, she suddenly proposes marriage for some reason. It doesn’t make sense… It’s like she skipped the entire process and jumped straight to the end?
In response to my reply, Isis-san wore a genuinely happy smile as she continued speaking.
[……My hand… you grasped it… I felt happy… happy! …That’s why… marriage.]
[………………]
Arehh? That’s strange… I just felt a chill run down my back, different from before… It must’ve been my imagination, right?
I had the sense she gave off a cold impression earlier, but now, the heat in her gaze feels like it could burn me.
Umm, what should I do in this situation? I need to say something… Errr…
[H-How about… we start as friends for now?]
[………………..]
As I nervously suggested that, carefully choosing my words… Isis-san’s cheeks flushed, and she smiled happily.
[……Friends…… Kaito’s friend…… I’m happy.]
It seemed she really liked it, as Isis-san kept repeating the word “friends” over and over, almost like she was in a daze. Unnn. It’s… how should I put this… I guess she’s one of those intense types…
After having a light chat with Isis-san, we kept the conversation pretty casual. It was already getting dark, so when I told her I needed to leave soon, Isis-san’s expression grew a bit lonely as she muttered:
[……Kaito-kun…… Where do you…… live?]
[Ummm, I live in Duchess Albert’s mansion just down the street.]
[……Can I…… come visit you…… sometime?]
[Ah, yes. Of course, you can come over anytime. I’ll tell the homeowner myself.]
[……Wouldn’t I….. be a bother?]
[It’s fine. Don’t be so reserved. Isis-san and I are friends, so you’re welcome to visit anytime.]
[……Ahh…… unnn.]
When Isis-san asked me timidly, I told her she could visit whenever she wanted, and a bright, happy smile spread across her face.
Looking at her like that, she just seemed like a normal, pretty woman. Honestly, I’m not sure why I was so frightened of her earlier.
After happily nodding at my words, Isis-san took out a blue flower from somewhere and offered it to me.
[……Ummm…… This is…… for you.]
[Thank you very much. I’ll take good care of it.]
[……Unnn.]
A flower with blue petals as clear as ice. After receiving the flower from Isis-san, one I hadn’t seen before, I thanked her and carefully placed it in my Magic Box.
[Well then, I’d better get going. Let’s talk again next time.]
[……Unnn…… Thank you…… Kaito…… I love you.]
[T-Thank you very much…… Well then, see you later.]
[……See you later.]
For some reason, a strange chill crept down my back again. Ignoring the unsettling feeling, I bowed my head to Isis-san, who gave me a small wave, and left the place.
Dear Mom, Dad—There really were a lot of things that happened today. In a way, this might be the first time in my life I’ve worked so hard. But because of that, Isis-san and I—We’ve become friends.
In a remote corner of the vast Demon Realm, there lay a land covered in ice that had remained frozen for thousands of years—a place known as the Land of Death.
Inside a massive castle encased in thick ice, a girl, called the incarnation of death, wore a smile of pure happiness.
[……Kaito……]
Murmuring the name of the young man she met today, her cheeks flushed as if she were in love with him, the Death King, Isis Remnant, stared at the mountain of books stacked before her.
[……I found him…… I finally found him…… I’m not mistaken…… Kaito…… Kaito is….. my “fated one”……]
Muttering this, Isis holds a book—her favorite book—close to her chest.
The book tells the story of a young girl who falls in love with a man she meets by chance. As she reads, Isis sees herself reflected in the girl’s eyes, and her cheeks flush. She repeats the name of the man in her thoughts over and over.
The name of the young man from another world who took her hand after the thousands of years of fear—the hand of someone who had always walked alone…
The Death King, feared by most as the symbol of death… Her mind was now consumed only with thoughts of that young man.
<Author’s Notes>
The Duchess… Is she going to get another visit again… Ahhhh…
~ Important Notes ~
The Death King… the one feared by most, always cloaked in magic power infused with death. And because she was so lonely, the moment Kaito took her hand, he literally shattered the limit of her Affection Gauge.