Fragment 10. Decision

I didn’t know why, but that person’s smile made me uncomfortable. He also had a mysterious aura surrounding him. In short, he looked suspicious and I didn’t trust him!

“It is an honor that you are willing to meet us.”

“No need to be so formal. So, what business brings you here? It’s rare to see you here. Does this have something to do with the young lady over there?” he said while glancing at me. His smile was still the same, but somehow I felt that he was grinning at me. Was he angry because I didn’t kneel before him?

“As you said. We came here because our child – Haruno – lost control some time ago and has now become the target of those who desire the power hidden within her.”

After hearing the reason for our visit, the smile on that man’s face disappeared. Raising his left hand that wasn’t holding a staff, he waved at me.

“Come here, Girl.”

Normally, I would feel cringe and leave a creepy man who called me like that. I glanced at my parents who were still kneeling without saying anything. I even considered running away out of fear of being dragged into some kind of occult ritual. But I have no choice but to obey. I didn’t want to think about what would happen if I left my parents here.

I walked closer cautiously. When he lifted his hand toward me, I immediately took a defensive stance. But he only extended his palm without touching me. Moments later, my body emitted a light as if shining from within.

“What is this?!”

I panicked when my body suddenly glowed. I mean, who wouldn’t? But it didn’t last long before the man lowered his hand.

“There is no problem with the seal. Good job fixing it.”

“Not at all! I just did what I was supposed to.”

“It’s just that….”

At first, the man praised my father for fixing the seal. But then his face turned grim as if something terrible was difficult to express.

He gracefully moved his hand beside his body. With an open palm, he pointed downward.

“Can you see them?”

Following his hand, I was shocked by the presence of creatures I didn’t know had been there. Foxes, wolves, cats, snakes, dogs, and tanuki stood neatly lined beside the man. Emerging from the bushes was a deer with a crow perched on its great antlers. When I turned toward the sound of flapping wings, I saw a pelican folding its wings. Near its feet were a turtle and a giant frog about one meter tall.

Seeing animals in the middle of the forest was normal. But seeing animals from different species lined up calmly and neatly was not something ordinary.

“Eh? The Young Lady can see us again?”

“Yaaaayy!!”

“Didn’t the Hermit say the Young Lady had lost her power?”

“Do not trouble yourselves with that. What matters is that the Young Lady has returned to us!”

The creatures spoke and cheered like humans. They looked joyful about something I didn’t understand.

The appearance of a group of creatures without me realizing it was already strange, not to mention now the animals spoke.

Hm? It felt like I had heard their voices before.

My head started to hurt. My mind couldn’t keep up. It felt like I was questioning my sanity. I held my spinning head.

When I began to stagger, a man’s voice shouted and made me plant my feet firmly and steady my swaying body

“Hakusha-sama!”

Responding to my father’s worried shout, the man raised his hand as if saying, “There is no problem.”

“She is just overwhelmed because she regained her ability to see.”

“But didn’t you say there was no problem with the seal?”

“Indeed. There is no problem with the seal. The problem lies within this young lady’s body itself. As she grows older, her strength will only get stronger. The same seal will not be able to restrain her power that continues to develop.”

“That kind of thing... But I already did my best to repair the seal.”

“As I said earlier, you did a good job repairing the seal. But what you did was reinstall the same seal that Seiji taught you.”

Father wore a bitter expression. His fist clenched while pushing against the ground beneath him. He looked as if he cursed his own helplessness.

Not intending to console my frustrated father, the man continued.

“I have two suggestions. First, I will seal all her power again. Just like before, she will forget part of her memories related to her power. With that, she will return to a peaceful life. But, considering her existence is already known by those hunters, letting her live in darkness is not a wise choice in my opinion. She might be safe as long as she stays inside this village’. But once she leaves, her presence will immediately be detected by them. So, she will always live in constant danger. My second suggestion is to release all the seals binding her and let her power be free. That way, we won’t have to worry about the danger posed by those people.”

“But wouldn’t that also pose its own kind of danger? What if she loses control if we open the seal?”

“Then we simply need to make her control her power. Seiji was a great man, but he was also too affectionate. He didn’t want his beloved granddaughter to suffer and took the easy route by not letting her interact with her power. But she bears a heavy responsibility by possessing that power.”

Father couldn’t respond to the words of the man named Hakusha. Their heavy topic made me, who was already dizzy, even more confused.

After giving it a thought, father made his decision. He stood up and patted both my shoulders, then made me face him.

“Haruno, you choose.”

“Me?!”

“Yes. This is your life. So, you must choose.”

“I….”

I can't just make a choice about something I didn’t understand. I was upset with father for dumping everything on me. Shouldn’t adults be more reliable?

I kept blaming my father in my heart, even though that wasn’t his real intention.

“Whatever your choice is, we will fully support you. If you really want to live a peaceful life like most high school girls, I will resign from my current job and we will live here together. But, if you are truly ready to face yourself and everything hidden within, we will do our best to ensure that you remain safe. So, choose!”

Even after being told that, I couldn’t decide something I didn’t understand. But thinking back, I came here because I wanted to know the truth behind everything that happened to me recently.

The first suggestion might sound beautiful, if grandfather were still alive. Without grandfather, I would only end up reminiscing the days with him if I were forced to live here again. I had already decided to move on and didn’t want to keep living in the past.

Besides, I didn’t want to hold myself and my parents back. I knew father loved his job, and I didn’t want him to quit just because of me. I also didn’t want to spend my life trapped like a bird in a cage.

I didn’t know what power or responsibility I possessed, and ignorance was terrifying. But if the condition to know was that I had to control it, then I just needed to do it.

After thinking carefully, I made my decision.

“I want to know. I want to know why I’m being hunted. I want to know what power and responsibility I really possess. I want to know, what I really am.”

Looking at Hakusha, he showed a surprised expression for a moment. But then he smiled gently. Unlike before, I didn’t feel disturbed by his smile this time.

“Very well. I will tell you everything.”