Volume 1 (END) - A Move Forward

After spending about 2 hours or so telling a brief summary of my life to my two Mamas, I can see that the two of them were both teary-eyed.

[Emi-chan, I didn’t know you’ve suffered this long…]

[Unn…]

[I'm really sorry that you had to re-tell that story to the two of us... We must've brought back all the pain that it caused you in the past...]

[Hahaha... N-Not really... I'm way past over that anyways...]

I said as I awkwardly laughed with the two of them then took their own handkerchieves as they wiped the tears that were accumulating in their eyes. After that, Mama Diana then responded to what I said...

[You're really sure about that...?]

[U-Unn...]

[Also... you did say while in the story that I looked very similar to the one you really loved in your past life but has black hair, am I right?]

[Y-Yes Mama… You actually look like a complete face copy of Shiro with the exception of the hair... and the other parts...]

As I confirmed that while bowing my head a little bit in which she then chanted something like…

[Let the hair be changed to what I desire, Optical Concealment Magic.]

[W-Wha?!]

As she chanted those words, I was pretty startled at what I heard which prompted me to lift my head to see Mama Diana’s hair turned from a very blonde and curly hair to a silky straight black one as she smiled at me and replied.

[Emilia-chan, how about only for tonight that I’ll indulge you?]

[W-Wha?]

[Emi- no… You said in the story that she calls you Kurayami-kun… was it?]

Huhh? What is she doing…? I don’t really understand it at all… I looked at Mama Clara as she sweetly smiled back at me as Mama Diana cleared her throat and replied to me in what seemed to be a familiar voice intermixed with Mother’s voice.

[[Kurayami-kun, is there something you want to tell me?]]

D-Did I hear S-Shiro’s voice?

[S-Shiro…?]

[Yes, it’s Shiro… You told me that there’s something you want to say to me here.]

I'm not hearing voices, am I right...? Is it really her...?

[U-Unn?]

[You’re really regretting that you left me huh… Kurayami-kun, you need to let go of everything that you want to say. Just say it…]

[Saying it…? How, when I’m not nearby anymore…]

[It’s really near though Kurayami-kun… Here… That’s the place where I’m the nearest to you. Always remember that.]

What Shiro pointed at on her index finger is where my heart is placed. Shiro… 

You’re really unfair y’know… Or I guess, I’m also unfair too… Judging by the expressions you have and your conduct towards me… Should I assume it? She cried in my room after my funeral when that old man showed me. She was blushing when asking me to follow her… 

She volunteered to help me as a research colleague even though it’s not within her talents to do so… She also made some mistakes early on but she persevered in the end as she helped me in a really big way… 

Who am I kidding? How did I haven’t seen it? Ahh… Hahaha… I kind of planning to confess, but she’s probably also planning to do so as well huh… Good grief…

As all of those feelings swelled up, my tears suddenly fell from my eyes as Shiro responded.

[It’s alright Kurayami-kun, my chest’s open for you to cry on…]

Now she has actually done it…

And with that, only a muffled crying and breaking down were heard from the perspective of Mama Clara as she teared up herself a little bit while Mama Diana comforted me by stroking my long red hair while hugging her.

...

It is the morning after that night, and I can feel as if I've slept on the couch inside of Mama Diana's office room. If I remember correctly... After I cried for quite a long while, I probably got too tired from all of what happened that I passed out after that hug.

I guess, there's really no escaping for me now that I've told my two Mamas about it...

[Ara...? Good morning, Emi-chan.]

[Mama Diana...? Where's Mama Clara?]

I saw Mama Diana who was now working on her paperwork in front of her as there was the coffee table in front of the couch... or rather... beside me which has a breakfast dish on it.

[Clara's back on her duties today.]

[Eh...? Really...? If that's the case, then I shou-- [No!] Eh...?]

[Rest for today, Emi-chan... I've already told Clarence and Edmund that you'll be resting for today as per Clara's advice.]

It seems that she was quite right about it... I am feeling a little bit weaker than usual right now.

[B-But... What am I going to do now, Mama...?]

[I mean... After you ate your breakfast, you could go to the library today and read some books there... But rest is always the priority, alright Emi-chan...?]

She said with a stern voice at me which reminded me a lot about my Mom who was kind of something like that... So I just nodded at her question as I started eating my breakfast dish which was 6 pieces of mayonnaise sandwiches on a big plate.

While I'm eating up my breakfast, Mama Diana asked me a question.

[What would you like to do from now on, Emi-chan...? I mean... There are a lot of things for you to learn from the books, but you still need to learn from experience... 

So aside from your Mama Clara and me training you once you become 6 years old, what would you like to do...?]

As she asked that question, I quickly pondered that question for that, especially since I'll be turning 6 years old in a few months... And since they're probably giving me the freedom to choose something... I think I know what I need to do once I became six years old...

[I think, I would go for something like--]

<VOLUME 1 END>

<Afterword>

What a cliffhanger ending to this volume~!

Sorry for that unannounced break. I got distracted when I read the manhwa "Release That Witch" which I then binge-read for an entire 2 days just to finish the 400+ chapters of it.

Other than that, as you can already see right now, there's also a new cover art for "Defeating the Demon Lord Without Fighting it Myself"~! 

I actually illustrated it myself for someone who has just gotten into digital illustration since the pandemic started so it still has its own bits and pieces of improvement that are needed.

I'm also open to any comments regarding everything that's related to this one! But I'll also be announcing something big for the upcoming next week or so for a huge announcement. So stay tuned for that one~

Anyways, that's all for now... See you in Volume 2~!

- Kagakuro