Chapter 229 – Ep.16 – Notification
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How many more days have passed since I got angry? At least two days? Or, around four days…
Kaede has not been able to watch at the TV screen properly since then. She was even startled by the sound of words coming from that small box and became wary of her surroundings.
This can’t help but be hilarious. The change in her, who was always cheerful and lively, is very worrying even to those around her.
“What’s wrong?”
The person who feels it closest is Delrin.
Although they are only holding hands for a moment, the symptoms of Kaede’s neurosis that he senses are enough to cause a little fear.
Kaede’s irregular breathing echoes very loudly on the sofa where they sit side by side. It was difficult for her to concentrate on the sound of the news anchor on TV talking about issues in demon society.
“Here’s the news. “Ahead of the holidays, quarantine authorities emphasized wearing masks especially in areas vulnerable to infection and crowded facilities with large floating populations.”
A clear and certain voice pierced Kaede’s ears. Because she doesn’t know the meaning of many words, her mind only recognizes the pitch of her voice or certain pronunciations.
She feels an unfamiliar sensation for the first time in her life.
She feels a powerful and unpleasant feeling that she has never felt in all her travels around the world.
She is a stranger.
I don’t know anything,
All I know how to do is use my strength,
A fat wolf whose strength is gradually weakening.
“Kaede!”
Thanks to her husband, who even calls her by her real name without the word “Sister,” Kaede comes to her senses again and looks around her.
“This person is really… Why is this happening? “What are you thinking so hard about?”
“Kkiing… ?”
Talk-!
Delrin, whose head only reached around her shoulder, clicked her tongue and let go of her chest. Even though she wasn’t particularly shocked, her mind cleared a little.
“Is it because of the devil? Well, I’m worried too… To be honest, it’s not something we care about! The first thing to do is to put out the urgent fire. “Once you take care of Albator’s affairs, opportunities you never thought of will arise.”
Of course, Delrin is unable to properly understand Kaede’s uncomfortable feelings and tells her story a little out of focus…
“That’s how things are in the world. Even things that you don’t know how to solve suddenly become resolved if you just drag on. Defeat the devil, escape… Those aren’t the only two methods, right? “Let’s think about it again later.”
Still,
With that small body,
Seeing her man trying to comfort her with his soft hands, Kaede feels unbearably embarrassed.
“… Yes, that’s right. I feel sorry. Why am I doing this, really… “
When did I become such a true husband?
Delrin has already changed so much that she is compared to herself, who seems to be regressing more and more.
“I just seem to have become a bit more irritable these days. She gets on my nerves for no reason. There’s no need to worry though. I feel relieved because you are here… “
Kaede holds Delrin’s hand tightly with both hands and brings it close to her lips. The appearance looks like praying.
Although she is a woman far from prayer, the sight of her with her eyes closed and her lips moving slowly is definitely that of a holy woman.
“… “
However, it is,
Rather, it feels closer to repentance or confession.
Kaede feels the warmth of her Delrin, and she diligently repeats to herself.
Let’s be patient.
Let’s be patient.
Let’s hold on just a little longer.
I can bear it.
You have to endure it.
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Perhaps, for her, becoming an adult is both depressing and painful.
Things I didn’t care about when I was young,
For example, aspects of an unreasonable world begin to appear,
She comes to accept that there are things she can’t solve on her own,
She ends up being able to tolerate things she couldn’t tolerate before. No, you have to endure it and give up.
A life that doesn’t get better no matter how hard you try,
A complicated and breathtaking commute to work,
The bitter and foul aftertaste of alcohol,
Frustration of love and romance,
Forced sacrifice,
Regret,
Farewell…
And,
Unexpected ramifications caused by trivial actions. Responsibilities that come with it.
“Yes!?”
“It is exactly as you heard. There was a post saying that he had been threatened by Kaede, but we took the post down before it escalated further.”
Delrin’s face was full of surprise as he asked in confusion. Rika, who was in her arms, also looked up at her father with her eyes wide open, as if she was slightly surprised.
“Big, big! Oh… Sorry. “Are you surprised because of your father?”
Delin gently pats her child to soothe his frightened mind, but he is already focusing all his attention on Michelle, so it is difficult to concentrate.
She is already in a bad mood because Michelle came into her house out of nowhere, and the news she tells is absurd.
“After… So! What threat are you talking about? No, and! It wasn’t just anyone else, it was Kaede who did that? “Isn’t that person the kind of person who just smiles and gets hit even when other people hit her?”
“No. A photo was uploaded, and it clearly showed Kaede. I contacted them 1 minute after it was posted, but the number of people who read the post was… “If I had to guess, it would be around 50 people.”
Delrin’s head suddenly turns towards Kaede, and she gives her an explanation with a feeling of ‘no way’, but
She is unable to hear any answer from Kaede, who has become speechless, and her body has become frozen due to the strange situation.
“That… Those demons must have been wrong!”
“According to the circumstances we have learned, Ms. Kaede acted excessively. He personally met the person who wrote the article, who was in trouble for trying to deliver snacks to children with good intentions… He expressed it like this.”
“… “To what extent was it threatened?”
“There was no direct violence, but the victim expressed that she felt life-threatening.”
“Life threat? No, what… !”
In the developed society of demons, there exists a medium of communication called SNS.
And Delrin understands concepts such as SNS and the Internet better than anyone else.
Unlike women who have never been exposed to modern culture, the twenty years of her life make it easy to infer the seriousness of the situation that is about to unfold.
“Well, that… So what should I do? Anyway, you mean that Michelle agreed to the agreement? Right?”
“We provided material compensation and silenced the situation, but something like this should never happen again.”
Michelle looks at everyone’s faces one by one.
Starting with Delrin,
Kaede looks shocked,
Rico quietly assessing the situation,
Neva, leaning against the wall
Chichi and Eva sitting quietly on the sofa…
“My job is to assist you as much as possible and help you adjust. That’s why I’m telling you.”
And lastly, the girls who cling to their parents and only watch the adults.
“… “
The children instinctively avoid Michelle’s gaze. Rika, who was wheezing in Delin’s arms, was not able to turn her head yet, so she whined a little and had a tearful expression. Delin, who sensed her child’s discomfort even without saying anything, immediately turned her whole body and looked at Michelle’s stuffy face. Save Rika from the gaze.
“Okay, please go back. I will make sure nothing like this happens next time. Ugh… Our Rika, were you very scared? Dad is here. What are you afraid of? The child is good, good… “
“I definitely warned you. If something like this happens again, it will be difficult for the demons to guarantee your safety.”
… However, at this point, she would have finished speaking and left, but Michelle spares no effort in giving her advice to Delin and her women.
“It means that there is a limit to providing convenience. It is true that we respect you as human beings, but our top priority is our citizens. Demons.”
Then, step by step, she walked towards Delrin,
“That’s about it, right? “Humans also have ears, right?”
Rico does not allow Michelle to approach her daughter and her husband.
Her hand grasped Michelle’s shoulder, gradually increasing its strength.
“… “It hurts.”
“They say it hurts.”
The air becomes heavy for a moment due to the nervous war between the two women, which seems as if a fire will burn at any moment. She doesn’t feel the same way as Michelle. She grabbed Riko’s wrist with all her might, trying to crush her shoulder, and gave it a firm squeeze until Riko startled.
“The era of using only such violent methods ended several hundred years ago. If you still want to clash, I will deal with you, but it would be better for everyone here to lose their personality a bit to fit in with our society.”
That was Michelle’s last sentence.
She left those words behind and left Delrin’s house.
In a way, it was true. The primitive world, where force ruled everything, began to accept things like money and power as ‘power’, and as civilization developed further, it expanded to include knowledge, talent, and appearance.
The society of demons is not a simple and clear place where everything is solved through violence and force.
“… “
“It hurts… ?”
However, someone asks this question.
As civilization develops, does it become a moral civilization?
In a world where violence becomes controversy and blood and flesh become money and resources,
Will society lose its primitive cruelty and become a better place?
“It hurts.”
Rico holds a small note in his hand. A note that is very clear as to when and from whom it was received.
Her remaining eye secretly opens the note and reads it. From an angle where the cameras located in the living room cannot see his actions, he opens the note for a moment, checks its contents, and then folds it again.
“Well, anyway… “I guess I’ll have to hold a family meeting again.”
A few words were written sparsely on the note.
[The proportion of human-related work is reduced due to orders from above. Investing manpower into other projects. I am not permitted to view information. Excluded from work. Human-related work policy is being reorganized. Present ongoing.]
