Megiddo, who hadn’t been home to Kuromueina’s home for several days, returned. It wasn’t unusual for Megiddo to be away from home for a few days, as they sometimes goes out to fight when they heard rumors of a strong person, but this time, they unusually brought someone back with them.
Ozma, who had been brought to their home by Megiddo, had a stunned look on his face when he saw Isis and the others.
[Ou, I’m back!]
[……Welcome back…… Megiddo.]
“Who’s that guy?”[Ahh, this guy’s called Ozma, he’s quite strong and I like him, so I brought him here. He’s quite the capable chap!]
[……Ahh~~ Hello, I’m Ozma. Anyhow, I’ve become Master Megiddo’s follower? Subordinate? Well, things turned out that way, so please kindly take care of me.]
After introducing himself in a leisurely tone, Ozma looked at Isis and Lillywood in front of him, and the huge Magnawell near the house. Then, when his gaze finally settled on the cooking Ein, he let out a sigh. Incidentally, Kuromueina isn’t here now because she was called in as a mediator.
[……Haahhh…… How should I say this…… It’s embarrassing how ignorant I am. I had heard of the Strongest in the Demon Realm, Kuromueina-sama, but for there to also be these incredible people out there, I can’t believe I thought I was the strongest.]
[You think so? When we fought, I think we had a pretty good match.]
[That is at the moment, yes? Even though I look like this, I’m confident in my ability to judge my opponent’s strength. I’m almost completely trained…… Well, I’ll probably only be able to get a little bit stronger over the years. However, all of these people, including Master, are still in the process of developing. Good grief, how dreadful this is.]
Just as Megiddo said, at this point in time, Ozma’s ability is close to that of Isis and the others. However, Ozma’s ability has already been trained to the point that it has almost reached its upper limit, whereas Isis and the others are still far from reaching their limits and can continue to grow, and Ozma felt that before long, he would be helplessly left behind by the others. Thus, he could only scratch his head with a wry smile.[Well, in any case, please take care of me from now on.]
[……Unnn…… I’m also in your care…… Ozma.]
In this way, Ozma joined the group not as part of the family, but as Megiddo’s subordinate, and as she felt that the atmosphere became even more lively, Isis happily smiled.
Yes, Isis was really happy. She was convinced that her lonely days of solitude since her birth had become so lively, and that happy times would continue from now on.
Yes, that’s why, she forgot…… Since she came to Kuromueina’s home, she had rarely gone to other places…… lessening her chance to be aware of something early on.
She had forgotten what kind of effect the magic power of death she was clad on has on most people……
Some time after Ozma joined the group, Kuromueina was focusing on the creation of magic dolls. Her project wasn’t to create an ordinary magic doll, but a magic doll that grew like a living creature, and although she was still making experimental attempts, development was progressing smoothly.
“……Not to burst anyone’s bubble by saying this now, but this feels tantamount to creating life.”
[Unnn. That’s why I’m not eager to do this excessively, nor do I intend to teach people this creation method, so I’ll only make one…… three at most, maybe? This would also serve as an experimental test of the magic theory regarding a completely independent and self-adjusting magic technique.]
Nodding at Lillywood’s words, Kuromueina continued to work on the magic doll. The body of the doll, who she will name “Zwei”, is almost complete, and all that remains to be done is to make the final adjustments to the magic formulas imbued in its body.
“Rather, with the materials it needed, is it even possible to make a second one? Is that thing you used as a core something that can be easily made?”
[Unnn. It’s a substance miraculously created as a result of multiple materials with considerable magic power melting and mixing within an impossible amount of heat, so I guess reproducing it would be difficult.]
[I mean, where did you even find such strange material?]
The material Kuromueina was going to use for the core of the magic doll was extremely rare, and it was a material that everyone here had never seen before. According to Kuromueina, it was a miracle material that was created by accident, and there was no way for people to reproduce it.
[……Well, I found it when I was working on restoring a third of the Demon Realm that a certain someone had scorched in the past.]
[……Ahh~~ no…… ummm…… I’m sorry.]
It appears that the cause was Megiddo’s previous deeds in the past, so as the person themself guessed it, they scratched their head with an embarrassed expression on their face.
[……However…… She will be a new addition to our family…… so I’m looking forward to it.]
“Indeed. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of character she will become and how she will grow.”
Just like that, the family members watched as Kuromueina assembled the magic doll and completed it. As light dwelled within the eyes of the doll, its face slowly moved.
[Good morning, Zwei. I’ve already incorporated some basic knowledge into you, but do you know who I am?]
[Yes, Kuromueina-sama. There is nothing wrong with the information processing. The data regarding the members of the family are also consistent with the prio———-!?]
[……Zwei? ……Are you alright?]
[ ! ? Wait, I blun…… I see! Isis, stop! Move away……]
Zwei, who had successfully booted up and stood up, moved her gaze, seemingly confirming the information she received, but her movement…… stopped the moment she saw Isis.
Looking at Zwei, whose eyes were wide open and her expression turned pale, Kuromueina seemingly guessed what was going on and called out to Isis, but it was already too late, as a worried Isis approached Zwei……
[Hyiihh, ahh, NOOOOOOOOOO!]
[……Ah.]
With a frightened expression on her face, she distanced herself away from Isis. Yes, before she knew it, Isis had forgotten about it. After coming to Kuromueina’s home, all the people Isis met were all exceptional and powerful individuals with outstanding talent and extraordinarily immense magic power, selected elites even among the Demon Realm.
That’s why, before she knew it, that fact had been driven into the corner of her consciousness. That her magic power of death…… to most of the world, it’s a hideous thing that stirs up fundamental fear in people to the point that it’s unapproachable…… and mysteriously, Zwei’s reaction at this time clearly reminded her of it.
——————–I’m sure someday, you’ll realize it too…… You’ll end up realizing it. Realizing that we would have been happier if we didn’t realize it, for doing so would only lead us to greater suffering.
As it felt like the snow falling on the dark snowy field where her other self stood had turned into a blizzard…… She remembered her other self’s words.
<Afterword>
? ? ? : [Well, at that time, I…… Alice-chan wasn’t there, but that sure is a heavy past. Fortunately, she will be saved later by Kaito-san, so that alone is a relief.]
