Campione: Strongest# 433: The Dead and the Living

Clack… clack…

The soft collision of indoor slippers against the wooden floor echoed in the quiet night.

Haru walked down the hallway of the ancient structure known as the Asagami residence, his expression exceptionally grave, like a solemn idol.

Following his routine of the past few months, he should have been in the bamboo forest at this time, playing the ‘Boring’ staring game with Shiki. However, a call from a magical communicator had disrupted his schedule.

His footsteps stopped. Haru had reached his destination: a traditional Japanese sliding door.

Clank—

He lifted his right hand and slid the door open.

It was a spacious room. The interior was simple: traditional tatami mats, a dressing table, a large wardrobe, and scroll paintings placed strategically on the walls. The simple layout held a faint sense of warmth.

However, the air in the room was thick with sorrow.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry,” a somewhat hoarse voice repeated.

The sound came from the futon in the center of the room. Lying there was Mrs. Asakami, who had been so vibrant just months ago. She looked as if she had aged several decades, her appearance carrying the burden of seventy years and an inescapable sense of decay.

The still-young Fujino was kneeling by her mother's side. Her expression was exceptionally calm, yet tears streamed from her already-red, wine-colored eyes. Despite her young age, Fujino understood the meaning of death. And how could a mother’s decline be hidden from the daughter who saw her every day?

The young girl cried silently, her tears narrating her pain.

Mrs. Asakami continuously comforted Fujino, forcing her weakening body to speak. “Don’t cry. You’re making yourself look like a mess.”

‘She’s dying.’ This was the impression Haru had the moment he saw her.

Though he had noticed a subtle decline these past few months, he had thought she would at least last until Fujino was an adult, perhaps even until her wedding day. He hadn’t expected this moment to come so quickly, so suddenly.

“…Brother Haru.” A somewhat hoarse, childish voice sounded softly.

Fujino turned her head, her red-rimmed eyes fixed on him. The girl, her face swollen from crying, looked at him with intense expectation.

Their eyes met.

Haru immediately understood. Fujino was desperately hoping he could save her mother’s life. It was only natural. In the months they had spent together, she had already learned of his power. To reverse life and death was a trivial matter for him.

Haru’s lips curved into a wry smile. He could prevent people from dying, but he couldn't stop them from seeking death.

In his perception, the woman before him was perfectly healthy. Yet, she radiated the aura of someone on the verge of death.

Her husband had died while she was pregnant, and she had single-handedly supported the huge Asakami family. Though she had the elders’ support, what could a group of elders who avoided all manual labor, whose only use was their martial arts and suppressing their own inner demons, actually do?

In the end, this strong mother had raised Fujino on her own, and had even been forced to remarry.

Ultimately, her heart was already shattered. The ancients said that ‘there is no greater sorrow than a broken heart.’ This was the perfect example.

Haru walked to the futon and sat on the floor, looking directly at the woman before him. “Madam, Fujino is still young,”

“I know,” Mrs. Asakami said softly, stroking Fujino’s head. “Can I go join your father?”

Fujino’s tears suddenly stopped. The next moment, they burst forth like a breaking dam.

“…Mm,” the young girl held her mother’s wrist, sobbing uncontrollably.

The dying woman, holding onto her last breath, said in a hoarse voice, “I’m entrusting this child to you, Mr. Haru.”

“I’m not exactly a good choice. It would be better if you were here to protect her,” Haru said with self-mockery, doing his best to save this broken-hearted woman.

“I know. But at least, in terms of loving Fujino, you are no less than her late father,” Mrs. Asakami said with a faint smile.

“If possible, can you let her live a normal life?” The mother spoke her greatest plea.

Even without entering the world of magecraft, this mother clearly understood its cruelty. If she could, she didn't want her daughter to enter that world.

Haru’s brow furrowed slightly. Even he couldn't ignore a mother’s plea. But the consequences of this request were too severe.

“That’s impossible. The Asakami family’s Mystic Eyes of Distortion ensure that Fujino will inevitably enter the world of the abnormal. Though it’s cruel, in this distorted world, the only choice besides getting stronger is death,” Haru said, his face cold, his tone frosty.

The tragedy of the original Fujino’s fate proved his words. To possess the supreme Mystic Eyes of Distortion, a power that could twist a hundred-meter-long bridge with its full strength, only to have it sealed and lead to tragedy… it was too ridiculous.

“…I overstepped,” the dying woman said, her voice faltering, a wry smile on her face. With Haru as her guardian, Fujino could live well even in the world of magecraft. To ask for a normal life now was simply too greedy.

Haru’s lip twitched as he looked at the silent woman and the crying Fujino. “As I thought, this atmosphere doesn't suit me.”

The gazes of the mother and daughter focused on him.

“Well, as compensation for entrusting your daughter to me, I’ll arrange your destiny with your husband in the next life. But whether you live happily or not is up to you,” Haru shrugged, his tone flat.

“That… that’s an offer I can’t refuse. Well then, Fujino, for your father, I have to sell you,” the dying woman said with a faint smile.

“I don’t want to be sold,” Fujino chuckled, wiping her tears away and playfully scolding her mother.

“I want to talk to Fujino alone for a moment,” Mrs. Asakami said with a smile.

Clack.

The sliding door slowly closed. Haru left the mother and daughter their final moment of privacy.

————

‘How touching~’ Nyarlathotep said, wiping her tears with a tissue, sobbing. However, the next second, the Outer God’s whisper sounded softly.

‘It’s this kind of beautiful emotion that makes humans worth playing with.’

“Can you stop returning to your perverted nature every three sentences?” Haru’s lip twitched with a mocking tone.

‘Well, well, speaking of which, should I grab her reincarnated husband and bring him here to save her? That guy is five years old now, right? My husband is five years old? Doesn't that sound hilarious?’

“Have some decency, great evil god,” Haru sighed, a look of helplessness on his face.

A dozen minutes later.

Fujino slid open the door and looked at Haru, who was standing in the hallway, her face slightly flushed. It was clear that her mother had said something private.

After a moment’s hesitation, Fujino took a deep breath and said seriously, “Brother Haru, I want to learn how to control my Mystic Eyes. I want to become stronger—strong enough to survive in this world.”

Haru turned his head and, looking at the determined girl, smiled faintly.