Shiinamachi-senpai no Anzenbi Volume 2 Chapter 4 Part3

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist      Editor: Weasalopes

【Episode 4: Day and Night, Part 3】

What happened to the both of them here was beyond cruel. No one should ever go through such a traumatic experience, ever more so if the person in question was a young girl who had her whole life ahead of her. But wait a second, if her whole body was burned by the flames so badly, then how come she doesn't have any burn scars?

「Ah, that? I have Yugao to thank for that. Without paying attention to her own wounds, she protected me from the fire before it could inflict irreparable damage to my body. As for the burns that she have suffered during that, thankfully it was nothing that couldn't be handled by a skin transplantation, from her b.u.t.t if I may add. So if by some miracle you'll get to see that part of Yugao's body, be a gentleman and don't stare too much, all right?」

I see, so they did something like that, huh? Not that I can tell through all those layers of clothing covering her… nonono, what am I thinking?! We're in the middle of a serious talk here, so I shouldn't be thinking about b.u.t.ts of girls that are younger than me! Well, maybe I could see it if she wore a bold swimsuit that revealed that part of her body… but there's no way in h.e.l.l that's happening!

「A swimsuit, huh? That's what gets you going? Well, personally I wouldn't mid buying something more daring, especially since summer is here already, but I'm sure that Yugao would die from embarra.s.sment just by trying it on.」

Then don't buy it! And Don't volunteer for something like that so eagerly!

「You know, after a second thought, pulling a stunt like that might've really been a kind of an overkill. At least that's what my older sister's sense is telling me.」

Do older sisters really have something like that? Or is it something that all older siblings possess? I have no way of knowing if I had something similar, since I became like a normal human being not that long ago. I'll have to ask my sister about that when I get back home.

Anyway, it's great that you were both okay, but Asagao, does that mean…?
「Monjiro-san, you're immortal, right? How many times have you died up until now? Two? No, wait, if we also include that time when you fought against Fujisato Yuiksama and her Va.s.sal then I guess that'd make it three times total.」

Four, actually. There was this one time when s.h.i.+ki drugged me with that blasted Avocado Spark (may it be forever cursed) and placed me in a state of suspended animation. But it was a surprise attack, so I don't really want to include it in my Official Deaths Counter. Even now the thought of what would've become of me if s.h.i.+namachi-senpai hadn't arrived to revive me gave me the chills. Ah, and I've almost managed to forget that s.h.i.+ki can actually be a pretty terrifying woman if she wanted!

「I know, right? One moment she's all buddy-buddy with you, and in the next one she'll do you in without batting an eye!」

Truer words have never been spoken.

「Ahahaha, you can say that again. By the way, Monjiro-san. I might've avoided dying in that fire… but after that day, living was denied from me.」

Huh?

What… does she mean by that? I… I don't think I understand. Is… is that why I couldn't hear her thoughts anymore? Is that why all I could hear now were Yugao-chan's cries?

「*Sob* Onee-chan, nooo, please don't die, I beg you! You, you said that we'll be together forever! *Sob* *Hic* That we will find someone we could love and share him between ourselves! Without you… all alone, I… I won't be able to keep on living! *Sob* *Hic Hic*」

Such a harrowing cry made it all the more difficult to listen. Right now, Asagao's mind was slowly overtaken by the pain, but she could still hear the lamenting voice of her sister, and it tore her heart apart. And to add to that, she's going to die just like her if she won't do something. Her eyes, her nose, her mouth and her skin, it will all burn to ashes and she'll die crushed by this pulsating pain. And she didn't want that to happen. If it's just her, then it's fine. If only her precious little sister could live, she didn't mind dying.

So she made a wish.

A wish for someone, anyone to save her beloved sister's life.

It doesn't matter who it'll be. As long as he'll be able to save her life, she was willing to sacrifice anything and everything for that to happen. Even if the one who appeared before her a miracle-carrying angel or a devil who sought to drag her down to the deaths of h.e.l.l.

「How delightful. Two identical existences embracing an identical wish.」

Who's there? That was a voice of a woman that I didn't remember. Rather than a human's voice, it sounded more like something that'd belong to some supernatural existence. That was the impression it made on me. Maybe it was Asagao who thought that, or maybe it was me, I didn't really care about that in this moment. Whoever that person was, if she appeared in this h.e.l.l on earth, she couldn't have been an ordinary human. The real question here was: was she an ally of justice, or someone more akin to a villain? But for the two sisters, the only thing that mattered was that this person could be their savior.

「*Hic* Who are… you?」

「I am whoever you want me to be. Now tell me: What is it that you wish for the most in this moment?」

「What I wish for… the most?」

Yugao-chan repeated after the voice, completely captivated by it, but the traces of doubt were still visible on her face. Whoever this person was, there was no way she'd just fulfil her wish without asking for anything in return, right? I knew very well what their wish was going to be, and I'm sure that this woman knew that too, and hence tried to use their desperation for her own gains.

With great pain, I tried to lift my head to look at her with my weakening eyes, but all I could see was a cascade of long, jet-black hair that seemed to be moving on their own, blocking the flames from reaching her, creating an ephemeral spectacle. It's impossible for any normal human to do something like that, so she must've been a Lord or a Knight.

「I… I don't want to lose my sister!」

「And I… I also want my little sister to live!」

「O… Onee-chan…」

That's right. Asagao's only wish was for Yugao to be safe and to go on living. It might be hard for her when she stays on her own, but nevertheless, she believed that she could do it, and one day find happiness again.

That was her only small wish.

「I'm sorry, little lady, but your older sister is beyond salvation. She won't be able to go on with that destroyed body of hers.」

The woman's voice was cold and emotionless, but Asagao knew she was telling the truth. There was no hope left for her.

「N, noooo… that can't be… no, Onee-chaaaaan!」

Despair crushed the last bit of hope that Yugao-chan was holding onto, and she began to cry over her sister's cruel fate.

「However, it is in my power to make her 「unable to die.」. By transferring her remaining life force into a temporary body, she can be forced to continue living. So how about it, young lady? Would you be interested in this power? In this… Gift?」

「*Sob* *Hic* G…Gift?」

「That's right. Since you're a woman of the Yahata clan then you should know, right? I am a Lord. An existence that can grant unto others powers beyond human understanding. Powers of myths. Legends. Miracles. Demons. Bestowing their powers unto others is the purpose of my life's 「Story」.」
The woman introduced herself with words that were dripping with the juices of the sweetest fruit known to mankind: temptation. And once you taste that sweet nectar, there will be no going back. That was the kind of intimidating air she emitted around herself.

「If… If I use that power… will I be able to… to save Onee-chan's life?」

「Who knows? Can you really call living a borrowed life in a borrowed body 「being saved」?」

「Ugh…」

「But. At the very least, she'll be spared from the abyss of despair that is death, but in exchange, you'll never be able to meet again once the time will come for you to cross through the veil of the afterlife. Unless… unless you were to obtain the power that transcends even that.」

That's right. Normally, death was an ultimate, unavoidable farewell. Even so, there was always a possibility of them meeting again in the next life, but what if Asagao would be denied even that?

「The name of this power is… yes, 『The Divine Gift Thanatos』! This is what can truly save your sister! The power of the G.o.d of Death that presides over the concepts of 「Life」 and 「Immortality」! And who knows with it, maybe someday the day will come when you'll be able to be together again, broken free of the shackles of the cycle of reincarnation.」

「『Divine Gift…Thanatos』.」

I understand now. So that was the real reason why Yugao-chan wanted my Gift for herself.