Irium 73 Pure

"You know him?" Danny asks.

"I … well, uh," She seems to be confused as she says, "Remember I told you two about the three people doctor worked with?"

"Two jokers and a hot-head, yeah, I remember that." I casually say.

"Well, uh," with an even more troubled expression than before, she continues, "That 'hot-head' was called Trevor."

Yare yare!

I look at the man who just introduced himself as Trevor and ask, "Are you two connected then?"

He puts a hand to the back of his head and says as if contemplating something, "Can't say. I don't really have any memories of when I was a human. I may have been that person when I was alive."

"How did you end up here?" I question.

"Well, to be honest, I was scouted by your father to come here and take the position of his second-in-command."

That – certainly fits well with the a.s.sumption that he was the hot-head in the story.

"It's a little hard to believe thought that your name when you were a human and that when you became an Angel is the same?" Danny says, "Especially because the only rule for naming new Angels and Demons is specifically to not name them what their name as a human was."

Trevor looks at Danny sharply and with a smile on his face as he says that.

"You are certainly well informed, aren't you?" He asks almost as if mocking Danny.

"Well, I guess you could say I have connections to Heaven and h.e.l.l." Danny says with arms folded and trying to act all cool and stuff. The thing is – he actually does look kinda cool right now.

"Hmm …" Trevor smiles and continues, "Yes, you are right about that rule existing. Trevor isn't what my name as an Angel is. But, after I came here, the ruler of this planet told me to adopt that name. And so I did."

…

"I see. Then you probably are who we think you are." I say.

"Yes, I probably am." He says with a smile. "But, in any case, we can't have our visitors standing at the entrance to our realm the whole time, can we? Please do come in."

"Hah!" I sigh and start following him as he starts to walk. Roswaisa and Danny start walking too. The two who had given us company earlier stayed at that place, probably because they have to get back to their duty.

Still, while we are in a very beautiful place, we aren't out on a mission to sightsee. We have to do something and I really doubt any of them are going to approach that topic, despite knowing about it. So, as soon as there's a good enough chance, I'll have to bring the conversation to that myself.

"Lord Irium,"

"That's cringe!" I say as soon as I hear Trevor addressing me like that.

"Alright. Lord Glice,"

"The problem is with the 'lord' part, d.a.m.nit!" I interrupt yet again, for a very important reason of course. You can't have the protagonist's t.i.tle become cringe. That's stupid.

"Well, how should I address you then?" Trevor asks with a light smile.

I think for a second and then say, "How about Demon Lord Irium?"

"That's more cringe than the last two." Danny says, and before I can react,

"I kinda agree." Roswaisa b.u.t.ts in with that as well.

Well, whatever!

"Just call me Irium then."

"Alright, Irium, I have a question for you. Think a little before you answer, alright?" He looks back at me to see my answer and so I just nod to tell him. Then, he asks, "What do you think of this realm?"

Well, I haven't been here for so long but,

I can see children playing around.

I can see housewives talking to each other and laughing while buying things.

I can see the shopkeepers making jokes to each other and laughing.

I can see young men hard at work.

I can see soldiers casually conversing and laughing alongside others.

In all the while I have walked, I cannot see a single soul who is not happy. I can't see a single person showing any ill intent towards another. No beggars, no children crying, no couples fighting, no negativity at all. This realm is …

"It's pure." I tell Trevor my answer. That's what I think of this realm.

Trevor smiles and says, "I see."

And he keeps walking after that, without speaking a word. Roswaisa and Danny don't say anything either, but start smiling as soon as I answer Trevor's question.

Well, this is the realm that my father rules over, is it? This city whose golden aura reminds me of Uruk from the Legend of Gilgamesh and whose people seem to be living life to the fullest.

If that is the case, then why – why do I feel almost disgusted with this place?

Oh, I know why. It's because people are so happy. It's because they are so overjoyed with their lives. It disgusts me to my core. So much happiness – it can't be true. It can't be real.

If people of this realm truly think that their lives are so fulfilling, then they need a wake-up call. Because, well, life is the last thing that I would ever call fulfilling.

"Don't deceive yourself!" Trevor then says to me. "If you think people here are delusional and think that their lives are filled with happiness only, then you are wrong."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that they know what you want them to know."

"…"

"They know all too well what sadness and pain is. They know all too well what loss is. Yet, they try their best to live a happy life. The people of this realm, they are not delusional, they are just mature is all."

"Ha! Hahaha!" I laugh. How can I not?

"What's funny?" Trevor questions me.

"They are mature, are they? What a joke! To try to make the sadness disappear by living a life of happiness, that's called stupidity."

Trevor furrows his eyebrows at that statement. Danny too tries to stop me and Roswaisa looks confused. But, I continue,

"They are stupid to think that they can live like this. They are stupid to think that what they'll have with this philosophy can be called a 'life'."

Sadness, pain and loss make life what it is. Anyone who tries to overcome it through happiness is either an idiot who watches far too many animes … or just a borderline sociopath.

"This life they are living – this is the type of life he was living, isn't it?" I question, causing Trevor to stop; and simultaneously, the three of us stop as well.

"Before, when he had a wife and had adopted me and my siblings, this was exactly the type of life he was living." I deliberately give them a moment of silence before continuing, "How did that work out for him?"

All I see when I see this realm – is my father trying to convince himself that all those years he spent with us smiling all the time were not a mistake. But, in the end, he too would know all too well already that he is wrong.

And to try to convince himself otherwise, it truly is the futility of a human.

*****