Akatsuki Translations

In a fleeting moment, a half-quarter, a quarter of an hour passed, and the moon hanging in the sky began to gradually sink.

“Kuh!” -Farsa

A limit descended upon a solitary warrior.

Mirage’s body was far from perfect, unable to withstand the lengthy combat.

For an instant, Zenobia wore a slightly saddened expression, but her sword did not cease. It relentlessly bore down on Mirage’s body that seemed on the verge of collapse.

“Ah!” -Zenobia

If others had witnessed this spectacle, they would have surely echoed Zenobia’s astonishment.

Zenobia’s attack, intended to sweep through Mirage’s body, cut through nothing but air. Instead, her sword, which should have been clenched in her hand, danced in the sky.

“I told you at the beginning, I’m fighting seriously. Well, I didn’t think I’d be pushed this far.” -Mirage

The blade of the great scythe just grazed Zenobia’s neck, drawing a vibrant red liquid from her pale skin.

Zenobia, recognizing her defeat, raised both hands in disbelief. Mirage, confirming her surrender, slowly raised his scythe.

Mirage had no intention of using such borderline cheating like teleportation magic, but Zenobia’s strength had far exceeded his expectations.

They had been in a stalemate for a long time, and his body had reached its limit first, so he had no choice but to use the teleportation magic.

Zenobia, who had only lived a mere eighteen years, had cornered Farsa, who, even if not at his full strength, had lived for three hundred years.

That was truly a testament to Zenobia’s efforts.

“…The result of my overconfidence when I was certain of victory in that moment. I wanted to earn a win from Farsa-dono before I quit the Knights.” -Zenobia

“You finally called me by my name,” Farsa said, his expression softening. Zenobia too, managed a smile.

“Insisting on pride now would be foolish. I thought it was a misunderstanding many times… but you really are a demon.”  -Zenobia

“More accurately, I’m half-human, half-demon.” -Farsa

“What? Humans and demons can have children together?” -Zenobia

“It seems so. But I don’t know if it’s true or not because I’ve never seen or heard of anyone else like me. However, according to my father, my mother was a human woman… Heh, hahaha.” -Farsa

“Why are you laughing?!” -Zenobia

Seeing the flustered Zenobia, Farsa burst into laughter. Zenobia, who had maintained a stern face in front of Farsa, was now changing her expressions quickly. Not understanding why she was being laughed at, she tilted her head, approached Farsa, and compared his left and right eyes.

“Anyway, the colors are distinctly different. Are you usually hiding them with those developing color lenses or something?” -Zenobia

“That’s right. I bet you never thought I’d be using something that’s being researched to disguise as a demon.” -Farsa

The lenses that change the color of the eyes were made with ancient technology, but they have yet to reproduce anything other than the black eye color.

Originally, Farsa started using the product, which was being researched to reproduce the red eyes symbolizing demons, when he happened to obtain it on his journey.

It’s not available to the general public, and its existence is kept secret even in the Valois Kingdom and other countries. For Farsa, it was a stroke of luck to get his hands on it.

After all, he had been standing out too much because he had been covering his left eye with an eyepatch and his black hair.

Also, for most humans, the image of a demon is one with golden horns.

If one looks like a human, like Farsa, one wouldn’t be suspected of disguising their eye color.

“But now, there’s Roux-dono.” -Zenobia

“That’s right. Many people have seen Roux, so it’s widely known that among the demons, there are races that look no different from humans. And people are bound to become suspicious about my unchanging appearance.” -Farsa

Farsa has been serving the kingdom for five years, and people around him recognize him as having aged from nineteen to twenty-four.

It’s still manageable to deceive them about his age, but after another five or ten years, it will be clearly unnatural for him to remain unchanged.

Just the other day, he was pointed out by Duke Dampierre and deceived him with superstitious words like “Magicians age slowly”.

Of course, it’s not entirely superstition, and those who use magic on a daily basis tend to stay youthful and live longer, but they are still human, and age will come.

It’s impossible for an ordinary human to remain unchanged for ten or twenty years.

“It’s quite enviable to a woman like me.” -Zenobia

“You’ve changed from a cute girl to a wonderful woman in these few years, and I think you’ll gain more charm with age. Youth isn’t the only beauty a woman can have. Anyway, now that my secret is starting to unravel, I can’t stay in this country for long. I plan to take Roux and return to the demon territory. I called you today to say goodbye and to fulfill my promise to you.” -Farsa

“Wait a minute! I’m the only one who realizes your true identity, Farsa, and I haven’t told anyone. And if Sil-dono cooperates, we can manage Roux. He’s not the kind of person to break a promise. He promised to lend me his power even after knowing Princess Aurelia’s goal. If I… If I marry Sill-dono, Duke Dampierre, that will solve everything! So, Farsa-dono, you don’t need to leave the kingdom right now!” -Zenobia

Zenobia’s shaken cry echoed across Martyrs’ Hill.

Seeing Zenobia, who clung to him with an upward gaze, Farsa felt a pang of guilt, but he was sure his guess was correct.

Initially, Farsa thought the reason Zenobia accepted the proposal from Duke Dampierre was because of his desire to return Roux to the demon territory.

Of course, the fundamental part hasn’t changed, but the premise that Farsa is a demon was missing.

“Don’t sacrifice yourself for someone like me. I’ve been deceiving many people. There’s no need to protect a man like that.” -Farsa

Zenobia must have realized that Farsa and Mirage are the same person through her interactions with Roux.

And then, she must have thought about the fact that the demon who kidnapped Roux was impersonating Mirage, that Farsa was trying to return Roux to her parents in a proper way, and Farsa’s subsequent actions, and arrived at one answer.

Farsa wants to live as a human and also as a demon.

Farsa could have lived as a demon by returning to the demon territory with Roux, just like he is now, or he could have lived as a human by pretending not to know and abandoning Roux.

However, Farsa chose neither and sought a way for humans and demons to negotiate.

As a first step on that path, was Zenobia and Farsa’s engagement, and the arrangement with the northern aristocrats, including Duke Dampierre, through the mediation of Marquis Ctesiphon, but it suddenly fell apart.

As a result, Zenobia chose to charge forward alone without discussing anything about Farsa’s true identity with anyone.

All of it was for Farsa, who intended to continue living as a human in the Kingdom of Valois from then on, as the human Farsa.

Even if time was running short, if that was what Farsa wished for…

“N-no, you’re wrong! I… I’ve liked Sil-dono since we were children, but I thought it was unrequited love, so I gave up. Farsa-dono is… just a distraction… a lie… so… I don’t… I don’t love yo ――” -Zenobia

” ―― Enough, it’s okay. You don’t need to marry someone you don’t love for my sake. You don’t have to sacrifice yourself to protect my place.” -Farsa

Interrupting Zenobia’s desperate denial with a forced smile, Farsa slowly embraced her. Zenobia did not resist, her shoulders trembling as she was enveloped in Farsa’s arms.

“No! No, no, no! Whether you’re human or a demon, if Farsa-dono is happy, that’s all that matters. Why would you say such a thing? I am…I…” -Zenobia

Crying and speaking selfishly, Zenobia was not the knight everyone admired but a single young girl. Like comforting a small child, Farsa gently stroked Zenobia’s head and back. He was always making girls cry, Farsa thought with self-derision, yet he felt an indescribable sense of fulfillment.

He was born from a human mother he never met and a demon father. And the girl in his arms accepted that he was a demon. Continually hiding his true nature was mentally exhausting, eating away at his heart every time he realized he was neither fully human nor fully demon.

Yet, Zenobia had been trying to sacrifice herself for Farsa’s sake. Therefore, while Farsa felt joy, he also decided he needed to push Zenobia away here.

“Zenobia, listen carefully. After I bring Roux back, I plan to reveal my true identity even to the Demon Lord’s army. As you know, one of the Four Heavenly Kings harbors hatred towards humans, and it’s true that I’ve acted against the Demon Lord’s army as a court magician. Therefore, there’s a high chance of being punished there, and there’s also Julia. Even if I somehow manage the Demon Lord’s army, I’m the one who brought the demons to Julia’s village using teleportation magic. That’s not something I can be forgiven for. Either way, I intend to receive judgment from Julia. I feel bad for Aura, but if I give her all my personal wealth, including the magical tools from the ancient civilization era, I think she’ll manage.” -Farsa

“Stop… please stop…” -Zenobia

“You’re still young, you might meet someone wonderful in the future. Lord Dampierre isn’t a bad person, he was seriously considering you. But I don’t want to make you sacrifice yourself because of me and ruin your life. Choose your future life with your own will.” -Farsa

“… Does Farsa-dono dislike me? Am I not attractive as a woman? Are you kind to a woman who doesn’t matter? Do you act in a way that raises expectations?” -Zenobia

“That’s not true… I didn’t think much about it, but the time I spent with you was very enjoyable. But we have different lifespans and…” -Farsa

“…nough.” -Zenobia

“Eh?” -Farsa

For a moment, Farsa doubted his ears. He was prepared for it to take time to persuade Zenobia, but he couldn’t believe the voice that just came from the sobbing girl clinging to him. It was a voice that sent chills down his spine, like a ghost or a rakshasa crawling up from the depths of hell.

“Enough with the chatter, you fool! I love Farsa-dono! I’m in love with you! Farsa-dono doesn’t hate me! I don’t care about anything else!” -Zenobia

“No, it does matt ―― ” -Farsa

” ―― Enough with your sophistry! Demon? Human? Past sins? Stop moping about it, it’s pathetic! It’s not certain yet that you’ll be punished in the Demon Lord’s army, and we don’t know whether Julia will condemn Farsa-dono!” -Zenobia

“No, if you think about it norm ―― ” -Farsa

” ―― Stop using ‘normal’ as an excuse to take the easy way out, you coward! Listen, choosing death easily is just running away, it’s what cowards do! If you’re that scared, I’ll go with you. I’ll follow you to the demon realm or wherever. Whether it’s the Demon Lord or the Hero, I’ll apologize with you until we’re forgiven. If not, I’ll run away with. We’ll escape far away, to the east or south, and have lots of children in our hideout, and build a country. A country where everyone can live happily, regardless of whether they’re demons or humans. I’ll bear a hundred, two hundred children of Farsa-dono’s. And in the end, I’ll die with a smile on my face, watched over by Farsa-dono, our children, our grandchildren, and our great-grandchildren. I’m serious. If you leave me behind, I’ll chase you to the ends of hell!” -Zenobia

Farsa’s heart was touched by Zenobia’s words, even though they were absurd. He thought that romantic feelings were essentially misunderstandings or sexual desires, and that survival instincts as a species were the root cause, and that beautiful words were just a disguise. But the words of the girl in front of him blew away such logic with brute force.

And somehow, just somehow, Farsa thought that his reticent and calm father must have loved a woman with a personality like this. A woman who dared to say that things like being human or a demon, or the barrier of race, were trivial. Because she was his partner, he must have felt the same way.

Various thoughts and emotions raced through his head, and Farsa let out a big sigh.

“Sigh. You really are a stubborn one, aren’t you?” -Farsa

“Huh, haven’t I told you before? Despite appearances, I’m a persistent woman.” -Zenobia

Looking at Zenobia’s smug expression, Farsa remembered a conversation they’d had before. And he remembered something from even further back.

When they first met, she was a small child. She was stubborn, a crybaby, and shy. She tried to hide her feelings, but she couldn’t hide them at all. The girl who was a child then gradually grew up. She continued to be strong, standing shoulder to shoulder with him, but she was still a crybaby and stubborn.

“Really. But the absurd future you’re talking about might not be so bad after all.” -Farsa

“Fa, Farsa-dono, d-does that mean…” -Zenobia

Zenobia looked up at Farsa’s face with a mix of surprise and expectation. And Farsa looked at Zenobia’s face and let out a breath. Not his usual sigh, but a breath mixed with tension and resolve.

“Zenobia, I swear to God I’ll make you happy. So I want you to stay by my side until you die. I need you!” -Farsa

“Y-yes, I’d be glad to!” -Zenobia

As she agreed, the shadows of Farsa and Zenobia overlapped again. As if to vow never to part again. Farsa didn’t yet know what true happiness was. But he thought that surely not letting go of the warmth in his arms right now would lead to happiness. It was a terribly vague emotion that couldn’t be explained by logic or calculation. He couldn’t express it in specific words, but the feeling of wanting her to stay was real.