Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 99

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 99

‘What is it? What’s going on?’
The sword that had gone quiet suddenly panicked, tumbling out words in a rush.
-Wait, why isn’t it normal?! I can feel Chernobog’s aura?! ＼(●o○;)ノ What is this? Here? Why?!
‘That’s what I should be asking you, isn’t it?!’
The blade, hastily hidden at my waist, trembled with an intensity that suggested something serious was afoot.
-This is bad, Master! Chernobog must have found himself a Contract Partner too!。ﾟ(ﾟﾉД｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡!!
‘Ah… you mean the god of darkness who opposes Beloborg, the god of light I’m contracted with? He can form contracts too?’
The sword trembled and wailed, as if mourning a truth I’d only just learned.
-Oh no, oh no! You haven’t even completed a proper Master Ceremony yet!。ﾟ(ﾟﾉД｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡ You’re still nowhere near the ultimate stage—what was it again?(ﾟヘﾟ)？ Anyway, you’re still as far away as a fingernail’s worth, and that vile, wicked Chernobog—if he growls, you’ll just melt and become dust of the Underground World!｡･ﾟﾟ･(>д<)･ﾟﾟ･｡
'You don't actually know what that slang means, do you? You just throw it around and then forget it halfway through because you can't remember it anyway.'
-……Our master doesn't have colleagues who can wield different types of Divine Power!。ﾟ(ﾟﾉД｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡
'Stop lamenting my poor fortune and just explain! Does me crying make it any better?!'
I managed to calm the whimpering emoticon-faced blade, and what it explained went like this:
Beloborg is the god of light I contracted with—a benevolent deity.
He creates Barriers and protects humans from Magic Beasts, a god of the surface world.
In terms of domain, his realm is the land where humans dwell above.
Chernobog is the god of darkness who stands in opposition to that god of light.
He is the parent and creator of Magic Beasts, and the Underground World—also called the Underworld—is his domain.
That Magic Beasts attack from beneath the earth, exploiting weak points in the Barrier to invade the surface, is all a scheme by Chernobog to seize the land.
Beloborg and Chernobog are naturally enemies, and Beloborg's victory was sealed when the first Emperor drove all the Magic Beasts from the surface and erected the Barrier.
The reason I could become his Contract Partner is that only those of royal blood and possessors of Divine Light can become Contract Partners of Beloborg—a restriction that stems from the first Emperor's contract with him.
And until that Barrier completely collapses, neither Chernobog nor Beloborg can 'directly' interfere in the human world, or so I'm told. They can exert power through their Contract Partners, but the fundamental principle is that gods cannot directly touch the human realm.
-Sniff, sniff. Which is why Chernobog also can't contract with just anyone…. (*´；ェ；`*) Sniff…. Ordinary humans can't wield darkness, and shouldn't. But very rarely, among an extremely small number of humans, there exist those who can accept the power of darkness….
'But if Beloborg is a god for humans, how can a human contract with Chernobog?'
-Well, a perfectly normal person can still kill another person. That's how it is…. Even if someone deserves the hatred of heaven and earth, there will always be humans foolish enough to take their side, won't there?ʕ ´• ᴥ•̥`ʔ
'I understand perfectly. So a Contract Partner touched this drink?'
-Yes. It was faint…. If you hadn't yet fully become my master and hadn't been wearing the Veil of Gloriana, I wouldn't have noticed it either.
I glanced around the empty space where Cronen had vanished, now that I was alone.
This wasn't the space where the ceremony would take place. More precisely, it was a passage. It seemed Cronen had deliberately positioned me here on the way, out of sight of others, to hand me the cup.
In the distance, torches were already beginning to burn, and the faint sound of Blessing Prayer drifted to my ears. It was obvious Cronen would return soon.
'What happens if I drink this?'
-…….
'You said ordinary poison gets Purified, right? What if I drink something infused with the aura of an opposing god?'
-……If you're stronger than that person, it shouldn't be a major problem.o(；△；)o
'So if I'm not, it's serious trouble?'
One obstacle after another, it seemed.
Still, to safely conduct a Master Ceremony, I'd need to gather people of all different types who could wield Divine Power—which is hardly like collecting a set of magical artifacts.
I turned to the blade again, its rare silence making it seem subdued and quiet.
'As long as I don't drink it, I'm safe, right?'
-Yes, unless it seeps through a wound or something…. Or unless you consume it…. If it's neither of those, it should be relatively fine….(╯•﹏•╰)
'……Well, we'll manage somehow.'
-It's too dangerous, Master. Truly, if a Contract Partner of Chernobog is involved in this….(๑ŏ _ ŏ๑)
I laughed at the worried blade. Its unusually downcast demeanor tugged at my heart.
'There's no one else to do it.'
-Pardon?
'Honestly, I seriously wondered if there was some kind of error. What could I possibly have that made me a god's Contract Partner of all things? I barely remember the contract process—I just figured it must be true since you kept insisting. But now it comes down to this: I have to stand against something like the god of Magic Beasts, right? You said only royalty can do it. Brian, that fool, would probably just scream about being the king of beasts and side with them, begging for an army of Magic Beasts if he wasn't careful. Adrian has to be emperor in the future. As for me, I happen to have some ties with the Castrain family. Fine, I understand.'
-……Wait, Master, what exactly are you accepting?!(◔д◔）
'That there's no one else but me. So I have to do it.'
There was nothing to deliberate. There was no point running away from danger now.
I had a friend who was doing her teaching practicum.
During the practicum, she took a group of children on a field trip.
And one of the children she was responsible for nearly had an accident. My friend instinctively shielded that child. When I visited her in the hospital along with others, we all praised her for her bravery. She laughed shyly and said:
'It wasn't anything grand. There are firefighters who risk their lives running into burning buildings every day, and police officers fighting criminals. There are healthcare workers volunteering their lives on disease frontlines. What I did was the same. I did my best at my job. Even if I was just a practicum student and not a real teacher, to those children I was someone they could trust and rely on in that moment. They called me teacher. I wanted to protect them…. Really, I just…. I couldn't turn away. I couldn't run.'
She was that kind of person.
My father and mother too—whenever they saw a crying child on the street, they'd always turn back and try to find the parents. When they'd meet a street vendor with an overturned fruit basket, they'd wander the street gathering the fruit back up. I grew up around such people.
I've seen too many people who seemed to exist for no purpose. People who loudly insisted that if they just lived well themselves, that's enough—that honesty and sacrifice go unappreciated by anyone. My supervisor at a place I once worked would sit us down and say things like that all the time.
But I wanted to become an adult who could sit down with a crying child on the street and ask, 'Would you like some candy? Does something hurt? Where are your parents?' I didn't want to live as an adult incapable of even that much.
And if someone told me, 'If you don't do this, this world might collapse,' what choice would I have?
If I don't do it, I'm ruined anyway.
"I apologize for the wait."
Cronen, now fully changed back into his robes, walked toward me. Even though his expression still held some lingering resentment, he forced a smile. It was the same Priest's vestments as before. I glanced sideways at him and grinned.
"Yes, it did take a while. I was a bit bored, and my feet ached too. But well, you wouldn't have planned from the start to leave me in this place with nowhere to sit and rest, would you? Right?"
Cronen barely suppressed the look of someone who wanted to curse me. Ha—as if anyone should try to poison me like that.
"Shall we proceed now?"
I followed slowly behind Cronen as he walked forward. The Blessing Prayer echoed like song through the space.
O Divine One, save us.
O Divine One, have mercy upon us.
O Divine One…….

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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