Kami-sama no Inai Nichiyoubi:Volume8 Chapter3

Chapter 3 - Alice in Nightmare

On Monday, God created the world.

 

On Tuesday, God distinguished the order and chaos.

 

On Wednesday, God honed the numerical values.

 

On Thursday, God allowed the Time to flow.

 

On Friday, God overlooked every corner of the world.

 

On Saturday, God rested.

 

On Sunday, God abandoned the world.

 

—And so the world belonged to the Child of God.

 

Back in the alley, the situation had changed dramatically.

"What is this…?"

She had assumed she took the wrong road. The previously deserted area was thus filled with people.

"Excuse me! Please let me through!"

Ai nudged her way through the people and moved forward. "Queue up!" "Don’t push!" she ignored their shouts, jumped off the wall to arrive at the front row, and finally got to the girl

"Ah! Ai!"

As soon as she landed in the cul-de-sac, Nein immediately jumped on her.

"Seriously! Where did you go?"

"I'm sorry."

Despite the emotions rattling in her mind, Ai continued to maintain a smiling façade as she observed her surroundings.

"…I had a few things to do."

The people who had gathered in the alley started to chatter.

They were group of very contrasting features. Their skin was as shiny as a baby's, and yet their clothes were tattered.

"…Miss Nein, what's the matter with these people?"

"Ah, these are the people I brought back to life."

Is there a problem? Her smile seemed to imply,

Nope, Ai said without changing her expression. She had no idea what face she should make.

"Oh, my dear Saint~"

Then a man in the front row said. He was a Dead.

"P-please, revive me too."

"Of course!—Ai, I'm going over now!"

"Su-sure."

Should I stop her ? Or should I support her? Ai watched her head over with such thoughts. Nein ran over energetically and hugged the rotten body without hesitation, reviving the man back as a Living.

Cheers erupted as those gathered around shed tears as if they were the ones revived, putting a blanket over the man.

Feeling alone and left out, Ai returned to the same wall as before and rested her back against it.

"I can't believe it…"

Muttering so was Alice, who had been standing there watching Nein.

"The Dead are actually revived…"

He was looking over at the people who were being revived before they could even emote.

"…Mr Alice, are you unhappy?"

"What about you then?"

Ai fell silent.

She did not complain about the joyous scene before her. She was on the verge of tears just seeing their teary faces.

But when looking from afar, she felt an inexplicable sense of dread.

Why?

Wondering why, Ai quietly fell silent.

And even after that, the Dead kept reviving.

 

+

 

It was night.

"…Looks like she’s at her limit."

Alice said, and Ai, who had been slumped over, looked up.

The alleyway was a little different again.

The ground had been swept clean, and a carpet had been laid out before they knew it. There was a bonfire burning, and many surrounded Nein. They were divided into two groups, the cunning ones and the innocent ones. Some managed the crowd, some set up stalls for business, and some spread fraudulent rumors in an attempt to make a quick buck. No matter where they were, no matter what happened, humans were always human, and Ai was somewhat relieved.

"Come on! Next! Step forward!"

Nein shouted.

It seemed that her power was truly bottomless, and she had been reviving the Dead since morning without fading at all.

"What's wrong? Next, next!"

But the young body that controlled that power appeared to be unable to keep up, for the blood was drained from her cheeks, making her look so weak and frail that she might faint. It was no wonder, for she had not eaten anything since morning, and had been saving the world till this moment. Her entourage started to chatter. A few minutes ago, the cunning faction and the fastidious faction were duking it out, but it appeared then that they had come to a consensus.

"Miss Ai, Mr. Alice."

One of the innocents, a woman, appeared to recognize them as she went over to them, bowing,

Alice answered.

"…What?"

"We think the Saint should conclude her holy work for the day."

"Heh."

A sarcastic sneer.

"That's for you to decide?"

"…Mr Alice."

"Got it got it. I’m not looking for trouble. So, what do you want from us?"

"…We'd like you to take care of the Saint in your house."

"Hmm, now I’ll have to ask why. You’re not asking to bring her back to your own place?"

Before the woman could reply, a man appeared.

"This won’t do."

It was the leader of the Cunning Faction.

"Leaving the Saint to such idiots? What a joke. What if they brainwash her?"

"…That's what I'm talking about."

"I see."

In other words, the two forces just would not back off, and decided to leave her to a third party.

"In other words, you guys want some time to keep fighting? —What about you, Ai?"

Alice asked. But Ai did not want to answer. She felt that the moment she answered, she would be complicit in their dirty scheme.

So she decided to do the dirty work herself.

She left the wall and went to Nein, who was being persuaded by her entourage.

"Miss Nein."

"Ah! Ai, listen to me. They're telling me to take a break!"

Her lips were tired and pale, and her cheeks were devoid of color.

"I don't have time for this! I'm trying to save the world!"

"That’s right."

"Yes!"

"….But there doesn't seem to be anyone new here, right?"

Ai pointed to the entrance of the alley. There was no one there anymore.

"Really …."

"See?"

It was a lie. The truth was that the entourage had purged the line and concealed the fact.

However, young Nein did not seem to have the notion of ‘being deceived by people’, that it was a terrible lie by these adults, and she dropped her shoulders.

Ai felt a sting in my heart.

"Well, let's go home for today. You've saved the world enough."

"…You think so, Ai?"

"Yes, of course."

"……Ehehe, I see."

Ai patted Nein’s head, and the tense face relaxed.

"Let's go home and eat today, Miss Scar said she’s making a pie dish."

"Pie?"

"You've never had pie before, have you? It's delicious."

"……"

"Yes, it’s decided. "

Nein neither replied or affirmed. Ai however took Nein's hand as if the latter had agreed.

"Let's go home, Miss Nein, to our home."

Ai felt that she had become a despicable adult.

 

Julie and Scar made perfect preparations and welcomed the trio back. The house was bright, the rooms were clean, and the big man was clean-shaven.

The duck meat inside the pie crust was so good that Nein's cheeks almost fell off, and she gobbled it up with her eyes widened. Alice teased her eating face, and Ai wiped Nein’s dirty cheeks with a napkin from time to time.

After dinner, they took the car out to the hot springs. Nein got carsick from the rattling car, slipped on the wet floor and screamed, and nearly drowned in the bathtub. In the end though, she was contently soaking in the hot water and mimicking Ai's humming.

It was a scene of happiness.

 

"To—!"

Nein jumped on the bed and bounced about.

"Don’t! You're damaging the blanket."

Ai warned as she buttoned up her pajamas.

Nein however was in high spirits, rolling around in high spirits, hugging Ai's pillow and booing,

"Mmm, Ai, you’re always nagging."

"Whose fault is it…?"

"Huh? I don't know."

Nein laughed, hugging a pillow. Even Ai was annoyed.

And she jumped in too.

"To...!"

"Heh? Kyah?"

Ai unleashed Operation Roller and rolled from right to left on the bed to catch Nein.

"D-Didn’t you say it’ll damage the blanket!?"

"I don’t care. I’m the one who gets to do this!"

"That's not fair! Hahaha! Stop it, stop it! Ahahaha!"

Ai locked Nein’s joints and kept tickling her until she gave up.

"…Finally, evil has been destroyed."

"I-I’m not evil, I’m righteousness…"

"Yes, yes. Okay, that's enough fooling around. I'll untie your hair."

"Eh, this is fine already…"

Ai patted the edge of the bed, but Nein held her hair and ran away. Her hair was tied in a bun, which Ai had bundled after they had bathed.

"But if you leave it as it is, the hair will be fixed. I’ll rebraid it for you. Okay?"

"… Yes."

Ai caught Nein as the latter reluctantly approached, and untied her hair. The silvery hair was smooth and left Ai’s hands an urge to touch it forever.

"I'll untie your hair for you Ai!"

"Please do."

Ai felt the tantalizing sensation of butterflies fiddling on fingertips graze her scalp.

"Alright, time for bed."

"Ehh~"

"No ehh. Aren’t we waking up early tomorrow too?"

"Ah, yeah, that’s right. We have to save the world tomorrow, right?"

"……"

Without answering, Ai went to bed in silence.

"Good night."

""Yes. ‘Good night’!"

The lamp was switched off, the blankets were wrapped over them, and darkness fell immediately.

The moonlight was oozing through the curtains.

Ai told Nein to go to bed early, but she herself could not fall asleep. In the darkness, her thoughts ran wild as she thought of the girl sleeping next to her.

"…Hey, Ai, are you awake?"

Nein was probably wondering the same thing.

"No, I’m asleep."

"Ah, is that so? It can’t be helped then…wait! You’re awake!"

Nein was not playing dumb with the retort, but actually retorting. She was beyond innocent, just foolish. If it were Dee, she would say something like "Since you’re asleep, I can do anything right eheheheh".

Ai closed her eyes and asked,

"What is it?"

But Nein didn't speak up.

Had she fallen asleep thinking about it? Ai waited for so long that she wondered so, and then,

 

"Well, what is your wish, Ai ?"

 

It’s finally here, Ai thought.

The question came.

Ai opened her eyes slightly.

"You’re asking for my wish?"

"Yes."

Nein squirmed under the covers and peeked out from underneath.

"I haven’t asked you, right Ai? Tell me, tell me your wish? What do you want? To bring your dad back to life?"

She smiled like a newborn demon.

"Or your mom? The villagers? Ah, or everyone."

"…Please wait."

Ultimately, how did Nein know these? Ai wanted to ask, but she decided not to. She had started to accept the fact that this little creature was ‘such a thing’.

Without even moving her eyebrows, she asked.

"…What happens if I make a wish?"

"Everything will come true."

She simply said so.

"If I wish, you can do it…"

"Yes. So tell me, Ai, what do you wish for?"

"……."

Closing her eyes again, Ai asked herself deep inside. What did she wish for?

 

—In her memory, her father was sneering at her.

If she could let him pat her head, how delighted would she be?

—In her memory, her mother was beaming happily

If her mother could call her mother, how soothing would she feel?

 

Ai thought about the happy days that had gone by. Old wounds that she thought could never be recovered were aching in her chest.

"Ai?"

"……"

"W-Woah! Ai, what's wrong? Why are you crying!?"

"I'm not crying…"

It was a fact. Ai did not shed a single tear.

"…I think you're the one who's crying."

"Because…because of…such sadness …."

Nein was crying as large tears rolled down her face. Ai saw this, and knew that Nein had touched her heart.

Still, Ai did not feel uncomfortable.

"…You're crying for me, aren't you…?"

She patted the little head.

"Because…because…"

"Thank you very much."

If it had been the old her, Ai would have bawled out loud just as Nein did. However, Ai was 13, and too mature to be called a child. The tear dams were piled up so high that they would not move over such a trivial thing. She did not think this was something to be sad about."

"Ah, don't worry, Ai!"

Nein shouted, tears scattering in the darkness.

"I'm going to fix everything!"

"……"

"I'll make it all go back to the way it was! I’ll make all the sadness, all the horrible things that happened, disappear!"

So! She said,

"So tell me! Make a wish! I'll make anything happen!"

"… Anything?"

"Yes!"

Ai's eyes widened and she gently stroked Nein's hair. "I'll make anything happen." Once she received such a dreamy promise, Ai said her wish truthfully.

The answer was obvious from the start.

"…Now then, hurry up and sleep."

"Eh?"

A puzzled look.

"You have an early day tomorrow, right? Don't stay up too late. Go to bed early. …"

"Eh? Eh? Wait, Ai, what are you…"

"That's the kind of wish I want you to fulfill.…"

Ai then pushed Nein under the blanket and carefully pulled it over her.

"Eh? Wa-wait, Ai?"

"Good night…."

Ai hugged Nein’s little body and patted her back

"Wa-wait! Are you really fine with this."

"…Or…shall I sing you a lullaby?"

"I'm not wishing for that! I'm the one hearing wishes!"

"Yes yes…."

Ai sang a song and pat Nein’s back.

"He-hey! D-Don’t pamper me!"

Five minutes later, Nein was asleep.

And it took many hours until Ai fell asleep.

 

"If only all wishes could come true."

That was what Ai imagined back when she was little.

Not one, not two, not three, but an actual omnipotence that could grant as many wishes as she wanted.

If she had such a thing, what would she wish for?

First of all, it would be food. She would eat a lot of food and store up food for a long time to come—no, she would simply let hungry disappear, and have eating be a hobby instead.

Next, sleep. No more waking up early, and no one to nag her. It would be best to sleep the whole day—no, she should remove sleep too. She could then keep playing all day long.

No cleaning, no laundry, no hassle at all.

No studying, no working, no dying, no sadness, of course.

In this way, father, mother and her would all live happily together.

No sleeping at night, just playing.

No death, no pain,.

Just having fun.

Forever and ever and ever…

Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever. ….

Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever. …

 

That was when the young Ai stopped thinking.

It was a dream that should have brought nothing but happiness, but for some reason it suddenly became terrifying.

 

Back then, she was still on the bed, wetting her bed, for her imagination was just that, an imagination.

 

But what would happen if that imagination became reality?

What would happen to humanity if all their wishes came true?

 

She believed the answer to that would be revealed in the future.

 

+

 

After a while, their voices could not be heard.

"……"

Alice made sure that they were not talking, and stood up.

He stepped on the floor cautiously, and silently crept past their room, heading down the stairs to the first floor. He was in no mood to return to his room.

He decided to go downstairs to the kitchen and grab something to eat. The moment he thought so, he spotted an unexpected pair.

"Ah~! That’s unfair, Uncle! I'll have a drink too! Just give me one!"

"Ehhh! No, no, no! Not for you!"

Dee and Julie were In the dining room, which they should not be, fighting over a wine bottle.

"……What are you doing?"

"Oh, Alice. Right on cue."

Julie said, keeping the big spinning punch away with her right arm.

"Ah! Listen, Alice, Uncle’s been stealing supplies that’s meant for reconstruction!"

"Don't make it sound so bad!"

The story, as Alice aptly sorted, was that they found some old unopened bottles of old wine during the reconstruction process, and Julie kept them for himself.

"Look, I’m not keeping them to myself…seriously, whatever. Sit down here. Alice. This is some good stuff that’s been sleeping here for fifteen years."

Alice sighed.

"…No, based on the law of this town, I’m still not of drinking age…"

"Don't worry about it. Your actual age isn’t the same as your appearance anyway."

Julie poured a glass before Alice could reply. Alice gave a wry smile, and decided to accept it. Most would not dare to mention Alice’s age, but this big man just casually mentioned so, which Alice found was a refreshing take.

"Ah! That’s unfair~! Why is it okay for Alice and not for me?"

"That’s why, you…ah whatever, I get it, I get it. Just a little, alright?"

A slight viscous liquid was poured into thickening of the liquid was poured into the unglazed bowl.

"Cheers~!"

Dee led off to toast their glasses.

"Cheers? For what?"

Alice was taken aback, and Dee winked.

"For this cute little me?"

"Well, let’s leave it at that."

"Here's to the beauty of this little girl."

"…Geez, when did you guys learn to answer like jerks…?"

The liquor was much stronger than expected. The moment the liquid touched the tongue, there was an explosive scent that dominated the respiratory organs. It was a drink that smelled like a forest.

"Pffhaa~!"

Dee gulped it down at once.

"it’s bad~! One more!"

"… Hey."

"That's why I didn’t want you to drink it…"

Julie looked up at the sky.

"Ueehh~I hate it~ it's so bitter and spicy, what is this? I get sweet champagne or fruit wine, but I don’t understand why adults like this stuff."

"Then don’t drink it."

"But I hate to be left out, you know?"

"…It’s so difficult to handle you when you can hold your liquor."

Julie shook his head in dismay. Surprisingly, it seemed that the two of them had drank together several times.

It’s bad, it’s bad. Dee yapped happily, and Alice stood up.

"…Gimme that."

"Eh?"

Alice snatched the glass and went to the kitchen. Fortunately, there was a feast on this night, and there were plenty of ingredients.

"Here."

He turned the stale oil liquor into a frozen cocktail of orange and mint, and set it on the table.

Finally, he inserted a straw and clinked the ice, and returned to his seat.

"T-thanks."

Dee, who had been drinking lots of that strong liquor, suddenly calmed down and started to drink the diluted cocktail with great care.

"… You're a terrifying guy."

Julie was intimidated.

"Huh? How so?"

"…… No, it's nothing…You're pretty handy, though."

"Well, I had a part-time job before."

Alice said and put a glass of water and some ice cubes before Julie.

"Use that, Old Man. I think this drink tastes better when mixed with ice and water."

"…Hmph, and you said ‘I’m legally unable to drink’, you idiot.?"

The big man drank the sake obediently.

A relaxed atmosphere spread. Dee was playing with her cocktail, while Julie lit her pipe and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

Meanwhile, Alice was staring at the ceiling.

Purple smoke slowly drifted across the beams.

At that moment, Alice finally thought of the question he should have.

"Huh? Old man."

"Hmm?"

"Where's Scar?"

"Sleeping with Celica. It's that time of night, right?"

He was right.

"Then why are you still awake?"

And Dee, too.

Thinking about it, there was definitely something amiss if these two were drinking like this. Dee in particular had to deal with the Witch, and should be completely busy.

"Huh, you've just realized that now? It's so like you."

"You mean…"

"We’ve been thinking about Ai."

Julie too looked up at the ceiling. Right above them was Ai's room.

""I don’t intend to call the kid an enemy or anything like that, but still, you never know what can happen, so I thought I'd stay up today…that’s about all I can do after all. "

Julie said nonchalantly and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke.

"Old man…."

Suddenly, Alice realized that the man had spent many nights like this.

"And then, we got this idiot…"

"Owowowow! Uncle! Don't pull my ear!"

Side, Julie said, and set an item on the table.

"…What's this?"

It was a handgun.

"This dumb girl sneaked in through the back door while holding this thing."

Ahahaha. Dee poked her fingers together awkwardly.

"Through the back door…Dee, what are you planning with this?"

"Hmm? Assassination."

Dee responded honestly, too honestly.

"The town council and the guilds decided to eliminate the Witch. She’s basically changing the status quo. It’s too dangerous to leave her be."

Julie sighed and shook his head.

"Seriously…I don’t know what this little girl is talking about…no matter how powerful she is, she's still just a kid."

"Hm hm, I’m fond of Uncle’s inflexible mind, but I'm sorry…I can't compromise on this one. It’s even scarier when she’s a kid. We don’t know what she’ll actually do…"

"Here’s an opening!" She then shouted, and reached for the gun. However, she could not snatch it, for the big man slammed her cranium mercilessly with a fist.

"Seriously…talk her out of this."

"Me?"

Alice said, and put the cup down, pondering.

"…He’s right. Don’t use a gun at least. You’ll end up shooting yourself in the foot."

Yep yep, Julie nodded. Dee pursed her lips.

"And I don't think regular bullets will do much against the Witch. We don’t know how she’ll cheat."

Julie nodded, and then he noticed something was amiss. Dee's smile broke.

"…Alice?"

Alice was staring at the amber liquid, thinking of ways to kill people.

"At the very least, we should burn her…or dissolve her with acid. Best if we can get Gravekeepers to help…Ai or Scar won’t do…looks like we’ll have to restrain her and send her packing to the wilderness. Given the current reality, those Deformed under Dee are our best bet.

However, the only powerful Deformed combatants were Destructive Fist and the Angel, and they were overwhelmingly lacking in firepower. Physical attacks might not be effective at all. If this was the case, it would be best if it was someone with the ability to kill immediately, a Deformed on the level of the Princess in the land of the Dead…and also a Deformed who could do anything to ‘infinity’ or ‘concepts’.

For example, yes, someone like himself……

"Hey! Alice, Alice!"

Julie suddenly shouted. No, he had been shouting the entire time, but Alice was just lost in his own thoughts, and did not notice.

"Ah, ahh, sorry, what?"

"I said, what are you talking about?"

This is unbelievable…Julie had such a look on his face, but Alice did not understand the question.

"What, did I say something?"

"…Are you serious?"

"Seriously, what?"

Julie shouted,

"You're gonna kill that kid!?"

Yeah.

He was about to answer.

And then, he noticed something was amiss,

 

"Eh?"

 

Did he just, actually, without hesitation,

Think about how to kill someone—

"Hey, get a grip."

A worried face appeared before him.

"Ye-yeah."

"Seriously, what’s with that face? Wake up!"

"…Do I look that bad?"

Alice strokes his cheek, completely unsure of himself.

"Get a grip—and anyway, aside from that Ghost over there, you're not the kind of person who’ll approve of that, right?"

Hey? Julie looked behind. "What do you mean, aside from me?" He had assumed Dee would protest, but there was no response.

"…Oi, what now, little girl?"

Julie turned around worriedly as he did not get the answer he expected.

There was Dee, looking pale and stunned.

"Eh?… Ah! I-it's nothing!"

"There’s no way it’s nothing. Your face is pale and all."

"I said it's nothing!"

Dee quickly put on the persona of the Ghost and tried to regain her composure, only for her slip up to be caught by Alice.

Their eyes met.

They had known each other for so long, that look alone was enough.

"…What did I do?"

Dee’s little shoulders jolted.

"Talk."

"I-It’s nothing, Alice. Your face—really looked like that time."

That time.

"When was—that time."

"……That's."

"Talk!"

Hii! Dee shrieked and hid under the desk. Julie grabbed Alice’s shoulder with a grim look, but Alice did not stop.

"Tell me! When did that happen!"

And then, a strange memory came to him.

It was a familiar room, a noisy classroom, Dee was hiding under the desk, gunshots, gunshots and more gunshots, her friends died one by one as Alice pointed his guns at them, whom he should be protecting.

Shaking, Dee said,

 

"…It’s the old Alice…who would kill for the sake of protecting everyone…"

 

Alice froze.

"You idiot!"

At that moment, Julie delivered a serious slap at Alice, and almost snapped the latter’s neck off.

His stare, which was forcibly turned aside, spotted a dark window pane

There was an familiar face reflected in the glass.

"Hey! Hey, Alice!"

Julie grabbed Alice by the collar and lifted him up.

"…Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah."

Alice answered, and finally returned to reality. So it seemed.

"…Are you sure you're alright?"

Julie stared into Alice’s face anxiously. But this time, the latter could not answer immediately.

He did not know.

Alice did not know himself.

"Get a grip. You idiot. …"

The large man tapped him forcefully on the shoulder.

The slapped body made a sound resembling a hollow box.

 

And so the second night passed.

 

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