-- Belphegor’s Perspective --

Sitting comfortably on her lap, she hugged me with her warm arms. Looking to the far horizon, no matter where I looked, the gloomy clouds hid the sun from us. Isolated from the rest of the world. We both enjoyed the scenery outside as we relaxed in the treehouse, taller than any tree in the forest. Apart from the muffled sound coming from the raindrops outside, she hums a song giving me peace of mind. 

Her sweet voice makes me feel safe and loved that it made me feel sleepy. As my vision began to blur, I once again reopened my eyes when something hit my mind. Tilting my head until I hit her belly, I looked up to her. My neck would sometimes ache just by talking to her. 

 

“Mother, why do you only visit when there’s a storm?”

 

She stopped from humming before she gracefully looked at me. Her long wavy silver hair hanging from her shoulder slightly slid down to the side of her chest. She caressed my forehead up to my silver hair before she spoke. 

 

** hiso hiso hiso hiso hiso **

 

She whispered. I silently watched her rosy lips gently move till she finished her last words. After a blink of an eye, she smiled at me. 

 

“Forgive me, Mother, can you repeat that again?”

 

She nodded and smiled once again. She carried me to her arms and raised me just above her level. She got closer, and closer, and closer to my lips until she kissed me. I was surprised after my cheeks puffed as she blew air into my lungs. I pushed her away, but she wouldn’t budge. She dragged me even closer. 

 

“!! Mmm! Mother!”

 

The vision around me slowly fades away. I woke up. 

 

“Haaa, huffffffpp!”

 

I woke up in a pit. Sora was on top of me performing a mouth to mouth resuscitation. She’s doing her very best to bring me back alive. I gently pushed her away with my arm.

 

“You’re finally awake.”

 

Said Hachiro sitting next to Nanatsu. 

 

“Here, Bell-san, have some water.”

 

Hachiro leaned over and offered me a tumbler. I took a sip and gave it back to Hachiro. 

 

“Bell-san, you’re not going to drink more of it?”

“No, I’m fine already... How did I end up in this pit?”

“Well… We uhh… Sorry, force of habit.”

 

Said Hachiro while scratching the back of his head. He glanced at Nanatsu before he continued. 

 

“But before that, we found you inside that tree trunk, up there. When we called out for you, you didn’t respond at all, so we thought something happened to you or something.”

“You don’t have to worry about me. I’d still be alive even without your help…”

“Really? Sora said you weren’t breathing at all…”

“I don’t breathe much when I’m sleeping.”

“I see. Anyway, it’s better to be sure.”

“What about you, princess? Freya will be angry if she sees you doing it with me.” 

 

Sora had already climbed out of the pit when I asked her. She was wiping a wet towel on her mouth.

 

“It’s okay, I got it covered already, I just can’t let a man in need die in front of me. After all, I’m a hero.”

“...”

“Let’s go back already, Freya-sama is waiting.”

 

While we walked back to the cave, Nanatsu scratched his head side by side.

 

“This is confusing!”

“...”

“You keep on saying, you don’t want to be a hero or a princess anymore, yet you become one when you feel good about it.”

“Hmph, why do you even care?”

“Well, what are we supposed to call you if you keep on changing your title?”

“Hero, when I’m outside the castle; princess, when I’m inside the castle.”

“Hm, that’s too cliché, we’ll just call you Sora instead.”

“Hmph, we’re not even that close. But sure why not, you can call me whatever you like. You already messed up my life, why not f*ck over with my name too!”

“Will do!”

“F*****kkk youuuuu!”

 

Nanatsu saluted with sarcasm to Sora. Pissed off, she turned around and gave him the finger with both hands before she trotted far ahead of us. She’s starting to learn how to retaliate. 

 

--

 

Before we set out, Sora planned out the routes to Marigaya town. It is located on one of the mountains of Marigiya Mountain Ranges, south of here. We continued our journey after it rained again. 

The southern region of the Kingdom of Arcadia is filled with grassy lands and trees. Their border ends on the mountain ranges, but they still send their troops beyond their border. Back in the day, we owned the very ends of this land. Our authority and superiority is known all over the world that no one would even dare to cross our lands without my permission. Quite memorable, but I no longer wish to know the rest of history after I descended from the throne. 

It's already midnight when the rain finally stops. They’ll be resting under the tree tonight while I’ll be staying not far from them. Recently, I’ve been aching to wash up my body, so I decided to make a bathtub made out of earth using my staff. It shined blue whenever I casted a spell. This is a good alternative when I don’t want to use my own mana.

Soon after, I set up a campfire to warm up the atmosphere. I removed my clothes, even my blindfold before I went into the bathtub. I then relaxed my body and looked up at the cloudy skies. 

 

“**sigh** I made a lot of mistakes back there, didn’t I?”

 

I said to myself as I remembered the mess I made back in the Kingdom of Arcadia. I somehow became desperate when I knew Freya was there. I thought I’d be more cautious when I first saw her again after 3000 years. And it became even more difficult when my past started to hunt me. I lost my concentration and before I realized it, I was already storming the castle. Part of me really wants to end this now and go home. 

 

“Hm, home…”

 

I smiled while gazing at the stars that are partially hidden by the clouds. The warm water, the warm atmosphere, the billowing winds hitting the trees to and fro, the crickets making noise in the background, it all soothes my body and mind. 

 

--

 

Rainy morning, at the tree house, my parents prepared something for me.   

 

“No peeking yet.”

 

Said mother with a smile. She carried me in her arms, enveloped by her three-set of wings. It was fluffy and as white as snow. She lightly squeezed my cheek and gently giggled, before she gradually opened each set of her wings.  

 

““Happy birthday!””

“Wow!”

 

My brows raised and I smiled from ear to ear as they surprised me with a chocolate cake held by my father. It has seven candles symbolizing each year of my age. My parents were both brimming with joy when they saw my reaction. 

 

“Did you make it for me?”

“How did you know, Belphy?”

“Ohh, sweety, you forgot to wash off the chocolate on your cheeks.”

“Hahaha, my bad. Well, it's not just me, your mother helped too.”

 

My birthday celebration wasn’t as grand as an aristocrat’s birthday party. In fact, it was simple, yet I keep on recalling it to this day, a simple party with just the three of us. No matter how many times I have celebrated with others, be it from the victories from our war or grand occasions, this lingering feeling filled with joy and laughter I had with my parents will always be the very best I have experienced in my life. 

Thus, they became my everything… They are the reason why I’m here… the reason why I became a total shut-in… the reason why I conquered the world… the reason why I built the Kingdom of Arcadia. After all these years, after I got out of my room, I thought I already forgot about them, but I was naive… Now everytime I sleep, the wounds of the past reopens. Why must I see these old memories of  mine? I’m already living for eternity… have I not suffered enough? 

Looking back at them… Father wasn’t as tall as my mother. Whenever I stare at them, they look completely different. Mother has three-set of white wings as white as snow while father has only one and they’re like raven wings as dark as coal. Father has fangs, horns, and a pointy tail while mother has only a golden halo that floats above her head whenever she feels happy. Even the color of their hair is different. Mother has silver hair while father has dark hair. As for their eyes, I’ve long forgotten about them. 

Even then, I never asked why they’re different, rather I often asked them why I’m different. Mother would often reassure me that I’m no different than them since I inherited the color of her hair and my face from my father. 

 

“Now, for your present… I shall bestow upon you one of my finest~ creation!”

“Sweety, enough with formalities, just give it to him.”

“Hahahaha, my bad. Here it is then… quick, open it.”

 

While sitting on my mother’s lap, father gave me a small present wrapped in plain paper. He was far more excited than me to unwrap it. When I looked at my mother, she nodded and smiled at me, gesturing that I can open it now. I slowly unwrapped the gift my father gave to me. 

 

“This is…”

“A mechanical spider!”

“Wow~!... What does a mechanical spider mean?” 

“Hahaha… It means a spider that you could control.” 

“Control?” I tilted my head sideways.

“With it, you can explore the outside world without moving away from our house. Isn’t that amazing!”

“Woah~! Thank you very much, Papa!”

“Hahaha, looks like Belphy finally gets it… Now, it's your Mom's turn.”

“As for me, well, I never wrapped mine like your Papa did, but here it is.”

“What is it…?”

 

** a handbell ranged **

 

“Whenever you need us, ring it… … ...”

 

She smiled as she said those words. The handbell ranged again and again. My vision began to fade away. 

 

-- 

 

** ring, ring... ring, ring...  **

 

Hachiro was ringing his silver jingle-bell-charm above my head. He was trying to wake me up. I was dreaming for a moment when Hachiro and Nanatsu arrived. 

 

“Where did you get it from?” 

“Well, It was inside the pencil case you bought for me, so I decided to keep it. Hehe~”

 

Hachiro answered while scratching the back of his head while sounding like he was grinning. He soon went sitting next to Nanatsu near the campfire. Beside him was his new backpack that he carries wherever he goes.

 

“Aren’t you supposed to be with Freya?”

“Well, we got kicked out recently because Nanatsu keeps on complaining about this and that.”

“What is it then?”

“... Why do we have to travel in the middle of the storm and who the hell is she after?”

 

Said Nanatsu who sounds annoyed and curious at the same time.

 

“She’s probably after Geban because the puppets I’ve made resemble him. And the reason why in the middle of the storm proves why it’s definitely him. He's more adept than me when it comes to reading someone's intention, but he often ignores the dumbest way they would preferably do.”

“Does he even know someone is after him?”

“Probably… And even if he doesn't know, I doubt Freya would kill her. Though he probably doesn’t know the reason why he got dragged along.”

“How can you be so sure? She screams and snaps all the time.”

“She screams when she’s afraid. She snaps when she doesn’t like something.”

“So… it's okay to just nag her every time.”

“Probably... Just be careful when she makes a serious face. Because at that point, she’s definitely going to kill you.”

 

 

Nanatsu looked me in the eye while my eyes remained closed. The crackling and hissing sound from the burning pile of wood fills the silence. 

 

“Do you still have any questions?”

“Why… Why did you summon us?”

“... Because I need a hand.”

“Don’t you have authority with the dark knights? Why can’t you just subdue them and take back what you always wanted?”

“That would conflict with Freya’s authority.”

 

Nanatsu tilted his head sideways.

 

“Freya has an amethyst ring that I gave to her several millennia ago. That ring has the same authority as mine. It controls almost everything that I’ve made. And if I try to push my authority to them, Freya might think the King is plotting something against her… And I can’t afford another official dying because of my own foolishness.” 

“Someone has died already?”

“Yes. But it wasn't me who killed him, it was Freya… Hm. Now, the Kingdom of Arcadia is suffering financially and they’re losing potential connections because of his death.”

“Can’t they just replace him?”

“No, don’t compare them to disposable soldiers… Officials have authority & power that they accumulated from their entire lifetime. The sudden transfer of power & authority wouldn’t go as easy as that. The people working under him wouldn’t be able to adjust nor the people he already made connections with.”

“Forgive me, Bell-sama, but that's… too complicated for me…”

“To layman's terms then… Imagine you’re a customer of a certain store. You and the owner had a verbal contract. Now, everytime you buy something, you get a discount. Then the next day, when you came back again, you met a different owner… The agreement you’ve made with the previous owner became null and void in an instant.”

“Which means… I have to start again?”

“Yes, which is why it’s not as easy as it sounds. They’re not mere pawns, they’re officials.”

“But Sora said he deserved it because he was an evil guy.”

“It doesn’t matter if he was good or evil. As long as he's keeping the Kingdom up and running, it’s still not a good reason to kill him.”

“So it’s okay to be evil if what you’re doing is beneficial to your nation?”

“It depends… It depends on how their people will be able to endure it. Everything has its own limitations… Even the cruelest oppressor knows those limits. Because they know, their people will retaliate sooner or later if they did. You don’t want to have a hard time controlling the crowd do you?”

“...”

 

A long silence followed. Nanatsu and Hachiro silently stare at the campfire. They both watched the crackling of burning wood that lets out a hissing sound every time an ember flies out to dust. Nanatsu must have been satisfied already.

 

“Someone’s coming.”

 

Hachiro alerted us. A silhouette from the shadows slowly took form along with the sounds of her clanging armor until the light from the campfire finally revealed her face. The red-eyed demon princess appeared. She sat on the opposite side of the campfire, away from Nanatsu. 

 

“Why are you two here?”

“We got kicked out, didn't we? Were you kicked out as well?” Hachiro said.

“No… I just can’t stand Freya-sama staring at me while I’m sleeping.”

 

Sora stared at me while I silently relaxed in the bathtub. For some reason, I've become the center of attraction instead of the campfire. I can’t stand their stare at me. 

 

“I guess, bath time is over.”

 

As soon as I stood up, the silent stare that overwhelmed even the sound of burning wood was broken by the sound of water dripping from my body. I slowly stepped out of the bathtub while they remained staring at me.

 

“Hey… How come we don’t have that long rod you got there?” 

 

Hachiro said. I only smiled while looking at Sora. Her mouth was partially opened when I caught her off guard. She even flipped her eye patch. 

 

“Don’t stare too much at it, princess. Freya will be jealous.”

“Hmph! You’re blind, yet you know… Alright, you caught me already, but don’t be too overconfident.”

“That’s a surprise… I thought you’d scream.” 

“You wish…”

 

I smiled in response. I took a small towel from my satchel and went behind the tree to put on some clothes. Quite an interesting girl. She didn’t even blush, yet she reacted. Later that night, I informed her of the schedule of her training. I’ll be teaching her every night and she’ll be resting whenever she gets a chance during the day.