Chapter 164: Soul Transfer
Tuesday, May 16 — 5 weeks, 6 days
I woke up feeling sick. Or rather, I hadn’t really slept at all. I’d been going back and forth between the bathroom and bed until I eventually passed out.
I stayed home from school again today and spent the whole day lying down until after school. The morning sickness had eased a bit compared to yesterday, but instead, I was hit with a wave of drowsiness and ended up sleeping through most of the day.
In the evening, after Yuna came home from school, we headed to Hisui’s house to transfer Alicia’s soul into the fetus.
“We didn’t all have to come, did we...?”
Yuna I understood, but even Dad and Mom came along.
“You never know what could happen, right? Maybe we can’t do anything, but at the very least, we want to be there with you.”
“...Okay.”
I couldn’t argue when she put it that way.
We walked quietly toward the shrine.
“...We used to walk this road as a family all the time, didn’t we?”
I looked up at my family’s backs, seeing the same view as back then.
“...You okay?”
Dad turned to me with concern.
Apparently, I had stopped walking without realizing it.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
But contrary to my words, tears began spilling down my cheeks.
“Alice… if it’s too much, we can do this another day.”
“No, I really am fine!”
I waved both hands in a flustered panic.
“It’s just, you know… I’ve been thinking about a lot of things.”
About how my family accepted and supported my decision so naturally.
About whether I’d be able to walk this path again with Alicia by my side someday.
...And about the child I couldn’t bring myself to accept as family.
I felt overwhelmed—with gratitude, with joy, and with sorrow.
I closed my eyes and brought my hands together over my stomach.
“What’s wrong? You’ve got this weird crying-and-smiling look on your face.”
“...I just realized how happy I am.”
If possible, I want to give birth to this child someday.
To welcome them as part of our family—that’s what I wished for.
Even if the soul that enters them then might not be the same one meant for them now.
The place was a community center on shrine grounds, used for neighborhood gatherings and such. Personally, I remembered it more as the spot where, back when I was still a guy, my uncle used to train me a lot.
Someone unexpected was already there.
“Ugh, Eimok...!?”
Eimok sat cross-legged in the center of the tatami room, reading a newspaper. A blond, blue-eyed man dressed in punkish clothes lounging in this traditional Japanese space looked totally out of place.
“What’s this attitude toward someone who came all this way because you asked, hmm?”
“L-Like anyone asked you—!”
“I did.”
Hisui, dressed in a shrine maiden outfit, stepped out from the side and answered.
“Hisui!”
I had warned her so many times—it was dangerous to get involved with Eimok.
She must’ve expected criticism, but she stayed calm even as I raised my voice.
Eimok watched us with a smug grin, which only irritated me more.
“Are you Mr. Eimok?”
Dad spoke up from beside me.
“That’s right. And you are?”
“I’m Kisaragi Ikuo, father of Alice and the others.”
“Hmph...”
“Thank you for coming today. I’ll get straight to the point—would you be willing to support my daughters?”
“I only came out of curiosity. I don’t plan on doing any charity work or playing the hero.”
“Then, what if we offered you something in return? Say, whatever you need to survive in this world.”
“Money, huh...?”
“That, or anything else.”
“...Oh? You’ve heard of me, haven’t you? I’m no upstanding citizen. I’ve broken more than a few of this country’s laws.”
“I’m a parent. If it’s for my daughters’ happiness, I’m ready to accept the good with the bad. You’re the only expert in dark magic in this world. I know nothing about magic, and I can’t help them when it matters most… So I’m asking you.”
“Hmph... I don’t really lack anything to live by myself, but… having someone like you owe me might not be such a bad deal.”
Eimok grinned with clear amusement.
“Thank you. In that case, please consider this a down payment.”
Dad took out a thick envelope from inside his coat and placed it in front of Eimok.
It looked pretty hefty... If it was filled with ten-thousand-yen bills, it had to be around a million yen.
Eimok grabbed it without ceremony and stuffed it into his jacket pocket—half of it still sticking out.
『Wait… Dad!? You’re actually trusting this guy?』
I reached out to Father through telepathy.
『Don’t trust the personality—trust the cost-benefit. I’ve looked into Aymok a bit myself. He might seem reckless, but deep down, he’s someone who values practical gains.』
『But I’d really prefer to do this alone...』
I didn’t want anyone else to touch Alicia’s soul. That’s why I even practiced dark magic, despite having no aptitude for it.
『If you can do it alone, then that’s fine. But dealing with souls... you never know what might happen. Having an expert nearby brings peace of mind if anything goes wrong.』
I wasn’t exactly comforted by that. Not knowing when I might get my throat slit made me even more uneasy... though, if Aymok held a grudge against me, he’d had more than enough chances to act on it. It’s too late to worry about that now.
『You can’t afford to fail, right?』
『Y-Yeah...』
I braced myself.
Time to begin preparations for the soul transfer.
I locked the entrance to the assembly hall, pulled the blackout curtains shut, and laid out a futon in the center.
Only the bare minimum personnel remained in the building—besides me, there was Hisui, who could see souls, and Aymok, who could use dark magic.
That was to help me focus.
Under the artificial lighting, I lay down on the futon and lifted both my setup jacket and undershirt up to my chest.
Since I had already taken off my bra, my chest was directly exposed to the cool air. I could feel Aymok’s shameless gaze as he sat beside me, but I ignored it.
『Well now... you’ve changed quite a bit since I last saw you. I see you’ve become a woman.』
"Shut up."
I glared at Aymok. Hisui also shot him a silent, freezing stare full of condemnation.
Aymok shrugged, wearing a look like he’d been wronged. Apparently, that was supposed to be a compliment. This perverted bastard.
...Time to get back on track.
I closed my eyes and placed both palms against my chest. Feeling the beat of my heart, I channeled magic through my hands into my body to check the state of my soul.
『Soul Manipulator《ソウル・マニピュレータ》』
I extended magical hands from my fingertips and gently sank them into my own body.
I hadn’t noticed before, but the sensation of those hands slipping inside me felt oddly similar to that. I fought hard to keep my body from reacting.
"Nn..."
I took deep breaths and continued slowly.
Staying calm and centered.
"Haa...!"
Suddenly, the fingers of the magical hand touched my own soul. I stroked it lightly, testing the sensation—and an indescribable feeling shot through me, making my whole body jolt.
"—"
An exposed soul is dangerously sensitive.
I had to keep myself in check... I wasn’t alone in my room.
Besides, that wasn’t today’s purpose.
I moved the magical hand and gently cupped the faintly glowing soul in the corner. Alicia’s soul. A gentle, warm presence pulsed through my magical hand.
Then, I began to search for the fetus’s heartbeat.
But I didn’t find it immediately. There were multiple heartbeats within me, making it hard to pinpoint.
I focused, trying to distinguish each beat, gently feeling them out—searching for the life inside me that wasn’t mine.
『...There it is.』
I found it—a warm flickering presence, pulsing in rhythm with a heartbeat deep inside me. It felt unstable, like it was shifting in and out of existence. Maybe that was because the boundary between us was still unclear?
Sharpening my senses, I traced the outline of the fetus.
Now came the real task—moving Alicia’s soul, which was near my heart, and transferring it into the fetus.
After taking a deep breath to steady my breathing, I slowly lowered my hands from my chest, mirroring the motion of the magical hand that cradled Alicia’s soul.
Wrapped inside the magical hand, Alicia’s soul began to move.
Exposed souls were fragile—like raw eggs without a shell. One moment of carelessness could lead to something irreversible.
Slowly, cautiously, I guided it down.
The tension never let up.
At last, I reached my lower abdomen.
I had no idea how much time had passed.
"...Ah."
When I gently pressed Alicia’s soul against the fetus, it slipped in—softly, smoothly—as if being drawn inside.
Worried, I kept my attention on what was happening. Once the soul had settled inside, it began to emit a soft, peaceful glow. Or rather, that was the impression I received through the magical connection.
『...It’s over.』
I heard Aymok’s voice nearby. At some point, his hand had come to rest on my shoulder. Now that I thought about it, the reason the magic had started flowing more easily partway through was probably thanks to something he had done.
"I’ve confirmed Alicia’s soul has taken root in the fetus. Well done... and congratulations, Alice."
Hearing Hisui’s voice brought me so much relief that the strength drained from my entire body. I released the spell, letting the magical hand dissolve into mist, and exhaled deeply.
Hisui wiped the sweat from my forehead with a handkerchief and gently brushed aside the strands of hair stuck to my skin. She also helped adjust my rumpled top, and I let her as I placed my hand gently over my belly.
"It really... worked..."
Relief washed over me.
If this were a mountain hike, maybe we were just reaching the start of the trail—but even so, we’d made it this far.
Once she had finished tidying me up, Hisui stood.
"I’ll go call the others."
After announcing that, she looked at Aymok like she wanted to say something. But he stayed seated, looking completely indifferent. Seemingly giving up, Hisui turned and left to gather everyone.
『Was this really what you wanted?』
The moment it was just the two of us, Aymok asked the question.
"What do you mean?"
"You’re the hero who defeated the Demon Lord. Under normal circumstances, you could have had as much wealth and glory as you wanted."
"I have no regrets about the other world. From the very beginning, I fought only to return to this one."
"You came away with nothing. You even lost your body. Doesn’t that bother you? With your power, you could have ruled this world if you wished."
"I was never particularly interested in any of that. I didn’t fight to make others bow to me or anything like that… Though, I guess I did want to look cool in front of one girl."
It was because of her that I could keep fighting. I pushed myself because I wanted to appear strong in front of her.
…Though in the end, I probably showed her a lot of my weakness and pathetic sides too.
"And besides, it’s not like I came away with nothing. The one thing I couldn’t let go of from the other world—she chose to come with me."
"…That girl. The Water Priestess, is it?"
"Yeah, that’s right."
I said it as I gently rubbed my belly.
Whether to live with Alicia in the other world, or return to this one where my family waited—throughout that year-long journey, I couldn’t decide. That’s how much Alicia had come to mean to me.
Things turned out the way they did, but in the end, I was relieved I didn’t have to weigh Alicia and my family against each other.
Although… I do feel like I owe Alicia for that.
『I can’t comprehend that at all.』
"You don’t have to. I fell in love—what can you do?"
"You mean to tell me you defeated the Demon Lord over some infatuation?"
"Hmm… If you put it that way, I guess you’re not wrong?"
I did want to save people and all that, sure—but if I’m honest, the biggest reason was still… yeah.
"Kh… kuhahaha! Oh, that’s rich… love, of all things! Ha! Hahaha! Ahhh-hahahaha!"
Something must’ve struck a nerve—Aymok burst into laughter and kept going for quite a while.
"…If I offended you, I apologize."
"Don’t worry about it. That answer makes a lot more sense than some speech about the future of humanity."
Aymok stood and turned his back to me.
"You heading out?"
"My business here is done."
"…Thank you."
"Hmph… I’ve heard childbirth is one of the greatest ordeals in a human’s life. But you’ve already bested me—you’ll manage just fine."
"…Yeah."
Still facing away, Aymok raised one hand in a casual wave as he walked out.
Just then, Yuna came rushing in with a startled look—probably because of Aymok’s earlier outburst of laughter. Outside, I could hear Souta trying to pick a fight with Aymok, but the man wasn’t giving him the time of day.
Watching the vibrant bustle of everyday life unfold around me, I narrowed my eyes. Placing a hand gently over my stomach, I closed my eyes and whispered softly so no one could hear:
"See you again."
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