“Cold?”
“…No.”
“Move closer to the fire. If you don’t warm up, you’ll collapse again.”
“That’s none of your concern.”
Her bravado was hollow—she lacked even the strength to stand. But if he realized that, the worst-case scenario loomed.
(Before that happens… I have to kill him——)
Her thoughts, her instincts, were sounding alarms about the man before her.
The girl’s hands were already stained with human blood. She had experienced countless situations where killing was the only way to survive.
That she had clung to life was undoubtedly true.
And yet… A thick premonition of death crawled up her spine. Was it the stench of death? Not a physical odor, but an intuitive one—an unsettling scent that made her skin prickle with goosebumps.
Even with her divine power and inhuman magic, even she found her breath growing shallow from the unease radiating off the man before her.
Crack!! The firewood split with an unusually loud snap.
“—I’m going to touch your shoulder.”
“………………”
Before she knew it, the man was standing right in front of her, looking down.
She hadn’t taken her eyes off him. His movements were simply too fast for her to follow.
Her heart lurched. Her throat tightened. Instinctively, she spat out a curse.
“Wah—I can see the future! Ah—you’re going to die in five seconds! Right here!”
“……Huh?”
The man let out a bewildered sound at her words. And then—five seconds passed.
“……Uh……hmm, I don’t get what you meant just now.”
“—Huh?”
Now it was the girl’s turn to make a dumbfounded noise.
The five seconds she had proclaimed came and went without incident, leaving only silence as the two stared at each other.
“Wh… why!?”
Her face twisted in shock and horror, while the man could only tilt his head in confusion, too stunned for theatrics.
The reason for her bewilderment lay in her ability—an absurd, unreasonable power that defied all logic.
Her ability was [Fiction Domination].
A lie spoken with malice could twist reality itself.
In other words, under the right conditions, her lies became truth—a power so transcendent it was nearly divine.
It was no exaggeration to call it the most formidable ability in existence, one even the Demon King feared.
Its downside was inconsistency—it only activated under specific conditions, requiring genuine malice behind the lie. But when those conditions were met, it was an unstoppable force.
Her intent toward the man was murderous. She had lied with full certainty of killing him.
And yet, he was still standing there, breathing, looking at her with innocent confusion.
Then, his outstretched hand touched her shoulder.
“Eek—”
Unintentional, instinctive fear spilled from her lips.
The sensation of magic spreading from her shoulder to her body froze her thoughts completely.
(I’m going to die… without doing anything… without knowing anything… without being able to do anything… What was the point of my existence…?)
Hunted for crimes she didn’t commit, with no one to rely on, wandering endlessly… Was this how it would all end?
“…………Ah…”
“……Hm?”
It overflowed.
“No…”
A pitiful, desperate plea escaped her.
“No… don’t kill me… please…!”
Even though it wouldn’t reach. Even though it wouldn’t be granted. The delusion of happiness she had clung to surged uncontrollably in her mind.
Someone will save me.
The loneliness will end.
Surely, surely, surely—
But such fantasies were nothing more than bubbles, destined to burst.
“I… I haven’t done anything…!”
Tears she thought had long dried spilled endlessly, wetting her cheeks.
All she could do was beg.
“I’m sorry… please forgive me…!”
How many times had she uttered this apology? She had said the same to the demons and angels who had hunted her. But she knew it never worked.
Because she hadn’t done anything wrong.
Her very birth, her very existence, was treated as a sin. She had committed no evil, yet there was no one who would forgive her.
What the world demanded from her was not an apology—only her death.
And then, the magic coursing through her body took effect.
“……Ah…”
(My last words… are a plea for mercy… I…)
“—Wear this. It should keep you somewhat warm.”
The next instant, what filled her vision was a fluttering gray coat.
The coat the man had been wearing moments ago still held his warmth, wrapping around her more gently than the fire’s heat.
“……Huh? Uh… what?”
She squirmed, trying to push the coat away as it was forced over her head. Then, she noticed something strange about her right arm in her field of vision.
Her pure white arm. Countless bleeding wounds should have covered it—but now…
“The wounds…”
They were gone. As if they had never existed.
“Wh… what did you do…?”
“Wounds are better off gone, aren’t they? I healed them once I realized you weren’t a threat. ……Well, this power isn’t mine. If you want to thank anyone, thank the one who left it to me.”
Peeking out from under the coat, the girl saw the man’s face illuminated by the firelight.
He was still quite young. His refined features were worn, sunken—as if he had given up on everything.
But what stood out most were his eyes.
Red, swollen, as if he had been crying. Tearstains lingered on his cheeks.
He had been weeping.
“Why… are you crying?”
“……Who knows? I’m trying desperately not to think about it.”
His tone was oddly light, completely unlike the tension from before.
The girl’s chest tightened.
The reason for his tears was surely—loneliness.
She was certain she wore the same expression.
If she was someone who had never known warmth, then he was someone who had lost it.
They were the same—kindred souls tormented by solitude.
“Why were you collapsed back there?”
“…………”
“Covered in wounds… all alone… crying.”
“It’s none of your concern. My loneliness is mine alone. Not something to be shared… or pitied. ……And certainly not something a mere human like you can fix.”
The words that left her mouth were rejection.
Whether she truly meant them, even she didn’t know.
“……I see.”
With that, the man leaned back against the wall again, his gaze returning to the fire.
“I’m Shiou. And you?”
Burying her face in the warm coat, the girl simply sat there.
Desperately, she tried to turn away from this familiar, comforting feeling, stifling her voice.
Maybe it’s a trick. Maybe he’ll betray me.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to trust him. She just knew—it would take time.
“Just your name… is that too much?”
“……I don’t have one. Maybe I did once… but at the very least, I don’t know it.”
It was the truth. And that truth made her heart ache unbearably.
“……I see. Mind if I give you a name?”
“……Do as you like.”
Somewhere along the way, the option of leaving had vanished from her mind.
“How about… ‘Nifl’?”
■
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
Eljudnir. The Corpse King’s Bedchamber.
Under the moonlight streaming through the canopy, Nifl caressed his cheek.
Even after 180 years apart, his sleeping face was exactly as she remembered.
“Shiou… did your loneliness… ever fade?”
The warmth she thought she had lost forever was now real beneath her fingertips.
If my past self knew I could feel happiness from something so small, she’d laugh in my face.
“……Hk.”
She burrowed into his blanket, pressing her face against his chest.
“Haaah… haa… hehe.”
If my past self saw me now, she’d sigh and punch me.
But none of that mattered.
Nearly 200 years had passed since the day he found her—and her feelings had only grown stronger.
“I love you…”
Normally, she carried herself with steadfast dignity as his reliable right hand. But here, in this moment, she showed her true face.
“……You lolicon, Shiou. Comparing me to Lady Rena… that’s some bold cheating.”
If he heard her, he’d probably make that stupid smirk of his.
Imagining that expression, Nifl buried her face in his chest once more.
WELCOME BACK CORPSE KING
Visit the request page If there’s a Japanese Light Novel (LN) or Web Novel (WN) you’d like me to translate
When the donation goal progress bar above hit 100% one novel will be chosen for translation
| Table of Contents | Next* |
Support the Author by Buying the Original Books!
