Chapter 48
Per Ardua Ad Astra
It hurt. It hurt too much
I kept singing this song over and over again. I didnt even know how much time had passed since I had started singing a song.
They werent here anymore: my father, my mother and my brother.
There was only me who sat alone facing the sea in this pitch-dark cave. The only one who sang this song.
It hurt too much when nobody was here anymore. If I die, would the pain be lesser than living on like this? I sang wishing for someone to come and kill me.
I didnt deserve to live on.
They put me, who was five and a half years old at that time, in the chest and then they were brutally hunted by those humans.
I could hear and remember everything that happened that day.
Please, I didnt want to be alone. I had no place in this world. Because of that
Somebody, please come and take my life away.
Its a very beautiful voice.
A massive body suddenly appeared right in front of me. His eyes were filled with a kindness, his hair also looked soft. It was as if he was my onii-sama.
O-onii-sama
What did you call me?
Onii-sama! Waah! Onii-sama!
!
I had already known that he wasnt my brother, because my brother died some time ago. But before I died, I wanted to die without any regret. I ran towards him and hugged him. I cried my heart out, not caring if its embarrassing or not.
Then I fell into unconsciousness.
When I became aware of my surrounding, I woke up on a bed. The bed that was bigger than my bedroom. Where was this? I looked around to find that therere only beautiful types of furniture decorated in this room. Even the floor was made from a rare marble from the submarine.
W-Where was this?
Crack!
Have you waken up, ojou-sama? Master was worrying about you very much.
Ojou-sama? Master?
A young female demon came into this room. Her skin was blue, so she must be the middle-ranked demon living under this sea, huh? I didnt very much know other demons that living under the sea.
Why did she call me ojou-sama?
What is the meaning of ojou-sama?
Please wait for a bit.
W-wait!
She didnt take notice of my word at all as she disappeared. How did I appear here?
Tap Tap Tap
A sound of footsteps was coming in this direction. When I saw his hair, I instantly recalled this person.
Yous already woken up, my sister. He said with a warm smile on his face.
Sister? He wasnt my brother, because their eyes werent the same. My brother had amber eyes like me, but this person had golden eyes. I didnt even know him.
That right. Didnt you call me your brother?
That time, I!
Its interesting. I havent had a sister before, so I think it wont be bad or anything for you to become my adopted sister.
I
Tell me your name, my sister. You will be under my care after this. Everything you do will be under my eyes. If I tell you to do something, you have to do it. If I havent tell you to do something, you haveAnd then he started speaking something for a very long time. At that moment, my body was starting to shaking because I thought Was I going to become his slave?.
He seemed like
You were a lot scarier in the past, Uhuhu
You didnt have to talk about a thing in the past like that. Its not worth mentioning
So we came back to the present after I came to an understanding with my onii-sama. We had said our gratitude to everyone [TL: Shiwa and the gang] as they sacrificed their sleep to find me all night. They were very kind. They didnt feel angry at me at all and said its a good thing that Im alright. After that, we split up to go back to our room.
Onii-samas body was smeared with soil and mud, so we were soaking to clean these things away in the bathtub of his room. I didnt know why I had to come down here too, but onii-sama requested it. How could I reject it when hes the one who asked me to.
I was young thenEven though I was very much older than you, I was still young compared to the rest of my clan. You must understand this, right?
Yes, onii-sama. Counting an age for the dragon was very different from the counting for the demon.
What important the most right now isYou are my important person. I wont order you to do anything anymore.
But onii-sama hasnt ordered me to do anything ever since then.
Even when my onii-sama said something like that, he didnt feel a need to order me even once. There were many servants at the mansion. My duty was only followed him everywhere he went.
After you sleep-walking, you havent sung a song since then.
Do you want to listen to it?
I want to, but if it will hurt you then you dont have to force yourself.
If its right now, Its alright.
I closed my eyes and started to sing a song. My voice was echoed inside this bathroom where there were only the two of us inside. I missed itI missed the time when I thought that I couldnt live on without my family, but this time, I had helped by a mere stranger.
She got hurt every time that she sang a song because it made her missed her family even more. She missed their smile and their praise for my beautiful voice when I sang a song.
I missed them.
Sheryl, stop singing.
Onii-sama.
I lost control of myself again as my tears were flowing down from my eyes. I made him worry againIt was
I apologized.
Its not your fault. You dont have to apologize to me. It was my fault because I wanted to hear your voice.
Onii-sama gently wiped my tears. His gentleness made my sorrow go away.
Thats right, onii-sama. Do you know what today it is?
Today? What is it?
It called Valentines day. It was the day that women will give something that conveying her feeling to her beloved. Onii-sama is the person that I loved. I was determined to give it to you since noon, but I fell into unconscious before that.
You have something to give it to me? Im glad to hear that from you, but you have to trouble yourself.
It didnt trouble me at all! I will give it to you after finished bathing.
Um, thats fine. Why dont you come sleeping in my room? We have many things to talk, dont we?
Ara, If I start talking with you then Im afraid that we will be talking until morning come. We have much more time to talk from now on. I promise you that I wont hide anything anymore.
From now on
What?
It may seem too long for you, but for me, Its too short.
Onii-sama.
The maximum lifespan of a mermaid was only 300 years old, but onii-sama, he had to live for almost ten thousand years. In that time, I may not be living beside him anymore.
Sheryl, I want to be your family.
We are already a sibling
No
No?
If you didnt trouble yourself living with me, then I want you to be the mother of my child. Can you do it?
Mother? What are you talking about?
I wont talk again. We dont have that much time.
Wait! Onii-sama! Kya!!
He shifted his body to hover over me inside this bathtub. His eyes were like those of an eagle staring at its delicious-looking prey in front of him.
I will give you a time to think until we graduate. You have to choose between marrying me right now or marrying me after we graduate
Dont you have other choices!!?
Butwe are sibling
You dont feel troubled living with me for all your life, right? Hm?
Thats right.
Who was the one that told me she will live with me after this?
That
My Sheryl, you have enough time to think until graduation. Hehe
Onii-sama
My gentle brother
In the end, he finally revealed the terror that I had already forgotten about
it.