Conclusion. 12:37 (23:48)

He had been an orphan.

By the time he could remember anything, he was living in the slums of a certain town with a group of kids a little older than him.

Sometimes they scavenged for leftovers, sometimes they stole...... they lived each day in a desperate struggle for survival.

The heartless adults of the town called the children of these slums “sewer rats,” and viewed them not as beings to be loved and nurtured, but as targets for extermination.

Hence, even when someone with a taste for murder broke into their home...... a little shack of sorts, built out of collected garbage, and began a slaughter, not a single person in the town tried to help them.

The meanest boy, who was the strongest fighter; the lying boy, who was the fastest runner; the girl, who was always spacing out.

Every one of the children around him was cut down by that person, laughing all the while.

He was left, for last.

The reason was that he was the smallest among the children, and at the time, he happened to be weakened by illness, so it was judged that he would be unable to run away.

But ‘for last’ or not, it was only ‘last’ out of a handful.

His turn came around within minutes.

“Hm~hm~hm~mm, hm~mm, hm-hm, hm~mm.”

Swaying, as naturally as if what was happening here and now were just another scene from an ordinary day, the killer planted himself in front of him, humming a disgusting tune, and raised a blood-soaked hatchet.

He couldn't dodge.

He didn't have the strength to run.

He simply squeezed his eyes shut, praying that it wouldn't hurt too much.

He couldn't even “pray for a better next life.”

Because he didn't even have any notion of such a thing as a next life.

But for some reason, the future he had expected, his own death, never came.

When he slowly opened his eyes, he saw the killer's face floating in mid-air with a dazed expression.

Somehow, the body had been parted from the head and lay on the ground, spreading a pool of blood.

What was happening?

His heart, completely worn down by the daily struggle of life, felt no such thing as terror.

Just what was happening right now?

First, he sought the answer.

And that answer, if he looked at the situation calmly, turned out to be surprisingly easy to work out.

The killer's head wasn't floating; it had been grabbed by the hair from behind and was dangling in the air.

In other words, though he didn't know how, the person holding that head was the one who had killed the killer and, as a result, saved his life.

“Hm-hm, hm-hm~mm.”

That person was humming in a beautiful voice, as naturally as if what was happening here and now were just another scene from an ordinary day.

It was a woman.

He narrowed his eyes desperately and took in the sight of the woman, backlit by the sunlight pouring through the entrance of their home: the sight of the one who had saved his life.

The emotion he felt then was something he had never once forgotten in all his life!

Golden hair, sparkling and shimmering in the sunlight!

A countenance that seemed to condense all the beauty of this world!

An overwhelming power hidden within that body, which even he, a mere slum child, could sense!

That woman was, above all, beautiful!

That woman was, above all, sacred!

That woman was, above all, mighty!

By now, he could not remember the name of the town he had lived in back then, or the faces of his friends from the slums, not in the least.

But amid those gray memories, this feeling alone still shone brilliantly, golden, even now!

This was the meeting between him...... Geistpfenanjeshiriard, and the current Supreme Commander of the Adventurers' Guild, Lairine Rune, his mother, his teacher and his beloved.

◇ ◇ ◇

“............Phew.”

Lunch finished, Geistpfenanjeshiriard, Vice-Commander of the Adventurers' Guild, was gazing at the sea as he took a break in his office.

He loved the sea.

The beauty of the water's surface sparkling in the sunlight shared something with Lairine in its grandeur and power.

In other words, it was wonderful.

The steam rising from the teacup in his hand tickled his nostrils.

Savoring the rich aroma, he sank deep, deep into his soft office chair and let himself go limp.

Relaxing like that, he slowly, slowly turned over his memories of Lairine.

This was his routine, and these peaceful moments were the source of his vitality in life.

“Now then......”

Having finished his tea, Geistpfenanjeshiriard cast his eyes down to the documents on his desk.

It was the start of his afternoon duties.

“Hmm, a mysterious ruin discovered in the upper reaches of the Ahate River, near the town of Nebo...... Age unknown...... Inconsistent structure......?”

Just as he had read that far into the report...... it was then!

......DO!!!

A tremendous wave of fury struck him like a physical blow, piercing straight through his body!

PAPAPAPAPAPAPAAN!!!

MISHI MISHI MISHIII!!!

The glass of the large window behind him shattered into a million pieces and blew outward, and large cracks ran here and there across the seamless white walls of the Adventurers' Guild Headquarters!

“Wh, just what, is happening......!?”

The moment he muttered those words while shielding his face from the documents flying and scattering around him, his intuition sensed the danger of death.

On reflex, Geistpfenanjeshiriard leaped sideways and dodged!

Then, a second later, the office door was blown open by a tremendous impact from the hallway side; it swept up his office desk and, without losing any momentum, crashed through the wall and fell straight outside.

After watching this in a cold sweat, Geistpfenanjeshiriard slowly turned, like a rusted toy doll, toward the place where the office door had been.

Standing there, sparkling beautifully even amidst the dancing dust, was his goddess.

In other words, standing there was the Supreme Commander of the Adventurers' Guild, Lairine Rune, his mother, his teacher and his beloved.

She stood there with both hands thrust in her pockets, on one leg, apparently not having moved since she kicked the door in.

“My, my, Supreme Commander. What seems to be the matter?”

Geistpfenanjeshiriard immediately straightened his collar, put on a smile, and bowed with a hand over his chest.

“............”

Lairine, for her part, said nothing.

Her expression had dropped away entirely.

......An alarm bell rang out inside Geistpfenanjeshiriard's mind!

“......Taiche-chan, y'knooow...... she's such a serious girl, isn't sheee......”

Lowering her foot, Lairine began to say this, her beautiful face, empty of expression like a doll's, still turned toward Geistpfenanjeshiriard.

“Special Affairs Officer Taiche, you mean......?”

“That girl, y'seee...... even though she must be scared of me, riiight...... she came all the way to apologize to meee...... ‘I have lost track of Emi-san once again,’ she saaaid......”

“!!”

With those words, Geistpfenanjeshiriard understood what had happened.

And why his goddess was so angry.

“I haven't received any report about this, though?”

“Gu...... ah......!!”

Along with a voice full of menace, a tremendous 【Intimidation】 assailed Geistpfenanjeshiriard!

The very air creaked, mishi mishi!

Had it been anyone but him, used to it as he was, that alone could easily have brought on a fatal heart attack...... and even if not, it would certainly have deranged the mind and left lasting damage: such was this 【Intimidation】!

“Hey. Emi-chan's been found, so why did you keep quiet? You were holding back the paperwork, weren't you. You. I said I wanted to see Emi-chan, to see Emi-chan, didn't I? This whole time? Let's hear your excuses. Why did you keep quiet? Why were you holding back the information? Speak. Why? Why? Why?”

“IT WAS TO SCRUTINIZE!! THE INFORMATION!!”

Geistpfenanjeshiriard forced his feeble spirit to rally, though it made him want to sink to his knees in spite of himself, stood his ground with every ounce of his being, and shouted!

“It is true that I had received a report that a person resembling a girl named Emi had been discovered. And I did not convey that to the Supreme Commander! But that was for your sake!!”

The Supreme Commander finding out that Geistpfenanjeshiriard had been hiding information.

Such a possibility was easy to envision, and he had naturally prepared for that eventuality.

He desperately explained the “circumstances.”

“If that report had been a false alarm, how great would the Supreme Commander's sadness have been!! Thinking of that, I felt that I could not convey such uncertain information to you!! The reason I did not convey the information that the girl had been lost sight of again was also to avoid making you sad!! Of course, I am also currently searching for her, and I intended to protect her the next time new information came in and then inform the Supreme Commander!! That is what I was thinking!!”

Withstanding the onslaught of the Supreme Commander's 【Intimidation】, the Vice-Commander explained his prepared “circumstances,” all but screaming.

Having spoken it all in one breath, he realized he hadn't been breathing and hurriedly gasped for air.

His heart hurt!

Geistpfenanjeshiriard coughed in spite of himself!

“......And by ‘I am also currently searching,’ you mean using that darkness spirit?”

“YES!! THAT IS CORRECT!!”

“Using a spirit to find that child.”

“YES!!”

“You intended to kill her. Before I noticed.”

“Ye...... eh!!?”

Lairine Rune slowly withdrew the hand she had tucked into her pocket.

Gripped in that hand was...... a black ball.

......The darkness spirit, Himetal!!

“I've heard, everything.”

“Ah......”

“So, I'm angry.”

“Aaah......”

“And, I'm disappointed.”

“Aaaaah......”

Geistpfenanjeshiriard could no longer remain standing.

He sank gracelessly to his knees, almost as if prostrating himself.

Lairine slowly walked up to him and, while expressionless, ground her foot into his head.

“......You got reasonably strong, and compared to the others, you looked like you'd live a long time, too. About as long as a ‘Great Mage’. You were good at your job. I thought I'd picked up something good. Good enough, to grow somewhat attached.”

Mishi......

A nasty sound rang out from Geistpfenanjeshiriard's head.

“Aaaaah...... aauuu......”

With his face smeared with tears, snot, and drool, Geistpfenanjeshiriard groaned.

“And yet...... this. I'm sad, you know.”

With a sigh, Lairine took her foot off Geistpfenanjeshiriard's head and walked toward the large window, which was now completely devoid of glass.

Spreading across her field of vision was the sparkling tropical sea.

A warm sea breeze caressed her golden hair.

Zaan...... zaan......

The sound of the waves reached her.

Small, quiet, and modest.

“But...... but......”

Behind Lairine, who was gazing at the sea, Geistpfenanjeshiriard, with his head still pressed to the floor, began to mutter.

“But, Mother called that child ‘family’, of all thiiings......! When Mother has meee! Me, it's me! Higu! I'm, right heeere!! I! I'VE NEVER HAD MOTHER!! SHOW ‘THOSE FEELINGS’!! TOWARD ME, EEEEVER!!!”

The old man was muttering while sobbing.

But his voice gradually grew louder, and in the end, he was screaming!

Met with the old man's scream, the youthful, beautiful woman turned around......

“Disgusting.”

That was what she murmured.

“UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!”

Approaching the screaming old man once more, the beautiful woman spoke.

“I will never forgive what you did. I will never, ever forgive you. I want to kill you, right now. Smash you to a pulp.”

She crouched down, grabbed the old man's hair, and forcibly lifted his head.

She brought her face close, making eye contact.

“But that, as punishment for you, is far too soft. And punishing you like that without hard evidence would look bad, too.”

“Au......”

The old man could not look directly at the beauty of his beloved so close to him, and he blushed and looked away.

The woman didn't pay any mind to the old man's state and continued to speak dispassionately.

“So, here's what I've decided.”

She abruptly let go of his hair.

Dosha, the old man's face slammed into the floor.

“This is an order.”

There was power in those words.

In a panic, the old man pushed himself up.

Before him was the back of the goddess with shimmering golden hair.

A being of a different order as a living thing, overwhelmingly above him.

A being to be revered.

He hurriedly pressed the face he had just raised back against the floor.

He had to prostrate himself and listen to those words.

“Do not kill yourself. Devote yourself to your duties as Vice-Commander of the Adventurers' Guild, harder than ever before.”

“!!?”

The old man was so surprised that he raised his face again, eyes wide, and stared at the goddess!

But, but, but!

Then, nothing would change from before!

That was no punishment at all, was it!?

......Was he forgiven?

Because Mother.

Loved him!

That was what the old man thought.

The woman turned around, looked at the dazed face of the old man, and smiled brightly.

“In exchange, I've decided I'll ‘completely forget’ youuu!”

“........................Huh?”

“Oh myyy? Grandpa, your face is all soggyyy? Here, scrub-scruuub!”

The woman took a handkerchief from her breast pocket and gently wiped the old man's face.

“Eh? Huh? Eh?”

“Come onnn! Why are you crawling around on all fours on the flooor! Up straight nooow!”

Smiling brightly, she slid both hands under the old man's armpits and lifted him up as easily as one would lift an infant who could already hold its head up.

But the old man was too confused to put any strength into his body.

He went limp and plopped down right there, still staring blankly at the woman's face.

“Huhhh? Jeez, it can't be helped, can iiit! Are you all tired out, maybeee?”

The woman gave a wry smile at the old man's state, and this time she carried him to the reception chair, which, unlike the desk or the door, was still intact and in its original form, and sat him down.

“Grandpa, even if work's busy, you mustn't overdo it, okaaay? Take proper breaks, alriiight?”

“U, um...... um! M, Mother! Mother......!?”

The old man, unable to grasp the situation, panicked.

The woman looked at him and tilted her head cutely.

“......Mother? Grandpa, what are you talking about?”

She said so with a blank, genuinely puzzled expression.

“Ah, Darkness Spirit-chaaan! There's something I want you to help me with, so come aloooong!”

The darkness spirit tried to go to the old man out of concern, but the woman quickly caught it and left the Vice-Commander's office with it.

“I want you to guide me, see! You'd know, wouldn't youuu? Where my one and only ‘family’ in this world...... my ‘daughter’, iiis! Oh, and maybe someday, we'll even be ‘lovers’, who knooows!? Kyaaaa!”

The joyful voice faded into the distance.

The old man just listened to it, dazed.

Soon the voice could no longer be heard, and the only thing that reached his ears was the quiet, quiet sound of the waves, rolling in and out.

His punishment.

It was to smash the thing he cherished most to pieces.

The thing he cherished most.

It was their relationship.

His goddess would probably never again call him ‘Geistpfenanjeshiriard’.

In the room where no one else remained, he curled up, vomited everything in his stomach onto the floor, and screamed.

Arc 13, complete!! (For real)

As for the Vice-Commander, he exits the story with this arc.

He was someone who could have easily served as the final boss of Part 1, but unfortunately, that role has already been decided for someone else.

To all my readers, thank you for reading this arc to the end, too.

‘The Omake Reincarnator’ will go on for a while yet, a while yet, a really long while yet.

I would be glad if it at least helps you all kill some time.

【Town of Nebo】

Appeared in Arc 12.

The town where the fake hero event occurred in 【The Story of the Red-Haired Hero】.

The Ahate River Shrimp caught from the nearby Ahate River is a local specialty.

【Great Mage】

A person whose name crops up here and there across the arcs.

Scheduled to appear from Part 2 onwards.