My Daughters Are Regressors - Chapter 156: My name is Ha Taeho. And I... (7)

A distant place.The castle of the Kingdom of Ordor.The princess of Ordor, turning 40 this year, was looking out the window.She was a beautiful woman with golden hair and deep blue eyes, yet a princess aging gracefully without ever having married.But she looked as if she was in her early thirties.

“The sky…”

The sky that had once been pierced by darkness was now tranquil and beautiful.

Swish—That’s when the princess of Ordor noticed something had infiltrated her room.

“A thief hiding in my room, isn’t that the second time? The last thief hid me atop a high tower to gaze down upon the world.”

The princess of Ordor looked at the thief who was hiding in her room and was slightly startled. The thief had no eyes, no nose, no mouth, no ears, no entire face, no arms, and no legs.

It was just a blurry darkness.It seemed like a mirage.No, it appeared like an indescribable entity.The princess was inwardly flustered but spoke as if nothing was wrong.

“It was quite a delightful memory. I was born with a frail body… I couldn’t carelessly leave this castle. Truly, it was a very enjoyable memory indeed.”

The princess of Ordor chuckled softly.She remembered the bold thief who had come to steal the most precious thing in Ordor castle.

He brazenly said, “Since the princess is the most precious treasure of this palace, I shall steal the princess.”What an arrogant, impudent, and brave thief, wasn’t he?The princess tried to recall his face as she looked at the strange mirage before her.But nothing came to mind easily.

Shockingly, there was no memory of it.It was as if the memory of his face had been burnt by fire.The princess of Ordor was quite saddened by this fact.

“…Thief. It seems you have lost even the knowledge of who you are. Go back now. To your home. This is not your home. It is the room of the princess of Ordor!”

The princess’s reprimand made the black mirage shake violently.Then it disappeared with the wind through the wide-open window.

“…You looked like a lost orphan before. And you still do. Still like a child who has lost their way and home. How pitiable.”

The princess of Ordor shed a sincere tear.Although she aged, she did so gracefully. Worthy of an SSR-grade princess.

Swish— Swish— Swish—The mirage had now completely left the palace.It had no legs, but it moved hastily as if searching for something.

It did not know what it was looking for.It did not know who it was.But every time it saw the streets, something familiar seemed to surface, and it moved aimlessly towards it.What it finally found was a certain shack.

It was a shack in a degenerate alleyway so neglected it was filthy, with the lights out and the door not just locked but secured with multiple locks.

Of course, something like a lock was no issue for it now.It entered through the cracks in the door like a transparent smoke.

Whoosh— Whoosh—As it entered, a mysterious power sparked and candles lit up.It was a worn and shabby room.

A bed with a carelessly folded blanket.A desk.A chair.

Cobwebs covered the items on the desk, suggesting the room’s owner had been away for a long time.It sat down on the chair.Of course, ‘sat down’ is a conceptual expression, as it had no arms to touch the armrest, no legs to step on the floor, no hips to sit down with.

Still, it sat in the chair.It found this spot extremely comfortable.

‘I have finally found my home. This is my house.’

Every scene seemed to be waiting for it.In this old, dingy place, it felt very good and at ease.

‘This is my house.’

It felt content.Now all it had to do was to sit in this chair forever─.That was the thought it had when.

Knock— Knock—Someone knocked on the door of the old, shabby cabin.It suddenly remembered the pizza it ordered.

Was this the pizza it ordered then?How much time has passed since it was ordered from the tavern for it to arrive this late?It’s past dinner time, it’s sleep time!

No good.It decided to give the delivery person a piece of its mind, and when it flung the door open.

Whooosh—As the door opened, there was no one on the other side.Only a ghostly street in sight.

It was very disappointed.Maybe the knocking was just an auditory hallucination.Disappointed, it turned its head and noticed that someone had entered the small house.A woman.A child─.That’s what ut thought, but that wasn’t the case.The woman was quite tall, looking every bit an adult.And her appearance and aura were exactly like a princess from a fairy tale.

“…I’ve finally found you!”

The black-haired woman exclaimed.Her voice was cheerful and bright, full of energy.

It was a voice it hadn’t heard before, but the man thought he knew this woman. Who was she? However, nothing came to mind.

“Dad…!”

Princess, you and I look so alike that you must be confused. I’m not your dad.You look well over twenty, don’t you?

I haven’t even married yet…I haven’t yet…I am…

“No! You are Naru’s dad!”

He knew this dialogue.He wanted to ask more, but the black-haired princess was turning into white powder, scattering around. Only then did the man seem to remember a little.

This isn’t my home.

I have to go.But where exactly?

Whoosh-.Rustle.

“…Dad!?”

Naru hastily opened the window at the sound of the wind blowing.She stuck her head out and looked at the garden, but no one was there.

“…Huuuung….”

Naru pouted her lips and made a very sad face as if tears would fall any moment, but Molumolu cuddled into Naru’s arms, rubbing its soft body against her face.

━Meow.

Whoosh—Then the wind blew again.Naru, with a brightened face, looked at the window and shouted.

“Dad…!?”

This time, she was convinced it was for real.Naru ran wildly towards the garden without even putting on her shoes.Because of that, Molumolu sprawled on the bed, but Naru had no time to care.

“Dad…!!!”

Naru ran towards the entrance of the garden, shouting with joy.However, she couldn’t see anyone.

“Dad….”

Naru kept glancing around every time the wind blew, thinking her dad had returned. Watching from beyond the window, Naru’s mother, Brigitte, felt her heart ache.

“What if she falls ill from this…”

A week had passed since the 「Freesia Disaster」.The world had changed a lot, but… people began to live as if nothing had happened. It was truly surprising.How could people move forward as if nothing had happened?

“Brigitte.”

Then, someone called her, and Brigitte turned her head.It was Cariote.

“Cariote, how is it? Any progress?”

Brigitte asked, and Cariote shook her head.She had roamed around Frizia, but there was no sign of the man, Judas.

“The problem is, I can’t remember his face.”

Cariote tried to recall Judas’s face.

However, amidst the many events she had shared with Judas, his face and voice were as if burned by fire, only leaving soot.It wasn’t just Cariote.Brigitte also couldn’t remember Judas’s face.

They could only faintly sense his shadow in the faces of children like Naru, Cecily, and Hina.Saint Iris, who had been searching through the books, said.

“Saint Philemon transcended and became one with Yahbach. People became unable to recall Saint Philemon from that moment. Probably no one can remember Judas’s face.”

It was a troublesome matter.

To have to find someone whose face you can’t even remember.Is it even possible to find him?Where is Judas now and in what state?

Swoosh—Cariote looked at Cecily, who was walking down the corridor in the distance. It seemed certain that Judas was alive.The evidence was in the children like Naru, Hina, and Cecily. If the children still exist in the world, it means that the possibility of a future where the children are born still exists.

Clunk— Slide—Cecily rummaged through the drawers in the hallway.She seemed to be searching for something within.

Cariote said,

“…Cecily, I doubt Judas is there.”

“You never know…!”

Cecily searched every drawer in the mansion, lifted the carpets on the floor, looked under the stones in the garden.She seemed to think Judas was hiding in that darkness.

Swish—Cariote gently stroked Cecily’s forehead and cheek.She was such a dear child.If they couldn’t find Judas… would this child also vanish?

“Cariote, take a break.”

At Brigitte’s suggestion, Cariote cleared her throat with a cough and went to the bathroom. She turned on the shower to wash herself when she felt an eerie sensation.

“Judas?”

Judas was quite the perverted man.She wondered if he had come back while she was showering, but it was just the wind from an open bathroom window.Embarrassed for no reason, Cariote looked around and found a small, pretty box. It was a soap dish.

“Judas?”

As Cariote opened the lid of the soap dish, she asked softly.Of course, there was only the fragrant soap inside, no Judas.

“Where could he be…”

While Cariote was bathing and drying her hair, Brigitte was changing her clothes. When her underwear hanging on the rack fluttered to the floor, Brigitte was startled.

“Is that you, Judas…!?”

Of course, there was no response.Brigitte suddenly felt sad.Just as tears seemed to well up, someone entered her room.

“Were you crying pathetically all alone?”

Salome asked with a furrowed brow and a teasing tone.To that, Brigitte turned her head away and snorted in disdain.

“Who’s crying? So, what are the investigation’s results?”

Like Cariote, Salome had been roaming around Freesia to investigate something. It was a phenomenon strange enough to be called bizarre.

“Just shadows. They don’t seem to harm people, just stand there. Some of the shadows seem to speak, though…”

After the 「Freesia Disaster」, shadows appeared in the world. Shadows without flesh began to occupy parts of everyday life everywhere.

The shapeless, faceless eerie shadows were greatly feared by people. Yet, the shadows just stood silently at places like the entrance of a mansion or the threshold of a house.They were like grim reapers, eerie, stirring unrest in people’s hearts.

“Do you think they’ll harm people?”

Brigitte asked.Salome then recalled the shadow she saw at house number 34. It was very small.At a glance, it looked like a child.The shadow loitered at the entrance of a house, and the homeowner had said something odd.

“People say he’s like the son of the previous homeowner who moved away. The former homeowner’s son died of illness at the age of 10. He had a habit of lurking around.”

Salome had heard many similar stories.Shadows resembling people who had disappeared or died early—that’s what was being said.

‘Could it be related to Judas?’

Salome couldn’t guess.Rustle.It was then Salome spotted Hina rustling in Brigitte’s room.Hina was rolling a crystal ball in her hand, back and forth.

“Beads…”

Salome knew that Hina had started to take an interest in magic. There was a wizard named Brigitte in the mansion, and now Hina often played in Brigitte’s room like this.

‘I don’t like being indebted to Brigitte.’

It was while Salome was thinking this.A sharp scream came from the first floor of the mansion.

“Kyaaack…! Everyone, come see this…! Something bizarre is trying to invade the mansion…! This Sifnoi has never seen something so strange…!”

It was Sifnoi’s scream.Everyone rushed to the lobby on the first floor and soon noticed something strange hiding behind a pillar on the first floor of the mansion.It looked like a black stain, or clumps of dust, or as if a dark cloud had formed inside the house.

“That’s…”

Cariote frowned. Could this be the same as the shadows that had started to appear around the world afrom Freesia?It was an unexplained mystery itself.The situation was ominous, so Sifnoi brandished her broom in the air like a weapon, threateningly waving it around.

“This Sifnoi has a duty to protect the mansion…! Uninvited guest, leave at once…! Otherwise, I’ll beat you with this magic broom…!”

Shake— Shake—Perhaps intimidated by Sifnoi’s threat, the stain hid behind the pillar and trembled.It seemed hesitant.

It couldn’t come forward, nor could it leave outside; it looked like an uninvited guest at a party.

The black stain and the nymph wielding her broom.As everyone watched this scene tensely,

Swoosh-Naru and Cecily, along with Hina, approached the stain so simultaneously it was almost in unison. Walking slowly, they finally spread their arms and ran wildly, shouting in one voice.

“Dad…!”

***

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