Humans are complicated creatures.
Some people seem timid and hesitant in everyday life, yet whenever a critical moment comes, they are always the ones who step forward.
Others constantly put on an air of profundity, only to deflate like a punctured balloon the moment they are actually called upon to prove themselves.
So which kind was she?
Thinking about it carefully, perhaps she was a bit of both.
That was the complexity of human nature. It was difficult to define people using simple categories.
As Yuri accompanied her on a tour of Nazarick, Akemi gently pressed a hand against her faintly aching forehead.
Something was wrong with her mental state. In fact, Akemi understood that better than anyone.
Most people suffering from mental illness had difficulty recognizing anything abnormal about themselves because they generally lacked what was known as "insight."
A small minority would even deceive themselves into believing they were perfectly normal.
Akemi, however, belonged to neither group. She fell into an extremely rare third category.
She could clearly perceive every change taking place within herself.
Her thoughts, her emotional fluctuations, even her behavior and mannerisms.
All of them were noticeably different from the person she used to be.
And yet, despite being fully aware of it, she was powerless to change anything.
Time passed relentlessly. Four hundred cycles of spring, summer, autumn, and winter had already slipped quietly through her fingers.
After being worn down for such an unimaginably long time, perhaps the problem had already seeped into her very bones and become impossible to cure.
The moment she encountered someone of her own kind.
The moment she realized that her long wait had finally borne fruit.
The fuse buried deep within her heart was lit as well.
So that was it.
All this time, something inside her had been desperately yearning, silently weeping, greedily reaching out, searching for something she could never quite grasp.
Akemi felt as though she had become a parasite, someone who could only keep living by depending on another person.
She was desperately searching for the feeling known as "a sense of security."
And the more emotion she placed upon that person, the stronger the response she received in return.
It was a tingling thrill, as though an invisible hand were gently plucking the strings of her heart, making her want to lose herself in the sensation.
It felt like slowly drifting downward from the clouds, sinking deeper and deeper until she was completely submerged.
She had no strength to resist it. The thought of struggling against it never even crossed her mind.
Because deep down, she did not want to resist the temptation or the intoxication that came with that feeling.
Akemi knew perfectly well what was wrong with her.
But so what?
If things simply remained as they were, perhaps that would not be such a bad thing.
At the very least, she could finally feel a warmth and ease that she had not experienced in far too long.
The endless years had exhausted her both physically and mentally. She no longer had the strength to endure any more pressure or suffering.
Even if she knew that what awaited her was a bitter, poisonous fruit, she would probably swallow it without hesitation.
After all, compared with worrying about a vague and unpredictable future, satisfying the hunger gnawing at her right now was far more urgent.
Though, when she thought about it that way, she really was drinking poison to quench her thirst.
"Yuri, tell me about Naohara-nii."
Akemi set aside her thoughts and spoke softly.
Whatever. If it was drinking poison to quench her thirst, then so be it.
Rather than worrying about the future, she wanted to enjoy what she had now.
Surely Brother Naohara wouldn't mind either. Hehe~
"Naohara-sama? I don't know very much about him, but I'll do my best."
Yuri was not particularly talkative. Most of the time, she carried herself with a calm, intelligent demeanor.
Throughout the tour, she had wanted to start a conversation several times, but simply could not think of what to say.
Even someone with Yuri's temperament could not help feeling somewhat awkward in front of her Creator's younger sister.
That awkwardness also brought with it a faint sense of worry.
If Lupusregina were here, she could probably liven up the atmosphere without any trouble.
The image of a red-haired maid surfaced in Yuri's mind.
She sighed inwardly, but Akemi's question immediately drew her back to reality.
"Naohara-sama..."
After quickly organizing what she wanted to say, Yuri began.
She did not know why Akemi-sama wanted to hear about these things.
But Yuri had no intention of questioning her. Simply being able to help was already enough to make her happy.
Yuri carefully recounted everything she knew.
Akemi listened thoughtfully, occasionally giving a small nod.
The explanation did not take very long, perhaps only half an hour or so.
After all, Naohara-sama was often difficult to find, appearing and disappearing without warning.
From Yuri's perspective, remembering even this much had required her to rack her brain.
During her account, however, she left out the maids' meeting from back then.
She was not deliberately hiding anything. She simply saw no reason to mention it.
After all, it had little to do with Naohara-sama himself. It had only been a private discussion among the maids.
"I see. That really is quite a fascinating story."
Of everything Yuri had told her, Akemi paid particular attention to several points.
The submission of the True Dragon Lord, Martial Art, Wild Magic, complete dragon transformation, the return of the Six Great Gods, the Power of Faith, Planar War, the advent of Kuyō's Divine Envoy...
Brother Naohara had mentioned most of these events to her before, but because they had been short on time, he had never gone into much detail.
Looking at it now, her earlier assumptions had been a little too conservative.
[Still, I didn't expect the Guildmaster to have come here too. She really had some rotten luck.]
Thinking of a certain Guildmaster who used to spend all day riding around on her pet and racing across the map, Akemi shook her head.
She would go take a look when she had the time.
For now, the other party probably did not even remember her.
Sealed away, with her will forcibly altered for hundreds of years.
Compared to that, Akemi suddenly felt that her own four hundred years had not been quite so unbearable.
It was not exactly a nice thought, but after making that comparison, her mood improved considerably.
"I'm glad you were satisfied," Yuri replied.
[She really is similar~]
Watching Yuri push up her glasses, Akemi could not help overlapping her image with the figure in her memories.
No.
That was not quite right.
There were still differences.
For one thing, her older sister was definitely not supposed to be this smart.
Maybe it was better that they were not too alike.
At least this way, she would not be overwhelmed by memories of the past.
Big sister, I hope you're doing well.
I hope that someday, we'll be able to see each other again...
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