The notion that New Year’s meant a cold winter was a lingering sensation from my old world. In this world, the climate at the start of the year was supposed to be warm, something closer to spring, yet my body was currently wrapped in an unnatural, piercing chill.
The cause was, without a question, the being standing right before me. I felt a sensation as if my very soul were freezing over.
On my way back from my date with Kuro, I had encountered a woman radiating an otherworldly aura. She had looked at me and asked, “Are you the Hero?”
Even though my instincts screamed that I had to answer, that I must not defy her, my body only trembled in small, pathetic shudders. I couldn’t move.
“……I’ll repeat…… Are you…… the Hero?”
Perhaps my silence had grated on her, as the woman repeated the question with a slightly sharper edge to her voice.
It felt as though invisible hands were tightening around my throat. A heavy, suffocating pressure descended upon me.
“……I’m…… an otherworlder, but…… I’m not…… the Hero.”
“……I see.”
In response to the words I desperately squeezed out, the woman merely nodded, showing no particular reaction.
The silence was heavy. I felt as if the very air had taken on physical weight.
I wanted to be released from this hellish sensation as soon as possible, but the trembling in my limbs only grew more violent.
After a brief pause, the woman reached out her hand toward me, as if asking for a handshake.
“……I am…… Isis…… Isis Remnant…… Nice to meet you.”
“!?!?”
The moment I saw her outstretched hand, an intense wave of revulsion surged through my heart.
A sense of terror so immense it far exceeded my mental capacity welled up from the pit of my stomach as physical nausea.
Run, run, run, run…… my instincts shrieked at full volume.
Her hand, which should have looked white and beautiful, appeared to me like a reaper’s scythe.
I mustn't touch it. If I touch it, I’ll die. Don’t resist, don’t confront her, look away…… Alarms rang out in my head one after another like a frantic tolling bell.
“……”
Seeing my reaction, the woman’s eyes drifted downward. In that instant, a single emotion was transmitted to my heart.
Deep sadness and profound loneliness…… an incredibly powerful sense of isolation.
This was what my Sympathy Magic had read. The moment I understood it, a feeling entirely different from the terror surged within me.
I didn't know the logic behind it. I had no clear reason or evidence. But for some reason, I felt that if I ran away now, I would regret it for the rest of my life.
“……!?”
My body moved on its own. Before I knew it, I was slapping my own face with both hands.
The extraordinary terror attacking my body hadn’t vanished, but my resolve was shifting toward something else entirely.
Get it together! Think properly for once!
What has this person actually done to me? Has she caused me any harm? Has she directed even a shred of hostility my way? No, she hasn't. She simply asked if I was the Hero, introduced herself, and asked for a handshake. She hasn't done anything wrong.
I stared into her red eyes, which now looked somewhat surprised. As I began to reach out my hand to accept her gesture, the intense revulsion struck me again.
I gritted my teeth against the dizzying terror and disgust, forcing my hand to move.
I had no basis for this. I didn't even know why I was being so desperate. But I felt that right now, in this moment, I had to take this woman’s hand.
If I had been in this same situation before coming to this world, I know I would have run away without looking back.
But after coming here and meeting Kuro, I learned that a single act of kindness could save a heart. I had learned just how much it meant to have someone reach out to the dark, hidden depths of one's soul.
If I was the only one who could reach out to this woman’s heart at this moment, then I couldn't run away.
Kuro had told me that my body would naturally adapt to non-hostile magic. If this unspeakable terror was caused by the magic power this woman was cloaked in, then I needed to stop shaking like an idiot and hurry up and adapt!
Did my silent scream reach through? As I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood, desperately forcing my hand forward, the revulsion began to ease—gradually, bit by bit.
The trembling in my fingers subsided, and as if in slow motion, my hand finally reached hers.
I gripped her chilly, cold hand, closed my eyes for a moment, and then forced a smile.
“……My name is Kaito Miyama. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Isis-san.”
“……!?!?”
By taking her hand, the terror and revulsion finally vanished, and I was able to speak naturally.
Isis-san stared at me in a daze for a long moment. Finally, she nodded. I felt as if her voice was trembling, yet filled with an immense sense of relief.
“……Miyama Kaito…… Kaito…… can I…… call you that?”
“Yes.”
“……Kaito…… ‘Let’s get married.’”
“I’m sorry, I’m not quite sure I follow.”
Something was wrong. We had finally introduced ourselves, only for her to immediately propose. I couldn't wrap my head around it. Didn't she skip about a dozen steps in the process?
In response to my confused reaction, Isis-san gave a smile that looked truly, deeply happy.
“……You held…… my hand…… I’m happy…… So happy! ……Therefore…… marriage.”
“……”
Wait, that’s not right. A chill ran down my spine, but this one was different from the one before.
While she had seemed cold and distant a moment ago, she was now looking at me with eyes so full of heat that I felt I might be incinerated.
Uh, what do I do here? I have to say something……
“W-Well, how about we start as friends first?”
“……”
When I timidly made the suggestion, choosing my words with extreme care, Isis-san’s cheeks flushed red, and she smiled brightly.
“……Friends…… Friends with Kaito…… I’m happy.”
Apparently, she liked that idea. She began repeating the word "friends" over and over like a mantra.
Yeah. How should I put it? She was certainly an intense person.
I stayed and chatted with her for a little while, keeping the conversation to harmless topics. Since it had grown quite dark, I eventually told her I had to head home. Isis-san looked at me with a lonely expression.
“……Kaito…… where…… do you live?”
“Um, for now, I’m staying at Duchess Albert’s mansion just down the road.”
“……Can I…… come visit…… sometime?”
“Ah, yes. Of course, please come whenever you like. I’ll let the head of the house know.”
“……Won’t I…… be a bother?”
“It’s fine. Please don’t hesitate. Since we’re friends, Isis-san, you’re welcome anytime.”
“……Ah…… okay.”
When I told the hesitant Isis-san that she was welcome to visit, she smiled with genuine joy.
Looking at her like this, she was just a lovely, cute woman. It made me wonder what on earth I had been so terrified of only moments ago.
After nodding happily at my words, Isis-san produced a blue flower from somewhere and held it out to me.
“……Um…… this…… for you.”
“Thank you very much. I’ll treasure it.”
“……Mhm.”
The flower’s petals were a translucent blue, like ice. I had never seen anything like it. I thanked her and stored it away in my Magic Box.
“Well then, I should be going. Let’s talk again soon.”
“……Mhm…… thank you…… Kaito…… I love you.”
“A-Ah, thank you…… Well then, see you later.”
“……See you.”
While being struck by a mysterious chill once again, I bowed to Isis-san, who gave me a small wave as I walked away.
Dear Mother, Father—a lot happened today, right up until the very end. In a way, I might have worked harder today than I ever have in my life. But it was worth the effort. I became friends—with Isis-san.
In a corner of the vast Demon Realm lay a region covered in permafrost that had not melted for thousands of years, a place known as the Land of Death.
In a room within a massive castle of deep ice, the girl known as the Incarnation of Death wore a blissful expression.
“……Kaito……”
As if entranced, Death King Isis Remnant whispered the name of the youth she had met today. Her cheeks were flushed like a maiden in love as she stared at the mountains of books piled around her and murmured to herself.
“……I found him…… I finally found him…… There’s no mistake…… Kaito…… Kaito is…… my ‘Destined Person’……”
As she spoke, Isis hugged a single book to her chest—one of her favorites.
The book told the story of a girl who fell in love with a man she met by chance. Overlapping herself with the heroine of the tale, she blushed and whispered the name of her beloved over and over again.
She whispered the name of the youth from another world who had taken her hand—the hand that had been feared for thousands of years, the hand of one who had walked through life in absolute solitude.
The Death King was feared by the majority of the world as a symbol of the end, but her mind was now filled entirely with thoughts of a single young man.