Time returns to the present, one day later.
The sunset burned like fire as everyone stared, stunned, at the snow, clearly dyed red with blood.
At that moment, Senis and Paul's faces suddenly changed. They both grabbed nearby shovels and began furiously digging. Paul's douki was already completely exhausted; now he was moving purely on physical strength.
Shovelful after shovelful, the snow was cleared, revealing more and more crimson snow beneath.
Everyone stared, dumbfounded, their expressions shifting.
At the sight of blood, people instinctively think of death.
That was why everyone's faces had gone pale a moment ago.
But if they thought carefully… such thick, heavy blood—how many could possibly have died?
People? Were there even that many in the valley?
No. Only two had fallen.
So where had all this blood come from? And who had killed to produce it?
There was no more time to ponder the answer.
The next instant, a blazing fire lit up in everyone's eyes as they grabbed their shovels and began digging with all their might!
Snow after snow. Blood after blood.
Finally, a hole broke through, and real blood burst forth like a fountain, spraying over everyone's faces.
Paul's eyes lit up and he moved to keep digging—but then, a chain reaction began.
The pressure imbalance caused more black snow to collapse.
With a rumble, only a thin wall of snow remained before it too crumbled.
In that moment.
Though they stood in the mountains, everyone heard the sound of the sea.
Waves. Tides.
A sea of blood!
It surged forth from the opened chasm in the valley!!
In an instant, the thick, almost tangible stench of blood overwhelmed them, and the waves rose to their knees.
No one cared about the snow at their feet; their eyes were fixed on the valley.
The evening light streamed in, shining on the sea of blood within the valley.
On the red surface of the sea, a single line of blood extended into the endless depths of the valley.
Countless monster corpses floated on the sea, bobbing with the winter wind.
At the center of the sea of corpses stood a single blood-streaked figure, facing them.
Waves lapped at his knees, and ripples spread outward from him.
The sunset fell on the red sea, waves glinting in its light.
A human silhouette.
Brilliant, dazzling.
Could something born of death truly be so beautiful?
No one spoke. No one dared step forward.
But even so, the collapsing snow disturbed him.
He turned from the sea and looked toward them.
The evening glow edged his figure, hiding his face.
But his voice, as lazy and casual as always, carried across the blood sea to everyone's ears.
Quiet, distant.
Yet clear enough for all to hear.
He said:
"Next year."
"There won't be another monster tide."
Paul stared at Allen, a wide, brilliant smile spreading across his face.
Senis dropped her shovel into the bloody waves, stared blankly for a moment, then smiled—though her lips trembled and she soon covered her face.
Tears slipped through her fingers, falling one by one, leaving ripples around her knees.
Lilia patted her shoulder, crying and laughing at once.
And Rudy simply stared at Allen, muttering under his breath words only he could hear:
"Saved… saved… Allen, Sylphy… saved…"
"I… was saved."
Rolz looked toward Allen's side—where Sylphy lay on a slab of magically formed ice, the sunset casting her hair a brilliant crimson.
She smiled and waved to everyone at the mouth of the valley.
"We're okay~ Sorry to worry everyone! We were just about to figure out how to get out when you arrived~"
Her deliberately lowered voice calmed the villagers who'd been about to cheer, lest their shouts trigger another avalanche. Instead, they splashed about in the bloody waves, quietly expressing their relief.
But some already ran through the sea of blood!
Rudy! Senis! Paul! Lilia!
One by one they waded through the bloody sea, and in Allen's astonished eyes, they embraced him tightly!
One hug after another, each one warm and fierce.
Senis's tears kept falling onto Allen's face.
He stood there, a little dazed, his throat dry, the words he'd prepared to explain the situation all catching in his mouth.
At this moment, whether the monsters were all truly gone, whether there'd be another tide next year—none of it seemed to matter.
What mattered?
The warmth of those hugs had already answered him.
That night a day ago, his emotions had been cut short by the monster onslaught, unable to surface—but now they roared through him in waves.
Memories flashed like tides:
Paul and Senis's bitter expressions after revenge;
Senis speaking cautiously to Rudy, afraid to make Allen feel like an outsider when she was pregnant;
That night when they wept and thanked him after the affair was exposed;
The carefully prepared birthday gifts and show;
The place settings laid out in the morning, the goodnights whispered before bed.
Too many memories. Too much pent-up feeling.
How could it all be counted?
A panicked voice at his side brought him back. He turned instinctively.
Sylphy was already trying to explain the change in her hair color, flustered—but as soon as Allen's eyes met hers, she fell quiet, turning her head toward him from her mother's arms.
They locked eyes.
Her white hair flew in the air, blazing like fire in the sunset.
Allen stared at her pale hair, his own swirling emotions plucking at his heartstrings.
After a moment, he silently drew his arms from his family's embrace.
And opened them.
Returning the embrace.
In Senis's deepening sobs, Allen's voice was faint.
But Sylphy heard it clearly.
No sly words, no ulterior motives, no thought of racking up favor points.
Just two simple words.
"Thank you."
The words scattered on the wind, invisible as smoke.
[When hearts truly touch, that's when family begins.]
[You have become a true member of Paul's family.]
[Childhood phase participation increased.]
[Current phase: Childhood. Cumulative participation score: 100 points. Reward granted. Positioning system activated.]
[Evaluation: If the gap between you and your goal is but one final step, then you've already walked the path this far. That last step needs no one else to guide you!]
[Allen, this is the meaning of your transmigration.]
[This is your own Mushoku Journey!!]
[Congratulations, Host. Childhood phase, perfect clear.]
The sunset bathed the bloody sea in red.
But Allen could no longer smell a single hint of blood.
——
Night.
Everyone took turns washing the blood from themselves, and by the time they sat down to dinner, it was nearly ten o'clock.
Paul was drunk.
The only man who hadn't cried all day now clung to Allen, blubbering and sobbing.
Allen could only stare in shock.
Even more ridiculous, no one came to save him. Everyone just smiled and watched.
Even Rudy looked on with a kindly, helpless smile.
Allen's face twitched.
Seriously!? Who's your dad here? And who's whose dad??
In the end, Allen escaped Paul's clinging—not because he broke free, but because Paul was so exhausted he simply collapsed, crying himself to sleep in Allen's arms.
What the hell!
Allen princess-carried Paul to his bedroom, then returned to the hallway under the gentle gaze of Senis and Lilia, before finally retreating to his own room.
The door closed, their soft voices followed.
"You must be tired, Allen, go get some sleep~"
"No need to get up early tomorrow~ I'll save you some breakfast."
"Alright~"
Their footsteps faded into the distance. In the dark, Allen stepped forward.
He lit a candle at his desk, opened the drawer, and took out the crumpled note.
He held it over the flame.
Black smoke curled up as the dense words warped and burned, vanishing.
The "Future Vision" ink faded from his eyes, becoming one with the system panel before him.
[How does it feel?]
By the candlelight, Allen grinned.
"Screw your future vision."
…
Outside the window, no snow fell.
Because spring…
was almost here!
(End of Chapter)
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