My Wife is a Dead Villainess, and I'm Her Living Weapon-Chapter 93: Remind

Wind howled through the forest as Elian’s party ran beneath the canopy. freēnovelkiss.com

Three wolves led the charge—two gleaming constructs of Living Metal, one proud and breathing, still of flesh. With them came two humans: one astride a metal wolf, the other a ghost of breathtaking beauty, flying at their side alongside a flock of burning swallows.

It was a group whose members had no business being together. Yet little did the world know that this group would soon become one of the most feared factions in the galaxy.

***

"Elian, what are you doing?"

Bianca asked in wonder as she saw Elian fiddling with the magic bags. He was pulling out various objects and putting them back.

"Oh, I was just dividing our supplies. We got Heaven’s Fist’s magic bag which is actually better than the one you have." Elian pulled out a potion from one bag and placed it in the other. "That way, even if we get separated everyone has the essential necessities."

"You can keep it, Elian. If you really need to, give it to someone—give it to Mom. No wolf would ever want to have one of those things." Whisper added.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn’t you need a magic bag, they are useful?"

"Whisper means it is a human concept," a voice grunted. It came from the metal wolf Elian was using as a mount. "The same mentality that requires a magic bag, is the very greed that makes humans so dangerous. Fralhame has no such tendencies."

Elian tilted his head, unsure what he just heard, he then looked to Bianca, but she just shrugged her head.

"Why are you all getting so worked up for a bag Father-in-law? It has food, cores, potions it can make our trip safer. Surely Fralhame has a concept of diseases, logistics and storage?"

"Elian, don’t. Fralhame culture is quite Spartan," Bianca confided, "You won’t see eye to eye on this matter."

"What? That is just stupid. What bad thing could come from having the concept of a bag?" Elian said bluntly.

"Typical. As expected of a human."

At the unexpected rebuke, Elian’s anger began to rise, "What the hell does that mean?"

When Elian and Bastion were about to begin arguing again, a wave of frost suddenly wrapped around the Tyrant’s face like a mask. It was cool and pleasant.

"Son-in-law, please calm yourself. This is a difference in culture. There is merit to a magic bag. They represent the Wisdom of Earth, but to a species like ours, they represent an underlying problem that is the reason for humanity’s sorrows."

Silent’s words caused Elian to pause. Initially he believed that only the Flame Swallows had a different culture, and that the Snow Wolves were similar to Earth in a way.

Guess no matter how similar they are not human.

Rather than get angry, Elian nodded and requested for guidance.

"Thank you for explaining, Mother-in-law. Father-in-law, I apologize for being insensitive. Can you please share to me what you mean? About why having a magic bag is repulsive to Snow Wolves."

Silent nodded in delight, "As expected of my Son-in-law! You have the mentality of a ruler. Listen well my child, one of the biggest concerns of Tyrant’s is the balancing act of merging cultures together. It decides what type of Tyrant one becomes."

"Most don’t give a damn and just shoehorn their members together. And they wonder why their packs fracture or turn on each other later, fools." Bastion added.

"Ehem, please ignore your Father-in-law—he is quite spiteful about this matter. In short, Fralhame believes in respecting nature. We take only what we need, and nature will take care of us. The concept of a bag or taking more for the future clashes with this."

Elian felt a chill land behind him, followed by a comforting presence that laid on his back.

"To Fralhame, Freedom comes hand in hand with consequence, they do not have a concept of preparing for the future. Supplies, medicine even homes, they allow one to blunt the negative consequences of a choice, to them it is cowardice," Bianca murmured.

Elian shook his head, "But what if someone they love gets sick? What if the weather goes bad and they cannot hunt? What if a catastrophe hits?"

Bianca made a deep sigh.

"In those situations, they believe one should learn the outcome of lacking knowledge or strength. Only then would they understand its weight. Should their member’s die to these mistakes that comes part and parcel with the freedom of Fralhame."

"That makes absolutely no sense, then what do they think of me? I healed Father-in-law and Fluffy’s wounds with the potions?" Elian countered, his frustration showing.

"That’s..."

"Son-in-law, another truth that you must learn. Everyone is different. Being save by you is a result of Bianca and Whisper’s choice, not ours. We are grateful for everything you do, but know that Fralhame never bends, we would rather break."

Silent’s voice seemed sterner than usual.

"Even among our packs, there are those whose ideologies clash, everyone follows his or her own freedom. A Tyrant may build a shelter strong enough for every soul... but not every soul will choose to live under it. You must learn to love them still."

"... I will keep that in mind, mother-in-law."

Elian shifted uncomfortably. His thoughts still lingered on Silent’s words, but he turned back to the bag to finish sorting. He then pulled out a beaten-up coin. A Crown full of nicks and cuts.

"Huh? What is this thing? Bianca is this yours?"

Bianca turned around and smacked Elian in the arm, "What are you saying, Elian. That ugly looking Crown is yours. You have had it since forever, although you never shared why it looked like that."

"Huh? No, I don’t. Why would I keep this thing? It looks like someone had a grudge on it."

"W-What?" blood drained from Bianca’s face, "Y-You mean you don’t remember it?"

Elian shook his head, "No, I don’t. It can’t be mine. I lost all my stuff before I met you, ah that is not right, I wrapped your soulgem in scraps of my clothes, ah! Here they are!"

"..."

While Elian was puzzled with his lover’s reaction, he continued sorting out the items in his bag. He pulled out a pink smartphone, "Looks like I also found your phone. Batteries are shot. We’ll need to charge it when we get back. Your tastes are quite adorable, Bianca."

"...not mine." She murmured.

"Huh? This is not yours?"

Bianca then vanished and reappeared behind him. Grabbing both his cheeks, she shouted.

"This phone belongs to Sera Dale! That priestess girl... The harlot who clung to you! We saved them some time ago. Elian, if this is a joke I am not laughing! Tell me that you remember!"

"I am sorry, Bianca, I don’t. When did we meet them?"

The woman’s body tensed, she began to weep, "Outside of the Red Ant Dungeon. She reminded you of your mother, that’s why we helped them. They were the reason we came to get Fluffy."

"I see. But Bianca, why are you crying? Tell me what’s wrong."

As Elian tried to console her, Fluffy spoke aloud in a sad tone.

"Elian, she is crying because this idiot is blaming herself. You forgot your memories, that coin and the phone were connected to the memories that you sacrificed. It must be the price of Driven-Hopeless. To think it would come back like this."

The Tyrant blinked and watched his lover crying pitifully in silence. He remembered what the system said before.

[Talent: Driven – Hopeless mode deactivated. All enemies have been terminated. Times triggered: 4. Core memories lost: 4.]

They weren’t just memories—they were core ones. He remembered Bianca getting angry before when he first used Hopeless to save Fluffy.

"Elian, memories do not work that way. Core memories even more so. Memories are what shape a person’s individuality. Forgetting them is like becoming a different person."

"Tsk. This is all my fault. I didn’t just lose Fluffy. I’m losing you—and I’m the reason you needed to be this... thing. Why do I have to hurt those I cherish like this...it’s so unfair!"

To him, it hardly mattered. But seeing how Bianca wept, Elian knew better than to downplay this. Doing so was disrespectful to the ones who loved him.

Tenderly Elian wrapped his arms around Bianca’s soul body and pulled her close.

"Bianca, it’s fine. Even if I forget, you just need to remind me again."

"But Elian..." she whimpered.

"Hush," he said as he wiped her tears, "You have been crying too much these days."

Bianca’s body trembled and held him tighter.

"I-I’m scared Elian. What if one day you forget me? What if you forget what we went through? I can’t. I can’t lose you like this."

Elian tenderly brushed Bianca’s back in silence and held her while the tears ran free. When she calmed down, he made her face him and whispered.

"Just remind me, Bianca. So long as we are together, you can just remind me. We will make so many memories that it will be impossible for me to forget you."

"Can’t you just not use Driven-Hopeless? We can just try fighting some other way."

When Elian heard Bianca’s thoughts, he suddenly gained understanding of Fralhame’s way of life. What Bianca was feeling now was similar to him just a while ago.

And now, he felt the pride of the Snow Wolves. The weight of his choice and the agency in accepting its results, "This is my choice, Bianca. This is my freedom and my consequence."