SWNOVELXO Chapter 4
**Chapter 4**
A curse lingers in the ash-gray.
Thus, those born with ash-gray shall never die in their own time.
While it may not reach the level of divine revelation, it is a commonly circulated tale, like folklore or fairy tales, passed down even to children.
Even the color is incomplete.
It remains as a vague, faded trace.
Always tinted ash-gray, like the landscapes of the demon realm.
Just being born with ash-gray hair, resembling that remnant, is enough for them to be labeled as cursed children.
This curse doesn’t discriminate among races; it spreads among humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, and even dragonkin.
And it ensures that from the moment children are born, they are imbued with a deep-seated curse.
Seeds of disaster, cursed offspring.
While it may not manifest in childhood, as time passes and they grow, their true nature gradually reveals itself.
Lacking some essence of being human while overflowing with other things.
Emotions that should be tempered always spill over, causing them to act half-mad.
No one knows why this is happening, but everyone understands the outcome that awaits.
Witch hunts.
They meet their tragic end, one way or another, throughout all ages from ancient times to the present.
In every era, the story of ash-gray flows like this.
Then, what of a child born not only with ash-gray hair, but also with ash-gray eyes?
What curse do they bear, what do they lack, and what do they overflow with?
How does this end?
Does it culminate in the same witch hunt?
This is a story unprecedented, one that cannot even be found in ancient texts.
– Excerpt from 【Episode□□: Researcher’s Diary】 –
********
Time has passed to early winter when I turned five years old.
Since then, I haven’t taken a single step outside my home.
It’s quite absurd to think I’ve spent almost half a year cooped up indoors, but seeing my mother’s expression at that time, I doubt any child would dare whine about wanting to go out.
I had been quite well-behaved, staying at home, yet my mom would frantically call for me if I was out of her sight for even a mere ten minutes.
Having someone who always wore a playful smile reveal their anxiety so openly, I had to pretend to be the obedient child.
So, after autumn had grown considerably chilly, and now that my mom’s anxiety seemed to have subsided, I finally spoke of going outside.
“Mom, I feel like I could go outside soon.”
“…”
“See, you’re not answering again.”
I think I may have asked who that annoying habit of clamping her mouth shut resembles.
But seeing her like this, it seems all too clear.
She just looks like me, her son.
“Well, no… It’s not that I’m not answering. If my son wants to go out, he should… But didn’t we agree to wait until next year…?”
“You promised that I wouldn’t be kept inside until I turned six.”
“… Um, Mom doesn’t quite remember…”
Well then.
Even as she avoids eye contact, can she really say she doesn’t remember?
I glanced sideways at my mom and quietly spoke.
“As a child, I keep promises, but you, an adult, make lies and don’t keep them.”
“Ugh…!”
“If you don’t remember, then that’s that. They say parents are a reflection of their children, so I wonder what that means for me.”
“Ugh…!!”
With every word I tossed, she clutched her chest as if hit and gazed at me with a mournful look.
“They say listening to parents brings bread even in sleep, so I must have been a fool for only following mom’s words.”
“Cough…! You can go out, son! I was wrong, I’m sorry for lying!”
Eventually, my mom gave her permission for me to go outside.
With her eyes tightly shut, as if she couldn’t help it, I felt a strange sense of satisfaction and nodded.
Hmm.
Is this how the saying “there’s no parent who can outsmart their child” comes into play?
But I had also given in for half a year, so perhaps it was the opposite.
In reality, both of us seem childlike, making it seem like a draw.
With such silly thoughts filling my head, my mom called me in a slightly brighter tone.
“But son!”
“Yeah?”
“Children are a mirror of their parents, and it’s not bread, it’s rice cake!”
“….”
“Hehe…”
“… I’m not going out.”
I’d get lost if I did something as foolish as that.
Unlike my mom, I suppose I should study instead of wandering outside.
“Come on, son! You’re smart just like your mom, right? Children are a mirror of their parents!”
“….”
Clang.
That mirror just shattered.
And.
Please hide those lips twitching to tease me.
Thus, my mom and I were preparing to go out.
“Son, are you dressed warmly?”
“I told you, didn’t I? I’m not a child.”
“Still, anyone would see you as a child.”
“I don’t care.”
I put on my warm gloves and snuggled a winter hat onto my head, leaving behind my chuckling mom.
Today is quite cold.
I’m not a child, so I’m fine, but it’s definitely chilly for a child.
If you ask me what that means, I would simply reply, “I have no idea.”
Finally dressed, I grabbed the thick old clothes from the bottom of the closet.
I suppose it’s my mom’s old knitted cardigan she always muttered about wanting to throw away.
In any case, it’s a bundle of fluff that she doesn’t wear anymore.
Seeing me standing there awkwardly holding it, my mom tilted her head.
“Hmm? Son, why are you bringing that?”
“Because it’s cold.”
“I don’t quite understand how the cold has anything to do with taking out old, worn clothes. If it’s cold, you should wear more layers.”
“… You never know.”
“Ain, I don’t know what you mean by ‘you never know’… Are you perhaps planning to do something strange as soon as we go out…?”
“I’m just bringing it, okay? If I see a trembling puppy, I’ll give it to them.”
“Hmm… Well, if you say so.”
“…”
So.
It’s really just something I’m bringing.
After all, you never know.
If there’s a puppy looking cold in the alley, this old worn clothes might come in handy.
That’s the only reason.
********
It’s cold.
Even with my body wrapped in clothes, a hat, and gloves, the winds that blow in are quite harsh.
The gaps in my neck or wrist feel chill enough to make me shiver.
“Son, are you really not cold?”
“No, I’m not a child.”
However.
Even if I’m just an extra, my spirit is that of a strong man who has even faced the military.
I’m not the sort of man to succumb to such winds.
“Then, do you want to take everything off?”
“…”
“What’s with all these layers, son? Our son has grown up, so let’s just wear one layer and run!”
“… I’m a little cold.”
Damn.
Walking down the street, I feel like I’m going to freeze to death, and what kind of man have I become?
Frowning against the biting wind, I thought.
The body of a child is truly.
Too fragile and delicate, it seems that with a mere moment’s mistake, it can break.
Even with my strong will from previous lives and the thick layers of clothes I’m wearing for defense.
I can’t shake off the thought that it might all collapse from some trivial detail alone.
Truly, what a pathetic body.
Thus, I was mentally making my hundredth vow to grow up quickly ever since I was reborn.
Anyway.
I held onto my mom’s hand as she giggled and made an effort to cover the gaps in my clothes.
I even employed the old piece of fluff I grabbed to wrap my body tightly.
“Hoho, I’m saying just wear more layers instead of bringing that old cloth.”
“… I don’t know.”
“Son, if it gets too cold, do you want to hug me? I think you’ll be a bit heavier starting next year, but for now, I can still carry you!”
“Forget it. I’m not a kid…”
Whoosh-
While saying that, another strong gust of wind forcefully burrowed through the clothes I had been so diligently defending against.
And this biting wind was far too harsh for a child’s body to endure.
“Ah, hug me. Mom, I’m cold…”
“Hik! Come here quick, son. Haha…”
Ugh, this pathetic body of mine, seriously.
I am.
I am a strong man who has braved the military.
I will not be defeated by mere wind.
“…”
Ah, damn it.
I don’t know, whimpering.
Mommy, hug me.
So, being held by my mom, we continued our walk to the Kates Plaza, a place we visited about half a year ago.
To be precise, we are lingering near the alley that leads to Kates Plaza.
“So, son, why did you want to come here again? Were you hoping to escape from my embrace?”
“… I just didn’t get to see it properly last time because I was too flustered.”
What escape from my mother’s arms?
I’m about to freeze to death right now.
I thought to myself while looking around the vicinity of that alley we passed before.
The witch.
Is the ash-gray witch still living in this alley?
Given the development of the story, she likely hasn’t died in the meantime, but we didn’t get a good look at where she lived when we were younger.
After all.
The protagonists of this world are neither the witch nor me.
Hero Pris.
Holy Girl Lua.
It’s the story of those two who are undoubtedly the protagonists.
So.
“….”
Even the poor girl’s childhood and miserable life lingering in that alley would crumble away, written in just a few lines in the story.
Not even a single line for me, an extra.
“… Mom.”
“Yeah, son? Do you want to go back now?”
“No, just let me down for a moment.”
The trembling in my body fades away.
Though my expression is still slightly scrunched up from the cold, and my hands clench again against the biting wind.
Just knowing that the hazy, ash-gray eyes are looking at me from the alley made my sense of reality begin to dissipate.
“Son, is it really okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just want to go over there for a moment.”
“The alley…? Hmm, it’s probably best not to go there…”
“It’ll just be a moment.”
“Then let’s go together, son.”
“…”
Should I?
Is it the right choice to take my mom, the character from the story as well as my own mother, into that alley?
She wouldn’t let me go there on my own anyway, but it’s always a difficult choice, whether in reality or fiction.
So, faced with her worried tone and expression, I ultimately nodded and took a small step forward.
I was stepping into a story where I, simply an ordinary person with no ties to this world, began to tread lightly.
Perhaps it requires courage.
No, it definitely requires courage.
When I could live peacefully while merely enjoying my life in the backdrop of the story.
Given that the original purpose was to explore this world, simply setting off on a journey beyond would suffice.
To dip a small toe into the unfolding story is an entirely different matter.
Clank clank-
The sound of my mom’s footsteps following beside me increasingly approaches the alley, heading towards calamity.
Soon, the answer to the choice I had made came as my mom’s voice.
“… Son.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, son, let’s go back.”
Her voice was filled with a bit of disgust, a bit of unease, and concern for me.
This is the forceful rejection resonating from the story’s setting.
“It’s just for a moment, it’s fine.”
“Son, listen to your mom…! It’s not okay at all!”
Being unable to avoid the repulsion caused by the ash-gray curse.
The reason I find myself questioning whether I can still call her “Mom.”
“… It looks cold, so shall I just give you this and go back?”
“Son, I told you not to come closer!”
Her warm heart, the affection and smile she has for me, is that merely the setting of the story or sincere?
Her gaze filled with disgust for the ash-gray girl, is that simply the story’s setting or is it genuine?
I keep hoping for answers to that question.
“I told you earlier. If I see a trembling puppy, I’ll give it to them.”
I brought this old cloth with me for that very reason.
Just in case I happened to see a cold-looking puppy, I promised I would give it away.
Saying that, I threw the worn cloth I had wrapped around onto the plank.
The blankness of my vision met with the hazy and murky eyes of the girl.
Soon, I was pulled back into my mom’s embrace, quickly distancing away from the girl.
Yet those ash-gray eyes remained fixed on me until they faded from the alley.
I took a step into the story.
And this marks the beginning of my role.