“You…”

“...trained like I had deathwish. And that, Sister Aurelia, is why I am proud to be stupid. Because a stupid decision may have potentially-no. It did save my life. Because that stupid decision made the Igor von Dimori of today. That moment of thoughtlessness, of sheer idiocy, changed my life forever.”

He walked over to Aurelia and looked into her eyes.

“You wanted to know how I survived? That is how I survived sixty years alone. By being stupid.”

.

|DxD|

.

Shuri was looking over the horizon with a worried gaze. It had been over two hours since Igor and Aurelia had suddenly vanished and it was worrying her greatly.

Cleria had already left a while ago after one of her peerage members informed her that some matters required her personal attention. So for now, it was just her who stood alone outside. There was widespread destruction but the bounded field (isolation barrier) still stood strong.

Akeno and Asia were inside the house playing with toys. After she had repeatedly reassured them that Igor would soon return, her daughter led Asia inside the house and began showing her around. Even now, she could still hear their giggles and laughter coming from upstairs in Akeno’s room.

But unlike these two girls, she couldn’t smile due to worry.

“Where are you, Dimori-kun?”

She was outside the house looking at the forest with a forlorn gaze. With the time nearing midday, her worries only continued to grow. Where was he? How was he? Is he safe? Is he hungry? From his memories, she knew how hungry he could get after a fight. A testament to that was how when he fought her husband, he almost ate him alive.

Thinking about the man she called husband, Shuri couldn’t help but think about HIS whereabouts.

“And where are you, Baraquiel?”

She was unsure how to feel about the cadre. From the memories she saw, they were indeed a very loving family and replaying the scenes in her mind, she could see just how the eyes of her former self sparkled with love. But that was just it.

It was her former self, not the current her.

“What…what do I…feel?”

She didn’t like how her mind was descending into these types of thoughts. Although she tried, she couldn’t help but have these sorts of stray thoughts. Having stood outside for over an hour, it was an inevitability that her thoughts would wonder, especially given how the majority of her mind was dominated by Igor’s memories.

Sigh…

Shaking her head, she turned around and entered the house.

[Maybe a glass of water can help.]

Passing through the door, she took off her shoes and put on her slippers. Walking through the hallway, she was about to turn into the kitchen when she noticed a picture of her, Baraquiel, and Akeno. Her little girl was on his shoulders while her hand was firmly intertwined with his.

Taking the picture into her hands, she couldn’t help but look at it closely.

“...”

She drew a figure over Baraquiel’s form, her feelings ambiguous, yet nonexistent. She wasn’t sure exactly how to feel about him, especially given that not once had she seen him since her revival. She could admit that judging from the picture, he was indeed handsome, strong, tall, and manly. He certainly did tick off the buttons for her preference in males.

But he lacked dependability and he had no credibility.

“Tch.”

Putting the picture back, she walked away with a scoff.

[If he loves this family, then where is he?]

Despite having lost her memories, her experience and general knowledge still existed. Shuri knew full well that the moment the barriers to the forest and the house were breached, magic notifications were sent. Her knowledge with wards allowed her to verify that the moment she checked their functionality. But she didn’t want to think about that right now, not when her thoughts were threatening to go down a dangerous path.

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Walking into the kitchen, it was sparkling clean after she had Cleria and the two little girls help with the cleanup. She could admit that magic certainly had its uses. Grabbing a glass from the cupboard, she rinsed it first before pouring some water from the tap.

She viewed the scene outside that bled to a view of untouched forest. It seemed that this stretch of trees was the only side left relatively undamaged given the earlier events of today. Smiling, it seems that even after reviving, her love for nature still existed.

Putting aside the glass, she allowed herself to enjoy the view since it served to push all these stray thoughts away. She didn’t want to think about anything for just a few minutes.

“...”

She stood quietly by the window with the glass in her hand, her thoughts gradually disappearing one by one. She leaned over the counter and took comfort in the gentle, yet subtle breeze that entered through the window.

But with the constant pitter-patter of feet above her head, it wasn’t as easy to focus, especially since the sounds were relatively infrequent.

“Haaa…”

Not having the heart to tell the two girls to quiet down, she left the counter with a sigh. Making her way outside the kitchen, she made sure not to look at the picture again for she did not want to think about the man. But the more she deliberately tried to push the thoughts away, the more they came rushing back in full force.

As far as she knew, hours have past yet not once did he come back. If she were still a corpse, she would be rotting by now under the sun. But then, Igor’s words of his possible injuries or being held up came. Theories of whether he was in a combat situation that did not allow him to see the notifications flared up in her mind.

So many conflicting thoughts rushed through her head that she couldn’t even make it out the door before stopping.

“...”

Grabbing her forehead, she decided to dispel her doubts once and for all.

“Fine then.”

Turning around, she made her way to the stairs before ascending them. Her steps were strong, yet light. Despite how quickly she walked up, not once did she make a sound. Her face exuded cold determination as she rounded the corner.

Walking to her room, she opened the door and made her way to her wardrobe. Opening it, she was about to push aside the clothes when she caught sight of the blue dress Igor had picked out for her.

“...”

Shaking her head, she pushed aside all her clothes on the coat-hangers to reveal the blank slab of wood making the backdrop of her wardrobe. Placing a hand on it, she channeled a bit of her energy into it and immediately, a blue magic circle formed.

Vwong…

It glowed briefly before dimming. Then, on the floor of the wardrobe, a sort of safe appeared that Shuri immediately opened. Inside it was a thick book that she took out. It was by luck that she chanced upon it when she was changing clothes. Walking over to her bed, she sat down and began opening the book.

Peeling the pages, there were all sorts of entries that showed the name of the person, their race, date, time, region/dimension, coordinates, and even…the state of their health. The dates alone went back as far as the late 1970s with her being the first entry.

…

Himejima Shuri - Human - 1979/06/14 - 06:00 - Earth - 35.1`15,9” N, 135.45’13,9” E (Kyoto) - Good

…

Judging by the coordinates, she could tell they were from when she was in Kyoto, presumably at the Himejima clan. There were also other similar entries with different dates. From reviewing the logs, she realised that aside from when a magic notification was sent, every 6th, 12th, 18th, and 24th hour of the day, a person’s location, coordinates, and health would automatically be recorded.

As she turned the pages, the entries eventually showed Baraquiel’s name and as time went on, Akeno’s too. Baraquiel’s entries were everchanging with the region always shifting. Sometimes it was Earth. Sometimes it was the Underworld. There were even times when it was written ‘Unknown’ under the ‘Region’ section. As for his health, there was always a shift between good, moderate, and bad. There was even a time where his health was logged as ‘Critical’.

Shuri was hoping she would see ‘Bad’ or ‘Critical’ in order to explain why Baraquiel wouldn’t have come back. It would allow her to give the man the benefit of the doubt and if possible, see them become a family again.

But to her immense disappointment, the last two entries she saw almost made her drop the book.

…

Baraquiel - Fallen Angel - 1999/07/16 - 03:23 - Earth - 20.20’55” N, 74.30’38” W (Cuba) - Good

Baraquiel - Fallen Angel - 1999/07/16 - 06:00 - Earth - 35.41’ N, 139.42’ E (Kuoh) - Good

…

.

AN

.

Relatively Important Notes (No spoilers)

I’m simply here to clarify certain aspects about Shuri. I am aware there are opposing opinions about Igor and Baraquiel and whatnot. Dear people. Please consider things from her perspective as is shown here. Furthermore, just because you know what happened doesn’t mean she does.

And another thing. I feel as if most of you as readers severely underestimate what it means that she has Igor’s memories. If you go back and read again, you will find out that not only does she see what he saw, but she also FELT every single emotion he had in those different time periods. She felt the love, care, hatred, anger, and everything else in between in great DETAIL.

This is by no means a justification for what most of you readers may or may not be assuming. But try and understand what she is going through. And understand this especially. She has NO personal memories of the family she used to have. Nearly everything she knows is from the blonde’s perspective.

Again, this is not a justification for what you think may or may not continue. It may happen. It may not happen. It’s all up in the air. Just like how most of us thought Igor wouldn’t destroy the Himejima clan, this ‘thing’ may turn out differently than expected. But bottom line, please consider things from all the character’s perspective, not just Shuri, and never be quick to judge.

With that said, thank you for reading my work.

If you’re interested in reading ahead, here’s the link: patreon.com/HolyGambler