Challenge: The Fool with the Surname Okayamine

Interlude Chapter 98: "Our Faith Under the Moonlight"

At 1 a.m. in the chilly morning, the bright moonlight, as clear as water, quietly shone on the pond of the magnificent mansion of the Gangmin family.

At that moment, the wind howled, and Ming sat quietly on a rock by the pond, his head slightly lowered, lost in thought. Behind him, Erya stood holding a sharp pair of scissors.

"Oh my gosh~ young man, you flew back so late at night, and you even had little Nibekol carrying that big idol behind you. I must say, you've got some tricks up your sleeve. It's making me a little excited."

'Click'

Ming's waist-length hair was styled, while Erya was getting it back to her based on her memory.

"Erya, although it's a bit... well, it's a little late at night when you're rushing to finish your manuscript, so thank you anyway."

Ming thanked them with a blank expression, occasionally checking his hairstyle with the [Divine Eclipse Manual] to make sure it wasn't too different from this morning.

"Young man~ I actually think this hairstyle is perfect for a maiden outfit... Why don't you try it? Consider it payment for the haircut I gave you."

"roll."

"Hehe, just kidding~ Don't be so formal, okay, okay, it should be about the same as usual... Although I still prefer your long hair and anime-style beast girl look from earlier..."

Erya put away the scissors, looked at Ming's increasingly inhuman appearance, and couldn't help but subconsciously complain:

"Cough cough, when I first met you, you were barely human. But day by day, you've grown ram's horns and your hair is hanging to the ground. You look like a female ghost, and your back has wing patterns that look like insects."

Ming shrugged after hearing Er Ya's words, knowing it was due to evolution and therefore not caring.

As Erya and Ming were talking, a loud scream suddenly came from Erya's room.

"Yamete! Don't come any closer!" The voice was extremely hoarse and desperate, and even Ming, who rarely empathized with others, felt a pang of pity.

"Uh... young man, your daughter... Nibekol seems to be screaming in my room..." Nia asked, somewhat embarrassed.

"Nonsense! Hurry up and go see! And that thing looks exactly like you, that's why I don't have a daughter! Don't slander me for no reason."

Then, Ming picked up Er Ya and, with a push of his feet, flew rapidly towards Er Ya's room.

"Hey! Kid... Ugh... You didn't activate the random zone this time! Ugh... I feel like throwing up..."

"Just bear with it, it's not that far anyway."

"Hmm... I suspect you're intentionally retaliating against me, but I have no proof."

"You can try to prove it, I believe we won't be having a proper discussion here."

"This……"

In the blink of an eye, they arrived at Er Ya's room. Er Ya was about to push the door open when Ming stopped her.

"Young man? Are you still waiting! Listen to your daughter screaming in agony! Can you bear it?" Er Ya whispered to Ming, who was standing still with his eyebrows twitching wildly.

"Don't bother me, I'm connecting to Nibekol's eyes." A cross appeared in Ming's eyes, and after connecting to Nibekol's eyes, a "pleasing" scene appeared before the two of them.

Like a wolf, Miku pinned down Nibekol, whose face was flushed, and grabbed his hand on a part of his body that had no handle, as if she was about to commit a crime.

(No doubt about it, this is something Miku is capable of doing. If you don't believe me, just look at how she grabbed Shiori and touched the first spot Shiori touched after losing to her on stage.)

"Oh?! Father... no, please save me! Wait... wait a minute, you can't move here!"

"Hehehe~ Although I just woke up and don't know where I am, and I feel like I've forgotten something, the fact that you can ignore my voice... makes me feel like we're kindred spirits~ Well then... join my big sister's harem!"

"Yamete!" Nibekol's eyes welled up with tears, like a child who had just been bathed.

Outside the door, Ming disconnected, trying to cover his face as much as possible, but his face was already as black as the bottom of a pot. Er Ya, seeing this, seemed to understand something and came closer.

"Young man, I think...it seems...it's like...it appears...I think...you've mentioned that this idol is a lesbian, right?"

"What are you waiting for? Push it away while my [God Eclipse Chapter] is still clean!"

"Okay~"

Nia took a deep breath and suddenly pushed open the door. Miku was startled by the sudden noise and turned to look at the doorway. Taking advantage of the moment, Nibekor broke free from Miku's grasp and hid behind Nia.

"A man? You filthy bug, how did you get into someone's room!" Miku looked at Nia with disgust and prepared to attack.

"Migu".

A rather gloomy voice came from behind. Miku quickly went around Nia to check. The person was wearing a suit, had heterochromatic red and blue eyes, and looked rather indifferent and unsmiling, with pale skin.

"........."

After a moment of silence, Miku realized that she didn't feel disgusted by this man, and then she spoke in a trembling voice:

"Lord Flame Beast...is that you?"

Under the moonlight, Ming and Mei Jiu sat on the roof beam, with two cups of green tea between them, watched only by the willow tree on the branch of the house.

Under the roof beams, Nibekol was being appeased.

(Erya: "Little Nini, the person who came to see you with something nice in mind is a girl, not a boy, so don't worry about it~")

Nibekol: "Get out!" and punched Erya in the stomach. Only Erya's scream could be heard.

Let's turn our attention back to the roof beams. The two of them sat there, not uttering a sound for a long time.

In the end, Ming hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to speak:

"Uh...sorry, it's me, Miku..."

His words were cut off by the teacup pressed against his lips. Ming turned his head in confusion, looking at Mei Jiu, who was smiling and seemed extremely gentle, with a puzzled expression.

(Erya: "Oh right, right, you guys have been persecuting me all along, haven't you!")

“I know that I sometimes reverse my memories of impulsive moments. I know very well that the adults are only using me because of that long-dead faith.”

The girl smiled with her eyes closed, seemingly having let go of the past, but even after possessing the [Song Demon King], the sorrow in her words was clearly visible.

"It was Lord Flame Beast who saved Miku when she attempted suicide, and who killed her to bring me salvation, giving me strength and a name. Even if this faith is based on lies, I will follow it!"

Ming looked at Mei Jiu's resolute expression, a complex feeling welling up inside him. He gently put down his teacup and slowly spoke:

“Miku, although I didn’t mean to use you in the past, it did hurt you. Now that I’ve taken away half of your power, you can leave. I will no longer use you.”

Upon hearing this, a hint of melancholy flashed in Miku's eyes, but she quickly regained her resolve.

"Lord Flame Beast, even so, I still wish to stay by your side. You have given me not only power, but also the hope to live."

Ming was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected Miku to be so persistent.

"You should know that I won't fall in love with you, and I can't give you the happiness you want..."

"But you are everything to me, my lord! You need not give me anything now. From the moment you gave me my name, I have chosen to follow you until the day your faith is resurrected!"

Ming remained silent for a long time. Looking at Mei Jiu's determined eyes, he felt an indescribable emotion welling up inside him.

"Miku, your persistence may lead to disappointment one day."

Miku shook her head and reached out to hold Ming's hand.

Even if I end up disappointed, I will follow my faith to repay that moment...you gave me the meaning of a second life!

At this moment, Erya below suddenly shouted angrily:

"Hey you two, keep your voices down at night! The neighbor's knocking on the door!"

Ming glanced at Erya downstairs, then turned back to look at Miku. He gently pulled his hand away from Miku's grasp and stood up.

“Miku, I’ve remembered your kindness. But I don’t have the chance to repay you yet. In the future, after I see [her], I will personally visit you to thank you for following me... Whether you accept it or not is up to you.”

Ming's face was expressionless, but he was more emotional than he had been at any time in the past 25 years.

"Also, Miku, you don't need to call me 'Lord Flame Beast,' that sounds weird. My real name is Okamine Mei, you can just call me Mei from now on."

"Huh?! So you're not called Flame Beast, sir? I thought all demons in hell were called by such direct names." The girl was somewhat surprised.

"This is my identifying name. I couldn't easily reveal my real name when we first met, so I made it up pretty much randomly. Uh... and the demon setting was also..."

"It's alright, Miku doesn't mind!"

"Thank you."

Moonlight shone on the boy's pale face. After Ming gave Miku a dream and a faith, Miku gave Ming a reward called trust.

This is like a mutual redemption for the two of them. Although Ming's heart has changed because of this, Mei Jiu will still choose to follow him. It's like an unattainable dream, beautiful even though it's out of reach.