Chapter 201 - Is Death Salvation?
Since then, my research with Teacher continued.
Teacher no longer did anything as blatant as showing romantic feelings toward me, but instead, she became strangely eager to ask about Japan.
Language. Social affairs. Economic conditions. Population trends. Major industries. Relations with foreign nations.
Feeling a sense of guilt for having made her cry once before, I answered everything I could.
I couldn't help but think, Isn't this deviating a bit from medicine? but I didn't mind.
Before I knew it, Teacher had become able to manipulate Japanese with the fluency of a native speaker.
Now, based on the knowledge she obtained from me, she was beginning to understand the concept of cancer cells in her own way.
The conclusion she drew from that was,
"Impossible."
Or so she said.
"With the medicine of this era, I won't be saved. If it develops, I shall accept it as destiny. After all, if we were to excessively prolong the lives of those who ought to die, that in itself would likely lead to great trouble."
I wonder if this is Teacher being strong-willed. I don't quite understand.
I don't understand anything about what women are thinking.
"I heard that your homeland, Hero-kun, has the longest average life expectancy on Earth. It seems like things will become quite difficult in the future."
"...Eh? Why is that?"
"Look at the Elves, who boast long lifespans. Their civilization has no progress... before they knew it, they entered an era of stagnation and became overwhelmed by us, the Human Race."
"But those guys don't make kids at all, and they don't show any interest in new technology. Of course they'd decline."
"To me, that looks like the future of Japan."
"Hey, hey now. Even so, my country is the second wealthiest high-tech nation on Earth."
"I suppose that is something to look forward to when you return."
Saying this, Teacher smiles defiantly. It doesn't feel like she's disparaging my place of origin out of spite for being rejected...
She wears a scholarly smile, possessed of a certain kind of conviction.
"I have understood. It is a mistake for a single individual to live meaninglessly long. Rather than that, it is better to increase offspring in short cycles, like insects or mice. That seems suited to your lineage."
"...Humans aren't that kind of Race... unless they can give birth to twins or triplets every year, I mean."
"True. Certainly, humans are not that kind of Race. ...Humans, that is."
As she speaks, Teacher glances toward the tank.
There, my lower half, which had been severed months ago, was being cultured, its legs kicking energetically inside a mysterious container.
Seeing something that was once a part of myself being kept alive in such a form was a truly strange feeling.
"I will overcome death in my own way."
"Didn't you just say you'd accept destiny?"
"Yes. I will overcome it while accepting it."
"?"
"You will understand eventually," Teacher smiles.
"You will surely understand someday..."
＊ ＊ ＊
The memories of Teacher Lili gave me many hints.
Chloe's true identity. A half-blood girl with black hair and gray eyes. From another world, knowledgeable about the Summoned Hero's abilities enough to devise countermeasures against Status Appraisal, and able to speak Japanese...
"...Teacher's daughter?"
A child conceived with my severed lower half and given birth to in secret.
...That interpretation fits many things, but there was one problem.
The age.
Chloe is currently fifteen. Moreover, her way of speaking suggested she would be sixteen this year.
If so, it would be strange if Teacher hadn't been pregnant sixteen to seventeen years ago, but I have no memory of her stomach being swollen during that period.
Maybe Chloe is faking her age and is actually a ten-year-old with incredibly advanced development... no, that would be even more unnatural.
"What is going on?"
Feeling as though I've been bewitched by a fox, I dash through the city.
My destination is the port.
Straight toward that place where I defeated Philia.
"..."
I think while listening to the roaring sound of the wind.
Chloe could use the Divine Sword. Regardless of the circumstances of her birth, I think it's certain that she carries some of my blood.
Would I be able to cut down that girl? A fifteen-year-old girl who might actually be my biological daughter.