Journey to Godhood Begins in Frieren

"Husband… can I really… live like this?"

The warmth in Shichen's voice reached deep into Mukuro Hoshimiya's heart. It made her feel safe. It gave her courage.

She hugged him back, pressing her head to his chest—feeling his body heat, listening to his heartbeat.

It calmed her.

At the end of the day, Mukuro hadn't done something unforgivable—at least, not from Shichen's point of view.

She'd made a mistake that a younger sister might make.

Mukuro had been adopted. The Hoshimiya family who took her in also had a daughter older than her—so she became Mukuro's "onee-san."

They were good people. They truly treated Mukuro like family, and Mukuro loved them too—especially her sister, who spent a lot of time with her and often helped brush and style her hair.

The two of them were together all the time. At night, they'd even stargaze together.

But people have other circles. As you socialize more, it's easy to unintentionally neglect the feelings of the people closest to you.

Mukuro's sister gradually grew closer to her friends, going out more and more—until she drifted away from Mukuro.

Then, in a moment of thoughtlessness, she even agreed to cut Mukuro's most precious hair.

First she was being left behind… and now she was going to lose the one thing she treasured most.

Mukuro was crushed. She was sad. She felt abandoned.

That was when the First Spirit appeared—and coaxed her into becoming a Spirit.

With a Spirit's power, Mukuro could stay close to her family forever. No one would get in the way.

But she was still young, still ignorant. So she used her Angel to seal other people's memories—so outsiders couldn't come between her and her parents and sister.

A child's logic was simple: if those people couldn't remember, they couldn't come back and bother them.

But her family didn't just shrug it off. They were ordinary people. To them, these sudden gaps and changes were terrifying.

Afraid of the unknown power, and realizing Mukuro was the cause, they lashed out and called her a monster.

Mukuro was still just a kid—how could she endure being called that by the people she loved most?

And because she was gentle by nature, she didn't strike back. Instead, she sealed their memories of her… sealed her own memories… and left alone—drifting into the cosmos, living alone in silence.

She'd once been an orphan. All she'd wanted was family, companionship, love. She hadn't meant to hurt anyone. That was why Shichen couldn't bring himself to condemn her.

And her heart was still so young.

It was understandable, and yet painful for everyone involved—but who could truly blame her?

"Of course you can," Shichen said. "You didn't do something 'evil.' You just handled it the wrong way."

"…What's the difference?" Mukuro's emotions steadied a little.

"Being 'wrong' and being 'at fault' aren't the same. What you did back then wasn't 'malicious.'"

Wrong doesn't always mean evil. Given Mukuro's age and mindset at the time, her actions made sense to her.

"But I…"

"Don't panic. Like I said—your approach was wrong, not your heart."

"Wrong…?" Mukuro tilted her head up, confused.

"It's simple," Shichen said, completely serious. "I think your sister was the one who was in the wrong."

"Husband…"

"It's fine that she made friends and got busy. But listening to those friends and agreeing to cut your hair? That's what crossed the line."

"Husband…"

"The ones truly at fault were your sister—and those trash friends of hers. If they wanted to mess around, they could've messed around among themselves. Why drag you into it?" Shichen's voice turned ice-cold.

If those friends hadn't pushed the idea, maybe none of this would've happened. Mukuro's hair mattered to her—deeply.

And as her sister, how could she not know what her little sister cared about? How could she be so careless?

Her sister was wrong. Her friends were worse.

And the First Spirit was wrong too—because without that power, Mukuro never would've done any of this.

Shichen would deal with the First Spirit later. As for Mukuro's sister… that would be Mukuro's decision.

"Husband… why are you… taking my side so much?" Mukuro asked softly, genuinely puzzled.

Even if she believed Shichen was right, she also knew she'd made mistakes. As the person in the middle of it, she couldn't see it from his angle so easily.

"It's simple," Shichen said like it was obvious. "You're my family. If I'm not on your side, whose side would I be on?"

If there was a reason behind something, he'd support the person who needed it. And Mukuro was his—of course he'd protect her.

"Husband…" Mukuro's amber eyes brightened.

For the first time, she felt like she'd truly found family.

"Believe me," Shichen said gently. "I'll always be with you. I'll always stand with you—so long as you're not deliberately doing wrong."

"Husband…"

"But if you end up clashing with Tohka and the others, that part's on you guys to work out," Shichen added quickly.

"…Huh?" Mukuro blinked.

"You're all my family. If it's not something serious, I can't just 'pick one side,'" Shichen said, spreading his hands.

"Husband… you really are impossible sometimes," Mukuro laughed.

"I just care about my family."

"I understand. I will follow your wishes."

"Good girl." Shichen ruffled her hair in praise.

Mukuro lowered her head, clearly enjoying the head-pats.

"You calm now?" Shichen asked after a moment.

"Yes. Thanks to you, Husband."

"Then… do you want to face it?"

"Face it?" Mukuro looked up.

"Go see them again. Your old family."

"I…" Mukuro suddenly gripped Shichen's sleeve tight.

"Hey, don't force it. If you don't want to go, we won't. I won't push you," Shichen said, immediately soothing her.

"No!"

Mukuro shook her head hard and looked at him with determination. "I want to go!"

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure! As long as you're with me, I'm not afraid! I want to end things properly with the past!"

"That's brave." Shichen patted her head, impressed.

"But before that, Husband… I want you to help me with one thing."

"Hm?"

…

Near dusk, Shichen brought Mukuro to meet her former family.

They were ordinary people—so ordinary that someone as dazzling as Mukuro probably never truly belonged in their world to begin with.

Their memories had still been sealed by Mukuro. This time, she didn't hesitate. She released the seals.

Shichen had already returned Michael—Sephira: Michael—to her.

The old Mukuro had been unstable. This Mukuro wasn't.

She'd grown.

Back then, she'd been purely a child. Now she had support, something to lean on, something that helped her mature. She was steadier—someone you could actually trust.

Shichen was her pillar now—thankfully, he really was dependable.

When the family's memories returned, they broke down crying and apologized as soon as they recognized her.

Mukuro herself hadn't changed much—except one thing: her hair.

Her golden hair was shorter now. She still wore her twin-bun style, but the length now fell just past her back.

That was the thing she'd asked Shichen to do for her.

Once, her hair had been the most important thing in the world to her. Now… the most important thing was someone else.

The family, once they recovered their memories and calmed down, could see Mukuro hadn't truly meant harm. They even begged her to come back.

But Mukuro already had a new family now. She'd found where she belonged.

She wasn't going back.

After a short farewell, Shichen approached from the distance and guided Mukuro away.

He stepped into their view for one reason only: to make it clear who Mukuro's family was now.

They didn't need to understand him. Just seeing him—his presence, his aura, the way Mukuro stood beside him—was enough.

They weren't in the same world anymore.

Afterward, Shichen brought Mukuro home.

Tohka and the others were all there, waiting.

They already knew what had happened—because Mukuro had chosen to tell them herself.

"We're back."

"Shichen! Are you okay?" Tohka rushed forward.

"Of course. Roku did great." Shichen ruffled Mukuro's hair.

Mukuro narrowed her eyes happily, savoring the head-pats.

"Roku…?" Tohka echoed.

"That's Husband's personal nickname for me. Tohka, you're not allowed to call me that!" Mukuro snapped immediately.

"Tch—fine! I won't! But stop clinging to Shichen!"

"He is my husband. Why can't I?"

"B-because… because Shichen will feel troubled!"

"Husband won't be troubled! Husband is happy."

"Why would Shichen be happy?!"

Mukuro glanced at Tohka's chest, then proudly lifted her own.

"…W-what are you implying?!" Tohka exploded.

"Hmph. That's the difference between us. Of course Husband prefers me."

"Liar! Shichen isn't that shallow!" Tohka fired back.

"Only you would believe that."

"You—!"

"Big doesn't matter. Watch this— I'll make you all smaller. Haniel!"

At that, Natsumi pulled out her Angel. Light burst from it and washed over everyone in the room.

"Wait—Natsumi, don't tell me you're—!" Shichen suddenly realized what she might do.

But it was too late to stop it.

The light faded. The room itself looked the same… but everyone inside—except Shichen—had changed.

Tohka and the others had all been miniaturized—like perfectly proportioned, doll-sized versions of themselves, adorably small and delicate.

And two people, instead, had shifted in the opposite direction.

Natsumi and Yoshino had become fully mature-looking versions of themselves—same faces, but with strikingly grown, glamorous figures.

"W-what is this?!" Tohka shouted—her voice suddenly sounding much younger and higher than before.

~~~

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