Why did I forget that?
I had clearly spoken about the Necronomicon with composure in front of Lily during the kidnapping incident.
And Lily had reacted by flinching.
That reaction indicated she knew what the Necronomicon was.
Lily was looking down at me with a serious expression.
Unless I want to hide the truth, I don’t want to deny the facts that have been discovered.
“Yes, I’ve read it.”
“How much? Up to where?”
“I didn’t really read much. Just the explanation about Outer Gods—”
“Did you read all of that content?”
“No, I skimmed over the first part.”
At this, Lily let out a sigh of relief as she stroked her chest.
“Thank goodness. Really, thank goodness.”
Lily immediately then glared at me and pinched my arm.
“You! How could you hide such an important fact from me? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Yaaah! Lily, wait—”
“This is something you deserve to be scolded for. Do you know how dangerous that book is?”
“I’m sorry…”
While enduring the pain, I bowed my head to Lily.
“The Necronomicon is not a book that humans should read. Where did you even get it from…?”
In response, I told her the story about the restricted section of the library.
That I entered it because Reeti asked me to, and what I discovered inside.
After hearing the story, Lily looked bewildered and said:
“Wait, what? ‘R’lyeh Manuscript’, ‘Book of Eibon’, ‘Song of Azathoth’? Why are these forbidden texts here?”
As it turns out, I didn’t know this, but the books stuck next to the Necronomicon were all forbidden texts related to the Outsider.
“Did you read those as well?”
“No… although I did look at the cover of one.”
“What?”
“R’lyeh Manuscript. There was a strangely drawn squid head on it.”
“…A squid head…?”
Lily, who had initially seemed startled, gradually shifted her expression to a mix of amusement and bewilderment.
“Uh, yeah. Squid head…uh, it makes sense, kind of.”
“Isn’t Cthulhu referred to as such in the Necronomicon?”
“That’s right. The R’lyeh Manuscript is a book about Cthulhu.”
Then, what about the other books?
‘So, they weren’t those strange erotic tales?’
Well, the Necronomicon wasn’t one anyway.
“Where is the Necronomicon now?”
In response to Lily’s question, I answered reflexively.
“Lily ate it.”
“…What? I did?”
Seeing Lily’s perplexed expression, I realized my mistake and explained how that statement came about.
“…The Chancellor and Hypnos met you? Right after the Dreamland incident?”
“Yes. All I got was a lot of nagging.”
“It’s understandable. We’re talking about the Necronomicon here. The books you mentioned—well, in fact, I doubt that even if we went through the entire collection, the Necronomicon would still be the most dangerous book.”
…It was something beyond imagination?
“Anyway, where is that book now?”
I was about to pull the Necronomicon out of my school uniform pocket—
“Stop! Who put that thing in your pocket…?”
Lily grabbed my hand to stop me and quickly looked around.
“Let’s go back.”
We didn’t have the leisure to stroll anymore, and since Lily was reacting so strongly, I quietly followed her back to the room.
Once we reached the room, Lily waved her hand in the air.
“Chock… chock.”
A sound like something locking echoed, and only then did Lily seem to relax as she let out a deep sigh.
“Take it out.”
I pulled the Necronomicon out of my school uniform pocket and handed it to Lily.
Lily quickly flipped through the pages, scanning the contents at a rapid pace. In an instant, she reached the last page, confirmed something, and nodded her head.
“It’s the real thing. There are no discrepancies, and the translation is well done… except for the last page.”
The last page?
Come to think of it, I haven’t read any part of the back at all.
Lily closed the book and glared at me coolly.
Understanding the atmosphere, I slowly knelt in front of Lily.
“I’m sorry for hiding it.”
“Why did you hide it?”
“I thought it was an opportunity to learn more about Lily…”
“Why didn’t you just ask then?”
“That’s… behind…”
Lily paused, slightly turning her head away.
It was as if there was something that pricked her.
Lily continued in a tone that was slightly less sharp.
“Anyway, it was extremely dangerous. Got it?”
“…”
“The people who read the Necronomicon mostly go mad and go so far as to take their own lives. It shows just how hard it is for humans to accept the contents of this book.”
It was written in the introduction as well…
This book is more dangerous than I thought… No wonder Lily was upset.
“…If you’re curious, why don’t you just ask?”
“Me?”
I looked up. Er…
“Wouldn’t I have told you everything if you asked?”
Lily narrowed her eyes slightly, her cheeks puffing up slightly, and even her lips looked like they were slightly sticking out…
‘…Could it be?’
“…Lily, are you—”
“No!”
Strong denial is strong affirmation.
She’s upset.
But why?
After pondering for a moment, I found the answer rather quickly.
‘…Is it because I didn’t trust you?’
What an adorable reaction, isn’t it?
I quickly thought about how to console this cute Outsider.
“Lily.”
“Enough.”
“What did I do?”
“You already show it on your face. You’re trying to persuade me, aren’t you?”
“I can’t deny that. Would you give me a chance to persuade you?”
“It’s useless…”
Lily then nodded as if to say, “Go ahead, then.”
I stood up and approached Lily.
“Lily.”
“Huh, h-huh?”
Lily, surprised by the sudden movement, stuttered.
I wrapped my arms around Lily.
“Gyaaa, that’s cheating… it’s too much…”
Even while saying that, Lily stuck to my head, rubbing her cheek.
I slowly opened my mouth while feeling that sensation.
“I’m sorry. It seems I pushed myself too hard out of wanting to know more about Lily.”
“So you should’ve just…”
“Of course, if I had asked Lily, you would’ve answered all my questions. But I didn’t have the courage.”
“Courage?”
“Yes. ‘What if Lily finds it burdensome?’, ‘What if Lily dislikes hearing something unpleasant?’ And… also…”
I paused for a moment, thinking before smirking.
“Lily seems to know everything about me, but I felt a bit hurt knowing almost nothing about you.”
“I don’t know everything about you either. Just look at this incident…”
“I understand. I was wrong. I now realize my mistake. Above all, I hid the book’s existence from you because I thought it would be a burden to Lily.”
Given that this book was written long before you met Lily, or even much earlier, it could contain Lily’s ‘dark history’.
In fact, the Lily depicted in the Necronomicon was different from the one I knew, and I regretted reading it.
She probably didn’t want me to know this.
If I were Lily, I’d feel quite uncomfortable if someone read my story.
‘I must be crazy. Why did I even open it?’
Probably due to misplaced pride.
It was my fault.
Therefore, all my previous excuses were justifications.
In fact, there was only one thing I could say.
“I’m sorry.”
I shut my eyes tightly and waited for Lily’s response.
If she gets angry, I’ll endure it. If she throws a tantrum, I’ll console her.
As I waited like this, I heard Lily muttering in my arms.
“Did you see?”
“Me?”
“The Lily depicted in the Necronomicon.”
“…I did.”
Lily’s body shook slightly.
“…Are you…”
Disappointed?
Huh? What are you…
I was at a loss for words when Lily misinterpreted my silence and burrowed deeper into my arms.
“Th-that was from when I was immature… all former hosts were avatars, the real body was—”
I hooked my legs and covered Lily’s lips with mine.
Since saying more would make Lily regret it later,
I thought I should stop her before she says anything.
I pulled away my lips just as Lily was about to open her mouth and quickly said:
“Why would I be disappointed? Regardless of what Lily did in the past, I wouldn’t be disappointed. No matter what, the person in front of me now is my fiancée.”
Though it could be considered an irresponsible remark—
‘What else could I say?’
I’m already way past the point of no return.
It’s not something that happened recently, but in the past, and I’ve become too infatuated with Lily to care about such mistakes.
“…Really?”
Lily looked at me with slightly reddened eyes.
I patted her back gently.
So what if the past is strange? What’s important is the future.
Instead of dwelling on past mistakes, it’s better to focus on making more positive days ahead.
“Of course. I will never be disappointed.”
“…Okay. Thank you.”
Her voice seemed slightly watery.
Lily’s body was trembling slightly.
In response, I didn’t let go of the embrace until the trembling subsided.
—
After some time, Lily calmed down and released the embrace.
Next, Lily’s eyes turned toward something. Following her gaze, I saw the Necronomicon.
“If you wish, I can destroy it.”
After pondering for a while, Lily said something surprising.
“Why don’t we read it together?”
“…What?”
Didn’t you say before that normal people would go mad if they read it?
“Upon reflection, it’s not that bad. Since we have visual aids, it might be easier to understand.”
“But even so… didn’t you say it drives people insane?”
Lily, having quickly regained her usual composure, confidently pointed at me and said:
“You’re not normal. You’re my contractor, lover, and fiancé. How many people can be as special as you?”
That’s true, but still…
“Actually, it’s for the best. Living with me, you’ll inevitably have to deal with connections to the Outsiders. While avoiding them would be preferable, some truths can’t be hidden anyway. Getting to know them now might be for the best.”
Lily then spun around on the spot.
Her attire changed immediately—it was a long robe.
The robe had the Academy emblem embroidered on it.
It was extremely familiar-looking.
“Professor?”
This was none other than the uniform of professors at the Academy.
Had she noticed it during the lessons I attended as a cat? The quality of this replica was quite impressive even in my school uniform.
Moreover, she had even put on some round glasses, appearing just like a professor preparing for class. This made me chuckle.
Sitting on the bed, Lily patted the space next to her.
I sat down beside her. Lily pressed close to me, placing the book between our knees.
“Chapter 1: The Great Old Ones and Outer Gods.”
“…Are you really going to read it?”
“Yes, really. Oh, right.”
Lily suddenly raised her head and lifted my fringe, planting a kiss on my forehead.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a blessing. A kind of mental shield. You won’t go crazy after reading.”
If that’s the case, thank goodness…
Lily slowly flipped through the pages.
“Do you know the definition of the Great Old Ones and Outer Gods?”
“Um… roughly speaking, the Great Old Ones are powerful beings from outer space, and the Outer Gods are deities transcending the universe, right?”
“…Saying it like that makes it sound so simple. Still, it’s fine. But even so, there are some Great Old Ones as powerful as the Outer Gods. For example, this guy.”
Lily flicked through several pages and stopped at one.
A very familiar squid head appeared.
“Is this Cthulhu?”
“Yeah, in terms of genealogy, he could be considered my distant relative.”
“???”
I alternated my gaze between the illustration in the book and Lily.
‘Wait, how are they related?’
What kind of ancestry makes them so different?
Seeing my look, Lily smiled and delivered her response.
“Both Outer Gods and Great Old Ones don’t have consistent physical forms—they’re born through methods closer to creation rather than birth.”
Still, how could it be something like a squid head?
The only similarity I could think of was the tentacle-like hair of Lily.
Afterward, Lily continued explaining about the Great Old Ones and Outer Gods, flipping one page after another.
As she explained, while the illustrations helped, the descriptions were far from pleasant.
‘They look too repulsive, don’t they?’
I was grateful that the Outsider I met was Lily.
If I had met other Outsiders like these, I would’ve refused outright.
“The next part is about the Outer Gods. Notable beings include… starting with this one, Ubbo-Sathla.”
An oddly sinister drawing immediately caught my eye.
It resembled a gelatinous lump with the vague forms of various plants and animals resembling human hands protruding from its surface.
“The Outsider we mentioned earlier who created the first life—this is it. We could call this the creator of the species on Earth.”
This was definitely not a deity I could worship.
“The next one… Oh, here. Shub-Niggurath.”
I had to suppress the urge to vomit at the sight.
“…What kind of deity is this?”
The illustrations were unusually numerous, and all were different.
In the largest illustration, there was a massive cloud with what seemed like the horns and hooves of a goat.
If only that was the end, it might have been acceptable, but countless tentacles adorned the dark cloud, making it look extremely grotesque.
Even worse were the other illustrations.
A giant blob of flesh densely packed with female reproductive organs.
“Eww…”
“Sorry, is it a bit overwhelming? Shub-Niggurath is the deity of fertility, so it features the female organs prominently.”
Wouldn’t the deity of fertility usually bring to mind the image of a warm mother?
This is completely a monster…
“Also, Shub-Niggurath oversees the creation of life. Acting as the superior being to the previously shown Ubbo-Sathla, Shub-Niggurath is credited with creating the first life beyond the Outer Gods.”
So this deity is the true creator…
“Still, Ugbo-Sathla feels less intimidating.”
“Haha… really? By the way, Shub-Niggurath is also part of my family. In fact, a cousin, so quite close.”
Cousin?!
This deity and Lily?!
The family connections are completely incomprehensible.
“The next is Shub-Niggurath’s husband and the temporary leader of the Outer Gods, Yog-Sothoth.”
Lily immediately turned to the next page.
The depiction of this Outer God was relatively better looking than Shub-Niggurath, but that was only in comparison as it was still grotesque.
It looked like a bunch of grapes with numerous eggs, each with an eerie shade.
“Would this Outer God, being the leader, be the strongest among the Outer Gods?”
“Hmm… for now, that’s how it should be seen. Yog-Sothoth occupies a rather unique position among the Outer Gods.”
Lily then pointed at the clock on the wall.
“Time.”
Next, she pointed at the floor.
“Space.”
Lily then clasped her hands in front of me.
“Combined, they form spacetime. Yog-Sothoth is a deity transcending this spacetime. Even the other Outer Gods can’t escape its sight, and it’s probably watching us now.”
“Huh?!”
I jumped in shock and frantically looked around, but as expected, I saw nothing.
“Don’t worry. Yog-Sothoth doesn’t interfere with normal worlds. It appears only in places on the verge of destruction.”
“…So, is this deity of Yog-Sothoth truly omnipotent?”
Upon this, Lily shook her head.
“Only one thing. There exists a being, even beyond Yog-Sothoth’s understanding—something of a completely different caliber.”
I didn’t understand what Lily meant.
A deity stronger than one that transcends spacetime?
The scale is too vast.
Lily turned the page.
On that page—
“Eh?”
There was absolutely nothing depicted.
No text was written either.
But a name was clearly written:
“Azathoth.”
