Azathoth.
I was immediately captivated by the mention of His name.
“Hmm? I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere before…”
It wasn’t exact, but I’d definitely heard something similar before.
It was definitely when Lily and I first made our contract…
“Lily?”
I was about to figure it out, but Lily placed her hand on my cheek, cutting off my thoughts.
“Don’t think about it. Don’t recall it. Just by thinking about that name, I could collapse the mental barriers I’ve set up.”
“… You mean, just by remembering the name…?”
“In the Necronomicon, it says you mustn’t call out the names of the Outsiders. They can really hear it, you know. Luckily, humans can’t properly recognize or pronounce these names… But Azathoth, you might die just by getting near His name.”
This sounds ridiculous—how can a name decide life or death?
I glanced at the text in the Necronomicon.
‘The Sultan of Demons, The Blind Idiot God, The Chaos of Atoms… There are many epithets for this being, but the most fitting is none other than the Demon King.’
‘The greatest existence spanning all dimensions, yet ironically, our most foolish king—it’s Azathoth.’
Among all the descriptions I’ve read so far, this was the grandest.
“So this deity you mentioned before…”
“That’s right. The most powerful deity. The Sleeping Father.”
“Alright… but why isn’t there any illustration?”
“Simple. No human has ever seen His true form. Not even Yog-Sothoth has encountered a human who’s seen Him directly. But Azathoth can’t be summoned anyway. And besides… even if you could see Him, there’s no way you’d understand His form.”
“Has Lily seen Him?”
At that, the side of Lily’s face I could see contorted strangely.
“… Yes.”
“What does He look like?”
I asked out of pure curiosity, but as soon as I saw Lily’s expression, I slightly regretted doing so.
“… It’s hard to describe.”
After a moment of silence, that was all she said.
Judging by her reaction, Lily seems to be uncomfortable or perhaps even afraid of this deity.
‘No… maybe it’s more than fear.’
Lily quickly turned the page.
Next was…
-Nyarlathotep – The Crawling Chaos.
“Huh? I thought this deity…”
Shuffle
Lily casually skipped that page.
But I saw her hand hesitate when she flipped it.
‘Is there bad blood between her and her father?’
Recalling what Hynpos had said about strained relationships and Lily’s past remark about having an abnormal family…
‘… Could she have been a victim of domestic violence or something?’
Regardless, it wasn’t my place to pry into what Lily clearly didn’t want to talk about.
“Alright, now we’ve covered most of the major names. Next is history…”
Lily paused briefly, then nonchalantly flipped through the pages.
“There’s no need to read it specifically. It’s just about the Great Old Ones coming to Earth—something I already told you.”
The pages continued flipping fast. Here and there, I noticed some strange illustrations and magic circles, but Lily flipped through them all.
Finally, we reached the last page of the Necronomicon.
The handwriting of the author appeared sharp and more erratic than the previous writings.
Interestingly, our Chancellor had not provided any translation for this section, leaving only the author’s original writing.
Just filling up the page were a few sentences.
“According to the table of contents, wasn’t the last page supposed to be… the Apocalypse?”
I had heard about it.
It must contain prophecies about the end of the world. In the Church’s teachings, it’s about God coming to judge our sins.
But what kind of Apocalypse do the Outer Gods foresee?
“Lily, what does this…”
Before I could finish my sentence,
Click
Lily closed the Necronomicon.
“There’s no need to read the last part. It’s total nonsense anyway.”
Her tone carried genuine contempt.
Maybe she just doesn’t believe in prophecies?
I’ve heard there are people like that.
Though I was curious, I couldn’t force Lily to tell me something when she clearly didn’t want to.
Lily closed the book and tossed it to the foot of the bed.
“Since we’ve studied hard, let’s take a break?”
“How long were we at this exactly?”
We’d barely spent much time on it at all.
Even when I studied properly, I’d often lose track of time and end up glued to the chair.
Even if it wasn’t serious study, to wrap things up this quickly…
“Come here, Arthur.”
Again, she pulled back the blanket, beckoning me closer.
I had no intention of resisting.
I slipped under the covers with Lily.
“Are you tired?”
“… Yes.”
Even though I did nap earlier, the problem was that I had nightmares during it. Far from recovering, I felt even more exhausted. Not to mention, I lost a lot of my vitality afterward.
“We~ll, let’s sleep then.”
“… Don’t treat me like a kid.”
“Hooho~ Don’t deny it. You’re so cute!”
Lily’s hand reached the back of my head.
Her gentle stroking made my eyelids heavy, but…
Just as I was about to drift off, I heard something like a hallucination.
“Come to me!”
My eyes jerked wide open.
“What’s wrong, Arthur?”
“Nothing…”
I dismissed it as a figment of my imagination and closed my eyes again, but sleep refused to come.
Lily’s stroking paused.
“… Can’t sleep?”
“… Yes. Whenever I try, I hear that voice… it’s unsettling.”
“Hmm…”
After some thought, Lily adjusted her position.
Instead of hugging me, she lay next to me, using my arm as a pillow.
“You’re probably just tense. Why don’t we talk a little? Your body is clearly exhausted, so sleep should come eventually.”
Lily placed a hand on my chest and began to tap it rhythmically.
As I listened to her regular tapping, I voiced some random thoughts.
“Lily.”
“Yes?”
“We clashed a lot when we first met, didn’t we?”
“… That’s right.”
“Are you all healed now?”
“Yes, everything’s fine now. Thanks to you.”
“I’m glad.”
Without delay, Lily brought up another topic.
“You… how are your wounds?”
Deliberately saying “wounds” instead of “heart”… isn’t that a bit too considerate?
“Of course I’m fine. Nothing’s bothering me at all.”
Had Lily not mentioned it, I would have had no idea that my heart had been pierced.
After some thought, I brought up another topic.
“Yesterday, I had a conversation with the Chancellor…”
“Ah…”
“Before this, did Lily have any other contractors?”
“Yes, quite a few.”
“I heard they were all women. Why’s that?”
“Hehe, men tend to lose their minds around me. Women are simply more convenient.”
“Then why did you contract with me?”
At that, Lily gave a small laugh and said…
“Because this time, I fell in love.”
“…!”
Embarrassing… Hmm? Now that I think about it…
“When did you first like me, Lily?”
“Eeek? Ah? That’s…”
“If it’s too much, you don’t have to answer.”
“No, it’s alright. I’ll tell you.”
Lily took a deep breath before speaking.
“… When we first met in my cat form.”
“… Huh. So you fell for me before I did?”
“Don’t say it out loud!”
“Got it.”
It was surprising.
I thought I was the first to fall for her, but it turns out Lily was the one who fell for me first.
“Why did you like me?”
“Ugh… It’s embarrassing.”
“I’ll tell you if you tell me.”
After a brief moment of silence,
“… Because you’re kind.”
“…”
“Say something already!”
“It’s just… I don’t know how to respond…”
Kindness… Could that really be a deciding factor?
“Now it’s your turn. When and why did you fall for me?”
Without hesitation, I answered.
“From the moment we first met. The moment I looked into your eyes, I thought, ‘What would it be like to date someone like her?'”
“… Why?”
“Because you’re beautiful.”
Then there was a brief silence, followed by…
“Puhehe… Just for that?”
“First impressions matter.”
“Then what about after that?”
“Let’s see… Because you’re warm, comforting… So I started to like you like family. And you’re cute… lovable… so I came to love you as a woman.”
Lily paused for a moment then spoke with a trembling voice.
“This… It’s so embarrassing to hear directly.”
“I was about to say the same thing.”
I’m glad we weren’t facing each other directly.
I must be completely red right now.
This time, the silence lasted longer.
Lily’s tapping never once stopped, and I started to get drowsy.
Gradually, I couldn’t hear her voice anymore.
The only sound left was Lily’s steady breathing.
Would I finally fall asleep?
Then came her voice from beside me.
“Arthur, are you asleep?”
“… No.”
“One last thing I want to ask…”
“Go ahead.”
“… Arthur.”
“Yes?”
“Do you have any desire to meet your biological parents?”
The unexpected question jolted me slightly awake.
“… You mean my real parents?”
“Yeah. The ones who gave birth to you.”
To give birth…
This was the first time I’d ever heard Lily speak so formally to a human.
As for parents…
“… When I was little, I used to want to meet them. Every night at the orphanage, I’d wonder, ‘Maybe tomorrow when I wake up, they’ll come to take me home.’ But every morning brought disappointment. Eventually, they never came.”
I smiled bitterly, remembering those early years when I knew nothing.
I didn’t realize back then that I wasn’t just left in someone else’s care—I was abandoned.
“When I got a bit older, I eventually figured out that I had been abandoned. And I… got mad about it.”
“Mad?”
“Yeah, like ‘How dare they leave me behind?’ kind of childish tantrums.”
My temperamental period coincided with adolescence.
I acted out a lot and ended up in solitary confinement quite a few times.
“When I grew up a bit more… I just stopped caring.”
“… You gave up?”
“Maybe. Maybe I gave up. But I prefer to think of it as acceptance. They must have left me behind because they needed to survive, right?”
I was abandoned in the dead of winter.
In the wintertime, it must have been impossible for them to care for a baby as well.
They must have been trying to reduce mouths to feed.
“So… how do you feel now?”
“Now…?”
I glanced up at the ceiling.
“… I am curious. I wonder what kind of person would abandon me. Did they ever think about finding me again…?”
I paused for a moment to gather my thoughts, then pulled Lily closer to me. She naturally tilted toward me, our faces now facing each other.
“But honestly, whether I meet them or not… I don’t really care anymore.”
Lily blinked her big black eyes.
“Why?”
“Because I already have a new family.”
I pulled Lily into a tight embrace.
“I’m getting sleepy now.”
“That’s great. This time, your blessing won’t break. Sleep soundly.”
“Good.”
“And I’ll be here guarding you.”
“Your presence is more reassuring than any blessing.”
“Good night, Arthur.”
“Good night, Lily.”
Lily’s rhythmic tapping lulled me further.
I slowly counted each tap as I drifted off to sleep.
Finally, I fell asleep.
Thankfully, there were no nightmares this time, but…
I did have an unusual dream.
I was at the center, with people on either side.
One side was the blurry shape of humans, resembling smoke.
Only their hair and eyes were clearly visible, both distinctly gray like mine.
I instinctively knew they were my parents.
On the opposite side stood Lily.
She clutched my sleeve and shouted,
“It’s me, Arthur! These are the other people!”
Her cute expression made me burst out laughing.
I pulled a ring case from my pocket and slipped it onto Lily’s left ring finger.
Ecstatic, Lily jumped around then…
The next moment, she appeared in a black wedding dress, sitting atop me.
“Finally, we’re married, Arthur.”
“Now we can finally do it…”
“Sleeping is not an option today.”
Lily with her crimson eyes looked down at me.
“I love you, Arthur…”
And then the passionate time began.
As the heat reached its peak,
“Huuh?!”
I woke up.
There’s a common male experience that sometimes occurs at this hour.
The instant erection upon waking in the morning.
‘Ah, I’m in trouble.’
Even the ring proposal.
Only D-2 remains now.
‘…Can I hold out?’
