Awakening from the Dream / The Real Identity

"Where am I?"

Opening her eyes, Koinatsu looked at the lush green grass in front of her, her face full of confusion.

"What are you thinking about, Koinatsu?"

"The Mister Scribe?"

Chapter 442 Awakening from the Dream

Following the sound, Koinatsu saw a man who looked very much like Scribe.

However, his temperament was somewhat different from that of the Scribe.

From the other person, Koinatsu could only sense a scholarly air about him.

"It's me. What's wrong? You seem unhappy."

With a smile, Scribe stepped forward and began to examine him.

Are you feeling unwell anywhere?

"Oh, no, but I'm not..."

Koinatsu was about to speak when she realized that she wasn't performing a ritual.

But before he could finish speaking, Scribe grabbed her hand and led her toward a village not far away.

"Let's go quickly, or those two old people won't be able to wait any longer."

"Elder?"

In Koinatsu's memory, those whom the Scribe would call old people should be figures from hundreds of years ago.

Her mind was a bit muddled, and in her dazed state, Scribe dragged her to the front of a house.

"This is... my home?"

Looking at the incredibly familiar house in front of her, Koinatsu was stunned for a moment.

Xia, what are you looking at?

A very familiar voice rang out, and then a somewhat hunched old woman came out.

Behind him followed a robust old man with a white beard.

"Mother! Father!"

Despite the changes in their appearances, Koinatsu recognized them as her parents immediately.

He rushed into the old woman's arms, tears of emotion streaming down her face.

I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry, I've let everyone down.

Her body trembled uncontrollably, accompanied by sobs.

Years ago, a group of people came to his village, intending to kidnap some little girls to sell.

Naturally, Koinatsu's beauty made her the prime target for these guys.

Fortunately, thanks to her parents' desperate attempts to stop and cover for her, Koinatsu escaped unharmed by hiding in a haystack.

Unexpectedly, those enraged individuals killed Koinatsu's parents and even slaughtered everyone else in the village.

She still clearly remembers that when her mother collapsed, she was less than five meters away from her.

Koinatsu even heard her mother's last words before she died.

"Live on."

But the young girl couldn't bear the hunger any longer and ran out of the haystack, where she was eventually discovered.

Later, she ran away until she met the Scribe, which ended her miserable life.

But now, everything has changed.

The village remains intact, his parents are still alive, and even the Scribe is by his side.

"Xia, why are you crying? Today is your big day!"

Wiping away her daughter's tears, the old woman said with a smile.

"Isn't today your engagement day with Scribe?"

"Well?"

Upon hearing the old woman's words, Koinatsu froze in place.

The old man laughed and said.

"You two are truly a perfect match, a match made in heaven."

"By handing you over to the Scribe, your mother and I can say that our wish has been fulfilled."

Turning to look at the Scribe, Koinatsu found that the Shoichi was looking at her with a smile.

It all seems like an illusion.

But the expressions on everyone's faces and the sensations in her hands all told her that this was a real event.

"Will you be my wife, Koinatsu?"

Upon reaching Koinatsu's side, Scribe reached out a hand, seemingly wanting to take her hand.

Seeing the utterly sincere expression on his face, Koinatsu's lips moved, and she spoke tremulously.

I do.

As she spoke, her cheeks flushed red, she grasped the Scribe's hand.

In the days that followed, Koinatsu and Scribe got married smoothly.

During the day, Scribe goes out to work, while Koinatsu stays at home to do housework, laundry, and cooking.

At night, when Scribe goes home to rest, Koinatsu is always waiting at the door to say "Welcome home."

In this world, there are no ghosts, no Demon Slayer Corps, and no strange things to bother them.

After seeing her elderly parents off, all that was left was her and the Scribe.

Later, Koinatsu gave birth to a son and a daughter.

"Mommy, Daddy."

When she heard her child speak for the first time, Koinatsu shed tears of excitement and joy.

As time went by, the children all grew up.

Koinatsu and Scribe also went from youth to middle age, and finally to old age.

"Mother, these are your grandchildren, aren't they adorable?"

When her son came to visit with his two children, Koinatsu was filled with the innocent laughter of children.

Looking at the Scribe again, he already had a head of gray hair and many wrinkles on his face.

But looking into his eyes, all I could see was satisfaction and contentment.

Later, Koinatsu fell ill.

Her life had come to an end.

At the entrance are the children, now middle-aged, and the grandchildren, who have long since grown up.

At the bedside, Scribe gripped her own hand tightly, large tears welling in her eyes.

With great effort, Koinatsu stretched out a hand from under the covers and looked at it with her cloudy eyes.

***The smooth skin is gone; now it's like goosebumps, wrinkled and unsightly.

The scar on her finger was from when she accidentally cut herself while cooking.

The burn on my wrist was caused by slipping and falling while pouring water for the child.

But in Koinatsu's eyes, these things were the most proud honors of her life.

"Mister Scribe ~"

As she stroked the other's cheek, feeling the roughness between her fingertips, Koinatsu smiled.

"Have I done a good job in my life?"

"You are a good daughter, a good wife, and a good mother."

"Is that so?"

After receiving the Scribe's approval, Koinatsu slowly closed her eyes.

A taste I couldn't quite describe came to my mouth.

It has some sweetness, but also some bitterness and a fishy smell.

The surroundings were plunged into darkness.

At some point, a huge sphere of light appeared in front of Koinatsu.

It illuminated the surrounding area, except for the distant darkness that remained indistinct.

If you touch it slightly, images will appear on the surface of the light sphere.

Upon closer inspection, those are fragments of Koinatsu's life.

Do you want to do it all over again?

From within the sphere of light, a voice, neither male nor female, could be heard.

Do you desire an eternal and wonderful life?

"Just step forward and come in, and you can get everything you want."

Koinatsu fell silent.

She didn't know how much time had passed before she took another step.

Unfortunately, her goal was the boundless darkness in the distance.

"Wait a minute, why did you make this choice!"

Her voice was somewhat agitated, as if she didn't understand why Koinatsu was doing this.

"Here, you can obtain everything you've only ever dared to keep hidden in your heart!"

"Relatives, family, children, status, wealth, power—whatever you desire, you can have it all!"

"Why, why run away from your own desires!"

Hearing this, Koinatsu stopped.

Just when the voice thought she had changed her mind, Koinatsu looked at the ball of light, her face seemingly streaked with tears.

She gave a poignant smile and said...

"Because I know that's not the real him."

After speaking, she let out a long sigh and walked into the boundless darkness.

When light returned to Koinatsu's eyes, the Scribe's voice rang out once more.

"You're awake."

Chapter 443 The Real Person's Identity

Looking at Scribe's familiar face, Koinatsu murmured.

"The Mister Scribe?"

"It's me."

Scribe smiled, blinked, and adjusted his somewhat stiff voice.

"Don't you want to notice the changes in yourself?"

Upon hearing this, Koinatsu realized that her body was different from before.

Her delicate body seemed to contain boundless strength, and her slender arms appeared capable of breaking steel bars as thick as a thumb.