Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 11 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Messenger from Diospyro

After discussing a few things with the elves, I returned to my room. There I heard someone humming. I couldn’t catch any sort of melody, but the innocent ring to it conveyed how much fun she was having.

“What are you up to, Gerbera?” I asked.

“Oh, My Lord. Welcome back,” she answered. She was holding some cloth and a sewing needle in her hands. “Just as you can see, I’m making a doll.”

“A doll?”

Looking closer at her hands, I could see the bundle of cloth was a half-finished doll. It was a little hard to tell with only the upper body, but it seemed to be a doll of a girl.

“The village children we’ve been watching asked if she could make them,” Rose said, working on her own things in the same room.

“Aah, I see.”

As part of our interactions with the villagers, Rose had been watching the children every now and then. The other day, Gerbera had also joined in. Some of the children had cried at the sight of her spider legs, but in the end, they’d all gotten along. That was probably when they’d asked for this.

“One is already done. Come take a look.”

Gerbera put down her work and held out a doll to me. It really was modeled after a girl, somewhat resembling Lily.

“The cloth is made from my threads, so it’s very sturdy,” she said, puffing her chest out with pride. It truly was a well-made doll.

“It looks great,” I commented.

“Right? Right?” Gerbera smiled in great humor. “I’m relieved to hear you say that, My Lord. Very well, I’ll keep making them like that. Oh, I just came up with a great idea.” Gerbera clapped her hands together. “After I finish the dolls for the children, I’ll make one for you too!”

“For me?”

My eyes went wide at the unexpected statement. Immediately after that, another unexpected thing happened.

“Out of the question.”

Someone firmly refused. I turned to look and saw Rose had risen to her feet.

“Absolutely out of the question,” she repeated.

“Hrm? Uhhh?”

Gerbera’s eyes darted about. She was completely baffled by Rose’s refusal. Rose looked indignant. She wore a very childish expression, which was rather unusual when compared to her calm demeanor.

“Why not?” Gerbera asked.

Rose clenched her fists in front of her chest, then, as fervently as possible, said, “Our master already has me.”

What is she even saying? I thought to myself, but she looked dead serious. Her eyes were shooting daggers at the doll in my hands. She was acting like a child who felt her place was being threatened by a new sibling.

“Our master has me. He doesn’t need any other dolls.”

She puffed out her cheeks and pouted. She was definitely serious, but she was feeling threatened by a simple cloth doll. When I thought of it like that, it was pretty silly. Rose hadn’t noticed it and kept going.

“As such—” She met my eyes, and with that, she finally realized she was behaving strangely. “No, of course, it’s your decision, Master,” she said, sitting back down despondently. “Forgive me. I went too far.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind,” I told her.

As a magical puppet, perhaps a part of Rose was instinctually akin to a doll. Even if that gave rise to a competitive spirit and jealousy, it was actually just cute.

“In any case, I’ll pass,” I added, handing the doll back to Gerbera. “Guys don’t really want stuff like this, especially at my age.”

“Hmm. Is that so?” Gerbera let out a huff as she fidgeted with the doll in her hands. “In that case, I’ll have to pick another present to give you.”

“You don’t have to force yourself to give me anything.”

“I want to.”

“If you insist...”

Gerbera smiled cheerfully. If she liked doing this, then I didn’t have any objections. She started pondering over things as I watched her with a—

“I suppose it must be that. The maid outfit. I just have to put it on and show you, right?”

“Hang on,” I cut in. I’d planned to just sit back and let her do as she pleased, but that wasn’t going to fly here. “What do you mean? How’d you come to that conclusion?”

“Kaneki told me that all men want to see the woman they like wearing a maid outfit,” she answered, blinking in confusion.

“Him again?”

I could just picture Mikihiko giving me a thumbs up. He’d clearly told her this to get a laugh out of it. I sighed and pinched my brow.

“Is there a problem?” Gerbera asked.

“No... It’s not a problem or anything...”

How could I have a problem? The thought, “Mikihiko, you ass,” did cross my mind, though.

“That’s good then,” Gerbera said, smiling. “In truth, I’ve already started. I’ve thought of making ones for Lily and all the others too, but I haven’t made much progress in that regard.”

She began happily telling me about her work. She’d said so herself—she was doing this because she wanted to.

“But I can’t possibly cut corners. It’s meant to bewitch you, after all.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

I didn’t mind it if Gerbera was having fun, so I just shrugged. Besides, if asked whether I wanted to see my lovers wearing cute clothing, then of course my answer was yes.

At any rate, we passed our time peacefully like this while we finished what work we had to get done. However, a sudden visit brought our time to an end.

“Hrm?”

Gerbera’s red eyes turned to the door. We could hear hurried footsteps from the hallway, then the door flung open.

“Takahiro! So this is where you’ve been!” Kei said, flying into the room. “Someone is approaching the village!”

She must’ve sprinted all the way here. She was bent over with both hands on her knees while gasping for air, speaking as best she could.

“Lobivia was on watch, and told me to tell you,” she added.

“Got it. Kei, get somewhere safe. Gerbera, tell the others, then hide somewhere for now. Rose, come with me.”

Immediately after I gave out my orders, I started running. I left the building and headed straight for the village walls. I looked up at the watchtower and wrapped my arm around Rose’s waist. Asarina shot from my left hand and pulled us to the top of the tower.

“Lobivia, I heard someone’s approaching the village?” I asked the girl who was already up there.

“Yeah, sure is,” she replied curtly. Despite her attitude, she was diligently doing her job. She looked ready for war, hiding the keen presence of a beast behind her childish features. “Over there.”

I looked to where she pointed. A group of people were walking down the path between the fields. They’d passed through the village’s outer walls already. There were seven of them, and they were all armed.

“I thought it’d be the Royal Army, but that doesn’t seem to be the case,” Rose commented.

“They’re not the Holy Order,” I said, nodding back to her.

“I haven’t seen that outfit before. I wonder who they are?”

“Who knows? Either way, we’ll just have to go talk to them.”

“Takahiro!” someone called.

I turned around and spotted Shiran running toward the bottom of the tower. I immediately had Asarina pull her to the top.

“Thank you,” she said as she settled in.

“You noticed too?”

“Yes. Who...?” Shiran started, but upon spotting the group marching toward the village, her blue eye shot open. “That armor...”

“You know them?”

Shiran nodded, keeping her eye on the armed group. “That’s the Order of National Defense.”

“You mean...they’re Akerian knights?!”

Aker was protected by the Royal Army and the Order of National Defense. The army focused on defending the towns they were stationed in, whereas the order actively suppressed monsters across the nation. I hadn’t expected them to show up here. And that wasn’t the only unexpected thing either.

“Also, that’s... It can’t be,” Shiran continued, her eye still wide. “There’s no mistaking it. That crest on his armor...is the royal family’s.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Seeing as these were official knights of Aker, we had to deal with them in some way. There was also the possibility that they were enemies too. We maintained our vigilance as we descended the watchtower and awaited their arrival.

I asked Lobivia to inform the others and to hide with them inside the buildings. I’d told her to get ready to jump out at any time, depending on the other party’s behavior. In her stead, I had Lily come out to guard us.

We waited outside the gate, and after several minutes, the knights arrived and came to a stop in front of us. One among them stepped forth. He had silver hair and was wearing armor with the royal family’s crest emblazoned on it.

“My name is Philip Kendall. It is an honor to make your acquaintance,” he said, taking a bow. “Please just call me Philip.”

I had a cursory understanding of this country, so I knew that was the name of Aker’s second prince. He was the commander’s older brother.

“Philip, is it? My name is Majima Takahiro.”

I returned his greeting and observed him. He looked to be around thirty and didn’t really resemble the commander. While she looked gallant, he looked relatively gentle. I gave Shiran a quick glance, and she nodded back to me. As a knight from Aker, she must’ve seen several members of the royal family. This man was definitely the actual second prince.

“And that’s Shiran over there, right? It’s been a while. You’ve grown so much,” Philip said.

“You remember me?” Shiran asked, a look of surprise on her face.

“Yes. How many years has it been now? You were among the knights who came to greet the royal family before being dispatched to Fort Tilia, weren’t you?”

Philip narrowed his eyes nostalgically. That eased some of the tension in the air.

“Where was it? I don’t think it was in the capital,” he added.

“It was in Soyaq,” Shiran answered. “Back then, I was nothing more than one of many squires. I thought you would’ve forgotten me by now.”

“Not at all. You looked like a promising youth at the time. ‘Like brother, like sister,’ I thought to myself. Still, even the fabled strongest knight of the northern Woodlands was rather nervous back then.”

Embarrassed by the mention of her childhood, Shiran lowered her eye a little. She glanced my way to check my reaction. Impressed, Philip breathed a sigh. He smiled, but that smile suddenly turned bitter.

“But I see now... If Shiran is here, then it must all be true.”

“You knew I’d be here?” Shiran asked. “No, before that, why have you even come?”

“Because I saw the letter.” Philip corrected his posture and turned my way. “Takahiro. I believe you sent a letter to Diospyro the other day. Upon seeing it, I came out here.”

“So that’s why?”

Our letter had apparently reached Diospyro safely. Adolf had received it and passed it on to the upper brass, and then even the royal family took a look. The letter contained details of the Holy Order’s attack on Kehdo, as well as a few requests. That was what had brought Philip here...but the timing felt off.

“I thought it’d take a little longer for this to reach any royalty,” I said.

It had only been two weeks since I’d entrusted Leah with that letter. Diospyro was five days away, so that was plenty of time for the letter to get there and for someone to come here, but there hadn’t been enough time for it to get all the way to the capital.

“Just as you say, I doubt the news has reached the capital yet,” Philip said. “But we just happened to be staying in Diospyro. That is how we were able to get here today.”

“You were in Diospyro?”

“Yes. Lately, there have been many monster sightings from the villages near Diospyro. Because of that, I brought some of the Order of National Defense there.”

“Aah, that’s why...”

Now that I thought of it, during the incident with Lobivia—when we were talking about how to deal with the stray dragon—the Order of National Defense had apparently been on their way to Diospyro to handle the situation. I’d also heard that in Aker, where half the country was covered by the Woodlands, the royal family personally led the Order of National Defense on the field, running about from east to west across the entire nation. Philip was also engaged in such activities. He didn’t resemble his sister, but the two of them were alike in this respect.

“I’ve come today with hopes of hearing the details regarding the contents of your letter,” he said.

“Understood.”

At the very least, they weren’t enemies. That was enough for me. There was no reason for us to continue talking outside like this.

“First, let’s find a place for you to catch your breath and put away your luggage.”

We were already well prepared. We’d known that someone from Diospyro would eventually come, so we’d set up a place for their visit. A royal visit was beyond our expectations, but we could still go with what we had ready.

“Lily, please show them the way.”

“Okay, leave it to me.”

“Thank you for your consideration, sir,” Philip said. “Well then, we’ll talk later.”

I left the knights to Lily and returned with Shiran to the house we were staying in. Using this time, I consulted with her, seeing as she was familiar with Aker’s state of affairs. Perhaps under the impression that she shouldn’t keep us waiting, Lily dropped by with Philip around twenty minutes later. Still, that was enough time for us to have prepared. We ushered them into the room.

“I apologize for keeping you waiting,” Philip said. “Oh? That’s...?”

“An honor to make your acquaintance, Prince Philip. I am Leah, the wife of the neighboring village’s chief.”

“Aah, I’ve heard about you from Melvin. Ummm...”

“I called her here to participate,” I said. “Will that be fine?”

“If that is the case, then of course I don’t mind.”

As we talked, we gathered around a table and took a seat.

“I asked Dennis to look after the knights,” Lily said, exchanging a quick look with me.

“Got it. Thanks.”

Philip and his knights didn’t know about our circumstances. They didn’t know about what had happened to Shiran’s body, or about what exactly their guide Lily was, or about those who were hiding elsewhere in the village. If the knights were to walk around unsupervised, it could lead to trouble. Lily had likely left them with Dennis under such instructions.

“E-Excuse me.”

Next, Kei came in. I’d asked her to prepare some tea. She looked nervous, but that was pretty normal considering she was in front of royalty.

With our preparations done, Philip took a sip of tea before starting. Maybe he was nervous too.

“Now then, allow me to start from the beginning,” he began stiffly. “I’ve read through the contents of your letter, sir. Is it true the Holy Order attacked this village?”

“Yes.”

So we had to start all the way back there. Not that this was a surprise. Any person with normal sensibilities would find it unthinkable for a knight to turn their sword against a civilian. For the Holy Order to do such a thing, Philip and the others would probably think they were having a nightmare. Travis’s deed had been shockingly irrational, so I could understand Philip’s doubts. I’d predicted them too.

“Everything is as I’ve written. Isn’t that right, Leah?”

“Yes, it is all as Takahiro says,” she answered. I’d asked her to be here to corroborate the details. “If you’d like, you may speak with the people of the village after this. They were the ones who were attacked. They should be able to tell you the specifics.”

There was no reason for us to lie to them if they could find out the truth right after, and Philip could see that. The crease remained in his brow simply because he couldn’t believe it.

“Please forgive me for doubting you,” he said. “Even if this comes from the mouth of a savior, this is very hard for me to believe. What could possibly compel the Holy Order to attack this village? Why would they come to such a remote region to cut down villagers? This must be some sort of mistake.”

I could sense his true intent in those last words. Philip had come here to verify the truth. Shiran had concluded the same in the short time we’d consulted earlier. The Holy Order’s attack on the reclamation village was unthinkable by normal standards. If this hadn’t come from me and Katou—who were considered saviors in this world—the famous knight Shiran, Leah, and all the elves who were involved, they certainly wouldn’t have given us the time of day.

That was exactly why Philip had come personally. He knew what Shiran looked like, so he could confirm if it was really her. Looking back on things with that in mind, the conversation earlier had been a sort of test. It had proved her identity, which had turned Philip’s expression bitter. In other words, it had increased the veracity of the Holy Order’s attack.

In short, they suspected us of lying. Not that I blamed them for it. Philip’s expression was taut, offering a glimpse of his desperation. I could understand why he was acting that way, though. He was doubting the words of a savior.

For example, say he angered me or Katou—angered a savior, to be precise. It wasn’t hard to imagine that the world at large would shower him with criticism. Still, he’d come here to verify the details of the Holy Order’s attack, fully prepared to take all responsibility.

This actually gave me a good impression of him. It was only right to give him a show of good faith. We couldn’t make any progress while we kept a lid on things, anyway. Shiran had informed me that Philip had a reputation as a splendid prince who fulfilled his duties. He also seemed trustworthy from what I’d seen so far.

This was a good opportunity. Someone in a place of authority had come to see us with such sincerity, after all.

“I understand how you feel, but all of it is true,” I said. “The mastermind behind the attack was Sir Travis Mortimer of the Holy Gaze, commander of the Fourth Company of the Holy Order. The reason he attacked the village...is because of me and Shiran.”

“What do you mean...?”

“I will tell you everything. Please remain calm and listen.”

I went on to explain everything about why Travis had attacked this village without leaving anything out.

◆ ◆ ◆

“How can that be?” Philip muttered, looking awfully shaken by my story. “The power to grant monsters hearts...? And Shiran is undead...?”

He was in a daze. Kei refilled his empty teacup. Philip downed its contents in a hurry, then let out a huge sigh. He then jerked up to look at Kei.

“It can’t be... You too?”

“Huh...? N-No! I’m not!” Kei replied, shaking her head vigorously.

“I-I see...” Philip said, looking truly relieved.

“Oh, but Lily is a monster,” Kei added.

“Sure am!” Lily exclaimed, turning her fingers into slimy tentacles.

A loud clatter suddenly echoed in the room. Philip groaned, having knocked his chair backward. His gentle features were twisted and twitching. I couldn’t even say he was overreacting. This was normal in this world.

“F-Forgive me. That was rude,” he said, coming back to his senses.

I shook my head. “It’s fine. I understand.”

Unlike Shiran and Kei, Philip hadn’t had the opportunity to know Lily before this, nor had she or any of the others saved his life like they had with the villagers. I’d expected it to be difficult for him to accept this immediately. It could take hours, maybe even days, but we had no choice but to wait. The room naturally fell silent—

“By the way, Keikei here says that, but I’m also human,” Lily said to the pale prince, unexpectedly speaking up. No, this wasn’t Lily. Her tone and the atmosphere around her were a little different. “I’m sorry for not introducing myself sooner. I’m Mizushima Miho. I’m a visitor just like Majima.”

“Huh...? What?”

Philip looked utterly confused. It didn’t show on my face, but I was also surprised. We hadn’t discussed Mizushima showing herself here.

“Look, I share the same kinda facial features as Majima, right? Don’t you find that weird? I look different from the people of this world. I’m another visitor.”

“Th-That’s true, but she called you a monster earlier...”

“I’ll leave out the details, but I’m inside this girl.”

“A savior in a monster...?” Philip’s eyes shot open in shock, then turned my way. “It can’t be... How can that...?”

He could see from our faces that Mizushima was telling the truth. All strength left his body. He planted his hand against the table as if to stop himself from collapsing. To the people of this world, saviors were the light of hope, whereas monsters were the manifestations of fear and despair. It must’ve been hard to accept that a revered savior was inside a monster.

“You can just think of it as my having turned into a monster if you want. In that sense, I’m not all that different from Shiran,” Mizushima said, looking down at him. It felt as if she was driving him further into a corner, but I could tell right away that that wasn’t the case. “Philip. What do you think of me?”

She was both a savior and a monster. Philip gulped. Mizushima’s testing gaze remained fixed on him. A moment of silence dragged on. Before long, Philip exhaled slowly, then smiled, a slightly bittersweet air about him.

“Please forgive me, madam,” he said, his expression much more relaxed now. “You may laugh it off as the timidity of a worthless simpleton.”

“Hmm, it’s fine. Given time, I figured you’d come to accept it. That’s why I was a little forceful,” Mizushima said, grinning. “But it’s better to get the hard stuff over with real quick, right?”

Philip gave her a wry smile. “You have a point there. I stand defeated.”

“Ha ha. You flatter me... Just kidding. It’s actually half-borrowed knowledge,” Mizushima said, looking my way awkwardly and scratching her cheek. “I don’t have to tell you, do I? It was Mana’s idea.”

“That makes sense,” I said.

I thought the approach seemed familiar. That said, Miho was still pretty clever for pulling it off like that. I could understand how the two of them had gotten along back in our world.

“I’ll have to thank Mana later. I’m sure she’ll be happy,” Mizushima said with a smile—one that quickly became teasing. “She says that, Master, but Miho was the one wondering if there was anything she could do to help. She thought this up with Katou, you see, and th— H-Hey! Cut it out, Lilz! That’s cheating!”

Her expression changed blindingly fast. Mizushima shrieked in a panic, shot me a glance, then groaned in frustration. Her face turned red right to the tips of her ears.

“Th-That’s the gist of it. You handle the rest, Majima,” she said in a fluster, trying to turn the attention away from herself.

“Thanks, Mizushima. You really helped out.”

Mizushima bit her lip. She seemed both embarrassed and happy.

“You’re welcome.”

She relaxed her shoulders and smiled. After waving her hand, she switched back out with Lily.