Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 12 - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: An Unfulfilled Wish ~Rose’s POV~

I couldn’t tell which way was up or down. The broken fragments of my shattered body danced in the air among a cloud of dust.

“Ah...”

Before I knew it, I was on the ground staring up at the sky. That was when I finally understood that a soaring rock had blown me away. I tried to stand back up immediately. So long as I was on my feet, I could keep fighting. I could keep protecting what was dear to me. Sadly, it was only then that I noticed.

“Aah...”

I had nothing from the waist down. Two rocks had hit me, and one of them had gone right into my waist. Brittle from the crack already there, it shattered completely, sending my lower half flying off somewhere. I couldn’t restore this kind of damage on the spot.

Even so, if I had at least one arm... The moment I shifted my focus to that thought, I realized that I couldn’t move my right arm. The other rock had crashed into my bicep, pulverizing everything in the region of my shoulder. I couldn’t even make it budge.

As I came to understand my current situation, footsteps drew nearer to me, signaling the end.

“How surprising. To think you’re still alive.”

It was Ottmar. The other knights weren’t with him, but a puppet remained by his side. This puppet was far larger than the ones I’d broken. Had he created another one?

“I’ll give you my honest praise. I didn’t think you’d exhaust me this much.”

He looked somewhat pale. The fight had apparently taken a lot out of him. Creating these puppets must’ve taken a significant amount of mana.

“But now it’s over.”

The puppet leaned over and grabbed me by the collar. Having lost half my weight, it easily lifted me into the air. I couldn’t resist it. It then held my tattered body up high for all to see, and Ottmar held his naked blade toward the heavens.

“Behold! Evil has been vanquished!” he yelled, puffing out his chest with pride as he boasted of his achievement to all present. “Righteousness has prevailed!”

A cheer of joy broke out over the area.

“The Holy Order has avenged us!”

Because of the hard battle they’d been forced into, the taste of victory was all the sweeter. A shock wave of delight spread through the Maclaurin Provincial Army like a bomb blast.

“Praise the Holy Order!”

“Glory to the Maclaurin Provincial Army!”

Their exaltations resounded all around me. Held up high, I could see far and wide.

“Righteousness, is it?” I muttered to myself.

Ottmar was likely the only one to hear me. He turned up to look at me.

“Did you say something?” he asked.

“Not really. I just reaffirmed the fact that I’m a monster after all.”

The reason such an obvious thought came to mind was because I couldn’t understand. These people, gushing about their own righteousness, were incomprehensible to me.

“Unlike you, I know nothing of justice,” I said. “I just wish to live a quiet life with those dear to me.”

The many humans surrounding me were acting so proud of the justice they believed in. I couldn’t understand them because I was a monster. In their own way, they were probably right. That was why I had no intention of denouncing them as evil. I saw no reason to in the first place.

“It doesn’t matter who is right or wrong. I mean, even if it’s an absolute evil to do so, my wish to protect my master remains unchanged.”

There was no righteousness or justice in this. All I cared about was whether something threatened our peaceful lives or threatened to steal those dear to me.

“Travis attacked us for the sake of his own glory and ambition. As one of his subordinates, I don’t know if you share his motives. Perhaps you act based on the justice you believe in from the bottom of your heart, much like the Maclaurin Provincial Army. None of that matters to me, though. Those are simply your circumstances. From the side being robbed, be it an act of good or evil, both lead to the same conclusion.”

Those were my true feelings.

“You are merely aggressors to us. Nothing more, and nothing less. I know nothing of righteousness or justice. I’m just a monster. Go ahead and laugh if you want.”

I glared down at Ottmar. Even without my arms, even without anything below my waist, even with half my face shattered, I would not yield.

“I absolutely will not allow you to lay a hand on my master. My sisters are of one mind with me. This is the end for me, but our will remains unbroken. Our master will escape your grasp. I believe in this, so this is not my defeat.”

“So that’s your way of life, is it?” Ottmar asked after a pause, then sighed.

He certainly thought I was spouting nonsense. Still, that didn’t matter to me. No matter how much he disdained me, ridiculed me, laughed aloud at me, or anything else, none of it mattered...which was why his next words were so unexpected.

“I won’t laugh,” he said.

“Huh?”

“Your way is right. The desire to protect someone can never be wrong.”

My thoughts came to a halt. I’d never even imagined he’d say anything like that.

“I’m the one stealing from you. In that sense, I’m the inhuman one,” Ottmar added indifferently.

The more I heard, the more confused I was.

“Why would you say that? I mean, you’re Travis’s—”

“Subordinate?” Ottmar finished for me, nodding. “An understandable suspicion, but also a little off the mark. You’re misunderstanding something.”

“What?”

“As you can see, I possess the power of a savior. I am a beloved of blessed blood,” he said, gesturing to the puppets around him. “There are others like me in the Holy Order, but not all of them have reached the level of being able to apply their powers in the field. A beloved of blessed blood capable of using their power in combat is a rare resource. The Fourth Company of the Holy Order was the smallest of all companies, so only three were affiliated with them.”

“Only three...” I repeated with a frown. “That doesn’t add up.”

In the battle against the Fourth Company, we’d paid particular attention to our most formidable enemies—the beloveds of blessed blood. There was their commander, Travis Mortimer of the Holy Gaze; there was the man who attacked our master the other day, the Battle Ogre Edgar Guivarch; and there was Zoltan Michalek of the All-Seeing Eye.

That made three, and the man before me made four. That didn’t match his claim. But now that I thought of it, he’d said I was misunderstanding something. If so...

“You’re not of the Fourth Company?” I asked.

“Exactly. You said you didn’t see me during the second attack on that village. That’s obvious. I didn’t participate in that attack.”

“But when our group first encountered you in the village, I heard you obeyed Travis’s commands and protected him.”

“At that point in time, it was my mission to obey his orders. That’s all. That’s also why I’m here now.”

He didn’t appear to be lying. I doubted he had any reason to at this point. Judging by his tone, he was driven by a sense of duty, but that made me feel strangely uneasy.

“So, what?” I said. “Others aside from the Fourth Company of the Holy Order were present at the time?”

My thoughts were in disarray. I told myself to calm down and think it over. Travis had attacked us on an egotistical rampage for the sake of his own ambitions. Or, at least, that was supposed to be the case. However, someone who didn’t work for him had participated as well. If so, one other possibility existed. Someone else’s schemes played a role in the attack Travis’s Fourth Company had launched.

Ottmar was accompanying the Maclaurin Provincial Army on their expedition of justice. I didn’t know what that implied, but I felt as if an unbelievable truth was being unraveled here. I had to tell my master, but I had no way of doing so, and I had no time left.

“You’re here,” Ottmar said, turning to a man who came riding in on a horse flanked by what appeared to be his subordinates.

“Sir Ottmar!” The man dismounted and ran over to us. “I heard you avenged us.”

“Commander Louis, this is the culprit behind the ambush,” Ottmar answered, pointing up at me.

The man was Louis Bard, the commander of this army. From what I could see at a glance, he looked like an honest man. He gave off the impression that he had properly trained to be the commander of an army that protected the people from monsters. If I’d seen him in passing, my impression of him would have been favorable. However, when I looked at him now, his eyes appeared terribly cold.

“This is a monster? To think it imitates the form of a human. How filthy. Why haven’t you killed it?”

“Because this is necessary,” Ottmar replied, indifferent as always. He showed no reaction to the pure contempt in Louis’s voice. “The army is exhausted. I’ve determined that, as its commander, you need to be the one to execute the foe to raise morale.”

Much as Ottmar implied before, I couldn’t sense anything in him beyond the need to accomplish his mission. Ottmar had no ambition, and he had no sense of justice. He was so inhuman, yet so human at the same time.

“I see, is that so?” Louis said, nodding. “In that case, let’s get right to it.”

He immediately drew his sword. He wanted to be rid of the filth before his eyes as soon as possible. That desire was written all over his face.

Ottmar’s angel puppet held me up in one hand before Louis, who readied his sword. He was probably an excellent swordsman. His stance provided no openings. With my body in its current state, he would definitely break me with a single strike.

“Watch closely!” Louis yelled as if to project his voice to the entire army. “With this blow, I shall purge the evil that threatens our world!”

I couldn’t help but find that exaggerated expression funny. The evil that threatens the world? My lips twitched awkwardly at the thought.

Yes, I knew this already. I’d been prepared for this, but that didn’t mean I could remain emotionless. I was conscious of the soldiers’ gazes all around me. I could feel their heightened expectations. Everyone here wished for my death.

It was a chilling sensation. So many people were around, but I felt as if I were all alone. The desire to see my master swelled in my chest, and I could hear my heart breaking. It was as if this loneliness was gouging out my soul.

Master.

I want to be with you.

I want to see your face.

I want to touch you.

I want to embrace you.

I love you. I love you with all my heart. It hurts so much not to tell you.

“Master...”

The tearful plea I’d tried to hold back all this time came out at the very end. Surrounded by nothing but enemies, no one would answer my call. That was what I thought, but...

“What the?” Louis cried.

He didn’t sound like the man who was moments away from passing judgment on evil. He sounded confused. It was likely the same for everyone else present. I was the only exception, but that wasn’t because I was special or anything. I just knew what was happening. This was exactly what I’d feared seeing. It was coming from the man I loved, after all.

“Mist...?” Louis muttered in astonishment.

His figure was already obscured by white fog. Even held up high by the angel puppet, my entire field of vision went white. As far as the eye could once see, a thick veil of mist had fallen over the entire Maclaurin Provincial Army.

“Aah...”

My wish to sacrifice myself to protect my master went unfulfilled. I was desperate and disappointed that I couldn’t prevent this situation from happening. The joy that painted over all such emotions was sinful.

“Master...!”

My master had returned to take back what was dear to him.