Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 13 - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: An Unexpected Reunion

“You really surprised me.”

Mikihiko had dropped by with no warning whatsoever.

“Ha ha. My bad, my bad. I heard you were coming, so I just couldn’t wait,” he said, cackling.

It’d been quite some time since I’d last seen him, yet his smile made it feel as if no time had passed at all.

“I dropped by outta the blue, but is now okay?” he asked. “If you’re busy, I can come back later.”

“Aah, no. It’s fine,” I said, recovering from my astonishment. I felt joy welling up inside me. “It’s been a long time. You’re still in the capital? I was thinking it’d be nice if we bumped into you.”

I finally got up from my seat and walked over to Mikihiko.

“Well, come on in,” I said.

“In that case, I’ll barge right in...but gimme a sec.” Mikihiko pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. “Before that, I’ve gotta make some introductions.”

“Introductions?”

I looked over Mikihiko’s shoulder curiously, where several knights stood behind him. They wore the armor of the Holy Order but were different from the knights who’d been charged with protecting us.

“It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Mister Majima.” One among them, a woman, stepped forward. “Allow me to greet you as a representative of my comrades. I am Elena of the Holy Order’s First Company.”

“The First Company... Meaning you’re Sir Harrison’s subordinates?” I asked, still somewhat perplexed.

“Yes,” she answered briskly.

“Huh? Lady Elena?” a voice suddenly said behind me.

I turned around to find Iino looking rather surprised.

“Hm? You know her, Iino?” I asked.

“Yes. A little while ago, I had the opportunity to meet her while I was looking into the fake savior incident.”

The Holy Order had dispatched personnel from the First and Second Companies to deal with the fake savior. Having chased the rumors herself, Iino had bumped into both companies. It was plain to see that that was how she’d come across Elena.

“Lady Elena’s the one who told me that the fake savior was actually real visitors,” Iino said.

“I owe much to Miss Iino,” Elena added.

“Not really...” Iino said bitterly. “I don’t think I managed much...”

She seemed a little inarticulate, which was strange for Iino, who was usually to the point. Something had probably happened that she didn’t want to remember. Well, the fake savior incident was a chain of failures caused by the comrades she’d traveled the Woodlands with, so maybe it was a perfectly normal reaction.

“So, Majima,” Iino said, turning the conversation my way as if to avoid delving into that topic, “how long are you going to make them stand around?”

By this point, she was back to her usual self—her usual, belligerent self. Despite that, she did have a point.

“I hear you. Come on in, everyone,” I said.

“Righto. Then if you’ll excuse me.”

“Pardon the intrusion.”

I ushered the group into the room. With so many people, even this large space was a little cramped. After introducing Mikihiko to Lobivia, whom he’d yet to meet—Salvia hadn’t come out—I guided them farther inside. Lily, Shiran, and Iino came with me.

After we got there, Mikihiko gave me a curious look. “Now that I think of it, Lily and Shiran are one thing, but why’s Iino here too?” he asked.

“Am I not allowed to be?” Iino retorted with a huff.

“No, that’s not what I mean,” Mikihiko said, crudely waving his hand about. “I’m asking why you’re in Takahiro’s room at this time of night.”

“Iino’s our guard. That’s why she’s with us now,” I said.

“Aah, I get it.”

“That reminds me, you two know each other, right?” I said, coming to a sudden realization.

“Before all this teleportation business, I knew what she looked like, at least. We’ve only exchanged one or two words since coming here. I was with the commander when she greeted their group from Fort Ebenus and all.”

As he continued talking, Mikihiko took a seat. Elena and the other knights sat on both sides of him, and we sat across from them.

“Anyway, I’m glad you’re looking well,” Mikihiko said, a nostalgic look in his eyes. “I heard what happened in Aker. I’m really glad we can meet like this again.”

“It’s good to see you healthy too,” I said.

Back when we parted ways on the outskirts of Serrata, Mikihiko had still been a little slim from wandering the Woodlands. By the looks of it, that had completely passed now. On the contrary, he was a fair bit bulkier than before.

Maybe the fact that he was wearing the local clothing was one cause for his slightly different appearance. He donned leather armor that looked easy to move in, carried two knives at his waist, and kept several other holsters dangling from his person. The holsters looked to be embedded with runestones, so they were probably magic bags.

“You’re looking a little burlier now,” I commented.

“Ha ha ha. Well, I’ve been training. Speaking of, you’re looking manlier yourself, Takahiro.”

We both pointed out the changes we saw in each other. In other words, we’d been doing our best to survive in this world. That said, Mikihiko had heard rumors about what had happened to me while we were apart, but I had no idea what he’d been up to.

“Hey Mikihiko, is the commander’s inquiry still ongoing?” I asked. If he was still in the capital, that would be why.

Mikihiko nodded. “Yup. Unfortunately. That’s why she couldn’t come here with me. I mean, she’s being investigated for Fort Tilia’s capitulation, so she can’t walk around freely.”

“I see...”

“Otherwise, she’s doing good. She’s still Aker’s princess, so they’re treating her relatively well.”

Mikihiko responded cheerfully. The commander’s inquiry wasn’t a pleasant topic, so he was trying to avoid being gloomier than necessary. In truth, Shiran looked relieved to hear this. Keenly noticing her reaction, Mikihiko smiled at her.

“She was worried about you too, so I’ll tell her you’re doing well,” he said.

“Thank you very much,” Shiran said, bowing her head.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Mikihiko replied with a casual wave. “By the way, the rest of the Alliance Knights are pretty much in the same boat. They’re rather bored, though.”

“As long as they’re doing well,” I said, a little relieved myself.

We’d fought side by side with the Alliance Knights at Fort Tilia. They had also supported us on our journey to Serrata, so I’d been worried about them all this time.

“In any case, this whole thing has been taking a long time,” I said.

“Sure has.” Mikihiko grimaced, unable to hide how fed up he was with it. “After bringing us here, the margrave scurried back to his own territory. Then the inquiry started in the castle. They droned on and on about responsibility for this and responsibility for that. It’s such a pain in the ass. Also, lately, even bothering with the inquiry at all has kinda flown out the window.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Oh, come on. It’s you and the margrave, Takahiro. The whole place is busy ’cause of you, so the schedule for her inquiry got pushed back.”

I was speechless. I knew that my quarrel with the margrave was having a great impact on the world, but it seemed to have had an unexpected effect too.

“Well, you know...sorry about that,” I said.

“Ha ha. You don’t gotta apologize. It’s not your fault or nothing.”

Still, as one of the concerned parties, I couldn’t remain indifferent about it.

Knowing that I felt that way, Mikihiko added in a light tone, “Well, that’s the gist of it, so I’ve been stuck here in the capital. And, I mean, sitting on my ass is kinda pointless, yeah? I’d be a total NEET like that. So I thought about it and wondered whether there was something I could do.”

“And what’s that?”

“A job I can handle,” he said, holding up a finger. “Specifically, suppressing monsters.”

“You?”

That was a little surprising. The Mikihiko I knew wasn’t at the level where he could put up a real fight against monsters. However, now that I thought of it, maybe it wasn’t all that surprising. A fair amount of time had passed since we’d parted ways—several times longer than the period from when I first met Lily in the Depths to when I was able to fight monsters in Fort Tilia. Mikihiko had his own inherent ability in Aerial Knight too, so it wasn’t all that strange that he could fight now.

“You sound surprised. I’ve been training too. Well, truthfully, I’ve only just gotten to the level where I can fight a monster one-on-one.”

Mikihiko acted as if it were nothing, but it must’ve taken a significant amount of effort. He had more than enough of a reason and passion to back that up too. What’s more, fighting monsters was typically done in groups, so being able to fight one on his own made him very valuable. So long as he prepared properly, he could play a more than active role.

“Naturally, I’ve been handling things close to the capital, but I’ve also traveled relatively far too,” he added. “I mean, when it comes to barging into the commander’s inquiry, having achievements under my belt really does make a big difference.”

“I see.”

In his own way, Mikihiko had been putting a lot of thought into this. In all likelihood, he hadn’t been able to sit still while the commander was being investigated. It was just like him to find something that he could do for his sweetheart’s sake.

“So that’s why you’re with the Holy Order?” I asked.

“Basically, yeah,” Mikihiko said. “Knights and saviors come as a set by default for suppressing monsters. I’m not planning on rocking that boat. Looks like some idiots who didn’t get that left the exploration team and caused that whole fake savior ruckus, but I’m not gonna make the same mistake.”

As usual, he was harsh on the exploration team, but it was their fault that the margrave had an excuse to treat me as the fake savior, so I didn’t feel like arguing their case either. That was my own opinion on the matter, though.

Mikihiko’s gaze drifted to Iino at my side. “Uhhh, what?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Iino said bluntly, looking like she wanted to say something.

“No point glaring at me. It’s all true,” Mikihiko said, scowling.

“That’s why I didn’t say anything,” Iino retorted.

She understood it, but her feelings of comradery still remained, so she had been somewhat put off by the conversation. Not much we could do about that. It turned out that, much like me, Mikihiko didn’t quite get along with Iino. And just by the fact that he was my best friend, maybe it was natural that she didn’t care for him either.

“That’s mostly how things have been going on my end,” Mikihiko said, turning to me and pulling himself back together.

“Right. I’ve got the general idea.”

Discounting the delay to the commander’s inquiry, Mikihiko had been doing what he could without any particular problems. I was glad to hear about my best friend’s efforts during our time apart.

“You really have been giving it your all,” I said.

“Heh heh. Sure have,” Mikihiko said, rubbing the tip of his nose bashfully. Still, he wasn’t the type of guy to stay quiet at this point. “When I go out to suppress monsters, it gets awfully lonely not being able to see the commander, though. But, ya know, it’s kinda like going out to earn cash for the family, right? Ooh... A family with the commander! That’s got a great ring to it!”

“I’m pretty sure that’s wishful thinking,” I quipped.

“Wah?! How can you say that so calmly?!”

“I mean, have you got that kinda mood going with her at all yet?”

“I haven’t! It’s the thought that counts! The thought!”

“Aah, so you haven’t.”

“Goddammit! I can’t accept this! I get it! But goddammit!”

He totally hammed up how vexed he was. Even this silly exchange was mysteriously soothing to my heart.

After that, I briefly reviewed what’d happened to us, then we talked about how life was in Aker. Mikihiko was planning on moving there once the commander’s inquiry was over, so he was endlessly curious about it. Our conversation went on for about an hour or so.

“Mister Mikihiko, it’s about time...” Elena said once we reached a good stopping point.

“Aah, I guess we’ve chattered away for a while, huh?” Mikihiko said, looking out the window. He narrowed his eyes behind his glasses regretfully, then turned to me. “Oh yeah, what’re your plans after this?”

“We’ve got the peace talks with the margrave in three days,” I answered. “We’re going to get ready for it the day after tomorrow. Also, tomorrow afternoon, we’re going to drop by to see the exploration team.”

“The exploration team? Hmm, sounds like a pain.”

“Now that I think of it, you’ve been totally independent of them, right?” I asked, suddenly curious about it.

Iino and Shimazu hadn’t known that Mikihiko was here in the capital, so it was the only conclusion I could draw.

“Well, they’ve got nothing to do with me,” Mikihiko answered indifferently. He could be really dry at times like this, but he wasn’t wrong or anything. “There’s no rule that Japanese people gotta stick together when abroad, yeah? The same goes for you. If you weren’t all chummy with Iino there, you’d have no reason to get involved with the exploration team either.”

“What?” Iino cut in. “I’m not chummy with Majima or anything.”

“Huh? Really?” Mikihiko looked at both me and Iino in turn, seeming to find this extremely strange.

“What?” Iino protested.

“Oh, nothing,” Mikihiko answered a beat later, scratching his cheek. “I mean, you’re with him so late at night, so I figured...”

“I’m his guard. We told you that earlier.”

“Aah. Right. Right...” Mikihiko nodded, then got back on track. “Anyhoo, you’re meeting the exploration team tomorrow afternoon. So what’s in store for the morning?”

“My morning’s open,” I answered.

If I worried about things too much, I’d be too tired for the main event. Our environment had changed drastically from the long journey—not that it actually felt that long—so in an effort to avoid getting sick, I planned on resting the following morning.

“If nothing’s going on, I was thinking of maybe exercising a little by sparring with Lily or Rose or something,” I added.

“I see. That works out perfectly,” Mikihiko said with a smile.

“How so?” I asked curiously.

“Nothing, nothing.” Mikihiko shook his head. “Hey Takahiro, I’ve got a li’l request. Can you keep that time slot open for me?”

“I don’t mind. Do you need something?” I asked.

“No, I just wanna come play,” Mikihiko said, scratching his cheek awkwardly. “I mean, we got to see each other again and all, but I understand if you can’t...”

There was no way I was going to refuse him, so I promptly said yes. I also wanted to chat with my best friend after finally reuniting with him.

“Right on. See ya tomorrow then, Takahiro.”

“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”

After an exchange that would’ve been perfectly normal for us before we were teleported to this world, Mikihiko left smiling. It was an unexpected reunion, but we now knew about the commander’s current situation, and I got to see that Mikihiko was doing well. Three days before the peace talks, spending time like this felt like a weight off my heart.