Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 13 - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Boy’s Hesitation and the Girl’s Words

The Maclaurin Provincial Army’s hostilities toward us and the upheaval shaking the entire world...

The Holy Church’s intervention and their apparent willingness to cooperate...

The exploration team’s help and an invitation to join them...

I had many things to think about regarding several external factors. However, that didn’t mean I could forget all of our internal affairs. At this point in time, I definitely couldn’t neglect my relationship with Aker, whose fate was slowly intertwining with ours. We each did what we were capable of, built more trust in each other, and deepened our social network. It was important we build a firm foundation here.

“I’m beat...” I mumbled as I climbed the stairs.

“Good work today,” Lily said.

“You must be tired too, Lily.”

“Not as bad as you, Master.”

“I’m a teensy bit tired too,” Gerbera joined in.

“Hee hee. You two really stood out,” Lily said.

The three of us continued chatting as we ascended the staircase. We’d just returned after going out to suppress monsters in the region. The exhaustion we were feeling wasn’t entirely from physical exertion, though. On the contrary—physically, I felt perfectly fine.

Aker’s Order of National Defense had thoroughly investigated this operation beforehand, and we’d put together a proper plan, making sure we had sufficient man power to carry it out. The force had been composed of several knights with our group at the core, and we’d carried out the suppression without any problems. Including our travel time, it’d taken five days, but having spent so much time traveling to begin with, it wasn’t particularly tiring for us. The major ordeal had come after our return.

“Hee hee. You were really cool, Master.” Lily took my arm and snuggled up against me, peering up at my face with a smile. “Good thing so many people came to see, huh?”

“Yeah. They held a whole parade and everything. It would’ve been a waste if nobody showed up...”

As I returned her smile, I recalled the day’s event.

◆ ◆ ◆

To state the obvious, even Aker disliked monsters, so it wasn’t just a simple matter to get its people to accept my servants. Fortunately, our battle with the Maclaurin Provincial Army had turned into a lucky break, changing Aker’s public opinion in our favor. That said, we couldn’t rest on our laurels. We couldn’t afford to let this opportunity go to waste.

So what were we to do? We’d been able to socialize with a portion of the knights and soldiers who regularly visited the palace, but the general public was a different matter. Going out to talk to them one by one to get them to understand was out of the question, but if things were left as is, it would be forever before Gerbera or the others could walk around outside.

For Aker to accept my servants, we needed a huge positive to negate the existing enormous negative. That was what the parade celebrating our triumphant return was for. Currently, just the name Majima Takahiro meant “the hero who protected elves from the Maclaurin Provincial Army.”

That hero was now going to appear before the people for the first time. What’s more, he was doing so to celebrate his victory after suppressing monsters for Aker’s sake. Many people were sure to gather to see the rumored hero for themselves, so our objective was to unveil my servants to them using that occasion. Not that this plan really struck a chord with me.

This idea had come up after discussing it with Philip’s group, but deep inside, the whole idea of “a parade for a hero’s triumphant return” didn’t make much sense to me—having spent so long on my journey avoiding the public eye because of my ability. The only one from my group who’d been going in and out of town was Kei. She’d told me, “You have an amazing reputation! It’s really true!” Regardless, I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Not until I saw it before my eyes, at least.

“This is...pretty impressive.”

After safely suppressing the monsters in the region, we returned to the castle town with the knights. I stood in an open horse-drawn carriage, which made it easy for the people to see me from all over. Naturally, this meant I had a good view too, and I could see the extremely dense crowds on both sides of the main street beyond the gates.

“This is my first time seeing so many people since coming to Aker,” I said.

“Ha ha. I’m sure it is,” Philip replied from my side. He wasn’t nervous at all. He was obviously used to this kind of parade because of his status.

“Is it always like this?” I asked.

“No. Even I’ve never seen the populace get this excited. Many people always come to see our return, of course, but this is unprecedented.”

Parades celebrating the triumphant return of soldiers and knights who’d gone out to suppress monsters was a common event both in and out of Aker. It served to easily display to the people that the threat had been dealt with and to raise troop morale. As royalty, Philip had had many opportunities to participate in such festivities, so when he said he’d never seen it like this, it had to be quite the exception.

“All those people came just to see you, right?” Lily said cheerfully, standing next to me with her favorite black spear in hand. “That’s amazing. Hee hee, you’re totally ‘Aker’s savior’ now, Master.”

She looked honestly pleased with that. I unintentionally let a bitter smile slip, and Lily leaned over and looked up at me.

“Nervous?” she asked.

“Well, yeah. That’s a lot of people.”

I turned to look and spotted a massive swarm of people, a maelstrom of expectation and wild enthusiasm building among them. Having to step into that triggered a different kind of tension from standing and facing an enemy. I gulped. Honestly, I was pretty nervous about whether I was going to let them down.

Lily called out to me once more. “Master.”

I turned back to look at her and was faced with a breathtakingly sweet smile. She looked straight into my eyes, the trust in her gaze bringing me peace of mind.

“Let’s give it our all, okay?” she said.

“Yeah... Let’s.”

My heart suddenly calmed down, and I once more remembered why I was here. Yes. How could I have forgotten? I would do anything for their sakes. If they were by my side, there was nothing I couldn’t do. Holding on to that conviction, I readied myself and took a quiet breath.

“Shall we?” I said.

“Understood.” Philip nodded and gave instructions to the driver.

The carriage began moving as a loud trumpet announced the beginning of the parade. The column came into view of the populace, and the first thing they saw was the leading carriage bearing deceased monsters. The most conspicuous among them was a large ruby bear, followed by many azure hares, whose breeding season was approaching. In this world, monsters were equivalent to a natural disaster waiting right next to home. Seeing that threat removed before it could do any damage, the people cheered with joy.

Behind that carriage was a formation of soldiers, their spears held high while others played trumpets as they marched down the main street. While the knights were away on this mission, the soldiers had protected the capital, and now they took on the role of welcoming the returning knights.

Next to come into view were the knights. They held their chests out with looks of cheerful pride, mainly because there’d been no losses on this outing. According to Philip, they sometimes suffered casualties when suppressing monsters, so simply coming back with everyone safe and sound was a great accomplishment. The populace had already been notified of this joyous information, but above all else, the delighted atmosphere among the knights conveyed something to the people. The gathered crowd got even more fired up.

That was when my carriage proceeded toward the gates. It felt really strange. Until now, I’d never even considered myself a savior. That hadn’t changed. I had sworn to be Shiran’s savior, but that was only between us. All I’d done to date was do my best to protect what was dear to me, yet before I knew it, I was Aker’s savior. Honestly, it was perplexing. I didn’t think I would ever get used to it, nor did I think I was suited for it.

Nonetheless, if this was necessary, if it was for my companions’ sakes, I wasn’t going to turn down this opportunity. Maybe I was acting exactly the same as always, in a sense. To protect what was dear to me, I put in every ounce of strength I had. This was no different.

The carriage passed through the gates, under the tall walls surrounding the town.

“Guh!”

Deafening cheers overwhelmed me—voices, voices, and more voices. Enthusiasm filled the air. It felt as if waves of emotion were crushing down on me, enough to make me dizzy. At the same time, it felt as if the people of this country had accepted me. Their emotions flooding over me were all favorable, after all.

That honestly made me happy. Taking time to participate in this operation while dealing with the upcoming negotiations with the margrave and the Holy Church, as well as socializing with the soldiers and knights as much as we could, had all been for this moment. Setting aside being a hero or whatnot for now, I was happy that our efforts had borne fruit.

Above all else, with this, the possibility of my companions finally being accepted was within my grasp. All the conditions were in place; we’d set the stage for a hero’s triumphant return. It was already common knowledge how hard my servants had fought to protect the elves of Kehdo and Rapha. It’d also been made public beforehand that they’d played an active role in suppressing monsters this time. All that was left was to follow the program.

I carefully wove my mana, then stretched out a hand to gather all eyes on me.

“Misty Lodge.”

Fortunately, even under the pressure of knowing that failure wasn’t an option, my magic activated successfully. In an instant, an explosive outburst of mist enveloped the main street. For a moment, silence fell over the noisy crowd. And then...

“Guh!”

They cheered twice as loud as before. It’d been announced already that I’d be showing off this magic during the parade. That was why, even though the people had been shocked, the crowd’s reaction hadn’t broken down into chaos. To put it bluntly, one of the reasons so many people had gathered here today was to witness this. Aker’s citizens had been told that the Misty Lodge was the grand magic that’d routed the provincial army.

The dramatic storytelling of Majima Takahiro’s Battle against the Maclaurin Provincial Army was apparently a big hit in Aker’s capital already. This was hearsay, of course, since I’d never gone to see it myself, but I was told that the scene where a magic mist threw the provincial army into chaos was particularly popular.

After the mist came the friendly dragons that flew overhead. The people who’d hearkened to these tales were unquestionably imagining that scene, their hearts pounding in excitement. That was how they’d figured it out right away.

“Look up!” someone shouted.

Up in the sky, dragons calmly flew in circles. They were the dragons of Draconia who were now living in Aker. I’d asked them to participate in these festivities. Normally, if ferocious dragons were spotted directly above town, the people would be panicking. Even if they knew these monsters posed no danger, some might not have accepted them. However, only in this moment were things different. Right now, they were living out the tales.

After flying around high in the sky, the dragons soared off to the royal palace. Many eyes followed them, reluctant to see them leave. Next, I undid my magic mist, but another magic remained in full effect. The people’s focus returned to me. Their enthusiasm hadn’t waned. Having experienced a mock-up of the tales that’d sent their hearts aflutter, they looked to me with expectation, wondering what was going to happen next.

Everything was going to plan. Actually, it was going even better than planned; it was practically a theatrical recreation now. In this moment, those who wouldn’t normally accept any of this would accept anything. This atmosphere was the true magic here. We just needed one more push.

I signaled Lily with my eyes, and she spun her spear about next to me. The tales spoke of a servant who used a black spear, so it was immediately apparent that she was a monster. The episode of her stalling half of the provincial army by hurling her spears at them was apparently also insanely popular.

Lily waved to the crowd, and a cheer broke out. This wasn’t part of the program, but she’d decided that a little ad-lib would be fine given the atmosphere. She then twirled her spear for show, letting it whistle through the air, and the cheering grew more intense.

“Hup.”

Lily then hopped off the carriage and undid the mimicry of one of her arms. A transparent feeler stretched my way, but the crowd—now the audience to our story—felt no fear. I took hold of the feeler in front of me and descended from the carriage as if escorted to the ground.

The next carriage then came into view. Unlike the one we’d been riding, this one was an enclosed box. A large door on the side opened. As expected, when an enormous spider leg stretched out of it, people were clearly startled. However, they also already knew about this too.

“Hmmm... This is quite the spectacle.”

Gerbera looked around the area without a hint of timidity. She looked imposing, only her bloodred eyes harboring a sense of childlike innocence in them. The strongest of my servants, the Great White Spider, the beautiful arachne—those who’d heard the tales had surely imagined her beauty, but seeing her in person made them realize that they’d been lacking in imagination. Many sighed in admiration.

Gerbera had elven children by her side, the ones from the reclamation villages who’d gotten along with her. Many among the crowd were likely remembering the episode where Gerbera protected the elves from the pursuit force’s relentless attacks. Seeing as how the children weren’t the least bit afraid, it was clear that Gerbera wasn’t dangerous.

“My Lord.”

“Here.”

Now it was my turn to be Gerbera’s escort. As I took her outstretched hand, she said, “I’m like a princess in a fairy tale,” with a genuine smile. I still felt a little tense, but I returned her smile.

Even after mounting my carriage again, the cheering didn’t stop. The parade remained lively until the very end.

◆ ◆ ◆

“I’m really glad I didn’t mess anything up...”

Thinking back on it, I let out a huge sigh of relief. Seeing this, Lily giggled.

In any case, our reception had been more than good enough. It would still be hard to take Gerbera or the others outside right away, but if we repeated this kind of thing several times and got the people of Aker accustomed to it little by little, then one day... Now I was able to believe that.

With things going how they were, it was worth considering unveiling some of my other servants to the public. Thinking of what there was to gain, a little mental exhaustion was a cheap price to pay.

As we continued talking, we reached our destination—a lounge in the section of the palace that the royal family had lent to us. The elves of the reclamation villages used a lounge somewhat closer to the entrance, but this one was used by me and my servants.

It appeared my other servants hadn’t returned yet. Shiran had told me that she had a meeting with the Order of National Defense that would go on for a while, and Lobivia was supposed to be keeping Kei company in her training around now. Ayame was probably basking in the sun with Berta.

I sat down on a sofa and let out another deep sigh. I felt a satisfaction and an exhaustion that differed completely from what I experienced during my usual training.

“Okay, Gerbera,” Lily said, without taking a seat next to me. “I’ll leave our master to you.”

“Hm? Are you going somewhere?” Gerbera asked curiously.

“I was thinking of dropping by the library,” Lily answered, smiling cheerfully.

“Ooh, I see. You sure do enjoy it there.”

“Hee hee. We have the rare chance to go to the castle’s library whenever we want. Besides, you know, I might even find some helpful information there.”

Aker’s royal palace had quite the splendid library, and I’d gotten permission for me and all my servants to browse the books there at our leisure. Not that Gerbera or my other servants could read, and Katou and I had only started learning, so we could only understand children’s books at best. The only ones who could make any real use of the library were Lily and Mizushima.

“Sorry for leaving all that to you,” I said. “You must be tired too.”

“I’m not all that tired, so it’s fine,” Lily said, waving her hand about. “Besides, Miho’s dying to get some reading time in.”

Lily’s bottom half returned to slime form, and Mizushima popped out from the transparent mass. She’d skillfully manifested only from the shoulders up, making it look as if she were peeking out of a body of water.

“That’s the gist of it, Majima. I’ll be borrowing Lilz, ’kay? We have the chance to and all, so I wanna read as much as I can.”

“You really love books, huh?” I said.

“Hee hee. Well, we don’t know when we’ll get a chance like this again. I have to take Lilz with me, though.”

“It’s fine. You don’t need to put it like that,” Lily said. “I like books a fair bit too thanks to your influence. It’s a good breather. You don’t need to worry about it either, okay, Master?”

“That so? Okay then.” I nodded, smiling at how well the two seemed to get along. Having two personalities in one body seemed pretty troublesome at first, but they were handling it well. “Have you found anything interesting?”

“Hm? Let’s see...” Lily lowered her eyes, and Mizushima reflected her like a mirror as they sank into thought.

“There were a few books that touched on the geography around the imperial capital, so I guess those’ll be useful?” Mizushima said.

“Also, remember? We jotted down that recipe that dish was based on,” Lily added.

“Aah, the one you really liked?”

“You should try cooking some time too, Miho.”

The breadth of books they’d been reading seemed to be fairly wide. It was interesting how it brought out their individual personalities.

After thinking about it a little more, Lily clapped her hands. “Oh right, speaking of interesting things.”

“Did you find something?” I asked.

“Mm-hmm. Remember hearing about the savior legends that the Holy Church promulgates around the world? There’re records going pretty far back written in the style of legends,” Lily said, raising a finger. “There are legends from the appearance of the very first savior all the way up to now. That said, when it comes to anything from a thousand years ago or earlier, the dates get really fishy, and nothing unfavorable is written down.”

“Stuff like every single visitor fighting heroically without exception, and anything related to elves being omitted?” I asked.

“Yup, that. For example, during the time elves were discriminated against as traitors to humanity, none show up in the savior legends. Considering people like Shiran, it’s hard to believe that no elves ever accompanied a savior. It’s possible that these facts were left out of the records, or erased as time went on, but this is Aker. They don’t have any prejudice against elves, right?”

After hearing that much, I understood what she was getting at.

“Meaning records of elves might remain in Aker’s library?” I asked.

“Mm-hmm. Exactly. Well, I brought up elves as an example, but I’m basically looking for stuff from a perspective besides the Holy Church’s. By comparing them, maybe we can figure out the church’s thought process, sense of values, and policies. That’s what Miho and I think, at least.”

“I see.”

The two of them had put some thought into this.

“So? Found anything yet?” I asked.

“It’s a little early to jump to any conclusions, but starting with the church... Even from Aker’s point of view, the Holy Church and Holy Order serve to protect the world. On this point, there aren’t any contradictions with the church’s legends. They maintain world order. For example, even if a big noble is found guilty of shady behavior, the church punishes them severely. Stuff like that. From that perspective, Travis was a big exception. Or rather, he pulled it off really skillfully.”

In other words, Travis Mortimer had just been that talented. With that in mind, I realized he’d had a tremendous effect in the worst way imaginable on the current state of the entire world. If he’d used that talent for good, things might’ve been very different.

“So the interesting part comes next,” Lily continued. “It goes a little off topic, though. Elves show up every now and then in Aker’s history books, but no matter the book, there is no mention of them further than eight hundred years back. Actually, there aren’t that many books touching on anything before that in the first place. It’s like information from that age is just cut out.”

“How so?”

“Mm. Seems like there was a global calamity—an explosive outbreak of monsters accompanied by a natural disaster or something.”

“That’s the first I’ve heard of it...”

“It’s not touched upon in the savior legends. They might’ve deemed it damaging to the saviors’ absolute reputation or something. Still, it definitely had an impact. The legends from before that time are really vague.”

This opinion could only have been drawn from visiting the library. A large majority of my knowledge depended on Shiran. She was very learned for being a commoner, but with no compulsory education in this world, there were limits. It was useful to gather knowledge from books like Lily was doing now.

“That’s about all we figured out so far,” Lily said. “We’re planning on looking into more history books and stuff related to the church.”

“Got it. I know you’re enjoying it, but try not to overdo it.”

“Mm. We’ll be back before dinner. Take it easy, Master.”

With that, Lily bent at the waist and kissed me on the cheek. At the same time, I felt lips pressing against my opposite cheek. I turned around in astonishment, but Mizushima, who should’ve been there, was already gone.

“Jeez. That Miho. She’s so shy,” Lily said, giggling in exasperation.

◆ ◆ ◆

After Lily left the room, I lay down on the sofa. I wasn’t just obeying her or anything, but I decided to take a little rest. After getting comfortable, I let out yet another long sigh.

“Rather tired, I see,” Gerbera said, peeping up from behind the sofa. “Me too... Hwaah, I’m just a little tired.” Her eyes lost focus as she leaned against the back of the sofa.

While we both rested with nothing in particular to do, someone called out to me.

“Ah, Senpai.”

I might’ve dozed off for a bit. I opened my eyes, turned to the voice, and saw Katou coming my way. Rose was behind her. When she got a little closer, she bowed courteously. The two of them had stayed behind in the castle without participating in the monster-suppression operation.

“Welcome back, Master,” Rose said. “I came this way after hearing from my sister. She told me to guard you with Gerbera during her absence. Do you mind if I do my work here?”

“Not at all,” I said.

“Thank you very much.”

Lily was probably being considerate and creating an opportunity for her little sister to spend time with me after I’d been away for a few days. I had no complaints with this. Katou and Rose started spreading items out on the floor for Rose to work. They laid out a thick cloth to keep the floor clean, then placed her tools atop it. They were positioned in front of the sofa I was lying down on.

“Mana, please take a seat around there.”

“Got it.”

Rose sat down near the center of the wide space, and Katou took a seat next to her. Framed by her pigtails, Katou’s nape was defenselessly within reach of my hand.

“Then shall we begin?”

Rose pulled out her knife. During the series of battles against the Holy Order and the Maclaurin Provincial Army, a significant portion of the magic tools she’d made had been expended. Replenishing them was an urgent necessity, so for the last month, Rose had been making things whenever there was nothing else to do.

I felt bad lying down on the sofa when she was working so hard, so I was about to sit up, but Rose stopped me.

“Master, please stay as you are. You must be tired.”

“But ya know...”

“Rose is right,” Katou joined in, turning to face me. “You went on a long trip, fought monsters, then took part in an unfamiliar parade in front of tons of people. Nobody will complain if you rest a little. In fact, we’ll feel restless if it looks like we’re getting in the way of your break. Please take it easy, Senpai.”

“Well...if you say so.”

It was true that I was mentally exhausted, and I would just be a nuisance if I argued here. We’d spent so long eating and sleeping in the same spaces that I didn’t particularly care about being seen lying down at this stage. Deciding to accept their kindness, I yawned.

“You really must be tired,” Katou said, putting a hand to her mouth and giggling. “Oh yeah, it’s a little late, but congratulations. I also watched the parade. I’m glad it succeeded.”

“You went to see it?”

“Oh, no. I watched it from here. We have a telescope, so I used that.”

“Aah, that’s what you meant.”

Katou hadn’t recovered from her androphobia yet, so it would’ve been rough for her to be in such a huge crowd.

Around then, Katou giggled again. I wondered what it was, and she pointed behind me with her eyes.

“Looks like Gerbera fell asleep,” she said.

“Looks like.”

Gerbera’s quiet breathing sounded from the back of the sofa she was leaning on. Her habitual behavior usually made her look cute, but like this, she was a real beauty. I was staring at her in dazed fascination when Rose called out to me once more.

“How about taking a nap as well, Master? If so, would it be better for you to go to bed?”

“No, I’m not that tired. It’s fine.”

I shifted my focus to Rose. She was shaving away at what looked like the hilt for a weapon or something. She handled her magic knife so smoothly that her movements looked like real magic at work. I could never get tired of watching her. As the wood shavings piled up on the ground, Katou gathered them up so that they didn’t get in the way and put them in a bag. Her eyes then abruptly turned my way.

“Oh yeah, Senpai. Can I ask you something?”

“Hm? Always.”

Katou closed the bag she was holding, then faced me.

“The other day, when Shimazu-senpai was here, she offered you the chance to join the exploration team, right?”

“Oh, that...”

“You didn’t give her an answer on the spot, did you? I figured you would’ve refused right away. Is there a reason for that?”

Her tone was casual; she didn’t have any particular reason for asking beyond simple curiosity. Although, whether the same applied to me was a different matter. I sank into thought a little before answering her.

“Well, I guess that’s the reason itself.”

Katou blinked in confusion. She had very innocent features to begin with, so this gave her a very childish look.

“Meaning?”

“Katou, you figured I’d refuse, right? That’s ’cause I experienced the Colony’s destruction. I can’t help but be wary of an entire group of visitors. I can’t join a group I can’t trust.” I paused, then sighed. “That’s what I thought, at least...”

“Do you feel differently now?”

“No, I don’t,” I answered, then added, “but I wonder if that’s really all right.”

Shimazu had been a lot friendlier than I’d expected, so a thought had suddenly come to mind. Was it okay for me to refuse them on the spot? That was when I’d realized something.

“I suddenly feel like maybe I’m being swept up by my emotions from that time.” Once I noticed that, I couldn’t ignore the possibility. “I’m responsible for leading everyone. Even if the best choice isn’t always available, at the very least, I have a duty to determine what’s best for us. Refusing to do that because I was affected by emotion would be the opposite of that.”

Having the choice but not picking it was different from acting like the choice didn’t exist to begin with. The former was making a decision, while the latter was simply refusing to.

“I want to believe I’m making decisions only after thinking them through,” I continued, “so I’m starting to wonder whether I’m being spurred on by emotions. That’s why I couldn’t refuse or accept on the spot.”

“I think you’ve been doing just fine,” Katou said.

“That’d be nice if so... I don’t have much confidence when it comes to this case, though.”

Katou believed in me, but I didn’t know whether she was right. My gaze naturally drifted toward the ceiling, and I smiled bitterly.

“Aah, sorry. I didn’t mean to moan about it,” I said.

I was well aware that I’d gone on about it more than I’d meant to. Maybe I was complaining like this because I was tired.

“Anyway,” I added, pulling myself back together, “that’s why I didn’t refuse. It’s not much of a reason, so when it’s time to make a decision, I’ll do it properly. You don’t need to worry about it.”

I put my hand to my temple as if wiping away the haze over my thoughts, when suddenly, someone grabbed that same hand.

“Katou...?”

Before I knew it, Katou was bent over me.

“It’s all right,” she said.

Maybe she’d done it entirely on reflex. Her face was thirty centimeters closer than usual. It didn’t seem as if she realized this either.

“You’ll do just fine, Senpai.”

Her voice was strong and reassuring, and her face was red from being so close to mine. The power behind her words rocked my heart greatly.

“I believe in you,” she added.

Because of her rising body temperature, her scent grew more prominent. She smelled so sweet. We’d known each other long enough for me to distinguish this as Katou’s aroma. She was always with me from “good morning” to “good night.” Back as students in our world, this would’ve put us far beyond being best friends; maybe it was rare even for lovers to spend so much time together. And yet she wasn’t my servant or anything of the like.

Saving her from a horrible experience, distrusting her at first, regretting the mistake I’d made, hearing that she wanted to stay with me—we’d shared so much time together until now. She was just as important to me as Lily and all the other girls were. I wanted to protect her.

Just maybe, her very existence was what was making me hesitate.

After all, Katou was a visitor. Unlike Mikihiko, I hadn’t known her back in our world or anything. We’d met after the Colony’s destruction, and after an accumulation of good and bad events, things had settled to their current state.

She was a visitor, just like the members of the exploration team. What was the difference between her and them? The fact that they had cheats and she didn’t? If so, if she had a cheat, would I push her away? If that was impossible for me, then why did different rules apply to the exploration team? Or was Katou a special exception? If so, how was she special? In short, what was Katou Mana to me? Because of my fatigue, that ambiguous thought came to mind—

“Ah.”

Perhaps coming back to her senses, Katou let go of my hand. Her cheeks turned redder and redder for what seemed like an entirely different reason from before.

“S-Sorry.”

She pulled back in a panic and clenched the fingers that’d been holding my hand just moments ago as if they’d been burned. She looked my way with flushed cheeks and slightly wet eyes. Somehow, her expression looked both heartrending and special. I unintentionally averted my eyes.

“Aah, um, there’s nothing to apologize for,” I said.

Put bluntly, this was bad. I was liable to greatly misunderstand at this rate. She had androphobia. In her case, it was absolutely impossible. The two of us sank into silence. The mood felt both awkward and restless, then...

“My Lord, Katou.”

The two of us started at the sudden voice. Before we knew it, Gerbera, who should’ve been sleeping, had her eyes open. She quietly straightened herself up from the back of the sofa.

“What is it, Gerbera?” asked Rose, who’d been quiet all this time. She did so because Gerbera’s expression was very stern, her red eyes focused on the door.

“I sense something strange,” Gerbera said. “Be careful.”

Before I could ask what she meant, I sensed a presence approaching our room. I immediately switched gears and got to my feet. I grabbed my sword, which had been standing against the sofa, and readied myself to draw it at any time. Several seconds later, a large wolf entered the room.

“Berta?” I called out to her, even as many questions came to mind.

All she’d been doing lately was lounging around, but now she was very stiff. She seemed extremely tense. Ayame, who’d come in with her, ran over to me with a pitter-patter. Normally, Berta was very good at looking after others, but now, she didn’t even give Ayame a glance.

“Majima Takahiro. May I have a little of your time?” Berta asked stiffly.

I understood why right away. A boy had entered the room behind her.

“Excuse me.”

The air froze.

“Kudou...”

“It’s been a long time.”

Berta’s master, the Lord of Darkness Kudou Riku, smiled cheerfully.