Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 14 - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: The Girl’s Weapon

Left behind, Katou Mana curled up against the wall. After deteriorating to the worst possible state, it wasn’t easy for her to recover. Her body and mind had been like a small boat tossed about in a storm. Nevertheless, she was gradually beginning to calm down.

First, her hyperventilating lungs remembered how to breathe properly. A short time later, perhaps with oxygen now reaching her brain, her dizziness and nausea slowly faded. The thoughts that had shattered from her swelling fear and unease were now falling back into place. She still wasn’t able to stop her entire body from shivering, but she was slowly regaining feeling in her limbs. She was still afraid, but with time, she stopped panicking.

“How surprising...” someone said, watching her recovery.

“Y-You’re...”

“Is the cause of this Mister Kaneki’s earlier words?”

It was Elena, the knight who’d stayed behind to keep an eye on her. Perhaps she was curious about the change that’d occurred to the girl who’d been panicking just moments ago. Katou Mana was a clever girl, but it was still too much to ask her to read what was behind Elena’s stern and cold expression.

“So you believe it too?”

“Huh...?”

“That Majima Takahiro will come to save you.”

Elena’s words concisely conveyed the truth. There were several reasons Katou Mana was recovering. Knowing of the cruel situation confronting the boy who was dearest to her heart made her own situation vanish from mind. Unable to overlook Kaneki Mikihiko’s strange behavior, her consciousness shifted to her thoughts rather than her fear. However, the biggest reason was that she had heard the last words he’d said before leaving.

“Katou, you just sit tight here and believe in him.”

Those words had immediately sent a change throughout her shattered mind. She felt relief from the bottom of her heart.

Aah, I just have to wait. That was what she thought. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that had been what she thought. The girl named Katou Mana wasn’t one to let things end there. She’d already regained her mental faculties. She was capable of viewing what’d happened to her like a third party. So, looking back on herself like that, what welled up in her chest was exasperation.

I just have to believe and wait? True, so long as she sat here in captivity, maybe she wouldn’t be in any danger. However, even as she sat, the boy she loved was in a dire situation. So how was it fine to wait here? Of course it wasn’t.

“I-I’m so...”

Why had she lost all heart? Even if the boy she loved was going to come to save her, she couldn’t possibly feel at peace. She resented herself, trembling for an entirely different reason now.

It was unforgivable—deeply, intensely unforgivable. It was almost strange. Although, if she was going to view this like a third party, there weren’t many people out there who could immediately get their thoughts in motion when pushed into such a corner. Still, even if that was the case, she couldn’t forgive herself.

“There must be something I can do...”

Turning her resentment into fuel for the fire in her heart, Katou Mana’s mind rebooted. It was all for the sake of being of some use to the boy she loved. But what could she do? And just as that thought came to mind...

“What’s the meaning of this?”

Elena raised a stern voice. This was proof that something unexpected had happened. Her eyes were pointed down the corridor—where Ottmar was walking toward them.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Please stop right there.” Elena’s attitude wasn’t friendly in the least. “This place has been entrusted to me. I can’t let you carelessly come through here.”

Just as her uptight appearance suggested, she was faithful to her job. She didn’t put a hand on her sword, but her eyes had a sharpness like a naked blade. Regardless, Ottmar paid that no mind.

“Orders from above,” he said.

“From above?”

“Yes... You should grasp that, since I’ve come here personally.”

It was a casual conversation, but there was something strange about it. Elena was a knight of the Holy Order’s glorious First Company. In contrast, Ottmar was no more than a deserter. That was supposed to be the case, but the way the two talked didn’t seem to fit that assumption. That said, it seemed perfectly natural to them as the conversation kept going.

“But she might end up panicking. If we force her to move there, she could hurt herself.”

“Put her to sleep if you have to. I’m simply carrying out Sir Harrison’s orders.”

Katou Mana started. Considering Kaneki Mikihiko’s betrayal and Elena’s presence, she’d already concluded that the Holy Order’s marshal, Harrison Addington, was a part of this. On that point, she wasn’t particularly surprised. What had her flustered were the words, “Put her to sleep.” It wouldn’t be fair if everything ended while she was unconscious.

Besides, depending on her perspective, this wasn’t a bad development. She didn’t know what he was thinking, but Harrison was apparently intent on sending for her. Even if he had power over her life or death, this was an unexpected opportunity to come into contact with the enemy ringleader.

After coming this far, getting him to put down his sword through talking was unlikely, but it wasn’t impossible. For example, much like when the Skanda Iino Yuna had attacked them, they might be able to come to a compromise. Even if that couldn’t be done, it might be possible to grasp a clue that could break the deadlock in this situation. Just maybe, this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. However, if she was unconscious, she’d have no way of taking advantage of it. As such, she couldn’t allow them to knock her out... In theory, she understood this.

“Looks like she’s awake.”

“Eep...”

The moment Ottmar turned his eyes toward her, she broke into a cold sweat. Just seeing him get closer was enough for her throat to convulse.

“Ah... Uh...”

She was starting to panic. At this rate, she was going to start hyperventilating. Ottmar wouldn’t even have to do anything for her to pass out. Until just recently, that would’ve happened.

“...nic.”

“Hm?”

She opened her trembling lips. Ottmar came to a stop. Katou Mana glared back at him with tears in her eyes.

“I-I’m not...going to panic!”

This time, she suppressed her fear with dreadful self-control.

“Hmm. So you can speak,” Ottmar said, slightly surprised.

“I-I can... A-And I can stand...!” Katou yelled back sharply as she got to her feet.

She was still afraid, of course. She was deathly pale and felt as though her knees were going to buckle at any second. Despite feeling chills all over her body, an unpleasant sweat covered her skin. The fear etched into her wasn’t going to vanish so easily. However, she endured it all. This strength of heart was what made her who she was.

Feeling no fear was simply indifference, not courage. When assaulted by fear, was she able to withstand it? If exposed to waves of terror that were liable to break her mind, was she able to avoid being swept away? Her ability to do just that was her only and greatest weapon. She was driven by her single-minded love, and her need to help the boy who’d saved her. This one emotion had gotten her through many difficulties to date.

“I don’t think there’s any point for you to go out of your way to suffer,” Ottmar said. “I can make it easier for you.”

“No thank you,” Katou declined.

“I see. Take her and follow me,” Ottmar said to Elena.

Elena went behind Katou Mana and forced her to walk. She was now the very picture of a pitiful prisoner. Regardless, she didn’t lose heart. The fire in her chest hadn’t been extinguished.

There was something she could do. The girl who was weaker than anyone else in this labyrinth harbored a determination that was stronger than any other. She walked toward the enemy leader with no way of knowing what danger awaited her.

◆ ◆ ◆

Kaneki Mikihiko marched with unwavering trust in his best friend, heading toward the battlefield where he would have to cross swords with that same friend. Even though he knew only death awaited him, he could not avoid his fate.

Katou Mana marched with deep affection for her beloved in her chest, suppressing her fear as she made her way to the enemy ringleader. No matter what danger awaited her, the powerless girl had no means of resisting.