Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 15 - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Their Respective Choices

Those dear to me, or the world. I had to choose one. When asked such a question, I doubted many people would be able to give an immediate answer. Given that there were only two choices, it was the same as asking which I would prefer to cast away. If someone was capable of answering this with ease, they would be a genuine monster.

At the very least, it was impossible for me. I opened my mouth and shut it multiple times. I practically gasped for breath. But that was it. I clenched my fists and hardened my resolve.

“I want to live in this world with my companions,” I said clearly. “I can’t abandon them.”

My answer had been decided long ago. I’d simply needed the courage to say it aloud.

“I see...” Harrison said. Maybe he’d anticipated my answer. He understood me properly. Maybe that was why he’d gone to such lengths to try and kill me. “Then you are an evil that will bring harm to this world.”

His voice was charged with hostility but I couldn’t deny him. Until now, I’d fought to protect what was dear to me. I hadn’t ever considered fighting for some grandiose righteous cause like protecting the world. My motivations were independent of justice or evil.

However, even if I was slandered as evil, I wouldn’t abandon those who were dear to me. Even when weighed against the entire world, I couldn’t possibly cast them aside. To me, my companions carried far more weight. It was just as Harrison pointed out.

“You’ll destroy the world for your own ego?”

So, it was inevitable for him to say this to me. I already knew it. It was a different matter whether I agreed, though.

“Don’t go assuming things,” I said. “I have no intention of destroying the world.”

“What...?”

Harrison looked puzzled as I stared at him. I hadn’t the slightest intention of just standing here and letting him say whatever he wanted.

“I’m not abandoning anything that’s important to me. However, that doesn’t mean I think of everything else as inconsequential either.”

It was perfectly natural. There were people I was close to in Aker. There was a place that’d accepted me. Not only that, but I would never consider sacrificing those who had nothing to do with me just for myself. As someone who had once been part of that majority of “others,” nearly dying in vain due to the cruelties of reality, I couldn’t possibly do such a thing.

“I’m not arrogant enough to try and sacrifice others,” I said.

“Then what are you going to do?” Harrison asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” I answered without hesitation. “I won’t let anyone kill my companions, and I’ll avoid destroying the world. I’ll find a way where I won’t have to lose either of them.”

If I’d had to compromise and pick only one, I wouldn’t have needed to go out of my way to muster my courage. Choosing the most difficult path, one where I refused to lose anything, was why I’d needed the courage to speak.

That said, such an answer could be interpreted as disrespectful. It could even be seen as a declaration of war.

“A ridiculous answer,” Harrison said, the pressure he exuded becoming even stronger. “I told you to choose one.”

His sharp gaze crushed down on me like a physical mass. His eyes were enough to render the faint of heart unconscious. Still, I refused to falter.

“Like I give a damn.”

I refused the decision he tried to force on me. I had a reason to. The question wasn’t really one of two choices. After all, if this world vanished, we wouldn’t have a place to live. Harrison’s question was actually for me to choose between letting Lily and the others die or dying with them.

Either case would lead me to lose what was dear to me. I wasn’t going to let that happen. To live with Lily and the others, I couldn’t make either of those choices. I had to do something about both my companions and the world, no matter how difficult it would be.

“Hah...” Harrison chuckled dryly. “What’s this about not being arrogant? What a jest. Do you even understand what it is you’re saying? That’s the path of a hero.”

“And what of it?” I said, refusing to take a step back. “If it’s necessary for all of us to survive, I’ll do anything. That’s how it’s been until now, and that’s how it will be.”

I was well aware that I was talking big. Nevertheless, I had to make it clear right here and now. Besides, I wasn’t alone.

“In truth, it’s entirely possible,” Katou said. She was always supporting me wherever I was lacking. The same went for everyone else. Because they were there for me, I was able to summon my courage and refuse to give up on either choice. “If your logic is correct, it should be strange that the elves who defied the World View weren’t eliminated. Elves live to this day, though. They have spread their roots in this world and have been accepted as perfectly natural to be around. Why is that? Maybe you omitted something from your story?”

Harrison didn’t reply. Perhaps he felt that she would see straight through anything he said. Either way, remaining silent didn’t mean he could escape her questions.

“I don’t mind if you refuse to answer. In truth, I already have an idea. In all likelihood, the elves have already been imprinted in this World View, right?”

“How...”

“If not, your logic doesn’t hold water. In other words, this World View the first savior created can be modified. Naturally, if it were simple to modify, it would conform more closely to the present, so it must be tremendously difficult. However, that doesn’t make it impossible.”

Katou smiled with an implied “Or maybe.” Her cold and beautiful smile was akin to a brandished sword.

“If that’s not the case, then that means everything you told us was a lie,” she continued. “If so, the marshal of the Holy Order is truly lacking in creativity. Oh, I thought of a great idea. It’s a waste for us to be the only ones to enjoy the fable made up by the great marshal of the Holy Order. Why don’t we spread it across the entire world?”

“Stop.” Harrison raised his voice bitterly. If we did that, the people’s cognition would become a mess. This was one thing he could never shut his eyes to. “It’s just as you say. The elves have already been included in the World View. It happened in the middle of the Great Cataclysm. Elves made contact with a Dimensional Cornerstone. It is believed they then used it to rewrite the World View. However, it is unknown what exactly was done.”

“It’s unknown?” Katou asked.

“At the time, very little was known about the Dimensional Cornerstones. The church was simply informed that they were necessary for maintaining the world. The elves who made contact with a Dimensional Cornerstone were annihilated, so there was no asking them either. However, a while after that, the Great Cataclysm came to an end.”

“Because the elves rewrote the World View?” Katou asked.

“Exactly. The elves’ existence was inserted into the World View. However, the Holy Church didn’t know that. That’s why they made a mistake. While investigating the unprecedented disaster, they discovered that the World View was a mechanism to stabilize the world. They also found out the elves’ existence had shaken the World View, causing the Great Cataclysm. So that it would never happen again, the Holy Church made moves in secret to exterminate them. What happened next was the war between the Empire and the Alliance Kingdoms. The Empire fought against the Alliance, who harbored elves in their territory... As a result, they invited instability into the world once more.”

“Because elves were already part of the World View by then,” Katou said.

“Indeed. After finally seeing the bigger picture, the church put a stop to the war.”

“And as a result, elves have continued living to this day...”

Katou exchanged looks with me, and I nodded back to her. This was a great harvest. Those dear to me, and this world—there was now a path where both could be preserved. The key was the Dimensional Cornerstones, magic tools kept by the Holy Church. Naturally, Harrison immediately understood what we were thinking.

“So you plan on rewriting the World View?” he asked.

“There’s a way of handling this without abandoning anything,” I said. “I can’t possibly give up now.”

“I see...”

Unlike before, Harrison didn’t criticize me. Exposing the situation of the world, thrusting how difficult things were before me, and measuring the extent of my resolve—through and through, this conversation was an “attack” to get me to give up.

Conversely, once he knew my will was unshakable, there was no point in continuing the attack. However, Harrison looked at me as if he were being blinded by something.

“To fight so that you don’t lose anything. Not possessing the caliber of a hero, with no intention of becoming a hero, but reduced to becoming one for the sake of what is precious to you. You really are...”

I didn’t know what sentiments were behind his words. However, I felt as if this man with a mask of steel was giving a glimpse of who he was. I could see tremendous emotions moving unseen behind his grim expression. Naturally, no matter what they were, it wouldn’t shake my conviction.

“Then you are my enemy,” Harrison said, pulling a large jewel out of his pocket. There was an indomitable will behind his words. “Even if it worked out somehow before, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will work again. So long as you’re touching the very foundations of this world, it’s possible you will introduce a fatal flaw. Even if there is the slightest chance that everything can be lost, I must remove all threats to the world.”

Refusing to give up because everything could be lost. Intent on stopping this because it was possible everything could be lost. A difference in position changed the priorities of the choices made.

Harrison Addington was a man who protected the stability of the world. He’d sworn to protect it no matter what happened, much as I’d decided to do anything to protect my servants. So long as the safest and most guaranteed way of solving this problem was killing me and my servants, what he had to do had long been decided. He couldn’t allow emotions to sway him. He was calm and rational.

“But right now...any more of this will be useless,” Harrison said, his hostility toward me as prominent as ever. “I’ll back down.”

He’d finished his preparations while we were talking. Harrison activated the Dimensional Cornerstone in his hand.

“Right here and now, unravel.”

“This is...”

I’d stood at the ready so that it would be all right no matter what happened, but this wasn’t an attack. I remembered this sensation. It was the same as when the world of mist I’d wandered into had been dispelled. The contour of everything in sight melted away.

Even the feeling of the ground beneath my feet became vague, so I couldn’t move. I focused on my weapon for just a moment, but in the end, I did nothing more than hold Katou tight so that we wouldn’t be separated.

As the world faded away, only the people retained a clear contour. The wounded knight facing me looked at me as an enemy to the very end.

◆ ◆ ◆

Before I knew it, I found myself in a prairie. Katou was still in my arms making a dumbfounded expression. I turned around and met Salvia’s gaze. She merely shrugged. It seemed we’d been expelled from the fabricated world. One could say we’d also been freed from captivity.

“So we all escaped...?”

Using the senses of the mental path, I could tell everyone was outside the fabricated world, even if they were a little far away. They likely had no idea what was happening. I could sense their bewilderment, but upon noticing my presence, they immediately began moving.

With no corridors to get in their way, it would be easy to reach me. They were probably going to be here shortly. I felt a tugging on my sleeve and lowered my eyes, where Katou smiled up at me.

“Looks like we won, Senpai.”

“Yeah...”

For now, it was fine to call this a victory. We’d warded off the sudden teleportation and obstinate attacks. Mikihiko had been freed from his shackles, and I’d gotten Katou back after she’d been abducted. I hadn’t lost anything.

What’s more, we’d even gotten much-needed information... Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say we’d been imparted with it. Even if not for the conversation with Harrison, we would’ve likely figured out the truth of this world on our own. However, it was possible our understanding would’ve been half-baked if acquired like that.

In the worst case, we would touch the foundation of this world with superficial knowledge. There was no telling what would happen in that case. That was exactly why Harrison had told us all that. While he’d attacked us so that we would give up, he’d also taken the time to impart us with proper knowledge. Through and through, that man moved only to lower the risk posed to this world.

“Senpai...”

Leaning against me, Katou called out anxiously, and I lightly embraced her.

“It’s all right,” I said. Regardless of our opinion on the matter, it didn’t change what had to be done. Either way, we’d gained knowledge about the truth of this world. All that was left was to decide how to make our move. “First, we need to meet up with everyone.”

We had to rendezvous with Lily and the others, then ensure everyone’s safety. We also had to link up with Shiran, who’d broken the commander out of the capital. Once everyone was together, we could discuss the future. No matter how heavy the truth of the world was, so long as we had each other, anything was possible.

“Shall we?”

“Yes, Senpai.”

So, I took Katou’s hand and started walking.