Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 16 - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Conversation with a Wolf

Our chase through the skies had started. I rode the lead dragon and gave directions when necessary. That said, I didn’t need to redirect us very often, so I spent most of my time on standby.

Around two hours passed like this. After going over the prairies, the scenery beneath us changed to that of a forest. We still had some distance between us and the Dimension Door. This seemed like it was going to take a while.

“It sure is shaky up here...” I muttered, somewhat disconcerted.

This was my second time riding a dragon through the skies. That didn’t mean I’d gotten accustomed to it, though. This was different from riding an airplane; there were no seats on a dragon’s back. We were directly exposed to the wind and our view was so high up that I could easily picture falling to my death. What’s more, each flap of the dragon’s wing shook us up and down with a nauseating amount of force. Maybe this was even worse than last time. Once in a while, it felt like I was falling several meters through the air. Each time, the blood drained from my face. Considering that my last ride had been atop Thaddeus, I thought maybe he was used to having people ride him after his travels with Fukatsu Aketora.

“Your face is so stiff, Master.”

“This is one thing I can’t get used to...”

Lily had a firm hold on me from behind to make sure I didn’t fall off. She leaned forward and peeked at my face, a slightly pleasant sensation pressing against my back.

“Are you feeling sick? If you need a break then say so, okay?” she said.

“I’m fine.”

We’d already gotten complaints about motion sickness and fatigue from the exploration team, who weren’t used to flying either, and had taken a break for them. There was no use being reckless, but I had to endure to a certain extent. Having read my thoughts, Lily didn’t push the topic and turned to the side.

“How about you, Berta?”

“Of course I’m fine,” a tremendously stiff voice replied. It was hard to read a wolf’s expression, but she clearly lacked energy.

“Looks like Berta’s in the same boat as you, Master.”

“That’s not true,” Berta protested.

“You’re tucking your tail,” Lily said, pointing out something that was far easier to read than a person’s face.

“Animals who run on the ground have poor affinity with the sky,” Berta said, averting her eyes.

“Ayame looks like she’s having fun, though,” Lily retorted.

“She’s...an exception. She enjoys everything,” Berta said.

Without anything else to do at that moment, Shiran was looking after Ayame. Held against Shiran’s chest, the little fox narrowed her eyes against the wind. Once in a while, she wriggled out to try and climb on Shiran’s head but was warned about it. She didn’t seem the least bit scared.

“In that sense, she’s unrivaled,” Berta said, sighing. There was a bit of a smile behind her voice. Perhaps the conversation was distracting her from the flight. “Now that I think of it, it’s been bothering me somewhat. Why is Jinguuji Tomoya trying to destroy the Dimensional Cornerstones?”

We hadn’t had much time before departing, so we hadn’t discussed Jinguuji’s baffling behavior at length.

“Frankly, I find it hard to understand,” Berta groaned. “It’s not like he can return to his world by destroying them. His actions are illogical.”

Berta’s ears fell flat against her head. I understood how she felt.

“You have a point there,” I said. “But that might not be true.”

“What do you mean?” Berta asked.

“I had a short talk with Katou,” I answered. “Someone might be tricking Jinguuji.”

Katou hadn’t finished putting it all together herself, but she’d told me her thoughts before we left.

“According to what Gerd passed on, someone out there informed Jinguuji about the Dimensional Cornerstones’ storage vault. They’re probably the same one who suggested he destroy them.”

Katou was more worried about this point than Jinguuji himself.

“Hang on,” Berta interjected. “The person who told him probably knows the truth about the Dimensional Cornerstones too. In that case, they should’ve told Jinguuji about that too. Why was there a need to lie about that one thing in particular?”

“You have it backward,” I said.

“How so?”

“When telling a lie, the most effective way is to mix in a little truth.”

Berta thought it over for a few seconds before her fur stood on end.

“Their goal was to mix in a horrible lie by telling the actual preposterous truth about the world?”

“That’s the gist of it,” I answered.

“Humans think of dreadful things...” she muttered deeply.

As usual, her sensibilities seemed so detached from being the Demon King’s servant. I smiled at how innocent she was, but quickly pulled back my expression.

“I can tell by instinct that the Dimensional Cornerstone really created this world,” I added. “But the same doesn’t go for Jinguuji. He must’ve thought the whole story about the Dimensional Cornerstones was nonsense. But now he knows they really exist. So...”

“The part about being able to return to his world must also be true?” Berta finished for me.

“It’s hard to say he isn’t following that line of reasoning.”

The reason why Jinguuji was acting so recklessly wasn’t worthy of our attention. The one who’d provided him with that information and their intentions in doing so was far more important. That was Katou’s opinion. That also led to the most significant point of uncertainty.

“But Takahiro,” Lobivia said, arriving at the same conclusion. “Why’d the guy who gave him that info do that? If the Dimensional Cornerstones are destroyed, the world will end. Doesn’t that make it totally meaningless?”

“Yeah...” I was thinking the same thing. “There’s nothing to gain and everything to lose. It’s definitely baffling. But...”

“But?” Lobivia blinked and looked at me with her big eyes.

“I have an idea who would do such a thing,” I said, grimacing.

“You do?”

“Someone providing information to visitors...” Berta said, her eyes opening wide. “Such disgusting and underhanded methods... You can’t mean...” Her tail straightened to a point. “Heaven’s Voice?”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.”

Heaven’s Voice was the visitor behind the attack on Fort Tilia. Their identity was a mystery. The only thing we knew about them was that they possessed an inherent ability to communicate via telepathy over long distances.

“But even if the methodology is similar, it doesn’t explain why they would do such a thing,” I said, scowling. “If the world ends, they won’t get away from it either. Even if Heaven’s Voice seems like someone who delights in watching people suffer because of them, going so far as harming themselves is a little...”

“Aah, that might not be right,” Berta cut in, her eyes colored by anxiety. “I just remembered something my king once told me.”

“Kudou...?” I said. “Oh, now that you mention it, Kudou had dealings with Heaven’s Voice too.”

Kudou had been the one to first inform us about Heaven’s Voice, back at Fort Tilia. It wasn’t strange for him to possess information on them.

“Heaven’s Voice kept in regular contact with my king,” Berta explained. “Although it was pretty one-sided. My king was wary of being manipulated with information as bait, so he dealt with them noncommittally. On very rare occasions, he collected evidence on the information to act on it or to disturb what was going on. One example of successfully extracting information from Heaven’s Voice was finding out that the fake savior incident was caused by the failures of real visitors.”

“Meaning Heaven’s Voice has been moving around a lot behind the scenes,” I concluded.

Kudou had been fighting an information war without my knowing about it.

“Just maybe, a portion of the visitors who caused the fake savior incidents were instigated by Heaven’s Voice as well,” Berta continued. “My king calls them the snake of temptation, as well as a mad criminal who delights in ruin.”

“A mad criminal who delights in ruin...” I repeated, the words bitter in my throat.

In both Fort Tilia and Takaya Jun’s case, Heaven’s Voice had in fact seemed like someone who delighted in watching their crimes unfold. At the very least, it didn’t seem like they had anything else to gain. What’s more, having interacted with them directly, Kudou had sensed something destructive in their tendencies.

“In this case, that includes damage done to themselves,” Berta said, narrowing her eyes as she recalled her conversation with her king. “In the sense of plunging toward their own ruin, they’re similar to my king. However, their stances differ greatly. Heaven’s Voice has no objective, making their plans fundamentally meaningless. They’re simply done in poor taste, with no purpose aside from ruin.”

“I see.”

To bring about the world’s destruction—a man who tormented himself over the loss of a lover being made to dance to that tune, and the criminal provoking him...

“Now that you mention it, it really is in poor taste, ultimately meaningless, and nothing but destructive,” I said. “It wouldn’t be weird for Heaven’s Voice to be behind it...”

I doubted there were multiple people out there malicious enough to do anything of the sort who also happened to be involved with visitors. It was only natural to suspect they were working behind the scenes here too. I’d gone through hell twice already because of Heaven’s Voice, both at Fort Tilia and with Takaya Jun’s case. Thinking back on it, that vicious tendency was also present here.

“Majima Takahiro, your fate seems tied to Heaven’s Voice too, if I remember,” Berta said.

“Yeah. Twice now... Well, if they’re behind Jinguuji too, it’ll be three times.”

Jinguuji had attacked Draconia and had secretly stolen their Dimensional Cornerstone. He’d joined forces with the Holy Church against me and had chosen the perfect time to betray them. If Heaven’s Voice was behind all that, it made sense.

“Three times without any direct contact,” Berta said, her tentacles squirming restlessly. “That’s a horrible coincidence.”

“I wonder if it’s really a coincidence...” Lily suddenly muttered.

“Lily? What do you mean?” I asked, turning around to face her. “If it’s not a coincidence, then that means Heaven’s Voice has been intentionally messing with me?”

“After Takaya Jun’s case, I figured it might be the case,” she said.

“Well... Still, at the very least, I don’t remember doing anything to provoke them into going out of their way to mess with me.”

“Mm. Maybe I’m overthinking it,” Lily said, smiling sadly.

“Slime. I understand how you feel, but there’s no point giving that scum too much thought,” Berta said. She knew of Heaven’s Voice’s meaningless viciousness from simply watching her king be in contact with them. “All we need to think about is how to crush their plan and protect Majima Takahiro to the end.”

“Right,” Lily agreed, nodding and squeezing her arms around me tighter.

◆ ◆ ◆

I spent the entire time on standby impatiently, but managed to hear something unexpected. I never would’ve known about Kudou’s opinion of Heaven’s Voice if not for Berta. Even if we had no positive proof they were involved, it was better to consider the possibility. Coming to that conclusion, I turned to Berta once more.

“At any rate, I have to apologize to you, Berta,” I said.

“What about?”

“Getting you involved in our situation.”

She said she would protect me, but Berta was different from my servants. That said, faced with my apology, Berta simply wagged her tail lightly.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “I told you before. My king has commanded me to protect you, and I wish to do so myself.” Berta let out a quiet huff. Somehow or other, she seemed happy. “Thinking back on it, I’ve gotten rather accustomed to being here.”

“True. At first, you were sooo cold,” Lily joined in.

Ayame also gave us a “kuuu.” Now that she mentioned it, even Ayame, who got along great with Berta, had been extremely wary of her at first. Berta really fit in now.

“I thought my king had abandoned me at first, so I was at a complete loss...” she said sadly, then suddenly stopped.

“Berta? What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing... I simply remembered something,” she said bitterly. “I had a talk with Iino Yuna once.”

“With Iino?”

“Yes, right before being sent to that labyrinth.”

“Oh yeah, I heard you were with her before that whole incident.”

It wasn’t that unexpected. It sounded weird for a principal member of the exploration team to be hanging out with the Demon King’s strongest monster, but Berta had a secret. The upper body of her true form was exactly identical to Iino’s best friend, Todoroki Miya. I didn’t know whether that factored in, but the two were apparently close enough to chat.

“Did Iino tell you something?” I asked.

“Yes. During our time in the capital, we couldn’t let the Demon King’s subordinate come in contact with the exploration team, so I was made out to be your servant, remember? Iino Yuna said that was a good thing and smiled. She said my king was unsuitable for me. It surprised me a little. I always thought the opposite.”

It chilled me somewhat. Even if Iino didn’t know, Berta’s loyalty to Kudou remained as strong as ever. Saying that to her was like stepping on a tiger’s tail. It hadn’t angered Berta, though. She spoke of it calmly.

“I never told you this,” Berta continued. “My king names his promising servants in order. It’s something called a phonetic code from his world. They go A, B, C, D, and so on.”

“That’s the first I’ve heard of it,” I said. “Meaning you’re number two?”

“That’s how it is. However, to my king, despite his giving me a name, I am far too flawed. He only has a need for disposable pawns. My perceived imperfections are from my inborn nature. Thus, I always thought I was a failure unsuitable for my king. However, after talking to Iino Yuna, I started to think maybe that’s wrong.”

Berta’s tail slowly wagged about.

“No, I suppose I faintly realized it while traveling with you,” she corrected. “Who is unsuitable for whom? My sensibilities are similar to all of yours. Being a failure is a matter of perspective.”

Berta was honest and good at looking after others, and genuinely wished for the happiness of those dear to her. From a general perspective, she was full of virtues. She simply hadn’t been blessed by her environment. During her time with Kudou, she hadn’t even been able to realize this. Being her king’s servant was everything to her, after all. But now things were different. Oddly enough, by distancing herself from her king, she’d been able to notice this.

“That’s why I’m grateful to all of you,” she said.

“Huh?” I muttered, bewildered by her sudden gratitude.

“My king is plunging toward his own destruction, toward a hopeless demise. I want him to at least find salvation before that. There’s little I can do, however. My king is absolute, and I’m an unsuitable failure as a pawn. Nothing can be done about that. That’s what I believed. But I was wrong.”

Berta wagged the end of her tail shyly yet happily.

“My king and I live differently,” she continued. “He’s not absolute. Maybe it was impossible for him to choose my way of life for me. That’s what I think now. And then, in truth, he even accepted my true form.”

“Berta...”

Now that I thought of it, during the battle against Edgar, Berta had revealed her true form as a scylla. Kudou had banned her use of that form. I’d even witnessed him punishing her harshly for using it without permission. Taking that into consideration, fighting in that form while Kudou was there was symbolic. I suddenly remembered a certain conversation I’d had with Kudou in that labyrinth.

“So it’s been thinking of such things...?

“Good grief. That one really is a failure.”

I’d informed Kudou that Berta wished for his happiness. Having heard his servant’s feelings for the first time, Kudou’s words had seemed cruel, but unexpectedly, his expression hadn’t been heartless. He’d sounded stumped. In all likelihood, that hadn’t been intentional. It had been a defenseless moment.

I didn’t know what Kudou was thinking. Still, his reaction at the time was a little different from the impression I’d had of his relationship with Berta. Did Kudou really hate Berta as a failure? There had to be some kind of circumstance behind his behavior.

When I thought of it like that, Berta’s true form came to mind. She was the spitting image of the Beast of Darkness Todoroki Miya, who’d gone missing when the Colony fell and hadn’t been seen since. Perhaps that girl had something to do with the bond between Kudou and Berta. Why did Berta have that form to begin with? Perhaps Berta’s “inborn nature” had something to do with that.

“Berta, are you...?”

I didn’t want to force her to say something she didn’t intend to tell me. Still, I couldn’t remain detached enough to turn a blind eye to the wolf before me and the sad Demon King she obeyed. I wasn’t able to ask my question, though. The situation began moving before I could.

“Master!” I noticed right as a voice called out to me. Mist spread around me, scattered by the headwind, and Salvia revealed herself. “The Dimension Door is close!”