Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 2 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Puppet’s Aspiration ~Rose’s POV~

Creation was practically the very meaning of my life. I had my beloved knife in hand, as always, and began carving away at a moderately sized log. All magical puppets possessed this type of magic knife, and all were capable of using it to manipulate wood to their will.

Having said that, the skill of the crafter was obviously important. A common magical puppet wouldn’t create anything more than what they required. However, I was creating new tools every day at my master’s request. Because of that, I could clearly tell my skills had improved.

I wanted to be able to create even better tools. By doing so, I could be more useful to my master. As such, the time I spent carving away at wood was a moment of bliss. I could really feel I was being useful. I could feel I was alive. Despite being nothing more than a puppet who didn’t even have blood running through my body, I was able to make such an outrageous claim.

◆ ◆ ◆

After I was given the name Rose, I had two moments I considered my birth. The first was my origin as a monster called a magical puppet. My mother specimen gradually gathered mana by wandering around this vast forest and carved copies of herself using the excess. One such copy was me.

The second was obviously the day I met my master. In that instant, I gained a personality and became Rose. I was no longer a nameless magical puppet. Ever since then, I cherished my given duty of creating many weapons, armor, and tools for my master.

Sometimes I would make armaments enhanced with magic, and other times I would prepare simple furniture or tools needed for his livelihood. Right now, I was in the arachne nest creating replacements for all the armaments we had lost the other day.

“...”

There was a pair of eyes staring attentively at my work. It wasn’t my master. He was in the middle of exploring the forest... Completely pushing aside my objections.

No, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter right now...

I shifted my focus to the gaze before me.

“...Is it enjoyable to watch me?”

“Yes,” Katou replied, wrapped up in her sheets and smiling faintly. “It’s quite interesting, and mysterious.” She picked up a shield I’d created. It was a round, black shield with a smooth surface. “It’s made of simple wood, but after it’s done, it doesn’t look like anything other than metal.” She ran her nails across the black surface of the shield, and a jarring sound rang out.

Lately, all of my creations had this blackish tint to them. It wasn’t just an outward change in appearance. They were more solid and tenacious in nature too. It was pretty much unrecognizable from the wood it was made from.

But how was it mysterious? Everything I made had magic cast on it. It was the trait of all magical puppets. There wasn’t a single mysterious thing about it. I couldn’t understand what Katou was talking about.

“Mysterious, you say?”

“Yes... Huh? Is it not mysterious to you?” Katou made a somewhat complex expression as I shook my head. “I see. I guess you haven’t learned anything about the concept of atomic theory... Now that I think of it, Mizushima-senpai once told me that even back on Earth, they believed swallows or something would turn into clams or whatnot if they dove into the sea, or something like that,” she muttered to herself.

The scene of me silently carving away at wood as I spoke with Katou had become quite common lately here in the arachne nest. Incidentally, Lily was resting a short distance away from us so she could recuperate. She wasn’t able to participate in any conversation. It was about time for her to be able to move again, but our master gave her a strict order to rest until she was fully recovered. He really was a worrywart in this respect. In any case, that’s how I ended up being the one who Katou talked to most of the time.

“Creating magic tools...” Katou ran the pad of her finger down the surface of the black shield. “It might be completely normal for you, but for me, it’s amazing. Magic really is wonderful.”

“I’m using mana, but this isn’t actually magic.”

“So, if it’s not magic, then it’s your skills. You’re capable of making so many things, regardless.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m sure Senpai feels the same.”

I reflexively looked up and saw Katou gazing at me with a faint smile. She seemed to know full well what it was which made me happiest.

“Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” she added.

As I wondered about the extent to which she knew of my inner thoughts, I pointed at the shield I had just been making. “Then please carry this off to the disposal pile.”

“Huh? You’re throwing this one away too?”

“Yes. I was caught up in idle thoughts at the time.” I handed the nearly finished shield over to her.

She looked somewhat dejected as she took it from my hands. “Am I maybe getting in the way?”

“No. It’s something else.”

“Okay... I’ve thought this for a while now, but you scrap quite a lot of your work, don’t you?”

Katou glanced over at the small mountain of wood in the distance. They were all failures I made and threw away over the last few days. Even though we had plenty of material to work with all around us, it was a bit of a waste of time. However, I had no intention of compromising quality.

“Everybody’s lives depend on the equipment I make. I can only present something I’m satisfied with beyond a certain extent.”

“Oh, I see. You’re an artisan, aren’t you?” Katou said in an agreeable tone before carrying away my failed work.

During that time, I picked out a new block of wood and went back to carving. Trees were living beings. They all had their own peculiarities. One had to have a proper grasp of those peculiarities to create something from one. This wasn’t any different when creating something using mana. By touching the wood and observing it, I could naturally tell what shape would be optimal. I began by carving its general shape first. The final image I had for it was largely within my head at this point. All that was left was to steadily bring it to completion.

Katou returned while I was in the middle of working and once more took a seat in front of me. She pulled her sheets around her shoulders and narrowed her gaze. From what I heard during our idle chatter from the previous day, wrapping herself up like that gave her a sense of security. Though, I couldn’t really understand her allusion to a baby calming down by holding onto their own blanket, seeing as how I was never a baby myself.

Wrapped up in her sheets as always, Katou suddenly began talking again. “About the idle thoughts that caused you to mess up... Were they about Gerbera?”

A snap resounded through the air as the wooden block in my hand split in two.

“...”

For a moment, I sat there in a daze, but Katou brought me back to my senses when she bowed to me apologetically.

“Sorry. This time I really did get in your way.”

“...Don’t be.”

Katou was the cause, but the mistake was mine. I shook my head and set aside the now useless block. I then took a new one in hand and began carving once more.

“Why do you think that?” I asked.

“Sorry. I overheard you talking with Majima-senpai about it.”

She was likely referring to our conversation three days ago, when I brought up my suspicions of Gerbera with my master. There wasn’t much meaning in trying to hide it now if she overheard us.

“It’s just as you say.”

The idle thoughts getting in the way of my work were related to Gerbera. I just couldn’t come to like her. My master forgave her and took her in as his servant. As such, I should’ve also accepted her. I knew that much. However, my emotions refused to comply.

I’m my master’s shield.

I wanted to shoulder all the calamities that would befall him with this fabricated body of mine. I didn’t mind in the least if my body was completely ruined in the process. That night when I was unable to protect him remained an extremely bitter memory for me. I felt despair when I was unable to accomplish anything, kicked to the side as my master was stolen from me. And I felt indignation when I arrived at the arachne nest and saw my master injured.

Both of these feelings still burned within me unpleasantly. It made it just that much harder for me to forgive her. Furthermore, I couldn’t understand the reason for Gerbera’s violence, which made it near impossible to repair our relationship.

Gerbera’s rampage was motivated by her nature as a spider. She wanted our master to herself. The feeling of wanting to monopolize something precious was probably something everyone possessed. But nothing of the sort existed within me. It was no longer just a problem of which way was better or worse. We were fundamentally different in nature, so I was unable to understand her. It was difficult to forgive someone I couldn’t understand. That was the fatal flaw in our relationship.

I wanted to accept her, seeing that my master forgave her... I possessed such feelings, yet I couldn’t help but feel hindered by my lack of understanding. I felt like I couldn’t forgive her even though I knew my master wished for me to.

“...Although, it’s embarrassing to admit.” I was opposing my master’s will. It was a disgraceful thing to do as his servant.

But Katou shook her head. “I don’t think you need to feel embarrassed about it. Rose, I feel like you’re killing off your emotions just a bit too much.”

“Killing... my emotions?”

“I understand you wanting to treat Majima-senpai as your number one priority. This is a virtue of yours. However, if you take it too far, you’ll end up losing yourself.”

“Is that a bad thing?” I didn’t understand what she was getting at. “My master decided to accept Gerbera; he forgave her. As such, I should work to accomplish his desire. I exist to fulfill his wishes. My will doesn’t matter in that sense, does it?”

“That’s what you think, but you know...” Katou smiled ever so slightly. “That’s exactly what I mean by killing your emotions. Do you really think Senpai would be happy about that?”

“That’s...”

I was at a loss for words. It was difficult to deny what she was saying. Our master treated his servants dearly. As such, it even seemed like he thought of us as more important than himself.

“So, what do you think I should do about this matter with Gerbera?” I asked. The situation was too much for me to handle on my own.

It wasn’t a bad thing to talk to Katou like this. The image of her picking a fight that evening without even a single knife in her hand was burned into my mind. Furthermore, as mere monsters, our knowledge regarding matters of the heart could never compare to hers. Perhaps she knew a way to break this stalemate I found myself in. That’s just how much I could expect from the girl known as Katou Mana.

“...Isn’t it fine to forgive her only when you think you can actually forgive her?” Katou paused for a short moment but then continued. “You can’t kill your own heart. Majima-senpai wouldn’t wish for that. Also, I’m sure it’ll twist you in some way.”

“Twist me?”

“For example, you could push down and suppress your feelings regarding Gerbera, but you could also view that as stealing her chance to atone, right? In that case, you’ll never be able to accept her.”

“So that manner of perspective also exists...”

Katou’s opinion was of great interest to me. Before I knew it, my hands had come to a complete stop and I was facing her earnestly. Our conversation simply held that much value to me.

“Other than that, it depends on both of your efforts, I guess. As for Gerbera... I’m sure Senpai will handle that side of things, one way or the other.”

Katou looked off into the distance. Her eyes were gloomy, yet her gaze was steady. The world she saw was evidently different from mine.

“Rose, you want to be able to accept Gerbera, right?”

“Yes, of course. But I just can’t forgive her.”

“Is that so...? I guess that makes sense. I mean, you don’t have any desires of your own, after all.”

“Desires... is it?”

“Maybe it sounds bad put like that.” Katou lightly laughed. “But Majima-senpai wants those who love him at his side, right? You also understand he wishes to love them and sincerely answer their feelings, right? That’s desire, in a sense. It very much suits him.”

“Desires...”

“If you’re finding it difficult to accept like that, then you can also consider it a wish. The two words only differ slightly in terms of rhetoric. The important thing here is that it’s a human-like quality. This also applies to Lily and Gerbera.”

Was it like Lily’s wish to be loved by our master? Or like Gerbera’s wish to be accepted by her fellow servants?

“It’s like your desires are too biased, Rose. There are multiple forms of desires, like ‘something I want to do,’ ‘something I want done for me,’ or ‘something I want to do for another.’ But to me, it looks like your desires are extremely slanted to that last one.”

“Does that mean my personality is defective?”

“That’s not the case,” Katou said in a strong tone. “It’s biased simply because your personality is still underdeveloped. Even if it’s wrong, it’s not defective.”

“How can you say that so clearly...?”

“I can. Quite definitively. I mean, it hasn’t even been a month since you gained a heart, right? It’s entirely natural for it to be underdeveloped.”

I was completely caught off guard by her statement. It was exactly as she said. I had two moments of birth. One was when I was created, and the other was when the individual known as Rose was born. However, there was no mistaking that the second one held far more meaning to me. No matter how much time I accumulated as a soulless puppet, it was like nothing more than a stack of flimsy paper. Compared to that, a life of having a master to serve and be of use to was indescribably vivid.

As a magical puppet, I was never a baby. However, emotionally I was nothing more than a newborn babe. My feelings were still undeveloped and immature. I was far behind Lily, who had Mizushima Miho’s memories, and even Gerbera. I wanted to exist for my master’s sake. I wanted to work for his sake. I wanted to do anything and everything I could for him. That’s just how large an existence he was to me.

But that’s what it meant for my heart to be underdeveloped. I was unable to understand my master’s desire to do something for Gerbera. I once lamented at the fact I couldn’t understand the subtleties of the human heart when my master felt depressed over killing his former classmate. Perhaps that could also be attributed to this.

“But do I even possess such desires to begin with?” If that was an expression of “human-like qualities,” then it wouldn’t be all that strange for me to lack such emotions as a puppet.

However, Katou shook her head. “You do. Senpai doesn’t wish to have a convenient puppet by his side, right? I’m sure he wants someone with a firm personality. That’s precisely why the relationship between you and Gerbera has gotten so complicated. So, there’s no way you don’t have any desires of your own.”

“But I truly can’t think of anything.”

Katou looked like she was deep in thought, perhaps having understood how perplexed I was over this. And after thinking it over for a while, the crease between her brows vanished.

“Rose, has anything ever made you feel really happy?”

“Happy?” I cocked my head curiously.

“Yes. Couldn’t you say that your desire is to once more experience that sense of happiness?”

“I see.” I pondered over her easy-to-understand hint. Exhausting myself for my master like I was now was happiness to me, but...

“I mean anything except for working for Senpai’s sake and being useful to him, okay?”

She ended up cutting me off before I spoke. Well, I could understand what she was getting at. The desire I was looking for had to be “something I wanted” or “something I wanted done for me.” By discovering such an unknown facet to myself, I would surely be able to mature.

Happiness... Happiness...

“...”

Something suddenly came to mind as I repeated that word to myself.

But that much happiness was actually frightening...

“Rose? Did you think of something?”

“Oh, no. Umm... I thought of something different.”

Katou noticed my slight movements and questioned me, but I denied her on the spot. I was basically straight-up lying. Having said that, this was inevitable. “That” was out of the question. No matter what, “that” couldn’t be allowed.

She did in fact ask about what happiness I had experienced in my short life. “That” was a perfect example. It was my happiest memory and completely complied with the conditions she listed... But it could never happen again. It wasn’t even that I was aiming too high. This was insolence. I couldn’t possibly wish for it. I wasn’t allowed to desire it. I was just a puppet.

“Rose, you’re lying, aren’t you?” Katou realized I wasn’t telling the truth. My shoddy lies were entirely transparent to her. “You’re actually seriously considering what you just imagined, right?”

She had a merciless side to her that she once displayed when she cornered Lily. There was just one difference. That night she did it for my master’s sake. Today she was doing it for mine.

She probably saw through me completely with her sharp sensibilities. Meaning this was a rite of passage I had to go through to be able to grow up.

“I... I...”

Her confident attitude was pushing me to answer. However, there was another deciding factor. I became self-aware of my own wish. I couldn’t return to when I didn’t know about it. I abided by the desire I awakened to. I took the slightest glimpse of it in my mind. That was the deciding factor.

“I want...”

I resolutely mustered my courage.

“I want my master to...”

I tried putting my desire into words.

“I want my master to... hug... me...”

And just as I thought, I immediately regretted saying it.

I want my master to hug me? What’s with that? What am I thinking? There are things that should and shouldn’t be said.

There was that one time my master hugged me. It was the evening he killed his despicable former classmate. He hugged me, I hugged him back, and he fell asleep nestled up against me for the entire night.

I didn’t require sleep, so that was like an all-night dream to me. But it was of course an extreme exception. I was fully aware of this. A dream was nothing more than a dream. Seriously wishing for one was utter foolishness.

Know your place. You’re just a puppet...

But even as I rebuked myself, I couldn’t lie to my own heart. What was going on? I seriously desired to be hugged by my master.

“...Oh my gosh! Rose! You’re so cute!”

I was suddenly hugged from the front. By Katou. I froze, but after coming back to my senses, I timidly pushed her shoulders back.

“I’m sorry, Katou. Please give me some space.”

“Oh, sorry. I just got caught up in the moment.”

Katou jolted back, looking awkward and sad. It felt like she was somewhat like Lily in this regard... But I immediately realized this wasn’t the case. She was probably similar to Mizushima Miho, who my sister was mimicking. Meaning this was presumably what the girl known as Katou Mana was originally like.

“The one you want hugging you isn’t me. It’s Majima-senpai, right?”

“Um, yes, er, no, but...”

“What is it?” Katou asked with a blank look.

“...Is it not far too presumptuous for a puppet like me to want such a thing?” I timidly replied.

“I don’t think so.” Her tone was somewhat reproachful. “Are you just giving up then?”

“But... I cannot possibly trouble my master with such self-indulgence...”

“I’m sure Majima-senpai would be delighted to hear of your self-indulgence.”

“Really?”

“At least from what I’ve seen, Senpai is the type to feel sorry if all you do is devote yourself to him.”

That’s entirely possible...

It was perfectly obvious for me to devote myself to my master, but there were times he didn’t seem to like that. In which case, my desire was something great for my master.

No, but, I can’t. I can’t. This is the whispering of a devil.

“You can’t give up,” Katou said. Her tone was more like the affection and support of a mother than the whispering of a devil. “You don’t want to trouble him. In that case, it’s all fine if he’s the one who wants to hug you and does so, right?”

“So you say, but is that not impossible?” This was pretty much exactly what happened that evening, but I didn’t think there would ever be a second time.

“I’m telling you not to give up.” She tightly gripped my hand. Her fingers were dainty and frail. “You need to put in the effort to realize your dreams. Yours is one which can be fulfilled, after all.”

“What are you saying I should do?”

“It’s simple.” Katou stared right at my face. “If you’d like Majima-senpai to hug you, then you just have to get cuter.”

“Me...? Cuter...?”

“That’s right. Fortunately, you’re skilled at making tools. You should be able to use your own magic to make yourself cuter without the help of a witch, a mother’s memento, or a special stage.”

Katou’s suggestion wasn’t impossible. As a magical puppet, creating things with my magic knife was practically the very meaning of my life. As such, I could recreate my very own existence. However, it wasn’t just a matter of whether or not it was possible.

“But would such behavior be tolerated for a mere puppet like me?”

“It’s obviously okay,” she said in the strongest tone she’d used all day. “Are you listening? It’s totally natural for a girl to try and make herself cuter when she wants a boy to hug her. Things like makeup and self-improvement are precious to girls. Senpai doesn’t have the right to criticize that.”

“But I’m a puppet...”

“What are you saying? Think it over. Of course a master would want to hug his cute little puppet when she dresses up, right? Regardless of whether you’re a girl or a puppet, Senpai doesn’t have a single reason to stop you from prettying yourself up for his sake. I mean, you are a girl puppet.”

I hesitated in the face of Katou’s earnest gaze. She kept telling me I couldn’t give up. A part of me criticized whether such a thing was allowed as a servant. My rationality told me it was meaningless. Anything and everything which bound me hand and foot was placed on a scale opposite to my desire. So, which way would the scales tip?

As I stared at those scales waiting for the result... I suddenly realized I was doing something extremely foolish. The very fact I was weighing them out made it clear how much weight my desire had to me.

It wasn’t a matter of logic. This feeling was irrational and unreasonable. But now it made sense. This was what it meant to “want something.” I felt like I finally understood a fragment of what the human heart was.

“So, say I did my best to dress myself up...” I asked for confirmation once more. Thinking back on it, this was because I wanted one more push. “...Do you think my master would be pleased?”

“I’m sure he will.”

Katou blessed my determination with a reserved smile. There was no falsehood in her words. They were filled with affection and encouragement. I could clearly perceive that now. I was truly grateful. If not for her, the lock to my heart where this desire was stored away would surely have rusted from neglect. I would’ve eventually died without ever realizing something important was dear to me.

As I was now, I felt like I could one day forgive Gerbera. What she had done upset me greatly, but even so, the feeling I had which made her motives a complete mystery to me and made me feel like disregarding her was growing fainter. It was impossible right now, but one day, in the not too distant future...

“I’ll help make you cuter, of course. I’ll do everything I can to support you.”

“Thank you very much.”

I felt genuine gratitude toward this girl, gratitude which surpassed the barrier between servants and humans.

“Katou, are you...” That’s precisely why a certain doubt came to mind. “...Are you not angry with us?”

“Angry?” Katou stared at me in wonder. “Me? With you? Why would I be?”

“We were always wary of you even though our master decided to protect you. We saw you as an enemy from within. You were well aware of this, weren’t you?”

“Yes, well, Lily did say it right to my face before.”

About to jump into a life or death struggle against Gerbera, Lily confronted Katou directly about the suspicions she had harbored. And yet Katou didn’t seem to mind at all. Her tone was so casual it was like this was just a regular occurrence to her.

“Besides, I said so back then as well. I already suspected it to be the case beforehand.”

“So, shouldn’t you be angry with me? At the very least, that man called Kaga was furious with our master before he was killed.” The sight of my master talking with the only other human I had ever seen him speaking with other than Katou came to mind. My recollection of his face was rather faint by now, though.

A deep crease formed between Katou’s brows. “Lumping me together with him... really is somewhat unpleasant.”

“Pardon me,” I said as I lowered my head. “However, it might not be entirely off the mark. People would usually dislike having things hidden from them, wouldn’t they? It wouldn’t be all that strange for you to bear animosity toward us for doing so.”

I was unable to ignore my doubts after she had helped me so much. Katou was setting aside her spare time like this just to help me resolve my troubles.

“I guess so. From my point of view, it’s pretty much inevitable you would suspect me of something, but I suppose that does feel somewhat unpleasant,” Katou said with a nod.

“Then...”

“But I’m not really angry.”

This was baffling to me. Katou didn’t really feel discomfort over something which was normally grounds for being angry.

Seeing me struggle to understand, Katou cocked her head in thought. “Hmm... How to put it?” She picked up the completed shield she was looking at earlier and held it to her chest. She pressed her folded fingers to her lips and huddled up inside her sheets. “To put it simply, I sympathize with you servants.”

“Sympathy... is it? Toward us and not our master?”

“Yes. With you servants.”

I could understand Katou’s point, barring one thing. Because she sympathized with us, she understood our position and wasn’t angry. That much I knew. However, I couldn’t understand why she did. We were our master’s servants. Our very purpose for existing was to serve him. This didn’t change even now that I was aware of my hidden desire. It was a fundamental truth to my being. So, why would a human like Katou sympathize with us?

“Besides, I’m grateful to you, Rose. I mean, you’ll talk to me normally without suspecting me of anything. You’re the only one around here who does.”

“You can tell?” I asked in a surprised tone.

Katou gave a strained smile. “You’re here speaking with me now, and even on that night, you planned on bringing me along from the very beginning, right? I know you have an honest personality. You’re not the type to express yourself without words, so any insincerity would show on your face right away.”

“My face is completely featureless, though.”

“It is. That part was a joke.”

“...”

I didn’t know how serious she was being, but it was true I was easy to read. I was self-aware of this, and I was likely the most guilty of this among our group, including my master. It sounded nice to be called serious and honest, but it was perhaps more correct to refer to me as tactlessly frank and accommodating. Gerbera’s case was a perfect example of this.

Even if I did suspect Katou of something, she would definitely catch on to it right away. That’s why it was just as she said. I didn’t suspect Katou like my master or Lily did. I didn’t believe she would betray us. I didn’t wonder what she was plotting. In fact, it would be more accurate to say I didn’t understand why they suspected her in the first place.

Honestly speaking, I had a poor impression of the beings known as humans, the ones who caused my master to go through so much pain. I didn’t really like Katou when we first met. However, as I spent more time with her, that gradually began to change.

I was different from Lily in this regard. As the one who ensured the safety of my master, who possessed no strength in combat, I had a certain level of affinity with Katou, seeing that she also possessed no strength. Unlike Lily, I also lacked Mizushima Miho’s memories, so a large portion of my life since gaining an ego was spent with Katou.

That was why I didn’t hesitate to bring her along when Gerbera attacked us. Moreover, she risked her own life to save my master. That was the reason I doubted Gerbera, another servant, but didn’t doubt Katou. There was no reason to suspect her of anything after all this time.

Rather, not that I wanted to think this or even say it aloud, but my master’s distrust of Katou was actually rather strange to me. Or perhaps abnormal. Having said that, the reason my master ended up like that was perfectly clear, even to a puppet like me.

He had deep scars carved into his heart. Even now, they continued to torment him. He wouldn’t be able to fully accept Katou until those wounds healed. And he couldn’t do anything about that himself.

“I’m truly grateful you believe in me, Rose. I’d like you to be my friend, if possible.”

Katou’s isolated circumstances had been on my mind for quite a while. That’s why I was surprised yet could still comprehend her statement.

“Your friend?”

“So, it’s no good?”

I was indebted to this girl, both with regard to my master and myself. One had to repay their debts. However, I was a servant and she was a human. Our social standings were different. Our sense of values were different. Our races were different. Everything about us was hopelessly different. It would be impossible for us to be friends. But... Was that even important here?

“I guess not...” Katou said with a faint smile.

Her smile was merely for form’s sake, as if to say it was a joke. Seeing such a fleeting expression on her face, I felt my chest tightening. An incomprehensible emotion rampaged within me.

Up until now, I would’ve suppressed such impulsive feelings as something unnecessary. But now, I knew what this was. I learned about it just moments ago. She just taught me. I properly understood this was something important. I pushed the impulse in my chest back, and before I knew it, I began addressing her as she smiled meekly.

“If my master were to order it, I would point my blade at you.”

“What?”

Katou’s eyes shot open. She was absolutely shocked. Even I was surprised by what I was saying. But after a short pause, Katou cocked her head curiously.

“Why are you suddenly stating the obvious?”

So, she found this obvious. And yet she still wanted to be my friend. I couldn’t even begin to guess why she would say that. I couldn’t unravel even a fragment of the inner thoughts of this girl known as Katou Mana. But there was one thing I knew quite clearly.

She was being serious. In which case, I had to answer her sincerely. Fortunately, she was the one who taught me about the feeling of “wanting to do something.” It wasn’t logic that determined what had to be done here. I was pushed by my impulse to do what I wanted.

“If you’re fine with that...”

“Yes?”

“Then I’d also... like to be your friend.”

Katou looked shocked. Her eyes shook as if she had no idea what I just said. Her somewhat childish face gradually showed understanding as she stared at me.

“Th—” Just for an instant, it looked like she was going to cry, but she shook it off with wondrous willpower. “Thank you, Rose.”

Her lips curved into a grand smile as if she was no longer able to endure it. Just that was enough to convince me that my choice wasn’t wrong.

“So... Best regards, Rose.”

Katou held out her hand to me. It was similar to when we decided to combine forces against Gerbera, yet it was clearly different.

“But I guess it’s a little late for this, huh?”

“No. I’m sure this is necessary.” I put down my knife and gripped Katou’s hand. “I’ll be in your care, Katou.”

And that was how things went on the day I became friends with Katou Mana.