Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 2 - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Sisters’ Way

Gerbera headed directly to the arachne nest while carrying me. My consciousness was still in a haze. The world felt so far away. I didn’t really feel much pain. We went as fast as possible without encountering any monsters and arrived at the nest where Lily and the others were waiting for us.

“Master?!”

“S-Senpai!”

Rose turned around and screamed in an uncharacteristic fashion while Katou went completely pale.

“Master!” Lily leaped toward us and practically wrenched me away. I was set faceup on the floor where she ripped off my armor and tore apart my bloody clothes.

Lily gulped as if she was holding down her screams. White light immediately began pouring from her hand. This was the healing magic she specialized in. The bleeding from my bullet wounds began to subside. Magic really was impressive. A warm light enveloped my body and brought me relief... for a moment, at least.

“Gaaaargh?!”

The healing progressing meant my dulled nerves were recovering—regardless of my wounds not being fully healed yet. Healing magic was usually accompanied by an anesthetic effect, but apparently my current condition was beyond that. There was of course nothing as convenient as painkillers on hand either.

I had no choice but to grit my teeth and bear it. Katou screamed something and Lily jammed her finger in my mouth. She was stabilizing my jaw so that I wouldn’t bite my tongue. Then Lily was screaming. Sleek and firm hands held my body down. This was surely Rose, who was pinning me down as I writhed in pain. The only voice I couldn’t hear was Gerbera’s.

Where did she go?

That thought remained in the one part of my brain that was liberated from the pain assaulting my body.

“I can manage the burns with healing magic one way or another. As for the seeds...”

I could hear Lily’s sorrowful voice. They were in the middle of discussing something. I was practically reduced to an animal and no longer had the faculties to understand what they were saying. All I could process was pain.

“...Rose, your knife.”

I could only hear sounds. I didn’t understand what they meant. I didn’t want to.

“Sorry, Master.”

Something—s—dig—nto—my—bod—

“Guaah?! Aaargh?! Gaaah?!”

It hurts... It hurtsithurtsithurtsithurts—!

If this was true pain, then what was I even feeling just moments ago? It felt like this sensation was meant to destroy my very being. I writhed about as much as I could to ease my agony and suffering. I bit down as hard as I could and tried to bear it. I was liable to bite Lily’s finger right off. She undid the mimicry on her finger and a slimy and pliable substance caught my teeth.

As pain ran through my body, my muscles began contracting unnaturally. My arm reflexively began spasming, so a puppet’s hand held it down, creaking with every movement. The congestion of blood from my muscles contracting also had my body jumping about on its own.

Stomach, shoulder, collarbone, waist, and thigh. They plucked seeds out one by one as the noise of something dripping from a heavy and damp material resounded in the air. It felt like I was in hell.

I wanted to lose consciousness, but I knew this was a bad idea. I was like a sailor clinging for life aboard a ship in the middle of a storm. The moment I loosened my grip, I would sink into the darkness never to emerge again. All I could do was endure the pain.

Just endure, and endure, and endure, and endure...

I wonder how much time passed, exactly? By the time I could no longer perceive my pain as such, Lily had finished her bloody work. She once more cast healing magic. Magic really was great. If not for this, I would have died many times over already.

“No way. Why...?!”

After being reduced to nothing more than an animal, it took me a fair amount of time to regain my sanity.

“I took out all the seeds... I closed all his wounds... I treated all the burns... So... Why...?!”

I could see the white light of healing magic through my eyelids. Thanks to Lily’s earnest treatment, the pain that had been tormenting my entire body was gone. However, my body was abnormally sluggish.

Writhing about had exhausted my stamina, leaving my abused muscles spent. I had pretty much rampaged from the pain. Or at least, I think I did; I couldn’t really remember. After that, it was natural for me to be tired... But I felt like my sluggishness didn’t stem from fatigue.

My body wasn’t working on a fundamental level. I still had the shakes. My body was like a bowl with a hole in it. Because of that, I couldn’t put any strength into my muscles. It was like my own body belonged to someone else. I couldn’t even lift a single finger.

A white fog closed in from the edge of my consciousness. If I let myself fall asleep, I was sure to never wake again. I couldn’t rid myself of that bad feeling even after my wounds were supposed to be healed. Was it simply because the wounds I suffered were so great?

I knew healing magic wasn’t omnipotent. Lily’s grade 3 healing magic couldn’t deal with lost limbs. When she suffered deep wounds herself, she had to spend several days recovering. And treating the dead with healing magic was impossible. Did that mean my wounds surpassed those limits? If so, I was going to die right here.

I don’t want to die... I can’t afford to die... I still haven’t repaid...

“...It’s my fault.”

Just then, I heard Gerbera’s voice. It felt like it had been quite some time since I heard it. I faintly opened my eyes. Just doing that took a tremendous amount of effort.

I could see Lily and Rose next to me through my thin field of vision. Lily’s right hand had reverted to a human shape and was still in my mouth, while her left hand had a healing glyph on it and was hovering over my chest. Rose had practically mounted me to pin me down earlier, but now she was sitting by my right side. She was probably on standby in case I began struggling again. I could see Katou with a stiff expression, her hand on Rose’s shoulder.

Where’s Gerbera...?

I searched for a while by moving my eyes and finally found her. She was right there, a good three meters away from me. Her eight legs were folded, and her expression was completely crestfallen.

“It’s... my fault...”

Her shoulders drooped in a dejected manner. Her skin was already so white it was almost transparent, but now her face looked as white as a sheet.

“...Can you explain what happened?” Lily asked.

There was restraint in her voice. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking just by looking at her face or by listening to her. I didn’t even have the faculties to sense what she felt through our mental path.

“We...”

Gerbera began honestly retelling everything that had happened. About how we explored the forest together and my intentions for doing so. About what went on between us. About how I wanted to look for other means of searching for monsters, seeing that we hadn’t found any servants. About how we realized the nearby lake would be a good spot. About how we started taking on packs and the disaster that followed when we thought it was going well... Her summary was the same as my memory. There was just one definitive difference.

“...It’s all... my fault.” Gerbera put her hands to her head and crouched down. “I really haven’t changed. My inborn nature is the same as before. I’m nothing more than a calamity for our lord.”

Gerbera felt indebted to us. She couldn’t wipe away the past of having hurt us before. This tormented her even now like a sort of trauma.

“How foolish. I already knew this. As long as I remained nearby, I was sure to hurt you all again...!”

I had formulated many plans for Gerbera’s sake. Also, taking on packs of monsters would’ve been impossible without her. In that sense, one could interpret this as being her fault. However, that wasn’t my view of things. It was my fault it ended up like this, not hers.

Gerbera did well. The fact that I was still breathing was a result of her great efforts. There wasn’t a single reason for her to feel responsible. Her cognition that she was at fault for this was wrong. I could clearly declare that. However, Gerbera didn’t think the same.

“I should never have... remained by your side...”

Gerbera sank to the floor... and all my plans crumbled to pieces. I wanted Gerbera to accomplish something great to overturn the unfortunate first impression she gave us so that Rose would accept her. And yet, far from overturning it, we ended up with the current state of affairs.

Regardless of the circumstances, it was true that Gerbera hadn’t been able to fully protect me. All the mistakes fell into her lap because of me. Even if I wanted to call out to her now, I couldn’t speak with my weakened body. I couldn’t even make excuses for her. All I could do was look on as I was about to lose something precious to me.

Goddammit... Why did it end up like this?

It wasn’t like I was acting on a whim. I wasn’t being optimistic nor was I having fun. I thoroughly thought of what to do, worried over the possibilities, and chose a course of action that was supposed to be safe.

However, I overlooked far too much. All my efforts were thrown back into my face, resulting in a grand disaster I wanted to avert my eyes from. I went through a horrible experience and was now liable to die at any moment. To top it all off, I was going to lose something precious to me.

Why did it end up like this? All I wanted was for all of us to get along happily...

“Gerbera.”

Just then, a calm voice called Gerbera’s name. I didn’t even realize this was Lily at first. That’s just how calm her voice was. The girl who had been breaking down with my wounded body before her was nowhere to be found. She was lightly biting down on her charming lips, but she maintained her composure.

This was perhaps just a false front. Maybe it was even mimicry. She was that manner of being to begin with, specializing in showing others something she was not. However, even if that was the case, she was certainly maintaining her composure. This was something she was unable to do before.

“Did you say it’s your fault our master was hurt?” Lily’s voice was deeper than usual. “That’s why you can’t stay by his side?”

Lily’s suppressed emotions leaked somewhat through her inflection. It was anger. Lily was silently angry. However, this wasn’t directed at the fact that I was hurt.

“Do you really think our master wishes for that? Why do you think he’s pushing himself so hard? Are you planning on wasting his feelings?”

Lily was thoroughly pissed at Gerbera, who was continuously blaming herself.

“But... I...”

“I don’t want to hear any buts or howevers. You don’t get it. You really don’t get it at all. Not our master’s feelings. Not even our feelings...!”

Lily shook her head and shot a gaze at Gerbera that would’ve made anyone flinch back.

“Hey, Gerbera. Before you became our companion... I was taught just one thing by the ‘white arachne.’”

“...By me?”

“Yes. That I didn’t have enough power... My heart and body were both immature. I couldn’t protect my master on my own. I was made to know that more than I wanted to. So much so that I hated it,” Lily said bitterly.

It was actually more correct to say the truth was thrust before her rather than she was taught anything, but Lily didn’t avert her eyes from such unpleasant memories.

“However, at the same time, I learned how important it was to combine our strengths. This is just my own theory, but I think we servants are all lacking in our own ways. That’s why if we don’t compensate for each other, if we sisters don’t combine our strengths, we’d be no good.”

Lily was single-mindedly focused on the core of the matter. This was likely a problem she’d already found the answer to.

“I was our master’s first servant. In other words, I’m the eldest sister. I decided I would become worthy of this title.” She puffed out her chest with pride. She looked even larger than she usually did to me. “I may be an unreliable older sister, but I won’t ever reject or abandon my little sisters.”

“Lily...”

“That doesn’t change no matter what you think of yourself.”

Lily did in fact accept Gerbera from the very beginning, even after she hurt me. I always wondered why that was, but this was apparently the reason.

“I would like you to support our master with us. I told you this already, didn’t I?”

“But...” Gerbera began objecting, but then she remembered what Lily said. “What can I even do by supporting our lord together with him in such a state?”

Unlike Lily, who could use healing magic, Gerbera had no means of treating the injured.

“There’s naught I can do. The only thing I was capable of was preventing it from happening. So, seeing that I was unable to protect him, I no longer...”

“Nope. There’s something you can do.” Lily cast her eyes down as she objected to Gerbera’s claim. In a complete change from her firm attitude up until now, she seemed somewhat apologetic. “Actually, it’s something only you can do, I guess.”

“Something only I can do? Does such a thing exist?”

Lily nodded and looked down at me. “Just as you can see, our master is debilitated. Can you tell why?”

“Because he suffered great wounds? I’ve heard humans are quite fragile beings.”

“Mm. That’s true. But that’s not the case here.”

Gerbera frowned dubiously. “...What do you mean?”

“I have the memories of the human called Mizushima Miho. I also have my memories as a monster until this day. That’s why I can tell our master’s condition isn’t normal.”

“It isn’t... normal? How, precisely?”

“His wounds have already been healed. My magic is working properly. He should be fine after recovering to this point.”

Gerbera looked more and more baffled. “But is his complexion not getting worse by the moment?”

“Mm. That’s why there’s another reason for his condition. And I know what it is. I don’t know why it happened, though...”

“Hm?”

“There’s not enough mana in his body,” Lily plainly stated as she shifted her gaze to the arachne. “Gerbera. Don’t keep averting your eyes. Take a good look. You should be able to tell.”

Gerbera jumped with a start. She hadn’t looked at my injured body this entire time, perhaps due to her sense of guilt. But after being urged by Lily, she finally did so with timid movements.

“...It’s true. His body does seem starved for mana.”

She squinted her red eyes as she looked down at me. She already had a track record of seeing the accumulation of mana within my body and unraveling the cause for this. Seeing that her analysis was the same as Lily’s, it meant my body truly was starved for mana.

Lily returned a nod. “All beings in this world possess mana to some extent. Monsters possess a remarkable amount, but any being possesses some amount of mana. And for some reason, our master and those who were transported to this world with him also possess mana. The fact that they could use magic without any cheats related to mana means this applies to all of them.” She took a brief pause there then shook her head. “I guess that doesn’t matter right now... Anyway, being starved for mana is the abnormality here. It isn’t all that strange to be dysfunctional when exhausted of something that should be there, right? For example, I’d no longer be able to hold my body together, and Rose wouldn’t be able to move. I don’t know how mana affects their bodily functions, but even the humans from another world are negatively affected by a lack of mana.”

“...I understand what you’re saying,” Gerbera said with a complex expression as she digested the details. “However, what would you have me do? It would be impossible to treat him if the cause remains unknown.”

“A complete recovery would be, yeah. We don’t know why this is happening and all... But we can try to perform a stopgap treatment.”

“A stopgap?”

“Mm. I’d like you to share your mana with him. You can think of it as something like a blood transfusion... Oh, I guess that doesn’t make any sense to you. Umm. You said his mana has been accumulating because our mana leaks to him through the mental path, right? So, we should be able to intentionally share our mana with him using it.”

“Can I say something, Lily?” Katou asked, joining the conversation. “The blood transfusion example makes perfect sense to me. So, a certain problem does come to mind. Could something like a difference in blood types cause an issue?” Katou’s complexion was poor, but she still had the wherewithal to point out the potential danger of such action.

“You’re right. But it’ll be fine,” Lily replied as she shot a fleeting glance over to her. “...I think. He’s already receiving mana from Gerbera as it is. It’s unlikely any problems will occur... Probably.”

“What do you plan on doing if something happens?!”

Gerbera was on the verge of screaming. This only stood to reason. Lily’s idea was nothing more than a guess. If it went poorly, I might die from such a “blood transfusion.” However...

“Mm. I know. I’m also scared of what could happen. But... I don’t even need to say what will happen if we don’t do anything, do I now?”

At the current rate, I was going to die anyway. This was the only thing we had to gamble on.

“I don’t know the reason, but our master’s mana is weakening by the minute. However, if we can supply him with mana to match this...”

“It would be one thing if we can assume it’ll work out if we’re lucky, but you do not even know whether it can be done in the first place! What if, for example, I give him more mana than his capacity could hold?! By some chance, I... I... I could even kill him with my very own hands...!”

“We’ve got no choice but to believe in you there,” Lily admitted. On the surface, she looked perfectly calm. Only the finger still in my mouth trembled ever so slightly. “At the very least, you can do it better than any of us. Moreover, with your capacity for mana, you should be able to continuously supply him with the amount needed.”

Lily could manipulate magic of two different attributes and excelled in the use of mana, but she had to continuously use magic to stop my body from weakening as much as possible. Besides, she didn’t possess nearly as much mana as Gerbera. Rose could only manipulate mana for making tools and moving her body. Whereas Katou was completely out of the question. Just as Lily said, this was something only Gerbera could do.

But even so...

Say, for example, that someone would die if their stomach wasn’t cut open. How many people could do so without hesitation? Now say it was someone dear to them. The closer they were, the harder it was to maintain their composure. And with such a lack of composure, it was clear that only failure awaited them. This was the same logic behind doctors abstaining from operating on their own relatives.

“I... I can’t...”

The simple thought that she could kill someone dear to her prevented Gerbera from moving. It was entirely natural. So, was there any way Lily wouldn’t have predicted this? Of course there wasn’t.

“Please, Gerbera.” Lily looked straight into Gerbera’s eyes and then bowed deeply. “I know you’re scared of hurting our master. I also know this could kill him. I’m fully aware this is an endlessly cruel request. But I’d like to entrust this task to you.” She had a full grasp of the situation, but she still lowered her head. “Please, Gerbera. Save our master.”

“Lily...”

Gerbera stared back at her. Her red eyes were still filled with an abnormal level of fear at the thought of hurting me. However, as she gazed at the top of Lily’s flaxen head, her fear gradually dissipated. Gerbera feared solitude by nature, so conversely, her feelings of wanting to be of use to her companions were tremendously strong. Lily’s words were enough to shake her heart. The dispirited expression on her graceful face vanished and was now replaced with resolution. Her long, thin white hair swayed as she nodded.

“...Very well.”

“Gerbera!” Lily cheerfully shouted as she raised her head.

“Leave it to me,” Gerbera replied with an awkward smile plastered on her beautiful face.

She unfolded her legs and stood up, then she started walking toward me step-by-step. Three meters, then two. The distance between us slowly vanished.

“...”

However, her resolute steps were suddenly hampered by hesitation. The reason for this was clear. Gerbera’s red eyes were focused on the wooden puppet looking up at her.

“R-Rose...”

Her determination wavered. The fear that was supposed to have vanished was revived. Rose was the one who objected the most to entrusting Gerbera with my safety. What exactly were her thoughts on this matter? What would she say here? Such questions were clearly going through Gerbera’s mind.

“...What are you doing?” Rose said as she looked up at her with her featureless face. “Provide our master with your mana already.”

“Huh?” Gerbera muttered in blank astonishment.

She simply stood there in a daze, blinking repeatedly as if she couldn’t understand what Rose had said. Maybe she even felt this was a bit anticlimactic after putting herself on guard. I felt the same in this regard.

“Is that truly alright?”

“What is?”

“Do you not distrust me, Rose?”

Rose fell silent at that question. Although, she didn’t do so out of displeasure. She was simply thinking of how to respond, and her silence didn’t last all that long. This was perhaps because she had been thinking of her relationship with Gerbera all this time.

“Lily already told you this, so I’ll just be repeating after her... Rather, I’ll be asking you the very same question,” Rose said as a preface. “Gerbera, you said this was all your fault, correct?”

“Y-Yes...”

“I’m sorry to disagree with Lily, but I think so as well.”

Gerbera was on the verge of tears. She was inevitably thinking of how Rose would never come to accept her now.

“But... In that case, the same applies to me,” Rose continued. “No. My responsibility here is heavier. I couldn’t forgive you. I couldn’t accept you no matter what. My tactlessness, obstinacy, and immaturity brought about this situation.”

“Th-That’s not... You did so out of concern for our lord, did you not?”

“Even so, that doesn’t serve as an excuse for bringing about this result. At the very least, blaming you for this is barking up the wrong tree. As such, perpetrating further blunders would no longer be a matter of mere obstinacy on my part. It would simply be foolish.” Rose paused and then shook her head. “No, this is still dodging the issue, isn’t it...? There is something I must honestly tell you.”

Rose sounded like she was persuading herself. She took a look at Katou, who had her hand on Rose’s shoulder, then turned to face Gerbera once more.

“Gerbera, I cannot come to like you. I’ve come to understand your wish, due to certain circumstances. I’ve also... come to know of my own worthless wish. However, that doesn’t change the fact that I don’t like you. I still resent you for hurting our master for such a reason. However...”

After taking a short pause to focus her attention on her own feelings, Rose told Gerbera of the truth which lay deep in her heart.

“Even so, you’re my little sister.”

Gerbera’s red eyes opened wide like saucers. “Rose...”

“I’m also Lily’s little sister. I didn’t only feel a sense of duty to accept you because our master did... I also had feelings of wanting to accept you as a sister.”

Rose was usually one to discard her own opinions. Thinking back on it, this might have been the very first time she expressed such complex emotions. At the same time, it very easily expressed her intention to compromise and reconcile.

“Please take care of our master.” Rose lowered her head and stepped aside.

Something needed to happen to urge these two to reconcile. I couldn’t help but feel it was bad luck that this was what served as that trigger, but... even so, seeing the ice melt between my two servants was something worth celebrating.

“My Lord.” Gerbera came right up to my side. There was no timidity left in her expression. I could tell she was being supported by Lily and Rose’s words. “Please entrust your body to me.”

White threads fell from all her fingers as she held both her hands over me. My entire body was now connected to her.

“Let’s begin.”

Gerbera began passing her mana through the threads. Her slender fingers lit up with white lights which passed down like electricity and flowed into my body. It felt like something that was lacking within the vessel of my body was now filling up. My entire body trembled. This was the very first time I truly felt mana.

Gerbera completely immersed herself with a face which could only be described as earnest, while Rose and Lily watched over her as she tried to live up to their expectations.

I’m sure they’ll be fine now...

The moment that thought passed through my mind, a sense of relief suddenly overcame me. Drowsiness flooded over my body like a surging wave, washing all my senses away. And without being able to see things through to the very end, my consciousness drifted away right then and there.