Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 2 - Chapter SS

Extra Story: Inexplicable Words ~Rose’s POV~

“Uoooh?!”

A sword with a steel-like luster reflected the dull early morning sunlight as it ran through the air. The one gripping said sword was a young man, his honest and sincere features tightly drawn in a stern expression—my master.

The one facing off against him was the white arachne, Gerbera. Her legs were intercepting our master as he charged in. This was of course just a mock battle. They had been doing this for the past few days, so there was no danger to his life.

However, it didn’t change the fact that their training was quite rough. Our master ate dirt many times over, leaving his body smeared in mud and wounds. His breathing was particularly ragged. If he was to take off his shirt, his body would surely be covered in bruises. The reason his left arm was moving a little strangely today was likely because of an abnormality in his joints or bones.

Now that he was capable of using mana, our master’s athleticism was somewhat enhanced. However, it didn’t change the fact that such wounds were painful. After having been on the verge of death multiple times now, he had managed to build up a resistance to pain, but that only meant he was enduring it.

The sight of our master swinging his sword with his teeth clenched was unrefined. Nevertheless, he didn’t give off a frail impression. This was surely because of the unyielding zeal one could sense from watching him.

“Are you worried about Majima-senpai, Rose?” Katou asked, likely realizing I was constantly shooting glances over to my master.

She was sitting down behind me and leaning against my body with her palms on my arms. By doing so, I was trying to help her sense the flow of mana born within me when I worked on magic tools. This was an absolutely necessary step for her to learn magic. She was truly passionate about learning. I didn’t know what drove her like this. Her zeal was perhaps comparable to my master’s as he went through intense training to strengthen his body. That was why I predicted she would be able to clear this hurdle rather quickly, contrary to expectations.

“I’m not worried.”

My hands came to a stop as I answered Katou’s question. I didn’t plan on criticizing Gerbera after all this time. I believed she would be able to train our master’s body well. One could say this was a form of trust.

“But I would prefer if he didn’t push himself too hard...”

He had Lily’s healing magic, so it was fine for him to be somewhat unreasonable. That’s what he said, at least. I understood the reasoning behind this. I also didn’t doubt this was a terrifyingly efficient way of training. But it was also paired with pain which matched its efficiency. He was simply absorbing all that pain, so it was a little difficult for me to watch.

“It can’t be helped,” Katou said with a chuckle. “Majima-senpai is a boy, after all.”

“Does sex have anything to do with this?”

“Boys have a tendency to be unreasonable when it’s something they can’t yield on. Getting anxious from watching that makes you more like a girl, Rose... Your case includes your feelings as his servant, though. That actually may be why you feel like the source of your feelings is unclear.”

“...”

It was very difficult to understand what Katou said sometimes. But still, I kept her words in mind so that I could one day understand them.

“Ah.”

My master’s training came to an end while we were talking. Or to be more precise, it was interrupted. He was lying on the ground after eating a good strike. He had apparently lost consciousness and didn’t show any signs of getting up.

Lily immediately ran over to him and began casting healing magic. She then turned to us as we watched on and waved her hand, telling us there was nothing to worry about. She started nursing our master after that, and Gerbera came back toward us on her own.

She picked up the bucket and towel that had been prepared beforehand as Ayame, who had been playing on her own as to not get in the way, came running over. She hopped lightly a few times and landed on Gerbera’s white head.

“Good work out there, Gerbera,” I told her.

“Mm. I see you’re hard at work today as well, Rose,” she replied with a broad grin as Ayame settled on her head.

Seeing her radiant beauty as she smiled made me cock my head curiously.

“...You seem to be in a good mood.”

She was awfully happy whenever she finished training with our master. It was clearly different from her happiness when she simply spoke with him.

“I-It’s a misunderstanding!” she replied as her eyes shot open. “I-I’m not really finding it fun to injure our lord, just so you know!”

She waved both her hands in the air and began making excuses in a fluster. Her vigor sent Ayame tumbling off her head and onto her spider abdomen; she growled cutely in protest.

“Oh. Sorry, Ayame.” The little fox once more leapt up onto her head as Gerbera turned back toward me. “In any case, it’s a misunderstanding.”

“I can see that, but...”

I wasn’t even thinking of that, so it’s actually more suspicious when you so desperately deny it... No, I can’t think like that.

I began admonishing myself for doing so.

“I simply feel like my heart flutters seeing our lord so desperately struggling through the pain.”

“Stay put right there, Gerbera,” I said as I suddenly stood up with my knife in hand.

“Huh...? Oh.” Gerbera’s beautiful face turned pale upon realizing what she’d just said. “Y-You’re misunderstanding! Rose! It’s a terrible misunderstanding!”

“What misunderstanding? You clearly stated that you enjoy tormenting our master.”

“Stop; cut it out, Rose.” Katou held me back as I began closing in on Gerbera. Because of our previous posture, I had ended up knocking her over when I stood up. She got back up and wrapped her arms around my waist to stop me. “Gerbera’s phrasing didn’t mean that. Right? Gerbera?”

“M-Mm.”

“So, what meaning did it have?” I asked.

“It means Gerbera is also a girl.” I looked over my shoulder as Katou smiled at me ever so slightly. “Please give it some thought. For whose sake is Majima-senpai trying so hard for? He’s clenching his teeth and doing his best so that he doesn’t hinder his servants, so he can be together with all of you forever, right?”

“Yes. That’s right. It’s something to be thankful for.”

“Is that all you think about it? Do you have any other opinions regarding this?”

“...I also find it somewhat troubling.”

Katou put her hand to her mouth and giggled quietly. “Right, that. Exactly. It’s troubling, right? He pushes himself to do his best and endures all the pain and suffering, even though nobody asked for it.”

“...That’s going a little far, Katou.”

“Nope. I’m actually complimenting him. Majima-senpai is a boy. Gerbera is feeling something precisely because she’s watching this from close up.”

Her words were wrapped in mystery to me, but Gerbera repeatedly nodded her head. Ayame, who was still perched up there, let out a huff like Gerbera was being a bother by doing so.

“Oh. Looks like Majima-senpai is up.”

Katou suddenly looked off into the distance. I followed her gaze and saw my master lying limp atop Lily’s slime body. It looked like Lily had just started talking with him.

“Oh yeah,” Katou said as she clapped her hands. “How about you take care of Senpai once in a while, Rose? It’s always Lily and Gerbera taking care of him, so it should be fine for you to take a turn once in a while, right?”

Katou picked up the towel and bucket Gerbera was carrying and handed them over to me.

“...Very well.”

I still wasn’t fully satisfied with her earlier explanation, but I couldn’t possibly complain about taking care of my master. Thus, I got moving and headed toward him.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Oh. Rose, what’s up?” Lily asked with a smile as I drew closer. “You’re bringing the towel over...? How unusual.”

She put her hand to her shapely chin, and upon realizing something, her eyebrows shot up as she looked over in the direction I came from.

“So, I guess you’ll be looking after our master today, huh?”

Lily smiled cheerfully as she used magic to fill the bucket with water. She urged me on as I wet the towel and wrung it out.

“Excuse me, Master.”

“...Rose?”

Normally, our master waited until he recovered a certain amount of stamina after his training before returning to camp. This was actually the first time I saw him up close like this immediately after he was done. He was still completely limp because of Gerbera’s merciless training regimen. In just a little bit of time, he would regain enough strength to get himself to his feet. This resilience was also a blessing of being able to strengthen his body with mana. Having said that, he seemed troubled that he couldn’t even move a single finger right now.

My master was sweating profusely. He was going to wash himself off right after this anyway, but the feeling of sweat and dirt all over his body was surely uncomfortable. I diligently wiped down his body as Lily watched over us with a gentle gaze. And just then, he looked up at me through his faintly opened eyelids.

“Thanks, Rose.”

He smiled slightly through his exhausted expression. I couldn’t sense any frailty in him, much like before. I could feel passion through the towel in my hand. I could understand where his passion was directed. I was aware a portion of it was pointed at me. I was troubled by the fact that he was pushing himself so hard for my sake... yet that definitely wasn’t all. It was embarrassing in a somewhat restless way. This complex emotion felt like a burning heat within my wooden body. Despite that, it didn’t feel bad in the least.

“...It’s nothing. It’s only natural for us to take care of you, Master.”

I was unable to respond to my master’s gratitude in any other way as I continued to care for him silently. Such was how the morning went when I understood a fragment of what Katou had said. Not with my head, but with my heart.