Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 3 - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: As a Servant, As a Master

After the memorial service for the casualties in the Woodlands ended, we returned to the surface. I felt a sense of liberation by doing so, not only because of the claustrophobic feeling down there. The atmosphere of the underground mausoleum had a peculiar weight to it.

“About your plans after this, Takahiro, Miho, did you intend on joining the others for training?” Shiran asked as we came out of the staircase. “I heard from the commander that the other saviors should be finishing their training about now. As such, um... Seeing that you missed your opportunity to participate because you accompanied me for the memorial service of my comrades, though it may be presumptuous of me, I can teach you two regarding swordsmanship and spearmanship. How about it?”

It honestly wasn’t a bad offer. My training with Gerbera up until now had been extremely useful in getting my body accustomed to battle. However, it did have one major flaw. Gerbera excelled in battle, but she prided herself in overwhelming strength. She didn’t rely on any tricks, so she had no knowledge whatsoever of martial arts. Obviously, she couldn’t teach something she knew nothing about.

On the other hand, for a weak human like me, the craftiness of martial arts was an absolute necessity for me to avoid being a hindrance to my companions in battle. In that sense, Shiran’s proposal wasn’t bad at all. She had already perceived I could use mana, anyway. I didn’t have to worry about exposing myself by training with her. There weren’t any other students around either, so I could be more at ease. Furthermore, no matter what shape it took, participating in some manner of training at least once could serve as an excuse to abstain from any further sessions.

I exchanged glances with Lily, and after she nodded back to me, I accepted Shiran’s offer.

◆ ◆ ◆

After that, we waited for Kei to wash her tear-streaked face before heading over to a training ground. There was a slight miscalculation on my part here. With the students gone, soldiers were now using the space for their regular training. They would surely make room for us if I caused a scene, but I didn’t like flaunting the authority of even a perverse savior like that. It was just myself and Lily training, so we didn’t need a very big space anyway. So, we asked Shiran to guide us over to a smaller room where we began learning the basics of martial arts.

There was a limit to what could be done in half a day. All Shiran taught me was how to swing a sword, but there were many things to learn, such as how to move my weight when stepping in and how to hold up the edge of the blade. Shiran was a good teacher. It would still take some time to be able to put any of this into practice, though.

Lily finished her training quickly and switched to spectating. She wasn’t really slacking off or anything. She was just making sure she didn’t draw undue suspicion because of her abnormal stamina as a monster. We had managed to get this far without anyone learning her identity, but there was no such thing as being too careful. I had in fact ended up in one sweat-inducing incident already.

“The way you use mana is rather peculiar, isn’t it, Takahiro?”

When Shiran had said that, it felt like all the blood drained from my face at once, despite being flushed from the physical exertion. I had learned how to use mana from Gerbera...from a high monster. Moreover, the large majority of the mana flowing within me came from her and my other servants. Maybe the very nature of my mana was different from normal humans. Shiran had sensed something about that.

“You can tell that kind of thing?”

“I am a spiritualist, after all. It’s impossible to sympathize with spirits if you do not excel in the use of mana.”

In general, it sounded like elves were similar to cheaters. Perhaps that was why they ended up being discriminated against.

“I guess it’s because I taught myself. The way I use mana might be different from the typical person.”

“No. Even when self-taught, mana does not normally flow in that manner.”

“I-Is that so? Then... Right. Isn’t it because I’m from another world?”

“I see. That may certainly be the case. Anything could happen with the saviors.”

Other than that one hiccup, the time passed without any particular problems. I ended up continuing my training until evening. The room didn’t have windows, so nighttime came by before I even knew it.

We ended up missing dinner, so Shiran arranged for meals to be carried to our room. After my training was done, Kei prepared some drinking water and a damp cloth. Lily happily took care of me by wiping off my sweat with the cloth. As my guard, she couldn’t leave my side, so she watched my training the entire time. I thought it would be boring for her, but she was all smiles.

“Hm?”

“...It’s nothing.”

Lily turned to me after realizing I was staring at her. I shook my head. Watching her enjoy herself so much made me very happy. I decided to let her do as she pleased as she practically hummed while looking after me.

◆ ◆ ◆

After thanking Shiran for arranging dinner for us, Lily and I returned to our room. I washed myself off with the hot water Kei brought us and changed into my jersey. I had my dinner and then lay down in bed.

“Are you tired, Master?” Lily asked as she sat down next to me.

“Yeah, a little.”

My fatigue melted away and turned into drowsiness. The exhaustion remaining in my arms and joints was a result of the training I did with Shiran. It was nothing major. If pushed to say it, my mental fatigue was far more substantial.

Ever since coming to this fortress, I had been on edge at all times other than when I was in this room. I thought it was the same feeling as being constantly vigilant of monster attacks while living in the Woodlands, but the sensation felt heavier here in the fortress.

Monsters aside from my servants would attack me on sight. The distinction between friend and foe was black and white. Because I could tell in an instant how to deal with someone, life in the Woodlands was easier.

Things were different here, however. Everything around me was a shade of gray. I had to keep on guard against every human I passed by. But I couldn’t just attack them and remove any obstacles.

Fortunately, my time wasn’t wasted by being here. I’d learned a lot by coming here. On the other hand, there were still no signs I was going to be able to resolve my problems. The more I knew, the clearer my difficult situation became.

“You know what, Master...? Master? Did you fall asleep?”

I had spent the entire day in the fortress, so my fatigue was rather considerable. Just as I was about to tell her I was still awake, my consciousness sank away into the darkness.

◆ ◆ ◆

The third day of our stay at Fort Tilia...

“Tired...”

“You’re as bad with mornings as ever, Master.”

I listened to Lily’s exasperated, yet somehow charming, voice as I stifled a yawn. It was still early in the morning, a gloomy sky visible outside the window. We waited for Shiran to come to our room. We had agreed to continue learning martial arts from her. Shiran was often active early in the morning, so she had invited us to join her.

She was a good teacher. I had been swinging around my sword in a self-taught manner before this, so I managed to learn far more from yesterday’s training than I expected. And now I had the opportunity to learn even more from her. I couldn’t complain just because it was early in the morning.

I stifled another yawn when a knock came on our door. Lily went to get it. I thought Shiran had arrived, but it was actually my shaggy-haired friend.

“Yo. Morning, Takahiro, Mizushima.”

“Huh? What brings you here, Kaneki?” Lily asked.

“I heard Lieutenant Shiran is teaching Takahiro how to use a sword, so I thought I’d join in,” he answered as he gave me a wave.

“You?” I asked with a cocked head. “What brought on this turn of events?”

“Uhh, how do I put it?” Mikihiko smiled in embarrassment. “I’ve also been training with Lieutenant Shiran every now and then. So, well, that’s how it is.”

“Is that so?”

I was assaulted by a small fit of laughter. He was embarrassed to be seen putting in some effort. I knew about this part of his personality very well already.

“Besides, it’ll be more fun to get some exercise with you rather than those hero wannabes and the guys trying to wake up to their cheats. The commander also has a lot of trust in the lieutenant. I’ve learned how to strengthen my body and use simple magic, somewhat.”

“I see. That’s pretty much the same as me. It’ll be convenient for Shiran to teach us together, then. Well, I can’t use magic, though.”

“That’s fine. All I can really use is the grade 1 water magic I learned back in the Colony. I mean, I would’ve died in the Woodlands without it. It’s been more than useful already. But I don’t really have much talent for magic. I learned body strengthening after getting here and have been working on it pretty much exclusively.” Mikihiko flicked the hilt of a shortsword at his waist. “Seems I’ve got more potential with this than magic, anyway.”

“Oh yeah, you’re using a shortsword?”

“Damn straight.”

Mikihiko had four sturdy-looking shortswords with thirty-centimeter-long blades hanging from his waist. He drew two of them out of their sheaths backhanded and a metallic ringing resounded through the room. His smooth movements demonstrated his familiarity with them. It showed how serious Mikihiko was about his training.

“Two at once?”

“Yup. Ain’t it cool?”

This part was just like him. Although, the fact that he had spares at the ready indicated he wasn’t just playing around. He properly took actual combat situations into consideration.

Mikihiko returned his swords to their sheaths and puffed out his chest. “My goal is to be a master of everything! I’m aiming to be the commander’s knight. I figured I’d start with getting familiar with an accessible weapon and have been studying under Lieutenant Shiran.”

He then took a look around the room. “So, where is she?”

“We were just waiting for her. She should be here soon...”

We heard a knock just as I was in the middle of talking.

Speak of the devil, I guess.

This time it was Shiran.

“Good morning, Takahiro, Miho. I see Mikihiko is with you as well.”

“Yeah. Morning, Shiran... Is something wrong?”

I knit my brows. There was a shadow hanging over Shiran’s humble expression.

“My apologies, Takahiro,” Shiran said as she lowered her head with a sorrowful look. “Regarding this morning’s training... Would you mind waiting for a short while before we begin?”

“I don’t really mind. Did something happen?”

“Yes. After telling Kei to prepare for this morning’s training, I haven’t been able to find her.”

“...What?” I narrowed my eyes.

“This has never happened before, so I’m worried about her.”

Shiran looked distraught. I learned how dearly she thought of her niece Kei after seeing them in the mausoleum yesterday. Of course this would shake her.

“Excuse me, but I would like to go search for her. This means breaking my promise with you, so I wanted to inform you of such first...”

“I understand. It’s really no problem. Please prioritize your search for Kei. Actually, we’ll help too.”

“Huh? No, that’s...”

Just as Shiran was about to refuse my proposal, Mikihiko cut in with a flippant smile. “It’s fine, it’s fine. We’ve got nothing to do anyway,” he said as he pushed Shiran into the hallway. “Get going already, Lieutenant. We’ll start searching right away too.”

“V-Very well. Then, though it pains me, please lend me your assistance.” Shiran hesitantly bowed and took her leave.

After seeing her off, Mikihiko turned back toward me. “That work for you, Takahiro?”

He’d apparently jumped in because he’d seen I was struggling to respond. I was grateful for his somewhat pushy side at times like these.

“Sorry about that. That really helped us out.”

“It’s fine. So, what’s going on? You’re gonna explain things, right?” Mikihiko asked with a curious gaze.

“Yeah. I only have a baseless suspicion of what happened, but Kei may have disappeared as a result of being near us.”

All composure vanished from Mikihiko’s expression. “Aren’t you overthinking things a little?”

“Maybe, but maybe not.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Judging from our conversations yesterday, Kei is a very serious girl. I don’t think she would slack off to play around somewhere. It’s more natural to assume something happened. What’s more, Shiran said this has never happened before. Even her close relative can’t remember a similar incident. It’s highly probable, then, that ‘something’ that hadn’t been there before caused this, like the people who recently showed up at this fortress.”

“Can’t count it out completely, huh? I see. You’ve got a point. They’ve been here three days now. It’s about the right time for the excited dumbasses to start acting like idiots.”

Unlike Shiran, both Mikihiko and I knew their visitors from our world weren’t anything like heroes. It wouldn’t be strange for some of them to act however they pleased after being pampered like this.

“Tch. I should’ve kept an eye on those bastards!” Mikihiko groaned as he kicked the floor in frustration.

I rebuked Mikihiko. “Calm down. We don’t know if it’s actually the case yet.”

It was in fact uncertain whether it was one of our peers or not. However, if it was... My mind recalled the image of the miserable end Mizushima Miho had faced, as well as the image of Katou when I first saw her in that hut.

“Anyway, let’s get to it quickly,” I said with a shake of my head.

Mikihiko nodded, his expression stern. “Right. Even if someone saw what happened, they might hold their tongue if Lieutenant Shiran asks ’cause of their special privileges as saviors. On that point, we’re equals. We can probably get it out of them.”

“Let’s split up. I’ll search with Mizushima.”

“Mm. Good idea. It’ll be dangerous for Mizushima to be on her own if we’re up against some idiot. Okay. See you later.”

Mikihiko rushed off, and Lily and I started our search for Kei. We walked down the corridor with quick steps. We didn’t pay any attention to the soldiers who courteously bowed to us. We had no intentions of asking around for information like Mikihiko suggested. Having said that, we weren’t just blindly running around either.

“Lily.”

“I know. You need my nose, right?”

Lily gave me a reliable nod as we came to a mutual understanding. We headed to the room where we trained with Shiran yesterday. The plan was to come here for some exercise this morning. Shiran had told Kei to prepare for that, so it was highly likely she came here or somewhere nearby. Lily could chase Kei’s scent from here by mimicking the firefang’s sense of smell.

Lily took the lead as we rapidly moved through the fortress, encountering fewer people the farther we progressed.

“It smells like rusty iron,” she said as she sniffed the air. “It’s probably the smell of armor.”

“This area must be used for storage or something, then.”

That was why there was nobody around. What would Kei be doing here...? What could be done to her here? My bad premonition started to feel like it had a sense of reality to it. I quickened my footsteps.

“Found you.”

Before long, we found a blond boy and a blonde girl in an unpopulated corridor. The girl’s hair was naturally blonde and was practically transparent. The boy dragging her by the wrist had dyed blond hair which showed black roots, meaning he was one of the students who came from my world.

This boy, treated like a great hero here in this fortress, was doing something absolutely unheroic. He was in the middle of dragging a girl still in her tender years into a room. Her childish face was stiff with fear, yet she was unable to resist, seeing who he was.

“...”

This was the worst-case scenario I’d hypothesized. However, it had yet to reach a full disaster. It seemed we managed to make it here in time. Having said that, I didn’t feel relief. My heart was already filled with an entirely different emotion.

The boy noticed me as I drew closer with quick steps.

His expression twisted with displeasure into a grimace. He began clamoring about something or other.

His attitude was quite different compared to when I was faced with him yesterday morning. I wondered why that was. Then I realized it was because the situation here was a little different.

There was no exploration team here.

It was so easy to understand that it was disgusting.

I kept up my pace as I drew closer, and upon reaching him, I grasped the boy’s head in my palm as he cursed, bitched, and moaned at me.

There was no use arguing. Before he could even react, I slammed his face into the door of the room he was trying to drag the girl into. Blood spurted from his nose and he lost consciousness without letting out so much as a scream. I let go and his body collapsed to the floor. It was all too quick.

He was full of openings. Even someone like me could easily overpower him. He undoubtedly believed he could hurt others by doing whatever the hell he wanted without ever being attacked himself. There was no need to bother Lily with this.

But maybe this was pretty much to be expected. This guy hadn’t gone through unrelenting combat training. He hadn’t experienced being on the precipice of life and death. He had no resolve. He simply wielded the privilege of being a savior as his shield to do whatever he wanted. He only stood on the side of brandishing violence, not receiving it. That was the kind of human he was.

I looked away from the boy and turned around. “Are you okay?”

Kei had fallen to her butt and was looking up at me with wide eyes and a gobsmacked expression.

“...Oh, right. You can’t understand me now, huh?”

I came from another world, whereas Kei was local to this one. With no translation runestone nearby, we couldn’t understand each other. I scratched my head wondering what to do when Kei rose to her feet and started yelling.

“—, —! —!”

“Whoa there.”

I was surprised by the sudden movement, but she was just clinging to me. My name was somewhere in the middle of the words she was yelling.

“—, —...”

Kei burst into tears. It was surely a frightening experience for her. Even if it was only an attempted crime, it didn’t mean her heart was left unscarred. I brushed her head as gently as possible as I turned to look over my shoulder.

“...”

I looked down at the fallen blond boy, blood splattering out of his nose—

“You can’t kill him,” Lily said as she suddenly grasped my shoulder.

That brought me back to my senses. I awkwardly scratched my head. I wasn’t displaying a clear intent to kill him, but if she hadn’t restrained me, I don’t know what I would’ve done myself.

“...Sorry.”

“Don’t be, Mas—Majima. I know full well that you hate people like this, and the reason you do.”

“...”

We’d planned from the very beginning that while Lily was pretending to be Mizushima Miho, unless something extreme called for it, I would handle anything that came up here. However, I wasn’t planning to finish him off. I didn’t have any hesitance to dirty my hands in blood after all this time, but this wasn’t the place for it.

It was different from the three boys I had found in that hut. It was different from Kaga. This wasn’t the lawless forest. I couldn’t forget that this was human territory. Even if I knew I could probably escape punishment using the special consideration they gave their saviors, and the fact that he was scum trying to assault a little girl, I couldn’t afford to finish him off here.

I don’t even get what’s right or wrong anymore... But even as I felt at a complete loss over this, I continued to gently brush Kei’s head as she cried in my chest.

“...?”

Just then, I noticed someone watching us. I overlooked it until now because of my tunnel vision, but there was another boy in the corridor, sitting on the floor against the wall.

“...Kudou?”

It was the bullied kid I had exchanged one or two words with yesterday. For some reason, one of his cheeks was swollen. Lily noticed him a little earlier than me and walked up toward him.

“Are you alright? Umm...”

Just then, she turned back around. She immediately came back and clung to my body. The reason for this was to fulfill her role as my guard.

“Y-You fucker! The hell...do you think you’re doing...?!”

The blond boy, Sakagami Gouta, regained consciousness and rose to his feet with wobbly steps.

“Y-You’ll...regret this!”

Sakagami glared at me with bloodshot eyes as blood dripped from his nose.

“You’ll definitely regret this!”

His resentment was completely unjustified. His insanity-fueled anger was endlessly shallow. But there was an instability to this which was characteristic of such shallow humans. A sense of danger ran down my spine, one which differed in nature entirely from when I was faced with monsters. Humans like this would do anything. I had a premonition. This guy would never let go of his misdirected resentment.

It was possible a horrible tragedy would come of this. He didn’t need a lofty reason like losing something important to him. On the contrary, such trivial matters often gave birth to troublesome situations. I’d learned this from my experience when the Colony was destroyed.

Kei was a good girl. Shiran always faced others with sincerity. Mizushima Miho and Katou also didn’t deserve what happened to them. So, why did those girls have to be hurt by these bastards? Was it really all right for me to let this guy go free? Wouldn’t it be better to quietly eliminate him now? My hand unconsciously reached for the wooden sword at my waist, but just before anything could happen...

“What’s going on?!”

A man’s voice cut in between us as we glared each other down. I kept a careful eye on Sakagami and shifted my focus toward the voice, where Juumonji was standing. He walked up to us with an angry expression. I wasn’t sure whether his timing was good or bad. With this development, I had no choice but to stop my hand.

“Another fight? What is it this time...?”

“Tch... It’s nothing.” Sakagami’s attitude changed in an instant. He threw me a hateful look and then walked past Juumonji with quick strides.

“Ugh, stop! Sakagami!”

Juumonji hesitated for a bit, but after shooting us a look, he decided to chase after Sakagami.

“Majima, Mizushima, and...Kudou, was it? I’ll be taking care of this. Don’t do anything unnecessary, got it?!”

His voice was filled with inconcealable irritation. It turned out acting like a leader was rather troublesome. It seemed Juumonji had accumulated quite a lot of stress over these three days. It was understandable. Other than being a cheater, Juumonji was nothing more than a student. A troublemaker like Sakagami was an endless source of headaches.

With that, Juumonji ran off without waiting for a reply as he grumbled in frustration. “Seriously. How long does he plan on acting like he’s still in that world? Why do I have to be cursed with a guy who doesn’t understand that everything is different here...?!”

This is another world. Everything is different from where we came from. Juumonji had said something similar yesterday. He certainly had a point. He was also right about Sakagami acting like he didn’t understand any of this. On the other hand, I honestly doubted whether Juumonji, who easily broke through any obstacles up until now thanks to his cheats, understood the difference himself.

If he truly understood the difference between worlds, why would he try to act like he was some kind of hero...? My thoughts were pretty much just the mundane envy of the unlucky toward the lucky, however...

“What are you even saying? Nothing has changed at all...” Kudou mumbled.

And as I pondered over such things, those words left a strangely strong impression on me.

The bullied kid, Kudou Riku, had risen to his feet while my attention was distracted by Juumonji’s arrival.

“Are you okay? Did you hit your head?” Lily asked him with a worried look.

“I’m okay,” he replied with a slight smile on his thin face. “Umm, I’m used to this.”

He looked fully aware of his surroundings and his footsteps were steady. There was no need to worry about any major injuries.

“Hm? What’s up?”

Kei, who was still clinging to my chest, began to stir.

“—, —.”

She let go of me with a sniffle and said something in a language we couldn’t understand. Then she bowed her head to Kudou. I shifted my gaze from Kei over to the boy with a swollen cheek.

“...Did you maybe get punched for sticking up for this girl?”

“Ahaha... Not that I managed to accomplish anything, as embarrassing as it is...”

Kudou forced a smile and scratched his swollen cheek. Touching it must have hurt because the edge of his lips spasmed briefly. He drew back his smile then gave us a light bow.

“I’m glad you came, Senpai. Please take care of her.”

“Sure thing.”

Kudou left, his steps a little unstable. There was now only Lily, Kei, and myself left in the empty corridor.

“What’s wrong?” Lily asked as she cocked her head and looked at me from the side.

“...Nothing.”

I shook my head. The meaning behind Kudou’s words was still on my mind, just a little. Nothing had changed. That was what he said. I found it strange he could claim that after coming to this world. In any case, there was something to do before that.

“—, —!”

I lowered my gaze as something tugged on the front of my clothes. Kei was looking up at me with reddened eyes.

“Let’s head back for now. Shiran is worried.”

I plopped my hand on top of Kei’s head. Her humble and attractive features resembled Shiran’s as she gave me a gentle smile. I decided that, for now, it was at least a good thing I had managed to protect this smile.

◆ ◆ ◆

After contacting Shiran and Mikihiko, it was decided that Kei would take shelter in our room. We borrowed a new translation runestone and Kei spent the whole day there. We still had a lot to learn about this world, and Kei was also quite interested in mine, so our conversations were fixed on these two points.

While we were at it, I managed to ask about acquiring runestones. Most runestones were apparently rather expensive. Translation runestones in particular were only used for conversing with visitors from other worlds, so with no demand, they very rarely showed up on the marketplace. It was very difficult to acquire one without going through the army or the knights. This was a bit of a problem, and it apparently showed on my face. I had no choice but to deceive Kei when she looked at me curiously.

“Thank you very much for taking care of Kei.”

When night came, Shiran finished her work with the knights and came to pick Kei up.

“I’m sorry to have taken your time,” Kei told us apologetically.

“It’s fine. I’m grateful we could hear so many interesting things from you.”

Kei blushed and bashfully hung her head. “Oh, it’s nothing. I also had a lot of fun hearing the stories you two had to tell.”

After giving her an affectionate look, Shiran walked up closer to me.

“About the matter you proposed, Takahiro...”

“...How’d it go?”

We talked with hushed voices. Lily was keeping Kei’s attention.

“It has been approved for Kei to take care of both you and Miho.”

“I see. That’s good.”

I let out a sigh of relief. We had asked the knights if Kei could serve as our personal attendant through Shiran. And as expected, with our positions as saviors, they allowed us this level of autonomy. Kei was nothing more than Shiran’s attendant to begin with, so she didn’t do any work directly for the knights.

The reason we were doing this was of course to use my status to shelter Kei, using her being our attendant as a pretext. On top of Juumonji warning us to keep quiet about what happened, we didn’t know how those in the fortress would treat the elf Kei if she tried to claim one of the saviors had been about to assault her. We couldn’t turn this morning’s incident into a serious matter. However, nobody could complain if she served us as an attendant like this.

Sakagami had backed down because of Juumonji, but he was bound to shift the blame and do something out of unjustified resentment. It was best to keep Kei within eyesight as much as we could for her own protection, especially against scum like Sakagami.

“But I still cannot believe it,” Shiran said with a heavy sigh. “That an esteemed savior would do such a thing...”

“I understand how you feel, but it’s true. There’s no way you think Kei is lying about it, right?”

“Not at all, naturally. But still...”

“We also saw it with our own eyes. It turned into a scuffle too, but without much result.”

From Shiran’s perspective, saviors were living legends, the subjects of her faith. She couldn’t even imagine one looking at such a young girl with wicked thoughts. There was a hint of exhaustion in the depressed expression on her face. Having said that, she was properly facing the reality before her and knew she had to keep on guard to protect her family.

“I told Kei this already, but if anything happens, please find us immediately. We’re also saviors here. We can cover for you.”

“Thank you very much. I seem to have caused you much trouble with this... I really don’t know what to even say to you, Takahiro.”

“Don’t worry about it. Sakagami’s in the wrong here. You’re not causing me any trouble at all,” I said with a shake of my head. “Besides, there’s no way I can ignore a dirtbag like Sakagami hurting such a nice girl.”

Kei noticed me looking her way. A smile took shape on her childish yet well-featured face, much like a blooming flower.

“Takahiro! Now that my sister is here, shall we get going?”

Kei ran over and pulled on my hand. She was frozen stiff from tension yesterday, but perhaps because of this morning’s incident, or because we had spent the entire day together, she had gotten quite attached to me.

“Yeah, sure thing.”

With Kei here, we brought our secret talks to an end.

“Are you okay with that too, Shiran?”

“Yes, I don’t mind.”

Because we’d ended up missing our early morning training, we asked Shiran to teach us for the rest of the day instead.

“Though it pains me, this is the only thing I can repay you with.”

“Don’t be that way. Your guidance has really been helpful. Thank you for sparing the time for us.”

The progress we made since coming to this fortress, including information on translation runestones, was honestly a great harvest to me. I wasn’t exaggerating in the least when I thanked her.

“Th-That’s not... I-I am but an inexperienced knight, but I’m happy to be of use.”

Shiran averted her gaze and fiddled with the tip of her pointy ear. This was apparently a nervous tic of hers when she was embarrassed. I felt a smile coming on as I got things moving along.

“Okay then. We’ll be in your care again.”

“Very well.”

Shiran smiled happily and nodded. Her usual solemn atmosphere faded and a cheerfulness suitable for a girl her age came to the fore. It seemed Shiran was also opening her heart to us.

“Hm?”

I noticed a gaze fixated on us.

“What’s wrong?” I asked Lily, who looked strangely happy as she watched me talk to Shiran.

Lily suddenly cast her gaze to the floor. “No, it’s nothing.” She then shook her head and turned a smile to Kei. “Come on, if we don’t hurry up, it’ll end up getting late like yesterday. Shall we?”

“Yes. Let’s go!”

Lily took Kei’s hand and began walking. Shiran followed behind them. Something was still kind of bothering me, but I couldn’t do anything about it if I didn’t keep up. Thus, I started walking and followed the girls out.

◆ ◆ ◆

After our training, Lily and I returned to our room to wipe down before going out once more. We went to a large room where the other students were also gathering to have dinner. We chatted with Mikihiko and Kei and then returned right back to our room. We didn’t really have any reason to rush, but the fatigue from the day caught up to us.

I lay down in bed and looked up at the ceiling. We didn’t really train all that long today, so I still had stamina to spare. However, the mental fatigue was no different from yesterday. Having to continuously steel myself whenever I was outside this room for two whole days just piled up my weariness.

As I rolled over, the two kids, Ayame and Asarina, started playing with each other. I’d ended up having to keep them restrained quite a lot these past two days. So, I got myself up and kept them company. The sweet and straightforward Ayame and the strange-looking Asarina were also cute companions of mine. Just playing with them healed my heart. After some play-biting, snout pressing, and twining around, it felt like they were the ones keeping me company instead of the other way around. That was just how much spending time like this relaxed my mind. It was also an indication of how exhausted I was.

I played around with Ayame and Asarina for a while before laying back down in bed. I spontaneously let out a heavy sigh. We had heard a lot from Kei, so now I had to discuss today’s events together with Lily. I knew that, but as I looked up at the ceiling, my consciousness gradually grew farther and farther away...

“...Oh, Master, are you awake?”

I had ended up falling asleep without knowing it. I put my hand to my brow and let out a small groan.

“...How long have I been out?”

“Not all that long. It’s just about past midnight or so.”

Lily’s face was right in front of my eyes, looking down at me from the side. She was sitting on the bed with my head resting on her thighs. She was close. Her sweet scent overpowered my senses.

Ayame was rolled up in a ball and sleeping on the other bed. Asarina figured we were going to start talking and was just swaying her head around lazily. As for Lily, she was looking down at me with an earnest gaze.

“Did something happen?” I asked.

Lily quietly shook her head. “Nope.”

The sound of Ayame cutely snoring away was the very definition of tranquility, meaning nothing had happened while I was asleep. Today’s events promptly went through my mind. However, I had no idea what could’ve happened to make Lily look like this.

On the contrary, Lily had been in a great mood all this time. When I chatted with Mikihiko, when I trained under Shiran, she was always watching me with a happy gaze. Thinking back on it now, she was in such a good mood it was almost strange.

“Master,” Lily called me with a smile on her pretty face.

Her smile was as sweet as candy. But for some reason, it felt like she was smiling to hide something she was burdening herself with.

“Hey, Master? About what we plan to do from here on, I have a suggestion,” Lily said before I could ask her about it.

“Did you come up with something?” I asked, slightly bewildered by the sudden change in topic.

The last time we talked about this, we managed to sort out all the things we needed to do here. The plan was to hide my ability, obtain a translation runestone, learn how to use it, and leave the fortress. Then we were going to find a settlement somewhere, secure a route for provisions, and find a place safe for Katou. No matter how I looked at it, these were all difficult to accomplish. I didn’t have much confidence as things were now. Lily apparently had an idea of her own, however.

“Mm. I thought up two plans.”

“Two?” I asked with a surprised look.

Lily nodded back to me with a smile and stretched her hand out to my cheek. I could feel her emotions passing through our mental path by means of her palm. She was determined. Beneath her gentle smile, Lily was resolving herself for something. Her will was strong, firm, and unyielding. It was like a quiet lake without a single ripple across its surface. I could feel her determination in her tone as she spoke of what she had been hiding in her heart.

“The first...is to say farewell to us.”

“...”

“Make it so you never had the power to grant monsters hearts and tame them in doing so. Then there won’t be a single problem for you. You could quietly live in this world with the other students.”

Lily’s gaze was calm. “The other students are going to try and live on as saviors, but I’m sure some will choose to live differently. Not everyone will wake up to their powers, and even if they do, they won’t necessarily be able to keep pace with each other. You can just go along with the people who choose that path.”

Currently, the three exploration team members at Fort Tilia, Juumonji, Watanabe, and Iino, had the group of students under control. However, just as Lily said, that wasn’t guaranteed to last. For example, as long as Sakagami continued to do whatever he wanted, it was only a matter of time before he left the group.

There would also be those who didn’t like fighting. Rebelling against it wouldn’t really be a problem. They had been faced with an emergency situation. They felt a sense of solidarity with their fellow Japanese students and were carried by the atmosphere in a sort of escape from reality. That was what spurred their current actions. But they were all born in modern Japan. They still possessed their sense of values. There were sure to be people who desired a quiet life unrelated to battle sooner than later.

Everything Lily said made sense. However, her proposal itself was an entirely different matter.

Say farewell to all of them and live normally in this world? I couldn’t possibly agree to that. It wasn’t even worth considering. My desire was to live together with everyone. Living on my own would be putting the cart before the horse.

I couldn’t understand. Lily was supposed to be the one who knew my thoughts on this matter more than anyone else in the world. So why would she say such a thing? She already knew what I would say...

“I want to hear your answer, Master. Please. Tell me.”

Lily’s quiet voice tickled my ear.

Seriously, what’s going through her head? This wasn’t a thoughtless question. I trusted her. I trusted her more than anyone. What spurred her on to make such a proposal? What point was there in giving her my obvious reply?

And yet, I could feel her desire to hear my words through our mental path as she wrapped her palm around my cheek. As such, I had no reason to hesitate in replying.

“I won’t accept a proposal like that. I’ve never even thought of such a thing.”

I stretched my hand up to Lily’s cheek. It was soft, warm, and adorable. This warmth at the tip of my fingers was precious to me. I knew from the very bottom of my heart that I didn’t want to lose this. I had no intention of hiding it.

“I don’t plan on letting any of you go. No matter what happens. Unconditionally.”

All of my feelings were conveyed through my words, my expression, and our mental path. As proof of that, this time Lily smiled in a truly happy manner.

“Thank you, Master. Sorry for being selfish. I wanted to hear you say it.”

Now that I thought of it, she did say she wanted to hear my answer. She knew what it was, but she wanted to hear it. That was all this was.

“Mm. Thanks to that, I feel like I can finally resolve myself...”

She mentioned resolve. It seemed the resolve I felt through our mental path was regarding something else entirely. Lily did say she had two proposals. This exchange must have been something like a ritual to harden her resolve to suggest something else.

“Can you let me know what this second suggestion of yours is?” I asked.

Lily nodded. “Mm. It’s not really some wild idea or anything. Actually, there’s no way I could come up with anything that crazy. I think you probably faintly realized this yourself, even if I don’t go out of my way to tell you.” Lily’s smile was somewhat bitter. “It’s frankly impossible for us to solve all our problems by ourselves.”

“That’s...”

“Especially the acquisition of a translation runestone and learning how to use it. It’s way too hard for us to do while keeping all of our circumstances hidden.”

I couldn’t object. In truth, I kept saying we would eventually come up with something, but I didn’t have a single clue as to how. We couldn’t do it on our own. We were in a deadlock. That much was certainly true. So, what was I supposed to do?

The answer was obvious from the very beginning.

“We just need to find someone who’ll cooperate with us. Is that what you’re suggesting?”

“Mm.” Lily waited for me to arrive at the answer on my own and nodded. “We ask for help after explaining a certain amount of our circumstances. We can just withhold the other stuff. For example, we want to leave the fortress but we don’t want other people to know. We can mention that much, right?”

It was a reasonable suggestion. We had managed to survive by cooperating together, joining forces, and standing against monsters. Everything was either a servant or an enemy. It was very simple. It was just a choice of fighting or not.

We were no longer in the wilds of the Woodlands, however. I had stepped foot into human territory. There was no way it would go like before. I was aware of this the entire time, and yet I never even thought of finding someone to assist us. This was largely due to my distrust of humans.

But I couldn’t afford to be at a standstill here. Nothing would change like that. Humans were definitely creatures who betrayed others. The terrible spectacle at the Colony proved that. It was a tragedy born of human foolishness. But that didn’t mean every human was filthy.

Katou Mana, for example. She was the girl one year younger than me whom I was sheltering. She had saved me. She’d known I distrusted her, and yet she still lent me her strength. Her existence proved the world wasn’t only filled with betrayal.

Not all people who lived in this world needed to be suspected in everything they did. This was a pretty obvious reality which didn’t really deserve mentioning, but it was also something I absolutely couldn’t admit before.

As I was now, I could accept Lily’s proposal of “we should try relying on someone else.” So long as we couldn’t solve our situation on our own, someone who could help us was indispensable.

We couldn’t deny the possibility of them betraying us, of course. That was why it was my job as the leader of our group to probe the humans before me. It wasn’t my job to distrust everyone so that we wouldn’t be betrayed, it was to discover someone who wouldn’t betray us.

If I couldn’t do that, then I shouldn’t have left the Woodlands. I should’ve just listened to the sounds of ruin slowly closing in on us and lived a short yet tranquil life with my servants in both body and heart.

I get it. Logically, I get it. Life would be far simpler if everyone could convey their feelings so easily. Unveiling our secrets to find a cooperator was no different than trusting them.

Just the thought of that sent a detestable feeling crawling up my spine. An iron stench filled my nostrils, flames surrounded my vision, my entire body twisted with pain, and warped smiles assaulted my spirit. It was the same flashback I had that one time with Gerbera. My heart felt dry. All of my flesh felt like it was rotting.

However, I couldn’t yield to this. I clenched my jaw. I had to surpass this abominable memory. That was my responsibility as the leader.

But am I even capable of that? A sickness of the heart. A trauma. I couldn’t even talk to Mikihiko about it. The realities of death and betrayal remained deeply scarred in my heart. It was somewhat hackneyed putting it into words like this, but the curse that coiled around my spirit like thick sludge couldn’t be removed all that easily. A weak human like me needed something so they could surmount—

“It’s okay.”

My vision was suddenly blocked. The hand on my cheek had moved. Lily’s palm was now covering my eyes. No longer able to see, a voice which seemed even sweeter than usual sank into my ears.

“Master, do you remember when we first met in that cave?”

I was bewildered by the sudden and unexpected question, but I still answered right away.

“Yeah. I remember. There’s no way I could forget.”

Steeped in despair and having given up on life, Lily’s very existence saved me in an immeasurable way. I would die before I forgot that moment.

“It’s an extremely important memory to me,” Lily said. “It’s my first memory after being born. At that time, you prayed from the bottom of your heart for someone to save you. When I heard that voice, when you wished for me, when you gave ‘me’ the name Lily, I was born into this world...”

Lily’s eager voice spoke of her memories as if she was holding a precious treasure to her chest. But her next words sat at the tip of her tongue for a moment.

“However, that wish you made before losing consciousness, ‘save me,’ wasn’t meant for a monster like me, right? There’s no way you would’ve thought a monster would save you. So, who was it you wished to save you...?”

I felt like Lily smiled as if the answer was perfectly obvious. Though, with her hand over my eyes, I couldn’t confirm whether she was actually smiling.

“Master. You say that you don’t trust humans, but in your final moment, you trusted a stranger. I believe that’s your true self.”

“My true...self...?”

“Mm. It’s precisely because you’re like that that we were born as we are. So, it’s okay.” Lily’s voice trembled ever so slightly as she spoke. “When you talk with Kaneki, when you train with Shiran, you really look like you’re enjoying yourself. Just by watching, it makes me happy too.”

“Lily...?”

“It was the same when Katou collapsed before we came here. You didn’t hesitate to make sure she was okay. You may not have noticed it yourself, though...” Lily removed her hand from my eyes. “Your wounds have already healed, Master. All that’s left is for something to give you that little push so you can take a step forward.”

My vision returned, and before me was the girl who was more beloved to me than anyone else, smiling down at me. But if she was smiling this entire time, there was no need for her to cover my eyes.

“Sorry, Master. I should’ve told you this earlier,” Lily confessed, as if she were ashamed. “I was worried. I was worried you would reconcile with humans. And if you did, the day would come when you no longer needed to keep your servants by your side.”

This was the first time Lily told me about the anxiety she had been carrying in her heart. Even so, looking up at her faint smile and sad expression, I could tell this had been tormenting her for a long time now.

“There’s no way I would ever abandon any of you,” I reassured her.

“Mm. I know that... But I was still worried.”

She was anxious because it was that important to her. In short, this was proof of the yearning she had for me.

“The reason I can be by your side is because I met you at that precise time you called out. But just as I said, you weren’t looking for me, a monster, to save you... That’s why I always wondered whether you originally should’ve met someone else there. No matter where I go, I’m nothing more than a fake, so maybe I was just an elaborate imitation of what you truly desired...”

Lily wasn’t completely and utterly off the mark. Say, for argument’s sake, it wasn’t Lily who saved me, but another human. The tremendous trust I currently placed in Lily would have been directed at the one who saved me from such a hopeless crisis.

That was just how meaningful it was to be saved from the depths of despair. In fact, Mikihiko had gone through a similar experience, which was the source of his deep affection for the commander of the Alliance Knights. The only difference was that our positions were inverted.

This was of course a meaningless supposition. In reality, I had been saved by Lily. That was the one and only truth. That in itself was important to me. However, this wasn’t enough to settle the matter with Lily. Just thinking of that possibility made her feel indebted for what had happened. And that feeling of obligation gave birth to her anxiety, that it shouldn’t have been her who was there. This was what caused her endless worries.

If, for example, she was a human, she might not have felt such anxiety. But I was a human and Lily was a monster. Nevertheless, I loved her, and she loved me back. We were still different creatures, however. It was perhaps inevitable she’d start to worry.

“I’m sorry for hiding it until now.”

I shook my head. “Don’t apologize. The important thing here isn’t that you kept quiet. It’s that when it became necessary, you earnestly conveyed your feelings to me.”

“Master...”

“Lily, even as your worries stifled you, you cheered me up with your words. I should be thanking you.”

Lily was fighting with the anxieties in her heart. She fought and fought, and after conquering them, she spoke the words I needed to hear. There was no way I could complain about that and want an apology.

“You sure are strong, Lily.”

“That’s not true.”

Lily’s flaxen hair shook about as she denied my praise. She peered into my eyes, then spoke in a tone as if she was unveiling her secrets.

“The reason I can speak openly about my worries like this is because you relied on me, you know?”

“...Ah.”

I recalled the tears I once saw from Lily and was suddenly taken aback. It was back when I was ambushed by blowfoxes and returned from the verge of death. Thanks to Lily crying and telling me, “Don’t carry everything on your own,” and, “I want you to rely on us,” I learned how I should be facing these girls and also grew to rely on them.

And that supported Lily now. The reality that I depended on her gave her strength and brought a smile to her face. She was proud this was her way of life as a servant. I was wholly charmed by her proud smile. I suddenly realized the fetters that had been tying me down lost a lot of their strength.

There were those warped smiles driven by madness still stuck in my memories.

And here there was the reassuring smile this girl showed me despite her own anxieties.

There was no need for me to compare the two to tell which had the bigger impact on me.

In short, I was the same as Lily. The most important thing to me right now was being their master. And what kind of master would I be if I acted so weak-minded when my servants were trying so hard for me? Just that single thought led me to a truth that had always been there. Her very existence supported my weak self.

I’m really glad I met Lily in that cave. The moment I thought that, the love I had for the girl in front of my eyes burst open.

“Lily.”

Unaware to even myself, I stretched out the hand I had on Lily’s cheek and pulled her in. It was pushing things a little with our current posture, but Lily docilely brought her face close to mine as I embraced her.

As we pressed our lips against each other, our movements grew more and more intense. I wanted to convey this feeling I had in my heart to her. If I wished for it single-mindedly, it would come true. Our feelings melted together as they traveled through our mental path using our lips. The border which separated us gradually became more and more vague.

“...Master.”

Lily called me lovingly as we both took a breath. Any sense of reason she had left was completely numb. The bright red tip of her tongue lapped at my lips, but her enchanted gaze averted to the side for just an instant.

“Sorry, Asarina. Could you let me have our master all to myself for just one night?”

I followed her eyes. Before I knew it, one of her arms shifted back into slime form and several feelers stretched out. They wrapped around Asarina’s vine-like external body and gently pushed her into my left hand. One feeler then stretched out all the way to the wall and turned off the light.

Now draped in darkness, our breaths drew closer once more and intertwined. From there, we simply confirmed our love for each other.