Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 3 - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Puppet’s Curiosity ~Rose’s POV~

“...N-Now that it’s decided you’ll be dressing up as a girl, I guess we should make some clothes for you.”

I gazed at my friend from beneath my mask as she talked more quickly than usual. Mana’s face was tinged a faint red as she held her own body, her clothes now somewhat disheveled. She was my close friend, as well as the weak girl my master had charged me with protecting. I could take pride in calling myself her guardian now. Perhaps because I served such a role, Mana’s red cheeks and flustered demeanor made her appear sweeter than normal, spurring on a desire to protect her.

In any case, Mana normally didn’t act like this, so a certain question came to mind.

I cocked my head. I made an expression. Before I spoke, I prepared my heart to move my mouth. This required a tremendous amount of effort to do in unison. Furthermore, each and every step was delicate and required extremely fine-tuning. I admired the way humans could do this with ease on a normal basis. I didn’t doubt that any human possessed far more mental throughput than I did. That was how much I respected them.

I didn’t think a day would come when a puppet like me could accomplish this, but nothing could be done by complaining. All I could do was sincerely put in the effort.

“Mana?” After finally completing the complicated chain of actions beneath my mask, I was finally able to ask my friend about the question on my mind. “Your face has been red for a while now. Are you feeling unwell?”

“...No, that’s not it. Please don’t worry about it. It’s just a personal thing.”

Mana averted her gaze. Her reaction was more and more baffling to me. I was starting to get a little worried.

“Are you pushing yourself, Mana? Please tell me right away if you’re feeling unwell. Your constitution isn’t very strong, after all.”

“No. I’m really okay.” Mana waved both her hands in front of her, but she still didn’t meet my eyes. “Actually, it may be difficult for you to understand because you’re so serious and diligent, but sometimes you can be a little dense...”

“Hm...? It’s certainly true that I lack intelligence.”

“No, no, no, no. That’s not what I mean.”

Nothing Mana said was making sense. At this rate, I would master making a confused expression.

“I don’t really know what you’re saying, but the prospects for my next piece are looking bright thanks to you. For the time being, I’m thinking of starting with the upper body now that I have finished confirming what it should feel like. I do believe I’ll require your cooperation once more, so please lend me a hand when the time comes.”

“A-Again...?”

“Is there a problem?”

“N-No... Understood.”

Mana trembled in place as if she was trying to endure something. Her breathing was shallow and her childish face was now bright red.

Is her reaction maybe...? I continued to observe Mana’s face when I came to a sudden realization. When I was in the middle of determining what I needed to create my upper body, I had vaguely sensed this was maybe the case, but... Was Mana perhaps feeling shy? If so, why would that be?

I couldn’t fathom any reason for her to be bashful. It was Mana’s idea that I learn by touch to begin with. Even if I still needed to adjust some aspects, I had succeeded in creating an elaborate face through this process. I had simply moved from touching her face to touching her body. I didn’t see any reason I shouldn’t after all this time.

And yet, why was Mana feeling shy? I tried imagining myself in her position. Understanding the subtleties of human emotion was a major subject I was trying to unravel. From a purely objective standpoint, Mana was an incredibly good research subject, seeing how she was equipped with the delicacy and complexity of a human girl. Furthermore, aside from my master, she was the closest human to me and my intimate friend. I could never get bored thinking of her.

“...Hmm.”

A thought came to mind. According to what I had learned about humans from my teacher Mana, human males were quite interested in the female body. And females paid the same amount of attention to their own figures, maybe even more. To be specific, their breasts, hips, buttocks, legs, and such. There were portions of this that didn’t really strike a chord with me, considering I was a monster and technically asexual, but I could understand the logic. So, it wasn’t impossible for me to consider things under that assumption.

The thought that came to mind was perhaps Mana was worried about her meager figure compared to Lily’s. I was touching portions of her body that she was shy about, so her body trembled with embarrassment. From that perspective, it made sense.

In that case, it was perhaps my job as her friend to support her here. Mana had nothing to be ashamed of, after all. That was the conclusion I came to. Thus, I nodded once and called her out.

“You don’t need to worry, Mana. I find your body to be very cute.”

“Uuuuh...”

Mana covered her bright red face with both hands and sank to the floor. It was a fatal blow.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Please excuse me for saying something so careless,” I said as I lowered my head.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Mana was still crouching on the ground. Her hands were still covering her face, and her ears peeking through her hair were still bright red.

As a small digression, I would only learn it was embarrassing for humans to expose their skin to others some time after this. It would only come to me after I started habitually wearing clothes and got an actual feel for the sensation myself. That is to say nothing of the deeds which were referred to as “going further,” like touching and groping. I was far too inexperienced at this time.

“But Mana, you could’ve told me if you didn’t like it.”

Mana, with her knees fully bent as she crouched down, peeked through the gaps of her fingers and glanced up at me.

“...It’s not that I disliked it or anything.” There was the slightest hint of resentment in her eyes. “But you know, I feel like I’ll awaken to something. I mean, you’re tall, and slender, and cool. Your voice is calm, and deep too. From a girl’s view, it’s like, heart-fluttering, you know? And now you don’t look all that different from us... Well, I guess that’s my fault for dressing you up, though.”

“Ummm, Mana? I feel like you’re complimenting me, but not... Awaken? Fluttering? What does that—?”

“Nothing, that was just a joke. It’s a bit troubling you’re so deadly serious about it... Yup. Just a joke. I’m kidding. That was just some friendly touching among fellow girls. Yup. Friendly...”

Mana hid her face once more. It was as if she was trying to convince herself of something. I couldn’t understand her behavior at all.

“Mana?”

“Next time, please let me wash myself first.”

I cocked my head at Mana’s request. “Wash yourself? Yes, understood.”

“You don’t really understand, huh... Well, whatever.” After letting out a sigh, Mana shook her head and rose to her feet. “Anyway, I think we should get you some clothes of your own.”

“Clothes of my own?”

I merely repeated Mana’s statement after she seemingly managed to regain her composure. It was probably best not to mention there was still a tinge of red on her face. I at least understood that much.

“Are you going to ask Gerbera to make me my own clothes?”

“Yes. While we’re at it, we might as well have something made which suits you.”

“You want to change the design? I don’t particularly mind having something the same as this,” I stated while pointing at Lily’s clothes.

“That won’t do,” Mana replied immediately, rejecting my proposal outright. “You hear me, Rose? Every day for a girl is war. Your clothes are your sword, spear, axe, and even your bow, so to speak. You can’t go to battle with clothes that have such a lack of sex appeal.”

“...These are Lily’s clothes, though.”

“You can’t use something so unfair as a reference.”

“Um, my sister isn’t really being unfair or anything.”

“She’s so beautiful, and cute, and the type to fully devote herself to the person she likes. On top of that, she’s a slightly perverted predatory type. She’s connected to Senpai’s heart with the mental path, her feelings go right through to him, and they’re always basically whispering love poems into each other’s ears. What would you call all that if not unfair?”

Mana essentially threw out every complaint she could think of. But I did feel like there were some parts I could agree with.

“Don’t you want to dress yourself up more while you’re at it so you can show Senpai?”

“That’s...true. You’re exactly right.”

“So, it’s decided. Let’s go ask Gerbera.”

Once Mana convinced me, she dove right into action. This part of her truly was reliable. And she occasionally taught me how important some parts of me, which I hadn’t really worried about before, were to a girl.

I was usually the one worrying about her, the powerless Mana. However, in instances like these, the roles were reversed. And yet the reason I could progress without feeling overly indebted to her was precisely because she was Mana. We helped each other in a way that was slightly different from how I idolized my elder sister and how she loved me in return as her little sister. This was surely what being friends meant.

With such thoughts going through my mind, I chased after Mana’s back as she walked off.

“Huh?”

Mana only took a few steps before she came to a stop. I caught up to her, wondering what was going on, and found her staring at the entrance of the cave with her head cocked to the side.

“Gerbera’s not here,” she said.

“She isn’t? That can’t be.”

Gerbera had left the cave a short while ago, saying she was going to stand guard. I assumed she would be right outside making clothes for our master or something.

“I wonder if she went to take a look at the fortress?” Mana said.

By climbing the cliff this cave was located on and pushing through the trees a bit, we could get an unobstructed view of the fortress my master had gone to. We couldn’t see him by eye like this, of course, but at least it was something. Even I walked over that way several times a day.

Gerbera in particular went to look quite frequently. Three nights ago, she felt like her eyes had met those of the blonde woman who seemed to be a sentry, and she came back with her face pale. I had told her in great detail to be more careful after that, but...

“No, I don’t think she went to see the fortress,” I said, shaking my head. “Gerbera is not so foolish that she would leave without telling us anything.”

“That’s true. So I guess she’s somewhere nearby...”

Mana took a few steps out of the cave’s entrance but came to a stop once more. I curiously followed her and looked out over her shoulder. There was a white spider right outside. This was obviously Gerbera. She was squatting down to the side of the cave’s entrance, in a position where she couldn’t be seen from the inside.

She was apparently properly fulfilling her role as a sentry. So there wasn’t a problem here. Gerbera could be a little absentminded, so it sometimes made me anxious that something unexpected could happen, but it turned out I was needlessly worrying. I felt a sense of relief...until I realized something was strange about her. Perhaps...it would be more accurate to say I was made to realize.

“Heh, heheh... Heheh. Heheheh. Heheheheheh...”

The girl in white wore a slackened smile. Her expression was almost slovenly. Her face was so well featured it was practically excessive, yet it possessed none of the inorganic feeling mine did. Her beautiful face was basically a miracle, and here it was in an utterly disappointing state.

“Teehee, hee, heeheehee.”

Gerbera was in a trance, staring at something in her arms. I wondered what it was and took a closer look, spotting a white cocoon woven from spider threads. This was apparently what had twisted her beautiful features.

“Heheheh... heh?”

Just one moment after we witnessed her like this, Gerbera, who was supposed to possess keen senses, finally noticed us. She vigorously turned her head, her red eyes reflecting our image. Her slackened smile visibly spasmed.

“Fwah?!”

A hysterical scream. Time froze over. Mana, myself, and even Gerbera all stiffened up and didn’t move a muscle. We saw something we shouldn’t have seen. Meaning she had placed herself out of sight from inside the cave on purpose.

“...Is that you, Rose?”

“Y-Yes.”

Now that she mentioned it, my outer appearance was totally different from usual. I was so shocked by this situation that I had completely forgotten.

“I had a slight idea in mind, so I ended up dressing like this.”

“I-I see.”

“By the way, Gerbera, what were you...?”

“I-I-I-I-I-I was...”

Gerbera’s mouth was flapping open and shut. She was apparently extremely embarrassed, seeing how her almost transparent, white skin was now bright red. She had lost the ability to speak, and an awkward silence sank over the area.

This was a first for me, so I had no idea what to do. Actually, strictly speaking, this wasn’t the very first time I had witnessed such a situation. Seeing something I wasn’t meant to see did in fact happen once before when I walked in on my master and Lily sharing a bed and kissing while naked. That was apparently something I wasn’t supposed to witness. I remembered how my master had an extremely awkward look when he saw me. I was dense to such sensibilities at the time, so I didn’t really think much of it back then. But now I was different. It was exceedingly awkward. I could clearly sense my own growth at this moment. Although, I would’ve preferred it to have happened in a different manner.

Gerbera didn’t move. We had our difficulties up until now, so though imperfect, I still recognized this girl as my little sister. And here she was, her mind in a mess, on the verge of tears, and her porcelain cheeks so red it felt like they were burning. It was like she would go flying away if I poked her ever so slightly with my finger. I couldn’t move carelessly.

I spontaneously turned to Mana for help. She noticed my gaze one beat later and opened her eyes in shock as if to say, “Huh? Me?” as her lips pursed.

“Uhhh, ummm. Right.” Mana hectically tried to think of what to say. Her voice sounded flustered. “Mizushima-senpai once told me certain types of spiders wrap their eggs in cocoons, I think...”

“I-Is that so...?”

Thinking back on it now, relying on Mana here wasn’t a very good choice. Mana was wise and sensitive to the subtleties of the heart, but her insight usually manifested itself after she had prepared herself beforehand. In short, she wasn’t very good at adapting. Much like how she was when I stripped off her clothes, just going with the flow of events. On the other hand, I felt so awkward that it took everything I had just to nod along with whatever she said.

“Eggs aside, I don’t believe Gerbera has participated in any reproductive activities. Not with our master, at least.”

“Oh, no. I’m not saying she’s doing it with someone other than Senpai or anything. What I’m getting at is, um, in short, she’s probably practicing for the future.”

“Practicing?”

As I curiously repeated what she said, Mana courteously began explaining, perhaps out of habit from our regular conversations.

“To put it in simple humans terms, it’s kind of like how some people will make baby clothes for a baby they could one day have with the person they love.”

“Even though they’re not in that sort of relationship yet? Is that fun?”

In retrospect, Mana shouldn’t have put it so bluntly. And I shouldn’t have asked for more details so casually. It was a massive failure on both our parts.

“—!”

Gerbera, now as red as red could be, let out a wordless scream and ran off in tears.

◆ ◆ ◆

“What a misstep,” Mana muttered, her expression uneasy. “I didn’t mean to upset her...”

“You were just trying to tell her it couldn’t be helped because it was a spider’s instinct, right?”

“Yes. Well, that’s true, but it can still be embarrassing precisely because it’s instinct. I chose the wrong way to cheer her up.”

“...It’s quite difficult, isn’t it?”

After Gerbera came back to her senses and returned, we asked her to make some clothes for me and then left her behind to go to the spot where we could see the fortress. This was because it was very awkward to be close to Gerbera when her face was still red and her eyes still watery. We had done something bad to her. Mana and I reflected on that as we ascended the hill together.

“Hrm?”

I pushed through the thickets indifferently as I always did when my clothes got caught on a branch. It was a little annoying. It seemed it would take some time before I got used to this. I slammed the haft of my axe into the ground and used it as support while I held my hand out to Mana.

“Are you okay, Mana?”

“I-I’m fine.”

She was a little out of breath, but she still took my hand and climbed up to where I was.

“Let’s take a break,” I suggested.

“N-No. There’s...no need,” Mana replied. She kept her hands on her knees as she got her breathing in order. “I’ve been living in the forest for a while now. After all that, I’ve gotten used to walking outdoors and have built up some stamina. You don’t need to worry.”

“You still have a small build, though. Your body is also delicate and fragile, so I can’t help but worry.”

“Rose, you can be a little overprotective sometimes, you know?” she said with a bitter smile. “Well, I’m honestly happy for it.”

“It’s only been three days since you collapsed, Mana. Of course I’d be worried.”

According to our original plans, Mana was supposed to be together with my master in that fortress. But then right before they were to depart, her health suddenly deteriorated.

“My master also seemed rather worried about you. Please pay more attention to your own well-being.”

Mana’s shoulders jolted. “Really? Is that how Majima-senpai looked to you?”

“Yes. You’ve been on my master’s mind lately. No. Even before that. He just didn’t let it show. That’s what I believe.”

My master spoke with Mana more than he did before. This had happened after the evening he gave me permission to teach Mana about magic. That night, something shifted within him. I couldn’t imagine what caused this change in mental state, but I could sense it definitely wasn’t bad for him.

From the very beginning, my master worried about Mana, even though he threw around vague reasons for doing so. Even when he distrusted her and kept his guard up, I still remembered instances where he spoke to her with consideration.

The very fact that he had gone out of his way to bring her along, despite her being nothing but a hindrance, made his personality apparent. Thinking back on it now, my master used the word “responsibility” quite often back then.

He certainly did have a strong sense of responsibility. But when he used that word regarding Mana, it was as if he was using it as some sort of excuse. My master, despite his distrust and hate for humans, had unconsciously made excuses to save that girl in the hut. I felt this was indeed the case.

I don’t know what triggered it, but lately, my master had been outwardly showing his consideration. As a result, he and Mana had more opportunities to converse than before. The scene of them encouraging each other as they learned to use mana had become commonplace. Seeing them like that honestly made me happy.

They came from the same place, had similar circumstances, and were both human. As one would expect, Mana seemed to enjoy talking to him. When he called her, she often looked happy. Mana’s expressions were very faint, but having spent so much time merely watching her, I could see the slight movements of her lips. It didn’t seem like my master had noticed this, however.

“I guess I shouldn’t make Majima-senpai worry. Okay, let’s take a break.” Mana brushed back her pigtails and gave me a nod.

After we rested, we proceeded up the hill while taking periodic breaks. Before long, we arrived at a small cliff. I gazed off toward the sturdy-looking fortress, discolored over the long passage of time. That was where my master was. How was he doing about now? How close had he gotten to his objective? Was there anything troubling or confusing him?

Before I knew it, my attention was focused solely on the fortress towering over the hole in the dense forest. I wasn’t glued to my master like Lily was, but even so, I hadn’t gone a day since gaining an ego without seeing his face. Maybe that was why the thought of him being so far away left me somehow restless.

I wanted to be by his side. I wanted to protect him, no matter the cost. My body was his shield. That was my role as his servant. It was my long-cherished ambition to fulfill that, even if my body were to be reduced to splinters. As such, it was only natural for me to want to be by his side as a servant...

But there was another feeling present within my puppet’s heart. It was the pure feeling of simply wanting to be near him. It had nothing to do with fulfilling my role as his servant. I just wanted to be by my master’s side and feel his presence. This was clearly the same reason I wanted my master to hug me.

I no longer cast away such emotions as presumptuous or ignorantly arrogant. They were now dear to me, and I held them close to my heart. This was solely thanks to the friend at my side. She had taught me I couldn’t kill my emotions. She had admonished me, telling me the effort I put in as a girl to fulfill my desire of my master hugging me couldn’t be denied by anyone. She had told me I couldn’t give up. She had encouraged me, saying my wish could be granted.

I would never forget the day Mana became my friend. That was the turning point. Ever since that day, her words supported me, granting me the ability to face my own heart. I hoped that one day, I would be able to attach a name to this emotion. And if I could convey that feeling to my master...

“...”

How long had I spent gazing at the discolored fortress like this? A strong wind suddenly blew over us, causing the trees to stir. My clothes fluttered. The unfamiliar sensation brought me back to my senses. I realized I had been standing here for quite a while.

What an oversight. I completely lost myself in this moment of reverie. This would’ve been fine had I been alone, but Mana was here with me. This had to be tedious for her. Not only that, she had kept me company out here many times now. I did something bad to her. As I reflected over this, I turned toward Mana—and realized I had enormously misunderstood.

Mana was standing right there, her eyes looking at the fortress with an endlessly earnest gaze. The slight smile on her small lips strengthened the fleeting impression her delicate and slender body already possessed. It was as if she could vanish at any moment. And yet, it was like her gaze was boring into the fortress, refusing to look away. She didn’t show a single hint of boredom. She didn’t even realize I was looking at her from the side. So, just maybe, she watched with more passion than I did. Just like me, her feelings were rushing toward the fortress—and consequently, to the person within.

In short, this was what I had misunderstood. I had completely misread the scale of Mana’s feelings toward my master. Perhaps it was this very moment that allowed me to realize something.

At first, Mana was a target for surveillance. Then she became my friend. From the day I met her, we had shared our time together. That was why, if a day passed where I didn’t see my master’s face, then this also applied to her. Our conditions were identical, and our reactions were abnormally similar. In that case, did Mana also share this feeling I harbored in my chest?

Looking at it like that, I could actually understand a few things. There was a time when Lily and I were wary of Mana. When asked how she felt about this, Mana had replied, “I’m not angry.” She had gone on to explain it was because “I sympathize with you servants.”

Why would a human sympathize with servants rather than our master, her fellow human? Was it perhaps because she harbored the same feeling as us? Coming to this realization caused a certain seed within me to sprout. Or perhaps bursting like a firework would be a more appropriate expression. The time I had spent with this girl was the fuse, and now it had been ignited. My thoughts ran full speed toward the truth Mana had been hiding all this time.

“Mana.”

I called my precious friend’s name. She blinked several times, coming back to her senses, then turned toward me.

“Oh, sorry. I guess I zoned out a little. Shall we head back?” Mana said with a small smile, as if nothing was going on.

Her behavior showed no trace of the passion she had when she was gazing at the fortress just moments ago. The one before me was the usual Mana. Yes. The same as usual... So, just maybe, Mana felt that way this entire time?

What was going on? I couldn’t help but feel shocked. Mana had been the one to teach me how important this feeling inside my heart was. If not for her, I would’ve put a lid on these feelings I bore toward my master, locking them away in the storehouse deep within my chest, neglecting it altogether. The reason I was able to dearly embrace these feelings now was all, in every possible way, thanks to Mana.

And yet, Mana herself was making light of her own heart. She was acting as if it didn’t exist. Could such a thing be allowed? And above all else, would it really be okay for me to pretend I didn’t see this? Could I really call myself her friend if I did?

Mana began to walk back when she realized I wasn’t following her. She turned around with a curious expression and asked, “What’s the matter, Rose?”

“Mana. How do you feel about my master?”

She jolted.

Mana’s face, which was usually so sparse in emotion, twitched as her neutral demeanor shattered into pieces.