Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 9 - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Girl’s Secret

After that incident, dawn broke without anything of note happening. We departed the reclamation village that day, just as scheduled. Our destination was Shiran and Kei’s hometown, Kehdo. It would be a two-day walk, which was a little different from what we’d planned, but Leah and Helena were joining us on this journey.

On the morning of our departure, during breakfast at the chief’s residence, Helena had said that she wanted to come with us to the neighboring village. She felt an extraordinary amount of rivalry and affection—not that she’d ever admit it—for Shiran. It made sense she wanted to come along.

That was apparently how her grandparents, Melvin and Leah, had interpreted it. However, I knew the real reason why Helena wanted to come with us. She’d witnessed yesterday’s events. She was surely worried about Shiran and wanted to hear more about her circumstances. I hadn’t refused her. On the contrary, I needed to speak with her myself, so this was a bit of a godsend.

Last night, Helena had completed the task I’d entrusted her with perfectly. She’d cleaned up the storehouse without anyone finding out, leaving no trace of what Shiran had done whatsoever, and then told Melvin that I’d taken some of the azure hare meat for our journey. All I’d had to do was match her story.

If Helena hadn’t found Shiran last night, the situation might’ve gotten much worse. I had to thank her, and I felt I should follow up with her too. Unfortunately, I hadn’t gotten time to speak with her alone because she’d had to rush to get ready to leave. Still, there were two days until we reached Kehdo, so there would be plenty of opportunities for us to talk.

Once it was decided that Helena would join us, Leah had also requested to come along. She was probably worried that her granddaughter would act carelessly in some way. I could understand her on that front, and I had no reason to decline her request.

“I must apologize for Helena’s unreasonable behavior, Takahiro,” she’d said after making the request.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind. What about you, Leah? Is it okay for you to leave the village for a while?”

“Thank you for your consideration, but it isn’t a problem. My role in the village is to act as my husband’s substitute.”

Leah had explained that she didn’t have to be there at all times. She had, in fact, left the village to petition Diospyro for help. The married couple basically split up their work that way.

“Besides, I think this is a good opportunity,” she’d added. “I was already planning on dropping by Kehdo in the near future, anyway.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Reclamation villages in this area visit each other about once a month. Connections between fellow villages in the Woodlands cannot be neglected, after all.”

For example, monster sightings in the vicinity were vital information to all villages. To that end, despite the slight danger, the villages regularly shared info with each other. At times, villages also helped each other during crises.

It was only practical to do so, but the main reason they maintained contact was a strong sense of comradery among the people living in these dangerous lands. Not only that, but much like Leah and Shiran, some villages were connected by blood. By maintaining solidarity, not only within their own village, but with their neighbors as well, they were able to survive in the Woodlands.

“Our hands were full with the azure hares, so communication has stagnated as of late. But now that the problem is resolved, I need to go inform them. Besides...”

“Besides?”

“It would be lonely to part with Shiran and Kei so soon after reuniting with them.”

Leah said this with a smile. Shiran had stayed in Leah’s village for a few months as a child, so maybe she was like another granddaughter to Leah.

Currently, Leah was walking about ten meters ahead of our manamobile with Shiran, Kei, and Helena. The four elves chatted cheerfully. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but they all looked like they were enjoying themselves.

“From what I can tell, there doesn’t seem to be any particular problem with Shiran,” Rose said from the seat next to mine as I watched the elves in front of us. “I was quite anxious when I heard of what happened last night.”

Rose was also thinking about Shiran. I could hear the concern in her voice.

“Is she all right now?” she asked. “Does this mean yesterday’s incident was enough to handle her problem?”

“Yeah. That’s what Shiran told us,” I replied, nodding. “She ate her fill yesterday. The same thing will happen if she doesn’t keep it up, of course. That’s why we had that talk last night.”

The previous evening, after Lily and I brought Shiran back, we’d talked with everyone about what we were going to do. We were a little short on sleep as a result, but it was a necessary measure.

“So long as we cooperate, Shiran’s constitution won’t really get in the way of anything. For example, even on this journey, one of us can go on night watch and let her slip away at any time.”

She’d been fussing about troubling others to a strange degree to begin with, which had prevented her from seeking help. Normally, this wouldn’t have been much of a problem.

“Shiran doesn’t even need to hunt on her own in the first place,” I said. “Lily’s nose makes her an excellent hunter. If she were to go out and get food for Shiran, then Shiran wouldn’t need to slip away at all.”

“That’s true. I believe that would be best,” Rose agreed. “In the end, her wanting to not bother others caused more issues. An oversight like that doesn’t seem to suit Shiran, in my opinion.”

“It’s her sense of responsibility going too far. That’s all.”

“Aah, I see... You can interpret it like that too,” Rose said, cocking her head slightly. “It must be the case if you say so, Master. But it’s still a difficult problem. I recognize Shiran as a cut above the rest. For someone like her to make such a mistake...”

“Yeah. Anyone can mess up. That’s why the important part is what comes next. It certainly was uncharacteristic of her, but she’ll be sure never to repeat it again.”

“Yes, I believe the same.”

“Still, it’s good that nothing serious came of it,” I said, smiling.

Honestly speaking, I’d worried about how this would work out for a while now, but we got by just fine. We’d managed to fool them about the missing azure hare meat, and the only witness, Helena, was cooperating with us. We also had countermeasures in place for things to come. The one thing left undone was following up with Helena, but seeing as how we wouldn’t arrive at the village until tomorrow evening, there was plenty of time to talk with her.

Our original goal of finding a village we could stay in long-term was looking doable, and Shiran’s problem, which had been weighing on my mind, had also been resolved. Feeling relieved, I let out a small sigh. Just then, the cloth covering the carriage behind me lifted up.

“Majima-senpai, Rose,” Katou said, poking her head out.

“What’s up, Katou?” I asked, refocusing myself. “Did something happen?”

“Huh? Oh. No. Nothing like that,” Katou said, laughing it off and waving her hand. “I was just wondering what you were up to.”

“Oh, is that all?”

I’d figured she had something important to talk about. My head had been full with Shiran lately, so I’d jumped to conclusions.

“What were you two talking about?” Katou asked with a smile, looking at both of us before cocking her head. “Were you maybe talking about Rose?”

“What about her?” I asked. I had no idea what she was hinting at.

“Huh? You haven’t talked about it yet? Rose has been so happy that the piece she’s been working on has been going smoothly.”

“Really?” I looked over at Rose, who hesitantly nodded back to me. “Huh. You should’ve told me.”

“No. You’ve been busy with exterminating the azure hares and negotiating with the villagers. Aside from that, you’ve also had to spend time with Gerbera and Lily. Reporting completion would be one thing, but something so trivial as only being partway done would be...”

It was just like her to be so reserved in telling me. Although, it was a different matter entirely whether this actually coincided with what I wished she would do.

As I wondered how I could address this, Katou suddenly leaned forward. “That’s no good, Rose,” she said, poking Rose’s cheek with her dainty finger. “If you act like that, you won’t have anything to say other than what is absolutely necessary.”

“Mana...”

“She’s right,” I joined in, grateful for Katou’s persuasiveness. “You don’t need to be so reserved. It’s fun to speak with you, Rose. Don’t take that away from me.”

“Understood...”

Rose nodded. She restlessly twiddled her gloved hands together and looked my way, a faint and awkward smile on her face. She was so adorable that my heart thumped. Sensing that I couldn’t keep looking at her face like this, I casually averted my gaze and looked forward.

For a while now, Rose had been making my heart skip a beat like this. She could now dress up as a woman, and because she could make natural expressions, she no longer needed to hide her face with a mask. These heart-thumping incidents were going to multiply with all of that. I’d also been talking with Rose more than before, so I only grew more aware of these changes in her.

I didn’t really have a reason to feel this way...but I was under the delusion that a net was closing in around me. This sensation of being driven into a corner definitely wasn’t unpleasant, but it did make me feel a little restless.

“So? What’s this progress Katou mentioned, Rose?” I asked, trying to hide my restlessness.

“Right. It’s regarding my research on manamobiles,” she answered.

“Manamobiles? Oh yeah, you’ve been looking into them for a while now. Are you finally able to make one?”

“No, not yet, but I’ve made a little progress. Also, I’ve been trying several things out in parallel with some new equipment and am beginning to see how they can be applied in practice.”

“Hmm. I’m looking forward to it,” I said, continuing our cheerful conversation as I felt the shaking of the clattering vehicle. “I’d like to ask what kind of equipment you’re talking about, but I guess it’ll be better to just see it in action.”

“I believe that would be for the best. There are some things I cannot show right here and now. We can discuss them at a later time while we’re taking a break.”

“Sure. Sounds fun.”

“Yes. By all means, I would like to hear your impressions.”

Rose was innocent when it came to her craft. She effortlessly conveyed her cheerfulness, and it was pretty adorable. I enjoyed these conversations with her. It was also relaxing to me. Even though things were going well, there were still many hurdles that we had to clear to fulfill my objective. Relaxation was necessary to keep our focus on what was to come.

The clattering of the vehicle’s wheels resounded around us as our conversation hit a pause.

“Oh yeah,” Katou said, suddenly realizing something. “Going back to what I said earlier...”

“What is it?” I asked.

“You were talking with Rose before I came over, right? What about?”

Her tone was casual, and she was half looking for a new topic to discuss.

“About Shiran’s circumstances,” Rose answered.

“Oh, that,” Katou replied, lowering her voice as a shadow of anxiety crossed her innocent features. “It’s a little worrying, isn’t it? Shiran seems rather unstable, after all.”

“Huh...?”

I hadn’t expected that kind of reaction. When Rose and I had talked about it, we were under the impression that everything was fine now, so Katou’s comment caught me completely off guard. I had no idea what she was talking about.

However, it was far too late to start questioning it now, because something happened right at that moment. Among the elves walking in front of us, the girl at the end of the line dropped something that looked like a moderately sized stick.

It was, in fact, a severed arm.

I thought I was seeing things. I wanted to be seeing things, but I wasn’t. There was a bracer-covered arm on the ground. It had been cleanly severed somewhere near the elbow. Strangely enough, there was no blood coming from it, not even a drop. If I had to describe it, it was more like it had come off, rather than been cut off. It just seemed so out of place.

To me, it looked like a mannequin’s arm or some kind of toy. There was no sense of reality to it, as if it were some poorly constructed nightmare. Sadly, though, this was unmistakably reality, and a cruel one at that.

I’d thought everything was fine now. I’d been relieved and relaxed and had already started thinking of the future. I’d never even imagined that Shiran had lied about being all right or that she’d been driven into such a corner that she’d had no choice but to do so.

In the next instant, the tranquil air around us crumbled, and a shrill scream pierced the sky.