Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 9 - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: The Elves’ Bond

Shiran’s personal problem had finally been solved in the truest sense, but that didn’t mean everything was over yet. Leah and Helena had seen her arm fall off, so we couldn’t go back to them and just act like nothing had happened.

That said, I couldn’t think of any good explanations that would deceive them. Regardless, even if I could think of one, we weren’t swindlers. I didn’t think we could actually trick them, and we had no reason to go out of our way to lose their trust. It was already too late to hide things.

I decided that we should be up front with them. However, in order to explain Shiran’s situation as my servant, at least in name, I’d have to reveal some of my own circumstances. Based on our interactions to date, Leah and Helena were trustworthy, but whether they could accept someone like me was an entirely different question.

“I’m so sorry. Because of me, you have to...” Shiran said despondently.

“Don’t worry about it. We had to go down this road eventually, anyway,” I consoled her.

To be honest, I would’ve liked a little more time. I had a pretty favorable relationship with Leah and Helena now, but we weren’t friendly enough that I could be sure of their reaction. Now that it had come to this, though, complaining wouldn’t get me anywhere.

“But, Master, they might draw their swords against us,” Lily said carefully, daring to tread on a disagreeable topic. “What’ll we do if that happens?”

“I thought about that too,” I replied, grateful for her consideration, “but I don’t think it’ll be a problem. The reclamation village’s forces can’t do much to us.”

“Well, that’s true.”

It would be a severe mental blow, but no physical harm would come to us.

“If they reject us,” I added, “we won’t be able to stay in Shiran’s hometown. That’ll be unfortunate, but at that point, we’ll just have to start over from scratch.”

It would be best if it didn’t come to that, but we resolved ourselves for the worst and headed back to where the others were waiting.

◆ ◆ ◆

The elves awaiting our return were all in various states. Leah was clearly emotionally unstable and liable to scream at any moment. This was apparently her being relatively calm too. I heard later that right after Shiran ran off, she’d lost her composure completely. Lobivia had had to hold her down by force while Katou had talked to her exhaustively to get her to calm down. I couldn’t thank the two of them enough.

Compared to Leah, Helena was far more composed. Her expression was stiff, and she stared at me fixedly. As for Kei, she ran straight to Shiran as her emotions ran rampant.

“Shiran! Shiraaan!”

Happy that her sister had returned, she cried, then got angry, then finally hugged her.

“Thank goodness, Shiran...”

“I’m sorry, Kei.”

Shiran, who’d been actively avoiding any physical contact with Kei, accepted her embrace. Perhaps she had regained some of her composure now that her hunger had been sated. I hoped physical contact like this would have a positive influence on her heart.

I couldn’t just stand around watching them forever, so I turned toward Leah and Helena. I had something to do.

“I’m sorry, Leah, Helena. May I speak to you for a moment?”

I prepared a spot where I could explain everything to them. Incidentally, Shiran wouldn’t be participating. She’d said she would join us, but I’d told her to get some rest instead. With everything that had happened, she was emotionally exhausted. Besides, it would be hard on her to talk about it, and we couldn’t guess how Leah and Helena were going to react. Considering that her mental state could have a negative effect on her undead body, she needed to rest instead. I’d discussed this with her on our way back to everyone, so she obediently adhered to my request.

I waited for Shiran and Kei to take shelter in the manamobile, then began explaining things to Leah and Helena. I told them about myself, about Lily and the other girls, and about Shiran. I’d already thought about what I would say in this situation, so I spoke fluently.

The two of them were shocked, naturally. Or maybe they couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Common sense told them that no one could tame monsters. It also told them that undead monsters with a sense of reason only existed in a theatrical play they could see in Aker’s capital; it was nothing more than a fairy tale loosely based on a king from the past.

They reacted as expected, but once I called Gerbera out of the manamobile, they had no choice but to believe me. Leah went weak in the knees and nearly fainted, but she still heard me out until the very end.

“And that’s everything,” I said once I finished.

“I understand,” Leah said, groaning and holding her hand to her brow, “but please give me a moment...”

Her breathing was shallow. She was obviously distraught.

“Takahiro can tame monsters... Lily and the others are monsters he tamed... Shiran is now an undead monster... And the accident earlier was because of this? That can’t possibly be...”

This was apparently too much for her to absorb at once. She was so pale that I could have mistaken her as being undead too. Her reaction was normal, of course. The commander was the exception for accepting things immediately. I decided to pause here. I didn’t know whether the passage of time would have a positive or negative effect, but at this rate, Leah was likely to faint.

As I worried about Leah’s well-being, someone broke the silence.

“Granny, were you lying when you said that you were happy Shiran came back safely?” Helena asked, her voice steady and unyielding. “No matter what shape it took, Shiran came back to us, right?”

Helena didn’t seem particularly perturbed by my story. At the very least, she looked like she’d accepted the situation and could voice her opinions composedly. Honestly, I didn’t expect her to react like this.

“Um, a demi-whatsit, right?” she continued, ignoring my astonishment. “It’s definitely a surprise, but that kind of thing doesn’t really matter, does it?”

She wasn’t just accepting the situation. I could sense the resolve behind her words.

“Helena...”

Leah was at a loss. It was as if someone had poured ice water over her head. Helena continued staring at her grandmother angrily, and after a few seconds, Leah smiled.

“Yes... You’re...right. It...doesn’t matter.”

She spoke slowly, as if she were contemplating the meaning behind each word, and after a short while, she sighed deeply.

“It’s just as you say, Helena. Even if her body is that of an undead monster now, Shiran is Shiran. Even if he commands monsters, Takahiro is Takahiro. Nothing has changed.”

“So...” I prompted.

“Yes. It is like my husband said last night,” Leah replied, nodding. “The debt we owe you for saving our village won’t disappear, no matter what happens. You also saved Shiran. Akerian royalty, to whom we are greatly obliged, invited you to Aker to begin with. We said that we would accept you, no matter your circumstances. That was no lie.”

Leah paused, then smiled bitterly.

“Having said that,” she added, “I might not sound very convincing after I lost my composure like that just moments ago.”

“It’s fine. I understand your reaction,” I replied.

“I’m grateful that you’d say so.”

Leah giggled, then gave me a serious look. She straightened her posture and continued.

“In the Woodlands, there is nothing more precious than a trustworthy ally. Failing to discern this can easily lead to a village’s destruction.”

There was a weight behind her words that befit one responsible for an entire village.

“We were informed beforehand that your circumstances were complicated and that they might be difficult for us to accept. Knowing that, we still decided to accept you. If my husband were here, I’m sure he would come to the same decision.”

She spoke without hesitation. The elves living in the Woodlands were homely, highly dutiful, and very compassionate. I was reminded of that once more today.

“Even now, I hope that we can maintain a friendly relationship, Takahiro,” Leah said with a deep bow.