“— Suimei was used asbait!?”
After Rofuri went outto perform sentry duties against any Mazoku that might follow, Reiji’s roarerupted in the vicinity that turned quiet.
— No need to worry.Gregory started his long speech with that opening line, stunning Reiji whocouldn’t believe what he heard, pressing forward as if he was going to grab himby the collar.
He didn’t show ashred of respect. This intense expression of the man known as a hero scaredGregory.
“Is that true!?”
“Y-Yes! It is just asI said.”
“Wha…!”
Reiji was too shockedto say anything. This was no joking matter, and must be the truth.
As Reiji bit his lipsand was about to grab Gregory by his shirt.
t.i.tania who had beenat a loss all this while stepped in to restrain Reiji.
“P-Please calm down,Reiji-sama!”
“B-But!”
“Gregory isn’t doneyet, please let him finish his story…”
“... Understood.”
t.i.tania had a point.Like she said, Gregory only got to the part about ‘Suimei-dono would be thebait so there shouldn’t be much danger on this end’.
… Seeing Reiji accepther counsel, t.i.tania patted her chest and sighed in relief. Next, t.i.tania whohad always been gentle used an unexpectedly stern gaze and voice to commandGregory:
“Gregory, tell useverything with not a single bit of falsehood. Can you do that?”
“... By your will.”
Gregory knelt as heanswered the princess. Maybe he wasintimidated by her piercing gaze as sweat wetted his forehead and he startedhis tale again.
“... I heard aboutthis when we met our contact person earlier. According to him, the Mazoku sentan army to the borders of Aster in order to kill the hero. They used Suimei-donoas bait in order to save the hero-dono from that army”
At this moment, Reijiwhose expression was gloomy started questioning Gregory.
“You mentioned thatSuimei is used as bait, how exactly? Did they ask Suimei to act as a decoy…”
“No. Suimei-donodoesn’t know about this.”
Everyone alreadyexpected Gregory to say that, but to pull this off would be rather difficult inreality. Since Suimei was acting as bait without knowing about it himself, aquestion arises.
“... So how did theymake Suimei the bait? Wouldn’t Mehter be attacked?”
“Yes, about that, theplan was enacted to match Suimei-dono’s departure from Mehter…”
“Match his departure?”
“Hmm? Hmm? W-Why?Suimei-kun never said he wanted to leave the capital?”
Yes, when they leftthe castle, Suimei only told them he wanted to live outside the castle. Mizukiquestion was only natural, since it contradicted what happened when they leftMehter.
“A-After we set offfrom Mehter, there was news about Suimei searching for a caravan escorta.s.signment through the adventurer’s guild.”
“Suimei visited theadventurer’s guild?”
“Yes. According tointel, Suimei seemed to have become a member of the Twilight Pavilion. Fromthis, it could be speculated that he planned to leave Mehter all along… Then.o.bles who knew about this and is related to the Demon King subjugationcampaign used Suimei to…”
So he was exploited.But this led to more questions. What was Suimei trying to do, he turned downthe journey with Reiji and company for the sake of safety in the first place.But despite that, he registered in the adventurer’s guild and accepted acaravan escort request. He wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t have a plan.
“Suimei-kun, whathappened…? It’s dangerous to leave the city, he should know that.”
“I don’t know. But Ithink Suimei must have acted after thinking it through.”
Seeing that uneasewas wavering In Mizuki’s eyes, Reiji asked Gregory once again:
“Forget it. Thereason why Suimei could become the bait is clear. But why did the n.o.bles didthat? They didn’t need to go out of their way and use Suimei as the decoy.”
That’s right, withthe Mazoku invading with an army and their allies having limited manpower, theonly option was to escape. Since running away would be good enough, therewasn’t any reason to use Suimei as bait.
“Hero-dono, there isa large Mazoku army heading our way. They might be slow because of their scale,but they are still Mazoku after all. No matter how slow they are marching, thearea they can cover is on a different level from the march of a human army. Inorder to avoid the possibility of the hero being captured, Lord Hardias…”
“So it’s DukeHardias!?”
“Yes…”
Because t.i.tania’svoice was filled with surprise, Gregory lowered his head timidly.
Who is this DukeHardias, I think I heard his name a long while ago.
Reiji tried searchinghis memories, but came up empty.
“Sorry Tia, but whois Duke Hardias?”
“... Duke Hardias isone of the handful of grand n.o.ble in Aster, he had been appointed by father toplan the defence against the Demon King invasion. However…”
“And the matter ofSuimei becoming the bait?”
In response, t.i.tanianodded heavily even though she didn’t have any proof. Gregory who knew thesituation said:
“...Yes. Like Iexplained, This is the decision Duke Hardias and some of the n.o.bles made ontheir own. And of course, they have no doubts about the power of the heroReiji, but they judged that it was still too early to face the opposing armydirectly, even with the help of supporting troops. That’s why they came up withthis plan.”
“... But even so,this is not a reason to forcibly make Suimei the bait, isn’t that right?”
“With regards tothat, it still isn’t clear why the Mazoku can sense the existence of the hero.The Mazoku who were captured by Hardias’ men only said they were here to killthe hero, and nothing more, but even so…. Pardon me, but I can’t confirm thereason with you either, maybe Suimei who was also summoned can disrupt the eyesof the enemy more easily… That’s why false information was leaked to theMazoku, diverting them to target the caravan Suimei-dono was traveling with.”
This method might beeffective too. Their group have not engaged the Mazoku army as of now, whichwas definitely related to them knowing the existence of the hero, but wasunable to pinpoint his location.
a.s.suming that theMazoku could sense the summoning of the hero through some means, no matter howaccurate that method was, there was value in launching a preemptive attack.They only knew the rough position of the hero and they still eagerly marchtheir army that way. This meant they reckon that they had a good chance ofdefeating the hero.
In that case, a pieceof information was necessary. That was the timing of the hero summoning.
“... The truth mighthave been exposed to the Mazoku when we announced to the whole world about ourjourney. But from the attacks so far— Is that possible?”
“That’s right, it’shard to think of it that way. Like Mizuki said, the Mazoku is moving too fast.”
Therefore, someoneamongst the Mazoku sensed the hero summoning before the news broke out.
“How did Duke Hardiasleak the false information to the Mazoku…? He couldn’t have an acquaintance inthe Mazoku right? How did he manage that?”
“A-According to thecontact person, soldiers were sent to Charlotte as messengers to spread theword to those who didn’t know about the Mazoku that the hero was hidden in thecaravan heading towards Kurand.”
“What!?”
“I-In that case,could it be…”
Terrible thoughtsswirled in her mind as Mizuki’s voice started to tremble. She seemed to havegrasped the meaning behind Gregory’s words accurately. The face of the younggirl turned pale with unease. Gregory answered with an expression that was amix of bitterness and regret to the young girl:
“... If the soldierswho only know the false information were captured, they will be interrogatedand spill what their mission was. However, if the soldiers were fed falseinformation from the very start, they will only divulge false information nomatter how they much they get interrogated. If the Mazoku fall for it, then theplan would be a success. That’s why the proposal pa.s.sed through in no time…”
“For such a thing to…”
“This is too much…”
This incident shockedthe two girls badly. t.i.tania covered her mouth and was dumbstruck, while Mizukilooked as if she was on the verge of tears.
In front of the twogirls, Reiji shouted angrily at Gregory:
“... Using human likethis… I-Isn’t that going overboard!? What do they think lives are!?”
“T-The life ofhero-dono cannot be compared to the life of soldiers. If we lose the hero whocan save tens of thousands of people for the sake of a dozen or so soldiers, itwould not be worth it.”
“Has Suimei beensacrificed because of such logic…!”
“The people in thecaravan are also unrelated to this. But…”
Gregory became quietas he listened to Reiji lose his temper and shout, and Mizuki groan. He musthave his own thoughts about using the lives of soldiers in such a way.
Reiji calmed downafter venting for a while, and tried his best to calm down and said:
“... Is there noother way?”
“When I learned aboutthis, the Mazoku army was already halfway across the territory of Charlotte,and pressing on to the mountainous region of the border. It is too late to doanything about it at this point…”
“Since you alreadyknew, why didn’t you say anything!”
“T-This can’t behelped! I was ordered not to reveal this before the time comes, as a knight, Idon’t have the authority to ignore this order… And when I knew about it, it wasalready…”
“T-Then… Suimei-kunis…”
“... He has probablymade contact with the Mazoku. According to the misinformation we spread, weonly mentioned that Suimei-dono didn’t have any outstanding features, worestrange clothes, and the approximate position of the caravan. There are no guarantees,but if they search the one who matches such conditions…”
“B-But! If he ran offsomewhere to hide…”
“That would bedifficult. It seems that the claws of the Mazoku even reached the inside of theNeruferian Empire. This means the Mazoku army was really large in scale. Sincethere already is a specific target zone, I think they will comb the areathoroughly. In that case, the caravan that didn’t know anything will…”
When they heardGregory’s speculations, everyone had a complicated expression. They were alldumbstruck, probably because of sadness, depression, or both. Both Mizuki andt.i.tania probably felt that Suimei who didn’t possess any power will be safe.Even Reiji was starting to feel this way.
At this moment,t.i.tania spoke again.
“... Our nationaldefence, no, what about the defences for Mehter and Kurand?”
“That’s right… Nowthat you mention that!”
t.i.tania’s wordssnapped Reiji back to reality. What happened to Suimei filled his entire head,so he didn’t thought about this part. If the Mazoku was targetting Suimei, thatmeant the country had been invaded by the Mazoku. There was no reason for themto stop their invasion after taking out the caravan. Thinking logically, thatmeant the city in the vicinity would be exposed to danger.
“Yes. For thedefences of Kurand, the local mecenaries and Mage guild had already startedrecruiting people who could fight, the adventurer’s guilds are also gatheringtheir elites in secret. As for Mehter, the knights and Mage corps are selectingand gathering trained personnel, and are organizing them into units.”
“If they could dealwith it so smoothly, then why did they use Suimei as bait…”
“There isn’t enoughtime to organize the units. To ensure there was time to issue orders andmobilize the units in Kurand, sacrificing Suimei-dono and the caravan was theonly way…”
So there was no otherway. In other to save the many, they had to discard the few. The logic wascorrect, but wasn’t it too much for the people who didn’t want to be sacrificed?
The idea that Suimeiwas in the dark about this made Reiji really anxious.
Mizuki who wasbeside Reiji was blinking tears away from the corner of her eyes because ofthis cruel blow.
“This is too much,this is really too much…”
Her moan and tearswere definitely her true feelings. She had the tenacity to take part in theDemon King subjugation campaign, but she was still a girl... The kingdomsummoned them to seek their help, but treated those who didn’t help in such away. When she heard about this, Mizuki couldn’t help sobbing in sorrow.
It was the same fort.i.tania. She lowered her head with her face a mixture of regret, pain anddepression. This happened right after befriending them.
Once again, Gregorykneeled onto the ground.
“My most sincereapologies!”
What’s the use ofapologizing like this. It wouldn’t change the fact that Suimei was in danger.Reiji couldn’t find the words to respond, even his wrath had burnt out. Theonly thing left was a melancholy he couldn’t shake away. The figure of themiddle-age knight with his forehead on the ground was right in front of him.What was he thinking when he made this apology? Was he just making a show ofapology with a look of absolute sincerity, but he was actually suppressing asmile in his heart?
How could he find outhis true intentions? As Reiji was thinking about things that made him hatehimself.
Ah—
Reiji feltinspiration struck like lightning.
Is that so. Thinkingit through calmly, it was easy to understand.
“Reiji-kun?”
Mizuki looked atReiji who seemed to have understood something—
“That’s enough,Gregory-san.”
“H-Hero-dono?”
He put his hands onGregory’s shoulders, ending his long apology. That’s right, there was no needto apologize. Or rather, he should be thankful to Gregory. Because—
“Gregory-san. When weasked about this, you should have been told not to divulge everything. You musthave been ordered to tell us the Mazoku is in the vicinity, and guide us tosome other place.”
t.i.tania and Gregorywere dumbstruck, and Mizuki asked immediately:
“Reiji-kun, what isthe matter?”
“If Gregory-san wasreally an underling of that n.o.ble Hardias, he wouldn’t need to tell us aboutSuimei in the first place. Gregory-san just needed to let us keep running away,and not tell us something that would make us distrust him.”
“Ah…”
Mizuki’s mutter ofcomprehension was soft, but it was clearer than any other sound in thevicinity.
Earning distrust.That’s right, the words did seem strange when she thought about it. If he toldthem the truth about Suimei’s situation, it would definitely earn their ire. Ifhe understood that, then he wouldn’t have done so. If it was the underlings ofthe ones who planned this, they would definitely hide the facts about Suimei.
But Gregory still told them all of this, probably because there was something in his heartthat couldn’t be twisted. And because of this sense of justice, he couldn’thold it in anymore.
“I am very sorry. Ionly realize this now. I am truly sorry for shouting at you without thinkingproperly.”
“Hero-dono…”
Gregory’s voicestarted choking as Reiji lower his head and conveyed his thoughts clearly.
Seeing him like this,t.i.tania also said:
“Gregory, my sincereapologies. I didn’t trust you until I heard what Reiji said.”
Gregory lowered hishead deeply when he heard that.
And as if he wasconfessing a sin, he slowly said:
“... I couldn’t doit. Tricking the people who had nothing to do with this world but was summonedto defeat the Demon King, and even accepted this duty. However, pretending notto know anything when their friend is in danger, is inhumane…”
Gregory who openedhis heart to the others lowered his head once more.
“My deep apologies. Icouldn’t do anything.”
“That’s enough. Enough.Because—”
That’s right, ifanyone was to be blamed, it was all his own fault. Reiji was the only one whowas summoned, but his two friends were dragged in. He even ignored his friend’sadvice, which led to this. Hence—
“... Reiji-sama?”
t.i.tania asked asReiji got up and turned his back.
But Reiji didn’t turnback, so t.i.tania called out to him anxiously again.
“W-Where do you wantto go, Reiji-sama?”
“...Do you even needto ask? I’m going to rescue Suimei now.”
“How can that be,what do you want to do by going there now!?”
“H-Hero-dono! Iunderstand how you feel, but you wouldn’t make it even if you go now! There areno horses now either!”
“There is anotherhorse. Rofuri’s horse.”
“Y-You are rightReiji, but there’s nothing you can do even if you go now! Even if you make it,there is still an army of Mazoku there. You will just be throwing your lifeaway!”
Reiji couldn’t refutet.i.tania’s counsel. What she said was true, there was no doubt about it. t.i.taniastopped him again:
“Reiji-sama, pleasereconsider this. If anything happened to Reiji-sama, Then who will defeatNakshatra?”
“... Ugh!”
Yes, just liket.i.tania said, Since he accepted their request and came here, that meant he wasalready the hero. Forgetting that and running amok because of his emotions andlosing his life, was in a way betraying them.
— Even so, there weresome things he couldn’t accept.
“No…”
“R-Reiji-sama?”
“I don’t want toabandon Suimei. Suimei is my friend, so…”
He was gritting histeeth from regret and clenching his fist, but Reiji didn’t give up, he stillwant to help his friend. Just like Mizuki, Suimei was his irreplaceable friend.That’s why he didn’t want to lose him. It might already be too late, but he didn’twant to just stand idly by.
t.i.tania looked at himwith a worried gaze. From her eyes, it was clear she was in a dilemma betweensubjugating the Demon King and her own feelings. She probably didn’t know whatto do.
Shifting t.i.tania outof his sight, Reiji turned towards Mizuki.
“... Mizuki.”
“I-I want to…”
“Mizuki! Let’s go! Tohelp Suimei!”
Grabbing Mizuki’s shoulders, Reiji urged the young girl.Urging her strongly to help their friend, because he believed that if it washer, she will definitely agree.
“Ah, ugh…”
When he noticed,Mizuki was trembling a little.
“Ah…”
From her deep blackeyes, Reiji could tell that Mizuki was trembling from fear.
That’s right, thisyoung girl entered the battlefield for the first time just now. Her firstfight, facing off against the Mazoku for the first time. Back then, Reiji felther fear during the battle. If that was the case, was it really fine to forcethis young girl to take on the Mazoku army with him?
No, it’s definitelynot fine. It’s not fine pushing such a burden on a trembling young girl at all.
At this instant, theterm ‘being full of oneself’ floated in his mind. Thinking back about howeveryone else thought, he looked around him again, and saw doubt in everyone’sfaces.
“... I am sorry,Mizuki.”
“R-Reiji-kun?”
He turned his back tothe voice calling out to him after apologizing. Even now, he still didn’t wantto give up. So—
“Just me alone wouldbe fine, everyone please wait in a safe place. Rofuri-san!”
Reiji shouted atRofuri who was just returning from a patrol some distance away. Rofuri whodidn’t know what was happening tilted his head as he rode over.
“Yes? How may Iserve, Reiji-sama?”
“Lend me your horse.”
“Hmm? Alright, noproblem, what are you…”
As Rofuri dismounted,the voice of two people echoed out as if they were trying to cut him off.
“Please wait,Reiji-sama!”
“Wait, Reiji-kun!”
The cries came frombehind Reiji. At this moment, Reiji—
Part 6
Suimei who left thecaravan to chase after Lefille was walking in the forest as he track the tracesof the girl’s magic presence. He couldn’t catch up immediately probably becauseLefille left rather swiftly in order to not trouble the caravan. It wasn’tstrange for the girl who left according to Galeo’s wishes without any complainsto act this way.
As he strolled in theforest in search of Lefille, Suimei looked up at the forest canopy obscuringhis view of the cloudy sky and thought:
This place iscompletely untamed. Wild beasts or monsters from a fantasy world will probablyshow up...
Suimei stopped for amoment to rest and leaned against the tree before him. He drank about amouthful of water from his canteen, and sighed. It was a given that there weremonsters here. The forest of this different world was obviously much moredangerous than the world he came from.
I actually entered aplace like this by my own will, ara…
He probably felt thatit was strange, or that this was a foolish action. But even if Suimei askedhimself that, he couldn’t get an answer anyway as his doubt started to expandin his mind. At this moment, right before he moistened his throat with wateragain, Suimei asked nonchalantly.
“— I am sorry formaking you so tense, but please spare me from your blade.”
“——!?”
These words weredirected at the killing intent behind him that was filled with nervousness.
Suimei’s calm voiceechoed in the serene forest. Shortly after, the noise of gra.s.s being trampled couldbe heard, and a certain familiar voice that was filled with bafflement enteredhis ears.
“... Suimei-kun? Whyare you here?”
“Well, as you cansee, I came here for you.”
Looking back, thefigure of Lefille with the tip of her sword drooping down was right behind her.Because Suimei had a weak sense of presence, Lefille thought he was a beastthat was stalking her, and was planning to cleave him along with the tree hewas leaning on in half.
“You chased afterme…? That’s too reckless, it is dangerous to stay with me alright? Why did youdo that?”
“Well, it’s becauseleaving you alone is too dangerous. I am very concerned.”
“D-Don’t worry. I canmanage on my own. You are just b.u.t.ting into my affairs unnecessarily.”
“You can deal withthe danger by yourself?”
“Yes.”
That’s how proud andheadstrong Lefille was. Suimei made an accusation with a sarcastic smile:
“Pardon me for beingblunt, but do you have enough food and water?”
“Ugh… Well, that…”
“Is that so?”
Lefille was dumbstruck as she averted her gaze awkwardly. Asthe girl before Suimei was being force to admit her defeat, Lefille thought ofa retort and turned back to her usual serious expression.
“But you are notcarrying any luggage too right? Someone who didn’t even prepare his ownprovision is not qualified—”
“Are you still goingto say that after seeing this?”
As if he was tryingto break her serious expression, Suimei said casually as he took out a luggagebag from the briefcase he was carrying, even though it was much larger than thebriefcase.
“... To tell me off…”
“What was that aboutbeing qualified? Are you saying the amount of provision I prepared is notqualified?”
Before Suimei whoseemed rather arrogant, Lefille was shocked.
The amount wasdefinitely up to standard. Suimei’s student briefcase made use of magic toexpand its capacity. Even the combination of Kabbalah and Alchemy could onlyincrease the capacity to that of a 150 litre foreign made luggage bag.
“... What is thisweird magic item?”
“Calling it weird, how mean… Anyway, you can’t say I am anunnecessary busybody now, right?”
“That might be so…Suimei-kun, do you really think it is fine to stay with me?”
“What can I do if I say I am regretting it very much?”
“Erm… I am sorry.”
“Not at all. If Iwill regret it immediately, I wouldn’t have come. Don’t worry about it.”
Facing Lefille whowas lowering her head with a gloomy expression, Suimei answered as if he wasjoking. That’s right, he wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t worried about howLefille felt, it was impossible for him to regret this.
Even though he saidthat, Lefille still couldn’t accept the way Suimei cut off his retreat pathwithout anything to gain.
“But I am beingtargeted by the Mazoku you know?”
“True.”
“If that is so…”
If that is so, howshould I put it? Lefille understood she was in the weaker position, andcouldn’t make such high handed speech. Looking at Lefille who was caught in anxiety,Suimei spoke:
“Lefille, you thinkit would be better if I stayed with the caravan and leave you alone?”
“That is…”
Suimei raised adifferent question to Lefille who couldn’t answer. Peering through the forestcanopy, the sky was cloudy just like the gloomy atmosphere between them. Suimeisaid calmly as if he was asking the question to the sky.
“— Hey, tell me thetruth Lefille, which side do you think is better?”
“What do you mean…”
“For you, would yourather I come here or stay with the caravan?”
“D-Do you even needto ask!? Staying with the caravan is better! That’s what you should do!”
“Really?”
“R-Really.”
Lefille made a facethat seemed a little angry, and answered as if she was confirming something.Was she angry because she was not believed, or was she just putting on a strongfront? Suimei pointed at Lefille and dealt the final blow.
“Then, can you swearto Alshuna that you are not lying?”
“What!? That is…”
“How about it?”
“... You really are a mean man.”
After Lefille sighedin resignation, Suimei asked again:
“Well then, how doyou feel about it?”
“Ahhh, it’s greathere if you can come. But—”
“In that case, isn’tit fine?”
“Huh—”
“Nothing, there is noneed to debate whether this is a wise choice. It’s fine if we feel like it, solet’s stop the topic here. This is the smoother way of dealing with it, right?”
“Ah…”
Suimei looked atLefille who turned silent after hearing something unexpected.
It’s true. Even ifthey discuss this further, what could they achieve? The best way of doingthings couldn’t be found if you don’t search for it. Just arriving at theanswer and saying it out would be enough. No matter how much she argued, thesorrow and pain in her heart wouldn’t fade.
That’s why he didn’twant to continue arguing about it. No matter how much they argue, theconclusion wouldn’t change. Hence, Suimei interrupted what Lefille wanted tosay.
“... What? You stillhave some complaints?”
“No. Everything is as you said in the beginning.”
Her voice was morecheerful than earlier. She didn’t accept it outright, but she still rolled withit.
Suimei scratched hishead and sighed. From the perspective of a third party, his choice right nowwasn’t correct. Doing this would only give him disadvantages. But the decisionon whether this action was right had to be made by the person himself. If thesubject thought that it was correct, it wouldn’t be a big deal even if itwasn’t the best or wisest choice.
— And brooding toomuch about the pros and cons at this point would be rather shameful.
“I’m sorry,Suimei-kun.”
“Why do you need toapologize?”
“It’s probably myfault that the Mazoku came. That’s why...”
“Ahhh, what thatbulky Mazoku said? But at that time, it seemed like it was the first time heremembered you though. No matter how I see it, I don’t think he was targetingyou from the very beginning.”
Suimei objected toher apology. That was just excessive self reproach on herself. What Rajas saidwas fragmented, and there was a part about blaming Lefille that didn’t makesense. The adventurers all blamed her for the appearance of Rajas but, if youthink about it carefully, it had no relation to her. The Mazoku came lookingfor a different person and encountered Lefille coincidentally would be a moreconvincing story. It just happened that everyone panicked and didn’t recoverfrom the shock of being attacked by the Mazoku, and an easy target to cast theblame on just happened to be nearby. It was a result of a series of unfortunatecoincidence.
Not everyone couldkeep their cool and judgement, without someone like that around, being forcedinto a corner will result in this happening most of the time.
However, Lefilledidn’t seem convinced.
“However, theyactually divert some of their forces into Aster when they were still in astandoff with Thoria and various other western nations. That could only mean...”
“What, you think theMazoku diverted some of their forces just for you? You seem awfully confidentin your own power.”
“Wa, I’m speakingseriously though? Don’t make fun of me please!”
“Heh heh, my bad mybad. True, Lefille is strong.”
Suimei apologized forhis joke and flattered Lefille’s strength. But Lefille responded in a sharptone with an unhappy expression for some reason.
“... It feels as if Iam being toyed around like a fool.”
“No such thing.Didn’t Lefille cleave the opponent I had a hard time fighting in two easily?”
That was Suimei’strue feelings in the battle a little ago. But, Lefille still had something onher mind. There was a word or two she wanted to say. But Suimei ignored thatand continued what he was saying.
“So… that’sright, that tough Mazoku, that thing hesaid about Lefille being the survivor of Noshias… If I remember right, Noshiaswas…”
Only having inquireda bit about the expression, he was cut off by Lefille’s weary voice.
“...You’re unfamiliarabout the culture of this region, yet you know about it.”
“Ahh… well yeahh…”
Suimei thought aboutit a little, and made a vague response. That reminded him about what hisbackground was suppose to be. Being unfamiliar with common knowledge but havingknowledge about international affairs, it was only natural if others found himweird.
Suimei nagged tohimself in his head, and Lefille who seemed to have resigned slowly spoke.
“Ah… that"s right,it’s as he said, I’m a survivor of Noshias.”
Lefille revealed herident.i.ty she had been hiding all along. She sounded out her confession, andexplaining that she was the survivor of the country destroyed by the Mazoku.One couldn’t help empathizing with her when listening to her sorrowful voice.
“True, that nationlies on the boundary between the realm of humans and the Mazoku territory, sothey were the first to be attacked.”
“You know a lot.”
“...Well, it was aserious event.”
It was the reason whyReiji and they were summoned to this world, how could he forget.
Lefille returned tothe topic and affirmed in a forlorn voice.
“...Ahh, sinceancient times, Noshias was the barrier keeping out the Mazoku. But it fell inless than a month.”
“I heard from someonethat it was an army of a million.”
“A million troops… Idon’t know where you heard that but was it true? We haven’t seen that number ofliving beings, so we can’t be sure.”
Her response was calmand collected. But that roundabout way of putting it seemed to be implyingsomething.
To Suimei whocouldn’t fully grasp what she said, Lefille’s eyes turned sharp, as if she waswatching a black and white film.
“It was an ocean.From one end of the horizon to the next, the Mazoku was like an ocean, formingan army of uncountable numbers, attacking us from across the border.”
The look that Lefillejust had, that impression. Suimei vaguely imagined that, a swallowing noiseringing out, living things advancing like a tsunami, what in the world could itbe? The horizon disappearing, and that side being flooded with by a groupwithout human morals. It would be equal to nature’s wrath, nay, a greaterwickedness since individually they all had purpose. If that were to attack,could humans bear it? As that thought rushed in his head, suddenly Lefille…
“What I saw at thenorthernmost fortress was, that scene. At that time, I didn’t only experiencejust that much.”
“Only that, it was amatter where you were driven with no margin to spare.”
“Ahh, it’s as yousaid, we tried with everything we had. We shot at the advancing Mazoku in frontof our eyes.”
“So, did that toughMazoku at that time…”
To Suimei’s vaguequestion, Lefille returned a nod of affirmation.
“Rajas. He was afterthat. After collecting the survivors and retreating, he was left with the taskof fighting. It’s also as you heard previously, He seemed to be one of theseven Demon Generals.”
“I guess, he wassaying something like that.”
To Lefille’s words,he remembered Rajas’ speech; He said he was one of the beings entrusted with anarmy by Nakshatra.
“Seven of them huh”
“Ahh, that time also,in the midst of the fight, I remember I heard him say that. I also don’tunderstand in detail but he boasted that the seven armies were divided intothree regiments.”
“Three. Andconsidering that there could be over one million then, if they join togetherwhat do we do...”
It was gettingincreasingly unpleasant of a talk.
He hadn’t experiencedsomething like that, but Suimei’s tone hinted that he’d had his share ofhardships. By simply multiplying one million by three, there would be threetimes the numbers. But if Lefille’s story is to be completely believed, then itcan’t be thought of so simply. With such a number and the Mazoku beingnon-humans, pushing this burden onto the handful of summoned heroes was askingfor the impossible. Suimei himself was also in this world but, as expected ifthe world was hoping on the heroes to defeat them then the future is doubtful.
“So, at that time,the me who fought Rajas, my legs and hands couldn’t face his power. The armywas also in disarray, and after that, I, at that female Mazoku…”
There was anunfamiliar word in what Lefille just said. Suimei casually asked concerningthat.
“Female Mazoku? Isthere such a thing?”
“No.. it’s nothing.So then…The reason why Noshias was the first to be targeted, was probably notjust because of its geographical location.”
That was the core ofthe story hinted at by splitting and coming here with the army. Moreover,without saying so, Suimei who knew a bit about it also had that belief.
“The spirit right?”
“Spirit?”
“Ahh, it’s about thepower Lefille has. It’s what they call it from where I’m from. Spirit.”
“Are there otherpeople who have a power like mine in the east?”
“Uhh, not quite likeLefille’s, but I guess they are in the same category.”
“...?”
Suimei didn’t quiteknow what to call it himself, but Lefille was even more confused. Of course.Most likely, this world had a different definition of spirits compared to theother world. This world, like the other world, the power of humans were muchweaker than that of nature and mysterious origin. First of all, without thefoundational knowledge gained from the research of multiple magic, theinformation this world had of spirits were pitifully limited. Hence, theyprobably didn’t understand what kind of an existence spirits were.
Lefille paused,trying to digest and understand what Suimei said, but in the end, without an answer,continued back on topic.
“I don’t really knowwhat to call it, but it’s as you said, we call upon spirits. My country, sincelong ago, called upon that power in response to the Mazoku.”
“That reminds me, yousaid that your swordsmanship was also handed down over generations, is thatalso?”
“Aa. My ancestorswere an existence that was born between spirits and humans. In order for humansto resist the Mazoku, the G.o.ddess Alshuna arranged it. This swordsmanship wasalso born then, and it has helped the heroes who have called on that power aswell.”
“Heroes, seriously?”
To the unexpectedmention of the word in Lefille’s story, Suimei muttered quietly. It couldn’tbe, Lefille’s ancestors were the ones who became the power of the called uponheroes long ago. And now, instead of being with the heroes, the descendantswere with him, what kind of twisted karma is that? One can’t help but thinkthat some unknown ent.i.ty is toying with them.
Thereupon, Lefille’sfacial expression showed loneliness and sadness.
“I also thought thatI wanted to protect people, to save people. But ultimately, that dream ended.And now I’m in this sorry state.”
Saying that, Lefillecast her eyes down dejectedly. After running away from her homeland, becomingan adventurer, being constantly slandered, she tasted loneliness. On top ofthat personal history, her dreary heart called for help. Yearning and yearningfor that unfulfilled dream, her last face was one of a girl betrayed byreality. That, was certainly there. The wish to protect, the wish to saveothers, nothing but pure honest craving, denying any ill will, thatunreasonable wish that was s.n.a.t.c.hed away, she had that kind of heartbreakingface.
She had power. That’swhy, she made the best of it. For someone. But, she couldn’t do anything nomatter what. Like she was trying to get some kind of recompense. Nay, if shedid it, even now she, to that sense...
“Hey, Lefille.Mazoku… what in the world are they?”
Despite the look inher eyes saying she wanted to get away from the topic, Lefille suddenlyanswered the question.
“Hm huh. To behonest, I don’t really know. Most likely, there’s n.o.body in the world whoreally knows about them. Aside from the little in stories handed down fromsince long ago, there’s probably no way to get information about the Mazoku.”
“And that “little instories?”“
“In those olden days,the evil G.o.d that fought with Alshuna… was what was said before. That evil G.o.dwho boasted of enormous power, in the end was driven to the dimensionalthreshold by Alshuna, the elements, and the spirits.”
“Ah”
Suimei agreed. Itconcurred with what he’d learned during a previous trip. In general heremembered the story, most likely her calling it the s.p.a.ce between worlds iswhat the exterior world is called here, the other world is at the cavity atthat threshold, the world’s edge. Seeing Suimei nod in affirmation, Lefillecontinued.
“It was said that theMazoku were the servants of that evil G.o.d. Accepting the evil G.o.d’s divineblessing, in the chaos of just the strife and death, they filled this world.”
Chaos, an incredibleterm came up. No, it was already an incredible topic when the evil G.o.d isinvolved. In the end, the result of the devil worship, had the same intentionas the evil G.o.ds of the outer worlds. Then, next is...
“You said divineprotection but, then the origin of that power of the Mazoku is the evil G.o.d?”
“Ahh, that remindsme, I have a feeling that that theory does also exist. I also don’t rememberwell but…”
“Hmm..”
“What’s wrong?Suimei-kun”
“Mazoku… what theyare. I have my own theory.”
“Fumu. Your thinkingeh? Interesting.”
“Do you want to hearit?”
“Yeah because as itis I do have an interest in it”
...is what she saidbut what he was thinking was pretty admirable. Lefille was laughing with sheer admiration.However, that face was honestly an interest from the heart, and showed herantic.i.p.ation. The possibility that he arrived at the truth was improbable.Anyway, about that.
Now then, first...
“Listen, first is,from the definition of the evil G.o.d in your story.”
Suimei had come intocontact with what was known as devils or spirits in his original world. Theybasically exist in the outer world, a theoretical existence that possessedpower similar to that of legends. They could be summoned with spells, given aname and its existence defined. After that, they will appear in the world asdevils or spirits.
The spirits definedin the original world were vague without a fixed appearance, just aninformation like existence. And G.o.d— the G.o.d here referring to a higher levelof existence than spirits— was not just a vague existence like spirits, but apowerful body of information with a will of their own.
In other words theevil G.o.d is…
“... The evil G.o.dexists in the gaps between dimensions, which is the outer world, and its goalis to fill the world with chaos. Even now, it is watching this place closelyfrom the outer world, hoping to accomplish its goal. But that thing’s existenceis bounded there, and can’t interfere with this world directly like the timesof the ancient G.o.ddess war. In its place, the Mazoku that serve the evil G.o.dinherit its will, and are bestowed with the powers of the evil G.o.d theyworship, squirming in the dark to fill the world with chaos.”
“Muu…”
“Well… it’s a clichedstory but, that’s the script if you think about our earlier conversation.Things started during the beginning of the world, when the seed of futurestrife was planted… oops”
Whether everythingabout the Mazoku was like that, he didn’t know but, noticing his digression, hewent back on topic.
“For practicalproblems that’s fine but, concerning that puppet Mazoku…