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Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 3 - Chapter 12

Published at 7th of February 2020 03:03:56 PM


Chapter 12

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Chapter 12 – Down Our Respective Paths

Synopsis of the last chapter:

A cute nesting doll.

“Leader-san was detained? That’s ridiculous…”

Mikihiko’s words shocked me.

Leader-san had, together with Mikihiko, gone to visit Earl Lawrence in Selatta.

All to ask for the safeguarding of the Empire’s soldiers once stationed at Fortress Tilia, and to spread the news of Fortress Tilia’s fall to various other places.

So then, why would she be detained?

“What’s wrong, Master?”

“It looks like something’s happened.”

Rose and the others, having heard the commotion, came from the room next to us.

I closed my eyes for a second and calmed myself, and then turned my eyes to Mikihiko.

“…Just what happened.”

“Well. Actually—”, Mikihiko began explaining what had happened.

After leaving town, Mikihiko and Leader arrived in Selatta after travelling half of a day. They immediately made an appointment and were shown into the fortress.

Upon doing so, Mikihiko was escorted to a room different from Leader-san’s.

Regardless of his feelings, Mikihiko was an outsider from their point of view. If he were to be told that there were things that could not be said in front of an outsider, he would have no choice but to leave.

Mikihiko accepted, though reluctant, as Leader-san agreed.

But, no matter how long he waited after that, Leader-san never returned.

Thinking it strange, he questioned Earl Lawrence’s servants, but they answered evasively.

Only when morning came was Mikihiko able to hear what happened from one of the maids, and learned that Leader-san—and the Alliance’s Knights accompanying her—were being detained in one of the fortress’ rooms.

Realizing he had no choice, Mikihiko slipped out from the fortress using his position as a hero and came all the way here, constantly watching for anyone.

“To tell you the truth, after we made the appointment, we waited around in town for a bit. Leader told me then about what to do if this happened.”

“Wait. Leader-san expected things to end up like this?”

“Dunno. She talked about it like she just happened to think of it midway, even laughing it off, ‘It probably won’t happen anyway’…”

Nevertheless, she did go out of her way to say that. Leader-san might have foreseen this happening.

And, following her words, Mikihiko was now here.

“See, like I told you before. That Leader-san may be forced to take the blame for Fortress Tilia’s fall. I wasn’t able to meet with Leader due to time constraints, and it’s not like I could ask someone who actually knew why, so I can’t say for sure… but I don’t think I’m wrong in saying that’s why she was detained.”

“And nothing else seems to fit… hmm.”

“But, Mikihiko-dono. Despite all that, aren’t Earl Lawrence’s actions a bit overbearing?” Silane questioned, jumping into our conversation.

Her face, partially concealed by the bandages, was visibly tense. The same went for the knights behind her.

“Leader is Aker’s princess. Sure, Aker is a small country and has limited power compared to the Empire. However, such aggressive acts are not so tame that they would not take action. The other Five Northern Countries will follow suit. If that happens, their relations will inevitably worsen. Earl Lawrence owns the Trade City Selatta, and profits from trading with other fiefs and countries, so all the more so. I cannot believe he would do such a thing…”

“What kind of person is Earl Lawrence?” I asked Silane, organizing the conversation in my head.

What Silane was saying was correct, but political figures weren’t always rational. In a feudal society like this, this was all the more true.

“Though I have never met him personally, rumor has it his personality is to err on the more cautious side when doing things. I cannot believe he would do something that would worsen his relationship with foreign countries…”

“Leader told me he was an opportunist, and therefore the possibility things would end up like this were low,” Mikihiko bluntly added, following Silane’s words.

Upon hearing the simplistic commentary about him, my brows creased.

“…So why, then, was Leader-san detained?”

Everything said up until this point didn’t fit.

The situation was worse than Leader-san had anticipated.

Perhaps something terrible was happening somewhere unbeknownst to us.

I had a bad feeling.

I hoped that this was just my bad habit of overthinking things, but…

“I can’t say for sure, but there is one thing I’m worried about.”

The glint in Mikihiko’s eyes sharpened from underneath his glasses as he spoke.

“I found this out while gathering information inside the fortress, but apparently Margrave McLoughlin and his escorts are currently visiting Selatta.”

“Margrave McLoughlin… the bigshot noble in the Empire, famed as the ‘Elf Hater’?” I spoke, puzzled at the unexpected name.

Mikihiko nodded.

“Guess you could call it bad luck. Or maybe, he heard about Fortress Tilia’s fall and happily went out on official business.”

“Happily…? Wait a second. Are you saying that Margrave McLoughlin was the one who detained Leader?”

“It’s just a guess at most, but…” Mikihiko spoke, turning to Silane for a second opinion.

Silane hesitated for a moment, but soon nodded.

“Margrave McLoughlin’s household has been in a bad relationship with the Northern Five Countries for generations. Diving down into history, their relationship dates back to the war era between the Empire and the Alliance… in fact, Margrave’s household itself was originally appointed to him based on his achievements in the war against the Alliance. Even now, their relationship is that of political enemies.”

The strife between the Empire and Alliance was hundreds of years old.

Now, the memory of the war was in the distant past. However, that historical fact cast a shadow on the distant future.

The difference on how they treated Elves was probably only one of the gaps separating them.

“If he had a chance to, he would gleefully go after her—so much so that it would be like gouging an open wound. And, though I say this, Leader in particular is even teased as being an ‘Elf Lover’, so…”

Silane’s words only reinforced Mikihiko’s.

…Was this enough for a brief explanation, I wonder?

I didn’t know even a single thing about Margrave McLoughlin.

Her criticisms of him might have been biased to some extent, considering she herself was an original inhabitant of Aker, one of the Five Northern Countries. However, even with that, it was evident there were gaps between the two.

Leader-san’s miscalculation was the fact that a big-shot noble was staying in Selatta currently—one that had no qualms with worsening his country’s relationship with the Elves.

“I understand the gist of the situation.”

There were a few parts I was unsure about, but there was no point in giving it any more thought.

For now, I decided to stop thinking about those.

“So, what will happen to Leader-san now?”

Between the Empire’s Southern Army, the Empire’s Knight Order, and the Alliance’s Knight Order, over one thousand people had died in the incident caused by Juumonji at Fortress Tilia.

On top of that, Fortress Tilia was an essential strategic point for humanity; I couldn’t even imagine what would happen to the person fully responsible for Fortess Tilia’s fall.

“You don’t think…they’ll make her take full responsibility for Fortress Tilia’s fall and execute her—” I stopped talking midway.

I had noticed Silane’s expression distorting in pain. I shouldn’t have said that so carelessly.

“No. They wouldn’t go that far.”

Fortunately, my fears were denied by Mikihiko.

“The Aker royal family is loved by the people. Setting aside his restraint, if he were to do something as unreasonable as that, a war would almost certainly break out with Aker. Next: him himself. The other Five Northern Countries wouldn’t remain silent either. If his mischief worsened the state of the Northern Part of the Sea of Trees, countless men of the Southern Empire would be in danger—even Margrave McLoughlin. In the worst case, the Temple Knights might even mobilize.”

“The Temple Knights?”

“Yeah. The Temple Knights’ primary role is to challenge the Sea of Trees alongside the heroes, but due to the church’s wishes, they also play a role in maintaining this world’s order. The Temple Knights are the strongest military organization in this world. Furthermore, they have religious control over the law. Should they move, Margrave would be ruined.”

Basically: unless he had a death-wish, he wouldn’t take that big of a risk.

The reason why Margrave McLoughlin had gone out of his way to go visit Selatta—despite having absolutely no connection to this incident—was, simply put, to harass his hated political enemy.

Therefore, he had no need to worry about being ruined.

Mikihiko’s words were right on point.

“…Though, all of that is just second-hand info from Leader. Anyway, it’s extremely unlikely an execution would happen at Margrave McLoughlin’s mercy.”

“Shouldn’t you not have to worry about Leader-san’s safety, then?”

Mikihiko nodded, and then his expression darkened.

“But now that she’s been detained, Margrave McLoughlin’s going to try his hardest to make Leader take blame for it. Regardless of the truth of the matter, Leader is definitely in a position to be held accountable for it. She will be escorted to the Imperial Capital. A hearing will then be held, and a punishment will be given.”

“…What will happen specifically?”

Steeling myself at the ominous premonition I had, I spoke with a slightly lower voice, which sank into the quiet room.

The hustle and bustle outside made my small voice seem all the more tinier.

“Leader predicted… that she would be relieved from duty.”

“That can’t be—!” Silane cried, letting out a voice similar to a scream.

Though he flashed her a look of sympathy, Mikihiko stayed true to his role as bearer of bad news.

“And with Leader gone, the Alliance’s Third Knight Order will also be dissolved. Even if they resume their activities, Leader will not be the one leading them. To start with, even a reformation is doubtful. This was also the case for Fortress Tilia, but as long as the heroes are here, the real intentions of the Empire’s big-shots will remain to prevent their rivals from reaping the rewards of the successes as far as possible.”

“The Knight order will be…d-dissolved…?” Silane croaked out.

Informed of the brutal truth, Silane’s voice sounded terribly hollow. It made her usual calmness seem like just a facade.

“That… That isn’t…” Silane staggered, muttering incoherently.

Her normal brave self was now helpless.

She showed self-control and barely managed to keep herself from collapsing, but it looked like she could fall at any time.

She had always worked hard as a knight, and now she was about to lose the place she staked her life on.

That wasn’t all. During the fight against Juumonji, she had turned into an undead monster. It would be difficult for her to continue working as a knight if she was not under Leader-san.

——I can be a knight like I was before. I can fight to protect the things I should protect. I can never thank Leader enough.

She had been smiling while saying that. Just how much of a shock would it be to her to hear that she had lost her place as a knight?

I couldn’t even imagine.

“…So, Mikihiko. What should I do?”

Though I was worried about Silane, I had to deal with the problem at hand right now.

I killed my urge to call out to her, and asked Mikihiko.

“The reason you came straight to me was because Leader-san wanted me to do something, right?”

“As sharp as ever I see.”

“Though, I don’t think I can do anything.”

In fact, it was questionable whether we could afford to help her.

Currently, the one guaranteeing my safety was Leader-san. The Alliance’s Knight Order, under her leadership, knew about my circumstances.

With the loss of Leader-san, my position in this world would become fairly unstable.

“Sorry, but there’s not much I can do. Surely you aren’t going to say that you’re raiding Fortress Selatta after this to take back Leader-san, and you need me to lend a hand, right?”

“Ahaha. What a thrill that’d be. But, sadly, that’s not it. Even if I did, the conversation would just turn sour.”

For the first time since he came here, Mikihiko showed a smile.

“You see, Takahiro. Leader-san’s request is about Silane.”

“M-Me…?” Silane spoke, holding her breath.

Mikihiko turned to her with a look of pity.

“She wanted you to take Silane-san to her home village.”

We, along with Mikihiko and the two knights accompanying us, quickly packed up our things and left the inn.

For food, we still had what had been spared to us along our journey here. It was enough that we could just buy from the next town, or hunt monsters to top it off. It didn’t matter either way.

Travelling expenses weren’t a problem either. Upon arriving at the inn, I received money from Leader-san for escorting the soldiers and knights here.

I decided to continue holding onto the magic tools I had borrowed.

There was no one to return them to, after all.

According to Mikihiko, Leader-san (naturally) and the Alliance’s Knights under her command were supposedly being temporarily restrained.

Considering how tempting it would be to plan to take back Leader-san, it was only natural for Margrave McLoughlin to take such measures.

But then, there was a big problem: Silane.

Silane was the Deputy Head of the Knights, Leader-san’s right hand. Margrave McLoughlin probably wanted to prioritize restraining her. That wasn’t good, however.

She now had another thing to worry about apart from mistreatment due to being an elf.

Her body was now that of an undead monster. It would be nice if it were kept a secret between just the Alliance’s Knights and I, but now that they were restrained, I had no idea what would happen.

If he were to find out she’d become a Demi Lich, I highly doubted that Margrave McLoughlin—the Elf Hater—would consider her circumstances before making a decision.

Fortunately, Silane had stayed by our side at the inn.

The inn we were staying in was prepared by merchant catering to the knights. However, it wasn’t a Knight-owned establishment.

Therefore, Margrave McLoughlin probably had no grasp on what happened here.

Otherwise, he would’ve been pulling strings for a long while now.

“Leader might not be able to return with you, but as soon as the trial is over, she will return. In the meantime, take Silane-san and Kei-chan to their village and wait there.”

I couldn’t abandon Silane, and there wasn’t anyone I could entrust her to either.

I accepted Leader-san’s quest through Mikihiko.

“We were able to leave town easier than I thought we would.”

“Right now, I think we have our hands full with just dealing with the knights outside of town.”

As I muttered while sitting atop the coachman’s seat of the magical power-driven vehicle, I heard Mikihiko’s voice come from within the vehicle.

“From what I heard, there are about fifty members from the Alliance’s Knights. They’ll have to devote some of their fighters to watching them, in the unlikely event they resist.”

While we were leaving town, we happened to see one of the peddlers we passed by making a big fuss about seeing many knights leaving Selatta.

They were worried that a flock of monsters or something might’ve been discovered in a neighboring region, but the truth was most likely different. The knights must’ve been suppressed, like I thought.

Having left town after slipping in amongst the other peddlers, we were heading south on the main road.

Aker was located westward from Earl Lawrence’s dominion.

Should we choose the safe route, we would have to first enter Earl Long’s fief while travelling on the westward road.

Aker bordered the south side of Earl Long’s fief.

However, a dark forest spanned the westward half of the border, and the Kittle Mountain Range, known for its steepness, towered over the eastern half. This made going south a risky choice.

Therefore, it was common for peddlers and the like to cross Earl Long’s fief and then go further west to Earl Cornish’s fief before using the southeast road running alongside one of the branches of the Alaria River, which was located in the center of the continent.

However, because this route was secure and a popular choice, it was likely we would be pursued.

So, we decided to first go south on the road and then take another route going west again.

This, too, was part of Leader-san’s instructions.

Unlike your average merchant group, sacrificing some of our safety wasn’t that big of a problem. We hadn’t survived in the Sea of Trees just for show.

 

That day, we made camp on the side of the highway and decided to spend the night there.

I was leaning against a tree whilst Lily snuggled up against me as a guard. I could feel her body heat through the mantle wrapped around my body.

I couldn’t sleep at all.

Under the moonlight, I gazed at Gerbera letting out peaceful breaths with the luggage sack in her arms, and Ayame curled up in a ball sleeping on her spider abdomen, until I felt a gaze on me.

“…Was this okay?”

Wrapped up in a cloak like me, she spoke, gazing my way with her blue eye.

Her white skin was illuminated in the night, though not as much as Gerbera’s.

She had kept silent all the way until now.

She looked like her mind wasn’t here, and seemed to be pondering something.

It seemed like she had suffered quite the shock.

Now, her gaze was firm.

Her voice didn’t tremble, either.

She appeared to have made a recovery in half a day. At least, to the point she could make it seem like she had.

“What do you mean?”

“If my identity becomes known, I will become a bother.”

The seriousness on her face seemed to be coming from her concern over causing us trouble after this.

“…Don’t worry about it. Going with you isn’t so bad for me.”

I shrugged. Only one side, though, as Lily was clinging to one of my arms.

“We’re still new to this world. Fumbling around to find a safe place for us would be a bit difficult. And, we can’t use translation magic stones. If I can’t communicate, then what’s the point.”

“You should take Kei, then.”

Silane spared a glance at her protege sleeping beside her.

“She can use translation magic stones. She’s still inexperienced in some places, but she should prove useful enough—”

“…Silane.”

When I called her name, Silane stopped talking.

Her gaze fell. It seemed she still wasn’t herself yet. Though, that was only natural.

I couldn’t leave her alone in her current state.

“I’ve been basically holding a bomb from the get go. Even though you’ve increased it by one now, that point hasn’t changed. Don’t mind the small things.”

Even if I hadn’t been, I wasn’t going to abandon this elf girl.

The abominable strife Juumonji caused had resulted in many things lost, but if there was anything that had been gained, then that was the relationship of trust I now had with them.

There was no way I could betray that.

“Besides, this is a request from Leader-san.”

As I added that on, Silane raised her head.

“From Leader… you say?”

“Yeah. Don’t know if she said that knowing it would end up like this, though.”

——Please, look after Silane from now on, Takahiro-dono.

The words Leader-san had spoken during the night at the pioneer village ran through my mind.

I didn’t know for what purpose she had said that.

Instead of knowing it would end up like this, she might have just been simply thinking about Silane’s future.

What I knew for certain, though, was that she had requested me to do so.

I wasn’t going to ignore that.

Night came to an end.

I remained on-guard, but there were no pursuers.

As Mikihiko had mentioned, most of Selatta’s fighters were being focused on the knights, so they probably didn’t have enough spare men to focus on us.

Leader-san’s instructions were correct.

After finishing our meals, we quickly prepared for departure.

As we were getting in the vehicle, I tilted my head.

“Mikihiko?”

When I looked down from the coachman’s seat, Mikihiko was with two knights, dressed in a travelling outfit.

“What’s the matter? Hurry and get on. You don’t really plan on walking, do you?”

Though this vehicle could only travel at the speed of a pedestrian, it still could greatly reduce the build-up of fatigue during a long trip.

There was no reason to force yourself to walk.

But, Mikihiko nodded at my query.

“Yeah. I am going to walk. …To Selatta, that is.”

“——”

Though a sudden reveal, it was not a surprise.

Somewhere in my head, I knew he was going to.

“I was thinking that, if there were pursuers, I could make it work somehow since the soldiers at Fortress Selatta know that I’m a hero, but it seems that wasn’t necessary.”

“You’re going to Leader-san, right?”

“It’s better to have many people to defend her, even if just me. Loathe though I am to do it… I’ll use my position as a hero the best I can.”

Mikihiko grinned.

“We, too, will follow Mikihiko-sama. There are sure to be dangers on the way.”

One of the two knights standing by Mikihiko raised their hand.

“Takahiro-sama. I leave our Deputy Head to you.”

“Marcus…? And, you too, Fred? You guys…”

Silane poked her head out from the vehicle, her eyes opening a slight bit.

Maybe she can’t find any words to say. She clenched her fist in front of her chest, now lacking her knight armor.

Their determination was solid. It was clear they could not be persuaded otherwise.

“You got quite a face there, Takahiro.”

Did I perhaps look too serious?

Mikihiko grinned before speaking.

“It’s a bit lonesome, but this isn’t a parting from this world.”

He had a light tone, but he wasn’t saying it in a half-assed tone.

After realizing that, I smiled a little, too.

“That’s right. This isn’t the end…”

This world was different from the country we once lived in.

Communication and travelling means were not perfect. The threat of monsters was also there, and night robbers were scary. Just travelling between towns was usually risky.

Even though we had enough strength to make travelling not be a problem, we, too, shared this situation. No matter what happened, it wouldn’t be strange.

In this danger-filled world, you wouldn’t always meet with your friend again after parting.

Mikihiko and I had acknowledged this countless times over. In fact, it was a miracle we were able to safely escape the Colony’s collapse and meet again.

“I’ll go on ahead. Do well, and come back to us quickly.”

Nevertheless, I said it.

Ever since Mikihiko had been saved by Leader-san, he had done what he could for her.

That was how Mikihiko Shumoku was. Just like how I, Takahiro Majima, decided to live for Lily and them, Mikihiko was prepared to live for Leader-san.

So, I wouldn’t discourage him with something half-hearted.

“Yeah. Till we meet again, man.”

Mikihiko gave a reassuring nod and waved his hand with a grin on his face before turning away.

 

Me to Aker, and Mikihiko to Selatta.

We both began travelling down our respective paths.





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