Chapter 264 - The Battle for Migul and the Place Where Levante Arrives
As I tried to pull out the sword that had pierced my palm, a searing pain shot through my entire body.
I gritted my teeth, and with a surge of strength, I yanked the sword out all at once.
“That hurts!”
The members of Levante rushed to my side. Fam and Mizuki pointed their swords at the Messiah group’s adventurer-like man and the demon woman, but they showed no sign of resistance, merely standing there.
Maira and Aira hurried over, took my wounded hand, and began to heal it with magic.
Marmie took my other hand.
“…Mizuki gave me the magic key.”
She looked at the bracelet, located the keyhole, and slowly inserted the key. With a soft click, the bracelet came off.
“How’s Sameim?” I asked Maira.
“She’s pulled through for now, but she was in critical condition. One of the dog-eared warriors took her to the church.”
I nodded at her words, but a sense of unease remained. I was concerned that Fam hadn't gone with her; I would have to check on her later.
I looked around and saw that the Crimson Brigade had collapsed and begun to retreat from the battlefield.
We had to hunt down every last one of them. As I thought this and raised my hand, someone grabbed it.
“What are you planning to do?”
Maira stared at me with a stern gaze.
“Goddess Summon. Not a single member of the Crimson Brigade can be left alive.”
“The people of the Crystal Garden are watching.”
“I don’t care.”
“Are you planning to make Lady Racshell do such a thing?”
“Protecting your faith might be important to you, but it’s different for me.”
“Mash, that’s not it. I know without you saying it that you’ve hated the Crimson Brigade for a long time. You’re trying to take on Fam’s hatred. You’re thinking of preventing her from seeking revenge herself. But I want you to think about it. What kind of existence is Lady Racshell to you? What do you intend to do with Lady Racshell—?”
Maira trailed off, closing her mouth.
I noticed Fam was staring at me. Her gaze was strong, but her eyes soon clouded over. She started to look away, then forced her gaze back to me.
“I don’t want Master’s heart to be captured like Sam’s was. And for Lady Racshell, too…”
She bowed her head and shook it vigorously. She hadn't sorted out any of her feelings yet.
“Are you… okay with that?”
“I’m not okay! How could I be?! They must be struck down. By my own hand. But I…”
Fam wrapped an arm around the arm holding her katana, hugging herself tightly.
“I think I’ll probably struggle with this over and over again… forever. And when that happens, I want Master to be there for me. So… for now, I want you to be the kind Master I know…”
A tear trickled down her cheek.
“Fam…”
The strength drained from my body. The arm I had been about to raise fell limp at my side. I placed that hand on Fam’s head. I put some force into my fingertips and ruffled her chestnut-colored hair. She tensed her shoulders, clenching her fists. She hadn’t forgotten her grudge. She was forcing herself to accept this, trying to draw a line under it.
“I disagree,” Cecily said quietly.
“The Crimson Brigade will regroup after they flee and try to make a comeback. They’ll become thieves, attacking people and villages. If that happens, more children like Fam will be created. You knew that, Mash, that’s why you tried to stop them, right? Are you really okay with this?”
Just then, Aira removed the hand she had been holding up to heal me.
I realized the pain in my hand was gone. As I opened and closed my fist to check it, she reached for the cut on my forehead. As she did, her chest swayed and brushed against my arm.
“I agree with Cecily. If what Cecily said happens, you’ll blame yourself for the rest of your life.”
“That’s not necessarily true, is it? They might change their ways.”
“You don’t believe that for a second,” Aira muttered.
“…I also think we shouldn’t let them escape,” Marmie said, tugging at the hem of my clothes.
“…No matter how you sugarcoat it, the incident with Fam’s village can only be resolved by annihilating the Crimson Brigade. We must take decisive action to ensure it never happens again. We cannot leave a threat to the city of Migul and its surroundings. There is no room for discussion. Someday, someone we let go today will harm one of us.”
Her way of thinking seemed a bit cold, but it was likely rooted in her upbringing in House Starunion.
“It’d be one thing if they only got hurt. So, that makes three in favor of destroying the Crimson Brigade, and two against. Mizuki, what about you?”
Cecily spoke to Mizuki without a second thought, even though she was still keeping the two Messiah members in check. Mizuki confirmed that the Messiah members weren't going to fight, then turned her gaze to us.
“I’m against it. We have to fight those who come at us, but they’re trying to escape. Sometimes, if you talk to people, you can make them understand. I think it’s wrong to take that opportunity away.”
“When you falsely accused me of being a groper, you didn’t give me any chance to explain myself!”
“Shut up! I apologized, didn’t I?”
Mizuki’s eyebrows shot up angrily.
“Weren’t you slaughtering goblins when we first met?”
“Cecily, you be quiet too! That was unavoidable. They were monsters.”
“Huh? Monsters, the Crimson Brigade, what’s the difference?!”
“It’s not the same. They’re people, just like us. There’s no such thing as a person who deserves to die, and we have no right to take away their future.”
Mizuki sighed. Then she quietly raised her gaze. The sun was already high in the sky, and the morning air had vanished. The sky where the Crystal Palace floated was high, blue, and clear.
“Mash, maybe this is just how it is living in this world. Maybe we have to adopt the way of thinking of the people of this world. But we’re not the ones who judge. We are who we are, so…”
Mizuki’s gaze returned to me. And not just hers. Fam, Maira, Cecily, Aira, and even Marmie were all looking at me.
“It’s three against three. This never happened when there were only five of us…” Cecily muttered.
“Hold on. Why am I never included in the count?!”
“So what are you going to do? Your vote is the deciding one.”
Cecily crossed her arms and pouted.
I slowly raised my arm. For a moment, I watched the Crimson Brigade mercenaries scattering as they were pursued by the mobile unit.
Then, I powerlessly lowered my hand.
“Master…”
“When I think about it, this isn’t the end of the fighting. Merianne might be struggling against House Airally’s army.”
I made an excuse and laughed at myself. I couldn't choose.
The battle in the Crystal Garden had reached its conclusion. The beastkin mobile unit was now in the process of cleanup, and the Wandering People were standing guard around us.
There was no news on the situation between the Airally army occupying the government office and the Wanland army positioned on the main street. The original plan had been for us and the mobile unit to act as a diversion to draw the Airally army out of the government office. But we had been delayed and ended up in a head-on clash with the Crimson Brigade, which had split off from the Airally army.
The Crimson Brigade numbered around three hundred mercenaries. With that many gone, it seemed impossible for the Airally army to go on the offensive.
Hyakka approached, leading the members of her New World group. Her gaze fell on the collapsed forms of Clovis and Yuuki.
“Are they dead?”
“Clovis is dead. Yuuki just used up all his mana and passed out.”
I took Clovis’s arm to remove the bracelet he was wearing. The strength that had delivered such heavy blows just moments ago was completely gone. I took the key from my pocket and unlocked the bracelet. Then, I retrieved the key from his breast pocket. The blood smeared on it was still lukewarm, but it was cold compared to the warmth of human skin. Even if he had been under an immortality spell like Zeno or Ilisarie, he had been wearing a magic-sealing bracelet. And with this much time having passed, it was impossible for him to revive.
As I stared at his lifeless body, Hyakka spun her lance and pointed its tip at Yuuki.
“Wait, are you going to kill him?”
“That was the promise from the start.”
Hyakka shot me a cold look.
“Hold on, Rinko and Airi have been enslaved by Yuuki. I need you to wait until I can remove their slave crests.”
“You’re just sayin’ that to buy time and get me to show some pity.”
“…That’s right. But it’s for Rinko and Airi’s sake.”
“He instigated a civil war. Even if I let him live, this city won’t. Well, Merianne and Moos are your girlfriends, so maybe you can do whatever you want. But this guy can use Goddess Summon, you know?”
“I have no intention of trying to get them to spare his life.”
Hyakka glanced at Mizuki.
“Not even if Yamase… Mizuki asks?”
I followed her gaze and looked at Mizuki. She placed a hand on her chest and sent a strong look toward me and Hyakka, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she remained silent.
“Even if Mizuki asks.”
After we stared at each other for a while, she spun her lance and withdrew it.
“So, what are ya gonna do about those two?”
She was referring to the adventurer-like man, the demon woman, and the girl, Oi, who was still crouched with her back to us.
“We surrender.”
The man unhooked the sword from his waist and dropped it onto the stone pavement. Seeing this, the woman also dropped her staff and raised her hands.
“I want to check the contents of your storage.”
“If you’ll spare our lives…”
“I’m not from this city. I can’t guarantee anything.”
“Then I refuse.”
Hearing that, I instinctively glanced at Hyakka. However, she didn’t seem inclined to intervene. It appeared her grudge was primarily against Yuuki and Clovis.
In Hyakka’s place, Marmie stepped between us.
“…I am Marmie Mume Mo Starunion. If you promise to never speak of today’s events to anyone and to never involve yourselves with this city again, I will have you exiled under my authority.”
“Wait, we haven’t won yet, you know.”
I almost grabbed her shoulder but stopped myself. In this uncertain situation, guaranteeing their safety might lead them to show us leniency if we found ourselves at a disadvantage.
“…It’s okay. Mother is here.”
“We had to flee the Starunion mansion while fighting alongside that mother of yours, you know. Besides, Marina isn’t participating in Merianne’s army.”
“…It’s okay.”
Hearing Marmie repeat the phrase in a small voice, I realized she was trying to convince herself and push away her own anxiety.
Just then, Tursa approached us.
“A messenger from House Airally has visited Lady Merianne. They have offered to surrender.”
“So, what’s with the one crouching over there?”
She was covered from head to toe in a large robe, still huddled up. Leaving Fam and the others behind me, I drew my katana and cautiously approached. Since she had consistently refused to join the fight, she probably had no intention of fighting, but she did have a special skill.
I tapped her on the shoulder and shook her. Her body flinched, and she tensed up. Then, she reached out a small hand and pulled the robe deeper over herself, trying to hide. She looked like a turtle.
Her shoulders were small. The thin lines of her body made her look like a child, around Lini's age. Yuuki and this girl had come to this world six years ago. How old could she have been when she arrived?
“Oi, the fight is over. Surrender.”
At my words, she nodded repeatedly. Her gesture was so anticlimactic that the tension left my shoulders. I glanced back at Mizuki and the others, who were watching me, still not letting their guard down.
“Take off your robe and look up.”
“You won’t hit me?”
Her voice was sweet and high, like that of a young child.
“That depends on you.”
There was no reply. Just as I was beginning to think she wouldn’t move, she suddenly sat up straight, assuming a formal kneeling position. As she did, her white chin, thin lips, and small nose peeked out from the gap in her hood.
I instinctively took a step back, wary, but she wasn’t holding anything that could be used as a weapon.
“Mak-kun?”
Suddenly, she called me by a nostalgic name. She threw back her hood. I didn’t recognize her dyed golden hair or the color of her eyes, but I recognized the features underneath her straight, short bob.
“Shirasu… is that you?”
“Mak-kun!”
In that instant, she jumped up and threw herself at me. It felt like I’d been headbutted in the stomach, and I lost my balance and fell over.
Seeing this, Fam and the others rushed over. Shirasu tried to hug me even tighter, but Maira and Aira pulled her off.
“You know her? Shirasu? Like the fish? Is that a nickname?” Mizuki asked, her brow furrowed.
“No. It’s written with the character for ‘heal,’ and it’s pronounced ‘Shirasu.’ She’s supposed to be my niece, but…”
“So Mash gave her a weird name. Poor thing…” Mizuki said, looking at Shirasu with pity.
“I didn’t name her! Her mother did! That woman’s an idiot!”
“Well, since Mash is an idiot…”
“Don’t lump me in with her!”
As I said this, I stood up. Shirasu, having been deemed harmless and released by Maira and Aira, clung to me again.
“She’s the only girl from Master’s world that he was on good terms with, isn’t she?”
“Hey, I told you that in confidence. Don’t go explaining it to everyone!” I snapped, warning Fam not to say anything else unnecessary.
“Anyway, six years are supposed to have passed since you came to this world, but you haven’t changed at all. What’s up with that?”
“It’s a side effect, or rather, an effect of my special skill, [Pretty Body]. My body stopped aging.”
I was speechless at Shirasu’s reply. It seemed to be a passive-type special skill, like Mizuki’s [Super Save]. Still, an ability that stopped one’s growth was as ridiculous as ever.
Mizuki leaned in close to Shirasu, who was still clinging to me playfully.
“You called him Mak-kun earlier, and you’re Mash’s niece, so you must know his real name, right?”
I clapped a hand over Shirasu’s mouth as she started to answer.
“That question is off-limits. And Shirasu, don’t you answer. From now on, you call me Mash.”
She looked at me, then nodded. I had a bad feeling about how long this secret would last.