100 - Budding Feelings
Geel, accompanying Ray, arrived at the former Laurel Kingdom army garrison, which had now become a major base for the Demon Race where several races coexisted. Witnessing the state of the garrison, he felt more exasperated than surprised. This was partly because the garrison was filled with children running around and laughing, with no sense of battlefield tension to be felt at all.
"You... how did it end up like this?"
"Even if you ask me why... many people just kept fleeing here."
Ray was at a loss to answer. It wasn't as if Ray had created this situation by choice. If anything, Ray found it to be a nuisance.
"So women and children with no means of fighting sought refuge here?"
The members of the Demon Race in sight were almost entirely women and children. Geel concluded that it was true they had fled here.
"That is correct."
"Why here?"
Geel directed the question to King Dracul. He understood why women and children without fighting power would flee. However, he didn't understand why they chose this place as their destination.
"At first, it was just a few races who happened to be nearby and sought refuge, but gradually the rumors spread."
"What kind of rumors?"
"That there is an impregnable fortress that repels every attack from the Laurel Kingdom army."
"I see... By the way, how many did you kill?"
Geel turned his questioning back to Ray. Hearing that battles had occurred here to the point that rumors of it being impregnable had spread, he couldn't help but wonder about the losses on the Laurel Kingdom army's side.
"Who knows? I haven't been counting them one by one."
This was a lie. Corpses with little damage were being turned into undead soldiers. Ray had a rough grasp of the number of enemies defeated. This was the reason for the lie, to prevent them from estimating the numbers of the Undead Legion.
"...I've completely lost any desire to interfere. At least regarding the matter of the garrison forces."
If the garrison forces continued to fight, casualties would only increase. Geel had no complaints from the moment he first heard Ray's plan to stop the garrison's invasion, but now he had come to think that it would be good if this state of affairs continued indefinitely.
"I hope you've also given up on interfering with my revenge?"
"That's a different story."
If Ray proceeded with the revenge, there would be casualties in the Laurel Kingdom. He could not allow that. Not only that, Geel could not accept that Ray was acting on the premise of their own death.
"You can't stay here forever, can you?"
"Nah, no problem."
"Do you not have to go to the war?"
Ray knew that the Laurel Kingdom's focus had already shifted to a struggle for hegemony with other nations. Otherwise, they would have withdrawn the main force before suppressing the interior of Nordende.
"A war where the Hero is the star? Give me a break, I can't stand that kind of nonsense."
"I think that no matter who the star is, it doesn't change the fact that war is mutual slaughter, though?"
When war breaks out, many people die on both sides. Ray believed that war remained an evil regardless.
"That's shallow thinking. The amount of sacrifice changes depending on how the fight is conducted."
"The Hero's way of fighting... well, I know a little about it."
Fumiya had rushed the invasion of Nordende to satisfy his own desires. Ray also felt that they certainly didn't want to be involved in a war where such a person was the star. If they were a third party.
"I just hope that bastard Sieg can keep him in check."
"...He can't?"
Ray knew a bit about Sieg's strictness. Geel was suggesting the possibility that Fumiya might defy that Sieg. It was a situation Ray couldn't imagine.
"Knights and soldiers have filthy desires in their hearts too. To those kinds of people, Sieg is a nuisance."
War drives people mad. It is common for even normally serious individuals to lose their minds due to the fear of death or excessive exhilaration from battle.
"Even so, can they actually defy their superior?"
"To their face, probably not. But you should know that things don't always end there."
"...True."
The knights returning from Nordende had brought captured members of the Demon Race with them. In places where Sieg's eyes did not reach, such acts were permitted.
"Now imagine if the Hero distinguishes himself in the war. His status will rise, and his influence will increase."
"Distinguish himself... he probably will, right?"
"Because he is strong, he is."
Fumiya possessed power befitting a Hero. That had been proven in the battle against the Demon Race. There was no way Fumiya, who had shown his power against demons, would fail to achieve military merit. If Fumiya were granted a high position in the Laurel Kingdom army as a reward for his merits, his influence would expand. If it expanded, his rampages would be accelerated. It was a development that was easy to imagine.
"...Is there a need to interfere with my revenge?"
Fumiya might become a blight to the Laurel Kingdom army. Ray's revenge, which aimed to eliminate that blight, should be something Geel desired as well.
"If you can kill only the Hero at a time when it won't affect the war situation, I might consider it."
"Conditional... and a difficult request."
Ray was not optimistic enough to think they could win a one-on-one confrontation head-on. Not only that, even if they were to kill him, Ray wanted to plunge Fumiya straight into the depths of the abyss from a situation where he was feeling triumphant.
"You're talking as if you could kill him if there were no conditions."
"I think I could. There aren't many people who can live without showing a single opening, are there?"
"That 'single opening' part..."
"For months, no, years, or even decades."
"I see..."
Even Geel, who intended not to show openings to others easily, had to answer in the negative when asked if he could remain so for even a moment, let alone on a scale of years. In fact, he had just shown such an opening the other day.
"There are various ways to kill a person. But if I let them die without suffering, it won't be revenge."
"...A cruel way of thinking."
"I think it's better than the suffering of wanting to die but being unable to."
"That's..."
Who was the one who spent that time of suffering Ray spoke of? It might have been Rui, who had to spend time in humiliation as a captive. Or perhaps not. Geel didn't feel like confirming it.
"No matter how much we talk about this, we won't reach a conclusion. No, a conclusion has been reached, but Master won't be satisfied with it."
"...Well, for now, that's true."
No matter how much they talked here and now, the argument would only run in parallel. Geel had no intention of wasting time.
"For now, I'll prepare a room. Please rest there for a while."
"And after I rest?"
"Even if you ask 'after'... just spend your time however you like. I'm quite busy with various things. I'll call you when it's time for meals."
The reason for bringing Geel along was to keep them under a sort of house arrest for a while so they wouldn't interfere. It wasn't that there was any specific business.
"Staying still doesn't suit my nature, though."
"Why not spend time with your girlfriend?"
"...I'm down for that, but she isn't."
"It seems to me that she is. But well, that's none of my business. Anyway, feel free to do as you wish, as long as you don't go outside."
"Hey!"
Despite Geel trying to stop them, Ray walked away from the spot. They actually were busy. Protecting the Demon Race from the threat of the Human Race. Although it was only the people before their eyes, that was what Ray was thinking about. It was a difficult problem for which a good idea didn't easily come to mind.
They had no intention of giving up on revenge. These words were not a lie, but there were things that had to be done before that. Ray's heart, feeling this way, had changed slightly from before.
◇◇◇
While the darkness of night covered the garrison, Ray was alone in the central plaza, gazing at the sky. It wasn't that there was anything in the night sky. It had simply become a habit to occasionally look up at the night sky blankly like this.
The other people living in the garrison were inside the buildings. Since many required far less sleep than humans, they were still awake, but no one tried to disturb Ray, who stood alone in the plaza. There was an unapproachable atmosphere drifting around Ray as they gazed at the night sky. Even if there weren't, no one felt like disturbing the quiet time of Ray, who worked more busily than anyone else.
However, today there was someone in the garrison who didn't care about that. Geel.
"What the hell are you doing without even eating?"
It was a small complaint toward Ray, who had not appeared at the meal.
"I ate. In my room, as usual."
"Then we can't talk, can we?"
"I told you. I'm busy. Besides, you had someone to talk to, didn't you?"
"Yeah, someone who surprised the hell out of me. Why is that woman here?"
Hinata had shown her face at the meal. Unexpectedly, Geel had been quite surprised.
"Cecil-san brought her. That woman seems unable to defy Cecil-san."
"Why?"
Back when they were in the royal capital of the Laurel Kingdom, there should have been almost no contact between Cecil and Hinata. Even if there had been, Geel didn't understand why Hinata would obey Cecil.
"I'll refrain from saying that myself."
"Hey?"
"You'll find out soon. Possibly even tonight."
If he heard the coquettish cries of Hinata being scolded by Cecil, he would understand the reason. That was what Ray thought, but how would it be?
"...This is a strange place."
"Is it strange?"
"Isn't it strange? In a demon's dwelling, there's me, a knight of the Laurel Kingdom, and even the Hero. Moreover, no conflict has broken out because of it."
"It's not strange. There are people who hold ill will toward Master. Even so, they are just enduring it, thinking that they must not cause conflict in this place."
Geel, who was called one of the Three Pillar Knights of the Laurel Kingdom. There were not a few demons who knew that name. There were people who resented that Geel had killed many of their allies.
"...The one making them endure is you, isn't it?"
"No. They are just exercising self-restraint."
"What I'm talking about is the reason for that self-restraint. They can't afford to make you angry. That's why they're doing it, right?"
If they hurt Geel, Ray would get angry. If they made Ray angry, they would no longer be able to stay here. Thinking this, the demons were enduring.
"...Who did you hear that from?"
"From the little lady. No, she's not a little lady anymore. She's become a fine woman with a certain allure. You raised her well."
Cecil, whom Geel met after a long time, had lost her childishness and had become a full-grown woman.
"I-I didn't do anything in particular."
"No way you didn't. That's the allure of a woman who has learned the virtues of a man."
"...Let's stop talking about that."
"You're as much of a brat as ever. But well, we did get off track... You, what do you intend to do from here on?"
"Let's stop talking about that too."
No matter how many times they talked about revenge, their feelings wouldn't change. Ray was slightly irritated by Geel's persistence, but...
"Not that, but what do you intend to do with those women? Can you just abandon them?"
"...Does Master, a human, ask that?"
"Regardless of race, a situation where women and children suffer makes me feel sick."
Geel did not possess the kind of nerves that wouldn't care no matter what happened to demons. He now had the feeling of viewing the women and children in this garrison as victims of war.
"...It's the same. It's not something for Master, a human, to say."
"Why?"
"Because it's humans who are bringing the calamity. At least the people who fled here have no desire to fight humans. They just want to live and protect their children."
"...I see, so you're saying I'm the one who has to do something about it."
If humans, if the Laurel Kingdom army didn't start the fight, they could live peacefully. Ray was saying that stopping the fight was Geel's responsibility.
"It's probably impossible, though."
"Yeah, it's frustrating, but I can't say I can do it."
Even though he was called one of the Three Pillar Knights, Geel did not have the power to stop a war. The one who could do that would be the King of the Laurel Kingdom, but even that King would likely face considerable opposition, let alone stop a conflict with demons in another country.
"Even if I have no intention of abandoning them, there's nothing I can do."
"Even so, you're trying to do something. Why?"
While claiming that revenge was everything, Ray was trying to do something for the demons. Even while knowing that it might not bear fruit in the end.
"...Kai-kun told me."
"Kai?"
"A boy I lived with in the Forest of Bewilderment. The sole survivor."
"I see... and what did this Kai kid say?"
"I was barely managing just to survive, and moreover, I couldn't do anything for that purpose myself, I was just an existence supported by the families around me. Or so I thought."
"It was different?"
"Yes. I hadn't noticed, but apparently, everyone became brighter after I arrived. Apparently, smiles began to be seen in their daily lives."
When would they be attacked by humans? It could be tomorrow. Ray was the one who lit a light in the lives of the Kamiira and others, who were always trembling in fear of death. Ray had been told this fact by Kai.
"...During the day, the brats were laughing."
When he arrived at the garrison, Geel had seen the demon children playing happily in this very plaza where they were now standing.
"I cannot save everyone in the true sense of the word. Even so, if there is something that can increase everyone's smiles even a little, I intend to try and do it."
"...Cheeky."
"Pardon?"
"You're far too cheeky for a disciple. You've found a far better reason to live than I ever have, your old master."
"...A reason to live?"
They hadn't thought about a reason to live. What Ray had thought about until now was risking their life to achieve revenge.
"No self-awareness, huh? Well, whatever. If you have those feelings, you should try your best as far as you can."
"...Even if it's for demons?"
"You idiot. You still don't understand your master. No matter the race, I love the smiles of women. What's the problem with my disciple showing those smiles?"
"Hah..."
"Now then, that's enough conversation with a guy, I'll go try and create some women's smiles too. Though she's quite a difficult opponent."
Geel left behind a joke typical of him and returned to his building. His stride was light for the first time in a while. Risking one's life for the smiles of women and children was far better than throwing one's life away to achieve revenge. That was what Geel thought.
In Ray's future, where only darkness had been visible, a light, however faint, could now be seen. He was happy about that.
The slightly elated Geel didn't notice. The presence of many people who had been holding their breath and listening to the conversation of the two. That he had, as a result, become the catalyst for informing the people living in this garrison of Ray's inner thoughts, which had never been spoken of until now.