kscans

Chapter 168 - The Hourglass of Life and the Little One, Part Six

"Ah, they’re here."

After debating where to enter the fissure, the Little One chose the smallest location where any incident would cause the least amount of damage, the underground of the Castrato royal palace. If the worst happened here, she could have the spiders seal it immediately, or at worst, just bury it.

She had approached the Castrato brothers on a whim, and they had apparently discussed it with Abdahil, for a reply of approval came back swiftly.

Romel, reading through the letter of acceptance, pressed his temples with a somewhat exasperated look and pursed his lips.

".....Well, this. Honestly, this is an unexpected development."

He had not shared the full details with them.

He had explained during the Castrato incident that there might be dangerous creatures on the other side of the spider silk seal. They also knew about the Dark Spirits, having witnessed the damage firsthand. Although there were no fatalities thanks to the Little One Corps, many people had suffered serious and minor injuries, and even though they had been healed, the scars of that nightmare likely remained deep.

The burning buildings, the smoldering smoke. The monsters with mouths split open in crimson and fangs glinting sharply. It was not something one could easily forget.

At worst, there was a possibility that a tragedy like that could happen again. Of course, they would make every effort to prevent it, but the possibility was not zero.

She had chosen Castrato because the fissure was deep underground and small in scale. If a disaster occurred at a large fissure on the surface, the damage would affect the entire world. The Little One wanted to avoid that at all costs.

Having earnestly written all this and proposed it to the King of Castrato, the reply that came back to the Little One was a ready acceptance.

"Isn’t that a wonderful thing?"

"Well, yes, but....."

Romel’s words trailed off, unusually hesitant.

However, he then nodded firmly and handed the letter to the Little One.

"I will be accompanying you this time."

"Eh?"

Romel, who would never move unless spirits were involved, was going to move? Well, the Dark Spirits were spirits, I suppose.

The Little One, who knew his inquisitive nature well, though not fully convinced, somehow managed to persuade herself.

And so, after asking Moruto and Joker for reinforcements of their children, they all came to Castrato.

There were thirty frogs assembled in all. The number of spiders was similar. Combined with their companions from the Mononoke Corps, they had nearly fifty of each. It was hard to say if it was enough, but they had to try. "Like this, like this. Can you do it?"

The Little One’s marimo ball of hair swayed, moso moso.

The spiders and frogs swayed along with it.

What is this adorable sight?

The corners of the mouths of Romel and the members of the Little One Corps trembled. They struggled with their lips, which threatened to break into a smile no matter how hard they tried to keep them straight. This time, half the knights and Romel had come down to the underground. Of course, Chihaya was there too. The rest remained on the surface. In case of an emergency, they were to fly immediately to Frontier to report. A magic battalion from the Frontier regular army had been deployed around the Castrato royal palace, with orders to seal the entire palace with a barrier spell if things got dire. The people in the palace had also all been evacuated. They had received confirmation from the Castrato brothers that they could destroy the palace if necessary.

Romel had been surprised by this as well.

"Is our country not like one with a bomb inside its body? Rather than living in fear for the rest of our lives, if it can be removed, even with some risk, there is nothing more welcome."

The King of Castrato smiled wryly. The nobles lined up there seemed to be of the same opinion.

"That fire and smoke..... I still see it in my dreams."

"I will not forget the terror of having my leg torn off. .....The excruciating pain that I remember even after it healed. If I can spare my children from experiencing this, I would offer up my entire fortune."

Their faces trembling, the Castrato nobles stared at the members from Frontier as if clinging to them. Paradoxically, it was precisely because they knew the terror of the Dark Spirits that they could empathize with the Little One and her companions who were trying to confront it.

With a magnanimous nod, a small shadow darted out from behind the Little One Corps as they were about to enter the palace. The knights, instantly on alert, were wide-eyed when they saw the shadow’s true form. A small child stood there. A well-dressed boy of about ten. He clenched his fists in both hands and trembled as he muttered.

"I heard you are going to defeat the bad things that burned the town. .....Thank you. .....For Chacha’s revenge..... please....."

Having said that much, the boy burst into tears and crumpled to the ground.

"Roberto!"

A man emerged from the crowd gathered in front of the palace and put his arm around the boy’s shoulders. It seemed he was the boy’s father. The Little One was surprised by the sudden event, but after hearing a supplementary explanation from the father, it seemed the boy’s monster had been killed in that incident. The boy had named his wolf-type monster Chacha and had doted on it. And then the incident happened, but Chacha was not taken over by the Dark Spirits and fought to protect the boy. At the end of a desperate battle, although it had protected the boy, Chacha did not survive. The bees’ patrol arrived in time and the boy was rescued, but as he was being carried away by the bees, he witnessed Chacha being eaten by other monsters. He screamed in the palace, and the soldiers who heard his story were surprised and returned to the scene with him as an escort, but by then, Chacha’s body had been completely devoured, leaving no trace.

Perhaps the sight of the sobbing boy reminded them of that great disaster. An indescribable anger and sorrow welled up from the crowd.

"Uwehh, .....Avenge Chacha!"

The boy looked up at the Little One and cried out as if squeezing the words from his throat.

However, the Little One glanced at him with a steady gaze and spoke coldly.

"Like I care about that."

The people of Castrato were stunned. A barrage of gazes, all dyed in shock. Among them were some who directed looks akin to hatred at the Little One.

"Are the Dark Spirits the bad ones? Are the Dark Spirits the reason the monsters went berserk?"

Amidst a flurry of question marks about what she was saying, even Romel and Chihaya tilted their heads. Giving them an annoyed glance, the Little One shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Why were the monsters tempted by the Dark Spirits? Why were there rampaging monsters in Castrato? It’s all something you people did!"

The people of Castrato still didn’t seem to get it. Among them, only the three Castrato brothers and Romel’s eyes widened progressively.

There were monsters in Castrato for the sake of the privileged class’s vanity. They kept monsters as a status symbol to show off. And they only kept them. They showed them no affection, worked them like slaves, and gave them only the bare minimum of magic so they couldn’t rampage. In the end, they were sold off as spectacles and dismantled for their parts.

With the Little One’s explanation, the people of Castrato finally realized the evil deeds they had committed.

"It’s your own damn fault! The monsters hated you, that’s why they fell for the Dark Spirits’ temptation! You need to realize that they hated you enough to want to kill you! That’s what you all did!"

No one could look straight at the Little One as she roared, swinging her arm out to the side. Even a dog would bare its fangs if it wasn't fed properly, was tied up, and overworked. The fact that they had done this to monsters. The faces of the people of Castrato, finally realizing this, were frozen in stunned disbelief.

Looking down on them with open contempt, the Little One extended a hand to the boy who was still sobbing on the ground.

"Don’t get it wrong. Your Chacha died because the adults did something stupid. It’s not the Dark Spirits’ fault. They just lent their power to the monsters who wanted to be free. The reason the monsters bared their fangs at humans is because humans had earned that much hatred."

The boy, who stood up with the help of the Little One’s hand, had a tear-stained face that showed he was not convinced.

It doesn't have to be now. I want you to remember.

"Chacha protected you, right? Without being swayed by the Dark Spirits’ temptation. Why do you think that was?"

"Chacha..... loved me very much. I too..... that’s why....."

The Little One gave a broad smile to the sniffling boy.

"That’s right. It tried to protect you because it loved you. If you keep crying like this, Chacha will be sad too, you know? .....The other people were hated by the monsters. That’s why they were bitten. Do you think that’s the Dark Spirits’ fault?"

"I don’t know....."

"That’s right. Think about it slowly. A future where monsters who are friends with humans like Chacha don’t have to be killed. How can we make it so that friendly monsters don’t have to die? .....Just don’t become a foolish adult who is hated by monsters, okay?"

Leaving the boy, who had blankly stopped crying, the Little One headed towards the palace. Around her were many monsters. The boy watched the Mononoke Corps happily following the Little One and thought.

A beloved monster. A friendly monster. A future to keep them from dying.

He probably didn't understand even half of what the Little One's words meant. But that was fine. The boy, once grown, would someday, somewhere, understand the vivid memory in the corner of his mind.

For now, that was enough.

Dishing out some harsh sarcasm to the people of Castrato, the Little One headed for the laid-out rails with her dependable companions.

Unbeknownst to her, Tsathoggua was watching the whole scene from the Abyss, smiling to himself.

‘My, what an interesting child she is.’

The Dark Spirit King stared quizzically at the chuckling Tsathoggua.