Part 6 of 8
Bringing him on to our side is certainly a lot more efficient than executing him.
I’ll be keeping an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t try anything funny, of course.
But yeah, I put the Colonel in charge of helping Ms. Oka and company.
He’s probably got ties to Potimas anyway, so it won’t seem too unnatural if he helps the elves in secret.
And those elves are in a major pinch right now, so they’ll take any help that’s offered for sure.
It’s not a trap anyway. We’re actually helping them, so we really need them to accept it.
At any rate, they’ll be safe for the rest of their stay in the demon lands.
I still have to do something about the border, but it’ll take a while for Ms. Oka and friends to get there.
And meanwhile, there’s something else I have to do.
Namely, I gotta go file a complaint.
I teleport into midair.
And then: It’s dropkick time, baby!
But my target must have known I was coming, because there’s no one there by the time I come down.
The momentum of my kick sends me crashing into the wall, and my foot goes right through it, getting stuck there.
…I feel like something eerily similar happened to me very recently, but that must be my imagination.
You won’t catch this lady dwelling on the past!
“Welcome. I wish you’d enter a little more quietly, though.”
The owner of the room admonishes me for my unusual way of making an entrance.
But I ignore her complaint as I pull my foot out of the wall.
What, the cost of repairs?
Like hell I’m paying for that!
Refusing to look at the hole I just made, I come face-to-face with the master of the house.
Aside from the different color scheme, she could be my mirror image.
Needless to say, it’s the original to my copy, the creator of the system in the other world: the god called D, who is now staring back at me expressionlessly.
Then she cheerfully turns away and un-pauses her game.
I guess she must have paused it in order to dodge my dropkick.
The sheer level of disrespect drives me mad, so I grab her shoulder, turn her toward me, and lift her by the collar with both hands.
You know, that classic move you see in TV dramas and stuff.
The difference being that my strength is enhanced with conjuring, so I end up lifting D’s whole body into the air.
Yeah, I can do stuff like that if I enhance my arm strength with conjuring.
Maybe this’ll show you how mad I am!!
But then I hear a weird noise, like a ripping, popping noise, and the weight in my hands suddenly gets a lot lighter.
Huh? I take a look and discover that D’s clothes have gotten all torn up.
Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense.
D doesn’t weigh much, but if you put all the weight of one person on a single piece of cloth, obviously it’s gonna rip no matter how light that person is…
And since her clothes ripped, I’m no longer holding up D herself, so she drops down.
With the giant rip in her clothing, you can see all kinds of things, but D’s expression doesn’t change in the slightest.
If she was to blush a little with embarrassment or something, this could be kind of a cute situation, but since she’s completely expressionless, it’s more scary than sexy.
This is probably what it’d feel like if you happened to lay eyes on a butt-naked mannequin in the middle of the night.
“C’mon—at least act a little embarrassed.”
“I have no reason to be ashamed of anyone seeing my body. I believe I am the most beautiful person in the world, if I do say so myself.”
Wow, that was a really narcissistic thing to say so casually.
Uhhh… Well, okay then.
This weird situation is kind of draining me of all my anger.
I heave a sigh, arbitrarily grab some clothes out of the closet, and toss them at D. (Since I have a portion of D’s memories in my brain, I know the layout of this room.)
D catches the clothes, strips off her ruined outfit, and changes into the new one.
“Wanna play?”
And THAT’S what she decides to say next.
She’s so laid-back that it’s taking the wind out of my sails, dammit!
This isn’t gonna work. I slump my shoulders, giving up in various ways.
I knew from the start that complaining to D about things wouldn’t actually make a difference in the end, since she’s so much stronger than I am, but somehow this is going even worse than I thought it would.
It’s not even a matter of strength—she just has a way of making you feel like nothing you say matters.
Even if we manage to have a conversation, I always get the sense that I’m not gonna get through to her.
In fact, it’s probably impossible, which just proves all over again that normal rules don’t apply to D.
Emotionally speaking, I don’t know if you could even consider her a living thing.
“No. I came today to file a complaint.”
I know it won’t accomplish anything, but I still have to do what I came here to do.
“About Ms. Okazaki, I presume. I was actually looking forward to the two of you meeting, so I’m quite disappointed that you wound up learning about her through hearsay. Couldn’t you have met in a more dramatic way? If anything, I’d like to file a complaint myself.”
“Who cares?!”
Why do you get to have such weird expectations of me and then get weirdly let down when they don’t happen?!
I had no idea where Ms. Oka was or what she was doing, so how was I supposed to put on such a dramatic reunion?!
Plus, if I did somehow know beforehand, it wouldn’t be dramatic anymore!
People talk about fateful encounters and once-in-a-lifetime meetings and all that, but in reality, that kinda thing doesn’t normally happen so dramatically!
While I’m steaming with rage, D reaches for a bag of potato chips next to her and struggles momentarily before she manages to open it.
You’ve gotta stop being so laid-back already!
I snatch the bag out of D’s hands and devour its contents in one bite.
This is a trick I figured out recently: using spatial conjuring to sort of re-create the Demon Lord’s Gluttony skill.
Of course, since I’ve got such a small stomach in this body, I only actually ate a mouthful. I sent the rest to my mini-mes.
Oh man, it’s been ages—no, wait, this is actually the first time I’ve really had potato chips in my life. They’re sooo good.
I do have memories of eating them as Hiiro Wakaba, but those were really just fabricated memories D gave me.
In reality, I would never have actually had a chance to eat potato chips in my old life.
You know, since I was a spider.
Her potato chips stolen, D shrugs exaggeratedly in a weirdly American What am I gonna do with you? kind of gesture.
Still expressionless, of course.
Ugh, now what do I do? She’s really pissing me off.
I want to punch that expressionless face of hers.
“Didn’t you come here to ask me why I made your teacher an elf?”
Yeah! Right, that!
I came to file a complaint so D would explain why she made Ms. Oka an elf, of all things!
D is the one who had us all reincarnated in a new world.
In other words, Ms. Oka being an elf is a deliberate choice made by none other than D herself.
Humans and demons are fine.
Even vampires, too, I guess.
Monsters like Mr. Oni and me, well… I guess we’ll call that a pitch that’s just barely in the safe zone, for argument’s sake.
But elves? Elves are definitely out!
We’re talking elves here, you know? The race that’s basically been enslaved by Potimas.
No, in a way, it might even be worse than that. Whether they know it or not, all elves are Potimas’s pawns, his puppets.
It’s obviously messed up to reincarnate someone as one of those!
“The reason should be obvious. Because it seemed more entertaining that way.”
There it is. D’s classic excuse for everything.
“Elves play a very important role in that world, you know. So it only seems fitting that at least one of our major players ought to be an elf, don’t you think?”
No, I don’t!
’Cause anyone who gets born an elf—in this case, Ms. Oka—is just gonna be miserable.
But I guess to someone like D, who uses an entire world as her plaything, a single individual being unhappy doesn’t mean much.
If anything, she seems to take pleasure in it.
“And it’s all the more entertaining if the elves somehow know about the reincarnations. So in order to keep things extra fun, I gave her a very interesting skill.”
I can already tell this skill isn’t gonna be anything good.
And boy, am I right on the money.
“The skill I gave her is called Student Roster. It gives her partial information on the other reincarnations.”
What?
Whaaaat?!
Wait. Wait just a second.
What does that mean exactly?
Are you telling me Potimas came after Vampy and stuff like that by exploiting that skill?
“I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right.”
Ugh! Are you reading my mind?!
“I’m not reading your mind. I just predicted your thoughts.”
True enough, I don’t feel any traces of some kind of technique being used.
She must have just figured out what conclusions I would reach, rather than using a mind-reading power.
Although that’s plenty scary in its own way.
“Yes. The elf’s actions far exceeded my expectations. I never imagined he would manage to gather a majority of the reincarnations.”
Huh?
W-w-wait a minute!
What? Wait, run that by me again!
Excuse me? Are you for real?!
I’m so shocked that my vocabulary is failing me, but I can’t worry about that right now.
“What do you mean?!”
“Exactly what I said. Although I won’t be telling you how he plans to use the reincarnations he’s gathered, of course. This is all top secret information that I’m sharing as a kindness to you because of the special nature of our relationship, all right?”
She’s leaving out the most important details, but knowing Potimas, whatever he’s planning can’t be good.
On top of that, she makes it sound like she’s being super-nice, as if to say I should be grateful, but I know she’s telling me this only because it’ll be more amusing this way.
That’s just how D is.
“She’s a sensible adult, and she feels a certain responsibility toward her students. So what do you think would happen if I gave such a model teacher a Student Roster skill that, for instance, predicted the deaths of her students?”
Ugh! Only an evil god would invent such a ridiculous skill!
If she sees something like that, of course Ms. Oka is going to try to do something to prevent those deaths.
If I were in her shoes, I would just ignore the list. But she’s a sensible Japanese woman and a teacher to boot, so she’d make every effort to save her students’ lives.
And I can definitely picture Potimas using that to his advantage to plot something nasty.
Dammit.
This is awful. Ms. Oka’s situation is even worse than I thought.
In the words of a certain magical girl, that’s cruel… That’s just too cruel!
But seriously, this is not good.
“So noble, isn’t it? She’s braving danger to travel all over the world for the sake of her students even though she’s in the body of a child herself. And then she’s placing the students she’s trying to save right in the hands of the last person she should trust. The poor thing.”
“Ugh! Damn you!”
That statement puts me past the point of annoyance into straight-up anger.
But just as I raise my fist to strike her—
“Do you have any idea why you’re so concerned for Ms. Oka in particular?”
—D’s words freeze me in place.
What the hell is she talking about?
That’s obvious, isn’t it?
“You don’t get nearly as bothered when other reincarnations meet with misfortune—is that fair to say?”
That’s not…not true, I guess.
“No, you don’t. Even when you learned that there were other reincarnations, you didn’t worry about them unless they happened across your path. The fact that you haven’t started searching for them even now that you’re a god is proof enough of that. You’re willing to lend a hand to the reincarnations you meet, whether it’s the vampire or the oni, but that’s only within reason. You won’t abandon them, but you won’t go out of your way to help them, even with all that power of yours. You sympathize with their situations, but you don’t get angry on their behalf. So why are you this upset only about Ms. Oka’s circumstances?”
Do you really need to ask?
It’s because, erm… Wait…why do I care so much about her?
Because it seems like a crime against humanity?
No, I can’t claim such a high-and-mighty reason.
I’m not even human in the first place, so I don’t really have those kinds of feelings.
Like D said, I’m not really that interested in the other reincarnations.
I feel a certain kinship with them, so I try to help them if I happen to see them, but that’s about it.
I’m involved with Vampy and Mr. Oni only because we happened to run into each other.
If coincidence hadn’t brought us together, I doubt I would’ve gone out of my way looking for them.
If I hadn’t met Vampy back then, and she had gotten killed by Potimas, I would’ve just thought Oh, huh if I found out.
Now, of course, I have a degree of fondness for her, since we’ve been together for so long, and I’d probably fly into a fit of rage if she got killed.
But that’s only because we met and formed a deeper bond.
If a reincarnation I’ve never met dies, I don’t really feel a thing.
And while I technically know Ms. Oka’s circumstances now, we haven’t actually spoken face-to-face, so I can’t say I’ve met her exactly, much less formed a bond.
And yet, I’m so mad that I came all the way here to complain to D.
It’s not just because a reincarnation was born as an elf, landing her straight in the clutches of our sworn enemy Potimas.
If it was anyone but Ms. Oka, I’m sure I would’ve just been like Ugh! D’s at it again! but I wouldn’t have come running to file a complaint.
No, it’s because it’s Ms. Oka.
I’m here because of her.
“How entertaining. How very, very entertaining. You don’t have many memories of being a spider, so in theory, you shouldn’t remember any debts or anything of the sort. Perhaps this one imprinted onto your soul? Consider me thoroughly amused.”
Yeah, that’s right.
I don’t really remember much about being an ordinary spider in my previous life.
But if I combine what little I do remember with Hiiro Wakaba’s memories, there’s one thing I can’t ignore.
“Yikes! A huge spider!”
“Oh man, gross. Grab the broom. I’m gonna crush it.”
A group of boys came to school and tried to crush me when they spotted my web in the classroom.
Hiiro Wakaba, aka D, simply watched in silence.
“Wait a minute, boooys!”
But then Ms. Oka came rushing over.
“Eeeven this little insect has a soul. It would be cruel to kill it, you know!”
“Oh, come on…”
The male student froze, broom still in hand.
“Listen to me, okaaay? A spider is a good bug, you knooow? They eat the other bad buuugs. Besides, look how cuuute they are!”
“Cute? Yeah, right…”
The boy complained, but he reluctantly heeded Ms. Oka’s words.
“None of you better kill the poor thing, either, okaaay?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Isn’t that niiice? Live your life to the fullest, too, okaaay, little spider?”
That’s right.
It was because of that incident that I was allowed to live in the classroom.
That’s the reason I survived.
Ms. Oka…saved my life.
That memory is one from Hiiro Wakaba’s perspective, not a memory from my life as a spider.
But even if I don’t remember it, my soul remembers that I owe her a debt.
Which means I have to do something to repay her.
A life for a life.
“Just as a reminder, anything you might try to do to me won’t change your dear teacher’s situation, hmm?”
“Yeah, I know.”
But it’s the principle of the thing.
My fist that I’d stopped just short of impact flies forward and punches D right in the face!
In fact, the punch is so powerful that it blasts her whole head off.
“Do you feel better now?”
But as soon as I withdraw my arm, D’s head reconstitutes like time is rewinding itself.
Um, gross!
What kinda freakish recovery method is that?
Even I’m a little grossed out.
And the tiny glimpse of D’s magic power that leaked out in the instant of regeneration is more than enough to terrify me.
Her presence is so powerful, it’s like she’s exuding death itself.
D calls herself an evil god, but honestly, even that doesn’t do her justice.
I’m sure she could kill me in the blink of an eye if she felt like it.
Revival through clones? Yeah, that definitely wouldn’t matter if D killed me.
In that one instant, that much became perfectly clear.
But the terrifying aura disappears as quickly as it came.
“Oh no. I messed up. I’m sure I must have been noticed just now.”
D murmurs something I don’t quite understand.
“…?”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. Just some personal business.”
Well, D has always been mysterious. And if she’s telling me not to worry about it, I’m sure doing so wouldn’t get me anywhere anyway.
“I’m going to save Ms. Oka.”
“Go right ahead. I’m just an observer here. You’re free to do whatever you want. I won’t force you, and I won’t try to stop you, either.”
My bold declaration meets with ready approval from D.
Makes sense. As she said, she’s just an observer.
She’s meddled with me from time to time, but it was usually just to give me a bit of a helping hand.
The biggest example was when she gave me Wisdom, but that basically means that all the other times were little more than some sage advice.
And while she has helped me before, she’s never done anything to interfere.
…Not with us reincarnations, at least.
When Güli-güli came to meet me in the Great Elroe Labyrinth, D definitely said something to chase him off.
And she stopped him from getting involved during the UFO incident, too.
So while she claims to be an observer, she’s not totally hands-off, either.
I’m sure her promise not to interfere with me is sincere, but that doesn’t stop her from messing with anyone else.
“I haven’t done much. At the most, maybe I just let a little false information slip into Ms. Oka’s Student Roster. Nobody ever said it was all true, but she sure seems to believe it and runs around accordingly. It’s really quite something.”
I punch D again.
Damn you!
How can anyone be so nasty?!
Her head explodes again, then restores itself in an instant.
“No need to worry. I won’t do anything like that from now on. Or I suppose it’d be more accurate to say I won’t be able to anymore.”
“From now on” must mean she’s done it before, right?
Should I punch her one more time for good measure?
But what does she mean, she “won’t be able to”?
“I’ve been looking for you.”
The answer arrives almost immediately.
It comes from a voice that belongs to neither D nor me.
Turning around, I come face-to-face with a maid.
Wait, a maid?
She smiles pleasantly as she looks at D.
It’s weird. She’s a graceful, kindly looking traditional Japanese beauty, but her smile seems oddly sinister.
For some reason, the word mother comes to mind.
In the sense that you wouldn’t dare stand up to her.
She seems like a big-sister type who would put her hand to her cheek and say things like Oh my! and Dear me! so why is she so darn scary?
Huh, she is a little lacking in the chest department, though.
Uh-oh, I better not think stuff like that.
Gotta hold my breath and make sure Miss Maid’s anger doesn’t turn on me, too.
“How careless of me. I did so much work to conceal my location only to reveal myself by regenerating just now.”
“As usual, you lack the propriety that a top-ranking god should possess. Your latest escapade ends here. You’re coming back with me.”
Ohhh, so she’s here to bring the runaway D back home?
No wonder she has that don’t-mess-with-me air about her.
“And what is this thing?”
Miss Maid looks at me.
You’re calling me a “thing,” huh? I see how it is.
That makes me kinda mad, but I get the feeling I wouldn’t be able to beat her…
For starters, I didn’t even notice when she got here.
In fact, for such a pretty lady, she has a ridiculously low level of presence.
Conjuring…? No, I don’t think so.
I can’t detect anything unnatural about her. But somehow her presence is unbelievably faint.
She’s probably using some technique I’ve never even heard of to erase her presence, but the effect is that you could easily lose track of her even when she’s right in front of your face like this.
I must be caught in her illusion.
Anyone who can trap me so easily has gotta be strong.
“This is my new toy.”
Ugh, and now D’s referring to me like an object, too?!
I’m sure she earnestly means it, but that just makes it even more insulting.
“A simple clone…? No, that doesn’t appear to be the case. Just what is it, exactly?”
Seriously, could you stop treating people like things?
Okay, I’m actually a spider, but still.
“A special spider mutation. I created her in my likeness to confuse you about where I was, but she exceeded my expectations and became a god.”
“…I haven’t the slightest idea what you mean.”
Yeah, when you put it that way, I don’t really get it, either.
To be honest, all I really did was get super-lucky and fall into some truly miraculous situations. Next thing you know, I’m a literal god.
Even I think it’s ridiculous when I look back at my own personal history, so I’m sure it’s even more confusing to an outsider.
“At any rate, we’re going home. You’ve got a great deal of work piled up.”
“I don’t want to go home. I don’t want to work. I just want to play forever.”
Still deadpan, D starts throwing a tantrum.
I hate to say it, but seeing her like this just makes it all the more convincing that she’s my original.
“Please don’t be so selfish. Who do you think has to manage the underworld in your place when you’re not working?”
“Mm.”
D points at Miss Maid.
Uh-oh.
Miss Maid is still smiling, but I can practically see a vein popping on her forehead.
“I’m quite busy managing the circles of hell already, you know.”
“But it’s not like you can’t do it, right?”
“It’s not a matter of whether I can or cannot. I have my duties, and you have yours. Now come along.”
Looks like Miss Maid is finally resorting to force.
She grabs D by the collar and starts dragging her away.
Quite a primitive method, if you ask me.
“Sorry, but as you can see, it looks like I won’t be able to come back here for a while. Which means I also can’t interfere with that world. The system will continue to run with or without my help.”
D addresses me evenly as she’s dragged away.
“But yes, that means I cannot interfere with the system. Which also means I can’t defend it from any potential outside interference, I’m sure.”
Whoa!
“Feel free to use anything lying around in this house. You may even find a useful item or two.”
What’s this?
Some kind of farewell gift?
Well, if she says I can have whatever I want, I’ll definitely take her up on the offer.
“Oh right, one more thing. I can’t interfere, but I’ll still peek in on you from time to time, of course.”
Um, okay, didn’t really need to know that.
“Yes, I’ll be watching over you. So be sure to entertain me, all right? Until next time.”
“You won’t have time to watch anything, just so you know.”
Miss Maid smiles threateningly at D, and they leave the room.
By the time I glance cautiously into the hallway, they’re gone.
I guess the world of gods has its own problems, huh?
Sure, I might end up there myself one day, but for now I’ll just pray that D works herself to death.
Hmm. Since she revealed her location to Miss Maid by using her power to regenerate her head after I knocked it clear off, I guess you could say I technically landed a hit on her after all.
Ms. Oka, I’ve avenged you!
Not that that’ll change how bad her situation is right now.
It’s up to me to do something about that.
I’ve got to pay back this life debt. Maybe I should even go above and beyond.
…Debt, huh?
Yeah…yeah, I guess so.
When I think about it that way, there’s another person I owe.
We were enemies at first, then eventually called a truce, started working together, and even helped each other out.
And when I first got deified and was in a super-weakened state, my former enemy, someone who probably had every right to kill me, took me under her wing and protected me.
I’m already helping her out when I can, but that’s not enough to pay back the debt I owe.
Since she saved my life, I have to do something at least comparable in return.
Yeah, that settles it.
I’ll save Ms. Oka.
And then I’ll save the Demon Lord.
To the best of my ability, no holds barred, life on the line if need be.
That’s how you pay back a life debt.
First things first, though, I gotta search this whole house!
Bweh-heh-heh.
A super-special item left behind by D, an actual god!
What am I gonna get? I can’t wait to find out!
THE VAMPIRE SERVANT’S ANNIHILATION
Screams punctuate the night.
Deep darkness is illuminated by fire and flames.
In the air, the scent of blood mingles with the unpleasant stench of something burning.
This is truly hell on earth.
After Wrath’s explanation, Lady White teleported away somewhere.
It soon became apparent that she would not be returning right away, so we parted ways. The next day, however, Lady Ariel called us back to the same meeting room.
When I arrived, Lady Ariel and Lady White were already there.
“Pardon me. I did not mean to keep you waiting.”
“Nah, it’s fine, it’s fine. I was just getting the details from White here myself.”
As I bow my head deeply in apology, Lady Ariel gives me an easygoing wave, and Lady White shows that she is equally unbothered with a small nod.
Lady White’s responses are difficult to understand, but recently I’ve been able to glean her feelings from them a bit more clearly, although there are still plenty of moments when I cannot comprehend her in the slightest.
“All right, White, why don’t you tell… Huh? What? You want me to do it? Oh, all right.”
Lady Ariel starts to prompt Lady White to explain, but the latter leans over and whispers something in the former’s ear.
Since my hearing is enhanced by my vampirism, I can just barely make out her soft voice.
“You explain it.”
It was very quiet but clear nonetheless.
How unusual.
Lady White is normally quite taciturn.
This contributes to her aloofness, but after spending a considerable amount of time with her, I have come to suspect that she is simply not fond of speaking.
Her silence is not necessarily a choice but a result of being perpetually tongue-tied.
And yet, she just spoke in a full sentence without any stuttering or hesitation. Not a particularly long sentence, to be sure, but normally Lady White would have stammered even those three words out syllable by syllable, with considerable pauses in between.
…Could she possibly be under the influence of alcohol?
For some reason, Lady White becomes very talkative when she is drinking.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, at least from my perspective: When I was depressed about having become a vampire, Lady White once drunkenly gave me some harsh but encouraging advice.
That conversation is the very reason I was able to keep moving forward and make up my mind to protect my young mistress.
…Although recently, she has become so strong that she may no longer need my help.
“All right, I’ll explain, then.”
Ah, but now is not the time to get discouraged.
I must listen closely to Lady Ariel.
Although I cannot help but notice that the other member of our party who was here yesterday is no longer present.
“Should Wrath not hear this as well?”
Wrath is another reincarnation, like my young mistress.
He, too, has a checkered past.
Since he has endured a difficult life not unlike the young miss, I privately feel a certain affinity toward him.
Ever since he enrolled in the army alongside me, we have become rather friendly.
As I am his elder, he has requested that I not use any title when addressing him, so perhaps he is more like a younger brother than an equal?
When I was still human, I did have juniors who worked underneath me on my master’s staff, but I was young myself and was always at my master’s side, so I rarely interacted with the other servants, certainly not enough to consider any as close as siblings.
In that way, this is not such a bad thing.
Certainly, I do have somewhat mixed feelings when I consider that he once tried to kill the young mistress and me, but I can put that behind us, considering the mitigating circumstances.
But presently, Wrath is not here.
“Yeah, Wrath won’t be coming this time. I’m sure he’d be all right in terms of strength, but just to be safe. And more importantly, we can’t have them seeing his face.”
His face? Is there something wrong with Wrath’s face?
And then it finally occurs to me.
“Is this related to reincarnations?”
“You got it.”
Evidently, Wrath’s face is the same as it was in his “past life.”
In other words, reincarnations like the young miss can recognize him simply by seeing his face. For instance, when he encountered this “Missoka” character in the battle against the rebel army, she immediately discerned that he was a reincarnation.
“Missoka” seems to be the name of their instructor from their old world.
Since she appeared so recently, perhaps this reincarnation-related discussion has to do with her?
“Does it involve Missoka, perhaps? Oh, but she has already seen Wrath’s face, so this must be something else.”
Partway through my question, I realized my own folly: Lady Ariel said Wrath’s face being seen would be an issue, but Missoka has already seen him.
“Hmm. Well, it’s not entirely unrelated. But I guess this is technically a separate matter. But then again, it’s not totally separate. If anything, it’s actually quite closely connected.”
After this vague response, I must admit I’m even more confused.
But Lady Ariel doesn’t seem to be joking around. Rather, it appears that she’s trying to decide how best to explain.
Unlike Lady White, Lady Ariel prefers to explain important information in great detail.
If no explanation is needed, she’ll generally just smile and gloss over the subject, which doesn’t appear to be the case this time.
And when she hesitates like this, it’s generally because the situation is particularly complicated and difficult to parse.
Fortunately, in cases such as this, if Lady Ariel is given enough time, she usually gets her thoughts in order and elaborates in a way that’s easy to understand. I only need to be patient until she’s ready.
“Okay, I guess it’d be easiest to start from the beginning.”
Sure enough, Lady Ariel hesitates for only an instant before launching into her explanation.
As always, she makes impressive use of the Thought Super-Acceleration skill.
“First of all, about Ms. Oka. As I think you’ve heard, she’s a reincarnation. She’s also the only one who was originally an adult, not to mention a teacher. So as we witnessed firsthand, she’s been reincarnated as an elf. And her goal is to protect the other reincarnations. It seems that she’s under the mistaken impression that I’ve kidnapped little Sophia—or most likely, Potimas deliberately misled her. This is likely why she risked joining the rebel army. Are you with me so far?”
“Yes.”
I’ve already heard most of this information.
Presumably, she’s pausing here because the next part is new information that I haven’t encountered yet.
“So she and the rest of the elf squad escaped from that battle. But according to White’s investigation, they’re heading south toward human territory on foot.”
“They seemed determined to engage in rather reckless actions.”
“I know, right? But I guess they don’t really have any other way out. Anyway, normally they wouldn’t stand a chance of escaping like that, but unfortunately, there’s a reason we need to get them out alive.”
Did I mishear?
Logically, I cannot fathom what that reason might be.
The elves are our sworn enemies, and we clash with them frequently.
They took my master’s and mistress’s lives, and they targeted the young miss.
The remorse and rage I felt toward the elves that night still burns in my chest even now.
Putting aside my personal grudge for the moment, the elves are undoubtedly an enemy of Lady Ariel as well, so I cannot imagine why she would want to let them live.
If anything, the existence of the reincarnation Missoka among them is a factor, but surely she could be captured and brought back here.
It will be far more difficult to let her escape alive.
“You remember Potimas, right? He shows his face from time to time, but that’s not the real Potimas. It’s just a different person’s body being controlled by him. It’s a special power he has. There isn’t much point in killing any version of Potimas we run into because it’s probably not the real thing.”
Learning of this man’s secret gives me no small amount of shock.
I had assumed that he was simply controlling one of those “machines” that had no will of its own.
My simple mind is incapable of completely understanding the nature of “machines,” but I have at least grasped that they are nonliving things that move nonetheless.
Machines are not creatures but a kind of tool.
The bodies that man uses are mechanical tools made to look like a man, which he controls from afar…or so I thought.
But if those were not manlike machines but in fact men themselves, then…that is beyond repulsive.
“Treating people as tools… He is truly the lowest of the low.”
“No kidding.”
In other words, he watches from a safe distance while manipulating some poor soul as his puppet?
This man is truly rotten to the core.
“That being said, it’s not like he can do that to just anyone. There are some strict requirements involved, so there’s no need to worry that someone you know might suddenly get taken over by Potimas without warning—don’t worry.”
Lady Ariel’s words of reassurance only remind me how weak my powers of imagination truly are.
Logically thinking, if he was able to assume control over other people’s minds without any constraints, that nightmare scenario would indeed be possible. It hadn’t even occurred to me.
What if the young miss was taken over by Potimas…?
No, she would not allow herself to be controlled so easily.
But if I myself was to be taken over and this body of mine caused harm to befall the young miss…?
If such a thing was to happen, death itself would not be enough to atone.
The thought only reminds me how wicked that man’s power is and how revolting.
Fortunately, though, Lady Ariel assures me that such a thing is not possible.
Even so, I had never even conceived of such a horrifying power.
“The clincher in this situation is that Ms. Oka actually meets those requirements.”
Ah, now I see.
So that’s the connection.
I was wondering what this man’s atrocious ability had to do with our conversation thus far.
“Once Potimas has taken over someone’s body, that person might as well be dead. The skills he can use are connected to the soul of the body’s original owner, so the soul won’t be destroyed. But once Potimas takes over, the original person’s own consciousness will never return. They’ll spend the rest of their lives as Potimas’s vessel.”
What a wretched fate.
“So if we were to take Missoka into our care…”
“Yes, I have no doubt Potimas would use her.”
An appropriate turn of phrase for a man who treats other people as tools.
I see. That more or less explains why we cannot simply slaughter the elves… But one thing still concerns me.
“But is this not simply delaying the inevitable?”
Even if we let her escape now, the only way to fully solve the problem would be to dispose of that man once and for all. And if Potimas can take control of Missoka at any time, he may well be doing so at this very moment.
I do not think that postponing the issue is a wise strategy.
“Yeah, that’s true. But, well, if we do this, it’ll probably send the message that Ms. Oka has value as a hostage, so Potimas won’t be so quick to lay a hand on her. At least, that’s the hope.”
Lady Ariel wears a dissatisfied expression as she responds to my concern; it would appear that, like me, she feels it is unwise to let the elves escape.
Which means that this decision must have been made by the other person here: Lady White.
“But apparently, White owes her life to Ms. Oka. She wants to do whatever she can to help her.”
As I turn my gaze to Lady White, Lady Ariel clarifies.
So this is the person she owes her life to?
In that case, Lady White must have had a deep connection with this Missoka in their “past lives.”
Perhaps it is something akin to what I shared with my master and mistress.
In that case, I can understand why Lady White would wish to save her.
If the young miss was in a similar position, I would undoubtedly do the same.
“If that is the case, then I have no objection to allowing the elves to escape.”
“Thank you.”
For a moment, the unexpected voice makes me freeze with shock.
Was that…Lady White?
Of course it was. If it was not Lady Ariel, then it must have been Lady White.
But for Lady White to voice her thanks is a truly unexpected occurrence.
Even Lady Ariel is looking at her in surprise.
Lady White, perhaps in an effort to hide her embarrassment, grabs Lady Ariel’s face and forcibly turns her head back toward me.
“Um, ow?!”
I hear a dull, rather unpleasant sound from the vicinity of Lady Ariel’s neck.
“Wait, huh? That hurt? But my Suffering Nullification… What?”
Lady Ariel holds her neck, looking perplexed.
Does this mean she felt pain just now?
Lady White must have somehow inflicted pain on Lady Ariel despite her Suffering Nullification skill.
“Um… Okay, then! Anyway, that’s about it for Ms. Oka. Apparently, White’s already got things under control, so they’ll be safe until they reach the border of the human realm.”
Lady Ariel rubs her neck as she continues.
From the sound of things, there must be another matter at hand aside from Missoka.
“The problem is the border and what the humans will do once the party of elves crosses it. White and I are going to take care of the latter. There’ll be some negotiations involved, but we’ll figure it out one way or another. As for you, Merazophis, I was hoping you could take care of things at the border itself.”
This appears to be the main reason I was called here, so I try to focus.
“As you know, the border region between the demon and human lands is a super-dangerous place. Both races are always watching for signs of enemy invaders. With a few exceptions, like the Mystic Mountains where we came through, it’s safe to assume that there are eyes just about everywhere. So if a group of elves tries to pass through one of those places…well, you can probably guess what would happen. Oh, by the way, the strength of the remaining elves is average at best.”
“I assume they would be annihilated, or at least suffer serious losses.”
“Bingo.”
It might be a different story if they were using machines, but since Lady Ariel says that they have only average strength, I believe that is not the case.
“See, there are really two kinds of elves. There are the ones we know all too well, the ones who use machines left and right like Potimas. But the other sort isn’t aware about the existence of machines—they genuinely believe in the ‘world peace’ farce that the other elves play into. The group that Ms. Oka is traveling with consists of the latter.”
“Well, that’s…”
Doesn’t that mean the latter kind of elves are being used by the former, oblivious to the truth?
If that is true, I cannot help but feel sorry for them, elves though they may be.
“Yeah, I know. I call them the half-wit elves.”
This admittedly cruel name only makes me pity them even more.
“But that’s neither here nor there. Anyway, these guys definitely can’t get across the border safely by themselves. So White was searching around the border for some kind of solution, and what do you know? She just happened to stumble on some other reincarnations.”
At this point, I finally understand how everything is connected.
Certainly, this is related to reincarnations but a separate incident from Missoka’s current plight, while at the same time not being entirely unrelated.
It also explains why Lady Ariel had such difficulty explaining the situation.
“Then you wish for me to go and fetch these reincarnations?”
“Nope. Not at all.”
Lady Ariel waves a hand to dismiss my assumption.
“No, what we want you to do is go to their village—oh, there’s two of them, by the way. So first, go to this human village on the border and kill everyone, ’kay?”
“Um…what?”
I think it’s quite understandable that I found Lady Ariel’s words so completely incomprehensible that I responded in an admittedly foolish way.
And so I find myself on my way to the border, astride a mount called a fenesist.
It is one of the earth wyrms that once pulled our cart when I was traveling to the demon territory with Lady Ariel and company.
At the time, it was a lesser wyrm called a fenerush, but it has since evolved into a fenesist.
While its constitution is unchanged, its base stats all went up, and it’s even learned Earth Magic to help support me, its rider. Although, of course, its stats are still far lower than mine, so I would be better off dismounting to fight alone.
Still, I look forward to seeing how it will grow in the future.
Monsters usually have few skills but have high stats to compensate.
If it continues to level up and evolve, its stats may even surpass my own one day.
The giant creature galloping alongside my mount and me is the other evolved fenerush.
This one became a fenegrad, an evolution that favors pure strength over the ability to support a rider, unlike the fenesist.
The fenegrad’s primary weapon is its size.
It is just as strong as it appears, and since it has gone from walking on four legs to two, it has freed up its arms to use as weapons.
Additionally, it is far faster than its sluggish appearance would suggest.
The fenegrad cannot use Earth Magic like a fenesist, but it has the advantage in pure physical strength.
Both of them are irreplaceable comrades who have aided us throughout our journey.
The speed of these earth wyrms made it easy to catch up with the group of elves, and now we are already close to the border.
Once I arrive, all that remains is to do as I have been instructed.
I think back to Lady Ariel’s words.
“I’d like to take the reincarnations into our custody, but we can’t do that. The problem is mostly the location. Humans who live in the borderlands form tight-knit communities with their friends and family. They won’t hand over a couple of their kids if we just ask. In fact, they might cut you down for even suggesting it. The people who live there make the rules. It’s extreme to the point where any outsiders are pretty much seen as enemies. Trying to negotiate with them won’t make a difference, I’m afraid. Probably best to assume that there’s no peaceful way we can retrieve the reincarnations at all. That’s likely why Potimas hasn’t laid a hand on them, either.”
From what I hear, the people who live in the borderlands are akin to bandits.
Apparently, that’s not an inaccurate descriptor, but they apply themselves to their trade with the pride that they are protecting their land from demon invaders in the process.
Demons and humans look very similar, so they essentially kill anyone they haven’t seen before to be certain.
They’ve been doing this for generations, which has naturally cultivated a culture that highly values family, scorns outsiders, and is generally reclusive.
They trust their family to be on their side and kill outsiders because they could well be demons.
This seems an outlandish brand of logic to me, but such a lifestyle is tolerated in the borderlands.
“Which leads me to the main points. I want you to massacre the reincarnations’ clan for two reasons. One, it’ll mean that the elves can get through safely. And two, it’ll draw the reincarnations away from that place. Like I said, the border tribes have a strong sense of family. And they don’t like to let their family leave. For most people born on the border, that means living their whole lives there. But that would mean that those two reincarnations would die as soon as war broke out.”
Lady Ariel is going to start a war with the humans. That is an immutable fact.
And when she does, the demon army will naturally have to cross the border.
And naturally, they’ll clash with the humans who live there.
The likely outcome, I imagine, goes without saying.
“Since there’s no way for us to peacefully take the reincarnations into custody, we’ll crush their colony and leave only those two alive, so they can run away and live freely. If we took them in by force, they obviously wouldn’t be thrilled, y’know? So rather than setting ourselves up for trouble unnecessarily, it seems better to set ’em free and let them do whatever they want. I know this seems drastic, but it’s the only way to clear a path for the elves while also letting the reincarnations run away instead of involving them in our eventual war. It’s killing two birds with one stone…although I guess that’s kind of an unfortunate turn of phrase in this case.”
Lady Ariel smiled self-derisively.
To me, she appeared to be lamenting that this violent choice was the only way forward.
I’m sure Lady Ariel would have preferred to avoid resorting to this, too.
But in these circumstances, we’re left with no other option.
“On top of that, if Ms. Oka was to run into these two reincarnations, it’d just complicate things even further. It’s better to take matters into our own hands and lead those two out of her path.”
Unfortunately, I’ve drawn the short straw for this particular task.
It would be cruel to give Wrath a task that would cause his fellow reincarnations to resent him.
This duty required someone to leave immediately and have the strength to wipe out an entire tribe of borderlands humans.
An entire army would have never made it to the border before the elves.
Since I can travel alone, I am well suited for this role.
And my inside knowledge of the circumstances is a factor, too.
The only question is whether I am strong enough to massacre this entire clan.
“You always sell yourself short, Merazophis. Maybe you’re not aware of it, since you’re surrounded by freaks like us, but to an ordinary human, you’re freakishly strong, y’know?”
Those were Lady Ariel’s words.
Is that…true?
To be honest, it doesn’t feel that way to me.
Since enrolling in the army and training with other individuals, I have indeed come to the realization that I am stronger than I thought.
But still, I wouldn’t have claimed myself to be as powerful as my fellows.
I simply do not have the talent.
Certainly, I have spared no effort in my attempts to become strong enough to protect the young miss.
My training with Lady White on our journey was certainly eccentric, but I have continued it in the hopes of getting stronger.
And I have undertaken additional training of my own, as well.
Yet, the gap in strength between the young miss and me has only continued to grow.
I do not think that I have trained any less than my young mistress.
Perhaps it is just that children and adults grow at different rates, but even more so, I feel that the young miss was born with a natural talent that I simply lack.
The young miss is special. She is a reincarnation, a Progenitor vampire, and the daughter of my esteemed master and mistress.
In comparison, I have always been naught but a humble servant.
I was aware that I lacked natural talent long before I became a vampire.
Certainly, I could carry out tasks as well as any other man, but when it came to going above and beyond, I always fell short.
Ever since I was young, I have ambitiously studied many different fields and subjects.
My hard work did expand the breadth of my abilities, but I could never hold a candle to a specialist in any of those fields.
I fell short of the maids when it came to any housework, could barely assist my master in matters of politics, and failed to fend off even a single bandit with my strength as a so-called bodyguard.
I could do many different tasks, but no matter how much I tried, I could never pass a certain threshold.
That is how I have always been.
Even now that I am a vampire, with vastly improved stats, my nature ultimately has not changed.
Perhaps that is why, even when Lady Ariel tells me that I am capable, I have trouble believing her.
“We will reach our destination tomorrow. Let us rest here for tonight.”
I stop the fenesist and fenegrad and prepare our camp.
“Tomorrow is sure to be a difficult battle. I’ll be counting on you.”
I pat the two earth wyrms on the head and give them feed.
Lady White has given me a special bag that can store large amounts of items in a parallel space, so I am able to travel without unwieldy baggage.
It is a magical item made from Lady White’s thread.
She handed it to me quite casually, but Lady Ariel sucked in her cheeks when she saw it, so I can only assume that it is worth more than I could possibly imagine.
As always, Lady White is beyond comprehension.
Perhaps she feels obliged to me for helping to look after her when she lost her powers, but she has done far too much for me.
I wish to be of use to her as well, not least so I can strive to repay this impossible debt, but there are few instances in which one such as Lady White would need help from the likes of me.
Since this is one of those rare opportunities, I must complete this task to the best of my ability.
But still, I fear I am not strong enough.
Not by a long shot.
No matter how much effort I put in, they continue to leave me behind.
“Perhaps one day you two will surpass me as well.”
I murmur to the fenesist and fenegrad.
The earth wyrms look back at me with confusion, then at each other.
The action brings a smile to my face.
Even if they do surpass me one day, I am sure these clever creatures will continue to serve me, unworthy master though I am.
I cannot predict the future. All I can do is live and fight in the present moment to the best of my ability.
That is the only path forward for one as talentless as I.
No amount of effort can make up for natural talent, but I must continue to try or I lose my right to stand on this stage at all.
The young miss may already have no use for my feeble strength.
But I must at least ensure that I never hold her back.
“Lady Ariel believes I can do this. I must live up to her expectations.”
Strengthening my resolve, I focus all my nerve on the battle to come.
“Alarm! We’re under attack!”
“There’s only one of ’em? We’ll teach ’im to look down on us!”
“What the hell?! What is that guy?!”
“Dammit, he’s too fast! I can’t keep up!”
“Hey, this has gotta be a joke, right? How can a person split in two like that? C’mon! I must be dreaming, yeah? This is just a nightmare, right?”
“Idiot! Pull yourself together!”
“No! I don’t wanna die!”
“Get the women and children outta here! We don’t stand a chance!”
“Father! Father! This can’t be happening!”
“Keep moving or he’ll come after you!”
Part 6 of 8