Part 7 of 8
“Shit! You monster! You damn monster!”
“Aaaaargh!”
“Wait, stop! Please! You can kill me—just don’t hurt her!”
“Run for it! Run! Please let us go!”
“Ha. That thing’s not human or even a demon. It’s some thing that’s shaped like a person.”
“You fiend! Agh—!”
“…God help us.”
The massacre of the reincarnations’ clan is complete.
Part of me is relieved that it went more easily than I expected, though I also have complicated feelings about the fact that relief is my strongest emotion when all is said and done.
Since I vowed to protect my young mistress, I have come to terms with the fact that I am a vampire. I attacked people to drink their blood night after night without hesitation.
I thought I still had a heart despite everything that’s happened, but right now I feel calm, even after all this bloodshed.
Is this a sign that I’ve grown accustomed to such horrors? That my resolve is simply this strong? Or is it that I have become a monstrous vampire down to my very soul?
I do not think there is any way to know the answer.
Certainly, I was always willing to commit any atrocity necessary to protect the young miss.
But in truth, I thought I would feel more conflicted once I was finally put to the proof.
…This is not good.
If my resolve is firm, then that is ideal, of course.
But I cannot allow my heart to harden completely.
I accepted my fate as a vampire in order to continue serving the young miss, but I must not allow myself to turn into a monster on the inside as well.
I would no longer be able to face my master and mistress.
Vampires have no choice but to live differently than humans do.
But I must also endeavor to lead the young miss down a path that would not break her parents’ hearts. If she attempts to go astray, I have a duty to correct her.
But how can I admonish the young miss for such things unless I, too, walk a proper path?
…Perhaps it is too late.
I may already be too far removed from humanity in body and soul.
But even if that is the case, I must find a way to live honorably.
My hands are already stained with blood.
Would my master and mistress weep to see me as I am now?
I vowed to live as a vampire.
To live alongside my mistress, even if I must go drenched in blood.
I decided to abandon my humanity but not my principles.
It is no easy task to stay on a path that offers no right answers.
Even so, I must at least continue to walk with my head held high and set an example for the young miss.
“W-wehhh!”
And so I must show no hesitation.
Before me are two children: a young boy protecting a young girl.
Surely, he knows that he stands no chance against me, and yet he attempts to shield her behind his small back—an act I cannot help admiring.
“…Mere children.”
I attempt to keep my voice as cold as possible.
That alone is enough to make the girl turn so pale that she looks ready to faint, and the boy’s body trembles.
Two women lie in a heap before them.
Most likely, the children’s mothers.
They tried to protect their children to the very end.
“Hmph. I’ve lost interest.”
Glancing at them, I act as though the sight of the mothers’ sacrifice has convinced me to stay my hand.
Even though in reality, I’ve already slain many other parents alongside their children.
But I must let these two escape alive, for they are the reincarnations.
Without another word, I turn away from the children, beckon to the fenesist and fenegrad, and move to leave this place.
“Wait!”
But then something unexpected happens.
The boy calls out to stop me.
“Who are you?!”
For a moment, I don’t understand what he’s asking.
But then I realize he wishes to know my name.
“Merazophis.”
Out of respect for the boy’s bravery in demanding to know his enemy’s identity, I look over my shoulder and give him my real name, hiding nothing.
Then I walk away from them for good.
Lady Ariel said that she wanted to let these children live freely.
But for them, there will surely be no freedom.
Only a life ruled by revenge.
If there is any other path, it will be one in which they support each other.
I was able to prioritize something other than revenge only because I had the young miss.
So I hope that these two will find a similar way forward.
But judging by the boy’s look, I doubt that will be the case.
Most likely, that boy will come to stand before me someday.
And when that happens, I shall face him as his enemy.
But I have no intention of deliberately losing.
For I have my own reason to live, my own cause.
For that, I am even willing to stoop to the same depths as the man who is my most hated enemy.
If this boy wishes to choose the path of revenge with me as his target, he had best tread carefully.
I am not strong like that man Potimas.
But I am confident that my unwavering conviction far surpasses his.
Even if this revenge is justified, I will not accept a villain’s fate.
If you wish to kill me, then you must surpass me in strength.
I will oppose you with everything I have.
Even if you are a reincarnation with the same powers as my young mistress, I will not lose so easily.
Master.
Mistress.
Perhaps I am already living in a manner that you would frown upon.
Even so, I must continue to live—as a vampire, as myself, no matter how bloodied my hands become.
And I will do this all while protecting the young miss and repaying my great debt of gratitude to Lady Ariel and Lady White.
ASAKA AND KUNIHIKO
My name is Asaka Kushitani.
I was given a name in this world, too, but I have the vague feeling I might never be called by that name again.
The only people who called me that were the people of our clan; my fellow reincarnation Kunihiko Tagawa and I call each other by our original names, after all.
And now that everyone in the clan except for Kunihiko and me is dead, I’m sure I won’t be hearing that other name anymore.
For some reason, we were reincarnated.
I don’t really understand why.
Kunihiko tells me that this “isekai reincarnation” was a popular genre of light novels and stuff, but when I actually experienced it for myself, I thought I was just having a bad dream.
But it was real: I woke up one day as a baby in an unfamiliar world.
It’s impossible to accurately describe the distress and confusion I felt back then.
And when I realized that Kunihiko was right there and had witnessed every moment of me bawling my eyes out…well, I almost died of embarrassment.
Still, it was an immense comfort to have a friend close by in the same predicament.
Kunihiko and I were reborn into a clan of bandits.
Reminiscent of Mongolian nomads, they lived in tents, roaming the human-demon borderlands in search of prey. They attacked any demons they found, stole all their belongings, and reported the kill to their empire to receive pay.
A strange kind of legal banditry.
I wanted to get out of such a place as quickly as possible and live a normal life.
Kunihiko always wanted to go on an adventure, but I just wanted normalcy.
I longed to find a safe place to settle down in peace.
But I never imagined this was how we would leave the clan.
“I see one.”
“…Yeah.”
Up ahead, a town is coming into view.
Our clan was massacred, but fortunately the carriages and horses were left intact.
So after we dug graves and buried the rest of our clan, we packed all the luggage we could into a carriage and set out for the nearest town.
There was no point staying there any longer.
When we reach the town gates, we explain the situation to the guard.
The guard looks perturbed but lets us into town without the usual entrance fee, recommending that we pay a visit to the church.
A church…?
I don’t know what we’re going to do next, but I suppose we might as well go there for now.
“Heading out on a request, Gotou?”
“Yep.”
As our carriage proceeds down the road, I see two men having a conversation nearby.
Kunihiko is looking at them, too.
“…!”
“Huh? Ah! Wait!”
Kunihiko suddenly jumps down from the carriage.
Then he runs up to one of the men and grabs his arm.
“Hunh? Whaddaya want, brat?”
“Gotou! A katana!” Kunihiko shouts. “Are you one of us?!”
“Huh?”
Gotou? A katana?
Looking closer, I see that the man called Gotou has a katana-like sword at his waist.
Then I finally realize what Kunihiko is getting at.
His name is Gotou, and he has a katana.
Could he be Japanese, too?
He certainly doesn’t look Japanese, but then again, neither do we.
Maybe he’s a reincarnation like we are.
“Uh, what’re you talking about, boy?”
But that faint hope is quickly dashed.
Mr. Gotou looks genuinely confused.
Kunihiko tries to speak to him with Japanese words mixed in but still no reaction.
“Please make me your apprentice!”
But even though we know he’s not Japanese, Kunihiko still seems to feel strongly about this encounter.
Why would he ask a total stranger to make him his apprentice?
“Erm…wait a sec. What am I supposed to do here, huh? I gotta go take care of a request now, y’know. Uh, what should I do?”
Gotou looks sincerely flummoxed.
But it doesn’t seem like he’s going to turn his back on us. Somehow, that causes the dam holding back all my feelings to break down, and I suddenly start weeping.
“Huh? Uh…hang on. Don’t cry, little girl. It’s okay, see?”
Mr. Gotou’s kindness as he reaches out to comfort me despite his confusion has a profound effect on me.
Our whole clan was suddenly slaughtered, for unknown reasons.
We didn’t know what to do next, so we came to this town, but of course we had nowhere to go.
The moment Mr. Gotou showed us kindness, I felt for the first time like I could still go on.
This is a cruel world, without a doubt, but maybe it’s not a total loss after all.
I can’t think about any of that right now. I just want to bawl my eyes out all over again.
I’m sure I’ll live to regret this embarrassing moment, but right now I can’t bring myself to care.
In the end, the guard hears the commotion and brings over someone from the church.
The clergy agrees to look after us for a while.
I’m so grateful.
“I’m gonna get stronger.”
“Uh-huh.”
“That guy Merazophis must’ve been a demon, right? I’m gonna get strong enough to beat him one day. I swear.”
“Uh-huh.”
I don’t know if that’s actually possible, and all I want is to live in peace without worrying about all that. But even stronger is my desire to not be separated from Kunihiko.
So whatever he decides to do, I’m going to follow him.
But for now, I just want to cry like the child I appear to be.
LET’S MAKE A THREAT
So I went to file a complaint with D, and as a result, D got escorted away by Miss Maid.
I know that sounds like a lot of nonsense, though trust me, I don’t really get it, either.
But I guess this means no more meddling from D, so I’m extra free to do whatever I want now!
And I managed to borrow a few items D left behind, too.
…Even if they all seem like gag gifts to me.
Still, uh, they’re just as effective as you’d hope literal god-tier items would be, so I’ll find a use for them…probably.
I mean, definitely! Yeah!
Anyway, now that I’m back home, I’ve wasted no time doing some follow-up investigations.
The Colonel’s gonna look out for the elves until they reach the border, but there’s no telling what’ll happen after that.
The Colonel is a big shot, sure, but that’s only in demon territory.
Once our guests are in human territory, he can’t do squat.
I’ve got to find a way to keep the elves safe across the border.
The fastest way to do that would be to deal with the borderlands bandits somehow.
Those guys kinda default to shoot first, ask questions later mode with strangers.
Honestly, they’re a lot scarier than some stupid monsters. I think they deserve their own danger rank and whatnot.
The various bandit groups cooperate really well, too, so if you take too long to crush one, another clan will come running to their rescue.
And once things get that out of hand, the human army will probably come to check out the ruckus, too.
So the only way through is to crush one of the clans as fast as possible.
I’m sure the Demon Lord could’ve done that when we came here from the human realm, but there was no need to go out of our way to wipe out a whole tribe just to avoid taking a detour.
But in this case, the elves need to get through bandit country somehow.
Which is why I’ve gotta find a tribe that looks easy to wipe out.
I’m using my real body and my mini-mes to explore the borderlands, and what do you think I find there?
A boy and a girl speaking Japanese.
Hoo, boy. These are definitely reincarnations, huh?
They call each other Kunihiko and Asaka.
Hrmmm. Based on Hiiro Wakaba’s memories, that means they’re probably Asaka Kushitani and Kunihiko Tagawa, right?
Huh. D said Potimas had collected a bunch of reincarnations, but I guess he didn’t get his grubby mitts on these two.
Makes sense, since they’re not exactly in a prime kidnapping location.
If you tried any funny business out here, you’d end up making an enemy of most if not all the dangerous clans who live on the border.
Potimas probably knew these two were there but decided it wasn’t worth the trouble.
Really, I guess he didn’t have much of a choice.
The only way to kidnap these guys would be to crush their entire clan.
I’m sure Potimas could pull that off, but in terms of effort versus potential gain, it probably wouldn’t be very cost-effective. And he hates that kind of bargain, so it’s no wonder he left them alone.
Ugh, this sucks, though.
Ms. Oka was enough of a problem on her own, so the last thing I needed was to find even more issues to deal with…
But now that I’ve found them, I can’t just ignore them.
I mean, I’d LOVE to ignore them, but that probably wouldn’t be good…
If I just leave them there, they’ll definitely get killed in the war the Demon Lord’s about to start.
We’ve gotta take them in, or at least move them to somewhere else.
But taking them in would mean we’d have to kill their whole clan first.
Not exactly the best first impression.
We might end up bringing them back here only for them to make it their life’s mission to get revenge.
Argh! This is such a pain, dammit!
I wish we could just sweep away their clan and let them figure it out!
…Wait, maybe that would actually work?
In fact, is it just me or is that our only option?
If we leave ’em alone, they’re just gonna get killed in the war, and if we try to take them in, their clan will definitely throw down without entertaining any negotiation. There’s no peaceful way to resolve this, that’s for sure.
So maybe we just need to chase them off, even if it means resorting to violence, and let them figure out the rest for themselves?
Although we’d have to make sure the elves don’t try to mess with them, at least.
Yep, that settles it.
Not quite as delicate as my plan to save Ms. Oka, but there’s nothing I can do about that.
So I guess we’ll crush that clan and then have Ms. Oka and company pass through their recently cleared turf.
Seems like the only workable solution to me, yep.
As for who’s best suited to do the actual deed…that’d be Mera, I guess?
I’m sure Mr. Oni could pull it off, but I’d be a little worried about whether or not he’s strong enough. And more importantly, it’d be in pretty poor taste to have a reincarnation wholesale murder the families of his fellow reincarnations.
Mera’s the perfect man for the job.
…Unless he refuses, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
I don’t know what Vampy’s planning to do from here on out, but it’s not like her servant, Mera, is obligated to help us with all our plans.
This is a massacre, plain and simple, even if we’re doing it for a specific reason.
Mera lost his hometown in battle and had his precious masters killed by Potimas, so violence might be traumatic for him, especially if I’m asking him to do it with his own hands. I wouldn’t blame him if he refused.
Well, I guess in that case, I can take care of it myself, even if it’d require some extra effort on my part.
That settles the border situation, which only leaves what happens once they get across.
And that’s one thing I can’t do anything about myself.
I’ve gotta make an appointment with the person in charge of the human lands, where they’ll wind up once they cross the border.
Which means I have to go negotiate.
With the de facto ruler of humanity, no less: the pontiff of the Word of God.
“So that’s the plan.”
“Oh. Erm… I see.”
“What’s with the lackluster response?”
Here I am trying to come up with all these extensive plans, but the Demon Lord seems totally unimpressed.
“It’s just, uh, I dunno. Y’know?”
“No, I don’t. What are you getting at? Just spit it out already.”
“Okay, am I the only one who finds that super-annoying coming from someone who normally refuses to say anything? In fact, that’s exactly the problem! Has your whole personality changed or what? I mean, I know it hasn’t, but still! You’re not acting weird exactly, but you’re not acting normal, either!”
Now she’s mad at me for some reason.
“Um, what?”
“Don’t ‘what?’ me! If anything, I’m the one who should be saying that! Since when are you so talkative, huh?! What happened to your usual fake-mysterious silence bit?! Are you drunk or something? You are, aren’t you?!”
No, I’m sober.
I don’t know why, but lately I feel like I can talk to the Demon Lord without getting nervous.
I mean, she did take in a part of me when she absorbed my former body brain, and bloodline-wise she’s basically my grandmother, so we’re definitely related in one way or another. It’s not that weird to be able to talk to your relatives, okay?!
Although I guess the biggest reason is my own recent change of heart.
But the Demon Lord doesn’t know about that, so I guess she’s freaked out that I’m blabbering away all of a sudden.
“C’mon! Forget about those minor details.”
“‘Minor’?!”
“We need to go threa… I mean, ahem. Negotiate with the pontiff.”
“You were definitely about to say threaten, weren’t you?! Hello?!”
“Oh, but first I need to ask Mera to go crush that border tribe.”
“Damn, girl! You don’t listen to anyone, do you?! How crazy can you get?! Not that this is news to me! But still!”
Ignoring the Demon Lord’s little tantrum, I get her to summon Mera and have her explain the situation to him.
Huh? Why didn’t I explain it myself?
Oh, uh, y’know, I have a fake-mysterious silence thing to uphold…stuff like that…
Anyway, once the Demon Lord reluctantly explains things to Mera, he agrees right away to massacre the tribe.
If he had hesitated at all, I would’ve taken care of it myself without pressuring him, but apparently, it won’t be a problem.
He seems worried about whether or not he can do it on his own, but that’s just silly.
Like the Demon Lord says, he tends to sell himself short.
Has he forgotten that even after having his Wrath skill sealed, our Mr. Oni mowed down the rebel army without breaking a sweat?
Well, at any rate, I guess we can consider the border problem solved.
It seems like Mera’s figured some things out for himself and overcome various doubts, so I’m sure I can count on him.
That just leaves the Demon Lord and me about to go on our merry way.
For our surprise attack on the Word of God pontiff.
So yeah, here we are.
The pontiff’s office in the Word of God headquarters, the so-called Holy Kingdom of Alleius or whatever.
I brought the Demon Lord along and teleported in without an appointment.
Which I guess is probably why the secretary-type people in the room are frozen in fear and these secret service–looking guys whose faces are hidden by cloth have appeared out of nowhere, pointing their weapons at us.
“Stop!”
But just as they look like they’re going to charge at us, the pontiff calls them off.
“You’re no match for these two, even if you attack en masse. Stand down.”
Ooh. Very imposing.
I haven’t had much chance to interact with this pontiff guy, but I always thought he was more the type to smile cheerfully while scheming like mad behind the scenes.
Seems like he can drop the good-natured act for moments like this.
“Well? What might I do for you today, Lady Ariel?”
Next thing you know, though, that imposing aura disappears, and he’s back to looking like a gentle, friendly old man.
Talk about scary!
Nobody should be able to switch gears that fast.
This old guy’s terrifying in a whole different way from the Demon Lord.
He’s basically powerless in battle, but he’s still got this undeniable presence.
“Oh, no need to be so guarded. We’re just here for some peaceful negotiations, honest. I’m not planning on fighting anyone.”
“Then please at least come in through the front door in the future. It’s not good for my heart, having you appear out of nowhere with no prior warning.”
“You say that, but if we tried to come through the front, I’m sure we’d be turned away at best.”
“Ha. I suppose so. Being the pontiff is convenient, but it can also be constricting.”
The exchange between the Demon Lord and the pontiff seems weirdly laid-back.
Maybe they understand each other well after knowing each other for so many years.
“Well, let’s not stand around talking here. How about a little change of scenery?”
The pontiff waves off the still-tense secret service guys, prompting them to back off.
They disappear with a little poof, just like ninjas.
Damn, that’s cool!
Except that I can still see their every move with my special spider eyes.
“Please, right this way.”
The pontiff leads us to a fancy drawing room.
Somehow, there are already servants inside with tea and snacks. I guess one of the not-ninja guys must have given them a heads-up.
His subordinates do what he wants without him even needing to ask.
What amazingly well-trained staff!
The Demon Lord’s people are, well, demons, so they’re all over the place. And the puppet spiders have such bizarre personalities that they’re not exactly model servants. This guy’s got it made!
But then again, the pontiff and the Demon Lord are pretty far apart in terms of actual strength, so it makes sense that you’d give the poor guy some kind of handicap in the form of reliable servants.
I’m already imagining the eldest puppet-spider sister vehemently objecting to this train of thought, but I’m sure it’s all in my mind.
“Now then, might I ask why you’re here?”
The pontiff sits down on a sofa.
Oh man, this thing’s soft enough to suck you right in!
Hmph, but it’s still not as good as my thread!
“We were hoping you could lend us a hand with two minor difficulties.”
The Demon Lord glances at me, makes a face like Nope, she can’t do it, and starts negotiating herself.
Um, rude?
I know she’s right, but still! STILL!
Couldn’t she at least have the decency to not let it show on her face?
“‘Difficulties,’ you say?”
“Yep, that’s right. Just a couple of minor incidents that we can’t quite take care of on our own.”
“I see.”
“Knowing how quickly information reaches you, you might already know this, but we had just a tiny bit of trouble in the demon territory recently. That’s all taken care of now, but there were actually some elves on the enemy side.”
“Oh?”
“Well, White here crushed most of them, so it wasn’t a huge issue. But this is where it gets a little complicated. One of the elves was a reincarnation.”
Wait, huh?
The Demon Lord just casually dropped the word reincarnation.
“Well, well. That certainly is troublesome.”
And the pontiff is acting like he knows exactly what she’s talking about.
Um. Okay.
The pontiff already sniffed out the existence of reincarnations, apparently.
And the Demon Lord must’ve just assumed he would have that figured out already.
And then the pontiff assumed that she would assume that, so instead of getting hung up on that or trying to squeeze each other for more info, they’re just…continuing the conversation?
Well, I’ll be damned.
“Yeah, an elf reincarnation is already a problem in and of itself, but to make things worse, this one has a skill that can provide basic information on all the other reincarnations.”
“I see. Damn that Potimas. No wonder he seemed so quick to act.”
“Knowing you, I’m sure you’re already taking steps to counter Potimas, but as long as he’s got this particular reincarnation on his side, he’s always going to be a step ahead in that department.”
“So you’re saying we have to do something about the reincarnation in question?”
A steely glint flashes in the pontiff’s eyes.
“Unfortunately, that’s where things get even more complicated. That elf reincarnation is actually in the demon realm right now, trying to escape into human lands. And I want you to let her get back to Potimas safely.”
At that, the pontiff sinks into a dubious silence.
He lowers his gaze, thinking for a moment.
“And what is the purpose of that exactly?”
Clearly failing to discern a decent explanation himself, he looks up again.
“See, this elf reincarnation saved White’s life. We want to rescue her if we can. But Potimas has already infected her, filthy parasite that he is. So we can’t lay a hand on her right now, which is why we have to let her go back to Potimas.”
The Demon Lord truthfully explains the reason.
At that, the pontiff starts thinking again.
Um, is being honest really the best option here?
My motivation for wanting to save Ms. Oka is super-personal, so I doubt it makes any difference to the pontiff.
From what I’ve heard about this guy, I wouldn’t be surprised if he decided Ms. Oka had to be killed for the sake of humanity.
In fact, that glint in his eye a minute ago is proof enough of that.
“And in exchange, you will defeat the elves, correct?”
“Yes, of course.”
Huh?
Um, whaaat?
Back up a sec. Where did that conclusion come from?
And why is the Demon Lord just agreeing like it’s no big deal?
Someone clue me in here, pleeease!
“And you have a plan for how to bring Potimas down?”
“I wouldn’t be offering this deal if I didn’t.”
I am so out of the loop right now.
“…Very well. I shall make arrangements to keep anyone from laying a hand on these elves by using the empire branch of the Word of God. I’m sure Potimas will collect them on his own from there.”
“Thanks a bunch.”
“But you must make good on your word to defeat the elves.”
“Of course. I figure it might be about time to put an end to that particular grudge once and for all.”
Looks like the negotiations are wrapping up while I’m still totally lost at sea.
“As for the other difficulty, this one’s pretty much just icing on the cake, it’s so easy. Y’know the clans that live on the border between the demon and human territories? Well, turns out there are two reincarnations there, too. We’re gonna have to wipe out their clan to let the elves get through, see. But we’ll let the two reincarnations get away, so would you mind taking care of them on your end?”
“What about that is easy? …Hrmmm. Well, all right. I’ll let the local church know about that as well.”
“Thanks. You can do whatever you want with those two reincarnations, by the way. Raise ’em as knights to fight demons, use ’em as bait for the elves, whatever. Anything’s fine by us.”
Uh, wait a minute. “Fine by us”?
That’s a pretty bold claim, Miss Demon Lord.
Sure doesn’t sound fine to me…
Hrmmm. We are the ones who are gonna wipe out their whole clan, so we don’t really have a leg to stand on if we start making demands about how they’re treated.
“Hmm. I suppose that will do as a reward in itself, then. This certainly is troublesome, but it’s not without benefits for our side, either.”
“Great. We’re counting on ya, then.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“I’ll probably come by again in the future to consult with you about the whole elf thing. We’ve got a lot of preparations to finalize first, so try to be patient, yeah?”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Oh. Sounds like we’re done here.
What? I didn’t contribute at all, you say?
How rude! I enjoyed my fair share of snacks and tea, I’ll have you know!
Negotiations? Never heard of ’em.
“Well, we don’t wanna overstay our welcome, so we’ll be on our way.”
“Very well. I hope you’ll bring good news next time you pay me a visit.”
Once we’ve exchanged farewells, the Demon Lord gives me the signal to teleport us back.
Then, in the blink of an eye, we’re back at the castle.
“Kinda seems like we got stuck with the job of beating the elves. What’s going on?”
“Beats me, dammit!”
The Demon Lord responds to my cautious question with a shout.
Um, what?
“Uuugh! How did that happen?! WHY did that happen?!”
The Demon Lord throws up her hands in frustration.
Whaaat? But she agreed to it so naturally.
Or was she just keeping up a poker face because she had no idea what was going on?
“He’s always been like this, the bastard! He thinks so many moves ahead that he’s already decided what I’m gonna do before I’ve even figured it out myself! Quit reading so far into things, stupid!”
The Demon Lord seems to be throwing a tantrum.
Seems this isn’t the first time something like this has happened between them.
“I mean, not that I have a real problem with defeating the elves. Really, I’d love to bring those guys down if I can.”
Heaving a sigh and calming a little, the Demon Lord slumps into a nearby seat.
“The problem is, now that I talked such a big game, I gotta actually come up with a plan to beat them. I’m counting on ya, White.”
“Who, me?!”
“Yes, you! It’s your fault we wound up in this position in the first place, so take responsibility and figure it out! Got it?”
O-oh.
I guess I can’t argue with that.
“Hmm. Ahhh. Okay, I get it. Saving Ms. Oka is what led to the idea of defeating the elves.”
“What do you mean?”
The Demon Lord appears to have figured out how the pontiff reached the conclusion that we were volunteering to defeat the elves.
“Well, Potimas has infected Ms. Oka.”
Right.
Potimas has the ability to take control of other people’s bodies.
The victims lose their own free will for life, and Potimas gets to use them however he pleases.
But he can’t do it to just anyone. Only people who satisfy certain conditions are susceptible.
And apparently, Ms. Oka satisfies those conditions.
You wouldn’t believe how shocked I was when I saw it for myself.
I mean, Potimas’s nasty feelers are wrapped around Ms. Oka’s soul.
The Demon Lord keeps using the word infected, and I think that fits perfectly. It has a viscerally gross sort of ring to it, y’know?
Yeah, seeing the way Potimas’s creepy invisible tentacles are wrapped around Ms. Oka’s soul thanks to his weird ability definitely made me want to puke.
Although I guess it’s only because I’ve become a god and can somehow see people’s souls.
“The only way to release her from that is to kill Potimas. And killing Potimas basically means defeating the elves. That’s why he mistakenly assumed that we were preparing to do exactly that.”
Ahhh.
I get it.
It does kinda make sense now that I think about it.
I was only really thinking about how to muddle through the present situation, but if you think about it in the long-term, the only way to truly save Ms. Oka is to kill Potimas once and for all.
That must be what the pontiff assumed we meant when we said we were going to save her.
“Ughhh. If he refused, I was ready to resort to threats, but I’m not even sure who threatened who anymore. We’ve gotta figure out a way to defeat the damn elves just to hold up our end of the bargain now.” Leaning back against the chair lazily, the Demon Lord grumbles.
“But I guess that’s one way to settle things. Yeah. Let’s do it.” I decided to light a fire under the Demon Lord’s butt.
If she’s truly worried about the fate of this world, she would’ve had to beat Potimas sooner or later.
And if we want to save Ms. Oka, again, we have to kill him.
So what’s the problem?
Sure, I know it’s not gonna be easy.
But if we can save Ms. Oka and beat the Demon Lord’s sworn enemy, that’s two birds with one stone. If anything, there’s no reason NOT to kill him.
Besides, with everything he’s done, I’m seriously pissed off. It’s personal now.
“We’re going to crush Potimas.”
It’s important to declare your intent out loud.
The Demon Lord actually shivers. Oops, I guess I let my anger show a little.
“Not right away, though.”
“R-right.”
I’m a spider, after all.
When I’m stalking my prey, I always perfectly lay my traps before I go in for the kill.
Which means we’ve gotta start by gathering more information.
…I better hurry up and power up my clones already.
A TEACHER WANTS ONLY WHAT IS BEST FOR HER STUDENTS
“Oka. Are you all right?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
One of my sharp-eyed companions notices that my breathing has grown slightly heavier and expresses concern.
To adults like them, my body must appear too small, too weak.
As a reincarnation, my mental age is by all accounts that of an adult, but even counting those years, I seem like a child to the long-lived elves.
How many days have we been walking like this?
We joined the army of demons rebelling against the Demon Lord in order to rescue Miss Negishi, who has been captured by that same Demon Lord. Unfortunately, the Demon Lord discovered the rebel army’s plans and all but destroyed them with a surprise attack.
We barely escaped with our lives and have been on the run ever since.
Fortunately, demons who sympathize with the elves have helped us on our way, providing us with food and supplies.
They have guaranteed our safety on our journey and even provided us with a place to sleep from time to time.
Thus, our life on the run has not been as hard as one might expect.
But even so, I find my feet dragging.
Due to both physical exhaustion and mental distress.
I keep remembering what Sasajima said to me.
“I’m not sure what false impression you’re under, but I’m here of my own free will. And I have no intention of taking your hand.
“I’m fighting because of my own convictions, not because anyone forced me to. It’s what I believe is the right thing to do. I don’t feel any shame for my actions.
“Let me ask you a question instead. You said I’m doing ‘awful things,’ and yet, here you are doing the very same. Can you really reach out to your student with those bloodstained hands, claiming to offer me help?
“If you can’t even deny that, then I most definitely won’t take your hand.”
Sasajima was one-sidedly massacring the rebel army.
I didn’t want him to continue to do such awful things, and I pleaded with him to join us and run away.
But he completely rejected me.
He said he was fighting of his own free will.
And then he asked me a question of his own: Could I really extend these bloodstained hands to my student?
I couldn’t answer him right away.
In fact, I don’t think I could answer him even now.
All this time, I have done whatever it takes to save my students, living with danger as a constant companion.
I have fought against monsters but also against people, as in this most recent incident.
Though this world may distinguish between humans and demons, they all look like people to me.
And yet, I have raised my hand against such people on occasion, even taking lives when I had to.
This rebellion was no exception…
I told myself I had no choice, since it was for my students’ sake, but…
“Am I really doing the right thing?”
Sasajima said that he was fighting of his own free will.
I have been doing the same, but I cannot declare that with the same level of pride and certainty that he did.
“Oka. Don’t let what he said get to you.”
One of my companions reassures me.
But I cannot help thinking about it.
Am I in the wrong?
“Remember, he is an ally of the Demon Lord. Or perhaps he’s just been tricked by the Demon Lord as well. I’m sure you know that this demon lord is trying to end the long-standing truce between humans and demons and rekindle the war, right? I hear anyone who objects meets with a terrible fate. You saw that battle with the rebel army, didn’t you? The Demon Lord shows no mercy to any who dares defy her. So no matter what someone who follows such an atrocious leader says to you, you can’t take it to heart.”
“Right… Of course.”
Everything I’ve heard about the Demon Lord makes her sound quite terrifying.
The demon race was finally beginning to recover from the ravages of the old war, and now she’s forcing them to fight again.
They say that her reign of terror keeps anyone from speaking out against her for fear of the consequences.
The demon population has severely declined due to the previous war. They don’t have enough strength to fight the humans again.
If they go to war, all that awaits their race is certain doom.
Which is why a rebel army rose up in a last-ditch effort to overthrow the Demon Lord.
The elves agreed to back the rebel army not only to aid me but to assist the demon race out of sympathy for their plight.
Surely, the right thing to do is overthrow this tyrannical leader.
So why would Sasajima side with the Demon Lord?
How can he be so proud of his choice to work on the side of evil?
I simply don’t understand.
“Was he like that in your world, too?”
“No, not at all. In fact, he was a quiet boy who valued peace.”
Sasajima was reserved and didn’t stand out much in the class.
He was usually with his friends Ooshima and Yamada, often scolding the former when he goofed off. Sasajima was diligent, quietly attentive, and overall a very good kid.
So why…?
“Then maybe he really has been deceived by the Demon Lord.”
Perhaps that is true.
The Sasajima I know would never side with evil.
But Sasajima was clever, too. Would he really be fooled so easily?
The words Sasajima said to me…
His reasons for supporting the Demon Lord…
When I think about these things, I cannot seem to shake a strange unease, like a tiny bone caught in my throat.
As these thoughts continue to torment me, we keep walking, eventually reaching the border between the demon and human realms.
“There’s a path through here that will lead us safely to human territory.”
This information comes from the member of our party who’s been in contact with our demon supporters.
Everyone else looks doubtful.
I can hardly blame them, since this border ought to be the most difficult part of our journey to human lands.
The humans have built fortresses at every major entry point, and smaller paths like these are guarded by human tribes that attack anyone who attempts to come through from demon territory.
How could this route possibly be safe?
“Apparently, the Demon Lord’s elite force massacred the human tribe that guarded this passageway.”
This explanation clears up our doubts, but the reason is terribly ghastly.
“The Demon Lord seems to be taking steps to prepare for the impending war against the humans.”
A murmur runs through the group.
I cannot blame them for being alarmed.
The Demon Lord only just finished fighting the rebel army, but she’s already sending out troops to strike at the humans?
“Perhaps the war between humans and demons will start sooner than we expected.”
I believed that we still had time before the demons would be ready for war, especially after fighting the rebel army.
But considering how hastily the Demon Lord seems to be moving, perhaps we cannot afford to take our time after all.
“It’s terrible that this human clan was slaughtered, but it may also be our saving grace. Let us pass through before we let this chance go to waste.”
Thus, we were able to cross the border.
Along the way, we passed through the area where the massacred clan must have lived.
The bloody traces of the battle were still fresh, and a great many graves had been dug there.
…Someone must have taken the time to bury all the slaughtered victims.
We paused for a moment of silence there before moving on.
After we reached the human realms, the rest of the journey went by quickly.
The elves have hidden teleport gates all over the world.
We met up with Potimas and his forces, who had come to find us, and safely returned to the elf village together.
“Well done making it back alive.”
Potimas wears the same icy expression as always, but somehow he seems to be in a good mood.
Is he happy about our safe return?
“Oka.”
“Yes?”
“Let us take this opportunity to cease gathering the reincarnations for now.”
“What?”
For a moment, I don’t understand what he’s saying.
As the meaning of his words slowly sinks in, I cry out in protest.
“But we haven’t rescued all of them yet!”
“Most of those who remain beyond our grasp would be difficult to retrieve.”
At that, I look at the Student Roster, the skill I was born with that gives me information on all my students.
However, the amount of information it provides is very limited.
Only their place of birth, whether they are currently healthy, and the predicted time and cause of their death.
And when one dies, their name disappears from the list.
Already there are four lines that have become blank.
Pulling my gaze away from those empty spaces, I look over the rest of the list.
“Of the people we have deduced to be reincarnations based on their place of birth, several of them are nobles. Obviously, we cannot lay a hand on them.”
He has a point, I realize.
Out of the reincarnations we haven’t retrieved yet, the ones who appear to be Natsume, Yamada, and Ooshima are recognized as royalty or nobility.
Naturally, a royal or noble family would almost certainly refuse to give up their child to a group of strangers.
“As for the rest of them, about half have been identified as well but would be difficult to lay our hands on for political reasons. Since we know who they are, however, it will suffice to keep watch on them from afar.”
“Well, yes, I suppose…”
Just as Potimas says, there is not a particular need to physically take in all of them.
As long as we can keep an eye on them.
“And as far as the half we haven’t been able to identify, frankly, it would be extremely difficult to continue pursuing leads.”
The ones we haven’t identified are the two from the borderlands we just passed through and the one who was born in a dungeon called the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
Both are highly dangerous areas, so it would be risky to try to track them down.
“But even so, can’t we…?”
“No. We cannot.”
I want to continue searching, but Potimas shuts me down in a sharp tone.
“Listen to me, Oka. I cannot allow you to put yourself in any more danger. You realize how easily you could have died in this incident, yes? If you get yourself killed while trying to save your students, then all would be lost. Besides, the other elves who travel with you put themselves at risk, too.”
Again, I understand that Potimas is correct.
In this most recent battle, most of the elves involved lost their lives.
Of course, the main goal was to help the rebel army overthrow the Demon Lord, so rescuing my kidnapped students was only ever a side goal.
But searching for my students in a known dangerous area would be my own selfish demand.
Certainly, I cannot drag other elves into almost certain danger for such personal reasons.
“Then at least let me go alone—”
“I told you, no. My decision is final. Throwing a tantrum will not convince me to change my mind.”
A tantrum…
Do my strong feelings amount to a tantrum?
“Lord Potimas…could you not consider allowing Oka to do as she wishes?”
“Hmm?”
Just then, one of my companions intervenes on my behalf.
“Oka has done her very best. It would be a shame to let her work end here. We will be happy to continue assisting her. So please!”
“I’ll help, too!”
“Me too.”
“Oh, thank you…”
The kindness of these elves warms my heart.
But Potimas puts a stop to all of that with a loud sigh.
“…If you must know, I was thinking of dispatching Oka to a certain academy in the Analeit Kingdom.”
I blink in confusion at this unexpected declaration.
“Nobles and royalty from various lands are already enrolled there. Including those reincarnations, of course.”
My eyes widen as I realize what he means.
“I myself will continue to search for clues as to the reincarnations we have yet to locate. Oka, you are to go to those we have already located and watch over them from close by.”
“Yes! Yes!” I exclaim, overjoyed by this kind gesture.
“One ‘yes’ would suffice.”
Perhaps embarrassed, Potimas turns and walks away.
“That’s great, Oka.”
“It really is.”
“If only Lord Potimas would be clearer about these things.”
“I heard that.”
As my companion pales with an “urk!” and stands at attention, I let out a small giggle. Then I call to stop Potimas.
“Um, wait!”
“What is it?”
Potimas turns back toward me, looking perplexed.
“Until I take up my position at that academy…no, even once I’m there…may I still help all of you somehow?”
Potimas raises his eyebrows, so I continue.
Part 7 of 8