CH 98

Together with Eri, we went to subdue the monsters.

We’ll stay in Eri for a while, but I’m not lonely since Rodo and my parents-in-law are here.

Mountains border Aricalen and Eri, and the monsters often appear from there.

Marihect is also partly adjacent to Aricalen, but it’s only in the town of Uriesto.

However, the monsters don’t just come from the mountains.

It also appears from the forest.

The only ones who go into the forest seemed to be the carpenters who go there to cut trees.

Most of the monsters are based on animals and plants with magical power.

But some monsters don’t leave any remains when killed.

I think those are monsters born from thoughts, but that’s just my speculation.

The people here don’t care why there are monsters.

It attacks people, so just subdue it.

However, there’s no way to investigate the cause of monsters in this world where science has not progressed, and above all, if the cause is identified and the monsters don’t appear anymore, then the soldiers would have almost nothing to do.

Peace is good but that way, they won’t need as many as they have now, so some people will get fired.

…for a war that might come who knows when, they might come in handy when securing manpower, though.

This time, the Third Corps led by Rodo and the Fourth Corps led by Rin were dispatched to Eri.

I haven’t seen Rin since that day.

It’s still difficult to call his name, so I’ve been calling him by his nickname.

The Deputy Captain of the Fourth Corps is Sam.

Their exclusive healer is Ver, a female.

She said that the Second Corps should have come, but they were recalled.

They probably don’t want to reduce the strength of Marihect.

Besides, there are three trump card-like Akinists out here, so it’s probably redundant.

For some reason, His Majesty also wanted to come, but Roku desperately stopped him.

…also, he’s still saying “You can call me King” for some reason.

I called him “King” before since Rodo called him just the word “King” before.

At first, I didn’t even know the word “Your Majesty”.

Besides, I thought “Oh” was really his name (nickname). (T/N: For context, King in Japanese is pronounced as Ou, a sort of prolonged O sound. Since Kou had difficulty speaking before, he pronounced it as “oh” which I previously translated as Kwing, I think.)

I thought that the “His Majesty” that Rodo said was the same as Rodo’s title of “Captain”.

I remembered the words but still called him King for a while, but I think it’s weird to call him King even though I’ve been using honorifics for a while now…

Does he hate being called “His Majesty”?

But everyone is calling him His Majesty though?

He also says I don’t have to use honorifics…

Does he really want to be spoken to casually?

It seems unlikely that the King would like such a broken way of speaking.

…however, everyone said that it’d be rude not to use honorifics for the King…so what does that mean?

I don’t understand.

“Ko? Are you tired?”

Leaning on his big body while thinking about that kind of thing, my chin was caught and turned up.

His worried face filled my sight.

“I’m fine.”

When I grabbed the arm around my body, the force of being hugged became stronger.

We’re currently in a strategy meeting.

They’re discussing who will be in charge of where, but it seems hard to decide.

…the placement of Rodo and I was decided immediately.

As soon as it was decided, Rodo tried to leave his seat.

But I stopped him.

Because when I use magic, I need to know where the people are.

I don’t want to get them affected.

Once I know everyone’s placement, I’ll tell Rodo to take us to where we’re in charge.

I always subdue monsters with Rodo.

Moreover, while still being held up by Rodo.

Until now, he’d never dropped me during subjugations.

That means, I’m defeating monsters with my magic.

If Rodo uses a sword, then I’m only in the way.

As before, I have to fix my body to Rodo’s body with a string of cloth.

But even when we’re like that, I was afraid that my arms would come off because of Rodo’s movement.

────

──

“Petrify. Crush.”

I’ve only said these words since earlier.

I feel that more monsters are appearing here compared to my previous subjugations.

However, I cast magic on all the monsters that I could see.

My parents-in-law aren’t on my side right now, saying that they’ll participate in the subjugation also, probably because they knew I wouldn’t leave Rodo.

And Rodo is just hugging me.

…but this is fine.

I don’t want to see Rodo subjugating monsters.

I don’t want to see the monsters chopped up.

I don’t want to see the splatter, no matter how much I’m against monsters.

“…the monsters have stopped appearing.”

As Rodo said, the monsters disappeared completely.

But there might be monsters in other places.

I can hear what seemed to be fighting noises.

I waited for a while, but the monsters still didn’t appear.

So I decided to move somewhere.

…and regretted it.

Many people in this world use swords.

The weapon that soldiers usually use is a sword, and many other people also use a sword to subdue monsters.

In other words, there are monster splatters everywhere…

Even when I hurriedly buried my face in Rodo’s chest, the bloody smell of the monsters that entered my nose didn’t disappear.

…I’m not used to this smell.

I think it smells like rotten food left unattended for several years.

If it’s really food, it’ll decompose and the smell will alleviate after a few years, but this is not the case.

Even when I squeezed my nose, the smell still sticks to my nose.

Rodo thinks I’m not good at seeing blood, but more than that, it’s this smell that I’m not good at.

(Disappear.)

I want this monster’s smell and splatter to disappear.

──right, I just thought that.

The next moment──

(Huh…? The smell is gone?)

I looked up, thinking that I had just gotten used to the smell, but everything around me is gone.

Only the astonished faces of the soldiers who were subduing monsters could be seen.

That means they didn’t do anything.

Looking at Rodo, he also looked surprised.

“Ko? What did you do?”

Seems like it’s been decided that I’ve done something.

…I just thought that it should all “disappear”.

But it didn’t feel like I used magic.

Did I use magic just now?

Or did I use the same force as when I made an injury “disappear”?

“…I don’t know. I didn’t mean to use magic.”

I said honestly.

“…you don’t know? Isn’t it Ko’s power?”

Unconvinced faces looked at me.

Since there’s no other magician here.

“…maybe I used the same power I used when getting rid of injuries.”

If I think that I used it unconsciously, it might be so.

But I didn’t imagine this empty place.

I just wanted it to disappear.

…will my power be activated just by that?

But until now, it hadn’t activated just because of that.

After all, it can’t be said that I never thought of being away from people’s eyes.

The plate that Rodo broke with his strength was so terrifying that I thought it’d be good to let it disappear.

…but nothing has happened so far.

…is it because I especially hated it this time?

I can only come up with that reason.

──as for saying I did it.

I don’t feel that my magical power has diminished, and I can’t believe that I won’t recognize if my power is used.

Until now, I’ve always had the intention of “doing this”.

That’s why I’m confused when I’m told that it’s my power.

If I happen to activate my power even with “what I thought”, then I don’t have to imagine it anymore.

But to not think my whole life, that’s impossible.

I don’t think it’s possible unless I become a “dead person” who doesn’t think of anything.

──but I don’t want to die.

“Ko, don’t make such a tearful face.”

Apparently, I’m making a pitiful face.

“…it’s me, right? It smelled, I didn’t want to see blood, I just thought “disappear”. To use my power, I didn’t think.”

“I see.”

I don’t know if he understood what I meant, but Rodo just stroked my head while holding me up.

He didn’t look impatient or afraid of me, he just smiled at me.

Seeing that face──I was relieved.

Rodo didn’t give up his affection for me even with this.

He’s looking at me like a loved one.

But though I’m relieved, I need to find out what happened.

Perhaps I’m sick of the fact that I had no way of knowing some things.

I still don’t know why I came to this world.

For this world, “I” am the only person of unknown race and age.

I might be different from the Japanese “Aoyama Kou” now.

I can still return to my child form…given that, which is my true appearance?

I’m quite worried that I don’t have the sunburn that I should have had back when I was in Japan.

…just what am I right now?