Volume 6 - CH 22.2

The mayor arrived just as the sun was setting and Amiyu and the others went out to buy lunch.

“You’re doing fine, kid,”

He said with a grin.

I frowned at Silas, who was taking a break by himself.

“What do you want?”

“I heard you started something interesting.”

“I’m sure you’re the one who put the word out to the guild officials and legislators to get the money.”

Silas bursts out laughing.

“Haha!　You knew, didn’t you? You had us on our toes at the Stampede with your big-voiced lies about reinforcements, consider it retribution for that.”

“What a way to treat the hero who saved the city.”

“Oh, well, let’s build him a statue.”

“……, please don’t do that.”

While I was disappointed, Silas laughed and looked around the room.

“ You’ve been accepted into the city, Seika Lamprog.

“I see. Well, if they don’t accept me after all that hard work, it’s not really rewarding, is it?”

“It has nothing to do with the …… stampede. You were already a member of Lakana before that.”

Silas continued as I kept my mouth shut.

“You can be like Zamlug and make people recognize you for your bravery and accomplishments. Or, like Lloyd, you will bring new values to this city and attract people. …… When I first saw you, I saw you as the former kind,…… but I also thought you could change the city, like the latter. Either would have been fine, if it would have helped Lakana. But …… boy. In the end, you were neither.”

“If …… I’m neither, what do you mean?”

“People naturally gather around you.”

Silas continues quietly.

“You have power, and you have wisdom that no man can possess. But regardless of that,…… you seem to be the kind of person who is missed by others. Kakka!　I am an old geezer who has misjudged the nature of a person!”

“Huh?　That’s not ……”

“Missing the point?　How have you been so far?”

How was it so far?

Thinking back, in my previous life, …… surely, there was always someone around me.

Disciples, friends, warriors and ascetics. The eccentric aristocrats, the hard-working exorcist dormitory practitioners. People I met in the Song Dynasty and in the West. The mysterious ayakashi who could speak human languages. The wife who died of illness and the poor emperor Mikado.

Even after being reborn…or is it possible to say that?

I have yet to —- discard any of the people I intended to discard at the drop of a hat in order to avoid making the same mistake I made in my previous life.

“……Come on.I forgot.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

Silas snickered at my bluffing

“It’s a much more precious gift than power or wisdom. Take good care of it.”

******

Silence returned to the room when Silas left.

The reception has said that it won’t resume until the next bell rings, so the queue made by the adventurers has now disappeared.

“… That person is quite a sharp person.”

From above my head, Yuki said.

“To see through Seika-sama’s temperament.”

“Are you sure he’s right…? To be honest, I’m not really aware of it.”

“What are you talking about? Didn’t you have that many friends in your previous life?”

“It’s not like that in this life. The only people I’m close to are those kids.”

“Don’t you have a good relationship with the people of the house you were born in? Besides, you’re recognized by the head of the school, you are loved by the strange Princess, and you are adored by the rough people of this town.”

“I think the adventurers here are just familiar.”

“That’s not true. Yuki thinks that Seika-sama still has the temperament to be liked by people.”

I smile wryly at Yuki’s affirmation.

“Haha, is it a temperament that people like? If i really have that kind of thing, it’s a blessing… but if I’m  going to live cunningly, i’ll have a little something to do with it.”

After hearing that, Yuki opened his mouth timidly after a brief silence.

“Um… Seika-sama. Don’t you regret it?”

“Hmm?”

“It’s about saving this city.”

Yuki, who suddenly became timid, continued.

“Yuki thought it would be in the best interest of Seika-sama, so she made such a suggestion. However, …… it is after all, the thoughts of a shallow and vain ayakashi. I am afraid that I may have watered down Seika-sama’s deepest intentions. ……

“What is it, you? I’m not sure I’ve ever thought of that.”

I laugh and reach over my head and stroke the little demon with the pad of my fingers.

“I can’t say it was unnoticeable, but fortunately I didn’t have to use a dragon or any of the big magic spells. There are probably a few people in this world who are capable of that level of skill. It’s not so dangerous for the rulers. It’s not a problem.”

There were a few who claimed to have seen strange dragons during the stampede, but the rumors died down in time.

It was during that chaos. Most people thought they had mistakenly seen a chimera or something. If there really was a dragon, there was no way the city would be safe.

The damage caused by the sighting of Koi-Mizuchi was only that much worse.

“Besides, strangely enough, I don’t have any regrets. Right now, I’m glad I saved them. As a result, I was able to protect my living space, and it also served as an apology to Fiona. Thanks to what you said, Yuki.”

“Is,  is that so?”

Yuki’s voice brightened a little.

“Fu, fufu! If that’s the case, then I’m glad I was able to help!”

“Oh, I’m glad I listened to you. Besides… I felt a little responsible for that.”

After she said that, I thought the last one was superfluous

.As expected, Yuki catches it.

“Are you saying that you weren’t able to prevent the subjugation of the boss in the south…?

“Ah, no, that one… I don’t really care about that…”

“…Seika-sama?”

Stretching her neck upside down from above his head, Yuki peers into my face.

“Is there something you’re hiding from Yuki?”

“Umm… look.”

I said while looking away.

“Isn’t there a deer monster I caught once and let go?”

“yes”

“Well, maybe… it was the boss in the north.”

“…………Huh!?”

Yuki let out a startled voice.

“Is that so?!”

“As far as the flow of power is concerned…probably.”

When I caught it, I thought it was just a slightly strong looking monster.

“Yeah, it’s true that the mountains in the north had lost their power before Yuki and the others came to this town, but…”

Yuki was upset.

“That deer monster was frightened and ran away because Seika-sama sealed it in the phase, right…? Then, could it be that one-third of that disaster was caused by you, Seika-sama!?”

“No, that’s not true!”

I hurriedly apologize.

“In the first place, when I caught that deer, it must have been far away from the northern mountains! The dungeon lost its power long before I sealed it away! It must have been a monster that originally had migratory properties, It was going to move somewhere else at the time!”

“Then why do you feel responsible?”

“Well, that’s… well, I caught it once. If I hadn’t let it escape at that time and managed to return it to the mountain, I wonder if I could have revived the northern dungeon before the stampede…”

It wasn’t until after it was all over that I realized that the deer monster could have been the North Boss.

Thinking back on it, it was a ridiculous story.

“Of course, I can’t do anything.

“Are you sure?”

Saying that, Yuki withdrew her head easily.

Then says it firmly.

“Then, for now, please do your best to write a book.”

“Eh… no, why is that so?”

“What can Seika-sama do right now?”

“Huh… do you really want to say it like this?”

“Let’s be self-reflecting. I should have been able to do it then, so I won’t regret it next time.”

Yuki said in a clear tone.

“Did you like it, like this?”

“……Yeah, I guess”

I smile wryly and pick up the glass pen again.

“It can’t be helped. Let’s do it.”

A cool breeze blows through the window, shaking the edge of the paper.

Autumn was approaching.

Volume 6 done!

Next is volume seven!