LS – Chapter 321: As such, settling matters

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Everything had ended by the time I woke up.

All the undead that appeared in Serende had been eliminated by the reinforcements sent by Mejis.

Masetta was the one who called for reinforcements, and she is currently receiving medical treatment together with Haakudoku.

The wound inflicted on Masetta was a simple stab wound, but the injury in the right shoulder of Haakudoku was especially bad.

It could even lead to needing the devil to spread out the range in which it parasitizes.

I was trying to not think about the life or death of Haakudoku at that time, but I was a bit happy to hear he was alive.

“Wolfe, so you were here? How are your arms?” (Purple)

“Ah, Purple-san. Uhm, it feels strange, but…it seems fine.” (Wolfe)

I look at both of my arms alternately.

The black arms that are stretching out from my shoulders still don’t feel right even after a few days.

Both of my arms are being parasitized by the devils of Purple-san just like Haakudoku.

It was judged that it would be difficult to heal my left arm that had been hit by the attack of Murshto. As for my right arm, it was gone all the way from the elbow.

I unleashed an attack that went far and beyond my limit, so I did think there would be a price, but it being gone so cleanly to this degree is instead making me feel no emotions about it.

I can move both of these arms freely with the same method as when I trained in mana control using the chains of Ekdoik-san.

The limit of mana I can pour into it is very low, but I have been able to live these few days without any issues.

“It seems to be good as an extempore measure? I think you can get it back to normal if we manage to negotiate with Green though…” (Purple)

I can understand the meaning of that silence.

The Green Demon Lord doesn’t have anything resembling charity.

Healing both of these arms would require something of equal value.

We might be able to negotiate if I were to become his demon, but I would rather have these arms stay as they are than leaving the side of Shishou.

“I will keep my expectations low and be prepared to live with these arms.” (Wolfe)

“I see… I will help you out as much as you want for improvements, so tell me without reservations, okay?” (Purple)

“Yes, thank you very much! Uhm…how was Rakura?” (Wolfe)

“The operation is over. We have sealed her power for now and told her to rest. It is not to the degree of completely losing her eyesight, but I think she will have issues with her vision to a certain degree?” (Purple)

“I see…” (Wolfe)

I met with Rakura yesterday.

She was looking lively aside from the fact that she had bandages wrapped around her eyes, and was worried about my arms the whole time.

I thought she would be in a more depressed state, but she laughed and said: ‘I can be pampered more by Counselor-sama like this!’.

“You are the most injured out of everyone, so you can just worry about yourself, okay? Well, it is just that you don’t have the parts that you lost. When it comes to how seriously injured one is, Ilias was also pretty bad, but…that’s an exception, you know?” (Purple)

“Haha…” (Wolfe)

I heard that Ilias also had fractured bones in a lot of places and a lot of parts in her body had snapped, but she was apparently walking around like normal before I woke up. But Mix got angry when she saw her, and she is currently prohibited from moving alone.

Cara-jii, who was on the verge of dying in the battle against the Scarlet Demon Lord, said this: the techniques of the Taizu Knights to heal their wounds are also top notch.

I can understand well what that means now.

I might have been able to keep my left arm if I had been a bit more skilled.

…But I feel like I would get conscious if both arms were different, so I guess this is fine.

“By the way, Dear is currently at the place of the Serende King, you know? He said he wanted to confirm something before leaving this country… He is actually the person I would like to see resting the most though.” (Purple)

“I see… Right.” (Wolfe)

Shishou was sleeping on a chair right by my side when I woke up.

I was relieved at first, but when Shishou woke up, I noticed that horrible sight.

Shishou wasn’t injured, but his heart was far beyond its limit.

Even at the time when he was apologizing about my arm, he seemed to have lost the strength to hide his own internal state.

That may be why I didn’t care at all about my own arms.

The only thing I felt was the frustration from not being able to protect the heart of Shishou.

Murshto said that he would be carving himself into the heart of Shishou for eternity by having Shishou kill him.

That he would make Shishou feel the reality that this world is the same as his original world.

Shishou liked this world.

But Shishou still didn’t give up on trying to return to his original world.

The reason for that was because, for Shishou, this world was a dream, and he felt it was dazzling and precious.

I thought that was fine.

There were times when I thought I had to be as dazzling as Shishou in order to stay by his side. That maybe I don’t suit him.

It was thanks to everyone that I felt like it was fine to enjoy this happiness.

That’s why I was sure that Shishou would one day accept this world that he admires…that he would decide to stay in this world.

But Murshto destroyed that dream.

Shishou was made to completely wake up to the fact that there’s a reality where the person that loved him became an enemy, and that he ended up having to take his life.

“…Purple-san, do you think Shishou will…choose this world?” (Wolfe)

“A stupid question. I am obviously making him choose it. If you want him to stay in this world, at least don’t give up on the idea, okay?” (Purple)

“…Okay.” (Wolfe)

A world where civilization is far more advanced and has no issues in their living; and a world where you are the only one who can’t use magic and your life is threatened at all times.

Which one would Shishou desire if they both had the same reality…?

I am scared just thinking about it.

I hate, despise, and am jealous of that man who could carve himself deep inside the heart of Shishou and make a mess of it regardless of us who were trying to make Shishou stay.

I am ashamed for being jealous of him, and it left me purely with frustration.

◇◇

The audience with the Serende King is being done in a rare location like a hospital room.

The search was performed after calming down the incident, and what they found was the Serende King in a debilitated state.

He was in a state that would originally make it difficult to even meet him, but Nuphsa-dono convinced the people around ‘You have the right to listen to Father’, so we were allowed to be present as a special case.

The Serende King raised only his upper half from the bed and I could tell at a glance how weakened he was, but the presence he exudes as a king ruling a country seems to still be present.

“Allow me to first thank you for saving this country. That may not be of any worth to you though.”

“Right. This was a tragedy of your own making. This is only a pain for the ones who were caught up in it.”

Mister Friend didn’t show any respect to the Serende King. That said, he is not showing hostility either.

He is simply watching the Serende King in silence.

“…Let’s be done with my question first. Has Hilmera died?”

“She is unfortunately still alive. I am under no obligation to kill even my body for the sake of this country after all.”

Washekt-dono has escaped to the Kuama Nether together with Princess Hilmera.

The Kuama Nether has a lot of unexplored land, so they should be able to hide there.

As for Princess Hilmera, she was broken.

She had regained consciousness, but a lot of her memories are missing, and was attached to Washekt-dono like she was a child.

The burden on her heart must have been so much that she ended up forgetting more than necessary in order to erase the sight at that time.

Washekt-dono made a slightly sad face after seeing the changed Princess Hilmera, but he muttered: ‘This might work just fine to live together not as a prince and princess, but as a family’.

“I see. If that’s your choice, I won’t pursue the matter further. I shall report to the citizens that Hilmera has died… If Washekt requires help, he can rely on Nuphsa.”

“I will tell him that. Also, about the magic book that Hilmera used to learn necromancy, it was retrieved by Ritial and his group. Take action yourselves if you want it.”

The first one to find Mister Friend and the others after the battle was settled was Ekdoik-dono who had come together with Yasutet-dono to the castle.

According to Ekdoik-dono, Yasutet-dono had retrieved a book from the treasury room of Princess Hilmera.

It was something that Raheight left behind to begin with.

It would be a lot more convenient for Ritial-dono to be the one safekeeping such deadly poison.

Mister Friend having something like that might create troubles with the Yugura Church.

“Then, there’s already nothing for me to ask. I shall answer your questions. You want to confirm the truths that only Serende knows, right?”

“There’s no need to even ask about you using me as a lubricant for the competition between the royal siblings. Right, so there was someone else huh… An otherworlder other than Yugura Nariya.”

“?!”

There was an otherworlder other than Yugura…

Is that possible?

The Serende King responded with a calm expression in contrast to me who couldn’t hide my shock.

“…You noticed after seeing the ruins, huh.”

“There was something that reminded me of the culture on Earth inside the ruins. This is something that was there before Yugura Nariya came to this world. Then, it is possible that an otherworlder or otherworlders aside from Yugura Nariya tried to expand civilization. Serende…no, the demi-humans including elves escaped from the changes of Yugura, and tried to keep that history.”

“That’s right. Hero Yugura defeated the Demon Lords, and at the time when he was going to recreate the order of the world, he tried to hide the past of this world. Our ancestors had their doubts about this and tried to keep history. That said, Yugura didn’t care at all about our resistance though.”

The reason why Serende was excluding the Yugura Church more than other countries was because they didn’t want to be influenced by Yugura, huh.

This made their relationship with Mejis especially bad…

I was reminded of this teaching of the Yugura Church: Yugura was trying to make the world forget about the ugly history of people fighting each other, and was trying to cut open a new future.

But that forgotten history had the intervention of a third otherworlder…

I certainly do feel something suspicious here.

“So having the princes and princesses compete to keep on an exemplary lineage was also a teaching of those ancestors.”

“…That’s right. But it seems like that history is already coming to an end.”

“Nuphsa is different from you after all. A king that can live in the era.”

“…Young otherworlder, all the blame lies in me. If you so wish—”

“There’s not a single thing I want from you. Just try and be as helpful to Nuphsa as possible.”

Mister Friend turned his back at the Serende King and put a hand on the doorknob, attempting to leave the room, but stopped for a moment.

“Is there something more?”

“One last thing. Have you had an interest in what lies beyond the sea?”

“…No.”

“Figures. Well then, may you have a safe recovery. I hope we won’t be meeting again.”

Mister Friend left the room and I also left the room together with him after bowing to the Serende King.

The attitude of Mister Friend is the same as before he came here.

I am worried that he is not trying to hide how exhausted he is, but…I should support him properly here.

“Mister Friend, the talk just now…” (Mix)

“It was just one hypothesis of mine hitting the mark. It doesn’t mean I want to do something about it. I don’t feel like doing it after all…”

“…A lot happened after all. Right! You should take a break already, Mister Friend!” (Mix)

“I agree. But that’s after doing something about the arms of Wolfe and the eyes of Rakura. I will negotiate with the Green Demon Lord and—”

“Mister Friend, are you even listening?” (Mix)

I pinch both cheeks of Mister Friend and pull.

This person is someone who doesn’t rest until things are solved. But I must reprimand him if he gets out of line.

“But…”

“It is true that I would like to do something about it. But if that means you are pushing yourself even more, it would just make things more complicated. Those two might even say they don’t need their arms and eyes-desu zo!” (Mix)

“That’s…”

“It was a result of following you, so I understand you feeling bad about it. However, we chose that path by our own will. I would like you to not ignore that determination-desu zo!” (Mix)

“…My bad.”

To think he would be pushed back by my passionate talk and apologize so easily… He really is in a bad state.

Umu, I really should be supporting the safe and peaceful life of Mister Friend.

“Please stay put for the sake of Lady Ratzel and Wolfe-chan as well. Those two have been fighting monsters that have gone beyond human boundaries to protect you. The two are feeling pretty down about this matter, you know.” (Mix)

“…That goes for you too, Mix.”

“Of course I am, but I am already above it in a bad sense. It is weird that your opponents are all either on the level of Demon Lords and Heroes to begin with! Please put yourself in the shoes of the ones that protect you!” (Mix)

They were regretful in the fight against the Scarlet Demon Lord, got stronger, and thought it finally took shape after the battle against Raheight, and yet, this happens right after.

I have the matter of Soraid in my case but, well, you could say I am above it thanks to that.

“It is as you say…”

“Umu, it is good that you are honest-desu zo! First, you should take a break so that you can show your smile to everyone. And then, let’s solve the accumulated problems together-desu zo!” (Mix)

That’s probably as much as I can do.

He will most likely stay docile for the near future with how much I have warned him about it.

Let’s leave the rest to those girls who can face him upfront for now.

Let’s just say my turn will come after Mister Friend is back to his energetic self.

◇◇

I sigh at the fact that I had lost sight of myself until Mix threw words of encouragement.

Even though I am the one who decided to face Murshto, and I was prepared for things to end up like this.

I managed to come out of this with all my limbs intact, so I shouldn’t be doing something like making everyone suffer.

And so, I smacked my own cheeks and knocked on the door.

“Ilias, it is me. Can I come in?”

“…Y-Yeah.”

Ilias was in the middle of getting up from the bed when I entered the room.

It has been a few days since then.

She hasn’t recovered completely from the wounds she got in her battle against Murshto, but she has recovered enough to return to her job as a bodyguard.

But she tried to immediately return to her job the moment she could move, so Mix ordered her to rest.

Orders from Mix hold the same weight as Marito’s.

Ilias obediently continued sleeping to recover as quickly as possible.

I stopped Ilias, who was trying to get out of bed, with my hand.

I grab a chair nearby, bring it close to the bed, and sit on it.

“Now then, it has been a while since I have spoken with you when you are not wearing armor.”

“…Yeah.” (Ilias)

“Is your body okay now?”

“Of course. What about you…?” (Ilias)

“Hmm, not sure. My body is fine, but I am understandably tired.”

I could forcefully hide it from her, but there’s no point in doing that.

Ilias already knows how beaten up I was.

“…I see.” (Ilias)

“I was thinking about organizing my feelings a bit, you see. Can you listen to me?”

“…Of course.” (Ilias)

“Thanks. I said this before, but I have been living a life where I am sensitive to hostility. I comprehended the other party, got ready for hostility, and at times dropped the other party with malice. But I was in the end a youngster. If they had political power, had gone an even more evil path, or were ahead of me, I wouldn’t be able to face them.”

Eye for an eye.

If you live in that fashion, the scale of the altercations will get bigger, and it will begin affecting your surroundings.

No one can fight it until the very end, and even my comrades betrayed me.

No, it is more like I did things that would lead them to betraying me.

“I continued using my comrades, and ended up making them betray me. I felt the limit in a lot of things at that moment, so I began avoiding people and living quietly. And so, I ended up in this world while I was doing that.”

“…”

“I did feel this world was inconvenient on a lot of fronts, but I ended up liking this world. Many people were living in a straightforward manner, and even though I felt it dazzling, I felt comfort from it as well. But I was deceiving myself.”

This world is different, it is not the same as that world; that’s why I am sure I will be able to do well.

As long as I don’t give up, as long as I push on till the end, I am sure this will be a world that can grant my wish -I ended up pushing that selfish expectation on this world.

But every time I faced people with hostility and malice, there was a part of me that realized that maybe this world is the same too.

This world doesn’t have much population, so it is simply that the amount of times such problems happened was low.

There was a side of me that began to realize that maybe this world will eventually become the world that I was fed up with.

I didn’t try to face that and continued ignoring it.

“It wouldn’t have been bad if I just lived positively though. I was averting my gaze from this world as I moved forward. I would eventually destroy myself one day at that rate. Murshto must have noticed that. That’s why he pushed reality into my face. He told me: ‘Don’t desire illusions from this world. Face them head on as someone who lives in reality’.”

“…Is it bad to desire ideals from the world?” (Ilias)

“That’s one way to live. It is not like it is definitely bad. But I am not strong. If I cling onto ideals, I will one day mess up somewhere. It would most likely end up like my original world.”

Looking back objectively at the actions I chose, I have been choosing arduous paths that you would have to question the sanity of.

But this is the right way. I am the one who moved forward while blindly accepting that this is the only way.

It is as Mix says.

Why am I making my benefactors fight Demon Lords and the army made by the Hero?

My present self would have punched my past self.

“I don’t think the path you chose was the wrong one. No, there’s no right answer when choosing paths. Isn’t it the meaning of life to tread forward in the path you chose?” (Ilias)

“…Haha, you can say nice stuff.”

“Don’t tease me.” (Ilias)

“Sorry, sorry. It means that what I find a problem is that I blindly accepted that the path I took was the correct one and didn’t doubt it.”

I didn’t get the result I wanted; it shouldn’t have ended up like this. I definitely would have regretted it if that happened.

I pushed that responsibility on the world, and would have ended up the same as before.

I would have forgotten about the people that believed in me and followed me.

“This is a complicated problem.” (Ilias)

“Well, I have woken up -after getting quite the flashy slap from Murshto.”

“…Are you grateful towards him?” (Ilias)

“There’s no way I can be. There’s a limit to being merciless. Getting himself killed for the sake of waking me up is beyond heavy.”

“R-Right…” (Ilias)

These few days, I have had nightmares of the sensation I felt when I stabbed Murshto to death.

It is to the point that the nightmares of Zuccho torturing me gave way to that.

I can’t let go of the sleeping pills that Barastos prescribed me so that I don’t wake up in the middle of the night.

“…But I do want to be grateful.”

“…Basically, it would be great if you could do that one day.” (Ilias)

The thoughts of Murshto were simple, so I could comprehend all the logic of his actions just from reading the surface.

That’s why there was no need to comprehend all of his feelings.

Comprehending the love of someone who would let himself be killed by the person he loves is just… It might even end up being the same as trying to comprehend someone who is suicidal.

If I had comprehended everything at that moment, it would have ended up in the worst display of love to see who can get the other party to kill them first. Who would benefit from that?

However, once I have a bit of wiggle room in my heart, I do want to at least face his feelings to a permissible degree.

I should pay at least that much.

“It is still a serious case, but it is not as bad as I thought, I guess.” (Ilias)

“Ilias, you are saying something pretty horrible there, you know?”

“If you are going to be speaking your heart out without hiding anything, I will simply follow suit. I thought it would lead to an even worse result. I thought you would be disappointed in the world itself, and would try to leave it.” (Ilias)

“I have no place to go no matter which world I get disappointed in. I don’t want to commit suicide.”

“But it is still safer than this world, right?” (Ilias)

“…I have you guys who protect me. I would say it is pretty much about the same.”

That said, if it ends up being too late, would I have been able to accept it even if Ilias and the others were by my side?

I might have thought Earth was better.

“About the same, huh. So you still want to go back.” (Ilias)

“I feel like it is also unreasonable to throw that possibility away completely.”

“I want you to. I want you to choose this world…to choose us.” (Ilias)

I ended up averting my gaze from Ilias unconsciously just like how you would feel the light of the sun too dazzling.

Can’t I do something about this lack of guts?

No? Yeah, figures.

“I am a weakling that ended up wailing pathetically after being shown reality, you know.”

“Aren’t you a strong person that managed to accept reality even after wailing pathetically?” (Ilias)

“Haah…”

“Oi, why are you sighing?” (Ilias)

It is because my pride as a man was broken, faced with the reality that I can’t win against her manliness.

Well, I am a gutless bastard to begin with, so there’s not much pride to break though.

“Anyways, I am tired. I would like to take it easy and not think about anything for the near future.”

“Please do. That’s probably what everyone wants.” (Ilias)

I want to properly apologize to everyone who has accompanied me until now, thank them, and repay them.

I have learned about this world with the days I have spent in Serende, so there’s still a mountain of things I have to think about.

But let’s leave that for later.

I am finally facing a resolution since the many events strung together at the time I came to this world after all.

I want to share this peace that I finally grasped together with Ilias and the others.

That’s good for you, right, Murshto?

Also, if you are going to show up in my dreams, at least make it something that’s not your last moments please, seriously.

◇◇

That’s how the tragedy caused by the pitiful sheltered princess came to an end.

Wouldn’t this be on the peaceful side for an end to a person that stepped into the forbidden?

“That said, Arcreal lost and then even Murshto lost, huh. In the end, they are just Illegitimate that were only given one talent.”

The talents of Arcreal and Murshto were big threats when it came to battle within the talents that Yugura shared.

Those alone had transcendent power to even work all the way to the Scarlet Beast, but…they are still on the level where they can be defeated by people aside from the talent of Haiya.

Even if so, leaving aside Arcreal who was overconfident, Murshto had mastered his talent completely.

If that homosexual had faced his enemies seriously, the result would have been different.

“It means love trumps all results no matter the era. A moving tale… Haha!”

But this doesn’t sit right.

What I have noticed in my observations until now was that, whenever that man had a mental burden placed on him, the mana of Black Sis inside of him would shake even if faintly.

What I could conclude from this is that the will of Black Sis existed inside of that man.

But I couldn’t see much of a reaction despite that Earthling’s heart being shaved off quite a lot in this matter.

In the first place, the biggest change recently was a little bit before that Earthling made contact with Murshto.

“I can’t tell the conditions to make the reaction bigger. I thought it would resonate if he were to experience things that were close to what Black Sis experienced though…” (Colorless)

It did react, but it calmed down soon after.

It is as if it was subdued intentionally… Hm? Wait. Let’s assume that’s the case. What did that Earthling do?

He wasn’t doing it when he was seeing the dreams, so… Oh.

“Aah, so that’s how it is. Damn it! This theory is the one that makes the most sense.” (Colorless)

The reaction gets bigger when problems happen.

That’s certain, but he at the same time fulfilled the conditions to calm it down.

I doubt that Earthling did it intentionally, but at this rate, the result I want won’t ever come no matter how much I wait.

I was looking forward to the slim possibility that I might be able to reunite with Black Sis!

It is not like I don’t have the means, but even if I try to put it into motion, that man will definitely see through it.

He is aware of it to begin with, so it wouldn’t be strange for him to notice how it works.

“Don’t joke around! This world really is trash! Aah, can’t it just perish?!” (Colorless)

“A single brain cell monologue as always.”

“?!”

I reflexively took out my scythe and faced the direction where that voice came from with weapon ready.

It is not possible for someone to be here aside from me.

This is the space I created. There’s no one who can come here by their own power…

“It was a way too serious reaction for a prank, I guess. Can’t you do something like your eyeballs popping out or having your heart jump out from your mouth?”

“…Those reactions are apparently already old in your homeland…Yugura.” (Colorless)

A cloak that would make you wonder what he did for it to end up that tattered.

His hair color matched Black Sis in the past, and yet, it has lost color completely and is now a luminescent white just like the demi-human brat. It is also far longer than before to the point it is close to touching the ground.

But that child-like face and his impossible to read eyes were the same as always… Or more like, he has some terrible bags under his eyes.

And most of all, there’s that pressure that makes my body tremble uncontrollably.

The White Demon Lord that breaks through the barriers of logic, Yugura Nariya.

“Hm, is that so? That was my attempt at taking in the customs of a century in the future though.” (Yugura)

“Judging from the length of your hair, hasn’t it been quite a long time since you resurrected?” (Colorless)

“Hmm… Yeah, I resurrected quite a long time ago. Heave-ho.” (Yugura)

Yugura gathered up his hair haphazardly…and cut it with magic.

He cut it all the way to shoulder length in one go. Or more like, this way of cutting your hair is seriously haphazard.

But what bothers me the most is that he resurrected a long time ago.

If that’s true, why is it that he is showing himself now? No, why couldn’t I notice it?

I have been observing the whole world so that I would be ready to welcome Yugura immediately when he resurrected.

There’s no way I would have missed him if he was in this world.

The possibility I can think of is that he was also in a dimension he created himself just like this one.

“What were you doing?” (Colorless)

“The answer came out pretty quickly, but I wasted a lot of time till I gave up. Hmm, but it was necessary time to shut up the damn bastard.” (Yugura)

“Damn bastard, you say… Oi oi, could it be that you fought God?! Moreover, you being alive… Could it be…?!” (Colorless)

“No no, I can’t do something like god slaying. That’s not a living being to begin with.” (Yugura)

Yugura sighed heavily and collapsed onto the sofa that’s my special seat.

I am a clean freak, so I would like you to take off that tattered cloak though.

“Oi!” (Colorless)

“Hnn, let me sleep for a bit. I haven’t slept for centuries because of that damn bastard.” (Yugura)

“Centuries, you say… Seriously, what were you doing?!” (Colorless)

He should be able to act in a different space for long periods of time if he were to use the Ruling of Gold Lass. Even so, the mental burden of centuries is still abnormal.

Resting it off with just sleeping is… No, we are talking about Yugura here, so…I have no choice but to just accept it.

“It is pointless to tell you what I did. I will wake up in around a month, so I will do what I have to do once I wake up, okay~?” (Yugura)

“No no, what’s with this about ‘doing what I have to do’—” (Colorless)

“Didn’t you say so just now? We go bye bye to this shitty world. Zzz…” (Yugura)

“Hah?! No, oi! Yugura! …Seriously? He is fast asleep…” (Colorless)

He was spitting out outrageous statements one after the other, and now he is sleeping like a child.

He seriously goes at his own pace.

More importantly, what he said at the end…was he talking about destroying this damn world?

It is true that it might be possible for him, but even if so… No no, there’s no way he would do that, right?

He definitely won’t wake up once he goes to sleep.

Let’s just ask him 1 month later…

And so, I silently created a blanket and covered Yugura with it.

—–

Author: The Settling Matters Arc is over.

Aah, it was long! Why didn’t I separate the arcs of Raheight and the inside of Serende?!

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