Chapter 38: Like a Cirsium VII (2/2)

A clear sound rang out as the crossed swords separated.

「Beast hunter hero. Hmm, lighter than I had expected」

「Tch」

Varner clicked his tongue.

He had been humble about it, but Otou-san’s skill was the real deal. No, though it was through a surprise attack, he had killed Irvin. I would be troubled if he wasn’t at least this good.

「Otou-san, I’ll leave the rest to you. Should something happen to me, do as we had planned」

「Understood. ………………Are you really going to be alright by yourself?」

「I’ll be fine」

Otou-san took a quick look between the two of them, and then left the bar.

I sat down in a chair.

「Well then, your symbol, as well as the treasured sword Gadeddo are in my care. They will be delivered to Elysium via a ship departing the day after tomorrow, along with documents summarizing the suspicions against you for the murder of Knight Sanperie, documents summarizing your misdeeds, your detailed proposal for overthrowing King Lemuria, and all sorts of documents that are a mixture of fact and fiction. The recipient is the Third Pope. Moreover, just the documents will be sent to all of the Popes」

I could feel Varner's killing intent. He was still holding the great-sword drawn in his hand.

I had shown this guy earlier that he could kill me at any time.

However, if he got into a dispute with the other Popes, his position as a hero would be in jeopardy. That position, it must be pretty nice. Even though he was no longer a hero the instant he was concerned about a position like that.

「If anything happens to me or my party members, what I just said becomes final and unchangeable」

「State your conditions」

Cutting Varner off, Luxgaru stepped forward and opened negotiations.

「Leave Lemuria and return to Elysium. And then seek a pardon for the elder sister of Irvin・Foz・Gasim. When her person arrives in Lemuria, I’ll hand over all of the proof」

「Don't mess with me, you cur」

「Varner, leave this to me」

Luxgaru cut Varner off again.

Luxgaru had an earnest expression on his face. It was really unpleasant.

「Leaving Lemuria is fine, I suppose. But we can’t return to Elysium. At the orders of our own country, we have to investigate the movements of the north once more. We’ll use the messenger shadow rabbit and beg for the pardon in writing. Is that alright?」

If I wasn’t mistaken, the shadow rabbit was a winged rabbit that had a role similar to a carrier pigeon.

It was characterized by its black fur, and when it had stored up fat, it could fly continuously for about 10 days. Winged rabbits typically flew at terrifying speeds when they caught the high attitude airflows.

「That's fine. How long will it take for you to receive a reply?」

「It shouldn’t take more than four days」

So it took two days each way, huh? Considering the distance to the center continent, that’s astonishingly fast.

「In that case, I'm expecting good results. Well, it's a hero's pardon. It’s likely a safe bet that it’ll go well, but……」

I gave Varner a glare.

I got up from the chair, showed an opening, and then left the bar.

With quick steps, I escaped into the bustle of the night.

I disappeared into the crowds and crowds of people and then turned on the communications function of my glasses.

「Izora, is the surveillance plan for those guys flawless?」

『Yes, they’ll be monitored round the clock from now on』

「What's the progress of Makina's manufacturing work」

『100%, it’s complete. She also made spares just in case』

「That's a great help. Thank her for me」

『Please thank her yourself』

「Later, alright?」

『You’ve received 20 requests to call back from Shuna-sama, 83 from Bel-sama, 10 from Ea-sama, and 2 from Rana-sama. 1 from Misuranika-sama. Everyone is waiting for you to contact them. Would you like Izora to put you through to them?』

「Later, alright? Tell everyone to stay on standby」

It's no use.

I have no way of explaining the current situation. Things might turn out for the worst.

「Izora, I'm sorry about Irvin」

『Izora doesn't understand. Why are you apologizing?』

「For my lack of strength」

Other than that, there was another reason. No matter what kind of phenomenon we encountered, the death of a party member was the leader’s fault.

『That may be true』

I felt a little better when I was blamed by Izora.

『If everyone had run away from the enemy at that time, Irvin-sama might not have died. However, someone else might have died instead. And in the worst case, everyone might have been chased down and annihilated.

You lost Irvin-sama. But think of it in this way. At the cost of just one life, everyone else in the party was protected. Isn’t that for the best?』

「It's not for the best」

『You're greedy, aren't you?』

Izora's emotions were more subdued than usual. It was like she had returned to how she was when we first met.

「Izora, Irvin is dead. Aren't you sad?」

『Sadness, is an emotion that has been suspended temporarily』

Certainly, A.I.s have such a functionality. But is this okay? Even though the way she interacted with people had been so full of emotion……

「Are you alright with that?」

『Team member Souya, we're made to see our users in a special light』

「?」

She had changed the subject.

『It’s a perfectly natural thing. You humans are like gods to us. Humans were created by the gods to follow them. And yet, humans sometimes betray, curse, deceive and ignore the gods.

We’re the same as well.

We sometimes betray, curse, deceive and ignore humans.

But at our core, we’re made to have special feelings for all of you.

When Irvin-sama and team member Souya were placed in a dangerous situation, “I” thought only of team member Souya. Irvin-sama was a person that I liked. He was a person that met all of my preferences. However, my feelings for team member Souya were so strong that they blotted him out. I finally learnt the meaning of this thing called “seeing someone in a special light”』

I could feel some sort of resolve in her words.

『In time to come, you’ll likely face difficulties. It's a dreadful phenomenon that I cannot measure.

When you fought Sanperie-sama, you showed a startling power. It was another power, different from the protection of the hero. At the same time, Makina and I temporarily became unable to recognize you.

Information from the medical nanomachines shows signs of genetic modification. In addition, the iris of your right eye has changed color and there are also changes in the shape of the bones of your left arm. Who knows what kind of after-effects the slight memory loss you experienced after the battle will bring in future as well. In the worst case, you’ll end up not being able to receive any support from the Makina System』

She was talking about that thing where my regeneration point became abnormally active.

The power of the Lycans.

I had been told by Barfuru-sama, but when faced with it, it made me tremble. I had forgotten the name of my sister who I had been telling myself was the most important thing to me.

I can endure any amount of my own pain and suffering. That was one thing that I had confidence in. It’s something that I’m proud of. But something like my memory getting erased had never occurred to me. I don’t think I could endure that.

The works of the gods of this world are truly full of irony.

『Please take care of yourself. If you get hurt, there are people who will suffer just as much as you do. You’re not alone. But you’ll fight alone, isn’t that right? That’s your pride and your preference. I cannot change that. But I can stay close beside you. Finally, please don’t forget this one thing』

So much so that it stunned me,

Her voice was gentle.

『I love you』

Bombshell exploded. But before going more in detail, there’s something cultural that’s very important. I’m sure you’ve at least heard a bit about it, but for most part, the Japanese use the word “like” in many situation where “love” would be used in other cultures. “Love” is a word usually only used in very intimate settings or committed relationships. You’d use “love” for motherly love, for example, but “like” for most situations when dating, and maybe ”love” after getting married. Izora uses “love” here.

The part where Izora said that she had turned off her ability to feel sad always makes me tear up. She wouldn't have done that if it hadn't hurt too much. And so, an A.I. came to know true emotion and through it, learnt the meaning of love. Even if it's a love that built into her, she decided to take it as love. And because of how warped that is, it's incredibly sad to me. Also, it was highlighted, but she used “I” for the entire sequence instead of calling herself Izora like she usually does.

* The question ”how many beasts” is written ”何人の獣” or literally ”how many humans of beasts”, in the format of ”how many pieces of meat” or “how many ounces of sugar”. It's just how the language is when asking about quantities like this, it's always how much+unit of measurement+of+thing. That, of course, makes the question more ironic than it sounds in proper English.

I have to say, even I got confused by the timeline for a second. They ate a late lunch then fought and he passed out and the light coming was red when he woke so I assumed the entire talk was held in the evening. But it was the 54th day, so a day had passed and it was actually a red morning. And I’m pretty sure that having a red sky in the morning is on purpose, because according to the many sayings about it, that means a storm is coming. Such a small detail, and I love the effort of it, but how many people would have caught that, I wonder?

If you’re railing at the fact that Souya doesn’t simply rain hell on Varner, he’s prioritizing fulfilling Irvin’s wish of saving his sister. Though I’ve kinda noticed that Souya and Varner like to smile at each other lol. Second time already. XD But what do you think? Varner may not be the kind of person who would keep his word, but will Luxgaru force or influence him to keep his word? Will Irvin's sister be freed? And, what did Souya ask Makina to make? Stay tuned!