Chapter 103: The King Of The Little Ones V (2/2)

I removed my katana, scabbard and all, from my hip.

Loosening it from the scabbard, I let the blade peek out just a little.

It's really just a little. This katana has a demonic quality to it. It might be harmful to children.

「There are only three of them in this world. They are owned by the king of adventurers, the father of adventurers, and me」

「Wow~」

The fatso's eyes sparkled with childlike curiosity.

Perhaps the little girl's beastkin instincts had warned her that it was dangerous, but she backed away, looking scared.

With a click, I sheathed the katana.

「I knew it, you are the king~!」

The fatso exclaimed with glee.

Oh, crap. Of course he would take it that way. [2]

I hadn’t been able to contain my childishness and had spoken braggingly.

The lie that I had accidentally told also made me feel mischievous.

「To tell the truth, I'm hiding my identity」

「Hiding your identity~?」

「Was that too difficult to understand? I'm keeping the fact that I'm the king a secret」

『Eehhh~!』

Both of them were surprised.

”What should we do?! What should we do?!” they said as they looked at each other in delight.

Their reaction was adorable.

Secrets are treasures to children, I suppose.

「Children, you have learned a secret that cannot be shared with others. If you divulge it, you will be punished」

Misuranika-sama interjected in a measured voice.

「Ehh, no way~」

「Oh no! Oh no!」

They went from delight to distress all at once.

Their emotions change so easily. I wish I could have had a childhood like this too.

「Hold on, I'm not done talking yet」

「What?」

「What is it, cat-chan?」

「If you keep the secret, you'll be rewarded」

「What does the word “rewarded” mean~?」

「What does it mean?」

「Tell the man there what you want」

「A princess! I want to be a princess!」

Shouted the little girl.

「A princess, huh……」

That's a pretty difficult request.

Can I fake it by giving her nice clothes, I wonder?

「Child, what kind of princess do you want to be?」

「Umm, I want to be beautiful, dazzling, fair, and have big boobs! Oh………………」

The little girl's expression darkened suddenly.

「But………priestess-sama said that beastkin can't become princesses」

「Yeah, well………」

Well, certainly, the beastkin currently don’t have the right to get married. They aren’t allowed to inherit the property of their partners either. Even for those with royal blood, so long as they're beastkin, a mistress is the most they can be.

Becoming a princess is nothing more than a distant fantasy.

It’s merely the grand aspiration of a child.

「In that case!」

Shouted the fatso.

「I, I'll become an adventurer! I'll earn lots of fame, become a king………and then I'll make you a princess!」

「Really?!」

「Y, yup」

The fatso was blushing from embarrassment.

It’s heartwarming.

But that's a thorny path, you know?

The civilization that has flourished with beastkin under its thumb is currently the most powerful force in this world.

Creating new rights requires the destruction of the existing rights. Liberating a people also means setting free their suppressed emotions and curses.

The liberation of the beastkin slaves that Maria speaks of is a tool of war, and not something that will grant them any rights.

If anything, if they aren't kept on a tight leash, they'll commit even more horrendous acts than the current rulers.

That's what Maria is.

That's the limit of one who seeks revenge.

The right to be free can be used as a tool to instigate, but it is mere rhetoric that will last only until Elysium is destroyed. Rulers who are accustomed to using massacre as a tool will never be able to cast it aside.

History will definitely repeat itself.

It will repeat itself until the rift has been worn smooth through friction.

Wanting to become a king and making a beastkin a princess would mean having to fight against “everything”.

It may be a dream spoken by a child, but it is a blood-soaked one.

It may be a dream of becoming a king, but it is the dream of a supreme ruler.

However………………it is a dream.

When I was a child, I didn't have any dreams. That's why I won't laugh at other people's dreams. Even if they are pipe dreams, or ones that are forgotten in time, I have no right to laugh at them.

「Is that your wish?」

「Yup!」

I knelt down, bringing my eyes level with the children's, then asked.

「Let me hear your names, little ones」

「Gardoland」

Replied the fatso.

It's a pretty manly name.

「Mikyuu」

Replied the little girl.

It's a lovely name.

「I'm Souya・Urus・Ra・Tilt. A foreigner. An adventurer. And the king of the little ones like yourselves. I promise you this, Gardoland. When your fame has spread throughout Lemuria, I will bestow upon you this katana that is the mark of a king.

But resolve yourself.

The name of this katana is Kojiin. In the language of the foreign lands, it means ”raging god”. No matter what you slay with this blade, it will never lead you to the right path. I have ”two” questions for you. Do you have the resolve to do this? The path ahead will be difficult」

「I will ask you the second question when it comes time to hand over the katana」

With a sinister smile, I tested the child's resolve.

But he didn't back down.

His eyes were ablaze.

I saw an unwavering flame inside them.

If you are able to hold on to that flame, then you're the real deal. Your dream will definitely come true.

After patting them both on the head, I stood up.

I may be the king of children, but so that I'm not just deceiving them, I must act majestically.

＜End＞

[1] The Unfettered Shogun (暴れん坊将軍) (Abarenbō Shōgun) is a Japanese television program on the TV Asahi network. Set in the eighteenth century, it showed fictitious events in the life of Yoshimune, the eighth Tokugawa shōgun, who went after rogue councilors and daimyō who were abusing their power. As is common for shows of this genre, the moral is loosely ”rewarding good and punishing evil”.

[2] The “and me” can also mean “and that’s me(And that’s who I am)”. In other words, Souya was talking about 3 people each owning 1 katana, but the fatso thought that Souya was talking about one person(Souya) owning all 3 katanas, because the way Souya said it sounded a bit like a person bragging about his titles. Something like, “The Dark Knight, Protector of Gotham, that’s who I am”, for example.

The fatso is just a small kid who still doesn’t know many words, so it was a silly but understandable misunderstanding on his part. But that small misunderstanding is what led to the title of this arc. It’s a fun little subversion of expectations, isn’t it?

The discrimination against the beastkin is a topic that Souya has done his absolute best to ignore so far, but he’s right, isn’t he? The scale of the problem is simply too big. ……What will happen in future, I wonder?

But this scene with the kids. It’s one etched deeply in my mind.

With that, see you next volume!

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