Volume 1
Chapter 11
I Found a Town
Translator : PolterGlast
【Runa's POV】
I was so flustered
that I couldn't believe Kushina's words.
Didn't this guy wary
of the skills I have? That's why he was so obedient to what I said, right!? To
avoid unnecessary danger!! If that's the case, if I say "go away,"
he'll agree, right!? That's how it should be, normally!
W-wait... was I wrong
from the beginning? Kushina isn't wary of my skills? Then why does he obey me
so easily?
I-I don't
understand... I don't understand, I don't understand, I don't understand───I don't understand!!
Forget it! In that
case, I'll just ask him directly!!
"H-Hey, why did
you obediently listen to whatever I said?"
"Huh?"
Kushina looked at me
as if it was strange. No, I should be the one doing that!
"Why?... because
you told me to, didn't you, Kakyoin-san?"
"……………Ha~a!?
What's with that!? Then, if I told you to 'die', you'd die!?"
"That's
impossible. Because I can't die."
……
His words left me
speechless.
I never thought our
perceptions would be so different.
I finally understood.
This guy doesn't have a sense of 'self'. He's abandoned the human egos, the
'this is something I won't give up' and 'I will definitely do this' that
everyone normally has.
He has become a mere
puppet, obediently doing whatever he is told to do, without question.
───He has become the very
existence I despise the most.
I gritted my teeth.
"You... aren't
you ashamed of that? Aren't you ashamed of being such a puppet?"
"Why?"
"Why... you're
denying yourself! How can you be satisfied in such a state!!"
I raised my voice
involuntarily.
"There are so
many things you want to do and say, aren't there!? As a human, of course you
do, right? Not being able to express them... it's painful. Even I would hate
that. Such a confined life is boring!! Are you saying you don't have such
desires!?"
It makes me angry and
frustrated. I hate people who can only obey orders. Time is precious. Why are
you wasting it!? ───That's what I tried to
tell Kushina.
But Kushina grinned
and said,
"That's just a
waste of time."
"…………Huh?"
For a moment, I
couldn't understand what Kushina meant.
A waste of time? How
is expressing 'yourself' a waste of time?
To speak your mind, to
act on your thoughts───in a way, it's proof
of your existence. It's an assertion of self, a declaration that you exist here
and you're not the same as everyone else. By doing this, others recognize you───they acknowledge you.
And that's... a waste
of time? What do you mean by waste of time!? What's so wasteful about it!!?
Before I knew it, I
was glaring at Kushina.
But Kushina continued
talking as if he didn't care.
"Because every
time you oppose someone, a discussion starts, doesn't it? You have to think of
a rebuttal to what the other person said. And since both of you are trying to
get your point across, it's natural for the discussion to go on for a long
time. Worst case scenario, if you lose the argument, you have to follow the
other person's opinion. So, it's faster to just follow along without thinking,
and it's also much easier because you don't have to think. See, it's more
advantageous to just follow along."
……
I couldn't understand
what he was saying.
'Easy'?
'Advantageous'? Giving up your 'self' for that? I don't understand.
"………Are you
serious?"
"Of course I am,
I've been doing this for a long time. I've never thought about whether it's
good or bad."
I wish Kushina's words
had been a lie. But there was no trace of a lie in Kushina's words.
I see... this guy's
way of thinking has long since been burned out. His mind is so broken that he
can't think normally.
Why did I have
expectations of this guy?
Now that I'm calm, I
realize. ───I had expectations of
this guy.
We met only a few
hours ago───but because of these
intense few hours, I had some expectations of Kushina, who was completely
different from the men I had met before.
But, when I looked
inside him, he was just empty. He was just a puppet, who didn't think about
anything and didn't show anything.
What was I really
expecting?
Well, let's look at
the bright side.
He's not a 'person,'
he's an 'object'. I've acquired an 'object' that will do whatever I say───if you think about it
that way, it's not so bad.
I've acquired a 'pawn'
who has such power and listens to me. Oh? Come to think of it, even if I subtract
what just happened, it's still a good deal.
"I see where
you're coming from."
"Is that
so?"
Kushina smiled as if
to say, "I'm glad you understand." It's not like I actually
understand, though.
"Good grief... I
feel so stupid for thinking so much..."
"Hm?"
"Nothing!"
I brushed my hair
again.
"Kushina, you're
coming to town with me, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then, it's an
order."
I pointed my index
finger at Kushina.
"Continue to
protect me from now on, Kushina."
"Yes,
understood."
And so, Kushina and I
formally entered into a master-servant contract.
□□□
I'm wearing clothes
now, and I'm running while carrying Kakyoin-san in my arms like a princess.
Since I'm going to be
by her side from now on, she said, "Since you're mine now, I won't allow
you to dress shabbily," and she used her skill to create a boy's uniform
from the school she attended and gave it to me. It was a navy blue blazer with
gold embroidery.
Before putting it on,
I also went into the river and cleaned myself thoroughly. Kakyoin-san got angry
when I was about to change immediately, so that's what happened.
At the same time, I
was also given three brown drawstring bags.
According to
Kakyoin-san, "You need money to do anything. But we're completely broke.
So, we have to exchange something for money, right? Conveniently, there were
insects with incredible hardness around you. Shells with such hardness? They
must fetch a decent price if you sell them," and so the drawstring bags
were filled to the brim with fragments of shells.
After we were ready to
go, she said, "I hate walking from here. Kushina, be my feet," so
after talking for a while about how to carry her, I compromised and carried her
like a princess.
Kakyoin-san said,
"I don't really like being touched by a man, but since you're mine, I'll
forgive you."
I think we've already
run a considerable distance.
I'm just running in a
random direction. Kakyoin-san said, "I'll leave the direction to your
senses," so I started running towards a direction where I felt there might
be people. I haven't seen any towns or villages yet.
Kakyoin-san is only
looking in the direction we're going while being carried, so I don't know what
expression she has on her face.
By the way... even
though I've been running at full speed for such a long distance, and even while
carrying Kakyoin-san, I'm not out of breath at all. I was surprised by my own
change once again, and continued to run at the same speed, and then───
"I can see
it."
Finally, we found a town.
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