Volume 1
Chapter 29
I Refused the Noble's
Request
Translator : PolterGlast
[Akana's POV]
Runa-san and her
companion left the room.
I gnashed my teeth,
remembering what she had said.
……She said whatever she
wanted, without knowing anything about us!!
Just thinking about it
made me feel a violent rage.
I was angry that she
knew nothing about us—about my father, about my father's struggles—and yet she
dared to speak as if she knew everything. And most of all, I was furious at
myself for not being able to say anything in return, as if I were admitting
that everything she said was right!
And that man who was
with her, he was no different.
Irresponsibly saying
"Do your best"... We're already trying our best...!
Do your best... he
said!?
……
"……"
...Do your best?
"H-Huh...?"
Why did he say that?
Because Runa-san had
said, "Akana-san (me) is unfit to be a noble." If I'm unfit, doesn't
that mean I'm finished as a noble? Then, there's no point in trying...?
Wait, let me properly
recall what Runa-san said.
[Just quit being a noble]
"───!"
The more I remember,
the angrier I get...! But right now...
I will recall
Runa-san's words as much as I can.
And then───
"………!"
I realized something
strange.
That's right, if
Runa-san really thought that way, there would have been no need for her to give
me such a lecture. If she had really been disappointed in me, she could have
just said, "There's no point in talking" and left. Given the current
situation and her abilities, she could have easily done so.
Then why didn't she do
it?
Was Runa-san trying to
teach me something? That righteous indignation, that contempt, it was probably
genuine. To her, we were finished as nobles. But even so, was there still a
tiny bit of hope left? That's why she lectured me?
Her words were too
harsh to be accepted easily. They were correct words───but my emotions were
getting in the way of acknowledging them.
But if I continue like
this, the situation will clearly only get worse.
I recently received a
report that my father had collapsed. That's why I had the carriage prepared to
return to the capital as soon as possible.
But as a result of
that───what happened? I was
attacked by a large-scale bandit gang, and the possibility of a traitor
surfaced. Moreover, even if I had safely reached the capital, what would the
people's evaluation have been? It wouldn't have been strange if they had
thought, "See, I told you so," or "She's running away
again."
Can I... still change
now? No, this opportunity has just presented itself. I'm going to change, right
now. So I can regain the trust of my people and protect them!
... If it weren't for
that, "Do your best", words of encouragement, I probably wouldn't
have realized it.
□□□
[Runa's POV]
We were now returning
to the inn via the highway.
Kushina was following
behind me without saying anything. He had an empty, thoughtless smile. But I
didn't blame him. There was no need to blame him because he wasn't hiding
anything.
But───because of that, I
couldn't help but ask.
"Hey,
Kushina"
I turned around while
walking.
"What is it,
Kakyōin-san?"
"May I ask the
true meaning of what you said when you left the room?"
"Huh?"
Kushina doesn't think
for himself. That's why I've been giving Kushina orders. And Kushina would act
accordingly, and would never act on his own initiative without being told.
But just now, I didn't
say anything to Kushina. Kushina said those words on his own initiative.
People don't change
that easily. That's why Kushina's actions just now were so strange, and I
couldn't help but ask.
I asked the question
with a little bit of hope in it.
"Well, there's no
deep meaning to it, though..."
"………"
"Well, you see...
Kakyōin-san, you were pretty harsh on that girl. Well, I think what you said
was right, and it would be difficult to actually do it, but... I think
Kakyōin-san comes from a good family, right? So, I think you understand those
kinds of circumstances well. When I took that into account, I could well
understand that if you can't do that much, you can't be called an aristocrat.
But even so, your
words were pretty harsh. So, there was a possibility that she wouldn't
understand your intentions. And if I had returned with you just like that, and
if she hadn't understood, I would have become the target of her dislike too,
wouldn't I? To avoid that misunderstanding, I had to tell her, "I'm not as
aggressive towards you as Kakyōin-san is." So as not to be misunderstood.
That's why I said that at the end..."
"───"
When I heard that, I
couldn't formulate the words right away.
I had always thought
that Kushina acted without thinking.
He had previously said
that "arguing is a waste of time." Therefore, he thought that
thinking was troublesome, so he had stopped thinking altogether───I had always thought
so.
But I was wrong. He
was thinking. He was much better at thinking than I thought.
He was explaining
things in order, carefully observing the current situation and the other
person's emotions.
And yet, he was acting
in such a way that he would obey others.
Why didn't I realize
it sooner? Come to think of it, even in that forest, he had been quite logical
in his arguments.
The sudden change in
environment, the continuous situations that couldn't be fully explained by
common sense physics, and the fluctuations in emotions—I was completely blinded
by all of that.
I guess I've been
acting out of character ever since I came to this world. I need to adapt to the
situation better and get used to it...
It was different from
what I had hoped, but I'm glad I learned this much.
"……Sigh, that's
so like you."
I said that and
started walking again.
"Come to think of
it... you don't even use honorifics with the nobles, so why did you use them
with the guild officials?”
"Huh? Well, that
person is just a noble who manages this place, and they have nothing to do with
me, who doesn't live here permanently. But the guild officials are different,
they are the people who introduce me to work—they are, in a sense, people I am
grateful to. Of course, I have to show respect."
"……I still don't
understand your standards very well."
□□□
[Tekiru's POV]
"O-oi... You've
got to be kidding me."
I was currently
wandering through the forest to confirm the truth of Kushina-cchi's words.
And what I found right
around the place where I had encountered the Red Mantis was an absurd sight.
The carapace of the Red Mantis, which most adventurers couldn't even scratch,
was shattered into pieces, and there was insect-like blood of different colors
scattered everywhere. And there was the insect's head, with its eyes popped out
and its carapace completely shattered—it was because of this that I could
confirm that this corpse was that of a Red Mantis.
Impossible... this is
not the work of a human being.
Kushina-cchi... it
seems I've gotten involved with a pretty dangerous person.
"Maybe
Kushina-chi could easily conquer that ruin..."
I muttered to myself,
a cold sweat dripping down my cheek.
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