Volume 2
Chapter 8
Became a Substitute
Translator : PolterGlast
【In's POV】
"Gyaaaaaaaa!!!!"
"Gaaaaahhhhh!!!!"
Screams echoed from
various parts of the forest.
A familiar voice───but I've never heard
such a grating scream.
Everyone... is being
killed.
[Hey In, you're always
so serious. Let's go out for drinks sometime.]
[In-san! Good work! As
always, your skills are amazing! I really respect you!]
[Hey, hey, are you
talking about that again? You're good enough as you are now. If it's for Lady
Akana, then being yourself is the best thing.]
"───!"
Memories of my
comrades and friends flood my mind.
But... not now!
I grit my teeth and
seal those memories deep in the recesses of my heart.
Right now, I have to
buy as much time as possible for Lady Akana to escape!
I run through the
forest to draw the monster's attention to me.
But still... We're
supposed to attack at intervals, but the intervals feel too short. My friends
are being killed one after another at such short intervals. Just how fast is
she───
"Found you."
My heart leaped at
that voice.
"It makes me so
happy that you came all the way back to me. Is this also because of your
kindness? What a kind heart you have! It would have been even more wonderful if
there had been love here───"
There was no one there
until a moment ago, but when I noticed, she was next to me.
I realized again───this pink-haired woman
is clearly a being of a different league than us.
"It's okay. I
love you too. So please, let me kill you painlessly."
By the time I noticed
the pink-haired woman, she was already facing me with her palm outstretched.
Is this the end? If I
die like this, I won't be able to buy enough time for the two of them to
escape. This would be a waste.
Is it okay for me to
die like this...? Didn't I swear to Lord Nine and Lady Arie? I have been taught
by those two───!
"Well then,
goodbye───"
"I love
you!!!!"
Before the pink-haired
woman could finish me off, I shouted to buy time.
□□□
【In's POV】
"………What did you
just say?"
"I said I love
you."
I say words I don't
mean at all.
I don't know how much
time I can buy with these words, but I'll do anything to keep her here for a
little longer.
I learned from those
two not to give up. I believe that the few minutes, few seconds, and few
moments I create here will surely lead to a good result, so I'll struggle until
the end!
"You... love
me?"
The pink-haired woman
repeats my words and begins to tremble.
Now... what's next?
The pink-haired woman
raises her face abruptly.
"───!"
"Really!?"
"Eh...?"
The pink-haired woman
accepted my words surprisingly easily.
"T-Toward me?
Really? Kyaa~♡ What should I do?/// Ah, ah~♡ I never thought this
day would come/// Ah, you love me? Kyaaaa~~~♡♡♡"
She blushes, wiggling
her hips, completely entranced by the word "love".
H-Huh? What is this
situation...? It's so easy to buy time.
"U-um..."
"───! Yes! I have to hear
your name! What's your name?"
"I-It's
In..."
"In, huh! Ah~♡ What a lovely name~♡"
The pink-haired woman
turns her back to me, clasping her face with both hands as she did before, and
is moaning. W-What is this...? This reaction... It's just like a girl falling
in love. Does she really just want to find love? Does she really mean it when
she says she loves everything in the world?
Now I understand───she's crazy. There's a
possibility that she's serious about her seemingly absurd words and actions.
So, her words "I
love everything in the world"───there's a possibility that she means it sincerely.
She loves
everything... then why.
...Why!!
"───!"
To suppress my feelings
again, I bit my lip hard.
"U-um...
Natūra-san."
When I say her name,
the pink-haired woman───Natūra turns around
happily.
"Don't call me by
honorific! We're in love! Please call me by my name!"
"T-Then...
Natūra"
"Yes!"
"……"
Anyway, I unexpectedly
managed to attract this monster's attention. Now, I'll try to keep this monster
here for as long as possible.
"You love
everything, right?"
...Wait?
"Yes♡ Whether it's a plant, a monster, or a human, I share this love equally
with everything!"
"Then...
then"
What am I trying to
say? Wait... wait, I shouldn't say anything more. I need to connect it to
something else.
I know, I know that...
but I can't control my emotions. My shoulders are trembling, and I'm tensing up
unnecessarily.
Calm down, calm
down... calm down───
"───! Why! Why did you
kill them!!"
I couldn't suppress my
emotions. I clenched my fist and shouted.
Natūra blinked and
looked at me.
"I love them! If
you say you have love! Why! Why did you... so cruelly... so easily... kill
them!?"
I poured out all my
feelings.
I've done it, I've
done it now...!
If I care about Lady
Akana, I should have suppressed all my emotions and been pure towards her
(Natūra). I should have pretended to love her and kept her here for as long as
possible.
I know that... I
know...! But... my bond with them wasn't so weak as to be suppressed by reason.
It wasn't such a superficial relationship... We had grown up together since we
were children, we were like family.
I could throw away
this life... but, this feeling───this bond, I couldn't throw it away...!
They were more than
just friends to me. And I couldn't remain silent after they were killed... I'm
not that strong.
What a fool I am...
"Why did I kill
them... is it?"
Natūra folded arms and
placed her right hand on her chin.
Since it comes to
this, I have no choice but to resort to force. I know it's futile, but if I
could buy some time even only for a moment...
Just as I was making
up my mind, Natūra, instead of getting angry───maintained the same
atmosphere as before.
"………That's
because"
After a moment of
hesitation, she said───
"Because I love
them, of course."
It was an insistence
on "love" that never changed.
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