Chapter 10
A Tiger at the
Front Gate, a Wolf at the Back Gate
Translator : PolterGlast
A tiger at the front
gate, a wolf at the back gate.
That was the phrase
that involuntarily came to mind. While being dangled by the gate guard big
brother, I glanced at the black-haired big brother in front of me. He still had
the two swords at his waist and was looking at me with the same displeased
expression. Or rather, it might be more accurate to say he was suspicious.
I understood. I
understood very well.
――――The slimes, maybe
they've already gone back to normal. Maybe you should go back sooner.
Those were my parting
words to the soldier big brother whose name I didn't even know. Looking back, I
couldn't stop the cold sweat from pouring down my back, wondering why I had
gotten so carried away. More than that, the fact that I was currently being
dangled by the gate guard was suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
"...What
happened?"
Dropping the line with
all his feelings consolidated, the black-haired big brother frowned. He asked
me. Thrashing around in panic wouldn't help anything. "Ah, this child just
crashed into the railing." "Crashed," he repeated the word
quietly. This was painful. Being stared at suspiciously by two big brothers. It
felt so heavy, I thought I might die.
"Anyway, I caught
her because she looked suspicious."
"Ku...kuu...!!"
I couldn't deny it.
Like some stray cat, I flapped my hands uselessly, but of course, it meant
nothing. What would happen to this suspicious little girl?
My eye color had
definitely changed, but I couldn't say for sure. In a moment of carelessness or
during a harsh interrogation. I might confess that I was a demon. I wanted to
laugh it off, thinking, "No way, that's ridiculous," but I was me. I
was already dangling by the scruff of my neck, caught. The persuasiveness of
"It'll definitely be alright!" quietly disappeared beyond the sky.
Sorry for being so useless.
What if I tried
saying, "Please let me go!"? There was a slight chance, and the gate
guard big brother who was holding me looked kind. He was fast though. When I
optimistically thought, "Maybe it'll all work out somehow," he said,
"Well, what should I do? I thought about taking her to the station, but
that's a pain. Should I just dump her at the church?" Demons and the
church were bound together by a sticky, inseparable thread.
I trembled even more
violently this time. "This is bad," I thought, quickly turning my
usable skills on and off in my mind. It might be difficult since my scruff was
already grabbed, but I had no choice but to rely on my illusion skill here. It
was a gamble. Just as I put in my effort with a "funnu!", the pulling
at my neck stopped, and the black-haired big brother had opened the gate
guard's hand and was looking at me silently.
"She's an
acquaintance of mine. Let her go."
Even though he had a
displeased look, the black-haired big brother had definitely said that. It
wasn't just the gate guard big brother who blinked rapidly. I also looked up,
wondering what was going on, but immediately put on a composed expression.
"That's right, we're acquaintances, of course, right?" I pursed my
lips as if to convince myself.
"...Is that so?
Well, if you say so."
The black-haired man
nodded silently at the big brother who shrugged, saying, "It's a secret,
okay?" He must have been a trusted person. I was relieved that the pulling
had stopped and I was standing on the ground with both feet properly. But even
though he said we were acquaintances, we had only met once. I had absolutely no
idea why he would say something like that.
"Ah, um..."
Since I couldn't
figure it out even after thinking, I glanced up at the young man. When he
noticed my gaze, he slightly narrowed his black-purple eyes.
"Shut up and look
straight ahead."
I flinched and quickly
turned forward at his low, almost whispered voice. I slowly passed through the
large gate with the older brother. A dark shadow fell over my head. I lowered
my face and proceeded cautiously. I squeezed my eyes shut. My heart was beating
loudly enough to surprise me. It was pounding. I took a breath, stepped
forward, and took the final step.
A burst of great
liveliness hit my cheeks forcefully.
It was nothing like
life in the village. It was also different from the life in Japan that faintly
remained in my memory. "Welcome!" Cheerful calls echoed everywhere,
and people and animals were coming and going. I was surprised to hear music and
looked around to see a band playing. They had instruments I had never seen in
the village. A boy was running around with a hat, trying to catch the tips that
were being thrown.
It was a strange
sight. There were so many people. The feeling of my legs buckling, as if I was
scared, was the Eldorado deep inside me. The scene of the villagers throwing
stones at her was firmly etched in her memory, and remembering it made my chest
ache with sadness. But I was also Eldorado. My eye color had firmly changed to
blue, and there was no trace of the demon's red eyes. To the people of the
city, I was just a small child, so there was no need to be afraid.
Of course, even though
it was the capital, the situation wasn't perfect, so I couldn't let my guard
down, but I wouldn't suddenly be pelted with stones or hear hurtful shouts. So,
it was okay.
The reason I thought I
would surely be able to live if there were many people was because my heart had
become cowardly due to my past memories. Actually, I didn't really need to
enter the city, and I might be able to manage in the forest if I tried hard.
Even though I knew that, when I heard the cheerful music and lively voices, my
chest suddenly felt hot, and I bit my lip tightly. Having people around made me
very, very happy.
While desperately
holding back the tears that were about to spill, I realized that I had passed
through the gate with the older brother and was still standing there. I
hurriedly looked up at the young man, who was so much taller than me, and he
was still staring at me with a suspicious look. It was an indescribable
silence.
I didn't know what to
say. But I had to say something, so I was about to speak when a voice called
out, "Hey, Lotus!" From beyond the gate, the gate guard big brother
called out to the person next to me.
"By the way, the
investigation! How did it go?"
"...It's
so-so!"
Since there was some
distance between them, they had no choice but to speak loudly to each other.
The investigation was probably about the disappearance of the slimes. He
probably didn't know the cause, so that was the only answer he could give. No,
that wasn't the point. Wait a minute, could it be? (I heard it clearly...)
Did he say Lotus?
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