Chapter 28
You've got to
be Kidding Me
Translator : PolterGlast
Eh, that's it?
To be honest, it was a
rather unexpected reaction. It was so nonchalant that I started to wonder if it
had all been my misunderstanding, and my embarrassment grew. Maybe it was. I
couldn't read his expression, so I fidgeted and fiddled with the scarf around
my neck. Then I belatedly remembered that Lotus had lent it to me, and I
hurriedly tried to take it off and hand it back.
"Keep it on. It's
fine if you don't need it."
But after hearing
Lotus's words, I thought for a moment and nodded. I would gratefully accept it.
Yes, really gratefully. I had saved up a little money from helping out at
Harapeko-tei, but it felt strange for a child like me to buy adult things, and
I was unnecessarily wary, plus I couldn't afford to spend money on clothes
since I didn't know what might happen.
I bowed my head
slightly, and Lotus laughed. "Don't be so careless, okay? Watch your step.
Don't go running and falling." His warnings sounded like they were for a
child. Well, I was a child, though.
"Un, yes, I'll be
careful..."
"Alright then.
See ya."
Wasn't our farewell a
little too dry? It made me feel uneasy instead.
But maybe that's just
how it was. He wielded a sword and fought monsters. Maybe farewells and
encounters were just everyday occurrences for him.
"Well then,"
we exchanged a few more words and turned our backs to each other. I had
expected him to stop me like before, but nothing of the sort happened. I walked
through the night city, step-step. The more I walked, the more shame welled up
from the depths of my throat, making me feel like I was going to throw up.
"~~~~~~~~~!!" I was so embarrassed I could die.
As a member of the
opposite sex, he probably liked me. But I was really a child, a demon, and it
was all just too complicated, plus I felt bad about deceiving him. So I thought
I should create some distance. This was surely the best course of action. The
next time I met Lotus, I would just have my child's face and act like nothing
had happened at Harapeko-tei. This was the only way, I repeated the simulation
in my head over and over.
In my mind, Lotus
grabbed my arm tightly, telling me not to go, and I shook him off, running
through the night city. There would be a sad sound effect. But the reality was
this. I was just really, really embarrassed.
(Excessive
self-consciousness...!!)
My ears were probably
bright red right now. The reaction of my Detection skill and the search skills
of Ichi and the others told me that Lotus wasn't following me. Anyway, I wanted
to get away. I felt like if I did, the whole thing would be a charade. A cat
came over, calling me with a "meow meow". I sighed, "Not you
again," but this wasn't the time for that. Pikon, this time a different
reaction caught my attention.
I had been running,
forgetting to return to my child form, so I was only now realizing that the
reaction was quite close. There were three people. I could even hear screams. A
woman was being harassed by men.
Sutra-san had said
before that a woman walking alone at night was practically asking to be
attacked. I didn't know the circumstances of the girl in front of me who was
crying out "Stop it!" to the men who were clearly bothering her. I
wanted to shout "Go!" to Ichi and the others, but there were two men
surrounding the girl. I could manage to knock one over, but that was it. Ichi
and the others could only move stealthily. They were just cleaning slimes with
no offensive capabilities.
So my body moved on
its own. "Zuyaaaaa!!!" Sliding in, I slammed my heavy, pointed heel
into the man's abdomen with all my weight. "Goff!?" He covered his
face with both arms. I had jumped out, but I was horrified at my own actions,
wondering what I was doing. The scene of a girl being assaulted was too
stimulating, and my mind couldn't keep up.
"Y-you, you, you
can run away!"
I crossed my arms and
hid my vision along with my eyes, so I couldn't quite grasp the situation, and
my panicked shouts were strangely uncool. But I heard footsteps moving away, so
I figured she was probably okay. I should try to escape too. I couldn't change
my form in front of the men, so I skillfully slipped into the shadows, becoming
a pill bug. "Yosh," I thought, turning around, only to be grabbed
forcefully.
Ichi and the others
had also fought back, tripping one of the men, but there was no way the
remaining one would be taken down by just one hit from me. "It hurts, damn
it, you think I'll let you get away?" An irritated voice said. But then he
laughed. "Hey, you've got a really cool outfit, but is that just your
hobby?" I shuddered at the voice I heard. "No, um, well, that's
not..." If he saw my eyes, it would be over. That was such a reckless
action. Maybe deep down I had lightly thought I'd be okay because I had skills.
My stomach trembled with patheticness.
"Show me your
face!"
My arm was twisted up
forcefully. With my thin arm, I couldn't resist at all. A scream escaped my
lips. But that was all. I thought a piece of cloth was thrown over my head, and
then I recognized the scent—it was Lotus's coat. He had knocked out the two men
in the blink of an eye and was kicking the unconscious young man who was
panting heavily.
"Eh, um,
Lotus..."
"I heard a
scream. A woman ran by. I thought something had happened, so I ran over."
He briefly explained
the situation. Then, he glared at me fiercely. "Don't screw with
me!!!!" He was angry. Clutching his coat, I trembled.
"I told you to be
careful, didn't I!? I don't know what kind of skills you have. If you're a
demon, I'm sure you're strong, but you're in a human city, do you
understand...!?"
I couldn't say
anything.
Because I had skills.
Because I had Ichi and the others. More than the first time, my senses had
become dull, and I had forgotten that I was living inside a needle. My carefree
Japanese soul couldn't even laugh at that. Lotus clicked his tongue. Then he
threw the men aside, grabbed my hand, and strode off. "Ah, um,
Lotus," before I could ask where we were going, I started hearing voices
from around us, drawn by our commotion. I hurriedly shut my mouth and hid in
his coat.
The place we arrived
at and where he pushed me against with both hands was the outer wall of an
alley. It was dimly lit, with no moonlight. He looked down at me, taller than
my adult form, and planted both hands on either side of my face. "What
were you thinking...?" His voice was filled with suppressed anger. This
time I didn't scream. People would come if I did.
"W-what do you
mean...?"
"I'm human.
You're a demon. You carelessly fell in front of me, and depending on the person,
you could have died right there. It was good that you ran away. You should have
just gone far away. So what was that? Did you think I was looking for you? You
came over all friendly, and when I said I wanted to talk, you just tagged
along, and now you're playing hero? Don't screw with me."
His voice was
trembling. I understood what Lotus was saying. I had thought myself a fool too.
But Lotus was the one who said he wanted to meet, so it felt strange to be
scolded for it. He seemed to understand my feelings too, and he bit his lip
painfully.
Looking at his face, I
somehow understood. I thought his expression was unreadable, but at that
moment, I understood it well. He was projecting the friend who had died in the
past onto me. But because I was being more careless than necessary, he was
troubled, angry, and he didn't know what to do.
Should I apologize?
But it felt strange to apologize to Lotus, but still, I apologized. "I'm
sorry..." "Yeah," Lotus murmured. Then, he rested his head on my
shoulder. "I'll be careful..." For a moment, I thought he was crying.
But he wasn't. "Yeah," Lotus replied with a slight nod instead of a
voice.
"Don't go."
I thought the voice I
heard was my imagination. But it seemed to be contradictory words within his
mind. "Go. There's a country for demons, right? Aim for that."
"...It's really far away." It was the fifth country, located in the
center of the four human countries.
"Don't die in
front of me. But don't die even if I'm not there."
His voice, muttering
"Don't let anyone die," was like a wish.
『The Tale of the Five-Leafed Country』
Four human countries
and one demon country. The human countries fight to steal the demon country.
The demons resist. That eventually turned into a war between races. Lotus
doesn't know yet. That this city will become a battlefield.
In that battle, he
will lose one arm and one eye. And he will gain new power. He doesn't know
that.
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