Chapter 93
Words are...
Translator : PolterGlast
Even though it felt
like the cat had spoken, cats couldn't talk, so I convinced myself, "Oh
well, must have been my imagination."
"Are humans
always this noisy? I can't even take a nap, nya."
"It was
definitely NOT my imagination!!!"
My self-deception
crumbled in an instant. The cat was definitely talking. I screamed, recoiled,
and almost fell off the roof. Seeing Socius like that, the cat tilted its head,
"Nnya? It's El, nya!" Its bright red eyes widened and sparkled. In
other words, this cat was also—a demon. But Socius, utterly astonished,
couldn't get his thoughts in order.
"I'm... not
El..."
"Nnn? But you've
got blonde hair, nya, and you're a little bigger, but to me, all humans are
big, nya."
"That's super
vague...?"
It was true that El
and Socius were like relatives, so their faces resembled each other, but there
was still a clear difference between male and female. He had been told they
looked alike many times, and he knew it himself. But they were never mistaken
for each other. But perhaps that didn't matter to the cat.
"You're not El,
nya? Oh, is that so? Then why are you being such a crybaby, nya?"
Socius hurriedly wiped
away his tears with his arm. Even if it was a cat, it was a talking cat. It was
bound to be awkward to be seen crying. He rubbed his eyes so hard his face
turned red and sniffled his nose. Even as he did so, the clamor grew louder.
This wasn't the time to be concerned about appearances.
"Don't fight,
don't go... o-outside...!"
"Can't hear you,
nya. So noisy, so noisy, nya."
"That's why I
can't give up, you know...!"
"Nwhy?"
"...Because El
asked me to."
After replying, he
thought, No, that's not it. "It's because I'm angry!" He was simply
irritated. He had words he wanted to convey. But no one would listen. They
spoke the same language, heard it, and should have understood.
The fist he had
slammed down throbbed. Just as he thought it had become quiet, the cat's mouth
hung half-open as it stared blankly at Socius. "So, you're El's acquaintance
after all, nya?" "Y-yeah, well..." "That's perfect,
nya!" The cat stretched its short legs and was suddenly on Socius's
shoulder. "Whoa," he exclaimed, startled and flinching. It was
surprisingly warm, which had startled him.
"You see, I owe
El a little favor back in Leyshan, nya. I accidentally turned into a demon in
front of everyone, you see. I wasn't really thinking about anything at the
time, so I just said bye-bye, but later I thought maybe I should have done
something to repay her, nya."
At least he understood
that this cat knew El. Even so, it was a very talkative cat. Were cats this
chatty? He wasn't sure. "You look a lot like El, nya, so if I do something
nice for you, that counts as repaying her, right, nya?" He probably
thought it didn't count, but he nodded, overwhelmed by the cat's momentum.
"Right, right. It
counts! So, leave it to me, nya!"
Socius couldn't see
it, but the cat's tail swirled around. The long, wriggling kinked tail looked
almost like it was forming a heart shape.
"My name is Pia!
My unique skill is, Howling!"
"O-oh, I'm
Socius, but..."
"Socius, try
talking in a big voice, nya! From the bottom of your belly, with all your
might! I'll deliver all of your voice, nya!"
He didn't know how
much of what this cat was saying was actually true, but he felt like, what the
heck, let whatever happens happen. "I..." He stood up shakily, his
back still hunched. He clenched his fist. If only one person would hear him.
"Cut it out,
alreadyyyyyy!!!!!"
***
At that moment, many
people looked up at the sky, wondering what had happened. A voice was coming
from somewhere. But they couldn't tell where. Should they go outside? No, they
shouldn't. Take up arms and fight! No, scared—words mixed and became a jumbled
mess, and even though they were speaking the same language, no one understood
each other. Fear called to fear, swelling up. There were even some who were
just shouting without knowing why.
It was then that they
heard a boy's voice. It was a voice that sounded like it had just gone through
puberty, a little soft, and it seemed like it would break if you touched it.
"The ones coming
aren't demons! They're Hail Land's soldiers! You understand, don't you!?"
It was a golden-haired
boy. How had he even gotten up there? He was on the roof, shouting with all his
might, conveying his voice to them.
"Besides! Does it
even matter right now if they're demons or not...!!?"
***
Demons each had their
own unique skills. Just as El could change her appearance, this cat named Pia
probably had an ability too.
It was a terribly
strange sight. Socius's words were reaching the entire city. After shouting
that it wasn't demons who were coming, Pia, who was on Socius's shoulder, had
said, "Well, I saw some demons when I came here, nya?" to which he had
reacted with a "Seriously?", but he decided to ignore it.
There were words he
had wanted to shout at someone for a long time. Even though it was a terrifying
thing, given the values he had cultivated.
"Why change your
actions just because they're demons? We're individuals. Individuals gather to
form a country, right? It's the same for demons. My childhood friend became a
demon, but she stayed the same! Don't just make assumptions about everything,
look at reality! The ones coming are Hail Land's soldiers!"
He pointed straight
outside. The wall of wind rising beyond Kasei looked as if it was roaring
loudly.
"What did the
Lord of the Main Tower say!? Don't go outside, don't fight! What did the
Vice-Tower Master say! It's the same thing, isn't it!? Right now, the Lord of
the Main Tower is desperately transforming the water sphere membrane...
Everyone's feelings for Kasei, I understand, the desire to do something, the
feeling that if there's an enemy, you just have to defeat them."
It was painful to do nothing.
He understood very
well. The painful feeling that made you want to desperately rush forward,
probably more than anyone else.
Even so.
"There are
battles where you don't fight!"
Socius didn't know how
much of his words had gotten through. But certainly, the sounds of fighting
seemed to have quieted down a little. It would be good if he could reach even
one person. Then, that one person could tell another. They could keep repeating
that.
"I'm tired, nya,
skill's over."
Pia said, and then
slipped off Socius's shoulder, falling asleep in Socius's hand. Even though you
couldn't tell she was a demon with her eyes closed, she had an unbelievable
lack of caution for a demon. He was troubled about what to do.
Standing there on the
roof, unable to do anything, he heard someone call out from below,
"Hey!" Thankfully, Seirou had leaned a long ladder against the
building. Holding Pia carefully in one arm so she wouldn't fall, Socius slowly
climbed down from the roof.
"Good job. You've
got quite the amazing magic tool... Hmm? What's that cat?"
"Eh,
hehe..."
Seirou completely
thought Pia's unique skill was the power of Socius's magic tool. For now,
Socius decided to laugh it off.
The clamor still
echoed through the city. He could still hear words insisting they should go
outside here and there.
"...Somehow, it
feels like it was all pointless after all."
"Is that
so?"
"Look,"
Seirou pointed.
To a young man
shouting that if there were demons, they couldn't just stand around doing
nothing, a woman's voice overlapped. Surprisingly, her words were quite similar
to what Socius had just shouted. The ones outside weren't demons, and even if
they were, nothing would change for them. There were battles where you didn't
fight.
"...See?"
Seirou, still
pointing, grinned at him, and Socius felt a strange mixture of emotions. It
felt terribly odd to hear his own words coming from the mouth of a completely
different person. "Well, not everyone's gonna say 'yes sir' to that. But
at least some guys calmed down thanks to your voice. It's a lot more peaceful
than it was a while ago." Was that so?
--Conveying words is
super, super important, you know!
He had shouted that at
El a long time ago, one night.
It felt ticklish, like
being touched on the underside of his stomach. If even a little bit reached
someone, that was enough. "Even so, little El was a demon, huh..."
And at Seirou's words while touching his chin, Socius blinked, a beat, no, two
beats late.
"...No way,
there's no way, no way, no way."
"You were totally
saying that, weren't you? Look, 'childhood friend' and all."
"I said that, but
I didn't say that!"
Sweat poured down his
back and wouldn't stop. He thought back to his own words, had he really said
something that dangerous? He had certainly impulsively said that his childhood
friend had become a demon, but Seirou couldn't possibly know that El and Socius
were childhood friends in the first place. "Well, I'm a merchant, you
know. My intuition is top-notch." That was terrifying.
Even so, he couldn't
possibly affirm it. He shook his head desperately, again and again. If he
didn't stop, he probably would have kept shaking it forever. "...Well, if
you deny it that much, whatever." Seirou sighed, readjusting his straw
hat.
"So, if little El
is a demon... does that mean that brother Lotus is too? I've never met a demon
before, so I tried not to think about it, but if someone I know is one, I guess
my way of thinking changes a little."
Socius somehow
understood the meaning of those heartfelt words. "Yeah..." Before he
could nod, he shook his head again. "That's why, I'm saying it's not! No
one said that!" "Heh heh, got it." Seirou said, holding out both
hands. He looked up at the sky.
"Alright...
night's over, morning's here. Half a day left. Looks like a battle of wills,
huh?"
"My boys' stamina
still hasn't run out, but how about you, kid?" Seirou grinned at Socius.
"That's a piece
of cake!"
So, hurry back, he
muttered softly in his heart.
***
At that moment, Lotus
and I were in a spiral. It was a spiral that seemed to continue endlessly, a
swirling place where you could go in but couldn't return. Lotus was there. I
could feel the sensation of being held tightly. So I knew. Yet I didn't
understand. It felt like I was all alone, and then I didn't even understand
myself anymore.
"It's disgusting.
It makes me want to vomit."
I was taken aback.
Was my mouth talking?
It was a voice I had
heard somewhere before. It was definitely me, but someone else, someone not me,
was spitting out words irritably.
"I hate cats.
They remind me of that unreasonable god."
Eldorado was angry.
Her long golden hair fluttered, and her sharp, bright red eyes turned towards
me.
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