Monster no Goshujin-sama

16. Takahiro Mashima's Story

Sixteen.

Lily stood up quickly as I switched my mind and raised my face.

I'm coming out.

Lily hid her jump from her chest under her clothes. I also quickly rewind the bandage on my left hand to hide the Asalina.

To make sure she was ready, Lily unlocked the lock she had been wearing and peered across the gap in the door.

"Yes. Who is it?"

Careful handling is as an escort. Lily keeps visitors from seeing me.

I just don't know who even came from me when I did.

When I was ready to welcome and do it, I wondered if the man from earlier had come to call, and I made a prediction, his arrow tip.

"Oh, yeah?

I heard something barbaric.

Apparently, the visitor is a man, or a boy from the feel of his voice. Is it one of the students?... No. But this is.

"I heard that this is Takahiro's room, why is Mr. Mizushima here?

"Is that... oh, that? Are you sure...?

Something is wrong.

When I thought so, I was standing up.

It was a familiar voice.

I ran up to the door and opened wide open.

Surprised Lily looked back and a boy student who was outside the door turned this way.

He's a little shorter than me, but he's a student clothed boy with a disappointing physique for that matter. Blush's hair is wild. My eyes matched mine over the glasses I was wearing.

"You... Kanahiko, huh?

I knew him.

More to the point, we were classmates and friends.

"Ooh, Takahiro. Long time no see."

With a hella grin, the boy raises one hand. Apparently, it's not different.

"It looks like Takahiro was safe too, most importantly. I thought I'd never see someone I knew again. Ha. This world is too hard to clear, isn't it? Or are we the only ones with the wrong difficulty set? Life, hard mode, maybe."

It's a game.

And as I penetrated, I thought that everything was a 'seemingly' statement.

Because when I didn't know anything about cross-world reincarnation and transfer fantasies and cheats, it was this Kanahiko Shigeki who enthusiastically told me about such knowledge after coming to this different world.

He was the same residual group as me in the colony, and he didn't have cheat ability. I was just wondering if he would have died that day of the colony collapse...

"No, but it's been a long time, really."

"... oh. Really, it's been a while."

The tone that seems to be capable of weather belongs to Kanahiko, whom I know, and who above all eloquently taught me that this guy in front of me is not a ghost or a phony.

It gives me a real sense that he was alive.

Kanahiko flinched his mouth before it turned into some kind of emotion.

"Well, let it be, Takahiro. I'd like to ask you one question. Why is Mr. Mizushima here?

"... how could you"

"Wasn't this Takahiro's room? That's what I came here to hear."

Speaking of bumps, bumps, it doesn't matter. The look on Kanahiko's face was serious.

When he sighs deeply against us, he looks up to heaven with a great measure, and lets his disappointed shoulders fall.

"Hey, is that what this is about? Is that what this is about? If that's the case, I'm just a little shocked."

"Haha. Same as always, Taki-kun."

Lily, who apparently referred to what the boy in front of her from Miho Mizushima's memory was, said bitterly.

"That. Mr. Mizushima, do you know me? You've never talked to me, have you?

"Wouldn't it be hard to be without knowing if it was all that noise all the time?"

"Aita tata! Mizushima doesn't look good on her face, either. She's not that tough."

Kanahiko slaps herself in the head like a stomach. I leaked a bitter smile.

"You're no different, you..."

Really, it doesn't change.

For just a moment I almost forgot that this is a different world, in a forest in danger of being attacked by monsters, what an unusual place to be in a room set aside in a fort.

I'm glad to have been able to live and exchange words like this with a friend I never thought I'd see again.

It would have been even more if the other person would have shown the unchanged side.

"Yeah? I guess so. Takahiro has changed a bit."

"Right. I'm not sure myself."

"I don't know what to say, tough? Have you become manly? Something like that."

Kanahiko laughed at me touching her face with her hands.

"Mr. Mizushima has become more beautiful than before. We're both grown up...... so what makes this so much sense!

"... what are you talking about, you"

Most importantly, Kanahiko is right because it is true that Lily and I have such a relationship. Unless you mistake Lily for Miho Mizushima.

"Don't just say stupid things, well, let's go in"

He came around the corner. I wonder what stands talkin 'about. I invite Kanahiko into my room. Then Kanahiko waved in front of her body.

"Oh, no. I came here to get Takahiro and the others. Looks like you're ready for a welcome. I heard that Takahiro was there, and then I was there."

"Oh. You mean that"

"Follow me. I'll show you."

There is no reason to refuse. I honestly followed Kanahiko's guidance.

Exit the room and continue down the brick aisle. Kanahiko was half a step ahead, and me and Lily followed it.

At the hips of Kanahiko walking, two daggers of the same design as those of the Knights, two left and two right, the sheaths hitting each other, a chisel and a chisel ringing. Of all the arrivals of unchanged friends, only there was a difference from before.

"Neighbors shoulder to shoulder, walking close to each other. Lovers to each other, damn it. Close, isn't it? I just saw it. There was no sign of one of the beds being used."

"You're looking at the details, you..."

When I sighed in disdain, I regained my mind and threw my words at Kanahiko, who was walking on the other side, pinching Lily.

"Survivors who went through the woods before us were you, Kanahiko."

"Ah. You got it."

"Well, it's an erasure."

There was no Kanahiko among the students protected by the Silanese Knights, and this guy is not a member of the expedition. If so, the possibilities are narrowed.

Nevertheless, the possibility itself is hard to believe.

"You survived so well, you."

Unconsciously, the tone might have had a sound of admiration.

Surviving the chaos of the colony and walking through the monster's trekking woods is not a viable thing. Of course, I guess I was lucky, but even if I just said I kept walking in the woods without giving up, that gut is commendable.

I'm not even a guy just kidding. Now.

"Ma. I've been dying a few times. But Takahiro is the same."

…… Sort of. "

"Besides, it's not like I was alone until the end."

Fortunately, Kanahiko didn't seem to notice that my reply was somewhat unnaturally delayed.

"I fell out of the colony because of me, and I thought," No, seriously, I was picked up by the Knights of the Alliance. "

"We're similar, though. We're vice presidents."

"Oh. You're Mr. Silan. She said she wanted to talk to you later. Takahiro promised to explain everything when he got to the fort."

"Speaking of which, were you even talking about that?"

I think I should let my men do that, but apparently Silan doesn't betray his impressions and has a disciplined personality.

I heard she was discussing something right now.

"Yeah. We should be talking about a surviving student rescue operation by now."

He snorted and Kanahiko flinched his mouth.

"This time, Silan and the others turned because only some of the bases were there. Not many students can protect them, and prolonged activities in the tree sea can be dangerous. So what we're doing right now is talking about what we're going to do with the second team that follows Mr. Silan. Even so, I think it's up to the Imperial Knights to get out of this expedition."

"Hey, wait a minute, Kanahiko"

I stopped talking about Kanahiko speaking to My Pace. These things haven't changed either...... or they haven't fixed it.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not following the story. Can you explain it in order?"

"Oh well. Haven't Takahiro and the others listened at all yet, have they? Fine. It means scratch it, but that's okay."

Kanahiko, who had arrived at this fort one foot earlier than us, apparently fits the circumstances here as well.

This is a chance. Though it was a short time on the road, I listened to Kanahiko.

According to Kanahiko's story, it will now be about ten days before the First Expeditionary Corps reached another fortress in the east - Fort Ebenus.

Back and forth, reports of colony collapse are brought to the Expeditionary Corps.

Neither did Kanahiko know the details around here, but there are stories that Jun Takaya, a childhood familiarity of Miho Mizushima, turned east to the expedition for help. Someone headed east in the same way, or maybe that's why Jun Takaya rushed in with urgent news.

Next, and with little time difference, a contact was brought here to Fort Chile.

The two forts are quite a distance away, but they have a means of contacting remote areas for times like this. Sounds like a magical method, but I didn't know Kanahiko was familiar with it.

Soon after Fort Chile was thus brought in contact, dozens of members led by Silan from the Alliance's Third Knights were to leave the fort for rescue.

On the other hand, the expedition selected and dispatched a small number of members with an emphasis on speed, which arrived at Fort Chile two days ago. Until we got to the fort, Silan didn't know about the expedition's arrival, which is why around here.

"This is how it's been so far. But I have plans for the future, Mr. Silan, and the second team are supposed to leave, waiting for the Allied Knights to return, and the Explorers are going to participate in the rescue effort themselves. Its second line is the Imperial Knights. Well, this is my prediction."

Currently, this Chilean fort is manned by the Imperial Southern Army, the Imperial Second Knights, and a group called the Allied Third Knights.

Obviously there's a mix of military organizations with different affiliations, but they have several reasons for that.

"Did Takahiro not wonder that there were fortifications in these woods? A fortress is a way to prepare for an outside enemy. But there can't be a human settlement in the woods from here on out."

"It means…"

"Yeah. Fort Chile was built to protect the human world beyond these woods from the threat of monsters living in the sea of trees. In other words, the fort was built to confront the common enemies of mankind. But an alliance with the Empire is a relationship between the so-called Sovereign Nation and the Nation. To describe precisely the situation in this fort, I wonder if 'the alliance is sending soldiers to the imperial military installations in the territory of the alliance facing the sea of trees'"

"... that's a tough story"

Anyway, whatever the circumstances are there, I guess it's true that the greater the threat of monsters in this world, the more we have to give the state and face it.

Even with regard to the story that the Knights responded to the rescue request from the expedition, it is satisfactory to hear those circumstances. The point is, it's about profit.

I don't know to what extent the combat abilities of knights and soldiers in this other world are. But in retrospect of what happened to the knights confronted with Green Caterpillar, it will surely be the first thing that cheat capable men have quarantined combat abilities.

We are extremely irregular when we are caught up in transworld migration. We do not have any edge in this world, and therefore there is inherently no organization that can help us.

But the cheat talents who have the power to just gently kick the monsters here in the Tree Sea are very useful people in this world. This was not so strange, even if the inhabitants of different worlds, who knew its power, found value for use in them and sought convenience.

"So... duh. You're here."

and Kanahiko snapped.

We're still in the middle of a conversation, but apparently we've reached our destination.

We were brought to a room the size of a classroom. There are signs of people and blurring.

"Sorry, Kanahiko. Helpful."

There's still something I'd like to ask you, but that should be another time. It was a short time, but useful information was obtained.

We interrupted the conversation and stepped into the room.

Most of the students had already gathered in the room, including the expedition. I hear we've been a little too slow because of what we've been doing.

He said it was a welcome, but that's apparently a party in the form of a standing meal. Various dishes line the long table provided.

I feel like I've seen it and my diet doesn't seem very different from our world. There's bread, there's soup, and there's a line of fancy meat dishes. There was no land pattern, no fish food. Fewer fruits and leafy vegetables appear to be used instead of more root vegetables.

Seeing the first decent dish in a long time, the students looked like they couldn't wait. Besides, I'm no different around here. My throat rang and Lily next door giggled at me.

In addition to the students, there were several older men in the room. It wasn't a table for us, it was like we were having some sort of meeting in the back of the room.

Though it was the armor helmet that I didn't wear, the men had a unique awesomeness in standing and behaving. I'm sure it's the army or the Knights. Great. The colour is also bright in military uniform, wrapped in an old and still strong body.

One of them and I met by chance.

……

I feel pressure in the gaze I can be directed at. I accidentally looked back into the man's eyes.

I'm not being stared at. Or so, it's not worth it. Now, there was a strange fever in that gaze.

What is it, this?

Never belongs to bad faith. But I feel something heavier than mere goodwill.

The emotions that I had never been directed at in my previous life were in that gaze.

... uncomfortable. I cut my gaze from here.

I looked around again and noticed.

The other men were the same. When they see the students, including me, they have a strange fever in their gaze. This, yes. It's like a devout believer pointing even at religious paintings...

Above all, the strangest thing is that none of our students seemed to think such a gaze was being directed at them.

They were extremely natural, exchanging words with their fellow neighbors. It shouldn't be that I haven't noticed who I am as a person who is occasionally overwhelmed... Yet it doesn't look like they cared about it.

When I realized it, the sense of "deviation" that I had forgotten until earlier had caught my body from the tip of my leg again.

"Looks like you're here."

Did you see it as a coincidence because of what we did?

An elderly man, one of the otherworlds, called to face gathered in the room.

"My name is Jairus-Green and I am the head of this fort"

Apparently he's the greatest human being in this fort.

He put his hand on his chest and broke his hips deeply. I looked to my surprise.

There will also be a social status, a man who should be many times older than us, paid the highest tribute to a young man like us who is not even old enough.

The fact that it is apparently not just a social dictionary can also be distorted from the voice color. What was in the man's voice was faint tension, intoxication, and undisputed awe.

"Welcome to our Fort Chile." Descend from the other world, brave man. "It's an honor to meet you."

... what, that.

That was my honest feeling.

I have completely stopped thinking, and other than that, I can't think of a decent idea. As a result, the man lifted his head long before I watched him.

"It is customary for His Majesty the Emperor to welcome you immediately after inviting you to the Imperial Capital, but for how many minutes, this fortress is in such a deep forest. Please forgive me if I can only afford such crude hospitality."

"No, because they fulfilled our request. Thank you for helping us rescue our people. With your help, I'm sure you'll be able to meet everyone else safely."

A large male student of the expedition, the crossword flickered his mouth and responded to the man's words.

The attitude of the Ten Letters of Gratitude is grand and there is nothing to be afraid of. Even a smile on his stern face, accepting the respect of the man in front of him as a matter of course, was such that his large body appeared to be large around one person.

It was like a hero living in a story, a hero behaved in a legend… it seemed to behave as a 'brave man'.

It was a farce.

I can't help but wonder what anyone and he are mistaken for.

We are not heroes. Transworld metastasis is nothing but a boring teenage kid everywhere caught in an extraordinary event.

Didn't all the events since we came to this other world remind us of such a natural fact?

Did you forget that mess and ugliness, which was on the day the colony collapsed?

If you remember that helplessness, that misery, you can't dream of a brave man.

It's supposed to be.

I was apparently the only one thinking that.

The students who came this far protected by the Knights stared at the farce in front of them without looking particularly questionable.

The gaze even dwelt on admiration, and the expression had a colour of praise.

I don't know why.

As opposed to the inhabitants of the other world, my brain miso was shaken with discomfort as if only one of the aliens had been dispersed.

The only person besides me who seems to be uncomfortable with this situation is Lily next door.

"Nonsense"

- So, it wasn't.

"... Kanahiko?

That was a really tiny twinkle, so I wouldn't have heard anything other than me being nearby.

But I did hear it. Above all, a cold gaze at the room from under my glasses spoke eloquently of my friend's mood.

Kanahiko's eyes reflected my confusion.

"Good, Takahiro is decent."

Said Kanahiko, her lips still flattered.

"That's when the meeting started, and shall we talk a little bit? Follow me."

Until now, I have made a mistake, but in this other world, a metastasizer is a well-known being.

"We've moved nearly a thousand people alone. It's not that strange, is it?

This is Kanahiko's dialogue, but if you ask me, it was the best story.

However, there are some exceptions to our case, and it seems that so many metastasizers will appear at the same time as never before.

It is on average every hundred years that metastatists visit this world.

They say the number of people showing up at a time is usually enough to count with one, many and one hand.

Nevertheless, the fact that a drifter is coming that brings the world together is no different from our case.

That those who have thus transferred have the power that is unplanned.

I was wondering if the other worlds, knowing the cheat abilities of the expedition to the east, would have found value in their use.

The truth is that from the outset, the otherworlds were aware of the usefulness of the metastasizers.

... No. Is it not an exact expression in this case to say 'usefulness'?

It is not reused because it is useful. What the inhabitants of different worlds hold towards us transferees is awe that even passes through respect. Because that's why the statement "descend from the other world and be brave" and that attitude that I feared.

Think again, this wasn't so strange.

The inhabitants of this world are constantly exposed to the threat of monsters.

Human beings emerge who retain such out-of-consciousness power in the world. They use their mighty power to try to kick the threat into a single touch of armor sleeve. If you ask, they are visitors from different worlds.

I see. They'll treat you like a Savior, too. It's weirder not to.

If you ask me, the first brave descent in the inheritance was on the verge of this world's human society being devoured by monsters.

If left alone, the threat of monsters increases year after year. The power of monsters has been shredded by the descent of 'brave men' in the last millennia, roughly every hundred years, and humans have held their breath in this world.

If we were to change the way we say it, it would mean that in this world the existence of the 'brave' is incorporated as a system of sustaining society.

Naturally, as a society, we also have a system in place to accept it. For example, Kanahiko said that it would be easy to understand that words could make sense.

"Didn't Takahiro think it was strange? There were thousands of languages in our world. Even in this world, it exists about its own language system. You can't possibly speak with us."

"Speaking of which..."

I was remembering the letters I had retrieved from the bodies of the soldiers who became gools.

There was a language in it that seemed to belong to another world.

I had never been particularly concerned about the sight of the protected students talking to the knights as a matter of course first. But it is a strange story that words do make sense.

"The language of this world is different from ours. But even if it's a far-fetched story to teach a brave man words from Ichi. Because we don't know where the transferees are coming from on Earth, it's also difficult for the humans of this world to remember the Word of Earth in preparation for the centennial visit of the Brave One. I think Takahiro knows better around here."

I frowned at Kanahiko, who joked and giggled only at the end.

"... I'm sorry, I'm not good at listening"

"Ha. Don't worry, Takahiro. 'Cause in this world, you're magically clearing the area."

They have that kind of magic technique. It's a translator if it's easy to understand.

There are minerals in this world that are prone to accumulate magic, and they have developed the technology to carve magic formations directly into them to create 'demonic stones'. For example, the lighting attached to the room I was guided to, or the junction stone of the mountain hut, would be similar.

"... but a demon stone. I don't know, it's a lot better."

"Hmm. There's nothing I can do about that, either."

According to what Kanahiko tells us, this translator 'picks the most like word out of our perception'. So even if you're listening to the same story, they say sometimes the words that some people hear are different.

If something called magic or magic exists, it can be said that it is a natural attempt as a human society to somehow try to fall into the 'tools available to 10,000 people' rather than the 'personal technique of a wizard'. And what the name of the tool so established sounds like 'Demon Stone' is that it's already convenient on this side.

If so, the word "brave man" that comes out of the earlier conversation should also be considered the most obvious word for us. It feels betta because it is such a widely shared concept.

But a translator is something that is convenient.

I'm just not talking about 'don't you say' around here. My cheat abilities are called "Passing Monsters and Wills through the Magic Connection of Paths".

This translator would be its typology. However, they seem to have difficulty handling things that are convenient and cannot be used unless they are professionally trained.

"There are so many like Mr. Silan in this Chilean fort, I don't think you'll have to struggle with words while you're here."

That's what Kanahiko said, but that means, 'If you walk away from here for any reason, you'll be the wings who struggle with the wall of words'.

Depending on future developments, measures may need to be taken.

Either way, the transferees are thus thickly treated as brave men in this world.

We are heroes to the rest of the world.

But whether or not this one cares about it is another story.

We are nothing but children left and right in this other world. To put it, 'wrecked' across the world, mistaken can't be 'brave' or something.

If you knew the day the colony collapsed, you couldn't have dreamed of a brave man.

That was my opinion... but it is.

Assuming you don't know that day, what do you think?

The collapse of the colony and the catastrophe that accompanied it dramatically changed my values. If you haven't experienced that change, isn't the story going to be completely different?

There was a cause of what I was feeling here.

"Look, Takahiro. All three of them were part of the First Expedition. Those guys know the facts about the colony collapse. But I just know that. I didn't actually see it, I didn't feel the air in that place on my skin."

The Hundred News is not at first sight, and there is no need to draw the word.

They really don't know what happened in the colony. That's why the Crucifix of the Expedition just now said something sweet: 'With the human help of this fort, I'm sure I'll be able to meet everyone else safely'.

Based on these assumptions, Kanahiko told me to think about the journey the expedition had followed.

"Waking up to a powerful and incomparable force with what we have done to different worlds, kicking the monsters that are attacking us to protect our helpless alumni, and having to face it, is a great adventure across the forest. When they reach the world where people live, they will see that they are brave and heroic, pushing the monsters who are only miscellaneous fish against each other and pushing the land of their predecessors with their raised health."

There was an irony in Kanahiko's words that could not be hidden, but what he was saying was not wrong.

No pain, no fear, no despair, no frustration.

There is no shortage of misery that I have experienced since I came to this other world.

Of course, they would have had anxiety, too. But that's the extent to which we've all been inspired to get over it, and there's nothing compared to mindless and miserable about just wandering through the woods by ourselves. Such is the spice for coloring the hero Tan. The rest is just gorgeous activity that makes them shine......

"Even the same otherworld-transfer fantasy has a different genre of stories."

Very much like him, Kanahiko expressed it.

And if you mean the genre division, it was Kanahiko's point that the students who came to this fort with me were the characters on the side of the expedition, not us.

"Even when it came to colonies in a bite, it was pretty spacious. Although temporarily, it was a settlement where a thousand people lived. It wasn't even a hell of a picture anywhere. Takahiro and I came here earlier to evacuate to the mountain hut before we were all harmed."

I've heard similar stories.

I'm talking about Kato.

After escaping the collapsing colony, she is told that she was taken to the mountain hut, protected by Takaya Pure, a childhood tame of Miho Mizushima.

Unlike Mr. Kato, some were like me dying without protection, while others were lucky enough to be protected without even seeing that hell.

"So..."

I was remembering how the protected students were on the road that I had come to this fort.

Soothing air. Warm words hung. Encouraging students. Students as summarizers. Bad bully. I remember being under the impression that I had brought the sight of a classroom everywhere in modern Japan to the woods as it was.

... that's unnatural in the first place. There was a good reason why they weren't perverted when they were thrown into this world.

They've always been protected. Long after the transfer, after the colony collapse, until we moved through the woods to reach the fort.

In retrospect, it must have been natural for the students to panic when Green Caterpillar attacked them just outside the fort. For the first time then, they faced an imminent crisis.

And once again, they were saved. by the hands of the expedition.

If you try them, the Expedition is the one who has always protected us. There is no room for doubt when we look at the reactions of people from different worlds. I just think our hero has been recognized.

No. That wasn't all.

"The transferees, without exception, have the mighty power that we call cheats. In this world, I call it 'grace'. That's no exception to the fact that we residual students are also transferees."

I knew I was already aware of my powers, but the students in the residual group knew that I had hidden powers.

For them, the heroes of the expedition can be considered the first to catch up.

All the same to ourselves. It was never unnatural to think that strongly because you admire it.

"Damn, I'm kidding! What a brave man!

Kanahiko clenched her fist to see if her emotions had boiled down as we talked.

The anger has a strong shade of profanity.

You know the tragedy in the colony, and you realize the weight of life lost there on your skin, so you don't like the students who are entertained and happy with the potent weather without knowing anything.

I know how you feel. So painful.

But on the other hand, I was not willing to put it on the table like Kanahiko.

- Good, Takahiro is' decent ', isn't he?

These were words Kanahiko had just spoken when he saw me questioning the 'unusual atmosphere' of this occasion.

But fulfill which is' decent '? What was' unusual 'and who is it? When I started thinking about it, I couldn't move.

"Ah."

That's when the whole story ended. Kanahiko raised her voice.

Exactly in a room called Feast. Two people were just walking into the party with three of the Explorers in the lead.

They were both women, but wearing military uniforms shows that they are not serving.

"Captain!"

When Kanahiko raised her voice, two women came to notice this one.

Kanahiko rushes over to the tall, disappointed physique woman who cut her silver hair short walking in front. That seems to be the leader of the Third Knights of the Alliance. The figure of a small Kanahiko rushing toward a tall woman gave the impression of a dog rushing toward the owner somewhere.

They miss it a lot. Though it may not be surprising if you think it's like Lily to me.

I watched as I thought, etc., a blonde blue-eyed girl appeared from behind a woman in my eyes... and pounded.

"Elves?"

A pointed large ear at the tip peeps through a slightly habitual gap in his long hair. Its characteristics were very similar to those of the elves familiar with games and comics.

Boulders are different worlds. It's not the usual kind of human being - they also exist 'people' who are not homo sapiens. Will there then also exist races such as Dwarves and Hobbits...

A giggling, elf girl who looks about my age says.

"You all react the same when you see me."

That smile can't help but attract attention. If you look closely, the girl looked very neat. Modest pity like a round of wildflowers, if you can, goes hand in hand with military-like honesty in a girl.

It's just that I was more distracted by something else than her charming expression.

"... a moment, Mr. Silan?

"Yes, this was your first time showing your face to Lord Takahiro."

While I was in the woods, I hadn't noticed because I had covered my whole body with white armor and worn a helmet the whole time. But the voice of the girl snorting like that must have belonged to her who exchanged words until she did come to this fort.

"Forgive my disrespect for not even showing my face before."

Keep your head firmly in alignment with your heels. Such behavior was the same as before.

I felt subtle and looked down at the golden tweezer.

"Give me your head. It's not like I'm sorry for that. Besides, I'm not such a big deal."

"What are you saying? Takahiro is revealed as one of the brave men of the other world. Wouldn't they have trampled that tree sea?"

It used to be an obedient story that didn't bother me so much, but I know what such an attitude comes from. So when I was awed, I felt very uncomfortable.

But no matter what I said, my trust in Silan's brave men was not going to shake.

The look previously hidden in her helmet eloquently tells the story of the trust and expectations she has.

This is no longer close to faith.

After thinking, I realized.

In fact, this is faith.

If you say some kind of god of the living, it might be easy to understand.

In this other world, where magic exists and brave men regularly descend, legends are breathing as real things, dwelling in the hearts of those who live in this land as an absolute faith in brave men coming from different worlds.

I don't know if all the humans in this world are. But at least, they believe in the simplicity in front of them. That we will fight for our lives and be patient, and that eventually the brave will show up and fight with us.

And thus descended we here.

They have no doubt that we are brave men, and if they see the trouble, they do not hesitate to reach out to the rescue and treat us respectfully and not even downstairs.

I guess they won't even think that I'm hiding my suspicions under these clothes along with armor.

It's stupid without knowing anything.

... Oh, my God, I couldn't possibly think of it that way.

Believing in neighbors.

Not to doubt the malice of others.

That's how I used to live.

Come to this world. They own the wonderful things that I have lost, as a matter of course.

And I'm sure that's the same with all the other transferees on this scene, including the expedition.

From now on, the expedition will act as a brave man in this world. With their mighty power, it's easier than pest control, such as banishing monsters, a threat to this world. Paradoxically, but powerful enough not to require courage or anything else, has assured us that they will act as brave men.

Even the residual groups protected by them must eventually wake up to their power and live as heroes.

There is no such thing as a tragedy in their story of the difference between me and the genre. They live as brave men, holding great things without even being aware that they are.

This can't be another bad thing. Because they are trying to use their powers correctly.

Surely I know what they do not know.

I learned of human filth in a collapsing colony. I learned despair. I had a miserable experience crawling through the ground all over the pain.

But it would be a little different to say 'I don't know' about people who simply believe in others.

I have not become suspicious of others. I just can't believe it anymore.

I didn't get anything out of experience, I just lost something important as a human being.

They can trust their neighbors, and I doubt myself. I don't even have to dare ask which one is right.

"Takahiro?

I was called in unexpectedly, and I returned.

Silan was staring at me with carefree eyes.

"Ah, oh. What is it?

"I'm sorry about what I promised you earlier to explain. Could you give me a moment?"

I snorted.

"I don't mind that. Speaking of which, I think I'm late for a party, but does that have anything to do with it, too?

"No. That's another case. Hi. I was wondering about the Green Caterpillar raid at noon. I've been watching the woods from above the walls a little bit."

... I was worried I wouldn't have found it around Gabella because I know her accidental addition and subtraction.

Even though the specs are out of step, I didn't worry about Rose doing the same thing, and it seems important to do it normally.

I couldn't bear to come nearby and be discovered and make a fuss...... I'm not kidding when it happens. There are three cheat talented people here. I think it's something I want you to keep to yourself.

You interpreted my subtle expression as anxiety about the fort's defense, Syran said with a smile on his neat face.

"Rest assured. I'm ashamed, because it was my overcoming struggle."

"Was I? I wish it was. Really."

"From now on I must greet and turn to those who have accompanied me to this place. I'd like to talk to you later, if you don't mind."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I think it's time for me to spare you. So why don't you take some time later?"

"Is that it? Takahiro, are you going back to your room?

I nodded to Kanahiko, who had asked.

"I'm just arriving and a little tired. Sorry, Kanahiko. I haven't been able to grasp the geography yet. Can you show me to my room?"

"Fine. What about Mr. Mizushima?

"I'll be back, too. You can't just leave Mashima alone."

"Understood, understood. By being hot. Bye, Captain. I'll come back later."

After greeting the captain and Shiran, we left the place behind.

Until I got to my room, I exchanged stories with Kanahiko that showed me no other love. I generally got the information I wanted, so I don't have any more questions.

However, Kanahiko seemed different.

"Takahiro, come on."

He reached in front of the room and Kanahiko cut out where he wanted to break up.

"You don't really want to remember, and if you don't want to, you don't have to answer. You know, the day our colony ended, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"You worked in the same compartment as Masaki and the Director General."

What Kanahiko said was the name of our mutual friend.

"Don't you know what happened to those guys?

"He's dead."

I predicted they would ask.

So I think I was answered with a relatively calm voice.

"He died that day. Right in front of me."

I didn't mean to go into more detail than that.

- One of them was miserably hurt to death.

- The other was wrapped in flames and ashed.

It wouldn't be anything to tell him that.

Then you'd better shut up. That's what I thought.

"Oh well."

I meant to tell him as succinctly as possible, but he might have been taken for granted. Kanahiko didn't ask about them any more. Instead, I said:

"I'm glad you're alive. Of course, Mr. Mizushima."

"Oh. It's good to see you again, too."

Kanahiko left with a smile.

I spilled one of my sighs as I dropped off that back.

It's good to see you again. The words I uttered were true. But in the end, I kept a secret from Kanahiko until the end.

Lost things will never come back.

People's lives, relationships without backgrounds, or even their former selves.

"Your husband."

Lily, who held me in her arms, whispered in her ear. The voice is trembling with anxiety somewhere. He's worried about me.

I also turned my hand around her waist from here and hugged her back.

"Thanks, but I'm fine"

"... Really?

"True. I'm not talking about being strong."

I don't envy you...... will you lie to a boulder? In fact, I felt 'deviated' from and shocked by students and knights who showed unconditional trust that I could not.

Now I can't live that way. I can't get inside that ring. Whatever you need to do that will never come back into this hand again.

But I don't care about that.

"I'll have you."

You should protect the warmth in this arm rather than mourn what you have lost.

If it was for that, I'd hide it, and I'd be cautious about all of it. That's Takahiro Mashima right now. I am not ashamed of that.

I'm not going to admit or make a fool of them for living as heroes, but that's why I'm not going to despise myself without darkness.

Because I have my own story with the lilies, just as they have a tale of bravery.

Or that I felt strongly about it by comparing myself to them was probably the best harvest of the day.

"Time to go back to your room"

I let my body go of Lily.

"Let's have a meeting. I was generally able to understand the current situation. I have a lot to ask you tomorrow. I don't know if there are any other monster users besides me, but when it comes to sourcing food, we need to do something about the language."

"I'm not good at it. Hey, language"

"Say it till you... you expect it from a demon stone"

Take Lily and I into the room.

And shut the door.