Monster no Goshujin-sama

19 - Yona Iino Perspective

Three days after I broke up with Mashima and the others.

Again I, Count Lawrence, was treading on the soil of Serratta.

To meet Mr. Lewis, who gave me false information that Takahiro Mashima was one of the monster users who raided Fort Chile.

I want to ask you why you lied - rather than to see him and talk to him was the real deal.

Even now, I couldn't help but think that Mr. Lewis, who was shaking his fist in righteousness, was lying.

If my eyes were a pit and he was like a con man... well, I don't think I can forgive him, but it's still better.

If that was the result of a mistake and a mistake, or if he was fooled too, then that's the tragedy.

Whatever it is, it won't start unless we meet and talk.

If he is who I feel he is, he will understand.

I thought so, I was the one who bravely knocked on the gate of Fort Serratta, but in conclusion, this was to end empty-handed.

For the first time in about two weeks, Serratta didn't have Mr. Lewis.

I was with him, and I couldn't even meet Mr. Travis, the Cathedral Knight.

According to Count Lawrence, who responded instead, we were both talking about leaving Serratta, together with the leadership that we had already brought from the Macrolin Border Uncle.

In the first place, Mr. Lewis was in Serratta, on the territory of the Earl of Lawrence, in the name of the Macrolin Border Uncle, 'to provide protection for the soldiers who had fallen from Fort Chile'.

Apparently, he had been in touch everywhere to make that aim.

It was the Second Knights of the Empire who visited Serratta as such with the students of the colony remnants whom I rescued from the depths of the Tree Sea.

The Second Knights of the Empire is an organization that was originally stationed at Fort Chile.

Ms. Lewis immediately examined them for succession with regard to the protection of the soldiers at Fort Chile.

The Imperial Second Knights accept this.

Mr. Lewis and Mr. Travis, who finished what needs to be done in Serratta, left Serratta.

This is about a week ago.

The Earl of Lawrence did not know where Mr. Lewis was headed, but if Mr. Lewis had returned to his master, his destination would be the mining city of Nurujas, the central city of the Macrolin Frontier Uncle Territory.

For the record, the Imperial Second Knights, who took over 20 colony remnants and the survivors of Fort Chile, also left Serratta for the Imperial Capital.

I was disappointed in you for stepping on your feet, but here was one, unexpected luck.

I was able to hear from Count Lawrence that everyone on the expedition had been staying in Serratta for two days.

Everyone who left Fort Ebenus, via Viscum, one of the three eastern realms north of it, entered the territory of the Earl of Lawrence on the west side and further north, on their way to the Imperial Capital, which meant that they passed here through Serratta.

Soon I asked the Earl of Lawrence to guide me to the leader.

For the first time in a long time, the face-to-face leader summoned me to the main members of the expedition after having labored me.

"Given the importance of things, you should share information, right?

That was it.

I waited with my leader in the conference room at the corner of Fort Serratta until all the members who had been summoned were ready.

"Oh, it's been a long time. Senior Yona!

It was a slightly small girl who came into the room noisily.

I greeted her back, remembering the nostalgia in the smile of energy itself.

"Long time no see, Aoi. How have you been?

"Mochi. Seniors look fine, too. Since we met in Ebenus, so it's been half a month?

Cute with creepy eyes and a shorter ponytail, she calls her name your hand washing sunflower.

She was always a bright and energetic girl, but this was still the executive of an expedition with two names: 'Rigorous White Snow'.

Ishida-kun, it's been a long time.

"... Usu"

A large male student who was at Aoi's back responded briefly.

"You look well, more importantly."

His name is Tetsuo Ishida.

He has a rustic face, a high back length, and a large body.

Maybe a hundred and ninety centimeters.

I feel like I'm even taller than I've seen before, and I think growing boys are amazing.

He was a gentle, powerful, picturesque executive of an expedition with two names, just like Aoi.

The two names given are 'Perseverance'.

These two, Aoi from Gangarm White Snow and Ishida from Perseverance, are a first-year cheat-held combination.

It means we've been dating since elementary school, which means we've been close since we were in the original world.

I don't seem to be dating a man or a woman, but, well, it was definitely an intimate relationship.

The two of them now lined up and took their vacant seats.

"It was late, wasn't it, Mr. Handwash, Ishida?

Aoi seemed to have tried to talk to me about something, but before that, she raised a chilling voice.

The Lord of Voices was Akiko Kuriyama, who is an assistant leader in the expedition.

From under the non-framed glasses, a chilling glance is directed at the two freshmen.

"... excuse me"

"Mm. Even if they say so. Don't you have a choice? We were off today."

The two childhood tamers showed contrasting reactions.

"I was awake when I was asleep. There's a lot of support, and I'm still in a hurry."

"Were you sleeping sloppy until after noon just because it was a holiday?

"Uh, I don't want to hear your sermon!

"... Aoi"

Ishida-kun embarrasses Aoi, who holds both ears with her hands.

Neither do you, but Mr. Kuriyama seems to be doing just fine.

Half relieved to see them healthy, half unwilling to be pointed at the spear, watching their interaction raised a voice pinching their mouth there.

"It's all about getting together, and shouldn't it be time to start?

It was a little skinny boy with glasses who said that with a smiling smile on his face.

"Because we're all busy. - Hey, Iino. You think so too, don't you?

I'm going to say it in a calm manner, and I'm going to turn the water over here.

"... right"

The voice I returned mixed slight signs of bitter laughter.

Same here...... and I look back at him in my glasses.

This boy's name is Kazuo Okazaki.

In the same sophomore year as me, he has two names: 'The All-powerful Vessel'.

Among the executives who are here now, Aoi was the one who often spoke to me.

... or, in his case, he often speaks to girls.

I don't hear about being particularly hands-on among girls, and I think he's a kind person, but I was a little bad at him.

Watanabe reminds me that I clearly hated you.

I'm sure there was a working sense of parental awareness of the girls teaming up. Okazaki-kun shrugged his shoulder when he managed to bite "Don't speak to Iino safely" or something.

That attitude must have crippled Watanabe's seizure again, but "You didn't know that, did you" is Okazaki-kun's stance, so there was no forever a ditch between them to fill.

After getting rid of Okazaki-kun, Watanabe was always a fool to Shigami.

"I know how you feel, but calm down," he said, showing a bit of a pioneering appearance, and for some reason, looking at me in the blink of an eye, Shigami was returning it...

... Let's not.

My chest hurts.

"Nakatsuki-san, say something."

Okazaki-kun then spoke to the leader as well.

"Huh? Is that me?

The leader circled his eyes.

He didn't think I'd be told the story.

Tilting her neck gently, she gave it back gently.

"I don't care if they say so. It's okay, it's okay."

It was like a leader.

"You can fight and say whatever you want. I'm one of them. Hey, Moiko."

"No? I want the captain to encourage everyone in the squad to remain disciplined a little more?

"... wrong person to ask. Hey, that's good. Tsuda, Shimazu?

The leader turned his face to the last two here.

"Don't swing at me here, leader."

"... come on. You don't have to like it."

It was Yasuke Hada who returned it in a dear and dull manner.

By contrast, it was Shimazu Kaiseki who returned it to Cool.

They are both the same third graders as their leaders, a little long-haired Mr. Toda is known by two names: "Multiple Presence" and the quiet beauty Shimazu is known by "Fairy Ring".

In addition to the seven people here, the four remaining in the colony: Boomy the Dark Beast, Koji Hibiya of Absolute Disconnection, Teakwood Garden Rukie of Disease Rage, who left the expedition while I was away, and Shijiya Shimiya of Dragon Man, will be the executives of the expedition who once protected the colony.

The number has decreased considerably, but some things remain the same.

"Guys, it's cold..."

Look at the blurry leader, everyone laughs.

The expedition had a lot of scenes where leaders played clowns like this, even when they were in the colony, because there was more to the stopover than an organization with tough relationships up and down.

Remembering the nostalgia, as I watched the interaction, the leader turned his gaze.

"Well. If you're chatting too much, don't let Moeko piss you off. Iino. Is it time for you to talk to me?

"Yes."

Thanks to the words and actions of a leader who had fallen out somewhere, the air in the room had become calm.

Confirming that everyone listened in a good atmosphere, I began to tell what I had learned while I was away from the expedition.

- Kudo Lu, the culprit of the Fort Chile raid, is lurking.

- Takahiro Mashima, who was another suspect, seems irrelevant to the raid on Fort Chile from the testimony of the person in charge and the person accompanying him.

However, rendezvous and cooperation with the expedition were refused.

- Takaya became a madman and went nowhere.

If so, the matters of concern to be dealt with as a matter of priority are narrowed down to one.

"... 'Heavenly Voice'?"

When the leader snapped with a seemingly difficult voice, Mr. Kuda glanced at him.

"In fact, is there such a thing?

"Neither do I, but I have multiple testimonies. The information would be highly credible"

"But hey, I can't believe we have such a guy..."

"You may not already be in there, are you?

Kuriyama points out the possibility to Fujita, who looks hard to believe.

"In Ebenus, there must have been someone who walked away from us, right? Isn't it possible that you were among them?

"Oh. That's possible."

Okazaki-kun pinched his mouth for a conversation between third graders.

"In other words, it will likely be"

"Yeah? What makes you think that?

"It's easy, Nakatsuki-san. We have a strong fighting power, but it's also outside the expedition. If you're on an expedition with more than the same powers, if you find them, that's it. You can't run away.... Oh, except the faster the 'Wewaten', the faster my legs are."

Okazaki-kun continues to explain after giving me his gaze.

"It was visible from the beginning that, sooner or later, the information of The Voice of Heaven would be passed on to the expedition in this way. It's like saying you're the 'voice of heaven' if you run away after the information comes to you. If so, there will be no reason to dare stay in a dangerous place." The Voice of Heaven "likely escaped the expedition before the information was conveyed"

"I see. That makes sense."

"Then maybe all the humans who went away at that time were 'heavenly voices' and guru. It is also possible that the Voice of Heaven has created a situation where leaving the expedition will not be unnatural."

"... Hey Okazaki"

Mr. Kuda pinched his mouth for a conversation between the leader and Okazaki-kun.

Say it in a bitter tone.

"What's the way you put it? He's one of us, though he's gone away."

"Yeah. Even me, I don't want to doubt it. But that's possible, isn't it? I think we should be prepared for all possibilities."

Seeing Okazaki-kun speaking in a taunting manner, Mr. Kuda looked bitter and silenced himself.

I felt like I knew what Mr. Tsuda was feeling.

Indeed, if we talk about possibilities, there is no proof that none of them are.

We should be prepared for all possibilities, because we cannot deny it.

Nevertheless, it is inconceivable, and I do not want to think, that as many as one hundred and forty of the people who joined the First Expeditionary Corps ascended to half of those who went away were traitors.

Even though they left the expedition, they were once friends who kept their backs together.

Something tells me we're close.

Naturally, if you say them badly in a dozen ways, everyone gets angry.

I didn't show how I was offended by Kuriyama, who seems to have the same opinion, and about a leader who didn't put it on his face from the standpoint.

In the first place, we just can't say that none of the possibilities are there, and it's hard to believe that that's just how many people were betraying us.

If you're reaching out to the majority of humans who participated in the First Expeditionary Corps, it shouldn't be strange to see 'Heavenly Voice' information leaking somewhere.

"Thank you, Okazaki. Keep in mind that those possibilities are possible."

Whether he thought the same thing as me or had another reason, Okazaki-kun withdrew with a small exhale when the leader took the story away in a calm fashion.

Instead, Mr. Kuriyama opened his mouth.

"But captain. What shall I do? One problem after another, right?

"Oh, right. We need to think carefully about how to respond…"

I leaned my neck toward the leader who lay his hand on my chin and became a figurative face.

"One after another? What does that mean?

Ask the leader who turned this way.

"Hey, what else happened besides what I brought in?

"Oh. Actually, we're in Serratta because it happened. The factual relationship is still unclear, but some information has been gathered, and should we take this opportunity to talk about it?"

Speaking of which, I remembered.

I heard the expedition arrived in Serratta two days ago.

He never left Serratta right away because there was something wrong and he was collecting that information.

It was not only to listen to me that everyone was thus gathered together.

"There's Iino who doesn't know what's going on, so let's start from the beginning."

The leader so foreshadowed, then opened his mouth.

"Apparently, our fake is out there."

"What?"

I have raised a strange voice.

"Are you from the expedition?

"I mean, you're a metastatic. Should I say 'false brave man'... two and a half months after we arrived in Ebenus. It's time for a new metastasizer to show up among the people of this world. I mean, we've had unprecedented numbers."

"You are also known to have been in the Tree Sea for a long time without being summoned to the Imperial Capital."

Kuriyama will supplement the leader's description.

"At the end of the day, the nobles who visit to greet Fort Ebenus all the way down the road were the hiccups"

"Oh. From Viscum, close to Fort Ebenus, the royalty was coming, too. I had a hard time responding."

'Cause that's the captain's job.'

"… well, that's the situation, so our trends are noticeable"

And the leader, who was put to rest, turned to me.

"Naturally, it is also known that some of them have been leaving Fort Ebenus in pieces for two months now"

"There's their fake out there, you mean?

"Situationally, I guess so. This is what we found out after two days of gathering information, but thanks to the fact that the false brave men came out of the area where some noble territories were consolidated, east of the Macrolin Frontier Uncle and Count Lawrence."

"Er...?

"I hear quite a few of them made it out of the expedition."

... I see.

You mean there are fake braves out there in the area where the members who have left the expedition headed mainly?

It's an unpleasant story, but if it's known that there are brave men around it, it was also a story that shows up the fake of brave men.

"There are a lot of nobles around there with smaller territories, but they've been in contact with us pretty early. You got a lot of edge on Fort Ebenus because of the proximity of the land, and you passed on the information quickly. The early man came to greet us a week after we arrived at Fort Ebenus. Even the main aristocrats alone, Count Huxley, Viscount Van, Viscount Dixon, Count Coppard, Viscount Hubbard… there is a man who says he has been voiced by those aristocrats"

"Ah. Me too."

"Me too. Shimazu, too, right?

"... well"

Some of the executives on this scene also speak up.

"Senior Yona, were you already on your way to Fort Chile by then?

"Right."

I nodded at Aoi's words.

"It was so enthusiastic. Senior Yuna is beautiful, and if she had been there, she might have been proposed by a handsome young nobleman."

"I guess that just doesn't..."

Okazaki-kun said to me, "That's not true."

"I, too, had the opportunity to talk to a saga nobleman who said, 'I want my daughter's son-in-law'. Of course, I refused to marry someone I'd never met before."

"Oh, that's...?

"I guess the existence of a brave man means something really special in this world"

A leader said to me in a harsh tone when I lost my words.

"Besides, it seems that many nobles in the southern part of the empire suffer from monster damage. Unlike the North, where pioneering has been going on since time immemorial, there are also lots of dotted 'coma woods' and a lot of monsters to twist around there. Not every nobleman has a vast territory and strong powers, like the Macrolin Border Uncle or Count Lawrence."

Worried, the leader sighed.

"Normally, brave men head to the Empire soon, don't they? From there on, it's often with the Cathedral Knights who provide support, and in the imperial southern nobility, far from the imperial capital, it's hard to have contact. In such circumstances, we stayed at Fort Ebenus, far from the Empire. What's wrong?" The Coma Forest "can't be pioneered without the power of a brave man, so I can't say I'm desperate to be left behind if I don't want to be left behind beyond what's actually being done there."

"So you all left the expedition because you were counted on."

Convinced, I exhaled.

"Of course, at the time I went through the tree sea, some guys fell out when I let them do the rest on their own. Not really. I'm talking about a lot of them. Rumors of pseudo-brave men are circulating in the area around where they headed. Serratta said it was too far from the ground, and I didn't know anything more."

"I understand the situation. Thanks for explaining."

As I thanked him, the leader waved, never mind.

"We need to share the information. Now, as an expedition, how does it work..."

The leader put his hand on his chin and looked thoughtful.

"The first thing to deal with would still be 'Heavenly Voice'. Unfortunately, I can't think of an effective arrangement. Anyone have any opinions?

Ask everyone on this occasion.

Whether it was a raid on Fort Chile or a rampage in Takaya, it's a nasty opponent who was moving behind.

It can't be that easy to strike measures.

Normally, I would have.

But here I am, an executive member of the expedition, made up of cheat capable men who would otherwise only have one or two people in the world.

"Leader"

It was Okazaki-kun who raised his hand.

"" Heavenly Voice, "but I think we can do something about it."

His remarks echoed a small, breathtaking sound indoors.

"Really?"

"Yeah. At least you can smoke out if you're still in the expedition."

Okazaki-kun answers the confirmation leader.

It was a confident voice.

"Mr. Iino's story was that" Heaven's Voice "is a person who is capable of handling the magic of a conversable psychosensitivity with his opponents in remote areas. The ability to convey thoughts beyond ultra-long distances is indeed phenomenal. But whatever it is, the ability to do so requires a 'connection' with the subject."

"Connection?"

"You can't throw a ball and hit someone you don't know where they are, can you? It's the same thing. If you don't know where the target is, you can't deliver your thoughts."

Okazaki-kun answers the leader's questionable voice, even as he exchanges stories.

"Now 'The Voice of Heaven' sends thoughts, even to Fort Chilea, which you would not have even been to. That was possible because we had made a connection with the subject in advance. In other words, it is the person who holds those special connections who is the suspect in the Voice of Heaven."

"Wait. How could that happen to you... No. Right, you know what?"

The leader narrowed his eyes when he noticed something.

"Okazaki. Can you do the same as The Voice of Heaven?

"Yes, you can."

As a matter of course, Okazaki-kun answers.

The human being who asks what it means about it was not on this occasion.

"So you also know what that is. Oh. Of course, I'm not the voice of heaven."

"Don't worry. Neither do I. I don't think you're the one to do that."

I also agreed with you on this.

If Okazaki-kun is "Heavenly Voice," there is a common sense decision that he will remain silent on this occasion... and I don't think it would be possible in "Heavenly Voice" because I know his character.

When I come into contact with Cross Kun or Takaya, 'Heavenly Voice' is attached to the weakness of their hearts.

I don't think I can do such a delicate thing to this Okazaki-kun.

I hear someone else is thinking the same thing, and Aoi was looking at Okazaki-kun with raw warm eyes.

"Okazaki. I have one question."

asked the leader, who was thinking with his finger on his mouth.

"Is that connection you mentioned something that can be identified by a third party?

"Yes, but it's more accurate to say 'feel connected or not' than 'identify'. I think you can tell by shaking hands. Well, in fact, there's a chance that they're making connections unilaterally, so" people who hold multiple connections in many ways "is a suspect in the Voice of Heaven."

"Wait, Okazaki. If they cut all that connection, wouldn't it be over?

When Okazaki-kun answers the leader's question, Mr. Kuda opens his mouth.

"It's okay, Mr. Tsuda. Traces of the connection will remain for some time. Traces will disappear after a month, but then, 'Heavenly Voice' can no longer move. We need to make contact again to reconnect."

"Can other humans remember how to tell that?

Now Kuriyama asked the question.

Okazaki-kun nodded after thinking a little.

"Right. To some extent, if you're good at magic, I think you can handle it. By our standards, of course."

"If so... Captain"

The eyes under the non-framed glasses reflected the leader.

"Wouldn't it be nice for you to remember?

"Is that me?

"Ah. I think I'd like that too - If you're a leader, you won't stand a chance."

Aoi also expresses her agreement.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea."

I also agreed.

If Okazaki-kun does it, it's only visible that the corners will stand.

If so, who will remember, there was no more proper service than a leader.

"Okay. I'll do it.... you got more work to do again"

"Have no choice and swallow it"

To the blurry leader, Kuriyama, the tense person who waved the job, said in an unconvincing tone.

"To catch a joke named" Heaven's Voice "or something."

"I was kidding..."

The crushed leader looked subtle.

An unidentified psycholeptic named it "Heavenly Voice," perhaps for convenience, but maybe it was his preference.

In fact, it can be the leader who gave the majority of the two names of the expedition.

The leader's own 'Sword of Light' is different, but he says, "In order to fight monsters, we need people to take the lead and fight. I had to foil it to do that" or something, and I gave two names to the main members.

Although it was certainly a necessary measure, I suspected that about half of it was a leader's hobby.

All in all, it made me a little more comfortable that the policy of dealing with 'Heavenly Voices', which was my biggest concern, was set.

Nevertheless, there are still other things to decide.

"The other two...... what do you do about Kudo Lu and the Pseudo-Brave?

When I asked, the leader who changed his expression turned to me.

"I was thinking, I'm going to visit the Macrolin Border Uncle"

"Macrolin, get me a frontier uncle?

The leader's response was to harden my expression.

"Oh, Takahiro Mashima is on the hook. You don't know anything between Uncle Borderline and Mashima, do you? Yet, if you passed on lies to Iino, it's not necessarily because Uncle Borderline doesn't think about the metastasizers themselves."

"I see."

"If Takahiro Mashima himself is hostile to Uncle Borderline, he wants to help."

To me convinced, the leader added:

"Huh? How could there be a leader?

I frowned.

To my knowledge, there should have been no interaction between the leader and Mashima.

Although inherently capable, Mashima is not a member of the expedition.

On the contrary, Mashima is on the lookout for expeditions.

I'm not clearly hostile, but I guess the truth is that I'm pretending to be a potential enemy about an expedition that's likely to have a 'voice in heaven'.

I didn't know why leaders cared about such opponents.

"Hey, did you know him?

"No. That's not it. I'm just saying that I'm unilaterally interested."

And I did not think, and looked upon my face greatly.

"Interested in Mashima...?

"Oh. You've survived the colony and the tree sea with the monsters. Isn't that a big deal? If I get a chance, I'd love to talk to you.... Iino. You, what a face."

"... nothing. Nothing, sir."

I have shifted my gaze from my leader.

I remember.

Is this the kind of person this is?

Still, I'm interested in a guy like that, or I don't have a hobby...

"Senior Yoona. Senior Yona, you don't look like a girl. Scary."

Aoi told me something terrible.

While I rub my cheeks loose with my hands, the leader proceeds with the conversation.

"The other is to ask Uncle Borderline to respond to the problems of fake braves and kudo. Of course, if you're not thinking weird about us. Borderline uncle is a great nobleman even in the southern part of the empire. Whether it's about Kudo, or the fake brave, I'd appreciate it if you could handle it."

"That's true."

Mr. Kuriyama indicated his agreement.

"We are on our way to the imperial capital. I was wondering if it would be convenient for Nuruyas, a mining city, to stop by on the way to the Imperial City."

"That's what I'm talking about"

The leader nodded and looked around at everyone on the spot.

"Anyone else have any opinions on this matter?

Now I won't even raise my hand.

There seemed to be no objection.

As far as I'm concerned, this doesn't seem to be a good policy for the expedition.

I suppose......

The leader's eyes circle the members as they check each other's faces.

At me, for a moment, his gaze gathered.

……

A slightly surprising colour appeared on his rightful face.

But soon the gaze shifts to the next.

Looking around to the last one, the leader opened his mouth.

"Then it is our current policy to move."

Thus, the future destination of the expedition was determined.