Chapter 185
Chapter 185
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: Sweet Struggle
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[You get it, right? I'm the senior here.]
[Yes, Senior.]
[…Why do I feel like the junior when you're calling me senior?]
"It's probably your behavior."
The two spirits chat with me in between, and when I butt in, the Black Necromancer pokes her head forward right away.
[Shouldn't you take my side? You've been with me so long.]
"Don't act like a child."
[…Annoying.]
[Come over here, Senior. I'm on your side.]
[It's because of you! Why aren't you going back to sleep?!]
"Hah."
Clearly just one spirit.
And since Stella has a quiet personality, I thought nothing would change even if she stayed awake.
But surprisingly, just one more person made things noisy enough to hurt my ears already.
Especially the Black Necromancer—she'd been checking Stella ever since last time, as if she felt threatened in her position.
Stella's forehead suddenly sprouts a horn as she puts up with the Black Necromancer's grumbling.
[Hey! Don't mess with our Stella!]
[L-Look at this! She's showing her true colors!]
"It's Belica."
With just those words, the horn vanishes in a flash. Stella blushes in embarrassment and covers her mouth with her hand.
[Sorry about that.]
[Ah…]
Feeling defeated by that innocent display, the Black Necromancer's shoulders slump.
[I hate saintesses.]
"Endure it. You'll be relying on Stella a lot from now on."
Stella, who declared she wouldn't sleep and would stay with me.
With four Archdemons dead in a single day, the other Archdemons' eyes would be on me, so I needed to clearly show Stella was with me to keep them in check.
Just revealing the Holy Grail's existence and Stella's presence would greatly restrict the Archdemons' actions.
"Whew."
I let out a calm sigh and look outside.
From the moment Magan died, the Republic's command structure had already collapsed, and their boasted three superhumans were all dead.
The first died in the initial explosion so the Republic could pose as victims: Oscoff.
The second was taken down from outside by Aria, Pindenai, and Erika.
The last, the third, was Magan's secretary.
Barktes Nikolai, the director of the Weapons Development Department who developed Unbreakable Armor and was affiliated with Dante, had already fled.
In the end, the Republic's soldiers, their heads all cut off, had no choice but to surrender.
Days passed like that, and now the foreign affairs officials from each country who attended the banquet sat at one table, fiercely carving up the Clock Republic.
Since only the Griffin Kingdom had survived intact, other nations muttered it was Griffin's charade.
But after showing evidence of the Republic's Archdemon, Griffin had seized the initiative in negotiations, or so Elenoa vaguely told me.
I could've returned to Northsweden by now without issue.
But the one reason I stayed in Clockwork, the capital of the Clock Republic, was this.
[Are you pondering how to say goodbye?]
Stella approaches with a soft smile. Behind her, the Black Necromancer stands with arms crossed, clearly displeased, watching.
"I won't deny it."
The future awaiting Pindenai would be a fierce battle. Various powers would try to devour the Clock Republic piece by piece, and amid that, she'd fight for her people's rights.
She'd achieved independence, but now she struggled to avoid another leash.
Pindenai had to leave me and fight for this land.
And so I lingered here, reluctant to part with her.
[Shall I help?]
"..."
Stella stands quietly beside me.
She seems to want to take in Clockwork's scenery, so I wipe the fog from the window.
Stella clasps her hands in front and gazes out calmly.
[It's a situation where you can't say what you really want, right?]
Exactly.
I want to take Pindenai with me, but telling her to come along would only leave her with regrets.
So what I'm agonizing over is…
[How to make sure she doesn't cling to you?]
"…Spot on."
[I was a saintess, after all. I've done plenty of counseling.]
She adds that it wasn't just about smiting demons.
Talking with her eases my mind. My worries aren't resolved, but just conversing with her has a comforting effect.
[Can I hear what you've been thinking?]
When she asks if I've prepared farewell words, I hesitate then blurt it out.
"Hurting her outright…"
Thwack.
Stella's mana lightly taps my shoulder. She sighs, her face showing clear disapproval.
[Even if your emotions are faint, isn't this too dismissive of hers?]
"But there's no other way for Pindenai to shake me off without lingering in the short term."
[An efficient approach? It's the worst.]
"Harsh."
Honestly, I knew it wasn't a great method.
But with Stella stating it so bluntly, it seemed worth reconsidering.
[Deus, I was a saintess. I gave people kind words, pretty words, hopeful words.]
"Yeah."
[But you can't always do that. Sometimes praise becomes poison.]
True.
I knew plenty of that type, especially.
People who can't distinguish confidence from arrogance are surprisingly common.
[Coldly speaking, the farewell you want isn't possible.]
"..."
I turn to meet Stella's eyes without thinking.
She smiles gently, accepting my gaze.
[Don't be greedy. Farewells are always heartbreaking, regrettable, and sad.]
"..."
[That's why reunions are joyful.]
Stella approaches slowly. She carefully takes my hand, clasps it between both of hers like in prayer, and brings it to her chest.
Even as a spirit, she retains a sense of warmth and touch that shouldn't be possible.
No wonder she's such a great woman.
Even connected to me, a necromancer, her skill in handling the mana within her spirit was top-class.
[Like how I woke from sleep, joyful at reuniting with you.]
"...Yeah."
[Farewells are sad. So don't speak of farewell.]
Stella's warmth spreads naturally into me. This conversation felt like it gave me the answer.
[Speak of reunion. Smile and share that day when everything ends and we're together again.]
Stella slowly releases my hand.
Her smile, as if pushing me to go, makes me nod as I don my coat.
"I'll be right back."
[Yes, take care.]
Stella waves goodbye. Beside her, the sulky Black Necromancer, arms still crossed, speaks up impatiently.
[P-Pindenai's dumb, so won't she just follow without knowing better?]
"..."
[...Senior, talk to me.]
[Huh? Huh?]
Stella, curious about the Black Necromancer, gently leads her away.
Even as she's pulled along, the Black Necromancer glances back at me.
* * *
Clockwork's public cemetery.
Before the massive tombstone erected for comrades who died for freedom.
The Resistance gathers, finally free, chatting about their newfound liberty.
No need to hide anymore, so not just the Scrap Merchants but countless Resistance members crowd the place, shedding tears and downing drinks.
"What the hell is this, you bastards."
Pindenai looks down at a small, joke-like tombstone next to the massive one.
Not in maid attire but a yellowish coat, white dress shirt, and casual black pants.
That alone showed the path she'd chosen.
"It's a bit creepy."
"I said we shouldn't."
"But isn't it kind of commemorative?"
The Scrap Merchants' members are already buzzed from several rounds, in high spirits.
Maybe that's why they pulled this prank.
"My tombstone?"
A tombstone marked "Pindenai." Even if it's just a wooden plank name-stuck into the ground.
Wasn't planting a living person's tombstone in a public cemetery crossing a line?
"You guys have been too comfy lately?"
Crack.
Pindenai meant to discipline them before the new struggle, but…
The Scrap Merchants wipe their mouths and turn serious. No one here lived soft enough to get drunk on a few drinks.
"No, you died today."
"..."
Betrayal?
Never crossed her mind.
Betraying would require dire circumstances to begin with.
So Pindenai crosses her arms and listens silently.
"Scrap Merchants' leader Pindenai closed her eyes after restoring freedom to the people."
"Only Pindenai, maid to the Griffin Kingdom's Necromancer, remains."
"...Bullshit."
Grit.
Pindenai grinds her teeth, glaring with genuine fury.
"You telling me to abandon you lunatics? I'm not leaving you."
"Captain's fought enough. Too much, even. Time to step back."
"We'll handle the rest. It's not like we're forcing it— we have support troops."
"The Griffin Kingdom will accommodate us as much as possible. The Necromancer lord said not to worry."
"..."
She hadn't known Deus Verdi had intervened with the Scrap Merchants without telling her.
Seeing Pindenai's expression soften bit by bit, the members smile and offer drinks.
But she doesn't accept.
She wasn't convinced yet.
"Even so, no reason for me to leave."
Despite her firm reply, the members chuckle.
"It's true. No reason to leave. That's why you must abandon the name Scrap Merchants."
"You have to do what only Captain can—these idiots can't."
"It's the most important!"
"Mission…?"
What were they saying?
Then other Resistance leaders approach. She'd thought they'd build the future together.
But they speak to Pindenai with grave faces.
"Griffin Kingdom's support is a huge boon. But how long will it last?"
"What?"
Ridiculous.
As long as Deus Verdi held firm as Necromancer, it was obviously ongoing.
But that was Pindenai's view.
The other leaders saw differently.
"It's cooperation stemming from Necromancer Deus Verdi's influence. If his mind changes, it's over."
"Won't happen."
"No, you can't know people's hearts. We need Griffin's aid, but we hold no decision power."
If Deus suddenly refused, it'd end.
This showed how heavy a burden weighed on his words.
"The Necromancer is close to the royals, on good terms with the king and princess. You were his closest aide."
"...That means."
Spy on him? Pindenai growled.
She showed resolve never to stab that man in the back, even in death.
Suddenly, the Resistance members burst out laughing. Even the other group's leader, who'd just explained gravely.
"No! No need to pass info. Just stay by his side, win his favor."
"...Huh?"
Now Pindenai realized what they meant.
"Go, win Deus Verdi's heart. Ensure our support doesn't end. That's it."
"Y-You... insane bastards."
An excuse.
A terribly flimsy one.
She finally saw their intent: sending her off under the guise of a mission.
Pindenai tries to speak, but words fail.
The surrounding members slowly kneel on one knee toward her.
A sign of reverence.
They never let go of the axes they'd gripped till now.
For the woman who'd fought solely for freedom, in the haven they'd created.
‘Killing me means throwing yourselves back into endless struggle.’
Suddenly, Valkyria's last words, as she severed her neck, surface.
Ongoing struggle.
She'd known and still swung the axe, taking responsibility.
A cycle she couldn't stop alone.
But.
"Without you, we wouldn't have this day to pour drinks for our fallen comrades."
What Valkyria hadn't foreseen.
"Your noble sacrifice and unyielding spirit—we now give you your final mission."
Was that she wasn't alone watching Pindenai's fight.
The countless lives she'd saved, led, given hope to—they gathered here.
"Go, love. That's the greatest struggle you'll do for us after."
The endless fate-like struggle she'd thought inescapable now lay at her feet.
"Captain."
The Scrap Merchants approach slowly.
They offer her a drink again.
"Let's get smashed for old times' sake."
* * *
I came to the public cemetery upon hearing Pindenai was there.
I'd meant to bid farewell by speaking of reunion.
"Kyahaha! Captain! Hubby's here!"
"Woooo! Brother-in-law!"
"Take good care of our Captain!"
"I'll sing the wedding song! Dry land! Beyond! As we depart!"
"..."
No need for other words. They'd earned their long-craved freedom, so a few drinks were in order.
I silently watch the Resistance partying before the cemetery, then slowly seek Pindenai.
At the party's center, blowing a massive liquor bottle like a horn, she locks eyes with me, staggers over.
"Maaasteeer! They said I should follow youuu! Bearing your kid is patriotism?!"
"..."
"Pindenaiii's! Staying here! Snap out of it! Call me wife nooow?!"
"Hoo."
Ignoring her approach, I subtly sidestep.
Never thought I'd say this.
"The Black Necromancer was right."
I click my tongue, leave Pindenai behind, and depart immediately.