That's Enough (6)
Hah… what a killer performance that had been.
I slowly raised my head, still tracking Dev's presence as he left first. The snake, who had abruptly witnessed every scrap of my despairing act, looked more than a little awkward.
Of course he didn't call me out for it.
Naturally. One wrong word here and the concept would plunge straight into the blackening route. He'd be going for the neck-chopping, sure as anything.
So if he had any sense at all, he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.
"W-well then… shall we head back now?"
The thick, rustic lilt rose in the middle rather than the end, carefully gauging my expression as he ventured the suggestion.
No need to refuse. I was ready to head back myself by then.
However clear the waterfall water might have been, the leaves and bits of wood stuck in my hair had dried there and left me feeling thoroughly gross.
"W-well, uh. Separate from my birth bein' a mite unholy and all, this ability I picked up this time is real good, y'know. The mountain lords before me just had these stupid-huge bodies and could barely wander around outside. Me, though? Thanks to this power I ain't got those limits. Real handy for dodgin' the priests' eyes too."
When I started walking forward in silent acceptance of the offer, the snake writhed and shifted after me. His massive body made even a simple U-turn look like hard labor.
Without the ability to pass through trees, he wouldn't have been the forest's guardian—just its destroyer.
"And funny thing is, 'cause I was born like this, I could even fix the corrupted mana, y'hear."
"…What do you mean by that."
"Well, me bein' born this way was 'cause mana soaked into the swamp and just sat there, festerin' and turnin' stale. That warped things. But since I can eat both mana and demon energy, after I hatched I just gobbled it all up. And just like that, the swamp went back to normal."
He himself wouldn't change after already being born that way, of course, but with the corrupted mana gone, any kids born next would come out ordinary again. The snake flicked his tail back and forth as he said it.
"Ah, and that spot that popped up in the Zatab bastards' territory wasn't all that bad yet, so I just left 'em to it—figured let 'em try handlin' it themselves. But with everything that's happened, I'll tidy that side up nice and quick too, so don't you worry none."
More than that, this guy was really scrambling to make excuses. I checked the surrounding presence of people, then spoke after a moment's thought. My locked voice rang out solemnly.
"Why tell me any of that."
"Uh……"
The snake floundered.
"W-well, I thought maybe you'd want to know…? Lookin' at your companions, it seemed like y'all came to investigate this, didn't it?"
Well, that wasn't wrong. Investigating it was part of why we'd come.
I'd asked because his attitude was just so friendly and desperate.
I circled back and asked again, keeping it in character. The snake went rigid as if someone had smacked him over the head.
"You're askin' 'cause you don't know…?"
Suddenly I felt like I was the one in the wrong.
"I mean, well… you carry an enormous amount of demon energy and mana, and on top of that you've got a bead condensing the power of someone equal to my ancestors—and higher rank than me, even…?"
But listening further, it made sense.
My demon energy volume was one thing, but the bead I carried held power transferred from one of the Ancient Beasts. He himself had inherited the blood of another Ancient Beast.
From that angle, he had more than enough reason to walk on eggshells around me. Probably, anyway.
"Honestly, just thinkin' about when you first stepped into the forest still makes my heart go thump-thump. All of a sudden this huge mana shows up, and it feels like you're holdin' demon energy too, and then on top of that you've got power higher-ranked than mine."
While I stayed silent and simply accepted it, the snake finally spilled what he'd been holding back. There must have been a lot bottled up; it came out like a dam bursting.
"I even fretted over whether you'd killed one of the Ancient Beasts and stolen its power. So I was gonna stay dead quiet till you left… hah. But after watchin' quiet for a few days I figured, hey, this guest's character ain't half bad, no need to worry—and then those crazy bastards went and caused trouble. Really. When you started usin' your power I thought, 'Ah, that's it, the forest is done for.' And of course the curse was about to spread too……"
Right. Yeah. My bad. I messed up.
No wonder he'd only stuck his head in at the very end. He'd been flat on the ground the whole time, terrified I'd kill him.
"Still, I'm a bit more at ease now. Guess there was a reason the Sea Lord gave you that power after all."
But if that was the case, then his intervening must have been after reading my vibe… maybe even selecting the Great Chief as Serhang's chief was because of me.
Could be me overthinking it, but still.
Either way, the result didn't look bad to me. The Serhang chief at least didn't seem like trash the way those others had been.
So I decided it was fine.
And like that, I returned to the tribe.
"I know you're trying to help me. I won't deny that."
"So?"
"…But separate from you trying to help, you people—it's also true my parents died because of outsiders."
"Eh?"
And so we returned to the village.
Around the time I also learned the snake could set his body to be visible only to specific people, I discovered exactly six figures gathered: Akata, White Wind, the Archmage, the Serhang chief and priest, and someone who looked to be from the Bigabol tribe.
"I'm grateful for the help, truly… but that doesn't mean I want to accept your help. Whenever I look at you, I keep… keep thinking of Dad……"
And among those six, Akata was weeping bitterly.
I hid behind a nearby building on reflex, and something in the corner of my chest gave a sharp little stab.
"Aigoo… that little one's situation got real complicated. Not enough to be a traitor's child, she even tried to kill the chief—stayin' here's gonna be rough."
…And of course that prediction of his was dead-on too.
I thought back to the hypothesis I'd formed while wondering why the child had pointed a blade at me. If she'd been an assassin sent by Atart, that would be sad in its own way—but this wasn't any better.
"Lookin' at it, the humans y'all brought seem like they want to take the kid with 'em. But with her hatin' it that much, it's gonna be a mite hard. What d'you reckon?"
Among the people I'd captured—or maybe among the ones I'd killed—her family might have been there.
"So you've chosen to remain here?"
"…It's not like I can go with you either."
That was when White Wind spoke. I clenched and unclenched my fist, then shot a look at the snake.
Translate. Why are you looking at me like that……. Just translate.
After a few exchanges of glances the snake got the message. His ability to read the room was pretty good.
"But staying here won't end well for you. Isn't that right, temporary chief?"
"…Regrettably, yes. She may not have directly killed the former chief Atart… but everyone saw her try to kill him."
"…Then."
"They'll demand exile at minimum, execution at worst. Whether Atart was in the wrong or not, plenty still support him."
"The one who actually killed him was someone from our side. Would it be difficult to send her to another tribe, like the other children?"
"Not impossible… but you know how these things go. In times like this, anger turns not on the one who actually did the harm, but on the soft target they can actually reach. Even if we send her elsewhere, people will come after her life for sure… Her situation is different from the other children's."
Typical of that chief and that tribe.
I ground my teeth while listening to the snake's translation. If they'd come at me, I'd just raise a middle finger and be done with it—but if they targeted the child, there was nothing I could do.
I couldn't protect her for the rest of her life, after all.
"If our tribe took her in……"
"…I am against it. Great Chief, the moment this matter is settled you must relinquish the chief's seat and formally inherit the duties of Great Chief as well."
"But, High Priest."
"This is also for the child's sake. Neither I nor the Great Chief will have much capacity to look after her, and geographically we are close to the Bigabol tribe. The village location is hidden, but exchanges are frequent, so many of our people have been influenced by them. And… you know how sensitive our people are to threats against the chief. Even if we keep order, discrimination will still happen."
"…Even so. We'll still be better than anywhere else. If you start by thinking it can't be done, how many things in this world ever get done? We'll just have to pay a little more attention."
"…That is……"
"Hold on, hold on. I understand both of your intentions, but shouldn't we hear the child's opinion as well?"
"Ah, right. We should hear from the person involved. What do you think? If you stay, there's a high chance you'll die—or even if you don't, you'll have a very hard life. Are you all right with that?"
"…I don't know. But I don't want to go with you just so I can live comfortably."
By then I was looking back on whether my choices had truly been right.
I didn't regret killing those people to save the children, but maybe there had been a better way.
Instead of taking them along because I worried they'd be taken hostage, maybe I should have hidden them so Akata never saw that scene.
"Hmm. Is that so. But reading the room, it doesn't look like you're just itching to die."
"…Of course not!"
"Right. So in the end you don't want to die, but you also don't want our help."
But retries were impossible. I folded my arms quietly while listening to the snake's translation.
"I-it's not like that……!"
"I'll say this first so there's no misunderstanding—I'm not mocking or condemning you right now. Claiming I fully empathize with your feelings would of course be a lie, but I do know that accepting your family's murder can't be easy. So there's no need to deny it. No one is blaming your feelings. I just talk like this."
"……"
"Separately, there sure are a lot of people fretting over your safety. Hmm."
"…Then how about this."
"……?"
"For now, you come outside with us."
"But I……"
"Hear me out to the end. I said come outside with us—not that you have to stay with us forever."
"…You're going to leave her with people who have nothing to do with us?"
"What other option is there."
"True, the reason she hates us is ultimately because we were involved in her parents' deaths. Finding someone unconnected really might be best."
"…That person would still be an outsider."
Separately, as I'd felt earlier, Akata was far from cooperative.
But considering she was left alone after all her kin died, with even her revenge fizzling out unfinished—and considering all that remained were a few hometown people who didn't welcome her and high-ranking folk arguing over her fate—
The child's prickliness was simply pitiful.
"Then? Of course they'd be an outsider. But not every outsider tried to kill your parents, right? Are you going to hate those people too? Well, that's fine if you do. But if you want to live, this is the part you'll have to concede. We have no intention of proposing anything further. Honestly, who are you that we should keep worrying this much?"
"……"
All that surliness was surely coming from the judgment that the only one who could protect her was herself.
"Akata."
Just then, the Serhang chief—or rather the Great Chief—who had been silent until now spoke up.
"May I understand that you do not actually wish to remain here, but chose this place because the outside feels forbidding?"
"……?"
"If you hope to stay here even while enduring hardship and suffering, I will do everything in my power to help. But from where I stand, it does not seem you truly wish to remain."
"That's… obvious. Everything's… gone. There's nothing good about me staying here……"
"I understand. Then, Akata, I will ask another question. Why do you find outsiders so forbidding?"
"Because… they're the ones who killed my parents."
"I understand there were also those from the Bigabol tribe who took part in the executions. Do you hate every single person belonging to Bigabol? And do you resent every person from the other tribes who had no involvement?"
"That's……! That's……"
"Of course you do not. You already know they are without sin."
Like the priest who had been under him, the Great Chief's voice was low and sank straight into the ear.
"Then I ask again. Why do you even find outsiders who know nothing of this matter forbidding?"
For a moment, something like a light of understanding seemed to flicker across the boy's face.
"…That's. That's……"
"Yes."
"Because they're outsiders……"
"Simply because they are outsiders?"
"My parents… said the outside is a bad place……"
"Ah. So you think outsiders are bad because the outside is a bad place. I see. But do you truly think that?"
"That's……"
"Do not recall what your parents and the surrounding adults said. Speak of what you yourself experienced or thought."
"…I don't think they're bad. If they were, they wouldn't be helping me right now. It's just… I… just……"
"Yes. Exactly that. That is your answer. That is your correct answer."
"But Father……"
From the gently continuing words Akata tried to object. The Great Chief's eyes narrowed as he gave a small shake of his head.
"Akata, this may sound a little sudden, but there are a few things I hold to be burdens one comes to carry in the process of growing from birth into an adult."
"……?"
"And one of them is this: we must someday acknowledge that those we respected may in fact have been wrong. That is our burden."
The Great Chief stepped forward and even took Akata's hand.
"Acknowledging it is difficult. The desire to deny it, to close your eyes and ears and live on, will surely shake your body. Or accepting their mistakes may feel like a betrayal of them."
"……"
"But it is not. Akata. That is not betrayal. It is merely the process of becoming an adult, and the path of you becoming independent as a single human being."
"…It's not betrayal? That?"
"Because, Akata, no person can choose only the correct answers. That is what it means to be a person. And those we admired and loved are ultimately also just one person each. They too can be wrong. Just as my mother, who seemed so magnificent to me, was in fact a failure as a chief."
"…Something. Something like that."
"Akata, do not be dazzled by love. Love is a good thing, yet the one you love is not always right. It is only that your love makes you want to believe they are correct. But what is truly right is everything your eight eyes have seen and your ears have heard."
"Something like that can't really be true……"
Within the connected warmth, tears began to fall again, drop by drop.
"Therefore, rather than being swayed by their words, trust and follow the answer you yourself reached. Do not let yourself be intoxicated by your love and abandon yourself and your future."
"…If that's really true, then I… I……"
"Do not hesitate, saying this land is too small to hold you—go out beyond it instead."
"…Is surviving… really not a betrayal?"
"Of course. That is never betrayal. It is purely your growth, and a choice for your own sake."
"Really……"
Akata wailed and threw her arms around the Great Chief. Instead of dodging, the Great Chief hugged her back.
The problem was that both of them were children, and I stupidly felt tears coming on myself.
On top of that, I'm weak to stories of children overcoming mistakes and growing. Stories of children shining as they grow among worthless adults hit even harder.
"Th-this Great Chief… I think we picked way too well……"
Fortunately or not, the snake stopped translating mid-sentence and snuffled beside me, so my tears went inward instead of spilling out.
This bastard was even more moved than I was.
"Hurrngh, I only picked him to look good in front of the guest, and it turned out to be a jackpot……!!"
More than that—this guy, so it really was because of me that he picked him?!
"I-I'm sorry. I……"
"Not at all, Akata. I am only sorry that this is all I can do for you."
After crying for a long while, Akata drew back slightly with a flushed face. The Great Chief merely smiled good-naturedly at him.
It felt a little odd to say, but he really didn't seem like a child—he seemed like a saint……. Not the adult kind of "saint," but the Jesus kind of saint.
"Hurrngh. Wise humans are the best……."
You, please just stop crying.
"Separately… you know, right? You must properly apologize to that person for what you did wrong. Saving the children was not a mistake, was it?"
"…I know."
"Good. I ask this of you."
That guy had quit translating because he was crying, so I couldn't understand any more of it.
I shot the snake a sidelong look. The enormous snake was wiping beside his eyes with his tail and had no idea whether I was looking at him or not.
Well, it didn't matter either way.
I unfolded my arms and pushed away from the wall I'd been leaning on. No point inserting myself over there, so I was about to go somewhere else.
The ending had turned out well enough that I could believe it was the best possible form, and I was satisfied with that.
"Demon Knight!!"
Just then someone came running full tilt. Rosy cheeks, sparkling green eyes, red hair. It was Kimchi Mandu.
"Where did you go? I was looking for you."
It had been a while since I'd seen her… that was true enough, but was she still this happy to see me? I'd seen her earlier too.
"How did you earn the Mountain Lord's recognition? Of course, Demon Knight, you more than deserve it. Ah! I also heard you worked hard for the children. As expected of Demon Knight……!"
Still, I didn't dislike it. I let out a long breath as the Inquisitor chattered away.
"W-well, uh. My lord, you've arrived?"
At that, Dev also slipped in sideways. Apparently he'd judged it safe to approach after seeing how I treated the Inquisitor.
"Did you… hear? The person from Bigabol elected as temporary chief, after learning of the former chief's crimes, said they would pay you proper compensation."
"Wha—? I-I never heard anything like that!"
"Must be because you're bad at your job."
"No! I was busy healing people……!"
Honestly, the two dumplings were being ridiculously cute as a pair. Made a person want to smile.
"Quiet."
But if I showed it, character collapse. I walked past the two of them, who had both shut their mouths with a snap.
"Argh, I got chewed out because of you!"
"What are you talking about. Anyone can see it's your fault."
"You came over and he immediately said it was noisy!"
"At least I delivered information! Unlike a certain someone who only chatted!"
My tinnitus was drowned out by the bickering voices. That was enough.
"Comrade! I just can't stand it after all! I have to take back the share of my prey you claimed earlier!! Let's settle this with a match!"
…Or maybe it was a little excessive?
Well, right now this seemed more to my liking. Quests were always supposed to end noisy and lighthearted on the foundation of a happy ending so the aftertaste stayed good.
That was just how these things worked, right?