Aftermath (2)
Aftermath (2)
"Rosemary."
Swish-swish-swish.
"Rosemaryy?"
Swish-swish-swish.
"Rosemaryyyyyy?"
Swish-swish-swish-swish!
The night had deepened. While a party was underway in the heart of Paramer, with everyone raiding the remaining supplies, I was diligently chasing after the fleeing Rosemary.
Where do you think you're running off to!
"I heard everything from Dimona."
"......"
"You apparently begged her like crazy to save me?"
"......"
"As expected of my pet cat. Good girl."
"......"
"So why do you keep avoiding me? Hm? Hm? Hm? Hm? Hm?"
The chase finally ended. I grabbed Rosemary by the wrist.
The cat ears that had been standing straight up drooped. The gaze that turned back to me no longer held that peculiar venom from before.
"Wh-what."
The voice that came out was trembling.
"I-I didn't, okay?"
"Really?"
"I-I mean it! Save you? Who'd save who?! I just said I had to come back because I remembered something I left behind?!"
"Really?"
"I-I said I'm right! You think I-I...would ever say let's save you?! Not a chance! I came here to put the nightmare of Paramer to rest!"
"Reeeally?"
"Oh, damn it! It's true! I said it's true!"
Rosemary smacked my hand away. She covered her face.
"Don't look this way."
"Why?"
"I said don't look this way. Look somewhere else. So annoying, seriously...why...why do you have to look like that..."
"...No way."
I poked my own cheek.
"Are you smitten with my face?"
The cat ears reacted.
They moved at incredible speed.
"Aaaah! So annoyingggg!"
Rosemary fled. This time she was too fast to chase. Well, I didn't want to waste energy anyway, so I figured I'd stop teasing her.
I casually raised my head. My eyes met Estelle's, who was drinking.
We held eye contact. Estelle glanced at her own glass. She subtly held it out.
"You want me to drink that?"
"A bribe."
"What kind of bribe?"
"I saw your strength. Join the Serpent Church."
Estelle pointed at herself with a flourish.
"I'll make you my direct junior."
"No thanks."
"Why?"
"I'm an Apostle of the Sun God."
Something crawled out of the wooden ring on my middle finger—Mistelten. A white serpent flicked its tongue out smoothly.
Estelle flinched in surprise. She looked back and forth between me and the serpent.
"...No way?"
"E-Estelle...being looked at like th-this is a first..."
The white serpent, Naga, whispered.
"Hah...hah...so cute..."
Estelle dropped to her knees.
"My master. Why are you there...?"
"...Because it's Zahard."
"......?"
Estelle blinked, not understanding the answer. She carefully cupped Naga in her hands, then swiftly pulled her hands back.
But Naga remained stuck to my hand. She opened her little mouth like a small animal throwing a tantrum.
"N-no! Trying to spirit me away! I didn't teach you to do that! Estelle!"
"...I've committed a discourtesy."
Estelle fidgeted her fingers regretfully, her eyes gleaming.
"Zahard. I've figured one thing out."
"What's that?"
"I'm going to steal you away. Somehow. Because Naga is mine."
"Could you not drag me into your lovers' quarrel?"
I picked up a bottle of liquor. I gulped it straight down.
Bitter. But good. With the first drink in a long while, my body, which had been tense the whole time, relaxed and loosened up.
Estelle whispered like a serpent.
"There are a lot of benefits if you come to the Serpent Church."
"Like what?"
"I'll give you a Sacred Relic."
"I already have one."
"Return that one to me."
"No thanks? Don't even think about touching what I earned."
"...I'll give you money."
"Yeah. Not selling."
"Ugh."
Estelle, who had been mulling it over, sprang to her feet. She disappeared somewhere and then came right back.
Standing beside her was Isabella, who froze when she saw my face.
"Secret weapon."
"...E-Estelle?!"
"If you come to the Serpent Church, Isabella comes free."
"Oh-ho."
I stroked my chin.
"Now that's a little tempting."
"Right?"
"Wh-what are you two talking about..."
"Go. Isabella."
Estelle gathered up her bottle and slipped away. Before completely vanishing, she struck a fighting pose.
"Cheering for you, sis. Seduce him and bring him to the Serpent Church."
"Wh-wh-wh-what?!"
Estelle disappeared from sight. I chuckled and raised my bottle.
"Shall we toast, Big Sis Isabella?"
"...Ugh...ugh..."
She was just like Rosemary. For some reason, she couldn't meet my eyes. Before, she used to meet my eyes just fine.
I casually moved over. I sat down beside her.
"Have I changed a lot?"
"Huh...? Huhh...?"
"I'm the same on the inside. It's strange. Everyone's gotten awkward around me."
I smoothly took Isabella's hand. I looked down at her at an angle.
"Before, I was always looking up at you. Now it's different."
"Ah...aah..."
"Was I better before? Or am I better now?"
Isabella broke down. Her pronunciation slurred.
"I-I like...like..."
"Hm?"
"N-no, I mean...I li...like...so...don't look this way..."
Isabella frantically covered her face. Her ears, flushed as if about to burst, she pressed down several times before fleeing as if rolling away.
...Everyone's a master of running away. Sigh. Fine. I'll drink alone.
But contrary to my expectations, once I was alone, a great many people passed by.
The Group 1 inquisitors clinked their bottles.
"Brother! I knew you'd be alive!"
"Have a drink! You've grown so much, so now you've got to learn to drink too!"
"So with this, we're even, right?"
"Next time? Of course we'll help each other next time too! If it's you, brother, you'd come just the same, wouldn't you!"
The boisterous crowd swept past in no time. They left to mingle with the Serpent Church paladins they'd already gotten friendly with.
I didn't follow. Because as soon as Group 1 left, Group 2 swarmed over.
Inquisitor Austin silently shed tears, drop by drop.
"I-I thought if it was you, boss...you'd surely be alive...but you've changed so drastically...these are tears of emotion..."
"Anyone watching would think I made you cry."
Inquisitor Isabel subtly avoided my gaze.
"Did you take some kind of growth drug? No matter what, this kind of drastic change in six months is a bit much, I think."
"Does it not suit me?"
"I-it's not that it doesn't suit you...I mean...you changed so much it's strange...d-don't look this way...!"
Inquisitor Nord grinned.
"You've become a warrior, boss."
"Have my muscles bulked up enough to talk axes now?"
"You were cool before too, but now it feels like I can't even keep up. Let's bond over weapons sometime later."
"Sounds good."
Not just the leaders of each group—the other Group 2 inquisitors also chattered away to their hearts' content before leaving.
The night was growing deeper and deeper. Just when the conversation seemed about to end, glasses clinked, and the campfire, ripened by moonlight, burned endlessly.
Someone sat down beside me. I turned my head.
"Yo. Boss."
A fist held out. I lightly bumped my hand against it.
"Hector."
"Popular, aren't you?"
"I'm not the type to fade into the background wherever I go."
"...Still as full of yourself as ever."
Hector shrugged. Pavel, Linden, Mari, and Natasha also quietly settled in around us.
"Didn't expect all of you to come."
"Where the boss is, that's where we go."
"What's that? Did you think we were people who don't know gratitude?"
"...Disappointed."
"Even a bad bond is still a bond. Without you, boss, we're nothing, so well, of course we had to come."
"Aren't we good? We're good, right? Aren't we good?"
The way they kept shoving their heads at me was pretty funny. I pressed down on their heads firmly.
"Next time, I'll train you personally. How's that?"
"Really?!"
"Of course. I'm generous to my subordinates. And..."
I looked over at them.
"Train diligently. I'll probably be making one soon."
"Making what?"
"A proper faction of my own. I told you. Have you forgotten the burning oath we swore back then, Hector?"
I pointed upward.
"If you're going to set your mind to something, you have to aim for the sky...! Did you think I took you in just to leave you in some back alley?! We're going to stand at the top!"
Hector trembled.
"A-as expected of you, boss! Coming to save you was worth it!"
"Of course! Who do you think I am! Now drink! Today we eat and drink ourselves to death!"
Hector's crew chugged straight from the bottles.
This is fun.
Yeah. It really is.
But their tolerance is a bit weak, though. These guys. They pass out from just that?
"Ugh..."
"I-I think I'm gonna throw up..."
I left the woozy bunch alone and went looking for leftover liquor. There had to be some left somewhere...
"...Here."
Something bumped against my cheek. Cold liquor. In a place where most of the bottles had gone lukewarm by now, the one pressed against my cheek was the only one still cold.
"Judge."
Dimona, who had met my eyes, jingled the bottle.
"It's not a famous vintage, but well, this liquor isn't bad either. It's a bit bitter, but the bitter the liquor, the easier it is to get drunk, right?"
"Dimona, you wouldn't get drunk even after drinking ten bottles of this."
"It's a matter of mood. Mood."
Dimona, who had snapped back, sat down beside me. After opening the bottle, she emptied it in one go, gulp after gulp.
"Kyah!"
How hearty. A real drunkard, I tell you. I chuckled. Of course, I wasn't drunk either. I'd already emptied over three bottles, but my head was still perfectly clear.
"Shall we toast?"
"...Hmm."
Dimona hesitated. She glanced sideways at me, then lightly touched her bottle to mine.
Clink.
The glass made a light sound. I tilted my bottle.
Bitter.
But sweet.
"...I did think you'd be alive, you know? But I didn't think you'd change like this. What on earth did you do in there?"
"I'm in my growth spurt."
"Want to talk nonsense?"
"What does it matter."
I picked up a piece of meat and ate it.
"It's because I'm in front of you, Dimona, that I can even talk nonsense. In front of the others, I can't even do that, you know?"
Those guys would believe even a joke I tossed out. The inquisitors especially. Well, except for a few...
Dimona was the only one I could banter with like this.
But something was off. Dimona hiccuped. The eyes that had been glaring at me softened.
"...Only me?"
"I...guess so?"
What's this?
Dimona crept closer. She reached out toward me.
"Right? You mean it's only me?"
"Um, are you perhaps drunk..."
"I'm perfectly fine. Completely fine. So answer me. Right now."
"Wh-what?"
"What you mean by only me. And more than anything..."
Dimona cupped my cheek.
"Why are you so hand..."
Smack!
The sound of skin striking skin rang out loudly. Dimona screamed at the swollen back of her hand.
"Wh-what do you think you're...?!"
"It wasn't me?"
"Divine Divine Judge Dimona. You're quite drunk."
When I whipped my head around, there was someone standing there with a cold expression frozen on her face.
Irene of the Day Priestesses was glaring chillingly at Dimona.
"To not even notice a mosquito on the back of your hand—I think it would be best for you to go in and rest now."
"...Who's this? Isn't it Irene the 'apprentice priest'?"
"No. I am now a full paladin. To be precise, a 'Day Priestess Candidate.'"
Irene sat down beside me. She snatched the bottle from my hand.
"Oh."
"You've had a lot to drink, Zahard."
Her voice had gone soft. Was this her dere mode, exclusively for me?
Compared to that, this one...
"Judge, why don't you rest now too? I've been with Zahard since the church branch, so I'll take responsibility for him."
"...Zahard is my subordinate. He belongs to the Fifth Inquisition Office. I don't think this is a matter for a third party to weigh in on?"
"Considering the depth of our bond, I believe my side is better suited."
"This side isn't exactly lacking either, you know?"
No one had drawn a sword, but it felt like being on a battlefield. I quietly slipped away. Once the fire was lit, the two of them kept fighting without even glancing back at me.
"Are you really that impressive?"
"What?! You want to go right now?!"
"...How vulgar."
"Vulgaaar?! You little chick who couldn't even look me in the eye until recently!"
"You're being loud, Judge. Please observe proper decorum. I am a Day Priestess Candidate. I am not someone you can disregard."
"And yet you're the one disregarding me! You little chick!"
Let's run.
With that clean conclusion, I hurriedly slipped out of the camp. I figured a light walk would do me good, both to sober up a bit.
-What are you, you wench, did you forcibly mold an incarnation using a Sacred Relic as a vessel? Don't tell me you...really did that to Zahard...
"U-um, sis...that's..."
-Let's settle this today.
"Kyaaah!"
I was alone, but not alone. How should I put it. It's lively, all right.
【Zahard. Over there.】
Beatrice's spirit, which had popped out, whispered. I scanned the place she was pointing at.
The kid who had said she was going to sleep first and gone into the tent. I saw the girl walking alone.
One step. One step.
She had been slowly moving away through the firelight when she suddenly turned back.
"...Zahard."
"Call me boss."
It was Maya.
I walked up beside her. I matched her pace.
"What are you doing?"
"Just...something...it's unfamiliar..."
Maya glanced back over her shoulder.
"A sight Maya has never seen before. Is that freedom?"
"Who knows. Depends on how you define freedom."
"......"
"Want to join in?"
"...I don't know."
The girl who had looked at parts during the time she should have been with people.
...Well. Today's a freebie. I'm in a good mood, so I'll indulge her.
"Upsy-daisy."
"Ah?"
I hoisted Maya onto my back. I settled her on my shoulders and walked slowly.
"How is it?"
"High."
"How do you feel?"
"Mm."
Maya fiddled with my hair.
"...Nice."
"Glad to hear it."
Ra, who had been roasting Naga's incarnation with the Sacred Power of fire for a while, spoke urgently.
-Zahard! Ask her! Where the other Fallen are! What they're scheming!
Ah. Right, that was a thing.
I repeated her question as instructed. Maya's answer was simple.
"Don't know. Maya was only asked one thing."
"To kill me?"
"Yeah. And Maya couldn't keep the promise. Maya is bad."
"You're good to me, though?"
"...Really?"
"Of course. Why would I lie."
Ra let out a sigh.
-Well...there's no way they'd teach much information to a child who hasn't even matured yet...so it was too good to be true...
Well. Whatever.
We'd taken down one of those called the Fallen. It was practically a monumental achievement.
Maya murmured.
"Maya. Hey."
"Hm?"
"Hundreds of thousands of people died because of one word from Maya."
"So?"
"...Are you okay?"
"I don't know..."
I shrugged.
"I'm okay, though?"
"...Why?"
"Because Paramer wasn't that clean of a city."
It was a city that practiced human sacrifice, and even used people like parts. It sucked up resources well enough, but its humanity was buried down at the bottom.
You could tell just from the level of civic consciousness. Most people knew about the slaves working in the Clock Tower, but no one ever tried to save them.
The corrupted city of Paramer, blinded by money.
That's what it was called, after all.
"Those people put you in there to live well themselves, didn't they? Right?"
"......"
"It's a dog-eat-dog relationship. A structure where the strong devour everything. Maya was strong, so Maya devoured them instead."
"Maya not bad?"
"It's not a matter of bad or not bad..."
I'm selfish.
I know that fact well. It means I'm absolutely not a hero who would sacrifice my body for others.
What I look after is, at most, limited to 'my people.'
"All of that was done by 'Aris,' so it's her fault."
The karma that had accumulated in Paramer simply burst all at once. It's not something for me to worry about.
"Maya is Maya to me, so it's fine. That's what receiving a new name means."
"...It's hard."
"Just live for me."
"Okay."
Maya fiddled with my hair.
"But still...Maya...misses Pierre."
"Want me to show you?"
"...Huh?"
To Maya, Pierre was, how should I put it...something like an attachment doll. A secret friend, I guess. Even without consciousness, just having the shell was enough to satisfy her.
In the first place, it had been in a shell state for ten years.
I handed over Pierre's empty shell that I'd received from Estelle. It had already been beaten down once, so there was no consciousness left. It had simply become a tool that devoured human souls according to the wearer's will and used them as a weapon.
[Clock Tower Monster (SSS)]
As if to prove it, Pierre had already been turned into an object. Judging by the fact that a Status Window appeared, it seemed to have become something like a legendary weapon.
"Here."
"Ah...ah..."
The Clock Tower Monster seeped into Maya's shadow. Maya blinked. Countless eyes that rose up in the shadow looked down at her.
"Maya...can really have this...?"
"Consider this your signing bonus too. How about it. Company benefits are killer, right?"
"...Maya might betray..."
Yeah. As if. There's a double contract in place.
"You won't."
"......"
Maya hugged my head.
A tear dropped.
"...Thank you. Boss..."
Where'd the honorific go, you little brat.