I'm Not a Bad Person (5)
Light.
A worm.
Dust.
And a thunderous roar.
That was the order of things Jeff registered in that fleeting instant—mere fragments of the helplessness a victim faces before impending disaster. Put another way, it meant those were the only things he had been able to sense at all. He never properly registered the sword being drawn, let alone the slash that followed. All he and his subordinates could do at the scene was observe the aftermath.
"What... is this..."
A brutal scar split the earth. Jeff saw the lingering traces of lightning vibrating above it. The crackling flashes leaping upward looked as if they would shatter a body as trivial as his with laughable ease.
That was not mere instinct. It was certainty. The cave already raked by those lightning claws had left not even fragments behind; it had turned to ash. Earth and trees had been carved away so cleanly that entire sections simply vanished into dust, as if someone had torn them free.
Only after diagnosing the scene before him did Jeff finally begin to wonder whether the monster still lived. Had it survived that savage sword stroke, or had it been reduced to scrap like everything else?
He wanted neither answer. Survival would mean the thing was a monster beyond anything he had imagined. Death would mean the monster stood right in front of him.
Existence and nonexistence, however, always resolve into one conclusion or the other. So when a shadow came shoving its way out beyond the cave, Jeff let out a quiet groan.
"Ugh..."
"Didn't die."
Claus's reaction, by contrast, was utterly flat. He dusted off his sword with the quiet, practiced air of someone who had expected exactly this result.
While he prepared another strike, the cave's master dragged itself out onto open ground. But its appearance was nothing like the creature Jeff had known.
"Th... ugh..."
"..."
"Tha... eck..."
As far as Jeff knew, the thing could speak. Now it produced only grotesque croaking sounds, with no trace of language left in them.
It probably could not have spoken even if it wanted to. Nothing below the neck remained. All it had managed to drag out was its own hideous head.
That it had somehow regenerated the severed surface enough to crawl free was proof of its stubborn vitality. Claus's only comment on the sight was this:
"...Ugly-looking bastard. A monster crawling around with nothing but a head and no arms or legs."
"..."
"Well, I suppose an ordinary person would get scared just looking at it."
He's the one who cut the body off, and he's making jokes like that? Jeff could not even think of standing; he simply stared at the man's back. After a moment's thought, Claus suddenly turned and asked a question.
"There's only one of them."
"Th... that's right."
"No more?"
"No... probably... not..."
"Good."
Every single word felt like a dagger driven into his heart. Jeff, who had been stabbed by plenty already, hunched his shoulders without meaning to. Claus calmly turned his gaze back to the monster.
"Then let's finish this quick and go."
"Kieeek..."
Watching its opponent walk steadily closer, the monster let out a strangled sound as if it had already sensed its end. When their eyes met for a moment, Jeff could no longer tell which of them was the monster and which was human.
The creature, too, must have wanted to confirm the identity of the one who had ended its legend. But Claus drove his sword into the crown of its head before it could even spit out a final word.
"Ugek..."
"..."
A grand declaration of victory was replaced by silence. For the end of a monster that had claimed hundreds of lives, it was far too quiet. Jeff, too, could not open his mouth; he simply watched Claus approach.
Was that man always this big? Jeff swallowed hard as a massive shadow fell over him. He knew, with fatal certainty, that it was now his turn to make the strangled sounds.
His breath shook so badly he could not lift his eyes. While he barely managed to hold his breathing, Claus spoke quietly.
"What is it."
"...Ah."
"You scared or something?"
"..."
Eerie light flickered beyond the black shadow. Only then did Jeff understand what his own past targets had felt—the emotion that rises from pure instinct when one faces unavoidable death.
Terror.
He wished there were some other word for it. Two syllables alone could never properly capture what he felt in this moment.
As he kept turning that over in his mind, his master's words suddenly floated up.
You still don't get it, Jeff. He is not a man you can do anything about.
...
Only then did he realize he had seen a scene much like today's before. The first time he had witnessed his master's full-power sword stroke. Back then, too, he had seen flames leaping into the empty air and scorching heat.
Only those who have reached a certain realm can color their sword strokes with their own hue. Before meeting his master he had treated that as legend; after witnessing today's scene he knew it for fact. And in this very moment he learned one more truth.
The reason this man had left him alone until now was either thorough calculation—or simple whim.
He desperately hoped it was the latter when Claus spoke again.
"Anything else you need to do?"
"Ah... no."
Even with trembling lips, the answer came out fast. Jeff dropped to his knees on weak legs, raised his head, and forced the brightest voice he could manage.
"Shall we go play soccer now..."
Hmm.
Looks like I pulled off something decent after all.
The walk home after finishing a job is always pleasant—especially when you don't get hurt. Luckily there had only been one monster to deal with, and the thing had already been half-wrecked, so the work went smoothly.
On top of that, the soccer match where I teamed up with Jeff ended in a crushing 10–0 thanks to my performance. The bandits today kept fumbling the ball the moment they faced me. Maybe my skills have improved that much.
Or maybe they were just too scared after seeing the monster. Watching them freeze up over something that size only proves bandits never change their nature.
"Ah, that was fun. The kids liked it too, right?"
"Yes. That's correct, Sir Claus."
"Maybe I was too rough. The losing side might not have had any fun. Was that it?"
"No. We enjoyed ourselves as well, Sir Claus."
"Then let's do this among ourselves every so often. Since the subject's up, how about tomorrow after dinner?"
"I will have the numbers ready and waiting."
"So stiff. You're not sulking just because you lost, are you? Don't do that. We're adults here."
Even when I scolded them a little on purpose, the bandits simply nodded. The dazed looks on every face suggested the defeat still lingered.
I should probably take them out for a meal. With that thought I stepped into the house—and the estate's only maid came rushing out in a hurry.
"Sir Claus. You've returned."
"Ah, hello, Miss Miya. What's the occasion? Coming all the way out to greet me."
"Well... Master asked for everyone. She said to send you to her room as soon as you arrived..."
"Lia?"
So there was finally time to see her face. I set off in a good mood, but the bandits' complexions looked far less happy. Maybe they were the usual troublemakers who always got scolded.
Of course I couldn't ask outright. And when I opened the door, Lia's face was as indifferent as ever.
"Welcome back, everyone."
"Master. During this time, strict—"
"You seem to have been quite busy today."
Jet-black hair spilled softly over the uniform draped across her shoulders. I was thinking the perfume she had put on today was especially strong when the bandits spoke up in tense voices.
"Yes. We stepped outside for a moment..."
"I saw."
"Y... yes...?"
"Your movements seemed unusual today, so I looked."
Lia's gaze brushed the window, then settled back on the bandits. After watching them with an unreadable look for a moment, she suddenly turned to me.
"The rest of you can leave now. I have something to discuss with Claus."
"Yes. Understood."
"We'll talk about today's matter separately later."
"...Yes, Master."
The men filed out with their shoulders slumped, looking thoroughly unmanly. For some reason the maid followed them as well, leaving only Lia and me in the room.
Was this the first time we had been alone together since that day? Lia seemed to share the thought; she kept silent for a long while before finally speaking.
"You went up the mountain today. Took care of a monster too, right?"
"Yeah. I heard it was something that could threaten people."
"Well done. The citizens will be very pleased. I had been meaning to deal with it myself someday, but I never had the attention to spare."
"It wasn't that dangerous, really. Just looked scary."
"Interesting."
She finds the strangest things interesting. Then again, this was the same person who would burst out laughing at a rolling leaf. Still, whenever even a faint smile touched that face, it lifted my mood too.
It felt a bit like teaching an ordinary world to a girl who had grown up in a harsh one. And today Lia must have been in a decent mood, because she unexpectedly kept praising me.
"Even if it was nothing special to you, it isn't that way for other people. Of course you already know that."
"Hmm. Is that so."
"Maybe that's why your support among the citizens is quite high. I don't know what you were thinking, but you've also done a lot of things you didn't have to do."
"That was just... well... how should I put it..."
"I'm not angry. I'm saying you did well."
Her tone somehow still sounded scary enough that I couldn't take the words at face value. Lia stared at me for a moment, then suddenly made an unexpected suggestion.
"Which is why I wanted to ask. How about dinner, just the two of us, tonight?"
"Dinner?"
"We don't have the leeway to go out, so it would have to be here, but the estate chef is quite skilled. I was thinking of telling him to put in a little extra effort for once."
"Ah."
"Your answer?"
There was no reason to refuse, of course. Who turns down a meal offered as praise for a job well done?
But...
"I'm not really in the mood for just a meal."
"Are you saying no?"
"Not exactly. I'm in a really good mood today, so just eating feels a little lacking."
"What do you mean..."
It must have been an unexpected reaction; Lia frowned. But I simply said the thought that had popped into my head, without any hesitation.
"Do you know how to drink?"