Chapter 71

Shiru: I’ll be able to give more consistent updates again .

After escaping from Neah, we hid in a nearby forest .

We needed some time to think of countermeasures against Neah . We couldn’t exactly go to the village unprepared…

Even if I have my Healing Punch, I don’t like the idea of having to attack the villagers that did nothing wrong . I’ll try my best to not hurt them .

I was affected by Neah’s binding technique as well .

I couldn’t move my body the way I wanted . . it made me realize again just how absurdly powerful this bind is .

I overused my magic to forcefully break out of it .

I wouldn’t be able to save Ark-san right now, I needed to let my body properly rest before confronting Neah…

*

“It’s morning, huh . ”

Right as I woke up, the first thing I caught sight of was Bluerin’s slovenly face with drool .

I felt like I was leaning on something soft too… When I looked back, I realized I was using Bluerin’s back as a pillow .

I was about to instinctively push Bluerin’s face away, but upon remembering last night’s events, I stopped . I used my hand to pet Bluerin on the head instead .

“Thanks . I was saved because of you . ”

“Gufuuh . ”

Bluerin growled in delight .

It seems like he likes my left hand’s touch… Wait, my left hand?

“I can move it . ”

Looking closely, the patterns on my body have completely disappeared .

I guess they vanish after a period of time? I imagined that since it was Magic Arts, it would have a permanent effect on me . Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case .

I stood up and checked my body’s condition . There was nothing unusual . In fact, I felt pretty good .

“I think my body feels sturdier than before . Hahaha, I didn’t think that Neah’s Magic Art would help me with my training…”

I couldn’t help but think that it was a good thing that I was tied by Neah…

But I’m not a masochist .

That reminds me, where’s Amako? She should have been in the forest with us, don’t tell me she went to the village on her own?

No, she was someone who had plenty of experience for long journeys . More than me by far, at the very least .

With that in consideration, I should just wait for her . I decided to sit back down next to Bluerin .

After 10 or so minutes of waiting, Amako appeared from a bush . There were some leaves stuck on her hair, but she didn’t look injured . I sighed in relief and walked towards her .

“You’re awake… How’s your body?”

“You don’t need to worry about that . I’m full of energy . ”

I winded up my arm as I replied to Amako . She looked relieved, just like I did . She then presented a wrapped up bundle .

Inside, there were a bunch of fruits . . and they closely resembled apples . She handed one to me .

“I thought you might be a little hungry…”

“Thank you…!”

The fruit should be fine, since Amako was the one who brought them . She worked at a fruit store, but more importantly, she had an abundance of survival knowledge .

Shortly after giving my gratitude, I accepted the fruit . I wiped the fruit using my coat and then took a bite .

The fruit’s sweet and sour taste spread all over my mouth .

Yeah, it’s good .

When Amako heard me softly mutter that, she took a fruit and bit into it as well .

“…It looks like you’re fine after eating it . It should be safe for me to eat too . ”

“You… I can’t believe you treated me as a food taster for poison so naturally . ”

This is the result of me spoiling her with too much kindness .

Even if I could cure it with healing magic, things that harm me will still be painful .

While I complained in my mind, Amako placed a fruit by Bluerin and sat down next to me .

“How do you plan on saving Ark-san?”

“The enemies aren’t the zombies or the villagers being controlled . The problem is that monster’s powers and her Magic Arts . ”

A half necromancer and half vampire .

It was an unexpected twist .

She continued to act as a village girl for the past 200 years . Her words filled with tears and her expression when she gave her thanks . . they were all lies . That should be obvious to me now, since that’s what she was aiming for from the start . But I still feel shocked .

I still didn’t know her personal strength and combat capabilities .

The only things I knew at the moment were…

Her ability to manipulate the dead as a necromancer .

Her vampire powers, which allow her to control the living as long as she bites them on the neck . She could also use her Charm, just by locking eyes with someone .

Lastly, she also had her Magic Arts .

“Honestly speaking, it took a lot of effort on my part to break out of that bind . Bluerin would . . probably be okay, just barely . Neah might aim for you instead . ”

“…I’ll be careful . ”

“Yeah . It seems like there’s some of kind condition that needs to be met for that Magic Art to activate . She didn’t say it herself but I suspect that… She has to come into contact with the target herself first . ”

Otherwise, she didn’t need to go out of her way to hug me . I’m certain she marked me back then . If that’s the case, I just needed to be cautious .

In other words, don’t let her touch me .

At my perfect condition, I could definitely do it even if I were surrounded by zombies and villagers .

But it was possible that she possessed other Magic Arts as well . Since she has been living for at least 200 years, she should have one more .

“I don’t know what other Magic Art she has . But I won’t be able to save Ark-san if I get cold feet . Also, he’s—“

“Being controlled, right? He might be an enemy as well . ”

“… . . Yeah . ”

Neah was definitely controlling Ark-san .

I had to take this seriously and use everything I have to confront him .

…Wait a moment . Ark-san was already bitten and under Neah’s control . Was making Ark-san fight the only thing she could do…?

No, it wasn’t that simple . Neah probably searched through his memories by now, which means…

“This is bad…”

“Eh?”

“Our identities have been exposed…”

My identity as a human who was summoned from another world .

Amako, a beastkin who could use a rare and special magic that could predict the future .

I can’t imagine what she would do now that she knows . I only know that there’s no way she would give up on us now .

“Haah…”

If I only gave Neah the impression as a healer who had a lot of physical strength, she might’ve still underestimated me . However, she’ll probably be using everything she has to capture us now .

How can this possibly get any more troublesome?

“Well, whatever will be, will be . ”

I took another fruit and bit it .

All I can do now is rest and maintain my body’s good condition .

…Oh yeah, I have a book that I got from the mansion .

I used my right hand to pull out the worn out book from my coat’s pocket while holding onto the fruit with my other hand .

Amako tilted her head to the side in question once she saw the book .

“What’s that?”

“Something about the previous Hero… I think . ”

I didn’t thoroughly look through the book’s contents, so I wasn’t sure if this book was genuine .

There’s still plenty of time until night .

Although I didn’t want to think pessimistically, I might not be able to read this book ever again after today . I should read a bit of it .

Without much thought, I started flipping through the pages .

*

Before I start writing about ‘him’, there’s something I need to say . He personally doesn’t like it when someone writes about him .

He would prefer not to have his own achievements documented .

For him, his achievements are reminders of the many lives he’s taken .

As he was someone who survived through many battles and stood on a mountain of corpses, he felt a pain beyond our imagination when he was praised for his achievements .

But I wish to pass this knowledge onto the future generations . For the bystanders who misunderstood him and didn’t see his true appearance, I humbly desire for them to sympathize with him as well .

He was alone .

Whether it was friends or people who understood him, there was no one .

His hometown and family was nowhere to be found .

He walked on his dark path alone, leaving many corpses in his trail, until his hands were completely dyed with blood .

He was what the humans and sub-humans would call a hero .

But I want whoever is reading this to understand one thing .

A hero doesn’t exist anywhere . It’s an image people just made up because it was convenient . No matter how much strength he possessed, he was still only human .

As for what I’ll be writing, it’s a story about one human . It’s a record of our ‘sin’, a form of atonement for the distant future .

*

“There seems to be some special circumstances…”

After reading that far, I took a breather .

What in the world is this? There was too much darkness surrounding the Hero .

I started reading more out of boredom, and it was consistent with the narrative in the beginning . It was carefully describing the Hero’s emotions and what was happening .

I don’t know what kind of person wrote this but they were definitely someone who was close to the previous Hero .

“They fought against the Demon King before but I think the demons are completely different than before . ”

At the very least, that’s what I read . It describes the Demon King Army, in a much more vulgar way than I know them .

They used the captured humans as a source of supply for magic, brainwashed them, and sold them like slaves… At any rate, all I knew was that the current Demon King Army was only trying to take over Lyngle . Although, they did give us a surprise attack…

Yikes, it’s written here that the Demon King devised a plan and caused one of the human countries to become a traitor . A country, not a village… Is the Demon King really the same person as the one written here? Their methods feel really different…

The person called the Hero found out about this scheme and defeated them all .

But there was no joy or anything from the narrator . They were simply writing down what happened . It felt a bit like the history books I’ve read .

“Looks like he had a lot to deal with…”

Well, I’m living in the present now . Even If I know the situation back then, the only thing I can do is give my sympathy .

Even so…

“It looks like the non-humans idolized the Hero . ”

“It seems so . I don’t know that much but my hometown does hate humans . However, I’ve never heard them saying they hate the Hero . ”

After hearing Amako’s words, I turned my attention back to the book .

I don’t know if this book talks about what the Hero did for the non-humans . But if they idolized him, it must have been a pretty big deal .

“……Hm?”

There was a small memo inserted between the pages .

When I turned to that page, there was a drawing and characters that I couldn’t read . The characters are a little blurred but an expert could probably carefully examine this to find out what it says .

“A crocodile? A lizard? No, it has wings too . ”

It looked like it was spitting flames from its mouth too . The wings on its back looked sharp as well .

It wasn’t a really good drawing . . But it gave me this weird and indescribable feeling .

As for the memo that was inserted here, I’m guessing Neah put it here . Perhaps she figured out what the characters are . I opened the memo…

*

With one breath, everything was disintegrated .

When its claw swung down, the earth split .

When its tail moved, a mountain would be shaved .

That monster, which went down the path of evil, was known as the Wicked Dragon . When that thing went past a forest, it would corrode all the vegetation and greedily devour every single living thing . When it went past a country, all the water would be polluted and the people living there would be all killed without any reason .

However, he was able to defeat that monster .

The battle took place in Samariel . The Wicked Dragon suddenly made its appearance there one day, causing destruction and enveloping its surroundings with poison .

For all the events I’ve written about involving him so far, he has been using his magic to deal with everything . He was blessed with an unparalleled magic, but that held no meaning against the Wicked Dragon’s thick and powerful scales .

The battle continued for three days and three nights .

During that time, even I couldn’t personally witness it . But I was able to see the moment when he delivered the final blow to the Wicked Dragon .

He purposely plunged inside the dragon’s mouth where there were no scales . He concentrated all his power into his short sword and pierced through its bowels and heart, ending its life . No, if I had to borrow his words, he sealed it .

According to him, he couldn’t kill that monster right now .

Knowing that the Wicked Dragon’s soul still existed, it felt strangely ominous to stare at its dead body .

For someone like him who has ended the life of countless demons and monsters, it was very peculiar that he couldn’t kill the Wicked Dragon . He was only able to seal it, which I found difficult to accept .

When I looked at the Wicked Dragon’s corpse that was standing among the rubble, I harbored a certain fear…

It wasn’t that he couldn’t kill it, but rather he didn’t want to kill it…? I had a foolish doubt like that…

When I voiced my doubt, he said nothing .

As for what his silence meant, I didn’t know .

*

The Wicked Dragon .

Well, that certainly does appear often in Fantasy genres . But I’ll pass on having one appear in front of me . If what’s written in this book is the truth, then it’s definitely not an enemy I could take on . It’s possible that even with Senpai and Kazuki, we might not win .

Thinking of it like that, the previous Hero was really extraordinary .

… . . The previous Hero was a super cheat . Yeah, there are probably novels with settings like that out there .

“Why was Neah studying something like this?”

I didn’t know her that well but this was one of the things that I couldn’t comprehend at all .

Or maybe she was just reading this on a whim .

Well, I guess it doesn’t matter .

“Usato . ”

“What is it?”

Amako suddenly called me .

I closed the open book and turned my attention to her, who looked a bit anxious .

“Do you remember that large room from the mansion yesterday night?”

“Aah, yeah . What about it?”

It was the room where we jumped off from .

“At that time, I thought I had seen that room before… It looked like the one I saw in my dreams…”

“That’s…”

Amako was the only capable of seeing the future and today I was uneasy about whether or not we could save Ark-san… Which is why I didn’t think or notice anything peculiar about that room .

“I might’ve just been imagining it . The room wasn’t so clean in my vision, as there was rubble everywhere… Also my dream was really vague too…”

So that’s why she looked surprised for a second back then .

We were searching for the Necromancer back then, maybe she was being considerate and didn’t want me to worry?

She is really an awkward girl who pays attention to weird things .

But if the place she saw was that large room, it means the person in the mansion is the one who gets on their knees in front of me .

“In other words, Neah is the one who will stab me…”

“Probably…”

It’s decided . I’m going to deliver a Healing Punch to that little girl the moment we meet and incapacitate her .

Once I found my resolve, Amako hung her head down a little and spoke .

“I know you have healing magic so I don’t need to be worried but… She can use Magic Arts, so if you happened to get cursed…”

“……”

Cursed, huh .

That didn’t occur to me at all .

I can understand why Amako would feel worried . I easily fell into Neah’s trap yesterday, after all .

But if I’m feeling afraid before doing anything, I won’t be able to advance . I think it’s important to take some time to think as well but Ark-san is being held captive at the moment . No matter what, we’ll have to save him either way .

I smiled at Amako and tried to lift her spirits,

“There’s no way I would lose to something like a curse, yeah? I was able to break out of her bind with just my physical strength somehow . You don’t need to worry . ”

“……I’m aware that you’re some kind of superhuman, an eccentric person who wouldn’t be considered human in most cases and able to look calm on the surface under any circumstances… But you’re still more or less human… I’m worried . ”

“Alright, maybe you should be worried about me for a bit longer . ”

This little… She actually looked genuinely worried as she said that .

I gave a big sigh and leaned against Bluerin who was still sleeping .

“You’re too restricted to that vision of yours . ”

“……But there’s no way it would be wrong . ”

It’s because there’s no way it would be wrong .

What you saw will certainly occur in the future . However, you were only seeing that from your side . In the end, it was a subjective view .

It’s not like I’m denying what Amako is saying, it’s a little different .

“When you saw blood drip down from me, you didn’t directly see it, right? It’s possible that it isn’t my blood . It could be the blood of the person trying to stab me . ”

That person was leaning on the wall and sitting before . Also, I was covering what was happening due to my height and body build .

“In short, there’s lots of outcomes even when you’ve seen the future with your vision . ”

“Lots…?”

“First of all, there’s no way I wouldn’t be able to avoid an injured person stabbing me with their knife . Even if I were about to be stabbed, I’m confident I can immediately smash it apart . ”

I’ll be able to see it coming, that’s why I’ll be able to easily dodge it .

I didn’t directly state I would be able to fracture the knife with my bare hands since I wasn’t sure . But with my current dynamic vision, I should be able to . I could heal my wounds and fatigue with healing magic and react to surprise punches from Rose . If I dedicate everything to my vision, I should be able to cope with anything .

“But even you could be stabbed, Usato . ”

“Let see . That’s certainly possible . But you’re saying ‘could’, not ‘definitely’ . That means there’s hope, don’t you think?”

“Uh… That’s . . you’re being unreasonable . ”

The sulky Amako couldn’t help but let out a little smile .

I can honestly understand why Amako is worried .

There’s no way I would feel good if I’m the only one who could see what would happen in the future .

In her words, it’s not necessarily true that I always see the future I desire . And there’s nothing I can do . That sense of helplessness is torture .

When Amako was in Lyngle, she spent every day like that .

However, she isn’t alone anymore .

“Believe in me . I’ll believe in you . ”

“…Is it really okay?”

“Of course . ”

I felt a little regret, since I said something really embarrassing . But I did my best to not show it and nodded to Amako .

Even if they were my real feelings, saying it directly from my mouth was embarrassing .

“…In that case, I’ll believe in you . . a little more, I guess . ”

I felt satisfaction from Amako’s reply .

She abruptly stood up and looked at me with a serious expression . She proceeded to say,

“About saving Ark-san… ‘That’… Let’s do it . ”

“That?”

“…Despite how you said it yourself, you don’t remember?”

I felt like Amako’s trust in me suddenly dropped .

As she stared at me with cold eyes, I folded my arms and started to think .

What could ‘that’ be referring to? When we were rushing to save Ark-san, did we devise some kind of plan?

“……Diversionary tactics?”

“Wrong…… I… I… With Usato…”

Amako’s cheeks blushed red and she muttered incoherently .

Me and you— Once my thoughts reached there, I finally understood what she was trying to say .

In other words, Amako was saying we should do the Combination that I spoke of .

“I see, ‘that’ . At that time, I was only saying that as a joke but……”

“T-that was joke…?”

Gaan .

Amako received a shocking disappointment .

When I said it back then, it was certainly a joke . I thought about it carefully later on and I did think it might be our best option right now . However, it was essential to take into consideration what Amako wanted to do so I didn’t say anything .

“No, it’s different now . Last night I thought ‘that’ might be a decent strategy . Of course, that’s only if you’re okay with it . ”

“I want to save Ark-san . Moreover, I believe in you . That’s why I’ve decided to do it . ”

“I see . ”

Then there’s no problem .

If we combine, we’ll get Neah in no time at all . We’ll have Bluerin this time as well . I’ll have him mow down a lot of things .

We would carry it out at night . The only other thing was Neah knowing about our real identities . I’m worried .

*

“Yeah… Huh? Where did I put it…?”

I rummaged through the mountain of books in the library and tilted my head to the side in confusion .

When I realized that Usato and Amako came to the library yesterday, I checked to make sure that nothing was missing . After going through everything, I realized that the diary I had only one copy of was missing .

I temporarily fainted when I was working on the binding technique to use on Usato yesterday and forgot to turn the lights off when I left . I knew I was too careless but I didn’t think something this troublesome would happen .

I lifted my face from the mountain of books and noticed my hair was disheveled . I decided to give up searching for the diary .

“It’s one of the few documents left about the Hero… Don’t tell me they took it? Normally, humans would just think it’s some dirty notebook . Ah, geez . I still wanted to read it some more…”

I folded my arms and sat down on the old chair that I was familiar with .

I began to think .

I wonder why Usato, or perhaps Amako, would take that diary?

“Out of curiosity? That guy? He didn’t take the Magic Arts book that could have a lot of value if you sell it . He took the diary which may or may not have historical value?”

Or perhaps the book really caught his interest .

The humans were an existence that admired the Hero .

He was a heroic figure who was able to take on the Demon King that was currently waging war on Lyngle . I’ve heard that there’s a country that blindly worshiped the Hero but I don’t think it was Lyngle .

“He doesn’t seem like the type to admire the Hero . In fact, I don’t think he would have any interest at all… There was a possibility if it was Amako . She’s a beast-kin, there’s no telling what she’s thinking . ”

In either case, it didn’t change the fact that they took it with them .

Fortunately, I had a source of information that could tell me why they would take the diary about the Hero .

I leaned against my chair and shifted my attention to ‘him’ behind me .

“Hey, what do you think? Ark-saaan . ”

“……”

I called out to Ark-san, who was standing idly with vacant eyes, by the library’s door . He was under my control and would tell me anything I wanted .

His birth place, experiences, relationships with friends, anything was possible .

In reality, I would prefer to talk to Ark-san while he was fully conscious . However, I observed him for the past two days and came to the conclusion that he was the type of man to never betray his friends .

He was popular with humans but his type was really annoying for monsters like me .

“Why do you think Usato is interested in the Hero’s records?”

I used my suggestion as I asked the question .

He replied in a monotonous voice,

“There’s a link between Usato-dono and the Hero . ”

“…………… . Hah?”

I sprung up from my chair and ended up knocking a pile of books nearby .

A link with the Hero? What’s with that? That sounds like something very interesting .

Don’t tell me it’s something disappointing like him receiving a similar nickname to the Hero . I asked if he was sure, as my voice shivered in excitement .

He nodded .

“Tell me in greater detail! … . . Ah! Actually, not now . Tell me about Amako first . ”

I’ll hear about Amako before Usato . That piece of information was strong enough to stimulate me, even after 200 years .

I’ll listen to what he has to say about the unusual beast-kin first .

“Amako-dono is a beastkin and—“

“I know that already . Leave that out . ”

“She… Came to Lyngle in order to save her Mother back in her country . ”

“Fuuhn, her Mother, huh . ”

My mother, that’s already a memory from a long time ago .

Once the humans realized my mother was a necromancer, they killed her . My father who was a vampire ended up just the same .

With that being said, I don’t have a grudge against the humans . If I had to say it, the humans are the bad ones since they always take revenge .

Leaving that aside, she traveled all the way to Lyngle?

I thought she was someone amazing, but I guess that’s it .

“The magic she uses is…”

“Perception magic, right? You can leave that out too—“

“No, that was just the lie we used to deceive everyone . ”

“Eh, I thought I was doing pretty well . You didn’t trust me to that extent?”

Although I was playing the deceiving game too .

I didn’t feel like they saw through me but don’t tell me they were already on their guard from that point?

“Well then, what is Amako’s magic?”

“She can see the future . She uses her magic to foresee it . ”

“… . . ”

You’re kidding . Even I didn’t know how to react and remained silent .

This magic was a very scarce type of magic among the beast-kin . The ones that possess it are considered very precious in their own country . The beast-kin tribe right now should have a Princess of Prophecies, known to read the flow of time .

A human connected with the Hero, and the Princess of Prophecies?

What’s with this combination? This isn’t normal .

I looked at Ark and asked while trying to suppress my trembling,

“Your group, no… What is Usato? Human?”

“Usato-dono is———“

Someone that was summoned from another world like the Hero, a human .

When Ark’s words came out, I couldn’t comprehend them for a moment .

But after a few seconds, something surfaced from my mind .

‘Hero Summoning . ’

The method of obtaining a Hero . Using teleportation magic to call someone from another world with suitable qualities into this world . No, it wasn’t magic . . it was more like a ritual under these circumstances .

And that was what carried out here .

“Ahah . ”

Another world . Another world, another world, another world .

What a wonderful unknown . I finally knew the reason why Usato was being stubborn and didn’t want to talk .

I didn’t need to confirm it, this was the ‘correct’ answer .

If I knew about this, I would absolutely not let go of him .

I would probably tie him up like some treasure .

I have lived here for 300 years and there was another world beyond my imagination out there .

At first, I was just doing this for some entertainment . I thought I found a human that could help me kill some time .

But after our first meeting, I changed my mind . I was interested to know more about him .

And now, I’ve changed my mind again . I feel a great sense of attachment to him .

“Tell me more about that . ”

“……Yes . ”

He was summoned along with two Heroes in Lyngle .

He was put into the organization known as the Rescue Squad and received severe training .

The Blue Grizzly monster with him isn’t a familiar . He follows him around with a relationship of pure trust .

During the recent battle against the Demon King, he was able to save many people .

Finally, he was the one to defeat one of the Demon King Army’s generals .

The more I hear, the more I want him .

Just the fact that he was a person from another world was enough to pique my interest but his activity in this world made me curious as well . The surprising thing was it hasn’t even been a year since he arrived and he was able to accomplish all this .

“I’ll definitelyyyy capture you . Ah, but using the zombies and villagers doesn’t seem to work . Ark-san, does Usato use some kind of special magic?”

“Usato-dono’s weapon is simply just his physical ability . He only uses healing magic on his body . Among all the people I know, the only one that surpasses his physical ability is the person who taught him . ”

“Waah, how frightening!~”

When I saw him smash apart a zombie’s legs during his infiltration, I was honestly stunned .

It didn’t even take long for him to take care of the zombie . One zombie is usually enough to hold down a normal human in one second .

I could spend a lot of time to create binding technique again but it might end up like last time .

What if I tried fighting him myself? No way, that’s impossible .

My Magic Arts weren’t suited for combat and I definitely couldn’t contest against that superhuman strength of his .

“…That’s right . I could just use that . ”

There was one thing in this mansion that was from my father’s ‘collection’ .

It was what got me interested in the Hero’s records .

I couldn’t suppress my excitement and quickly rushed down to the 1st floor, where the entrance to the basement was . I arrived at the door, which gave an eerie feeling, but I opened it without hesitation .

“I didn’t think I would make use of it but I have no choice . There’s a monster out there I need to catch . ”

As I talked to myself, I jumped all the way down .

I looked up and there was a small crack near the ceiling, allowing a bit of sunlight to pass through .

I laughed .

If a zombie, human, and monster like me won’t work…

Then—

“Ahah . ”

Its frame was large enough to reach the ceiling .

Its mouth was torn apart .

Its right eye was gouged out .

Its wing was shredded in pieces .

I calmly stood in front of the monster’s corpse that had only one eye and one wing .