CH 267

“…I don’t recognize this ceiling.”

It is almost a tradition now… At least, ever since I was reborn in the Demon World.

But if I keep losing consciousness like this, my body won’t be able to keep up. I would eventually die.

“I should just avoid fighting with people who are above me. But it’s not like I have a choice in the matter.”

It would be nice to be able to live without attracting attention and fighting all the time.

I was sleeping in a makeshift bed.

It was essentially just a wooden board. Only slightly better than lying on the ground.

“I miss having a futon.”

Of course, it’s not like sleeping on a board would cause any issues when I had this body. Still, I couldn’t help but long for soft bedding once in a while.

I got off of the bed and exited the room.

Apparently, it was a medical office, but I had never seen it before.

I was likely inside of the castle.

Since we had met Melvis in a dream, the most obvious explanation was that I had been carried here.

In other words, I had been sleeping for a very, very long time.

“I suppose I won’t be allowed to just walk back to the village now. Well, where are the others?”

Thanks to the other me’s efforts, Kyuka was dead… At least, I think she was.

My memories were a little foggy, and so I couldn’t be certain.

Just as I was considering reuniting with my men so we could decide on what to do next, one of General Farneze’s men caught me.

And without any explanation, I was escorted to the General.

“Uh, General… What is it?”

“I’m taking you to see His Majesty.”

“What?”

Once again, I was dragged by the arm.

“His Majesty visited you while you were asleep. He said that you conversed in a dream. Is that true?”

“Yes, it is. He came to me.”

“Then you already know the details. You are to meet him at once.”

“Huh?”

But I don’t know anything. Really.

Apparently, she had been told to take me to Melvis as soon as I woke up.

“I have brought Golan.”

The General bowed before Melvis, and so I did the same.

Uh, was I supposed to say something here?

“It is an honor to finally be in your presence. I am Golan.”

“Hmm.”

While we had met in the dream, this was our first public meeting.

And though my greeting probably sounded very awkward, I thought it would be safer to say it.

“Golan. Can you see these?”

Not wasting any time, eh?

“The chains? What about them?”

“So you really can see them.”

“Yes.”

What was he going on about? I wondered, and then noticed that General Farneze was looking at me with a shocked expression.

“You can’t see them?”

I whispered to her. She nodded. So she really couldn’t.

Now that I thought about it, he had said something about that in the dream.

“What do they look like to you?”

Melvis asked the odd question. I suppose he was talking about the chains.

“It looks like a large chain is extending from your heart. It tangles around your arms. The ends seem like they are cut off, but they also look like they connect to something.”

“I see. Yes, you see them quite clearly then.”

Melvis laughed good-humoredly.

This was apparently very unusual, and the General was surprised.

“Now touch it.”

“Ye-yes…”

Chains that the General could not see. He wanted to know if I could touch them.

But when I walked towards Melvis, his expression suddenly changed.

“Stop!”

“Huh?”

“He said no.”

“It looks like it.”

“Tsk. How boring.”

“Very boring.”

Woah, those guys were here.

Uh, I think their names were Jikae and Manny.

Previously, they had tried to kill the General before I drove them away. It seemed like they were plotting something.

While they were supposed to be Melvis’s attendants, I didn’t see how they were anything but assassins.

When I searched the area for their presence, I got a vague idea of where they were.

However, I doubted that I could stop a surprise attack.

Had Melvis not stopped them, I might have taken great damage.

I continued to focus on them for a while, but detected no movement.

And so I slowly continued to move towards Melvis.

From what I could see, Melvis’s chains were very new.

They were clean, and there was no rust.

“Pardon me, Your Majesty…”

I picked up the end of the chain.

It felt very solid and heavy. The chains clanked loudly.

“So those who can see it can also touch it. Interesting.”

Melvis seemed satisfied.

“They are quite heavy… Also, I can feel that mana is being drained from my hand. It’s similar to when I attacked the mana drain shield.”

After acquiring that shield, I had spent some time testing its features.

One time, I made a rather bad mistake, and it absorbed a lot of my mana.

These chains reminded me of that time.

I tried pulling it. The chain rose until it was level with the point where it connected to Melvis, and then stopped.

“Now, think about the reason that this exists.”

He demanded that I figure it out.

He had made a similar demand in my dream.

I had to think of a way to break through the barrier to the Human World. And now there was this.

“When and how did you become shackled by these chains?”

“During the great war. I don’t know the details. They were on me before I knew it. But I doubt the celestials would have done this without a reason.”

In other words, there was some meaning here… And it had to do with the Celestial World.

But solving this mystery would be difficult.

Chains were for restraining people.

And these chains seemed to be coming out of Melvis’s heart. Was his heart in its grasp?

I couldn’t see the end, as it was cut off. But what about the other side?

Was it wrapped around his heart? Or maybe the Orb of Control?

During the great war, the celestials were targeting Yamato. So Melvis would have been a great nuisance.

Melvis was strong.

Perhaps they knew he would be difficult to eliminate, and so they tried to slow him down instead?

“I doubt I will be able to understand the reason so quickly. I will have to think about it carefully.”

I said, and Melvis nodded.

“And I also want to know about your race. What is this Susanno no Mikoto?”

Uh, that’s what I want to know.

“It’s just a name that appeared in my head. I don’t even have a good grasp on my special abilities yet. This evolution is really beyond me. I’m sorry, that is all I can say.”

“Regarding your special abilities, you should converse with your soul.”

Converse with the soul? Does he mean the other me?

“I will try. And if I learn anything, I will make a report.”

“Mmm. Good.”

It did not seem like he was inviting me to ask any questions. Besides, I wasn’t too troubled about my special abilities at the moment.

I didn’t mind taking it slowly.

Still, Melvis looked like there was something on the tip of his tongue.

But in the end, he didn’t say anything.

Well, I wasn’t actually sure that he wanted to…but it felt like it. Maybe it was just me.

The audience was finally over, and I was released.

And so did the Reapers and Vampires.

What the hell were they doing?

It was quite a deviation from General Farneze…well, tactician Felicia’s predictions, and resulted in a lot of confusion.

“Yes, I was quite at a loss. Especially due to our prime witness not waking up. Why did you fight Kyuka?”

“I… I’m not even sure.”

To be honest, I had no intention of fighting her.

She looked at me with disbelief. I did want to run away. Really.

“And your weapons were recovered from the ruins. Your subordinates have them now, so you can collect them later.”

“Ah, that’s good to know. I thought I had lost them.”

My weapons had been confiscated before meeting Kyuka.

Had I been allowed to keep them, things would have been a lot easier… Or maybe not.

“New soldiers were sent to protect the border. We had always meant to do that. Dardaroth should be there now, scaring the enemy off.”

“I see. We can all sleep easy if General Dardaroth is there.”

He was one of the old guards.

As Farneze’s men had fought battle after battle, they needed a rest.

She needed to reorganize and that’s why she returned to the castle. Things would be very busy for her.

“Now that Kyuka is dead, the threat of the north is gone. I suppose the surrounding countries will be quiet for some time.”

By now, the stories of Melvis’s awakening would have spread everywhere. I doubted anyone would want to attack us.

“Then I’ll be able to take things easy back in my village.”

I would fish in the rivers and live quietly.

Surely I should be allowed that much?

I stretched my limbs…and then my stomach growled.

It was yelling at me to recover my mana.

Alright, I would get something to eat and then go see my men.

Yes, it was nice to have some peace again.

I looked up at the sky. The weather was nice.