c16 13

“That all you got?!”
“Grr...!”
Mogis used the momentum of the deflection to jump backwards.
Mogis had to have more experience. That made him tenacious. Even if Kuzaku could overwhelm him with sheer strength, Mogis might still hold out somehow. And if Kuzaku showed the slightest opening, he’d go on the counterattack. The moment Kuzaku thought he’d won would actually be the most dangerous.
I don’t know how this battle would play out.
If it were one on one.
But it’s not.
Ranta was already trying to get Mogis. Yume had taken a knee. She could fire at any moment. Though it would depend on the situation, Haruhiro might be able to grapple Mogis, too. Merry would back them up with light magic. Even if Mogis took the unusual tactic of targeting Merry, Setora and Kiichi were there to protect her.
They had him cornered. Jin Mogis had nowhere to run. No hope of turning this around. Why had he stopped the Black Cloaks from approaching?
Even if they intervened, the result wouldn’t be all that different. The Black Cloaks were battle-hardened soldiers, but that was all they were. Even if they all ganged up on Kuzaku, he wouldn’t go down in a hurry. Ranta’s moves were kind of bizarre, but he’d probably toy with them easily. There was something abnormal about Yume’s swiftness and wild, beastly flexibility, too. Then they had Merry and Setora, on top of that. Even Kiichi could find unexpected ways to help. If this turned into a chaotic melee, Haruhiro could creep up behind Mogis and grapple him.
The battle was over before it began. Mogis refused to get the Black Cloaks involved because he knew they wouldn’t be able to save him. He hadn’t anticipated Ranta and Yume’s power. He knew there was no winning this. Maybe if he had to go out, he wanted to look cool doing it.
Yeah, no.
Mogis raised his left hand in front of him.
“Nostarem sangui sacrifici.”
What did he say? Haruhiro didn’t know. The words sounded unfamiliar to his ears. Like some sort of spell.
Mogis had the back of his left hand, not its palm, turned towards Kuzaku.
There was a ring on that index finger. It bore a whitish blue jewel, inlaid with a flower-like pattern.
That ring bothered Haruhiro. He probably hadn’t been wearing it at first. He’d gotten it after joining forces with Hiyo and the master of the Forbidden Tower, hadn’t he? Had he borrowed it? Had he asked for it? Was it a gift? If so, was it just an ordinary ring?
“Ahh...” Haruhiro’s voice escaped unbidden. He felt strange. If his body were to suddenly put on an extra ten or twenty kilos, it might have felt like this. But he felt like something had been taken from him, not given to him. It was a little like those times when he had bled too much. His body was lighter, and yet it felt heavier, more sluggish.
Yes. Something had been taken from Haruhiro. And not just him. From all of them.
Ranta almost tripped, and struggled to regain his footing. Yume hung her head and lowered her bow. Merry looked unsteady on her feet.
Kiichi looked like a dog told to lie down, his tail flat on the ground. Kuzaku lost his balance, and fell flat on his backside.
Was it not just the party? The Black Cloaks on either side of the throne were leaning and crouching in strange positions.
It wasn’t fully visible, but there was some sort of slight rippling, like a heat haze, hanging in the air. No, it wasn’t so much hanging as flowing.
The haze was headed towards Jin Mogis. Was it flowing into him? “Mmm...”
It happened in an instant.
Mogis stepped forward, and raised his sword.
Or to be more precise, the way Haruhiro saw it, Mogis lifted his sword from a low posture, then froze in place.
“Wahh...!”
On the floor, Kuzaku was trying to grab his right arm with his left hand. He couldn’t. Because that right arm had been cut off.
“It’s wonderful,” Mogis whispered in a low voice, stretching his knee and swinging his sword like one would to get the blood off it.
“...!” Kuzaku let out a voiceless scream.
This time, it was his left arm.
Mogis had sent Kuzaku’s left arm flying to join his right.
He was fast. But it went beyond anything that words could describe. There was no way he could be so fast.
“Kuzaku...!” Merry tried to rush to his side. Haruhiro wanted to stop her. He didn’t make it in time.
It was like Mogis moved five or six meters in a single step. It should have been impossible, but that was how it looked.
“No...!” Haruhiro strained to speak. Even when he did, only a tiny voice came out.
Mogis’s sword ran through Merry’s abdomen.
“Guh...!”
What had Merry tried to say?
When Mogis effortlessly pulled his sword free, Merry crumpled to the ground. Mogis smiled.
“Incredible!”
Haruhiro had never seen a smile like this before.
What kind of feelings did it express? He couldn’t imagine. His eyes, his eyebrows, his nostrils, and his mouth were all pulled in different directions, then slackened, so that you could barely call it a smile at all. That was the kind of expression it was.
Mogis leaped. No one should have been able to jump like that. It was unbelievable. But Haruhiro had no choice but to believe.
“Augh...?!”
First, Mogis kicked Ranta. It was too fast for Haruhiro to see it very well, but he’d probably landed the blow in between Ranta’s right shoulder and his neck. The mask slipped from his face, and Ranta didn’t so much fall to the ground as he was driven into it.
Then, in the next instant, Mogis planted a roundhouse kick on Yume.
“Nuh...!”
It looked like Yume tried to block it with her arm. If she hadn’t, it would have hit the side of her face. But, wait, had her arm just broken? It made an awful sound. She was also sent flying and tumbled to the floor.
Haruhiro could only look on in dumb amazement.
Setora, however, could do more. She took a jab at Mogis with her spear.
But Mogis was no longer there.
Mogis snapped the spear in his left hand. That Setora was able to release her spear and fall backwards at that very instant showed how impressive her reflexes were.
“...!”
As she tried to escape to the left or right, of all the things he could have done, Mogis stomped on her chest.
Kiichi let out an incredible yowl and pounced at Mogis.
“Do—”
Had Haruhiro ever been more painfully aware of how powerless his words were?
Don’t do it, was what he’d tried to say. You can’t do that. No, don’t. You absolutely can’t.
Without so much as looking at Kiichi, Mogis easily cut him to pieces.
“Ki—”
Setora’s words were powerless, too, and also cut off.
That was Mogis’s doing. He had shifted his sword to a backhand grip. Then, swinging down vertically, he pierced her throat.
“How many of you?”
Mogis turned to face Haruhiro, his foot still on Setora’s chest.
“How many of you do I have to kill before you’ll swear loyalty to me? If you do so now, it will only have been one measly beast. The loss is minimal. With a priest’s intervention, the others may yet survive. If you refuse—”
“...Raaah! Gwahhh...!”
Kuzaku, who had lost both arms, was still trying to rise. What was he going to do if he stood up? What could he possibly do?
Ranta was convulsing. It was that bad after just one kick?
Yume looked like her arms were broken. Both of them.
“O... Light... may Lumiaris’s... divine protection... be upon you...” Merry was trying to use Cure on herself. If she didn’t heal her own wounds first, she wouldn’t be able to save her comrades.
But if Mogis felt like it, he could kill Merry at any time.
If he did that, none of them would survive.
Haruhiro felt deeply terrified of the man.
It had to be deliberate.
Haruhiro alone was unharmed. Mogis hadn’t done anything to him. Thanks to that, he felt his comrades’ pain all the more keenly.
Honestly, for Haruhiro, this was far worse than if he had been on the brink of death himself.
“I get it.”
Haruhiro shook his head.
It’s hopeless.
We can’t refuse him.
The only option is to submit.
“I’ll swear loyalty, whatever it takes. ...Don’t kill them. Please, don’t kill anyone.”
Mogis tut-tut-tutted. He was making his disappointment clear.
What more does he want?
Haruhiro got down on his knees, and lowered his head to the ground.
“...I pledge my loyalty. Please, don’t kill my comrades. ...I beg of you.”
“This is the last time.”
Jin Mogis finally lifted his boot from Setora’s chest.
“There will not be another.”
 
18. What I Didn’t Know About You
Kuzaku, Merry, Setora, Ranta, and Yume were supplied with black equipment. Merry got a battle staff, Setora a spear and longsword, and Yume as many arrows as she needed.
Haruhiro had been wearing a black cloak to begin with, but the others were all ordered to wear them, too. Refusing wasn’t an option. They had to do as they were told.
Before dawn, the military banner flying in Alterna had been exchanged for a new one. The new design bore a red moon and a sword on a black field.
The six o’clock bell rang.
The Expeditionary Force became the Frontier Army, and Jin Mogis became the Commander.
As the bell chimed for the second time, Hiyo dropped by Tenboro Tower. She was there to pay her respects to the Commander, and engage in some pleasant chatter over breakfast.
When the bell tolled for the third time, the Commander went out into Alterna with Hiyo, Neal the scout, and a hundred-odd Black Cloaks. They were scheduled to meet with the king of the goblins in the Old City of Damuro at noon. If the talks between Hiyo and the ugoths went off without a hitch, there would be an alliance between the Frontier Army and the goblin race in the name of Jin Mogis and Mogado Gwagajin.
“That bastard. Treating us like a bunch of fools...” Ranta grumbled while squatting in front of Tenboro Tower’s main gate. He was wearing his usual mask, but it was shifted up to his forehead. If it was that much of a hindrance, he shouldn’t have worn it at all.
“But still...” Kuzaku was leaning against the wall to the right of the gate, rubbing his arms with his hands. “We couldn’t even lay a hand on him. If he treats us like fools, what can we say about it?”
“You idiot!” Ranta yelled at Kuzaku. It would have been nice if he’d presented some evidence before calling people idiots, but he probably didn’t have any. “You’re an idiot...” Ranta just repeated himself.
Setora was standing next to Kuzaku. She hadn’t said much since the night before. Even when they tried to talk to her, they could only get responses like, “Yeah,” or, “Mm-hm.”
Merry and Yume, who were standing close together on the left side of the gate, seemed to be in a daze. Like their souls had slipped out of their bodies.
Haruhiro wanted to kick Ranta, who was right next to him, in the back. He wouldn’t, though. Why was this guy the only one squatting? It pissed him off. But that anger was misdirected.
Haruhiro’s group had been ordered to guard Tenboro Tower. Basically, they were holding down the fort. Now, were they disappointed about missing the historic moment when an alliance would be forged between the human and goblin races? No, not in the slightest. Honestly, it didn’t matter to them, but they were being coerced. They weren’t devoted to Jin Mogis. The Commander had to know that, which was why they had been ordered to defend Tenboro Tower while he wasn’t around.
Now, Haruhiro wasn’t like Ranta, but he had to agree that they were being treated like fools.
Everything should have worked out, but their plans went awry. It had been a catastrophic failure. Not only did they fail to take Shihoru back, Kiichi had been killed. He was Setora’s pet, but Haruhiro had felt pretty attached to Kiichi, too. The nyaa had helped them out so much. It had felt natural for him to just be there. When he closed his eyes, he saw the moment Kiichi was cut to pieces. He felt a seething rage burning him from the inside. Haruhiro hated Jin Mogis. He feared him, too. What was that bizarre power? It wasn’t human. He could have massacred them. Why were they still alive?
The man had spared them. That was the only reason.
It shouldn’t have turned out that way.
If they set their minds to it, the party was capable of killing Jin Mogis at any time. But that would have given rise to inconvenient complications, so they held off.
Except, that wasn’t true. No, had it just ceased to be true?
“...The ring. Was it the power of that ring?”
It stuck out. The ring on Jin Mogis’s left index finger. Yeah. Haruhiro was suspicious of it.
“It’s a relic...”
“I’ll bet,” Ranta agreed with a laugh full of despair. “I’ve met my fair share of tough guys. But that was something else. Besides, there was something weird about it.”
“What do you mean, weird?” Haruhiro asked, and Ranta turned to face him.
“Something instantly sapped my energy. Didn’t you feel it? Or were you too dense to notice?”
“...I felt it. But, hold on, can we not have a conversation without you constantly deriding me?”
“Hey, I’m not doing it because I want to, okay? I’ve got to do it. I have no choice. You understand? If you don’t want to get insulted, don’t make me do it. Then you’ll be happy that I’m not calling you out on your failings, and I’ll be happy that I don’t have to waste my breath. It’s a win-win, really.”
“There you go, making it all someone else’s fault...” Haruhiro started to argue, but gave up. He sighed. It was time to calm down, and think. That was all he could do for now. “...Yeah. You’re right. All of us got weaker... and the Black Cloaks who were there probably did, too. Did it feel to us like Mogis got stronger because of that...?”
“Nah,” Ranta shook his head, then looked down. “...You can’t explain what happened with it just being a feeling. He didn’t just look fast. He was fast, and super strong, too... Did he gain as much strength as we lost...? Like, if we were to put a number on our power, we went from a ten down to an eight, or a seven, and that bastard used what we lost to power himself up... All the pieces fit if that’s the case.”
“No way...”
How could something so unfair happen?
But Haruhiro couldn’t deny it was possible.
“A relic, huh? ...If he’s got one, then Mogis is—”
“I dunno about that.” Ranta raised his face, glaring at the sky with upturned eyes. “Let’s assume the ring is a relic, and it has the power I guessed. Do you think he got that relic by himself?”
“...I’m going to guess no. I’m sure that Hiyo... and the master of the Forbidden Tower gave it to him.”
“Okay, moving on. Now, assume I’m the master of the Forbidden Tower. Would I give him an item that made him invincible? Even if I was only lending it to him temporarily? He’s not family, or a friend I trust to never betray me. Jin Mogis is ambitious, and clearly dangerous.”
“Well... I wouldn’t give it to him at all.”
“There’s got to be a hole in it somewhere, don’t you think?”
“A hole...?”
“A flaw, I guess? A limitation, or some drawback... When did the effect wear off? By the time Merry healed me, I didn’t feel weak anymore.”
Haruhiro touched his cheek. “...I honestly don’t know. But it’s true that he took us down in no time. Mogis left the great hall after that... When Merry healed me, I don’t think my body felt heavy anymore, either.”
“The duration of the effect might be short. Can he use it repeatedly? If not, then he can only use it when it really counts. Could be why he lured us in. When we made our big gamble it was the perfect time for him to use the ring...”
“So, you’re saying... we were dancing in the palm of his hand?”
“Because we didn’t know what his cards were.” Ranta stood up, and snapped his fingers.
“We had two pieces on the board, me and Yume, that he didn’t know about, either. But we lacked the power to overcome his trump card — this time, at least.”
Ranta turned and looked around behind him. Then, frowning, he let out a scornful laugh.
“You all look like such a bunch of sad sacks. It’s pathetic. I have to lead this bunch of gloomers to beat that piece of shit? This’s gonna be such a headache.”
“...Whuh?” Kuzaku stared blankly at Ranta.
“Lead...?” Merry had a dubious look on her face. Yume blinked repeatedly.
“...Oh?” Setora was impassive. Looking at Ranta without looking at him.
“I mean, obviously, it’s gotta be me.” Ranta pointed to the heavens, then jabbed his index finger into his own chest. “You think a sad, dejected, depressed, demotivated, weak coward can take you where you need to go?”
Who was that weak coward supposed to be?
Haruhiro, of course.
It was harsh, but he couldn’t get mad about it. There was no room for argument. Ranta was clearly trying to provoke Haruhiro. But Haruhiro couldn’t even fight back. Seriously, how could he? He didn’t have the will left to make excuses.
“You, too,” Ranta gestured to Kuzaku with his chin.
“And you.” And to Merry.
“And you, and you,” And to Yume and Setora, too.
“You’re all in more or less the same sad state. That’s the reason. If a loser leads a bunch of losers, that’ll just lead to an exponential growth in loser-ness, now won’t it?”
“No, but...” Kuzaku mumbled. Ranta laughed.
“Well, I’m different, okay?” What a nasty grin.
Was he deliberately playing the heel? Or was he just so vile that he couldn’t be bothered to hide it?
“I’ve been through more battles than you can count. Seen every kind of hell. I’m not so tender that a little thing like this is gonna get me down. I mean, seriously. What are you all so bent out of shape over? If you ask me, it’s a little weird.”
“...Weird?” Haruhiro asked despite himself. “What’s so... weird about it? Look at the situation. Of course it’s normal for us to act this way.”
Ranta let out an exaggerated sigh.
“Even after losing your memories, you just never change, huh, Parupiro? It’s not like you’re the only one left...” Not like he was the only one left?
What did Ranta mean by that? Haruhiro didn’t know. He could hardly imagine.
Haruhiro had heard the general outline of what caused the break between Ranta and him from Merry. But he didn’t understand it precisely. Not his feelings. Or Ranta’s. Ranta was supposed to have joined a group called Forgan centered around an orc named Jumbo. What happened after that? Why, or rather how, had he come back?
That was unclear, but what he did know was that Ranta must have been all alone for a time.
Even when Haruhiro awoke with no memories, he had been with his comrades. He hadn’t been alone, at least.
Obviously, he wasn’t now, either.
“What do you have to be depressed about?” Ranta grabbed Haruhiro’s chest, or rather his cloak. “Would you stop it with the pity party, you dolt? If you keep acting like that, then these losers are gonna stay like this forever. I’m saying, if you’re gonna be like this, it’d be better for me to drag the lot of you behind me. Got a problem with that?”

 

“A problem...”
“Well? Huh? I’m not sweet, and I’m not a nice guy, like you. But still. I won’t stop. I’ll keep on going. For as long as I live. What about you?” Ranta was definitely not sweet, nor a nice guy.
You’re the leader, aren’t you? Then how about you do your damn job. If you can’t, you’re a failure. It’s time for you to quit. That had to be what Ranta was saying. It was a reasonable argument.
But Haruhiro was human, too. Though he was probably, no, definitely a mediocre one. There were times when it was hard for him. When he struggled, it was normal for him to want to break down. Couldn’t he do that? Did he have to pretend to be strong all the time?
That’s right, Ranta was pressing him. If you can’t do that, and can’t carry everyone on your back, you can step down.
Because I’ll do it for you.
“...You’re such a pain to deal with, man.”
“What? What’s this, all of a sudden?!” Ranta was not a nice guy.
Was that really true?
He wasn’t sweet. But Ranta did think about his comrades in his own way.
“Were you always like this?”
“L-Like what?!”
“Did I just... always fail to understand you?”
“Huhhhhhh?!” Ranta pushed Haruhiro away. “Y-Y-You’re grossing me out, man! D-D-Did you lose your mind?! Well, you were crazy to begin with, but still...”
“I don’t need your concern,” Haruhiro said with a small, deliberate smile. When he thought about how Setora must feel, even that strained smile made his chest ache. Still, he couldn’t afford to wallow in defeat and sink into depression like this. Mediocre or not, Haruhiro was their leader.
I want to be a leader.
Haruhiro had enough reason to think that.
He wasn’t alone.
He never had been. Not before he lost his memories, and not since. Haruhiro hadn’t been isolated.
That was how he’d survived until today.
Because he had comrades.
If he could lend them even a little strength by fulfilling his role as leader, he wanted to.
“Ranta.”
“Wh-What?!”
“I don’t plan on letting you take my place. Not while I’m still alive, at least.”
“...Don’t add that last negative part!”
“I have to consider the possibility. If anything happens to me, take care of everyone. You seem pretty tenacious. I can’t see you kicking the bucket before me.”
“Damn straight! Someday, I plan to become immortal and conquer the world!”
“That’s some plan...” Kuzaku muttered with a spontaneous laugh, then hurriedly covered his mouth, glancing sideways at Setora.
Setora was looking at Haruhiro. She nodded slightly. I understand. I’ll be fine. That was what she was trying to tell him.
She probably wasn’t fine. How could she be? But Setora didn’t want him to worry about her. Regrets and laments weren’t going to help, but she still couldn’t resist the sadness and feelings of emptiness that were assailing her. That had to frustrate her more than anyone.
When Haruhiro nodded back, the corners of her lips turned up slightly.
The bell began to toll.
“It’s noon, huh?” Yume looked up into the sky.
Before it was taken by the Southern Expedition, the bells in Alterna had rung once every two hours, from six o’clock in the morning, to six at night. Now that Jin Mogis’s Expeditionary Force had become the Frontier Army and he had become the Commander, the bells had been brought back.
“It’s about time,” Merry said.
If things were going as planned, Jin Mogis and Mogado Gwagajin were meeting at the site in the Old City of Damuro now. There would be an alliance between the Frontier Army and the goblin race.
“What’s his next move?” Ranta was trying to make him think ahead. By doing so, he put the pressure on Haruhiro. It felt like he was being repeatedly kicked in the butt, which made it hard to relax. But maybe that was good. Compared to the situation they found themselves in, Haruhiro was far too ordinary. He needed to put in two, or even three, times as much effort as someone else would have if he wanted to get anywhere. He didn’t really want to, but with Ranta on his ass, he had no choice. That was probably for the best.
“Next will be... Mt. Grief, I guess?”

Chapter end