Volume 3 Chapter 10, “Shall we go together?”
——— The Battlefield, the Red Sun Rising in the Evening
Disciple Soldier: “Aghhhhhh…”
Lieutenant of Metal: “…”
Disciple Soldier: “Ughh, ughhhhh…”
Lieutenant of Metal: “…”
Disciple Soldier: “They died…”
Lieutenant of Metal: “…”
Disciple Soldier: “They all died…”
Lieutenant of Metal: “…”
Disciple Soldier: “So many!!!”
Collapses.
Lieutenant of Metal: “…”
Disciple Soldier: “When I pulled back, a whole bunch of settlers… and lots of my subordinates… They all charged at that wall of muskets. They covered me, they covered their comrades. In that way, in that way! They all passed together. Even though they were my comrades!!!”
Lieutenant of Metal: “…”
Disciple Soldier: “…They won’t ever laugh again.”
Lieutenant of Metal: “…”
Disciple Soldier: “They won’t talk again…”
Lieutenant of Metal: “…”
Disciple Soldier: “They won’t drink, they won’t curse, they won’t raise their voices at me, howling with laughter, joking without respect…”
Lieutenant of Metal: “Minister…”
Disciple Soldier: “They protected us.”
Lieutenant of Metal: “…”
Disciple Soldier: “Why couldn’t I protect them.”
Lieutenant of Metal: “…”
Disciple Soldier: “…”
Lieutenant of Metal: “Let’s go back.”
Disciple Soldier: “…”
Lieutenant of Metal: “The Kingdom of Metal still has many people who need their Minister for Defence. — Minister… They are waiting, the people of whom our brothers and friends died here today, died protecting!”
Disciple Soldier: “…”
Lieutenant of Metal: “…”
Disciple Soldier: “…I suppose that’s true.”
Lieutenant of Metal: “Yes.”
Disciple Soldier: “I’m sorry I let you see that shameful side of me.”
Lieutenant of Metal: “Definitely.”
Disciple Soldier: “?”
Lieutenant of Metal: “We’ll definitely win next time. And then you can laugh.”
———— On the Central Continental Highway, the Wind Blowing
Wind blowing fiercely.
Elder Sister Maid: “…”
Disciple Bard: “…”
Elder Sister Maid: “Miss Bard, did you see that?”
Disciple Bard: “…Yeah.”
Elder Sister Maid: “…”
Disciple Bard: “I think so… I was myself, but I could somehow feel it through you, as if I was there on that blue beach as well…”
Elder Sister Maid: “…”
Disciple Bard: “There was anguish.”
Elder Sister Maid: “Yes.”
Disciple Bard: “And anger.”
Elder Sister Maid: “And some unearthly music of pain.”
Elder Sister Maid: “…I don’t understand. I don’t understand!”
Disciple Bard: “…”
Elder Sister Maid: “They died.”
Disciple Bard: “Yes.”
Elder Sister Maid: “In incredible numbers. As many deaths as there are grains of sand on that beach.”
Disciple Bard: “Hey, Elder Sister Maid, you’ve noticed, right?”
Elder Sister Maid: “Sorry?”
Unwraps turban.
Disciple Bard: “I’m taking off my turban.”
Elder Sister Maid: “Bard…”
Disciple Bard: “There, you’ve seen my pointy ears, right? I am a member of the Tribe of the Forest Fairies. We sing, we tell stories, and we record the happenings of the world. Now and then, past and present. We have recorded everything that has happened for thousands and thousands of years. That’s right. Ehehe… I’m a Demon.”
Elder Sister Maid: “You are a Bard.”
Disciple Bard: “I thought I should tell you.”
Wind blows fiercely.
Disciple Bard: “I am the Disciple Bard. Seeking to know the tale of the Holy Relic, I left the Demon World. I am a Demon. But you know that. I’m sure you know that…I want to sing. I hope you will let me sing. Just a bit.”
Elder Sister Maid: “…”
Disciple Bard: “You don’t understand? Well, that’s to be expected.”
Elder Sister Maid: “Umm…”
Disciple Bard: “I have decided my path. I decided it at the start… I will go too. I will pay too. I don’t mind bleeding. I will pay my way with my songs.”
Elder Sister Maid: “Yes.”
Disciple Bard: “You are also…my teacher’s…”
Elder Sister Maid: “Sorry?”
Disciple Bard: “No… Nothing.”
Wind blows fiercely.
Elder Sister Maid: “Yes.”
Disciple Bard: “Hey, don’t cry.”
Elder Sister Maid: “But—”
Disciple Bard: “I will go. Because I know. Because I have seen. There are some things I know I have to do. That’s why, this is farewell.”
Elder Sister Maid: “Yes.”
Disciple Bard: “Keep your ears peeled. If you hear a song on the streets that reminds you of yourself, then that is my voice. My song. My thoughts.”
Elder Sister Maid nods.
Disciple Bard: “I pray that you will also find your path. The Tribe of Forest Fairies will forever be your friends.”
- The Kingdom of White Night, on a Balcony
Crown Prince Marshal: “Praise be the exalted name of the Holy Spirit! O, Children of the Light, chosen warriors! We have finally retaken the Kingdom of White Night. Look! Look at the ruined city. The Kingdom of White Night has certainly fought as the shield of the Continent. A holy shield, fighting for the holiest goals of the Church of the Central Continent! But despite their honour, the cowardly Demon Race has reduced them to rubble in a surprise attack. The ruins you see before you is proof that the violence and destruction of the Demons are beyond hope of saving. It is their alliance with the heretics, the Three Kingdoms of the South, that has caused this.
“However! We have taken the city! We sing our songs of victory! We bathe in the light of the new dawn. By the deathless grace of the Holy Spirit, we have secured our victory. O, Children of the Light, chosen warriors. By this Kingdom at the borders of the Continent, with the strength of your arms, we have beaten back the Demons, and here we will restore the Kingdom of White Night!!!”
Yeahhhhhh!!! Yeahhhhhh!!!
Soldier of Light: “All is as the Spirit wills it!”
Soldier of Light: “All is as the Spirit wills it!”
Crown Prince Marshal: “Look. This is the southern end of the continent! If we sailed for just a short distance on these seas, braving the fierce waves, we would reach the new continent from which we can cross through the Portal and take the fight to the Demons! With the defeat of the Demons here, the route to our invasion is surely left open. If we were to let this opportunity slip by, we would only be opening ourselves up to countless more tragedies.
“The muskets you have in your hands are staffs of fire bestowed unto the Church by our most noble Holy Spirit of Light. I’m sure all of you know how powerful they are. This time, we will be welcomed into the light! Now is the time! If you have yet to prove yourself to the Spirit, make your preparations now, because it will be time for us to demonstrate our faith!
“We, who have left our homes and our lands, who have journeyed to be plunged into the fires of war; even if it takes decades, even if we have only one soldier left standing, we will triumph over these evil Demons, we will usher in a period of faith and spread the message of grace by the Holy Spirit throughout the world!
“This is something I believe in strongly. No matter what comes our way, we will definitely be able to tide through it. In other words, we are the will of the Spirit! Listen to what is behind you. Listen to the heavy marching of boots on that faraway plain. Today, right now, your comrades are celebrating the liberation of the Kingdom of White Night and are gathering to join our cause. They are receiving cartloads of new muskets, cloths, horses, and barley. For their sake, we will begin constructing ships. We will organise this city for this effort. Beginning from this evening, there will be a new Kingdom of White Night, the personal demesne of the Holy Patriarch of the Holy Church of Light and the frontline for our offensive against the Demon World.
“Come, let us open the wine! Should we not celebrate our victory! And when the night gives way to bright in this glorious midsummer, let us begin to construct our ships! All the tools have been prepared. Tonight is our victory! You have taken up arms, listened to the noble words of the Spirit, followed to wise commands of your commanders, and for you the undying flowers of victory bloom! To the Demon World! There, for sure, we will retake our Holy Relic!”
Yeahhhhhh!!! Yeeeeeaaaahhhh!!!
Soldier of Light: “All is as the Spirit wills it!”
Soldier of Light: “All is as the Spirit wills it!”
Soldier of Light: “All is as the Spirit wills it!”
Crown Prince Marshal: “Raise the flag of the Spirit! For our comrades!”
- The Kingdom of Metal, the Central Plaza
The Iron Fist King: “My people, my brave commanders and soldiers who have returned from the Plains of Scilla. Nothing makes me happier than to see the safe return of our men. This was a battle fought by your friends, your husbands, your sons, and your lovers. And many others. But more importantly, this was a battle fought by the hearts of the Three Kingdoms, by brave and loyal warriors.
“—What was the Battle of the Plains of Scilla? The Tribe of the Demons of the Pale, who conquered our neighbouring country, is but a faction that fled the Demon World after plunging it into chaos. They are criminals in the Demon World and they are criminals now. But that has nothing to do with us because for us, this is a battle to protect our beloved land, the land of our fathers, and to save the lands which our settlers have so lovingly cultivated. This is a battle to repel the invaders!
“I, the Iron Fist King, proclaim that we have lost many. In this battle, more than two thousand people will never return home. However, I also proclaim. I proclaim a great victory in the Plains of Scilla. In any case, we have repelled the invaders and we stand proudly on the lands of our forefathers today. With this battle, our war with the Demons of the Pale is at an end. May their souls rest in the Light. We have protected our home!”
Yeaahhhh!!! Yeaaaaaahhhh!!!
The Lone Winter King: “Brothers in the Kingdom of Metal! Listen to me. At this Plains of Scilla, an extremely important thing has happened! The countries of the Central Continent have fielded a combined unit, along with the Holy Crusaders from the Holy Church of Light, to kill us indiscriminately. It is true that to them, we are a nation of heretics. But we are adherents of the Holy Order of the Lake, an order wherein the Spirit resides, and we are also believers. We have looked at the Central Continent as mentors or even older brothers but today, they seek to behead us and drown us in our own tears.
“We have an unpleasant history with the Central Continent. We are a child of the Central Continent. But even then, we have protected them against the incessant threat of the Demons. They have scorned our fathers as mercenaries, barbarians who know only of war; but we have defended them at the expense of the South. Our spirit is one with the Continent! Look beside you. These are not serfs or slaves but your comrades! Put your hands on your chests. That beat is the beat of freedom! We are a free people and we step freely on our free land. This freedom is independence. Not just of our nation, but the independence of our hearts. From tilling the land, from our hard work to make the wastelands arable, we have tided over difficult times to forge our independent character!”
Yeaahhhhh!!! That’s right!!!
Our land is the land of the South!!!
The Lone Winter King: “I want to leave you with a thought. Why do we shed our blood? It is all for the land. It is all for the comrades whom we protect with our lives. That is why we have risen up to face the threat. All we ask for is peace, so we can be content, so we can try to make our lives more prosperous, so we can aim for that little bit of happiness. We have no need to take the purses of others to build our own prosperity.
“It doesn’t matter who invades our lands, whether they are Demons, whether they are Human kingdoms. No matter which army tries to threaten us, for our homes and for our lands, we will fight to the very end! But we are not foolish people who would starve and die in blood. What we hope for is peace and prosperity. If we could, we would join hands with the Central Continent, neither would we hesitate to form a ceasefire with the Demons. Our minds work for one purpose, so that no matter what the difficulty and hardship is, we will always be able to come out on top!”
Iron Fist King! Iron Fist King! Lone Winter King! Lone Winter King!
The Lone Winter King: “I have one piece of happy news. Many of you may know this or may have already been vaccinated. A terrible pestilence of smallpox and cowpox has swept across the land, massacring countless people, more so than any war we have ever fought. Up till now, we have had no defence, but we have finally made a discovery!”
Murmuring…
R-really?
It’s true! Look, I was vaccinated already!
My village was vaccinated last year and no one has caught the pox yet!
The Queen of Ice and Snow: “I do not understand the will of the Spirit. The Spirit’s intentions are deep, and with our limited human understanding, we cannot hope to understand all of it. However, please remember. And tonight, I want each and every one of you to relect on this.
“The Holy Church of Light claims that the staffs which they have been using to massacre our soldiers by spitting fire at them are a gift from the Spirit of Light. Hence, you must think that our Holy Order of the Lake has received this vaccination and the medicine to cure people of smallpox from the Holy Spirit. In truth, this medicine was developed by an incredibly intelligent scholar who came up with it during a visit to the Demon World. You must surely be wondering about the different technologies bestowed to the two churches.”
Murmuring… Murmuring…
The Lone Winter King: “There is one thing I can answer for you. We, the Three Kingdoms, wish for peace and prosperity. As far as we can, we will develop ways to achieve that. Of course, we will protect our motherland and we will never allow anyone else to take it. And hence, I have another important announcement to make.”
What? What is it?
The Lone Winter King: “Starting today, the Tripartite Economic Union will be disbanded. We welcome new friends into our fold!”
For real? What’s going on?!
We have more comrades?
Really! Oh, it must be the Kingdom of the Lake then!”
The Lone Winter King: “The Kingdom of the Lake, the Kingdom of Branches, the Kingdom of Reeds, the Kingdom of Red Horses, and seven Free Cities have expressed interest in joining our Union and have gradually fulfilled the first criteria of the emancipation of their serfs. We are no longer the Three Kingdoms. We can finally bid farewell to our lonely existence at this corner in the South, enduring the overwhelming odds. We fight to protect the land. We seek peace and prosperity, and whomsoever wishes to seek it with us, we will cooperate and embrace unhesitatingly.
“Our roots extend deeper into the world, our ships depart for the same tomorrow! Together, we are a people who embody the spirit of the South with our deep adoration for our land, love for our comrades, benevolence and virtue, industry, and above all, our burning passion for liberty and independence. Here today, I proclaim to you that the Alliance of the South has begun!”
…Alliance of the South? That’s right, the Alliance of the South!
We’re no longer heretics, we have comrades!
We’re going to liberate all the serfs of the Continent!
I finally have new markets for my iron products!
Not just that, we can finally import a whole range of things!
Iron Fist King! Iron Fist King! Long live the Iron Fist King!
Lone Winter King! Lone Winter King! Long live the Lone Winter King!
Queen of Ice and Snow! Queen of Ice and Snow! Long live the Queen of Ice and Snow!
Alliance of the South! Long live the Alliance of the South!
——— Beneath a Tree, under the Moonlight
Leaves sway.
The Hero: “…”
Leaves sway.
The Demon King: “Hero.”
The Hero: “Demon King.”
The Demon King: “…”
The Hero: “…”
The Demon King: “Could you sit beside me?”
The Hero: “Yeah.” Shuffles.
The Demon King: “…”
The Hero: “…”
The Demon King: “Tired?”
The Hero: “Yeah.”
The Demon King: “Me too.”
The Hero: “…”
The Demon King: “…”
The Hero: “I lost.”
The Demon King: “Me too.”
The Hero: “I don’t understand.”
The Demon King: “Yeah.”
The Hero: “Why do we win and why do we lose?”
The Demon King: “Yeah.”
The Hero: “Demon King.”
The Demon King: “?”
The Hero: “Do you regret?”
The Demon King: “…”
The Hero: “I asked you. About the black powder.”
The Demon King: “…Yeah.”
The Hero: “…”
The Demon King: “It’s my fault.”
The Hero: “…”
The Demon King: “…”
Branch breaking.
The Hero: “Ah.”
The Female Paladin: “Thanks for your hard work.”
The Demon King: “I’m sorry.”
The Female Paladin: “But I’m useless too, I lost.”
The Demon King: “It’s my fault …”
The Female Paladin: “On that battlefield, I had my doubts. For whom are we bleeding? Is whatever we’re fighting for worth all this blood? I questioned if we weren’t making a pointless sacrifice.”
The Demon King: “It was an unnecessary sacrifice. Today, at least thousands have died. If I had paid my attention, it wouldn’t have…”
The Female Paladin: “…”
The Demon King: “…”
The Hero: “Hey.”
The Female Paladin: “?”
The Hero: “…I have an important question for the both of you.”
The Female Paladin: “What?”
The Demon King: “At this time?”
The Hero: “Stepping onto the dew soaked leaves, I ran along the grassy plain. The sky was illuminated by the pink evening sun. The world stretches endlessly in all directions, but I only know the path on which I have walked. Even though I wanted to go everywhere, I could not impel myself to go anywhere.”
The Female Paladin: “…?”
The Demon King: “—Well.”
The Hero: “What is on the other side of the hill? I’ve been thinking about that.”
The Female Paladin: “What are you talking about?”
The Demon King: “—”
The Hero: “It’s simple. What will happen on the other side of the hill? These aren’t the words I asked when we first set out. If we managed to reach that hill after going through all kinds of difficulties… But is that it? What are we aiming for? We have been working in curves through the streets. To reach that hill, we have to climb these dew-soaked slopes. The hill is dangerous and far away. But what if we climb to the top of the hill and we saw something we have never seen before?”
The Female Paladin: “…That’s—”
The Demon King: “Not dew, this is blood.”
The Hero: “Even then.”
The Female Paladin: “—”
The Hero: “That’s why, I haven’t been running. I’ve been working hard not to run, so I can admire the scenery… But I have no choice. I want to see that something I have never seen before. I come from a broken world and I want to see something else.”
The Female Paladin: “Hero…”
The Demon King: “…Hero.”
The Hero: “Well.”
Wind blows.
The Hero: “Shall we go together?”
The Female Paladin: “—”
The Demon King: “—”
The Hero: “It’s a bit embarrassing, but that’s not something I can do alone. And I want us to be able to look into each other’s eyes as we are standing on top of that hill. We can’t do this alone.”
The Female Paladin sniffles.
The Demon King nods.
The Hero: “What do you think?”
The Female Paladin: “Good. No, I’ve always hoped for you to acknowledge that.”
The Demon King: “You belong to me. I would never throw you aside.”
The Hero: “Yes — Yes!”
The Female Paladin: “You’ve always been a worrywart. Even though you don’t worry enough about yourself.”
The Demon King: “That’s a good point of the Hero. He has a good and loving heart.”
The Female Paladin: “Loving?! What do you know about that!”
The Demon King: “Why shouldn’t I know everything about the things that belong to me!”
The Female Paladin: “What do you mean belongs to you, you big-boobed bimbo!”
The Demon King: “Big-boobed bimbo?! Well that’s much better than a waterfall.”
The Female Paladin: “A waterfall?! How is that a flat thing?”
The Demon King: “If you look at it from a vector’s point of view, then it is!”
The Hero: “Oh no, save me.”
The Female Paladin: “Hero, you’ve made a lot of pledges with me in the past. But I’m ready to make a long-term pledge to be by your side. Let’s pledge! Let’s pledge now!”
The Demon King: “What are you trying to force him into?”
The Female Paladin: “This is a religious ritual from the Holy Order of the Lake.”
The Demon King: “Stop twisting religious rituals to your benefit whenever you feel like it! Have you no shame!”
The Hero: “Hey, umm… Let’s all try to get along?”
————— The Kingdom of White Night, the Most Opulent Room in the Palace
The Holy Patriarch: “…The Black Knight… escaped…”
The Leader of the Hundred Paladins: “I apologise. He seems to have been taken away by those pesky mercenaries…”
The Holy Patriarch: “…Fine… It’s fine…I think. And…the fly…has he been dealt with?”
The Leader of the Hundred Paladins: “He has been executed, Your Holiness.”
The Holy Patriarch: “Heh. He did not know his place …”
Cleric Master: “Your Most Exalted Holiness.”
The Holy Patriarch: “…What?”
Cleric Master: “As requested.”
The Holy Patriarch: “…Haha, haha, hahahaha.”
The Leader of the Hundred Paladins: “What are these?”
Cleric Master: “These are consecrated…they are treasured gems.”
The Leader of the Hundred Paladins stares.
The Holy Patriarch: “Hurry… Hurry…in my hands…”
Cleric Master: “Hahaha.”
The Holy Patriarch: “They are in my hands… Haha… I have been waiting for this sparkling shine… This abundant magical force… This incessant radiance…”
The Leader of the Hundred Paladins looks confused.
The Holy Patriarch: “The eyes of the Sigiled King…”
- Epilogue
Her light slumber was broken by a burning in her chest.
The remains of her terrible dream, red as blood, cold as steel, as painful as rotting flesh; floated away into the mist. She could not bear but to curl up into a ball, keeping her limbs close together in order to endure the pain which was ripping apart her mind.
It would be a mistake to think that she was able to sleep despite the unbearable pain. It was because she could not bear the pain that she chose to sleep.
Compared to the feeling of her body getting ripped apart by anguish, by the inevitable pain and sadness which accompanies her loss, she chose a slumber of unending nightmares.
But the Hero was born.
The world would once again have a Hero.
Her lips mouthed that forbidden name.
Of course, that was already not the name of the Hero. That was the name of the one who had been by her side, those hundreds, those thousand years ago, when she could still feel his body warmth on the surface of the earth.
(Even so…)
For hundreds of years, she hoped to meet him.
For thousands of years, she hoped to meet him.
Amidst her eternity of pain, in the darkness she called for him.
A single teardrop, like the countless others which had come before, rolled down her cheek, leaving a warmth only she could understand.
When she opened her eyes, the land was plunged into the fires of conflict. She could see many formations, each a battlefield of death. The Hero she was so anxious for moved from battlefield to battlefield, from chaos to chaos, from destruction to destruction, and left tranquillity in his wake.
She searched for the Hero in the flames of violence, reached out to him amidst the fire and transmitted her pain. Amidst the symphony of swords against swords, of shouts and yells, within the evil of war, her bright red burning, like forged steel, was felt by him.
This war was her sin, her crime.
Her children who had spread across the world now called out in desperate dejection, each cutting her flesh like innumerable swords.
The cavalry which charged across the land on their steeds.
The infantrymen who took the brunt of the attack on their spears.
The world was plunged into chaos and anarchy. As power-crazy nobility and kings fought over control, they left only a sea of destruction and ruins behind them.
She looked with pain and sadness to the Hero who would bear these for her.
The only one who could prevent the world from degenerating into a wasteland was the Hero. She would definitely support the Hero, as he fought to fulfil the hopes and wishes she herself was never able to.
For the pain-filled world.
For the hurt-filled people.
Hoping for salvation to come even a day earlier, the maiden of light and flames shut her eyes. Tears rolled from the corners of her eyes again, but she was used to them, and replied only with the repetition of that forbidden apology.
To be continued in Volume 4 of Maoyuu Maou Yuusha, “The Things These Hands Can Accomplish”
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