Ch.139Chapter 139

Well.

Anyway, the conclusion was that I ended up calling the Dragonslayer by name.

Zumiya, that is.

I’m not sure if I’m crossing a river that can’t be turned back from, but maybe it’s really okay now.

The Chronicler is in a position close to an absolute being.

I’m essentially friends with Neutrice.

The Cook is just my mom.

Bell is a dog.

Having more than two was already crossing the line, but in another sense, it meant that going any further from here would be truly unacceptable.

“My lord.”

The way Zumiya addressed me hadn’t changed.

Considering that the term “my lord” itself carries quite a special meaning, I don’t think there could be a more affectionate nickname.

“My lord still doesn’t seem to understand why everyone wants to be close to him.”

“The reason they want to be close to me?”

Well…

Isn’t it just simple possessiveness?

According to the saint’s explanation, there doesn’t seem to be anything else.

While I was thinking that, Zumiya smiled as if she had expected this.

“We may bicker in front of my lord, but in the end, we all share the same purpose.”

“What purpose?”

“To become friendly with humans who misunderstand Outer Gods.”

Zumiya said this with a somewhat sad smile.

To become friendly with humans, huh.

Zumiya had actually descended to this land and became interested in humans, wanting to befriend them.

Of course, she couldn’t fulfill that wish because of the differences between species, her being an Outer God.

“You mean you want to befriend other humans through me?”

“…Well, that’s correct in a way, I suppose.”

From the context, I thought that’s what she meant, but Zumiya shook her head regretfully as if it wasn’t the right answer.

“Since you’ll find out soon anyway, to put it simply, each of us has our own domain. To explain it as that mystic fellow did before, it would be what’s called a ‘concept.'”

And then Zumiya began to speak about deeper matters.

How should I put it?

I felt a sense of cognitive dissonance as this person who had always been scheming to kidnap me suddenly started speaking such sophisticated words.

“…W-what is that expression for!”

“No, it’s nothing. Go on with what you were saying.”

“Ugh, that was a rather unpleasant look.”

“It really wasn’t anything like that.”

Anyway, these Outer Gods are problematic because they’re too quick to notice things.

I deliberately focused on Zumiya’s appearance and put on a honey-dripping gaze, and only then did she blush and resume what she was saying.

“A-ahem. Anyway, for us, becoming closely acquainted with another being is like achieving ‘fusion’ with it.”

“Fusion?”

Fusion, she says.

Does that mean two Outer Gods become mixed into one being?

Suddenly, I imagined Bell and Fiore becoming friends and merging together like some pocket monster.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s not like that.”

“Ah.”

R-right?

That did seem a bit strange.

The combination of the extremely proper Fiore and Bell who’s desperate to act boisterously.

No, that’s not it.

“Well, to be precise, wasn’t the weed fellow staying with that flower kid and completely sealing off that place? In that sense, it’s like their powers appropriately mix and cause unusual phenomena in the surroundings, or rather in their authorities—that’s what can be expressed as ‘fusion.'”

Hmm.

That’s a rather difficult concept.

“So if they have abilities of the same type, they get amplified twofold, and if they’re completely different, they mix together and develop unique characteristics?”

“That’s exactly right!”

Zumiya smiled and made an OK sign with her finger.

I see.

In short, the closer the relationship between the two beings, the stronger this phenomenon becomes, and unique abilities might manifest.

“But what does that have to do with becoming friends with me?”

“Hmm? That’s all thanks to the anomaly within my lord.”

What anomaly do I have?

Could she be talking about my coward mode?

…How does Zumiya know about my coward mode?

When I gave her a confused look, Zumiya quickly covered her mouth.

“Gasp! I almost broke my promise with the record-keeper!”

“No, what is it?”

“Th-there is such a thing! For now, just know that much! It means everyone is gathering their power to you to stop that loner fellow!”

…What’s going on?

Why are there so many secrets being kept from me?

It’s not just Fiore, but even Zumiya knows about it.

Sigh, how frustrating.

For now, I understood what Zumiya was trying to say.

It seemed she meant that they would become stronger with me at the center, then eliminate the giant of the snowy mountains to remove this anomaly, and afterward break down the wall between Outer Gods and humans.

But is there anything that can be done by stopping the giant of the snowy mountains?

The problem in the first place is that mental contamination occurs when approaching an Outer God, making it impossible to be together.

I don’t know.

My head started throbbing as difficult content suddenly emerged, and I couldn’t properly process it all.

“…Anyway, I’ve finished what I wanted to say. Now that this lady’s business is done, I shall return my lord to his original world.”

As Zumiya said that and stood up, I also got up.

The reason Zumiya’s space is so empty is probably because she dislikes how the dragon children she creates disappear, so she’d rather not place anything at all.

It was the complete opposite of Fiore.

When Zumiya’s hand began to glow brightly, I smiled at her and said:

“Zumiya, in the human world, there are people who change their interior decoration once a year.”

“…?”

“Well, the dragon children are living beings, so it might be a bit different. Still, even if they disappear like bubbles, if they can become memories for you… isn’t that enough?”

Being in a space with nothing like this could drive even a sane person insane.

The great Outer Gods may be divine beings far beyond mere organisms, but that part probably isn’t much different.

At my words, Zumiya pursed her lips with a slightly surprised expression, then soon smiled contentedly.

“My lord is truly a good person. That must be why this lady is so crazy about you.”

“U-um.”

“Thanks to my lord, I’ve gained courage. I shall try decorating my space again.”

Zumiya smiled brightly.

“As my lord said, like interior decorating.”

With those words, light flashed.

And suddenly I was back at the branch.

“…I’m back.”

My relationship with Zumiya has been restored as well.

…Now it’s time to get back to what I need to do.

#

Since I was going on a long journey this time, I was filling out a document at the knights’ headquarters.

The knight commander explained that this was a process for smooth handover because I would be absent for a long period.

Hmm.

To get to the point, the knight commander has now become the top leader of the headquarters.

For some reason, the vice commander’s office was placed in a different space inside the knight commander’s office, but Vice Commander Marenne was nowhere to be seen.

“Um, Commander?”

“What is it?”

“Where has the vice commander gone?”

“Who knows.”

That’s when I saw it.

A sticky, certain emotion gleaming in the knight commander’s eyes.

“She must be tired after working.”

“Hmm.”

I held back the habitual question of what happened.

…Somehow, I felt like knowing wouldn’t do me any good.

But what was certain, judging by the pure romance detector in my brain going off wildly, was that the situation seemed quite satisfactory.

I had a hard time forcing down the corners of my mouth that were trying to rise on their own.

Meanwhile, I was having some difficulty filling out the form.

Of course, I had been unable to write anything in the reason field for quite some time because the content was a bit awkward.

It was obvious that writing “I’m going to investigate The Watcher” would be immediately rejected in a place where there was no record of The Watcher, because the absence of a knight would be fatal to Rondan at this point.

This is troublesome.

I never thought the position of knight would tie me down like this.

As I continued to struggle, the knight commander was stroking his chin while looking at me.

Then he snorted once and spoke to me.

“So, you’re going to the imperial capital. It will be a very dangerous journey.”

“…Nevertheless, I have a reason why I must go.”

“And you can’t explain that reason?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“Hmm. Normally, I wouldn’t send you without a proper reason, as per procedure.”

The knight commander said that, but he snatched my paper, scribbled something in the reason field, and placed it on the pile of documents.

When I managed to peek at the document, I saw that the reason field simply stated “Knight Commander’s discretion.”

That meant that whatever happened, the knight commander would take responsibility.

“Commander…?”

“The attitude of walking toward truth is very commendable. Wouldn’t it be ridiculous to block your steps of such sparkling chivalry with mere procedures like these?”

The knight commander said with a slight smile.

Sigh.

These crazy romantics.

I felt tears welling up for a moment.

“Thank you, Commander!”

“Yes, go ahead.”

Just as I was about to leave after hearing the knight commander’s words.

Bang.

The door opened violently, and someone strode up to the knight commander and submitted a piece of paper.

“I’m going to the imperial capital. I’d appreciate your approval.”

Hearing a somewhat familiar voice, I looked at the person, and they looked at me at the same time.

“Huh?”

“…”

I was quite surprised to see who it was, but the other person didn’t seem particularly surprised, just glancing at me briefly before turning their attention back to the knight commander.

Then, pointing at me with a finger, they said:

“Can I take this fellow with me?”

The Huntsman said this while looking at me with a smile that seemed quite intentional.