Ch.95Revealed Truth (2)

“Be careful with human relationships,” it says.

Sitting there stating the obvious. Isn’t managing relationships something everyone should always be careful about? This is why I never take horoscopes more seriously than entertainment.

“Huh?”

“Did something just shine?”

She seems to have noticed the light coming from the text. It wasn’t even that bright, yet she spotted it well. I quickly crumpled the wrapper and closed my eyes.

“Erich, are you sleeping?”

I’m pretending to sleep.

“Hmm, maybe I saw wrong.”

“Could it have been some tropical firefly?”

The female soldiers were peering around me. With my eyes closed, the rustling sounds came through even more clearly. They whispered in very small voices.

“The Giford family is prestigious in the Magic Kingdom. When the war ends, they might take Erich away under some pretext or another.”

“Can’t we take Erich to the Holy Spirit Kingdom?”

“That would be difficult unless we take him as a prisoner. He’s from the Magic Kingdom—why would he want to follow us instead of staying in his own country?”

What are they discussing in the middle of the night?

“Sigh.”

Though I’m not well-versed in women’s hearts, lately I’ve been vaguely sensing something.

My relationship with the Valkyrie, with the Holy Maiden, and even with the fox sisters. The atmosphere with the Holy Spirit Kingdom’s female soldiers is better than I could have imagined.

I’ve started to understand something naturally, instinctively. These enemy female soldiers might be feeling more than just camaraderie toward me.

[‘You’re really dense. I can’t believe you’re only noticing this now.’]

[‘That’s right. We’ve been passionately debating who you’ll end up with for quite some time.’]

[‘Don’t be too hard on him. He’s been single all this time, so he might need to be cautious.’]

[‘True. He’s much better than those men who think you like them just because you’re a little nice to them and come running like dogs in heat. Though with his specs, it’s absurd that he’s still a virgin…’]

The stones each had something to say. Listening to their harsh comments directed at both allies and enemies made my head spin.

[‘So, Mage Lohnstein. Is there someone you have feelings for?’]

[‘The Holy Maiden is the best choice.’]

[‘Fox! Fox! Fox!’]

[‘What about our Rachel? Are you going to abandon your first wife who shared even fish bones with you when times were toughest?’]

I feel like I’m losing my mind from the stones’ voices.

Honestly, being loved by beautiful women is a good thing. I am a man, after all. If the mood is right, I could probably respond immediately to confessions from the Holy Maiden and the fox sisters.

The Valkyrie is still uncertain. She was the woman I relied on more than anyone else, but paradoxically, she’s the one I’m most afraid of getting close to.

[‘Ah.’]

[‘Are you really doing this?’]

[‘Good, one down.’]

[‘Daisy, Olivia. You’ve been eliminated from the preliminaries. Goodbye. Adidas.’]

But that’s why she’s the one who concerns me the most. We hated each other more than anyone else. Yet, we tried harder than anyone to save each other.

At the very least, my feelings for the Valkyrie are too complicated to simply call them love-hate.

[‘Senior?’]

[‘Look at this guy’s thinking face.’]

[‘Oh.’]

[‘What a surprise. I still have a chance, right?’]

But I can’t say that my memories with the Holy Maiden or the fox sisters are any less significant than those with the Valkyrie. We’ve survived several near-death experiences together since then.

Without the Holy Maiden, without the fox sisters… without any one of them, I would probably be nothing but bones by now.

[‘See that?’]

[‘Oh my, oh my goodness. How can you, wearing the mask of a human in this desirable modern society, try to walk such a terrible path? No. You must stop immediately.’]

[‘Have you forgotten today’s fortune written on the gum wrapper?’]

[‘That’s right. Watch your behavior. Otherwise, someone might stab you.’]

These people—no, these stones? Can’t I even think in peace?

Anyway, until we escape this deserted island, I can’t do anything either way. My survival remains my top priority. Until then, I won’t be confessing my feelings to anyone first.

[‘For someone who prioritizes self-preservation, you’ve committed quite a few suicidal acts…’]

[‘That’s our Erich for you. He was raised well, but sometimes he goes off track.’]

And then a voice tickled my ear.

“Major Lohnstein.”

It was General Adora Giford.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“…”

“I can hear the stones’ voices too, you know.”

“Ah.”

Right. The stones speak in Incantation. Anyone with even a little mana manipulation ability can hear their inner thoughts. And General Adora is a Level 1 Mage like me.

“I see.”

The general nodded while lying on her side. Her face suggested she understood everything. Without saying anything more, she pulled my hand.

I received something.

A bubble gum wrapper.

As soon as the general turned away, I opened the folded wrapper. And her fortune for today read:

[Today is a day when new connections and good flow are expected. Fighting!]

***

As soon as day broke, the trouble I had worried about erupted.

“Erich, I completely healed this woman’s gunshot wound today.”

The Holy Maiden wiped her sweat, panting. She had used her divine healing power to its limit to heal the general’s leg.

“…Impressive.”

The general, who had been sitting on the stone bed swinging her legs, stood up.

“Ugh.”

And fell again.

In my direction.

“Ah, I’m still not used to standing properly. Major Lohnstein, you’ll have to support me.”

“…”

The Holy Maiden’s expression turned sullen.

This is it. This was the biggest problem.

Though I might lack experience in romance, I had met plenty of people in my life. It wasn’t difficult to sense that the conflict between the general and the Holy Spirit Kingdom’s female soldiers was surfacing.

And that I was the cause of it.

[‘At this point, you need to quickly sort things out.’]

[‘That’s right. This could all end if you just confess to one person.’]

That’s what Johannes and Olivia said. Meanwhile, David and Daisy seemed to have different thoughts.

[‘At this point, confessing would be like detonating a time bomb.’]

[‘With the fortune and all, maybe it’s better to lay low, at least for today?’]

For reference, the general was holding these two stones. She rolled the two stones around with a sly smile, able to hear their voices.

[‘Oh, oh, ohhhhh.’]

[‘Oh my, oh my goodness.’]

There was a grating sound.

[‘Oh dear. This is terrible. I guess I won’t be getting married at this rate.’]

[‘My, my pure heart…! To disappear so absurdly!’]

After playing with the two stones in her hand, the general handed them back to me, saying they were hot. While I was checking on the stones’ condition, she addressed everyone.

“I don’t want to fight in such a harsh environment. I’ll cooperate actively until we escape.”

“It’s not about wanting to cooperate—you have to. Do you know how difficult it was on your first day here?”

“I know. That’s why I intend to earn my keep.”

Grrrr.

Whether it was good luck or bad, spore monsters appeared from early morning. The composition was similar to yesterday’s. They seemed to be scouts from another leader on this island.

“This is perfect timing.”

The general looked at the Valkyrie and flicked her hand.

“Give me back Jindo.”

“…This?”

“I hate repeating myself.”

Conflict filled the Valkyrie’s eyes. She seemed to be thinking that she couldn’t trust the woman in front of her… But her actions were quick. The Valkyrie gave the sword to the general with a faint smile after looking at me.

[“Dwell within.”]

The general who took Jindo skillfully infused it with magical power.

Her mana manipulation wasn’t as good as mine, but it was at the average level for a Level 1 Mage, and her magical power was overwhelmingly impressive.

[‘Impressive from the start.’]

[‘The first day wasn’t her real ability.’]

Of course. Subduing someone requires control of strength. The current General Adora had drawn her sword to annihilate the monsters before her.

Drip, drip.

The oversaturated mana flowed along the blade, dripping down in liquid form.

Correcting the stance of the blackened sword, the general lowered her posture.

“Grrrr.”

“Kik, kiik.”

“Uuuu.”

There were quite a few monsters. It would take some effort to deal with them all at once. Not just me, but the Valkyrie and Riyo also prepared to fight in case of emergency.

The weakness of mushroom monsters is fire. And if that’s not possible, cutting off their limbs.

I was planning to use magic when the time was right.

But it seemed there was no need for that.

[“Fire Way.”]

Whoosh!

Flames flowed from Jindo.

The general, in position, dove into the chest of an approaching mushroom human. Slash! She cut horizontally. Sparks scattered and fell like flowers.

Scorching with flames and severing limbs with slashes.

The general accomplished both simultaneously without difficulty.

The same was true in the ensuing battle. In an instant, more than ten monsters were taken down. Her movement speed was slightly inferior to the Valkyrie’s, but she was much more experienced.

[‘As expected, the army is different.’]

[‘Being part of The Seven Swords means she’s also part of the president’s personal guard. In close combat situations like this, she would naturally be ahead of the Valkyrie, who mainly trained for aerial combat.’]

Shing.

The general sheathed Jindo. She showed no signs of fatigue.

“Is that all?”

“…”

“Praise me. Quickly.”

“Well, I could do that much too.”

The Valkyrie snorted and crossed her arms. Riyo, who was beside her, nodded in agreement and turned her head. The Holy Maiden was silent but had the same crooked expression.

“That was impressive.”

I was the only one who gave her a compliment. The general’s face turned glum.

“I guess this isn’t enough, huh?”

“They’ll open up to you in time, General. You have no idea how hard it was for me to become friends with them too.”

“I suppose so?”

The general smiled slightly. I was a bit taken aback.

“General, may I ask you a question?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“Do you have any idea why the Holy Spirit Kingdom’s female soldiers are wary of you?”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

The general answered triumphantly.

“It’s because I’m part of The Seven Swords and The Eight Shadows, right? It’s natural for them, as believers of the Holy Spirit religion, to dislike me.”

“No, not that.”

“What else could there be?”

“Do you really not know?”

The general nodded. At that moment, her expression was like that of an innocent young girl.

Just to be sure, I asked a follow-up question.

“About the conversation I had with the stones yesterday, from what point did you start listening?”

“The part about you having a strong spirit of sacrifice. It was probably near the end. Why, was there something else discussed before that?”

I fell silent. The general asked if there was a problem, but I replied it was nothing.

The general, blowing bubbles with her gum, patted my shoulder while giving off a strawberry scent.

“There was no other reason I saved you. You’re a good soldier and a good man, Major Lohnstein. Since you saved my life, I’d like to invite you to my family home when the war ends…”

“…Thank you for the offer.”

I stand corrected. The fortune was turning out to be quite accurate.

For the time being, I should pay more attention to the Holy Spirit Kingdom’s female soldiers.

***

In a forest full of mushroom trees.

A thin-bodied demon covered in spores cackled.

[“…Found them.”]

There was a direction from which the reconnaissance team hadn’t returned. Following that direction and sending spores and seeds, she sensed the presence of living humans.

When intruders are discovered, eliminating them is common sense.

[“This old woman will have to prepare a gift.”]

The Witch of Toxins, Niemi.

She entered the deep forest, leaning on her staff.