It’s Not an Anomaly, I’m Just Too Strong (3)

‘So how many Archdukes are left now? I think I heard there were seven…’

Berbaria had been accepted,

Damian had been killed.

If they catch or kill one more in Esima where they’re heading now, that would be the third.

Then there are four left.

‘They said Damian was quite strong…’

Berbaria himself was a local indigenous god, as he had said.

Even Damian’s summoned minion had easily toyed with Berbaria.

Come to think of it, Damian was indeed strong.

Thanks to absorbing Damian’s power, Yona could now use spellcraft to some extent, but even the clumsily deployed domain expansion – the so-called Saint’s Domain – was tremendously powerful.

“Amira.”

“Yes—”

Unable to meet Amira’s gaze as she responded with sparkling eyes, Yona scratched her cheek and lowered her gaze.

It seemed that Amira’s trust in Yona had skyrocketed, especially after completely wiping out the prairie lizardmen and continuing to move with them like this.

‘…I didn’t say I’d suppress the rebellion though.’

There was no other reason why Yona’s group was heading to Esima with Amira’s group.

It was only because Alebiang said that since the snake people – that is, the Azrami tribe – worship Berbaria as their god, and Barikian, who had witnessed Berbaria, suddenly mentioned that they also had a god, there was a high possibility that this god might be another Archduke.

In other words, Yona’s group was purely for their own purposes, not for suppressing the rebellion or rescuing the Azrami tribe.

However, the problem was that Amira’s gaze towards Yona didn’t seem to reflect this.

But the conversation had to happen.

Yona took a small breath.

To someone who believed in her, she had to say something that would obviously disappoint them—

“Princess Amira.”

Alec interjected.

Yona, who was about to speak, quietly looked at Alec.

Alec’s hand was firmly holding Yona’s, and the meaning of this gesture was probably to tell Yona to stay quiet.

“Yes— Knight of the Saint—”

As Amira’s gaze turned to Alec, he blinked a few times before opening his mouth.

“Our Saint is accompanying you to Esima now, but that’s because we also have business there. Our business is to confirm the existence of the so-called god of the Prairie Gilled Tribe. I’m telling you this in case you misunderstand, but we are not moving to rescue the Azrami tribe – the imperial family – or to suppress the rebellion.”

Yona stared blankly at Alec.

‘Does he have some mind-reading ability?’

How did Alec know what Yona was about to say?

There had been no prior discussion, yet Alec had uncannily interjected, somehow knowing what Yona was about to say.

“Ah—”

Amira’s face immediately fell.

She was clearly disappointed, and seeing this made Yona feel quite bad too.

“We are basically not people of the Katus Empire. We’re from Kapatia. Not only do we have no justification to interfere in the affairs of the Katus Empire as Kapatia people, but our Saint is not someone who has the leisure to interfere in human world affairs.”

“I-I suppose so—”

Amira tried hard to compose her expression.

But her overwhelming disappointment was unavoidable, and she was expressing her regret by tapping the back of the Jakerocco with her thick tail.

“If the so-called god of the Prairie Gilled Tribe turns out to be an entity hostile to us, its elimination is our responsibility. But that’s all. Beyond that, we can’t do anything for you, nor should we.”

“Ah— T-That much is…!”

In fact, for Amira, even that much was more than she could ask for.

The Azrami tribe, befitting their position in the Katus Empire, were strong fighters no less than anyone else, but even so, it was difficult for them to directly confront overly strong ones like the Prairie Gilled Tribe.

“T-That much is… Since our Azrami tribe has a much larger population— S-Somehow we’ll manage—! Surely, the Prairie Gilled Tribe must have succeeded in their rebellion because of that god-like being—!”

Amira couldn’t understand why the other tribes in the council were turning a blind eye to this rebellion, but anyway, in terms of population, the Azrami tribe was far superior to the Prairie Gilled Tribe.

“Is there a big difference in population?”

“Y-Yes, there is— At least as much as we serve Berbaria-nim, fertility is an essential quality of our Azrami tribe—! Even I…”

Amira Al Azrami.

The twenty-eighth daughter of the Azrami Emperor.

“…Wait, if that’s a basic quality, does that mean Berbaria is a god of fertility…?”

Yona, who had been listening quietly, suddenly interjected.

She seemed to have heard a word that she absolutely couldn’t ignore.

At Yona’s question, Amira’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Berbaria, who was in the form of Rubina, riding on the opposite Jakerocco.

“Of course— He’s the god of abundance, good harvest, fertility, and growth—!”

‘That bastard was the culprit——!!’

Yona screamed inwardly.

Rubina, sitting on James’s lap, stared blankly at the little girl across from her.

The little one sitting on Kaiyak’s lap, looking exactly the same.

She knew who it was, but it was incredibly fascinating to see Berbaria, who had taken the form of that huge snake, now in this identical form. She didn’t know why he took the same form as her, but it didn’t feel bad to be like this. It was just fascinating, and for Rubina, who had been living among adults, it felt rather good to have a child of her age – albeit looking identical – sitting in front of her.

‘…I want to talk to her.’

Berbaria, in Rubina’s form, sitting on Kaiyak’s lap and having some conversation with him.

That expression was constantly giggling as if something was funny.

‘So that’s what my laughing face looks like.’

Then Berbaria and Rubina’s eyes met.

Unconsciously, Rubina flinched and shivered.

Everything about the appearance was identical to Rubina, but there was one thing that was different.

Unlike Rubina, Berbaria’s pupils were those of a snake – vertical pupils.

Like a snake— although he actually was a snake, meeting such eyes in Rubina’s form made Rubina’s good feeling fade away, replaced by fear.

“Do you have some business with me, human child?”

An old-fashioned voice that could never be imagined as Rubina’s.

But unlike those eyes staring intently at Rubina, that voice was full of benevolence.

They said he was a demon, but he didn’t look like a demon at all.

Rubina slowly shook her head.

She had just wanted to talk to him.

No matter how hard she tried, her lips wouldn’t move.

She knew that Sister Yona was fond of her.

But, still, there are things you can’t forget.

The sight of Yona appearing from the ceiling in that church, and that voice, the sight of Yona cruelly killing people.

It remained the biggest shock to Rubina now.

When that thought comes up, Rubina’s voice gets trapped.

Yona’s hands were cold, but she could feel the affection towards Rubina,

and she knew that the scary things were all over now.

That’s why Rubina wanted to speak quickly.

She wanted to tell Yona that Rubina was fine now and that she didn’t need to worry.

And by doing so, she wanted to tell Yona that she didn’t need to pay attention to Rubina.

Because she couldn’t speak, she couldn’t tell Yona.

Because she didn’t know the letters, she couldn’t convey it to Yona.

What if Yona thought she was a bothersome child by mistake?

What if Yona thought she was a troublesome child to carry around?

Rubina always had such fears.

Even if she insisted that Yona wouldn’t do that, that Yona cared for and loved Rubina, it became a vain echo.

The more she thought about it, the deeper her worries became.

The more she worried, the deeper her fear became.

The more afraid she became, the more urgent she felt.

But the frustration of not being able to voice these feelings.

Rubina was more frustrated than anyone, but she couldn’t express it in words, so she was just frustrated.

“Why do you keep staring at me silently, human child?”

Asking the same question again, Berbaria got up from Kaiyak’s lap and approached Rubina.

How could he walk so steadily without swaying on this fast-moving Jakerocco?

Rubina was afraid of even standing up, let alone walking.

Berbaria, who had come right in front of Rubina like that, faced Rubina directly and asked again.

“I’m just asking out of curiosity. Why were you staring at me so quietly? Don’t you have something to say?”

Rubina slowly shook her head.

Even if she had something to say, she just wanted to greet him, but that wasn’t so urgent.

“Perhaps, are you curious about why I’m taking the same form as you?”

Ah, that might be a bit curious.

Rubina slowly nodded.

And in response to Rubina’s answer, Berbaria went “Hmm” and crossed his arms.

“Yes, so that’s what you’re curious about.”

Berbaria smiled brightly.

Rubina quietly stared at Berbaria smiling with her face.

“It’s simple. I just took the form of the second most precious person in the Saint’s consciousness. You were remembered as the second most precious, so it was your form. Ah, the first was the form of that knight.”

“Was it Alec?”

“You mean Alec was the most precious?”

Kaiyak and James’s voices were heard first.

But Rubina didn’t hear such voices.

‘Second…?’

Of course, the first would be Alec’s.

She didn’t even hope for that.

Second— Rubina was so surprised that she felt her heart drop.

Far from being considered a bother, she was considered the second most precious.

She didn’t have to worry about being abandoned.

‘I see…’

Sister Yona didn’t find me bothersome.

She didn’t think about abandoning me.

Rather, she held me precious as the second—

So, Rubina didn’t need to be afraid either.

“…Se, second…”

With trembling lips, Rubina stuttered.

Those lips that had been closed for so long finally voiced words aloud.