What it Means to be a Mate – Part 04
[previous_page]
[next_page]
Translator: Kell
“This place looks awful.”
By the time I arrived at the encampment with Gemma and Madia in tow, it was all over. But the huge amount of ash that had fallen still remained.
Judging from the shape of the cinders, it must have been insects. Thanks to Madia’s ability, we knew roughly what was going on, but seeing it in person, I could only describe it as horrific.
A makeshift inn, built using Zero’s Etrach, stood in the middle of the pile of ashes. I could see people coming and going through the entrance. As soon as Madia spotted it, she jumped out of my arms and raced toward the structure to check Mina’s condition.
“Y-You can put me down too!” Gemma said. “We’re already here!”
“Captain! Sir Mercenary!” Barcel came running to us, out of breath. “Are you all right?”
“Not one scratch, as you can see,” I said.
“I’m not asking you.” Barcel snatched Gemma from my arms.
“No! Don’t touch me!”
“You’re hurt!” Barcel exclaimed when he saw the wound on her chest that the demon made with its claws. “We have to treat it right away.”
“I told you to stop! I don’t—”
“Do feelings matter when treating someone?”
Gemma fell silent.
“When we get to Knox Cathedral, we’ll talk. After that, you can decide whether you’ll believe me or not. Otherwise, we won’t make it through this trip. Okay?” He gave her a soothing smile.
Gemma pushed him away. “Fine. But I can take care of my wounds myself.”
“Sheesh, it’s just a scratch,” I cut in. “Anyway, where’s the demon?”
“Everything went according to plan. Lady Zero is currently watching it.”
“That should be prioritized over my wound,” Gemma said. “Take us to her.”
Barcel led us to another Etrach built a short distance away from the main post. The first thing I saw as I entered was Zero’s back. Up ahead was a man with his hands tied behind his back, lying on his stomach.
“Who’s that?” I asked.
“Thousand-Eyed Sentinel,” Zero answered.
“Right,” I said.
Gemma, who had no idea what the plan was, jumped in surprise. “What?! Why does it look human?!”
“Calm down, Captain. A witch can turn a beast warrior back to its human form.”
“H-Human form?” Gemma turned to Barcel reflexively, as if asking for confirmation. Immediately, she remembered their awkward relationship and looked away.
Barcel chuckled. “There’s no doubt. I think I helped out with the ritual.”
“You did?”
“Yes,” Zero said. “The attendant was impressive. He shot through the small opening between the flying insects and hit the demon’s heart from a distance.”
Gemma shot Barcel a puzzled look. “I didn’t know you could actually use a bow.”
“Wait, you don’t know?” I said.
Gemma’s brow furrowed. “Know what?”
“About this guy’s skills. He never misses his target, even in a crowded battle. His arrow saved you on the first day of the trip.”
A miraculous stray arrow pierced the eye of the animal that was about to lunge on the captain’s back. When I found out that Barcel was her attendant, I immediately realized that it was not a stray arrow.
More than ten years had passed since I last saw Barcel on the battlefield. Back then he was a very skilled archer who would go around shooting moving people in their vitals like it was nothing.
Now that I thought about it, the captain at the time, Gemma’s father, called Barcel a coward and useless.
Standing back from the battlefield, hiding in the bushes and silently killing the enemy from a distance was certainly not conspicuous, and with a bow, it was not always easy to tell who did the killing. In addition, nobles had a tendency to be reluctant to acknowledge the deeds of commoners.
It made sense that Gemma did not expect much from Barcel. She was probably still alive only because of Barcel supporting her from behind, perhaps even saving her countless times.
“You’re exaggerating,” Barcel said. “I miss sometimes. Overestimation won’t do you any good.” He sounded like he did not do much this time, but as a matter of fact, his contribution was huge.
“I had no idea,” Gemma muttered, seemingly unconvinced.
“Now that it had lost the body of a mighty beast warrior, this demon’s power is almost gone,” Zero said. “It will not be able to use its ability to control insects, and the huge difference in body structure will make it difficult to even stand up. It poses no threat.”
“B-But why didn’t you kill it? It’s still a demon, right?”
“This demon had made the whole area its territory. Weakening it will not change that. Killing it would only add to the chaos. Also, I thought I would use it.”
“Use it? For what?”
“Its ability to see the whole world might serve me well in finding my master.”
“I won’t!” the demon barked. It had its back turned, so I could not make out its expression. The man was wriggling around like a bug that had lost its limbs.
I approached the man and turned him over. “Whoa, he’s young.” He was probably as young as Mina.
I supposed that was how old this body was when it was used to summon the demon.
Not knowing how to move its mouth, it mumbled, “I… will not… s-serve… you!”
“Then you will return to Hell, Thousand-Eyed Sentinel. Do you really want to go back to that boring place? You will never be able to read a book again.”
The demon was silent. It didn’t want to go back to Hell.
Zero crouched down to straddle the demon’s body and grabbed its neck, pulling its face closer. “I am looking for a certain witch. If you help me find her, I will reconsider shoving you back to Hell. Besides, if this world regains its peace, people will write many books again. Would that not be a lot more fun than shutting yourself away in a fort and gathering poor humans like spiders to a web?”
Wow. She’s negotiating with a demon. I almost forgot that witches negotiated with demons to get contracts. Probably not like this, though.
“I-I will not… make a contract… with anyone else… but the Director…”
“Do not flatter yourself. I have no intention of forming a contract with you. You will serve me without a contract. Your life is in my hands. If you are of no use to me, I will kill you without mercy, and if you refuse my offer, I will kill you now. Now make your choice.”
Whoa. Terrifying. I had forgotten how scary witches were.
“Mercenary.”
“Yes, Ma’am!” I straightened up and uttered the most polite reply I had ever said in my entire life.
Zero looked at me with her usual smile—no, her smile was brighter than usual this time. Her hands were on the demon’s neck, just barely choking it.
“It will take some time to discipline this servant,” she said. “We have a difficult journey ahead of us. You may go ahead and rest.”
“As you wish.”
Gemma, Barcel, and I left immediately. When we landed on the ground, we looked at each other.
“Let’s have dinner, I guess,” I said.
Fortunately, we had plenty of food from the fort. According to the butcher, most of the meat in the fort was spoiled, so he didn’t bring any, but there was plenty of wheat and potatoes.
“I’ll take you to the dining area,” Barcel said. “I’m sure you’re hungry too, Captain.”
“I, uhh…”
“Do feelings matter when it comes to food?”
Gemma’s expression hardened.
“I guess it’s not my place to say anything,” I added. “Anyway, whether you like it or not, we’ll be spending a lot of time together until we reach Knox Cathedral. I’m not saying you have to eat with us, but you should at least eat. I’ll just get the ingredients and make my own food. I’m sure the witch will be happier that way.” I walked away.
“Wait!” Gemma called.
“What now? If you’re gonna tell me to kneel down and apologize, don’t expect me to act civil and just say yes.”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t eat. You don’t get to decide what I do.”
True. She didn’t say that.
“So you’re going to eat?”
“The soup you made was really good.”
The sour look on her face did nothing to please me.
I guess I’ll take it as a truce. An agreement to postpone the issue between us.
I looked up at the moon through the rising ashes and let out a sigh. “Can you guys eat food prepared by a Beastfallen?”
“For the record, I had dinner with that demon,” Gemma said.
Shit, I just imagined it. That would have been much more mortifying than eating my soup.
I look at Barcel. “What about you?”
“I never really held any prejudice against Beastfallen,” he said. “All the more so now, when I saw that demon become human. So Beastfallen were once human, huh?”
For the first time in a while, I prepared food for a large group of people.
[previous_page]
[next_page]
Comment (0)