“You can’t, right? So don’t butt in where you don’t fucking belong.”
“Ugh...”
Everything that came out of this man’s mouth was grating Suimei’s nerves. He was about to lose it himself, but before that could happen, a man parted the crowd and came forward.
“Please wait, both of you.”
“Gallio-san...”
When Suimei turned towards the voice, he saw Gallio, the man in charge of the trade corps.
“You’re both here to protect the trade corps, so it would be troublesome if there was friction between you. I would like the both of you to bring an end to your quarrel immediately.”
“You say you want to end the quarrel, Gallio-san? Then do you got a proper way to end it?”
“Yes. As the man responsible for managing this trade corps, I would like you to leave this matter to me.”
“Y-Yeah...”
As Gallio flatly declared his intention to handle the situation, the adventurer nodded obediently and shut up. Before Gallio’s authority, he simply lost all of his steam. It went to show that he at least had some experience and knew his place, despite how he sounded. After getting the adventurer’s consent, Gallio briefly glanced around at all the others to confirm with them as well. No one had any intention of interfering, and nodded back at him accordingly. All the voices that were yelling at Lefille had now been silenced. And once Gallio had control of things, he turned towards Lefille.
“Grakis-san, I am the one responsible for this trade corps. In other words, I am in a position where I must put the trade corps’ safety at the highest priority.”
Everyone present knew this already, but he went out of his way to make his position clear.
“Right now, the demons have us in their sights. The cause appears to fall on your shoulders. As the one responsible for the safety of this trade corps, I cannot accept that. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand. You’re saying that I should distance myself from the trade corps, correct?”
“―?!”
“Yes, that is correct. It is a fact that parting with your strength in this situation is regretful, but it is also true that your presence will guarantee we’re a target when the demons come back. I don’t have to say any more, do I?”
Gallio had been awfully roundabout with his approach, but Lefille understood his intent and nodded firmly in response. As she did, the surrounding crowd began yelling in agreement. “Hurry up and get outta here!” and “You damn jinx!” were just a few of the ill mannered jeers being thrown at her. It wasn’t as though Lefille had put them or herself in this position on purpose. The malice from the trade corps was simply uncalled for. If anything, she was the one in the most danger. She should have been the one distressed. Suimei thought it was just plain wrong for her to be getting this kind treatment at their hands. There was no way he could stay silent about it.
“Are all of you planning on throwing a single girl out on her own in this kind of place?!”
“Of course! The demon said he would come back for that woman! If we travel with her, we’ll all be killed by that demon general and his subordinates too, you know?!”
“So? What is she supposed to do for water and provisions on her own!”
“Like I give a shit! That woman could starve to death for all I care!”
After hearing those words, Suimei quietly looked around at all the others.
“...Do you all share that opinion?”
He already knew their answer, but felt compelled to ask anyway. However, all he received for an answer were cold gazes. Suimei clenched his jaw, and then the adventurer from before turned his hateful mouth on him.
“So? How long are you gonna act like a fucking goody two-shoes? Deep down, you also think that woman should just get the hell out of here, right?”
“What?! I’m not―”
“If you keep pretending to be close to her, you’ll lose your chance to get away, you know? Or is that it? Did you get taken in by her sex appeal? Aah, that’s right... She’s quite the looker, huh?”
“Wha―”
“Man, what a nasty woman. Attracting demons and men alike, huh?”
His words were directed at Suimei like an open taunt. Suimei was already at his boiling point, and the tension in the air was just enough to push him over the edge. This man was simply too vulgar, and Suimei didn’t have the patience for it anymore. He could hardly help raising his hand, ready to snap his fingers at the nasty adventurer.
“Oh yeah? What’s with that hand?”
He was too foolish to understand that, in mere moments, his sleazy smile would be blown right off his face. Using his strike magicka, Suimei would mercilessly put an end to that annoying grin. However, before the righteous indignation from Suimei’s anger could take shape, Lefille stopped him.
“Stop, Suimei-kun! What would you accomplish by doing that?! In the end, nothing will change, right?!”
“Tch...”
Suimei came back to his senses with Lefille’s words of restraint. Certainly nothing would change no matter what he did at this point. There was no way to overturn the fact that Lefille would have to leave. If he thought about it calmly, he already knew that much. Weighing the risks and taking into account the safety of the trade corps, having her leave was the only real option. Suimei clicked his tongue at the frustration at the current situation, and Gallio took hold of the conversation again.
“Grakis-san, I will repeat myself once more. I believe you already understand this, but...”
“Yes, I understand. I’ll head in a different direction than the convoy.”
There was nothing else she could do. That much was clear. It was what had to be done to protect the trade corps. As Lefille and Gallio were having this exchange, Suimei glanced at the party of adventurers who had been on good terms with Lefille. The mage girl that she’d had such friendly chats with. The armored warrior who’d proudly boasted of her achievements. They had all covered for her in unison during the battle, but now they were looking away and refusing to stand up for her.
Suimei couldn’t blame them though. They had every right to be afraid of an army of demons. They didn’t know what would happen if they spoke up for Lefille instead of pretending to be strangers. Perhaps they too thought she was responsible for the demons appearing in the first place. They were only looking out for themselves, but Suimei couldn’t call that cowardice after what he’d done to protect himself in the past.
Before long, after negotiations for provisions had been completed, Suimei called out to Lefille.
“Lefille...”
“We only knew each other for a short while, Suimei-kun, but I pray that you are able to reach Nelferia safely.”
Even in this situation, she was able to put on a smile. Looking at that lonely smile, Suimei didn’t even bother asking her if she was truly alright with this. She would surely say that it was fine without batting an eye. And with that, she turned to go. Her figure as she walked away with her conspicuously large sword on her back didn’t have a shred of the confidence she previously gave off. Right now, she just looked like a normal girl to Suimei. That’s why...
“Hey, wait up.”
Yes, that’s why...
“Hey, are you listening?”
This was different from what happened with Reiji and Mizuki. In this situation, if he shut his eyes, he would simply be abandoning this girl to her fate. The last thing he would ever see of her would be her lonely silhouette as she walked away. That was why, before Suimei even knew what he was doing, he’d made up his mind.
“Give me some provisions too.”
“What?”
“I’m going with her. Much obliged for being allowed to come along with you on the journey up to here.”
The adventurer gave Suimei a dumbfounded look from the side, and Gallio let out an exasperated sigh.
“Is this really what you want, Yakagi-dono? If you abandon the request partway, naturally you won’t receive pay
ment for completing the job.”
“I don’t need it. I only need water and food. I would like you to grant me supplies proportional to the work I’ve done up to now.”
“...Understood. Stay safe, Yakagi-dono.”
Gallio replied while with his eyes closed and lightly shaking his head. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to stop Suimei and simply accepted their parting there. Without the ability to foresee and calmly accept such things, he would’ve been out of this line of work long ago.
“Hmmmm? So after all that―”
Just as the nasty adventurer was about to try and get the last word in, he was blown away with a snap. Suimei had no intention of listening to his vulgar yapping anymore. He then turned towards the adventurers who had gotten along with Lefille with a worried face.
“Hey, you guys, are you okay with this...?”
“Yeah. You two take care.”
And with that, Suimei began cramming provisions into his bag.
★
“Suimei was used as a decoy?!”
To confirm whether or not there were any more demons trailing them, Roffrey had gone out on patrol. Immediately following that, what rang out through the otherwise silent environs was Reiji’s pressing and angry voice.
“There is no reason to be worried.”
What followed was a fluent explanation from Gregory that Reiji could hardly believe. As Reiji closed in on the man intent to grab his collar, all manners and courtesy flew out of the window. The approach of the violent storm of a man known as the hero caused Gregory to seize up.
“Is that true?!”
“Y-Yes! Everything is as I have informed you.”
“Wha...?!”
Reiji was at a loss for words at what Gregory had just told him. It was like a joke—one taken way too far. Reiji angrily bit down on his lip, and just as he was about to reach out for Gregory’s collar, Titania, who had been listening absentmindedly up until now as if she were distracted, stopped him.
“P-Please calm down, Reiji-sama!”
“B-But!”
“Gregory is still in the middle of explaining. Let us listen until the end...”
“...Fine.”
Titania certainly had a point. All Gregory had said was: “Suimei-dono is being used as a decoy, so there is no major danger here.” Not a word more.
Seeing that Reiji accepted her suggestion, Titania let out a sigh of relief. And then, with a severe gaze no one ever would have expected from such a gentle princess, she passed a command down to Gregory.
“Gregory, you shall speak without any lies or fabrications. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Your Highness...”
Gregory knelt down as he gave her his reply. He seemed to be shuddering under Titania’s fierce gaze, and sweat began forming on his brow.
“I heard of this back when I took up the role of communicating with the royal capital. According to people there, the demons had led a large army towards Astel with the intent to bring down the hero. And so, for the sake of making sure that Hero-dono could safely escape, they said that Suimei-dono was used as a decoy.”
With a somewhat panicked expression, Mizuki then called out to Gregory.
“Um, you’ve said that Suimei-kun was used as a decoy, but what does that really mean? It’s not like they could’ve asked Suimei-kun to do it and he would’ve just gone along with it...”
“No. I heard that Suimei-dono is unaware of the matter.”
They could have perhaps guessed that much, but even so, hearing it said so blatantly was quite difficult to swallow. Suimei was unknowingly being used as a decoy. It was only natural that they’d have some questions.
“...So how did things end up like this? With Suimei being a decoy, I mean. It couldn’t be that Metel is being attacked, right?”
“No, Hero-dono. Regarding that, it seems they awaited Suimei-dono’s departure from Metel...”
“Awaited his departure?”
“Huh? Wh-What? Suimei-kun didn’t say anything about leaving the city, right?”
Back when they’d parted ways, Suimei had only said that he was going to live outside the castle. That was why Mizuki was concerned. There seemed to be an inconsistency with what Gregory was saying and the last of what she’d heard from Suimei.
“A-After we departed from Metel, it seems information came in that Suimei-dono was looking for a commission at the Adventurer’s Guild to escort a trade corps.”
“Suimei went to the Adventurer’s Guild, you say?”
“Yes. According to the stories, just a few days after Suimei-dono left the castle, it seems he was already a guild member of the Twilight Pavilion. Based on that, they assumed it was likely that his original intention was always to leave Metel... And then, once the nobles who were involved in the Demon Lord subjugation found out about that...”
They made use of him. But even with that answered, what Gregory said only led to more questions. Just what was going on with Suimei? He’d refused to accompany Reiji because he wanted to stay safe. Yet in spite of that, he’d turned around and joined the guild. He’d even taken an escort commission with a trade corps. Surely he wouldn’t have done any of that without a reason.
“I wonder what’s gotten into Suimei-kun... There’s no way he wouldn’t have known that it would be dangerous if he left the city.”
“I don’t know. But considering it’s Suimei, he must be up to something.”
Seeing that Mizuki’s eyes were wavering with concern, Reiji continued questioning Gregory.
“But okay, fine, I understand how Suimei’s name might come up as a decoy. But why did the nobles do something like that? There should be no reason for them to go out of their way to target Suimei, much less without his knowledge.”
If they knew a large demon army was heading towards them, without the power to fight back, all they could do was run or hide. Or, with the right victim, lead them away. There was no special significance in sacrificing Suimei as a decoy.
“Hero-dono, what is coming towards us is a large military force of demons. You would think that mobilizing such a large force would be slow, but our enemies are demons. Their marching speed alone cannot be compared to the advance of a human army. To prevent the worst case scenario where you were caught by them, Duke Hadorious said...”
“Did you say Duke Hadorious?!”
“Yes, Your Highness...”
Hearing Titania’s surprised voice, Gregory lowered his head like he was somewhat ashamed. Duke Hadorious wasn’t someone Reiji was familiar with. If he remembered right, it was a name he’d heard somewhere at court, but even as he dug through his memories, nothing concrete came up.
“Sorry, Tia, but who’s Duke Hadorious?”
“Duke Hadorious is one of the most prominent grand nobles in Astel. He was appointed by my father to take on the responsibility of all domestic policies regarding the Demon Lord’s subjugation. However...”
“Then he’s the one who used Suimei as a decoy?”
Titania gave a slow, heavy nod even though she had no definitive proof right now. They then looked to Gregory, who seemed to know more.
“It is just as you say, Your Highness. It was the decision of Lord Hadorious and a handful of other nobles. Of course, it isn’t that they doubt Reiji-sama’s power as a hero. I was passed this message, but it seems it was decided that it is still too premature to have Hero-dono stand before an army of demons, even with soldiers prepared in advance for support. And so they adopted this plan instead.”
“...Even so, that still doesn’t seem like a reason to go out of their way to make Suimei-kun the decoy.”
“Regarding that, the point is that it is unknown how the demons came to know of Hero-dono’s existence. The demons that Lord Hadorious’s subordinates captured only said that they were coming to kill the hero, no matter how much they tort... Excuse me, interrogated them. In the end, they were unable to find out any more than that. So by using Suimei-dono, who was summoned together at the same
time as the hero, they thought they stood a better chance of confusing the demons... And so false information was leaked to the demons, directing them towards the trade corps and Suimei-dono.”
It was certainly an effective strategy. The fact that they themselves had not yet come in contact with the main force of demons meant that the demon army didn’t know their exact location. They at least, however, knew of Reiji’s existence.
Strictly speaking hypothetically, if the demons had a way of sensing a hero summoning, regardless of whether it paid off or not, there was value in taking action. Like they were now, if they moved their forces in a broad area, it wasn’t all that unlikely a possibility that they would be able to defeat the hero. However, before any of that, there was information that they had to know of no matter what: the timing of the summoning.
“The only time we showed ourselves publicly outside the castle was when we took part in the parade. Even if that was leaked to the demons, for them to have invaded so far... Is that even possible?”
“Yeah, Mizuki’s right. It’s difficult to imagine. It seems too fast, doesn’t it?”
As Reiji suspected, there were likely those among the demons that had the power to sense such things.
“And how did this Duke Hadorious leak the false information to the demons, anyway? It’s not like he knows one of the demons or anything, right? So just how did he do it?”
“A-According to the men I was in contact with, a messenger was sent out to the soldiers in Shaddock. The soldiers who didn’t know of the approaching demons were relayed the false message that the summoned hero was currently headed to Kurant City with a trade corps.”
“Wha?!”
“Y-You can’t mean...”
Mizuki’s voice seemed to be trembling as a repulsive image came to mind. And it seemed she’d properly inferred what Gregory was trying to say. Her anxious face went pale. Gregory too made a mixed expression of bitterness and regret as he replied.
“When those soldiers were caught by the demon army, they would inevitably be made to spit out what they knew. But since they were only given false information from the start, the only information they could pass on would be lies. And if the demons believed them, then the plan would be a success, which is why that proposal was pushed to the front...”
The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind! Volume 2 Page 16