As Suimei brought his explanation to an end, Lefille squinted her eyes like she was scrutinizing the details of what he said. She seemed to be in the middle of collecting her thoughts. Eventually, Suimei calmly asked for her thoughts.
“How ’bout it? Do you think it’s a sound theory?”
“Certainly. It does seem reasonable. It’s the first time that I’ve heard of anything touching upon the source of the demons’ powers. Based on what you said and thinking back on what I’ve heard, it does seem to be rather plausible.”
“Pretty good, huh?”
“Striking, certainly. There’s quite a bit in there to think about. You’re amazing, Suimei-kun.”
As Lefille gave an overly serious nod like she was admiring his cerebral handiwork, Suimei added on a supplemental explanation.
“Incidentally, I think the reason humans are able to fight against the demons is because of Alshuna’s divine protection, you excluded. It’s the reason why even normal guys have the power to oppose them. The Elements also fall under the category of things that are opposed to the Evil God, so the magic from mages is effective too.”
That was why even regular physical attacks could hurt them. Because the people of this world had their way of life tied to faith, that power naturally dwelt within them. And on top of that, the mages of this world summoned the power of the Elements that were strongly connected to Alshuna and the spirits, which gave them additional effective power against the demons.
At any rate, that was Suimei’s theory. Because the demons had divine protection from their Evil God, fundamentally, only magic from this world that opposed such a thing would really work against it. However, as long as the Evil God itself resided on the astral plane, it would end up in the same category as gods and devils from the astral plane. Consequently, the demons were a bloodline of evil existences, and magicka would be effective against them too. And just as Suimei was thinking this out to himself...
“Suimei-kun.”
“Hmm? What’s up?”
“Just who are you?”
It was an honest question. Rather than being suspicious about his identity, Lefille seemed to be genuinely curious about who he was. And in response to that, Suimei answered bluntly.
“I wonder. Better yet, isn’t it about time that we look for a place to rest?”
“...You’re right, yeah. Let’s do that.”
As the forest began to darken, Lefille looked up at the cloudy sky starting to turn deep blue and agreed. Suimei thought for a moment he saw her shrug her shoulders in disappointment out of the corner of her eye. And so, now with Lefille at his side, Suimei once more began walking through the forest.
★
Later that evening after rendezvousing with Lefille, while surrendering himself cheerfully to the cool evening air, Suimei was gazing up at the starry sky of this strange world by himself from a rock face with a good view.
“And it’s that way...”
Spreading out before a backdrop of deep violet mixed with darkness was a beautiful starry sky. It was something he’d never be able to see in his modern, polluted world. And while admiring the sight, Suimei was measuring out accurate directions using star divination.
Suimei didn’t know anything about the constellations in this world, but after having spent a number of days here and having gazed at the night sky quite a number of times, he at least had a general understanding of the position of the moon and the stars. He’d reached the point where he could calculate their basic direction without any problems. However...
Even if I can use it, it’s only about this much, huh?
The longer he stayed in this world, the more headaches he came across. Despite what he’d managed to gather on his own, the star divination that Suimei could currently perform here was limited. He could certainly identify the stars’ spectrum, in other words, the light being projected by the stars. From that he could more or less infer the magickal categories the stars fell under and what attributes they had, and that made it possible to an extent to use magicka. But when it came to the classic star divination, fortune telling, and the most effective application of magicka using the power of the stars, because he was unable to make use of the names of the stars or their related meanings, and because he couldn’t substantiate the influence of the constellations, he was unable to manifest their full potential in this world.
To bring up an example, Enth Astrarle would be a good case of it. Back in his own world, as long as the time and conditions aligned, it was a magicka that he boasted of as having fiendish destructive power. But in this world, he couldn’t even brandish half of its maximum potential. And knowing one of the most powerful spells he relied on in battle was reduced to such a humble state, Suimei couldn’t help the despondent sigh that escaped his lips.
After talking about demons with Lefille, it had started to get dark as they moved deeper into the forest to look for a place to camp. They happened across a pack of wolves but avoided running into any monsters, and managed to find a watering hole and a cave that seemed suitable enough to stave off the evening dew.
By then, the evening sun had already half melted away, and the cloak of twilight was steadily creeping across the sky over their right shoulders. So as night fell, they quickly finished making camp and prepared a meal. After eating, Lefille had retired and Suimei had gone out to stargaze, which brings us to the present.
Staring up at the starry sky, Suimei pondered what was ahead of him. Following his heart and jumping into this was fine, but he was at a loss at what to do next. With things as they were, it seemed like he was in for another battle with the demon called Rajas down the line.
“That guy said he was going to bring friends next time...”
Suimei measured out his thoughts as he recalled the demon general he’d faced off against that afternoon. Rajas had told Lefille that he would be bringing his subordinates. Suimei didn’t think he would show up with an army equivalent to what Lefille had talked about, but it did seem that they were planning some sort of military movement. Suimei had to be prepared to face something on that scale.
That was why he greatly lamented the fact that he couldn’t fully utilize Enth Astrarle. It was true that only particular magickas were effective against the demons, but as he’d learned with Ashurbanipal’s flame, spells would work as long as their destructive power surpassed the dark aura the demons possessed. He could more or less overwhelm them with magickal brute force. So being unable to use the maximum destructive force of his magicka meant to exterminate enemies deployed in a wide area was an unfortunate handicap. And as Suimei let out a grand sigh over the troubles to come...
“Hmm? Lefille?”
She’d come out of the cave without him noticing, but he caught a glimpse of her dainty figure as she walked off. She appeared to be in just her knight’s outfit and not her armor. What was she doing? Her footsteps looked unsteady and shaky. As if she was being reeled in by a thread, she went off deeper into the woods.
Just where was she going so late at night without even carrying her weapon? After dinner, she had said that she was a little tired and gone ahead of Suimei to get some rest. Between the battle with the demons, the incident with the trade corps, and their encounter with the wolves, her fatigue had likely caught up with her. So what on earth was she doing now?
“If I remember, that way is...”
Lefille was headed in the direction of the watering hole: a small waterfall and a brook. But they’d already brought all the water they could need to the cave, so there shouldn’t have been any reason for her to go out of her way to go back there.
“...”
A bad premonition ran down Suimei’s back in the form of a chill, and he tried to rub the unpleasant sensation out of the back of his neck as he pondered what was to come. There was something about the way Lefille was walking. She was unsteady; it wasn’t normal. Moreover, she was going into the woods unarmed. Something was definitely up.
And in that case, surely it
would be best to go after her.
With that thought, Suimei jumped off the rock face and followed Lefille, who was pushing her way deeper into the forest. Cutting through the thickets and passing between the trees, he arrived at the watering hole before long. When he stepped out of the tree line, his foot fell on something made of cloth, and promptly slipped on it.
“Whoops... What’s this?”
Without warning, he was about to smash his rear end right into the ground just like when he was first summoned to this world. Thankfully, however, he managed to catch himself in the nick of time. After righting himself, he looked down to see what he’d slipped on. He stooped down and picked it up with both hands and took a good look at it.
“Huh—?!”
Suimei unwittingly squeaked out a startled gasp, and his bewildered mind went a little blank. With what could only be described as a dumb look on his face, he stared confoundedly at the object he was holding up. It was no doubt a garment. Not only that, it was one that Suimei had been seeing quite often lately. Indeed, it was the very same knight outfit that Suimei had seen Lefille wearing from atop the rock face.
“H-H-Hey, wait a sec. This is...”
The reason Suimei was unable to even speak properly was the sight that spread out before him. His bewilderment and panic were accelerated by his flustered mind, and it was all he could do to stammer to himself. He’d stumbled across the discarded clothing of a woman he was close with. That alone was enough to fluster nearly any man, but when Suimei looked around, her underwear was also on the ground nearby. That could only mean one thing.
“She’s not wearing any clothing. That means...”
Dumbfounded Suimei slowly put it together. A girl’s clothing on the ground + her underwear = no. And as he worked out the devil’s math in his head, his gaze wandered towards the water’s edge as if pulled by some unseen force. There, his eyes fell on Lefille’s stark naked body.
A-AAAAAAAAAAAH!
A bomb called bashfulness went off in Suimei’s heart as he screamed internally. But what about the terrible premonition he’d had earlier? Was it just a strange sensation on the back of his neck? Why had he thought this was something awful? Regretting following his hunch, Suimei’s racing mind boiled over with questions.
Even if this was a simple misunderstanding, it totally looked like he was a complete voyeur peeking at a girl taking a bath. If anybody saw him here, he wouldn’t be able to escape or even argue with being labeled a pervert. And more importantly...
“No, wait, don’t look, Suimei! You can’t! Actually, I want to look a bit... But no! Forget that urge! Forget it! Just forget everything you saw and go back right―”
While turning bright red, Suimei did everything he could to deny something within himself. His mind was in such chaos that any and all ability he had to think calmly was long gone. He couldn’t even think to get a good look or to burn the image into his mind. His brain was completely devoted to magicka and had no idea how to handle a situation like this. His fundamentally serious personality took hold, declaring war on thoughts like “they’re big,” or “it’s tight,” or “that’s pretty,” or “what a figure.” They were all his enemy, and as he struck them down one by one, he heard something strange.
“Ah, ah... Mmm, ah...”
“Huh...?”
The faint, fleeting sound of labored breathing hung in the air. Unthinking of the consequences, Suimei let out a confused exclamation.
That wordless voice he’d just heard... didn’t it sound like it was calling out in distress? It sounded like gasping or moaning. It was the hoarse voice of a woman in distress. She sounded like she was in the throes of an unbearable fever. Did that mean this wasn’t just a simple bath?
Lured by the sound of her voice, Suimei once more looked towards Lefille. She was laid out on a rock at the water’s edge. Looking closely, the light was gone from her eyes. Rather than taking a bath, it looked she was suffering. And what of the moaning? Just what anguish was causing her to leak out such gasps? Suimei’s eyes were drawn to one cause: a wicked crest had been engraved on her abdomen as if violating her body.
“Ah...”
Suimei unintentionally gasped a little when he realized what was going on. His voice, his arms raised out in front of him, his eyes, and his bashful heart all drooped.
A curse. As soon as that word flashed through Suimei’s mind, the fluster that had come over him cleared up in an instant.
But why...? Why is there a woman suffering from a curse here too?
As questions swirled in his head, his heart trembled in the face of helpless emotions like despair and pity.
This was indeed the work of a curse. It was his first time seeing one like this, but there was no mistaking it. The crest on Lefille’s abdomen, the dark red curves carved atop each other that violated her beautiful white skin, were proof of it. It was a curse from another world. The crest faintly emitted gloomy mana as Lefille’s gasping and agony grew stronger. Her body writhed obscenely, likely due to the burning heat of the fever brought on by that vile crest. Just who had cast such a curse on this girl? And why?
“Tch...”
What left Suimei’s mouth was an expression of bitterness beyond compare. He knew all too well of curses and the cursed.
He’d once been begged by someone who desired to see such a curse defeated. There was a woman who suffered a curse so grievous that it brought her to ruin. That’s why Suimei couldn’t stand them. He hated the very idea of their existence. Something like that couldn’t be forgiven. Such unreasonable sorrow shouldn’t be allowed in the world.
And that was why the suffering of the girl before him wrenched his heart like it was happening to him. Those obscene movements were unbearable, no matter what was done in exchange for them.
His sorrow overflowed his heart. This noble girl was seized by a terrible curse and forced to comfort herself, leaving Suimei afflicted by an indescribable pity for her. Burning with an unmanageable fever, she cast aside her own dignity and desires and was forced to perform such shameful actions. If this was not abject sorrow, then just what was it?
Why did curses only ever sully those who tried to live honestly? Why did they only ever terrorize women? Why did they take such morbid delight in sipping on their tears?
The rage and pity bubbling up inside Suimei drove him to action. He drew closer to the suffering girl.
“Lefille.”
As she was gasping in anguish, Suimei called out to her and gently laid his hand on her shoulder. With that, Lefille seemed to regain a hint of her sanity. She looked up at him with her hazy eyes.
“Hngh, hmm...?”
Her flushed face looked at him with suspicion.
“Ah...”
And then there seemed to be a moment of realization. Someone had called to her, but she took no comfort in recognizing the man who looked at her with pitying eyes. She fell into an inarticulate despair, her face contorting into a disheveled mess. Why was he here? Why did he have to see it? She didn’t want to be seen like this at all, much less by him. Her pained expression said it all.
However, even as she realized that someone else was present, her body wouldn’t stop. It was like it was being moved by a power she couldn’t oppose. Like the curse gave it a mind of its own. Against her will, she began to rub herself against the cool rock.
“Ah, hngh... Mmm, ah... No...”
Those bewitching movements were her body’s way of trying to find relief from the terrible heat that assailed it.
“No... Please don’t look... Please...”
Her voice, already weak from the suffering of the fever, sounded like it might just vanish in the air. But that quiet cry for him not to look at her shameful figure was a scream from the depths of her sorrowful heart.
★
After a while, the curse that had been cast on Lefille’s body seemed to calm. She slipped on her clothes, which Suimei had brought over to her as she sat on the bare ground. He then quietly asked abo
ut the cause of her suffering.
“A curse?”
Without looking at him, Lefille silently nodded. It was just as he suspected. Lefille continued to stare down at the ground with her dim, lifeless eyes. But before he could ask anything more, she suddenly spoke up.
“I...”
“...”
“I’m what you would call royalty in Noshias... Although, since Noshias was destroyed, it would be correct to say I was what you would call royalty.”
She let out a long sigh. She spoke of herself in a near derisive tone, and kept her head hung low as she confessed her identity.
“Noshian royalty... Its lineage is based on inheriting the blood of the spirits. Because the power of the spirits was naturally strong in me, I was raised to defend Noshias since infancy. Every single day, I had sword techniques and the way to channel the power of the spirits drilled into me. All for the sake of defending the country when the demons would one day attack us from the north.”
Lefille then turned to Suimei with a question.
“I spoke to you this afternoon of how Noshias was made to taste defeat at the hands of the demons, didn’t I?”
“Yeah.”
“At the time... It’s already been half a year, huh? We were entrusted with the northernmost fortress, but were routed before the overwhelming demon army. During the battle, my allies were scattered. And by the time we returned to the royal capital, including myself and the people there, there were only a few of us left.”
It must have been painful for her to recall. Her voice was strained. But nevertheless, she forced herself to keep going as if it was something she needed to talk about.
“The demons invaded with frightening speed. Before we could even evacuate the citizens out of the country, their massive army had taken hold of most of the nation. At that point, we were out of means to stand against them. There was a clamor to perform the hero summoning ritual that had repulsed the demons in ancient times, but it was far too late by then. Our only remaining hope was my power, and even that was useless before the vast demon army. Our army, which was known far and wide for its strength, was crushed by their overwhelming numbers. In one last display of Noshian willpower, we took our final stand in the castle and held out as long as our resistance would last. It all ended there.”
The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind! Volume 2 Page 19