Chapter 48

Chapter 48. "What the Dead Feel Toward the Dying." 8

They were minotaurs.

And not just one or two, but a whole herd of them. It looked as though they were returning to their cave with prey, because the ones in the rear were each dragging one of a giant wyvern's legs behind them.

They were so enormous that I had to tilt my head back just to look at them. At that moment, the eyes of the one in front, which had been staring off in some direction, dropped to me, standing there below with my mouth hanging open as I looked up at them, and I quickly raised my hand.

Minotaurs were originally gentle monsters. But as people say, a mild-tempered man is far more terrifying when angered, and when they lost their tempers, even ogres fled for their lives.

That was why people classified minotaurs as monsters of a deeply aggressive disposition, but in truth, they were not the sort to swing weapons at anyone they saw.

They were intelligent enough to use weapons, if only a little, and they rarely attacked first unless the other side showed hostile intent.

That was why I had raised my hand like this, and after staring down at me for a while, the creature resting a crude great axe, with its blade fixed to a wooden shaft, across its shoulder turned its body away.

It meant I should just go.

I lowered my hand again, turned around, and started walking in the direction they had come from. If I clashed head-on with that many of them, this whole area would likely be completely destroyed.

Minotaurs were monstrous when it came to sheer strength. Lest they change their minds, I hurried to get away from there. Then, suddenly, I heard the sound of something breathing out, followed by a voice with an accent as strange as a Lizard Man's.

When I turned my head, the minotaur with the axe on its shoulder was waving a hand from side to side as it spoke. (Its voice was extremely deep.)

"Do not go. It is danger, there. The king wakes. Go back. You die."

With a surprised expression, I turned fully around and looked up at that minotaur. Even from this far away, I still had to look up. It had to be at least five meck tall. Smiling bitterly, I said,

"What?"

"Do not go, human. The king tries to wake. We are avoiding it. If you go, you die. The others also flee. You also go back. If you go there, you die."

So they knew as well? That was why they were avoiding it? This was bad. I needed to find Narsh and the others quickly. I gave a rough nod.

"Sorry. There are people I absolutely have to meet. I appreciate the warning, but I have to go."

Hearing that, the minotaur turned its head toward the companions in the distance who were calling to it while lifting their axes and still holding the wyvern's legs. It raised a hand to them, glanced back at me once, then turned its massive body away.

"If you go, you die."

After leaving me with that single remark, it walked back toward its companions. Watching its back, I gave it a faint smile. I was just about to turn away myself when something occurred to me, so I turned my head again and called out to it, now some distance away.

"Wait. There is one thing I want to ask."

The creature stopped in place and turned its head, and as I admired how impressive its great horns looked, I asked,

"On your way here, did you happen to see any Lizard Men, or humans like me?"

At that, the minotaur tilted its head and said,

"I did not see humans like you. But I saw three humans unlike you."

I gave a slightly bitter smile at that.

...There was no one quite like me, was there?

"Where?"

"That way."

The creature raised a huge hand and pointed in the direction they had come from. I turned my head to look that way, then looked back up at it, grinned, and immediately turned and ran.

"Thanks!"

The creature merely watched in silence and said nothing more. As I kept running in the direction the minotaur had pointed out, I saw many rare sights indeed.

Flocks of animals running somewhere together, goblins chattering among themselves as they too hurried off somewhere. Just what would happen when the king rose? Well, I did not need to hear the answer directly to guess.

He would destroy whatever he saw, whatever he could lay his hands on. Once enraged, all creatures behaved more or less the same way. Ugh, I really did not want things to turn out the way Rene had said. I was sick of moving from place to place by now.

I hurried my legs onward, and after running for quite some time, I suddenly stopped at one point, caught my breath, and looked around. The air felt strange. Heavy air.

There was something here. Of this much, I was absolutely certain. I could not even count how many times I had felt this odd sensation that arose right before a battle. Experience really was a frightening thing.

At once, I hid myself behind a convenient tree and kept watch over my surroundings. A quiet forest. With the grasses and low shrubs everywhere, it was the perfect place for an ambush.

About ten minutes passed like that.

Then, from somewhere ahead in the quiet forest, I heard low voices murmuring to one another. I leaned my head out a little and looked ahead.

It was Narsh's group.

Let us listen to their conversation for a moment.

"This is strange. Why is the forest so quiet?"

"And why are you looking at me while saying that?"

"I am staring at you so you will spit out anything you know, you fool."

At those words, Jeff swept his gaze around the area once.

"I do not know either. Under normal circumstances, if you walked a hundred meck through this place, you should run into monsters at least ten times."

"That is exactly my point. Mm, I think I smell something suspicious."

At that, Jeff grinned and waved one hand behind him as he said,

"Oh, you smell something? My apologies. I may have eaten a bit too much at breakfast."

"...You bastard. Could you not read the mood for once?"

"Why are you brooding like that? Smile a little. Like Miss Narsh here. Shall I sum it up for you? In a few hours, her illness will be cured. After that, we simply put that thing back where it belongs. And then it is over. What is there to worry about?"

"I am worried that you might sneak back here alone and take it for yourself."

At those words, Jeff gave a small laugh.

"It certainly is tempting, but I am not a fool either. I could never get back here alone. And even if I did, how would I get out? Though maybe it would be possible with those golems."

He jerked his thumb backward, indicating the golems walking slowly behind them. One of them, the golem edged in silver, had Narsh sitting properly atop its shoulder, smiling brightly.

Hearing their conversation, I looked at Narsh more closely and soon realized that in her hand she held something like a clear red crystal.

Mm. So that was it?

I am sorry, everyone.

Just as I was about to step out before them, someone else emerged first. And that someone was—

"Lizard Man?!"

"Be... quiet... human. Is... this... your... first... time... seeing... a... Lizard... Man?"

Kan slid out from behind a tree with his arms folded and said that. The three of them stared at him in surprise. Kal stepped forward and said,

"I know you."

"I... also... know... you."

At those words, Kal let out a small sigh, glanced sideways at Jeff standing quietly beside him, and then asked,

"And what business brings you here?"

Kan raised a hand and looked at Narsh, sitting atop the golem's shoulder. Narsh offered him a small smile, and Kan said to her,

"You... must... return... the... object... you... took."

Hearing that, Jeff unfolded his arms and slowly brought one hand toward his longsword. Kal glanced at the Great Bow in his own hand and spoke. Narsh looked flustered as she stared at the red crystal-like object in her hand, and the golem beside her, the one with the gold edging, slowly moved, raised its arms, and glared at Kan with its red eyes. Kal said,

"And if we cannot do that?"

Kan looked like he had been waiting for those words. He bared his teeth in a grin and thumped his chest with one hand, producing a metallic sound.

Clang clang~

Rustle, rustle, shhk—

From the bushes and from behind the trees all around, Lizard Men began emerging one by one. Narsh's party looked around in shock. Mm. So the heavy air from before had been created by them.

A little later, after one Lizard Man finally dropped down from the tree above where I was hiding and startled me, the Lizard Men swiftly surrounded them in a complete circle.

There had to be at least twenty of them. Quite a large number. So that thing was important enough for them to bring out this many?

Thinking that, I turned my head and looked at the red gemstone in Narsh's hand. At that moment, the Lizard Man standing in front of me glanced back at me, raised one finger, lightly pressed it to his lips, then turned his head away again.

I stared at the back of his head with a rather blank expression. I had hidden my presence, but he had known?

Mm, well, if it was a Lizard Man, he had probably known I was here from the moment I arrived.

Nodding, I slipped back behind the tree, intending to listen to their conversation a little longer.

Leaning my back against the tree, I strained my ears toward them.

Kal's startled voice came first.

"W-What is the meaning of this?!"

"What... meaning...? Do... not... ask... what... you... already... know. Hand... over... the... Heart... the... woman... carries. It... is... not... yours."

At that, I heard the sound of a sword being drawn, and Jeff's voice immediately followed.

"That will not do. These people are my clients. If I fail to fulfill the terms of the contract, I cannot collect my money. So stay out of it and get lost, you lizard bastards."

"Shut... up... you... weak... human... dog."

"What did you say?! You—"

Jeff began spitting a string of bizarre curses at the Lizard Men, words so grotesque that even I could not understand them.

Leaning back against the tree, I sank into thought for a moment, wondering what in the world he was saying. Then, wearing a bitter expression, I stood up straight.

And prepared my equipment for the fight.

At that moment, Kal's voice came from behind.

"We cannot return it like this. I beg of you. Give us just one day! Only until the young lady's illness is cured."

"We... cannot... do... that. We... must... keep... our... promise."

"That is impossible... not even a single day?!"

"That... is... right. Not... possible. And... there... is... no... time. If... you... cannot... return... it... of... your... own... will...."

Hearing that, I tightened the strap on my gauntlets a little more and slowly leaned my head out. Kan had drawn the shortsword at his waist, and at once the other Lizard Men around him also drew shortswords from their waists and thighs.

After looking over them all, Kan detached the Small Shield hanging at his shoulder and fastened it to his right wrist. With a shortsword in one hand and the Small Shield in the other, he looked at them and said,

"We... will... take... it... back."

The old folk always said that bargains should be encouraged, while fights should be stopped.

I slipped quietly out from behind the tree. A few of the Lizard Men turned their heads toward me, but none of them said anything.

So they had known I was here after all. But when I came out, Narsh's group smiled brightly at me.

I could not answer those smiles with a true smile of my own.

"Mr. Han?!"

Kal called out to me gladly, but all I could do was look at them with a bitter smile. Sensing that something about my attitude was wrong, Kal slowly looked back and forth between me and the Lizard Men with a thoroughly exhausted face, one in which disappointment and bewilderment were appropriately mixed.

"...Must it really be like this?"

Though Kal had spoken, I looked up at Narsh sitting on the golem's shoulder and said,

"Miss Narsh, I am sorry. Please return it. Then these people will no longer...."

I broke off mid-sentence.

Because Narsh raised a hand, stopping me from speaking any further. Having cut me off in the middle, she lowered her head and said something to the golem.

At that, the golem carrying her on its shoulder slowly bent its legs so she could get down more easily.

Narsh climbed down from its shoulder, still clutching the red crystal with both hands.

Stepping a little farther forward, she pressed the Dragon Heart tightly against her chest and spoke softly.

Yesterday, after hearing what Exel said, I thought about it. I asked myself whether I really had to live like that, never saying a word, simply doing whatever others told me to do, and then die. And to that question, I answered that I did not want to live that way.

When I came here, I saw Mr. Han and Miss Rene, who always seemed happy, Luna, who is cold on the outside but warm within, and Jeff and Kal, whose quarrels suit them so well, and I thought that I wanted to live like that at least once.

The answer that came from that was simple. From now on, I should live with such dreams. But... I no longer have the time to dream dreams like that.

So, though I have never done it even once since I was born, I would like to throw a tantrum like a child, just this once, and for the last time. Mr. Han? Kal? Mr. Jeff? And everyone among the Lizard Men?

At her call, I looked at her.

Narsh was crying.

Holding the Dragon Heart tightly against her chest, Narsh spoke in a choked voice.

"...I want to live."