Chapter 11

“L-last night…”

“Ah… Are you talking the way you were shaking your hips on top of me? If that’s the case, I-am-not fine at all~ My ass hurts, my back’s heavy, and frankly, I feel terrible.”

Noah was obviously flustered by Yuichiro’s brusque response. The fingertips gripping the hem of Yuichiro’s jacket were trembling faintly.

“Oh, are you mad at me ……?”

Yuichiro’s lips parted in response to the irrelevant question.

“You… Do you hate me?”

This question this time was also off the mark. It was not as if Yuichiro hated it; he just didn’t like timid and short-tempered children from the beginning. Yuichiro gazed down with a furtive glance and saw Noah’s eyes brimmed with tears as if the man took his words as a form of rejection.

“…If you don’t like it, I won’t do it again.”

“—No, I’ll be in trouble if you don’t do it.”

[Because I can’t return to my original word if you didn’t make me pregnant.]

Yuichiro choked on his words in unexpected bewilderment. Unconsciously, he reached out with his hand and touched Noah’s head as he crouched down. Noah’s body jumped, but he did not back away. Noah shed another tear as Yuichiro brushed his soft hair.

“You… don’t cry easily.” When Yuichiro muttered to himself, Noah wiped his eyes in a panic. Yuichiro occasionally felt a faintly tickling sensation welling up from the depths of his chest in response to Noah’s bravery that peeked through. Of course, it wasn’t love or romance, but it was similar to paternal or maternal feelings.

“I’m sorry, I was out of line.” It had been a long time since Yuichiro apologized to someone. Noah continued to look at him through teary eyes. Noah’s gaze suddenly brought a far-distanced memory to his mind. When his daughter was alive, Yuichiro often apologized for trivial things. It reminded him of how frequently he apologized to his daughter when she cried out, “Why didn’t you take a bath with me?” Following that, his wife would chuckle and tell his daughter, “Your dad is embarrassed to enter the bath with Ma-chan,” telling his daughter. Yuichiro’s face flushed as he heard the words. It was a touching memory.

“You… look like Mana,” he blurted out unexpectedly. He was caught off guard, and by the time he realized what had happened, it was too late. Noah’s curious gaze was currently fixed on him.

“Mana?” Noah tilted his head while waiting for Yuichiro’s next sentence. Yuichiro opened his mouth, unable to resist the silent gaze, “It’s my daughter.”

“Daughter? You have a child?!”

“Technically, I don’t have anymore. She’s gone.”

“What do you mean she’s gone?”

“Dead. My wife and daughter.”

He couldn’t put it into words. Undoubtedly, the reality was even more stupefying. This was what Yuichiro believed. Noah’s lips remained slightly open as if he was trying to find the right words. Still, no words escaped his lips. The child might be much gentler than Yuichiro thought. He removed his hand from Noah’s head.

“Ignore everything I just said. It had already been a long time. It isn’t a big deal.”

“…Don’t say that…”

Yuichiro couldn’t understand the meaning of Noah’s sad expression, even though he wasn’t related to the incident. When Yuichiro stared at him suspiciously, Noah grabbed Yuichiro’s hand with both his hand and gripped it in an -like stance.

“I’ll try not to bother you too much.”

“I’m grateful.”

“However, I am not your child.”

Yuichiro suddenly felt his body tense up. It was as if he had been suddenly thrusted to the core of his being. Noah was gazing straight at him.

“I want to talk to you when you come back. Anything is fine. So I want you to come back safely.”

The young man’s naïve words almost made his fingertips shudder. Yuichiro moved his hand away from Noah’s grasp as if to deceive himself. Then, he traced the shoulder strap of his AK47 for no particular reason and strode off in a broad stride. He could feel Noah’s gaze on his back. He was aware of it. For some reason, he felt his cheeks become extremely hot at that moment.

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Yuichiro was already accustomed to marching with a small number of people. Truthfully, guerilla warfare was his strongest expertise. The total number of people in the sortie was nine, including him. The others include Temeraire, Goat, the four platoon commanders, a gunner, and a medic. The gunner and the medic were brothers. The gunner was a straightforward man with no expression on his face. He never opened his mouth after saying, “I am Klaus Gemini.” On the contrary, the medic was a gentle man with a warm smile who introduced himself as ‘Luca Gemini.’

“Klaus is my younger brother by two years,” the latter explained.

Nonetheless, since they didn’t have much time for elaborate greetings, Yuichiro decided to cut the conversation short and immediately depart from the castle’s gate. The march was swift. Each of them kept a distance of five meters from the other, looking to the left and right as they moved quickly forward. Some of them were carrying extremely heavy loads, which they occasionally dropped from time to time and had to be re-carried.

Temeraire, the only one who was not a soldier, proceeded steadily alongside Yuichiro. Despite not being a combatant, he could keep up with Yuichiro’s lead. Even during the breaks that were scheduled every few hours, Temeraire stubbornly refused to sit down. Perhaps he realized that once he sat down, he would never be able to stand up again. When Yuichiro offered Temeraire a canteen of water, he took a sip and promptly returned it to him.

With minimal supplies, the nine of them continued to run for the rest of the day. As the sun began to set, the streets of Am Abbey finally came into view. While still hiding behind the trees, Yuichiro motioned for everyone to come together.

“Is there a checkpoint at the entrance to the city?”

“There are,” Tyet replied quickly to Yuichiro’s brief question, “but the checkpoints are very lax because many people come and go from Am Abbey.”

Yuichiro nodded in response when he heard this. Then, he turned his gaze to Goat, and the clever adjutant immediately opened his mouth, “First, we’ll send Temeraire and Evelise as his lady-in-waiting into the castle.”

Evelise then took over and spoke, “While I’m inside the castle, I’ll search around for platoon commander Marcos and gather information about Lord Weldham. After the sun sets, I’ll open the castle gate from inside and lead everyone into the castle.”

Goat nodded in response and added, “Luca will assume his identity as a doctor who makes rounds in the city, and Captain Ogami and I will sneak together into the city as his assistants. The three of us will enter the castle in the middle of the night, guided by Evelise.”

As soon Goat finished talking, Yama spoke up, “Me and Belz will enter the city as steel blacksmiths to secure our way out of the city.” Then, Tyet continued, “Klaus and I will be outside the city, monitoring the perimeter and send for messengers in case of emergency.”

After listening to everyone, Yuichiro slowly opened his mouth, “Very well. The time limit is tomorrow morning. If we haven’t returned by that time, Tyet and Klaus should return to the capital. If possible, call in for reinforcements, if not, just abandon us.”

“It’s impossible for us to abandon goddess-sama,” Tyet exclaimed, his eyes wide with shock.

Another insatiable errant laugh erupted at the mention of the word ‘Goddess-sama.’ With a crooked smile on his face, Yuichiro quietly spat out, “If I die, maybe a new goddess will come.” At the sarcastic remark, Temeraire’s shoulders jolted. Yuichiro moved his gaze away from Temeraire’s clearly distressed face and continued, “Fulfill your assigned duties quickly and accurately,” concluding the conversation.

That being said, Yuichiro was aware that he needed to complete some tedious tasks before embarking on the mission. He turned to Temeraire and asked, “Where would you like to be beaten?”

“I would prefer if you hit me in conspicuous places. But please don’t hit me in the face more than once. If Sir Weldham’s favorite face is messed up, he might not let me into the castle.”

Yuichiro sighed, hearing Temeraire’s nonchalant words. Hearing Yuichiro’s sigh, Goat called out, saying, “If you don’t feel like it, I can do it for you.” With a random wave, Yuichiro rejected Goat’s offer. He then took out a piece of cloth and wrapped it loosely around the second joint of his fingers.

“Grit your teeth and think of something fun.”

“You’re talking nonsense,” Temeraire responded with a slight chuckle. However, when he erased his laughter, he muttered quietly, “I’ll think of you.”

His voice sounded more like a somber whisper than a rhetorical statement. It was an unrequited confession. Yuichiro raised his fist in the air as Temeraire forbade him to speak as if on cue.

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Yuichiro entered the city with Luca and Goat after parting ways with the other platoon commanders. Am Abbey was a beautiful city with numerous canals coursing through the streets. The canals throughout the city were crossed by pristine white bridges.

“Water is essential for molten iron,” Goat chimed in with an explanation.

Small boats sailed through the wide canals. They appeared to be transporting items through the canal. As Yuichiro stared on, Goat grinned and asked, “If you’re interested, would you like a ride?” as if addressing a child who wanted to ride in a toy car. When Yuichiro looked back at him reproachfully, Goat laughed hysterically.

When Luca saw the exchange between Yuichiro and Goat, he muttered to himself in annoyance, “You’re as mean as ever.”

“How long have you known him?”

“Yes, I, Lieutenant Goat, and all the platoon commanders here originally belonged to the frontier army that was guarding the border region.”

“By border, Do you mean the border with Goldar, the neighboring country?”

“That’s right. It’s the place with the highest number of casualties throughout Jeweld,” Luca said with a smile while saying something wretched. Glancing sideways at him, Yuichiro inquired succinctly, “Will the border’s security be all right with all the commander-level officers suddenly gone?”

“I think it’ll be fine. All of the border guards on the front lines are elite. Rather than that, the insufficient strength in the royal capital is more of a problem. After a period of peace, the central army was weakened while the upper echelons were covered with sludge.”

“Corruption (sludge),” Goat muttered back, commenting. He then added, “ It means that the most patriotic people are selling their country for money.”

Hearing these remarks made Yuichiro felt strangely comical. The corners of his mouth twisted into a smirk. “Does war look the same everywhere?” Although he had said this before, he reflected again, ‘Whether in my world or this world, wars are fueled by the desires of privileged classes. And it’ll never end until those swine’s bellies are full.’

Luca held his forehead, frowning as if having a headache, and continued to speak, “The most troublesome thing is the mixture of those ‘pigs filling their pockets’ and those ‘who truly cares’ about this country. There are some nobles who unanimously support the older brothers, but more than half of them are undecided whether they should follow Noah-sama or his brothers. Even though we’re in the same castle, I can’t tell the difference between allies and foes.”

“Where are the nobles who are supporting the elder brothers now?”

“They couldn’t stay in the capital, so they have retreated to their own lands. I believe the brothers are somewhere in those nobles’ territory.”

“Given the current situation, it is highly likely that our enemies will come from within our own ranks. If we feel secure in our own camp, we will be betrayed in our sleep.” Yuichiro’s statement was met with a nod from Luca.

This time around, Goat opened his mouth, “However, many of the nobles in the royal capital share a deep sense of faith in the goddess and Hōshu, so they will not disregard the ‘rightful king’ who was chosen by Hōshu. Rather, many of them believe that they should punish the elder brothers who defied God’s decree.”

“Are there any of them you can count on to be on our side?”

“Yes.”

For a brief moment, the corners of Goat’s mouth relaxed into a sly grin. Yuichiro looked at his somewhat sarcastic smile and cupped his chin as if urging him to continue.

“General Kiehland is unquestionably in Noah-sama’s faction. Isn’t that right?”

“That general? Isn’t that the guy who’s really pissed off at the goddess?”

“Yes, he is. Well, he’s just an angry old man who doesn’t want to let the goddess who came all of a sudden do whatever he pleases. In his case, he probably didn’t mean to be hostile towards the goddess out of rebellious spirit against Noah-sama. He might have thought that it is more beneficial for the king to have him command the army rather than having a goddess suddenly appear out of nowhere taking the command. In the corner of his mind, he may not have wanted the army he had spent his life building to be trampled on by a foreign goddess.”

“Isn’t he a particularly vexing old man?” Yuichiro muttered as he groaned, while Goat laughed in response.

“But the only saving grace is that the General-in-Chief is in Noah-sama’s faction. There are many soldiers who have sworn allegiance to him, partly because of his glorious military record in the past. It is no exaggeration to say that the reason Noah-sama has not been assassinated since he took the throne until now is thanks to General Kiehland.”

Yuichiro wanted to bury his face in his hands while nodding slightly to Goat’s words. To summarize the current situation, this is what was going on.

[In the royal capital, there are large numbers of nobles who we had no idea if they are allies or enemies. In fact, we didn’t even know when they’d turn their backs on us. In addition, the nobles supporting the brothers are currently scattered in their own territories within the country, and I don’t know when they will team up with the neighboring Goldar to attack. No matter how you look at it, it’s the worst possible situation.]

Yuichiro nearly screamed in frustration. Despite being called a goddess, he thought it would be much easier for him to be a beggar on the side of the road in this situation. “Once we get back to the royal capital, we’ll start weeding out the traitors,” he muttered despondently, holding back a sigh that was about to escape his lips.

“Yes, let’s eradicate them by all means!” Goat agreed in a surprisingly cheerful tone. At the cheery reply, Yuichiro looked at Goat suspiciously since the man was speaking as if he was looking forward to the outcome.

“I’m surprised.”

“What is it?”

“Your tone suggests that you are looking forward to killing people from the same country.”

Although he thought it was obnoxious of him, Yuichiro said exactly what he felt. In turn, Goat’s face was streaked with a mocking sneer. It was a dark, stifled smile that did not suit the jovial man.

“Can I talk to you privately for a moment?”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember the story of the nobles in Noah’s faction being herded into the church and burned to death?”

Yuichiro gave a small nod at Goat’s whispered talk.

“My father was burned there.”

“I’ve heard.”

“My wife and child were also burned alive together.”

Yuichiro slowly looked at Goat as he was told the truth in a soft voice. In contrast to the horrific story he was telling him, Goat retained his cheerful smile.

“My wife was nearing the end of her pregnancy, and I had to leave her at my parent’s house for her safety. There was less than a month left till our baby was born, but it never came out of her stomach and burned with my wife; not even a single bone remained. On the next day, I received a letter from my wife. It seems that the child was a boy,” Goat cracked a big smile as he was telling Yuichiro his story. It was a chillingly perfect smile.

“My father, wife, and child are dead, but my brother, who was supposed to be in the same house, is the only one who survived. Do you know what that means?”

For a brief moment, Yuichiro was speechless. Goat’s brother should have died in the same house, but he survived. The reason for this was painfully clear.

“Did your brother betray his own family?”

“That’s right. That older brother of mine still remains in the royal capital even now. Even though he is a bastard that sold off his own family and homeland,” Goat said with a small sigh of relief. He ruffled his long, unruly hair with one hand and continued quietly, “So you see… I’m not fighting to save this country or protect my fellow compatriots under the name of noble spirit. It’s a personal grudge. It’s just, I simply want to kill the traitors.” Goat stopped speaking after saying this.

Yuichiro walked in silence for a while, and when the crowds around them thinned out, he asked, “Do you want to kill your brother?”

“Of course.”

“When the time comes, I will make sure he is killed by your hands,” Yuichiro uttered some disturbing remark and lightly tapped Goat on the back with one hand. In an instant, Goat’s eyes blazed with vigor.

Hearing this conversation, Luca whispered in a voice devoid of fear that both of them were frightening and decided to rest in the town’s inn until nightfall.

They surrendered to a meager amount of sleep as they took turns keeping watch. When Yuichiro lay on the firm bed with his eyes closed, Goat’s story crossed his mind. Goat, like himself, was a depressed man who had lost his wife and child. He probably couldn’t find the meaning of life except by devoting himself to vengeance. Nonetheless, Goat appeared more rational because the target of his vengeance was obvious.

Yuichiro, on the other hand, had no idea who to blame. He resented his enemies, his superiors, and his own country at first. His resentment, however, gradually lost its shape and form, and he began to despise humans and the world itself. As a result, he indiscriminately killed everyone and anything in his path in the name of money. He was now attempting to do the same thing in this world. Would he be slaughtering the inhabitants of this world, with whom he had no connection, with hatred and murderous intent as well?

“Ha ha, a goddess, huh?” A mocking sneer unconsciously leaked from his mouth It was a voice that sounded sarcastic enough to make him feel uneasy. It was absurd for a murderer to be a goddess, no matter how many times he considered it. Would he have to trample living beings and pile up mountains of tens or thousands of corpses while being worshipped as the goddess? The absurdity echoed in his head incessantly. At the same time, he judged, it was both amusing and vexing. This was the hell he deserved. He then closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. He needed to sleep now, despite his agitation. Behind his closed eyelids, he saw the reflection of his wife and daughter. Suddenly, a sentiment that was neither loneliness nor embarrassment welled up, but it was quickly swallowed up by drowsiness and disappeared.

Translator’s Notes

More story development in this chapter! I think there’s more to Yuichiro’s past and I believe it’ll slowly play out later in the story. Moving on, we now get a glimpse of the political struggle in this story and the way they were told in depth by Goat and Luca excites me so much. What do you think? I would love to hear your comments below.