Chapter 40

Sorry for the delay everyone! Here’s a new chapter! There will be 3 more chapters after this one before we’re starting a new arc. And that means we’ve already reached halfway through Vol.2! Yay!

Anyway, enjoy this chapter everyone!

The huge shadow was a large man with gray hair. Kiki was unconscious on the ground after the man had leaped to the ground, having likely been knocked out with a blow to the head. Her forehead was gushing with bright red blood.

On the spur of the moment, Yuichiro quickly aimed the muzzle of his bayonet at the large man. Indifferently, the man returned Yuichiro’s gaze. Although Yuichiro pointed the gun at the man’s head, the man’s ashen eyes showed no sign of fear.

At the last second, before he could fire, another man appeared, as if sliding out from between the trees. This new man was quickly closing the gap between him and Yuichiro while holding what appeared to be a silvery hatchet in one hand.

Yuichiro decided to hold back his trigger. Realizing the man’s rapid movement, there was no way he could intercept him in time If he shot the ash-headed man right now. Simultaneously with making this judgment, Yuichiro pointed his bayonet at the hatchet man. As the hatchet came swooping down toward his head, he blocked its path with the barrel of his gun. In an instant, a clattering noise erupted as the metals smacked into one another. The force of the blow nearly knocked him to the ground.

“Ogami Yuichiro!” Suddenly, a voice called out his name.

The man with the hatchet fixed his eyes squarely on Yuichiro. He had gray hair, blue eyes, and a monocle over his left eye. Due to his over-refined features, his face gave the impression of being somewhat artificial. Yuichiro gripped his bayonet with both arms and repelled the man’s body at once.

As the man’s form recoiled, Yuichiro asked abruptly, “Who are you?” Yuichiro glanced back and forth between the ash-headed man and the hatchet man as he held up the bayonet, the barrel of which had been dented by the previous blow.

The man wielding the hatchet bared his teeth and made a snapping motion with his wrist. “Ogami Yuichiro, who are you?”

The sound of his machine-like voice without an ounce of intonation made Yuichiro’s skin crawl.

In his next question, the hatchet man pressed, “Why did you come to this world? Why do you stay in this world? What are you going to do in this world?” The man’s tone was pious, as though he were a priest passing judgment on the sinners before him.

Yuichiro felt his blood draining from the top of his head. He couldn’t help but wonder what had prompted the man in front of him to start interrogating him.

“Why do you ask?” As he asked this, Yuichiro realized his mouth was parched. Nonetheless, he loosened his stone-cold lips enough to ask the hatchet man a question.

In return, the hatchet man blinked slowly and opened his lips. “It is the duty of an older brother to worry about his younger brother.”

“Brother?”

The man with the hatchet uttered a quiet “ah” at Yuichiro’s distressed tone. “I meant your husband.”

The man’s reply almost made Yuichiro roll his eyes. Although it was very unpleasant, Yuichiro’s husband in this world could only mean Noah.

“So that would mean you are Noah’s brother,” Yuichiro replied, his voice surprised. Then, he remembered the name of Noah’s oldest brother. “Edward Jeweld?”

The man with the hatchet nodded his head in response to Yuichiro’s words. In turn, Yuichiro’s mouth slammed shut at the nod of approval, and he wondered if anyone else on the front lines could be considered a general of the enemy army. While standing still, Yuichiro then turned his attention to an ash-headed man who did not move a muscle, as if he were a rock. Was that man Edward’s bodyguard or something? The thought crossed Yuichiro’s mind.

“Why are you here?” A question escaped from Yuichiro’s mouth unintentionally.

Edward shrugged and raised his hatchet above his head, pointing it at Yuichiro.

“I think it’s mutual for both of us. Why are you, the goddess, on the battlefield?” Contrary to his intelligent appearance, Edward’s words were straightforward and brusque. They seemed like the questions of a cold-blooded machine incapable of understanding human complexity.

Yuichiro loosely chewed on his back teeth, then replied in a snarling tone. “I’m a mercenary. Fighting is my job.”

“A mercenary,” Edward murmured to himself in a parrot-like manner. He then lowered his gaze, as if thinking for a moment. “You mean you’re in this for money?”

Edward’s question, which could be considered impertinent, made the corners of Yuichiro’s mouth turn up. “Is there a problem?”

“No, there is no problem. It’s clear and straightforward.”

Yuichiro was slightly surprised by Edward’s answer. Then, Edward’s eyes narrowed. There was a faint smile on his face. The moment Yuichiro saw this, a chill ran up and down his spine.

“I’ll double it.”

“Double?”

“The money. I want to bring you into our camp.” Edward inclined his head slightly as if to say, “What do you think?” Then he added, “I’ve heard about your war exploits since you came to this world. I don’t know about your dangerous fighting style, but I admire your merciless warfare, throwing friend and foe alike into the fire of battle. I want a commander like you. Join my army.”

Yuichiro found himself at a loss for words for a moment when Edward spoke out with great fervor and complete impassion. He was taken off guard by the enemy’s leader’s headhunting attempt, and his mind was racing as a result.

When Yuichiro fell silent, Edward tilted his head deeply in wonder. “Is twice as much not enough? I’ll pay you five times or ten times as much as you want. Of course, I will guarantee your position and privileges.”

It was undoubtedly a good deal. Back when Yuichiro was a mercenary, he was often recruited by the enemy army as well. Most mercenaries, if offered money, would switch sides even if they had been killing each other just a few seconds before. In fact, Yuichiro switched his employers several times. That was one of the advantages of being a mercenary rather than a soldier. If he wanted money, he could just betray Noah and follow Edward. And yet, his mouth was clammy with bitter, unpleasant saliva.

“If I join your camp, I’ll be publicly executed by the goddess at your place,” Yuichiro said mockingly. He was sure that Aoi would never welcome him openly. Rather, that girl would definitely kill him instantly.

Edward returned a vacant look to Yuichiro, who was smiling with a twisted smile on his face. “What power does she have?” He asked, his voice cold. It sounded as if he was emotionlessly dismissing a single person.

“That’s a pretty terrible thing to say about your own goddess,” Yuichiro smirked.

After all, the rightful king from the enemy’s side could only mean Edward, the man in front of him, and Aoi as the goddess that will bore his child.

[Do you not have a single attachment to the woman who will become the mother of your child?]

At Yuichiro’s muttering, Edward’s expression became more and more incomprehensible.

“Is it a terrible thing to tell the truth?”

“You’re going to let Aoi give birth to your child, aren’t you?”

“Is that it?”

For some reason, Yuichiro felt as if he was talking to an alien who could not understand the human psyche.

[I don’t know if I should be the one to say this, but doesn’t this guy have any feelings at all?]

Edward blinked a few times when he saw Yuichiro’s complicated expression. “I don’t really care about goddesses or children. Whatever it is, I don’t care if you’re the one who gives birth to my child instead.”

Yuichiro’s eyes widened in shock at Edward’s remark.

Edward, without paying attention to Yuichiro’s expression of don’t care, continued in an indifferent manner. “If anything, I think you’re a better choice than Aoi. If you come to our camp, I’ll make you the goddess instead of Aoi, and you won’t have to worry about being executed.”

Yuichiro’s cheeks twitched at Edward’s words, which seemed both rational and insane. “Do you think I’m going to give birth to your child?”

[In the first place, can he even hold me? If given the choice between a 37-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl, the latter would definitely be better. It’s insane to choose an old man like me.]

To Yuichiro, who was blatantly disgusted, Edward said in a flat voice. “But you’ve been held by Noah, didn’t you? Not only by him but by Temeraire as well.”

Instantly, Yuichiro’s lips fell open with a gape. A searing sense of embarrassment swept over his body. Instinctively, he tightened his lips in response to the warmth radiating from his flushed cheeks.

“What the hell does this have to do with you?” He spat out in a snarl, clenching his back teeth. How did Edward know that he was being held by two men? Is it mere speculation, or is the information leaked from within?

“It’s relevant. Noah is my brother.”

The repeated use of the word “brother” almost made Yuichiro vomit. There was nothing that could be falser than that phrase.

“If Noah is your brother, why did you start the civil war? Why did you try to kill him? Your words and actions are full of contradictions.”

These contradictions frustrated Yuichiro to the point of anger. He glared at the man before him with eyes brimming with hatred.

Seeing this, Edward raised his head toward the sky, gazing in the distance in thoughtful contemplation. He opened his mouth. “It’s for the good of the world.”

“What?”

“My actions will be the ‘flap of the butterfly’s wings. I need to fight with my brother. Because that’s the role I’ve been given.”

Yuichiro couldn’t understand. To his ears, Edward’s words sounded like the ramblings of a fanatic.

Edward then narrowed his eyes, and his piercing gaze met his through the lenses of his monocles. “Ogami Yuichiro, what are you fighting for?”

Yuichiro was unable to respond quickly enough the second time the question was asked. He turned around, looking at Edward with slightly parted lips.

Edward continues in a hushed voice. “If it is for the money, come to me. Whatever I can do for you, I will give you what you want.”

Translator’s Notes

And, there we have it, another main antagonist of this story. From the looks of his attitude and all, he sounds like bad news to me ppl. :blobdizzy: What do you readers think of this development?

p/s: If you like this chapter and want to read ahead, consider supporting me on Ko-fi!