It's been two hours since I accidentally leaked my True Dragon aura.
I was very lucky, though. Ciel somehow managed to reduce the density of the aura, so it's not deadly enough to kill people in a wide radius area. But it means I have killed some people nearby with my aura alone.
But again, I was lucky that there's none of them were civilians or Prince Constance's guard. So it made me feel a bit relieved that those people who died were the ones who made my rage come out.
"Rimuru, don't ever do that again."
Hinata said this to me while dragging a terrified man to the side of the road. That man has removed his black mantle, and now he is simply just wearing white linen clothes. He's been shaking a lot, mumbling words that we cannot understand, and some parts of his body are petrified.
[It's a similar symptom with PTSD, or "Shell Shock," in modern human history. Certainly, he never experiences any kind of aura before, so it must be because of Master's aura which caused him like that]
I feel bad about it. Is there anything we can do for him?
[I wouldn't do anything to him since he's one of the people who caused great pain for Master]
Now I really feel bad about it.
No, actually, in a sense, Ciel's right. This accident reminded me of the most painful day I ever experience. It would be too good for him if I cured him.
But yeah, I shouldn't snap out like this.
"Sorry, I just can't hold it."
I apologized to Hinata. And she gave me a worried look.
"I'll turn a blind eye to this one. But next time, don't do everything by yourself. I'm here with you."
I was quite surprised to hear it. But I remember that she even hugged me when I couldn't think straight. I guess she can be very caring sometimes.
[I'll let this go for this one. Next time, I'll be the one who consoles Master]
Oy oy… Ciel, this is not a race, you know? I was grateful you managed to reduce the danger level of my aura. You have done more than enough, Ciel.
[Thank you very much, Master. I don't have any willpower to oppose you. I'm very sorry I cannot suppress your leaking aura]
No, no, no… In the first place, it was my fault to be blinded by rage this much. Ciel has not done anything wrong.
Without Ciel and Hinata, I surely would make a bigger mess in this incident.
And by the way, I haven't thanked Hinata yet.
"Thank you for what you've done, Hinata. I'm sorry for causing this much trouble."
She glanced at me; her worried eyes were still there, but her mouth had loosened a bit. And after that, she gave me a little smile.
"I'm not doing much, but I'm glad you've come back to yourself. And I'm serious; I'm here to help you too. Don't burden yourself that much."
"I'm honestly surprised to see you were caring for me this much; I'm really gratefu-"
"Ho… so you think I'm an uncaring person this whole time?"
Yikes! Her attitude has suddenly changed 180°. Her face has stiffened up, her smile has disappeared, and her stares are deadly cold.
Crap, just when I get to see her soft side. I was careless!
"N-No! I didn't mean it like that; I always knew you were a kind person. I just didn't know you have this much care for me, you know?"
She didn't look at me anymore and only replied, "Whatever." Then, she walks away and grabs the other trembling person nearby.
I can only sigh in relief because I didn't push her anger further. So, for now, all I can do is help the remaining unconscious people.
I walked away and headed back to the prince's place. But I found too many people unconscious, with some wounds, lying down on the road. And most are in serious condition. So I healed them using holy magic since Ciel said the people in this world were not used with magicules, and because of that, they have been rejecting any kind of magicule use. That's why I cannot use any potion here.
I use holy magic to perform any kind of healing technique. From simple recovery to high heal for everyone who is still alive but unconscious. But I can't perform resurrection since they have passed away for a while. Their soul has left their bodies for too long.
Many of them who's been healed are still lying unconscious. This is said to be the effect of the shock by my aura. Or so that's how Ciel's explanation. But some of them manage to get back on their feet in no time. They're probably the ones who have a strong will or a rare kind of human who is known to be fearless.
But it didn't save them from confusion either. They looked around with such confusion, and they even cannot find any words to say to me. They just stand there and look utterly speechless.
And then, I hear someone running. His sound of running is very clear, around with the sound of metals hitting each other. The people who have been conscious immediately turn their gaze to the sound direction.
Then, appeared from the darkness; I saw Prince Constance arrive. He has short blonde hair; his face is gaunt, and he has big round eyes with a gentle look and white skin. He wears a chain mail, sabatons on both of his feet and spaulders on his arms. On his chain mail, there appears to be a red cloth with a dragon picture on it.
He seemed to be out of breath once he stopped and looked at me. But seriously, he looks pretty amazing. I haven't healed him, and he manages to get back on his feet on his own.
[Possibly because he has a part of Shizu's soul who strong enough to resist magicules]
So that's why. It's still pretty amazing, though. But I guess it's not the time to amaze by the sight. Prince Constance looks in a struggle to say something.
But many seconds after, he still looks confused and speechless. So I decided to break the ice first.
"Greetings, Your Highness Prince Constance. My name is Rimuru Tempest. My pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry to have caused huge damage in this accident."
"Rimuru… Tempest?"
He looks puzzled, but more than that, he looks like he is remembering something. And I have given up on concealing my real identity. I have shown my power, so it's no use to hide the fact that I came from another world.
"Yes, Your Highness. My name is Rimuru Tempest."
It probably wouldn't be good if I immediately introduced myself as an otherworlder. So I will bring it up once the situation has calmed down. I guess I have gotten better in common sense.
"My apologies. I still can't comprehend the situation. Are you the one who cause all of this? Including the black thunder?"
Oops. He's not wrong, but if I fully admit it, it would make me look like a bad guy. Well, I killed people, so I guess that remark doesn't wrong from a particular perspective. But I had no choice. It was an unnatural event, so there will be no reason which makes sense in this world's common sense.
"Yes, it was me. I'm very sorry for that."
As I said it, I began to realize some people lying down on the road had truly passed away. I have really killed people in other worlds. A sudden feeling of guilt began filling my heart. But then, the Prince started to speak in a surprisingly polite manner.
"No, it's unfortunate, but it can't be helped anymore. As far as I can see, you've killed many of our enemies. I'm fully grateful for your acts."
He bowed to me. His words are sincere. But I can sense some fear in his attitude. It's no wonder, actually.
"Please raise your head, Your Highness. I've done terrible things; I cannot accept your gratitude for that."
He lifted his head, and then he gave me a smile. But what comes next is a minute of silence. And he was still looking at me. His face somehow expresses a relieved expression.
But afterward, his face becomes teary, and he bursts into tears. He didn't cover his face, so I could see his tears streaming down from his eyes. His head was bowing down again, but then, strangely, he knelt to me.
I was so confused about why he suddenly burst into crying. But I think it's probably because of what I've done. He might be grateful for me to save him, but in my hands, there's the blood of his people.
I think he might be scared too, and that's why he knelt to me.
But turns out,
"Now I'm certain you're a miracle I have hoped for. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Rimuru Tempest-sama."
Huh? Wait, why I became a miracle from his perspective? Does he seriously perceive my doings as a miracle? I burnt the place, damaged the surrounding, and killed people. Why is he see it as a miracle?
I can't stand it, so I ask him.
"Please stand up, Your Highness! And what do you mean by miracles? I think I have done violence against your people. And I'm just an ordinary person; please don't use honorifics for me."
"Don't be modest, Rimuru Tempest-sama. You and the young lady must be transcendent beings who are sent to this world. Those you have slain are not my people, Rimuru Tempest-sama. They are my enemies."
He still refused to stand up. And worse, the already conscious people are starting to understand the situation and join him.
Oh boy, I thought I would be feared, but it turns out it's otherwise.
[As I thought, Master didn't have to feel guilty at all!]
Ciel says something rather comforting, but it feels wrong in some way. And in that sense, I shouldn't let this Prince to knelt before me further.
"Prince Constance, please stand up. I think we have a lot to talk about this. I feel we made some misunderstanding."
Then he lifted his head and asked,
"What kind of misunderstanding have I made about you, Rimuru Tempest-sama?"
"Ugh… First, that one. Just call me Rimuru. And the rest, let's talk about it in less formal circumstances."
"…I understand, but is it really okay for me to stand up?"
"Of course! I would find it troubling if you still knelt to me."
After I said that bluntly, he immediately stood up.
But not with the other people.
"Oy, you guys, please stand up as well."
I said it casually, but it turned out they lifted their head and showed me a confused look.
"W-We can stand up, Rimuru Tempest-sama?"
Darn, are these people so strict with social class?
[Lack of education has caused a minimal bare to freedom of thinking. Therefore, there's a tendency to always follows the higher class person unconditionally]
Damn, so it's like a monster who follows the stronger?
[Correct]
I actually meant that as a rhetorical question, but never mind.
"Of course you do. I didn't mean it just for the Prince, you know."
After I said that, they immediately stood up as well. And I saw the Prince's expression after he saw this. He looks like he has mixed feelings, I guess.
"All right, now allow me to say something. Stop calling me with honorifics, and you can just call me Rimuru."
All of them are in surprised looks, while the Prince has a troubled one. But then,
"If you insist, then you should call me with Constance as well. Oh, pardon me! I just forgot I haven't introduced myself properly, am I?!"
The Prince suddenly became panicked, but I just laughed it off. So, in the end, I ask him to introduce himself.
"My name is Constance Blaise, the second son of King Bertaut Blaise of the Casland Kingdom. I'm also the Second Prince and the ruler of the Holgen Principality. My greatest pleasure to meet you, Rimuru Tem, I mean, Rimuru."
He bowed gracefully while introducing himself. Some of the people who were already conscious were in awe of his manliness, or should I say elegance. If it were not for his mistake to almost call me by my full name, I would give him full remarks on that introduction.
But now is not the time to think of such things. I'll have to respond to him and have some good talk.
"Mm-hmm, now, are you sure I can call you Constance?"
"No problem at all, Rimuru-sama"
"Hey, don't use any honorifics to me, remember?"
"My apologies. Yes, you can call me by the name only, Rimuru."
"All right. That settled then. And… you-ah? Why the other people have backed away?"
I was intended to ask for the names of the people earlier who were able to wake up pretty early, but they seemed to back off and take several steps away from me and Constance. Am I doing something wrong to them?
"Uhm, Rimuru, didn't you really know the etiquette?"
"Etiquette? Of what?"
"Well, it's not that I like it, but in this kingdom, if a person can call a Royalty member without honorifics, they are considered equal with the Royalties. And by equal with Royalties, that means the ordinary people, or plebian, shouldn't be able to stand near them without permission. But I dislike that etiquette."
Constance gave me the explanation with an apologetic tone. It seems he understands right away that I dislike those things.
"Well, can I permit them now?"
"Yes, but Rimuru, I didn't mean to be impolite, but," he looked to the civilians and guards who were unconscious, "can my people wake up? I didn't see them have injuries, so I guess they are all still alive. But they didn't seem to be waking up as well."
Oh right! He didn't have any knowledge about what would happen to his people. I completely forgot to explain it to him.
"Oh my, I'm sorry. I forgot to mention it. They are all still alive but will take time to wake up. The ones who already wake up, however, are pretty special."
"Special? Could you explain it to me?"
"You know, they have fainted because of my uncontrollable power. To put it simply, my leaked aura has put fear and pressure on people. But the more bravery or willpower you have, the better resistance you can do. So, they would be waking up based on how strong their willpower is."
"So that's it… But are they will be all right?"
"Yes, don't worry. But it will take some time before they would eventually wake up."
"I see; that's a relief. Thank you, Rimuru. But…"
He avert his eyes to the ordinary people, his people, who fell victim to such cruel violence. His eyes become wistful. But he looks at me again, forcing a smile.
"If you don't mind, Rimuru, I have to honor my people. I cannot save them, but perhaps I could start digging a grave for them. I cannot let them die like this."
"I'm sorry I didn't arrive on time."
"It's okay, Rimuru. I have mixed feelings about it, honestly," he paused a moment. "I really dislike seeing my people live like this; I hate when I lose just even one of my people. But perhaps, in that sense, without them, you wouldn't arrive."
"No, it's actually; I can arrive much earlier."
I can't hide the truth that I was actually able to come here much earlier if I didn't hesitate or thought such trivial things as appearing with teleportation magic. If only I had decided to aid him since the beginning of the convoy, I could save saved more people or perhaps the entire convoy.
But the most painful truth was I came here mostly because of him, not his people.
My answer has made him silent. I don't know what he's thinking, but he is looking at me intently. I don't feel any moves from him, but somehow I can feel his eyes is looking at me up and down.
I unconsciously averted my eyes from him and looked at the burning carriages and the dead people.
"It's not your first time, Rimuru?"
The sudden question was really breaking the ice. I don't know whether I was surprised by his sudden voice or the question itself.
And when I saw him, he didn't look at me. Instead, he looks at the dead people.
"Yeah"
I didn't intend to look pathetic, but judging from my tone, I guess I'm gonna look like that.
"Then, I guess I know what you feel," He averted his eyes to me again and showed a little smile. "And I think I'm starting to understand what my people felt about it."
I look at him in wonder; what is he mean? But looking at his face, he looks more calm than before. His expression becomes softer.
"Rimuru, you've done enough. In the first place, if you didn't come to save us, we would be annihilated. So don't look down on yourself."
He walked closer to me, and then he continued.
"Thank you very much, Rimuru Tempest."
His voice is tender; it feels like a breeze of air in my heart. I didn't feel any burn inside of me, but somehow, I felt like a fire had been extinguished.
I almost didn't know what to say. But I knew I had to thank him too.
"Me as well. Thank you, Constance."
"I didn't think I deserve any gratitude. But if you feel better somehow, I'm glad for it".
We both trade our smiles.
And after our short silence, we both went to prepare the burial of his fallen people. We both started with gathering the corpse that scattered around the road, some even found inside the woods. One by one, the other people start to wake up. At first, they all showed a confused look. But after some brief explanation from Constance himself, they accept my presence. And after that, they started to help us gather the dead.
Those who died are identified by the survivor. Some are their family members, friends, neighbors, and even work colleagues. I managed to obtain their names, and I intended to write them on the tombstone.
I made a huge pit to be used as a mass grave. And before the remains are buried, the survivor takes some of their possession as a memento. Then, they shovel the soil to fill the grave.
I made a huge tombstone, writing their names on it. Ciel counted that there were 739 names written on the tombstone. But some of the corpses didn't have anything to be identified, nor anyone knew them. There are about 90 people who died without anyone knowing their names. It's pretty sad, so we made a different mass grave for them. We also took some of their belongings and put them in the box and buried it along with them, wishing that someday, someone might search for them.
This place becomes their last place to rest. And I wish they have peace in their rest.
The burial didn't take much time. It's still dawn; the sun hasn't risen yet. The survivor made a bonfire while Constance and I were discussing with the guards.
At that time, Hinata also arrives. I still didn't know what she did to the survivor from the enemy side. She realizes she hasn't explained what she has done to the enemy to me, or rather, to us. And so after introducing herself and her relationship with me, she started to explain what she did.
Basically, she intended to gather information from the remaining survivor of the enemy. She wanted to know who are they and what they after since they didn't look like a knight. They have proper fighting skill but doesn't have the right demeanor as a knight. Their ruthless attack against civilians was a huge sign of difference from the normal knight since the mounted knight who also attacking were mostly ignored the civilians.
But she didn't manage to obtain much information. They are too much scared to speak; they mumble unintelligible words and tremble. Only a few of them are able to speak their name and where they come from. Apparently, the rumors are true about Prince Terrace, backed up by neighboring nations. Those black mantle people turned out as hired mercenaries from other nations, and promised to allow plundering during their mission. And by the looks of it, tonight is one of those missions.
Hinata said she found 13 survivors and kept them alive for now. That's why she joined our discussion right now. Aside from telling what she discovers, she also wants to let Constance handle the enemy survivor.
Hearing this, it was not Constance who reacted, but Claune, the head guard.
"I don't see any reason to keep them alive. They cannot give us anything useful. Your Highness, I think we should execute them."
"Hmmm… I agree we have to punish them severely, but I'm not sure to execute them right now."
"Why, Your Highness? These men are not warriors. They have done harm to our people. If we want to gain information, I prefer to interrogate the 5th Knight Brigade that attacked us earlier."
"So those knights are the 5th Knight Brigade? I see; I won't spare the enemy, then. Sir Claune, I'll let you handle their execution. But make an exception for the Knight Brigade. They are just trapped by their oath. I don't intend to punish them."
"By your will, Your Highness," then he turns to me and Hinata, "Rimuru-sama, Hinata-sama, I cannot express how much gratitude I have for you. I wish I could repay you someday."
"At the least, that is what we can do for you. I leave them to you, Claune-san."
It was Hinata who responded to Sir Claune's gratitude. I was initially trying to say something, but she jumped into the fray immediately. So I just gave him a nod with a smile.
"Yes, Hinata-sama. I'll bring them here and make a public execution. Now, I'll excuse myself."
Then he walked away from us, heading toward the rear of the convoy.
"Now, Your Highness, Rimuru-sama and Hinata-sama, I'm afraid we don't have any luxurious meal to serve, but I can cook some delicious dishes for you. Why don't we use this to take a break?"
Vlan, the butler who serves Constance, offers his service to cook. Well, as I was curious about how to cook in this world, I don't think it's a good time to have a luxurious break. Before the convoy manages to arrive safely in Cardinalis, it's still dangerous out here.
I was thinking of teleporting them immediately, but I guess that is something that I have to discuss with Constance and Hinata.
But for now, I have to respond to Vlan's offer. I was searching for good words to reject that offer, but then Hinata spoke before me. Again.
"Neither Rimuru nor I need to. Forgive me for being rude, but I don't even think we should waste our time. We may have pulled the enemy back, but it's still not safe. We have to continue our journey. If you need time to rest, don't take too much time."
I thought Hinata's words were quite impolite, but surprisingly, it made both Constance and Vlan smile.
"I agree with Hinata; we should continue our journey as soon as possible."
"Now, thanks to that, I don't have to spend a lot of time preparing my best dishes. This is as Sir Claune suggests. We can only take a break for half an hour, or an hour at most."
"Then let's do that. Let the other people have a short break first. I'll prepare for our departure."
Constance readied his sword and started to look around to gather the guards. But Vlan interrupts him.
"Your Highness, rather than preparing our departure, we have another problem that needs your attention."
"What is it, Vlan?"
"I have been looking around before, and I'm pretty sure everyone barely has any food to eat tonight."
"What? How is that possible? I know our food supply is barely minimum, but it should be enough for tonight, right?"
"Unfortunately, Your Highness, the food supply carriage is damaged badly, and we lost most of the food. We tried to gather up as many as we could, but sadly there's many which become inedible."
"That's very bad. How much do we have right now if we combine with my own supply?"
"As far as I know, we only have enough food for at least a quarter of the whole convoy. And that's even after we combine with our personal supply."
"Really?! That's not good at all. We don't have any reserve as well…."
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but I also didn't have any idea about this"
Oh? It seems like there's trouble with food. Ciel, how much bread do we have right now?
[There are 400 breads remaining, Master]
It's not enough at all. But can we make more?
[Sure! Would you like to make the bread right now?]
Well, wait a minute. I have to ask for Constance's opinion on this. In the first place, I don't know how much they actually need it.
So I stood up on my feet and walked towards them.
"Umm… excuse me, but how much exactly about the food shortage?"
Both Vlan and Constance turn their head toward me.
"Well, the whole people in the convoy are up to 20.000 people. We only have enough food for barely 4000 people; we lack food for another 16.000 people."
"And we don't have any reserve or alternative. We might be able to hunt some animals around here, but it still won't be enough, and wasting too much time."
"Hmm… I see. Then, can we talk elsewhere? I have an idea of what to do."
Welp, this can't be helped. I think I really need to step in and make food for them. But again, about the distribution, I guess I should hand it over to Constance. In that sense, I ask for both of them for a more private talk. Hinata also comes along.
They gave me a confused look but immediately just nodded and came along without asking any questions.
After we walked further away and found a good place, I was immediately said what inside my mind.
"Listen, this might sound out of common sense, but what I would say is true. I can give you all enough food, or more precisely; I can make bread that would be enough to fill 20.000 people. So-"
"Are you really, Rimuru?!"
"Rimuru-sama, are you sure?!"
Before I could finish my sentence, they had already cut me up. But, well, what would you expect them to be? Keep silent?
Meanwhile, Hinata only sighed after hearing my sentence.
"Yes, I can. And I want you to handle the distribution."
"That's an easy task for us, Rimuru. You can leave it to me."
"And there's something I want to discuss as well."
"What is it, Rimuru?"
"Well, it might sound unbelievable, so take it easy and listen carefully, okay?"
I suddenly remembered my idea to teleport the whole convoy, so they could arrive faster and safer. But, if people don't trust me, it will be useless to use this idea. I could imagine how strange it is or how absurd it sounds to people who had never known magic in their life. To trust their life in this sudden absurd proposal was nonetheless would be untrusted.
That's why I need Constance's advice on this. Besides, it was his own people.
And so, I try to explain it to him, from the very basic explanation about teleportation to my proposal to use this teleportation ability for the whole convoy.
Unsurprisingly, both Constance and Vlan got shocked by what I said. In particular, Vlan was almost in denial about my ability. And not to mention, Hinata was also in surprise about it. She might be surprised about the number of people I could transport through teleportation.
The three of them kept questioning me about this. Hinata and Constance questioned my method and the safety aspect, while Vlan questioned the ability itself. He seems still not to believe it, while Constance might be already given up on the whole common sense barrier.
But after some time, all three of them agreed.
"That means we didn't have to take a break at all in here."
"That's true, Your Highness. All we need to do now is to gather around and let Rimuru-sama perform his teleportation magic."
"I agree, but that means you have to explain it to the people. Can you do that?"
"Certainly, maybe there's going to be a little backlash from some people, but through some explanation, they would agree in the end."
"In that case, let me accompany you, Your Highness. And let's explain the situation first to the guards. They might be able to help us explain the idea on our behalf."
"That's a good idea, Vlan. Then it's settled. Let's explain it to Captain Claune and his men first."
Vlan nodded and continued again by Constance,
"Rimuru, you can leave it to us. I'm very grateful for all your help. That's why you don't have to do anything for now."
"Sure, Constance. But if anything happens, just tell me as soon as possible."
He nodded with a bright smile at me and immediately went with Vlan to start carrying out our plan.
And it also means that I don't have to make bread either. Sorry Ciel, for now, let's prepare for the massive teleportation.
[Right away, Master!]
Ciel always sounded happy whenever I gave her an order. Her sounds were actually pretty cute.
[…To suddenly tease me is unfair, Master…]
Uhm, sorry?
Anyway, right now I don't have anything to do. And here I am with Hinata, walking together to the initial place without any spoken words. She looked straight to the front without any expression on her face. I don't know what she's thinking, but it's clear she's thinking about something.
We arrived at the initial campfire and sat there for some time. And at that time, Hinata suddenly spoke.
"Rimuru, can we talk a bit?"
"What is it?"
"Rimuru, do you understand the whole scale of what you've done?"
I nodded.
"Yeah. It's gonna be a big hassle, but it's already happened. So I can't turn my back now. Besides, I think by helping Constance, I might be able to help Shizu-san as well."
"That's what I've been thinking about. If we were going to help Sensei like this, there would be no end."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Even if we could help them win this conflict, Constance is still gonna passed away naturally. And in that time, you know what I mean, don't you?"
I felt a jolt from this realization. Constance is going to passed away someday, and Shizu-san's soul won't be inside him anymore. And that means…
"…Yes"
"This will be never-ending, Rimuru. When Constance dies, Sensei's soul is gone to another place again. We can find them, but if we let them loose again then we won't be able to stop as well. The cycle of inhabiting a people is the nature of the soul. I have been thinking about this."
"You're right. But what shall we do then? We can't turn our back now. All of our effort until now would be in vain. Unless we… wait,"
I suddenly remembered something, but somehow I didn't feel it was a good decision. But I guess Hinata has a right to know it.
"What is it, Rimuru?"
"I remembered about something, no, it's actually someone. It's about someone who can travel beyond time and space before me, and her purpose is to collect the soul of someone she loved the most."
"I see. That's not a bad idea."
"No, it's a different case. Both of them are in deep love with each other. Did you get it?"
"I get it. You worried about what Sensei might be thinking about you keeping her soul, right?"
"Exactly. I mean, who am I to her? We have a unique relationship, but we're not lovers, Hinata. It's creepy to think your soul is being kept by someone who's actually nobody to you, right?"
"No, it's not!"
Hinata raised her voice and immediately stood up. She glares at me intently, her eyes fired up, her lips trembling, and she clenches both of her hands. Anybody would realize it; she's angry.
But why? Did I say something wrong?
She immediately took her composure back and let out a short sigh. Then, she sat down again.
"Don't think Sensei is seeing you as nobody, Rimuru."
"…"
"Rimuru, at the time when she entrusted herself to you, she already saw you as someone special."
"I know for that one, but-"
"What? Do you think it's something natural to help her because you can? Do you think Sensei only asked you because she doesn't have any more choices?"
"But that's the tru-"
"Listen to me, Rimuru. I don't know how much merit you've received from Sensei, but I believe Sensei is also receiving a lot from you. If you think she sees you as nobody, I believe we're talking about a different person from the beginning. So even if it's true that Sensei had no other choice than to entrust herself to you, in the end, you are the fated one for her."
Her gaze is still fierce, as if she's stabbing my eye with her own eyes. There was no smile at all on her lip. I felt very intimidated.
But that's not the worst.
The worst is, somehow, I feel in denial about myself. I know Hinata is right. Shizu-san is my destined one. But it doesn't mean we're in love with each other. No, more than that, we became close just because I was the only one who accompanied her in her last breath. It still could be anyone other than me.
But the main thing is what Hinata already said. In the end, it was me whom Shizu-san entrusted.
Even so, is it really okay to keep her soul for me alone? Besides, what am I gonna do with Shizu-san's soul when every piece of them has been collected?
Resurrecting her would be out of the question. Even if I prepared a physical body, a soul alone cannot make it as a living being. It needs a will, and I doubt a soul, no matter how complete it is, was also having a will with it.
But wait a minute, Shizu-san's body is inside my [Stomach], right? What happened to that body?
[Shizu's body is already deceased, Master. The simple explanation for it is there's no more Shizu's body anywhere inside of Master]
I see. So even if I perform the Art Of Revival, there's no physical body to become the vessel for the soul. So, what's the point of collecting Shizu-san's soul?
There's no point at all. In fact, it means I'm trapping her inside of me. It has the same meaning as me preventing Shizu-san's reincarnation cycle.
Maybe I have to accept that sometimes, Shizu-san's soul has to inhabit someone who's living a hard life, a bad life, an unfortunate life. In that sense, perhaps Shizu-san's soul itself is not completely her own soul. Perhaps, it's also a mixed soul from other people in the past from other worlds as well.
Thinking about it, it makes me frustrated. Then, why do I have to be here? And in the first place, why am I searching for Shizu-san's soul? Why am I become obsessed with Shizu-san's soul anyway?
"Rimuru, it's not a bad thing to step back and rethink our purpose."
Hinata suddenly speaks to me again. I completely forgot I was in the middle of a conversation with her.
"So, do you suggest abandoning Constance now?"
I highly doubt it's her intention, but right now, I can't find another reason behind her words.
"No. What I mean is we need to change our purpose from now on to continue this journey."
"Which is?"
"From helping anyone who has Sensei's soul into helping Sensei's soul itself."
"And how we're gonna do that?"
"By making sure Sensei's soul is in the right hand."
"You know I can't do anything about Shizu-san's soul when it's contained inside of me, do you?"
"I do, but I believe you can be a better place for her."
"Do you really think it's gonna be okay for her?"
"If Sensei didn't accept it in the promised land, I'll take the responsibility."
"So you make it as a request to me?"
"Yes."
"You didn't have to do that far."
"I told you, didn't I? I'm here with you. Don't take every burden by yourself."
Unintentionally, I make smile at her. No, it's not because I'm making fun of her. It's the otherwise. I was honestly happy by her words.
I never thought that I carry everything by myself. I only think that I do my part. In this case, my part was to determine the purpose of our journey and help Hinata to redeem herself. But, perhaps, what she said is true. If I wanted to make Hinata redeem herself, I needed to involve her more than before.
"So, what do you say about it?"
"Let's do it."
Now, I agree with her. Our purpose has changed. We're no longer just helping anyone with Shizu-san's soul. We're going to help Shizu-san's soul itself by collecting them and saving them inside of me.
Although I still have some dilemmas about cutting the cycle of Shizu-san's reincarnation, I want to fulfill Hinata's trust in me. Maybe right now, I don't have any idea what should I do to Shizu-san's complete soul once we collect all the pieces, but I promise to keep it safe and guarantee its well-being.
"Hinata"
"What is it?"
"Thank you very much."
She smiled gently at me.
"You're welcome."
