Author: aji (あじ)
Translator: sleepingjay
When we reached the gate of the military post, Jill turned back to me with a concerned frown.
“Will you be alright going alone?”
“…I’m not a kid, you know.”
“I know, but I can’t help but worry.”
“Jill, you have to go send the baron’s son to the capital. If you don’t get going, Oz is gonna come harping again.”
“…..Haa. Alright, I’m going. But please promise me you won’t do anything rash.”
“Aa.”
Jill’s hands gently cupped my cheeks.
We smiled as our noses grazed, then naturally, our eyes closed as lips met.
“Be careful, too, Jill. Have a good trip.”
“Thank you. I’ll likely be back by dusk, so I’ll come pick you up.”
“Okay, I’ll wait.”
While I gave him a tiny wave to send him off, Jill kept looking back at me several times. He looked so much like the kids, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Though I guess from Jill’s perspective, I was the baby, huh?
His overprotective and worrywart personality was a bit much, but it also somehow made me feel a bit amused.
Soon, Jill disappeared from my sight and I started walking towards my workplace.
“Seriously? The Commander’s lover is you?”
As I passed through the gate, a soldier grumbled.
When I turned around and got a good look, it turned out to be that short-haired fool I had argued with on the day the demon attacked the village.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Yt, la’r sbe. Tbe’gf ralii j obbi.”
“Qtja vlv sbe rjs?! Cr P atbeuta, sbeg wbeat vbfrc’a ola sbeg ojmf, sbe obei-wbeatfv yjrajgv.”
“Qtfgf’r atf ibcu-tjlgfv qijsybs?”
“Obcu-tjlgfv.. qijsybs?”
“Tbeg qjgacfg.”
“Ct, tf’r boo kbgx abvjs. Lf’r uba j vjaf klat atf qgfaas ulgi kbgxlcu ja atf ajnfgc….—cb, kjla, ilrafc ab wf!”
“I’m listening though? Your partner’s on a date, but you’re at work, right?”
“That’s right. Why is he the only one having a good time—I said stop it! I’m talking about the Commander!”
“Shh. So noisy. You’re gonna bother the neighbors.”
“Oh, my bad.”
My eyes didn’t betray me—he really was dumb.
I actually didn’t dislike guys like him. They were simple and easy to understand. Well, I guess that was why I didn’t have a good impression of Jill at first.
“Ahhh, how shitty. Even the Knight Commander is in high spirits. Dull chores like this all get thrown to grunts like me, while that guy gets all the meritorious service to himself. Ah, so jealous.”
“Hmm.”
“Ah? Why are you acting like it’s somebody else’s problem? This is your oh-so-dear lover’s issue, you know. Of course, I guess with how much magic power he has, he can do whatever he wants without a care.”
“I see.”
I wonder why this guy was so bothered.
The short-haired fool closed in on me with narrowed eyes.
“I won’t forgive that man or any other bastards that follow him. They disgust me so much I might vomit.”
“……Why do you hate Jill that much?”
“—That guy killed his own race! He might say it’s for the country, but that fucker killed little kids! Abandoning what they never should abandon… even throwing away the most important dignity—I’ll never recognise those men as our country’s heroes!”
“…I understand. If you can’t forgive it, it can’t be helped.”
“Bastard……!”
Shocked and in a rage, the short-haired fool grabbed me by the collar and snarled. He glared at me from point-blank distance, but it was difficult to even breathe, let alone do anything about that.
Our physiques had a huge difference, so my body had become suspended in the air.
“You’ve been making fun of me, haven’t you? Your noble blood is blue, isn’t it?”
“……”
“Say something!”
“…….Then I’ll ask. Are those words you just said from the point of view of an individual person? Or are they words of a soldier defending this country?”
“What? Of course both!”
“—So, what the heck do you think yourself as?”
“Ah?”
“I said, what the heck do you think you are? All you do is complain. I don’t care about your private thoughts. However—”
Speaking as a man—a soldier—protecting this empire? Don’t make me laugh.
“Why did you fucking take up the sword? To shout your complaints? You said you won’t forgive them, and you won’t acknowledge them. Then why don’t you try to rise to the top yourself?”
“—!”
“Get angry? Anyone can do that. If it’s just hating someone, even a scoundrel can do that. Even you—aren’t you just dreaming about that ‘dignity’ of yours? It’s nothing but decoration.”
“You’re only saying that because you don’t know anything, bastard!”
“Aa, I don’t know. And I don’t want to know. Why would I want to know anything about a guy like you, who doesn’t try to see other people’s pain?”
I tapped the fist gripping my collar, and a violent crackling sound rang out as a jolt of electricity flowed.
Shocked by the pain, the short-haired fool released me and backed away in alarm.
“Electric, magic?”
“…..In your own words, I’m also that kind of person who can use my magic to do whatever I want without a care.”
When I answered him with a scornful smile, the short-haired fool raised his magic like a hedgehog.
“Are you jealous of the amount of magic I have? But you’ve misunderstood, see. To use great magic, you need a body that can withstand it. Jill can use however much magic he wants without collapsing because since childhood he had endured endless, torturous training. Can someone like you even imagine it? To use magic to the limit means to destroy your own body from the inside out. You have to continue releasing magic, even when your bones are shattered, even when you are spurting out blood. Even though it’s so painful that even adults would scream.”
“……”
“While you are wasting your time, Jill will persist with his beliefs to protect this empire. No matter who he is hated by, no matter what the cost.”
So I decided to stay by Jill’s side.
The man who was blessed with so much it caused envy, craved normalcy above all else. Wished for it so much that he would be willing to lose all those blessings if he could have it.
And yet, that was the only thing he could never get his hands on.
I had decided to stay by the side of such a pitiful man.
I was a nobody. But, I loved Jill.
“Besides, you should put a bit more effort into discerning true and wrong.”
This guy was simple-minded and quick to anger, but I liked that he had a sense of justice and wasn’t afraid to speak out.
Because of this, he must have been easy to deal with. Impulsive and cared about his comrades—an easy-to-brainwash puppet.
“I don’t know what kind of company you keep, but use your head a little. If you don’t—you’ll die.”
Jill had many enemies.
The tricky ones took pawns from completely unrelated places to enjoy manipulating.
What a pity that this guy was being used as a sacrificial pawn by someone whose face he didn’t even know. But whether or not he would continue to dance to the song of false information and chase the ghost of hatred, was up to himself.
“……”
I left those words to him, and walked away without waiting for an answer.
YEAH!! YOU SLAY GIRL!! TELL HIM!!!
Thank you for the chapter
I LOVE this roasting! Go Lilius, tell that shorthaired idiot what is what and knock some sense into that thick head of his!
Thank you for the chapter!! !