[What kind of foolish jokes you’re rambling on now? Who would benefit from having so many people burn to death along with the forest?]
“Are you afraid of the outside world?”
Kiki’s face was solemn as she listened to Yuichiro’s words. But when she saw Yuichiro’s cold stare, Kiki’s eyes flinched as if she was terrified.
“Are you choosing to die here because you are afraid of the world outside? Are the people of the Yellow tribe full of cowards?”
“We… calling us cowards…”
“What do you call cowards who are ignorant of the world, who don’t even realize they’re in a cage, and yet imply that the outside world is filthy?”
[Just like birds in a cage. And the cage is this forest. A prison bound by the prayer-like curse of the goddess Lily.]
“Are you so afraid of getting dirty? Is it so terrible to mingle with fools? Is it so precious to live in a cage without knowing dirt?” Yuichiro continued in a calm voice.
Throwing the bayonet with its bent barrel on the ground, Yuichiro gazed down at Kiki. Kiki stared up at Yuichiro with a stunned look in her eyes.
“I’ll teach you guys.”
“What in the world are you—”
“—A way of life outside of the cage,” Yuichiro muttered and quietly extended his hand to Kiki.
Kiki’s lips quivered faintly as she stared at the hand offered to her. Staring at those shivering lips, Yuichiro said. You may get dirty, but you will be free.” The moment he whispered this, Kiki nodded deeply.
Silence fell. The sound of the burning trees and the heat wave blasting through his body grew stronger. The smell of burning wood filled his nostrils. Instead of sweating, Yuichiro felt a prickling and aching sensation as dryness crept over his skin. Suddenly, he heard Kiki’s voice.
“I’m going to tell everyone. So that they retreat immediately. All of the Yellow tribe people must leave this forest. I will not allow even a single person to die in this forest. We still have work to do. We will fight with the Goddess. I repeat. The people of the Yellow tribe will fight to the end.”
Kiki raised her head. There was no more hesitation in her eyes. She gripped Yuichiro’s hand firmly. Then, together, they ran through the fiery flames with no hesitation. Both of them were covered in ash by the time they emerged from the woods. When they took another step, a large group of people came charging out to meet them. Among these figures were Temeraire and Goat.
“Yuichiro-sama, are you hurt?”
When Yuichiro saw Temeraire acting so hurried, which was so out of character, he almost laughed. Temeraire’s expression softened a little when he saw Yuichiro’s pale face break into a grin. After that, Goat guided everyone away from the ablaze woods.
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.
“Goat, take Kiki to the medic.”
When Yuichiro called out to him, Goat glanced at Kiki for a moment, then ordered his men to escort Kiki away without changing his expression. In return, Kiki gave a small bow and headed for the barracks with the medic.
While walking a little ahead of Yuichiro, Goat voiced out, “I’m glad you’re safe, Captain Ogami.”
“Does this look okay to you?”
“If you can still talk spitefully like that, you’re safe enough.”
[You’re the one who’s safe and sound] Yuichiro wanted to say this back.
Wiping his pitch-black face with his cuff, Yuichiro muttered to himself, “It’s a mess.”
“That’s right. Am Yisu was burned before the regular army even arrived, and we were reminded of the difference in strength between us and the rebels, so we’ve had nothing but trouble.” Even though he said it in a lighthearted tone, Goat’s face didn’t bear the trademark grin. With his eyes fixed ahead, Goat again opened his mouth to speak. “It looks like the rebels have pulled back. Moreover, they took that enormous airship with them when they left.”
Yuichiro only replied shortly, “I see.” At the same time, the word “defeat” was weighing heavily on both of his shoulders. No matter how many enemy soldiers they killed, the battle was over once the enemies burned Am Yisu.
Goat continued in a rigid tone, “I had heard rumors that Goldar was building a flying weapon, but I didn’t think they would put it to practical use. It’s due to a lack of intel on my part. I apologize.”
Yuichiro looked directly into Goat’s unblinking profile and said softly “I have no intention of blaming anyone right now. But more importantly, does that airship really belong to Goldar?”
To Yuichiro’s question, Goat gave a small nod. “Yes. As long as Goldar is helping the rebels, it will be difficult to overcome our disadvantages.”
“That’s quite amusing,” Yuichiro exhaled with a sigh. As he endured the headache that seemed to be attacking him again, Temeraire, who was walking diagonally behind Yuichiro, interrupted him.
“Besides, the appearance of a goddess in the rebel army is also a grave matter. The rebels will also try to raise the morale of their soldiers by holding up a girl who calls herself Katsuragi Aoi as their goddess and appealing to their legitimacy.
Yuichiro was momentarily taken aback when Temeraire brought up the subject of Aoi. He unconsciously looked back over his shoulder and stared at Temeraire seriously. At Yuichiro’s surprised expression, Temeraire tilted his head quizzically.
“Is she the hysterical woman Izrael was talking about?” Goat remarked sarcastically. Continuing on, he whispered, ‘a fake goddess’, distastefully.
Hearing this single word, Yuichiro lowered his eyebrows vaguely. “No, Aoi is not a fake, I’ve heard.”
Looking over his shoulder, Goat cast Yuichiro a puzzled glance. “What are you talking about, Captain Ogami?”
Yuichiro returned a puzzled look at Goat’s tone of scolding a child.
“To us, everyone is a fake except you. No matter how many young and pretty girls appear, no matter how some god claims that this woman is a real goddess, you are our goddess. You will never get off the goddess chair, and you are obligated to fight with us to the very end.” The rough tone of his voice contained ample criticism against Yuichiro. Goat was adamant that he would never allow Yuichiro to cease to be a goddess.
The words overwhelmed Yuichiro. As he remained silent, Temeraire grabbed Yuichiro’s hand. The feeling of the man’s palm gently wrapping around his hand caused his body to stiffen for a moment.
“Goat is right. You are the only goddess for us.”
“You are—” Yuichiro unexpectedly opened his mouth, but the words he was about to say stopped mid-sentence.
Temeraire gazed at Yuichiro curiously. Yuichiro’s lips were tightly sealed as he gazed back at the beautiful man.
Suddenly, a high-pitched voice rang out, “Yuichiro!”
Yuichiro turned his head and saw Noah rushing toward him. In that instant, Temeraire’s hand, which had been clutching Yuichiro’s palm, silently slipped away.
“Noah?”
Noah jumped on him before he had time to ask why he was here. Noah’s arms firmly embraced Yuichiro’s body.
“Yuichiro, are you okay? Are you hurt? Is there anything that hurts?” Noah asked Yuichiro one after another as he held him around the waist. While Yuichiro was still dumbfounded, Noah looked down and raised his eyes at him, who looked like he was about to start crying.
“I’m glad you’re alive…”
Hearing these words, he felt a faint hot sensation rising up from deep within his chest. It was the first time someone had ever said to him, ‘I’m glad you’re alive.’
“Why are you here?”
When asked, Noah lifted Yuichiro’s left wrist and said, “You dropped the chain on the way here, didn’t you? I couldn’t see or hear anything because of that… I got worried, so I jumped on my horse and came over.”
Yuichiro’s lips went half-open when hearing Noah’s reckless resolution. If the king had to constantly visit the battlefield, there would be nothing safe or secure about it.
“If I’m so far away, I don’t know what’s going on… I really regretted why I didn’t go with you.”
At the sound of Noah’s regretful voice, Yuichiro felt a constant ache in his chest. It was a tickling throbbing sensation, like a bird flapping its wings in his heart.
“Don’t be silly. How can a king go out on the battlefield? A man like you would be killed in a heartbeat,” Yuichiro replied bluntly, not wanting anyone to know the throbbing sensation inside his chest. Despite this, for some reason, the corners of his mouth relaxed without him realizing it.
While covering his mouth with his hand, Noah mumbled, “Even so, it’s better than Yuichiro dying without my knowledge,” before he clung to Yuichiro even more tightly. Noah’s ruddy cheeks were stained black by the blood and ashes that clung to Yuichiro’s clothing. Even so, Noah didn’t appear to mind.
“…Don’t leave me.”
Translator’s Notes
Tjs, atf ktbif ujcu lr tfgf! Pcmievlcu ZJ’r teryjcv. :yibymtffxs: Yt sfjt, cfza mtjqafg klii yf atf ijra mtjqafg obg atlr Cgm! Qbtbb!
Oh yeah, I just want to mention this to everyone. I’m picking up two new novels with the help of my co-translator, one BL and non-BL series under another translation group.
Go ahead and read them here at;
- I will not be a Villain! I will be Happy with My Brother! (BL)
- By the Way, I’m Now Living in the Mountains (Non-BL)
That’s all! Thanks for your support everyone!
p/s: If you wanted to read ahead, go and support me on Ko-fi or click HERE! New advanced chapters have already been updated for this month!
Want spoilers? Then join my personal Discord HERE!
Thank you for the chapter! ❤️
Noah is so cute 🥺
Reading all ur comments made my day. Thanks for reading!
This novel is so good, thank you for your amazing translation 🥺