The Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Shizukuku
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 070 – Standing [A] 1
A small group was walking under the trees toward the kalar settlement. As she walked alone near the front of the group, Hunty felt quite awkward.
There was no proper order for their lineup. Kesselring, who was recently turned into a majin, had taken the lead to serve as a guide, while Ssulal walked in the middle of the group to make it easier to escort her. Everyone else walked as they liked through the forest.
The sun was already setting, and the madder red sunshine fell through the gaps in the trees. Since they had a long distance to cover before reaching their destination, they couldn’t just stay silent the entire way.
Although the group would just talk comfortably when they were alone, there was a newcomer, Kesselring, among them right now. Therefore, the conversation was naturally focused on introductions and hearing stories about her.
“Heeh, so you are the King of the Night. I guess that’s why you seem strong.”
“I’m not that strong.”
Galtia talked casually to Kesselring, who was walking at the front of the group. Then he asked again,
“But you have experienced being in battle to some extent, right?”
“I merely fought for the sake of my brethren. Those who dare to disturb our lives naturally have to pay the price.”
“Hoou, I see. That’s cool.”
Galtia appreciated her dignified attitude and laughed. One couldn’t help but be impressed by Kesselring, who could act naturally despite talking to a majin she’d only met a few hours ago.
…Am I, the one who can’t act naturally in this situation, actually just a miserable person?
Hunty had such doubts enter her mind, but she quickly erased them. No matter how she thought about it, she was having a normal reaction and the other party was the weird one. This was clear from how timid Pale was acting, as she walked between Kesselring and Leonhart,
…It’s normal to be wary of majins after all…
Since Hunty could understand Pale’s thoughts, she couldn’t help but sympathize with her. Perhaps Pale wanted to enter the conversation because the topic concerned Leonhart? Even now, she reacted to what Galtia was talking about,
“Since you are known as the King of the Night, you must be good in combat, right?”
“Ah, uh…”
“…I guess so. Because of the characteristics of my magic, I can unleash more power at night.”
Pale obviously wanted to be a part of the conversation, but she could only manage to make clumsy attempts at speaking. Perhaps it was due to her originally being a shut-in who wasn’t good at communication. Although Hunty wanted to help her, the topic would likely shift to herself if she did, so Hunty didn’t want to act unnecessarily. Perhaps it was a little cruel of her? But just as she realized that that, in front of her,
“Kyah—eh, huh, Leonhart-san…?”
“Oops, be careful, Pale.”
“Ah…Ye-yes… thank you, very much…”
Pale had stumbled on a pebble or something and was about to fall over, so Leonhart quickly supported her. Pale, who was now in his embrace, thanked him with flushed cheeks. Ssulal who saw that raised her leg and,
“…Ah, my foot slipped-”
“That hurts—?!”
She had stomped on Leonhart’s foot. The movement was clearly intentional,
…What are they doing…?
Hunty sighed at the series of events. She had little to say for Pale, whose heart fluttered from such a small gesture, but Ssulal had also reacted to it. The fault is entirely with Leonhart though. He tainted my bed after all. Hunty was still thinking about how to get back at him for that.
Just as she was thinking that, a voice came from another direction this time. It was Carol’s voice. But the topic she asked about included Hunty,
“Now that I think about it, Kesselring-sama and Hunty-san are both kalars, right? Are you acquainted?”2
…Oops.
The question of whether they were acquainted was asked. I don’t want to answer that, if possible, thought Hunty. However, Kesselring turned and looked at Hunty for a moment. And then,
“No, I’m not acquainted with her.”
“…I guess so.”
Sure enough, Kesselring gave a negative answer and Hunty was quick to agree. The direction the conversation had turned was dangerous, but it couldn’t be helped so that was fine. Hunty was grateful to Kesselring for saying she wasn’t acquainted with her, and that was a fact.
But since Pale knew about Hunty, Kesselring must have known about Hunty as well. Hunty was known as shiso to the kalars. Perhaps that topic would be explored further. Then, if it continued,
…The fact I was a dragon kalar might be revealed.
In reality, Hunty didn’t mind if they found out. However, the only person who knew about it thus far was Leonhart. Most people thought her to be just a normal kalar. She couldn’t help but hesitate to reveal her true race, as she had kept it hidden for so long.
Perhaps Ssulal knew, but she lacked evidence. Also, Camilla might be able to feel that she was more than just a regular kalar.
Since that fact hadn’t been revealed yet, if someone ever asked her about it, Hunty could just make up a random excuse and say she just happened to have a long lifespan.
…What should I do?
I thought about it, but it still depended on Kesselring’s answer in the end, thought Hunty as she half gave up about it and decided to just listen to their conversation.
Then Galtia spoke as if he just remembered something,
“Ah-, now that I think about it, Hunty is known to other kalar as Shiso-sama, isn’t she?”
“…Yes, that’s—”
…Huh?
Didn’t he just say something weird? No, it’s certainly weird.
How did Galtia know that— 3
“Then Kesselring should know about that, right?”
“Obviously. She is an important ancestor to the kalars and there is no kalar who doesn’t know of her… now that I think about it, why did Shiso-sama—“
“Wai-wait a minute…!”
Everyone proceeded with the conversation topic, so Hunty stopped them in a hurry. They all paused to look at her. Their expressions were that of people who were having a casual chat. The atmosphere was light, which was a stark contrast to what Hunty was feeling when she stopped them. Galtia’s remark that mentioned her kalar ancestry was slightly swept away,
…Eh, perhaps… Everyone already knows?
That was what it felt like. But I need to confirm it at least, thought Hunty as she asked,
“…Everyone already knew that I was known by that name…?”
Then Galtia, who called her that first, nodded and said,
“Ou, I was told about it by that Pale girl over there before we departed.”
“Ah, yes. That’s right. I told them earlier.”
“…”
…So it’s because of you—?!
Hunty was astonished at Pale who easily blurted that out. Then the others chimed in,
“Now that I think about it, Hunty-san was busy packing the things in the house when we were talking. Pale-san kindly told us all about it!”
“…I already knew about it for a long time, though…”
“…Actually, I also already knew about it for quite a while…”
“Why did you never tell me about that?” asked Carol with sparkling eyes and, as Hunty heard Ssulal admit she already knew with a wry laugh, Hunty had a headache.
Even though the fact she was a dragon kalar hadn’t been revealed, things about Hunty’s past were being spoken about so casually — or rather, Pale just spoke too much. Then Pale approached Hunty and whispered,
“Shi-Shiso-sama. I’ve done my best to tell Shiso-sama’s heroic stories to others…! They should pay attention to you now, so do your best…!”
Pale encouraged Hunty while raising her thumb. Hunty restrained her impulse to twist Pale’s thumb in the wrong direction. It was a violent thought, but Hunty blamed that on the side effects of being turned into an apostle. That was definitely not her being pissed off. She tried to calm herself and, with a depressed voice,
“…I’ll do my best.”
“? Shiso-sama, you don’t seem to have any energy, are you okay?”
…And whose fault do you think that is…!
It was only Hunty’s imagination, but Pale’s words sounded like a provocation. Although Hunty had an impulse to hit her with Thunderstrike, she held back and wished for Pale to leave her alone for a bit. Hunty left Pale with an ironic smile.
Since Hunty was tired, she wished to do nothing but relieve her mental exhaustion for a while. If Hunty got wounded more than this, she might seriously go berserk.
However,
“There’s one thing I wanted to ask you though… Why did Shiso-sama become Leonhart’s apostle? How did it end up like that?”
Kesselring once again brought up the topic of Hunty’s history. Perhaps that was what Kesselring had wanted to ask before Hunty interrupted the conversation. Hunty thought for a moment about how to answer the question, but saw Leonhart also there and she knew he would answer for her anyway. So Hunty chose to stay silent and just let him explain it but,
“Kesselring-sama, I will answer that for you! About that… If I’m not wrong, Hunty-san happened to see Leonhart-sama by chance, longed to be with him, then begged to be his apostle—”
“That’s totally wrong though?!”
Since her past was about to be completely fabricated, Hunty couldn’t help but retort in a loud voice. What a horror story. Because Carol told lies so blatantly, Hunty was a bit late in stopping her.
However, Carol tilted her head in confusion while asking, “Am I mistaken?”
As Hunty wondered why Carol would say that, she realized Carol wasn’t present when she fought against Leonhart. Therefore, the discrepancy in recognition couldn’t be helped —
“Hey, that’s not even close.”
As Hunty grew tired from denying Carol’s story with all her power, Kesselring saw the exchange laughed,
“…Fuh, I see.”
She seemed to come to some understanding and suddenly looked at Hunty with a warm smile and,
“It seems Shiso-sama also had a good time…”
…Are those eyes of yours a pair of knot holes?
Hunty really couldn’t understand how Kesselring could come to that conclusion after seeing their interactions.
I guess I shouldn’t bother being considerate anymore, thought Hunty. Since she was trying to be considerate all this time, she ended up suffering and, now she thought about it, that had always been the case.
Perhaps it was better for her to be like Carol — well, not that extreme, but if she could at least be more open, perhaps she would have an easier time. Therefore, she would work hard to be able to do that next time.
First of all, I have to tell the story of how I ended up as an apostle. Hunty opened her mouth to explain.
It was at that moment.
“—Oi.”
Galtia suddenly called out. It wasn’t his usual casual voice. He had a serious expression on his face as he said.
“Someone’s coming.”
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