Lord of Disease (JP-GL) 336

336: Trust in Her Eyes

I was on the back of a griffin, piloted by Aithys, with Liz. Rebecca and the others were on the ground, leading the death knights.

“…Ah.”

A sigh escaped my lips as I looked down at the scene from the sky. Even though I had known.

Fort Litalside could not protect the nation of Listrea.

The wall was strong, but it was not perfect. Outnumbered, outmatched in terms of mages, even the demons, with their superior mana, could not defend this land.

That was why we had chosen the tactic of buying time and luring them north.

Everything should have been correct.

But being correct didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

“Litalside… it was a beautiful place…”

Aithys muttered.

The carcasses of the dragons stood out in the pile of abandoned corpses. The non-undead treatment seemed to have been thorough, and the only things moving were the abandoned flags, fluttering in the wind.

The stone wall had collapsed in the center, creating a gentle, small pile of rubble.

Not just the fortress, but the city of Litalside, with its cream-colored walls and vermilion roofs, was mostly burned, collapsed, and blackened. The harvest should have been completed, but whether the fields had been set on fire, or if the fire had spread… the breadbasket that had been praised as a golden field had also been reduced to charcoal. The half-collapsed, broken-winged windmill, turning with a creaking sound, was a sad sight.

“I hope the evacuation was completed… Aithys, any enemy presence?”

“There’s nothing moving.”

“I see… then let’s wait for them a little further ahead. From here on—it’s ‘enemy territory.’”

“Alright.”

We landed in a grassy area a short distance from the road, a place that had been trampled and was ‘thought to be relatively safe.’ You never knew where a trap might be set. I knew about the regions that suffered from leftover landmines, so I had told them to set them in specific locations, like roads, houses, and places suitable for camping, and to keep a record as much as possible.

“I’ll go and check the surroundings. Aithys, if it comes to it, leave me and fly.”

“Wait, but…”

“I can manage on my own. This is not a suicide mission. Understood?”

“—Understood.”

Liz unfastened her harness and leaped down gracefully.

“Liz, take a Barghest.”

“Yes.”

I shook a Barghest out from the shadows of my robe and had it follow Liz. As I watched Liz’s figure, moving in a circle to check for traps, Aithys spoke.

“…Hey.”

“What is it, Aithys?”

“It’s not your fault.”

I gasped. She continued, as I was at a loss for words, her eyes scanning the surroundings.

“We were born in this country. His Majesty the Demon King created this country, and our ancestors built that wall. —Eithys and I, we’ve been thinking of joining the Demon King’s army since we were children.”

“…Isn’t it… painful?”

“Not at all. For us, it’s just ‘how it is.’ To be born a beastman, to see the backs of those people. It’s normal to want to be a warrior. …Eithys became an assassin, and I became a griffin rider in the magical beast division, so it’s a little different from the simple ‘proud warrior of the Beastman Army’ I had imagined as a child.”

“Like Lathus?”

“That’s right. Someone like Lathus-sama is the coolest. But… Catral-sama told me, ‘Lathus can’t ride a griffin.’”

“A griffin rider… not everyone can be one, right?”

“Yes. We each have our own roles. I can’t see the bigger picture like you, and I don’t have the stealth skills of Liz. I can’t use magic like Rebecca or Samarkand. And I don’t have the sword skills of Harken.”

You and others were different. There were many who were better than you. But—

“But I have Leaf. I fly as a griffin rider of the Third Army. I become an eye in the sky, I carry a few people… and that’s enough.”

“Of course. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have been able to move so quickly.”

“Thanks. To hear you say that makes it all worth it.” Aithys nodded, satisfied.

And then her expression changed, and a shadow fell over her.

“…I pointed my sword at you.”

“…Yes.”

I remembered the green eyes, burning with hatred. She, who had lost her twin brother, had had a reason to hate me.

Her green eyes looked at me directly.

“I’m sorry.”

“…Huh?”

“—I didn’t know… what you thought of your subordinates. …I didn’t even try to know. I’m sorry.”

“Wait, no… I… as a commander, I should have…”

“Eithys followed his orders. …We beastmen, if we really didn’t trust someone, we would have kicked them out, whether it was a transfer or a conscription.”

“…” I couldn’t help but cover my mouth. But perhaps I should have covered my eyes.

Aithys, seeing the tears welling up in my eyes, panicked.

“Wait, what, what’s wrong?!”

“Because… I’ve let so many die… to come this far…” My voice trembled.

The ones I had ‘killed’ were not just the enemy. There were many allies who would not have had to die, if it weren’t for my orders. From a historical perspective, it might have been a small number. Compared to the number of humans who had died by my orders, it might have been an insignificant number. But the people who had believed in me had died.

“…Ah, honestly. I don’t know how you can be the Lord of Disease.”

Aithys loosened her harness and reached out, pulling my head towards her.

“We’re all going to die. We’re prepared for that. And on top of that, everyone—believes in you.”

“I’m only prepared for my own death…”

I had accepted that I might die. But that was a different matter from a close friend dying.

“That’s fine. Everyone’s like that. It’s a problem if someone else decides that for you.”

That might be true.

“Come on, cheer up.” Aithys ruffled my hair.

For a moment, I was reminded of Lathus. He had been stronger, and less reserved. But the feeling… was the same.

“…Yes.” The beastmen were so warm.

Aithys, having confirmed that I had nodded, lightly patted my head one last time. And she grinned, showing a hint of her canine teeth.

“Don’t tell Liz I made you cry.”

“…No, I can hear you.”

A voice came from below, and I saw Liz, leaning against Leaf’s hind leg.

“Wait, Liz? When did you get there? You were over there just a moment ago.”

“When I’m coming back, the trap check is already done, so of course I’m faster. And besides, did you really think an assassin on high alert wouldn’t hear you?”

She had a point.

Liz, in a smooth motion, climbed up Leaf’s hind leg and became a griffin rider. She sat in the saddle and, without fastening her harness, she reached out to me.

“Wait, what, what?!” To be ruffled so vigorously by Liz was a new sensation, and I was taken aback.

“We’re all going to die. We’re prepared.” Liz repeated what Aithys had said, in her own way. And then, with a gentle touch, she straightened my messy hair.

“But we have no intention of just dying. We won’t give up. …And the reason that those who belong to the Listrea Demon Kingdom can think that way now… is because of the Lord of Disease.”

“…Me?”

“You showed us the possibility of winning. You taught us that we don’t have to keep losing. …You are our pride, Master.”

I was not used to being praised by anyone other than Samarkand, so I fell silent at Liz’s straightforward words.

And for some reason, Liz, who had just straightened my hair, ruffled it again.

“…What was that for?”

“I just felt like it.” Liz said, her voice firm. And she ruffled my head again.

“…Um, did you… like it?”

“Yes, quite a bit.” Liz’s expression was cool, but as she had said, she seemed to be enjoying herself, so I decided to let her.

…For some reason, I felt like I understood how a Barghest felt, when it was being petted and wagging its tail.