“...That guy isn’t exactly a bad bastard.”
After I came out of treatment,
I looked at my unit and said,
“You don’t need to be that hostile, either—”
“I’m truly sorry, Benefactor.”
But.
As if they had no intention of backing down even after what I said,
she bowed her head and spoke.
“Right now, we’re in a position where we’re responsible for the Benefactor’s security.”
“Well, yeah, that’s true.”
“Even if you say it’s fine to trust that monster... we can’t lower our guard.”
Not just her.
The soldiers behind her continued with serious eyes.
“Not for a single moment, not even while that surgery is in progress!”
“......”
“It’s our role to stay alert in case something happens to the Benefactor’s body. Please understand.”
Mm.
At this point, after they’d gone that far, I couldn’t exactly tell them not to.
I sighed inwardly and decided to step back for now.
And then.
{The surgeries I can do will end with this one.}
“Huh?”
Before I knew it,
even this long surgery was nearing its end.
{However... I do have one request.}
The bastard spoke in a careful voice.
{Since this is the last treatment, it will be the most sensitive one.}
“Is that so?”
{So, here’s what I’m saying.}
With a quick glance—
its gaze dropped toward the floor beneath my feet.
{This time... I’d like the guardians to step out.}
“...By ‘guardians,’ you mean my unit?”
I thought what it meant was the unit behind me.
It had been calling my soldiers “guardians,” after all.
{No.}
“......”
{I mean the other guardians.}
But....
That wasn’t it.
{The ones who’ve been peeking in on the procedure.}
At those words,
I flinched—
and from the ranks behind me, I felt a strange shift of movement.
“...You knew?”
{Hm? Knew what?}
But.
I didn’t have the luxury of paying attention to that movement.
Because its gaze wasn’t on my back. It was still aimed at the floor under my feet.
Which meant—
“...That there are things observing your surgery.”
{Ah, of course I knew.}
So it was saying it knew I’d been using the vampires to keep watch over my surgery.
“How...?”
{Because I’m the one who examined the Legion Commander’s body, am I not? I know enough to tell that the Legion Commander has unusual recovery... and that you’re connected to species associated with blood, shadows, beasts, monstrous strength, mist, and so on.}
As its voice echoed,
confusion spread through the soldiers behind me.
“...Monstrous strength? Mist?”
“Legion Commander, sir? What does that mean...?”
I could only think, Damn it.
Anything related to Ariella and her retainers is classified to the unit.
And this bastard didn’t seem to realize that.
It was about to keep talking like it was nothing.
I was planning to let bits of information out to them little by little... but not like this.
And then,
just as I was frowning—
“Shh.”
The one who silenced the soldiers’ questions
wasn’t me....
“It doesn’t seem like this is a conversation we should be inserting ourselves into.”
“...Jeong Sua?”
“Let’s withdraw. The Benefactor will want to speak with him alone.”
It was Jeong Sua.
*****
“Speak quietly, and if you need anything, call us at any time.”
She rose quickly, then led the unit out of the room.
She’d probably move them far enough away that my conversation with this bastard couldn’t be heard.
I couldn’t help staring at her with slightly surprised eyes.
Did she notice I was uncomfortable with this topic?
She’d just been saying we needed to guard me,
but separately from that,
she’d immediately realized I had something I didn’t want the unit to hear.
-You must have information that can’t be shared with the other soldiers.
I remembered what she’d said before she joined this trip to Seoul.
-If you leave it to me, I’ll make sure you don’t have to worry about that.
Jeong Sua kept that promise.
I made a point of remembering that clearly, then continued the conversation with it.
“You knew there were guys watching your treatment, and you just let it happen?”
{Because I didn’t think it would interfere with the surgery.}
As if it didn’t see what the problem was,
it tilted its head.
{It’s not the first time I’ve had an overzealous guardian. I understand wanting ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ to confirm the process. So I decided to leave it alone.}
“Then why didn’t you say anything until now?”
{Because... you didn’t ask.}
“......”
That was true.
It answered everything I asked, honestly—
but if I didn’t ask, it wasn’t the type to volunteer anything.
{Did I do something rude?}
It didn’t even seem to think that was strange.
Maybe this was what it meant by—
a cultural difference.
I could only sigh.
From my perspective, they were troops I’d secretly prepared because I didn’t trust it.
But it was saying it already knew the whole time.
“So? This time you want them excluded?”
{That’s right.}
“Why? Is there something in the treatment that can’t be seen?”
{There is. This concerns my safety, so it’s difficult to explain properly... but I can promise you this much: nothing will happen that harms the Legion Commander.}
At that,
I hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“Fine.”
-My lord!
A protesting voice rose from under my feet.
“Thanks for worrying about me.”
But I had no intention of reversing the decision.
“This bastard... in situations like this, you can definitely trust it.”
There was a separate reason I’d come to that conclusion, aside from whether it was “honest” or not.
This bastard is more sincere about treatment than anyone.
Maybe to me it’s cooking—
and to it, it’s medicine.
I was certain it wasn’t the kind of bastard who’d fool around with that.
*****
In the end,
after that,
I let Ariella and her retainers out of my shadow,
and lay alone on the bed in the operating room.
In the surgeries so far,
if I lay here, the experimental subjects it created would come over and carry out the procedure.
But not this time.
{...Thank you for trusting me.}
What I felt from far away
was only one thing—
small, light footsteps.
And only after I sensed them did I understand why it had asked me to remove the guardians.
The sensitive treatment...
And then,
the moment I felt that presence handling equipment—
...It can’t leave this to the experimental subjects...
My eyelids sank shut, unrelated to my will.
And the last thing I saw was—
{The treatment will proceed without issue, so rest easy and sleep, Legion Commander.}
A small shadow
covering my face.
*****
When I came to, the ceiling was familiar.
The same hospital room where I woke up every time.
...Status Window.
The instant I opened my eyes,
I opened the Status Window to check my condition.
And what I saw was—
[Penalty]
[Vital energy loss]
In the penalty slot where there had been two entries,
the words ‘aftereffects’ were completely gone.
{The treatment finished well.}
“Looks like it. Thanks.”
{It’s nothing. I only fulfilled the deal.}
I looked at the being approaching after opening the hospital-room door.
A grotesque, enormous monster.
{As I said, the treatment ends here. You’ve confirmed it yourself, haven’t you, Legion Commander.}
“For now.”
{But unfortunately... the part about the Legion Commander’s lost ‘vital energy’ wasn’t resolved.}
...That part bothered me too.
It said that if I wanted to resolve even this penalty for sure, I needed to obtain an elixir—
but I had no idea how I was supposed to find something like that.
{In fact, I have a proposal regarding that.}
“Hm?”
But then,
what came out of its mouth was pretty surprising.
{As I said, I can’t fill your vital energy. But... there may be a way to replace that penalty.}
“......!”
I stared at it with my eyes wide.
The ‘vital energy’ problem even this doctor said it couldn’t solve—
it had a way?
“That’ll need a price too, right? Materials, and a price that benefits you as well. Do I have to catch another monster?”
{No. Something is needed, but you don’t need to catch a monster like before.}
“...If I don’t need to catch a monster, what material do you need?”
At my question,
it pointed at my body and said,
{The Legion Commander’s blood.}
“......?”
{I need that blood.}
I tilted my head.
I didn’t understand why it needed my blood in the first place—
but what was even stranger was—
“That already flowed like crazy during surgery. You could’ve just collected it.”
My blood
wasn’t exactly some rare ingredient worth talking about like this.
{That would be acceptable as well, but I must receive the consent of the person providing the material.}
“...If you use this ‘method,’ the ‘Vital energy loss’ problem gets resolved?”
{Probably.}
If it was just minor side effects,
I thought for a moment, then nodded and held out my arm.
“Take it.”
{Are you sure?}
“You’ve treated me well so far. I can trust you this time too.”
{...I’ll say it again. Thank you for trusting me.}
Then,
it produced something like a syringe from somewhere,
and stuck it into my vein, drawing blood.
{This method is experimental even for me, so I won’t know the outcome until I try. There will probably be side effects as well.}
“Side effects.”
{I’ll inform you of the details after we try it.}
As it spoke,
it carefully drew my blood.
...A doctor.
And then,
as I watched it draw my blood—
no, more precisely,
as I watched the body it was ‘using as a terminal’—
I thought,
This bastard is sincere about treatment.
Its medical skill was incredible.
If it exchanged knowledge with our unit, it could raise their medical skill in no time.
And it doesn’t seem like the type to deceive people.
At the very least, it was definitely not the kind of monster that lies.
Compared to other monsters, where you have to worry what kind of trick they might pull, that was an advantage you couldn’t even compare.
And lastly—
more than anything—
It hates external existences.
Probably.
It hates the existences we’ll have to fight.
“You said you want to build friendly relations with us.”
{Hm, I did.}
“Then, instead...”
And then,
after weighing those conditions,
I finally said something I’d been debating for a long time.
“Do you want to join the Legion?”
{...What did you say?}
It looked hugely startled.
{I’m not a native species.}
“Ah, I guess I didn’t explain it well. Our Legion has others besides you too—mon— no, people from other worlds. Not many, but they’re all exceptional.”
{You’re evaluating me that highly?}
“Why not? There’s nothing I can’t do for you.”
At my words,
whatever it felt—
{......}
It stared at me blankly, as if deep in thought.
And then,
I was slightly startled by the taste coming off it.
Sweetness.
It stood there feeling that ‘sweetness’ for a long time,
and only after a while did it speak again.
{It’s a truly grateful offer, Legion Commander.}
“You’re accepting?”
{I’d like to accept immediately, but... there’s a problem, isn’t there.}
It spoke in a voice that lacked confidence.
{Unfortunately... I don’t have an appearance that wins the favor of native species.}
“...Ahem.”
{Even if the Legion Commander evaluates me favorably, won’t the other native species in the Legion be different? It won’t be easy to blend into such a group.}
Well, that was true.
But.
I hadn’t made the offer without thinking.
“That’s definitely true, but...”
I was about to open my mouth to explain why I was making this offer—
when—
{...That said.}
“Hm?”
{I also have a method I prepared in my own way.}
Without giving me a chance to speak,
it continued.
{In fact, after the Legion Commander pointed out my appearance, I thought of a method.}
“...What did you prepare?”
{I was debating whether I should actually use it or not, but since the Legion Commander made such a generous offer... I’ve made up my mind.}
It slid the needle out and continued.
{Will you come back here tomorrow?}
“Tomorrow?”
{Both the method using this blood, and the method I prepared... to solve the external problem. I’ll have both ready by tomorrow. If you like that method—}
It rose to its feet,
and as it put the container of my blood away somewhere, it said,
{Then I’ll accept the Legion Commander’s offer at that time.}
*****
“Haa....”
The next day,
on the way back to Gangnam where that doctor was staying,
Jeong Sua let out a deep sigh.
The reason she was like that was simple.
“Working together with him... is it really okay for this to happen...?”
“When I talked to him, he was decent enough.”
I’d told Jeong Sua that I intended to recruit that ‘doctor.’
“...To be honest, we’re worried too.”
“If what the Legion Commander says is true, he might be an okay existence... but still.”
Not just Jeong Sua.
The other soldiers also frowned and checked each other’s faces.
“...It’s really the way he looks, isn’t it?”
“Yes... It’s not exactly an appearance that can easily blend into the unit.”
If you covered the beastfolk from [Cheonsan Mugwan]—their ears and tails—they looked similar to humans.
[Borjin] clearly had an appearance beyond human, but maybe because they were a shaman, they wore a roomy robe that didn’t show their face well.
But the experimental subjects of that ‘doctor’ bastard were all vicious-looking beyond belief.
No matter what, they wouldn’t fit the unit’s sensibilities.
“Still, he said he has his own method for the appearance issue.”
“Oh... he did?”
“If you trust that method... well, won’t it work out somehow?”
“If that’s the case, then... mm.”
When I said that,
the others looked puzzled, but the mood shifted toward acceptance.
Only one person—
“...Honestly, the appearance is the least of it for me.”
Jeong Sua,
at least,
still looked unconvinced.
Yeah, I get their reaction.
In the end, I was the only one who’d had frequent one-on-one talks with that bastard.
So I was the only one who knew it was a monster you could trust, more or less.
Still, if you talk to it, it’s a decent guy.
If the appearance issue got resolved,
the rest was something you could solve by taking time and talking it through.
With time, the unit will understand it to some degree.
Thinking that,
my unit and I headed for the hospital district in Gangnam.
*****
...However.
{Ah, you’ve come! Legion Commander. And guardians.}
“......”
That thought of mine
collapsed violently
before long.
“You...”
I stared at the bastard greeting me so cheerfully and—
“What the hell is that appearance.”
In a trembling voice,
teeth clenched, I forced the words out.
{Ah, I was meaning to ask.}
And honestly—
the bastard that came out to meet us
wasn’t the vicious-looking monster it had been so far.
{How is it. At this level, I can blend in with native species too, right?}
It was a human I’d never seen before....
It had the appearance of a middle-aged man.
