{Why are you angry, Legion Commander.}
The thing that sensed my rage spoke with a puzzled expression.
And.
As I listened to those words, I thought.
Maybe it’s not something I should be angry about.
It was a truly regrettable thing, but.
This world was ruled by the law of the strong devouring the weak.
There wasn’t even room for ideas like good and evil to squeeze in.
{Why you are angry...... I do not understand.}
That thing was strong.
And the humans it had been [collected] as materials were weak, that was all.
If anything, even if the other side was weak,
if they were a target it could trade with, it traded.
Among monsters, it would probably rank as one of the most “reasonable.”
“I’m the same.”
But.......
I felt my eyes redden as I answered.
“You said it was a difference in culture.”
It said that.
And I could feel, at least, that such a thing existed.
“Still, I thought some level of difference could be overcome.”
{I thought so as well. In truth, have our dealings not gone well?}
“But now I finally get it.”
I muttered with a bitter smile.
“There are cases where that isn’t true.”
{.......}
It had kidnapped humans......
my own kind.
And it declared, proudly, in its own voice, that it had killed them.
This alone might not be a huge problem.
In fact, Borjin, who had joined our unit, was also a shaman who had once treated countless humans as slaves.
And the number of humans Ariella had killed was, at the bare minimum, in the triple digits.
But.
There was a difference between them.
This thing didn’t think that was a problem.
Borjin and Ariella.
They knew that was something that would provoke my hostility.
At least in that sense of sensitivity, they and we were not different.
This time was the same.
If it had tried to hide the fact that it had [collected] humans,
then I might have been able to keep the relationship going, somehow.
Because that thing would be an enormous help for surviving in this world.
And.
Because I didn’t dislike it.
It resembled me.
And its goal, too,
was similar to mine.
If I could get confirmation that it would not harm humans from here on out,
I would have found a way to cooperate.
But it didn’t.
What that meant was simple.
Something most important...... is missing.
Even if it was exchange between different species,
that something required to form even the bare minimum common ground—
it lacked that part.
“Let me ask you one thing.”
{Anything.}
“Right now, that human you’re occupying...... you said you [collected] him as material because he wasn’t someone worth trading with. Then.”
Kkwoaak.
I tightened my grip on [Dokgogu-style].
“When the Legion grows weak, and can’t trade with you anymore.”
{Given the depth of the Legion’s strength, that is unlikely to happen unless something extreme occurs.}
“If it happens! If it does.”
Clenching my teeth,
I threw the question at it.
“Will you ‘collect’ us?”
Please.
Praying that the answer I imagined would not come out.
{......I think it is a meaningless hypothetical, but.}
And.
To that.
The thing that had never lied so far,
that had always given me a straightforward answer—
{Probably so.}
“.......”
{As I said, I have great interest in your power...... the system. If a situation arises where I can secure specimens of your quality and in your numbers, I would not wish to miss that situation.}
Even this time.
It answered honestly.
“......I see.”
{Mm.}
“Thank you for answering honestly.”
If you were someone exchanging with another,
even if it were true, it was something you couldn’t proudly say out loud.
It said it as if it were nothing.
“And since you answered honestly, I’m sorry, but.”
I was certain.
That something most important even other ferocious monsters possessed.
If it lacked that.
An existence that would stab us in the back when we weaken...... cannot be accepted.
It was.
An existence I could not form an alliance with.
“Our dealings end here.”
*****
“I’m sorry, but our dealings end here.”
{......I see. So it has come to that.}
To my words,
it replied in a voice mixed with a sigh.
{I cannot understand what the problem was...... but something about my actions must have failed to meet the Legion Commander’s standards.}
“.......”
{If we cannot understand one another, then we cannot be together. I dreamed of traveling alongside the Legion...... but if you refuse that, it cannot be helped. We may consider the alliance dissolved. It is regrettable, after what I invested, but investment is made with losses in mind.}
Even though it was my one-sided notice,
it was still giving rational, honest answers.
{I have completed all treatment I can provide. There is no need to speak further.}
“Right.”
{Then...... farewell. Legion Commander. And the members of your party.}
At that,
I turned without hesitation and walked out.
“Legion Commander......?”
“Is it really okay to end it like this?”
“.......”
Despite the soldiers’ words,
I kept walking without stopping.
-Krrraaawk.......
Monsters filled Gangnam.
But they did not block our steps.
If anything, they opened a path to make it easier for us to leave.
This is ridiculous.
Seeing consideration like this,
it was an existence with a considerable amount of common sense and reason.
It was just that what it lacked outweighed that.
And.
Once I realized that, another question surfaced.
How can an existence with this much common sense and reason...... be missing only that one part.
As if.
Someone had deliberately carved it out.
......There’s no point thinking about it.
Even if I found the reason,
I couldn’t change what was inside its head.
I pushed down the question rising in my mind and continued.
But then.
{......Before you leave, I would like to ask just one thing. Legion Commander.}
Just before I completely left Gangnam,
a voice spread inside my head.
“......What is it?”
I thought about ignoring it.
Then I let out a sigh and stopped.
{Though it has ended up like this, the words you said to me then.}
“......?”
{That you wished to invite me to the Legion...... that was not a lie, was it?}
At that,
I calmly nodded as I answered.
“It was sincere.”
{Yes...... is that so.}
Only then,
as if it finally felt a little relieved,
it spoke in a pleasant voice.
{Farewell, Legion Commander. Though we part like this, I hope that only good things come to both of us from now on.}
“Yeah, you.......”
I started to answer lightly.
“Do.......”
And then.
I closed my mouth before I could say the rest.
A lie, huh.
I hadn’t heard the full details,
but it seemed to hate lies more than anything.
Just...... tell it to do well, too, and leave. That’s all.
Even the fact that it frankly revealed things it should have hidden from me.
Maybe it did that because it hated lies that much.
But at least, it.
It hid nothing from me.
It did not lie to me even once.
“......All unit members.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry.”
......If that was the case.
“Return to base at full speed, right now.”
“Legion Commander? What are you—”
“No matter what happens here, return to base without hesitation.”
The unit members flinched at my words.
But.
I stared them down and said,
“Don’t get it twisted. This isn’t a request. It’s an order.”
“L-Legion Commander.”
“Run. Now!”
Paak!
I watched the unit members sprint out first.
The ones specialized in concealment, covert movement, mobility.
If it was them,
they could return to # Nоvеlight # Gangwon safely.
{What is this, all of a sudden, Legion Commander?}
-Krrraaawk.......
After giving the order,
I turned my head.
“You. You said you hope good things happen to me, right?”
{......Hm?}
“I don’t.”
Staring at.
Those countless monsters.
I spoke.
“I won’t hope good things happen to you. I won’t wish you well, either.”
{......What?}
“After I leave here. I’ll come back leading the Legion’s main force.”
Whether it was confused or not,
I continued calmly.
“Most of the unit is deployed on other missions, but even if I have to recall some, I’ll gather the maximum strength I can. At the very least, I’ll come back here in a month. And.”
Then.
I leveled the kitchen knife in my hand at the sea of monsters.
“I’ll kill you.”
{.......}
*****
{......Why?}
Maybe my words had shaken it more than expected.
It asked me in a blank voice.
“The reason’s simple.”
To its question,
I shrugged and answered.
“If I leave you alone, you’ll keep [collecting] awakened people as materials and continue your research.”
If it had no interest in the system,
I wouldn’t even need to care what it did to live.
{......With high probability, yes.}
But.
If it was interested in the system.
{Originally, I planned to establish a friendly trading relationship with the Legion, and then receive awakened materials of criminal origin and the like in a stable manner...... but since that has failed, I will research awakened people by other methods.}
If it planned to continue that research even by attacking other people.
I couldn’t ignore it.
Thank you for upholding your duty.
After all.
Those were words I had heard not long ago.
I hope you will not forget that duty in the future, as well.
That promise—
how could I break it already?
“Then I can’t just let you go.”
{.......}
And.
To my words.
{I see.}
From the countless monsters around us.
A voice poured into my head, from all of them.
{From the start...... it was a lie.}
From its body.
A powerful ‘taste’ began to rise.
{You said you wished to cooperate with me, Legion Commander.}
“.......”
{You even proposed that I join the Legion.}
A taste I had never felt before.
So intense it stabbed the nose—burningly hot.
{All of it.......}
It had observed the speed my blood moved,
the dilation of my blood vessels,
the increase in oxygen,
the changes in my complexion—
that exact emotion.
{It was all false.}
Rage.
Surged up from it.
“You said this world is ruled by the law of the strong devouring the weak, right? I agree.”
And as I tasted that.
I muttered, recalling what I had once said to it.
{Then allow me to speak one frank sentence.}
“You seemed like quite the monster too, so.......”
KWAHHHHHHHHHH!!!
{I will not let you die comfortably, Legion Commander.}
“Let’s do this properly.”
The ones filling Gangnam.
Thousands, tens of thousands of monsters.
They threw themselves at me.
And.
As I looked at those enemies.......
“Mountain!”
I shouted a single name.
Then.
Against the enemies charging at me.......
PAAAACK!
A chilling cold.
Burst out like an explosion.
*****
In the dense dust.
Sneezing, I looked around.
“Cough, cough.......”
All of a sudden.
Thousands, hundreds of monsters attacked.
Countless monsters threw their bodies at me at once.
And the monsters filling Gangnam weren’t weak, either.
Normally.
An attack like this should have turned a non-combat type like me into dust.
But.
“Can’t you block properly? What is all this dust...... cough.”
The thick dust born as the monsters rushed in.
Beyond it, what I saw was—
Kkkt, kkkt.......
Absurdly huge, and solid.
A barricade of black ice.
-Krrraaawk.......
Sharp icicle-like spikes jutted from the barricade.
Dozens of monsters were skewered on those icicles, letting out agonized groans.
And.
Standing in front of that barricade.
“......Honestly.”
A knight in black armor,
radiating an ice-cold presence.
Srrrk.......
And.......
Lined up behind that wall of ice.
“Such an eccentric master.”
Hundreds.
Thousands of retainers.
