Chapter 5: Weighing Nostalgia Against the Future (part 6)

The situation for refugees on this continent was harsh. The only nations that

could afford to leave the refugees alone were countries like ours or the Empire,

which had some national power to spare. I'd heard that in countries bordering the

Demon Lord's Domain they were forcibly conscripted and sent to the front lines,

while other countries worked them like slaves as cheap labor in the mines under the

guise of sheltering the refugees.

That refugees were drifting to a country as far from the Demon Lord's Domain as

ours only showed that there was no safe haven for them anywhere else on this

continent.

I walked through that refugee camp, following after the young man the mystic

wolf elder had sent as my guide.

The scenery here reminded me of the slums from not too long ago. One look at

the state people were in was enough to make it clear how bad the sanitary

conditions were. Their clothing was tattered and their bodies were caked with dirt

and dust.

And yet, none of them had eyes that looked dead inside. Each and every one of

them had eyes filled with vitality.

"It's squalid, but... they all have this strange strength in their eyes," said Hilde,

who had been covering her nose and mouth with a cloth ever since we entered the

village. It wasn't an easy scene for a clean freak to look at.

Liscia and the others all had pained looks on their faces.

"They came here from far to the north with only the will to live," I said. "I'm sure

the people here are probably far hardier than we imagine."

The people who face hardship they can do nothing about in times of war or

natural disasters, yet still refuse to give in to despair, have a unique strength. Still,

that strength... can also be a danger. While it strengthens their will to pull together

and overcome the situation, the group consciousness can become too strong and

weaken their sense of individuality.

If a strange leader figure appeared at times like this, the group as a whole could

easily be swayed by that person's opinions. I absolutely would not want anyone

connected to the Papal State of Lunaria to come in contact with them.

While I was thinking about that, Liscia spoke up.

"By the way... Kazuya. You said you gave them support, but what did you do?"

She'd nearly called me Souma just now, but this being the sort of place it was, I

had asked her to refrain from using my name (well, it was my family name, to be

precise) as much as possible.

"It wasn't much, but we provided foodstuffs and firewood, among other basic

necessities, and we also commissioned the adventurers' guild to guard this place as a

quest," I said.

"I understand providing food, but why hire the adventurers as guards?"

"These people aren't citizens of this country. What's more, they've lost their own

countries, which would usually stand behind them and defend them. For instance, if

civilians from our country were slaughtered without cause in a foreign land, and

then the culprits went unpunished, I would submit a complaint to that country as

king, and would place sanctions on them if the situation merited it. It works the

other way around, too. In other words, it would create an international incident. The

potential for something to cause an international incident is a restraining force that

keeps our own citizens from suffering from crimes in another country. But..."

I paused and looked at the people in the camp.

I went on, "There is no such restraining force when it comes to people with no

country of their own. You'll have people who falsely think, 'If it won't cause an

international incident, then it's okay.' Just because it won't cause an international

incident doesn't mean they won't be judged under the laws of this country, but it can

still lower the psychological hurdles for committing a crime enough for some people

to do it. That's precisely why I want the refugees to hurry up and naturalize as

citizens of this country."

If they did that, I could offer them shelter and treat them as my own people.

However, I was well aware that that wouldn't be as simple as it sounded. Not

everything in this world could be approached with reason.

"When people's hearts are involved, things get really difficult," I said.

"They do..." Liscia nodded.

We suddenly heard screams from inside the village. At the same time, there was

the sound of metal on metal.

Liscia furrowed her brow. "It sounds like someone's fighting. Multiple someones,

at that."

"Let's go," I said.

Everyone rushed toward the sound of the commotion.

When we reached the center of the commotion, there was a group of men and

women that seemed to be an adventuring party who, alongside a handful of people

from the village, were fighting against more than ten men who seemed to be

mercenaries. The adventurers included a young swordsman, a macho brawler, a

woman wielding a short sword who looked like a thief, and a beautiful mage.

...Hold on, those were a lot of familiar faces.

So, Juno and her group took on this quest, huh?

Dece the swordsman, Augus the brawler, Juno the thief, and Julia the mage. They

were the members of the party I often worked with when I sent Little Musashibo out

adventuring.

"What is all the commotion about, pray tell?" Owen asked a man who was

quivering nearby.

"Th-Those men suddenly came, and they were trying to abduct the children!

They even cut down the adults who tried to stop them! After that, they got into a

battle with the adventurers who heard the noise and rushed over here!"

The adults had been cut down? When I looked off into the corner, I could see a

bleeding man being treated by the priest, Febral.

I quickly gave orders. "Carla, Owen, back up the adventurers."

"Understood, master!"

"By your will!"

"Hilde, I want you to help that priest over there," I went on. "Liscia, you stand by

for further instructions."

"Fine, fine. I guess I'll have to," Hilde said.

"Urgh... okay," Liscia agreed.

Carla and Owen immediately rushed forward, and Hilde headed over to the

wounded. I was going to get one of my dolls ready, in case it became necessary, but

then realized I hadn't brought any dolls with me today. Right... I had left them behind

because I'd figured they would be too much luggage for a trip outside the castle

walls. I drew the sword I wore as little more than a decoration and took a fighting

stance.

"Can you fight if you have to?" Liscia asked me, her rapier at the ready.

"I don't know," I admitted. "Owen's been putting me through the wringer lately,

but he says I'm still little better than a fresh recruit."

"That's not very reassuring," she said. "Still, from what I can tell, they have

numbers on their side, but none of them are particularly strong. I doubt any of them

are below the level of a fresh recruit. If it comes to it, hide behind me."

"Pathetic as that is, I guess I'll have to," I said.

I didn't like being weak, but if I butted in, I was probably just going to cause

trouble for my own people. I was in a position where I couldn't afford to take getting

injured lightly. That was what I was thinking, but...

"Ah!"

"Hold on!" she shouted. "What are you moving forward for, right after we talked

about it?!"

I heard Liscia's voice behind me, but I didn't stop. Juno had been unlucky and

caught her leg on a stick that was thrown at her and tripped. That's when one of the

men who had his hair in a cockscomb tried to attack her. As I ran toward them, I

picked up a scrap of wooden board that had fallen on the ground.

"Get down! Juno!" I shouted and threw the board at the man like a discus.

"Huh? Uwah!" Juno yelped and ducked.

Cockscomb slashed at the flying board. Because the attack took him completely

by surprise, he couldn't cut the board cleanly and ended up half-pulverizing it.

Thanks to that, it looked like the splinters of wood had gotten into Cockscomb's

eyes.

"Ow! Damn it!" Cockscomb Head pressed on his eyes, flailing his sword around

wildly as he backed away.

I took that opening to step into the gap between the two of them. His vision must

have recovered, because Cockscomb came at me.

Calm down! One exchange of blows! I only need to hold out for one exchange, and

then Juno will have regained her footing! Just remember the basics that Owen's beaten

into me!

Cockscomb raised his sword high over his head. He was going to try and smash

my head open.

I brought my left foot forward diagonally and took a stance with my sword up

above my head horizontally, the cutting edge angled slightly toward the ground. In

the next instant...

Clang!

The sound of metal striking with metal echoed, then, with a scraping sound,

Cockscomb's sword slid down my blade and was diverted to the ground to the right

of me.

I did it... I did it! My hands were numb, but I had somehow managed to block!

""Don't just stand there!"" Liscia and Juno screamed.

As Cockscomb tried to regain his footing, Liscia and Juno pounded their swords

into him simultaneously. Cockscomb collapsed.

Once she had confirmed her opponent was no longer moving, Liscia grabbed me

by the front of my shirt. She pulled me in close to her face. "What were you thinking,

charging out like that?!"

She seemed furious, but up close, I could see tears in Liscia's eyes.

"Oh, um... sorry..."

"No, not 'sorry'! You almost gave me a heart attack. If anything were to happen to

you... what would I... what would all of us do...?"

When I heard Liscia's voice gradually breaking with emotion, I could feel how

much she had been worried for my safety. The mixture of happiness and guilt made

my chest hurt.

"No, really, I'm sorry!" I said. "Someone I know was getting attacked, so I moved

without thinking..."

"Hey, you!"

I was suddenly grabbed by the scruff of the neck and dragged in the opposite

direction. When I turned around, Juno was glaring at me with a super suspicious

look in her eyes.

"You called me Juno, didn't you?" she snapped. "Why do you know my name?"

"No... That's, um..."

"Hold it, So— Kazuya." Liscia glared at me, looking upset for a different reason

from before. "Who is this girl?"

She'd almost called me Souma for a second there, but with Juno right beside us,

she'd switched to my undercover name.

Yeah, that had been a nice bit of quick thinking. Now, I just wanted her to not

glare at me quite so hard.

I was sandwiched between two cute girls, both of them glaring at me. Some

people might be jealous of this situation, but unfortunately, I was not equipped with

the right fetishes to appreciate it fully.

This situation... How exactly am I going to explain it? I wondered.

Or rather, where was I even to start? Should I start by outing myself as the

person inside Little Musashibo (or, more precisely, remotely controlling him)?

Juno's glance shifted to Liscia. Something must have caught her attention,

because she was inspecting her closely. "Hey, I feel like I've met you somewhere

before, too."

"Huh?" Liscia asked. "Ah!"

Liscia pulled hard on my arm, then whispered in my ear, "This girl, she's the one

who was at that banquet, right?"

Huh? Oh! Now that I thought about it, Liscia had met Juno, hadn't she? Liscia had

recognized Juno, but judging by Juno's reaction, she didn't realize who Liscia was.

Probably because Liscia was lightly disguised right now.