Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? (LN) - Volume 16 - Chapter 16

Hyrince

As if things weren’t already difficult enough…

I can feel my stomach tightening with nerves.

Why do I have to take on such a major role in the proceedings…?

While it’s true that I’m a double of Güliedistodiez, I’ve lived my whole life as Hyrince, and I intended to continue doing so until the end.

Güliedistodiez’s doubles don’t have an important part to play.

For him, it’s basically just a fun little change of pace.

Like playing out the fantasy of living an entire life as an average human.

So that’s how I’ve lived my life, too.

Although I guess you couldn’t exactly call me “average,” since I was the hero’s childhood friend and later his party member.

Even so, as Hyrince, I always expected to defend Julius and “go out in a blaze of glory!”

But that all changed when the so-called reincarnations showed up.

I know this is an awful thing to say, but it’s definitely crossed my mind a few times that things wouldn’t have gotten so complicated if it weren’t for those reincarnations.

But of course, the war between humans and demons might have been even worse without them, and we probably wouldn’t have been able to defeat Potimas.

The pluses and minuses are so extreme that it’s hard to say which way would’ve been better.

I will say, however, that the reincarnations are entirely to blame for this “world quest” business.

And by reincarnations, I specifically mean White.

In other words, White is the root of all evil.

“It looks like we’re all here.”

“You’re gonna be the guide, Kyouya?”

All internal monologuing aside, I’m currently in front of the Great Elroe Labyrinth.

Wrath, one of the members of the ivory god’s side, stands waiting for us.

He’s a reincarnation, too, isn’t he…?

In fact, there are more reincarnations here than not, even though this is about the fate of our world. Seems wrong, doesn’t it?

There are four people here native to this world.

The pontiff, Elder Ronandt, Balto representing the demons, and me.

On the other hand, there are six reincarnations: Shun, Katia, Fei, Yuri, Ms. Oka, and Prince Hugo.

Aside from Shun and Hugo, the rest are all lovely ladies.

What is this, a harem?

The girls are clearly all gathering toward Shun, not Hugo.

Sure, Julius was popular, too, but they weren’t all hanging off him like this, dammit.

“So. What’s the deal with that girl, Shun?”

“Huh?”

Wrath points to someone past Shun’s back.

It’s Shun’s half-sister, Sue, hiding behind the rest of the group.

“Sue?! I told you not to follow me, didn’t I?!”

“But, Brotheeer!”

While Shun looks sincerely distressed, Sue is on the verge of tears.

The worst part is that I can tell she’s also trying to look cute, and stealing glances to see if it’s working on Shun or not.

“…I guess one extra tagalong is fine. But if you try anything funny, I will cut you down. You’d better keep that in mind.”

I discreetly let out a sigh of relief at Wrath’s words.

If we angered the ivory god’s side and they called the whole thing off, we’d be out of options.

We’re lucky Wrath was willing to bend on that.

The pontiff looks pale, evidently harboring similar concerns.

Does little miss Sue know that her selfishness could have altered the fate of the world?

…Nah, she couldn’t.

If she knew that, surely she wouldn’t have done it…right…?

It’s all too easy to imagine her saying something like, “I’ll stay with my brother even if it means the end of the world!”

I’m begging you, think about the bigger picture here…

Urk, my stomach hurts.

I feel like I’m going to cough up blood…

“Shun. Keep a close eye on Sue and make sure she doesn’t make any wrong moves. Just so you know, they could probably kill all of us without our being able to fight back.”

My stats are still well within the range of human capability.

Since I trained and fought with Julius, I imagine I’m on the strong side for a human, but that doesn’t make a bit of difference in this battle.

Here, you would have to be far beyond the realm of human strength to even be considered a part of the fight.

Even Elder Ronandt, who seems more powerful than any human should be, isn’t exponentially stronger than the limit, by any means.

He would probably struggle against even a lesser dragon, never mind an ancient one.

Every major player in this battle is at least as strong as an ancient dragon, so those of us whose strength is firmly in the “human” category would just get blown away as soon as we set foot on the battlefield.

Although I am a double of Güliedistodiez, I don’t have any special abilities of my own. I’d be blown away with the rest of them.

So why am I stuck marching right into the middle of enemy territory as some kind of representative of the ebony god’s side?

Urgh. Give me a break…

“Kyouya…”

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not going to hurt anyone as long as you don’t do anything to force my hand.”

“He’s right. The ivory army doesn’t need to let us in, so we know this isn’t a trap. Since they’re doing this on good faith, we’ve got to make sure we show them the same. Don’t be nervous.”

I pat Shun’s shoulder as I comfort him, though I’m mostly saying it to reassure myself.

It’s not that I’m afraid to die here.

I should have lost my life along with Julius and the rest of our party long ago.

But the thought that we’re carrying the fate of humanity on our shoulders makes me feel like I’m going to cave under the pressure…

We step into the Great Elroe Labyrinth.

Immediately, several giant spider monsters called greater taratects stand in our way.

I would barely be able to beat a single one by myself, and there are so many of them…

Resisting the urge to turn around and leave, I force myself to stay put.

“Please, climb aboard.”

“On these things?”

Wrath nods.

It certainly would take a long time to traverse the Great Elroe Labyrinth on foot, but still…

Using powerful monsters like greater taratects as taxis seems a little excessive.

“The journey might be difficult for some of our elderly companions otherwise.”

Wrath glances at the pontiff.

As a noncombatant, his stats are low.

And given his age, it would be hard on him to walk through the labyrinth for so long.

“I guess we’ll take you up on that, then.”

Taking the initiative, I hop aboard one of the greater taratects.

…It’s actually a surprisingly comfy ride.

The eight legs give a certain sense of stability.

This should be a lot easier on the pontiff, too.

Ms. Oka is next to climb onto a greater taratect.

She’s got guts, that one.

I don’t see any hint of the fear of creepy-crawly creatures like spiders that more delicate ladies might possess.

Even Shun and Balto look a little dismayed, making her bravery even more impressive.

Still, I can’t blame them for being nervous. It’s probably the intimidating power of these monsters that has them on edge, not just their creepy appearance.

Even I have to fight to keep my knees from knocking.

I’m just putting on a brave front so that I don’t look cowardly in front of Shun, who’s like a little brother to me.

Honestly, why do I have to go through this…?

Shouldn’t the real Güliedistodiez handle this sort of thing himself?

But I’ve got to suck it up and carry on, or his determination will be for nothing.

I wouldn’t stand a chance in that fight, anyway.

Better to be daring and keep moving forward.

If I die, then so be it.

…I feel like I’m being more desperate than daring, but let’s not examine that too closely.

“Just get on. Don’t worry. If they wanted to kill us, we’d be long dead already. The fact that we’re alive means they’re not trying to kill us, at least not yet.”

“That really doesn’t make me feel any better…”

Smiling stiffly, Shun cautiously climbs aboard the greater taratect.

Sue steps forward to get on the same greater taratect as Shun, only for Katia to grab her by the scruff of the neck and force her to get on a different one.

Sparks crackle between the pair.

Please save that sort of thing for after this emergency is over…

Eventually, everyone makes it onto their own greater taratect, and we begin moving.

The greater taratects sprint through the Great Elroe Labyrinth at an incredible speed that must come with being a highly evolved monster.

But what’s even more alarming is Wrath, who’s leading the way.

He’s running on his own two feet, not riding a greater taratect.

He matches their speed, sometimes even slowing his pace.

Which means that if he ran at his full speed, he would outmatch even the greater taratects.

If he got serious, Wrath could probably kill everyone here entirely on his own.

It’s not like we didn’t know that going in, though. There’s no point worrying about it now.

Why are there so many frozen spots around, though?

Since when was the Great Elroe Labyrinth an ice cavern?

I mean, it must be the result of a battle or something. But doesn’t that mean two combatants capable of changing their surroundings like this were going at it in here?

…Our odds of survival are looking worse by the damn second.

It’s bad for the heart to feel like you might be struck dead at any moment.

And if I’m feeling like this, how is everyone else managing?

I glance around at the others riding the greater taratects, and…yeah, sure enough, they don’t look so hot.

“’scuse me, Mister Wrath. Could we take a little break at some point?”

“Hmm?”

Wrath turns around, slowing his speed to run alongside my greater taratect.

“Look at everyone’s faces. See how pale they are? I think it’s more of an emotional strain than a physical one, but if we don’t take a break, somebody might faint.”

“…Good point. All right, there’s a slightly more open area not far from here. We’ll stop there for a break.”

“Thanks.”

Before long, we reach the area in question and take a break, although I’m still not sure if everyone will be able to recover.

“Shun, are you all right?”

“Yes…well, no, not really. I’m sorry. I guess there’s no point in being stubborn about it. Honestly, I’m having a hard time.”

Shun takes a seat on the ground, still looking pale.

The others all look just as bad.

If anything, Shun’s complexion is on the better side.

The pontiff and Mr. Balto have gone past pale to the point of completely ashen.

Being surrounded by monsters that could easily kill you takes a serious emotional toll.

I’m sure the intimidation of the greater taratects is even harder on people like the pontiff and Mr. Balto, who have little battle experience.

If anyone looks relatively all right, it’s Ms. Oka and Elder Ronandt.

I walk up to the former and address her.

“You’re handling this well, all things considered. You’ve got real grit.”

“…No, I wouldn’t say that. If anything, I feel as if my emotions have come all the way around to the point of numbness.”

“Numbness?”

“Yes.”

Ms. Oka hangs her head.

“I took my students into custody, thinking that it was best for them. But it backfired completely. What was the point of everything I’ve done, then? It was all for nothing. After I realized that, I couldn’t bring myself to do anything anymore. But when I saw you and Ms. Anna fighting against that horde of monsters, my body just moved on its own. It’s not that I’ve recovered, not really. Even now, I can’t bear to think about anything too deeply. It’s more like I’m letting my body move on instinct while my head is still fuzzy.”

“I see…”

Clearly, I misread the situation.

Ms. Oka might be in a more difficult emotional state than any of us.

I have a rough understanding of Ms. Oka’s experiences and the details of her unique skill.

But allow me to say this much.

“Ms. Oka, you did nothing wrong.”

“Please don’t try to cheer me up…”

“I’m not. This is just my honest opinion.”

Interrupting her objections, I press forward.

“Listen. Your actions were not pointless, far from it. Everything we do results in change. Just by taking action, you have already altered the outcome. If you hadn’t done anything, things might have been far worse. So how can you say it was for nothing? Even now, most of the reincarnations are still alive. I wouldn’t call that ‘nothing’ at all.”

“…Do you really think so?”

“I do. Besides, I happen to think that there’s no point in beating yourself up over the past. Ms. Oka, are the students you wanted to save really the kind of people who would be happy to see you suffering like that?”

“Well…no, of course not…”

“Then it’s time to stop brooding and start looking ahead. The only ‘pointless’ action is continuing to cause yourself harm.”

“…You’re right. I’ll do my best.”

Though I’m afraid it came out as a lecture, I know that Ms. Oka was an adult in her past life, even if she looks like a child now. I’m sure she understood what I was trying to say.

Whether she can truly recover from this point forward is up to her.

For now, at least, Ms. Oka should be fine.

She seems relatively calm, for better or worse.

Since she’s already hit rock bottom, she can’t sink any lower, even if she isn’t bouncing back up yet, either.

That’s not exactly the ideal emotional state, but in an emergency like this it might be for the best.

There’s no way of knowing which actions will lead to the best results.

I can’t judge whether what Ms. Oka did was good or bad, either.

But even if I could, it wouldn’t help to hear it from someone else.

She has to find a way to sort through her feelings and accept it on her own.

Fortunately, the reincarnations I saw in the spaceship seemed to think favorably of Ms. Oka.

They didn’t look like they were uncertain; if anything, they seemed to feel guilty.

I’m sure they’ll be able to make amends as long as nothing goes terribly wrong.

That’s just one more reason we have to prevent humanity from being exterminated, in order to make that brighter future a reality.

With renewed determination, I leave Ms. Oka’s side to speak to Elder Ronandt.

“Humph. You’re not here to give me an old-mannish speech, too, I hope? I won’t hear it from a whippersnapper like you.”

“Ha-ha. I do have the memories of someone who’s lived far longer than you, you know.”

This person continues to view me as Hyrince, it seems.

A part of me is pleased, while another part is less than thrilled that he’s still treating me like a child.

“Memories? Pah! That doesn’t mean you experienced it yourself, though, eh? Memories that you can’t put to good use are just a waste of space.”

“I suppose you have me there.”

It’s hard to argue with that logic.

After all, when Elder Ronandt was attempting to craft a rune to teleport to D’s location and asked if I had any useful information from Güliedistodiez’s memories, I could give him no answer.

I do not carry the entirety of his vast memories, you see.

That would exceed the human brain’s storage capacity.

It is more that I remember certain important moments and details.

There are many holes, to the point where I sometimes have few memories of use when it would matter most.

“So, do you think you would be able to create the teleportation conjuring on your own?”

“…Not likely. At this stage, I believe the teleportation itself would work well enough, though there’s no telling where it would send me. Even if I did manage to make my way to D’s location, I’ve no guarantee it would be in one piece. I might come out on the other side as a lump of flesh, or some such nonsense.”

“Yes, probably best to avoid that.”

“I know, eh? That’s the best I can do on my own, though it pains me to admit it.”

While he looks genuinely frustrated, I think that’s still very impressive.

It is a difficult thing to use a skill in more powerful ways than its settings specify.

The system is not designed for that to be possible.

But a few rare geniuses like Elder Ronandt have found a way.

They don’t call him humanity’s strongest mage for nothing.

Most likely, Elder Ronandt really will succeed in teleporting to D’s location if he has the support of the system core.

I have full faith in him.

There’s probably no need for me to worry about Ronandt.

Next, I approach the two people who look queasiest of all.

“Are you all right?”

Slumped on the floor, the pontiff and Mr. Balto raise their heads weakly.

“It would be difficult to describe my current state as ‘all right’ per se, and yet I must not complain in a situation such as this. I shall see this through to the end even if I must crawl to get there.”

“I feel the same way. I must speak with the Demon Lord, if not the so-called evil god D as well. I cannot allow myself to collapse before that happens.”

Despite their deathly pale faces, both the pontiff and Mr. Balto have a sharp glint of determination in their eyes.

I suppose they’ll be fine after all, then.

Hopefully, this break will help prevent them from pushing past their limits and passing out.

They should last a little longer, at least.

Still, it’s strange to look at them together like this.

One is the Word of God pontiff, representing humanity.

The other is Mr. Balto, representing demonkind.

Under normal circumstances, the two would never meet.

But now, they are working together toward a common goal.

It would have been unthinkable not long ago.

“It is rather strange to be sitting side by side with you, I must remark.”

Evidently, the pontiff noticed the same thing.

“Indeed. If we had more time, I would rather like to sit down and talk with you a while.”

“Perhaps we ought to do just that, if we both make it through this battle safe and sound.”

The pontiff and Balto smile at each other.

Safe and sound, eh?

Knowing the pontiff’s personality…no, I should leave it at that.

I can’t be sure of anything just yet.

Now, as for the others…

Shun is surrounded by a swarm of girls.

Katia, Sue, Yuri, and Fei.

…I should kick that kid’s ass.

Better to just leave them be at this point.

You’re on your own, pal!

Which only leaves one more person…

Prince Hugo, who’s leaning against the wall with his arms folded.

He hasn’t spoken a single word since this group came together.

In fact, from what I can tell, he’s been like that for a long time now.

He almost seems more like a statue than a living person.

Honestly, I don’t really want to get near him.

I don’t know Prince Hugo very well, anyway.

The first time we met face-to-face was during the battle at the elf village, and we haven’t had a single proper conversation since then.

I don’t know how to approach someone who I’ve mostly only heard about secondhand.

“Hey, kid.”

So I decide to go the safest route and greet him casually.

At that, Prince Hugo gives me a glance, then drops his gaze back down as if he’s already lost interest.

He doesn’t even say a word.

Oof, he’s really going to ignore me like that?

I’ve had people ignore me out of envy before, but his attitude is as if he sincerely has no interest in me whatsoever.

The person who ignored me out of envy still paid attention to what I was doing, at least.

Prince Hugo doesn’t seem to care what I do.

Maybe he doesn’t care about anything at all, not even himself.

Like he really doesn’t think of himself as a living person.

“You’re too young to be acting like such a recluse, you know that?”

I can’t resist saying it, even if it feels nosy.

Though I expected he might ignore me again, Prince Hugo turns his gaze back toward me.

“How long I’ve lived has got nothing to do with it.”

“Oh really? But doesn’t it seem like a waste to be so pessimistic from a young age when you still have your whole life ahead of you?”

Prince Hugo snorts at that.

“Let me ask you something, then. Has the ebony god found happiness in that long life of his?”

“Well…”

Damn, I wasn’t expecting this kid to ask such a tough question.

“…I kinda feel for the ebony god, myself. Yeah, I know our circumstances are nothing alike. But I think we both know how it feels to have already passed the happiest part of your life, and there’s not a damn thing you can do to get it back.”

…I suppose he might have a point there.

Güliedistodiez’s happiest times were probably the daily life he led before the goddess Sariel was trapped within the system.

The days when he would frequently visit the orphanage Lady Sariel created, and the kids would all come to greet him, including the now Demon Lord Ariel.

Those irreplaceable moments are Güliedistodiez’s happiest memories.

But they can never come back again.

Even if the world does find peace, I doubt he will ever be as happy as he was in those days.

From what he says, it sounds like Prince Hugo feels the same way.

“Still, that doesn’t mean you should just give up on trying to be happy, does it?”

“I don’t care. I can’t be bothered to even make that much effort.”

It doesn’t sound like anything I say is going to get through to him.

Though he doesn’t seem to be doing this out of pure self-reproach like Ms. Oka, he’s clearly closed off his heart completely.

Prince Hugo certainly has done too many terrible things to be forgiven, and it doesn’t seem like he wants anyone to forgive him, either.

But from where I’m standing, Hugo is a victim, too.

An innocent youth in another world was killed because of this world’s problems, and reborn here only to be used to try to solve those same problems.

I’m sure it’s complicated for people like Shun who suffered at Hugo’s hands, but to me it still seems worth sympathizing with him.

When I think about it, most of the reincarnations have had some major influence affect their lives.

The reason they were reincarnated in the first place is primarily because of this world’s troubles, yet even in their new lives, they’ve suffered needlessly just by dint of being reincarnations.

And now, the fate of this world is in their hands.

Another grave sin perpetrated by this world, it would seem.

As a resident of that same world, I have no right to lecture any of them.

“I see. Don’t mind me, then.”

I attempted to lightly dismiss my own words so he wouldn’t overthink them and act out in some strange way.

Urgh. Honestly…

None of this is easy.

We each have our own lives and have walked different paths.

No matter how much has happened and how I might feel about it, worrying about things won’t magically lead to the right answer.

It’s entirely possible to worry about something for a long time and still come up with the wrong answer, too.

In many cases, there isn’t even a right or wrong answer at all.

Something might seem right from one point of view, only to seem wrong from another.

But we cannot simply stop thinking about anything, either.

Although life might be a little easier if we could worry about things a little less.

Really, what a mess…

I’d like to stop thinking about things myself…

“Ready to keep moving?”

But there is no time for that.

At Wrath’s prompting, we resume our journey.

I cannot stop thinking, not right now.

For what we carry on our shoulders is the fate of all mankind.