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Chapter 15 — Why Do You Always Go Right to Killing or Kidnapping? Why Not Talk Normally First?

“Even if I go out there, they’ll probably still come looking,” Scott said. “It seems they need more than one person.”

“If you’re immortal, can’t they get as much energy as they want from you? Why don’t they just collect more from those guys lying outside?”

“You’re awfully quick to say something so cruel, Takatou.”

“It takes some time to recover after energy has been taken from one of us. It seems they’re in a bit of a hurry, so they’ll probably search the whole city.”

The three of them discussed how to handle the soldiers. Though Yogiri wasn’t sure if it was lucky or not, the soldiers were advancing cautiously. They must have been on guard since there were fewer infected people lying around than usual.

“Is there a back door we can use to get out?”

“Yeah, if we can’t talk things through with them, it’s better to not meet them at all.”

“The back door is over here.” Scott pointed to a door opposite the entrance. The house was small enough that it would be hard to miss it. Careful not to be visible from outside, they tried to sneak their way to the back door when Yogiri felt killing intent aimed at them. It was like a shadow had fallen over the entire area. A precise attack would appear as a thin black line, so this kind of signal meant it was an area of effect attack.

“What happened? One of the soldiers suddenly collapsed,” Scott said with suspicion, looking out the window.

“Yeah, maybe they were trying to destroy the whole house?” Yogiri answered.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, I guess I never explained my power to you. I can detect killing intent, and can kill them before they kill me.”

“You expect me to believe there’s such an absurd power?”

“Right?! That’s exactly what I thought!” Tomochika emphatically agreed.

Sneaking a look outside, they saw the soldiers were trying to help their fallen companion.

“Looks like we have no choice now. I’ll go outside and try talking to them.”

“Is there a point?” Tomochika asked.

“Probably not. But if we don’t do anything, they’ll probably keep trying to attack us and end up all dying.” Yogiri didn’t think it would accomplish much, but he couldn’t help but hope they’d retreat if he spoke with them. Right now, they had no idea Yogiri existed. He’d feel guilty for killing all of them if they didn’t even know what was happening.

Young man, if you go alone, will Tomochika be safe here?

“I’m just going outside, so she should be close enough.”

No matter. Unless something incredible happens, my protection should be sufficient!

“Can you even do anything now, Mokomoko?” Yogiri asked. With Furemaru and Enju gone, all she could do was transmit electromagnetic waves, so it didn’t seem like her protection would amount to much.

Guh... Well, in the worst case, I can possess Tomochika and control her myself...

“You can do that?!” Tomochika cried. “Actually, wait...you better not!”

“Who are you talking to?” Scott asked, confused.

“We’re being haunted by a ghost, so we’re talking to it,” Yogiri explained.

“Oh, I see.”

“You believed that awfully easily.”

“It’s far harder to believe that there’s someone out there who can kill people infected by the Seyla. A ghost isn’t that much of a stretch.” It didn’t seem like he doubted them, so he had likely believed everything Yogiri had told him.

“Okay, I’ll head out for a bit. Oh, would it be easier if you came with me, Scott?”

“No, they don’t think of us as anything more than a resource. I wouldn’t be of any help to you.”

“Oh, okay.” Yogiri stood up and stepped out of the house.

One of the soldiers immediately lifted his spear to throw it and collapsed. He must have thought Yogiri was one of the infected and so acted as normal. Of the five soldiers from Himeln, there were now only three survivors.

“Hold on! Listen to me!” At this rate, Yogiri leaving the house was just going to get the soldiers killed faster. He hurriedly tried to stop them. “I’m not infected by the Seyla. Don’t you have a way to see that?”

The soldiers met his gaze, then turned back to discuss amongst themselves.

“It’s true. He doesn’t have the eyes.”

“And he has no gear. Is he stronger than an M unit?”

“He’s not associated with any of the factions, so I can’t see his cost.”

“He has no stats either. He doesn’t even have the Gift.”

“So he’s just an idiot who came in from outside Belm?”

“But how did he get all the way here without being infected?”

“Maybe he was carried here in a box? That’s how most meat is transported.”

“I guess we need to capture him before he’s infected, then.”

“Should we report to the captain?”

“If we do that, she’ll just take it all for herself.”

“Right. Whether we eat him ourselves or sell him off, we should just split it between the three of us!”

It didn’t seem like they were all that dedicated to their cause. Ignoring the strangeness of the situation, they were just trying to get the most out of it for themselves. Yogiri and Tomochika had seen people like this too many times before, and Yogiri was starting to get sick of it.

“Just to warn you, your two friends died because of my power. I have the ability to detect killing intent and counterattack. That’s why your friends are dead. I doubt you’ll believe me right away, but I recommend you don’t try and attack me to find out.”

“What’s with this guy? Is he stupid?”

“I knew a guy like him once. When he was younger, he always screwed with people like this.”

“Let’s tie him up for now. He’ll be more valuable if we keep him alive.”

“But we can’t just take him back to the camp.”

“Right. Let’s hide him somewhere in the city, then we can take him to the Neutral Zone next time we have a break.”

“I warned you guys. If you get any closer, I’ll kill you.” As expected, they ignored him. Yogiri held out his right hand, pointing it at one of the soldiers.

“Come on, kid. If you’re gonna bluff, you can do better—” The man collapsed as he started to approach.

“Wha?!”

“This is a technique of the Dannoura School. You can’t even see it because it’s a ball of...uhh, spirit?”

Having been convinced that Yogiri couldn’t do anything to hurt them, the two soldiers panicked after seeing their friend suddenly die. It was a sight Yogiri had witnessed countless times.

“Man, Japan was so peaceful.” When he was living in Japan, Yogiri was almost never attacked. He had a newfound appreciation for the stable society back home. “I’m sick of this. Why do you always go right to killing or kidnapping? Why not talk normally first?” He lifted his hand towards the two survivors.


“W-Wait! We get it! We’ll stay back! That’s what you want, right?!”

“What do you want from us?!”

“Nothing, really. Oh, you said there was a Neutral Zone, right? Where’s that?”

“It’s south of here—”

“What is happening over here?!” a voice called out from the sky, interrupting the soldier.

Yogiri looked up to see a huge, rotund person floating in the air. She was wearing a red dress and was likely a woman. She was holding a staff about the length of her body.

There was another girl, so small you might miss her next to the larger woman, floating at the woman in red’s feet. She also had a staff and was wearing a green dress. Unlike the soldiers, they weren’t covered in armor, so they must not have needed it. Yogiri recalled hearing that stronger people could make a barrier to protect themselves from the Seyla.

“Captain!”

“What happened to your regular report?! How long does it take to collect some points?!”

The soldiers were referring to the girl in green as their captain.

“H-Hold on! We just got attacked!”

“Then why didn’t you report it?!”

“B-Because it looked like an uninfected civilian...”

“Him, huh? More infected around will be a nuisance. Kill him!” The girl in green pointed her staff at Yogiri.

“H-He already killed three of us, though!”

“So he isn’t just a civilian? It’s fine, just kill him. If you disobey, you will be executed for insubordination.”

“Umm, but...” The soldiers were clearly at a loss, looking between Yogiri and the girl. If they approached Yogiri, they’d die, but if they did nothing, their captain would kill them. Caught between a rock and a hard place, they had no idea what to do.

In the end, they did nothing. They were absolutely certain they’d die if they approached Yogiri. If they hesitated, there might be some way they could avoid following their orders. That may have been what they were thinking.

But it didn’t seem the girl was quite so lenient.

“Die.” The girl pointed her staff at one of the soldiers. He was instantly ripped apart, sliced to pieces, armor and all, by some invisible blade.

The last remaining soldier screamed, running in a blind panic towards Yogiri. Just like he had warned him, Yogiri killed the soldier as he approached.

“Tch. What even are you?” The girl asked, turning an annoyed expression on him.

“That’s my line. Did you really need to kill them?”

“Disobeying orders is punishable by death.”

“I get the logic, but it doesn’t make sense if your commander is incompetent.”

A soldier who didn’t follow orders was useless and at worst could cause the whole battle line to collapse. Any army treated desertion and insubordination as grave crimes. Yogiri understood that, but they weren’t in a situation where they were struggling for the life of their country. They had just been ordered to die for nothing, and he had no idea why.

“I care not for your nonsense. Uncertain variables are no more than a hassle. Die.” The moment she said that, the girl fell, making a small thud as she struck the ground. It seemed she was as light as she looked.

She must have tried to do something. It had been so fast that Yogiri hadn’t even noticed the killing intent. But it made no difference whether he perceived it or not. His power would activate automatically to kill any threat to his life.

“Princess!” The enormous woman in red dropped to the ground, picking up the girl in her arms. “Headquarters! Teleport! Hurry!” The woman paid no mind to Yogiri.

And then she was gone.

“Looks like we’re getting wrapped up in something dumb as always, huh?” Yogiri commented to himself.

“I was watching from the house, but...looks like you ended up killing them all anyway.” Tomochika sighed, stepping up to Yogiri’s side.

“I don’t think there was much I could do. If their boss had attacked me from the start, it might have ended differently.”

Either way, at that point there were only two of them remaining.

“Everyone who picks a fight with us ends up dying, so we still don’t know who they are or what they want...” Reluctantly, Tomochika was getting used to it. It didn’t seem like she was concerned about their enemies dying. Yogiri couldn’t say that she had to feel more concerned, but he felt like it would be better if she were.

“It’s kind of a pain if they can teleport. They might show up in front of us at any time.”

“No, if they are teleporting through the protocol, they can only appear in the center of the area. It isn’t very convenient,” Scott answered Yogiri’s concern, stepping out of the house himself.

“Protocol?”

“You can think of it like the rules for the continent.”

Scott gave them a brief explanation of the protocol. Belm was divided into hexagonal territories, and the four factions fought for control of them. Moving between areas cost energy, and you could teleport between your home base and the territories you controlled. The system of rules that governed the war on this continent was called the protocol.

“So it’s like a kind of strategy game?”

“Seems that way. I wonder if this was all set up by the Sage?”

“Now then, I believe I’ve more or less explained everything to you. Would you consider killing those who wish to die now?” Scott asked. That was the original point of their conversation.

“Do you guys believe in souls or reincarnation or anything?” Yogiri asked.

“Hmm. Even if our bodies are annihilated, when we revive, we retain our memories. I guess I attributed that to something like a soul.”

“If I use my power on you, your soul will probably be totally erased. I’m wondering if you’re okay with that.”

Scott thought for a moment. “I guess you’d have to ask each individual. There may be some out there who believe dying here would allow them to be reborn and start life anew somewhere else...”

“Then please ask them. Let’s go, Dannoura.”

“Huh? Go where?”

“That soldier said the Neutral Zone was south of here. That’s probably our best bet for getting information.” Yogiri started walking out of the city.

“Hold on. Are you not going to grant our request?” Scott asked.

“We don’t have time to wait around, but you need some time to think about it, right?”

“If we come to a conclusion, where should we meet you?”

“You’ll have to figure that out on your own.” Yogiri had no intention of sticking around for that long. If they wanted to die so badly, they could come find him. He wasn’t interested in proactively working to kill people who weren’t his enemies.

“Hey, are you sure we can walk away like this?”

“To be honest...it’s too much of a pain.”

“Hey!”

“If they want to kill themselves, they should do it on their own.”

“I mean...I understand the situation, but if they ask you to kill them...”

“If they really want to die that badly, they can find me and attack me.”

As they stepped out of the city, Yogiri turned around. Scott wasn’t following them. Yogiri had been worried he would keep trying to pressure him.

There was a road leading directly south of the city, so they began walking down it.



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