Chapter 79

(Note) I posted this two days ago as well.

25 ～Lily's Perspective～

And so, I awoke.

“Mm, u… uh”

An incoherent groan escaped my lips.

My consciousness was muddled.

It was a familiar sensation.

This, yes. It was the unique state of consciousness being severed—...

“A, you’re awake, Mihō-nee-chan.”

“...!?”

I tried to jump up—only to lose my balance.

“Whoa!?”

A harsh sound of something hard rubbing against each other. For some reason, my arms wouldn’t move.

Unexpectedly, my body’s movements were restrained, causing me to lose my balance—

“Whoa, that was close.”

—Just before I fell, someone caught me in their arms.

“Really now. Be more careful. I’m trying to keep an eye on you, but even I can’t prevent everything.”

A voice filled with concern struck my ears.

I was seated on the ground again, as if I had no choice but to comply.

“Um”

I was confused by the morning mishap.

The first thing that came to mind was the utterly common thought that I should thank the person who helped me from falling.

“Ah, thank you…”

However, I couldn’t finish my words of gratitude.

“...What is this?”

I noticed the chains that were wound around my arms multiple times.

Instinctively, I tried to exert force with my arms.

The chain links made a harsh, grating sound.

That was all.

They didn’t break, didn’t bend, and didn’t loosen.

“Th-then…!”

I tried to escape the chains’ restraint by reverting to my amorphous slime form.

It didn’t work.

“W-why?”

Something I could usually do without a second thought was impossible.

Only then did I realize it.

“These chains… are magical items?”

They probably had the effect of restraining and weakening the target they were wrapped around.

Recalling, I hadn’t been able to tear the chains apart either.

I felt a chill run down my spine.

I could now viscerally understand that I was as helpless as a little girl.

“You… you…”

I looked at the person responsible for all this, trembling with fear.

“Hm? What’s wrong, Mihō-nee-chan?”

A boy in a tattered and worn uniform looked down at me.

He looked like a homeless person, but he wasn’t dirty.

Even his ragged uniform was relatively clean, and the sword hanging from his waist was clearly expensive, making his appearance somewhat mismatched.

He usually wore a coat over this, but now it was spread out under my buttocks where I was sitting.

“You have a strange look on your face. Did you forget about me?”

The boy said this in a joking tone.

Indeed, I recognized his face.

More accurately, it was a face from the memories of Mihō Mizushima, which I possessed.

“...Jūn Takaya”

Mihō Mizushima’s childhood friend and a warrior with a cheat ability.

The boy who had single-handedly traversed the forest to reach Fort Evenus to seek help for the first expeditionary force was here.

“You, why…?”

“Don’t be so formal, Nee-chan. That’s a bit cold.”

Scratching his cheek, Takaya said.

“Call me Jūn, like you always do.”

“...”

Of course, I couldn’t call him that.

Honestly, I had no idea what was going on.

The muddiness in my consciousness had already cleared, yet I could only recall up to the moment I met up with Master in the mountains.

After that, I had no memory. When I came to, I was restrained here.

What had happened there?

What had happened to me?

Most importantly, was Master safe…?

“Ah! Maybe, Nee-chan, you’re angry about being left behind in that mountain hut?”

Takaya spoke without noticing my confusion.

“I’m sorry for making you worry. But I did my best, you know.”

He spoke as if enjoying the conversation.

With a hint of petulance mixed in, but underpinned by affection.

As if the state of me being restrained by chains didn’t even register.

“...”

Even though I still had no idea what was going on…

This reaction, this statement, this attitude.

Perhaps Takaya hadn’t realized that I wasn’t Mihō Mizushima?

If that was the case… this might be a chance.

I swallowed hard.

I might be able to extract information from Jūn Takaya about what happened while I was unconscious.

Suppressing my inner turmoil, I opened my dry lips.

“...I have a question.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

Takaya tilted his head with a smile, looking genuinely pleased that I had spoken to him.

“...”

For a moment, I lost my train of thought.

“Ask anything, Mihō-nee-chan.”

The warmth in Jūn Takaya’s voice wasn’t directed at me.

It was directed at a girl who was no longer in this world.

The more he seemed happy and cheerful, the more the misplaced affection felt hollow, and I lost my words.

“Nee-chan?”

“—Ah”

Takaya’s puzzled call brought me back to my senses.

No, I couldn’t afford to think about unnecessary things right now.

There were many things I needed to confirm.

I needed to focus on the present.

Shaking off my sentimentality, I switched my mindset and asked again.

“...Why am I here?”

“Oh, that? Well, of course you’d be curious.”

Jūn Takaya answered with his usual smile.

“Because I hit you on the head with my sword.”

“Wh-what…?”

I was speechless at the casual confession of his crime.

“Did it hurt? But I’m sorry. I had to do it; otherwise, you wouldn’t have fainted.”

When I woke up, the person in front of me, restrained and bound, was Jūn Takaya.

At that point, it was almost certain that he was the one who had restrained me, or at least part of his group.

And the fact that I, a Mimic Slime, had lost consciousness suggested that I had received a significant blow that caused me to lose consciousness.

If I were to be honest, I had assumed that Jūn Takaya had used some special magical item to restrain me.

His attitude towards me was so full of affection that I had instinctively thought that.

“Do you know…?”

In my confusion, I asked.

“Of course I do.”

Jūn answered in a light tone.

“Nee-chan was eaten by a slime. And that body is the slime’s.”

I couldn’t form a second sentence as I stared at the boy in front of me.

—That Mihō Mizushima had died.

—That her body had been consumed by me.

—That I was a monster taking on the form of Mihō Mizushima.

Jūn Takaya knew everything.

And yet, he treated me as if I were Mihō Mizushima.

It was contradictory.

...It was broken.

I didn’t wonder why it had come to this.

Rather, it was something I, more than anyone else in this world, could understand.

I possessed the memories of the deceased Mihō Mizushima.

Of course, these included her memories of her childhood friend, Jūn Takaya.

The memory album was severely degraded due to the limitations of my mimicry ability, the colors were faded, the outlines were blurry, and a significant portion of the pages were missing.

Still, I knew that Mihō Mizushima had a fondness for Jūn Takaya, her childhood friend.

It was different from the gentle, sweet feelings the boy had developed as he grew up.

But there was a special affection for someone who had shared so much time with her since childhood.

I think Mihō Mizushima was a wise girl.

She had realized that the gentle feelings Jūn Takaya harbored were a mix of special fondness for a childhood friend and admiration for an older girl.

The fact that Jūn Takaya never confessed was, in a sense, proof that her intuition was correct.

Jūn’s first love didn’t have the weight to break the bond of their childhood friendship. If their lives had continued as they were, it might have eventually become a bittersweet memory of first love.

But that didn’t happen.

The transfer to another world, like for many others, twisted their future.

They could never return home.

They could never see their families again.

They might be killed by monsters and not know if they would live to see the next day.

Everyone was being pushed to their limits, and Jūn Takaya was no exception.

The Mihō Mizushima who knew Jūn Takaya remembered him as a mischievous and somewhat fragile boy.

In the end, he sought his mental support in his gentle first love.

Mihō Mizushima noticed this change but couldn’t say anything.

She understood that it was necessary for him.

He could only try his hardest for someone else.

That was the only way he could remain sane.

It was because it was for the person he liked that Jūn Takaya could endure the loneliness and pain of crossing the forest alone.

So, when the object of his affection, Mihō Mizushima, met a tragic end, his heart also lost all its support.

He could only see what he wanted to see.

“I won’t give Mihō-nee-chan to anyone. Not ever again.”

His mutter, like a soliloquy, was filled with a dark fervor.

“Be happy, Nee-chan. I have the power to protect you now.”

The sword at Jūn’s waist made a clinking sound.

At that moment, I caught a faint smell of rust.

A smell I, with my Fire Fang’s sense of smell, should have noticed immediately.

The smell of blood and organs.

Turning around, I gasped.

“No… way”

A little distance from where we were, there was a scene that could be described as a mountain of corpses and a river of blood.

Many monster corpses were scattered around.

How many were there? Dozens, perhaps. The Kitrus Mountains were indeed a remote area with many monsters, but the number of dead was abnormal.

From what I could see, Jūn Takaya had no noticeable injuries.

Even for a warrior with a cheat ability, this seemed abnormal.

...Could it be that sword?

If it was some special magical item, it might be possible, but...

“I’ve become stronger.”

Turning back to me, Jūn Takaya spoke.

His smile was a mix of warmth towards one person and absolute coldness towards everything else.

“So, Nee-chan can rest easy. No matter who comes, I won’t give you up.”

The voice filled with killing intent made me shudder.

...Master is in danger.

Due to the battle with Vajra just before, Master’s fighting strength had significantly decreased. Still, I was sure that Master would come to rescue me, no matter what, and find a way to win.

However, if Master didn’t properly estimate Jūn Takaya’s strength, that plan would fall apart. For example, if he didn’t know about that sword, there was a high chance Master would be defeated.

“Wait. Jūn Takaya.”

I couldn’t allow that.

I glared at the smiling boy.

“I’m not Mihō Mizushima. I’m Lily. Your childhood friend, Mihō Mizushima, is dead.”

I was aware that this was a dangerous statement.

First, I didn’t know if Jūn could accept Mihō’s death.

And even if he did, I would then be a monster that had taken the form of someone important to him. Anything could happen.

Moreover, with his current mental state, anything could trigger an explosion.

Considering my own safety, this was a reckless statement.

But it was much, much better than letting Master be in danger.

“Dead? Mihō-nee-chan is dead?”

Jūn Takaya’s smile faded as he stared at me intently.

The wax doll-like, emotionless gaze made my skin crawl, but I continued.

“Yes. Mihō Mizushima is gone. No matter how much you wish, your desire to protect her will never come true.”

Never, ever.

Jūn Takaya, the boy, would never be fulfilled.

“...”

What did he feel in the face of this cruel reality?

Or did he feel nothing at all?

The silence felt long, but in reality, it was probably only about ten seconds.

“...Right. Mihō-nee-chan is dead.”

Jūn Takaya muttered.

“The one here is a monster that ate her body.”

His voice was hollow and cold.

The moment I ceased to be Mihō Mizushima in his eyes, I was sure I would be beheaded.

But Jūn Takaya said something unexpected.

“So what?”

It wasn’t the death sentence I had braced for.

Nor did it mean he hadn’t understood my words.

“You are Mihō-nee-chan, right?”

“...Huh?”

I let out a surprised sound and looked up at Jūn.

There was a smile on his face again.

Unconditional affection.

And a pure, transparent certainty.

“...Ah”

A breath escaped me like a scream.

For the first time, I felt a clear fear, not pity or sadness, at the madness in the eyes of the boy in front of me.

“No matter what form you take, I can tell.”

Jūn’s eyes, looking down at me, reflected my form, but they didn’t focus on me as an entity.

Yet, it wasn’t as if he saw nothing.

Perhaps the eyes of a madman, who only saw what he wanted to see, could catch what ordinary people couldn’t.

He saw through to my core, to my essence, more clearly than anyone.

“Dead? Eaten? So what? Mihō-nee-chan is here. I can tell.”

“N-no, that’s not it. I’m...”

“Deny it? Then, tell me. If you’re not Mihō-nee-chan, who are you?”

The question Jūn Takaya threw at me was simple.

But my lips, unexpectedly, froze at the sound of it.

Who am I?

I had never thought about it before.

It was a question that struck at the very core of my existence.

＊＊＊

My mimicry ability as a Mimic Slime reproduces everything about the target.

Though it may be degraded, it is almost equivalent to stripping away the target’s existence.

Master placed restrictions on my use of this ability.

It also meant an erosion of my own self.

But if that’s the case… what exactly is the “me” that is being eroded?

I have already consumed a willful being.

Of course, I mean Mihō Mizushima.

The influence is evident everywhere.

For example, I have always prepared meals for Master and the others.

Rose, who has the ability to craft magical items, had plenty of other things to do, and when I was suspicious of Kato, I couldn’t leave the cooking to her.

But even now, after crossing the forest and stepping into the human world, I continue to take charge of the meals during our journey.

Because I want Master to eat delicious food.

Because I find joy in cooking.

But, such a girl-like sensibility… whose is it, really?

For example, the conversation just before Yuna Iino’s attack.

To us, the familiars, Master is everyone’s Master. I can understand what Master is concerned about, but I don’t want to be chosen as his sole companion.

...But, in reverse, this means that I, unlike the other familiars, can understand Master’s romantic views.

There is indeed a part of Mihō Mizushima within me.

But then, where am I?

Who am I, really?

...I don’t know.

I don’t know who I am.

＊＊＊

“...It seems our break is over.”

Jūn Takaya muttered something.

Before I knew it, he had me under his arm.

“Kyaa!”

“I expected them to come. I won’t give you up.”

His voice, filled with hostility, reached my ears as I instinctively closed my eyes.

When I opened them, I saw a scene beyond the pile of monster corpses.

“...Ah”

There was a two-headed wolf.

And on its back, a boy covered in mud and blood.

“I’m taking Lily back.”

The sharp gaze of the boy who declared this softened only when it landed on me.

“...Master”

My trembling lips, my heart, called out to the beloved one.

◆Continuing from last time, this is Lily’s chapter.

Even a casual question can be a sharp thorn for someone else.

◆The third volume of the book version of "Monster’s Master" will be released tomorrow.

Thank you all for your support.

I would be grateful if you could support both the web version and the book version.

I’ve also published rough sketches of Rose, Kai, and Kanhiko, so please check out my activity report if you’re interested.

http://mypage.syosetu.com/mypageblog/view/userid/316835/blogkey/1142408/