Foreigner Volume 7, Chapter 124

Volume 7 Chapter 124, Magic Sword ~ 32

　While Leia and Liz were arguing, Satoru did not say a word.

　How Satoru felt about it ― it is hard to describe in one word. To put it simply, he knows that Leia's words are right in terms of reason, and Liz's words are right in terms of emotion. Which should be prioritized ― it goes without saying, reason.

　Satoru was not allowed to put his emotions first in that situation. If he had not done so, there was no doubt that it would have resulted in future disasters.

　Baron Dantes is not a villain. But he could not leave things as it was. He was after Satoru as an avenger for his son. If left unchecked, he was guaranteed to become a serious obstacle. Leia begged him to leave the enemy's army in charge, but he told Leia to leave the enemy general alone because he was the one who Baron Dantes was after. Since the responsibility lies with himself, he should be the one to fulfill it. That is what he thought.

　Thus, he killed Baron Dantes, who was the general, with his own responsibility. He killed an innocent man who had only been involved in the war.

　The reason he deliberately took the blow was because he felt guilty for Baron Dantes, who had tried to avenge his son's death and failed to do so. He knew that the attacks of this world would not work on him, so he took the blow with the determination that it would be worth it.

　He was prepared for it and killed him himself. Although that resolve was made with considerable weight, bitterness overflowed from the inside, one after the other.

　The reason is simple. It was the first time he had consciously killed someone. Moreover, it was the first time he had consciously killed someone who stood up against him and was not necessarily an evil person.

　In Satoru's mind, the deaths of Raymond and others do not have the image that he himself killed them.

　It is because he did not kill them consciously.

　They were just caught up in the outburst. They were so clearly evil that he didn't feel much guilt about it. He can say that he hardly thought about those men who got caught up in the explosion and were blown away, probably due to the repeated shocks.

　But this time was different.

　He was consciously aware that he had killed someone.

　Nausea welled up inside him.

　He was almost crushed by the irresistible feeling of guilt.

　Leia knows that Satoru has no experience in killing people. Because of her consideration, she was going to take care of all of them.

　It was Satoru who dared to tell Leia to leave the general there.

　Satoru chose to confront the general because he did not want Leia to bear the guilt all the time, but the guilt would not go away so easily.

「Master」

「Hmm, what's wrong?」

　Satoru, who was praying for the repose of Baron Dantes' soul, was approached by Solor. Should I say that she didn't read the air, or was she doing it on purpose?

「Following Leia-sama's instructions and I missed Four people, but one thing I was wondering about...」

「Say it.」

　Baron Dantes' corpse should be buried here, Satoru urges ahead without looking at Solor while digging the earth with his sorcery.

「One is a mid-level commander who escaped from this battlefield, another who escaped from close by, and the other two who watched from quite a distance, so there are four of them, among those who ran away from the battlefield and cleaned it up, there was one who had a 【Distant View】 of the battlefield. There may be one more who was watching the battlefield.」

「I see」

　Satoru had decided that it was probably someone from the Academy of the Wise. That was the only person he could think of who was using sorcery to spy on him. Besides, it would not make much difference if the number of people he let goes increased from four to five.

　Satoru himself was aware that he was now more of a nuisance than a nuclear bomb in this world. Even though Leia was just barely in the same category, not only herself but also Solor was too much for this world. They had to leak some information and hide it to some extent. In order to prevent the academy from making any unnecessary attempts, Satoru is going to destroy the Chalk Tower of the Academy of the Wise, as a means of intimidation. It would be enough if those who overlooked, could tell the Academy of the foolishness of antagonizing Satoru.

　He dropped Baron Dantes' bloated body into the hole he has created with sorcery, cover it with dirt, and thrust the sword he was carrying in place of a gravestone.

「And. ...... Master, have you cleared your doubts?」

「.........」

　Satoru stopped moving and looked back at Slor with only his head. His gaze is fierce, cold, and heavy. But Solor does not seem to have endured it. Satoru stared at Solor coldly for a while, but then he let out a sigh as if he had lost his patience.

「Did it look that way to you, too?」

「Yes.」

　The straightforward response made Satoru realize that he was being cared for.

　As Solor pointed out, Satoru was lost. Murder is something that would be perplexing to any ordinary person living in peaceful Japan. The hesitation about this crime is deep and intense.

　Of course, Satoru hid his conflicts from his magical slaves so that they would not notice them, but Solor is very sensitive about his facial expressions. He was not able to hide it. If Solor was aware of it, Leia and Rico probably knew it too.

「Does it look clear to you?」

「No, it does not. You seem to be forcing yourself to convince yourself.」

　Satoru was also choked up when she pointed out the exact same thing. "I see," Satoru replied, stroking his chin. He wonders if even Solor had noticed it, even though he was never good at hiding his facial expressions.

「I have been talking with Leia-sama and she told me that Master is forcing himself to endure a lot......please don't hold back with me(?)」

　――I guess Leia was aware of that.

　Satoru boasts.

　Satoru, who is not able to completely control his overwhelming power, has been restraining himself and holding back a little bit. Sure, there was some harshness and pain, but that did not mean that he could not act as he wished, and he continued to endure in secret.

　He told himself not to hold back. But there are reasons not to.

「That's.......I wonder about that. Wouldn't you be broken if I got serious?」

「Yes. Perhaps. But so would I, Leia-sama, Rico-sama, and Minerva-sama would be willing to be broken by Master」

　Instead of answering her question, Satoru, when he noticed that one of the magical slaves named just now was missing, he asked about that one.

「...... Liz says she is not so sure.」

「I can see that she is still confused.」

　Satoru reconsidered whether that was a good thing or not.

　Liz is willing to allow Satoru to use her body, and she seems to be prepared to do so, but she seems to be unprepared in other aspects, just as she had argued with Leia earlier. She is not pledging absolute obedience and loyalty to her Lord, even though he has taken her in as a slave―I am talking big, but in terms of being lost, I am lost myself.

「I would be lying if I said that I myself have no doubts about Liz. ......」

　The shock of her resemblance to Alice has subsided considerably after she changed her hair color with sorcery and cut it short, but Satoru himself admits that he still feels a slight distance from Liz. However, it is not something that will change overnight. It would take some time.

　Leia just yelled at her hard and encouraged her to reflect on herself, but Rico and Minerva were following up properly. In fact, if she says she still can't keep up with him, Satoru is going to release her as a slave. He will have to find a job for her somehow.

　Satoru shook his head, mocking himself.

「But I'll tell you, while I'm glad for that state of mind that you say everyone but Liz is holding(?), I'm scared. Because I don't want to lose the friends I've allowed into my heart.」

　If he were to lose a magical slave because of himself, his heart would probably be broken ― Satoru was well aware of this. Just as the magical slaves were becoming more and more dependent on him, he was also dependent on them.

「Does that include the fact that Master is sometimes perceived as more violent than when you were in your original world?」

　Satoru stopped moving with a jolt at Solor's bombshell.

　It took some time for Sorol's point to sink into his brain. Satoru has always had this fear, and it is a part of his life that he has not been able to express it. He glares sharply at Solor.

「......Where did you notice that?」

「I don't know exactly where I noticed it. However, while I was studying the chanting of 【Otherworldly Summoning】 with Leia-sama, I found an arrangement that disrupts the mental structure of those who are summoned.」

「Wha...」

「Specifically, it was written to make them somewhat violent and greedy for sex. It's just a small addition to the original personality.」

　Satoru felt dizzy and put his hand over his own eyes.

　The thought came to him, "I knew it, so that was the case". Satoru had noticed that he had become much more violent in this world.

　It was the same with sex, and when he became absorbed in it, he somehow forgot himself. Satoru is relieved to learn the identity of the things that have been eating away at him in a strange way since his first encounter with Leia, but at the same time, he is also afraid.

　Is it something that can be controlled by self-control? Solor had said that it would only add a few things to his original personality, but it is a frightening story when you consider it in conjunction with his own excessively vicious power.

　He has become even more easily provoked, and the moment he loses his temper, he will overrun the world with his unbelievable power ― a power that even Leia, who is supposed to be one of the most powerful people in the world, can't overcome, a power that can destroy the world.

　Satoru wonders why the practitioners who created the 【Otherworldly Summoning】 art incorporated such a dangerous element into it, and then he suddenly looks up.

「What about Leia..」

「I will not hide anything from her. Of course, I already told her.」

「...... I see. By the way, when did you find out about it?」

「Just yesterday.」

「That's why that guy ...... really」

　Satoru held his forehead and groaned. It was Leia who slaughtered most of the current army. She must have noticed Satoru's irrepressible guilt over killing people, so she told him to leave it to her, intending to bear the guilt.

　It is true that Leia was angry with Raymond, and it is also true that she no longer saw the need to hide herself after all this had happened, but at the root of it all, she was just trying to protect Satoru.

　It was also kind of Leia not to tell Satoru that she was taking the blame for the guilt. I turn my gaze to Leia, who is disposing of a corpse in the distance. I really can't get my head around that 【Immortal King】.

「The longer Master is forced to endure, the greater the risk that you will collapse, as you did the other day. Therefore, I believe that I am the most suitable person for you to vent to.」

　As frustration builds up, the possibility of an outburst or fainting increases, so you're telling me to vent somewhere―Satoru strokes his chin. Solor is telling him to direct that vent to herself. What an utterly admirable loyalty.

「I don't think my mind is so fragile, but......The fact that you bothered to say it now means that, in your eyes, my mental state is in jeopardy. Is that what you mean?」

　Solor nodded easily. Satoru could not return even a grunt of complaint.

「I also have a self-repairing function, though not as strong as Leia-sama's 【Regenerative Ability】, and I can withstand some rough treatment if I lower my emotional values. More to the point, I wish to be treated as such. So please don't hesitate to hit me. For Master's sake.」

「I feel too bad for you―」

　Satoru's mouth was physically sealed by Solor's white-fish-like hands. She, who is very thin on emotion and rarely expresses herself, smiles awkwardly at Satoru, who blinks his eyes.

「There is no need for that concern. I am a doll, a tool. Tools are meant to be used and discarded.」

　Satoru smiled a little and took Solor's hand, which covered his own mouth. A woman of sculpted beauty is about to give her all as Satoru's object, for some reason or other.

　However, Satoru does not think of Solor as a doll. The woman is small but has feelings and understands the subtleties of the human heart, so she can hardly be called a puppet.

「.......In my country, in the world where I am from, there is a concept called 【Tsumogami】, or mourning gods, which means that a tool that has been used for a long time has a soul. Therefore, I don't accept the idea because they are tools and should be thrown away. But I appreciate the sentiment.」

「...... Yes.」

　Solor showed a complex look on her face. Satoru stroked the head of this beautiful woman. It is Satoru's habit to pat her head, but thinking back, this may have been the first time he had done so with Solor, except during sexual intercourse. He even feels that the distance between him and Solor has shortened dramatically. Solor smiled as Satoru continued to pat her on the head, looking a little strange, but certainly happy.

「How far along are you in your analysis of the 【Otherworldly Summoning】?」

「We are only about 10% through. It is a complex and intricate structure, and it will take us a year or so to solve it all.」

　Satoru's face twisted a little.

「I see. ...... Please continue your analysis.」

「Understood」

　Forcing her to hurry will not speed up the process. It is only to explore other possibilities.

　Looking back, Satoru suddenly realized that the guilt he felt for killing Baron Dantes earlier had lessened a little. Satoru wonders if Solor's concern has relieved him of his guilt, and he stretches out and looks back at everyone.

「We'll walk some more, and then we'll camp out in the field again today. The mountain path will be tough, but everyone, just hang in there.」

　Leia, Rico, Minerva, and Liz nodded in agreement.

　Even Satoru could not back down now. He just has to take one more step forward to return to his original world.

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