The Road to the Future
The royal capital of the former Saint Miriam Kingdom. It is now under the rule of the Nord Empire. After the united front army left, the Nord Empire brought in its army.
Ren is also in the former royal capital, which is the center of the former Saint Miriam Kingdom's administration. Although the former royal capital is somewhat based in the west, it is a good place to see the western part of the country, far from the Nord mainland, and the border areas with other countries. The immediate issue is that it is in the western part of the country, and he is staying there because it is convenient.
However, the castle in the former royal capital has been quite destroyed by the united front army. The interior of the buildings is still good, but the walls have been broken in several places, and the moat around the castle has been filled in with debris. The united front army was taking these measures in anticipation of another invasion.
Ren is living in the castle, leaving it in that condition. This place was only the royal capital of the former Saint Miriam Kingdom, and Ren does not consider it an important base. A place that he would abandon if he found it difficult to defend. Rather than repairing the castle, he prioritized strengthening the defenses of the strongholds on the border.
"...They don't think long and hard, do they?"
Looking at the documents in his hand, Ren muttered to himself. The documents convey the situation of the Lemberg Empire and the Izrim Magic Kingdom in the southern part of the continent.
"...And who are they?"
It was Shizuku who returned the question to Ren's mutter. Shizuku sits right next to Ren, pushing her chair closer to him.
"The heroes. I was thinking about how to move from now on."
"I... nhh... I see..."
Shizuku rests her face on Ren's shoulder and frowns. Normally, Ren would not allow such close contact during office hours, but now he says nothing about it.
"Who has the initiative...... in terms of position, it's Katsuragi-san, isn't it?"
"I-I guess so."
"But do you think that man will obediently obey his former classmate?"
Mei became the Elected king of the Izrim Magic Kingdom. But Ren knows that Yuya will not change his attitude just because his former classmate has such a title.
"... Th... that's right... ah..."
"...You don't have to force yourself to say something."
"B-but..."
Ren doesn't have Shizuku by his side as a conversation partner. He's pretty busy these days, so she's just doing her duty while he's working.
"You're going to tell me later that you were doing your job too, aren't you?"
"...Actually l-like this, ah, ahh!"
Shizuku let out a loud voice. She fell down on Ren's side.
"Yes. The end"
Seeing this reaction, Ren returned his left arm, which had been around Shizuku's back.
"...T-terrible"
Shizuku complains about Ren's actions.
"Saying terrible. You're satisfied now, aren't you?"
"...With two fingers."
Ren's hand, which had been running from her back to her sides, had been teasing Shizuku's nipples the whole time. That was enough to make Shizuku reach a climax.
"But you're satisfied"
"Am I such a cheap woman?"
"Cheap? What do you mean?"
Ren doesn't understand why Shizuku is angry.
"Just pinching with your fingers."
"...But you like this sort of thing, don't you?"
"Eh……?"
Ren misunderstood something again. Shizuku thought so. She can't say he's wrong in most cases though.
"You will be happy if you are treated badly like this."
While saying that, Ren repeatedly flicked the tip of Shizuku's bare chest with his index finger. Shizuku endured it with a pained expression.
"... Nhh... ah... ah"
In the end, she can not stand it and let out a gasping voice.
"Look, you're happy."
"…………"
Shizuku silently glares at Ren. This time she was a little bit seriously angry.
"……What?"
Luckily for Shizuku, Ren seems to have the ability to sense her anger.
"I'm the only one who's been treated so horribly"
Shizuku doesn't believe that Ren would do something like this to another woman, Emily or Saku. Shizuku thinks that the possibility is completely unthinkable, let alone against Rin.
"Are you going to blame me? It's the result of trying to satisfy you properly while I'm busy."
"The result of your thinking is with two fingers?"
"But you're satisfied. You always complain like this, but in the end, you're happy."
For Ren, the result is everything. He doesn't understand at all that the idea is making Shizuku angry.
"My body. Yes, that's right. My body is cheap. You only have to move your two fingers a little bit while reading a document...... that's why. Anyway, I'm just a handy girl."
Shizuku complains with a bright red face. It's not just because she's angry. She feels ashamed of her own words.
"What are you dissatisfied with?"
"Heart"
"Eh?"
"Even if my body is satisfied, my heart is not satisfied. I want to be properly loved by Ren."
"Ah... I see..."
Ren is lost in thought as he finally understands why Shizuku is angry.
"Eh? No way?"
And Shizuku was surprised.
"……What?"
"Do you love me?"
Ren showed a serious attitude toward her request to be loved. Shizuku was pleased to think that she had finally become such an object for Ren, although she was Shizuku.
"Huh? Because you want to be loved, right? Right now, I'm thinking about how I can do that. Shut up a little."
"...It's not that."
Loving is the result of thinking in your head, not the realization of it.
"So what?"
"Enough. As punishment for making me angry, I'll get in the way of your work."
"Eh? Hey, you're in the way."
Shizuku straddles Ren's lap as he sits on the chair, ignoring Ren's complaints. She held Ren's head tight and pressed it against her own chest.
"W-wait."
"Shut up"
Furthermore, Shizuki reaches out to Ren's lower body. She was a little surprised that she could do such a thing without any hesitation.
"Today is no good!"
"It’s Ren’s fault! I don't care if you have a lot of work to do!"
"No, it's not that! It's a full moon today!"
"Eh... ah..."
Full moon. That is the day when Rin can monopolize Ren. Shizuku knew that even now that Rin is gone, Ren is still trying to protect it.
"...So no s*x today."
"...I don't like it."
"Eh?"
Shizuku refused to stop the act. It was a surprise to Ren. She is a selfish one, but she is reserved towards Rin. He thought so.
"It's still bright. The night of the full moon is still ahead."
"That's right, but"
"...I'm not thinking of stealing Rin-san's place. I also want Rin-san to come back."
This is true. For Shizuku, Rin's position and Ren's treatment are quite different, but she is a comrade who has shared the loneliness they want to be loved, but that thought does not reach him. She is someone she cares about.
"If that's the case."
"Rin-san doesn't want to have a place to stay. She wants to make her own place."
"…………"
He remembers Rin's words that night. He wonders how Shizuku, who should not have been there, understands Rin's feelings.
"I'm the same. I make a place for myself by being by Ren's side. If I hold back because of Rin-san, I won't have a place to belong."
"...I understand that I don't know."
He doesn't understand what she's saying. However, Ren doesn't know what that has to do with her actions now.
"This is my only value to Ren right now, isn’t it?"
Shizuku sinks her hips as she says this. She was only being teased by Ren. She was only being humiliated. But if this was Ren's attitude toward only her, then she thought she could make him recognize it. She vowed that one day, She would make Ren think that he didn't want to let go of her.
She moved her hips slowly. Shizuku felt ashamed of herself for doing such a thing, and the embarrassment made her mind go blank. All that remained was to let her body and mind be overwhelmed by the pleasure that came over and over again.
The truth is, Shizuku can already feel that Ren loves her.
◇◇◇
Battles are raging all over the continent. In the midst of it all, deep in the mountains where people rarely set foot, a small battle was taking place that was different from other battles.
A giant that easily exceeds two meters. The giant wielding a long arm that matched his tall frame was a demon, characterized by the horns on his head.
Fighting the oni is a woman whose arms are thin. She is not short in stature, but she looks like a child compared to the giant-sized demon.
But in battle, the petite woman overwhelmed her opponent.
"W-what are you doing! Hurry up and defeat her!"
The one who is frustrated by the struggles of his allies is the leader of this Oni Tribe village. When the battle began, he had no idea that this would be the case.
"If you say that, you should fight."
"What?"
"Or what? Are you waiting for me to get weaker by making your subordinates fight?"
"...D-don't joke around! My subordinate is enough for a vampire woman!"
It's Rin who's fighting the demons. Rin had entered the Oni Tribe's village with a small number of demons.
"Because it's not enough! I'm saying you can come out!"
Jumping into the bosom of the opposing oni, jumping up even higher, and kicking his chin up with her knee. That was the decisive blow, and the oni slowly fell backward.
"No way... that's stupid..."
They lost a battle they shouldn't have lost. The chief of the village is upset by this. It is said that the oni race surpasses the vampire race in combat power. Moreover, the other person is a woman.
"...Well, why don't you make up your mind and come out soon?"
"Don't underestimate me. I'm the chief of this tribe! Don't think you can defeat me like my stupid subordinates!"
Not a bluff. The fact that he is the head of the village means he has that much power. In fact, the body of the chief is one size larger than the opponent she just defeated.
"No matter who my opponent is, I won't lose. I can't afford to lose!"
"Rubbish!"
The chief of the oni tribe closes the gap with an agility that does not suit his huge body. The huge body is not the only weapon of the oni tribe. They have strong muscular strength and agility to support it. They are proud of their superiority in unarmed combat among the demons.
A punch. Rin crossed her arms to block it, but she couldn't completely kill the momentum, and was blown backward.
"Not yet! I will make you regret that you underestimated me!"
The chief of the oni tribe who tries to pursue further. With one kick, he flew right in front of Rin, who then kicked again.
"Haaaahhh!"
Rin raises her voice and accepts it. This time, she was not going to be blown away. She completely caught the opponent's kick.
"...W-why!"
It cannot be accepted. The difference in power should have been obvious.
"You're the one who's underestimating me. The days of training with Ren-sama aren't something you can easily surpass."
"Training?"
"You haven’t done any rigorous training, have you?"
"I'm strong without training!"
Strength is determined from birth. Among the demons who think that the magic and physical strength they are born with are everything, there are almost no people who have the idea that they can become stronger through training.
"That's arrogance. Don't you think that arrogance has cornered the demons so far!?"
"What did you say?"
"All the talents you are born with. The supremacy of human talent is the philosophy of the demons. Nevertheless, humans know that they are weak as a species and have been working hard to solve this problem."
"Y-you! Are you going to affirm the humans!?"
"I'm not affirming the humans! I'm affirming effort!"
Demons, who were strong as a species, have neglected their efforts. Without looking at reality, they always believed themselves to be strong, and many races perished. It is a foolish thing, Rin thinks now.
"We must change! Otherwise, we have no future!"
"I know that! That's why we chose to follow your brother, the Demon King!"
The demon race followed Rin's older brother, who called himself the Demon King. After her brother died, they withdrew into the mountains again.
"My brother was wrong! I apologize for that as a sister! But I think the Nord vampires is on the right path!"
"What is the right path!"
"It's the path that connects the demons to the future!"
"...The future? Don't say such things lightly!"
The leader of the Oni tribe is the same in wishing for the future. But for thousands of years, the world has cornered the demons. No matter how many times they stood up, they were beaten down each time.
"I don't mean to say it lightly. I don't think things will come true easily. Even so! We must try! For the next thousand years!"
"What are you trying to say!?"
"Destroy this world"
"……What?"
"Destroy the common sense, the system, the values, the logic of this world!"
"S-stupid... the reason of the world..."
If you break the logic of the world, what should they follow? Not only the demons, but the world will no longer work.
"If it opens the future for us, for our children, for our descendants, we must do it."
Ren intends to destroy the world and end it all. But Rin sees the future beyond that. Even if her life ends there, she believes a new future will follow.
Ren hopes to be a creator of new value, not a destroyer.
"......You say that's what you're going to do?"
"Not me. I'm just going to help with that...... No. Not just me. It will be done by like-minded people."
"…………"
"I want you to follow me. Of course, only those who share my thoughts. Otherwise, we won't be able to move forward very far."
She has challenged the oni tribe to a fight, but she does not intend to force them to follow her by force. She knows that even if she does that, it will not work.
Rin just wanted to show her resolve. It is not a talent you are born with, but the effort you make after birth that can overturn common sense. She wanted them to know that.
"...Can we really move forward?"
"H-hey!?"
The one who raised that voice was a woman who was watching the battle from the back. It was a woman with a child in her arms.
And the chief of the oni race is surprised. Leaving aside him as the leader, it is not permissible to enter the conversation without permission.
"Move. No, I think we're already moving forward."
"...Can we reach that future?"
"I cannot promise that. But are you satisfied now that the future is already closed to you? Don't you want to change your destiny?"
"Yes. You are right."
The present is already the worst. What more is there to fear?
"What are you talking about? What can you do?"
"I don't know what I can do, but if I don't do something, nothing will change."
"You're going to leave the tribe!"
"...I don't care. I don't think about the future of the demons. I just want to change something for this child."
It's not for the sake of the oni race, nor is it for the sake of the entire demons. For her own child, she is trying to do something.
"……You're kidding, right?"
Expulsion from the tribe. It's a shame for demons. Breaking a contract with a tribe is something that shakes their existence. The woman declared that she would accept the heavy punishment.
"This person said that she would break the rules of this world. How can I be afraid of being outside the framework of the tribe if I am willing to agree to it?"
"…………"
"As a mere mother, I have no power. Still, can I follow you?"
"Of course. We all do our best because we don't have the strength. Such thoughts will surely change our future. Come on, let's go. Together with us."
"Yes"
The woman was the only one who agreed with her. Even so, Rin seemed satisfied and turned to leave.
Even if it was only one person, there was one person who had overturned the common sense of the demons. That was enough. One person became two, two became three. She hopes that in this way, the circle of companions that transcends races and tribes will expand. That's what she thinks.
"H-hey? What are you guys thinking!?"
But that woman wasn't the only one who tried to follow Rin. Several other mothers followed Rin with their children in hand. And the man who is their husband.
The oni who remained on the spot stood stunned at the unbelievable sight.
"...Jeez, the princess thinks of ridiculous things."
Baat watched the scene from a short distance away.
Rin had escaped. Fortunately, he was looking for Rin when he learned that he had left the Nord and set out on her journey.
"Does the princess realize that she is doing the same thing as her brother? It’s something a Demon King does to transcend tribes and unite power… no, it’s not. Breaking the rules of the world, huh... it is getting a little more interesting now."
There is no way Rin is trying to become the Demon King. Rin is trying to bring the demons together for a different purpose than most of the Demon Kings that existed in the past.
Baat does not think she can do that. But the thought of capturing Rin again had completely disappeared from his mind.
No comments:
Post a Comment