I'm going to arrest Ernest, who is known as the Golden Pika... No, protect him...? For the time being, three days have passed since I left it in the clover. I myself try not to interact with him much, but according to reports, he seems to be working hard, interacting with the people of Clover, and spending his days in good health.
At first, he seemed to be wary of being someone other than me and my family, but he was capable, good, and since he was a citizen of the Kingdom of Micronia, he had no feelings of discrimination against demi-humans, and he was handsome. He seems to have been instantly accepted by the people of Clover. Being handsome is a plus.
"So, are you going to exterminate monsters with the hunters today?"
"I heard that.
"Aiyo"
Pour ant nectar into Thorn's tumbler. Sweet, refreshing and very drinkable for me. I like it much more than bitter and sour ale or wine that smells good but is sour and harsh. Brewed from dwarven spirits from Mountbath or Antilles ant honey, this is my new favorite.
"Um, can you do it somewhere else?"
The guards who are carrying out the lookout duty are complaining with a disgusted look.
"No, the scenery is nice here."
"Isn't it fine, where are you going to drink when you're off duty? Hey, would you like some smoked forest lizard?"
"... I'll take it."
Thorn and I are drinking at a scenic point above the West Gate, overlooking the west side of Clover. Of course, a scenic point means that you can see far away, so sentries are arranged to detect monster attacks early.
Today's sentry looks like a rabbit beast man. The picture of him, who looks like a herbivore, eating a lot of meat is somehow uncomfortable.
"Why are you here anyway? The general shouldn't hang out with Captain Thorn, but rather have a drink with the beautiful wives at home. Isn't it a sake pond meat forest?"
"Well, that's true, but sometimes it's good to drink casually with something like this. Even my wives will always be suffocating with me."
"Aren't you guys treating me badly with things like this?"
Ignore Thorn, who protests with a dissatisfied voice, and listen to Clover's recent situation and the private army's search for me.
"It was quite difficult to pass through the Kalendale Kingdom and enter the Great Forest. It seems that the thugs of the Kalendale Kingdom look like a bag full of gold coins or something."
"Ah, well, it seems like that's the culture."
"I don't want to be put away by culture. Camping is more comfortable than staying in the city, so it's not fashionable."
Thorn seems to be indignant and helpless. Well, if the people we meet see us as slaves as a commodity, it's inevitable that we'll feel that way.
"Well, you're done with the Great Forest, aren't you? I looked for you. You seemed to be doing well with your local wife, but I couldn't find you. I left the Great Forest because I thought it would be fine if you were still alive."
"Miscellaneous! Come to think of it, what's wrong with Piruru? I know you're back."
"Ah, that girl. She's safely reunited with her family in the Harpie village. But she said she belongs to Clover."
"I see"
If you can safely reunite with your family in your hometown and still choose to live in Clover, then that makes me a little happier. I sincerely hope that Clover will be her place for a long time to come.
"Well, you're on your way home. I met Ernest in the northeastern part of the Kalendale Kingdom... ah, I forgot the name of the town."
"Did you forget? Well, the name of the city is fine. How did you meet?"
"After staying overnight, I was stopped when I was about to leave the city the next day. He's the hero of the Demon Federation, so he said he's going to defeat the Demon King of the Brave Demon Federation, so he's just right, we're planning to beat him up, so let's go together."
"Hey"
After all, I should cut my hair from now on, you poor dog.
"Because I thought it would be impossible for that boy to win against you.
"Stop saying that, jealousy is ugly just because you're not popular."
"Huh, you say I'm not popular? I'm more popular than you think."
"Huh? Are you sure you're not?"
I sent a suspicious look at Thorn, who was puffing out his chest and making a triumphant look, and the rabbit beastman sentry.
"Captain Thorn is popular with girls."
"See?"
"Really?"
"You're very popular with girls up to about ten years old."
"Walros"
"Hey! Only a pure child can understand my goodness!"
"Gah," Thorn barks, but he certainly has the image of being surrounded by children, but I've never seen him with a woman of his age. I don't know if I'm a fluffy beast man or something like that, but he's talented and he's working as the commander of my private army, so he's getting a high salary. It looks like it will be popular.
"Sohn's private army commander is a naive herbivorous boy who pretends to be a hard-liner. Putting aside the fact that he's a child, he's already stubborn when dealing with girls above a certain age."
"Buhowwwwww pure heart wwwwww"
"Shut up! Don't laugh! Don't say anything inappropriate!"
"Ah, are you sure you want to tell me that, Captain Thorne? Please listen to me, my little sister, whose name is Meline."
"Wowoooooooo!? Wowooooooooooooooooooo!!!"
"Stop, forgive me, my stomach hurts from laughing too much"
It would be unfair to deceive him with howling there. Usagijujin-kun is also holding his stomach and laughing.
"yeah?"
"Ugh?"
"oh?"
It was almost at the same time that me, Thorn, and Usagijujin-kun reacted. The reason why I reacted was because I felt a big magical reaction in the forest over there, but the two of them pricked up their ears and whispered their noses.
Everyone is looking in the same direction. Beyond the west gate, it's a little north of the road that extends straight to the west. I feel a strong magical power coming from it. If you look at it, it seems that black clouds are gathering in the sky.
"That sounds crazy. I'll go see it."
"Okay, we'll follow you too."
"Just in case, come with the best equipment.
Saying that, I fly away from the top of the castle wall with wind magic. Several streaks of thunder are pouring down from the black clouds toward the sea of trees. No matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem like it's a natural lightning strike, and I think it's probably magic or something... was there such a thing as lightning magic? I don't remember seeing it in the skill list.
When I arrived at the scene while tilting my head, there was a miserable sight. The plants of the Great Tree Sea that have turned into charcoal, the wreckage of monster-like things that have also become charcoal, there are some really big ones. And then, the fallen clover hunters――or rather, the monster extermination team. They're not extinguished.
"... have you come?"
And Ernest with a lightning spear in his hand. No, this sign is...!
"… Vault?"
"No way. It's been a long time, you fool.'
In Ernest's form, in his voice, the vault speaks. What the hell is this thing? what is up? What's the situation around here? No wait, Ernest was the hero of the Vault Temple. If there was a skill like sacred magic, it wouldn't be strange to have the magic to bring down the god you worshiped.
"What's wrong with Ernest?"
"The owner of this body paid for his own soul and brought me down."
"... what's going on?"
"It can't be helped. The price has already been paid
"Shit!"
I kick the ground unintentionally at Vault's merciless words. Damn! How stupid!
"Don't get bogged down, that's why I say you're stupid. It is impossible for you, who is not even a god, to save everything. Now that you are regretting your powerlessness, the world is filled with countless misfortunes at this very moment."
"You idiot!
Vault stares at me with detached, human-less eyes. It's a disgusting eye that seems to see through everything.
"What did Ernest want?"
"This man wished to save those in this place from threats."
Just three days, just three days. Damn you, Ernest, you're an idiot. He's a big idiot.
"... Damn, if I'm here"
"It's impossible because you weren't here. If this man hadn't paid the price and let me down, everyone in this place would have died, including this man. This man wanted to save the big by making a sacrifice, killing the small, and he did it."
"That's a guessing way of saying it. So what are you? Are you trying to say that population control due to the flood and demi-human discrimination are small sacrifices to save Dai? Eh?"
"That's it"
Vault said so resolutely. He kills the small for the big. He would take a life to save more lives. Certainly, that idea is not wrong. Killing the small to save the big is a daily act.
An old man who quietly leaves the village before he gets too old to move, a daughter who sells herself to save her starving parents and siblings, a mother who sacrifices herself to protect her child, to protect her family, and her comrades-in-arms. A man who jumps into a dead place--a big idiot like Ernest.
The world is colored by small sacrifices to keep such greatness alive. I know that. So I did what I could within my reach. I wanted to reduce the unreasonableness and unhappiness of this world as much as possible, so I thought I could do it, so I did what I could.
"No, I don't agree with your thinking. It's wrong to force someone to make even the smallest sacrifice."
"You can't save everything. Sacrifice is necessary. I hate sacrifices, and I can't afford to lose everything.』
"The discussion with you is a parallel line forever. I can't accept the idea of periodically causing a great flood and managing human beings like livestock. I can't even tolerate demi-human discrimination."
"...Then what kind of world do you want? A world without any kind of misfortune is a pipe dream."
Is this my ideal world? I think this world is infinitely close to my ideal world.
"I think that this world, Eriard, is close to utopia. It would be even better if an overprotective god like you became a little more tolerant."
"Idiot. Without our control, people will fight among themselves. Beyond that lies only hellish killing and the destruction of the world.』
Vault shook his head and denied my words.
"That's it, that's it. That's strange. It's inevitable that humans will kill each other. There was a saying in my world that if there were three humans, a faction would be born. If there is a clash of interests even for ordinary people, it will become a conflict.If there is a clash of interests between countries, there will be a war.But what is it?
"What did you say...? How dare you utter such words when you say that even the smallest sacrifice is wrong? 』
Well, that's true, but I think that's a different story. Surprisingly, is this guy short-sighted?
"I said that it's wrong to force even the smallest sacrifices. I don't know what to say, but when it comes to dealing with each other out of free will, you just have to look at it with a feeling like 'You guys are idiots'. Even children get into fights with their siblings and friends, and then learn a lot of things, and then learn the lines that it's no good if they do more than that, don't they? I don't think there's anything wrong with managing them so that they don't have the energy or energy to hurt and fight."
"Even if the world is destroyed as a result? 』
"I think that's strange too. Just because humans start fighting doesn't mean that everything will perish immediately. What you're afraid of is the destruction of an ancient civilization, isn't it? There's no way they'll just use up the gods and destroy the world in a single leap, can't they?
"It may not be too late by then. In that case, you should take measures in advance so that it does not happen from the beginning. My thoughts will not change.』
"You're really stubborn...you're—"
And just as he was about to continue his words, the signs of the vault dwelling in Arnold began to fade rapidly. What...? Will the effect time expire? ?
"It looks like this is all there is to it. Farewell, human
A lightning strike erupted from Ernest's body toward the sky, and the overwhelming presence emitted by the vault disappeared. I quickly ran over and supported Ernest's body as it collapsed. With his powers gone, Ernest's face was peaceful, as if he had accomplished something.
"You idiot..."
When I stroked the cheeks of that peaceful face, it was still warm. That warmth is gradually lost—why not?
He's not breathing, he has no pulse, but Ernest's body is still warm. What the hell is that? Is it a state of suspended animation? I don't know...I don't know, what should I do? I can't get my thoughts together.
"Taishi"
When I was worried about what to do, I was called out from behind. A fully armed Thorn, private troops, and the guards.
"Recover the fallen guys, they're alive."
"Bocchan...?"
"Dead, apparently. He sacrificed his soul to lower the vault into himself. That's what the vault said."
"Oh my god... damn it."
I lay Ernest's corpse on the ground, collect the charred corpse of the monster, and cast recovery magic on the fallen monster extermination team.
"Open the transfer gate, I will carry Ernest."
"ah"
I don't know what state Ernest is in, so I thought I'd borrow Marle's wisdom. I can't get my head around... I think I'm a little more calm than usual, and I think I'm a little more intelligent. I can't hear the voices around me well, and the scenery I'm looking at is kind of unclear. Everything is fluffy and unrealistic.
"Taishi-san? Taishi-san! Please be strong!"
"Oh, Marl"
Before I knew it, I was crouching in the hall of the mansion with Ernest's corpse still in my arms. Marle is looking into my face like that. It looks desperate. What happened?
"What's wrong? You look so scared."
"What's going on... Taishi-san, what's going on... Elmina-san, please find someone who seems to know the situation."
"Okay. I'll leave this to you."
Someone leaves the mansion under the direction of Marle.
"Is this Mr. Ernest? What's wrong? What happened?"
"Ernest is dead. He sacrificed his soul to lower the vault into his body to protect everyone from monsters."
"Sacrifice your own soul... is it a call god? As expected of the hero of the Vault Temple."
"As expected, this guy is an idiot. If he dies, everything will be over."
Look at Ernest's satisfied face. It was an expression as if to say that he had nothing to remember.
"Taishi-san. Taishi-san has a very great power, but he's not omnipotent enough to save everyone. Because he's not a god."
"Yeah, that's what Vault told me. I know it in my head, but I can't understand it."
"No matter how much you mourn, the dead will not come back. Before you mourn, there should be something you can do. Let's find it. I and everyone will cooperate."
"...O.K. I understand"
"In the first place, it's not like Mr. Taishi to be worried about Ujiuji. This is the place where I get angry and go to wipe out the monsters in the Sea of Trees."
"... Hahaha, that's right. Oh, that's true."
Just like Marle said. It's not like me to worry about it. That's right.
"I left Ernest to you.
"Yes, leave it to me."
"Oh, leave it to me."
Lay down Ernest's body, take out the aurora sword from the storage and turn on your heel. When he went out of the mansion, he encountered Elmina-san and the others. He's with Thorne and the extermination team.
"What's wrong? Bring out the sword."
"Marle told me that it's not like me to be worried about Uji Uji.
"Yes... have a good time, be careful."
"yes"
As soon as I replied, I jumped into the air with wind magic. No goal. For the time being, I wipe out the monsters around the clover. However, he swings his sword innocently. I decided