Translated: Sei, MTL-sensei-tachi
Edited: Sei, Grammarly no Danna
Source: Syosetu

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A Moment on The Ship


Leona's point of view.

——— read on seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———

　It takes a long time to get to Mialak by land, but it can be shortened to two to three days by boat.
　One reason is simply that Mialak is a floating city, but another reason is that the ships built using the shipbuilding technology of Mialak, who has lived on the water for a long time, are "fast."
　The night scenery passing by.
　I stood guard from the deck of the ship, feeling the sound of the surging waves.

"...Nothing abnormal, I guess."

　The ship has a mechanism and means of attack to keep demons at bay, but this does not completely prevent them from attacking.
　Therefore, we must keep a watchful eye on the ship to make sure nothing untoward happens.
　As the hero of Mialak, I too must stay on my guard.

"A meeting, huh?"

　The battle between humans and the demon king's army has come to an end.
　It ended in a way that no one could have predicted...
　From an outsider's perspective, it seems extremely absurd, as the Demon King is forced to admit defeat and then allowed to live.
　To be honest, I assumed that it would end with the death of either the Demon King... or those who challenged him.
　I didn't want to imagine an ending where Usato, Suzune, and Kazuki-dono would die ... but still, as an experienced knight and an adult, I had to imagine the worst possible scenario.

『If we had destroyed the demon tribe, the spark of strife would have spread to the hearts of the people.』

　After Usato and Rose-dono confirmed the existence of the devil, Falga-sama told me this.

『If that had happened, the devils that had been hiding and lurking would have been on the move. They will admonish humans, tempt them, and make them repeat the next era of battle... and in that way, he would have grown stronger.』

　I was surprised that the devil was real, but most of all, I felt a chill that such an evil entity was about to make its move.
　But even that worst possibility was overturned, and here we are today.
　Usato and others chose not to destroy the demons.

"We must protect it."

　I want to protect together with them the peace they had won, the world that he ——— Usato had chosen even to the point of abandoning his own world.
　I was filled with such feelings.

"It's dusk."
"! ...You are"

　I turned around at the sound of the deck door opening and saw the red-haired female demon, Amira.
　When she saw me, she approached me with a slightly awkward look on her face.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"
"...Yeah"
"Thanks"

　She and I fought each other in the basement of the Demon King's castle.
　We were almost equal in magic and swordsmanship.
　Despite the difference in our physical abilities, I made up for it in other areas, and we fought on equal terms.

""...""

　She places her hands on the railing of the deck and silently looks out at the moonlit view from the ship.

"Talking to humans is difficult. When I come here I don't know what to say."
"Haha, that's true..."

　I couldn't help but smile wryly at her words.
　It seemed like Amira's tension was eased by having an opportunity to talk.

"Demon King-sama said I should try interacting with humans."
"And why me? I think Usato and Suzune would be easier to talk to than me."

　I don't like to say it myself, but I'm pretty bad at talking and I don't think I could say anything clever.
　So then, I thought Usato and Suzune would be more suitable, but Amira laughed as if she was troubled.

"Those two have been banned by the Demon King-sama... because they don't fit the description of normal humans."
"...Ah~"

　I foolishly found myself agreeing with her.
　Usato and Suzune both don't care about race or anything like that, in different ways.
　I don't discriminate between demons and beastfolk either, but I can't talk to them as naturally as those two.

"If you're okay with me, that's fine."
"Thank you."

　Then there is a short silence.
　I guess neither she nor I are very good at conversation,

"That underground battle at the Demon King's Castle was amazing."
"Yeah, that was some impressive swordplay and magic as well."
"..."
"..."

　The conversation doesn't continue...!?
　I casually looked next to her and saw that Amira was also staring at the surface of the water with a very troubled look on her face.
　W-Was I really that bad at talking!?
　I should be able to talk normally with my subordinates...but could it be because of my position?

『You've got nothing to talk about, hahaha!』

　Shaking off the vision of Karon that crossed my mind, it was my turn to start a conversation.
　This is about varying the pace of the conversation.
　Start by starting the conversation with something trivial and then expand the topic.

"It's a beautiful moonlit night today."
"Y-Yeah, the sound of the rippling water is soothing."
"Is this your first time on a ship?"
"I'm ashamed to say, but it's the first time in my life that I've ever done this. There aren't any rivers in the Demon King's territory that are long enough for a boat to sail through."
"Is that so..."
"Yeah..."
"..."
"..."

　Help me, Usato.
　I need you now more than ever.
　The conversation fades away without any room for expansion.
　The awkward silence just continues.
　I can't take it anymore...! Thinking that going any further would be of no benefit to either of us, I try to bring the conversation to a close.

"What an unusual combination."
""!?""

　———At that moment, a new person arrived at this place.
　The one who came with a sigh was Ferrum, a dark magic user with the ability to assimilate.

""Wh-What's wrong!?""
"Hya?! Wh-What's with you, shouting like that... You've startled me..."

　Ferrum was surprised when Amira and I suddenly turned around and shouted out loud.
　It was not the rescue I had hoped for, but it was the perfect timing.
　I instantly met Amira's gaze and took a step to the side, leaving a gap between us big enough for a person to fit through.

"There must be some fate that brought you here. Would you like to talk for a bit?"
"There's no need to be shy."
"...Well, fine."

　Ferrum, who had obediently come between me and Amira, sighed tiredly.
　Perhaps concerned by her state, Amira spoke to her.

"Black Kni...Ferrum, is something wrong?"
"I was looking for Usato."

　Were you looking for Usato?
　It was not that late, just after dinner, but for what purpose was she looking for him?

"I was bored, so I went to his room with Nea to talk, but there was no one there."
"Was the door open?"
"Hmm? Yeah, I knocked and I called and I went in. There was no one in the room, but I did find his shoes and his uniform."

　Did he have any shoes left?
　Did he bring a spare pair of shoes?
　It's a bit odd that he didn't.

"I thought something was odd, but it just seemed creepy so I just left the room straight away."
"Creepy?"
"I could hear breathing coming from somewhere in his room. Maybe this ship is haunted?"
"No... It's Mialak is the newest and largest ship. I'm sure there were no accidents while it was being built."

　I can guarantee that.
　Because of my position as a hero, I hear about problems that occur in such cities very quickly, so I am certain that there are no such scandals on the ship we are on now.
　Curious, Amira puts her hand to her chin and asks Ferrum for more details.

"What was that breathing like?"
"It was something like huff, huff, huff. Now that I think about it, it did sound like Usato's voice."
"But you didn't see him..."

　We are all familiar with Usato doing the bizarre, but is he doing it again?

"I don't know what he is doing, but... I have a hunch."
"Yeah, I know. I know, but not knowing what he is doing... is just too troublesome..."
"This seems awfully realistic..."

　Amira is somewhat taken aback by my and Ferrum's words.
　———No, wait, didn't Ferrum say that she and Nea went to Usato's room together?

"Ferrum, what happened to Nea? Is she looking for Usato too?"
"Hmm? No, she said she still had business in his room and stayed behind. So she's probably back to her room by now."

　...Something bothers me.
　But I don't know what it is.

"I'm kind of tired so I'm going back."
"You sure you don't want to look for him?"
"Yeah, I'll see him in the morning anyway, and I can complain then."

　Ferrum yawns as she leaves the place.
　Seeing her enter the ship through the door, I let out a sigh of relief and locked eyes with Amira.

"Should we rest soon?"
"Yeah, let's do that... I'm sorry for forcing you to talk to me."
"It's fine. I was glad to talk to you too."

　After a light handshake, Amira and I also return to the ship.
　I was able to form a good acquaintance with Amira, but only the mystery remained.

——— read on seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———

Author's Notes:
Usato: "Eh? I was in my room all day yesterday."

The hint is reverse push-ups.