三十話
ぴくり、と。
言葉が言い放たれるが早いか、事切れていた筈の
〟だよ? もしかして、人形と糸は切り離せない存在って知らなかった?」
......聞くと実際に見るとでは天と地ほどの差があるとはよく言ったもので。
何も無いところから剣を創造する魔法も大概ではあったけれど、今、俺の目の前で行われている出来事に対する驚愕はその時の数段は上であった。
「じゃ、今からキミは〝ピィちゃん〟って事で」
「それじゃあえっと......」
「ユリウス」
「はい、じゃあユリウス君! 流石に魔物の大群を二人で相手するわけにもいかないし、此処から逃げるんだけど、その右手、
どうして、あえてそう尋ねてくるのかと疑問に思うも、それを捨て置いてぐー。ぱー。と手を動かす。
「お。割と元気そう。その様子だと、わたしの心配も杞憂だったみたいだねえ」
大丈夫だと俺が言う前に、その動作を見詰めていたフィオレが勝手に判断。
「ほら、時間ないから早く!」
言われるがまま、彼女に倣うように俺も飛び乗る。
の背には何重にも束ねられた糸で出来た手綱のようなものが存在しており、どうして手が使えるのか尋ねてきた理由が判明する。
要するにフィオレは手綱を掴めるかと確認したかったのだろう。
「ちゃんと掴んだ?」
「掴んだ。......あぁ、いや、掴みました」
最早今更でしかなかったけれど、彼女はフィオレ・アイルバークと名乗っていた。
つまり————貴族。
「別に敬語とかいいよ。〝
そもそもわたし、そういう堅っ苦しいの嫌いだからね。
と、口にしてから彼女は「飛んで」と一言。
「さ、しっかり握ってないと振り落とされても知らないよっ!!」
泣き言を溢す余裕すらもない。
「逃げるとは言ったけど、殺せる
十数秒に渡る垂直の上昇飛行。
風に負ける事なくフィオレの叫び声が聞こえてくるや否や、続け様「降下!!」と一言。
直後、ぐるりと上空にて、宙返り。
何処からともなくキィン、と聞き覚えのある独特の音が俺の鼓膜を揺らす。
それを耳にし、俺はまさかと思ってしまう。
地上には多くの魔物で既に埋め尽くされており、その数は増す一方。
蠢くその様子に、身の毛がよだつ。
「さ、〝ピィちゃん〟やっちゃって————」
言葉に従うようにパカリと開かれる
〟とは聞いていたけれど、そんな事までも出来るのかと。
驚愕に目を見開かざるを得なかった。
そしてやって来る————
視界いっぱいに、ぶわりと一気に紅蓮が広がった。
程なく聞こえてくる悲鳴。
......よく競り勝てたな俺。
眼前に広がる大火力を前に、思わず今更ながらな感想が胸中にて湧き上がった。
やがて数秒に渡り、燃やすだけ燃やし尽くしてから二度目の方向転換。
全てを狩り尽くせてはいなかったが、大部分を殺せたという事でどうやら満足らしい。
「ところで、ユリウス君はなんで〝ミナウラ〟に?」
背を向けたまま、フィオレが問い掛けてくる。
「強くなれると思ったから」
その問いに、俺は即答した。
「俺にとって、丁度いい壁になってくれると思ったから。俺を更に高次へと押し上げる為の糧が此処には溢れてると思ったから」
だから、〝ミナウラ〟にやって来たんだと俺は告げる。
こうして助けて貰ったのだから、そのくらいは言って然るべきだと思った。たとえそれで頭がおかしいなどと笑われる羽目になろうとも。
......いや、それでなくとも、笑われて然るべきだろう。実際、たった一体の変異種相手にこのザマなのだから。フィオレがいなかったら今頃どうなってたか。
。面白いね」
腹を抱えて笑うどころか、まるで俺でない他の誰かも同じような事を言っていたかのようなフィオレの言い草に、少しだけ引っ掛かりを覚える。
「強さに貪欲なのは良いと思うよ。確かに、ユリウス君の言う通り、力を求めるなら〝
〝瘴気〟の濃度が特別濃いとされる〝ミナウラ〟の街の領主だからこそ、か。口にされるその言葉には確かな説得力が伴っていた。
「......実際に、ユリウス君と同類だろう人間がわたしにそう言ってくれたんだ。わたしの妹で、ビエラちゃんって言うんだけどね」
恐らくそれはビエラ・アイルバークの事だろう。あの冷ややかさを感じさせる態度の裏に、そんな熱を隠していたのかと少しだけ驚いた。
そんな折。
「ま、今はそれは置いておいて。そんな戦闘狂気質なユリウス君に一つ、提案があるんだけれど」
力が欲しいと願う。
星を斬りたいと、俺の記憶の中にのみ存在する技を、一人の男の生涯をカタチとして世に知らしめたい。俺としてはそう願っているだけなので、戦闘狂気質と呼ばれる事について少しだけ納得がいかない部分があった。
だから、眉根を微かに寄せる。
「わたし達と肩を並べて戦う気はない?」
そんな歪んだ俺の表情は、その言葉を耳にした瞬間に、一層険しいものへと変わった。
......一体どういう事なんだろうかと。
「わたしがユリウス君を助けた理由は、キミには生かす価値があると思ったから。ここで生かしておけば、まだ魔物を殺してくれると思ったから。それは紛れもなく、わたし達の益となる」
〝ミナウラ〟の領主としては、そこら中に蔓延る魔物を排除するために戦ってくれる存在であれば、誰であれ歓迎であると彼女は言う。
の方がそそられるんじゃないかなあと思ってね。あの一撃————〝流れ星〟、だっけ。あれ程の威力を誇る技を持つキミなら、申し分ないしね」
何より、わたしも死にたくないし、ビエラちゃんを死なせたくはない。だから、戦力は可能な限り増やしておきたいのだと付け加えられる。
「————〝ジャバウォック〟」
名前が、一つ。
「それが今回、〝ミナウラ〟に出現した魔物の頭の名前なんだけどね、これがまた今までよりも厄介そうなヤツでさあ。ちょっと手こずりそうなんだよね」
生憎と、フィオレの表情は見えないが、今の彼女の表情ばかりは何となくだが予想はついた。
「だから————、〝ピィちゃん〟を単身で倒したその腕を見込んで頼みがあるんだ。わたし達に交ざって、〝ジャバウォック〟を倒す気はない? ユリウス君」
Chapter 30
Twitch--
As soon as the words were uttered, the corpse of the monster I had just slain, which was supposed to be dead, trembled ever slightly.
"Why are you so surprised about my magic? Haven't you heard that puppets and strings are inseparable?"
...It's often said that there's a world of difference between hearing and actually seeing.
The magic of creating a sword out of nothing alone was already quite impressive, but the astonishment at what was happening in front of my eyes right now surpassed my ability by miles.
"Now then, you will be 'Pii-chan' from now on."
"Let's see... you are, uh..."
"Julius."
"Yeah, Julius-kun then! We can't take on a horde of monsters by ourselves, so we have to get out of here. Can you use that right hand properly...?"
I wondered why she asked such a question, but I cast it aside and tried to move my hand with a grunt.
"Oh, don't you look relatively healthy? From the looks of it, it seems like I feared for nothing."
Before I could say that my arm was fine, Fiole, who was observing my actions, made a judgment on her own.
"Hey! We don't have time, so hurry up!"
I did just as she told and jumped on board, following her lead.
The bridle made of many layers of bundled threads on the monster's back explained why she asked me if I could use my hands.
In essence, Fiole wanted to know if I could grab onto the reins.
"Did you get a good grip?"
"I sure did... Oh, I mean-- I managed to get a hold, ma'am."
I was late to realize it, but she identified herself as Fiole Islebark.
So in other words-- she's a noblewoman, an aristocrat.
"I don't particularly care about honorifics. It's not like those will do you any good here in Minaura."
She didn't like formalities to begin with, she said.
Right after that note, as if to make a command, she uttered one word that the puppet monster obeyed: "Fly."
"Hold on tight, now!! You could get shaken off for all I know!!"
I didn't even have the time to whine.
"I know I said we were going to run away, but my motto is to kill the monsters when I can, you know?"
A complete vertical ascent for more than a dozen seconds.
Fiole screamed in the air, not letting the wind get the better of her, and as soon as she did, another command followed suit: "Descent!!!"
Shortly after, the monster somersaulted around in the sky, helping us fall to near the ground this time.
From out of nowhere, a familiar, distinctive sound shook my eardrums.
I guessed we were just in time, even though I couldn't believe it when I heard it.
The ground was already filled with monsters, and their number was only increasing.
The hairs on my body stand up on end at the sight of them churning.
"Come on Pii-chan, do it--"
The monster's maw soon opened with a snap, obeying her words.
I had heard of such magic, but I didn't think her{Corpse Puppet: Marionette} could do such a thing.
I couldn't help but just look in astonishment.
And so it came--
A rush of crimson-red fire spread across my entire field of vision.
Screams were soon heard, but they immediately faded away with the unpleasant smell of burning flesh.
...I was amazed that I was able to win against this thing.
The great firepower spread out in front of me, triggering a feeling of deep, negative emotion in my heart.
Before long, after burning as much as it could for a few seconds, we changed direction for the second time.
Although she didn't hunt all of them down, she was seemingly satisfied that she had killed most of them without being bothered by the fact that some of them lived.
"What brought you to Minaura by the way, Julius?"
With her back turned, Fiole asked.
"I thought I could be strong, so I came here."
There was no reason for me to hesitate, so I answered the question immediately.
"I thought that this place could serve as a good wall for me to overcome. I thought that there was plenty of food here to push me to a higher level."
The sole reason why I came to Minaura, I told her.
I thought that I should honestly answer at least that question since she saved my life, even with the possibility of her laughing at me as if I were crazy for doing so.
...No, even if that ended up not being the case, I should still be laughed at.
"Hmm~? You said the same thing... How interesting."
Instead of laughing at me hysterically, she replied in a sense as if someone else had said the same thing, making me feel a little caught off-guard by it.
"I think it's good to be greedy for strength, Julius. You are also correct, if you are looking to be strong, Minaura is the perfect place for you. This town is filled with strong monsters, and you can fight them to the death as many times as you want. For beings like you, it's a heavenly place."
The words she uttered had a certain persuasive power to them, justifying the reason why she was the lord of this town, Minaura.
"...In fact, someone that is probably the same kind of person as you are, told me just that, Julius. Her name is Viera, my younger sister."
I was a little surprised that she was hiding such heat behind that cold demeanor.
At the same time--
"Well, let's put that aside for now. I have a proposal for a fighting maniac like you, Julius."
I wished for power.
I wanted to slay the stars, and I wanted to make the technique that only existed in my memory known to the world.
That was all that I was hoping to achieve, so I felt a little bit of frustration being called a fighting maniac, and thus, I raised my eyebrows slightly.
"Has this made you want to fight side by side with us?"
My grim expression turned even more grim the moment I heard those words.
...I wondered what on earth she meant by those words.
"I saved you because I thought you were worth keeping alive, Julius. I thought that if I let you survive here, you would still kill the monsters, which is, undeniably, to our benefit."
As the lord of Minaura, she said, she welcomed anyone who was willing to fight to eradicate the monsters that were spreading all over the place.
"I just thought that you might be more intriguing given that you and Viera-chan are the same kind of person... That technique of yours-- 'Shooting Star' was it? With an attack as powerful as that one, you'd be perfect."
She doesn't want to die, and she doesn't want Viera to die either, she added.
"--'Jabberwock'"
She uttered a name.
"That is the name of the head of the monsters that appeared in Minaura this time, and it seems to be more troublesome than ever. It's really going to be a bit tricky from here on out, you know?"
Though I couldn't see her expression, I could somehow guess what she was thinking.
"That's why I have a favor to ask you, in recognition of your skill in defeating Pii-chan by yourself. Julius-kun, would you join us and lend us your hand in defeating the Jabberwock?"
Star-Slaying Swordsman
星斬りの剣士
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/star-slaying-swordsman/
Action Fantasy Martial Arts Mature Psychological Shounen
Adapted to Manga Dark Fantasy World Male Protagonist Mature Protagonist Medieval Philosophical Romantic Subplot Sudden Strength Gain Sword And Magic Sword Wielder Transplanted Memories
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7336gg/
アルト／遥月