四十三話
「......なら、そうと決まれば色々と準備をしておきたいし、早いところ報告を済ましておくべきね」
正論を説いて尚、説得は不可能。
だったら、もう割り切った方がいい。というソフィアの意見に最終的に同調したリレアがそう言って凄惨に広がる魔物の死体の山に目を向ける。
「討伐した証明に、心臓あたりに存在する魔石を持ち帰らないといけないんだけれど......」
そう言ってリレアは視線をソフィアへと移動。
「無理無理無理無理無理、無理です。あたしは絶対に無理です」
急に畏まった口調で、壊れたブリキ人形もビックリな速度でソフィアは首を左右に振っていた。
広がる酸鼻な光景。
尋常な人間であれば例外なく身を竦ませてしまう惨状を前に、彼女は拒絶反応を見せる。
だから、上手く殺すとか、そんな器用な事が俺に出来る筈がないじゃんと一蹴。
......魔物の血は特に臭いからあまり触りたくはないのに。と愚痴りながらも、改善の余地が全くないと判断してか、会話はそこで終了していた。
王都に位置する中央通りと名付けられた大勢の人が行き交う通り道。
ギルドに向かう場合、此処を通らなければならないとリレアに言われ、王都の地図が頭にはいっていない俺に気を遣って先行して案内をしてくれる彼女に追従する最中。
どん、と、俺の肩が何かとぶつかった。
「————っ、と」
ぶつかって来た相手側は急いでいたのか。
それなりに勢いがあった上、ガタイも俺より大きかった事もあり、俺は思わず尻もちをついてしまう。
俺が突然声を上げた事に反応してか、肩越しに後ろを振り向くリレア。そして尻もちをつく俺に手を差し伸べようとしてくれるソフィア。
己の注意不足であったと「ごめん」と口にしようとする俺であったが、それを遮るように一つの声が発せられた。
「おっ、と。ごめんよ。怪我はない?」
俺が転げた事に気付いてか。
ぶつかった男は足を止めて振り返り、気遣う言葉を投げ掛けてくれる。
爽やかな印象を受ける灰色髪の青年だった。
〝ミナウラ〟に向かう道中で出会ったシヴァとは真逆の印象を受ける風貌。
「それは良かった」
差し伸べられたソフィアの手を掴み、引き上げられながらも俺がそう言うと、彼は柔和な笑みを浮かべた。
だから、気にする必要はないよと言って再び歩を進めようと試みて、
「————......アムセス」
しかし、その行為はリレアの発言によって拒まれた。どうしてこんな場所にいるんだ。
アムセス。
故に、それが一体誰なのかについては即座に考えが及んだ。
「あれ、そこにいるのはリレアさん? こんなところで出会うだなんて奇遇だなあ。もしかして、この子達は君の連れなのかな」
「ええ、まあ」
直後、値踏みするが如く、頭上から爪先へとアムセスと呼ばれた青年は俺へ視線を這わせる。
「なら、ちょうど良かった。偶々予定が変わって僕の時間が空いちゃってね。どうだろう? この先の予定がないなら、何処か腰を落ち着ける場所ででも、僕と話してみる気はないかな」
「......貴方と?」
「そ。僕と」
視線を合わせるように中腰となり、どうかな? と、アムセスは目尻を曲げた。
口調であったり、雰囲気であったり。
「リレアさんから聞く限り、君は強くなりたいんだって?」
どうやら、アムセスにリレアは俺の事を何となくは話していたらしい。
「だったら、僕達と一緒に今回は行動してみるのも良い刺激になると思うんだけどな? 現時点で既に二十余名もの魔法使いが参加する予定なんだ。見て盗めるものも、沢山あると思うけどね」
確かに、アムセスの言葉は一片の隙すらない完璧な正論である。しかし悲しきかな、俺の目にそれはやはり魅力的には映らない。
理由は単純明快。
俺の拭えぬ性分が原因である。
『星斬り』の男の戦闘技術こそが至高と捉え、それ以外は不要と割り切ってしまっている俺の性分が。
学ぶ事は大事だ。
それをする事で己が強くなれるだろう事も理解している。ただ、生涯に渡って〝化け物〟と謳われ、『星斬り』の為に心血を注いだ男の全てと、言い方は悪いが、小手先の技とではそもそも比べるに値しない。
見て盗む暇があるのなら、記憶の中の『星斬り』の男に少しでも近づけるよう、実践に身を投じ、その記憶の中にある技術を己のものとした方が余程、強くなれる。己を限界の先まで追い詰めた方が、ずっと。
そんな、確信があったのだ。
「特に、君はまだ若い。後学と思って、まず、僕の話を聞くだけでもどうだろうか?」
リレアの話を聞く限り、恐らくアムセスも魔法使いなのだろう。
言葉を交わす限り、きっとこの人は良い人だ。
リレアから俺の事を死にたがりとでも聞いたのか。本当に心底気遣ってくれているというのが言葉の端々からよく伝わってくる。
「うんと、そうだね。あそこに見える店で、なんてのはどうかな?」
アムセスがそう言って視線を向けて指を差したのは巷で噂の————スイーツ店。
「あそこの店の店長とは知己の間柄でね、折角だし、甘い物を食べながらでも」
ただ、いくら人懐こい愛想の良い笑みを向けられようとも、申し訳ない事に既に答えは出てしまっている。
だから、ごめんなさいと俺はアムセスに向かって断りを入れようとして。
「————行きます。ぜひとも行きましょう」
どこからか、声がやってきた。
それは、今までになく目を輝かせる少女の口から発せられたもの。
......なんでだよ。
程なくちょんちょん、と肩をつつかれ、俺の耳元にソフィアの口元が近づけられる。
「......あそこのスイーツ店、いっつも人で溢れてる大人気の店なの」
小声で教えてくれる至極どうでも良い情報。
興味ない俺からすると、へぇ、それで。
「へぇ、それで?」
転瞬、むぅ、と不機嫌に唸る声が聞こえてくる。どうやら俺の答えはソフィアが求めていたものではなかったらしい。
「......〝ミナウラ〟。置いてきぼり。好き勝手。おじさん。嘘泣きしてチクる」
思わずぶるりと身が震え上がった。
ついでと言わんばかりに、恐ろしい事を口走りやがる。
村長からは勿論、親父からもぶん殴られた挙句、二人から袋叩きに合う未来が透けて見える。
アムセスの提案に乗れば、この様子を見る限りソフィアの機嫌は良くなるだろう。
しかし、断ると決めているのに、ほいほいと物に釣られて甘い汁だけ吸うのはいかがな物なのか。そう思うと安易に頷く事は出来なかった。
そんな折。
「————君がこの申し出を断るにせよ、ならば僕は、ぜひともその理由が知りたい。変異種のオーガを視界不良の中、一人で倒してしまうような規格外の少年の忌憚のない意見を」
そう言われ、反射的にリレアへ視線を向ける。
「......私は何も言ってないわよ」
「そう、リレアさんは僕には何も言ってない。聞いたのはただ、知り合いの魔法使いの少年にも、討伐に参加するか否かの意見を伺っておきたい、という事だけ」
ただ、リレアさん達の知り合いに、オーガの変異種を倒せる少年がいる事は周知の事実であるけれどねと、悪戯っぽく笑いながら彼は付け足した。
「こう見えて、人と話す事が好きな性分でね。僕の悩みを解消すると思って、どうだろう?」
俺が色よい返事をしようとしていない事も、それを踏まえて、色々と躊躇していた事も全てアムセスからすればお見通しであったらしい。
心の中で、見た目通りだよと付け加えながら俺は
Chapter 43
"...If that's what you really intend to do, then we're going to have to be prepared for anything, and you better report back to me as soon as possible."
It's impossible to persuade you even with a sound argument, so I'm just going to leave you be.
Lilea finally agreeing to Sofia's opinion, turned her eyes away from me to the monsters horribly spread across the ground.
"We're still going to need to bring magic stones located around those monsters' hearts with us as proof that we really finished the subjugation request, though..."
Lilea then shifted her gaze to Sofia.
"No, no, no, no, no way!! I can't do it!! I... just can't..."
With a sudden horrified tone, Sofia started to shake her head from side to side at a speed that would surprise even a broken tin doll.
What laid in front of her was an appalling sight to see.
And faced with a devastation that would make any normal human being cower in fear, she thoroughly rejected the idea of her rummaging through a lump of dismantled monsters.
Hence the reason why I told her that there was no way I could've chosen such a delicate way of killing them.
...No matter how much I grumbled about how I didn't want to touch the monsters' blood myself too, given its visceral smell, there wasn't any room for further conversation.
Located in the capital was a street named "Central Street" where crowds of people come and go.
I was following Lilea's lead as she guided me to the guild, mindful that I did not have a map of the capital in my head.
Until I felt my shoulder bump into something.
"--Oh--"
The person I bumped into was quite in a hurry.
Not only did he have a good amount of strength, but he was also bigger than me, causing me to involuntarily fall on my buttocks.
Lilea turned around to look over her shoulder, perhaps in response to my sudden exclamation, while Sofia on the other hand, was trying to give me a hand to help me get up.
I was about to express my own apologies when a voice suddenly interrupted me.
"Oops, I'm sorry. Are you alright?"
He noticed that I fell to the ground.
The man I bumped into stopped, turned around, and expressed his concern for me.
A gray-haired young man with a lively and invigorating impression.
His looks were the complete opposite of Siva, who I met on my way to Minaura.
"That's good to hear."
I said just so as I grabbed Sofia's outstretched hands.
I meant to tell him to not worry about it in an attempt to continue going our separate businesses again, until suddenly...
"--Amseth."
That statement was immediately dropped as she quickly followed up with a question asking why he was in this kind of place.
Amseth.
Therefore, I immediately had an idea as to who it was.
"Is that Lilea over there? What a coincidence meeting you here, are these children perhaps with you?"
"Well, yes, they are."
Not long after, the young man called Amseth then inspected me from head to toe as if he was trying to price me out of the market.
"This is just perfect, then. It just so happens that a change of plans has freed up some of my time. If you don't have any plans for the rest of the day, maybe you'd be interested in talking with me at some place where you can sit down. What do you think?"
"...With you...?"
"Yes, with me."
What happened next was a short staredown, with Amseth trying to curve the corners of his eyes in a fashion to get a response from me.
It could be his tone of voice or the current atmosphere we were currently in, but perhaps it was because he was a little bit similar to another noble person I knew-- Fiole Islebark.
"I heard from Lilea that you want to be strong?"
Lilea had told Amseth something about me, apparently.
"In that case, it would be a good experience to work with us, then. As of now, more than twenty magicians are already planning to take part. I'm sure there are many things you can learn from them."
Indeed, Amseth's words were a perfect argument without even a sliver of a doubt, but sadly, in my eyes, his offer was still unappealing to me.
And the reason why was straightforward.
It was because of my undeniable nature.
My nature is such that I consider the fighting skills of the '' to be supreme, and I had dismissed everything else as merely unnecessary.
I wa well aware that learning was important.
However, learning from such a man who devoted all his life into slaying the stars to the extent of being called a "monster" just wasn't worthy of comparison to the things that I might learn from other people.
And as long as I had the time to learn from the man of my memories, I'd be significantly stronger by the time that I practiced his techniques, and I'd be once again a step closer to slaying the stars myself.
I just had to push myself to my own limits, I convinced myself of this.
"And you're still particularly young, too, so how about just lending an ear to what I have to say?"
From what I'd heard from Lilea, Amseth was probably a magician as well.
And as far as words went, he must be a good person.
Seeing how much I could tell from his words how courteous he was trying to be, I couldn't help but wonder just what Lilea told him about me.
"Let's see... how about we talk in that store over there?"
Amseth then pointed his fingers at a sweets store.
"I'm acquainted with the owner of that store. We're already going to talk, so why don't we do it while eating some sweets?"
Regardless of how friendly and affably he smiled at me, unfortunately, I'd already decided on my answer.
But just before I voiced out my apology--
"--Surely, we'll be glad to go with you!"
A voice came from somewhere.
It emanated from the mouth of a girl whose eyes were suddenly brighter than ever-- Sofia.
...I wondered why.
Not long after, I felt a finger poke my shoulder and a whisper  to my ear.
"...That store is very popular and always packed with people."
It was information I didn't need to know.
I was so uninterested I could only think of the words, "Oh... so?"
"Oh... so?"
I then heard a grumble, and apparently, my answer wasn't what Sofia was looking for.
"...You left me and went instead to Minaura, you now come here late and only do whatever you want... I'm going to tell your father all of this."
I shuddered involuntarily.
She went on and on spouting off some horrible things that I was guilty of.
A future where my own dad and the village chief beat me up together, a future where I become a sandbag.
If I accepted Amseth's proposal, I could go back to Sofia's good graces, was what I thought of this situation.
Regardless of all that, I couldn't nod my head in agreement easily, as I wasn't sure to just shake my decision to decline his offer despite the benefit I'd get.
Until...
"--If you're really set on refusing my offer, then I, for one, would very much like to know the reason why. I want to know your honest opinion, an out-of-standard boy who can defeat a mutant ogre by himself despite being against all the odds."
Being told that, I reflexively turned my attention to Lilea.
"...I didn't tell him anything."
"Yes, Lilea didn't tell me anything. I only asked her if he would like to ask her acquaintance, a boy who is a magician, for his participation in a subjugation event."
He added with a mischievous laugh that Lilea and her companions being acquainted with a boy who defeated a mutant ogre on his own was already a well-known fact.
"Talking to people is my favorite pastime despite how I look. So do you think you can lend me an ear now?"
It seemed that Amseth could see that I was hesitant to give him a positive response.
Seeing the real state of things, I finally gave him my answer.
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