Chapter 48: The Spear Soldier Who Hates Men

Just like during the previous "King’s War," we rode in the royal carriage reserved for kings as we headed toward the battlefield. Today was the decisive day that would determine everything—and the day the relationship between Shion and Ciel-san would finally reach its conclusion.

"What… did you just say?"

"I told Shion the truth about Ciel-san. She listened until the very end."

At the moment, the only people inside the carriage were me, Hikari, Alicia, and Ciel-san. A soundproofing spell had been cast over it, ensuring that nothing we said could leak outside.

Within that enclosed space, I told Ciel-san that I had already revealed the truth to Shion several days ago.

Her eyes widened, and her hands trembled violently. Even if she had prepared herself for this moment, that didn’t mean she felt no fear about having her identity exposed. Her usual smile was gone. In its place was a bare, expressionless face, her complexion deathly pale.

There wasn’t much meaning in anything I could say now. But hiding it from her would have been cowardly. More than that, I wanted her to prepare herself once more.

"S-so that’s why… Shion… hasn’t come out of her room lately…"

"That’s my fault. We brought her meals, but aside from that, she spent all her time thinking."

"What have you doneeeeee!?!?!?!"

The scream was so loud it felt as though it could pierce through the soundproofing magic and echo outside.

Ciel-san was furious.

No—"furious" didn’t even begin to describe it.

"If you do something like that, Shion won’t be able to fight anymore! She’d finally started walking her own path in life! If she can’t fight—if she loses the 'King’s War'—then that child will—!!"

"If that happens, I’ll handle it. Even alone, I’ll defeat all three opponents and protect her. So that’s not what you should be worrying about. What you should think about is what happens after we win."

"I don’t care what happens after we win!! Once this battle ended, I was planning to tell her myself!!!! And then I was going to leave her!!!! That child would finally be able to live a life free from all restraints!!!!! I was going to bear all the sins myself!!!!!"

"But that’s only your perspective. You’re ignoring what Shion wants."

Ciel-san clawed at her own head hard enough to draw blood. Hikari restrained her while Alicia healed the wounds.

I was glad I had warned them beforehand that Ciel-san might become unstable and asked for their help. I could only feel grateful toward the two of them for helping without asking questions.

As expected, Ciel-san only ever thought about Shion.

She neglected herself, wanted Shion to hate her, and above all else wished for Shion’s happiness. Yet she absolutely refused to accept the possibility of remaining by her side. Because she was fake. Because she believed she had no such right. She hid behind those excuses and tried to run away.

"So you don’t want to be happy, Ciel-san."

"O-of course not!!! Me? Happy!? After deceiving Shion all this time!? I was happy just being with her!!! I kept lying and continued receiving happiness from it!!! That alone is already more than enough!!!!"

"You want Shion to judge you, don’t you?"

"If that child kills me, then I’ll die fulfilled!!! She stayed by my side all this time, always smiled at me, and yet all I ever thought about was myself!!! I already want to die!!! Being near her—"

"—Because you’re afraid she might forgive you?"

If Shion forgave her, then Ciel-san wouldn’t know what to do anymore.

Because she knew how deeply Shion loved her mother, forgiving herself would feel like forcing Shion to deny that love.

"That’s why you’re trying to run away. You don’t know what’s going to happen, and that terrifies you. You just want it all to end quickly."

I couldn’t truly understand those feelings. I couldn’t understand how desperately she felt that way. I didn’t even know if my conclusion was correct.

But even so, there were things I had to say.

If that really was how she felt—

"Being killed isn’t atonement. If you make Shion do that, she’ll only be hurt and carry the guilt for the rest of her life."

"How… how can you say that so confidently…!?"

"Even if it was all a lie. Even if she was deceived. I know Shion isn’t the kind of girl who could kill the mother she truly loved and admired without being hurt by it. And I think you know that better than anyone, Ciel-san."

"…!!"

Her eyes widened. Her mouth opened as though she wanted to say something, but no words came out.

Maybe she accepted that I wasn’t wrong.

Or maybe not.

I couldn’t tell.

The only thing I did know was this:

If we lost here, this mother and daughter would truly be torn apart and destroyed.

And I refused to accept that. No matter how things ended, that decision belonged to them—not to anyone else.

That was why I—why we—would create the time they needed to decide that ending for themselves.

"Ciel-san… even if you’re afraid, don’t run away. I don’t know what choice Shion will make, but please accept it. No matter what it is, I promise I’ll make her happy."

Hikari and Alicia stared at me silently.

They were probably angry that I was taking even more burdens onto myself again. Even so, neither of them said anything, and I was grateful for that.

If I didn’t make this choice here, then I wouldn’t be me anymore.

Even if I died.

Even if I lost my memories.

At least that much, I believed, would never change.

After the carriage arrived at the city where the "King’s War" would be held, a messenger from the Kingdom of Yaranri came to see us almost immediately.

According to him, the representatives wanted to meet before the battle began.

I didn’t know whether they were plotting something or genuinely just wanted to talk, but once they invited me, I had no reason to refuse. Learning what kind of people we were about to fight would undoubtedly be useful.

With that in mind, I walked through the largest building in the city where the representatives of the Yaranri Kingdom were waiting.

Unlike the previous city, this place didn’t seem accustomed to hosting the "King’s War." It wasn’t very developed, and apparently some people still made their living by hunting in the nearby forest.

Even so, the facility intended to host representatives of various nations was massive, and it was obvious the place was cleaned regularly. Since we still had no idea under what conditions the battle would take place, there was no point complaining.

I opened the door ahead of me and stepped inside.

Waiting there was a small girl carrying what appeared to be a weapon wrapped in cloth—a spear far longer than her own height.

"So you came."

"Yeah. I came."

She spoke with arrogant confidence, glaring at me from beneath her short brown bangs.

Her voice was high-pitched yet strangely sweet, but she made no attempt whatsoever to hide the ferocity lurking beneath it.

Julia Deuce.

A candidate for Spear King second only to Shion Ace, and a monstrous opponent whose agility and speed surpassed even Shion’s—to the point that, depending on the circumstances, even Shion admitted she might lose.

Even knowing I was the Sword King of Swordria, Julia showed no change in attitude.

Whether that came from overwhelming pride, or from the hatred in her eyes suggesting she had terrible memories involving men, I couldn’t tell.

But one thing was obvious:

She absolutely despised me.

"So you’re the 'Sword King.' Compared to ours, you seem pretty normal."

"I haven’t even been king for half a year yet. Apparently, that information has already spread to other countries."

"As if anyone would believe that. Most people probably think it’s a trap to bait idiots into challenging the 'King’s War,' only for you to rob them blind afterward."

…I genuinely hadn’t considered that.

I was stunned, but the more I thought about it, the more obvious it seemed. Even Shion hadn’t believed it for a while.

Once again, I was reminded that the way my homeland chose its kings was utterly ridiculous.

I really should thank all the government officials, diplomats, and nobles who had somehow managed to preserve the nation’s dignity through generations.

"Honestly, I don’t really care about you. My only goal is to crush Shion and drag her back home. If you hand over Shion and that damn bitch fox right now, I’d even be willing to call off the 'King’s War.' It’d be one hell of a scandal if a nation’s 'King' lost to a mere king candidate, wouldn’t it?"

She was completely serious.

She wasn’t underestimating us, nor was she full of herself. According to Shion, Julia was ruthless, but she had never once misjudged an opponent’s strength.

Which meant she truly believed she could defeat me.

I wanted to grasp even a fragment of where that confidence came from, but it seemed impossible—at least while she remained this guarded.

"Sorry, but she’s already one of my country’s people now. I have no intention of handing her over. And I’m not inclined to trust the words of some idiot who thinks they can touch what belongs to me and walk away unharmed. Also, there’s no fox woman where I’m from. We’ve got more tanuki than foxes, unfortunately. I’ve never even seen a fox."

I had seen tanuki a few times back in the village, though.

They’d gotten into the crops, and the farmers had become so furious they started setting traps everywhere. Hikari and I ended up chasing one down and catching it. Eventually, it got turned into tanuki stew.

Too greasy.

Honestly, it wasn’t very good.

"Why are you making that stupid face after picking a fight with someone? Could you stop looking like that in front of people? It’s irritating."

"Ah, sorry. Thinking about something else while talking was rude of me."

"...If that’s your true nature, then you’re really not suited for provoking people."

…Somehow, she sounded genuinely concerned.

She’d been glaring at me with disgust this whole time, yet comments like that were gradually giving me a better idea of what kind of person she really was.

"From the looks of it, that bitch fox told you plenty about our king too."

"Yeah, she did. I think it’s horrifying. Enough that I want to do something about it as a neighboring country."

"Before you get the chance, either I or that woman will get taken over by the 'Spear King.' And I can’t accept that. I refuse to. I want to live as myself and find happiness."

The way she spat out those words carried a deep sense of resignation.

Perhaps because she’d spent so many years living in fear, her heart had already been broken to the point where she could no longer resist the "Spear King."

I had no right to condemn her when I understood nothing about her suffering.

If anything, I wanted to praise her for enduring this long—but even that wasn’t allowed.

After all, I was about to defeat her and the other girls in order to protect Shion.

Praise and apologies alike would mean nothing to them.

I had to place people on a scale and choose one side over the other.

This time, the ones I chose were Shion and Ciel-san.

I clenched my fist tightly so I wouldn’t forget that.

"You seem pretty angry. Must be nice, having enough room in your heart to worry about other people like that. You’ve really lived a blessed life, haven’t you?"

"Yeah. Most of my life has been happy. Happy enough that I wouldn’t blame you for envying me, hating me, or even wanting to kill me."

"Oh? So you’re soft-hearted. That kind of softness sounds easy to exploit. I’ll remember that."

Just as I was trying to understand Julia Deuce, she was trying to understand what kind of person Toma Swordria was.

I knew I was soft-hearted. I knew I had no room to spare worrying about my enemies.

Even so—

"You’re right. I’m soft, and I probably always will be. I sympathize with you all, and after winning, I might even be consumed by guilt."

But I knew someone who once declared, in that bathhouse, that she would give up everything she had to protect the people important to her.

"Even so, I won’t give up victory in this 'King’s War.' We’re the ones who’ll win."

"...I think I understand what kind of person you are now. That’s enough for me. I’ve got nothing more to say."

Julia said that and left the room without ever meeting my gaze.

"The ones who’ll win are us. The one who’ll find happiness… is me."

The girl who declared that before leaving really was exactly as Shion described—arrogant, prideful, and overwhelmingly capable.

"And yet… somehow, I can’t bring myself to hate people like her…"

Even though Hikari and Julia looked nothing alike, something about them felt strangely similar.

And that made the coming battle feel all the more difficult.

Yeah…

Maybe meeting her had been a mistake after all.