A Former Child Soldier Who Uses a Magic Sword Wants to Live with an Older Sister of a Former Enemy Executive - Chapter 86

• Chapter 86 : Fire!!

A few minutes after boarding the ship while listening to her story, the ship departed as scheduled.

Neither Seto nor Satis had ever heard of the Red Desert Tribe.

Gravis did not know that Seto was an orphan, and apologetically told him and Satis about that tribe.

The boy demanded to know.

The Red Desert Tribe used to live in a country in the desert far west of the capital, but the country itself was destroyed in a war with the kingdom, and the people scattered in every direction.

Seto had a feeling that this war could have been avoided.

Within the people known as the Red Desert Tribe flowed the blood of his own origins.

However, on a global scale, that blood had probably grown considerably thinner.

Squinting at the calm river, the sky and the distant mountain range from the edge of the ship, Seto suddenly thought about those people.

Until today, he had never wondered about his origins.

Because he was desperately trying to do what those around him told him to do every day, and desperately trying to survive in the forest of blades and the rain of bullets.

He tried to imagine them based on his own appearance, but he had no idea what kinds of clothes they wore, what kinds of food they ate, or what kind of conversations they had.

Even when he turned his gaze to the scenery of nature, neither the rivers, birds, nor mountain range gave him the answers.

All Seto could feel was the wind, blowing along with the current, gently caressing his cheek.

[I see. So you were a child soldier. …Wait. Then who are you, Satis?] (Gravis)

[Well… I’m not sure how to explain.] (Seto)

[I’m something like a relative of his.] (Satis)

[Hm? You mean something like a caretaker?] (Gravis)

[…Well, you could say.] (Satis)

The two of them kept the fact that Satis was both a former general of the Demon King’s army and Seto’s former enemy a secret.

Realizing that they had their own circumstances, Gravis shrugged her shoulders and ended the conversation in a playful manner.

[Hmm~. And here I thought you just had a fetish for young boys and kidnapped this one to—] (Gravis)

[Ufufu. Want me to toss you into the river?] (Satis)

[Wai—?! Your eyes don’t match your smile at all… Seriously, you’re freaking me out…!] (Gravis)

With a tense expression, Gravis moved to hide behind Seto.

Even as he was strongly pulled along by her hands, he kept staring at the river.

Gravis followed his gaze and leaned on the edge to watch the river herself.

Satis also walked up next to Seto and gently stroked his head while looking at the river.

The boy took a deep breath, squinting his eyes a little as if he enjoyed being patted on the head.

Although there was a cool breeze, the weather felt hot, but it did not bother him at all to have Satis next to him, snuggling up to him and giving him warmth.

In fact, whenever he interacted with Satis like this, he felt a sense of comfort in his heart.

It was like a sense of security, as if the blood circulating through his body was flowing calmly.

If he had not been forbidden from touching her, he would have touched her back without hesitation, but Seto was satisfied with the warmth and softness he occasionally felt from her.

[Eh? Wait a minute. What’s up with this mood? Is that the kind of relationship you two have?] (Gravis)

[And what about it?] (Satis)

Satis stroked Seto’s head and chin, as if to show her composure.

The dexterity of her hands made Seto blush, looking as if some steam was about to blow out of his head.

Gravis was a little irritated when she saw Seto turn his eyes away from the river and start fidgeting.

[Hold on a sec. A… Are you showing off to me? You are, aren’t you?] (Gravis)

[Not really~. I’m just interacting with Seto like I usually do.] (Satis)

[L-Like you usually do!? Hey Seto, is that really—!?] (Gravis)

[Ah, w-well…] (Seto)

[Oooohh boy. That’s clearly the face of someone who’s been domesticated real good.] (Gravis)

[Excuse me, but would you mind not saying anything so insulting? And don’t say something as vulgar as “domesticated”.] (Satis)

[Hmph! If there’s one thing I know about men, it’s that the older they grow, the more vulgar they become!] (Gravis)

[He will NOT! Seto will never say any dirty words!] (Satis)

As the two women started arguing with each other, something happened thereafter.

As they were about to reach the royal capital, they noticed a commotion on the ship.

It looked like a monster had appeared on board and was running wild.

The reason for this situation was that after that monster was put to sleep and loaded into the ship to be smuggled, it eventually woke up, and was now trying to harm the passengers.

And just as Seto was about to head in the direction of this turbulence…

[…Wait for me here.] (Gravis)

The look in Gravis’ eyes changed.

She rushed to the scene with the beautiful yet frightening look of a hitman on an assassination mission.

[Satis, let’s follow her too!] (Seto)

[Agreed! We’re finally on a boat trip, so there’s no way we’re missing the chance to relax!] (Satis)

When they went inside the ship, they saw a small monster moving at high speed on the walls, ceiling, and floor.

It bared its fangs at everything in sight, raised its claws, and roared.

[S-Somebody, help! My child is—! My child is in danger!] (Woman A)

[Mommy! Mommy…!] (Girl A)

There was a girl who was too late to escape and sitting down in fear, unable to move.

And now, the monster turned its attention to her.

Our heroes could tell that its fighting spirit was growing, perhaps due to interpreting the girl’s cries as a threat.

[If we don’t do something, the poor girl is going to… Seto!] (Satis)

[Yeah, I kno—] (Seto)

Just as Seto was about to pull out his knife, Gravis stopped him.

Then she slowly walked toward the monster and the girl.

The latter was in front of her, while the former was further away in front.

The monster grew even more hostile at the appearance of Gravis and let out a menacing roar.

[Wait, Gravis-san! What are you planning to do without a weapon!?] (Satis)

[……] (Gravis)

Gravis did not reply.

Her silence proved that she already had the best weapon in her hands.

She rolled up her jacket a little, revealing two weapons that looked like bowguns on the back of her waist. 

However, they had a fairly simple design as they were shaped like revolvers, so they must have been considerably lighter than regular bowguns.

[Are those… magic bowguns? But I thought those weapons were incredibly rare…] (Seto)

[You’re right, I can sense the mana emanating from them… But somehow, I think I’m sensing something else.] (Satis)

It started there.

The monster began to move at high speed.

Then it moved across the walls, ceiling and floor at even greater speed, perhaps to disorient its opponent.

It was as if it repeatedly bounced at high speed, and Seto sharpened his senses to be ready to fight back at any moment.

Just in case it may move past Gravis and jump at him and Satis instead.

This was what he was anticipating, but… A single detonation turned the tables.

She drew her bowgun so fast that no one could tell when it happened.

It was a “Quick Draw”, the same degree of high-speed gunslinging Osiris employed when he and Seto faced off.

The monster, who first picked the little girl as prey and grazed her neck by moving at high speed, tried to pounce on Gravis.

Just as it timed its move and was about to jump on her, it was shot in the head by a “Sinister Twisted Thorn” flying at ultra-high speed.

It was literally a split-second event.

Still feeling the aftereffect of that shot, Gravis loaded another thorn in her bowgun and tucked it into her waistband.

Seto was taken aback by her weapons, small foldable bowguns, which he had never seen before.

Because it was something he had only briefly caught sight of back in Ryodou’s house.

But the one who was most surprised by that was Satis.

That thorn… It looked exactly like the arrowheads used for?Cursed Archery?, one of the techniques used by sorcerers that involves putting a curse into a thorn before firing it at their opponent. But I thought there were no more inheritors of that technique… So how come she knows it? (Satis)

Since Seto was considered a legendary child soldier for his mastery of a magic sword, she wondered if Gravis was not a celebrity herself.

The latter turned on her heel to look at the monster lying in a pool of its own blood, and the girl crying in her mother’s arms. Then when she turned to face Seto and Satis, they saw her with the same expression as before.

[If I had these and the strongest magic sword… I think I’ll be unbeatable. I want to be strong, just like Uncle Ryodou.] (Gravis)

She looked dead serious.

Her eyes, shining with an irrepressible adventurous spirit, were looking straight at the duo.

For Gravis, Seto was, in a way, a source of admiration.

If she knew more about his background, she would most likely respect him even more.

As she thought that, Satis sighed, readjusted her glasses, and congratulated her for fighting bravely.

[Thank you for your hard work. I now understand what you’re capable of. Good grief, I can’t believe you’re this desperate for the spotlight…] (Satis)

[Wha—!? That’s what got your attention!? And it’s not even a compliment!] (Gravis)

[On the contrary, you were so skilled that I didn’t even want to praise you.] (Satis)

[Why, yoooooouuu…!!] (Gravis)

Gravis ranted and raved at Satis’ taunts.

Seto was looking at the girl Gravis saved.

She was smiling again as her mother hugged and stroked her.

Seto was relieved from the bottom of his heart.

There was no way he would have let a child and her mother be separated so tragically.

Seto was convinced that Gravis must have felt the same way.

When the mother and the girl thanked Gravis for her help afterwards, she looked like a calm and mature woman.

[Don’t you think her boyfriend would’ve never run out on her if she could just look like that the rest of the time?] (Satis)

[Hmm, I don’t really get that kind of stuff, so who knows…] (Seto)

[Still, what a relief. Fortunately, there were no casualties, and the smuggler was caught by the sailors just earlier too.] (Satis)

[Good to know. But who would’ve thought someone would try to sell a monster…] (Seto)

[Have you forgotten? There were monsters hauled to the city of Clay Shut too, remember? Depending on their species, some monsters are put up for commercial trade like back then. Though this time, it was done illegally.] (Satis)

And that was how the ship regained its peacefulness.

There was still some time until they got off the ship, so the three of them decided to relax.

Seto was taking a nap on Satis’ lap, while Gravis was a little further away, smoking her delicious pipe after a hard day’s work.