Chapter 132

Amako’s words to her traveling companions Usato and Arc-san were enough to mean the worst for me.

I didn’t miss the small smile on Jinya-san’s face as Usato and Arc-san were speechless and in despair.

“Did you force …… Amako to say that?”

“Don’t get me wrong. This is Amako’s choice. This is the result of her working to prevent the future from becoming the future she saw.”

“You’re the one who made her do it! How much more …… despicable do you have to be to make yourself feel better……?”

You were supposed to be an intelligent man, capable of making rational decisions at all times.

How did it come to this?

You took the mother away from one girl, and now you’re not satisfied with that, you want to take away her life. That’s not something that the head of the clan should be doing…… no, as an adult.

“You keep your mouth shut. I’ll at least listen quietly to your last parting words.”

“…… Tsk.”

That’s how far you’ve fallen…….!

Until now, I might have been inclined to believe Jinya in my heart.

I wanted to believe in you, my childhood friend who I grew up playing with. And yet, you’re trying to sacrifice even your childhood friend’s precious daughter.

This is no longer the Jinya I knew.

What I see here now is nothing more than a despicable man wielding the toy of precognition magic for nothing.

I understood that fact to the point of disgust, so I didn’t say another word to him and turned my attention to Amako, Usato and the others.

There was Amako with her head down and Usato with a frustrated look on his face.

“What do you mean we’re going to die?”

“I saw it in my premonition.”

“……,So it’s really ……?”

“…… Yeah.”

Amako foresaw the deaths of both Usato and Arc-san. It implied that it was a future that could not be changed as long as the two of them tried to help Amako.

Precognition magic is a special kind of magic that only women can awaken.

It is a strange magic, as if it is destined not to be awakened by men who mainly fight, but its efficacy is uniquely powerful and different.

The nature of precognitive magic, which is clearly different from existing magic, makes it possible to predict and change even the fate of the future from the present.

For this reason, beast women who are awakened to precognitive magic have been called “Princesses of Time” and treated with great care.

In a practice that has continued since ancient times, a girl with precognitive magic was born.

Amako, the daughter of the previous Princess of Time, was born.

Her precognitive magic was clearly different from that of the previous Princess of Time.

Amako’s precognition was stronger than that of any previous magician of precognition.

She was able to use her precognition magic, which is normally only used to foresee the future a little bit ahead and the future suddenly, to foresee up to a minute or more ahead even in normal times, and to see more vivid and accurate predictions in the form of dreams.

What was most amazing was that she could choose the future, albeit under certain conditions.

The prediction that she saw was the death of her friends Usato and Arc-san.

The fate was so hopeless and cruel that I almost couldn’t handle the feeling of frustration and helplessness.

“It’s too late. I can’t help mom either.”

“Why are you giving up, ……, you don’t know that yet.”

“No. No matter how much I think about it, I can’t think of a way to help my mom by myself. I, more than Usato thinks, couldn’t do it alone …… even if I tried my best …… I’m not …….”

A sob escaped from Amako, whose shoulders shook as she turned her head.

“In this country, there is no one who can help us except us here. You know that, don’t you Usato? This place is not so easy to get out of. ……”

“That’s …….”

This is a prison that seals magic, built with rare rocks from deep in the forest.

The place has been unused for a long time, but the magic-sealing effect seems to be in effect.

In addition, the shackles on my hands are carved from a great tree that boasts of its strength and hardness, and are too strong for even a beast to remove. It’s impossible for a human with slightly superior physical abilities to break them.

“That’s why I have no choice but to get the two of you out. But I’m sure Usato and Arc-san will try to save me.”

“Of course I will! There’s no way I could just leave you and walk out of here!”

“I don’t want to lose any more people I care about.”

“……!”

Usato turned over in frustration at Amako’s words. Arc turns away from Amako who is sobbing, as if regretting her own disappointment.

I can’t see his expression, but it’s not hard to imagine.

“Usato, forget about me already. Usato has a lot of things he has to do in the Lingle Kingdom, don’t you?”

“……”

“…… Goodbye, Usato.”

Finally, Usato turned over and became mute.

Looking down at him, Amako gave a small nod and turned her gaze to Jinya.

“I’ve already said everything I wanted to say.”

“…… You’ve been more fragile than I thought. Well, I guess the relationship between humans and beastmen is only this fragile.”

“You don’t understand. Even if it takes you a lifetime, you will never understand.”

“I don’t have to understand. It’s impossible to understand people.”

“…… Hmm.”

After giving Jinya’s words a cold stare, as if he wasn’t interested, the hooded Amako went upstairs with her guards.

Jinya, who was left behind, looked down at Usato and Arc-san, who remained silent, and began to speak in the same cold tone as usual.

“You two will be released in three days. I will not renege on my promise to you in exchange for Amako herself.”

With those words, I couldn’t stand it.

It was painful to watch. He was forcing me to say goodbye that I didn’t want to do, and the person who made me do it was mocking me for being fragile.

With anger, I shouted at Jinya.

“Jinya!”

“What?”

“Tell me this lastly! Are you going to use the precognition magic you stole from Amako on yourself?”

“…… Ha!”

Jinya scoffed at my words.

What’s so funny, I almost got angry, but before I could, he opened his mouth.

“No, I’m not. I’m not alone this time.”

“Wha- ……!?”

“Amako’s precognitive magic will be given to me here, and to the elite of our country.”

“Nonsense! As of two years ago, the magic to be transferred should only activate on one target!”

“No, it’s developed. In secret.”

While my mind was going blank, I understood why the chiefs had agreed with Jinya’s words.

An elite unit that could use precognitive magic.

A warrior who never missed an attack on their enemy, the embodiment of the picture-perfect world.

Of course, some of the chiefs may have objected to this, but this man would not be surprised if he forced the chiefs to agree by taking their relatives hostage.

“What do you think I kept you as my assistant for? You have a sense of justice and compassion, and you have the support of the people, so I wanted to put you in a position where you could be watched at all times. Why is that? It’s obvious, to keep the research secret. If you knew the research was going on, you would definitely try to stop it, wouldn’t you?　That’s what got in the way.”

“O-o-of course I will! I’m not going to let you do research that will result in someone else’s death! There are not only soldiers here, but also old people, women and children here too!!!”

No, in fact, the only people who can fight are in the home country.

The people living in the hidden village are good people who live a life unrelated to fighting.

“So I have to live in fear of human shadows forever?”

“Don’t change the subject! I’m talking about the people!”

“You’re out of line. I can’t reach a conclusion talking to you.”

“Which one is ……!”

The conversation was hopelessly out of sync.

My words are not getting through to Jinya.

I was talking about the people, but Jinya only gave reasons for being hostile to humans.

I tried to say something back, but realizing that there was nothing more I could say to this man, I ignored Jinya and looked at Usato.

There was a definite bond between Usato and Amako.

There was a friendship that transcended the boundaries of race.

And yet, being forced to part with her must have been more painful for him than I could ever imagine.

After Jinya’s departure, a heavy atmosphere prevailed in the prison.

After the farewell was announced by Amako, Usato and Arc sat in silence and did not show the slightest reaction.

…… It’s understandable, after they’ve been through so much. It’s not surprising that they were stunned.

“Usato, that ……”

“Hayate-san.”

At the same time I called out to him, he, who had been silent, called out my name.

Surprised, I looked up as I replied back.

“What’s going to happen to you, Hayate-san?”

“Me …… I’m probably going to be kicked out of here …….”

If the reason I was assisting him was to keep an eye on him, Jinya wouldn’t leave me as his assistant forever now that he no longer needed me.

But…

“I’m more worried about you guys than me. I’ll be fine if I get kicked out of here, but not you guys. Jinya promised to let you go, but he didn’t promise that you’d be safe afterwards. Worst case scenario, you could be assassinated in secret after you leave the country.”

“…… I knew it. Do you think the same way, Arc-san?”

At Usato’s words, Arc opened his mouth that had been closed for a long time after pondering a bit.

“Thinking normally, he wouldn’t think of letting us back alive, knowing about our alliance with the Demon King’s army.”

“If that’s the case, how could Amako not come up with that idea? Yeah, I was just trying to make sure, but I’m glad I wasn’t wrong.”

“Huh?”

I was taken aback by the suddenness with which the two of them started talking, but what surprised me the most was that they didn’t feel a shred of the sadness that should have dominated the prison.

I felt an inexpressible weirdness in their conversation, as if they were reconfirming their own situation.

Perhaps they thought the same thing I did, but the soldiers on guard were also looking at Usato and Arc as if they were two different creatures.

Just then, I heard the sound of someone coming down from the stairs on the ground.

The person who came down was a female beast wearing a Hinomoto soldier’s uniform. It was hard to see her face in the dimly lit prison, but perhaps she had come for a change?

“It’s time for your shift.”

“Isn’t it early? I don’t think it’s time yet. And what’s with the luggage?　You’re not supposed to bring anything in here that you don’t need.”

“…… Tsk.”

The moment I heard what sounded like a tongue lashing, I thought I saw the eyes of the beastly woman who had taken my turn glowing suspiciously.

Was it an …… optical illusion? Or is she tired?

As she rubbed her eyes with her shackled hands, the beastly woman recited the same words to the soldier on guard as before.

“It’s time for a change. Understood?”

“Uh, yeah …….”

The soldier on guard walked away from the scene with a feverish expression on his face.

I can’t see much in the dark, but I don’t recognise her. A new soldier, perhaps? After watching one of the guards leave, the woman looks around and then walks over to our cell, carrying what looks like a package that she has hidden somewhere.

…… What is it?　What are you going to do?

“It looks like you got the message, Usato.”

“Yeah.”

“……What?”

A dumbfounded voice leaks from the conversation, which is not what I expected.

The woman, or rather the girl, took out a prison key from her pocket.

“You should be grateful, right? I’m here to help you.”

“You’ve saved me again this time. Thank you, Nea.”

“Thank you for saving us.”

Usato and Arc-san stood up with a dazed look on their faces.

Who is this girl in front of me? From the looks of it, she looks like a beastman soldier, but their reactions are so open that it’s hard to believe they’ve only known each other for a couple of days.

Not able to keep up with the situation, Usato suddenly raises his hands in front of his chest—and easily shatters the shackles with a bang. ……?

“If it had been a little later, I would have escaped on my own.”

“What?”

You could’ve made it out on your own?

What? You can? Then why did you just sit there and let it happen?

“It’s funny that you could really do it. I went through a lot of trouble to get here, so you should at least let me help a little. Oh, and I’ve brought Arc’s weapon.”

“Thank you. …… Usato-dono, can you take mine off as well?”

Arc-san asked Usato as if it was natural for him to be able to destroy it, and my confused mind became even more confused.

“Of course. I’ll break Hayate-san’s now, too.”

“Ah, ah ……, that’s not what I meant! What the hell is going on here?

Usato easily removed the shackles from the female soldier I didn’t recognize.

I don’t know what’s going on anymore.

Where’s the somber mood I was in just now?

Sensing my confusion, Usato grabbed the shackles on my arms and smiled fearlessly.

“Just as planned.”

“…… Eh, for what?”

“Amako’s.”

He shattered the shackles with a bang.

Yeah, it really is as easy as snapping a piece of wood. …… Oh, are the fetters rotten on the inside?

After throwing away the shackles that had been turned into pieces of wood, Usato tilted his head to look at the beastly girl called Nea, who had used the key to open the prison.

“Why do you have dog-like ears?”

“Oh, did you notice that? I figured I had to start with a disguise, so I grew dog ears. Do you like it?”

The girl posed with her black ears as if it was alive.

Usato smiles at her.

“If you think about it, you have too many attributes, don’t you?”

“What do you mean by that? And also, what do you think?”

“Yeah yeah, it’s cute, cute.”

“Gugugu, it’s disgusting that it’s appropriate ……!”

The girl snarls in frustration, but Usato brushes her off and turns back to me, who’s still stunned in my prison cell.

“I’ll explain the plan later. For now, let’s get out of here.”

“Ah, oh!”

Maybe they are even more tremendous than I imagined.