Tsuyokute New Saga (LN)

Volume 7 Chapter 14

“The place sure is lonely. Can’t believe the two sisters are so different.”

Jumping over the fence, Kyle reached the entrance of the Mera temple, uttering his impressions. It was called a temple, but it was barely taller than an average resident’s home, and the inside was barren with not even chairs to sit on. Just as Raidan stated, most of the work here was cleaning, and the one thing that made it look like a temple was the statue of Goddess Mera on the small altar. It was the stellar opposite of the temple for Cairys that stood in the center of this holy city.

“I’ve been awaiting your arrival. Please, come inside.”

A voice called out to Kyle from the darkness inside the building. Naturally, this was none other than Cordi. Next to him was Urza, tied up with a mouth gag, but she didn’t seem injured at the least. Spotting Kyle, Urza’s eyes opened up wide in joy, and Kyle sighed in relief, only to glare at Cordi.

“Taking hostages now? A bit excessive, don’t you think?”

“My sincerest apologies. I simply wished to talk with you in private, so I had no other choice. I figured that, if we had your friends and Leyla-sama’s son Seran-sama here, we wouldn’t have managed to get much talking done.”

“That’s true, all right…”

In fact, they would probably be fighting right now to get Urza back.

“Please, you don’t have to be so wary. As I said before, I have no intention of fighting you, Kyle-sama. I’m here all by myself, too.”

“…”

Kyle quickly understood that he was speaking the truth, as he didn’t pick up any other presences nearby. That said, he saw no reason to put even the smallest amount of trust in whatever Cordi said, and as long as he had a hostage, Kyle definitely wouldn’t relax.

“So, I assume you have met our Holiness…Mera-sama, in fact.”

“Sure did. You were right. My view on certain things definitely changed.”

It was a life-changing encounter for sure.

“Then surely, you understand…How deep our faith runs!”

Finally, Cordi dropped the mask. He stopped his fake smile and revealed his true feelings.

“There is but one wish I have…I want to offer my prayers to Mera-sama…Right here at this temple! In broad daylight!”

His faith and belief were unparalleled.

“The other gods wouldn’t do a damn thing! Only Mera-sama cares about us, offering us guidance! That is why I want Mera-sama to become the absolute goddess for us humans. It is my only desire!”

The story of the Mera cult was the story of pain and suffering.

“And that is why we wish to support you with everything we have. Because you are the chosen one by Mera-sama…” Cordi spoke with such passion he almost broke out in tears, but Kyle was unimpressed.

“You should know that the main focus of the Mera cult is to always improve upon themselves.”

“Yes, naturally. However, it is also true that we see ourselves above the rest of the humanfolk. Order is best provided with a hierarchy, don’t you think?”

“…Some things I can’t get behind.” Kyle glanced at Urza.

“I understand…You really have a kind heart. It is one reason why you are most fit for this.” Cordi looked over at Urza, too, and sighed. “It’s not as if I wasn’t thinking of ways for us to reach a common ground. The situation asks for this, after all.”

“You mean the [Great Invasion]?”

“Quite. If not for Mera-sama’s [Oracle], I would not have believed it myself. The world of man falling to ruin…And when we learned of this, we decided to only save ourselves. Is that so wrong, I wonder?”

Kyle shook his head.

“No, you’re not.”

“I understand that you are hesitant. However, if you wish to save the world of man, we will assist you.”

“…”

What needed the most right now were allies willing to support him in his quest. And Cordi with his Mera cult most certainly fit the description.

“At the same time, this thing here will prove quite useful, too.” Cordi said as he looked at Urza. “Because after all, she is the daughter of an influential individual within the clan of long-ears that live in the Evunro Great Forest.”

Kyle hadn’t heard about this before. He remembered that he hadn’t heard much about Urza’s family up to this point. And the fact that Cordi knew only showed the influence the Mera cult had.

“This is all that I wanted to tell you,” Cordi said and moved away from Urza.

Witnessing this, Kyle approached the girl.

“I understand what you’re aiming at. And I have to say, your words carry gravity,” Kyle answered while undoing Urza’s restraints.

“…Yes. Thank you very much.”

“And Master did say that you disappearing would be problematic. You’re keeping the extremists under control, right?”

“I don’t like the sound of that…But you are quite correct.”

It was clear that Cordi very much cared for the Mera cult.

“She said it could cause issues if you disappeared…so, why not do just that?”

“Hm? But, wait…”

With the gag removed, Urza shed tears of joy as Kyle moved to embrace her—

“Kyle! Thank you—”

“Urza…I’m sorry!”

After smiling happily—Kyle punched Urza. He aimed directly at Urza’s temple, aiming to give her brain a good shake.

“Wha…?!”

Cordi raised a voice of shock, but Kyle didn’t mind that and instead gently embraced the girl. From her hands fell a needle with an oddly-colored tip, which Kyle threw at Cordi.

“Wah!”

It stabbed Cordi in the arm, as he slumped to the ground.

“Paralytic, huh?”

“What…How…”

Cordi must have wanted to ask “How did you know?” but the poison had reached his mouth as he started drooling.

“I know Urza. She’d never look at me this way, and she wouldn’t jump at me while crying. And thank me? No way. She’d just get angry at me for coming here alone. That’s the kind of woman she is.”

And that fact made Kyle happier than anything else.

“I’m glad I realized quickly that this was like what happened to Ghrud.”

If Kyle hadn’t had a similar experience when the dragon Ghrud was controlled by the Mera cult, he might not have realized, let alone doubted her.

“Once I was defenseless, you would have tried to convince me the same way, right? That’s why you were waiting here without any support.”

After gently putting Urza back on the ground, Kyle faced Cordi.

“K-Kyle-sama…I do not wish to…fight…!”

“Oh, I know. But I wanna kill you so bad I can barely contain myself,” Kyle’s anger was calm but even more scary.

An expression unlike any before appeared on Cordi’s face. It was a look of terror and despair as he cowered in the face of Kyle’s rage.

“You know…I came here today, dead-set on killing you no matter what. There was never any room for negotiations.”

Cordi tried to crawl backward, as Kyle pulled out his sword and took one step after the other nearing him.

“And not only that, you even forced Urza to attack me…”

Some people might think that was the wrong reason to get angry, but it was some of the highest offenses for Kyle.

“S-Stay away…!” Cordi tried to escape, but Kyle was getting closer and closer. “Honestly, I feel like an idiot for worrying so much.”

The moment he heard that Urza was in danger, Kyle was provided an answer. He realized what he had to do.

“Let me be clear. You’re right. And to be honest, it’s rather obvious that I’m in the wrong.”

He wouldn’t hesitate any longer. Why was he fighting? What was he hoping to protect? He would never get it wrong again.

“Screw the world. I choose Urza.”

With these words, Kyle swung his sword, trying to end this swiftly as a final act of kindness. Cordi tried to say something right before he met his end, but his mouth wouldn’t move.

“Hmph.” Kyle looked down at Cordi, but quickly moved away and rushed over to Urza.

He gently touched her cheek, to which she groaned and slowly opened her eyes. The hypnosis Ghrud once was put under could be undone through an impact on the head. Kyle assumed that this method worked, but he had no guarantee for this, so he braced himself for the worst. The light returned to Urza’s eyes, and once she confirmed that Kyle was the one holding her, her mouth slowly opened.

“You ok—”

“You utter fool! Why did you come here all by yourself?!”

It really was the Urza that Kyle knew best.

“…I’m glad you’re doing fine.”

He was relieved, but he also felt a bit of regret that she didn’t cling to him as she did earlier under the hypnosis.

“Don’t you have to save the world?! Why are you putting yourself in danger like this!”

“…Yeah, sorry. I’ll be careful from now on,” Kyle lied.

If something like this were to happen again, he would undoubtedly act the same way.

“Why do you think I tried to leave…I didn’t want to be a burden…”

And yet, this very action brought even greater harm to Kyle. The guilt must have been eating away at her.

“I’m sorry, really…”

In the face of that, Kyle simply continued to apologize and utter this white lie.

***

Urza had finally calmed down, but she still wasn’t back to full health. Realizing that no more harm would come her way, Kyle sighed.

“Let’s take a quick break and then head back,” Kyle sat down next to Urza, who still struggled to move properly.

Their bodies weren’t touching, but they were close enough to hold hands. This vague distance perfectly depicted their emotional distance.

“Now that we’re here…There’s something I want to ask.”

The silence had continued for a while until Urza eventually opened her mouth. She had never intended to ask this question, and she tried to not think about it, either.

“So…what relationship did we have in the future you came from?”

She had mostly confirmed this already, but she wanted to hear it in his own words.

“We were lovers.”

“I see…I had imagined as much.” Urza blushed furiously as she averted her face.

Since he knew her true name, she thought that it might be because they had…that kind of relationship.

I…I had a feeling…but hearing it now is a bit…

Urza buried her face in her knees, not allowing Kyle to see her expression, but her long ears were red as they twitched.

“So…when did the Applied Contract happen?”

“The night before the final battle. We promised that we’d live together after the battle was over.”

“That was basically begging for things to go wrong,” Urza groaned.

Yeah, there couldn’t be any greater death flag out there.

“I mean, you were the one who brought it up…” Kyle tried to defend himself.

“Ack…”

“And we were serious. It gave me hope to challenge the Demon Lord.”

“I see…J-Just to be clear, though, what I did back then has nothing to do with me right now. Don’t get the wrong idea, okay?!”

She seemed to have gotten bashful again as she roared in anger.

“I know, I know. You’re just you.”

Kyle lied once again. He knew that it wasn’t as simple as that. Granted, the Urza in front of him might be nothing like the Urza he had known…but deep down, she was still the same.

“I’m sorry for getting angry at you earlier…Thanks for saving me, Kyle. But in the end, I still…” Urza couldn’t finish her sentence.

After all, Kyle threw his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. Although she wasn’t prepared for this, she didn’t try to fight it, either.

“Kyle…” She could feel her heart racing faster.

“Hell no. I don’t want you to leave.”

Kyle didn’t have any particular reason other than his self-indulgence. Maybe Urza was right. Maybe splitting up would be more efficient to save the world. Even so, Kyle won’t lie to himself any longer. No matter what, he won’t let go of her again.

“Sorry…for forcing you to make that choice. But believe me, I’ll handle it from now on,” Kyle said without allowing any rebuttal from Urza. “Seriously, what was I even doing…”

Urza’s actions were clearly induced by Kyle’s hesitation. He should have taken the simple path and followed his desires. He remembered for what reason he was even fighting.

“I guess you’ve…made up your mind. Fixed your thoughts…but because of that, you look even more invincible than before.”

Whether or not that was meant as praise, Urza did smile at Kyle.

“I just stopped worrying about it. That’s all there is to it.”

The two gazed at each other, close enough for their breaths to touch. And even that felt comfortable. Kyle gently placed his hand on her smooth lower jaw. Urza didn’t resist and gave in—only to open her mouth once more.

“…And what’s your plan with Lieze?”

Their lips were about to touch, yet these words were like a fist right up Kyle’s chin to completely knock him out. The sweet atmosphere from before had all but vanished, as it now felt like he was inside a blizzard. And yet, his body reacted the opposite way and began sweating profusely. What he told Urza before was the absolute truth, but at the same time, he felt the same way when it came to Lieze, too. Of course, this whole dilemma occurred because of circumstances no normal person would ever experience, and it’s not like he was just a women-chasing playboy. But, it still wasn’t enough to excuse all of it. Kyle had tried to cut a clear line to not create more trouble for himself, but that only bounced back at him now.

“Just kidding. Sorry for the nasty question,” Urza said as she grinned at him with a devious smile.

Seemingly, she understood that Kyle wasn’t acting frivolous, but that the circumstances simply were that complicated.

“If anything, if you had chosen between Lieze and I here and now…I would have probably stabbed you,” she said with a jesting tone as she grinned…but her eyes weren’t smiling.

“Hahaha…” Kyle could feel his heart rate accelerating.

He felt much closer to death now than he did during his fight with Ghrud or the strongest demon Three-Arms.

“It also seems to me like you’ve been getting rather friendly with Minagi, too…”

“…Oh, right! I’m worried about Minagi and the others! Let’s head back!”

Kyle would rather not suffer any more mental damage than this, so he awkwardly changed the topic. Then again, Urza seemed satisfied with this bit of teasing and followed after Kyle.

“Will Lieze and the others be okay?”

Hearing Kyle explain the situation she had missed, Urza couldn’t hide her concern.

“Oh, please. Of course they’ll be fine,” Kyle confidently answered.

He had no reason to be this confident, and yet she didn’t doubt his words for a second.