Longing for the Stars - Chapter 18

“Now then, we’ve learned something new regarding those monsters from the other day.”

It was the Captain who spoke.

His words, delivered at the training grounds before morning drills began, made me straighten my spine.

“Those monsters”—he was undoubtedly referring to the ones parasitizing the trees. It seems the fruit collected back then was safely delivered to the elite analysis mages in the Royal Capital.

“As Sirius speculated, it is a parasite-type insect monster. It breeds inside the host tree and plants eggs in the fruit. It then infects wild animals or other monsters that eat that fruit.”

A murmur rippled through the air.

Someone muttered, “Wait, isn’t that bad?”—the kind of voice that didn’t fully grasp the technicalities but understood that something terrible was happening. The restless noise began to spread like a wave, but the Captain’s sharp voice cut it short.

“Quiet. Your anxiety is justified, so I’ll give you the conclusion first: infection from the fruit to animals has not been confirmed. It seems they only parasitize monsters when ingested, and they have a brainwashing effect. Part of this effect includes improved coordination, the suppression of consciousness, and the intensification of attacks due to the numbing of pain. In short, a coordinated army of monsters will keep coming at you even if you strike their vitals.”

Someone else groaned “Ugh” from somewhere in the crowd.

“Does that mean they’ll keep attacking even if they’re basically corpses?”

“In plain terms, yes. Though we still don’t even know if monsters are truly ‘alive’ to begin with. Individuals in the early stages of infection can be killed by striking a vital point, but those further along supposedly won’t stop attacking until their physical form is completely destroyed.”

Hearing that, I remembered.

The two monsters I defeated back then must have been in the very early stages of infection.

I raised my hand to confirm this, and the Captain nodded.

“Thank you, sir. I understand that the ones I defeated hadn’t been infected for long. However, they seemed quite coordinated. Is the monsters’ priority coordination over creating an immortal body?”

“According to the report from the Capital, yes. It’s hard to believe, but this proves that monsters possess intelligence. It seems this has been communicated to other nations as well, but no such cases have been reported by our neighbors in the Red Country yet. In other words, this problem is currently limited to that forest in this territory of our kingdom. Do you understand what that means?”

“Extermination… right?”

A voice dropped into the tense scene, filled with a sense of anticipation that felt almost out of place.

Everyone’s eyes turned toward the speaker. Mine did, too.

In this entire place, only Sirius had a face that looked like he was having the time of his life.

“—Exactly. We will wipe out every single monster in the Viz Forest, down to the last one. The operation begins tomorrow.”

The Captain’s voice was firmer than usual, drawing everyone’s focus forward again. After a beat, the roar of the soldiers shook the training grounds like a tremor in the earth.

Afterward, training proceeded as usual. Just as everyone was heading off to lunch, the Captain called us back.

“Sirius and Stark, wait a moment. I need to talk to you.”

I knew immediately he was referring to the squad separation. We both answered, and once the Captain confirmed the training grounds were empty, he spoke.

“I’m sure you’ve guessed, but I called you back regarding the squad split Stark proposed earlier. To give you the result: we intend to move forward with it.”

In contrast to my unchanging expression, Sirius, standing beside me, frowned as deeply as he possibly could. Even so, the fact that he didn’t complain the second the Captain finished was a sign of growth.

“Oh, you’ve grown up, Sirius.”

It seemed the Captain thought the same thing; he laughed brightly and gave Sirius a light punch on the shoulder. Sirius replied with a gruff “Yes,” and the Captain laughed again. “However,” he continued.

“As I mentioned before training, circumstances have changed. To wipe out the monsters in the Viz Forest, I don’t think it’s a good idea to separate you two. Right now, Stark is the only one who can keep Sirius fully in check.”

“I’m fine with being separated.”

“Huh?”

Both the Captain and I blinked in surprise.

“If we’re just going to be separated after this mission anyway, it’s more efficient to prove during this mission that I can work with others.”

“S-Sirius…?”

“If I can communicate with other people during a large-scale battle like an extermination mission without any problems, then neither Al nor the Captain will have any complaints, right?”

“That may be true, but even if you’re fine, the other guys might not be.”

“He’s right, Sirius. You don’t realize just how freely you usually act.”

“I do realize it.”

Sirius let out a breath as if suppressing his irritation, his brow still deeply furrowed.

He ran a hand through his spiky hair, messing it up, closed his eyes tight for a moment, and then opened them slowly.

“I act that way because I know Al will cover for me no matter what I do. I know other people understand my personality and are used to it, so they handle it.”

“…You’re doing all that reckless stuff on purpose?”

“Because Al always takes care of it for me! Thanks for the great assists, as always!”

I pressed a hand to my forehead and sighed. I didn’t even know where to begin scolding him, and my own brow furrowed. The Captain looked the same.

“…But Sirius, even if you’re okay with it, the people around you—”

“? Just because I’ve been paired with Al for a long time doesn’t mean everyone else’s abilities are inferior, does it?”

I saw the Captain go quiet at Sirius’s straightforward gaze.

And then, it hit me too.

“If they were weak, they wouldn’t have been stationed here. None of them.”

I realized I had been subconsciously looking down on everyone. Even though I had just acknowledged yesterday that there were many people here superior to me, in the face of the genius Sirius, I had assumed everyone else was the same.

—Except for myself.

I bit the inside of my cheek at my own arrogance.

This is the Nebula Territory, situated along the border—the frontier with the highest rate of monster appearances. Only those who achieved appropriate grades at the academy are stationed here. Academic performance aside, they are here because of their high combat IQ.

There is no way the people in this place are weak.

“…Right. You’re right. Yeah, everyone here is strong. Though, of course, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses!”

“That’s the same for me. I hate making detailed plans. I just want to go bam, then whoosh, and end it with a boom!”

“Yeah, yeah, I hear you.”

The Captain had likely been subconsciously belittling everything, including himself. After a self-deprecating laugh, he shook his head as if to switch gears and nodded with his usual reliable smile.

Sirius himself surely hadn’t noticed the slight tension that had passed between the Captain and me.

We are here because we have the requisite talent and have put in the requisite effort. Compared to average mages, everyone here is a head or two above the mean. However, Sirius’s talent is on a scale that cannot be measured by such a yardstick.

Innate talent, instinct, lineage—everything combined makes Sirius a genius.

And geniuses are cruel.

While we are running with all our might, this guy walks the same path with a cool face. It’s frustrating, so we desperately try to catch up, which is why whenever he looks back, our faces are always there.

And so, the genius surely thought: “It’s normal to be able to make it this far.”

Because of that, the genius shifts into a higher gear. And we run again to catch up. And when he looks back again, the “normal” average has risen even higher. Because that cycle has repeated, Sirius must have this thought in his head:

‘You can make it this far, right?’

The result of that thought was those words he spoke without a hint of doubt.

My knees almost shook from a feeling similar to fear—one I hadn’t felt in a long time.

“There’s nothing scarier than unconditional trust, is there?”

“You are exactly right.”

I exhaled the breath I’d been holding and let the tension out of my body. While I shook out my stiff wrists and nodded deeply at the Captain’s words, Sirius—the only one who didn’t understand what was going on—lowered his brows and looked puzzled. “What? What is it?”

“We’re saying you just fired us up. Right, Stark?”

“Reluctantly.”

“Eh? Wait! Even you, Captain, no! Don’t touch Al!”

“Don’t say such nonsense. This much is normal.”

“That’s right, Sirius. Once the squads are split, this will be normal. Get used to it!”

“No way! I hate it! Come here, Al—”

“Don’t treat people like cats or dogs. It’s unpleasant.”

“Waaaaah, I’m sorry!”

Seeing Sirius moping and sobbing, his bravado from moments ago completely gone, the Captain and I sighed in exasperation at the exact same time.