Chapter 559
Chapter 559
Though it would be possible to stay in the form of a kitten forever, that would be unnatural.
The onlookers couldn't help but wonder why this creature never seemed to grow.
So, every time it appeared, it had grown a little bit.
"It's alive, this little one."
The guards stationed at the Royal Class garrison had grown familiar with the kitten.
"Quite a clever one, hiding and following us around like that."
Indeed.
This charade couldn't continue until the end of the war.
As the guards had pointed out, this army wasn't stationed in a fixed location and the battles with countless casualties continued.
A cat that somehow survived and reappeared was quite a suspicious existence.
Quite some time had passed since the end of the Serandia occupation battle.
Naturally, the atmosphere at the Royal Class garrison was still subdued.
Three had died in the last battle, and with the Royal Class being few in number, the empty spaces left by the deceased were significant.
Delphin Izzard.
Like Ludwig, she was a kind and good-hearted person.
According to Sarkegaar's report, both Scarlett and Ludwig were in danger, and Delphin died trying to save them.
Any death would be regrettable, but Delphin's death was particularly devastating.
After all, she was the most described character in the original work.
Elemental magic is very powerful, but in an instant, one could lose their life, and this situation made it all too real that there were no exceptions.
Even if I had foreseen my future death after the battle with Ellen, if I let go and waited for death in the next battle, I would die.
Changing the future is easy.
It's just difficult to change it to the desired future.
I had to check on Ellen's condition, but for now, I planned to wander around the Royal Class garrison.
The first classmate I encountered in the garrison was Cliffman.
"..."
Within the Royal Class, there were those who were obsessed with the cat and those who weren't.
Ludwig, Cliffman, and Redina were among those who showed no interest. To be precise, they belonged to the group that ignored the cat.
As if they had no room in their hearts or minds to care for such a small creature.
But now, Cliffman stared at the cat he had ignored all this time.
"...You're alive."
He then gently bowed his head and stroked my head once.
His gesture, seemingly relieved, felt loaded with meaning.
He then left without saying anything else.
He didn't seem to think that more important people should have survived instead of such a small creature.
As a cat, I tend to engage in dual thinking.
I'm not the cat; I'm just borrowing its form.
So when someone strokes me, I think they're stroking the cat, not me.
If I don't think like that, I won't be able to stand people touching me all the time.
I try to think that I'm just borrowing the cat's form and that the cuteness belongs to the cat, not me.
Of course.
Dual thinking, as it is, amounts to nothing more than sophistry.
I just feel like I'd go insane from self-loathing if I don't think that way.
As Kono Lint put it, I must be a pervert.
Seeing the beast transform like this, it's truly a bizarre pervert even among perverts.
Naturally, not everyone stationed at the Royal Class is a former classmate of mine.
There are seniors and juniors as well. Although the atmosphere is somewhat gloomy, they seemed happy to see me (the cat) after such a long time.
Honestly, when I'm in cat form, the most troublesome thing isn't being stroked by someone or having my paws touched constantly.
"Are you hungry? Eat this."
-... 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘰𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝘰𝘳𝘨
They keep trying to feed me something.
I'm not really a beast, you know!
I don't particularly want to eat something like warm milk!
Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to stick my head into a plate and eat like that?
Real cats probably don't think about that, but I do!
"Aren't you hungry?"
-Meow
Moreover, there are those who offer me their leftovers from the dining tent.
It's annoying.
I've had to close my eyes and eat it a few times, fearing that if I refuse, they might say I'm a wild animal with a refined palate.
It's a struggle having to act like a beast when transformed into one.
Amidst the overall gloomy atmosphere, I wandered around the Royal Class garisson.
“Are you resting?”
“You never know when we'll need it. We should charge it up as much as possible. We haven't even filled half of it yet.”
“What's the hurry? We're going to be here until winter ends anyway.”
In the distance, I could see Redina and Cayer arguing.
What was different now was that the situation seemed reversed somehow.
I had seen Redina always nagging Cayer about charging the Arc Crystal, and I knew their relationship was quite bad.
“There are still monsters out there. You were the one who said we should always keep it charged since we don't know when we'll need it.”
“No, I mean, how many times do I have to say I was wrong? Why do you have to be like that...? I admit I made a mistake…”
“How many times do I have to tell you that this isn't because you did something wrong to me? Why can't you understand?”
“I know... I know, but there's no need to rush like that. Why can't you understand me either?”
However, now the situation was odd, with Redina trying to stop Cayer from doing his task.
“I can handle it, you know. It's not always too much. Just leave me alone.”
“Ah…”
In the end, Redina, with tearful red eyes, started crying, and Cayer left her alone, walking off somewhere.
"That bastard is at it again."
As I turned my head at the sound coming from the side, Kono Lint was standing there with his arms crossed, clicking his tongue.
He looked down at me and then picked me up.
"Where have you been hiding all this time?"
...This isn't something you say to Reinhardt, is it?
He probably hasn't realized that I can transform into a beast, right?
Even if he did, honestly, it wouldn't make much of a difference.
The only change would be Reinhardt, the perverted Demon King, becoming Reinhardt, the crazy perverted Demon King.
Kono Lint stared at me intently.
As if he was thinking about something.
You're an idiot, right?
A total idiot.
"…Ugh."
He muttered something inexplicable and then put me down.
After walking alone for a while, he looked back at me.
-Meow
I tilted my head in response.
-…Ugh.
The rascal hesitated once more and then left.
As it seemed like he had some sense, but in the end, he didn't. He was a fool after all.
Of course, there were those who paid attention to the cat, but it wasn't like it used to be.
There were people who were relieved that this small creature was still alive, but inevitably, they could only imagine those who had disappeared with such thoughts.
The Royal Class garrison wasn't just barracks and dining halls, of course.
-Kaang!
"… Can we try it one more time?"
"…Yes."
I watched Ludwig picking up the fallen sword at the outdoor training ground of the Royal Class garrison.
His opponent was Scarlett.
With an awkward smile, Ludwig grabbed the sword with his left hand and took his stance.
"Sorry, I'm not used to this."
"…"
Ludwig was practicing with a left-handed sword.
I didn't think he'd give up easily, but was he trying to find a breakthrough in a situation where he only had his left arm?
Scarlett looked at Ludwig with a tearful expression.
"Ludwig, I can help you as much as you need. I can do more. But…"
"Even with only one arm, I can still use Magic Body Strengthening."
Ludwig wasn't wrong. In that state, he would still have combat abilities far beyond an ordinary soldier. Losing an arm didn't change the fact that he was a superhuman.
But due to Moonshine, Delphin Izzard had also become a superhuman.
And yet, Delphin had died.
In a battle where anyone could die, Ludwig would likely die with a high probability in that state.
It was no different from a suicide attempt.
"Ludwig, I'll fight for both of us. It's because of me… It's because of me that you're like this. Delphin too…"
"No, it's not."
As Scarlett was about to burst into tears, Ludwig firmly shook his head.
"No, it's not your fault."
"…"
"It's my fault. It's all because I was weak."
It was an odd statement.
If Delphin's death wasn't Scarlett's fault, then it shouldn't be Ludwig's fault either.
But Ludwig was blaming everything on himself.
A pathological level of self-loathing.
Had Ludwig succumbed to it as well?
"I'm sorry, I didn't think about how this would be a burden on you, Scarlett. I'm sorry…"
"No, it's not. It's okay."
"I'll do it alone, it's not like I need swordsmanship for this kind of fight anyway. It's not about skill when it comes to killing monsters."
Saying that being able to wield a weapon with his left hand was more important than needing skill.
Ludwig, holding his sword with his left hand, began to practice Magic Body Strengthening alone.
Scarlett had offered to help, but Ludwig had refused, saying it would be better for her to focus on her personal training.
In the end, Scarlett left the training ground, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.
Responsibility.
Guilt.
It was heartbreaking and pitiful to see those who shared such feelings from afar.
Ludwig wasn't the only one on the training ground.
There were many other people, both seniors and juniors, who were practicing duels, Magic Body Strengthening, and other things, all diligently working on their tasks.
I sat in a corner of the training ground, watching Ludwig.
"Hup!"
-Kwoong!
Not only the sword in his left hand but also his kicks and heavy blows were part of his training.
The training of the superhumans was no ordinary affair, and the straw dummies they practiced on were not ordinary either. These special dummies were designed to withstand powerful blows and physical force.
-Thud! Bang!
"Kuh!"
-Collapse!
However, it seemed as though Ludwig couldn't properly maintain his balance, as he stumbled and fell, trying to swing his sword only to have it bounce back and hit him in the head.
Ludwig was right-handed.
But, ultimately, swords are often used with both hands, especially in battles against monsters.
Having lost his dominant hand, he could no longer use two-handed sword techniques.
Losing an arm is not a trivial matter.
It's not just that he lost half his combat ability, but most of it.
In essence, Ludwig had lost almost everything, but he continued to struggle with just his left hand, using what remained of his abilities.
-Bang!
A loud noise echoed. The noise did not only come from the dummy Ludwig was hitting.
However, his seniors looked at Ludwig with a slightly bored expression.
Despite sustaining injuries severe enough to be crippled, Ludwig's persistence while covered in cold sweat must have been chilling to witness.
Ludwig was fundamentally diligent.
This had been evident from the beginning of his enrollment.
But could one call it diligence when he lost an arm and continued to strike the dummy in an effort to fight more?
This was not diligence, but madness.
Ludwig was a superhuman, surpassing ordinary human limitations.
But in the end, he was like a cart with one wheel missing.
-Bang!
"Kuh!"
He kept falling, unable to maintain balance, and his swordsmanship was understandably abysmal.
Someone's desperate efforts might inspire admiration, but Ludwig's plight was nothing but despairing.
He was attempting the impossible.
Even without an arm, one could fight; if one had no legs, they could fight with prosthetics.
But if one's opponents were not humans but monsters, lacking even one component while fighting in the best possible condition would inevitably lead to death.
If Ludwig had been a mage or a supernatural, perhaps things would be different.
However, fighting with just one arm was essentially seeking a place to die.
So, the seniors, juniors, and classmates alike couldn't help but be disheartened by Ludwig's condition.
Currently, the allied forces were reviving the dead as Death Knights, but this didn't mean that Ludwig absolutely had to fight.
That was just an obsession.
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The obsession to try and do something, anything more.
It was simply succumbing to evil.
Ludwig didn't scream in pain or throw his sword away.
He didn't kneel and cry out, asking why things weren't going well, nor did he curse the world.
-Bang!
-Thwack!
-Crash!
He lost balance and fell, picked up the weapon that had bounced away, and, despite his attacks lacking proper force, he ceaselessly struck the dummy.
As if there were no shaking, despair, or pain.
He just relentlessly and pathetically beat the dummy.
Never giving up was Ludwig's characteristic, a trait I had assigned him.
But I couldn't help but feel disturbed by Ludwig's refusal to give up, even in situations where he should have.
At this point, he should give up.
He will die in the next battle.
Ludwig thought that the world would grant him what he desired, but it took his arm instead.
Ludwig was no longer the protagonist.
Therefore, there should be no next time, and he should give up now. But he doesn't.
I would rather have Ludwig give up and fade into the background of the story.
I hope he doesn't rush towards an obvious death.
But it seemed that nothing could stop Ludwig.
That obsession bordering on madness, that longing that compelled him to do something - it seemed unstoppable.
There are times when humans must give up.
I realized just how inhuman Ludwig's trait of never giving up was as I saw it with my own eyes.
Ludwig's figure wasn't sublime.
It was despairingly wretched.
As the sun began to set and the disheartened seniors and juniors gradually left, someone approached the sweat-drenched Ludwig, still in the training field on this cold day.
"Ludwig."
"…Yes?"
"Stop it, now. I don't know how many days it's been, but you can't fight anymore."
Cliffman, with a serious, stern expression, stood in front of Ludwig with his sword still sheathed.
"Go back to the Imperial Capital. With your accomplishments so far, that's more than enough."
Ludwig shook his head at Cliffman's words.
"No, I can still do more."
"No. You can't."
It seemed that Cliffman couldn't bear to watch Ludwig's pitiful state any longer and had come to intervene.
"If you don't understand why you can't, I'll show you now."
As if to invite Ludwig to attack, Cliffman assumed a stance, facing Ludwig, who was wrapped in blue mana.
Ludwig quietly nodded as he looked at Cliffman.
"...You're asking for a duel? Then you should use Magic Body Strengthening to..."
"I don't need it."
Cliffman was unarmed.
"It's not necessary to deal with a cripple like you."
"…"
It seemed that Cliffman would rather make Ludwig realize reality and disappear from the battlefield than watch him rush toward an obvious death.
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