NOVEL NEXT Chapter 369: I Apologize, But You Can’t Keep Me
You mean Norja found out about me?
“Why?! I hid my face back then! Even if we used the same technique, how could she figure out that I was Ragaan-Man!? I mean, you wouldn’t think that I would use an item to travel to the past era, right?”
“Un…… I know… I know, but…… un, I’m really sorry …….”
I thought only the people here and Slayer knew about this, but even Norja knew about it?
Wondering why this was happening, I instinctively stood up.
――……… eh……
The cat under the floorboards also listened with bated breath.
Then, Espie turned her face away a little……
“Well, you see… originally, Norja thought that Ragaan-Man’s true identity was Hiro…… Ragaan-Man…… …… as in Lagann”
“O, oh…….”“So, when the war ended and Hiro was going to marry Mamu, Norja tried to ruin the wedding…… but if they didn’t get married, Big brother wouldn’t be born, so me and Slayer desperately tried to stop her…….”
I had no idea that happened.
I didn’t expect that Espie and Slayer were fighting against a Six Supremacy behind the scenes of my parents’ wedding.
“So, but, you know, Norja was so strong…… and she really wanted to ruin it…… so we got desperate… and things got heated……”
“Uh huh…….”
“I couldn’t help…… blurting out, ‘Ragaan-Man’s true identity isn’t Hiro in the first place!’.”
“…… What!?”
“Th, that’s when Norja reacted…… and demanded to be told on the condition that the wedding would not be ruined…… so…… we told her. Not only us, but also Lal, who was a former subordinate of Norja, was present…”
And since it was difficult to restrain Norja by force, Espie and Slayer tried to persuade her… well, it may have been a slip of the tongue, though.
What’s more, I didn’t realize that even Larou’iph was involved.
“Norja was skeptical at first, but when Hiro and Mamu actually gave birth to Earth Lagann…… she came to believe it…… well, at that time, she couldn’t hold back and tried to kidnap Big brother when you were still a baby, which caused another mess…… but a few months ago, you turned 15 and ran away from home at the Imperial Academy’s Graduation Tournament…… Anyway, I made her promise not to meet Big brother until you took the pocket watch, went back to the past, and returned from that era…… but once you came back, she said she wouldn’t hold back anymore…… and kept saying that she would make you take responsibility for what you did to her butt…….”
Responsibility for her butt.
I did shoved the Great Magic Spiral up Norja’s rear.
That said, it was an accident, and I know I did something terrible and I have to apologize, but……
“Ah, if I apologize, will she forgive me?”
“That’s impossible. She’s going to take you as her husband, put a collar on you, and keep you in the Demon Realm as her pet……”
I thought it was a joke… but it seemed like she might really do it. Actually, I think she would do it.
――Clack clickety-clack!
The cat under the floorboards seemed surprised too.
“She won’t tell La’iphant or the Empire about Big brother…… she also won’t reveal the time-traveling item…… but…… if you resist…… if it’s all a lie, she’ll destroy the underground ruins of Shiznautmy, take it all away… she said all sorts of threatening things…”
“But, despite that, Lady Norja had been quietly waiting for more than ten years…… well, there was one attempted kidnapping along the way…… anyway, there was nothing we could do to stop Lady Norja from going on a rampage back then, other than telling her the truth…”
“Still, we couldn’t let her destroy the ruins…… especially…… the deepest part where we said goodbye to Big brother, I destroyed the passage and blocked it off with rubble just in case. I needed to keep that place intact in case anything happened to the pocket watch or something like that. Mr. Chieftain told me that there was another hidden elevator there, so I could get to the area.”
Larou’iph also seemed a little apologetic.
Well, just listening to the story, it seemed there may not have been any other way to stop Norja.
But even though that bought me some time, I guess that’s all over now that I’ve returned from the past.
『…… a…… ah~…… Tis so…….』
On the other hand, Tre’ainar, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly reacted as if he had realized something from what had just been said.
What……
『Child, do you recall the time you received the Master Key from Paripi?』
「Hmm? Paripi?」
『Did Paripi not mention that the path leading to the deepest section of the ruins was destroyed and impassable…』
「…… Ah……」
――There are several branching paths… and some of them are too old, or maybe some idiots made them artificially… anyway, there are paths that are catastrophically destroyed and impassable… there are paths that even I don’t know what’s going on with them, so be aware of that.
When I heard that, I also remembered.
Certainly, when I received the Master Key sent by Paripi in Ghenkan, he said something like that during our conversation using the magic crystal.
In other words, the culprit was Espie, and the cause was me…… I didn’t think it would be connected like that……
“Big brother? This isn’t funny, okay? This is serious, you know??”
“Oh, sorry sorry.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly, but now certainly wasn’t the time for that.
Let’s put Paripi’s story aside for a moment……
“Anyway, one way to deal with this situation…… is for Big brother to really become Norja’s husband…… or if Big brother is fine with Norja…… if she’s your type or something like that, then we don’t really care…….”
“Absolutely not!”
“That would mean… resisting and running away…… Norja would come after you, and might spread all sorts of rumors…… but I think the three of us – me, Slayer, and Big brother – could handle it!”
“Ugh, I don’t know if I should run away…… well, I’m the one who did something awful, so I don’t really want to fight… no, but that was during the war… Ah~, but ……”
My goodness. Who would have thought that the victory with the Great Demon Spiral on that rear would end up like this.
After all the things that had happened in the past and the fierce battle with Gouda, I had finally returned home and was reunited with Espie and Slayer, and just when I was thinking “now is the time to move forward”, I never expected that a Six Supremacy would try to put a collar on me and keep me as a pet.
But, I…..
“Well, I don’t want to be kept as a pet. I have things I want to do. I want to get stronger and go to various places. To the very ends, everywhere. There’s no end. That’s how I’m going to live my life.”
Yes, that’s all I can think about right now.
From now on, I want the “four of us” to live as we please.
That’s why……
“I’ll apologize, but whether I’ll be kept as a pet is another matter. If I ever meet Norja and she tries to use force against me…… I’m sorry, but I’ll fight back as best I can.”
“Big brother……”
I can’t take responsibility in the way Norja wants, but I’ll apologize anyway, rather than just running away without saying anything.
“Fu…… The opponent is Lady Norja of the Six Supremacy…… Nowadays, few can say without hesitation that they would resist against such a legendary opponent if she came by force…… as expected of you.”
Even Larou’iph, who was once Norja’s subordinate, smiled at my words.
Sure, it would have been impossible for me until just a while ago……
“I’m already used to the Six Supremacy, I’ve had more than enough of them.”
I’m not going to underestimate them, but I’m not going to be scared and run away forever.
If not, I’d be ashamed by Gouda and Aonii, who fought with all their might……
Author’s Note
Thank you for your support! So, this weekend! Please enjoy not only the web version, but also the light novel and manga!
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