Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 278: Innocent Corpses
Time rewinds a little.
The giant human was bleeding from all over its body, but none of the wounds were fatal—only shallow cuts. In contrast, Josel, though uninjured, was breathing heavily under his mask.
Why can’t I finish him off? Why am I still hesitating?
There’s no other way but to kill. It’s the only way to save them. He understood this logically, but his heart couldn’t ignore the brakes applied by the thought of killing innocent people. He couldn’t take that final, decisive step.
“Grrrrrr!”
The giant human roared and charged. Josel slashed at its legs as they passed, but the cut was shallow again. He was merely causing pain.
When he looked over, he saw Gerhardt standing with a sword on his shoulder, staring at him. At his feet was the severed head of another giant human, tongue hanging out. It seemed he had no intention of helping.
…That’s actually quite helpful!
It was painful and difficult, but this was something Josel had to do himself. If Gerhardt intervened, it felt like something precious inside him would break.
As he steadied his breathing, Josel thought about whether he could truly claim he had never killed an innocent person before.
The faces of the princess’s kidnappers came to mind. They had committed a crime, but it was the irresponsible royal family and nobles that had driven them to it. He wasn’t confident he could articulate their crimes well. Still, he had no choice but to kill them.
What about the orcs they had defeated earlier? They had likely had no intention of fighting humans. Despite setting up a settlement near the human village, there had been no conflicts. In fact, their existence wasn’t even known. Perhaps all they wanted was to live quietly. To assume orcs were naturally aggressive was a prejudiced notion.
They were victims controlled by the devilish mushroom, attacking without their own will. Yet, they had to be killed.
Josel did not want to become desensitized to killing the innocent. But if someone had to do it, it was the knight’s duty to take it upon himself.
Resolving himself, Josel planted his feet firmly in the mud and readied his sword.
“Night Killer, kill my chivalry!”
Black flames flickered in Josel’s eyes.
The giant human charged, extending its wounded arm. As Josel gripped the hilt of his sword, the ancient runes inscribed on the Night Killer glowed, whipping up a gust of wind.
The giant human’s upper body lifted, exposing its heart, into which the Night Killer plunged deeply.
“Gah, uuugh…”
Josel felt the certainty of taking a life. As he quickly withdrew the Knight Killer, the giant human fell forward, convulsing for a moment before dying.
This was for the best. Josel looked down sadly at what had once been a villager, and felt a hand pat his shoulder. He turned to see Gerhardt smiling gently.
“Well done.”
“…I can never get used to this.”
“You shouldn’t. Worry about it for the rest of your life.”
Harsh words, spoken casually, but this was indeed the path Josel needed to follow. With nothing more to say, they both nodded in silent agreement.
“Well, good job, everyone.”
Lutz approached, waving. His tone was relaxed, but his complexion was pale.
The three of them started walking aimlessly. Though they didn’t want to stay in this eerie forest, returning to the village wasn’t appealing either.
As the village chief had warned, skeleton monsters appeared. Gerhardt silently and angrily punched one, caving in its skull, rendering the undead creature motionless.
Lutz glanced at the skeleton but felt no pity. It was bound to happen when you faced an angry craftsman.
They had a mission to ensure there were no more parasitized creatures, but no more giant beings appeared. A few challengers tried to face the craftsmen but met similar fates.
“I’m tired of being sentimental. Let’s head back.”
“Agreed.”
Gerhardt’s blunt comment met Lutz’s agreement.
The three began their silent walk back to the village. Josel, in a voice that seemed hollow, said:
“We’ll have to come back here soon.”
“To burn their bodies?”
Josel nodded at Lutz’s question and added:
“Yes, and to build graves for them.”
“Mushrooms growing from corpses won’t make for proper grave markers.”
Gerhardt spoke in a joking manner. At least he didn’t seem opposed to the idea of building graves.
“Lutz, please ask Claudia to prepare a large quantity of oil.”
Josel said as he walked alongside Lutz.
“To burn their bodies, and who knows what we’ll find in the settlement.”
Once the main force of the Fourth Knight Order arrived, they were to head towards the orc settlement. No one believed that the parasitic mushroom incident was over. They were likely to encounter far more horrifying things than before.
“Understood. Is there anything else we need?”
This time, Gerhardt, stepping closer, responded.
“We need clean, large cloths. If there are injuries, we’ll use a lot of them. We also need enough masks for everyone. We can’t exactly tell the royal knights to wear loincloths on their heads.”
“I’m tempted to suggest it though…”
“I am too. But let’s not.”
“Indeed. It would undoubtedly cause unnecessary trouble.”
After that, Gerhardt and Josel began making various requests: oil, cloth, medicine, food, spare weapons. The list grew so long that Lutz had to interrupt.
“Let’s consult with everyone once we’re back in the village. There will be items the village can provide and others the Fourth Knight Order can bring.”
“Hmm, you’re right. I got a bit carried away.”
Gerhardt admitted, regaining his usual cheerful demeanor.
“When we have everything sorted, I’ll go to the capital and speak to Claudia.”
“We’ve all been fighting continuously, including you, Lutz. Why don’t you rest and let a less busy knight handle the message?”
Josel suggested.
Ad
But Lutz, smiling wryly, shook his head.
“I’m going to ask Claudia for money. I need to go personally and bow my head.”
“Is that so?”
“That’s how it is.”
Eventually, the three of them emerged from the forest, greeted by a sunset as red as blood. It was an ominous sight, but they had no desire to complain to the gods. They simply thought, ‘Well, that figures.’
Whether they were facing enemies, allies, or both, one thing was certain: a lot of blood was going to be spilled.