15. The Clasping of Hands

Synopsis of the previous chapter:

The unexpected middle-boss: Kato-san.

Chapter 15. ~Lily’s perspective~

In order to decide what to do with Kato-san, we need to start things all over again right here.

Of course, since I had made the situation so confusing, it was my job to divide up the roles.

“I’m sorry for losing my composure, Rose.”

Firstly, I lowered my head to my imouto-bun.

“I wasn’t calm. I got swayed by my emotions.”

“Lily-anesama…”

“I have caused you problems. I’m very sorry.”

Looking back, from the moment Master was abducted, I had allowed my body to move in anger and impatience towards that White Arachne.

"My anger caused quite a few problems for Rose, but now I'm keeping it under check."

"No need to worry about it."

Rose accepted my apology with a look that told me not to mind it.

“Lily-anesama, losing your composure here is not what Master would wish for, am I correct?”

“Yes. I will be more careful from now on.”

For me, when something happens to Master, I can’t help feeling shaken.

I understand now after this incident.

I can’t become like Rose.

But, even when I’m shaken up, I should try to behave as rationally as possible.

I should be striving harder in order to do that.

I admit it. I was immature.

Now that I know, I should work on becoming more mature.

“Also, about what we should do with Kato-san from now on, I’m leaving it all to Rose. Is that okay?”

“Understood.”

As if she had already predicted what I would say, Rose smoothly accepted my request.

We, who were born as ‘sisters’, have to act according to the situation and be Master’s power. At times like this, it helps for the discussion to end fast.

“Are you sure?”

I shrugged at Kato-san’s interjection.

“It’s okay. Or rather…”

“The reality is that we are compelled to do so.”

As I stopped speaking, Rose took over.

“Right now, you have ‘crushed’ Lily-anesama. You are currently the biggest obstacle. Anesama, who is highly suspicious by nature, no longer has confidence in her own judgements. Because of that, I am obliged to cope with it."

I’ve somehow managed to accept the feelings of jealousy towards Kato-san.

This is thanks to Rose and… Kato-san, which I don’t really want to admit and give the credit to her.

But, I on the other hand, couldn’t dispel the doubt that ‘my jealousy would give birth to selfish decisions.’

For example, if I decided to not bring Kato-san right here.　

I couldn’t discard the doubt of whether or not ‘that decision is affected by my own personal feelings.’

I don’t believe in myself, who caused trouble for Rose, because I was swept up by my emotions to that extent.

Because of that, I’ll leave it to Rose here.

I will interfere if I need to, but Rose is entrusted with the final decision.

…I wonder if Kato-san had already predicted all of this.

According to my nature, which is deeply suspicious of people, to me, she's sending out seeds of doubt all over the place.

“I don’t want you to misunderstand.”

Kato-san said with a tone mixed with a wry smile, as if she knew what I was thinking.

“I don’t really think that Rose is more naive than you. I didn’t mean it like that."

It should be so.

The possibility of me becoming a negotiation partner is zero.

If it’s Rose, the talk will come through.

Because of that, it sounds like Rose is a more naive person, but the reality is totally different.

She’s only being fair.

Unlike me, she doesn’t make decisions based on her emotions.

And precisely because I believe that, I left it to her in this situation.

“Then, please.”

“Understood.”

I moved one step backward, and watched the two confronting each other.

“Kato-san.”

The first one to speak was Rose.

“If I were to negotiate, it’s possible to bring you along. That judgement wasn’t wrong. Actually, I have been wanting to bring you along since the start. …But.”

Rose paused. If she were a human, she would probably be heaving a sigh.

“This way of doing things is wrong, is it not? There is no meaning for me to become your enemy as a result of being rejected by Lily-anesama, am I wrong?”

It seems peaceful now, but Rose was observing my argument with Kato-san. She seemed to be remembering the angry feeling clearly.

Rose, who is a wooden puppet, isn’t supposed to be familiar with delicate human emotions.

For example, even if she knows that Master is suffering, she wouldn’t understand what made him suffer like that.

But still, it’s not like she doesn’t have any feelings.

Unlike me who saw Master being a.s.saulted directly, she doesn’t have a bad impression of the humans who hurt him in the past. She’ll also get mad at me if I, as a companion, tease him.

If done poorly, Kato-san may not have been able to negotiate with Rose.　

Therefore, Rose blamed Kato-san’s desperately chosen method.

That means Rose was being angry for Kato-san's sake.

Rose directs her sincerity towards humans and Family equally.

This form of anger is different from me, who views humans with hostility. She probably still has a different view than me regarding the human named ‘Kato Mana’.

"There are other proper ways. If it is Kato-san, would not it be possible to choose another way?”

"For example, allowing Rose-san to leverage and persuade Lily-san―something like that?"

Rose nodded at Kato-san's example.

"Anesama may not want to hear what I am saying because blood rushed to her head. ...No. I am certain she would not listen to my reasoning and had become impatient, thus she would have rushed out and went alone."

Isn't that too much?

...Well I couldn't deny it.

I had lost all reasoning. If I continued talking for 5 more minutes like that, I would've gone to Master's side even if I was alone.

"Even now, Lily-san still has that look of wanting to rush out alone, right?"

Kato-san seems to share the same opinion.

I'm a bit depressed to have been seen through that easily.

"I will not let Lily-anesama go to that White Arachne's place alone. I would follow after her immediately. However, even if it came to that, I would carry Kato-san and give chase. Because I am not as suspicious of you as anesama, and I also have no intentions of defying Master's orders."

"Well, that’s right."

Kato-san agreed to Rose’s words.

“The possibility of that happening is quite high. If I want you guys to take me, I probably should have used a better method.”

Kato-san acknowledged all of Rose’s words.

“But if it’s like that, Senpai will not be saved.”

After admitting it―That choice was denied.

In short, she understood all that Rose had said from the beginning, still, she intentionally used that method. *

“If it’s only to bring me along, it’s as Rose-san said, I can ask for it gently. You see, I’m not willing to hurt Lily-san. …However, is it okay to only do that? There’s no meaning if Senpai is not helped. Am I right?”

“It certainly… …seems that way.”

Confusion was apparent in Rose’s voice.

There’s no meaning if Master is not saved.

Yes, that’s right. What Kato-san said is right. But, why did it lead to her acting aggressively a few minutes ago? Rose doesn’t know, and I’m the same.

Kato-san placed her hand on her chest and said to us, the ‘Family of Monsters’, who were showing our cluelessness.  

“I do not posses the power to fight. Because of that, I can’t help Mas.h.i.+ma-senpai.”

Kato Mana is just a human with no power to fight.

There’s no way her cheat-ability could awaken at such a convenient time.

She, who is only a human, can’t do anything.

“But, that means, right now you guys are the same right?”

After recognizing her own weakness, Kato-san pointed out the truth.

“The White Arachne. Before, you said that it’s a ‘High Monster’ right? ‘Don’t fight it. Even escaping from it will depend on your luck.’ It’s a monster that must not be fought. You said it like that right. Preparing to sacrifice yourself is okay. But if your purpose is not fulfilled, then you’ll only die for naught.”

Kato-san's words couldn't be disputed in any way.

No matter how willing we are, we won't be able to recover Master if we don't have enough power.

There are also things we can't do anything about no matter how we feel about it. This is the fact of the cruel world we live in.

"Even for you guys, you can't help Mas.h.i.+ma-senpai. Then, it won't be any different from me who doesn’t have any combat prowess."

For example, if just a moment ago I yelled threateningly and charged at the White Arachne recklessly, we probably would have been crushed without being able to do a single thing.

Of course, it won't be possible to save Master.

It's the same as dying a dog's death.

Kato-san continued after pointing out our powerlessness.

"However, I am different from you guys. You guys have the ability to fight. Even if you're no match, you can still fight. If you fought, it may be possible to save Mas.h.i.+ma-senpai depending on the method employed. But, that is still an ‘if’. It won't happen if you charge in blindly.”

This too, was pointed out, hitting a sore spot.

We neglected the fact that we knew that the White Arachne has overwhelming power, and were going to challenge it without having a proper strategy.

If you think about it calmly, it's quite an impossible feat.

Something needs to be done.

Carrying out the rescue operation carefully is a must. If that’s impossible, of course we have to put in more effort to increase the chances of success, even if it’s by a little.

If it still couldn't be done... then this was completely my fault.

I wasn't calm. Blood was rus.h.i.+ng to my head.

Seeing me in such a condition, Kato-san should have been at a loss on how to handle me.

Would persuading help me to calm down? ...No. There's little hope of it.

Even when Rose had told me to be calm again and again, it did not have any effect on me, so there is no way Kato-san’s words will, either. In the first place, if just a few more minutes had pa.s.sed, I would have went out alone. She acted like that in order to buy time to persuade me.

To put in other words, we were probably like 'a mother panicking to help her child that has fallen into the river.’

Getting swept away by the raging river when he can't swim. I couldn't be persuaded. Words don't even get through me. Rather, even now I look like I would rush out alone. Letting us get swept away together would only increase the number of dead bodies.

That's why, the only way to stop me is to hit my head from behind.

If you think about it, Rose might have noticed the danger I was in.

But she didn’t expect her to 'hit my head'. There is no helping it. She, who doesn't understand the nature of the human heart, doesn't know why I became like that. Thus, she wouldn't know what to do.

On the other hand, Kato-san, who's a human, can only ‘hit' us with her weak physical strength.

That's why she instigated us, listened to us… On top of that, she hit us with crus.h.i.+ng words which pointed out our weaknesses.

Though I’m reluctant to accept it, if you think of it in that way, her method can be understood...

...My heart still feels gloomy after I was crushed by that reality.

"Just bringing me along will not change anything. If you guys can't regain your composure, you won't be able to save Senpai. That was my limit. As a result, I hurt both of your feelings. I won’t back down even if I were to be left behind..”

If you decide with a fair perspective as much as possible, and eliminate the emotional factors, Kato-san’s actions were probably not the best, but it was at least better than Lily’s.

In fact, I have already regained my composure. She has already produced results.

There are probably other ways, but it was critical to decide what was the best choice in that short amount of time. Rather, Kato-san’s wisdom should be praised as she was able to antic.i.p.ate our actions all up to that and ‘hit my head in an instant.’

Because of her, we could think things through and regain our composure.

Saving Master is certainly the most important thing to do. If we couldn’t do it, then there’s no meaning in throwing our lives away. It was no different from blindly doing a suicide attack.

That's, just as Kato-san said...

…Eh?

But, isn’t it a bit strange?

"For us, the Family, there's no meaning if we can't save Master. It is as you said, but..."

Before I realized it, I forgot about leaving the matters here to Rose, and joined in the two's conversation.

"Why is Kato-san, a human, so worried about Master?"

If I recall, from a while ago Kato-san has been going on about how “it’s pointless if we couldn’t save Master” kind of a.s.sumptions.

For me, as part of the Family, there’s no objection to sacrifice myself to rescue Master, but that’s only the viewpoint of someone from the Family.

Kato-san is a human. However, she acted based on our reason as part of the Family.

It was possible that she had randomly run her mouth off to stop me, who had gone out of control. I can also determine that she did not purposefully do those things to daringly get on Rose’s bad side.

In other words, Kato-san was hoping to save Master too.

Also, she’s strong; she doesn’t second guess herself.

Thinking back on it, I could come to an understanding about other things.

For example, the reason why Kato-san had cast off her state of emotionlessness in such a timely manner was possibly because of the current state of emergency we are in.

She’s worried about the condition of Master, who was kidnapped by the Arachne. She wanted to help. But we, who essentially had no strategy, wouldn’t be able to save Master at this rate.

In this state, it’s useless to continue looking at each other.

Her emotions were starting to recover slowly. If her mind gets revived here in one go as well… It would be a great timing.

But, even if that's correct, then another suspicion comes to mind.

If she's acting on the same logic as us, the ‘Monsters of the Family’, that would mean that she, a human, feels the same way we do towards the Master.

That was suspicious to me.

That’s why I asked.

The suspicion I held, was at least reasonable for me.

There’s no choice but to guess right now. If Master was here in this place, he would’ve thought about the same thing.

However, it seems to be different for Kato-san.

“Why, you say?”

Kato-san’s voice was sharp as she asked back.

As if dripping with poison.

“Am I not allowed to worry about Senpai’s condition?”

It was, a deadly poison named anger.

“Uuu…”

I shrank as those boiling feelings were turned towards me.

Until now, Kato-san had never shown any ill feelings.

Even when she had ‘hit’ and ‘crushed’ me, she wasn’t this furious.

So to say, her hostility can be clearly seen to this extent. She probably had only been acting in order to fulfil her motives―for the sake of helping Master.

But, it's different at the moment.

“Isn’t it alright even if I’m not a part of the ‘Family of Monsters’?”

For a single instant, she directed a huge amount of anger at me.

It was only a silent anger. Kato-san didn’t raise her voice at all.

But, even without raising it, deep pain and sorrow could be transparently felt from the trembling of her voice.

Probably, because of the careless remark I made. It touched a deeper wound, one that could even make her, the rational one, lose it.

“I’m…”

I opened and closed my mouth several times, and bit my lips.

Lastly, Kato-san lowered her eyes.

“...I’m sorry. I lost my composure.”

She seemed to have successfully regained her self-control in just a short time.

There was no longer any anger coloring Kato-san’s words.

“I, I am sorry too. It seems like I said something weird.”

I lowered my head.

If you look at the current situation, it seems that Kato-san is truly worried about Master.

I don’t know the reason why she would hold such feelings. As expected, I don’t have the courage to ask once more. I didn’t mean to tease Kato-san and anger her. I’m not so nasty that I could impudently poke at something that I shouldn’t, out of curiosity.

“Shall we get back to the topic at hand?”

Rose was the one who broke the delicate atmosphere between us.

She’s always calm. She’s not showing any signs of panic concerning Master’s condition.

Kato-san seemed to agree, and slightly lowered her head to Rose.

“I understand why Kato-san tried to cool our heads down. Although it was a bit rough, I approve of its effectiveness.”

“Thank you.”

“No. We are the ones who should thank you instead. Because of you, we did not throw ourselves into a reckless suicide attack. But…”  

“Yes. This is still only the beginning.”

Rose solemnly nodded at Kato-san’s words.

“Alright. We have regained our senses. However, it will have been meaningless if we do not have an actual plan to save Master. Unfortunately, I am not able to come up with any effective strategies. Lily-anesama―”

Rose looked back, and I shook my head.

“―I too, couldn’t think of anything.”

Once again, Rose turned to Kato-san.

“Kato-san said that you want to go together to save Master, correct? If we bring you along, what can you do in this urgent situation?”

“Even I understand that it’s not something that simple.”

Kato-san replied Rose’s question with a negative.

“There is no way I can do it by myself. Rather, there’s nothing I can do. I understand that I can’t do anything in that situation. …I would just like to make sure, but is there any chance that we could defeat that spider using our skills in a direct confrontation?”

“...It is impossible, is it not? Fighting it one hundred times will get you killed one hundred times, one thousand times and you will be killed one thousand times.

Rose calculated the winning percentage calmly.

“Either Lily-san or Rose-san… No, can either of you continue on, regardless of whichever of you dies?”

“However… I think it’s impossible. It’s on the level where you would be thankful if you only got injured.”

“...What a retort you have there, huh, Lily-san.”

“Tha-that is… Because it was in the heat of the moment.”

With an amazed face, Kato-san quickly smoothened her facial expression and pressed on with her questioning.

“Then, what if it’s only to save Mas.h.i.+ma-senpai?”

“That is impossible as well.”

Although the hurdle was lowered by a bit, but this question was also answered with a “No” by Rose.

“Because there’s too much of a difference in ability. …Perhaps. If a miracle happened, then it might be used to stall for just a moment.”

“Stalling is it?”

“If only for a moment, perhaps. Still, it would not change the fact that you would be killed eventually.”

If so, then there’s no meaning to it.

I too, have the same general perception as Rose.

The situation is hopeless.

As the dialogue continues, the despair seems to be deepening.

"I see. Thank you, Rose-san. I have grasped the situation. ...As I thought, this is the worst possible situation."

That’s right. We’re in a severe situation.

Presently, we don’t have the means to fight that White Arachne and take Master back.

Rus.h.i.+ng out to attack the enemy without thinking, without discussion, is the most foolish course of action. But just because you worry about it, doesn't mean that you'll be able to come up with a good plan.

“For now, I have one thing to say.”

Kato-san opened her mouth as we were all feeling the severity of the situation and bearing bitter thoughts.

“At this rate, it seems that even if Lily-san and Rose-san go to save Mas.h.i.+ma-senpai, you won’t be able to save him, who’s trapped.”

“Yes. It seems like that would be so.”

"That's why, in this case, if you can, you would even borrow a cat's paw, right? A person like me may be useful too, you know."

“...The situation where we can’t save Master can’t get worse. That’s why, bringing Kato-san along will turn the situation around and couldn’t make it any worse, like that?”

“Yes. Also, there are other things that I can do.”

Kato-san hit the area around the corner of her eye using her fingertip while closing one of her eyes.

“If two people thinking about it is not enough, then three people might be able to come up with something.”

“Three people pulling the stops… you say?”

“Yes. At least, I think it’s a somewhat better proposal than what seems like something with no chance, where we die an honorable death.”

Before, like this, Kato-san had crushed us. If she becomes our strategist it would be fairly encouraging.

Of course, there are still issues around her trustworthiness.

I don’t trust her like how I trust Rose. Even now, I feel that I don’t want to bring uncertain elements along.

It’s a fact that she had stopped us from our reckless suicide, although there are some questions regarding her declaration of wanting to save Master, but if we start questioning, there will be no end to this.

But, even now, all these ideas hold no meaning.

Trustable or not, it doesn’t matter in these circ.u.mstances.

What is certain is that, at this rate we won’t be able to bring back Master.

Also, that kind of overturning strategy, we won’t be able to do it.

Like Kato-san pointed out, right now we’re stuck.

If so, we have no choice but to bet on the unidentified element.

We have to rely on Kato-san.

…Goodness.

Sometime ago our problem was whether Kato-san can be trusted or not, but since then it has changed into whether her help should be accepted or not.

Lastly, how would Rose make the decision…

“Lily-san too, even Rose-san, the truth is you guys understand, right?”

Kato-san only spoke vehemently to double-check.

“By yourselves, you’re unable to get out of this stalemate. That’s why you’re betting on the smallest possibilities. That is also why Rose-san had spent valuable time on scrutinizing me, a human, am I wrong? If so, this is not the time to be saying this 4-5 times.”

Kato-san, who said that, made a warm smile.

“Please let me help save Mas.h.i.+ma-senpai. I’ll show you that I can be useful.”

Kato-san held out her hands which were put on her chest.

Looking at those palms, Rose turned her head monotonically.

I understand my imouto-bun’s heart very clearly.

Regardless of whether the ‘path’ is connected or not, me and her have the exact same feeling.

“Anesama.”

“I know.”

There was nothing more to be acknowledged.

We were completely defeated without a fight by a human girl who has no fighting power.

　　　＊＊＊

Ten minutes have pa.s.sed. After the strategy meeting, we proceeded to track the Arachne.

Fortunately, we share the connection of being Family to Master. Our relations.h.i.+p is not something substandard that would break just because of some distance between us.  

Because Kato-san, who’s only a human, couldn’t match our movements, she’s being held by Rose as we move.

This is quite a dangerous way to travel.

Even as I mimicked a Fire Fang’s sense of smell to track down the enemy, but it’s still not a sure thing. There are many obstacles in the forest so our speed was around trotting pace, but still we must absolutely not neglect to check our surroundings. Above all, Rose’s hands are occupied.

Normally, this situation is to be avoided at all costs. But now, we can’t do anything about it.

We pray that we will not encounter any monsters until the end.

No. When you think about the reckless challenge we're going to face, if we don't have at least that kind of luck, we'll be doomed.

Because now we're going to challenge that white atrocity.

In the end, I couldn't come up with any other convenient tactics to confront it.

Of course. No matter how many amateurs like us gathered to think about it, the probability will remain the same.

Still, we will challenge it.

The chances of success is non-existent―no, not completely.

There’s a plan. Though the chances of success is akin to a random gamble, we still have hope.

Said Kato-san, the strategist.

"Do you have the resolve to live on, no matter what happens?"

If it's for Master, our answer has already been decided.

In order to pull the victory that seemed like a thin thread, we went towards Master's side, proceeding into the sinking darkness of the forest at night.

~ AUTHOR’S NOTES ~

◆ Kato-san is like the middle boss that can't be defeated which sometimes appears in games.

For example, in TOD 2, it’s Barbatos.

In Sazae-san, it's Anago-san.

◆ ...It's an old story.

◆ Next chapter will be on 1/18 (Sat.u.r.day)