Chapter 133: Important Person

「Haa…haa…haa… 」

The boy was running alone through the desert at night.

His feet got caught in the sand many times along the way and he collapsed several times, but he still got up and ran through the night desert.

He left the villa where he was, back in the city, and continued on through the desert.

He ran aimlessly. But he ran in a certain direction, as if he knew where he was going.

「Haa…haa…Mom…Dad… 」

Shin muttered with tears in the corners of his eyes.

The mother and father he muttered were not his actual parents.

He didn’t remember his real father, nor did he know his whereabouts, and his mother was already dead.

And Shin had been traumatized by his mother’s death.

Then, in the desert, he was picked up by Manticores, supposed to be frightening monsters.

After being picked up by them, Shin lived his life, imagining the Manticores as his real parents.

But then, the female Manticore, his surrogate mother, died.

At that moment, Shin remembered the trauma of losing his real mother, and he almost died as a result.

However, he was able to regain consciousness thanks to his sister and Kyou.

But even so, the trauma of being at the villa where his real mother died never went away.

He wanted to get away as soon as possible.

Shin ran through the desert with that single thought in his mind.

That villa wasn’t his place. He knew that the place where the Manticores that had picked him up was where he belonged.

As Shin was running through the desert at night, he noticed a shadow in the distance.

As Shin got closer, its shape became clearer and clearer, and by the time he made out its shape, a smile spread across his face.

「…Dad! 」

It was the male Manticore that had picked up Shin.

After entrusting Shin to Kyou, that Manticore continued to keep an eye on him near the city.

There was no way Shin could mistake the Manticore that had raised him, and with a smile on his face, he ran towards the monster.

However, the next moment, Shin received a shock that defied his expectations.

「…Stop right there, human. 」

Countless needles fired from the Manticore’s tail.

They were fired towards Shin’s feet just as he was about to run over, and after seeing them, Shin stopped frozen in place.

「Huh? 」

Stunned by what was happening before his eyes, Shin opened his mouth to speak.

But, as if to add insult to injury, the Manticore spoke words that he found hard to believe.

「Don’t approach me so casually, human. 」

Those were words he could never have imagined coming from the Manticore that had raised him as a father figure.

The cold, ruthless words, spoken as if to a complete stranger, cut Shin to the heart.

「Wh… Why… why, Dad…? 」

As Shin stumbled closer, tears streaming down his face, the Manticore’s poisonous stinger was once again unleashed at his feet.

「I told you not to come any closer. If you come any closer, I’ll kill you, human. 」

「…」

Those words were spoken by the being who was supposed to be his father figure.

Shin stood there, stunned, as if he had lost his way.

「You’re lying…I mean, you told me you cared about me…and that I could stay with you forever…! 」

Despite the threat, Shin tried to approach the Manticore, and just as he walked close enough to touch it, he saw the Manticore sigh, and a look of relief crossed Shin’s face, but…

「…I warned you. Don’t resent me for it. 」

Then, with a murderous look on its face, the Manticore fired the poisonous stinger from its tail at Shin’s body.

「…Ugh! 」

As Shin watched the countless poisonous needles approach him, he felt a sense of despair, yet somewhere in his heart he felt a sense of relief.

Why did he feel a moment of relief when he was going to die?

The Manticore’s voice reached him as if it had seen through his doubts.

「I don’t know what you’re running away from, but…it’s a mistake to expect me to lead you somewhere else. 」

(…Running away…?)

The Manticore’s words caused a question to form in Shin’s mind.

What exactly was he running away from?

From that villa? From the trauma that happened there?

From the people there, the servants and the royal family?

As he watched the poisonous needles approach, Shin recalled the events that had happened up to that point, like a slideshow.

That place had certainly been traumatic for him.

But that wasn’t all.

There have also been happy times there. He remembered the warmth he’d spent with his family.

The moment his sister embraced him felt so warm.

But he trembled with fear again when his sister agreed to a duel with brother Masauda so that she could protect him.

It wasn’t the fear of being killed, but the imagining of a future in which his precious family would be hurt again.

(…Ah, I see…)

That was fine.

His real mother, and the being who acted as his mother, were gone now.

And now, the only blood relative he had left was about to be hurt because of him

If that was how it was going to end, then he’d rather it end here.

In fact, somewhere in my heart, I was hoping for it to happen.

The moment Shin realized this and tried to slowly close his eyes…he heard a scream calling out to him from behind.

「…Shin!! 」

Shin felt someone push him from behind before he could turn around to face that voice.

He fell forward, his face hitting the ground and sand getting into his mouth, but he quickly raised his head quickly.

Before his eyes, there was a girl with a face that looked exactly like his own.

It was his older sister, Alisha, his only remaining relative.

「…Big sister…」

Seeing his sister, Shin muttered. But his voice was trembling.

And that was no surprise, as her left arm was pierced by countless needles fired by the Manticore.

「…」

Alisha’s face twisted in pain.

And that was only natural, as the needles in the Manticore’s tail contained poison.

Those affected by it would lose all movement and could even die within a few days.

Having lived side-by-side with the Manticore, Shin knew its horror all too well.

Shin immediately expressed concern for his sister, but Alisha spoke up before him.

「Are you okay, Shin? Are you hurt? 」

There was a smile on her face, and although the pain of the poisonous needles should’ve been too much for her to think about, Shin saw the kindness in his sister’s efforts to avoid worrying him.

「Don’t worry…Shin. I’ll protect you. I promise I’ll protect you no matter what. 」

Shin was drawn to Alisha’s chest as she reached out her hand.

「…So, don’t tremble anymore. 」

Hearing these words, Shin’s body, which had been trembling all the way to the villa and all the way here, seemed to calm down.

As soon as she confirmed that Shin’s trembling had subsided, Alisha stood in front of him, as if to protect him.

「I don’t know why you’re attacking Shin, but I can say this for sure. 」

Having already been hit by the Manticore’s poisonous needles, her left side was paralyzed, and she was unable to move freely.

But even so, Alisha readied her sword in her right hand, took Shin’s hand with her left hand, which should’ve been numb, and declared without fear.

「I will never forgive you if you injure my brother with those needles! This child is my precious little brother! 」

「…Ah. 」

Hearing these words, Shin remembered.

When he was with his real mother, his sister was always by his side, holding his hand.

He thought he was holding his sister back.

But his sister didn’t think that way.

Even now, her sister told him she cared about him and still held his hand.

With the loss of their mother and also the female Manticore, he lost those who had been mother figures to him.

He thought there was no meaning to life anymore.

But that wasn’t the case.

Even now, after all this, his sister still held his hand and said she cared about him.

When Shin realized this, tears flowed from his eyes, and the trembling he had felt before was gone.

「…」

The Manticore watched them intently, and then, as if sensing something, slowly turned away.

「Ah…」

Seeing this, Shin unconsciously reached out his hand.

But the eyes of the Manticore staring back at him were not those Shin knew; they were cold, like those of someone he had never seen before.

「…Boy. I don’t understand why you seek me. But I will tell you this. 」

With that, the Manticore pointed at Alisha, who was still holding her sword as if to restrain him.

Sweat was streaming down her forehead, and her expression had turned to one of pain, but she still stood strong.

「If there is someone who cares for you, you should not leave their side. Even if it becomes a heavy burden. Listen, that burden is proof that something is important to you. 」

Hearing these words, Shin lowered his outstretched hand toward the Manticore.

The Manticore before him was truly important to Shin.

But there was someone far more important to him right now beside him.

When he realized this, Shin looked down and simply shed tears.

The Manticore, who had been watching, quietly turned on its heels and disappeared into the desert night.

Shin wiped away his tears while glancing at the back of the monster that had raised him like a father for several years.

And the next moment, as the tension eased, Alisha’s body collapsed and she lost consciousness.

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