Surviving in a World Teeming with Monsters with the Useless Skill 【Everyday Items Master】! I Was Just Hunting Wild Animals with a Crowbar, So Why Is Everyone Screaming It's an S-Rank Monster? - 120

Chapter 120: Soaked to the Bone

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After killing the Ashura members, Luna moved back up to the radio tower with March Hare’s help. It was raining, but it didn’t matter. Her heart was already frozen, so her body felt the same.

“Princess-sama~. If you don’t stay dry, you’ll catch a cold, you know~?”

March Hare offered a plastic umbrella to Luna, who was sitting hunched over, but Luna said flatly.

“…I don’t need it.”

“You do~! If Princess-sama gets sick, March Hare would be so sad!”

“Like I said,  I don’t need it!”

Luna snapped, and March Hare, still holding out the umbrella, replied timidly.

“O‑okay~…?”

Bathed in rain, Mad Hatter pointed to her own stylish bat-wing umbrella. Mad Hatter said.

“Still, Princess-san. You managed to escape from those people. So shouldn’t you go back to Aniki and the others soon?”

Luna’s eyes welled with tears.

“I can’t go back… If I’m around, everyone will end up unhappy… So I can’t go anywhere. I can’t return to Onii-sama…!”

Tears fell from Luna’s eyes. She now understood why Aniki had been so furious. The 『Naming』 she saw as a fun game was incredibly dangerous. It could lead to her elimination—and had already cost her Onii-sama and nearly everyone else their lives. Her body trembled. 

“Botan‑nee‑san died, Angel died, Shachimaru died… Only Mad Hatter and March Hare remain—those I’d already ‘named.’ The only ones I brought back to life…!”

“Really~? March Hare didn’t see them all get taken out though~.”

“Yeah, me neither. Probably after Aniki defeated us, the people we killed went wild.”

The two spoke half-heartedly, as though detached from the tragedy. Luna, unused to losing people, could hardly process what had happened. Even though he knew people could be resurrected from death, that knowledge still didn’t lessen the shock. 

She fell silent again, drowning in regret. 

Why did I do such a reckless thing? Why didn’t I just apologize when Onii-sama scolded me? Why did I run away from him?

Her regrets circled endlessly.

Then Dormouse, new to the group, spoke up absentmindedly in the rain.

“By the way, Princess… How does your 『Naming』 work, exactly?”

Luna wondered.

“…What do you mean by how it works?”

“Well, I was just thinking—what kind of magic builds that effect?” 

Dormouse, completely soaked like a “wet rat,” followed up. Luna answered, somewhat hesitantly.

“It’s like casting roles in a play.”

“A play?” 

Dormouse echoed.

“Yes. Inside me, I imagine a theater like Alice in Wonderland. I tell someone, ‘You’ll be so-and-so in the play,’ and invite them to join it.”

So for Luna, naming was a friendly invitation—like a pretend-play request: “Will you participate in this play?” Even now, that intuitive understanding made it hard for her to see the devastation, though she now realized her mistake. Dormouse then asked.

“Oh? So you can remove someone from the role too?”

“Yes. If I can assign them, I can take them off.”

“Cool! So try it on me—Princess, try it now!”

Smiling eagerly, Dormouse urged. Luna, with a heavy heart, said.

“【I hereby remove you from being Dormouse】. ”

Immediately, it happened: Dormouse vanished—and Saya Koufukuji, the sniper of Ashura team, shot Luna in the leg with a powerful sniper round.

“Eh…?” 

The high-powered bullet from the sniper rifle destroyed Luna’s leg. Her leg was gouged out as if it had been bitten off by a wild beast, hanging by just a shred of skin—until it too, finally came off.

“―!”

The event was so sudden that none of the three, including Luna, could react at all. The only one able to move was Saya.

“How dare you…”

Saya moved. Despite her small frame, she moved swiftly, and her kick landed with a force that didn’t match her size.

“How dare you make me kill Shuuya! How dare you make me kill my family!”

Saya’s kick hit Luna in the torso. Her small body was easily lifted off the ground and rolled through the rain.

“Gah, guh, ah—!”

The intense pain in her leg and the pain of the kick disoriented Luna. Not understanding what had just happened, she looked up toward the voice. There she saw Saya’s face, furious to a degree unimaginable from the gentle expression she had worn just moments before.

“Just killing him would’ve been one thing, but you made me do it with my own hands! Shuuya, my beloved little brother!”

“Ga, gi, i-it, ouch, s-stop, gya!”

Saya stomped on Luna over and over again. Blood poured from the severed end of her leg. It thinned as it mixed with the rain, but Luna didn’t die immediately. Because Luna wasn’t human.

“Shuuya—Shuuya believed I wouldn’t shoot him! He believed in me until the very end!”

Still stomping, Saya shouted.

“That’s why he didn’t resist! Because he trusted me! He could’ve cut me down in an instant if he wanted to, but he didn’t!”

Grief, regret. Anger, resentment, hatred. Saya didn’t give a second thought to the fact that Luna was just a little girl—she mercilessly kicked her. With another powerful kick, Luna’s body rolled across the rain-soaked ground again.

And then suddenly, Saya collapsed where she stood, sobbing.

“Shuuya…! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry… I was weak. Shuuya resisted the brainwashing, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t overcome it… But still!”

Saya pointed her sniper rifle at Luna.

“This time, I’ll finish it. I’ll finish our mission!”

A gunshot rang out. Luna shut her eyes. But the pain never came. She opened her eyes—and saw the Mad Hatter had cut down the bullet Saya fired. Drenched in rain, the Mad Hatter barked sharply.

“Princess-san! Hurry and reset the roles!”

“I won’t let you!”

Another shot from Saya. The Mad Hatter once again swung his cane to deflect the bullet. But perhaps anticipating this, Saya suddenly lowered her barrel and aimed a ricochet shot at Luna.

【Teleport】

The March Hare teleported, cradling Luna, and appeared right behind Saya. 

“Princess-sama, hurry!” 

She cried.

Finally, Luna spoke.

“【I hereby】… “

“Don’t!”

“【return you to Dormouse】.”

Just as Saya turned to fire another bullet— At that moment, Saya—Dormouse—lowered her weapon.

“…Aww, I messed up.”

“Hah… hah… hah…”

Dormouse pouted and muttered.

“Tch. I was this close… Haaaah…”

Hearing Dormouse’s yawning voice, Luna couldn’t hold back her tears any longer.

“Uuh… uuuh, ueeeaaahhh…!”

Clinging to the March Hare, Luna broke into tears. Sobbing uncontrollably, she cried out.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…! I—I never thought 『Naming』 would be something like this…!”

She had never imagined that it would be something that restricted free will this severely and forced obedience so completely.

“I’m sorry! Fashionable Goblin-san, Ui… I thought it was just something fun, like a game… and I did this to both of you…!”

“Princess-san…” 

“Don’t worry about it, Princess-sama.”

The two spoke gently, trying to comfort her, but Luna shook her head. Because those words came from the Mad Hatter and March Hare. Not from Fashionable Goblin and Ui.

“And that’s not all…! I gave so many people ‘Names’…”

She had realized that if the『Naming』 was simple enough, it could spread from one named person to others. She had taken it lightly and tried to get more people to participate in the play.

Soaking wet in the rain, Luna moved away from the March Hare and looked down below the radio tower. Countless ‘Trump Soldiers’ were wandering around. When they spotted someone who wasn’t one of them, they tried to turn them into another Trump Soldier.

“Ah… ahh… Aaahhh…”

Luna clutched her head as she finally grasped the true weight of what she had done.

“What have I done… What have I done…”

Shrinking from the enormity of her sin, Luna backed away. Then Dormouse gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Princess. Are you scared of what you’ve done?”

“Dormouse…”

“If so, just remove everyone. Take them out of their roles and set them free. Then everything you did would be solved, at least for now—right?”

Luna scrunched up her face at that suggestion.

“I can’t…”

“Why not? If it’s about whether you can or can’t, then you definitely can.”

“I can’t…! I’m sorry, I’m sorry…!”

The hatred that Dormouse—Saya—had shown earlier. It had imprinted itself deep into Luna’s mind, paralyzing her with fear.

“Hey, Princess. If you really think what you did was wrong, then you should be able to do it, right?”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“Look, see for yourself. So many people are trapped in these Trump Soldier roles, wandering through the heavy rain doing things they never wanted to do.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry…!”

“They’re all suffering. Come on. Let’s free them already.”

“I’m sorry…! I’m sorry…!”

Crying and apologizing, Luna curled up into a ball. Fear. She wanted to free them. She wanted to beg for forgiveness for doing this.

But Luna had realized the truth. If she released everyone, then in the end, those she freed would turn their hatred on her, and she would be helplessly killed by them. She had realized that truth now.

“I’m sorry I can’t free you all… Because I’m scared for my own life…!”

It was terrifying. Overwhelmingly, unbearably terrifying. Young Luna couldn’t bring herself to accept the immense hatred she would receive.

“Dormouse, that’s enough. Don’t bully Princess-san too much.”

“Okaaay. Can’t really stray too far from my role anyway, so I’ll leave it here~”

Chided by the Mad Hatter, Dormouse stepped back with a nonchalant air. Meanwhile, the March Hare gently hugged Luna, who was shivering in the cold rain, trying to shield her.

“March Hare is really not bothered by it, you know~… You even stopped Shacchi and me from killing each other. But… It’s still scary for you, huh, Princess-sama~…”

“I’m sorry, Mad Hatter, March Hare. I can’t even bring myself to free the two of you. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…!”

Held in the March Hare’s arms, Luna wept. The Mad Hatter brought over Luna’s severed leg and reattached it to the regenerating stump. And Luna…. She became afraid of their kindness.

Because the moment the roles were removed, that kindness might vanish like a dream. And deep down, the two of them might actually be harboring hatred and disgust toward Luna. After all, Dormouse had completely hidden her grudge right up until the instant her role was removed.

Thinking that made Luna afraid, and with her leg reattached, she moved away from the March Hare. All she could do was shrink into herself where she stood.

“What… Should I do…”

Crushed under the weight of her growing guilt, yet with no way to make amends, Luna whispered.

“I can’t do anything. Even though I know it’s my fault, I have no way to fix this disaster.”

She trembled at her own helplessness. The rain chilled her body, and her teeth began to chatter uncontrollably.

“I-I don’t know. What should I do…? Help me… Please, someone, someone…”

She tightly shut her eyes. Anyone would do. Anyone who could rescue her from this catastrophe, from this hopeless situation. Flashing through her mind was the image of someone who always seemed frail, but was reliable when it really mattered. Her Onii-sama――

At that moment, the voices of the Mad Hatter, March Hare, and Dormouse overlapped.

“Why don’t you ask your mother for help?” “How about it~?” “Whaaat do you think~?”

The figure she had just imagined vanished at the sound of those voices, and Luna opened her eyes to look at the three.

“Mother…?”

“Yeah, that’s right. It’s been a while since you last saw her, hasn’t it? Hmm?”

“Exactly, exactly~! This is the perfect time!~ Go ahead and call her~!”

“Yeah. Great idea. If you do that, everything will turn out just fine.”

“Mother…”

Luna remembered her mother.

“…Hm? I just kind of said it without thinking, but… Who is ‘Mother,’ anyway?”

Mother. A flashy woman, quick to anger—and when she got mad, it would throw the whole servants into chaos.

“Mother~? March Hare  knows it’s weird for me to say this, but what kind of person is Princess-sama’s mother~?”

But sometimes, she could be kind. Luna still remembered how delicious the tart had been when she ate it with her mother.

“…My mouth just moved on its own. I see… I get it now. And since it’s within the role, I can’t stop it either… I guess we’re stuck.”

As she remembered, one noisy, lively, joyful memory after another came flooding back.

“Mother.”

She wanted to see her. She felt lonely. She wanted to be saved. Such feelings swelled in Luna’s heart, and tears welled up in her eyes. Nostalgia welled up in her chest. From the depths of her young heart, Luna squeezed out her voice.

“Mother… I want to see you…!”

A single tear fell from Luna’s eye and the moment that tear touched the ground… Everything changed.

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