Kono Lint's Supernatural powers had mostly been used for rescuing people since the Gate incident. Although his abilities had developed, his personal combat skills remained lacking due to his lack of overall growth as an individual.
However, his Supernatural power of spatial teleportation allowed Kono Lint to move not only himself but also others without any limitations.
If one were to ask if Kono Lint's power couldn't be used for offense, the answer wouldn't be a definite no.
However, to kill a monster, he needed to teleport along with a monster possessing less than roughly 200kg of mass.
For example, he could move to an extreme altitude and drop the creature from there.
Of course, after experiencing immense pain from air pressure, Kono Lint gave up on using his ability offensively.
Initially, while Kono Lint was busy trying to capture a monster his size, Ellen Artorius and Heinrich would commit massacres.
That's why Kono Lint had taken on the role of rescuing survivors from battlefields.
At this point, Lint's power was responsible for evacuating incapacitated soldiers from massive battles to safer areas.
His spatial teleportation ability made him akin to a mage who could use magic without casting.
Although he couldn't teleport across continents, he compensated by increasing the number of uses according to distance.
Using consecutive teleportations, Kono Lint could return to the faraway Imperial Capital within five minutes.
He was a scout that could be deployed and retreated from any situation at any time.
The instructions he received from Saviolin Turner were simple.
Verify up to which point the monsters on the path of the march had been annihilated.
He had heard about unidentified forces sabotaging the allied forces' march.
As a Supernatural who didn't need to cast, Kono Lint immediately set off.
-POP!
In less than a minute, Kono Lint reached the point where Saviolin Turner and Ellen had arrived previously.
"Unidentified forces, huh…"
Kono Lint glanced at the traces of the slaughtered monsters and disappeared once more.
After some more movement,
"…Huh? What?"
Suddenly, his surroundings were so bright that he had to squint his eyes.
-THUD!
"Ugh, wh-what?!"
He found himself buried in an unexpected pile of snow.
His face drained of color as he stared up at the sky, still buried in the snow.
"Ah! It's freezing!"
Kono Lint hastily used his teleportation in the suddenly transformed snowy landscape.
He didn't have the ability to fly, but he could teleport into the air.
Although he couldn't stop falling, he could virtually float in midair if he kept teleporting upward.
Of course, the sensation of falling was so horrible that he rarely used it.
From high above, he gazed down.
"What… What is this…?"
Kono Lint couldn't help but be dumbfounded as he faced the vast white expanse where nothing but snow could be seen.
—---
"Snow?"
"Yes, Commander. There was an immense amount of snow falling. Unnaturally so."
An enormous amount of snow had fallen over a huge area, far surpassing a single urban district.
Saviolin Turner furrowed her brow at Kono Lint's report.
Kono Lint had already grasped the scale of the area where the snow had fallen.
"It's not the season for snow. It must be an artificial phenomenon…"
"Yes, perhaps..."
"The monsters?"
"There were some alive, but most of them seem to have been buried in the snow and wiped out."
"I see."
Snow had fallen over a vast area.
Saviolin Turner quietly stared at the area marked on the map by Kono Lint.
There is a top-tier magic called Blizzard.
It's a large-scale weather-changing spell that summons a snowstorm over a certain area.
However, there is no magician capable of casting such a spell on this scale. Unless it's a legendary dragon, there is no magic to bury monsters under the snow and kill them within this range.
Is it magic or something else?
The advancing army has its limits, so by the time it arrives, the snow will have almost melted.
With the drastically reduced number of monsters to deal with during the march, the path ahead will be easier.
Reinhardt's forces are aiding the allied forces' advance.
Not only have the monsters been physically dealt with, but they have also caused a large-scale weather anomaly that eliminated the horde of monsters.
The advance will surely become easier and faster.
"What... is this situation?"
Saviolin Turner shook his head at Kono Lint's question.
"There's no point in knowing."
"Ah... I suppose so."
Reinhardt's name is forbidden in this world.
The Demon King is aiding the allied forces.
That is certain.
"..."
If the fact that the Demon King is aiding the allied forces were to be revealed, it would only cause chaos at the garrison.
To those who don't believe in the Demon King's goodwill, this phenomenon appears as an unknown horror designed by the Demon King for the allied forces.
A few, including Saviolin Turner, know there's no need to fear the Demon King's assistance.
But what if this large-scale weather anomaly occurred at the garrison?
It is humanity's strongest and last army.
If this army disappears, humanity will be extinct.
So, the Demon King can destroy humanity at any time.
Turner knows there's no need to fear the Demon King.
But she confirmed that the Demon King has an undeniable power to be feared.
At any moment, humanity could disappear if the Demon King changes his mind even slightly.
'I shouldn't be afraid... I'm sure I shouldn't...'
Saviolin Turner, pressing down on her eyelid, let out a deep sigh.
'It's too scary...'
Humanity exists because of the Demon King's mercy.
However, most humans hate the Demon King.
A few who know that humanity's end comes when the Demon King's mercy disappears can't help but fear him even more.
Cats are naturally like that.
"Originally, it's like that. You think you're close, but you're not. They suddenly disappear and reappear."
That was Christina's explanation.
A few days had passed since the cat disappeared. Everyone was missing it.
Not only Ellen, but everyone at the garrison had been disappointed when they tried to check on the cat upon returning.
The command center had delayed the advance date by a few days to gather detailed information on the events in the forward area.
However, since the horde of monsters was nearly exterminated, Ellen had no reason to deploy and remained at the Royal Class garrison.
The kitten that had caused a stir in the Royal Class garrison for a day had vanished without a trace.
Cats can suddenly disappear and reappear.
It could be hiding somewhere in the Royal Class garrison or have gone to another garrison.
The garrison was vast, making it difficult to find a single black kitten.
It was absurd to search for it as if it were her own after having it for just one day.
Ellen knew full well that her situation did not warrant such concern for a mere cat.
It was just one day.
To be so troubled over a small creature she had only cared for a single day was laughable.
Did she like cute things?
Ellen wondered about herself but couldn't quite tell.
What mattered was that she worried for the kitten that had gone somewhere.
The small creature could hardly manage to climb onto the bed, let alone descend it; it didn't seem capable of prowling around the garrison.
The thought of it getting stepped on by someone unknowingly sent shivers down her spine.
The blanket on which the cat had sat in the dining tent remained untouched.
Like Ellen, no one had removed it, hoping the kitten would return and sit there again.
Ellen quietly ate her meal while looking at the blanket.
"Do you miss the kitten?"
It was a question from Christina, who sat across from her.
Did her expression give it all away?
Ellen muttered, staring at her stew plate.
Did she miss it?
What she truly missed was something else.
But just thinking about that name made her head feel like it was going to explode.
She had taken it all in, so it should be fine.
It had to be fine.
Buzzing
"…"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just a moment. I'm a little dizzy…"
Ellen breathed deeply, trying to calm herself from the pain of tinnitus that threatened to take her consciousness. After a few deep breaths, clutching the necklace in her left hand, her mind regained some stability.
The feeling of emotions splitting.
Hatred and anger, along with affection, manifested simultaneously, creating a bizarre pain that never became familiar, no matter how many times she experienced it.
She consciously tried not to think about Reinhardt.
That name had become too painful for Ellen, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
It was better to think about something else.
Something so small and insignificant.
It was better to think about a seemingly meaningless existence.
Thinking about Reinhardt wouldn't make anything better.
It would only hurt more.
"…It feels strange."
"What does?"
"Just, it's an animal."
The strange feeling wouldn't go away.
"I'm worried."
Ellen found it strange that amidst a battlefield filled with countless humans in danger and dying, she worried for a small creature that could hardly fend for itself.
That night.
The image of the small kitten, crying as if resonating with her own pain, did not leave her mind.
It was an animal, but it didn't seem like just an animal.
Was it right for her, who should be worrying about people, to be concerned about a single animal?
No, beyond worry.
Was it even more absurd to feel hurt?
There was no promise made, and the kitten couldn't possibly understand her words. Telling it to come back was just a casual remark, and the kitten couldn't have understood it.
It was strange to have such expectations for an animal.
"I'm worried too. I wonder where that tiny thing went?"
Christina sighed deeply, as if understanding Ellen's feelings.
She comforted Ellen, assuring her that it wasn't so strange.
The kitten couldn't even run properly, and soon, they would be leaving the garrison. How could it possibly keep up with the marching army without anyone to look after it?
It could hitch a ride on a carriage, but what if something went wrong?
Knowing that it was ridiculous to worry, they couldn't help but be concerned.
"Anyway, it's strange how much it liked Ellen."
"..."
"Do cats have some kind of eye for recognizing heroes?"
"There's no way."
"Is that so?"
Many people talked about the guest who had come and gone in the blink of an eye, seemingly disappointed like Ellen at the Royal Class.
"Anyway, I heard Anna requested something strange for the supplies?"
"Something strange...?"
"Yeah, she said it's something a cat would like, but I don't know what it is. No matter how you look at it, how can she put such a thing on the research supply request list? We don't even know if it exists, and the request has already been sent, so we can't cancel it. Sigh..."
Anna, a talent in dark magic, not only went on battle dispatches but also assisted Christina's alchemy experiments for quite a while during the Temple period.
That's why she still helps Christina's alchemy experiments when she has time.
But it seems she added cat-related items to the supply list after seeing the cat last time.
In other words, it's a kind of military corruption. Although the degree is not severe, it's not a good action.
"...That's not okay."
Even Ellen muttered as much.
"It's not the first day Anna has done something unexpected. Before that too... Hm."
Christina tried to say something but then closed her mouth. Ellen seemed to understand what Christina had stopped herself from saying.
It was about when they were in the magic research club. She tried to feed Reinhardt some strange potion or something.
Ellen took a deep breath and slowly ate the stew.
"Adelia stayed up all night making something like a cat house. What on earth is she doing when she has free time? She doesn't even seem to have time to sleep these days."
"...Really?"
"But actually, I also tried to find someone who has raised a cat before."
"Ah..."
Ellen was rather sympathetic.
All of the Royal Class were extremely upset.
But in the end, the cat didn't show up after it disappeared.
It's like closing the barn door after the cow is gone.
The cow doesn't even think about coming back, yet everyone is building barns.
“So dogs are better than cats, huh?”
“Whether it's a dog or a cat, it's good to have one. Can we afford to choose?”
“That's true.”
There were more students who were more upset than Ellen.
There were, of course, talks like "This is why cats aren't good," or "This is why dogs are better," but there were also stories about how cuteness is the best. There were also stories about how dogs are cute too.
It may be sad that they can be so excited about one small existence in this barren and rigid place.
The underlying reality where they can't find joy in anything but that is revealed.
In the grand scheme of things, there's despair and pain, and in the battles before their eyes, they don't know who will die.
If they talk about heavy matters, the atmosphere becomes heavy, and only gloomy stories can be exchanged.
So, they talk about small things.
Only cute things, only pitiful things, only pitiful things.
A small thing that they can be sure they can help and protect.
Small beings can be taken care of with small efforts.
Saving humanity is more difficult than protecting and feeding one small animal.
So, is that why they talk about small things?
Ellen realizes why people can only talk about the story of the missing cat in the seemingly warm and friendly atmosphere.
Isn't this close to giving up?
Abandoning thoughts of exceeding the limits of one's abilities and focusing on small things instead.
Merely cuteness, of all things.
Pouring attention into something that isn't even human.
If that's not defeatism, what is?
Ellen thinks she mustn't be like that. Others might be able to, but she mustn't let her heart be stolen by such small creatures.
I have more important work to do.
Carrying a greater burden than devoting my heart to small animals.
People have expectations of me.
There are things I must do.
In any case, it was just a strange event that happened overnight. While it remains a rather unusual experience, there is no need for such experiences to continue.
Cats are like that, after all.
Suddenly appearing and suddenly disappearing.
Animals without loyalty or affection.
So, devoting attention to a single cat in matters involving the fate of humanity is not something Ellen can allow herself.
Ellen takes a deep breath and narrows her eyes.
"It doesn't matter if it doesn't come."
"It must be upset. It liked Ellen the most."
"So what, it's just an animal."
Ellen says that and scoops up a spoonful of stew.
“Huh?”
“Huh?! It's here!”
“Where have you been?”
Suddenly, there's commotion outside.
"…Huh? Could it be?"
Christina tilts her head, looking at the commotion outside the tent.
-Thud!
Ellen involuntarily leaps to her feet. The wooden chair Ellen was sitting on tips over with a loud noise.
From afar.
The cat that could barely walk properly comes running as if it's flying.
The cat runs like the wind, entering the dining tent and stopping in front of Ellen.
-Meow
"…"
Ellen looks down at the cat gazing up at her.
Ellen cautiously crouches down and looks at the cat.
"Really… what a creature…"
Suddenly appearing and suddenly disappearing.
Finally, reappearing.
Thinking it's such a strange animal.
-Meow
Ellen embraces the cat.
She called for it again.
She definitely said that, and although several days had passed, it returned.
"You kept your promise."
-Meow
Could it really understand what she's saying?
Ellen couldn't tell anymore.
"Didn't you say it didn't matter if it didn't come?"
"…"
At Christina's words, Ellen's face, unusually, turns red.
This must be resignation.
In the end, it's defeatism.
Even so, Ellen couldn't help but tightly embrace the small cat.
