The Useless Sonya

12:00 — 1st match

13:00 — 2nd match

14:00 — 3rd match

15:00 — 4th match (concert if there's no match)

16:00 — final

The times were fixed like that, so there was about a thirty-minute break between matches.

I took Sonya, my new companion, back to the waiting room.

I immediately used Lyuka's Gate to return home and gave her a warm bath.

"Waah… white skin. So smooth…"

Maika, Luna, and Colette, whose roles were done, got into the bath together and washed her.

… I held back for now. Getting into the bath together could come once we'd gotten properly close and Sonya truly wanted it.

But anyway, while I waited, I went ahead and looked at her stats.

"Ooh…! Interesting!"

This… I felt the romance of it!

I mean, this just looked like a setup that was hard to raise at first glance, but would transform into something incredible if you put in the work.

Well, I won't deny that the word "useless," which Julian had thrown at her, flickered across my mind for a moment, too.

But this was a lump of pure romance, no matter how you looked at it. That special feeling of the Attribute: God / Demon.

Wow, I really want to raise her now! I'm so excited.

Well, if it doesn't pan out and she's no good, then so be it. Even as is, it's not impossible to make her useful.

Setting aside the per-turn damage, the Altar of Thorns trait, where she revives even after being incapacitated, is pretty interesting.

Even now, Sacrifice is useful. A defender role, having Sonya take on single-target damage in another's place, is viable.

Life Sharing looks usable as a plain healing skill.

Skill Sharing is too random to feel great, but even restoring just 1 is plenty of a help.

If I tried to make use of Sonya as she is now, other than that… yeah, the only thing I can think of is suicide-bomb tactics.

Teach her self-destruct skills, take advantage of the fact that she can revive, and have her blow herself up over and over… yeah, that's probably the strongest.

Eh, isn't that too awful?

I rescue her from awful Julian and then make her do something even more awful, is what it amounts to…

If I can, I really don't want to do that…

More to the point, aren't her stats on the high side? Her Magic and Magic Defense are quite high.

For a UR-class Garumon, the stats at LV1 are a bit below all-10s, but roughly speaking we treat it as all 10s.

Then, per level-up, all stats go +1, rarely +2.

HP goes +1 per level-up, rarely +2, +10 every 10 levels, and only at the LV50 mark, +50.

Thinking of it this way, you can roughly estimate the stats per level. The stats at LV10 come out to around HP 29, with stats averaging 19.

Sonya's stats exceed that by about +2 on average.

It's still iffy for now, but you can tell she's overflowing with talent.

To my eyes, all I can see is room to grow. How exciting…!

"Still, 'Sacrifice' is a pretty incredible race name."

"…"

Lyuka was looking at the status panel along with me, deep in thought.

"Do you know something?"

"No. That's something you'd do better to ask Sonya-san directly."

"You're right."

Sonya came up out of the bath, refreshed.

… Ah… She really is cute, after all.

Twelve or thirteen, perhaps. Her slim, still-undeveloped body, yet her beauty was already in bloom.

Her slightly reddish black hair might seem somehow ominous, like blood. But that, too, was bewitching, as if it gave off an aura.

Her large, slightly drooping eyes carried a hint of melancholy, and a sense of grace…

She really is… a beautiful girl.

I wanted to talk with Sonya at length, but there was no time.

The thing that came in handy even then was bedroom time.

Only twenty minutes left? If I took her into the bedroom, I could talk for 120 minutes and get back to the venue with five minutes to spare.

… Sonya seemed a little nervous at being suddenly invited to the bedroom, though.

She came along obediently.

"… Now then, with this we can talk for about two hours.

Once more, welcome, Sonya. I'm Naoto Akai. I look forward to being with you from now on.

First… I'd like to hear your story.

Why exactly were you taken by Julian? If you can't talk about your former master, then just tell me as much as you can.

I want to know about you. How you've spent your life until now… won't you tell me?"

"…"

Even when I called to her like that and looked at her steadily, Sonya stayed silent for a while.

I didn't rush her, and waited until she felt like talking.

If she didn't feel like talking, I was prepared to stay frozen like this for two hours…

"Sonya… is…"

After about five minutes, Sonya let me hear her lovely voice.

She referred to herself by name. How cute…

"Sonya is thirteen now. I lived with my family in a forest on the edge of town."

… Thirteen. Normally that's the age to be in school.

Maybe she was a noble's child.

"About a year ago… our house was attacked by bandits.

Papa fought, but they were really strong bandits… and he lost. Papa was… killed…

Mama and the others, my little sisters and I… were carried off by the bandits.

Because I'm the big sister, I begged the bandits to do whatever they wanted with me, but to do nothing to my sisters.

But they wouldn't listen…

I prayed to God. To save my sisters.

And then… I don't really understand it.

Before I knew it, the bandits were gone…

The officials, the knights, came to save us…

I think everyone was saved. They told me my sisters would be going to school…

… But, I don't really… understand it, but… they said Sonya couldn't go to school…

And so Sonya was placed in Julian-sama's keeping."

"I see… That must have been hard. You did so well…"

I gently stroked Sonya's head.

Attacked by bandits, her parent killed, carried off… such a tragic thing could happen in this world too…

Well, the details, especially the part about praying to God, were too halting in Sonya's telling for me to fully grasp…

But I understood at least that Sonya had been through something very painful and sad.

"Naoto-san."

Lyuka seemed to want to fill in the gaps.

"Sonya's family was… most likely a retired noble.

Some nobles, after retiring, take their beloved Garumon and their children and go to live away from human settlements.

They want to live slowly, in a love nest, undisturbed by anyone.

For a noble who holds excellent Garumon, becoming self-sufficient isn't all that difficult."

I see… The wish to live surrounded by loved ones, undisturbed by anyone, was understandable, of course.

"But there are risks, too.

A noble's home has children of high rarity who haven't yet awakened to their powers.

Such children, if brought to the right place, sell for an extraordinary price. To ruffians, they're a treasure trove.

For that reason, cases of such reclusive nobles being attacked do happen from time to time."

"Eh, but you're not allowed to attack NPCs, are you…?"

"You aren't. But that doesn't mean you can't attack outside of a battle, in an extra-battle battle.

The perpetrator goes on the blacklist, but… that doesn't prevent all the harm.

There's no point preaching morals to ruffians who don't obey the law.

Within a town, they're protected. But living alone away from town… you have only your own power to resist."

"… I see."

Well, it is a world where might is justice…

A painful thing, but…

"The bandits who carried off Sonya and the others probably tried to assault them.

A virgin won't be raped unless she truly wishes it, but everything short of vaginal or anal penetration is possible.

Or, with children whose hearts aren't yet mature, it's possible they'd submit and open their bodies.

… Sonya tried to protect against that.

… For a Garumon not yet awakened to her power, that's extremely difficult. Realistically, all but impossible.

But there is one miracle in this world that can bring it about.

It's a phenomenon called Sacrifice.

Sonya, it's believed, brought this about, drove off the bandits, and protected her family."

"Sacrifice… It's a word that means something like a sacrificial offering, or a victim. I've seen skills by that name a few times before, too…"

"Yes, that's right. But the Sacrifice we mean here is different from the Sacrifice you can normally use as a skill.

A Garumon pays a kind of price, of her own life. Or her abilities. Or her future…

By paying such a price, she summons the miracle she wished for. It's a phenomenon that occurs very rarely."

"A miracle, in exchange for a price…"

Well, the kind of thing that's common in manga and anime, then.

The whole "it's-yabai-so-it's-born" awakening trope.

"Some say a key that opens the door to possibility sleeps within each Garumon.

Or that the god watching over the Garumon grants her wish.

Various things are said, but the details aren't really known. It's not a phenomenon that occurs all that often.

But it's certainly a real phenomenon, and a Garumon who triggers it suffers great damage.

A grown Garumon loses the achievements she's gained until then. Forgetting skills, level loss, stat loss… at worst, death.

A Garumon not yet grown will pay her future growth as the price.

… The class 'Sacrifice' is a class indicating that she paid a price toward her future in order to use this Sacrifice."

"… I see. So that's why you knew about the 'Sacrifice' class from the start, Lyuka."

"That's right. Even though it's a restricted class, it's not a class like Lesser Hero where the next stage of growth is guaranteed.

Rather, please be aware that there's a possibility she won't grow at all, even after reaching LV50."

"Mm, understood."

That said, though…

To force such a heavy restriction on Sonya, when she did nothing wrong herself, was just too pitiful.

Once you'd heard a story like that…

"What do you think I'll do, having heard that?"

"… You'll pour even more love into Sonya and throw yourself enthusiastically into raising her, I expect."

"As expected of Lyuka. You really understand me."

I petted Lyuka's head, good girl, good girl.

"Goshujin-sama.

I'm a useless Garumon. I can't fight, I'm scrawny and can't do lewd things.

I can't be of any use at all. I'm so worthless I can't even be sold.

… Why, Goshujin-sama, did you take in a Garumon like me?"

Sonya asked me something so heartbreaking.

"… Julian-sama made use of me by hitting me.

Do you, too, Naoto-sama, have some hobby that even I could be useful for?

If so, I'll do anything, so… please take care of me."

Sonya bowed her head like that.

Hmm, regrettably, as for whether she could satisfy my hobbies, with Sonya as she is now, it'd be difficult. Because her hair isn't even… no, that's not the point.

"Sonya."

I grasped Sonya's shoulders and made her raise her head.

"You did nothing wrong. If anything, you did a wonderful thing. You saved your family.

A Garumon as lovely and as kind as you… I hate the thought of you not being able to find happiness.

If there's a reason I made you my companion, it's only that.

Beyond that, I made you my companion simply because I wanted to.

Looking at your sad face, I just couldn't help wanting to see you smile.

… That's all it is."

"A smile… is it? Then…"

Sonya put on a slightly unpracticed, stiff sort of smile.

"No, don't force yourself to smile.

… Smiling when you don't want to is no good. What I want to see is Sonya's smile from the heart."

"…?"

Sonya didn't seem to understand.

… Hmm, I think I said something corny enough to be a little embarrassing.

When I just spoke my true feelings plainly, it came out incredibly corny.

"… No, to be blunt, I won't deny I had the urge to do lewd things because Sonya's really cute…"

To cover my embarrassment, I blurted out even more of my true feelings.

"… Goshujin-sama, are you a lolicon?"

"No, that's not it. I love big breasts.

But Sonya's beauty, your cuteness, has a charm that transcends even that kind of sexual preference, I guess you could say.

And besides, I think you'll grow up nicely in the future!"

"… Naoto-san, I think the coolest thing is to stop right after you say a cool line without getting embarrassed."

I got a warning from Lyuka…

"W-well, anyway, I'll show you that I'll make Sonya happy. So look forward to it."

That was how I wrapped it up… Sonya still didn't seem to quite get it, though…

"… Lyuka, just one more thing. Why did Julian get hold of Sonya?

From everything you've said, it doesn't connect, does it?"

I voiced a concern.

"What do you think, Naoto-san?"

… Lyuka had this habit of not stating her own opinion and leaving things to me.

She'd been called NPC-natured.

She taught me the knowledge I needed, but kept to a policy of butting into my decisions as little as possible.

… Well, like with that drawn-out, fumbling talk to Sonya just now, she'd butt in when she couldn't bear to watch, so it wasn't absolute.

"Yeah, well… I was thinking that the bandits who attacked Sonya's home might be Julian's men.

… The nobles who can raise children in their own homes are current B-Class Masters or higher, or, if retired, B-Class NPCs or higher.

If she said they'd retired from active service, then I can conclude they were B-Class NPC or higher.

In other words, either a former A-Class Master or a former B-Class 1st-place Master.

Well, there are plenty of exceptions like elite mercenaries and knight commanders, but basically it'd have to be someone who was stronger than the 153rd-strongest in the world.

If they'd been wiped out by a complete surprise attack, that's one thing, but she said her father lost after fighting properly.

That's the work of a current S- or A-Class Master, or someone of exceptional caliber.

And someone of that caliber, a bandit?

Why would they do such unstable work? They'd make far more becoming a current B-Class Master.

… Well, thinking it through, it's more natural to assume Julian has people under him who hunt and gather Garumon by such illegal means.

It wouldn't be strange for an S-Class knight to be stronger than your average A-Class Master.

… Have your own subordinates attack a retired former Master, stage a rescue, and make that Master's Garumon and children your own.

… That bastard might be doing something like that."

… As I said it, I started to feel sick.

I had no proof, though.

… Did I really not, though? If a proper police agency investigated, wouldn't it turn up?

"… Can't I request the system logs, or something like that?

If Julian really is doing such scummy things, I absolutely can't forgive it…!"

"… The system won't cooperate that far in cracking down on crime.

I've never heard of a case where it disclosed logs."

"Hmm… What do you think, Lyuka?"

"I won't deny the possibility. But fighting it on a legal front would be… tough. This is a world where might is justice.

If evil throws its weight around through power, the only option is to defeat it with even greater power."

"Ku…! If I'd known beforehand, I'd have added all sorts of things to this match's victory conditions…!"

To think he was that low.

… No, I still don't know. It could be a mistaken assumption.

Julian might have just happened to be nearby and just happened to protect Sonya.

… Though there's no room to excuse his awful treatment of her afterward.

But… there is a way to force him to confess everything. Make a wager in a Garumon Battle and win.

If he loses, he can't defy it.

He'll confess all his crimes.

"… But I'll get one more chance to battle that bastard.

… At the year-end S-Class Tournament, Shaina fights him…

When that happens, I'll make him spill every last one of his evil deeds."

… Between the Melville match and this, maybe I'm leaning on Shaina too conveniently.

For now, I'll beg her, even bowing my head to the ground.

And if I can, in another half year I'd love to use the power of a fully grown-strong Sonya to beat Julian to a pulp.

A hard-won victory and the wonderful new companion that is Sonya, and yet it left a somehow bad aftertaste.

… But, one step at a time. Make this world a little better, bit by bit. I mustn't rush.

And for that, too, I need power…

"Now, let's head back soon. Shaina's battle is about to begin."

I couldn't miss the gallant figure of Shaina fighting for my sake.

"Let's go, Sonya! Lyuka!"

I took the two of them by the hand, one in each, and broke into a run.