That Unique Monster Who Just Got the 'Consciousness' Passive Skill

"...Is that so."

"Yes. But… forgetting about all that, as I said, don't rush through it, okay? Work as my servant soldier right immediately? Are you so looking forward to it you should want to start today, fufu?"

So I wouldn't start today.

"What, don't make that face."

"But when should I, then, ma'am?"

"Well, that's a good question! You remember I mentioned the heroes—my heroes—before?" It's true she mentioned heroes saying they came from the "other side," but what of them? "Well, you shall have to be like these guys." I said I didn't want to be a hero. "Why, even if you wanted to be one, you couldn't."

"What do you mean, then?"

"Before I should like to put you to work… you likely need refining. Or maybe not, but either way, your services won't be required so early!" Which is it: should I need training or not?

Just like these hero people the royalty mentioned, I'd be training first. Probably. She didn't know herself. The heroes summoned by the Kingdom weren't exactly asked to work for and save the State immediately after they were elected as heroes, quite the contrary.

"I'm sure you will like them, little monster—they are sure to become of my personal little army, too, mwah-hah-hah, so you and them will likely meet… even though they're officials so I can't say you have so many similarities—but like them, you shan't be required to operate under my rule right immediately."

My head hurt. I felt what should have been no more than a little meeting organized by the System between the Player and that human princess, a side character of the Game, needlessly dragged for too long. At first, she only spoke about me and everything she wanted me to do, but now, there were so many details to take in I didn't like it. I would need time to process all of that after I probably accepted the "work" she proposed to me, her new personal little pet monster.

Now, added to the many words she spoke about herself, her position as the direct descendent of a king, and stuff like that, she spoke about some other soldiers she already had under her, the summoned hero team, and I didn't know what my part was in all that.

"You're absolutely right," she said, slightly bowing her head with a self-effacing smile. "I digress. The essence of what I tried to picture to you was—" It would be a long-time, at least a long month, before she said she would have anything planned for me, her pet soldier. And that was the end of the matter, she said.

"The end? I don't know about that, ma'am." After she asked me what was on my mind, I said it was obvious that there was some kind of problem here—the employer didn't actually have, for the present time, any work for the employee.

"Oh, does that bother you, little monster? My, but your eagerness is appreciated!"

"It… doesn't exactly, ma'am. It's just, am I free to go about whatever I want, then, if, say, you, human princess, don't have any work for me at the present time?" I was concerned by that. If I didn't have anything to do for now, what should I be doing?

Did that human royalty expect me to go back to my own occupations, that is to say to my old man in the woods, and wait for some kind of messenger pigeon to deliver me the message "Congratulations: You are now employed! Come meet me at a-certain-location where we will hone out the details of the contract between us!"

Because I thought whatever plan she had for me, if I became her personal army, would be taking effect right away. But if that wasn't the case, then I guess…

"So that's what you had in mind? Mm-hm. To answer your question, of course not. That is, you thought right: the effect of our agreement would be taking effect immediately." Even if she didn't need me for now, she said I couldn't forget our contract was a give-and-take thing.

The thing was, she'd need me, her knight servant, close-by, so I wouldn't be left off to my own devices. And also, "I thought it was clear you will be amply paid and rewarded, if you so choose to let your power be my sword."

What she meant by that last statement, briefly, was that she would take care of everything. Anything? Yes, anything and everything. She had mentioned I could have all the gold I wanted, after all. There was also the fact that, as she mentioned earlier, it wasn't unusual for a demi-human or irregular monster to want citizenship in a human society.

To belong and live with the "higher society," she said, as it was where all the good of civilization was. Be it technological or magical advancements, entertainment, the liveliness of a city even at night, and so on. It went without saying, according to the royalty, that her servant knight would have to follow her to the capital. It was both part of the reward she offered and her personal soldier's duty, wasn't it?

"But hey… slooow."

"Look. I'm new here, ma'am."

"I'm just teasing!"

All of what was obvious to her wasn't so obvious to me. "Fair enough, I understand now. It makes sense I'd have to follow you out there, true."

The more I spoke with her about the offer she proposed to me, the more my understanding of the situation the System put me in changed. If you asked me half an hour ago, when she started the parley, I didn't think much of our exchange at all. When entering the parley, I was a nobody who basically had nothing, and I would exit the negotiation being the same commoner peasant.

At present, on the other hand, that was different. It was overwhelming how, if I went and said yes, my way of living would drastically change in a matter of less than a day. I'd be having a relationship with one of the wealthiest and most important people of a large piece of land on the continent. Whew. I didn't realize it, but a "princess" person could be a really important figure, right? It wasn't like I was interested in so much fame, money, and honor, but the person sitting in front of me as I talked wasn't just anyone.

Well. Now that she had clarified most of my questions, the little meeting was now coming to an end, and I had an idea.

"Once we're out here, in the gigantic city you mentioned, the one you called your capital, am I free to go about whatever I want, then?"

After the royalty asked me about what I had in mind, I began to introduce myself a little, too. In a few words, I was so young and unused to the Outside World that I wanted to be stimulated by it. I wanted to live, be superior, explore the world, crush my enemies, and most of all, be stimulated. Using another term, I wanted to learn things. New things, over and over again. Know all about the world.

"...School, then, huh?"

"What? What is 'school'?"

"A place where you learn, obviously. …Hey, you'll have to tell me your story someday, little monster. Are you really… just… how to put it… so young? It's honestly so… I mean, as a member of mankind, your existence really is… quite phenomenal."

Well, I could tell that, from my perspective, it was mankind who was weird to comprehend. No matter how many times my old man told me that normal people weren't born savant and independent as I had been, I couldn't imagine how that was possible.

Were people really born as tiny worthless fussy crying red little versions of human adults?