Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? (LN) - Volume 15 Chapter 4.3 Interlude Kunihiko Tagawa

First, he explained the domestic conflict in the demon territory.
It was hard to tell what that had to do with our hometown being destroyed, but I’m sure he had his reasons for starting with that.
Asaka and I sat in silence and listened.
A rebel army, secretly aided by the elves, formed to resist the Demon Lord.
Ms. Oka was among those elves, he says.
But the rebel army was crushed by the official demon army, and the elves, including Ms. Oka, were left stranded in the demon territory, with no way to return to the human territory alive.
The biggest obstacle to their escape was the Human-Demon Buffer Zone, namely a tribe that lived there.
This tribe of despicable thieves would kill anyone they didn’t recognize on sight and live off their stolen possessions.
…That’s referring to our hometown, apparently. For real?
That’s what demons thought of our clan?
I was stunned, but Asaka seemed fairly unsurprised.
“Well, they really were quite obviously barbaric, remember?” “Whaaat…?”
I guess Asaka saw the people of our clan that way, too.
She tells me that she was hoping to get away from that settlement as soon as possible.
Come on…seriously…?
I always remembered the men of that tribe being strong, cool adults. Were those just glorified memories all this time?
The unexpected and unwelcome truth about our tribe sends me into a tailspin, but Merazophis still has more to say.
In order to get Ms. Oka safely over to the human territory, it was decided that the only option was to preemptively attack and destroy our hometown to secure safe passage.
“Wait a minute. Why didn’t you just make Ms. Oka a prisoner of war or something?” Asaka asks.
“I’m afraid that was impossible, because of Potimas Harrifenas’s particular abilities.”
I met Potimas, the patriarch of the elves, once before; it turns out he’s the

reason this world is in shambles.
Plus, he has the ability to take over someone else’s body.
He can’t do it to just anyone, but evidently if someone meets the right conditions, he can erase their mind and operate their body like his own.
Ms. Oka falls into that category of possible hosts, so if they had kept her as a prisoner of war, Potimas probably would have taken over her body immediately.
“…Damn, that’s gnarly.”
“Yes. Which is why we were unable to lay a hand on Missoka.”
I knew from what Wakaba told us that the elves were garbage, but with that ability, Potimas seems even more evil than I realized.
He was such a piece of shit that it even showed in his abilities.
That’s crazy, though…
“So in a roundabout way, Ms. Oka is the reason our hometown got destroyed?”
It’s not Ms. Oka’s fault at all, but I still feel weird about it. “There is that, but your presence there was a factor as well.” “Huh? It’s our fault?”
“No, I wouldn’t describe it as your ‘fault’ per se. This was the border between the human and demon territories, as you recall. Once the war broke out, it would soon become a battlefield, and your clan would have surely perished. It is true that the situation with Missoka hastened its destruction, but there was also the goal of getting you two reincarnations out of the war zone and into a safer area as soon as possible, before the war began. Nor could we allow you to encounter Missoka, who was gathering the reincarnations under the elves’ control.”
“What…the hell? That’s…I don’t even…” My words won’t come out right.
What is he saying?
That we’re also to blame for our clan getting wiped out?
I guess he let me and Asaka live because we were reincarnations, too. “Ha-ha. What, are we reincarnations angels of death or something, then?”
“As I said, that tribe would have been caught up in the war and destroyed sooner or later, no matter what.”
Merazophis addresses me almost comfortingly as I laugh bitterly. Stop it.

Don’t be nice to me when you’re supposed to be the target of my revenge…
“That is the long and short of the situation at that time.” Merazophis concludes his explanation.
Just as we were warned, I feel decidedly unpleasant after hearing all that, but it made a lot of sense, too.
Now I finally know why someone ridiculously strong like Merazophis would suddenly attack our settlement without warning.
I spent years wondering where he came from, and why.
Not to mention why our clan was the target of such sudden destruction. Now those questions have finally been answered for me.
Even if part of me suspects I was better off not knowing.
“…As you see, we had our reasons for doing what we did. But it does not change the fact that I personally destroyed your home and killed your friends and family. You have every right to despise me.”
With that, Merazophis stands.
“I cannot apologize, nor can I willingly offer you my life in penance. But I will not turn away a challenge from you, either. I will fight you whenever you wish.”
Just like that, he leaves the room. Was he being considerate of us?
Were those final words an attempt to motivate me out of my obvious depression?
Seriously, I don’t want my supposed mortal enemy to be nice to me… “…I came here to find out the truth so I’d know what to do next, but I’ve
never felt more unsure, dammit.”
Asaka silently puts her hand on my shoulder.
The mugs that Merazophis poured for us are already empty.