Part 2 of 8
Diagonally behind me on one side is Mr. Oni, sitting still as a statue.
On the other side is Vampy, who seems to be sulking.
Right in front of me is Kudo, pressuring me with her eyes to hurry up and explain.
Ms. Oka keeps glancing at me nervously, too.
And the rest of the reincarnations are all totally staring.
Can I run away, please? No?
Do I really have to explain things with everyone’s attention laser-focused on me?
I do, huh? Riiight, of course.
Umm, umm…
Let’s see. Should I start by talking about the weather?
Nice and sunny today, isn’t it?
Yeah, that’s not right.
But seriously, what should I tell them first?
These reincarnations have nooo idea what’s going on. I’ve gotta explain the whole thing from square one.
But where is square one, exactly?
Maybe I should start with the creation of this world, or rather the system?
Hmm…but that would probably just be confusing for them, since it’s probably not what they’re wondering about at the moment, huh?
What do the reincarnations want to know most of all right now?
When I look at it that way, maybe I should start like this?
“First of all, you’re all currently prisoners of the demons.”
“What?”
Kudo stares at me in shock for a moment, then her expression hardens.
The other reincarnations start muttering, too, and chaos ensues.
Okay, looks like that wasn’t the right call.
Since they’ve got people like Kusama, I assumed they at least knew a little bit of information, but apparently they hadn’t been told anything like this.
They didn’t even hear anything from the ones who actually fought us, like Tagawa?
…Ahh, they probably tied up Kusama and Ogiwara to try to get that information out of them.
Maybe I should’ve come a little later.
“Quiet!”
Mr. Oni stands and claps his hands, silencing the crowd.
“Don’t worry. Even if you’re technically prisoners, that doesn’t mean anything bad is going to happen to you. If anything, it’s more like we’re protecting you. So please don’t be alarmed. Like I said before, we really don’t mean you any harm. I hope you can at least hear us out to the end, even if some of it comes off as strange. Is that all right?”
Mr. Oni’s sincerity calms down the alarmed reincarnations.
Shinohara, Tagawa, and Kushitani still seem on edge, but otherwise it looks like they’re going to hear us out.
Phew. Nice one, Mr. Oni!
I guess even though they’ve been living in the elf village, they still see demons as the enemies of humans.
No wonder they got freaked out when I suddenly announced that they were the prisoners of said demons.
Welp, that’s my bad.
Thank goodness Mr. Oni smoothed things over for me.
“So…what do you mean, exactly? The three of you are working with the demons?”
Kudo rubs her temples as she asks this.
Normally, I would just nod, but this time even I can tell that wouldn’t be enough of an explanation to pacify anyone.
Come on, I’ve gotta say something!
Aah! Uhh! Umm!
…Hrmm. I didn’t really want to do this, but you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.
I guess I’ve gotta put my pride aside for now and do the thing.
So I flip the switch.
“Yes, that’s correct. Incidentally, the three of us here are not human.”
As I speak, I open my eyes.
I turned off all my Evil Eyes so there wouldn’t be any negative effects from looking at me directly, but their unnatural appearance still makes the reincarnations gasp.
At the same time, Vampy and Mr. Oni also gasp at the sudden change in my attitude, but I’m just gonna ignore that.
“We three have been collaborating with the Demon Lord in order to achieve certain goals. Now, I’ll explain that in detail later. First, we should discuss the current situation.”
The words flow forth without any hesitation.
Part of me is surprised, even though it’s coming out of my own mouth.
See, I have memories that aren’t actually mine.
They’re the memories of Hiiro Wakaba, D’s temporary human form.
I can use those memories to recreate Hiiro Wakaba’s personality.
It’s what I call Hiiro Wakaba Mode.
When I’m in this mode, I can say what I’m thinking without any issues.
Hiiro Wakaba wasn’t a lousy speaker like me, after all. It would be strange if she couldn’t talk.
But this mode basically means I’m doing an imitation of D.
Me! Pretending to be D!
Seriously, it’s so humiliating!
That’s why I don’t like to do it!
But otherwise, I can’t explain things properly!
So I’m just gonna have to suck it up.
“First of all, I imagine you’ve heard that the imperial army invaded the elf village. We in the demon army attacked the elf village from behind them. The army that Natsume was leading was only a decoy.”
That makes the reincarnations stir again.
Among them, Ms. Oka looks especially pale.
“Would you mind if I listen in on this explanation, too?”
Just then, someone descends from the stairs to the second floor.
Ahh, dang it. He showed up.
With the worst possible timing, the person who’s just appeared, despite supposedly being unconscious, is none other than Yamada.
I’m dreaming.
“Atone.”
It’s an awful dream.
“Atone.”
It feels like everything keeps getting worse and worse.
“Atone.”
I want to do something, but no matter what I try, my actions only seem to make everything worse.
It feels like I’m being dragged down into an endless swamp.
The more I struggle, the deeper it sucks me in.
And just as my entire body gets dragged under the surface…
I wake with a start.
I guess I was having a bad dream.
The kind of nightmare that leaves you feeling utterly hopeless.
When I open my eyes, the first thing I see is an unfamiliar ceiling.
As I stare up at it blankly, I sense someone moving right next to me.
“Shun! You’re awake?!”
Looking toward the source of the frantic voice, I find Katia sitting next to me.
Her face, like her voice, shows anxiety, fatigue, and most of all relief.
“Are you all right?”
“Uh…yeah. I’m fine.”
Under the pressure of Katia’s intensity, I automatically respond.
“Oh, good. When you wouldn’t wake up no matter how much Healing Magic I used on you…I thought you might never open your eyes again.”
Katia must have been by my side using Healing Magic all this time.
That explains why she looks so tired.
Just as that thought crosses my mind, she suddenly breaks down in tears.
“Huh? Wha—?!”
“Thank goodness. I’m so glad…”
I flail around, uncertain what to do about Katia’s crying.
“C’mon, I’m fine. See? Nothing’s wrong. Okay?”
I try to show her that I’m perfectly intact. I know it’s a pathetic attempt at comfort, but I figure it’s better than nothing at all.
It is true that there’s nothing wrong with my body.
I’m not injured, and I don’t feel any pain.
Aside from being a little sluggish since I just woke up, I’m the very picture of health.
…Physically, at least.
“Are you sure you’re all right? You still look pale…”
Katia is still uncharacteristically worried.
If it was enough to make her cry, maybe I was in a worse state than I realized.
I do remember groaning a lot while I was knocked out.
It’s probably normal to be worried if someone won’t wake up even if you use Healing Magic on them and is groaning painfully in their sleep.
“Yeah, I’m okay. I guess I’m a little thirsty, though?”
I must’ve been sweating a lot in my sleep; the clothes I’m wearing are stuck to my skin, sucking up all the moisture in my body.
Now my throat is parched from all the liquid I’ve apparently lost.
“Ahh. I’ll go get you a glass of water, then.”
Katia stands immediately and sprints from the room.
Watching her go, I sink listlessly back into the bed.
There are letters floating in the corner of my vision, or maybe the back of my mind.
It’s the same sensation as when you Appraise something.
These letters have been giving me an ominous feeling all this time.
Just focusing on them makes me feel a little sick.
But unlike Appraisal, I can’t erase this display.
The letters spell the word “Taboo.”
Fighting back the nausea, I focus on the sinister word.
Then the word “Taboo” becomes the top of a menu.
Taboo Menu
System Overview
System Header Descriptions
Update History
Points List
Reincarnation History
Special Option n% I = W
“Urgh!”
Just opening the menu is enough to make me feel violently ill.
It’s repulsive, like being shown some kind of concentrated evil.
A chill rises within me, ignoring my thoughts and feelings.
My instincts urge me to close the menu right away, but I manage to hold out.
Still fighting the nausea, I open the System Overview.
System Overview
Conditions Prior to System Installation
MA Energy
Conditions After System Installation
As soon as I open this menu, the nausea grows even stronger.
It’s as if I can hear a voice coming from the letters.
“Atone.”
The thought pounds into my skull like a curse.
I make a conscious effort to both acknowledge and ignore it, along with the nausea and discomfort it brings.
It’s self-contradictory, trying to ignore it and pay attention to it at the same time.
But otherwise, I feel like I might go crazy.
To be honest, I don’t want to see any more than this.
But I’ve got no choice.
I have to know if what I saw in that dream was true or not.
The dream I had was about an utterly hopeless story.
Rather than being from any particular person’s perspective, it was like a bird’s-eye view of the story of this world’s past.
When Potimas, the patriarch of the elves, was still human…he brought chaos and destruction to the planet and the gods that had always lived here, all solely because he didn’t want to die.
I saw the memories of the goddess Sariel and the people closest to her, who did everything they could to save the planet from total annihilation.
This is just a hunch, but I think that part was separate from this “Taboo.”
Maybe someone showed it to me on purpose.
For now, I’m not going to dwell on what that person’s motives were.
First, I have to find out if it’s all true.
Forcing my body not to tremble, I look at each option in turn.
Before the system, MA energy, after the system.
Each heading contains information, just like what I saw in the dream.
Before the system was put into place, this planet wasn’t so different from Earth.
However, there were creatures called dragons, which of course didn’t exist in our world.
The writing is stiff, only listing the events without emotion.
But when I scan the words with my eyes, I feel a powerful message assaulting my mind.
“Atone.”
I shake it off and keep reading.
Humanity discovered a new power source called MA energy and began to use it.
They didn’t know that it was the very life force of the planet and that using it would drastically shorten the life span of the entire world.
This incurred the wrath of dragons, who nearly destroyed humanity.
But humanity was protected from the dragons by the goddess Sariel.
The dragons gave up on the planet and humans alike, and flew away.
Not long after, the MA energy was nearly entirely used up, and the countdown to the destruction of the planet began.
Forgetting that she had protected them, humans decided to try to revive the planet by using the goddess Sariel as a sacrifice.
Administrator Güliedistodiez was enraged by this.
He put the system into place in order to save Sariel.
It was meant to both uphold the goddess’s wish and preserve her life.
As I read all this, Katia returns with a glass and pitcher of water.
“Shun?! You look pale as a sheet!”
Is my face really that pale?
Katia rushes over, puts the glass and pitcher aside, and places a hand on my forehead to start casting Healing Magic.
Since this is a mental condition, physical Healing Magic won’t have any effect.
But Katia’s consideration does soothe my aching heart.
“Thank you. I feel a little better now.”
I really mean this, but Katia still gazes at me with worry on her face, looking unconvinced.
Since I’ve broken into a cold sweat on top of all the moisture I already lost in my sleep, I’m even thirstier than before.
I reach toward the glass Katia put next to my bed.
But before I can pick it up, Katia grabs it, fills it with water, and brings it toward my lips.
Is she trying to help me drink it?
That’s kind of embarrassing, since I’m not sick or anything…
“I—I can drink it myself…”
“No, you cannot!”
Katia’s intensity overpowers me, and I relent.
The cool water travels down my parched throat.
I drain the glass in seconds, and Katia fills a second glass immediately, somehow sensing that it wasn’t enough.
Once I drain the second glass, I finally take a deep breath.
I was still reading the Taboo menu even as I drank.
For the most part, it was the same information from my dream.
There were a few parts missing, like Potimas’s name, or the fact that the dragons stole the remaining MA energy when they left.
But other than that, it matched my dream perfectly.
I close the System Overview.
I’d like to look at the other parts of the menu, too, but I don’t think I can handle it right now.
When I take a quick glance at the rest, the System Header Descriptions fill my sight so thoroughly that it’s hard to even look at them.
It would be difficult enough to take it all in normally, and the pressure on my mental state grows with every letter I read. I don’t see any way I could possibly read it all right now.
Giving up, I move on to the next section, the Update History. This part is just as packed with information as the last.
At that, I run out of steam completely.
I close the entire Taboo menu.
Even then, the word “Taboo” doesn’t disappear from the corner of my mind, nor does the whisper that it emits.
It’s not nearly as bad as when the menu is open, but I can hardly stand the thought that it might go on like this forever.
Heaving a long sigh, I get out of bed.
“Shun, you should keep resting for now.”
“No, I’ve got to go.”
I’ve been hearing a commotion downstairs for a while now.
This must be the second floor of this building.
I leave the room as if guided by something and walk down the stairs.
Katia follows anxiously behind me.
And when I descend the staircase, I see the same person I spotted right before I passed out.
“Would you mind if I listen in on this explanation, too?”
In response to my voice, the pure-white girl turns around.
Her multiple pupils all fix squarely on me.
The same eyes that killed my brother Julius.
Yamada looks pretty pale, but he’s still walking toward me on his own two feet.
Of course he had to show up at the worst possible timing for me, but great timing for him—leave it to Divine Protection, I guess.
Ah, now things are gonna get even more complicated.
“Good to see you again… Wakaba?”
Yamada looks at me as he speaks.
Why’d you make it sound like a question?
He came out glaring at me at first, but now he just looks kinda confused.
Is there something on my face?
Well, besides all the extra pupils in my eyes.
“Well, whatever.” Yamada shakes his head lightly and continues. “I’d like to be a part of this conversation anyway. I have the right to know that much, don’t I?”
It seems like something bothered him about me, although I’m not sure what.
Well, now that he’s here, there’s not much I can do about it.
I guess hypothetically I could chase him out, but that would probably only complicate things in a different way.
Basically, the second Yamada showed up, things were gonna get messy one way or another.
“Sure. If you must.”
I give a halfhearted confirmation, making it clear that I’d prefer he didn’t.
“Thank you.”
But Yamada ignores that, or maybe even takes it as a challenge.
Ooshima hurries in and grabs a chair for Yamada.
Yamada thanks Ooshima as he sits down, and Ooshima gets another chair and sits down by his side.
What’s going on?
Why did a certain number of girls in the room all gasp when they saw that?
Once Yamada is seated, he looks around at everyone else.
His eyes stop in a few places before turning back to stare at me.
Hmm. Ughh.
Fine, then.
“Tenth Army, to me.”
At my command, several white-clad figures suddenly appear.
Most of the reincarnations jump in surprise.
These are soldiers from my battalion, the Tenth Demon Army.
I’d assigned the stealthiest ones among them to hide and keep watch on the reincarnations.
Yamada somehow saw through them and looked at each spot where they were hiding.
Hey, on closer inspection, Phelmina’s here, too.
You’re technically my vice-commander. Why are you doing grunt work like this?
She seems to notice my bemusement, and a vein pops on her forehead.
Okay, I didn’t actually see that happen, but I can tell what she’s thinking.
Because you passed out on us! or something like that, I bet.
Yeah, fair enough. My bad.
“We’re disbanding for now. Get some rest until your next orders.”
On my command, the white-clad soldiers disappear without a sound.
I hear someone whisper something like “ninjas!”
Yeah, honestly, I feel like my Tenth Army soldiers are way better ninjas than Kusama.
Ah, looks like Phelmina went up to the third floor when the rest of them left.
I guess Hasebe is still sleeping off her confusion up there.
Someone’s gotta keep an eye on her.
It seems wrong on multiple levels for a ranking officer like Phelmina to do it, but I’m not gonna say anything.
“Who were those people?”
Yamada looks at me sharply.
“Soldiers of the Demon Army Tenth Battalion. I had them watching and guarding you reincarnations.”
At that, the reincarnations break into more murmuring.
I can’t blame them for being freaked out that those people were so close without their even noticing.
I think it was only Shinohara, Tagawa, and Kushitani who caught on.
And probably Ms. Oka too… Or so I thought, but her eyes are so wide that she clearly didn’t realize it, either.
“Elites from the demon army, then?”
Nah, they’re just normal foot soldiers.
Oh, but I guess they’re a lot stronger than soldiers from the other battalions, thanks to my intense training, so I guess you could call them elites, maybe?
Well, that’s just a minor quibble.
They’re standard soldiers, basically.
Yamada doesn’t look so hot.
Maybe he’s realizing how much stronger my soldiers were than he was, after seeing how they move.
As the Hero, Yamada’s strength is a far cry from that of any normal human.
But strong as he might be, that’s still within the range of human limits.
He’s nowhere near me or the Demon Lord in her prime, or even the likes of Vampy and Mr. Oni.
In fact, even those white-clad soldiers might’ve been able to beat him with a little luck.
Probably not one-on-one, but I could see it working with at least two of them against him.
No, seriously.
Then again, since he’s got the deus ex machina skill Divine Protection, he might be able to win a fight that would otherwise be beyond him.
“So, you were saying? You used Hugo, or rather Natsume, as a decoy to attack this place. Why?”
Yamada comes out swinging with the questions.
Umm, wow, okay.
You’re really gonna go there, huh…?
I glance over at Ms. Oka.
Yeah, I know.
I can’t avoid talking about this sooner or later.
But once I say it, it’s gonna put Ms. Oka in an awkward position for sure.
I see. I guess I should get it over with.
“The leader of the elves, Potimas Harrifenas, is a threat to this entire world. He brings nothing but harm to the world. The demon army and the Word of God religion teamed up to stop him, which brought about this battle.”
At that, Ms. Oka’s mouth drops open.
It’s clear from her expression that she has no idea what I’m talking about.
Yamada, on the other hand, accepts my words with surprising calmness.
Next to him, Ooshima wears a complicated expression of half surprise, half understanding, so this stuff about Potimas is probably new information.
“First of all, elves have been a threat to this world for a very, very long time. Officially, they tried to stop humans and demons from fighting and worked in the name of true world peace, but that was all just a masquerade to hide their true nature. Behind the scenes, they were bleeding the planet dry, severely shortening its life span. Potimas Harrifenas was the chief offender; though he was warned repeatedly by multiple parties in the know to stop his evil deeds, he refused to listen. The fact of the matter is that the planet is on the brink of destruction, so extreme measures had to be taken to stop him.”
The reincarnations mutter among themselves at this sudden large-scale explanation.
“Wait a minute!” Kudo half rises from her chair. “If that’s true, what’s going to happen to this planet?”
Well, seeing is believing.
I weave a spell to project an image of this planet.
A globe appears above everyone’s head, showing the planet’s current state.
At a glance, it’s clear that half the planet has fallen apart.
“This is the current state of this planet.”
Stunned silence.
That was the reaction of everyone present.
This image must be a huge shock to everyone except Vampy and Mr. Oni, who already knew.
I hear murmurs like “It can’t be…” and “No way…”
Yamada is no exception, staring up at the image with his eyes wide.
“This has to be fake, right?”
Even the levelheaded Kudo can’t keep her lips from trembling as she gazes at it.
“It’s not fake. Would you like to go see it for yourselves?”
No one takes me up on that offer.
Nobody would want to go somewhere so completely destroyed.
I mean, I could just put up a barrier to protect us, but it’s not like they know that.
They’re all speechless.
We gathered them here to explain what kind of situation they’ve gotten caught up in.
Now that they know it’s not just some empire situation, but a matter of the planet’s survival, it seems like their brains have all stopped working.
The reincarnations gaze at the image of the ruined planet.
The first one to recover is Kudo.
“So if this image is real, how many years does this planet have left?”
That brings the rest of the class back to their senses.
Yeah, I guess in a situation like this, you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that the planet will fall apart completely in a matter of days. It certainly does look grim.
“Don’t worry. At the very least, it won’t be destroyed in your lifetimes.”
If my calculations are correct, the planet won’t actually collapse if things go on like this.
At the very least, it should last long enough for the reincarnations to live out their life spans.
Except maybe someone like Ms. Oka, who has the long life span of an elf.
We did get rid of Potimas, the biggest cause of wasteful energy use, so it should be able to slowly recover from now on.
Yes, with enough time, it will recover on its own.
Thing is, that’s gonna require certain sacrifices.
Namely, the goddess Sariel, who currently serves as the system’s core.
Sariel has almost been used up completely by the system by now.
She’s not going to last much longer.
On top of that, I’d say the souls of the people living on this planet have deteriorated to a dangerous level, too.
The reason the demon race is struggling with a low birth rate is because they can’t be reborn anymore, due to the deterioration of souls.
Souls that are reincarnated over and over build up a lot of wear and tear.
If you keep making them reincarnate anyway, eventually those souls will be destroyed.
Then they’ll never be able to reincarnate again.
Black has been quarantining people whose souls are reaching their limits in a certain area, but that’s only treating the symptom, not the root cause.
What Black is doing there is keeping people from acquiring skills as much as possible, which is basically the same thing Potimas did to the reincarnations.
That way, they can live out their lives without adding any unnecessary skills to their souls, since acquiring and improving skills takes a toll on one’s soul.
That’s all well and good for a healthy soul, but a soul that’s deteriorating might not be able to handle much more.
Still, even if you prevent them from acquiring new skills, the souls won’t be able to heal.
It’s basically like slowing the progress of a disease.
The only way for souls to recover from deterioration is to convalesce without reincarnating for a while.
And if more souls are resting, then the birth rate goes down.
Which means the population of the world gradually declines.
Since humans have a higher total population than demons, the effects aren’t obvious yet.
But eventually, it’s going to become a problem.
As the population decreases, the recovery of the planet shows, and over time, souls will start deteriorating further.
Will the planet recover first, or will the souls finally hit their limits?
It’s like a game of chicken on a planetary scale.
Still, that’s got nothing to do with the reincarnations.
Once their lives end here, their souls will return to the regular cycle of rebirth, not the one in this world.
So they don’t need to worry about that future.
“In our lifetimes… You mean our children’s generation will be in danger?”
Kudo’s words catch me by surprise a little.
Children?
My eyes automatically shift toward Kudo’s belly, but she notices and hastily explains herself.
“I’m not pregnant or anything, of course. I meant in the future.”
Ahhh.
Gotcha, gotcha.
Future children, huh…?
I hadn’t even thought about that.
You might call it a blind spot, or just a difference in perspective.
For one thing, from my point of view, having children in this world would be an absolutely insane thing to do.
Not that I ever thought about having kids in the first place.
My spider babies?
Yeah, no, those doesn’t count.
In this world, having a baby means giving birth to someone’s reincarnated life.
A stranger being born out of your own stomach.
I mean, I guess that’s true on Earth, too, in a way, but in this world you could even end up with the reborn version of somebody you knew.
Worst-case scenario, it could even be somebody you killed, or something like that.
If they knew the truth, most people wouldn’t even think about having kids, right?
In fact, that’s probably why the Word of God pontiff led humanity to forget about that fact.
These people are being kept alive and forcefully reborn as an atonement, mere machines to save up energy.
What would people do if they found out?
Suicide? Yeah, maybe.
But then they’d just be reborn again.
So what can anyone do to get out of this purgatory?
You just have to sacrifice your entire existence.
I would never do that, of course, but I can see why some humans might want to cease to exist in the face of this ugly truth.
Besides, a single human sacrificed only adds up to a small amount of energy recovered.
That might be useful for a short while, but in the long run, you can get way more energy from someone who keeps being reborn over and over.
It’s not just that people forgot the truth—they had no other choice.
But what would be the point of saying it right now?
If they don’t know any better, they might still be able to form happy families.
“Well, I can say that this planet won’t fall apart anytime soon. We took out Potimas to prevent its destruction, in fact. Without him, the decline of the world will stop, and over time it should gradually recover.”
None of that is a lie.
It just so happens that I plan to mess with a bunch of other stuff before that happens, is all.
I’m not gonna touch on the whole having children thing, either.
Talking about that would only make them unhappy.
There are plenty of things in this world that you’re better off not knowing.
Although since the birth rate is declining, I dunno if they’d even end up having kids anyway.
Besides, do you have someone to have kids with or what?
“Potimas is the person who was keeping us confined here, right?”
Kudo puts a hand on her forehead as she speaks.
She’s looking not at me but at Ms. Oka.
Unable to deny the word “confined,” she sits in stunned silence like her mind has gone blank.
Maybe all this new information has overloaded her thoughts.
But Ms. Oka is a strong person. I’m sure she’ll be fine.
I change the image from the state of this planet to a recording of the battle that just took place.
It shows the countless sea urchins and pyramid floating above the forest.
Not to mention the machine soldiers stomping around down below.
These sci-fi weapons look out of place in this fantasy world.
“Potimas wanted energy to run these machines. That energy is actually the life force of this planet. This planet is in its current state because he drained so much energy out of it.”
They’ve never seen anything like this in their current lives, and probably only on a screen in their previous lives.
The reincarnations stare at the image raptly.
“Potimas was gathering reincarnations because he wanted their unique powers. He was evidently planning to use those for evil deeds.”
He was actually going to throw them all in a blender in the hopes of gaining eternal youth, but I don’t want to tell them such gory details.
I mean, normally the words “eternal youth” would be enough to make most people snort.
If I tell them that he did all this awful stuff just because he was really, truly hoping to live forever, I feel like they wouldn’t even believe me.
“So what are you saying? That he abducted and imprisoned us to use us?”
“Yes.”
I don’t deny a word of Kudo’s question.
It’s all true, anyway.
“Wh…then…why…did I…how…?”
Hmm?
What’s that now?
Turning toward the source of the unintelligible words, I see that Ms. Oka has fallen from her chair in a convulsive fit.
“Ms. Oka! Please, calm down!”
Yamada is the first to move.
He jumps from his chair and runs over to the fallen teacher, checking her for injuries.
Ms. Oka opens her tear-filled eyes, breathing unsteadily and still convulsing at times.
She keeps trying to catch her breath but looks pained… Is she hyperventilating?
Yamada gently lifts Ms. Oka into a sitting position and uses Healing Magic.
But Healing Magic in this world is really just a way of repairing a broken structure; it can’t heal an illness.
I’m not sure if hyperventilating counts as an illness or not, but I do know Healing Magic can’t fix it.
“Move.”
I push aside Yamada, who can only use Healing Magic, and call out to her, and peer into Ms. Oka’s eyes.
Then I use an Evil Eye.
I give it the opposite effect from the usual.
My Evil Eye normally instills fear in anything it sees, which means it directly affects the target’s heart and mind.
I’ve never done it before, but if it can give fear to a target, theoretically it should be able to restore calm to a target, too.
Peering into my Evil Eyes, Ms. Oka gives one big spasm.
But then her convulsing calms down.
Her breathing is still ragged, though, and she’s still shaking a little.
“Ms. Oka, it’s okay. It’s all right.”
I speak to her gently, trying not to agitate her mind any further.
“It’s all right,” I repeat over and over.
At the same time, I clasp her hand tightly.
Slowly, Ms. Oka’s breathing starts to settle down.
But even once her breathing stabilizes, tears continue to stream from her eyes.
And she still convulses occasionally like a hiccup, probably from all that sobbing.
Her face is a mess of tears and snot.
I wipe the goo away with my sleeve, but it keeps overflowing.
Ms. Oka keeps crying for a while.
Since her elf body grows more slowly, Ms. Oka looks younger than the other reincarnations.
Based on her appearance alone, it isn’t that strange to see her sobbing like this.
But it must be a shocking sight to the reincarnations.
Unlike the rest, she’s their former teacher and the only adult among them.
I’m sure seeing an adult like her break down in front of them without any shame or dignity was totally unexpected.
Even I hadn’t expected it.
“It’s all right. It’s all right.”
I put my hand on her small back and pat her softly.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I tell her gently. “Putting your life on the line to fight for your students could never be wrong.”
At that, I notice Kudo looking away awkwardly.
My eyes are fixed on Ms. Oka, but I always use my X-ray vision to keep an eye on my surroundings, so I can see them whether I’m trying to or not.
Judging by that reaction, I can tell Kudo is still suspicious of Ms. Oka.
But the fact is, she doesn’t know how desperately Ms. Oka struggled to save her students.
Nor does she know that Ms. Oka was so serious about protecting them that she would collapse like this from shock when she found out that the reason the reincarnations were gathered here was for Potimas to use them.
As far as the latter goes, that was a miscalculation on my part, too.
I didn’t think Ms. Oka would fall apart like this.
I was so sure that a brave teacher like her would be fine, even if she found out the truth.
“Potimas was cunning and evil, it’s true. But you honestly worked hard for your students’ sakes, didn’t you, Ms. Oka? That definitely wasn’t a mistake. Besides, everyone’s here and alive now, thanks to you.”
I keep speaking softly to the still-sobbing Ms. Oka.
It’s true that Potimas was using Ms. Oka, but she still saved many reincarnations’ lives.
This world is much harsher than Earth, you know.
I’ve come close to death more times than I can count, as have Vampy and Mr. Oni.
And the truth is, we were just lucky.
We could’ve just as easily died.
That goes for the other reincarnations, too; aside from the ones who were born into privileged families like Yamada, most of them have probably lived close to death every day.
If Ms. Oka hadn’t taken them into protection, more than half the people here might be dead by now.
Plus, since all the reincarnations were gathered here in the elf village, I was able to defeat Potimas without any worries about them.
There’s no need for Ms. Oka to feel so fretful when everything worked out fine.
“It’s…not…everyone!” Ms. Oka chokes out between sobs. “I couldn’t…save…them! I…I failed…to protect…them!”
She wails in such despair that I feel like I’ve just seen the true meaning of the word.
Her words are broken and raspy, her voice far from loud.
But it still echoes like nothing else.
There are other reincarnations who aren’t here besides Hasebe and the others, who are just unconscious.
Issei Sakurazaki.
Naofumi Kogure.
Kouta Hayashi.
Three reincarnations we’ll never see again.
Evidently, Ms. Oka feels responsible for their deaths.
There’s nothing I can say to that.
But I don’t think that responsibility was ever hers in the first place.
Their lives were their own, as were their deaths.
I don’t see why Ms. Oka should carry the weight of that responsibility.
Maybe she thinks she might have been able to save them, but everyone has their limits.
It’s arrogant to think you can save everyone.
Unless you’re all-seeing and all-powerful, you can’t save every single person.
Even I can’t do that.
Ms. Oka kept crying like a child for a long time after that, muttering half-incoherently all the while.
Why…? I couldn’t save them… What was it all for…?
After a long time, Ms. Oka finally stops crying.
But her eyes look empty somehow, devoid of life.
“Miss Wakaba…” Kushitani, who’s been silently watching all this time, finally speaks to me. “Ms. Oka looks tired, so I’ll put her to bed for now. I don’t think she can handle any more than this anyway. You can carry on talking while I keep an eye on her.”
Honestly, I couldn’t ask for more than that.
I don’t think it would be wise to leave Ms. Oka alone right now.
I’d like to keep an eye on her myself, but it’s probably not ideal to abandon everyone else to tend to her, either.
Kudo and the others still seem to have reservations about Ms. Oka. I can’t leave them in charge of her with such mixed feelings.
Since Kushitani came to the elf village only recently, she should be able to watch Ms. Oka without getting emotional about it.
She’s also one of the few reincarnations who can handle herself in battle—I can’t think of a more perfect person to entrust with this.
Vampy is out of the question, and Mr. Oni might not be the best choice for nursing someone back to health.
“Could you?”
“Leave it to me.”
Kushitani lifts Ms. Oka up, bridal-style.
Then, after exchanging glances with Tagawa, she heads upstairs.
It should be all right to trust her with this. She’s got a good head on her shoulders.
Even if the worst happens and Ms. Oka tries to harm herself, I’m sure Kushitani can stop her.
Once the pair are gone, an awkward silence fills the room.
After seeing their teacher like that, the reincarnations must realize how desperately she was fighting to protect them.
Yet Kudo and the other reincarnations in her protection openly distrusted her.
Maybe they feel bad about that now.
After Kushitani carried Ms. Oka out, nobody tried to say a word.
They’re all just sinking in silence, unsure what to do next.
But there are a few different responses between them.
Some are looking around uncertainly.
In these cases, it seems like they really don’t know what to do and are waiting for something to happen.
Some are looking toward Kudo.
There are a few variations on this one: Some seem accusing, while others seem to be hoping that she’ll take charge of the next steps as the former class rep.
It’s easy to tell which is which, that’s for sure.
And the majority of them…are looking at me.
I mean, yeah.
I guess if it falls to anyone to keep the discussion going in this situation, it would be me.
As much as I’d love to shove that role off on someone else!
Umm…urgh…
For now, I go back to my seat and sit down.
I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been acting out of character or talking too much, but I’m totally exhausted.
We can just call it a day now, right?
No, huh?
…I was afraid you’d say that.
“You’re really kind, huh…?”
An unexpected person breaks the awkward silence.
Or maybe I shouldn’t be surprised?
“But then why did you…? No, forget it…”
Right after breaking the silence, Yamada goes quiet again, his expression an unreadable mix of emotions.
I can’t tell from his face what he was going to say.
In fact, it seems like even he hasn’t gotten his emotions sorted out.
But after being frozen in the same posture since I pushed him aside, he finally slumps back into his own seat, as if all the strength has gone out of him and left him to collapse.
Looking worried, Ooshima gently pats his shoulder.
Then Yamada pats that hand in return, as if to say there’s nothing to worry about.
Get a room, you two.
“Why don’t you have a seat, too, class rep?” Mr. Oni says to Kudo, who’s still standing.
After briefly making a face like a lost child, Kudo takes him up on his suggestion and sits down.
“Now, I’m sure you all have things you want to say,” Mr. Oni goes on gently. “Since we lived outside the elf village, we only know secondhand what it was like for you living here, and I won’t pretend to understand how you all feel. But I think it should be clear to all of you from what you just saw that Ms. Oka didn’t push you all in here for the fun of it. She did it out of good intentions, not evil. I hope you can keep in mind that she did everything out of desperation to protect you.”
Some of the reincarnations listen seriously, while others seem uncomfortable.
“…I wish she would have told us that, then.” Kudo hangs her head, murmuring quietly.
Kudo and Ms. Oka got along pretty well in their previous lives.
I’m sure that’s why she resented Ms. Oka so strongly in this one.
Maybe she felt like she’d been betrayed.
And since Ms. Oka never really explained herself, those ill feelings got even worse.
“She couldn’t say anything.”
So I’ll step in to explain on her behalf.
“What do you mean?”
“Ms. Oka’s unique skill is very unusual, and it comes with a penalty. That’s all I can tell you.”
Kudo and several of the others look shocked at that.
Ms. Oka’s skill is called Student Roster.
From what I’m told, it gives her information about her students.
However, she’s not allowed to share that information with the students themselves.
Because there’s a penalty if she does.
I don’t know what the penalty is, exactly, whether it’s big or small.
Maybe it can’t even be measured like that.
Since D is the one who made this skill, anything is possible.
Honestly, even my alluding to her skill like this might be walking on eggshells, for all I know.
I’d hate to explain Ms. Oka’s skill and activate some kind of penalty as a result.
So I only give them the bare minimum of information.
Luckily, Kudo seems to understand what I’m getting at, enough to help her let go of some of her animosity toward Ms. Oka.
…Although she looks even guiltier because of it.
But that’s to be expected.
From here on out, they’ll have to try and mend that relationship themselves over time.
I don’t think it’s my place to get involved in that.
“…I see. So that’s how it is… I’m sorry, though. I don’t think I can apologize to Ms. Oka right away. Even if I understand it in theory, I can’t bring myself to apologize for the wasted time we lost in this place.”
Kudo doesn’t raise her head as she speaks sadly.
She must have mixed feelings about all this, too.
Even knowing that Ms. Oka wasn’t in the wrong, she still spent a lot of time being confined here in the elf village.
I mean, she was taken in not long after she was born.
That’s around the same length as her previous life was, or maybe even longer, if you consider that she was cognizant at a much younger age.
“Yeah, I agree.”
“Here we are in a fantasy world, yet we were penned up all this time.”
“We were prisoners, even if it was for our protection.”
A few voices quietly agree with Kudo.
“But it wasn’t all bad, was it? We were given food and shelter.”
“I wouldn’t say it was the lap of luxury, but I guess I had no complaints.”
“Yeah, after seeing her like that, I can’t really stay mad at her.”
Other voices speak up on Ms. Oka’s behalf.
I’d say it’s about an even split.
But I think each side understands where the other is coming from, like they’re really talking things out.
Most of them had problems with their life here.
Part 2 of 8