Part 3 of 8
But they can’t fully blame Ms. Oka, either.
That’s the vibe I get.
If anything, I’d say the boys have more complaints.
Maybe because they grew up wanting to go on adventures and such?
They kept giving Tagawa jealous looks over his life on the outside as an adventurer, for one thing.
In fact, maybe he’s the reason they feel like they should’ve gotten the same chance.
Like, “If only I wasn’t stuck in here, I could’ve been one, too!”
I wonder if they actually would’ve managed that, though…?
“Just so you guys know, life on the outside isn’t so great, either…”
Oh, hey, Tagawa’s speaking up now.
“That’s not convincing coming from you, dude,” one of the boys counters.
Fair enough.
A successful adventurer like Tagawa saying that just sounds like bragging.
“Then lemme ask you this. Have you ever spent a whole day groaning in pain? Or if not, have you at least broken a bone or gotten a bad cut or anything like that?”
Most of the male reincarnations exchange glances.
“I did break a bone one time when I screwed up working in the field.”
“Okay, then imagine if that happened every single day.”
Tagawa looks at the boy casually.
“Huh?”
“When you’re an adventurer, injuries like that literally happen every day. You might get patched up with Healing Magic, only to get injured again right away. You gotta get used to having fresh wounds all the time or you’ll never hack it. And by the way, if I didn’t have Asaka, I probably would’ve given up ages ago.”
Is he being serious or just gushing about his girlfriend? It’s hard to tell.
“I took on the dangerous job of adventurer because of many brushes with death, and if Asaka wasn’t there, I really would be dead several times over by now. I’m telling you this for your own good—if you want to be an adventurer just ’cause it sounds fun, don’t do it.”
Tagawa looks around at the boys intently.
Hrmmm.
Really, though, are you serious or just smitten?
“So yeah, being an adventurer is extra dangerous, but it’s still scary out there, no matter who you are. I’ve seen all kinds of tragedies while working in the field as an adventurer. People who got killed by monsters or bandits. And it’s not just the ones who die. It’s the kids who get left behind, or the ones who get abandoned ’cause their folks can’t afford to feed ’em. Your family was poor, right, class rep? Wonder what would’ve happened to you if you weren’t in here.”
This cruel statement is directed at Kudo.
She looks away, unable to refute him.
After all, her parents really did sell her.
It just so happened to be to the elves, but it could’ve easily been to someone else.
In that case, she probably wouldn’t have been sold as a baby, but even if she got to grow up a little more first, it’s anyone’s guess as to where she might have been sold.
If her parents picked up on her intelligence as a reincarnation and were able to sell her into the care of a fancy merchant or something, that would probably be fine.
But she also could’ve gotten sold on the basis of her good looks into any number of sketchy situations, and that could’ve happened to any of the other reincarnations, too.
Mr. Oni claps his hands to quiet them now.
“Not that there’s much point arguing over who had it better or what might’ve been, if you ask me. We can’t change the past, you know. The irreversible fact is that we’re all alive here right now. And the deaths of the people who aren’t here are irreversible, too. Just remember that we’re lucky to be alive to talk about what fate would’ve been better for us and things like that.”
We’re lucky just to be alive.
The reincarnations all fall into silence at that.
Except for one.
“How can you say that after killing all those elves?”
Yamada’s statement reveals to everyone that Mr. Oni slaughtered a bunch of elves.
By now, I imagine it’s obvious to everyone that the demon army defeated the elves, meaning Kudo and the others have probably guessed what happened to them.
But knowing that and truly understanding it are two different things.
They might know in theory that the elves were killed, but it’s probably hard for that to sink in right now, never mind the idea that one of their own classmates played a part in it himself.
Sure enough, a chill settles over the room.
The only unfazed people are Kusama and Ogiwara, who were on our side, and Tagawa.
Even Kudo is speechless, and the others can’t seem to process what Yamada said at all, to the point where some are just staring blankly.
Even those who understood seem to doubt whether it’s true, peering at other people’s faces for their reactions.
I’m guessing death is a faraway concept to the reincarnations who lived here in the elf village.
So it probably doesn’t feel real to be told that people they knew are dead.
Especially if it was a former classmate who sent them to their deaths.
I guess it probably doesn’t help their grasp of the situation that people rarely die in Japan of anything but natural causes.
A world like this, where your friends and others are always dropping like flies, has far too different a concept of death for them to grasp.
On the other hand, people like Tagawa and Kusama, who lived outside the elf village, have a solid understanding of how death is viewed in this world. That’s why they’re not freaking out.
But if that’s the case, why is Yamada so angry about it, when he was raised on the outside, too?
I thought I’d explained enough for them to understand that the elves were better off dead.
“Shun, just so you know, the elves have done such terrible things that they deserved death. So it doesn’t matter if I’m the one who killed them.”
“Of course it matters!”
While Mr. Oni’s tone is one of gentle rebuke, Yamada’s reaction is fierce.
Even I’m a little taken aback by it.
“Shun, weren’t you listening?”
“Yes, I was. And I get that what the elves did probably was unforgivable.”
Oh?
So Yamada does realize the elves were bad.
He was fighting on their side, so I thought maybe he was too far gone to stop defending the elves, but I guess not.
“But that doesn’t mean it’s right to just kill them all and be done with it.”
A few of the reincarnations look like they agree with Yamada.
…Yeah, I guess that’s fair.
Considering that they were raised in the isolated environment of the elf village, it’s no wonder they’d still have the same sense of values from their old lives.
Back in Japan, criminals are punished in accordance with the law.
The death penalty is reserved for only incredibly heinous crimes.
There was even a movement to abolish the death penalty, too.
Lives are valued very differently in that world, compared to this one—even the lives of criminals.
“The elves should have lived to make up for their sins. They had a duty to do so. You can’t just kill them and let that be the end of it. Once they’re dead, it’s all over.”
Hmm. I understand his logic, but it’s…kinda naive, to be honest.
There are plenty of evildoers who don’t have the slightest desire to make up for their sins, y’know?
The idea that any villain will repent if you talk their ear off long enough only holds true in opportunistic fairy tales.
If you keep trying to reform someone who’s determined to stay evil, you’re just wasting everyone’s time.
In which case, you might as well just kill ’em all and save yourself the trouble, right?
At least, that’s my opinion.
“You’re right.” Mr. Oni nods. “Once they’re dead, it’s all over. Killing people is bad. That much is obvious. It’s an unforgivable sin.”
“Then why—?” Yamada starts to say, but Mr. Oni cuts him off.
“In that case, it’s only fair that we couldn’t forgive the elves for taking so many lives both directly and indirectly, right?”
His voice is intense enough to silence Yamada.
“Look, Shun. If someone kills a person you care about, you’re not gonna be able to forgive them, even if you want to. No matter how hard they try to make up for their sin, the hatred in your heart just won’t go away. It might fade, but it’ll never be gone completely.”
Those words carry the weight of firsthand experience.
It’s heavy enough that anyone listening can tell that someone Mr. Oni cared about was killed in the past.
“What you’re saying is very noble. But the elves were in no position to earn penance, no matter what. They had to die. So we performed their last rites. Do you understand now?”
Mr. Oni’s heavy words are enough to silence any objection from Yamada…
Or so I thought.
“No, I don’t think I do.”
There’s a powerful gleam in Yamada’s eyes.
It’s clear at a glance that he’s not going to back down.
“Even if that’s a good enough explanation for the elves, what about the imperial army? Your side used Hugo and his army as a decoy to attack us, right? How do you justify using the imperial army soldiers as decoys and letting them die?”
…Oof, that’s hitting me where it hurts.
It’s true, from Yamada’s perspective, that the imperial soldiers are just victims who got roped into this whole mess.
I can see why that’d be hard to accept.
The other reincarnations are muttering among themselves, too.
Or at least they look uncomfortable, though no one’s actually talking.
“Excuse me. Is that true?”
Kudo breaks the silence.
Mr. Oni and Yamada just keep staring each other down.
Glancing at them, Kudo turns toward me instead.
Wait, why meeee?!
“If it is true, then does that mean you used Natsume, and then killed the imperial army soldiers?”
I mean, yeah, more or less…
“I won’t deny that.”
“I’ll take that as confirmation, then.”
Kudo’s expression hardens as she responds.
Well, she’s not exactly wrong…
If anything, I think what we actually did is even more vicious than what she’s imagining, but I’ll just keep that to myself.
I’m sure both parties will be happier that way. Totally.
“I won’t deny that we used them. But this is war. There were bound to be casualties, right?”
Mr. Oni is going on the offensive.
“But…!”
“If the imperial army hadn’t died, the demon army would’ve died instead. And the imperial army are enemies of the demon army. We used our enemy, that’s all. Was there anything strategically wrong with what we did?”
He’s right: We pitted our enemy against another enemy and let them wear each other down, reaping the profits.
Strategically speaking, it’s a smart and effective move.
“That’s not what we’re talking about!”
But yeah, I don’t think that’s what Yamada was getting at.
“Shun. You’ve seen enough of this world to know how it works, right? It’s not like Japan. Lives aren’t valued nearly as much. What’s the point in trying to preserve the same sense of values in a different world?”
Mr. Oni tries to convince the stubborn Yamada, but it has the opposite effect.
“What’s the point? How can you say that? Sure, lives here don’t carry the same weight. That’s why even my brother Julius… No, that’s not the point right now. But still! That doesn’t mean you can just go around carelessly taking lives away, does it?!”
By the end, he’s shouting.
There’s so much strength in his voice that I take back my comment about him being naive.
I thought he was just dragging his values from Japan into this world, being overly optimistic.
But I was wrong.
His shout proved that he understood all that and was determined to be optimistic anyway.
“This world isn’t like Japan? No, of course it isn’t. Everything about it is different. But does that mean we have to just throw away all our values from our old lives? Is it wrong to try to uphold them?”
Ooshima, sitting behind Yamada, trembles at these words.
I guess that means that Ooshima also gave up on old values during life in this world.
“Let me ask you this, Kyouya. You said there’s no point. Are you sure you’re not compromising on your values just because that’s how this world works?”
I don’t think I’ll ever forget the first time I killed a monster; it was the time I felled that earth wyrm.
This world has skills, stats, and experience points, which allow you to level up if you kill monsters.
Having been reborn in such an RPG-like world, I went through life feeling like it really was a game.
But I realized how wrong I was when Natsume, now Hugo, nearly killed me.
And then I took a monster’s life with my own hands.
To be honest, it was right after that.
When Hugo almost killed me, it radically changed my views on life.
Frankly speaking, up until that point, my head was in the clouds.
I was the fourth prince, a half-baked royal.
I didn’t want for anything in life, but I was largely ignored as a prince, yet not quite enough to live however I pleased.
Like my royalty, the freedom I was given was half-baked, too.
But I didn’t have any complaints about that.
I got to be relatively carefree and didn’t have to act like a stuffy royal all the time.
I trained and polished my skills, listened eagerly to tales of my brother Julius’s heroics, and dreamed of someday being that heroic myself.
In my position, I was allowed to have such childish fantasies.
But that naive dream started to crack when Hugo tried to kill me, and it finally broke into pieces when I killed an earth wyrm shortly thereafter.
I experienced almost being killed by someone.
Then I experienced killing a monster with my own hands.
Neither of those were experiences I ever would have had in Japan.
Until then, I’d been thinking of this life as more of a game than as an extension of my previous life.
Like a bonus stage after I’d already died.
But the murderous intent Hugo directed toward me was real, and the sensation of defeating that earth wyrm was horribly vivid.
When I was fighting Hugo, I was so confused and overwhelmed that I didn’t have time to feel fear, but after I was saved, my body started shaking.
And when I fought the earth wyrm, I was so absorbed in the battle that I couldn’t think about what it would mean to take a life, until I saw the corpse and threw up.
On top of that, I later learned that it was Fei’s parent.
That earth wyrm might have been searching for Fei, its child, for years.
Once that thought crossed my mind, I couldn’t view this life as a game anymore.
From then on, I was afraid of fighting monsters.
But the experience of almost being killed by Hugo kept that fear in check.
I had to get stronger, or I wouldn’t even be able to protect myself.
After fighting Hugo and then the earth wyrm, I knew for a fact that I couldn’t become a strong and noble hero who protects all of humanity like Julius.
I realized that fighting by my brother’s side was a far more distant dream than I’d imagined.
I could never carry a heavy burden like the fate of humanity.
But I wanted to at least get strong enough to protect the people around me.
So I chose to face off against monsters once again.
At school, we had one-on-one practice fights against monsters.
Since they were meant to fight inexperienced students, those monsters were fairly weak.
They were practically rodents, small enough that even an adult without much battle experience could probably take care of them.
But still, monsters are monsters.
They’re vermin that aggressively attack humans; even the weakest ones can cause harm if they’re not killed.
No matter how weak, any monster is capable of being dangerous.
The kind that can be defeated by any adult would still be dangerous to children, for example.
And an adult could still get hurt dealing with it, or even killed if they’re not careful.
Even those weak monsters still kill or injure people every year.
In fact, the hands-on monster fights at the academy were intended to cull monsters as much as they were for the students to get experience.
So it wouldn’t make sense to hesitate to kill a monster.
And yet…
Whenever a monster tried to kill me, I could feel its living intentions.
It was thinking and acting on its own like a living being, not just a program in a game.
I was being naive about fighting monsters, or in fact any living thing at all.
And I don’t mean that I was underestimating them.
My stats are on the higher side for my age, and I could easily defeat a weak monster on my own.
But it wasn’t about that.
It’s hard to put the feeling into words.
But having faced down a monster in the form of that earth wyrm, I learned that fighting was a very real and terrifying experience.
In short, I was afraid.
Of the monster closing in on me, trying to kill me…and of the idea of killing it myself.
Every time I tried to bring my sword down on a monster, I remembered the dead body of the earth wyrm.
In the end, I couldn’t kill a monster in my first match and settled for dodging their attacks.
Then Parton, another member of my group, noticed my struggle and finished it off.
Just like that.
“Why…?” I asked him.
Even I’m not sure what I was asking “why” about, exactly.
I just blurted out the only word that came to mind.
“Oh, sorry. It looked like you were having a hard time, so I just jumped in.”
Parton responded with the assumption that I was demanding why he’d stolen prey from me.
“I guess I went overboard, though. I should’ve realized you wouldn’t struggle with a monster that weak, Prince Schlain. Oh, I get it! You were watching the monster’s movements! So you observe even the weakest monsters without letting your guard down. That’s good to know.”
No. You’re wrong.
That’s not what I was asking, or why I couldn’t defeat the monster.
But I get it now.
Whether I want to or not.
This is the big difference between this world and Japan.
In this world, lives are taken lightly.
Way too lightly.
It’s normal to kill monsters.
You have to kill them, because they’re enemies.
Even humans can start killing each other at the drop of a hat.
And the people in this world have no regard at all for the lives they’ve taken.
They take lives like it’s just another chore.
Parton didn’t show any signs of feeling anything about killing a monster, either.
Not that I’m one to talk.
I did eat meat when I lived in Japan, and I killed bugs sometimes, too.
I can’t claim that the lives of insects, animals, and humans should all be valued equally.
And I know that monsters are harmful creatures that attack humans, and you have to kill them or be killed yourself.
But it felt wrong to kill monsters as casually as killing insects.
In the end, though, I still gritted my teeth and killed a monster myself that day.
I was afraid of betraying the admiration in Parton’s eyes.
Most of all, I remembered the time Hugo attacked and almost killed me.
I knew I had to get strong enough that I could at least protect myself, and I used that as motivation to take a monster’s life and level up.
I murdered a living creature for my own convenience.
I won’t forget it. I can’t.
The sensation of my sword ripping through skin, slicing through flesh, cutting through bone.
The stench of the spraying blood.
The monster’s dying cry.
I burned the moment the creature expired into my mind.
It was a death all too real, much more so than any CG in a game.
In Japan, vermin are sometimes exterminated, too.
Not only that, but the meat lining the shelves once belonged to living cows, pigs, and so on.
People have to take lives in order to go on living.
We humans steal countless lives over the course of our own, even if indirectly.
But I never realized how much heavier it would feel to purposely take a life.
And then I can’t help thinking…if this is how bad it feels to kill a monster, how much worse must it feel to kill a human?
It’s terrifying.
Just thinking about it scares me.
How was Hugo able to do such a thing?
If he’d been through similar experiences, surely he wouldn’t think of this as a dreamlike world.
This world might seem like a game, but it’s not.
Even if lives don’t seem to be worth as much here, they’re just as valuable as they were on Earth.
It’s just that people don’t realize that here.
I get it.
In this world of endless war, you have no choice but to view your enemies’ lives as cheap.
They’re killing monsters and demons for the sake of their own lives.
I’m not going to demand that they stop, of course.
I’ve killed monsters for my own sake, too.
Each life you take is a cross that you have to bear.
I understand trying to ease the load a little by viewing lives so lightly.
But that doesn’t mean I’m willing to change my own views so drastically just to go with the flow.
Because I once knew a hero who chased his ideals until the moment of his death, even knowing they were impossible to achieve.
“I know I’m just dreaming. I don’t care if people laugh at me for being unrealistic. But there’s nothing wrong with having a goal to strive for. Mine is a world where everyone can live happily in peace. And I’ll keep chasing that ideal until I die.”
Julius said that and kept on fighting.
Such a contradiction: fighting for the sake of peace.
He struggled with that but never showed me his suffering as he kept fighting.
I decided I wanted to carry on Julius’s ideals.
I’m afraid of fighting.
Afraid of taking lives.
And afraid of having my own life taken.
I can’t be a hero who fights with resolve and determination, like Julius was.
Even my goal is just an imitation of what Julius told me.
I’m a sham of a hero, halfhearted and cowardly.
But part of me thinks that maybe there are things I can do because of the way I am.
Like maybe knowing the true value of a life is the first step.
Maybe my values from being born and raised in a peaceful country like Japan could be of some use in this world.
Even if I can’t put an end to all wars, I might at least be able to end some of the fighting.
I’m not qualified to be a hero, but I still want to find a way to be of use.
I want to do everything I can, for all that I’m worth.
I believed that before Natsume chased me out of the kingdom, and I kept on sticking to it even after that, taking on any task set before me.
So when I heard the truth of this world being told to me as if in ridicule of my beliefs and Julius’s dreams, I got overly emotional.
I realized I’d misspoken as soon as I saw Kyouya’s face.
He looked like he was holding back some painful feelings of his own.
When I saw that expression and realized that Kyouya hadn’t really wanted to kill the elves, either, a part of me was relieved.
But that wasn’t enough to calm the storm of emotions in my heart, nor could I bring myself to accuse him any further. So I just kept gazing into Kyouya’s face.
“…I’m sorry. I got a little worked up and said too much.”
After a while, I finally calmed down enough to apologize to my old friend.
For whatever reason, I had a feeling it was wrong to blame Kyouya for all this.
“No, you don’t need to be sorry. You’re right, Shun.” Kyouya shook his head softly. “I’m envious of your ability to stick to what’s right.”
Suddenly, I found it hard to believe that this fragile, exhausted expression belonged to the same person who had mercilessly slaughtered the elves.
That face told me that Kyouya had been through a lot and had his own reasons, too.
After showing me such weakness for only a moment, Kyouya closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the fire had returned to his gaze.
“You’re right. But I’m not going to change my ways now. Nor am I going to regret what I’ve done.”
In those eyes, I saw the conviction of a man who would never back down from his belief.
Beliefs that could never be reconciled with my own…
“Hey, sorry. I know you’re having a super serious conversation, but…”
The crackling tension in the air gets interrupted by someone we all totally forgot about: Kusama.
Still tied up face-to-face with Ogiwara in a truly ridiculous position, he gets a deadly serious glint in his eye as he goes on.
“I’m about to piss my pants. Can I go to the bathroom?”
The change in Ogiwara’s expression is immediate and hilarious.
It goes from an unimpressed c’mon dude, read the room to a horrified are you serious?!
Yeah, I can’t blame him since he’s tied to the guy and all.
If Kusama actually pees himself, it’s gonna be a bad time for someone who’s practically glued up against him.
I’d probably make the same face in his position.
“I don’t see why not, hmm? It seems like some of us need to cool off anyway. This might be a good time for a break.”
Before I can say anything, Vampy takes it upon herself to announce an intermission.
On top of that, even as she says it, she’s already getting up, stretching, and flouncing out the door.
Man. She wasn’t exactly making an effort to conceal her disinterest, but I guess she was even more bored than I thought.
“I’m gonna go pee, then!”
Kusama hops up with a yell and disappears.
He’s suddenly nowhere to be seen, as if he was never tied up at all.
Oh, neat.
That was actually kinda ninja-like.
I guess he could’ve escaped whenever he wanted to, then.
Since he chose to wait and ask for permission, maybe he was reading the room after all?
In fact, maybe he picked that particular time to announce his needs on purpose, in order to break the tension?
…Yeah, no waaay.
That’s giving Kusama waaay too much credit.
I’m sure his bladder just reached capacity at the exact right moment.
There’s always that one guy who asks to go to the bathroom at the most critical junctures.
Y’know, like during a test.
Once Vampy and Kusama take off, the rest of the reincarnations stand around for a moment like they don’t know what to do.
But then Mr. Oni silently closes his eyes, and Yamada responds by letting out a big breath as if to release some tension.
That prompts everyone else to start taking their own actions.
Some start chatting with the people next to them, while others go up the stairs.
Ah! Speaking of upstairs, that’s where Ms. Oka is resting!
I’m gonna go see how she’s doing.
Is it really okay for me to leave when I’m the facilitator or whatever, you ask?
Well, I’m pretty beat after all that drama. I’m sure they’ll figure it out with or without me.
If anything, I feel like it doesn’t even matter if I’m there at this point.
I stand up from my chair and start walking toward the stairs.
Kinda feels like everyone who’s still in the room is hard-core staring after me, but let’s just pretend that’s my imagination.
Kudo and Shinohara in particular seem to be glaring holes into the back of my head, but that’s not my problem!
“If you’re going to go see Ms. Oka, do you mind if I come along?”
Here I am, trying to walk along a bed of nails with nerves of steel, yet one particular hero has to go and ruin the whole thing for me.
Well, yeah, I guess Yamada’s got the heart of a hero and all that crap.
Besides, he doesn’t really need my permission, not to mention that he’s already standing up to follow me, even though he phrased it as a question.
It’s all too much of a pain to deal with, so I just nod silently and keep walking, without paying him any more mind.
Behind him, Ooshima follows, as if there’s nothing better to do.
And even farther behind them, Shinohara silently trails along, too.
I always thought of Shinohara as rather chatty, but she hasn’t said a word so far.
Yet there’s something intense about her silent stare.
It’s almost extra scary because of the contrast with her normally noisy self.
We all climb the stairs in silence, me included, and arrive at the room in question.
I knock on the door to be polite, then wait for a response.
But the door opens from within without anyone saying a word.
It’s Kushitani, who’s been keeping an eye on Ms. Oka.
“Come in. Quietly, though—she’s still sleeping.”
She must have noticed we were coming with her heightened senses as a former adventurer.
Ever since the meeting started, I’ve been thinking that Kushitani and Tagawa seem to understand things better than most because they’ve experienced life in both the outside world and the elf village.
And with their experience as independent adventurers, they’re better at making decisions than the other reincarnations are.
Kushitani was kind enough to prioritize looking after Ms. Oka earlier, too.
In that way, they’re different from Yamada and the others, who lived in the outside world but had a more sheltered upbringing.
When I walk into the room at Kushitani’s prompting, I see Ms. Oka lying in a bed.
She was still conscious when Kushitani carried her out earlier, but she must have passed out from the stress or something.
Aside from the bed where Ms. Oka is sleeping, there’s one more in the room. This one contains Hasebe.
Phelmina, who’s been keeping watch over her, is sitting next to it silently.
…Her eyes look kinda cold when she sees me.
I’m sure it’s just my imagination!
I’ve been noticing all kinds of dirty looks today, but I swear they’re all just figments of my imagination!
At least, that’s what I have to keep telling myself!
Got that?!
“How is Ms. Oka’s health?” Yamada asks Kushitani.
“It’s hard to say. It’s her heart that’s hurting, not her body, after all. She’s sleeping off the exhaustion right now, but there’s no telling how she’ll feel when she wakes up.”
With that, Kushitani shrugs.
Her wording and tone might seem a little indifferent, but I’m sure she’s worried about Ms. Oka in her own way.
“And how’d that go?”
Kushitani looks at me, not Yamada, as she asks this question.
She’s probably questioning what happened downstairs, since we showed up awfully soon to have finished discussing everything already.
“We’re taking a break. I’m afraid I derailed things a little.”
Yamada gives a sheepish smile.
So he knows he threw things off track, huh?
“Well, I can’t say I blame you. In this situation, we’ve got so many questions, it’s hard to know what to ask first.”
Kushitani gives a little sigh and glances in my direction.
I guess she’s a little concerned about what our side is going to do next, too.
So even experienced former adventurers get a little uneasy when they don’t know what’s coming, huh?
“There is one thing I’d like to ask right away, though.” Kushitani steels herself. “What do you plan to do with us after this, Miss Wakaba?”
Hmm.
It clearly took a lot of courage to ask that, but I’ve only got one answer…
“Nothing, really.”
“Excuse me?”
Even someone as levelheaded as Kushitani looks confused and unconvinced by my answer.
“Nothing really…?”
She looks halfway to her wit’s end. What am I supposed to say, though?
I mean, that really is all there is to it.
Our biggest reason for attacking and destroying the elf village was to take down Potimas.
The next-biggest reason was to free Ms. Oka from his grasp; rescuing the captured reincarnations comes in a distant third.
Frankly, rescuing these guys was only an afterthought to beating Potimas.
So I haven’t really thought about what happens to the reincarnations after this.
I think they should be free to do whatever they want, to be honest.
Although it would be kinda cold to just say, “You guys are free now. Take care of yourselves” and dump them somewhere. I’ll give them a little bit of support, at least.
But I mean, c’mon. They’re all grown-ass adults, especially if you count their previous lives. As long as they’re set up with the basics, I’m sure they can take care of themselves.
Even if I can’t help but feel like they haven’t matured all that much, probably because they were so sheltered in here.
Anyway, I should explain all that to them, but that sounds like a huge pain.
Read my lips: I don’t wanna talk anymore!
“I’ll explain things properly downstairs, all that included. Kushitani, you can have Tagawa fill you in later, if you don’t mind.”
If I explain it now, I’ll just have to go over it again with everybody else.
I don’t even wanna do it once, never mind twice.
Now that I’ve checked in on Ms. Oka, there’s no point making any more of a fuss while she’s trying to sleep.
So I’m just making a strategic retreat.
I’m definitely not fleeing with my tail between my legs.
I’m not, okay? I swear.
As Kushitani, Yamada, and the others stare at me in shock, I quickly about-face and exit the room.
It feels like Shinohara was glaring daggers at me, but I’m just imagining things again, I’m sure!
When I get back downstairs, it’s immediately clear that the almost-settled atmosphere has gotten super tense again.
As soon as I show up, everyone’s eyes fix right on me.
Oof.
So my existence is really that stressful to all of you, huh? Got it.
Kusama is not back yet, and a few others are still missing as well, so that means we’re still on break, right?
Okay, I’m gonna peace out from this sea of eyes, then!
Ogiwara appears to be kneeling on the floor for some reason, but I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything.
Ignoring all the piercing stares, I make for the door that leads outside.
Phew.
Why’s it feel like I’m standing on a bed of needles in there? Sooo uncomfortable!
Are we sure I can’t just leave and never come back?
I can’t, huh?
Riiight…
Once this break is over, I’m gonna have to start explaining things again, but my best interpreter doesn’t seem like he’s in a good way at the moment.
I might not be able to count on Mr. Oni for backup very much.
In that case, I’ll need backup from someone else, which unfortunately only leaves one option…
But the option in question, aka Vampy, appears to have summoned a black wolf to recline against and is currently basking in the sun.
Uh, Vampy?
You sure about that?
Aren’t you supposed to be a vampire?
’Cause it kinda feels like sunning yourself on purpose is basically making a mockery of every other vampire in existence.
It would probably be a sweet scene if it was anyone else, but she’s a vampire, sooo…
“…Can I help you?”
Um, yeah, actually.
By apologizing to every vampire who lives in fear of the sun!
“Gorgeous weather, isn’t it? I could fall asleep right here if it weren’t for that god-awful stench.”
Apologize!
Apologize to all the vampires!
It is pretty nice weather, though.
The sun is shining like you wouldn’t believe.
Also, the black wolf Vampy is leaning on looks like a super-soft, fluffy cushion.
If it weren’t for the smell from the burnt wasteland around us, I suppose it really would be a nice day for a nap.
As all this crosses my mind, Vampy actually has the gall to close her eyes and start dozing off.
That kinda pisses me off, so I lightly kick her in the side.
“Ow!”
She glares up at me as if to ask what my problem is, but I couldn’t help it! That was an act of divine punishment!
It’s all your fault, Vampy!
“What? I’m not allowed to sleep?”
Hell no, you’re not!
“Why shouldn’t I? It’s not as if I need to be there for that little party. If my presence isn’t required, I don’t see why I can’t just leave.”
She certainly wasn’t contributing before, but now that Mr. Oni seems too preoccupied to help me, I’m gonna need her to step up.
I have to convince her to explain things for me somehow!
…Can she really even do that, though?
I’m kinda concerned about entrusting her with that job…
“I was so bored that I got sleepy. What else am I supposed to do?”
With that, Vampy gives a cute little yawn.
Her languid pose comes off as weirdly erotic.
Honestly.
Who’s this little act even for?
Want me to do something about that scandalous chest of yours?
I mean, um, forget it.
The image of the Demon Lord making grabby hands with a wicked grin on her face suddenly crosses my mind, and I hastily put all chest-related thoughts aside.
I think the Demon Lord has a bit of a complex about her figure…
“When it comes right down to it, why should you have to explain things to those people anyway, Master? That stupid hero was babbling on about having a right to know, but does he really? As far as I’m concerned, we’re just educating them as a kindness. We’re under no obligation to tell them anything, so why even bother?”
Uhh, yikes.
I guess Vampy was even more stressed about this whole meeting thing than I thought.
But I do kinda get where she’s coming from.
Vampy’s totally moved on from her old life.
She feels strongly that this life has nothing to do with the previous one, so she probably only thinks of the other reincarnations as acquaintances she vaguely knew a long time ago.
Maybe not even acquaintances, in fact.
So she doesn’t think we’re obligated to be nice to them.
And honestly, she’s not wrong.
We really don’t have an obligation to explain anything at all to the reincarnations.
It’s just, they are technically victims, which makes me feel a little bad casting them aside without a word of explanation. That’s the only reason I’m trying to explain what’s going on.
Like Vampy says, Yamada’s so-called right to know is really just a matter of opinion, huh…?
“In fact, I can’t wrap my head around why you’re being nice enough to explain anything to them, Master. It doesn’t make any sense. Especially when you’re so bad at explanations.”
Hey, that last sentence was uncalled for!
It might be the truth, but that doesn’t mean you can just come right out and say it, jerk!
“Not to mention that you’re cold-blooded and cruel without a shred of emotion.”
Okay, now you’re just doing this on purpose.
You wanna take this outside, Vampy?
Looks like we still need to reach an understanding, you and me.
“Oh, all right. I’ll do it, Master. I’ll take over the explanation for you.”
Just as I’m about to drag Vampy into my web for a little “chat,” she says something unexpected.
Wait… What…?!
You’re telling me Vampy is actually being considerate?!
“Why do you look so surprised? What kind of person do you think I am, Master?”
A no-good vampire.
Apparently, Vampy can tell what I’m thinking; she scowls as she stands. The black wolf she was reclining on vanishes as if swallowed up into her shadow.
“Hmph. I’m sure this farce will only get dragged out even longer if I leave you to take care of it alone. And Kyouya seems too distracted to fend off questions right now. The only way to deal with such a boring task is to finish it up as quickly as possible.”
With that, Vampy strides toward the tree house where the reincarnations are waiting.
Who is this capable woman, and what has she done with the real Vampy?
“What are you waiting for? Let’s get this over with already.”
Vampy turns around at the door and calls to me impatiently.
Feeling like I’ve stumbled into the Twilight Zone, I stumble after her in a daze.
When we reenter the tree house, Kusama and Ogiwara are bound together again.
Just like before, they’re tied up face-to-face, like they’re in a lovers’ embrace.
I’m pretty sure Ogiwara was kneeling on the floor by himself when I left a few minutes ago. How’d he get literally roped in with Kusama again?
…Okay, yeah.
I’m not even gonna question it.
Vampy is totally ignoring them, too.
She walks right over to the area where we were sitting before.
But instead of sitting down, she just stands there with her arms folded.
It feels like she’s expecting me to sit, though, so I go ahead and do so.
“All right, let’s get this ball rolling again. Is anyone missing? No? If you notice anyone absent, somebody go get them, please.”
Vampy claps her hands briskly and raises her voice so the whole room can hear.
Impressively enough, even though she’s speaking fairly loudly, she doesn’t sound any less elegant than usual.
Huh?
Has she always been this impressive?
As soon as she starts speaking, the reincarnations who were chatting among themselves settle down into silence.
At the same time, Kudo stands and goes up the stairs.
I assume she’s going to get Yamada and the others who haven’t come back yet.
Watching her leave, Vampy folds her arms again and stands in silent anticipation.
Mr. Oni stares at her dubiously.
Yeah.
I can’t say I blame him.
Vampy never puts herself out on a limb like this.
And when she does take the initiative, it usually means something terrible is about to happen.
Mr. Oni sends a few questioning glances in my direction.
I’m as confused as you are, buddy!
Before long, Kudo returns with Yamada and company in tow.
They each return to their seats.
“Let’s start this up again, then.”
There’s a different kind of tension in the air now that Vampy’s running things.
Before, it was like everyone was afraid of the uncertain future and the mysterious people addressing them, but now it’s more like they’re just intimidated by Vampy.
…Huh?
Were they more scared of me than they are of her?
I don’t get it.
“First of all, just so we’re clear: We saved all you people, which means it’s officially up to us whether you live or die. Get that through your heads.”
Um…hello?!
Way to come out swinging, Vampy…!
“Wait a minute!”
“Shut up. I’m still talking.”
Yamada stands up to protest, but Vampy silences him.
Physically, that is.
“Gah!”
I imagine Mr. Oni and I are the only ones who understand what just happened.
Even the reincarnations who are decent in battle, like Ooshima and Tagawa, probably couldn’t follow Vampy’s movements.
All she actually did was get close to Yamada and sweep his legs out from under him.
It’s just that she did it with unbelievable speed and strength.
Yamada goes flying out of his chair.
She must have held back a little bit, or Yamada’s legs would probably be broken—in fact, his entire lower half might have been blown right off.
“Listen, we’re telling you all this out of the goodness of our hearts, as a courtesy. Do you understand me? We’re doing you a favor.”
As Yamada groans in pain on the floor, Vampy spells things out to him like she’s talking to a child.
“Frankly, we only rescued you all as an afterthought to wiping out the elves. I, for one, would be more than happy to let you all go without another word of explanation. But out of respect for our shared past lives, we’re generously explaining things to you like this. Isn’t that nice?”
I don’t think “nice” people usually sweep other people’s legs out from under them without warning.
For that matter, they probably don’t make threatening statements about holding people’s lives in their hands, either.
“Hey…”
“You be quiet, too, Kyouya. It’s your fault we got so far off track. Do try not to make an even bigger mess of things, won’t you?”
Vampy cuts Mr. Oni off before he can offer any constructive criticism.
Too bad she’s making the biggest mess of all!
“You think you have a right to know, hmm? Well, let me be the first to tell you, you’ve got no such thing. You people are essentially prisoners of war right now. Not to mention, refugees without a home. Which means we can kill you or let you live on a whim. Have I made myself clear?”
While Vampy smiles brightly, the other reincarnations’ expressions are rapidly darkening.
Up until a few moments ago, the vibe was basically like a class assembly, but now words like “prisoners” and “kill” have clearly made them realize that the situation is more dangerous than they thought.
Cool, cool.
Although you could’ve told them a little more gently!
What are we gonna do about this icy atmosphere?!
“You don’t need to say it so…”
“I told you to shut up.”
As Yamada tries to speak up again, Vampy mercilessly kicks him in the face.
“Stop it!”
“And as I said, I’m still talking!”
When Ooshima moves to stop her, Vampy sends her to the floor with a slap.
What a thing to do to a lady’s face!
…Ooshima is a lady now, right? You know what? Let’s not worry about that right now.
“If you’ve got a problem, the door is right over there. We’re under no obligation to explain anything to you, mind. So if you don’t want to hear it, you certainly don’t have to. But if you want to know, shut up and listen. Every second you all open your mouths is another second wasted.”
A hush falls over the room at that.
Yamada quietly scoots over next to Ooshima and uses Healing Magic on the area where she was slapped, but no one moves a muscle otherwise.
It’s almost like they’re all holding their breath.
“Good. Now, keep quiet and listen. I won’t be taking questions at this time. Once I’ve explained everything, I’ll allow for questions at the end, if I so choose. Until then, just listen to me in silence. Understood?”
No one raises any objections.
She’s totally ruling with an iron fist here!
Sure, that might be the most effective way to explain something to a bunch of people, but isn’t that going to leave a downright awful impression afterward? Geez.
What am I supposed to do about this?
Not my problem, I guess.
“Now, what have we covered so far? Let me think…”
Vampy taps her finger on her chin and gets utterly lost in thought.
Wow.
She wasn’t even remotely listening earlier!
Everything I said went in one ear and out the other, like a principal’s rambling speech at a school assembly.
“Oh, well. It doesn’t matter.”
YES IT DOES!
“Let’s just skip the part about the current state of the world. Honestly, what’s the point in telling you that this planet is on the verge of destruction when it’ll only upset you? It’s not as if you can do anything about it whether you know or not. I can’t be bothered to explain. If you really must know more, you can come ask me about it later.”
Sheesh, tell us how you really feel.
I guess she does have a point, though.
The majority of these reincarnations would be no use in battle.
You can’t really ask a bunch of normies to try and save the world from total annihilation.
This isn’t one of those movies where some random person gets sent into space to put a hole through a giant meteorite that’s about to crash into the planet or whatever.
“At any rate, this planet won’t be destroyed in any of your lifetimes. So there’s no point dwelling on it, is there? I’m sure you’re more concerned about your immediate future than about something that won’t happen until after you die. Am I wrong?”
Vampy looks around at the reincarnations.
After she just knocked down Yamada and Ooshima, nobody is about to risk speaking up and attracting her attention.
But a few of them are at least implying agreement with their posture and attitude: nodding along, looking at her seriously, and so on.
“As I said before, we personally brought down the elf village. So you’d better be aware that you’re essentially prisoners of war. But it’s not as if we’re enemies, so we don’t intend to harm you…as long as you’re on your best behavior, that is.”
I’m pretty sure I heard a few of the reincarnations audibly gulp.
I mean, yeah.
You can’t really claim you don’t mean any harm right after smacking several people around.
Nobody’s gonna believe that after seeing what they all saw.
I can’t blame them for assuming that this means they’ll be beaten to a pulp if they don’t fall into line.
In fact, maybe that’s exactly what she wants them to think?
Hmm.
I’m not sure if Vampy is actually thinking it through that deeply or not.
It’s entirely possible that she’s just blurting out whatever comes to mind without a second thought.
This is Vampy we’re talking about, y’know?
“Now then, as for what happens to you all from here on out, we’re happy to go along with whatever you choose. We’ll look after you if you want protection, and you’re free to leave, if that’s what you’d prefer. If you want to stay here, that’s fine, too. Although I can’t say I recommend it, since the barrier’s gone and we slaughtered all the elves and all.”
Great, another bombshell!
A shudder runs through the crowd.
They’d probably be yelling at us if Vampy hadn’t just ordered them to stay quiet, I bet.
In fact, I’m impressed that her threat worked well enough to stop them.
The reincarnations are all clearly shaken after learning that the elves have been massacred.
I mean, can you blame them? These people were walking around and talking to them just yesterday, and now they’ve just learned that they’re all dead.
From the way we’ve been talking so far, I’m sure they’d figured out that the elves fought us and lost, but I doubt they reached the conclusion that we’d killed every last one of them.
On top of that, most of these reincarnations have been living in an extended edition of their peaceful lives in Japan and have never seen a battlefield in all their days.
That just makes the shock even more intense.
Some of them are turning pale, while others try to laugh it off in disbelief, but fail.
“Hey.”
Unable to sit idly by in all this panic, Mr. Oni tugs on Vampy’s arm.
Part 3 of 8