Chapter 83: How To Get Back To Everyday Life (4)

“…Right, so the President took Aris after all.”

“Hey… isn’t this situation really dangerous…?”

“Yes, it’s definitely an emergency.”

Immediately after Aris was kidnapped, Sensei first sought out Veritas and C&C.

Yumeka… had cried herself to sleep.

Therefore, this place, right now, had become a discussion forum for the practitioners, including Sensei.

“So, President Rio calling only the Chief was also because….”

“Probably, if the Chief had gone in that state, she would have betrayed the President, so Sora-ssi was likely unexpected…”

And… perhaps the reason the situation deteriorated this badly… involves the previous scuffle filled with my huge misunderstanding… which ultimately resulted in my colossal trolling…

It’s frustrating… but what can be done…? Who would just stand there and take hits? I didn’t know Neru’s or their detailed circumstances in the first place…

“Ha…”

“Keung…”

[Haha… Neru and… Sora… It was mostly Sora’s… misunderstanding that led to a big fight…]

“Neither of you need to worry about it. That President likely would have prepared other means anyway, and looking at the situation, it was natural for Sora-ssi to take such measures.”

Certainly… looking at the situation, it seems unavoidable… but that was wrong.

“Are you guys planning to make excuses like that even if you fail a mission due to an ambush?”

Yes, consequentially, Aris was kidnapped, and we need to come up with countermeasures, so ultimately, it’s my fault.

At the very least, I need to take responsibility…

“Ha, still… You fought evenly with me, the esteemed leader of C&C. You’ll have to cooperate, right?”

“Yes, of course? I intended to cooperate from the start anyway.”

As expected, a request for cooperation came my way…

Naturally, since I intended to cooperate from the beginning, I accept.

[More importantly… that child named Toki, you said C&C’s callsign is Zero Four? Did you guys know?]

“If you’re asking whether we knew or not… We knew of her existence itself. A member belonging to the same C&C as us, assigned exclusively to President Rio. Shall we say, President Rio’s bodyguard?”

According to Akane, the one who attacked Sensei and the Game Development Department while Neru and I were fighting was Callsign Zero Four, an opponent whose existence even the current C&C members here only knew about and had never seen before.

A situation where her skill level and fighting style are completely unknown.

“Hey… Sensei, why did that brat quietly follow Rio? Even after hearing that nonsense about destroying her Halo? Did that brat really understand and agree to follow?

Why did Rio spout such nonsense about that brat who only knows how to play games a little? I don’t get it!”

Yes, President Rio took Aris away for reasons like being a Demon Lord, destroying the world, or whatnot.

No, according to Sensei, Aris definitely followed President Rio willingly.

The reason… probably guilt. Even if it wasn’t her own will, because she thought she had committed the acts, the child filled with guilt must have passed a harsh sentence upon herself.

“Sensei, is Aris-chan… really… a Demon Lord… like the President said…?”

“I…. I…. don’t know… I want to hear more from Aris-chan, talk with her more…”

And the biggest thing… must have been the unbearable pain of watching the Game Development Department kids get hurt because of her.

I don’t know the child named Aris well… but based on what I’ve heard from Sensei and the others, and the fragmented scenes I’ve witnessed, it’s certain.

“Sensei, what should we do now?”

“Momoi… Descends!!!”

“Unnie?!”

In that somewhat gloomy atmosphere, a figure quite unfitting for the mood made her appearance.

Momoi, fully recovered from her injuries, shows her face at the scene where everyone is agonizing.

“If it’s about wounds, I’m fine! All healed! Slept plenty! Stamina recovery complete!

The current me is a warrior who just filled up on potions at the well, spent all the necessary experience points after leveling up, and started conquering the next stage…

A super-enhanced high school girl state with absolutely nothing to fear!”

“Unnie…. Unnie… Aris-chan… Aris-chan…!”

Simultaneously with Momoi’s return, Midori broke down.

The limit. She probably wanted to collapse under the mental anguish she had been enduring until now, but held it back, finally breaking down in front of someone she could rely on, even if they bickered a bit.

“Waaah?! What, what?! Why has Midori entered the limited-time spoiled child mode she shows the day after receiving a barrage of hate comments?!”

“Momoi… Aris-chan…”

Momoi, perhaps having seen Midori in this state several times before, managed to soothe Midori somehow while starting to listen to Yuzu’s explanation of what had happened so far.

And Momoi’s reaction after hearing the story up to now was…

“You idiots!”

“U-unnie?”

“Momoi…?”

Quite amusing.

I don’t know much about her, but it was very much like her.

“Ummm… Honestly, I don’t really get the difficult stuff… After hearing the story, my chest feels all tight like this…. It’s hard to pinpoint and express in words, but… there’s one thing that’s certain!”

“Something certain?”

“That we haven’t accepted this yet!”

She’s right.

Certainly, the situation is dire.

It definitely can’t be seen as a good situation, and the opponent holds all the initiative.

But so what?

The task we need to do hasn’t changed.

Our forces haven’t been diminished, nor has anyone been incapacitated.

“Whether Aris is a Demon Lord or whatever, I don’t care about that crap!

I just don’t want to let Aris go like this! Happy ending? Don’t make me laugh! If that’s a happy ending, fine! Let’s make our own ‘True Ending’ and bring Aris back!”

“Sounds good, Sensei? It’s decided, right?”

[Pfft, right. It’s not a situation to look at optimistically, but this is better than being depressed.]

“Ha! Now you’re talking? Besides, that brat knows how to say some pretty cool things!”

The Demon Lord who will destroy the world? The princess of the Nameless Gods? Does it matter?

Who did I hear it from… Right, I remember some strange words from that friend in my past life.

Was it something about works where the Demon Lord is the heroine and protagonist being popular these days?

The trends in Kivotos and that world from my past life are different, but wouldn’t pioneering a trend be fun?

“You guys! You don’t want to hear that the great C&C got beaten and just ended it there, right?!”

“Fufu…. Is there any need to say it?”

“If that is the Chief’s decision.”

“Yeah!”

If something was taken, you just go and get it back.

“Alright then, Sensei? Lend us your strength!”

[Anything.]

Leaving the scene to Sensei, I… first headed to the Game Development Department’s clubroom.

There are two reasons.

The first is ‘that thing’ for that child. Apparently, besides her, I’m the only one who can lift it.

Certainly, the feeling of weight when I first swung it… felt far heavier than when I first held Daedalus in middle school and tried a firing stance, so it’s natural if it’s natural.

And the second reason is…

“Yumeka… you’re awake…?”

“…Yes… Unnie…”

I couldn’t help but worry about Yumeka, who had collapsed from exhaustion.

What elementary school student experiences collapsing from crying?

It’s only natural to be worried.

Loss, I understand that sense of loss somewhat.

Since it no longer feels like my own, empathizing from the depths of my heart is impossible for the current me, but…

When I first opened my eyes in this world with only memories of my past life, not my current one, I thought I had lost everything from my past life.

I remember the experience of losing my only blood relative before meeting the mentor who became my life’s milestone in my past life.

I remember the sense of loss at the moment when the dream I had set as my life’s milestone was shattered by someone else who had already reached the destination I aimed for.

For the current me, it’s an emotion that remains as understanding, not empathy, but at least I understand what kind of feelings the child before me holds.

Therefore, right now, I don’t intend to say much to this child.

“Yumeka.”

“…”

“Right now, we’re going to get Aris… What do you think?”

“…!”

Just the fundamental solution, the words that would resonate most deeply with this child.

Just one single statement: declare that I will go save Aris.

Just try to show the ending that child desires most.

“Do you… want to come with?”

“…Yes!”

“Then… you must stick close to Sensei, okay?”

The number of people to protect increases by one, but… well, what does it matter? The actual combatants are just me and C&C anyway, so adding one more person to protect…

Actually, it’s not exactly a desirable situation… but at least, I did this hoping that the act of forming new bonds wouldn’t remain as a trauma trigger for a child who is involved and is slowly starting to form new connections.

“Alright then… Ugh…! Wow… heavy…”

“….? Un… nie…? Hic… You… lifted that…?”

Immediately after finishing the conversation with Yumeka… the railgun left behind when Aris was dragged away without a word… Was it called the Sword of Light: Supernova?

I lift the Sword of Light, lengthen the strap, and sling it over my shoulder.

‘That child fought holding something like this? Seriously amazing… Considering the recoil… I could probably shoot it… but it won’t be easy…’

‘Considering the strap length before extending it, it probably would have dragged on the ground if I relaxed even a little…

What can I do… For the sake of the child in front of me, and for that child named Aris, it’s definitely better to take it,’ so even if it’s a bit hard, I take it.

Yumeka’s gaze turning into one like she’s looking at some kind of monster… is a bit hurtful if it’s hurtful… It’s not like I’m unaware of my own strength, so if it’s this heavy for me, it must be something impossible for others to lift, so is it natural…?

“Rio. Everything you do is truly in the worst taste.”

“Himari. You’ve always said that about me. Calling me filth, rotten water floating in a septic tank…. Well, it doesn’t matter. The only one in this Millennium… no, in this Kivotos, who can criticize me is probably just you.”

Inside the fortress city Eridu, central quarantine facility. There, Tsukatsuki Rio, the person she was most wary of and thus dealt with first, lay sleeping.

Yes, ‘lay sleeping.’ Conversely, her mind had long since awakened, and now, in this place – no, one person wasn’t present in this place, but the conversation was taking place.

“Pfft, getting criticized by an elementary schooler must have bothered you quite a bit, huh?”

“…No, it’s just because you are you, that you would understand what I’m about to…”

And the relationship between the two had always been extremely close to that of ‘frenemies.’

Beings who don’t spare criticism for each other but whose existence clearly helps greatly in improving each other.

Therefore, they know each other all too well.

“How amusing… It’s fine even if I’m not understood… You’ll probably just spout that kind of nonsense again and do what you believe is right…”

“Yes, you know me well…”

And cruelly, because they know each other all too well, and because they remain frenemies until the end, they feel no hesitation in digging into each other’s hearts.

One more cruel point… is that this time, it was perceived as even more cruel.

“Yes, that’s right. Just like how you didn’t raise any objection to the fact that I, imprisoned here, know that you were flustered after being called ‘Big Sister’ by an elementary schooler, we know each other cruelly well, don’t we?”

“…You still like to talk unnecessarily long…”

“Yes, that’s right. And you are still a self-righteous person capable of doing cruel things without hesitation, trying to control everything for that purpose, ‘Big Sister’… No, even that word is wasted now.

What are you afraid of that makes you try such things? Even now, I cannot understand you.”

“Yes, I know well. You and I will never be able to accept each…”

“That’s not it, Rio. The current you is merely a murderer who kidnapped a single student, intending to let her grow lonely, desolate, and cold in the middle of this empty, deserted city, aren’t you? You d*mn filth.”

“…There’s no point in talking further… Even calculating and considering all variables, the probability of achieving my goal is over 99%… Yes… You may not accept me… but let’s see after it’s finished…”

The current Himari… yes.

She genuinely despises the person before her now.

Until now, she had a conviction… she was confident… but the current Rio was wavering, even slightly.

Because the wavering Rio was definitely not the Rio remaining in Himari’s knowledge, she genuinely felt Rio was filth, just like the words she used to merely provoke her before.

The woman possessing abilities comparable only to her own, her only rival, the only existence she thought she could learn from – that’s how she had defined her until now.

Defined, and… now, no longer. The woman she thought her only equal was faintly wavering, hesitation beginning to mix into her actions.

Himari starts to genuinely despise this. Because she started thinking that even that, her only strength, the only point worth emulating, no longer existed in her…

Because that is who they are now… their relationship was slowly, and surely, fracturing.

“Rio-sama. Report from the surveillance network of the fortress city Eridu.”

“….Right. So you finally came after all.”

“…Farewell… No, goodbye, Rio.”

Fortress city Eridu command center. There, immediately after observing Sensei and his party, Himari simply ended the communication silently, as if she already knew what Rio would do next.

It was akin to a sentence… but understanding this would be a story for quite some time later for her.

“Then I’ll leave it to you. Toki.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Whether aware of this or not, Rio, the solitary self-righteous one, simply carried out the task she believed she had to, silently.

The wavering, the agony, can be postponed until later.

Now is the time when the task at hand must be finished…

“…Once this is over… Himari, you too… and Sensei too… surely…”

And… because she thought that someday, she could be understood….