Author's Note
The story focuses on interactions with the origin world.
There is also a digest of the Sakura edition.
(...And so, it seems that the two demons captured by Master were mother and daughter in Japan. They were both run over by a truck while they were out shopping.) (Mio)
After eating breakfast, I headed towards the end of the world again, and on the way, I heard a report from Mio. Today's topic was about the two of the Four Heavenly Kings, who were captured in the Summoning Chamber.
(I was really surprised. I thought I'd been run over by a truck, but then it suddenly got dark and my skin color changed, so I didn't know what was going to happen...) (Megumi/Crownliese)
(But I'm really glad that Megumi is safe. ...Ah, maybe she wasn't safe after all. She had died once.) (Megumi's mother/Miyuki/Carellius)
(Mom, you don't have to make weird jokes. But I'm glad you're with me. If I had been alone, I would have been so lonely I would have cried.) (Megumi)
(My my, but I'm sure you were crying right after your memories returned, right?) (Megumi's mother/Miyuki/Carellius)
(What?! Forget about that. Come on!) (Megumi)
(This mother and daughter get along well, don't they...) (Mio)
After hearing Alta's explanation, and with the passage of a night, the mother and daughter — Carellius (Miyuki Naruse) and Crownliese (Megumi Naruse) — had regained a great deal of composure. Just as Mio had said, the two of them were hit by a truck together in Japan, and when they woke up, they were in the Summoning Chamber where I met them.
Furthermore, when I checked the time when the two were hit by the truck, I found out that it was after the time when we were transported to this world. By the way, the two of them were the same age as they were before reincarnation. ...Huh? Carellius was 27 years old and Crownliese was 14 years old. So the two are real mother and daughter... Yeah, I won't ask any unnecessary questions.
Now, these two facts raised a number of questions. When Alta investigated this question, some new facts came to light.
First of all, the two were reincarnated at the same age as in their original world. This was apparently confirmed. It seemed they were not reincarnated at age 0, instead at their current age. In other words, the two were reincarnated as demons at their original ages and had recently become the Four Heavenly Kings. It was as if it was filling the hole left by the two of the Four Heavenly Kings I had defeated...
In other words, the Four Heavenly Kings were reincarnated people who had been brought over from their original world with their age intact. Whenever a vacancy occurred, they could be called upon again as a convenient piece. This meant that there were still at least two Four Heavenly Kings left. I didn't know how this mother and daughter would be treated, but since the curse remained on them, they wouldn't be treated as vacant, and the Four Heavenly Kings wouldn't be able to be replenished—or so I thought. As long as we didn't defeat the Demon King who was the leader, it's possible to replenish the Four Heavenly Kings as much as they wanted...
It seemed that they didn't remember anything that happened after they were reincarnated. In other words, they had no memory of the time they spent as the Four Heavenly Kings. According to Alta's check, their original memories were sealed and then overwritten with their memories as demons, and the shock they received from the two of them caused their memories as demons to be erased. Originally, these given memories were returned to the Demon King along with the curse mark upon death. This time, it just so happened that not much time had passed since the two were reincarnated, and the overwriting of their memories had not yet fully taken hold, which was why they were able to regain their memories.
Since there were two new Four Heavenly Kings here, all the demons we met from now on would have been reincarnated some time ago. In other words, even if they were reincarnated, it would be difficult for them to regain their memories. Regarding this, the need to for the memories be reserved had completely disappeared, so it was fine since it was not something that would cause us any losses.
At first, both of them had a hard time accepting the fact that they had become demons and what this world was like, but after being shown many different things, they eventually gave in and accepted reality. And so, the two of them accepted life as my subordinates and began their second lives (albeit as demons).
(Since they both are demons, it will be difficult for them to go out and do work. Therefore, we plan to have them live by doing side jobs mainly in Kastal or Estia mansion, or in the Chamber of Advanced Commerce workshop.) (Lucia)
That was what Lucia, the head maid who oversaw all matters related to my subordinates, said. Demons had distinctive appearances, and if they went outside, they would be easily spotted. It was not like they couldn't hide it with [Illusion Magic] or makeup, but there was no need to take the risk.
There was talk of Sakura being able to use her magic to change race, but like the Vampire Mira, it seemed her mind would be unable to withstand the change of her body, so the idea was rejected. Apparently, there was a biological difference between demons and humans that went beyond that between humans and Vampires, and they were unable to withstand the mental strain placed on them during physical change. I'm sorry, but you'll have to live your life as a shut-in doing side jobs. If you want to move around, go to the labyrinth.
(That... can't be helped. I've heard about demons, but they don't seem like a race that should be allowed to roam the streets of the world...)
(If you return to the demon realm, you'll be able to travel the world freely, right? You can also become a spy for the demons, so that would be perfect, right?) (Jin)
Since they were demons, it might be possible to let them infiltrate the group and use them as spies. The previous demon (Romarie) didn't have time for that... However, this was just a joke, as there was no way it would go that well. In the first place, since they had lost their memories, they couldn't act as demons. If they did something wrong, they would be found out right away, and I couldn't let them take that risk.
(Absolutely not! I may have turned out like this, but I'm still human at heart. I don't want to live as a demon, shunned by humans. If that's the case, I'd rather do some side work and be useful to humans.) (Megumi)
(Oh my, I wonder if our Master likes to joke around. I don't want to be separated from Megumi either, so if possible, I'd like us to both work at home.) (Miyuki)
(Ah, of course I was joking. I feel bad for the two of you, but you'll have to put up with a life without seeing the light of day.) (Jin)
(That's better!) (Megumi)
(Yes, I'll do that.) (Miyuki)
So, the two of them became the ones in charge of doing the work from home. They were not maids.
I had been riding for about four hours since the regular morning reports (which I'd just decided on), but I still hadn't reached the end of the world. It seemed that this world was much larger than I thought. I thought it was on the verge of collapse, so I thought it would be a bit smaller...
Well, the running itself wasn't difficult at all, but I just got bored. Not a single Hollow Beast had appeared since Divine Wolf. In addition, the sight of nothing but rubble from collapsed buildings was honestly quite depressing.
"Honestly, I'm getting bored of running without anything to do." (Jin)
Seeing the ends of the earth is important in terms of understanding the current situation, but it's not a good idea to spend days just doing that. If I run today and don't make it to the end of the world, I might need to reconsider my schedule. Alternatively, we could thin out the Hollow Beasts first, slow down the collapse of the world, and then go and take a closer look.
...That's what I was thinking, but that evening we finally arrived at the end of the world. It was quite a distance, but I was glad I managed to get there today.
"Even so, when I heard about the collapse of the world, I wondered what it would mean, but it's actually just the walls closing in." (Jin)
"But it seems like any material that touches that wall disappears, right?" (Maria)
The end of the world was a huge vertical wall. If you looked closely, you could see that it was slowly moving inward at a speed of about 1 cm per second. And in that instant, the rubble that touched the wall disappeared as if it had vanished.
"What would happen if a human touched this?" (Jin)
"J-Jin-sama, I don't think you're thinking of touching it, are you?!" (Maria)
"Yeah, I guess I'm not that much of a challenger. Anyway, ha!" (Jin)
I tried firing [Flying Slash] from a short distance away. [Flying Slash] seemed to be a skill that could be used normally in this world. The blade created by [Flying Slash] disappeared with a whoosh as it hit the wall.
"It doesn't look like we can interfere. I thought that if we delivered a strong shock, we might be able to slow down its progress..." (Jin)
"In fact, it doesn't even seem affected." (Maria)
"It looks like a normal wall, but that's not the case." (Jin)
It would be best if we could interfere, but this was also within the realm of expectation. For now, it was a good thing that we were able to learn about the speed of progress at the end of the world and some of its characteristics.
At the very least, at this rate we would have plenty of time to sightsee.
"Well, all that's left now is to level up by defeating the Hollow Beasts and say hello to the locals." (Jin)
Now that the first objective has been achieved, let's list the remaining objectives. To be honest, I can't expect any tourist attractions. The scenery is the same.
"Are there really any local residents? It's hard to imagine that there could be any living creatures other than Hollow Beasts in this world with no food at all..." (Maria)
"The ecology of the Hollow Beasts is quite mysterious, so it wouldn't be surprising if there were species that adapted to this world. I don't think they are the same kind of humans as us, though." (Jin)
"If we sense any danger, we will not hesitate to eliminate them." (Maria)
Well, that was what happened with Maria.
"There's a chance we won't be able to communicate, so please refrain from attacking out of nowhere." (Jin)
"Yes, I understand." (Maria)
Well, right now I was not really in the mood to get rid of Hollow Beasts or looked for residents. I decided to have dinner and then go to bed, but somehow, I felt uncomfortable sleeping so close to the edge of a world that was crumbling. After eating, we decided to drive for about two hours and then pitched our tent and went to sleep.
"Now, it's time to hunt Hollow Beasts. If we come across any residents along the way, we'll shift to greeting them." (Jin)
"Okay" (Maria)
"Basically, we'll go around the world in a circle and hunt Hollow Beasts." (Jin)
I also confirmed with Alta, and it turned out that the edge of the world was circular. While remaining circular, it gradually narrowed and finally converged to its center point.
If we moved forward in a spiral, we would be able to see a comprehensive view of the world. The trick was to draw the spiral at an angle that filled the entire map.
After finishing my breakfast, I took a short rest and then set off again. Not that it's a side job, but while I was running I listened to the regular reports from the other world. Today we had a report from the monster tamer Asha.
(Master, you were recovering your status the other day, right? Thanks to that, the number of my tamed monsters has increased dramatically. So, I just wanted to say a word of thanks...) (Asha)
According to Asha's explanation, it seemed this was related to the incident when my subordinates defeated a large number of monsters in various places when they were collecting status points. When the number of monsters in an area decreased or they were all wiped out, rare monsters might appear. This time, all monsters in the area were wiped out, and a considerable number of rare monsters appeared.
(Lucia-sama said that since there was someone who knew [Monster Taming], she would let me tame any rare monsters that looked useful. And that's why I was able to tame a lot of rare monsters.) (Asha)
For some reason, Asha called Lucia with the honorific -sama.
(I see. So, you were able to increase your forces?) (Jin)
(Yeah, the Claude adventurer party helped me defeat the monsters that I couldn't defeat on my own. It increased our fighting power considerably. ...But there were too many of them to keep in the mansion, so we decided to take them to the Estia Labyrinth.) (Asha)
(The labyrinth (over there) is now like a ranch or a farm, huh...) (Jin)
From the 51st floor onwards of the Estia labyrinth, I, or rather we, had been using it quite freely. There was an orphanage, the Labyrinth Keeper's residence, farm and ranch, and we used it freely without hesitation. At this point, there shouldn't be any problem if it became the residence of tamed monsters.
(And then, I finally tamed a Metamorph Slime!) (Asha)
(Is that something you should report first?) (Jin)
(Of course! It's a Metamorph Slime! You should know more about it than I do, right? How useful it is!) (Asha)
Of course. Is there any need to talk about the usefulness of Tamo-san now?
(I know it won't be like you, Master, but I'll raise this child to be a fine child. ...It tickles. Hey, where are you touching?!) (Asha)
(Is the Metamorph Slime there too? Or rather, is it a sexual harassment slime?) (Jin)
It seemed that only the Metamorph Slime was never taken to the labyrinth, instead she always carried with her wherever she went. Then, when I checked on Asha, she found a Metamorph Slime stuck to her chest.
(Yeah, it's best to always carry it with me so that it can absorb monsters. I haven't received the "Summon" spell yet...) (Asha)
I gave my subordinates skills and magic according to their roles. It also allowed players to acquire new magic and skills based on their contributions (points system). Asha's current goal was to obtain the unique magic (Original Spells) of "Summon", which allowed her to summon a tamed monster. The unique magic (Original Spells) required Sakura's cooperation and more effort than other skills, so a large number of contribution points were required.
(Even if you obtain [Summon], it's not a spell that you can use in public, so I don't think it'll be that useful.) (Jin)
(That's true, but isn't it better to have more cards in your hand to use in an emergency? Unfortunately, my own fighting ability isn't that high.) (Asha)
(Well, I suppose that's true...) (Jin)
Because she specialized in monster taming, Asha's own combat ability was quite low, to put it bluntly, about the same as a C-rank adventurer.
(It's sad to be affirmed like that though... Anyway, thanks to the large number of taming I was able to do this time, it looks like I'll be able to resume my activities as an A-rank adventurer. Since I have the opportunity, I plan to join Claude's Clan.) (Asha)
(Is that okay? It seems like you've been doing solo work up until now?) (Jin)
(Yeah, it's not like I'm particularly attached to working alone. It was just we weren't on the same page. Claude and his group understand my schedule, and from working together this time, I know we're compatible, so there's no problem.) (Asha)
Asha said that until now she had been too specialized in [Monster Taming] and had not been able to form a party, but on this taming tour she was able to work well together with Claude's group. Asha also felt a sense of crisis about her situation where her only allies were monsters — apparently a lesson learned from the battle with the Gigant Maneater — and decided to take advantage of the situation and join a clan.
(In that case, Asha, would it be better for you to also aim to become an S-rank adventurer?) (Jin)
(Th-That would be best if you could spare me... I'm not worthy of an S-rank after all.) (Asha)
If she benefitted from my special abilities, she could change the shape of the vessel easily.
(You may be both A-ranks now, but soon Claude and his party will be S-ranks. As a senior adventurer, if you don't mind being left behind, then do as you like.) (Jin)
(...I think that way of saying it is a bit unfair. ...I get it. I know it'll be difficult, but I'll try to become an S-rank adventurer too. I don't want to show you guys a pathetic appearance.) (Asha)
(Yeah, do your best.) (Jin)
Thus, Claude's clan, Sabers, now had one more A-rank adventurer aiming for S-rank. Recently, Maria and I had been running around at a pretty high speed.
The next day, we finally met our first Hollow Beast. Yeah, it had been a day since then.
At first, we were moving forward in a spiral as planned, but since there were so few Hollow Beast around, we decided to change course. In the first place, if we started our spiral travel near the edge of the world, we would have to move through ruins for a while. In other words, there were no residents there, let alone a Hollow Beast. Because Hollow Beasts' work was already finished.
If we wanted to meet Hollow Beasts and the residents, we had to first find the border that was being destroyed. I realized this a day later. After a few hours of traveling towards the center of the world, I was able to safely encounter a Hollow Beast.
However, there were some things that became clear by running in a spiral. Over a period of time, the way structures were destroyed changed.
Some areas looked like giants rampaging with all their might, while other areas looked like they were melted by intense heat. It was also interesting to see the area buried in sand and everything crushed. In other words, the destruction method differs depending on the Hollow Beast. Now that we had found this rule, we could consider where to move to assuming that there was one Hollow Beast for each destruction method.
Anyway, here's who we'll be fighting this time.
Name : Tchaikovsky
Species : Phoenix
Affiliation: Hollow Beast
Rank:
- Stamina C
- Attack B
- Defense D
- Agility A
- Technology C
Characteristics:
- [Flying] [Bird's Eye View]
Its appearance was befitting the legendary phoenix, a giant bird with its entire body covered in flames. It flew through the sky and circled around, scattering fire towards the ground.
Yes, we had finally discovered a means of transportation in this world. It was not that I was tired of running—well, I was starting to get tired of it, but the main reason was that looking around from the sky was more effective for exploring.
"Tamo-san, can you eat that and use [Mimic]?" (Jin)
(Understood……) (Tamo)
There are no skills in this world, but if he use [Mimic] to Hollow Beast, who can originally fly, perhaps he will be able to fly? There were two concerns. The first was the fundamental question of whether we could use [Mimic] or not on the creatures of this world. The other was whether or not Tamo-san's [_ABSORPTION_] would be able to do its job before Hollow Beast turned into particles of light and disappeared when defeated. Well, at worst it would be a failure, but it would still be experience points, so there was no reason not to defeat it.
In this world, it seemed that [Monster Taming] didn't do any work, so it seemed impossible to tame them. Also, if I tamed a flying monster, my mount (Blue) would cry. I thought Tamo-san's [Mimic] was just about safe.
It was a pitiful phoenix that was treated more like prey than an enemy.
"Well then, Tamo-san. Are you ready?" (Jin)
(Leave it to me…) (Tamo)
"Let's go!" (Jin)
I threw Tamo-san with all my might towards the Phoenix flying in the sky. Tamo-san pierced the Phoenix like a bullet. From there, Tamo-san suddenly expanded the area of his body and attempted to swallow the Phoenix.
"Kurr, kyuu—!!!??" (Phoenix)
The Phoenix cried out and began to struggle as it fell. However, once it was caught by Tamo-san, there was no way to escape, and it was all absorbed before it could even fall to the ground. It was truly like the Phoenix's dancing food.
Maria and I ran to the point where Tamo-san would land and caught him with our heads as he fell. By that time, Tamo-san had already returned to his original size. Conservation of mass? I don't know anything about that.
"Good job, Tamo-san. So, how was it?" (Jin)
(I did it…) (Tamo)
Saying this, Tamo-san use [Mimic] into the Phoenix above my head. If you had the [Flying] skill, you could fly in the air, ignoring your weight and other factors, but it seemed that it was not that easy in this world. Heavy objects simply could not fly. This obvious logic seemed to be in effect. The laws of physics are back!
What I was trying to say, the Phoenix was light. Even though there was a huge creature on top of my head, I hardly felt its weight. Also, the heat of the fire seemed to be adjustable and it was not too hot.
"Is this okay to ride?" (Jin)
(Maybe..., you can...) (Tamo)
"Well, let me check it out." (Maria)
Tamo-san said so, so Maria decided to go ahead and check it out. Since Maria was lighter than me, that was probably the correct order.
(I'm going……) (Tamo)
The Phoenix Tamo-san descended from above my head, flapping his wings with Maria on his back. With a loud flapping sound, the Phoenix Tamo-san flew into the sky. After that, he picked me up and it seemed fine for both of us to ride together, so it looked like we would be leaving future travel to the Phoenix TAMOSAN. In addition, since there was no longer any point in having Vega — Alta's Device — go first, I had decided to have her return to the other world. Let's let her show off her skills to the fullest over there.
I boarded the who was Phoenix Tamo-san and listen to today's regular report. Today's regular report was about Sakura's fight with the bullies. I was thinking of waiting until I returned to the other world, but since it seemed like exploring this world would take longer than I expected, I decided to listen to her story first. Since we had not met in person, I was concerned that I could not consider her feelings.
(At first, I was wearing a mask, so my former classmates didn't realize it was me, and they insulted me as if I was from the enemy country (Kastal)...) (Sakura)
(They were adamant that the war was started because of Kastal's faults, and it seemed that they had no doubt that they were right.) (Sera)
Sera, who was with Sakura, added some additional information to what she said.
(As soon as I took off my mask, they started saying things that seemed to make fun of me.... Considering the relationship between me and them, it might be natural...) (Sakura)
Sakura chose not to reveal what exactly was said to her, but there was no doubt they were unpleasant words to hear.
(In the end, they said that if I got on my knees and begged for forgiveness, they would spare my life as a slave... Naturally, there was no way I could accept that...) (Sakura)
(It was hard for me to endure it too.) (Sera)
Was it really that bad...?
(When I refused, they became enraged and we ended up fighting.) (Sakura)
(It was a brutal battle.) (Sera)
Sera said in a shocked voice.
To sum up what Sakura and Sera said, it seemed that the three Heroes had been fighting by using the villagers as shields. First, they gave the order to the armed villagers to charge, and while Sakura's group were dealing with it, the launched attacks with slashes, rays, and poison.
Sera could have just cut off the entire village, but Sakura put a stop to that. I hated Eldia and couldn't forgive them for starting a war, but the blame for that couldn't be laid at the feet of the residents of this remote village. Looking at the villagers' faces, it was clear that they were doing it unwillingly and against their will, so she asked Sera not to kill the villagers.
Sakura was so kind. If it were me, I would have spanked them without hesitation.
The two of them knocked the villagers unconscious and gradually rendered them powerless, but that was not the case with the trio. Apparently they attacked the villagers without hesitation. In particular, the poison attacks used had a wide range of effects, causing many villagers to fall victim to them. It seemed that the people themselves had used an antidote they had prepared in advance, but had not distributed it to the villagers.
By the way, it seemed that the Hero's poison was neutralized by Sakura with [Complete Resistance] and Sera with [Hostile Magic Immunity]. It seemed that the Hero's poison is a kind of magic.
Sakura quickly used [Wind Magic] to blow away the poison and detoxify the villagers in the [Area Recovery Magic] area, so thankfully no one died. Also, because they were healing the villagers who had been caught in the rays and slashes, they were unable to land a significant hit on the Heroes.
If the heroes continued fighting like this, the villagers would no longer know who was right. The villagers, who had been healed by Sakura's group, were no longer able to attack the two of them. The Heroes made threatening remarks to the villagers, using their power to threaten them.
Those words were probably decisive. Finally, all the villagers chose to lay down their weapons and surrender to Sakura's group.
(After that, it wasn't that difficult to capture the three in their desperation.) (Sera)
In terms of status, the three of them didn't have much to deal with. Sera would have had no trouble.
(Afterwards, they all came to me and begged for their lives... I wonder what they thought would change by apologizing for what happened in their former world at this point...) (Sakura)
(But even so, Sakura-sama never once uttered a grudge against them, did she?) (Sera)
(Yes... I realized this while I was fighting them... The events in my original world are now completely in the past... I felt no emotion other than "unpleasantness" towards them. I didn't hate them, nor did I want to kill them... Once I realized that, I felt lighter... The past can't be changed, and it's not like I've forgiven them... But I just couldn't bring myself to kill them because of the past...) (Sakura)
It seemed that Sakura had come to a compromise. I'm grateful for the precious sacrifice of the three heroes. But why did they have to sacrifice themselves?
(So, we discussed what to do with Sera-chan about the Heroes... Their beliefs were far too dangerous, so we couldn't possibly release them...) (Sakura)
(I offered to finish them off, but Sakura-sama said she'd do it herself.) (Sera)
(Eh? Sakura?) (Jin)
I had predicted that Sera would be the one to deliver the final blow instead of Sakura, but...
(Yes... I thought that this was the only place I could commit my 'first murder'... Up until now, I had only let Jin-kun and the others get their hands dirty, and I myself had never killed anyone... If I intended to stay with Jin-kun and the others in the future, I thought it was about time I prepared myself...) (Sakura)
(That's not something I'm particularly looking forward to though...) (Jin)
Sakura had had an aversion to murder ever since she was transported to this world, so there was no way she could be told to kill someone now. First of all, I hated telling someone to kill someone. If I was going to do it, I would do it myself.
(I knew that you would say that, Jin-kun, so it's purely my problem... Even though I don't intend to hold any grudges, I haven't forgiven them, and they were dangerous people who can't be left alone... If there was a motive and a just cause, I thought even I could make up my mind...) (Sakura)
It was probably better to kill out of a sense of mission than out of hatred. From the perspective of the person being killed, it didn't really matter which way it was...
(But in the end, it didn't work out...) (Sakura)
(Couldn't you have killed them?) (Jin)
It was not as simple as just wanting to kill someone. Even if you hold a weapon, being able to swing it down is another matter.
(No, Sakura-sama actually drew her weapon and went towards the Heroes. However...) (Sera)
(The villagers begged us to let them carry out the execution...) (Sakura)
After Sera was vague about what to say, Sakura took over and spoke.
(It seems that they had been behaving in a very arrogant manner even before we came to the village... It seems that more than one villager has died as a result...) (Sakura)
It was said that the village was on the verge of exploding in anger at the Heroes, who continued to act as they pleased, eventually even ignoring the lives of the villagers.
(I tried to kill them for my own convenience... But the villagers are currently suffering... It goes without saying which takes priority... right...?) (Sakura)
Sakura felt that clearing the villagers' grudge took higher priority than her own cause, so she decided to leave the execution of the Heroes to the villagers.
(In the end, I still haven't been able to kill anyone... It's quite difficult...) (Sakura)
(Really, you don't have to force yourself to do something like that, okay?) (Jin)
(Thank you so much... But I've already made up my mind...) (Sakura)
I didn't intend to tell others to kill people, but I also wouldn't stop those who had decided to kill. Once Sakura had made her decision, there was no way to stop her. However, personally, I would like Sakura to remain beautiful forever.
(Let's get back on topic.) (Sera)
As soon as Sakura finished speaking, Sera returned to the topic.
Afterwards, the entire village apparently carried out the execution of the Heroes. There were three executioners, corresponding to the number of the heroes. These three were chosen by lottery.
One of them was a man whose fiancée was killed. The woman was known as the most beautiful woman in the village, and upon hearing this, one of the heroes became jealous and slashed her face, driving her to suicide. One was a woman who ran a restaurant in the village, who got a complain that the food was bad, and they gave her daughter, who worked there as a waiter, a homemade drug that resulted in her death. The other one was the owner of an inn. His daughter complained to the heroes for bringing a man into the house, and she was killed by the Hero's ray in anger. The rest of his family was crushed under the partially destroyed inn and died.
Hey, is that really something the Hero would do? That's not something you can just brush off as arrogant, is it? And the fact that a lottery was necessary means that there were more than two applicants for each position, right? ...I'm really glad that I destroyed Eldia. I'm really glad that I killed all of the heroes who participated in the war.
Anyway, after the execution of those Heroes, who had begged for their life in an unseemly manner until the very end, Sakura's group came running after us. Ah, that was after SAKURA had endured the execution scene and taken a break.
And, Sera added, continuing the story.
(The villagers though, they said they can't go along with Eldia's methods and requested asylum in Kastal. It's a close call, but we've already contacted Sakuya so that when the war ends, they'll be treated as refugees in Kastal, not as defeated citizens.) (Sera)
(Jin-kun, I'm sorry that I had to inform you any of this after the fact...) (Sakura)
(Well, if the two people I met in person think it's fine, then I have no reason to complain.) (Jin)
As I had said many times before, it was not like I wanted to kill all the citizens of Eldia. Those responsible would be held accountable accordingly...
(Thank you very much……) (Sakura)
(No, it's not like you really need to be thanked for anything, right?) (Jin)
(No, it's not a thank you for the defection... It's a thank you for everything that happened this time around... Thanks to you, Jin-kun, I was able to sort out what had happened in my mind...) (Sakura)
Sakura thanked me politely, but...
(That's not something you should be thanking me for. It was you, Sakura, who decided to meet and talk with the heroes, and the one who sorted out your own feelings. I didn't do anything.) (Jin)
(That's not true.... Jin-kun, if you weren't here, if I wasn't happy now, I wouldn't have been able to sort out my feelings...) (Sakura)
(Jin-kun, you reached out to me when I was banished from Eldia... Even during our journey, you never tried to push me too hard... You never blamed me when I would get gloomy remembering the past... Thanks to my connection with you, Jin-kun, I was able to make friends... You were always by my side...) (Sakura)
(I am who I am today because of you, Jin-kun... That's why I want to thank you... Thank you very much...) (Sakura)
(…I understand. I'll accept your gratitude, Sakura.) (Jin)
Yep, I'm really glad it was through telepathy. If someone said something like this to me straight out, I wouldn't know what face to make...
SecretS
*Behind the scenes stories and anecdotes from the main story.
The Bullies
Three female students were the main culprits in bullying Sakura.
Their names are Rima Yaguchi, Yu Asaga, and Eri Takato.
Here are some excerpts from what they said when they met Sakura.
"Why are you still alive? Didn't you die in the wild after being chased out of the palace?"
"What? I wish you were dead."
"I wonder how did you survived? Didn't you sell your poor body?"
"Ahaha, there's no way anyone would be interested in paying money to be with such a gloomy woman."
"I bet she was even begging. See, it's perfect for Kinoshita!"
"It used to smell like a sewer. Ah, it smells bad."
"I can say it!"
Sera tried desperately to hold back from losing her temper.
Author's Note
"Swan Lake" by Tchaikovsky[2]
The joke about the bullies' name was also mentioned in the comments section, but if you change the first and last names, it becomes "return in the morning," "drug addict," and "street killer."[1] Street killer is just plain dangerous.
Since I've written so much detail so far, I think there might not be a need for a short story on Sakura's side.
Translation Note
[1] 朝帰り (asagaeri) = return in the morning; 薬中 (yakuchuu) = drug addict; 通り魔 (tourima) = street killer, street demon.
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky
Also, thanks to Otaku Hikikomori for the edit suggestions.