Still Far From Reconciliation

“So basically, I was the one who sent Funagata-kun flying. Sorry about that.”

“Tell us the truth, Mamuro! How could you possibly have defeated Funagata?”

“Oh, I just used a bomb I made and blew him away. Heroes are easy.”

Funagata Koya was being treated and questioned in the infirmary. Fortunately, his injuries were minor enough to be healed immediately with recovery magic.

There was one more thing. Funagata had not seen what had caused him to be sent flying. Since he remembered talking with Kushibiki Konoha, someone was probably on their way to summon her right about now. The sun would be rising soon.

“Konoha’s class is Cook. So obviously it had to be me, right? Why are you having such a hard time believing it?”

“But you have no reason to attack Funagata.”

“Ahh, maybe because he was annoying? Having him order me around was getting on my nerves. Like, who the hell does he think he is?”

Shirataka Gatari desperately tried to get the truth out of her, but Hiiragi answered with a completely serious expression.

Just then, someone knocked on the infirmary door. Konoha entered alongside several kingdom knights. She looked somewhat haggard.

“Hii…chan.”

“You look exhausted. Didn’t sleep?”

“Um…”

“Ah, later. So? Why’d you bring Konoha here? What do you want to ask her?”

“We thought Konoha-chan might have done something to Funagata-kun.”

“Are you serious? Konoha’s skills are pathetic. Come on, show them.”

“O-Okay.”

At some point, she had reached level 2.

“See? She’s weak as hell, right? Besides, with my skills, I could beat the Hero too. So yeah, it was completely my fault. Sorry.”

“Hmm. That is certainly true.”

“For now, we’ll accept that explanation. We’ll question the two of you again properly later. And Mamuro-san, you will be receiving an appropriate punishment.”

“’Kay.”

Mogami-sensei left the infirmary.

Only Konoha and Hiiragi remained.

“Hii-chan… I…”

“Shh!! They might be listening. Don’t talk about it here.”

Hiiragi whispered. She was the type of person who properly considered things like that.

“Just go to the kitchen like normal. You’ll make me some rice balls, right?”

“Huh? Ah, those rice balls…”

“I ate them yesterday. You’re actually pretty good at cooking, Konoha. Seriously, everyone else is missing out.”

“Hii-chan… thank you.”

“It’s fine. Jeez… I’ve got things I need to think about too, so I’m heading out. Hang in there, okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll make you something delicious…”

A dry knock echoed through the office.

“Your Excellency Freud, please report to the conference room immediately.”

“Hmm? I don’t believe there was a meeting scheduled for today.”

“All three Chancellors have been summoned for an emergency meeting. Many of the Royal Guard and the generals are being called as well.”

“And here I am already buried in work.”

A bald, gaudily dressed man made an exasperated gesture while holding a stack of documents.

“Is that a proposal for tax-rate reform?”

“Hohoho. We will raise the tribute not merely from the occupied territories, but also from those worthless savages of the frontier, the former lands of the 【Five Flower Clans】, and regions throughout the Southern Continent. You too will eventually be sent to the Southern Continent. When that time comes, see that you squeeze them thoroughly.”

“…You intend to wring even more out of the people?”

“The kingdom is only one step away from unifying the continent. To accomplish that, we must fight a total war with the full cooperation of our citizens. Do you have some objection?”

“No, none at all. Please excuse me.”

The kingdom had four Chancellors. Since one was responsible for governing the Southern Continent, political affairs in the royal capital were effectively led by the remaining three. One of them was the man known as 【Freud】. His primary responsibility was finance.

“Well now, I wonder what this could be about.”

“My apologies for calling everyone here so suddenly. But time is of the essence, so let us begin.”

The three Chancellors, the ministers beneath them, the bureaucrats beneath those ministers, the Seven Generals who protected the royal capital, members of the Royal Guard, and the commander of the military police had all gathered in one place. His Majesty the King was absent, and Princess Maria attended in his stead. The Church had also sent the chief of the 【Inquisitors】, its primary military arm.

“We have received word that the Demon King has revived. Following Couperin’s Tomb and Pavane for a Dead Princess, this is the third Demon King. I expect each of you to remain vigilant. Now then, Commander of the Royal Guard Knights, Legato. How is the training of the Heroes progressing?”

“Without issue. Their levels have finally reached 35. We have no surviving records of past examples with which to compare their statistics, but their values are already far higher than those of our Royal Guard.”

“Hold on. Didn’t I hear that this Hero of yours just got sent flying by one of his own companions? Are you sure he’s actually reliable?”

“That is quite an amusing story.”

The officials jeered, but Legato responded.

“He has not yet overcome his tendency to let his guard down. If that flaw can be corrected, I believe he has reached a level at which he can function as a Hero.”

“Is that so? Then continue focusing on strengthening the entire party. Judging from past examples, a Demon King does not begin acting for roughly one year after revival. That is how long it takes for their magical power to accumulate. Clear the 【Witch’s Treasure Chest】 on Mount Godard within six months if possible, and defeat the Demon King within one year. We cannot have the Demon King running rampant as they please. Irregular elements must be eliminated.”

“Understood.”

“And the military police. You will swiftly eliminate the traitors within the royal capital without unnecessarily troubling the Inquisitors. Do not neglect your investigation into the 【Familiar】 released by whichever demon faction is responsible.”

“Yes, sir!”

With that, the meeting was adjourned.

However, several people remained with the Chancellors. 【Spinoza】, the chief Chancellor who had presided over the meeting, questioned Legato.

“Now then, regarding the Hero’s defeat. What is your assessment?”

“According to her statistics, Kushibiki Konoha does not possess enough strength to defeat the Hero. Mamuro Hiiragi, on the other hand, has the class 【Alchemist】, and I believe it would be possible for her to defeat the Hero using something she created. That said, I still believe Kushibiki Konoha warrants investigation.”

“I agree. We cannot allow a dangerous element to remain in the royal capital. If necessary, we may have to consider eliminating her.”

“Hohoho. Eliminating such a charming young lady? How frightening. If you intend to dispose of her, why not give her to me? I could turn her into a fine slave and present her to Your Excellency. Hohohoho.”

The long-bearded man making such vulgar remarks while laughing in a refined manner was 【Chief Administrator Hume】, a direct subordinate of the Chancellor. He had a reputation for buying slaves from slave markets and conducting suspicious experiments on them in secret.

“How indecent. Well, setting that aside, continue monitoring the girl’s movements carefully.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Then I shall prepare a slave collar.”

“There are no such plans yet, so stop that. Add your own unit to the surveillance detail.”

“As you command. Ohohohoho!!”

Legato was troubled.

The reason was Kushibiki Konoha.

There was no doubt that she was hiding something. But there was no evidence, and more importantly, if he uncovered the truth, there was now a possibility that she would be executed.

A lovely young girl with remarkable skill with a sword.

From Legato’s perspective, he liked her enough that he would gladly have adopted her into his own household.

“Whoa!”

“Wah! I’m sorry!”

He nearly collided with someone around a corner.

The other person was Mogami Sasano, the woman the Heroes called their “teacher.” Her class was noncombat-oriented, but her skills proved extremely useful in a variety of areas.

“No, I’m the one who should apologize. Where are you headed? Allow me to escort you.”

“Huh!? Then I’ll take you up on that. Sorry, I actually got lost.”

“The royal palace is enormous, after all. Is that a sandwich?”

“Yes… It’s for Kushibiki-san. I’ve been tired lately myself, and I haven’t really been listening to her problems properly. And somehow, she’s been avoiding me for quite a while now… Ahaha. I’m a failure as a teacher. Even the last time she came to me for advice, I was distracted the entire time…”

“She’s a strong girl. I realized that when I crossed swords with her personally. But precisely because she is strong, she may be prone to keeping darkness bottled up inside. Listen to her worries from time to time. I’m sure she’ll be happy.”

Legato meant those words sincerely.

Hearing them seemed to put Sasano somewhat at ease.

“Huh? Sasa-chan-sensei! Everyone’s eating in the courtyard!”

“Ah, Sakegawa-san. Excuse me, but have you seen Kushibiki-san?”

“Konoha? No.”

“Sakegawa-san? You seem somewhat irritated…”

“Don’t know. She’s probably with Mamuro-san.”

“I-I see. Thank you.”

Sasano frowned slightly at Sakegawa Kisaki’s reaction.

“Come to think of it, Lady Konoha mentioned something recently. She said everyone hated her.”

“She was supposed to be close with Sakegawa-san and Obana-san. With everyone else in the class too. What in the world happened…?”

“It would probably be best to hear it directly from her. Ah, there she is. Then I’ll leave you here.”

“Yes. Thank you for everything.”

“Not at all. I’m glad I could help.”

Legato departed.

He really was quite the gentleman.

(All right. I need to talk with Kushibiki-san!)

(Something feels bad today.)

Konoha thought so instinctively.

Recently, her normal lunchtime routine had been eating alone in the courtyard until Hiiragi arrived. She had made another fairly delicious meal today.

“I wonder when Hii-chan will get here.”

She sat at a table beside the outer wall of the royal palace, resting her cheek in one hand. The breeze felt pleasant, but she still could not shake the uneasy feeling.

(What is this? My chest feels all prickly and restless. Anxiety? Hunger? Could it maybe be… love? No way~. Definitely not.)

Konoha was insensitive to other people’s feelings.

Or rather, she was insensitive not only to other people’s feelings, but to her own as well.

Without realizing it, she craved affection, yet she never tried to say so aloud. Everyone had always given Konoha affection, so she had never needed to ask for it.

That was why she had never questioned it before.

Now that everyone had suddenly started treating her coldly, she no longer knew what she was supposed to do.

In that respect too, Konoha was still very much a child.

“Maybe I’ll start eating… I think I’m probably just hungry.”

She opened the wrapping around her lunch.

Konoha had prepared rice balls, rolled omelet, and other dishes made as close to Japanese-style food as possible.

Surely Hiiragi would find this easy to eat as well.

“J-Just one bite. One bite should be fine.”

Her stomach growled loudly.

“Huh? Sasa-chan-sensei? Why is she coming this way…?”

They had not spoken for about a month.

Konoha spent most of her time in the kitchen, while Sasano sometimes went to Mount Godard, so they had rarely gotten the chance to talk.

On top of that, Konoha had deliberately avoided contact whenever possible.

(Maybe she wants some of my lunch? Okay, then I’ll share it with her, and we can make up—)

At that exact moment, an overwhelming chill of terror swept through Konoha.

“Huh?”

BOOOOOOM!!!

A section of the royal palace wall exploded.

Something burst out through the smoke.

“W-What!? Eek!!”

What emerged was a horrifying woman.

The woman floated in midair and turned toward Konoha.

She had no eyes, only deep hollows as though they had been gouged out.

Her mouth was split all the way to her ears, and her black hair was tangled wildly as if driven mad with rage.

Clad in a black dress, there was only one word Konoha could think of to describe her.

“A… witch.”

“Ahahahahaha! Demon… King-sama… Ahahahahaha! Ahyaha! Kihahahahahaha!”

“Oh, so that’s the girl? Seriously? There hasn’t been some mistake, has there? Well, I suppose appearances mean nothing when it comes to Demon Kings. In that case…”

“Huh? N-No… Don’t… Don’t come near me…”

Konoha was so terrified that she could not move a single step.

“Kushibiki-san!!”

Sasano screamed.

But the Familiar had already closed the distance before she could do anything.

And what Sasano saw next was—

“Time for you to die.”

“Ah… Agh… Aaah…”

“Kihihihi… Ihihihihi.”

“A-Ah… Ah… AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Konoha, impaled by the Familiar’s arm after it had transformed into a pitch-black spear.