Have We Met Somewhere Before?

“Like I said earlier, Sukuna has already killed people.”

With that, Sukuna began by explaining the existence known as ‘Ryomen Sukuna.’ This was while they were descending even deeper into the labyrinth in search of Janikoro.

Ryomen Sukuna was what one might call an oni god. It was an oni god said to have appeared as far back as the reign of Emperor Nintoku, commonly depicted as having eight limbs and two faces without a neck. However, that was only legend, not fact. In reality, the name was believed to have referred to people in the fifth century who refused to submit to the Yamato court. In Sukuna’s case, however, those things had become intertwined.

“Intertwined?”

“Yeah. Sukuna was originally a human girl born around the fifth century. When the people of Hida were destroyed by the Yamato court, their grudges gathered inside that girl’s body and created ‘Sukuna.’ In other words, Sukuna already killed people during the war against the Yamato court.”

“And you’ve been alive ever since?”

“Well, I was sleeping in the mountains around there, so I only woke up recently. No… I guess it would be more accurate to say I was born as Konoha.”

“What do you mean?”

“Konoha’s childhood despair and fear created another personality to protect Konoha’s mind. Sukuna slipped into that incomplete personality, and that completed a single personality. And there you have it: the secret story of Sukuna’s birth.”

“Des… pair…”

“Yeah. Despair. The death of Konoha’s grandfather.”

“Ah.”

(That’s right. That was how that race ended. When my sister and I were about to get hit by the car that came speeding out, Grandpa tried to protect us, and…)

A memory from her childhood. Two excited girls. The blare of a horn. A red car rushing toward them. An old man throwing himself forward. Bright-red blood. Someone screaming and crying… Konoha.

“Ah… aaah… how could I forget something that important…?”

“Sukuna was the one who sealed away that painful memory. Sukuna’s role is to reduce the burden on Konoha’s mind. That’s why, when Konoha was about to be crushed by guilt earlier, I put a certain lock on those memories too. That’s why Meiro managed to save Konoha before her mind completely collapsed.”

“A lock… on my memories?”

“If things had continued like that, Konoha definitely would have broken.”

“…………”

(So that was why there was a delay when I started remembering earlier.)

“But why did Sukuna become part of my personali—”

“Let’s save that story for another time. Look, we’re here.”

Sukuna stopped walking. They had arrived in a strange space filled with enormous white pillars. It looked almost like a Greek temple had been built directly inside the underground labyrinth.

“The Respega Underground Labyrinth is one of the 【Witch’s Treasure Chests】, and the witch hiding here is 【Roman Festival】. That’s more than strong enough for a first opponent. Naturally, her Familiars exist deep within this labyrinth as well.”

“Um… don’t tell me this is one of those Familiars’ nests?”

“That’s exactly what it is. We’ll probably have to defeat the Familiar to go any deeper. This labyrinth has never been conquered before, so I don’t know how many Familiars there are, but Konoha already defeated October Festival. Konoha should be fine. And judging by her level, Meiro is plenty capable too.”

“How did the Heroes who defeated witches in the past do it?”

Konoha asked. Naturally, she did not possess that knowledge herself.

“The First Hero defeated the witch 【The Nutcracker】, who lurked within the 【Tchaikov Frozen Wastes】. The Second Hero challenged 【Mount Godard】 and defeated 【Josselin’s Lullaby】. I heard that both victories were achieved through special skills. By the way, this is all knowledge buried somewhere inside Konoha’s own mind.”

“Huh?”

“Even the pages Konoha skimmed through without really reading them, Sukuna remembers. One of Sukuna’s roles is retrieving memories that got shoved into some forgotten corner of Konoha’s mind.”

“Wow, so you know everything about me!”

“Pretty much. For example, when Konoha was in fifth grade and wet the be—”

“Waaaaaaaaah!!! I forgot about that!! Stooooop!!”

“So yeah, Sukuna remembers the things Konoha forgets, so feel free to keep forgetting things without worry.”

“That feels kind of awful.”

“I figured.”

Meiro had been watching the exchange with an exasperated expression, but then seemed to remember something.

“Come to think of it, can Konoha actually fight right now?”

“To be honest, I want her to get used to combat and learn to properly control the Demon King’s power, so I’d like Konoha herself to fight. Sukuna acts as a stopper when Konoha loses control, but I want her to eventually be able to use 【Ibaraki-doji】 without going berserk on her own.”

“What is Ibaraki-doji?”

“Konoha’s skill, Oni Princess, is a special skill that summons an oni into Konoha and enhances her abilities. When Ibaraki-doji is active, the skill Oni Fire is unlocked through the weapon 【Agate】. It also has the ability to temporarily raise all of Konoha’s stats to their maximum values after setting an upper limit.”

“That’s monstrously powerful.”

“But for now, using it is out of the question. Her magical energy still hasn’t fully recovered, and it isn’t good to keep using Sukuna for too long either, so Sukuna is going to sleep for a while. Is that okay, Konoha?”

“Yeah, thank you♪ Sukuna!”

“Yeah. Then good night.”

Konoha and Meiro entered the room just before the temple area. Apparently, demons had used this place as a dwelling for a long time. Of course, some of those gathered in the throne room earlier had probably been ambitious demons who came specifically to seize control of the Demon King, but others had likely already lived within this demonic labyrinth. They must have lived here while taking extreme care not to disturb the territory of the Familiars.

“Mmm~! I’m tiiiired.”

“You’re pathetic. Though I admit, walking this far was exhausting.”

“We came pretty deep in~. My legs are totally worn out.”

“Indeed.”

Meiro used a basic fire-starting spell and lit the fireplace. Without any kindling, it took a while for the logs to catch.

“Now then, let’s rest for a little while.”

“Okay! Ah, right! I want to hear about you, Meiro-chan!”

“Me? I don’t remember anything. Did you forget?”

“Oh, right… ehehe.”

“You really are an idiot.”

“I get told that a lot…”

That naturally airheaded foolishness had already ensnared countless maidens, but that was beside the point.

“Sigh. Then tell me about yourself, Konoha.”

“Huh? M-Me!?”

“Yes.”

“…Is that okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“Everyone hated me. So it’s been a long time since someone listened to me talk about myself. Ah, but I guess Hii-chan was there.”

“I don’t really understand, but I’ll listen to all of it, including that. I think what Konoha needs right now is to let out everything she’s been keeping bottled up inside. And besides, I-I want to know more about you… Konoha.”

Meiro turned away, her cheeks turning red. Konoha’s heart leapt at the adorable gesture.

“Meiro-chan, you’re so cute!”

“Hey! Stop that habit of immediately hugging people! Ah, that tickles!”

“Your hair is so silky~. I wonder how you used to wash it?”

“Your face is too close. Stop it, it’s embarrassing.”

“Ooh, you’re blushing, you’re blushing~. Ehehe~”

“Honestly, you really are…”

(Her sapphire-like hair and eyes, that beautiful face… she really looks like a princess. She’s so cute and pretty, and somehow… nostalgic. Somehow… huh?)

“What is it?”

“Meiro-chan, have you and I met somewhere before?”

“Why do you ask?”

“When I smell you, Meiro-chan, I get this nostalgic feeling. Ehehe, weird, right? Even though this is supposed to be our first meeting.”

Konoha gave an awkward smile. Meiro appeared to think for a moment, then shook her head as though she still could not remember anything.

“No, I can’t remember.”

“I see.”

“But Konoha, when I first saw you, I thought, ‘I feel like I’ve needed to meet this girl for a very long time.’”

“Huh?”

“When I woke up, the only feeling I still had was, ‘There’s someone I have to meet. Someone I have to find and save. Someone I have to help.’ I think that person was probably you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. So if I stay with Konoha, maybe I can recover who I am. So, um…”

“?”

“Would it be all right if I… stayed with you from now on?”

Konoha’s face lit up with joy. Showing her white teeth in a cheerful smile, Konoha took Meiro’s pale hand.

“Of course! I didn’t want to be alone either. I’m happy I get to stay with you, Meiro-chan. Let’s get along from now on! Meiro-chan♪”

“Yes. I look forward to it too, Konoha.”

Meiro smiled. Whenever her normally aloof face softened into a smile, Konoha felt an immeasurable flutter in her chest. She could not put a name to that feeling, but she believed it had to be something good.

“Meiro-chaaaaaan!!”

“Hey!? I told you, stop hugging me so suddenly…”

“Ehehehe, I love you, Meiro-chan♪”

“—!? …F-Fine. I suppose I’ll allow you to stay like this a little longer. Yes, I suppose I can permit it.”

“Yay!! Mm, you’re so warm.”

“Just how lonely were you, honestly?”

For Konoha, who had been hated, insulted, shunned, and believed herself betrayed by the classmates she had trusted, the warmth of another person was something she had desperately longed for.

Perhaps sensing the faint melancholy around Konoha, Meiro said nothing and simply continued gently stroking Konoha’s head.

“Heroes… from another world?”

“Yeah, apparently that’s what happened. We got summoned by a god called Full Moon-sama or something, and now we’re supposed to be Heroes in another world and fight the Demon King!! Or something like that.”

“And that Demon King turned out to be Konoha. What a completely unfunny joke.”

“Yeah. So I think everyone will probably try to defeat me. I wonder if I’ll have to fight them someday…”

“I don’t know. Do they have to defeat the Demon King to return to their original world?”

“Everyone assumes that, but I think they said we had to accomplish ‘the salvation of the world.’ I don’t actually know whether that means defeating the Demon King…”

“The salvation… of the world.”

“It’s vague, right? Honestly, I couldn’t trust anything those priests were saying. I don’t know how to explain it, but I felt like they were thinking about something completely different.”

Konoha was hardly one to talk, but those obviously pasted-on smiles had bothered her. And if Konoha, a professional at fake smiles, said so, then there was no doubt about it.

“In any case, once we get out of here, it might be better not to approach the royal capital. We could rent a carriage and settle down in the Neutral City for a while.”

“Yeah, sorry. I think I’d be happier if we did that. I still don’t have the courage to see everyone. Actually… part of me doesn’t even want to see them anymore. But I’m sure they probably feel the same way about me… ahaha.”

“…I’ll stay by your side, Konoha.”

Meiro took Konoha’s hand. Her face remained expressionless, but there was unmistakable anger in her eyes. She was angry at the classmates who had treated Konoha cruelly and betrayed her.

“Meiro… chan.”

“It’s all right. The Hero party will be spending plenty of time trying to conquer Mount Godard anyway. That place is a demonic labyrinth inhabited by more demonic beasts than anywhere else. And 【Josselin’s Lullaby】 on the hundredth floor ranks among the very strongest witches. There’s very little chance they’ll come this way and run into us.”

“…Yeah. Okay! If that’s settled, let’s get out of here. Ever since I came to this world, I’ve wanted to go sightseeing around another world. And if I get to do it with a friend, it’ll definitely be fun!”

“A… friend?”

Meiro repeated the word with a blank expression.

“Yeah, a friend! My first friend in another world! …Well, Hii-chan was first, so, um, my first friend who’s actually from this world!”

“Is it really all right for me to be Konoha’s friend?”

“Of course! So let’s escape together and go all sorts of places! We can eat delicious food, have fun, and there are tons of things I want to do!”

“…Yes. You’re right. If I’m with Konoha, I’ll go anywhere. I want to!”

They looked at each other, nodded, and laughed together.

“Okay, let’s go. My magical energy has recovered, so this time I’ll learn to fight while staying in control of myself.”

“If it looks like Konoha is about to break, I’ll stop you. You can trust me to watch your back.”

Konoha nodded. Then she held out her hand.

“Let’s go, Meiro-chan.”

Meiro took it. Her eyes were filled with determination.

“Yes, Konoha.”

At some point, the room had grown warm, and flames crackled brightly within the fireplace.