A Fabricated Smile

Kushibiki Konoha’s Class. It was—

“D-Demon King…?”

No matter how many times she looked, the display did not change.

Konoha reflexively looked around. Everyone was absorbed in their own status screens, and nobody was looking at her. Yet Konoha’s heart was anything but calm. After all—

“…W-what do I do? I mean, D-Demon King…”

—The enemy they were supposed to defeat.

A chill ran through her. It felt as though her blood had started rushing even faster again. Konoha took a deep breath for the moment and tried to think of what to do.

(But if I tell them I’m the Demon King, what’s going to happen to me? Will everyone… k-kill me?)

The Demon King was the enemy. The evil of this world. The ruler of the demons and the cause behind the demihumans’ rampage. That was how it had been explained to them. In that case, the Demon King was undeniably someone the Sacred Kingdom had to defeat.

(…No. I don’t want Karen-chan, Chidori-chan, Kisaki-chan, or anyone in class to defeat me. I don’t want to fight them…)

Her heartbeat quickened.

(What do I do? Think, think, Konoha! What do I have to do so I can stay myself, so I can remain Kushibiki Konoha!?)

Suddenly, one part of the status screen caught her eye.

That was what it said. Fabrication? What did “Fabrication” mean? Could it possibly mean “fabricating the display”? Surely not? But what else could it mean?

(I’ve got no choice but to try!)

Konoha made up her mind.

—She would hide it.

If everyone found out that she was the Demon King, they would surely be devastated. Worse, they might see her as an enemy and try to kill her. Even if her classmates did not, the Sacred Kingdom might try to kill her instead. Konoha strongly felt that she did not want to die yet.

(I don’t know how to use these things called Skills. But please!)

She drew in a breath. Her heartbeat was deafening. She created a state in which she could hear nothing, see nothing, and feel nothing. What she imagined was that dream. In that place, no one could interfere with her.

A leaden sky, a shadowed meadow, deep fog. But because this was not a dream, the girl was not standing in that meadow. That was fine.

For the first time, Konoha stood there alone.

(All right. Let’s do this.)

“Unique Skill: 《Fabrication》!”

At that moment, rows of numbers appeared before Konoha’s eyes. She recoiled at the completely incomprehensible strings of digits. Konoha was absolutely terrible at mathematics.

(I just want normal stats! It’s fake, and maybe it’ll only work as a temporary measure! But even so! I don’t want everyone to hate me!)

Responding to Konoha’s wish, the strings of numbers gradually transformed into words. Konoha reached out, attempting to touch the numbers, but one after another they continued forming letters.

(Please!)

She squeezed her eyes shut and pleaded. Her blood rushed faster, and her breathing grew ragged. Perhaps this was what it felt like to use magic. Fortunately, when she had looked earlier, Konoha’s mana capacity had been over 5,400. At this rate, a single use of the Skill probably would not drain her dry.

When Konoha opened her eyes, the fabricated status screen had been completed.

“Wow… I look really weak…”

Judging from the numbers alone, it was an astounding downgrade.

Even so, Konoha felt relieved. Now she was “normal.” Maybe she would not be able to help everyone very much. But that was infinitely better than having to fight them.

The moment she relaxed, the scenery before her suddenly changed. The meadow vanished, returning her to the training ground from earlier. It seemed that everyone had more or less finished checking their status.

(I wonder what Karen-chan and the others got? More importantly, this really won’t be exposed, right? I can keep hiding it, right? Ugh, I’m worried…)

Several people were already lined up before Commander Legato. Some hung their heads in disappointment, while others trembled with joy. Everyone’s reactions were different.

Konoha lined up behind Kisaki.

“Oh, Konoha! Hey, what did you get?”

“Cook.”

“Huh?”

“I’m a Cook, Kisaki-chan!”

“What!? Eeeeeh!? No way!”

“H-hey, you’re too loud!”

Konoha spoke more loudly and energetically than usual, trying to suppress the fear in her heart. The nearby students were startled too. By Kisaki’s volume, that was.

“No, but… huh!? Seriously? Konoha?”

“Yep!”

“Well, um… don’t let it get you down… Wait, huh? Konoha, aren’t you kind of happy about it?”

“Yeah! Now I can make delicious food for you and everyone else!”

“Wha!? I-is this girl an angel!?”

“Leave ramen to me!”

“Why ramen?”

“Ramen’s the only thing I know how to cook.”

“Why did you really get Cook…?”

Commander Legato had been unusually shocked when Konoha showed him her status screen. Naturally so. Taking their influence over the class into account, Legato had assumed that either Shirataka Gatari or Kushibiki Konoha would be the Hero. He had also recognized that Konoha had undergone physical training. And yet, of the two leading candidates, the girl he had considered especially Hero-like had somehow ended up as—

“Kushibiki Konoha… Cook…”

“What!? Eeeeeeeeeeeeeh!?”

Everyone in class knew how skilled Konoha was with a sword. They also knew about her exceptional physical abilities, quick thinking, decisiveness in emergencies, and ability to lead everyone around her. If someone like that had been assigned such a background-character-like Class, naturally some people would be furious.

Primarily Obana Karen.

“I-I refuse to accept this! Konoha-chan is obviously the strongest person in this class! Do it over! Chaaaaange it!!”

“C-calm down, Karen-chan! I’m glad I got Cook, okay? Look, I was bad at cooking, so I want to use this opportunity to learn!”

“You’re a beginner…? This makes even less sense. Normally, one should not be assigned a Class so completely unsuited to them…”

Even Commander Legato looked troubled. And if her Secondary Class had at least been combat-oriented, that would have been one thing, but—

“Housekeeper…”

“B-bride training! It’s probably bride training!”

“Absolutely not! Konoha-chan cannot become someone’s bride!! Who are you planning to marry!? I’ll have to kill them!!”

“Karen-chan!? I’m not getting married!? I’m just training!”

Karen’s rampage would not stop. Even Konoha could only smile awkwardly at this point.

“So, who was the Hero?”

Tendo Reiji asked. In fact, they had first asked Shirataka Gatari, the other leading candidate, but—

“I’m a Spearman. So I guess it’s someone else.”

“No way, Gatari-kun isn’t the Hero either?”

“I was absolutely sure it’d be Konoha-chan, Gatari, or Reiji.”

“Speaking of which, what’d you get, Reiji?”

“Martial Artist…”

“Ahh, that suits you.”

“Shut up!”

“So then, who actually—”

“Me.”

A boy suddenly stepped forward before the commander.

“No way…”

“We’re finished…”

“Oh no…”

It was the black-haired delinquent, Funagata Koya. He certainly looked suited for combat, but he was a genuine troublemaker. Worse, he was a notoriously bad one. There were rumors that he bullied students from other classes by using them as lackeys, drank and smoked, constantly got into fights, and even carried drugs behind the scenes. Everyone generally avoided him on the principle of leaving dangerous people alone.

“Hmm. What is your name?”

“Funagata Koya.”

“Your status screen… Ah, yes. You are indeed the Hero.”

“So yeah, from now on, it’s Hero Koya-sama running the show! I’m counting on you, Commander, gyahahahaha!”

After patting the commander repeatedly on the shoulder and letting out an unpleasant laugh, he turned around.

“Hey, you bastards better not get smart with me now that I’m the Hero, or I’ll kill you. Especially that gross otaku from earlier—you, the trash who was fantasizing about becoming the Hero!”

“I-I wasn’t…”

“Huh? Can’t hear you. Speak up.”

It was the moment the Hero was born, yet everyone’s reaction was less than enthusiastic. Please, couldn’t it have been Gatari or Konoha instead…? Nearly everyone present, including the commander, thought exactly that.

~At the Banquet Hall~

Sure enough, the Hero was already running wild.

“Gyahahahaha! Hey, bring me booze! Get me some women too! Huh? The hell are you staring at, you shitty otaku?”

“I-I’m not looking…”

The classmates watching him from a distance were all quite seriously thinking that the Sacred Kingdom was probably doomed.

“Of all people, why the hell did it have to be Funagata Koya? Gatari would’ve been way better…”

“I don’t have that kind of sense of responsibility. Now that things have turned out this way, all we can do is support Koya as best we can.”

Tendo Reiji and Shirataka Gatari spoke while sighing at each other. Their status screens were as follows.

“Just as expected, our initial stats don’t reach the Hero’s. The gap will probably only widen from here.”

“But hey, you think what they told us earlier is actually true? That if the Hero dies, the role gets inherited by someone else. Doesn’t that mean if Koya does something inconvenient for the kingdom, they could just get rid of him? Damn… I can already smell blood.”

“Don’t say something so inappropriate. He’s still our classmate. I’m sure he’ll understand if we talk things through.”

“I hope so.”

Regardless of the Hero’s behavior at the banquet, everyone could barely contain their excitement because the princesses and prince were attending.

Faced with smooth golden hair, flawless white skin, and genuine princesses straight out of a picture book, everyone in class had gone stiff. Even Koya appeared to know better than to behave badly around royalty… Actually, no. Sorry, that was a lie. He was crossing his arms like he owned the place. His attitude was absolute garbage.

“Are you the Hero?”

“Yeah. Funagata Koya. Looking forward to working with you.”

Princess Mariage recoiled for a moment at his complete lack of respectful language, but quickly restored a gentle expression.

“I am Mariage, princess of this kingdom. I entrust the kingdom to you, Hero.”

“Yeah, leave it to me, Princess.”

Princess Mariage nearly made an openly disgusted face, but barely managed to stop herself. Afterward, for some reason, she began looking around restlessly.

“And… um, well…”

“Is something the matter, Your Highness?”

Gatari asked. He appeared accustomed to using polite language. It reflected his normally proper behavior.

“Where is… that adorable brown-haired girl?”

Princess Mariage asked with her face flushed red. Seeing this, the classmates immediately realized, Ah, she’s already starting to fall victim to Konoha’s charms. Far too easy, Your Highness.

“Ahh, about that… Konoha apparently isn’t feeling well… She said she’d come after a little while, though.”

“She did look pretty sick. Can’t blame her… I mean, Cook and Housekeeper? That’s gotta be a pretty big shock.”

“Yes, she looked pale too. We should encourage her and tell her not to worry about it…”

“I-I see. Then please let me know when she arrives. I wish to dote on her… I mean, I have something I would like to discuss with her. Well then, good day.”

You said it. You definitely said it, Your Highness. Your desires were completely leaking out.

That said, many of Konoha’s classmates were worried about her. Naturally, her friends were at the top of that list.

“I wonder if Konoha-chan is all right. Maybe I should’ve skipped the banquet too.”

“You can’t do that. You’re one of our vice leaders now.”

With Funagata Koya designated as the class leader because he was the Hero, vice leaders had also been appointed to restrain him when he went out of control. Those vice leaders were Obana Karen and Shirataka Gatari. Karen had been selected because of her high stats and abilities.

“Even your Secondary Class is combat-oriented. That’s good, isn’t it? You’ve practiced archery, so you’re already familiar with a bow, right?”

“Yes, that’s true. Chidori-chan, you’re a Swordsman too, aren’t you? Let’s keep working together.”

“Of course. Likewise.”

“I’m a Guardian Warrior, so I’ll be on the front line too. I’m counting on you!”

“Of course, Kisaki.”

“Yeah!”

For completeness, here were their status screens as well.

“Sigh… all three of us got Classes that more or less suit us, so why was Konoha-chan the only one…”

“Cook is rough. Konoha’s completely out of combat this time.”

“We’ll just have to work hard enough for Konoha-chan too.”

“Well, let’s eat for now! Konoha’ll probably show up eventually!”

“Yes. Let’s eat.”

The banquet continued without incident.

A dark room.

Inside it, Konoha lay on her bed without even turning on the lights. She opened her status screen.

“…Ugh… ngh… hic… why… me… sniff…”

Then, staring at the display, she began to cry.

Nothing had changed.

Earlier, she had deactivated Fabrication and checked again, only to discover that everything was still the same. She had managed to hide it temporarily, but the realization that she would have to continue concealing the fact that she was the Demon King filled her with anxiety. Worse, having nobody she could talk to about it made Konoha suffer even more.

Knock, knock.

A knock echoed through the room. Then came a gentle voice.

“Kushibiki-san, are you there?”

It was Mogami Sasano’s voice. Slightly reassured by the fact that a trusted adult had come to check on her, Konoha opened the door without hesitation.

“Ah, thank goodness. How are you feeling?”

“Yeah, I’m okay, Sensei. Sorry for making you worry.”

“No, that’s understandable. You wanted to be useful to everyone too, didn’t you, Kushibiki-san…”

(I see. She thinks I’m upset because this Class means I can’t help everyone… Is that… convenient for me?)

“No, I’m okay. Besides, even as a Cook, I can make delicious meals for everyone, so it’s not like I’m useless! So… huh?”

Tears began spilling from her eyes.

Why? Konoha wondered, before realizing it was because her teacher had hugged her. At that moment, she could no longer keep her emotions under control.

“You don’t have to force yourself… Konoha-chan, even if you can’t fight, you’re still a member of this class. So it’s okay to cry right now, all right?”

It was a complete misunderstanding.

Konoha was not crying because she was unable to fight. She had been unable to tell anyone that she was the Demon King, and when her teacher embraced her, the relief caused all those pent-up tears to spill out.

But—

(But that’s okay. It’s a misunderstanding, but for now, I want to depend on that misunderstanding and feel this warmth. Just for a little while… that’s okay, isn’t it?)

“U-uaaah… aaah… waaaaaah! Sen… sei… ugh… sniff, sniff…”

“It’s all right. Everything will be all right… okay?”

“Yeah… yeah! Thank you, Sensei.”

Konoha cried.

Not because she was useless.

They were tears born from her inability to suppress the fear that she might become everyone’s enemy, that everyone might someday look at her with hostility.

In the end, Konoha still could not reveal that she was the Demon King.

But for now, that was fine.

Konoha cried for a while, but once she had calmed down, she pulled away from Sasano.

“Feeling better?”

“Yeah. Thank you, Sensei… ehehe.”

(S-so cute! Ahh, this is bad. I’m a teacher, and yet I’m clearly favoring Kushibiki-san. But it’s Kushibiki-san’s fault for being so cute! Yes, exactly!)

It was true that Konoha had been comforted.

That should have been where Sasano stopped.

Instead—

Sasano said something unnecessary.

Something she never should have said.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure everyone will defeat the Demon King in no time! The reason the demons are attacking people is because of the Demon King, so once the Demon King is defeated, we’ll all be able to go home. I’m in a noncombat Class too, you know? Let’s watch over everyone and cheer them on together, okay?”

Hearing those words, Konoha felt as though everything before her eyes had gone black.

Sasano had meant no harm.

After all, she could never have imagined that Konoha herself was the Demon King.

But those words from Sasano ended up determining the path of fate Konoha would soon be forced down.

“Y-yeah, you’re right. Ehehe… Sensei, you’re so kind.”

Konoha immediately put on a “fabricated” smile.

It was the artificial, pasted-on smile she had always been so good at making.

(…That’s right. Unless the Demon King is defeated, the demons won’t stop invading. Even now, thousands of people are suffering because of the demons’ attacks. That’s why Gatari-kun, Karen-chan, and everyone else decided they were willing to fight… But I…)

Contrary to her bright expression, Konoha’s heart sank deeper and deeper into darkness.

Konoha had always been good at suppressing her emotions.

If anything, that habit had only grown worse after her older sister died six years ago.

Although she had the kind of personality that constantly tried to cheer everyone else up, she rarely liked talking about herself.

Even Karen, her closest friend, did not actually know Konoha all that deeply.

And that was why, until Konoha became “like that,” nobody was able to notice the darkness buried inside her heart.