Rakka Tillier Le Cherine

She died.

So easily, so suddenly. She disappeared from right before my eyes.

I barely remembered anything from that time. I only remembered that my sister’s photograph had been displayed there, and that I had seen my father for the first time in a long while.

My father glanced at me once, then left as though he had not the slightest interest in me. My mother clung to a large white box and wept. My sister wasn’t inside it, yet everyone behaved as though she were.

(Disgusting.)

I didn’t really understand what happened afterward, but I think I went to the home of one of my relatives. I hardly remembered it. But even now, I remembered the woman who had greeted me at the entrance.

That was because she was the woman who came to make meals for me. Her cooking was delicious. But I didn’t like her very much.

Why?

Obviously. Because she was the person who 『broke』 my mother.

The woman brought strange paintings and statues of someone into our house. Then she began teaching us strange things. I didn’t remember much from that time either. I didn’t know whether I simply hadn’t listened, or whether I had deliberately locked those memories away now, but in any case, from then on, my mother began worshipping those strange paintings and statues. She forced me to do it too, and whenever I refused… I didn’t remember this part either, but I felt like she did something painful to me.

It hurt. It was agonizing. Even so, I kept smiling. When my mother saw me like that, she began saying I was creepy. I didn’t remember much from around then either, but I think my heart had been screaming the entire time. Throb, throb. Around the time I thought it might shatter at any moment—

I began having a certain dream.

~From the Monologue of Kushibiki Konoha~

“Hello there! People of Lichten!”

An innocent voice rang through the grand conference room of the Lichten City Council Hall. A beautiful rabbit-eared woman was wrapped in a navy-blue robe adorned with gaudy golden decorations.

Many people sat in the conference room, maintaining complete silence. The mayor of Lichten, the mayor’s aide, the chief officer of the Kingdom’s forces stationed in Lichten, the Lichten Guild Alliance that served as that officer’s military strength, and its administrator, Anson. They were the most prominent figures in Lichten.

“Ahaha, seriously sorry for calling you all together so suddenly. I doubt I need to introduce myself at this point, but I’ll do it anyway. I’m First-Class Priest Rakka Tillier le Cherine, Chief Inquisitor of the Fortuna Sect of the Church of the Full Moon. Nice to meetcha~!”

Rakka introduced herself with a bright smile. For some reason, she tossed aside her robe and began exposing her curvaceous body. She was practically in her underwear. The entire conference room fell into an icy silence.

“Oho~? Awfully quiet, aren’t you? Well, that’s the correct response, though. Ahahaha!”

After laughing loudly, Rakka abruptly changed her expression and swept her gaze over everyone.

“Anyway, getting to the point. There are currently four of us Inquisitors in Lichten, so I want your full cooperation. Though we can’t get in touch with one of them~ Wonder what Schraize is doing. Think he’s dead?”

“C-cooperation… in what manner?”

“Oh, Chiefie finally spoke! But, well…”

At that instant, Rakka vanished from where she stood. And then—

“A-ah… aaah…”

“I never said you were allowed to talk yet, did I?”

A dagger was pressed against the skin of the chief officer’s neck.

“Phew, I almost killed you there… Hm? I’m hearing something strange.”

Something noisy was happening outside the City Council Hall. Just as it sounded like people were dropping down from above, a soldier hurried into the conference room.

“I-intruders! We cannot confirm their numbers! They’ve already infiltrated the City Council Hall—ngh!!”

A knife embedded itself in the soldier’s neck, and his body lost its balance and collapsed.

“Seriously? This is all Lichten’s soldiers have got? No, knights, I guess.”

A thin man with a small mustache pulled out the knife and entered the grand conference room. Several masked men followed behind him.

“Boss! We’ve secured the surveillance room!”

“Good. Gather the others here. And then grab the mayor, the chief officer, the Guild administrator, and… what’s with that demi-human? A slave?”

“Huh? You didn’t notice from my robe…? Oh right, I took it off just now. Ahaha.”

Rakka laughed as her ears twitched up and down. Seeing her, the terrorists broke into leering grins.

“Hey, look at that slave. She’s got a hell of a body. A rabbit too? She’ll be fun to make cry.”

“Whoa, huge tits! Is she a whore or what!?”

“Once we capture these guys, let’s have some fun with that rabbit!”

Rakka continued smiling as ever, keeping the short blade pressed against the chief officer.

“Young people sure are full of energy these days. Maybe this’ll actually be fun after all?”

“Hell yeah! We’ll make you cry plenty. You’re gonna have to deal with every man here, so brace yourself, girl.”

“Looks like there are about eighty of you? Sheesh, isn’t Lichten’s security way too lax? What’s your excuse, Anson? Ah, you’re allowed to speak.”

Rakka asked Anson with a cheerful smile. Anson answered with a sigh.

“I suspect they entered through the sewers. And for the record, it was the royal capital’s decision to station only knights at the City Council Hall instead of adventurers, so we bear no responsibility. Please direct your complaints to the royal government.”

“Daaamn, you really said it! Well, you’re completely right. Can’t even argue with that.”

“Shut the hell up already! All right, men! Capture them!”

Having finally lost his patience, the terrorist leader gave the order.

“Now! Divine punishment upon the chief officer!”

“No!! Stop, stop—agh! Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Rakka tossed the chief officer away, and the terrorists swarmed him. Naturally, he tried to resist, but he was crushed beneath the overwhelming number of men, and within moments, his throat was cut and he died.

“Hyahaha! We killed him! We killed the chief officer!”

“You’re next, slave!”

“Wow. Weak. Well, he was trash who got his post through bribes, so I guess that’s to be expected. Anyway…”

The terrorists surged toward Rakka. However, the moment they entered within two meters of her, an overwhelming chill of terror struck them.

“Time to take out the trash.”

“Ah… eh…?”

In Rakka’s hand was a whip—a combat whip with blades embedded along several sections. No one could even see her move it, and what remained afterward was—

Remains. Human remains. Remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains remains.

The leader trembled at the sight before him. What was this? What was happening?

“Ah, you froze up just now, didn’t you?”

“Huh?”

In the next instant, Rakka suddenly appeared directly in front of the leader.

“I wished that I wanted to kill you. That’s why I’m standing here. Understand?”

“Ah… aaah…”

“Your brain can’t keep up, huh? It’s already been three seconds. Humans really are defective creatures.”

A nasty slicing sound came from behind the leader. What followed was the steady dripping of something and the metallic stench of blood.

“See? During the five seconds you stood there in silence, I killed every last one of your friends behind you. Geez, now the City Council Hall reeks.”

“Wh… what… are you…?”

“Can’t move? Is that really the face you want to make in the final moments of your life? You’d think you could at least move your expression. Ah, right, you were asking my name. I’m an Inquisitor. You’re not a heretic, though.”

It probably took less than a second for his head to fall.

“You got in my way, so die.”

What had once been the man’s hand flew through the air and landed in front of Anson. Naturally, Anson’s legs had gone rigid with fear, leaving him unable to move. The mayor and the others were in an even worse state.

“All right. I’ll leave the rest to my subordinates who are on their way here, so let’s resume the meeting! Hm? What’s wrong? You’re awfully quiet. You have permission to speak now.”

Rakka tilted her head curiously. Anson finally managed to release some of the tension from his body and, while filled with fear inside, asked Rakka a question.

“W-what business do you have here?”

“Calling it a meeting is kinda misleading. It’s more of a one-sided notice. This city… Well, those guys just now were disorganized terrorists, but Lichten’s starting to become a hotbed for terrorists like the 【Porcelain Stars】 and Rose Fulgaud. So if you find them, report it immediately!! And also…”

With a whoosh, she moved her whip and slammed it against the floor. A sharp crack rang out, making the entire conference room tremble.

“Get rid of trash like these bastards already. I’ll let you off the hook this time.”

“Oh? Cleanup’s already finished? Nice work.”

After leaving the grand conference room and passing by the surveillance room, Rakka regrouped with the other Inquisitors.

“Thank you for your hard work. Rakka-sama, if I may ask, why did you kill the chief officer?”

“Hm? Oh, him? I killed him under orders, you know? I’m actually not that fond of pointless killing.”

Rakka grinned wickedly as she said it, looking every bit like a devil.

“All right, we’ll crush the Porcelain Stars first. You always save dessert for last! Besides, the Villafilia siblings probably haven’t come to this city anyway, right?”

And so began the rabbit’s hunt.