āI understandā¦ Makoto-kun pushed away my serious emotions of the several millions of lives that I have been entrusted with. From what I was shown, I felt like he was a lot more scary than that Goddess.ā (Hibiki)
After Makoto left from the passage, Hibiki was left alone.
A self-depreciating mutter came from her mouth.
āI am seriously the type that stumbles when it counts the most.ā (Hibiki)
Remembering the invitations she did to Mio and Lime, Hibiki makes a wry smile.
She felt as if the important things were slipping from her hands, an irritating feeling.
The wind passes in between the fingers of her opened hand.
She felt as if it was a feeling similar to this.
Her self-depreciation continued.
āIf we lose to the demon race, thatās the end; if we lose in the war against Tomoki, it will be the end as well; and if Makoto-kun goes haywire, it will be the end too huh. What an incredible situation. The last one has a narrow chance of hope though. A world without the Goddess huhā¦ Thinking about the current state, it will most definitely become a warring era with the flood of the small countries, so it wouldnāt change the fact that it will be despairing.ā (Hibiki)
A disastrous image appears in the mind of Hibiki, and disappears.
Winning against the demon race, shutting the Empire, and on top of that, restrain Makoto with something aside from power.
After doing all that would Hibiki finally be able to begin with her objective.
Just like what she said about it being an incredible situation, it is practically close to impossible.
Even so, Hibiki canāt just withdraw.
āEven so, I have to do my best till the end. Believing in me, many have died. For the sake of my objective, I have killed many. Thereās also people like Naval that have sacrificed themselves. I canāt give up. I have to struggle.ā (Hibiki)
As an awakened one from the world transfers, she has obtained the ability to change the conception of others into power.
Because of that point as well, she is aware of the innumerable cord-like feelings that have been placed on her.
The lives that have been entrusted to her, and the lives she has taken away; while having those in mind, Hibiki fights.
Hibiki felt that she has the obligation to do her best until the last moment of her life.
Thatās why she canāt just push them aside.
Even if the other party is someone with power that can easily cut apart those feelings.
āSeriouslyā¦being a hero is quite the worthwhile position.ā (Hibiki)
For Hibiki, the Goddess is the person that has provided her with this environment.
Thatās why Hibiki feels a set amount of gratitude towards her.
But thatās all thereās to it.
Hibikiās impresion of her was like that of the first person that had found her.
Sadly to say, she is a type that is hard to respect as a superior, and thereās several problems with her as well.
But as a numerical value, she provides benefits, so it is someone that canāt be cut off and thereās no choice but to just accept it.
It is something like that.
Thinking until there, Hibiki sighs.
āHahā¦If I could change the religion I am shouldering, I think it would be easier to have Makoto-kun instead of the Goddess. Even if he were to be treated as a God, by using the front of worshipping, it can be hidden in many ways. But even when he said such outrageous things, the only strong reactions I got from him were with the Goddess, andā¦his discrimination towards hyumans. He doesnāt have a purpose. That boy doesnāt even have the intention of founding a nation. If he at least had something like thatā¦ā (Hibiki)
Hibiki could tell that the options for the future would increase a lot.
If Makoto were to become a king, if he were to announce that he would be founding a nation, the hyumans and demons wouldnāt be able to ignore it.
Because it would be a big problem that would force them to even stagnate this hatred-filled war in order to deal with it.
Anyone that has seen his power would be able to tell.
Because it would mean that a country that surpasses all the currently existing countries in military power will be born all of a sudden.
At the very least, in the time that Makoto and his close aides are alive, they wouldnāt be able to enter a full-out war without that country, is what Hibiki thought.
āHe doesnāt have the intentions to become a king or a God either. Because of that, his inability for authority is unconsciously showing, and thinks that the Goddess is an enemy of equal ground. I seriously donāt understand himā¦ā (Hibiki)
Hibikiās waist falls to the ground.
Hibiki sits in the cold corridor.
āMy legs gave outā¦but thatās a given, right? If I made a mistake, I might have ended up dead cold right now at this place. Not only my spirit, even my body was enduring the fear huh.ā (Hibiki)
Currently for Hibiki, thatās exactly what Misumi Makoto is.
The moment those straining feelings loosened, Hibikiās body reminded her that.
What she wanted to ask, her invitation, and also, the confrontation she feared.
For Hibiki, the conversation just now was something she challenged with the feelings of standing on thin ice.
(He is already not in a dimension where I can think of him in human standards. Earthquake, tsunami, eruption, tornadoā¦he is close to those. Fighting against him is not that realistic, butā¦as long as it is someone that moves with a will, I canāt ignore it. Seriously, he has become quite the monster.) (Hibiki)
That within herself, two things began to bother her.
The first one is something that she had already expected.
They were her own emotions after all.
(Then why I donāt obey him? If itās just in military power, he surpasses that of a country; a monster in the skin of a human. No matter what Limia tries to do, they probably wouldnāt be able to beat him. Then there should be no other choice but to curry his favor, and yetā¦) (Hibiki)
The lights of the land near the castle she was looking at were few, and as she saw them grow sparse, Hibiki sunk into silence.
(ā¦I see. It is hatred. I canāt forgive the demon race. They have burned many villages, killed many hyumans, and also my comradeā¦Naval as well. Ah, maybe thatās why.) (Hibiki)
Hibiki nodded a few times.
Facing your own emotions and controlling them.
It is something important, but difficult to do.
When those emotions turn so natural that they seemer deep into yourself, it becomes even harder to do.
Overcoming the death of a comrade is also a different matter.
Hibiki finally understood why she didnāt choose to completely curry favor on Makoto.
(Of course, I have killed many of them as well. Within them, there should have been people with comrades, family, and lovers. Even so, I hate the demon race. I seeā¦so this is how it feels to be a concerned party. Is the hatred of war something so troublesome?) (Hibiki)
Hibiki was surprised that within her deepest self, hatred towards the demon race had piled up.
It is true that the demon race is the enemy, and thereās no doubt that they are a hateful enemy, but she didnāt know that it was binding her this much.
Since she thought she had it somewhat under control, this was shocking.
(To curry the favor of Makoto-kun, I would have to affirm his ideals even if it is only on the outside. In other words, it would become hard to continue the war. Thatās why Iā¦) (Hibiki)
In other words, she wished for the continuation of the war.
With her hand covering her mouth, Hibikiās pair of eyes opened wide.
(Thatās why I canāt. I want to bring down my enemy. Thatās right. Until I kill Io, Iā¦) (Hibiki)
Thinking about the reason why she wanted the war to continue, she reached an answer.
In the end, it was an incredibly personal reason, and Hibiki was amazed of herself.
Even though it was not funny at all, she felt a laugh coming out from within her throat.
After a while, the laughing stopped, but Hibiki didnāt stand up and was sitting just like that.
She was thinking about the other thing that was bothering her.
(Iā¦what did I feel a sense of discomfort in? The moment I thought of Makoto-kun as a monster, I certainly felt itā¦ Right, ārefugeā! He said that when the world goes into chaos and turns into an End of the Century era, they could just go take refuge for a while. Why is there a need to take refuge? Thereās no doubt that the world will fall into great chaos if the Goddess is defeated. But it is not a situation where individuals with power or organizations would take refuge. If itās the Kuzunoha Company, it is realistically possible to even be able to become the number one company. But he said that he would be taking refuge.) (Hibiki)
That word coming from someone strong made Hibiki feel a sense of discomfort.
(Just that, when it comes from the mouth of Makoto, it doesnāt feel that strange. Refuge huh. A safe place. In other words, he has a place where no matter if the world has fallen into chaos, he is able to secure safety. That wouldnāt be his store. In the variant incident at Rotsgard, the Kuzunoha Companyās store was destroyed. Also, Rotsgard and Tsige wonāt be spared from the chaos.) (Hibiki)
Hibiki lists out the places where Makoto has connections with.
Because she wanted to grasp even if a little bit more information of Makoto and his tendencies.
(! There is. The place that he arrived in when he came to this world. The border of the world. If he has a base in the deepest parts of that wasteland, it would signify that it is safe. They would be able to cut themselves away and live peacefully for years. For him who doesnāt think about calming the chaos himself, it is plenty possible.) (Hibiki)
She digs out the memory she had of Tsige where she went to train temporarily in.
She tries to remember as many stories of bases in the wasteland as possible.
And then, she arrives at one answer.
In the first place, those kind of talks are rare, and by elimination process, it was plenty possible to arrive at āthatā place.
āā¦The Mirage Town. I donāt want to think it is possible, but could it be, thatās the base of Makoto-kun -of the Kuzunoha Company?ā (Hibiki)
A Mirage Town that a few number in Tsige have heard of.
In the end, Hibiki returned to Limia without going to that town.
But the more she thought about it, the closer she felt the relation between Kuzunoha Company and that Mirage Town.
āA mirage town located somewhere in the wasteland. If thatās his base, his first store being in Tsige begins to look like a splendid decoy. The wasteland is his base and has set up a store at Tsige. Thatās right, if he already had a base by the time he left the wasteland and entered Tsigeā¦ā (Hibiki)
Hibiki noticed one other scary thing.
Her words stop unconsciously.
(For a base, the wasteland is just far. WAY too far! A base needs to be in a place where one can return in a short amount of time. His Majesty and prince Joshua said this when they returned from Rotsgard, that they have broken the long distance teleportation that the Kuzunoha Company was relying onā¦ Thatās a lie. It hasnāt been broken. They donāt use the merchant transportation method to āreturnā, they have in their hands a stable long-distance teleportation. Because they are able to take refuge after all.) (Hibiki)
Hibiki doesnāt know of Asora.
She does know that thereās a mirage town somewhere in the vast border of the world.
It would be impossible for her to be able to predict a parallel space, so even if itās not a perfect correct answer, it was a guess that was close to what Makotoās base is.
(If he is able to do business in this world while ignoring distance completely, it would be logical how he is able to have a store and has allowance to do peddling around the whole world. Yeah. Kuzunoha Company is like the Goddess, if I were to consider them an existence living on a different plane altogetherā¦ They declared that they didnāt have interest in the war, so thereās many ways to deal with this.) (Hibiki)
Hibiki thinks about how she will be interacting with the Kuzunoha Company.
At the same time, she was estimating the way to progress in the war with the demon race.
(It is slightly different from the request of Waterfall, but if I have Makoto-kun compromise that he wonāt be destroying the world, it is still salvageable. If we are able to bring the advantages of Kuzunoha Company and him to the hyumansā¦next, as long as the demon race does a big move in the time that the Goddess is still okay, thereās the chance that it will turn advantageous for us. But well, the demon race is also hostile to the Goddess, so thereās not much for me to worry about in this part huh.)
She walks towards the opposite direction of the passage that Makoto walked away in.
Even when she knew Kuzunoha Companyās power to a certain degree, her eyes didnāt show the light of giving up, it reflected strength.
Makoto and Hibikiās conversation, and Hibikiās monologue. That one act had ended.
At one of the castleās spires pretty far away from the passage, one shadow was sitting there.
It is the roof portion of the spire that shouldnāt have people to begin with.
The girl that was eavesdropping at the whole conversation of Makoto and Hibiki, first smiled with her mouth, and it spread all the way to her eyes.
āUfufufu, a breakdown. Thatās a given-desu. Waka-sama and Hibikiās way of thinking about the current state was simply coincidentally similar after all. It has gone well.ā
Makotoās follower, Mio.
Mio had created a flow where it would lead to Makoto and Hibikiās conversation, and induced it.
But she didnāt manipulate the result, and didnāt interfere in it either.
Mio was able to read to a certain degree what was going to happen if they were to clash their opinions.
āWhen I heard Tomoe-sanās assessment of Hibiki, it came to me. That it would be fine; that Waka-sama and her are not compatible. It is Hibiki who doesnāt know of whatās beneath, and Waka-sama who, in a sense, only looks from beneath. It was an obvious result-desu.ā (Mio)
The assessment Mio heard from Tomoe.
It is something that even now Hibiki isnāt aware of, a subconscious part.
From what Tomoe said: Hibiki doesnāt know of the standing of the weak.
What Tomoe said of Hibiki was that: āShe doesnāt understand the standing of the absolute weak. Because that girl believes that if they do their best, they will be able to bring about results-ja. No matter how they struggle it will be for naught, she doesnāt know that there are people that can only be weak. Well, she herself can do anything she tries to do, so since she is young, thinking that way canāt be helped~ā.
And in truth, thatās what Hibiki thinks.
If you try till death, people will be able to bring about some results.
Of course, thereās many people in reality that can bring about āsomeā results, but in society, thereās also a part that canāt do anything no matter what they try.
Not only the environment and the talent, thereās also cases where thereās external pressure they canāt go against.
But Hibiki, who clearly has not been a concerned party of these cases and even in Earth was born in a blessed household in Japan and with high talent, speaking about how much she understands of the current state, just like how Tomoe said, it is a part that canāt be helped.
On the other hand, Makoto doesnāt hold the point of view of a strong one.
Even in the parts of position and responsibility, he doesnāt understand in what stage he should be standing in.
Without any jokes and exaggeration, a responsibility that fits the strength of Makoto would be to act while thinking about the whole world in itself.
āIt is because the more she learns, the more she doesnāt understand. Thatās why, Hibiki is cautious towards Waka-sama. And so, because she is unable to bring him in, what they are trying to do is to exclude Waka-sama as much as possible from the war. But Waka-sama wonāt consent.ā (Mio)
Mio was laughing in a truly gleeful manner.
The figure of Mio laughing simple-mindedly below the moonlight felt like it had madness drifting about, and a dangerous beauty.
āThatās because Waka-sama doesnāt care if itās hyuman of demi-human after all. He would help out the demi-humans that are troubled, but thatās all. Whatās important for that personage is his own circle. And from the hyumans that I have seen, there was an abundance of idiots, so his preference turned into demi-humans, thatās all. It is so simple, and yetā¦everyone canāt understand it. Thatās just strange-desu wa.ā (Mio)
Mio looks at the true character of Makoto in that way.
Thatās why Makoto is still involving himself with hyumans, and at the same time, he has turned into a point where he canāt hold a wider field of vision no matter how much time passes.
āIt is impossible to not get involved in the war. If thereās people troubled coming from it, Waka-sama will act. Thereās no way he would think about what would happen in the future or the troublesome things that might come. Thereās no need to match the pace of Hibiki who only thinks about big things like the future, the world. In the first place, thatās all empty dreams. Waka-sama most likely noticed it with this. To begin with, future things should be thought by the people of the future-desu wa. No matter what Waka-sama who lives in the present does, no matter what happens to the world because of it, it is simply an unavoidable destiny for the people that will be born later.ā (Mio)
She once again voices out an unreasonable logic.
But Mio originally doesnāt care for anyone other than Makoto.
Thatās why, for her. what makes Makoto happy is the correct thing to do.
If the noise is getting unbearable and her master is troubled, she wants to remove the seed of that distress.
The actions of Mio this time, were simply because of that.
Just that, Makoto takes in mind his surroundings way too much, to the point of overdoing it.
Thatās why Mio moved slightly indirectly.
āThe hyumans, the demons, and that one above, are really annoying. Waka-sama is saying that he doesnāt have any interest, so you should just go kill among yourselves as much as you want in a place that Waka-samaās eyes donāt reach-desu. Seriously.ā (Mio)
Mio disappearing from the spire, and those words, were done at almost the same time.
āEh? Isnāt that Priestess-san -ah no, Priestess-sama?ā
Before arriving at my room, I encountered an unexpected person.
One member of Senpaiās party, the priestess of Lorel. If I remember correctlyā¦her name was Chiya.
She looks like she is the same age as Rinon, so she is probably 12-13.
Even though it is already pretty late in the night, she was standing there as if lying in wait for me.
Her attire is also probably not the one she uses when going to sleep.
āEhmā¦do you have business with me?ā (Makoto)
She maintained her silence, but I ask her who has been staring at me all this time.
āI am the priestess of Lorel, my name is Chiya. First of all, I want to apologize for my impoliteness. I am very sorry.ā (Chiya)
She lowers her head deeply.
The 90Ā° type, the one that bends the body a lot.
āYou suddenly collapsed, so please donāt mind it too much. I have heard a bit of the circumstances after all. Uhm, I would be happy if you were to tell me what you can about what you saw though.ā (Makoto)
āIt is not only for the matter of me collapsing. In the time of the dinner, I was unable to take part in it, not even once.ā (Chiya)
āYour physical condition was not good, so it didnāt affect my mood. It is something that canāt be helped.ā (Makoto)
It is true that in the dinners, I was together with Senpai and prince Joshua a lot, but I havenāt been together with the priestess once.
In one instance, there was clearly a seat prepared for her and even the meal was prepared, and yet, she didnāt come.
At that time, it was a probably a āmaybeā case, but if her condition is not good, there should be no responsibility taken in not being able to attend to a dinner. Even when she is this young, she is quite the level-headed girl.
āThank you very much. My impoliteness can be taken as the impoliteness of Lorel, so it is great that you say that.ā (Chiya)
It is not an atmosphere fitting her age.
This is not something that requires an apology, but it is certainly true that what she saw interests me.
About what she saw that could make a girl like this lose herself and faint.
Thatās why I stay silent and wait for her next words.
āI rudely tried to peek into the true nature of you and your Kuzunoha Companyās entourage. Even if itās my power as a priestess, it is an action that wouldnāt be helped if you were to scorn me. If you so wish to, it might be my duty to give you the answer of that result.ā (Chiya)
āNo well, I donāt really scorn you or anythingā¦ā (Makoto)
In the first place, it is something that Senpai made you do.
Also, if a girl of her age were to get the power to see inside others, I donāt think it would be strange to want to use it.
Well, the Priestess-san doesnāt fit that much into the kids of her age though.
āWhat I saw in Lime was a gentle large tree. Lush leaves wet in rain were glittering, andā¦maybe it was making it its dwelling? The young figure of a dragon was visible. I donāt know if itās a hint to something, but I felt like he was a likeable person. Thatās how I viewed it.ā (Chiya)
So it is true that she can see things only she can.
But it comprises many truths. Thereās a high chance that it truly touches their essence.
āMio-san wasā¦a big black spider. The Calamity Spider. Around its neck there was a big choker, and that spider looked like it was lovingly caring for that choker that had a chain attached to it.ā (Chiya)
So it saw through Mioās true identity perfectly huh.
Thatās probably hinting at the pact.
In that caseā¦this girl saw that chain connected to me?
āYeah. Thereās a lot regarding Mio. As you can see, she is no longer the rampaging monster with no sense of sanity. In most cases, she is safer than in the past soā¦ā (Makoto)
āā¦No matter if I make a racket about it, I have already reached the conclusion that the situation wonāt change for the better anyways. Please donāt mind it.ā (Chiya)
āI seeā¦thatās great.ā (Makoto)
āAnd, you wereā¦a pure white hyuman-shaped form with no features.ā (Chiya)
Something like a white doll?
No, I donāt think thatās all thereās to it.
It is not something to collapse for.
āA white hyuman shape with no facial features huh. Once again, I donāt know what it means.ā (Makoto)
āSorry. I have awakened this power just recently, so I still canāt accurately grasp the meaning of the things that I see.ā (Chiya)
āNo, I wasnāt blaming you.ā (Makoto)
āJust that, that white hyuman shape had a crack. A small crack.ā (Chiya)
āAt that partā¦ā¦ Sorry. At that part, in my eyes, it looked likeā¦there was something incredibly repulsive dwelling there.ā (Chiya)
Repulsive is quite the word.
Leaving aside my outward appearance, is this the route where it is telling me that even my true nature is ugly?
Something like this really depresses me.
āWas it something so repulsive that it made you collapse?ā (Makoto)
āI donāt know. I didnāt looking straight at it for long after all.ā (Chiya)
āPlease! Thereās probably nothing I can do, butā¦! Pleaseā¦donāt bring that āthingā outside! If you call yourself a merchant, please!!ā (Chiya)
āUo, ehm, please calm down a bit.ā (Makoto)
When I thought there was a short silence, the Priestess-san draws closer as if she had lost it.
Moreover, what she asked me to do is something I have no way of doing anything about.
In the first place, what is āthatā?
Something that not even I know myself, thereās no way I would be able to control if it comes out or not, you know?
While trying to somehow calm the Priestess-san, I was troubled by the request that I was unable to nod at.
The Priestess-san that had returned to herself, was heaving with her shoulders going up and down while having a tension-filled face. Because of the same reason, her whole body was still stiff.
āI-I am very sorry.ā (Chiya)
āUhm, I donāt understand it well, but I will do my best, so it would be better if you didnāt pay much mind to it. You might have seen something dangerous, but it seems like it isnāt showing you the future or anything like that.ā (Makoto)
āI heard this from Oneeā I mean, Hibiki-sama, but she said that you donāt hold a religious belief towards the Goddess? Ah, it is not like I am condemning you. For the sake of future reference, can I hear about what you rely on, whether it be in the Spirit-samas or in the studies, and the teachings and thoughts you hold?ā (Chiya)
āHah? The teachings and thoughts?ā (Makoto)
āYes. The teachings of the Goddess, the teachings of the four elemental Spirits that are born from those, and the truth that a number of scholars have arrived at in their studies. Those kind of things.ā (Chiya)
āā¦I donāt have those. I donāt have much interest in religion, even so, if told that science is everything, I also think thatās not the case. What I rely on huh. Hmmā¦.ā (Makoto)
The Priestess-san looks at me and was dumbfounded.
Maybe she thought she would get some sort of thoughts of mine immediately.
Thatās just unreasonable.
āWell, I do have experience in an art called archery that has created some rules inside myself. Are you fine with that?ā (Makoto)
āPlease let me hear them.ā (Chiya)
āIt is not something complicated or anything like that. It is to do what you have decided to do with your own power. It is something that you have decided to do, so donāt rely on someone else, and adhere to it with your own discipline. It is quite vague in many points, but it is something like that. But in truth, thereās only one thing that I have decided myself to do though.ā (Makoto)
āWhat would that be?ā (Makoto)
Maybe she is used to listening to the talk of others, it feels like this Priestess-san is easy to speak with.
ā¦One of the reasons might be because she is a kid though.
āTo continue with the bow. In the future, no matter what path I take, no matter what employment I have, no matter what place I end up living in, I have decided to continue with the bow for the rest of my life. Thatās all there is.ā (Makoto)
āā¦I see. To continue doing something, no matter what it is, it will require strong will. It may be difficult, but I think it is a splendid thought.ā (Chiya)
āThanks. I feel like I am being comforted though.ā (Makoto)
āWhen you decide you will do it, you will definitely do itā¦ā (Chiya)
āPriestess-sama? By the way, how are you feeling? If you are still not feeling well, I can provide you with medicine just in case.ā (Makoto)
āWah? ahā¦I-Itās okay.ā (Chiya)
āI see. In that case, it is already late, so how about returning to your room? If you need to, I can accompany you partway.ā (Makoto)
āI will return by myself. I am grateful for your consideration. Sorry for intruding so late in the night. Have a good night.ā (Chiya)
āGood night.ā (Makoto)
How old was the girl I was talking to?
Thatās the kind of impression I had remaining even now.
āAh, Boss. Welcome back. The priestess was here a while ago, you know. Didnāt you meet her on the way?ā (Lime)
āYeah, I did. That girl, she came alone to this room huh.ā (Makoto)
āYeh, she said she wanted to apologize to Boss. I told her that you are not someone who would mind that, and that I would tell you when you come back, so she should return and sleep, but she didnāt listen.ā (Lime)
āI see. Well, the talk felt similar to that, Gentle Large Tree-san.ā (Makoto)
āThe white featureless one will go to sleep now. Good night.ā (Makoto)
āOkayā¦Good night, Boss.ā (Lime)
The day of leaving Limia is close.
The home of Hibiki-senpai, the Limia Kingdom.
I did think that it was somewhat comfortable, butā¦it became a lot more tiresome visit than I expected.
I donāt have the power to think about the future of the country and the world in whole like Senpai does.
I canāt even understand individuals well, so thereās no way I would be able to understand hundreds of wills, and the country that is like the crystallization of the raceās will.
The Demon Lord, Senpai, and the Kings of each nation probably understand those things though.
But I who canāt even grasp the circumstances and tendencies of my company employees, this is just a heavy talk.
I canāt do it, but I should at least make an effort huh.
I should try to pursue what I can do.
When I return to Asora, I should try speaking with Tomoe and Shiki about it. Ah, when I return, I should show myself in Kaleneon.
ā¦.After that, a small talk with Zefā¦
Because I was doing some thinking, or more like, a lot happened and it is already this late of an hour, my thoughts were cut off in the middle.