140 - The Rematch is Near
The person the Laurel Kingdom Army and Hansmann's group had been eagerly awaiting had finally arrived in the royal capital. Fumiya had returned, leading a force of eight thousand. With these eight thousand as the core, the army to fight the Demon King's army was being reorganized. Normally, it would be strange to make knights and soldiers from another country the core, but for Fumiya and his companions, who could not fully trust the Laurel Kingdom Army, it was the correct choice. If they betrayed him, he would strike them down without mercy with those eight thousand. He intended to make them obey through force.
"Tsukitani's unit, huh... I couldn't fight properly last time, so I'm looking forward to it a little."
This was not bravado. Fumiya was genuinely looking forward to fighting Rei, who led the Undead Legion. This was based on the fact that he had established a combat method for dealing with the Undead Legion.
"It would be better not to underestimate the enemy too much."
"I'm not underestimating them. I intend to fight after analyzing the enemy's weaknesses and devising a winning strategy."
And he believed he had already finished doing so.
"In that case, we have also made some progress. Would you like to hear it?"
"...I suppose so."
Hansmann, who was conducting the analysis, told him not to underestimate them. That made Fumiya feel a slight sense of anxiety.
"Where shall we start... the Undead Legion is easiest to explain. The weaknesses of the Undead Legion are Light attribute magic and fire-attribute magic. This is common knowledge, though."
"But?"
Hansmann was about to explain the weaknesses of the undead that Fumiya already knew in a negative light. Fumiya reacted to that.
"The mage unit deployed in the previous battle was completely wiped out."
"What?"
"Taking advantage of the gap while they were attacking the decoy unit, the Demon Race launched a charge. In close-quarters combat, mages are like children to the Demon Race. They were annihilated in a very short time."
"Didn't they try to prevent it?"
It was a natural question. Even Fumiya knew that mages were weak in close-quarters combat. He also knew that a support unit was always organized when they went to the battlefield.
"Of course, there was a unit to protect them. However, that unit was preoccupied with the fight against the Undead Legion and seemed to have no leeway to help the mages."
"How many enemies were there?"
"Approximately three thousand. The support unit was two thousand, so they seemed to be overwhelmed by numbers."
The tactics used against the Demon Race had been used against the Undead Legion instead. That was the judgment. It wasn't wrong. That's how it was in the previous battle.
"There were other allies, right?"
"Yes. In total, there were about six thousand. The remaining four thousand tried to defeat the Demon Race who had annihilated the mage unit... but the difference in power seemed too great."
"I see. I'm probably the only one who can fight one-on-one. In that case, it's tough."
He was probably the only one who could fight on equal terms with the Demon Race. It wasn't entirely a misconception. As far as he currently knew, Fumiya was likely the only one among the allies.
"Because the Undead Legion and the Demon Race are moving in coordination, we are unable to effectively exploit their weaknesses. We have to do something about this."
"What about magic tools? There should be magic tools that create walls of Light attribute magic. They should just use those."
The tactic that had cornered the Undead Legion in the previous battle. Fumiya thought they should just use it again.
"We had that information, so we considered it. It seems it was used in an ambush."
"Ah, that's right."
"The opponent should also know about the existence of magic tools. I don't think they'll fall for a trap."
"Just do it skillfully, ambush the opponent like before—"
"The enemy is holed up in the 'Forest of Bewilderment,' so we are the ones attacking."
They might be ambushed, but it wouldn't lead to a situation where they could do the ambushing. Furthermore, the reason they were able to ambush them last time was because of the betrayal.
"...Lure them out skillfully."
"Of course, I'm thinking about that. However, for now, I can't think of a good method."
"...If I go, there's a high possibility they'll come out."
Fumiya was aware that Rei held a grudge against him. It would be surprising if he didn't.
"Using the Hero as bait... is it worth attempting?"
Since there were no other good methods, they had no choice but to try. He felt it was a case of 'lucky if it works.'
"Then, let's start preparations. What about Hinata and Akemi?"
Hinata, who excelled in Light attribute magic, was indispensable in the fight against the Undead Legion. In the fight against the Demon Race, Akemi, who possessed powerful magic, was necessary. That's what Fumiya thought, but...
"...They have not been found."
Neither of them was in the royal capital.
"What? You couldn't save Akemi?"
"It seems she escaped by her own power."
"Escaped... even though she was wearing a collar?"
Why had Neil been able to capture Akemi, who possessed powerful magic? Fumiya had asked this as an answer to that question.
"That is... by the time Lord Baldos suppressed them, she had already escaped."
The story that Akemi escaped on her own was something he heard from Neil. Hansmann and the others didn't know the truth.
"...What about Hinata?"
"I hear she has been missing for quite some time."
"Was it true..."
He had heard the story that Hinata was missing. Since a large-scale search had been conducted at one point, it was information that even knights and soldiers knew. However, after hearing about Akemi, Fumiya had suspected that he was being deceived.
"The search is ongoing, but I think it will be difficult without any clues."
"I see... I understand."
He felt worried about the two of them, but more than that, he felt strongly that they had lost valuable combat power in the fight against the Demon King's army.
"Separately from the preparations for battle, we will also proceed with preparations to announce the assassination of King Neil and the fact that Princess Ekaterina is connected to the Demon Race."
"So that means I'll be the king."
"Yes. However, it will be difficult to convince those around us if you have no achievements."
"Huh? I made two countries, the Kingdom of Aria and the Kingdom of Lydia, surrender, didn't I?"
His achievements were sufficient. That's what Fumiya thought.
"That was the result of following the King's orders. It was not an independent action by the Hero. We want the achievement of being the hero who saved the Laurel Kingdom from the threat of the Demon Race."
"...I understand. I just have to win the next battle, right?"
"...Yes, that's right."
He wondered if it would be settled in one battle, but if he said no, the other person would surely ask for specific details. That was still fluid. It wasn't that they didn't want to make Fumiya king, but if the battle proceeded in an unexpected direction, they would think of another excuse.
"...We absolutely must win the next battle. I'll think about various things too."
Fumiya also had several miscalculations. The fact that the Demon King's army's way of fighting seemed different from before. The fact that the magic tools for the Undead Legion were less useful than he thought. Above all, the absence of Akemi and Hinata was significant. Hinata was an existence that could be called the natural enemy of the Undead Legion. And Akemi had shown overwhelming power against the Demon Race in the battle of Nordende. Losing that power was painful. He had to fill that gap in combat power as much as possible.
◇◇◇
The Laurel Kingdom Army, which had been deployed at the foot of the mountain, withdrew. Even if they stayed, they would only be attacked again and increase their casualties. It was a natural choice. That didn't mean the Demon King's army could relax. Rei and the others intended to remain deployed in the 'Forest of Bewilderment' for as many years as it took until they had a plan to end things completely. The day they could feel that the fortification of the 'Forest of Bewilderment' was sufficient would never come.
Today as well, work was being carried out in various places, such as increasing the traps in the forest and laying out waterways that served as both moats to stall the enemy and countermeasures against fire attacks. In the midst of this, Akemi asked Rei for permission to take a break from work. Kai went with her. There was a place Akemi absolutely wanted to visit. Akemi placed flowers gathered in the forest on the ground and pressed her hands together in prayer.
"...May I go in?"
After finishing that, she stood up and asked Kai for permission. This was the place where Kai had lived with his family. And the place Akemi had attacked.
"I can't really say no at this point. Please, go ahead."
Kai had accompanied her because Akemi had asked him to. The moment he accepted, he had already acknowledged her entering the house. Akemi stepped into the cave. It was her second time, but the impression was completely different. The first time, she hadn't even recognized that this was a home.
"...The dining area, right?"
Right after entering, there was a dining area. She only thought so because there were tables and chairs lined up.
"Rei always suffered in this place. I didn't really understand the circumstances, and I wondered why he would eat, knowing it would make him suffer."
For Kai, for whom the habit of taking meals was almost non-existent, Rei's actions were incomprehensible.
"...He was eating poison, wasn't he?"
"For Rei, yes. Still, it's better than eating nothing, right?"
"Because you'll die if you eat nothing."
That didn't mean you could survive just by eating anything.
"Next to this is the room for me and Kara. Do you know Kara?"
"...Yes. Though I didn't know her name."
She knew there had been a little girl. Her recognition at the time was that there was a young member of the Demon Race.
"Could it be that you were the one who killed Kara?"
"...It can't be helped if you think so. It's a fact that I attacked."
The one who delivered the finishing blow was a knight. But even if she said that, it would only sound like an excuse. Akemi herself thought it was an excuse.
"This isn't about a grudge or anything like that... though you probably won't believe me. Why did you direct magic at Kara, who was still a child?"
Regardless of whether they were family, Kai wondered about this. Why could she attack women and children without hesitation? He knew she thought the Demon Race were evil, but he still thought she would hesitate against a child.
"...Hinata was angry. She was shouting that killing a child was wrong."
"And you?"
"...I was angry at her for that."
"Why?"
"We were summoned to this world to kill the Demon Race. Fulfilling that responsibility is our mission. That's why... even though I was hardening my heart to fulfill that duty, she was trying to be the only 'good girl'."
It wasn't that she felt absolutely nothing. If they let them go just because they were small, they would become a threat later. Akemi herself hadn't thought about it so concretely, but those around her believed so and wanted them killed.
"...Duty, huh. So you have a strong sense of responsibility."
His family was killed because of that sense of responsibility. He couldn't accept that as a reason.
"I think this will sound like an excuse too, but I'll tell you. We had no other choice. If we said we hated slaying the Demon Race, would the Laurel Kingdom have permitted it?"
Even if it sounded like an excuse, if she wanted to give the answer Kai sought, she had no choice but to speak her mind. That's what Akemi thought.
"...Well, I can understand that intellectually."
They would never permit it. Even if they did, the best-case scenario would be that all the treatment given to her as a Hero would be stripped away and she would be cast out. Kai understood that too.
"I don't want to die. Therefore, I kill. If you remove all the unnecessary words, that's what it is."
"...Still, you regret it now. Why?"
She spoke as if she had killed because she was cornered. If that were the case, she shouldn't truly regret it. But Kai felt that Akemi was different.
"I killed people who didn't need to be killed. Moreover, I killed them in ways that made them suffer on purpose. Before I knew it, far from hesitating to kill, I had come to enjoy it. There is no excuse for this. I am complete evil."
"I see... I understand a little. But my feelings still won't accept it."
No matter how much he heard Akemi's circumstances, he still couldn't forgive her. Kai thought this feeling would probably never disappear.
"...I imagine so."
"Now, further in is Rui's room. Beyond that is Rei's room."
The tour of the house wasn't over yet. Kai decided to continue. Moving a bit further in was Rui's room. There was also the room of his mother, Kamiira, but it was hardly ever used. Kamiira always slept in Kai and Kara's room. And beyond that was...
"This is Rei's room. There are iron bars, but he could enter and leave freely. It's just that only this room was open."
"...Rei was here."
A room that looked like nothing more than a cell. She couldn't imagine Rei's life at all.
"I think you know, but Rei killed our mother in this room. This is also the place where our mother died."
"............"
Akemi crouched on the spot and pressed her hands together. She couldn't think of any other action.
"I'll say this much. Your choice was correct. No matter what, I wanted my mother and sister to stay alive. That's how I feel."
Kamiira chose death before being captured. Rui was captured, put through terrible things, and desired death. Kai believed those were wrong choices. As a son, as a younger brother, he wanted them to have lived.
"Didn't you resent Rei?"
"...Rei wounded his own heart to fulfill our mother's and sister's wishes. I couldn't resent a Rei like that. I didn't think that would make Rei suffer."
Kai also knew Rei's feelings. Still, he couldn't resent Rei. He couldn't blame him.
"Further in is a watering hole. It's actually my recommended spot. Strangely, it makes you feel calm."
"I see..."
Akemi also knew of the existence of that watering hole. There was another room even further beyond, and Kara had been there. Unfortunately, her own feelings would not be calmed. Thinking this, Akemi followed Kai further inside.
"If you'd like, please take a bath."
"Eh?"
"I don't mean it in a weird way. It's because you feel calm when you take a bath."
It felt as if the impurities of the heart, not the body, were being washed away. The women they had protected, and Kai himself, had experienced it several times.
"I see... Hey, can I say something strange?"
"Go ahead."
"What would you do if I asked you to make me your woman... no, your slave?"
"Huh?"
He had been told it would be something strange, but even so, this was unexpected for Kai.
"A fake arrangement is fine. It's also fine if it's real. Anyway, just make it so that I am your slave."
"...Could it be for Rei's sake?"
"Rather than for Rei's sake... I thought he might believe me."
She is a person on the Demon Race's side. Akemi wanted Rei to think that.
"For that purpose, to be the slave of someone you don't even like... Even so, you should just ask Rei for that kind of thing."
"He won't accept it. He doesn't trust me."
To gain that trust, she was trying to become Kai's possession.
"...And will you be happy with that?"
"I don't care about myself. Will you accept me?"
"...If it were further back, there might have been slavery. But although the grudge hasn't disappeared, I've come to understand you."
"...I see."
She had thought she wouldn't be accepted. Kai was similar to Rei. That's exactly why she felt like trying to say it. Even if it were as atonement, repeating the days of violation in the royal capital would be too painful. She felt that with Kai, that wouldn't happen.
"Also... Rei wouldn't be happy about a woman throwing her body away for her own sake."
"At this point, I..."
She didn't feel that her body was being defiled. She considered herself already as defiled as one could be.
"That feeling too. You're rushing a bit too much. I know what Rei said to you. But that doesn't mean what you think it means."
"It means 'do as you please,' right?"
She felt that was a way of pushing her away. She was not needed. She had been made to realize that.
"That's why you should do as you please. If you want to be by his side, just stay there. Rei won't reject that. You still don't understand Rei. 'Do as you please' isn't a rejection; it's acceptance. It means you're permitted."
"Permitted?"
"I'm sure the Rei from the original world and the current Rei are different, right? Rei won't even permit someone just to be by his side, depending on the person. You've been given the opportunity to have yourself known more deeply."
"...What about Hinata?"
Indeed, in the original world, Akemi would meet when she wanted to meet and talk when she wanted to talk. If, as Kai said, the current Rei didn't easily permit that, she wondered about Hinata. Hinata was also allowed to be by Rei's side, though Akemi didn't know if it was by Hinata's own will.
"As I thought, you're worried about her."
"That's... inevitable."
Even if her evaluation of Hinata had dropped significantly, the fact that she was evaluating her meant she was conscious of her.
"She isn't by Rei's side. She's just by Cecil-san's side."
"That's a bit forced."
"Then why isn't she here? Rei hasn't let her accompany him to the battlefield. It's because he doesn't trust her, specifically."
Hinata had been left at the garrison. Since Hinata had no power to fight, Akemi had thought that was natural, but Kai gave a different reason. If that were true, Akemi felt her heart lighten a little.
"Comparing you to her, you are undoubtedly superior. There's even a possibility that you've become an existence that Rei should protect."
"Me?"
That couldn't be. Akemi didn't remember doing anything to earn that much of Rei's trust.
"Rei regrets hurting you. Even if he were to take revenge, he thinks there must have been other ways. Don't you think he told you to think because he doesn't want to hurt you any further?"
"That's..."
Rei had said that it was her own fault she had been put through terrible things by Neil and the others. At the time, Akemi had been terribly shaken, but thinking about it calmly later, she knew that not all the responsibility lay with Rei.
"This is just something I'm thinking on my own, though."
"...Can I depend on you a little more? What do you think I should do?"
Her desire to fight with everyone had grown stronger. However, she didn't yet have the confidence to kill people. She thought Rei wouldn't acknowledge her if she were like that.
"Do your best with what you can do. That's what 'doing your best' means, right?"
"'Doing your best' means that, huh..."
Everyone's abilities are different. It's not that you must be able to do this, but doing what you can to the limit of your ability is what it means to 'do your best.' Akemi understood Kai's words to mean this.
"Why not try doing your best?"
"I suppose... even without the bath, my feelings might have cleared up?"
"Really? But a bath is a bath. Since you can't come here often, why not experience it?"
"I understand. I'll do that."
"Then, I'll wait in the entrance room."
Since Akemi decided to take a bath, Kai decided to leave the area. Kai had no hobby of peeping.
"...Wow. Even if they aren't blood-related, they really are brothers. Kai-kun is a good man too."
Akemi decided to experience the recommendation of that good man. As a result, she ended up being grateful to Kai. Both her heart and body were washed. Through just a bath, she was able to experience what she had thought was an exaggeration. The resumption of the battle was near. What could she do at that time? She didn't know yet, but as Kai said, Akemi thought she would try 'doing her best.'