kscans

Chapter 133 - A Reason to Live

Just Aira-san and I, exploring the room with flaming pieces of the door in hand.

"The classic move in a sealed room like this is that one of the shelves on the wall slides away to reveal a passage."

"The kind you see all the time in manga and movies, right?"

"Indeed. Usually, it involves pulling a specific book or turning the heads of statues in a certain order, but..."

"That's too much work. Let's just move all the shelves."

"So uncivilized... though I suppose we're not in a position to complain."

Aira-san chuckled wryly and looked at the wall we'd come through.

The boulder's impact had severely warped the stone wall, creating fissures all over it. They were gradually spreading, and it was only a matter of time before cracks covered the entire room. If we stayed here, we'd be buried alive.

If only Erina-san were here. She could have marked random spots in the dungeon as we went, and if we hit a trap, she could just teleport us past it.

Actually, based on what I heard over the telepathy link, that's exactly how they were proceeding. With Busujima-san and the others there, she said they were exploring with safety as their top priority. It meant they were moving slower, but safety had to come first.

But I digress. I grabbed the edge of a shelf attached to the wall, but it crumbled in my hand.

In that case... I drew the sword I had just sheathed.

"Wait, Kyou-chan-kun. There might be explosives. I'll use [Appraisal] first."

"Got it. Please do."

I took a step back and let Aira-san examine the shelf's contents.

Her eyes scanned it quickly, and she soon gave a small nod.

"Nothing particularly dangerous. It's not my specialty, so I can't be sure, but they're likely magical catalysts and materials for magical tools. The rest seem to be work logs. Ah, if only we weren't in this situation, I'd take the whole lot back with me...! If only Erina-kun or Baba-sama were here, we could have stuffed as much as possible into an [Item Box]...!"

"You'll have to give up this time."

"I suppose I have no choice. Ah, what a waste..."

Aira-san stepped away from the shelf, looking like she was about to cry. I felt the same way—I wanted to haul everything on that shelf back with us.

Not as research material, but because it'd be worth a lot of money.

The wicked thought of taking just one or two things crossed my mind, but I knew that if I started, I'd want to take everything.

It was better to just blow it all away with a clean cut.

"Here I go. Please move to the opposite side of the room."

I wrapped my blade in wind and swung it in an upward diagonal slash. The ancient shelf was obliterated in a single strike, and the items arranged on it scattered across the floor.

The stone wall was now exposed. I had Aira-san look at it, but she just shook her head. That wasn't it.

So, I repeated the process, blowing away the next shelf. I had her look at the wall again, and this time, she nodded.

The moment Aira-san touched the wall, a clunk sound echoed as that section pushed inward.

Then, with a rattling sound like chains being unwound, a portion of the wall large enough for one person to pass through slid deeper into the stone.

It then slid further to the side, revealing a long, dark passage.

"Well then, let's go."

"Hold on a moment."

With that, Aira-san picked up a few unburnt pieces of the door and approached the final shelf.

"I'd like to make a torch if possible. I believe there was oil on this shelf, so I'll use that. You gather some cloth."

"Understood."

I glanced at the cracks spreading across the wall and confirmed we still had some time. I collected some usable cloth from the wreckage of the shelves scattered on the floor.

When I looked over at Aira-san, she had dismissed her [Arcane Gear]. From her pocket, she pulled out a palm-sized bundle of wire.

"I'm surprised you had something like that on you."

"Oh, it's for no great reason. I was just planning on using fake blood to play dead and then use this wire to pull off a locked-room mystery trick. I thought it would be a riot."

"That's really not a great reason."

"Incidentally, it was a pain to prepare the fake blood, so I was going to use ketchup, but Baba-sama got genuinely angry with me, and the plan was shelved."

"Well, yeah."

What is wrong with this woman?

Still, thanks to her not wasting food, it looked like we were getting a torch.

She wrapped the rags around a piece of wood and secured them with wire. Then, she applied a little oil.

"It's a good thing the oil container itself is a magic tool. It should still be usable. Now then, I believe it was dangerous to apply too much oil... if I recall correctly."

"You seem pretty skilled at this. Did someone teach you?" I asked, suddenly curious as she cut the wire to a suitable length with a knife.

For a moment, Aira-san stopped working.

"...A long time ago. Before my parents divorced. My mother taught me when we went camping as a family."

"...Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

She continued making the torch, her expression flat.

"As I recall, I was influenced by a game and said I wanted to make a torch... 'Mia's father' told me to stop, that it was dangerous, but my mother encouraged me, saying everything is an experience."

"..."

"Apparently, she used to dream of sailing the seas on a grand adventure. She said she had Jiji-sama and Baba-sama enroll her in the Boy Scouts when she was young so she could survive even if she was stranded on a deserted island."

I suddenly remembered what Eric had said.

'I was the one who stole my sister-in-law's dream.'

...I can still say with certainty that it wasn't his fault.

But a heavy, indescribable feeling smoldered in my chest. It would have been so much easier if I could have just thought of Aira-san's mother as a simple good-for-nothing.

"I've rambled on about something boring. Let's continue our search."

"...Right."

"Sana-kun. It might be a little cramped, but please bear with it, okay?"

Aira-san stuck a few spare torches into Sana's birdcage and held one in her right hand.

I held my left hand up to the torch she pointed at me and lit it. We now had another source of light.

"Let's go."

"Yes. I'm counting on you."

We started walking, relying on the flame wreathing my blade and the light of the torch.

It should have been less reliable than the LED lights we usually use for exploring, but strangely, I felt a greater sense of security. Our shadows danced in time with the flickering flames.

But I couldn't get our previous conversation out of my head.

While telling myself it wasn't something I should be thinking about right now, a certain 'prediction' spurred my mouth to move.

"Um, Aira-san."

"What is it?"

"...Do you still... about your mother... I mean... do you still love her?"

What am I asking at a time like this?

I wanted to berate myself, but I couldn't focus while agonizing over it.

More importantly, it would be a problem if my 'prediction' was correct. I needed to get a clear answer.

"Who knows. I suppose 'uninterested' would be the most appropriate term. She was a trivial person, not worth consuming any of my memory."

"Even though you remembered the camping trip?"

"...What are you trying to say?"

I could feel her gaze sharpen from behind me.

"I'll ask you directly. Are you..."

I hesitated for a brief moment.

But it was precisely because we were in this death trap that I had to ask.

"Do you like yourself?"

"..."

The reason I felt I had to dissect her psyche in this emergency...

...was because the prediction that 'Aira-san would sacrifice herself if she deemed it necessary' had surfaced in my mind.

That despite having the strength of a middle school girl, she might make a reckless and foolish choice. That she might find a reason 'to be okay with dying.'

During the Cuelebre incident, she had accepted that we were coming to rescue her. But there was no guarantee it would be the same this time.

Even at my young age, I know that the human mind is surprisingly fragile. ...Or at least, I think I do.

In response to my question, she remained silent for several seconds, and then...

"...Hah! To think you'd ask such a thing! Is there anyone on this earth who could possibly dislike me, this century's greatest beauty? I, Aira-chan-sama, who is not only brilliant and stunningly beautiful but also possessed of a wonderful style and personality! Could it be that you're not very bright, Kyou-chan-kun?"

She rattled off the words in her usual high-tension, rapid-fire manner.

But she couldn't hide the thorns protruding from the edges of her words. In fact, by the end, she was openly trying to stab me with them.

That part of it was 'unlike' her usual self.

"...You know, I actually like you quite a bit."

"Hah? A love confession, here of all places? Give me a break. You know, the suspension bridge effect is..."

"Ah, that's not what I meant. My apologies."

"My maiden heart has just been grievously wounded."

It's true that Aira-san is attractive and, all things considered, fun to be around.

But right now, I didn't mean it in a romantic sense.

"'If you were to follow your mother, there are people who would be sad.' Just don't forget that. It's not just me. Erina-san, Mia-san, the Professor..."

"..."

On the beach, Aira-san had said something like, 'No one gains anything from someone like me joining the circle.'

For her, it must have been a moment of weakness. It was a strange remark, but when I recalled her usual behavior, it actually made perfect sense.

_Aira-san can only speak properly with family or with people she can clearly look down on._

She had no problem talking to me from our very first meeting, as I was younger and my social awkwardness was on full display.

However, I remembered how terribly she'd acted around Yamashita-san's party and Busujima-san's group.

And that was what was strange.

It's true they were physically stronger than Aira-san, but in every other aspect, she was fundamentally superior. Academics, lineage, wealth, connections. Even as an Awakened Person, the utility of her skills.

I don't like to rank people like this, but objectively speaking, that should be correct.

And yet, she couldn't speak to them properly. This meant she considered them her equals, or even her superiors.

Fundamentally, Aira-san underestimates herself.

To keep others from noticing, she normally praises herself to an extent that could be called overconfidence.

...Probably to keep Professor Arisugawa from worrying. To make her believe that her granddaughter wouldn't follow her daughter and commit suicide.

"...You think that I, as a person, hate myself, don't you?"

"...Yes."

"...Is that so? Well, I won't deny it. I'm not in the mood for an argument in a place like this. Fine, if that's what you want, I'll tell you the truth."

Even without turning around, I could tell Aira-san was scowling.

"I'm a woman who clings to the past. Do you know what my mother's last words were to Mia and me?"

"...I heard from Mia-san that she said she'd take you because you were more like her and more capable."

"That's right. But you see, no matter how foolish a path she chose, she wasn't so stupid that she couldn't sense the 'misfortune of being taken in by them.' It would have been better if she'd been that brainless."

As our footsteps echoed through the passage, her voice, strangely, reached my ears clearly.

"That woman tried to protect Mia. A poor girl abandoned by her mother. That way, 'Miyoshi-san' would treat her as a victim. Not as the child of a stupid adulteress, but as a pitiful child."

"..."

"Mia may have thought that I was the one who was loved more, but... it's the opposite. She was the one Mom loved. The one she treasured. It's unclear if she had calculated that I would be taken in by Baba-sama... but if so, it means she chose to be with that man rather than breaking up with her lover and coming with me to Baba-sama's place!"

Aira-san's words grew heated.

The warm light of the torch now felt somehow dim.

"After Mia. After the man. What number am I? How much am I loved? And the words that came from those scraps of affection were, 'You should kill yourself too'? Hah! I'm not even a number. I was never loved in the first place. There's no ranking. I was off the charts."

Aira-san laughed. A scoff. A jeer.

"After being treated like that, I still can't 'hate' her. My mother hasn't disappeared from inside me! It's absolutely sickening! Truly, truly..."

Her harsh tone deflated.

"I'll admit it. I hate myself, as a person. Enough to wish I were dead."

"But you still want to live, don't you?"

We'd only known each other for a few months, but I felt we'd had a pretty intense friendship.

That's why I was certain that if this person truly directed 100% of her murderous intent at herself, she would have acted on it long ago.

A painful death would be scary. Knowing her, she would have found a way to procure a drug that would let her die in her sleep.

"...I love Baba-sama's cooking. I love games, manga, anime, alcohol, Erina-kun, Mia, and you. There are too many things I 'still want to enjoy.' I can't help but cling to them. The desire to die and the desire to live exist at the same time."

Those words, which sounded as if they were being squeezed out of her, as if she were spitting them out.

They were surely her true feelings. I was a little surprised to be included in her list of reasons not to die, but it also made me happy, and I gave a wry smile at my own inappropriateness.

But it seemed the bomb wasn't as big as I'd thought. Why is the Arisugawa clan so full of landmines?

"Then live."

I stopped walking and turned my head to look back.

At her, with her unreadable, expressionless face, not her usual smug one.

I gave her a small smile.

"Everyone dies eventually. As long as you have reasons to live, don't you die on me. I still want to hang out and do stupid things with you, you know."

"...What a cliché line. I think I'm starting to dislike you."

"In that case, let me earn some easy affection points."

Looking ahead into the darkness, I could see the fluctuations of mana.

There were three of them. Those 'bull-men' were heading our way. I could gradually hear their footsteps.

"Stay back. Apparently, being protected by a member of the opposite sex raises your affection score."

"Oh? Treating me like a dating sim character, are you? I'll have you know my difficulty level is set to Lunatic."

"Nah, I have a feeling you're surprisingly easy to win over..."

"Tiro-lorn! Aira-chan's affection score has dropped!"

"Yeah, yeah, my bad."

I chuckled wryly and readied my sword.

Alright. I've put on a big show. --- I'll fight with the resolve not to let them lay a single finger on her.

And so, I felt the stone tiles beneath my feet.

'Hey, Kyou-chan. Senpai.'

A familiar voice came from my earring.

'Sorry. Um, I heard everything. That whole exchange.'

" "

" "

I didn't need to turn around to know. Right now, the both of us were staring blankly into space.

...Seriously?

'But you know! It was just like a protagonist and a heroine from a story! You know! Like one of those youthful moments!'

Don't try to comfort me. Please.

She heard it? All those things I said? The things that, looking back, I realize were incredibly cheesy?

Behind me, Aira-san was also taking damage. "I sounded like some kind of emotional wreck...!"

In an instant, both of us took heavy mental damage. Damn you, self-proclaimed ninja!

"Ugh..."

"VOOOOOOOH!"

"UOOOOHHHH!"

I forced my consciousness back to the three monsters charging towards me.

"DIE, YOU BASTARDS!!"

Turn shame into strength! Taking it out on them? No, this is self-defense!

Their roars must have served as a spell, as dozens of water bullets shot towards me.

These were different from a Kelpie's. Each one spun like a rifle bullet, packed with enough power to easily destroy a large truck on impact.

Dodging was not an option, as they would hit Aira-san.

In that case, I'll smash them all.

I unleashed the flame and wind wreathing my blade, releasing it straight ahead. A cavalier of fire scattered the water bullets, turning them into mere steam.

The bull-men were engulfed by the advancing flame, but they defended themselves by creating a membrane of water, holding their weapons in front of their faces to endure.

The enemy was unharmed. But I had robbed them of their sight.

With that, I gripped my sword at my hip and charged. I sliced off the arms of the central one, then cut it down with a diagonal slash.

It wasn't dead yet. I grabbed its neck with my left hand and used it as a shield, blocking the axe and hammer attacks from the remaining two on either side.

The head of the creature I was holding was crushed, but no one, not even the enemy, seemed to care. Faster than they could launch a second attack, I parried the weapon on my right with my sword. Then, I slammed what remained of the body with all my might into the right-hand bull-man. It went flying into the wall, along with the headless corpse.

Immediately, the left bull-man swung its hammer down from behind. I dodged with a horizontal spin, pivoting on one foot, and drove a slash into its neck, which was now in a perfect position.

Due to its toughness, I couldn't sever it in one blow. The blade bit halfway through, but the monster, no ordinary creature, grabbed the burning blade even as its neck was being gouged.

So, I pressed harder. The moment the blade was caught, I slammed my left fist into the guard of my sword. With the metallic clang of my gauntlet, the hand-and-a-half sword severed the bull-man's neck.

"GAAAH!"

The last one gripped its axe with both hands and charged.

I met it head-on, holding my sword with both hands, and then rotated the blade.

It was a technique from Western swordsmanship called a bind. An application of it.

Pivoting on our crossed blades, I flicked the tip of my sword up, slicing the bull-man's head diagonally. As it lost its balance, I drove my knee into it, then lopped off its head, which was now in a convenient position.

The three monsters tumbled to the floor and turned to salt. All that remained was a single, fist-sized coin glittering amidst the white powder.

I let out a small breath and glanced around to check for any other enemies.

Then I turned to face the silver-haired beauty watching me.

"So? Did my affection score go up at all?"

"...The whole thing was too awkward. It kind of ruined the cool factor, so it's a mixed bag."

"Aren't we both in the same awkward boat?"

"Excuse me? I am the lovely and pure Aira-chan-sama, am I not? I am cool, cute, and beautiful at all times, am I not? Unlike your mass-produced face, mine is one-of-a-kind and number one, am I not?"

My cheek twitched at the insufferable college student taunting me with that annoying look on her face.

I was trying so hard to keep her from doing something reckless and getting herself killed, but maybe I should just beat this idiot half to death myself.

"Alright, fine. When we get back, I'm going to make you cry. Prepare to be ganged up on by everyone in-game."

"Bring it on, you punk. If it's a fighting game, I'll take you all on and crush you."

"Oh, the genre is racing games."

"Hey, hey, hey, hey. Hey now. That's bullying! Not cool! I'm gonna cry!"

I continued onward, exchanging idiotic banter with this disappointing college student.

The light from the torch she held felt strangely warm.