I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse: Volume 11

by Namekojirushi

  “Ai?”

  “Rekka!”

  The one who jumped in through the window was a rather panicked Ai, the nekomata I knew from my childhood who lived in the mountains. She would stop by sometimes for a visit while she was in town, but I could tell from the tone in her voice that something wasn’t right.

  “What happened?”

  “I-It’s terrible, meow!” Ai practically shouted as she grabbed the sleeve of my shirt. “My friends are being attacked by a girl in weird clothes, meow!”

  ▽

  From my house, Ai dragged me by the arm to the mountain behind school.

  “What happened this time? Why are you being attacked again? Didn’t you resolve things with the local yokai, like... just the other day?” I asked.

  “They’re being attacked, too! A strange girl wearing strange clothes suddenly showed up and started attacking us out of nowhere, meow!”

  “A girl in strange clothes...?”

  Now, what would a yokai like Ai consider to be strange clothing? I pondered that in the back of my mind as we hurried up the mountain trail. And then...

  “?!”

  When we arrived on the scene, the first thing that caught my attention was the sight of yokai being tossed this way and that through the air.

  “Eeeeek!”

  “Heeelp!”

  A floating head was spinning around in circles as an umbrella with a leg screamed for its life. Ai’s nekomata friends were also scurrying about, trying to escape the cause of all the ruckus. In the middle of everything stood...

  “...Yulia?” I murmured her name in a daze.

  The girl dressed in a nun’s robes—which Ai had probably called strange because they were extremely uncommon around here—reacted to my voice and slowly turned my way.

  “Oh, my... Rekka? Why are you out so late? And in a place like this, no less?”

  Yulia greeted me with the same gentle smile she had when we stopped by the church earlier. But the giant battle-axe she was holding looked like it was grinning, too.

  “What are you doing?”

  I mean, it was probably exactly what it looked like... But I still had to ask.

  “Goodness... Whatever should I do?” Yulia mumbled, placing a hand pensively against her cheek.

  My sudden appearance here was probably quite a surprise for her. She was acting rather calm, but judging by the way she was tapping the end of her axe handle against the ground, she must have been in something of an anxious fluster. But, honestly, I was too. Why the heck was a nun attacking yokai like this? Pondering that, the conversation I’d had with Rosalind earlier came to mind.

  “Hey, uh, Yulia... Might you be an exorcist?”

  “Bwuh?! W-Was it that obvious?” Yulia spluttered, swinging her axe in a panic. It startled the yokai around her, and they backed even further away. “Um, Rekka... I’m sorry to ask, but could you please keep that to yourself? It’s... meant to be a secret.”

  “Really? ’Cause...”

  “Please?”

  She was begging me, practically on the verge of tears.

  “Yeah, I mean, sure. If that’s what you want, then I won’t tell anyone else, but...”

  “Ah, thank you so much!” Yulia nearly shouted in earnest relief.

  To her, the terrible spectacle that was currently happening—rather, the terrible spectacle she was currently causing—wasn’t as big of a deal as the secrecy of her identity. But as far as I was concerned, there was something far more pressing to address at the moment. And the clear difference in our priorities right now made me a little uneasy. No, make that real uneasy.

  “So... the whole transferring here as a nun thing was just a ruse, and you’re really here as an exorcist to exterminate the yokai?”

  “That’s the gist of it, yes,” she agreed readily with a nod. “Although I really did transfer here as a nun.”

  A chill ran down my spine. I could tell from the look on her face and her tone of voice that she wasn’t joking.

  “Now, why are you here, Rekka? You don’t seem very surprised to see all these nonhuman creatures surrounding us. Why is that?”

  “...You could say they’re acquaintances,” I answered briefly, trying to find the right words to get her to stop all this. “Yulia. Please, could you stop attacking these yokai?”

  “Oh? Whatever for?” Yulia lowered her axe and tilted her head in a look of pure confusion that told me she truly didn’t understand what I was asking her to do.

  “Well, these guys aren’t actually bad yokai. Honestly, what have they even done? What could they even do? They’re just taking life one day at a time. They’re way too concerned about themselves to be bothering anyone else.”

  “Rekka... That’s mean, meow.”

  Ai’s ears drooped sadly, but I could apologize to her later. My highest priority right now was getting Yulia to back down.

  “Hmm... I’m sorry, Rekka, but I can’t just turn a blind eye to them.”

  “Wh-Why not? Don’t exorcists hunt demons and ghosts and stuff because they terrorize humans? So if they haven’t done anything wrong, then there shouldn’t be a need to exorcise them, right?”

  “That’s incorrect. The reason exorcists hunt the supernatural is because their very existences shun the love of God,” Yulia answered without any hesitation.

  She then swung her axe in demonstration, the blade slicing right through the twilight air. All of the yokai who had been watching things unfold tensed at the sight.

  “As such, it is my duty as an exorcist to slaughter the supernatural. All of them. There are no exceptions.”

  “Meow?!”

  Yulia then pointed her axe at her next target—Ai, who stood bolt upright at being singled out.

  “...!”

  I jumped between the two of them without even thinking. And that was nearly the end of me. I thought Yulia’s axe was going to split me right in two... but it stopped just before it reached my face.

  “Rekka? Why are you getting in my way?” Yulia asked curiously, axe still held at the ready.

  “I’m begging you, please stop. You can’t kill them all just because they’re not human. That isn’t a good enough reason.”

  “...Are you taking their side, Rekka?” Yulia asked, narrowing her eyes and swinging her axe upward.

  “Stop i—gwah!”

  My eyes instinctively followed the axe head, which distracted me from Yulia’s next move. She unleashed a roundhouse kick aimed right at my blind spot. I went flying.

  “And here I thought you were a good person... What a shame. But as I said before, I cannot overlook the supernatural. So kindly stay out of my way.”

  “No, Yulia! Stop!”

  I sprung to my feet and ran towards her. I would throw myself at her if that’s what it took... but I wasn’t going to make it in time!

  “...!”

  Before the imminently approaching axe, Ai squeezed her eyes shut and ducked her head. But then...

  Wha-chink!

  The shrill sound of metal hitting something hard rang through the air—Yulia’s large axe had been stopped by a wooden sword.

  “President Momone?!”

  “Hey, problem child. You really must love sticking your nose into trouble like this, huh?”

  The faintly glowing wooden sword was only barely holding back the large axe, but the One-Eyed Student Council President greeted me rather casually. I wasn’t sure where she’d shown up from, but she was dressed in a shrine maiden’s outfit. Her usual wooden sword was aglow, probably with the same technique she’d used to beat up the yokai over summer break. But for her to be able to fend off a giant, heavy axe with that...!

  “Hmph!”

  Realizing she wasn’t going to win in a contest of strength, Yulia relented and took a step back.

  “And what are you?” Yulia asked, eyeing President Momone with a wary look.

  But President Momone didn’t seem intimidated. The opposite, really. She rested her sword against her shoulder w
ith one hand and flipped up her eye patch with the other to reveal her glowing right eye.

  “The yokai under the protection of our shrine contacted me, you see.”

  “Under protection? Nonhumans?” Yulia furrowed her brow with a suspicious look.

  “From what I can see, you’re not some stray, but an agent of the church, no? If so, then I’m guessing you’ve heard of the Demonslayer of Kibi Shrine before, haven’t you?” President Momone inquired after seeing how stumped Yulia was.

  “Oh, my... So, you’re the famous Demonslaying Ogre Killer?”

  “Nope, that’s my grandfather. I’m only his successor. The real deal is a lot scarier,” President Momone said with a menacing laugh. “I’m sure the churches of the West probably have a different way of doing things, but as they say... When in Rome, do as the Romans do. You follow? We’re not going to just sit idly by and let you do as you please on territory under our jurisdiction.”

  Despite President Momone’s light tone of voice, the sharp glare in her eyes was no joke. Me and all the other yokai present nervously awaited Yulia’s response. Eventually, she let out a sigh and lowered her weapon.

  “Then I suppose I must oblige... While it pains me to be unable to fulfill my duty, I can see this isn’t worth causing unnecessary trouble. In regards to those present here, I will follow the proper procedures in dealing with them.”

  It seemed like she was willing to defer to President Momone—or, really, President Momone’s grandfather. But it also sounded like she still hadn’t completely given up yet.

  “Now, just to make sure, the yokai under the protection of the Ogre Killer are limited to those present here—is that correct? There are no others?”

  “Hm...?”

  At Yulia’s question, President Momone looked around until her eyes fell on a tanuki peering out at us from the shadow of a tree.

  “Pon, is everyone from your group accounted for?”

  “Huh? Oh, ah, h-hang on a sec...” Pon, the tanuki leader of the local yokai, started a headcount. “Yup, everyone’s here.”

  “How about you, nekomata?” President Momone asked, turning to Ai.

  “Let me see, meow...” Ai mumbled before running over to her friends. She returned a few minutes later, slightly out of breath. “We’re all good, meow. The whole kitten catboodle’s here.”

  “All right,” President Momone said with a nod before turning back to Yulia. “Then yes, all of the yokai under our protection are present here.”

  “I see... Very well, then. I shall stand down here,” Yulia said, lowering the head of her axe to the ground as she turned to walk away.

  “The original mission I received from the church was for something else, anyway,” she muttered as she walked past me, just before she disappeared into the dark of night.

  “Whew...”

  Suddenly overcome with exhaustion, I dropped to the ground and sat down on the spot. The sticky situation had been resolved thanks to President Momone... but it got really tense for a moment there.

  “Thanks a bunch, President Momone. You’re a lifesaver.”

  “It’s no problem at all. Now you owe me three favors.”

  “Urk...”

  It was starting to feel like she was in the market for me owing her favors... The thought of having to repay her one day was kind of scary.

  “But that nun sure withdrew easily.”

  “Huh? Wasn’t that because you name-dropped your grandfather?”

  “Maybe, but something doesn’t feel right.”

  “...”

  Now that she mentioned it, Yulia had crossed an ocean to come to this town specifically. She said it was true she’d been transferred here as a nun, but she didn’t deny she was also working as an exorcist. And if she wasn’t really after the local harmless gaggle of yokai, then who was she after? A target worth a trip all the way to Japan...

  “Oh...”

  Something suddenly clicked into place in my mind. It was only a theory, but there was a possibility... I knew at least one big target an exorcist might be after who was living right here in this very town.

  The vampire Rosalind.

  ▽

  “Hahh... Hahh...”

  Leaving Ai and the other yokai to President Momone, I took off running down the mountain path. My destination was Rosalind’s mansion. I had no idea what kind of transportation Yulia was using, so I hurried as fast as I could.

  Vampires were particularly detested in the West. Rosalind had said herself that she was practically a fugitive there. Her story there had ended with her getting sunk to the bottom of the ocean a hundred years ago, but if the church had somehow found out she was back, then...

  Of course, it was also possible I was just being paranoid. There was no guarantee that the “original mission” Yulia had mentioned was to eliminate Rosalind. I didn’t even know which way Yulia had gone after leaving the mountain. Perhaps she didn’t even know Rosalind was living here. But whatever the odds were, I just couldn’t shake the sinking feeling I had. Letting that fuel me, I ran until my breath was ragged and then some.

  “Hey, Rekka, how about joining the track team and building some stamina sometime? Just a thought that crossed my mind.”

  “Shut... up...!”

  I didn’t want to hear that from someone who just leisurely floated through the air all the time! Except... she was kind of right. I had to think about what building my stamina would do for me as I bent over and leaned my weight on my knees to catch my breath.

  “Hahh... Hahh...”

  After gulping down a few deep breaths of air, I looked up at the sloped road before me. Rosalind’s mansion was just at the top of this hill.

  “Time to go...!”

  I broke into a sprint once more, R tagging along like a caboose as usual. About halfway up the hill, I could see the red roof of the mansion come into view... along with Yulia and Rosalind fighting out front!

  “Rosalind! Yulia!”

  “Rekka?”

  Rosalind looked over when I called out to her, her arms crossed. And Yulia didn’t waste that opportunity. Without a moment’s notice, her axe cut through the air with a whooshing sound.

  “...Hmph!”

  However, Rosalind simply scoffed and transformed into countless bats to avoid the attack. The swarm flew straight past Yulia, putting a good deal of distance between them before turning back into a blonde vampire.

  “The holy weapon I prepared doesn’t seem to be making contact...” Yulia muttered flatly.

  “I’m used to being attacked by your lot. And I must say, there’s nothing more irritating.”

  “If running away is too much trouble, why don’t you let me put you out of your unholy misery right here and now?”

  “I don’t consider myself benevolent or upright by any means, but being so denounced is quite infuriating. And, I’ll have you know, I’ve never once run from the likes of you.” Rosalind narrowed her eyes, spreading her arms wide in a provoking challenge. “I will take you out just like the countless rabble that came before you.”

  “What a talkative bat...” Yulia readjusted her grip on her axe, the tension between them mounting ever higher.

  So... what was I supposed to do now? I hadn’t known Yulia for more than a few days, but I certainly couldn’t stand by and just watch her pick a deathmatch with Rosalind. There had to be a peaceful way to settle this.

  “Yulia! Stop it!”

  Finally, Yulia looked my way.

  “You again, Rekka? I was surprised to see you earlier, but for this to happen twice in a row... Don’t tell me you’re going to stand up for this vampire, too.”

  “Yeah, that’s exactly right.”

  Yulia fell silent for a moment before the look in her eyes hardened.

  “How frightening indeed... So this is the charm power that vampires use to control people. And poor Rekka has already become a thrall of this vampire...”

  “Wh-What? No!”

  While it was true I had been
the victim of Rosalind’s charm before... multiple times... I wasn’t just some mindless puppet like Yulia was imagining. I tried to tell her that, but she seemed convinced already. She ignored me and turned back to what she deemed to be the real threat—Rosalind—with a furious look in her eyes.

  “As a servant of God, I will never forgive you demons that wreak havoc on humanity! In the name of the Lord, I will cut you down where you stand!”

  “Ha! I’d like to see you try!”

  Rosalind snorted, then made to leap at Yulia when...

  “Please wait a minute.”

  A silver-haired maid calmly walked between them.

  “Suzuran...?!”

  Yulia’s surprise upon seeing me was nothing compared to the moment Suzuran appeared. Her eyes widened in shock, and her face looked like it had frozen over.

  “What is it, Suzuran? This woman here is my guest. Did I not tell you and the others to wait inside the house until I was done conducting my business with her?”

  It seemed like Rosalind had been trying to keep her maids from getting tangled up with the people who were inevitably coming after her. However, Suzuran had disobeyed her orders and come to her aid anyway.

  “Mistress, would you please allow me some time to speak with Miss Yulia?”

  “I told you not to address the likes of her so politely... but fine.”

  Seeing Suzuran bow so humbly, Rosalind had no choice but to grant her request, however reluctant she might be to do so. After giving Rosalind a word of gratitude, Suzuran turned around and faced Yulia.

  “Miss Yulia.”

  “...”

  Yulia flinched and braced herself reflexively. But rather than looking like she was preparing to go on the offensive or defensive, she just looked uncertain. Meanwhile, Suzuran bowed her head.

  “Miss Rosalind is my mistress. I serve as her maid. So, please, won’t you lower your sword—or, as the case may be, your axe?”

  “This can’t be... Not you too, Suzuran...”

  Yulia groaned with an expression several times more aggrieved than how she’d looked at me earlier. I suppose the shock must have been even greater to think that something had happened to a close friend.