by Aneko Yusagi
Even Ren wasn’t thick enough to take the bait without suspicion. Bitch had put on a real show, after all.
“You don’t know how mother really is. That woman used to be known as the fox of Melromarc. She set things up so that she could benefit from humiliating me. So that she could gain the trust of the fiendish Shield. And now the Spear has fallen for her deception as well.”
Bitch continued to press Ren. Her words left me completely speechless and shaking with anger.
“And I know who was controlling the Spirit Tortoise from the shadows. The Spirit Tortoise that killed your companions. It’s the same person that has snatched up the trust of the people of this world with his vile tactics. That’s right, it’s the Shield Demon!”
What the hell was this bitch saying? So everything was my fault now? She hadn’t changed one single bit. I was going to have her executed for sure this time.
“A . . . are you serious?! So that’s why it was so tough!”
Hey! Don’t tell me he actually believed her! Her whole spiel was riddled with holes! And then finally, Bitch embraced Ren and began to run her hand through his hair.
“Mr. Ren . . . I’m sure you’ve felt just terrible this whole time after losing your companions. It’s okay to cry now. Don’t worry. Even if the whole world insists you’re a criminal, I still believe in you, Mr. Ren. I believe you were fighting for the sake of the world.”
Bitch sure knew how to take advantage of someone in a weakened state. Wait a second . . . Was she stealing Raphtalia’s line? Oh, hell no! She was tainting a precious memory that belonged to me and Raphtalia! That was unforgivable! I was about to scream at Bitch, but just a split second before the words came out of my mouth . . .
“Hold on!”
Motoyasu yelled as he dashed toward them. His eyes were filled with anger and resentment. Could this have been an elaborate ploy to satisfy a cuckolding fetish? No, no, no . . .
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Spear.”
Bitch flipped her hair back and made an incredibly nasty face while slowly turning to glare at Motoyasu.
“What happened to you?” she asked.
“That’s what I want to ask! What in the world happened to you?! Why are you trying to win Ren over?! I’ve been searching for you!”
“Ha! I’m not so stupid as to rush into such a reckless attack. Listen to this, Mr. Ren.”
Bitch clung to Ren while pretending to sob.
“When things started looking bad, the Spear turned to us and demanded that we attract the Spirit Tortoise’s attention to give him time to run away. He tried to use us as a shield! But we were scared, so we ran. And then he tried to chase us down, saying that desertion in the face of the enemy was unforgivable.”
“Lies!”
My head was starting to hurt. Motoyasu’s expression reminded me of something. Well, duh. It was the exact same expression that had been on my face back then!
It was just more of the same from Bitch. She was trying to sink her fangs into a third hero now. Bitch had transcended the realm of bitchiness. Henceforth she would be known as Witch. She was the bitchiest of bitches, and on top of that she was as wicked as a witch.
Maybe I would just kill her and say she struggled. It would be the perfect way to get Motoyasu on my side! It didn’t matter how weak I was at the moment. I was sure I’d still be able to make quick work of Witch.
“Look, Mr. Ren! The Spear brought the Shield Demon with him! They’re conspiring together to capture you, Mr. Ren!”
Yeah, I’d made up my mind. I couldn’t imagine doing anything but killing her. But damn it! If only Raphtalia and Filo were here, I could choke the life out of that shitty woman without relying on Motoyasu!
“So that was your plan, Motoyasu? You’re as bad as Naofumi, if not worse. Anyone willing to betray the trust of another is a disgrace to humankind.”
“Ren! Whore is lying to you! You have to believe me!” Motoyasu pleaded.
“Why would anyone believe you?!” snapped Ren.
“Exactly! You forced yourself on us every single night . . . threatening to kill daddy if we didn’t comply! Continuing to call me ‘Whore’ is a testimonial to that fact!”
“Stop lying! I . . . I was really worried about you!”
“If you really cared about me, you would call me by my proper name!”
“I only called you that because I would be punished otherwise!”
I was tempted to continue enjoying Motoyasu’s misfortune, but I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Your ability to continue spouting off such blatant lies really is impressive, Witch.”
Witch raised her eyebrows. Her expression was clearly an attempt to appear unperturbed despite being faced with someone she despised. I knew because that’s exactly what I was doing, too.
“Sorry, but I’ve decided to kill you. Consider it punishment for trying to create discord among the heroes.”
She had gone this far. Surely even the queen would recognize that execution was the only choice. She could have just gone back to the castle without causing any more problems . . . Was causing discord among the heroes the only thing this woman knew how to do?! Upon hearing my words, Ren was the first to act.
“You stay away from Myne!”
Ren swung his sword. A clanging sound rang out and sparks flew as the sword struck my arm. Screams echoed throughout the tavern. A fight had just broken out between heroes, after all. The other patrons began to scatter and run for their lives.
“Come on, Ren. Think about it. Between me and Witch, which one of us can you actually trust?”
I had never told Ren a single lie as far as I could remember. I wasn’t trying to say that I was an honest person, but I’d pretty much never really tried to deceive him.
“Shut up! You stay away from Myne! Shooting Star Sword!”
Whoa, now! I wasn’t sure how strong Ren’s attacks were now, but Motoyasu was standing behind me. I couldn’t have him getting killed by a stray bullet. I held my shield out and stopped the attack. It looked like Motoyasu had readied himself to fight, too. This wasn’t how I’d hoped things would go, but I guess there was no other choice.
“Ren, you’re better off not trusting Witch. She’s exactly the kind of person the queen said she was.”
She was the kind of person who could falsely accuse someone without a second thought and then enjoy watching them suffer. I had no doubt that she would deceive Ren and toss him aside before long, too. Just like she had done with Motoyasu!
“Take a good look at Motoyasu. Is that not a pathetic face? Do you honestly believe that’s the face of someone who did the things she’s accusing him of?”
“Stop it! I heard about how he’s being deceived by the queen! You and the queen are the root of all of this evil, Naofumi!”
“You realize the source of that information is a single person, right?”
“I don’t care! I’m going to fight for the person that believes in me!”
“Calm down. The Ren I know would understand if he stopped to think for just a moment. Besides, I believed in you, too.”
I refrained from saying what I actually wanted to tell Ren. It may not have seemed like it, but I was trying to compromise here.
“Shut up!”
Yeah . . . This wasn’t going to work. He seriously believed he was doing the right thing. It’s not that I had no idea how he felt. In the very beginning, even if something seemed strange, I just ignored it and kept telling myself to have faith. And right now, Ren was much more emotionally unstable than I was back then. Witch had told him what he wanted to hear, so he wanted to believe her.
All said and done, he’d just chosen to believe the attractive woman instead of the guy.
“It was you, after all! You caused all of this! The death of my companions and my being persecuted now . . . It’s all your fault, Naofumi!”
What the . . . And then I heard it. Pop! I literally heard myself snap. It’s just too bad that Raphtalia hadn’t b
een there. If she had, I might have been able to retain some sense of composure.
“Oh, is that right? If that’s how you want to play it, then let me tell you how it really is. Blaming it all on someone else sure makes things easier, right? So your companions died, huh? Well yeah, that’s what you get for continuing to treat all of this like a game. Your attack on the Spirit Tortoise was reckless. If you want to resent somebody, then resent yourself for murdering your own companions.”
“What?!”
Ren shouted back at me with a fierce look of anger on his face. I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t bring myself to have any compassion for a fool that only believed what was convenient for himself, especially when it was this outrageous.
“What? It’s not your fault? Your companions genuinely trusted you and followed you to their deaths, and that’s all you can say? You not only fail as a hero. You fail as a human being.”
At least he could have tried to make it sound good by saying it had been for the sake of his companions or something. But no, all he could say was that it wasn’t his fault. This bastard . . . I bet selfishly bossing around lower-ranking players was the only way he knew how to play a game, just like I’d imagined. He’d gone on a suicide mission and challenged a boss that was too strong for him, and when all of his companions ended up getting wiped out he blamed it on them being too weak. Just like I thought, it’d all been nothing but a game to him.
“This is not a game world that we’re living in. Continuing to think like that is only going to cause more problems.”
“Sh . . . shut up!”
“Regardless of how much you or I may regret it, we’re stuck here until the waves have ended. It’s true that the people of this world basically kidnapped us with their selfish hero-summoning ceremony, and yeah, maybe we’re not to blame for that. But whining about it isn’t going to change the fact that we have to fight if we want to survive.”
“You—”
“You once said to me, ‘Things don’t go your way, so you decide to turn tail and run away? How weak.’ So let me ask you, are you going to fall to the level of ‘weak’?”
He’d gotten what he deserved. Could he not have figured out if things were too dangerous before his companions ended up dead? Even I made a point of testing the waters to make sure we had a fighting chance before proceeding into battle, but this idiot based all of his judgments on his knowledge of some game. He was the type who went around attempting encounters based on what others had learned and posted online rather than trying to figure anything out on his own. It was cowardice, in a way. I doubt he’d ever actually discovered anything on his own.
“The game is over. Your game knowledge isn’t going to help you anymore.”
“You’re wrong! It’s . . . It’s not my fault!”
“Don’t let the Shield’s words deceive you, Mr. Ren!”
Witch jumped between us, interrupting our exchange. The woman was irritating to no end.
“Shut the hell up, Witch! If you speak again, I will end you without hesitation!”
Witch must have sensed my murderous intent, because she let out a small scream. Even so, I could tell she was still about to try to say something.
“Oh, so you do want to die? Shield Prison!”
A cage of shields appeared and trapped Witch instantly. Good. Now all I had to do was switch to the Shield of Wrath and slaughter her with Iron Maiden. But in a brief moment of sound judgment, I stopped myself. Would things really be okay if I used the Shield of Wrath right now? Without Raphtalia or Filo here? I’d be in a real mess if I ended up being consumed by anger and incinerating Ren with dark curse burning S.
“It’s not my fault! Release Myne!”
“Why would I release her? The bitch causes at least as much trouble as Motoyasu.”
These idiots were so annoying. It was always “release me, release me!” with them. If they wanted to be released so bad, I’d be happy to just release them from this life.
“Besides, weren’t you the one that told me my actions were unforgivable once? If you refuse to admit it, then I’ll be the one to say it. What you did was unforgivable. You’re a bona fide murderer in every sense of the word.”
“Silence! Shut up! Shut your mouth!”
Ren was shaking violently as if he had finally begun to blame himself. It reminded me of the time I’d told him about how he’d driven a bunch of people to their death in the village with the epidemic. He’d admitted that what he’d done was wrong and immediately tried to head back to the village. Deep down inside, he knew it was his fault. But he couldn’t admit it. Or rather, he couldn’t allow himself to admit it, I suppose. But the truth was, he knew.
“I know it wasn’t on purpose. Regardless, you’re still alive. And it’s exactly because you’re still alive that there are other things you need to be doing, right?”
“Shut up! Shut your mouth!”
“I’ll say it as many times as you need to hear it. The truth is you already understand, right? You already know what you need to be doing right now. And I can say for a fact that believing that shitty woman is not it.”
“Sileeeennceeeee! I believe in Myne!”
Ren drew his sword back and swung it down hard. I parried the attack with my shield, and it made a light clanking sound. Hmm?
“Eat this!”
Ren followed through and swung his sword at my face. I . . . didn’t even attempt to dodge. I heard a metallic clanging sound come from near my ear and Ren grinned. But then immediately after, his eyes grew wide with disbelief.
“Wha . . . Impossible . . .”
“That sword that you’re using now seems to be made from the Spirit Tortoise materials you wanted so badly, but . . . don’t you think it’s a bit weak?”
That’s right. I’d withstood Ren’s attack without even needing to lift a finger. Of course, my shield had been fully powered up, but even so, he was just too weak. If it had been Raphtalia that just attacked me, I’m certain I would have sustained some kind of injury. That was true even despite the fact that powering up vassal weapons was less effective than powering up legendary weapons, and even with her stats currently being one-third of their usual values due to the effects of a curse.
“Mr. Ren, we should retreat for now!”
Damn it . . . Shield Prison had worn off while we were going back and forth. I had to make my next move before Ren could use his portal skill. Normally I would have used Raphtalia or Filo, but right now there was only one person here I could rely on.
“Motoyasu! You know what to do, don’t you? Take that bitch out immediately!”
“O . . . okay!”
“No way! You cheater! Stop hogging all of the power!”
How many times had he called me a cheater now? I was pretty sure it was him that actually wanted to cheat. I was tempted to use that as a comeback, but this wasn’t really the time for that.
“Take a good look at the reality of the situation! The reason you were defeated—”
The air was filled with clanging sounds as Ren struck me with his sword repeatedly, but not a single one of his attacks left a mark. He bellowed out a long, drawn-out battle cry. He’d gone completely mad at this point. The Ren I knew would have been able to analyze the situation more calmly. Damn it . . . All he could do was keep calling me a cheater. The situation he was in now was so bad that thinking rationally was probably no longer even possible for him.
I’d just ignore Ren for now. We needed to hurry up and kill Witch. It was obvious she was up to no good again.
“Motoyasu! What are you waiting for?! Hurry up and do it!”
“A . . . alright!”
Motoyasu finally seemed to understand. He readied his spear and began to approach them. Just like Ren, he appeared to be in a pretty serious state of confusion. Regardless, he seemed willing to follow orders, so I’d have him kill Witch.
“Mr. Ren!”
Witch called out loudly to Ren, and he snapped back to himself. Maybe it was be
cause he realized that if he didn’t do something Witch was about to die. Damn it! If only he had just gone on attacking me endlessly . . .
“Flashing Sword!”
He must have finally realized they were at a disadvantage, because Ren nodded at Witch and shot off a skill. His sword flashed, blinding me momentarily.
“Ugh . . .”
Motoyasu had been blinded too and couldn’t make a move.
“Damn it . . . You bitch!”
I was seeing stars. I reached out to try to grab Witch to keep her from getting away, but it was already too late. Ren grabbed Witch and Girl 2 and raised his sword up high into the air.
“Transport Sword!”
Just like Motoyasu had before, Ren began to disappear. Witch too.
“Witch, it looks like you’ve managed to get away this time, but mark my words, I will chase you to the fiery depths of hell. You fear for your life and wait for me, damn you.”
“Pfft!”
Witch snorted at me before disappearing completely. These portal skills sure were a pain in the neck. I turned and looked at the other remaining hero, Motoyasu. He was sighing with his head hung low, as if he had lost every last ounce of motivation. He looked like the empty shell of a man.
“What’s wrong? You’re not going to run?”
“I don’t care anymore . . . I believed in my companions and spent all this time searching for them, and this is how it turns out . . . The people in the towns and villages treat me coldly. I’m exhausted.”
His eyes were blurry. They were the eyes of someone who had lost every last shred of hope. I was worried that he might be consumed by a curse.
“First, I’m going to take you back to the castle, Motoyasu. Then I want you to listen to what I have to say, now that you’ve finally seen how things really are.”
Surely this had been enough for Motoyasu to finally understand just how much of a bitch the woman he had wanted to believe in was. Sharing a common enemy would create solidarity between us, and then we could share our power-up methods. It worked out for both of us. Then, with our newly deepened bonds, we could go out together and kill Witch.
