Slowly opening my eyes, I found myself in a dimly lit room—looking at a ceiling I didn’t recognize… wait, that’s not right. I didn’t get sent to another world again, I was just staring at the ceiling of the inn we’re staying at.
Trying to sit up, I suddenly realized something. Huh? Isn’t my body supposed to be injured from the fight?
I was sure my arm had been broken, and I thought I had also cracked a rib… but there wasn’t even a trace of it anymore.
I see… it was all just a dream, huh?
Since my body was so completely restored, it crossed my mind that the fight with the Black Bear had all been a dream. But just then, the door to the room was suddenly thrown open with great force.
[Kaito!]
[Huh? Whoa!?]
The person who burst through the door was Isis-san, who definitely wasn’t supposed to be here.
She jumped onto me with incredible speed, and the impact made me gently slam back against the bed.
[…Thank goodness… Kaito…]
[Eh? Arehh? Isis-san?]
The heck, what’s going on here?
I may not know why Isis-san is here, but one thing is clear, the current situation is dangerous.
Isis-san is clinging to me, her body pressed so closely against mine. Her soft and slender body feels like it’s enveloping me entirely.
How do I put this… It’s like I’ve just woken up from one dream after another… Just when I thought I’d woken up from that hellish nightmare… I find myself in heaven.
[…Kaito… It’s all right now… Those who hurt… Kaito… I’ve already killed them.]
[…Huh?]
I didn’t quite understand what she was saying.
Those who hurt me? Is she talking about that Black Bear?
But the Black Bear I fought was cut in half by Lilia-san… Does that mean there were more of them?
When I asked Isis-san for more details, it turns out a swarm of Black Bears appeared after I passed out, and Isis-san took them all down.
Unnn. I see… That Black Bear I fought was already monstrous enough, and even if she says there were thousands of them, I can’t even begin to imagine what it must have been like to see Isis-san taking them all on, even if it really was the case.
Anyway, it seems that thanks to Isis-san, there was almost no damage to the city of Rigforeshia.
Isis-san stayed by my side for a while longer, still hugging me, before she stood up with a slightly sad expression on her face.
[…I should… go home now… If I stay here… Lilia and the others… would get scared.]
[…Isis-san.]
I get it now. The reason why the always-worrying Lilia-san and the others haven’t come to check on me even after I woke up is because they can’t get close due to the effect of Isis-san’s magic power of death.
A magic circle began to form beneath Isis-san’s feet… probably a Teleportation Magic Circle leading to her castle.
[U-Ummm! Isis-san.]
[…What is it?]
[Thank you so much for today. And, um… I’d like to thank you properly… Would you like to, um, have dinner with me sometime?]
[…!? …Is that alright?]
[Yes. It’ll be my treat. Otherwise, I won’t be able to repay you.]
[…Unnn… I’m really… looking forward to it.]
I know it might be a bit short-sighted to think “thanking someone = buying them a meal,” but… that was all I could come up with in the heat of the moment.
However, the impact of my offer was clear, as Isis-san’s expression, which had been sad, brightened, and she nodded in response.
With a small wave of her hand, Isis-san left, enveloped in the light of her Teleportation Magic.
After Isis-san left, I stepped out of the room and walked down the corridor of the inn to apologize to Lilia-san and the others for worrying about me.
This inn is one of the finest in Rigforeshia, primarily used by Lilia-san, who is a Duchess. The wide corridor was so quiet that it almost felt like the place was reserved for a private gathering.
After walking for a while, I found myself in front of a spacious room that seemed to be some kind of lobby or lounge. In the distance, I spotted Lilia-san and the others.
[Huh!? Kaito-san!?]
[……..!?]
[You’ve finally woken up, huh? Thank goodness.]
The three people in the room were Lilia-san, Lunamaria-san, and Sieg-san. They all looked relieved as soon as they saw my face.
[I’m sorry for causing you to worry.]
[No, do you still feel any pain anywhere?]
[Not anymore, I’m feeling completely fine.]
[Is that so… That’s really good.]
I answered Lilia-san, who had been concerned about me, letting her know that my physical condition was back to normal.
[Speaking of which, Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san don’t seem to be here… Could it be that they have been injured?]
[Ah, no, neither of them were “injured”.]
Since Yuzuki-san and Kusunoki-san weren’t around, I asked if they had been hurt after I passed out, but it seems they are both fine.
Though, something about the way Lilia-san phrased it, saying they weren’t “injured,” made me wonder if there was more to the story.
[Did something else happen to them besides being injured?]
[Aoi-san and Hina-san are now sleeping in their room.]
[…They were exposed to Death King-sama’s magic power of death and lost consciousness.]
[A-Ahhh…]
Lilia-san and Lunamaria-san responded to my question, their voices tinged with a slight sadness.
I see now; it wasn’t the Black Bears that injured them, but the powerful magic power of death from Isis-san that caused them to faint.
[Incidentally, Rei-sama and Fia-sama are attending a reorganization meeting for the nearly destroyed security force.]
[Nearly destroyed!? Reorganization? Eh? I heard the city didn’t take any damage…]
[Yes, the Black Bear didn’t cause any damage. However, after being exposed to Death King-sama’s terrifying magic power of death, almost half of them had their minds shattered…]
[That’s not surprising. Even I couldn’t stop shaking for a while. It was actually a stroke of luck that Kusunoki-sama and Yuzuki-sama were among the first to faint.]
In the aftermath, her magic broke the Guard Force’s minds!? Just how outrageous is her magic power of death…?
The fact that Isis-san’s terrifying presence still made these three tremble just by recalling it says everything about how terrifying she was at that moment.
It seems that Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san were fortunate to pass out before their minds could fully process the horror of Isis-san’s magic power of death.
As we were talking about that, Lilia-san stood up with a serious expression, walked over to me… and suddenly dropped to her knees.
[…Eh?]
[Kaito-san, I’m really sorry.]
[Li-Lilia-san!? W-What are you suddenly doing!?]
Completely confused by her sudden dogeza, Lilia-san held out the necklace I gave her last night.
[Kuro’s necklace?]
[…This necklace had a defensive magic imbued in it, though it’s not a powerful one… That is to say, if I hadn’t borrowed this, Kaito-san wouldn’t have been injured like that.]
There’s defensive magic in Kuro’s necklace? That’s the first I’ve heard of it… I thought it only had search magic, but apparently, there’s more to it.
Lilia-san didn’t seem to know all the details about the necklace either, but after what happened earlier, she had the former court mage, Rei-san, take a look, and they found out it had defensive magic after all.
Lilia-san deeply bowed her head, her voice trembling as she continued to speak.
[No, if only I had been more level-headed from the start… I promised to ensure Kaito-san and the others’ safety when we first met, but I got so caught up in myself that I forgot to even assign someone to guard them. Because of that, Kaito-san got hurt. It’s all… it’s all my fault.]
[…N-No, it’s not like it’s Lilia-san’s fault or anything like that…]
[No, it could have been avoided if I’d just been more level-headed. If I’d only been more careful… I’m so sorry. I’m really, really sorry.]
Lilia-san’s voice started to crack with emotion as she bowed even lower, repeatedly apologizing to me… Honestly, this is getting annoying.
I’ll say it again, I’m not a saint. I don’t remember it that much, but I can get angry too sometimes.
[Kaito-san. I’m really sorry…]
[…Lilia-san, I’m going to apologize in advance.]
[…Eh?]
After saying that to Lilia-san, who kept apologizing to me, I swung my knuckles down on her head as hard as I could.
[Ow!?]
Even though Lilia-san is a person with great abilities, she isn’t always using Body Strengthening Magic. My knuckles that struck her unprotected head seemed to be quite painful, and Lilia-san held her head down with both of her hands.
Even though Lilia-san is highly skilled, she doesn’t always use Body Strengthening Magic.
My knuckles hit her unprotected head with surprising force, and Lilia-san immediately hunched over, clutching her head in pain.
[If you’d just shut up and stop mumbling like some creep… How could you twist the facts and come to that conclusion!?]
[Eh? Eh?]
[What happened before was just an accident, right? I got hurt because I was careless, and it’s not Lilia-san’s fault at all! Honestly, I should be thanking you instead! You saved me, Lilia-san!]
[Eh? Ah, y-y-yes. Y-Your welcome?]
Flustered by my words, Lilia-san nodded awkwardly, though her face still showed confusion.
[Good. Then this conversation is over! If you keep saying it’s your fault or anything like that, I’ll hit you again.]
[Y-Yes!]
[In the first place, thinking everything is your fault is a bad habit, Lilia-san. I know you’re a serious person, but it depends on the time and the situation. Even back then…]
Lilia-san quickly switches from a dogeza to a seiza, and I continue with my lecture-like words.
(T/N: dogeza is the bowing position, seiza is sitting upright on your knees.)
I don’t really think this is something she does all the time, and maybe it wasn’t the best thing to say to her, but I think someone needed to call out this overly serious side of her.
[Impressive. I feel inclined to give Miyama-sama a heartfelt round of applause. That was really well said…]
[………………]
[Lu-Luna!? Sieg, don’t just nod along—help me out here. Kaito-san looks kinda scary right now…]
[Lilia-san! I’m not done talking yet!]
[Y-Yes!? I’m sorry!]
Lilia-san looked like she was about to get teary-eyed, but this time it was different from before. Since I’m not planning to go easy on her, I continue my sermon.
Dear Mom, Dad—I don’t really think this is something she does all the time, but I still had to scold her for it. Well, how should I put it—her over-seriousness is also a problem.
<Author’s Notes>
Lilia’s thoughts:
If only I had been level-headed, I could have prevented Kaito from being injured => If I had just arranged someone to escort them…… => In other words, it’s my fault that Kaito was injured => It’s all my fault.