Chapter 55
"...Huh?"
In the dim room, Rikka opened her eyes.
Her body throbbed with pain.
"Huh...? Where am I?"
A blanket was draped over her.
A futon? Why?
Holding her head, she slowly sat up.
"Um...?"
Why was she in a situation like this?
Rikka recalled what had happened.
That's right—the home improvement store had been attacked by a group of Orcs.
With little hope of winning, Rikka and the others had set fire to the home improvement store, used the evacuees as decoys, and fled in different directions.
She thought it was a fairly despicable method, but she had convinced herself it was necessary to survive.
After that, she and Nishino had dragged their injured bodies through the rain until they reached a park some distance away, and then―――.
"...What happened after that?"
She couldn't remember what happened next.
Her memories of battles were hazy to begin with because of her 'Skill,' but this time was even worse.
Pieces of her memory were missing, and her body was battered.
Even her prized side ponytail was a terrible mess.
"―――You're awake?"
A voice spoke.
When she looked over, Nishino was sitting in a chair and watching her.
"...Nisshi?"
"Who else would I look like?"
"Hmm, maybe a ghost or something?"
"Don't kill me off just yet. I'm still alive—see? I've got legs."
"Nahaha, that's true."
Rikka's unique demeanor made Nishino—known as Nisshi—smile wryly.
"So, where are we? I remember escaping with Nisshi as far as some park, but..."
"I'm not much different. I woke up here too. ...Apparently, someone carried us here."
"Who?"
"Who knows? I have no idea."
The last thing Nishino remembered was reaching the park while drenched by the rain.
He felt as though he had met someone after that, but he couldn't remember.
(Come to think of it, maybe it wasn't a person... A dog? No, what was it...?)
In any case, whoever they were, they had saved them.
What's more, they had even left bandages, medicine, and energy drinks behind.
It was so excessively considerate that he had begun to suspect there had to be some ulterior motive.
He offered Rikka an energy drink.
Rikka downed it in one gulp.
"Anyway, we should be grateful that we were saved. Fortunately, it doesn't look like any monsters are pursuing us, either."
"Yeah. Do you think that person bandaged us, too?"
Rikka pulled up her uniform and skirt to inspect the sloppily wrapped bandages.
Nishino reflexively looked away.
"Tch... At least think about what other people can see, idiot."
"Huh? Did you say something, Nisshi?"
"...Nothing."
His cheeks reddened slightly.
To cover up his embarrassment, Nishino said,
"We need to think about what to do from here..."
"What do you mean...? Aren't we going to look for everyone?"
"How? With the smartphones unusable, finding everyone is almost impossible."
They had no way to contact one another.
They had no choice but to search on foot, painstakingly, in this world where dangerously powerful monsters roamed.
If they had a 'Skill' for communicating with one another, it would be a different story, but unfortunately, neither Nishino nor Rikka possessed such a convenient Skill.
"Then what do we do?"
"Let's follow the plan. We'll head for the school. If things go well, we should be able to meet up with everyone else there."
"Ugh..."
'School.'
The moment she heard that word, Rikka's face twisted into an obvious grimace.
"Hey, Nisshi. Couldn't we go to the town hall instead?"
"The school is closer. It would be more efficient to go there, wouldn't it?"
"..."
"I know what you want to say. But right now..."
"I know."
Rikka puffed out her cheeks sulkily.
She hated school.
School had taken an important friend away from her.
It was a place filled with nothing but unpleasant memories.
But she had no choice but to go now.
Rikka forced herself to accept it.
"I hope Shibacchi and Ohnon are okay..."
"I'm sure they're alive. Ohno, Shibata, and all the others, too. So let's trust them and move forward."
"...Yeah."
Thinking of her close friends, Rikka smiled sadly.
"Then let's go. I'd like to rest a little longer, but we can't afford to waste time."
"Roger that."
Their destination was their alma mater in the city center.
Believing their companions were alive, the two decided to move forward.
And then―――.
≪You acquired experience.≫
≪Ohno Keita's level has increased from 4 to 5.≫
≪You have met the required conditions.≫
≪You acquired the Skill 'Kin Slayer'.≫
A voice echoed inside his head.
Ohno, a bespectacled student, was trembling.
His eyes were unfocused, and his lips were parched and cracked.
"Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah... N-no... I didn't do it on purpose. I... I didn't mean to..."
Muttering as if delirious, he stared at the 'things' lying before him.
The 'things' were wearing the same school uniform as he was.
There were three of them.
They didn't move. There was no light in their eyes.
A red pool had formed.
The pool continued to spread.
"Th-that's right. It's their fault... They acted on their own without listening to my warnings... I-I-I told them we had to run away back then...!"
After escaping from the home improvement store, he had wandered aimlessly through the city.
While desperately searching for Nishino and Shibata in the rain, Ohno had run into the students he had abandoned at the co-op.
Apparently, they had survived as well.
―――Thank goodness, they were safe.
Ohno had been delighted to see them again, but apparently they hadn't felt the same way.
The moment they saw him, they advanced on him with demonic expressions.
"T-they took their grudge way too far... W-what do they mean, 'We almost died because of you'...? Damn it, damn it, damn it!"
A survival knife was clenched in his hand.
Blood was smeared all over it.
He had told himself it was self-defense.
If he didn't fight back, they would kill him.
That was what he had thought.
So he stabbed them.
His level was higher than theirs.
He also had an attack 'Skill.'
So he killed them.
He had killed them so easily...
He had killed them―――He hadn't meant to kill them―――No, no, no, no, no!
"Ugh... Urghhh..."
He vomited.
He felt sick.
He couldn't stop trembling.
An indescribable disgust and guilt welled up from the pit of his stomach.
"I'm not bad. I'm not bad. I'm not bad. I'm not bad. I'm not bad, I'm not bad, I'm not bad, I'm not bad, I'm not bad..."
He muttered under his breath, insisting he was in the right.
Otherwise, his mind would have fallen apart.
"That's right, I have to search. Nishino-kun, Shibata-kun, Rikka... I have to find everyone. Where the hell are they? I have to find them soon, soon... Haha, hahahaha..."
He didn't wipe the blood from his body, nor even realize it was there.
That's right, that's right. He'd see everyone—everyone again.
If he could reunite with everyone, if he could be with them, he would surely be all right.
He should be. He had to be.
"So it's okay, it's okay... I'll be okay..."
His voice reached no one's ears, and he staggered away.
Skill: 'Kin Slayer'
A Skill rarely acquired by those who have killed one of their own kind.
When you kill one of your own kind, the experience you gain increases.
When you fight one of your own kind, your stats receive a bonus.
Those who acquire this Skill cannot acquire 'Fear Resistance' or 'Stress Resistance'.