Chapter 40
She wondered why Kagami had entrusted her to the Hero’s party and gone to fetch Takako. At first, she’d thought she would only get in the way of him finding Takako quickly. In an emergency like this, it was only natural to do things as efficiently as possible, so she’d assumed that was why he’d left her with the Hero’s party.
She’d thought he had given up. There was nothing they could do now that things had come to this, so she’d assumed Kagami was simply trying to do the best he could under the circumstances.
But she was wrong.
Kagami hadn’t given up. If the city were taken, it would be almost impossible to heal the wounds that would leave. But if it wasn’t taken, there was still a chance things could be salvaged. The people’s hatred wouldn’t consume them so completely that reconciliation became impossible. The fact that the city had been attacked wouldn’t change, but the humans’ victory would be celebrated, and their hatred would subside. After all, no one should have lost anything yet.
Kagami still hadn’t given up on the relationship between demons and humans. That was why he had entrusted her to the Hero’s party. That was why, when they hesitated to agree, he’d asked them sincerely, wearing a troubled expression. He wanted to do everything he could.
“He’s so kind... Kagami-san really is...!”
Kagami was doing everything he could to support her dream. She felt pathetic and ashamed for having been anxious and half given up herself, and she regretted it. As if to pour all those indescribable feelings into her run, Alice charged toward the western gate.
“With strides that small, it’ll take you ages to get there.”
A moment later, Takako raced up behind her and said this. Alice was scooped up in a single smooth motion and cradled in Takako’s arms. Even carrying Alice, Takako didn’t slow down at all.
“Takako-san... Kagami-san!”
“I know. We need to hurry... Even if he has a Skill that automatically restores his health at Level 999, facing ten thousand enemies means the sheer number of attacks will be too much for him.”
Takako kept running with the force of a charging bull. Then she sensed someone approaching from behind and glanced back without breaking stride. The Hero’s party was racing after them, nearly keeping pace with her.
“Oh? You managed to catch up... even though I’m running at a pretty good clip.”
As she spoke, Takako slowed down just a little to match Rex, who was trying to catch up.
“Haaah... Haaah...! We have the Sage, Kururu, with us... She cast a spell to temporarily increase our speed. You’re the abnormal one, running this fast without a spell and without even getting winded.”
At Rex’s words, Takako glanced at Kururu, Tina, and Parna. They were all grimacing, their pace gradually slowing as they neared their physical limits. Rex alone seemed to have a little energy left. Still, if they were going to help, it would be better to go together, so Takako slowed down to run alongside them.
“Does that mean you’re coming to help?”
“I have things to discuss with him, so I have no choice. Besides... now that I’ve heard about it, I’d feel awful if I abandoned him.”
Rex answered Takako’s question, then bashfully turned his gaze away from her.
“Oh...” Takako murmured, impressed. She realized that, though Rex opposed demons because of his role as a Hero, he wasn’t a bad person at heart.
“Huh? Where’s Menou?”
Alice, cradled in Takako’s arms, glanced behind them and murmured, “Huh? Where’s Menou?”
“That demon went ahead, taking a straight path over the rooftops. He had a ridiculous leaping ability, as you’d expect from a demon.”
Hearing Rex’s words, Takako snapped her fingers. “I should’ve thought of that.”
“More importantly... what’s that Villager thinking? You know him well, don’t you? Why would he try to face an army of ten thousand by himself?”
“I won’t know unless I ask him, but he went alone because he didn’t want anyone else to be sacrificed... In other words, he probably knows it’s reckless. Even so, he’s facing them because he doesn’t want the demons left with a grudge against humans for attacking and taking their city. He’s fighting for both demons and humans.”
At Takako’s words, Alice’s expression turned a little sad. At first, she’d thought she would only get in the way, but now she wondered if Kagami had lied just to keep her from getting involved. The thought made her want to scold herself for what she’d assumed earlier.
In contrast, Rex scoffed and looked as if he thought it was ridiculous. Then his expression stiffened, as if to say that wasn’t what he wanted to know.
“I can understand, more or less, that he’s trying to fight in a way that leaves as few scars as possible, for the sake of coexistence between humans and demons. But that’s not what I want to know! Whatever his reason, why would he take on a fight that amounts to going there to die? Courage and recklessness aren’t the same thing... I don’t think he’s stupid enough not to understand that.”
Hearing this, Takako looked away from Rex and faced forward. Her expression darkened, turning serious.
“For him, courage and recklessness aren’t concepts that exist at all. He has a very simple way of thinking: Can he do it or not? Give up or keep going? That’s all.”
Seeing her expression change and hearing her voice grow low, Rex tensed as he ran. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he listened to Takako.
“The fact that Kagami-chan is fighting now means he thinks he can do it. Of course, the odds are low... but if there’s even a one-percent chance, he’ll try. Especially this time—he really doesn’t want to give up.”
“That’s insane... It’s like throwing his life away. Even if there’s a one-percent chance, that still means a ninety-nine-percent chance of dying. That’s the height of recklessness. There must be other options, even if they aren’t the best ones.”
“I told you, didn’t I? Courage and recklessness aren’t concepts he uses. If there’s a chance, he decides what to do based on how much it matters to him. Whether to give up or not.”
Apparently unable to accept that answer, Rex kept running right beside Takako, looking baffled. Watching him, Takako sighed, thinking there was no helping it. She then said what she’d intended to keep to herself, since it might change the way Rex saw Kagami.
“Kagami-chan is... missing one thing that’s important to every living creature.”
“Something important...?”
At Takako’s words, not only Rex but Kururu, Parna, and Tina, running a little behind with strained expressions, listened closely. Alice, too, held her breath as she listened for the answer to something she’d tried to ask about before but never learned.
Takako slowly opened her mouth, her expression touched with pity.
“Fear of death. The instinct to resist it. Kagami-chan has none of that.”
At those words, everyone wore a baffled expression.