The Answer Is Up to You (4)

“Kagami-chan!”

“Yeah, I hear you! It’s way too soon to give up!”

After knocking a monster flying with a straight punch, Takako turned and called Kagami’s name. Kagami shouted back with a smile and gave Alice a thumbs-up. “Good job!”

“We have you and the others to thank for this, Kagami-san.”

Alice murmured, her face overcome with emotion.

“It was easy to bring back the adventurers who’d run away, you know? I just said, ‘There are people fighting... Please help them!’ But when they saw that horde of monsters, they lost the will to fight... They couldn’t move.”

Hearing Alice’s words, Rex, Tina, Kururu, and Parna could all understand the other adventurers’ feelings all too well. They themselves had felt much the same way, at least to some extent.

“But when everyone saw you and Kururu-san and the others fighting without giving up, they realized they couldn’t just stand there in fear. They thought there must be something they could do, too. You gave them courage.”

Kururu was deeply moved by Alice’s words. The adventurers who’d arrived later had certainly decided to join the fight after seeing them. But at the root of it all was Kagami alone. They had acted because they couldn’t leave Kagami to fight by himself, and seeing them fight had brought Salmaria’s adventurers together to stand against the monsters.

One person. A lone Villager had broken through a hopeless situation by sheer force of will. Kururu couldn’t contain her exhilaration at the thought, and a smile naturally spread across her face...