Chapter 87
"Still, Rex-sama, you certainly gave us a hard time. We couldn't act unless we could determine that you were demons. ...And yet, the moment we offered to help capture the demon girl, you ran away. It's heartbreaking to see someone like you so thoroughly corrupted by demons."
Hearing that, Rex glared at Parna with an expression as if he had bitten into something bitter.
"Why, Parna...? You heard what our master said, too. It makes no difference whether they're demons or humans... So instead of simply killing the Demon King, shouldn't we have tried another way? At the very least, couldn't you have waited until we'd gathered 10,000 gold?"
"Our master...? Oh, you mean that Villager? Now that you mention it, I don't see him around... Well, no matter how strong the Villager is, it's over if the kingdom is his enemy. I doubt he'd want to live with the stigma of being a criminal... So it'd be a big help if this makes you give up."
"...Answer my question, Parna!"
"Because I don't want to."
Parna finished speaking and turned a hate-filled gaze on Rex.
"W-why, Parna-san?! At least Alice-chan and Menou-san were fitting in and living just fine with everyone in this city! They weren't any different from us!"
Tina flailed her hands, desperately trying to persuade Parna. Watching her, Parna sighed in exasperation.
"That's a naive way of thinking, Tina. Demons and humans can never coexist. No matter how friendly you become with them, they'll betray you sooner or later... You'll be deceived and lose someone precious to you. Even if Alice is a good demon, that doesn't mean all the others are, right? That's why, before anyone else has to bear that sorrow... I'll put an end to this!"
When she finished speaking, Parna handed Alice over to the soldiers behind her and pointed her staff at Rex and the others. The other soldiers readied their weapons in response.
"There's nothing we can do, is there?"
As the tavern staff and other customers erupted into confusion at the sudden turn of events, Kururu raised both hands to show she had no intention of resisting, her expression resigned.
David, Rex, and Tina followed suit, raising their hands as well.
They had no way to fight back. Their weapons were all back in their rooms, and they had no idea how strong the soldiers were, since they hadn't seen their status windows. Resisting would be pointless.
"A wise choice. As expected of the princess... Capture them all!"
At Militaria's command, several soldiers rushed toward David and the others with ropes. The four made no attempt to resist, watching with uneasy expressions as their arms were bound.
"David... Tell me before they take us away. Why did you file a false report? Why did you go against my father's orders...?"
Without turning her head, Kururu kept her gaze fixed straight ahead as she asked David. The sudden question brought a slightly sorrowful look to his face. In the end, his actions had been in vain.
"Because you... started smiling again, just like you used to."
At his words, Kururu's eyes widened as if she'd realized something. Her expression quickly turned sorrowful, and she murmured only, "I see..." before falling silent.
But just then—
"David-chan!"
With that cry, the wall by the counter, opposite the tavern entrance, was smashed apart with a tremendous crash.
Everyone turned to see what had happened. There, amid the dust, stood Takako, one fist thrust forward, as though she'd smashed through the wall from outside with her bare hands.
At that moment, Tina, who was closest to Takako, slipped past the soldiers and ran toward her before they could tie her arms. David did the same, kicking away the soldiers around him before charging toward Parna.
"Alice-sama! Get down!"
The instant David called out, he pulled a needle he'd hidden in his clothes and hurled it at the soldier holding Alice.
The soldier couldn't react in time to the sudden attack. The needle struck their hand, and they let go of Alice.
"Takako-sama!"
Seizing that brief opening, David closed the distance to Alice in an instant, grabbed her securely, and hurled her with all his strength toward Takako.
Alice flew over the soldiers' heads toward Takako, who caught her gently to cushion the impact.
Immediately afterward, David backed away before the soldiers could pin him down, putting some distance between himself and them.
"Tch... I forgot about one person. I didn't expect you to pull something this reckless."
"After spending time with Kagami-chan, this sort of thing feels pretty normal. Though I'll make sure to pay for the repairs later."
Takako spoke as if she had everything under control, but inside, she was anything but calm. They were still in a desperate situation.
"Rex-chan seemed off, so I've been secretly following him this whole time. I never imagined things would get this bad. We're getting out of here! David-chan, Alice-chan, Tina-chan!"
"But what about Rex-san and Kururu-san?!"
"Those two are beyond help... We can't rescue them in this situation. We need to fall back. If we stay, we'll be in danger too."
The moment Takako said this, all the soldiers charged toward her.
David halted their advance by flinging one of the needles he'd hidden at their feet.
"Please run, Alice-sama... At least you must get away!"
"W-what about you, David-san?!"
"I'll buy you time to escape! Kururu-sama and Rex-sama will be all right... But Alice-sama is another matter. If they capture you, they'll kill you."
As soon as he said this, the soldiers rushed toward David again. He fought them off with hand-to-hand combat, kicking the upper sections of their armor to throw them off balance, then sweeping their legs out from under them.
"Tina-sama, Takako-sama! Please take Alice-sama to Kagami-sama and Menou-sama... Hurry!"
At last, David and Takako met each other's eyes and nodded. Takako gathered Tina and Alice into her arms and left the tavern, while David squared off against the soldiers trying to pursue them.