Happy Monday!
Here"s the chapter, enjoy.
ED: Ignite
Within the largest room in the house that Kurou-san had lent us, we went to our own spots and relaxed.
I leaned against the wall that was closest to the door and folded my arms.
Just as Princess Amelia had said, it would be best for us to talk so that everyone would be on the same page, but no one was saying anything.
Whenever we were traveling with just the party members, or when we were discussing our plans, Satou took control of it.
However, ever since leaving that room, Satou had not said a single word.
Even the usually noisy Waki and Ueno were silent.
Nanase and Tsuda were in a fl.u.s.ter, while Hosoyama was as calm as she usually was.
I closed my eyes, trying to organize the things in my mind.
Firstly, our ultimate goal of returning to j.a.pan was the same as Akira"s .
Most likely, Akira wanted to quickly return because of his mother, Yukari-san, and his younger sister.
In that case, I wonder what went wrong.
It was most likely that.
I don"t read novels like Akira, but from what he had told me, it seems that in these kinds of different worlds, finding a way to return after defeating the last boss was common.
…no, wait a minute?
I quickly opened my eyes.
Standing right in front of me, Tsuda"s body shook with a start.
I looked towards the frowning Satou.
「Satou, do you have the intention of defeating the demon king?」
When I suddenly asked this, everyone looked at me, and then at Satou.
Satou"s pretty face that was popular with the girls had a frown on it, and he shook his head.
When we were in the Retice, he was asked this time and time again by the knights that accompanied our training.
Without the holy sword and the Holy Sword special skill that Satou had, something that only the hero had, defeating the demon king would be impossible.
On the other hand, as long as we had them, it would then be possible.
Therefore, it was our job to protect Satou no matter what as we headed to the demon king"s castle.
That"s why it was imperative that the hero, Satou, had the determination to defeat the demon king.
「Sorry, everyone, but now, I do not feel the need to defeat the demon king.」
At present, the demon king had not appeared, and only Akira and his group were saying that they saw the demons.
We couldn"t neglect the possibility that the flooding of monsters from the Ul dungeon was just an accident either.
My skill『Intuition』was denying that, but just because of the fact that the higher the level, the sharper my intuition became, did not mean that I could see through to the truth with this skill.
In other words, I couldn"t trust it completely.
「T-Then, how do you plan on returning to j.a.pan!」
Waki"s eyes widened as he shouted this.
This reaction was expected.
Since, up until now, they"ve fought with the belief that they could return to j.a.pan if they defeated the demon king.
「What do you mean by saying that you do not feel the need? Defeat the demon king and save the people of this world, that"s what Tsukaskun said, right.」
Certainly, Satou did say that.
However, that was when he still trusted the king and princess of Retice.
Because he heard that the demon king was tormenting the inhabitants of this world, and was told that he had the power to save them.
「I don"t know. The king of Retice was the one who said that the people of this world were being tormented by the demon king, and that king used the princess and put a curse on us. Moreover, even when I saw the townspeople, there was no impression that they were in harsh living conditions」
Ueno"s and Waki"s eyes widened, as if they had just recalled it.
The towns were filled with liveliness, and the population was abundant.
Even in Yamato, the place closest to the demon territory, there was no indication that the people were scared of a monster invasion.
Perhaps Nanase and Tsuda were worried about their friends that had remained in the castle, as they cast their eyes down.
「Then, what does Odkun, who had been injured by the demons, think?」
Hosoyama raised her hand and asked.
I narrowed my eyes.
Sometimes, Hosoyama"s speech and conduct seemed as if she believed in Akira.
I did not know if she believed in him as a cla.s.smate, or if she intuitively perceived what kind of person Akira was, but I wonder what her intentions were.
I didn"t know much about Hosoyama.
It would"ve saved me a lot of trouble if her personality was as easy to understand as Waki"s and Ueno"s though.
「I"ll say this now, but Akira is stronger than me. Most likely ever since we were summoned. Even if we worked together, we wouldn"t win against Akira, and we would not win against a strong demon that could injure Akira and the others so severely even if we fought with all we"ve got. Furthermore, we definitely wouldn"t win against the demon king who"s the strongest among demons even if we spent our whole lives in preparation. In other words, our present strength is just slightly higher than those of normal people.」
This was the first time I"ve seen the self-confident Satou speak such timid words like these.
Nanase was also looking at Satou in disbelief.
「I want to return to j.a.pan, and Akira is probably the same as well, but Akira is not thinking of defeating the demon king. Isn"t it because he knows that he can"t win?」
If we were inside a game or a novel, we could charge in, prepared for an honorable defeat, and figure out our strength through our experiences, but this was reality.
We only had one body, and only one life.
「Among those who had been summoned, the one who wants to return to j.a.pan the most is Akira, and the one closest to the answer is most likely also Akira. That"s why, I thought that I should work together with Akira.」