Hi.
Story 3-11 『Labyrinth Corridor』
Lily Shuraham. I"d heard that name recently. Miare-san told us that was one of the Six Demon Generals yesterday.
"Hey, Akina! It"s been a while!" (Lily)
Shuraham of the Beastman tribe saw and called out to Leadred, who was behind us.
"Yo, Lily." (Leadred)
"It sure has been a while. There"s a lot of things I want to talk to you about, however…" (Lily)
Shuraham pointed at us with three of her fingers.
"Are these children really that Hero-sama"s escorts?" (Lily)
"Though I"m one as well." (Leadred)
"Heeh… So you surrendered. As I heard, he must be a very powerful person. Our Hero-sama." (Lily)
Shuraham delightfully folded her arms and nodded. As she heard… that means someone who knew of the situation up till now told her.
Was it a comrade? Or an enemy?
"Umm… even though it"s unfortunate since you just reunited after a long time… Shuraham-san." (Shuri)
"Lily is fine." (Lily)
"Then, Lily. I"ll get straight to the point, was it Miare-san that told you about the situation?" (Shuri)
"Nope. I got it from my own source. Ah, such a grim look will spoil that beautiful face! Like this one here!" (Lily)
"Ouch! That hurt, Lily. Cut it out!" (Leadred)
Lily moved to Leadred-san and firmly slapped her on the back without holding back.
… Though I didn"t let down my guard, this person didn"t seem like she wanted to fight. Compared to the guardians up till now she was much friendlier.
"Cut it out! Stop stretching my cheeks!" (Leadred)
"No~, your skin is soft as usual! I"m so envious of you!" (Lily)
Leadred-san"s cheeks being stretched even now, she was still being teased. Since Leadred-san also didn"t raise her hands, it was unlikely she was a bad person.
"… Phew… Ah, my bad, you three. I missed doing that." (Lily)
Lily seemed to be satisfied from playing with Leadred-san and turned her fluffy appearance towards us.
In constrast, Leadred-san already seemed to be worn out.
"Umm… Lily-san, are you the guardian?" (Tamaki)
Yui-chan asked the dog-like human.
“That’s right. Ah, however, don’t misunderstand me, but I don’t intend to oppose you like those fools up till now.” (Lily)
"Uu-" (Leadred)
Leadred reacted to the part about fools. Lily continued.
“Basically, why a test of strength? What would we do if we lose our so important Hero-sama. Fantra, that rascal… Well, he got what he deserved.” (Lily)
"You also know about the fight with Fantra?" (Tamaki)
"Yeah, about how Hero-sama defeated him? I know about all of you. Shuri and Fuuko and the Shield." (Lily)
"What"s with that? I could only feel spite in that information!" (Tamaki)
Yui-chan got angry and was outraged
"Lily-san. My real name isn"t Shield, it is Tamaki Yuina." (Tamaki)
"What, is that so? It"s troublesome since you"re already the Shield so that"s fine right?" (Lily)
"… Ah-. I remember talking with Katsuragi. It"s fine already. It"s fine, I am a Shield." (Tamaki)
Yui-chan had somewhat distant eyes. It"s like she had completely given up.
Lily continued talking, ignoring Yui-chan.
"So then, you three are Hero-sama"s bride candidates then?" (Lily)
"""Eh-!?""" (Fuuko, Shuri, Tamaki)
Our voices were synchronized.
The topic suddenly changed. Moreover, since we were talking about a rather serious matter, we were even more surprised.
Why did it suddenly become that sort of a talk now? There weren"t any signs for it either.
"Hmm? What"s wrong? Could it be, was I mistaken?" (Lily)
"No, that"s…" (Shuri)
"A-ahaha." (Tamaki)
"Mmm?" (Lily)
Lily stared at us inquisitively from our evasive responses. Tilting her head to the side, she suddenly clapped as though understanding.
"So that was it! You"ve already decided the bride!" (Lily)
"How did you come to that!? His bride hasn"t been decided ye—" (Tamaki)
"I am Katsuragi Daichi"s bride." (Shuri)
"Shuri-chan!? What are you saying without hesitation!?" (Tamaki)
"I mean, think about it. Katsuragi-kun likes me. I like Katsurag-kun. We both share these feelings. Aren"t I think only one to meet the requirements of a bride?" (Shuri)
"Ku-… because it"s somewhat logical it"s difficult to refuse…!" (Tamaki)
"Please wait, Hamakaze-san. I am also one of the brides." (Fuuko)
"What are you saying, Hayase-san? There can only be one wife you know?" (Shuri)
Yes, one woman could only give her love to one man.This was common sense that everybody knew.
Though I told her the meaning of such a thing, it didn"t seem to get through to her. Hayase-san wore a triumphant smile.
"… …Hamakaze-san? Are you misunderstanding something?" (Fuuko)
"Misunderstanding?" (Shuri)
"I told you earlier, that I don"t mind being second nor even third. The world we live in right now has a different culture than j.a.pan. Polygamy. In Rostalgia a man can accept any number of women. Right, Lily-san?" (Fuuko)
"Yeah, that"s right. So you three were already taken by Hero-sama…" (Lily)
"Yes! That is exactly it!" (Fuuko)
"Ah, Hayase-san! That"s wrong! I"m also-!" (Shuri)
"Would you two cut it out for once!" (Tamaki)
"Ow-!?" (Fuuko)
"Kya-!" (Shuri)
Dull pain ran through my head. Yui-chan let her fists drop on mine and Hayase-san"s heads.
"Sorry, Lily-san. These children tend to lose their minds when it comes to that guy." (Tamaki)
"Hahaha! It"s fine, that just proves that they love Hero-sama!" (Lily)
"That"s… well, I agree. Though, let"s that aside for now, Lily-san. Could we get down to business?" (Tamaki)
"What do you mean?" (Lily)
"You purposely summoned us here to the bottom floor to talk with you… is my guess correct?" (Tamaki)
Rather than responding to Yui-chan"s inquiry, Lily smiled like a ferocious beast.
Her atmosphere suddenly changed. A heavy pressure suddenly crushed us from above.
-“That’s about it. Be that as it may, I don’t intend to oppose the Hero-sama. Since if he was able to defeat Akina and Fantra, then he’s competent enough, if it’s for the current world… Well, though I say that, since that idiot of a husband of mine is very hotblooded…” (Lily)
"Eh, Lily-san, you have a husband?" (Tamaki)
“We have the firm relationship of a husband and wife. I think that he wants to fight the Hero-sama. Because of that, I will be your opponent. That’s why, Mirage Curtain”. (Lily)
A purple veil appeared around Yui-chan and I after Lily finished her chant-omitted magic.
"W-what is this?" (Tamaki)
"… A magic barrier?" (Shuri)
Striking the veil with my dagger didn"t even leave a scratch.
Realizing that we were becoming impatient, the one who cast the magic soon followed up to calm us down.
"Rest a.s.sured. This doesn"t mean that I"m going to kill you. I want you two to take my test. I want to see whether or not you have the ability to support Hero-sama… alright?" (Lily)
"… Lily-san? Wait a second, I don"t understand what is happening…" (Tamaki)
Yui-chan was perplexed. She was trying to be calm but I was in the same state. I was doubting the memory of that friendly woman from a moment ago.
"Shield. I recognize Hero-sama, but that does not mean I have recognized you all." (Lily)
She continued to admonish us.
“Is that alright? The ones at the side of the hero who has subdued demons need suitable ability and feelings for him. I’m just going to ascertain if you two posses both qualities. Sorry for behaving like this, but… Leadred, you stay out of it.” (Lily)
"I don"t want to hear that from you… Shuri! Tamaki! Lily is not trying to kill you guys, so relax. This fellow, she"s always liked to get involved with people"s love." (Leadred)
"That"s rude. I try to make them succeed." (Lily)
"I remember that Miare would always call you a『Hindrance』. Well, that"s a story for another time. For now, focus on quickly returning from smashing the test." (Leadred)
"W-will you stop so that I can start already!? In my name—" (Lily)
"… Umm…" (Fuuko)
Earning Leadred"s approval, Lily began to start a new chant, but Hayase-san shyly rose her hand to interrupt.
"Hm? What is it?" (Lily)
"Why was I left out?" (Hayase)
It seemed that Hayase-san wasn"t pleased with being left out of the examination for『Those who support Hero-sama』so she asked why from Lily.
"Because you seemed to be the successor to Fantra Angas of the Six Demon Generals, I pa.s.sed you already. Do you understand?" (Lily) [TN: I thought Tamaki would have been the successor… seeing as how she got his Unique Ability… /confused]
"No… with all of the words that you suddenly brought up I wasn"t able to understand it all and was overtaken… though I don"t think it"s fair." (Fuuko)
"Oh? Then, are you saying you also want to receive this test?" (Lily)
"Yes. Since… I want to be near Katsuragi-kun both in name and reality." (Fuuko)
Hayase-san glanced at us. The crimson in her eyes gave off the illusion that her fighting spirit was burning.
Receiving her gaze, a switch turn on in me.
"… Alright, I understand. Then, Fuuko will also be tested." (Lily)
"Thank you very much." (Fuuko)
"You have very good manners. Then, let"s start. Mirage Curtain." (Lily)
Identical to the one around us, a purple veil surrounded Hayase-san.
"In my name, I invoke the contract. King of the light spirits. Bestow the tribulations unto them. Reward those who triumph, punish those who fail." (Lily)
Lily struck her palms together.
"—Labyrinth Corridor."(Lily)
When she finished chanting, I suddenly lost strength and relinquished consciousness.
Before I knew it, there was… total darkness?
The ceiling, as well as the walls and everything else was covered with black. I was in that kind of a place.
"… Where is this?" (Shuri)
『This s.p.a.ce is a combination of my Unique Ability『Beast Illusion』and the darkness magic『Labyrinth Corridor』.』(Lily)
"Where-!?" (Shuri)
I looked around when I heard Lily"s voice respond to my monologue. However, I couldn"t see her anywhere.
『There is no use in looking for me. I am no here. From now on you will be receiving the first trial to clear.』 (Lily)
"The first trial?" (Shuri)
『Yes. That is—』 (Lily)
My vision suddenly lit up. I covered my eyes from the sudden dazzling light with my arm. My eyes finally grew accustomed to the light and I looked around—at the same moment I did so, I blinked repeatedly as I doubted my eyes.
A screen with an image on it came into sight. However, the problem what was in the image.
“… How come… this…?” (Shuri)
It was the building of our former world’s Okinomiya Private Academy, where we went to.
Seeing my reaction of blank surprise, Lily who was observing from somewhere announced.
『The first trial. Make the Hero-sama from your original world—fall in love with you.』(Lily)