To escape fate, you only dodge left and right.
Do you call that cowardice, or laziness?
I can’t even be bothered to peel off that smiling mask of yours.
After all, it’ll fall off on its own sooner or later.
…
From the beginning of everything to the end of everything, I’ve never once imagined the most beautiful yesterday.
Perhaps, deep in your heart, someone is still calling out to you.
But rather than that voice, you’d be better off picking up your weapon.
…
Why keep playing this boring game?
Can’t you hear the sound of time stopping?
My number of victories is already beyond counting.
Your spine has also become the foundation of sin.
…
But I will never choose to retreat.
I’ve fallen in love with this taste of bearing calamity.
No need to retreat.
No mercy to scatter.
Nothing matters except “love.”
…
So finally, we meet.
That child who declared to everyone a love for peace, holding a sword and a shield, thought they could resist noble “Fear.”
Don’t think I came uninvited—our ancestors already settled this duel long ago. Quick, listen to that unexpected result—
Oh! What a pity.
I’ve already taken first place.
…
…..
Name: Hazuki Jūrei
Status: [Normal]
Mode: [Peace Mode]
Countermeasure: [Default]
Toggles: 【Sanction】【Injury Escape】【Blood Boiling】【Space-Time Ability】【Sage’s Protection】
Inherent: 【Stamina Lock】【Time Chaos】【KRYY·Healing Blood】【Cold Sensitivity lv.max】【Heat Sensitivity lv.5】【Self-Causality】
By the time I came back to my senses, I had already followed that bear girl back to the village. I wandered around for a while, and only when dusk fell did I head to the so-called dinner gathering…
—Under a giant cherry blossom tree.
Hmph~ A classic scene. But it used to be quite popular back in the day—in the Eastern lands, for example… Well, when I was in Yan Country, I hardly ever saw plants. The chemical composition of the atmosphere made the air quality terrible, so much so that even greenhouses were affected… The famous “cherry blossom tree” could only be seen on electronic screens.
I let out a soft sigh, took a few deep breaths, confirmed my condition, and walked over.
“Hm?” Something bumped into me. I turned around and saw Kalimel, who I hadn’t seen all afternoon.
“Big sister!” He looked delighted, waving at me.
I quite like kids—or rather, I like small, cute things in general. Sure, I have megaphobia, but as long as it’s cool-looking, it’s not a problem… Ahem!
When I noticed, I realized my hand was naturally stroking Kalimel’s head, so I quickly pulled it back.
“…You don’t find it gross?”
Kalimel said nothing, just shook his head, and I could see the confusion in his expression.
As expected—anyone who’d ask that question is a weirdo… I should talk less to avoid ruining the mood.
I looked past Kalimel to what was behind him—a scene I honestly could barely identify.
—First, the hunter bear girl I’d met in the forest that afternoon;
—Second, a mermaid… floating in the air, defying Newton’s laws? I’d never seen one before. According to the game data from “AWO,” in the southeastern sea of 【Klovet】, there seemed to be an island with many fishfolk, but mermaids… were they a rare species?
—Then there was the fox shrine maiden I’d also met that afternoon? Among everyone, she seemed to be the tallest. That tuft of bright yellow hair looked blinding under the dusk light…
—I was getting tired of looking. What else was there—a flower spirit? Or a tree spirit? Anyway, something plant-related… Another succubus? Are they all that… well-endowed?
“Are they all your friends?”
I pointed at that bunch of outrageous monster girls and asked the most outrageous one, Kalimel—only to outrageously discover he had already vanished, having run off toward the outrageous cherry blossom tree.
Outrageous. Simply outrageous.
It was as if an alarm went off in my ears, warning me to hurry after him—otherwise I’d get talked to and end up in a troublesome situation—
“Hey! Child!”
Too late. Damn it.
I felt something long and thin wrap around my shoulder. I turned my head—it was a vine. There was a sensation on the other side too, and when I tried to look again, my body was already being pulled backward… I couldn’t resist, for fear of hurting someone. That’s what I thought.
With sheer strength, I could definitely break free from this lone vine, because before… before? No, anyway, I definitely could.
“Hey~ Is this the child who looks so much like Mizuyo?”
“Just as I thought! Her hair color is exactly the same as yours, Mizuyo!”
“Really? But she doesn’t have a tail, so she’s probably not the same race as me.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying! She’s human, human!”
“Whoa, another human. Does she get along with Kalimel?”
They cupped my face and looked me over from every angle, only stopping once they realized I was human.
Being scrutinized like that really doesn’t feel good.
For a good while, they wouldn’t let me go. Unable to bear being handled like that any longer, I forcibly broke free and headed straight for the cherry blossom tree.
“Whoa~ She’s so strong.”
“She was all soft and weak just a moment ago.”
“Looks like she got angry.”
“Really…”
“Sorry! >_<”
They followed behind me, apologizing over and over. I just nodded in response, and it didn’t stop until we reached the dinner spot.
…
Honestly, cutting loose like this once in a while isn’t so bad.
Sure, I mainly want a peaceful life, but the same old routine would definitely bore me.
Earlier in the forest, the fruit alone had been enough to fill me up, so at the feast I didn’t ask for anything more—I just wanted to sit by the bonfire and space out.
But the cat girl Aria kept stuffing things my way, and I couldn’t refuse, so I ate them one after another… Mixed grill, venison steak, peach nectar. Whatever it was, I’d never seen any of it in 【Klovet】 or even in my past life.
Anyway, it was all incredibly delicious.
Everyone chatted and laughed at the feast—sometimes about the monsters around, sometimes about Kalimel’s situation, and sometimes about where to put this foreign guest—me.
—But what caught my attention most was the ruins the fox shrine maiden Fokkusu mentioned.
I’d tried to go back through the magic circle I’d arrived by, but when I got there, it had lost its glow—completely useless. So I stopped bothering with it.
But I couldn’t stay here. I still had to see Lady Clerol.
So the ruins sparked hope in me. No matter what, ruins are always full of puzzling things—
“Speaking of which, child! Weren’t you going to explore those ruins!”
Being suddenly brought up like that, I froze for a moment, then nodded.
“How about tomorrow—Kalimel, you, me, Mizuyo, and Sasse all go together? More people means more safety.”
That’s what Fokkusu said. Mizuyo was the mermaid I’d just seen, and Sasse was the third succubus… Wow, are all succubi that big?
Me, Kalimel, and three others…
“Thank you for going out of your way for such a small thing.”
Sincere gratitude is nothing unusual for me—even for the smallest things, I’ll say “thank you.”
“It’s nothing!”
Fokkusu scratched her slightly reddened cheek, looking quite pleased with herself.
I had thought about going alone to avoid troubling the villagers, but now… Never mind. Things will work out when the time comes—it can’t go wrong.
“Meow! Jūrei!”
“Hm? What is it?”
I looked at Aria, who had asked. Her face was filled with inexplicable anticipation and excitement, so much so that the cat tail behind her wouldn’t stop swaying.
“Do you feel, like, really hot right now, meow!?”
“Yeah, I think I do a little.” After all, I was sitting so close to the bonfire, and I had the [Heat Sensitivity] buff…
“Yay! It’s nothing, meow!” I moved my seat back a bit, and sure enough, it felt much better.
“That’s much more comfortable. Thanks for the reminder.”
I smiled at her, but out of the corner of my eye, I noticed her cheerful expression dim. Did I do something wrong?
Hmm, maybe it’s some local custom.
Me: “Iris, how big is Monster?”
Iris: “(Confused) Monster?”
Me: “(Puzzled) Hm? Isn’t Monster the name of this village?”
Mizuyo: “(Shakes her head) No, that’s not right. Our village is called Riq Village. Monster was a fortress used for war in the past—it just happens to be here. But time waits for no one, especially not a fortress…”
Me: “Ah, I see. So the magic circle I found on the mountaintop this morning…”
Iris: “(Startled) The mountaintop?! Jūrei, you climbed up there?!”
Me: “…I wouldn’t exactly say climbed. I came in through there.”
Iris: “(Coldly) Was there a strange magic circle there?”
Me: “(Realizing) …Yes. Or rather, I came here by means of that magic circle—!”
Iris: “(Suddenly) So you’re one of them.”
Me: “One of them? You mean… (Realizing) …Oh, I understand.”
Iris: “(Coming back to herself) Ah, Jūrei, I didn’t actually—”
Me: “(Coldly) It’s fine, Iris. I understand.”
Iris: “Jūrei… I wasn’t—! (Terrified) Eh!”
Me: “(Coldly) If that’s what ‘courtesy demands reciprocity’ means, then I suppose I’ve been doing quite well.”
Kalimel: “Big sister?”
Fokkusu: “Child, don’t be rash!”
Me: “(Coming back to myself) …I’m very sorry. I just suddenly felt provoked, and instinctively… As expected, it’s the same no matter where I go.”
Iris: “Jūrei… If you’re willing, please accept my apology.”
Me: “…It’s my fault, not yours. (Passing over Iris) Don’t mind me, everyone, please continue. I’m going to go check out those ruins now.”
Mizuyo: “(Casting a spell) Child, I need you to explain.”
Fokkusu: “(Shouting) Mizuyo! Don’t do that!”
Aria: “This is getting bad, meow.”
Mizuyo: “I’m not mistaken, child. The killing intent you just showed was absolutely real.”
Me: “(Staring at the water barrier, then at Mizuyo, coldly) You think this can stop me?”
Mizuyo: “(Startled) Eek!”
