“Okay…? Kid, if you can call being forced to overdose on potions and fight demons in a mirror dimension over and over ‘okay’, then…I guess I’m okay.”
“Urgh…” Pomera let out a groan, sympathy in her eyes.
So far we had Mitsuru and Kotone, and then Rosemonde. It would defeat the purpose of training people if we chose the wrong person, leveled them up, and then they shifted to the higher beings’ side and went on a rampage. Both Kotone and Rosemonde were the kind of people who could be trusted.
Mitsuru was…iffy. His personality was a bit hard to deal with, but he wasn’t actually a bad person.
“I heard you’re training four people, Lunaère-san, who’s the fourth?” I asked.
“Your best friend,” she replied.
My…best…friend? I hadn’t exactly been making friends left and right since coming to this world, so who could possibly be considered my best friend? I felt bad for whoever it was. But to be honest, I couldn’t think of who it might be.
Then another set of footsteps echoed from down the hall.
“So, you cry and flee, with no regard for your honor or reputation. Mitsuru Ijuuin, I once respected you, but it seems that was your limit. You were never someone who could carry the fate of the world.”
I looked in the direction of the voice to see a tall man dressed in black.
“I, on the other hand, am fulfilled. I feel no unease, no fear. I’ve learned what the world is and my place in it. My heart is as clear as a crystalline lake. I feel myself approaching heights I never before even considered reaching for. I am certain that I was born for this fight.”
Walking gracefully this way with eyes closed was Lovis, the Black Reaper. A memory flitted across my mind of when we recently ran into each other in Grede’s mansion in Ploroque.
…My best friend?
“Uh, he can’t seriously be the fourth person?” I asked.
Lovis’s eyes snapped open, and then he threw himself to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground. “Oh, Kanata, it’s been such a long time! I can’t believe I’d see you in a place like this! I’ve currently devoted myself to training as Lunaère’s disciple—”
“Lunaère-san’s disciple?” A bit of annoyance slipped out in my tone. My master-disciple relationship with Lunaère came with precious memories. To be fair, he could technically be considered Lunaère’s disciple now—it was the right term—but that was my gig!
“I-I’m so sorry! It’s insolent of me to call myself her disciple!” he said, his face pale as he looked up at me.
“…Uh, no, it’s not,” I sighed.
“Yo, man, you just said you felt no unease or fear. You’re shaking like a leaf,” said Mitsuru when he saw Lovis’s reaction.
-5-
POMERA AND PHILIA stood in front of Lovis, looking annoyed.
“Wh-what is it, you two…?” he asked, forcing a strained smile on his face.
Pomera looked away from him, then at me as if demanding answers. “Um, Kanata, do you really know this person? This is Lovis, the Black Reaper. He’s wanted for joining forces with thieves in the attack on Manaloch.”
He did that…? It was my first time hearing it.
“Well, we have met, but I wouldn’t say we’re actually—”
“A-ah! The Manaloch incident! I committed a severe indiscretion against you, Saint Pomera! But, there was a serious reason for that! I was attempting to earn the trust of the criminal group, the Cup of Blood, by pretending to join them so I could expose them!” His face was white as a sheet as he turned an appeasing smile toward Pomera.
Philia also glared at Lovis coldly and pointed a finger at him like she was identifying a criminal. “Kanata, Philia thinks this person is a bad person.”
“Y-you’re a difficult little lady, aren’t you? K-Kanata, perhaps I should take my leave, if I’m in your way…?” he said, waterfalls of sweat pouring down his face.
What was he just saying about being certain he was born for this fight?
“No need to be so cruel,” said Veranta, stepping in. “The Reaper…has some untrustworthy aspects, but he has been gifted with a talent for battle. I have lived nearly ten thousand years but have never seen anyone so resourceful in close combat. I have decided this man is worth training.”
Lunaère nodded firmly in agreement. “He’s also the only one able to keep a level head fighting against the demons in the cursed mirror. That makes him suited to this type of leveling. I would expect no less from someone Kanata saw potential in. But, it’s just…” Her face turned red, and she squirmed uncomfortably as she stammered, “Um…I understand why you trusted him, Kanata. Just, uh…I’m not happy that you would talk about me. It’s embarrassing…”
“…I’m sorry, what are we talking about?” I had no idea what Lunaère was getting at.
“You’re pretending like you don’t know? Are you trying to make me say it out loud? He told me, when I first met him in Manaloch. I found out…you just went and told him that you l-love me. R-really, now… I was so embarrassed. I felt like my face was on fire.”
I still didn’t know what she was mumbling about. Seriously. What did she mean?
I glanced sideways and saw that Lovis was slowly standing up and moving away from Lunaère.
“So, I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t do that,” continued Lunaère. “I would be lying if I said it didn’t make me happy…but, um, well, it’s not like I don’t want to talk about that, it’s just…” She started fiddling nervously with the tips of her beautiful white hair.
“Uh…I haven’t actually told Lovis-san anything like that…” I said.
“Hm?” Lunaère’s expression froze when she heard that, like she had no idea what was happening.
“And actually, I have run into Lovis-san a few times, but we aren’t friends at all. I think there might be a misunderstanding…”
“Th-that’s… I-I… B-but!”
I watched as her face turned redder and redder. There was blatant confusion in her expression, and her pretty mismatched eyes were practically swirling.
“K-Kanata, uh, you’re just too embarrassed to admit it…right? If not, then, then I’m a humiliatingly self-absorbed idiot. Um, Lovis…”
“Short Gate!”
A magic circle enveloped Lovis and he disappeared. He reappeared in the distance and immediately darted straight off in an escape attempt, panic on his face.
I was starting to figure out what was going on. Most likely, Lovis joined forces with the criminal group for the Manaloch incident and bumped into Lunaère, who just happened to be there. He’d pretended to be an acquaintance of mine to escape danger. There were several times I’d seen Lovis resort to flattery, exaggerated apologies, and bold lies to get out of tight situations.
Lunaère launched herself after him, her face as red as a tomato. That running start alone was enough to send cracks shooting through the floor and make this portion of the hallway tremble. There was no way Lovis was going to escape her. She had him by the scruff of the neck in the blink of an eye and dragged him back down the hallway.
“Gah!”
“Y-you, y-y-you really embarrassed me in front of Kanata! You weren’t even…agh! You were never even his friend! I can’t believe I let this pathetic man get away because his idiotic lies made me lose my head!”
A magic circle appeared at Lunaère’s hand, and a deep black light started to compress.
“You’re a terrible person, I’m going to shatter you into a billion tiny pieces right here!”
Veranta quickly used his gold gate to teleport over to Lunaère. “Calm yourself, lich! This man is a valuable warrior!”
“Don’t interrupt!”
“Agh!”
Lunaère swung her arm back and easily sent Veranta flying. I used that opening to pin her arms down from behind. “C-calm down, please! I don’t know what happened, but it sounds like we need him for the fight!” I said.