“We have to defeat the monsters!” Tamaki sprang into action, dashing for the front door.
“Wait, Tamaki! We need our weapons first!”
“Oh, right. Which way was it again?”
“To the right, toward the park!”
Tamaki and Arisu scurried down the hallway, and Rushia got up to join them. Kayla bounced up from my lap and ran off, waving back at me. “I’m off, Papa!”
“Shiki, you should stay here.”
“Wouldn’t I be safest by your side?” she retorted.
“Well… maybe it’s best you have some time with your family,” I hesitated.
Shiki offered a wistful smile. “There’s no time to convince them. I might as well slip away while everyone’s distracted.”
“No, that can’t be the best—” I objected, but she insisted.
“It’s fine. I’m…”
I realized then.
Having heard her true feelings on the second day, I understood Yukariko Shiki hadn’t forgiven herself for her friend’s death. She wanted to suffer. Pointless as it might seem, her zeal in leading and inspiring us all stemmed from this very remorse.
So, I couldn’t just deny her this curse-like passion that pierced her heart.
“All right. Shall we go then?”
“Sure. Mr. Wan, would you…”
“I might be a burden to you, but might I accompany you?” he inquired.
Unlike us, he didn’t have a concept of levels, so taking even a single hit could prove deadly for him.
“Well, Shiki will be in the same situation, so sure, you can come with us. Let’s go Shiki.”
“Okay.”
We nodded at each other and filed out of the room. In the hallway, Shiki’s mother and grandmother were waiting.
“I’ll be back soon,” Shiki told them hurriedly before turning away. Her lips tightened, hidden from her family’s view.
Of course, it must have been painful. Just when she’d finally returned home to a place where she could relax, she was about to leave it all behind again—and without even a proper goodbye.
“Yukariko,” her mother called out as we were putting on our shoes.
“What?” Shiki asked without turning back.
“You’ll come back soon, won’t you?”
“Yes, of course.”
I finished tying my shoes first and turned around. I could tell Shiki was using all her willpower to keep from crying.
Ah, what an idiot. It would be so much better if she could be more honest with her feelings. But this isn’t the place for me to say so.
“I’m off then.”
Her shoes tied, Shiki brushed past me and left, not once meeting her mother’s gaze. I caught a fleeting glimpse of the woman’s face as I stood by the entrance.
She appeared on the verge of tears, a mirror image of Shiki’s pained expression.
Ah… Of course. She’s Shiki’s mother. She must have long understood the subtleties of her daughter’s heart. I wondered if Shiki realized how much like her mother she was.
I silently bowed to Shiki’s mom before leaving the house and falling into step behind Shiki and Mr. Wan, who was still coordinating with his comrades on the phone.
✦ ✦ ✦
According to Mr. Wan’s associates, about thirty monsters, comprised of skeletons in robes and skeletons armed with swords and spears, were advancing toward us. They were divided into four teams. “Please, feel free to fight to your heart’s content,” a ninja master told us. “We’ve already completed evacuations along their path.”
“When did that happen?”
“I had given instructions to my associates before I arrived here,” Mr. Wan replied, a gleeful smile on his face.
Wow, so when he came into Shiki’s house, preparations were already underway? They must have targeted this entire area for evacuation… What a feat.
“By the way, can your organization defeat these skeletons?” I asked him.
“We’ve had reports of a few being taken down, but at the cost of some sacrifices.”
I see, even Mr. Wan’s associates are having trouble with these skeletons. And from the way he’s talking, I can tell that whoever defeated them didn’t level up. So, the privilege of leveling up is exclusive to us… probably since we were on the school mountain on that day, at that time.
✦ ✦ ✦
Minutes later, we sat in an alleyway, barely breathing as we awaited our enemies. At Mr. Wan’s signal, we sprang into action.
Seven skeletons that had entered the one-way street—Rushia immobilized them with a tempest of ice thanks to Frost Storm, a Rank 8 Water spell. Then, Arisu and Tamaki charged in. They had refrained from using attack magic outright to protect nearby houses, but now they were going all out—presuming Wan’s organization would likely compensate for any damage. With Kayla’s slingshot providing cover, the robed skeletons fell one by one; with Arisu and Tamaki’s level of experience, they didn’t stand a chance.
“Level up,” Shiki announced after our frontline had taken down the fifth skeleton.
✦ ✦ ✦
The instant we all arrived in the White Room, Shiki began talking quickly. “Okay, let’s summarize everything we’ve heard so far.”
“Wait, Shiki,” Rushia interjected. “You should sort out your feelings first.”
“Feelings? What do you…?”
“You look like you’re about to cry right now,” Rushia observed.
Shiki bit her lip and turned away. The princess of a fallen kingdom looked at me with a lonely expression, her elongated ears twitching slightly. She probably didn’t want me to say anything unnecessary.
“Shiki, I don’t know what struggles you’re facing inside, because you haven’t shared them with me. Kazu seems to have some idea, so if it helps, you could talk to him…”
“No need. Sorry, just give me a moment,” Shiki said, transforming the adjacent room into a meadow and entering it alone. I could tell from her posture that she did not want to be followed—she was determined to resolve this issue by herself.
“That stubborn girl,” I muttered.
“Um… Are you sure it’s okay to leave her alone?” Arisu said.
“It’s okay, Arisu,” I reassured her. “If Shiki doesn’t need us…” Any meddling on our part would only continue to afflict Shiki’s heart, especially since her biggest struggle was her inability to forgive herself.
“By the way, Kayla, I saw Mr. Wan gave you a bag earlier. What’s in it?”
“Sling bullets!” Kayla proudly puffed out her chest, holding up the cloth bag. I peered inside and saw that it was indeed full of silver balls for slingshots.
“I asked for more bullets! They’re more powerful than rocks.”
“You’re pretty clever,” I noted.
“Mama told me you can also turn money into metal!”
Oh, Mia, what have you been teaching this kid?