Menou quickly recovered, her thoughts racing. Trying to convey a sense of urgency, she pointedly made her voice sound strained yet panicked as she addressed the stunned girl. “Are you—the girl who was summoned from another world?!” “Huh? Oh, um, yeah.” “I see. Thank goodness!” Menou had already knocked out the guards who were keeping an eye on this room. Knowing she wouldn’t be overheard, she observed the girl, analyzing her responses. The young woman was wearing a headband over her carefully maintained black hair, which went down to her shoulder blades. Her dark, round eyes made her face look a little young, features indicating she wasn’t from the area. This was almost certainly Menou’s target. And she was wearing a sailor uniform, one of the trademark outfits of a Japanese middle school student—an Otherworlder. Beneath the scarf of her uniform, her chest was noticeably big. No wonder she had left such an impression on the boy Menou had encountered earlier that day. Still, it wasn’t entirely impossible that she was a substitute or a body double. Menou pressed her with rapid-fire questions, leaving the girl no time to think. “What school do you go to? What year are you and which class are you in?!” “Eep?! I’m Akari Tokitou, from Nishichou High School! First year! Class Three!” Her response naturally streamed out of her. Information on Japan was kept strictly confidential, so if she had been acting, it would’ve been a difficult question to answer right away. I didn’t even ask your name, she thought, irritated. Menou preferred to avoid any information that might risk emotional investment in the target, since she would be assassinating them in due course. “Very well. Akari Tokitou, huh…? Akari, then. My name is Menou.” If she could respond with her school name, year, and class that quickly, then she must be the real deal. Now that Menou had learned her name, she decided she might as well use it to make the target trust her more. “Oh, okay. Menou, right? Nice to meet y—Wait, huh? Why did you…? What?” It must have been confusing to be asked her class and year in this world. As Akari’s eyes widened, Menou moved closer to peer into her face and grasp her hand. “I am a member of the Faust. We’re getting you out of here, Akari.” “Fau…wha—? Wh-what does that mean? You just dropped out of the sky, and now you’re gonna take me away?” “You’re being deceived by the Noblesse of this nation.” “Whaaat?!” Akari’s voice was half-confused, half-astonished. This wasn’t a bad reaction, Menou thought. She didn’t immediately deny Menou’s claim that she was being deceived. That meant the Noblesse who had summoned Akari hadn’t won her trust yet. “Listen, Akari. The truth is, there was another one of you.” “Another…?” “I knew it. They didn’t tell you… There was another person summoned here from Japan, a boy. He found out about the Noblesse’s plans and ran away. He shook off his pursuers and managed to escape to the church, but by that time, his wounds were beyond healing…” Menou put on a grave expression and lowered her head. At this point, she didn’t feel any hesitation about lying to lead on the target. “But in his final moments, he told us about you. We couldn’t save the other boy, but we’ll at least save you!” The story was riddled with plot holes, but it only had to seem consistent in the moment. Acting even more urgent, Menou pushed on. “You must have some kind of power, right? These people are trying to use you.” “Y-yeah. They told me something about that and had me try it a few times, and, um… Basically, I can heal other people’s wounds, or something. They’re probably trying to take advantage of that…?” “Yes, that’s right.” Just like that, Akari gave her the information she wanted: Her ability involved healing. Gotcha, Menou thought, but she didn’t let it show as she kept talking. “The Noblesse of this nation are not good people. They’re royals who will find a way to profit off any power, even something as gentle as the ability to heal. So we have to get out of here right now!” Akari caught her breath at Menou’s words. She wasn’t necessarily persuaded by what Menou was saying, but she was getting swept up in the sense of urgency. Confirming her assessment of Akari’s emotions, Menou smiled at her warmly. “Don’t worry, Akari. I’m on your side.” Akari’s face had the obvious confusion of someone who couldn’t keep up with the situation. It suddenly flushed pink. Something Menou said must have struck a chord, because Akari’s eyes sparkled as she firmly took Menou’s hand. “Okay. I trust you!” With that, Akari turned away from Menou and went back into the room. Immediately, Menou dispelled her crest conjuring. The dagger, which had been secured against the guardrail, fell straight into Menou’s hand as the thread disappeared. “Thank you. I shall do everything I can to prove worthy of that trust!” Returning the dagger to the strap on her thigh, Menou followed Akari off the balcony and into the room. The reason she had deceived Akari with her honeyed words was out of caution for the girl’s powers. Unlike the knights, whose strength and schemes were easy to deduce, even the most inexperienced Otherworlder could harbor the potential to destroy Menou with a single ability. There were too many variables to risk fighting one head-on. Thus, whenever Menou came into contact with them, she always pretended to be an ally at first. And now she’d already learned this target’s skill. “Come out into the hallway.” “Okay!” Having ensnared her target through this brief conversation, Menou went in front of Akari and cautiously led the way down the corridor. Akari was all but completely vulnerable. Even if Menou attacked her from the front, there was no way this Otherworlder could defeat her. And since she now knew that her ability couldn’t be used to strike her, there was no reason to delay any longer. Turning a corner as she led Akari down the hallway, Menou enhanced her powers and jumped upward. When Akari turned the corner moments later, she didn’t see Menou anywhere, and she immediately started to panic. “Wha…? Huh?! Menou…? Where did you—? Eek?!” From Akari’s perspective, she must have assumed something had fallen on her. Menou had jumped as soon as she was out of sight, slamming down onto Akari’s shoulders knees-first with all her weight. Unable to withstand the surprise attack, Akari crashed to the floor facedown. There was a painful crack—she must have hit her forehead on the floor—but that didn’t matter to Menou. She held Akari’s head in place with her knee, pinning the girl in place, and drove her dagger into the back of Akari’s neck. A normal person would die instantly before they even felt the pain, but Menou still remembered what had happened earlier. Unable to deny the possibility of the target surviving against all odds, she immediately jumped away after stabbing her. Guiding Force: Connect— Just as she suspected, Menou felt the activation of this power like she had with the boy. Menou stayed far back enough that Akari wouldn’t notice her and watched the girl closely, her scripture and dagger at the ready. The girl had said she had healing powers. She might try to restore her own body from the brink of death. S?T?i? K???Pure Concept [Time]— Guiding Light surrounded Akari’s body as the conjuring began. What was going on? Menou kept her eyes fixed sharply on the unnatural formation of Guiding Light. As Menou watched with bated breath, the buzzing particles slowly began to take shape, shifting from chaos into an unbelievably precise design. Shimmering in the darkness, the motes of light had taken the shape of a pendulum clock. The time it displayed was now. Tick. Right before Menou’s eyes, the hand of the clock went backward. Invoke [Regression] An instant later, the clock burst apart. The scattered light faded, making Menou’s eyes flicker…and then she heard a voice coming from where the light had been. “Oww…” It was Akari. She was groaning, her eyes tearing up from pain. Most strangely of all, she wasn’t clutching the back of her neck where Menou had stabbed her; she was rubbing her forehead where she’d hit the floor. “Wh-what was that?! Something fell on me! And where is Me—? Oh, there you are!” Akari looked around, still teary-eyed, and stood up when she spotted Menou. All Menou could do was silently stare as the girl ran up to her. Under no circumstances could this be considered “healing.” Not in the slightest. There wasn’t even a scar where Menou had stabbed the back of her neck. In fact, the blood that had soaked her sailor uniform was gone. “Menou, are you okay?! I thought you disappeared, but maybe I imagined it?! Well, whatever! Let’s just keep moving!” “…Yeah.” Fortunately, Akari seemed to have no idea of the strangeness that had just transpired. As far as Menou could tell, Akari’s consciousness seemed to have picked back up right after she died. There was no indication of lying or acting. It was technically possible that Akari was an even better actor than Menou, but somehow that theory seemed unlikely. Between the blustering Akari in front of her and the bizarre conjuring Menou had just witnessed, a certain hypothesis was forming in Menou’s mind. Not a single wound. Resurrection. And the Guiding Light that manifested in the shape of a clock. It seemed impossible…but what if her ability wasn’t healing? What if it was… “…the Pure Concept of Time?” “Hmm? Did you say something, Menou?” “…Nope.” It was all Menou could do to keep her face from twitching. An ability to meddle with time itself. Akari must have Regressed to the time before Menou stabbed and killed her. A completely illogical ability. One that would prevent a person from dying. Menou was staring at an impossibility—but she quickly composed herself. “I’m glad you woke up right away. Are you all right, Akari?” “Um, y-yeah. I’m fine. ‘Woke up,’ huh…? Does that mean I fainted?” “Yes. You were attacked out of the blue… I drove off the attacker, but I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.” “You don’t need to apologize!” Menou’s concerned expression and words were enough to convince Akari of the falsehood that she had fainted. “Thanks for saving me… I’m sorry for slowing you down.” “You shouldn’t apologize, either. I’m a professional—you’re the victim here, you know.” As Menou spoke with Akari to maintain her trust, she thought about what to do next. “You were attacked because I failed to protect you. I’m the one who ought to apologize. But I’m glad you seem to be all right. Let’s get moving. Are you hurt? If you are, just say the word.” “Yeah, my forehead hurts!” “Ah-ha-ha, I see.” Keeping her smile in place, Menou held out her hand to Akari. “Let’s get you out of here.” “Okay!” At the moment, Menou had no way to kill her. In which case, she had no choice but to stick close to her until she found a method. She would have to maintain control over the Otherworlder and her Pure Concept, keeping watch to make sure Akari didn’t cause any damage even by mistake. On top of that, she had to do it all without Akari suspecting her. “Oh, right. Before we escape, can I say one thing, Menou?” “What’s the matter, Akari?” “I know it might sound strange to say this out of nowhere, but…you know, I’m really happy I met you.” “Yeah?” “Yeah. For some reason…meeting you made me really happy. I dunno why, but it was like time stopped ever since I came to this world, and it only started moving again when we met.” Even though they’d only just met, Akari seemed to have an almost excessive level of trust in Menou. She smiled widely, squeezing Menou’s hand. “So I’m really glad I came to this world, Menou. I dunno what’s gonna happen here, but I’m just happy I met you. This must be…you know…” Akari was gripping the hand that had wielded the blade that had killed her just moments ago. “I think this must be what people call fate!” “…I see. Well, it certainly doesn’t feel half-bad to hear that!” Menou smiled. As she did, something prickled in her chest. Ignoring it, Menou kept playing the role of the pure and noble priestess, all so that Akari wouldn’t grow suspicious of her. Neither of them knew this meeting would alter both their futures. And so they smiled at each other, even though each knew nothing of the other party. “I’m glad I was able to rescue you, too, Akari.” “Yeah, and I’m glad you saved me, Menou.” At the time, not a soul knew of the fate this would bring about.
Chapter 4
11 min read