“Now then, just what is going to pop out…?”
“Hopefully it’s someone important from this world rather than the bad guys.”
“Are you kidding, Reiji? Hopefully it’s our classmates with a sign that says ‘Surprise!’”
“…”
Reiji didn’t respond to Suimei’s all too optimistic humor. Was it because the footsteps were drawing ever nearer? Or was it because he was hoping for something other than that? Maybe Reiji honestly believed the best-case scenario would be if someone important walked through that door. Suimei had no way of knowing what he was really thinking, but now that the footsteps were just on the other side of the door, it would only be a matter of seconds before they saw who it really was.
Suimei cast a fleeting glance to his side. He could see Reiji lower his stance, ready to spring into action at any time, and Mizuki stepping back so that she wouldn’t get in his way. As for Suimei, rather than stiffening up at the prospect of danger, his heart was pounding at the thrill of the unknown. He was in his element right now, and that was his natural curiosity as a magician at work.
Suppressing his excitement, he quietly inspected the belongings he had with him. He’d been brought here completely unprepared, so he had nothing other than what he usually carried on his person.
I have my bag, inside of which is a chain accessory, a vial of mercury, cards, my suit, the gloves of discord, and a little of the Yakagi secret medicine… Frankly, I’m a little unsure about whipping any of that out, but…
If something happened, he wouldn’t have a choice. Because Reiji and Mizuki were used to peaceful everyday life in Japan, Suimei was the only one with combat experience among the three of them. He’d had his fair share of run-ins in the underworld. He certainly wanted to keep that and his powers a secret from his friends, but if that came at the cost of their lives, he wouldn’t hesitate to reveal himself. Even in the worst case, though he would feel guilty about it, there was the option of manipulating their memories.
The three of them each tensed up as the footsteps came to a complete stop. The brief moment after that seemed to last forever. But eventually, the door finally opened with the sound of something heavy being dragged across the ground. Reiji immediately readied himself.
“Tch!”
“Mea firma aegis.”
[My solid shield.]
With that, Suimei put his defensive magicka on standby. It wasn’t out of the question that whoever it was would suddenly attack upon seeing them. Better safe than sorry, after all.
What appeared in the doorway was a group of armored men who didn’t look particularly friendly. From what Suimei could see, however, they looked to be human. They didn’t appear to be monsters, demons, or other evil beings, so that much was a relief, at least.
The armored group then stood along the wall, forming orderly ranks while facing the three friends vigilantly. Just what was going to happen? Suimei kept his magicka at the ready, but the wall of armored men parted. A young woman with blue hair wearing a pink dress, and a second girl with silver hair wearing a white robe the color of a polished pearl then appeared.
“Huh…?”
“Hmm?”
Both girls tilted their heads to the side in unison, looking as though something completely unexpected were unfolding right in front of them. Then the girl with the blue hair leaned in and began quietly whispering to the other one.
“White Flame-dono, was there not supposed to be a single summoned hero?”
“No, it is just as you say.”
“Yet there are three people present here…”
“I-Indeed there are… About that, this is merely conjecture on my part, but let’s just assume one of these three is, in fact, the hero. I would imagine then that the other two simply got caught up in the hero summoning.”
“But how could that be? I’ve never seen records of such a thing happening. I’ve never even heard of it.”
“Neither have I, Your Highness. Yet even so, here three people stand before us, so…”
“The probability is rather high, you mean.”
They were talking privately to one another, but Suimei could overhear them thanks to his enhanced hearing. He expected Reiji could hear them as well, but wasn’t sure he could understand what they were saying. What they were speaking, after all, wasn’t Japanese, or any other language from Earth, for that matter. It was a strangely rhythmic language. And even though he didn’t know what it was, Suimei could still decipher it.
Figuratively speaking, it was like the words were being rearranged in his head into a language he knew well, or something to that effect. Since it was considerably intuitive to him, it was difficult to explain in words. The reason for it was likely because of the kind of spell that was cast on them when they were summoned. It was only a theory of Suimei’s, but he didn’t have much else to go on. The reason why didn’t matter all that much right now. More importantly, it was convenient.
And then, judging that there was no longer any need to remain on guard after hearing the words “hero” and “summoning” from their conversation, Suimei discreetly canceled his magicka. Reiji also seemed to relax as he came out of his stance. Suimei then turned to Mizuki.
“Hey, Mizuki, it seems this was a bit of a surprise for them too. Is this kind of development normal?”
“Well, yes. There are stories where the friends of the summoned hero are caught up in things too, but…”
Mizuki suddenly looked troubled, like it was hard to explain further. Suimei was left hanging. Just what was it she was afraid to say?
“Mizuki, are you worried about something?”
“Um, in this kind of scenario, one of the hero’s friends—in our case, that would be one of us—usually forms a pact with an evil god and becomes the antagonist.”
“What the hell, seriously? Now an evil god’s going to show up for no reason? Why?”
“I’m not really sure myself…”
Mizuki trembled with anxiety. Frankly speaking, Suimei wanted to do the same thing. No, he just wanted to run away. He just couldn’t get his head around why something as extreme as an evil god would suddenly show up.
He might have been able to understand if it was just an avatar or some other manifestation of its power, but actually summoning an evil god would cause deaths in the thousands. Even if the summoned hero somehow managed to scrape by on bare luck, they would have a dangerous incarnation of evil eyeing them forever after that. And people rarely ever got that lucky twice. Without some sort of intervention, it seemed the hero would still meet an unfortunate end eventually. And that wasn’t what Suimei wanted. Thinking about it sent a chill down his spine. While lost in his own thoughts, Reiji continued questioning Mizuki.
“The antagonist? Why would one of you end up fighting with me?”
“In this scenario, either me or Suimei-kun would come to oppose your way of thinking, Reiji-kun, and end up making a pact with the evil god as a way to fight against you.”
“What…?”
Reiji went visibly pale upon hearing Mizuki’s explanation. He was dumbfounded. Seeing his response, Mizuki desperately tried to backpedal.
“But, but I would never do that, Reiji-kun! I don’t hate you! I l-l-l-l-lo…”
She must have been too embarrassed to say it directly to his face. Her voice steadily trailed off until it was completely inaudible. Reiji then awkwardly turned his head towards Suimei.
“Th-Then… it’s you, Suimei?”
“Heh, to be honest, I’ve always secretly thought you were a real bottom-feeding braggart who should just drop dead.”
“—!”