The first chorus of voices belonged to the enraged female Axis killers—er, I mean, followers—while the second belonged to Serena, tears streaking down her cheeks as she hung from the tree where they’d strung her up. It was a pretty tall tree, and Serena’s face was covered with tears and snot and contorted in terror.
“I-I-I’b breally zorry! Please forgib me! I didn’t know! I d-d-d-didn’t, I didn’t know that lady was your goddess!”
“What was that? ‘That lady’? You dare refer to our glorious deity as ‘that lady’?”
“Heek! S-sorry, I’m sorry!”
The women got angrier and angrier with every word that came out of Serena’s mouth. The way they pulled on the rope, which was slung over the branches of the tall tree, they could have stood proud among the ranks of religious fanatics anywhere at any time in history.
After she dropped her mace, Serena had tried, trembling, to run away, but they’d caught her in short order. Then they’d tied her up like a bagworm, and now it looked like the Axis women were going to put her to death…
“Uh, hey. Sorry, but I’d like to ask her a few questions,” I said, keeping a distance between myself and the murderous Axis believers. “Think you could give me a hand? It’ll help Aqua.”
Serena twisted from her perch, trying to cling to me. “K-Kazuma! H…! Help me! I’ll tell you whatever you want to know—just save me! We’re friends, aren’t we?! We were fellow worshippers of Regina for a while there! I let you do whatever you wanted, and I worked side jobs to take care of you, remember? I know that at…at the end, we had a little fight, but! Even so, we share a profound connection forged through day after day of living and sleeping under the same roof, ri—? Ow! Ow, stop that! I said stop that! At least let me finish!”
Megumin had flung a stone at the immobilized Serena, interrupting her. It hit her in the forehead, and a bruise appeared on Megumin’s brow in exactly the same place. She might have been reduced to Level 1, but I guess the revenge curse was alive and well.
I didn’t know what had Megumin so worked up, but she was getting ready to throw another rock; Darkness attempted to hold her back, while I cast Heal on her to try to calm her down. It must have felt nice, because she smiled; meanwhile, Serena, watching us, seemed to think of something. “Y-yeah, that’s it! If you kill me, Lady Regina’s power will kill you, too! I’m not bluffing; you saw it work just now! If you see what I’m saying, then let me go this instant! If I fall from this height, I’ll die for sure! All of you who strung me up, know this: You’ll all perish as well!”
She looked triumphant, but the Axis followers didn’t so much as bat an eyelash. They simply said, “““So what?”””
The unfathomable response left not just Serena but the three of us, too, lost for words.
One of the female believers smiled at Serena, who still looked uncomprehending, and said, “You seem to be under some sort of misapprehension. We’re Axis believers. Yes, believers in the very Axis Church. And among the things we believe is that when we die, we shall go to be with Lady Aqua. We shall be united with the very goddess we adore! And… And…! After we die, we shall be reincarnated in the world Lady Aqua oversees! We shall be reborn in the paradise called Ja-pan!”
“Huh?”
What did she just say?
Why was she talking about Japan?
Serena looked at the woman, dumbfounded. Zesta spoke as if on behalf of all the believers. “Ja-pan. Lady Aqua tells us that land is like a paradise. People such as myself, whose interests span well beyond two genders, can live unashamed there… And not only that! I hear it’s overflowing with books that cater to every possible taste, proclivity, and disposition! Yes, we, who are treated as heretics and perverts here, will be able to hold our heads high in that world!”
Please stop.
“Th-they say that a man such as myself—who loves to wear dresses and the like—is actually in demand over there! I would be treated like a queen…!”
Please, please stop.
“In that world, there is no starvation, and everyone is safe; we need fear no monsters. What’s more…! They say that books featuring dandy old dudes locked in wrestling matches together constitute their own genre…! And, and…! They even sell the forbidden shota books! Oh, I…! I’m so grateful that I’m an Axis follower! I’m so glad to be alive…!” a young woman said, her face flushed and her eyes full of tears.
All right, I give up. It’s way too late for these people.
Serena, tears still beading in her eyes, could only whisper: “Y-you’re fanatics… You’re insane…!”
And for once, I had to agree with her.