CH 188.1

Well then, let’s start the throbbing murder trial. The No. 1 entry was the most notable one, Reina Adelheid Ayase-chan’s murder case. I’m such a kindhearted person for obliging Souma-kun’s vehement request.

But then, thanks to their previous scuffle with Shimokawa and Co right before I came, the matter about Reina falling into illusion and murdering Yamajun was known by them. All that was left for me was to explain the situation chronologically in detail.

「――In short, the matter of me killing Ayase-san was a sad accident that happened when I tried to protect myself from her attack.」

「….」

My explanation was comprised 70% truth and 30% excuse for self-protection, but I was more interested in how Souma-kun would react. E~h, what’s with this silence? Have you come to understand now just how much trouble I went through to cultivate that fu*king NEET?

「As I thought, if she’s with me, Reina…」

「That’s right. Had she met you sooner, Yamajun wouldn’t have had to die.」

Souma-kun said that he wouldn’t forgive me for his entire life, but it meant that Reina’s crime of murdering Yamajun was also his fault.

「How dare you say as if it’s someone else’s matter?」

Now that Souma-kun had calmed down, it was his little sister’s turn to bark at me. But of course, come at me, Sakura-chan.

「How cruel of you, Souma-san. I was DIRECTLY involved you know? That’s why I can say it without any guilt. I did everything I could to save Ayase-san. It’s purely out of goodwill despite not being under the obligation to do so. Even if we failed to save her, you’ve no reason to condemn us like that, you should thank us instead for willing to take such trouble.」

We really tried to call Reina to snap out of the illusion in the misty trap area, after all. And the one who refused to face the reality was none other than Reina herself.

The sacred beast, Souma Yuuto, that materialized due to her insanity was nothing more than the result of Reina’s weak heart, she refused to see the reality in spite of her cheat-like power.

「LIES! Aren’t you just trying to make an excuse for yourself? I know that you wanted to kill Reina from the very beginning.」

「Eh, how are you going to prove that then? Do you have some sort of killing intent detector? You must want to judge me, right? Too bad for you, this isn’t a trial, what I’m telling you is the truth.」

「Let alone trying to acknowledge your crime, you are even trying to justify it… Shame on you!」

「The one who should be ashamed is Souma-san. Don’t you understand that your attitude of always trying to find a chance to nitpick with me, marred Souma-kun’s efforts of trying to come to terms with me?」

We’ve already had a prior agreement. My crime would go unpunished no matter what I said. You can’t punish me. That’s why we held this confession meeting so that everyone could confess their crime and the other classmates would see their story from another angle.

「Tha-That’s… Unforgiveable…」

「It’s okay, Souma-san. I don’t care even if you can’t forgive me, you’re free to leave if you really don’t want to be together with this murderer.」

「Stop right there Momokawa. I understand what you’re trying to say, I’ll accept your condition. That’s why let’s stop talking about this matter now.」

Souma-kun seemingly tried his best to suppress his killing intent. Ooh, that was scary~.

「I won’t go overboard as long as you don’t do that.」

「Yuuto-kun, Sakura, I understand how you feel right now, but you’ve to accept this situation and shut your mouth.」

「Kuh… I’ve no choice but to accept this situation since both Big Brother and Ryouko are rebutting me about it.」

Sakura had finally backed down too, eh? As expected, after this matter settled in, there was no more reason to refute.

「Well then, let’s move on to the next killing tale.」

Sakura glared at me, who started speaking again like nothing had happened, with a terrifying look on her face. Perhaps that’s how a pious Christian looks at the devil.

「So you killed another person, eh.」

「Because not all classmates were getting along with each other. The reason is the premise- only three people can get out of this dungeon.」

That’s why you might say that this was legitimate self-defence. There was nothing shady about it.

「… Who are your other victims?」

Though she looked calm on the outside, there was no way to hide the fear in her voice when she asked this question.

「Sakurai-kun and Sugino-kun.」

「Wait, Momokawa-kun. I’m the one who killed them.」

Cra~p, Mei-chan, you are such an honest girl. This place is different, you should keep your good girl cover and let me do all the dirty job. I mean, since we’re a team, separating the beautiful and the dark side would be more useful in human relationships.

「What do you mean, Futaba-san?」

「No need to be wary, the reason we killed them was that they tried to kill us first. That’s a fact.」

We’re the ones who ambushed Sugino, right? Well, I guess that was a trivial matter in this situation.

「Was there no other way? You should have been able to avoid a fight to the death against them if you spoke to the――」

「That rich coming from you, the very person who wanted to kill Kotaro-kun without trying to ask for an explanation actually dares to say that.」

A~h, Mei-chan had actually said the thing that I didn’t want to say on Souma-kun’s face.

But yeah, you’re absolutely right, Mei-chan. You see that Souma-kun, you’re basically doing the same as them… Went straight to kill me just because you saw me killing Reina. If Mei-chan didn’t stop you back then, you would’ve already bisected me.

In short, you’re trying to commit murder too, Souma-kun.

「I just… No, you’re right.」

Eeeh, Souma-kun’s attitude toward Mei-chan was actually different compared to his attitude toward me. Why did he act so meek in front of her? For argument’s sake, I’ve even said it was self-defense on top of many other excuses.

「Anyhow, explain the situation in detail.」

The 『Archer』 who couldn’t accept the fact that his girlfriend had died on him kept attacking us non-stop. On the other hand, the 『Heavy Warrior』 killed as a result of protecting Ooyama.

Both Sugino-kun and Sakurai-kun were extremely tough opponents with a firm belief in themselves.

Regarding them, even I as their opponent ended up 「Respecting」 them for their firm beliefs. Honestly speaking, I rather have them as our allies.

「So that’s what happened, huh… How should I say, they did go overboard?」

Class Rep, who heard the detailed situation, muttered so with a gloomy look on her face. The others reacted in the same way.

No one complained since those clashes were unavoidable… Maybe that wasn’t the case for Sakura though.

「Well then, with this we confirm that Sakurai-kun, Hinagiku-san, and Sugino-kun are dead.」

「Yeah, this is the evidence.」

「HIIII!?」

I lined up three skulls in front of me, Class Rep raised a small scream upon hearing that. Well, was this too much for her to bear?

That’s why the only one who could ask me a question properly was, yes, Souma-kun.

「Oi Momokawa, don’t tell me――」

「It’s just as you guessed. Starting from the right, it’s Sakurai-kun, Hinagiku-san, and Sugino-kun.」

By the way, how many people understood the reason I only brought their skulls amid the classmates here I wonder. Even if my shaman’s instinct was useless for that kind of thing, a useful thing was useful.

「HOW DARE YOU DEFILE THEM EVEN AFTER THEY ARE DEAD!」

「Ha~h, will you stop treating me like some sort of psychopath already? I’m tired of it, you know.」

Well, anyone who failed to guess the reason why I brought the skull of my victims would surely think something along the lines of 「Uwaa, this guy is bad news.」. That’s why I could only turn a blind eye to such a reaction.

「Ar-Are you using this for some sort of curse too?」

「As expected of Class Rep, you’re absolutely correct. It’s not like I wanted to dishonour them after their deaths, but I have to use everything I can to survive this dungeon.」

Had Ruinhilde-sama given me slightly decent skills, I wouldn’t have ended up committing these kinds of atrocities, you know.

「Nevertheless, beheading them and only taking their skulls is something unforgivable as a human.」

「The one who beheaded them was me. If you want to complain, say it to me.」

「You think they’ll forgive you just because it’s necessary? Treating your classmates’ corpses like that is truly befitting of a man-eating fiend.」

「To begin with, I’ve never asked for forgiveness. Both Kotaro-kun and I will do everything to survive. We’ve no luxuries to choose the means. And you who are enjoying the constant protection from Souma-kun have no right to accuse us.」

「WHA, I JUST――」

「That’s enough, Sakura. No need to continue this empty quarrel.」

Souma-kun stopped the quarrel between Mei-chan and Sakura faster than our reliable Class Rep. He didn’t seem to completely agree with Mei-chan’s view though.

「Momokawa, let’s put this matter aside for now since I recognize those skulls as a necessity for your curse. But make sure you give them a proper burial later on after all of us leave this dungeon.」

「I can’t make you such a promise since there’s no way to know whether we are really safe after leaving this dungeon. However, once we arrive at a safe haven or when I feel that there’s no need to keep the skulls anymore, I’ll arrange a proper burial for them.」

Great, with this I’d achieved the goal of being pardoned from killing those two.