CH 188.2

As for the reason I did this, it was to confess the killing that was so far only known to Mei-chan and me with these skulls as evidence.

Because it was the preparation to let the others know that I had to do this to be able to use the others’ abilities with the 『Fool’s Cane』, which was also the biggest contributor to our cohabitation life. We couldn’t afford to seal the use of this cane right now.

But just letting them see these skulls alone was enough to convince them that I had killed them.

Not to mention that 『Sage』 Takanashi Kotori had her own troublesome skill too.

That girl’s eyes could be able to see the original owner of the skull. When that happened, everyone would think that I might’ve hidden the fact that there were more classmates murdered by me.

Since my choice was between being caught red-handed and confessing it myself, I preferred the latter. Even if I had the right to keep my silence, some situations needed me to reveal it myself.

Moreover, once Souma-kun or Sakura discovered the fact, they would raise another ruckus like a while ago. Sorry, but I wanted to be spared from such trouble.

Well then, after knowing about such a risk, I intended to make it clear to them first but――

「May I have a moment, Momokawa?」

「What’s the matter, Shimokawa-kun?」

I replied immediately upon hearing Shimokawa asking in a meek voice.

「Momokawa, there’re still other classmates that died by your hand, right?」

「And why are you asking me that question?」

I was different from Mei-chan or Tendou-kun, I couldn’t release intimidating pressure and yet, Shimokawa averted his gaze, looking as if he was afraid of me when I asked him back.

However, he raised his face as if he had made up his mind, all the hesitation and fear had vanished from his face this time.

「I’m not Souma, I’ve no intention to blame you or anything. But if that’s true, I want to at least hear about it properly.」

Ooh, what a wonderful sense of camaraderie. Even this guy is blessed with a good friend, huh.

「I see. Well, if you go as far as saying that, I guess I’ve no choice. This goes for Ueda-kun and Nakai-kun too, right?」

「Yeah, Shimokawa has told us of such possibilities beforehand.」

「We’re prepared.」

Fine then. Since the Totem Pole Trio’s opinion was united, I’d no choice but to tell them.

「It’s just as you’ve guessed, I killed Higuchi.」

「I see… Higuchi’s already…」

「By the way, how did you notice this fact?」

「There’s no way I won’t notice it when you’re using his butterfly knife so brazenly.」

I guess my guess was wrong. That knife wasn’t a mere accessory, it was actually Higuchi’s trademark. Since that butterfly knife was tougher than average, I’d been using it as my trump card. It was also the very same knife that allowed me to kill Reina.

「Are you going to resent me for that?」

「Nope, I won’t do that… I mean, he must have tried to kill you for real too.」

What a good friend you are! But the most terrifying thing about Higuchi was the fact that he would attack even his classmate as long as he considered them an enemy without a shred of hesitation.

「Then, let me hear the reason behind that incident.」

「――Say Randou-san, you’re getting along with Higuchi-kun, right?」

I had arrived at the point where I killed Higuchi when Mei-chan asked that question to Randou-san who was sitting next to her. At a glance, it seemed like she felt nothing when she heard my story, but that made her even more terrifying.

Well, maybe Randou-san had already prepared and accepted the fact that her classmates could die at any moment in this dungeon. She either had a mind of steel or a few loose screws.

「Well, that’s justified I think. He’s the one who was selling quarrels first, after all.」

She replied with a rather stiff voice, it seemed she had raised her vigilance toward Mei-chan.

Mei-chan on the other hand didn’t seem to care about Randou-san’s opinion, she looked the same as before.

「I thought he was going out with you.」

「Eeh, Higuchi and I are impossible~」

The other classmates thought they were dating though. The delinquent Higuchi and the gal Randou-san were truly a match made in heaven, or so I thought if I had no idea about the truth.

In fact, they just happened to click with each other and became friends, they definitely had no romantic relationship.

「Are you going to resent Kotaro-kun for killing Higuchi?」

「Higuchi simply reaped what he sowed. I mean, the fact that Momokawa defeated Higuchi is more unbelievable… But both he and I had no idea that Momokawa is that powerful.」

Yes, our battle couldn’t be described as a mere use of vocations’ abilities. With the meager strength of 『Shaman』 in direct confrontation, I climbed up, bit by bit, and finally killed the hostile classmate; the reason I won was simply that I used my courage and wisdom.

Randou-san seemed to understand that fact.

「What? I was just a bit surprised. Do you think you’re the only one who knows of Momokawa’s strength?」

「Uhm, it’s nothing. I guess Randou-san who was saved by Kotaro-kun like me understands that fact too.」

Mei-chan was smiling instead of hiding her expression with a poker face.

「You really have changed, huh. I’m not just referring to your appearance, even your personality has changed too.」

「Those whose personality doesn’t change even after being thrown into this kind of place are even stranger than me though… Or so I want to say, but I guess this change is inevitable since the previous me was way too timid.」

Mei-chan revealed a self-deprecating smile as if to express the fact that she had already bid goodbye to her previous weak and timid self. Inside, Mei-chan had already completely transformed into a different person.

She was reborn after being awakened as 『Berserker』.

「Aren’t you scared of us, Randou-san? I mean, both Kotaro-kun and I have already killed our classmates after all.」

「Stop asking that kind of question already, it feels like you’re threatening me.」

「Ah, my bad, I don’t mean to do that.」

「I mean, though not as much as Momokawa, I’ve experienced various things along the way too. I’ve no intention of blaming you two like Souma. He’s already strong from the start, after all. Maybe he hasn’t experienced as many setbacks as us, right?」

That might be the reason Souma-kun could always gloss over things. Eventually, humans wouldn’t understand this feeling unless they experienced it themselves.

Randou-san, who saw the Souma siblings bombarding every single one of my statements, looked as if she was looking at trash.

「Thank you. I’ve been saved time and again by your words.」

「I’ve never joined Souma harem party, after all. So choosing to believe in Momokawa is just an obvious result.」

Gaining more cooperators was nice, even if it was just one. For me, who was fatally lacking in pure combat ability, the number of classmates who stood by my side was equal to my standing. Mei-chan seemed to understand that fact.

That’s why, even if Randou-san took pride in the fact that she had kissed me, Mei-chan wouldn’t involve her personal feelings in this matter.

「Yeah, we can be good friends as long as you trust Kotaro-kun.」