CH 53

[Saying That is Cowardly]

At the same time, in a private room on the second floor.

Higaki and Iris, who had drove out the mob who had suddenly barged into the room and blockaded the door with broken off seats, were reading the farewell letter left by Sakurai side by side.

[To the two who have been ‘fascinated’ by Luisina’s singing voice.

I’m going to beat up the Diva that have turn into a demon-kin, so please go defeat the Shitty Lizard bastard at the entrance. Amanai and his friends might be fighting too, but they probably won’t die, so you can postpone helping them. The Shitty Lizard bastard can molt to fully heal all his injuries, but if Higaki roast him with her ‘Flame Sword’, his skin will burn and solidify, and he won’t be able to move, so beat that small fry black and blue, then.

PS: If the enemy escapes, please don’t chase after him, and also, don’t approach me until I defeat the Diva, okay? The rest is up to your own discretion, give it your all!]

“Ahh dammit! Why did I move my eyes away from him!” (Higaki)

“Looking at the contents, it appears that both of us were lost in Luisina’s singing voice… uuun, this is a blunder.” (Iris)

“To think we didn’t even realize that there was a great turmoil downstairs… I’m so ashamed I wish I could just disappear.” (Higaki)

“This is just my hypothesis, but I think that Luisina-san’s singing voice had the power to interfere with one’s mind. Due to that, our consciousness got ‘taken’ by Luisina-san, making us to not notice the surrounding situation so far until just now.” (Iris)

“So that’s what he meant by ‘fascinated’, huh. Then, why Sakurai could start moving first?” (Higaki)

Iris gently averted her eyes at Higaki’s sudden question.

And seeing her reaction, Higaki also hit upon the reason why Sakurai was not influenced by Luisina’s ‘fascination’.

“We are talking about Sakurai-san here, so most likely, he thought of it as nothing more than one of the gimmicks to achieve his goals… no, he had the mental power to fight against with my father for days without sleep, so I think his resistance to mental interference might be high, in the first place.” (Iris)

“Because his resistance is high, he didn’t have even a bit of interest in the Diva herself, huh… that guy is seriously…” (Higaki)

In the first place, the man named Sakurai Tōru basically only thought about ‘leveling’. Therefore, he saw and judged everything based on whether they could lead to or could be utilized for ‘training’.

He compared everything in this world with the ‘original game’ because he observed everything as a ‘player’ who was one step outside of it, however, from the perspective of the two who did not know that, Sakurai’s outlook, where he placed ‘training’ as something most important and above all else, came across as something abnormal. By the way, that was not so wrong either.

The conclusion they drew from that was “Because he continued to be ‘fascinated’ by ‘training’, Sakurai was not ‘fascinated’ by everything else.”

The two concluded that that was probably the reason why he was able to move as though he did not receive mental interference while listening to the Diva’s singing.

In fact, it was not an exaggeration to say that he was bad because he just hopped away and left the two of them in such condition, in the first place.

“Haah, let’s just give it a rest. So, is the Shitty Lizard that guy rampaging against the guards at the entrance?” (Higaki)

“Must be. Well~, it seems it will take time if I were to take him on alone, but if I am with Higaki-san, it will be a piece of cake. For some reason, fire seems to be his weakness, after all.” (Iris)

“Just where did he get that kind of information, good grief… to begin with, what is a demon-kin…” (Higaki)

“We can ask the details later, right? First of all, we need to quell the turmoil. While Sakurai-san tying down the Diva who has the fascinating power, let us deal with the guys who seem to be her allies.” (Iris)

Saying that, Iris tied her favorite long rod to her back, and leaned over the fence. Then, she looked around the empty space with squinted eyes, before figuring out a movement route. Enclosed in the letter was a map with the location of the ‘paths’ made of threads, and Iris was referring to it to find a route to get to the enemy’s blind spot.

“H-hold on a sec, Iris. Could it be, you’re really going to move on the thread paths?” (Higaki)

“Eh, wouldn’t that way be faster?” (Iris)

“I’m not an acrobat, you know…” (Higaki)

The one who was bewildered there was Higaki.

Higaki was an excellent swordswoman, but she had no experience of making such acrobatics-like moves, so she was not sure if she could do it.

If she failed badly and fell to the first floor, she would inevitably be surrounded by the mobs.

“It seems like Sakurai-san could, though.” (Iris)

In response, Iris, looking like finding it strange, tilted her head and muttered so.

At those words, Higaki solidified with a snap.

“You can’t do it, Higaki-san?” (Iris)

To Iris, Sakurai and Higaki were fellow disciples who received training from the same teacher, and had almost equal ability or Higaki being slightly stronger.

Besides, in terms of talent, Higaki’s was higher than Sakurai’s.

That was precisely why Iris very purely asked that.

Yet, that question only served as a provocation for Higaki.

“I can, though???” (Higaki)

When being compared with Sakurai, Higaki’s rebellious spirit instantly flared up, she easily jumped on the provocation (or so the person herself thought) to the point it would be no exaggeration to say that it was a conditioned reflex.

She was a greenhorn who had complex about not yet being able to use the ‘Sword Saint’s Slash’.

“Then everything is fine, is it not! Now let’s go!” (Iris)

Iris, leaking a slightly warlike smile, kicked the fence and fluttered about in the air.

Using the recoil of the thread she stepped on, Iris transferred from one ‘path’ to another with skillful body movement as though flowing like water, and after taking position over Van Dead’s head, she beckoned Higaki so that he would not notice.

“…Bringing up Sakurai is cowardly, isn’t it?” (Higaki)

Higaki, who saw it and began to regret within a few seconds, vexingly muttered her own stupidity in a soft voice.

But Iris had already begun to move, so she no longer had a choice for she knew that she was the cause of that, thus she hit her cheeks once to raise her fighting spirit.

Having switched her mood with the pain, Higaki resolved herself and jumped over the fence.