“What do you mean, Kotori?”
“Well, I’m interested too. She always seemed unemotional as she blankly taught me about contracts with spirits, but at the time I didn’t really think about it. Honestly, I was too busy thinking about myself…”
Kotori clenches her fists with a serious expression on her face.
“But after hearing you talk, I realize I was wrong. And I can use some spirit magic too! I should be helpful!”
“Kotori, no.”
But Hikari puts the brakes on Kotori.
“W-why, Hikari?”
“…Because you can’t kill people.”
Tears well up in Kotori’s eyes, and Hikari lays out the reason.
Kotori gulps, like she knows she’s right.
I feel like I know what’s going through her head right now. I was reluctant to kill people too, and only made up my mind at the very end.
If Hikari wasn’t in danger at that time, and the knights could handle it, I probably would still be unable to kill people.
“B-but you can do it, Sora?”
“Yes, I’ve killed people before.”
Kotori hears that, and looks at me like she can’t believe it.
In our world, killing people was something to be avoided at all cost. Especially in the relatively safe country where we lived.
“You should stay like this, Kotori. You don’t need to push yourself and kill. That’s why Hikari is saying we can’t take you.”
Hikari looks at me like she’s a little sad, and I pat her head like I’m saying it’s all right.
In a fight to the death, being unwilling to kill puts you in danger, and everyone on your side.
I know that from experience. That time, Hikari was saved because we had experienced knights with us. If it was just the two of us, we would’ve died for sure.
From that point of view, it would be dangerous to bring Kotori along. I’m not confident I can protect her either.
“I see…”
“Yes. You should just tell us what you know about passages and the composition of the castle. That’s what we really need the most.”
I’m not lying. I can see some of it on Map, but having this information beforehand can minimize our losses.
It feels like we’ve managed to convince Kotori at least a little, and she says ‘I understand’.
“Then can you tell us right away?”
I take out a pen and paper, and hand them to Kotori.
Apparently she remembers the layout of the castle pretty well, and draws us a nice map.
Rurika compliments it, and Kotori looks happy, but a little embarrassed.
Once I get a look at the complete map, I see it’s pretty detailed. Of course, there are blank spots with places she’s never been to, but those blank spots are actually the places where there’s a good chance the elves are being kept.
If we’re going to look, that’s where we should be focusing, but the problem is that it’s a lot to cover. And we can’t split up and look either…
Even if I ask Chris to use her spirit magic to look, it still won’t be enough.
Well, I guess we’ll just have to look through the most suspicious spots first as we search.
“Thanks Kotori. This makes a big difference.”
I say, and Kotori nods with a complex expression on her face.
I think she still wishes she could go and help out directly. But I think Hikari’s words completely put a stop to that.
Then we all put our heads together and talk about what places look suspicious.
Kotori lived in the castle, and Hikari worked as a spy, so their words carry the most weight, and I feel like we should go where they say first.
Personally, I’m curious about the stairs leading underground, but surely they’re not in a place that’s that suspicious.
Kotori says there’s a prison underground, but I think the odds that they’d keep the elves in such an obvious and conspicuous place are pretty low.
Those people are too sly to take such a risk.
As our conversation starts to wrap up, there’s a knock on the door
Kotori opens it, and Suiren comes in with a nervous look on her face, followed by a demon.
Kotori trembles when she sees the demon, and Hikari also unconsciously gets up and stands on guard.
I… Feel strangely calm.
I thought I’d feel something more, but strangely enough, I don’t.
Strangely enough, the despair I felt that time doesn’t well up again.
I think it’s less that I’ve gotten stronger, and more that I feel no hostility coming from that demon.
“I didn’t think we’d meet again like this.”
Says Ignis with no emotion in his voice.
He looks at all of us, one at a time, and continues.
“Apparently you’re going to be meeting the demon king. The otherworlder Sora, and his companions.”
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Happy New Year!
Thanks for the treat.
I’m pretty surprised to see him meet up with that demon so soon I thought that would be much later