Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou-Volume 3, Chapter 3 — A Surprise in a Dark Forest?

Part 1

“If you can sense this person’s gaze, your mana detection ability must be improving,” said Korone.

That matched what Akuto had been thinking.

“Does that mean I can detect the mana in people’s bodies?”

“Yes. Humans can detect and remember the subtle differences in the mana pattern within an individual. That allows one to detect a hidden individual using the sense commonly referred to as intuition.”

“Then this feeling that someone is watching me is real…?”

“My sensors have detected it as well. It is not your imagination.”

Korone pointed to the sensor in her hand. What looked like a pocket watch displayed a glowing radar screen.

“This is a mana detection radar. It can trace movements in mana. However, a skilled magic user can hide the mana reactions caused by the changes in their internal mana and it has difficulty detecting those with only a small amount of mana. It may be of little use in most situations, but it seems to be helpful here.”

A small dot of light was displayed over the map on the screen Korone showed him. The dot was located very nearby.

“So we just have to pursue this dot.”

Akuto began walking in the direction of the dot. He was forced to brush the branches and underbrush aside to make a path, but he could still make forward progress. However, it was dark in the forest at night, so he borrowed a light from Korone and shined it forward. Once he did, the thicket moved and produced a rustling sound. Something was definitely there.

“There they are.”

Akuto began running. The movement in the thicket began moving away. It moved surprisingly fast. Akuto’s footing was uncertain and he did not know the land, but he still ran as quickly as he could. However, he eventually lost sight of the movement.

“Let me see the radar.”

Akuto started to grow out of breath as Korone reached her hand forward from behind.

She showed him the radar screen and said, “This is strange. I can no longer detect the person.”

“What?”

Akuto looked closely at the screen and he could tell something was wrong. Not only was the dot gone, but the entire map was no longer being displayed.

“Did it break?” he asked, but Korone shook her head.

“The mana is being disturbed. It is interfering with any device that uses mana.”

“Are you okay?”

“I have switched over to a mode where I do not exchange mana with the external world.”

“That’s good. …But this means we lost sight of them.”

“So it seems. Our exact location is also unclear.”

“So we’re lost?”

“No. I memorized the landscape on our way here. As long as you are with me, you will be fine.”

“Then let’s head back.”

Akuto gave up on tracking this person.

However, he then felt an eerie chill on the back of his neck.

He immediately spun around, but found nothing.

It seemed Korone had sensed it as well. She brought a hand to her ear as if listening for some sound.

“What is it?”

“I heard someone fleeing. Let us pursue this person a bit further. I can see in the dark, so I can track this person by sight to a certain extent.”

Without waiting for agreement, Korone suddenly ran off.

“Eh? Wait!”

Akuto frantically tried to pursue, but Korone only continued to accelerate.

Akuto had nothing but a single light in that dark forest. He gradually trailed further and further behind Korone and had no idea where he was.

Finally, he gave up on running.

“What a pain… But Korone should return after a while.”

Akuto found a random tree, sat down, and leaned up against it.

This was the first time Korone had run off and left him behind. He had thought she was acting more normally here, but it seemed she was still acting oddly.

—But without Korone, I think I would have a lot of trouble. Korone has become almost necessary for me…

Akuto thought vaguely about that.

And then he heard a rustling from a nearby thicket.

Part 2

Shortly before Akuto and Korone began pursuing this mysterious person, Fujiko was below Constant Magic Academy with Peterhausen. However, she was not having a great struggle.

“That is right! Akuto-sama shall be an absolute ruler and I shall be his queen! Those who oppose us shall be thrown into a pool of poisonous snakes and the two of us shall enjoy dinner and sip on blood wine while watching it all! That is my dream!”

Fujiko spoke excitedly and Peterhausen listened in satisfaction.

“At night, all the beautiful women of the country shall be gathered, stripped naked, and made to seduce Akuto-sama! But he shall of course have eyes for no one but me! He shall take only me to bed with him! As the women cry out in jealousy, he shall show me off to them as we join together as one! Those gazes of jealousy, defeat, and envy shall make me all the more beautiful!”

As she spoke, Fujiko’s body shook with great emotion.

“You are quite the evil woman. You must work to achieve that dream,” said Peterhausen with a powerful nod.

“I will! I must give my all for Akuto-sama and work to join all the black magicians under my rule!”

Fujiko clenched her fist while sipping on black tea.

Fujiko had been forced to be Peterhausen’s conversational partner this entire time, but her fear had waned after spending several hours with him. Once the fear was gone, she returned to her normal self whose excellent speaking skills allowed her to deceive and threaten people. It had not been difficult to get along with Peterhausen. And this was not entirely due to her speaking skills. Fujiko had a terrible personality and Peterhausen liked that about her.

“I need you to work very hard at this. My master cannot lose his ambitions,” uttered Peterhausen like an old prime minister complaining about his attempts to bring up a young general.

“I think the real problem is his goodness, not a lack of ambition,” replied someone other than Fujiko.

Peterhausen and Fujiko both turned around at the same moment.

A short girl had walked into the underground palace. She wore a stylish hat and an androgynous mischievous face could be seen below it.

She was Lily Shiraishi, the school’s student council president.

“Oh, it is the boy from the other day,” commented Peterhausen with a snort.

Veins bulged out on Lily’s forehead and her expression grew grim, but she managed to avoid growing violent. She showed no sign of hiding her displeasure, but she kept her arms folded as she stood before Peterhausen.

“Don’t call me boy. Whether I look it or not, I am a lady. And I have come with something you might want to hear.”

“Then out with it.”

“Oh, how self-important. Well, whatever. The student council…no, the entire academy has decided how to deal with you all.”

Peterhausen looked indifferent, but Fujiko’s body stiffened. She knew very well that Peterhausen’s presence at the school caused all sorts of problems.

“Who did the academy side with?”

The academy had previously sided with the moderates and given Akuto his freedom as he was not presently a demon king. However, it would not be surprising if Peterhausen’s presence would motivate them to now side with the hardliners.

“To sum it up, nothing changes. The academy will protect Sai Akuto as one of its students. Peterhausen is not an illegal presence. Of course, that’s probably just because no one bothered to make any laws about it.”

Lily’s words put Fujiko at ease. Lily was the student council president and she already worked for the government. Fujiko was extremely grateful that this did not need to develop into a confrontation.

“Thank goodness. You were right. I was glad to hear that.”

“That’s not all. I wouldn’t have come all this way to report that the status quo has been maintained. I am fed up with the moderates…that is, the main faction of the government I belong to.”

Lily grinned. She had a boyish face, but when she grinned like that, it held enough intensity to send a chill down Fujiko’s spine.

“You are fed up with them?”

“It seems those old men are having a L’Isle-Adam try to seduce Sai Akuto.”

Lily’s comment shocked Fujiko.

“Seduce…Akuto-sama…?”

“That goes against my principles. L’Isle-Adams can’t disobey their orders. And on top of that, she will be dismissed if she fails this mission. So how will this turn out for that unsociable girl? There is no man who has not given into a L’Isle Adam’s seduction. Plenty of politicians have fallen into scandals over it in the past.”

“I-I cannot allow this!”

“I thought not. I don’t want to grow up into the kind of adult who can allow this kind of thing to happen. And once I start hating them, it’s hard to stop. That is what I thought you might want to hear. I will be personally taking part in this incident.”

“What do you mean?” asked Fujiko.

She could sense no intention to help Akuto in Lily’s intensity.

“I am saying I will not handle this like the moderates are. Nor am I going to do nothing about the hardliners like Sai Akuto is. I have obtained some information regarding the central group that is trying to start a war. No matter what Akuto may say, I will kill them!”

Lily brought her fists together in front of her chest.

“The central group that is trying to start a war?”

“CIMO 8.”

“Is that their name?”

“They are a group of eight agents from the Cabinet Intelligence and Magic Office. I have information saying they have already begun to take action. They are experts at intelligence gathering and anti-magic combat.”

“That…certainly is worth hearing.”

It seemed Lily had gone out of her way to tell them this. And on top of that, she had said she would crush this enemy. To Fujiko, it seemed the girl was doing it out of consideration for Akuto regardless of what she might say.

However…

“But I will be your enemy,” said Lily.

“Eh?”

“If he becomes a tool used by black magicians or he takes any action that would disturb our society, I will crush him and those working with him regardless of what the moderates say. That is what I mean. You need to be especially careful, Etou Fujiko-kun,” said Lily with a cruel expression.

Fujiko put herself on guard, but she knew her power was not enough to handle the student council president. Strategies that left the fighting to Peterhausen raced through her mind.

But Lily’s serious expression collapsed soon thereafter.

“It wouldn’t be any fun with you. Tell him that I still haven’t shown him everything I am capable of.”

“…Understood,” agreed Fujiko.

With her threats made, Lily left.

Fujiko sank to the floor and Peterhausen laughed.

“Quite the energetic girl.”

“I am the type that fights using my intellect,” complained Fujiko.

“If you can keep up your strong front, that can be an excellent strength. But be as it may, if you are the type that fights with your intellect, shouldn’t you pass this information on to my master?” asked Peterhausen.

Fujiko gasped and pulled out her student handbook that could act as a communications device.

She opened a telepathic conversation with Akuto, but it refused to connect.

“The mana is being blocked?”

Fujiko looked over toward Peterhausen for an explanation.

“That talk of intelligence gathering and anti-magic combat experts bothers me. Mana jamming is one of their basic techniques.”

“But if the entire area of the beach field trip was being jammed, it would have caused enough of a commotion for the academy’s teachers to have heard about it. Does that mean Akuto-sama alone is in danger?”

Fujiko now tried to open telepathic communications with Keena.

Keena answered after a few rings.

“No, not hi! For one thing, you tricked me into looking after Peterhausen! …But I can discuss that with you later! Do you know where Akuto-sama is?”

“Okay, listen carefully…”

Part 3

When Akuto heard the sound from the thicket, he got up from the tree and took a defensive stance.

He needed to be able to react to whatever came out of that thicket.

But…

“A-chan, I finally found you.”

It was Keena who walked unsteadily out of the thicket.

“Keena?”

“Senpai contacted me, so I ran after you to pass on the message.”

Keena sat flatly on the ground in front of Akuto.

“Sorry. It seems someone was monitoring me, so I tried to pursue them with Korone. But Korone went on ahead…”

“I see. When I went to your room, I saw you entering the woods, so I followed your light,” said Keena with a smile.

Akuto started to feel silly for being so nervous.

“So what did senpai want?”

Keena tilted her head.

“Huh? Um… There were a few things…”

Keena looked up as if she were trying to remember something. This seemed too slow even for Keena.

“Are you okay?” asked Akuto as he peered at her face.

Keena’s face was red and her breathing was heavy.

“Yeah… I just ran and flew a bit… so I’m out of breath… Oh, right! One thing was some villains called Simon 5's targeting you!” exclaimed Keena while bringing a fist down on her palm.

“That sounds like a mix between a folk duo and a chorus of five brothers…”

“Well, I might have the name wrong, but these villains are targeting you. I hear they’re good at killing magicians. It’s so scary.”

Keena’s voice held no tension at all, so Akuto was unsure how to respond. However, it was still dangerous news.

—Is that why the mana devices malfunctioned?

However, he knew asking Keena that would be pointless, so he kept the thought to himself.

“What else?”

“Um… She said the student council president told her that. Also…what else was it?”

Keena was acting too stupid. And her face was horribly red.

“Ugh, it’s just too hot. But don’t worry. I brought this with me so we could drink it together.”

Keena pulled out a water bottle hanging from her waist. She took the lid and poured a thick white liquid into it.

“What is that?”

“Heh heh heh… This is a new drink I created! I drank some when I got thirsty running here, so I know it’s good!”

Keena held the water bottle lid up high.

“Okay, so it’s good…but what is it?”

“It’s rice juice!” Keena puffed her chest out proudly and drank the contents of the lid in one gulp. “It’s so good!”

“…Good? …No, wait.”

Akuto had a very bad feeling. ｆ𝓇𝘦ℯ𝙬𝑒𝐛n𝐨νe𝙡.c𝑜𝗺

“You drink some too, A-chan! I’ve been trying to come up with a way to make rice juice for so long and I finally perfected it! So I brought it on this field trip.” Keena refilled the lid and held it out toward Akuto. “I dissolved cooked and crushed rice into water and then - this is the important part - I put koji and yogurt in before sealing it in a bottle and letting it sit! After about two days, it smelled really good and the top layer of the juice was delicious! I then made another discovery! If you filter off that top layer and put it in the refrigerator, it turns into a carbonated cider!”

Keena continued on and on with her lecture on how to make the “rice juice”.

—Oh… I was right…

Akuto took the lid and sniffed it. It did smell good, but it was a very adult aroma.

“Keena, this has alcohol in it,” said Akuto, but Keena was no longer listening.

Her face was red and she was swaying back and forth.

“Eh heh heh heh heh heh… There are so many A-chans…”

—Well, she did drink a whole bunch after running.

“C’mon, don’t drink any more. Come here and take a rest.”

Akuto had Keena sit next to the tree he had been leaning up against before. He grabbed her shoulders to adjust her position, but Keena suddenly pulled him toward her while he was crouched down.

“Wah!”

“Eh heh heh heh… A-chan, this feels good…”

Keena was rubbing her cheek up against him. His crouching posture was uncomfortable, so he ended up sitting next to her. Keena embraced Akuto’s head and brought her entire body into his arms.

“Onyo nyo nyo nyo nyo…”

Keena began making an odd slurring noise while softly biting at Akuto’s ear.

“Hey! That tickles…”

“Eh? What’s wrong with it? Doing this feels somehow nostalgic…”

—Nostalgic? Come to think of it, I did think I might have met her a long time ago.

Akuto thought back to his past. When he was leaving the orphanage, a girl just arriving had cried so much he had bought her the kind of hair decoration adults wore using the money he had been given. The bird design had been identical to the one Keena wore in her hair now, but Keena did not seem to remember it.

“Maybe we really did meet a long time ago,” he said.

“Maybe so. Maybe we were destined to meet. Eh heh heh heh heh…”

Keena gave a sloppy smile, but this answer was not the serious one Akuto had been hoping for.

—But I have no real reason to be so fixated over this. Why am I so fixated over it?

With that thought, Akuto suddenly remembered what Junko had said earlier that day.

“You refer to Keena by her given name. I am also your friend, so why do you refer to me by my family name?”

He had thought it was due to how properly Junko acted, but on second thought, Junko was not that difficult to speak with. It may have been that Keena was simply that much easier to relax around.

—In that case… Did I fall for Keena long, long ago?

Once his thoughts turned in that direction, he could not remain calm.

Keena’s body was giving off the scent of a slightly burnt confectionery thanks to the “rice juice”. That defenseless body leaning up against him was warm and soft like a freshly pounded rice cake.

—To use that comparison, I must have been infected by Keena’s rice obsession.

Akuto shook his head in an attempt to calm down. He looked over at Keena’s calm face. He thought she must have fallen asleep, but she opened her eyes wide and looked back at him.

—Wah!

He silently shouted out in surprise, but somehow managed to not avert his gaze. He felt averting his gaze would be rude to Keena.

She smiled gently and Akuto felt as if all of his worries from the day were melting away. As he peered into her eyes, he felt as if he was being unsteadily drawn in toward them.

“A-chan, you’re trying to kiss me. You can’t do that,” said Keena suddenly.

Akuto panicked because it felt like she had seen right through to his heart.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Hm, that’s right. You mustn’t do indecent things. But on the cheek is fine,” said Keena as she held out her reddened cheek.

—That’s right. That wouldn’t violate my doctrines… No, wait. I can’t do that. But…

Akuto felt his heart relaxing more than he felt any kind of sexual desire. This felt like the family he had always desired. Only in Keena did he feel this familial love that he had always desired yet rejected.

—If it’s just showing a familial sort of love, there shouldn’t be a problem.

Akuto brought his face toward Keena.

“Yay!” shouted Keena happily as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

And Akuto gave Keena’s cheek…

“Take this!”

A tremendous impact slammed into Akuto. He collapsed to the ground head first.

“Hey!” He got up and turned around to find Korone standing next to Keena. “You don’t have to suddenly hit me.”

But Akuto’s complaint was met only with Korone’s usual expressionless look.

“You just happened to be in the way while I was taking evasive actions.”

“You clearly said ‘take this’!”

Korone ignored that point.

“As I said, I was taking evasive actions. We do not have time for an argument.”

“What are you talking about?”

Akuto took a step forward to see if she was telling the truth.

And then he was afflicted by a sharp headache.

And an instant after that feeling filled him with confusion…

He heard a loud, dry sound.

At almost the exact same moment, Korone’s body slowly began to collapse.

“Korone!”

Akuto tried to run over to her, but she held up a hand to stop him while on her knees.

“Please stay back. I am fine. I was only shot.”

—Shot?

Part 4

He suddenly realized he recognized the sound from before. It was the sound of an incantation gun being fired.

“Is it the person we were pursing?” asked Akuto.

Korone nodded.

She was made to be sturdy, so no outward change could be seen. However, Akuto had no way of knowing how much internal damage had been done.

He crouched down, held his breath, and searched for a nearby presence, but he could not detect anyone hiding in the darkness.

“I have an idea who the enemy is,” said Korone.

“Who is it?” asked Akuto, but Korone shook her head.

“I cannot say.”

“Why not?”

“I cannot tell you that either. However, there is something this situation forces me to ask.”

“Eh?” said Akuto in confusion.

Korone stared at him with a serious look in her eyes and said, “What are your feelings for Keena-san?”

This was a sudden question, but Akuto realized Korone’s eyes contained a look different from normal. It felt like some emotion was showing through her normal expressionlessness.

“Wh-why are you asking that now?”

“It is important. It determines whether I can fight this enemy for you or not.”

“What do you mean?”

“I need not explain any more,” said Korone in a serious tone.

—Could it be…?

No matter how obtuse Akuto could be, he was beginning to realize what was causing Korone’s odd behavior. It was possible his exchange with Keena while she was drunk had finally led him to think about the existence of “love”.

—Could it be that Korone loves me and is trying to oppose the government for that reason? And is she determining my feelings now? But wait. What am I supposed to do in that case? I need Korone with me, but that sort of relationship is out of the question.

“Hey… Are you mad that Keena was…clinging to me a bit there?” asked Akuto, hoping Keena’s intoxication would make a decent excuse.

“I am not angry. However, this is inconvenient for me,” replied Korone.

—Come to think of it, Korone has started referring to herself differently.[1] I don’t think L’Isle-Adams refer to themselves like that often, but maybe they do once their sense of self begins to form. That must be it. But then…

“Um, sorry, but I don’t think things will ever be ‘convenient’ for you in that way.” Akuto was flustered, but he felt the need to state his position clearly. “But that is not because I dislike you or do not need you. I do need you and will continue to need you. I just think what you want would be insincere.”

After Akuto finished speaking, Korone stood perfectly still.

“I am sad to hear that.”

Korone hung her head down. Her expression was clearly one of sorrow.

Akuto felt a tightness in his chest. He had never felt this feeling before.

Korone spoke in a low, pained voice that sounded like she had to squeeze it out.

“I have determined that I have failed. That means I may no longer be able to remain here.”

“Wait, what do you mean?”

“I cannot say. However, this may be the last time we see each other. In case it is, I must say farewell.”

“Wait a second!”

Akuto had a very bad feeling, so he reached out toward Korone.

However, she only shook her head.

“I will do my very best, but you should not get your hopes up. Thank you for everything. Farewell.”

Korone pulled a doorknob-like object out of her bag and held it out. A hole opened in space as if the air had been split open to produce a door. Korone began to climb into it. This was a portable transport magic circle.

“Please wait. How can you leave without explaining anything? I need you…”

Half of Korone’s body had now entered this strange space. She turned around, gave a sorrowful smile and waved at Akuto.

“Farewell.”

She then disappeared into the door as if shaking free of something.

The door disappeared into thin air, leaving behind nothing but the dark forest. However, Akuto felt as if a tear shed by Korone had been left behind.

Nevertheless, he did not have time to stand around. He heard a rustling sound form a fairly distant thicket.

—Is that the person who shot Korone!?

Akuto looked toward that thicket. It was moving as if someone was trying to flee. They must have been able to shoot Korone, but had been unable to find a way of escaping unnoticed.

—I might be able to stop them from escaping!

Akuto’s history with magic contained failure after failure, but he had no choice but to use it here. He focused and reached out his hand to telekinetically stop everything in that thicket.

However, he had forgotten about the mana abnormality and the headache he had felt just before Korone was shot. He should have been able to guess that someone was preventing magic from being used properly in the area, but he was not thinking rationally.

—Oh, no!

Akuto quickly realized he could not control the power surging in his hand, but it was already too late. An unexpected explosion assaulted the thicket and shook the area around it. A great flash of light lit up the darkness. It had to have been visible from a great distance.

“Kyaaah!”

A voice rang out from the thicket. To Akuto’s surprise it sounded like a child.

“Eh?”

He frantically ran over to the thicket and shined his light in.

He found a girl of about ten.

“Are you okay?”

Akuto helped the girl up. Fortunately, she was not injured. She was breathing and had only been knocked unconscious. Akuto had tried to lower the output of his magic as soon as he realized he had failed, and that seemed to have paid off. The girl was also lucky she had not been directly struck by the explosion. However, the roar of the blast had been enough of an impact to knock her out.

Akuto picked up the girl and checked her face.

—Ah…

He recognized her features. They were almost identical to Hiroshi’s. Hiroshi’s features were childish to begin with, so there was no mistaking it.

—But this girl can’t have been the one to shoot that incantation gun.

Akuto remained on his guard, but he could sense no presence in the surrounding area. The headache had also gone.

“Keena, are you okay?” asked Akuto as he turned around.

“Yeah. But A-chan…” said Keena uncertainly as she stood up. “Korone-chan left, didn’t she?”

“You heard that?”

“I fell asleep, so I only heard the last bit. And I-I’m sorry. I just remembered what senpai told me,” said Keena apologetically now that she had sobered up a good bit.

“What did you remember?”

“Korone-chan was, um…ordered to seduce you. If she failed, she was going to be fired as your observer…”

—What!?

Akuto was at a loss for words.

He was fed up with people trying to influence him by seducing him, but he was also filled with disgust at Korone’s superiors for making her feel so sad by doing this to her. He also felt regret over the fact that he might have been able to do something had he known about it ahead of time. However, those various emotions soon disappeared, leaving behind only a desire to apologize to Korone. He wondered if there had been anything more he could have done.

But it seemed he would not be given time to lighten his heavy heart. He heard voices as people approached after hearing the explosion.

“Heeey!”

“Yukiko! Yukiko!”

The girl in Akuto’s arms reacted to those voices. He waited for her to wake up and then placed her down on her own two feet.

“Are you okay? Sorry about scaring you. It seems some people have come for you.”

The girl named Yukiko looked up at him with a blank look.

“Are you the demon king?”

That question shocked Akuto, but he had to give a mature answer when speaking to a child.

“Um…no. But…Some people do call me that.”

Yukiko looked up at him with a look of wonder.

But then the voices of the approaching villagers grew tenser.

“Yukiko! That’s dangerous!”

“Get away from him!”

However, the villagers did not come any closer. They kept their distance with looks of fear on their faces.

That alone would not have been too bad, but when Yukiko did not immediately leave Akuto’s side, they began picking up stones and throwing them at him.

“Wah…”

Akuto wanted to avoid the stones, but he realized doing so would let one of them strike Yukiko. He gave up on dodging and instead knocked them down with his hands. He slapped the fist-sized stones aside. He had strengthened his physical body with mana, so this was a simple feat. However, he had forgotten to take into account what normal people would think when they saw how simply he managed it.

“He’s a monster!”

“Run, Yukiko!”

—Oh, crap.

The rain of stones grew more intense. He was forced to lean over Yukiko to protect her, but that only provoked the villagers further.

“He’s trying to abduct her!”

—No, I’m not…

He complained silently, but he doubted the villagers would be willing to listen. Instead, he decided to persuade Yukiko.

“If you do not go back to them, they probably will not stop throwing stones,” he said, but Yukiko still looked like she wanted to say something. So he asked, “What is it?”

She replied, “Are you my brother’s friend?” 𝐟r𝒆ℯ𝘄𝑒𝒃𝚗𝒐𝘃e𝗹.c𝘰𝐦

He had realized she was Hiroshi’s little sister, so he was able to answer that question honestly.

“You are Miwa Hiroshi-kun’s little sister, right? In that case, I am.”

“Then…” Yukiko grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Please tell me the truth! Is my brother the hero?”

Akuto did not understand what exactly she meant by that question or why she asked it with such desperation.

“No, he is not. Nor does he want to be.”

He readily answered, but Yukiko suddenly kicked him in the shin.

“Ah…”

The kick did not hurt, but it still elicited a voice of surprise. Yukiko used the opportunity to slip from Akuto’s hands and run away. She was crying.

“Yukiko got away!”

“This way! Hurry! Run!”

Akuto could hear those voices in the distance.

“Honestly…”

Akuto had no choice but to run away as well. He quickly left after meeting up with Keena who was hiding behind a tree.

“A-chan, are you okay?”

“Yes…but there are just too many things about this that bother me. Not to mention Korone… What am I supposed to do?”

Notes

Jump up↑ In this volume, Korone has started using “watashi” to refer to herself. Previously, she would use “jibun” which can be seen as more detached.