Chapter 108

Within the largest room in the house that Kurou-san had lent us, we went to our own spots and relaxed .

I leaned against the wall that was closest to the door and folded my arms .

Just as Princess Amelia had said, it would be best for us to talk so that everyone would be on the same page, but no one was saying anything .

Whenever we were traveling with just the party members, or when we were discussing our plans, Satou took control of it .

However, ever since leaving that room, Satou had not said a single word .

Even the usually noisy Waki and Ueno were silent .

Nanase and Tsuda were in a fluster, while Hosoyama was as calm as she usually was .

I closed my eyes, trying to organize the things in my mind .

Firstly, our ultimate goal of returning to Japan was the same as Akira’s .

Most likely, Akira wanted to quickly return because of his mother, Yukari-san, and his younger sister .

In that case, I wonder what went wrong .

It was most likely that .

I don’t read novels like Akira, but from what he had told me, it seems that in these kinds of different worlds, finding a way to return after defeating the last boss was common .

…no, wait a minute?

I quickly opened my eyes .

Standing right in front of me, Tsuda’s body shook with a start .

I looked towards the frowning Satou .

「Satou, do you have the intention of defeating the demon king?」

When I suddenly asked this, everyone looked at me, and then at Satou .

Satou’s pretty face that was popular with the girls had a frown on it, and he shook his head .

When we were in the Retice, he was asked this time and time again by the knights that accompanied our training .

Without the holy sword and the Holy Sword special skill that Satou had, something that only the hero had, defeating the demon king would be impossible .

On the other hand, as long as we had them, it would then be possible .

Therefore, it was our job to protect Satou no matter what as we headed to the demon king’s castle .

That’s why it was imperative that the hero, Satou, had the determination to defeat the demon king .

「Sorry, everyone, but now, I do not feel the need to defeat the demon king . 」

At present, the demon king had not appeared, and only Akira and his group were saying that they saw the demons .

We couldn’t neglect the possibility that the flooding of monsters from the Ul dungeon was just an accident either .

My skill『Intuition』was denying that, but just because of the fact that the higher the level, the sharper my intuition became, did not mean that I could see through to the truth with this skill .

In other words, I couldn’t trust it completely .

「T-Then, how do you plan on returning to Japan!」

Waki’s eyes widened as he shouted this .

This reaction was expected .

Since, up until now, they’ve fought with the belief that they could return to Japan if they defeated the demon king .

「What do you mean by saying that you do not feel the need? Defeat the demon king and save the people of this world, that’s what Tsukasa-kun said, right . 」

Certainly, Satou did say that .

However, that was when he still trusted the king and princess of Retice .

Because he heard that the demon king was tormenting the inhabitants of this world, and was told that he had the power to save them .

「I don’t know . The king of Retice was the one who said that the people of this world were being tormented by the demon king, and that king used the princess and put a curse on us . Moreover, even when I saw the townspeople, there was no impression that they were in harsh living conditions」

Ueno’s and Waki’s eyes widened, as if they had just recalled it .

The towns were filled with liveliness, and the population was abundant .

Even in Yamato, the place closest to the demon territory, there was no indication that the people were scared of a monster invasion .

Perhaps Nanase and Tsuda were worried about their friends that had remained in the castle, as they cast their eyes down .

「Then, what does Oda-kun, who had been injured by the demons, think?」

Hosoyama raised her hand and asked .

I narrowed my eyes .

Sometimes, Hosoyama’s speech and conduct seemed as if she believed in Akira .

I did not know if she believed in him as a classmate, or if she intuitively perceived what kind of person Akira was, but I wonder what her intentions were .

I didn’t know much about Hosoyama .

It would’ve saved me a lot of trouble if her personality was as easy to understand as Waki’s and Ueno’s though .

「I’ll say this now, but Akira is stronger than me . Most likely ever since we were summoned . Even if we worked together, we wouldn’t win against Akira, and we would not win against a strong demon that could injure Akira and the others so severely even if we fought with all we’ve got . Furthermore, we definitely wouldn’t win against the demon king who’s the strongest among demons even if we spent our whole lives in preparation . In other words, our present strength is just slightly higher than those of normal people . 」

This was the first time I’ve seen the self-confident Satou speak such timid words like these .

Nanase was also looking at Satou in disbelief .

「I want to return to Japan, and Akira is probably the same as well, but Akira is not thinking of defeating the demon king . Isn’t it because he knows that he can’t win?」

If we were inside a game or a novel, we could charge in, prepared for an honorable defeat, and figure out our strength through our experiences, but this was reality .

We only had one body, and only one life .

「Among those who had been summoned, the one who wants to return to Japan the most is Akira, and the one closest to the answer is most likely also Akira . That’s why, I thought that I should work together with Akira . 」