Chapter 214

I hear a voice.

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I feel like it’s trying to tell me something important.

But I don’t know what it is.

The echoing voices are like echoes of a mountain echo, and they come to me in pieces.

“—!　—!”

I can’t let that voice go unheard.

In a blur of consciousness, I vaguely feel this, and I concentrate my attention to hear the voice.

I put my hands to my ears and listen carefully.

“Come …… waste. I …… am not fooled by the voice …….”

The voice was faint and fragmented.

When I finally heard it, the view that I had only been drifting through changed in an instant.

My vision turns from dark to dizzying.

I closed my eyes, bored with the sight of what seemed like an eternity, and when I opened them again…

“Oh, Usato-kun. Are you awake?”

“…… Senpai?”

There was senpai looking into my face.

Looking around, Kazuki, senpai and Leona are in a familiar room with Ferrum, Amako and Nack.

Including me, the seven of us are sitting facing each other, and the room – the carriage – is rattling and shaking.

“Ah, I see. You’ve left the Kingdom of Lingle, I’m …….”

We who received the mission of defeating the demon king were riding in the carriage that the castle prepared for us to go to the base, the place where we prepare to leave for the demon king’s territory.

As I wipe my sweat-soaked forehead and try to rest my back against the backrest again where I’m sitting, I notice Nea taking a nap in an owl-like state on my shoulder.

“I thought you were gone, but you were on my shoulder: ……”

“Ho ……”

No, you were supposed to be sitting in your normal seat when we got in the carriage, weren’t you? When did you come on my shoulder?

Amako, who was sitting next to me and the senpai in front of me, speaks to me as I am tilting my head looking at Nea on my shoulder.

“Usato-kun, what’s wrong?”

“You look pale, but ……”

“Oh, um, I had a weird dream. I don’t remember what kind of …… dream I had, though.”

Amako tilts her head at the mention of a dream.

“A scary dream?”

“No, I don’t think it was scary.”

I don’t really remember the content.

But I feel a sense of loss, like I’ve forgotten something I shouldn’t have.

While pretending to be a little troubled, Amako continues to speak to me in question.

“So, the dream of being trained by Rose?”

“You said you weren’t afraid, right?”

“I thought Usato loved training so much that he finally started training in his sleep.”

“……”

“Oh, sorry, no, not now. So don’t give me that ‘I knew you had it in you’ look. Don’t make a face like that.”

You train in your dreams.

It’s like an extension of imagery training.

“Well, I don’t think it’s too much to worry about.”

“Yes, it does. Unlike my dream, Usato’s is probably just a normal dream.”

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I rather wonder what would happen if I had a premonitory dream.

“Umm, I thought I’d be able to bite your knee again while you were taking a nap, but I couldn’t.”

“Suzune-dono, isn’t it not a good idea to do something like that ……?”

“Leona, please don’t stop me. It’s the only way I can ……!”

There is something about senpai talking to Leona in a whisper.

From the feel of it, though, it doesn’t sound like the senior is annoying Leona-san. ……

“Kazuki, how long has it been since we left?”

“Roughly about an hour.”

“An hour? That wasn’t much time passed, was it ……?”

I was so overcome with sleep as soon as I got into the carriage that I don’t even remember going through the gates of the kingdom of Lingle.

Maybe I was more nervous than I thought I was. ……

“We finally left, didn’t we ……?”

“I guess so. We’ll stop at the base once, but we may not be able to return to the Lingle Kingdom for the time being.”

He nodded at Kazuki’s words, then spoke to Nack, who was looking nervously and impatiently at the scenery outside.

“Is this your first time riding in a carriage, Nack?”

“No, no! I’ve ridden in them a few times when I was little. ……”

We asked for permission to take Nack for a ride to take him to the base where Rose and her friends were.

Both Welshie and Sergio knew Nack from his work at the castle and were happy to allow him to ride in the carriage.

Nack, who looked hunched over, glanced at senpai.

“I was nervous to think that I was sitting in the carriage with Suzune-san, Kazuki-san, and Leona-san, who was chosen as the hero of Miarak,…….”

“Haha, I’ve never met Leona-san before, so it’s no wonder I’m nervous.”

We’d already been introduced, but I suppose it made it even more nerve-wracking for Nack.

“I wonder if I’m easily distanced from my …… children, I’m ……”.

And while I was thinking about it, Leona, who was listening to the conversation, was sober and depressed.

When I try to talk to her to follow up on this, she calls out to me from another seat.

“Hmm, you’re not ready to be nervous at this level, are you?”

It was from the far end of the carriage that such a voice came from.

Ferrum, who sat at the very end, about two people’s distance away, and Nack returned the words with a jittery look.

“Why are you sitting at the end of the table like that, Ferrum?”

“…… I just don’t get on with people unnecessarily.”

I’m not a big fan of this kind of thing.

I’m not sure if he noticed her, but he stood up with a big smile on his face.

“Ferrum! Don’t stay in such a dark place, come over here!”

“Absolutely not!　Who would go to a freak like you!!!”

“Don’t say that. We’re on the road together.”

“Don’t come near me! I’m scared of you!”

As senpai slowly made his way towards Ferrum.

“Don’t make a fuss, Suzune.”

“No, I’m a child who’s about to be lonely–“

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“Don’t try to jump on Usato.”

“No, I won’t!”

…… What? Did you just try to jump me at this point? It was a surprise?

Amako speaks plainly to senpai who react loudly

“I saw it in my premonition.”

“You’re falsely accused of premonition!　Usato-kun!　I’m sure you’re not the only one.

“…… No, I mean, …… uh, ……”

“How much do you not trust me?

I have a troubled reaction, and senpai is shocked with gabion.

“Well, I didn’t expect that a few seconds ahead of me I would take such a bold action ……! No! Rather, isn’t it destined to be carried out by the future me! Doesn’t that mean that it’s OK to do it now? Wait a minute, I’m going to get caught in the swing of the carriage and pretend to be a coincidence…”

Senpai is saying something very fast.

Amako, who had been giggling at the exchange between me and her senpai, suddenly looks perturbed.

Did something happen?

“Jeez, I’m just kidding. Suzune.”

“If you decide to do so, ……, huh? A joke?”

“Yes. I was just teasing.”

I was taken aback.

I knew it was a joke, but I was glad it wasn’t a real prediction.

Whether you prevent it or avoid it, it would be a disaster if senpai got hurt in any way. ……

“Huh, huh, that was a close one. I was just about to jump on you like this, if that’s what the prediction says.”

“Why are you so on the spot ……?”

T-That’s dangerous.

If he had continued, his joking prediction would have come true.

Amako is also in a cold sweat, saying that she didn’t foresee it that well, and she is still a terrifying person.

Seeing senpai returning to their seats maturely, Ferrum, who had almost been stuffed earlier, is letting out a sigh of relief.

He is still keeping his distance from us, but …… hmm, I wonder if he will be okay.

The most important thing to remember is that you can’t just sit there and wait for someone to talk to you, you have to talk to them.

“Usato, can I talk to Ferrum for a moment?”

“What? You?”

I’m surprised to hear Amako next to me whisper the suggestion.

Amako was in the dormitory to take care of me when I fainted, but even then she didn’t seem to be talking to Ferrum.

It’s probably the first time they’ve spoken properly, but will they be okay?

“I wanted to talk to him for once. He’s just like me and Flana.”

“Yes, that’s true. You should talk to her……. She’s a good person, even if she doesn’t talk much.”

“Yes.”

Amako said and went to the empty seat next to Ferrum.

I look away from the girls as she sits down next to Ferrum and the three of us start talking with Nack.

“…… Let’s read a book to pass the time.”

I put my bag on my lap at my feet to take out the book that Nair told me to take with me.

The majority of the luggage for the trip has been packed away elsewhere, so the only things in the bag are books and hand towels.

In the meantime, as you try to get the journal of the hero you want, you will notice that your bag has moved.

Hmm?　What’s that?

When I tilt my head back, a black ear and a small head pops out of a gap in my bag.

“Kukuru?　What, you’re here?”

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“Kukuru!”

The Commander’s pet, Kukuru the Noir Rabbit.

I was actually looking for this guy before I left, but he was hiding in my bag.

I should be angry at him for not coming out sooner, but I’m not so angry if I think he wanted to surprise me.

Kukuru leaps out of his bag, runs his arm up my hand, and kicks the owl-like Nea off my shoulder with his back foot.

“Oops! …… Totally, this girl is ……”

“Ugh …… hoo.”

I quickly catch Nea with both hands, but the important thing is that she just does not wake up in a doze.

I don’t know what to do, so I keep it in my palm and warn Kukuru.

“Hey, don’t start a fight.”

“Cu ……”

“Huh, if you’re sorry, fine.”

He nudges Kukuru’s head with his finger, disappointed.

No, I know it’s sweet, but I can’t help but hate it.

He knows this, and that’s why he’s a little devil.

“U-u-u-u-u, Usato-kun!　What’s with that explosively cute girl?”

“Usato. Do you have another errand boy?”

“…… Noir Rabbit?　This is also …… very rare …….”

I noticed that my senpai, Kazuki, and Leona were all looking at the Kukuru on my shoulder.

My senpai, in a way, reacted as I had expected …….

“Huh? Didn’t I tell you?”

Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve taught you anything about Kukuru for some reason …….

It’s no surprise that Leona doesn’t know about it, and neither her senpai nor Kazuki came to the lifeguard quarters that many times.

Kukuru itself is not moving around freely, and.

“I’ve never seen you before! And now I’m fascinated!”

“I’m sorry. Please speak to me in a language I understand.”

I understand, but I can’t keep up with the momentum of …….

After crossing his arms as if he couldn’t help it, the senpai switched to a crisp expression and held his hands out in front of him in a theatrical manner.

“Oh, jet-black you! My heart has been stolen by those beautiful, fruit-red, sinful eyes ……!”

“Who can say that in style ……?”

It’s sad to say that Kukuru is the one who got it, although he almost won the heart of the same gender.

The Kukuru, in fact, looks uninterested and is grooming itself.

In the meantime, he points to Kukuru on his shoulder, paying attention to Nea on his left hand.

“This child is not my errand boy, but the Commander’s pet. As Leona-san said, it’s a demon called Noir Rabbit, and its name is Kukuru.”

“Heh, Rose’s …… what a surprise.”

“Haha, I thought the same thing at first.”

I agree with Kazuki, who looks at Kukuru with interest.

In fact, it’s a demon that is both intelligent and unreasonable, suitable for Rose’s partner.

Well, it’s definitely cute in appearance and gesture,……, and you can’t help but be fooled.

“I never thought I’d see a Noir rabbit here …….”

“You know them, don’t you, Leona?”

“Yes. I’ve heard that they are …… very timid and cautious. Because of their exceptional detection skills, they are rarely seen in the presence of humans. I’ve never seen one in person before.”

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…… Cowardly? What? This guy?

I think it’s more like a rabbit that takes the initiative to try and trick you. ……

“You really are a demon’s favourite, aren’t you?”

“Is that so?”

Leona says this when she sees Kukulu lazily sitting on her shoulder and Nea sleeping in her palm.

Kazuki nodded in agreement.

In the meantime, senpai silently stared at us.

I’m scared.

“Indeed. I’m not sure what to make of it. That child is also said to be Rose’s pet, maybe she feels something close to Rose and misses her.”

“Maybe she simply wants to fight with Nea, though.”

And he’s always picking fights with her every time they see each other.

As we were having this conversation, suddenly and without warning, Kukuru jumped off my shoulder.

“Hmm? Kukuru.”

“Kyuu.”

He landed on my lap, jumped again and jumped on the lap of the senior student in the seat in front of me.

Naturally, senpai fell into a panic.

“—!　—!”

“Usato, Suzune-dono is looking at you as if asking for help. ……”

“Uh, yes. Senpai, that guy is basically harmless, so it’s okay.”

The senpai was shocked beyond words and was unable to even move from the spot.

Knowing or not knowing such a senpai, Kukuru, who had moved his head to scurry around on her lap, looked up, climbed up so that he could run down her arm, jumped on her shoulder — and jumped on her head.

“Kyu!”

“Usato-kun, I can die now. I have no more regrets.”

“What are you saying with your enlightened face, this guy ……?”

What happened to your trip to defeat the demon king ……?

Kukuru jumped happily on the head of the senior with a pitter-patter.

The senpai looked full of life.

Kukulu’s behaviour appeared to be the same as what he had previously done to Nea in her human state.

“…… Could it be?”

Kukuru you …… only sees senpai as a playmate like Nea ……?

Kazuki and Leona, who were watching from the side, also noticed this, and glanced at me with an indescribable look on their faces.

Ummm, what to do?

“Kyu, Kyu!”

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t be rude. Hahaha.”

…… Yeah, senpai seems to be happy and I think I can leave him alone until we reach the base.

I look over at the two of them and lean my back against the carriage wall.

I take out the hero’s journal from my half-open bag, and with one hand, I roll the pages and read through the parts that Nea has deciphered for me.

We are almost there.

At the base are all the rescue squad and …… Rose.

I’m worried because I’ve heard that Nero Agence has wounded you.

Author’s Note:

If you think about it, “feign friendliness” is a great way to describe it. ……

This is the end of this update.