CH 64

“Chapter 64: Punishment, and the aftermath”

Akito gave the signal for everyone to gather.

30 people in total.

My class had 37 people, so there’s 7 missing.

According to Akito, some of the girls left the group after I was kicked out. They were some of the ones calling me disgusting behind my back

They also used their frontline as a laughing stock. After Shunichi, their group is the one I would’ve liked to humiliate the most.

– What are you planning to do with us?

Ever had restrained Akito’s legs and arms using magic.

He’s kneeling at my feet.

How the tables have turned, huh.

– I wonder. To be honest, I don’t care about you guys anymore. You almost killed me, but you didn’t make it. We could just strip you all from your possessions and let you go with just a warning.

– Alrigh-

– But that’s just my opinion. Not my friends’. I’ll let them decide.

I turned my back on them.

No one in that group would treat me badly if I were to rejoin them.

But I don’t care. This is goodbye.

I would rather spend my life with an actual family that cares about me.

– Are you done? (Ever)

– Yes. (Takaya)

I’ll leave them to the others.

Even if I forgive them, that doesn’t mean the rest of Searat does.

Especially Ever, Letty and Mike.

– Master, how do you want me to kill them? I can bite their heads off in just seconds. (Mike)

– No. They would die too quickly. We can use demon magic to keep their consciousness alive while they watch themselves get decomposed for eternity. (Letty)

– Hmmm, not a bad idea. But I got my old robe ready and everything. I’d like to kill them myself. Maybe I can summon a giant tree in the forest to slowly suck their life force until they turn to bones. (Ever)

I can’t believe the things I’m hearing. Maybe Dike’s magic affected my ears?

Meirir, Akane and Feria were only bystanders in the discussion, but they were nodding at the suggestions.

– Hey, Roar? When did we hire so many lunatics? (Rudra)

– Beats me. (Roar)

Rudra and Roar were talking in the back while taking care of Dike, who seemed to be having nightmares due to the concerning ideas being discussed.

– Master. (Mike)

– Takaya. (Letty)

– Takaya. (Ever)

– …Yes?

– What do we do? (Mike/Letty/Ever)

– *Sigh*.

In the end, we couldn’t reach an agreement, so we decided to lock them up in the basement of Ever’s palace.

They will have to rot there until I decide what to do. If I so wish, their heads could be chopped off in a matter of milliseconds.

I want them to experience the same despair and loneliness I felt.

It might not be the right thing to do.

But I don’t care.

×　×　×

The night after the kidnapping.

Another story was about to end. The story of the girls who were promised they would overcome their limits.

– W-What!? What are you doing!?

One of the girls yelled.

They were the girls that left Akito’s group.

Money was running out, so not long after kicking out Takaya, one of them suggested escaping.

Unlike the boys, who could only frontline like barbarians, these girls had an exceptional talent for magic.

“Let’s enjoy this world. Together. The 7 of us”

“We are special. We are the chosen ones”

“We will do great things in this world”

An unforgettable charming voice for sure.

Which is why they felt they could trust her.

But they were terribly wrong.

– Heheh… Their clothes are weird, but for sure a pleasant find. Surely we can train these animals. Or sell them, that’s fine too.

The girls ran away with some of the money and materials from the class.

But 6 of them were attacked at an inn on their way to Royal Capital, the biggest city in this world.

– Let me go!

One of the girls was being dragged by her hair and slammed.

Usually, they would use their magic to fight. Their flames, or their transparent sword, or their sickle. One of them had an ability to enhance her physical strength, which would’ve been perfect to fend off the bandits.

But for some reason, nothing worked.

Even if they prayed, even if they plead.

Their abilities would simply not come out.

– Why!? Why is our magic not working!? I thought we were special!

One of the girls screamed while the other was getting beaten by the bandits.

“Why?”

The one who gave an answer was【Her】

– Good evening, dears.

– MINAGAMI, THIS IS YOUR DOING!?

Minagami Shiori smiled behind the bandits.

– Correct. It was easy to convince you. So naive.

Shiori was the other class president aside from Akito.

A beautiful figure accompanied by long black hair that accentuated her innocence. Always quietly obeying Akito’s orders. But her personality drastically changed once they got stranded in this world. She took advantage of the girls’ anxiousness to convince them to run away.

The 6 of them believed in her.

If they followed Shiori, they would be unbeatable.

– It took some time, but I’ve already absorbed your skills. You serve no purpose anymore.

– You b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲, this was your plan all alon-GWUH!?

Shiori’s kick broke the girl’s jaw thanks to the enhanced physical strength she stole.

– Hey, easy there, lady. These girls are ours now.

– Apologies. Please accept compensation for that kick.

Shiori threw a bag of coins to the bandits’ leader.

The girls might’ve thought they had a special bond, but Shiori only ever saw them as objects.

– I’ll take my leave, then. Please suit yourselves with your new goods.

– Wait! Shiorin! Please! I thought we were friends! We are, right!? You said we’d all be together!

– …

Shiori stopped at the pleading voice of one of her classmates.

– Farewell, pigs. A fitting end for scumbags that can only hide behind others.

Smiling, Shiori walked away.

The whereabouts of the 6 girls are still unknown.

×　×

– Now I only need “The Roots”.

Shiori murmured while looking at her tree paper.

The upper part of the tree was so extensive it didn’t even fit in the tree paper.

The trunk, branches, and leaves were all different colors as if they had been grafted.

However, this tree had no roots.

The drawing was very out of place all around. It looked as if the tree had been cut from its roots and then planted in another garden.

– Just you wait, Nagami-kun. My power of “Void” will surely enjoy your roots.

Shiori muttered that phrase into the nothingness while looking at the empty part of her tree paper.