CH 338

[I’m your ally though?]

[That is———- until the very end?]

[……As expected of you. That certainly blocks up trying to explain my way out.]

[Kashima had once mentioned it before. That’s you’re “simply riding the winning horse”. I want to know your true motives.]

“Hoho”, Asagi twirls the ends of her hair with her pinky finger.

[In othar wards….. You’re questioning Asagi-san if there’s a possibility that she’d double-cross, right? If Goddess-chin gets the upper hand in the coming battle, you’re worried that Asagi-san would readily take her side…… That’s what you were saying, right?]

[To put it simply, yes.]

[Why thank you for the straightforward answer.]

“Ya see here……”, Asagi continues.

[My mission is to finish this Isekai Hero Story while everyone in the Asagi Group is safe. And then, returning everyone in Asagi Group to our original world. Well, Asagi-san personally doesn’t care about returning.]

“Though, I think you may have already heard this from Poppo-chan.”, Asagi concluded.

[As long as you can accomplish that mission, it doesn’t matter which side you’re on?]

""

[Unnn. It’s just…… I don’t really think I can achieve the second clear objective if we stay on the Goddess’ side.]

I silently urged her to continue.

[In other words, I feel like Goddess-chin doesn’t intend to return us to our original world. Well then, did the former Heroes properly return to their original world? Were the former Heroes thrown down the Disposal Ruins, or unexpectedly, were they disposed of in this world, unable to return?]

Asagi put her fingertips to her cheeks, making her lips pout cutely.

[Well…… Couldn’t the reason why she’s doing that is the resource needed to send the Heroes back to their former world, the Big Boss’s Tyrant Miasma? Any other ideas why? I mean, she probably has other good uses for that. As a Deity, I mean. Fufufu…… Hanging the carrot called returning to the original world, and once you reached the goal, you will be killed…… If that’s really the case, she’d make quite the great Evil God.]

Asagi also seems to have arrived at that reasoning.

Meanwhile, Kashima only looked at Asagi with a tense expression on her face.

[In other words…… You don’t think you can trust Vysis.]

[Unnn. I mean, as long as they haven’t been brainwashed, it’s hard for people to completely trust that Goddess-chan. That smile of hers clearly nyook like a lie after all, nyahaha.]

After Asagi said this in a good-humored tone……

[But well, I mean, Goddess-chin is someone from another world, right? Could it just be that she’s working with a different set of values than us? Couldn’t the reason that I couldn’t trust her be because of the meagerness of our way of thinking as a human? Since she’s a Deity, isn’t it possible that she has super high-dimensional thoughts that humans can’t even comprehend? Looking at things with prejudice isn’t good. So, after Mimori-kun died———- Ah, excuse me. After Mimori-kun was discarded, I continued to observe her. And then…… I realized that this Goddess was just a vulgar, evil Deity.]

[She looked sh*tty to me right from the start though.]

No, to be more precise———— Since around the time the original “me” was brought out huh.

“Sh*tty enough to curse at her and flip the birdie eh?”, Asagi teased.

[Even so, I highly evaluate Goddess-chin’s brainwashing and instigation skills. I do get the impression that the precedent-based conceit cultivated by her extraordinarily long lifespan and the narrow-minded behavior that seemed to come from her occasional stress-induced impulses are holding her back a bit.]

Thereupon, Asagi held up an index finger and spun it around in the air……

[However, I could really feel like she got this obsession with something. I don’t know what her goals are, but couldn’t that be the secret to Goddess-chin’s strength?]

That was a different way of saying it, but her analysis was close to how Hijiri views the situation.

However, I have the impression that Asagi has an even clearer way of verbalization.

Come to think of it, at that time, it wasn’t with Hijiri, but a comparison with me……

I thought that her analysis about the Mad Emperor back in the castle’s dining room was the same as mine.

[So, Asagi…… I still haven’t heard your true motives from your mouth———–]

Asagi calmly shrugs her shoulders.

[It’s not like I have any other intention though? When I was wondering what to do while I didn’t trust the Goddess, I was solicited by Zine-chin. There’s a way to return to our original world without relying on the Goddess, he said. And so, I decided that Zine-chin was a “winning horse”. Thus, Asagi-san decided to join Zine-chin’s side.]

Asagi put one hand on her waist.

Letting out a sigh…….

[That’s all there is to it, truly simple as that.]

Then, raising her gaze……

[Goddess-chin doesn’t seem to want to return us to our original world, and then her distrust just has to grow too strong, and in the first place, getting a mission clear has become impossible. Well, that doesn’t make her a winning horse.]

[That’s why, it’s unlikely that you’d betray us?]

[Umu, that’s right.]

[…………………..]

Thereupon……

[Geez, Poppo-chan~~ Things are getting complicated because of the way you’re telling your story~~ I mean…… Because Poppo-chan’s way of saying held this nuance that Asagi-san couldn’t be trusted, things turned out like this witch trial?]

[Eh? Ah…… S- Sorry……]

[Kobato.]

[……Hmmm?]

[You know, if you don’t trust me, I’d seriously be in trouble here?]

[That———– That isn’t what I had int…… I’m sorry.]

[Die.]

[……Eh?]

[Eh?]

[Ah, errr……]

I interrupted her.

[No, no matter how you look at it, you can’t just suddenly tell people to die.]

[Hmm———– I guess so. I’m sorry, Poppo-chan. That’s just a little joke~~ I’m so sorry~~ Well, look, Asagi-san is just a mysterious character whose true intentions are hard to see…… That’s why Asagi-san is easily misunderstood…… Sniff. Ah, did my acting just now resemble Goddess-chin’s?]

[…………………….]

That time Asagi said “die” just now…… The feeling I got from Asagi……

……No.

Even if I try to poke on that matter, nothing would probably come out.

Rather than that……

[Asagi…… There’s one thing that personally bothers me.]

Something that doesn’t make sense to me……

Or rather, something that I just couldn’t grasp.

[Ou, ask me anything.]

Just now, when I asked her if she’s our ally————-

When Asagi talked about her mission……

Asagi said something that bothered me.

“Well, Asagi-san personally doesn’t care about returning.”

With her back against the wall of the barracks……

Seras was standing slightly diagonally behind Asagi.

She didn’t give a “lie” signal.

Therefore, when Asagi said she doesn’t really care———– that’s her true thoughts.

“She doesn’t care if she can’t return home”

That is what Ikusaba Asagi thinks……

In other words, for Asagi herself, returning isn’t an objective?

“Let all Asagi Group’s members survive.”

“Return the Asagi Group to the original world.”

I understand that these are her objectives.

But when it comes to only Asagi herself, she doesn’t have “the desire to return”.

Then, what?

[How about you, Asagi?]

""

[Yas?]

[From what you’ve said so far, I can’t see it.]

[You’re talking about?]

[Your own motives.]

For example, just like I have my own personal motives.

Revenge.

On the other hand, the motive for most of our classmates……

“The desire to go back to our original world”

And then, there’s Sogou Ayaka’s motive……

“The desire to protect her classmates”

She has such a motivation to achieve that.

And beyond Sogou’s desire to have them “return” after that———- was for she herself to return.

However……

[You don’t want to go back to our original world?]

Asagi strokes her chin in admiration and smiles at me with cat-like eyes.

[Hoho…… Mimori-kun, you sure perceived an interesting spot huh? Asagi-san…… had nyot thought you’d poke on that matter.]

[You like this world so you want to stay behind…… doesn’t seem to be the case, right? What you just said was that you don’t care. In other words———– You don’t care whether you stay behind or go back. Therefore, it’s not like you have a strong desire to remain in this world.]

Unlike the rest of our classmates, she doesn’t have the desire to return to our original world.

She doesn’t have a strong desire to stay in this world either.

Of course, she doesn’t want to take revenge on the Goddess like I do.

In the first place———— Asagi doesn’t seem to have any strong emotions.

Then, what in the world are Ikusaba Asagi’s true motives?

I don’t know.

Even if Ikusaba Asagi says she’s our ally……

""

That’s just something I can’t understand.

This just makes things hard to move around in.

“No, no”, Asagi spoke.

[This is much simpler than you might think, Mimori-kun…… I mean, it was just like I said. Asagi-san was just clearing the missions Asagi-san had set. Hmmm, even so…… I think it would be more interesting if we did not talk about this matter.]

I look at Seras.

She———- didn’t tell any lies.

It also doesn’t sound like she’s trying to be evasive with her wording.

…………………….

She’s just as Takao Hijiri described————- “Foreign”.

Right now…… There’s one thing that has been crossing my mind since a while ago.

There’s one motive that comes to mind.

Just as Asagi said, it’s much simpler than I might think.

Perhaps, for Ikusaba Asagi————-

[You see things like it’s a game?]

Ikusaba Asagi, with a dull obsidian glint in her eyes……

[Yes.]

She responded.

□

After being summoned to another world———— At some point in time, Ikusaba Asagi had decided on a mission.

Perhaps, before deciding on what kind of mission it will be……

She may have noncommittally gathered her pieces———– her players.

And then……

After deciding on her mission, she was working to accomplish it.

Yes.

Perhaps, Ikusaba Asagi……

She’s “doing her best” not because she cares about the Asagi Group……

It’s because she had set “Asagi Group’s safety and return” as her mission that she’s doing her best.

If that’s the case……

Then, her thoughts should be mainly concentrated on one thing.

To achieve the game clear———– How should she move?

Everything……

Everything was for the sake of completing her mission.

Asagi herself may have unintentionally mentioned the name of the game she was playing earlier.

The thing she intends to “finish” which she mentioned before————- “Isekai Hero Story”.

Before, at the castle in the Imperial Capital……

When I revealed my identity, Kashima said this.

“Asagi-san…… She said “she’s just riding the winning horse”. Ahh, also…… going back to our world is more of a secondary clear condition, as her top priority is to ensure that everyone in the Asagi Group is safe from now on? She said something along those lines.”

My reaction after hearing that back then.

So that actually was the correct answer.

No, that may be why I thought of that as one of the possible answers before.

However……

If Ikusaba Asagi really sees things as just a game……

On the contrary, that makes all of my concerns disappear.

After all, if this is the case———–

Based on the mission content that Asagi mentioned just now, all we needed to do now was to build our plan for the future.

▽

I mean, Asagi……

Perhaps, this time, she was trying to take advantage of our ability to judge the authenticity of a person’s words.

I do feel something’s out of place though.

This time…… Asagi has given us relatively clear answers.

In many cases, she clearly answered with a yes or no.

With our conversation in the dining room in the castle as proof, she should be capable of being evasive with her words.

But in some of her answers————–

Asagi probably “dared” to present a clear answer in order to prove her point.

For what purpose did she do this?

To clear the doubts pointed at her?

To prove her own innocence?

Why did she do all that?

That should be obvious.

It’s because she decided that doing such a thing would be to her advantage to accomplish her mission.

[……………………]

A game huh.

I looked at Asagi again.

Asagi’s now whistling to herself, and noticing my gaze, she asked “What’s up?” and tilted her head.

For her, if things go badly……

Success, failure……

Life, death……

She doesn’t care so much about all that.

That’s why she was so lighthearted———– That’s why she looked so nonchalant.

As long as she continues to play the game, she would eventually get a game over.

However, death in the game would also be a restart……

That’s her way of thinking.

When she dies, she just gets a reset.

The game she plays would simply change.

Perhaps, the very life of Ikusaba Asagi————-

She sees it as nothing more than playing a character in a game.

All her performance———— It’s to achieve her most optimized self for clearing the game.

As a player herself……

In this game, she’s acting as the character named “Asagi Ikusaba”.

An acting that covers up her “real self”.