Chapter 41 / Conclusion and Concurrence

Itsuki and Sakura came to a stop once they reached a certain hallway within the underground brothel. Along the way, they encountered a few guards that Itsuki was able to quickly dispatch after Sakura ran past them and pulled their attention. A forceful, but quick, interrogation allowed Itsuki to pinpoint where Elgesich was keeping all of the women, the ones he made into slaves, before knocking the guard out to catch up with Sakura. If anything, that latter part had been the most difficult part.

"Don't go too far off again," Itsuki groaned. He bent over briefly to catch his breath. "Man, I wonder how Motoyasu is able to keep a leash on you."

"Daddy doesn't keep a leash on me?" Sakura glanced down, patting her neck in confusion as if she was checking if there were somehow an invisible one there.

Itsuki sighed. "I didn't mean it in a literal sense…"

Nevertheless, he didn't bother to explain the rest of it. They needed to get back on track, so Itsuki took charge and started scouting the hallway. Thankfully, Sakura didn't rush ahead again, keeping herself close behind him. She even gave him time to get himself changed out of the ridiculous dress and back into his normal outfit. It looked as if Sakura was scouting around in the meantime, but Itsuki was certain she was only doing it to make it look like she was contributing.

She wasn't actually sure what it was that she should have been doing.

The entire floor consisted of multiple corridors connected by a singular main hallway. At the end of the hallway was the staircase reserved for employees in a closed room, to which they had emerged from. The other end, seen once they turned the corner, had the normal staircase, as to where Itsuki had to assume led outside, so the exit was practically secured, especially since Itsuki couldn't see any guards patrolling this area. The possible problem remaining had been the fact that there were numerous rooms among each branching hallway, but that much was already taken care of.

After all, the interrogation gave him the information as to where Rino was. All he had to do was describe her to the guard and they were willing to point him to the right direction with a bit of persuasion of a sharp arrow. It was fortunate that Motoyasu had told them what she looked like on the way to the social event, just in case either of them managed to come across someone that looked like her.

"Her room should be somewhere around here…"

The doors themselves didn't have any windows to see through, so they had to rely on getting the correct room number. They didn't have the keys to any of the rooms though, so once they found the indicated room, Itsuki decided to take a page out of Ren's book.

He lifted up his foot and slammed it against the door, but it didn't budge. If anything, Itsuki had been the one to stagger backwards from it.

"Gah. He made this look easier than it was…"

"Sakura can try."

Sakura stepped towards the door and simply punched the doorknob. The lock broke right off and the door swung wide open. It didn't make too much of a commotion around as Itsuki was imagining, perhaps because the area was built to contain noises, but there was a strange smell coming out from the room that dissuaded Sakura from moving further.

"It stinks in there…"

It didn't take much for Itsuki to deduce what the smell could have been. The room itself appeared clean enough though, if not flashy to be able to put customers in the mood. Itsuki didn't want to imagine anything further than that. If Sakura was ever going to ask something about the circumstances here, Itsuki decided that he would bounce the questions back over to Motoyasu, but that had been besides the point.

There was someone who was sleeping on the bed in the middle of the room.

Slowly, she rose up from bed at the sight of her room being broken into. Her gaze held an empty gaze while her body was akin to a deer among headlights. Was she not moving because she did not understand what was happening or was it because she had already given up? The only hint that she was even alive was her shuddering small frame.

"Are you Rino? We're not here to hurt you."

"Wh-Who are you…?" She glanced away, avoiding eye contact, but she was still able to speak, let alone the drained fatigue in her voice. "What do you want with me?"

Her hands held tightly onto her clothes.

"We're here to get you out." Itsuki casually walked up to the girl, but she still wouldn't look him in the eyes. "Come on, we're on your side. The faster that we leave this place, the faster you can put all of this behind. Don't worry. You're in good hands now."

However, Rino didn't respond. It wasn't as if Itsuki wasn't understanding that she had been wary, but his mind was on the fact that once he got Rino out with Sakura, he could turn back to take care of Elgesich as soon as possible. That meant for every minute wasted in simply waiting for Rino to move, that was another minute wasted in pursuing Elgesich and stopping his evil ways.

Itsuki extended his hand, but Rino hadn't moved an inch. He did notice that her eyes leered from the corners towards his hand, as if she was contemplating the decision. It didn't make much sense to Itsuki though; for what was there to contemplate between suffering and freedom?

"Didn't you hear me?" Itsuki asked, trying to be clear. "We're here to get you out." he repeated.

After the second time, there hadn't been any change. He didn't have all night to wait around for an obvious decision to be made here, so Itsuki became a little impatient. He turned over his hand and initiated, reaching out to grab Rino's hand to at least get her standing off the bed.

However—

—"Don't touch me!"

Rino suddenly smacked Itsuki's hand away. The screaming outburst caused Itsuki to stumble backwards out of surprise. His eyes widened as he glanced between the victim and his hand. He could hear Rino's breaths drastically change into a ragged pant, but once his confusion faded away, all he was left was a growing impatience.

"What's the matter with you? I'm trying to help here! Don't you want to escape!?"

"I-I… I'm sorry… P-Please don't…"

Continuing without eye contact, Rino's faint stammering hadn't felt like an actual apology. It was more as if she was unconsciously saying those words, but Itsuki hadn't picked up on that.

Sakura, on the other hand, stepped in between Itsuki and Rino before things could even escalate. A silent back glance reminded Itsuki of what she had said before running off ahead of him, though perhaps that reminder may not have been her intention. Whatever frustrations Itsuki had almost disappeared in an instant once Itsuki started to think a little more, considering what Rino might have been feeling, but he still quietly bit his lips.

"We're here because Daddy wanted to save you!" Sakura explained, almost too casually. "You're Daddy's friend, right?"

"Huh…?" Once hearing the cheerful tone, Rino tilted her head over to see Sakura. Her eyes were as bright as her smile and what had been a struggle for Itsuki to have, Sakura managed to grab Rino's attention immediately. "I'm your dad's friend? Who's…?"

"Motoyasu." A blunt answer came from Itsuki after a sigh. "He heard that you were in trouble, so we came out here as soon as we could. We got separated a while ago, but we ended up being the ones to find you first. Getting you out is the first objective here."

"M-Motoyasu did that?" Rino held her hands close to her chest. "So he didn't abandon me…"

Itsuki narrowed his eyes.

There was something rather telling about what happened in Rino's perspective from those words alone, but Itsuki didn't need to dig deep into that right now, nor was he the one that she needed to disclose it to. He took a few steps back to check outside the hallway, seeing no changes in their surroundings.

It should have been a straight path out to the outdoors, but he thought about what would happen afterwards. Technically, there wasn't anything planned out for what would happen if they found Rino, since the shadows said the plan would unravel as the night went on. There wouldn't be any harm in bringing her back to Elena's home, only that Elena would have needed to be back to unlock access.

One step at a time now; let them focus on leaving the building first. Itsuki would cross that bridge when they get to there. Maybe he could even leave Sakura and Rino together by the back door of the store while he returned to take care of Elgesich. He might have been to swing by the main hall to find Elena and get her to leave. While that job could have been relegated to the shadows, he wasn't going to trust them after what they tried to pull on him.

Just wait until he tells Naofumi and the others about what happened. At that point, what was the point in working together with the Queen if her shadows were willing to force them down like that?

"Yeppp, that's right. Just let Sakura lead the way!"

"O-Oh… Thank you."

While Itsuki was thinking to himself, it would appear that Sakura had calmed Rino's nerves down. She moved off the bed with Sakura's help, but her legs had been shaking a bit. It didn't prevent her from walking though, but it felt as if she needed Sakura's hand to help her find the mentality to do so.

Once they left the room, Itsuki made sure to check on them once every few moments as he secured the path outwards for them. There were a couple of guards that they came across, but strangely enough, they were all already conscious, despite them not coming this way. He could only assume that it was the work of the shadows, but while it looked like a favor, Itsuki only felt more annoyed.

"If you were able to do this so easily," Itsuki groaned to himself, "what made you guys wait for so long to do this job yourself? I don't understand what the Queen is thinking."

Frankly, Itsuki wasn't sure if he wanted to know. Those thoughts loomed over his head as they eventually found themselves out the building and into a discreet alleyway.

-/IV/-

"The lights are on…?" Itsuki noticed the abnormality once they approached the store. "Oh, that's perfect. Elena must be back already for some reason, but I'm not going to complain."

He let Rino and Sakura overtake his pace, but Sakura turned once she noticed Itsuki's footsteps moving in the opposite direction. "Huh? Where is Itsuki going?"

"My job isn't done yet. As long as Elgesich is still alive, these issues are still going to transpire. I need to put an end to it, so that no one will end up like Rino again."

"Nope."

That single word caused Itsuki to stop in his place. The sheer absurdity of Sakura's abrupt denial of his plans had thrown him for another loop. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing how forward Sakura had been presenting herself to him. Scrutiny caused Itsuki's eyes to scrunch up while Sakura simply stared back as if she was merely having another normal conversation with everyone.

While Ren might have other reasons, Itsuki was starting to realize Sakura was annoying. Even if she was just a kid—no, because she was a kid, she shouldn't have been able to understand the gravitas of what Itsuki is trying to do.

"Keep yourself out of this, Sakura. If you don't understand the circumstances, you shouldn't weigh your opinions on it. This is how justice has to be done." He gestured to Rino. "You can see for yourself. If Elgesich remains like this, more people will end up like her, someone who needs help. That much you can understand, can't you?"

"No, Sakura doesn't think Sakura could understand." The young girl tilted her head with a half-hearted pondering of her name as she continued. "But Sakura does know one thing…"

"And what is that?"

"Sakura thinks Itsuki is acting like Stupid Ren. And not in a good way. Sakura might have to start calling Itsuki by Stupid Itsuki if Itsuki keeps acting like this."

He frowned at her declaration. In her eyes, it might have been her variation of a threat, but Itsuki had no idea how to comprehend her words. It was just as good as having her words go into one ear and out the other. He might have snapped at her if he could have made heads-or-tails about what she was getting at here, but all Itsuki resolved to do was ignore her while going on his way.

There was no point in arguing with a stubborn person, after all.

"O-Oh, I thought I heard voices back here…"

The familiar sound of a timid voice emerged from the back door's opening. Itsuki, Sakura and Rino turned over to see Rishia dipping her head out, almost as if she was trying to hide at the same time while making her presence known.

"Huh? Rishia?" Itsuki widened his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"W-Well, uhm…" Rishia's eyes turned away for a moment. "I-I think it's easier if I wasn't the one to explain… Maybe if Motoyasu could talk to you if you want to know."

"Oh! Daddy's back too? Yayyy!"

She grabbed Rino's hand. "Come on! Daddy will be happy to see you!"

She didn't even have time to react to these antics, not that Rino was even expecting it. Without even caring for the situation, Sakura skipped along through the door while she pulled Rino's hand, almost pushing Rishia out of the way. She even stumbled a bit from the sudden commotion and she would have tripped over if Itsuki didn't quickly come over to catch her.

"Th-Thank you, Lord Itsuki."

"No problem." Rishia regained her balance, pushing herself off from Itsuki. "Look, I don't know what the situation is to have the both of you back here, but we've essentially completed what Motoyasu was here for."

He gestured a head nod to the girl that was just pulled into the building by Sakura. It was followed by a dry chuckle from Rishia that awkwardly trailed off as much as it started.

"I'll say what I told Sakura," Itsuki continued, "but I'm heading back to Elgesich's manor to finish what needs to be done. That man needs to be dealt with and every minute I'm spending here, I'm burning away time that can be used to get to him. I can talk to Motoyasu later about any updates he would want to pass on to me afterwards, so there's no need to do anything, Rishia."

"You… want to deal with Elgesich…?" Her eyes wandered away. "Th-That might be a problem, but… I mean, uh, I don't think you'll need to worry about that anymore."

Itsuki frowned. "What do you mean?"

Rishia kept fidgeting, not exactly knowing how to say it. It was the reason why she wanted Itsuki to go talk to Motoyasu, since she thought she couldn't really explain it properly.

And besides, the image of Itsuki fighting Errnthon had been in her mind, if one could even call that a fight. While what she believed in was the justice that Itsuki preached about, she would have to admit that the way he went about it was somewhat merciless. Almost a bit scary, in a way. The anger Motoyasu had reminded her of Itsuki's behavior back there and she really didn't want to think about it any further than that.

What was important now was for Itsuki to not further endanger himself and for him to not waste his time. At this point, the manor itself might have been in an absolute uproar. Motoyasu and Rishia were able to escape easily because of all of the commotion and chaos that ensued with the guards trying to get all of the event attendants to escape, so all Itsuki would have crossed was an empty building.

She really did have to come out and say it straight.

"Uhm, Elgesich is dead."

At the very least, Rishia thought the revelation would satisfy him. In a roundabout way, justice would have been served in Itsuki's eyes, but all she was met with were widened eyes. He simply stood there like he was frozen, as if he couldn't comprehend what Rishia had just announced.

"He's… dead? Actually dead?" he finally muttered, but that disbelief was followed by a few stomps forward. It was a wonder how he hadn't been grabbing and shaking her around. "A-Already!? How did that already happen!?"

The sudden explosive shift in Itsuki's voice made Rishia flinch backwards.

"Ah…" Backing up, Itsuki realized his mistake and calmed down a bit. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Sorry. I was just a little surprised. That's all."

"Th-That's fine…"

That had been what she said, but she could feel some sweat trying to break out. That had been the furthest reaction that she had expected from Itsuki, but he then shook his head and glanced away. His eyes avoided Rishia's while he continued.

"I-I… I suppose you already checked if he was genuinely dead?"

"Uhh… Motoyasu's attack looked rather fatal…"

"So Motoyasu was the one who finished him, huh?"

Itsuki sighed.

"... Good on him." He then nodded to himself as he looked back to Rishia. "At the end of the day, justice prevails and people won't have to suffer anymore under Elgesich's domain. That's the most important thing at the end of the day, isn't it? It's just that Motoyasu was the one who was the hero this time. That's all."

"R-Right."

"It's probably for the best that we talk about this more while we're inside." He rolled his shoulder as he finally walked past Rishia to enter the building. "We shouldn't stick around outside for too long."

Rishia could tell something was off, but she couldn't really tell what it was. If that was the case, it was probably for the best if she overlooked it for now. It had been a rather long night, so perhaps Itsuki was simply tired from the whole operation. He was the one who brought Rino out, so his side of the story might have been filled with complexities.

After Itsuki stepped in, Rishia closed the door behind them.

-/IV/-

Rino couldn't really keep up with Sakura's energy, but being pulled around by a kid was infinitely better than what was going on in that prostitution ring Elgesich had. Now that she was out all of a sudden, it was like a heavy weight was taken off her shoulders, but that didn't mean those chains were completely unshackled. She couldn't even look at her rescuer's face properly, so she didn't even know how it would go, being thrusted to Motoyasu out of nowhere.

It was especially the case when she already lost hope in holding out for Motoyasu to figure out that something was wrong, thinking it was that miserable life was how it was going to end for her. Even now, she had thought that this was some kind of strange dream and that she would wake up back in the brothel at any moment, likely when she was just about to see him.

A few steps later, Sakura brought her into a back room. She could hear voices coming from behind the door, almost as if it was someone being reprimanded. It didn't seem like a situation where they should intrude, but the young girl didn't hold any sense to that. She opened the door without a care in the world. Well, that probably would have been wrong to say outright. There was one care that she had.

"Daddy! Sakura's back!"

Motoyasu, who had already changed back into his usual outfit, was sitting at an empty table while a masked figure stood on the other side with their arms crossed. The atmosphere was tense enough to cut it with a knife and yet, the colliding force of Sakura's bubbly nature shattered it as if it were brittle.

She ran up to Motoyasu, practically leaping into his arms.

"O-Oh, Sakura!" Although his actions went like clockwork, Motoyasu's speech couldn't exactly be as automated. "I guess, welcome back? I mean, wait a minute. Where did you run off to?"

"Sakura had to keep an eye on Itsuki! He looked like he was going to be lost, so Sakura made sure that he wouldn't! And a lot of things happened, like how Itsuki got tired, those masked people were actually bad guys, and Sakura had to—!"

Sakura then looked over the table, only to realize that one of the shadows had been standing there. She immediately darted around Motoyasu, using him as a cover.

"Ah! It's them! The bad people that tried to hurt Itsuki!"

Motoyasu glanced over, but he already knew there was more to the story than one should expect from the lens of a child. The shadow looked exasperated, even with their face hidden away.

"I'm sure it was a misunderstanding," Motoyasu chuckled as he patted Sakura's head. "I'll make sure those people apologize, but first things first…"

He didn't overlook who had been accompanying Sakura.

"Rino…"

"... Motoyasu."

He noticed that her eyes were constantly casted downwards at his feet. It wasn't exactly the reunion that was hoped for, but he would be lying to say that he didn't expect this type of reaction. Considering what she might have been through, the opposite gender might be tough to deal with.

"Sakura did her best to help with what Daddy wanted! Itsuki was there too, Sakura guessed."

"Thanks, Sakura. You did a good job."

"Hehehe…"

Dropping her wariness of the shadow, she climbed back onto Motoyasu's lap. It was a bit awkward, considering the things he wanted to talk to Rino about, but he couldn't really push her away. He simply let her be as he returned his attention to Rino.

The shadow had enough tact to let them be for a while, leaving the room for them to talk.

"I'm glad you're safe."

"Thanks…" She held one arm with the other. "I really should be thanking you more properly than this, huh? You put your time out to come help me."

"You don't need to." Motoyasu shook his head. "The fault lies with me. I should have suspected something when you had suddenly left the party like that, but that's besides the point."

Would it have been too insensitive to immediately ask Rino about her circumstances? Of course, Motoyasu wasn't going to ask anything about her duration as a prostitution, forced under Elgesich's hand. While he genuinely wanted to make sure she was safe and sound, Motoyasu wanted to desperately hear about what happened that led to her enslavement.

Motoyasu bit his lips.

Was that simply an excuse though? Was he trying to think for Rino's sake or was he simply scared to hear what she had to say? He couldn't deny that selfishness outright.

No, he came this far already. He even had blood on his hands because of his actions today, not to mention he didn't want to waste Itsuki's efforts to pull them over here in the first place. If he didn't owe it to himself, he at least owed it to Itsuki to resolve himself.

"I… I wished I knew about what happened sooner. I wish I knew about your situation, so I could come over to help you out sooner. However, I… still don't understand."

"Understand what?"

"How did you…?"

The words were right there before his eyes, but it wouldn't come out of his throat. He was sitting still, but his heart was pounding through his ears. He knew already, but he simply couldn't beat the fear that stabbed itself onto his back. Myne's image flickered as he turned his head away.

He wasn't strong enough to face the truth by himself.

"All of this mess and that was all you could do? You really are a piece of work, Motoyasu."

The door opened behind Rino as Motoyasu glanced back up to see Elena entering the room. He was surprised that Elena decided to step in at this moment, but he didn't think too much about it. If anything, it was probably her trying to get them to wrap things up, so he was ready to get up and call it a night. It would have been for the best for him to collect his thoughts, now that he came to this point, and make an attempt later. It would also give Rino some time to relax herself in the safety of a protected roof.

However, the look on Rino's face twisted almost immediately when the two girls stared at each other. Her eyes shot open, her breaths became ragged, her body shook and her hand clenched into a fist. Elena, in return, raised an eyebrow, keeping a conversely disinterested mood.

"It's been a while, hasn't it? You looked like you've seen better—"

Like a crack of a whip, a harsh slap ripped across Elena's face. She didn't even finish her sentence, one that was certainly inappropriate for this reunion. Her eyes kept themselves disinterested in the conflict as Rino's breath suddenly became ragged. It occurred from such a left field that Motoyasu could only stay there, frozen with his eyes slowly widening as to realize what was happening.

"Don't act like you're some kind of friend!"

It was Rino's screaming that brought Motoyasu to his feet. Sakura stumbled over from his rising lap, but she caught herself before she fell down. She then tucked herself behind Motoyasu, holding onto his hand to calm him down. From a simple touch, Sakura could see her father becoming uncomfortable.

"There's no need for—"

"You don't know? Of course, that would make sense." Rino glared towards Motoyasu, although it wasn't meant for him. "She was one of the reasons why I was in this problem to begin with!"

Motoyasu glanced at Elena in confusion. "How is that possible? Elena said that she didn't know what was happening with you."

"She's lying!" Rino spat. "She was there when Myne and Lesty sold me off to the black market!"
Motoyasu stiffened, both at the revelation of Elena's actions and Myne's name being brought up. He gazed over to Elena, wishing that she would refuse her involvement once more, just as she did with Itsuki's accusations. "Is that really true, Elena?"

Elena sighed heavily and shrugged. "Oh, wow," she sarcastically sang. "Caught me red-handed. Yeah, that's right, Motoyasu. I knew what happened to Rino this entire time because I was there when it happened. It must have slipped my mind beforehand."

Motoyasu really wanted to believe that Elena had forgotten about it. Or did he? Wouldn't that mean she thought so little of it that it faded away from her memories? No, that hadn't been the problem here. Motoyasu found himself already trying to come up with excuses for Elena in his mind, but Rino's words snapped him back to reality.

"I thought we were friends, Elena!" she cried. "How could you do that to me!?"

"Friends, huh? If it were only that simple, things would be different, but even then, I suppose things would end up similarly either way. That is just how life works."

"What are you talking about!?"

"... Motoyasu." Feeling as if Elena's lips were looser than before, she turned to him with a weak smile. "You should ask Rino about what happened that day. That was the reason why you wanted to save her, right? It's too much effort for me to do it."

"I mean, that's… not the only reason. I wanted to save her because she was a friend."

"See!? Motoyasu is a good friend! He would have stopped this if he had known!"

"If he had known, then this would have been a completely different story…"

Elena's eyes casted downwards slightly, but she retained that aloofness. Motoyasu walked up to rino, hoping to at least separate the two girls apart from each other. With how livid she looked, he was glad that she had enough self-control to hold herself back.

"She is telling the truth though. I wanted to save you because you were a precious friend, but I wanted to know the truth of the matter as well."

It was as if the memories of those past days were starting to crack on its surface the moment he spoke up. The time he spent adventuring with Elena, Rino, Lesty and Myne might not have been entirely lies, but there was certainly something brewing underneath that he wasn't aware of.

Just like his days with Ikuyo and Momiji.

And when he realized that, something simply broke in Motoyasu.

Something telling him that he had enough. He always blamed himself for causing the incident in his past and while he couldn't avoid a similar situation again, he had the chance to fix it here.

"It might be uncomfortable memories, but I beg of you, Rino." Motoyasu softly bowed. "Please tell me what happened that day you left the party."

Seeing how earnest Motoyasu was, Rino's aggression to Elena even subsided a bit. Elena took the moment to sit down at the table and pull out her book, leading Rino to have some displeasure in how disinterested she seemed until Elena chimed in.

"Go on. Say what you want to say."

After a bit of hesitation, Rino began recounting that day.

It started out when the girls broke off with Motoyasu. As he tried to call it a night for himself early, the others had allegedly gone to the spa. That much had been accurate to what Motoyasu had remembered, but that hadn't been where they stopped first. Rino wasn't familiar with the area, so she relied on the other three to take her to where their destination had been. She didn't have any reason to be worried or concerned. And to be fair, she had never been to a spa before, so she didn't know what to expect. It might have been why she didn't realize what was going on until it was too late.

She walked into the building that Myne said was the spa and before she knew it, Lesty had stepped up behind her to handcuff her. Elena merely watched it all unfold silently as she pleaded for help, only to fall onto deaf ears. Myne had a smirk on her face, almost taunting her as if she was taking pleasure in seeing her pain.

"This didn't need to happen if you didn't try to get too close to Motoyasu," she said. It was those words that mostly confused her at first. She wanted a better explanation than that, but all she was left with as a response were the snickers of Lesty and Myne. She kept looking at Elena, who looked disinterested in the entire conundrum, but she merely turned the other way to avoid eye contact.

The rest had been history, something that Rino would rather not talk more of. It left Motoyasu speechless, hearing how cruel the girls were to Rino. He wanted to express more emotion than that, but the conflict in his heart made it difficult to edge out the slightest frustration.

He thought he would have come to a conclusion after hearing Rino out, but it hadn't been so easy, despite the answer being clear as day. Myne, Lesty and Elena had done something terrible. There was no way to defend them from their actions. And yet, Motoyasu turned to Elena once Rino finished her story.

"Is all of this true?"

"Are you really asking me?" Elena couldn't help herself from smirking. "One of the culprits?"

Motoyasu didn't bother to play along, merely holding his ground.

"... Yeah. It's true." Elena crossed her legs, acting as if she was returning to her book. "Myne approached me when we were still in Lerno. She didn't want Rino in the party anymore. The meaning behind Myne's last words to Rino was that she was becoming a risk to her control of Motoyasu."

Motoyasu raised his eyebrow. Rino herself was stunned at finally getting her answer.

"Becoming a risk to her control?" Rino repeated. "What does that even mean?"

"It meant that you were getting too close to him. She obviously didn't tell me everything, but for some reason, she wanted Motoyasu wrapped right around her little fingers. She probably had foresight to realize that your words might influence him the other way. Maybe even prevent him from doing whatever the hell was going on in the castle with the Shield Hero."

Rino frowned, not knowing what she was talking about. She was in captivity the entire time, so it would make sense that she didn't even know the Cardinal Heroes were labeled as fugitives of Melromarc.

However, Motoyasu started to recount his prior interactions with the princess. Now that Elena pointed it out, it always did seem like she was leading him down a certain direction. She didn't even have a problem using her own body to capture Motoyasu's heart, as long as she was accomplishing what she needed to do. Whatever that was, Motoyasu could only guess.

That was something Motoyasu had to sit on for a bit. A sudden revelation like that one couldn't fully sink in the moment he was made aware of it. If it were not for Sakura's presence, trying to cling onto him to soothe him, Motoyasu might have been completely lost.

There was still one other thing though.

"Why did you lie before? You said you knew nothing when Itsuki pressured you."

"Because I could. Lies are pretty easy to say, after all." Elena turned the page. "Besides, your friend would have skewed me with arrows if I admitted to being involved."

"And yet, you're just sitting there, as if you weren't even a part of that entire scheme!?" Rino shouted. "You don't even feel guilty about what you've done to me!"

Elena closed her book with a sigh. Motoyasu had a feeling that she wasn't even reading to begin with; she merely had it out to pretend that she was.

"Yeah. I don't regret doing what I did."

Rino looked like she was about to jump her, but Motoyasu instinctively reached out to hold her back. Elena, on the other hand, continued to talk regardless.

"When Myne approached me, I already knew things were about to become a mess. If I ever tried to oppose her, I'd be the one in trouble and frankly, that sounds like a huge pain in the neck. In some ways, I'm glad my parents bailed me out after the group was unofficially disbanded, since that had gotten me far away from Myne and whatever antics she was planning."

That realization caused Rino to hesitate. "So by sacrificing me…"

"I was saving myself." Elena nodded. "I'm not a hero who wants to protect their friends or uphold justice. I'm just a person who wants to live life as easily as they can. That's why I don't want your forgiveness, nor will I apologize. I've done nothing that I wouldn't do again."

Rino glanced away with a scowl. Of course, she was still angry with Elena, but there was logic to her actions—or rather, her inactions.

"So Myne really was behind everything there. And if that was the case…"

The way she guided Motoyasu through the days leading up to the wave of the destruction, the way she showed him a path to the miserable fight he had with Naofumi, the way that she tried to keep him back as Naofumi's life was in danger—all of it was to her own personal objectives.

"That's why you told me that I can't trust Myne or Lesty."

Now that he had the truth, it was a matter of what he was going to do with it.

"Thanks, you two. Sorry, but I need some time to myself."

"That's fine. I'll take Rino to a room to rest up."

"Please."

It might have been insensitive for Motoyasu to leave Rino with Elena, but there weren't any complaints coming from the victim. She merely held her tongue and nodded.

Whatever fate Rino had in the future, he couldn't even be sure.

After all, there was no way Motoyasu would ask Rino to accompany them in their journey after all she had been through. It felt rather disingenuous for him to leave her like that, but considering how she hadn't been completely broken, he knew Rino would be able to pull through her tribulations, whether he was there or not. He would hope that Rino would somehow be brought back to her sister's side, but he likely wouldn't be around to see that reunion happen.

For now, he needed to be aware of the time limit that the shadows set for their group. The next morning, they would have to start returning to Reichnott's territory, so while the two girls had been merely stealing glances at each other, Motoyasu took the first move and left the room with Sakura.

In the hallway, Itsuki and Rishia had been waiting.

"I knew she was lying," Itsuki grumbled.

Motoyasu softly chuckled. "You know, it's not very polite to eavesdrop."

"U-Uhm…" Rishia stammered. "We didn't mean to eavesdrop, but there weren't any good opportunities to enter the room…"

"Don't worry, Rishia." Itsuki sighed. "He's only joking to lighten the mood."

"O-Oh…"

"Anyways, you're stepping out for a bit?"

Motoyasu nodded. "For fresh air. I'll just step out into the alleyway."

"I'll come with you," Itsuki said. "Rishia said that if I wanted to know what happened, I needed to come talk to you."

He didn't mind the company. If anything, that debrief might have been something that would give him some space from his current turmoil. Any continuous thoughts would have resulted in poor judgment, so he was glad Itsuki was here. Rishia tagged along as well since she could imagine the awkward atmosphere between Rino and Elena, even without stepping inside the room, and it somehow affected her.

The four of them stepped outside underneath the moon casted high above them.

-/IV/-

Itsuki got to hear what happened on Motoyasu's side. It was a nice distraction for Motoyasu from the recent revelation, but when he approached the topic of Elgesich's defeat, he started to pause. He glanced down at his hand, remembering the blinding rage that possessed him the moment he had a clear opening. He hadn't been really comfortable expressing himself as such a person to his friend, but the more he thought about it, the more strange it became.

He simply didn't understand it.

"... Itsuki? Can I ask you a question?"

His friend crossed his arms. "Yeah. Ask anything you want."

As Sakura yawned, being sleepy from the long night and weary discussion, she cuddled up in Motoyasu's arms with her arms dangling around his neck. A serious conversation was rather difficult with such a sight, but Motoyasu dealt with it so naturally that he could carry Sakura with only a single arm.

"I know you value your justice. You want to make sure that evil is taken care of, trying to protect the innocent from their machinations." He scratched the back of his head. "I'm sure that was how you were able to move forward against Errnthon without any regrets."

Itsuki nodded. "Of course. Being a hero of justice means defeating all those villains. That was why I don't regret what I did one bit, because I know I saved people by doing it. Rishia is proof of that."

"Then what would happen if…"

Motoyasu glanced at Rishia. "I'm only saying this hypothetically, so don't take it personally—but what if Rishia was actually evil?"

Itsuki's eyebrow twitched, but before he could properly take in the question, Rishia's explosive confusion reverberated throughout the conversation. He looked back and forth between the two heroes, waving her arms around dismissively.

"F-Fuee!?" she squealed. "But I'm not!? I-I want to protect people too!"

Motoyasu chuckled. "I know, I know! Don't worry. It's just a question that doesn't really mean anything. I wouldn't think too much about it, Rishia."

"Well, I don't think Rishia is capable of any kinds of heinous acts," Itsuki shrugged, "so it's hard to really imagine anything like that. Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"

Motoyasu kept his smile, but it looked rather bittersweet despite the same curve.

"I mean, it's true that I killed Elgesich in order to protect Rishia, but even as I knew I shouldn't have done that, there was still a part of me that thought he received his due diligence for doing those terrible things to Rino. I wouldn't call it any justice that you're familiar with, but I suppose you can call it retribution for messing with a friend that badly."

"That's no problem to me." Itsuki nodded. "It sounds like the bastard got what he deserved."

Rishia grimaced a bit, trying not to let it show.

While it might have been true what Motoyasu and Itsuki were saying, she really couldn't eliminate the frightening expression on Motoyasu's face. She glanced up at Motoyasu slightly, almost out of concern, and when their eyes met, Motoyasu sighed as if he knew what was on her mind.

"And I don't disagree with that, but…"

Motoyasu's hand slowly clenched by his side.

"The emotions that drove me to fight him—no, to kill him—are so much stronger than what I'm feeling towards Myne right now. It was because of her that Rino was placed into Elgesich's hand, but I still can't find that same level of anger to direct towards her. And it's because I didn't put any trust in him as a person. Why would I? He was a stranger, so why should I feel reserved about those negative emotions against him?"

His hand loosened by itself.

"Even though I know what I should be feeling towards Myne, I can't feel it regardless. She was once a close companion, a precious friend to me. She was someone I placed my trust in. It doesn't look like I can turn on a heel so easily." Motoyasu dryly laughed. "If Rino or Elena heard me say that back there, they would probably get mad at me."

It was the reason why he really walked out. When he heard the truth, he was already in terms of what Myne had done. In fact, he had been preparing for that outcome ever since they moved out here, but that didn't change the fact that he didn't have his answer yet. The only real reason to persist in this plan was to obviously help Rino out, but other than that, there was nothing that could have helped him further.

"You're really loyal to your friends, Motoyasu…" Rishia commented.

"For better or for worse," Itsuki groaned, pinching his own temple.

"B-But that is what makes Motoyasu himself! I think anyone would appreciate a friend that would always want to believe in them."

"The problem comes with situations like this one," Itsuki responded. "Your attitude doesn't make sense to me, even after the years I've known you. If someone used me while betraying my other friends, I'd be absolutely livid." He pointed to Motoyasu's chest. "Don't tell me you can't even feel a drop of that somewhere in there? Not even a sliver of anger towards her?"

With a gentle smile, Motoyasu slowly gazed up to the starry skies.

"Sorry, Itsuki. I know it isn't the answer you were looking for."

"That's bullshit!" Itsuki screamed as he stepped forwards explosively. "We didn't come all this way for you to figure out you can't raise your weapon against Myne! She tried to pull us apart! She wanted you to go against Naofumi and kill him! And you're telling me that you can't feel angry with her, even after learning what she did to Rino!? What the actual fuck is wrong with you!?"

"L-Lord Itsuki…!" Rishia tried to step in to block Itsuki from moving any further towards Motoyasu. "Please! Calm down!"

"Who knows what Myne did in the shadows that you don't even know of yet!?" Itsuki spat, unyielding in his frustration. "That scheming bitch could have been responsible for more messes in the past before we were summoned! You don't even know what she wants! And she hid her real identity from you as the princess of Melromarc, so how can you even say you even know who she is!? How could you even call her a precious friend anymore!? Stop trusting her!"

"Shut up! You don't think I don't already know that!?"

Itsuki flinched as well as Rishia. Although Motoyasu had occasionally raised his voice before, Itsuki had to admit that was the first time he sounded genuinely distressed. The anger that rose up for a split moment wasn't directed at him though—it was more directed towards Motoyasu himself. It was a wonder how Sakura, being right there in his arms, didn't wake up from his shouting. Although, her subconsciousness must have been paying attention as she sank herself deeper into Motoyasu's chest, as if to try and give him a soothing hug.

Whatever the intentions were, Motoyasu did catch himself with ragged breaths.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout."

"N-No, it's my fault," Itsuki sighed, untensing his shoulders. "I must have thrown a lot baggage onto you for you to finally break under that pressure."

Rishia gasped for air, relieved that there wasn't an entire meltdown transpiring.

"Look, I know we joke about you being a womanizer and all, but does it really have to go this far, Motoyasu? She's guilty of her crimes against us and against Rino, at the very least. Do you really want someone like that to be labeled as your precious friend?"

"... I just don't want to turn my back against those I call friends ever again."

"Hey. We forgave you already for what you—"

"—Did you know I was responsible for the deaths of two girls back in our world?"

Itsuki blinked, not realizing what Motoyasu had just revealed. Once those words caught up to his brain, he froze in place while his eyes slowly widened. He never expected such a thing to come out of Motoyasu's mouth so casually like that. Even Rishia, without any context to their past, was struck with surprise. She looked over to Motoyasu as he turned back to his friends.

"What are you saying?"

"M-Motoyasu…?"

He responded to their disbelief with a subtle nod.

"Their names were Ikuyo and Momiji. Once upon a time, they were my closest friends. After some time, they both fell in love with me, but it wasn't something I was too interested in. I liked the freedom to simply go on dates with whoever. Those dates were never anything serious, but it was enough that I knew those other girls were enjoying their time. I had the same attitude for Ikuyo and Momiji whenever I took them out on dates, but they seemed to have gotten the wrong ideas from my actions."

He held Sakura closer to him, as if trying to exert his unhealthy emotions through another outlet. "I wanted them to be happy. I wanted everyone to enjoy life. That was how I thought about it and while I knew about their strong feelings towards me, I chose to ignore it. I've let myself believe that they didn't feel that strongly towards me for the sake of that peaceful and happy life."

Motoyasu sighed. "When I was eventually confronted about choosing one of them, I couldn't decide. If I did bring myself into a serious relationship with either of them, the other would only stand to suffer in agony. That mental image had been too much for me, so I kept trying to avoid answering their approaches. I thought that the way we've been living so far was the ideal way to enjoy our lives together, but I made the wrong choice. Upon that fateful day, that idealistic vision was shattered."

He could remember it like it was yesterday.

No matter how much he wanted to bury it, it would always come back to remind him of what happened. Even when he closed his eyes for brief moments, that darkness would let him see that day over and over again. Motoyasu could describe it all in vivid detail, but he kept the events as minimal as he could for their sake, as to how an argument escalated to that violent exchange.

"I didn't trust them enough," he continued. "In turn, they didn't trust me enough. That day ended with their lifeless bodies on my kitchen floor with me bleeding out, quickly approaching death. I probably should have joined them for what I did, but fate is a cruel mistress. I was living in an apartment at the time, so my next-door neighbors heard the strange commotion and loud screaming. They apparently called the police to do a check and before I knew it, I was in the hospital."

A soft smile escaped his defeated expression.

"I always wondered why I survived. I was the one at fault, after all."

The tragedy had Rishia holding her breath for him. She knew him for a far shorter time than Itsuki had, but even she felt her heart in pain for her friend's sake. "You can't say that! I mean, I would have to question your dating life a little, but you had good intentions! It's too cruel to say that you should have died on that day when they were the ones that started to be aggressive!"

"Don't waste your energy, Rishia." Itsuki could feel the emptiness from his friend off the secondhand account. "Motoyasu is a stubborn one. If he already decided he was at fault years ago, a few words now aren't going to change his mind."

Itsuki held his own arm tightly, trying to regain some energy in himself. "Is that the reason why you choose to trust all the people closest to you?"

"Well, I didn't want any of that to happen again, but when push came to shove upon another conflict, I couldn't find a choice to make everyone happy…"

Motoyasu didn't need to finish that thought for Itsuki to understand he was referring to the conflict between believing Naofumi and believing Myne during their first days summoned to this world.

"Not everyone deserves that happiness though. Evil folks, for starters."

"I know, but to call someone I chose to trust as evil? It's almost as if I'm saying that I'm pulling my trust away from them after the precious time we spent together. If I stopped trusting them, they might end up turning the wrong way." Motoyasu grimaced. "If anyone doesn't deserve happiness, it's me."

A heavy sigh escaped from Motoyasu.

"I told myself that I would try to be happy back when we resolved the mutation issue at Lerno, but in crossing people's trust like this, I can't even fathom smiling in its face. How can I be happy when I choose to not trust someone close to me?"

Itsuki didn't really have an answer for him. Rishia could only hold her tongue. For someone who valued loyalty and trust, it was difficult to have him break away from the equality of that to his happiness. For someone who seemed like they lived off a whim, Motoyasu had troubled himself with these burdens.

The silence was telling, but Sakura started squirming in Motoyasu's arms.

"Ah, I should probably get Sakura into a proper bed." He gazed at the child softly. "Sorry for bringing you out like this. I should have tucked you into bed first."

"Nnnh…"

In her state of being half-awake, Sakura gripped her closer to Motoyasu.

"Sakura… doesn't like it when Daddy is sad… That makes Sakura sad too… If Daddy is happy, then Sakura is happy too… Nnnh…"

"Even when tired, she's still thinking about Motoyasu," Itsuki mulled.

Rishia, however, slowly casted her sight onto the sleeping child. "When Motoyasu… is happy?"

It was something that didn't need to be said. Everyone in their group knew that Sakura's general emotions were based on what Motoyasu was feeling at the time. That was the proof of how close they were, but Rishia would admit that the same was true for everyone else to some extent. Despite the little time she spent in the group relative to everyone else, she could tell that everyone cared for each other to the point where they would hate to see the others in pain. After all, that might have been the underlying reason why Naofumi let Motoyasu move on with this abnormal operation.

He didn't want his friend to suffer from his inner conflict.

"... Motoyasu?" He was already reaching for the door when Rishia stopped him. "Before you leave, I, uh, want to ask something and I hope I'm not overstepping my boundaries…"

"Something on your mind?"

"Did those friends of yours, Ikuyo and Momiji…?"

Rishia gulped.

"Were they ever happy with the fact that you were happy?"

Motoyasu's body slowly stiffened. The question had slammed into him like a bullet train. Instinctively, he wanted to affirm her question, trying to believe that those two girls had cared about him. As his mind tried to race through his memories though, he couldn't pinpoint an exact moment when they truly expressed themselves as such.

His eyes widened. A horrified look latched onto his face. Itsuki had never seen Motoyasu be so shocked before in his life to the point where he wasn't even trying to hide. He might not even be thinking about it, as he slowly stumbled on his feet. Itsuki managed to hold his back, applying a little pressure for his friend to not topple over, but it didn't register to Motoyasu that he lost a bit of balance.

Motoyasu started shaking his head.

"No, no. That's… They had to have been happy to see me happy. R-Right?"

"If they weren't," Rishia continued, "could you even call them a close friend?"

"N-No. It can't be a lie."

However, Motoyasu started to compare them to the close friends that he had now. That was to say, Naofumi and the others. Of course, they had things about him that they didn't approve of, but at the end of the day, they always made sure that Motoyasu was good. When his friends went about things about him, they did it for his sake, not theirs. When he was happy, they celebrated with him. When he was sad, they tried to help him. That was simply how friends were supposed to be.

Ikuyo was always the pushy type though. She would always do things unprompted, never really asking him for his opinions on what she did. He remembered a time when she even showed up to his apartment uninvited and started cleaning up, throwing things out without even asking. And whenever he would finish up with one of his dates, she would always fall into an interrogation for every single detail, even nitpicking on things that she could have done better if she were with him.

Momiji had been less direct, being more sheltered than the average person, but she would always be offering things way more than Motoyasu was comfortable with. She would always try to cling to him and spent as much time as she could with him, almost as if it were some kind of achievement. It was even to the point where Momiji would start showing up to places where he just so happened to be, especially on some of his dates with other girls which would cause some problems for him.

Even remembering their final day together…

Dearest Motoyasu, please tell Momiji that we're happily dating and in love! That you don't need a thing like her in your life when you already have me to satisfy your heart and your body!

Oh, my beloved prince Motoyasu! Tell Ikuyo that she's sorely mistaken! That we're both madly in love, leaving no room for a fiend like her to be involved in your life anymore!

They never asked what he thought about it. They never asked about how he felt about these confrontations. They merely wanted an answer for themselves. They wanted to make themselves happy without even considering if they would make him happy as well. He never thought about it like that. Perhaps he was still at fault for what happened on that day, but the realization changed how Motoyasu saw those days leading up to the incident.

Unconsciously, a tear started running down his eye. He didn't even notice it. The idea that this past relationship hadn't really been a true friendship broke Motoyasu's heart into millions of pieces. If Itsuki hadn't still been holding onto him, he could have collapsed onto the ground.

"N-No way… Had I really been carrying the weight of a lie on my shoulders this entire time?"

"Motoyasu…"

As Itsuki murmured his name in consolation, Rishia's words were holding up true. With Motoyasu feeling like he lost a part of himself, Itsuki was right there, feeling the same pain as his friend, despite not suffering through the same experiences. He didn't need much to emphasize with his friend, nor did he need a selfish reason to do so. It was merely second-nature.

Even so, Rishia felt bad about breaking Motoyasu's spirit with a mere question.

"Fueee… I'm sorry for bringing it up…"

"No. It's fine. I think… I think someone had to have pointed it out for me. I never really talked about the incident with anyone, so no one had the chance to do so."

Itsuki felt Motoyasu being able to stand by himself again, so he slowly detached his hands from his friend. He gave a quick look to make sure, having Motoyasu respond with a soft nod.

"If I was happy, they would have been happy as well…" Motoyasu sighed. "That is what makes a true friend, someone worth putting my trust in. All this time, I've been going about it all wrong then. Trust isn't something that is provided after time. Trust is provided when hearts are intertwined."

With a deep breath, Motoyasu's body somehow felt lighter.

"... Itsuki. I have my answer."

"From that look on your face," Itsuki smirked, "it sure seems like it."

"Do you remember the promise I wanted from the day we escaped from the castle?"

Itsuki nodded. "Of course. You wanted to confront Myne for yourself when we came across her."

"Originally, I wanted to make sure I cleared up any misunderstanding with her. I wanted to make sure that she wasn't getting the wrong idea and that she can still trust me, as I trusted her." Motoyasu paused to see if Itsuki would say something, but his friend gave him a chance to finish. "While my feelings on meeting her haven't changed, I'm going to see once for all if she is someone I can consider as a friend. I mean, it might not sound great to you, but if she is someone who can be happy for me through our cleared misunderstandings, I'll try to make something work."

Itsuki raised his eyebrow. "And if she isn't?"

Motoyasu gazed upon the sky once more. His resolute voice echoed with a determined heart. Itsuki knew that he didn't need to question him any further, but seeing his friend get back up on his two feet, it made him feel happy. While rescuing Rino didn't directly give Motoyasu his way forward, it didn't matter what path was taken. As long as Motoyasu had his true answer—

"... Then I'll be the one to end it, there and then."

—Itsuki knew that he would be too stubborn to be stopped.

"Good. Let's get some rest now," Itsuki smiled. "We have to head back to the others tomorrow."

Motoyasu smiled as well. "Yeah. Well, we've had a long night. Compared to what we've been through, the others are probably sleeping quietly, so let's try to do the same."

The group went back into the building after closing out the operation and this long night.

-/IV/-

…

…

… A once peaceful city underneath the starry skies, now sinking within a sea of flames.

Within the inferno, a man with a shield had been running through the roads, making sure there hadn't been anyone who was caught in the attack. Without another person to support him, he had to keep his eyes peeled for any movements through the smothering heat. Then again, that hadn't been the true reason why he was running around. It was simply an objective to help people if he did so happen to come across them. The man was never too shy to help someone in need, even in urgency.

"Damn it! Where are they!? They couldn't have gotten far!"

The man muttered to himself as he turned to another road. He should have been thankful that he didn't come across any civilians as of yet. It was almost as if burning down the city was supposed to be a way to send a message. After all, from what he noticed, the flames appeared to be localized in a few areas, though it was the place closest to the governor's manor. If the civilians managed to escape in time, they would still have a place to hide out from the chaos.

It didn't make the scenery any less resembling of hell.

"There he is! Kill the Shield Demon!"

A scream came from his sides. As if they were hiding out in the flames, two holy knights leapt out to ambush Naofumi with their blades slashing forwards. He retaliated in time by swinging his shield to bounce them away, but he had to stop running to do so. He took a few steps back to watch the two knights ready themselves again.

"Don't let him get away!"

One of the knights ran ahead of the other and brought down an attack onto Naofumi. He managed to block the offense, twisting his arm around to be able to defend against the entire multi-hit onslaught. The moment Naofumi was able to push him away, the second knight quickly approached from an awkward angle. He couldn't swing his shield in time to block the attack, but—

—"Hiyaah!"

Naofumi lifted his foot and kicked the knight away to stagger him. It took the knight by surprise and before he could recover, Naofumi followed up with another kick. While basic in its nature, a spin to connect his heel sent the knight onto the ground.

"Could have been a little cleaner though…"

There was probably no damage to be done, but he could easily convert his spin to the first knight that was trying to strike his back now. He threw his shield outwards at the knight to push them back.

"[Air Strike Shield]!" The transparent shield was sent forwards, knocking the knight onto the ground. they weren't down for the count, but they should be dazed enough to give Naofumi some time to get more distance away from them.

However, he saw a storm of flames approaching him from the corner of his eyes. He couldn't react quick enough to use a skill, resulting in a full impact which exploded into a black smoke.

A squadron of holy knights stepped up to approach the target, thinking their attack had been effective, but as the smoke cleared up, they were proven to be wrong.

Despite the direct hit, Naofumi was still standing without a scratch. He was really only blocking the prior attacks as a formality. If he became too used to taking attacks for free, there might have been a day where he would suffer for that built habit. Otherwise, his defense was too high for them to get any meaningful damage in, so he could practically ignore it if he really wanted to.

However, being attacked and being detained were two completely different things.

That was why he wasn't so sure he could say about his circumstances, seeing how many holy knights have their eyes set on him. That ended up not being the main problem though.

As the holy knights stepped out of the way, the red-haired girl walked in from the back to confront him. Naofumi narrowed his eyes with more disdain than he could ever imagine holding. He lowered his arm, letting his contempt be all that he needed to say how much he wanted this interaction to be over. He wanted to forget about all of that, but her face alone brought the unpleasant memories.

"Shield Demon… It has been a while, hasn't it?"

Her words were as sweet as he remembered it, but he wasn't blind to the toxin underneath it.

"You're behind all of this, Myne?" Naofumi spat.

"Behind all of this?" She laughed. "I could ask you the same question. Besides, you've taken far more away from me, so I have my reasons to be wishing for your defeat. Not only did you brainwash the Spear Hero, but now, you've also taken my dear sister away from me."

She extended her hand.

"You're going to return them to me, Shield Demon."

"And why would I listen?"

"Look at the situation for yourself. You don't have anybody to bail you out of this problem. You don't have the ability to fight back properly." Myne snickered behind her hand. "All you can do is squirm and struggle until your inevitable defeat. Why don't you ease up a little and make everything easier for everyone involved?"

Naofumi noticed more holy knights crawling out from between the flames all around him. If he had to make a guess, he was up against at least twenty people, not including Myne herself. They had to have been able to predict where he was trying to go in order to set up an ambush like this, but he wasn't focused on that right now. They were in his way, so he needed to find a way out.

"You're basically surrounded and outnumbered. Give it up. Return Melty to me."

"Surrounded and outnumbered, huh?"

Naofumi raised his arm to change his shield.

The size immediately grew to a large height as he slammed the new form onto the ground. It was an ornate tower shield, inlaid with orbs scattered around the iconic gemstone. Although it looked heavy, the difficult part of using it was simply the size. He wasn't used to such a big weapon. Although, the lack of weight might have been because he was the Shield Hero. Upon slamming the ground, it was almost as if the area shook a little. It caused some of the knights to hesitate.

Myne scoffed at his defiance.

"Then it's a fair fight now, isn't it?"

"Quite the audacity!" Myne clicked her tongue. She raised her arm to him as the squadron readied their weapons. "Holy Knights! Subdue the Shield Demon! And rescue my sister!"

Naofumi sighed. He slid his tower shield towards the incoming knights.

"I know I made you a promise," Naofumi mumbled to himself, "but considering how you're not here right now, I'll need to step up for a little bit, Motoyasu. Sorry about this."

The flames of the city reflected in his eyes.

"Besides, I've got my own things to sort out with her."

[SKIT 151 : Sakura's Fighting Style]

[Itsuki] : "Motoyasu, I want to ask you about Sakura."
[Itsuki] : "Can I assume you're the reason that Sakura has that fighting style?"
[Motoyasu] : "Huh? Did Sakura get into a fight with somebody!?"
[Itsuki] : "It went fine. She handled them quite well, but I never expected her to be so strong. From what I was able to see, she was using some kind of self defense martial art from an outsider's perspective. If that was the case though, there's no way she would have been able to learn that for herself."
[Motoyasu] : "Guilty as charged. I taught her a few things I knew in our spare time. Since I have the holy spear in my possession, I don't have much use for that martial art as it stands, so I thought that knowledge would be far better in Sakura's hands than mine. She managed to adapt it to suit her style of fighting though, so you can say it's more of a unique adaptation of hers."
[Itsuki] : "Yeah. If I had to say, she really has a grip on how momentum works, whether it's picking up speed, stopping on a dime, or reversing its flow."
[Motoyasu] : "She sure learned quickly. It only took a few minutes for Sakura to get the hang of whatever I was showing her and with those instincts, Sakura would be quite a threat to go up against. All she needed to do was watch a demonstration and she was already pulling off the same moves!"
[Motoyasu] : "Isn't my little Sakura such a genius!?"
[Itsuki] : "Why do you refuse to let Sakura fight if that's the case?"
[Motoyasu] : "Huh? Why would I let my adorable and precious daughter fight?"
[Itsuki] : "Don't stare at me like I'm the weird one here!"
[Itsuki] : "You taught her how to fight, just so she wouldn't fight!?"
[Motoyasu] : "I taught her to fight, just in case she found herself needing to fend off enemies. It would be nice if I could always be by her side, but that's not how life works sometimes."
[Motoyasu] : "There's no way I would ever make her fight a battle I could fight myself otherwise."
[Itsuki] : "Hah. You're such an overprotective parent, Motoyasu."
[Motoyasu] : "I like to think that I'm very loving."
[Itsuki] : "That being said, I didn't know you incorporated kicks into that self defense martial art as well. Sakura was throwing out a lot of them. That self-defense technique sure is flexible."
[Motoyasu] : "... Huh?"
[Itsuki] : "What?"
[Motoyasu] : "Did I hear you right? But I never taught Sakura to use kicks. I don't even know how to use kicks effectively myself in the first place…"
[Itsuki] : "... Then where the hell did she learn how to kick?"

[SKIT 152 : Outside the Magic Affinity]

[Motoyasu] : "You sure surprised me back there, Rishia."
[Rishia] : "About what?"
[Motoyasu] : "Those spells. Obviously. I thought I heard that you were capable of fire and healing spells from Eclair, but you pulled out spells from other affinities like it was nothing."
[Rishia] : "O-Oh, it's nothing too important…"
[Motoyasu] : "Maybe to you, but I thought that was amazing!"
[Motoyasu] : "We were told that people normally had only two affinities that they could easily spell from, but you took the extra effort to learn spells from other affinities, despite that uphill battle to do so. It takes some dedication to do such a thing."
[Rishia] : "N-No, I really mean it. It didn't really take me that long to learn those spells. I only taught myself those spells because I didn't really have anything else to do during my time at the academy…"
[Motoyasu] : "Even so, I'm glad that you helped out with that. Those spells really helped me."
[Motoyasu] : "Maybe you can teach me how to learn even more spells outside of my own affinity too! I actually tried to see if I could learn anything outside my affinity a couple times, but I couldn't get anything out of it. It's so much tougher than you made it look."
[Rishia] : "U-Uhm, I could try to help you on that, but I can't guarantee any effectiveness or results…"

[SKIT 153 : A Hero of Justice]

[Itsuki] : "... Motoyasu was the one who killed Elgesich."
[Itsuki] : "And justice was therefore served, as I wanted."
[Itsuki] : "The innocent are freed. Evil is purged."
[Itsuki] : "... All without me lifting up my weapon to fight for that justice. Now that I think about it, I didn't really contribute that much to this operation to begin with. All that happened on my end was that I was told what was happening with Elgesich's schemes and played damsel in distress while Sakura fought to protect me from the shadows."
[Itsuki] : "I should be happy that things ended in my favor though."
[Itsuki] : "So why do I still feel frustrated? This looming emotion that's bellowing in my stomach?"
[Itsuki] : "... Hah. No point in thinking too much into it. What's done is done."
[Itsuki] : "And besides, there's always evil lurking in the shadows. If I miss this opportunity to do something here, there's always next time for my bow to become the harbinger of righteousness."
[Itsuki] : "... Because I'm a hero of justice."

[SKIT 154 : An Evasion of Question]

[Rishia] : "If I end up evil, the opposition of justice, what would happen?"
[Rishia] : "... Lord Itsuki didn't answer that question at all, now that I think about it."
[Rishia] : "I wonder what he would have said."
[Rishia] : "Or maybe, he didn't answer for a reason."
[Rishia] : "I don't think I know Lord Itsuki enough for me to say what he would actually do though. Or whether he would even hesitate at his answer."
[Rishia] : "Fueeee… I shouldn't be thinking about these things by myself. It's just going to give me nightmares later tonight. Evil or not, I'd hate to be on the receiving end of Lord Itsuki's arrows!"

[SKIT 155 : The Fate of the Other Victims]

[Rishia] : "So, uhm, I've been wondering something…"
[Rishia] : "After hearing about the other victims, what's going to happen to them? Rino wasn't the only one that was being used as a prostitute by Elgesich, after all."
[Itsuki] : "Huh? Isn't that obvious? That life of theirs is over. There's no need to cower in fear over the oppressor that puppeteered their lives anymore."
[Rishia] : "N-No, I've grasped that already, but…"
[Rishia] : "They obviously didn't get the same treatment as Rino did. She was personally rescued and broken out by you and Sakura, but the others are still down there, right?"
[Itsuki] : "... Somehow, that completely slipped my mind."
[Itsuki] : "But with Elgesich dead, it's probably for the best that we go back and take care of that problem. We need to free them from their rooms and let them taste the air of freedom again."
[Rishia] : "... And then what?"
[Itsuki] : "What do you mean by that?"
[Rishia] : "How are they going to return to the lives they previously had? We can't look after them ourselves because we don't have the luxury of doing that."
[Itsuki] : "That's…"
[Motoyasu] : "Oh, the other girls there? Sorry for overhearing, but the shadows told me that they would be handling that. Of course, they didn't expect me to kill off Elgesich, so they're in a scramble to sort something out for those victims for their own safety."
[Motoyasu] : "Apparently, they were already making plans to organize that, but because of what I did, they had to accelerate things. They said something about their preparations going to waste, but I didn't really pay attention to what they were saying."
[Rishia] : "It's still a relief! Sounds like they're in good hands."
[Itsuki] : "..."

[SKIT 156 : Her Future]

[Rishia] : "With everything that happened today, I can't really sleep…"
[Rishia] : "Maybe a glass of water will do the trick."
[Rishia] : "Hmm? The lights are on in there? And I hear voices? I wonder who could be up this late?"
[Elena] : "..."
[Rino] : "... Is this some sort of way to apologize to me?"
[Rishia] : "Elena is with Rino? What's going on?"
[Elena] : "I told you already. I've done nothing that needs apologies."
[Elena] : "However, I would rather not sleep with one eye open, knowing you're still bearing that grudge against me. I'm not exactly stupid here, so that's why I'm offering you this help."
[Elena] : "Of course, you're welcome to refuse, but whatever happens afterwards, that's on you."
[Rino] : "No, it's not that. It just seems a bit too surreal."
[Rino] : "You're offering me a job here to get myself back on my feet after I practically lost everything. Not only that, you want me to get a letter written down while trying to figure out an explanation for my disappearance to my sister without making her more worried. Sorry if I'm a little suspicious of that."
[Elena] : "Hey, it works out for me too. If you start working here, then I get less work to do."
[Elena] : "And then whatever happens from there, happens."
[Rino] : "... Thanks, Elena. I held this anger towards you for the entire time, but thinking about it now, if our roles were reserved, I'd only end up being shipped away as a slave alongside you."
[Elena] : "As I said before. That's why I followed Myne. And don't thank me, I'm benefitting from this as well."
[Elena] : "... Besides, that favor for Motoyasu needs to be cashed in too. I didn't tell him what it was, but I don't think I need to. All I want is for Myne to be dealt with, so I don't have any loose ends that could bite me in the ass in the future. Whether that ends in her death, I couldn't care less what happens."
[Elena] : "As long as her presence no longer threatens my easy-going life."
[Rino] : "Hah. You really only care about yourself."
[Rishia] : "... Maybe I don't need that glass of water."
[Rishia] : "But it's nice to know they're getting along now."

[SKIT 157 : Lending Their Names]

[Itsuki] : "Ikuyo and Momiji, huh…?"
[Itsuki] : "The names of the girls from Motoyasu's past. The ones that gave Motoyasu that trauma."
[Itsuki] : "I suppose there isn't any point in telling Naofumi and Ren about this. It probably took a lot out of him to even talk about it with Rishia and I. Then I'll let him deal with telling them when he's ready."
[Itsuki] : "... Wait a minute. Weren't those the fake names Motoyasu gave to us?"
[Itsuki] : "... Hey. That's kinda messed up, now that I think about it."

[Author's Notes]

I genuinely don't understand how my chapters' word count expands so much further than my expectations. What was meant to be a short conclusion to the story beat, then a quick transition ended up being the length of a normal chapter anyways. It was this anticipated short length that made me want to talk about the cutting room floor, otherwise what changed from the original vision of these last few chapters.

I mean, at this point, I'll keep my word, but I'll be very brief in order to not go on for too long.

As most fanfic writers do, I find that we tend to outline a general idea of what we want to write about and let us deal with the actual details when it comes to crossing that bridge, all in the meanwhile uploading at the same time. The good ones are the ones that actually finish their fanfics first before uploading, so that chapter releases aren't so separated due to writer's block or other priorities in a writer's life.

As such, I only had a general idea of what I wanted from this story segment involving Motoyasu and Itsuki. I'll go through some of it.

First of all, I mentioned this before, but Elena was not supposed to have a major role in this segment. She didn't even have intentions of showing up as I previously expressed, but for her to end up providing proof that you really judge people based on what they do or say, as well as being some half-motivation for Rishia, was something I never expected. Rishia and Elena becoming something like friends was also not in the playbook, but when the opportunity came across, I thought it was fitting, considering the theme of friendship that is in the spirit of this fanfic.

Second of all, Elgesich's death was planned in a specific way, but it ended up changing at the last moment. Motoyasu was supposed to leave Elgesich with his life, having Itsuki come by later and kill him for himself. Of course, this was originally planned to reinforce their characterization, but then things started to not make sense because the shadows would never allow such a thing if Itsuki was under constant surveillance. Elgesich still needed to die to progress the story, so I thought to myself, "Why don't I just let Motoyasu commit to the finishing blow?" It further adds in the characterization for Itsuki, asking the question as to what the reason behind his justice is, but I won't further elaborate on that part. I don't like explaining things that could be explored within the narrative itself.

Lastly, as an extension of the prior statement, only Motoyasu was supposed to change after the events of these last few chapters. It might have been rather stupid in retrospect to believe that, but that was how it was. Itsuki wasn't supposed to feel strange after having Motoyasu steal his kill, Rishia wasn't supposed to get somewhat braver from pretending to be brave, and even Sakura had her moments. Whereas she didn't have a concrete change like the others, she did reinforce herself as being a good detector on emotional states. Again, I don't want to say any more than what can be elaborate in the story, so I'll leave it there.

Anyways, thanks for keeping up with RO4TH throughout these long update periods. Next set of chapters, we switch perspectives to see what Naofumi, Raphtalia, Ren, and Eclair had been up to throughout these last few days—especially what leads to the confrontation between Naofumi and Malty.