Review Responses:
Guest: Ah yes, but you see, Satou's Initiative is his second-lowest stat after Magical Resistance. You'll notice he is usually last to respond whenever a monster attacks, something happens, he is surprised, etc. So perhaps he would have said those things eventually, but because his initiative is so low, he was beaten to the punch when Tsumugi elected to use her cheat item to make Cecily let her go. (Only time will tell if she'll wish she had back her one-time use sometime in the future.) Thank you for reading and for the kind words!
A Tranquility Girl. A monster skilled in manipulation and deception, and which our party had recently, namely yesterday, gained experience in dealing with.
It was rooted to a spot where the trees pressed almost all the way up against the lake. We were on a narrow footpath that encompassed the lake and just skirted the water's edge.
What was with this world having so many plant-based monsters? I have already fought cabbages and a mushroom monster, now this makes two Tranquility Girls.
Yesterday's was wearing a sailor uniform. This one is sporting a yellow and white dress decorated with frills and a giant bow. Distinct and recognizable, this was clearly fashioned after a certain popular magical girl back in Japan.
Is cosplay a part of the Tranquility Girl schtick, too? But only a Japanese reincarnate would come up with these clothes, so how is that possible?
"Welcome back, big sis Cecily! Did you manage to find all the tokoroten slime you were looking for?"
The Tranquility Girl greeted Cecily with a wave.
When she saw what was in front of us, Komekko dove in between the two. "Miss Cecily! Don't get any closer! That's a monster!" She extended her arms out, keeping Cecily and the Tranquility Girl at a distance.
"Aw, Komekko, the way you show such concern for me is so moving! Marry me!" Cecily replied, grabbing Komekko's shoulders.
"Eep! No, Cecily, I'm telling you, this thing is really dangerous! And please take your hands off!"
"Aw, c'mon, li'l Komekko! Let your big sis give you a big ol' hug!"
"Oh mists of night, shadows darker than dark, and bleaker than the deepest circle of hell―"
"Eek! There's no need for you to chant Explosion magic! I understand! Komekko gets easily excited sometimes just like Megu-tan did! I understand, so you don't have to do that!"
Cecily said while taking her hands off Komekko and rushing to hide behind the Tranquility Girl.
"Explosion magic?" asked Alice, raising an eyebrow.
"Shh!" Komekko whispered. "If I act like big sis, Cecily somehow thinks I can cast it!"
"Um, excuse me!" interrupted the Tranquility Girl. "If you are friends of big sis Cecily's, you shouldn't be fighting! Although I do understand if she is hard to deal with at times… But! Friends are supposed to get along, right? So, this is a bit embarrassing, but―ahem! Moe moe, make everyone get along!"
The Tranquility Girl waved a star-tipped wand while chanting a magical girl spell like she was waiting tables at a maid cafe in Akihabara.
"Uwu! You are simply the cutest! Thing! Ever!" Cecily hugged and nuzzled against the Tranquility Girl from behind.
"Big sis Cecily, you're embarrassing me in front of these adventurers!" the Tranquility Girl gently chided. "Can't we save the skinship for when it's just the two of us?"
Komekko's pupils contracted. "Oi. What sort of relationship do the two of you have?" she asked in a low, guttural voice, acting like the overprotective father in some romance manga.
"Tee-hee! Is Komekko jealous?" Cecily twittered. "This is my friend I was telling you about! She was the one who made the request to clear up the lakewater."
The Tranquility Girl gave a contented sigh. "Ah! The contaminated lake water gave me stomach aches. Having pure water to soak up is just so nice!" Facing Aqua, she added, "Were you the priest who purified the lakewater for me? Thank you very much!"
Aqua's face went from unreadable―to smitten. "Ah, you're welcome, you adorable little thing! I think I'll name you Her Royal Highness Miss Celestia Ainsworth!"(1)
Aqua stepped forward and knelt beside the Tranquility Girl, already absorbed in her.
Did she learn nothing from yesterday's encounter?!
"H-hey, Aqua! Wait―"
Komekko seemed to be having a similar reaction to me.
"That's a wonderful name, Lady Aqua!" Cecily readily agreed. "Celestia Ainsworth, it totally fits!"
Cecily and Aqua resumed rubbing their cheeks against the Tranquility Girl―against Celestia Ainsworth like a couple of kittens.
Ugh… Even my ability to play the straightman can't find something to say about this.
"Well, it seems we've encountered another monster," I said, scratching my head. "Komekko, Alice, kill it quickly so we can all go home already."
"Eh?!"
Aqua and Cecily cried out like they couldn't believe their ears.
"Wait, Satou! Don't be so mean! Surely even you can't be heartless enough to murder a cute and precious thing like Celestia Ainsworth!"
"Don't worry, Celestia Ainsworth! Big sis Cecily will protect you from this evil man!"
They both protectively wrapped their arms around the tiny body of the monster who had been given such a stupid name. I guess that since Cecily must not have any experience in dealing with Tranquility Girls. Aqua, on the other hand, should know better.
Ah, what a headache. "Did you already forget what happened last time we faced a Tranquility Girl?" I retorted to Aqua. "I know you have the short term memory of a goldfish, but surely even you remember that! It happened yesterday! How many times must you make the same mistake before you learn your lesson?"
"But… But―" Aqua sputtered. "That was different! I can't explain it, but my maternal instincts are crying out to me right now that I should protect this child!"
"Maternal instincts my foot! You said the same thing yesterday!" I pressed on. "Think about it logically. The guild sent out warnings that Tranquility Girls have been seen in this forest more frequently than usual. Yesterday, the Tranquility Girl we met said she had been personally transplanted to that spot by one of the Demon King's generals. That means that the recent spike in Tranquility Girls in this forest is none other than the work of this general!"
I pointed my finger for dramatic effect. "And I'd be willing to bet that she is here on the general's orders, too!"
Aqua's face began to tear up at my words. However, Cecily's face relaxed before breaking into a manic grin.
"That's quite clever of you, Mr. Satou. How-ev-er! I can prove to you that Celestia Ainsworth is not working for the Demon King's army!"
I crossed my arms. "Oh really? Let's hear it, then." I allowed her to proceed. "This should be good."
Standing up on the spot, Cecily reached into one of her robe pockets and pulled out a piece of paper. "Yes, for you see, when she realized I was a priest of the Order of Axis, Celestia Ainsworth asked to join the faith before I could even attempt to proselytize her!"
She held up the leaflet for us to see in the glowing light of the setting sun.
It was a recruitment form. A fingerprint, serving in place of a signature, was stamped in ink on the line.
"That's right," Celestia Ainsworth proudly declared. "I am also a member of the Axis faith! The first monster to ever convert! So how can I possibly be working for the Demon King's general?"
"I won't allow you to lay a finger on one of my precious followers!" Aqua shouted. "If you so much as touch her, I'll curse you so that your current bottle of toothpaste will be coconut flavored instead of minty fresh!"
Now that she had learned that this monster had joined the faith, Aqua refused to let Komekko, Alice, or myself approach it.
"But Aqua, is that really okay? That thing is a monster that won't hesitate to turn you into its next meal! Just because it has converted doesn't change its basic nature," Komekko said.
"How unusual," I heard Alice remark. "A monster that has joined one of the guild-recognized religions? I've never heard of such a thing before."
"Aqua, these things will say or do anything to get you to drop your guard around them. Don't you think you should be a little suspicious that this creature would be so interested in joining your cult of weirdos?" Komekko pressed.
"No way! My divine intuition as a goddess is telling me that this lost child has joined the fold out of the goodness of her heart, without any ulterior motive! And hey, what do you mean by my cult of weirdos? My precious believers are all wonderful people! Anyone who says otherwise is just spreading false rumors started by the Demon King!"
From where I'm standing, the only other member of the Axis church I know is Cecily. Are they really all just like her? There's no way, right?
"Hey, Satou," Alice said softly, "do you think killing her is the right thing to do? To be honest, I still feel sorry for Leaf Green Martha. I know she was working for the Demon King's general, but she hadn't done anything wrong in the end."
Oh no, now Alice is starting to waver!
I say that, but I am not sure what the right thing to do is, either…
Leaf Green Martha claimed to only want to be friendly with people, but that doesn't change the fact that she still put me under her Charm spell. In that state, there is no question I would have wasted away into a corpse for her to sink her roots into, if that was what she wanted. I definitely can't trust a monster again so soon after going through that ordeal.
"It's fine, go ahead and kill me!" The Tranquility Girl spread her palms out theatrically. "I have been a good monster and never attacked a human! The beautiful goddess Aqua will surely be ready to reward me!" Her gaze drifted heavenward, and she clasped her hands as if in prayer.
Aqua tilted her head. "Well, you don't have to go that far. I would be sad if you didn't live your life to the fullest here first before heading to the afterlife."
"Satou! Did you hear that? The Tranquility Girl said she has never harmed a human! I don't think I can do it. Even if Elder Brother asked me himself, I don't want to kill this girl!" Alice said with trembling shoulders.
"Alice?!"
Slowly, taking one step at a time, she walked over and joined Cecily and Aqua, kneeling before the Tranquility Girl and reaching out to hold her hands.
"Ah, I definitely couldn't hurt a cutie like you…"
Komekko and I looked at each other.
We were the only two remaining members of this party who were not taken in by the Tranquility Girl.
"Do you think Alice got Charmed?" I whispered.
Komekko shook her head. "I don't think so. None of them are showing any signs of being afflicted by a status ailment."
"So what do we do?"
"..."
Komekko watched the Tranquility Girl, who was chatting happily with Cecily, closely.
"Hey big sis Cecily, while you were away, I had some new ideas for you! Next time you go to throw rocks at the Eris church, if anyone catches you, just say that you saw a demon standing on the roof and that you were simply trying to injure it. Even the police will be unable to prove that there was no actual demon, so they shouldn't have a case to arrest you! Furthermore, rumors would start to spread that demons frequent the Eris cult's cathedral! It's a win-win!"
"Woah! That's brilliant! As expected of a Tranquility Plant, a monster with especially high intelligence! You will be a great help next time we brainstorm some new tactics to recruit more followers!"
Cecily looked over-the-moon with glee.
"I also was thinking. If we all pray hard enough, the esteemed goddess Lady Aqua will send a rainstorm to cause a flood that can wipe out the Eris church's meetinghouse! Then those filthy Eris believers will have no choice but to either leave town or convert to the Order of Axis!"
This monster may claim to have never killed any humans, yet it is saying things that are just as dangerous.
"I like the way you think, Celestia Ainsworth! Let's do it tomorrow! With my Sacred Create Water spell, it would be a piece of cake to take it out!"
Aqua resolved to do something that was obviously a bad idea quite readily.
"Satou, use your Snipe skill to kill her immediately. If the Eris church got flooded out, I wouldn't be able to go to the soup kitchen for free meals anymore."
Said Komekko instantly while pointing her finger at Aqua. Guess she took umbrage at the thought of losing one of her dining spots.
"Hey, wait! You can't attack me, I'm not a monster! I'm a goddess!"
"Fine, shoot her instead." Komekko shifted her pointer towards the Tranquility Girl.
"You want me to do it?" My voice cracked. Even if she doesn't actually work for the Demon King's general like Leaf Green Martha did, conspiring to destroy a building is still a criminal activity. That gives us all the reason we need to kill this monster. Still…
"Hey, Aqua," I said, "isn't that taking it a little too far? Damaging or destroying a cathedral will definitely get you in big trouble."
"You don't get it, Satou! The Eris cult is the rival faction to my Axis disciples! The number and intensity of our believers is what gives us our strength!"
"The Eris cult may have slightly higher numbers than us," Cecily followed, "but pound-for-pound, we definitely have more zeal!"
"Huh?" And that makes it okay to throw rocks at their church or cause floods, because…?
"Say, Satou, killing this Tranquility Girl is gonna be difficult with Aqua in the way. I say we simply report them to the police instead. It can become their problem."
"I was just thinking the same thing, Komekko."
And so, leaving behind Aqua and Cecily with Celestia Ainsworth, we dragged Alice away and arrived at Axel's police station long after dark.
"That's the story, officer. The Axis cultists have converted a Tranquility Girl now, and they are planning an attack on the Eris church tomorrow," Komekko explained.
The police officer on duty stifled a yawn. "Is that the best you can come up with? You're wasting my time. I hear ten warnings a week that the Axis cult is planning this or that. Only come to me if they are actually causing problems! If we responded to every claim or threat we heard about the Axis cultists, we would never get anything done! And as for your report that they've converted a Tranquility Girl―even if that were true, you should take that up with the Adventurer's Guild! Handling monsters is outside of my jurisdiction! Now, good night!"
She slammed the door in our face.
The next day.
Komekko and I, having decided we would go find Aqua and Cecily early and do whatever needed to be done to stop their plans to destroy the Eris church, prepared to return to the lake.
After all, we couldn't let our companions become criminals who vandalized or destroyed holy buildings wantonly.
And not to mention, there was still the chance that the Tranquility Girl was just tricking us all and planned to dine on Aqua and Cecily the moment the chance arrived.
After the police hadn't believed us, when we brought our story to the guild, they couldn't do anything about it either. According to the receptionist, preparing for an attack by the Demon King's general was the highest priority, and they didn't have anyone they could spare.
By the way, Alice mentioned she needed to go take care of some urgent business for a few days, and would be back before the Demon King's general arrived. Hence, it was just Komekko and I departing from Axel together this morning.
But when we got to the spot―
"Nature's Beauty! Nature's Beauty!"
Aqua was exuberantly performing party tricks while Cecily and the Tranquility Girl applauded.
I nervously walked up to the group. "Hey Aqua, what are you doing?"
"Welcome back Satou! Hey, watch this! I'm feeling really inspired today, so I am going to perform my greatest trick! Be grateful, since it takes a half-day to pull off once you start it! And, three, two, one, ta-da!"
Since neither the Eris church nor Aqua and Cecily seemed to be in any real danger, I turned around and walked away.
"Hey, Satou, you just missed the best part! Now I have to sit still like this for the next twelve hours! Hey, Satou, where are you going?"
To think that I stayed up half the night worrying about these people!
"C'mon, Komekko, let's just ignore these idiots for today."
"Um, are you sure, Satou?"
"Do you want to go hunt some monsters? I bet you're hungry."
"Let's ignore them and go hunt some monsters, Satou!"
Komekko, hesitant at first, was quickly won over by my brilliant idea.
And so about a half-hour later, as we were wandering around the forest looking for some monsters to hunt―
"Whoa, Satou, do you see that?"
"I… don't believe it…"
In a part of the forest that was hidden by some cliffs near the lake, we came across a blossoming crop field.
It appeared to have been a part of the forest that had been recently cleared. Planted in rows and rows that ran clear to the horizon were little green sprouts of―
"Are those―Tranquility Girls?"
Komekko shaded her eyes against the sun to see what I had zoomed in using my Farsight skill to observe.
"But they all still look like they're babies," I said. "Have they all just been recently planted?"
"There must be hundreds of them," Komekko whistled. "Some of the villagers in my hometown grew crops like potatoes and beets, but I never heard of anyone who planted Tranquility Girls before. Exceptions like Aqua aside."
"Really?" I asked. "So that means, the one who planted these must be…"
Komekko and I briefly looked at each other.
"The Demon King's general." x2
"This must be a secret project spearheaded by the Demon King himself. How devious! He plans to finish off humanity by mass breeding an army of these dastardly, devious little monsters!" Komekko realized, clenching her fists.
"It all makes sense! The guild's warning that Tranquility Girl sightings have been occurring more frequently lately! Ah, now I see! And even Leaf Green Martha said she was transplanted there by a general."
"Fufufu. That is certainly a scheme befitting of the Demon King! If all these Tranquility Girls were allowed to grow up and get planted across this forest, the number of adventurers and knights in the surrounding towns would surely decline! Very few people are actually capable of killing a Tranquility Girl. Despite being passive monsters, they normally are somewhat rare, only living near my hometown's forest full of dangerous, high level monsters!"
The whole time I've been living in this parallel world, things have seemed peaceful. My worries about the fight against the Demon King always seemed so distant. But after having experienced firsthand what Tranquility Girls are capable of, I agreed with Komekko's assessment.
The Demon King Kazuma Satou was not a man to be underestimated.
"Satou, Satou, can I eat them all?" Komekko turned to me with shining eyes and said. "Please? Nobody will complain when they're all just monsters the Demon King's general is raising!"
"Why are you asking me?" I said, taken aback.
"Because Satou made me promise I could only eat a monster when given permission!" She was like a puppy straining at the leash. "Please, let me eat them up!"
That's right, I did mention something like that, didn't I? "Are you really okay with that, Komekko? Just look at them! They look like babies!"
Komekko quickly glanced at the field before returning a "Yep!"
Jeez. Not even their appearance seems to bother her. But they are technically monsters, and we would be throwing a wrench in the Demon King's plans, so we really wouldn't be doing anything wrong. Destroying these crops would be doing the world a favor, in fact. "Fine. Go ahead, Komekko. Eat as much as you want!"
"Yahoo!"
Excitedly leaping into the air, Komekko raced down the hill to the first row of vegetables. I couldn't help but smile at her overjoyed reaction. I think she reminded me of my cute little sister happily running down the road on her first day of Kindergarten.
"Waaaahhh! Please don't eat us! We just want to have the chance to survive in this harsh world, too!"
"Boo-hoo-hoo! Please let us go, big sister! Have mercy! Don't you pity me?"
"Wahahahaha! I am Komekko! The foremost devilish little sister of the Crimson Demons! As a member of the most powerful tribe of mages, I could never deign to pity a monster!"
"In that case, it's just food you want, right? How about we make a deal? I'll give you as many tasty berries as you like once I'm old enough to grow them! Did you know that Tranquility Girl berries will never make you fat, no matter how many you eat? But I'm not even a week old! Just give me the chance to mature a little more, and then you could have all the delicious food you want!"
Yesterday I learned what the true nature of Tranquility Girls is. Ingrained in them from birth is the instinct to do or say whatever it takes to survive. Only by acquiring food and becoming strong enough to carve out its own living space can any creature claim that right, whether by its strength or cleverness.
For Tranquility Girls who don't have the option to fight physically, that means that deception and manipulation are their most important tools of survival.
Their cries fell on deaf ears for Komekko, however, who ate every single Tranquility Girl as she advanced along her row.
As for me…
"B-big brother?"
The little Tranquility Girl I had squatted in front of to see more closely was the size and shape of a human baby. And yet, it could already speak.
"I'm sorry!" I cried. "B-but I can't allow you to grow up and harm people!"
Her eyes swelled up with tears, and she burst into a loud wail. "Aaaaahhhhh! Waaaahhh-ahhahahhhh!"
"No, please don't cry! You're only making this harder!" I clamped my eyes shut as my hands closed in around her neck.
"Waaaahhhh! Waaaaahhhhhhhhh!"
"Ssssssoooooooooorrrrrrrrryyyyyyy!"
―My level went up again. It's amazing how many experience points these things give out.
That didn't make it any easier to feel good about, though.
Meanwhile, over near Komekko―
"No! I don't want to die, big sis! Please, I don't want to die before I get a chance to feed on a cute human shota! At least let me have that before you eat me! A last meal! A glutton like you can understand a request like that, can't you?"
"This isn't fair! I so wanted to evolve into a pretty Tranquility Princess so I could enjoy making male adventurers squirm with my enchanting beauty before I ate them! Curse you, Crimson Demon girl! I hope that some dark god will punish you someday and avenge me for this!"
It weighed on me at first, but after Komekko displayed her cruel, dispassionate response to their cries, the Tranquility Girls began to reveal their underpinning natures, along with all their less-than scrupulous desires. That helped alleviate my guilty feelings somewhat.
And so, as we skipped back home―
"Tranquility Girls, Tranquility Girls, la la la~"
This became our new daily routine.
On sunny days―
"Nature's Beauty!"
On rainy days―
"―'s Beauty!"
On snowy days―
"―Ty!"
Aqua and Cecily would be having fun alone with Celestia Ainsworth, and once we finished checking up on them, Komekko and I would go and grind XP at the Tranquility Girl farm.
Killing my first Tranquility Girl had been a tad grueling on my conscience. She'd cooed and burbled like a human baby while I let her hold my extended finger. But pretty soon, I was a hardened, master Tranquility Girl slayer, just like Komekko.
―Is what I want to say, but I could honestly only stomach killing a few a day before I just let Komekko eat until she was happy.
By the third day, the Tranquility Girls had learned to immediately burst into tears as soon as they saw me approaching. It was like they knew if they displayed that behavior, I wouldn't have the guts to kill them. It didn't stop Komekko, but it spared more than a few in my path.
I think they were young and inexperienced on our first few days, because they hadn't been as good at guilt tripping us at first, and even I killed a few of them.
After we had been through this routine a few times, though―
"We may be monsters, but being raised by humans has given us the education no other Tranquililty Girls ever received! We understand that eating humans is wrong! I promise I won't ever try it, Mr. Satou! So please let me live!"
"No, Miss Komekko, I swear I'm not lying! The Demon King's general has this special ability! They can cast Resurrection! Even on something that has been digested! It's like a cheat power! I'm telling you, you already ate me yesterday, and it's scarred me for life! I promise I'll be a good monster and never eat a human after this, now that I know how traumatizing it is! Please, stop, don't rip my roots off, ow! It hurts! It hurts! Oh god, please, make the pain stop!"
They had already begun learning.
They knew our names now, and had even tried called us by various titles to try to curry our favor.
Through trial and error, through observation, through desperation, they started finding ways to slow down our progress.
"How could one of the Demon King's generals have a broken power like that? I think I would recognize you if I had eaten you already. Clearly you are just trying to save your own skin."
"No, don't, Miss Komekk―"
"Nom!"
…It's probably lying.
Using lies like that had been enough to prolong its life, even if just for a few seconds. That was proof that the monsters were getting smarter.
Komekko has really put the fear of God in these poor monsters though.
But because they are being forced to fight for their lives every day, these young sproutlings are starting to get really good at making me feel guilty again…
"Hey, Komekko, there might be a chance that one was telling the truth," I tried to say.
Considering how many cheaters Aqua has sent to this world, it wouldn't be unlikely that this particular story had some credibility.
"No way!" Komekko blew me off. "For an especially talented archpriest to be able to just cast the Resurrection spell, it would be on the level of performing miracles! It's the pinnacle of healing spells, most priests wouldn't dream of being able to use it! And even if they could, they taught me at the Red Prison Academy that Resurrection has its limits, too. It can't be performed on a body that has been completely destroyed, like by digestion. So these Tranquility Girls are definitely lying!"
"We aren't! We're telling you, this general has the ability to resurrect us even if we are eaten! They come here every night to bring us all back! This general doesn't have a lot of combat ability, so they wait until night, to avoid the adventurers that keep attacking us!"
I looked around. "You know, Komekko, it does look sort of like the fields are being replenished every day before we come back. I mean, despite the amount of them you are eating each day, it doesn't seem like we are making any progress."
It was hard to count how many row crops there were, but since we hadn't gone in any particular order, it was impossible to keep track.
Tranquility Girls will say anything to survive and trick their prey, so in the end, I didn't know which was the truth.
…
"Tranquility Girls, Tranquility Girls, la la la~"
Komekko sang happily, but as for me...
I was starting to get worried about Aqua and Cecily. They hadn't left that monster's side all week. I feel like I'm something of an expert on Tranquility Girls at this point, and those two Axis showgirls had become all the things an adventurer should be worried about―never eating, never sleeping, and never straying far from the Tranquility Girl.
And yet, Aqua and Cecily both seemed lively and festive every morning we went to check up on them.
If anything, it was―
Before we knew it, the day had arrived on which the Demon King's general was supposed to visit.
That morning.
As we made our way to the usual spot by the lake where Celestia Ainsworth was planted―
"Hey, where are Aqua and Cecily?"
The first thing I noticed was that the two idiots who had refused to leave the monster's side all week were not around.
"Uh-oh."
Fearing the worst, Komekko and I rushed over.
"Oi! What did you do to them?" I demanded, grabbing the Tranquility Girl by the frilly collar of her Magical Girl costume. "Oi! Answer me!"
Then I noticed the thick dark bags settled beneath her bloodshot eyes. Her cheeks were sunken. Her countenance, it conveyed total exhaustion.
"Ugh… kuh… hk…"
Celestia Ainsworth struggled to even form any words.
"Satou, move aside! If this monster has already dug her roots into Aqua and Cecily, I will rip them out so we can give them a proper burial!"
Komekko said while beginning to chant magic.
"Wait a minute, Komekko," I said, putting up a hand. "There's something strange going on. Oi, monster, snap out of it!"
"Ah…! Eep! Eris pads her chest! ―Oh… it's just you…"
Celestia Ainsworth tensed up when she came to, but then slumped over upon recognizing us.
"Hey, where are Aqua and Cecily?" I pressed, gripping her by the shoulders.
"They… finally… left…" Celestia Ainsworth looked almost peaceful as she spoke. "Finally…"
I shared a brief glance with Komekko. "What happened?"
The Tranquility Girl looked down at her knees.
"What happened? What didn't happen? Every night, we got swarmed by undead. Every. Night."
I tilted my head. "That… must've been rough."
Celestia Ainsworth grabbed my sleeve. "You don't know the half of it," she said breathlessly. "Whenever they attacked, that blue-haired one, Bitch, she'd scream and howl like a devil while purifying every undead in sight." She pulled my face in close to hers. "Her spells were so strong, she even purified the corpses I had been keeping hidden as snacks!"
I held my breath, soaking in every word.
"That was fine, or so I thought. After all, once these two Axis cultists had tired themselves out, they would hand themselves over to my care, and I would have fresh nutrients again. I didn't need my old, dried up bags of bones anymore, since my stores were about to be replenished." She cast a forlorn look. "But the berries I fed them, which I had carefully filled up with my potent neurotoxin, didn't even affect them…"
A single tear slid down her cheek. She must have really prided herself on her poisoned berries.
"Was that blue-haired Bitch actually the goddess? No, no way… She couldn't be… But, how did she have immunity?"
I let go of her shoulders, which were beginning to shake. Celestia Ainsworth, freed of my grip, buried her face in her hands and started bawling.
"But even if my berries wouldn't work, they should still eventually starve!" Celestia Ainsworth threw her fist in the dirt. "That's how it's supposed to go! But instead, rather than staying with me and letting me slowly comfort them while they slowly lost their strength like any normal human would, she would just run off somewhere and then come back with a whole bunch of unusual, foreign-looking food and bubbly!" She shivered. "I still don't know how she came and went like that. Even by horse, a person shouldn't be able to get to the nearest town to buy food so quickly…"
I probably shouldn't tell her that Aqua can travel back and forth from heaven at will. It was a sore point for me back when I learned that she had access to unlimited food there and was purposely eating on my tab down here this whole time.
"Slut, on the other hand, I think she was even more annoying! I'm a plant, for God's sake! I reproduce by releasing seeds! I don't go into heat like you humans do! Yet no matter how many times I tried to explain that, Slut just kept on touching me, over… and over…"
My condolences.
"And I thought that becoming an Axis cultist would make her shut the fuck up about converting, but even when I did, Slut still never talked about anything else except Axis cult doctrines, the 'evil heresies of the Eris cult,' and tokoroten slime!"
Komekko gave me a look like she sympathized with Celestia Ainsworth as much as I did.
"Listen, you are both adventurers, right?" She finally met my eyes. "I did technically convert to the Axis cult, but I had my reasons. The Demon King―it was his idea. He told me that my kind had given him a number of painful memories in the past, and so he would be relying on my daughters to do the same to his enemies in the future. 'Focus on the Axis cult,' that was his order to me. 'Tranquility Girls are some of the most difficult monsters in the world to deal with. If the insane Axis cult perverts have a weakness, I'm gambling that it'll be for monsters like you.'"
I jumped back when suddenly, her shrill voice turned from a mumble to a shout.
"DOESN'T HE REALIZE HOW TERRIFYING THE AXIS CULT IS?!" She was shouting, but not at us. "They truly will do as they please without thinking about it! How am I supposed to sap away the lives of people like them? To them, I'm just a cute face to be used and abused for their convenience! If they get hungry, they ignore me and wander off! When I offer them my poisoned berries to eat, they purify them first! And when I try to flatter them with soothing words that will lull any normal person into trusting me, they just take it in stride and worship their goddess instead of giving in to my appeal! The Demon King even taught me secret methods from his homeland to increase my cuteness, and also went so far as to give me these clothes! Heh, as a last ditch attempt, I allowed Slut to convert me to gain her trust! All for nothing! It's impossible, I tell you! The Demon King can eat shit!"
Celestia Ainsworth laid herself down. "Well, I've had it. I'm done. This is my final request to you, adventurers. Kill me. I beg of you. I don't want to go on living in this world anymore." She closed her eyes. "Bitch and Slut returned back to Axel. How you can stand living alongside them as companions is beyond me. Anyways, if you were just holding out on killing me for that information, you now have no more use for me. So please go right ahead."
And she quietly waited for her fate.
Tranquility Girls were fearsome monsters, skilled in the arts of deception and manipulation. I knew that very well by now. For this one to bare her soul before us so openly, her survival instinct must be in tatters.
Caught up in the mood of that depressing story, I looked at Komekko.
Unfazed by the monster's sob story, Komekko was looking at her with drool hanging from her mouth.
"Satou, can I?" she asked, giving me her biggest puppy dog eyes.
Hesitating, I confirmed with the Tranquility Girl. "Are you sure this is what you want?"
Celestia Ainsworth nodded.
And then―
"Wait! Actually, after letting it all out, I feel a bit better!" The Tranquility Girl suddenly sat back up and stretched, looking a little more peppy. "Ah, yeah! On second thought, I'm not ready to die yet. Thanks, big bro! I owe you one! Yeah, life isn't that bad! After all, I don't think Bitch and Slut will be coming back this time! Plus, now that the lake is cleaned up, I bet a meaty traveler or lonely adventurer will come along soon that I can make a nice dinner out of―"
As if forgetting that we were still around, Celestia Ainsworth's eyes grew big and she cut her sentence off.
She must have seen the disappointed look I had at her slip of the tongue.
"I thought you told us on day one that you had never once eaten a human? That you were a good monster that the goddess Aqua would smile down on?" I said, nocking an arrow.
"Um," she said, sweating, "can we keep this little secret between us?"
...
I want my sympathy back!
When we got back to Axel―
"Hey, Satou, Komekko! There you both are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"
Aqua came skipping over as soon as she noticed us coming up the road.
I took a deep breath...
"Damn it, Aqua! Do you have any idea how much of a headache you have caused me already this morning?!"
"Eh?! No way, but I haven't even done anything yet! Gah, your eyes are especially scary this time! Listen, I don't know how you found out about what I did to your high school uniform so quickly, but I'll apologize this once, all right?!"
"I was referring to the Tranquility Girl you ghosted! She dumped all the trauma you put her through onto me and Komekko! Wait, what did you do to my uniform!?"
Before our argument could continue any further, the town's megaphones suddenly blared loudly.
"Emergency alert! Emergency alert! All adventurers, please proceed to the front gate at once! The Demon King's general is here!"
(1) Credit for Her Royal Highness Miss Celestia Ainsworth's inspired name goes to my good friend bilaterus!