I can neither say nor do anything about this predicament.

I only got a glimpse of Soumkun’s sword approaching me, at least, I think I did. Ahh, so that’s a hero’s sword, it suits him.

Soumkun’s wail was silenced by a deafening sound of metal hitting metal. It was a high pitched sound very familiar to anyone who’s lived long enough in the dungeon. It was the sound of blades clas.h.i.+ng.

“Whaf!”

“–– Kotarou-kun”

“… Mei-chan?”

Her smile was that of an angel, nay, a G.o.ddess. That beautiful smile, that gaze filled with kindness was directed only at me. Is this how the devout feel towards their G.o.d? It must be, I’m certainly a believer now.

“Yeah, It’s… It’s been a while, Mei-chan”

“Futabsan, what are you doing!”

Just now, I was about to be cut down by him. He saw Reina’s corpse and decided that I must be the killer. I am, though.

But as expected of a hero, he sensed the danger, and swerved around, right as his sword was about to hit me, and parried the blow. He succeeded in defending, but because of his bad posture, he wasn’t able to brace his legs. Soumkun was thus sent flying by Mei-chan’s attack. And again as expected, he landed flawlessly on the ground.

The only reason Soumkun didn’t do a follow-up attack was because Mei-chan had placed herself between us, protecting me. She held the black halberd in her right hand and a black wall-s.h.i.+eld in her left. She rooted her s.h.i.+eld on the ground as if to hide me.

“Futabsan! I knew it, she did betray us!”

Ah, that’s nostalgic, I thought as I verified that everyone had survived.

There’s your Souma Sakura, glaring at Mei-chan, and me behind her, as if we were her worst nemeses. Then there’s Cla.s.s Rep, the ever hard working mediator, who was desperately calling for a ceasefire between Soumkun and Mei-chan. She kinda looks exhausted. Is she alright? Maybe she wasn’t eating properly? I think I’ll treat her to some boar stew later.

I could also spot Kenzaki Asuna, the culprit behind my attempted but failed murder via pus.h.i.+ng me out of the transport circle. She was turning pale when she saw Mei-chan, ready to fight and willing to kill. I see, so her trauma from being beaten black and blue by the berserker is still there.

“You three, Ueda, Nakai, and s.h.i.+mokawa… I see, so you’re the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds that helped him kill Reina!”

And no, they’re all innocent! They tried their very best so that the reclusive NEET would see reality. They fought valiantly to keep the guardian beasts in check. Blaming them is completely and utterly unreasonable.

But playing attorney comes later.

“W-we didn’t do it!”

“Dudes, this is really bad, we gotta get out of here”

Well, since Reina is already dead, we can’t expect any excuse to pa.s.s.

So even say I was in court and the judge deemed it legitimate self-defense, the Souma siblings still wouldn’t have it in them to forgive me.

Look, he’s even saying that. His Cross Calibur looks like it’s about to go nuclear.

Mei-chan, she probably also realized that I was the one who killed Reinchan. But she still aimed her blade at Soumkun, her ally just moments ago, without the slightest hesitation. Only because she believes in me. She’s the only one in the world who’d say: My life > power gap > Reina’s life.

If instead she was someone with a half-a.s.sed sense of justice, right now I’d be getting the ‘C’mon, It’s better to confess and atone for your crimes you know?’ treatment, that literally never works in your favor.

“Oh-kay people, I’d like to explain how this all happened, so let’s all put the pointy bits down alright? Ayase-san has died. Indeed it’s quite a tragic accident and–– ”

“Cla.s.s Rep, would you be so kind as to tell Soumsan to calm down? Otherwise, we simply can’t resolve this matter in peace”

Soumkun glared at me in unrelenting hate. Terrifying. If Mei-chan wasn’t here, I would’ve shat my pants under that much bloodl.u.s.t.

“This b.i.t.c.h… s.h.i.+tting up my life even after death…”

At the cost of her life, Reina had managed to get the Hero to direct his animosity at me. She practically put a curse on me. Me. A shaman. You can laugh now.

“No matter what reasons you had, I… I can’t forgive you for killing Reina”

At this point, I don’t think anyone could stop him.

I glance around to find, nope, no one else popped in.

“Shut up! I don’t need your excuses”

“Ryouko, we can’t make amends anymore. Momok.a.w.kun he, killed Reina. Killing is his nature”

Any negotiation would break down anyway. It wasn’t even on the table to begin with. Anything I said now was merely prolonging the inevitable, so I just said whatever.

“No, you back off, Soumkun. You heard what Kotarou-kun said: Ayase-san died by accident. You can’t blame him for it”

“Don’t do it, Souma Yuuto. Ayase-san wouldn’t want you to take revenge, would she?”

He lost his words, not because I got through to him. And certainly not because Souma Yuuto somehow got the mental image of Reina sweetly saying to him ‘Please Yuu-kun, don’t hurt yourself for me.’

He was just so angry his words got stuck.

Let’s simulate a total war. First, I can take out one of them with Pain Return. With me dead, Mei-chan will snap and use reagent X to go full berserker mode and wreak havoc. She can definitely kill 2 or more. If we played our cards right, everyone except Souma Yuuto would be dead.

“Futabsan, I’ll say it one last time. Move. If you don’t–– I will kill him even if I have to harm you”

It’s the climax. In the next moment, we might be in a no holds barred battle royale.

“I celebrate your death with a curse upon your sh.e.l.l. In blood of black, meat of mud, head only empty. That sh.e.l.l contains a soul no more, but a false heart of dregs impure. Crawl, emerge, and resurrect –– Corpse-doll of Resentment”

I was out of mainly stamina, so my mana should hold. And look, I just so happen to have a fresh corpse right here.

Reina, if you can curse me even after death, I’ll curse you even if you’re dead. Now I’ll make you work, I’ll use you so I can survive.

Reina’s corpse reanimated and stood up beside me. I then brought out Higuchi’s b.u.t.terfly knife that I’d put away, and touched it to Reina the Corpse-doll of Resentment’s face.

“You wouldn’t want her corpse desecrated now would you?”

Souma Yuuto roared in ear-bursting rage. As for the little sister, she wore an expression best described as ‘disgust beyond perceivable bounds.’

Good for you, Reina. They care so much, even if it’s just your soulless body.

“You let us go free here, and I’ll leave the body clean. But If I detect even a hint of you tracking us, like with an elemental, I can’t guarantee her treatment. Now, if you don’t want your cute childhood friend to undergo some intense amateur surgery, I suggest you don’t do anything stupid”

And Rem knows exactly what I’m playing at. So there’s no way the hostage will run away. The criminal and hostage are on the same team, so we’ll both be extra careful not to show any openings. Like if Souma Yuuto lunges at me, Rem would gladly use her body to take the damage.

“Let’s go, Mei-chan. Looks like it’ll be back to just us again. Sorry”

She really annihilated my heartstrings with that one. I’m really gonna fall in love. Nope, already have. It’s to the level where I’m terrified of the mere concept of not being with her.

“s.h.i.+mok.a.w.kun, can I get an Aqua Mist?”

The guy jumped when I suddenly addressed him. Hold it together man, once I’m out, you’re gonna need to lead the party.

In truth, I would’ve preferred not losing the war-potential, but there’s no merit in them following me while I’m being hunted by the Souma party. Whether they want to prove their innocence through discussion, or also run away because of the awkwardness, I’ll leave it to their discretion.

“Yeah, I got Mei-chan with me after all. If we ever cross roads, let’s fight together again”

Under the thin veil of mist, Mei-chan and I exit the fairy square.

“But I’ll forgive you anytime Soumkun. I hope you can calm down by the next time we meet. Then we can peacefully talk it out”

And so, Mei-chan and I, no, I guess Rem in Reina’s body makes three of us; back to the old gang, now that I think about it. And so, the three of us once again entered a tunnel leading further into the depths of the dungeon.