Chapter 14(209): I Am Merely a Traveler
At Hikigaya's words, everyone present froze for a moment.
Rem: "Hikigaya-kun… what do you mean?"
Hikigaya: "I don't really know how to explain it, but whether it's the mabeasts willingly throwing themselves to their deaths earlier, or all the strange things that happened before, that's more than enough to prove it."
'That's right. Whether it was the first time or the second time, it was this child named Meili who brought the mabeasts back. That alone might not be enough to conclude she's a curse user, but everything that followed only made it more suspicious.'
'There's no need to think too hard. Petra and the others must have come here to look for the missing Meili. Why would she appear here alone? If it was to lure us out, then everything makes sense.'
'And earlier, we clearly escaped the mabeasts. With the Shamak in place, even if they left a mark on me or tracked me by scent, they couldn't possibly come from that direction. To pinpoint our location so accurately can only mean one thing, we ourselves were acting as their coordinates.'
'Of course, even now these reasons are still somewhat far-fetched. But since we're already in a dead end, a simple probe is enough. There's no point for the other side to keep hiding anymore.'
'Since Return by Death exists, at the very least, in this loop, I can identify the curse user behind the scenes.'
"Ahaha, to think you really figured it out."
Like a puppet, Meili suddenly sprang up from Ram's arms, performed a backward flip, and landed atop one of her mabeasts.
"So it really was you…"
"I don't know how you discovered me, but since you're about to die anyway, all I need to do is silence you."
Petra: "Meili, aren't we good friends?"
Meili: "Oh, right, we are good friends. In that case, I'll make sure you're the last one to die."
A faint blade of guilt passed through Hikigaya's heart. In this loop, he could have identified her earlier, but because she was a child, he had shown mercy. And it was precisely that mercy that had now driven him into a corner.
Hikigaya: "The outcome is already decided."
Meili smiled: "Big brother, you're really amazing. Even I have to admire the courage you showed just now. But courage alone isn't enough!"
Hikigaya: "This time, you really taught me a lesson."
With no backup plan left, Hikigaya calmly accepted death. Still, he had obtained the information he wanted. At the very least, he had done everything he needed to do.
---
[Puck: "That's an unexpected development."]
[Emilia: "Puck… I'm really worried about him."]
[Puck: "There's nothing to worry about. He's already prepared himself for death, he can just start over."]
[Hikigaya: "What a heartless pet!"]
[Petra: "So the mastermind was Meili…"]
[Karuizawa: "You can't really blame Hikigaya for this. No one would expect it to be a child."]
[Sakayanagi: "No, that's wrong. It's not that he didn't think of it, he simply didn't want to. Otherwise, he wouldn't have exposed her identity just now. All of this comes from the fact that he's far too gentle."]
[Ichinose: "Even though he always says he wants to get rid of that bad habit, I think it's instinctive, something he just can't change."]
[Yuigahama: "After all, Hikki is kind of a huge tsundere."]
[Hikigaya: "I am not, idiot."]
[Yukinoshita: "This isn't the time to talk about that… aren't you worried about yourself at all?"]
[Hikigaya: "Once you're prepared, you don't need comfort."]
---
Ram: "An oni-transformed Rem might be able to buy us some time. Hachiman, we're not planning to give up."
Rem: "That's right… Sister. No matter what, Hikigaya-kun has helped us so much. At the very least, we'll make sure he and the children get back safely!"
Petra: "I…I can face this together with you too!"
Hikigaya: "I'd like to say something inspiring here, but… right now, I don't think I can even stand up."
Meili sneered: "At a time like this, you're still preaching about living and dying together!? Don't think I don't know, you just finished a brutal fight."
Hikigaya returned her smile: "Sometimes, relationships between people are just that complicated. Even though we look like water and fire right now, maybe the next time we meet, we'll become inseparable friends."
Meili puffed out her cheeks: "Tch, like I'd ever become close friends with you. Someone on the verge of death doesn't get to say things like that."
Hikigaya: "I knew Hayama's trick wouldn't work. But can I ask, why are you so fixated on killing me?"
Meili: "Hehehe. After what you did to big sister, you should be grateful I'm not tearing you apart piece by piece."
Having only recently arrived in this world, there was no need to think hard about it. There was only one woman he had ever crossed paths with.
Elsa the Bowel Hunter.
"Alright, I admit I was a bit rough with her, but it wasn't intentional."
Rem wore a deeply worried expression, while Ram looked utterly contemptuous. Still, the message they wanted to convey was exactly the same.
"Rem, Rem… Hachiman is so awful!"
"Sister, sister… Hikigaya-kun is so awful!"
"Hey, hey, I was the one being hunted down, you know! What's wrong with fighting back? I've never heard that self-defense is a crime."
Meili crossed her arms: "I don't care. You hurt my big sister, that's a capital offense. And someone even paid for your life, which just adds another crime."
Hikigaya: "Damn sis-con…"
Rem: "It feels like Hikigaya-kun has a lot of unresolved resentment."
Meili: "I'm done wasting words with you. Prepare to die!"
…
Perhaps those who have witnessed the starlight of a long night know best how much more one looks forward to the dawn. Hikigaya slowly closed his eyes, yet he felt no trace of bloodlust or killing intent.
The collision of ice and fire instantly annihilated the mabeasts. No one even saw what had happened.
But Hikigaya knew very clearly.
"Emilia has arrived."
"Emilia-sama!?"
"Emilia-sama!"
"Emilia…"
"What, Hikigaya-kun, are you too scared to look at me?"
"Hah, no way!"
"Then why did you run off on your own!?"
Suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, Emilia could no longer stop the tears from streaming down her face. Coupled with her angry expression, Hikigaya couldn't bring himself to smile at all.
He just stood there, stunned, completely frozen.
"Do you know? As long as you told me, even just once, I would have gone with you. No matter how dangerous it was… If you had just died like that… just died like that… I would never have been able to forgive myself!"
She was clearly an incredibly strong girl, yet at this very moment she burst out with emotions so raw and genuine. Perhaps it was only now that he finally realized something.
Just like before, he had made another mistake.
It was this self-righteousness that had led him to this point.
Ram: "Emilia-sama, we can scold Hachiman later! But right now…"
Emilia gently wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes: "Don't worry… this time, I'm not the only one who came."
As her words fell, villagers holding torches slowly emerged from all directions, forming an encircling formation in an instant.
Rem: "What is this… situation?"
Hikigaya: "Looks like I've been ignoring a very powerful force."
A villager shook his head, it was the very man who had just given Hikigaya directions earlier. With firm eyes and resolute conviction, he said: "Hikigaya-sama, it wasn't someone else who led me here, it was you. Even though you're just an ordinary person like us, you were willing to risk your life for people you'd only just met. And yet we kept hesitating."
"Only after seeing Emilia-sama desperately searching for you did we finally realize that some chances, once missed, are gone forever. This time, we don't want to stop moving forward anymore!"
"For the children, and for the entire village, we men must naturally step forward!"
In an instant, a sky-shaking roar erupted from the forest shrouded in darkness, as flickering flames gradually spread across the area.
Meili: "…"
Hikigaya: "Looks like killing me will have to wait."
Without any suspense, under the villagers' fierce counterattack, all the mabeasts were burned into heaps of bloody flesh. Some villagers even planned to take them back as food. Deprived of her mabeasts, Meili naturally had no means of resistance. Under the joint assault of Rem and Emilia, she was decisively defeated.
Watching the flames of hope slowly rise, Hikigaya finally lost the last of his consciousness just before dawn broke.
'Looks like… it wasn't all that bad.'
---
[Asahina: "That was seriously scary. Compared to this, Hikigaya's situation was way more dangerous."]
[Karuizawa: "See? Even someone like him almost screwed up. I can't even imagine what would happen if a normal person went there."]
[Hikigaya: "I honestly can't tell if you're praising me or insulting me."]
[Kamuro: "Everyone knows Hikigaya is a monster. What I'm curious about is what you'd do if you went there, Princess."]
[Sakayanagi took a sip of coffee and said elegantly: "Find a quiet place and live."]
[Kitō: "As expected of Princess-sama. Truly discerning."]
[Ryūen: "You sound like a bootlicker, Kitō."]
[Kitō: "Yeah, yeah. Like you know anything."]
[Sakayanagi: "I can't be compared to Hikigaya. Even if I could use certain people as tools at the beginning, trust would inevitably erode over time. In a world of magic, relying solely on intellect won't get you far. Perhaps he's already realized that."]
[Yukinoshita: "Agreed. Compared to our school, even though that place was already twisted, this other world truly demands lives. Any hesitation or retreat becomes the key to failure."]
[Miura: "If Hikigaya hadn't overcome his fear of death and acted without hesitation, I don't even want to imagine how it would've turned out."]
[Hayama: "Probably… another loop."]
[Isshiki: "It's not great to curse senpai like this, but yeah, that's probably true."]
[Outside the video, Hikigaya also realized that the version of himself inside it was already gradually walking ahead of him.]
---
His consciousness grew hazy, his body unbearably heavy. He couldn't see anything, only suffocating darkness.
What lay ahead?
He gently reached out his hand, but touched nothing. His entire body felt as though it were sinking into a swamp, completely unable to escape.
It was as if countless hands of darkness were dragging him down into the mire. Over time, even the darkness itself blurred. His rapid breathing gradually calmed, as though he were slipping into death…
"Hikigaya-kun!"
A hand with a white sleeve tightly grabbed hold of his body, making him shudder violently.
Then two more hands wrapped around his neck in succession, an irresistible warmth spreading from all parts of his body.
This was… rebirth.
"Hikigaya-kun!"
"Hah… hah… hah…!"
Hikigaya jolted awake from his sleep, not even understanding what had happened. All he saw clearly was Emilia's body, she was half-kneeling, holding him tightly, while Rem and Ram stood beside them, each gripping one of his hands.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" Emilia kept crying out her apologies, though to Hikigaya, she hadn't done anything wrong at all.
"If you keep hugging me like that, I won't be able to breathe."
Startled, Emilia finally wiped away her tears and reluctantly pulled back. Her flushed cheeks seemed to tell Hikigaya that a young girl's feelings were steadily invading her consciousness.
Ram: "As long as you're awake, Hachiman."
Rem: "Sister probably has something else she wants to say."
Looking at Rem, now finally free from Ram's hold, Hikigaya felt that despite it only being one night, her growth had been astonishing.
Ram dropped her tsundere attitude and crouched in front of Hikigaya, holding his head with both hands.
"Not trusting you was my mistake. On behalf of Lord Roswaal, I thank you. You saved the village and Emilia-sama…"
"Of course, the reason Ram didn't trust you is because your dead fish eyes really don't look like those of a good person."
'Hey, hey, that's a personal attack! …But yeah, that's Ram alright.'
Seeing Hikigaya awake alongside her sister, Rem also smiled with happiness.
Hikigaya: "By the way, where are we now?"
Rem: "At Lord Roswaal's mansion, no… to be precise, Lady Beatrice's Forbidden Library."
In the distance, Betty, small in stature and unable to squeeze through the crowd, finally walked over with a gloomy expression.
"So you really are completely stupid. You don't even remember where this place is."
"Cut the patient some slack."
Seeing that Hikigaya could still smile, Beatrice simply crossed her arms and stared at him before turning away, clearly uninterested in continuing.
"I told you already, you should've thought about the consequences when you ate that fruit."
"At that time, I had no other choice."
"I thought you'd have more ideas than that."
"Stop overestimating me. I'm just a useless, ordinary person…"
"Tch… Betty never overestimated you! Betty never did!"
Hikigaya sighed helplessly. Dealing with her really felt like looking after a child.
"You said I'd fall into an endless coma, but I'm awake now. Isn't that the best news?"
Rem tugged on Hikigaya's hand: "In fact, you've been unconscious for three days. During those three days, Lady Beatrice never stopped trying to save you."
"..."
Beatrice: "Tch. It's not like Betty did it for him. Betty just didn't want this guy to die in front of me."
Hikigaya: "It may be late, but I still want you to accept my thanks. Someday, I'll definitely repay this debt!"
For once, there was no smile on Hikigaya's face.
Beatrice: "Betty doesn't need your help. Don't be so self-righteous."
Hikigaya: "Just like you said, this is my self-righteousness."
Beatrice stopped bickering and turned back to her chair: "Before that, you should worry about yourself. Your Gate of Life is completely damaged… I can't repair it, at least."
Rem: "Lady Beatrice! Is there really no way!?"
Beatrice: "What, do you think Betty's lying to you? I'm absolutely serious about this, and I never joke about it. You should've known the moment you decided to eat that fruit."
Hikigaya nodded, then gently patted Rem's head.
"That's right. I was prepared for this from the beginning. No matter what, saving you all was worth it to me."
Ram: "Ram will ask Lord Roswaal for help, to see if he knows anyone who can heal Hachiman!"
Rem: "Rem… Rem will help too."
Beatrice let out a helpless sigh.
Emilia immediately thought of someone, but asking that person for help…
Without saying anything further, Emilia made up her mind.
If it was for Hikigaya-kun, who acted solely to save others, then this so-called price was nothing at all.
---
[Felix: "Feels like it's my turn to appear! After all, the mage who can heal the Gate of Life is me!"]
[Wilhelm: "Though we are rivals, please allow me to show him my highest respect. Everything he did… I saw it all. Hikigaya Hachiman, this is a name I will remember."]
[Crusch: "What must come will come. Whether we're enemies or allies will soon be revealed."]
[Anastasia: "If I get to see you clash, that doesn't sound like a bad thing to me."]
[Priscilla: "Whether you live or die has nothing to do with me, but as long as it's entertaining, that's enough."]
[Hikigaya: "One personality worse than the next…"]
---
After resting for another three full days, Hikigaya's condition gradually recovered. During those three days, he thought about many things.
Behind what seemed like coincidence, there were faint threads of intent. To Hikigaya, those hidden threads were slowly being pulled into the light.
If not for this incident, he might not have noticed the villagers' attitude toward Emilia. It might have been influenced by the Witch of Envy, but for villagers under her leadership to dislike her so deeply, this alone was her greatest disadvantage in the royal selection.
And the mastermind behind all of this…
It was hard not to think of Roswaal.
Whether in the capital or here, both incidents seemed to tell Hikigaya the same thing: someone was controlling everything. After this experience, he clearly understood that the best position from which to observe someone was right beside them.
The villagers' attitudes, Elsa and Meili, and Roswaal's repeated absences during critical moments all clearly pointed to one conclusion.
There was something wrong with that man.
'If an ability like Return by Death exists, then it wouldn't be strange for him to possess something even more terrifying.'
'Even now, I still feel a lingering fear. From the moment I was summoned to the mansion, everything felt planned, my luck was unbelievably good…'
In past conversations between Ram and Rem, Roswaal's warnings had been mentioned. From that moment on, Hikigaya's suspicions had fully shifted toward him.
He could no longer view everything through his former kindness. Once all unlikely factors were treated as enemies, Everything suddenly became clear.
After leaving the room, Hikigaya didn't seek anyone out. Instead, he went on his own to the prison where Meili was being held.
"I never thought the first person to visit me would be you."
"After all, they have no reason to come see you. You know you hurt too many people, especially Petra and the villagers who treated you kindly."
"Hehe… emotions are meaningless to us. Completing the employer's task is the only meaning of our lives."
Hikigaya felt a bit helpless. She looked even younger than Felt, yet had walked a completely different path. Since he hadn't lived her childhood, he had no right to judge her.
Still…
He brought a serving of lunch from the kitchen and placed it beside her, then leaned back against her back.
"What, are you pitying me? Don't look down on me just because I'm a kid, I've starved plenty of times before!"
"Think whatever you want. Just like you don't care how others think of you, I've never expected anything from how you think of me. It never mattered to me."
'In the end, I am just another traveler.'
(End of this chapter)