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TL: ALT
Chapter 96 – I Wanted to Set a Non-Death Flag
Other explorers surrounded the explorers who had returned from the cube.
Some of them seemed to be close friends, and some men and women shed tears and hugged each other.
Honoka-chan, who had used her Divine Response skill so much, fainted as soon as the last person returned to human shape.
I’m worried, too, but I have to play my role.
I have to fix everything so that Honoka-chan’s efforts will not be in vain.
I was checking my skills while watching the explorers from a distance when a shadow fell on me.
“Why do you insist on going…?”
It was Serika.
“I have to go.”
“Why does Yuto have to go so far? Even if you don’t do anything, there’s a possibility that the hole will stabilize within controllable limits, right?”
“It’s just a possibility.”
The question is not whether the citizens will evacuate in time.
It is the percentage of citizens who will be able to evacuate in time.
Conversely, those who do not make it in time will not be saved.
Even if traffic control on major roads and air evacuation by the Self-Defense Forces were successful to some extent, it would not be possible to save all citizens in 12 hours.
There are people in hospitals and nursing homes who cannot move immediately.
“Don’t worry. I have something that could be my trump card.
I can’t say that I won’t go because I’m afraid if I’m entrusted with a divine weapon, can I?
When I think about it, I feel like God has put me in a good position… In any case, I would have chosen to fight.
“Promise me you won’t die.”
“…I don’t know. Well, I don’t intend to die.”
“Not that, you see… I need you to reassure me.”
“Reassure you?”
“Yes. I’m sorry; I’m being selfish. As the guild master of the Paladin Knights, I decided to send Yuto away. But… as a girl who is Yuto-kun’s childhood friend, I still don’t want to let you go. Yuto is much more important to me than the position and duties of a guild master.”
“Serika…”
“If you don’t want to go if you don’t want to die, why don’t you… escape with me? I won’t let anyone accuse Yuto. No one has the right to tell someone to die for the world.”
Serika’s words silenced me for a moment.
“I’m sure you know that too, Serika. I’m going.”
“Yes. I know.”
“I don’t want people to die because of my escape. Well, if I was really going to die 100% of the time, I think it would be better for me to escape.”
Kudave is there, and I also have the divine sword.
I’m the only one who can really handle this situation.
“…I don’t think this is the right time to ask.”
Serika opened her mouth with a reserved tone.
“It’s about the junior girl who committed suicide.”
“Yeah…”
It’s a story from my high school days.
I defended a junior girl who was being bullied by Junko Tozaki (her surname was different back then).
Of course, the target of the bullying turned to me.
I stopped going to school because of the bullying, and during that time, the junior girl who was being bullied again decided to die.
She blamed me for not protecting her to the end――
“It’s the same whether Natsume was there or not.”
Just because I couldn’t protect Natsume Sayuki doesn’t mean I’m going to save the world instead.
“I’m often misunderstood, but it’s not like I was in love with her.”
“Eh, really?”
“I guess you misunderstood me.”
Serika and I attended different high schools.
Serika has no direct knowledge of the incident.
She doesn’t even know that Junko Tozaki, Rakan’s guild master, was the main culprit behind the bullying.
“If someone is being bullied, you should help them. Why is such a simple story so distorted?”
“S-sorry…”
“No, I wasn’t talking to Serika.”
I thought about it while answering.
Why did Serika bring it up?
――Oh, because she was worried.
Maybe she feels that I’m going to the place of death to atone for the death of a girl I liked (even though I had no romantic feelings for that girl).
It’s not hard to understand why Serika is worried.
“…Well, I haven’t answered you yet.”
“Answered?”
“Yes. Serika told me how you feel about me. I haven’t answered that yet.”
“I-I wonder if you were able to tell me about it. Personally, I’d like to ask you to take it off the table and start over.”
���I don’t know how many takes there are between us.”
“Haha… I can’t deny it…”
I’ve made up my mind.
I can give that answer now.
I doubt it’s a romantic situation, but if it makes Serika feel better, it’s a small price to pay.
I can go into battle without any repercussions on my part.
But… what should I say to her?
“I love you. If I win this battle, will you go out with me?”
“When I come back from this battle, let’s get married?”
This is a flag of death, isn’t it?
I’d like to have a more deathless, lustful, blunt attitude.
Kudave, for example, doesn’t look like he’s going to die at all.
I want that kind of smug, over-the-top, egotistical type.
I want something that makes people say, “Oh, he’s definitely coming back.”
Like, yeah.
“――Of course, I’m coming back alive. I can’t die without hugging you.”
The words came out of my mouth before I could even think about it.
“Heh…?”
Serika stiffened.
It must have taken her a few seconds to realize what I meant.
Serika blushed so intensely that she almost made a sound.
W-was it too much?
“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sexually harass you, you know…”
I shouldn’t have been so weird and flirtatious, even though I’m not used to women.
Even my face turned red.
“G-geez! You surprised me!”
“I-I’m sorry.”
After an awkward silence, our eyes met.
Serika looked up at me, her face flushed,
“N-now that you’ve said that much… you have to come back, okay? I’ll be ready and waiting for you. I won’t forgive you if you don’t come back after making me ready!”
Eh, that’s…
“Y-yeah. Of course.”
If you say that, I’ll have to come back no matter what.
Anyway, I’m ready now.