Chapter 44

"Once we go back to the original place, it's bound to end badly, right?"

After discussing the rescue operation using sleeping pills and deciding to train to move the carriage, when we started talking about what to do next, Yagi blurted out these words, and immediately Kobayashi protested.

"Hey, Gasei Megane, don't you want to go back? Do you want to stay in this world forever?"

"No, that's not what I mean. Don't jump to conclusions."

"Then what do you mean? Tell me."

"We were summoned to the third floor of the school building. Think about what would happen if we returned to exactly the same place."

Hearing Yagi's words, we exchanged glances.

"Who knows if the school is being demolished or under construction. If we fall from the third floor, we could die. We might die as soon as we return to our original world..."

"Then what should we do..."

"That's not something I can figure out. But it's certain that going back without thinking will be disastrous, right?"

"Will we... really be able to go back?"

Sakurai's words, which she let slip, reflected the anxiety that everyone was feeling.

"The princess said we could go back... but..."

"She lied about the bracelet preventing a magical surge... She was lying..."

As the new-old duo and the odd couple pointed out, we can't tell how much of Camilla's words are true, and it feels more likely that they are lies.

"Hey, Kunitsubu, do you have any information on that?"

"Yeah, I prioritized the rescue operation, so I haven't looked into the summoning or return process yet."

"Once the rescue is over, we'll have to negotiate with Camilla, but shouldn't we look into it separately?"

"Right, if the third princess knows, there might be information in other royal family members or books."

As Yagi said, it would be better to look into the method of returning to Japan from other sources besides Camilla.

"Hey... Do you think it's enough for us to just go back to Japan?"

Yagi looked around at the other five and asked.

"Just going back... What do you mean by that?"

"Frankly, compensation. We've been through so much, and Hatanaka is dead. Can we just go back without any compensation?"

In response to Kobayashi's question, Yagi made a circle with his thumb and index finger, suggesting a demand for compensation.

"But even if we talk about compensation, what's the point of bringing back money from here?"

"Idiot, Kunitsubu, you idiot! Of course, it's obvious. We should demand precious metals like gold or silver."

"Oh, I see..."

"Camilla said, 'Either get a reward for your achievements and go back, or die...' The reward, or rather the compensation, should be in the form of precious metals that we can take back."

Indeed, as a NEET, Yagi has a point. Given the trouble we've been through, some form of compensation would be reasonable.

Once the topic of compensation came up, the issue of responsibility naturally arose.

"Yagi, it's fine to demand money, but what about the princess? Should we keep her alive?"

"Since she killed Hatanaka, she should be executed, right?"

"Can we demand compensation and also execute a royal family member?"

"Wouldn't the knights who directly killed Hatanaka be the ones to execute?"

There seems to be a subtle difference in temperature between the new-old duo and the odd couple.

"Kunitsubu, what do you think?"

"Hmm... I don't know..."

I was surprised myself, but I don't feel a strong urge to kill after Hatanaka's death, unlike right after it happened. Maybe it's because I vented my frustration with Project Misa, or because Camilla is concerned about the people suffering from desertification. It's only been about ten days since Hatanaka's death, but I feel that if they pay for their crimes, their lives should be spared...

"Well... What would happen according to Japanese law?"

"Huh? Japanese law?"

"No, I mean, in this world, killing a commoner wouldn't be considered a crime, so I was wondering what would happen in Japan..."

"In Japan, killing one person wouldn't result in the death penalty, right?"

"Would it be considered murder? Or some kind of manslaughter?"

While the new-old duo and the odd couple were scratching their heads, the conversation naturally turned to Yagi.

"Assault leading to death the next day... It would probably be considered manslaughter."

"Camilla didn't directly do it, but she was in a supervisory position, right?"

"In that case, it would be considered manslaughter due to negligence, right? Ah... I don't know!"

"Yeah, but without any standards, just saying 'one of ours died, so one of yours should die' is simple but not a solution."

"Shouldn't we just kill all the knights?"

"That's not a good idea. If the knights are gone, who will protect the city from monsters crossing the river?"

"That's not our problem, is it?"

"But think about it. The victims would be innocent children and women. Is that okay?"

"No, that's not..."

I was raised in peaceful Japan and might be considered naive, but I don't think killing is the solution.

"Besides, if Camilla lied and there's no way for us to go back, we'd have to live here with the grudge of the knights who killed Hatanaka."

"Then what should we do?"

"Hmm... How about adding a prison sentence to the compensation Yagi mentioned?"

"That doesn't sound right... But maybe that's the best we can do?"

"The final negotiation will be with the teacher... Speaking of which, where are the teachers?"

"I don't know... After we came here and had our magic evaluated, they were put on a different carriage..."

The new-old duo and the odd couple also shook their heads, indicating they hadn't seen the teachers.

"But wasn't Ms. Saiko here?"

"Ms. Saiko... She was probably mistaken for a student because of her appearance."

"Well, I understand about Ms. Saiko, but it would be a problem if the other teachers aren't here, right?"

"Not necessarily... It wouldn't be a problem, would it?"

"No, no, we need to go back together. We need to deal with various parties and the media..."

"Yeah, we can't just leave them behind... But where are they?"

We were so focused on training and magic that we didn't notice the teachers were missing.

"Ah... Another problem has arisen..."

"Besides, do you really need to do everything, Kunitsubu?"

"Yagi, if we're still in Lastock, you can't say that, can you?"

"Ugh... You're right..."

We decided to have the five of them stay here and start training related to the carriage from tomorrow, while I returned to the boarding house. The problem of the teachers' whereabouts added to the frustration of the rescue operation not going smoothly.

It seemed we had talked longer than expected, and the early-rising Amanda was already asleep.

"Don't worry, I can use the shadow to move, so the door is locked."

So, I used the shadow to move directly to my room.

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