Chapter 57

"Then, Yūhi, explain the situation."

I'm about to get to the main topic, so I give Yūhi an order. I find it kind of fun to give orders.

"Sure! Well, umm―――――"

Hmm, in short, when Yūhi tried to side with the demon race to avoid opposing me, these classmates of hers came after her.

"Oh! By the way, Elka and the others are here too."

"Yeah, they must have come to help."

As expected of those three, they do what I hope for.

"They seem to be fighting over there. But a while ago, an enemy with strange magic power went to the teachers' place―――――"

"They'll be fine. They won't lose for sure."

These three can fight on equal terms with the Demon King Destrul and the Beast King Regulus. No matter who the opponent is, they won't lose. More than anything, they've been fighting with me all along, so they're bound to win.

"―――――I see... Yeah, if Yuki believes it, I believe it too."

"Then I―――――just need to beat them up, right?"

"Hey, hey, Necra Yuki."

Pushing aside Hikuma, Jirō, and even Mitzuki, who were still in a daze, Endō came out, veins popping. He still seems to dislike me.

"It's been a while, Endō. You look well, that's great."

"Shut up, Necra bastard...! Get away from Yūhi!"

"It's not like I'm clinging to her or anything..."

Yūhi is clinging to my arm, it's obvious, isn't it? Stop sniffing around.

"……! Shut up! You must be controlling Yūhi! There's no way Yūhi, who was so kind, would betray us! That's right, Hikuma! It's all his fault! It must be!"

"……Suzuki?"

Hikuma listens to Endō's words. From my perspective, it's completely off the mark, but from theirs, considering I was expelled from the castle and have now returned, and suddenly appeared as an enemy, it's natural to find me suspicious. Endō's opinion is completely biased by personal feelings, though.

"But you saw me being invited on a date by Yūhi, didn't you?"

"Eh? ...Liar..."

"Ah, that! You must have made her do it! You took advantage of the fact that I saw it! There's no doubt about it!"

He won't listen... I knew that. Even if he did listen, there's nothing that can be done. I knew that from the start. And Yūhi, you shouldn't be blushing right now.

"Indeed... When we were in Japan... Yū was friendly with Suzuki, and I thought it was strange."

"Being with a creepy guy like Suzuki, even I thought it was weird."

"……I declined your invitation and went out with Suzuki because I was being controlled...?"

That's what Mitzuki, Jirō, and Hikuma said. Bringing up the time in Japan, I'm being accused pretty harshly. I can't deny it, but that's not right either.

"Right!? It's all his doing! There's no other way to think about it!"

As Endō shouts, the other classmates start to show caution towards me. I'm being hated so much, even though I haven't done anything bad... Maybe I should have paid more attention to my fashion. Then I wouldn't have been called Necra. This is what they call too little, too late.

"Necra Yuki! Release Yūhi right now!"

"……Yeah, sure."

"―――――Everyone."

Yūhi steps forward to protect me. Uh... she's angry.

"Shut up for a moment."

'!?'

Suddenly, orange flames burst from Yūhi's body. The flames quickly grew large and swept over Hikuma and the others like a tsunami. The flames weren't very thick, but their range and suddenness caught them off guard. If this continues, they'll all be hit, but even in this situation, Hikuma, who wields the holy sword, steps forward and gives orders.

"Everyone, gather behind me in one place!"

Those who could react to his orders carried those who couldn't and quickly gathered behind Hikuma. They're quite well-organized and have grown more than I thought.

"Slash through―――――<Holy Sword>!"

Hikuma swings his holy sword, and a slash attack, sprinkling particles of light, cuts through the wave of flames. By doing this, they manage to slip through the split flames and avoid the attack. That one strike, while flashy, is essentially a type of <Flying Sword>. It's still immature and lacks sharpness, a far cry from the stunning one-strike that Grain can deliver.

"Yū! What are you doing!"

"Stop saying bad things about Yuki―――――or I'll really kill you next time."

"Ugh..."

Hikuma gasps. The killing intent Yūhi emits is what causes this. I'm surprised; before I left, he was scared of my killing intent, but now he's emitting his own. It's an incredible presence and an incredible growth. I should praise Elka later, and give her a gentle punishment, not a harsh one, but a good pat on the back.

But before that.

"Yūhi, step back."

"Eh!?"

I push Yūhi back. I don't really care what these guys do to me. I don't feel pain or discomfort from anything they do. But right now, I'm a little irritated. It's the first time I've felt anger towards them. They don't see Yūhi for who she is. If they were really her friends, they should know she's not being controlled. They only see her as a status symbol of being her friend and companion. It's incredibly frustrating. More than anything, I don't like that Hikuma asked Yūhi out on a date.

"You guys, let's play a little."

I'll give them one punch. And while I'm at it, I'll return to Endō and the others all the things they've done to me.

"You...! Just because you have a big sword, do you think you can beat us?"

"I find it harder to lose to you guys."

"What!? ...What are you getting so cocky about! Ah!?"

Endō, who falls for the cheap provocation. He's still a small fry, but Hikuma remains calm, which is boring.

"……Suzuki, if you release Yū now and apologize, I'll forgive you."

"Shut up, fake hero. You're the one who should apologize."

"Have you gone mad...!"

Each of them finally takes up their weapons. The hostility of 30 people is directed at me. The only one who isn't convinced is Yūhi.

"Why won't you let me do it!?"

"Because I want to do it."

"But Blood said he'd leave it to me!"

"That's not happening. You won't go against my orders, right?"

"Ugh..."

Struck at a painful point, Yūhi falls silent. But I don't miss it. There's a hint of relief in her expression.

"……You don't have to fight them."

"But... but..."

"But nothing. I... don't want you to lose that compassion."

"Eh...?"

I stroke Yūhi's head, trying to make my words easier to understand.

"I've never seen a merciless Yūhi. As long as you're always there, smiling and being cheerful, that's enough. Leave all the tough stuff to me. I can handle anything."

"Ah..."

I take my hand off her head and point a black sphere at Hikuma and the others. Attacking friends I've laughed with and played with every day can't be easy. Killing them, much less, is impossible with a normal heart. Only those who have become demons and no longer feel anything for the death of others can do it. I don't want Yūhi to become one of them. So I'll fight. No matter who the opponent is, I can fight without killing. I can put all my effort into not taking lives.

"Even so―――――"

"Even if you can't accept it..."

I offer Yūhi a new option. This is all I can do for her now.

"Play with that one a bit."

"That one...?"

Behind us, a figure in a black robe stands, exuding a formidable magical power. Yūhi immediately recognizes it as an enemy.

"Are you Setsu? I finally found you."

When the black-robed figure approaches and removes the hood, a well-kept woman's face is revealed. She is human, tall, with long purple hair that reaches her waist.

"What do you want, a beauty like you? An invitation to play?"

"Of course, to kill you for betraying Fuyuma-sama."

"Is that so..."

I got a serious response to my sarcasm... Maybe I should have been more dramatic.

"My name is Luna. There's no need to remember it, since you'll die here."

Luna raises her hand. The flow of magic is strange; something unexpected is coming―――――

―――――Before I can prepare.

"Let's change the location a bit."

"!?"

Yūhi approaches Luna's face. The next moment, her flames explode. A high-speed movement with wind magic followed by an explosion attack combining wind and fire. She's really gotten strong. Still, she followed my order so obediently... I thought she would put up more of a fight.

"What do you want...!"

"Yuki's love―――――childhood friend!"

"Huh!?"

Luna is pushed back by Yūhi's explosion and moves away from the scene. Yūhi's ability to cause such an explosion is impressive, and Luna's ability to narrowly avoid it is also impressive. As expected of the black-robed one, she's not easy to handle. ...I'll avoid commenting on Yūhi's statement.

"Well... let's start, shall we?"