Chapter 14

"Well, hypothetically speaking, even if I did sic the spiders on you."

Akari was silenced by the pressure.

"First of all, let's assume that I and Yukishiro are in the same boat... no, I'm more like being fed by Yukishiro."

With that, he began to recount everything from the time before Akari and the others came to hunt the parent demon beast until now.

"So, I've told you everything that's happened since I was summoned."

Akari, who had been looking down at the empty bowl, raised her head.

"Of course, I feel sorry for you and I'm sorry, but that's not related to this..."

While teasing the sleepy Yukishiro's tail, Kurahito continued.

"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, Yukishiro and I are in a bind."

Even though he noticed Akari's puzzled face, Kurahito seemed to enjoy tormenting the sleepy Yukishiro, who was caught between sleepiness and pride.

"I've been thinking this since I was in Japan. Sorry, this is a long story. Just listen. So, if you're harassed on the street, well, you can run if you're alone, but if you have someone with you, it gets pretty complicated, right?"

"By that point, you're already in a bind, especially if you're physically weak."

Kurahito continued to speak as if the words were pouring out. Perhaps he was quite starved for conversation after a year and a half.

"If you have someone with you, you can't run because they'll catch up, and if you try to call for help, no one will help you."

"The only option is to fight back against the violence. Against a group, without killing them, but giving them enough damage and reporting it to the police. That's pretty difficult, right? Even if you hit them with a peak strike?"

"If you fail, you know what will happen to the person with you."

"If you accidentally kill someone, you'll be charged with excessive self-defense."

"So, I call this being in a bind."

"It's unreasonable, isn't it? -- Huh."

Yukishiro, who decided to ignore Kurahito, gave him one last hit with her tail before sitting in a box and closing her eyes. Kurahito smiled wryly and decided not to bother her anymore.

"So, if you come to hunt, you're saying it's okay to be killed, or even to be attacked by spiders out of human malice?"

Akari was inexplicably indignant.

What Kurahito was saying wasn't wrong. Akari herself had been told by Maxim many times.

"Some people go hunting and get hunted. Don't forget that."

The meaning was a bit different, but the message was the same.

But it was different to use hunting as a pretext to sic spiders on people and kill them.

"Sorry, I got carried away. What I'm trying to say is, I can't die."

"Why do you have to die... You could just run away."

"If I fight, Yukishiro will be hunted, and she doesn't like running away."

"That's not the point—"

"It is. If a thief comes to your town, would you just hand them over, Akari?"

"Of course not, you'd fight."

Akari replied indignantly.

"That's what I did. I should have said this from the beginning. Sorry if it was hard to understand. Maybe I'm a bit off because this is the first time I've talked to a human since I came here. Please bear with me."

It was a reasonable argument.

A reasonable argument, but Akari had always felt a sense of unease.

The way Kurahito talked about life and death so calmly—.

—Ah, and then. Akari finally realized what was bothering her and making her irritable.

Indirectly, Kurahito had killed people, and that was disturbing.

At least, Akari had never heard of any summoners, including herself, killing people. This Elpis, after all, was not the medieval Europe of Earth's era, but rather a world post-industrial revolution and pre-World War II, with differences in magic and machinery.

In other words, in this world, except for the most remote areas, human life is not taken lightly.

There are laws, and there are democratic countries.

"Why do you have to kill people for a demon beast?"

There is a clear difference between demon beasts and humans, both in Japan and in Elpis.

"Maybe it's because it was just Yukishiro?"

Kurahito said casually.

"In my original Japan, I was a rather unsuccessful man, and I had my share of complaints. Then I was summoned and had my power, which was supposed to go to some kid, taken away. I sulked and chose a snowy mountain, and I ended up alone. But I chose it myself, so I have no regrets. I have no regrets, but complete solitude is quite a burden."

"You could have come down to a village."

"Unfortunately, I'm shy. Anyway, I'm grateful to Ilneek, who took care of me, and to Yukishiro, who is currently feeding me. Without Yukishiro, I'd be in a lot of danger. So, to survive, I have to kill."

Kurahito stroked the sleeping Yukishiro's back.

"But if you keep doing that, eventually—"

"You might get killed. So, I try not to get caught."

Akari bowed her head again.

"Then, what should I do? Should I kill you without getting caught?"

Kurahito looked at the bowed Akari through the fire spirit.

What was he blabbering to a seventeen-year-old kid?

Was he trying to make her understand? How ridiculous.

Perhaps it was because he hadn't met many people. His opponent was a child.

That might have been the problem.

He should have stopped thinking of her as a child.

The power dynamics in this world were balanced, or even reversed.

In other words, he was being careless.

His guard had been lowered by seeing another summoner. He had thought of her as a child.

Ideally, he should have hidden Yukishiro's existence, done a favor for Akari, and in return, asked her to keep his secret and gather information, then quickly sent her on her way. That might have been the best course of action.

No, he should have saved her from the spiders and left her at the foot of the mountain. That would have been appropriate.

Ignoring everything and killing everyone and pretending to know nothing might have been the best option, but since he couldn't do that, he had to be extremely cautious in his interactions.

To blend in and live in this world.

Kurahito, tempted by nostalgia, had jumped at the chance to gather information. He was tired of being the same old self from Japan.

That was a mistake.

Will I be killed?

Akari had no intention of telling the central government about this. Dolgan was out of the question.

She could have died there today. Dying over something as trivial as pride and face was ridiculous.

Besides, she couldn't betray the janitor.

It was a shock to learn that the janitor had sicced the spiders on her, but as a summoner who had treated him as if he didn't exist, she had no right to say anything.

No one had helped him, so she couldn't ask for help.

She should be grateful to have been saved by the spiders.

Even if it was him, he had helped an enemy, after all.

She had lashed out, but she might have to kill someone someday.

She had thought about it before, and that might be why she was afraid of his毫不犹豫的行动.

Well, if I get killed here, there's nothing I can do.

I don't think I can beat that white, fluffy thing.

The thought made her laugh a little.