Chapter 80

Kōki's voice, struggling to suppress his emotions, echoed, but the person he was addressing seemed not to hear, and pattered over to stand beside Merudo, where Shia was.

Tsuki, having completed her task of guarding Kōki and the others, walked over to Ichigo and the others. Behind her, the voice of Suzu, who harbored a tiny uncle in her heart, calling out "Ah, Lady!" was simply ignored.

"Shia, how is Merudo's condition?"

"It's touch and go. If it had been any later, we wouldn't have been able to save him... I used the [Divine Water] as instructed... but is this really okay?"

"Ah, this person took care of me quite a bit in the past. Moreover, the loss of Merudo would be too great in various ways. Especially, it would be troublesome if the education supervisor of the Kirin Hero Squad became someone strange. Well, just looking at the situation, it seems Merudo failed in his education, but... he is a person of high character, and it would be a great loss in various ways if he died."

Ichigo glanced at Kōki, who was being supported by Ryūtarō and the other students and was still glaring at him, and explained to Shia the reason for using the Divine Water on Merudo. Incidentally, the "strange person" referred to someone like Istar of the Holy Church.

"...Ichigo."

"Tsuki, thank you for listening to my request."

"...Yeah."

While talking to Shia, Tsuki arrived, and Ichigo gently stroked her cheek, conveying his gratitude. Tsuki, with her eyes, conveyed "don't worry about it," and her eyes relaxed with happiness. Naturally, Ichigo's eyes also softened, and they ended up gazing into each other's eyes.

"...You two, please pay attention to the atmosphere... I mean, get back to normal! Everyone is gathering around!"

Already, it could be said that Ichigo and Tsuki were creating their own little world as usual, and they finally snapped out of it after Shia clapped her hands and teased them.

For some reason, Ichigo felt more people, including Kōki, glaring at him in a different way, especially from a direction different from Kōki and the others, which made him feel a chill down his back.

"Hey, Nanami, why did you... bring her..."

"Ichigo-kun... although there are many things I want to ask, how is Mr. Merudo? He looks like his wounds have healed and his breathing is stable. He should have been fatally injured..."

Interrupting Kōki, who was questioning Ichigo, Kaori knelt beside Merudo, checking his condition in detail while asking Ichigo.

For a moment, Ichigo felt Kaori's gaze was cool, thinking it might be an illusion, he answered her question.

"Ah, that... I used a slightly special medicine. If you drink it, it will instantly heal you even if you're on the brink of death."

"Such a medicine, I've never heard of it?"

"Of course, it's probably at the legendary level... it's generally impossible to obtain. So, I'll give you a magic recovery potion. Yaegashi, you can just accept the healing magic."

"Ah, ah... thank you."

"...Thank you."

When Ichigo spoke to her, Shizuku, still a bit stuttering because he was different from the Ichigo in her memory, took the recovery potion and thanked him. Ichigo didn't particularly pay attention to Shizuku's reaction and also gave a magic recovery potion to Kaori, who caught it accurately, thanked Ichigo, and drank it in one gulp. The taste of Pocari Sweat spread in her mouth, and she regained some vitality. If Kaori recovered, the other students would be healed soon.

In any case, with no need to worry about Merudo, Kaori and the others sighed in relief. Then, Kōki spoke again.

"Hey, Nanami, thank you for saving Mr. Merudo, but why did you... bring her..."

"Ichigo-kun, thank you for saving Mr. Merudo, and for saving us too."

Then, she was interrupted again by Kaori, and Kōki showed a very subtle expression. However, Kaori completely ignored Kōki's expression and looked straight at Ichigo. Despite the shock of Ichigo's change, there was something she wanted to convey no matter what. While thanking him for saving Merudo and the others, she walked over to Ichigo.

Then, as if trying to endure something that suddenly welled up, she tightly gripped the hem of her clothes, but unable to hold back, she started to cry. Despite the sobs, she didn't take her eyes off Ichigo, as if confirming that he was real and not a dream. Ichigo quietly returned her gaze.

"Ichigo-kun... you're still alive, gah, thank you. At that time, I couldn't protect you... gah, I'm sorry... gah."

Among the students, the girls noticed Kaori's feelings and sent her warm gazes, while some of the male students who understood the situation looked at her with the same gaze. Kondo and the others looked at her with a face like they had eaten a bitter pill, while Kōki and Ryūtarō, who didn't understand what Kaori was thinking, looked at her with blank expressions. Looking at Kōki and Ryūtarō, who were insensitive, Shizuku's suffering came to mind.

Shia looked at them with a "Hmm, is this a new rival?" expression, while Tsuki looked at Kaori with an even more expressionless face than usual.

Ichigo, looking at Kaori, who was crying with a wrinkled face, realized, as Kondo had said, that she had been thinking about him since that day, and showed an expression of being at a loss for words.

Honestly, although he had mentioned Kaori to Tsuki when talking about his situation, that was during the time in Nether. After that, until he met Aiko in the town of Uru, he had completely forgotten about Kaori, so he felt a bit of guilt at her strong feelings.

Ichigo showed a somewhat troubled and confused expression, then smiled wryly and responded to Kaori.

"...What can I say, it seems I made you worry. I'm sorry for not contacting you immediately. Well, I'm doing fine, so there's no need to apologize... um, don't cry."

Ichigo's gaze, as he said this, was the same as when he had said "I'll protect you," filled with concern for Kaori. That gaze reminded Kaori of the night they had made that promise, and a certain emotion filled her chest. Unable to hold back, she burst into tears and threw herself into Ichigo's arms.

Looking at Kaori, who was crying on his chest, Ichigo raised his hands, at a loss for what to do. If it had been another classmate, Ichigo would have thrown them aside in annoyance or used a thug kick to knock them out. However, in the face of such pure, unchanged goodwill, and considering what had happened before he fell into Nether, even he couldn't treat Kaori coldly.

However, in front of Tsuki, hugging another woman was taboo, so he raised his hands in a surrender gesture, as if being held at gunpoint, and let Kaori cry. This half-hearted response was unlike Ichigo.

Shizuku, standing beside him, gave Ichigo a "My best friend is crying! Hug her!" look, but with Tsuki's silent gaze on him, he couldn't move. In the end, he gently patted Kaori's head. Really, Ichigo was acting unusually weak.

"...Sigh, Kaori is really kind. To cry so happily because a classmate is alive... But, Nanami killed someone who wasn't resisting. We need to discuss this. It's better to stay away from Nanami."

Some of the students looked at Kōki with a "Look at the atmosphere!" reproachful gaze. At this point, this man still didn't seem to understand Kaori's feelings. While seemingly blaming Ichigo, he pulled Kaori away from Ichigo. Was it just that he didn't like seeing Kaori hugging someone else, or was he concerned that she was hugging a murderer? Maybe both.

"Hey, Kōki! Nanami-kun saved us! Don't talk to him like that?"

"But, Shizuku. She had lost her will to fight. There was no need to kill her. What Nanami did is unforgivable."

"Hey, Kōki, that's enough, right? Besides..."

Shizuku angrily rebutted Kōki. The other students, unsure of what to do, looked at each other, while Hinoyama and the others, who had never liked Ichigo, joined Kōki's side from the beginning.

Finally, the discussion about Ichigo's actions reached a fever pitch. Kaori had already left Ichigo's chest, wiped her tears, and was looking troubled, thinking about something, due to the impact of Ichigo's earlier behavior.

At that moment, they were metaphorically doused with a bucket of cold water.

"...Boring people. Ichigo, let's go?"

"Ah, yeah, sure."

With a voice that could be described as absolute zero, Tsuki threw the word "boring" at Kōki and the others. Although it was just a small murmur, it was clear and loud in the midst of Kōki's noisy protests. For a moment, the surroundings fell silent, and Kōki and the others turned their gaze to Tsuki.

Ichigo had come to repay a favor to Kaori, as Kondo had suggested, so now that it was done, he took Tsuki's hand and walked out of the room. Shia, ignoring the others, followed closely behind.

Kōki, however, called out to stop them.

"Wait, we're not done talking here. I won't recognize you as a comrade until I hear Nanami's true thoughts. And who are you? We're grateful for saving us, but it's rude to call someone boring on first meeting. What exactly are you calling boring?"

"..."

Kōki made another off-topic statement. What he was saying was correct as usual, but given the situation, it made one want to say, "Put your hand on your chest and think about it." Being this brain-dead, it wouldn't be surprising if he was cursed.

Tsuki seemed to have given up on Kōki, as if seeing no value in a conversation, and didn't even look at him. Kōki frowned, slightly irritated by Tsuki's attitude. Then, he immediately put on his usual gentle smile when talking to girls and addressed Tsuki. Ichigo, sensing that this would only make Tsuki unhappy and not solve anything, said,

"Amatsugawa. For you, who are a joke in every sense of the word, I have no obligation to cater to you. But since you seem determined to keep pestering me, I'll point out a few things."

"Point out? Are you saying I'm wrong? I'm just saying what's obvious as a human being."

Ichigo looked at him with an expression that said, "This is so troublesome!" and continued, ignoring Kōki's angry rebuttal.

"Don't try to brush it off."

"What are you suddenly saying..."

"You're not angry because I killed that woman. You just don't like seeing people die. But you understand that it's unreasonable to criticize killing someone who tried to kill us and murdered the knights, right? So you're nitpicking about killing an unarmed opponent? You saw something you didn't want to see, and someone easily did what you couldn't... You're just throwing a tantrum. And you're pretending to say the right thing. The worst part is, you don't even realize it. You're still the same, always making excuses that benefit yourself as if it's second nature."

"No, that's not right! Don't say such things! You killed an unarmed person, that's a fact!"

"Killing the enemy, what's wrong with that?"

"What!? Killing someone, it's definitely wrong!"

"Hah, I don't intend to debate with you. Can we end it here? ─── I have no intention of showing any mercy to my enemies. At the point of confrontation, there must be a reason to kill, regardless of good or evil, or whether they resist or not. Because, if you show naivety, you'll die, and you have to understand that even if you don't like it. This is a value I cultivated at the bottom of Nether, and I don't intend to force others to understand it. But if you don't like me and want to oppose me..."

Ichigo instantly closed the distance and pressed the gun to Kōki's forehead. At the same time, Ichigo activated [Intimidation], and a dense aura of killing intent descended like a waterfall, making Kōki and the others gasp. Even Shizuku, the fastest among the classmates, whose movements Kōki could usually track with his eyes, couldn't detect Ichigo's movement at all, and he showed a trembling expression.

"Even if it's a former classmate, I'll kill you."

"You, you..."

"Don't get it wrong? I'm not back, and I'm not your comrade. I came here to repay a favor to Shirasaki. After we leave here, we'll part ways. I have my own path."

After saying this, Ichigo glared at Kōki, who couldn't respond and was swallowing hard, put Dona back in the holster, and released [Intimidation]. The classmates looked at Ichigo, who sighed deeply, with complex expressions. Kōki, still unable to accept it, was thinking about what to say, but was stopped by Tsuki, who emitted an annoyed aura and spoke sharply.

"...The one who fought was Ichigo. A coward who ran away from fear has no right to criticize."

"What, I ran away..."

Actually, Ichigo and the others had not landed at that point by chance. While moving on the upper floor, Ichigo had sensed a massive flow of magic from Kōki and used all his perception abilities to detect signs of the lower floor. Then, he used alchemy and [Pile Bunker] to break through the ground, which was the truth.

The massive flow of magic he sensed at that time was Kōki's [Bakurai]. Judging from the power he felt, Kōki should have been able to defeat the demon woman, and Ichigo and the others knew this. Therefore, considering the situation on the scene afterward, they deduced that Kōki's hesitation about killing had led to that dire situation. Tsuki's [ran away from fear] referred to this.

Kōki wanted to argue with Tsuki, but was interrupted by a deep voice.

"Enough, Kōki."

"Mr. Merudo!"

Merudo had regained consciousness a short while ago and was listening to Kōki and the others' conversation. He seemed a bit dazed, shaking his head and getting up, then looked at his abdomen, which should have been injured, with a puzzled expression and asked a question.

Kaori briefly explained what had happened to Merudo. Merudo learned that he had been miraculously saved by a valuable medicine, and was genuinely happy that Ichigo had survived. He also thanked Ichigo for saving them and apologized deeply for not being able to save him at the time, which Ichigo accepted with a bad mood.

To Ichigo, he had long forgotten Merudo's promise of [I will definitely save you], so it wasn't a big deal... but in front of Merudo, who was bowing deeply, he just went along with the atmosphere.

After apologizing to Ichigo, Merudo turned to Kōki and apologized in the same way.

"Mr. Merudo? Why is Mr. Merudo apologizing?"

"Of course. I'm your educator... but I failed to teach you the most important thing as warriors. The resolve to kill. When the time is right, I planned to make it seem like an accident and have you kill bandits to gain experience... If you're going to participate in the war against the demon race, it's absolutely necessary... but after spending so much time with you and talking to you, should I really make you gain that experience... I was conflicted. As the leader of the knights, I should have told you earlier... but I kept putting it off, and this led to the current disaster... I'm just half-hearted. I failed as an educator. Because of that, I almost got you killed... I'm truly sorry."

Saying this, Merudo bowed deeply again, and the students hurried to comfort him. It seemed