Akechi and Oda. Two people with surnames of famous warlords from the Sengoku period now sat in front of me, frozen and motionless.
“… Can I ask some questions?” Akechi asked.
“Go ahead.” I replied.
“What are you doing to us now? Some form of hypnosis?” He asked.
He was clearly wary of me, but his question seemed to be genuine.
“Then, you two have never encountered this kind of mysterious power before?” I asked them, (Don’t lie, answer truthfully) then ordered just in case.
“Of course I haven’t.” Akechi stated.
“Y-yes…” Oda stated.
Both of them seemed to be surprised by how their mouths moved on their own.
In that case, the existence of the Spirit Tamer becomes even more mysterious.
Did I miss someone with the Skill Appraisal? It’s not impossible, since I haven’t appraised everyone here yet.
“What about the Messiah in Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park?” I asked them.
“I heard he uses a strange technique, but that’s about it.” Akechi replied.
“I see.” I commented.
Seems like they really don’t know anything.
“A… Are you going to kill us?” Oda asked me.
He seemed to be extremely worried about what answer he’d receive from this question.
Well, understandably so. I felt sorry for him, so I decided to give a reassuring answer.
“I won’t kill you.” I told them.
“I-I see…” Oda muttered.
“However, from now on, you will no longer be able to disobey my orders. If I order you to die, you will die. And you cannot run away either, because I can contact you telepathically.
“Therefore, please do not take any unnecessary actions from now on.” I explained the facts to them in a straight-forward manner.
Perhaps that wasn’t the best way to go about it though…
“Ugh…” Because Oda started puking out all of his dinner into a nearby trash can.
And then he… Started crying.
“Sorry about that, but please understand that you two can’t go against me anymore.” I told them.
… My conscience was hurting from doing this.
But then… “Oda, be silent for now.” Akechi told him, and cast a sharp glance in Oda’s direction.
“Uuh…” Oda somehow stopped his tears and went silent.
“I understand what you’re saying… Now what? What are we supposed to do? You can kill us at any time, yet you’re keeping us alive, so there is something you want us to do, right?” Akechi asked me.
I nodded, “From now on, please stop threatening your neighboring residents.
“Also, you should start cooperating with the people on the Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park to try helping as many people as possible.
“As for your mistresses, you should give them the right to be with who they want.”
“Hmph.” Akechi’s expression was bitter, “Such nonsense. So you’re just one of those dumb humanitarians.”
“Say what you want, but you cannot disobey your orders. You get that, don’t you?” I told him.
“Yeah, I know. I’ll do what you want.
“Though a lot of people come here, you know? Some that are pretty crappy too. There are a lot of things that are out of my control in this place.” Akechi told me.
“Then you’ll have to be a different kind of leader, so as to create a different kind of order here… In the first place, if you were a better leader, things wouldn’t have come to this.” I replied.
In response to me words, Oda shouted, “Boss is…! Akechi is not a bad leader!”
I couldn’t back down here though.
I glared at Oda, “Whoever binds someone else’s freedom cannot complain about having their own freedom bound, got it?”
Am I in the wrong, or are they in the wrong? I quite frankly don’t know.
However, I don’t want to lie to myself, so I will do what my morals tell me is right.
“In the future, if I hear you have acted in a way that harms others… Well, just remember that I can order you at any time. I can make you suffer something worse than death.” I told them.
“… Guess we have no right to refuse.” Akechi sighed.
“It’s nice that you understand things easily.” I replied.
Akechi glared at me with defiant eyes. Which was basically the only way he could fight back, “Can I ask you one more thing?”
“Sure.” I said.
“You… What are you? Some kind of divine messenger or something?” Akechi asked.
“Divine…?” I was stunned for a second.
But I guess I understand where he is coming from. It was just about a month ago that the world turned into its current hellish state, which is now filled with monsters.
And now, someone like me, who has mysterious powers, appeared out of nowhere. His conclusion is an understandable one.
But it’s wrong, “Nothing of the sort. I’m just a high school girl who happened to get strange powers.” I told them.
“A girl? You’re a girl, Glasses?” Akechi asked.
Oh, right. I’m in a man’s form right now.
Oh well, I guess it doesn’t matter, “I am. My current appearance is just a temporary one.”
“So you can change your form too…? You’re basically a wizard…” Akechi commented.
“Well, something like that.” I replied.
My job is Warrior though.
“Then, one more question…” Akechi said.
“Yes?” I replied.
“Are you people… Playing with us, humans?” Akechi asked.
“I’m a human, just like you.” I replied.
“I don’t think so. You don’t seem to be in the same kind of circumstances that we’re at.” Akechi told me.
Then, he slowly brought his face closer to mine.
And something about this movement made me, for the first time, feel scared of him.
He’s truly an ideal salesperson, isn’t he? He is able to convince people of things that they have no reason to believe in.
No wonder he is the boss of this gang.
“Someday, I’ll bite into your throat. I’m sure of it.” He told me.
Even with his life in my hands, he can still make a face like that one.
This guy is surely something.
But this is enough. I gave a sarcastic smile to Akechi, then left my seat.
I was wondering if I should take him to the Aviation Park to talk things out, but he doesn’t seem willing to listen, so I guess I’ll just order him in case I forgot anything.
But then… “Wait.” Akechi called out to me, “I’m not gonna be surprised by anything else I see, but… What is that?”
“That? What do you mean by ‘that’?” I asked him.
Akechi snorted, “You kidding me? This thing right outside the window.”
“Huh?” I muttered.
Both Akechi and Oda were looking at me with strange gazes.
“What is-?” I frowned and looked outside the window.
There, I saw a bluish-white flame… A googly-eyes fireball.
“Damn!” I exclaimed.
The words ‘Spirit Tamer’ came to my mind again.
And then, barely giving me any time to react, a scorching heat covered this room.