She had doubted his reasons for entrusting her to the Hero’s party and leaving to find Takako. At first, she had thought that she would only be a burden while looking for Takako. With the urgency of the situation, it was natural to try and move quickly and efficiently, so she had thought that was the reason he’d entrusted her to the Hero’s party.
She had also believed that he’d given up on their mission, that it couldn’t be helped with the current situation. He had just been trying to do the best he could. She had selfishly believed that Kagami had thought like that.
However, she had been wrong.
Kagami hadn’t given up. If the people were deprived of their home, it would be nearly impossible to mend the wound. However, if the attack was repelled, then there would still be room for peace. They would not become filled with irremediable hatred from having lost everything. While they wouldn’t forget that they were attacked, the humans would settle that hatred themselves due to the glory called victory. After all, they would still have something to lose if they chose to pursue hatred instead.
Kagami still hadn’t given up on the peace between Demons and Humans. Entrusting her to the Hero’s party was the right choice. The reason why Kagami had politely asked the reluctant Hero’s party for a favor was so that he could give it his all.
“Kagami-san is…kind-hearted, he really is…!”
Kagami was supporting her dream with all of his might. Yet, she’d felt anxious and had half given-up. She became embarrassed and felt both sorry and regretful. Alice recklessly ran towards the west gate as if compelled by an indescribable feeling.
“It’ll take you a long time to get there with such a short stride.”
Takako had caught up with Alice, and picked her up, carrying her at a blistering speed. She didn’t miss a step while picking up Alice.
“Takako-san…Kagami-san is!”
“I know, I know. Let’s hurry…Even if he has an automatic healing skill and is Level 999, handling attacks from 10,000 opponents would be too demanding and difficult.”
The vigorous Takako continued to charge forward like a raging bull as she spoke. Then as she felt a presence closing in on them from behind, Takako turned her head to look. It was the Hero’s party. They had caught up to Takako’s blistering speed.
“Araa? They actually caught up…Even though I’m running seriously.”
As she said this, Takako lowered her speed slightly and met up with Rex who was trying to catch up to her.
“Hah…Hah…! The one over there is…the Sage, Krul, and her speed spells are temporarily boosting our speed. Rather…casting them makes it hard for her to breathe, with the speed we’re running at. You’re way too abnormal.”
As Rex said this, he looked towards Krul, Tina and Palna. Everyone was reaching the limits of their stamina, and began to gradually lower their speed with a grimace. It appeared that only Rex had a slight margin left to work with. Takako also lowered her speed in order to run alongside them, with the belief that it was better for everyone to be in agreement if they were going to save Kagami.
“Could it be that you guys are coming to save him?”
“It can’t be helped, we have things we want to talk about with that guy. Besides…even though we asked him once, I’m still uneasy, since we were abandoned.”
After Rex answered Takako’s question, he turned away in embarrassment.
Witnessing the exchange with a “hee”, Alice, who had realized from the beginning that he was just protecting his position as a Hero by being hostile to Demons, admired this trait and realized that Humans weren’t truly bad.
Alice, still in Takako’s grasp, looked behind them and wondered out loud.
“If it’s that Demon, he headed towards the west gate in a straight line by jumping from rooftop to rooftop earlier. He has fantastic jumping power since he’s a Demon.”
Listening to Rex, Takako snapped her fingers with a ‘pachin’ and said, “He had that up his sleeves?”
“Rather than that…What’s the meaning of that Villager’s actions? You’ve known him for a long time, right? Why is he trying to face a troop of 10,000 Monsters by himself?”
“I don’t know, since he didn’t tell me, but to have gone by himself, he probably didn’t want anyone to be sacrificed…In other words, even he understands that it’s unreasonable. Even so, he’s facing them alone in order to prevent resentment from being formed, since would lead to Demon towns being attacked by humans. He’s a child that fights for both Demons and Humans.”
Alice was slightly saddened by Takako’s words. If she thought about it, she’d been lying to herself from the beginning, by calling herself a burden she had refused to get involved. Just remembering that, she didn’t want to get scolded for her earlier thoughts.
In contrast, Rex sneered. After showing a look of wanting to say something foolish, he stiffened, as if he didn’t want to be heard.
“I understand that he’s a guy that tries to fight for the coexistence of Humans and Demons, or at least tries to prevent there being any wounds between them. What I want to ask him isn’t that! Even though I have my own reasons as well, why is it that he’s trying to fight without fear of death! Courage and recklessness are two different things…I can’t imagine that he’s foolish enough not to understand this!”
Takako looked ahead of them as Rex spoke and became serious as her expression darkened.
“As for that child, from the very start, he isn’t a being that defines himself with terms like courage or recklessness. He just thinks in a simple manner, what he can do and what he can’t do…giving up or not giving up…Just that.”
Seeing that her expression had changed and her tone of voice had lowered as Takako answered his question, Rex tensed while they ran, cold sweat dripping down his forehead.
“Right now, at the very least, Kagami believes he can fight against them. Of course the chance of succeeding is low…but that child will still do it, even if there’s only a 1% chance. This time in particular, he doesn’t want to give up.”
“Impossible…He’s throwing his life away. Even if he has a 1% chance, there’s a 99% that he will die. It’s fine to be reckless, but surely there are better choices.”
“Didn’t I tell you? I said he doesn’t define himself with terms like courage and recklessness, if he has a chance, he will make a choice, and then single-mindedly adhere to that choice, whether it’s to give up or to persevere.”
Neither agreeing nor disagreeing to her answer, Rex continued to run next to Takako, baffled. Takako muttered, “It can’t be helped,” and since Rex’s image of Kagami might change, she suddenly began to speak about the things that may happen.
“Kagami-chan…he lacks just one important thing that all livings things have.”
“Important…thing?”
Not just Rex, but Krul, Palna, and Tina, who were running slightly behind them, and even Alice were curious. For Alice, this was a question she had tried to ask before, but had not received an answer to.
Takako then slowly responded, as if pitying him somehow.
“The fear of death. Kagami-chan doesn’t have it at all.”
Towards these words, everyone wore an indescribable look.