Chapter 81 (1/2)

・ ・ Chapter 81: Hostility

“Yo, looks like ya caain?”

“Higuchi, Kyouya…”

“Woah there, you can relax ht, promise”

What kind of idiot did he think I was? There was no way he forgot what he did to ht've actually did

He was the sort of scu others' lives without a care His victiet, but for him, it'd be just another day

Just e her bashi+ng his shi+t sideways, which I'd follow up by stripping hi hi him into the ht there, don't you coonna bite”

Higuchi was still talking casually, but he listened and stopped co closer He also had his hands raised as if to show that he didn't ood aain, I knew that he was a Thief Natsukawsan, the other Thief I kneould be able to dash across this distance before I could react, so if I assu as her, I was already within his range

Rem and 2 had, of course, sensed my distress and had swiftly taken up arms to defend me But in all honesty, Rem, as she was currently, just wouldn't match up to an actual Job holder The most she could do was buy a few seconds for me to prepare my next move

But there was still the fact that he hadn't tried to kill me instantly when I warped into this Fairy Square… Whichenough that he'd try to get friendly with someone he once tried to kill for no reason other than convenience

“I don't want to fight you either But I have no plans to join your party, or talk to you for that ht now, and I hope we don't cross paths again”

“Aw, don't be like that h one, help us out will ya?”

“You haven't tried any other routes?”

“Getting past this Boss is the easiest one”

“What about Masaru and Ayase-san? Are they dead?”

“‘Course not They're still with me Oi~, it's safe now”

Maybe he'd so in and uchi's call, Reina A Ayase peeked inside from the Square's entrance, and then quickly ran in with her usual cutesy h distance from me so that ouldn't need to communicate

“Kotarou…”

Masaru followed soon after, his face looking extres to say to me, but I didn't want to have to bother I didn't have to deal hatever sort of guilt he -hearted person that could siive a once friend turned traitor

“See? I know I don't look it, but I treat the people onproof, aren't they? Seeing as I've brought them all the way here”

“Sure, and since you have 3 people already, you don't need ht?”

“Gotta ad those lines, but uh, you could say I've seen the light? Anyway, I realized that the dungeon's too tough with a party of only three”

‘Too tough' as in he couldn't beat this zone's Boss

That being said, Higuchi's proposal itself wasn't all that strange I'd even experienced it once when the Hirano x Nishi+ya of uchi, he'd have the sensibility to cooperate in beating a Boss before yapping on about the 3 people rule

So if that really was their current situation, I at least didn't carry the risk of getting back-stabbed before we beat this Boss

“Alright, fine I can ith you… but in return, once I show you how capable I am, you need to make me your 3rd meet rid of him when that happens”

“Sure, I'otta decide who to keep on the teaht?”

“Fair, yeah”

So Masaru's standing in the party hadn't changed since I last saw the rid of him, Masaru didn't matter to him at all

And currently, that traitor was very overtly listening in to our conversation, but didn't dare cut in He'd already been , a place froht to speak without proper permission

“So, what do you say, Momokawa? Deal?”

“I'm not exactly happy about it but… sure I'll cooperate”

“It's great that you catch on fast Thanks ive and forget since you're joining us and all”

“I can proes while we're cooperating”

“That works too Looks like, we got ourselves a deal Thanks Momokawa, you're a real lifesaver”

“Sure, don't ed a stiff handshake And then, at that moment, I made my resolve ―― I'd kill him Here I swore it

But first, I needed sleep I stationed Reest anxiety, to be quite honest

Higuchi had left me alone as I slept I hadn't woken up to find a knife in ed This at least confir charade to h difficulty Boss now seemed a lot more plausible

“Yawn…”

I yawned, looking a bit dazed as I'd just woken up, but inup plans

The first and foreuchi

Why? Naturally, because of the si he said was true and he genuinely wanted my cooperation, I'd still want to kill him

It was his psychopathic mentality His attitude towards me on our first encounter and his treatone he was I didn't consider that a bad thing, per se His ability to make on-the-spot, ruthless decisions could be considered an important factor for survival

But it was that sort of ated any form of trust I could have towards hiht even beat this zone Boss withto the point that any suhtest amount of his loyalty or trust Even if I, say, saved hirave wound withcouchi Kyouya was a threat to me, maybe not now, but eventually, and definitely So since we had this chance re-encounter, it was only natural that I try to eliminate him as soon as possible

But maybe I was just as crazy as hi plans to coree murder No, I wasn't the same, I wasn't always like this My uchi stole my core from inside the Armorbear that I killed That hen I learned true humiliation

And that time when Yokomichi attacked our party That hen I learned that one of us students could, and had, killed another

I had a clear uchi So I just needed to do it Kill hi any doubts There was no law and order in the dungeon I had to do everything in my power to survive When I attacked Yokomichi with my spear, I struck hiain My conscience hadn't stopped my hands back then, and it wouldn't do it this tih aboutproblem was the hoas I supposed to kill this powerful Thief with the measly abilities of a Shaman? I had to think up a viable plan, and fast

“Yo, had a good sleep there?”

“Sure, whatever… lare What, you the type that gets cranky in the ?”