Chapter 13: Our True Battle Starts Now!
“Wahhh!”
The day after I magnificently stuffed both my feet into my mouth, I was relaxing by hunting aetherborn in the woods near the city (by which I mean Muramasa was making me do it).
“Nooo! Noooooo!” I wept.
“Grg!” a goblin or something gurgled.
As I continued involuntarily cutting down goblins and other such creatures, my thoughts raced along the lines of What the hell do I do now?!
“Man, I seriously blew it. That Hypno dude totally ate up my ‘Kick House Kaambl’s ass!’ speech. Why couldn’t he just, like, not hear it?”
I really, really, really regretted everything.
Apparently, the Kaambl family were marquises. That’s super high up as far as nobility ranks go! And if Hypno’s rebellion failed and he told people he was enticed by some jackass named Crow, I’d be done for!
That wasn’t the only thing I was fretting about either.
“And I had to go and tell him to release that Vita kid too. She’s a menace, dude.”
Not only was the whole thing not a prank, I still had no clue why she’d attacked me. I just had to act cool and open my big mouth to say I forgave her and that she was a national treasure to be protected and all that nonsense. Idiot! Moron!
And of course, now that I’d sent Vita on a nice tour of a prison cell, she definitely hated my guts even more. By now, she was likely sharpening a kitchen knife with murder in her eyes, waiting to get back at me. Hooray.
“I wonder what’s going on with Vita right now,” I asked myself aloud.
“Crow, are you worried about me?!” A voice rang out from behind nearby bushes, followed by the sound of someone’s footsteps as they approached.
Her pretty little face nearly made me jump out of my skin.
“Vita!” I exclaimed.
“Y-Yes, that would be me,” she said.
Speak of the (silver-haired she-)devil (who almost killed me yesterday) and all that.
“Eeeeeeeeeek! I’m done for! Muramasa, help!”
“FULL. SLEEPY...”
“You’re full now, of all times?! Also, don’t go to sleep right after eating! Hey! Wake up, asshole!”
My inner attempts at communication went unanswered, however. Instead, something seemed to pop in my head, and I could no longer speak to Muramasa. Basically, the sword version of “talk to the hand.” Tyranny, I tell you!
Oh no. Now what?
I braced myself to try and hold my own against Vita in my wimpy, sans-cursed-sword state, but—
“M-My sincerest apologies for my behavior yesterday!” she said, straightening herself before bowing her head vigorously.
I stared at her in awe. She’d come to apologize to me? Really?
“I’ll be fully honest,” she continued. “Something came over me, and...I truly did mean to kill you!”
That confirmed it. It hadn’t been an act, and if Muramasa hadn’t intervened, I’d have been toast. Eep!
“S-Still, not only did you forgive my indiscretion, you’re also concerned for my well-being!”
“That’s...” Not true! Not true at all!
I only said I forgave her because I thought she wasn’t actually gonna do me harm. And I hadn’t said that just now out of concern for her! I was just scared, wondering how she was going to attack me!
Also, who tries to justify a crime by saying something came over them?! Have some introspection, dammit! Also, pay me damages, please and thank you!
Not that I would actually have said any of that out loud, scaredy-cat that I was.
“Heh. It gladdens me to see you well,” I said instead. “I truly was worried about you, Vita.”
“Oh, Crow...!”
Offering her my best dashing smile, I feigned concern. I couldn’t even properly scold someone younger than me. Pathetic.
Vita chuckled and said, “You’re strong and kind alike, Crow. Silly me! Why did I ever try to do that to you?”
“Please, don’t worry about it. It’s all water under the bridge now.” I’m not either of those things! Scratch under the surface and it’s all trash! Also, can you, like, show some contrition?!
Screaming internally, I kept up the “calm, cool, and collected” act on the outside. At least we’d made up, ostensibly. What a relief.
“Tee hee... Oh, Crow... ♡”
Wait. Did I just sense something even scarier than murderous intent emanating from her? Dude, this girl’s terrifying!
I decided to stay wary of her for the time being.
“Oh, Crow, I nearly forgot,” Vita said. “I have a message for you from Commander Hypno.”
“A message?” I asked.
“It’s about your aethereal arm, Muramasa,” she said nonchalantly.
“Oh.”
Noooooooo! I screamed at the top of my mental lungs. It’s over! It’s all oveeeeeeer!
Heartbreaking news! Our protagonist is done for!
Thank you for reading!
(BAD END)