“What’s everyone doing?”
Two weeks have passed since that combat training incident.
Suguru got up from his bed while looking at the left arm he couldn’t feel anything from.
It was difficult maintaining balance. Suguru lost his worth.
He was no longer useful as a warrior, and day-to-day life wasn’t kind to him either.
A view of the outdoors could be seen from his hut. It was cloudy today. It didn’t seem like it would rain, but he was worried.
The Pot of Madness Enhancement was on his mind.
At this rate, he was going to end up in that pot.
In order to prevent that, Suguru wanted to somehow be useful to everyone.
That had been the only thing he was thinking about.
(Kaede and Seiki aren’t visiting anymore…is the combat training getting that tough?)
Thereupon, someone knocked on the door, as if to respond to Suguru.
A villager came in.
She had a hefty volume of blonde hair and large eyes.
She had short and stout body. She brought over a handmade meal to Suguru.
She was the only thing Suguru looked forward to during the day.
Her name was “Iris,” and was someone he met on the first day.
Her kind-heartedness and consideration reminded him of Kaede.
“Did I keep you waiting?! Sorry for being late.”
“No, it’s fine! Thank you so much.”
He had a modest meal of stale bread and soup.
However, it left an impression on Suguru’s currently frozen heart.
He gnawed on the bread, and drank the hot soup.
While eating with delight, Iris looked at Suguru.
However, she had a very gloomy expression.
“U, um.”
“Hmm? What’s up?”
Iris resolved herself, wanting to hear something from Suguru.
Suguru paused his meal and looked at Iris.
She had a busy schedule. She prepared meals for all the people on cleaning duty.
So, each time she came to bring a meal over, they were limited to just a brief chat before she had to go.
However, Iris’ aura was different from usual today.
While clutching the apron she wore, Iris asked a question while looking at Suguru straight in the eyes.
“What would you do if one day…everyone you thought was a friend suddenly became an enemy?”
“Huh? What?”
He wondered what she was saying.
Suguru felt overwhelmed. He couldn’t understand the meaning of Iris’ question.
Suguru placed his half-eaten bread on a wooden plate.
Then, he replied to Iris’ strange question.
“You mean if Kaede and Seiki were to double-cross me? Haha…there’s no way that can happen!”
“…Is that so?”
“A lot of the other classmates are kind to me, and though there are some people who I don’t have the best relationship with, I still think of them as important friends.”
“…I, is that so?”
Iris’ voice weakened as Suguru’s voice grew more confident.
Furthermore, he didn’t know why, but her body was quivering.
Noticing this strange phenomenon, Suguru was about to press Iris about it.
However, Suguru stopped himself. He then thought about Iris’ question.
Suguru’s good intuition led him to think about the worst-case scenario.
(Could it be that Iris is implying something…could it really be true?)
He movements halted and he couldn’t stop suspecting something.
Iris then gave Suguru a warning that turned his suspicions into conviction.
“Please run away before the worst possible thing happens to you.”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“S, sorry, I, I can’t say anything more than this…”
“Hey, are you there Suguru? Come out!”
He heard the voice of a classmate.
Suguru suspected that there wasn’t just one individual, but multiple.
Furthermore, the voice spoke in a mocking manner, different from usual.
Suguru sensed that it would be dangerous for him to step of out the door.
(To think it would really turn out as Iris said…damn it!)
He could flee through the window of the hut without being caught.
Suguru was about to attempt an escape while remaining silent.
“He’s here! Everyone come quick!”
“Wha?! I, Iris?”
At that moment, they kicked the door open and forcibly entered.
It was a desperate moment. Iris immediately approached Suguru, firmly grabbing his body and restraining him.
Several schooboys from his class readied their weapons and took a fighting stance.
What did it mean? Suguru soon understood without having to think much about it.
“W, why…Iris! Why did you…”
“I’m sorry, I was originally going to be the sacrifice if you weren’t there. This is what the village decided on.”
“How pitiful, rather than having this sweet woman be a sacrifice, it would better if it were a useless trash heap like you.”
“I’m sorry, I really am.”
Perhaps it was because he no longer had his left arm and that he hadn’t been active.
He couldn’t escape from Iris’ restraint.
Rather than that though, Suguru was more focused on the gut-wrenching details unfolding in front of him.
“Now then, what to do with him?”
“Be quiet, we just do what that old man said to.”
“Ugh!”
Thereupon, one of the classmates punched Suguru in the stomach.
Attacked by a blunt pain, Suguru involuntarily spat out the bread he had just eaten.
He was then grabbed by the neck and thrust to the ground.
His face was trampled on, the perpetrators not caring as dirt got into his mouth.
While feeling both pain and distress, Suguru glared at them.
“What are you looking at?!”
“What a nuisance!”
No longer holding back, the classmates showed him no mercy.
Suguru attempted to put up resistance while spitting blood.
However, since he had no weapon and his abilities were weak from the start, it didn’t amount to anything.
He couldn’t do anything as he was kicked and beaten up.
Even when his whole body was being riddled with injuries and bruises, Suguru didn’t give up.
(It’ll be fine, I have Kaede and Seiki!)
“This should do, hey! Get over there!”
Even during this time, Suguru held onto a sliver of hope.
He was forced to get up and was taken outside.
It wasn’t just the classmates who were there.
The village head and villagers were there too. They all worked in preparation for the “Pot of Madness Enhancement”.
(Could it be that…this was all planned?)
Without paying much attention to the foul smell, he focused on the current state of events, where everyone turned into his enemy.
They tossed Suguru in front of the pot.
However, that much was still fine.
Suguru still could count on Kaede and Seiki for help.
“Wow…how pathetic. That’s enough for today.”
“Hadzuki…”
“Sorry, but you should just give up. This is your fate.”
“Don’t fool around, even if you say that, I still have Kaede and Seiki! Right…I won’t be your sacrifice.”
“How thickheaded of you, have you not realized it yet? Don’t you find it funny that neither Kaede nor Seiki are here?”
It happened at the same time as Hadzuki spoke. Suguru sensed a boy and girl approaching from a distance.
While slowly getting up, he waited with high hopes for the two to arrive.
His body felt light, and despite being battered, Suguru still managed to smile.
“The three of us will always be together!” That’s how it was, no matter the world.
Suguru felt relieved upon seeing two people slowly approaching while holding hands.
However, something concerned Suguru.
(…? Were Kaede and Seiki this close? Huh? What?)
Then, noticing Suguru, Kaede spoke.
“Long time no see, Suguru.”
“K, Kaede.”
He asked for help in a voice that even he himself thought was pathetic.
However, Kaede didn’t smile. Rather, she seemed disgusted.
Kaede approached Suguru. Suguru thought that she would activate her recovery magic.
That would have then freed him from this nightmare.
“Sorry, Suguru.”
“Guh, this is…paralysis?”
“The magic ‘Paralyze’ causes the opponent’s body to stiffen…and here’s a gift from me.”
Further despair. Suguru’s eyes widened upon a sword being driven into his chest.
At that moment, the stiffness cleared up, assaulting him with an unbearable amount of pain that could make him faint.
After haphazardly taking out the blade, a large amount of Suguru’s blood spilled onto the floor, creating a crimson puddle.
Suguru mustered the last of his willpower to face the two.
“Aaah! W, why…you two.”
“Sorry, but our situation and mindset have changed during the past two weeks! At this rate, we’ll die sooner or later.”
“The food and environment are better in the bigger cities, and we can’t fight against the Gariud with our current weapons.”
“T, that…”
“There’s one more thing to say.”
The shock of what came next blew everything else out of the water.
They had been holding hands up until they arrived here.
That may have been a telltale sign.
The two embraced each other, interlocking lips in front of Suguru.
It was supreme bliss for the two.
In contrast, it was hell for Suguru.
He wished that what he was seeing was just a lie.
However, the two kept close contact for a long while.
It was as if they were flaunting it in front of Suguru.
After their interlocking lips separated, Kaede and Seiki stared at him.
“Don’t worry, you can’t be the sacrifice if you die.”
“It’ll be fine if you’re conscious, but it’ll be annoying if you act violently.”
“That’s true.”
(Kaede and Seiki…why?!)
Their betrayal grieved him. Furthermore, he was bitter over his best friend stealing the girl he liked right in front of his eyes. And in such a manner.
Was it just a lie when Seiki said he would be cheering Suguru on?
With both his body and mind being torn apart, Suguru went limp.
Then, Lukiross and Yashiro appeared from behind the crowd.
“Hoho, are you really okay with this, Yashiro?”
“Yes, I don’t mind.”
“Even so, to change this much in a matter of two weeks…is quite harsh.”
“Many people can be saved through just one sacrifice, there’s no other option.”
He had been abandoned by everyone. By his best friend, his childhood friend, and his homeroom teacher.
Furthermore, by the close classmates and the village girl he believed in.
Suguru continued shedding tears in this environment where everyone became his enemy.
(Aah, to think it would really come to this…)
This had to be a joke. Even though when he harbored such thoughts, things continued to progress.
His body was lifted, and the lid to the Pot of Madness Enhancement was finally opened.
He couldn’t see the bottom. He couldn’t figure out what was inside the pot.
Kaede and Seiki lifted him up, dragging him closer to the pot.
(No, no, no no no no no no.)
With a stiffened face, he attempted to somehow escape.
However, he could no longer move any part of his body.
Suguru’s life flashed before his eyes. He recalled all the memories he had up until now.
“See ya, Suguru.”
“Well, don’t think ill of us.”
The two tossed Suguru into the pot without any regrets.
Then, they immediately closed the lid, sealing his fate as the sacrifice.
Now that everything was resolved, they raised a cheer of joy.
“We did it, Kaede.”
“Yup! With this, we’re saved!”
The two expressed their delight while high-fiving.
The classmates could further their weapons and travel to the city.
They couldn’t hide their joy.
“Hmm, well done. Now let’s offer this village money and food.”
“Thank you.”
“Well, with him being weak, having no left arm, and being useless in battle, this is natural.”
“…Right.”
Lukiross spoke to the village head.
Nobody bothered to care about Suguru anymore.
They were able to obtain powerful weapons now. Their hearts soared thinking about it.
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