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_______________________________________
It’s been a week now since I was expelled. Masamune was looking up at the white school in front of him, he was standing at the main gate to Fishnatica. But he wasn’t Nito right now, he was here as Masamune in a normal brown robe. He set his status to level 8 so that his ‘friends’ wouldn’t feel too uncomfortable being around him. He took a deep breath as he entered the school and headed for the practice field where he could sense the magical power of the other students. Although it didn’t make much sense he used a hood to hide his face.
“Alright everyone….Time for a reunion.”
Noone but Masamune would know what it was he was thinking right now or what his true intentions in doing this were.
▽
At the training field in Fishnatica all of the heroes that had remained at the school were working hard on a special magical training. It’s been this way since Saeki, Kotori and Kawachi left.
“Do you know how many times I’ve said this? Only the minimum amount of magical power is required, stop wasting all of that magic. Do it again.”
Sonoda was the one teaching them magic as the strategist. He was good at fighting but due to his characteristics he had been overlooked. Majima was a priest that played an important job in the groups healing but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t go on the offensive.
“Majima, you are in charge of support but depending on the situation you may be required to perform mid range attacks as well. Kihara as a shield fighter you are both an attacker and defender. However your basic move is to prioritize defense, use your shield to catch the opponents attack and create an opening. Kida, Iida, Sato, Chosokabe, you four are all compatible with the shield fighter position.”
Kida was a senior knight while Iida was a spearman, Sato was a dual swordsman and Chosokabe was a samurai.
“ Mitarai, Hiragi, and Emi, you all will attack from medium to long range. After that these four will move into close range and finish the attack.”
Mitarai was a crystal user while Hiragi was a bowman and Emi was a librarian.
“Kato, as the buffer, you will mainly be buffing Mitarai and Hiragi. However in the future you’ll be able to buff everyone as we grow.”
Jessica was a senior trainer but she was still immature and couldn’t even control her own power very well.
“Truthfully I would like Jessica to make use of monsters but that isn’t a possibility right now. Don’t neglect your training right now and we can come back to that topic later.”
“O, Okay…”
Jessica was reluctant to fight because she was afraid. The same went for Chosokabe as well. The two of them were lovers and were quite similar personality wise. Sonoda was doing his best to figure out the best tactics for them as a group and was giving everyone a roll that played to their strengths the best. Everyone there had their own thoughts on the matter but even though they were angry about the whole thing they currently didn’t really have any other choice but to obey Sonoda.
“I will serve as the command tower, training is all well and good but we don’t know what will happen in a real battle do we? Therefore it’s best if I act as support according to the situation.”
Even if Sonoda’s voice seemed to lack emotion he was a lifeline for the heroes right now.
“Hey Sonoda, you talk a lot about actual battles but what about you? But you haven’t actually had one have you?”
Kida asked.
“Hmm? Oh, I’ve been on my own since we were in Greyberg. I often spend a lot of time in the forest. There are monsters in there and as you go further in they get stronger so it’s a nice place to earn exp.”
The forest was near the town of Mira. The deeper you go the stronger the monsters get but if you go in too far you’ll end up in demon country territory so no one goes near it.
" "“You mean that you have actual experience in battle?”
In Kida’s mind he could see the figures of both Kyogoku and Saeki. Although Saeki was no different from the rest of them Kyogoku was on a different level. There was a time when he had shared the secret to his strength. While he was in Greyberg Kyogoku went in and out of Mira forest frequently. While most of the other students just stuck to the training, he was making a living at the adventurers guild in Mira. That was why most of the students there hadn’t seen much of him during their time in Greyberg. He had only told this to Saeki but Saeki had shared this secret with Kida. He had heard that when it came to actual battle making it out alive was what truely mattered.
“Well, I didn’t go as often as Kyogoku did so I’m not as familiar with actual battles as he was but I should be much more familiar with them than anyone else here currently is.”
As the day went on the number of vacant seats around the field decreased but the heroes continued their training. Everyone of them wanted to grow strong enough to participate in the matches against the school next year and they all felt as if they were on a time crunch. Even Sonoda who would normally be in the library reading did not neglect this special training.
“By the way, I’ve been curious about this for a while but, you’ve been staring at us quite intently. Would you like to join in the training?”
Sonoda suddenly turned his gaze towards the audience where someone was sitting in a simple brown robe. While Sonoda was waiting for a response the person stood up and descended the stairs into the field. All of the heroes stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to this suspicious person. Since the messenger had appeared a week ago all of them were on high alert. Although most of this was due to the announcement that was made by Sabrina telling them to inform the teachers if they noticed anyone suspicious.
“What is it Sonoda?”
Kida was the first to walk up followed by the others. All of them were a little tired and out of breath.
“I don’t know.”
The heroes were staring at the person that was hiding their face behind the brown robe. When he suddenly opened his mouth.
“Long time no see everyone.”
“What?”
Kida was the first to let out a sound of surprise.
“What happened to Saeki? Kawachi and Kotori? Come to think of it I don’t see Ichijo either.”
Everyone was confused by what the person in the brown robe was saying.
“You….are you?……”
Sonoda was smart and was beginning to catch on even with the hood up but it was soon taken off.
“No….way….”
It wasn’t just Kida that was in shock but all of them there.
“Hidaka….You’re..alive.”
Kida was so upset that he almost choked a little in his shock.
“It’s been a while Kida.”
When Masamune smiled there was no hint of anger on his face.
“Hidaka…..why….”
Hiragi couldn’t hide his confusion and asked the person he had thought dead that was now standing in front of him.
“Hidaka! Hidaka is dead!! Are you really him!?”
Majima was the one who screamed this out.
“Why is a healer still alive?! Don’t you find this strange!?”
Kihara screamed out but Masamune just smiled. No one here was particularly close to Masamune. Although Majima and Kihara were a slightly different existence. They had both stuck next to Ichijo and every time he would talk with Masamune they would show disgust towards him. The looked down on him and cursed him, it wasn’t as if Masamune didn’t remember this but he was still smiling celebrating their reunion.
“Hidaka, how did you survive? A healer shouldn’t be able to make it in this world by normal means.”
Masamune just smiled at them but Sonoda was uncomfortable. The shock had already disappeared from his expression and he began to address the concern that he felt.
“It doesn’t look like you’ve had very much trouble up to this point. Where and what have you been doing up to this point?”
All of them were wondering why a healer was alive. However if felt more as if they were trying to take there minds off of something. With Masamune in front of them all of them remembered the guilt they had felt. In their hearts they were all laughing bitterly but Sonoda was thinking something completely different than what the others were.
(Hidaka is alive, that’s fine right)
Sonoda’s expression showed no change as he stared at Masamune who was celebrating their reunion.
(This guy….He doesn’t seem to be aware of how he’s changed.)
Sonoda didn’t notice the discomfort that he saw in Masamune before.
After a moment Masamune began to answer Sonoda’s question.
“Well after that thing happened, I got used to this world and I’m able to live normally now.”
“Not that, I’m asking about where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing. You’re not an adventurer are you?”
Sonoda had excellent analytical skills and he could tell that there was something going on with the Masamune that was in front of him now. However they weren’t entirely familiar with each other, Masamune didn’t really have a place in the classroom so he would sometimes visit the library. He didn’t pick up a book however and would just put in headphones and listen to music, when he took his headphones out Sonoda would talk to him sometimes.
“An adventurer? Me? I’m a healer? There’s no way I’m a an adventurer. Healers are healers after all, in fact the Hero Nito seems to be the only exception to that. All of the other healers that I’ve met were just as unfortunate as I am.”
Masamune was able to lie calmly. But why did he even come to see them if he was going to lie?
“I see. So what are you doing now then?”
Being an adventurer is the easiest job for someone that came from another world to get. It doesn’t require any special status or qualifications. Even a healer could be one without a problem and take on requests. But Masamune had just said that he wasn’t an adventurer.
“Now? Well, healing magic is actually kind of rare so even though I’m not the best at it I’ve just been traveling around helping people.”
There is both recovery magic and healing magic in this world. Recovery magic has a holy attribute to it and is used by jobs like priest. However healing magic is a Healers unique magic, although it is weak and it’s healing ability is actually much lower than recovery magic. But Masamune said that even with that being the case he was still able to help at times.
“Traveling? …So you’re saying that up until now you’ve made a living by going around helping people with the magic of a healer?”
“I’ve not been making a living as I don’t get any money from doing it. However as long as you have a place to sleep and food you won’t die right? Anyway, I happened to see an issue of magical communication and saw that everyone was here. So, I made my way here relying on that information.”
“…..I see.”
Sonoda didn’t seem to be convinced. Ordinarily people would assume that healers would not be able to travel on their own. But the question that Sonoda wanted answered couldn’t be answered by just asking Masamune if he was alone.
“By the way, I don’t see Saeki or Ichijo here, what happened?”
Iida was the one who answered the question.
“Saeki went to Greyberg a week ago, it seems that he want to become a paladin.”
“A paladin?”
“King Arthur is the new king of Greyberg and it seems he’s forming a new order of holy knights.”
“So….What happened to Kawachi and Kotori?”
Emi was the next one to answer.
“The two of them betrayed us and went to the empire.”
“The empire!?”
Masamune was quite surprised by the unexpected response.
“By empire you mean Dams Kale? Why did they?”
“We don’t know either. The only thing we know for sure is that they betrayed us.”
Even though Emi’s words were filled with strength all that happened was that the two of them took an opportunity that was given to them. Most of what she felt was just jealousy.
“I see…..The empire huh?”
The tone of Masamune’s voice had changed as if he had stopped acting for just a moment. But he immediately switched back and smiled at everyone again, Sonoda was the only one to notice the change.
“So what about Ichijo? Or Koizumi and his group? I don’t see them here either.”
“Ichijo set out on a journey of his own. It seems like he is doing his best all on his own.”
Kida said.
“We don’t know about Koizumi but we assume that he’s probably alive somewhere out there.”
“Alive, what do you mean? Did something happen? Oh, now that you mention I did read something in Magical communication.”
Although he was the one that killed them he was able to calmly lie about it as Kida began to explain what had been going on recently.
“I see, So the three of them aren’t here any longer huh?”
Even the smile on Masamune’s face was a lie and his reaction to every answer they gave him was almost unpleasantly normal. However no one had seen him in a while or really talked to him before so they didn’t seem to notice. However when they talked about Kawachi, Kotori and Saeki he was truly upset, he never thought that those three would leave the school.
“So those of you that remain are all students huh? What are you going to do from now on?”
Masamune acted as though he actually cared and Sonoda was the one to answer.
“We plan to concentrate on training our magic for the next four years. After we graduate we plan to for an adventuring group. We don’t know about Saeki but Ichijo said that he would be back in four years. What about you Hidaka? You’re traveling right?”
What will Masamune do? Why did he come here in the first place? He said that he’d come here to see them but for what purpose? They were all originally from the same world so that could explain why he had come to see them but Sonoda seemed skeptical at Masamune’s excessive smiling and what he was saying.
“I…Will keep traveling.”
“…….I see.”
Masamune said that he wasn’t planning to stay here and Sonoda didn’t stop him.
“But, you said four years from now right? Well, if you all welcome me when that time comes I’ll be happy to join you.”
“Of course, we’re classmates aren’t we? And, I regret it, abandoning you back then.”
“Me too….Hidaka I should have tried to help you back then but I didn’t…I’m sorry.”
" "Hiragi apologized as well and following him each of the heroes took turns apologizing as Masamune looked on with a smile.
“Hidaka? Saeki wanted to say sorry as well. Koizumi and the others said so as well.”
Kida found it hard to speak.
“And I as well. Even for what happened before we were summoned…at school…”
Kida said that but It still seemed as if he didn’t actually know yet. He still didn’t feel like he had been bullying him. But Saeki had told him these things and he had depended on him. But even still, Saeki may have said that but that doesn’t change the fact that he doesn’t really feel guilty for any of it. Kida was naturally insensitive.
“I’m not particularly worried about it. I think I just want you all to be happy.”
Everyone looked surprised by what he had said. He was cursed by both Aries and Saeki when he was sent away. At that time he had glared at all of them and said that he would be back to kill them someday. It was this that made all of the heroes here feel guilty about what they had done because what he’d said had stuck with them. However he was now saying that he was no longer resentful towards them.
“Ichijo said that he was traveling around looking for you. I want to let him now that you’re here.”
Masamune slowly smiled.
“Why don’t we keep that a secret for right now? Since I’m traveling around I might see Ichijo or Saeki somewhere along the way.”
Masamune was still smiling but Sonoda couldn’t understand why he was saying these things. He had to try and find the answer behind it.
“Hidaka…”
“Hmm?”
“Have a match with me.”
“…..Huh?”
Masamune’s expression slipped for a moment.
“What are you talking about Sonoda? We were finally able to meet again, why are you suddenly talking about having a match?”
Even Kida was against the idea but Sonoda ignored them all and kept his eye on Hidaka waiting for his reply.
“Sonoda? I’m sure you’re already aware of this but I’m just a healer. I’m only level 8 as well so there’s no way I’d be very strong.”
Masamune’s expression seemed to be expressing sadness.
“Is that so?”
Sonoda seemed to be acting coldly towards Masamune who had looked down as if to hide his sadness.
“I don’t know why but I feel like there is something off about you. The most concerning of which would be your eyes.”
Even Sonoda wasn’t sure about this but he had a reason for his suspicion.
“My eyes?”
“You don’t have the eyes of someone who is weak. When I was in Mira I often saw someone who had the same eyes as you do now.”
“The same eyes that I do?”
Sonoda stared directly at Masamune.
“The eyes of someone who has killed.”
“……..What?”
“You have the same eyes as a killer, but it’s something we can understand by facing off against each other.”
“I’m sorry I don’t understand? What is it you’re trying to say?”
“I don’t like the look in your eyes. Why do they look like that?”
“That look? I’m just looking around normally?”
“Before your eyes were just filled with darkness as if you had a grudge. But they don’t look that way at all, why do they look like that?”
“Like what?”
Sonoda wasn’t worried about how any of this sounded and just continued to voice his suspicions. Masamune was completely unaware of how his eyes looked.
“It’s like there a little emotional but at the same time like there is no emotion there at all.”
Sonoda didn’t seem quite able to explain what it was he saw in Masamune’s eyes. Then Kida came in between them.
“That’s enough Sonoda! Why are you acting like this even though we’ve all just met back up!?”
However Sonoda ignored Kida completely. His eyes never strayed from Masamune, he was gradually forming a hypothesis about the current Hidaka Masamune.
“I don’t know if it was a human or a beast but you’ve killed haven’t you?”
“What? There is no way that I would be able to kill someone? I’m just a healer, I can’t even use offensive magic?”
Masamune continued to deny it.
“Why are you denying it? I’m not trying to blame you, this is the way the world is. There must have been times when you had to kill right? There are time sin this world that it’s killed or be killed you know?”
Sonoda never got his answer and after a moment he looked away from Masamune and sighed.
“I see…..So…”
Masamune’s eyes had narrowed a bit at what Sonoda had been saying but he quickly returned back to his smile.
“Are you hiding something?”
“What?”
“I’ve had this sense of discomfort from the very beginning. Someone I thought to be dead suddenly just appeared. And despite all that happened he is here smiling at us as if nothing was wrong. You’re saying that you’ve never kill right? You’re saying you’re innocent but I can see it in your eyes.”
“What are you trying to say about my eyes? I’m just normal.”
Sonoda narrowed his eyes at Masamune.
“I’ll say this clearly then, you seem abnormal.”
Masamune just smiled at Sonoda’s words, all of the heroes around them however were silent as they listened to the conversation between the two. Sonoda was their leader now and unlike Kida no one else was coming between them.
“Well it doesn’t matter. Let’s have a match, and then we will know whether or not I am wrong.”
“…….”
Masamune stopped smiling and stared back into Sonoda’s eyes.
“I wonder if I’ll be a good opponent? I’m a healer you know? The weakest job.”
Sonoda then smiled as he replied like he had caught Masamune in a lie.
" "
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_______________________________________
It’s been a week now since I was expelled. Masamune was looking up at the white school in front of him, he was standing at the main gate to Fishnatica. But he wasn’t Nito right now, he was here as Masamune in a normal brown robe. He set his status to level 8 so that his ‘friends’ wouldn’t feel too uncomfortable being around him. He took a deep breath as he entered the school and headed for the practice field where he could sense the magical power of the other students. Although it didn’t make much sense he used a hood to hide his face.
“Alright everyone….Time for a reunion.”
Noone but Masamune would know what it was he was thinking right now or what his true intentions in doing this were.
▽
At the training field in Fishnatica all of the heroes that had remained at the school were working hard on a special magical training. It’s been this way since Saeki, Kotori and Kawachi left.
“Do you know how many times I’ve said this? Only the minimum amount of magical power is required, stop wasting all of that magic. Do it again.”
Sonoda was the one teaching them magic as the strategist. He was good at fighting but due to his characteristics he had been overlooked. Majima was a priest that played an important job in the groups healing but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t go on the offensive.
“Majima, you are in charge of support but depending on the situation you may be required to perform mid range attacks as well. Kihara as a shield fighter you are both an attacker and defender. However your basic move is to prioritize defense, use your shield to catch the opponents attack and create an opening. Kida, Iida, Sato, Chosokabe, you four are all compatible with the shield fighter position.”
Kida was a senior knight while Iida was a spearman, Sato was a dual swordsman and Chosokabe was a samurai.
“ Mitarai, Hiragi, and Emi, you all will attack from medium to long range. After that these four will move into close range and finish the attack.”
Mitarai was a crystal user while Hiragi was a bowman and Emi was a librarian.
“Kato, as the buffer, you will mainly be buffing Mitarai and Hiragi. However in the future you’ll be able to buff everyone as we grow.”
Jessica was a senior trainer but she was still immature and couldn’t even control her own power very well.
“Truthfully I would like Jessica to make use of monsters but that isn’t a possibility right now. Don’t neglect your training right now and we can come back to that topic later.”
“O, Okay…”
Jessica was reluctant to fight because she was afraid. The same went for Chosokabe as well. The two of them were lovers and were quite similar personality wise. Sonoda was doing his best to figure out the best tactics for them as a group and was giving everyone a roll that played to their strengths the best. Everyone there had their own thoughts on the matter but even though they were angry about the whole thing they currently didn’t really have any other choice but to obey Sonoda.
“I will serve as the command tower, training is all well and good but we don’t know what will happen in a real battle do we? Therefore it’s best if I act as support according to the situation.”
Even if Sonoda’s voice seemed to lack emotion he was a lifeline for the heroes right now.
“Hey Sonoda, you talk a lot about actual battles but what about you? But you haven’t actually had one have you?”
Kida asked.
“Hmm? Oh, I’ve been on my own since we were in Greyberg. I often spend a lot of time in the forest. There are monsters in there and as you go further in they get stronger so it’s a nice place to earn exp.”
The forest was near the town of Mira. The deeper you go the stronger the monsters get but if you go in too far you’ll end up in demon country territory so no one goes near it.
" "“You mean that you have actual experience in battle?”
In Kida’s mind he could see the figures of both Kyogoku and Saeki. Although Saeki was no different from the rest of them Kyogoku was on a different level. There was a time when he had shared the secret to his strength. While he was in Greyberg Kyogoku went in and out of Mira forest frequently. While most of the other students just stuck to the training, he was making a living at the adventurers guild in Mira. That was why most of the students there hadn’t seen much of him during their time in Greyberg. He had only told this to Saeki but Saeki had shared this secret with Kida. He had heard that when it came to actual battle making it out alive was what truely mattered.
“Well, I didn’t go as often as Kyogoku did so I’m not as familiar with actual battles as he was but I should be much more familiar with them than anyone else here currently is.”
As the day went on the number of vacant seats around the field decreased but the heroes continued their training. Everyone of them wanted to grow strong enough to participate in the matches against the school next year and they all felt as if they were on a time crunch. Even Sonoda who would normally be in the library reading did not neglect this special training.
“By the way, I’ve been curious about this for a while but, you’ve been staring at us quite intently. Would you like to join in the training?”
Sonoda suddenly turned his gaze towards the audience where someone was sitting in a simple brown robe. While Sonoda was waiting for a response the person stood up and descended the stairs into the field. All of the heroes stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to this suspicious person. Since the messenger had appeared a week ago all of them were on high alert. Although most of this was due to the announcement that was made by Sabrina telling them to inform the teachers if they noticed anyone suspicious.
“What is it Sonoda?”
Kida was the first to walk up followed by the others. All of them were a little tired and out of breath.
“I don’t know.”
The heroes were staring at the person that was hiding their face behind the brown robe. When he suddenly opened his mouth.
“Long time no see everyone.”
“What?”
Kida was the first to let out a sound of surprise.
“What happened to Saeki? Kawachi and Kotori? Come to think of it I don’t see Ichijo either.”
Everyone was confused by what the person in the brown robe was saying.
“You….are you?……”
Sonoda was smart and was beginning to catch on even with the hood up but it was soon taken off.
“No….way….”
It wasn’t just Kida that was in shock but all of them there.
“Hidaka….You’re..alive.”
Kida was so upset that he almost choked a little in his shock.
“It’s been a while Kida.”
When Masamune smiled there was no hint of anger on his face.
“Hidaka…..why….”
Hiragi couldn’t hide his confusion and asked the person he had thought dead that was now standing in front of him.
“Hidaka! Hidaka is dead!! Are you really him!?”
Majima was the one who screamed this out.
“Why is a healer still alive?! Don’t you find this strange!?”
Kihara screamed out but Masamune just smiled. No one here was particularly close to Masamune. Although Majima and Kihara were a slightly different existence. They had both stuck next to Ichijo and every time he would talk with Masamune they would show disgust towards him. The looked down on him and cursed him, it wasn’t as if Masamune didn’t remember this but he was still smiling celebrating their reunion.
“Hidaka, how did you survive? A healer shouldn’t be able to make it in this world by normal means.”
Masamune just smiled at them but Sonoda was uncomfortable. The shock had already disappeared from his expression and he began to address the concern that he felt.
“It doesn’t look like you’ve had very much trouble up to this point. Where and what have you been doing up to this point?”
All of them were wondering why a healer was alive. However if felt more as if they were trying to take there minds off of something. With Masamune in front of them all of them remembered the guilt they had felt. In their hearts they were all laughing bitterly but Sonoda was thinking something completely different than what the others were.
(Hidaka is alive, that’s fine right)
Sonoda’s expression showed no change as he stared at Masamune who was celebrating their reunion.
(This guy….He doesn’t seem to be aware of how he’s changed.)
Sonoda didn’t notice the discomfort that he saw in Masamune before.
After a moment Masamune began to answer Sonoda’s question.
“Well after that thing happened, I got used to this world and I’m able to live normally now.”
“Not that, I’m asking about where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing. You’re not an adventurer are you?”
Sonoda had excellent analytical skills and he could tell that there was something going on with the Masamune that was in front of him now. However they weren’t entirely familiar with each other, Masamune didn’t really have a place in the classroom so he would sometimes visit the library. He didn’t pick up a book however and would just put in headphones and listen to music, when he took his headphones out Sonoda would talk to him sometimes.
“An adventurer? Me? I’m a healer? There’s no way I’m a an adventurer. Healers are healers after all, in fact the Hero Nito seems to be the only exception to that. All of the other healers that I’ve met were just as unfortunate as I am.”
Masamune was able to lie calmly. But why did he even come to see them if he was going to lie?
“I see. So what are you doing now then?”
Being an adventurer is the easiest job for someone that came from another world to get. It doesn’t require any special status or qualifications. Even a healer could be one without a problem and take on requests. But Masamune had just said that he wasn’t an adventurer.
“Now? Well, healing magic is actually kind of rare so even though I’m not the best at it I’ve just been traveling around helping people.”
There is both recovery magic and healing magic in this world. Recovery magic has a holy attribute to it and is used by jobs like priest. However healing magic is a Healers unique magic, although it is weak and it’s healing ability is actually much lower than recovery magic. But Masamune said that even with that being the case he was still able to help at times.
“Traveling? …So you’re saying that up until now you’ve made a living by going around helping people with the magic of a healer?”
“I’ve not been making a living as I don’t get any money from doing it. However as long as you have a place to sleep and food you won’t die right? Anyway, I happened to see an issue of magical communication and saw that everyone was here. So, I made my way here relying on that information.”
“…..I see.”
Sonoda didn’t seem to be convinced. Ordinarily people would assume that healers would not be able to travel on their own. But the question that Sonoda wanted answered couldn’t be answered by just asking Masamune if he was alone.
“By the way, I don’t see Saeki or Ichijo here, what happened?”
Iida was the one who answered the question.
“Saeki went to Greyberg a week ago, it seems that he want to become a paladin.”
“A paladin?”
“King Arthur is the new king of Greyberg and it seems he’s forming a new order of holy knights.”
“So….What happened to Kawachi and Kotori?”
Emi was the next one to answer.
“The two of them betrayed us and went to the empire.”
“The empire!?”
Masamune was quite surprised by the unexpected response.
“By empire you mean Dams Kale? Why did they?”
“We don’t know either. The only thing we know for sure is that they betrayed us.”
Even though Emi’s words were filled with strength all that happened was that the two of them took an opportunity that was given to them. Most of what she felt was just jealousy.
“I see…..The empire huh?”
The tone of Masamune’s voice had changed as if he had stopped acting for just a moment. But he immediately switched back and smiled at everyone again, Sonoda was the only one to notice the change.
“So what about Ichijo? Or Koizumi and his group? I don’t see them here either.”
“Ichijo set out on a journey of his own. It seems like he is doing his best all on his own.”
Kida said.
“We don’t know about Koizumi but we assume that he’s probably alive somewhere out there.”
“Alive, what do you mean? Did something happen? Oh, now that you mention I did read something in Magical communication.”
Although he was the one that killed them he was able to calmly lie about it as Kida began to explain what had been going on recently.
“I see, So the three of them aren’t here any longer huh?”
Even the smile on Masamune’s face was a lie and his reaction to every answer they gave him was almost unpleasantly normal. However no one had seen him in a while or really talked to him before so they didn’t seem to notice. However when they talked about Kawachi, Kotori and Saeki he was truly upset, he never thought that those three would leave the school.
“So those of you that remain are all students huh? What are you going to do from now on?”
Masamune acted as though he actually cared and Sonoda was the one to answer.
“We plan to concentrate on training our magic for the next four years. After we graduate we plan to for an adventuring group. We don’t know about Saeki but Ichijo said that he would be back in four years. What about you Hidaka? You’re traveling right?”
What will Masamune do? Why did he come here in the first place? He said that he’d come here to see them but for what purpose? They were all originally from the same world so that could explain why he had come to see them but Sonoda seemed skeptical at Masamune’s excessive smiling and what he was saying.
“I…Will keep traveling.”
“…….I see.”
Masamune said that he wasn’t planning to stay here and Sonoda didn’t stop him.
“But, you said four years from now right? Well, if you all welcome me when that time comes I’ll be happy to join you.”
“Of course, we’re classmates aren’t we? And, I regret it, abandoning you back then.”
“Me too….Hidaka I should have tried to help you back then but I didn’t…I’m sorry.”
" "Hiragi apologized as well and following him each of the heroes took turns apologizing as Masamune looked on with a smile.
“Hidaka? Saeki wanted to say sorry as well. Koizumi and the others said so as well.”
Kida found it hard to speak.
“And I as well. Even for what happened before we were summoned…at school…”
Kida said that but It still seemed as if he didn’t actually know yet. He still didn’t feel like he had been bullying him. But Saeki had told him these things and he had depended on him. But even still, Saeki may have said that but that doesn’t change the fact that he doesn’t really feel guilty for any of it. Kida was naturally insensitive.
“I’m not particularly worried about it. I think I just want you all to be happy.”
Everyone looked surprised by what he had said. He was cursed by both Aries and Saeki when he was sent away. At that time he had glared at all of them and said that he would be back to kill them someday. It was this that made all of the heroes here feel guilty about what they had done because what he’d said had stuck with them. However he was now saying that he was no longer resentful towards them.
“Ichijo said that he was traveling around looking for you. I want to let him now that you’re here.”
Masamune slowly smiled.
“Why don’t we keep that a secret for right now? Since I’m traveling around I might see Ichijo or Saeki somewhere along the way.”
Masamune was still smiling but Sonoda couldn’t understand why he was saying these things. He had to try and find the answer behind it.
“Hidaka…”
“Hmm?”
“Have a match with me.”
“…..Huh?”
Masamune’s expression slipped for a moment.
“What are you talking about Sonoda? We were finally able to meet again, why are you suddenly talking about having a match?”
Even Kida was against the idea but Sonoda ignored them all and kept his eye on Hidaka waiting for his reply.
“Sonoda? I’m sure you’re already aware of this but I’m just a healer. I’m only level 8 as well so there’s no way I’d be very strong.”
Masamune’s expression seemed to be expressing sadness.
“Is that so?”
Sonoda seemed to be acting coldly towards Masamune who had looked down as if to hide his sadness.
“I don’t know why but I feel like there is something off about you. The most concerning of which would be your eyes.”
Even Sonoda wasn’t sure about this but he had a reason for his suspicion.
“My eyes?”
“You don’t have the eyes of someone who is weak. When I was in Mira I often saw someone who had the same eyes as you do now.”
“The same eyes that I do?”
Sonoda stared directly at Masamune.
“The eyes of someone who has killed.”
“……..What?”
“You have the same eyes as a killer, but it’s something we can understand by facing off against each other.”
“I’m sorry I don’t understand? What is it you’re trying to say?”
“I don’t like the look in your eyes. Why do they look like that?”
“That look? I’m just looking around normally?”
“Before your eyes were just filled with darkness as if you had a grudge. But they don’t look that way at all, why do they look like that?”
“Like what?”
Sonoda wasn’t worried about how any of this sounded and just continued to voice his suspicions. Masamune was completely unaware of how his eyes looked.
“It’s like there a little emotional but at the same time like there is no emotion there at all.”
Sonoda didn’t seem quite able to explain what it was he saw in Masamune’s eyes. Then Kida came in between them.
“That’s enough Sonoda! Why are you acting like this even though we’ve all just met back up!?”
However Sonoda ignored Kida completely. His eyes never strayed from Masamune, he was gradually forming a hypothesis about the current Hidaka Masamune.
“I don’t know if it was a human or a beast but you’ve killed haven’t you?”
“What? There is no way that I would be able to kill someone? I’m just a healer, I can’t even use offensive magic?”
Masamune continued to deny it.
“Why are you denying it? I’m not trying to blame you, this is the way the world is. There must have been times when you had to kill right? There are time sin this world that it’s killed or be killed you know?”
Sonoda never got his answer and after a moment he looked away from Masamune and sighed.
“I see…..So…”
Masamune’s eyes had narrowed a bit at what Sonoda had been saying but he quickly returned back to his smile.
“Are you hiding something?”
“What?”
“I’ve had this sense of discomfort from the very beginning. Someone I thought to be dead suddenly just appeared. And despite all that happened he is here smiling at us as if nothing was wrong. You’re saying that you’ve never kill right? You’re saying you’re innocent but I can see it in your eyes.”
“What are you trying to say about my eyes? I’m just normal.”
Sonoda narrowed his eyes at Masamune.
“I’ll say this clearly then, you seem abnormal.”
Masamune just smiled at Sonoda’s words, all of the heroes around them however were silent as they listened to the conversation between the two. Sonoda was their leader now and unlike Kida no one else was coming between them.
“Well it doesn’t matter. Let’s have a match, and then we will know whether or not I am wrong.”
“…….”
Masamune stopped smiling and stared back into Sonoda’s eyes.
“I wonder if I’ll be a good opponent? I’m a healer you know? The weakest job.”
Sonoda then smiled as he replied like he had caught Masamune in a lie.
" "