4 - That Strongly Prejudiced Girl

“Is there no one on the disciplinary committee?” Akuto asked Hiroshi.

“Right now there isn’t,” Hiroshi answered.

They were on their way to school. Although she had been shut off last night, Korone was following behind the two of them. Just like Fujiko had said, when Akuto restarted Korone, she had no memories of the few seconds before and after. In other words, she didn’t realize herself that she had been restarted.

“Is there a reason it’s vacant?” Akuto wasn’t suspicious of Fujiko’s words, but there were many different historical customs at this school, and just to be safe, he asked Korone as well.

“According to past records, the previous representative voluntarily withdrew from the position. I don’t know all the details, but I would estimate it was due to a fight between the representative and someone who didn’t agree with their position.”

“Fight?”

“Yeah, I did hear that some of the punks had it out for them,” Hiroshi nodded. It seemed like a demanding job.

—Well, I guess in that case Hattori will be pleased.

Junko didn’t attend classes that day either. Akuto left Hiroshi behind during lunch time, and headed to the student council room, as its members gathered there during lunch.

As they welcomed him into the room, they seemed startled by his visit. All except for the student council president herself, who remained composed. Without showing any surprise, she asked Akuto about his business there.

A dignified, or one could say ‘intimidating’ air overflowed from the tiny young woman. Combined with her arrogant attitude, she gave off a strong impression of being above everyone else.

“Well well, what do we have here? The school’s newest celebrity has decided to grace us with his presence.”

“Please don’t call me that. Well... The reason I came here is because I want to become a member of the disciplinary committee.”

“The disciplinary committee?” The student council members were flustered. The three members present worriedly looked between the president and Akuto.

“The disciplinary committee is, well...” The student council president jabbed her finger at Akuto as she spoke. “It’s tough. Real tough. Are you good in a fight?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. I haven’t been in one before.”

The student council president smiled wryly at Akuto’s honest reply.

“I see. Well, whatever. Being on the disciplinary committee at this school is no walk in the park. But I guess you can quit as soon as you’d like, so just do whatever you think is necessary. The discipline rep works independently under the student council so you can just do anything you want.”

“Is that so? I don’t really understand, but I mean to take this job seriously.”

“You’ll take it seriously without understanding it? At any rate, do your best. At least it sounds like it’ll be interesting, so it should be fine, right?”

The student council president seemed to be directing her questions more to the other student council members than directly to Akuto himself.

After that, Akuto received the key to the disciplinary committee room. As Akuto exited the student council room, a surprising school announcement came in over the speaker system.

This is an announcement from your student council. A new disciplinary committee president has been decided. The president is Akuto Sai. If you wish to speak with him, please visit the disciplinary committee room.

The student council was vigilant. But Akuto didn’t yet know that there was someone even more vigilant than them. He didn’t realize this even when he received a telepathic message at the end of the lunch period.

“I’m sorry for reaching out to you like this so suddenly. Do you have a moment?” Right as Akuto finished his meal, Fujiko called out to him through their student handbooks.

“Yes,” Akuto replied, telepathically.

“Hattori didn’t attend class today, but she has promised to meet with you. It seems she will be in the old barracks in the underground labyrinth at 4:00 in the afternoon. Understand?”

“Yes, I understand. Thank you so very much,” Akuto said, then ended the communication.

○

Meanwhile, in the girl’s bathroom, Fujiko was grinning to herself after the end of the telepathic link.

“Hehehehe... How delightful. I love a good scheme.”

Fujiko kept her student handbook open and entered Junko’s contact information next. Once the communication had connected, Fujiko’s expression completely changed back to her other self, putting on the image of a gentle, high-class girl.

“Hattori?”

“Yes...? Oh, Dorm Leader!” Junko sounded like she was startled when she’d realized who’d called her.

“Have your wounds healed?”

“Oh... Yes... I’m totally fine now!”

“I see, since you’re still missing school then it must have something to do with the incident with that transfer student, correct? I apologize if it’s a difficult subject to talk about.”

“Oh... Umm... Yeah... That’s actually why.” Junko spoke as if it was hard for her to admit. Her candid reply spoke to the trust she had in her dorm leader, Fujiko.

“Actually, the reason I ask is because that transfer student has proposed a reconciliation.”

“Reconciliation? At this point, why would he...”

“Yes. Maybe, just maybe, it has something to do with becoming the disciplinary committee president?”

“The disciplinary committee president? But that’s...”

“That’s right. People still believe that defeating the disciplinary committee president will improve your ranking, so he’s gotten himself in yet another tough spot. There are a lot of people obsessed with trying to figure out who could be the rank one student. It’s quite a hassle.”

“Which is why no one has wanted to take up that role... But what does that have to do with a reconciliation?”

“That much I do not know. Maybe he’s planning something behind closed doors? I don’t know what someone like him could be thinking, but he might be aiming to gather power within the school?”

“You’re right... That must be it.”

Even though she was communicating telepathically with Fujiko, the displeasure in Junko’s voice was clear.

Fujiko chuckled.

“As the dorm leader, I was asked to be the intermediary, but I wanted to warn you. He chose the barracks on the third level of the labyrinth as a meeting place, at 4:30 today...”

“A large, open space, suitable for violent outbursts, huh? I will be careful.”

“Yes. Please do. Today at 4:30,” Fujiko emphasized the meeting time and ended their conversation.

Hurriedly, she then began communicating with her next target. A burly man’s voice answered.

“Yeah?”

“Oh? And since when are you allowed to speak to me in that tone, I wonder?” Fujiko sounded amused, as she received a flustered reply.

“M-My apologies!”

“I know it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other, have you become forgetful? I could make you remember.”

“P-Please pay it no mind! What do you require of me, Mistress?”

“I’m going out of my way to give you this information. Be grateful. Do you know about the new disciplinary committee president?”

“You mean how some nitwit jumped into the position, right? I don’t blame him for not knowing the details, but it’s impossible for someone like me to see it as anything but a challenge. But isn’t that guy getting special treatment? A governmental Liradan follows him around everywhere, there’s no way to get a hold of him. It’s best just to leave him alone I thi—”

“Cease your sniveling!” Fujiko interrupted him sharply. “You want to be a black magician and you’re still talking like that, Takeshi? Do you understand what I’m saying? He’ll be going down to the third floor of the labyrinth today at 4:00. Without the Liradan. Take a hostage for all I care, just give him a hard time and make sure he knows who’s in charge around here! No matter how strong your magic or physique, everyone succumbs to mental pressure. Get it done.”

Before Takeshi could even respond, Fujiko cut off the telepathic link.

“Now then...”

After hanging up, Fujiko reverted back to her high-class, respected-by-all facade. However, her mind was still filled with dark and wicked thoughts.

“Everything is going according to plan. No matter how the chips may fall, he will definitely end up taking that medicine,” Fujiko chuckled to herself. As students passed her in the hall, they only felt praise and admiration as they saw Fujiko’s ever-gentle smile.

○

When afternoon classes ended, Akuto sat at his desk, thinking about how he could shut down Korone without being seen and get down into the school’s underground area. In the middle of his thoughts, he suddenly realized that the atmosphere around him was strange. Everyone usually kept their distance from Akuto, but this time he could sense fear in the classroom.

“Doesn’t something feel a little off?” Akuto asked Korone.

“It is unclear to me how you have come to this conclusion, but if you are referring to abnormalities, those two seem to be missing,” Korone said.

“Those two...” Akuto looked around the room. Now that Korone had mentioned it, he realized that both Keena and Hiroshi were gone. Keena had probably aimlessly floated off to someplace or another, which wasn’t strange. But as for Hiroshi, Akuto figured he must have gone to the bathroom or something.

—I guess with them gone, it’ll be easier to head down underground.

Akuto stood up.

“There’s a place I want to check out.”

“Where?”

“The underground.”

“Why?”

“I want to see what’s left over from the war.”

Making up an excuse on the spot, Akuto exited the classroom. Korone followed after him. He knew no one would follow him this way, and he’d be able to shut Korone down as soon as they got to the underground area. After heading down the stairs into the school’s basement, just before entering the underground labyrinth, Korone suddenly spoke up.

“By the way.”

“What?”

“While I won’t interfere myself, this doesn’t mean I’m hoping for your failure, so as your observer I have to point something out.”

Akuto cocked his head at Korone’s sudden remark.

“What do you mean?”

“Please don’t forget this fundamental rule: when someone attempts to interfere with you, sometimes I may ignore them. But if I do, that in itself interferes with your life. So if I ignore something, I will take responsibility for the results.”

As usual, Korone was saying things that Akuto couldn’t understand at all.

“In other words?”

“It seems that you are unaware of the way people perceive you. However, I believe that becoming able to recognize this can be seen as ‘personal growth.’”

“Don’t say annoying stuff like that.”

Akuto spent a few seconds facing Korone, feeling slightly irritated. Due to this, Akuto didn’t pay attention to the mysterious metal clattering sound that echoed from the underground.

“Anyway, let’s go.”

The large metal door going down into the labyrinth was open. Akuto immediately turned around and closed the door upon entering. Doing this, he realized that Korone had her back turned to him.

Although he was still nervous, this was his second time around. So he pressed on, knowing he only had one shot. He immediately extended his hand towards Korone’s butt and stuck his hand under her skirt.

“Ah!”

Caught off guard, Korone yelped out in surprise. Her response startled Akuto, but he successfully managed to pull her tail. She remained upright, but her body stopped moving.

“Phew... I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this shutdown method...” Akuto sighed as he sat Korone down next to the door.

Akuto opened up his student handbook and brought up a map of the underground labyrinth. Apparently there was an exploration club who sold maps of the area. Of course, no one knew if these maps were completely accurate, but they did have the reputation of being absolutely perfect down to the fourth floor. This was because the upper parts of the underground area were often used by students for club activities. Come to think of it, as the girls’ dorm leader was using the old war room as a secret meeting place, it seemed obvious that other rooms must also be used by students.

According to the map, there were many entrances into the labyrinth. Akuto had figured that the entrance he’d come through was used the most because it stood out so much. However, it was far away from the various underground facilities, so apparently that wasn’t the case. It seemed like you could also enter the underground through the dorms, and some classroom supply closets. Akuto hadn’t properly checked out any of these other pathways, though.

Nevertheless, with the layout of the underground, it was natural that one section was being used as a hangout spot for delinquent students. Upon arriving at the third level, he was met with the gazes of students crouched along the side of the passageway, and eyes piercing through the darkness of open club room doors.

—If they’re going to treat me like an enemy, they can’t complain if I suddenly attack them first...

Of course, up until now he had never acted on thoughts like this. While that was partly his own good intentions, most of it was his inability to take on multiple opponents at once. But now that he had entered this school, and learned to control powerful magic, that was no longer a concern.

—Besides, Korone isn’t here right now... So as long as I don’t kill them, she won’t be able to punish me.

Realizing this, Akuto became aware of the disconnect between his brain and his heart. He felt both disturbed and excited at the same time. He knew it wasn’t okay to harm others, but he also thought about how nice it would feel to get back at these belligerent delinquents.

In the end, Akuto hoped that they didn’t do anything to try and upset him as he made his way towards the barracks.

—I hope everything goes well tonight... But why did Hattori decide on such a dangerous meeting place? She will need to be on the lookout, too... But then again, she held the second strongest rank, right?

Akuto muttered to himself as he walked along until he arrived at the barracks. He was met with a large sliding door, similar to what one would see at the front of a storehouse. It was closed at the moment, but it didn’t seem to be locked. He put his hand on the door, and it appeared that it was often used, as it smoothly slid open despite its heavy appearance.

Cool air flowed out from inside the room. It was dark, but it seemed considerably spacious inside. Akuto could only make out the area directly in front of him that was lit up by the light from the passageway. Seemingly the only thing inside was a row of three-story steel bunkbeds.

—Ah, this must be because they were used as barracks. Anyway, where is the light switch...

Akuto took a step inside.

Suddenly, he felt the impact of something heavy hitting him on the head. In a matter of moments, he’d been struck down to the ground.

—Ow!

The lights came on. Akuto saw several pairs of legs come into view. He was surrounded.

Looking up, he saw several smirking faces. All of them held weapons in their hands. Shock batons and something square-shaped placed in a sock — all of them weapons designed to cause pain rather than actually kill someone.

“Well, got ya scared yet?” With a jeering voice, one of the students swung his baton down on Akuto.

—Ah!

Akuto wasn’t able to bring his arm up to defend himself. Instead, he concentrated his mana into the back of his neck, where the baton aimed to hit him. Light flowed out, repelling the baton.

“Whoa!” The student who had attacked Akuto felt his hand go numb, like he had just slammed the baton into something hard.

—Have I gotten used to this already? No... It’s because I’ve improved my focus.

Akuto was surprised by his own actions. He had pin-pointedly defended himself from the strike without his mana going out of control. Seeing how he hadn’t put in any practice, he began to grow slightly suspicious at being able to defend himself so well. But then, his doubts were answered. He realized that, instead of just defending himself in a blind panic like before, this time he had a clear and precise purpose in his mind.

—Well then, how should I go about obliterating these punks?

Thinking this, Akuto felt oddly at ease. He was in pain, but he forced himself to stand up and see what was going on. He stood on the edge of the barracks, which was about as wide as a normal school gym. There were six people surrounding him. However, those weren’t his only assailants. On the opposite side of the barracks, there was a male student sitting on one of the beds, surrounded by a dozen of his henchmen.

Akuto couldn’t find the right words to say to his attackers. He figured since they had come at him with violence, all he could do was respond accordingly.

Akuto took a step towards the student whose hand had become numb from his own baton attack. The attacker didn’t back down and swung the baton down again, but Akuto stopped it with his arm. Akuto then grabbed and pulled on the baton, and threw a punch into his off-balanced opponent’s face. But the attacker seemed to be surprised by how little power there was behind Akuto’s punch.

—That’s right, I haven’t been practicing any martial arts or anything, after all.

Akuto realized that though he’d managed to use mana to protect himself from the attack, that didn’t mean his body had gotten any stronger.

“He’s actually pretty weak, you guys!”

The baton-wielding student grew arrogant and took another swing at Akuto. This time Akuto didn’t punch him, but instead released a concentration of mana. With his right fist, he managed to strike and bend the baton. The mangled baton shot back and struck his opponent in the face. Without even so much as a groan, the student collapsed to the floor.

The faces of the remaining students stiffened in fear. Taking a few steps back, they now appeared to be primarily concerned with dodging Akuto’s attacks.

—How repugnant can a person get.

Akuto picked one of the group and pointed his hand toward him. In an instant, a projectile of concentrated mana shot out from his hand. It struck the student in the stomach, and he collapsed on the floor in agony. Clutching his midriff, he rolled around, groaning in pain.

“Shit!”

The four remaining attackers were all facing Akuto, and just as he had done, they launched their mana towards him. Without dodging, Akuto gathered mana onto his body, and repelled the attacks. The four of them looked visibly dismayed.

—I’ve never been in a normal fight, so I never really understood, but... I guess this is what they mean by an inherent difference in mana... That’s right, from the start, their punches were stronger than their magic, and that’s why they came at me like that.

Akuto ignored the four students and continued towards the back of the room. It was obvious that the guy surrounded by henchmen was the boss. He was the person to settle things with.

This guy was big, and his face was so fleshy that his jaw was slack. His facial features were simple, but you could still tell that he had a violent nature. As such, based on a first impression, you could only describe him as “ferocious.”

“I’d like to ask your reason for this sudden attack.”

The student laughed derisively at Akuto’s question.

“What’s it to ya?”

“Understanding and peace of mind. I have to admit I’m a little upset.”

“Fine, I’ll tell ya. Whenever someone joins the disciplinary committee, people want to try their hand at crushing them and making a name for themselves. It’s a matter of pride. That’s why that guy gave you a little warning.”

“...Why do I need to be warned with a hit to the head? Now that I think about it, you haven’t told me your name yet.”

“Takeshi Kimura.”

The third-ranked student, Takeshi, introduced himself. He then faced Akuto, turning up his nose at him.

“Now that you understand, will you shut up and let yourself get tossed around for me?”

“Why should I?”

“You still don’t get it? I’m tellin’ you to quit this whole disciplinary committee president crap. Well, that and it’d be kinda fun if you just kept your head bowed in front of me.”

“So in the end you just want a fight, is that it?” Akuto was starting to get really irritated.

“It don’t gotta be a fight, right?” At Takeshi’s instructions, three of his henchmen dragged someone out from one of the beds, further inside the barracks.

The person’s limbs were tied up, and he looked like a dirty, worn-out dish rag. Akuto’s heart sank as he saw him.

It was Hiroshi. The area around his eyes had swollen up like a pair of baseballs. He had bruises on his arms from their attacks. Akuto knew he’d be covered in wounds under his clothes as well.

“B-Boss...” Hiroshi hadn’t lost consciousness. He spoke in an agonized voiced and looked up at Akuto. “Don’t worry about me... These guys...”

Takeshi and his henchmen started to laugh at his words.

“This guy sounds likes some kinda comic book hero, don’t he?” Takeshi waved to his henchmen and they dragged Hiroshi back. “Basically, if you stop resisting, we stop harming this guy. That’s the deal. I really wanted it to be that girl that’s always followin’ you, but we couldn’t find her. But if you put up a fight and run away, you know what we’ll do to her, right? Don’t forget, you’re at this school for a loooong time. You don’t wanna spend your days in fear, do ya?” Takeshi spoke as if he thought himself to be a clever adult.

“Actually, I still have a question,” Akuto said, calmly.

“Huh?”

“You said ‘like some kinda comic book hero,’ but... There’s always been something I’ve never understood about that.”

Akuto looked towards Takeshi and his cronies.

“Whether it’s comics or novels, or anything else, really... There are people who identify with the protagonist, or the antagonist. But they return to reality sooner or later, and give up on becoming a comic book villain, or a hero. Personally I can respect someone who’s given that up, and found their own way of life. But what I don’t get, are the guys who try to copy the sleazy, lowlifes of those stories.”

“What the hell are you ramblin’ on about?” As if Akuto had become a nuisance to him, Takeshi motioned to his henchmen with his chin. The henchmen approached Akuto with faint smiles on their faces.

“I thought times like these were when you’re supposed to lose control of yourself, but... it seems that’s not the case,” Akuto said. He waved his hand out in front of his waist, looking as if he was sweeping a broom at the feet of the people around him.

Suddenly, the henchmen approaching Akuto started collapsing and crouching down. They looked as if they had no idea what was going on, but then they started feeling pain in their knees and began to groan, as they were unable to stand up.

“All I did was manipulate the mana in the atmosphere and break their knees. Since I’m just manipulating mana, it’s a test of strength, right? At least try to fight back.” Akuto sounded bored as he spoke, and reached his hand out towards one of the henchmen standing by. He then made a turning motion, and the student’s arm twisted.

“I’m moving whatever mana is close to your body, get it? It’s easier to draw power from, so I guess you’re no match for me, huh? If you don’t at least try to beat me, I’ll just break it.”

An unnatural sound of joints being pulled out was heard, and the student was finally let go.

“Hey, you don’t seem to get the position you’re in.” Panicked, Takeshi had his henchmen drag out Hiroshi.

“I know. I’m being backed into a corner. Not by you injuring me, but by injuring those close to me. There’s only one thing left to do once you understand that.”

Akuto smashed the bones of another student standing close to him.

“Y-You don’t know anything!” Takeshi yelled.

“I’m doing this because I know. I’m being calculating. I’m making sure whatever cronies of yours are still conscious can’t move, and then I’ll make them watch what’s going to happen next. I’ll have them watch their boss getting mercilessly tormented.”

Akuto held out his hand. Instantaneously, Takeshi got up, put some distance between himself and Akuto, and reached into his pocket to pull out a chain. It seemed to be used for fighting. It filled up with mana and began glowing.

Akuto used mana to try and break Takeshi’s legs, but Takeshi put even more distance between them and resisted with his own power. Sweat was pouring down his forehead, but he was putting up with Akuto’s pressure for now.

“Either way, I’ll make sure you’re last.”

Recognizing Takeshi as a formidable opponent, Akuto remotely manipulated mana to shut the door to the barracks, and looked towards the other henchmen. Their faces grew pale with fear.

“This is nothing personal. I just want to cut off your ability to fight back, so that’s why I’m doing this. Please don’t hold it against me. Actually, it’s fine. I’ll make sure to rid you of any feelings of resentment.”

A few minutes after declaring this, the only ones left standing were Takeshi and Akuto. Most of Takeshi’s cronies had collapsed along the walls. They had tried to get away to no avail.

Eventually, Takeshi was also driven up against the wall. He had tried to dodge Akuto’s oppressive mana manipulation, but was eventually backed up against the corner of the barracks and couldn’t retreat any further. Takeshi realized he had nowhere left to go, and with all of his might, he swung his chain at Akuto.

Akuto didn’t try to dodge the chain at all. It struck him in the face and coiled itself around his head.

“Did I get him?” Takeshi broke into a smile, but it quickly faded away. The chain was floating in the air, one centimeter away from Akuto’s face.

“You protected yourself...?”

“Don’t tell me you’re surprised?” Akuto grabbed the chain, removed it from his face, and tossed it behind his back. “Don’t even think about asking for mercy.”

Akuto concentrated his mana on one of Takeshi’s little toes, and twisted it backwards. There was a small sound, and the toe broke. Takeshi crouched down, crying out in pain. Then, Akuto raised Takeshi’s body up into the air in front of him. Looking as if he had been crucified, Takeshi floated in the air.

Akuto wanted to make sure that his immobilized cronies had a good view on their boss’s suffering as he rotated Takeshi’s ankle all the way around.

Takeshi’s screams lingered as they echoed all the way through the cavernous barracks.

“Stop!”

Akuto heard a voice call out to him from behind. Akuto reflexively gave his reply.

“You think I can stop now? It’s no fun unless I make him cry.”

After saying this, Akuto realized that the voice calling out to him was a girl’s voice.

—Crap!

Akuto turned around. The door to the barracks that he had closed was bent open. And standing in the doorway was Junko.

“You monster! So you’ve finally shown your true colors, huh?! I wondered what you were up to by calling me here!”

—Crap, crap, crap. Now what am I gonna do...

“You’ve got it all wrong! You see, they threatened me...”

Upon saying this, Akuto realized how blatantly unpersuasive his words were, and sweat began running down his forehead. Anyone would look at this situation and consider Akuto a villain, giving the third-ranked fighter of the school a beating as he’d forced him into a crucifixion pose, surrounded by close to twenty other delinquents who were sitting there, bleeding, their limbs broken.

“Liar! I can tell just from looking who is threatening whom!” Like a detective stepping onto the scene of a massacre, Junko steeled herself.

“I’m telling you, you’ve got it wrong! I was just protecting myself, and—”

“Don’t waste your breath! I finally get what you’re playing at! You became the disciplinary committee president so you could bring all of the school’s thugs under your control. Then, you’ll start taking over the school, and use your influence over students who’ll go on to positions within the government, isn’t that right?!” Junko pointed at Akuto accusingly.

“I-I’ve never even thought about anything like that. I swear!” Akuto had genuinely never considered anything close to what Junko was saying, so he started babbling as he tried to respond.

“You bastard! Why am I the only one you’re always trying to charm? I see, it must be because I’m the only one among the school’s upper ranked students who hates illegal activities, right? If you made me an ally, you’d be able to con honest and serious students as well, right?!” Junko seemed to be intensely convinced of these false impressions.

—At this rate, nothing will get settled...

Akuto remembered Fujiko’s advice. He put his hand in his pocket, and took out the medical dispersion device he had received from her. In it was the medicine she said would allow their hearts to communicate with one another.

—First, I’ll start with myself...

Akuto put the device up against his arm and pulled the trigger. But nothing happened.

—Huh?

Akuto opened up the clip and checked inside. The tablets were gone.

—What?

He hadn’t used the device at all, and it’s not like the tablets could have evaporated. There weren’t any holes in the device either. Akuto panicked, but without the tablets all he could do was give up on the medicine plan.

“Uh, um...”

At a loss, Akuto put Takeshi down. Takeshi hit the ground with an abrupt yelp. Akuto moved towards Junko, who readied her wooden sword with an expression as if she was being approached by a savage beast.

“D-Don’t come any closer! If you come near me, I will put my life on the line to defeat you! I might lose, but I’ll still kick the crap out of you! I’ll show you mankind’s pride, you damn Demon King!”

“H-Hold on just a minute... You don’t have to get so serious...”

As he advanced forward, Akuto held out his hands to signal he had no intention to fight, but Junko moved back at the same pace.

“Stay back! I realize I don’t have the power to stop you, but if it comes down to it, I’ll gather up volunteers within the school, and formally subjugate you!”

“Subjugate?”

“You don’t know about the subjugation system?! Figures you wouldn’t! Okay, fine! I’ll show you! Justice will prevail!”

Despite her brave words, Junko was clearly quite scared. Her hands trembled as she took a round ball out from her inside pocket. Akuto immediately recognized it as a smoke bomb used by a combat group of Suhara followers known as the “ninja.”

“Hey, wait—” Akuto moved in to try and stop Junko, but she just became even more distressed.

“Eeeek! I-I told you not to come any closer!”

Simultaneously trying to move backwards and throw the smoke bomb, Junko tripped on the arm of one of the unconscious henchmen, and fell backwards.

Then, the smoke bomb rolled out of Junko’s hand.

“Oh... No...”

Junko had lost her composure, but the smoke bomb plopped down onto the floor, and after a few seconds it exploded with a loud bang.

“Eeeek!”

Upon Junko’s shriek, white smoke started spreading around the area.

“Whoa!” Akuto instinctively tried to get away from the smoke bomb. All he could make out was white, as an irritating odor invaded his nose.

As they were underground, the air flow was rather poor. By the time most of the smoke had started clearing up, Junko was already gone.

“I really screwed this up...” Akuto scratched his head.

Around him were Takeshi, his henchmen, and Hiroshi lying on the ground. Almost all of it Akuto’s doing.

—Even so...

Despite all this, what Akuto found most curious was the fact he hadn’t lost control of himself even once during the fight with Takeshi. He had intended on acting properly, and at the time, he had felt like there were no other choices.

—I really screwed up... I guess to anyone on the outside, I acted... like a Demon King, didn’t I? But then, that means it’s my fault, isn’t it...? Oh man, I screwed up bad...

Lamenting to himself, Akuto returned to the entrance of the labyrinth and woke Korone up. Since Korone didn’t register any memories while she was turned off, she spoke to Akuto without a clue in the world.

“Well then, shall we go take a look at the historical sites inside the labyrinth?”

Akuto had to confess to Korone that he had shut her off and gone to the old barracks, so she could go heal everyone’s wounds. But now he had to explain the whole situation, and he had no idea how he’d be able to justify his actions to her.

○

“Basically, you went off and got into all kinds of trouble while I was shut down,” Korone said to Akuto.

“Sorry,” Akuto bowed his head in apology.

They were inside Akuto’s room. Korone was on the bed, and Akuto on the floor, kneeling with his head down. He had explained most of what had happened up until then.

“I have no record of it, so even if you apologize I can’t pass judgement over you for your actions. However, generally speaking, I believe that you should take responsibility for your problem with Junko Hattori,” Korone stated dispassionately.

“I feel like I’m trying to take responsibility for it...”

“Obediently allowing her to subjugate you is the way to do so.”

At the Academy, there was something called the “subjugation system.” Naturally it was Akuto’s first time hearing about it and most of the other students didn’t know about it either, but it seemed that it was a valid school regulation that had existed since the great war.

People who have committed particularly heinous deeds against the Academy have their crimes made public to the whole school and must accept duels from several people all at once. It was most likely a school regulation used to chase out and punish spies and traitors.

“Well, it might seem like being given opportunities to fight others is a manly way of settling things, but...”

“It’s certainly a custom from a more uncivilized time, isn’t it?” Korone agreed.

But since Akuto was eligible for the “subjugation system,” he was going to have to accept the challenges that Junko and the other students gathered by her would offer him — it would be more like an all-out assault than actual duels.

“My crimes... Well I suppose there are quite a bit, aren’t there?”

The injuries Takeshi and the others suffered in the barracks had been recorded by Korone, and even if that weren’t the case, Junko had reported everything to the teachers.

“That’s fine, but... If I win, then what happens? There really isn’t anything I can do, is there?” Akuto asked Korone with a serious look on his face.

“That’s why I’m telling you to obediently let yourself be subjugated,” Korone said with an equally serious look.

“So that’s all I can do, huh... I talked to Miss Mitsuko as well, but she didn’t have a solution, either...”

Akuto had immediately made sure to consult with Miss Mitsuko after he understood the situation he was in. Her answer was simple. She had replied with these words, her eyes sparkling as she spoke:

“Are you going to die? Do you think you’ll die? How terrible! Oh, I’m getting all excited! I’ll be there front row and center! After you die, I’ll be right there with my necromancy, so don’t let me down, okay?”

Akuto was unclear about her from the start, but ultimately the only thing that differentiated her intentions from black magic was the fact that she had permission.

Akuto didn’t think he could be any more confused and unsure about what to do from here on out.

“Ultimately, doesn’t this mean that anyone who’s strong enough can end up becoming the Demon King? Sheesh... What’s left for me besides spending the rest of my days cursing my fate?”

But there was someone else who had been doomed to their fate.

Junko.

She was sitting seiza style, legs tucked under with her back straight, on the tatami bamboo floor of her room. She was wearing a white robe and holding a writing brush in her hand, and she was concentrating all her mind on the paper in front of her.

“Father, Mother, Grandmother... Forgive me for how undutiful I’ve been. I am doing this for justice, and for the nation. I hope you rejoice at the fact that I’ll be able to defeat the person who I had the misfortune of meeting, who has sealed my fate... No, not just that, but I’ll be able to defeat the future Demon King, while he is still weak.”

She was writing a will, a farewell note in the event of her death. She quietly spoke the first draft out loud to herself. However, as she became overcome with emotion sitting here all alone, her words began to turn into grumbling and complaining.

“Here I was... Thinking he was a decent guy... Turns out he was actually evil... That’s right, even though I liked him so much at first... Even though it was the first time I had met a man like him... He’s almost certainly the Demon King. He definitely has the personality for it. Anyway, why does he get to me so much? Even though I’m a strong fighter, I’m clumsy, I’m weak-willed, I’m always bluffing. I usually hate the fact that I’m a good fighter to begin with, and even though I try to be responsible, I still let Takeshi Kimura and his cronies do whatever they like. I didn’t have the courage to become the disciplinary committee president... Why is he able to do it all so easily? And he’s strong... It kind of sounds like I’m worried about him when I put it like that, doesn’t it? How ridiculous. Ugh! I might die tomorrow... I have to write my final letter. Let’s see...”

Junko reached out towards the ink stone with her brush. But it was out of reach.

“What? C’mon...”

She stretched as far as she could, her head tilting up to look at the ceiling as the reached. Without her eyes looking away, she suddenly felt the ink stone touch the tips of her fingers

“Ah, here it is.”

Juno moved to grab it, but then realized that something was amiss. The ink stone was closer than she had thought.

“Huh?” Junko tilted her head.

The ink stone was clearly in a different place than when she had just looked. It had gotten noticeably closer to where her hand was.

“Huh?” Junko looked around her, but obviously there wasn’t anyone there. “Wha... What?”

Trying to ignore the strange occurrence, Junko returned to writing her farewell letter.

○

Fujiko had also seen the events inside the old barracks on a monitor. It was a small hidden insect-type camera. Of course, this had been made by Fujiko herself, illegally. All of the details about what had transpired, from Akuto’s violent outburst to the disappearance of her medicine was displayed on a crystal ball within her secret room. Up until Akuto tried to use the medicine, everything had been going exactly as planned, but...

“It’s strange,” Fujiko spoke to her brother in the glass jar.

“It is?”

“Yes, it is. He lost the medicine... That puts a kink in my plans.”

Fujiko rested her hand on her chin, deep in thought.

“But... the way he was so calm while committing such violence... as well as the fact he hasn’t realized his own faults and his self-righteousness... Don’t you think that makes him a perfect fit to be a Demon King?” Fujiko whispered to herself in a trance. “It would be so much better if he could just become my servant without using the medicine after all...”