Intermission 3

It was long past midnight. In another hour or so, the sun would be up.

Satsuki was still trying to break the sleep spell on Harissa. She’d barely slept at all. Her feminine chest was heaving up and down. The long hours of spellcasting had sapped her strength. She’d only managed to keep up the spell through an incredible combination of concentration and mental fortitude.

And then...

“Cross over the boundary of light and darkness, and release thyself.”

With a snap that only a mage could hear, the sleep spell on Harissa was finally broken.

“Whew...”

All the tension drained from her body at once, and Satsuki leaned back into her chair with a big sigh.

“Zzz... Zzz...”

Harissa was still sleeping, but it was a normal sleep. She would wake up soon.

“......”

Satsuki pondered what to do now. She’d only been able to concentrate like that because she was doing her best to avoid facing a certain truth. In order to avoid thinking about it, she’d stopped herself from thinking about everything. She focused exclusively on breaking the spell instead.

But now that was over. Which meant...

“Rekka...”

She was forced to stare down the reality of the situation.

“......!”

With nothing left to stop her, all she could do was cry. The first stream of tears was quickly followed by another, and then another. She bit her lip hard and tried to suppress the noise in her throat.

“Waah... Waaahh...!”

Trying to hold back her sobbing, her nose and throat began to sting.

It was just then that Harissa’s eyes opened a little. Satsuki hadn’t been able to keep from weeping, and Harissa must have heard her.

“...Huh? Satsuki? Why are you crying?”

“No, it’s nothing. Just...”

Satsuki quickly wiped her face with her hands and tried to come up with something to say. Harissa still seemed out of it. In a stupor, she watched on for a moment before suddenly sitting up in bed.

“Wait! Where’s Sir Rekka? What happened to Sir Rekka? I was on the second floor when I heard a loud noise, and when I came down, there was a strange man...”

Harissa’s eyes darted left and right as if she was trying to recall what happened next.

“Umm... umm...”

But she couldn’t seem to remember. Harissa started to cry too.

“Rekka... He’s not here.”

“What?”

“He left you with me, and then ran off with that Hibiki girl.”

Satsuki tried to speak as calmly and indifferently as possible to keep from crying again.

“Ran off...?!” Harissa repeated.

She then tried to leap out of the bed, but Satsuki grabbed her by the wrist.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“I’m going to save Sir Rekka, of course!”

Harissa had been asleep the whole time and had no idea what was going on, but there was no hesitation in her voice. She’d probably already guessed that Rekka was caught up in another story.

Satsuki was jealous of how she could just say, “I’m going to save him.” But she had to tell her anyway. She had to tell her what he’d said.

“...Rekka said not to come.”

“Not to come?”

“Yeah, he said he didn’t want us following him...”

It was sad, but it was true. She had to tell her the truth.

“Sir Rekka said that?”

“Yes.”

“He said that it would be a bother if I went after him?”

“Yes.”

“What was the reason?”

“...I don’t know.”

Satsuki had barely been told anything, so there was no way for her to know. Rekka’s words had been such a shock to her that she hadn’t thought to ask.

“...”

Harissa frowned and looked down at her feet for a moment. But then...

“I’m going to help him anyway.”

She raised her head and spoke clearly.

“Harissa, I know how you feel, but...”

“Sir Rekka saved me twice.” Harissa looked straight into Satsuki’s eyes. “Satsuki, I never told you what actually happened when he saved me, did I?”

“I heard something about defeating a Demon King with a laser gun, but not much more than that...”

“Rekka said he was going to fight the Demon King alone.”

“...!”

Satsuki was stunned for a second, but ultimately realized that that did sound like something her childhood friend might say.

“And I didn’t hear this until later, but Sir Rekka had no idea then that he could beat the Demon King with the laser gun. He said it was just luck that he was victorious, but I don’t think that’s right.”

Harissa’s cheeks were a little flushed. Maybe she was remembering what had happened. There was a strong light in her eyes.

“Sir Rekka asked me to send him home before he fought the Demon King. But when I told him what was going to happen to me, he said he’d fight the Demon King after all.”

If you just heard that part, you might think that Rekka Namidare was a wimp who’d done a complete one-eighty on a whim. A hero in a storybook or fantasy novel wouldn’t do that. They’d declare from the start that they were going to defeat the Demon King for the sake of the people and never deviate from that.

But Rekka Namidare was just a normal boy. The kind you could find anywhere. Satsuki knew that well.

“It wasn’t because he thought he could win, or because he was a hero,” Harissa continued.

“Rekka saved me because he wanted to save me. It wasn’t his world. It wasn’t his problem. He could’ve run away. And he stayed anyway, just for that reason. The reason he won, I think, is because that’s the kind of nice person he is.”

That’s why, Harissa said...

“He probably said he’d go alone as a kindness towards you and me. I think he’s willing to suffer as much as it takes for our sakes.”

“!”

Satsuki gasped at the words that came out of the younger girl’s mouth.

“And that’s why I can’t let him do it alone.”

Rekka had saved everyone because he wanted to save them. And now Harissa was going to save him because she wouldn’t let him do it alone. Sometimes saving someone meant doing something without considering their feelings. In fact, when Lea had rejected Rekka, he’d taken her hand and saved her anyway.

But even so... Even if they slapped your hand away and told you that having you around didn’t help... If you really wanted to save them, shouldn’t you do something? Even if that made them hate you...

...I want to save Rekka?

“You’re right.” The answer came quickly to Satsuki. “I can’t leave him alone either.”

That was how she really felt.

For one thing, would Rekka really have said something to hurt his childhood friend just because he thought she’d be a nuisance? Wasn’t it more likely that it was a kind lie, just like Harissa had said?

There was no evidence either way. But Satsuki decided to believe—in her own feelings and in her childhood friend’s kindness.

She’d always thought that it would be her job to comfort Rekka and take care of him if he ever had to face something terrible or suffer an unbearable burden. But maybe she hadn’t considered what that really meant.

When she was little, she took in that stray kitten. And just a little while ago, Messiah had come after her.

Rekka had always been there for her.

And because of that, she thought it was mutual. Satsuki had convinced herself that when Rekka was in trouble, he would come to her and tell her about his problems and rely on her for help.

“How stupid,” she laughed at herself.

If she wanted to help him, that wasn’t the right way. She couldn’t just wait for him to come tell her what was wrong. She had to go help him. Just like Rekka had saved Lea.

When Lea refused their help, he grabbed ahold of her hands and refused to let go.

Satsuki told herself that kind of resolve was what she needed now. Her tiny hands were far too frail to drag Rekka along, but she clenched them into fists with all her might just the same.

And if that still wasn’t enough...

“Let’s go, Harissa. All of us together.”

“Huh? All of us?”

“Yes, all of us,” she replied.

She was going after someone stupid enough to go off all on his own, leaving behind the childhood friend he’d known for years. To save somebody who didn’t want to be saved, you needed incredible strength and even stronger words.

Especially in the case of her kind childhood friend.