Mina Kisaragi’s POV
To be honest… it isn’t like there is no way to save Satsuki.
There is.
The problem is that pulling it off would require teamwork… and a great deal of patience.
“Where the hell did that Hero bastard and the old man go…?”
The one muttering that while staring at the empty space where the hero and Daishi-san had vanished was the musclehead woman, Shion Kusanagi.
Daishi-san and that hero guy probably used some kind of spatial teleportation ability to move to a place where they could settle things one-on-one. But as for where they’d gone… I have no idea.
“Zzz…”
Curled up in my arms, Ryunosuke—the tiny Ancient Dragon—slept peacefully. The fact that he could snooze through a situation like this almost had to be a trait inherited from that Supreme God.
“Daishi-san will definitely find a way to deal with the Hero. We need to focus on saving Satsuki.”
I looked up at Satsuki, suspended from the ceiling and wrapped from head to toe in layers of explosive talismans, as I tried to rally Shion.
We couldn’t just stand here and watch. Daishi-san is counting on us. He believed that we could save Satsuki.
“Give it everything we’ve got, huh? We should assume those explosive tags aren’t the only trap on her. If we get even a little too close, we might end up blowing ourselves up along with the girl hanging there.”
“…”
Shion was right.
There was no way the Hero was relying on the explosive talismans alone to keep Satsuki hostage.
I had already spotted several sensor-like devices installed at different points between the floor and the ceiling. They were probably part of the detonation system. Some of them might have been decoys. But there was no way he’d designed it so carelessly that we could simply walk up to her.
“Shion, do you think you can do something about the traps closest to us?”
“Disarming them? No chance.”
“Then… is there anything else we can do?”
I didn’t have high hopes, but I had to ask.
More than that…
If Shion couldn’t get us past this obstacle, then there was no saving Satsuki. At this point, it was less a question than a plea.
“Smash them.”
I let out a sigh.
“…You’re such a musclehead.”
If brute force alone could solve this, we wouldn’t be in this mess.
“…I’m not talking about smashing the sensors themselves. Look over there.”
“Huh?”
I followed the direction she was pointing at.
Beneath the crimson spiral staircase sat a black metal box.
That was…
“I believe it’s a power distribution panel… or maybe the main power control unit. If we destroy it and cut the electricity supplying this room, even temporarily, we might buy ourselves some time.”
I found myself quietly impressed. Shion actually paid more attention to her surroundings than I’d given her credit for.
There was no guarantee she was right. But it was certainly a better plan than blindly charging ahead.
“It could be protected by some kind of special shield…”
“That doesn’t concern me. There isn’t a shield in existence my muscles can’t break through.”
Shion replied without hesitation
It was confidence completely unsupported by evidence. And yet… the certainty blazing in Shion’s eyes made me feel that betting on her wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
I’ll trust her then. No matter how much we sat here thinking, we were never going to come up with a method that guaranteed Satsuki’s rescue.
If my instincts were telling me this could work… then we had to take the chance.
Besides… my instincts were right surprisingly often.
“All right. I trust you.”
“Even if we disable the sensors, that won’t solve the real problem.”
She was absolutely right. Unless we dealt with those explosive talismans, we couldn’t say we’d actually saved Satsuki. But if Shion could just get us past the traps on the way there…
Then I believed we still had a chance.
“That’s true… But once we get that far, I’d like you to leave the rest to Ryunosuke and me.”
There was no way I could jump all the way to the ceiling, and I didn’t have any levitation skills.
I’d have to rely on Ryunosuke to carry me.
It would be dangerous. But we’d face it together. We were in this as one.
“You’re planning to ride Ryunosuke up to the ceiling? Fine. But then what? Those talismans will explode the moment anyone tries to remove them.”
“Right.”
“What do you mean ‘right’…?”
“It’s fine.”
I nodded.
“Let them explode.”
“Huh?!”
Shion was staring at me as though I’d lost my mind. She obviously hadn’t grasped what I am really planning.
I need to explain a little more.
“A blast on the level of those talismans…. Ryunosuke and I can withstand it with defensive skills.”
“No, that completely defeats the purpose—”
“You’re right. Satsuki’s in direct contact with the talismans, and in that state I probably won’t be able to cast any defensive buffs on her.”
I paused.
“But…”
“But what?”
My class is Saint—
…No, wait. A High Priest I mean.
And not just any High Priest, either. I was a special one, blessed with powers that ranked among the greatest in this world. And the skill I excelled at above all others…
Was this.
“There aren’t any talismans attached to her head. Which means… I can still heal Satsuki.”
“…What do you mean?”
“My healing magic works as long as the head is intact. Even if the rest of the body is blown into tiny pieces, I can restore it instantly!”
That’s right. That’s the core of the rescue plan I come up with.
In other words—
“Destruction… and Creation.”
“…You say that with an awfully confident look on your face. But that’s a horrifying plan.”
“Is it?”
“There’s no guarantee the explosion won’t blow her head off too. You’re still going through with this?”
Of course I already considered that risk. I plan to protect her head, at least.
“I’ll adapt to the situation. Don’t worry! I’ll make it work somehow!”
I had made up my mind.
Satsuki… you’ve survived situations far worse than this more times than I can count. And even if—just by some terrible stroke of luck—this plan fails and you die… you won’t come back to haunt us for trying to save you, right?
…Right?
Because we’re…
Best friends forever!!
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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