Chapter 2 – Rune of Contract

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(1)

A young boy was walking through a magnificent white corridor, adorned with stones polished to such a degree of smoothness that they appeared to reflect his body. He, Hiiragi Kyoya, had been summoned to this world just a few days ago. During the summoning ceremony, he was granted an ability that put him far above the other people from his old world. Realizing this, the humans of this world were praising him to no end, claiming he alone was destined to carry out the mission of saving this world as its hero.

“Hiiragi, got a moment?”

“Oh, Akimitsu? What are you doing, hiding in a place like this?”

Another boy──Akimitsu Tsukasa──called out to Kyoya from behind one of the pillars flanking the corridor. But, even after addressing his former classmate, Tsukasa remained vigilant of his surroundings, clearly acting suspiciously.

“No, well…sorry.”

“You haven’t done anythin’ requirin’ an apology, y’know. …But leavin’ that aside, you’ve been actin’ scared all the time ever since we’ve arrived here. We’re no criminals or anythin’. They summoned us to this world, so you can act more confidently,” Hiiragi laughed, flashing his white teeth, while lightly jabbing Tsukasa’s shoulder.

“Hahaha…you got a point, I guess,” Tsukasa answered with a laugh of his own, but underneath, he hid a complicated mix of emotions that was swirling in his chest.

In the past, they had called each other 「Kyoya」 and 「Tsukasa」. Together with Matsuzaka Mihono and Shihono, who had likewise been summoned into this world, Tsukasa had been acquainted with Kyoya since elementary school, when Kyoya and his parents moved into the neighborhood. But, as they grew older, a clear difference manifested between Tsukasa and Kyoya. Tsukasa’s friendship with the Matsuzaka sisters was older than Kyoya’s, but right now, Kyoya, and not Tsukasa, was Mihono’s boyfriend. And her little sister, Shihono, was also in love with Kyoya, a born leader with plenty of energy to spare, unlike an unattractive, spineless pushover like Tsukasa. At some point in the history between the four, Tsukasa had completely dropped out of the picture, as if Kyoya had been the sole childhood-friend of the Matsuzaka sisters from the very start.

In line with that, it had been a long time since those two had talked to each other like this.

“It’s quite unusual for you to approach me.”

“…Yeah. Though it’s not like I’ve been avoiding you or anything.”

It’d go way too far to describe it as them living in different worlds, but Tsukasa and Kyoya had almost no points of contact, not even at school. In class, Kyoya was always surrounded by male and female friends, his surroundings always being a bubble of liveliness. And even while going to or from school, one of the Matsuzaka sisters was at Kyoya’s side at all times.

But, even that was inevitable, or so believed Tsukasa. He considered it a very natural outcome when comparing himself to Kyoya. Still, that wretched sensation of misery engendered by the disparity between the two also became one of the reasons why Tsukasa distanced himself from the Matsuzaka sisters.

“Come to think of it, what kind of power did you receive?”

“Eh?”

“Don’t play the fool with me. You were appraised, weren’t you?” Kyoya smiled bitterly, apparently believing that Tsukasa was deliberately playing dumb. “Koshida, that clown, is a 『Holy Knight』. He ran his mouth about bein’ a genius or some nonsense like that, but a fickle holy knight like him is more of a gag character, don’t you think? Hahaha.”

“……”

“But, I haven’t been able to ask Mihono and Shihono yet, y’see. You?”

“I also haven’t talked with either of those two.”

Unlike Kyoya, who seemed to be pumped with adrenaline, Tsukasa’s face was covered in gloom. All this time, Tsukasa had remained hidden behind the pillar, cautiously observing both sides of the corridor.

“Hey, Hiiragi. Rather than that…”

“Hmm? Ah, you had some business with me, didn’t you?”

“I’d like to consult you about something.”

“Oh? What is it?”

The topic Tsukasa broached afterwards revolved around the ringleader who had summoned them to this world.

“Haah? Shady, you say…? That princess?”

“──!”

Tsukasa’s head shot up, and he stared at Kyoya as though he was telling him not to mention that name carelessly. Tsukasa’s expression at that time appeared so bloodcurdling that it made Kyoya falter for a moment. Confronted with such a display of ghastliness, Kyoya finally got in the mood of listening seriously to what Tsukasa had to say.

He asked his classmate, “Did somethin’ happen that made you feel like that?”

“No, but…”

“Really? …Well, now that I think ’bout it, Yanase said something similar.”

A few days ago, they had been summoned through what was called a 「Gate」. The first place they saw when arriving in this world was a hall the size of a gymnasium with a huge, drawn magic circle in its center. 「She」, who wore a white dress, had looked down at them as they were confused by suddenly being ripped away from their previous location and being flung into a completely different place.

Seemingly having recalled the exchange at the time, Kyoya smiled bitterly once more.

“Well, she definitely pissed me off. I mean, she abruptly summoned us to this place without givin’ a damn ’bout our situation.”

Although he was saying all this, it was apparent that the elation at being invited to another world as one of the chosen was winning out inside Kyoya.

“──However, she provided us with a proper explanation of the situation over here, didn’t she? The circumstances have forced them to rely on a summonin’,” recounted Kyoya, siding with the person who had summoned them.

‘This country is constantly exposed to the threats of non-human powers, not to mention the barbarian tribes which repeatedly invade and pillage our lands. I beg you, please save this country’──being entreated in such a dramatic manner by a beauty so pure that one could mistake her as an angel or goddess, it was a foregone conclusion that young boys, dreaming of adventures and explorations, would sympathize and heed her call. Moreover, they awoke to a special 「Power」 after coming to this world. The girls, who had come with them, were, for the most part, pulled along by the boys’ excitement.

Probably because of that, they didn’t even realize that they hadn’t asked the crucial question──one they’d usually ask first and foremost under normal circumstances──on how to get back to their former world. The girl’s voice on the balcony was tinged with a timbre that unconditionally reassured others.

Why was she, as someone who was supposedly welcoming heroes from another world so that they’d save her world, talking to them from an elevated place without showing any intention of approaching them? Why were completely armed soldiers surrounding the magic circle, their swords drawn and their shields raised at all times?

Even those questions faded into oblivion in light of the smile and spilled tears by the girl on the balcony.

“That’s wrong.”

“──Huh?”

“…It’s wrong,” Tsukasa squeezed out while grabbing his chest with a hand as if trying to stop his own trembling.

His countenance looked really bad. Almost as though he had a cold. Greasy sweat was visible on his forehead.

“Hiiragi, I have a request. I’d like you to tell everyone to be careful. …But, make absolutely sure to not tell anyone…not even Mihono and Shihono…that I told you about this. Of course, keep it a secret from 『her』 as well.”

“Her? Do you mean Aria──”

“Don’t say that name!”

Tsukasa’s loud voice echoed throughout the corridor. He had stopped Kyoya as he was about to voice out the princess’s name. His brows furrowed as he was sternly glaring at Kyoya.

“…I don’t particularly mind tellin’ them to be careful. But, why aren’t you doin’ it yourself?”

“That’s…,” after hesitating for a moment, Tsukasa confessed, “It’s because I believe the others will believe it if it’s you instead of me. I’m the wrong person for this.”

It was an awfully menial way of speaking, but this was the best method Tsukasa had come up with after brooding it over. He informed Kyoya of the reason why he was doubting her, who had orchestrated the summoning. Tsukasa harbored many suspicions about the princess, even when disregarding the feeling of discomfort he experienced at the 「Hall of Summoning」.

“…Our rooms are spacious and very luxurious, but they’re all single rooms. Moreover, the boys and girls live in separate buildings, right?”

“What ’bout it? Even during school trips, it’s been normal for boys and girls to sleep separately. Wouldn’t a medieval world like this be much stricter ’bout such stuff?”

“…I feel like that’s not the sole reason behind it. Guards are standing all over the place. Even when we go to the toilet, a maid will always follow under the pretext of guiding us. …Why are they doing something like that each and every time? It looks to me like they’re keeping us apart so we can’t talk. And as a matter of fact, I also struggled to talk to you in a place with no one else around.”

As soon as Tsukasa said so, Kyoya looked behind him.

“You think of me as a creepy, shady dude, don’t you? …Mihono said so as well. However…no matter what I do, this whole situation weighs on my mind.”

“Hmm? A lil’ while ago you said you didn’t talk with her…”

“……”

After some time in silence, Kyoya spoke up.

“Got it.”

Tsukasa lifted his face.

“You’re right. Blindly trustin’ what they say at face value is probably dangerous. …──What’s with you lookin’ so blatantly relieved? Almost as if you’re happy that you pushed your worries on me, y’know?

“S-Sorry.”

“Hahaha.”

Kyoya laughed openly, drawing Tsukasa into a more relaxed expression. Tsukasa felt as though all the nervousness had been drained from him in one go.

“But, Akimitsu, I’ll come up with the timin’ to talk to the others, so don’t tell anyone else until then, okay? …If they find out that we’re doubtin’ them, the princess won’t be very happy ’bout it. And if those worries turn out to be unwarranted, it’ll make things awkward later on, y’see?”

“…True. Okay, I got it, Hiiragi.”

“It’s not 『Hiiragi』, right?”

“Huh?”

“I told you to call me 『Kyoya』. Just like you did when we were small,” corrected Kyoya and held out his right hand. “We’re childhood-friends, so let’s stop actin’ like strangers. We gotta work together to get through the dangers of this world. Right, 『Tsukasa』?”

“…Yep, you’re totally right. Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizin’?”

“Ah, no, somehow it’s just…,” Tsukasa scratched his head with his left hand, looking bashful.

After having opened up about all the worries that had been plaguing him, Tsukasa felt oddly refreshed.

‘I see. This is why Mihono and Shihono like this guy…

At the same time, Tsukasa could relate to his childhood friends’ feelings, and by coming to terms with them, he was finally able to let go of his lingering affections for the Matsuzaka sisters. As soon as Tsukasa held out his right hand, Kyoya shook it.

“Thanks, Kyoya.”

Tsukasa’s bright smile contained none of the jealousy that he had felt towards Kyoya up until now.

Everything happening afterwards came from me being an irredeemable idiot back then, Tsukasa would assess later on.

§

——– End of Part 1 ——–

My childhood friends Matsuzaka Mihono and Shihono were fraternal twins, yet they didn’t look much alike. Or to be more precise, you could actually describe them as being two different poles. Not only did that apply to their outward appearance, but their personalities couldn’t be more different, either.

The older twin, Mihono, loved to move her body. She possessed a bright, sociable personality. For this reason, she was always surrounded by a ring of male and female friends in class.

In contrast to her, the younger twin, Shihono, had a meek personality and was afraid of strangers. She liked reading books and generally behaved very timidly. As a child, she was always dragged outside against her will by Mihono.

But around the time the sisters entered junior high, Mihono and Shihono apparently stopped sticking together as they had in the years before. 「Apparently」 because it was just the time when I started to become estranged from those two. It goes without saying that that guy was the cause of a rift opening between Mihono and Shihono. The two girls entered puberty, prompting them to recognize Hiiragi Kyoya as a member of the opposite sex. This threw the balance in the relationship between those three out of whack. In the end, Mihono would win the race for Kyoya’s heart between the sisters.

Back then, I was treated by those three as a complete outsider, and thus, I only heard about all of this through rumors. Because of all of those events, I was convinced that Mihono and Shihono had to be on bad terms. ──But, that seemed to have been a wrong assumption by me.

“Shihono? Can you hear me, Shihono?”

“Big…sis…?”

“Yep, it’s me. ──But, don’t force yourself to talk. I’ve brought your medicine, so drink up.”

Mihono made Shihono drink the cure from a small bottle while she gently supported her sister’s body on the cheap bed. Mihono’s expression was washed with heartfelt worry for her little sister. What Mihono administered to Shihono was the refined cerebrospinal fluid, which she had extracted from the arachnid queen we had defeated in the labyrinth. It was a panacea with a relatively high effect among the cures circulating on the markets. There was no doubt that Shihono’s condition would stabilize if she were given that cure.

A short while after drinking all of it, Shihono’s expression regained its old serenity. Previously, her chest had been heaving up and down with her breathing being laborious and hacking, but all of that was now gone, replaced by a calm and rhythmic rising and sinking of her chest.

“…I’m so happy,” Mihono sighed in relief while closely scrutinizing the condition of her sister.

She then put Shihono’s body back down to rest in bed, fixed the disarranged blanket, and placed a new, wet cloth on her sister’s forehead. After confirming that Shihono’s breathing had transformed into a peaceful snore, she got up and opened the door. Having watched the two from the side, I followed Mihono and left the room.

Mihono only spoke up again after we had closed the door behind us.

“Haah…I gave her the medicine, so Shihono is going to get better now, right?”

“Who knows?”

“Who knows…you say. What’s with that? Why are you…phrasing it as if it’s got nothing to do with you…as if it’s some stranger’s problem?”

“Why would you ask me that? I mean, it’s obviously not my problem, is it?”

“──Eh?”

“Either way, it looks like a full recovery will be difficult with that cure.”

I had already suspected it around the time when we escaped the labyrinth, but as I thought, Mihono appeared to misunderstand the situation. She believed I helped them out of kindness, as I could no longer bear their suffering. It was very clear from the way she was taken aback right now. But, hearing my words, her face scrunched up into a deep frown.

“Are you saying she won’t recover?”

“You’re not going to claim that this is not what was promised now, are you? ──Oops, we’re in my house right now. Could you stop raising your voice over each and every little thing? You’re bothering the neighbors. Also, do you want to wake up Shihono with all the noise you’re producing?” I asked Mihono.

Mihono somehow managed to stifle her fury. Seeing that, I continued, “You saw it yourself, didn’t you? It’s not like it had no effect at all.”

Currently, Mihono wasn’t wearing the high-grade equipment she had on her during our attack on the arachnid nest. Instead, she was dressed in cheap linen, as it was common in this world. She had pawned off her previous gear, which could be called her sole fortune, to pay for purifying the queen’s cerebrospinal fluid, along with the costs of the other necessary materials, which were pretty high. It was only natural for her to pay up the difference herself. Accordingly, she was forced to switch to linen clothes and standard combat equipment.

“Well then, next it’s your turn, I’d say.”

“My turn? …What do you mean?”

“Are you trying to play stupid now?” I admonished her, but she honestly didn’t seem to understand what I meant.

This is why I had warned her from the start.

“Listen, Mihono, I didn’t help you for free. You wanted a cure for Shihono. And that’s why you hired me as a guide. Do you remember the details of the contract we made at that time? The contract didn’t mention that Shihono had to be completely cured. You properly obtained the cure, so my part of the contract is done.”

“What are you talking about? You’re joking…right? You helped us because we’re childhood friends, didn’t you?”

“Childhood-friends? Now that’s what you’d call joking. Does something like that bear any meaning in this world?” I spat out.

Mihono’s continued naivety and slow uptake actually started to piss me off. But quarreling with her would be unproductive, and I didn’t want to waste any energy on this. Because of that, I focused on remaining expressionless and dispassionately told her, “If you want to make me work any more for you, fork over the reward plus the extra for having helped you with killing the boss. That’s only fair, no? In this world, you won’t find anyone working for free for your sake.”

“But, I…don’t have any money.”

“I know as much myself. But, isn’t it unfair to try to shirk your payment because of that? I mean, there are other ways to pay, even if you don’t have any money, y’know?”

Mihono cast her eyes down as if fearing my gaze, her shoulders trembling with a start at that moment. And then, once she swallowed her spit, she somehow managed to speak up.

“Other methods, you say…”

Mihono was no kid. She should have understood the meaning behind my words. Although we were already strangers, even I thought my demand of her was very scummy. But there was no way for Kyoya’s girlfriend, Mihono, to do something like that with me, even if it was for the sake of her little sister.

“If you say you’re not going to pay up, I won’t mind it either. Feel free to do so. But, in that case, I’ll never again help you. You can handle things on your own. Also, leave this house,” I declared while being fully aware just how cruel my words were.

Although we could speak the language here thanks to some mysterious power, this was still a different world. We didn’t know anyone here, and the common sense we had fostered in our former world didn’t apply here at all. Even so, I managed to cope with the reality of this world to some degree. If she lost my cooperation, it’d become difficult for her and Shihono to survive at all.

Mihono was firmly clenching her fists. They visibly trembled, looking as if she was going to punch me any moment.

“What’s the matter? Did I upset you?”

“Ugh…”

“If you want to punch me, you just need to do so, no? Try to knock out my lights with your fists. That’s your specialty, isn’t it? I’m sure it’ll let you feel refreshed.”

Given that I was unarmed, I think it’d be easy for her to beat me up with her strength. But if she surrendered herself to her anger and hit me, she’d shoot her own knee. I further cornered her, who was struggling to control her rage.

“…Say, Mihono, I wanted to ask this the whole time, but why are you so obsessed with Shihono after all this time? I mean, ever since you’ve been a brat, you always looked as if you were annoyed by her.”

“…Huh?”

“Why are you reacting like a dunce? …Don’t tell me…you never realized how cold you’ve been to your own sister?”

There was definitely a time when Mihono considered her twin sister, who fell in love with the same guy despite their different personalities, hobbies, and preferences, to be a pest. At times, she must have wished for Shihono to be gone for good, too.

“No way…there’s no way…”

“Really? Can you prove it?”

She was speaking like a rebellious elementary schooler. Usually, she’d have warded off such false accusations without much trouble. But the chain of highly stressful events had driven her mental state close to its limit. As such, she took the curse──namely, the implicit question whether Shihono might be suffering from illness because of Mihono’s feelings──packed into my words, straight on.

“Did you want to look like a good big sis to her this late in the game? Look, I don’t mind if you want to satisfy your own guilty consciousness, but don’t drag me into it, okay?”

I might only be saying heartless and selfish things. However, the same applies to Mihono. She had no qualification to blame me.

Turning away from Mihono, I started to walk across the narrow, dim corridor with its wooden floor. But, just as I placed a foot on the stairway leading to the first floor, I could hear Mihono’s powerless voice from behind.

“…Where are you going?”

“To work.”

“…Work?”

“Yep. Tell me, how do you make a living without working?”

Unlike me, Mihono and Shihono had all their needs taken care of even after being summoned to this world. Having no interest in humoring Mihono any longer, I went down to the first floor, the stairs creaking all the while, and passed through the entrance door of my house.

When I left my home, the sun had just set. You couldn’t see it anymore, but the mountain ridge in the far distance was still crested by a madder red sky. Above my head, countless stars were twinkling. The two moons looked awfully bright today. After staring up at the sky for a moment, I immediately lowered my eyes to the ground and walked through the alley in front of my home.

My home in the town of Aguille was halfway up a slope after entering a back alley from a bigger street. It was made out of lumber, bricks, and mortar──a rented house of a size as was normal for this world. It was small, but it had a garden and its own well.

After escaping from the castle and somehow managing to survive, I eventually settled down in this town. Putting it like that sounded very simple, but I went through a lot of shit up until now. I experienced so many bitter and painful things that I can’t even count them all, and I tasted plenty of humiliation that trampled my dignity as a human. As I recalled all of it, I became appalled by the cockiness of Mihono, who came to my place with a face as if it was only normal, and Shihono, who was carefreely sleeping in my bed.

However, persecuting Mihono wouldn’t earn me a single coin. For this reason, I headed to my 「workplace」 to secure my living in this world.

Right, seeing how I haven’t died, I must live on at the very least. Even in another world, it’s necessary to work to obtain food, clothes, and a place to live.

I walked through the alley, flanked by houses on both sides, before I eventually came out on a wide street with a lot of traffic.

“Welcome, welcome! It’s fresh and cheap! How about it, young man over there!?”

“Hmm…I wonder what side dishes I should get for dinner…”

A man of around two meters, standing just outside a store along the street, called out to a customer who was holding an awfully thorny tail of a creature that seemed to be a deep-sea fish. Behind the man, a woman in an apron and holding a shopping basket was worrying about her dinner, resting a hand on her cheek. A girl, small enough to be in the early classes of elementary school, was clenching the hem of the woman’s skirt.

One could rightfully describe it as a very typical shopping scene. But two goat-like horns were growing on their heads. Moreover, they all had black, long, and slender tails growing out of their lower backs. They belonged to the race called 「Demons」 in this world. The majority of the population in this town consisted of this race, with 「Humans」 like me being a small minority.

As I gaped at the spectacle for one reason or another, the demon woman with the apron noticed me and turned around.

“Oh my, Akimitsu, are you going out?”

“Yes, Landlady.”

“Are you possibly going to work again? Having to work so late must be straining…”

“No, it’s not that bad.”

Unlike my conversation with Mihono, I received a very normal, peaceful response here, albeit you couldn’t go so far as to call it kind. The woman in question was the owner of the house I was renting. I didn’t know the details, but she appeared to be a widow as he husband had already passed away. The one staring at me while hiding behind the woman’s skirt was her daughter.

“Please be careful if you’re away from home, Akimitsu. Lately, this area has been rather dangerous, so make sure to close the door properly. Apparently, burglars were active yesterday in the neighborhood.”

The demons and we humans had no other conspicuous differences in appearance, except for horns and tails. The landlady’s tail gently swayed as if to match her calm way of talking.

“Of course. I will be careful,” I answered and quickly left the place.

Besides demons, the street was also frequented by a race that looked like upright creepers and another race similar to lizards, but I had already gotten used to this view.

“Hey, did you see? That guy’s a human.”

“Hoh, how unusual. Wonder where he came from.”

While ignoring the voices that seemed to be referring to me, I headed towards a place with denser pedestrian traffic, weaving my way through the crowd.

§

———— End of Part 2 ————

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