第３１６堀：それでも…… (Part2)
However, Luna remained serious, and Hifi continued to keep her face submerged in the bath, unmoving.
……This is bad. I have to hold it in. I can’t laugh.
“……Aren’t you struggling to breathe?”
“Gabo!? Luna-sama, I am being serious here!!”
“No, but even if you plunge your face into the bath and bow your head, it just looks like a gag, you know?”
I had reached my limit.
I think I held it in quite well, all things considered.
“Uhyahyahya!! Hii, my stomach hurts!!”
I slapped the surface of the bathwater.
It’s no use; Hifi’s earnestness is clashing with the situation in the most ridiculous way.
“Buha!? Don’t laugh!! I am being serious!!”
“S-sorry. B-but…… Pfft, buh, buh-hahahahaha……”
No, I’ve lost it.
This is tough.
Trying to laugh a dead person to death—Hifi, you’re a terrifying girl!!
“Well, Comet has already laughed enough on my behalf, so that’s fine. Now, I’ll say this once. If things continue like this, you’re going to clash with Yuki. Yuki intends to maintain the current status quo and investigate the depletion of magic power, after all.”
“……In that case, I will simply have to eliminate him. In the past, there were many Dungeon Masters on this continent. I, along with Comet, eliminated them. This is no different.”
……She must know that Yuki isn’t some foolish Dungeon Master obsessed with his own selfish desires.
When I was active and still alive, there were about ten Dungeon Masters that Luna had chosen on a whim. Most of them were driven by selfish greed—or rather, they didn’t know what else to do, so they chose to swallow up countries.
After all, that’s the most visible way to collect DP.
Once we found out, we desperately tried to stop them, protecting this continent in secret so that it wouldn’t come to light.
As a result, many Dungeon Monsters were left behind, and there were many refugees; I ended up taking in a small fraction of them.
In the end, it didn’t change the fact that we couldn’t cooperate and were victims of those Dungeon Masters, but perhaps it wasn’t so much about protecting the land as it was about atonement.
That led to people like Peace, and later, those Holy Sword Users……
“……Well, normally, I wouldn’t complain about that. I’ve made various creatures into Dungeon Masters so that they could compete and lead to good results. But you know this time is different, don’t you?”
“……”
……Luna went out of her way to show up this time.
This is unprecedented.
Even when I was alive, I never once saw her intervene in conflicts between Dungeon Masters or disputes over their ideologies.
“Yuki was brought here from the same other world as Taizo—Japan. I judged that the local creatures could no longer solve the problem. Well, if he were to be defeated by the other gods or Dungeon Masters who still remain, I suppose I would have to accept it…… but Hifi, you have no right to participate in this war. I am telling you that. Do you still intend to eliminate Yuki and try to handle this continent yourself?”
Luna asked Hifi that.
……Honestly, I have no room to speak.
I’m already dead, after all……
“……Even so. This continent must be handled by our hands.”
“Are you prepared to defy me as well?”
“Yes.”
Even though she could be erased in an instant right here, Hifi answered with foolish honesty instead of telling a convenient lie.
Though, even if she lied, she would just be erased later anyway.
For a while, the two stared at each other, and the sound of the hot spring water bubbling echoed in the room.
“*Sigh*, I understand your resolve, Hifi.”
“Then!?”
“No. I cannot let you remove Yuki. If we’re talking about the root cause, it’s Hifi’s fault for cutting off contact.”
“……Yes.”
“And it’s also my fault for not confirming things properly. Yuki is not at fault in this matter. Therefore, with me as a witness, you will choose a representative and have a match. You will convince Yuki—who has done nothing wrong—that it is safe to leave things to you. This is the greatest concession I can make. Well, consider it a match against Yuki that you were going to have eventually anyway. This way, there will be less collateral damage, and it’s better for both sides, don’t you think? With me as a witness, no one will die.”
Yeah. I think Luna’s proposal is a good condition.
What will you do, Hifi?
“……Understood. I accept that proposal.”
“Good. Then let’s get out quickly. I’m starting to get lightheaded.”
With that, Luna promptly climbed out of the open-air bath and headed for the changing room.
Watching her go, Hifi muttered……
“A representative…… is it?”
“That’s right. Hifi and I, and then…… I wonder if Taizo-san would be able to join?”
“That would be impossible. I cannot force him to fight for my own personal reasons……”
I suppose so.
Hearing the story now, it’s clear who is in the right.
Taizo-san wouldn’t make a mistake in judgment like that, so I guess we’ll just have to do our best, the two of us.
“Hey, hurry up and get out. I don’t want to be in a bath full of your sweat!!”
“Ah, yes!”
Told that, Hifi scrambled to get out, and I followed suit.
“……Come to think of it, is it okay for a corpse like me to be in the bath?”
I suddenly thought of that.
It won’t accelerate decomposition, right?
I have to make sure it doesn’t turn into a gag during the match.