321 Shura Field

Uwaa….

Disgusting.

So this is what a shura field is like.

A battle between women unfolding before my eyes.

Sister-chan and Oshima-kun are engaged in a genuine confrontation over a single man.

Their gazes are terrifying.

They’re both ready to kill.

Good job, Yamada-kun!

You’re really popular!

This is what “floral in both hands” means!

Though both flowers are poisonous in pattern.

One is a crazy, psychotic, possessive younger sister.

The other is a calculating TS girl who knows men inside and out.

Either choice seems like it’ll bring hardship.

Either way, you’ll likely be dominated from behind.

Hang in there, Yamada-kun!

I’m cheering for you!

I won’t help or offer concrete assistance, though!

Wait—what should we do about this commotion first?

…

Hang in there, Yamada-kun!

I’m cheering for you!

I won’t help or offer concrete assistance, though!

No, I mean…

This situation is the fault of my younger sister.

Still, Yamada-kun, as her elder brother, should be the one to resolve it. That’s logical.

I’ll just pass the burden along.

While the truth behind the classroom explosion—caused by the previous generation’s Hero and the prior generation’s Demon King—was being revealed in the background, I was preoccupied with handling the complaint.

My younger sister, the complainant.

She demanded, “Let me see my elder brother.”

My subordinate, which was constantly attached to her, kept whispering at her—like a curse—endlessly.

She said, “I’ve helped so much. You could at least grant my wish.”

She spoke with a chilling, deranged intensity, gripping my subordinate and whispering directly into its ear.

It’s terrifying.

Even though it’s just a fragment of myself, being whispered at persistently in my ear—like a horror story—eventually reaches a limit.

Even my nerves have their limits.

Thus, I decided to break and grant my younger sister her wish.

Well, I was just going to let them meet—what’s the harm?

There was a time when I thought that way.

Yes.

My younger sister is not quite ordinary these days.

Even so, I’d like to excuse myself for not anticipating she’d attempt to kill him immediately after their meeting.

After all, a sister devoted entirely to her elder brother—how could anyone imagine her turning on him?

It’s something only someone like me, with a twisted sense of normalcy, could possibly comprehend.

What? You’re telling me I’m not normal?

That’s not true—

Actually, that’s precisely where the critique should come in. You’re the one who isn’t human, really.

Watching the battle unfold, caught in a haze of self-justification.

Her water magic clashed with the fire magic of Oshima—canceling each other out.

"Both of you! Stop it!"

Yamada-kun attempts to mediate between them, but the conflict spreads, dragging even him into the fray.

Ah.

Bringing Oshima-kun here was a mistake?

No, I thought—Oshima-kun might be able to stop his sister if she went out of control.

I brought Oshima-kun here on the spot after seeing his sister attack Yamada-kun.

I didn’t expect it to escalate further.

Why did this happen?

It’s strange.

…Can I go back now?

You know, leave the rest to the younger ones.

No?

Why?

I wanted to resolve the trouble with my troublesome sister—and ended up making things worse.

Honestly.

Yamada-kun’s her older brother. He should be holding the reins on this dangerous sister of his tightly.

Who made this sister—originally dangerous—into such an extremely heightened state?

What? Me?

No no.

It is a wrongful accusation.

That was something Natsume-kun caused. I have nothing to do with it.

Huh? You’re the one who was manipulating that Natsume guy, aren’t you?

Ah! Ah!

Can't hear! Can't hear at all!

Hmm…

In truth, my sister’s pushing herself this hard… it’s because of me.

Of course. Once you’ve fired a shot through your father’s skull, there’s no turning back.

The elder brother, never having feelings of love to begin with.

Having made a mistake directly in front of her elder brother, her chances are now hopeless.

Uun.

I was already overwhelmed with guilt over betraying the kingdom halfway through, so I had myself brainwashed by Natsume, creating the precedent that I had no choice but to obey—simply because I was brainwashed.

Seems like it was pointless after all.

Now cornered, I acted on impulse.

...That’s why using others is so difficult.

I only consider efficiency, and whether someone is alive or dead.

I don’t factor in who feels what, or how they think, based on my plans.

I can’t.

I don’t understand.

So I’ve ignored it.

Any side effects caused by that omission don’t matter, as long as they don’t interfere with the plan.

That’s what I thought.

The teacher collapsing, pale-faced.

The face of the Demon King when he learned of Sariel’s interference behind the explosion caused by the previous Hero and the previous Demon King.

They flicker at the edge of mind—unrelenting.

I’m not moving just so you’ll wear that expression.

Ha.

What do you expect me to do about allies or such nonsense at a time like this?

I don't understand.

I don't understand.

Moreover, the plan is nearing completion.

Too late to rely on allies’ strength now.

First, address this disturbance somehow.

Yamada-kun is being made to draw the worst lottery tickets repeatedly.

Whether I step forward and manage to resolve things smoothly remains uncertain—but it’s better than doing nothing.

Listen!

But before I can act, events unfold.

At the instant the blades of Yamada-kun and Oshima-kun met, Yamada-kun sliced through their forms and halted both.

Receive the blade with your body.

"Wha—!?"

……ぁ

Sophia and Reston both gasp.

Sophia’s blade pierced Yamada-kun’s abdomen. Reston’s sword cleaved through his shoulder, embedding near the clavicle.

Yamada-kun gripped both their arms, immobilizing them.

“Please… please… listen to me. I don’t want to lose anyone else. That’s why… that’s why…”

His forward step halted.

Hearing Yamada-kun’s desperate plea.

I have no right to approach him. I have taken too much from him already.