“…Actually, when I first emerged from the abyss, I thought that all of humanity, except for Hajime, would perish.”

““““Eh!?”””””

This shocking statement seemed to blow away even the depressed mood, and Guanghui and others couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise and fear.

At this time, Hajime also attacked again.

"Ah, I had the same thought back then. As long as the moon was there, I would be home. Even if it meant wiping out all the humans in Todas, I would still go home."

"Wait, wait, did you have that thought when you met me?!"

Hajime and Yue exchanged a glance, then said after a pause:

"You were quite annoying when we first met."

"...Well, I'm glad I didn't kill you."

The two looked at Shia with loving eyes and spoke in unison.

"Shia, you're so lucky."

"...Shia is so lucky."

"Damn it! You two look alike couple!!"

Shia's bunny ears erupted. She'd truly risked her life to get help. Even though it was too late, she still shuddered.

Hearing the conversation between the three people, Kaori smiled bitterly and expressed Yue's feelings on her behalf.

"Simply put, neither Shia nor Hajime-kun would betray Yue, so there's no need to worry, right?"

"Especially Master... Well, it's obvious that rather than saying Master would betray Yue, it's more believable to say that the world will be destroyed tomorrow."

Indeed, the two of them were as sweet as if sugar, honey, and chocolate sauce were added to Calpis Zero. To say that Hajime would betray Yue was even more impossible than a cosmic catastrophe.

"...Hmm, that's impossible. But it doesn't matter if I'm betrayed."

Yue nodded in agreement with what Kaori and Tio had said. Then, mid-sentence, a mischievous glint in her eyes flashed as she seemed to think of something and added a hypothetical scenario:

"What's the meaning?"

Hajime, Shia, and the others tilted their heads in confusion.

Yue leisurely announced to everyone present:

“…Because it has nothing to do with Hajime’s feelings, I won’t let Hajime escape.”

The atmosphere suddenly became quiet.

In the silence and everyone's attention, Yue's red tongue licked her cherry lips, creating a charming atmosphere. The moist cherry lips licked by the tongue were particularly eye-catching, attracting the attention of everyone present.

At the same time, she began to release a seductive aura that would send shivers down the spines of both men and women and send heat to their lower bodies. Then, with a fiery exhale, she declared:

“…Hehe, Hajime can’t escape the vampire princess’s clutches.”

Hajime was bewitched by the alluring aura and fiery gaze, so even if his rationality was interrupted, it could be said that it was understandable.

Having said that, in this great maze—

"I won't let you do that!"

Shia reacted quickly and grabbed Hajime from behind, stopping him.

"Shia, well done!"

"Hajime-kun, wake up! Doing something like that in the mirror maze... would be really bad!"

Tio and Kaori join in to stop Hajime, who has transformed into a beast and is about to pursue Yue. Shizuku, while saying, "Kaori, that's not the problem," also joins in the pointless attack and defense to prevent the others from being caught up in the mirror maze-like maze while conquering the large labyrinth.

"……hehe."

"Ah, come on, Miss Yue, please stop inciting Mr. Hajime!"

Needless to say, Shia's roar continued to echo in the maze for quite some time.

Volume 9, Chapter 3: The Direction of Emotions

From my seat by the classroom window, I looked out at the familiar elementary school campus.

I felt hazy and extremely tired, and my body felt so heavy that I wanted to slide off the chair, roll onto the ground, and bury myself in the earth.

"Yes! I think Shizuku-chan is perfect for it!"

“Huh!?”

Shizuku's body trembled when her name was suddenly called. At the same time, her tired mind remembered, "Ah, right, the after-school class meeting is open now." Incidentally, the roles for the final talent show of elementary school were also being decided.

"Yaegashi-san, Shirasaki-san recommended you. What do you think? Do you want to give it a try?"

The female homeroom teacher asked with a gentle expression. Shizuku, thinking back to herself, "Ah, now that I think about it, I really liked this teacher's smile back then," looked confused.

"Hey! Hey! Shizuku-chan! You're going to play a princess! Just try it out!"

"Ka-Kaori?"

Seeing her friend actively and excitedly recommending her for an important role, Shizuku finally understood the situation.

The content of the play is the common story of a princess and a knight. It is both an adventure story of a knight rescuing a delicate princess and a love story of a princess falling in love with a knight.

Why did you recommend yourself to play that role...

Thinking about this, Shizuku quickly remembered the answer. Or rather, it was crystal clear, because Kaori knew Shizuku very well.

She knew that Shizuku liked cute things, and she also knew that Zeng had a very girlish personality.

"But……"

"Shizuku-chan is absolutely adorable as a princess! Let's just treat this as our last memory of elementary school, okay?"

Although the talent show is held once a year, Shizuku has never played such a cute role.

Shizuku was unable to answer for a moment because of confusion and shame, as well as a little fear of her friend's excited breathing.

However, Shizuku was also self-aware. She knew that she was happy about what Kaori said, and she knew that she was very excited and wanted to play this role.

The changes in Shizuku's heart did not escape the eyes of the assault-type girl Kaori. She seemed to think that there was an opportunity and immediately started chasing her.

"If Shizuku-chan plays the princess, I'd like to play the knight. What do you think?"

“!… Um, then I’ll—”

Agree to act... Her cheeks flushed as she was about to answer.

“Hey~ It’s the other way around!”

The classmates' voices seemed to pour a bucket of cold water on Shizuku, and she could feel her enthusiasm rapidly cooling down.

"Kaori is the princess, and Shizuku-chan is the knight, right?"

"Eh? Aren't knights played by boys?"

"If it's Yaegashi-san, she should be able to do it! She's much more handsome than you guys!"

"That's right! She's also very good at kendo! She's a female knight!"

"I want to see Yaegashi-san play a knight."

Suddenly, the tide turned in favor of Shizuku as the knight. Kaori, in an effort to change the tide, stood up from her seat and waved her hands vigorously, trying to emphasize her proposal, but...

The class's perception was indeed not so easy to change. Perhaps because tears were gradually welling up in Kaori's eyes, or perhaps to calm the noisy order, the female head teacher clapped her hands.

"Alright, everyone, don't ignore Yaegashi-san... Yaegashi-san, what do you want to do?"

There was a hint of severity in the teacher's gentle smile.

Shizuku felt her body was heavy as if it was filled with lead, and she felt as if the tired waves were about to sweep her away.

Shizuku understood very well, she knew exactly how things would develop next. No, it should be said that she remembered it very clearly.

"...I want to play a knight."

"Shizuku-chan!?"

Shizuku said so. A smile spread across her face, as if she really thought so. Then, with a mischievous expression, she said:

"Kaori can't play a knight. Holding a sword for you is out of the question. Even if I were to play a princess, I'd definitely say, 'I can't bear to watch this, Knight-sama,' and then fight myself."

Hearing Shizuku say this, the atmosphere in the classroom instantly became lively.

Shizuku had a deep impression of the teacher's embarrassed expression at that moment. And the look Kaori gave her was also etched in her memory. Her expression was filled with rage, as if to ask, "Why did you say that?" Her eyes, filled with what she couldn't tell was anger or sadness, pierced Shizuku's heart like a knife.

It seems that her friend was very unsympathetic to Shizuku's statement that she wanted to play a knight. She even stopped talking to her for three days after that.

However, she would never leave Shizuku's side, and Shizuku remembered that this made her quite troubled at the time.

——Putting others first and being courteous to others will satisfy you?

When she came to her senses, Shizuku was in complete darkness and couldn't even tell whether her feet were on the ground.

However, she felt the words echoing in her head pierce deeply into her chest.

Perhaps there was a hole in my chest, and fragments of memory kept flowing out along with the pain in my chest.

──Yaegashi-san, I'll leave the rest to you!

Shizuku, a junior high school student, smiled and agreed, "Okay, leave it to me."

──If it's Yaegashi-san, it should be fine, right?

Shizuku, a high school student, smiled and replied, "Of course not."

──Shizuku is capable of anything~

Shizuku smiled bitterly in her heart...I'm not omnipotent.

──Shizuku won't leave me, right?

"Don't rely on me." The truth slipped out accidentally.

——From now on, I will always be relied upon and will always protect others...

Shizuku yelled, "Stop it!" She tried to stop the voice in her head, but her voice seemed to blend into the darkness, and could not be heard at all.

──I want to be alone.

She could no longer distinguish between fragments of memory and whispers, but only silently cried out, "No such thing!"

Suddenly, Shizuku seemed to hear the voice of the girl she had always thought was her friend.

──What I hate most is your arrogant attitude that thinks you are great just by working hard to help others.

Shizuku suddenly understood the darkness that enveloped her: it was her own uneasiness and anxiety. These emotions were like a rope around her neck, leaving her heart in a state of turmoil.

I hate this place... Shizuku thought to herself, and began to struggle, trying to find a way out.

"!……Who are you?"

At some point, someone appeared beside her. Though the shape was too blurry to discern, it was a white figure. It had a white ponytail and dark red eyes. Though strange, it was unforgettable. Shizuku's image was deeply imprinted in her mind.

The white figure smiled, its mouth opening into a crescent shape.

Then she pointed and whispered in Shizuku's ear.

──Look, in that sunshine, there is no me (you).

Shizuku felt a chill down her spine, as if someone had grabbed her heart. At that moment...

“Really?! Stop making such a fuss, ahhhhhhhh.”

Shizuku's eyes suddenly opened wide. She felt as if she were daydreaming, a light-headed feeling. Although she was confused for a moment, she quickly grasped the situation.

The place we are currently in is a small room-like space a few hundred meters deep in the great maze.

Hajime nearly transformed into a beast, but after being physically stopped by Shia, they continued on for about three hours before discovering this place on the road.

The constant whispering of the voice in their ears was draining Guanghui and the others' mental strength. Hajime saw that Guanghui and the others had reached their limit, so they took a short rest not far from the depths.

Shizuku sat down against the wall with her knees hugged, resting her head on them and seemed to fall asleep for a while.

She broke out in a cold sweat, as if the chill reached her bones. It was extremely cold. This couldn't just be due to the temperature.

Shizuku shook her head, trying to shake off the unpleasant feeling. She turned her gaze towards the roar that had woken her, only to see Hajime being held in a wrist-crushing cross-arm lock by Shia.

"What are you doing, Shia? You almost broke my hand."

"What are you talking about with that carefree look on your face? By the way, Miss Yue, if you don't behave yourself, be careful or I'll shoot you in the heart (physical)."

“…Um, I’m sorry. Hajime, who wants me but has to endure it because he’s in the labyrinth, is so cute…”

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