Ally of Justice

Wakamiya Keita seemed to be the strongest human Sei had ever faced. Excluding Ria. She wasn't human.

He'd been distracted by his level and Gift, but upon closer inspection, his skills were also quite high across the board. He could use a considerable number of magic attributes too.

(Even without his Gift, wouldn't I be at a disadvantage against him?)

What made him even more dangerous was that he also had Identify.

He didn't know what circumstances led to this, but Keita wasn't just strong—he seemed difficult to kill.

Even compared to the Hero of Sealing, Wakamiya Keita's combat ability was overwhelmingly superior.

"He even has Danger Sense…"

After getting a room at an inn, Sei communicated with Ria. When he relayed the detailed skill list, agitation crept into Ria's voice.

"That's troublesome… So a long-range attack without warning wouldn't work on him."

"And even if we block his vision, he has some kind of resistance, so it might not be effective."

"Resistance too… I don't know how he obtained it, but he's a dangerous opponent."

The opponent's Identify was low level, so their disguise and concealment could block it.

But Danger Sense was the problem. Sei had learned various skills, but having them detected would render them meaningless. He had no stealth-type skills.

"First, gather information. Collect as much as you can about his personality, weaknesses, and range of activity."

Ria seemed to be quite cautious as well.

Starting the next day, Sei began investigating Wakamiya Keita.

He appeared to be working as an adventurer. His main requests involved monster subjugation.

It was fairly well known that he was a noble with a knight's title who had come to this city quite recently.

The mystery of how someone with murder on his criminal record could work as an adventurer was easily solved.

Noble privilege.

Nobles can sometimes commit murder without being punished.

Or when entering and exiting cities using noble privileges, their criminal record often goes unchecked.

His case was the latter, which was why word of his nobility had naturally spread.

Even though the nation had fallen, his status as a knight of Neosis was serving him well here.

And as for the reputation of Wakamiya Keita himself, it was extremely good.

Both as an adventurer at the Adventurer's Guild and in casual conversation around town, hardly anyone spoke ill of him.

At most, people said he didn't act very noble-like for a noble, which wasn't really an insult.

He was also called rough, but not in the sense of laying hands on women or children—at most, he was quick to pick fights.

There was one darker story: a noble who had been at odds with him, one who had long been surrounded by dark rumors, had been cursed to death.

This was probably the effect of the Instant Death Eyes.

Reportedly, the noble died in the middle of the day in front of a crowd, as if from some kind of seizure.

"Just between us, lots of good things have been happening ever since that boy came here."

That was from a neighborhood lady.

What had truly made his name famous was the recent monster flood.

No matter how renowned an adventurer might be, no one could fight tens of thousands of monsters.

But he went beyond the city walls and fought alone.

With the power of magic, he had taken down hordes of monsters one after another. Though in reality, it was the power of the Instant Death Eyes.

Some monsters got through, but there was no denying he had defeated the majority.

The fact that he collapsed after defeating them also scored him points. Well, it was probably just level-up sickness.

His popularity among the commoners of this city was high; he was truly a hero.

Even the governor probably couldn't do anything to him. Doing so might trigger a popular uprising.

That was the kind of existence the boy called Wakamiya Keita had become.

"Hmm…"

With the gathered information before her, Mako crossed her arms.

There was a huge gap between the Wakamiya Keita that Mako knew and his reputation in this city.

She'd heard he'd made advances on noble women in the past, but now it seemed more likely that nobles would be bringing marriage proposals to him.

"Maybe being given power and being able to act freely improved his character?"

"Even so, that's too extreme. Can people really change that easily?"

Mako said that, but she had changed too.

Biting a vampire to death wasn't something a Japanese high school girl could normally do.

"I spoke with him directly, and he seemed like nothing more than a slightly hot-headed but seemingly good-natured boy."

Chaos had even made direct contact. Sei had warned her beforehand that he was a dangerous person, but even from a distance, she apparently couldn't see him that way.

"I talked to him directly too, and he seemed like a humble, bashful sort of person."

Kukuri had approached him saying he wanted to write a poem about Wakamiya Keita. The above was his impression from that encounter.

"Huh?"

Mako tilted her head while keeping her arms crossed.

"Maybe the environment of this world just suited him better?"

But that would contradict his behavior in the Kingdom of Neosis.

So Sei consulted with Ria.

"Either he's skillfully deceiving those around him, or he's truly reformed—it's probably the former."

As expected of Ria-shishou, believer in innate human evil. Her judgment didn't waver.

"He works as an adventurer with plenty of money, and he can bed as many top-class prostitutes as he wants. He receives grateful looks from those around him while quietly eliminating his enemies. You could call it climbing the social ladder."

I see, so there's no need to go out of his way to act rough, Sei thought.

"How should we handle this?"

Honestly, it would have been faster if he were just a villain.

"It's difficult. First, let's try talking peacefully. It's risky, but…"

"Do you think the murder on his record is because he killed a noble?"

"No matter what kind of person they are, the fact that we have to return them doesn't change. Don't forget that."

With that, the communication cut off.

Now then, the contact phase.

What Sei was uncertain about was the method. Should he approach openly and alone, or should he bring Mako along?

Mako had become nearly immortal due to her vampire abilities, but she wasn't completely immortal. One glare and she'd die.

Therefore, it would normally make sense for Sei to make contact alone, but Mako insisted on accompanying him.

Meeting a familiar face in a completely foreign land. He had experienced how much comfort that could bring with Kanou Tamaki.

Sakamoto Ryota had also been shaken by Mako's presence. For better or worse, having Mako there made it easier to draw out a reaction from the other party.

Sei was the one who gave in. Inwardly, he found it rather pathetic that he was relying on Mako.

"Long time no see, Wakamiya Keita-kun!"

Two girls appeared before Wakamiya Keita as he walked down the street with several companions.

"Keita, you know them?"

"… Hm? Huh? Oh!"

Wakamiya Keita, called Keita, displayed surprise and joy all over his face.

"It's Tsubaki, right!? Thank goodness! You made it out safe too!"

His attitude was incredibly friendly.

When they said they wanted to talk, Keita excused himself from his companions and led Sei and Mako to a restaurant he frequented.

"Man, I was worried about everyone else, but I'm glad you're okay. Have you met anyone else? Wait, were you maybe looking for me?"

There were many questions Sei wanted to ask as well, but first he would answer.

"I've met three people so far. I was looking for you too, Wakamiya-kun."

"I see, do you have some way to find people?"

"Yeah, there's a map that locates heroes from Earth. It took some time though."

"I see. Were they all doing okay? Are they gathered somewhere maybe?"

"One of the three died. The others went back to Earth."

Two reactions appeared on Keita's face simultaneously.

"Died?"

"Kaneda-kun. He was working as a bandit and had killed several people. So… we killed him."

Keita seemed greatly shaken by those words too, but he calmed down after taking several deep breaths.

"If you kill people… you have to be prepared to be killed too, I guess… So, what's this about going back to Earth?"

"Ask Sei here about that."

"Ah… You look Japanese, but you're not, right? What kind of person are you?"

"No, I am Japanese. I was asked by Earth's god to return the heroes."

"Oh, nice job, god! Much appreciated!"

He seemed very enthusiastic about returning.

But in the next moment, his expression became deeply dejected.

"Ah, but can I really go back? I did some bad things… well, not bad things exactly, but problematic things."

"I don't think that's a problem. The god didn't seem to care much about that kind of thing."

"Does that mean it's okay even if you've killed people?"

Keita glared at him with an intimidating look. But it wasn't the Instant Death Eyes.

"No matter how many people you've killed, getting you back to Earth is what's important."

Sei explained the theory about how the existence of heroes reduces the distance between worlds.

"Compared to that, murder is probably irrelevant, right? I've killed plenty too, but this world's god hasn't complained."

"… For all that talk, you don't have murder on your record."

"So you used Identify. Killing bandits doesn't get recorded as murder."

"This world's reward and punishment system has too many problems. Noble privileges and all that crap."

"Is that about the murder on your record?"

"Ah… Well, yeah. Nobles are nothing but scum. I'll say it straight—I don't regret it. The details… I'll tell you if you really want to know, but it's not a story fit for women and children."

Keita easily agreed to return.

Sei even asked why, given that he had built up a position for himself in this world, but the answer didn't change.

"I mean, come on, there's no TV, no video games, no cell phones, no internet, and taking a bath is a huge pain. The level of civilization is way too low."

Despite being so fawned over, his answer was so practical that it actually surprised Sei.

"You're completely different from how you were in Neosis…"

"Well yeah, we're abduction victims, you know? We were summoned without permission, made into heroes, told there was no way back. If they're gonna do whatever they want, then I'll do whatever I want too. I always thought it was weird how you guys just obediently followed their orders. The worst part was when they tested the Instant Death Eyes on death row inmates."

Keita's argument did make sense.

And following that logic, it wasn't strange that he would protect the citizens and become a hero in this city that had nothing to do with the country that summoned him.

"Aren't you going back, Tsubaki?"

"I've… got some entanglements here, so I'm planning to go back last."

"Entanglements, huh… I'd like to at least say goodbye to some people I know, so can I go back tomorrow? I need to thank the people who helped me."

And just like that, easily, without the feared battle, the Hero of Instant Death Eyes would be returning home.

He even taught Mako, who was staying behind, how to learn new skills.

"This old lady can make orbs that grant resistances. They're crazy expensive, but it's convenient since you won't get poisoned or paralyzed anymore."

"So you're leaving… Well, if you can go back, you should go back. Take care."

The old woman at the magic tool shop said that somewhat sadly.

He also shared farewell drinks with the party members he'd been venturing into the demon territory with.

"You rich kid! Good for you!"

"I'm not a rich kid! I'm just a regular person!"

"What kind of knight says that!"

At that party was even the guild master of the Adventurer's Guild, showing Sei and Mako just how beloved Keita was.

"Oh, dwarves really are amazing."

Gantz had somehow joined in at some point, drinking alcohol like water. Kukuri sang, and the tavern grew lively.

"This is my farewell gift. I'm paying for everything!"

Keita got very drunk on top of the table.

The next morning, when Sei woke up late and peeked into the tavern, the drunken crowd was lying passed out on the floor.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Nn… Ah… I'm fine."

Keita got up and walked out of the tavern as he was.

"Well then, time to head home."

"You don't want anyone to see you off?"

"It'd get all sappy. I'll just go like this."

Keita said it bluntly, but in that moment, he turned a sharp gaze toward Sei.

"Kaneda… Was there really nothing you could have done?"

Sei couldn't immediately answer this all-too-legitimate question.

"… I think it would have been possible to completely incapacitate him and make him agree to return, even if it meant hurting him badly."

"I see… We're basically victims here, you know. Try to get everyone home safely. I know you've got it tough too."

Sei couldn't figure out what was wrong with this boy.

If he went back to Earth, he might just be a problem child after all. But in this world, he was undeniably justice itself.

"You're strong, you know…"

From what Mako had told him, Keita's position on Earth wasn't very good. Even with the difference in civilization levels, he should have been more comfortable here.

If he went south to Lemdria or Ogress, or even to the Nihon Empire that he'd only heard about, the level of civilization would increase and life would be easier.

Even so, Keita had decided to return immediately.

"By the way, what happens to our memories?"

"… Sorry, I don't know that either."

"Well… maybe it'd be better if I didn't remember. I might just end up with regrets."

Do it already, Keita said.

"Wish to go home. Then you can return."

He pressed the return stone to Keita's forehead. The next moment, Keita became light and vanished from that spot.

In the plaza of the city of Orga, there stands a bronze statue.

It is the statue of an adventurer once called the Infinite Mage, who protected the city from a horde of monsters.

No one would ever know where the boy called Keita truly came from, or where he truly went.

"I really have no eye for people, huh…"

Mako murmured with a sigh as the carriage rocked along.

"Yeah, I'm doing some reflecting too."

Though Sei's reflection was about killing the hero who had become a bandit.

He could have easily captured him. He had had the means to return him. He had killed him in his own anger.

Though when he'd consulted Ria about it, she had only said "Be more cold-hearted."

The only one in good spirits was Kukuri, who had obtained material for a new poem.

"We've finally reached the highway."

Kukuri pointed east as he spoke.

A narrow highway ran between the mountain ranges. Ahead lay the border, and beyond that, a region of allied city-states.

And there, five heroes had been confirmed.

Five. Would they be reasonable people like Keita?

"And three of them are moving together."

Sei sighed. This time, three heroes as a group. Depending on the combination of their Gifts, things could get out of hand.

"Even so, we've gotta do it. Let's do our best!"

Sei raised his hand to match Mako's forced enthusiasm.