Leave a comment

Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

“How did you feel about the fight with Makoto earlier? What do you think now that you’ve fought him?”
“I’m afraid to say that he’s quite strong. At the very least, he’s capable of completely destroying us the way we are now.”

After the battle with Toriyama, I Tsukihara Hikari, unlike Ichinari, was not given any significant punishment apart from receiving stricter training. I was currently kneeling before Her Highness Topersion in her room.

I was doing this out of my own will. This was the path I’d chosen to stay alive and be as happy as possible.

Regardless of what others thought of me or viewed me as heartless or a traitor, I would not regret deciding to swear my loyalty to Her Highness Topersion and serve as a tool for the Fraus Kingdom.

If only death awaited me because of this choice, then I was willing to accept it with sincerity. Just the way that he had.

I’d be lying if I said my feelings weren’t shaken when I met him, but I also managed to reaffirm my choice to remain a tool.

“You may say that, but can you guarantee you didn’t hold back? Truth be told, I value you more than the other weapons; however, I have one concern, and that is your relationship with Makoto. You swore allegiance to Fraus because of guilt over his death, no? If not, you wouldn’t have made such a request.”

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t harbor any doubts. However, there is also the fact that we were inside the castle and that I was limited to which spells I could use. Be that as it may, I’m not strong enough to go easy on him. He not only bested Kyosuke and Shun with his bare hands but also defeated Seira using a Lower Spell. I believe he’s superior to us when it comes to physical and magical strength.”

“If you end up fighting him again in the future, do you think you’ll be able to maintain your loyalty?”

“Yes. I’m convinced he died. What we saw was nothing more than a monster brought back with Forbidden Magic. Knowing that I won’t lose myself a second time. Besides, it looked like he wished for us to become Fraus’ tools. That is why there is no need for me to feel any guilt about fighting him as one.”

Truth be told, the kidnapping of the spirit was a major blunder. We should’ve been held responsible for it. However, if the people involved in the case were to be punished, the Fraus Kingdom wouldn’t be able to recover.

Besides, none of the other kingdoms knew that the spirit had been kidnapped, so if we did our best to keep the information in the castle and regulate it, it was unlikely to leak out.

Rather, it was fortunate that the only witnesses to the spirit’s abduction were us—the heroes now reduced to slaves—and Her Highness. Even if the information did leak, it would most likely just say that some bandits had broken in.

“Given that you cannot lie to us, I’ll believe your word. After all, I too wanted to reaffirm his strength. Besides, when it comes to magic, you’re either the best or second best in the whole kingdom, Hikari. But he’s even above you, isn’t he?”
“That is correct.”
“Then poking him isn’t a good idea. Let’s just wait for him to self-destruct. Does that make you feel better?”

Her Highness asked in a teasing manner as if to test me.

If I were a knight, I’d probably say that I wouldn’t settle for that and that I’d win next time, but, at the end of the day, I was a tool. I could only tell the truth or keep silent.

“Yes. To be honest, I’m relieved. If we were to fight right now, I’m afraid I can’t find anything that will help me win.”
“That’s fine. No one could have anticipated he’d be this powerful. It felt as though the Demon Lord himself had come to abduct the spirit. Honestly, we should just be grateful to still be alive. Now then, perhaps I should reward you for being the most reliable hero among them. Tell me—what is it you desire?”

Her Highness asked with a pleasant smile. If I asked to be released here, I’d probably suffer the same fate as Ichinari. It was evident that she asked that just to test me. To see whether my loyalty was the real thing.

Even though the Slave Magic made it impossible for me to lie, this still wasn’t enough for her. That was just the kind of person Princess Topersion¹ was. Still, it would be disrespectful to simply turn down the offer of a person with higher status than yourself.

“I know this may be too much, but can you tell me about Kyosuke?”
“I see. Naturally, you’d be curious—it ties directly to your promise, doesn’t it? I recall you asking me to ensure that Mika, Kyosuke, and Takatoshi would suffer once I was finished with them. Or… are you trying to atone for the sins you committed against him?”
“It’s an egotistical request masked as an apology.”

I did not lie when I said that. I thought that if I had the three who harmed him the most suffer, I’d be able to pay him back at least a little bit. However, this was nothing more than my self-satisfaction masked as a form of an offering to him².

No matter how many letters of remorse a child killer from a car accident might send to the parents, or how many flowers they might donate, it would never bring peace to the child. In the end, it would only upset the parents.

So, despite knowing that my wish would likely anger him, I still couldn’t help but want to do it so that I could satisfy myself.

I couldn’t say with certainty whether I would suffer when I eventually died or was discarded. After all, Her Highness had no plans to kill me. That was because she needed me to act as her faithful weapon.

“I see. On the surface, it may seem like you’re destroying yourself, but you’re simply staying true to your desires. I don’t hate it. In fact, I can relate,” Her Highness said, her expression content.

Right now it was best to live my life as a tool, making sure that Her Highness was happy.

“You asked about Kyosuke, didn’t you?” she continued. “We used him as a test subject for a Forbidden Magic experiment. As for whether it was a success or failure—that’s hard to say. The result is that Kyosuke’s body is now controlled by something else. I assume it’s the soul of the thug we used for the experiment. However, that thug’s soul seems to have broken down, leaving Kyosuke nothing more than a mindless doll.”

“A doll that follows commands, showing only the bare minimum signs of life. While he’s useful in some ways, his capabilities are limited. Overall, we see it as a net positive—we turned a troublesome person into a compliant puppet. That said, we’re keeping a close eye on him to see how things develop.”

“Is there a chance that his body will eventually break down, too?” I asked.

“Of course. If the body and the soul begin to reject each other, it’s entirely possible. To prevent that, we left the original soul inside. So, technically, Kyosuke is still alive. He exists within his body, even while being controlled by this unknown entity.”

“Thank you for telling me,” I said.

I couldn’t help but wonder what such an existence must feel like.

Strangely, learning the truth didn’t feel as unsettling as I had expected. In some inexplicable way, I almost felt… okay with it³.

1. Robinxen: I just read this as Princess Top Person and now I can’t unsee it and have to wonder if that was the author’s intent.
2. Robinxen: This person is vaguely decent, I hope there’s a full redemption arc.
3. Robinxen: They’re starting to break in their own way too…

Support Us

Unlock Early Access ------- Select Project ------- Project Gender Bender Project Necro ∴ Support your favorite series and unlock chapters before the public release.