Vol. 1 Chapter 8 – Kaede

Junpei freezes at the appearance of someone he never expected to see and Kaede speaks to him with a lonely expression.

“You’ve been acting out, haven’t you, Junpei. I thought you just blew off our dinner promise, but to find out you’ve been arrested… that’s not something I can laugh about. Not at all.”

“K-Kaede-san, why are you…?”

“Why? That’s what I want to ask. I was at school since morning when I got a message from Okumura-sensei, saying he needed me to protect him. I took a katana from the Red Room’s armory and tracked his presence using clairvoyance magic to follow him here. But why…why would you make me do something like this?”

At that moment, Meryl stepped forward. Kaede noticed her, straightened her posture, and gave a respectful bow.

“It has been a while, Meryl-dono. Thank you for your help back then.”

“Yeah. When I used Meryl ninjutsu to look into Junpei’s memories, I remembered you. You’ve grown a lot.”

“Y-You know each other?”

That question from Junpei was probably the most foolish one in the room. Sonia, on the other hand, had already grasped everything, her face showing full understanding.

“I see… so that’s how it is…”

“What do you mean,『that’s how it is』?”

“You still don’t understand? Ten years ago, ten girls under the age of ten were used as test subjects for Master Trixie’s domination magic experiment… Kaede-san was one of them.”

“Wha—!”

Junpei let out a startled cry but there was no other possible conclusion. That meant Kaede was being controlled by Okumura through the ring.

The moment he understood that, a blinding rage surged up inside Junpei.

“You—”

“Whoa now, don’t rush things. The reason she’s serving as my assistant is by her own will.”

“What nonsense are you spouting!”

Junpei flared up in fury and tried to close in on Okumura, but Kaede herself stepped in front of him, blocking his way.

“No, Okumura-sensei is right. I am not under any domination magic. By my own will, I am assisting Okumura-sensei and cooperating in the analysis of the markings engraved into this body.”

That statement shocked Junpei even more than the fact that Kaede had been one of the ten test subjects.

“What… are you saying…?”

“That’s right! Why would someone like you lend a hand to such heretical methods!”

“Of course, it is for the sake of world peace and for the sake of a greater order. The opinion that magicians are dangerous is entirely reasonable. I believe magicians should be properly managed.”

Hearing that declared so plainly, Junpei let out a voiceless cry. It was true that in this world there was a history of conflict between magicians and non-magicians. There were times when magicians ruled over people, and times when people persecuted magicians and burned them at the stake. Attack, be attacked, retaliate… and the chain of retaliation was, for the time being, brought to an end with World War II.

Driven by humanity’s determination to catch up to magic and surpass it, science and weaponry had advanced to the point of crossing a certain line during World War II. Seeing that, the magicians judged that if magic and science continued to compete like this, humanity would truly be destroyed. And so they made a historic decision known as the『Brave Abandonment』, relinquishing many of their own rights, sealing their power, making their knowledge public, and choosing to live while bearing greater obligations than ordinary people. And yet, was that still not enough? Was Kaede, a magician herself, saying that magicians should be managed to the point of having slave marks carved into them?

“Kaede-san… why would you go that far…?”

“Is it because you killed your mother?”

Meryl’s words were so shocking that even Junpei, who thought nothing could surprise him anymore, felt as if the ground had flipped beneath him. Kaede turned to Meryl with a dark smile.

“…You really do know everything, don’t you.”

“Well, I did check the records of those ten from back then, after all.”

Realizing that what had just been said was the truth, Junpei felt as though his chest were being crushed.

“Kaede-san… what do you mean by that…?”

“It’s nothing, just a dull story. I was born with an unusual talent when it comes to cutting things. If I traced something with my finger, I could cut anything. Wood, stone, even steel… and one day, I cut my mother.”

At that, Kaede looked up at the sky of the Twilight Zone, as if searching for a dark star, and began to speak.

“It was an accident. But because of it, Mother died. Father struck me, hated me and more than that, feared me and locked me away in a house confinement. A few years later, Master Trixie made an approach. I was offered to her by my father. As a demon child who should be managed forever… and I accepted it as well. I was at fault. Father wasn’t wrong. That’s what I thought.”

After saying that, Kaede brought her face forward again and fixed her gaze on Meryl.

“Meryl-dono. Ten years ago, after the battle, a dozen gold rings were found. You selected one of them as a radar and entrusted your companions with destroying the remaining rings and taking care of the ten of us who were rescued before you left, didn’t you? So you might not know this, but that person did not destroy the gold rings and instead distributed one to each of us. Do you know why?”

“Ah, I see. To protect you all. Higher-tier rings can nullify the commands of lower-tier ones, so if you’re wearing a gold ring, you can cancel out the commands of the bronze and silver rings that Master Trixie spread the most throughout the world.”

“Yes, exactly. And I returned to my father and offered that ring to him. Right now, it is in the possession of Okumura-sensei, the successor to Master Trixie’s research. I am cooperating with Okumura-sensei of my own will. I am not being controlled by the ring.”

After hearing that entire confession, Junpei couldn’t say a word. If she had been burdened with such karma, then it felt unavoidable that Kaede would arrive at this point. But Sonia was different.

“Even so, to go as far as harming people… to calmly cooperate with such a villain, someone who would injure our Kondo-sensei without hesitation, is completely outrageous! Just what kind of face did you make as you stole the consciousness of so many people and inflicted such severe injuries on Kondo-sensei?!”

At that, Kaede furrowed her brows in displeasure.

“What are you talking about?”

“Are you seriously going to play dumb? The one who used magic to render people unconscious, the one who injured Kondo-sensei… it could only be you!”

“Me? Don’t be ridiculous. The one who inflicted serious injuries on Kondo-sensei was Meryl-dono.”

“No way, that’s not true!”

Junpei found himself shouting that without thinking. What echoed back in his ears were Okumura’s words from earlier.

【――Ah, I do feel bad about that. He wasn’t involved, yet I ended up sending him to the hospital. I’m really sorry. But I didn’t take his life, so it’s fine, right?】

So that meant the one who sent Kondo-sensei to the hospital was either Okumura, or Kaede acting under Okumura’s orders. But Junpei didn’t want to believe that Kaede had done it, and he forced the words out.

“It wasn’t Meryl who hurt Kondo-sensei. The one who did it… was Okumura.”

At that, Kaede fixed Junpei with a clear, unwavering gaze and spoke.

“Junpei, that’s impossible. Okumura-sensei is not that kind of person. More importantly, I was with Okumura-sensei the entire time. The one who injured Kondo-sensei was someone else.”

There wasn’t the slightest hint of doubt in Kaede as she declared that. She wasn’t the kind of person who could lie about something like this. Okumura had been with Kaede the whole time.

“W-What does that mean…?”

As Junpei let out that shaken voice, Meryl sighed and looked at Okumura.

“Old man, you used the ring’s power after all, didn’t you?”

“What are you talking about?”

After giving Okumura a knowing look at his feigned ignorance, Meryl turned her gaze back to Kaede.

“Kaede-chin, what do you think domination magic actually is?”

“What do you mean, what? It’s magic that makes people obey, isn’t it? It’s true that it can force unwanted pain onto someone. It’s only natural that it’s called slave magic. But when a magician makes a mistake, because they possess power, it can become something irreversible. That’s why—”

“That’s not what I mean. Basically, Kaede-chin, you think the power of domination magic only affects the body, right? That it’s just magic that forcibly makes someone obey and controls their body.”

At that pointed remark, Kaede’s eyes widened, and Junpei felt the same shock.

“Huh, isn’t it? Magic that turns someone into a slave is usually like that, right?”

Then Meryl suddenly raised both her arms and made a big X, saying:

“Okay, that’s completely wrong. Totally wrong. What makes domination magic truly merciless is that it can give orders to memory, consciousness and the mind itself. If you tell someone to forget, they forget. If you tell them to remember, they remember. If you tell them to respect, they respect. If you tell them to love, they love. It can freely rewrite memories, emotions, thoughts, beliefs, everything inside the head. That’s why it’s called domination magic. Got it?”

Faced with that barrage of words, Kaede seemed unable to respond.

Meanwhile, Meryl continued without slowing down, turning the tip of her words toward Okumura.

“Now I get everything. The reason the people involved in the plan ten years ago are unconscious is because Kaede-chin used her magic to sever their consciousness. The reason a teacher at Junpei’s school was severely injured and it got blamed on Meryl is because you tracked the location from a distance using clairvoyance, then took them out along with the surrounding space, making it a perfect crime, right? Of course, in both cases you gave Kaede-chin orders through the ring, and once it was over, you erased her memories, Meryl.”

“That’s a lie!”

The one who raised that denial, her face drained of color, was Kaede after all. Even the katana she held trembled as she glared sharply at Meryl.

“Okumura-sensei holds the ring so that he can correct me when I make mistakes! There’s no way he would use me like that… like some convenient assassin!”

『Kaede-san…』Junpei murmured in a voice that barely came out. The way she stubbornly tried to believe in Okumura was, in a sense, pure. Too pure… to the point that even Okumura himself was giving a wry smile.

“…That’s enough, Kaede-kun. Let’s kill Meryl and the others and end this.”

“Huh?”

Kaede turned back toward Okumura as if caught completely off guard. Meeting her gaze, Okumura spoke.

“Even I have never given an order to kill someone until now. Whether they were former enemies or allies, I only ever stopped at taking their consciousness. But Meryl is different. I can’t let her live. The other two as well.”

“…Okumura-sensei. What… are you saying? I don’t understand.”

Still stunned, that was all Kaede could manage to say. Okumura gave a small shrug in response.

“Well, to put it bluntly, what Meryl said is mostly correct. I created an alternate personality inside you for agent use and when it was time to act, I would activate that one. Wake up, Maple.”

In that instant, Kaede’s presence changed. Then, slowly turning her face back toward Junpei and the others, Kaede showed no expression at all. As those dark eyes looked at him, Junpei felt a chill run all the way to his fingertips.

“A-an alternate personality? Maple?”

“Calling it an alternate personality is a bit much. It’s more like a machine that simply executes orders. Tampering with memories every time is troublesome, and if inconsistencies pile up, it could cause confusion. So I constructed a separate mode called Maple. Convenient, right? Now then, Maple. Kill the three of them.”

What exactly happened in the next instant, Junpei couldn’t clearly see. There was only a sound so sharp it made him want to shut his eyes and Sonia had moved to shield him, catching Kaede’s blade with her shield.

Seeing that, Okumura’s eyes widened.

“Kaede couldn’t cut through that?!”

“You underestimate the descendants of the Hero at your peril. If she cuts through space itself, then we shall simply twist space in response!”

Then Sonia pushed Kaede back with her shield and thrust forward with the holy sword, Aurora Spark, held in her right hand. Kaede slipped past it smoothly. But if she hadn’t dodged, what would have happened?

From there, Kaede and Sonia clashed blades, shifting into a level of offense and defense far beyond Junpei’s comprehension. Both of them were wielding real swords. Panicking, Junpei turned on Meryl.

“Hey, Meryl! You said higher-tier rings can nullify the commands of lower-tier ones, right?”

“Yeah, but Meryl’s ring is Gold, and theirs is also Gold. That means they’re equal rank. In that case, it turns into a battle of overwriting each other’s commands.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?!”

“Hm… Meryl has an idea, but Sonia-chan, can you somehow… you know, manage to stop Kaede-chin’s movements?”

At that, Sonia fired off a probing thrust and replied rapidly.

“It won’t be that convenient. Even buying time like this won’t last long! If it looks like I’m about to be defeated… I might have to finish it!”

“Oi!”

Junpei shouted without thinking. He didn’t want to see Kaede’s blood, nor Sonia’s.

“Meryl, can’t you do something about this?”

“Meryl’s the type whose usable magic changes depending on what she’s wearing. If I change clothes now and dispel the Twilight Zone, we’ll end up back in the underground of the Magic Rehabilitation Institute, and then police reinforcements will show up… it’ll be a mess?”

“You’re useless, come on!”

“That’s why you do it, Junpei.”

“What?”

“If Meryl can’t, then Junpei can, right? Stop Kaede-chin’s movements, okay? Fight!”

—Damn it, I walked right into that.

Even so, in this situation, for Sonia’s sake and for Kaede’s, he had no choice but to do it himself.

“So I just have to stop her movements, right?”

“Yup!”

Turning his back on Meryl as she nodded, Junpei began walking toward Kaede and the others. It felt terrifying, like stepping into the middle of a tornado, but if he hesitated now, he’d regret it for the rest of his life.

—But how? The only thing I can do is ero magic. Even if I strip her with Cross Break, with Kaede-san in that robot-like state, she probably wouldn’t even feel embarrassed.

As if reading his thoughts, Sonia shouted out:

“Junpei-san! If you’re going to stop her movements, then it’s that! That!”

“That… you mean that? Will it even work?”

“Believe in me.”

At that moment, the fact that Sonia had turned her gaze toward Junpei worked against her. Kaede’s palm struck Sonia square in the jaw. The unexpected blow rattled her brain, and Sonia cried out,『Kuh!』as she dropped to one knee. Kaede raised her sword above her.

Junpei had no time left to hesitate.

—One shot. I’ll finish it in one shot!

Junpei gathered his magic power at an incredible speed, far beyond what you’d expect from someone labeled a failure, focused his image, and thrust out his right hand toward Kaede.

“【Over Feeling】!”

A wave of light burst forth from his right hand and illuminated Kaede. In that instant, Kaede’s bold yet fluid sword strike warped dramatically, the blade’s wind veering far off from Sonia and ending in a swing through empty air. Not only that, Kaede nearly dropped her sword as she staggered back one step, then two.

“Ah—! Ugh—!”

Even if she had been turned into a machine-like alternate personality, it didn’t mean her sense of touch had been taken away. With Over Feeling excessively sharpening all of her bodily sensations, even the resistance of the air as she moved sent overwhelming pleasure through her body, leaving her unable to move properly.

“Now!”

Sonia, who had been down on one knee, sprang back up and slammed the edge of her shield into Kaede’s side. As Kaede convulsed and rolled on the ground, Meryl leapt in next.

“Triple combo!”

Then, Meryl quickly removed the ring from the middle finger of her right hand, grabbed Kaede’s left hand, and forcibly slipped it onto her ring finger.

“Success!”

The moment Meryl shouted, expression returned to Kaede’s face. She had switched back from Maple to Kaede.

From Over Feeling to that moment, it all happened in an instant. And Okumura didn’t seem to fully grasp what had just occurred in that single instant.

“What—! What did you do?! No… I see…!”

“By putting a ring on her, commands from rings of equal or lower rank get canceled, remember? This should bring Kaede-chin back to her senses.”

“Meryl-san!”

Sonia’s warning rang out at the same moment Meryl leapt like a rabbit and Kaede slashed her blade in a single flash. Meryl flipped lightly through the air and landed beside Junpei.

“Whoa, that startled me.”

Junpei had no room to respond to Meryl. Perhaps the aftereffects of Over Feeling still lingered, as Kaede’s face was flushed red and she was breathing heavily, as if in distress.

“What’s going on? Didn’t she come back to her senses?”

“Hm… since the rings are the same rank, maybe the command and the cancellation are evenly matched. In that case, it comes down to her own will…”

“To her will?”

“She’s originally the type who believes magicians should be controlled…”

“No way…”

Meanwhile, seeing Kaede like that, Okumura seemed to regain his composure.

“Good! Maple… no, Kaede-kun! Listen to my voice!”

Kaede turned to look at Okumura. Her eyes were filled with anguish.

“Sensei… why… did you make me hurt people?”

“I’ll make you forget right away. Now, take off that ring and hand it over here.”

Okumura spoke as he focused on his own ring, but the ring Meryl had placed on Kaede canceled out the command. Even so, it wasn’t perfect. Caught between the two rings, Kaede wavered.

“Answer me… why…”

As Kaede pressed him again, Okumura’s expression suddenly changed, his anger laid bare.

“Because I can’t trust anyone! Master Trixie failed by making the plan too large. The fewer people who know about domination magic, the better! It should be carried out in secret by only a very small, select few! That’s why I had both former enemies and allies removed! You were the one who did it! You were the one who severed their consciousness and gave them a sleep no different from death!”

Struck by that reality, Kaede let out a groan as if her chest were being gouged over and over with a blade. Seeing her like that, Okumura’s expression shifted, and like switching between carrot and stick, he spoke with a gentle smile.

“But I was the one who gave the order. You did nothing wrong.”

“Sensei…”

“I will take responsibility for everything you’ve done. Come back to me.”

Kaede took a step toward Okumura. Seeing that, Sonia immediately bristled with killing intent but it was Meryl who grabbed her arm and stopped her.

“Meryl-san?”

“Wait.”

Still holding Sonia’s arm, Meryl was watching the person standing behind Kaede. Junpei stood there, staring at Kaede’s back with eyes flickering with bitter turmoil.

“Is that really okay?”

Kaede, who had been about to go to Okumura, suddenly stopped and turned back toward Junpei.

No, she turned back for him. This was the critical moment to free her from the ring’s control. Realizing that, Junpei decided to throw his feelings straight at her and took a deep breath.

“You said that magicians have great power, so they carry obligations and responsibilities. That they have to act properly. You lectured me about that over and over, didn’t you? So what is this?”

“Junpei…”

“Magicians should be controlled? That’s the obligation and responsibility they owe to society? But then you just follow orders, dump all responsibility on the one who gave them, conveniently have your memories erased, and even forget that you hurt people… isn’t that the most irresponsible thing of all?!”

“But… my mother…”

“Your mother has nothing to do with this!”

At Junpei’s sharp shout, Kaede’s entire body jolted. She flinched, as if frightened.

In reality, there was no way the fact that she had killed her own mother wasn’t significant. But he didn’t want her to stumble there. If she carried that cross for the rest of her life, kept blaming herself forever, and entrusted her entire life to someone else because of it… then what had she even been born for?

“I hate that. I thought Kaede-san was someone with nothing but guts…but it turns out you’re just a coward.”

When Junpei said that and smiled, Kaede’s eyes widened, and then her lips softened into a faint smile.

“A coward… huh. Yeah, I guess… I don’t like that either.”

“Right?”

“But…”

Kaede took the sword she had been holding all along with both hands, hoisted it up onto her shoulder, and pressed it against her own neck. At that action, Junpei froze.

“Kaede-san…”

“I wonder how many people I’ve hurt without even knowing. So many people have been unconscious for years… how am I supposed to atone for that? I even inflicted serious injuries on Kondo-sensei. When I face that reality… this is the only thing I can think of. Or do you think this too is the act of a coward?”

“I don’t. But that’s no good. It’s the wrong conclusion. I don’t want that.”

As Junpei stubbornly pushed forward toward her, Kaede shook her head as if refusing, but he ignored it and stepped closer, grabbing her right arm. At that moment, tears streamed down Kaede’s cheeks.

“I can’t live on like this…”

“I’ll support you with everything I’ve got.”

Driven by impulse, saying it as if staking everything on the spot, Junpei gently pressed his lips against Kaede’s, like sealing a promise. It was a light, pecking kiss.

Kaede’s eyes widened, and then she laughed, pushing Junpei away with her left hand.

“You’ve got some nerve, stealing my lips like that.”

Saying that, she swiftly brought down the sword held in both hands. It looked as though she was striking Junpei, but instead she cut through space itself, slicing the ring fitted on the ring finger of Okumura’s left hand, visible beyond the tear in space.

By distorting space, she severed only the ring without injuring Okumura.

When the gold ring split cleanly in two and fell to the ground, Okumura finally realized what had happened and raised his hand in front of his face.

“W-Wh—What?!”

Kaede looked back at him over her shoulder with a regretful expression.

“Goodbye, Okumura-sensei…”

“Why?!”

As he shouted that, a small hand grabbed his head from behind in a firm grip. It was Meryl.

“Okay, don’t move.”

“W-What?! Meryl! Let go, you witch!”

Letting out a terrified scream, Okumura grabbed Meryl’s forearm and struggled violently to free himself, but she didn’t budge at all.

“Ahh, that turned out nicely. Everything wrapped up neatly. Now it’s just you. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. I won’t kill you. I’ll just use another spell available with this outfit…and destroy your memories and knowledge.”

“Waa…”

Junpei couldn’t help but let out that sound. Kaede lowered her gaze, no longer trying to look at Okumura. Sonia remained expressionless. And Meryl, dressed like an evil female executive, twisted her lips into a grin.

“【Psycho Ruin】!”

A radiant wave of magical power turned into a purifying lightning strike, bleaching Okumura’s brain completely white.

◇

The Twilight Zone was dispelled and Junpei and the others returned to that solitary cell in the underground of the Magic Rehabilitation Institute. Okumura remained on his knees, head hanging, staring blankly as he muttered something under his breath. Watching him like that, Junpei began to feel uneasy.

“Hey, Meryl… is he really okay?”

“Yeah, he’s fine, he’s fine. Right now, his brain is reorganizing his memories. It’s automatically filling in the gaps from the memories he lost. Once that’s done, he should come back to his senses. More importantly…”

Meryl turned her gaze toward the cell door that Sonia had kicked down. At some point, a man was standing there. The moment Junpei saw him, he felt his blood stir with deep anger.

“You’re…!”

“Father.”

As Kaede said, it was her father, Hijikata Toshisaburou, the deputy director of this Magic Rehabilitation Institute. The man they had passed earlier in front of the elevator. Why he was here now—no, more than that, anger surged within Junpei at how he had treated Kaede, and he tried to lunge at him.

But Sonia quickly grabbed his hand and held him back.

“Calm down. Let’s hear him out first. You, why are you here?”

“I was called by the witch over there.”

Called a witch by Toshisaburou, Meryl gave a small nod and replied.

“After Sonia-chan rushed off to save Junpei, Meryl made a little detour and called him over. He’s an important person here and involved in more ways than one, so I thought I’d have him handle the cleanup.”

“Hold on, Meryl. What do you mean cleanup? Could it be that this guy is the real mastermind? I mean, think about it. He knew about the rings, and he was Okumura’s superior…”

“It seems there’s some misunderstanding. First, I’d like to confirm the information. And Okumura-kun… what exactly happened here? What did you do to him?”

As Toshisaburou stepped into the room saying that, Junpei glared at him with anger, but with Sonia firmly holding his hand, he couldn’t move.

Before long, Meryl began explaining the series of incidents, and as Junpei watched Toshisaburou’s responses to her explanations, it gradually became clear that, frustratingly enough, the man was innocent.

Eventually, Meryl finished her explanation, and having fully grasped the entire situation, Toshisaburou let out a deep sigh.

“When I heard about the incident with the witch Meryl hijacking the broadcast, I had my suspicions… but to think Okumura-kun was really doing something like this…”

At that detached, almost indifferent way of speaking, Junpei could no longer stay silent. For Kaede’s sake, who had been looking down and unable to say anything this whole time, he felt he had to speak up.

“Hey! Don’t lie! Are you saying you didn’t know anything?! Ten years ago, you handed Kaede-san—your own daughter—over to Master Trixie! And when she came back with the slave mark carved into her, you took the domination ring from her, didn’t you? That ring ended up with Okumura. Why? Answer me!”

Toshisaburou fell silent for a few seconds before finally opening his mouth.

“…Ten years ago, Okumura-kun told me this. That he had been deceived by Master Trixie and had become involved in an evil conspiracy. That he wanted to atone. He asked me to entrust both the ring and Kaede to him. He said that he would guide Kaede properly so that she would not make any mistakes.”

Hearing that, Sonia’s grip on Junpei’s hand tightened.

“And you believed him?”

“No. I knew at the time that he was lying. He likely wanted to analyze the ring and the markings, and inherit the research on domination magic.”

“I-If you knew that, then why?!”

Raising her voice in agitation, Sonia demanded an answer but Toshisaburou replied coldly.

“Because I thought that would be fine. That is why I pretended to trust him and entrusted the ring Kaede brought back to Okumura-kun. However, let me be clear, I did not confirm what he was truly thinking or what he had been doing over these ten years. What I just said was nothing more than my own speculation at the time. But it was a failure. To think he would use Kaede like an assassin and harm innocent people… it was truly a failure. I am sorry…”

Because his words carried genuine sorrow, Junpei felt both anger and an equal amount of confusion.

“What are you lamenting for? If that’s the case, then you, as her father, should’ve made sure nothing like that happened in the first place! You should’ve properly watched over your daughter! And yet… why? Why…?”

Overwhelmed by the sheer helplessness of it all, a single tear slipped from Junpei’s eye before he could stop it. Still holding his hand, Sonia spoke.

“I see, I understand now. It’s quite simple. You abandoned your duty as a father. You were afraid of your daughter… of Kaede-san.”

At that, Toshisaburou’s eyes widened in shock, and then he let out a bitter, tearful smile as if he had resigned himself.

“Do you understand how I felt when my young daughter, even if it was an accident, killed my wife? My daughter looked like a monster to me, and I tried to pretend she had never been born. I locked her away in a house confinement and forgot her existence. When Master Trixie somehow learned of Kaede’s existence and approached me to hand her over, I thought it would surely lead to nothing good… and yet, if it meant taking my daughter away, I didn’t mind. So I handed her over. And as expected… nothing good came of it.”

After that confession, as if bleeding out his very soul, Toshisaburou finally looked properly at Kaede for the first time.

“Kaede, look at me.”

At that, Kaede, who had been silently looking down this whole time, gathered her courage and raised her face, meeting her father’s gaze head-on.

“Father…”

“Your friend said that I abandoned my duty as a father. That is correct. I pushed all responsibility concerning you onto Master Trixie, then onto Okumura-kun… and both ended in failure. Now that things have come to this, I will stop running.”

Saying that, Toshisaburou took out a talisman from inside his suit. A charm. When he crushed it in his hand, a single Japanese sword appeared. It wasn’t constructed from magic, but something stored within the charm itself. As he drew the blade, he spoke in a calm, even tone.

“At that time, when you killed your mother with your own hands, I should have killed you and then taken my own life. I will do it now. I will return to the path I fled from, pick up what I cast aside, and take responsibility for letting a demon child like you into this world. That will be my final duty… as a father.”

And the moment Junpei heard the sound of the sword’s hilt being cast aside, he shouted.

“You idiot! You sold Kaede-san! Don’t act like her father now! If you want to act like a father, then apologize first!”

But Toshisaburou was no longer looking at Junpei. He had his sword ready, his eyes fixed solely on Kaede.

“Apologize…!”

“Junpei, stand back.”

Kaede said that to Junpei, who was trembling in frustration.

“Kaede-san…”

“Thank you. But please, leave this to me.”

With her saying it so clearly, there was no longer anyone who could interfere.

And so, father and daughter faced each other. Toshisaburou stepped forward, his eyes dark and cold. Facing him, Kaede spoke calmly and with dignity.

“Father is right. He isn’t wrong. Everything… all of it… it was my fault for killing Mother with these hands. I’ve lived believing that until today.”

For a moment, Junpei thought Kaede might choose to accept death quietly at her father’s hands. But in the next instant, a fierce aura enveloped her, and she raised the sword she held toward him.

“But I’m no longer a child. I can take responsibility for what I’ve done myself!”

“So you would defy your father.”

“If you tell me to die, then I will defy you. I will live. There are people behind me who will support me, so even if my opponent is you, Father… I won’t lose!”

From that moment, the battle had already begun. Though neither moved yet, their fighting spirits clashed like invisible blades, their wills sparking violently against each other.

Toshisaburou made the first move. Kaede stepped forward to meet him. As they passed each other, they exchanged slashes, Toshisaburou’s blade tearing through the darkness and Kaede’s blade sweeping it away, their supremacy colliding.

And then—

“Ukyah!”

A broken tip of a blade flew to their feet, and startled, Meryl clung to Junpei. Though he felt the softness of her body, his gaze and attention remained fixed on Kaede. Kaede’s sword traced a beautiful arc, shining like a crescent moon, while Toshisaburou’s blade had snapped halfway through.

“With my sword broken…”

Toshisaburou muttered weakly as he looked down at it, but Kaede gave no reply. Having passed each other at the moment their blades met, father and daughter now stood back to back, facing opposite directions.

“Kaede, from here on, do as you wish. There is nothing more I can do for you.”

“…Goodbye!”

With that cry from her entire being, Kaede swept her blade across the space before her. A rift opened in the void, and wind began to blow in from beyond it. It seemed she had cut through space itself, creating a passage to somewhere outside. Kaede leapt into that rift.

In that moment, Junpei did not miss the glimmer of tears scattering in the air. Pushing away Meryl who was clinging to him, he dashed after Kaede, but stopped in front of Toshisaburou. After a brief hesitation, he swung his fist and struck Toshisaburou square in the face. The impact rang out sharply, and his own knuckles throbbed with pain, but enduring it, he pointed at Toshisaburou with that same hand and shouted:

“Someday, you’d better apologize to Kaede-san!”

Then, this time for real, Junpei ran after Kaede and leapt into the dimensional rift.

“Take care of the cleanup. And make sure to handle Junpei-san’s release procedures.”

“Take responsibility for everything, okay? Bye-bye.”

Sonia and Meryl followed as well, saying only that to Toshisaburou as they passed him, then entered the rift after Kaede and Junpei. The rift closed behind them, leaving only Toshisaburou and Okumura behind.

◇

Beyond the tear in space was a sandy beach somewhere, with white waves rolling in. There was no one around, but judging from the fact that the morning sun could be seen over the direction of the ocean, it was probably somewhere along the Pacific.

Kaede stood there alone at the water’s edge.

“Kaede-san!”

Junpei ran against the sea breeze until he reached her from behind. Kaede turned back, holding down her wind-tossed hair. There were traces of tears on her cheeks. Junpei tried to say something, but no words came out. Whatever he said wouldn’t be enough to comfort her. Even if he tried to encourage her, would that really ease her sorrow? Tangled in those thoughts, he fell silent, and Kaede spoke first.

“When something sad happens, it’s good to come look at the sea. When you gaze at the vast ocean, your sadness starts to feel small… that’s something Father taught me long ago.”

Then Kaede let her sword fall onto the sand and extended her right hand toward Junpei.

“Thank you for coming after me. It seems… I’m happy.”

Seeing her expression, Junpei impulsively pulled Kaede into his chest and embraced her. He even felt like he never wanted to let her go again. But the sound of waves washing ashore and the two sets of footsteps pressing into the sand reminded him that time wouldn’t stop for them.

“What are you two doing, hugging each other like lovers?!”

At that voice, Junpei turned with a wry smile. Sonia, still fully armored, was stomping toward them in a huff, with Meryl following behind.

Soon, as Junpei and Kaede loosened their embrace, Sonia stood before them, her eyes sharp with irritation.

“Honestly, honestly, honestly! There are many things we need to do and think about after this, but before that, there is one thing I want to make absolutely clear! Junpei-san, you said you like me, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Then between me and Kaede-san, which one do you like more?”

“Well, that’s…”

As Junpei faltered under the pressure of Sonia’s gaze, Kaede gently took his hand. When he looked, she was smiling.

“You said you’d support me with everything you’ve got, didn’t you?”

—Yes, I did.

Junpei answered in his heart, then steeled himself and met Sonia’s gaze head-on.

“In that case… I’ll make both of you happy!”

“It seems you wish to witness the true power of the holy sword Aurora Spark.”

“I don’t particularly mind that outcome either…”

At Kaede’s words, Sonia, who had been about to thrust Aurora Spark forward, nearly dropped to one knee.

“Hey, Kaede-san! You—!”

As Sonia protested, Meryl chuckled and said.

“Well, it’s fine, isn’t it? Kaede-chin only has Junpei anyway. Right, Sonia-chan?”

“Guh…” Sonia let out a strained sound from the back of her throat. Just as she was about to press Kaede, she suddenly stopped in her tracks and averted her gaze as if trying to escape. Meanwhile, Junpei tilted his head in confusion.

“What do you mean Kaede-san only has me?”

“It’s about the magic that protects chastity!”

“Oh, that’s the ero magic Virgin Protect, right? The one that makes it so you can’t do anything lewd with anyone except a specific person… kind of awkward to comment on. But in that case, we can just remove it—”

At that moment, Sonia looked at Junpei with a pained expression.

“…It is very difficult to say but that is likely impossible.”

“Huh?”

Leaving the stunned Junpei aside, Sonia turned a troubled gaze toward Meryl.

“Meryl-san. You used Virgin Protect in an applied way, as magic to preserve purity and chastity, in order to prevent a situation where children inherit the slave mark, correct?”

“Yeah, that’s right. There wasn’t any other way. It was an emergency measure, Meryl-style.”

“Well, that much is fine. However, Virgin Protect was originally a spell used by the Demon King with the meaning: ‘For the rest of your life, you cannot engage in such acts with any man other than me.’ Now, here is the question. From the Demon King’s perspective, would there be any need to remove that spell?”

“Nope.”

“That is your answer.”

For a moment, silence fell between the four of them. It made sense. The Demon King Xenon, who had dominated many women like slaves, would never have even considered removing Virgin Protect. As the silence stretched on, Sonia suddenly spoke as if recalling something.

“Even for the Lightfellow family, if our ancestor Arciela had not had a child with the Demon King, then neither the Hero’s lineage nor I would exist in this world.”

“Then what are Kaede-san and the others going to do in the future?”

“Having children is not the only purpose in life.”

Saying that, Sonia abruptly turned her gaze away. At that moment, Meryl spoke up in a cheerful tone.

“It’s fine! Since Virgin Protect is a spell that prevents doing anything lewd with anyone except the Demon King, then with Junpei, who is the Demon King’s reincarnation, it should probably work, Meryl!”

“…Huh?”

Junpei couldn’t immediately understand the logic he had just been told. When it finally sank in, it felt like an unimaginably heavy burden had suddenly dropped onto his back.

“W-Whaaaaat?!”

“Hehe. Come to think of it, Meryl also cast Virgin Protect on herself. Ten years ago, I tested it on myself before using it on Kaede-chin and the others. So Junpei, you’ll have to take responsibility someday.”

“Why does that suddenly make me responsible?! And wait a second! Didn’t you say Virgin Protect was used on the other nine girls besides Kaede-san too?!”

“Yeah, that’s right. So I want you to do your best, Junpei. Once you become a full-fledged ero mage and can remove the slave marks, I want you to marry all of them, Meryl!”

“Hey! That’s not okay!”

“Why not? They can’t do anything lewd with anyone except Junpei, so if they all end up falling in love with him, then everyone’s happy and problem solved, right?”

“Well, I don’t particularly mind that outcome…”

“I absolutely do not approve of such a thing! Well, I do honestly like Kaede-san, so I’ll generously overlook that after much consideration, but the other nine need to be evaluated! Evaluated!”

Seeing Sonia flare up as if lightning itself were crackling around her, Meryl tilted her head.

“Why are you the one taking charge, Sonia-chan? You’re not under Virgin Protect, right?”

“Trying to act like the main wife, Sonia? Then say it clearly right here that you like Junpei.”

“Gh—” Sonia let out a strained sound from deep in her throat. Then, slowly turning her gaze, she looked at Junpei. Junpei looked back at her, and their faces quickly turned bright red. Unable to endure the intense eye contact any longer, Sonia suddenly declared.

“I refuse to acknowledge it!”

Junpei gave a faint, wry smile, thinking it was just the usual Sonia after all.

However…

“But…”

“But?”

Sonia stepped lightly toward Junpei, then leaned in and whispered softly into his ear.

“You won’t be able to even begin working on slave magic or removing those markings unless you can master all forms of ero magic… so perhaps next time, we should try challenging【Virgin Protect】together.”

“Huh, wait, does that mean—”

As Junpei tried to ask what she meant, Sonia gently pressed her delicate fingertip against his lips, silencing him. 

Junpei felt like shouting out toward the sea.