Chapter 33: Oh, How Pitiful to Die!
Having finished their sukiyaki, Kazuma and the others left the traditional restaurant. On the way back, Kazuma once again rode in the limousine, chatting happily with Alicia until they reached his dormitory.
Watching this unfold, Stephen wondered if Alicia might be able to win Kazuma over, but since he had just been warned, he kept quiet and simply observed.
After a while, the limousine arrived at its destination. Kazuma and Alicia stepped out of the limo in front of the dormitory where Kazuma lived.
“Kazuma, here!”
“Hm? What’s this?”
“My ID! It’s for private use!”
“Ooh…! Seriously?”
“Totally serious! If anything comes up, don’t hesitate to call or send me a message! In fact, I’ll be contacting you too! Make sure you register it, okay!”
“Got it. Thanks for today. And please tell Stephen-san thank you for the meal.”
“Okay. I will!”
A brief moment of silence. Kazuma turned on his heel to head back to the dorm, but Alicia’s incredibly lonely expression made him stop in his tracks.
“Ah… Alicia, if I ever go to America, show me some tourist spots, okay?”
Kazuma, thinking he couldn’t just leave her when she looked like a dejected puppy, made the suggestion while scratching the back of his head, though it didn’t itch.
Alicia, who had thought they were parting ways for good, heard Kazuma’s words and, her eyes widening, replied.
“Eh, ah, yeah! I’ll be waiting!”
“No idea when that’ll be, though.”
“Then, let’s pinky swear! It’s a promise!”
“Okay. It’s a promise.”
Saying so, Kazuma and Alicia linked their pinky fingers. And then, they wove the magic words passed down from ages past to the present day.
“”Pinky swear, if you tell a lie, you have to swallow a thousand needles! Pinky cut!””
They quickly unlinked their fingers and grinned broadly. With this, the promise was made. Kazuma decided that he would definitely visit Alicia in America someday.
“Bye then, Kazuma! Let’s meet again!”
“Yeah. See ya.”
This time, it was truly goodbye. Kazuma waved as he parted ways with Alicia. She got into the limousine and, before the door closed, gave Kazuma a final farewell.
“Mwah! Bye, Kazuma!”
“Oh, uh…”
A blown kiss at the very end. The power of a blown kiss from a beautiful blonde was immense. Kazuma became flustered and stumbled back. He’d experienced it a few times from the prostitute onee-samas in the other world, but that was business, a kind of lip service.
He had never received one out of pure affection like Alicia’s. Not even from the female warriors he had fought alongside, braving countless life-or-death situations.
Then again, if a female warrior from that time had done such a thing, he would have teased her, asking if it was a sign of some cataclysm, and likely gotten punched for it.
The limousine carrying Alicia and the others drove away. Kazuma watched until it was out of sight, then, once it disappeared, he headed back to his dorm. On the way, Kazuma pressed his hand to his mouth, his face flushed red.
“That last part was too much of a foul play… Maybe I wouldn’t mind going to America.”
Kazuma’s resolve was incredibly shaky. He should have learned his lesson after being deceived by Honey Traps countless times in the other world, each time leaving him in shock, yet he remained an easily fooled man.
However, this time was different. Alicia wasn’t trying to deceive Kazuma. There might have been some calculation on her part, but her feelings for Kazuma were genuine.
◇◇◇◇
Alicia and the others, having dropped Kazuma off at his dormitory, were discussing the recent events.
“Hey, Alicia. Why did you interfere?”
“If I hadn’t interfered back there, Kazuma would probably be hostile towards America by now, you know?”
“How would you know that? We’ve even completed the legal procedures. If it came down to it—”
“Stephen. You’re not unaware of just how overwhelmingly powerful high-ranking Gifted are, are you?”
“Ugh… mm. Well, that’s true.”
“We’re operating under the assumption that Kazuma is the Crimson Knight. Legal measures are meaningless against someone who possesses even more Gifts than the ‘King,’ right?”
“…However, he’s still just a kid. No matter how powerful his Gift is, he can’t possibly do everything as he pleases, can he?”
“You think he can’t? Did you forget the Gift he showed during the Humanoid Ibinom incident? With that much power, he could take on the world.”
“That’s an exaggeration. America has the King. China has the Overlord, and Egypt has the Sun King. He can’t possibly take them all on.”
The names Stephen just listed were the three individuals hailed as the strongest in this world. All three possessed outstanding abilities and power unbound by anything.
“He’s above those three, you know? Do you understand how dangerous that is? He’s a child? Don’t be ridiculous. He’s a prodigy greater than the Kings. He’s not someone we can handle.”
“Is that why you stopped me earlier?”
“Yes, that’s right. I’d rather die than be hostile to him.”
“You’d go that far…”
“Besides—I kind of fell for him because his attitude didn’t change even after learning about me.”
Stephen, who had been drinking wine to wet his throat, heard this bombshell of a statement and choked spectacularly.
“Bffft!”
“Eek! Hey, that’s gross!”
“No, my bad. But, you ‘fell for him’? You’re joking, right?”
Wiping the wine dribbling from his mouth with his arm, Stephen questioned Alicia. In response, she looked embarrassed, rubbed her thighs together, and started poking her fingers together like a girl her age.
“I-I’m not joking… I’ve never talked to a boy like that before, and it was super fun, and he wasn’t scared of me at all. The fact that he didn’t even bat an eye when I playfully messed with him using my Telekinesis also scored high points with me…”
“Oh my God…!”
Stephen clutched his head, wondering if he was having a terrible nightmare. However, now that she mentioned it, because she had been able to use her Gift since childhood, she had few friends her own age, and boys, in particular, avoided her.
It was because her Gift was far too powerful. Approaching her carelessly would undoubtedly lead to injury. Not metaphorically, but actual physical injury.
Who in their right mind would willingly approach such a dangerous woman? Anyone other than an extreme eccentric or someone with peculiar tastes would likely fear even getting close to her.
In fact, even Stephen would freeze in fear if Alicia glared at him. Even knowing she wouldn’t attack recklessly, anyone would be terrified of someone who possessed the power to kill people so easily.
“B-But, I thought you got along well with the King, didn’t you?”
“Ah, yeah. He’s one of the few precious guys who talks to me normally, but… his personality, you know.”
“Ahhh… Yeah, that’s definitely a no-go.”
“Right? I mean, he’s a bundle of self-display. He’d absolutely never cherish a wife or anything, that guy.”
“Hmm… Well, he does seem like the type to neglect his family.”
It was a scathing assessment. Even those said to be the strongest in the world weren’t all perfect human beings. The King was a massive show-off, the Overlord a battle junkie. Frankly, they were nothing but sources of anxiety.
“Well, that’s why I’m thinking Kazuma, who seems to have normal values, might be good.”
“…Now that you put it that way, I might not be able to deny it completely.”
“But…”
“But? What is it? Is there something more?”
“It’s just a hunch, but I feel like things with Kazuma will end with us just being friends~”
“…Oh, really.”
Honestly, Stephen couldn’t care less at this point and casually brushed off Alicia’s worries.
◇◇◇◇
When Kazuma returned to his private room, opened the door, and stepped into the living room, Momoko and the others peered into the surveillance monitor. Momoko and her team had been informed by their superior that Kazuma would be meeting with US government officials, so they had been at a loose end.
Therefore, they hadn’t expected any surveillance duty today, but since Kazuma had returned, they hurriedly sat down in front of the surveillance monitor.
“He collapsed onto the bed, no particular reaction… If he just goes to sleep like this, our mission for today will be over, but…”
Kazuma, on the other side of the surveillance camera, had collapsed onto his bed without changing his clothes. He wasn’t moving a muscle, so he looked asleep, but the listening device picked up a muffled voice, confirming he was awake.
“…I can’t hear very well.”
She strained her ears, but Kazuma had buried his face in his pillow and was mumbling. Because of that, she couldn’t make out what he was saying. However, she could make out words, though they were fragmented.
“Like…? America…? Japan…?”
Momoko wondered what it could mean, but nothing came to mind. Deciding she needed more information, she turned up the volume on her headphones, just as Kazuma suddenly sat up, took a deep breath, and screamed.
“Aaaahhhhh, I looooove iiiiiit!!!”
“————”
Momoko died.
Masafumi, by a stroke of good timing, was in the shower and wasn’t even monitoring.
Manami, who was making cocoa, had taken off her headphones, so she was spared.
Though one precious sacrifice had occurred, the world was peaceful again today.