Episode 11: A Prince’s Kiss is Special, You Know! Smooooch!
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Upon receiving contact from Stephen, Kazuma decided to head to America, but he remembered something crucial.
“How am I going to get there…”
If it were a place he’d been to once before, he could instantly travel there using Teleportation Magic, but America wasn’t one of them.
That’s where Flight Magic came in.
He’d fly at full speed, exceeding the speed of sound, to save Alicia, who was in critical condition.
However, there was another problem here.
“How should I hide my identity~”
He considered just revealing himself, but the Crimson Knight was still useful as a disguise.
Most people had realized that Kazuma was the Crimson Knight, but those were mainly people in the government or military.
He wasn’t yet known to the general public.
This meant he could still keep it a secret, and Kazuma thought he couldn’t afford to lose the disguise of the Crimson Knight.
“No people around! No surveillance cameras! Alright, alright!”
After checking his surroundings like some cat, Kazuma transformed into the Crimson Knight using Illusion Magic and took to the sky.
Reaching a position higher than the buildings, Kazuma opened his map app again to confirm the location.
He turned his body to fly straight towards his destination, then Kazuma rotated his shoulders and did some stretches as if to loosen his muscles.
“Well then, let’s hope Stephen is convincing his superiors!”
Basically, it was standard procedure to intercept any unidentified flying object.
Of course, Japan was the same.
In the past, they would just say they regretted it and do nothing, but now they intercepted as a matter of course.
Things were different from the old days.
Well, missiles were used against Ibinoms, so no country would fire them readily.
That aside, Kazuma finally began to move.
He finished his stretches, cracked his neck audibly as part of a performance, and then kicked off into the sky.
The atmosphere trembled with a DON!
People nearby jumped in surprise at the roaring sound, as if the entire world had shaken.
“Wh-what was that sound?!”
“I-is it an enemy attack?!”
“It sounded like fireworks!”
“Where did it come from?!”
“What an incredible tremor…!”
Unaware of the commotion on the ground, Kazuma flew straight towards America.
He surpassed the speed of sound, entering a realm just short of sub-light speed.
A sonic boom was generated, and Kazuma flew straight towards America, parting the sea as he went.
Arriving in America in the blink of an eye, Kazuma used magic to ensure no damage was done to his surroundings and hurried to the address he had received from Stephen.
Unlike Japan, it was still night in America.
Furthermore, due to an Ibinom attack, there was a large-scale blackout, and the city was shrouded in darkness.
It seemed he wouldn’t be able to find his destination, but the hospital, his target, seemed to have emergency power, and its lights were on.
Thanks to that, Kazuma reached the hospital without getting lost and landed on the rooftop.
“It’s good that I’ve arrived, but I don’t know which room it is.”
Kazuma opened the rooftop door and entered the hospital, where he encountered a Gifted who was likely serving as a security guard.
The security guard, encountering the Crimson Knight who had suddenly entered from the rooftop, cried out in surprise and drew his gun.
“Whoa?! Who are you!”
“Ah… I am, Crimson Knight!”
“Huh? What are you saying?”
He tried to communicate in English, but his clumsy English didn’t get through, and the male security guard remained vigilant with his gun raised.
“Hmm…”
As Kazuma crossed his arms, wondering what to do, the male security guard started contacting his colleagues via radio.
“Send people to the rooftop, urgently!”
Within a few minutes, many security guards had gathered on the rooftop.
Kazuma was surrounded, but Stephen, who had noticed the commotion, appeared and resolved the situation.
“Wait! He’s an ally! Lower your guns!”
Thanks to Stephen, Kazuma was allowed inside and went downstairs.
Kazuma followed Stephen, asking him questions as they walked.
“Didn’t you tell them I was coming?”
“Sorry. I didn’t think that far ahead.”
“I can’t speak English, so that was a close call, but I wish you’d told them from the start.”
“I’m truly sorry. Few people have these translators. English is mainstream here, and we consider it the universal language, you see.”
“Make it Japanese, Japanese. I don’t understand English.”
“Hahaha. If anything, Japanese is far more difficult, you know. More importantly, you were incredibly fast. Just how much power do you possess?”
“That’s a secret. Maybe next time.”
As they were bantering, Stephen stopped walking.
It seemed they had arrived at the target room.
Kazuma dispelled his Illusion Magic and returned to his usual appearance.
He looked at the room’s nameplate, but since it was written in English, Kazuma couldn’t read it and spoke to Stephen.
“Where is this?”
“This is the special treatment room. Alicia is inside.”
“I see.”
Having heard she was in critical condition, Kazuma immediately reached for the door to enter, but Stephen grabbed his shoulder.
“What is it?”
“Mr. Satsuki… Please, save Alicia! That girl still doesn’t know the happiness of an ordinary girl! After manifesting her Telekinesis and Barrier Gifts at a young age, she was raised merely as a weapon to exterminate Ibinoms…! But recently, thanks to you, she’s started to laugh so much more! And yet, and yet!!! I can’t do anything… anything for her!”
Stephen poured out his feelings, which could be called a lament, to Kazuma.
He wanted to save Alicia, who had finally started to become like a normal girl.
That’s why he had called Kazuma, grasping at straws.
Hoping that Kazuma, the Crimson Knight, could surely save Alicia.
“Stephen…”
“I know it’s selfish! But still, I don’t want her to die in a place like this… For her, who has fought all this time for us adults’ convenience, to die unrewarded… that just can’t happen…!”
“You’re a good guy.”
Kazuma grabbed Stephen’s hand, turned to face the tearful man, and met his gaze with a serious expression.
“Now that I’m here, it’ll be alright. I will definitely save Alicia.”
“Mr. Satsuki…!”
Kazuma, also known as the Crimson Knight, said so.
There was no need to worry anymore.
Stephen continued to bow his head, tears streaming down his face, believing that Kazuma would truly save Alicia.
Steeling himself, Kazuma opened the door to the special treatment room and went inside.
There, Alicia lay on a pure white bed.
Normally, upon seeing Kazuma, she would flash a cheerful smile and hug him, but her current state was tragic.
The right half of her body was burned and festering, emitting a terrible odor.
Her once beautiful face was hideously decayed, bearing no resemblance to her former self.
Kazuma approached Alicia, whose appearance made one want to avert their eyes, and spoke to her.
“Alicia.”
“…Kazuma?”
Alicia faintly opened her eyes, her hazy vision capturing Kazuma.
Unsure if it was a dream or reality, Alicia smiled faintly, perhaps happy to see Kazuma one last time.
“Ehehe… I’m sorry. For having such a disgusting face.”
“What are you talking about? Alicia, you’re always cute and beautiful.”
“Really? Even if it’s a lie, I’m happy~”
Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes as she smiled weakly.
Alicia, realizing she didn’t have long left and couldn’t be saved, spoke to Kazuma as if making a final request.
“Hey, Kazuma… I have one last favor to ask.”
“Don’t say ominous things like ‘last’.”
Alicia weakly shook her head.
Understanding its meaning, Kazuma frowned.
“It won’t heal… My body. I was attacked by an enemy with an incurable Gift, so even Charlotte-san can’t heal me. In fact, even the healing-type Gifted here in America and the latest medical technology couldn’t fix it. So, you see, I’m going to die. But, I still have a little more time.”
Alicia, constantly assailed by intense pain, clenched her jaw tightly, endured the pain, and then made her request to Kazuma.
“Lastly… Kazuma. Could you… kiss me?”
“…Eh?”
“Ah, haha… As I thought, you wouldn’t want to, right? Kissing a woman with a hideous, monster-like face like this.”
She knew.
Her former self was what the world would call a beauty, so she had value, but her current self was a monster with a hideous appearance, half of her face burned and festering.
Asking someone to kiss a woman like this was probably too much.
She understood, but still, being rejected by the person she liked was deeply affecting, and Alicia felt like crying.
However, not wanting to cause any more trouble, she desperately suppressed her emotions and was about to say to forget her previous request when she heard unbelievable words.
“You’re silly. I told you at the start, didn’t I? Alicia, you’re always cute and beautiful. If I can kiss you, I’d gladly do it.”
“Eh—”
No more words came out.
Because Kazuma had sealed her lips.
“(…Ah, God. Thank you. For granting my wish at the very end.)”
It didn’t matter if this was a dream or an illusion.
Her wish to kiss the person she loved at the very, very end had come true, and Alicia shed a single tear.
It was so cruelly beautiful, ephemeral and lovely.
As if to say she had no more regrets, she began to close her eyes.
However, there was a man who would never allow that.
“(Let her die…? Like hell I’ll let her die…! What’s some incurable Gift! Can’t be healed? Hah! Don’t you dare underestimate me!!!)”
While still pressing his lips to Alicia’s, Kazuma activated his Recovery Magic.
The incurable Gift activated, hindering Kazuma’s Recovery Magic, but just how long had he been fighting?
He had continued to fight in another world to an extent that defied imagination.
There was no way he would be defeated by a mere Gift that only rendered things incurable.
Kazuma had endured poison, curses, and every imaginable torment.
At this point, a Gift of mere incurability was no enemy to him.
He activated Sacred Magic, completely removing the incurable Gift, and reconstructed Alicia’s body.
A dazzling light enveloped her, and after the light subsided, Alicia lay there asleep, her beautiful form unchanged.
She had her eyes closed, just like Sleeping Beauty.
“…Good night, Alicia. By the time you wake up, I’ll have finished everything.”
Gently, with a touch like a mother lulling a child to sleep, Kazuma stroked Alicia’s hair before leaving the room.
His face wore an unprecedentedly cold expression.
Kazuma’s anger seethed within him like bubbling magma, but he didn’t lash out in a rage.
He decided he needed information first and spoke to Stephen, who was outside.
“Mr. Satsuki! Alicia is—”
“Don’t worry. She’s sleeping now. More importantly, Stephen. Where is the one who did this to Alicia?”
A shiver ran down Stephen’s spine, his skin prickling.
Even though he wasn’t the one being glared at, Stephen sensed an extraordinary killing intent from the Kazuma standing before him, and he understood instinctively: Kazuma was incandescent with rage.