Chapter 61 - Locked Room
"You're so annoying!"
Rio's voice pierced my ears.
As I thought, she seemed to be inside the restroom. However, it wasn't the women's, but the men's.
I have a bad feeling about this.
As soon as I stepped inside, a group of male high school students burst into my vision.
There were about five or six of them. All were in school uniforms, their hair dyed brown.
The swarm of boys had formed a circle, surrounding Rio.
"I've told you a thousand times, I'm not interested in someone like you!"
Rio was using a harsh voice, much like when we first met. She seemed extremely angry.
Had she been caught by these guys and forcibly brought here?
...Was that the time to be thinking such leisurely thoughts?
There was no other way to explain this situation.
I took a step closer and addressed the brats.
"What do you guys think you're doing?"
Everyone turned toward me all at once.
Rio showed a look of immense relief and shouted, "Nakamoto-san!"
At the same time, the boys began to buzz.
"...Nakamoto?"
"Whoa. It's Magician Nakamoto."
"Oh, it's the real deal. The Spanking Guy."
"Wait, is he an acquaintance of Rio's?"
It seemed the boys' interest had shifted to me, and the circle surrounding Rio broke.
Then, as if seizing the chance, Rio darted out from the gap.
She quickly hid behind my back and apologized in a whisper, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said my name."
"...What's the relationship between you two?"
"An old guy and a high school girl looking that close? There's only one thing it could be."
"Is it an encounter?"
"No way! That's an instant expulsion, isn't it?"
The boys wore vulgar smirks on their faces, holding up their smartphones.
The sound of repeated shutter clicks filled the air as they captured photos of me and Rio together.
"Ah, don't hide, Rio."
"It's fine. From where I'm standing, both of you are in the shot."
"Oh, nice, nice!"
I could more or less tell what these guys wanted to do.
I handed the tea to Rio and stepped forward, saying, "You've done nothing wrong."
As if to confront me, a boy who seemed to be the leader stepped forward as well.
He was a tall, long-haired brat, a head taller than me. He must have been over 180 centimeters.
His features were softly set, giving him an idol-like appearance rather than a young actor.
His loosely worn blazer uniform suited him to an annoying degree.
"Are you planning to threaten us with such petty photos? This country isn't so unreasonable that you'd get arrested for that much."
"Then, can we upload this to the internet right now? We caught a shot of you being real close to Rio."
"...That is..."
"See, you're troubled after all. Don't get cocky."
The tall boy flashed a sadistic smile.
Behind me, Rio whispered.
"That's the boy who confessed to me. Fujimoto from the soccer club. He has a good face, but this is what he's like on the inside."
Her voice was trembling. She continued, "I'm sorry, it's because of me..."
"Look, we don't really intend to blackmail an old man or anything. Why don't you just shut up and leave? We'll be done with everything by the time you do."
"What do you intend to do?"
"Who knows? That depends on how hard Rio works. Depending on her technique and motivation, the content might change, right?"
A chorus of loud, raucous laughter spread through the room.
Fujimoto exchanged glances with his comrades, laughing as if he found it incredibly hilarious.
"We're super worked up, you know. If she's an encounter girl, it doesn't matter what we make her do, right? You're just like us, playing around with Rio, old man. Don't be so stiff."
I didn't need to listen to the end. Anything more would pollute my ears.
[Hero Keisuke consumed 295 MP. Activating [Divine Sword] skill. Attack power increased by 350%]
[Becomes effective against Spiritual Bodies, Demons, and Undead]
I generated a blade of light in my right hand and slipped through the brats.
Everything ended in an instant.
The smartphone Fujimoto had been proudly brandishing was sliced into tiny pieces, white smoke rising from the cross-sections.
The ones held by the others were similarly carved up.
"I'll tell you this: if I feel like it, I can slice you all up too. If you understand, get lost immediately."
The group in blazers all wore the exact same expression, quite amusingly. Their jaws dropped in stunned silence.
But in the next moment, I was made to wear that same expression.
"What was that just now? It looked like a Light Sword. Don't tell me you can use a [Divine Sword]?"
Fujimoto had demonstrated an incredibly accurate deduction.
No matter how you looked at it, for an ordinary male high school student, he knew far too much.
While holding my sword ready, I retreated with sliding steps.
"Who the hell are you?"
"You're the one we should be asking. Aren't you just a fake magician?"
I quickly attempted to appraise Fujimoto's status.
[Name] Agil
[Level] 65
[Class] Summoner Adventurer · Male High School Student
[HP] 2200
[MP] 1200
[Attack] 1500
[Defense] 1300
[Agility] 1700
[Magic Attack] 1000
[Magic Defense] 1000
[Skills] Language Comprehension, Night Vision, Earth Magic
[Remarks] Hobgoblin Warrior. Has stolen the identity and appearance of the Japanese male high school student, Kosuke Fujimoto. Because it is a low-level disguise, it cannot deceive appraisal.
"...Huh?"
I doubted my own eyes at the unexpected result.
What? This guy is a goblin?
"I see, I see. So the old man was a Hero. If you're not just a human... then it's okay to kill you, right?"
Fujimoto—no, Agil—pasted a persistent smile on his lips and sent instructions to his comrades.
"There's a human around. Set up a [Silent] and a perception-interference barrier at the entrance."
"Do we need olfactory interference?"
"Hmm. Let's do it. He might try to disembowel himself."
A series of fantasy terms being uttered by modern high schoolers.
The incongruity made my head spin.
Perception interference is a support magic used by mid-tier monsters or higher. Most likely, this restroom now looks like nothing more than a plain wall from the outside.
[Silent] prevents sound from leaking, and olfactory interference works literally as its name suggests.
These are all spells used to prevent adventurers from calling for reinforcements and to isolate them within a dungeon.
They tend to be preferred by monsters that make nests underground.
Yes, mainly goblins and the like.
"What'll it be? This place is going to be an isolated space for at least three hours, you know?"
Agil's lips twisted in amusement.
"So what?"
"Don't you get it? It's useless for the old man to scream or cry. Even if his bones are broken, or his stomach is sliced open and his organs pulled out, no one will notice. No one will help. Your screams won't reach anyone... Kihi, kihihi, gehahahahahahaha!"
Agil lunged at me while letting out a roar. For all his boasting, his movements weren't much to speak of.
By simply shifting half a step to the side, I easily dodged the attack.
His right arm swung uselessly through the air. I easily grabbed it and twisted it upward.
I bent it in the opposite direction of the joint, crushing the bone.
"Gagyaaa!"
As Agil writhed in pain, I touched his face while muttering "[Dispel]".
Then, his handsome teenage appearance vanished, revealing his true form as an ugly little goblin.
Green skin, pointed ears and nose. He looked like a wrinkled dwarf, and his height was now lower than mine.
"By any chance, are all of you like this?"
I unleashed [Dispel] on the group of students all at once.
My hunch was correct.
Every single one of them was a filthy male goblin.
"...Ah... ah..."
Rio let out a soundless cry and slumped to the floor.
She sat there collapsed, her body trembling.
I had forgotten that this girl was unexpectedly timid when pushed into a corner.
"Rio, keep your eyes closed for a while."
If the opponents aren't human, there is no need to show any mercy.
That meant a most gruesome sight was about to begin.
It was not something a girl who had received no combat training should see.
Once I confirmed Rio had closed her eyes, I cast [Dispel] on myself.
The debuffs were removed, and my original strength and durability returned.
"It's hard to move while holding you."
First, I decided to isolate Agil so he wouldn't be in the way.
I severed his limbs and tossed him into the individual stalls one after another. Agil himself, of course.
Goblins cannot use recovery-type magic. This should keep him harmless for a while.
I turned my attention to the remaining five.
It seemed they were absolutely incensed by the treatment of their comrade.
"Don't screw with us! I never heard there were things like you on Earth!"
Among them, a goblin showing particularly intense rage punched me in the stomach.
He had struck my abdominal muscles, which were even harder than before, with his bare hands.
This was no different from slamming an apple against concrete.
It was nothing more than a suicidal act.
"Ow!"
I sliced the goblin in two as he clutched his fist in agony.
It would be troublesome if they took Rio hostage. I'd finish this quickly.
Without a moment's delay, I stepped in and began a systematic hunt of the remnants.
I was used to killing goblins in cramped spaces.
It used to be my daily routine.
"Help...!"
For one heading for the exit, I shot through his Achilles tendon with a magic arrow. I jumped onto his falling back and severed his spinal cord.
I threw the immobilized corpse at another goblin.
Enemies rolling at my feet were just obstacles to tripping. It was best to just throw them away.
"Gugya!"
A goblin hit directly flipped onto his back.
I thrust my sword into the tangled group of enemies all at once.
I burned the dead goblins one by one with magic.
There was no risk of fire. The flames of mana, which had no physical substance, would not burn objects other than the target.
It was tedious work, but I couldn't leave any evidence.
I performed it thoroughly.
"Now then."
Five were gone.
For the finishing touch, I headed toward the stall where I had thrown Agil. Toward the miserable little goblin who had lost his limbs.
"Do you know why I only left you alive?"
"For interrogation, right?"
"You're quick on the uptake."
I grabbed Agil's head with my right hand and lifted him up.
"Why are goblins here? How did you get here?"
"Impossible. I don't know what I don't know."
"Are you protecting your employer? For a lower race, you've got quite the backbone."
"No!"
Agil spoke in Japanese youth slang that didn't suit a goblin's mouth.
"Our memories are restricted. I don't even know why I'm here myself. I remember being sent here by someone incredibly strong and important, and that important memories were erased. But that's all it is! Too bad, Mr. Hero!"
I kicked Agil in the stomach.
"Gigyaaa!"
A goblin's mental strength is nothing special.
If I made him suffer, he would spill the truth soon enough.
"I don't know! I really don't know! Just kill me already! I don't know anything!"
"If you're more cooperative, I might even regenerate your limbs for you."
"I DON'T KNOW! I want to talk too! But I don't know! Dammit! It's frustrating for us too! If I could talk, I would! I want to live!"
"What happened to the real Kosuke Fujimoto? Do you not know this either?"
"How the hell should I know! I just realized I could transform into a human!"
I tightened my grip on Agil, squeezing his skull until it creaked.
"Agyaa! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts! I don't know! I really don't know anything!"
"When did you obtain Fujimoto's identity?"
"Since last year! It hurts!"
"Are there more goblins still hiding?"
"That's what I've heard, but even I don't know who they are!"
"You don't seem to be lying."
"...Higi... gi... I've talked this much... it's an equivalent exchange... heal me, you lowlife Hero..."
I said, while burning Agil's severed limbs.
"I had a common-law wife. A woman whose life was stolen because of goblins. Ever since I met her, I have been killing every goblin I lay eyes on. Goblin souls are beyond saving. They are innate evil. That is why taking their lives is the best form of treatment. And so, you will die too."
"...Ha...?"
"Try to be reborn as a slightly higher creature next time. Though, it should be easy. Whether you're a maggot or a cockroach, you'll be higher in rank than you are now, so being reborn as anything will be better than your previous life."
"No! Noooooo! Don't kill me! Don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me! Is that what a Hero does?! Don't screw with me! I would have been better off being killed sooner! I wasted my breath!"
"Farewell."
With a snap, I broke his neck, and Agil stopped moving.
I burned the corpse with magic.
I left the stall and spoke to Rio.
"You can open your eyes now."
I went to the sink and turned the tap.
Since I used a Light Sword that burned meat simultaneously with the cutting, there was no blood splatter.
Even so, I felt the reality of having done dirty work.
I used plenty of liquid soap and washed my hands thoroughly.
I wiped my hands with a handkerchief and approached Rio.
"Shall we go home?"
"...Did you... kill them?"
"Yes. They weren't human. Considering when the switch happened, it seems Fujimoto's insides were already something else by the time he was bothering you."
Can you stand? I asked, holding out my hand.
Rio gripped it weakly, but she didn't seem able to stand up for a while.
"...I'm sorry, I can't put any strength in my legs. It's like they've gone limp."
"That's bad."
Since her legs had given out due to fear, the damage was to her spirit.
It wasn't something that could be fixed with recovery magic that heals the physical body.
What should I do?
Showing her to a counselor would be best, but if she confessed that she was suddenly attacked by a group of goblins, I felt she would be suspected of hallucinations rather than having psychological trauma.
I crouched down to bring my eye level to Rio's.
"The monsters are gone. There's nothing to worry about."
"...I know, but..."
But I can't move them, Rio said, looking troubled by her own state.
She was slapping her trembling knees, saying, "Huh? Why?"
"Why don't you rest here for a bit? No one will be coming in for a while anyway."
"...Mm."
I thought it was a bit much to sit on a restroom floor indefinitely, so I gently picked Rio up.
A so-called princess carry.
"Ah."
I applied [Strength Enhancement] to the bright-red Rio.
With my current physical strength, I might accidentally crush her, so it was a necessary measure.
I am struggling with a body that is too strong, and Rio is struggling with a body that is too weak.
Things rarely go as planned.
I opened the stall door and lowered the toilet lid. I sat Rio on top of it.
"...What were those things?"
"Monsters. They aren't inhabitants of this world."
I moved my body slightly away from Rio and looked away.
She had heard my conversation with Agil and the others. Even if they were demi-humans, it was nothing short of merciless slaughter.
Rio would surely feel fear toward me as well.
"Why were things like that mixed in at school? Does it have anything to do with the mysterious power Nakamoto-san uses?"
"I don't know. But it might not be unrelated."
I thought that I might never be able to return to our previous relationship with this girl.
Sure, I showed violence the first time we met, but I didn't go as far as killing.
There is a limit to everything.
There are plenty of women who like strong men, but there are very few who like cruel men.
"...The Nakamoto-san just now... was scary."
"I imagine so."
It's a common occurrence.
When you rescue a girl kidnapped by monsters, you are looked at with eyes as if you are a monster yourself.
Every time you defeat a monster, you draw closer to being one.
Strength and humanity are not compatible.
"Are you turned off?"
I found it somewhat funny internally, remembering that Rio was the one who had asked me this question at the cafe.
It shouldn't be a laughing matter, yet the corners of my mouth relaxed naturally.
Perhaps I am already going crazy.
"...Quite a bit."
Rio's reply was the reverse of our interaction back then.
"But even more than that, I thought you were cool."
"You don't have to be polite with me."
"It's not flattery..."
Rio's voice sounded as if she were about to burst into tears at any moment.
"You worked so hard for my sake. There's no way I could hate you..."
"I cut off their limbs and burned them. I think I'm more like a demon than a demon."
"...It's scary, but... I love you..."
"Huh?"
"I love you..."
Rio reached out both arms, sobbing.
"...I want you to hold me tight..."
Rio, who says she loves me even after I tortured a goblin to death.
The scene of when I met Elsa flashed through my mind.
A dim limestone cave. Even though I had killed a goblin right before her eyes, Elsa had accepted me.
In my mind, the two figures overlapped.
The long black hair, the lonely eyes, the slender body. They were truly very similar.
Before I knew it, I was sitting on the toilet.
Facing her, I embraced Rio.<
My body was moving on its own.
"...It's really scary... but... I love you... I don't even know myself which feeling is stronger..."
I stroked Rio's head. Her raven-black hair flowed through my fingers.
The silky texture made my rationality feel as if it were slipping away.
Truly a demonic charm. A woman's hair misleads a man.
[Keisuke Nakamoto has won the battle!]
[Acquired 6000 EXP]
[Acquired 300 Skill Points]
[Rio Saito's Affection Level has increased by 9999]
[Rio Saito's Affection Level has exceeded the limit]
"...That feels good. It's completely different from touching myself with my own fingers."
Rio closed her eyes, letting out a thin breath.
Even though I was merely playing with her hair, her face was starting to flush.
[Rio Saito's Affection Level has reached a stage where sexual intercourse without prior consent becomes consensual midway through.]
[Would you like to proceed?]
[If executed, there is a certain probability of creating a child.]
[Children born will inherit the status tendencies and some skills of their parents, and sharing of equipment and items will also be possible.]
[Furthermore, it will be possible to transfer classes to the child.]
Rio pressed her face against my chest and whispered, "Look, my legs are moving properly."
Her supple legs wrapped around my back.
"...It seems they're fixed. I think I felt safe because you held me."
"Then that's good. Shall we go out?"
"Nn-nn."
Rio shook her head slightly. Her way of speaking and her gestures were more childish than usual.
"Now that I can use my legs, I can do all sorts of things."
[Rio Saito's Sexual Arousal has reached 99%]
Rio's eyes were moist.
Her ears were dyed red, and her breathing was quickening.
"I want to... go all the way..."
Her pleading voice was somewhere between a young girl and a courtesan.
Using those two conflicting tones, she sought my body.
"Is it... not allowed...?"