NOVEL NEXT WORLD The Strongest Solo Gamer with Terrible Social Skills Reincarnates as a Hated NPC in a VRMMO Chapter 123
123: There’s Variety in Demonic Mixtures, Too
――SIDE: Tōka Katsuragi――
“Ugh…”
――I’m exhausted. I never thought Shouma-kun’s persuasion would be so troublesome. After three attempts, he finally agreed to explore with me, and we left the hospital rooftop with light footsteps.
Just in case, I confirmed his location with my skill.
The exploration schedule is set for tomorrow.
We agreed to meet at the transfer stone in the early morning, but there’s no guarantee he won’t back out.
“What a troublesome thing to do?”
“…Durado”
I turned my gaze towards the direction of the voice. There, a medium-built, unremarkable male student was standing. Durado=Sprow. I thought he blended in surprisingly well. I never thought he’d be suited for infiltration.
“Don’t use that name. Right now, I’m Taichi Kasuga from 1-A. You wouldn’t want to be called Anne=Links in public, would you?”
“I understand… I was careless”
He replied, using my real name, “Taichi Kasuga”. This is probably why he’s not popular.
“Hmph, Shouma or… You can’t trust humans (Normals), can you? How much does he know?”
“He knows the meaning of the mixed-blood language and that I’m one. There’s no other information.”
“Then, get rid of him quickly.”
“…”
“Can’t you understand? What do you think our mission is, Touka? You think we’re just playing around?”
Durado――no, Taichi Kasuga approached me, his expression twisted in frustration.
“Don’t you understand our reason for infiltrating?! If it’s discovered that mixed-bloods are hiding within the Academy, the special task force will immediately investigate! Of course, the court behind us will also move, and before that, the student council’s monsters will come to hunt us down! If that happens, our entire plan will be ruined! All the preparations our seniors have made will be wasted because of our mistakes!”
“I understand! …But wait!”
“What’s wrong? Did you really get attached to a human (Normal)?! We’re different from them! We’re different creatures! …The researchers themselves said that in the lab!”
…The demon research facilities scattered throughout Japan, under the jurisdiction of the special task force. In these heavily secured research facilities, human experimentation on mixed-bloods continues day and night. Many of our comrades have been captured and tortured, with most meeting a terrible end.
In reality, I and Durado were once captured by the facility. If it weren’t for our leader, “Raven”, rescuing us, I would have…
“Shouma doesn’t have any surveillance on him. I checked the area myself, so there’s no mistake! He’s probably just spouting nonsense! We can kill him right now, and it wouldn’t be a problem!”
“But he still has value!”
“…What about Siel? Give up already! With her injuries, she’s beyond saving!”
“!!”
“…Even if we did manage to save her, what then? With her demonic blood growing stronger, she won’t even remember us! We’ll just be attacked again!”
“But…!”
“I’m sick of it! Killing our comrades, leaving them in the ABYSS…!”
“Durado――”
“…Tch, stupid…!”
Durado sat down, leaning against the wall, his face twisted in anguish. During our mission to investigate the ABYSS, when I was about to be killed by the demonized Siel, Durado saved me by cutting her down from behind. He still regrets that incident.
“Your neck is twisted…”
“Shut up…”
As he said that, Durado straightened his neck. I understand his point. I might be putting my comrades in danger for my own selfish reasons. But even so, I can’t give up!
“We can’t take Siel in her current state to the base… I understand. But if she can’t receive proper treatment, she’ll die! I absolutely won’t accept that!”
“――!”
“Shouma-kun mentioned a high-grade recovery medicine. If we have that, we might be able to save her! If there’s a possibility, let’s take the gamble! You wouldn’t want to say goodbye to Siel like this, would you, Durado?”
“…Can I trust you…?”
“I don’t know. But――”
“But?”
“Shiroyuki Shoma (he) didn’t fear me even when he knew I was a demon hybrid…!!”
“――ッ!”
“…or maybe he was scared, but…?”
“Which is it, huh?!”
I couldn’t help but retort, Durado.
“He wasn’t scared, but…what can I say, he didn’t despise me! I think he treated me like a human being. That’s why…even now, it’s easy to talk to him…”
“…”
When I think about it, Shoma-kun was the only one who knew I was a demon hybrid and still had a normal conversation with me. It was a one-sided conversation, but at least he didn’t ignore me or throw stones at me…
He’s got a weak and timid demeanor, but…
He’s got a strong and arrogant attitude, and he’s the strongest kid.
In my heart, I had decided…
“…I’ll trust him for now”