「Uu……n……, It hurts……」

Minato woke up two hours later.

The special medical machine made by Tagaraak seemed to have been extremely effective, as Minato’s wounds had closed to the point where they no longer needed stitches. With her consciousness regained, her heart, which had been stopped by the machine, was now beating normally.

However, there was still a dull ache in her body, perhaps because she woke up earlier than expected.

「This is, the medical room…? Right, I gave Rintaro…」

Minato’s memories ended when she handed the sword over to Rintaro. It was unclear what happened to him after that, or even how in the world he created the sword.

All Minato remembered was that Rintaro did indeed pick up her sword.

With a hazy head, Minato looked at her bedside and saw a note left on her neatly folded pyjamas.

『I’ll be back when you wake up. P.S. Senpai is safe too. Mayuzumi』

Kirika, who had been taking care of her, appeared to be away on business.

「I see, Rintaro managed to get away……」

Minato was relieved to hear Kirika’s report. She can’t wait to meet Rintaro in person and report that she too was safe.

However, Minato then noticed that she was wearing clothes stained with blood and sweat. Suppressing her excitement, Minato picked up the new pajamas that had been prepared for her.

As she buttoned up her shirt, she looked in the mirror and noticed that her cheeks and hair were slightly dirty with mud. Kirika had apparently cleaned off some of the dirt, but she wanted to look at least a little neater when she meets Rintaro.

After all, it was after what happened last night.

「……No, no, no, it was an accident! Rintaro also said it was a misunderstanding!」

In the empty infirmary, Minato spoke to herself loudly. Her own face in the mirror was as red as a boiled octopus.

It was cold in the secret underground base, so Minato left the infirmary with a blanket over her pyjamas. The corridor, usually lined with injured people, was eerily quiet today.

They’re mysterious beings who love to party. It wouldn’t be surprising if she could hear some commotion coming from somewhere.

「Uuun, there’s nobody here… is everyone out…?」

With this in mind, Minato approaches the front of the hall that is always used for banquets. Then, she saw a signboard with something very unusual on it.

On the plain white sign was written in calligraphy.

『The funeral ceremony for the late Kenmochi Minato is this way→』

「……H- Huuh?」

Minato was so shocked that she blinked her eyes with her mouth half open. However, no matter how many times she reread the sign, the content on it remained the same.

From the sign to the entrance of the hall, a whale curtain was carefully placed on both sides of the corridor.

「Wh- what kind of joke is this…?」

Minato covered her head with a blanket to avoid being seen and quietly peeked inside through the slightly opened door of the hall.

The hall was lined with mysterious beings in mourning clothes.

The one who stood out the most, clad in tight-fitting hakama with family crests was the Hundred Beasts General Bearion.

「Guoooooooooooooooooh!　I’ll never forgive those guys at Hero Headquarters!!!!! I’m going to beat the shit out of every last one of them right now!!!!!!!」

「Please keep a grip here, Ojiki! Look, we are currently in this occasion!」

「Come back soon, Colonel Usanyi-chan, nyan! We can’t stop Ojiki by ourselves, nyan na!」

While being held in a headlock by a member of the Hundred Beasts Legion, the giant bear was enraged by the death of his friend.

On the other side of the hall, a beautiful person in a morning coat was enjoying a cup of tea in an out-of-place, elegant manner.

「There is no eternity in the fragrance of flowers, nor in the shape of clouds. The masterpieces of the inclined world, the cities of a thousand years, and even the gods are at the mercy of time’s mischiefs. To take this play seriously is like resisting a waterfall. But he who stretches out his arm, he will descend into the frozen ground of Judecca, closed to the blackness of the depths.」

「Yes, It’s as Zazoma-sama said.」

With his expressionless, orderly line-up of Strange Insects Army at his side, Strange Insect General Zazoma had a graceful smile on his face. Rather than being sad, Zazoma even seemed to be enjoying the situation.

A large photograph of Minato was displayed on the flower altar set up in front.

Maybe it’s because she always ended up on the edge or at the back when taking a picture, or maybe the size of the photo was small to begin with. As a result of constantly stretching the photo, the resolution was so low that it looked like mosaic art.

Her eyebrows were ハ-shaped and her subtle shyness aroused a sense of embarrassment. Couldn’t they have taken a better photo?

The man reading the eulogy in front of the picture was the leader, Dragius III.

「Gentlemen, I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of the deceased for attending this event. Fuhahahaha.」

「The leader! Is laughing out loud! He’s laughing out loud!」

「Hmm, not good not good. Now, let’s pull ourselves together, hahaha… ngh!」

Minato gently closed the door to the hall.

「Hmm? I’m still alive, right…? Or maybe I’m dead?」

Worried about whether she was still alive, Minato examined her own body again with the palm of her hand. She touched and she felt like she was still alive.

No, maybe she really was… As Minato was taking her pulse, she felt a sudden tug on the hem of the blanket she was wearing.

「What is minato doing in a place like this, ssuka?」

「Gyaaaaaaaaah!! Sa- Sa- Sa- Samecchi!?」

Tugging at the edge of the blanket was Samecchi, dressed in a black blazer.

「Aah, Samecchi…… What exactly is this all about……?」

「Samecchi was just told to change into this outfit, ssu. Don’t really get it, ssu.」

Samecchi, who had not experienced a funeral since she can remember, did not seem to understand the situation at all. Perhaps someone took care not to directly inform them of the death of her relative.

「On that note, when did Minato get back?」

「……Nn?」

「Aniki said Minato had gone somewhere far away, ssu mon! Samecchi thought Minato had gone on vacation by herself, so Samecchi was furious, ssuyo!」

As expected, It was Rintaro who informed Samecchi of Minato’s death in a roundabout way. In short, it seems that Rintaro had already heard about the commotion.

However, as far as she could see earlier, Rintaro did not seem to be in the hall.

A bad premonition crossed Minato’s mind.

「……Samecchi, where is Rintaro now?」

「he’s probably at the training grounds of the training corps, ssuyo. Colonel Usanyi-chan dragged him there a while ago, ssukara.」

「Thank you Samecchi, I’ll be back in a bit!」

「Huh, ssu? how about the Souvenir, ssuka!?」

Without even looking back, Minato ran off with all her might.

A man and a woman were standing in the center of a vast training ground located deep underground.

One was a female bunny wearing a military uniform and even an eye patch. The other was an exhausted man with scars all over his body.

「What’s the matter, bring it on, Lieutenant Death Green! Or have you lost your soul?」

「……Let’s stop this, Colonel Usanyi-chan.」

「I see, so you no longer have the energy to continue.」

Colonel Usanyi-chan approached Rintaro with her military boots clinking, and clenched her fists tightly. Then, with a big swing, she punched Rintaro on the cheek without any restraint.

Rintaro did not dodge the angry fist, but took it head on and rolled to the ground.

「Are you still a man!!!」

an ear-splitting yell rang out. Colonel Usanyi-chan grabbed Rintaro by the dirt-stained collar, forced him up, and punched him again.

「If only you… if only you hadn’t taken out Medic Captain Minato…!」

Colonel Usanyi-chan’s eyes were overflowing with large tears. The resentment, which had nowhere else to go, was directed at Rintaro, who had failed to protect Minato.

The fist slammed into his defenseless cheek twice, thrice. Each time, the dull sound of bone hitting bone echoed through the training ground.

「You! Your poor judgment! Medic Captain Minato! It took the life of my friend!」

「………………………………」

「Why don’t you say something, hey! To you, medic Minato was nothing more than a pawn, was she? Depending on your reply, I will kill you! I’ll beat you to death over and over again! Right here, right now!」

Rintaro did not seem to put up any resistance, and he just let the beating go on. His glasses were shattered and his mouth was bleeding, but still no tears spilled from his stony eyes.

「……She was, my precious friends… I wanted to protect her… Maybe even I could love someone… That’s what I thought…」

The pain from his bruised body and the pain from his cheek where he’d been punched were nothing but scratches compared to the sharp pain that slashed his heart. The helplessness and frustration he felt put so much pressure on his heart that he felt like it might break.

「I…… Hate…… I hate the heroes…… Above all, I hate my own weakness……」

Why am I alive? Why is she the only one who died and I the only one who survived?

If he could turn back time, he would even offer up his beating heart.

Rintaro wailed as he clawed at his own chest. His cries echoed in the high ceiling of the underground space.

As Rintaro leaned his back on the earth and poured out his emotions, Colonel Usanyi-chan reaches out to him.

「You have to be strong to protect them. So you must be strong, Lieutenant Death Green. You must be stronger than anyone else.」

There is no time to be depressed. We must stand up for what we have lost.

We must stand up and then look forward, one step at a time.

Rintaro took Colonel Usanyi’s hand, wiped his eyes and stood up.

「Thank you, Colonel Usanyi-chan. You’ve woken me up.」

「That’s the best thing, Captain… Deathgreen. …You’ve really grown into a manly man.」

There was no hesitation or regret in his eyes, which no longer had any highlights. as Rintaro remembered Minato’s figure, he clenched his fists tightly.

「I will become stronger than anyone else. For the sake of Minato, who was an easy and good girl!」

「That’s the spirit. I too will sacrifice my life for my best friend. For the sake of the easy, good girl, Medic Captain Minato!」

「Yes. I will definitely change the world. For the sake of the easy, big-boobed Minato!」

「I am not an easy giiiiiirrlllllllll!!!!!」

A scream echoed through the training grounds.

Rintaro and Colonel Usanyi-chan look towards the voice.

「Medic Captain…… Minato……!」

It was Colonel Usanyi-chan who unintentionally mentioned the name. Rintaro was so shocked that he was completely speechless.

Because there, Minato, who was supposed to be dead, was standing with a red face.

「Are you, really alive……!? Really, you aren’t a ghost or an illusion right……！？」

「Well, how did I end up dead in the first place?」

「Bieeeeeeeeeeen!! Medyiicc Cyaptain Minatooooooooooo!!!!」

Colonel Usanyi-chan, with tears and runny nose, flew into Minato’s chest like a horizontal missile, her face soggy with tears and runny nose.

「Wait a minute, Colonel Usan-…… Ugaffuh!」

「Thank Goodneeeeessss!!!!!」

Minato turned her attention to Rintaro while soothing the sobbing Colonel Usanyi-chan.

Has Colonel Usanyi-chan become more emotional or is she regaining her composure? Or has she simply lost her outlet for her emotions?

Rintaro slowly walked up to Minato’s side.

His face was swollen from being beaten up so much, but he was as expressionless as the still surface of the water.

「……When did you start watching?」

「Umm, maybe… the first time you got hit…」

「I see.」

After a brief exchange, Rintaro closed his eyes for a while, put his hands to his head, and let out a deep sigh.

「Umm……」

Just as Minato was about to say something, Rintaro’s scarred arm held Minato’s head.

They huddle together, their cheeks pressed together. His cheek felt hot as they touch, probably because he had been beaten so hard.

After doing so for a while without saying anything, Rintaro slowly opened his mouth.

「Welcome back」

「……I- I am back……?」

Minato, who was hugged, had no idea what Rintaro looked like now. The only thing she could clearly hear was the beating heart.

---

<197: Sudden Death
199: Sword Of Pain>