Volume 2: Chapter 1 - Part 3Author: Geraint
We ran to the barracks, confused by the fact that no soldiers or knights were patrolling or guarding the area. The princess was with us—taken hostage for our escape. She had no choice but to agree.
"Seir-sama!"
Lilith, running alongside Lory, approached with the unconscious female teacher and the beaten-up male student on their backs.
"Onii-sama, how are we going to escape? Do you have a plan?" Yuuka asked, with Shiina looking worried beside her.
"Don't worry, Yuuka-sama. Everything is going exactly as Seir-sama planned," Lilith answered confidently on my behalf.
"Can we really trust him? He just killed them all without mercy. They said he's a demon!" one of the male students pointed at me, his voice trembling.
The others murmured in agreement.
"Yeah..."
"I can't believe there's a demon among us."
"Stay away from Yuuka-tan, you monster!"
I turned to face them, my cold expression immediately silencing their fear-driven complaints.
"Seir-kun..."
Kaho-san stepped toward me, her face serious.
"Kaho-san?"
"Are you really the 'Seir' I know?"
"...Yes. I never lied about my name. My name is Seir... and I am a demon."
Her eyes widened, stunned.
"Then how can we trust you? You're the enemy of humanity!"
Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Kaho-senpai..." Riko whispered, her voice shaken. She, too, looked like she had lost her faith in me.
I didn't know how to respond—but before I could try, Yuuka stepped between us.
"Yuuka-san?"
Kaho-san looked confused as Yuuka frowned at her.
"Onii-sama didn't explain it properly. He's only half-demon. The other half is human," Yuuka said, pointing her finger right at Kaho-san's face.
"Yuuka-tan, stay away from him! He's still a demon!" one of the boys shouted.
"Yuuka-san... you knew?" Kaho-san asked, stunned.
"That's right! I grew up with him—he's my step-brother. Same with Ayaka."
Everyone stood in shock at her revelation.
"Seriously?" Riko turned to Shiina, who simply gave a slight smile.
"Yes," she confirmed.
Yuuka pinched both of my cheeks and tugged at them.
"You don't need to worry. He's harmless unless you piss him off—then he'll beat you up. He's a delinquent, after all."
"Yuuka..."
"What? Onii-sama?" she grinned sweetly.
"No matter what happens, I'll stay with you."
I sighed and gently moved her hands off my face. Then I walked toward an open area near the field. Making sure there was enough room, I summoned a large void from my dimensional storage and pulled out a bus—an old, public transport vehicle that had clearly seen better days. I'd salvaged and repaired it myself, originally planning to bring it back to my home world.
"Does this thing even work?" Riko asked, eyeing the rusted frame.
"Of course it does! Trust me." I gave her a proud thumbs up.
"As expected... you're still the Seir-kun I remember," she smiled, finally relaxing.
"It may look old, but the engine's good as new. I got it for my birthday. I asked Mom, and she actually bought it."
"Onii-sama always asks for the weirdest stuff from our parents," Yuuka said, climbing aboard with Shiina.
The others followed, laying the two unconscious patients at the back with Riko and the girls watching over them.
"Kaho-san!" I called out.
I pulled a katana from my storage and tossed it to her as she climbed inside.
"Huh?"
She caught it, then slowly drew the blade from its scabbard.
"This... this is a real katana!"
"That's my birthday gift to you. Happy 17th, Kaho-san."
She blinked, realizing it.
"...Thank you."
"If you ever need to kill to protect someone—don't hesitate. This world is crueler than you think. Please remember that."
Kaho-san remained silent as I climbed in last, joining Lilith and Lory.
I slid into the driver's seat and started the engine.
"Everyone, hold on tight!"
The headlights lit up the surroundings as the bus slowly accelerated toward the massive front gate.
"Lory!"
"Leave it to me, Boss!"
Lory jumped down and rushed forward, smashing through the wooden gate with a powerful punch.
"Alright!"
As we passed over the debris, she leapt back onto the roof of the bus.
The road ahead was clear, so I picked up speed.
"Woohoo! This is awesome, Boss!" Lory laughed from above, enjoying the ride.
Up ahead was another massive gate. The guards noticed and shouted in alarm.
"Lilith!"
"Yes, Seir-sama!"
Lilith drew two daggers from her storage and climbed to the roof. She sprang forward, slicing through the panicked soldiers in an instant.
"Argh!"
Lory followed close behind, smashing the gate into splinters with a single punch. Both of them rejoined the bus as we stormed through the second gate.
"One more to go."
The road turned rough, so I slowed down.
We crossed multiple bridges, each in worse shape than the last. Some nearly collapsed under the vehicle's weight. My passengers were quiet—some had fallen asleep from exhaustion.
Finally, we reached the last gate, made of tied logs with sharpened tips. No one was guarding it. When we stepped out to check, we found two drunk guards asleep beside empty bottles of alcohol.
"...Let's go."
Lilith and Lory casually opened the gate, and we drove through without issue.
We had finally escaped the Zelonia Kingdom.
(To be continued.)