Mob Yandere

[Part 2/5]

The commotion just before the teleportation must have caused a slight deviation in the coordinates. With Tamaki's guidance, it didn't take long for us to find her.

The problem was the state she was in.

"Botan-sama!?"

'( ≧∀≦) Hi, bear-chan!'

In a corner of the vast abandoned building, stood the onikuma. Behind her, a girl's figure appeared, leaning against the moldy wall. Seeing her pale and the dark stain spreading from her shoulder to her side, I couldn't help but scream. I rushed over to her.

"...You're being noisy, servant. ...I've already administered first aid."

In response to my approach, Botan retorted with her usual acerbic tone. It took her a while to react, and her breath and voice were quite weak.

"You let your guard down. ...Although I was already cautious, I didn't expect her to attack in that situation. Targeting you first was also unexpected."

Unlike in my original knowledge, Botan had seen through Shishimai's true identity at first sight. Even so, she had been cautious but left her alone.

The situation surrounding her made it difficult to eliminate Shishimai immediately. Since Tamaki already trusted her, taking any action would cause chaos. Considering Shishimai's known abilities and unknown powers, it was predicted that a considerable number of curse-tools would be consumed if she was to be dealt with. If she didn't immediately launch an attack despite having the chance, it wasn't a strange judgment to keep an eye on her actions through secret surveillance and observation.

"What happened to her?"

"I couldn't finish her off. We had a brief fight, but she quickly retreated. I don't think she's nearby anymore, but..."

With a solemn expression hidden beneath a mask, I answered, keeping an eye on the surroundings... Then, Tamaki, looking puzzled, appeared in my field of vision.

"Miss Tamaki? Is something wrong?"

"Huh? Um... well, when I listened to your conversation, it seemed like you were talking about Shishimai-san, as if you had anticipated being attacked..."

"Yes, that's correct. What about it?"

Tamaki hesitantly asked, and Botan responded curtly, as if brushing it off. Tamaki's expression became even more puzzled at Botan's straightforward response.

"What is all this? Shishimai suddenly attacked... but she seemed confused, and she even helped me... Why did she do that?"

"That was deception. An ambush under the guise of a monster. It's not as absurd as it sounds."

"It does sound absurd!?"

Tamaki shouted in response to Botan's matter-of-fact and cold words. When Botan winced, possibly due to the pain from her wounds, Tamaki seemed to feel guilty and grew timid.

"I-I'm sorry..."

"It's fine. ...But if you have something else you want to say, just say it first. It's troublesome when you keep things to yourself."

Botan's indifferent tone, seemingly devoid of both goodwill and malice, urged Tamaki to continue. Apologetically, Tamaki nodded slightly and began to speak her memories of the short but intense time with Shishimai Asami.

It was a recollection of the time she spent with Shishimai—saving her life, the idle chitchat during their journey through the labyrinth, the snippets of Shishimai's personal life and her circumstances as a household member serving the Igarashi family, her grievances, nagging, strictness, and kindness—Tamaki recounted it all...

"Didn't she help me multiple times?! And all the conversations we had, were they all lies, and she was just a monster in disguise...?! Wait! Could she be under someone's control!?"

"That's not possible."

Tamaki blurted out the possibility that crossed her mind, but Botan calmly denied it without a hint of emotion. Tamaki's face twisted in response to Botan's cold and unfeeling reply. Then she continued with another theory.

"Then maybe the real her got captured and replaced without anyone realizing!? We have to help her quickly..."

"There's no need for that. She was already a monster to begin with."

Once again, Botan dismissed Tamaki's anxious words. Her response was emotionless, duty-bound, and seemingly indifferent.

"Why can you say something like that so easily!? Is it because you didn't get along with Shishimai-san? Because she's a half-youkai? Is that why you speak ill of her so much!?"

"As I mentioned earlier, it was simply a warning and a restrain to that monster. It doesn't mean anything more. ...You, on the other hand, formed a bond with her quite easily, considering you've only known her for a short time. Impressive, isn't it?"

Tamaki, with a dissatisfied expression, asked Botan, and she responded with a look of exasperation. Her mocking attitude seemed to irritate Tamaki's sensitive nerves, and she found herself glaring at Botan. However, there was still some restraint in Tamaki's actions, probably because she noticed that Botan was injured. In that sense, Hotoya Tamaki was indeed a kind-hearted person.

"Such, such remarks... and Tomobe-kun too... do you share the same opinion?"

'(´･ω･｀) Same?'

Tamaki, who resisted Botan's words, looked down and muttered with a trembling voice, then turned her gaze towards me with a mix of anxiety and expectation. She seemed to regret asking the question as soon as she did, perhaps remembering that I was also in a position to be attacked by her.

Though her appearance evoked pity and sympathy, there were some things I couldn't say, even if I would be resented for it.

"...Miss Tamaki, first and foremost, I don't hold any grudges against Shishimai-dono for attacking me. The same goes for Botan-sama, I assume."

Botan shrugged her shoulders in response, urging me to continue. I nodded in response and turned my gaze back to Tamaki, who looked uneasy, to proceed with my explanation.

"At the same time, Botan-sama's words are mostly true. I have to agree with her on that point."

"But...!" Tamaki was taken aback, shocked by my words. She mumbled, wondering why, and that it was hard to accept. Clearly distressed and confused.

"You mean, you're not convinced?"

"Of course, it is. True, I'm not as knowledgeable about youkai as everyone else. I'm completely inexperienced. But... to think that Shishimai-san's true nature is an evil youkai, that's just..."

Tamaki tried to accept my words, but her beautiful face contorted with pain, showing how difficult it was for her to do so. While it wasn't Botan's words, it seemed that the protagonist had indeed grown quite close to her in a short period.

... Just like in the novel version.

"...Botan-sama's explanation seems to conflict somewhat with Miss Tamaki's understanding."

I turned to Botan once again and spoke. "Do as you please," she replied nonchalantly, which I took as permission. I then turned my attention back to Tamaki, who was looking at me anxiously.

"To help you understand, I would like to explain. Is that all right with you?"

Tamaki was briefly taken aback by my words, but she then nodded solemnly, as if she had made up her mind...

...

...

...

"Now is certainly not the time to worry about that. We should move on."

'(＾ω＾Ｕ) Wanna go for a walk?!'

With the conversation ending shortly, Botan said so and we decided to leave the place. We couldn't afford to stay there for too long due to the time limit. But seriously, why is this stupid spider so carefree?

"...That being said, where should we go now?"

"From the previous room, we had a way to escape, but thanks to you bringing that half-baked squid here, that plan is now out the window."

"Isn't that a bit too harsh?"

Just a moment ago, she almost subjected to a tentacle R-18 scene. I bet after that, her clothes would have melted off from a conveniently placed acidic liquid shower. No, don't think about that.

'Botan, isn't it unnecessary to dig up the past like this? We don't have that much time to spare, you know?'

The hummingbird landed on my head, trying to pacify her with its chirping. It was probably trying to build a pretext to defend itself beforehand with the help it provided. And, did you have a reservation ticket on the top of my head?

"It's true that we don't have much time, but I also don't know where to go from here."

Botan's slightly harsh tone made me shrug my shoulders. I couldn't blame her; we were running out of time. I knew too well how she felt.

In the previous room, it was an exception, but as we progressed through the rooms, our resources were depleting. Even with the time limit, reckless exploration would be suicidal. That's why I tried to find the exit based on hints from the original fan movie, and Botan probably relied on past exploration data.

Unfortunately, this room didn't match any of the information Botan had loaded, nor did it correspond to any memories from my past life.

"If we had more equipment, we could wander around until we stumbled upon a room with records..."

Feeling impatient, I clenched my jaw. Now, what should we do?

"..."

"Miss Tamaki? Are you okay?"

'(´・ω・`)? Why are you spacing out?'

"Huh? Oh, yeah... I'm fine, yes?"

Suddenly, I noticed the protagonist, who had been silent and not participating in our conversation. I called out to her, and she responded with a somewhat vague answer.

"Miss Tamaki..."

I knew she was deeply shocked by our explanations just now. She was already struggling with her dark emotions and the path she had chosen with her chart and build. If an ending like the Dark Night Curtain End happened in this world, she wouldn't be able to handle it. I mustn't let her be consumed by darkness.

"I understand your heartache. However, for now..."

"No, it's okay. Thank you... I've understood everything you said."

In other words, she wasn't fully convinced... I quickly grasped the hidden meaning behind Tamaki's fragile expression. It was very much like her, as the protagonist. Despite the different routes, she had unknowingly captivated that annoying demon (oni) with her unconscious actions.

(Well, in this case, even if that annoying demon had witnessed it, it would probably be a safe outcome...)

The problem is the possibility of the protagonist doing something reckless on impulse. In a friendship, effort, and victory-focused orthodox shonen manga, reckless courage wouldn't be much of a concern, but this world isn't that...

"Anyway, it feels a bit frustrating to come back to a room we already left... Do I have to go through it again?"

"Go through it again, huh?"

As I pondered the protagonist's thoughts, her next words struck a chord in my mind, and I furrowed my brow in response. Looking at Botan, she shook her head slightly. Wait. Could it be...?

"Sorry, Miss Tamaki. I just want to confirm something from what you said. You mean you have been in this room before?"

"Uh, yeah... From the look of this room, I think it's the same one, judging from the features of this room..."

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