This was the campus she knew, the life of a young lady she had long grown used to. It might have been a little boring, but it was absolutely safe.
What Haimo had described, however...
Was that unknown Dungeon, full of danger, where she might die.
Once she took that step, there would be no turning back.
"I..."
At the thought, Kikakujō Mary wanted to argue, to say this was completely unreasonable, to ask why she couldn't have the best of both worlds.
But when the words reached her lips, she couldn't get them out.
Because deep down, Kikakujō Mary knew perfectly well.
Haimo was right.
She was the sort of person who would never dare dance on a tightrope as long as she had a safety net.
Hanabishi Warabi simply plopped down on the floor and buried her head in the black bear's thick fur, as though trying to escape the weight of this choice.
Onigawara Rin, on the other hand...
Still gripped her sword's hilt tightly.
Without her mask to hide behind...
Every expression on her face was laid bare.
The fear remained.
The hesitation remained.
But...
Beyond those...
An emotion called defiance was growing wildly in her eyes.
Was she really going to leave it at that?
Put that broken mask back on, keep living in her mother's shadow, and keep playing house with the Five Swords in this tiny school?
Then graduate, get married, and live out a mediocre life?
If that was truly what she wanted...
Then why had she chased after him just now?
Why had she followed him here like a shameless fool, even after being humiliated?
At that thought, Onigawara Rin took a deep breath.
She braced herself against the floor and shakily got to her feet.
Her legs were still a little weak.
Her heart was still pounding.
But...
Her eyes stayed fixed on Haimo.
If there was no way back...
Then she wouldn't turn back.
She just had to keep moving forward.
She just had to swing her sword.
Even if hell lay ahead, it was better than rotting here.
And so, gritting her teeth, Onigawara Rin made her way up to Haimo, one step at a time.
This wasn't merely a decision.
It was a declaration of war against her former, cowardly self.
"I'll go!"
Chapter 13: The Five Heavenly Swords and Empress Sasamori Aya, all assembled
"Huh? Huuuh?!"
"R-Rin?!"
"Are you serious?"
"That... that other world sounds so dangerous..."
"And you'd have to leave this place, too..."
Mozunoya, who had been shrinking into the background all this time, immediately widened her eyes. Her face filled with disbelief, as though she had seen the sun rise in the west.
She still clutched the baton Shirakawa had returned to her, her knuckles white from the force of her grip.
To her, Onigawara Rin was not merely her senior, but someone she looked up to in kendo.
How could Rin, who always wore a mask and was strict but more upright than anyone else, suddenly abandon everything at the school?
"I've thought this through, Nono."
Onigawara Rin didn't turn around, but her voice was unusually firm.
Her back was ramrod straight, as though she intended to muster a lifetime's worth of backbone in this one moment.
"I've already... made up my mind to change."
With that...
Onigawara Rin stepped forward and walked resolutely to Haimo's side, standing shoulder to shoulder with Tsukuyo Inaba.
Now...
Three of the Five Swords stood beside Haimo.
The balance of the situation tipped in an instant.
Pressure.
Almost tangible pressure came crashing down on the two who remained.
Kikakujō Mary, and Hanabishi Warabi, who still had her head buried against the bear's belly.
The air inside the gym seemed to grow thick.
Every gaze, whether Haimo's, as calm as an abyss, or the scrutinizing looks of the three who had already decided, pierced them like needles.
"..."
Kikakujō Mary clutched the thick dictionary against her chest.
Her nails dug deep into its cover.
Go?
Or stay?
This should have been a serious question of life and death.
Reason told her that staying at this school, with its comfortable lifestyle and her status as a young lady, was the right choice.
After all, who wanted to risk their life fighting monsters that sounded disgusting and dangerous?
But...
At that moment...
Every rational argument in Kikakujō Mary's mind was drowned out by another, far stronger emotion.
-Onigawara Rin was going!
The same Onigawara Rin she always mocked for wearing that unfashionable mask and following every rule like some old stick-in-the-mud.
The girl she had always considered indecisive.
This time, she had chosen that thorny path without hesitation.
And what about her?
Was she going to cower here like a quail?
She was being outdone.
Backing down now meant losing to Onigawara Rin.
That feeling was ten thousand times worse than death!
"Aaargh! Honestly!"
At that thought, Kikakujō Mary irritably ruffled her blond hair, which she usually tended so carefully that she wouldn't tolerate a single strand out of place.
Then...
Bang!
She slammed the thick dictionary she treasured and carried everywhere onto the floor.
"Fine, I'll go!"
"Who's scared of you?!"
"I'm sick of being stuck here every day anyway!"
"If even a coward like Rin dares to go, why wouldn't I?!"
With that...
As though to prove her resolve, she didn't even pick up her dictionary, instead striding over to Haimo's other side.
She even deliberately bumped Onigawara Rin with her shoulder and gave a cold snort.
And so...
Four were in place.
Now...
Everyone's eyes finally settled on the figure still sitting on the floor, her entire head buried in the black bear's thick belly fur.
Hanabishi Warabi.
The girl, who looked as petite as an elementary schooler, was trying to shut out reality with the black bear, like an ostrich burying its head.
They could still hear her muffled muttering.
"Mmm..."
"Should I go? Should I really go?"
"It sounds so scary... I'll die, won't I? I'll definitely die, right?"
"But..."
Hanabishi Warabi couldn't help quietly lifting her head out of the thick bear fur, revealing a pair of timid, wide eyes.
She cautiously looked around at the four people already standing beside Haimo.
Sasamori Aya looked down at her.
Kikakujō Mary held her chin high.
Even Nemumeno Satori...
Was smiling at her now, her head tilted as though saying, "Oh my, so Warabi's the one getting left behind~"
If none of the others had gone...
If even one person had stayed with her, she would definitely have been the first to raise her hand in favor of staying.
But now...
Everyone else was going.
Was she going to be the only one left behind?
"Hiss!"