Episode 464.

If their daughter's name is Mio, who is Shea who is now being held at swordpoint?

Thinking back to Sia's words that she had been involved with, she didn't feel like she was lying.

No, even before that, it was clear from the way Shea was looking at her now, that it was a situation she hadn't thought of.

 

"Huh?"

"Shea!!"

 

Shea, who couldn't bear to be here, ran out of the house.

 

"Senior, Mr./Ms. Leona!! Here, please!!

"Ahh

"You've got that girl!!"

 

Shea is important, but it's equally important to explain the situation to her family.

After asking my seniors and Leona Mr./Ms. to play the role, I called out to the other ——— Owl Mr./Ms..

 

"Mr./Ms. Owl, I'm going after Shea!"

"Got it!"

 

I follow Shea with Mr./Ms..

——— can't afford to lose sight of it.

The moment I left the house, I checked her back and jumped out of the place with all my might, and in an instant I was ahead of her.

She was running hard without looking ahead, and she took it as if to release the impact.

 

"Uh-huh, ...... wall!? Woo, Usato...... Whoa!"

 

Shea tries to avoid me.

But I can't leave her alone now, so I hold her by my arm and lift her up.

 

"Let go! Usato!"

"I can't leave you alone now."

"What do you think this way of holding it is for girls!?"

 

Shea shows her violent appearance for a while, but when she soon realizes that she can't do it, she becomes quiet as it is.

Then she remembers the conversation she had with her father earlier and starts crying.

 

"Why, my father Mr./Ms. ...... ...... me."

「……」

 

I don't know what's going on, but I'm sure Shea is more confused.

When I didn't know how to talk to him, Mr./Ms. came running up to me a little later.

 

"No, of course, it's kind of funny to catch up here......"

"I'm going to lose track of it in terms of flow, but I'm going to catch it, kid."

 

In fact, if you lose sight of it here, you're not good as a rescue team.

If Rose found out about such a thing, she wouldn't be able to get away with it, .......

For the time being, Shea disappears in desperation...... I'm relieved that it didn't turn out to be the worst, but I haven't solved anything about her yet.

 

"Let's move somewhere calmer."

「…… No, it's more than that...... There's a place I want you to go."

"Where?"

 

When I asked, she hesitated for a moment before pointing in a certain direction.

 

"There was a landslide...... Where the body of the hero was found."

「…… I get it."

 

After assisting Shea, who is holding her by her side, with dark magic so that she does not get tired, she starts walking.

 

"What? The sense of stability is amazing...... Uh, Usato? I can walk on my own, can you put me down?"

"Don't worry about it, I'm used to carrying it."

"Yes......."

 

But even though the landslide happened, it must have been a few months since it happened.

According to Mr./Ms. Naia, a knight was sent to the site, so it must have been cleaned up now.

 

"Usato"

"Hmm?"

"You don't have to reply, just listen silently."

「……」

 

Is it to make Shea feel uneasy?

He nods slightly at the sound of Nea's voice whispering in his ear.

 

"If I were to speculate on what's going on with Shea right now, two possibilities emerge."

「……」

"One is that she's really named Sia, and her family is led to believe shea is Mio."

 

Honestly, I hope it's a possibility.

If they're just being made to think, then they and Shea are really a blood family.

 

"The second is the shea you have now...... She is another person who has been implanted with the memories of a girl named Mio, and Shea herself is the one we thought we were possessed...... That's what it's all about.'

 

I don't want that to happen.

However, no matter how much she thinks so, she is convinced by the words and actions of Sia, who was thought to have been obsessed with her body.

 

"Here's my guess, but Shea, who was called a witch, is the real one, and she used her soul magic to extract Mio's soul and put it in another body...... I don't know why there's a previous hero involved, but it makes sense.'

「……」

"And I don't know what happens to the body of a girl named Mio......

 

No words continued from there.

However, even if Nea didn't say it, it was predictable.

 

"Usato, it's not a good idea to put any more mental burden on this child, as the other Shea said, she also ——— the other Shea."

"No, that's not true."

 

I muttered and stopped in my tracks.

We...... I can't hide anything from this kid anymore.

The fact that we are silent about Shea now is something that she will eventually know.

When she found out about everything, she didn't think that we were "silent for my own sake———、

 

"I was the only one who didn't know anything, and I deceived and betrayed him."

 

——— would.

If that happens, she will never open up to anyone again.

You will be alone.

 

「…… Nea"

"Well, this is just my opinion, you can do something about it, right?"

"Thank you."

 

Still, I'm really grateful for the advice and advice.

I unleash the dark magic and lower Shea to the ground.

 

"What, Usato?"

"Usato-kun? What's wrong?"

 

While looking at Mr./Ms. who was calling out to me questioningly, I faced Shea again.

 

"Sia, I've been silent to you before."

「…… What's that?"

"Have you had an unnatural break in memory lately?"

 

Her eyes widen as if she had thought of something.

 

"In the meantime, there was another personality that was taking over your body."

"What?"

"I don't know her name, she's working to get a piece of the Demon Lord's power, and this time she's temporarily working with us to deal with a demon that was lurking in Calmherio."

"What are you ......talking about?"

"We were trying to pull it off to help you."

"So did I."

 

As if in sync with my words, an assimilated Rune comes out with a hood on.

 

"Rune...... No way, you're ......."

"Shea's body is being made good by a bad guy...... I, too, want to help ...... Shea.'

 

Sia, stunned by Rune's words, looks at me again.

I look her in the eye again and then bow deeply.

 

"I'm sorry."

「…… What?"

"I'm not going to say anything convenient about being silent for your sake, it's my fault that I was so determined to help you before you knew what was happening to you. …… I'm really sorry."

 

I didn't understand anything.

Shea and the entity that was obsessed with her body, nothing.

I just stopped thinking that it was a girl who had to be rescued and had been taken over by an unknown entity.

 

"Usato isn't bad!!"

 

I bowed my head, and Shea raised her voice.

When I looked at her again, her expression was about to cry, and there was a mixture of resignation.

 

"I was vaguely aware ....... How can I not notice?"

 

She goes on to say:

 

"When I wake up, I'm in a place I don't know, and Rune cares about me more than he needs to...... They try to deceive you with lies that you can see ......."

"What?"

"It's still me...... I tried not to notice. What is happening to me and what will happen to me...... I was scared to find out......

 

Every time I woke up, I would often wake up in a place I didn't know.

Even if he wants to know the reason, Rune, who is by his side, cares and tries to deceive him.

 

"If you think about it, it's not surprising, you wake up in a different place every time you switch personalities......

『…… It must have been scary.''

 

He overhears Ferm and Nea muttering, and is once again frustrated by his own callousness in not noticing it.

 

"And come here without looking at reality...... I'm ......."

「……」

"Usato, follow me...... Some people have a bad complexion."

 

Mr./Ms. and I follow Sia without a word.

After a short walk out of the village, she stopped at a place where there was a towering slope through the woods, and squinted her eyes as if she were looking at something in the distance.

 

"This is where I saw the body of the hero."

 

At the bottom of the slope are a number of sandbags, which are supported by the magic of the earth system.

Indeed, it looks like an accident happened here a while ago.

 

"I've always felt uncomfortable, and every time someone called me Shea, I felt like I was being called someone else......

「……」

"But Mio...... When my father's Mr./Ms. called his name...... It's funny how ——— I find myself accepting that name as if it were my own!!"

"Shhhh

 

Suddenly, Shea begins to struggle with her head.

He immediately rushes to her side and administers a healing spell while calling out to her.

 

"Oh, I remembered when I came here."

 

Holding her head, she looks blankly at the slope where the landslide occurred.

 

"My name was Mio. And Shea, he's ———."

 

●

 

On the outskirts of the village where I lived, people call me a witch for as long as I can rememberwoman・・There was.

 

Shea, a red-haired, strangely aged woman who lives in an old hut.

 

Tall and long-haired, he was recognized as a freak and herbalist in the village.

The man, who had been in the village for decades and did not seem to age at all, and was always in his mid-twenties, lived quietly, occasionally consulting with the people of the village, mixing medicinal herbs, and exchanging minimal interactions, even though he was snooped on by the villagers.

She didn't do anything wrong, and although she was reluctant to help the village, the villagers accepted her presence.

 

I've been going to Shea's cabin since I was little.

Even as a child, I was curious about that person who handled medicinal herbs, but I genuinely admired Shea.

He's blunt and doesn't put people off, but he's kind and kind.

 

"Mio, you shouldn't go to her too much."

 

However, my family was reluctant to allow me to meet Shea.

I don't know how it feels.

I mean, he's usually a suspicious person, and he's a mess in the house.

 

"Huh, are you here again?"

 

He always said that every time I went to the hut, he seemed to be annoyed.

However, even if it seems troublesome, he taught me about wild herbs that can be eaten somehow and medicinal herbs that are good for the body.

 

"Come on, don't get involved with me...... Mix this with livestock feed. If you still refuse to feed...... Huh...... Come here again.'

 

Somehow, Shea helps.

I was happy about that.

Even as a child, I was able to learn about the unknown that I experienced in a village that was only a limited world.

Shea taught me more as a herbalist, and one day, when I grow up, I want to be a herbalist who can help everyone.

 

——— thought so.

 

That's what I thought, but that day——— something went wrong when I carelessly made Shea angry.

 

"Ah! Come on, clean it up!!"

"It's noisy, I've never been crippled."

 

Even at the age of 16, I was still going to Shea, and I was tired of the messy and getting worse in the hut, and I was cleaning it up while listening to Sia's voice complaining about the bumps.

 

"Hmm? What's this?'

 

A slightly larger box wrapped in multiple layers of cloth and buried in the corner of the room.

Even though I knew it was useless, I opened it, and there was something mysterious in it.

 

『…… Guys?'

 

It is an elaborate doll in the form of a ——— person.

Noticing that I had witnessed him as if he were a real, living person, Shea let out an angry voice that he had never heard before.

 

"Don't touch it!!"

 

It was something she didn't want to be touched.

I was kicked out without saying yes or no, and I regretted that I had inadvertently stepped into that person's important matters.

I want to apologize.

I asked, thinking so, but from that day on, Shea no longer spoke back from inside the hut.

What on earth was that doll?

What did it mean to Shea?

But it was something she didn't want to touch.

 

『…… I'm sorry, Shea."

 

I don't know how many times, I muttered in a depressed position at the door that never answered.

As if to express my gloomy feelings, rain pours down from the pitch-black clouds.

In front of the door that did not answer, and after uttering another word of apology——— you ——— that, that's it, that's it———、

 

 

 

 

That's right, Mio. You're dead.

He was swallowed by the dirt and died without anyone noticing.

Shea, oh, shea.

Poor child, stupid child.

 

 

 

 

●

 

"——— Mio?"

 

Her words, which were talking about the past, suddenly stopped.

Forgotten memories of the witch Sia.

I heard her story as an herbalist, and then I heard about her being caught in a storm a few months ago.

But for some reason, she keeps her mouth shut and doesn't look back, looking into the air and not moving.

Are you stunned? I thought about it and walked up to her side.

 

"Are you okay? ———!!"

 

Just as I was about to touch her shoulder, I tried not to let my inner agitation come to light at the slight glimpse of her profile.

 

———Who are you?

 

I swallow the words that I am about to say reflexively.

The words I intuitively tried to say may just be a misunderstanding.

But in my eyes, I couldn't see her standing in front of me or Shea.

 

"Usato?"

"What's wrong?"

 

The voices of Nea and Ferm, who were assimilated, brought him back to himself, and when he looked at Mio again, he felt no longer as uncomfortable as before.

…… Is it because of my mind?

As she struggled to figure out what to say, she held her head again and groaned.

 

"———, uh-huh."

"Mio......?"

"No...... It's not him...... I mean, it looks like you've gotten to know him ......."

 

…… Sia?

She turned pale and stood up with me supporting her.

 

"Oh, Usato, I'm sorry, but I'm going to leave here. I know I'm not convinced, but ———."

"Is it for Mio?"

"She knows about herself and has become unstable, and this place and your presence will make Mio's heart flutter ......!! Hmmm...... What memory do you have when you die...... You shouldn't be watching it, ......!?"

 

If you use magic to summon the soul of a dead person, your mind will be distorted unless you are a very strong soul.

If that's the case with Mio as well...... Don't dismiss Shea's words as lies.

 

「…… Isn't this for us?"

"No, I have work to do...... from"

 

…… What do you have to do?

The will is hard, this one.

 

"Usato, what are you going to do?" Are you going to catch them here and now?'

 

You can try to catch them here and now.

But in that case, you will definitely have to deal with the yarn wielder sister Mr./Ms. and Owl Mr./Ms. who are hiding nearby.

I don't have a problem fighting though...... Seeing her struggling with her head pressed down now, it is dangerous to bear any more burden.

 

「……」

 

I took a step back without saying a word, and Shea, who stroked my chest, said with a pained face, "Esta ......!!" and call names.

Then, a woman of the demon tribe who handles the thread of dark magic lurking in the depths of the forest appears.

 

"Hey, what's going on here?"

"It's pretty urgent...... I'll come back with magic, so stay close ......."

 

For some reason, Esta is a woman who uses dark magic threads that look at me with jito eyes.

She was as pale as Mr./Ms. Awl, and she couldn't help but sigh as she lent Shea a shoulder.

While watching the situation, I called out to Mr. Owl Mr./Ms. who was standing next to me.

 

"Mr./Ms. Owl."

"Usato-kun, at this rate, it may be a long time before I go to the captain. It's a shame, it's really ......!!"

"No, that's not what I meant."

 

Until now, it has been a ...... The goal was to save Mio, release Mr./Ms. and bring her to the leader, but the situation changed.

 

"I'm going to ask Mio."

「! …… yes, leave it to me."

 

Although he is being manipulated, he is relieved if Owl Mr./Ms. is by his side.

And one more person.

 

"Rune, I beg of you, too."

『…… yes!'

 

This child is irreplaceable to Mio.

And it's the same for Rune.

I unassimilate it so that it jumps out of me, and I go to Shea to see her and Mr./Ms. off, and I leave the magic pattern that has unfolded.

 

"I'm sorry, it's like this."

 

A large transference type of magic that I had seen before.

I shook my head at her who apologized apologetically while being surrounded by that light.

 

"Well, talk to Mio, I don't know what you think of her...... Don't hide anything anymore."

「…… I get it."

 

With a wry smile on her face, Xia said as she activated her transfer magic and disappeared from the scene.

 

"Are you sure? Even if you let it go.'

 

In the woods, where there is no one but me, Ferm speaks to me with a light sigh.

 

"I know it's going to be involved somewhere...... It's a shame to say it myself, but I have a hunch that it is."

"Ah......"

 

Nea and Ferm speak in unison.

Either way, if you have anything to do with the devil, you're sure to meet him.

Besides, even if the identities of Sia and Mio were only partially known, this action was not in vain.

 

"I wonder if Senpai and Mr./Ms. Leona are listening well."

"I don't think it's a problem for those two, but I'm worried about their family."

 

It would be a shock to know that she was a different person on the outside, but on the inside, it was Mio herself.

…… Even when the mystery is revealed, new mysteries still pop up.

What does Shea have to do in the first place?

 

「…… It's incongruous."

 

His words and actions of caring for Mio and his own actions.

I can't help but feel that both of them are strangely distorted.


_____________________________________________

Shea was a recluse and lethargic.

 

The next update is scheduled for tomorrow at 6 p.m.