"I can."
"Since I'm the one taking you there, I can naturally bring you back as well."
"Traveling between this world and that one is not particularly difficult for me."
Facing the mixture of hope and unease in their eyes, Haimer gave a clear answer.
The tension in the air immediately loosened.
Warabi let out a long breath and patted her chest in relief.
Mary also looked visibly reassured, as if the mere existence of a return ticket had turned this trip to another world into nothing more than an especially thrilling school excursion.
However,
Before that lightness could spread any further, Haimer's next words fell like a bucket of ice water.
"But."
"If you intend to go with the mindset of 'I'll try it, and if it doesn't work, I'll come back,' then I suggest you stay here."
"Life only unleashes its most astonishing strength when there is no retreat."
"Even the most timid mouse, cornered by a cat with nowhere left to run, will bare its fangs and fight for that last sliver of survival."
"That kind of resolve, the kind that burns your bridges, is essential fuel on the path to becoming strong."
"But the moment life has an escape route…"
"The moment you know there's a warm, comfortable, danger-free bed waiting behind an open door…"
"The will to struggle in desperation begins to crumble."
"It's like walking a tightrope."
"If there's no safety net, every step demands absolute focus. Every cell in your body screams to maintain balance."
"But if there's a thick cushion laid out below…"
"You start thinking, 'If I fall, it's fine.'"
"And then your steps loosen. The tension in your mind slackens."
"A fight with no way back has never been a tactical choice. It is a psychological state."
"When someone knows she still has a way out, the force behind her sword will weaken by a fraction."
"When she dodges a claw, her reaction will be a fraction slower."
"But in that world…"
"That fraction."
"That single beat of hesitation."
"Is the line between life and death."
"The place I'm taking you is not an amusement park. It's not a simulated stage for playing hero."
"People truly die there."
"A monster's claws will rip open the throat of any adventurer who underestimates the dungeon."
"And in that moment…"
"If what's in your mind is 'I want to go home,' instead of 'I need to kill this thing'…"
"Then you will die."
When Haimer finished speaking, the gymnasium fell silent.
Even Amou, who had been the most excited, lost the curve of her smile. Her expression turned solemn.
She was not afraid of death.
But she understood his meaning.
This was not merely about dying or surviving.
It was about resolve.
The kind of mad resolve that severs your past and throws your entire life onto the table as a wager.
"So."
Haimer spread his hands as though delivering a final ultimatum.
"If you want to come with me, then kill the version of yourself who believes she can come back."
"Treat this departure as a one-way ticket."
"If you lack that resolve, then stop here."
After saying that, he fell silent and simply waited.
In that stillness, it was Amou who moved first.
After hearing everything, the fire in her eyes did not diminish. It burned even hotter.
"What a boring question."
"This world has long felt like a lifeless tomb to me."
"And if it's a tomb, why should I cling to it?"
"If I can feel the pain of being alive again, what does it matter if it's one-way?"
Without hesitation, she strode to stand behind Haimer.
With someone taking the lead, the second response followed quickly.
It was Tsukuyo.
She rose slowly from her seat, katana in hand.
"In that case, Tsukuyo will go as well."
"My world has always been dark."
"If everywhere is night, then what difference does it make whether the door behind me closes?"
"If this is the trial the god has prepared for Tsukuyo, then I will walk into it."
"And if I can hear a different kind of wind…"
"That alone will be enough."
With that, she opened her sightless crimson eyes and stepped forward to Haimer's side.
In the blink of an eye, two of them had made their choice.
Satori tilted her head at the sight, and for a fleeting moment, the artificial smile on her face faded.
But it was quickly replaced by one even brighter, and far more dangerous.
"If everyone is this interested," she said lightly, "wouldn't it be a shame for me to miss out on something so fun?"
"And besides…"
"A game without an escape route is much more exciting, isn't it?"
She skipped forward cheerfully and took her place at Haimer's other side.
One after another, they declared themselves.
Now, among the Five Swords, only Rin, Mary, and Warabi remained where they stood.
The pressure intensified, time seemed to slow for them.
Each second stretched unbearably long.
Mary clutched her dictionary tightly, her gaze shifting between Haimer and the others.
This was her familiar campus.
Her comfortable, well-practiced life as a young lady. It might have been dull, but it was safe.
What Haimer described was something entirely different.
An unknown dungeon filled with danger. A place where she could truly die.
If she took that step, there would be no turning back.
"I…"
She wanted to argue. To protest that this was unreasonable. To ask why it couldn't be both ways.
But the words refused to leave her mouth.
Because deep down, she knew.
Haimer was right.
She was exactly the kind of person who would never dare dance on a tightrope if there was no safety net below.
Warabi had already sunk to the ground, burying her face in her bear's thick fur as if trying to hide from the weight of the choice.
And then there was Rin.
Her hand still gripped the hilt of her blade.
Without her mask, every emotion on her face was visible.
Fear was still there, so was her hesitation.
But beneath them, something else was growing.
A fierce, suffocating unwillingness to accept this as her fate.
Was she really going to let it end like this?
Put the broken mask back on. Continue living in her mother's shadow. Continue playing at being one of the Five Swords within this narrow academy.
Graduate. Marry. Live an ordinary life.
If that was truly what she wanted,
Then why had she chased after him?
Why had she endured humiliation and stubbornly followed him here?
Rin took a deep breath.
She pushed herself up from the ground.
Her legs trembled, her heart pounded wildly. But her eyes remained fixed on Haimer.
If there was no retreat,
Then she would not retreat.
She would keep moving forward.
She would keep swinging her blade.
Even if hell lay ahead, it was better than rotting here.
Grinding her teeth, Rin stepped forward, one step at a time, until she stood before Haimer.
This was more than a decision.
It was a declaration of war against her former, cowardly self.
"I'll go."
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