After Saiki slapped Shiromaru Chi, he watched as the man struggled on the ground, trying to crawl up but unable to move.
Saiki kindly picked up some rope, tied him up properly, then grabbed his ankle and floated into the air, flying over to where Kurano Kiriha was.
Once he landed, Saiki casually tossed Shiromaru Chi to the side. Looking at Kurano Kiriha, who was still sitting on the ground clutching her foot and staring at him in shock, he thought,
[You should recover a bit. How's your foot?]
Kurano Kiriha snapped back to reality. Stubbornly insisting she was fine like a tough guy, she tried to stand up.
"It's fine, no problem, I... hiss~"
Kurano Kiriha collapsed back to the ground.
"Big sis!"
"Are you okay?"
Kurano Kiriha lifted her head and wiped the blood from her nose. "I'm fine!"
(What's with this guy?)
[Stretch your foot out. I'll heal it for you.]
"You can heal injuries too?"
Kurano Kiriha had already checked her foot earlier. Though it wasn't extremely serious, the bone in her lower leg was fractured, and because of the earlier attack, her foot was still bleeding steadily from an artery.
[Something like this is no problem. Just stretch your foot out.]
Kurano Kiriha: "Then you have to be gentle, Kusuo."
Kurano Kiriha had completely come to trust the person in front of her. Even if he said he could travel through time and space right now, she wouldn't doubt him.
She extended her foot. Seeing it still bleeding, she simply closed her eyes.
Kurano Kiriha [In those novels, when a girl's foot gets injured and a guy helps massage it, her foot might feel itchy and painful, and it could get really sensitive. I have to hold it together.]
(What kind of novels are those?)
Saiki crouched down.
[Then I'm starting.]
"Mm."
Saiki reached out his hand, and then...
"Mm ah~"
[I haven't even touched it yet? Don't make weird noises.]
"Ah, sorry, I was just too scared. That's what the book said."
[Just don't make strange sounds anyway.]
"I got it."
Kurano Kiriha nodded and closed her eyes again. Two seconds passed.
"Is it... done? Are you about to start? How is it?"
Saiki had already stood back up.
[It's already done.]
"Nani!"
Kurano Kiriha opened her eyes and looked at her foot, which was now as white and tender as ice cream, completely free of blood, without a single wound or sign of injury.
"This is way too amazing."
Kurano Kiriha [But it's also way too fast, and kind of disappointing.]
(What are you disappointed about?)
Saiki kicked Shiromaru Chi once and looked at Kurano Kiriha.
[So, can we deal with this old geezer now?]
"Mm..."
"Hahaha!!"
Shiromaru Chi lay on the ground laughing wildly. "Just kill me already! Otherwise I won't let you off. I've already sent my subordinates to transmit the information. As long as I don't make it out alive, they'll spread the news that the commander colluded with surface dwellers to kill me."
"Shiromaru Chi, you think that will work?!"
Kurano Kiriha coldly stared at Shiromaru Chi. Originally, she hadn't really wanted to kill him—after all, they were both underground people.
Kurano Kiriha [I was originally planning to discuss with Kusuo, lock him up somewhere, and just let him rot in solitude for the rest of his life. But this guy...]
(You might as well just kill him outright at that point.)
Kurano Kiriha turned her head away, refusing to look at the man who had shown his ugly true face.
"Kusuo, I'll leave him to you. Whether you kill him or do whatever else, it's up to you. As for those rumors, I'll handle them. I won't let the warmongers who want to start a war get to the surface."
Shiromaru Chi: "Hahaha, can you really suppress it? If you kill me, it'll be fine in the short term, but give it a few years and war will break out."
[Old man, you're really not afraid of death, huh.]
Saiki glanced expressionlessly at Shiromaru Chi, who instantly shut his mouth.
[I never said I was going to kill him.]
Kurano Kiriha: "You... you're not going to kill him?"
[When did I ever say I would kill him? I just want to destroy this robot and cannon that are interfering with my life. As for you people coming up again later to invade the surface and affect me, then I won't give you another chance.]
Kurano Kiriha fell into thought.
"How about... you just kill him anyway!"
[Why? Earlier you were still trying to plead for him.]
"No, as long as he's around for even a day, he'll keep inciting others to start a war. And what he did today really went too far. How about... just kill him."
Saiki →_→
[Forget it.]
"Why?"
[Because Saiki Kusuo doesn't kill people.]
❓
Kurano Kiriha [What kind of reason is that?]
[But go out for a bit first. I need to talk to him. Don't worry—he won't have any more ideas about starting a war or invading the surface after this.]
"Really?"
Kurano Kiriha tilted her head, a little skeptical. "This old guy thinks about starting wars all day. Even when I was little, he kept egging my father on to declare war, declare war, all that. He's really hard to persuade."
[I have a way. Just go out first.]
"Okay then. Karama, Korama, let's go."
"Got it, big sis."
"Leaving him to you, Kusuo."
Kurano Kiriha left with her two little clay dolls.
"Wait, wait, why are you leaving? Come back and kill me! Kill me!"
Shiromaru Chi lay on the ground in powerless rage, watching Kurano Kiriha leave.
[No need to shout anymore. It's just us here now. We can talk properly.]
Shiromaru Chi instantly stiffened, cold sweat pouring out as he recalled ten years ago. Though he didn't know the exact reason or see what happened to those who were captured, he had witnessed what that boy did and still felt terrified—especially after hearing what those people said when they returned...
Shiromaru Chi unconsciously swallowed.
He looked at Saiki's back, feeling the surrounding air grow eerily quiet.
"You... you should just kill me. If you don't kill me right now, I'll come back and take brutal revenge. I'll make you suffer unbearably, I'll..."
Saiki slowly turned around, tilted his head, and showed a "kind" smile.
[Hey, kid, are you threatening me?]
Saiki Kusuo's "kind" smile →
Shiromaru Chi: Nyaa nyaa nyaa?
Shiromaru Chi's words cut off abruptly, while our peace-loving Saiki master walked forward step by step.
The panic on Shiromaru Chi's face grew more and more, spreading across his entire body.
"Ah, yamete!! ...Aaaah!"
...
Kurano Kiriha heard the miserable screams coming from inside and couldn't help shivering. "What exactly happened to make Shiromaru Chi scream like that?"
Karama and Korama floated in the air, chiming in.
"Maybe Kusuo used some inhumane method on him."
"Yeah, that's right. He probably wanted to show Lord Chi his tragic fate as a threat. As expected of Kusuo."
Kurano Kiriha: "But what exactly would Kusuo do? He wouldn't drain out his soul with his special ability and replace it with a new personality, or turn him into a puppet doll, right?!"
The more Kurano Kiriha thought, the more excited and scared she became, and the more complicated her imagination grew.
[Your imagination is really something. In your minds, am I really that terrifying and heartless of a person?]