Only I know that this world will end – 122 | Sousaku – 創作

Truth

After a while, Nao and Ayaka returned, and they started talking about what to do next.
At that moment, Arthur disappeared into the back of the bar and returned with a plastic bottle of orange juice, saying, “It's my treasure,” just as he had done before.

(――Appraisal.)

Seeing this, Akira immediately activated 『Appraisal』.

――――――――――――――――――
Fruit water
・Condition: Good
――――――――――――――――――
・Magical Element Content：０％
・Added special effect： Sleep
――――――――――――――――――
A common fruit water manufactured and mass-produced in the current world. There are traces of a drug being mixed in.
――――――――――――――――――

(……Bingo!)

Akira stared intently at the screen.
There was no longer any doubt. It was Arthur who made them fall asleep at that time.

(If I drink this, it will be just like that time.)

Akira received a glass of orange juice poured by Arthur and pondered.

(That said, if I don't drink it, the future may change…………)

In such a case. If Arthur came to kill Nao by other means, Akira would have no way of knowing. In order to settle everything in this life, he needed to make Arthur think that he had drunk the orange juice laced with sleeping pills.
After thinking it over, Akira put his lips to the glass but didn't drink, pretending to take a sip.
As he tilted the glass with his mouth closed, Arthur, who had been watching him, asked with interest.

"Fumu. Do you dislike orange juice, Ichijou-kun? "

……Apparently, he noticed that the contents of the glass hadn't decreased.

(Damn, he's watching me.)

Akira clicked his tongue in his mind and shook his head in response.

"No way. I like orange juice."

While saying that, he thought about what he should do.
Perhaps if he didn't drink here, Arthur would resort to other means. He could keep Nao close by his side and prevent Arthur from attacking, but he didn't know how long he could do that. If he were to fight a boss, he would inevitably lose sight of Nao, and if Nao went to the restroom, he couldn't follow her. It was not very realistic.

(At this point, I could reveal that the orange juice contains sleeping pills and question him about it, but…… I still don't know if Hanayagi is an enemy or not. First of all, Hanayagi's unique skill―― I don't even know if the 『Holy Arts』 really work the way Hanayagi said they do.)

No matter how much you learned about skills through analysis, you wouldn't know how effective they were.
The most troublesome thing here would be if Ayaka was an enemy and the Holy Arts skill was just a bluff. He would find himself in a predicament due to the effects of a skill he was unfamiliar with.

(After all, it is a unique skill. Its effect should be more powerful than the skills you gain with points. ――――I guess I have no choice but to drink it.)

After much thought, Akira made up his mind.

(It doesn't matter how. The important thing is to stay conscious.)

Akira clenched his teeth as he swallowed the contents.

"Oh, what a relief. If you didn't like orange juice, I was just thinking of getting you something else."

Arthur grinned when he saw that Akira had drunk the orange juice.
Staring at his face, Akira hid his boiling emotions and forced a smile.
The conversation that followed was exactly as he remembered it.
Arthur said he would go check on the boss and left the store with a loud laugh.
Akira watched him leave, exhaled slowly, stood up, told the two to rest, and headed for the corner of the bar with the Hatchet of the Raging Bull in his hand.

His mind grew dull and foggy. His eyelids felt heavy as lead, and at any moment he felt as if he might lose consciousness.
Akira gritted his teeth and endured it.

Until that moment, the turning point ahead.
To sleep here now was...... It was tantamount to Nanase Nao losing her life again.

◇ ◇ ◇

How much time had passed?
One minute, ten minutes. No, maybe an hour passed.
The intense drowsiness was eroding his thoughts, threatening to rob him of consciousness if he let his guard down.
It was also painful to have to close his eyes deliberately to pretend to be asleep.
As he clenched his teeth to endure the agony, his lip eventually broke, filling his mouth with the taste of blood.

Hanayagi Ayaka stayed up late into the night.

Maybe she was not sleepy because she didn't drink the orange juice with sleeping pills in it.
Or maybe she was just faithfully keeping her promise to keep watch over Nao, who had fallen asleep.
From time to time, she chewed the candy in her mouth with a crunching sound and stared blankly into space.
The change happened after a while.
Suddenly, the door to the store opened, and a voice came from out of nowhere.

"……They both seem to be asleep."

There was no sight of him.
He was probably using 『Stealth』.
Ayaka's body trembled at the sudden opening of the door and the words spoken without anyone there, and she turned toward the direction of the voice in a panic.

"Where are you looking? This way."

Then, as if to mock Ayaka, the voice rang out again, and Arthur, having broken his stealth, appeared behind Ayaka, his figure blurring.

"...! ? I've told you many times to stop doing that――――"

Arthur smiled and shrugged his shoulders slightly at Ayaka, who was glaring at him while complaining.

"Hahaha, my apologies. But I thought I should let you know this as soon as possible."
"Me? "

Ayaka muttered, glaring at Arthur.
Arthur looked serious at Ayaka, nodded once, and responded.

"Yeah. Your friend——Yukka, I believe you said? I found a girl who matches that child's description. From what I was told, I'm sure that girl is Yukka."
"H-Huh! ? Don't joke around! Yukka was, Yukka was, right in front of me, I'm sure――――"
"Same blonde hair as you, same hoodie. Besides, she said that if I showed this to you, you would understand."

Saying that, Arthur took out a cracked smartphone from his pocket.
Ayaka saw it, opened her eyes wide, and held her breath.

"――This is Yukka's…… Why do you have it?"
"Told you I met your friend, right? You said she was attacked by a monster, but she seems to be alive. She said she wanted to see you."
"Yukka is......! Where's Yukka! ? "
"There's a big department store not far from here, right? She is there. You'd better go see her soon."
"B-But――――"

Ayaka muttered, staring at Nao and Akira.
It seemed like she was wondering whether it would be okay to leave this spot.
As if to urge Ayaka on, Arthur whispered to her.

"I'll take over watching. Don't worry, if you find your friend, just bring her here."
"Is, that okay? "
"It's okay. Ah, but before that. I want you to use the 『Silence』 skill from your 『Holy Arts』 on the young lady. The young lady fought a werewolf and is very tired. Considering what lies ahead, I would like her to rest well if possible. Turn off the sound so the young lady doesn't wake up."

Hearing this, Ayaka looked at Nao and Akira again.

Then, as if accepting Arthur's words, she nodded slightly.

"――『Silence』."

With that, she muttered and hurriedly left the store.