Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 10

by Ryo Shirakome

  In time, she’d tried smiling more at school as well. Even though she wasn’t necessarily having fun at school, she’d smile all the time anyway.

  Before she knew it, she’d made dozens of friends. And all of them had seemed happy to be spending time with her. In a flash, her dreary school life had become exciting.

  It was then that Suzu had learned that smiling was the solution to her problems. As long as she was smiling, she’d never be alone. And thus, the class mood maker was born. From then on, Suzu was always smiling cheerfully, even if she didn’t actually feel that happy inside. She kept her happy, joking persona up no matter what.

  “You empathized with Eri’s calculating nature, didn’t you!?”

  Suzu snapped back to the present. It seemed she’d been paying too much attention to her memories. While she’d been distracted by the barrier battle and her own thoughts, her copy had snuck a few moving barriers—Heaven Crushers—underneath her defenses and slid them across the floor to her.

  By the time she realized she was in trouble, it was already too late. The Heaven Crushers unleashed a blinding flash, and exploded in a burst of mana, sending shards of barrier flying everywhere. Her copy had hit her with a barrier burst.

  “Gah!”

  Suzu just barely managed to protect her vitals with her fans, but the blast sent her flying backward and she hit the ground with a thud. After rolling for a few meters, Suzu came to a stop and gingerly got to her feet. Judging by how little she was talking, Suzu was at her limits both physically and mentally.

  However, for some reason, the copy shot her a confused, probing look. But then a second later it sneered again and added, “You thought Eri was just like you. You believed she’d empathize with you too. Which is why you really, truly, believed she was your best friend.”

  Suzu had thought Eri was just acting to protect herself, not because she was evil. She’d believed that Eri really did care about her friends, and just acted the way she did as a self-defense mechanism.

  “No, that’s not true. You wanted to believe that.”

  Suzu had ignored all the warning signs she’d noticed since coming to Tortus. Though she’d started to suspect that Eri might actually be evil, she’d pretended not to see anything. She’d just blindly put her faith in Eri and stamped down all of her suspicions. She’d been too scared to confront the truth.

  In the back of her mind, though, she knew that the moment Eri Nakamura’s mask came off, their friendly relationship would come to an end.

  “So you ran from Eri.”

  “......”

  As a result—

  “You invited a tragedy.”

  Because of Suzu’s willful ignorance, two of her classmates, Captain Meld, and a whole host of other knights died. On top of that, Kaori nearly lost her life as well.

  “You should have confronted Eri. You should have asked her what she was really thinking! You were the only one who even had an inkling of what she really was! You were the only one who could have stopped that tragedy! But instead, you ran away! In order to protect your fragile little heart, you averted your gaze from an inconvenient truth! And in doing so, you averted your gaze from your best friend!”

  Suzu’s copy laid down criticism after criticism. But all of those statements were something Suzu herself had thought at least once.

  “Ngh...”

  Suzu grit her teeth, unable to argue back. This was the darkness residing in her heart, the darkness she hadn’t told anyone—the overwhelming guilt she felt at not confronting Eri earlier. She’d told herself over and over there was no way her best friend was evil, and given up critically examining the evidence thrust before her. As a result, tragedy had struck. Even if she hadn’t possessed the courage to confront Eri herself, she should have at least brought her concerns to Shizuku. That way, they might have been able to prepare.

  Of course, all of those were what-ifs. At the end of the day, it had been Eri who’d chosen the path of evil, and Suzu was one of her victims. Suzu knew that if she told Shizuku what she was feeling, that’s what she would tell her.

  However, even if Suzu understood that in her head, she couldn’t rid herself of the guilt that gnawed at her. And her copy was a manifestation of that guilt. Which was why it was mercilessly dredging up that guilt and laying it bare.

  “You might even have been able to do something to save Eri before she became so twisted. And despite that, you have the gall to call her your best friend?”

  “......”

  “You thought everything would turn out fine as long as you were smiling, didn’t you? But in truth, all that did was give you a bunch of shallow friendships. There’s not a single person you’re actually close to, is there? And yet you thought you weren’t alone anymore. Eri was right, you’re a moron.”

  Suzu silently swung her fans at her copy. Dozens of Heaven Crushers appeared out of thin air and rushed toward it. Once they’d crowded around the copy they exploded in a series of barrier bursts. Countless jagged barrier shards shot toward the copy.

  However, the copy emerged unscathed. It had been able to block the barrage with a simple barrier, and it looked disdainfully down at Suzu, its mouth hidden by a fan. It had grown a great deal stronger since the start of the fight.

  Suzu had remained silent throughout, taking all of the copy’s barbed insults without fighting back. Her face was twisted in pain and anguish, and she was the only one taking damage from the back and forth barrier attacks the two were unleashing. Not a single one of her barrier techniques had gotten past her copy’s defenses. That difference in strength between them made it clear just how shaken Suzu was by her copy’s words.

  “Even if you do get to meet Eri again, what will you do? You don’t even know what you want to say to her. Besides, even you think she’s just going to try and kill you again.”

  The copy was even using Suzu’s apprehensions for the future as a weapon. While it was true that Suzu desperately wanted to meet Eri again, it was also true that she was afraid to do so, and that she had no idea what to say to her former best friend. On top of that, she was still dragging along the guilt and self-loathing of not confronting Eri earlier with her.

  Every single one of her regrets and fears had been laid bare. Her heart had been beaten to a bloody pulp, just as much as her body had. And yet—

  “Despite all my insults, I’m not getting much stronger. In fact, I’ve stopped getting stronger at all.”

  The copy’s sneer turned into a frown. It was then that Suzu finally opened her mouth. Her voice was surprisingly firm, as was her gaze.

  “I knew it, that’s how this trial works. In that case, you won’t be getting any stronger from here on out.”

  “So it seems. Ever since I blew you away with those Heaven Crushers, your resolve has slowly been growing... I see now, the reason you didn’t say anything back was because...”

  This whole time, Suzu had been focused on herself. This was a trial Suzu had longed for. From the beginning, she’d wanted to be forced to face her weakness. Because even before she’d entered this labyrinth, she’d promised herself she wouldn’t run away anymore. It was only by doing so that she’d found the courage to ask Hajime to travel with him. She was nearly drained of mana, her face was pale, her breath came in short gasps, and her hands trembled as she held her fans. But her stance, her gaze, and her voice had a wild beauty to them.

  “Everything you said is absolutely right. I really was a coward. But that doesn’t matter anymore. I’m done with trying to protect myself. Ever since I saw that dream in Haltina’s labyrinth, I realized I’d been running away from what really mattered.”

  “That was quite the fantasy you saw, wasn’t it?”

  The copy sneered again. But this time, Suzu smiled too. It was a smile marred by pain and suffering, but that smile came from the heart.

  “That dream could have been a reality if I’d just accepted reality to begin with.”

  Her eyes clear of doubt, Suzu began talking, mo
re to herself than her copy.

  “Back then, when Umeko-san told me to just smile, she hadn’t meant that smiling was the only thing I needed to do. What she’d been trying to say was that if I’d wanted to understand others, first I needed to open up my own heart to them. I only realized that now, though.”

  Suzu had managed to open up to others more. But not fully. Because she’d been a coward. She’d been afraid of making her friends angry. She’d been terrified of being abandoned by them. As a result though, she’d lost the one person she’d called her best friend.

  “You’re right. I still don’t know what I’m going to say to Eri when I see her again. I don’t know if I want to yell at her, apologize for not paying better attention to her, or try to persuade her to come back.”

  That night, the night she’d been betrayed, Suzu’s heart had been ripped to shreds. A torrent of emotions had welled up within her, and it had taken everything she’d had to keep it together. It still was. Suzu had no doubt that when she met Eri again, that dam would burst. However—

  “I have no idea what to say, but I know I have to see her again.”

  She would never again repeat the blunders she’d made in the Haltina Woods. From now on, she wouldn’t avert her gaze from the truth, no matter how painful it was. The fiery determination in her eyes made that clear.

  “My power’s weakening. It looks like that resolve of yours is the real deal.”

  “Yep. I’m tired of seeing sweet dreams. I’ll surpass you and keep moving forward! Gather and become whole— Hallowed Ground - Reversal!”

  Suzu fuelled her determination into her magic and cast her greatest spell yet. As she swung her fans down, the entire room began to glow. Countless tiny dots glimmered in the air like stars in the night sky. They were the shattered fragments of all the barriers Suzu had cast thus far. The fragments swirled around the copy, forming a galaxy of stars around it. After a few seconds, they began taking shape.

  “So you... I see. You controlled all of the barriers you cast with your left fan, the one enchanted with restoration magic. All so you could bring them back. Did you plan this from the very start?”

  “I know that labyrinth trials aren’t easy to overcome. Ever since the whispers started, I thought it’d come to this. And I knew I’d need a trump card.”

  Suzu hadn’t just been throwing barriers out willy-nilly. The number of barriers she’d summoned with her left fan numbered 150. Furthermore, she’d poured all of her remaining mana to create another 300 barriers to add to the massive barrier burst she was preparing. All of her shields converged on the copy. They glowed orange as they approached, preparing to explode. The entire room was filled with a sunset-orange glow, and the colossal mass of barriers looked like a mythical floating castle. In the center of that glowing orange castle stood the copy, looking surprisingly tranquil.

  “Very well. Show me just how strong that will of yours is! Prove you’ve overcome your weakness!”

  “Thank you for existing, trial. Here I come! Bloom into a thousand flowers—”

  Smiling slightly, Suzu thrust her fans forward.

  “Blossom Burst!”

  There was an explosion of light so bright, and for a moment it felt as though a sun had suddenly appeared in the room. Light blanketed everything, blotting out even sound. Seconds later, the sound of the explosion followed, rocking the room with its force.

  Suzu had used all of her available mana for one massive barrier burst. Unlike her usual barrier burst spells, this was a full-out attack that required her to control as many barriers as possible and explode them simultaneously. It was Suzu’s ultimate trump card. Since her focus had been solely on offense, Suzu hadn’t been able to erect any barriers to protect herself. The shockwaves from the explosion blew her away too, and she slammed into the wall behind her.

  It took all of her concentration to remain conscious through the pain. She couldn’t hear anything except an incessant ringing. Though she was too drained to move, she kept her blurry vision firmly focused on the enemy in front of her. Shattered barrier fragments and dislodged shards of ice glittered in the air. But there was no copy to be seen. Instead, a gentle voice seemed to whisper directly into Suzu’s ear.

  “It’d be nice if your feelings reached her.”

  Relief flooded Suzu, and her consciousness began to fade.

  I think I’ll rest... for just a little bit... Suzu watched as a section of the far wall crumbled away to reveal a new passage, then passed out with a smile on her face.

  Some time later, Suzu slowly found herself waking from a deep slumber. It felt as though she was floating up from a dark pool of water. The pool itself was surprisingly comfortable, like a cradle. It even rocked her slightly with waves.

  Consciousness hazy, Suzu felt as though it couldn’t hurt to sink back into the pool for a little while longer. But just as she began to close her eyes again, the thudding of footsteps and a warm hand on her cheeks forced her into full wakefulness.

  “Wh-What!? What’s going on!? How did—”

  “Yo, Suzu. Finally awake?”

  “Huh? Ryutarou-kun?”

  “In the flesh.”

  For a moment Suzu had thought she was being kidnapped by an ogre, but then she heard Ryutarou’s familiar voice and relaxed. It seemed Ryutarou was carrying her on his back.

  Feeling a bit guilty for mistaking him for an ogre, Suzu cleared her throat and asked, “Umm, why are you carrying me, Ryutarou-kun?”

  “Well, you see. I beat that fucking asshole who looked just like me and went through the new tunnel that opened up. It led into another room that looked just like the one I was fighting in, where I found you unconscious in the corner. So I picked you up and took you with me. You wouldn’t wake up no matter how much I shook you, and I wasn’t about to suplex you awake, so carrying you was the only option.”

  “Yeah if you’d suplexed me awake, I would have barrier bursted you in the face.”

  Suzu glared reproachfully at the back of Ryutarou’s head. Still, considering he used to go off about things like gender equality before hitting girls, I guess you could say Ryutarou-kun’s grown a little too. Suzu evaluated Ryutarou, her thoughts uncharacteristically arrogant.

  “But... I never knew our trial rooms were connected to other people’s.”

  “Looks like it. Who’s room do you think we’re going to?”

  “I hope it’s Kaorin or Tio-san. I’m still pretty tired and... Oh yeah. Thanks for carrying me, Ryutarou-kun. You must have had a pretty tough fight too. Are you okay? Is carrying me tiring you out?”

  Though she could only see his back, Suzu could tell that Ryutarou had taken a significant amount of damage during his fight too. Like Suzu, his equipment was torn. In fact, he looked like he’d taken even more physical damage than Suzu. And though he was trudging along with the same heavy footsteps as always, he seemed slightly off-balance. He was also walking a bit slower than usual.

  “Don’t worry. You’re light, Suzu. It’s like I’m carrying a roll of toilet paper.”

  “Excuse me? What kind of metaphor is that?”

  Even if he’d grown, it seemed Ryutarou was still wholly lacking in tact. Suzu glared at Ryutarou again. Depending on your answer I may have to kill you.

  Ryutarou shivered, then tentatively said, “I-I meant as light as a flower?”

  Was that good enough? Well whatever, I’ll just deal with it.

  Fortunately, Ryutarou’s save satisfied Suzu and she asked, “All joking aside though, are you sure you’re okay? You don’t look too good.”

  Relieved that Suzu’s tone had returned to normal, Ryutarou replied cheerfully, “This is nothing. I just dislocated a shoulder, broke five ribs, and one arm. No big deal.”

  “That sounds like a really big deal to me!”

  “Nah, man. I popped my shoulder back in and I’ve been using Diamond Skin to keep my arm usable so—Gah!?”

  “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Ryutarou-kun, you’re coughing up blood!”


  Ryutarou doubled over, blood spilling from his mouth. The sight was so ghastly it would likely win first place in a most shocking videos contest. Pale-faced, Suzu jumped off of Ryutarou’s back and hurriedly cast healing magic on him. She didn’t have an affinity for it like Kaori, so her healing magic wasn’t too effective. She’d only learned a few beginner spells in case of emergencies.

  Still, her elementary healing magic was enough to heal most of Ryutarou’s minor wounds, and stop him from coughing up blood, so it definitely helped. Ryutarou wiped the corners of his mouth and grinned. It was hard to imagine he’d been bleeding out seconds ago.

  “Whoa, I’m healed! Thanks, Suzu!”

  “You’re not healed at all. You know, Ryutarou-kun, you coughed up like a bucketful of blood. How can you still act like you’re fine? Are you a minotaur? Or just stupid?”

  “You sure don’t pull your punches. I mean if you’ve healed me this much, I can power through everything else with guts, so it’s fine.”

  “Guts, huh? How convenient.”

  Looking haggard, Suzu finished healing Ryutarou. She wanted to argue back, but she knew of a certain rabbit that powered through literally everything with guts, so she couldn’t.

  I want to see Shizushizu... She’s normal. I need someone who can heal my heart more than my body... Though she thought that, Suzu still cast a bit of healing magic on herself too.

  Most of what she was able to heal were small cuts and bruises. There was nothing she could do about the deep exhaustion she felt or the dull ache in her joints she’d been feeling ever since slamming into the wall. For that, she needed either Tio or Kaori’s help.

  Seeing Suzu’s exasperated expression, Ryutarou hurriedly added, “W-Well, I guess I’m also pumped up since I finally managed to clear one of the labyrinth trials.”

  “Oh, yeah, I get that. It’s a nice feeling knowing you can actually fight... unlike how it went back in the forest.”

  “I know, right.”

  “By the way, how’d your trial go, Ryutarou-kun? I feel like you’re the kind of guy who never worries about anything... Oh, but if you don’t want to talk about it, it’s fine.”