Editing The Unexplored Summon Blood Sign:Volume3 Chapter3 (section)

===Or a Story Set Further in the Past===

They had been together since they were little.

They had always, always been together.

Even among childhood friends and groups of friends, a leader or a hierarchy tended to form. But that sort of distortion never seemed to form between Murasame Kuina and Kawamo Sayuri.

They could decide who made the day’s decisions with a coin toss.

Sometimes Murasame Kuina would tug on her friend’s hand and head out to play, but other times Kawamo Sayuri would selfishly insist they were going out to eat ice cream and crepes. If someone had asked them who the leader was, they both would have immediately pointed at their own face and said “me”. But that was fine. That was why they were truly equal friends, unlike the other groups whose equality was only skin deep.

''“Kuina-chan, over here.”

''“Eh heh heh. We’re in the same class again.”

''“What should we do over the next break? Is there anywhere you want to go?”

Of course, it was a human relationship, so there had been complications.

But in the end, they had shared everything.

They had always found themselves smiling together once it was all over. They had been the best of friends.

No matter what happened, they had assumed there was no way they could ever be separated.

''“Let’s make a promise.”

''“If either of us runs into some kind of trouble, we’ll go help each other out.”

''“It’s a promise. Okay, Sayuri?”



“…”

Murasame Kuina remembered something that filled her with despair.

She stood by a grave as the sun set. She had made it herself. There had been no remains and no one knew whether Kawamo Sayuri was alive or dead, so the grave was empty.

“I told myself I wouldn’t cry in front of her,” she muttered as the waitress demon stood next to her. “But she must have told herself the same thing. She was a crybaby and a worrier. It was the worst possible combination, but she was always smiling in front of me.”

She remembered. Only Murasame Kuina remembered.

The girl had seemed plain and quiet, but she had actually been a jack-of-all-trades who could do anything. But she had never noticed her own value and instead focused on collecting mascots like Juddark and Sheriff Kitty even after entering middle school. Instead of climbing to the next stage, she had believed happiness lay in what she already had. She had been Cinderella before finding the fairy godmother.

It was a meaningless conversation.

The endlessly dry air blew between the two of them.

And finally, Biondetta quietly spoke.

“Ma’am.”

“What?”

“There is no need to restrain yourself any longer.”

That had been her limit.

Murasame Kuina’s face crumpled and something clogged inside her flowed out. Her tear ducts opened and large clear drops filled her eyes.

Before they could fall down her cheeks, the waitress demon embraced the girl.

All she could do was cry.

“Why!? Why!?”

All the words she had been holding back spilled out and she shouted at the world’s unfairness.

“Why did it have to be Sayuri? Why did she have to be chosen, why did she have to have everything taken from her, and why did she have to be made into a toy for whoever those Government people are!? Why did she have to have her soul messed with and her body and personality destroyed! That…that isn’t Sayuri anymore! She looks like a French doll made from her body!! Why did something so terrible have to happen to her!?”

Biondetta said nothing.

She simply waited as her client let out everything she had kept bottled up in her chest.

“And worst of all, why don’t we have the power to turn her back into Sayuri!? I don’t care about any of this summoner or vessel stuff. I couldn’t care less about the gods or the Unexplored-class beyond them!! If you have so much power stored up, then why can’t you save just one girl!?”

It was a lament of despair.

It was a cry of resentment toward herself and others and a call for the destruction of the world.

But Biondetta did not laugh. Nor did she show any disgust or mockery.

Who had decided that the will of the world mattered more than individual circumstances? Who had decided that a small heart had to be crushed when it saw that giant metal ball at the top of a slope?

It had nothing to do with logic, efficiency, calculations, or profit.

What was wrong with fighting simply to fulfill one’s own heart?

“Ma’am.”

Biondetta quietly spoke to Murasame Kuina who continued to bawl in her arms like a child.

“It is true I lack the power to save Miss Kawamo Sayuri. My power may not be what you truly desire.”

She spoke earnestly and sincerely.

She gathered strength in the arms around the girl.

“But if you wish, I will assist you with any form of revenge. There is no need to worry about the realistic difficulty of it. I am Freedom Award 920, Liar Cat. I am nothing more than a tool to accomplish your revenge.”

“…”

The girl simply sobbed for a while.

But as time slowly passed, Murasame Kuina wrapped her arms around the waitress demon’s back. She grabbed at the fabric and clenched it so very, very tightly that it nearly tore.

“Lend me your strength, Biondetta…”

That resentful voice seemed to echo up from the depths of hell.

At the same time, it was the voice of a girl who felt hopelessly trapped.

“I can never forgive Government!! They turned Sayuri into that!! They tore our memories to pieces! And yet they have the nerve to call themselves the world police!! So I don’t care if it’s wrong or if it means straying from the proper path! Lend me your strength, Biondetta!! I need that for my…no, for our revenge! So ''help me''!! ''Help us''!!!!!”

Still embracing the girl who was as dangerous as shattered glass, Biondetta silently smiled.

And the demon spoke the decisive words.

“''As you wish.''”