Editing Apocalypse Witch:Volume2 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 2===

“I really, really don’t like you. Try as I might, I just can’t bring myself to like you barbaric practical types.”

“I’m really not sure what to say other than sorry, Kiyosawa-sensei. And that I really do appreciate you taking this girl’s side.”

“The fact that you bother to bow your head despite being one of the world-renowned strongests pisses me off most of all!! Anyway, we have confirmed the inaccuracies in her personal information too. We have yet to decide how to deal with this, but I will commend you for not killing her.”

Utagai Karuta was inside Grimnoah’s infirmary.

A lot of movement could be heard in the distance since it was a break between classes. Based on the bits and pieces of voices he could hear, some boys were making paper airplane test flights in the long hallway.

“Nh.”

A quiet groan left Natalena Blast’s lovely lips.

She tried to rub her eyes and realized her dominant hand would not budge below the blanket.

And it was worse than that. She was strapped down by thick belts on both her arms, both her legs, her undeveloped chest, and her waist, which had yet to develop its curves. That kept her from even rolling over from her back.

Karuta was casually peering down at her small face.

“Good morning, Natalena. Medical technology is an incredible thing. You woke up right on time.”

“What…ah!? What are you- ghh!!”

“Moving will only make it tighter. And I can’t blame you for not noticing the belts until now; we were keeping you on some light anesthetic. Using a plastic mask over your face.”

“H-how do you know my name?”

“How do you think, Natalena Blast?”

She must have felt like she had been placed on the chopping block while still alive. So many beads of sweat appeared on her skin that he wondered if it was some kind of side effect from the anesthetic. And the fact remained that he could have done anything to her if he wanted to. Even things her young mind could never imagine.

However, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He was glad she seemed to be doing well. It felt weird worrying about an assassin trying to take his life, but he would not let anyone he knew dirty their hands with unnecessary killing or torture.

Murder was wrong.

Whether or not they could create a world based on that rule was dependent on what happened here.

In a way, the standard assumptions of the world as a whole were being shaken up by Grimnoah. Including whether people would feel sorry for Natalena for having her sister killed and failing to take revenge against that sister’s killer. If Karuta ''failed'' by letting her be killed or tortured, people would see it as her just deserts. The entire world would take that stance against a sobbing 12-year-old girl. Then his group would take the same path as the Problem Solvers. The supposed world’s strongest would be headed toward a literal dead end.

He had to earn Natalena Blast’s trust in the given time period.

And he had to use that trust to get information on the string-puller who had assisted her.

They were just like the police detective and suspect in the interrogation room.

They might start out as enemies, but they could build trust between themselves.

“Here.”

“What? Um, uh, what is this?”

She twisted her body to try to dodge what he tossed toward her flat chest, but then she stopped.

He had returned her translucent Crystal Blossom, the source of her Crystal Magic’s power.

Then he pulled the blanket from her and began undoing the thick belts strapping her to the bed.

On the inside, he was scared. There was no right answer here.

But he had to look confident right now. This girl’s life was in his hands, so he had to see it through. He could not let his attitude regarding her change from moment to moment. He had to tell himself that while once more releasing that small predator.

“Those things are important, so don’t lose it again. Also, you’ll probably feel woozy for a bit thanks to the anesthetic, so be careful not to trip. The Preset barrier might not even work in your current state.”

“What, um, wh-what, uh, what are you doing?” she asked while getting up.

Her ums and uhs were apparently a natural thing and not some high-level disguise. Even after all her planning, surprisingly little had been an act, which he found very likable. She must not have been cut out for doing bad things. It was Karuta’s group that dragged her into this. It did not matter whether or not her revenge was justified; there was no need for her to sully herself that way.

Karuta looked to the side in a somewhat performative way.

“You also shouldn’t wear those gym clothes forever. The uniform designs were all just carried over from the first ship, but the bloomers are honestly a little much. Especially around the, um, crotch.”

“Oh, eh, kyah!?”

She blushed and frantically tried to hide herself with the blanket and Karuta could not help but laugh a little. She was far from a perfect avenger. She had not frozen over to the extent his group had. She could still return to her former life, so it was his job to make her want to do that.

“I’ll leave your uniform here, so shut the partition curtain and change into it. Then head back to class. You need to make up for what you missed while you were out.”

“A-are you sure you should, um, well, uh, l-let me go free? I could attack you in your sleep and learning Crystal Magic in class will only give me more tools for my revenge.”

She looked up at him in a nervous way. She looked like someone worried the food they were offered was poisoned. Or maybe she felt like she needed to act tough if she was to accept any kindness from her enemy. Karuta knew he would have been unsure how to respond if Anastasia had started giving him personal magic lessons to help make him stronger.

But he also had an obligation to keep the others safe. He was not her only target of revenge. If she was only interested in attacking him, he would have gone along with the farce, but things changed if she might attack Marika or Kyouka. It was even possible she would sneak into the engine room and blow up the entire ship to kill just him. That meant he had to take a harsher stance here.

So…

“I will be taking measures against that. And you might just scream when I tell you what that means.”

“?”

When he faced her with a cheerful smile, she jumped and shrank down more like a small animal afraid of a loud noise than someone preparing for a fight.

“Aine,” he said.

“Yes, Sacri-sama.”

A pale figure slipped out from his body. That was the actual “weapon” that had defeated Natalena, but the young girl looked confused. Her defeat may have been so quick and unexpected that she had no actual memory of it.

And Utagai Karuta made his announcement.

“Unless you encounter some sort of special circumstances, stay with Natalena Blast 24/7 from now on. And make sure she does not cause any more trouble. Physically make sure, I mean.”

“Wha-?”

The girl’s mind went blank.

But a further attack filled that blank with a form of utter despair for her sensitive early adolescent mind.

“Understood. I will not leave her side even when she is bathing or changing. Miss Natalena, we can share a bed tonight. You might have trouble sleeping at first, but I will solidly latch my arms and legs around you so you cannot slip out at night.”

“Wh-wh-wh-wh-whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?”

She screamed, just as he had prophesied.

Aine expressionlessly tilted her head and provided some entirely unhelpful advice.

“Do not worry. You will have plenty of time to get used to it.”