Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume10 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 2===

After enjoying a modest yet delicious meal consisting of bread and soup only—

"...How vexing, Onii-sama really became the Demon King of the Night!"

Muir sulked and said.

Currently, Kamito and Muir were the only ones present inside the shrine.

Ellis and Rinslet had gone outside for regular princess maiden purification.

There was apparently an ancient purification site near these ruins.

Although the two girls left partially for scouting out incoming attacks, their main reason was to let Kamito and Muir have some private time together.

"...D-Demon King of the Night? Where did you hear that from?"

"Lily has always been investigating Onii-sama all along!"

"...I see."

Kamito answered with his eyes half closed.

"...This is totally a misconception, okay? By the way, why would a highly accomplished master of espionage like Lily gather such erroneous information?"

"Because instead of being erroneous, it is the truth?"

"Rejected absolutely."

Kamito shook his head insistently. That is so not the truth... Probably.

(...Wait a minute, now is not the time for chatting about this.)

He coughed deliberately.

"Say, Muir—"

"...What is it? Onii-sama."

"...Uh, why do you call me Onii-sama?"

Kamito asked directly.

Ever since their first encounter at the Instructional School, Muir had been addressing Kamito as Onii-sama.

He had asked many times in the past and each time her answer was the same.

"—Not gonna tell you. Onii-sama, figure it out yourself."

...That was it.

Muir turned away sullenly.

"If I can't remember, then I won't recall it no matter how much I try. I basically remember nothing from my childhood or when I was first brought to the facility."

Indeed, in the dark dungeon where the flow of time could not be sensed, Kamito and the others had received combat training nonstop.

Or perhaps, it was precisely the combat training in the dungeon that gradually shaved off Kamito's memories and emotions, destroying them.

Probably because of that, Kamito had no impression of his homeland.

The only memories he barely preserved were—

(Those times he spent together with Restia...)

...Anyway, pursuing the matter like this would probably just make Muir lock her heart away even more, which would be putting the cart before the horse. Kamito tried to change the subject.

"Muir, what happened on that day?"

"On that day?"

"Four years ago. After the Instructional School was wrecked by the archdemon of flame... By the way, you fought the archdemon directly, didn't you, Muir?"

"Yeah, fought—and lost."

As if completely unconcerned with her defeat, Muir nodded calmly.

The archdemon who only needed half a day to destroy the Instructional School, an organization in command of the strongest combat skills. Back then, Muir was obviously no match because she had level restrictions on the spirits she was authorized to employ.

"Not long after that, the Empire sent the Numbers to investigate. Many people were captured, but Muir had already escaped long before then—"

Henceforth, she wandered around until she came into contact with Murders on a certain street.

There, she was hired as a professional assassin and began living in the underground circuit.

(...Just like me.)

All the orphans who grew up in that facility knew no other way to survive. Let alone relying on relatives, even their family registry records<!--户籍 / family registry--> were nonexistent. Where Muir and Kamito's fates diverged was the fact that Kamito's first assassination target was the Dusk Witch.

"...Next, meeting up with Lily happened two years later."

After making contact with Lily Flame using the intelligence network of the Murders, Lily introduced Muir to that woman named Cardinal. After that, Cardinal—

"She is the one who now calls herself Ren Ashbell, the Strongest Blade Dancer."

"Was she using the Murders network to gather orphans from the Instructional School?"

Due to the Instructional School's collapse, the orphans who were left with nowhere to go were highly likely to make contact with Murders.

She probably put informants in place beforehand in anticipation of that.

That Jio Inzagi was most likely recruited in the same manner.

"That woman told me I could meet Onii-sama as long as I entered the Blade Dance."

"She—Ren Ashbell, what is her goal?"

Muir shook her head.

"No idea. I don't care about what she thinks."

"...I see."

...On further thought, it was true. Team Inferno's members did not share a common a goal. They were simply an alliance with aligned interests.

"However, that woman did say—"

Muir pressed her index finger against her lips.

"Muir and others were gathered for the sake of making Onii-sama awaken."

"—'Awaken.'"

Kamito was shocked.

...For some reason, the word made him feel quite unsettled.

"So, awakening means... Making me retrieve my past power?"

"Who knows? Indeed, Onii-sama is a lot more useless than before."

Ignoring for now Muir's caustic commentary—

(...Was Ren Ashbell and Restia's goal simply "that" alone?)

Kamito muttered to himself mentally.

According to Fianna who was captured by Sjora Kahn once, Kamito was the current reincarnation of the Demon King who inherited the power of the Darkness Elemental Lord, Ren Ashdoll.

(...Within my body, is that kind of existence really present?)

Ever since the Blade Dance started, he kept feeling something awakening within him.

Was he really recovering his power from three years ago gradually or was there more to it?

"...Onii-sama?"

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something."

Seeing Muir tilt her head, Kamito scratched his head as he apologized.

"Seriously, all Onii-sama needs to think about is Muir."

Muir pouted and rested her head against Kamito's chest.

"...Muir?"

"All I want is to have Onii-sama by my side. Everything else is not needed. This world hates Muir, so it would be best if all others disappeared."

"It's not like that..."

Kamito was just about to refute her assertion when—

"Because, see—"

Suddenly, Muir touched the burning fire spirit crystal with her hand.

Instantly, the fire spirit sealed in the crystal went berserk and spewed out intense flames.

"—Muir!"

Kamito frantically grabbed Muir's arm.

"W-What on earth are you doing!?"

Only to find Muir's palm slightly burned.

"...See? I am being hated. By this world."

"..."

The special ability Muir was born with—the Jester's Vise.

Spirits touched by her all descended into madness.

The berserk spirits eventually used up all their power and disappeared from the world.

It could not even be considered a special power but a cruel curse.

"Since the world has rejected Muir, Muir will reject the world."

Looking down upon the fire spirit spewing intense flames, she murmured.

"But back then, only Onii-sama did not reject me."

"Back then?"

"Yes. The day Onii-sama was brought to the Instructional School."

"...Sorry. I really—have no recollection of those times."

"It's okay if you can't remember. To Onii-sama, it was probably just an insignificant remark. But to Muir, it was an important promise."

Muir displayed a dream-like a smile and yawned cutely.

"...Hoo, getting sleepy here."

"Probably time to retire for the night. I have to recover my energy too."

Injuries could be cured using magic, but sleep was the best method to replenish depleted divine power.

"Is it really okay for you not to take Muir's magic stone?"

"Hmm?"

"Maybe while Onii-sama is sleeping, Muir will steal Onii-sama's magic stone?"

"You're not going to do that, Muir."

Kamito then laid himself down on the ground. With Ellis' Simorgh keeping watch outside, surprise attacks from other teams should not be a worry.

Looking up at the ceiling that was entangled with tree roots, Kamito spoke up.

"Hey, Muir—"

"What is it? Onii-sama?"

"Say, once the Blade Dance is finished, do you want to return with me to the Empire?"

"...What do you mean?"

"Given Greyworth's resources, she should be able to fabricate family registry records for a younger sister. In addition, if I ask Rinslet, you can probably become a maid at the Laurenfrost family. After all, their only criterion for hiring maids is whether you're cute or not."

"C-Cute!?"

Hearing Kamito's unintentional comment, Muir blushed intensely.

"Hmph, hmph. Muir hates maids!"

Declaring angrily, Muir turned away to the side and went to sleep.

...In the end, Muir never answered Kamito's question.