Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume15 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 2===

The largest space on the ground floor of the villa was a living room with tall ceilings. At the center, on one of the sofas surrounding a table&mdash;there was no choice but to admit this&mdash;sat the following trio: the man who was allegedly the boss of the Draconians, the beauty with narrowed eyes who comported herself like a maidservant, as well as the girl clinging to the man's shoulder.

"Some of you probably don't know me, so I'll introduce myself. I am Maximilian Pendragon."

The man swept his gaze around and spoke with a fearless smile. The superintendent tilted his head slightly.

"You've added a surname you didn't have before, though I'm not surprised... Pendragon huh?"

"I was thinking I should add a surname, so I looked everywhere and chanced upon this name. It means something like dragon head, which I feel is appropriate, so I picked it. Not bad, right?"

"Of course! It's super cool!"

"Identical to certain historical figures, truly an arrogant/perfect name, Master."

"How contradictory your words as always... Anyway, it's definitely better than just Maximilian on its own."

The superintendent was sitting opposite the man while conversing with them. Zenon and Ganon were standing behind the superintendent's sofa as though protecting his back, bearing unprecedentedly serious expressions on their faces.

Meanwhile, Haruaki and others were leaning against the living room wall. Kuroe was sitting on a cushion she had pulled over on her own without asking. Haruaki really admired her laid back ways. Shiraho and Sovereignty were staying in the second floor hallway overlooking the living room. Chihaya and Isuzu were sitting in the middle of the staircase leading to the second floor. Compared to Shiraho's disinterest, Chihaya showed a faint glint of seriousness in her eyes. Finally, there was Honatsu who had his elbows leaning on the kitchen counter, watching the whole affair's developments with interest.

Pendragon suddenly looked at Haruaki's group that was glaring at them offensively, then smiled cheerfully again, as bright as sunshine, and said:

"Haha~ What nice spirit you have there. However... I'll make this clear first. I don't really want to fight you guys, Fear-in-Cube. Unless you insist, of course, which would be a different matter."

"Hmph! Don't want to fight? I seem to be hearing this a lot lately, but in fact, there wasn't a single time when things ended peacefully!"

"Trust me. Ultimately, what defeated Nirushaaki was the suicide attack executed by a certain someone from the Knights Dominion, right? Strictly speaking, you guys did not defeat her. As a result, it's not appropriate for Number One to step in to punish people who failed to defeat Number Two. I have to attend to matters of face too."

Next, Pendragon looked at Kotetsu whose shaking hand was in a tiger claw dangling by his side.

"You don't need to be so nervous... I'm not interested in you either, Kotetsu. Since Nirushaaki is no longer around, if you want to stay by another master's side to seek your own strength, do as you wish. If you couldn't care less about being strong or not in the first place, do as you wish too. I'm actually quite lenient on this issue."

"...I... am not..."

Kotetsu's words dried up mid-sentence. He bowed his head, looking like he did not know what to say.

That being said&mdash;Haruaki recalled what Pendragon had just said.
[[image:C3 15-109.jpg|thumb]]

&mdash;Lenient? The leader of the organization that believed "curses existed for the sake of becoming stronger than everyone else" actually said "lenient"? Although Haruaki did not think Pendragon was lying, he still found it impossible to believe. What was his intention?

At this moment, the situation suddenly changed dramatically.

Someone who had been suppressing her emotions the whole time finally surpassed her limit.

This someone had no combat ability at all and did not even have a reason to be here, which was why no one paid attention to her movements.

The someone whom no one expected her to commit this unbelievable act of violence&mdash;

Namely, ''Hayakawa Chihaya''.

Standing up from the staircase she had been sitting, with her lips pursed in a straight line, she strode across the living room. Advancing in a straight line without regard for anything else, to the point that one would mistakenly think she was heading to the kitchen for some juice.

However, instead of going to the kitchen, she stopped in front of the sofa.

Then drawing in a quick breath, she raised her arm at the same time&mdash;

Smack!

The instant the sound of a slap striking someone's cheek was heard&mdash;

"''Stop''!"

Pendragon's voice was heard with pressure enough to bring a shudder down Haruaki's spine.

These two sounds entered Haruaki's ears almost in superposition. During the same instant, a change occurred in the view ahead.

"Stop... Don't do anything, Riko and Granaury."

"B-But~ This girl hit you!"

"What a very crisp and clear sound, my uterus is hurting with excitement. Truly perfect/careless."

The girl originally clinging to Pendragon's back had instantly shifted her position. Right now, she was supporting herself with just her thighs clamped around his neck, extending her body through the air, her extended hand stopping just as she was about to grab Chihaya's throat.

The woman with narrowed eyes had pulled her hand out from her loose sleeve with lightning speed, thrusting it forward under her armpit. With her palm facing upwards, her sharp fingertips had also stopped just before they touched Chihaya's chest.

"I told them to stop because you are clearly an amateur. So... Why?"

Still sitting on the sofa, Pendragon looked up at Chihaya. His slightly reddened cheek stood as proof of Chihaya's crime.

The current atmosphere was tense. It was imperative not to make a reckless move. Haruaki had no choice but to watch silently with Fear and the others.

Just as Pendragon said, Chihaya was just an amateur. Despite the killing intent of warriors slowly brushing against her skin, despite her eyes glimmering with tears beneath her glasses, despite her trembling legs&mdash;

She still did not collapse on the spot.

As though putting on a brave face, she maintained her twisted expression of anger and said:

"I am... Hiwatari Yume's friend...!"

"...Oh?"

Pendragon narrowed his eyes.

"I heard that she was following your orders to come to my school. Then she died. So it can be said that she died because of you!"

"That's not right~ The actual killer was one of those guys from the Knights Dominion! By the way, don't go acting so familiar&mdash;Nyahhh!?"

"Shut up, Riko, or else things will get even more complicated. Granaury, you sit down too."

Pendragon grabbed the girl leaning forward from him&mdash;grabbing Riko's waist&mdash;and threw her sideways. With her thighs wrapped around his neck as a fulcrum, Riko spun half a circle then returned to his back using high-difficulty movements akin to pro wrestling or dance techniques. The woman named Granaury also silently returned to her seat on the sofa.

"&mdash;Yes, I sent her there. She died because of me... Perhaps you could say that."

"Not perhaps, it totally is the case!"

"But that was also the result of her choice. Even if it meant sacrificing herself, she still chose to save Fear-in-Cube."

From the corner of his eye, Haruaki seemed to catch a gasp. The silver-haired head was shaking slightly. Haruaki did not know what kind of face she was making, but she was probably reminiscing. Reminiscing that brave girl who was both her friend and her first underclassman.

Chihaya shook her head emotionally and rebutted Pendragon.

"How inane! Forcing her into that kind of desperate situation was really too meaningless! What 'becoming strong' nonsense, what a great big idiot!"

Probably unable to ignore these words, Riko was frowning with displeasure. Even so, Pendragon's voice remained very calm, to the point that one could describe it as even steadier than before.

"Yes, her death definitely resulted because I sent her there. I honestly concede this point. However... Her will to become strong is the one thing I ask that you do not disregard, please."

Pendragon lifted his head slightly. Not only his voice but even his gaze was very calm and deep. Under his stare, Chihaya retreated as though intimidated by his silent pressure.

"W-What do you mean by that...?"

"She was an orphan and not even Japanese in the first place. I happened to find her back when she was standing in shock amidst conflict, slaughter and chaos, then I happened to take her in and raised her. Why? It goes without saying&mdash;Naturally, because she was staring at me from under the corpses of her parents, her eyes told me she wanted to become strong."

"! ...That's to say... You count as her foster parent..."

Chihaya's voice stuttered and grew smaller and smaller, vanishing mid-sentence. Hearing her mumbling words, Pendragon first answered "that's actually quite a common situation for Draconians" before continuing:

"It's not a crime for the weak to seek strength, right? That's even more true for those who have thoroughly come to understand how weak they are. Sometimes, this even becomes a person's goal for living. To say "becoming strong is truly inane" to people like that, don't you find that very cruel?"

"Oh..."

"I'm not going to ask for your approval, neither will I seek your understanding. However, at least don't reject the idea. Because that girl can't even reject your rejections anymore."

Chihaya looked down, grabbing her elbows as though hugging herself.

Then after spending a long time, she finally squeezed out a feeble voice to say:

"Then... I'm so sorry... But..."

"Excellent!"

Pendragon answered loudly without warning and nodded. Chihaya looked up in surprise.

"So, this topic ends here. And no matter how much more reasoning I bring up, from your perspective, the fact of your friend's death is not going to change. Hence, I can only say this&mdash;Sorry. Also... For being willing to be her friend, thank you."

More shockingly, after Pendragon said that&mdash;

He bowed his head.

Unbelievably, the leader of an organization was bowing his head to an ordinary high school girl who was just throwing a temper tantrum.

Haruaki's group stared wide-eyed in astonishment. Even as his companions, Riko and Granaury were also rendered speechless. Although Granaury's eyes remained almost closed, making it difficult to read her expression, she was exuding an aura of surprise.

Probably surprised by the excessively straightforward words, Chihaya could only blink repeatedly.

Pendragon slowly lifted his head and looked straight at Chihaya, then he smiled and said:

"By the way, that girl was really fortunate. It's not that easy to make a friend who'll get angry on your behalf. By the way... You're an awesome chick. It must've been tough for you, dealing with that overly excitable girl all the time. Just from that, I can tell you're a kind person."

"W-What?"

"Whether the guts in hitting me or your fit looking body, both are great. That husky voice is quite sexy too. How about it? If you don't mind, let's be friends?"

"W-What are you talking about&mdash;I-I-I... I'm gonna hurt you! This time, I'll definitely hit with full force&mdash;"

Going red in the face, Chihaya wanted to raise her arm again. However&mdash;

"Stop stop stop~ Please allow me to say in fear and trepidation, it would be too impolite to hit someone else's guest twice in a row~ So it's time to exit the stage. Excuse me~"

"Ah! Hold on... Isuzu!"

Creeping up quietly from behind, three smiling shrine maidens picked up Chihaya forcibly, transporting her upstairs like carrying a palanquin. Shiraho was probably going to handle the rest.

"Y-You bastard&mdash;! That bad habit appeared again!"

"Haha~ What does it matter? As the saying goes, all heroes are perverts."

"I can't believe you can shamelessly say that about yourself, how amazing/terrible."

Even if Chihaya were not taken away by force, Haruaki believed that her slap was not going to hit Pendragon again. That was because Riko had turned herself into a shield&mdash;That would be the nicer way to describe it, but actually, Riko had moved in front of Pendragon's face halfway through his proposal to grab him by the collar and shake him forwards and backwards.

Haruaki and his group exchanged glances with exhausted expressions before deciding to relax their tense shoulders.

Although they could not afford to be careless, at least they now understood this man a little. Through his interactions with Chihaya, they came to know certain things.

The Draconians' boss. The Commander. The superintendent's friend. Maximilian Pendragon.

At the very least, he was facing the concept of strength with seriousness. One could not feel twistedness or eccentricity from his attitude. The impression he gave could be considered rather honest and upfront.

But of course&mdash;the chances of that upfront honesty causing some kind of trouble could not be ruled out as zero yet.