"First of all, Hare is definitely in this alley! But where the heck is she!? This place is way too confusing!"
Luna's head was spinning and aching.
"Finding the way isn't my job! And I think I've been to this place before!"
It's complicated.
Her head is so complicated!
Luna ran her brain at full capacity trying to guess where Hare might be.
Since she couldn't even remember what the path she'd just taken looked like, it had little effect.
Having overused her brain, Luna clutched her head and slumped down.
"Aaaah!! I don't know! How am I supposed to know the way! Now I understand why the Hero Party has four people!!"
The Hero Party that fills in each other's lacking parts.
Luna, who had thought that having strength alone was enough to do anything.
She encountered the massive wall called navigation and thoroughly felt her own helplessness.
"But...! I can't give up...!"
Thud—
Luna stood up and steeled her resolve again.
"If I don't find Hare today, tomorrow Hare will kill someone again...! And she'll be arrested by the knights...!"
So!
"Today, for sure...! I will find Hare!"
Rustle—
Luna opened the book and began searching for the old man's advice.
The advice for Hero Luna spanned from page 30 to page 160.
Though it was hard to find since it took up the most space in the book, Luna was barely able to find advice that fit her current situation.
"What to do when separated from your companions and lost..."
The advice was conveniently subdivided.
Luna began reading aloud to properly execute the solution.
"Hero Luna... has excellent physical abilities but isn't very smart... So, when lost, empty your mind and overcome it using your physical abilities..."
In other words...
"Isn't that just saying to brute force it with my body? Th-this can't be the old man's advice!"
Th-there must be more content!
Luna thought there must be other advice and turned the page.
"...Is this really it?"
It really was the end.
Luna was momentarily speechless at the absurdity, but knowing she had no other choice, she decided to trust the old man's strange advice just once.
"It's the old man's last words... I'll listen properly now... so please come back, old man..."
Muttering those regret-filled words, Luna began running around the entire alley as the old man's advice instructed.
She thought that if she listened properly even now, the old man would return someday.
It was an action to correct her mistakes.
Running around everywhere to find the way is something only a fool would do.
Every path has information laid out that allows you to deduce the next path.
Like, 'Ah, it's getting darker here, so it must be a dangerous place.'
However, Luna was running around the alley without thinking any of that.
"That kid's been by for the fourth time, right?"
"Yeah, the commander told us to leave her alone. But is it really okay to just leave her?"
The knights searching the alley were starting to worry about her.
Nevertheless, Luna continued running through the alley.
As she repeatedly went back and forth on the same paths, even Luna, who was directionally challenged, began to memorize the routes.
"I was just here."
This time, to the left.
"This place... I think it's my first time here?"
Then this time, to the new place!
"Ah, I've been here before."
After such repetition, Luna had learned all the alley paths to some extent.
Happy that the old man's advice actually worked, Luna's eyes caught sight of one space that seemed out of place.
It was a space that looked like some kind of secret passage.
"After coming here about six times, I finally see it! What is this place?"
Clank—
Luna lightly removed the iron cover over the well.
It was heavy, so when she set it down on the ground, a dull sound echoed.
"A suspicious well! And it smells terrible too!"
It doesn't suit Hare, but!
Since it's suspicious, there must be something hidden!
With such simple thoughts, Luna threw herself into the well.
The well wasn't very deep, so landing was a piece of cake.
"There's barely any water, and this is definitely not a well."
Splash—
For a well, there was no water and the depth was shallow.
It was definitely a space built with a different purpose.
With such thoughts, Luna slowly walked forward following the water's path.
She couldn't see ahead, so she had no idea what was there.
"Th-there aren't any ghosts, right...?"
—Souls exist, but ghosts don't. The Holy Sword you possess is also a collection of souls. There's no need to be afraid at all.
"Then there's no old man ghost either... I wanted to see the old man's ghost though..."
—...
The souls of the Holy Sword were at a loss for words at the Hero's way of thinking.
—Instead, you might be able to see souls. In a different form than the Holy Sword. That human can't see them because he's a sinner. We're receiving punishment for our sins.
"Ah, right. Holy Sword, you said you were the Hero Party, right? But why are you talking to me kindly now?"
—Because I'm the Hero right now. Not all souls are trying to take over your body.
The Thief and Mage try to seize control of the body.
The Hero and Saint try to help the Hero.
The Hero's soul, which had control of the Holy Sword, continued explaining their circumstances.
—Officially, the Hero Party is known to have defeated the Demon King.
"Like in the fairy tale books?"
—Yes, since young children are easily fooled, humans started hiding our failure beginning with fairy tale books.
Since it would cause great national loss if the fact that they failed to defeat the Demon King became known.
The nation desperately hid the truth and lied that the Demon King had been resurrected.
Luna, who had been quietly listening, asked because she didn't understand.
"You guys are idiots! You should have just annihilated the Demon King!"
—Yes, if we annihilated him, it would be over. But we didn't do that.
"Why!?"
—Because everyone in the Hero Party harbored desires.
Their pursued goals were different.
The rewards they wanted were different.
—The Thief couldn't overcome envy and greed, the Mage couldn't overcome wrath and pride. And the Saint couldn't overcome sloth and lust. We had no one to lead us.
"Eh..."
—Without him who changed the repeating flow, you would have suffered the same fate as us. So you're quite lucky.
"That's kind of shocking..."
To think the Hero Party was hiding such a truth...
To think all the memories she read in childhood were lies...
Luna, who had witnessed the truth about the Hero Party, couldn't quite escape the shock.
If not for the scream echoing through the well.
"Keu, keuaaaah—!!"
The sound of an adult male feeling pain.
"Wh-what!!"
—Probably the owner of this well.
"I know that too, so stop talking now! It's getting hard to endure!"
—...
The noise ringing directly in her head.
Unable to bear it any longer, Luna shut the Holy Sword's mouth and ran toward where the scream came from.
Though her speed was slow due to the water, she was able to reach a place where faint light emanated.
There, she found the woman she had been searching for so desperately.
"Hare! What are you doing here!"
"...Luna?"
"L-let go of that hand! You can't hold a person like that!"
Hare was gripping a man's collar with one hand and holding a dagger in the other.
Luna had arrived just as she was about to plunge the dagger into his heart.
Hare, with surprised eyes, asked Luna coldly.
"...Did you come looking for me?"
"Yeah, we have to defeat the Demon King together!"
"Ha."
Hare laughed as if it were absurd.
"...The old man is dead, so what's the point of defeating the Demon King?"
"We have to save people! If the Demon King exists, the world will be destroyed!"
"...What's the problem with other people's world being destroyed? My world already ended, didn't it?"
"W-wait! Hare!"
Stab—
Hare deeply thrust the dagger into the man's heart.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Hare mutilated the man's body until Luna gave up counting.
The most chilling part was that she could glimpse a sense of ecstasy in Hare's expression.
"Wh-what are you doing right now...!!"
"I'm taking revenge on those who made the old man suffer. This creepy man must have made the old man suffer."
"That's just a possibility!"
"...You're not wrong."
Splash—
Hare threw the motionless man's corpse to the ground.
"But I have to take revenge for the old man."
"For whose sake? The old man never asked you to take revenge! It's all because of your own greed!"
"...So you're planning to interfere with me, Luna."
Splash— Splash—
Hare approached Luna while emanating killing intent.
Since entering Hare's range wouldn't be good, Luna slowly stepped backward.
"Why are you jumping to that conclusion...!"
"Because you tried to interfere with my revenge. Because I have to take revenge on those who tormented the old man and caused his death. If you interfere, I won't go easy on you just because you're you."
"...But I'll win?"
"We'll have to see about that."
Hare really intends to fight.
Luna muttered as much and reached for her heart.
If this method didn't work, she too would have to prepare for battle with Hare.
"Do you know what the old man's last words were?"
"...Last words?"
"He told us to live happily and compiled advice into a book. It's 500 pages total."
"...So, because the old man said to live happily, you're saying to close my eyes and ears and live happily? My happiness already ended when the old man died."
"Then... if we could revive the old man with the Goddess's power... what would you do...?"
"Obviously."
Hare answered without even a second of hesitation.
"I'm alive until now thanks to the old man. If I could revive the old man... I'd sell my soul and life to the Goddess and Demon King to do it. Because I love the old man."
"...As expected, I can't understand your love."
At that moment.
With the sound of water splashing, dozens of people approached and surrounded Luna and Hare.
At Luna's look asking what these people were, Hare answered matter-of-factly.
"They're the Grimoire of the Demon King of Wrath from where I used to live."
"...Th-then why are they here?"
"Because I was killing them all. For the old man's revenge."
"..."
Though she didn't like the justification of the old man's revenge.
*Maybe she actually helped with public safety...?*
Luna had no choice but to prepare for battle.