"These women must be the ones, right?"
"All the witnesses said a pink-haired woman killed them, so it must be."
Fifteen believers surrounded Luna and Hare.
Following the Demon King of Wrath, they had no intention of forgiving Hare.
"Hey, pink hair. You caused problems for our business. You killed our guys pretty brutally, didn't you? Now we don't have anyone to collect money."
The Demon King of Wrath.
Most of the Grimoire gang following him were involved in loan sharking.
They lent money, and if it wasn't repaid, they used violence to collect.
In that process, once the repayment period passed, they sold body parts.
The Demon King of Wrath's gang operated in such illegal underworld activities.
"Fuck, we don't need an apology—just compensation. If we sell your body, we'll get a pretty good price."
"Hare, what were you thinking touching a Grimoire member alone! That was dangerous!"
"...After I killed them, they turned out to be Grimoire."
The gang pulled out weapons and cornered Hare against the wall.
"More importantly, what should we do about that blonde next to her, boss?"
"Subdue her too. We can sell that bitch for a good price as well."
Planning to sell both Hare and Luna, they gradually tightened their encirclement.
However, from Luna and Hare's perspective, their entire bodies were full of openings.
"Are they calling that an encirclement?"
"Right?"
"Hey, stop whispering!!"
Crack—!!
The man swung his axe down at Hare.
The axe, filled with tremendous force, instantly embedded itself in the wall.
Hare had merely tilted her head.
"...Looks like you got power from the Demon King. You've only got strength going for you."
"Y-you bitch...!!"
Without answering, Hare instantly severed the man's arm.
Bright red blood sprayed through the air, and the atmosphere turned grim.
From their perspective, this was a completely unexpected development.
"Agh, aaaaagh—!!"
"W-wait. I couldn't even see that attack...!!"
The gang showed signs of panic.
Though they certainly weren't outnumbered, they hesitated, frightened by the killing intent Hare emanated.
They instinctively felt fear toward Hare, who had killed over fifty people in a short period.
*If we fight this... we'll lose...*
No matter how many of us there are, we can't beat that woman.
Most of them thought this as they stepped back, widening their encirclement.
Though they received power from the Demon King of Wrath and were usually quick to anger, their rage naturally subsided before a strong opponent.
"...What are you doing? Didn't you come here to kill us? Why do you keep backing away?"
"..."
"Are you scared? Are you running away because you're the ones who tormented the old man?"
"C-crazy bitch."
That woman is insane.
Completely and utterly insane.
And it's best to avoid crazy people.
In that brief moment, the Grimoire gang reached an unspoken agreement and turned around, running toward the end of the well while screaming.
"H-help me—!!"
"It hurts—! Stop—!!"
Splash— Splash—
Along with the sound of water splashing on the ground, they ran screaming.
However, as time passed, the screams grew quieter and the splashing sounds faded.
Finally, when all sounds disappeared and only silence remained in the well.
"...It's your fault for tormenting the old man."
Only Hare stood there, dagger in hand.
Luna watched this and thought to herself.
"Can I kill all the Demon Kings with her? I feel like I'll die first..."
"What did you say, Luna?"
"N-nothing!"
"..."
Hare approached Luna, whose inner thoughts had accidentally slipped out.
Then, putting the blood-stained dagger back in her clothes, she said.
"...Anyway, hurry up and tell me."
"T-tell you what?"
"About the old man, obviously. You said if we borrow the Goddess's power, we can revive him?"
Hare's eyes were serious.
Her gaze suggested she would tear apart anyone in front of her if this was a joke or lie.
Gulp—
Luna swallowed dryly and answered hastily.
"First, let's move locations! Knights are looking for you outside!"
"...Fine."
And so the mysterious murder case that occurred in the slums no longer appeared, and the crime rate also dropped sharply.
It was thanks to Hare's influence in killing all the bad people.
"...So what you're saying is, we defeat all the Demon Kings and use the Goddess's wish to revive the old man?"
"Right, she said we can revive him that way!"
"Then let's go right now."
Thud—
Without a moment's hesitation, Hare quickly stood up and headed outside.
Luna rushed over and grabbed Hare's body.
"W-what are you doing!"
"We have to kill the Demon Kings."
"Obviously the two of us can't do it alone! We need Saten and Estia's help!"
"...We don't have time."
"We do! We have plenty of time, so wait!"
"...Fine."
Hare sat back down in the chair.
Unable to easily shake off her anxious feelings, she tapped her foot and bit her nails.
Luna calmed herself and spoke composedly.
"So about that... I'd like you to help persuade those two."
"...Persuade?"
"Yeah, Saten and Estia won't listen to me. They've closed their doors and have no intention of coming out."
During the process of searching for Hare.
Whenever Luna had time, she knocked on their doors trying to persuade Saten and Estia.
However, their doors never opened.
As if they had no intention of communicating at all.
They only ate a little of the meals Luna prepared and left them by the door.
"So I was hoping you could help, Hare. Those two won't talk at all."
"...I see."
Hare answered quietly and turned her gaze toward Saten's room.
Her eyes showed a hint of concern.
"...Then we need to get them out quickly. Luna, can you give me your hand for a moment?"
"My hand?"
Why is she asking for my hand?
Though the question arose, Luna extended her hand toward Hare.
Hare naturally placed Luna's hand on the desk and covered it with her own.
"Huh...? I-it won't move...?"
"Of course not, I'm putting my weight on it. If you use too much force, the desk will break. Better stay still."
"Y-you planned this!"
The desire to preserve the house she shared with the old man.
Hare used that to pin Luna down.
Then she slowly reached out toward Luna's waist.
There lay the advice book containing the old man's last words.
"...I'll be keeping this."
"Why!"
"...Because I loved the old man the most. This is mine."
"That's not fair! My advice is in there too!"
"..."
Riiip—!
Hare tore out the section containing Luna's advice and handed it to her.
"...The book cover and my advice are mine. Your advice is yours. Figure out how to bind it yourself later."
"You're crazy! You've completely lost it!"
"...I find it stranger that you're not going crazy in this situation. Saten and Estia seem normal to me."
"Wh-what do you..."
"I'm just saying."
Luna was left speechless by Hare's words.
In reality, she was on the more normal side compared to Hare, so even if she wanted to speak, she had no words to refute with.
Luna whispered timidly while Hare was focused on the book.
"Acting like you know everything..."
"Luna."
"Y-yes?!"
"Did you read the advice written here properly?"
"Of course I did. It's the old man's last words."
"Then why didn't you follow the advice?"
"Huh?"
To the flustered Luna, Hare showed her the book.
Not the common advice section, but the part containing Saten's advice.
"Saten's advice. Look at the starting point. What does it say?"
"If Saten won't come out of her room... tear out this section of the book and give it to Saten."
"The old man anticipated even this situation and wrote advice for it. Everything he did had meaning."
He anticipated this much.
But his mind couldn't endure and he died.
"If we follow the old man's advice, we'll be able to revive him... The old man is amazing and caring... He didn't abandon us..."
Hare felt relieved that she hadn't been abandoned, and smiled at the fact that she could see the old man again.
Even if it was just a single ray of light, Hare intended to follow that light by any means necessary.
"So, Luna."
"Y-yeah?"
Tap—
Hare grabbed both of Luna's shoulders and spoke fiercely.
Her expression looked quite dangerous to Luna.
"Let's get those two out of their rooms quickly. I can't hold back anymore... Got it?"
"O-okay."
How far gone had Hare become?
Though not much different from the Hare she knew before, meeting eyes with this worsened version, Luna had no confidence in defeating the Demon Kings.
It seemed like Hare would sell her soul to the Demon Kings if it meant she could revive the old man.
"...If we follow the old man's advice, I should do this."
Knock knock—
Hare knocked on Saten's door and placed the book containing Saten's advice in front of it.
"Saten, I left the book with the old man's last words by your door. And they said if things go well, the Goddess can revive him."
The choice is yours.
"...I'll leave food too, so eat something."
Hare left after placing food for Saten as well.
Now all she had to do was wait for Saten to get up and make her choice.
She just needed to cast the bait and patiently wait for a bite.
"...Should I just break in?"
"Just be patient a little longer, Hare...!"
Of course, Hare wasn't the patient type.