Please to Kitsune-sama!

Chapter 227 : The Maid, Arrives on Scene

The monster—best described as beetle-armor, like a living suit of ladybug plate—collapsed with a thud, dropping a magic stone. How many battles had it been now?

Panting heavily, Eru leaned on her naginata for support.

That Which Cannot Be Proven nor Known. There was no doubt that this entity was what had caused the current situation. But did it mean the Superhuman League had someone with such power among them?

Everyone had been scattered, and the transmitters seemed to be jammed, refusing to function. Because of that, Eru had thought she should try to escape outside at least once… but bizarre monsters—seemingly warped versions of existing ones—kept attacking her again and again.

“Phew…”

Pressing her back against a nearby tree, Eru took a short rest. She had no intention of letting her guard down enough to sit. It was obvious this was a trap, and she understood all too well that danger lurked right nearby.

“At any rate, I need to find a safe location…”

“Oh! So you were here!”

“!”

That familiar voice rang out—Echigo Ryoichi appeared, with several members of Echigo Trading Company at his side. Given the circumstances, their presence here was impossibly suspicious.

And yet, as if none of that mattered, Ryoichi approached with a smile.

“Stop right there.”

Eru raised the tip of her naginata toward him. Ryoichi gave her a look as though wounded, like she was being unreasonable.

“What’s the matter? In such a strange situation, I’ve been searching for you.”

“What strange situation? You’re almost entirely intact as a group.”

“That’s only because we made sure to set a rally point in case of separation. Even so, look—there are a few missing, aren’t there?”

True, a few were absent. But to Eru, it seemed more like they had simply been sent elsewhere. A trap, set for her to be killed.

So… their target wasn’t Inari, but Eru herself?

“Come now, let’s rejoin the others. We’ll talk after that.”

“I said stop.”

With firm resolve, Eru held her blade steady. Ryoichi sighed and gave her the exasperated look of an adult scolding a child.

“Why such hostility? We’re family, aren’t we?”

“We had no connection until now. Your behavior last time—that was your true face.”

“Don’t say that. With Jiro’s death, my perspective has changed. I realized that wasn’t the way things should be. This time, I don’t want to make the same mistake… Give me the chance to start over.”

Still keeping up the façade of repentance, Ryoichi spoke smoothly. Eru smiled faintly.

“Indeed. The old me might have taken those words as a glimmer of hope.”

“…Hm?”

“But I have met Lady Kogami. I’ve learned what true kindness is—what love without condition means. That is why…”

Her grip on the naginata tightened, and she glared at him with unwavering resolve.

“I can see your words are nothing but a mask. I’ll repeat myself: do not approach me. If you truly mean to ‘start over’ even superficially, then all the more reason you mustn’t come closer.”

“…I see. Very well.”

Ryoichi raised one hand in a quick signal.

“Then die resisting.”

The ranged fighters drew their weapons and unleashed magic, their combined assault strong enough to obliterate a human being outright.

“[Force Shield]!”

At that instant, Eri charged into the scene, planting her shield before Eru. From it, a wall of light expanded, absorbing the torrent of destruction.

“Fnnnuuuuhhh…!”

With a strained cry, she withstood the full barrage, spells that could easily have killed a person. And she endured them all.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Ms. Eru!”

“You are…?”

“If you ask who I am, I shall answer proudly!”

Before Ryoichi could say another word, Eri’s clear voice rang out. Even while holding her guard steady, she struck a grand pose, as befitted a maid.

“Always at full service for someone’s smile—whether housework or battle, leave it all to me! From the Servant Uniform Workshop, defining the new era of maids… I am Eri, at your service!”

“…Now that you mention it, you were there earlier too. I thought you were just a sideshow and paid you no mind.”

“Oh? Perhaps you prefer Japanese-style maids?”

“You’re insufferable.”

Ryoichi’s expression twisted bitterly at Eri’s immediate quip. He snapped his fingers, and frontline fighters charged. Eri firmly raised both shield and sword.

“[Counter Saber]!”

“Gwaaaaah!?”

Blades materialized around her, spinning as they launched outward, slashing and flinging the attackers away.

“I know this class… Magic Fortress. Quite a rare job. For such a thing to appear in a remote country like Japan…”

“You’re Japanese too, aren’t you?”

“…I don’t live with such a small-minded view.”

“I see. Be that as it may, don’t think you can break through me!”

“We’ll see.”

As if on cue with his words, a deep, buzzing roar—“Vvvvhhh…”—echoed from beyond.