I can hear my heart beating so loudly. My palms are sweating, and even though I haven't done anything yet, I'm out of breath.
Having shaken off his comrade's attempts at stopping him, Haruto had arrived in front of one of the great evils of Midgar said to rival the Grimm King: Lunaru Fenris and her subordinates. Luckily, he could tell that the Black Empress had yet to decide to kill him. If she had, his head would already have been separated from his body.
Honestly, Haruto was terrified seeing Naru's sudden appearance. There was no point in trying to cover it up; he was well and truly afraid. The only thing that barely managed to get him to not run away was the fact that the reason he was here in the first place was to gather information on the Black Empress or to meet the woman herself.
Yeah… Didn't Juvia say already? The Witch Princess said so herself. Lunaru Fenris is not an enemy.
So… So don't you dare run away, me! If I run away, peace will become impossible. Nothing'll change if I don't walk to her.
"Lunaru Fenris… Right?"
"Indeed. It seems you've already found us out. Then We suppose there is no reason to hide our face."
Haruto managed to barely squeeze out his question, to which Naru answered while giving off no sense of tension or nervousness at all before she removed the hood covering her face. By doing so, she released her golden hair, allowing it to spill out, and revealed her face, which could appropriately be described as "too beautiful for this world."
Her looks were… Yes, if you only considered her looks, she would be perfect. She was dainty and beautiful, and men would gladly protect her. What prevented all that was the aura of strength exuding from every pore of her body. Her looks and her sheer presence just didn't match up. It was enough to make a person think that they were being shown an illusion of a beautiful girl when the girl was actually a giant monster even larger than the giant demon that had appeared earlier.
Actually, because Haruto had gotten somewhat stronger since the last time, he understood this even more vividly. He'd been made to.
This is the Black Empress. This is someone at level 1000. This is the pinnacle of strength in Midgar!
Once again, Haruto reaffirmed his conviction that the country of Laevateinn had some fundamental screws loose when they'd tried to summon him to defeat the Black Empress.
Someone would have to be insane to even think of fighting her. Even if it wasn't me… Even if they managed to get the entire JSDF with full gear, they'd only maybe be able to fi—No, never mind. It'd still be impossible.
Even with all that, Haruto just couldn't imagine the other person winning. Just by herself, this woman held enough power and force to easily exceed an entire Earth country's military. Would a nuclear weapon even be able to kill her…?
This wasn't a simile or a metaphor. Lunaru Fenris would be able to take on the entire world. On top of that, she even had the Heavenly Twelve Zodiac's Guardians, her subordinates, with her and was steadily regaining her past strength.
I'm so glad I was the one summoned… Haruto rejoiced from the bottom of his heart. He gave thanks that he was the one that had been summoned. Thank goodness it was a coward like me who isn't worthy of being a hero. If someone else… If some other person who had the 'bravery' to fight Naru, someone who truly fit this world's definition of a hero, were summoned… This world would have definitely been over. That would have solidified an unavoidable future of destruction.
There's the Goddess, the Grimm King, and the Black Empress. No way humanity survives if they antagonize all three of them. I'm sure that summoning was technically a failure, but that turned out good for the world in the end. There's no way a brave hero should be called to fight evil as Midgar is now.
Well, if I were to be really greedy, I'd ask for someone who can think quicker and is calmer than I am, someone with the ability to make sense of any situation and with lots of negotiating ability… I'd wish someone like that got called instead of me, Haruto thought. He came to the conclusion that from an objective standpoint, he was one of the better options. He was neither the best nor the worst possible outcome. I'd like to think that I'm not someone who should never have been called here, but I'm definitely not the perfect fit for this.
Anyway, I'm the one who ended up here, so I'll just have to do my best to accomplish what only I can. And that is mediation with Lunaru Fenris, something that the people of this world would assume to be impossible. That is my duty.
"Child from another world, there is no need to be so tense. The fact that you've come before us alone means you have quite some promise."
Haruto reflexively gulped. There was no way he wouldn't be surprised to hear the first words out of Naru's mouth be "child from another world."
I have no idea how, but she already knows what I am. As I thought, I just can't get a read on her.
"Now, what is it? You came this far because you had something to speak about, no? Ask anything. We are feeling exceptionally good right now. We will answer pretty much anything at the moment, no matter how foolish it is." Naru chuckled, showing off her bewitching side.
Am I being tested? Or is she for real right now? At any rate, I've been given permission to speak, which means I have to say everything now before she changes her mind.
"Th-then, I'll take you up on that…"
Haruto gulped, swallowing some saliva and desperately trying to collect all the questions in his head.
I can't just organize these and ask in order. I have to try to predict the answer and pick whatever is least likely to make her mad and kill me. But I won't be able to ask about anything important if I just try to stay safe like that. So think. My only weapon right now is my shit brain. Nothing else even has a chance of working on Naru. Don't forget… This beautiful lady in front of me can easily turn humans into chunks of meat for sport.
"Then first… What are you doing in this country?"
Everything begins here, Haruto firmly told himself, solidifying his resolve to walk this exceptionally dangerous tightrope.