ASAHI NO NISHISEI - Rising Sun Goes West (2)

World of Fairy Tales

June 13, around 02:00

One of the back alleys in the Northcairt City

A muffled voice echoed in the darkness of the back alley. It was the voice of the girl Hiraide had met. Lying on the ground, she was surrounded by a group of boys who, in the name of punishing the traitor, were beating her unresisting without mercy. Acacia's body was covered in bruises, and her eyes had lost focus. But this group with malicious intent cannot be stopped from running amok.

'...Father, Mother.'

In her fading consciousness, Acacia recalled the image of her parents in the past. And when she clearly became aware of her death, the assault on Acacia suddenly stopped.

"Eek! You!?"

"The monster!"

"...?"

The boys were horrified by the figure that appeared out of the darkness, and some of them were even stunned. Acacia caught sight of the figure in the haze of her vision.

"...I'm going to take care of this girl for now."

"Hmph... I'll give you her if you want her!"

Acacia heard a familiar voice. The boys left a few words and ran away like scattering soldiers. Hiraide looked at the bruised girl, picked her up, and walked away.

"Solemn Three-Leaf" Inn

In the middle of the night, when even the innkeeper was already asleep, Hiraide, who had brought Acacia home, stealthily opened the door of the inn. He tried not to make a sound, but the creaking sound of wood echoed through the silence. With his toes exploring the floor, Hiraide climbed the stairs to the second floor and stood in front of the guest room in which he and his group are staying. As he reached for the doorknob, the door slowly opened from the inside.

"Senpai... where have you been, I've been worried about you."

"!"

It was Jindo who opened the door. He had been waiting for him to return, worried about his partner, who had disappeared from the bed before he knew it.

"Huh... who's that kid? ...Huh, she's injured bad!"

"Yeah... this is the girl who snatched Inspector Riyoshi's wallet. I found her lying on the road nearby and brought her here..."

Hiraide explained how he had brought the wounded girl. He was concerned about Acacia, who she said had a grudge against the Japanese, and had slipped out of the inn to look for her. He found her being lynched by a group of boys and brought her here.

"I'll take care of her quickly... senpai, go boil some water."

"Aye."

Jindo rolled up his sleeves and fished in the first aid kit he kept in the corner of the room. Later, Riyoshi, Lily, Saikawa, and Eslugh woke up, too, after noticing a noise and something unusual. Soon after, they finished treating Acacia. Hiraide laid her, which had not awakened, on his bed.

"...So, what are you going to do with her?"

"There's no way I'm taking her. I'll ask her to leave when she wakes up."

Riyoshi was concerned about the girl who had not regained consciousness. However, unless she had some circumstances or conditions that were to their advantages, such as Lily or Eslugh, they had no obligation to take care of a girl with no fixed address until the end of her life.

"But still... orphans born as a result of the Self-Defense Forces' mobilization for defense, well, we knew it would happen eventually."

Japan has survived two wars since it moved to Terralus. In both cases, war was declared by the enemy, and the Self-Defense Forces were dispatched to the enemy country as the "Army of Justice" to protect the Japanese people from the clutches of the enemy, under the guise of a defense deployment.