" Akari?"
I approached the body that was laying on the bed.
"Akari is that you? Are you okay?"
I asked several times but no signs of response.
"Akari, I'm going to lift your blanket to see if you're okay, just say something if you don't like it"
I gently touch the blanket and tried to pulled it slowly.
She didn't react so, I pulled the blanket to see her face, Only to see that the body that was laying on the bed is not her. Although the girl is beautiful, she has some bruises on her face.
"Ak-ari?"
I got surprised and accidentally touched her stomach but she didn't even flinch.
"S-sorry!"
it's not her! Where is Akari and who is this girl?
"ha ha ha.."
I stepped back a little and got confused.
Tchh... Did I barged in into the wrong room? Or could it be they just lied, and told me that Akari is here. I should get out now before she wakes up.
I brushed my hair and laugh at my stupidness. But this is the pla- Huh?
A Blood?
Blood flows right through my hair. I tried to get it off, but I noticed my hands. A blood? My hands also have a blood, Did I got it from the fight? No, wait, wait. Isn't that a blood? I looked at the girl and saw some blood stains on the bed. What the? I approached the girl and shake her head but she's not waking up. Is she Okay?
"Mi-miss, Are you okay?"
I removed the blanket that was covering her and I see wounds all over her body.
What the hell? What happened to her? Did I accidentally made her stomach bleed? No, there's no way I can do that.
I looked at her chest to see if her chest is rising and falling, but it's not. No don't overthink!
I listen over her mouth and nose for breathing sounds. I don't feel her breath against my cheek.
She's not breathing, she's not dead right?
No matter how hard I Listened to her breath, no sounds came from within.
I heard footsteps approaching quickly. I turned. Castle knights were running up to me. They were a veritable light in the darkness
"You're knights from the castle, aren't you? Please, listen to me for a second!"
This girl is not breathing, I must tell them, maybe they can look after her, I still need to look for Akari.
I turned to them and begged for their attention.
"Well, yes, but…"
What the hell? They sounded oddly aggressive.
"The king has summoned you. You will come with us."
"He's summoned me? What does he wants with someone like me?Okay, whatever. But before that? This girl... She's not breathing, can you please take a look at he..?"
"You WILL come with us. NOW"
One of them grabbed my collar and pulled me forcefully.
"That HURTS! Listen to me!"
But they held my arms tightly and pulled me along with them.
What's their problem?
Why was I being treated this way?
"Hey, there was a wounded person in the room!"
But the knights would not listen. We left the room, and they dragged me back to the castle.
The carriages I'd seen before were apparently prepared to bring me back to the castle.
And so, without ever understanding why, I came to be seen as a criminal by the town.
...
They dragged me down the street, and soon enough we arrived at the gate to the castle. I was still enduring the damage i received from the battle can't they hold me gently? The knights kept their spears trained on me as they led me to the audience chamber.
The king and his retainer were there, both looking very grave.
And then…
"Akari?" She's fine.
Akari, Katsu Mak, Pope and the other students were also there.
Akari was standing next to the Pope and was doing something. Katsu Mak stepped forward, made dagger eyes at me and pointed his sword towards me. it was close enough to slit my neck.
"What the hell? K-katsu"
Everyone was glaring at me like I was some sort of criminal.
"What? Don't tell me you don't know what you've done?"
What were they talking about?
"What do you mean? What have I done?"
"Heh? Playing innocent?"
Katsu glared at me and moved his sword a bit, it pierced my neck a little and some blood flows through it.
What the hell is wrong with them?" "I didn't know you were such a scoundrel!"
"A scoundrel? What are you talking about?"
With my outburst, I realized that the audience chambers were beginning to feel rather like a courtroom.
"We will now hear the charges against him, to think one of the heroes is like this!"
"Charges? But… but I!"
What are they talking about? charges for what?
"Silence! You r*pe a girl and even killed her, you shouldn't live anymore!"
R*pe a girl? What the hell?
Hey, what is happening now?
"What? What are you talking about?"
"Didn't I said, keep your mouth shut if you don't want me to kill you!"
What is he talking about? R*pe someone? I wouldn't do such thing.
"My king, We saw some trace of abused to the girl who passed away, But don't worry, we caught him red handed. He also destroyed the door just to get in and that is...It's unforgivable!"
One of the guards stepped forward and kneeled before the king. They're talking about the wounded girl? That's right, the only door I destroyed was that, but I didn't do anything to her.
Talking to Katsu would get me nowhere. I decided to speak to the king, directly.
"That's it! Your Highness! What the hell is this! Please bring the person who did this to justice! I'm not the one who did it, when I got into the room, s-she..."
"Silence, Scoundrel!"
The king ignored my plea.
"Any act of sexual aggression committed against the people of my kingdom, whether by barbarian or Hero, will be punished—immediately—by death!"
"But this is all a mistake! I didn't do it!"
"I had an inkling the first time I saw you. Of course you would sully yourself, you little wretch!"
"Wretch?! What did I do?"
"Of course things turned out this way. I felt it immediately, that you were a little different from the rest of us."
"Me too. Even at that though, I never thought you'd stoop so low. You must think you're somehow entitled to whatever you want!"
"This isn't all about you! Show some respect!"
All of them were already assuming that I was guilty. I felt my blood rising hot up my neck. What the hell was going on? What the hell? What the hell?
I didn't even know what they were saying! I never did these things! Why was I being punished? I looked over at the students and saw Taruki and his group, standing beside the king. They are already healed? Wait..The one who told me to come to that room was him, don't tell me, It's a set up?
I looked over at Akari in desperation. She's desperately trying to come near me but the knights is blocking her. Apparently she is trying to defend me.
I know that if I don't say it, they won't know, but even if i say it, they will never understand it. That's why i should put that answers into words.
Even if I know that I will come to regret that Choice.
"Hey! Listen to me! I didn't do it! I only came there because I thought Akari was there, Taruki told me that she was there, that's why, and when I came inside, the girl is already not breathing and full of wounds, I didn't really do anything! P-please believe..me."
"Who would believe the words of a rapist?"
Taruki stepped forward, hiding Akari from my view, and stuck out his chest. He was playing the role of the brave hero, protecting a defenseless and victimized woman.
So it was his plan all along, he went to me and set me up with this. Is he the one who killed that girl? He's insane.
In this world maybe one hero is enough. l also don't have a good stats, is that why they won't even want to hear my side?
"You come to another world and treat your companions this way? You're trash."
"I agree. It's very difficult to sympathize with him."
So Kakuri and Yamsuki had no qualms with throwing their lots in with Taruki.
Of course… They had all been in cahoots from the beginning. I was weak and they hate me, so they wanted to get rid of me, and increase their own standing in the process.
They are disgusting.
Could they be any worse?
Thinking back on it, it seemed like no one, not even the people from this world had shown any desire to trust me.
But why? Why should I have to fight to defend the rats?
I hoped the whole place burned to the ground, the whole damn world.
"… Fine. I don't care. Just send me back to my world, and call yourself a new Hero. That'll do it, right?"
"Another world? Ha! What a joke. Why did I have to spend my time in such crappy place?"
"Things don't go your way, so you decide to turn tail and run away? How weak."
"I agree. You have no sense of responsibility or justice. You ignore the task you've been entrusted with, only to attack a poor girl… Just terrible…"
"Get out of here then! Go back home! We don't need people like you here!"
I was glaring at Uto, Kakuri, and Taruki as if I could kill them with my eyes.
This was SUPPOSED to be a place where I can finally Belong, l thought, I might live here and spend the rest of my time here. But they had ruined it all.
"All right already! Send me home!"
The king simply crossed his arms and frowned.
"I would very much like to send you home, but the We will not allow it. New Heroes can only be summoned once you've defeated the Human King. This is what the researchers say."
Of course they don't have a power to do so. What am l hoping for?
I already know that, but
Why me? why does it always happen to me?
it's always just me.. I feel like this world is trying to kill me.
"No! Miyuki-kun wouldn't do something like that! He may have unsociable behavior but he's actually kind, there's no way he would r*pe someone! He wouldn't do it, I am his girlfriend and He was so considerate to me even though we w-were just..."
Akari desperately tried to break off from the knights that was holding her but she wasn't able to do so.
No, you idiot! you don't know me
I'm not the kind of person you think I am. I really didn't do it but I'm not kind.
"Akari, just break up with him, you know, he's a trash!"
Taruki said with his sinister smile.
The other students just silently watch and didn't bother standing up for me.
"And you know the rumors right? He assaulted a girl and was close to killed us earlier! Even though we were just practicing, he tried to killed us!"
He's really lunatic, He's the one who come at me and lied like this? Should I kill him? F*ck That won't do.
So people have been slandering me, there's just no end to them, because they move together in groups the rumors spread in the kingdom really fast. The people in groups think that they're right, rather than looking back on their mistakes, they comfort each other's and justify their actions by ruining other people.
when the target is me, why doesn't anyone defend me? It's probably because of my position, I know that Akari is only defending me because of the agreement we had.
There's no way she would really believe me..
Shit.. They don't care what the truth is. because they're not directly involved in all of this. Even if I cry or scream nothing will happen....Shit!!...
I broke free from the knights and their spears.
"Plan on running, eh?!"
"I'm not running."
One of the knights hit me.
It made a good sound, his fist. But it didn't hurt. It didn't even irritate me. The knight, rather, seemed to have hurt his fist. He was cradling it like a baby bird as he stepped away from me.
"Well? What's it going to be, Your Majesty? What's my punishment?"
I swung my arms to get the blood flowing again.?
"WAIT!! What's going on here?!"
A familiar voice loudly Echoed into the room and a guy stepped forward in front of us..