A hero who wants to help others wants to live a normal life - Chapter 68

Chapter 68   The Confusion of Kujou Sakura

Hikari tilted her head at Sakura’s demeanor, but before she could ask, the sound of a knock on the door echoed through the room.

“Lady Sakura, may I come in?”

“Yes, please do.”

“Excuse me. Here is the schedule starting tomorrow.”

The servant who entered handed a file to Hikari, who was standing near the entrance, and left the room without unnecessary delay.

“…As always, it’s packed with appointments.”

Taking the file from Hikari, Sakura began to look through its contents. Inside was a summer vacation schedule, but the sheer volume of plans was overwhelming. Even though she’d braced herself, seeing the packed schedule made her let out a sigh of complaint.

“Shouldn’t you try cutting back a little?”

“There’s nothing I can do about it. It’s not like I decide these things.”

Sakura’s life did not belong to her, nor did her schedule. Such was the reality of the girl known as Kujou Sakura.

“But come on, isn’t this a bit much? If you asked your father, I think he might ease it up a little…”

“No, I can’t. This schedule was carefully planned, and asking for it to be loosened would just cause trouble. Besides, if I can’t handle this much, I won’t be able to manage in the future.”

“The future, huh…”

Even though Sakura insisted she was fine, Hikari couldn’t help but worry. However, Sakura dismissed her concern with a smile.

“It’s fine. Look, there are a few free days in the latter half.”

“A few free days? That’s all? It’s summer vacation, for crying out loud…”

“It’s been like this every year, hasn’t it?”

Indeed, this was the same as always. In fact, now that she was attending a school in Karat, far from the mainland, she might even have more free time than before.

“But high schoolers are supposed to… Ugh, never mind!”

Having known Sakura even before now, Hikari had hoped that once she entered high school and moved to the relatively isolated environment of Karat, she would have the freedom to live more like a normal student.

And yet, before summer vacation even began, Sakura was called back home and saddled with a full schedule. Hikari was frustrated at the unfairness of it all and also at Sakura, who seemed to accept it so easily.

“Hikari, I know I’m making you go along with all of this. If you need a break, I can arrange for someone else to help, so feel free to take some time off––”

“Don’t say something so ridiculous! There’s no way I’d take a break while you’re giving it your all!”

“…Thank you, Hikari.”

Sakura understood perfectly well that her situation was abnormal and that asking Hikari to accompany her was an imposition.
Even so, she could only express her gratitude to her friend who stayed by her side.

“Besides, even if I took a break without you around, I wouldn’t have anything to do… So don’t worry about it.”

Perhaps embarrassed by Sakura’s direct gratitude, Hikari turned her face away and spoke as if making excuses.

“Should I take that as a lie to spare my feelings, or should I worry that I’m your only friend? Which is it, I wonder?”

Seeing Hikari like this, Sakura teased her lightly, speaking in a cheerful tone.

“W-What?! Of course, I have friends! And anyway, if I didn’t, wouldn’t that mean you’re in the same boat?”

“I do have friends, thank you very much. Like Inori-san, for example.”

Whether it was fair to call Inori a friend was debatable, but Sakura couldn’t think of anyone else she could refer to as one.
She had acquaintances—people who appeared close to her—but they were not friends.

So, even if it felt a little off, she mentioned Inori’s name. Still, it was probably better than Hikari’s situation, who truly seemed to lack anyone she could call a friend.

“Inori, huh… Ugh…”

“…Are you still fighting with her? You should really make up already.”

“It’s not like we’re fighting… It’s just, after the way things started, it’s hard to approach her.”

During their first skill-related class, Hikari had been overwhelmed by the wish embedded in her skill’s blessing, leading to a kind of berserk state. Because of that, she had ended up fighting Inori. Although the issue had long been resolved, the past couldn’t be undone.

Even if they had made peace, the memory of what happened lingered. For most people, it was impossible to entirely forget such incidents, and whenever Hikari tried to speak to Inori, those memories surfaced, making it difficult for her to act naturally.

As a result, Hikari and Inori still couldn’t have a proper conversation.

“You can talk to her brother, Sahara-kun, just fine, though.”

“Well, that guy is… I mean, he seemed normal at first. Though, once you get to know him, he’s far from normal. Still, he’s easy to talk to despite his quirks, so it’s fine.”

“Then try talking to Inori-san as well. I’m sure she doesn’t think anything of what happened back then.”

“That almost makes it worse, like I’m not even on her radar or something!”

“It can’t be helped. There’s that much of a gap between skill holders and ‘Blessed.’ Besides, I’m sure she understands that what happened back then was just a side effect of your skill.”

“…Well… If the opportunity comes up.”

Hikari, turning her head away, gave her agreement to Sakura’s words with a slight nod.

Watching Hikari’s somewhat endearing demeanor, Sakura was reminded once more of Seiji. She then glanced through the file in her hands, seemingly struck by an idea. With a serious expression, she took a deep breath.

“…Hikari. I’m sorry, but could you tell them to contact Kamiarizuki for me?”

“Kamiarizuki? You’re seriously planning to go there? Are you for real?”

“Yes. During the last finals, I couldn’t even fight properly at the end. If it weren’t for Sahara-kun, I would have been dead.”

There was no denying that. If things had continued as they were, everyone present, including Sakura, would have been wiped out.

However, Hikari, aware of the circumstances, raised her voice to refute Sakura’s words.

“That wasn’t your fault! You were stabbed, Sakura! And not even by the enemy, but by a traitor!”

“Even so. If I hadn’t allowed myself to become so vulnerable, none of it would have been a problem. If I’d been able to immediately deal with the monsters when they first appeared, the situation could have been different. Or, if I’d at least managed to clear a single direction and secure a retreat route, that would have sufficed. But I couldn’t do either, and all I could do was endure with my inadequate strength.”

“But that’s because you’d already used so much power before that, wasn’t it? You just got unlucky!”

“That’s not good enough. Even if luck isn’t on my side, even if the circumstances are against me, I have to win regardless. Because that’s the reason I was granted my blessing.”

Hikari desperately tried to defend Sakura, but it was meaningless when Sakura herself couldn’t accept her own actions.

Still, it wasn’t unreasonable for Sakura to feel this way. After all, her wish was…

“I must exorcise the demonic. …Truly, you’re right. It’s not a blessing—it’s a curse.”

Recalling the words Seiji had once spoken, Sakura let out a self-mocking laugh as she said this.

“Even so, I…”

She didn’t finish her sentence. Instead, Sakura simply stared down at her open palm.