A hero who wants to help others wants to live a normal life

Chapter 73 Kujou vs Seiji 3

“Any further, and it would turn into a real fight to the death. You should stop here.”

Just as Kujou was about to release her arrow, Tenma intervened, knocking Kujou’s hand upward. The arrow missed its target, shooting harmlessly into the sky.

Seeing that, I instinctively stopped as well, dispelling the countless “hands” that had been closing in on Kujou.

When I recognized Tenma stepping in between us, I let out a small sigh of relief.

It looked like the fight was over.

To be honest, I never intended to die, but if we had continued fighting seriously, we might have ended up with some serious injuries.

Not that I would have minded, as long as it wasn’t fatal—but that didn’t mean I wanted to get hurt. It’s not like I fought because I enjoyed it. If the battle could end before anyone got injured, that was obviously for the best.

“If possible, I would’ve liked you to stop us a little earlier…”

“If I had done that, it wouldn’t have been proper training, would it?”

Well, I guess that was true… Just as I was thinking that, Kujou, looking somewhat dissatisfied, approached me from behind Tenma.

“Thank you for today, Sahara-san.”

“Ah, yeah. It kind of ended in a weird, unfinished way, but I guess that’s just how it goes. It’s not like I wanted to fight to the death anyway.”

“Yes. If there is a next time, I hope to emerge victorious.”

So that dissatisfied look was because the fight didn’t have a clear conclusion.

But it’s not like she lost, so I don’t think it’s something she needs to dwell on.

“A next time? It’s not like you lost this time, though.”

“No. Despite having the numerical advantage with my allies, I was still unable to finish the fight. That means I lost.”

“But that’s only because you held back to avoid dragging your teammates into it, right?”

In reality, Kujou had refrained from using any major techniques while her allies were still fighting alongside her.

Maybe she was aiming for a solo victory, but I also think she didn’t want to put her allies in danger.

If she had only cared about winning on her own, she could have just left them behind from the start. She could have waited for them to fall before using her full power.

But instead, Kujou fought alongside them, acting for their sake.

That’s why she was unable to unleash her strongest attacks—it was simply a lack of coordination, not a personal failure.

To put it bluntly, her teammates had been dead weight.

“On the battlefield, there are times when you have to form impromptu teams, and you need to be able to work together effectively. A lack of coordination is no excuse.”

“…Well, think whatever you want. But I don’t consider this a victory for myself.”

To be honest, I wasn’t even sure if I could’ve blocked that final attack. I had planned to dodge it, but with the amount of power behind it, I wasn’t sure if I would’ve reacted in time. Even if I had managed to dodge, there was always the possibility that the attack had some kind of tracking ability. If that were the case, I’d be done for. At best, I would’ve been able to take a hit somewhere on my body and force a draw through sheer willpower.

Besides, after taking so many attacks with my “hands,” my actual arms were already at their limit. I had gotten used to the pain, but it still hurt. The pain dulled my senses, and when I tried to move, my arms just twitched slightly in response.

I could still force them to move if I really tried, but I was definitely in no condition for a proper fight.

Thinking about it that way, it felt more like I had lost. Not that Kujou would ever accept that.

“Inori… I’m sorry. That must’ve hurt.”

Now that the fight was over, the first thing I did was head toward Inori.

Since she shared my pain, she had felt everything when my “hands” were cut. Even if it couldn’t be helped, I still owed her an apology for making her go through that.

“No, it’s nothing. That much pain doesn’t really bother me. I never cared about pain to begin with. Besides, this is just the result of my own ‘wish,’ so it’s my own fault.”

The way she smiled as she said that made it clear she truly didn’t mind.

That attitude of hers irritated me. But it wasn’t her fault. In fact, no one was to blame.

It just couldn’t be helped. That’s all.

And because I understood that, I pushed my emotions down and kept my voice casual.

“…Even so, pain is still pain. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“It couldn’t be helped this time, but personally, I’d rather you just avoid getting hurt in the first place, you know?”

“It’s not like I enjoy getting hurt either. ––––But you know there will be more situations like this, right?”

“…Or you could just walk away from all of it… and live a ‘normal’ life instead.”

Just like I had told Tenma and Amamiya-san, I didn’t think of myself as some kind of good person or hero. My wish was nothing special—it was just a simple, ordinary desire, the kind that anyone might have. It just so happened that I had the chance to make it real.

So no, I wasn’t a good person.

If I wanted, I could ignore everything and retreat to some quiet countryside to live a peaceful life.

But that was no longer an option.

Because I had already made my choice—I chose not to abandon others.

Even now, I still wished for an ordinary life, and if I could have that, I would.

But once you’ve chosen a path, you keep walking.

If I see someone suffering in front of me, I know I’ll reach out my hand. There’s no escaping that now.

Now that I had used my blessing once and everyone knew about it, there was no point in hiding it anymore.

Until now, the belief that I had to keep my blessing a secret had acted as a restraint, stopping me from using it. But that restraint was gone. There was no longer a need to hide it, no reason to limit myself.

And if that was the case, then choosing not to use it was no longer an option.

Back then, when everyone was on the brink of death, I finally used the blessing I had kept hidden for so long to save them.

And in that moment, I felt regret.

Why did I do this?

But afterward, I realized something.

This was the right choice.

I was glad everyone survived.

I knew that things would change. That my efforts to keep it secret would go to waste. That it would only make things harder moving forward.

But even so, I still believed that this was the right thing to do.

“I wish I could do what you said. But… sorry. I don’t think I can.”

Because deep down, I couldn’t see saving someone as a bad thing.

Even if I knew I shouldn’t, my body would probably move before my mind could stop it.