Volume 4 Chapter 84: Way Too Presumptuous【Final Volume: Balor and Nanashi Arc】

Regarding the time Konaha suddenly stabbed Nanashi from behind.

Eh…? Why…?

Well, whatever. It’s Nanashi.

If it were me, that’d be a huge problem. I’d never forgive her.

Still, I don’t get the motive.

What, was Nanashi just in the way?

Totally feel you.

“W‑What’s going on…!?”

Nanashi, who got stabbed, is wobbling, her legs about to give out.

Well, yeah. Anyone would if a knife hit their undefended back.

“Nanashi! Are you alri――――――!”

“…Huh? What is this? It hurts like crazy, though…”

“Ehh…?”

Is she going to die? Finally?

That’s what I thought, yet Nanashi is acting normal.

Huh, what is this…? Creepy…

Maybe she wasn’t stabbed? But checking shows the kitchen knife still stuck in her back.

Blood’s coming out, but she’s fine.

How…?

Maybe she’s just toughing it out, but there’s no sweat, no pain on her face.

Eh…?

Even the perp, Konaha, is shocked.

“W‑Why are you acting fine…? I aimed for a vital spot…!”

“That spot’s probably where the liver is, nya. No way you stay calm after that, nya…”

Artemis says, totally put off.

Coming from an assassin, that hits different…

…What kind of maid stays calm after getting her liver stabbed…?

“Good grief. Stop throwing a fit. Getting stabbed out of nowhere is startling. What’s your reason for this? Because I kept dumping work on you?”

“That, maybe?”

Nanashi shakes her head like she really doesn’t get it.

Hey now, Konaha’s motive is solid.

This is totally your own fault.

While I’m thinking that, Konaha, half‑in‑tears because Nanashi won’t die even after a vital hit, yells out.

“Th‑That’s not it! It’s because Nanashi is going to kill Balor‑chan!!”

…Yeah.

Nanashi and I trade glances, then tell Konaha:

“Isn’t that business as usual?”

“That’s business as usual!?”

I mean, she’s always scheming to grab Apophis territory through me…

She says it every day, so it’s not surprising.

(You’ve been found out for targeting my life to seize Apophis territory. What now?)

(This is bad… I thought I’d kept that hidden…)

(Also, you were stabbed—your organs should be wrecked—yet you’re fine. You’re not human.)

Seeing Nanashi looking troubled, I’m even more creeped out.

Definitely not human.

“In the future I came from, after we somehow beat Gorgon and got back, the one standing next to Balor‑chan lying in a pool of blood was Nanashi! Given the scene, Nanashi was definitely the killer!”

Now that she says it, I gasp.

Konaha’s that so‑called time‑traveller girl.

I never believed a word of it, but if harm’s coming my way, that’s different.

I glare daggers at Nanashi.

“You…! How could you…!!”

“Oh my? Master, you believed that pretty quickly. Won’t you consider the chance I didn’t do it?”

“Motive, check. Circumstantial evidence, check. You’re the culprit…!”

“Hmm, I guess that’s my reputation…”

So this woman finally went for it…!

I figured she’d try someday, but she actually did it…

You’re fired! Get lost!

“So, Nanashi. Do you have any idea what could lead to that worst future?”

Ashvin asks.

Her face is stiff—she’s scary.

Murderous intent is pouring off her.

In front of that terrifying Ashvin, Nanashi opens her mouth, expressionless.

“Yes, I do.”

“Well, nobody confesses the moment they’re asked, n— Wait, you do?”

“Yes. I became a maid in Apophis territory in the first place to kill Master.”

“W‑What…?”

I’m stunned by Nanashi’s words.

S‑So her goal from the start was to kill me…?

…Well, given her usual behavior, figures.

Still, hearing it so bluntly is rough.

What do I do…?

“No point hiding it now, so I’ll tell you everything…”

Nanashi spins around and looks over us.

No expression, yet somehow imposing.

“I’m an angel.”

……Huh?

Hearing that, I give a strained laugh.

“That’s beyond conceited.”

“No, not a metaphor.”

Don’t call yourself an angel…

While I’m thinking that, Nanashi basa—white wings burst from her back.

…White wings?

“I’m a real angel. My mission is to exterminate Balor Apophis, a monster outside this world’s order. Nice to meet you.”

Isn’t she bad‑mouthing him like crazy?