My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's

"Hey, Ueno, what do you think of Oda right now?"

I asked Ueno in my usual tone, trying to avoid sounding like an interrogation.

When we left the castle and met Oda again at Mr. Crow's house, the two of us were the only ones who didn't trust him. Amelia refused to come with us, we made plans as a group to show our strength at Mari's so-called beauty pageant — which was actually a human trafficking scene — and even though it wasn't that long ago, it felt strangely nostalgic.

Back then I didn't trust Oda because he had been summoned at the same time as us, yet he didn't show up during training and somehow always seemed one step ahead of us. I couldn't understand him. I didn't know about his friendship with commander saran at the time, so I assumed he had traded away someone to get power and killed saran in the process. I did see the dagger he used break in the labyrinth the day before, but Ryusuke said those mass-produced weapons could be replaced easily.

Sato and Asahina were also stronger than any of us, but we'd seen their growth during training. That made Oda seem even more inscrutable. He'd always been a puzzling guy back in our old world, and I didn't like him much.

But when I thought calmly, unlike us who were giddy about another world, he actually observed this world's situation properly. He looked, judged what to do, and acted. His strength was the result of that. Compared to the old world, in this world it wasn't my place to criticize — I couldn't even protect myself properly.

Anyway, the real problem was Ueno.

She hadn't hated Oda since the old world like I had, nor did she have a friend like Ryusuke Oka who disliked him. Oda wasn't the sort to assert himself — he was so thinly visible you could lose him. Back in the old world, I think Ueno had been indifferent to Oda. That made it strange that after coming here she suddenly began to dislike him.

Well, I only realized that when we boarded the airship and I had some time alone.

Ueno tilted her head at my question.

"Oda-kun? I still don't really trust him. He can't remember people's names."

"I suppose it's progress that he at least remembers us now. He still seems to forget the rest of our classmates, though."

"Yeah. I wonder how someone grows up to be like that."

"I asked Sato. Apparently his dad disappeared when he was in elementary school, his mom's always been sick, and he has a younger sister. If you have to be the breadwinner from elementary school, you won't be shaken by whatever we say."

"...Hmm."

Thinking about Oda again, I admitted he was kind. But his kindness was cruel. Only what mattered to him was protected; everything else he didn't even remember. He was good at discarding things without hesitation so he could stay light — holding on only to what couldn't be thrown away. That's why he didn't take Sato with him, even though Sato seemed sane again; he left the rest of us to whatever fate in the castle. Oda would have forgotten all of us except Asahina.

Oops, dangerous. I almost drifted away without asking what I wanted.

"So, why can't you trust Oda? You didn't hate him before, right?"

"...Why? It's just unfair."

"Unfair?"

Ueno frowned, looking off into the distance as if she wasn't sure of the feeling herself.

"I was friends with Oda-kun, so why am I the only one...?"

"Oi! What are you doing there?!"

Before Ueno could finish, a voice I didn't recognize echoed out and Ueno flinched. Ah, great. Just when I was about to get somewhere.

A person dressed like a soldier was running toward us from behind a rock. Swords clinked at his waist.

"What do we do!?"

"I'll handle this. Ueno, stay behind me and look scared."

The former Hero's memoir had mentioned that few among the Demon Clan possessed detection or appraisal skills, and those capable people were usually at the Demon King's Castle. They wouldn't be here. It's fine, it's fine. I repeated that in my head while waiting for the soldier to approach, smiling sheepishly.

"Good people! We got lost trying to deliver something to relatives near Krul! Where the heck is this?"