Jujutsushi Wa Yuusha Ni Narenai-Chapter 270.1 - To The Lowest Floor 2

BGM: Lost in Green – YS VIII

===

「———— Ueda, Nakai, what do you think?」

They were visiting the deserted island again to gather the necessary core to activate the teleportation portal.

Shimokawa asked that question to the two friends he trusted the most.

「What are you referring at?」

「What is it?」

「All of it. Right now, we're the only ones here, that’s why I’m asking you guys.」

In the wake of the shock from Kotaro’s betrayal, Class Rep and Yuuto took the lead and laid out a temporary plan for what to do next. Since everyone agreed to it, the three of them were now taking part in the hunt like this.

However, whether they had truly accepted the situation and come to terms with it deep down was an entirely different matter.

That goes for Shimokawa himself, and he believed Ueda and Nakai felt the same. To be honest, anyone outside of the Souma faction might feel some level of dissatisfaction, regardless of the size.

However, he hesitated to be completely honest and open about all of that.

Now that Kotaro had betrayed them, and both Ryuuichi and Kyouko were gone, the majority of the class belonged to the Souma faction. If he said the wrong thing, there was no telling what might happen to him.

Originally, it was because Kotaro was there that the non-Souma faction members, such as the Totem Pole Trio, Yamada, Himeno and Nakajima, and the JuryMary combi, were able to show some degree of unity and function as a viable opposing force. It was precisely because they held the influence of a majority that they could voice fair opinions and had a chance of seeing them reflected in decisions.

Although the degree to which each person recognized the situation may vary, everyone was aware of it, whether consciously or unconsciously. That was why, in the School Tower where Souma and his entire group was present, a natural atmosphere had formed where people held back from speaking freely.

「Let me be honest, doesn’t Takanashi seem kinda suspicious?」

「Shimokawa, you…」

「Why you say now of all time…」

Exactly. In short, the biggest unspoken taboo, the one thing no one dared to say out loud, was the suspicion surrounding Takanashi Kotori, the 『Sage』.

When the class meeting was held to decide on the plan to hunt and gather the cores needed for the transfer, no one deliberately brought it up. No one said, “Let’s not take Kotaro’s words at face value and start doubting Kotori. Right now, we should all stand united”. Shimokawa suspected that both Ryouko and Yuuto chose not to say that out loud because… They likely thought that bringing it up would only deepen the suspicion instead.

In fact, even without Yuuto saying anything, no one in the class had dared to voice the theory that Takanashi might be the mastermind let alone suggest that her actions should be investigated; such an opinion was completely out of the question.

For better or worse, everyone was reading the mood.

「Honestly, I wanted to say this a lot earlier, but… The right opportunity just never came up.」

Shimokawa’s suspicion toward Takanashi didn’t arise until the next morning, after he’d had a night’s sleep and his mind had settled down.

However, after some consideration, he felt that it wasn’t the right situation to bring it up openly, so he had been waiting for a chance to speak to Ueda and Nakai in secret. Today, by coincidence, an opportunity came up where just the three of them could remain behind in the deserted island area, so he decided to bring it up.

Ryouko, who was acting as the leader of this party, had already returned to the School Tower ahead of them along with Minami. Yamada had taken Nakajima out to sea to go fishing, and they wouldn’t be back for a while.

And so, the three members of the Totem Pole Trio said they’d do a bit of foraging nearby before heading back, giving them a reason to stay behind here. They had plenty of time to talk about something in-depth.

「But it's a fact that we were poisoned, isn't it?」

「Yeah, that’s going too far.」

「Guys, do you remember what Momokawa said back then?」

「About Takanashi being the mastermind or something along that way.」

「Something about hero.」

「Correct. Now think about it calmly, honestly I’m really scared if what Momokawa said is true.」

That meant Takanashi herself had a motive strong enough to poison her classmates, and that she was secretly capable of carrying it out.

At least there was no contradiction in this regard.

「Back then, everyone was freaking out, so we didn’t have the composure to take what he said seriously, but looking back on it now, I don’t think it’s all that impossible.」

「U~hm, is that… Really the case?」

「C’mon, Momokawa’s a cunning guy. Doesn’t it seem like he could come up with a convincing excuse on the spot?」

Nakai's argument made sense. Shimokawa knew very well the kind of explosive power Kotaro showed when he was backed into a corner.

「And y'know, it's also true that he killed Reina-chan.」

「Yeah, if he feels like it, he's the kind of fella who can kill humans.」

That was the frightening thing about Kotaro Momokawa, or so the three of them believed. After all, he even killed Higuchi.

When they were in front of him at the School Tower, those kinds of feelings didn’t arise. But the moment they thought he might be an enemy, he instantly became a really terrifying presence.

「I also think that if he seriously tried, he could pull off poisoning the whole class. But y'know, I feel like the motive just isn’t strong enough.」

「Isn’t it obvious? To escape on his own, right?」

「Yeah, ain’t that enough reason?」

「Nah, Momokawa escaping 『By Himself』 is just impossible.」

Considering the situation at that time, assuming Kotaro was really the culprit.

As a premise, Kotaro was convinced that the next transfer destination was an area with a Heavenly Gate that allowed them to escape from the dungeon. There was no boss fight there. If there were, he couldn’t afford to abandon the fighting power needed to defeat it.

The poisoning incident happened at this moment exactly because they’d made it far enough that they no longer needed any combat strength to escape.

He poisoned the class, but then Sakura’s power awakened, cured everyone, and turned the table against him.

Kotaro, who was willing to kill the whole class just to escape on his own, was forced to flee in disgrace through a teleportation to who knows where.

「Back then, Momokawa was completely backed into a corner.」

「Yeah」

「If there hadn’t been a transfer, he would’ve been killed just like that in the heat of the moment.」

「That’s right, he ran away. Even though if he didn’t hold out here, he wouldn’t be able to accomplish his biggest goal: escaping on his own.」

「But he still escaped right?」

「When he’s completely surrounded with no way to escape.」

「Exactly. If Momokawa gets surrounded by us, he doesn’t have the power to break through. That means he doesn’t have any more crazy hidden abilities up his sleeve.」

There was that mysterious hexing he used to finish off Yamata no Orochi, but since he didn’t use it when he was cornered, it might have some sort of limitation or only work under certain conditions.

Even assuming he was hiding some other abilities… It was clear that Kotaro didn't possess a trump card powerful enough to turn the tables even if he was to go up against the entire class. Even when he was in a situation where he would have had to play such a trump card, he didn’t. That, in itself, was proof that no such thing existed to begin with.

「That’s the limit of Momokawa’s power. It means his ability is the kind that caused him to be completely cornered just from being surrounded by a dozen or so people.」

「Just admit it, all of us are strong, including Souma.」

「It’s normal for things to be hopeless in that kind of situation, isn’t it?」

「Let me ask you dudes, is he the kind of person who will go by himself to some unknown kingdom in another world?」

「U~hm…」

「But if we can get out of here right away, then it might be worth a shot, right?」

「Normally, it wouldn’t be strange to think that way. Yes, normally, but we’re talking about Momokawa here. You really think he’d make such a short-sighted decision? If it’s him, he’d definitely want to head to the kingdom only after maximizing his own strengths first.」

「Ah!」

「Now that makes sense.」

「Think about it, things already didn’t make sense the moment he 『Abandoned』 Futaba-san.」

Futaba Meiko’s strength and loyalty were well-known among the classmates. Because of the love-ban rule, there was no inappropriate relationship between them, but if that rule didn’t exist, most people thought it wouldn’t be surprising if the two ended up having a child at any moment, given how close they were.

「Momokawa is a shaman. The truth is, he’s not that strong on his own. He needs allies, strong, reliable allies he can count on.」

Precisely because he understood that better than anyone else, Kotaro had always worked to build alliances skillfully. When he reunited with Shimokawa and the others, he quickly won them over, and at the School Tower, he even rose to the point of leading the entire class.

However, that was by no means an easy feat. Precisely because there was no convenient spell that let him brainwash people, Kotaro had no choice but to use every trick in the book to gain allies.

「And there’s no more reliable ally for him other than Futaba-san. If he really wanted to escape, he’d definitely have brought her along with him.」

「Ah, surely, that’s definitely the case.」

「Yeah, no way someone like Momokawa would just give up on Futaba-san’s huge boobs.」

「Yeah, honestly, I think that might seriously be part of it too.」

Being fellow guys, they naturally knew Kotaro’s love for big b**bs wasn’t an act, it was the real deal.

Kenzaki Asuna and Takanashi Kotori also fell into the busty category for high school girls, but even when they were right in front of him, Kotaro showed the same indifference as if he were looking at mannequins.

On the other hand, when it came to the busty beyond busty class, like Futaba and Randou, he stared so blatantly at them, it’s like, “Dude, any more than that and you’re seriously asking for trouble.” His gaze was so intense, he didn’t even try to hide it anymore. Properly speaking, his attention to those two b**bs was worthy of the men’s respect as fellow guys.

「I don’t really want to think this way, but… If Momokawa were the one asking, I honestly feel like Futaba-san wouldn’t even stop short of poisoning the entire class.」

「My thought exactly!」

「That ain’t a laughing matter though.」

Even the Totem Pole Trio watching from the sidelines understood that much. There was no way Kotaro, who was more perceptive than anyone in the class when it came to human emotions, wouldn’t take advantage of Meiko’s feelings.

Futaba Meiko was an almost too convenient, perfect piece on Momokawa Kotaro’s chessboard. There was simply no benefit in that poison escape plan that would justify him abandoning her.

===

Resonator Showcase: Sigrika, PLEASE LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE MY CHANNEL!

===

New Project:

Capitalist Tamer: The Wrong Way To Use Monster

The tamer who "ABUSED" his tamed monster.

Honoured By All Immortals

A rare romcom xianxia

(~’.’)~More and Cheaper Advance Chapter in my patreon~(‘.’~)

LINK TO PATREON

(~’.’)~Support Me With Ko-Fi~(‘.’~)

LINK TO KO-FI