The "Visual Information Instantaneous Sealant" made by the Demonic Communications Agency........in other words, a camera.

　Dazzled by the flashes that continue to burn without a break, some of the students were sighing in their minds at this previously seen scene.
　But it was only those who could afford it relatively, and most of the students were close to letting go, the faces of Sonoda and Kida, Majima and Kihara, who had been abducted by the Demon King, flickered in their minds.

'Principal Kidman!　Is the demon tribe the Chastain demon tribe that showed up earlier in the war against the school?

　Standing at the far left end of the line of students, Sabrina was answering a reporter's questions.
　At first Sabrina began to stand in front of the students and talk, but when the reporter said she couldn't take pictures of the students' faces, Sabrina was forced to step back to her current position.
　In other words, as long as the reporters could take pictures of the brave men, that was all that mattered.
　Magazines sell better the week their stories and photos are published.

'We don't know for sure. We don't even know for sure if they were demons or not, but according to the students, the intruder identified himself as a demon.

　The headmistress of Heilkwaite is a witch who is well known in the world.
　Some generations call her a genius because she has no small amount of blood from an ancient species--the superhuman race, and is able to handle the unique magic associated with her clan.
　Sabrina was asked how she felt when she met the demon race, but she couldn't say that she fainted right away, and she kept giving off-base answers throughout.

　Then the petite press conference ended, and the brave men were made to wait in the Fischanatika common room at Sabrina's direction.
　Gazing at the light of the fireplace, Hiiragi is not even sighing as she seems to be at a loss for words.

''Those reporters, I heard they came from demonic communications,''

　Iida muttered to himself. There is no longer the dependable atmosphere of when he was the captain of the football club.

"Does that mean everyone?

　Holly reacted as her eyes were drawn to the fireplace.

''........Ah. I'm talking about the only place on this continent that deals in such a magazine is Demonic Communications. I heard someone talking about it. I heard that if you try to start something similar, whether it's false or true, most of them disappear.

That means...

'I don't know. But I guess that's what life is all about, isn't it? Now that Saeki is gone....heh, it's so pathetic that his name comes up here first. I didn't know if I was even relying on that guy.......Sonoda, who was my best bet, is gone too. The other party is that demon tribe. There is no guarantee that the four of us are alive.

　The common room was silent.
　No one denied Iida's words.
　The eight brave souls left here didn't have enough energy left to deny Iida's words.

''Is what that demon tribe said true?''

　Holly's words have no power. I don't even know who I'm questioning.
　But the question clouds the faces of each of them.

　It's about Nito.

''It can't be normal, right?''

　Sato replied with a calm, gymnastic expression.

'Nito's a hero, right?　And we're talking about an S-ranked adventurer who's even conquered a dungeon. I don't know much about it either, but there's no way that kind of an extraordinary person is Hidaka. Then why did Aries send me away without telling me? You should have resisted.

But Mr. Saijo-san insisted that it was Hidaka-san.

　Kamui muttered somberly as he stared at the red carpet on the floor.

'That guy was just looking at the ghost of Hidaka. And he was a funny guy who was usually so quiet that he couldn't even understand what he was saying, right?　For example, homesickness has driven me insane...well, whatever. Anyway, my childhood friend Hidaka is gone and I've gone mad, I guess.

But, Mr. Saijo.....

　Mitarai, who was getting smaller next to Kamii, tried to say something, but she didn't have the courage to say it to her feeble mind.
　And it wasn't much of a story.
　All she would say was that Saijo was normal and that it was an answer.
　When she said that, she didn't have any particular reason to answer.

''Took, after you were sent flying.......you got stronger or something?

　It was Kato who answered with trepidation.
　He glanced at his best friend next to him - Hiiragi's face, expecting him to follow up.

'That's why Sato says it can't be possible.

　But Iida cut him down.

'In the first place, he's not even a brave man like us. He is a healer, even the weakest. Even if he had some of the same benefits as us, do you think he could be that strong?　Nito didn't just easily take care of Saeki and Kyogoku, he wiped out that horde of demons with a yawn.　It was so small that Ichijou, who was firing explosive magic in rapid succession, looked small... it couldn't be Hidaka by any stretch of the imagination.

'Shit, you're right...'

　Unusually, it was Chosokabe who came into the conversation.
　Next to her, Jessica had a light expression on her face, as if she had been slightly caught off guard.

'What can I say about Hidaka-kun... I don't think he was ever that talkative. Saeki-kun-kun was always floppy, and he was also a much darker, more wistful person...

'But that could be a story in Hidaka if it means you've got the power, right?

　For some reason, Holly, who had turned her eyes away from the fireplace and turned her body toward us, began to speak positively now that the conversation seemed to be coming to an end.
　His eyes were not empty either.

'I've been thinking about it for a bit, and I'm pretty sure Iida is right. But let's put that aside for now, I think we need to consider the worst case scenario. We can't even rely on Sonoda anymore.

What's the worst that can happen?

　It wasn't just Iida, everyone was waiting for Hiiragi's story.

'It's not really a big deal, but if Hidaka was Nito, well... I want you to remember. What I've seen Nito say and do and behave so far.

Words and deeds...

　Iida stared at the corner of the room and went down memory lane.

'You've met a lot of people so far since you came to this world. Maybe we're the blessed ones, we've only dealt with kings and princesses and their retainers - royalty and nobles of good family background. So we still don't know what the world is like outside of school, and it didn't surprise us much if the first adventurer we saw was a little strange and feisty. But if it was Hidaka... if you say so, don't you somehow feel that it is indeed true?

　The students looked at each other in confusion.

They are strangers, even if they are adventurers, and would they normally go that far just because a small man, Saeki, was a bit rude to them?　He's an S-ranked adventurer, right?　Even if they were barbaric, would they be so hostile? I mean, Nito had reason.

At least it means you're not a vicious adventurer.

　Kamui replied, touching his chin as he analyzed it.
　Holly nodded.

'This was before the match against the school, but didn't Saeki pick a fight with Nito, even though they hadn't met before?

Call it a fight or just taking it out on you...

I don't care. It was a fight anyway. Then Kyogoku interrupted and things got weird, but what I remember is how he behaved towards Saeki from then on. It's true that he was the one who always spoke to Saeki first, so you might say that was a normal person's response, but it was clear that Nito was hostile towards him. When I questioned him about the incident that killed Kyogoku, he was the one who spoke to me.

'So that's a normal reaction, as you say, right?　It's true that I can't forgive him for killing Kyogoku, but that was Saeki's fault. Kyogoku knew he was going to die in the first place, and he offered to fight a duel.

　Iida didn't understand what Hiiragi was trying to say.

''Well to be honest I'm not trying to make everyone understand my instincts, but... but... I think Nito is somehow too obsessed with Saeki.''

Are you particular about that?

'He told me then that he would have killed Saeki if the place hadn't been a school. As I said before, he's not savage, he's sensible. But he didn't look like a normal person when he was dealing with the demon race. Of course I couldn't see his face, and maybe Nito isn't human, but he seemed so abnormal that I couldn't believe he was the same person... and he killed Kyogoku without mercy, too. In front of everyone........

'Holly, what do you mean by that?　Nito is a sensible freak and that's why he's a day high?　I don't get it.

I don't know why they let Saeki live.

'You just didn't have a reason to kill him, did you?　What kind of hero would take us seriously as little people?

'He's too obsessed with Saeki. Even that blue-haired girl who attacked him unintentionally was so mad at him, and Nito just stops it.

It means he didn't even want to face them. If that was Hidaka, Saeki would be dead by now. "He even said he was going to come back to kill me. In other words, the fact that he didn't die from that is proof that he wasn't Hidaka.

Then why was he so confronted with Saeki when you first met him?

Because that's what you were up against, right?　And that's also because, as you say, it was Saeki who spoke to me first. It's force majeure, right?

No. He's keeping Saeki alive for some reason. But that's true. There's no point in talking about it. To be honest, I don't know why I'm feeling that way either.

　At that moment, the door to the common room opened to reveal Sabrina.

'Have you ever seen Nito's true face, doctor?'

　Holly questions Sabrina's back as she closes the door.
　Sabrina's hand stops.

'What's up with you all of a sudden?'

　Sabrina smiled and asked her students.

'Please answer,'

I know that. But it's none of your business.

　Sabrina dared not to be suspicious and answered immediately.

'Maybe he's someone we know.

　Sabrina knows what those words mean.
　After waking up in the infirmary, Sabrina had been given details from her students, including the fact that the four of them had been taken away.

'I have a duty of confidentiality as well. Mr. Nito, I can't answer your questions about his background. If you want to know what he is, you have to ask him directly.

Does that mean I have to go to the Devil's Land?

That's not what I said. And you don't know if it's true about him being in the Devil's Land, do you?　I know where he is now, to some extent, and I can't imagine him being in the demon country first. It's a savage land that doesn't accept humans.

Well Nito is human.

　Sabrina was silent at Holly's words.
　Holly, staring at her with a straight face, sighed and looked away.
　Sabrina couldn't help but shut up, but smiled an unnaturally loose smile, trying not to show her agitation.

　There was silence for a while, with the occasional sound of splintering wood burning in the fireplace.
　But no matter how silent they were, things started to move.

　It wasn't so much about the remaining students as it was about Sabrina.
　This one incident had made Oswald's absence known to the King of the Eightfold.
　At a later date, Sabrina would be ordered to convene and stand in front of them.