Following our initial introductions, I took a seat at the table Media-san had provided and began sipping the black tea. The table and chairs were clearly sized for someone like me or Pandora-san; they were far too small to be of any practical use for Tiamat-san, given her massive stature. Knowing she had gone out of her way to prepare them for us was a kind gesture.
However—and I really hate to nitpick someone else's aesthetic—I couldn't help but wonder why both the table and the chairs were "made of bones."
"……What is with this bad-taste table and chair?"
Pandora-san always seemed so much more sensible whenever we were greeting the Ten Demons. She voiced exactly what I was thinking with refreshing bluntness.
"They were a gift. An eccentric necromancer lives in the depths of the Black Forest. Apparently, they made these on a whim but found them awkward to use. Given your size, Miyama Kaito-san, I thought they would be perfect for this occasion."
"Doesn't that just mean you were used as a dumping ground for someone's unwanted junk...?"
A necromancer... I seemed to recall that Zex was also a necromancer. But since he lived at Kuro's place, it probably wasn't him. Still, the dark atmosphere of this forest felt like a perfect fit for that kind of magic.
The conversation had drifted a bit, so I decided to formally thank Media-san for the earlier incident.
"……Um, once again, Media-san. Thank you for your assistance during the battle in the God Realm."
"Think nothing of it. While conflict is a sorrowful thing, it is an inescapable reality that war will never truly vanish from this world. That being the case, it is my own personal wish to walk the battlefield and serve as a shield for my comrades."
"……"
How should I put it? Her words sounded like those of someone who deeply cared for her allies, yet Pandora-san was wearing an extremely strained expression.
"You simply wish to satisfy your own desires, don't you?"
"I won't deny that, either. After all, sadness is also a form of 'pleasure.'"
"……U-Um?"
She had started saying something truly outrageous. Sadness is pleasure? As I sat there in confusion, Pandora-san let out a heavy sigh and offered an explanation.
"……Tiamat is a deviant who finds ecstasy in mental anguish. In particular, she has an insatiable craving for the 'sadness of killing and parting from a loved one with one's own hands.' On missions to eliminate targets, she shows a cruel streak, simulating deep bonds of friendship or family with her victims just so she can savor the agony of murdering them."
"……"
What on earth? That was terrifying... Oh, I see. That’s why Pandora-san had told her not to involve me in her fetishes earlier, just as Media-san was about to say we could "become close."
"Ah, it truly is a tragic thing. I have taken so many lives... every one of them an irreplaceable existence to me. Had our time been different, I'm certain we could have been lifelong friends, perhaps even partners. Aaaahhh... plucking away the future that was meant to be... it was a sadness so profound it felt as though my heart would tear asunder."
As Media-san spoke, her expression was one of pure, unadulterated bliss. She looked like she was having the time of her life. I suppose it made sense; if she was ranked alongside the likes of Phoenix, she had to be a total outlier.
"……Don't you dare start releasing those ultrasonic waves. If you do, I'll execute you where you stand."
"I understand. Ah, Miyama Kaito-san, my apologies if I have frightened you. Please rest assured, I am capable of self-restraint... I simply happen to possess a sinful fetish where I feel the urge to kill those I've grown close to so I may immerse myself in grief."
"H-Haha..."
Everything I had heard led to one conclusion: she was incredibly dangerous. I glanced at the countless grave markers surrounding us and quickly decided it was better not to think about them.
Despite Pandora-san calling her a deviant, Media-san's conversational style wasn't particularly strange. She was polite, calm, and well-spoken.
We continued our small talk for a while, and once a reasonable amount of time had passed, I stood up to take my leave. At that exact moment, Media-san spoke to me.
"……Miyama Kaito-san, if you would excuse me for a moment."
"Eh? Whoa!?"
Media-san smoothly slid her hands under my armpits, hoisting me up like a doll. In a heartbeat, I was nearly two stories off the ground.
Startled by the sudden move, I looked at her. Media-san stared intently at my face in silence for a few seconds. Finally, a faint, fleeting smile crossed her lips.
"……I find you very pleasing."
"Eh?"
"Forgive me, I didn't mean to cause a misunderstanding. This has nothing to do with my fetish. I simply find the 'person I cannot kill' to be very pleasing."
Media-san’s smile was tinged with a strange sort of melancholy, making her look lonely.
"Even if it is not through your own power... no matter how much I might grow to love you, and no matter how much I might wish to kill you... no matter what methods I employ, I could never take your life. That is something that, above all else, allows me to feel secure."
"……"
I wasn't quite sure how to react. Just as Pandora-san said, Media-san felt the urge to kill those she was close to and found tragedy delightful. She was, without a doubt, a deviant.
The fact that she found pleasure in mental anguish was likely a fundamental truth of her being, and I’m sure she really did resort to cruel methods to satisfy her desires during missions.
Yet, even so, I had the feeling she wasn't "evil" at her core. Because, most likely, this person was fully aware that she was abnormal.
"Please visit again if the opportunity arises."
As she lowered me back to the ground, Media-san wore a smile that held a surprising amount of kindness.
For her, affection and killing intent were proportional. The more she liked someone, the more the desire to kill them and experience that separation would well up within her.
That was likely why she lived in the Black Forest, a place almost entirely devoid of other demons, singing in memory of her long-extinct kin.
At the very least, her final words—about feeling secure because she couldn't kill me—felt like Media-san's genuine, unvarnished feelings.
"……Right. If I have the chance, I’d like that. Though, next time, if we could use chairs that aren't made of bones..."
"Bones are no good? I see. I shall study the matter before our next meeting."
Serious-senpai: "……Is it just me, or does she have a more sensible way of thinking than I expected?"
???: "Well, she is one of the few 'success cases of Alice-chan's guidance,' after all."
Serious-senpai: "……Eh? No, I mean, there's no question she's a total deviant..."
???: "It's the opposite. In Tiamat's case, unlike the others, she was originally a mindless monster who lived purely by instinct. Through Alice-chan's guidance, she acquired reason. Now, she no longer lays a finger on anyone without cause, except for targets marked for elimination—in other words, people she's actually allowed to kill."