Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 29 - Chapter 4

Beyond Time and Distance

Monday, April 4th

While they had been prepared for it and knew that it was necessary, Koutarou and Harumi were still deeply affected by Kiriha’s disappearance. Once she was gone, they sat there in still silence for quite some time. The shock of being reduced to just the two of them was unimaginable. They simply stared blankly at where Kiriha had just been.

After the shock began to subside with time, they began processing their emotions. They mourned losing Kiriha and being left behind. They supported one another in a shared embrace, crying freely and screaming without reserve. They were now alone, really and truly. Even the haniwas had disappeared with Kiriha. There was no reason to hold anything back.

“The calculations are finished, ho!”

“Come see, Big Brother, ho!”

“Karama?! Korama?!”

“Satomi-kun, over there! The computer!”

Two unexpected voices brought Koutarou and Harumi to their senses—Kiriha’s haniwas. After being gone for several hours now since they’d disappeared along with Kiriha, their sudden reappearance gave Koutarou and Harumi new strength. They shot to their feet and ran over to the main computer.

“You two are okay?!”

“We can’t say for sure, ho.”

“Right now, we’re just models this computer has generated to make it easier to communicate, ho.”

“So you’re like an AI based on the haniwas?”

“That’s more or less correct, ho. And the fact that we’re here means our original forms have disappeared, ho.”

“Big Brother, we don’t have much time, so we want you to listen well, ho!”

The two haniwas were currently displayed on the computer’s monitor, but they were smaller, cuter, CG versions of themselves, like adorable anime characters. They were essentially avatars for artificial intelligences based on the haniwas’ memories and personalities that would serve as an interface for dialogue in the case of emergencies. Which meant, sadly, that they weren’t the real Karama and Korama.

“It’s about the data from when Ane-san disappeared, ho!”

“By analyzing it in detail, we were able to discover a few things, ho!”

It seemed they had appeared because they were programmed to run the analytics on Kiriha’s disappearance in the worst case scenario. They were finishing what the real haniwas had started.

“They did it, Satomi-kun!”

“Yeah!”

Hearing the haniwas’ report, energy returned to Koutarou and Harumi. They’d been plagued with despair since Kiriha vanished, the haniwas gave them a glimmer of hope. It was the first good news they’d gotten in a long while.

“The observation equipment says that...”

The haniwas quickly began to update them on the results of their analysis, and Koutarou and Harumi listened intently. They were both happy, but neither was smiling. This wasn’t the time to be celebrating.

The starting point of their observation was the fact that not even the girls of room 106 had been able to learn anything about the disappearances. They were experts on science, magic, and psychic powers, so the fact that they couldn’t find traces of any evidence at all was telling. It meant that whatever was there was imperceptible, even with their extraordinary abilities.

So in order to learn anything, more serious equipment had to be brought in. The farther the galaxy, the bigger the radio telescope needed to be to see it, after all. That was the approach Kiriha had taken.

But when making a radio telescope, there were two potential options. The first was to make one massive parabolic antenna. The second was to create several smaller ones. Kiriha had chosen the latter way of thinking. She’d prepared several of the same type of sensor and set them up to record at the same time. The idea was that some kind of trace evidence might become apparent when analyzing their collective data. Any given sensor could pick up what seemed meaningless—static, feedback, et cetera. But if multiple sensors observed the same thing, that indicated it had significance as data. When Shizuka had disappeared, not all of the sensors had been set up yet. There weren’t enough active to draw any meaningful conclusions. But this time was different. All of the sensors were in place and running when it happened. Between the lot of them, they’d managed to detect something.

Considering the amount of data collected between all the sensors, processing it had taken quite some time. But it had paid off. Kiriha and the haniwas’ disappearance had left Koutarou and Harumi with a clue.

After the virtual haniwas debriefed Koutarou and Harumi, they pulled up a map on the monitor with a large circle drawn on it representing what the data indicated.

“When Ane-san was disappearing, there was a slight back and forth of auras between here and a second location. The second location is somewhere in this circle, ho.”

“With that in mind, we looked through the data again and found that electromagnetic radiation and mana showed the same tendency. But we can’t say for certain with those, ho.”

“This circle covers the school, this neighborhood, and the station, huh?”

“That narrows our search area down quite a bit.”

Corona House, the local station, and Kisshouharukaze High School formed a triangle that fit just within the circle drawn on the map. Whoever had taken the girls was somewhere in that area.

“Estimated accuracy is only 95 percent, ho.”

“Which means they might be just outside of this area, ho. So we don’t want you to get too hung up on the circle itself, ho.”

“Got it. Thanks, you two. You did great.”

The area in question was still rather large for just two people to be searching, but Harumi was right. It was better than trying to scour the entire city. It wouldn’t be impossible for them to search everywhere within the circle in two—no, one day if they really tried. This was a significant development.

“Thank the real us, ho.”

“We’re just avatars, ho.”

The two haniwas on the screen looked somewhat sad. They knew that they were fakes, and that their real selves had already vanished.

“Yeah, I absolutely will.”

“This and the letter that Ane-san left behind should give you a much better idea of the situation, ho.”

“Ane-san said it was the ninth envelope. You should hurry up and read it, ho!”

“Satomi-kun, let’s go get Kiriha-san’s letter. Then we can consult with these haniwas.”

Harumi was thinking that the haniwas might be able to give them an explanation of Kiriha’s letter and help them move forward. But the virtual haniwas shook their heads.

“You shouldn’t do that, ho. Coming back here would be dangerous, ho.”

“What?”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s a chance that this base would have been made even if Ane-san didn’t exist, which is why it’s still here, ho. There’s also a chance that we’d still exist as an interface, which is why we’re here too, ho. But...”

“Just like how memories of the girls who disappeared began vanishing from people’s minds, things with a low chance of existing will be weeded out eventually, ho. We don’t know how long this base will stay here, ho.”

That was yet another of Kiriha’s assumptions. If memories of the girls were disappearing from people with weak connections to them, it wouldn’t be strange for their physical influence on the world to begin to fade as well. The universe might be in the process of correcting everything that happened because of the missing girls. The fact that the girls had disappeared with their possessions—Maki with her staff, Kiriha with the haniwas, and so on—only seemed to support the theory.

“We can’t connect with the Hazy Moon in orbit anymore, ho.”

“Of course—if Clan never existed, the Hazy Moon never would have come to Earth!”

“That’s right, ho. That’s why staying here would be dangerous, ho. You should return to Corona House soon, ho.”

“The letters that Ane-san left behind might disappear for the same reason, ho!”

“So you should hurry, ho!”

“This is goodbye, ho... Big Brother, Harumi-chan.”

The haniwas knew what they were likely facing, which was why they’d hurried to get the job done. There was no telling how long Kiriha’s secret base would last with her gone. The virtual Karama and Korama stood side by side on the screen and smiled sadly. It was now time to bid them farewell.

“Good luck, Big Brother! Harumi-chan, ho!”

“This is all we can do, ho! We’ll pray for you, ho!”

“Wait a minute! What’ll happen to you two?!”

“We will disappear with the base, ho.”

“That’s our fate, ho.”

“Satomi-kun, why don’t we move the haniwas over to a computer we can take with us?”

“That’s a good idea!”

“It’s no use, ho. Without Ane-san, there would have been no one to prepare us, ho. We will eventually disappear too no matter what, ho.”

“More importantly, you need to get going, ho. All you have to do is solve this incident and bring us back, ho. Then you can integrate our memory data with the original haniwas, ho.”

“Karama, Korama... Okay, we’ll see you guys later.”

“Haniwas, let everyone know that we’ll save them as soon as we can.”

“Understood, ho! We’ll let them know, ho!”

“Big Brother, Harumi-chan! We will love you no matter the outcome, ho!”

“Thank you...”

“There will only be one outcome. Because we’re going to save you!”

“We believe in you, ho! Bye-bye, you two!”

“See you later, ho!”

And so Koutarou and Harumi left Kiriha’s base. While they might not have been the real thing, it still hurt to leave the haniwas behind. But if they didn’t, they would never be able to get to the bottom of the incident. It was an agonizing decision to have to make. And the haniwas knew that. That’s why they continued to wave their tiny hands even after Koutarou and Harumi left.

To my beloved Satomi Koutarou,

If you’re reading this letter, it means that I have disappeared. I hope that you manage to gain some useful data from my disappearance, but even if you don’t, I hope this letter helps you find some direction in what to do next.

I’ve formed nine possible theories about the disappearances. This letter is the last of them—the one I believe to be the least likely. It’s so absurd that I even considered throwing this away, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Unusually enough for me, my intuition told me not to. Perhaps the most fitting thing is to say that I felt fate at work, much like I did when I met you. I know it will be difficult to comprehend what I’ve written here, but please read it through to the end and bear with me.

If I disappeared second to last, then I believe the following to be at work. This incident is affecting us in reverse of the order that we met you. There is, of course, a certain chance that that is just a coincidence. But realistically speaking, the odds of such coincidences happening one after the other is hardly believable. I’m equally skeptical that this is some sort of natural occurrence. That leaves me no choice but to believe that what’s currently happening is the work of someone who has decided to undo our meeting you.

But that line of thinking raises a few questions of its own. We are disappearing, and people’s memories of us are going with us. Considering we can no longer contact the Hazy Moon, I’m also left to believe that the effects we’ve had on reality are being undone as well. Which means that our existences are being erased in the truest sense of the word. But who or what could have the power to do that? A timeslip seems like a possible answer, but according to Clan, changing history creates an alternate timeline rather than having an effect on this one. That essentially means it’s impossible to alter the reality we already inhabit via a timeslip, which limits the potential answers significantly. While I can think of a few other ways altering reality might be possible, they would all literally require something on the level of divine power to pull off.

The only exception would be if all ten of us were caught in an illusion a long time ago and have been unable to escape it. But even then, being able to do that without Maki or Yurika noticing, while affecting all ten of us under the protection of the true sword of kingship at once, and for such a long period of time... That too would take the power of a god. I know that suggesting a divine being is involved would turn the gears of anyone’s common sense and force them to suspect something more simple and realistic is at play—myself included. But if we humor the theory, it would explain several things that I’ve always found strange.

To begin with, why did we all invade room 106 at the same time? Wasn’t the timing just too perfect? Like clockwork, a new invader appeared each day. Doesn’t it make you feel like it was all part of some plan? Moreover, how is it that all of us who came to room 106 found ourselves needing you so? From our individual points of view, the answer is obvious. You were exactly what we were missing. The reverse is also true. How were you able to develop bonds with all of us? Taking it case by case, it’s because we each had something that you were missing. And because of who you are, Satomi Koutarou, there was a reason that you couldn’t ignore each of us.

But looking at the bigger picture, it’s truly bizarre. The odds of nine strangers all developing feelings for the same man are incredibly low. And him returning those feelings to the best of his ability lowers the odds even further. In that case, wouldn’t it make more sense to think that those nine girls were connected to you by the little red string of fate? Let’s look at an even bigger picture.

Fundamentally, far too many incidents that could have shaken the world as we know it have happened around us. Why is that? Why do they keep happening? We can trace it as far back as Earthlings and Forthorthians existing in the same universe, their civilizations appearing at almost the same time. Two completely unrelated species that can interbreed developing in completely different regions of space... Even on an astronomical scale, it’s a bit much. It’s the kind of coincidence that would be unlikely to ever happen again even in the repeated death and rebirth of the universe.

It makes me think that the world we inhabit was made so things would happen this way from the very beginning. I have so many questions, and I feel like someone’s behind it all. But just who is that someone? I can only think of one answer. In the decisive battle of Folsaria, Yurika made a gamble to make up for her mana shortage. That gamble was merging with us to become a single person, gathering all of our mana together. The result should have been someone sharing our likenesses and abilities. But the person who appeared was a woman who looked nothing like us and had powers completely unlike our own. I can’t say for sure that she’s the one guiding us, but I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that someone is.

Which means that it’s important to find out what this person, this being, is hoping to accomplish, because we’re disappearing for the sake of that goal. And considering that the order in which we’re disappearing is the opposite of the order we met you, we should assume that the goal of this being who’s erasing us has something to do with you.

But there are too many possibilities and I can’t say exactly what that goal is right now. There are too many converging potentialities to be able to see the truth clearly. That being said, I have a hunch. If the end goal of everything that’s happening involves you, then I think it’s safe to assume that it all started with you, too. Something must have happened. We’ve just overlooked it, whatever that starting point was.

And that is what we really need to figure out. Satomi Koutarou, please try to remember. Something must have happened around the time when you first came to room 106. That something decided your fate as well as ours. If you can find it, we might be able to get to the bottom of what’s happening. Your timeslip might have had an effect on the cause and outcome, so if possible, think back on things that happened before you moved in as well.

I am sorry for being so vague. However, if things go well, I might be able to leave behind another hint. If you were able to gather any data from my disappearance, please use that and this letter to narrow down the possibilities.

If my theory is correct, the solution to this incident will be exceedingly difficult. I don’t even know if there truly is a solution. But I would like to believe there is. That the bond between you and us can’t be severed this way. If possible, I’d like you to believe the same.

With love,

Kurano Kiriha—Kii

The letter that Kiriha had left behind was intentionally written to be as easy to understand as possible, but its contents were still vastly difficult to comprehend. It suggested something so outlandish that it took Koutarou and Harumi a great deal of time to even process. By the time they managed to get their heads around it, the sun had already set, so their discussion continued over dinner.

“About the being that Kiriha-san mentioned... I recall something similar.”

“Really?!”

“When Darkness Rainbow attacked the first time, I was seriously injured and Yurika merged with me. Since she was unharmed, she thought that she could share the burden of my wounds and save me. But when we merged, someone else altogether appeared.”

“Now that you mention it, I think I heard about that...”

Harumi had made them omelet rice and vegetable soup. It was a delicious meal considering it had just been thrown together with only ingredients they had on hand in the apartment, but right now, neither she nor Koutarou was concerned about the taste of the food in front of them. All that was on their minds was Kiriha’s letter.

“Before she disappeared, Sanae also told me she’d been hearing a voice.”

“A voice? Who was it?”

“I asked her the same thing, but she said that she didn’t know. Just that it was a woman’s voice.”

“If it’s the same woman I’m talking about...”

“It would make what Kiriha-san wrote even more credible.”

At first, the both of them had been stunned and puzzled by what Kiriha had suggested in her letter, but looking back on their experiences and putting everything together, it started to make sense. As things stood, they were convinced enough to move on Kiriha’s theory, accepting it as true.

“Satomi-kun, maybe that woman is somewhere in that circle the haniwas came up with?”

“Maybe. At least we know what we should do next now, Sakuraba-senpai.”

Combining the contents of the letter with the search radius the haniwas had given them, Koutarou and Harumi had a clear path in front of them. At the end of it, they would find the being that Kiriha wrote about, or clues of the missing girls—if not the girls themselves.

“It’s not too different from what we were already thinking, though.”

It felt strange. Despite the fact that they had new purpose, they’d essentially just be doing what they had been all along—searching for something around town. Koutarou found it a little disheartening.

“Knowing that we’re on the right track will help a lot, so it’s not the same as before, Satomi-kun.”

But Harumi shook her head with a smile. She didn’t see it the way Koutarou did. She felt hopeful. Encouraged. It was true they would still be searching, but a great fog had been lifted from in front of their eyes. They knew what they were looking for and where this time. It was a completely different game.

You really are in there too, aren’t you, Your Majesty Alaia?

Koutarou could feel Alaia’s unwavering will in Harumi’s smile. Maybe it was a side Harumi had always had in her, but Koutarou was happy to see it now. He wanted to believe Alaia was still somewhere inside her, even if it was only a misunderstanding.

“What’s the matter, Satomi-kun?” Sensing something strange in the way he was looking at her, Harumi tilted her head in confusion.

“I was just thinking about how strong you are, Sakuraba-senpai,” Koutarou answered vaguely.

It was hard for him to talk about Alaia after she was gone, but what he said wasn’t exactly a lie. Roughly speaking, it meant the same thing.

“Let’s both do our best, Satomi-kun. There’s still hope.”

“I’m glad you’re with me, Sakuraba-senpai...”

“All nine of us are. We’ll all take your hand and help you stand again, always.”

Koutarou honestly thought that Harumi was strong too.

You’re the only one who would say that... or maybe...

The qualities of a true leader—the ability to inspire hope, to give people a goal and the will to pursue it—were burning brightly inside Harumi. It was only regrettable that she was putting them to use under such circumstances.

After dinner and a catnap, Koutarou and Harumi took off into town. They were going to investigate the places Koutarou had visited just before and after moving into Corona House, as Kiriha had suggested in her letter. Since it was nearly midnight, they’d be limited to searching outdoors for now. But that didn’t stop them. They had plenty of places to check, and they were pressed for time. Once the date changed, Harumi might disappear. They had to hurry.

“Satomi-kun, over here!”

“Whoa!”

With hardly any warning, Harumi pulled Koutarou into a nearby bush. It was a strangely forceful gesture for her. Caught off guard, Koutarou turned to her in surprise.

“What is it, Sakuraba-senpai?!”

“Be quiet for a moment!”

Still holding on to Koutarou, she was carefully watching what was happening just beyond the bushes. When Koutarou looked to see what was there, he realized why she’d done what she did.

“Phew, it’s already April, but it’s still so cold at night...”

“Quit complaining. Once we get back to the station, we’ll have some ramen.”

Two policemen were walking by. It didn’t seem they’d seen Koutarou and Harumi, but since they were on patrol, they were frequently stopping and looking around. Harumi had realized they were coming, and pulled Koutarou into the bush to take cover.

“Sounds great. You buying?”

“Good grief, what am I supposed to do with you...?”

They held their breath as the policemen passed by and disappeared around the corner. Luckily, they’d escaped detection.

“Thank you, Sakuraba-senpai.”

“I’ll keep an eye out until morning comes, so you can just focus on using your spirit sight, Satomi-kun.”

“Thanks.”

Two high schoolers out in the middle of the night would only invite questions. Especially from a police officer. And it wouldn’t help any that it looked like they were sneaking around. So to avoid any trouble, they’d have to be careful. Koutarou hadn’t even noticed the two officers because he’d been so focused on his spirit sight. He’d detected their auras, but that didn’t tell him they were cops. So having Harumi keep an eye on their surroundings would be an important part of the search going forward.

The range the haniwas had given them was a circle that could just encompass the triangle formed between the high school, Corona House, and the station. It was less than two kilometers in diameter and it would take about half an hour to walk end to end. But within that circle was a complex series of roads, alleyways, and sidewalks. Even excluding the places Koutarou had already checked, it would take several hours to clear. By the time they’d gotten through most of it, the sun was already starting to come up.

“Sakuraba-senpai, how are you holding up?”

“I’m all right. I’ve built up some stamina, so I can manage this much.”

“That’s good. But let’s continue our break here a little longer anyway.”

“You really don’t have to worry about me.”

“That might be part of it, but the shops are going to start opening up soon.”

Koutarou and Harumi were currently taking a break in a 24/7 family restaurant. It was partly to get some food and respite, but it was also to kill time until businesses started opening. Between midnight and early morning, they’d been limited to searching places outdoors, but that would change soon. There were still some roads they hadn’t checked, but they’d be able to give those a look while on their way to their various destinations. They couldn’t afford to waste their energy.

“So it’s already about time for that... Satomi-kun, do you have any hunches about which shops or businesses to check?”

“We’ll need to go to the real estate agent, the do-it-yourself store, the supermarket, and the shopping street.”

Those were the places Koutarou had frequented before and after moving in that were inside the circle. But his memories were a little vague considering that was two years ago now, so he was willing to try anywhere that he had an inkling about.

“We first met on the day the entrance exam results were announced, didn’t we?”

“That’s true... I guess that makes it the first of the meetings?”

“We’ll need to check school too then.”

“That’s on the far side over by the mountain, so let’s hit everything else first.”

“All right.”

Using their memories and the maps on their smartphones, Koutarou and Harumi planned a route for their search. Since they were currently by the station, they would start by going through the shopping street and heading in the direction of Corona House before finally turning towards the school.

“Did anything strange happen on the day we first met?”

“Nothing stranger than meeting you.”

“Was I strange?”

“Not strange... I just thought you were special.”

“I thought you were too. Thinking back to it, it might have been love at first sight.”

They spent a little while longer chatting away in the restaurant before it was time to resume their search. While they were supposedly talking about things related to the incident, it would just sound like they were reminiscing to anyone who overheard. But thanks to that, they were able to relax. While they didn’t come up with any new hints, it worked out well in the end.

After leaving the restaurant, Koutarou and Harumi checked out the area around the station. They had already walked the streets, so they were specifically investigating businesses that might be of interest. They’d just finished up at the supermarket, which was a shop Koutarou frequented even well after moving to Corona House.

“Senpai, where are we going next?”

Since Koutarou was solely focused on his spirit sight, he wasn’t paying much attention to where they were going. As such, he was relying on Harumi to navigate.

“...”

“Senpai?”

Since he hadn’t gotten a response, Koutarou temporarily switched back to his normal vision to turn around and see if she was okay. When he did, he saw her standing there with a blank look on her face, staring off into the distance like she was thinking about something.

“Ah, I-I’m sorry!”

Realizing that Koutarou had turned to her, Harumi hurriedly looked down at the phone in her hand and started reading the map. Seeing her like that, Koutarou smiled a little.

“So you admire things like that too, Sakuraba-senpai?”

Harumi had been watching a young couple— a boy and girl about their age who were walking arm in arm. Seeing their calm and happy aura together, it was clear they were in love.

“U-Um, yes...”

Harumi couldn’t look back up. She was embarrassed and didn’t want Koutarou to see her beet red face. She had no idea what she’d even say if she had to look him in the eye. But more than anything, she wanted to apologize to the girls who’d disappeared.

Is this really okay? How could I just space out like that? Wasn’t I supposed to stand by his side and walk together with him?

Such thoughts suddenly popped into her head. They felt like Alaia’s feelings, but also her own. But it didn’t really matter whose feelings they really were—she knew that they were right.

“Satomi-kun, when we get everyone back... would you walk with me like that?”

With newfound determination, Harumi raised her head and said what was on her mind without hesitation. Of course, considering the situation, she couldn’t ask him to link arms with her right now. It wouldn’t feel right. She’d feel too guilty thinking about her missing friends. But she had to ask him about it now precisely because she was feeling uneasy. She wanted hope for the future. Something to look forward to. So thanks to her complexly intertwined emotions, Harumi ended up taking a big step forward. It wouldn’t have been a big deal to Sanae or Kiriha, but for Harumi, this was like a massive leap on the moon. It was a big decision that would mean a big change for her.

“Sakuraba-senpai...”

Koutarou was a bit puzzled by her request. It was quite unlike her.

No, if anything... I’ve probably made Sakuraba-senpai endure for too long.

But he soon had a change of heart. Harumi had done all kinds of things for him. She’d never asked for anything in return, but now she was finally making known her desires. He couldn’t simply write that off as being “unlike her.” There was also no doubt that Harumi was feeling very anxious about their current situation.

“So... where were we headed next?”

Koutarou avoided answering Harumi directly. As expected, he was too embarrassed to put it into words. Instead, he decided to show her what he was thinking. He reached out with his left hand to gently grasp her right. Much like Harumi, he felt some resistance to walking around like the couple from before under the circumstances. But he also knew that Harumi was anxious. He too was feeling the same thing. So he decided to compromise and take her hand.

“U-Um, next w-we should head t-towards the shopping street. Um...”

In that moment, Harumi was starting to worry she’d perhaps been too bold. But with her hand holding Koutarou’s, she couldn’t let go in spite of herself. She couldn’t give up the warmth she felt from him. Harumi had once tried to kiss Koutarou on the cheek. Compared to that, holding hands should be nothing. But feeling like this was fundamentally different from back then, she could hardly calm herself. She tried her best to answer Koutarou and check the map to see where they were going, but she barely knew what she was saying or doing. Her mind was blanking out.

It was now April 5th, so spring break was just about over. At Kisshouharukaze High School, the opening ceremony was usually held on the 6th. As such, there were plenty of people out and about at the shopping street even early on a weekday morning. All the local kids were trying to soak up as much as they could out of the last of their vacation. That worked out in Koutarou and Harumi’s favor. If it weren’t spring break, they’d stand out. And since they’d be skipping school, they’d still have had to avoid police and other authority figures even during daylight hours.

“Ah! Baron! And the lady!”

But as it happened, they’d caught the attention of a kindergartener rather than the police. It was apparently a girl who’d seen their hero show and remembered it well.

“So Baron and the lady really do get along, huh?”

She eagerly ran up to greet them, and upon seeing that they were holding hands, began to point at them with a smile.

“Fuhahahaha, that’s right! I guess there’s no use hiding it! This lady and I are actually friends!”

Koutarou played along with the young girl. He’d actually continued to help out with the hero show, so this kind of thing would happen from time to time. And in order not to disenchant the children, he would always put on his Baron Demon act for them.

“She’s really pretty! Are you still trying to make her your bride?”

“But of course. I’m just waiting for my chance to snatch her up... That blasted Harukaze Man keeps getting in the way of everything!”

“Of course he does! Must be hard for you.”

“Heehee...”

Harumi couldn’t help but giggle at their endearing chat. But even though it was just a giggle, it was the first time she’d laughed in days. She could feel it lift her spirits. And when the little girl heard it, she turned her attention to Harumi.

“Do you like Baron more than the glasses guy, lady?”

By “glasses guy,” she probably meant Kenji who’d played her boyfriend in the hero show.

“It’s a secret, but yes.”

“I know how you feel! It’s so easy to fall for the bad guys!”

“The black, spiky outfits are always so impressive.”

“Those spikes are so cool!”

Following Koutarou’s lead, Harumi played along too. During the hero show, Harumi had failed in playing the part of Kenji’s girlfriend because her true feelings had shown through for Koutarou—the bad guy. That had become canon and been incorporated into later performances.

“But it must be hard being in a love triangle, lady!”

“A love triangle? You sure know some difficult words...”

“Yeah! You have to protect Baron from, um... Huh?”

The young girl’s expression suddenly clouded over. The girl was trying to say that Harumi had to defend Baron from someone... but she couldn’t remember who. She’d forgotten all about the evil Black Rose.

“Um... Who was it again?”

“What’s wrong?” Harumi asked.

“I don’t know... It’s strange. Baron, lady, I feel like I’m forgetting something really important.”

The young girl looked at them with a confounded expression. She was trying to remember something but couldn’t, even though she knew it was important. There was fear and confusion in her eyes.

I see, this girl is one of Kiriha-san’s friends...

It was then that Koutarou realized she was talking about Black Rose, Kiriha’s role. And since this young girl was a friend of Kiriha’s, she had a deeper connection with her than most. That’s why she could tell that she was forgetting something important, which upset her.

“...I’m sorry about that, little girl.”

“Huh? Did you do something, Baron?”

“I did. Just recently, Harukaze Man destroyed my secret weapon and some of the fuzzy-brain gas I was working on leaked out.”

Having realized what was happening, Koutarou decided to assuage her doubts. He couldn’t stand to see her tormented by her missing memories.

“So that’s what it was!”

“Your memories should return soon, so don’t worry.”

“Okay. But make sure you do your bad guy things in a cooler way next time.”

“Heh, sorry about that.”

Fortunately, Koutarou’s white lie was enough to get her smiling again. It certainly helped that he had a reputation for losing to Harukaze Man. Koutarou let out a sigh of relief that all seemed well now, but it made him feel the absence of Kiriha and the others all the more acutely. It was affecting far more than just him and Harumi.

Koutarou and Harumi were walking side by side down a river embankment. After parting ways with the little girl, they’d largely fallen silent. Their interaction with her had made them both realize that the disappearances of their friends had a much bigger impact than they’d imagined.

“We aren’t the only ones who need them... though it’s a bit late to realize that now...”

It wasn’t just Kiriha and the children. Sanae had her parents, Yurika had the cosclub, Maki had Crimson, and so on. They were all probably feeling the same unexplainable loss that little girl was right now. But that was all the more reason to find the missing girls. Koutarou felt a sense of duty, different from before, welling up in his chest.

“Satomi-kun, do you think there will be people like that if I disappear too?”

Koutarou’s quiet mumbling to no one in particular had reached Harumi’s ears. It made her wonder what things would be like if she vanished. It was an especially weighty thought, considering it was likely a matter of when, rather than if.

“Lots of ’em. There are the kids at the hospital, the people in the drama club. Your classmates from last year, that girl from before, not to mention your mom and dad.”

Koutarou believed that everyone Harumi knew would feel that way about her. She was the nice girl who read books for the children in the pediatric ward. She was the star of both plays—everyone at school knew her. Even the children who’d seen her in the hero show remembered her. And above all, there was no way that her bond with her parents would be broken so easily.

“Would you remember, Satomi-kun?”

“Of course. Even if everyone else forgot, I would never forget you or the others.”

Koutarou squeezed Harumi’s hand as he spoke. The girls had saved him several times—and more than just his life. They’d saved his heart and soul. That’s why he couldn’t imagine ever forgetting them.

He really is the one... We need him, and he needs us. I can’t leave him behind. I couldn’t possibly disappear. I have to be by his side forever and always...

Koutarou’s words and the warmth from his hand told Harumi just how important he was to her. He was her world. But it wasn’t just the two of them in that world. Koutarou and all nine girls each needed things from each other. And they needed to be with each other—together—for that world to feel whole. That’s how connected they were. Putting her faith in that, Harumi squeezed his hand back.

“...Thank you, Satomi-kun.”

“Let’s go. We have to find everyone else.”

“Yes!”

Harumi nodded and began walking next to Koutarou, still firmly holding on to his hand.

This is fine, isn’t it, Alaia-san...? This was your wish, but it’s mine too. For everyone to always be by Satomi-kun’s... by Layous-sama’s side...

Harumi felt like everything had now fallen into its rightful place. Her wishes and Alaia’s coincided. And that wasn’t all. The other girls wished for the same thing, and it was all within reach. There was only one problem left—their absence. If they could just resolve that, everything would be perfect. As long as they could do that, no matter what hardships might befall them, they could support each other and live together with smiles on their faces.

“Ah...”

And so Harumi’s body began glowing. The moment she noticed the pure white glow, she understood why it had appeared. After all, it had come from within her.

“So the trial began because all of our wishes came true! Because we believed that was our everything!”

The light surrounding her wasn’t anyone else’s doing. It was Harumi’s light. And with the proper conditions satisfied, it began overflowing from within.

“Senpai, what are you talking about?!”

But even though Harumi understood, Koutarou was in the dark. He was simply shaken upon realizing that Harumi’s time had come.

“Layous-sama, everything else is up to you! Don’t deny the true wish inside of your heart! If you pray for it to come true, I’m sure we’ll meet again!”

Like with the other eight girls before her, Harumi didn’t have much time left once the light appeared. Her figure was already beginning to fade. It would only be a matter of seconds. That’s why she was desperate.

“Everything was for this moment!”

“Sakuraba-senpai?!”

“Crossing endless time and immeasurable distance... It was all so that you—that we—could reach this conclusion!”

After meeting, Koutarou and the girls had confronted all manner of difficult trials together, leading them to understand and need one another. That’s why the girls disappeared. Because if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to see the true emotion lying hidden underneath it all.

“Please don’t forget! We—”

For the briefest moment, it looked as though the eight other colors were shining past Harumi’s white light. Like Harumi herself was overlapping with them.

“We love you!”

With those words as her last, Harumi disappeared from sight. The last Koutarou saw of her was her loving smile—he couldn’t tell if it was Harumi’s or Alaia’s.

Koutarou was assaulted by the pain of losing everything. The loss was far greater than just Harumi. But with her disappearance, the weight of losing all of the girls came crashing down on him at once. His desire to protect her had kept his grief and his pain in check, but there was nothing holding them back now. And those dark, terrible feelings rekindled the tragic memories of watching his mother die right in front of him.

“AAAAAHHHHHHHH!”

The fact that he’d finally accepted the girls and started to believe in a future with them when they disappeared made their loss all the more unbearable. It was like the floor had disappeared from underneath him. Like his soul was being sucked out of him. And it wasn’t quick, or even finite. The pain renewed itself, the loss repeating over and over in his mind. It was endless. He lost himself in it—forgetting where he was, what he was doing, and even to breathe. It was like a constant state of drowning. Pure torture. As if to escape from it, as if to make himself feel anything else, he fell to his knees and slammed his fist into the ground.

Slam, thud, crack.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Yet no matter how many times he hurled his fist into the pavement hard enough to break it, it did nothing to distract him from the pain in his heart. But he couldn’t stop trying. In spite of his busted and bloody knuckles, he couldn’t stop swinging his fist.

“Please come this way! Th-There’s an application form to fill out!”

“Actually, it appears in this room... The rumors say it’s a ghost.”

“Now get scared and leave, you dimwit! This place is haunted!”

“I’m the princess of love and courage, Magical Girl Rainbow Yurika! I will protect the peace of this town!”

“First off, I would like to apologize. I am deeply sorry for appearing in such a way.”

“Waaaaah! D-Don’t fondle them more, idiot!”

“Who would bring out a wide-area destructive weapon intended for space combat for a childish reason like that?”

“That’s why I keep telling you that you’re simple-minded, Theiamillis-san!”

“There’s no need to worry. I actually wanted to take up cosplay properly.”

Try as he might, the physical pain couldn’t make him forget the pain in his heart. If anything, it seemed to be bringing back memories starting with when they first met. And each swing of his fist brought him closer to the present.

“Layous Fatra Veltlion. In this urgent situation without an empress, I, Princess Clariossa, will act in her place. This is a royal command. As a knight of Forthorthe, do what you must!”

“I thought something was strange. Why had all the armor’s data been erased...? If you had just been thrown out of the universe, there would have been no need to do that.”

“So please tell me, Koutarou! Is the owner of this necklace still happy? He’s not feeling lonely... is he?”

“Okay, then I’ll just say it. Here goes... I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you—”

“I’ll pray, but it won’t be for your victory. I’ll simply pray that your future will be bright forever and ever...”

“...So win, Satomi-kun! I will protect you! From any enemy and any trial!”

“That’s not what I meant! Why can’t we just take a little more time to confirm our bond and love?! Physical contact is important, you know?!”

“Koutarou, Harumi, Ruth, and everyone who isn’t here... Please live together with me. Whatever path we find ourselves on, walk hand in hand with me.”

“You just saved me. You saved me all by yourself, without borrowing anyone else’s power. You’re not powerless. Stay confident. You definitely have the power to save others.”

When they’d first met, Koutarou and the girls had been in constant conflict with each other. But by the end of their first year together, they were all holding hands. And by the close of the second, they had become irreplaceable to one another. Even Koutarou, who had once rejected bonding with others, had begun to believe in a future with the girls.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!”

But that was all taken from him in the blink of an eye. The future he’d envisioned was snatched away. Despair wasn’t enough to describe it. There was no way something as petty as a few broken knuckles would take his mind off of it. But even then, he couldn’t stop throwing his fist. Because if he didn’t do something, he felt like he would be absolutely crushed by his suffering.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Thud. Splat.

No one was there. No one to comfort him. No one to even bear witness to his loss. Koutarou was left all alone in the middle of a seemingly infinite darkness. It was just him and his bloodied fist. The people who should have been there to hold him back and support him were nowhere to be found.

Kashiwagi Shiori coming across Koutarou on the promenade was purely by chance. She felt it was fate at work since she’d just been thinking about wanting to see him, but all such romantic notions went flying out the window the moment she saw Koutarou’s fist covered in blood, as did her natural shyness. She knew Koutarou well enough to know that something was seriously wrong. And she couldn’t just stand by and watch.

“Satomi-kun! Don’t hurt yourself like that!”

Running immediately over to him, Shiori grabbed hold of Koutarou’s arm just as he was about to swing it into the ground again, which proved to be rather dangerous. Koutarou had completely lost sight of himself and his surroundings. As such, he continued to swing his arm, unaware that someone had even grabbed him.

“Kyah!”

Shiori was sent flying and hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of her. But it didn’t faze her. She got right back up and ran over to Koutarou again.

“Stop it, Satomi-kun! You’re going to break your hand!”

This time she intentionally put herself in harm’s way, throwing herself at Koutarou to stop his fist.

Wham!

“Ugh!”

It struck her in the side, which felt far worse than being thrown.

Satomi-kun is hitting the ground with this much force... I have to stop him!

But she endured the pain and used her momentum to knock him over. If she didn’t stop him somehow, he would only end up hurting himself. Rather than her own safety, that was all that was on her mind.

Whump!

Shiori squeezed her eyes shut and stayed still for a moment. It was partially because of the pain of hitting the ground with Koutarou, but also because she was afraid his fist might come flying again.

“...”

But it seemed he’d fallen still as well. And upon realizing he wasn’t moving, Shiori fearfully opened her eyes.

“...Satomi-kun?”

Shiori had fallen on top of Koutarou. His face was right in front of hers, and he was looking right at her. No... He was looking past her, staring up at the blue sky and white clouds. But Shiori knew that he wasn’t actually looking at anything. His empty eyes were rejecting the world.

It’s like he’s back to how he used to be in elementary school...

This side of Koutarou was familiar to Shiori. It was how he’d acted all throughout their early grade school years.

I wonder what happened. Did someone precious to him... No, that’s not what’s important right now! I just have to do something!

You see, in the world where the nine invaders didn’t exist, Shiori and Koutarou’s relationship was a little different. Upon realizing that Koutarou had a wall around his heart when they entered high school, Shiori had begun actively trying to break that down. It was something she’d only had the courage to do in a world where the invaders weren’t around, because she told herself she was the only one who could do it. And so over the past two years, Shiori and Koutarou had gotten closer to one another. Of course, the boy before her right now didn’t remember any of that. But it was all Shiori knew.

“You can’t do that, Satomi-kun... You’ll worry everyone.”

Shiori pulled a towel that she used for club activities out from her bag and began wiping off Koutarou’s hand, not minding getting blood on it in the slightest. Once she’d cleaned off all the blood and dirt, she used her handkerchief as a makeshift bandage to wrap his hand.

“...Kashiwagi, who’s ‘everyone’? Everyone’s gone... There’s no one left to worry about me...”

Even as Shiori was treating him, Koutarou had been silent. It was like he wasn’t paying any attention to her or what she was doing. But for some reason, he had reacted to her use of the word “everyone.”

“What are you saying, Satomi-kun? Didn’t you make a promise with everyone that you’d go to nationals this year?!”

It seemed that the “everyone” Shiori was referring to meant the baseball team. You see, in a world without the invaders, Koutarou was still playing baseball. During their first year of high school, Shiori had become the baseball team’s manager and convinced the reluctant Koutarou to join.

“‘Just because we’ve lost once or twice doesn’t mean we will forever! I believe in you guys! So you guys believe in our future!’ That’s what you told them, Satomi-kun! And if you break your hand, who’s going to pitch for them?!”

“Kashiwagi... I see, so if they hadn’t been there, I...”

Thanks to what Shiori said, Koutarou was able to understand what was going on. He was no longer in a world where the invaders of room 106 existed—this was one of the many parallel universes that Clan had mentioned. Somehow, he’d ended up here with all of the girls gone.

So what Shiori was saying... must have been the words of the Koutarou she knew. But hearing them, the current Koutarou knew that wasn’t something he would have said two years ago. No, in order to say something like that, he’d need to have faith in other people and believe in the future for himself. That was a change that had only been effected in his life after meeting the invaders, so in this world, it must have been Shiori and his eight teammates who’d saved him.

“We won’t always fail, huh...? That’s true. And they believe in our future. I can’t just sit around here...”

Hearing those words—his own words from this timeline—gave him strength. It wasn’t over yet. He was in the midst of gloom now, but it couldn’t keep raining forever. And most importantly of all, there were people that believed in Koutarou and a happy future. People who were counting on him. He couldn’t let them down. And so, Koutarou stood up.

“Thank you, Kashiwagi. I remembered something important thanks to you.”

Once he got to his feet, Koutarou bowed to Shiori. He didn’t know what was going to happen next, so he made sure to properly thank her before they parted ways.

“You don’t need to thank me. Your right hand doesn’t just belong to you, Satomi-kun. It’s a part of everyone’s dream, remember?”

“You’re absolutely right. I was an idiot.”

“Your emotional side comes out from time to time, so I always have to keep an eye on you.”

“Kashiwagi... You know me really well, don’t you?”

“I’ve been watching over you for a long time now, you know. I know all about you—good sides and bad. Heehee...”

Seeing Koutarou’s willpower restored, Shiori flashed a satisfied smile—one different from any smile he’d ever seen on her lips before. It was a sign of just how close they were in this world.

Huh... Yeah, maybe she would know!

Seeing her smile at him like that, Koutarou was struck with a revelation. And he didn’t waste any time asking Shiori about it.

“Kashiwagi! Did something unusual happen to me right around the time we started high school?!”

In the world Koutarou had come from with the invaders, it was hard to tell where the beginning proper was due to the timeslip. But that shouldn’t have happened in this world, so things might be a little more definitive. And Shiori, who’d always lived here and had been watching over Koutarou, might know something about it.

“Something unusual? Well, thinking back to when we started high school...”

Shiori put her right hand on her cheek and began thinking. But then she frowned apologetically.

“Only one thing comes to mind.”

“What is it?!”

“Well, it’s nothing big, but... I think it was the day before the entrance ceremony? You, Mackenzie-kun, and the others were playing baseball at the top of the hill, and you had to be rushed to the hospital because you hit your head. You remember that, don’t you?”

“The day before the entrance ceremony? I think I do...”

Koutarou also had a memory of being taken to the hospital, but it didn’t have anything to do with baseball. He’d had to go because he’d fallen and hit his head on the job at the excavation worksite.

I see, that ruin only existed because I traveled to Forthorthe in the past! It was built by the alchemists I exiled, after all! But if I never went to past Forthorthe in this world, they never would have come here! That means there’s no dig, so Mackenzie and I must work somewhere else! But even then, I still hit my head there and was taken to the hospital!

It was a strange coincidence. The reasons were totally different, but he’d hit his head in the same place and had to be taken to the hospital on the same day—in two completely separate timelines. It was so strange, in fact, that Kiriha would surely say it had to be more than just a coincidence. It was a sign of something greater at work. There had to be a reason for it.

“Satomi-kun?”

“Kashiwagi, I really owe you one. Thanks to you, I still have a hope.”

Since the dig site hill had been just outside the circle the haniwas projected, Koutarou hadn’t bothered investigating it. But thinking back on it, they’d said there was a small margin of error in their estimate. That meant the hill might be within the real search area after all, so Koutarou was planning on heading there next.

“Really? I’m glad I could be of help.”

“Sorry, but I’m in the middle of something important, Kashiwagi, so I have to go now. See you tomorrow, right?”

“Tomorrow? Oh, that’s right. Tomorrow’s the opening ceremony, isn’t it? Yeah, see you then.”

“See you.”

“Bye-bye, Satomi-kun.”

Koutarou then took off. His destination, of course, was none other than the top of the hill where Harukaze High was. But after getting a short way away, Koutarou stopped and turned around.

“Oh, and Kashiwagi...”

“Yeah?”

Shiori hadn’t moved at all. She was simply watching him go. As such, they stood facing each other roughly ten steps apart.

“I might say some weird stuff tomorrow, like that I don’t remember meeting you here. But that’s not because the me of tomorrow is weird... It’s because the me of today is. So don’t take it personally; it’s not like I’m trying to be mean or anything. Just treat me like normal, even if I say something odd, okay?”

Under normal circumstances, this meeting between Koutarou and Shiori would have been impossible, so Koutarou wanted to do what he could to make sure it didn’t have any strange effects on this world. It wasn’t all that different from when he’d traveled to the past with Clan.

“So you really aren’t the same Satomi-kun I know...”

Shiori’s response floored Koutarou. Apparently she’d realized that something was different about him.

“You knew, Kashiwagi?!”

“Yeah. The way you looked at me was different...”

“I see...”

Koutarou only really remembered Shiori from elementary school, but this version of Shiori had been friends with him for two years. Of course the Koutarou of this world would look at her differently.

“That, and you called me Kashiwagi.”

“That’s your name.”

“Yes, it is... Heehee. But after the tournament last summer, you started calling me Shiori.”

Shiori smiled happily as she revealed her secret to Koutarou. She couldn’t help but find a certain mischievous amusement in his confusion.

“That’s... No wonder you noticed.”

He smiled too. Indeed, even the thickheaded Koutarou understood what she meant by that. In this world, Shiori and Koutarou were dating.

“Then why did you bother helping me and hearing me out? You knew that I was someone different, didn’t you?”

“It’s complicated... You might not be my Satomi-kun, but you’re still Satomi-kun.”

Shiori flashed a troubled smile. Her intuition told her that the boy in front of her wasn’t her boyfriend, but he was still very clearly Koutarou. It was a confusing situation. Fortunately, Koutarou had helped explain things, and she took him at his word. While she might not have been dating this version of Koutarou, she knew him well enough to know he wasn’t the type to lie about serious things.

“So that’s why you believed me...”

“Yeah. And... there’s something I want to ask you, too.”

“Go ahead. I’ll answer anything.”

If the Koutarou of this world had chosen Shiori, he trusted his own judgment and had faith that he could tell her what she wanted to know without worry.

“If you’re not mine... then whose Satomi-kun are you?”

It was a simple and earnest, yet incredibly complicated question. But of course the Shiori of this world would be interested in knowing, so Koutarou smiled wryly as he tried his best to answer her.

“Whose...? Huh, that’s a tricky one. There’s more than one girl that’s helped me out. That’s why they’re all precious to me... and I can’t decide. Even Mackenzie is yelling at me to make up my mind.”

“I see. So those girls are who you’re going to save?”

“Yeah... You really do understand me, don’t you?”

“Heehee, of course I do.”

When Shiori first came across Koutarou, he was in a dark place. He looked like he’d lost something very important, and his grief was apparent in his actions. She’d run to his side because he was the boy she loved.

“All right... I’m really going this time.”

“Sure. See you tomorrow, Satomi-kun.”

Shiori could tell that no matter what happened from here, she would never meet this Koutarou again. This Koutarou wasn’t her Koutarou, after all. That was the natural way of things. But she still felt a little sad, which was why she told him she’d see him again.

“Yeah, see you tomorrow!”

Koutarou felt the same way, and reassured her in kind. Regardless of what happened from here, it was nicer to think of things that way.

“Good luck! Go save them, okay?!”

“And you guys get to nationals! That’s my dream too, you know!”

“Yeah! I’ll drag you there with us!”

They were both aiming for tomorrow. A bright future. They were just fortunate enough to have a chance encounter on the way there, which is why they were able to part with smiles on their faces.