Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru - Volume 2 - Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

Towards the end, the ark of Hope.

"So, it’s very likely that Alicia’s in that lab facility?"

We’re on a boat, moving through the waves, and I affirmed our actions to be made with Siesta.

"Yes, of course. She’s probably there to let her body recover."

Siesta took a sip of tea off her favorite cup, and confirmed my question.

The boat had been shaking the entire time, but she never spilled a single drop as she elegantly enjoyed her tea time. It should be difficult to maintain such a casual attitude, considering the importance of the mission…but common sense never suited this famous detective.

It was five days after the tragedy at the church.

We went to a certain island in a certain sea controlled by ?SPES?.

Our objective was clear??we were going to slay Hel and get Alicia back.

But of course, the two of them were the same person.

I didn’t know if there was any way to solve this contradiction, to defeat Hel and save Alicia. But despite that,

"It’s fine, I got a plan."

Siesta tried to act calm to erase my uneasiness.

She never told me nor Charl the specifics of the plan. But this was how Siesta usually did so. That was how we spent the last three years. So, this time, surely??

"Anyway, that’s how it is. I hope that you and Charl will head over to the facility."

"Charl and me…well, that aside, what are you going to do, Siesta?"

"I’ll look around the area. According to our intel, this place is akin to a military training ground."

Siesta then opened what appeared to be a very old map.

It seemed the intel here was obtained from Bat, who was locked in Japan. He was supposed to be an enemy?and of course the situation hadn’t changed. However, like many others, he might have succumbed to this famous detective if he was to actually provide assistance. Well, he really helped us out.

"Wait for us, Alicia."

Alicia was somewhere on this island…or Hel. I didn’t know if the treatment Chameleon spoke of was completed, or maybe she hadn’t regained consciousness. Anyway, we had to hurry and find her.

"Haa, but I want to be with Ma'am."

And so Charl puffed her cheeks childishly.

We had a dispute not too long ago, and this should have been settled…

"Hmm, but I’m not too confident about letting Assistant handle this alone."

Siesta coaxed Charl like a mother. But the message to me was basically ‘you are unreliable’. That was too harsh to remember.

"Ma'am, are you really going to be fine alone?"

Charl asked, her eyes shaking. She probably was scared of Hel’s returned personality and regained abilities after the latter had potentially recovered. In fact, when we fought Hel in London, she nearly hurt Siesta.

But,

"It’s fine."

I could sense that Siesta was a little casual about this, and she smiled at Charl.

"Hel’s heart shouldn’t be able to work for the time being."

After she lost to Siesta, Hel became ?Jack the Devil?, and stole five hearts. The reason why she had to keep looking for new hearts was because they did not suit her body..

But that was to be expected. Nobody’s a perfect donor to others?the only unique part about this case was that Hel was an ?Android?.

At this point, Hel had been using new hearts like batteries, and after the fifth was worn out, she would try to obtain a sixth?which Siesta and I saw.

That’s why Hel should have a fifth heart that was on the verge of being destroyed. She was so weak at this point, Siesta should be able to defeat her. And if there was a way to save Alicia’s consciousness…no, Siesta probably had a plan for that.

"We’re finally at this point."

It’s been a month since we met Hel, and in other words, Alicia.

It’s been three years since I started battling ?SPES?, huh?

I guess we probably could have closure to this long journey. I felt tense, even though I didn’t want to.

"Are you nervous?"

Siesta put down her tea cup, and asked me.

"Just riled up for battle."

"Oh, so you’re shaking."

"In a good sense, you know?"

"Pfft."

"Charl, shut up."

"Assistant, shall I pat your head?"

"Ma'am, I’m scared…"

"Now you’re getting scary."

Charl leaned close to Siesta’s lap. I had seen this scene countless times.

"What about you?"

Siesta gently patted Charl’s blond hair, and tilted her head at me..

"You idiot, how can I possibly do something embarrassing?"

It’s right before the final battle, so how could I do anything without tension.

"……Hmph."

And then, Charl seemed to have thought of something, for she moved away from Siesta’s knees,

"I’ll let you have it."

No, even if you let me do that, even though this is all set up for me, I,

"Come here."

Siesta spread her arms wide, and smiled.

"…That’s quite an exaggerated pose for a headpat, you know?"

"It’s a rare chance, so I want to hug you."

So what happened to all the tension?

…No, was I being nervous? But that’s just overdoing it.

"Huh, you’re not coming here?"

"Don’t push yourself into a guy’s clutches like it’s to be expected."

"You really have quite the unique expression."

Oh whatever, so Siesta said, and put her hands down.

"Well then, someday."

"You think I’ll give you such a chance?"

Saying that, we suddenly laughed.

That’s fine for us. It’s just Siesta and me.

"Seems it’s about time."

Siesta narrowed her eyes towards the island.

Right over there was the final destination of our journey of three years.

I heard the sounds of the engine and the winds

Soon after, we arrived at the port of the island (even though it’s just a coast), unloaded, and got onto land.

"I’ll be off then."

"Ma'am, be careful."

Charl held Siesta’s hands, and I…lost to Siesta’s silent pressure, so I merely reached my right hand to tap.

"See you later."

And then, we focused on our last mission.

"The wind feels good."

Even in such a situation, I couldn’t help but say so while I felt the breeze blow by.

I could sense the smell of the tide.

"The research facility is in this direction, right?"

Charl asked in a louder voice than usual.

"Yeah, looking at the map, we should go this way."

And so I answered with a louder voice.

The reason for that was that we were riding on a bike together, towards our destination.

This bike was just large enough to fit in a boat, but it was necessary for our operation to proceed smoothly. We shouldn’t remain in the hive of ?SPES? for too long.

"…Anyway, isn’t this the reverse?"

Charl, who didn’t have a helmet, glanced behind for a moment, and said so.

"Reverse?"

"My position and yours, Kimizuka!"

She’s angry for some reason.

That’s weird, I probably didn’t do anything wrong.

"Usually, shouldn’t it be the guy driving in such situations!?"

I see. Both of us were riding on a bike together, and she’s unhappy that she had to do the driving.

"Well, I don’t have a license."

"Loser."

"Don’t associate me with you when you come from America."

The laws are different. The laws.

"……And."

"And?"

"D-don’t be so close."

She glanced behind at me, and pursed her lips.

It seemed that she was concerned by the fact that I was grabbing her waist.

"But I’m scared."

"Why’s it the guy who’s scared when two people are biking together?"

"I don’t know why I feel relaxed by hugging your waist."

"We got the worst sex offender in history here."

We continued with our stupid conversation, and moved down the road against the wind..

There was no one to be seen across the massive horizon. I could see white lens windmills afar. Since there’s electricity and energy generated here, there should be some form of artificial civilization.

"Just now."

Charl spoke to me without slowing down.

"Couldn’t you have let Ma'am hug you?"

Since you want to hug after all, she said, mocking my current situation.

"Are you stupid? How can I possibly do such an embarrassing thing?"

"But you’re doing such an embarrassing thing."

"Well, I don’t care about what you think, Charl."

"I’ll shake you off."

Well, that’s what I’m thinking of doing , so Charl said.

Don’t change directions that quickly then. I’ll really die. Stop it.

"But you’ll regret it if you’re that stubborn."

Charl noted with a serious tone.

"After all, you only have Ma'am."

I only had Siesta.

And?I wanted to refute that, but I couldn’t say those words.

If Siesta wasn’t around.

I was about to think of this possible scenario…but I gave up.

There’s no need for me to think of this possible scenario today.

I should focus on the operation that would happen later.

"Siesta doesn’t just have me though."

So I said in jest, wanting to obfuscate.

"Siesta has you, Charl, and many other companions. I’m nothing special…"

"That’s not true."

However, Charl said with a melancholic voice.

"Ma'am only has you."

I didn’t know how to respond to these words, and could only listen to the sounds of the engine and the winds..

SPES

We soon arrived at the research lab, which was dim, and we cautiously advanced, even though we were a little anxious.

We had no map to this facility, and could only fumble forward. To be honest, we didn’t know if Alicia…or rather, Hel, was at this place. If we couldn’t find anything after looking around for a little while, we had to hurry and regroup with Siesta.

"Nobody’s…here."

Charl descended the stairs, and warily looked around.

"Yeah. I’m prepared for two or three battles, at least."

But if they allowed us to invade so easily…maybe it’s an empty base?

In that case, it seemed there’s a high possibility of Siesta encountering the enemy.

"Kimizuka."

Charl tugged at my sleeve “Over there”, and pointed there. Right there was a cargo elevator. We approached it, and found that it could move, somehow.

"Shall we ride it?"

Charl nodded, and we went further down together. The elevator doors quickly opened, and right before our eyes was??

"……! This, is…"

A sea of blood.

And there were severely damaged corpses that caused me to want to cover my eyes.

"Uu…"

The devastation was such that even Charl, who should be used to such scenes, had to cover her mouth. We couldn’t just leave though. A man sat upon the pile of corpses, like it was a throne.

"Are you Cerberus……?"

It was a strong man in his prime, dressed in black robes. The sight of that really was similar to Cerberus, whom we battled a month or so ago.

"…No, that’s impossible."

Both Siesta and I were sure of it. Cerberus was killed right before our eyes?by Hel. In that case,

"Do you think I am Hel, who transformed into this state after inheriting Cerberus’ ability?"

The man said, as though he had read my heart.

"Too bad, that was a misassumption. I am not Cerberus, nor am I Hel."

And then, the man’s silhouette was distorted, and appearing before us next was.

"Aha, do you remember this fellow?"

"……! Bat……!"

"Ohhh, nice reaction."

His tone changed accordingly with this appearance. It was as though Cerberus and Bat appeared before us.

"Then, who are you anyway!?"

Charl brandished her gun, and pointed it at the man.

Yes, even though he had transformed into Cerberus and Bat, who exactly was this guy??

"The parent."

The man continued to masquerade as Bat, but he answered us as someone else’s personality.

"parent……? Cerberus and Bat?"

"Yes, Cerberus and Bat,"

So he said as he looked down at the pile of corpses with his rotten emerald eyes.

"……! Then, are you?"

Charl shook a little while she held the handgun.

He had the ability to transform at will. There’s no doubt that was the true identity of the fake Fuubi who appeared before Siesta, Alicia and me. Also, that fake was probably the leader of ?SPES? ?as Siesta had said.

"We met this guy without Siesta around…this isn’t funny…"

Well, it’s probably…my nature of getting into trouble at work again.

If I didn’t joke about this at my own expense, I’d have difficulty controlling my shaking body.

"Will a parent kill his children?"

Like Charl, I aimed my gun at the enemy leader several meters away.

"What are you saying? I can kill them because I am their parent, you know?"

……I-it’s horrible. Is he Hel? I couldn't converse with him. No, I didn’t want to either.

"These are all children. The ones bore by I. Freedom is mine to do whatever I please to them."

Am I wrong? The fake Bat tilted his head, as though he felt nothing was amiss with what he said.

"Did I come across a timeline where males can give birth or something?"

I joked to buy some time, and frantically pondered over how I should act after this?but,

"Are you trying to confine me to male or female…the parameters of a human?"

"Yeah, are you not a human, but a monster?"

"No."

After that, the biggest enemy we had to defeat bluntly stated its nature.

"A ?plant?."

The sudden truth revealed to us caused Charl and I to exchange looks?but we only had troubled looks.

What’s it saying?

A plant? It said it’s a ?plant? ?

"Of course, to categorize according to what you say?a plant who came to this planet through an asteroid?? ?SEED?. Neither human, nor monster am I."

…Oy oy, what’s with the expansion of scale in this conversation?

A plant from space? An invader?

Spare me already…what exactly are we fighting?

"…So are the other ?Androids? really plants?"

"The term ?Android? is presumptuously coined by your kind. I, or them, were just plants since the beginning?see, such a thing you have seen before, no?"

The next instant, a long ?feeler? grew out of SEED’s right ear. It was like Bat during that incident three years ago…on that flight. The thing we saw as a ?feeler? back then was basically the root of a plant.

"! What’s your true objective? Why did ?SPES? cause terrorist attacks?"

Charl aimed her gun at SEED’s ?root?, and questioned.

Siesta had always been pursuing the secret organization ?SPES? ??the Latin word for ?hope?. Hope aside, this guy’s been spreading despair everywhere. It believed in the ridiculous book, the ?Bible?, caused terrorist attacks everywhere, and kept robbing innocents of their lives.

"SEED, answer me. Is it world conquest? Or immortality? Or seeking knowledge? Or is it something unexpectedly, like an impulsive urge to destroy? No, or do you view it as your mission, like Hel? Oy, what exactly is your objective? If you’re a ?plant? from another planet, what do you want to do on this Earth?"

Now, come on. I thought of all the worst possible motives possible. No matter the answer I get, I’ll refute with logic and bullets. So I steeled myself, and held the grip of the gun firmly.

"To survive."

And once I heard this blunt answer devoid of hesitation, I nearly…dropped my gun immediately.

"……Just, to survive?"

"Yes, the objective of ours is one."

And then, I didn’t know what it was thinking, but the ?root? that grew from SEED’s ear chopped off its right wrist, and said,

"Surface of the Planet Exploding SEEDs??we want to cover our ?seeds? over this entire plant."

The true evil

"This is the true meaning of ?SPES?, the true objective…"

While I was completely dumbfounded, its right hand quickly regrew from the severed area. At the same time, the severed right hand on the floor started to rebuild a new body. It didn’t take a humanoid shape completely, but the body was starting to take shape..

"It’s like a plant cutting…"

"Yes, it is."

"Charl, if you don’t know, don’t nod away while looking like you do."

"…I just think this serious part is too long. Just want to ease the mood, you know?"

Stop lying. The fact that you’re an idiot is already known to all.

"A plant cutting is basically a part cut from the mother plant, the roots are grown, and they are propagated. In other words??"

"Plant, cloning?"

That’s how it was. That was why SEED proclaimed itself as the parent. All the members of ?SPES? were his clones. SEED was the original source of these ?Androids?.

That was why SEED could transform into Cerberus and Bat, and also use their abilities. No, one might say SEED transferred its abilities to them.

"I was a ?plant? who coincidentally came to this planet??in other words, the ?primal seed?. For animals and plants, the primal desire for all Life is to grow descendents. Thus I created clones through my own body, scattered my scatters all over the world, and sought to germinate them."

"……! So you’re saying this is your motive for killing innocent people?"

"They are a hindrance to the spreading of the seeds. There is a need to eliminate the alien lifeforms that are human. Is there a problem?"

"Aren’t you all the aliens!?"

Without thinking, I started shooting at the ?roots? grown from SEED?but,

"They were born just minutes ago, but it seems the instinct to protect the parent remains functional."

The right wrist SEED just lopped off stood up, taking the form of a mudman ?Android?, and formed a shield against the bullet. Then, it fell over like a puppet that had its strings severed.

"…Doesn’t your heart hurt?"

I looked towards the other companions surrounding SEED. It said it wanted its species to prosper, but that was the complete opposite of what it wanted.

"A necessary sacrifice, it is to ensure the survival of the species. Worry not, for these ?seeds? were surely not wasted."

SEED said as it took out something resembling a black stone from the collapsed clone. It resembled the thing Hel extracted from Cerberus’ left chest the last time.

"?Seed? ……? That stone, you mean?"

I remember that back then, Siesta said that the ?Androids? were created with that thing as the core. So that’s what SEED meant when it called itself the ?primal seed?.

"Yes. And of the companions who became remains, part of their ?seeds?, have been inherited in that thing."

"……! Hel,……?"

That was what Chameleon meant by the treatment…that their companions’ ?seeds? were transplanted to Hel…no wonder I couldn’t see anyone after coming here.

"Where’s Hel right now?"

According to him, she might no longer be Alicia, and reverted to being Hel. In that case, we had to defeat Hel as quickly as possible, and figure out a way to save Alicia’s personality.

"Since she’s not here, there’s only one place we can think of, right?"

……, Siesta!?

"Kimizuka! Ma'am!"

"Ahh, I get it. Let’s hurry."

We were about to hurry and backtrack, but at that moment.

"Do you think I will simply allow you to escape?"

I heard an unpleasant, affable tone from somewhere, which I had heard before.

"Chameleon……!"

The man who took Alicia before our eyes.

We couldn’t see him, probably because he was using his ability. But he was definitely in this room.

"Haha, looks like I can enjoy myself here."

Here too?……Wait.

"Kimizuka!"

Charl pointed her gun at a space, and signaled me with a look.

"Ahh, I get it."

Chameleon’s words would imply that he had a battle elsewhere. In other words, he battled us Siesta while we were working independently. But Chameleon showed up here, so maybe…but how could Siesta lose to this guy?

No, wait. Yeah. If he was with the revived Hel?

"Kimizuka, leave this to me."

Charl prompted me to hurry over to Siesta.

"I’ll hold them off. So hurry ??"

"I will be troubled if you ignore me."

Chameleon’s voice seemed like it was changing positions. Thus, we wouldn’t even know when he would attack, let alone where he would block up. There was about ten meters to the door, so how should we get this??

"Do you intend to interrupt the parent’s words?"

SEED vanished before our eyes.

"Gyaaa!"

And immediately, we heard Chameleon’s scream.

After that, we saw Chameleon for the first time. Silver hair, an aloof Asian face. That Chameleon was lifted by SEED’s right hand by the neck, dangling in the air.

"It is I who talks. Why do you interrupt?"

"…A-apologies…"

Chameleon barely eked a voice, and there was a liquid of a certain color oozing from his mouth.

"You only live as the escort of that?do not get carried away."

SEED said, grabbed Chameleon by the neck, and slammed him onto the floor.

It definitely didn’t do that to protect us. It was merely a parent punishing its child for such unruliness?but,

"SEED, why do you tell us so much about ?SPES? ?"

Basically, what are you doing here? You killed off all your companions just to let Hel live, so why are you still here? If you’re the leader of ?SPES?, SEED, shouldn’t you usually be the one defeating Siesta?

And while I naturally had such a question, SEED instead ,

"If there is a bias to a certain side, the plan shall not be established."

The inscrutable words were said, and it suddenly vanished before our eyes.

"So it can use Chameleon’s ability too…?"

But where did it go? I hope not to Siesta….

"Kimizuka, right now."

Charl pointed her gun at the fallen Chameleon, and got me to move on.

"Damn, it……!"

But Chameleon grimaced as he stumbled to his feet. His body started to blur, and he became a formless invader wandering around, eyeing us.

"I’m tired of facing the same move again."

Charl then fired at the empty space.

"……! Nice instincts."

It was Chameleon’s voice. That bullet that seemed to be fired randomly grazed the enemy?

"Instinct? Heh, for a reptile, you really can joke."

“Go” Charl shot me a look, and squeezed the trigger again, saying,

"Your foul breath is too obvious."

I’ll never be able to lift up my head if a woman says so. With Charl covering me, I hurried off with a wry smile?and then,

"Kimizuka!"

Something was thrown into the air, so I caught it in my right hand. I opened my palm, and found a key.

I said I didn’t have a permit though.

"Next time, I’ll be at the back."

"…Sure, I’ll practice."

So please forgive me if I do wreck your prized vehicle today.

If once again, we could meet on this island.

I borrowed Charl’s bike, stepped on the gas, and hurried to the other end of the island. There was no ordinary citizen, no need to obey traffic rules, so I didn’t have any huge problems even though it was my first time driving. I just had the thought that I should hurry over to Siesta, even a second sooner, as I gripped the handlebars.

I really couldn’t imagine Siesta losing to someone like Chameleon. If it was the revived Hel however….

"……Dammit."

I was only thinking of the worst case scenario.

But if anything happened to Siesta, Charl and I alone wouldn’t be able to fight Hel. That would also mean that our plan to save Alicia would have failed. In other words, if Siesta died, Alicia couldn’t be saved. Thus, the utmost priority would be the ensure Siesta’s safety??

"…No, that’s not it."

Even without Alicia around, whenever Siesta was in danger?I would hurry over to her without hesitation.

"Guess I was really well trained."

I drove Charl’s beloved vehicle down, praying that I could get there.

"……! Siesta!"

When I encountered Siesta after two hours, I found her collapsed on the ground.

I dropped the bike there, and ran towards the partner I finally found.

"Siesta! Oy!"

I picked her up from the ground, and had her rest on my lap.

The little white face was stuck with sand, and I wiped them off with my fingertips as I called her name.

"You got to be kidding! Didn’t you promise that you wouldn’t die first!? Hey…!"

No, this isn’t it. I should calm down at such moments.

I needed to fulfill my tasks. I needed to calm down and act, so that I could save Siesta.

"You’ll let me off, right?"

I rolled my sleeves, and put my hands on Siesta’s chest while she was on the ground.

Right hand over left, elbows straightened, I pressed down using my weight.

"??5cm."

CPR wouldn’t work if I didn’t press deeply into the chest.

Because of the aforementioned nature of mine, strangely, it wasn’t the first time I had to save someone.

While being grateful for this coincidence, I pressed hard onto Siesta’s chest. She, who should be a strong person, felt so fleeting and delicate, like she was about to be damaged if I pressed a little too hard.

"Don’t you, die…!"

I continued to press Siesta’s chest with a certain rhythm.

Ten times, twenty…and then thirty.

After that, it was two times of artificial ventilation. I ensured that Siesta was breathing normally, pinched her nose, and took a deep breath.

"Do forgive me."

And I opened my eyes wide to ensure that I did not miss my target, so right when I was about to bring my face close to Siesta’s lips?

"I never thought you would come here."

The blue eyes opened wide.

"……Wooooahahhh! Y-you!"

I hurriedly jolted my head back, as though I was snapping my spine, and Siesta suddenly sat up.

"Hmmm, you actually came to me…I have to hand it to you for derailing my plans."

She said such ridiculous words, and dusted off the sand off her one piece dress.

"Is it because your love for me is heavier than I thought?"

"…I don’t know what happened, but please allow me to refute this analysis."

"Speaking of which, while it is fine of you to do CPR, you should usually check if the target is actually breathing naturally."

Siesta narrowed at me while I was still seated on the ground.

"Was your heart beating the entire time…?"

"No, it wasn’t."

"It actually stopped?!"

So why did she begrudge me?

"Ahh, that’s wrong."

Siesta waved her hand in denial.

"Not that the heart stopped, but I made it stop."

"…You made, it stop?"

I was a little lost as to what she was saying. For the time being, I held Siesta’s outstretched right hand, and stood up.

"No, I played dead because there was a somewhat troublesome enemy."

"…Three years passed, but I just want to ask. Who are you exactly."

I wasn't even shocked. I was so stunned, my knees buckled.

But, a troublesome enemy…I guess that’s how it was. Chameleon assumed that he had finished his mission of killing Siesta, huh.

"Well, I call it troublesome, but I simply do not get along with that."

Siesta then deliberately closed a blue eye.

But even so, was it possible to actually play dead, ordinarily?

"Seriously, what’s your body made of?"

I gave a wry smile, and was about to hit her with a karate chop,

"Huh"

…But by the time I realized it, I ended up butt first on the ground.

"What is it?"

"…No, it’s just."

Siesta tilted her head, and said,

"Did you twist your waist after you relaxed?"

Once you knew I was fine. So she said, and looked down slightly.

"Don’t laugh. And don’t act like you’re hesitant to say something."

"Can I really tell you what I really think?"

"No, stop. Don’t say it. I’m not listening even if it comes from you."

"I’m thinking that you’re rather cute ."

"Ahhh???! Ahh?????! I didn’t hear anything at all!"

Dammit, why did I have to suffer such humiliation? I worked so hard to ride a bike, which I had never done before…and was ready to do CPR…it’s weird, it’s really weird…

"So what shall I do? I guess I should pat your head after all."

"I strongly refuse!"

"Shall I hug you?"

"No way!"

"So based on what you did, I shall embrace you into my chest."

"Never, ever do such a casual thing to any other guy, okay?"

"Ah, but you just touched my chest."

Thirty times too, Siesta giggled.

"That's unreasonable. Siesta, are you trying to kill me socially?"

"Fufu, it is really enjoyable to tease you?really enjoyable."

"……Siesta?"

The smiling face suddenly gave way to some melancholy.

I looked at that face, and released everything. I had seen her sidelong face over the past three years. Did something happen? Or was something going to happen. I knew that very well, and I hated it.

"Siesta."

"What?"

"I guess I should enjoy that chest once again."

I stood up, and turned behind.

There was a girl standing there.

"Once we survive and get off this island, that is."

Rematch

"Which one??are you?"

I asked the girl who stood there after I turned back.

"You should understand now that you see this, no?"

Red eyes, red military uniform, several swords hanging by the waist. There was no doubt, the name of the person whom we had a deathmatch against in London was,

"Hel……"

She’s not Alicia. Standing before us was Hel?the enemy we had to defeat..

"I guess your treatment is completed?by sacrificing the lives of your companions."

Siesta stood next to me and stared at Hel grimly. Since she knew this, I guess she heard that from Chameleon just now.

"Companions? Who are you referring to as companions?"

Hel tilted her head, seemingly not knowing what we were saying at all.

I saw that expression not too long ago. It’s the same expression SEED showed when I questioned it about whether it felt guilty for killing its children.

"You really don’t know?"

Was that truly the difference between ?humans? and ?plants? ? Was the propagation of the ?seed? of utmost priority?

"So, where’s Chameleon? You worked together with him in London…"

"That was simply a means to disguise my purpose, which I did."

Hel bluntly stated.

"That thing too probably felt the same. Chameleon never had any thoughts about me as an individual. Surely to that, I was just marked with a red uniform."

…Speaking of which, when Alicia appeared from Hel’s body, it took Chameleon weeks to find him. These guys never thought of anyone else as an individual, leaving aside Bat and Cerberus who had keen ears and noses.

"Thus, I do not have any interest in your little buddy game."

So Hel said as she stared down coldly at Siesta and me with her red eyes.

"…That is quite a murky sentence from you."

Siesta then stood up next to me, and faced Hel, who was several meters away.

"What do you really want to say?"

"No, nothing at all? I was just thinking that you really got along with her."

She…as in, Alicia? Hel probably saw it as companions playing house with each other.

"Yeah. That’s why we came here to save Alicia."

"I know. So you have to kill me."

The next moment, the ground shook. Several thorns grew from the ground, thorny vines.

"So I too can kill you, right?"

The tips of the vine whips aimed at Siesta and I.

"What is, that…"

"The enemy’s isn’t a fool either?their ?seeds? are definitely grown under this island."

Siesta analyzed using the words I just heard.

"…I see. So the entire island’s our enemy?"

At this point, the entire island would attack us because of its survival instincts. The seeds had been planted, literally.

But the famous detective showed no fear in the face of this world’s enemy.

"I should say this is the most appropriate place for a final battle."

"I guess so? This will be your demise, however."

Siesta’s musket and Hel’s red military sword were pointed at each other in a straight line.

"I shall win. And then I will definitely fulfill Alicia’s wish."

"No, you shall die here. You will not save that child."

At the same time, a gunshot and a sword slice rang.

Such signalled the rematch.

She just wanted to be loved.

The intense battle between Siesta and Hel lasted for more than ten minutes.

The thorns grew from the ground to attack, and Siesta would aimed her musket to accurately shoot it down?when Hel would seize the opportunity to charge in with a saber, Siesta would swing the musket about to parry the attack, and while I tried to provide covering fire from behind,

"Assistant, you’re in the way."

"That's unreasonable……"

Siesta used her overwhelming experience and instincts to combat the strongest enemy who had the terrain under control…single handedly even.

"??, ahhh, it’s funny how you are trying so hard."

Hel then pulled a large distance away, pouting her lips somewhat unhappily, a contrast to what she said.

"Do you want to get Master back so badly?"

Hel sneered at us with a mocking tone.

But more importantly.

"……Master?"

I was curious as to what she said.

Given what Alicia used to say, Alicia was probably born from Hel’s savage personality. Hel was the outer personality, and Alicia was the inner one. Given what Hel just said though?

"??Wait, you’re the one who took Alicia’s body?"

So Alicia’s the outer personality, and Hel’s the inner one?

And Hel forcibly reversed such a dynamic.

"I didn’t take it."

But Hel narrowed her red eyes,

"I replaced her."

So she said, as though this insistence was correct.

"This body of flesh is a little different from the other cadres of ?SPES? ?it was originally just a human."

"What…?"

According to what we heard at the research lab, all the members of ?SPES? were practically artificial existences who were born through SEED’s cuttings…no, wait. I knew an ?Android? who wasn’t like that.

"Bat……"

Three years ago, we met that blond guy ten thousand meters in the sky, and he had ?SPES? ability implanted in him. In other words, he’s a half android. So Hel too…or in other words, Alicia used to be an ordinary human, just like Bat?

"But this body had been experimented upon all the time, due to this unique characteristic.."

Experiment. I had goosebumps once I heard that.

"It hurts, it burns, it hurts, it burns, it hurts, it burns…it was suffering. It seemed Master had quite the painful memory. And then, finally, on a certain day, she couldn’t endure this pain?and I was born. I grew from Master."

…So that’s, how it is?

A classic symptom of dissociative identity disorder is that when one is unable to withstand long term duress anymore, when there is suffering, a split personality would be born. Hel was an inner personality born from Alicia.

"This is my relationship with Master. Our suffering is split, our anguish is split. This is how we live till now."

"So in that case, I shall end the suffering and anguish today."

The ?afternoon nap? ran through the battlefield. Siesta hopped off the ground, as though there was nothing more to be said, and closed in on the girl in military uniform with a speed the naked eye could not grasp. She then pointed the gun without hesitation..

"Ahh, I forgot something."

But Hel did not dodge, and flatly said so..

"If the suffering is split, and so is the anguish?then naturally, the pain will be split in two, no?"

The next moment, Hel’s head suddenly fell forward,

"…Huh? Where is, this place?"

She widened her eyes, as though the savage look was an illusion, and looked around. Appearing in her sight was,

"Eh? Kimizuka?"

She noticed me, who was slightly away from her, but never noticed the other person who had charged before for. A bullet was fired from the gun aimed at her.

"Kyaaa…!"

The girl collapsed with a scream. There was reddish black blood flowing from her right shoulder, and it seemed she was hit by a bullet.

"Alicia……!"

I instinctively called that name.

"Kimi, zuka……"

……! There’s no doubt after all that it’s Alicia. I believed so, and prepared to move forward??

"Don’t come here."

But the person who shot Alicia remained wary, her back still turned on me..

"……! Siesta, that’s Alicia! Don’t attack…"

"I know. That’s why I avoided the vitals."

Siesta said as she still aimed the gun at Alicia, who had fallen onto the ground.

"Heh, that was kind of you. You two would have won if you shot the heart or the head."

At that moment, thorns grew at Siesta’s feet.

"……!"

Siesta noticed, and quickly retreated to my side. The girl in military uniform stood before us while the thorns grew, clutched at her right shoulder, and stumbled to her feet.

"So you treasure Master this much?"

The red eyes hidden under the peak cap reverted back to Hel’s aloof self. Yes, Hel’s the main personality now, and she could freely switch with Alicia’s personality…!

"But I won’t lose to you naive people. This time, I shall complete my mission as a member of ?SPES?."

Hel widened her red eyes, and stabbed the ground with the saber. A large number of thorns attacked us. If we tried to counterattack, Hel might switch back to Alicia. We’d be helpless then?

"Ahh, so you are lying after all."

Siesta muttered so.

I thought I heard those words three years ago, during that plane hijack. Since Siesta said so, it meant that henceforth, there would be a major change in the story..

"What are you saying?"

Hel tilted her head in confusion by these sudden words. However, the thorns did not stop as they surrounded Siesta and me…only to wilt quickly.

"Rain…?"

Water droplets fell onto my cheeks, and I looked up at the sky.

A helicopter was flying in the sky. Was it scattering some liquid…?

"Herbicide."

Siesta said.

"And it is special order, with super immediate effects. It’s fine, it won’t affect human bodies."

"As well prepared as you usually are…"

It was meant to counter the ?biological weapon?, one that would kill the plants, and not affect humans. I guess it’s Fuubi-san riding on that helicopter.

"……!"

Hel then charged in alone with a military sword in hand. In turn, Siesta swung her musket around as a sword.

"What? What did I lie about?"

However, Hel’s hand was shaking while she held the saber. While the enemy was in this state, Siesta,

"You never wanted to be part of ?SPES?, no?"

She said this truth, without any mercy.

"…I told you many times that I am just obeying destiny…I’m acting based on ?SPES? will……!, So I…!"

The red eyes wavered. It was the first time Hel faltered?and then Siesta seized upon this opening.

You said before, Siesta’s expression betrayed no emotion as she said again .

"You are a new existence born out of Alicia’s defensive instincts?in that case, there is no way you can have any instincts born out of ?SPES?."

……! So that’s, how it is…if what Hel said just now was true, Alicia never inherited ?SPES? abilities and will to begin with. Hel was merely a personality born out of Alicia’s self-defense. Hel shouldn’t have any instincts of ?SPES?.

"That’s why you’re so desperate to be a member of ?SPES? ??you are just a fake."

While Hel looked down, Siesta knocked her down a peg.

"…Then."

Hel looked down at the ground, and muttered so. When she lifted her head once again, her face was flushed with rage. It was the second time I saw Hel like this.

"So why did I do those things!? The reason why I work so hard for ?SPES? is…!"

Yeah, she showed such a look back then too.

And Siesta surely realized so at that moment.

That’s why the detective then gently said to the girl in military uniform.

"You wanted the love of your father, no?"

The monster roared

"??!"

"You just wanted your father’s love. You wanted others to recognize you. That’s all."

"No!"

Hel widened her eyes, gripped the military sword firmly, and swung hard. The blade soon reached Siesta’s throat…but Siesta nimbly avoided. Hel’s movements were a lot more stiff compared to the start. Siesta’s guess was correct after all.

"Then why are you so furious?"

I shot at Hel’s feet to limit her movements.

"……!"

Hel turned her face aside slightly, and retreated.

"Let me change my question then. Why did you change personalities with Alicia?"

Siesta asked once again. The gun remained pointed at Hel..

"Were you hoping that I would not attack your vitals if you did that?…No, you just wanted to share the pain with Alicia."

"…Well, I can’t deny that. I am born from inheriting the pain of Master’s personality. Maybe I do have some notion of vengeance."

"Yes, that is right. You do have emotions. You are not a plant…and you are not a monster."

But, Siesta continued.

"You lied again."

"……I didn’t."

"The real reason why you wanted Alicia to suffer the pain wasn’t out of vengeance?but envy."

"??! Shut up!"

Hel was riled up. Before I knew it, she wielded the military sword and clashed against Siesta.

"You’re envious of Alicia. You always bore the pain, and so you hated, really hated Alicia for having Assistant and me as friends…and you’re envious."

"No…no, no!"

"No doubts about it. You just want to be loved. You want friends."

"Shut up!"

Hel’s red eyes glowed.

"You shall kill yourself now…!"

At that moment, Siesta drew a pistol from her waist holster, and pointed the gun at her temple.

Hel’s ?ability? activated. It was a power that could interfere with human consciousness and manipulate actions.

But??

"Siesta, you won’t die."

Siesta immediately put down the gun once I said that.

"Why…"

Hel’s eyes faltered, and Siesta said the reason.

"It’s simple. I trust my Assistant, more than anyone else??even myself."

Siesta glanced aside at me, and said to the strongest enemy before us.

"Even if my consciousness is aware that I should die, if his words refute it, I will believe it without hesitation. That is all."

"……Well then."

Hel’s eyes looked towards me,

"Assistant, you won’t die either."

Siesta immediately said to me.

Such was the peculiar partnership that bound us together.

Between us, we trusted each other more than we trusted ourselves?that was all.

That was all it was.

Thanks to this one thing we unwittingly cultivated over the past three years, we would be completely invincible.

But this was the one way to break the brainwashing of those ?red eyes?.

No matter what words subjected our consciousness, as long as the certain person we trusted more spoke to me, my body would be liberated once again. As long as we trusted a certain other person more than we trusted ourselves, no words directed at our consciousness would be able to enslave us.

And to me, that person was Siesta??to Siesta, that person was me.

If this could be described as opportunism, then allow me to call it a bond.

It was a rather sturdy bond that could not be cut?raised over the past three years.

"! Bond? Such a thing, such a thing…!"

She wanted to say that she would not allow for it, but she went quiet.

Hel dropped her sword at that moment, and cupped her head. This might be the plan Siesta had planned.

If we wanted to save Alicia, of course, we couldn’t kill the body. All we could do was to peel off Hel’s personality?Siesta placed a psychological paradox on Hel, and tried to rattle her mentally.

"Yes, Hel. You do not have to abide by some ?Bible?, and you do not have to kill. Even without these, you can gain friends, and create bonds.."

I said to Hel, as per Siesta’s intentions.

"That’s why, you don’t have to listen to that…whatever SEED says…"

The moment I said these words.

"??In that case, I can’t lose."

Hel picked up the red hilted military sword that had fallen to the ground.

And the next time Hel lifted her face, red lights glowed in those words.

"Hel, you…"

"I admit."

Hel then turned to Siesta, showing no signs of faltering this time..

"I want to be loved. I want to think I’m needed, that my raison d’etre is validated…but not anyone can be that person. I don’t want to be friends with just anyone. I just want Father’s love. I want Father’s recognition."

So , Hel pointed the tip of the military sword towards Siesta.

"So I will continue to survive, to fight, to destroy the world?this is my survival instinct."

That was something that couldn’t be changed. It was certain of a massive evil, equivalent to convictions.

"Sure."

And so, there was only one famous detective facing such an enemy of the world.

Siesta raised her musket, and accepted this declaration of war.

"The ?plant? has wilted, and the ?red eyes? are sealed. You only have this sword left. It is time to end this."

"Even though it’s gun versus sword, and you think you can win??"

"No, I am confident of winning because it is me against you."

"You really annoy me."

"We surely will not be able to get along well, in whatever form of encounter."

"No doubts. That’s why I’ll end everything here."

Hel lowered her center of gravity, and unsheathed her sword. She then slashed towards Siesta like an escaping rabbit?and then.

"……a-an earthquake……?"

A large tremor suddenly rose from beneath, and the ground cracked with a boom. There’s still a ?root? that hadn’t wilted…so I thought as I readied myself?

"Assistant! Watch out!"

Siesta shoved me hard, and sent me flying.

The next moment, a massive lump grew from the ground. A large crack so happened to appear between Siesta and me?something was rising from the ground.

It was a grotesque thing I had seen before, a massive reptile. The size this time was different from back then though. This monster was more than ten meters long, and as the ground bellowed, it roared, and then?it found its target.

"Siesta……!"

The revived ?biological weapon? ??Betelguese.

The head without eyeballs did not turn towards me, but towards Siesta and Hel.

"! Over here, you monster…!"

I unloaded my magnum until I ran out of bullets…but Betelguese didn’t mind at all as he continued to face the other side. Saliva oozed from the large lower jaw.

"Is it hungry…?"

Yes, Betelguese was a monster that devoured human hearts.

At the other side was Siesta and Hel, two of them?the hungry monster would obviously prioritize the quantity.

"Siesta!"

I looked towards the other side of the massive monster, where the silver-haired girl was. There was a monstrous roar, like that of a whale?and along with that, a blooming large red flower.

It seemed she smiled at the final moment when our eyes met.

To you, the most OO in this world

"So this is what it means to be bitten on the hand by a pet dog."

The dust settled, and appearing before me was?the violent, intimidating, massive body of Betelguese that had fallen over, and Hel, who was standing on that monster’s head.

And??

"Siesta……"

Red blood was flowing from the left chest of my partner, who was facing up.

"It should be isolated at the research lab. Was it lured out by the smell of the bait?"

Hel said, and stabbed the military sword into Betelguese’s neck. It appeared the monster had died.

"Ah, you, don’t move for a while."

Hel’s ?red eyes? flickered…and I stopped. I didn’t even notice that I was about to hurry over to Siesta.

"I’m bleeding quite a bit…"

I wasn’t able to move because of the ability, and Hel stumbled towards Siesta. There was a gaping hole in Hel’s left chest, and dark red liquid kept flowing out.

"Now then."

Hel then reached her hand out towards the fallen Siesta.

"……! Don’t touch Siesta!"

I wanted to charge towards Hel…but my body was unable to move, like it was rock. In order to break the brainwashing was to have someone whom I really trusted next to me. But at this point, I no longer… had that person.

"My heart’s damaged. I need to replace it with a new one.”

Hel muttered. Yes, Hel became ?Jack the Devil?, and went about stealing hearts in London. It was an experiment to see which heart suited her most. At this moment, Hel was going to replace the heart that was injured by Betelguese’s attack with a new one?Siesta’s heart.

"……! Don’t! I’ll give you my heart if you want, so anyone…anyone but Siesta…!"

"I said it before, no?"

Hel stopped for an instant, and glanced aside at me.

"You shall become my partner. Do treasure your life…will you?"

And then, Hel narrowed her red eyes?and stabbed into Siesta’s bloodied left chest with her right hand.

"Stop…!"

But my body couldn’t move. I couldn’t blink, and could only stare blankly at the devastation before me.

"I shall be taking the famous detective’s heart. Now I am the only existence."

Hel then pried Siesta’s flesh out of the body.

That hand was holding a still pulsating heart.

"Sies, ta……"

While I could only look on, dumbfounded, Hel reached her hand into the left chest that was dug out, and extracted the heart. She simply crushed it thereafter, and then inserted Siesta’s heart into her left chest. The heart quickly sank into her body, as though it was meant to be there..

This alone.

Just this act alone, and Siesta’s heart was seized by Hel.

"Now this body finally obtained a suitable heart. Surely, father will…"

Hel muttered with satisfaction, completely ignoring Siesta’s corpse as she turned away. Before her was a white moon.

"Siesta……"

I was on the verge of collapse, and hurried over to Siesta. Hel’s mind control was removed, probably because her objective was completed. I scraped at the ground countless times, and quickly hurried to the corpse of my partner.

"Siesta"

I knelt down, and carried the bloodied body. It’s a petite, fragile body. This time, I didn’t need to check her breathing to know that she died. I closed her eyes with my hand, and gently wiped the blood of her white face with the finger balls.

"Siesta"

I called out once again.

But there was no response. It was to be expected.

The detective, is already dead.

"……, …………!"

I thought I couldn’t cry. She and I weren’t considered lovers, nor friends, just business partners with mutual goals. To me, Siesta wasn’t anyone really special.

But, why?

No matter how I wiped, the droplets continued to fall onto Siesta’s face.

"…I’m sorry."

My trembling hands gently caressed Siesta’s head while she was in my clutches.

But of course, Siesta didn’t answer.

"Return it."

And so I said to Hel instead.

Siesta’s corpse was lying on the ground, and I stood up with my last bit of strength.

"Return? What?"

Hel turned around, and tilted her head in confusion.

"That heart belongs to Siesta. Return it."

"That’s impossible. It belongs to me now."

Hel said, and put her hand on her left chest.

At that moment, something snapped within me.

"Get your filthy hand off Siesta…!"

Before I knew it, I strode forth. My body, bones, flesh and blood, all of it, wouldn’t allow Hel to continue living. I drew a knife, and charged towards Hel.

"I don’t understand."

Hel parried away the knife with the military sword, and frowned.

"When we first met, didn’t you say that you only believe in yourself?"

I kept swinging the blade…but then Hel sliced my right hand while I was stunned, and the knife fell. Instead, I clenched my left fist.

"…It’s useless. Your fist won’t reach me."

Hel’s ?red eyes? glowed, and my body froze once again.

"But now, you’re bleeding all over, yet you wouldn’t let go of your fists. Your eyes are redder than mine when you tried to hit me, bloodshot."

So why? Hel asked.

"Where did that rage come from? Is it because…of that bond you two speak of?"

You, so Hel asked .

"What are you to her?"

My clenched fist couldn’t move. Maybe it’s because of the excessive blood loss, but my legs were a little limp. In this situation, I frantically tried to get my dulled brain moving,

What exactly was I to Siesta?

Hel didn’t need to ask. I always wondered about this myself.

What kind of existence was I to Siesta?

There’s no way I would know anyway. The Dead couldn’t talk. At this point, I lost the chance to learn of this, forever.

Despite that.

So I thought in my dulled mind.

What would it be, if the situation was reversed?

What did I think of Siesta?

Ever since that day.

Three years passed since our encounter ten thousand meters above ground, in the skies.

…To be honest, I was annoyed.

I loved daily life more than anyone else, because of my nature of getting into trouble, and I always wished for a life of peace and quiet. She just broke it all?I thought it would only be limited to her jumping out of the window at the culture festival, but the result was that I jumped into a life of extraordinary days.

Spare me already, I didn’t know how many times I begged god …the famous detective.

So, how many times do you think I nearly died over the past three years?

I got injured so many times, got involved in gunfights, spent three days and nights without eating or drinking, camped in a mountain where bears roamed, chased after murderers, got abducted, imprisoned, fought ?Androids?, fought a ?biological weapon?, and even in the face of such unreasonable moments, my partner scolded me many times, "Are you a fool?"??

And how many times did I laugh?

You know? That Siesta might look so aloof, but she had a low threshold of laughter. It seemed she didn’t want me to see her innocent self, and she always turned her back on me whenever she wanted to laugh, and dozens of seconds later, she would turn her face back to say??"Are you a fool?", or something that. I would laugh whenever I saw her like that, and stop before she got annoyed. She’s unexpectedly childish.

She could tease others, but she couldn’t take teasing. She couldn’t lie, and was bad at interacting with others. She lazes in bed in the morning, lazes in bed in the afternoon, and was a complete sleepyhead, a glutton. I ordered two cakes, but she would get angry whenever I wanted to choose first, and would eat both. It’s like, she would eat them happily. And when I give her a dumbfounded, speechless smile, she would suddenly pick the strawberry with a fork, and put it to my mouth.

That’s the kind of person Siesta was.

A famous detective who fights the world’s enemy?

That’s not the true characteristic of Siesta.

Yeah.

I just chose to hang out with Siesta, just because I found her interesting.

It’s true that over the past three years, I suffered hardships, pains, and bitterness.

But in these thousand irrational moments, I laughed ten thousand times.

I laughed together with Siesta.

"You ask what my relationship with Siesta is?

What did I think of Siesta?

I already knew that, right from the beginning.

Strength returned to my entire body, or maybe it was some stupid power in an emergency. My bones clattered, my muscles shook, and my blood boiled. There wasn't anything to be bothered by. I didn’t care that I had to wreck my body?none of it mattered at this point, as long as I could get revenge for Siesta.

"The brainwashing, broke…"

I saw Hel widen her red eyes.

And so I raised this bloodied left fist, and roared my thoughts that could no longer reach my partner.

"Of course she’s the most important person to me in this world!"

I clenched my fists, charged towards Hel, and caught sight of her face.

But inches from that?

"I’m grateful for your love confession, but do you intend the face of the one you love?"

I heard a somewhat familiar, sarcastic jab.

I shall meet you once again

The instant change left me unable to determine where this voice came from.

"……Huh?"

It was an emotionless tilt of the head, just like Hel.

But there was something peculiar about this.

The mysterious voice was completely the same as the person standing before me.

What’s going on?

I had question marks in my mind, but the girl in military uniform before me suddenly fell to her knees. Then, even though she did so, she showed a surprised look. It was as if for a while, the movements of her mouth and body were completely different from her own will.

"What…is…this?"

Hel’s face writhed.

And at the next moment, the color of the right eye changed from red to blue.

"Siesta, is that you?"

The left half of Hel’s face showed surprise, and the other half looked at me.

And then, I firmly realized that?Siesta’s still alive in Hel!

"Th-that’s, impossible…"

Hel’s left red eye wanted to look towards the blue eye to the right.

"Un, forgivable…you actually…used, my body…"

"Shut up. I’m talking to him now."

And so, she closed her eyes before me. When she opened them again, her eyes were both blue.

"Siesta, you…"

"Sorry to make you cry."

No doubt about it. It was Siesta.

Siesta said, using the body of the sworn enemy Hel.

That fact caused my legs to shake, and my eyes heated up.

Siesta’s still alive.

"Siesta, I…"

"Assistant, there’s no time, so listen."

But Siesta wasn’t delighted in the reunion, and continued to say to me,

"Actually, my heart is specially made, you know? For example, I can place my consciousness in my heart, and can retain my sense of self even in other bodies."

"That’s…"

That’s close to memory transfer, or something like that? Once the organ transplant happened, the recipient would retain all the memories and hobbies of the donor. There were such reported cases all over the world.

When Hel stole Siesta’s heart, Siesta’s memories and consciousness were transferred into Hel’s body. And just like that, Siesta was speaking through Hel’s body?

"I thought of many plans, but it was really difficult to actually defeat Hel in the truest sense."

"……! Siesta, then, you!"

"Yes, this is the only way. I invaded Hel to suppress her consciousness. This is the only way to fend her off."

……! Then at that moment, Siesta…knew that she would die!

That-that’s impossible!

"Did I not say it before? A true famous detective will solve the incident before it happens?I knew long ago that the situation would end up this way."

"But that. But that’s impossible. Right from the beginning…"

She saw the ending right from the beginning.

Then why…why….

"If I told you, you would have stopped me.”

Siesta gave a despondent smile through Hel’s appearance.

"I want to ask something of you."

"……No"

"Listen to me."

"I refuse."

"Are you a fool?"

This isn’t the time to be stubborn, Siesta reached her hand out, and patted my head.

"I shall infiltrate this body and suppress Hel’s evilness. This body will definitely revert to Alicia’s personality once again."

"……! Alicia!?"

"Hmm, well, this body does have that Cerberus’s ability…do you understand?"

…Speaking of which, since there were three heads on the hellhound, she could have three people in the same body? There’s Alicia and Hel, and then Siesta will join them?

"She might lose her memories once again. Despite that, I hope that you will rely on her aid?and defeat ?SPES?."

That was the true secret strategy Siesta had planned.

It was the only successful way to defeat Hel and save Alicia.

"! But, what about you? Once Alicia’s consciousness awakens, your consciousness will vanish with Hel, right!? I won’t allow it…I won’t allow this at all!"

I’d never allow Siesta to sacrifice herself just to save Alicia! That’s not what I wanted!

I was fine with any way, except for her to be an enemy.

I-it’s fine for your consciousness to linger somewhere.

So don’t decide things on your own!

"I knew you would say that."

Siesta still gave a fleeting smile.

"But it’s fine. Alicia has something I don’t. You’ll definitely be able to work well with her."

Just remember those two weeks, Siesta gently told me .

"Don’t decide things on your own like that! I haven’t…"

And at that moment, my legs wobbled gently.

Was it due to the blood loss? N-no…why’s there a sweet smell?

I started to feel fluffy for a moment, and my mind went blank. Before my eyes, there was a large flower blooming from the carcass of the ?biological weapon? Betelguese.

It’s pollen.

The sweet, fragrant pollen fluttered with the wind.

"…I guess this is cause and effect too."

It has been three years , Siesta smiled, looking a little perturbed.

Three years…I see. It’s been three years since that culture festival, the ?Hanako-san? incident. The true form of the drug that pervaded my school?was this pollen.

"Was that the pollen you got from her…"

In that case, I knew very well what this situation was about.

"No…I don’t want, to forget…"

The first side effect of inhaling this pollen?was a loss of memory. The effects might be really strong if I inhaled this much. Maybe my memories of Siesta over the past three years would all?

"It’s fine."

Siesta, being in Hel’s, might have some resistance, and her legs were still upright as she held me up while I stumbled.

"Well, you might forget a few things…like say, everything that happened here, or what I said."

But, she smiled, and said,

"You will never forget me. You will never abandon your mission. You will sigh and say ’that's unreasonable’, and continue to work with Alicia."

"That’s, no…I refuse…"

I had difficulty standing up, and crouched there. My vision gradually narrowed, and my hearing started to fade.

"I’m, your assistant…I can’t…possibly, be anyone else’s, partner…"

"……Haha, you finally said something to delight me at the very end."

She showed a gentle smile, holding up my shoulder with her hands while I sat on the ground.

Maybe the hallucination was because of the pollen? The face of Hel, who should be my sworn enemy, appeared in my eyes, but it was the sight of my partner, whom I worked with for the past three years.

"I don’t want…to forget, about you. I…always…………"

"It’s fine. Didn’t I say so? We trust each other more than we trust ourselves."

"……So, you want me, to believe…your words?"

"That is the case. Have I ever been wrong before?"

…Yeah, not at all. Not even once..

You’re always correct. Too correct.

That’s why I hoped??you would make a mistake.

But my throat could no longer say these words.

"The next time you wake up, I shall no longer be around."

Please continue to live, strongly.

Was it just me? Siesta appeared to be crying.

She shouldn't be able to cry.