3 - Literature is Hard?

Keena and Keina were much closer now, it seemed. It was hard to tell if it was because of the rice pudding or not.

This made things a lot easier for Akuto, now that he didn’t have Keina following him around every minute of the day. Things were still just as chaotic, though.

“Dorry, this is a book of things that really happened in the past!”

“I see! I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from it!”

Keena’s hobby lately was finding books for Keina to read, and Keina would always believe whatever was in them.

—What’s she making her read now?

Akuto glanced at the title; it was an old fiction novel about psychics. It was the story of how an evil mind invaded from space, and humanity fought back with a network of superpowered psychics.

—It’s definitely not non-fiction.

But Keina really seemed to believe whatever was written in it. In this case, Keena believed it too, so the effect was doubled.

“The Earth is under attack, isn’t it?”

“That’s right! If you don’t have a pure heart, you’ll be possessed and terrible things will happen.”

Keena and Keina were nodding to each other.

All Keina’s talk about ‘eco-friendly cafés’ was because of a magazine article she’d read just before she’d transferred here. From what Keina had said when she was drunk, after she was found, they’d decided to educate her by giving her magazines.

A lot of the things that had been happening lately were because Keina believed everything she read. When she’d read a detective novel, she’d started investigating everyone around her, and ended up finding a hidden treasure one of the teachers was keeping. That had caused a mess.

—Well, I guess superheroes can’t cause that much trouble.

“From the way the possessed people are described in this book, I think Ms. Mitsuko is possessed by evil! She must be purged!”

Actually, it could cause a lot of trouble.

“The stuff in that book isn’t real,” Akuto interrupted the conversation.

“What?!” Keina’s eyes went wide, like she was truly shocked.

“Don’t say that, Ackie. You need to read everything in a book as if it were true,” Keena said scoldingly.

“Fiction wouldn’t exist then, though.” Akuto laughed. But Keena shook her head.

“That’s not what I meant. A book creates its own world within it. So it’s bad manners to take what you know about the real world into a book. It’s very stupid to try and take lessons from everything you read, or make it useful to you in the real world, and it’s just as dumb to say that a book is stupid because it works differently than the real world. Got it?”

She had the relaxed tone of a village idiot, but what she was saying was fairly complex.

—Come to think of it, Keena can’t do magic, but her grades in the other classes are pretty good.

Akuto nodded, impressed.

“I see. If that’s what you meant, then I’m sorry. But if that’s true, then Doronz needs to be careful not to emulate the book here in class.”

“Don’t worry, she’ll figure it out. Dorry is a good girl. If you teach her not to trust what she reads first, she’ll never read any books at all.” Keena smiled innocently.

“Anyway, you two sure love books,” Akuto said. The two nodded, and Keina nodded especially firmly.

“Stories are really neat.”

These days, most books were digitized. Even with just the network accessible from the student notebook, you could access an incredible amount of books. But that didn’t mean there were more readers now.

Since there was so much of it, not many people wanted to access the data of the past. Fiction novels, especially, were something that you didn’t need to survive. For that reason, there wasn’t a lot of point in going back into the past for them, unlike academic papers.

People would often read the latest novels for the same reason they’d go to a concert by a popular band. Since everybody was reading them, you needed to read them too to keep up with the conversation and feel like you were part of the group. But novels and movies weren’t good for much more than that.

Akuto, however, wasn’t bothered by this. He was the type who didn’t really need books. To him, novels were just a thing that sometimes showed up in the bibliographies of non-fiction books. But Keena’s explanation interested him as an analysis of what was happening right now.

“Maybe people who think the gods are real are doing the same thing as people who try to learn lessons from novels,” Akuto said. Keena nodded, but Keina seemed confused.

Then a voice interrupted them.

“I’m sorry to interrupt what sounds like a very strange conversation, but it’s time for our next class. It’s practicals again. This time it’s groups of three, so you’ll be pairing up with me and Keina Doronz.”

The speaker was Junko.

○

Now that she knew that Keina could control Akuto’s power, Junko wasn’t as nervous about the practicals as she’d been before. She didn’t have to worry about Akuto going out of control.

“Today we’re practicing in groups of three. We’ll be using drugs to affect living creatures,” Miss Mitsuko said.

They’d all moved to the practice room for the class. All the students were standing in groups of three, and in front of each group was a case with a frog, and several vials of medicine.

“First you’ll make the drug, then use magic to change it, and then administer it to the frog. Then, you’ll see if there’s any effect. We’re in groups of three today because we don’t have enough frogs for every individual, so please take turns. The drugs will change the color of the frog’s skin. Your job is to see if you can change the frog’s skin to the color of your choice,” she explained.

But Junko’s face was frozen with fear. Even at a glance, you could tell she was nervous.

“What’s wrong?” Akuto whispered, worried. She shouldn’t have been worried about him going out of control this time.

“N-No, it’s fine. It’s nothing at all. Just don’t mess it up, okay?” Junko said in a shaking voice.

Actually, Junko was afraid of frogs. Akuto had heard this once, but he’d forgotten it.

“Imagine a color and then transfer its pattern into the drug. I think I can do this without causing any problems,” Akuto said.

“Don’t worry! I’ll make it so you don’t mess up!” Keina said confidently.

“P-Please. Please make sure he doesn’t. Really, please.” Junko nodded, shivering.

“I’m a little worried, though, so I think Hattori should go first,” Akuto said.

Junko was barely listening, but a moment later she finally seemed to hear what Akuto had said.

“Y-You’re right. Yes. It’s a simple spell. Just watch.”

Junko picked up the drug and cast a spell on it. The actual transfer of the image she had in her mind was handled by a program, but unless that image was bright and clear, the color wouldn’t come out right. It was something you needed to practice until you got the knack for it.

Once the spell was cast, she went to hand the drug to Akuto.

“O-Okay, it’s done.”

“W-Wait. If I touch it, it might mix up the image imprinted on it, right?” Akuto stepped back to avoid touching the vial.

“N-No, just try not to imagine anything.”

“It doesn’t work that way. And this is a practice class, so you need to do it yourself.”

Akuto was a very serious, and completely uncompromising person. Any other person would’ve picked up that Junko didn’t want to touch the frog, but taking the hint wasn’t something Akuto was good at. And to make matters worse, Junko’s stubbornness meant there was no way she’d admit that she didn’t want to get anywhere near that frog.

“Y-You’re right. I know that. Of course I do.” Junko froze.

“What’s wrong? Hurry up!” Keina said. She was such a naive girl that she didn’t realize what was going on at all. She’d looked around and seen all the other teams change the colors of their frogs’ skin, and couldn’t wait to see it happen with her own group.

“Yeah. I know. I know. Okay, here I go. Here I go!” Junko put her hand on the lid of the case. “I’m taking the lid off!”

“You don’t need to give us a play-by-play, okay?” Keina said, but Junko was too distracted to listen.

“Once I open the case, I’ll pour the drug onto the frog, and then it will be absorbed throughout its body.”

She poured the drug in with trembling fingers. But her hand was far above the frog; it was 30 centimeters above the case. The frog was less than 10cm in size, so of course, she missed.

You might’ve thought that Akuto would’ve figured out that Junko didn’t like frogs by now, but...

“It’s such a simple exercise that she’s deliberately trying to make it difficult for herself,” he said to himself, and completely convinced himself of his own explanation.

That wasn’t the case for Keina, however.

“Just do it quick! Like this!”

Keina grabbed Junko’s hand and pushed it towards the frog. The case shook, and the startled frog did a cute little hop. And then, it grabbed onto Junko’s fingers where she was holding the vial.

“Nooooo!” Junko leapt up and screamed. She dropped the vial into the case and flung her hand around wildly, but the frog wouldn’t come off.

“N-N-NOOOO!” Junko lifted her hand up into the air and flailed it around.

“Oh, I see. Hattori doesn’t like frogs...”

Akuto finally realized what was going on here. Once he’d finally picked up on it, he acted fast. He grabbed her arm and tried to remove the amphibian. But, even after he started to hold her arm, she wouldn’t stay put.

When she finally did come to a stop, though, the frog took this chance to jump away from her finger, and into the sky.

And what goes up must come down, of course.

The frog landed on her neck and slid inside her shirt, leaving a slimy trail behind it.

“Aaah! Aaaah! It’s so slimy!” Junko began to twist her body back and forth violently. Akuto grabbed her and held her down.

“Calm down. It’s not a dangerous frog.”

“Th-That’s not the problem... Aaah! I-It’s coming inside!” Junko began struggle in Akuto’s arms, her face turning red.

“H-Hey, stay still.”

Akuto couldn’t grab her tightly, or he might squish the frog. And he couldn’t pat her down to try and figure out where it was.

“Where’s the frog?”

“M-My back! My back...!”

As she fidgeted, Junko turned her body so that he could see her back. He could just make out a green outline under her shirt.

“I can’t put my hand in there... I know. I can use that motion I practiced last time in this class...” Akuto looked towards Keina. She nodded as if she understood what he meant.

“Leave it to me! That precision motion we practiced last time, right?”

Last time, Keina had controlled Akuto’s mana, enabling him to pile up blocks the size of grains of sand. If they did it again, they could easily remove the frog from Junko’s shirt.

Keina touched Akuto’s hand.

“I’ll start controlling your mana...!” she said, and Akuto began to go to work.

But this task involved both of them. If they were trying to do different things, there was no way it could work. And, in this case, Keina had completely misunderstood him. And Akuto couldn’t stop her.

“This’ll fix it!” Keina shouted, and in an instant, all of Junko’s clothes flew up into the air.

It was an amazing display of undressing, almost like a magic trick. Buttons and hooks were undone without damaging the clothes, zippers were lowered, and even the waistband of the underwear was stretched out, enabling it to fall freely to the floor.

“Aaah! Aaaaah!” Junko screamed again, though this scream was for an entirely different reason.

Her classmates began to murmur among themselves as her naked body was put on full display.

“Why now, in the middle of an ordinary class?”

“’Cause he’s the Demon King! He’ll take your clothes for no reason at all!”

Akuto quickly took off his jacket to help shield her from the boys’ curious eyes.

“Aah, W-Wait...”

When Akuto tried to put the jacket on her, it got caught on one of the unused vials on the table.

“Aaah!” Junko had dropped below the table to conceal herself, so the bottle rolled loudly across the table before falling right on top of Junko’s head.

“Oops...”

“Aaah!” Junko screamed a little as the cold liquid splashed on her.

But the real shock came a moment later.

Akuto had already put his magic into the drug. Junko’s white skin began to turn gold.

“It’s a gold dust show!”

The student were whispering to themselves. And not just the boys, but the girls, too.

“It’s some kind of kinky exhibitionism thing!”

“It’s so evil, it’s honestly kind of impressive...”

“Is this some new way for him to get his kicks?”

Everyone was staring at the golden Junko as they whispered.

“H-How humiliating...” Junko wrapped her arms around her body and wept.

Akuto finally succeeded in putting his jacket on her, but all that did was make her mad.

“Y-You dummy!”

Junko slammed a golden punch into his stomach.

○

“But why am I being punished, too? This isn’t fair...” Junko sighed.

“I’m sorry. I’ll do most of the work,” Akuto said, as apologetic as possible.

“But taking off her clothes was the best way to get rid of the frog!” Keina laughed.

The three of them were heading for the old library. They’d been ordered to clean it and organize the books as punishment for the trouble they’d caused in class.

The old library held books made from paper. Books written before the advent of digitization were stored here to be turned into data. Once the process was complete, instead of being destroyed, they were kept here where they were forbidden from the public. They numbered 20,000, not counting the smaller pamphlets and other items.

“Some of the books there are pretty recent, right? I heard that’s what we’ll be working on,” Junko said, trying to change the subject. Keina recited the documents she’d read from memory.

“There are still a few people who like owning physical books. And a few of the books they own are sent here. Some are digitized, and some aren’t. In most cases, if they aren’t it’s because the author refused to give permission for them to be digitalized. For this reason, most paper books made in recent years aren’t converted to digital, so they’re just piled up here.”

“And that’s why they need to be cleaned and organized?”

“Correct. Right now, we’re librarians.” Keina seemed happy. She was probably really excited to get to touch a physical book.

“I’ve heard that people who like books end up obsessing over paper books,” Akuto muttered, and Keina nodded happily.

“That’s right! I’ve never touched a real one, but it still feels really exciting to me! Like it’s a real real thing!”

“A real real thing, huh?

“The only person I know who cares about real books these days is Fujiko Eto, but it’s true that something you can actually touch does feel more real. What we’re reading is just letters, though, so in either case it’s the same information.”

—The information we take in can never take physical form. But can the information the gods possessed be rebuilt into a real person?

The thought suddenly crossed Akuto’s mind. He remembered what Boichiro had said during the war. As long as you had the Law of Identity, information could take physical form.

—What kind of world is it that we really live in? I guess it’s something you’ll never be able to tell from the inside.

And what was more, the Law of Identity was evidently Keena. Or, more precisely, some kind of will or mind that would suddenly awaken within her.

“Why is it that we’re reluctant to trust digital information? Is originality all that matters to us?” Akuto said to himself, but Junko looked confused.

“Sometimes I don’t understand what you’re saying. No, I guess ‘often’ is a better word.”

But Keina picked up on a word he’d said.

“That’s right! Originality! That’s what I want! Even if I don’t have any memories, if I read a ton of books, I can eventually become me!”

Keina laughed innocently, but when Akuto heard her say it, for some reason he felt something akin to sadness.

○

At the same time, Fujiko had been summoned by Korone.

“It’s not often the two of us are together,” Fujiko said. She had snuck them into a classroom where students never came, since apparently Korone had wanted to be alone.

“Correct. If I attempt to be involved with you, I’m likely to discover all kinds of terrible secrets. I decided that I’d rather not increase my workload,” Korone said flatly.

Of course, Fujiko didn’t look happy.

“You’re on the government’s side, of course. But you didn’t call me out here just to provoke me? Something big must be happening if you’re not watching Akuto when he’s acting irregularly.”

“Yes. I would like to propose an exchange of information.”

“Regarding Keina Doronz, yes?”

Korone nodded.

“Indeed. You were playing around during that date, but I’m sure you collected a sizable amount of information.”

“Of course. But I’m afraid that I didn’t learn much of anything.”

“Nor did I. And so I’d like to attempt the one method that is impossible unless we work together.”

“In other words, what you want is the information the Black Mages have. The non-official logs of humanity’s actions.”

“Yes. I will use it to enhance the precision of my own information.”

“You’re trying to cross-reference the logs of every citizen in the empire and see what changed after the war, aren’t you? That’s a pretty ambitious project.” Fujiko grinned.

“Correct. If you’re already aware of my plans, we can skip the explanation,” Korone said.

After the war, any memories that were inconvenient to Akuto had disappeared from someone’s minds. Someone had erased them. If Keina Doronz’s appearance was somehow involved...

“I’ll be happy to help, if there’s something in it for me,” Fujiko said, still grinning.

“I thought you’d say that. Here.” Korone offered her a bag of ningyo-yaki.

“I don’t want that!” Fujiko tried to knock it away, but Korone deftly dodged her hand.

“Well, I knew you’d say that. What I’m really offering you is immunity for the crimes you committed when you cultivated Akuto Sai’s cells.”

Fujiko’s eyes went wide.

“I see. You’re the only one who could use the government to go after me. Now that the logs have all been altered after the war, that is.”

She thought a little, and nodded. “I understand. Very well. I’ll give you limited access permissions for the data you seek.”

Fujiko opened up her student notebook and called up an address and password on a mana screen. The Black Mages still hadn’t completely unlocked their own magic. They’d nibbled out their own areas of control in the gods’ memories, and saved their life logs there. They exchanged the passwords to them with primitive codes.

Korone’s eyes began to flash.

“I’ve analyzed the information. I’ll add in the data possessed by the Black Mages to the calculations I’ve done so far. This will improve my precision from 90% to 97%,” Korone said. The glow faded from her eyes, and then she nodded. “I’ve done it.”

“What did you find?”

“Until now, it’s only been a hypothesis, but now it’s almost certain. Keina Doronz is a human created from a data warp by the Law of Identity.”

○

“Wow!” Keina’s eyes gleamed as she craned her head left and right.

The huge building was filled with bookshelves far bigger than a man, spaced out evenly in rows like a futuristic city from an old sci-fi movie.

“I’m afraid we’ll be doing our work over there,” Junko said as she pointed towards a counter at the entrance. There were piles of randomly stacked books, at least a few hundred of them. There was a wheeled cart next to them, which had books on it as well. Someone had brought it over and left it there.

“The poor books...” Keina went over to the cart and picked up the books that had fallen off its side and placed them on the counter.

“It’s a little hard for me to understand why you’d feel that way, but it’s not good to mistreat your possessions,” Akuto said, and he started to help Keina.

But Keina didn’t seem to like what Akuto had said.

“You don’t understand why I’d feel bad for the books?”

“No, I mean books aren’t special. You have to take good care of your tools, of course.”

“That’s not right! Books are special...” Keina flailed her arms in passionate disagreement, but she couldn’t think of what to say next.

“I can understand why book lovers might think that. I’m sorry. I’m just not like that. Maybe I just don’t like the idea of getting too obsessed with a story. It feels too much like the way people get obsessed with belief in the gods, when they’re just a system.”

Keina puffed our her cheeks.

“Don’t try to make this difficult! Fine! If you don’t like books, then fine!”

“I’m sorry. I’ll try my best to like them.”

Akuto picked up one of the books. The only books printed these days had elaborate covers and bindings. The one he’d carelessly picked up was well-made, with a dyed red leather cover. He flipped through it, and the sound of the paper echoed throughout the room.

—This feels pretty good, actually. Doronz probably became obsessed with books before even knowing what this felt like, though.

Suddenly, someone bopped him on the head from behind.

“No reading when you should be organizing. You should know better.” Junko was holding the book she’d whacked him with right in front of her.

“Right. We’d never get done.” Akuto chuckled. He looked over at Keina, who was already absorbed in a large tome she’d opened and put in her lap.

“Let’s just leave her.” Akuto grinned at Junko. Junko shrugged her shoulders in an exaggerated way and grinned back.

“You’d better do a lot of work.”

“I know.”

Akuto went around the counter and checked the scanner. The manual on the screen said that it could scan the insides of a book placed on it and automatically digitize them.

“So we put them through the scanner one at a time so they can be ready, huh?”

“The digital versions will display organizer codes, which will tell us which bookshelves they go on. It’s a simple job. The heavy labor is moving things to the shelves, though.” Junko smiled at Akuto.

“I’ll do that part.” Akuto went out from behind the counter and switched places with Junko.

○

“A human created from a data warp by the Law of Identity?”

“Correct. It’s unbelievable, but the Law of Identity has the power to do it.”

Fujiko and Korone were headed for the old library.

“Then the Law of Identity can give birth to a new world?”

“Probably, yes. But it doesn’t seem to have the power to change everything about our own.”

“So we’re in an extremely unstable position, then.”

“There’s no need to be so pessimistic. Humans have consciousness and free will. In this world, unless you physically take their life, you cannot erase someone’s existence.”

“Then what meaning is there in the existence of a human being created from a data warp by the Law of Identity? What problem occurs if she exists?”

“She was probably created to fix the data warp. Her existence itself isn’t a problem.”

“Then why did you say we need to hurry to the old library?”

“Because there’s a possibility a data alteration will take place, in order to truly fix the warp.”

“And how will that be done?”

“By completing ‘a story that could have existed’ in virtual phase space.”

Fujiko’s mouth fell open.

“What? What does that mean?”

“The world was changed in order to conceal the actions of Akuto Sai. The data warp that was created when that happened has taken human form. In other words, when she is satisfied, the warp will disappear.”

“When Keina Doronz is satisfied?”

“It seems I don’t have time to explain.” Korone looked off into the distance.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m detecting a mana fluctuation. The Law of Identity will shortly make contact with the data warp, and attempt to repair it. I’m going on ahead.” Korone drew a teleportation circle in mid-air, and then leapt inside it.

“W-Wait!” Fujiko stretched out a hand, but Korone had already gone inside, saying “Catch up later, please. I don’t think you’ll be able to affect the outcome, however.”

“Th-That’s so irresponsible...” Fujiko said, but the teleportation circle had already disappeared.

○

“Working hard, Ackie?” Keena floated into the old library. She had a relaxed look on her face that made you sleepy just looking at it.

“Also...”

Akuto was standing on top of a high ladder holding several books, putting them onto different shelves.

“...do you need my help?” Keena asked, but Akuto shook his head.

“I’m fine. Keep an eye on Doronz for me, please. She’s been reading a book the whole time, so she’s probably okay, but we can’t watch her.”

“Okay!” Keena flew over to Keina.

Meanwhile, Akuto went back to his work. He focused on shelving for a while, but when he heard Keena’s voice, he turned around. She had said something strange.

“Hey, did you decide what story you like?” Keena was whispering to Keina.

Akuto shouldn’t have been close enough to hear her, but somehow he heard her anyway.

Keina was sitting on top of a pile of books, with a green-colored book on her lap. Keena had a hand on her shoulder.

“Ke—” Akuto went to call her name.

But then Keina’s lips moved as she said something. Her body began to glow brightly, turning his whole field of vision white.

“Huh...?” Akuto was sinking in a world of white. He thought he heard Junko’s scream, and Korone’s emotionless voice.

“Wh-What is this...?”

“It seems I made it in time. In time to be caught up in it, at least...”

And then Akuto blacked out.

○

When Akuto woke up, he was wearing a fancy frock coat.

“Hmm?” He wondered for a moment if Fujiko had dressed him in it, but then he rejected the idea.

Akuto was in a western-style bedroom. There was a vintage-style mirror and a bed with a canopy. His feet were sunk into a thick carpet.

“What’s going on here?”

He looked around. The room was big, but he was the only one standing there. But someone was sleeping in the bed. It was Keina.

“She was reading a book, I thought... I guess I’ll wake her up.”

As he moved towards the bed, he suddenly froze in shock.

Keina was completely naked. The only thing covering her body was a thin sheet. He could easily make out her body’s curves.

“Is this... an illusion?” he whispered. There was a knock as the door opened.

“Excuse me. I’m sorry to interrupt, but this isn’t an illusion.”

Korone came inside. She was dressed as a maid.

“Korone... Why are you dressed like that? It feels like you know what’s going on...” Akuto said. Korone nodded.

“I’ll explain everything...”

Korone told him that Keina was a human being created from a warp by the Law of Identity, and that she existed in order to correct that warp.

“And she brought us here to do that?”

“This is virtual phase space. We use this space for our teleportation all the time, but right now it’s in a slightly unusual state.”

“Unusual how, exactly?”

“We’re locked in here and unable to escape. In addition, the space’s design comes from the book that Keina Doronz was reading.”

“The book she was reading?” Akuto looked around again. It felt like he was in a noble’s mansion in Europe.

“It’s a work of literature, detailing the loves of European nobles in the 1900s. It was written as a work of entertainment, but it became popular in later years, and was elevated to the status of literature.”

“I see. So basically, we’re locked in the world of a story?”

“Correct. And this fact is intimately linked with Keina Doronz.”

“What do you mean?

“She, herself, is the warp in the world. When she disappears the world will stabilize, and we’ll be released from virtual phase space.”

“W-Wait... Does that mean that she’s... that Doronz is going to die?”

Akuto looked at the sleeping Doronz. She looked very happy as she slept. He had never seen such a satisfied look on the face of a person who was sleeping.

“Yes, in a sense. All that will really happen, though, is that the rift will disappear,” Korone said flatly.

“You’re not going to tell me to kill her, are you?” Akuto asked, worried.

“I won’t tell you to kill her. I will tell you, however, to erase her. But she will eventually disappear on her own. That is her role, and why she was created.” Korone nodded.

—She was created to disappear?

Akuto didn’t know what to think. That meant that Keina was born just to help him, and would disappear for the same reason.

“I don’t know how I feel about that...”

“Don’t worry. Once she disappears, she will be adequately rewarded.”

“I’m not sure I understand...”

Korone paused for a second before she spoke.

“The warp is composed of people’s memories. Once the memories, in other words, she herself, are satisfied, she will disappear.”

—She’s made from people’s memories? And what does it mean to be “satisfied?”

Akuto felt he’d caught a glimpse of the truth of the world that Boichiro had told him about. There were things in this world that just didn’t fit right when you examined them closely. And there was probably another world, in the truest sense of the word, on the outside, that was tightly linked to this one’s destruction.

“The Law of Identity is adjusting this world to keep it running?”

“Very sharp. But this doesn’t necessarily imply that the world isn’t real. We are here, and we’re alive.”

“But you said she’s human, too...” Akuto looked at Keina again.

“Correct. But you can also say this: in this world, humans are supported by the memories of others. No, it’s too early to leap to conclusions. If nothing else, none of us in this world can prove that you exist only in our memories. Which means that the only natural conclusion is that you are a physical being.”

Korone was a Liradan, an artificial being, so she was capable of reaching such a terrifying hypothesis without being perturbed. But Akuto wasn’t. He shivered a little.

“That’s scary. But we are alive, and we were born. So I guess it means we just have to treasure that.”

“Yes. What makes Keina Doronz different is that she was born all of a sudden. Don’t forget that. The above conclusions were drawn from a vast amount of calculations. I can be fairly confident they’re true.”

Akuto let out a quick exhale of breath before he asked his next question.

“So what does it mean for her to be satisfied?”

“I’m afraid that’s a matter of human emotions, and beyond my knowledge. However, emotions can be predicted by patterns. If memories can be measured from feelings, then memories are a story. And the story must be completed, in a way that she finds to her liking,” Korone said.

—In other words...

“I see. So we just have to act out our roles in the novel. I’m not a great actor, but I guess I can try.”

Korone nodded.

“Correct. But what’s important is Keina Doronz’s satisfaction, not that the story be played out exactly. However, it’s a safe assumption that anything that did not exist in the original text will not exist in this space.”

“The rules are simple, huh?”

“It won’t be that much of a problem. The story itself is a peaceful one. No one dies. I think you’ll enjoy playing out your role.”

“Glad to hear it.” Akuto felt a little better. But Korone’s next words turned him pale.

“You’re going to have fun. It’s a story of the loves of European nobles. So you’ll be having relationships with a variety of women, before finally ending up with the Count’s daughter.” Korone pointed to Keina.

“What...? I’m supposed to be a European noble?”

○

(Oh, jeez! I’m late!)

A voice came from above Akuto’s head.

“Huh? What? What?” He looked around, but nobody was there. He could tell that the voice was Fujiko’s, but nothing else.

“Fujiko? Where are you?”

“Oh, every novel has descriptive text that serves as the author’s point of view. Fujiko Eto came late, so she’s been assigned that role,” Korone explained.

(Hey, why are there voices coming from that book?)

“Look at the book. We’re inside. Your job will be to read the text and lead us to the end of the story,” Korone explained. Fujiko had heard about Keina earlier, so she understood quickly what was going on.

(If only I’d gotten here sooner, I could’ve lived happily ever after with Akuto!)

“Even if you’d made it inside, the most you could’ve been was the heroine’s mean older sister. Give up and focus on advancing the plot.” Korone was cold as ice.

(You’re just a maid, though!)

“Oh, the noble has relations with the maid, as well. Heheheheh.” Her cold “heheheh” was strangely intimidating.

This was getting beyond what Akuto could handle.

“L-Let’s not do this...”

“There’s no other way to get out of here. We need to complete the story.”

(Aah! I won’t let you be the only one to have fun with Akuto!)

“It’s not your decision to make. The hero ends up sleeping with all the characters in the book, after all.”

“Y-You’re joking, right?” Akuto said, flustered, but Korone didn’t answer.

“Now, it’s time for the opening. The noble Akuto Sai is about to meet Keina Doronz!”

Korone snapped her fingers and pointed towards empty air.

Act 1

“Meet...? I already met her.”

Akuto was in the bedroom, not sure what to do. Korone said she wasn’t in this scene, so she’d left the room. Akuto wasn’t even sure what he was doing here.

(The protagonist was drinking all night at the count’s party, and went into the wrong room!) Fujiko said in an irritated voice.

“I see... Then I just need to act drunk, huh? Um... I am so drunk!”

(Can you do a little better job of acting?)

“I can’t! It’s not like I’m a real actor...” Akuto sighed, just in time for Keina to leap up awake in her bed.

“Who’s there? What are you doing in my bedroom! Kyah! How rude! Get out! I’ll scream!”

Keina had already read the book, so her acting was perfect. No, maybe she didn’t even realize she was acting.

Her acting was so good, though, that Akuto forgot for a moment that he was acting, too.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just that... you were so beautiful that I forgot myself.”

(Akuto... You’re not acting, right? So how are you copying the hero’s lines exactly?)

“...Is that true?” Akuto felt a little disgusted with himself. But the story moved on before he could think about it more.

“Your words are frivolous...! You’re not a good man, are you?!” Keina quickly crossed her arms to conceal her exposed chest.

“I might be a frivolous man, but the words I said were real. I’ll be leaving, then. The dawn’s not quite here yet. Goodnight, once again.” Akuto quickly left the room.

And then he looked up to the ceiling, at no spot in particular. Worried, he asked, “Fujiko, was that okay?”

(...It’s perfect. Are you sure you didn’t read the book in advance?)

“Y-Yes, I’m sure...” As he stammered, he heard a voice from behind him in the hallway.

“B-B-B-Brother...” It was a very nervous voice.

He turned around in surprise and couldn’t believe what he saw. It was Junko, wearing a beautiful dress.

“Brother?”

He was surprised to see her out of her usual outfit, and he also had trouble looking at her. The chest area of her dress left little to the imagination, and the corset was pushing her breasts up from below.

“Y-You dummy! What are you looking at?” Junko looked like she was about to punch Akuto but Fujiko stopped her.

(Stop! You two are brother and sister! Hattori, I told you this, right?)

“B-But Fujiko... I’m not used to dressing like this, and it’s really indecent...”

(I don’t care! If it bothers you that much, then let me do it! I’d look great in that dress!) Fujiko yelled.

“N-Now now, Fujiko. Just calm down... Let’s keep going,” Akuto said hesitantly, but that only made Fujiko madder.

(Leave the scene, arm around her shoulder like she’s your lover!)

“L-Lover? We’re siblings, right?”

(Don’t ask me! I guess you’re siblings in a relationship with one another!)

“Wh-What an indecent story...” Akuto responded.

Junko’s face went red, and her body shook, but she leaned up against Akuto’s shoulder.

“W-Wait, Hattori...”

“Call me Junko. I’m your little sister.”

“No, um... Junko...” he stammered, but Junko only pressed her body harder against him.

“L-Let’s go. This is what the story says, so we have to do it... We don’t have a choice...” She was giving excuses, but her face looked satisfied.

(Aaah! You came up with a way to enjoy it and still keep your dignity!)

“The reader is being really obnoxious. P-Put your arm around my shoulder... Brother.”

“Y-You’re not going to hit me, right?” Akuto put his hand on her shoulder. He only realized after he’d done so that her dress was shoulderless, and that he was touching her bare skin.

“Oh... I’m sorry.”

“Y-You dummy! Why are you apologizing?” she said as she put her own hand up to his.

(I-I want to be inside, too...)

“S-Shut up, narrator...” Junko motioned Akuto forward, and they began to walk.

Then the door opened and Keina’s head peeked out.

“H-He has a lover, I see. Not that it has anything to do with me,” Keina said, doing a great job of playing a girl whose heart was wavering.

(Okay! The scene’s over! Get off each other!)

Fujiko’s voice echoed loudly throughout the room.

Act 2

(The two reunite by chance. Um... Akuto witnesses Keina’s father, the count, engaging in unscrupulous deeds, and is now on the run from his men. While he’s running, he hides under Keina’s... he hides under her skirt?!) Fujiko screamed.

“N-No, I can’t do that... What kind of literature is this, anyway?” Akuto asked.

(No, Akuto... It frustrates me to say it, but many great works of literature include scenes where the hero hides under the girl’s skirt...)

“I-I see...”

(But that doesn’t make it okay to... wait, the scene’s already started!) Fujiko yelled.

Three men with swords were running at Akuto.

“Uwah!” Akuto quickly ran away.

But since he knew where he was going, and he didn’t want to go there, he felt like he had to complain.

“C-Can’t I just blow them away with magic...?”

“No. It would go against the rules, and you can’t use magic here anyway,” said Korone, who appeared in the scene as a passing maid.

“You came out of nowhere... Hmm, I guess because it’s set in a mansion, you can have maids anywhere, huh?”

Akuto was impressed, but that didn’t make things any better. He kept fleeing until he reached Keina’s room. She was wearing a dress.

“Uwah!”

“Kyah!”

“Be quiet. I’m being chased. Um... do you think you’d be willing to hide me in the most natural manner possible?”

Akuto tried to change the script to avoid going inside her skirt, but he was helpless in the face of Keina’s desire to complete the story.

“Th-There’s no place to hide in this room... No, there is one place!” Keina blushed as she raised up the skirt of her petticoat. Her voluptuous legs were exposed all the way to her underwear.

“Uwah!” Akuto look away. But Keina continued to hold up the hem of her skirt, and he could hear the footsteps of the pursuers getting closer.

“W-Wait... What do I do?” Akuto couldn’t move at all.

And then...

Bam!

A passing maid suddenly slammed into him from behind. He rolled forward into Keina’s skirt. There was a rustling sound as she dropped the hem, and Akuto’s body was covered completely beneath it.

“Mistress, did you see an intruder?”

“He went that way.”

And then he heard the footsteps going away.

“Whew.”

It was too dark to see anything, but Akuto, who had been closing his eyes tightly, relaxed and tried to come out from under the skirt. But then something soft squeezed him tightly around the torso. He knew instantly that it was Keina’s thighs. He could feel her heat throughout his whole body.

“H-Hey...!” Akuto jerked his body.

“No! Come out from there!” Keina yelled.

“Come out? I’m trying...” Before he could finish his sentence, though, he felt a fist whack him hard from the other side of the skirt. He understood what it meant, so he coughed and said his lines.

“Um. Uh... Excuse me. Well... I’m actually a little nervous. Are they really gone? Or are you trying to trick me?”

“Oh my. Not only are you a coward, but you’re rude. You’re doubting the courage I showed when I lifted up my skirt!” After saying her lines dramatically, Keina relaxed her thighs and lifted up her skirt again.

Akuto stood up. He didn’t feel like he could look Keina in the eye. But she grabbed his cheeks with both hands and turned his face towards hers.

“This is the second time you’ve been rude to me,” she said, angrily, and then she stuck out her tongue mischievously.

—I see. So she doesn’t think she’s part of the story. She knows it’s a play.

Akuto realized this now.

Keina looked to be having a great time, like she was enjoying the story from the bottom of her heart.

“I’ll apologize for my rudeness as many times as it takes. You are both beautiful and brave,” Akuto said dramatically, and then winked at her.

Keina smiled happily, but her tone was still angry.

“Does that mean you intend to keep looking at me naked? Oh cowardly and dusty one?”

Keina and Akuto laughed at each other.

(Aah! Hey you two, this is supposed to be a story!)

“I am just a passing maid, but I think, as the eldest here, it’s your job to let them have their fun. Now, on to Act 3!”

Act 3

(Um, the two of them continue to have a small infatuation for one another, but Akuto begins sexual relationships with girls he has no love for. Hey, wait! This thing’s full of sex scenes!) Fujiko yelled.

“I’m just a passing maid, but I’m attacked from behind while replacing the flowers in this vase,” Korone said, putting her both her hands on the vase and sticking out her hips. “Now come!”

“Not happening...” This time, at least, Akuto was hesitant.

“But if you don’t make me yours, the story won’t progress.” Korone shook her hips enticingly.

“Please stop doing that when you’ve got no expression on your face...”

“The book doesn’t describe the maid’s expression.”

“Well, probably not, but... Hey, Fujiko! What exactly does it say, specifically?” Akuto got a look on his face that indicated he’d come up with a good idea.

(Details... A-Are you going to make me read it? Ahem... “He jumped her from behind like a beast, and fulfilled his lusts violently.”)

“If that’s what it says, then... Akuto jumped her forcefully from behind, and...

“Aah! Stop, please stop!”

“This is what you get! This is what you get!”

“Oh, please stop! Stop spanking... stop spanking me...” Korone said, sounding quite bored.

Akuto was spanking her with a feather duster.

“Is that fulfilling your lusts violently?” Korone asked. Akuto nodded.

“Well, sure. Sometimes I get mad when you try to make my life difficult.”

“...Oh, it hurts. Master, please stop. It’s my first time.”

(Oh I see, you found a loophole. Let’s see... The next scene involves his little sister...)

“I-I have a very bad feeling. What’s wrong?”

(“They both go to bed naked and rub each other’s bodies. Akuto sticks a finger in her peach-colored blossom and finds it dripping with dew, and then it welcomes him inside. Junko moans forcefully...” W-Wait, what are you making me say?!)

“We’re sure this is literature, right?”

“It started off as a cheap romance novel!”

“W-Wait! This is my next scene?!”

Junko was bright red and ready to punch Akuto.

(I-If it were me I would’ve taken him to bed long ago! You’re just too shy! Hahaha!) Fujiko sounded very calm, considering she’d been blushing when she was reading herself.

“No, we’ll think of a way around it.” Akuto began to think.

“Y-You don’t need to think about it too hard. Except for that part about ‘welcoming you in,’ I’m willing to... go pretty far. If you just want to touch it...” Junko was mumbling to herself and looking at the floor, but Akuto wasn’t listening.

“I know. Maybe this will work.”

“W-We have to get in the same bed naked... don’t we?”

They went to an empty room, and Junko got into bed, pulled the covers over her and took off her clothes. Her heavy negligee slipped to the floor by the bedside.

Akuto turned around and answered her.

“That’s right. We can’t help that part, but I’ll make sure not to touch you... I’m getting in too.”

Once he saw that she was ready, Akuto got in on the opposite side of the bed.

“Y-Your foot touched me a little. And you didn’t see me when you lifted up the covers, right?”

“I-It’s okay. But you were turning away from me, so all I saw was your back. I think I’ve seen that quite a lot already...”

“You dummy! Keep your mouth shut!” Junko yelled.

“I-I’m sorry.” Akuto apologized and took off his clothes under the covers.

The bed was big, but not so big that he could avoid touching her back when he stripped. His hand ended up lightly going straight down her back.

“Pyah!” Junko gasped and jerked away. And then she bent over and began to shake.

“Oh, sorry. Did that tickle?” Akuto reached out his hand to apologize, without thinking about what he was doing. His hand ended up lightly rubbing her waist.

“Hyaaah!” She began to twist back and forth.

“I-I’m sorry. That tickles, doesn’t it?”

“N-No, that’s not it... Just don’t move...” Junko said as she gasped for breath.

“Oh, um... S-Sorry.” Akuto apologized, not sure what was going on.

A moment later, Junko spoke in a trembling voice.

“O-Okay, let’s do this...”

“R-Right...”

The two of them gulped.

Akuto reached out towards Junko. She closed her eyes tightly and turned her face towards him.

And...

“Aah... This is so pathetic... This is all we’re doing, but... actually, because this is all we’re doing, I feel like I’ve lost something important as a woman...”

“Yeah, I’m feeling weirdly pathetic too...”

Both of them popped their heads out of the covers and put their hands into each other’s hair, where they played with the rose blossoms and petals they’d placed there.

“We were lucky there was a flower metaphor there...”

“Did you get the petals nice and wet?”

“I guess...” Akuto pinched the rose blossom with his finger and stuck a finger in between the petals.

“It still feels kind of indecent somehow...” Junko sighed as she watched Akuto’s fingers at work.

“Let’s finish this up quickly. I’m going to stick my finger in your ear, so moan. Moan.” Akuto stuck his pinky finger in Junko’s ear.

“Hyaah...! S-Stop that... It’s actually more humiliating than actually doing it... aaaah...” It was a moan of shame more than pleasure, but it was still a moan.

The door to the bedroom opened.

“Akuto, as promised, I... Wh-What are you doing...! Bwahahaha! Ahahahahah!” Keina barged into the room, and then burst out laughing.

“Oh, you’re not supposed to laugh here...” Akuto said, and Keina stopped herself from laughing.

“Y-You’re right... H-How could you, Akuto! That’s so dirty...!”

“W-Wait, Keina! She’s...”

“No, you know how I felt about you and you went and did this anyway! I’m going to tell my father!” Keina ran off.

“Wait...” Akuto leaned up and stretched a hand towards the door. When he did, he took the covers with him, exposing Junko’s body to the outside air.

“Y-You dummy! The covers...!”

“Oh! Um, sorry...” As he put the covers back over her, his hand touched her waist.

“Pyaaaah!”

(Gah! I’m so jealous! If Akuto’s willing to touch your body so freely, then next time he’ll definitely be willing to do the same to me...)

“And thus was born a machine that will endlessly fondle the erogenous zones on your back,” Korone said, interrupting.

“Now, put this towel over you and get dressed. It’s time for the next scene.”

(After this, there’s a scene where Akuto isn’t sure which woman to pick.)

“Um... between the little sister, the maid, and the countess’s daughter?” Akuto asked as he put on his clothes.

(That’s right. But he quickly gives up on the maid, and as he talks to her, he learns that he’s not actually related to his sister. That’s how the story goes.)

“Alright, anyone who isn’t a noble, get out of the room. It’s time for Act 4!”

Once again, Korone pointed to empty air.

Act 4

“The two of you aren’t actually related. Your sister was adopted from a house of bankrupt nobles when she was very young,” Korone said, very awkwardly.

“That’s why we were drawn to each other, then? Then that means I have to choose between the two of them!” Akuto said, a little too dramatically.

Akuto wasn’t an actor by any means, but this line felt especially heavy to him. Because...

“Do I have to choose someone here?” he whispered to Korone.

“What does that mean? Do you want to keep all of them for your harem? We can redo the scenes again, if you like. Or do you not want to choose anyone? If not, the story won’t advance.”

“That’s what I mean. I don’t want the story to go any further,” Akuto said.

Korone shook her head.

“You have to choose, Master. That’s what it means to take responsibility when dealing with a woman.”

That line was clearly from the book, but Akuto shook his head.

“I know I need to be responsible. But even if I choose my sister, won’t the story still end?”

“That means changing the story and giving it a different ending, right?”

“That’s right. But the virtual phase space will still close, won’t it?”

Korone shook her head.

“That will likely mean that Keina Doronz will remain unsatisfied.”

“But if she’s satisfied, she’ll disappear, right?”

“Correct. She is a warp, so that’s what is natural for her,” Korone said coldly.

“She’s human,” Akuto said, a little upset. But Korone’s response was instant.

“If she was a Liradan, it wouldn’t be a problem if she disappeared...”

“Don’t say that. I would be upset if you disappeared, too.”

“If you really think so, then you should have made love to me instead of giving me a spanking...” Normally Korone’s jokes were effective, but not today.

“That’s not what I meant. I think it’s okay if the space closes without her being satisfied.”

“Even if that were possible, if you think that’s what’s best for her, you’re wrong.”

“What...?”

“Even without entering the phase space, she would have disappeared shortly after this. And in that case, the one thing she wishes for wouldn’t happen.”

“But...”

“When it comes down to it, this is all you can do. Tell you love her, even if it’s just part of a story. The others will, just this once, permit you.”

“Why do I need their permission... But I guess that’s my only choice, huh? Fine. I choose her. I choose Keina Doronz,” Akuto declared with a nod.

○

And then came the last scene, filled with battle and romance.

Keina was imprisoned in a tower while her father, the count, went on to do further evil deeds. But Akuto cornered the count with beautiful swordplay, and defeated him.

Akuto did what was right, but he was pained by the fact that he had to kill the count. To make matters worse, the count’s men hid the evidence of his crimes, and tried to kill Akuto so that they could take over his lands.

Just when it seemed like Akuto was about to be killed... Keina realized her love for him and saved the day.

“Akuto! Shove your blade into that crack in the rock! It will bring down the tower!”

“But Keina, if I do that, you’ll...!”

“I don’t mind, as long as you survive!” Keina said. She had made her choice.

Akuto jammed his sword into the rock.

With a rumble, the tower fell — and Keina was caught inside.

But Akuto ran up the crumbling tower to grab her, and then leapt into the air.

“Akuto!”

“Keina!”

Her face shone with happiness in the morning sun. The two of them were standing alone on the cliff where the tower had fallen. They gazed into each other’s eyes, and there was nobody to stop them now.

“Ahahaha! Ahahaha...! That was fun. It was so much fun,” Keina laughed.

“I had fun, too. I didn’t used to like cliché stories like this, but I think maybe I should change my mind,” Akuto said, panting from exhaustion.

“I... I only cared about you,” Keina said in a serious voice.

—Yeah, that’s right. Every story has an ending.

He didn’t know if Keina’s words were from the story or what she was feeling herself.

“Me too... inside this story... Maybe it’s rude to say it that way, but...” Before he could say another word, Keina put a finger to his lips to quiet him.

“I know you’re rude already,” she said.

“Yeah... I guess so. I...” He tried to say something else, but she shook her head.

“It’s okay. I was only born to help you, and I’m going to disappear in your arms. That’s my fate. Right?”

“That’s not...”

“No. I know what’s going on here. I’m the only person here who’s part of a story. I was different from all of you from the beginning. We were only together for a short time, but you gave me everything I wanted.”

“No, I didn’t do anything! I barely spent any time with you at all! We didn’t get any time to know each other...”

“No, you gave me everything. You finished the story. That’s all that matters.”

“But why do you have to disappear?”

“A real person can’t exist within a story. But I was allowed to do that. That’s the difference. I’m not going to disappear, I’m going to live happily ever after, for eternity. Because you gave me that happiness.”

“But I don’t want that. It’s my fault. I wished that the Law of Identity would give me freedom...”

“A story is a short dream. You’re not allowed to live inside a novel.”

“But I’m also... I know...”

“Don’t be sad. Once the story reaches the last line, we live happily ever after.” Keina wrapped her arms around Akuto’s neck.

Their lips drew closer. But Akuto couldn’t bring himself to feel her soft lips upon his. Instead, hot tears touched his cheek. He didn’t know if they were his or hers.

And then there was no one in his arms.

—Ah... aaah...

Akuto turned around and saw Korone and Junko.

“She’s gone,” he said.

○

The next thing he knew, he was on the floor of the old library.

—Hmm? ...Huh? What just happened?

Akuto sat up. Junko was on his right, and Korone was on his left. Fujiko was behind him. All of them were unconscious.

—Oh, right. We were assigned to clean this place up, when the books fell over...

And Keena was in his arms. She was on top of him, looking down at him with sleepy, innocent eyes.

“Morning, Ackie.”

“Good morning... wait, what happened?” Akuto patted Keena on the head, as he tried to remember what was bothering him so much.

“Nothing at all,” Keena said. She was staring at Akuto with round eyes.

“Hmm... If you say so. Hey, I was wondering... why is it you sometimes look so cruel to me?” Akuto said.

Keena blinked as if to reply that she had no idea.

“Cruel? That’s not true. But Ackie, you can only cheat on me once, okay?” she said, and then grabbed him and held him tight.

“Cheat on you? What are you talking about? I didn’t cheat on you. We’re not even dating...”

He fell backwards when she grabbed him, and the noise woke the others up.

“Ugh... I feel like I was having a horrible nightmare. Wait, what are you two doing?!”

“Aah! I came to check on you because I was worried, and you’re with that girl again, Akuto!”

“What sort of person could be capable of causing a Liradan to go unconscious?”

“Oh, everybody’s awake! Hey, look everybody! The books all fell down! Crash!”

Keena, oblivious as ever, spread out her arms wide.

○

For a while after that, Akuto had a strange nagging feeling that something was wrong, a thought he couldn’t get out of his brain.

Eventually it went away, but he found he’d developed a new habit. He’d started to take an interest in physical books, and read a few stories. And each time he flipped the pages of a book, for some reason he felt a tightness in his chest.

It was worst of all with books that had happy endings.

“What am I trying to read?” he whispered to no one in particular, and the wind blew the pages as if answering his question.