Chapter 4: The Limits of Endless Possibilities
Chapter 4: The Limits of Endless Possibilities
At long last, we reached the third and final day of the school festival. Normally the festival only ran for two days, so this was kind of like a bonus extension, but it left me wondering what strings they’d had to pull to get that in this day and age where some parents were opposed to the very idea of school festivals in the first place. I asked President Momone out of curiosity, but the only answer she gave me was a sly grin. It was an answer that told me that I had better not ask too many questions or it wouldn’t happen again next year. It made me realize just how in over my head I was with her. But anyway...
“It’s almost time, I think.”
I was currently waiting for someone in front of the Mitsuhashi High school gates. And not just anyone, mind you—a VIP guest whose appearance was supposed to be the grand finale of the Mitsuhashi-Juumonji school festival. It would be no exaggeration to say that arranging for her appearance had been the most important thing I’d done for the festival committee. Actually, honestly, I think that might have been the entire reason President Momone forced me to help the festival committee in the first place. There were way more responsible, diligent, and useful people she could’ve recruited other than me.
“R, go take a look from overhead.”
“You know you don’t have to be so impatient, right? She’s way busier than an average high school student like you, so can’t you just chill a little and wait for her without the ants in your pants?”
“I don’t have ants in my pants; I’m just worried. I mean, she’s so famous... What if someone’s harassing her on the way here?”
“Wouldn’t be our problem.”
“Oh, okay. I see what’s really going on here. You’re just lazy.”
As R and I continued to bicker, I caught a glimpse of a girl running our way out of the corner of my eye.
“S-Sorry for the wait!”
“No problem. You didn’t have to run. Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine...”
There, our special guest for the day—Mio Kotozuka—took several deep breaths. She was wearing a hat and glasses to keep people from recognizing her as her idol persona MIO.
“No one spotted you on your way here, right?”
“Right. I’m not wearing my wig right now, and no one’s ever recognized me with my glasses on,” she said with a confident nod.
She insisted, so I had to believe her. But today, it would be my mission to protect her. If her identity was revealed, there would be a screaming rush of fans all over campus... And President Momone would yell at me again for sure. The plan was to keep Mio a secret until her surprise performance at the end of the festival.
“Thanks again for coming today, Mio. I know you’re always busy.”
“Don’t mention it, Rekka. I’d be happy to help you out with anything,” she said with a bright smile.
Mio really was a sweet girl. I could totally see why her fans on the internet extolled her as the angel of pop.
“The concert won’t be until this evening, so feel free to enjoy the festival until then.”
“Sure. What about you, Rekka? What are you up to?”
“I’ll be sticking with you today. I’ve got orders from the student council president to guard you with my life if it comes to that.”
“You don’t have to listen to orders like that...” Mio said with a furrowed brow.
My bad. I may have phrased that poorly.
“Haha, don’t worry. She was mostly just kidding, anyway.”
“Really? If you say so... But I don’t want you feeling like my bodyguard or anything, Rekka.”
Ah, of course... I guess Mio actually had real bodyguards and stuff. I’d seen idols on TV before surrounded by men in black suits to protect them from rabid swarms of fans. She probably didn’t think I was kidding when I said something about protecting her with my life.
“Like I said, don’t worry. If it gets that bad, we’ll run together.”
“Yeah.”
There, Mio and I exchanged smiles.
“Well,” I said after a moment, “is there anything you want to see?”
“I’d like to just walk around a bit first. Oh, but I would like to see Tsumiki.”
“You got it.”
With that plan in mind, I turned to walk off with her, but...
“Um...” she called out to stop me.
“What is it?”
“Would you... hold my hand?” she practically mumbled.
“Yeah... sure.”
It was a little embarrassing, but I agreed and extended my hand, which she took happily. It was a little awkward, but I was more worried about getting separated and losing her than anything else. This was the lesser of two evils. Just as I convinced myself of that, we entered the school. I changed into my indoor shoes while Mio changed into slippers.
“Now, where shall we go first?” I asked.
Our school had two major buildings. First was the building that housed all the regular classrooms, which was where most of the class events and stuff were taking place. But then there was also the auxiliary building that contained special classrooms like the science lab and whatnot. There were some exhibits there too, so we had our choice of things to check out.
“To start, I think I’d prefer whichever is quieter... In more ways than one.”
“Huh...? Okay, well, let’s go check out the auxiliary building then,” I suggested, wondering what she’d meant.
“It wouldn’t exactly be quiet anymore if you ran into the other heroines, now would it?” R said, shaking her head in exasperation as she floated behind me like usual.
But as I’d expected, the auxiliary building wasn’t quite as crowded. The main attractions here were exhibits that various clubs had put together, so it didn’t have the same pull that the main building did. Which, incidentally, was probably why there weren’t any food carts or anything over here either. I was worried Mio might get bored quickly, but she seemed to be enjoying herself more than I thought she would.
“Wow, this embroidery’s so detailed...”
Right now, she was in awe of the display from the arts and crafts club.
“Do you do any needlework yourself, Mio?”
“I’d like to, but I don’t really have the time... Oh, but I do love sewn things like stuffed animals.”
“Heh, yeah, I can totally see you with one of those giant teddy bears.”
I was casually joking around a bit, but Mio’s eyes lit right up.
“I have one of those at home! It’s huge!”
“Ah...”
It seemed I’d hit the nail on the head. All I’d said was that I could picture her with one, but Mio was smiling just as big and bright as could be.
“I hug it when I go to sleep at night.”
I bet that must be adorable. Just imagining Mio cuddling with a stuffed animal made me feel warm and fuzzy. After putting any and all weird thoughts out of my head, we took our leave of the arts and crafts club room. We then headed down the hallway, wondering what we should do next, when all of a sudden...
Knock, knock!
“What was that?”
It sounded like someone knocking on the window, but we were on the third floor... Dubious, I turned to look at the window.
“Bwuh?!”
“Hiya, Rekka!”
As luck would (unfortunately) have it, there was a dumb angel flapping her wings on the other side of the window as she rapped on the glass.
“Rachelle?! What are you doing here?!” I flung the window open and yelled.
But she didn’t seem the slightest bit concerned.
“Weeell, I detected some rich love energy coming from this direction, so I just happened to wander over here,” she said, casually putting her hand on her face.
That was honestly where I wanted to plant my fist right about now with ten times the force, but in order not to make a scene, I held myself back. Speaking of making a scene...
“Look, Rachelle, someone’s going to see you like this.”
“It’ll be fine! They’ll just think I’m a cosplayer or something.”
“And how exactly are you going to explain the flying part?”
“Won’t they think it’s a magic trick or something?”
As Rachelle continued to spin whatever optimistic nonsense was convenient for her...
“H-Huh? Is that... an angel?!”
Mio saw right through her. On top of being annoying, Rachelle really was hopeless.
“Argh, fine! Just get inside already!”
“Oh, you’re inviting me in? Don’t mind if I do!”
Rachelle then entered through the window, which was bad enough as it was, but at least she was standing like a normal person now. As long as she wasn’t flying, maybe we could actually sell people on the whole cosplay thing. It would have to do...
I placed a hand against my forehead and sighed.
“Um... R-Rekka?”
“Oh, sorry, Mio. This is your first time meeting Rachelle, right? As you can see... Well, she’s an angel.”
“Nice to meet you! I’m Rachelle, the angel of love and passion!”
“O-Oh, um... It’s nice to meet you too.”
Mio seemed a bit taken aback by the overly-friendly angel.
“You really are surrounded by extraordinary people, Rekka...”
“No, not Rachelle. She’s just extraordinarily stupid.”
“Personally, I think that’s what makes her cute,” R interjected.
But that was easy for her to say when she wasn’t the one who actually had to deal with Rachelle. She went on rampages way too easily.
“Jeez, I’m begging you... Just behave yourself today, okay? Otherwise the disciplinary committee is going to kick a sketchy character like you right out of here.”
“Oh my gosh, Rekka, you are so mean! How could you say something like that to a sweet angel like me?”
“...What are you getting at?”
“Teehee, I thought you’d never ask!”
With a giggle, Rachelle started to open her shirt. I immediately turned to look away, but a familiar face caught my eye.
“P-Poppy?!”
“Hello, Rekka!”
It was the little fairy I’d met in the mountains with Satsuki and the others at the family barbeque. What was she doing here? Moreover, what was she doing hidden in Rachelle’s shirt?
“I spotted her loitering around the building by chance, and when I talked to her, I came to find out she was a friend of yours too, sooooo... I brought her along with me!” Rachelle happily gushed, apprising me of her side of the story.
“Okay, that explains why the two of you are together, but what are you doing here at the school, Poppy?”
“Um, it just seemed like a lot of people were having fun over here, so I just... came to check it out.”
“Fairies do love festivities, after all!” Rachelle added with a grin.
“So the festival managed to attract both of you, albeit for very different reasons, huh?”
“Like I said, Rekka, you really are surrounded by extraordinary people...” Mio said in awe as she poked at Poppy with her finger.
“Heehee!”
It must have tickled, because Poppy began giggling happily.
“How cute...”
It seemed her reaction tugged at Mio’s heartstrings, too. But anyway...
We decided to keep strolling around the festival as a group of four. Mio was a given, but Rachelle and Poppy also had to keep their real identities a secret here. I was worried about Rachelle blowing it in particular, and it would be much easier to keep an eye on her if she was nearby.
“Wow, so you’re an idol, Mio?”
“Yup. I’ll even be doing a little show later. Will you come see it, Poppy?”
“Of course! That sounds like so much fun!” Poppy replied brightly to Mio’s invitation.
Currently, she was secretly hiding under the brim of Mio’s hat. Fortunately Mio was pretty short, so it was unlikely anyone would see her this way, but the two of them might give it away if they got too excited.
“Hey, uh, Poppy? Could you lower your voice a little?”
“Oh, I’m sorry!”
At my warning, Poppy muffled her mouth with both hands.
“Aww... How cute.”
Mio seemed even more enchanted with the little fairy, and she let out a small sigh of wonderment. She’d really taken a liking to Poppy. And Poppy seemed pretty content as well, as she continued chatting with Mio cheerfully. All in all, there was a wonderful, harmonious energy to our group... There was just one idiot who couldn’t read the room.
“Auuugh, Rekkaaa... I don’t feel much love energy in this direction. Let’s go that way instead!” Rachelle griped.
There weren’t all that many people in the auxiliary building, so there wasn’t enough love energy—in other words, carnage—here to satisfy her, which led to her complaining nonstop about going to the main building. To be honest, she was the entire reason I didn’t want to go there... But since I was showing Mio around the festival, it was only inevitable we’d end up there eventually.
“Hey, look, a fortune teller’s shop. Wanna go in?”
I tried to delay the inevitable as long as possible by pointing to a nearby attraction and suggesting we check it out.
“A fortune teller, huh...?”
“Not interested in fortunes, Mio?”
I actually really wasn’t much interested in that kind of thing either, but I thought Mio might be.
“I was once a guest star on a show where a famous fortune teller did a reading for me...”
“Yeah?”
“It was all staged.”
“Oof.”
“All my reactions were decided beforehand and everything.”
While she’d done her job—it was for work, after all—she’d had conflicted feelings about fortune tellers ever since.
“Then let’s go find something else to do.”
“No, that’s okay. It’s up to the individual whether they believe the fortune or not. And as long as it’s with you... I think I might want to do it.”
I could hardly make out what she said there at the end because she was mumbling so much, but it seemed she’d resolved herself to go see the fortune teller after all.
“So... shall we go in?”
“Sure.”
“Hmph!”
Rachelle was the only one who didn’t want to, but we outvoted her.
School festivals were one of the biggest events in high schoolers’ love lives. Throwing an angel that incited jealousy and preyed on the ensuing carnage into the mix would spell disaster for everyone. I’d have to watch her like a hawk as soon as we went to the other building.
Dreading all that, I stepped through the dark curtains hanging over the fortune teller’s door. I was greeted with silence. The interior of the room was dim, and all the windows had been covered with blackout curtains. The only source of light was a lone candle placed atop a desk in the middle of the room that was draped in a purple tablecloth.
There was only one person present... I think? Even when I rubbed my eyes and looked again, there was only one person—the fortune teller presumably, based on the way she was dressed—sitting at the aforementioned desk.
“Welcome to my shop,” she said.
How should I put it...? Her outfit was so unique that it made Rachelle look plain by comparison. It was of an exotic, vaguely Arabic design with only sheer material covering her legs, which left her thighs and calves visible even through her clothes. She was also covered in accessories from head to toe, all of which were extravagant enough that they’d be against the school dress code if this were any normal school day.
But the most eye-catching feature of all was her hair illuminated by candlelight... It appeared to be all seven colors of the rainbow. Radiating from the top of her head was a gradient of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. She had the perfect mystical look you’d expect from a fortune teller, but did she really have to go all out like this just for the festival? Must be pretty gung-ho.
“Have a seat,” she said, beckoning us towards the desk.
There were exactly three open seats, which was perfect for... us...? Wait a minute, were there chairs there a minute ago? Maybe I’d just missed them because it was so dark, but it seemed like they’d appeared out of nowhere. Was it just my imagination?
“Um, thanks...”
It felt awkward to stay standing, so we all approached and took a seat.
“Did you come seeking any knowledge in particular?”
“Hmm...”
I hadn’t really come in here for me, so I couldn’t think of anything.
“What about you, Mio? You seemed like you wanted your fortune told about something earlier.”
“Ah, um... Yes, I... Um, if you would...”
Mio turned to the fortune teller and leaned across the desk to whisper something directly to her. She was probably telling her what she wanted her fortune told regarding, but why couldn’t we hear it too?
“Understood,” the fortune teller said with a nod before taking out a small crystal ball.
It was almost made like a pendant, connected to her necklace by a gold chain. She swung it gently from left to right, and it glinted in the candlelight, catching all of our eyes.
“I can see it...” the fortune teller murmured as she watched us from the other side of the crystal ball.
At this point, I belatedly noticed her left eye was a different color than her right. One was blue, and one was green. Her odd eyes looked at me and Mio in turn.
“The results are favorable between you two.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes. However... What is this, I wonder? It seems Rekka over here has multiple connections with the opposite sex... The same kind of connections that you desire, Mio. And there’s quite a number of them, no less.”
“I already knew that...”
Mio had looked so happy at first, but now let out a heavy sigh.
“As for you, Rekka...”
“Yes?”
“You have terrible luck with women.”
“I’m well aware...”
I sighed just like Mio. But... grim results aside, I guess the fortune telling was pretty accurate so far. Was this fortune teller just that good? I had no real idea what the metric for fortune telling skills was.
“Hey, what about me? What’s my luck like?” Rachelle inquired, raising her hand and waving it enthusiastically.
“Let’s see...”
The fortune teller started swinging her crystal ball once more...
“Yeah. I’ve had enough of this.”
And then suddenly changed her tone.
“Huh?”
Without any explanation, the fortune teller leaned back in her chair and said...
“For now, only Rekka Namidare should remain in the room.”
And those words seemed to have a mysterious power to them. Suddenly she and I were the only ones in the room. Everyone else had disappeared.
“M-Mio! Rachelle? Poppy?! Where did you guys go?!”
“Oh, don’t worry. It’s not like they’re dead,” the fortune teller reassured me unconvincingly upon seeing my panic.
“You! What did you do with them?!”
“Take a seat.”
“Don’t mess with—”
Just then, something caught my attention and made me look around at my surroundings carefully. Everyone was gone... Including R. Whether it was in other worlds, outer space, or even the past, she had always stuck with me. But now she was gone.
“...”
Seeing that, I finally understood that something was very, very wrong. This stood out even among all the other strange situations I’d been wrapped up in over the past couple of days.
Ah, damn it... That’s right. I see now.
It was only then that I realized it. While I was helping out with the festival committee, I’d seen the master list of all the events, displays, booths, and exhibits that were part of the festival. And a fortune teller’s shop wasn’t on it. This very place should have raised red flags from the start.
“What’s wrong?” the fortune teller asked.
“...”
I took a moment to calm myself before engaging the fortune teller. Since I had no idea who she really was or what she wanted, I’d have to get some information out of her before anything else.
“So, who are you?”
“Come to think of it, I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Touko Iwazu. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rekka Namidare.”
The fortune teller—Touko Iwazu—offered me her hand with a smile. I shook it silently and calmed myself once more.
“...You seem to have some kind of business with me. What are you after?”
“Very good. I’m proud of you for staying cool and collected. It wouldn’t be any fun otherwise.”
“I can’t say I find this fun at all.”
“Oh, it’s very fun. A normal human would be panicking by this point. Some of them just go into denial. But not you. And I find that very exciting,” Touko said happily. “I don’t just mean today, either. With both the bomb threat and the body swap, you were able to accept the situation and diligently work towards overcoming it.”
There, she flashed a smirk.
“So that was all your doing too?” I asked in response.
It seemed I had been her goal all along. I felt badly for dragging Mio and the others into this, but moreover...
“Making the girls disappear from the room, swapping Hibiki’s body with mine... Just how are you making these things happen?”
“Cutting straight to the chase, I see.”
I guess she wasn’t going to answer me so easily. Or that’s what I thought, but then...
“Well, whatever. I’ll spell it out for you,” Touko said readily. “I wield the power of words, you see... So what I say can shape the very essence of reality.”
“Wh-What?”
The power... to shape reality?
“By simply articulating my desires, I can change the perceptions of people around you, launch unplanned fireworks, swap minds and bodies, instantly erase people, and much, much more... I dare say I can do anything.”
“What the hell...?”
I’d fought a rather wide variety of enemies before, but someone who could straight-up bend reality to their will? That was just unfair, although it did make a certain amount of sense. All the strange, unexplained incidents recently... She’d willed them to happen.
“Was that cursed game your doing too?”
“Game? What are you talking about?”
Was she playing dumb? No. She’d been upfront about her power already, so there was no reason for her to lie now. Which meant... she really had nothing to do with the game? I guess that didn’t matter right now. I was getting the information I needed, but there was still one thing I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
“So you have the power to do anything and everything... but why would you go through such lengths to come after me? What’s your reason for that?”
That was what I really wanted to know now. What would someone who could do anything want from me? But upon hearing that question, Touko grinned.
“Rekka Namidare, I challenge you.”
“Challenge?”
“The nature of said challenge is up to you. Challenge me at anything you like; just make me lose at something before the festival is over.”
“What...?”
I guess now I knew what she wanted from me, but this was rather strange. She wanted me to make her lose at something, huh?
“I don’t really understand.”
“I meant exactly what I said. And if you can’t manage to win against me, I’ll do terrible things to the people around you,” she laughed with a wicked grin.
“Terrible things...?”
“That’s right. As long as I can speak, no matter how cruel and heartless, inhumane and atrocious, unthinkable and inconceivable the words... I’ll talk until I have nothing left to say.”
“...!”
To her, putting something into words was the same as making it happen.
“So what will you do? I doubt you’ll refuse me. You’re the type of guy who would throw everything into taking care of a bomb threat with nothing to go on, after all.”
That felt a little underhanded... But either way, I had no choice but to accept her demands for now.
“All right, I g—”
“Oh, and if you’re confident enough, I don’t mind if the challenge is something perverted.”
“As if I’d do that!”
“So you’re not confident, hmm?”
“I can’t hear yooooouuu!”
She must have found it fun to pick on me, as she was still grinning wickedly. Damn it! I didn’t stand a chance against someone like her, even though I knew she was just trying to provoke me...
“Fine! Since you insist, I’ll make you lose as much as you want!”
“So you’ll go with a perverted challenge after all?”
“NO!”
I really was bad at dealing with this...
“Anyway, I accept your challenge. However, you first have to give Mio and the others back.”
“Very well. You may have them back.”
Again, according to the mysterious power of her words...
“Kyah!”
“Wah!”
The very next moment, Mio and Rachelle fell back into their seats.
“Huh? What happened to us?”
I could practically see the question marks hovering over Mio’s head, but she didn’t seem to be hurt or anything.
“Ooo...”
I peeked under her hat just to be sure, and I found a very dizzy-looking Poppy.
“Rekka.”
Upon hearing my name, I turned around to see R with a solemn expression on her face.
“I’m sorry. My fixed coordinate function was forcibly terminated, temporarily removing me from my position. My canceler works against most magics and psychic powers, but hers appears to be capable of great interference.”
An ability so powerful that even R, an advanced lifeform from the future, feared it...
“Now, shall we begin the challenge?”
“Yeah...” I said with a nervous gulp.
▽
Now, even though I’d agreed to challenge her, coming up with something on the spot wasn’t easy. Thankfully, however, we were in the middle of a festival. There were countless activities I could challenge her to here.
“First up is a shaved ice eating contest!”
“Oh, do they still sell shaved ice in the autumn?”
Touko was impressed by the wrong thing, but she accepted the challenge readily. I honestly didn’t think it was the right season for shaved ice anymore either, but it was cheap and easy to sell. It did feel pretty nice after working up a sweat walking around all day, too.
“Okay, whoever finishes eating first is the winner.”
“Understood.”
Touko and I stood facing each other, shaved ice in hand.
“Do your best, Rekka! I’m cheering for you!”
“G-Good luck!”
Rachelle was frantically waving her hands in a show of support from a short distance away. Poppy was also cheering for me, but in a quiet voice from under Mio’s hat so no one else would hear her.
“U-Um, then...” Mio mumbled as she took her place between me and Touko.
We’d asked her to act as a referee, so she’d be overseeing the match.
“Begin!”
She then swung her raised hand downward, signaling the start.
“NomRRRRAAUGH!”
I quickly shoveled as much shaved ice into my mouth as I could, and my frozen brain made me groan in response. This was the real challenge of a shaved ice eating contest. Now, to see if Touko could do any better...
“Wow, you’re pretty fast,” she said in awe as she leisurely watched me eat.
The spoon in her hand hadn’t budged an inch. Was she even going to try? I had to wonder, but I soon got my answer...
“I guess I’ll just eat mine in one bite,” she said.
Then, true to her word, she lifted her spoon and ate all of her shaved ice in a single bite.
“H-Huh?!”
What on earth just happened...? I hadn’t taken my eyes off of her for a second, yet I had no idea how all her shaved ice was gone. The spoon shouldn’t have even been able to hold all of it at once... But I’d also just seen her do it. I was terribly confused.
“Aah... that hit the spot!” Touko furrowed her brows with a laugh.
She was probably holding back her brain freeze just like I had been a few moments earlier. It wasn’t as though she had physically turned a heap of shaved ice into a bite-sized amount, nor did she simply make the shaved ice disappear... She’d eaten it all in one bite, just like she said she would.
“She’s distorting the laws of causality... What an amazing power.”
R put a name to the phenomenon, but I didn’t need her to do that in order to realize Touko’s power was truly incredible.
“Now that puts you at zero wins and one loss. What will you challenge me to next?”
“...”
Well, I hadn’t expected to win so easily. There hadn’t been a limit on the number of challenges set, so I had intended on using the first few rounds as bait to test the waters of her mysterious power.
“All right, next is...”
▽
Next up, we swung by Nozo-mini.
“Another eating contest? How unexciting.”
“What can I say? I’ve always been a rather dull guy,” I replied lazily as I walked through the curtain to Nozo-mini.
“You came back, Rekka!”
Lea welcomed me warmly when she saw me enter, but a very sulky Tetra standing right next to her had a different reaction.
“Who’s this, Rekka?”
“Ah, this is...”
“Hello. I’m Touko Iwazu.”
Touko introduced herself before I could finish my sentence, taking Tetra by the hand and shaking it emphatically.
“Er, um... It’s nice to meet you,” Tetra replied, somewhat taken aback.
She was probably stumped trying to reconcile Touko’s ostentatious outfit and her friendly demeanor. But as that was going on, Tsumiki walked over too. Rather than sulking like Tetra, she was straight up glaring at me.
“...And? I heard you went to Juumonji High yesterday. Did you ensnare another new girl while you were there?”
“Please don’t put it that way... Anyway, I only met Touko today.”
“You only met her today, yet you’re already close enough to go around the festival together?”
“No, no, no. It’s not like that.”
“You see, I’m in the middle of a challenge with Rekka Namidare,” Touko explained, unexpectedly offering me a helping hand from Tsumiki’s sharp attack.
“A challenge?”
“That’s right. And if he wins, he’s entitled to whatever he wants with me as a reward.”
“WHAT?!” the other girls all yelled in shock.
“That wasn’t the deal!” I protested.
“Ooh, I felt a wonderful surge of love energy just now!”
And, of course, Rachelle was basking in the chaos like she hadn’t a care in the world. She made an interesting counterpoint for the aloof and deadpan R, so I guess it kinda all evened out in the end.
“Love energy? The angel sure says interesting things,” remarked Touko.
“Hey now, despite all appearances, whether or not I get love energy is a matter of life and death for me, you know? Why, before I met Rekka, I was on the verge of starvation...”
“Hmm...”
Touko half-listened to Rachelle’s rant about love energy as she sneakily leaned in close to whisper to me.
“Hey, is this girl actually a real angel? I thought she was just a cosplayer at first, but her wings and halo don’t look like any costume.”
“Can’t you just figure it out with your power?”
“There are ways, certainly. But if you just tell me, then I won’t have to resort to something so pointlessly cruel.”
“Er, yeah... She’s a real angel.”
“My, how amazing! Come to think of it, back when I made the girls disappear in my shop, you called out to someone named Poppy, too. Where is she?”
“...”
Touko apparently hadn’t spotted Poppy yet. She’d definitely used her power to make her disappear earlier, yet she didn’t know where Poppy actually was? What did that mean?
“Poppy’s a fairy. Right now she’s hiding under Mio’s hat. It’ll be trouble if anyone finds out she’s here, so if you have to peek, do it discretely.”
“Certainly.”
Touko nodded, then lifted Mio’s hat a little and excitedly proclaimed...
“Goodness, a real fairy!”
Her surprise seemed genuine, indirectly confirming for me that she really hadn’t known where Poppy was this entire time. That had to mean the power of her words worked exactly as she stated them, whether or not she was aware of the consequences. That was pretty brutal.
Tactics like ambushes only worked by taking an opponent by surprise. In other words, the key element was the opponent’s lack of awareness... But if Touko’s powers could work on targets she didn’t even know were there, I’d never be able to fully catch her off guard. I’d have to think of another way to win. And as I was turning that over...
“Eek!”
I suddenly heard a small yelp. I turned around to see what it was, and lo and behold...
“Ow, ow, ow...”
“Wuh?! H-How did I get bigger?!”
A human-sized Poppy was sprawled out on top of Mio, both of them on the floor.
“H-Hey, what’s going on here?!”
“What? It would have been difficult for her to enjoy the festival like that, so I simply made her a little bit bigger.”
“Y-You can even do something like that...?”
“But of course,” Touko said nonchalantly.
“Wow, thank you so much!” Poppy happily bounced on her heels as she thanked Touko over and over again.
Her excessive gratitude drew a little attention, but it seemed no one had actually seen her get bigger, so no one really questioned anything. After that...
“So, what did you guys come here for?” Tsumiki asked, impatiently tapping a serving tray against her shoulder.
“Oh, that’s right. We came to have a contest,” Touko said, clapping her hands together as she turned to look at me. “What’s it going to be this time?”
“This time...” I said, pointing at Tsumiki before declaring the terms of our challenge. “We’ll take turns eating Tsumiki’s cooking, and whoever lasts longer wins!”
“So the aim is to hold out the longest? Does that mean this is a binge eating competition?”
“No. If anything, it’s a battle of stamina and your will to live.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Tsumiki demanded, kicking me square in the pants.
“Sorry! I’ll thank you for this later, so just play along for now, okay? Please?”
“Ugh... Since you’re so insistent, fine,” Tsumiki finally agreed, albeit reluctantly.
While I felt a little bad, I knew the only way I could combat an exceptional power was with another exceptional power. And Tsumiki’s cooking certainly fit the bill. Anyone who ate it unprepared immediately suffered great physical and mental consequences. Sometimes there were even explosions involved. The only people who’d ever eaten more than a plateful of it and survived were Lea, Corona, and the poor fool that had been playing the part of Tsumiki’s taste tester for months—me!
Not ten minutes later, Tsumiki walked over to us with a large, heaping tray of a mysterious substance. The mysterious substance—what I referred to as dark matter—bore no resemblance whatsoever to food. Needless to say, it was about as appetizing as you’d imagine. First of all, it was wriggling for some reason. And though I was staring directly at it, I couldn’t clearly discern its shape. My sense of smell was completely befouled in less than three seconds, and my tongue lost all sensation shortly thereafter. And I hadn’t even bitten into it yet, mind you. This stuff was just that destructive. Surely it would make even Touko cower...
“My... Shouldn’t this be blurred out?”
“Hey! What are you saying my cooking looks like?!”
Or not. She was just chatting away with Tsumiki, which I have to say I found rather strange. As far as I knew, beyond wielding the power of words, Touko was a perfectly normal human. Yet she hadn’t even batted an eye at the black, wriggling mass on the table. Meanwhile, I was already sweating nervously.
“Well, I’ll dig in now.”
“?!”
I was just sitting there trying to come up with an excuse to go after her, but then she up and volunteered to go first anyway!
“Let’s see here...”
Without showing fear or faltering, and without saying anything that sounded like she was using her power, Touko chowed down on the dark matter.
Munch, munch, munch... Gulp.
“It has a strange texture.” And that was her only reaction after cleaning her plate. “But it was yummy.”
Upon hearing those words, everyone in the room—including Tsumiki—was stunned into astonished silence. I think the two words running through everyone’s heads simultaneously were, “No way.”
“Now it’s your turn, Rekka.”
“R-Right...”
I was pressured into picking up my chopsticks.
“...”
I tried poking at the dark matter and heard a faint groan (?) in response. I still refused to believe this stuff was actually food. Moreover, I couldn’t believe anyone other than Lea thought it was good. It’d be one thing if she’d used the power of words to make it good, but I hadn’t heard her say anything like that. Could it be that the dark matter looked as gross as ever, but actually tasted pretty decent nowadays? No, there was no way... Still, even if there was a one-in-a-million—no, a one-in-a-billion chance, then... I convinced myself that I might be about to witness a miracle, and...
“Hom.”
I dug in.
▽
“You’re now at zero wins and two losses. But more importantly, are you all right?” asked Touko, her arms folded.
“...Somehow,” I muttered, staring at my own ghastly face in the mirror in the nurse’s office.
To think I would pass out after one bite despite all the resistance I’d built up...
“How did you eat that crap without using your power, Touko?”
All I’d heard her say was that she would go first.
“What? It’s simple—I did use my power. I used it while you were being kicked and apologizing to that Tsumiki girl.”
Ah, so that’s what happened. It was true I’d been too occupied at the time to be keeping a close eye on Touko. No wonder I hadn’t noticed her using her power.
“Incidentally, what did you say?”
“That you, Rekka Namidare, would suffer all of the effects of the next thing I ate.”
“You jerk!” I yelled without thinking.
I was wondering why the dark matter had taken so much more of a toll on me than usual, but that would explain it, huh? I’d basically taken twice my share of suffering. Go figure I passed out.
“Hahaha, this is your own fault for trying to make an innocent girl like me eat that stuff.”
“Grrr...”
Unable to argue, I fell silent.
“You may have nothing to say, but you should feel bad for Tsumiki,” R said with an exasperated look.
Well, that much was true. Still, I’d had no choice but to resort to Tsumiki’s dark matter, although... I guess that was kind of R’s point.
“By the way, where did Mio and Rachelle go?” I asked Touko.
“Oh, I told them I’d look after you so they could go explore the festival at their leisure. That fairy girl was itching to go anyway.”
“I see.”
Poppy finally had the chance to enjoy the festival properly now that she was full-size, so of course she wanted to go check everything out while she could. Mio had rearranged her busy schedule to come here for the day, so I wanted her to enjoy it as much as possible too. I’d feel bad if they both spent their limited time looking after me.
“Thanks for doing that, Touko,” I said gratefully.
“Don’t worry about it. It was no big deal,” she replied with a laugh.
In that moment, she didn’t seem like the kind of person to threaten people into challenging her. She’d even been nice to Poppy earlier without anything in it for her, so she couldn’t be all that bad of a person deep down, right?
“Well, then,” she said. “I think it’s time for the next challenge now.”
“Right.”
I slapped my cheeks to pump myself up. I’d known this from the beginning, but in a way, Touko was my most formidable foe yet. She’d yet to show any sign of a weakness. But before I could even set myself to figuring that out, there was something else I still didn’t understand.
“Hey, Touko,” I called out to her as we walked down the hallway.
“What is it?”
“Why did you want me to challenge you?”
After the bomb threat and body swap incidents, it was clear that Touko had singled me out as her target from the beginning. There had to be a reason for that, but what was it?
“My fortune.”
“Your fortune?”
“Yup. It’s my hobby,” Touko said with a smile. “Is there someone in this world who could win against me? If so, where are they? When I looked into my future for those answers, it led me to you. Then I located you and set up various little tests for you. I wanted to see if it was really possible.”
I decided not to ask how she had “located” me. There was now no doubt in my mind that she was the one who’d been behind all the freaky stuff going on this weekend, but I still didn’t get her angle.
“Why do you want me to make you lose so much? Shouldn’t it be the opposite?”
I could understand the feeling of wanting to win. I could even understand certain situations where strategic loss was really a victory, but I couldn’t imagine why someone would so genuinely want to just straight-up lose at something.
“You say that, but I’ve never lost at anything my entire life.”
“Y-You don’t say...”
“Well, you could call it a simple case of curiosity. I want to know what defeat tastes like... or something,” she said with a bold laugh.
“...”
I still didn’t get it, but I sighed through my nose and gave up asking questions for the time being.
“Oh, Sir Namidare.”
Just then, a friendly voice called out to me from over by the school entrance. It was one of the most crowded areas of the festival considering it was where everyone was coming and going, but standing amidst all the people was...
“Suzuran, what are you doing here?”
“Helping Sister Yulia.” Suzuran said, glancing over at Yulia standing next to her.
She was dressed in her usual habit and talking to all the passersby, saying things like, “Please consider a donation for those less fortunate.”
“I see. Charity work, huh?”
I saw that both Suzuran and Yulia were holding donation boxes, and I kinda put two and two together.
“Yulia in her robes makes sense, but I dunno how I feel about you collecting donations in your maid outfit, Suzuran...”
It felt rather mismatched, or rather, strangely indecent. Or maybe I was the indecent one for thinking that way? Beats me.
“Pardon?” Suzuran, however, innocently tilted her head at my comment. “Would you like to donate too, Sir Namidare?”
“Ah, sure. Here.”
I casually dropped some spare change into the donation box.
“Thank you very much.”
Suzuran bowed her head politely, then looked at Touko beside me afterwards.
“Would you like to as well?” she asked, holding the box out towards her.
In response, Touko said, “Sorry. It’s against my principles to give any kind of charity at all.”
“Very well,” Suzuran said, relenting easily...
“Huh... People normally get offended by that, but not you.”
“What? Why would that offend anyone?”
“When you refuse to do good, people typically make the assumption that you’re evil.”
“Is that so? It’s my understanding that all good things are to be considered a blessing. Their absence isn’t a comment on one’s character.”
Touko’s eyes went wide upon hearing Suzuran say that, and then she burst into laughter.
“Ha! You’re pretty interesting.”
“Is something the matter, Suzuran?” Yulia asked as she walked over, apparently drawn by Touko’s loud laugh. “Oh, Rekka!”
“Hey, Yulia.”
After Yulia greeted me, she eyed Touko carefully... then turned to look at me again with an angry expression.
“Rekka.”
“Y-Yes?”
“While it’s fine to surround yourself with love, don’t you think you’ve had a little too much love? I’ve heard that the number of girls following after you has increased yet again.”
“U-Um...”
“If that’s really true, then why don’t you undergo some training under me at the church for a time? I’ll work all of your worldly desires right out of you.”
“Please, no...”
Yulia’s training would undoubtedly be harsh, and in order to avoid getting myself dragged into anything, I quickly grabbed Touko and made an exit.
“That took up a fair bit of time. Let’s hurry along with the next match.”
“Yeah.”
Or so I said, but what was I supposed to do? I wasn’t really an ace at anything, and my grades and stamina were only average at best. The only thing special about me was my bloodline. It didn’t seem like there was much I could do against someone who could bend reality.
“There he is. Hey, Rekka!”
“Rekka!”
Just then, I heard two female voices call out to me. I turned to see Chirika and Nyanyan, both dressed in casual streetwear.
“Hey! You two came to check out the festival too?”
“Yup.”
“More female friends? You certainly do have a lot of those. No wonder that nun got angry.”
Peeking her head out from behind me, Touko gave her simultaneously impressed and exasperated opinion.
“Rekka... who’s that?” asked Nyanyan.
“Touko Iwazu. I’m currently challenging her because reasons.”
“Hey, isn’t that introduction a little sloppy?” Touko booed unhappily, but I ignored her.
“Oh, what’s this about a challenge?” Chirika asked, folding her arms with a look of keen interest.
Did word of a challenge stir her samurai spirit? Wait a minute...
“Touko, do you want to try challenging Chirika once?”
“Hm? This girl?”
“Anyone will do as long as you lose, right?”
“Mm... Very well. I accept,” Touko agreed after a moment’s hesitation.
“Then, Chirika, would you mind coming with us?”
“Hmm...” Chirika looked pensive for a moment before replying, “While I don’t know the details, I cannot refuse a request from you, Rekka.”
From there, we moved to the old gymnasium adjacent to the old school building that housed the light literature club room. Normally it was only used by the kendo and judo teams, so there was no one there during the festival. I was hoping we could settle this uninterrupted... and without getting in trouble, of course.
“So, what kind of match will this be?”
“Kendo.”
“Hmm, so I can use one of the bamboo swords here?”
Touko looked through the available bamboo swords disinterestedly. She currently was oblivious to the fact that Chirika was a samurai. It seemed she’d investigated me a fair bit, but she hadn’t known about Poppy and Rachelle. That being the case, there was no way she knew about Chirika and her origins.
“Do you think you can win, Chirika?”
“I just have to beat her before she has a chance to use her ability, right? No problem,” Chirika replied simply as she picked up a bamboo sword for herself.
“Next is armor...”
“Ew, I don’t need that. It’s smelly.”
“But what if you get hurt?”
“I can heal that much myself with chi. My opponent can wear it if she so wishes, however.”
“That’s all right. I don’t need any either.”
Hmm... W-Well, they were just fighting with bamboo swords, right?
My concerns aside, the two girls took their positions two meters apart from one another.
“How shall we start?”
“Rekka Namidare, you give the signal,” Touko ordered.
“All right. Nyanyan, please step back.”
“Okay.”
After giving Chirika a worried look, Nyanyan backed up all the way to the wall. Seeing her safely out of harm’s way, I raised my right hand.
“Begin!” I shouted as I lowered it.
“...!”
In the blink of an eye, Chirika stepped forward. All I really saw was her shadow. She was putting the fully honed skills of a finely trained samurai on display. By the time I processed what was happening, she was already on top of Touko.
“Ah...”
Touko noticed Chirika just a second later, leaving her without time to do anything but gasp. Chirika swung her bamboo sword, aiming for Touko’s chest...
“?!”
And missed. The sound of her swing cutting through air surprised both Chirika and me watching the whole thing. Touko clearly hadn’t moved.
“Take this!”
Touko swung her bamboo sword down on the stupefied Chirika. She just barely managed to dodge it, then stepped back to get some distance.
“Why didn’t that connect...?”
“Sorry. I always have a prayer up that repels any ill will or hostility directed at me.”
By prayer, she probably meant that she’d put the power of her words into effect beforehand. Then she’d provoked Chirika just enough before the match to actually stir up a little hostility. She’d planned this all out...
“But it doesn’t seem like I can hit you with my bamboo sword either,” Touko admitted before continuing “So would you mind throwing the match for me?”
“...?!”
The second she heard those words, Chirika froze in place. She then cast aside her bamboo sword and bowed her head towards Touko like an offering.
“Wh-What... is this...”
“There. I win,” Touko declared as she tapped Chirika on the head with her sword.
That was a head strike, which meant Touko had in fact won.
“You can just make someone lose with your power...?”
Eating shaved ice in one bite, transferring the effects of dark matter to another person... This was unlike anything she’d done before. She’d put safeguards in place in advance, and then used her power cleverly in the heat of the moment. Even though it was plain as day she’d never be able to beat Chirika in a real fight, she’d used her words to force the results she wanted. It was a completely unfair display of power that made me question whether she really wanted to lose or not.
“So, what’s our next challenge?”
Seeing Touko’s smile, I couldn’t help the cold sweat running down my back.
▽
I... I just couldn’t win against her...
“That’s zero wins and 58 losses for you. You really can’t win, can you?”
Touko sighed, looking down at me sprawled out on the ground in a lonely corner of campus. It was already past four o’clock now. The festival would be ending in roughly two hours. But even if I had all the time in the world, I didn’t see any way I could beat Touko now. After the match with Chirika, I’d sought help from Satsuki, Iris, and Rosalind. I then went to Hibiki, Shirley, and everyone else who’d come to visit, but not one of them could beat Touko at something either. The power of words was just too overwhelming. She was practically invincible. No matter the challenge presented to her, all she had to do was will her opponent to lose and she would be the victor. I didn’t want to say it, but I was afraid she was invincible.
“...Can we establish a rule about you not using your power in the next match?”
“That would make coming to you for all this meaningless.”
“Guess so, huh?”
“There’s still time. Do your best. I know you can do it.”
I was being cheered on by the very culprit who’d stomped me into the ground. Or so I thought, when...
“But I guess if you’re saying you want to give up, then I’ll just have to destroy the world...”
She casually uttered those dark and threatening words in a joking tone. I guess I should say it was a half-joking tone considering there was a very real chance she could actually do that.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“It’s just... I still don’t get it. Why do you want to lose so much?”
“Mm... Probably because it feels hollow having everything go my way all the time.”
“That doesn’t sound like you, Touko.”
Touko’s eyes went wide, and she fell silent for a moment before asking, “Why do you think that?”
“Intuition.” I gave her the short version first. “But if I had to explain, for someone who thinks life is hollow, you have a really happy laugh. You sound and act like any normal person.”
What I realized after one day with her was that other than her power of words, Touko was no different from a regular girl. Maybe she was a bit on the mature side, but it wasn’t like that was a bad thing.
“Hmph.” Touko huffed through her nose dramatically before flashing a bittersweet smile. “You think I’m normal?”
“That’s right.”
“Even with a power like this?”
“I know plenty of people with the power to destroy the world, you know.”
Upon hearing my answer, Touko burst into laughter.
“Can I tell you a short story, Rekka Namidare?”
“I’ll listen to whatever you have to say,” I assured her, finally sitting up.
“The power I possess—the power of words—will always work in a way convenient for me, even when the words I use are vague.”
“Right.”
When she asked for everyone other than me to disappear back in the classroom, people she wasn’t even aware of like Poppy and R had been affected too. When she deflected the effects of Tsumiki’s dark matter onto me, she hadn’t even known what said effects were. And when she asked Chirika to lose the match, she hadn’t specified how. What she’d said was vague, but the results were always optimal for her. It really was the ultimate power.
“However,” Touko continued sadly, “there’s one thing the power of words can’t do... and that is to take back things that have already occurred.”
“...!”
The power of words could change the present reality, but it couldn’t change the past.
“For example...” she began. “Let’s say that I accidentally, impulsively, or perhaps emotionally end up erasing something precious but unfavorable to me. That would be a source of great regret, so I create that something once again. But from that moment of onwards, it’s automatically something that is now favorable for me.”
Something unfavorable but precious... I could think of plenty of things that fit that description. For example, friends. Not everything always went the way I wanted with my friends, but that was part of what made them precious to me in the first place. We could butt heads and disagree all we wanted, but they were and would always be precious to me. I’d even say it takes a truly precious friend to tell you when you’re wrong, even if you don’t want to hear it.
And what if one day, in a fit of rage... you made them disappear. You might immediately bring them back if you had the power, but it wouldn’t be the same. They would never disagree or fight with you ever again. And that would just be...
“Touko...”
Just what had she done in her past? I almost asked her, but hurriedly swallowed my words. It would be too cruel a thing to make her relive... I shivered at my own thoughtlessness.
“That’s why I absolutely refuse to do anything for others. You see, I am just a normal human... pathetic and weak, always foolishly relying on my power. If I wanted to save someone, I could solve any difficulty ever. But that’s precisely why I choose not to save anyone at all, no matter how small the matter. Because once I do that, there’d be no end to it.”
“...I don’t get what you mean there.”
“For example, you know how that nun and maid were collecting donations earlier? You know how they say a paltry 100 yen could save dozens of children in Africa?”
“Yeah.”
I’d seen commercials and posters like that before.
“I could save hundreds of thousands of children from starvation and disease with just a few words, all without the need for donations. But is that really something I should do?”
“That’s...”
Surely it was, right? That’s what I wanted to say, but Touko opened her mouth first.
“Let’s say I did that for all the children of Africa. But there are plenty more children starving outside of Africa, right? In America, China, Japan, Russia... They’re everywhere. So does that mean I should just do the same for the whole world?” Touko continued, “But if I did that, won’t the people who’ve worked hard for their food be unhappy? My power comes free, after all. So does that then mean I should feed every single person in the world? Yet once I do that, what will become of all the farmers and ranchers who make their living producing food? Meanwhile, my power always works favorably for me. If I wanted to have the cooking of a five-star chef, I could easily. It would be simple.”
“...”
I was gradually starting to see what Touko was getting at.
“The point is that my power is too strong. It has too much control over reality, and it’s too easy to make mistakes that way.”
“...Are you afraid of using your power?”
“Rather than my power, I’m afraid of myself,” Touko said with a dry laugh. “They call it indulgence, right? For someone else’s sake, for the sake of justice, because I feel sorry for them, because I can’t let them be... If I start giving in to those things, I’d end up overusing my power. It’s like a faucet you just can’t turn off when it starts. If I give in to those emotions and impulses, I’ll never be able to go back. From there, things would just spiral out of control.”
“I get that...”
Honestly, that struck a chord with me.
“You’d do anything for the sake of the heroines, after all,” R said with a tired sigh.
“That’s why I only use my power for myself. The desires of a single person shouldn’t have too much effect on the rest of the world in the end.”
I now somewhat understood the burden Touko was shouldering. However...
“So what does that have to do with making you lose?”
“Were you listening? I said shouldn’t...” There, Touko looked me dead in the eye. “You know, I once tried to seal my own power.”
“And how’d that go?”
“Well, the seal easily undid itself when I tried to save a drowning dog. If I utter words that contradict themselves, the words that are more favorable for me are the ones that take effect.”
“...”
“I’ll say this once again: I am weak. I don’t know when I could lose control and end up changing the world to a critical degree. That’s why I wanted restraints. I wanted to know if there was anyone or anything in this world that could stop me.”
“I see, so that’s why...”
That’s why she’d asked me to make her lose. That was why she’d done her best to win even though she really wanted to lose. She wanted to know if there was really anyone that could genuinely beat her, and she’d been testing me all day to see if I fit the bill. I hadn’t met her expectations yet, but was there some way I could? Might there be someone else who could stop her? Even among my friends and the strongest enemies I’d ever fought, I wasn’t sure there was anyone in this world that could actually stand up to her...
“Wait, in this world?”
I suddenly stood up with a gasp. Then I grabbed Touko by the hand and dragged her along with me as I broke out into a run.
“Wh-Wh-What’s wrong?”
My abrupt actions inspired a rare glimpse of confusion in Touko.
“I just thought of something.”
As I entered the school through the main doorway, I turned to look at Touko and said...
“Let me teach you how big the world really is.”
▽
From there, I took Touko to the student council room where the festival committee was headquartered. Since I was a helper for the committee, they let me in without issue.
“Here, have some tea.”
While we waited for President Momone to return, the vice president poured us some tea.
“Ah, thanks.”
“So, what kind of women trouble have you gotten yourself into now?” the vice president whispered scornfully as she glanced over at Touko.
“Er, well, I can’t say it’s not trouble... but it’s probably not what you’re imagining.”
I wasn’t very good at dealing with the VP, so my reply wasn’t exactly convincing.
“Hmm...” she scoffed with a dubious look as she returned to her seat.
All I could do was sigh. But just then, someone called out to me from the door.
“Hey, Rekka.”
It was Yorun.
“Hey, Yorun. How’s life been treating you on this side?”
“It’s okay. Momone has been very good to me.”
Ever since the whole cursed game debacle, Yorun had been staying at President Momone’s house. She used to be a resident of this world, so she was adjusting to her forgotten life here as she searched for her true origins. She had no real leads and couldn’t remember anything, so the prospects were pretty grim, but Yorun herself was pretty optimistic.
“You’ve been with the student council the whole time, haven’t you? Don’t you wanna go see the festival?”
“Well, I feel calmer around people I know. And I did go have a look at your class event earlier, Rekka.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, I went all the way there, but you weren’t even around. But now you’re visiting me here, so I guess we’ll call it even,” Yorun joked with a cheerful laugh.
“Honestly, Rekka Namidare, there really are girls following you around no matter where you go.”
“Please refrain from saying anything that might invite misunderstanding, Touko...”
I broke out into a cold sweat as I pleaded with her. The vice president was already glaring this way...
“Anyway, it would be nice if you could tell me why you brought me here already. It looked like you asked for something from that girl with the eyepatch earlier, no?” Touko asked without a care for my predicament.
“Yeah, she’ll probably be back with it soon.”
Just as I said that, President Momone returned to the student council room.
“Here, problem child. I went and fetched it just for you.”
“Thank you very much, President Momone.”
I accepted the plastic bag President Momone offered me and peeked inside before thanking her.
“But what are you going to do with that thing?” President Momone asked, dubiously cocking her head to the side.
“Well, a challenge... Oh, that’s right. We actually need to play this, so can I borrow your computer?” I asked, pointing to the PC in the student council room.
“Hmm...” President Momone pondered the matter before agreeing. “Fine. Knowing you, you have your reasons for this.”
With that, President Momone summoned the VP, and the two of them left the room together. Now it was just me, R, Yorun, and Touko left inside. Doing this shouldn’t be a problem with that lineup.
I then walked over to the PC with Touko.
“Okay, Touko. It’s time for our next match.”
“Sure. What are we doing?”
“Well, we’re playing a computer game.”
“A game?”
“Yup. It’ll be a one-on-one duel inside the game. We’ll decide the winner that way.”
“That’s fine with me, but... are you sure? A fight in a game where the rules are clear and victory is so easily definable, I’ll win no matter what. You know that, right?”
“That’s... Well, we won’t know until we try.”
“Hmm, very well.”
“Then here we go,” I said as I booted up the game.
The next moment, Touko and I were sucked into the light of the computer screen. Before I knew it, we were in the inn—the very same inn where I’d last saved the game.
“...Where is this?”
“The game world. This is a cursed game,” I explained to a dumbfounded Touko.
But she soon accepted the situation and said with a strained laugh, “I was wondering how we were going to battle in a role-playing game... So this is what you meant, huh?”
“Yeah. This game allows friendly fire, so we can hit each other. We’ll use that to decide the winner.”
“And the rules?”
“One-on-one. We’ll both use the starter gear we can get at the shop. Sound good to you?”
“Sure.”
Touko readily agreed, just like she had to all of our previous matches. We promptly went and bought equipment, then moved to an isolated section of road some distance from the town.
“Not only are you acquainted with an angel and a fairy, but you had something like this up your sleeve... Honestly, today has been one surprise after another.”
“Right? This world has lots to offer that you don’t know about, Touko.”
“So it seems. However... that doesn’t mean things won’t go my way in the end.”
“Yeah? Let’s test that theory!”
My voice became the signal to start. I kicked off the ground and swung my longsword. Compared to a samurai like Chirika, my movements were embarrassingly amateur. Despite that, Touko continued to remain expectant, waiting silently as I approached... then she sighed.
“I understand your earnest approach, but it won’t work. You’ll never be able to hit m—”
Thunk!
I swiftly brought my longsword down on Touko’s shoulder, leaving her unable to finish her sentence.
“Wh-What?! O-Ow...”
With a confused look, she backed away from me in a fluster. Her face made it all too clear how confounded she was that I’d managed to slip past her power.
“If you’re wondering what just happened, the answer is simple.”
“Huh?”
“This is a game world. The rules of the game control everything. In other words, anything that isn’t reflected in your stats doesn’t exist here.”
“...!”
With that meager explanation, Touko seemed to understand everything. Or perhaps it was the pain in her shoulder that had opened her eyes.
“Hahaha!”
Nevertheless, she laughed. And quite heartily, at that.
“But we’re still evenly matched! In a game like this, there’s no discrimination in the stats between men and women, right? So I still have a chance at winning, and that’s all I need!” she declared, lifting her longsword up and rushing at me like I had at her earlier.
I readied myself and parried the incoming attack with my own longsword, which was identical to hers in every way.
“Huh?”
“Sorry, but we’re not evenly matched at all,” I said with a grin. A daring one, or maybe even a sly one, I should say. “I told you stats were everything, right? I’ve played a little bit of this game already, so I’m currently level two. And naturally, since you just started, you’re still level one.”
And that made all the difference in a game like this where level difference was absolute. The only way Touko would stand a chance against me would be to gang up on me with other characters.
“...What’s with that?” Touko said with a wry smile.
“Well, that’s how it is. If you want to surrender, now’s your chance.”
“No way,” Touko laughed. Despite her strained smile, she continued laughing. “I’m finally set to lose, so at least do me the honor properly.”
“Roger that.”
This was the defeat she had yearned for, so I would gladly grant her wish. We both raised our longswords and brought them down together.
