Mealtime was quiet.
The only sound was the faint clink of utensils touching the bowls.
Everyone was too busy reading the atmosphere to say anything.
The room that Koto Ne and Koko were in was actually cramped for so many people.
But soon enough, Kagami managed to bring in another table, barely allowing everyone to sit and eat together.
The menu wasn’t that impressive. It was curry cooked all at once in a large pot. Well, with so many people, it was probably the most efficient choice. Kagami hadn’t expected this many people to come for a meal in the first place.
While everyone was stealing glances at each other, Kagami and Yuka were focused on one side.
It was Koko.
Despite having not eaten a single piece of chocolate, Koko was thoroughly enjoying her meal.
But she was not being greedy.
Yuka recalled the first time he saw Koko. When no one was looking, she would rummage for something to eat, and for some reason, she was particularly obsessed with the cat food placed in the corner of the kitchen.
It was Koto Ne who managed to instill some common sense in someone like Koko as they spent time together.
His gaze drifted to the fairy tale books stuffed in one corner of the room. They seemed to have been secondhand since they were quite worn out, with the spines frayed from time.
Koto Ne was precious to Koto Ne.
Because she was the only family he had.
“……”
Curry was a menu they often enjoyed together. It was an easy choice for Koto Ne to prepare in large quantities. The peculiar taste that was a bit different from what he’d had during previous visits was probably because Kagami was the one cooking, not Koto Ne.
“……Do you want more?”
“Uu?”
Kagami spoke to Koko. To Yuka, it sounded like Kagami was trying to be kind, as her tone was somewhat different from usual.
Or maybe it was just that her way of speaking to Yuka differed from how she spoke to Koko or Koto Ne?
Koko looked at Kagami as if she were seeing a somewhat strange person and cautiously handed her plate over.
Kagami served white rice from the old rice cooker next to her, then carefully added some curry on the remaining portion.
And she gently offered it to Koko.
Koko took the bowl and placed it in front of her, glancing at Kagami before moving her spoon a little hurriedly.
Koko’s complexion looked significantly better than when he first saw her today. Yuka let out a sigh of relief at that sight.
Meow.
Kuro rubbed against Koko’s leg.
“Wow?”
Koko glanced down at Kuro for a moment before slightly pulling her body back.
Kuro jumped right onto Koko’s lap.
“Kuro.”
Koko smiled slightly.
Yuka thought that smile was quite similar to Koto Ne’s.
As the meals of everyone except Koko started to wind down, Kagami slowly opened her mouth.
“Everyone seems to have gathered here.”
“……”
All eyes in the room turned to Kagami. Koko, with her spoon still in her mouth, stared wide-eyed at Kagami.
“I can’t say everyone gathered here is for the same reason. At least one person knows why I’m here.”
As Kagami’s gaze lingered on Yamashita, Yuu awkwardly avoided her gaze.
“As you all know, I was not a good mother to Koto Ne and Koko. Whether you know my true self or not, I believe we can all agree on that.”
Kagami’s face wore a smile as she said so.
A smile to mask her emotions. It was the same expression Kagami always had.
Yuka felt a bit tense because of that.
“So, you might think it’s strange and absurd that I suddenly say something like this.”
Kagami calmly continued her story.
“However, I’d like you to understand that at least the words I’m saying from now on are sincere.”
Kagami paused for a moment.
“From now on, I’m going to try to bring Koto Ne back.”
“……”
Everyone, except Yamashita, looked at each other.
The expressions of everyone, including Yuka’s, reflected ‘bewilderment.’
Especially Nanami, whose expression was close to confusion, surpassing sheer bewilderment.
“The ritual must proceed quickly. And during that time, no one can leave here. I believe everyone can be helpful in their own way.”
“Wait a minute!”
Nanami raised her hand and yelled, then, as all eyes turned to her, she flinched.
“U-uh, when you say you’re going to bring that girl back… I mean, it’s not just about bringing her here, is it…?”
She seemed unable to express her ambiguity in words, hesitatingly questioning.
No matter how absurd things got, it seemed hard for her to easily accept the idea of resurrecting a dead person.
“Yes.”
But Kagami responded firmly to Nanami’s vague words.
“I intend to bring Koto Ne back to life.”
“……”
Everyone fell silent.
“Isn’t there some sort of price to pay?”
Nanami asked tentatively again.
“Price?”
Kagami tilted her head, and Nanami spoke in a slightly timid voice.
“Like… in order to save that person… having to sacrifice something, and so on.”
“Oh.”
Kagami shrugged her shoulders.
“There’s nothing like that. Just… if Koto Ne’s condition is okay.”
“Koto Ne’s condition?”
“You saw earlier, right?”
As Kagami’s gaze suddenly turned to Yuka, he flinched.
“Isn’t it a bit strange that a corpse that has been dead for several days hasn’t started to decompose yet? And the state of her skin is still the same.”
Even though it was winter, maintaining a ‘good’ condition of a corpse for several days was difficult, especially one left outside.
“Koto Ne has not died yet. That’s why I can bring her back. It’s essentially just returning her from a state of near death.”
Yuka’s heart started to race a little.
“But that doesn’t mean it’s something to show to other people.”
Kagami turned back to look at everyone again.
“So I’d like everyone to stay here until the ritual is complete. I cannot tolerate anyone going out there and telling others about this… It won’t take long, but in modern society, a few hours can cover several kilometers.”
“……”
A heavy silence loomed over the room.
“Well…”
Shii barely managed to open her mouth.
“Does this mean we can meet the senior again?”
Kagami stared silently at Shii for a moment.
“Of course.”
Shii’s face brightened a bit.
Yuka had a feeling that Kagami had left something unspoken. But he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.
In fact, above all else, Kagami’s statement had stuck firmly in his mind.
He didn’t want to deny that at all.
Just one denial could turn this impossible event into reality.
*
The ritual began a little while later, starting at two in the morning. During that time, Kagami was busy preparing this and that.
“……If my dad finds out that I’m here—”
“Well, he probably wouldn’t say much.”
Kagami interrupted Yuu’s mutterings.
“He would have expected you to be born with such abilities in the first place.”
“……”
Yuu glared at Kagami, but she just shrugged.
The two of them were in a strangely peculiar situation.
In a small room, about the same size as the one where Koto Ne and Koko spent time, both were wearing shrine maiden attire.
It was an outfit that could obviously be called ‘for ritual use,’ and somewhat cumbersome.
A bell was held in Yuu’s hand.
Next to Kagami was a mirror covered with cloth.
“Wow?”
Koko, who had been sitting next to Koto Ne lying neatly on the floor, tilted her head.
Koko wasn’t dressed in ritual wear. Although she had been fed and changed into clean clothes, that was about it. She had no role in this ritual; she just dressed in normal clothes.
“……Okay. We’re ready now.”
Around Koto Ne were talismans. They enveloped her like a formation, encircling Koto Ne at the center.
No, strictly speaking, it wasn’t ‘exactly’ in the center. Koto Ne was slightly off to the side, as if there should be another person lying next to her at that round formation’s heart.
Kagami turned her gaze to Yuka.
Yuka also wasn’t dressed for the ritual, so she wasn’t in shrine maiden attire.
Kagami had actually instructed her to hold a sword, even without the cloth covering it.
“……”
Yuka said nothing and simply stood near the door, quietly observing the situation as Kagami asked.
“Alright then—”
Just as Kagami was about to speak, her phone rang.
Diiiiing, it vibrated.
“……Sorry.”
Yuka quickly pulled out her phone.
She was about to hang up, but—
“Oh, what a coincidence. Is it your grandfather?”
At Kagami’s words, Yuka looked up to see her extending her hand forward.
As if asking for the phone.
“I’ll answer for you.”
Yuka stared at Kagami for a moment.
Diiiiing—she could feel the vibration in her hand.
Then slowly, she reached out and handed the phone to Kagami.
Receiving the phone, Kagami opened it, held it to her ear, and spoke.
“Hello, this is Kurosawa Kagami.”
[……So, Yuka is there.]
“Yes, thank you for accommodating my request. You did an excellent job.”
[May I ask what that request was?]
Kagami glanced at Yuka with a slight smile forming at her lips.
“Yes, it was a request to find Koto Ne’s corpse.”
[Did you find the corpse?]
“Of course. In a state even more perfect than I thought. There was a moment when things almost fell apart due to her stubbornness, though.”
[……. ]
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.
[What are you planning to do?]
“I’m going to bring Koto Ne back.”
Another silence.
[There’s no such method in this world—]
“There is.”
Kagami said.
“If you wish, you can come and see for yourself.”
[……Even if it exists, it can’t be a normal method.]
“Well, whether it’s normal or not, it will ultimately be up to your standards. At least right now, I’m looking at hope.”
[……. ]
Another brief silence passed over the receiver.
[……Kurosawa-san, can’t you reconsider?]
And the question that came through was that.
“I think it’s too much to ask of me, who let the most important moments pass by while thinking it over multiple times.”
Kagami answered firmly, without a hint of hesitation.
“I’ve hesitated for far too long. I’m sorry, but my answer to that question will always be the same.”
Kagami said in a voice that was even calmer than usual, yet very certain.
“I’ll hand the phone back to your granddaughter. You can discuss what you wish.”
Kagami handed the phone back to Yuka.
Carefully, Yuka received the phone and put it to her ear.
[Yuka.]
“……Grandfather.”
[Yuka, you need to think it over carefully.]
Her grandfather said.
[There is no ritual in this world that comes with no price. Connecting the underworld with the living world is always fraught with danger. You know this.]
“…….”
[Yuka.]
Her grandfather’s voice was not strict and stern as it usually was.
It was a tone that seemed to sense something was going wrong.
[Yuka, could you please think once more?]
“…….”
She had thought many times.
What exactly went wrong?
Why did Yuka have to kill her closest friend? Did Koto Ne really have to die at that moment? Was there not a better way?
Or was it wrong to have gotten close in the first place?
From the moment she knew of Koto Ne’s existence, should she have been hostile? If only she had stabbed her to remove her then, would Yuka not have suffered?
[Yuka. A person who is gone is just a person who is gone.]
Her grandfather said.
Yeah, maybe that’s true. If they’ve departed.
Yuka lowered her gaze to look at Koto Ne.
Koto Ne was merely lying on the floor with a peaceful expression, as if sleeping.
“Uu…?”
Koko looked up at Yuka.
[Yuka.]
“……Grandfather.”
Yuka finally spoke.
“Grandfather, I can’t allow this.”
Yuka said slowly.
“I’ve already thought way too much.”
Yes, she had already kept thinking.
Yuka had already thought it over so many times.
Did Koto Ne really have to die?
Was she a child who had to die for this world?
“Grandfather, may I ask just one question?”
Yuka questioned without waiting for an answer.
“When you first saw Koto Ne, what did you think?”
[……. ]
“Did you ever think that Koto Ne should not exist in this world?”
[U-Yuka.]
“Did you ever think that she was a child who had to perish in the end, or one who needed to die?”
Her grandfather was always kind to Koto Ne.
When Koto Ne was hurt, he rushed to the hospital, trying to provide her with even one more thing.
But—
“Grandfather.”
No matter how much he treated Koto Ne well, he had never once said he changed that thought.
To her grandfather, Koto Ne was something unknown, a ‘thing’ without a proper form.
“The reason why Koto Ne was pitiful was what?”
[……. ]
“When I told you the stories I’d heard from Koto Ne afterward, you said nothing.”
Yuka had thought about it countless times.
The Kudan foresees the threats to the world and also tells how to prevent those disasters.
If the threat is that ‘Koto Ne will die at the hands of someone she believes in,’ then the method to stop that is ‘think again.’
The true nature of that prophecy is still unknown. If Koto Ne dying at the hands of someone she believes in is a precursor to disaster, what’s the problem with “bringing her back to life” right now?
Rather, Yuka wanted to ask something.
“Grandfather, think again.”
Yuka spoke with a steady voice.
Yes.
Why should a single girl shoulder all the threats that may come to this world, and the thought of ‘you must die, you have to die for the safety of this world’?
Why is it that those who ‘think again’ can only be that few people?
If someone were to bear the responsibility, then everyone else should equally share that responsibility in the opposite situation.
So, Yuka wanted to know.
“Never once did you change such a thought, did you? Not just you, but even the higher-ups of this country.”
If the prophecies spoke of diseases, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or asteroid collisions.
People wouldn’t place all responsibility on one person to prepare for that threat.
They would build dikes, demolish or reinforce buildings that are not earthquake-resistant, create organizations for disease management, and inform the residents beforehand.
All these measures will ‘not’ be something to be shifted onto one person.
Yet why does this death have to rest solely on Koto Ne’s shoulders?
“……You’re coming, aren’t you? Then I want to ask everyone else. Why do you think that? Why is it that… you only divert all that responsibility to just a few people?”
[Yuka……!]
“Yes, I’ve thought again.”
Yuka said while glaring hard at Kagami.
“This is what I think. I’m going to find my friend. And whatever happens afterward, I will bear the responsibility myself. In a way that the adults didn’t.”
Thud.
The phone abruptly disconnected.
“……I didn’t think you would think that far.”
Kagami spoke as if a bit impressed.
“You’re only trying to correct the wrongs you’ve done.”
Yuka glared at Kagami as she spoke.
“There were so many things that Koto Ne could have done in her lifetime but couldn’t.”
Kagami was momentarily left speechless, looking at Yuka with an overwhelmed expression.
Yuu glanced between Yuka and Kagami.
“……Yuka.”
Koko mumbled dully.
Yuka smiled slightly at Koko.
“If I’m not needed here, I’ll step out. I don’t know how long this will take, but surely guests will come.”
“……”
Kagami shut her eyes for a moment, thinking before she nodded.
“……Thank you, Yuuki.”
“……”
“Did you hear the answer back then?”
“The answer?”
“Back then, at that desk in the clubroom. I didn’t know why you were doing that at the time, but—yes.”
Kagami smiled slightly.
“You might have wanted to see my daughter.”
“……”
Yuka momentarily lowered her head.
“It’s okay, I said.”
“Wow?”
“I said it’s okay.”
“Yes, Koto Ne is that kind of child…”
“I see.”
Kagami nodded.
“Indeed, that is so. If it were that girl, she would.”
As Yuka turned away from Kagami’s answer, she opened the door and left.
In the distance, she could hear a car.
Was it just her feeling? It sounded like it was coming this way.
“……”
Yuka placed her hand on the handle of the knife.
*
“If I don’t come back to life—”
“If you don’t come back to life?”
When Kuro heard my shocked murmurs, she responded.
“Were you thinking of spending your whole life over there?”
“……”
“I told you, your consciousness is stuck here and your soul cannot leave.”
Kuro looked at me calmly and spoke.
“A living body cannot remain here forever. Just your existence will cause a massive upheaval in this world. After all, this is the world of dreams. If the subject of the dream comes and moves, a lot will happen in a short time. Look at those animals.”
I followed Kuro’s instructions and glanced at the animals still sitting still.
“Right now, what you’re doing isn’t escalating into something big, but how long will you stay here without making any mistakes? In a place where time flows so much more leisurely than your original world?”
“……”
“Aren’t you thinking of repaying me for helping you save a few of your friends?”
I couldn’t say a word.
“You don’t have to worry so much.”
Kuro looked at my face and said with a small meow, smiling.
“Really, no need to worry. You seem to have pretty good friends. And—”
Kuro looked up at me directly.
“Let me tell you, you actually have a much greater power than you think. Not just the power of Nirlas.”
“……What kind?”
“You were worrying about something strange.”
Kuro spoke with a sphinx-like expression.
“So, um… it’s related to what I said before, that you’re a messenger of the gods, fulfilling the will of the gods and conveying their words. Is that worry really so narrow-minded? You should at least try to see the other side.”
As Kuro said that, she looked at the calm animals.
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