“Wait... what the hell is this bullshit?”
The news report was simple.
It said that someone suspected to be Chaos had been spotted in Trinity’s district, and the Justice Task Force was currently pursuing and attempting to capture them.
“Looks like I need to lie low for a while.”
Buzz
[Haruta, are you free right now?]
[Yeah, why?]
[I just... wanted to see you.]
Crash!
“H-Haruta?”
“What, did you see a ghost or something?”
“Ah. No, it’s just that the news is going crazy about you right now.”
“I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“That’s not the point... the situation is getting seriously bad.”
“What, are they really going to rat me out to the Student Council?”
“Pretty much... more specifically, the Public Safety Bureau... but...”
“Haa... well, wouldn’t it be enough to just go and say I didn’t do anything?”
“Hmm... things are going badly right now... especially since, from the way Haruta looks, you seem like you’re from Gehenna...”
“So I’m becoming a problem for the Eden Treaty...”
“Yeah... Trinity will probably think Gehenna is trying to use you as a strategic weapon.”
“...Right. Then I need some way to prove it...”
At that moment, a good idea flashed through Haruta’s mind.
“...Hina hates the Tea Party, right?”
“Huh...? Well... yeah, she does...”
“How about Hina?”
“Maybe...?”
“I think the answer you’re imagining is probably right.”
“No, Haruta, don’t try to solve everything with force just because you’re emotional...”
“Come to think of it... if you just go and smash the Tea Party now, people might think it was Sorasaki Hina’s request...”
“And besides, we can’t afford to create any more situations that could be used against us, at least not right now.”
“Yeah... thanks, Hina.”
“Mm...”
Hina’s face was slightly red.
‘What is that? Did I do something wrong?’
“But... Haruta, what happened to your wings?”
“Hm? Ah... these?”
Haruta knew very well that his wings had changed into a pair of black wings and a pair of white wings. He had even flown with them, so there was no need to say more.
“Well... think of them as an upgrade... or the spoils of victory.”
“Haa... I don’t know what you’ve been doing out there, but... don’t get hurt.”
“Haa... you really do look cute... it’s unfair.”
Hina’s face flushed again, and she lowered her head.
“...I’m... not really cute...”
“I’ve told you more than once that that’s just a matter of perspective.”
He cupped Hina’s face and looked straight at her.
Before long, it looked like she might start steaming.
“...Haruta...”
“Well... that’s enough teasing.”
Hina looked a little disappointed, but not now. Just a little more, just a little farther. She only had to wait a bit longer.
“Anyway, you must have had a real reason for calling me here, right? Like a date or something.”
“Uuugh... seriously, stop joking around...”
“So what’s the real reason?”
“Um... if I keep talking, Haruta will figure it out too quickly...”
“Then just say it. Don’t hide it.”
“At the Eden Treaty signing ceremony... please, absolutely... don’t come.”
“Ah... what, did someone call and say I’d die if I showed up at the Eden Treaty?”
“How... did you...”
“Don’t worry. Do I look like I’m going to die?”
“...S-still...”
“Well... I’m technically a third party, so I don’t really have the right to interfere, but at least it’s not a minus. So don’t worry.”
“Haruta... the only precious thing I have left is you.”
“Well... I’m the kind of body that has a lot to protect, so sorry about that... like Kivotos, for example.”
“...”
“Sorry, Hina. Don’t stop me right now.”
“Haruta... promise me... no matter what happens, put yourself first.”
“Maybe I will? Maybe I won’t?”
“Haruta, I’m not in the mood to joke. Answer me properly. I know what happened with Takanashi Hoshino.”
“...I made a deal, and I have to keep it... so you know about that too.”
“Yeah... I know you made a contract with Takanashi Hoshino too... I don’t know the details, though.”
“Hina, I’ll tell you one thing right now. You just pulled out a card you shouldn’t have.”
“What... do you mean...”
“First of all, in my contracts, the usual thing at stake is life... and what comes with it, like someone’s life and experiences. Think of it like Sensei’s adult card.”
“...So?”
“So, in the contracts I make, it’s usually lives and souls and things like that that get traded.”
“I don’t care.”
“What if I used Hina’s soul for something?”
“I don’t care.”
“I could torture you horribly with your own soul, for example. I could throw you into an eternal fire pit.”
“I don’t care.”
“...”
Hina brushed aside every word with a simple “I don’t care” and stood firmly in front of him.
“...Haruta... so tell me... do it for yourself...”
“Haa... fine, I lose. What, do it for me? No, that’s wrong.”
“No... Haruta, this is for your own good.”
“You don’t even know what you’d be taking from yourself?”
Hina looked straight at Haruta and gave a faint smile.
“...Haruta... wouldn’t do something like that...”
“Yeah... total defeat. Complete defeat. So what do you want?”
“Nothing... I just want Haruta... to stay alive...”
I understand why people like Hina.
“Hina... then what can you give me?”
“Everything.”
“You trust me that much?”
“Yes. If it’s Haruta, I can trust you and give you everything.”
“Think about this rationally. You don’t know anything about me, and yet you still think that?”
“Haruta, the very fact that you’re asking that... proves you’re a kind person.”
Hina’s smile was warmer and gentler than ever.
“...There’s no price...”
“...”
“Then what do you want?”
“Haruta... I want you to... definitely stay alive... definitely...”
“End. The contract is established.”
“Hina... did you really have to push me this far?”
“I thought... if I didn’t do it like this, you’d never agree...”
“Yeah... well, when you want it that badly... fine.”
“Thank you... Haruta.”
The contract was not established.
“Then I’m going. Take care, Hina. If fate allows it, let’s meet again later!”
“...”
Hina watched him go.
Unlike usual, he had left through the door.
“Haruta... something’s different...”
The contract was not fulfilled.
“Haa... Hina... I didn’t know you cared about me this much... well, I am grateful...”
Haruta needed to calm his heart and steady himself right now.
“...”
He wasn’t calming down at all. If anything, the pressure kept building.
“...How to perfectly control fear... and the method that bastard mentioned...”
The way to completely master fear was this: “something precious to yourself must be destroyed.”
“Damn it... like hell I can do that...”
Haruta’s mind was a complete mess.
Uweeeh!
“Haa... haa... hoo... damn it.”
No matter what he thought about now, he couldn’t calm down.
All he could think about was how to handle the Eden Treaty, what would happen in the process, and how Gematria would move.
While thinking about that, Haruta was doing everything he could to find an answer.
Even if it destroyed his body. Even if he had to borrow the power of the Akashic Records.
“Somehow... I’ll make it a happy ending for everyone.”
For a moment, Haruta thought of Mika’s face. He couldn’t remember it.
It was frightening. He couldn’t remember the face of the person who had shown him light.
“...Two years... I wonder what she’s been doing all this time...”
No thoughts came. Only meaningless pain piled on.
“...”
His head hurt. It hurt more and more.
“...How much... time is left now?”
One week until the coup.
“One week...”
Time does not wait for anyone.
Even if everything is futile, you still have to do your best.
“...Yeah. One week now...”
One day, two days, three days, four days passed, and before long...
“...Now it begins.”
“Mika... I miss you.”
-----------------------------
“Misono Mika? Is that right?”
“Yep! I’m Misono Mika!”
“Good. You haven’t forgotten the plan, right?”
“Yep! While I become the chair of the Tea Party, you guys catch Nagi-chan!”
“Good. In the meantime, we won’t lay a hand on Kirifuji Nagisa.”
“The contract is established.”
“Yep! But doesn’t Arius have no ice-breaking at all?”
“Don’t talk nonsense. You are nothing more and nothing less than an ally to us.”
“....”
They would meet tonight.
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