"...Sensei, Sensei."
"...Mm... are we there yet...?"
"Yes, we need to get off soon."
"...Haaam... tsk... right, let’s get off."
So Sensei and I got down and returned to Schale. Everything felt familiar. It was the first time I’d come back to Schale since that incident.
"...It kind of feels like I went on a trip and came home... or something?"
"Hmm, well... yeah, kind of? Though Haruta, you almost went so far away on your trip that you never came back."
"...I really thought I was going to die back then... though there probably weren’t even ten people who’d be sad if I did."
"...Haah... what do you think of all the connections you’ve made up to now...?"
"Well... I’m not really interested in women, so."
"...For someone who says that, you sure do go around charming a lot of girls."
"Isn’t Sensei the same?"
While I was trading jokes with Sensei, I suddenly remembered the pile of Schale work I’d left behind. No, not just a pile—it was the kind of workload that wouldn’t be finished even if I pulled three straight all-nighters.
"...Sensei...? Did we maybe just leave our work behind...?"
"...Mm... probably...?"
"Haa... this really doesn’t seem right..."
"...I-I’m fine! If it’s just approval documents, I can handle them!"
When I checked the paperwork, there were indeed approval forms, but the amount was beyond imagination. Honestly, even if I finished this, it felt like more would just appear again—no, it would probably increase.
"Even if the duty student... handles it for us..."
"...I really don’t think this is okay..."
To be honest, there was no way I could do all of this myself. So I decided to leave it to Akashi.
"...Akashi...?"
"Haruta! I told you over and over not to push yourself that hard!!!!"
"...Sorry... but this time—"
"Haruta!!!!!"
"...No, even so, yelling at an injured patient like this..."
"Haruta! I told you a hundred times not to overdo it! And what kind of condition is your body in right now!?"
"Huh? Akashi? Isn’t Haruta completely healed already?"
At that, Akashi let out a sigh and looked at Sensei as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.
"Haa... Sensei? Then why don’t you try poking Haruta once?"
"Eh? Why?"
"Hey! Sensei, wait a sec—"
poke
"Aaaah!!!! It really hurts!!!"
"Huh?? Haruta??"
"Haa... I never thought I’d see real-life tough on the outside, soft on the inside."
"...Haruta, I just heard something I absolutely should not be hearing from a teacher."
"...Haa... and yet I’m the only one getting left out..."
"Haruta? I’m a teacher. I’m someone who takes responsibility for and watches over my students."
"...Haa... Sensei really is Sensei, huh."
"Right. Then rest today and leave things to me and Arona."
"...Yes."
Still, Sensei was an amazing person who always put students first.
"Go upstairs first today. Your duty shift is off too... and there isn’t really anything else for you to do."
"...Is that stack of documents over there just decoration...?"
"...Well... if Akashi and I and Arona work on it, we’ll probably finish it..."
"...If anything happens, wake me up right away."
"...Haa... it’s not even such a huge job that you’d need to work yourselves to the bone over it."
So I went upstairs, and when I actually lay down on the bed, I didn’t feel sleepy at all. I just couldn’t think of anything. It felt like there was something I was supposed to do, but I couldn’t remember what it was.
"Haa... I guess I really did lose some memories when I got hurt..."
As I thought that, I slowly felt my consciousness fading.
"...Haa..."
Little by little, just a little at a time, I was getting more and more tired. I couldn’t really feel it in my body, but it did feel like I was falling asleep.
"...Hina..."
Sorasaki Hina had always been there beside me whenever things got hard.
"...I miss... the others..."
Faces drifted through my mind.
Ring ring ring ring
"...Ah... seriously."
Just as I was about to fall asleep, someone called me.
"...If this is spam, I swear I’ll— tsk."
When I looked at my phone in a thoroughly irritated state,
"...Seia?!?"
That’s right. The one calling was none other than Seia.
"...Whoa... that was close..."
Breaking into a cold sweat, I answered the call. For a moment there was no sound, and then—
"...H-hello...?"
"Haruta! What happened to you!?"
"...Huh...? No? Nothing happened...?"
"You... seem to have attended the Eden Treaty signing after all... and barely escaped disaster..."
"...Haa... so even after I blocked it that hard, you saw it anyway?"
"...And... your... arm and... leg... ugh..."
"...Haa... Seia? I’m fine. My arm’s fine, and my leg’s fine too."
"...I saw it... you fought something absurdly huge and were driven to the brink of losing an arm... and then, against something similar... though a little less formidable... while trying to protect a Gehenna student..."
"...Yeah."
"And! Why did you answer the phone so late? I was really worried something had happened!"
"...Um... I was about to sleep."
"Haa... your condition is probably worse than mine right now, so just rest... I’m glad... truly, truly glad that nothing happened..."
"...How did you... see my future?"
"...That would be a long story... a very, very long story."
"...Still, I think I did stop it properly."
"...Haa... to be precise... I met someone who called themselves "Kuzunoha." They claimed to be the great prophet of Hyakkiyako."
"...Well... I get that much, at least."
"That person... said that if I wanted to save a friend, I should make a deal with them."
"...What did they say?"
"...What they wanted was to see Haruta... you... in their dreams."
"...? That was all?"
"...Well... yes. They asked to be allowed to see you in a prophetic dream, in exchange for letting me see Haruta, you see."
"...Well... I don’t really mind... though?"
"Still, I felt uneasy and was going to refuse. I thought it would be better to ask you first."
"But?"
"...They said that right now you were dying, and if I knew the future, I should do something about it. Honestly, it’s hard to believe. You being injured... or dying... it’s nonsense, isn’t it?"
"...Um? Seia? I’m human too, you know?"
"Haruta... you’ve already surpassed the bounds of humanity."
"...Ahem... hearing that from Seia of all people... stings a little."
"...I had no intention of teasing you. I was simply worried whether you were truly hurt."
"...So?"
"...I was skeptical and meant to refuse, but then they showed me something."
"?"
What Seia said next was shocking beyond belief. No, how many things could possibly shock you more than death itself? As I listened to her seriously, an all-too-familiar phrase came up.
"...People wearing white masks... priests in priestly robes... and in the middle of them... you were standing there. No... you didn’t have any killing intent, at least, but that person was different..."
"...Different how?"
"...Opposite of you... no... something else entirely. Even the expression, even the clothes they wore... everything was different. And yet—"
"..."
"The face... was exactly the same as yours, Haruta."
"...Haa... so you accepted the contract and got to see my future?"
"Indeed."
"Well... sometimes I do get curious about the future, but that’s not really important."
"...For what reason?"
"...Even if I know the future, even if I can’t change it, I still have to live in the present. As for what happens in the future, I’ll think about it when the time comes."
"...You really are someone who knows nothing of preparation."
"When have I ever prepared for anything?"
"...Haa... well, I understand. Then I have nothing more to say."
"Yeah, go ahead and hang up."
"Ah, and one more thing."
"And?"
"...I had a dream that you enrolled in Gehenna. It was the worst nightmare imaginable."
"..."
"And... I also dreamed of eating a parfait on the street with a long, beautiful girl with white hair, while the two of you were all lovey-dovey."
"....H-hey, Seia?"
"I trust you, Haruta. Farewell."
click
"...This really feels like I’m properly screwed, doesn’t it...?"
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