kscans

Chapter 216 - The Final Chapter [End of Main Story]

The battle with the villainess concluded with my victory. There was no development like, "She was merely the weakest of the other world's Four Heavenly Kings..." and no new invaders appeared. We were able to welcome the holy night in peace. For Christmas, Sakuya-chan and I invited Takahashi and Suzuki, two lonely single people with no particular plans, for a Christmas party.

"Ho ho ho, it is I, Satou Claus."

"What the heck is a Satou Claus..."

"For being a good girl, Sakuya-chan, I shall give you half the world. You would do well to surrender to my army."

"""That's a Demon King!!"""

It was a lot of fun. Two days later, on the twenty-seventh, we held another graduation ceremony for the kids, and the next day, the twenty-eighth, was the last workday of the year and the year-end party. It was a grand affair where we rented out the banquet hall of a massive traditional inn.

"Yes, yeees! Next up, Satou-kun and I will sing!!"

"You'd best tremble in fear at our singing prowess!!"

When the president sang, I shook the tambourine like a man possessed, and when I sang, the president gave me buffs by shaking the tambourine like a man possessed. That, too, was a blast. Then, on the thirtieth, we finished up the big clean-up in the morning and Sakuya-chan and I headed to her mother's family home.

"...Sakuya, it's only been a little while, but you seem to have grown up quite a bit, haven't you?"

"They say a man can change in three days... I see you've been living a fruitful life. I'm relieved."

Saki-neechan and Seiya-san were both delighted by their child's growth. Well, they're parents. They seemed to have sensed that this growth was accompanied by pain, but they didn't mention it. In moments like these, I think parents are amazing. What is it, that sense of acceptance? It's incredible.

"First up, Hero-kun! I'm going to do a dance that's almost revealing but not quite!!"

"Wahahaha! Excellent! Go for it, Hero!"

On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, we enjoyed a grand banquet. The latter half of January was Chika-san's birthday, and February was the birthday of the TS combo. The days passed peacefully with nothing special happening. And then, spring came again.

"School starts today... It's the same every time, but after a long break, I feel a little lazy."

"If you're considered lazy, Sakuya-chan, then my student self would've been the epitome of depravity, no question."

I chuckled and told her she should take it a little easier.

"I guess you're right. But, you know, 'the year after next' is my entrance exam year. I can't let my guard down too much."

"...Right."

"That said... yeah. I know this is the last year I can fully enjoy high school life."

I'll enjoy it to the fullest, Sakuya-chan said with a smile like the spring sunlight filtering through the trees.

"I think it's because I've found so many things besides studying since I came here. It might sound strange coming from me, but I feel like I've been able to grow."

"...You have. You've grown a lot, Sakuya-chan."

It was about time. I prompted Sakuya-chan to get going, and we left the house together. We parted ways on the road, and I headed to the office... or rather, I didn't. I sent a clone to the office and on the way, I bought some sake and snacks and went to Ueno Park. Skipping work to go flower-viewing, are you kidding me? You might say that... but I'd like to be forgiven, just for today.

"...So it really came to this after all."

I grumbled and took a swig from my one-cup sake. It was a monologue meant for no one. I had put up a powerful ward to keep people away, so there should have been no one to react, but...

"You've really gone and done something troublesome."

An "innocent voice" tickled my ear. I turned around to see a girl of about ten with black hair down to her waist standing there.

"Old hag... what is it, you here to give me more grief?"

"You're such a cynical man. This time, at least, you did nothing wrong."

The old hag sat down next to me and started drinking an unopened cup of sake without asking.

"The villainess, was it? She was the worst. She didn't 'create' a single thing. Just a pest whose only skill was destruction."

"Doesn't something new get born from the ruins?"

"You know it's not true. Nothing would have sprouted from the destruction she wrought."

The old hag drained about half the cup and continued.

"She was like you, if you had fallen to darkness. Well, it seems she wasn't quite as ridiculously overpowered as you, though."

"Seems so."

"Well, from our perspective, she's still plenty overpowered."

"Yeah. You know, I honestly had a feeling somewhere in the back of my mind. I mean, I did go on a huge rampage, even if it was in the Sea of Nothingness."

I thought it might have some kind of effect on the world. I didn't notice it right away. I realized it on New Year's Eve... the moment the date changed. After the countdown, the new year was displayed, but...

"The single digit was blurry."

At first, I thought, did I drink too much? But everything else was crystal clear. I could even see the fine lines on the celebrities on TV. I frantically checked my calendar and my phone, but on all of them, the single digit was blurry. I sobered up instantly, maxed out all my senses, and investigated. The result was an anomaly in the "flow of time."

"...I can't believe we've entered a slice-of-life timeline."

I was shocked. Eh, what do I mean? I mean a slice-of-life timeline. You know in anime and manga? The slice-of-life genre. Not all of them are like this, but in many, the year just keeps looping, right? The characters never get older and repeat events like summer vacation, Christmas, and Valentine's Day over and over. That's exactly what's happening. Right now, this world... no, all worlds are in that state. The only ones aware of it are high-ranking gods and a handful of others. The old hag is human and her power isn't that great, but she has some special circumstances, so she can probably sense it.

(Wasn't she cast out of the flow of time for some mistake she made in the past?)

I don't know the details, but apparently that's why her real age and her appearance don't match. She usually disguises herself as an old woman.

"...I have to ask, but can you restore the flow of time with your power?"

"Nope. Well, I can interfere with time, sure. But this isn't just a problem with this universe."

It's affecting other worlds too, and I have no idea how wide the scope is. If I carelessly try to fix just our world in this state, what would happen? It would be too optimistic to think it wouldn't affect anywhere else. But interfering with a virtually infinite number of worlds is also... tough. If you ask me if I can or can't, well, I can probably interfere. But there's no guarantee I can fix it completely.

"Well, but time is a fundamental principle in every world, right up there with life and death."

It will probably return to its normal state on its own.

"...How long will it take to go back?"

"Who knows?"

It might be back to normal by tomorrow, or maybe in a week? A year is also possible.

"No, it could even be a matter of decades. Like a long-running manga series."

At this stage, it's impossible to say. If there's anything we can do, for the time being, it's probably helping pregnant women give birth. I mean, if we just leave them, it seems obviously dangerous. We were born as a result of the Earth becoming more active, right? A child who spends a long time in the womb in a world afflicted by a time anomaly is bound to have something wrong with them.

"Well, but we can think about all that later."

"...You're right."

We chewed on our dried squid in silence.

"For now, let's just drink."

"Yeah."

There are days when adults just need to escape into alcohol.