kscans

Chapter 232 - Jimoko-san from My Hometown

"Phew. I’ve gained some inspiration thanks to Feiko-san. Thank… whoa."

He finished his characteristically long-winded otaku speech and was about to offer his thanks, but Feiko-san cut him off by attacking. One might say she should have attacked while he was rambling on, but Feiko-san is a person of common sense. If some weirdo suddenly starts spouting nonsense in the middle of a fight, of course she would be shaken. Her rhythm had been completely thrown off from the very beginning, so it couldn't be helped.

"Kuh."

He blocked her fist with a layered barrier at the last second, but he couldn't nullify all the force and was sent flying. Feiko-san's exoskeleton seemed to possess even more power than he had anticipated.

"Just fall down already. To me, you’re nothing but the strongest opening act."

Feiko-san's initial goal was to eliminate Jimoko-san, but with Satou present, that was now impossible no matter how she struggled. Thus, she decided to challenge Satou to prove her own worth. Feiko-san had also participated in the decisive battle against the villainous noblewoman. She understood Satou's outrageous power all too painfully. And yet, for her to still burn with the spirit to mark him with a wound, her heart unbroken, was quite something.

"An opening act, you say. I believe that is an overestimation. To serve as Satou-san’s opening act, you would need to be able to destroy a universe, at the very least."

He continued to defend against a storm of attacks with his barriers. In between the blows, he inserted counterattacks using barriers like reactive armor, but they had no effect. It seemed her defensive power was as considerable as her offensive power. He hadn't taken any fatal hits yet, but at this rate, he would surely be defeated. To win in a head-on fight, he would have to use Kaiser. Dr. Kawasaki remained calm even as he made this analysis.

"My specialty is barrier magic."

"Huh? I mean, that’s obvious from how you formed that alternate realm at the start."

Her earnest reply to his sudden statement showed how serious she was.

"Then, do you know what a barrier is?"

"What do you mean?"

"You probably have a strong image of it as a shield. Or perhaps something used for sealing."

But that was not the essence of a barrier.

"To separate. That is the true nature of a barrier. And to separate something, you must discern the boundary and drive a wedge into it."

Between oneself and an approaching attack. A barrier could be formed with such a crude understanding, but an excellent barrier master was different. The ability to discern boundaries with greater precision was the mark of a superior barrier master, and Dr. Kawasaki was an exceptionally superior one.

"Like this."

"!?"

Dr. Kawasaki lightly swung his arm, and something like plates of light pierced Feiko-san’s exoskeleton in various places. Then, he snapped his fingers, and the exoskeleton shattered without a trace.

"How?"

She knew it was something imbued with purifying energy. But it shouldn't have had enough power to completely destroy the cursed exoskeleton. Dr. Kawasaki spoke to the bewildered Feiko-san.

"Even a pinprick is a different story if you have ten thousand of them, wouldn't you agree?"

The fine wedges were driven into the joints of the exoskeleton with perfect precision, and the resulting barrier produced a result far exceeding its cost. That was all there was to it.

"You seem to be a user of rather impressive barrier magic yourself, but it appears your studies were somewhat lacking."

It was likely due to the nature of her being an aberration. As an existence separated from the logic of the current world, she could create advanced barriers without any particular conscious effort. She had been able to get by with intuition rather than theory, which was why she couldn't comprehend Dr. Kawasaki's methods.

"And as for the boundary of this labyrinth barrier, see, my analysis is already complete."

Parin. The labyrinth barrier Onkan shattered like breaking glass, and the scenery returned to the alternate Seijo. The Onkan not only increased the circulation efficiency of negative thoughts needed to activate curses, but also served as an external tank. With that completely gone, Feiko-san's power was greatly diminished. Facing an almost fully-rested Dr. Kawasaki in that state was suicide. She was practically checkmated. Feiko-san understood this, but…

"So what? I’ll be me until the very end."

"You get angry so suddenly."

Remaining on the defensive, Dr. Kawasaki glanced up at the empty sky.

(It should be about time.)

Satou and Dr. Kawasaki had considered two possible outcomes for this mission. The first was to simply defeat her and be done with it. The second was to understand Jimoko-san's unspoken wish and bring things to a peaceful conclusion. Splitting up the Fakers was also for the sake of the latter. When people with the same ideology stick together, their thinking tends to become rigid, making it difficult to accept other viewpoints. So they decided to split them up and face them one by one to gauge their differences in ideology and their humanity. If even one of their comrades were killed, there would be no hope for discussion. But if even one of them was reasonable, a peaceful conclusion was not impossible.

"Oh, here they come."

"Th, this music that sounds like it’s here to deliver heartfelt sincerity is…"

A cheerful BGM echoed through the alternate Seijo, and they descended from the sky.

"Hello there. Your partner in life, Satou Hideo."
【You really like that line, don't you…】

"It’s really annoying that an old guy like this is the strongest in the world…"

"Tell me about it."

It was Satou, the Headless Rider, Rika-chan, and the Kuchisake-onna.

"You guys, why?"

She didn't think her comrades had betrayed her. That was precisely why she couldn't understand why they were with Satou, and she stood there, stunned.

"Yo, Rider. I can leave the rest to you, right?"
【Yeah. Leave it to me.】

"Mhm. Well then, Kawasaki. Let’s head out a little early."

Without waiting for a reply, Satou teleported with Dr. Kawasaki back to the real Seijo.

"Was that alright?"

"Feiko-san seemed like the type who’d get difficult if an outsider was around."

"Ah… That's certainly true."

"Well, they’ll be fine."

Watching Satou laugh so carefreely, it was strange how you could start to believe it.

"So, how about you?"

"Thanks to you, I was able to gain some inspiration."

"That’s great. I’m happy for you."

Satou looked as happy as if it were his own achievement. Dr. Kawasaki adored this fatherly smile of his. If he hugged him, Satou would accept it, no matter the time. That sort of tolerance, which he could believe in without a doubt, resonated with him more than anything.

"Satou-san."

"Hmm?"

"I really love you."

"Haha, thanks."

Satou rustled Dr. Kawasaki’s hair, but then…

"Alright. Now then, let me have a look at that panty shot video of yours."

He was just the worst.

◆

"Phew…"

After returning home, I was waiting for someone on my balcony, puffing on a cigarette. Saku-chan and Rika-chan were apparently having a sleepover at her place today, so it was a little lonely.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Jimoko-san appeared from the void and landed softly and silently on the balcony.

"It’s no problem. So, how did it go?"

I didn't think I needed to ask, but I did just in case.

"...For now, the Fakers have decided to suspend their activities."

"Oh?"

"It’s thanks to you, Hideo."

According to her, the Headless Rider took the lead and persuaded Feiko-san.

"He said, ‘I was able to forget, if only for a moment, the pain of not being the only one. Perhaps there are other ways for us to be saved’."

We don't know the world. If we don't know the world, we can't know ourselves. By meeting me, the Headless Rider was able to forget, even for a moment, the suffering that constantly tormented him. Is this salvation unique to me? Might there not be other paths for my comrades besides killing their own kind? He proposed this, and coming from a comrade who shared the same suffering, Feiko-san ultimately accepted it.

"I see. But."

"Of course, that doesn't solve everything. Those kids have already taken action."

The Fakers had already killed several of their own kind, other urban legends. The friends of those they killed might hold grudges. Just because they stopped their activities for a while doesn't mean the embers are completely extinguished.

"So, well, I plan to help out where I can."

"Hmm?"

"Wh, what is it?"

Jimoko-san looked annoyed at my puzzled expression.

"I know you’re a good person, Jimoko-san, but I was just thinking you’re getting pretty invested."

I had read her true feelings, that she didn't want to kill them. But that was it. I thought that once things were settled without anyone dying, she would be hands-off. The Fakers would probably feel awkward too, and a woman like Jimoko-san couldn't possibly fail to notice that. So I thought she would keep her distance…

"...Sigh. You really are something."

"What, what is it?"

She looked exasperated, yet somehow pleased. I couldn't quite read the reason for her expression.

"Well, of course I'd get invested. I had to overcome a similar struggle to get where I am today."

"Eh?"

I almost dropped my cigarette. My connection with Jimoko-san was cut once when we graduated from elementary school… Did something like that happen before she met me, or in the time after our connection was broken and before we met again?

"It was thanks to you."

"M, me?"

Eh, I have absolutely no memory of this.

"Well, I guess you wouldn't remember. You can be pretty sharp about some things, but you were just an elementary schooler back then."

"Wait, in the past? You’re talking about when we were in elementary school?"

"That's right. I was struggling with my own existence back then."

"Seriously?"

Well, I was an elementary school kid too. I don't remember everything. But I think I would remember if a friend was dealing with a serious problem…

"It was in fifth grade, about ten days before summer break started, I think. You snuck into the school at night, remember?"

"Umm… Oh, yeah, yeah, something like that did happen."

I think I was inspired by some scary story show on TV. I remember storming the school late at night. That's right. I met Jimoko-san there, who said she came to get something she forgot… hmm?

"But you didn't seem particularly different."

I have no memory of what we talked about. But I think it was something trivial. Then we held hands and did a test of courage, and just went home normally, right?

"You just didn't notice. At that time, I was definitely struggling, and you, Hideo, gave me the push I needed to overcome it."

"What? What was it? What did I say?"

"I’m not telling."

"Why not? Let me add it to my future cultural heritage, Satou's Book of Famous Quotes."

Let me show off how awesome I was even as a kid.

"What is this Satou's Book of Famous Quotes… What kind of stuff is in it?"

"The one-piece dress… is real."

"That’s not your famous quote. Why are you borrowing it without permission? You’ll get sued."

"No, to be precise, it was, ‘The wet, see-through one-piece dress that men dream of… is real.’ So it's safe."

"That’s not safe. And I don't even know what you're talking about."

"I don't know if you'll get it, Jimoko-san, but men have them. Ideal situations."

The season is summer. The place is the countryside. Maybe you're there with your parents visiting your grandparents. You get caught in a sudden rain and duck into a run-down bus stop with a roof. You're muttering about how the rain won't stop… when a cute girl in a white one-piece dress also comes to take shelter. ‘This is a pain.’ ‘It really is.’ A casual conversation starts naturally. It's a small bus stop. You naturally get closer. That's when I notice. Wait, isn't that see-through?

"It gets a young man's pure heart and under-heart racing like crazy."

"..."

"Well, I have more to say, but it would take all night, so I'll stop here."

Anyway. I had longed for such a situation, but at the same time, I thought it would never happen. I was fourteen that summer. It happened. It really happened. It happened when I went to my mom's hometown in the countryside.

"She was a girl so beautiful you’d think you'd never seen such a stunner before."

After summer break, I declared it, you know. That the one-piece dress is real.

"You…"

"So, I'd like your cooperation in enriching my book of quotes, if you would."

"No."

"Why not?"

"The reason you don't remember, Hideo, is because it wasn't anything special to you."

"Well, I guess that’s true."

It means it wasn't even worth committing to memory.

"That’s why,"

Jimoko-san turned her back to me and spoke.

"I was saved by that ‘ordinary’ heart of yours, the one that doesn't dwell on every little thing."

Jimoko-san glanced back at me.

"So, I won't tell you."

She smiled brightly. A beautiful smile, one that made my heart leap.

"...Man, Jimoko-san, you really are a first-love thief."

If she were in elementary school now, mixed in with the kids, how many little boys’ hearts would she have stolen?

"...I don't want to hear that from you."

"Huh?"

"It’s nothing. More importantly, I feel like drinking tonight. Keep me company."

"Mhm, sure."

For now, at least, my loneliness tonight seems to have found a cure.