Chapter 65

Don’t forget your chuuni heart

(yesterday, I noticed I always get a stomach ache after eating cheese so I thought I might be lactose intolerant. To test it out, I drank half a carton of milk and had to spend the entire day sitting on the toilet.)

(author: Even if your black history attacks…)

Crap, the real me totally came out.

No, the usual Eight-chan isn't that different from my real self, you know? I just pay attention to the way I phrase things.

But this is the first time I’ve ever slipped up and accidentally leak a weakness I had been dragging around from my past life. I wasn’t quite composed there.

Still... because I appealed to him with my heart*, I want to believe they resonated with Tsubasa’s heart. (tl note: also means “real intentions”)

The words I spoke to him, who looked like he was about to die at any moment, were all my true feelings. I really thought what happened to Raphael-san and Tsubasa was pitiful.

It’s true that it saddened me to see someone being dragged by the dead and unable to see what was right in front of them. And I believe Raphael-san would not have wanted that, either.

To tell you the truth, before anything else, I was also the kind of person who died and left behind my older sister and the others behind! I can speak since I have experience.

…Well, not that there’s anything commendable about that kind of thing.

The ones suffering now are those who were left behind.

I remember that when I realized my own time to die was near, I felt surprisingly calm. I bet Raphael felt the same way.

Of course, there’s no way I didn’t have regrets.

But even so… I accepted it as a happy life.

For those of us who could die with satisfaction, that was enough to save us.

That’s why there’s no need for those left behind to feel anxious. What we only wish for them is for them to look forward and live brightly and happily.

Of course, if at some random moment they happen to recall me, that would make me really happy.

In that sense, what happened afterwards to my sister and the others in that other world I saw was, to me, the ideal image.

──Yes, that’s what I thought, but…

Under Binah-sama’s leadership, the town of Heit was rebuilt within a few hours.

To get a overlook the scenery from a slightly higher vantage point, I leapt onto the roof of a random house and sat down with my legs stretched out.

Calmly, I pulled out a harp.

It was roughly seven o'clock at night. As expected, at this time, the surrounding were dark, and the moon was floating in the night sky. While not as cold as a night in El, it was still quite chilly.

A crescent moon tonight, huh... In this world, it might be rarer than a full moon. It was the first moon shape I’ve seen since I came to this world.

"...Alright."

With a few plucks, I finished tuning the harp and decided on the piece I would play.

Right... It has to be Kazaoka Tsubasa's Theme.

The song was a sombre melody frequently played during Tsubasa’s appearance scenes in the old Fairy Savers, and in the sequel, Fairy Savers ∞, an arrangement of it was performed with a harmonica during Raphael's first appearance.

It truly is the perfect choice for this situation.

I played the song with a solemn feeling, performing under the crescent moon sky for a while.

Right now, it was just me here. Kabbalah-chan was with Mea-chan, who was in good health, and Merciful Chesed was also with them. They’re probably enjoying a modest dinner party with Binah-sama and the others right now.

To be frank with you, I quietly slipped away from said dinner party. That’s just how I felt.

And so, I was enjoying a solitary performance in the quiet town.

It was at that time.

I was so engrossed in my performance that I didn’t notice right away, but when I did notice, there was someone’s presence behind me.

Oh, so you were curious and came here, after all.

Having anticipated his visit, I wasn't particularly perturbed, and after finishing Tsubasa’s theme, I set the harp down beside me, leaned my back on the roof’s slope, and welcomed my visitor with a facing upward posture.

“Yo.”

“Hey.”

I greeted him casually and he greeted me in kind.

The long-haired lady-killer, dressed in a gunslinger-like costume straight out of a Western movie, was none other than Kazaoka Tsubasa himself.

He looked down at me in my sloppy posture with an inexpressible expression before quietly sitting down beside me. Yeah, take a seat. It’s a nice view here. also, this slope is so comfortable to lie down on.

“You really shouldn’t be climbing onto other people’s roofs without permission, you know?”

“Coming from you, that’s rich…”

"I'm a phantom thief, after all. The outlaw Olishua doesn’t fear rules established by the law.”

“Is that so.”

Outlaw temperament are a cheat original protagonist’s privilege.

Of course, if the homeowner complained, I’d leave, but… I like high places, so it can’t be helped.

In that respect, it's a bit disappointing that this town, unlike El, has few elevated places. Of course, I still think it has its own charm, and since I like Western movies, I quite like the atmosphere of the town itself.

Oh, found a shooting star. So they exist in this world, too. The sky is much clearer than in Japanese cities, so they're very easy visible.

Thinking about it, lying down leisurely on a roof like this at night was a good idea.

Discovering a new way to have fun makes me a little happy. Of course, I don’t forget to use my "Purification" ability to clean the roof first since they're pretty dirty. Every house is, really.

On that point, after using my "Purification," even if I put the back of my head against it like this, not a single speck of dust will stick, so it’s quite comfortable. The coolness feels very nice.

As I intentionally showed off my sloven and relaxed appearance like that, Tsubasa let out a small sigh.

Good, good, it seems the tension has eased. It might be a bit crude, but seeing someone else in a relaxed state has a mysterious effect on humans. That was also my way of showing consideration for him.

As he shifted his gaze from me to the night sky, he stared vaguely at the twinkling stars and said,

"I'm always afraid..."

His words, spoken to me, who said I didn’t fear the law, contained a feeling self-mockery.

Tsubasa continued, as if talking to himself.

"…I guess what I was most scared of was myself. That’s why I was afraid, afraid, and continued to be afraid… I kept uselessly running away from something I couldn’t escape."

I guess that means he was scared of himself trying to get over Raphael.

The worries from being left behind, huh… He’s saying something similar to Arisu-chan.

Because they treasure the happy past, they feel guilty about moving forward and living.

...I don't know. When I look at him, it’s like I’m being made to realize the sin of my past life’s me, and it’s painful to hear.

Whether I likes i or not, it puts me in a serious mood, wondering if this is the karma reincarnators are burdened with.

But… perhaps it’s for this very reason that I can say this. I decided to speak of my pet theory as someone from the opposite position to him──as someone who had been one of those who left others behind.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Eh?"

This are simply just my thoughts.

Of course, I have no intention of forcing it on him, and in this case, it’s not even a SEKKYOU, just an individual’s opinion.

That’s exactly why I spoke comfortably, staying in a relaxed posture.

"You see… I think running away from painful or scary things isn’t a bad thing. Not everyone is strong enough to overcome them, and it’s okay to run away. No one has the right to blame others for it."

“...Didn’t you blame me?”

True.

But no, I didn’t mean it like that!

It's fine to run away, but I just wish you'd stop running away to your death!

Words are difficult… Once again, this was reflecting Eight-chan.

"I only said not to run away from the future. I never said you couldn’t run away from your painful and sad past. If I made you misunderstand, I’m sorry."

"...No, it's fine. I'm not so rotten that I need you to apologize."

As someone whose past life was one in which I escaped by dying to avoid the many sufferings that come with being alive, this is a difficult matter as it might become a case of "you’re one to talk."

But, since everyone dies eventually, wouldn’t it be better to live life as happily as possible until that time comes?

That's all I wanted to convey.

Facing and overcoming a sad past is necessary for living the rest of your life happily.

In his case, I thought he couldn’t be happy even if he ran from his past. That’s why I want him to not run away from his future──that’s all.

Fufun, I'm a cheat original protagonist, after all. When I see my favorite (oshi) walking down the path of ruin, I can’t just ignore it, even if I know it’s meddlesome.

Then, Tsubasa formally spoke to me.

"I’m sorry… I made you go through unnecessary trouble, didn’t I?"

"Trouble, you say. I don’t really mind. Things like this happen, right? You’re a boy, after all."

It’s no problem, but I’ll accept the thanks anyway.

Well, it’s not really a big deal to me. When you suddenly changed character, I thought, "Oh no, this is…" but once I understood the reason, it wasn’t such a complicated story, and it wasn’t an unreasonable character alteration either.

It’s something anyone could go through──in short, that. The kind of thing teenage boys are often troubled by.

──That’s right, right now, he’s in the middle of a journey of self-discovery.

"What the heck… That’s so uncool."

"There’s nothing to be ashamed of. The memories of the sensitive time you’d lost have just come back to you now, so it’s only natural."

"…You heard that from Binah-sama, huh. Haha… It's true that right now I'm just a brat going through puberty. Unstable, clumsy, and bothersome. I thought I’d graduated from all that long ago, but… it’s back now."

Yeah, it’s a hassle that these things take time for a person to realize on their own, but I don’t think it’s a serious issue in itself.

If you your time leisurely, you’ll come to accept it as part of yourself and overcome it. I did, too.

"Puberty can come at any time. Because of that, you discover a new version of yourself... expanding the possibilities ahead."

"Possibilities, huh..."

Thinking about it, that might be the reason why I've never distanced myself from chuunibyou.

As for me, I think that people who are excessively disgusted by such things are missing out on many things they could enjoy in life, which is a waste. Well, in my case, my sister gave her honest opinion, saying, "That kind of thing is way too childish!" but… this way of thinking hasn't just not gotten cured, it’s actually gotten even worse. Ahem.

…That said, my sister was the worst back when we were in second year of middle school. I think we were pretty amazing for never making fun of her past.

"...The song you were playing."

"Hm?"

"Is it famous among the angels?"

Ahh, that's your theme──I can't exactly say that.

Hmm, so he asked after all.

Well, it’s a piece Raphael used to play often, so it’s only natural that he’d be interested.

If anything, the reason I played it was to catch his interest.

See, I wanted to talk to you like this, just the two of us.

"O-oh... I see."

...What’s with that suspicious behavior? Did I say something weird?

Maybe he’s shy because a beautiful girl invited him to talk! ...Nah, no way. Not with him.

He’s not some virgin boy going through puberty, and even though he’s only twenty, he’s a shallow playboy experienced in handling girls. His suspicious behavior was probably just my imagination.

Uh, what were we talking about? Oh, right, the meaning of the song I played earlier.

"It’s a song of blessing for a boy who’s doing his best. He pretends to be calm, but inside his heart, he always feels lonely, and yet, he still does his best to move forward… This song expresses those feelings."

"...I see."

Sorry, I totally made that up. That was 100% my imagination.

I actually have no idea what the composer of "Tsubasa’s Theme" intended when they wrote the musical score.

This was the congenial interpretation I came up with while playing with emotion, so I’d like to think it’s not completely off the mark.

There are songs that change how you perceive them when you actually sing or play them, don’t you think? Notice a piece you thought was the solemn type might actually have powerful melodies hidden… That kind of feeling.

When I told him that, Tsubasa asked why I chose to play that song now.

"Are you lonely too?"

"...Eh?"

My mouth gaped involuntarily, caught completely off guard.

Seriously…? Where did you get the information that I'm lonely? The one who's feeling the loneliest right now is you, isn’t it?

In response to his unexpected question, I asked a question in return while lying down on the roof’s slope facing upward.

"Why do you think so?"

Curious about what he, the great detective, might have picked up on, I decided not to deny it outright and asked him.

Then, he answered in a disordered and ambiguous manner, which was unusual for him.

"...It just felt that way. At that moment, it was like you’d lost someone important to you… You had that kind of expression. When you muttered ‘nee-san,’ I wondered if maybe you..."

Ah, so that’s it.

"Alright, that’s enough. No more than that."

"..."

Even though he’s nervous, as expected of Kazaoka Tsubasa. Seriously, the creatures called detectives are really sharp. I have to constantly be on guard with him.

I got up in the blink of an eye and pressed my index finger against his mouth just as he was about to speak.

“…Putting it on hold, huh.”

“That’s how it is.”

It’s unfortunate, but going further is NG*. (tl note: no good)

I’m the one who died here, but if I’m afraid that if I continue to leak information about my sister in this situation, then this man would arrive at the truth.

If that happens, the Eight-chan’s mysterious aura will completely disappear, which is out of the question.

As someone aiming to be the perfect cheat original protagonist, I can’t afford to lose the identity I’ve crafted for myself.

So, no dice. I’m not answering.

“I won’t tell you. Yeah… I can’t say it.”

Cutting off the flow of information unilaterally, Tsubasa blatanly showed a disappointed expression.

Hey, hey, what’s with that face?

A detective asking a phantom thief for answers is no good. Think in terms of the rules!

Following my aesthetics, I decided to give him a bit of a pep talk.

"I'm a phantom thief after all. I'm at an age where I want important mysteries to remain as mysteries."

“…Aah, that’s right.”

“And the one who's going to uncover those mysteries is you, right? I want us to have that kind of relationship.”

“…Hah, is that so?”

What are you laughing at?

I went out of my way to say that in style, but what’s with that face like you’re watching something amusing, looking like you want to say something like, “Come to think of it, you did have that phantom thief setting, didn’t you?”

It’s really vexing.

In truth, once everything is over, I don’t think it’d be so bad to lead a life of dodging him as a supernatural ability phantom thief, leaving him with “So long, pops!*” (tl note: Lupin’s line in Lupin III)

In terms of fanfiction, that would be the daily life after the main story wraps up.

As someone who likes to enjoy stories for a long time, I’d want to something like that if possible...

“So… I’d be happy if you got better soon. A great phantom thief needs a great detective. Otherwise, there’ll be a lack of thrill.”

Tsubasa’s face still looked a little gloomy, but at any rate, all of the Savers are finally assembled as of today.

I don’t know what’s happening in the “Fairy Savers ∞” story that I’m not familiar with, but chronologically, what awaits us starting tomorrow is the equivalent of episode 22 of the old series──in other words, the final battle at the World Tree “Sefira.”

What should I do…? Since we’ve made it this far, maybe I should raise one of those “Once this is over, yada yada” classic death flags right here?

Of course, I have no intention of dying, but those cliched flags are always appealing, whether I die or not, so it’s basically a profit. Thinking fanfiction-wise.

Alright, let’s pull this off perfectly in original protagonist fashion!

“…Once this matter is settled, would you teach me how to play an instrument?”

You’re the one saying it!?

I almost tumble off the roof but managed to keep it to myself. (tl note: the thing in anime where characters fall when someone says something dumb)

Just as I was about to say the exact same line myself, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing at how terrible the timing was,

"Hey, why are you laughing?"

"Ahaha, no… it just surprised me. That you’d say something like that."

“…Is that so?”

Well, of course, I couldn’t help but laugh.

But… it’s not really a laughing matter, is it?

Just at the moment someone who’s been wanting to die all this time to suddenly decide to live, a death flag was raised──isn’t this like a yakuman* in playwriting? (tl note: the highest hand in Mahjong)

Well, he’s not going to die. I don’t know how the original work, Fairy Savers ∞, unfolds, though.

After all, here stands an original protagonist, sent by the goddess-like Charon-sama, destined to break death flags.

And so, I decided to take part with the flag he just raised.

“I’ll write a treasured new song and wait for you.”

“…! Now I have one more reason to live…”

Pit a death flag against another death flag! That's the strategy.

By raising an even more blatant flag in return, I’ve neutralized the unsettling one he put up.

This instant ad-lib response… even I have to admire myself.

It seems that Tsubasa was also motivated by that, which is the most important thing. I, too, absolutely felt determined to do my best starting tomorrow.

(author: Next time, we'll talk about a certain world line.)

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