ANIMT - Episode 57

ANIMT - Chapter 57. The Magic of Goodbye

I Got An Extra Six Months of Life Expectancy, And Now It’s My Time

I fell down the stairs.

As I felt a sense of weightlessness, I heard a whisper, “Please let me fulfill your most fervent wish.”

Who was that voice?

As I opened my eyes, I found myself in a void of white. Up, down, left and right, I couldn’t find my bearings. There was nothing as far as I could see. Floating in this state of nothingness, I felt no sense of pain, just lightness.

I know this feeling. It is the same as when I died six months ago.

Then perhaps this is where I will meet him again…

“Hey, long time no see, Mitsuba.”

“Shiratama… ”

It was Shiratama, a beautiful cat with pure white fur. Now that I knew he was an angel, I was not surprised by the wings on his back. It had been a long time since I had seen him.

Taking a look at the back of my hand, the countdown was gone. There was not even the number zero, it was just gone. In the end, there was no escaping death. My six months were up.

Shiratama nodded in agreement with my thoughts.

“That’s right. The connection between your vessel, your soul, and myself has been severed. This place is a zone between life and death.”

“… So, Shiratama came from beyond? Did you come here just to pick me up and take me away?”

Death… The realization of what this meant slowly began creeping into my heart. I am still able to talk with Shiratama in this place between worlds, but that will end soon. I’m glad to be able to talk to him like this in the end, even though he’s more like a god of death than an angel, coming to pick me up.

After all, Shiratama was the first friend I made in high school.

“I’m here to welcome you, my friend, or simply, I’m here to see you, my friend. I’m only here because I know you have a few more hours left to live.”

“Eh… ?”

While I was trying to figure out what it all meant, another flash of dazzling light flooded in beside my face. The light outlined a humanoid figure, and my eyes widened at the sight of the person who appeared.

“… Hiiragi Yukino-san?”

“… Long time no see, Nobana Mitsuba.”

Gray eyes like glass, and a slender, almost fragile body. The person who appeared with long, silvery-white hair was the one who took my life. The one whose whereabouts were unknown, Hiiragi Yukino.

I was so shocked that I couldn’t speak.

Why would she be here?

“… Since I am able to talk to you like this, the magic I invoked must have succeeded. If it’s as your will says, there’s probably a cat angel there.”

Magic? A suicide note?

These random words only served to confuse me further. What on earth was happening?

“I don’t have much time, so I’ll keep this short. First of all, after I disappeared from school, I have been working to destroy the institute… ”

“What?”

“I decided to follow in the footsteps of my mother and her associates and destroy the institute.”

I vaguely recalled Kusaka-sensei, my former teacher, telling me about what motivated Hiiragi Yukino to do the things she did.

I see. Hiiragi Yukino, you chose to live and fight after our rooftop encounter.

“But even as I took action, I was concerned about you. I’ve always had this strange feeling whenever I thought of you. About a week ago, I visited my dorm room to retrieve some of my equipment and a dog appeared and gave me a suicide note. After reading it, everything fell into place.”

“Huh? I didn’t think Pochitaro would betray me like this. And it wasn’t a suicide note… ”

On the day I became aware of my feelings for Kitora, Pochitaro had gone missing. I didn’t pay attention to it at the time, but that was about a week ago.

“I’ve heard of dogs like him. Laboratory animals with high intelligence and magical power gained through various experiments. I had a pretty good idea of how one of those kinds of dogs could escape. After reading the will, it seems that he came to deliver the final words entrusted to him by you, at his own discretion.”

I now knew the real reason why the will, once collected, was so shabby that the seal had almost come off. I thought it was because Pochitaro had handled it roughly. I didn’t even think of the possibility of it being because Hiiragi-san had already opened it.

“When I read your will, I found out the truth that I had sent you to your death. I was easily convinced by your story about an angel giving you an extended lease on life. If I had not received your will, I would have never known my true guilt. So, I am grateful to that dog.”

“Yukino-san.”

“You kept me alive. You made me choose to live on, so I decided to live with my sins. The only way I can do that though is if know my sins properly.”

While saying this, Hiiragi Yukino had a strong gaze of determination. She looked like a different person from the fragile girl I remember seeing against a sunset. But I still don’t know whether she is alive, or why she came here to meet me in the zone bordering death.

“When I read your will and learned everything, I first and foremost looked for a way to prolong your life.”

“What!”

“But… ”

Hiiragi Yukino-san trailed off, a somber shadow concealing her face.

There was no free lunch though. I knew deep down that such magic would require a hefty price.

Yukino then asked in a strained voice, “If you know about forbidden magic, have you heard about the forbidden life magic?”

I slowly nodded my head.

I saw a list of forbidden magic, their types, and their uses in the forbidden library. I did not look at any of them in detail, but I was sure such magic existed.

“With the use of forbidden magic, I was certain there was a way to keep you alive I gathered information and managed to find a book in the forbidden library. I was willing to pay any price for it, as long as it would save you from death. I found a few spells that sounded useful, but none of them were complete… ”

“They weren’t complete?”

“Yes. There were a lot of spells in that book, but many of them had missing words and sentences. All the life magic in particular was incomprehensible. Most of them were almost blank pages.

It was as if the book was trying to impart wisdom, telling the reader that it was impossible to atone for life that has been cut short.

Hearing her speak as if in penitence, my thoughts drifted to why these spells would even be recorded at all if using them as recorded would be impossible.

Perhaps the one who tried to create the forbidden magic of life simply gave up halfway through? They might have recorded what they had done, in an incomplete state, because they couldn’t succeed, and left it to later people to complete the magic.

My mind then drifted to Umetaro-san, who lost his magical power, his vitality, and his youth for the sake of healing the headmaster from a serious injury. Hiiragi Yukino-san, for the sake of her mother, had stolen other peoples’ magic power and manipulated their memories, and because of this, her ego and body were slowly being taken away from her.

Forbidden magic demands a price commensurate with its effects.

However, the price that is commensurate with human life and time that has been lost must be…

This was only my opinion, but, that might be why the six months I was given to extend my life was both precious and miraculous.

I gently looked at Shiratama, who had been listening to me silently.

I couldn’t help putting the question to him about a faint expectation that I had held many times as death approached. It was a growing suspicion that I had shaken off every time it had crossed my mind.

“Hey, Shiratama. I don’t think it’s possible to bring someone back to life with human power, even if you use magic. So, for example, is it possible for the Shiratama to give me time to live again… ?”

I knew the answer from the beginning, so this is just a quick check.

Shiratama flapped his white wings and shook his head loosely to the side.

“That would defy the rules of the universe, Mitsuba. I may only use my angelic powers to interfere with the fate of a person once. Any further interference is not allowed, especially when lives are at stake. That is our rule.”

He curled his ears apologetically and answered in his beautiful voice as usual, to which I replied with a small “I see.”

Angels have limits with the humans they are supposed to protect. There is no need to look so forlorn, Shiratama.

Hiiragi Yukino, who had been watching the exchange between me and Shiratama with eyes of complicated hues, said in a thin voice, “I can’t give you back your life… but… ”

And with surprise, I finally realized the reason her voice unsettled me. And why I had thought she was an auditory hallucination.

“I can make your most precious wish come true.”

“My most precious desire?”

“Yes. Your will mentioned it, I believe. ‘I am sorry that I could not say goodbye to you while I was alive because I swore that I would not reveal the secret of my limited life expectancy to anyone. I really wanted to meet everyone and say thank you and goodbye.’ I can give you the time you sought to say your goodbyes to your loved ones.”

“!”

I gasped at the unexpected statement.

Does that mean that I, who has died, will be reunited with those who are alive at the end of my life?

But, no way.

“How in the world did you… ?”

“… While the Forbidden Life Magic was entirely incomplete, there was also a kind of magic that allowed you to see dead people. It was not completed either, but it was only missing a single sentence. However, I combined the structure of other completed forbidden spells and managed to complete it. It is called Soul Magic. That is the name of the spell I have created to say goodbye to you.”

“Soul Magic… ”

“Completing the spell alone would not have been enough. This opportunity was only possible because I have a portion of the source of your magic still inside me. Simply put, I invoked this magic to temporarily connect your soul with the source of your magic in place of your body. In short, I have pulled off something that is a pale imitation of what that angel did.”

It was a wild and crazy story, but I somehow understood the logic behind it. It seems that I am still barely holding on to my soul in this world through forbidden magic.

Perhaps the voice also spoke to my consciousness through the source of my magical power.

The source of my magical power that Hiiragi Yukino took away from me was also the cause of my death. While some of it may have gradually returned to me, a large portion of it remains lurking inside her body.

It seems a little ironic that the act of stealing this magic would lead to my death as well as act as a key to bring me back (temporarily).

“For now, all you have to do is think of the person you want to meet. Then you will appear before them as you did after being given a new lease on life. The spell will not last long, so you will only be able to see a few people and talk to them for a limited amount of time.”

And besides, she said, her long eyelashes downcast, “This allows you the opportunity to go and see the people you want to see, without any obligation.”

“When they learn that you’re dying, there will be things they want to tell you before it’s too late. It’s funny for me to say this, but I want you to hear their final goodbyes… because I would have liked to have the same opportunity with my mother.”

The empty woman’s mutterings fell with a thud into the crevice of my heart. The images of my loved ones kept racing through my mind.

While I was alive, I gave up on the idea of directly telling them due to the circumstances in which I was placed. So I chose to die alone at the end of my life without saying anything to anyone.

Even so, even now, I still feel a bit of regret for not telling them myself.

If I am allowed one more act of selfishness, I would have wanted to see them again, in any form.

And as Yukino said, I’ll still leave, but this is the final opportunity for me to hear what my loved ones will say.

Soul Magic is a magic that allows one to say goodbye with your soul.

It seemed gentler than any other forbidden magic that I was aware of.

“… I’m so sorry that this is the best I can do. I’m so sorry that I’m the only one who can do this. I’m also sorry for taking your time to live, and that you let me live on.”

Suddenly, Hiiragi Yukino, who had been speaking so matter-of-factly, covered her mouth and turned her face down, as if she could no longer hold herself together.

Her silver and white hair and fine shoulders shook slightly.

“I am the reason you are… ! I know I’m not even worthy of having the opportunity to apologize, and I held it in, but I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! You had a future ahead of you, a brilliant future, and I… I… I… I… stole it!”

“I’m sorry,” she repeated in a voice that sounded like it was about to break, and I closed my eyes.

I know the sorrowful background of Hiiragi Yukino, as well as her painful regrets. I also know that she was really just another victim of the institute.

Still, it would be a lie to say that I did not hate her. That’s exactly why I can’t forgive her… even in death.

I am sure she would not want to be forgiven either.

“Hiiragi Yukino-san.”

I called her name quietly, and she raised her face, which was distorted with grief.

I, the one who understands the magic of words, have one final task before me.

Hiiragi Yukino-san, your chance to atone is about to begin.

She’s likely still being tormented by those disempowering voices. And she will have to pay some kind of price for the magic that will allow me to speak, at a later point. Even with all those burdens, this girl still chose to take her revenge on the institute.

As I said on the rooftop, she will have to live with her sins. Then I should probably leave a few more words for her.

“You must continue on. No matter what happens, destroy the institute.”

“… Yeah, I definitely will!”

And… This is not so much for Hiiragi Yukino’s sake, but for the sake of the girl who has always cared for Yuki-chan, who helped her behind the scenes in so many ways.

“There are other people who care about you, not just your mother. I know of at least one person. I hope you can give her some kind of answer for her feelings.”

“People who worry about me… ”

The girl smiled wistfully at me and said, “Okay. You really are a kind person. ”

Then, with a flash of light, she vanished from the white void in the blink of an eye.

I guess that means that she has finished talking with me. I had no more words to exchange with her, so…

And now it’s time for me to say goodbye to the ones I cherished.

“Mitsuba, don’t forget this.”

Shiratama, who had been by my side for the entire exchange, held out something for me.

On his paw, my clover ornamental pin sparkled.

“Six months was the amount of additional life expectancy I bestowed onto you. Having watched you the entire time, I can say that you truly made the most of it. So don’t think about anything too difficult and just do what you want, for the last few minutes of it. Be yourself and go meet everyone.”

With a wag of his tail, Shiratama said, “See you later, Mitsuba. I’ll be waiting for you here,” while gently narrowing his cat eyes.

I accepted the pin and replied cheerfully.

“Yes! I’ll be off for a bit!”

I’ve already decided who I’m going to meet and in which order.

First up, I made a promise to you…

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TL Note: Mald Frogs Club tries to capture the intent of the author when translating these chapters. This is not a literal translation and we can not guarantee the accuracy of it. We re-structure sentences to improve the flow and if we spot what appears to be an obvious error, we fix it as we go.