Thank you.
“I’m exhausted. Seriously, why are university classes so boring? I thought they’d be more fun…”
“It can’t be helped. Professors are professionals in research, not in teaching. To find it interesting, you need to accumulate knowledge. More importantly, who are those people who keep talking to you during class?”
“It’s rare to see someone taking the class seriously, you know? There are so many monkeys looking for a date, it’s sickening.”
“I silenced them with a simple ‘I have a boyfriend’.”
“…Isn’t that cheating?”
“Oh? It wasn’t prohibited by the [Four-Way Agreement], was it?”
“You’re a genius at getting ahead, Reon-san.”
“I’ll do that next time too~”
It was 6 PM. I had stayed with Sakurazuki until the fifth period, and that’s how late it had gotten. A pleasant breeze blew through the plaza in front of the nearest station, and cherry blossoms danced in the air. The faces of the people pouring out of the ticket gates showed a sense of liberation amidst their fatigue.
Today was Friday. The fact that tomorrow was a day off seemed to brighten people’s expressions. We were no exception.
Still, after what happened earlier, how can they talk so cheerfully?
I recalled the incident in the elevator.
I was dumbfounded that the heroines of [LoD], whose favorability I couldn’t raise, would hate the protagonist so much. In the game, all the heroines who didn’t end up with the protagonist had a death ending, so in a way, I was seeing the behind-the-scenes setting. But the way the four of them beat up Sano at the end was so terrifying that I just tried to blend into the background.
What was even scarier was that after doing all that, they acted completely normal when we ate ramen.
They were bleeding, you know?
Well, that’s not what I should be worried about…
We walked along the railway line, the five of us. In the silence, only the voices of the four and the sound of the wheelchair wheels echoed faintly. There was no one else around.
Suddenly, the warning bell of a railroad crossing started ringing in the distance, vibrating the air. Following that, the roar of a train cut through the wind, approaching and shaking the tracks as it passed right beside us. The light streaming through the windows intermittently illuminated us, and when the vibrations and sound passed, silence reigned again.
It was as if the world had set the stage for me.
“Hey, Sakurazuki…”
“Hmm? What is it, Satoshi-kun?”
“I have something I want to tell everyone, so could you turn my body around?”
“Okay!”
Sakurazuki skillfully reversed the wheelchair, and I faced the four of them. They were waiting for me, their expressions puzzled.
I think this is the last chance to say ‘it’s nothing’ and turn it into a joke. I could have laughed off the story about Sano, averted my eyes from my true feelings, and extended our current life for even a day longer.
But—
“I don’t need your care anymore. Live as you please. Thank you for everything.”
I put on the best smile I could muster and then bowed deeply, my head almost touching my knees, expressing my gratitude.
“We’re not needed anymore? You don’t want us…?”
Sakurazuki said to me in a voice that sounded like she was about to fall into darkness. When I raised my head, the highlights in everyone’s eyes were gone. I couldn’t let myself be swallowed up here.
“That’s not true. I was happy to have you all, and if anything, I want you to be by my side forever.”
“Then, why…?”
I took a deep breath. The words that had reached my throat kept flowing back into my stomach.
It was painful. I didn’t want to say it.
But I couldn’t hesitate here.
“I hate people who distort other people’s lives for their own convenience… And yet, I’ve settled into the beautiful and absolute position of a ‘savior,’ putting a collar on everyone that I can’t take off myself. I can’t forgive myself for being the worst…”
“…”
“So, it’s okay now. I’ll do everything alone from now on. You don’t need to feel guilty. Forget about me and live as you please. Please, be free. I beg you.”
I bowed my head again.
In the end, this was for my own sake too. I didn’t want to be tormented by the guilt of distorting other people’s lives any longer. I wanted to end as a hero who saved the girls.
Reon told me that they weren’t by my side just because of guilt, but in the end, I prioritized my own ego. A selfish and self-centered wish. I was ignoring all of their feelings, who felt more guilty than I did.
“…You’re kind, Satoshi-kun.”
“…That’s not true. I think I’m the worst.”
Then, a sigh escaped, accompanied by a soft smile.
“It’s none other than Satoshi-kun’s wish. I’d like to grant it, but I’m really sorry? We can’t grant that one thing.”
“…Why—what?”
I raised my head to question Sakurazuki, who wasn’t listening to me, and my gaze focused on Sakurazuki’s hand.
“I can’t stand to see Satoshi-kun hurt himself any more, so I, and we, will confess.”
“No, why that…?”
It was the [Diary] that was my only habit in high school. The cover was faded, the corners were worn and soft, my tracks.
I had thought I had lost it a long time ago, but it seemed that Sakurazuki had it. Questions I wanted to ask overflowed from my stomach like a torrent, but my mouth wouldn’t move at all. Sakurazuki smiled as if she was troubled by my reaction.
“I’m sorry. I took it without permission on the day Satoshi-kun had the accident.”
“Eh…”
“I read the contents. About [LoD], about the [World’s Compulsion], about [Satsuki Saionji], everything… I know everything.”
“…”
When I looked at Shino, Akina, and Reon, they seemed to know the contents of my [Diary] as well, just like Sakurazuki. The strength drained from my body.
Sakurazuki lovingly flipped through the pages of my [Diary] and began to speak in a gentle voice.
“Satoshi-kun, you’ve been protecting us all this time, haven’t you? You’ve been supporting us, all alone.”
“Ah…”
She spoke each word as if caressing a jewel.
“But, I’m sorry. We don’t remember anything. Until we read the [Diary], we didn’t even know the existence of ‘Satoshi Iriya.’ You were the one who supported us, but we were mistaken about who it was all along. We’re the worst, aren’t we?”
No. It’s because of the [World’s Compulsion]. So, it can’t be helped.
But the words that reached my throat wouldn’t come out.
“What you did for us, what you gave us, was unconditional love… It’s truly a cruel, sad, and unrewarded feeling…”
Then, tears welled up in Sakurazuki’s eyes, and she looked down.
“But we found out… who we were saved by…”
Her voice, mixed with sobs, was trembling. But Sakurazuki raised her head forcefully and pierced me with a sharp gaze.
“Even with that battered body, you’ve been supporting us from the shadows all this time, and there’s no way we can forget about Satoshi-kun and live on happily! Don’t underestimate us!?”
While holding back tears, Sakurazuki continued to speak.
“Don’t tell us to forget! We’ve forgotten everything, what more do you want us to forget!?”
Sakurazuki’s voice gradually intensified, and a torrent of emotions overflowed.
“If you told us to give you our bodies, we would offer them! If you told us to die, we would gladly die right now!”
A moment of silence. And then, she squeezed out in a trembling voice.
“…Please, don’t say things that devalue yourself…! Don’t think of yourself as the worst…! You’re our irreplaceable hero, our champion—and the person we love so much…?”
Tears streamed down Sakurazuki’s cheeks. The other three also looked at me with determined expressions, as if they shared the same feelings as Sakurazuki. I was stunned, leaned back deeply in my chair, and looked down.
“…In my previous life, I was a NEET with no place to belong… In this life, my family, even my own parents, found me creepy and shunned me…”
The things I couldn’t tell anyone came out as condensation, dripping down. My heart, which I had never allowed anyone to touch, began to melt little by little.
In my previous life, I was incompetent, so I had no place to belong. In this life, I tried to live for someone else, using my knowledge from my previous life, and as a result, I was found creepy and lost my place to belong.
“…If no one needed me, I thought I’d just live alone and gave up. But then, I realized I was [Satoshi Iriya], and I was desperate not to die.”
“Living to not die” was the summary of my high school life. But—
“No matter how hard I tried, my achievements were stolen, so I always wondered if there was any meaning in a life where I was just serving the protagonist, even if it was to survive.”
Every time [Yuto Sano] got closer to the heroines, a sense of relief and emptiness assaulted my chest. Before I knew it, I had acquired the skill to treat it as a task.
“…When the Bad Ending was set, and I reached the point of no return, I hated the thought of dying without saving anyone. So, at the very least, I wanted to leave proof that I had lived in LoD, and that’s why I decided to take everyone with me in my revenge.”
I had always been alone. Lonely. It was painful. I kept fighting without anyone knowing, and I wondered if there was any meaning to those days where I gained nothing.
All those feelings would disappear if I died. There was even a part of me that thought dying would be a form of salvation.
But, in truth, I wanted to be known.
I wanted someone to praise my life. Every day, I felt like I was being crushed by a pain I couldn’t tell anyone. I wanted the day to come when my fate, which was set to end in death no matter how hard I tried, would be rewarded.
It was at that moment.
Suddenly, a soft warmth touched my entire body. That warmth grew stronger, gentler, and enveloped me.
“It’s okay now. Satoshi-kun, you’ve done enough. So, this time, let us save you. Bind our lives with your love.”
Binding with love, not guilt. Was that truly the right thing to do? Was it okay to impose such selfish and self-serving things on them?
“Is it okay to do that…?”
“Of course. I was prepared for this from the start.”
“Me too! So cheer up~”
“I’ve been able to live until now because of you.”
Thank you for everything until now━━━
“Hh…”
Those were the words I had always wanted. Words I had wished for countless times, deep in my heart.
The moment they reached my ears, my chest grew hot, and the next moment, tears began to spill. No matter how hard I tried to hold them back, I couldn’t.
The word “rewarded” wasn’t enough. How many feelings had I held onto for this moment━━━
“Thank you” is my line━━━
━━━
Thank you for reading this far!
Please [Follow]!
If possible, I would be happy if you could return to the [Work Page] and press the [⊕] three times on the [Praise with ★] in the [Review] section!