# 020. CtG—Zero Kara Sodateru Dennou Shoujo

## 01. Volume 1 ( Full Text )

### 001. Chapter 1: Input

“Then, see you tomorrow”

Homeroom came to an end as the teacher left the class with a refreshing smile, then the class, 1-C , started to get noisy.

Kasugai Yuu took no attention to any of the topics the others were talking about and stood up while holding his bag.

He didn't particularly stand out or anything. He wore his uniform normally, though the color of his undershirt did violate the school rules it was still okay, at any rate he was just a normal obscure sixteen year old boy.

After the sunset outside met his eyes── which was certainly beautiful── he went ahead to the exit.

“Ooi, Yuu!”

The one who called him was a boy who stood out more than him. His hair had a light brown color and was also pretty tall. While only facing his face Yuu replied,

“What is it Kouta?”

Yuu responded to his friend. Itono Kouta. They've been friends since elementary school. Although their appearances were alike he was more of a spirited guy that goes well with innocent and pure people.

“It's been awhile, do you want to go to the arcade? Do you remember that person from middle school you beat up in a fighting game? She said she wanted to face you again for revenge”

From the looks of it, there were two guys from the class waiting for Kouta. They often chatted together with both of them during break time, but…

“…Sorry. I'm not really in the mood”

“I see. Well, can't be helped”

Kouta easily nodded and left the classroom along with the other two.

“Then see you later”

The smile Kouta left as he departed made Yuu's heart ache. As a friend since middle school, he understood Yuu’s “circumstances”. To be taken care by a friend, so pathetic.

Even so, he just didn't feel like having any foolish commotion with them. And while pitying his boring self, this time he finally went off to leave the classroom── but was once again stopped by an acquaintance.

“Fuyufu…”

“If you isolate yourself too much, your relationship with others will worsen”

Kudzuchi Fuyufu.

She was a girl who would perfectly fit wearing a S-size uniform, a small-sized petite girl. She was even shorter than Yuu who was shorter compared to an average guys' height. Yuu looked down on her head that seemed like a doll wrapped with sleek black hair.

But in contrast to her small physic, her facial expression was that of a grown-up. And despite having a pretty cute face, she's giving off atmosphere that hard to get close in.

“People call that 『Loner』”

And this part of her who loves to say things too much must also be noted.

“What up with that suddenly?”

“Nothing”

As she said that, the light in her eyes showed the cold color of condemn.

“It's been a month since we entered high school. And in this crucial time, I couldn't help seeing the kid from the neighborhood I used to play with losing even more friends than he already is, so I came here to warn you about it. I’m so kind right?”

There were some parts he couldn't let go but he understood it. He wasn't mad from what she said── since it was the truth── but the word “kid from the neighborhood” caught his attention.

Just how long do want to pull back our relationship from elementary school? He would retort.

“And what about you, do you have any friends?”

In response Fuyufu let out a casual yawn, reminiscent that of a cat.

“On the weekends we’re planning to go window shopping, eat sweats in the café, and taking flirty and sparkly pictures in photo booth, the three of us in total. Unfortunately they're all girls”

…It was frustrating, but it didn't sound like a lie. Fuyufu appears to be unfriendly but she has some nice sides as well, and she also has the kind of talent to build a good relationship with others.

Yuu who failed to counterattack could only stand still while looking down at the floor quietly.

“Then stop caring about me, just go and have fun”

“Eh? Those girls are busy with clubs so I just came here to play with a loner who seems to have nothing to do though?”

Oh sorry, could it be you haven't notice? As she looked into his face with a pitying look. Against that, Yuu could only clench his fist and hold down his frustration. His effort was worth some praises he thought, but that was an impossible demand to make.

He let out a sigh. It was his mistake for thinking that Fuyufu would cheer him up.

“Sorry but I don’t have any time to spare. Try someone else”

He said as he started walking. This is what you would call running away. He knew that it was impossible to win against Fuyufu verbally, if they continued who knew when his heart would break.

“Ah…”

Fuyufu's voice from behind sounded awfully weak.

But she didn't chase after him.

When he clearly saw that, he increased his speed and walked off.

Yuu’s back slowly disappeared from the hallway, and she couldn't even bid him a farewell

“Haaa…”

With an expressionless face, Kodzuchi Fuyufu let out a sigh. It felt like tears were flowing up, but she managed to hold it in. It wasn't like she was sad or anything, she was just a little nervous.

As the tension left, complaints started pouring out of her mouth.

“Idiot… that shut-in brat“

She knew that he was still shocked about his mother but it has been a year since then, he should’ve noticed his childhood friend’s attitude by now. It was just…

“Even though I did the trouble to comfort him”

“““No, no, no… you’re not comforting him at all!”””

Retorted from the group of three girls in softball and table tennis club uniforms who were watching over Fuyufu from afar.

Around 10 minutes away from the major private railways near the school, inside the famous market district there was a quiet station building.

And from there he exited the market district, and after around 20 minutes of walking he arrived at his destination. They say that half a century ago the real estate agent purchased this area all together and turned it into a residential area, but because of the low birth rates there has been a lot of vacant spaces.

At the back of that residential area right above the hill, stood a big house.

It was surrounded by grassy fields and woods, the house that looked dark and pale even in daylight was rumored to be haunted by the children of the neighborhood.

And in front of the haunted house, Yuu inserted a card key and typed in the password of the electronic lock. *Pssssssh*… the sound of air pressure escaped through the cylinder.

He opened the door and entered the house. The evening sunlight passed through the corner of the door. He closed the door from behind and the sounds from outside were severed and disappeared into the hollow.

This is the place that Kasugai Yuu returns to.

“…………”

He didn't think of anything in particular. After tossing some raw ingredients he brought from the market into the fridge, he walked straight to the living room.

He randomly threw his blazer and bag onto the floor and sat on the sofa while still wearing his uniform. His『CtG』 exclusive terminal, Rumeil, was on top of the table and was left charging.

After putting the familiar device onto his head, he pressed the start switch. A blue light shined from the device, showing that it was working. *Nnnnn*… The low startup sound somehow tickled his stomach.

And then, a song could be heard──

His consciousness started to fade away, melting and changing….

In a few seconds, his consciousness would no longer be in this world and have had made a journey to another world.

It was at that moment a mail notification icon was seen on the corner of his vision and an attack from an axe was made.

Ignoring the mail for a while, he then quickly swung down his single-edged sword, a seax, onto the enemy’s nape.

“Keh……!”

The one who let out the low death throe voices, along with its head on the floor, was the Goblin monster. What was left from the remaining body was just an unsightly pile of meat──

In common RPGs they’re the typical small fry monsters and are treated no different even in 『CtG』. It was an opponent that even a beginner player could win in a one-on-one fight. But on the contrary, you need considerable amount of skill to win against a large number of them.

Yuu (Clamp) watched over the dead corpse from above── and the next moment, large amounts of blood started flowing out of the wounds and some splashed onto the wall. The blood that dyed the wall appears to be sprayed out from the dead body.

CUT OFF!

SINGLE BLOW KILLED!!

As a special effect of the result of his attack, some words were displayed with the shed blood, it was a system called Blood Descript. It was said that the system was added by the graphic designer, and Yuu honestly thought it was a bad taste. But if this didn't exist, some players would feel something was lacking.

“They sure have a good (bad) hobby…”

He muttered as he watched over the surroundings. The passageway of the deserted house was filled with the smell of mold and blood coming out from the Goblin corpses lying on the floor. Even though it was a corpse, by the fact that it had lost all its HP it made it look like nothing but a dead mannequin that lacked vividness and animation.

And in the corner of his sight was a blinking icon. By swinging his line of sight he pulled it to the front. If it was a normal mail he would've opened it after he finished the quest, but the color of this icon was red── designating that it was an “Emergency”.

There was still one more Goblin lurking within the deserted building. But there shouldn't be a problem if it doesn't attack from a blind spot. While resting his back on the wall, Clamp opened up the mail.

He stared at it for a while.

“What the heck is this?”

It’s incomprehensible. It was from Mifa whom he 《Married》 with after defeating Megalon Evis. Her name was even written as the “Sender”, and a ring icon was shining next to her name.

But no matter how many times he read it, the contents of the mail was simply too abrupt and impossible to understand. Well, anyway, it said she wanted to contact him.

“Any at rate, I have to reply…”

As he said that, he sensed a presence. But there was no figure of a monster in his field of vision── and at the moment he looked up, the Goblin that was hiding above jumped at him!

Being caught completely off guard, he couldn't afford to swing his sword or even dodge. That’s why Clamp did neither.

He casually let go of his sword and caught the Goblin empty handedly. Even though it was short, the muscular Goblin was heavy and he got pushed down by the momentum. As he was being nailed onto the floor, he took a deep breath and then shouted

『Snatch !』

After usage of the 《Snatch》action, a notification sound of its success echoed through the building along with a burst of blood.

At the edge of Clamp’s vision was a message saying Skill success, you stole a “Hand Axe” .

What happened afterwards was Clamp kicking the Goblin’s body while simultaneously equipping the hatchet and attacking the goblin with it. It was strangely unlike him to be so impatient (or to be under pressure, if unrelated to sentences below).

──The 《Marriage》 he did just to achieve his goal.

──“It was just inside a game” but…

He couldn’t have not been curious. That’s right, the mail

“It’s from Mifa!”

When he split the Goblin head as if splitting a watermelon, the mail that was left open got dyed in red by the gushed out blood.

Within the churches that scattered throughout Dragons’ Cradle, you could find a mysterious mirror, when you went inside it you will arrive at the “Terminus Cradle”. The world spheres that consisted in 『CtG』 are all connected together in this relay world. It’s what you would call the starting point of all adventurers.

On the blue velvet floor nine mirrors were lined up, this place was the lowest layer called the Parnassus room. As a place for all the players that come and go all the time, it had the size of an event hall.

Boarding the elevator that hung at the middle will take you up to the market area.

Stores are sectioned in an orderly manner, regardless of the stalls large varieties of merchandise were lined up, from medical herbs to machine guns, items from various worlds were being traded here.

“This place is Messy as always…”

It was an overwhelming sight no matter how many times you saw it. The center of 『CtG』 service was done by NPC's (Their appearances were like other player, but their character was controlled by the program) who are in charge of the shops lined up around here.

And at the corner of the market area, there stood a facility called Guild Hotel, a facility that was often rented by particular communities as gatherings and meeting spots.

And at one of those rented facilities, inside a small room managed by the guild 【Labyrinth Troupe】 a girl was waiting for his arrival──

“What… Is that? ……What?”

Seeing what Mifa was holding, Clamp couldn't help but ask twice. He even forgot about Mifa who was holding the thing in question. Unable to hide his surprise, his hands were trembling in shock.

“Errrmm…”

The thing wrapped in pale colored cloth, the thing that was resting on Mifa's lap was…

A baby.

She had the same hair color as Mifa, and the same eye color as Clamp.

The figure that was wrapped in fluffy and soft babywear appeared to be less than a year old. She blinked and looked at Clamp with her strangely powerful eyes, while holding onto Mifa's finger with her marshmallow-like round hand with the lightness of cotton.

Mifa, who wore a mixed expression of tears and laughter lifted her head and said,

“Somehow, a baby… was born”

………………

He has never heard about this. Never. It was true that he had the 《Marriage》 event with Mifa but, even so…. You know, they never did anything that could make a baby appear, and a system like this didn't exist in 『CtG』 in the first place.

Even so...

The moment he saw the figure of the baby, the feelings of guilt paired with anxiety (or worries, your choice) instantly froze his body. Somehow Fuyufu's face appears in his head, delivering a cold stare of contempt and disgust,that image was planted deep inside of him.

“K-Keep yourself together! I've been in panic from quite a while ago!”

“Aa…. Sorry. This is quite an unexpected situation…”

Because she made a loud voice earlier, the baby’s gaze switched back to her. The baby’s reflexive actions were all too abrupt and sudden. Mifa flinched and let out a fake smile. The baby was emotionless but opened her mouth curiously.

T-That’s right. First we need to calm down. Clamp took a deep breath.

Calmly── Lets handle this situation calmly. Let’s first sort out the known and unknown stuff, we need to first understand the current situation. There’s the phrase “DON’T PANIC!” in the best-selling 『CtG』 strategy book , 『CtG Hitchhiker’s Guide』 (unofficial), wasn't it.

First of all, let’s hear what happened.

“Aside from the baby… what is that big thing?

“Aaaa── ….”

Mifa didn't answer for a while. She glanced at “that big thing” while clumsily soothing the baby in her arms. Clamp followed her gaze and then,

“This child is the daughter from the two of you”

The one who said that… Said that… Was… A stuffed doll.

On top of the two resting purpose beds in the cramped room, was a huge mushroom stuffed doll. It had limbs although it was a mushroom. Its width was as wide as its height and its face looked like it was doodled by an oil pen. That thing was the『CtG』 mascot named 『Kinokino』 based on an existing monster in the game. However, its size varied from fifty centimeters to 1 and up to 6 meters.

And that giant mushroom had certainly just spoke.

*CRASH!* The sound of Clamp hitting the wall of the hotel.

“It spoke!? I've never heard of a Kinokino that could speak!”

Clamp once again panicked like before but for a different reason. In response, the Kinokino gentlemanly lowered its head.

“Non. My name is Payakino, a Nanny NPC”

“Nanny…?”

“Oui. To take care of children born from the 《Marriage》 Event is my function as well as my duty”

Why it speaks like a monsieur even though it’s a nanny? It has high-pitched voice, or more like, it sounds synthesized. Its gender is also unclear. No, more than that…

“Wait a moment, I never heard that a baby would be born after 《Marriage》”

Yuu got lost in thought a bit, but if he believe in what this person said, then this NPC prepared by the system will answer it all.

The doll── Payakino then explain.

“Not knowing what will happen. That is the thrill of a RPG”

It’s a mushroom who loves saying whatever it wants.

But that sounds fair. It’s not like everything about the event is written on the manual, and considering this is an ultra-rare event no wonder that an unexpected thing like this would happen.

He was about to ask another question, but was interrupted by Mifa.

“I’ll explain first. Along with the time this baby appeared”

Mifa's story didn't go too well with her hair constantly being pulled by the baby, but summarizing it briefly it goes as follows:

When she logged-in as usual── she arrived at the Japanese-styled world, Bushido Grave southern church── And there stood Payakino that deliberately lowered its head in front of her.

Witnessing this mushroom…… thing, Mifa was truly startled, presumably more than she should have. Furthermore that mushroom was carrying a baby, and just like that it claimed that the baby was Mifa’s.

At first Mifa thought that there must've been some kind of mistake, but Payakino knew in great detail about Mifa and Clamp, furthermore it had the 『CtG』 digital signature of Imagine Ekphrasis corporation that was shown in the extended manual.

In short── The pair of players was randomly given a child to raise and have it grown. But if either of the players refused, the event will become invalid and so on.

Naturally, this was not the kind of situation that can be simply solved by herself, Clamp’s opinion was also required and so she called him to this hotel──

“──what do you think?”

Against Mifa's gaze after she finished the story, Clamp groaned.

“How… even if you say so”

It was a bit problematic. Clamp tried to look for information about this system he never heard of before, but…

“You know…. I think it's okay to raise her”

Mifa was unexpectedly up for the idea. Was *** just his imagination?

The baby then naturally switched her gaze to him.

Their “daughter” seemed to like Mifa's hair texture and continued to play with it.

Cute. He simply thought that.

Even though it looked like she was playing she didn't show a smile, could it be because she doesn't understand emotions yet, or that the Artificial Intelligence (AI) was just poor? Yuu who had never taken care of a baby before couldn't reach a decision. That’s why he spoke what he thought.

“……But, won’t it be troublesome? Raising a child”

“You think? From what I read from the manual and heard from Payakino, we can just ask for all the knowledge and skills we need for it, and Payakino will also take care of her when we're logged out.

If you’re too busy I’ll try to raise her alone… and, isn't it okay to not think about it too much?”

She smiled comfortably.

“This is just a game after all”

The reason he agreed with that, was it because of Mifa's optimistic way of thinking? Or because of the guilt of having the baby disappear when he refused? Or that he just simply wanted to finish this event to the end? Even he himself was unsure.

But, on the contrary to Clamp’s nodding, Kasugai Yuu felt uneasy and had worries about this strange chain of events.

The criteria aside, only those who are perfect with each other must marry, was that truly the right way of thinking. Even that person will one day regret that she chose the wrong partner. However an NPC baby was born without warning, it felt slightly off from the 『CtG』 developer’s typical unscrupulous surprises.

It came from Kasugai Mana’s game philosophy, Yuu’s mother who continued to work for Imagine Ekphrasis in the third development office of 『Cradle to The Grave』 as the lead developer till the day of her death.

“Let’s give her a name!”

Clamp, who was thinking while staring at the floor, got called and he returned his gaze to Mifa in a hurry.

“Name?”

“Yes. This child still doesn't have a name. We have to give her one”

Mifa held out the baby to Clamp when she said that. The baby’s pitch black pupil looked straight to his eyes.

Uuuu…. He received the baby while trembling.

The baby that was now resting in his arms was unexpectedly soft and terrifyingly light. It was much lighter than the cat Fuyufu kept in her house.

The part where the gravity center did not changes when remained idle might because the lack of data inputted. And also the baby stayed the same even on Clamp’s clumsy hand, instead of just simply meek it felt like it was lacking something.

──This child… did not possess a full human body. That was natural. NPC's are just people with a human body but not a human brain, let alone this baby that was just recently made.

He felt that.

He felt that really well.

Together, he wanted to blow life into this empty vessel, into the empty existence. Just like dolls that we treat as if having a personality.

He recalled back his childhood days as he thought about it. It was a time when Kasugai Yuu played with his first friend. What he did that time was, playing house.

It was just like the current situation. The girl from that time named the doll. Yes, the name was──

“How about… Haruha? This child’s name”

It was a name that was taken from my memories. Although the baby in question didn't have any reaction in particular,

“Hee…?”

Somehow Mifa opened her eyes wide, not blinking at all.

“……? What about it?”

“Aaa……… unn, nothing. I think it’s a good name.

Haruha…… Haruha-chan huh. Nn, it has a cute sound to it”

After that she continued to repeat, Haruha, Haruha, again and again.

She seemed to like the name as well, the baby── Haruha was then returned to Mifa's arms.

While embracing the small body, Mifa narrowed her eyes gently and formed a broad smile with her mouth.

Clamp who felt something in his chest diverted his eyes.

And then the two… No, three of them, along with Payakino with its featureless face, continued to watch over the baby in delight.

And thus the two players who were wandering in the world of 『Cradle to The Grave』, Clamp and Mifa, were linked together by Haruha’s arrival. Her birth was just too sudden and treated very lightly.

The time for them to learn about the meaning of that day, that moment, was still far in the future.

Two months have passed in a flash after that incident.

Every day they visited the guild hotel in Terminus Cradle── Not the hotel rented by 【Labyrinth Troupe】, but the one prepared by Payakino── Mifa and Clamp’s first and furthermost job was to talk with Haruha.

According to Payakino that resides at the corner of the room, the first thing Haruha needs for her growth was “Words” and after that is “Experience”.

Both of them simply had conversations with Haruha who continued to cling at them. They also did information exchange as part of their small talk.

When they were tired talking, they showed some replay videos. It was part of the Ramiel purchase bonus called private data storage, it would automatically record images in time of in-events.

This ended up affecting Yuu’s real life. He would often be absentminded and would be reminded by others, like in this instance at the school hallway.

“Yuu”

“Ueeeuwawaaaa!!? F-Fuyufu…?”

“…What is it? You look strangely in a good mood I thought. And your reaction just now is like that of a man being caught having an affair”

“No way, that’s absolutely not, right?”

“Why are you asking yourself…? Well anyway,

……Is something happening recently? You seems to be awfully want a hurry to go back”

“Nothing in particular… I’m just busy”

“Hmmm… Even so you appear to be way more energetic than before”

That might be true, he thought.

When Fuyufu pursued the reason, cold sweats started leaving his skin. Why did this happen? He tried to not think about it.

Payakino said, due to 『CtG』's system ──embryo’s effects or whatever── Haruha's growth was accelerated. She became larger at an incomparable speed compared to normal children.

In fact, Haruha learned how to talk in a very short amount of time.

“Mommy!”

There was the figure of Mifa, raising her fist high to the air, taking a guts pose along with Clamp who was sitting down, depressed.

“Next say “Father”, please”

He patted Haruha's head, which has extended a considerable length. It had a ticklish soft feel. Haruha rings her throat several times, letting out a“Auuu” sound while burying her face into his chest like a mole.

Mifa also had some changes happening in her private life.

Previously, she logged-in around 8:00 to 9:00 at night and would log-out after midnight, but ever since Haruha was born she would appear in Terminus Cradle at six o’clock. There were also days where she even showed up earlier than Clamp.

When asked why, she answered with,

“......It's also because I want to meet Haruha, but stuff happened and I no longer have to do club activities. Because of that I now have time to spare”

Her answer was a bit worrisome, but…

She said clubs, so it means she was either a high school or junior high school student── He thought a little.

After two months Haruha had already earned the body and mind of a two year(s) old.

“Maybe it’s about time we should show her the other world spheres”

Following Payakino’s advice, they took Haruha outside. Since they were bringing a child, they only roamed around the cities to guarantee her safety.

For example the White Keter Imperial City in Dragons’ Grave. From afternoon to midnight, millions of players are flooding this giant city and within such mess the small Haruha continues to cling to Mifa's arms while being simply being stunned.

They thought bringing Haruha who was an infant would stand out, but that didn't appear to be the case. Thinking back, baby NPC's normally exist in this world, and babysitting part-time jobs was one of the classical early quests.

However Haruha, unlike normal “predetermined sloppiness” baby NPC's have── doesn't wet herself or cry in the middle of the night. She doesn't even need to sleep or eat to begin with.

In the historical world, Bushido Grave Oedo capital, they watched the fireworks sparkling in the sky on a houseboat sailing above the waterway. Right on his side was Mifa wearing a relaxing light blue Kimono , while singing a song in a clear beautiful voice.

It was a song he had never heard of before, and it didn't appear to be one of those stereotyped songs from the game.

“………Do you like singing?”

When he asked, Mifa blushed a bit.

“Well, yeah, but it's just a hobby. I can’t let out a loud voice at home so I practice here”

From her way of talking, it seems she played this game as a replacement for a karaoke box. Indeed, you don't need that much money to use the rental terminal (Ramiel), and it was way cheaper than going to a karaoke. Unsurprisingly, people with home-related circumstances numbered quite a lot.

“It’s a foreign folk song I arranged myself…… I’m sorry if it’s bad”

Mifa who shyly said that let out a modest singing voice in the sparkling night, her skill was truly great and made her words from earlier sound like mere modesty. Hearing that, he spoke what he had in mind,

“Your song, I love it. I don’t know much about songs but it shows how clear your feelings are or something”

The transparent-like singing voice, as if fast-forwarded, lost its pitch and shook the moment Clamp saw Mifa's bewildered eyes.

After replying “Thanks…” with a blank look, Mifa resumed the song. And behind those words of hers, her face appeared to be shrinking.

(Eeeh? Did I sound like flattering…?)

As he thought about it, a warm sensation rode on his knees. It was Haruha. Daddy, daddy, she said in a lisp, like a little creature she was stirring restlessly above his knees.

Small. Round, wherever you stroke her. It was soft like a full-body cushion. She tried to stand wobbly but easily fell, and let out an “Uuu~” while staring at him curiously.

──Ultimately, she was cute.

That must be because she wouldn't cry in quirky timing, her diapers wouldn’t suddenly be “that”, and she won’t barf out her lunch, since she didn't have any of that, she was purely cute.

A daughter that won’t cause trouble to her parents, it might truly be an ideal child to have.

But not seeing her sleeping and crying faces made Clamp (Kasugai Yuu) feel something was lacking. Mifa might be thinking the same thing as their eyes met each other.

But if compared to parents who were suffering from parenting their child, they couldn't really ask for such luxury.

Their wishes might never come true, but.

As Haruha slowly grew and learn more words, she began to show more emotions.

“……Daddy, Mommy, you’re slow!”

That day── A month after Haruha's birth.

With her five-year-old figure, Haruha made Clamp and Mifa kneel in a Seiza position in front of her.

In the usual hotel room. Haruha folded her arms together. It was amazing how a baby who used to be so round and small became……… so grown up and dazzling. And beside her was Payakino deliberately playing with a shinai , swinging it back and forth.

“You two said you'd come as soon as possible!”

Haruha's enraged voice sounded similar to Mifa’s. And her awkward tone of her voice reflected an innocent childishness.

“The soy sauce at the market was on sell… and it was very crowded”

“I-I’m sorry… something little happened in the house”

The two of them earnestly apologized with a silky voice as if reading a script.

“Ah, look Haruha. I brought throwing knives. See, it has cute engravings on it, it’s small and light so even girl can easily use it!”

Clamp took out the throwing knives from his item box and showed it. It was within a small six blades set, and it was also popular as both an accessory and a decoration.

”Really? A weapon for a souvenir, that’s why boys are no good”

After staring at Clamp with eyes of contempt, Mifa turned to Haruha with a smile.

”Look Haruha, equip this 『Crimson Tree』 Mommy brought for you. It’s a Kimono armour sold in Bushido Grave!”

”Haruha won’t be fooled with presents!”

Various items were presented to please her but it seems that Haruha's displeasure won. *Tch*, Clamp was mad at his own lamentably.

Haruha's item storage was already filled full with presents like a children guitar, canned slimes, dragons’ bones (fake), and mechanical dolls from the two of them. The small Haruha used to be unconditionally happy from their present and that made them want to give her more.

“You two just overdid it!”

With a sullenly sigh, Haruha sat down on Mifa’s knee.

Her mind’s growth seemed to be slower than her body, even though she would often walk around by herself, Haruha was still a spoiled mole. She loved playing with the weapons Clamp and the others brought for her but she loved hugging Clamp and Mifa even more.

“Haruha…… waited a long time you know”

That’s why her eyes looked very lonely as she stared at the both of them while twisting herself in Mifa's arm.

That’s right. Haruha had always, waited.

Not just waiting together with Payakino at daytime. Even though she had a place to sleep, as a resident of 『CtG』,the action of “Sleeping” did not exist within her. So at day and night, she continues to wait for Clamp and Mifa fully awake the entire time.

From now, let’s give up soy sauce sales and protect your promise. Said Payakino through its mind while beating Yuu (Clamp) with its shinai.

“Hiyaaa!?”

Screamed Mifa as she saw the head of a Kobold fly up into the air. The monster’s face that appeared was suddenly cut by Clamp as it came across── Critical Hit!!

The blood splashed in a flashy manner and formed letters. Mifa avoided the bloody shower so it didn't hit the lantern she was carrying. After that she weakly let out an amazed voice,

“Ughh…… it’s how amazing you’re fine with that. A severed head…… even now I’m still not okay with it. And those that walk with two legs are especially scary”

Mine area of Dragons’ Grave. “It’s about the time for Haruha to learn about battle, take her with you and show her the drill” Following Payakino’s advice, Clamp and Mifa are currently previewing low difficulty quests for the plan in the future.

Subjugation quest 【Tunnel Kobold Extermination】 was what the name implied. A quest to hunt a certain number of Kobolds within the back of the mine, it was a quest for beginners.

While wielding his blood dyed sword, Clamp illuminated the surroundings with his lantern. It was then Mifa asked,

“Is it because you’re a boy? Are you type who likes zombie movies?”

”It’s not like that, but…”

Letting out a troubled voice, Clamp tried to come out with a proper answer.

”You often say it too right. This is just a game, you said”

”Even though it’s this real?”

”Exactly because it’s this real. Having my strength increased making me able to perform amazing movements, every time I perform superhuman-like skills through semi-automatic combat I feel an ascertained difference between my actual self.

The strong me right now is not actual me. That’s why I can properly separate both”

“Not your real self huh…”

Clamp who was being wary of his surroundings did not see Mifa who was looking down in bitterness. Half consciously, Clamp spoke what he had in mind.

“The more realistic a virtual reality becomes, the more it decreases the player’s external sense to the real world. It was my mother's theory, that's why this game──”

“Mother?”

Clamp let out a bitter face as he realized his own mistake. And it was a face that was unthinkable coming from that composed self-confident “Clamp of Scarabaeus”. Something inside Mifa started being fueled.

“So your mom plays game too. What kind of person?”

“this isn't important right?”

But his rejection by not wanting to face her face, instead did nothing but lure her interest even more. Mifa was just that kind of person.

“It’s okay right. We’re husband and wife for one”

While continuing to plead, Mifa clung to Clamp’s empty hand. Mifa then confirmed her victory after realizing that Clamp had just stopped his breath.

“Why are you so flustered? This is just inside a game isn't it?”

Clamp who got a point taken groaned, and while being upset he said,

“Come on, let’s look more into the back”

And they begun to walk while Mifa kept hanging onto his arm.

After a while, the dim light of the lantern started to fades away, Mifa let out a little gasp and they continued to walk through the dark tunnel.

They walked little by little, the heat coming from the snuggled up pair made them grow restless. But that heat was not the heat coming from the lantern's flame or magic. That's why it wouldn't cool down no matter how much time had passed.

“It might be just a game”

The one who speak after that was Mifa.

“Just a game, but Haruha is cute, right”

“……That’s right”

The moment Clamp formed a smile with his mouth, Mifa held down her chuckle.

“You’re just like me……”

After holding back her laughter she let out a smile, and the remaining heat disappeared.

“What happened Yuubocchi ? Thinking hard like that is very unlike you”

“What the heck was…… that? It sounds like some derogatory term coming from a fairy tale”

“Sounds like a name from a fairy right? A person who's always alone = could be a strange creature that only I can see, that is 『Yuubocchi』”

“It sounds pretty scary…”

He was in the cafeteria during lunch break when Fuyufu called him out.

Even though he got his savings that his mother left behind, he couldn't afford wasting money when there was a future to think about. On the other hand, because of 『CtG』 he doesn't have much time to make lunch, so he's been living off one bread a day.

However a little while ago in 『CtG』, he was in the middle of talking with Haruha But lost consciousness and was forced to logged out── In other words “Sleep Failing” ── caused by his lack of sleep and declining health. In order to spend more time with Haruha, he began to eat properly and also eat healthy food every day.

That’s why, in order to get an inexpensive meal every day he goes to the cafeteria, and naturally eating together with Fuyufu becomes a daily occurrence. He stared at Fuyufu who was sitting on the other side of the table with her Kitsune Udon , and let out a terribly vague question,

“Fuyufu, do you think there are hearts dwelling inside computers?”

“What’s up with the out of the blue question?”

Maybe because her emotions were bland, but Fuyufu appeared to be spacing out but even so her academic score was pretty high. Unlike Yuu who only played games, Fuyufu read a lot of books.

After sipping her udon while raising her hair so that it didn’t get into the soup, she answered,

“It depends on your definition of “heart”, but it’s impossible to create self-consciousness through programs and calculation, this is a theory I heard before. Something about quantum brain theory or whatever”

“But doesn't that only apply to current computers?”

Fuyufu responded with a“You mean?” face. Yuu also felt that he had became too stubborn. While pointing at her with the chopsticks he used to stab his fish hamburger with , he continued.

“It’s 『CtG』. You know, the computer used for that is known for having stronger capabilities than any other. If it has that much power, won’t it be possible to create a human-like mind?”

But Fuyufu unceremoniously shook her head.

“It’s not the problem of capability or processing power. It’s the nature of the problem itself. No matter how fast it calculates, even a computer that can respond to a diverse amount of situations, would still give the same result as any other computer. Even if it can create the same entrance and exit as a human, it won’t able to create the same maze inside. The “Heart” is that maze. If you want to create the same thing…… there’s no other choice but to give those computers flesh and blood as well”

After saying it like a javelin, she continues.

“Or could it be, Yuu, you heard something about it? The computer used in that…… did you heard that from your mother?”

Fuyufu let out a face of regret as she said that. It might just be a slip of tongue mentioning his mother, but it was impossible to say that he didn't care about it.

“Could it be, a one-in-the world machine exists somewhere…… no way, I’ve never heard anything about it. Even if I heard about it I wouldn't know”

”That might be so”

Because of the abrupt agreement, the conversation stops for a while. Over three quarters of the seats in the school cafeteria were filled with students bustling. Within that environment, the distant they had that allowed them to distinguish the sound of dishes, that distant just like old time ago.

In contrast to Yuu who fell silent, Fuyufu opened her mouth after she finished swallowing her udon.

“Yuu…… did something happened in that game?”

His heart jumped. Words spoken can’t be taken back. Fuyufu persisted with her gaze.

“Could it be…… Non Player Character, is it? Did you fall in love with one or something? That’s why you asked stuff about the heart and all……”

It wasn't a direct hit, but it was a blow that managed to graze his neck. Even so,

“Of course not, it’s not like that”

It wasn't a lie so his voice was straight. But Fuyufu continued to press on the matter.

“…………Really? Then why do you look strangely happy recently?”

“I-It’s just your imagination"

Somehow an image of Mifa tilting her head mumbling “Nn? Nn?” appeared on his head. It wasn't her. She was not a NPC, much less a girlfriend. She was something else. The thing that happened in the mine was just her messing around.

Fuyufu suspiciously stared at him and then averted her eyes in displeasure.

Fuyufu stayed silent after that. After she silently finished consuming her udon, she took a paper napkin and started folding it.

“……Yuu. Do you know why I don’t play that game (『CtG』)?”

“Eh…… Because you’re not interested in it?”

She had always been like that. No matter how many times he recommended it, Fuyufu had never laid her hands on 『CtG』. When Yuu became a teenager he gradually became addicted to the game his mother helped develop, and ever since then his distance with Fuyufu slowly grew larger and larger. But.

“Wrong”

Incorrect. Fuyufu abruptly stood up, holding her tray and turned away. And then while showing her back, she told the correct answer.

“──It's because I hate it”

After seeing the small back go off?, he dropped his eyes to one of the paper cranes left on the table. As if harboring the same displeasures of its creator, it was directed straight at his direction. He naturally leaked a sigh.

It seems he had offended her somehow, but he couldn't figure out why. It was pathetic. It was always like that. Kasugai Yuu would never be able to understand others’ feelings unless said out loud.

Speaking of not knowing, his question towards Fuyufu still didn't provide a satisfying answer.

(──No matter how high-spec the computer is, it can’t bring the“heart” to life. Then, is Haruha who express's so much emotion also a… “Fake”?)

But Haruha was clearly different compared to other NPC's. Even though the NPC's in 『CtG』 possessed surprisingly large amounts of actions, it was simply piles of numbers of normal behavior patterns. If you continued to talk to them, you would feel an inevitable sense of Déjà vu. At first Yuu also thought that Haruha was one of those kind of things.

However Haruha did not feel or smell like a program at all. Every day she showed various different expressions on a whim and it never stopped changing── he had never seen her showing the “same face” at all. It might be that she changed as she grew, creating a new behavior pattern each passing day.

But there was certainly moments where such a trick couldn’t be explain. That was probably because she had what was called wisdom.

“Daddy, what is that?”

It was in the usual hotel room where she asked that.

This time Clamp was facing the item 『Parchment』──A paper── he spread on the table. Mifa was late because of some errands she had in the real world, so he was together alone with Haruha.

He folded the parchment paper and created a shape.

“It’s Origami . I’m making a 『Yakko-san』”

”Origami? Yakko-san?”

Haruha climbed the table with her own body and peeked at what was in his hands. He attempted to give an answer to her bright sparkling eyes but── it was unexpectedly hard to explain.

That’s why he just continued to fold quietly and finally completed the “Yakko-san”.

When it was presented to Haruha, she received it curiously. She sat on top of the table and inspected it closely.

Looking at her like that reminded him of the young figure, Fuyufu, and Origami was a play they learned together. The first time he finished making one she also look at the paper crane he made just like her.

“What is, this?”

“What do you think this is?”

The reason why he returned the question was because he recalled back the conversation he had with Fuyufu before. Can Haruha, who was born from a computer, “feel” shapes?

Haruha did not answer immediately. She just continued to stare deeply at the “Yakko-san”, and then answered.

“Is this… Haruha?”

It was the time for Clamp to be troubled now.

“Nnn…… half correct. That is the paper model of a person who used to work as a servant . Look, it has legs and arms right? In other word it’s a doll”

“A doll…”

Haruha looked at “Yakko-san” for a while and then stroked her head with her finger. Then all of a suddenly she looked up.

“Haruha want to make one too. A more, bigger one!”

The girl’s hands were moving like magic.

She only saw Clamp making it once, but she folded the papers with terrifying precision without any hesitation. Open and by the time he noticed, “Yakko-san” was already completed.

He had heard that an origami had a mathematical structure, and this was precisely that. Even 『CtG』, which possessed a lot of mechanical skills, didn't have one called origami auto-folding. Nevertheless, the skill that Haruha possessed── was certainly a mechanical skill.

As if proving that his hunch was correct, Haruha once again folded another “Yakko-san” in an instant, it was identically the same as the previous one. Rather than the same work, it was more of a copy.

(As I thought…… she’s different from us)

It was an obvious thing, why was he disappointed in realizing it now? It was a strange story. What operated Haruha was『CtG』 and the thing that operated that nothing other than a computer, accomplishing small things like this was not surprising at all.

──However, Haruha’s hand stopped as she worked on the third one.

Opened and folded again, after some trails and errors “Yakko-san” was finally finished, but somehow it looked strangely different from the previous ones, its head was a little too big.

“? This is……”

In response to the confused Clamp, Haruha let out a warm fufun voice and a smile, and then she asked.

“What do you think this is?”

“Nn…… could it be, Payakino-san?”

The one who answered that wasn’t Clamp, but Mifa who appeared out of nowhere. Haruha sharpened her mouth saying “It was a quiz for Daddy!”, Mifa replied with a sorry and lifted Haruha's body up and put her down onto the floor.

”Sitting on the table is bad”

”But then I won’t be able to make origami”

Rather than mother and daughter, both of them looked more like sisters. He then returned his gaze towards the four origami on the table.

There were two big “Yakko-san”, one mushroom-like thing, and one small “Yakko-san”.

Needless to say── It was himself, Mifa, Payakino, and Haruha together.

““Is this… Haruha?””

““A doll””

He recalled back Haruha’s words.

Clamp── Kasugai Yuu, felt hatred towards himself.

(Why did I think like that? “As I thought…… she’s different from us”?)

Even though he bad mouthed Fuyufu who denied the personality that was born from this game, he had just treated Haruha like an object. But she put him in. Within the origami family, the figure Clamp was in there.

She was…… she such a child. Furthermore,

Being taught only the concept of “Origami”, Haruha created a mushroom-shape by herself. She could create “free ideas” from given information. No matter how splendid an artificial intelligence was, there was no way it could do that.

Mysterious, strange, but helplessly cute “daughter”.

Haruha.

(How should I treat this child?)

Recently, because he prioritized meeting Haruha, he had neglected his goal to fully complete 『CtG』. Raising a child was also not an event that was a part of it.

Whatever happened, he must play through everything in 『CtG』.

The more he liked Haruha, the more troubled he became.

”Ahahaha”

But strangely, he no longer worried about his concern when he looked at Haruha's smile.

Two months have passed since Haruha was born. She had quickly obtained what human's called the physique of seven-year-old.

“It’s shaking. It’s shaking, daddy!”

Just a while ago she was walking like an awkward doll but was now running around in the carriage like an energetic cat.

Western-styled world Sphere “Gunman’s Grave”. The powers of firearms in here were multiple times stronger than in any other Spheres, this was a world for Gunman.

Starting from the capital city, you would find huge railways connected to various locations across the towns and villages in this world, it was essential for traveling in Gunman’s Grave and was a tourist attraction. It was a large locomotive that you wouldn't be able to find anywhere in modern Japan, and the views outside the shaken carriage were magnificent as well.

Today was a public holiday in the real world, so Clamp and Mifa entered 『CtG』 during the day. Since they had a lot of time to spare, they asked Haruha where she wanted to go and she answered that she wanted to try riding a train.

And so, the three of them boarded the train and enjoyed the scenery from the window. It was wilderness as far as the eye could see. From a distant you could see a wild Land Worm (A large roundworm-like monster) being hunted by a couple of cowboys with their monster rifle.

When he was captivated with this virtual landscape, Mifa stood from her seat and yelled at Haruha.

“Haruha, don’t do that, you’re bothering the other guests so please calm down”

”Okke~!”

Haruha waved the sleeves of her red Kimono while noisily replying the word of her mother. It was a present from Mifa made in Bushido Grave, ependymal (upper garment) armor.

It was Haruha's first “dress up”.

“She’s quite energetic”

He leaked out a smile seeing the scene of this mother-daughter exchange.

The border passages in the carriage were divided into two rows. Sitting right on the other side of him and Mifa were a kind-looking elderly couple.

From the small talk they had before, this couple wanted to enjoy their leisure time after retirement but they were worried about their health if they actually went on one…… eventually they decided on going to the virtual world instead. They both loved each other's easy way of thinking and they were a very harmonious married couple.

“That young lady in the Kimono, whose little sister is she?”

“Ha, haa…”

Clamp and Mifa's replies were inevitably ambiguous. They couldn't help but to speak humbly when talking to older people. Even so, if they answered honestly it would definitely sound more like a lie.

Unaware of their confusion, the elderly couple spoke in a merry voice as if saying “this is the main topic”.

“Could it be, the both of you are a couple?”

“”Ah, no, definitely not””

This time, the both of them slammed the table and stood up, and simultaneously answered. Both of them were certainly a married couple in『CtG』 but not a tiny bit of a “couple” even once.

The old lady seemed to be a little disappointed. And the husband next to her rebuked with “Don’t be so thoughtless” and changed the topic.

”Using a travel PC, even old people like us and that young lady can go on a trip without worry”

Travel PC (Player Carrier) was one of 『CtG』's unique systems that allowed youngsters and even elderly to experience the virtual world. They did not receive any damage from battle or a player attack. It was commonly known as “Travel” and even players below twelve years old could essentially dive into the game.

In 『CtG』 body damage and endurance value (HP) were valued from an entirely different concept. Body damage and wounds received will slowly heal and regenerate even when the remaining HP was low, but if all of the HP was completely gone it would be an automatic game over. But in case of the Travel PC, their HP was infinite and would never receive a game over in battle

“I still intend on staying as an active gamer. But playing on a normal avatar is bad for my heart or something and this wife of mine won’t let me”

“But dear, this is different from a video game you know”

The wife’s words were then interrupted. Before they knew it, Haruha had appeared beside her, pulling her sleeves. Haruha looked up at the old lady, and curiously said,

“Haruha is not a Travel PC?”

As she just said, while being a child Haruha was not a Travel PC. That’s why Payakino told them to watch over her very carefully.

However, from the eyes of people who didn't know the circumstances it was a mere violation of the terms.

”Hn? But, kid at your age──”

”But Haruha is……Mogyuh!?”

”N-No! It’s not that! This kid doesn't really know how the system works so!”

Mifa let out a fake smile as she forcibly held Haruha to prevent her from saying anything further. The elderly couple was then easily convinced and stroked Haruha's head, in exchange Haruha narrowed her eyes happily.

It was a pretty intense situation thinking of an excuse surrounding Haruha's circumstances that even her own parents hadn't fully understood yet."

The weather outside was good and the scenery that was spread was also beautiful, they were blessed with a cheerful companion in the journey. Mifa, and also Haruha seemed to be in a good mood as well.

I’m glad we came here── this was the praise he wanted to earn for today's holiday trip in the afternoon."

But all of a sudden, the train took an abrupt break in the middle of the wilderness.

In a way, this could be called a well-executed train robbery.

The railway was blocked by a drove of large Land Worms, it was a good thing that the train stopped at the right time.

But the safe box that had been placed on the wagon collapsed afterwards.

The strength of the security NPC's were nothing great, and could be easily overwhelmed by a player. It must have been going according to the plan so far. But the safe was empty inside. It seems they were given false information from the mischief of other players.

And then.

The four angry robbers boarded the carriage Clamp and the others were in.

“Okay, don't move! Frankly saying, I'm really strong!”

The one who shouted throughout the train was a bearded man who seemed to be the leader of the robbery. He appeared to be old due to his beard, but his voice was unexpectedly youthful. He must be at the age of a young adult.

”This is a robbery collecting funds for conquering Marionette Grave. We're on a completely different level compared to those who are just playing around! Got it!?”

What the man said “Marionette Grave” was a newly released world Sphere, a world of cyberpunk. In order to conquer it, expensive equipment was essential. Within groups of inpatient players, there were people who dared to cross the dangerous line in order to collect funds just like this.

Seeing from Expansion (AR) mode, all information was filtered other than their level, and around their shoulders there was a red placards (tag) floating above them. If someone tried to attack someone in public facilities he/she would receive a 《Criminal》 red tag, and they will be registered as a target of a subjugation quest for a period of time .

As expected from those who wanted to be on top, their levels were certainly higher than Clamps.

“Listen, we will collect 1/3 of your money after this. If you quietly give it to us, we won’t kill you. Not a bad deal right?”

Penalty given when dying was “Losing half a of all gold in possession”, it was certainly not a bad deal. More than anything, even though the pain was reduced, dying in this overly realistic 『CtG』 world would give quite a fear until until used to. It was quite a valid threat in its own way.

The other three men under the bearded man walked through the cramped passage ways and started collecting, each of them threatening their prey with their guns.

“H-Hiaaaa….. D-don’t shot! I will die!”

One of them pointed his gun at a girl wearing a nun (Sister) outfit who sat nearby. All the other robbers were one tier lower than the bearded man but still a higher level than himself. They were also considerably stronger than Mifa as well.

(Maybe… No, don’t think about resisting……)

Peeking at Haruha who was hugged tightly by Mifa, he let out a sigh. If he was alone he would think of resisting and would prepare to gamble a Game Over, but now he had Mifa and Haruha with him.

Seeing the passengers being obedient, the bearded man licked his lips in delight. The color of his pupils appeared to have brightened and it seems he had activated the Extended (AR) mode vision.

“First of all, in order to not let anyone do anything strange in the middle of collecting money, we will be taking some hostages.

………The first one will be that pseudo Sister, and who's next. No matter how much they resist, we can’t really make a Travel who can't be killed as a hostage”

Somehow he got a bad feeling, and it was a hit.

As if licking the passengers within, the bearded man shot around with his gaze, and his eyes stopped at Mifa.

“Oi, you woman there, you’re not a Travel right!”

Being called, Mifa screamed in response. Clamp's waist was floating above the seat.

(This is bad…!)

It was a frustration he had never felt before, to have lost his composure.

But that anxiousness was not because of Mifa.

”No, Haruha don't!”

By the time they realized, she had already escaped from Mifa's arms.

The girl in red Kimono── Haruha left the passage, and faced the bearded man around seven meters away.

The bearded man, the other robbers, and the passengers must have all realized after Mifa raised a scream. The bearded man looked at Haruha as if he had just inhaled poisonous gas.

“Oi…… what is it brat. I don't have business with a Travel──”

The bearded man’s words were interrupted.

sharply.

He then noticed a Throwing Knife stuck on his shoulder.

“Oooh….?”

It was a unique sensation of 『CtG』. Because of the system, the pain was changed to a slight sense of discomfort so you wouldn't feel any actual pain. But that’s why the sensation of cold metal transmitted through his flesh could be clearly felt── passing beyond the realm of pain, he was haunted by an illusion of being a corpse.

And then the bearded man saw. The young girl in red Kimono, slowly come close and threw the second knife.

So casually, so agilely, and without hesitation.

Now to his flank. As if being sucked into the gap of his bones, the sharp blade continued to invade inside until it reached the handle.

“──Hey”

The voice who called for the bearded man was from no one else, Clamp couldn't recognize it for a moment. This cold and sharp piercing voice.

“Why?”

Realizing that the shining Throwing Knives on Haruha's hands were his gift, for the first time he recognized the owner of this penetrating cold voice.

The bearded man finally realized the opponent who attacked him was, he then glared at Haruha with wide open eyes and pointed his automatic gun at her.

”Why do you do this?”

But Haruha was undaunted. Her large unwavering eyes, as if being sucked in pushed the bearded man to his limit. He pulled the trigger of the gun.

“W-What── You… shitty brat!”

- BANG*. The sound of the gunshot from the bearded man’s hand. Even though it was in a virtual world, no one would stand watching a scene of a kid being shot.

However, Haruha was unharmed.

The sleeves of her red Kimono were fluttering like a flower petal. With one rotation, it seemed as if she was dancing.

In that moment, while throwing knives with both of her hands she dodged the bullets with incredible swiftness. It was as if knowing where the bullet was going in advance, truly a bland miracle.

The knives that we thrown pierced the bearded man’s right shoulder, receiving damage on his leg the bearded man fell on his knees and laid on the floor. If he felt pain he would be screaming, but fortunately that did not happen. But then he turned his gaze towards Haruha── and his anger turned into fear.

In both of Haruha's hands, the next set of knives had already appeared. A small sized weapon like Shuriken that could be hidden under your sleeves could be replenished/equipped immediately if you had a skill called 《weapon sleeve》.

The shadow from her bangs covered her face to her nose. The only thing seen on that face was just the cold light from her eyes, but that stare of hers appeared to be showing nothing but apathy to the bearded man.

That knife, those eyes…

With no mercy or hesitation, the girl showed the blade in her hand. In a way, it was really child-like. Because she was a child, she could beat down her opponent without showing any anger.

The girl’s movements had reached the front of the bearded man’s face. The cold wind was cut by the knife, this time the knife changed objectives from throwing to slashing.

”Haruha, was looking forward to this you know!”

And then.

Haruha stared at the intruder who interrupted her holiday with all her might, and naturally let out a condescending voice.

”Mommy and daddy said that we would have a lot of fun. Haruha was looking forward to it!”

The face seen from the shade was no longer a cute spoiled mole. Her face── her face had clearly exploded with anger.

“A lot!

Haruha endured a lot!

and finally! Finally!

It’s finally!! It’s finally the day when we will play a lot!

but why!? Why don't you understand? Is old man stupid!?

Why? Haruha said, why? Why would you do such a mean thing!?”

It was a child's impeachment yelling to children for children. She believed that breaking her “Promised holiday” was nothing but pure evil and did not doubt that even slightly, it was the unconditional trust she had for her family and the world. And now all of that was crushed, due to that it also enhanced her childish emotions and caused an explosion inside her.

Naturally, the bearded man didn't understand what she meant. He just listened to her while being dumbfounded. He turned his head left and right searching for an answer but all he got was a stare from the girl in the nun outfit.

Compared to the bewildered man, Haruha is way way younger. She was way too young to understand other people's position and circumstances. That was why she was so straightforward, selfish, and merciless.

“A thing like this──”

The blade in her hand, as if sliding from the sky, sliced the man.

“Is bad you know!”

The blade tore across the bearded man’s neck and formed a cross, the blood spraying out vigorously formed the Critical Hit!! words on the ceiling.

In that opportunity.

“W-What the heck is this brat!?”

The other robbers who couldn't react properly to Haruha's overly imposing actions finally moved.

The first to react was the person who stood right beside the bearded man, he pulled out his revolver but was then interrupted by the nun woman from earlier.

In nearly the same time, the tall robber who was right in front of Clamp raised his rifle and aimed at Haruha. His aim was quickly blocked by Mifa who had jumped out of her seat, but there was no reason for him to re-adjust his aim. He pulled the trigger and──

That moment, Clamp moved as well.

While pushing down the tall man, he simultaneously took his gun. Along with a 『Snatch!』 notification sound, the message saying You stole item “Automatic M1905” was displayed.

”Agh, bastard!”

”I won't say sorry”

Sorry── before he finished saying that, he started shooting down every bullet available in the magazine, the guy might've not even caught the word he said earlier. After around five shots, the guy’s HP drops to zero and his body turned into a lifeless mannequin.

After he shot out every bullet, Clamp instantly threw the gun and stood up.

Then.

His eyes met a big-framed robber aiming his rifle at him. The gun was pointed straight at his head.

””……………Haha””

Feeling tension between each other, both of them exchanged a maniac smile.

The robber then changed into a serious look after a moment and pulled the trigger.

There was not enough distance where he could simply avoid all the bullets; and if he got hit like this he wouldn't be saved. Normally he would get a Game Over in this situation, but.

The bullet missed. No, the prey (Clamp) just disappeared from the place the robber aimed at.

”……He disappeared? How? Did he logged-out because of an external influence?”

”Nope── Got you”

The moment after that word was heard, the disappointed robber’s torso was blown away onto the air.

Clamp who had returned back into a shooting position instantly shot him with a Sawed-off shotgun . The robber who got shot and shredded into pieces, was clinging onto an unattended seat and glared at Clamp.

”What the heck with that instant warping…… was it the connection lag that has been happening these days?”

Clamp didn't answer him and walked off, ignoring the robber. The robber’s eyes brightened, a sign which shows that he was trying to check Clamp’s player status.

”Clamp……? Are you…… are you that “Clamp of Scarabaeus”? ………Wait, if so your level is too low──”

”Then you got the wrong person”

Not waiting for the robber to be convinced, Clamp bombarded the rest of the shots inside the shotgun. The mannequin that lost its head rolled on the floor.

Looking at the surroundings, the last remaining robber was turned into a mannequin, he must've been taken down by another passenger.

The mannequin that used to be the bearded man, suffering from its miserable fate had its entire body pierced with knives. The blade sunk deeply inside and its lower half was drowned in a sea of blood flowing from out of its neck.

And at the end of this sight, the girls were there. Clamp’s “Family”.

Mifa who had trembling shoulders held Haruha tightly, and Haruha who questioned her mother’s action.

When his eyes met hers, she showed a bright golden smile.

”Daddy! I beat him down with the knife you gave me!”

Other than a forced smile, what else could he show?

”Hey…… that kid isn't a Travel PC?”

(Here it comes……)

The first thing everyone asked after everything settled down was that. Of course, it was about his “Daughter” who was in the middle of the room being held by Mifa

”She appears to be an elementary school student no matter how I see her……”

The man’s voice that was representing the other passengers was strong. A non-Travel PC under the age of thirteen was against the law.

“Well…… You see, this kid is──”

He wanted to cover it up but wasn't able to come up with a good lie. Kasugai Yuu wasn't particularly smart or had a foul mouth, he was just a simple high school boy.

He might as well have spoken the truth.

Haruha was a baby born as a part of a 《Marriage》 event. That was why he didn't have to worry. Because she wasn't a human, but.

──Terrifying. It was not a joke.

He was convinced. Haruha was not a human, only an existence within the game. That was the truth. But once it has been revealed, how will others treat Haruha from now on?

An NPC that could think, create, and possess human emotions. There was no need to recall back the conversation he had with Fuyufu, Haruha had easily exceeded the limit of an artificial intelligence. She was an impossible existence.

Clamp and Mifa thought she was cute, but that was only because they had been with her for a long time. But in the eyes of other people, as an errant object she was a subject of their curiosity and fear.

Fearful. They were afraid to be in contact with a non-human like Haruha. They were afraid to be targeted by her. If everyone learned the truth about Haruha, could Clamp and Mifa treat her the same way as before? Would they wake up from this dream?

Still── it was too early to think like that. Just a little bit more, please let her be as what she is now.

At the same time Yuu reached his conclusion.

”Haruha is── this kid is……”

Mifa stood up and began talking. Clamp reflexively put his hand on Mifa's shoulder. Her voice was shaking.

Mifa put her hand on Haruha's head who didn't get the situation. Mifa declared in a loud voice.

”This kid is… is not───ach!!”

…………………………

And there was silence.

Well, of course. These were truly troublesome words── and if said with a big voice pushed with only courage it was natural. In addition, the beautiful girl, Mifa, had called out very desperately.

”No, not about that…”

The player who had asked about Haruha perplexedly let out a word of denial.

They became silent again. It was an atmosphere where everyone goes quiet.

Except one person, Haruha, who watched over the hard faces of the adults restlessly.

It was not that she was stupid or dense (My child is clever and intelligent you know), and not even because she was young. She just simply didn't understand how “Special” she was. When Yuu thought about that he somehow felt a bit sad, and tears seemed to be flowing out.

And within this situation…

Out of the blue, the door of the vehicle was suddenly opened. It was the entrance that was blocked by the robber from earlier. Naturally, everyone’s attention concentrated there── They were all amazed.

”Well, hello and hello~”

Because, somehow a giant mushroom had just entered the carriage.

──It was as you expected. Payakino lowered its head as if it was a cowboy hat.

”AAaa-! It’s Payakino-san!”

The first one who raised her voice was Haruha, and she dived into it, with all her might onto the stuffed-doll body. The Nanny NPC caught the cannonball-like girl.

”Bonjour. Monsieur mon ami”

And then somehow, it spoke out a greeting that sounded like it was coming from the TV version of a “Detective Poirot” rather than actual French. Imitating that, Haruha repeated the word “Monsieur mon ami” over and over.

Everyone within the carriage── Even Clamp and Mifa── were taken aback, and on behalf of the elderly couple the husband opened his mouth.

”Haa…… So, who are you ……?”

”Me?”

And then Payakino, while saying “Well up’n go” rose Haruha up and tossed her into a big bag. And from inside, the muffled voice of Haruha could be heard── “Waaai! I’m inside a bag!”

Everyone’s eyes went wide wondering what had just happened, and then the mushroom shamelessly introduced itself.

“I am the wilderness kidnapper, Paya The Kid!”

”Eh?”

Not waiting for anyone to respond, Payakino turned backwards and jumped onto the back of the horse waiting outside.

“Yeeehaa~ go Silver Star!”

Riding the horse, it quickly disappeared in an instant. ──

………… ………………

While carrying the bag that had Haruha inside.

””AAAAAAAAA!!! SHE GOT KIDNAPPED!!?””

Finally understanding the situation Clamp and Mifa screamed in unison, and their voices echoed throughout the wilderness…

About an hour after, everyone had gathered in the usual hotel room.

”……Well anyway we're saved”

Just a while ago they were frustrated from having their travel interrupted, but now Haruha was glaring at the card in her hand while learning how to play old maid with Mifa, Clamp was lowering his head against Payakino.

”Honestly, I'm out of options in those kind of situations”

After that event, they left the carriage pretending to chase over Paya The Kid, and regrouped back with Haruha and Payakino who had returned earlier. They managed to leave the scene without answering anything…… maybe, he wasn't really sure.

Payakino unceremoniously assured him.

”What are you talking about? This is a part of my job as a Nanny NPC. You don't have to worry about it, everything happened today will be taken care by people above so it’s okay. They should’ve erased all evidence, not even a dust left”

”Thank you… but, it sounds kind of scary”

Anyway, He would learn from this matter and avoid having any naive thoughts like before.

”May I ask….. how should I treat Haruha from now on?”

”How, you mean?”

”When she grows bigger, she can go out without being suspected as a Travel PC anymore. But, when that time comes we…… what should we do?”

Indeed. Haruha possess an ability to perform independent actions, in the『CtG』 world she was a “free” being. She needed protection for now, but in the future she would have to be independent enough to act on her own.

──What will happen when Haruha no longer needed “Parents”?

It was not explained in the extended manual given by Payakino.

“I see. Your worry is understandable, but it’s okay to consider it more carefully”

”Carefully…… even if you say so, Haruha has already grown so big. She would probably reach our age in merely half a year”

”About that──”

Payakino's words were cut.

Who knows when she showed up, Haruha was clinging onto Payakino’s arm. From the looks of it, Mifa was putting away the trump cards back into the item box, and taking out a cursed music box she recently got in exchange.

”Hey, Payakino-san…”

Clamp who had his eyes taken by the sight of Mifa letting out a sigh with downcast eyes, missed Haruha's words to Payakino.

And thus, he began to regret missing it later──

“How long will Haruha be able to be with daddy and mommy?”

Biiiii──────────────

──iii.

The electronic's noise reminiscent the buzz of insects that vibrated throughout the room.

In a certain apartment, the corner of the dimly lit room was filled with trash and had soon surpassed the furniture.

The item that was making the noise, belong to a device worn by the man, the owner of the house.

It was the terminal-Ramiel, used to play 『Cradle to The Glaive』. The message “Malfunction” was displayed repeatedly on the semi-transparent surface of the visor.

The error sound would absolutely not stop. However the man did not react to the sound ringing right next to his ear.

He just loosely folded his back on the chair and let the foam on the edge of his mouth to accumulates and fall.

Biiiiiii──────────────

The electronic buzzing continued to vibrate inside the small room. And the man's body in the middle was similar to maggots on a pile of dead meat.

Forever and always……

This man was then found fainting in the middle of playing an online game and was taken to the hospital by a family member who had discovered him. It was reported on news the day after. However, there were no eyewitnesses at the moment of his death.

In real life he had a clear face with no beard at all, but his appearance in the game was completely different.

That was why no one would know that he was the robber at the train at Gunman’s Grave who had his throat slashed by a certain girl.

### 002. Chapter 2: Output

A week after Haruha got caught up in the robbery and kidnapping incident by Paya the Kid.

Kasugai Yuu lacked sleep.

Surviving school while half asleep, he was finally returning home. Walking through the residential area under the early summer sunset, he lets out a yawn with his throat trembling resulting in tears coming out of his eyes.

“That game again? I’m amazed that you can continue without getting tired of it”

The one who said that in an amazed voice was Fuyufu, who walked by his side. Since their houses are in the same residential area and she didn’t have any club, they occasionally return home together like this.

“It’s a good game”

Yuu answered with a downcast face. Although Fuyufu was no longer watching his face, he did that to hide his facial expression.

“Well… of course, since it’s “your game”. But, just be careful. News about people fainting in their houses due to unknown reasons are spreading.”

Once she said that, he remembered Kouta saying the same thing as well. He said, “This is happening throughout Japan, which is bad. Actually I have low blood pressure, I hope I’m okay.” But Yuu doesn't remember much because of his drowsiness at the time.

But, the parting words left by Fuyufu, under the sunset sounded strangely sharp── which like always── unearths pain to Yuu.

“You’re Yuubocchi, a loner after all, you will die”

(Don’t say stuff like die….)

Fuyufu making him depressed through her words is a usual occurrence, but more so with today’s emphasis on the word die. This is due to the fact that the word reminded him why he lacked sleep and how his anxiety began.

The reason he lacked sleep was Mifa.

Since five days ago, Mifa did not appear in『CtG』for some reason. Every day was then spent to comfort the lonely Haruha.

(What happened…?)

If it was only a day or two, it just might have been that the net-café she frequented was undergoing maintenance, however it passed a timeframe which made him worry. The last time she was seen, she acted like her usual self and played with Haruha like any other day, and it didn't seem like she got tired of the game or anything.

The only logical conclusion was that something must have happened in her private life.

(Could it be that she’s sick…? Maybe bedridden right now?)

It could be something worse than a cold or it could be related to the fainting incidents Fuyufu was talking about… and with that thought in mind, his worries worsened which led to even more negative thoughts. Thinking about it won’t help.

It is a common case in the online community. A person disappears without saying anything and there is no method of learning about their circumstances. The problem was that Mifa, whom he plays with, was just not a simple acquaintance. But if he were to describe their relationship── it was far too complicated to say.

“Come to think of it, I’ve been meeting with her nearly every day ever since I met her…”

It was about time he arrives home. More often than not, once Yuu reaches home, he usually greets Haruha and then.

“Will Mifa show up today?”

“I’m here daddy!”

He felt something strange when he saw a light grey van parked nearby.

People who come to Yuu’s house are usually those from the postal delivery or courier service, or someone from his father’s side of the family. But their family car is red, and they would normally give an advance notice before coming. There was no new message whatsoever on his mobile terminal when he checked.

The sliding door of the van opens, and a little girl jumps out from it── “I’m here daddy!”

Without even the need to hear her words, he already knew the girl’s name.

“Haru…ha…?

It was Haruha. Even though her hair color was a bit lighter and the clothes she’s wearing was similar to those worn by elementary school children, she was undoubtedly Clamp’s daughter.

Her dazzling smile overflowed his whole body. The little girl nodded with all her might.

“Yes, I’m Haruha”

…. …. …

Aaah, a dream.

Well who can blame him for thinking that? This happened right in front of Yuu’s house, not inside the hotel in『CtG』which Clamp frequently visits. Even more, Haruha who is a resident of 『CtG』, a virtual world, is here in the real world.

Speechless, Yuu was about to place his hand on his forehead, when suddenly Haruha inquired.

“Daddy is daddy right?”

“Errrr. Yeah. That’s right”

“As I thought. You look a bit different, but Haruha knew immediately!”

Nodding with a triumphant look on her face, Haruha clung onto Yuu’s pants. The sensation felt was slightly more awkward as compared to when she did it in 『CtG』.

But it was undoubtedly done by the spoiled hugging mole Haruha.

“…Haruha. Emm, how… did you come here?”

He curiously asked while subconsciously stroking Haruha’s head. Haruha innocently enjoyed the sensation and narrowed her eyes while letting out the sound “nfufufu” with her throat.

“Nn? Haruha doesn’t really know”

“…Is that so. That… is quite troublesome”

“Let us explain about that matter.”

The voice came from the car from which Haruha appeared from. Looking into the car, there were three unfamiliar faces. They exited from the car in order and lined up in front of Yuu.

Two of them wore suits, a man and a woman.

The man was around his thirties. He wore round elongated sunglasses. Combined with a dry all-black attire, he was emitting an aura that didn’t match a person with a respectable occupation.

Meanwhile the woman looked young. She appeared to be around her twenties but also had an air of someone resembling her teens. With long casually tied hair and a smile that reflected her intelligence, she can be classified as the “woman secretary” type.

And the last among the three was a girl. Unlike Haruha, she was not a child. She appeared to be of around the same age as Yuu, wearing a sailor uniform with a face of a diligent girl. In contrast with the composed pair of adults in suits, her tension could be clearly seen with the way she was standing.

Looking further, she undoubtedly was a stranger. But there was a feeling of familiarity, which unlike with Haruha, came about due to déjà vu. A feeling which he could not shake off easily.

“Could it be…”

He stared at the girl consciously. Even as the girl’s pupils were shaking like a punching bag, she returned his gaze with upturned eyes. While Yuu felt that doing so was indecent, he continued to stare at the girl.

“The person…is Mifa?”

Unlike Haruha, her face was not exactly the same as in the game. Although she has an appearance of a respectable and diligent individual, however unlike the Mifa in-game, she had too much of a plain and mature image. But what convinced Yuu was that her age and height appeared to be the same and above all, Haruha appeared here. It was those two reasons.

The girl looked away without answering.

Eh, I was wrong? If so, then could it be that my question was upsetting? Thinking like that, Yuu got depressed, however an answer came from the person below.

“That’s right! She’s mommy!”

Haruha answered, which then prompted Yuu to switch his gaze back towards the girl. With her clumsy steps, Haruha, who was about to tumble, was caught by the girl. Gently but surely.

──It’s Mifa. No doubt about it.

Even with confidence of their identities, it actually left Yuu even more confused. These two girls, whom he met almost every day in 『CtG』 for the past few months, were somehow present in front of his home in real life. Furthermore, one of them is his virtual daughter, which of course shouldn’t exist outside of the game.

Naturally everyone’s gaze turned towards the man in sunglasses who opted to explain the situation.

The man let out a grin which certainly left a terrible impression.

“Well talking while standing is tiring. May we continue this talk inside your house?”

Yuu then led everyone to the living room which was often his sanctuary to connect to『CtG』

Feel free to sit wherever you like, he said, and the three of them sat in front of the table. Excluding the sofa, the number of cushions were barely enough for everyone so they had to line up in an orderly manner.

Along with Haruha who was clinging to him, he brought out iced tea from the refrigerator. Bringing out enough cups for everyone, he then returned to the living room.

“I’m sorry, this is all that I have here.”

With the nuances and formalities of “You don’t have to bother drinking it.” Yuu then placed the tray on the table. The woman in-black then raised her waist and poured the tea into the cups and handed them out to everyone. Meanwhile, Haruha rested herself on Mifa’s knees.

First, let us settle the main matter── the guy with the sunglasses stood up.

“Well then, we will introduce ourselves. My name is Niiro Mansei. I am part of the Yashiko Ministry Subsidiary Organization… well, as an underling, to set things straight.”

As he introduced himself, he presented his business card. On the upper left corner of the card, beside the organization name, it was written there “Human Equilibrium Institute” along with “The seventh senior researcher Niiro Mansei” which undoubtedly was suspicious. And there was also the fact that he didn't take off his sunglasses even inside the room. Was that a new trend?

“Next is… this woman, she’s your mother’s acquaintance.”

While she was being stared at, the woman in-black let out a smile.

“Pleasant to meet you, Kasugai Yuu-kun. My name is Haijme Hidari”

“What do you mean by my mom’s… mother’s acquaintance?”

“I am involved with the Imagine Ekphrasis『Cradle to the Glaive』development. But I was just temporarily transferred from the institute so I am not exactly a full-time employee. And I’ve been indebted a lot by chief Kasugai.”

What was then the relationship between this human-something institute and the game company? Although the urge to ask such question was undoubtedly strong, he wasn’t able to ask it directly.

For now, he wanted to hear an explanation about a certain “problem” he had always thought of all this time.

Yuu’s gaze turned to this girl. She’s “Mifa”, the girl who has Haruha on her knees.

Once again their eyes met. She seemed to have been watching him for quite a while. But the moment their eyes met, she quickly averted them as well.

Unable to speak for herself, she had Hajime introduce her.

“Her name is Kugimiya Miharu-san. She’s in her first year of high school just like you. And, just as you expected, she’s the girl who played the character named “Mifa in『CtG』.”

“a… nice to meet you, I’m Kugimiya”

When she finally spoke, Miharu quickly covered her face under Haruha’s hair. Looking at her, one can quickly note that she’s pretty shy, especially in front of strangers. It boggles the mind to think that she’s the same person as that Mifa, who talked to Yuu so bluntly when they first met.

“My name is K-Kasugai Yuu…!”

But it was not just her. Yuu stiffened up due to the tension.

Why was he so nervous? To put it simply and of course with Fuyufu’s interpretation, he’s a loner. Honestly speaking, he was sociable enough for a normal high school student. He could crack some light jokes with girls from his class, at the very least.

The reason why he was so nervous might have been due to the fact that Mifa, whom he 《Married》, was on the other side or maybe because Miharu’s appearance was breath-taking, or just maybe because the thought of Fuyufu staring deeply at him was floating on his mind.

But before Yuu was able to pinpoint the source of his nervousness, another “problem” raised her hand cheerfully.

“Haruha is… Haruha?”

“Why are you not convinced?”

This time, he was able to answer back normally. Straightforwardly, Haruha let out an “ehehe” laugh like she usually does. She had to politely speak because of the pair of adults present and due to her wanting imitate Miharu’s manner of speaking.

After a feeling of relief, Yuu directed his gaze towards Niiro so could ask questions.

“Stuff about Kugimiya-san and Haruha… you will explain it right? And also the reason why you all came here.”

Niiro smiled and laughed. As serious as he was, only his mouth was smiling.

“That’s for certain. Well then, I will talk first about Kasugai-kun’s cute little girl Haruha. We still haven’t talked about the details to Kugimiya-san as well.”

Miharu nodded seriously.

“To sum it up, Haruha-san is a person born in the world of 『Cradle to the Glaive』and came to this world.

…What the heck was the old man saying? He thought, however Yuu was not a Yuubocchi so he understood the roundabout explanation.

“…No, no. No way, that…”

“Hmm, I wonder how to explain this.”

Responding to Niiro’s gaze, Hajime took out a notebook from her breast pocket. She then ripped off a page to write something quickly on it.

“Listen, Yuu-kun. Imagine it first.

The build engine used to make the world of 『CtG』creates an endless realistic virtual world. It is arranged as a game under the system’s control but once that “control” is taken off, it would be able to perfectly produce the authenticity of the real world.”

Real World ● ≒ ○ CtG

“Did you keep up at this stage?”

It was a well-known fact, he nodded. Hajime smiled and wrote “OK” on the paper.

“Well then, in order to go into 『CtG』, players would have to create an elaborate avatar. An avatar that has an equal or greater bodily function compared to their own."

Real World ● ≒ ○ CtG OK

Player ■ → □ Avatar

“That’s right. There is a function to cut off pain and appetite, but there is an option to have it matched to your real body as well… my Mother once said”

“Yes, exactly. Then, this is OK as well.”

Hajime nodded in satisfaction and wrote the third line on the paper.

“As you can see──naturally this situation can also occur.”

Real World ● ≒ ○ CtG OK

Player ■ → □ Avatar OK!

Human ◆ ← ◇ Avatar OK!! ←It’s here now!

………………?

……Nnn? Eh?

Does it really work… like that?

If human and player characters were considered as equals then an NPC (Non-Player Character) would have the possibility of becoming a human in the real world. Yeah. It’s logical in a way…

………………

Nononononono.

Because the logical was so simple, he was almost convinced by it however it was such a long stretch. And to begin with,

“Then what about the body? In any case when a human goes into their avatar, their body is prepared on the other side, but not the other way around. It’s impossible.”

“It’s not that hard to create actual human flesh you know.”

He said so easily. Taken aback, Yuu glanced at Niiro. He was not even smiling, it was that terrifying. It seemed that it was common sense for them.

It was true that news about how medically creating cells has been advancing and spreading in recent years which might have implications in the future that allows people in the future to breed by reproducing and splitting somatic cells. Emphasizing “in the future”, Yuu never heard of stories or even gossip about people succeeding in creating an artificial human body before.

“……It’s news to me.”

“Yeah, of course, revealing this to the public will incite critics and harsh inquiries. Well, what is important now is that “we can at least prepare a human body” as you can see.”

It was of course an unbelievable tale, but the very presence of Haruha confirms this. No matter what… no matter what, he couldn’t see that the little girl present was fake.

Before he was able to sort out his thoughts, Hajime resumed the talk.

“But, even if we are able to create a body, the “heart” would not be present. And eventually, we formed a partnership with Imagine Ekphrasis, which led to the current project.”

“Project?”

“Yes. The government will be the funder and investor for the new Imagine Ekphrasis generation game development, which on our end, will also lend stuff like computing infrastructures as well. In exchange, we can use their game world to study 『the way to create a new human』── so far that’s our plan.”

And then── Hajime and Niiro’s gaze turned to Haruha. Haruha, on Miharu’s lap, received their stares and somehow still managed to wave at them. She probably didn't mean anything by that.

“And the first success sample is Haruha. An Artificial Child created in 『CtG』whose mind was transferred to a human body and now is here with us in the real world. That’s her.”

“But I heard that computers didn't have the capability to create human consciousness…”

Yuu rebutted as he recalled the conversation he had with Fuyufu in the past. The mixed feelings of being unable to believe and not wanting to reject Haruha’s existence stole the strength from his throat.

In response, Hajime answers with a smile. At the corner of her eyes, there was an uplifting expression which she showed for the very first time.

“The Nephilim type computer used in 『CtG』 is completely different as compared to any existing ones. It is one of those machines that has the capability to create infinite possibilities and to create a human from within.”

“I don’t really understand, but… why are you entrusting such amazing stuff to a game company?”

“In order to have this system operate with utmost secrecy, we had no choice but to have Imagine Ekphrasis, which is the largest national net game manufacturer, possess it. Under what circumstance that led to this, unfortunately we cannot answer it now.”

A computer that can only be operated by a game company…what?

There were still lots of questions that remained but before he was able to spit it out, he understood that it would have just been a waste of time. There was no other choice but to believe what they said for the time being and continue on with the conversation.

“Then why do you want us… Clamp and Mifa, to take care of Haruha?”

With all the facts that were presented, in a way it can be said that this was the most absurd doubt he had, and Niiro answered it instantly.

“We tried various ways to create a Hadzar… a new mankind as you can call it, and as one of our attempts, a plan was proposed to create the mind of a baby on its fresh state, pick up the best-fit and suitable couple with the computer, and entrust the baby to them and have them raise it. Technically we could have created her in the adult form right away but the artificially synthesized personality she has is… a bit poor.”

His explanation was subtly convincing, and at the same time it wasn't. The issue itself was just too vague and Yuu couldn't come up with anything to respond to it. Finally, the last question was asked.

“Then…… what do you want us to do with Haruha?”

“Anyhow, the same as before.”

Niiro easily answered back but Yuu couldn't understand what he meant.

“Same as before, you mean… Haruha will return back inside the game?”

“No. Based on the various databases we had, it’s believed that the personality created in 『CtG』in the state of a teen is still relatively unstable, unable to fully adapt to the real world. Hence from now on we will have Haruha live in the real world as a human here alongside the two of you.”

……………………

It took a while

For him to understand.

Haruha would live as a normal human from now on. This left an unsettling feeling but he had no reason to object.

In here──he meant in the Kasugai household.

You──he meant with Yuu, naturally that would have happened if she stays in the Kasugai household.

And the two of you──that would mean, probably……

“W-W-What do you mean!?”

Miharu shouted as soon as she understood the scenario. Her voice was so loud that it echoed throughout the house, and at the same time it was a refined rick voice. Just a little while ago, she only uttered faint sounds which were as quiet as a mosquito. Niiro and Hajime were unsurprisingly shocked as well.

“I-I-I was surprised…… seeing Haruha here in the real world, and then you people suddenly show up saying that you will provide her a place to stay so that’s why I came along the way here……”

Yuu then saw that her mouth was trembling. Her face vividly red.

“IT’S IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO LIVE WITH A GUY!”

It was subtly shocking, being said so frankly.

“Please wait a second. Even I’m troubled being asked to do so suddenly”

Yuu was in his impressionable age. Simply put, it was just too absurd of a request.

To suddenly live together with a girl of his age an also…… with Haruha who was born from a game, just how the heck was he supposed to live with them?

“First of all, how did it become like this?”

Niiro answered the question frankly.

His answer, in contrary to the oddities of topic, was very sensible.

“Isn't it normal for family members to live together? Especially when the child is still so young.”

“Kugh…………”

It was the final blow for Yuu. He had no right to object.

Yuu turned his gaze towards Haruha. The child, who was born from the game, appeared to be completely clueless, returned his gaze with a blank look. Her pupils’ were── like a mirror.

“After countless number of failures, Haruha is a child who finally obtained a human body. Her personality, information or data, is impossible to reproduce. We wish to cherish her as well. And for that, we think that it’s best to provide her with the most familiar environment from the game. And the most important factor of her life is the two of you, her 『Parents』”

He couldn't say anything against that argument. Not to brag, but Haruha was yearning for Clamp and Mifa wholeheartedly. Was it really okay to betray her feelings?

“Fortunately, we didn't have to provide a new house since the Kasugai household has a lot of vacant rooms and it’s quite far from the neighborhood. And since it’s the house of a developer, it has all equipment required to use 『CtG』.

That’s why we wish for all of you to live here together. Can you understand that?”

“But that……”

Miharu who let out a loud voice earlier lowered her head. No wonder. She appears to be an extremely shy girl, to live together with a person of the opposite sex she just met today, was out of the question.

But.

“……I got it. I, don’t mind”

Yuu voiced his acceptance. Niiro probably examined what relationship Yuu had with his mother and used that to his favor. If you had to call it despicable, it’s despicable indeed, but more than that, his pride of not wanting to run away worn him out.

“That part of you, you must have inherited that from your mother”

“Because of that I ended up playing a game filled with bugs though”

Hajime was just flattering him──he simply thought──and he coldly replied. In fact, the game his mother made so far had large amounts of bugs in exchange for an abnormal degree of freedom it provides. There were also some internet urban legends that said that several debuggers were sent to the hospital because of it, but as a matter of fact, Yuu knows that many of the staffs collapsed in the middle of debugging the previous installments of 『CtG』.

Ultimately, there were also some that collapsed and never woke up…… with that in mind, he turned and faced Miharu.

“……But Kugimiya-san, you don’t have to force yourself. Your family won’t allow that right?”

He tried his best to be as gentle as possible, but Miharu’s shoulders trembled in shock.

And then everyone’s gaze faced Miharu. Since Yuu, the master of the house──but to be exact, it is managed by his uncle──had accepted, everything depended entirely on her answer.

Haruha, who didn't understand the conversation at all, turned her body happily on Miharu’s lap. Yuu didn't see her face, but he could easily guess the expression she made. It was that. That clingy upturned eyes she shows when Miharu was about to log out from 『CtG』.

“Won’t Mommy want to be with us?”

Miharu abruptly turned her head away, after Haruha hugged her chest tightly.

…………

……Looking at it now he noticed that Miharu’s breasts are bigger than “Mifa’s” and it didn't seemed as if his eyes were fooling him or whatever, but normally won’t girls usually enhance part of their bodies when creating an Avatar (provisional figure) but it might just be his selfish assumption.

“Eh? Mommy, your boobs are bigger than the usual.”

……Yup, it was just a false assumption. Thanks to Haruha’s chattering, he was able to break free from the infinite chain of delusion based on pre-notions. Once again, thanks Haruha.

Attaining new wisdom, Yuu’s eyes started to sparkle──which had warmth── and that gaze was quickly spotted by Miharu.

It was enough to have her almost crying face flushed even more, but her lips started to tremble as well.

“a…………”

If this was a manga, this would be the scene where cold sweat starts to flow out, but for starters, he would be able to recognize that he felt a chill on his spine.

“No, that, I mean, this is just a misunderstanding──”

It turned bad at this rate. As Haruha’s beloved daddy, he couldn't let Miharu scorn him……well, it’d be awkward. As a normal high school boy, Yuu has something that resides in the center of his body, known as a beast shouting the word “love”, and it would do various things regardless of his will, which he needed Miharu to understand……no, impossible. Yup, impossible indeed.

Yuu was frustrated, unable to express anything, not even an unsightly excuse, but the words Miharu said next, was beyond his expectations.

“I-I will live with Haruha too!”

“Ee? Are… are you sure?”

Not only did she appear to be forcing herself, she also said that right after Yuu’s disgraceful behavior, her action was unmistakably a strange one.

However, with Miharu’s next words, the wall of misunderstanding was taken down in one fell swoop.

“Because I cannot let Haruha live together with Kasugai-kun! Friends from my school said that men are lascivious beasts screaming “love” from the center of their body all year long! It will surely be a bad influence to this girl!”

Saying all that she wanted, she held Haruha tightly, then glared fiercely at Yuu. That stare of her was honed as sharp as an owl, letting out an aggressive aura of distrust.

“Well~, it seems you have made up your mind.”

“I’m glad it was solved quicker than I thought.”

“Haruha……Mommy will protect you, alright?”

“Mommy, it’s a little painful……”

In the lively living room, the visitors started commenting what they had in mind.

Yuu felt like crying a little.

After that, they began talking in detail about the “life” they will have after this. What they've discussed were as follows.

First, Haruha and Miharu's living expenses will be covered by Niiro and his people, to the extent of them not having any inconvenience. It counts as part reward and payment for participating in the program, so they don't need to hold back on anything.

First, while Yuu and Miharu were at school, Hajime will be present in the Kasugai household to care for Haruha.

Next, Yuu is Haruha’s father and Miharu is Haruha’s mother, but even so both of them are mere strangers, so please discern to what is known as “moderation.” (Miharu’s demand)

And lastly.

“Lastly, for the sake of having Haruha to live in the house, we must give her a Japanese name.”

“How about this?”

Hajime took the memo sheet from before and wrote the name on the other side of it.

『Kasugai Haruha (春日井 春羽) 』

Yuu and Miharu, and then Haruha peeked at the paper and looked at each other.

“I think it’s good. It matches her image……What do you think, Kugimiya-san?”

Yuu wondered a bit if, she was going to say something like “I don’t like it! using Yuu’s last name!” however,

“I think it’s good too, it sounds cute and nice.”

She liked it. He felt relieved, especially because there was a foul atmosphere a while ago.

“This is Haruha? Is it cute?”

Meanwhile Haruha herself didn't understand it. Much less the word “Wing”, Haruha who didn't have an idea of what seasons are, was unable to see the word “Spring” as anything other than a symbol.

Yuu was wondering how to explain it to her, but without thinking so hard, Miharu talked to the “daughter” while embracing her.

“This “Spring” you see, is something warm, soft and pink colored, just like Haruha. I will teach you about it eventually.”

……When talking to Yuu, her attitude was so cold and hard which shook his beliefs, but Miharu’s expression when talking to Haruha was unmistakably Mifa’s.

Yuu somehow became a little happy.

It was the status quo filled with anxiety and embarrassment, but somehow he felt that this will turn out well──

“Nee, Mommy.”

While holding her stomach, Haruha looked at Miharu. Miharu’s face stiffened.

“W-what is it? Is your stomach in pain or something?”

“No. It feels cold.”

“Aa, that must be because she drank the tea earlier.”

Come to think about it, Haruha was still not accustomed to eating and drinking in her human body. There were senses in 『CtG』but not the sense of digestion──It was possible to eat food and drink but it will instantly disappear once it enters the stomach──,that’s why the sensation of “having something in the stomach” didn't exist.

“In here, when eating or drinking something will directly accumulate in your stomach. That’s why drinking something cold will make your stomach cold.”

“Hmmm…… but somehow my legs are tingling.”

“Legs?”

Behind Miharu was showing a blank look, Hajime started to shout in a hurry.

“This is bad! That's maybe because, she wants to go to the toilet!”

It appears as if an angel passed.

Yuu and Miharu held Haruha on both sides and rushed to the toilet.

And so, the girl named Kasugai Haruha arrived in the real world.

At the same time, Kasugai Yuu’s carefree and lonely single life came to an end.

And Kugimiya Miharu’s gloomy daily life was noisily blown away as well.

The story of the most bizarre family in this world finally started.

“……Now you are finally able to go to the toilet alone”

”Yes, I’ve mastered it!”

“Excellent. Then lastly wash your hands”

A training session is being held in the Kasugai household's absolutely normal toilet. After helping Haruha wear her skirt, Kugimiya Miharu praised her.

”For the next time and after, go in by yourself okay”

After she said that, she once again looked around the toilet. She was a bit worried about the place where a boy lives by himself, but it’s surprisingly well taken care of and she was able to use it without hesitating.

(In game he’s a person of logic, could it be that he is a meticulous person?)

While thinking that, she let go of her hand from Haruha’s and opened the toilet door. And── right outside, Kasugai Yuu is waiting. *Gulp* as if something is stuck in his throat.

Involuntarily, she observed him from the head to the tip of his feet.

He doesn’t appear to be a boy with any special features on him. It might be because he is wearing a school uniform, but he’s not the type of person who wears any accessories or anything to begin with. His form (Clamp) in 『CtG』 where you can easily change appearances, excluding gender and height, he doesn’t have that much differences compared to his real self.

“……What?”

It can’t be helped, but the voice she tried so hard to speak with was really stiff.

“Well, I was wondering do you know how to you it … you see…”

In contrary, Yuu let out a troubled voice. This part of him is different from when in the game. He’s shaking from waist down, something completely unthinkable coming from the always calm and composed ‘Clamp of Scarabaeus’.

“It’s fine. It appears to be from the same maker used in my house”

“Haruha has mastered it too! Since its embarrassing if Haruha still don’t know 『Pee』 and 『Toilet』 after all!”

Haruha’s innocence when she happily reported to her “daddy” makes Miharu’s head hurts. She knows that it can’t be helped, but should she teach her to be embarrassed first……?

And her eyes met Yuu’s who was thinking the same thing. He is Haruha’s “father”, and also the man she first met.

“…………Kuh……”

Diverting her eyes, she looks towards the living room. Then she realized.

“Eh? Where is Niiro-san and Hajime-san?”

“Saying that they have some paper work to do they hurriedly left. Hajime said she will return at night though”

“They left us with Haruha that soon!? What will happen if she got sick and──”

“Well. The thing on Haruha’s neck….. a choker? They said they monitor her health condition through it. And they have other people from the institute on standby in case of an emergency as well”

“I-Is that so. Well if that is the case……”

The conversation stops there.

They don’t know what to talk about. Even though in game they are close friends who often talk about stuff like how to raise Haruha and often had light quarrels when deciding the destination they are going to.

Even so, the person in front of her is undoubtedly a stranger. And probably the same goes for him.

Furthermore, this stranger is a man.

Since she was originally a shy person, under her mother’s policy, Miharu was enrolled to an all-girls school and for this several months Miharu hardly interacts with men of his age in real life. In middle school she had the opportunity to talk with men, but recalling back the conversations she had were mostly for business and formal matters.

Just, how to deal with this somewhat hard and stiff creature? She agreed to live here under the momentum she had a little while ago, but it seems that she should’ve been a little more cautious about it.

“? What is it, mommy daddy?”

“Ah, I was just thinking what we should do from now on.”

The scene where Miharu gently pats the confused Haruha looks familiar. It was the scene he has grown accustomed to within the past two months. Just a little his nervousness lessens. Even though it's just a little.

“……Aa, that’s right. Haruha, do you want to watch TV?”

“Teevee?”

Haruha’s eyes turned round.

After that, the round eyes of hers, became captivated by the TV.

The first thing that showed up was a broadcast of a news program of street interviews in a major city. Surprisingly or not, it did not impress Haruha much. In 『CtG』, that kind of scenery is not nil after all.

But then, the anime that shows up after that instantly caught her attention.

The proud and hugely popular show for girls from kindergarten to teenagers, a magical girl anime 『Revive! Mystical Priest Girl Rasupu-chan 5』. The original『Mystical Priest Girl Rasupu-chan』 is a classic girl anime that has aired for over 15 years, when she was little, Miharu also often watched the series.

The setting for each characters changes every year, but the important established atmosphere never changes. Ah that’s right, there was that moment where Resupu-chan seduced a handsome male guest character with Shiberia Magic, but then he was stolen by a love rival and then they had a magic battle to fight for him, and after that they reconciled under the sunset by the riverside…… even though Rasupu-chan already has a boyfriend.

Like that, while looking at the screen over Haruha’s shoulder, Miharu was immersed in nostalgic feelings.

“When I was little, I was as innocently passionate with this, just like Haruha right now”

“Eh……? This is innocent? Lastly the boyfriend Rasupu-chan kept came to pick her up at the riverside saying 『L-Let’s go home. I-I made delicious borsht. Okay? 』it was somewhat swelling my heart, it made me cry a bit……”

Yuu, who also watching somehow pulled out a painful face. That was supposedly the sweet part, but he doesn’t understand girls’ subtleties at all.

“By the way…… is it fine if you don’t go home, Kugimiya-san?”

“Am I a bother?”

She unintentionally let out a worried voice, and Yuu quickly denied it in a hurry.

“N-No! I don’t mean that. I just wondered if your parents will get worried. Even though you said okay, you will still need preparations right? Like a change of clothes…… and such”

“Then no problem”

Miharu then exits to the hallway and returns to the room along with the luggage that she left at the corner.

“Guitar case?”

She placed the oversized guitar case in front of the confused Yuu. It has a quite old dull brownish-yellow color, the metal part of it still seems to be fine, but the corners are already worn-out and the fibers are exposed.

“The insides do not contain a guitar. I put my clothes and personal belongings in here”

Although she wasn't being suspected, she still opened the lid to show the insides.

Inside contains a mobile terminal, charger, Ramiel (『CtG』 terminal), dairies, laptop, detective novels, and a toothpaste set wrapped with clothes and a towel as replacement of the cushion.

And somehow inside, her underwear that she folded randomly are put on plain sight.

*SLAM!*

The lid was closed at near lightning speed, and instantly blew wind to his face.

“Ee, errmm….”

“Please…… don’t, say anything……!”

Yuu was probably trying to give some kind of follow up but he was stopped by Miharu. Naturally this time, Yuu isn’t the one at fault, but being comforted by him will just makes her feel miserable.

(……I was planning to show him my good side, but I made a mistake instead…… as I thought, living together with a boy might be impossible)

The feelings of shame and self-loathing made her go silent.

“Well…… but, why do you put your stuff inside a guitar case?”

Luckily she still has energy to respond to Yuu who kindly changed the topic for her.

“……Because it was sudden, I could not get a proper bag when leaving the house. Then I found this in the storeroom”

“I see. So Kugimiya-san got taken by Niiro and his man too”

“No──”

Miharu hesitated. It’s not something that could be easily said to a stranger. It might change the way he sees her right now.

However, she cannot afford to keep secrets from the resident of the house she will be living in. As a matter of fact, it’s related to the situation they’re having right now.

That’s why Miharu honestly told her current situation.

“Actually, I ran away from home not long ago”

Because they didn't have time and energy to prepare food, they got dinner through the neighboring family restaurant's delivery service.

Unexpectedly, Haruha was okay in eating anything. She’s fine with most vegetables. But somehow she ended up leaving the asparagus, well that part might just be her preference. At least they won’t have to worry about food from now on.

However, her eating manner doesn’t go so well, she cannot handle a fork and spoon well and would often spill her food. Her clothes ended up having sauce stains.

Miharu who take care of Haruha from the side appeared to be a little troubled.

Although she was very skillful in game, the same could not be said in here. Compared to a normal elementary school student, her movement is like that of a robot. Because of that,

“Ouh!” ──*Crash*

Somehow along with a shout, with the fork she was holding, she hit an iced tea cup and spilled it. Although Haruha herself was safe, along with Miharu both of them were soaked wet. Yuu quickly went to the washroom in a hurry. He was probably looking for a towel or something.

Haruha, with blank eyes, looks at Miharu who was standing next to her and spreading the light sweet smell of straight tea .

“Eh? Mommy is under 《Wet Status》. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine but…… my clothes are soaked”

She’s all wet from her shirt down to her skirt, the muddy feeling on her lower chest feels disgusting. Fortunately or not, she didn’t take off her water-repellent sailor uniform.

“It will get pretty in three minutes”

Haruha was trying to cheer her up by telling her about the rule of 《Wet Status》 in 『CtG』, in respose Miharu let out a troubled laugh and stands up.

“Ahaha…… In here (reality), we must wash this before it becomes a stain”

She spreads the folds of her skirt, took out a paper napkin and let it absorb the tea. I wonder does this goes under normal laundry…… while thinking that and raising her head, her eyes met with Yuu who just returned from the washroom.

While holding a brand new towel, he shows an expression of being taken aback as if seeing something unbelievable. Wondering what he saw, Miharu looked at her own appearance── her hand that was holding the hem of her skirt quickly stops. She stopped. And froze like a stone.

Realizing that the part of her Y-shirt that got stained by the tea became transparent she stiffly stopped moving, her body convulsed into spasms, and her face turned red as if stained by blood.

While both Miharu and Yuu were unsure of the next following behavior each other will make, the culprit of the entire thing Haruha stood up. She looked up at Miharu’s body from below, and then stretched out her small hands, and *puff, puff* hit Miharu’s breast with it and excitedly reports.

“Mommy, as expected, Mommy’s boobs are bigger in here compared to there (game)!”

Yuu just silently saw off Miharu take the change of clothes and went to the washroom. Later he hears a wallow scream from the other side of the door, but Yuu understands her feelings and just let it be.

Shortly after, the figure of Miharu wearing a gym uniform ── because it appears to be “a clothes that is fine dirty” ── returned to the table. She didn’t try to look at Yuu’s face directly, but with a very quiet voice she said “Thank you very much for the towel”.

Haruha was eating right beside Yuu while Miharu was not present, but when she returned Haruha instantly went to her side. It felt a bit lonely, but in game Mifa was more actively taking care of Haruha so it can’t be helped.

And Miharu herself, even though being ashamed like that, she unconsciously took care of Haruha’s sticky mouth that was busy munching on the food.

──Kugimiya Miharu. Without any ulterior motive, she’s a good kid, maybe.

She was a bit harsh towards Yuu, but rather than because of Yuu himself, it’s more like her vigilance towards males in general. He begins to think of her as a kind and diligent girl. The gap between her personality and Mifa (Avatar)’s was quite confusing, but it is just another case of a quiet person suddenly becoming bold on the net, such a typical story.

By why is such a kid, running away from home? Even though she went as far as to tell that she’s running away from home she still hasn't told Yuu anything in detail.

──A “daughter” who came from inside a game and her “mother” a diligent-looking girl who ran away from home.

(Two women with various circumstances, both are harboring in my house. Quite hard-boiled…… I would like to say but it feels something is missing)

Leaving that worthless delusion inside his head, Yuu rests his chin with his hand. And then, he throws the fried egg hamburger into his mouth. It was soft-boiled.

“May I use the bath? And if possible, the washing machine too”

“Eh…… yeah, of course”

After than exchange, Miharu and Haruha entered the bathroom prepared by Yuu.

Haruha who doesn’t understand the concept of a bath ── After all, inside the game, no matter how dirty you become it will get clean in a mere three minutes ── raised a question “By bath you mean that? The thing with Goemon-san?” eagerly with her eyes, in cases like this it’s better to let her experience it head first so Miharu went in with her.

Right before they closed the sliding door in the dressing room, Miharu said with the sharpest eyes she ever showed.

“……If you dare to peek, I’ll drag Haruha away and leave this house immediately”

“Really I won’t”

The moment Yuu returned to the living room after he annoyingly replied so ── His heart became hard to control.

Just now he realized that he’s too late to notice this peculiar situation, of which a girl whom he first met is taking a bath in his house. By no other than Miharu herself, their consciousness of each other is rapidly emerging.

While he sits on the sofa in the living room and randomly watches TV, he heard the sounds of “running water” from the bathroom. And mixed along with it was the cheerful voice of Haruha who’s having fun, and occasionally the sound of Miharu raising her voice.

It’s that hugging mole Haruha after all; she probably tried to hug Miharu in the bathroom and troubled her.

……………… Yeah. ……………………This is awkward.

It’s not like he had any desire to do anything blameworthy that would make Miharu worry, but even so to be composed in this situation, is an entirely different case. Even Yuu, who was always playing 『CtG』 outside school, still has interest in the opposite sex like a normal guy would.

He thought he might as well wait in his room on the second floor until they finish taking their bath, but it will be inconvenient if anything were to happen in the bathroom and he could not deal with it as fast as possible.

While worrying endlessly on the sofa, Hajime Hidari returned.

“Hee, Haruha-chan already went to the bath huh. I should’ve bring her a change of clothes”

What Hajime, who just arrived in the living room, was wearing wasn’t a suit from the afternoon, but a summer sweater and a skirt under a lab coat; it was questionable to say the least. Moreover she’s wearing glasses she didn’t wear back at the afternoon. Not only that, the atmosphere around her had completely changed judging from her gestures and way of speaking.

Being anxious by the older woman's sudden frank changes, Yuu decided to ask.

“I’m sorry……. could it be, it’s bad to put her in water?”

Hajime lightly laugh and shook her hand.

“Of course not. I said it right? Haruha-chan is a human. She’s made from very similar genes to ours and was composed of a similar composition, that’s why her color, voice, taste, and smell are very familiar right?”

Certainly, whether it’s eating or watching TV, Haruha was able to properly react to it. She did say that it feels tingling when eating pepper, it means that her tastes are pretty much that of a human.

“To put it in another way, just like a human, if her body is dirty and not washed it will be bad for her health. Ah, but for now don’t leave her alone for most of the time, especially when walking on stairs or taking a bath.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Haruha’s mind still hasn't gotten used to that body. No matter how great a gamer is, it’s normal to be confused when playing a new game for the first time. For that kid, her body here (reality) is her avatar (incarnation). Her awareness to her own muscles and nerves are still not linked well yet.”

Indeed. So that was the reason why Haruha’s movement here felt so awkward compared when she’s in game. It might be close to the feeling of having to walk after spending long time bedridden at hospital.

“Well, she should be able to adjust after several months. She’s human after all”

The smile Hajime made after feeing assured was── very charming.

He averted his eyes for some reason as if to hide his embarrassment and to relieve his sense of discomfort he asked.

“…… Somehow Hajime-san’s personality changed from before”

“Well of course, I’ll have to put on a mask in front my boss. To put in other word, it’s a facade”

Hajime mischievously smiled and suddenly pressed her face close.

“If you have any request, I’ll put on any face you like”

“Eee…. eh….!? No, err──”

He unconsciously lost his balance and his breathing becomes rigid. It was suffocating.

But then, Hajime easily pulled back, and raises one finger with a straight face.

“Well a reaction from a high school student might be like that, but Yuu-kun is a papa, so I expect you to be more firm”

“I, I will keep that in mind……”

Exhausted, he sat down on the sofa, and muttered weakly.

That’s right…… at any rate he is Haruha’s guardian, he should behave as one, both physically and mentally. While putting that determination he directs his gaze towards the bathroom.

And, there was…

Miharu who appears to be watching that conversation midway, and in contrary of her soft warm skin that just came out of the bath her eyes were very cold.

And then, next to her was Haruha wearing Miharu’s one-piece shirt, delivering an innocent gaze and completely having no idea of the situation.

In that very moment, for the first time of his life, Kasugai Yuu felt a sudden impulse to commit suicide.

What Hajime brought for Haruha wasn’t just a change of clothes.

It was Haruha’s personal Ramiel (『CtG』 Terminal).

That was completely different from Yuu’s. Miharu’s was also different but it was beyond that.

When talking about normal Ramiel, regardless of its version, the specification is always that, of a visor that covers the upper half of the user's face. But this thing is a capsule about the size of a small bed. Unlike normal Ramiel you do not wear it to use it, but rather go inside the device, lie down, and close the top cover, it’s reminiscent of some kind of medical equipment.

The word “Yotsura Artifactual Laboratory” and “Anthropic Code Transfer System” were printed on top of the eyeball-like red lens front cover. The “for HAL/Ha” at the end might be referring to Haruha’s name.

In contrast to its appearance that seemed to be packed with lots of metal parts, it was quite light, but even so, it took the combined strength of Hajime, two researchers (maybe) she brought, and Yuu to lift it all the way to the corner of the living room. When it was finally over, Yuu and Hajime’s shoulders were drenched from their sweat.

“Actually I must teach you how to use this by today but…… I’m tired so let’s do it tomorrow”

Is it okay to be so loose, he thought but,

“And, the important Haruha-chan herself seems to be sleepy”

Come to think of it, Haruha who got bored waiting was now resting her small head above Miharu’s lap.

Yuu and Miharu looked at each other.

It seems Haruha, who came out of the virtual world, can sleep too.

......Well, like that Haruha happily started her first time sleeping, but…

This is problematic.

“……………………………………”

“……Zzzz~……Nnyaa~……”

“………………………………”

Within the dark room illuminated by the pale light of night-light.

Above Yuu’s not so poor or gorgeous bed that he has used ever since elementary school.

Along with Haruha who lets out cat-like voices while sleeping in the middle, Yuu and Miharu were silently conscious about each other’s presences.

To put it in another way, they cannot concentrate on sleeping because of the other person’s breathing, motion, the close distance between them, and the rustling sound their clothes made when they move.

As it was early summer, they’re using a towel blanket instead of a Futon , so even though they “sleep on the same bed” it’s ultimately not “sharing a bed”. But, besides Haruha who’s a child, it’s surely not a normal situation for two high school students of the opposite sex to be in.

Even though they carefully made sure not to see each other’s eyes, the desire to see Haruha’s sleeping face won, thus repeating the circle of accidentally seeing each other, averting their eyes in a hurry, and repeat. And to make it worse, the desire to do it again gets stronger each time.

Even their thoughts to peek through their half-open eyes were the same.

((Just why this happens……!?))

After Hajime and the others left, Yuu was planning to sleep in the living room after taking a bath. As the only usable bed in the Kasugai household at the time was just the one in Yuu’s room. There is also one in his mother’s room, but it’s in the same state before her death ── which was buried under tons of books and documents ── so it cannot be used unless they spent the whole day cleaning it.

……Although, he planned to keep his mother’s room as it is, so tomorrow maybe they will just order a bed or a futon, and clean up the spare room that’s currently used as a storage room and use it.

Anyway, there’s no way he would have Haruha and of course Miharu as well to sleep on the sofa. For today the two girls shall sleep in Yuu’s room instead, and he will do his best to delicately do the bedding for them.

On the other hand, Miharu was regretful.

“I’m sorry. To have Kasugai-kun to sleep on the sofa and all……”

“It’s fine. It’s not like we can have Haruha to sleep by herself”

“But then Kasugai-kun will……”

But she cut her own words, because saying that would mean to show her distrust towards Yuu himself. And within such a subtle atmosphere.

“Neee, nee……”

The one who raised her voice while tightly hugging Yuu’s leg was none other than their beloved princess Haruha. She’s wearing the summer pajamas she received from Hajime, and now she was rubbing her own sleepy face. Her appearance was unduly cat-like.

Haruha who was puzzled by the sensation of being sleepy for the first time obediently listened to Miharu’s explanation “It’s okay. To sleep is a very good thing” and loosened her mouth. Suddenly wanting to, Yuu stroke Haruha’s head.

“Sorry to make you wait Haruha. The bed is ready, you can sleep now”

“Let’s sleep together daddy”

Miharu tried to talk to her out of it, but unexpectedly Haruha shook her head.

“Haruha wants to sleep with daddy too!”

The place.

Is frozen.

“N-No, no, that is a bit…”

“Tha, that’s right Haruha. We are, not like that, so things like that──”

In a hurry the two of them tried to answer , but their words were unexpectedly broken.

On Haruha’s face, a certain emotion was shown within her drowsiness. Right below the shades of her eyes was the color of despair, the kind of feeling that a normal child shouldn’t have known.

“But…… 『Sleep』 is the thing where Haruha can’t see, feel, or understand anything right?

Daddy and mommy might…… disappears when sleeping”

──That’s right. Yuu and Miharu faced each other. For Haruha, to experience sleep is both fun but also an anxious thing. It’s different from Yuu and Miharu who accept it as a normal occurrence. Everything is the first time for her, the only thing she can unconditionally trust are just her daddy and mommy.

Once they’ve understood that, there was no option to refuse.

Thus, on the absolutely not wide bed they formed the word river

………………

An hour had passed since they turned off the light. There was Yuu lying right besides Haruha who was letting out a proper sleeping voice, but he couldn’t sleep at all. Even though he was so tired, he still hasn’t reached the entrance of sleep.

The reason was simple. Because he knew that Miharu is awake. Every one minute she would move slightly, and every thirty seconds she would let out a sigh. But even so it’s not like he could do anything about it, because his heart beats fast as he felt their body heat transmitted through the mat.

First of all, Miharu who appear to distrust man that much is lightly dressed. Since this is early summer, it can’t be helped that she gets hot, but why a tank top and short pants. Just by moving a little, that plump exposed legs of her would enter his field of vision.

Maybe because she was in the middle of running away, thus she doesn’t own any bulkier pajamas but…… seeing how low her guard is sure is worrisome.

(This is bad…… the more I think about sleeping the sleepier I get)

Like this, Haruha who had fallen asleep so peacefully sure is envious. The moment he glanced at her, Haruha rolled over and clung onto him.

“……Nyuu……”

Not sure whether she’s awake or not, maybe she’s having a dream, while repeatedly moved her mouth she buried her face tightly into Yuu’s chest.

The presumptuous petite angel who knocked his belly was just like a doll, but, the certain warmth she has was pretty hot. She’s a human after all, recalls Hajime’s words.

It’s such a weird story. Even though they’re all human, there was a man like Yuu, a woman like Miharu, and a kid like Haruha. Furthermore, even Yuu himself who had become like this, was once just like Haruha who’s small, doll-like, and very dependent of her beloved parents.

……It might be not much of a difference now. Yuu let out a bitter smile and stroked Haruha’s hair. Haruha pulled her lips as if getting tickled.

“……daddy……”

Unconsciously, he hugged her back with all his might.

But, she will undoubtedly wake up from it so he put up with it. Although he cannot deny that he almost lost his composure seeing the skirt getting wet by Haruha’s droll.

“……Really, Haruha is really a hugging mole”

He tickleed her ear with a whisper. Turning his eyes, there was Miharu smiling warmly at them,

Very naturally, he was able to return with a smile and low voice.

“Her first “sleeping together” partner is me”

Within the darkness, Miharu’s feelings were transmitted clearly.

“………But, she called 『mommy』 first so it’s me”

“That’s right. Within the bygone days maybe such a thing did happened”

Yuu who’s showing his composure for grasping tonight hegemony (?) in hand, and frowning Miharu. In such scene, Yuu felt a bit more assured.

“At first I thought your personality is completely different, but you’re like Mifa from times to times”

“Aa……”

Suddenly Miharu was at a loss of words. It feels like she is regretting something.

It’s dark so it’s hard to see her expression. But, he was able to see her hesitatingly rubbing her legs together at the corner of his eyes.

“……. It’s really weird right. Being a Net Benkei ”

“No. 『CtG』is an RPG after all, it’s normal to act”

“It’s a bit different from acting. I’m usually like this…… so I adore those who have a bright personality like Mifa. I can’t change even if I want to in front of a person in flesh, but I can when being Mifa in『CtG』. Unlike me who is just all talk, who is bad at talking and shy, who is bad at facing boys. And unlike me…… who can only listen to her parents”

Her voice was very small and vague, probably as to not wake Haruha up. Even so, thanks to the quietness of the room, and the close distant between them, he was able to clearly hear her voice.

He was able to hear what he failed to from before.

“And even so, you ran away from home?”

“………I did say runaway but, all I do is just walking around staying at friends’ houses. Depending on which house they might’ve contacted my mother. My revolt is only that far”

“Is your house strict……?”

“There are some special circumstances so my mother started to manage my life. I entered an all-girl school because my mother said so, and just a while ago, she made me quit the chorus club in that high school because I came home late.”

……So that’s why her time in『CtG』 increased. He feels pathetic to feel happy without knowing that. But setting that aside, the reason why her guard was so low was probably due to her being accustomed with an all-girl living style, he thought.

“And then, this time she told me to stop playing 『CtG』…… Well, it’s my fault to do an all-nighter and overslept though. But, at least just this, I don’t want to stop doing just because she told me so”

“……Because Haruha is there right”

Miharu, even in this darkness, clearly and strongly nodded.

“That’s why I ran away taking a Ramiel with me…… but it’s not certain that there is a corresponding line in my friend's house, and even if there is one I would feel bad to borrow it. In the end, I couldn’t log-in in these few days”

This is just Yuu’s imagination but there is no way the reason “I have a child in game so there is no way I can stop!” would pass through with such a strict mother. And even if she says it there is no way her mother would understand. Even Yuu himself wouldn’t understand anything until he actually interacted with Haruha.

And because of that, Miharu is grieving over her actions.

Objectively speaking, it’s about a child who rebelled against her parent who have been taking care of her for all her life and selfishly running away from home just because of a useless online game. Talk about being ungrateful.

Even so. No, exactly so.

Even if it is just Yuu alone he wanted to be her ally. He thought.

He still hasn’t heard anything about whether her mother knows that she’s here or not at the moment, and then Haruha shook her body.

“……nn……uuh……”

He was relieved that she didn’t wake up, but it seems that they have talked too much.

While he’s looking at Haruha’s hair, he whispered to Miharu.

“Let’s just sleep shall we”

After replying with “Yes” Miharu slowly closed her eyes while stroking Haruha’s head.

Yuu closed his eyes shortly after and strangely, his consciousness sank smoothly into slumber. Was he finally used to this situation? Did his body use up oxygen from that conversation and his brain requests a rest? Or……

As he thinks about that, his consciousness was slowly sucked into the night and bed by the gravity.

But it was interrupted as he realized he hasn’t entered 『CtG』 at all today.

──Kugimiya Miharu is weak in the morning.

Maybe because she has low blood pressure or something. A while after waking up, her memories before sleeping were jumbled together and she forgets what she did. Today is exactly like that.

“Nnnn………nnuu……”

Waking up in a fragile state, she stretched out while ringing her throat.

In the past few days, she has been living in her close friends’ houses, so she wasn't surprised when waking up in an unfamiliar room. But,

(……Whose house was I staying at yesterday? Ton-chan? Koro-chan?)

She couldn’t remember. What enters her blurry vision were “I’m not sure which color should I pick, for now I will just buy black or gray colored stuff”-like furniture, it was a boring dark room.

(It’s like a boys’ room……)

It was a tidy room. It’s not like there is just a few stuff in the room, but most of it was placed neatly on the shelf or above the desk. And on the shelf there are plastic models lined up.

“As I thought, really boy-like──”

As she sloppily ruminate the room through her eyes── she got interrupted by a murmur.

Besides the bed Miharu is sitting on, a girl is sleeping. She has fluffy hair and cuteness that undoubtedly will convince you that she’s the world cutest, most beautiful girl.

And, right beside that gem-like girl there was a very mediocre-looking boy sleeping. And that boy was wearing a T-shirt and knee-lenght half-pants which is known to be the rudest display to show to a woman.

Her head boiled up── and she remembers everything in that moment.

That’s right…… yesterday, “daughter” Haruha came out from the game and they started to live together in “the daughter’s father's” house. And then, due to Haruha’s request the three of them slept together…… She recalled that she had an embarrassing talk before sleeping but couldn’t exactly remember what it was.

After this, just what kind of face should I wear when facing Kasugai-kun…..? It feels like they had a pretty chaotic distance against each other from the beginning.

And speaking of Kasugai Yuu, he’s hugging Haruha with a very loose face; it doesn’t seem he will wake up any soon.

Looking around, there was a digital clock displaying “Sat 0908” on the bedside. Yuu’s school should be off on a Saturday──In Saturday Clamp appears in『CtG』 right in the morning── so maybe it’s time for them to wake up. Since it will be bad for Haruha’s education.

Even so, to brutally wake up an Angel from her peaceful first sleep in her life is just too much for Miharu to bear. First of she should just wake Yuu up.

If she raised her voice she would wake Haruha up too── she hesitates. Probably it has been over six years since the last time she ever touched a sleeping guy. But, it will be problematic for their life in the future if she gets embarrassed over things like this.

(That’s right. Compared to Russhy (Super-scary even though it’s a Pomeranian ) from the neighbor, a boy or two is nothing……!)

While encourage herself, she gingerly placed her hand on Yuu’s shoulder. No reaction.

It can’t be helped so she tried to use more strength but it doesn’t seem to do anything. ……and even so,

“Somehow this is scary……”

When touching Clamp in『CtG』 it was always through a thick layer of clothes. But to directly touch it like this sure gives an uncomfortable feeling.

Come to think of it again, his physique is not that block-like but his arms and legs are way more masculine that hers, it looks kind of heavy. His toe looks like gravel. She recalls the drawing lesson she had during art class in junior high where she was told to imagine girls as plants and boys as mineral.

(Were boys all like this……?)

She tries to recall back when she hit her father’s back when she was young, but it was so long ago that her memory went foggy.

As if trying to look beyond his shadowy face, she looks directly at the boy’s face. It’s different from Clamp’s the calm and firm imprisoned face or his unreliable troubled-like face. Kasugai Yuu’s sleeping face looks slightly like Haruha’s, it was very defenseless.

Unable to escape her drowsiness she unconsciously moved her finger and touched the hair on Yuu’s cheek.

“Nnn……”

Her eyes met Yuu’s eyes who woke up while letting out a tired voice.

“……eeh? Ku….. Kugimiya-san……?”

It seems Yuu is quite a morning person and immediately recognized Miharu’s existence. But, even so, however you look at it, this situation appears like ── nothing but ── Miharu stroking his head while looking at his sleeping face, and to swallow this situation is an entirely different case.

Miharu panicked in various ways. Her face turned red, and the advanced language skill action to explain will indefinitely fail her. But to stay silent in this situation would just nominate her as a strange person. That’s why, she gathered all her courage into her throat, and let out a word of excuse as if pouring it all out,

“A, aim chorry!”

She bit her tongue.

“……? Eh?”

Because of all the commotion they made, Haruha finally woke up and opened her eyes.

And then, the sight in front of her during her first memorable moment was.

The figure of her father with a question mark floating above his head, and the figure of her mother who looks like she was about to cry

“……nnniya?”

After that they started the discussion over the alarmed zone, for now the misunderstanding between Miharu and Yuu has been cleared. (To sum it up the truth “It turned out like that when I tried to gently wake you up” has been recognized as sounding strangely like a lie)

While Yuu was preparing a simple breakfast, Miharu was dressing up Haruha on the bed.

Accompanied by the morning sun that dimly entered the room, she combs Haruha’s hair. No matter how disordered your hair became, it can be set straight in an instant in 『CtG』, so this was a fresh new sensation for Haruha.

While having her hair straightened, Haruha was happily humming the Rasupu-chan theme song, Miharu modestly spoke.

“W-Well Haruha…… It’s about the sleeping together with Kasugai-kun you see”

As expected, her voice was stiff. She was able to sleep yesterday, but it was right after that incident this morning, she can’t do it anymore.

(As a boy Kasugai-kun is not that scary…… but, sleeping with a boy is just too much for me)

Sorry Haruha, but from today onwards, she will convince her to sleep with only just the two of them.

But right before she started her persuasion, Haruha stopped humming and said.

“Hear~, Haruha you see~. Today~, when waking up~, in the morning~──”

Her lisp voice over her shoulder was melting like butter.

“Haruha was hugged, by daddy!”

To be exact, it was Haruha who first hugged Yuu, but from her perspective Yuu was the one who couldn’t let her go.

“Haruha sure~, daddy is~. When waking up, if Haruha is not there, will be sad, and scared…… so *squeeze*, he grabbed Haruha”

Haruha placed her small fist on her mouth, and “Kufufufu……” happily laughed. After that, she loosened her face.

“Really, daddy sure is childish”

………………This is bad. To show such a good smile, like hell she was able to say that it was the last time to sleep with daddy.

The morning sunlight that passed through the window created a small sunny spot on the bed, in the room there was Haruha who was in a great mood for awakening in the best morning, and Miharu who lost her strength and dropped her shoulder.

It was the morning of a certain mother and daughter.

After Yuu and others finished their breakfast, Hajime Hidari showed up in front of the Kasugai household entrance.

“Yaayaa! Good morning! How are you guys?”

it could be because there was no Niiro today, she’s in ‘glasses onee-san’ mode right in the morning. While feeling something like heartburn, Yuu passed through the living room.

”Somewhat fine. At least Haruha is energetic as always”

“Right. Haruha sleeps and wakes up properly”

“Gufugh!? ……t, that certainly looks like it” said Yuu while staggering over a good tackle by Haruha, who had changed into cute children's clothes. Hajime looked at Yuu and Miharu sequentially.

“Well then…… I will have to make some adjustments on Haruha’s end. I think it will take around half a day. You guys may go out in the meantime”

“Go out…… You mean with Haruha?”

“Yes! Like a date.”

“NO WAY!” answered Yuu and Miharu in unison -- causing them to look at each other.

“Do you hate it that much?” they both thought.

While smiling, Hajime offered a proposal as she looked at the two.

“Then go run some errands. You need to buy various necessities whether if it’s for Haruha or not. Yuu-kun has school on weekdays, and Haruha is busy with school transfer among other stuff. It will be a problem if you don’t do it while you can”

She was certainly right. But,

“Is it okay to take Haruha out here and there? Because…… it has only been a while since she came out”

“That’s why we will have you use the car to move around. The driver is from the institute, so he can carry out various errands to some extent, and besides──”

Hajime paused and mischievously closed one of her eyes.

“Both of you are the best couple chosen by the Nephilim Computer which created that 『CtG.』. Both of you are her parents, and she is counting on you so be proud of yourselves”

Several minutes and meters from the national highway later, Yuu and the group walked to the supermarket chain stores.

It would be easier if they went to the general supermarket near the station, but it will be very problematic and awkward if they happen to meet an acquaintance from the neighborhood. That’s why they went all the way to a place where students don’t visit that much. It’s indeed an unfamiliar shop but…… just thinking how bad it would be if they meet Fuyufu, this is not a problem at all.

The person from the institute who drove them all the way here ──who, by the way, was a very kind-looking man── said that he will wait in the parking lot. Along with Haruha who was holding hands with Miharu, the three of them passed through the entrance.

The store lets out the atmosphere of a typical suburb. It’s a two-story building but it’s profusely wide. There is a foreign cinema at the back probably because the management materials are from Tebiro .

Miharu, who curiously surveyed inside, asked casually.

“Do you come here often?”

“No. It has been two years since the last time I came here”

Yuu wanted to say that he used to come here with his mom in their car. But he didn’t.

“It didn’t seem like it changed that much. They should have most household goods provided here”

The first thing they would have to get would be clothing and bedding leaving groceries for last. Food, clothing and shelter they say after all. As for the funds, they have the card Hajime gave them so they should have quite a bit of excess money.

“Well then…… first let’s find a bed and make a order. We might forget about it later” Yuu proposed.

Miharu’s face turned red.

“Eh? You’re saying we should change to a double bed?”

“No. It’s not like we can sleep in the same room forever, so I think we should buy a bed for Kugimiya-san too”

“………………of course”

Since this morning, Miharu has been confused over various things. She squatted down, groaning, while being hugged by Haruha who’s acting as a tranquilizer.

“Ohh~, what is this place?” said Haruha as she restlessly walked through the store with her sparkling big eyes.

『At nine o’clock yesterday evening, a woman who lost consciousness in a room in the Tokyo residential area was discovered by a family member. The woman was immediately taken to the hospital, and it seems that her life is not in danger, but the cause of the syncope is unknown. According to the doctor there is no problem in the woman’s health condition……』

The large TV on display was showing today's news. Yuu didn’t stop walking, but somehow it caught his attention. It’s the incident that Fuyufu mentioned before.

『This kind of fainting incidents also have been occurring at various other places in the past few weeks, the cause of this unexplained fainting is unknown and the number of victims within the country has reached over thirteen people. Although it still hasn’t reached a serious level yet, those who are living alone are advised to frequently contact other people as an effort to minimize the damages that might occur from these incidents』

“……Maybe it’s time to call uncle after a long time.” Yuu thought.

“What a scary story” said Miharu anxiously. And then Yuu suddenly remembered “That’s right……. I’m no longer alone now.”

“Daddy! Haruha found something cool!” reported Haruha to Yuu who was taking a break on a nearby bench. Miharu was looking for clothes to buy while Yuu, being a guy, became inevitably bored.

He was sitting beside Haruha, but the moment he took his eyes off her, Haruha took off and went somewhere. She came back holding a colorful box about the size of a concrete block.

“Fufufu”, she giggled as she looked inside the box. Through it’s window Yuu saw the doll inside, and inside of the box 『Figurine Mystical Priest Girl Rasupu-chan 5』was written. It appears to be one of the good characters from the anime Haruha watched last night.

“Isn’t this for sale!? Don’t take it without permission!”

“Aww~……” said Haruha as she frowned.

It was very unlikely for him to get mad at Haruha who was showing a dissatisfied face like a spoiled kid. He held her hand and had her guide him back to where she found the box. Fortunately, it was from the nearby toy store and they were able to promptly return it to the shelf. Since there were piles of similar box lined out, it seems to be a popular product.

“Haruha. In stores like this, you must pay with money”

“Stores goods are bought from a product list, right? And dropped items are free to take, right?”

“……That is only inside the game. Here you must put item you like inside the basket, and then buy it by hand from the employees there. If you don’t do that and take it outside, you will become a thief. Thieves are bad people”

“I must use a harsh tone when saying this” thought Yuu. Haruha pouted as she looked at the Resupu-chan figure regretfully.

“But daddy, you often steal stuff, right?”

“Don’t say things like that….. and it's just inside the game, like taking a weapon from a monster, or dealing with the robbery incident that time”

“Come to think of it Kasugai-kun, when fighting Humanoid (Artificial Human) you often beat them by 《Snatch (steal)》 their weapon, right?” said Miharu as she showed up from behind. She’s holding stuffed paper bags on both her hands. It seems she finished purchasing clothes.

“Why do you keep on doing such bothersome things?”

It was the first time Yuu realized that Miharu’s mouth would smoothly work when the topic is about the game. The same goes for Yuu as well.

“Well, even though it seems like a bothersome thing, it’s still a technique. Stealing the enemy’s weapon while empty handed, and then, in perfect timing, activate a semi-auto attack; it’s a style that relies heavily on preliminary actions. It’s a distinct specification of『CtG』I say”

Yuu used the word “specification”, but it was not mentioned in any official announcement so it fell under the vague line of either is it a bug or not. In other words: a hidden trick. The requirement of this is that the opponent must equip a weapon and you must go empty-handed. If you fail to steal their weapon you will be in a huge pinch, and first of all it’s a technique most player don’t know about.

“Huh? But Kasugai-kun, even though the opponent uses ranged weapons you still forcefully try to steal it, isn’t that just a hobby of yours?”

“Daddy is just trying to show-off”

Yuu averted his eyes as he was unable to say anything against Miharu's and Haruha’s continuous attacks.

“To be able to beat down the opponent instantly is cool” Yuu thought. That’s why he relies so much on it. The players who would level up their 《Snatch》skill for such reasons would be most likely just Yuu.

“A-anyway…… unlike in game, you mustn’t take stuff from shelves and pots. Understand?”

“Ehh? From pots is bad too?”

Somehow, that was the part Haruha was shocked about.

“Yeah, you mustn’t break things either”

“Just what……”

Ever since RPGs, especially the middle-age fantasy ones, reached the 3D era, pots at roadsides and indoors were objects that were free to inspect and break. People may selfishly examine it without permission and freely take miscellaneous items from it although these are not just the only items you can get. It is a daily routine and an important factor that prevents players from losing their willingness in investigating towns and villages.

In this world where rummaging and breaking pots is forbidden, for Haruha who is literally a brainchild of the game, this is a paradigm crisis.

“The… then, what can Haruha break?”

“I’ll buy her a bubble warp later” thought Yuu at that moment.

Right after that, Miharu returned to the topic at hand.

“……By the way, what were you looking at?”

“It’s Rasupu-chan”

Haruha, who surprisingly got over her depression fast, pointed at the 『Figurine Mystical Priest Girl Rasupu-chan (5)』.

“It’s amazing, you know? She’s doing her deathblow pose”

Because of how pushy Haruha is, Yuu once again took the item and looked at the description.

Just like what Haruha said, despite being palm-sized, the position of her body perfectly replicates the Shiberia super deadly poison pose. Truly a gem of a item. But, after realizing something he returned it to the shelf.

“Haruha…… I’m sorry but it’s written here 『For fifteen years old and above』. In this world, Haruha is around eight, so you must be older to buy it”

In response to Yuu’s explanation, Haruha, as if dying, asked a question with her pure eyes.

”Why can’t Haruha buy anime toys for little girls?”

“Yeah... Really, I wonder why……”

Why would a figurine of a currently airing anime aimed for little girls be a merchandise for fifteen-year-olds? Yuu, feeling helpless, was unable to answer her question.

How can they cheer up Haruha? She already had her shoulders lowered, feeling down from the pot incident and more? At times like this it’s best to leave it to Miharu who is also a young girl at heart.

“H-here Haruha. This one is okay for three-year-olds and older”

What she found from the shelf was a soft Rasupu-chan vinyl doll. It’s a set along with a rival character called Fu-Nyanchu which is cheap, but very unrefined, and the only thing moveable was its shoulder which can only rotate in a circular motion. Moreover, its face doesn’t look like the real one at all. It’s reminiscent of a voodoo doll used by ancient people as an object of worship, it has a distinct appearance of a dopey person or of someone spacing out.

Yuu made a bitter smile.

“Well, Kugimiya-san. I don’t think that……”

“Uwaa────! A battle set────!!”

“E-e-eh she’s overjoyed!?”

After saying “I’ll get this for you” and passing the doll to Haruha who let out cheers with her sparkling round eyes, Miharu whispered to Yuu in a pleasant voice.

“Still, quantity over quality”

“…... was I this simple when I was young……?”

As he thought, Haruha’s personality is way younger compared to her physique. From what he remembered, Fuyufu and his cousins were more impertinent when they were at the same age as Haruha right now.

Moreover Yuu himself was a child who would say harsh and heartless words to others──

『It’s okay that you did not visit me one the day you promised me a month ago. …… but mom, do you understand the meaning of the words “promise” and “lie”? Could it be that you remembered it wrong and mixed up their meanings? …… learn Japanese right already』

…………Just remembering it makes him loathe himself.

Compared to Haruha who was cheerfully looking at the toys on the shops with Miharu, Yuu was thecomplete opposite. Maybe the reason why Yuu accepted Haruha easily was because he hoped she would become a child who would love her mother in exchange of himself.

And to that thought── he shook his head.

“No…… isn’t that exactly what a playing doll is?” thought Yuu

He let out a small sigh, and carried their shopping. It wasn’t that heavy.

“Well then……. Maybe it’s time for us to go back. It feels kind of bad to keep people waiting”

It took around two hours for them to finish buying the needed household goods and groceries, including having lunch at a random store at the food court.

“Aww~…… we’re going home now?”

Haruha who was happily helping Yuu by pushing the shopping cart appears to be unhappy. She expressed her dissatisfaction by hitting the cat paw-pattern cushion she picked herself earlier. But, Miharu then said “Well, hmm……” with a weary voice out of fatigue and nodded.

Unexpectedly, Haruha (excluding the case in the toy store) no longer takes off anymore as soon as you take your eyes off her.

However, every time something catches her interest she would grab either Yuu or Miharu’s arm and drag them here and there. As her guardian, it’s very exhausting. Even so, they have to keep an eye on her no matter how often they tripped and fall.

Even though they were just shopping, Yuu is still not used to handling a child and quickly became both physically and mentally tired. In the end he went outside through the parking lot and walked through the busy passageway.

The girl who was walking right in front him recognized his awfully familiar face.

The reason for their meeting with Kodzuchi Fuyufu on that day was a very simple one.

She got invited by her friend from the Table Tennis club to watch a mania-aimed B-rate movie which didn’t screen in major cinemas. They had that friend’s older sister, who was at that time searching for a job, to bring them there with a car. Thanks to that, Fuyufu, her friend, and her friend’s sister ended up giggling from the depths of their lungs after watching the action splatter movie 『The Goblins’ Pipeline Grand Strategy』.

After that, they parted with the friend’s sister who wanted to take a nap in the car. The two then walked to a clothes store at the super market to spend time. It was then when the encounter took place.

Why is Yuu, who always caged himself inside the house playing 『CtG』 when not attending school and shopping, is here in such a suburb super market? If that was the case, Fuyufu would think that Yuu was shopping with his uncle whom she was acquainted with. But...

Yuu was, walking alongside a girl.

The girl, who appears to be bashful, is around the same age as Fuyufu and Yuu.

Yuu was pushing the cart and right beside him was that girl, who was talking about a shampoo brand or something. They’re undoubtedly acquainted with each other, and they’re shopping together. …………Shampoo? What? Eh???

“No…… way……”

*Crack* … As her body was about to fall, along with the floating mark inside her heart started to rotate, her friend swiftly took hold of her. As expected of the table tennis club, her legs are very agile and reliable.

“Fuyu-cchi! Keep yourself together!”

“To think that Yuu-bocchi is walking alongside a person other than me……”

“That’s what you were so shocked about!?”

“Kugh…… could it be, that woman also possess the devil eye that is able to see ghosts?”

“What’s up with that setting!?”

Hearing the loud voice of her friend, Yuu turned his body to their direction.

“F-Fuyu!? Eh? Aa…… wha, why are you here......!?”

He let out an unusual panicked sound which was very unsightly. He was like an adulter that was caught cheating.

And the girl in question was hiding behind Yuu as if frightened.

Seeing that figure of her hiding behind Yuu’s shadow made something deep inside Fuyufu’s body go “ciiiiing” as if it was letting out a metallic sound──

“Well, well! Isn’t that Yuu-kun from Kasugai household I’m seeing here?”

With that clearly out-of-character way of speaking and hardened-like smile, she made a big pause. “Uuugh…” Yuu cried out through his throat, but then he produced a fake smile clearly knowing that running away was not an option.

“Y-yo, yoo. What a coincidence” said Yuu.

(……….The heck was that?) she thought.

He’s acting different from normal. Usually he would be stubborn like a child and boorishly try to run away from Fuyufu. But, strangely today he is a bit different…… as if he does not want to show his bad side to the people with him.

“I see. As I have guessed, that woman is that kind of person to Yuu” she thought while keeping that creepy smile of hers on her face, as she started making a restless sound.

Fuyufu had stopped scolding Yuu about playing too much CtG since his mother died. Who would have thought he would dare get a woman without her knowing…

“Yeah... what a coincidence.. Who would have thought that the prefecture-level ranked loner Yuu would be walking around with such a lovely girl in this faraway place as if he’s trying to escape the eyes of his acquaintances as if in the middle of pulling an affair?”

“……Don’t expect me to butt in anything about the loner-whatsoever-thing that you said”

It’s so typical of Yuu to say that, even though he went as far saying he won’t butt into anything. It’s hard to think that this guy whose previous life was most likely a sandbag would be popular.

── I see. So this is what people say as that kind of thing.

“『Dating Site Regulation Law』as its cover-up name would be too fancy”

“What did you just say!?”

“Then tell me, just from where did you get acquainted with that woman? Weren’t you always locked up in your house──”

“Well… from the game!”

“Game……? Could it be you pick up girls in 『CtG』 and hook off in an offline meeting or something?”

“Offline mee..? N-n-no! Mommy and daddy… you see… are《married》 inside the game!”

“Married… Married you said──”

After repeating the word carefully── she noticed that the person she was talking to switched from Yuu to the one with a more youthful voice.

And as she looked down, she saw her skirt was being grabbed by a small hand.

It’s a girl. A girl around the age of eight with a fluffy hair and very innocent pure eyes……

“D-Don’t, Haruha!”

For the first time, that woman raised her voice. She quickly grabbed and embraced the girl called “Haruha” and kept her from saying anything more.

“E-Erm…… I’m sorry. She says weird stuff; she’s a child you see……”

The child protested, “It’s not weird!” while flopping her feet, but she was silenced with the woman’s puffed breasts.

But it doesn’t matter. If the child won’t talk, she can just get the answer directly from the woman who sealed the girl’s mouth.

“So, who are you?”

“Aa…… u, I, I”

The woman suddenly went silent. Even though she moved quite vigorously when she stopped that child, when it’s about herself she becomes completely weak.

“W-Well, you see, I’ll explain this later, so──”

“Shut up, Loner. Sandawara star has no relation with lightning magic attack you know”

“At least make it understandable!”

Yuu let out a grunt right from his stomach, but she ignored that. Fuyufu felt something. “This woman must reveal her own identity. Something. Right! A premonition!” she thought.

That’s why, she introduced herself.

“I’m Kudzuchi Fuyufu. I’m… a neighbor of Kasugai Yuu”

And then her introduction── this forced the woman in front of her to react in a way beyond her imagination.

“Ee…………Fuyu, fu…… -san?”

The woman showed a stunned expression, then her pupils slowly dilated, and then dulled hollow. In the same manner, Yuu’s face turned pale.

And then, the woman smiled as she stood up. It was the kind of smile that forces a tingle on her cheek. That somehow reminded her of the nitroglycerin smile faced Yuu at first. She switched back to Fuyufu and then politely lowered her head.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Let me introduce myself, my name is Kugimiya Miharu.”

And then, the final blow.

The little girl ── Kugimiya Miharu, said while smiling awkwardly:

“Due to some complicated situation, I’m currently staying at Kasugai-kun’s house. It was nice meeting you, Fuyufu-san”

・ ・ ・

It took around three minutes for Fuyufu to regain her consciousness.

“Haa!?”

“Fuyu-cchi! It seems you’ve finally regained consciousness!”

It seems that she lost her consciousness while standing. Her friend wiped her sweat as she let out a sigh of relief.

“Where are Yuu and the others?”

“Someone was waiting for them that’s why they left earlier. He said "I’ll explain this later! Though…… wonder what was that about?”

She somehow remembered Yuu saying that in a very serious tone. Seeing how desperate he was, they really might be in a circumstance where he can’t say anything yet.

But still… just what kind of situation is that shut-in in, to make him take an unfamiliar girl into his house. Moreover……

In order to calm down her confusion, both of them sat down on a bench near the nearby comfort room while drinking canned coffee. Her friend, who’s sitting next to her pouted.

“But still, Kasugai-san sure is cruel. Even though he has Fuyu-cchi already…”

“……Yuu is not that kind of person”

“That again. It’s not about that, didn’t they say that they suddenly started living together? Or more like, I thought Kasugai-san is the one who has feelings for Fuyu-cchi──”

“Really, it’s not that”

After she let out a little grunt, they went silent for a moment.

It’s really not that. All she was was Yuu’s friend since childhood, and also her first friend as far as she can remember. Every time they see each other, Yuu’s mother would say “Please get along with Yuu”. Their relationship is just that. Their inseparable bond gives birth to a small flower. It’s really just that.

But, whether it is a misunderstanding or not, the fact that her friend was made for her sake is the truth, it was embarrassing but at the same time, it made her glad.

“Haa!!” exclaimed Fuyufu

“Eh?” responded her friend in surprise.

“I wanted to eat a large serving of parfait at the food court but I can’t eat it all. I’ll treat you so help me”

“If you give me all the pudding I’m in”

Her grin turned into a smile and they stood up. And in front of Fuyufu, a small boy showed up, appearing to be rushing to the toilet. Seeing that,

She remembered. The child, who was with Yuu and Kugimiya Miharu, if she’s not mistaken,she was called…

Haruha.

That name meant “small flower” and it was from her memories with Yuu.

Before they entered elementary school, the two of them often played house. It was the name of the doll Fuyufu was always carrying around. That’s right. Fuyufu said it's name proudly.

“Haruha.”

The doll is now kept in her closet, and the memory of “Haruha” was driven to the corner of her memories. And now, she showed up here and was able to grab her skirt.

──Moreover, that Haruha, what did she say when she called Yuu and Kugimiya Miharu?

Something is wrong.

“……Just what is happening around that idiot?”

At the corner of Fuyufu’s view, at the electronics department, the words “Merchandise advertisement! 『CtG』 -use terminal bargain starts this week!” were displayed.

”Well, I’m sorry for having you to come back here in a hurry. That car will be used by the institute you see”

What awaits them when arriving at the Kasugai household was, Hajime Hidari wearing relaxing light clothes while sitting cross-legged, appearing to be typing something on the large-type Ramiel from before with her laptop.

“But still, it might be good timing. The setup will be over soon”

“We can finally, go inside the game?”

While her parents were busy sorting out their luggage, Haruha who was empty-handed went to hug Hajime’s back.

“Guuuuh~…… that’s right. Because Haruha-chan has a special body, a special device is required. We will perform tests from now, both of you heads on and prepare──”

Hajime turned around, and at the other side of her sight was── a heavy atmosphere, that makes you picture the *rumble rumble rumble* onomatopoeia in the air, has been fostered.

Yuu and Miharu are sorting out each of the things they bought. Yuu is sorting out groceries and electrical products, while Miharu was sorting out clothing, both of them were silent, not just words, they won’t even glance at each other.

“……Eh? What? Did something happen?”

Even though they had quite a nice atmosphere before they went out…… she asked Haruha, the girl who’s their daughter, and she turned her gaze upwards.

“Somehow, on our way home daddy met a neighbor or something, and then mommy got mad”

It was somewhat hard to tell, but for now she recognized it as a fight.

“Well, this is surely a rocky start”

For these kids and for this project (humankind). Hajime made a bitter smile and stroked Haruha’s head.

“Well…..”

While tossing several foods into the refrigerator, Yuu opened his mouth.

“If you have something to say, please say it”

Although his words are requesting, somewhere within it the nuances of yielding is blurred in.

However, after removing the tag for the clothes she’s going to wear Miharu,

“Nothing. There is nothing”

She flat out said.

A few minutes after their encounter with Fuyufu, since the moment she declared that she’s living in the Kasugai household, Miharu has been silent the whole time. Even though she would smile and talk normally with Haruha, each time her eyes met Yuu’s she would avert her eyes. It was just like the first time they met.

Yuu intends to understand the reason why she’s so mad though. It might also be about Haruha’s name. But, regardless whether to apologize or stay silent, he’s too anxious to check with words and unable to put it into action.

That said, even if he went out of his way to ask, it feels like she won’t answer anyway, in the end he stayed silent.

“Daddy……”

While thinking that, Haruha who’s holding the newly brought cat paw-pattern cushion shows out of nowhere right beside him.

“Nn? What is it Haruha”

“Hidari-chan said, the preparation is finished so go ahead and go inside the game”

“Roger. I’ll go as soon as I am finished sorting this out”

Even though he already said yes, Haruha remained standing there. She’s tightly embracing the cat paw cushion while standing. While thinking of something, Haruha faced him with upturned eyes.

“Nee…… did daddy have a fight with mommy?”

It was rare for her to whisper. Back when they were inside the car he was too busy watching the outside views to care, but clearly she would be suspicious that things are getting weird.

Yuu softly stroked Haruha’s head, and made a smile in a hurry.

“It’s not a fight”

──That’s right, it’s not even worth calling it a fight.

“I think”

Several tens of minutes after that, within a hotel room at Terminus Cradle.

There was the figure of Clamp sitting on the floor, and the figure of Mifa staring down at him.

“To think that you named your own daughter after the name from the girl you like…… it's just sick isn’t it?”

Mifa’s eyes were as heavy as an iron ball. And that mouth of hers, speaks so well, as if venting all the anger Miharu had been building up till now. Just like the sleeping story ── although calling it that is a bit misleading ── Miharu told herself, Mifa (she) is the figure who can straightforwardly speak the words Miharu couldn’t say by herself.

In contrary, today Clamp is exactly that of a frog being stared down by a snake. But “Just say all that you want to say” was Kasugai Yuu’s wishes from the start so it can’t be helped.

“Ee, errr…… it seems you’re misunderstanding something, Fuyufu is not like that──”

“But anyways, you still brought up the name from another girl right?”

“Uuuh…..”

“It’s not good you know”

“Yes……”

“You’re a hopeless man you know”

“Certainly……”

“Say “Aim chorry”, come on”

“Ai, Aim…… chorry……”

It was Clamp who lowers his head each time Mifa speaks.

“Daddy and Mommy are doing something right?”

There was Haruha who was quietly listening to her parents’ conversation from outside the room. She was able to take a peek at Clamp who was gradually sitting lower and lower on the floor, but the distance between them prevents her from hearing much.

『It’s something that frequently happens in every household in this world』

Naturally Haruha restlessly looked around as she suddenly hears a voice ringing inside her head.

“? I can hear Hidari-chan’s voice?”

『Ehehe, this is the function of this special Ramiel. While I’m outside, I can see everything Haruha is seeing』

“If you went that far, Hadari-chan should just go inside the game too”

『I wanted to, but I also have to keep track of Haruha-chan’s body. How is it? To “return to your hometown”? 』

Haruha tilted her neck.

“Nnn…… somehow, everything feels so clear. And moving becomes so easy”

『Certainly. The body of you Hadzar are optimized in that world, the difference of the outside world is just too big to cover. 』

“You mean?”

『All information within “CtG” is purely made of Anthropic Code (Human Space Notation)…… Well, you can just think that the air in that world is clear. And because of that, if Haruha-chan did not breathe that clear air every few days it will feels like your breathing is being jammed by something. Be sure to remember that. 』

“Like being mad because Haruha can’t break pots?”

『……It has nothing to do with pots though, but the nuance is close maybe』

She didn’t get it, but she decides to do what she was told to. After all, Hidari is a good person (benefactor) who allows her to meet with her daddy and mommy.

As she thought about that, Clamp, who finally finished his conversation with Mifa, returns with a tired out face. Peeking inside, Mifa is still inside the room puffing her cheek. It seems she’s complaining while leaning on Payakino.

Haruha then rushed to Clamp. But, she stopped before hugging him like she normally would.

“Haruha. What did Hajime-san said?”

It seems that Yuu had been told about the communication function.

“She said, if Haruha don’t go inside the game, it will get hard to breathe”

“? You mean it will be bad if you don’t regularly go inside『CtG』?”

“It seems so”

It seems I will have to hear about this in detail later…… while thinking that Clamp stretched his hand, intent to stroke Haruha’s head, but that hand was caught by Haruha’s hands.

“Daddy”

“Nn?”

“If Daddy and Mommy are fighting, Haruha will……”

She had something to ask and she opened her mouth, but suddenly she became afraid. Her throat stiffened and she fell silent.

“Haruha?”

“Uunn, nothing. Errm, are you going somewhere?”

“Aa. It’s a currently-ongoing quest, and it will expire soon so I’ll have to go”

“Haruha will go too!”

“I’m sorry Haruha. I want to be alone for a bit. Play with Mifa today”

While looking troubled, Clamp peeped at Mifa who remained in the room. Haruha then clenched her small fist tightly.

“Is it really, a fight……?”

Her voice was trembling. Her two most important people are in a conflict with each other. She doesn’t know what to do.

The anxiety feels like having cold water flow down her spine. Wonder how much of that showed up through her face, Clamp went down on his knees in a hurry and held Haruha’s shoulder.

“Like I said, it’s not. Really, I’m just in a hurry. ……Actually I, have to play through this entire game, no matter what”

“Play through… entire game?”

Clamp nodded deeply, and it seemed like he came out with something.

“That’s right. I’ll say this to Haruha, the reason why I’m so fixated with this game. The thing, that I never told Mifa or anyone.”

“Mommy doesn’t know?”

“Aa. Because it’s not something I want to talk about. But, Haruha is special That’s why; keep this a secret from your mother”

A while after.

The figure of Clamp of Scarabaeus was at the Gunmans’ Glaive frontier town church.

At the end of the wilderness of a deserted town, is a place with no characteristics other than being the capture point of a nearby armed bandits’ fort.

Still the reincarnation mirror that leads to Terminus Cradle was stationed inside the church, and Clamp was taking a rest in that humble place. The mirror was placed at the spot where a cross or an object of worship would usually be in a real church, and he rest his back on top of one of the facing settee there.

Just now he had finally finished his quest and was just about to go back, but now he wanted to be alone.

There are lots of things to think about. First off, a reflection.

(……I don’t even know what a proper 『Parent』 is and why did I end up being one?)

Just remembering what he did to Haruha would upset his stomach. That’s right── when a child seeing adults having a quarrel that he/she can’t interfere, he/she won’t be mad or sad, but be worried. Realizing how thin their existence is.

And there Yuu, who should know that more than anyone, showed an ungraceful behavior towards Haruha and upset her. From her perspective, the two of them are lacking awareness to the fact that they’re adults as well.

The definition of adult and child is connected, for example when there are person at the age of 10 together with a five year old inside an elevator, that person will be the “adult”. The current Kasugai household is exactly like a “child and child elevator”.

But he acts firmly inside the house “House”…… he thought at least.

(But still…… how will I explain it to Fuyufu when I’m back in the real world? Niiro-san said that he will make a fake scenario about Haruha and Kugimiya’s circumstances but I haven’t hear anything about that yet)

“……And I didn’t think Kugimiya-san would be so angry”

He sighed maddeningly. He wasn’t able say anything against Fuyufu’s stuns or about Haruha’s naming, but Yuu himself still had something to say.

“Wasn’t she (Mifa) who said 『This is a game after all』at first?”

Moreover there’s no way to expect that the child developed a personality and arrived in the real world. If only they knew that in advance ,they would think about that more seriously.

However, there is no meaning in talking about it now.

For Yuu and Miharu, that little girl is Haruha and just Haruha<-- Daniman1: These two “Haruha” are written differently, first in Katakana referring to Haruha in the game world and the second in Kanji is referring to Haruha in the real world -->, there is no way they can come out with any other name now. Even Miharu who strongly criticized it didn’t say anything about changing her name.

That name, that symbol, that word possess a special meaning inside their hearts.

It’s such a strange story. A child who was born from inside a game suddenly shows up in the real world and a day had already passed since then. Normally it would be impossible, an event that looks like fantasy by common sense. But even so, somehow they managed to start their life, with Haruha who don’t know anything about real life, and with Miharu whose personality is the complete opposite in game.

Speaking of troubles, he will have to think of an excuse for the grumpy childhood friend, and a way to shorten his distance with the grumpy “daughter’s mother”. Of course after that he will have to think about taking Haruha to school and about Miharu’s house circumstances, there is undoubtedly a lot of trouble to take care of.

But even after considering Haruha’s origin and circumstances, this is still too idyllic.

As he thinks about that, the small door of the small church opens.

Looking at the direction of the door, a black shadow slowly takes form and a familiar figure is seen. The familiar figure then approaches him with a familiar voice.

“Yaa, what a coincidence”

Coincidence sure is coincidence, but it’s also somewhat given. A sister (nun) showed up. But she’s just wearing sister-like equipment, it’s not like she’s an actual sister. She shouldn’t be that far from Clamp, she’s a common player.

Clamp answers as he dug through his memories.

“You’re from the robbery incident──”

“Yes. I’m glad you remember me”

Of course he remembers. That scene of the day which Haruha did during that robbery wasn’t something he can simply forget. And to add on, her color edited clothes were all RGB zero── she’s wearing all black.

And── somehow she has unforgettable eyes. A dark golden like a melted tiger’s fur, a pupil that makes people who sees it become restless.

“I’m really grateful when you saved me that time, thank you very much”

It was a sweet voice that sounds like a slight lisp despite her polite tone of speech.

“But I’m didn’t……”

As he gets troubled replying ── since there is a high probability that the topic will lead to Haruha ── the girl arrived in front of Yuu.

She’s a distinctive girl with silver long hair peeking out from her veil and a sharp face contrary to her easygoing expression.

“Is something wrong?”

The girl who tilted her head looks very similar to Haruha. No, it’s not like her facial features are alike….. but, softly, her otherworldly atmosphere and her distance towards reality is just like her. If Haruha was a little bit older she might look like this. That trait of hers makes you believe that…

“Well…… a bit, you remind me of someone I know”

The girl faintly smiled and sat down on the seat right next to Clamp's. And then, she once again introduced herself.

“My name is Memento Copellia . Please call me Meme if possible”

Clamp introduced himself back. Mement said “Clamp of Scarabaeus huh” curiously. She must have changed her sight to AR (Extended) mode and read Clamp’s tag. It reminds him of the time when he first met Mifa.

It really feels like long ago……as his thoughts pulled back to its original direction, Memento speaks out a noise-like sweet voice.

“Hei, Onii-san. If you happen to have, time would like to have a little talk with me?”

“A talk?”

“Just a small talk”

Clamp nodded without hesitation. It does sound a bit too sudden, but it might be good for a change of pace.

Memento then touched her lips with her finger and started the story.

“Does Onii-san know about 『Pandora Box』?”

He doesn’t know much but he had heard of it before. It’s one of those Greek mythologies.

The god who was angry that humans discovered the technology to control fire gives a box to a girl named Pandora in order to torment humankind, the god told her “You mustn’t open this box no matter what” but the girl then opened the box out of curiosity. And then all kind of disasters from inside the box pops out and humankind who peacefully lived came to an era of suffering. But inside the box there is one single “Hope” that was left──

It’s more or less like that. There is also some heresy but Yuu don’t know more than that.

After Clamp answered what he knows, the girl nodded and continues.

“You know, Meme always thought about this. There is 『Hope』 left inside the box right? Could it be that there was only 『Hope』 inside the box from the very beginning?”

“Eh? But, since catastrophe happened when the box was opened won’t it be logical to think that there is disaster inside it too?”

“That is the god’s trap. In order to torment humans who obtained the wisdom to use fire, the god blessed another wisdom for them”

“Knowledge…… you mean?”

“It’s hope. Surely humanity at that time didn't know what hope is and spent each day aimlessly. And then the foolish Pandora opened the box and the people came to understand the concept of hope”

“Sounds pretty good I think”

“That’s right; hope itself is a great thing. But, as the concept of hope is born, at the same time, a 『not a hope』 twin is born. If people don’t know what hope is they won’t know the evil of the calamity. People who know hope can see it. Feel it. Aaah, this is 『not a hope』. For example when there is a victim of a natural disaster, those who know what hope is will just think of it as『Aaaa, it’s just a normal work of nature』. But, those who know hope will think『Why am I having such misfortune?』 So the disaster that came from the box is in fact just the awareness of misfortune of people who were drowned in luxury. The world does not have defects from the very beginning, all harm and mischief only exists inside a human’s head. Ignorance is bliss. If people remained insensitive they won’t know the concept of hardship and pain, but with his power god took it from them. That’s right, this world is polluted with 『Hope』”

“Huuuh…… that was a pretty interesting interpretation”

It was his honest impression. If you are supposed to understand a lesson from this myth it will be, “No matter how hard this world is to live in, hope is always there (that’s why don’t give up)” or maybe “Because there is hope people do futile things” he thought. But, based on her exegesis, having wisdom has both merit and demerit.

“But from that way of thinking, it’s such a disaster that the world becomes a place of humans resentment”

Clamp was genuinely impressed by the unique insight that girl had. Memento then smiled and nodded, and then shook her head.

“That’s right. But Onii-san, Meme thought. Thankfully because Pandora opened the box, the plain world is now exposed to the human’s hatred. The world that was nothing, became the『Enemy』that humanity must overcome in order to obtain a better life. If the world has feelings, won’t it be happy?”

“Will it be happy…… being directed with hatred?”

To Clamp’s doubtful question, Memento lowered her head a little. Her veil sways by the discolored air of the wilderness town.

“Onii-san thinks like that because you know what yourself is. Meme felt really happy when knowing what Meme is”

The girl laughed as she said that. Yuu unconsciously smiled seeing her, it was a smile filled with happiness.

But, as expected he doesn’t get what she meant. Clamp shrugged.

“To know oneself, even I don’t know such philosophical stuff. Then what are you, Memento?”

“Meme?”

The girl pointed at herself with blank eyes. That simplicity of hers really reminds him of Haruha.

“Meme is…”

And then, with a pure innocent face like Haruha’s, the conversation comes to an end.

“This kind of thing”

*Woosh*

A sound of wind was heard from the back of his right ear.

Softly, without any herald, it was the sound of Memento’s terrifyingly smooth knife getting stuck on the couch.

But Clamp had no idea what just happened. More than that, he can’t even let out a groan. To be exact, he can’t move at all.

It was because his throats was penetrated by the slender knife and got pinned to the chair.

“Kg…… agh…… uh……!”

Clamp was confused.

He can’t understand. An unbelievable thing just happened. Of course, he just received a sudden attack, but more than that, more than anything.

It hurts── it hurts!?

Even though they’re inside 『CtC』 where all six senses are reproduced very closely as if it was real, since this is still the form of a game, all sensations of pain are fully cut. Since there is no way the player would able to withstand the pain of being cut by swords or burned by magic.

That’s why immediately after the damage took place, the pain will be converted to a slight sense of discomfort and making their limbs slightly harder to move as a handicap…… or it was supposed to.

The sensation of pain is rushing through his entire pulse and his neck feels like its melting. Even if he tries to budge, the intermittent pain would kill the brain’s command to move. Along with the wet liquid spilling out from his wound and the edge of his mouth his body slowly losing its strength──

He glared at Memento Copellia with his eyes. That gaze of him was to ask about the unnatural pain he’s feeling, but it seems that the girl was misunderstanding something. And then, the answer she gave afterwards further confuses Clamp.

“Why is Meme doing this? It’s The Palimpsest…… no, to think that you’re not informed of anything even though you’re Haruha’s guardian”

Memento knew Haruha. And judging from her words she knows more than Yuu.

“Meme is a Hadzar who couldn’t become anything. And thanks to Haruha Meme was able to be reborn. But Meme still worries”

Hadzar── it’s the name of the new humanity that was born from the world of『CtG』 Niiro talked about it before. Within his consciousness that was dominated by pain and confusion, Niiro’s vacuous smile and Memento’s innocent voice overlaps.

“Why Meme became Meme. In order to make sure of it, Meme will, that’s why──”

Memento’s words still continued, but at that time Clamp ── Kasugai Yuu’s consciousness was already drowned into the turbid water. The heat from his wounds turned cold form the air, and the back of his eyes were dyed in tides of darkness as his vision darkens──

Within the pitch black water. A mute spark was scattered.

“Artgh──Gahkgh!”

Kasugai Yuu awoke.

He puked out a substance that was stuck to the back of his throat ── it was something very cold ── and he violently cough. His wide open eyes were overflowing with a glistering light and his consciousness wildly writhed inside his brain.

Don’t know. I don’t know anything. I can’t think of anything. My heart. My heart, my heart just.

His entire body beats. It’s twirling. Inside his head was dominated by the beats and he can’t think of anything.

Who is it? What? What, what, what happened? What happened to me? What should I say to Fuyufu? No, I was stabbed. It hurts, it shouldn’t be like that! That’s right mom! It’s not I didn’t intend to──

“KASUGAI-KUN!!”

His confused mind and body was saved by that voice. It slowly returned. Focus.

The information reflected through his retina matches his senses; he’s lying in the middle of the living room, he recognizes Miharu, Hajime, and Haruha who were looking at him.

Hajime’s face slowly turn from pale back to her merry self, even though the air-conditioning is on, she’s drenched in sweat. On the carpet where his hand is, was some syringe lying ── it seems they took it all off ──

Haruha’s facial expression was hidden by her hair. But, the small hand on Yuu’s leg appears to be trembling.

And then, Miharu who pulled back Yuu’s consciousness── is pouring out tears.

Eeh……? H couldn’t help but be surprised by the unbelievable reality in front of him, Miharu was still crying. The drop of her tears falls, and Yuu’s mind finally reaches his mouth.

“Kugimiya, -san……?

In front of Yuu’s dry voice Miharu wiped her tears with her hand and sniffled. And then she shows a smile.

It’s clear that she’s forcing it, and that smile of hers looks like it is about to break down any moment, but it looks very appealing in front of Yuu’s eyes.

“I’m glad…… ah”

But the next words coming from the girl’s beautiful smile were hardly pleasant.

“Kasugai-kun, you just died”

### 003. Chapter 3: Interaction

The sudden separation Kugimiya Miharu had with her father happened close to her 10th birthday.

It was not a separation by death like that of Kasugai Yuu and his mother however. It was just a common case of divorce. Her mother had not told her the reason why though and. It was not a rare occurrence in Miharu’s household at the time. If it was something her parents didn’t want to tell her then that was that.

As a result, Miharu lost her father without knowing anything, and. like a “good kid” Miharu was at that time, she didn’t even have the courage to inquire about it.

After that she didn’t meet her father even once. Even though she thought she would meet him immediately after the divorce. Miharu was very fond of her mild father, more than her overly strict mother, that feeling of for her was certainly strong.

However, after hearing the truth from her cousin in a family gathering, that feelings of hers withered. Her cousin had whispered “Because Haru-chan will be sad hearing it” with sympathy.

──In reality the reason for the divorce was because her father had fallen in love with another woman and was unable to break his relationship with her.

It was because of that, Miharu was unable to trust any man no more.

To be exact, she had been already afraid of people in general, but her fear towards men was now more than that. It was because the man who used to treat Miharu so kindly had ended up loving another woman more than his own wife or daughter.

From what she had heard, her father and mother met during high school and married after dating for 10 years. She didn’t know whether it was true or not, but from what her father had secretly told her, that was only when her mother had told him that she wanted to marry her first love. So wonderful── thought Miharu, who knew nothing about romantic relationships at the time, it was her luck and fortune to be born under the love of her parents.

Yet… such a wonderful man like him ended up breaking his own family.

It was wrong.

Miharu thought. She was a person who wanted to always be with the person she loves. To fall in love with a person who will always stay by her side, was something everyone, like her, wished for.

It will just be painful if it’s not.

Since then, Miharu committed to her mother. Her cousin was wrong. It was her mother who was sad and that was why she would always listen to whatever her mother said. Thus, Miharu obediently went to an all-girls school. It was not like her mother thought that it would keep her away from men, but at least it was a place that would be completely unrelated to her father’s wrongdoing.

It was right after she passed the entrance exam, Miharu was shocked as she heard her mother said that she would be marrying a man she met at work. Miharu was in dismay, so great was her dismay that she found it strange herself. She couldn’t understand her mother. She knew that her mother broke up with her father. Her father was the bad one. But, why was it then that her mother tried to tie up with someone else after breaking up with her father? She kept asking herself but in the end, Miharu couldn't even understand her own mother.

In the end, Miharu was all alone. She was able to make some friends at school, but at home she was all alone, while her mother was with another person. It was not balanced and she was afraid. Miharu didn’t have the courage to go out, and instead she started playing 『CtG』 where she could interact with various kinds of people while inside the house.

Miharu, who became “Mifa” in the virtual world tried to be someone different from her original self. Someone who could express the emotions that she was unable to show in the real world. “It was just a game after all” she had told herself, and under that spell, “she” became bolder than she ever was. The girl who was timid in the real world found herself making a lot of acquaintances quickly. She felt comfortable to be able to be surrounded by a lot of people in this workd.

When she was helping the guild 【Labyrinth Troupe】, where a girl she knew belonged to, she first met Clamp. Her first impression of him was actually less than favorable. Even though he was the same age as her, he was quiet and barely said any words. It was as if he was mocking her. However it was more than just that, the way he silently reject people and created distance felt like Miharu herself.

But, if she befriended with such person, Miharu felt that she won’t be alone anymore. The moment when she spoke to Clamp with that feeling in her chest── finally, Mifa, Miharu, was no longer alone.

She had a treasure she shared with him-Haruha- and knowing that the person liked the same thing as her, she was able to believe that person even if he’s a man. They grew closer little by little. Calmly yet also impatiently. He was very skillful when playing game, but on the other hand, was very clumsy when dealing Haruha or her.

Clamp.

She had met the Clamp in real life and for all his pretentious like figure, he was actually dull looking. But, he was very kind, and more so he was sincere when facing Haruha and Miharu. The “hunch” she had since the day he gave the name Haruha to that girl in 『CtG』 pretty much hit the mark.

Kasugai Yuu.

I’m not like my mother. I won’t be sad. She thought.

But, he, already──

◇

An hour had passed since Clamp went off and Mifa, who complained about Yuu to Payakino, received a request to log-out from Hajime through Haruha.

Miharu and Haruha, who didn’t know why they were called back into the real world couldn’t believe the scene they immediately saw after removing their Ramiel.

It was the scene of Hajime piercing Yuu, who was lying on the floor, with a large pistol-shaped syringe on his chest.

“Eh……what did you do Haru──”

“Quiet. I can’t concentrate”

Hajime’s expression was unrecognizably serious. The greasy sweat on her forehead was shining like red scales under the sunset.

After she carefully finishes the injection, she pulled out the syringe with terrifying precision and appropriately threw it away. Then, she took out a pad-shaped electrode from her bag and pressed it against Yuu’s chest.

“Errm…… what……?”

“It stopped.”

Hajime answered frankly as she began to operate what appears to be the controller of the electrode.

*Zap!* It made a twitching sound and Yuu’s body faintly bounced. It was like seeing a filature doll. But even after being shocked by the electricity, Yuu’s thin eyes remained closed and did not react at all.

Before she realized it, Miharu’s legs began shaking.

“Eh? Kasugai-kun? Eh? Why?”

Just a little while ago he was reprimanded about the case with Kodzuchi-something inside the game. Miharu’s anger was real but frankly saying, it was just as simple as that. Even so── even so, why did it become like this?

Within these past two months, the face that looked like Clamp’s which she met in 『CtG』 every day.... that sleeping face that made her heart beat just this morning... is different. *This face is completely different. This is…… this is like---

“He got killed inside 『CtG』”

In contrast to Miharu who was in the pinnacle of a hypnotic state, Hajime’s voice was very businesslike. Miharu couldn’t understand the meaning of that answer, but that voice convinced her that it’s “the truth”.

“I’m sorry……. I didn’t expect that not just Haruha but also Yuu-kun to be targeted”

Miharu nearly shouts.

(WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!?)

──is what she wanted to say, but she desperately held it in. No. There’s something more important to say.

“Just hurry up and save him!”

“That’s what I’m doing.”

Hajime’s voice remained calm. She sounded reliable but at the same time, it made Miharu want to let her outburst explode and slap her. She was in verge of panicking.

It was all too sudden. A Ramiel should’ve met safety standards and would not emit any strong signals, as a matter of fact, over a year had passed since 『CtG』 start running and there has been no health issue reported other than light dizziness. At least that was the case when Miharu checked it on the net before she started playing.

Yet, Yuu is dying in front of her eyes. All of the sudden her new everyday life that had just begun is leading towards its end.

Again…… again, she will be separated from someone without knowing anything. And this time, it’s in a place where she can’t go even if she wanted to. What came into her mind was a simple rejection.

No.

No no no!

It had only been a while since we first met but.

In the beginning we met as Mifa and Clamp, instantly got married, started raising a child as if playing house, we pushed our love onto Haruha as if she was our child, also he said that he loves my song.. when I first met him here, he was unreliable but also very kind…… and seeing him die while we’re still fighting is just unbearable.

First of all, Miharu still had a lot of things to say to Yuu. Wasn’t it Yuu who said “Just say all that you want to say”. It will be troublesome if he died now.

“Kasugai-kun, you don’t know right…… you don’t know why I was angry right!?”

The words which she couldn’t say while being Mifa, they fell like flakes of snow. They fell along with her tears.

“When we were giving a name to Haruha, I was really surprised when Clamp said 『Haruha』. I was shocked thinking that you might know my name── Miharu. But soon I realized that it was just a coincidence…… but, then, I started to think that coincidences might be 『Fate』.

We met in 『CtG』 and held a strange marriage, then give birth to our very own child…… all of those special things were fated, then the person inside Clamp might be my destined… that”

But after saying all that, she got mad all of the sudden.

“And then…… why? In the end, YOU JUST GIVE HER THE NAME YOU GOT FROM THE GIRL YOU LIKE! WHERE IS MY FATE!? COME ON AND SAY SOMETHING!”

Hajime activated the device once again. Yuu’s body began coughing violently like a caught fish.

As if gushing out all of her feelings, Miharu called Yuu.

“KASUGAI-KUN!!”

◆

Thus Kasugai Yuu revived.

He was then carried to the hospital by the car that Hajime had called, and there he received a medical examination for the very first time in his life. No abnormalities── in fact far from it, he was actually “fairly healthy”. By the time they received the result of the inspection, it was already night.

“Explain…… you will do it right.”

Just to be sure, Yuu had been told to stay in the hospital room for the night. Within the small private room, Yuu and Haruha, along with Niiro, the three of them talked. Yuu was lying on the bed, while Miharu was sitting on a chair, right next to the bed, holding Yuu’s hand. Meanwhile, Niiro was leaning his back on the door.

Haruha and Hajime should be resting on the bench at the hallway. Hajime had already been relieved from the tension by the time they reached the hospital, while Haruha…… was still stunned and silent . When she first arrived, she was still being dragged along by Miharu.

It should have been the adults’ obligation to explain the cause of this incident.

Niiro, who still did not want to take off his sunglasses like always, let out a dry voice.

“Currently, there is a dreadful Player Killer rampant in 『CtG』”

Come to think of it there was something like that on the 『CtG』 news line.

But.

“Player Killers…… they are people who attack other players inside the game, right? I understand that Clamp got beaten up by one of them,

But, why did Kasugai-kun end up like that?”

Miharu questioned harshly, and her voice was shaking. Probably from fear, or perhaps, anger.

“That’s because the one who killed Kasugai-kun wasn’t human.”

“……What was that?”

Memento Copellia. She was obviously not emotionless. However, the emotions she kept inside and the actions she displayed outwardly did not particularly match. Such a girl was similar to Haruha.

She had pierced Clamp’s throat while she was still smiling.

Just by remembering it, it brought back the pain he felt back then onto his uninjured neck. From what Hajime said, the pain still lingered in his conscious .

Niiro took out a mobile terminal and projected a figure of a girl on the air. She was now wearing different clothes which gave her a different impression, but, she was definitely still Memento.

“She── Memento is the first generation of Hadzar. A human born within 『CtG』”

“Isn’t that just like Haruha……?”

“That’s right. She was born from the exact same nucleus, or core should I say. However, the method we used to develop her personality differed greatly. Memento was an approach from the outside, while Haruha was an approach from within. Simply put, Memento was born in that form from the very beginning. By physically analyzing a pre-existing body and memories we tried to create a complete human from the start.”

“Such things are possible……?”

“We succeeded to some extent. It was a major breakthrough at the time and Memento was able to think normally within 『CtG』.

She was also able to move as freely as she wanted. However, no matter how many times we carried out an emotional response test, her results were always poor, She simply wasn’t able to develop proper emotions. It would have been fine, if what we aimed to do was to create a robot, but our, the Human Equilibrium Institute’s goal is to find a way to create a new human. She will continue to remain incomplete if we left her like that.

The resulting hypothesis is that there is defect in the Virtual World’s building capacity and so is unable to reproduce the 『something』 that makes human, human. It is most likely a factor that simple machines are unable to perceive.

That was the case──and thus someone proposed an experiment to give a real body for Memento and in the end we decided to go ahead with the experiment.”

So far, other than their education, she was exactly like Haruha. Eventually Haruha safely obtained a body in real life and became Kasugai Haruha. But Memento, she…

“The experiment was a failure. No, you can say that it was partially successful.

During Memento’s transfer to the body, due to some unknown reason, her mind caused a rejection and as a result we had to 『discard』 the body. We managed to salvage Memento’s mind but...... as Kasugai-kun had seen, she became a madman.”

“And why did Memento became a player killer?”

He asked, but more or less he had already guessed the answer. The Pandora’s Box story that Memento talked about. The allegory she made── that all things in this world, the moment it opposed hope, it will no longer be a hope.

And so Niiro answer with the name of the “hope”.

“It’s Haruha-san. Haruha who was raised by the most ideal pair determined by the Nephilim Computer, whose mind was carefully developed from the fetal stage, and was able to develop emotion that Memento was unable to.”

Miharu’s grip tightened as they that held Yuu’s arm.

“Our plan was to have Haruha-san to at least develop human characteristics to a certain degree.

Haruha-san succeeded, which meant there is no more reason to keep working on Memento. That’s why, we isolated her from 『CtG』, and took her in as a sample. By that time, her mental state became severely unstable.”

“So in the end, she rebelled huh?”

He said coldly. He had no reason to be angry for Memento’s sake. But, wasn’t this like being told “You’re no longer needed so just sleep forever,” by her own parents?

Because of Haruha’s “success”, Memento was labeled as a “failure” and lost her own worth. Memento herself wasn’t at fault, but due to the sudden change in situation, she went from being a “major breakthrough” to just “mere data”.

What an unreasonable story. But that unreasonable feeling now landed on this hospital room. It was because, Niiro’s mouth, when he talked about Memento, was…. smiling, happily.

“Yes. Even though twisted, she still has a personality. That’s why she showed resistance towards the measures we took to seal her will ── it would have be interesting if that was not the case.

By establishing herself as an error, it seems Memento arrived to the conclusion, 『I’m an error so I must make mistakes』. And then the error Memento chose to make was to bring chaos to the world of 『CtG』”

“If so why did she become a Player Killer?”

“The reason is simple. It is just her most efficient method to overthrow 『CtG』.

Just like what Kasugai-kun had experienced, Memento’s attack also impacted the players’ self in the real world. That is an ability acquired from the evolution of the seed known as Memento. By giving a suggestion through gaze and pheromones, she can give a strong stimulation to her opponents- an ability to generate a fake signal to the opponent’s brain. On Kasugai-kun case, the small stimulation from having his avatar’s throat stabbed was processed as pain pain when the signal entered the brain. And what stopped his heart from functioning was the result of the amplified image of 『death』 coming during game over. Since it’s a signal that was not originally present within the game, Ramiel Block system didn’t react to it.

We call that ability as Sim - Stimulator Pseudo Senses Poison , or 『Eyes of Svengali 』.”

“……So my body mistook the small shock from being hurt in game as something that 『would kill me』.”

“It made you think that “I’ll die”. You can say it’s like an absolute placebo effect.

Well then── what will happen if she continues to do hunt players with that power I wonder?”

Certainly, it was an easy to guess result.

“People like me will continue to be taken to the hospital. And then 『CtG』 will be closed sooner or later.”

“Precisely. A month ago, right when we confirmed that Haruha-san had finally acquired emotion, Memento disappeared from our eyes with some kind of method. After that elusive disappearance, presumably, she wanders around randomly killing players. Fortunately there are no serious cases like Kasugai-kun so far, but honestly speaking, imagine Ekphrasis fell under constant watch from the police.”

“……So the recent fainting incidents were the work of Memento?”

“Besides one case due to gas poisoning, most of them are. Currently we managed to reassure the people above in order to prevent the name of 『CtG』 to be revealed to the public . However, it won’t last long. Of course, we’re putting effort on capturing and isolating Memento. However Memento, who simply does not know what exhaustion is, continues to move around and because she is not logged in or anything, we cannot do an immediate search on her.

“………Will 『CtG』 be closed?”

If they let Memento run rampant uncontrolled, this incident will be revealed sooner or later, and game closure will be inevitable. No matter how large the content it has, prioritizing safety over a mere game is a common sense that even a heavy user or the son of the developer Yuu knows well.

Niiro nodded but then raised one finger.

“There is only one way to prevent that. In order to reliably stop Memento, we just have to kill her in 『CtG』. When that happens, Memento who can’t log-out will have nowhere to go and will be tied-up, making it easier to us to isolate her. That’s why…

We must defeat Memento. With Haruha’s help”

Silence.

Those dozen seconds of silence. Was something that was brought by anger that inhibits rational thinking. And then, the thing that broke the silence was also anger.

“Don’t say such nonsense!”

Miharu’s strong words were so loud that it was clear that she had forgotten that they’re in a hospital.

“Kasugai-kun nearly died you know! And you’re telling us to send Haruha…… that small child to fight against such an opponent!?”

Niiro was unfazed. Miharu’s desperate actions were easily repelled back by his reply,

“I’m sure Kasugai-kun had already realized it but Memento is strong. It is because her thoughts are fully optimized in the world of 『CtG』. To Player Human , operating an avatar is like talking in a foreign language whilst Memento is a fluent native speaker. There is a world of difference.”

In fact, even Yuu, who was a veteran in 『CtG』 controls, was easily killed by Memento without even able to react at all. Memento’s speed and accuracy were far superior to that of a human being.

“However, if it’s Haruha-san── if it’s Haruha-san, whose mind operates the same way as her, she should be able to compete against her. And among those who we can mobilize currently, Haruha is the only Hadzar who can fight Memento.”

“Is it possible for Haruha to fight people like Memento──”

I don’t think so. Even though he told himself that, the doubt didn’t last forever as the scene of Haruha brutally murdering the train robbers played within Yuu’s mind.

“Still…… still I cannot approve that. No matter how strong Haruha is, even if 『CtG』 close down because she didn’t fight…… it’s ridiculous to expose the child to such dangers for a mere game!”

“Tha, that’s right! What happens if she dies!”

Yuu resolutely objected and Miharu backed him up. It’s a natural action for parents who take care of their child after all. However…

“Yes. She will still die, Haruha-san I mean, if 『CtG』 is terminated”

The situation they’re in was not under the “natural” standard that applied for everyone.

“…………Eh? Wh, why, is that?”

“Haruha-san obtained a human body and became a normal child. However, just like what we had mentioned earlier, Haruha-san’s mind is synchronized to the world of 『CtG』 with higher syntax purity than the real world. If she continues to process foreign information from the real world, errors will continue to pile up, and then she will die within, which we estimate, a week’s time.”

They couldn’t react at all against the dire facts Niiro spoke of in an indifferent tone.

“In order to prevent that, Haruha-san must periodically go inside 『CtG』. By having her spend time in a clear world, it will give her more ease in processing data, and she will be able to adjust her body to match with all the errors she accumulates through her time in the real world. A dialysis of mind should I say.”

This time Yuu was the one who got furious.

“To hell with that! You people should just take responsibility and maintain her through 『CtG』 ‘s computer right!? No matter how huge the cost will be!”

“We would like to do that if possible, but it’s not. The scale of the virtual world that we must maintain in order to do maintenance on Haruha-san requires over ten million users to be connected. Even though we have the country backing, it’s something impossible for us to do. Thus our modus operandi had to be covert .”

“? What are you saying? Isn’t it easier to do it with less people connected…”

Then he remembered as he said that── what did Fuyufu say?

『It’s not the problem of capability of processing power. It’s the nature of the problem itself』

『Even if it can create the same entrances and exits as a human, it won’t able to create the same maze inside. The “Heart” is that maze. If you want to create the same thing…… there’s no other choice but to give those computers flesh and blood as well』

And thus the performance of the computer that operates 『CtG』 improves as the number of connected Player Human increases.

──Could it be…

“Is it…… a human computer?”

He suddenly blurted. Miharu blinked with a blank look on her face, and Niiro── smiled, letting out a rather refreshing grin.

“Correct. The identity of the Nephilinm Giant type computer that constructed the world of 『CtG』 is a performance operation system that uses the connection between the flesh of human and its network to work.

"The consciousness and the body of people, down to the last cell and gene, are made into a database calculation device. With that device, we arranged the responses we got from it and managed to observe the same world that was observed by humans from the moment of their birth.── that’s right, even the human mind as well. In other words we managed to observe the memories of humanity.

"A dream of a person might be full of absurdity, but if we mix and match the dreams of several of tens of thousands of people then the absurdity will be filtered out, which means the more the number of the user the more closer to absolute reality we get.

Eight thousand people are needed just for a simple start-up and we have that amount ready on our end. To put it in other words, that is as much as we can manage.”

So that’s why they say it could only be operated by the game maker. It made it clear as to why they kept secret of the computer’s specification. It would be hard to think that there would be a million people who would want to put their own body inside a machine.

──A human computer that manages an online game in order to achieve its goal- to maintain its performance level.

And if it cannot maintain its performance, Haruha will die.

“How could this be happening……”

Not only was his daughter an online game addict, but she also shared the same fate as it.

The following one hour was a Q&A time that needed not to be described in detail. Yuu and Miharu, who understood the reason, was still reluctant to expose Haruha to danger and raised issues, and Niiro, kept on reassuring them that there is no other way to solve this problem other than to have Haruha fight Memento. It endlessly repeated itself.

But then, the person who settled the barren dispute was none other than the person in question herself—Kasugai Haruha.

Haruha, who came inside the room along with Hajime spoke with a severe expression for the first time.

“Haruha will do it. Haruha will defeat that Memento,”

She must’ve heard the situation from Hajime. Naturally, Yuu and Haruha desperately tried to stop her. She might be the strongest existence in 『CtG』, but the Haruha they both know is an innocent, spoiled, lonely girl-a small child who they knew since she was born.

“Haruha has decided already.”

But, Haruha at this time was intently firm. Even though she would occasionally pout, she would always listen to Yuu and Miharu, but for the very first time Haruha went against them.

The dissimilar girl equilibrates from collection of observations of human computer. The round eyes of hers are filled with the color of iron, and Kasugai Haruha sentenced in a cold voice.

“Daddy, mommy. Don’t follow Haruha. It will just be a burden. If that happens, Haruha will go back home”

‘Go back home’ was the line Rasupu-chan’s mother often said when scolding her resourcefulness father── it’s not even laughable. On the contrary, Yuu and Miharu became haunted with the color of despair in their eyes.

Which house……did she meant?

Everything went fast by the time they made their decision.

Everyone quickly went back to Kasugai house ── although it was a bit forceful, Yuu was allowed to be discharged ── and Haruha laid her small body in the capsule shaped Ramiel.

At first Yuu thought it was like some kind of medical equipment, but after hearing the machine’s soft humming echo through the room at night, it looked like a black coffin. Somehow the two soft vinyl dolls Haruha brought with her looked creepily like a grave goods.

“Around ten minutes ago Memento was seen by surveillance Non-Player-Character NPC in a tavern at Gunmans’ Glaive frontier town. She’s possibly looking for a prey tonight.”

“The game internal state can be viewed on this display”

In front of the provided monitor were Hajime’s still-depressed face with Yuu and Miharu’s gloomy faces all lined up. On a different spot there was the ever calm Niiro pushing the Ramiel switch and as if singing along the start-up sound, the sunglass man speaks.

“Well then, shall we watch over her. In this world where your daughter shall train to be the strongest gunman.”

◇

──An acrid smell of burned dust.

Looking at the vast view, the gentle sky and harsh wilderness will greet you.

What can be heard across the winds are the whistling of adventurers heading off to the unexplored.

In this land everything is decided through guns and courage.

One person shall grasp glory in their hand while the other shall sleep with their gun on their tomb.

In here, the gun smoke drift enough to choke on your own tongue. The amount of gun cartridges rolling on the ground equals to the number of victories and corpses.

This is the dream horizon of the gunmen.

Its name is: Gunman’s Glaive──

Cheech fulfilled his dream.

Ten years or more had passed since he diligently worked as a salaryman in a medium-sized company immediately after his college graduation. Ever since then, it had become his dream to quit his job and work in a stylish bar on the streets.

However due to his weak will, his savings won’t increase, and by the time he was about to succumb to resignation from being the company slave, he met 『CtG』. And by the end of his miser play for few months, he finally set his feet on a tavern at one of the towns in Gunman’s Glaive.

It’s near the prime location of the transition point church. The store came with Clerk NPCs included in the set. And now, he is finally able to accomplish his many year dream to become the moody owner and bartender of a bar.

But his hopes quickly burnt up on the first day of the reopening.

The store is currently wrapped in a full blast dangerous atmosphere.

Excluding one of the seven customers, all of them were men; they have scary faces and don’t even try to hide their gun belt. It wouldn't be a rare sight in Gunman’s Glaive if it was just that, it's all because these people are wearing worrisome faces despite being on a gathering place.

“Mr. Bartender, are you aware of the recent player killer case?”

Within such sight, the only female guest smiled and talked to him. It was a girl arround her mid-teens. She had a pretty face but for some reason, she wore a black dress which left a strong impression on others.

“Yeah, that thing flowing on the news line right? More than thirteen people were taken down by it or something.”

Cheech replied with a smile. He’s not a lolicon , but he liked this more than dealing with the stiff and rough male customers.

“From what someone said, it happened in taverns like this one. There were six customers. And everyone got killed in an instant.”

The girl took a sip of the hot milk she ordered, and continued after licking up the remaining white residue on her lips with the tip of her tongue.

“The culprit enters the store and wanders around, and finally she says,

『Who is human?』

The NPC clerk unhesitatingly answered 『me』. But, it’s not an answer a person will give when being asked so suddenly. All Players Humans tilted their necks and said 『Eh? What does she mean?』.

And then, in the next moment, everyone’s necks were torn apart. All six of them, almost simultaneously.

──The black culprit is a gunman using a Revolver large revolver with a terrifyingly fast shooting speed, and the culprit seems to wander around killing just player characters.”

Cheech swallowed his breath involuntarily. He thought the story itself was just an exaggeration but the girl’s tone of voice that spoke of this massacre drama was too indifferent… it was as if she was telling the story truly down to the core.

“……And what happened to the employees── the bartender?”

“Aah, the NPC bartender was safe. Saying stuff about receiving chips or something.”

“Is, is that so…… so the bartender didn’t die,”

“Why──”

As if taking the place of Cheech, who went back to polishing glasses, one of the rough customers opened his mouth. The girl went “Yes?” and turned her body to face him. The man imperceptibly stood right behind the girl.

“Just how did you know about the state of the scene where everyone got killed? An NPC shouldn’t have the ability to speak that much.”

In that instant, Cheech went “Ah!”, and remembered that this was a game world. Where the dead can speak.

“Oi oi, you. Isn’t it obvious that the rumors are coming from the revived killed players.”

“No, that’s impossible. It was three days ago that the six of them got killed in the tavern. Those six people are all members of our guild and ever since then they got sick and went to hospital, they haven’t logged in ever since.

There shouldn’t be anyone who has heard about the incident from the victims.”

The man let out a voice containing anger against the girl who still had a floating smile on her face.

“After that, we got the testimony saying there was a black robed girl who came out of the tavern on the time estimated to be when the incident took place── it exactly matches your features”

“Wha, wait a second! Isn’t it way too unreasonable to label her like that!? There’s no way this kid is the player killer──”

Cheech leaned on the counter in a hurry. The six men already took out their handguns and rifles and aimed at the girl. The girl shrugged and raised both of her hands.

“That’s right, I’m the culprit”

It surely doesn’t sound like a gag.

The speechless Cheech was left behind, and the girl slowly rose from her chair while keeping both of her hands raised.

“So, what about it?”

Her voice was way beyond having any sense of guilt. The black girl gave a clear smile along with provocation and ridiculing words. Her burning golden eyes seemed to be laughing.

The first man who called her over pressed his handgun on the girl’s forehead and then threw out what most have likely been his last question, as if daubing her with his heart.

“Why do you kill other players? Is it to show off your power, or maybe you’re doing it as a prank?”

“No way, it’s not for such stupid reasons.”

“Then what?”

He exerts more force on his finger that pulls the trigger. The moment the girl says her answer, a hole will show up on her breast── but even though it’s just a game, the image shown in his mind made Cheech’s body tremble.

But, if this happened in the real world, he would’ve shown a more ungraceful reaction.

“That’s because──”

That moment── two Dillinger small handguns pops out from the girl’s sleeves. She’s using the skill 《Sleeve Weapon》, a skill that allows the user to pull out small types of weapons into their hand without being bound by the laws of physics.

Every single man who aimed at the girl was not caught off guard, however. In fact, all of them instantly opened fire.

But, the girl’s formidable shooting rapid-fire was beyond what she showed to be. The Dillinger’s small bullets that were shot hit three of the men which disturbed all of their fire as they tried to avoid the remaining bullets by rolling on the floor.

There was also a man who went stiff when he got shot on his shoulder. As he was about to stand up, she delivered one last shot on his face. She then restrained the remaining while using that man, who muffled a scream from severe pain, as a shield.

The girl then discards her Dillinger’s that were out of ammo and drew her main weapon.

It was a jet-black revolver equipped with a flat square barrel, something he’s never seen in real world. On the side of this disproportionately large barrel that is being held by a girl was the engraving of a snake warping around a land tortoise. The silver coating on the gun shines an intimidating light.

『Ｉ．Ｅ． Genbu』. It bears the name of its maker Imagine Ekphrasis Ｉ．Ｅ． , a revolver with special power in 『CtG』.

What happened after that was simple. Very simple in fact.

A continuous firing, aimed at the necks of the six in a single line. The roar-like overloading muzzle flashes and the thick iron plate increased the heat of the air within the tavern.

Red gunfire and red gunfire. By the time it all flakes off and disappears…

Six bodies of headless mannequins were lying around in front of the tavern.

In just mere moments, the bittersweet smell of liquor changed to the pungent smell of gunpowder; Cheech’s tavern had turned into a bloody garden. All NPC clerks’ knees where soaked in blood as their legs trembled.

“Errrm…… why am I killing other players was it?

And the girl who started the tragedy dutifully answered the question.

“Those who expose their throats and bark── it’s just a simple providence to hunt such animals to death. Do you understand? Dear meat head.”

That smile of hers was truly graceful, and that’s exactly why it was so terrifyingly dreadful.

It was five minutes after the girl massacred all of her pursuers when she finished drinking her leftover hot milk from earlier. Meanwhile, Cheech is killing his breath while hiding behind the counter.

“Well then…… shall I go”

The girl’s footsteps moved away. Only after hearing the creaking sounds of the swing door did Cheech finally raise up his hips from the floor. His sigh of relief loosens his mouth.

“Tha, that’s right…… the bartender didn’t die──”

Was what he wanted to say, but couldn’t. It was because his head that was now above the counter was currently pressed against a muzzle. Without even a need to look up, he heard a cheerful voice.

“Last time, the bartender was a NPC after all”

You’re a Player Human so I’ll kill you. That what she meant.

The sound of the hammer clicking into place stained through his head. This is a game after all so it’s not scary, he tells himself… but this is the first time I experienced what it’s like to have my brain blown……. Like hell I can stay calm!

The moment Cheech was about to shout, the situation took a big turn.

The swing door was opened wildly and a small figure appeared.

The small figure lowered the guitar case on her left hand and pulled out a truncated horizontal two-barreled shotgun with her right.

Along with the sound of gunshots, the body that was holding down Cheech trembled and collapsed. Her back was bruised by the sudden shot.

The newly-arrived guest drops her guitar case to the ground, and shot the girl’s head with the handgun she pulled out with her now empty left hand.

Two bullets were casually shot as if just sprinkling insecticide. *SPLASH* the bloody letters Head Shot Killed!! were splattered as if sweeping the floor.

He was surprised at the fact that the demon-like girl got defeated so easily, but knowing that the girl who did that appears to be less than ten years old surprised him more. Why is she not a Travel Player Carrier PC ── the idea to ask that simple question was washed away by the overwhelmingly strange situation. Simply, he stared at the child in awe.

The hazel cloak shines as if it banked fire into the dimly lit store. Her face which is cute and lovely matches her young age, but her expression was simply too cold.

“E, erm, young miss……?

He timidly called. The girl looked down the mannequin corpse she made in apathy and talked. She spoke with a lisp voice.

“Where is Memento?”

“Memento……?”

“A girl wearing black clothes. She must have been here.”

“Didn’t you beat her down just now?”

“This is not her”

When he looked at it── it certainly is not. He couldn’t see it when his head was pressed against the gun, but what the mannequin is wearing isn’t a black robe; it is a waiter uniform Cheech is familiar with.

“No way…… isn’t she Marian?”

She’s the clerk NPC he took over when he brought the store. Why would Marian turn a gun on her employer….. no, more than that, the voice from earlier was certainly the black girl’s…… it was Memento.

And then.

“Pleasant to meet you, Pretty princess Star princess . I thought it was about time for you to show up.”

The next voice he heard was from Memento that girl . But, it was extremely strange.

“However, isn’t it just somewhat too violent to shoot me all of the sudden like that, even though we finally meet.”

The one who spoke was an NPC waiter, John. A youth set with a cheerful personality. And from his mouth, he let out the exact same voice as Memento.

“John, why!?”

While pointing the store’s ‘self-defense use’ rifle which he possessed towards the guitar case girl, she spoke, either to Cheech or the girl.

“Meme’s 『Svengali』 can only give a fake sensation against humans. However if it’s against NPCs who don’t have genuine self-awareness, I can manipulate their every limb as if they were my own”

Cheech couldn’t get what she meant but it appears the little girl understood it. And unsurprisingly, she stares at John with a lit ice fire on her eyes.

“Memento…… where are you now?”

“Waiting right outside, Haruha”

“Is that so”

The girl called Haruha then struck John. Heart, neck, and forehead── the three key points in 『CtG』 were shot through in an instant, and lastly she blasted him with a shotgun. The mannequin face popped out like pine cones bounced to the wall and fell to the floor as if it was dancing.

After shooting all the bullets she had, the girl unsparingly dumped her exhausted guns and walked out with her out-of-place guitar case. She then squatted and opened the lid of it which revealed all the tightly packed guns and magazines inside it.

Cheech was dumbfounded watching the girl chambering the first bullet into a retrieved handgun, but when Haruha was about to go outside, he hurriedly tried to stop her.

“W-wait young miss! Just how many NPCs do you think are in this town? No matter how strong you are, if you’re doing it alone you might……”

He thought she would ignore him, but the girl glanced back at Cheech and showed an innocent smile.

“Thank you. But Haruha will be fine, Mister.

Haruha will surely kill all who dared to annoy daddy or mommy”

Meanwhile Memento is waiting all alone in front of the tavern waiting for her to show up.

Different to the real world, the Gunman’s Glaive’s current time is noon. The sun above their heads was shining violently on the midday.

The place where the tavern is standing is what is known as the profane “Church Road” which is the aorta of this town; usually it’s flooded with passersby and horses. However, in this moment, there’s only Memento seen on the street. There seems to be a lot of people watching from inside the buildings, but no one dared to come out. They were afraid of becoming one of the mannequins corpses lying on the street.

A strong wind blows through the frozen air of fear.

The tavern swing door quietly opened and the opponent Memento was waiting for appeared.

Soft hair, an atmosphere of a transient world wrapped within her childishness, and a gaze that sank in the shadows. She dropped the guitar case that hung on her shoulder and a dull sound echoed as it hit the ground.

The girl then pulled out two strange guns with both of her hands.

It has a realistically unimaginable symbol of a phoenix engraved on its red metallic slide filled in with gold that shines fiery. It’s a game-original automatic pistol similar to Memento’s Genbu, 『Ｉ．Ｅ．Suzaku』. It’s a crimson gun of destruction with tremendous firing capability.

The grip changes depending on the player’s hand size, which appear to be really unbalanced for a girl who is not even ten years old yet, and the silhouette on both of her hand looks…

“Like a monkey wearing mantle.”

“Haruha is not a monkey.”

She dutifully answered and stopped her step. The distance they had is about ten meters. From both girls’ vision, they were able to see each other’s eye moisture.

As if to respond to Haruha who stopped her leg, dozens of people showed up from inside the store facing the street and alleyway. Every one of them was equipped with guns or axes. It’s not necessarily out of place but the appearance of old lady in an apron holding a rifle gives a unique intimidation.

It’s all of the NPCs under Memento’s control. They were surrounding the young girl in a large number.

However, showing no interest to the surroundings, the girls begin their conversation.

They talked about things that cannot be conveyed through their eyes. At least up to that point the two, the girls’ dialogue──

“I know it, Haruha”

“Why did you hurt daddy?”

“Haruha who was raised by humans and became human”

“Even though daddy did nothing wrong.”

“Haruha who is a real human, unlike Meme”

“Mommy was scared.”

“But, Meme couldn’t understand the difference.”

“…… you made them cry……”

“What’s the difference between Meme and Haruha?”

“………… Haruha will…………!”

“If, there are no differences.”

“What you did, ten times more.”

“Haruha must not be here as well.”

“Haruha will make you, pay.”

““That . is . why””

“ “ Die ” ”

The wind blows and the red mantle wildly flutters.

Simultaneously, all the NPCs controlled by Memento pulled their triggers, and along with the sound of nonsensical explosions, Haruha’s mantle was torn like firecrackers.

But at that moment, the Haruha’s figure had already part ways with the mantle and began running on the ground. And while rushing through the legs of the lined up NPCs, she shot their heads from low angle. Blood spouted from the bullets that penetrated through their jaws up to their brains, and as if taking an uppercut, their heads were thrown up into the air. However, unlike boxers, they just kneeled as if praying and never moved again.

One after another the blood splash soared to the high sky and descended, red flowers bloomed on the ground just like fireworks that turnaround the heaven and earth.

Head Shot Killed !! Head Shot Killed !!

Head Shot Killed !!

Head Shot Killed !! Head Shot Killed !!

(Memento! The one who hurt daddy! ──Kill!)

Her sharpened malice took form; her instinct drew a slaughter straight line through calculation on her sight. That was the rail spread by the world for Haruha. It’s something that only those who were naturally born with understanding of virtual world providence and law can use, maneuver of revelation.

That small body was swept away along with the wind killing the entire group.

It blew like a violent storm.

It took away the false human nature from the NPC dolls , and built a row of hollow mannequins in an instant.

While slipping through the enemies’ legs, she blew up their gastrocnemius [calves?] in a close distance, she pulled the rifle of the enemy in front with her elbow and shot it to the enemy on the side, she then kicked the wall and grabbed on the enemy’s neck with her knee and break his upper body with a cartwheel.

After finally getting rid of NPC bodies that covered Memento from her line of shot, she pulled Suzaku’s trigger with great accuracy. However, the attack was stopped by a big man with an axe wherein the bullet hit his knee instead.

──But she won’t stop. Haruha discarded the gun without hesitation and pulled out knives from both of her sleeves.

Using the knee of NPC as stepping stone, she cut through deeply into his neck. Without stopping she climbed up his body and jump in an instant, and after cutting her way out of the enemies, she arrived at the spot where she left her guitar case.

That moment, her eyes met with Memento’s on the other side of the herd of NPCs. On the other side where the burnt smell of heat distorted the air, she let out a joyful smile. Haruha just returned the gaze and unlocked the case.

And, from inside she pulled out the third, and fourth Suzaku slide and combined it together, with great dexterity as she loaded the first bullet…

The killing resumed.

◆

“This is… amazing”

Niiro’s heavy sigh broke the long silence.

In the Kasugai household living room, the four watch Haruha’s fight earnestly through the screen without even wiping their sweat. However from what Yuu observed, it seems each one of them fell silent for different reasons.

Just like what he said before, Niiro was only watching to measure the potential of the experimental body his people created.

Sitting next to Yuu, Miharu was worried about Haruha more than anything as she was surprised seeing her fight. She kept her voice from leaking by covering her mouth with her hands.

Meanwhile, Hajime’s reaction was hard to distinguish; even though her lips loose up close to a smile, her face was clearly pale. Could it be that her position as a researcher and her personal feelings are conflicting with each other?

And finally, Yuu was clenching his teeth due to his own pitifulness.

He cannot stand in the stage where Haruha’s life is at stake. It also does not change the fact that this is the fight that determines the fate of this game, the fate of his mother memento. While his chest was being filled by the bashful thought, the pain Memento engraved into his body and the words Haruha left became a chain that took away strength from him.

(Even though I must be the one who protect Haruha……)

『If that happens, Haruha will go back to home』

In the end, she said that. He disappointed the person he must protect. But, he also said the same thing to his mother who often leaves him for her work. And eventually he stopped informing her about class observation day and sports day because she won’t come anyway. He also won’t even try to consult to his mother when he was troubled about something.

He didn’t know that being given up by someone was this painful.

This might be the consequential punishment for his helplessness. Because he had given up, he lost his mother, and now he might lose Haruha, too. As the feeling of nausea reaches his neck, Hajime spoke.

“This is as if…… she isn’t Haruha-chan”

She then cleared her throat, probably because her voice was huskier than she thought. It sounded painful for Yuu as he felt the disconnection between the “Haruha” that fights ferociously on the screen and the “Haruha” that he knew. A child who doesn’t need them, a child from “other side”……

But, the one who denied those words── the one who strongly denied those words was, Miharu.

“No. She is unmistakably, our Haruha. Just look at the screen closely”

““…………?””

Unsure what she meant, Yuu and Hajime watched over the screen Miharu was pointing at── there displayed the close-up figure of Haruha shooting a gun. They both squinted their eyes to look more closely. Haruha was there. The upper half of her face was covered in shadow. The only thing they can see was the wild muzzle flashes, but……

“Ah!!”

He then noticed, his eyes opened wide, and then shouted along with Hajime.

““Aa, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa────!””

Everything became obvious when he noticed that──

““The muzzle flashes became cat’s paws───────!?””

“S-Since when did she customized that……”

As Hajime wiped the sweat under her chin Miharu nodded deeply and smiled.

“She may be young but she’s a girl after all. Being fashionable is a given”

Is it……? He thought.

“Haha……”

He couldn’t help but to laugh noticing the cushion Haruha placed on top of the sofa also has animal paw pattern. It’s all connected── she is Haruha. No matter how powerful or fierce she became, she is unmistakably the same Haruha who wet Yuu’s shirt with drool this morning.

And then.

That Haruha, was shot and blown off in the other side of the screen.

◇

Three remaining NPC’s are left. And finally Memento takes action.

*Shooosh* with a smooth motion akin to that of a ghost, she came close behind Haruha in an instant. Against the giant NPC in front of her, Haruha pierces through its stomach and lung with a knife, and finished it with a shoutei* [ strike with the heel of the palm?]. Swiftly, she pulled out Suzaku and shoved it back to where Memento is.

Memento had already pulled of her big black gun. Both of their guns’ paths didn’t cross with each other. Memento’s gun aimed Haruha’s forehead, and Haruha’s gun aimed Memento’s heart── in a close distance, both of them ready to kill their target.

It’s what was called a Mexican standoff... but,

The girls pulled the trigger without hesitation. The violent roar broke the silent space and the image of two girls distort within the sound and heat. The two flutter along with the stimulations of gunshots, and the bullets that were shot hit Haruha’s cheek and Memento’s flank, they managed to scrape off a piece of their opponent’s skin and spilled their blood. However, the two didn’t stop.

Guns exchanged fire.

The murderer’s recklessness took away the threat of Prometheus gunpowder .

The two clashed each other’s fist to prevent their opponent from getting the chance to aim. The battle of the girls who were innate of the ground of the virtual world was so elaborate and without even a moment of hesitation. All of the actions they made were simply done to defeat their opponent.

Perfectly and infallible – the two inevitably equally matched. It’s believed that it will stay that way── but.

The situation will eventually lean to Haruha’s side.

(Mustn’t lose…… mustn’t lose……! If Haruha loses──!)

Haruha’s strong will and purpose further accelerates her top speed. She gradually pry open her line of fire, for each time she succeed she optimize the algorithm of victory.

And she finally reached it. She finally had her opponent’s small key point under her line of fire. On the deadly trajectory that pierces through Memento’s heart, her muzzle stopped!

At that instant, Haruha’s body was blown.

“Ah……?”

Her shoulder was pierced by a bullet shot from the side. That small body that very light compared to that of an adult, soared like a leaf, and fell on the ground like mud.

What she was able to perceive while helplessly rolling on the ground were that dozens of NPC had appeared in addition to the two left. It seemed while Haruha was focusing on her fight with Memento the second wave had shown up.

Haruha who fell dramatically was quickly surrounded, and she is looked down by Memento with a thin smile.

“Just a half-step more. Very unfortunate isn’t it, Haruha?”

While she held down her shoulder, she glared up. With a Hadzar restraint strength she was able to withstand the pain, but she can’t raise her arm in this condition.

“……For sure, Haruha will beat you up. Haruha won’t let you end 『 This place CtG 』”

“Well indeed, if Haruha will not defeat Meme, Haruha won’t able to sustain her life after all”

Against Memento’s point, Haruha answered,

“……It doesn’t matter what will happen to Haruha”

She abandoned it.

That child was always full of curiosity and was interested in everything. However, against name word that provides that small body of hers a place, she easily let out a voice warped in contempt.

Memento narrowed her eyes. It was the word that she, a person who earnestly seeking for self-definition up to now, couldn’t believe. Is it that? Is it the difference between a herself failure and a Haruha success ? If that is the case, then the next question Memento will deliver shall lead her to the answer she seeks.

“If it’s true── then for what reason, is Haruha fighting for?”

◇

『Because this was the place where mommy can sing as she likes』

In response to Haruha’s words.

Miharu was stunned; the hands that were holding her scream up till now had dropped from her mouth.

“Haruha…… just for that reason──”

『And also, this is the place where daddy will bid farewell with his mommy!』

In response to Haruha’s next words.

Yuu recalled the old story he told to Haruha as Clamp this (today basically) noon.

『The reason I’m playing this game is, to have a talk with my mother』

『Daddy’s mommy?』

『That’s right, she’s your grandmother. She had already departed to heaven though』

『She died……?』

『Yeah, that’s why it’s impossible to meet her anymore. I can’t talk to her anymore…… though, I hardly talked to her when she was still alive however.

Even way before I obtained my sense of discretion she had always been busy with her work, and during the day I would stay in Fuyufu’s…… the girl we met this noon, house. I was neglected I suppose. And also, the presents she gave me on my birthday or on Christmas were always games she made at work. She said that it were ones from before they were open for sale to the public, in other words beta versions. They were full of defects and at times I got sick of them.』

『Did she gave a huggy wuggy……?』

『Aaaah…… very rarely, I guess』

『That surely is lonely』

『That’s right…… and because of that, I didn’t really like my mother. Even on the very rare days she got a break she wouldn’t say anything to me…… and while things stayed like that, she died』

『To die, is that right…… scary stuff』

『Yeah, it’s scary. And what’s scarier is at the day of her funeral, a person who claimed to be my mother’s friend told me. “Your mother makes game for your sake”.

It was because I don’t have a father, and because mother has to go to work she can only rarely take me out to play. But it’s her wish to show the world to me, so that’s why she made it with all her might, a wide world where even a me child can safely have fun adventuring in various places. ……I’m sure that, in her eyes, her unsociable son is nothing but a weak and small kid like Haruha.

And the last game she made is this “Cradle to the Glaive”.』

『So this is…… This place, is the world grandma made……』

『Stupid isn’t it…… Me and my mother.

She worked hard for my sake and created this amazing world but all I wanted was actually just a simple world where I can be with my mother. In the end she didn’t get anything. But, also, I can’t even tell that to her. Because of that she remained unknowing to my feeling and I also stayed unknowing that all her hard work was for my sake. Both of us sure are bad at talking, we sure are a bad combination. But, exactly why, the only thing I can do is to fully accept all her hard work. The world my mother left behind, a world she prepare for me ── I have to accept every single bit of it. Because that is the only funeral I can give to her』

『Funeral……? What is that? 』

『That means…… To give farewell wholeheartedly to his/her very important person 』

It’s natural you can say, Memento couldn’t completely understand the reason Haruha gave.

『……I don’t really got it, but in other word’s Haruha is fighting for the sake of Clamp and Mifa, the two who raised Haruha?』

『That is right. The only thing Haruha has is just daddy and mommy』

『They are just an existence to tune Haruha up to shape. They’re just humans amongst the large pile. So the thing that Haruha, who is a very rare existence, is betting her life to protect is just their freedom? Even to bet your own life? …… What the heck is with that? Stop speaking nonsense』

Memento was clearly confused. Even so she kept smiling.

Haruha is different. Her expressionless face quickly crumbled as she vigorously shouted.

『It’s not nonsense! Daddy and mommy would give Haruha a hug when Haruha asks to, and they also sleep with Haruha when Haruha asks for it, and if Haruha did something bad they would get mad for Haruha’s sake! Even though Haruha is not their real child they will give a lot ── a lot of love and huggy!』

Ignoring Memento who was confused as to how to respond, Haruha lowered her head from fatigue.

『And such a kind daddy and mommy are fighting…… Even though they were always smiling in the game. It must be because Haruha went there (to real world) and troubled them……』

What’s shown in Haruha’s eyes wasn’t sadness but the color of determination.

『That’s why……. That’s why Haruha is a bad child, a fake daughter like Haruha doesn’t matter at all. What matters is to protect daddy and mommy’s important place, nothing more』

Niiro then spoke to Yuu and Miharu who pulled out their Ramiel.

“Are you two sure? She said she will go back home though”

Miharu ignored him. And Yuu answered with a sharp canine voice.

“I don’t care less”

In fact, Kasugai Yuu was furious.

Towards Memento, Niiro, Haruha── and moreover, himself.

◇

“──Regardless, its Haruha’s loss. And then, the tool that couldn’t fix an error is an error itself…… what a mess”

Memento loosely lifted her gun and aimed between Haruha’s eyebrows.

Haruha stared straight into the gun muzzle without hesitation. Her arm still couldn’t move. If she tries to stand all the NPCs surrounding her will open fire. If she is killed by Sim - Stimulator Pseudo Senses Poison , Haruha’s body in the real world might suffer some serious nerve abnormalities. She might die.

But no problem. Haruha’s winning condition is just to neutralize Memento. Other than that, nothing else is important.

With this close of a distance, if she’s able to throw a knife a moment right before the shot, and redirect the impact done to her skull by the hit of her knife, it will pierce through Memento’s throat and break her cervical spine.

(I’ll die, and kill her)

And it will be all over. She will save the world of 『CtG』 that Yuu and Miharu need, and they won’t be troubled because of Haruha. A rational result. She will kill all fake humans who harassed her parents. Kill everyone, along with herself.

That is, the only cold equation (method) that shown to Haruha by this beautiful world"

Memento pulled the trigger and Haruha took out her last blade out of her sleeve.

And then.

The bell rang.

The pencil-like bell from the small church’s bell tower rang loudly right behind Memento

““Eh…………””

Strangely, Memento and Haruha stopped their movement. At exactly the same time, their gazes were drawn to the door of the church. The mirror house connected to other worlds.

And what emerged from that door were, the two people imagined by the artificial girls.

Clamp wearing unsuitable heavy armor, and Mifa dragging a large rectangular guitar case with his help.

Haruha’s family shows up, they stepped firmly on the vector known as determination.

While still aiming her gun at Haruha, Memento exaggeratedly shrugged her shoulder.

“Thank you for accompanying me that time, Onii-san. Didn’t think I would see you again”

“Well, I agree”

Clamp and Mifa stopped dozens of steps away from the large number of NPCs, Memento and Haruha. The thrown guitar case made a sound as it hit the ground.

“What business do you have?”

As she asked, Memento commands the NPCs and directed their gun towards Clamp and Mifa. Clamp answered regardless.

“We came to pick up our Haruha”

When her eyes met Clamp’s, Haruha’s pupils shook as if frightened.

“And while we are at it, Memento, I will kill you”

“Can you? It’s 3 against 22”

“You counted wrong.”

Mifa said frankly, and Memento went “What?” voicing her puzzlement. Against it, Mifa voiced a strong voice that Haruha never heard before. She was angry, seeing Haruha got hurt.

“It’s a mistake thinking that there are just three of us.

──Lie down, Haruha!”

As soon as she shouted, Mifa and Clamp threw themselves towards the ground.

And then, the lid of the guitar case left on the ground was blown away. It was blown away high into the sky.

Since it stayed in the sky so comfortably── by mistake Memento looked up. And all the NPCs that were connected through her thoughts follows. Conversely, Haruha obediently followed Mifa’s instruction. In that single moment of less than a second, they’ve achieved their goal.

From inside the guitar case a stuffed doll-like thing uproariously emerged. That stuffed doll has an umbrella, arms, a scrabbling-like face, and is holding a multi-barrel machine gun

──As all of you’ve already guessed. It is the brave figure of sire Payakino holding a Gatling gun like the one in a western massacre scene.

“──LET’S PLAY”

The mushroom heartlessly declared and began the slaughter.

Usually it’s used with a turret, but Payakino lightly swung the large gun, and the NPCs lives were reaped like cutting weeds by the bullet shot through the rotating barrels. The wildly splattered blood became a fog that dyed the air with its red color.

“Oi, what the heck is this Kinokino …… something that big exists?”

“T-This is total mess……”

All of a sudden the onlookers who were watching from afar started whispering to each other.

“Ufufufu....... that is the wilderness kidnapper Paya The Kid”

“You sure are late with the news!?”

Those who explained with the know-it-all face was the familiar elderly couple.

But enough about that.

What was left after it ran out of bullets was the crispy reverberation in the air and the mass of shattered bodies of mannequins.

And standing right in the middle of that nightmarish burning hell is the figure of Memento standing perfectly unharmed. However, she couldn’t help but be separated from Haruha.

That’s why, what Haruha saw after the gunfire is the figure of Clamp squatting right by her side. She didn’t see Mifa’s face. Because, the moment she raised her body, she got embraced by her.

“Daddy, mommy…… why……?”

“Sorry that we’re late”

Looking for traces of wounds on her, Clamp stroked Haruha’s cheek. It tickles. Haruha twisted and averted her eyes.

“Haruha said don’t come right! ……what if, you die again?”

“Because I’m too weak, I made you force yourself. But, it’s alright now”

“Even though, Haruha said Haruha will go back home……”

“You will. Your home is… our house right”

“……hic……”

Her father’s words and her mother’s warmth loosened her stiffened body.

“That’s why”

Then Clamp made a strict face and stared into Haruha’s eyes. After that, he hit Haruha’s head with his firm fist. Since they’re inside the game Haruha didn’t feel any pain. But, pressure of his “seriousness” spread through her head.

“Don’t ever say 『not their real child』 again. If you say that, at that moment”

That scolding mouth then crumbles into a cry.

“I’ll cut our parent-child ties.”

Haruha’s determination that did not collapse even in front of her death… was unceremoniously shattered.

◆

“She is crying……”

Hajime muttered in surprise as she peered into the cradle-type Ramiel Haruha is in.

And immediately, she found the reason.

Hadzars who were born in virtual world will grow without doing the normal action of human baby── eating, sleeping, and also crying. It because consuming nutrient and sleeping is needless in this virtual world to sustain a life. And they gain wisdom without need to rely on others.

And Haruha who seemingly spoiled child is not an exception. That’s why when an “enemy” like Memento showed up she didn’t rely on Yuu or Miharu but tried to protect them instead.

And the tears shed by Haruha who don’t know what cry were happy tears.

And against that strange, bizarre, blessing moment, Hajime was trembling.

◇

“Well then”

Clamp slowly rise up and glared at Memento.

“It’s already night in Other side Real World . Let’s end this quickly”

Memento excessively opens her arm.

“Do you think you can really with your family── including that mushroom?”

“What a nonsense I’m hearing. Figure it out Toy head Cyber girl , I alone, am enough to deal with you”

That moment, Memento’s face that was showing a confident smile earlier turned expressionless. Whether that expression was anger, aghast, or maybe something else, no one knows.

The girl opens the revolver cylinder and inserts a bullet through the displayed submenu screen.

“A duel huh. Interesting isn’t it, gunslinger”

Gunslinger Those who are armed with guns . The reason why Memento calls him that was presumably because of the four disposable guns ironically resting on Clamp’s both side and thigh holsters. Weapons stored in a sheath or holster has merit to be equipped without taking it out from the item box. But, replacing magazine when running out of bullet is clearly way more economic, including the shotgun on his waist, there are no player who would carry five guns all at once.

“Mifa, raise my status with your song skill. Payakino, protect both of them”

“Daddy, Haruha will take care of her──”

Haruha tried to stand up in a hurry but Mifa won’t let go of her. Clamp stroked Haruha’s head and walked around Memento.

Mifa then gently admonish Haruha who restlessly squirm.

“Haruha. For now let’s just trust Clamp…… our Kasugai Yuu-kun”

She hugged Haruha’s head, and looked at him together. Clamp’s back that walked in a circle with Memento as the center.

“That person looks a little bit cooler in game right?”

What stopped Haruha weren’t Mifa’s words or her strength, but maybe the faint heat mixed in that voice.

Mifa’s clear singing voice rides the wind through the land of wilderness town, and soars into the distant sky.

──That name is 『The Perfect Gamer』. Lightly gallant, lyrics devoted with trust and prayer to their beloved ones.

As his entire physical ability rose by the singing voice, Clamp took out a shortened double-barreled shotgun from his waist, and asked Memento.

“Memento. Do you know why I’m called Scarabaeus?”

“? No. What about it?”

“I see── then it’s my win”

In the moment when he floated an irritating smile on his face, Memento aimed her gun with out of context behavior and opened fire. The sound of gunshots that was like the roar of a god beast violently shook the atrophied town of tragedy and disappeared into the other side.

Memento saw it. The world of 『CtG』 is the world of determinism for Hardzar. She is able to accurately predict the definite future of next few seconds. That’s why she was able to see the future where the bullet will blow off Clamp’s neck and add a new mannequin to the pile.

But.

The bullet didn’t hit Clamp. More than that, Memento lost sight of Clamp. She lost it along with the future she saw.

Hence, the fact that she was able to avoid the direct hit shot from the side was due to her pure reflex and nothing more. However, she wasn’t able to completely avoid the shotgun from the blind spot, and she received a scratch on her shoulder. Drops of blood are falling. ──Graze Hit!

“I said don’t get carried away!”

Clamp’s voice was heard from slightly different place from the direction of the shotgun. He is slowly walking around Memento.

Memento was confused── she couldn’t understand. What happened just now was, something beyond this world's Law of Physics, something impossible to happen.

Clamp had moved 6 meter away in an instant. Memento herself has unfeasible speed, but this is way beyond that. A skill or item that allows teleportation to such distance does not exist in 『CtG』. Gunman’s Glaive in particular, the item that allows a similar feat is just 『Rut of Journey』 which allows warping to the church.

“O, oi…… isn’t he that Clamp of Scarabaeus? You know, the one on ranking list”

“The guy who has an abnormal score in game completion with short play time, the one who was suspected to be using cheats? But if that is the case isn’t his level too low, and I’ve never heard that cheat being doable in 『CtG』”

The onlookers start whispering to each other, but they’re off the mark. Currently there is no phenomenon of data modification or such. That’s the conclusion. And that is exactly why she can’t understand.

“What did…… you do?”

That truth must’ve humiliated her, however Memento was smiling. In mist of confusion she was smiling. Meanwhile Clamp nonchalantly answers.

“Scarabaeus. Because it’s too absurd, I don’t use it in PVP. But, it’s a different story against the opponent who dared to hurt Haruha. Without hesitation or mercy, I’ll crush you with all I got”

“…………Hmmm”

This time Memento attacked using her legs instead of her guns. She unsheathed the knife that she had on her hip, and instantly appeared right in front of Clamp’s chest. The moment her blade launch onto his heart, the menu screen in front of Clamp disappeared ──

And the figure of Clamp disappeared as well.

(Again──!?)

This time she quickly rolled on the ground and escaped from the incoming shot. As expected, a shotgun blast then passed by the place where Memento once was.

By the time she stood up and directed her gun, Clamp who was five, six meters away from her discarded his shotgun and pulled out a gun from the holster on his side. It’s a very common, orthodox type of automatic pistol in Gunman’s Glaive.

Memento shot regardless. Bullets from Clamp’s gun don’t have much power in it. Even if they hit each other the possibility of Memento receiving fatal wound is zero.

The bullet Memento shot was again inexplicably dodged by him. But unlike before, this time Clamp only teleported several centimeters away. He staggered a bit, receiving the shock from Genbu large-caliber bullets.

However, what struck Memento was a further absurdity.

The bullet shot by Clamp’s gun lost its target as well. Memento’s swiftness and reflex to dodge that bullet in such short distant was indeed way surpassed Clamp’s ability.

But, that bullet that should’ve been from a standard handgun grazed Memento’s left shoulder── and loudly blast the wall of the bar behind her. Brush aside the scream of the bartender from inside the bar, that bullet strength is beyond normal. Memento’s shoulder that was grazed had been broken and is now loosely hanging down.

This power is like, the armor piercing ammunition shot with large-caliber rifles to fight large monsters. Obviously, it’s not the strength that would come from a mere ordinary handgun.

Thus, that ordinary gun is most likely not a normal gun at all. That gun flew away from Clamp’s hand and began floating in the air.

When an automatic pistol has finished firing, it would discharge its cartridge, but that mechanism had stopped midway. Specifically, its overly large cartridge is stuck by the slide cover and is unable to complete its function to the end, morbid sound endlessly ring and it stays in the air.

Abandoning his now unusable gun in the air, Clamp pulled out the same type gun from his holster. It’s nothing special, his ridiculous multiple-equipment is simply for the convenient use of that one-time-only gun.

“This is…… That’s right! This is──”

And after all that, Memento had finally understood. The reason why Memento couldn’t understand Clamp’s absurd behavior, the handgun that stays in the air ignoring the Laws of Physics, and then the meaning of the nickname of Scarabaeus──

“This is… a bug!!”

◆

Bug. It’s the word used to refer to bug insect wriggling in obscurity and causes problem or defect within a program.

“……so that’s why”

Hajime Hidari pulled up the 『CtG』 game control part of the source code with the terminal in her hand, and she finally found out the cause of the strange phenomenon caused by Clamp.

Niiro then delivered a puzzled gaze and she straightforwardly explained the mechanism in question.

“First of all, about Clamp’s teleportation-like action……

The teleportation item, 『Rut of Journey』 has a rewind function to return the player to their original coordinates in case of error in order to avoid the problem that occurs in the middle of teleportation, and to do that it records the variable of the area where the player was in before the teleportation was executed. This variable is obtained during the final confirmation of the item usage, and will be deleted when cancelled, but if you open a menu that has a higher response priority than the item and closes it in a particular order and timing, the variable deletion sub-method will not get overwritten and the variable information alone will remain.

And then, after walking a little he uses the 『Rut of Journey』, proceeds to the menu, to the usage final confirmation screen, and pulled out the logout screen while pressing cancel. As a result, along with the error from the teleportation access, an error code will be reported to the system── and he will be teleported back to his original position”

“Too long…… in short, what happened?

“A simple coordinate bug! By acquiring the coordinate information on the spot he once stood on, he will be able to instantly teleport there at any time…… In other word, a trick !”

“A trick! To think that such a thing also exists in this modern day. Then, the rifle bullet from that handgun too?”

“A bug too. There are two ways to load bullets into the magazine, doing it manually or through the menu screen in a batch. For the latter, the compatibility check between the gun and bullet is not done through the virtual world physical calculation. It’s instead handled by 『CtG』 game system. The set property determination is a combination of two digit alphabet and six digit numbers ── like 『GB000001』 or 『RB030103』 for example. It’s done with reference to these ID.

However an armor-piercing bullet data ID was scraped and re-implemented later in the middle of production. Apparently during that input, what originally was to be 『RB020013』 ended up as 『 B020013』, in an incorrect format.

And the program that determines whether or not the bullet is usable, treated the blank as a wild card and processed it to be usable, and thus, the powerful handgun bullet with ID 『GB020013』 is able to be loaded onto any possible gun.

Although, as you can see, as a result of defying the law of physics, the gun ended up like that after one shot”

“……Thus Scarabaeus, huh”

Niiro laughed quietly.

“What a fateful parent and child”

Scarab Dung Beetle is the sacred symbol of the sun god in ancient Egypt, and the figure of it has been engraved on amulets and trinkets as well.

Scarab, amulet of insect. A boy who protects with a bug insect .

Clamp of Scarabaeus.

That is the nickname given by the veteran players on a whim knowing about Clamp’s playstyle of using bugs, and strangely Yuu himself came to like it and did not remove the tag. The subtly silly tone it has felt fitting to him.

Playing games his mother made when he was young had become a part of his life, and for Yuu who had played various prototype versions of game before its release, bugs are as natural as air to him.

At first he simply felt amazed and irritated by it, but as he encountered more of it, he figured it out, why such things happen, and eventually he was able to somehow predict various internal mishandlings of it. Those were, his mother’s simple mistakes, he thought. In there, his mother who was often absent from home, was present.

After that he would enter his mother’s absent room, find a memo with a program processing flow plan written on it, and open the programming guide filled with sticky notes── He was able to objectively perceive his mother’s game ideas and bad habits, and began to find gaps within it and read it through like a kind of paranoid behavior.

It might just be a distorted affection, that by finding defects in his mother’s work he tries to seek revenge against her.

In doing so, like an anteater that attacks the nest of ants, he was able to find large number of bugs inside his mother’s game. He would report bugs that affect the game progress like in-game currency or big bugs that changes the parameter by an abnormal number and have it fixed by the management boards. However, he won’t report bugs that were more complicated or extremely difficult to reproduce, and make it his own thing.

A secret treasure he won’t pass to anyone. The jewelry of Scarab. His mother’s fragment.

What’s left in his mother’s game, what’s left in Yuu’s relationship with his mother.

The remaining bug wound is now giving Yuu the power to protect his new family.

◇

“It sure was powerful”

Upon understanding Clamp’s identity, Memento had finally escaped from the confusion.

“But it means nothing if it dosen’t hit, and Meme won’t let that happen”

Even though it’s an irregular bug gun, as long she knows the type of its bullet, avoiding it won’t be a problem. As for his instant teleportation, she still doesn’t get its principle but she understands its rule. Clamp was most likely planning to end the fight by disrupting Memento with his instant teleportation then shooting her with his bug gun. But, there is nothing more tragic than to miss in such a situation.

By the time he missed with his first shot with his bug gun, Clamp’s defeat had already been determined.

“It’s the end──”

She directed her gun towards Clamp and pulled the trigger without hesitation. And just like before, Clamp’s figure disappeared. But, after he teleports, Clamp can hardly move. Considering all patterns up till now, that teleportation bug would only teleport him to somewhere near the area before he teleports.

If it only has such a short range, she can kill him by the moment he reappears── that was what Memento thought. But.

0.3 seconds had passed after Clamp’s disappearance.

His face… appeared right in front of Memento.

“…!?”

She became confused once more. Memento had accurately memorized all of it. There is no way Clamp could be right in front of her. How can he teleport here? Did she predict the teleportation condition wrongly?

In reality it was another bug that “Made the player invisible for an instance when he/she opened the 『Remove all equipment』 menu and closes it at the exact moment when choosing the option“. It doesn’t do any good by itself, and it was just a trivial problem that would most likely be ignored even if it got reported.

However, it was a daunting task to identify for Memento who had been shown coordinate bug teleportation over and over. And it is exactly because Memento can assess the situation in a split second that she got confused.

Psychological bug combo. Memento had been artfully trapped in it.

But.

Even so Memento’s victory won’t waver. Even if Clamp fires the bug gun in such a close state, she would fire even faster than him. Their speed is simply far too diffrent from each other.

But, however.

The next moment, Genbu had disappeared from Memento’s hand.

『Snatch !』

At the synthetic sound of 《Snatch》 succession, Clamp raised his battle voice in the closed space, and the jet-black gun moved to his hand.

The moment Clamp had disappeared he threw away his gun and became empty handed── with that he fulfilled the condition to use the《Snatch》 skill.

It was because he did not underestimate Memento’s competence, he understood that even if he manage to get an opening in that close range it would just end as a suicide attack. How does he understand that? That was because Haruha had showed Memento’s potential to the limit in the middle of their fight.

That’s why, all of his actions up till now, was just foreshadowing for this single moment to take away her gun from a close proximity.

(I will win! Win and talk to Haruha! Not apologizing or scolding, but── 『Thank you for thinking about us』!)

Even so.

Even so, Memento did not doubt her own victory.

The next moment after she recognized that her gun had been stolen, she would unsheathe the Derringer small gun from her sleeve and shoot Clamp in the face, before he would be able to do anything with the stolen gun── Memento can do that.

But, however.

Even so.

The girls, the girls of Clamp’s family, was already convinced. Of who win this duel.

『Stealing the enemy’s weapon while empty handed, and then, in perfect timing, activate a semi-auto attack; it’s a style that relies heavily on preliminary actions. It’s a distinct specification of 『CtG』 I say』

The two did not forget the words Kasugai Yuu once said.

Memento couldn’t predict that it wasn’t a legit move, but a bug.

Clamp had already directed his gun towards Memento at a distance of less than a meter. At nearly the same time Memento’s derringer already had Clamp in its line of fire. Mifa and Haruha, shouted with all their might.

““Got it-------------!!””

The triple roar of gunshots overwhelmed all sound and wind in the city

It was from the revolver-only high-speed continuous shooting skill, 《Fanning》. Its action to repeatedly fire bullets while pressing the trigger was said to be similar to fanning a fan.

──『Ｉ．Ｅ．Genbu』 the most powerful handgun in Gunman’s Glaive. The remaining three shots bombarded Memento’s stomach in an instant. The overwhelming firing sound and ignition flame was more of an explosion than a gunshot.

Then, as the roar’s aftermath was sucked into the vast dry land and faded away, all that remained was silence. The conclusion of the duel produced a solemn air.

The next sound heard after that was the short sound of Clamp’s gun hitting the ground. Only after he heard that sound did he finally recognize his victory. His noisy heartbeat had finally calmed down, and the wind that was absent during the gunshot had finally returned as the victor was decided.

Following the flow of the wind, Clamp looked down upon the girl.

“……Guns sure are great…… a tool for humans to kill another human. Unlike Meme who couldn’t even find her own living purpose……”

The flower black girl bloom that blooms from the other side of Hope Haruha .

Memento’s stomach was shot and her upper and lower body had broken off.

Her kneeling lower body collapsed and had already turned into a mannequin, and her upper body that had lost its other part has both of her hand open, resembling the number ten .

That figure of her was like a Origami “Yakko-san” without its Hakama . A handpicked, doll.

“……In that regard, Meme is an error after all…… because Meme is an error, Meme can’t even accomplish bad things……

The blood flowing out of the huge wound on her stomach formed the words “Near Contact Shot!” on the ground. Clamp felt exceedingly bitter and was about to step on the blood letters to break it, but as he thought that would mean to stain Haruha and Memento who were the incarnation of 『CtG』, he stopped.

“You won, Haruha. Your belief stays true till the end. Meme will obediently sleep”

“Memento, you…… was it your plan from the very beginning to lose against Haruha, who is a 『Success』, and become a 『Failure』?”

She was born to be a human but couldn’t be one in the end── for Memento who had lost the purpose of her own existence; her only remaining desire was to get a clear definition of what she is. Even if that answer is garbage.

Clamp approached Memento, got on his knees and shook his head.

“But that is wrong. The one who defeated you was me. Using all the cheats at my disposal”

Memento’s throat trembled. She tried to raise her head and laugh, but couldn’t.

“If that’s the case, then the one who will stand in the line of fire will be Onii-san instead of Haruha. But no. Haruha made Onii-san protect her…… that is the power of a human. Haruha, who became human, is different from Meme, who couldn’t become a human……”

“………………”

“But now, Meme is happy…… thank you, thank you…… Onii-san”

“I didn’t do anything praiseworthy I think”

“But Meme, thanks to Onii-san, Meme lost, and Meme has been established as 『A trash who can’t win against old humanity』 you know? It is way worse than losing to Haruha. Lower. Narrower……… aah, like spit spat by a drunkard on a garbage dump nearby a toilet, it felt really pleasant like having my head trampled thoroughly on the ground……

Aaaah, good…… it sticks…… the definition sticks…… no more, no more need to look down, no one will need Meme…… a…… Meme…… Is relieved……”

Memento’s words felt really hollow, and it melts in ecstasy like the haze of dawn. Clamp didn’t force himself to understand her, and replied so frankly.

“…… I have no idea what you’re saying”

“Of course, that is natural……… Meme is an error after all”

Shortly after, her body turned into a mannequin corpse , and somehow appears to be really pleased.

◆

“Good job. We have successfully captured Memento and deactivated her. Let’s go back before the commotion starts to spread”

Hajime reported through the red lens-shaped parts on the Ramiel that Haruha was lying on and let out a huge sigh. On the monitor displaying Gunman’s Glaive, there were the Kasugai Household residents running away from the cheering onlookers.

Haruha was smiling and happily running away. It was a face she didn’t show when she was fighting Memento. Feeling relief, her cheeks loosened up.

“And who would have thought that Kasugai-kun defeated Memento and not Haruha. Also, what a great Blade Runner doll hunting wasn’t it”

Even though they were both smiling, Niiro Mansei’s smile was somewhat horrifying.

“But still, this is problematic. It’s hard to decide whether this is a result coming from Haruha’s potential or an irregular result coming from Kasugai-kun’s unique player qualities. Just how should we take this result and make it into data…… no”

Trouble trouble, he repeatedly mumbles, his voice was bouncing pleasantly. He must be thinking about the chaotic daily life that will happen from now on.

Hajime depressingly sighed. Her eyes naturally swung to the Ramiel black coffin Haruha was sleeping on.

This incident with Memento is only the beginning. The infinite world connected to that coffin will eventually turn into a battlefield.

The start of the selection stage of Hadzars who obtained the criterion known as Haruha.

Now that it had passed the prototype stage, from now on, the curtain to the supremacy phase choosing for the superior mankind successor will rise. Not just Yuu and others, even unrelated general player will be involved.

Hadzar. The future Eve Bride .

Even Hajime couldn’t predict how will each of these girls, who were about to be awakened with bizarre powers, fight in this battle of survival. The future no one knows.

But, that is okay, she thought.

In order to skillfully and endlessly stimulate the player’s adventuring heart a game would present them with darkness, the more darkness in front of them, the more people will be tempted to step forward.

No matter how dark and deep that darkness is.

Mankind no longer has the time to stand still.

### 004. Epilogue: I'll play till the end for your sake

That night, Kodzuchi Fuyufu was feeling depressed on top of her bed.

The reason for her depression rested upon the box in front of her. The Ramiel package for 『CtG』 use was quite bland. Just recently, a new version with improved usability and new design changes had been released so the price of the old ones dropped and sold for nearly half price. But even so.

The pocket money she planned on not using till next year had all been blown away from buying that. Unless she takes a part-time job, she won’t have any money to even go out.

“……My funds are ruined because of that idiot.”

Fuyufu was not a loner so she usually doesn’t talk to herself that much. Even that mumble of hers were actually directed to her white cat, Quan. The cat had lain, curled up into a ball on top of Fuyufu’s knee. She was wearing her pajamas.

While stroking Quan’s back, Fuyufu picked up the Ramiel package.

──She hated the device so much.

Like this one, there were plenty of game devices that Yuu’s mother had made games for as their launching title. Then, each time a new release came out, Yuu would disappear from Fuyufu’s sight. It’s always been like that ever since they were young.

He would often complain about his always-working mother, but he would always be looking forward to the result of her work. That was the kind of boy Kasugai Yuu once were.

When she was still in the lower grade of elementary school, Fuyufu’s body was very weak and she would often stay inside her room. On many occasions, Yuu would visit her and tirelessly complain about his mother. From listening to his complaints, Fuyufu would get tired and quickly rest on her bed and go to sleep. Despite that, when his mother presented him a new game, Yuu would go crazy about it and end up not visiting her.

I’ll ask my mom so Fufuyu can have the game as well, so will you play with me── like that, he had proposed to her once, but she flatly refused. She didn’t really know the reasons as to why she was opposed to the idea that much, but somehow she just felt resentment to the idea.

In Fuyufu’s room, there is the memento of Yuu’s mother, the『Cradle to The Glaive』 terminal(entrance).

After many years of witnessing his mother complex issues, Fuyufu understood very well about Yuu’s feeling for 『CtG』. That’s why she planned to let him play it till he was satisfied. It would be good to let him gradually ease his sorrow, and it might actually be better to let him alone for the mean time. She had thought.

However, as a result of that, Fuyufu met a dubious girl named Kugimiya Miharu and a strange child calling herself Haruha.

And these mysterious who-know-from-where girls appeared to be living in the Kasugai household.

That’s it! Waiting won’t do any good. Even if I continue to wait, Yuu won’t come to this room anymore.

And that Haruha kid also said──『Mommy and daddy… you see… are 《married》 inside the game!”』. And currently, the only game Yuu would be playing is nothing but 『CtG』. Whatever was happening must be related to that game.

Thus Fuyufu opened the Ramiel box akin to the myth of Pandora’s box. Disaster and chaos might befall Fuyufu’s world as she opened the box to seek the truth of Yuu’s current situation. But.

“He was the one who invited me to play the game to begin with── I will surely make him take responsibility for this!”

And as if to voice its agreement, the cat cried “Nya~” after her.

◆

That night.

Kugimiya Miharu was staring at her own face in front of the washbasin mirror.

The Kasugai household was drowned in silence. For Miharu, having silence in an unfamiliar house brought a strange sense of discomfort throughout her skin.

There was the figure of Miharu who had just taken a bath with freshly dried hair. Her face inside the mirror. While gently stroking her cheeks with her palm, she closed her eyes. It was as if to firmly root her decision she had made in the bathtub into her body.

About her mother, her father, Haruha, and Yuu.

With Yuu and Haruha putting their life at stake, Miharu also made a decision. No matter how precious they are, it’s not like they will always be together forever. It is after all natural, she knew that but she just couldn’t accept that maybe.

That is why── like that. She opened her eyes, and once again looked over herself in the mirror.

“In order to not regret this”

Miharu walked towards Yuu’s room.

◆

That night, Kasugai Yuu was very tired.

──Long. Today sure was a long day.

Woke up, ate a simple breakfast, went shopping, met Fuyufu and made a ruckus, played the game and died once, listening to a ridiculous story about a human computer, watching Haruha’s fierce fight, then battled Memento who cornered her, somehow still managing to teleport away from the onlookers, and when he return to real world he ate a cup ramen for dinner, and had a shower.

Finally, Kasugai Yuu’s helplessly long day was over. The day had made his heart and brain run wild, enough for him to feel uncomfortable in the room he had lived in for nearly ten years.

“It was surely long……”

Above his familiar bed, Yuu let out a big sigh. With the strings of tension finally cut off, his exhausted body tried to relax itself.

He had calmed down right about now, but before, right after he logged out he had vomited everything inside him due to the overwhelming tension he had experienced, moreover he strained his nerves more in order to not let Haruha notice. Even eating dinner took all the energy he had left; it certainly didn’t feel like he won at all.

And Haruha, who Yuu was finally able to protect, was now sleeping right next to him. She curled up like a cat and with her twig-like fingers she grabbed hold of Yuu’s shirt. When he tried to fix the sifted towel blanket, she let out a sweet “Nyuu” sound.

──No matter how long today had become, if it meant he was able to see such a sleeping face then it’s a cheap price to pay.

(I always wonder what this girl really is but……)

A strange child born from inside his mother’s game. People involved with the country said that it was the product of a top-secret plan “ to create a new human race”. In matters of killing, they’re the strongest being in the virtual world.

They were shown the fact that in merely 2 days── Haruha was “something” that was completely different from him. A child, whose purpose of existence was unknown to him.

But, even by admitting that, his heart had already made its decision. In there, there was Haruha, Miharu and him and he felt that it wasn’t bad.

This feeling might be like the one he had towards his own mother. Even though he didn’t know anything about her, even if he was often irritated by her, in the end he didn’t feel bad about it.

It means, he loves Haruha. He loves his mother.

He was finally able to admit such a simple thing.

That was why, after all that had happened, he had to face everything straightforwardly.

(Me, who was running away from Haruha, couldn’t possibly say goodbye to mom)

While talking to himself inside his head, he was speaking to the small finger holding his shirt.

“I’m sorry Haruha…… I really am good-for-nothing. Even though I knew you from the moment you were born, I couldn’t even understand your feeling.”

“Me too.”

The voice came from the just-open door. It was Miharu, who had left Haruha with Yuu and went to the bathroom to prepare for going to sleep. In a pajama she just bought today, she appeared to be more restless than before.

Regardless, the pajama she was wearing was a summer-use with thin fabric. With her being bare from the knee down, her leg looked really smooth and bright, she was pretty enough to make Yuu embarrassed just by looking at her.

“Haruha will surely still feel uneasy after returning back from the game, we mustn’t make the atmosphere worse than this”

Miharu came near the bed. She appeared to be hesitating as she curled her toe. Miharu steeled her will and climbed onto the bed.

The need to uphold the promise of “the three of them sleeping together today” she made with Haruha overwhelmed her own resistance towards the idea. Yuu straightforwardly respected her and her feelings for Haruha. But even so, it didn’t seem he would be able to get used to the feeling of having another person on the bed for a while.

After peeking at Haruha’s sleeping face, Miharu covered herself with the towel blanket and lied down.

“Well then, I’ll turn off the light.”

After receiving a faint voice of agreement, Yuu turned off the light with the remote control. Just like last night, a beautiful river was drawn below the pale moonlight.

For a while, only the sound of Haruha’s sleeping breath and Miharu’s restless sound of rustling clothes was heard. From what it seemed, Miharu and Yuu were naturally unable to sleep for a while.

Around five minutes later, after they continued to feel each other breaths, Miharu muttered.

“This morning…… Haruha said to me. Daddy is so spoiled that he always hugged her when sleeping”

She wasn’t expecting any reply as she said in a small whisper. Yuu looked at Haruha’s carefree sleeping face and replied with a smile.

“Regardless of what happened this morning, right now, I’m just feeling a bit worried. Will Haruha suddenly disappear?…… What will happen from now on? There will most likely be troublesome things happening while maintaining 『CtG』”

This time they had some room to deal with the unexpected things, but when it came to the complicated matters, even Kasugai Yuu, Clamp of Scarabaeus, was completely powerless as he was out of the loop. That was what scared him more than anything else.

“…….But, perhaps, that is just natural. No matter how close the person is, they will one day disappear…… that is why, we must cherish it”

Miharu called it common sense── but those words pierced through Yuu’s heart. As he had given on trying to communicate and suppress the feelings he had…and one day his mother died just like that.

I don’t want any more of that. While carefully making sure not to wake her up, Yuu embraced Haruha’s head.

Even though they had only become a family for only two month, this hugging mole was putting her life on the line for Yuu and Miharu’s sake so I have to protect her no matter what. He simply thought so.

As he smelled a strange fragrance and opened his eyes, Miharu’s head was right in front of him. She also wanted to huddle with Haruha and inevitably end up closing to Yuu. Even though she should’ve used the same shampoo as him, he wondered why she smells so good.

Yuu was unable to properly react, and Miharu then spoke.

“……It’s okay.”

“Eh? W-what……?”

Considering the situation he was in, his voice sounded shrill. Miharu had buried her face under Haruha’s hair so he couldn’t see her expression.

“Come to think of it, at first I was just half-serious in raising a child, so I won’t blame you anymore concerning Haruha’s name. I’ll support you. Your relationship with Kudzuchi-san”

He was about to immediately deny it, but recalling back Miharu’s word from before, he couldn’t. No matter how close the person is, someday they will disappear……

The face of his petite-expressionless-but-also-good-in-taking-care-of-others childhood friend vividly floated in his mind.

Settying aside whether he wanted to date her or not, Fuyufu was unmistakably a precious person for him. Their mothers were old friends, so both of them had always been together before they were 10. She was like a mix of older sister, little sister, and best friend.

And now, because of his stubbornness their relationship became distant.

He certainly had the desire to get close to her like before or maybe perhaps beyond that. Furthermore, it’s something that he would never attain if he let the chance go by.

“That’s why, don’t worry.”

Surprised by the whispers from Fuyufu in his imagination, he returned his gaze towards Miharu in reality. Miharu raised her face from Haruha’s hair and looked at him. Then she spoke.

“I’ll keep this a secret from Kodzuchi that we slept together.”

I wonder why.

The moment he heard those words. The moment he felt the trembles in Miharu’s eyes. This simple sharing of the bed for rest, somehow felt wrong. His chest tightened and his heartbeat raced faster and faster with each passing second. It was painful.

Around ten years ago, he took a nap along with Fuyufu side by side. There was also the time where he had a sleepover at her place and slept in the same futon. Thanks to these flags, she became interested in Yuu even now. The girl whom he was closest with, or rather used to be close with, and wanted to get close to. Kodzuchi Fuyufu.

Now in place where Fuyufu used to be in, was a different girl. A person whom he had a temporary marriage with. “His daughter’s mother”. Shy, afraid of strangers, has strong wariness towards men, but strangely nice when talked to. Kugimiya Miharu.

And the one who was sleeping between Miharu and himself was his “daughter” who was born in the game world, Haruha. While having her name derived from Fuyufu, she was the strong clamp that connected Yuu and Miharu together. Spoiled, but the cutest in the world, new family member.

Fuyufu, secret crush, Miharu, wife, Haruha, daughter of Miharu and him.

…………

……What the heck is this?

What an overly complex situation. From now on, it seemed Hajime would hang around in the house, in the neighborhood── in the neighborhood where Fuyufu lived in, there was no mistake that strange rumors were bound to spread around.

That’s right. Once again, they will have to properly explain this to Fuyufu to clear up the misunderstanding. He must tell her── “Somehow I ended up living together with my daughter who was born inside the game” ── this crazy truth. He couldn’t imagine what kind of reaction she would give though (too scared to think).

His distance with Miharu was also a problem. A big problem. There were also times where he couldn’t guess what was on her mind, and she was also too defenseless. Even though she said she would support his relationship with her, it’s not like his compatibility with Fuyufu was that bad. And the case with Miharu’s school transfer also caught his attention.

And finally Haruha. From what Hajime said, there also a plan to have her attend elementary school. Even today, where they got to be together the whole day, were filled of troubles. He couldn’t even imagine just what kind of things would happen when he and others and Haruha started to go to school.

Of course, with the case of 『Cradle to The Glaive』 and the Hadzars.

……So confusing.

A, deadly, confusing daily life was about to begin.

In such situation, while comforted with the warmth of Haruha, Kasugai Yuu recalled back certain words that were said.

It was one of the very few times he remembered what his mother said.

『Listen Yuu. Even if things don’t won’t work out in school, don’t you blame God. In a way, God is the one who programmed the world. Of course, if there was something wrong, people will put all blame on him but── But still. There is no program without a bug after all』

── Like you’re the one to talk. He said with a youthful child-like laughter.

## References

- ↑ It's based on ancient Germanic sword ( )

- ↑ Based on the name of an angel/Watcher from the book of Enoch

- ↑ A term for TV commercial and advertisement commonly used in Japan

- ↑ Reference to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy .

- ↑ Kinoko (茸) is Japanese for mushroom.

- ↑ Kimono (着物) is a Japanese traditional garment.

- ↑ Seiza (正座, literally "proper sitting") is the Japanese term for one of the traditional formal ways of sitting in Japan.

- ↑ A type of bamboo/wooden sword, often used for sword training in Japan.

- ↑ Based on yet another Germanic mythology ( ).

- ↑ It’s combination of Yuu, the protagonist’s name, and the word “bocchi” (ぼっち) which means “loner”.

- ↑ Otherwise known as Fox Udon, it’s hot udon with sweetened deep-fried tofu pockets topping which known to be Japanese fox spirit favorite food, hence forth, “Fox”.

- ↑ A art of paper folding in Japan, it frankly means “to fold a paper”.

- ↑ It’s written as 奴(やっこ) or Yakko, it is the name/title for servant of Samurai family from Edo period.

- ↑ Traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing, once again, you people already know this right?

- ↑

- ↑ A type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel ( ).

- ↑ Referencing the fictional character Hercule Poirot.

- ↑ Alternative term for black tea, a tea that doesn’t include lemon, milk, sugar, or any other additions. Just a plain tea.

- ↑ In case of confusion, it refer to the dim light from a lamp.

- ↑ Futon is traditional Japanese bedding, yeah, you people know it already. I’m sure.

- ↑ The original line "あわてて履行不能の因果を含めようとする二人だったが," roughly means that the two were trying to explain that they aren't a couple. In which case, for Haruha, that can't be the case since in her understanding the two are married and gave birth to her. 履行不能の因果 basically mean "an established fact that impossible to happen" which referring to their circumstances (Yuu and Miharu aren't a couple, but give birth to Haruha). I can't find a way to translate this line properly, so I omitted part of it. - daniman1

- ↑ The posture of a family sleeping together are believed to resemblance the Kanji for river (川) where the child is in the middle.

- ↑ Netto Benkei (ネット弁慶) is Japanese slang referring to a person who has strong personality in internet. Altered version of Uchibenkei (内弁慶).

- ↑ A small dog of a breed with long silky hair, a pointed muzzle, and pricked ears

- ↑ Tebiro, Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture 248-0036, Japan

- ↑ The window here probably refers to the clear plastic you see on one side of toy boxes

- ↑ Yuu’s nickname given by Fuyufu, refer back to chapter 1.

- ↑ Apparently it's another name for toilet

- ↑ I guess it's a reference to this ->

- ↑ One who manipulates or controls another through some mesmeric or sinister influence. Just in case you don’t know and too lazy to look for it.

- ↑ Another name for weed, or to smoke weed. Named from Cheech Marin (from cheech and chong).

- ↑ Pedophile.

- ↑

- ↑ TL Note: It literally saying “Ice fire” (氷の炎). Yes, 氷の炎, not 永の炎 (means burning cold gaze in this line). Either the author's mistake or misprint. Either way, that's what I got from the RAW I receive.

- ↑ Read chapter 1 for more insight.

- ↑ 裏技 (Urawaza) often translated as “secret technique”, “special move”, or “hidden skill”. Though in this case, it means “a trick/method that no one knows of” [EDIT: lit. "underhanded trick" (perhaps "cheat") or the logical operation "exception"]

- ↑ The word for “Scarab” and “Scarabaeus” is spelled same in Japanese, although the two are essentially about the same thing.

- ↑ Ten in Japanese is Juu (十) or like a plus sign (+).

- ↑ A type of traditional Japanese trousers. Like the long skirt Shrine Maiden (Miko) often wear, you know what I’m talking about.

- ↑ This thing -> 川 again. Refer back to chapter 2.

### 005. Prologue

『Cradle to the Glaive』, otherwise commonly known as 『CtG』, was in general a very realistic online role playing game. Set in a virtual world that was played by a large number of players.

The place where the boy and his comrades fought the great bird Megalon Evis was called the“Dragons’ Glaive”. It was one of 10 world spheres that consisted within 『CtG』, and as a RPG, 『CtG』 was a very standard “World of Magic and Sword”.

The moon in Dragon’s Glaive changes color each night.

The moon that day was blue. If one looked at the vast grassland they could see an eye-catching sight of transparent butterflies casually flying by. And in midst of such peacefulness...

“Are you a dung beetle?"

It was when the boy had sat down on a big rock and opened up the menu screen that he got called that. The game menu that was displayed on the air hardly had any differences when compared from traditional role playing games.

The boy then closed the menu by switching his gaze. There was no need to search for the owner of the voice. The face of a girl appeared in front of him. It was the girl who got blown off from earlier. The girl then kneeled down to look at the boy's face.

The boy was unconsciously(been)taken aback and was hit by the rock beside his head. Even though the pain was reduced while in game, the shock from it had shaken his vision ― and within this vision, the girl appeared to be laughing.

They were discussing about the distribution of the quest reward from before, and what made it surprising was that the girl turned out to be quite pretty. She was like some kind of idol wearing a stage costume, and so fluffy dresses seemed to suit her well.

Even though she fell on the ground twice, her clothes hardly had any traces of soil or dirt on it. Ultimately(,)because this was contained within a game, what was in front of them was just an illusion perceived through electronic signals shown to the brain.

But that was not important right now.

The boy then stood up, cleared his throat and asked the girl.

“Do I look like a bug to you?”

“But doesn’t your second name tag say 《Clamp of Scarabaeus》 on it?”

The boy then switched to expansion mode to look at it. Indeed, there was a string attached to a floating placard saying 《Clamp of Scarabaeus》 around his shoulder. It was a yellow tag that was attached by other players. The boy—Clamp, let out a small sigh.

“Please don’t give it any attention. It was just a thing those people gave me without permission….it’s something like a nickname.”

He was referring to those people that had given them assistance through bows and arrows from before. 【Labyrinth Troupe】 is a small but long-established guild. Clamp was not a member but he often went together with them to finish quests. The girl in front of him seemed to be a guest too, just like him, but it was the first time he had ever met her.

“Is that so?” replied the girl.

“When I look up the dictionary service, a scarab turned out to be a kind of dung beetle. Quite a weird nickname, I say.

Aaa, do you know? There’s no dung beetle in Japan. Surprising, isn’t it?. It’s a famous insect. I’d have expected it to be somewhere in place such as nearby park.”

And naturally the conversation continued. But it was too fast-paced and really abrupt. Clamp was someone who was bad with conversations and couldn’t help but to be confused in this situation, however it did not leave a bad impression on the girl.

“Hmm…. I see.”

“Ah, you don’t have to be polite. It doesn’t seem we are that far off in terms of age.”

Just like what the girl had said, Clamp and the girl did not seem to have that wide a gap in age.

That meant that the ages of both players were close to each other.

In 『CtG』, players control their in-game avatar through their brain’s nerves system. Therefore, the player’s gender, physique, and physical age couldn’t be that far from their real self, otherwise they wouldn’t able to operate it.

Of course, there were cases of kids making themselves look grown up or adults intentionally making themselves look young… Well, such news were spreading through the internet, and Clamp could only nod and sigh.

The girl’s smile in response was charming to say the least, and went without saying that it was truly powerful and bore its own weight. There’s no sane man who would go against that smile.

“My name is Mifa. Thank you for saving me earlier. I forgot to say thanks so I came here. I’ve only played 『CtG』 for a month, so I’m still a beginner. I hope we get well together, Scarabaeus-kun”

Along with a powerful smile, the girl, Mifa held out her hand.

Clamp somehow felt defeated. He couldn’t win. That’s why(,) rather than shaking her hand as he should have, he took her hand as if giving up.

“Aaa, my regards Mifa. But that name is a bit…”

In that moment, above their connected hands, a pair of arcs appeared.

The semi-circular arcs of light didn’t feel realistic at all. Both were flashing a red and blue color, resembling butterflies playing with each other.

“……What is this?”

Muttered Mifa absentmindedly. Clamp was a little bit more composed. Or maybe he was just simply too surprised to react properly.

“This is an event…”

He had heard about this before. This was a special event that only occurred when certain conditions were met between two players. When semicircular arcs of red and blue lights are displayed it means ―

“This is the signal for 『《Marriage》 Available』!!”

“Haaa…?” Shouted Mifa loudly.

“What the heck is that? We’ve only met today right?”

“I don’t know… but the requirements for this event is for 『Both players’ personality, aptitude, behavior logs to perfectly fit with each other and their compatibility level has to be at its maximum』… That’s what was written on the official guide. It can only occur when the personality data of both are perfectly matched, and since the compatibility data's are completely unknown, there are only very few pairs who have received this event. They number less than two digits within over one hundred fifty ten thousand players in this game.

This is truly THE ULTRA RARE! A mystical event!”

“Y-you sure know a lot…”

Noticing that Mifa pulled back after hearing his overly passionate talk, Clamp quickly averted his eyes.

“….Well, there’s a reason for it actually. Because I’ve decided to 『Experience every Event』 in this game as a goal.”

Hearing that, Mifa’s eyes widened.

“To experience everything… are you serious? But I've heard that there are over 3000 events in the 10 spheres? And they are steadily increasing.”

“I don’t mind if it’s increasing. However, though I understand that it will be difficult, no matter how much time it will take, this year I’ll clear every released event… I must do it, or it’ll be no good.”

“Hmm…”

While being illuminated by red and blue lights, Mifa let out her voice as if being impressed. And while reflecting the lights, she directed her gaze at Clamp.

“Best compatibility…. huh.”

After rubbing her dazzling small lips with her finger, she said,

“Then… should we try it out?”

It was so sudden that Clamp blinked in panic.

“《Marriage》, I meant! If we let this go now, I wonder when it would appear again?”

“But… is it okay with such light feelings…”

“But, well…”

Mifa, who was unsure what to say, suddenly burst out laughing lightheartedly.

“This is just inside a game after all.”

If you think about it, it was exactly like she said.

After that, both of them checked the online manual just in case 《Marriage》 had some kind of demerit, but from what they had read(,) there was none.

Both of them closed their online manual screen and stared at each other.

“W-well then… let’s… do it”

Clamp proposed quite frivolously .

“Yeah, since we have gone this far.”

Replied Mifa plainly as they proceeded.

Both of them then held hands below the flying arcs of light. As they did that, the arcs stopped moving and slowly descended while approaching their hands, forming a circle. Then, it started circling both of their hands.

*CLING*

It made a metallic sound as if turning a lock.

And so, their wedding was completed as simply as heating up a cup of ramen.

―Just a few seconds after the 《Marriage》, the boy returned from the illusionary grassland to reality.

And soon after that, “Emm… Then, dismiss?” said both of them fuzzily as a form of farewell and logged out from the game. It was not like some kind of chain event(s), and tomorrow both of them would head to their own schools and lead their ordinary lives.

They were barely conscious about their wedding in a virtual world event, and it just passed as if nothing happened. It was truly an unfulfilling experience.

Immediately after logging out, he felt an uncomfortable sensation as if his body and mind was out of sync.

『CtG』 worked very similarly to real life and the operational mechanism barely had any differences (to it) . When controlling the body with low precision, it would feel very unreliable and naturally hard to control.

Kasugai Yuu, who was still trying to shake off the sensation of being “Clamp”, took off the transparent visor on his head. That visor was called the Râmîêl and was the exclusive wearable gear for 『CtG』 used to dive into the game.

What was seen after taking off the Ramiel was a dark living room. No one was there. It was completely dark, and only the traces of faint lights could be seen throughout the house.

In the middle of the room was a needlessly big sofa. That was his recent comfortable spot. He used this TV watching-exclusive spot to connect to 『CtG』, and it was the most comfortable place to wake up on.

Within the faint darkness, *tick* *tock* . The sound of an analog clock that hung on the wall filled the quietness of the room. Yuu looked at the clock, and both of its needles pointed at 12. Those needles might have been the only animated object in the room…

―And suddenly he felt a chill run down his spine.

Along with that sensation, he could feel the movement of his own blood pulse. As if some kind of otherworldly being had returned to this world.

“….I’m alive”

He unconsciously talked to himself as he reached out his hand to grab the mineral water on the table. Then a smile from a photo displayed on a frame on the table caught his eyes. As if being taken over, Yuu opened his mouth and said―

“Mom…. I married (with) someone in a game”

Kasugai Yuu, he is a boy who turned sixteen today. It has been half a year since his mother passed away. And from that day on, he had been living all alone in this large house―

“DAAaaaaaaaaddy~~~”

*BAM*

Alongside a ruthless cry, Kasugai Yuu got pushed onto his “special seat” above the sofa by a little kid who jumped at him like a cannonball.

“Welcome home!!”

That kid was a girl. Her appearance was that of a little girl at the age of eight years old. She was very adorable and cute.

Her dazzling smile was so bright that it could illuminate the entire living room.

“Oi….”

Yuu suddenly let out a strict voice towards the girl, but that was not because he got hurt from what she did.

“It’s not good you know. Look, you’re drenching wet.”

The girl’s body was dripping hot water and she must have taken a bath after being drenched by the heavy rain outside.

Her long hair that was usually soft and fluffy was now sticking on her shoulder and back.

Yuu held both of the girl's hands and pulled her to stand in front of the sofa.

After clearing his throat, he looked straight into the girl’s eyes.

“Remember to wipe yourself immediately after coming out of the bath. Even though it’s summer, you will catch a cold like that.”

“Eeeee―....?”

The girl who came out from the dressing room, only wearing a piece of panties showed no effort of covering herself at all.

“But, but, if I wipe myself, Rasupu-chan will begin!”

How will you take responsibility for making me miss it? Said the girl through her eyes, and in response, Yuu looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It was almost seven p.m. That was the time for the anime 『Revive! Mystical Priest Girl Rasupu-chan 5』 that was popular amongst girls.

“But you can watch it anytime, right?”

TV shows these days could be recorded immediately after the broadcast, so it could be viewed anytime.

But the girl only puffed her cheeks upon hearing that.

“No! It must be watched at the right time!”

“But there will be CM running midway.”

“But I won’t able to cheer if I don’t watch it at the right time―!”

“O-Oh, is... that so.”

Somehow within her head watching at the broadcast time = live air. Breaking a child’s innocence was not an option so he could only give up. It was then that a voice coming from the bathroom could be heard.

“I’ll wipe her up, please bring the towel here.”

“No, no way! What are you saying!?”

What came turned out to be a panicked voice then followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.

“I’ll wipe her! Kasugai-kun, can just stay still there.”

“Well if so then I will leave it to…. YOU!?”

The one who appeared was―― a girl with an amazing look holding a towel, coming out from the bathroom.

Even though she was a girl, she was definitely not a little girl, absolutely not.

“Aaa… look, the carpet is all wet…”

Just like Yuu, she was sixteen years old. A pale steam from the bath could be seen above her semi-long hair as she wiped it with a towel. She was dressed very lightly with a simple shirt and knee-length pants. The girl then went on both knees and gently brushed the little girl’s hair.

That was not important, really. She appeared to be in a hurry and had forgotten to wipe herself properly, and as a result her shirt was sticking to her body and her skin was visible.

From where Yuu was, he could only see her back, but the nape of her neck and her shoulder let out a nice fragrance. As a boy of his age, seeing that wonderful sight was a pleasant experience. If he bent his body a little he might be able to see more of it.

“There, raise your hand and do a banzai. Say banzai!”

“Uuu, I won’t be able to watch Rasupu-chan”

And while they were doing that― by the time they knew it, the anime opening theme song (1 minute 30 seconds) had nearly ended― and Yuu only noticed that after he finished watching the scene of a girl wiping the body of a little girl.

After collecting himself, Yuu opened his mouth.

“W-Well, Kugimiya-san…”

“Nn? What is it?”

The girl― Kugimiya Miharu replied without averting her attention from wiping the body of the child.

Even though he was haunted with bad feeling, he had no choice but to say it.

“Kugimiya-san too… I mean… I suggest you to wipe yourself too, I think…”

“Ee?”

*Cliiiink* …. somehow the sound of Miharu’s neck turning can be heard.

While staying where she was, Miharu looked down at her awkward appearance, then turned around. Her face remained expressionless but she was clearly trembling.

“Why… are you still here?”

Didn’t you tell me to stay still? Was the answer that floated above his head.

While desperately averting his eyes, he replied with fast tongue.

“I get it, but Kugimiya-san, you should hurry up and take off your clothes or you will get cold. You came here in that outfit in a hurry right? I won’t think of anything that would break your heart or violate your body, but I cannot avoid this situation, as I’m trying to explain this is, you know.... An accident.”

Without any warning, Miharu took the towel on her hand and *Slam* wrapped Yuu’s head with it to cover up his vision. The wet towel did not cause much pain though.

“If it’s an accident then please don’t look even further. Go out!”

Although it was clearly an unreasonable request, when he peeked through the towel, he saw Miharu’s eyes trembling as it let out tears. There was no way he could protest against that.

Okay okay... He said while leaving the living room after accepting the compromise.

“Wait.”

But he was stopped by Miharu.

When he fearfully turned around, the settled voice appeared to be coming out from the head that was hiding behind the sofa.

“Well, Kasugai-kun. That was, I mean…. I was wrong. I’m sorry. Let’s be careful and don’t repeat it again”

And then while watching their “daughter” whose eyes were glued to the TV screen, she continued.

“I’m her mother and Kasugai-kun is her father. But, you and I are…. not like that, not at all”

“……I know.”

They had been repeating this conversation over and over, he knew that.

He understood, but...

The current situation they were in was hard to explain, what Miharu wanted to say was that it lied in the nature of the problem.

While deeply thinking about that, Yuu finally left the living room to the hallway.

It was just a week ago that this place was still filled with nothing but darkness. But now,

“Eh? Mom, where is dad? Let’s watch this with all of us together”

“We will call him after I have calmed down.”

From the living room he had just left, the voice of a mother and her daughter can be heard.

They were probably the strangest pair of mother and daughter in the world. That girl is definitely her daughter. But that mother... is pretty much a stranger.

That’s right.

Everything began from the night of that spring. Two months ago, ever since his unbelievably reckless 《Marriage》 with Mifa in 『Cradle to the Glaive』…

“My life… became bugged.

### 006. Prologue

The glass rings with sweet power,

It darkens, clearsː it must have beingǃ

In a delicate form I see appear

A well-behaved little Man behaving.

What can the world ask more, what can we?

Now that this mystery's visible to each.

Give ear to what this sounds may be,

They make a voiceː they're forming speech.

-『Faust』 by Albert G.Latham-

The moon quickly darkened as if it was being wrapped by the shadow.

He took a step back in reflex.

A step back. One, two---

As he took his third step, the shadowy figure descended along with a roar.

An Attack.

Although he managed to keep his balance, the earth shook as the mysterious figure landed on the ground, forcing him to retreat even further.

He clicked his tongue in disappointment at himself and turned his gaze towards the opponent in front of him.

----With help from the faint light of the moon, the great bird that was five meters away looked down on crawling prey. Something on the centerpiece of its head was shining vigorously as it watched over from above, it was an eyeball.

It looked grotesque.

If you ignored the size of its eyeball it would be just like a normal bird, and down from its wrist was coated by an armor-like shell. With that, any attack that was aimed at its legs would most likely be repelled.

『The Sky Debris Megalon Evis』

It was tonight's target.

If you walked in small numbers in the eastern grassland, it would come and attack--- Up until there, everything has gone according to the information they got.

The boy gasped nervously and unsheathed his sword, 《Scramasax》 .

Then just as planned---

“Wait, will it be okay!?”

Just as he was about to take a step forward, a voice called over to him. It belonged to his comrade who was hiding within the nearby bushes.

The avoidance from earlier was indeed a close one. It was gratifying that she was worried, but…

“Idiot! Don’t be so loud!”

There was no other choice but to shout back. Sure enough, the great bird had already reacted to the voice of his comrade and kicked the ground.

Although it didn't fly, it jumped as if it was flying.

Swiftly.

Big, at any rate it was indeed big.

With power appropriate to its big size, it cut off dozens of meters in an instant and came close to its new-found target.

“Uhyaaa!?”

Along with a restless scream, the girl hurriedly jumped out from the bushes.

As if embracing her fluttering blonde hair, she rolled and fell onto the ground.

Aiming at the girl, the great bird swung up its claw.

Although the girl managed to stand up, she had completely lost her chance to escape. In that moment, the claw reflected a sparkling image of her quivering pupils,

The girl was hit and blown by the impact and once again tumbled onto the grass.

The boy who was armed with a sword managed to follow up in time. However, by doing so he was exposed to the claw of the great bird. The boy who charged in to save his comrade should have had no way to escape.

With the rough noise of the wind being sliced, the pole-like claw swung down. The girl couldn't help but to shut her eyes.

From the looks of it, the boy who was wearing light armor shouldn't have been able to handle the attack from the giant bird and would have been expelled from this world.

---But even when the impact hit the ground, the boy’s presence (Marker) did not disappear.

When the girl timidly opened her eyes, the boy had managed to retreat creating 5 to 6 meters in an instant. It was truly an unbelievable feat.

Unsurprisingly, the boy raised a sharp cry.

“Get down!”

The great bird’s feet were blown with a flash.

From its large sound, bugs that were resting upon its wings flew off in unison.

As the boy avoided its claw, he detonated the bombs he had prepared earlier.

The staggered bird then spread its wing. If hit by a large-type weapon it would spread it wings― everything was according to the information they got.

In an instant, a rain of arrows started showering towards its wing. Without the need to confirm, it was from the comrades who were hiding within the forest.

As the damage accumulated, the great bird lowered its back. Furthermore, the damage on its wings would temporarily disable its flying ability.

“I’m counting on you.”

“Y-yes!”

Led by the boy’s voice, the girl from before stabilized her breathing and closed her eyes in a hurry. Then quietly, the sound of a voice soaked through the night along with the wind. It was a cursed song to negate the giant bird-type monster’s 《Voice Curse》. Megalon Evis’s Death Throes Scream was an AOE attack that would cause instant death.

The wild singing voice lightly echoed through the hunter’s meadow. The girl’s hair shone faintly and she timidly opened her eyes to check whatever the song came into effect or not.

The boy’s body emitted light as he approached the enemy that was now lying on the ground. The drawn sword was then swung under the moonlight.

“---Got you!!”

The great bird’s eye was taken down in one swing.

CRITICAL HIT!!

The blood sprayed up into the air like the trace of a sonorous singing voice. The shreds of blood then formed a few clear words above the air and the moon changed color to crimson red as if it was stained by it.

## Prologue

『Cradle to the Glaive』, otherwise commonly known as 『CtG』, was in general a very realistic online role playing game. Set in a virtual world that was played by a large number of players.

The place where the boy and his comrades fought the great bird Megalon Evis was called the“Dragons’ Glaive”. It was one of 10 world spheres that consisted within 『CtG』, and as a RPG, 『CtG』 was a very standard “World of Magic and Sword”.

The moon in Dragon’s Glaive changes color each night.

The moon that day was blue. If one looked at the vast grassland they could see an eye-catching sight of transparent butterflies casually flying by. And in midst of such peacefulness...

“Are you a dung beetle?"

It was when the boy had sat down on a big rock and opened up the menu screen that he got called that. The game menu that was displayed on the air hardly had any differences when compared from traditional role playing games.

The boy then closed the menu by switching his gaze. There was no need to search for the owner of the voice. The face of a girl appeared in front of him. It was the girl who got blown off from earlier. The girl then kneeled down to look at the boy's face.

The boy was unconsciously(been)taken aback and was hit by the rock beside his head. Even though the pain was reduced while in game, the shock from it had shaken his vision ― and within this vision, the girl appeared to be laughing.

They were discussing about the distribution of the quest reward from before, and what made it surprising was that the girl turned out to be quite pretty. She was like some kind of idol wearing a stage costume, and so fluffy dresses seemed to suit her well.

Even though she fell on the ground twice, her clothes hardly had any traces of soil or dirt on it. Ultimately(,)because this was contained within a game, what was in front of them was just an illusion perceived through electronic signals shown to the brain.

But that was not important right now.

The boy then stood up, cleared his throat and asked the girl.

“Do I look like a bug to you?”

“But doesn’t your second name tag say 《Clamp of Scarabaeus》 on it?”

The boy then switched to expansion mode to look at it. Indeed, there was a string attached to a floating placard saying 《Clamp of Scarabaeus》 around his shoulder. It was a yellow tag that was attached by other players. The boy—Clamp, let out a small sigh.

“Please don’t give it any attention. It was just a thing those people gave me without permission….it’s something like a nickname.”

He was referring to those people that had given them assistance through bows and arrows from before. 【Labyrinth Troupe】 is a small but long-established guild. Clamp was not a member but he often went together with them to finish quests. The girl in front of him seemed to be a guest too, just like him, but it was the first time he had ever met her.

“Is that so?” replied the girl.

“When I look up the dictionary service, a scarab turned out to be a kind of dung beetle. Quite a weird nickname, I say.

Aaa, do you know? There’s no dung beetle in Japan. Surprising, isn’t it?. It’s a famous insect. I’d have expected it to be somewhere in place such as nearby park.”

And naturally the conversation continued. But it was too fast-paced and really abrupt. Clamp was someone who was bad with conversations and couldn’t help but to be confused in this situation, however it did not leave a bad impression on the girl.

“Hmm…. I see.”

“Ah, you don’t have to be polite. It doesn’t seem we are that far off in terms of age.”

Just like what the girl had said, Clamp and the girl did not seem to have that wide a gap in age.

That meant that the ages of both players were close to each other.

In 『CtG』, players control their in-game avatar through their brain’s nerves system. Therefore, the player’s gender, physique, and physical age couldn’t be that far from their real self, otherwise they wouldn’t able to operate it.

Of course, there were cases of kids making themselves look grown up or adults intentionally making themselves look young… Well, such news were spreading through the internet, and Clamp could only nod and sigh.

The girl’s smile in response was charming to say the least, and went without saying that it was truly powerful and bore its own weight. There’s no sane man who would go against that smile.

“My name is Mifa. Thank you for saving me earlier. I forgot to say thanks so I came here. I’ve only played 『CtG』 for a month, so I’m still a beginner. I hope we get well together, Scarabaeus-kun”

Along with a powerful smile, the girl, Mifa held out her hand.

Clamp somehow felt defeated. He couldn’t win. That’s why(,) rather than shaking her hand as he should have, he took her hand as if giving up.

“Aaa, my regards Mifa. But that name is a bit…”

In that moment, above their connected hands, a pair of arcs appeared.

The semi-circular arcs of light didn’t feel realistic at all. Both were flashing a red and blue color, resembling butterflies playing with each other.

“……What is this?”

Muttered Mifa absentmindedly. Clamp was a little bit more composed. Or maybe he was just simply too surprised to react properly.

“This is an event…”

He had heard about this before. This was a special event that only occurred when certain conditions were met between two players. When semicircular arcs of red and blue lights are displayed it means ―

“This is the signal for 『《Marriage》 Available』!!”

“Haaa…?” Shouted Mifa loudly.

“What the heck is that? We’ve only met today right?”

“I don’t know… but the requirements for this event is for 『Both players’ personality, aptitude, behavior logs to perfectly fit with each other and their compatibility level has to be at its maximum』… That’s what was written on the official guide. It can only occur when the personality data of both are perfectly matched, and since the compatibility data's are completely unknown, there are only very few pairs who have received this event. They number less than two digits within over one hundred fifty ten thousand players in this game.

This is truly THE ULTRA RARE! A mystical event!”

“Y-you sure know a lot…”

Noticing that Mifa pulled back after hearing his overly passionate talk, Clamp quickly averted his eyes.

“….Well, there’s a reason for it actually. Because I’ve decided to 『Experience every Event』 in this game as a goal.”

Hearing that, Mifa’s eyes widened.

“To experience everything… are you serious? But I've heard that there are over 3000 events in the 10 spheres? And they are steadily increasing.”

“I don’t mind if it’s increasing. However, though I understand that it will be difficult, no matter how much time it will take, this year I’ll clear every released event… I must do it, or it’ll be no good.”

“Hmm…”

While being illuminated by red and blue lights, Mifa let out her voice as if being impressed. And while reflecting the lights, she directed her gaze at Clamp.

“Best compatibility…. huh.”

After rubbing her dazzling small lips with her finger, she said,

“Then… should we try it out?”

It was so sudden that Clamp blinked in panic.

“《Marriage》, I meant! If we let this go now, I wonder when it would appear again?”

“But… is it okay with such light feelings…”

“But, well…”

Mifa, who was unsure what to say, suddenly burst out laughing lightheartedly.

“This is just inside a game after all.”

If you think about it, it was exactly like she said.

After that, both of them checked the online manual just in case 《Marriage》 had some kind of demerit, but from what they had read(,) there was none.

Both of them closed their online manual screen and stared at each other.

“W-well then… let’s… do it”

Clamp proposed quite frivolously .

“Yeah, since we have gone this far.”

Replied Mifa plainly as they proceeded.

Both of them then held hands below the flying arcs of light. As they did that, the arcs stopped moving and slowly descended while approaching their hands, forming a circle. Then, it started circling both of their hands.

*CLING*

It made a metallic sound as if turning a lock.

And so, their wedding was completed as simply as heating up a cup of ramen.

―Just a few seconds after the 《Marriage》, the boy returned from the illusionary grassland to reality.

And soon after that, “Emm… Then, dismiss?” said both of them fuzzily as a form of farewell and logged out from the game. It was not like some kind of chain event(s), and tomorrow both of them would head to their own schools and lead their ordinary lives.

They were barely conscious about their wedding in a virtual world event, and it just passed as if nothing happened. It was truly an unfulfilling experience.

Immediately after logging out, he felt an uncomfortable sensation as if his body and mind was out of sync.

『CtG』 worked very similarly to real life and the operational mechanism barely had any differences (to it) . When controlling the body with low precision, it would feel very unreliable and naturally hard to control.

Kasugai Yuu, who was still trying to shake off the sensation of being “Clamp”, took off the transparent visor on his head. That visor was called the Râmîêl and was the exclusive wearable gear for 『CtG』 used to dive into the game.

What was seen after taking off the Ramiel was a dark living room. No one was there. It was completely dark, and only the traces of faint lights could be seen throughout the house.

In the middle of the room was a needlessly big sofa. That was his recent comfortable spot. He used this TV watching-exclusive spot to connect to 『CtG』, and it was the most comfortable place to wake up on.

Within the faint darkness, *tick* *tock* . The sound of an analog clock that hung on the wall filled the quietness of the room. Yuu looked at the clock, and both of its needles pointed at 12. Those needles might have been the only animated object in the room…

―And suddenly he felt a chill run down his spine.

Along with that sensation, he could feel the movement of his own blood pulse. As if some kind of otherworldly being had returned to this world.

“….I’m alive”

He unconsciously talked to himself as he reached out his hand to grab the mineral water on the table. Then a smile from a photo displayed on a frame on the table caught his eyes. As if being taken over, Yuu opened his mouth and said―

“Mom…. I married (with) someone in a game”

Kasugai Yuu, he is a boy who turned sixteen today. It has been half a year since his mother passed away. And from that day on, he had been living all alone in this large house―

“DAAaaaaaaaaddy~~~”

*BAM*

Alongside a ruthless cry, Kasugai Yuu got pushed onto his “special seat” above the sofa by a little kid who jumped at him like a cannonball.

“Welcome home!!”

That kid was a girl. Her appearance was that of a little girl at the age of eight years old. She was very adorable and cute.

Her dazzling smile was so bright that it could illuminate the entire living room.

“Oi….”

Yuu suddenly let out a strict voice towards the girl, but that was not because he got hurt from what she did.

“It’s not good you know. Look, you’re drenching wet.”

The girl’s body was dripping hot water and she must have taken a bath after being drenched by the heavy rain outside.

Her long hair that was usually soft and fluffy was now sticking on her shoulder and back.

Yuu held both of the girl's hands and pulled her to stand in front of the sofa.

After clearing his throat, he looked straight into the girl’s eyes.

“Remember to wipe yourself immediately after coming out of the bath. Even though it’s summer, you will catch a cold like that.”

“Eeeee―....?”

The girl who came out from the dressing room, only wearing a piece of panties showed no effort of covering herself at all.

“But, but, if I wipe myself, Rasupu-chan will begin!”

How will you take responsibility for making me miss it? Said the girl through her eyes, and in response, Yuu looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It was almost seven p.m. That was the time for the anime 『Revive! Mystical Priest Girl Rasupu-chan 5』 that was popular amongst girls.

“But you can watch it anytime, right?”

TV shows these days could be recorded immediately after the broadcast, so it could be viewed anytime.

But the girl only puffed her cheeks upon hearing that.

“No! It must be watched at the right time!”

“But there will be CM running midway.”

“But I won’t able to cheer if I don’t watch it at the right time―!”

“O-Oh, is... that so.”

Somehow within her head watching at the broadcast time = live air. Breaking a child’s innocence was not an option so he could only give up. It was then that a voice coming from the bathroom could be heard.

“I’ll wipe her up, please bring the towel here.”

“No, no way! What are you saying!?”

What came turned out to be a panicked voice then followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.

“I’ll wipe her! Kasugai-kun, can just stay still there.”

“Well if so then I will leave it to…. YOU!?”

The one who appeared was―― a girl with an amazing look holding a towel, coming out from the bathroom.

Even though she was a girl, she was definitely not a little girl, absolutely not.

“Aaa… look, the carpet is all wet…”

Just like Yuu, she was sixteen years old. A pale steam from the bath could be seen above her semi-long hair as she wiped it with a towel. She was dressed very lightly with a simple shirt and knee-length pants. The girl then went on both knees and gently brushed the little girl’s hair.

That was not important, really. She appeared to be in a hurry and had forgotten to wipe herself properly, and as a result her shirt was sticking to her body and her skin was visible.

From where Yuu was, he could only see her back, but the nape of her neck and her shoulder let out a nice fragrance. As a boy of his age, seeing that wonderful sight was a pleasant experience. If he bent his body a little he might be able to see more of it.

“There, raise your hand and do a banzai. Say banzai!”

“Uuu, I won’t be able to watch Rasupu-chan”

And while they were doing that― by the time they knew it, the anime opening theme song (1 minute 30 seconds) had nearly ended― and Yuu only noticed that after he finished watching the scene of a girl wiping the body of a little girl.

After collecting himself, Yuu opened his mouth.

“W-Well, Kugimiya-san…”

“Nn? What is it?”

The girl― Kugimiya Miharu replied without averting her attention from wiping the body of the child.

Even though he was haunted with bad feeling, he had no choice but to say it.

“Kugimiya-san too… I mean… I suggest you to wipe yourself too, I think…”

“Ee?”

*Cliiiink* …. somehow the sound of Miharu’s neck turning can be heard.

While staying where she was, Miharu looked down at her awkward appearance, then turned around. Her face remained expressionless but she was clearly trembling.

“Why… are you still here?”

Didn’t you tell me to stay still? Was the answer that floated above his head.

While desperately averting his eyes, he replied with fast tongue.

“I get it, but Kugimiya-san, you should hurry up and take off your clothes or you will get cold. You came here in that outfit in a hurry right? I won’t think of anything that would break your heart or violate your body, but I cannot avoid this situation, as I’m trying to explain this is, you know.... An accident.”

Without any warning, Miharu took the towel on her hand and *Slam* wrapped Yuu’s head with it to cover up his vision. The wet towel did not cause much pain though.

“If it’s an accident then please don’t look even further. Go out!”

Although it was clearly an unreasonable request, when he peeked through the towel, he saw Miharu’s eyes trembling as it let out tears. There was no way he could protest against that.

Okay okay... He said while leaving the living room after accepting the compromise.

“Wait.”

But he was stopped by Miharu.

When he fearfully turned around, the settled voice appeared to be coming out from the head that was hiding behind the sofa.

“Well, Kasugai-kun. That was, I mean…. I was wrong. I’m sorry. Let’s be careful and don’t repeat it again”

And then while watching their “daughter” whose eyes were glued to the TV screen, she continued.

“I’m her mother and Kasugai-kun is her father. But, you and I are…. not like that, not at all”

“……I know.”

They had been repeating this conversation over and over, he knew that.

He understood, but...

The current situation they were in was hard to explain, what Miharu wanted to say was that it lied in the nature of the problem.

While deeply thinking about that, Yuu finally left the living room to the hallway.

It was just a week ago that this place was still filled with nothing but darkness. But now,

“Eh? Mom, where is dad? Let’s watch this with all of us together”

“We will call him after I have calmed down.”

From the living room he had just left, the voice of a mother and her daughter can be heard.

They were probably the strangest pair of mother and daughter in the world. That girl is definitely her daughter. But that mother... is pretty much a stranger.

That’s right.

Everything began from the night of that spring. Two months ago, ever since his unbelievably reckless 《Marriage》 with Mifa in 『Cradle to the Glaive』…

“My life… became bugged.

### 007. Terminus

”The glass rings with sweet power,”

”It darkens, clearsː it must have beingǃ”

”In a delicate form I see appear”

”A well-behaved little Man behaving.”

”What can the world ask more, what can we?”

”Now that this mystery’s visible to each.”

”Give ear to what this sounds may be,”

”They make a voiceː they’re forming speech.”

『Faust』 – Translated by Albert G.Latham –

The moon quickly darkened as if it was being wrapped by the shadow.

He took a step back in reflex.

A step back. One, two—

As he took his third step, the shadowy figure descended along with a roar.

An Attack.

Although he managed to keep his balance, the earth shook as the mysterious figure landed on the ground, forcing him to retreat even further.

He clicked his tongue in disappointment at himself and turned his gaze towards the opponent in front of him.

—-With help from the faint light of the moon, the great bird that was five meters away looked down on crawling prey. Something on the centerpiece of its head was shining vigorously as it watched over from above, it was an eyeball.

It looked grotesque.

If you ignored the size of its eyeball it would be just like a normal bird, and down from its wrist was coated by an armor-like shell. With that, any attack that was aimed at its legs would most likely be repelled.

『The Sky Debris Megalon Evis』

It was tonight’s target.

If you walked in small numbers in the eastern grassland, it would come and attack— Up until there, everything has gone according to the information they got.

The boy gasped nervously and unsheathed his sword, 《Scramasax》 [1]

Then just as planned—

“Wait, will it be okay!?”

Just as he was about to take a step forward, a voice called over to him. It belonged to his comrade who was hiding within the nearby bushes.

The avoidance from earlier was indeed a close one. It was gratifying that she was worried, but…

“Idiot! Don’t be so loud!”

There was no other choice but to shout back. Sure enough, the great bird had already reacted to the voice of his comrade and kicked the ground.

Although it didn’t fly, it jumped as if it was flying.

Swiftly.

Big, at any rate it was indeed big.

With power appropriate to its big size, it cut off dozens of meters in an instant and came close to its new-found target.

“Uhyaaa!?”

Along with a restless scream, the girl hurriedly jumped out from the bushes.

As if embracing her fluttering blonde hair, she rolled and fell onto the ground.

Aiming at the girl, the great bird swung up its claw.

Although the girl managed to stand up, she had completely lost her chance to escape. In that moment, the claw reflected a sparkling image of her quivering pupils,

The girl was hit and blown by the impact and once again tumbled onto the grass.

The boy who was armed with a sword managed to follow up in time. However, by doing so he was exposed to the claw of the great bird. The boy who charged in to save his comrade should have had no way to escape.

With the rough noise of the wind being sliced, the pole-like claw swung down. The girl couldn’t help but to shut her eyes.

From the looks of it, the boy who was wearing light armor shouldn’t have been able to handle the attack from the giant bird and would have been expelled from this world.

—But even when the impact hit the ground, the boy’s presence (Marker) did not disappear.

When the girl timidly opened her eyes, the boy had managed to retreat creating 5 to 6 meters in an instant. It was truly an unbelievable feat.

Unsurprisingly, the boy raised a sharp cry.

“Get down!”

The great bird’s feet were blown with a flash.

From its large sound, bugs that were resting upon its wings flew off in unison.

As the boy avoided its claw, he detonated the bombs he had prepared earlier.

The staggered bird then spread its wing. If hit by a large-type weapon it would spread it wings― everything was according to the information they got.

In an instant, a rain of arrows started showering towards its wing. Without the need to confirm, it was from the comrades who were hiding within the forest.

As the damage accumulated, the great bird lowered its back. Furthermore, the damage on its wings would temporarily disable its flying ability.

“I’m counting on you.”

“Y-yes!”

Led by the boy’s voice, the girl from before stabilized her breathing and closed her eyes in a hurry. Then quietly, the sound of a voice soaked through the night along with the wind. It was a cursed song to negate the giant bird-type monster’s 《Voice Curse》. Megalon Evis’s Death Throes Scream was an AOE attack that would cause instant death.

The wild singing voice lightly echoed through the hunter’s meadow. The girl’s hair shone faintly and she timidly opened her eyes to check whatever the song came into effect or not.

The boy’s body emitted light as he approached the enemy that was now lying on the ground. The drawn sword was then swung under the moonlight.

“—Got you!!”

The great bird’s eye was taken down in one swing.

”’CRITICAL HIT!!”’

The blood sprayed up into the air like the trace of a sonorous singing voice. The shreds of blood then formed a few clear words above the air and the moon changed color to crimson red as if it was stained by it.

Prologue

『Cradle to the Glaive』, otherwise commonly known as 『CtG』, was in general a very realistic online role playing game. Set in a virtual world that was played by a large number of players.

The place where the boy and his comrades fought the great bird Megalon Evis was called the“Dragons’ Glaive”. It was one of 10 world spheres that consisted within 『CtG』, and as a RPG, 『CtG』 was a very standard “World of Magic and Sword”.

The moon in Dragon’s Glaive changes color each night.

The moon that day was blue. If one looked at the vast grassland they could see an eye-catching sight of transparent butterflies casually flying by. And in midst of such peacefulness…

“Are you a dung beetle?”

It was when the boy had sat down on a big rock and opened up the menu screen that he got called that. The game menu that was displayed on the air hardly had any differences when compared from traditional role playing games.

The boy then closed the menu by switching his gaze. There was no need to search for the owner of the voice. The face of a girl appeared in front of him. It was the girl who got blown off from earlier. The girl then knelt down to look at the boy’s face.

The boy was unconsciously taken aback and was hit by the rock beside his head. Even though the pain was reduced while in game, the shock from it had shaken his vision ― and within this vision, the girl appeared to be laughing.

They were discussing about the distribution of the quest reward from before, and what made it surprising was that the girl turned out to be quite pretty. She was like some kind of idol wearing a stage costume, and so fluffy dresses seemed to suit her well.

Even though she fell onto the ground twice, her clothes hardly had any traces of soil or dirt on it. Ultimately, because this was contained within a game, what was in front of them was just an illusion perceived through electronic signals shown to the brain.

But that was not important right now.

The boy then stood up, cleared his throat and asked the girl.

“Do I look like a bug to you?”

“But doesn’t your second name tag say 《Clamp of Scarabaeus》 on it?”

The boy then switched to AR Mode to look at it. Indeed, there was a string attached to a floating placard saying 《Clamp of Scarabaeus》 around his shoulder. It was a yellow tag that was attached by other players. The boy—Clamp, let out a small sigh.

“Please don’t give it any attention. It was just a thing those people gave me without permission…. it’s something like a nickname.”

He was referring to those people that had given them assistance through bows and arrows from before. 【Labyrinth Troupe】 is a small but long-established guild. Clamp was not a member but he often went together with them to finish quests. The girl in front of him seemed to be a guest too, just like him, but it was the first time he had ever met her.

“Is that so?” replied the girl.

“When I look up the dictionary service, a scarab turned out to be a kind of dung beetle. Quite a weird nickname, I say.

“Aaa, do you know? There’s no dung beetle in Japan. Surprising, isn’t it?. It’s a famous insect. I’d have expected it to be somewhere in place such as nearby park.”

And naturally the conversation continued. But it was too fast-paced and really abrupt. Clamp was someone who was bad with conversations and couldn’t help but to be confused in this situation, however it did not leave a bad impression on the girl.

“Hmm…. I see.”

“Ah, you don’t have to be polite. It doesn’t seem we are that far off in terms of age.”

Just like what the girl had said, Clamp and the girl did not seem to have that wide a gap in age.

That meant that the ages of both players were close to each other.

In 『CtG』, players control their in-game avatar through their brain’s nerves system. Therefore, the player’s gender, physique, and physical age couldn’t be that far from their real self, otherwise they wouldn’t able to operate it.

Of course, there were cases of kids making themselves look grown up or adults intentionally making themselves look young… Well, such news were spreading through the internet, and Clamp could only nod and sigh.

The girl’s smile in response was charming to say the least, and went without saying that it was truly powerful and bore its own weight. There’s no sane man who would go against that smile.

“My name is Mifa. Thank you for saving me earlier. I forgot to say thanks so I came here. I’ve only played 『CtG』 for a month, so I’m still a beginner. I hope we get well together, Scarabaeus-kun”

Along with a powerful smile, the girl, Mifa held out her hand.

Clamp somehow felt defeated. He couldn’t win. That’s why(,) rather than shaking her hand as he should have, he took her hand as if giving up.

“Aaa, my regards Mifa. But that name is a bit…”

In that moment, above their connected hands, a pair of arcs appeared.

The semi-circular arcs of light didn’t feel realistic at all. Both were flashing a red and blue color, resembling butterflies playing with each other.

“……What is this?”

Muttered Mifa absentmindedly. Clamp was a little bit more composed. Or maybe he was just simply too surprised to react properly.

“This is an event…”

He had heard about this before. This was a special event that only occurred when certain conditions were met between two players. When semicircular arcs of red and blue lights are displayed it means ―

“This is the signal for 『《Marriage》 Available』!!”

“Haaa…?” Shouted Mifa loudly.

“What the heck is that? We’ve only met today right?”

“I don’t know… but the requirements for this event is for 『Both players’ personality, aptitude, behavior logs to perfectly fit with each other and their compatibility level has to be at its maximum』… That’s what was written on the official guide. It can only occur when the personality data of both are perfectly matched, and since the compatibility data’s are completely unknown, there are only very few pairs who have received this event. They number less than two digits within over a million and a half players in this game.

This is truly THE ULTRA RARE! A mystical event!”

“Y-you sure know a lot…”

Noticing that Mifa pulled back after hearing his overly passionate talk, Clamp quickly averted his eyes.

“….Well, there’s a reason for it actually. Because I’ve decided to 『Experience every Event』 in this game as a goal.”

Hearing that, Mifa’s eyes widened.

“To experience everything… are you serious? But I’ve heard that there are over 3000 events in the 10 spheres? And they are steadily increasing.”

“I don’t mind if it’s increasing. However, though I understand that it will be difficult, no matter how much time it will take, this year I’ll clear every released event… I must do it, or it’ll be no good.”

“Hmm…”

While being illuminated by red and blue lights, Mifa let out her voice as if being impressed. And while reflecting the lights, she directed her gaze at Clamp.

“Best compatibility…. huh.”

After rubbing her dazzling small lips with her finger, she said,

“Then… should we try it out?”

It was so sudden that Clamp blinked in panic.

“《Marriage》, I meant! If we let this go now, I wonder when it would appear again?”

“But… is it okay with such light feelings…”

“But, well…”

Mifa, who was unsure what to say, suddenly burst out laughing lightheartedly.

“This is just inside a game after all.”

If you think about it, it was exactly like she said.

After that, both of them checked the online manual just in case 《Marriage》 had some kind of demerit, but from what they had read, there was none.

Both of them closed their online manual screen and stared at each other.

“W-well then… let’s… do it”

Clamp proposed quite frivolously .

“Yeah, since we have gone this far.”

Replied Mifa plainly as they proceeded.

Both of them then held hands below the flying arcs of light. As they did that, the arcs stopped moving and slowly descended while approaching their hands, forming a circle. Then, it started circling both of their hands.

”*CLING*”

It made a metallic sound as if turning a lock.

And so, their wedding was completed as simply as heating up a cup of ramen.

◆

―Just a few seconds after the 《Marriage》, the boy returned from the illusionary grassland to reality.

And soon after that, “Emm… Then, dismiss?” said both of them fuzzily as a form of farewell and logged out from the game. It was not like some kind of chain event(s), and tomorrow both of them would head to their own schools and lead their ordinary lives.

They were barely conscious about their wedding in a virtual world event, and it just passed as if nothing happened. It was truly an unfulfilling experience.

Immediately after logging out, he felt an uncomfortable sensation as if his body and mind was out of sync.

『CtG』 worked very similarly to real life and the operational mechanism barely had any differences (to it) . When controlling the body with low precision, it would feel very unreliable and naturally hard to control.

Kasugai Yuu, who was still trying to shake off the sensation of being “Clamp”, took off the transparent visor on his head. That visor was called the Râmîêl [2] and was the exclusive wearable gear for 『CtG』 used to dive into the game.

What was seen after taking off the Ramiel was a dark living room. No one was there. It was completely dark, and only the traces of faint lights could be seen throughout the house.

In the middle of the room was a needlessly big sofa. That was his recent comfortable spot. He used this TV watching-exclusive spot to connect to 『CtG』, and it was the most comfortable place to wake up on.

Within the faint darkness, ”*tick* *tock*”. The sound of an analog clock that hung on the wall filled the quietness of the room. Yuu looked at the clock, and both of its needles pointed at 12. Those needles might have been the only animated object in the room…

―And suddenly he felt a chill run down his spine.

Along with that sensation, he could feel the movement of his own blood pulse. As if some kind of otherworldly being had returned to this world.

“….I’m alive”

He unconsciously talked to himself as he reached out his hand to grab the mineral water on the table. Then a smile from a photo displayed on a frame on the table caught his eyes. As if being taken over, Yuu opened his mouth and said―

“Mom…. I married (with) someone in a game”

Kasugai Yuu, he is a boy who turned sixteen today. It has been half a year since his mother passed away. And from that day on, he had been living all alone in this large house―

◆

“DAAaaaaaaaaddy~~~”

”*BAM*”

Alongside a ruthless cry, Kasugai Yuu got pushed onto his “special seat” above the sofa by a little kid who jumped at him like a cannonball.

“Welcome home!!”

That kid was a girl. Her appearance was that of a little girl at the age of eight years old. She was very adorable and cute.

Her dazzling smile was so bright that it could illuminate the entire living room.

“Oi….”

Yuu suddenly let out a strict voice towards the girl, but that was not because he got hurt from what she did.

“It’s not good you know. Look, you’re drenching wet.”

The girl’s body was dripping hot water and she must have taken a bath after being drenched by the heavy rain outside.

Her long hair that was usually soft and fluffy was now sticking on her shoulder and back.

Yuu held both of the girl’s hands and pulled her to stand in front of the sofa.

After clearing his throat, he looked straight into the girl’s eyes.

“Remember to wipe yourself immediately after coming out of the bath. Even though it’s summer, you will catch a cold like that.”

“Eeeee―….?”

The girl who came out from the dressing room, only wearing a piece of panties showed no effort of covering herself at all.

“But, but, if I wipe myself, Rasupu-chan will begin!”

How will you take responsibility for making me miss it? Said the girl through her eyes, and in response, Yuu looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It was almost seven p.m. That was the time for the anime 『Revive! Mystical Priest Girl Rasupu-chan 5』 that was popular amongst girls.

“But you can watch it anytime, right?”

TV shows these days could be recorded immediately after the broadcast, so it could be viewed anytime.

But the girl only puffed her cheeks upon hearing that.

“No! It must be watched at the right time!”

“But there will be commercials running midway.”

“But I won’t able to cheer if I don’t watch it at the right time―!”

“O-Oh, is… that so.”

Somehow within her head watching at the broadcast time = live air. Breaking a child’s innocence was not an option so he could only give up. It was then that a voice coming from the bathroom could be heard.

“I’ll wipe her up, please bring the towel here.”

“No, no way! What are you saying!?”

What came turned out to be a panicked voice then followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.

“I’ll wipe her! Kasugai-kun, can just stay still there.”

“Well if so then I will leave it to…. YOU!?”

The one who appeared was―― a girl with an amazing look holding a towel, coming out from the bathroom.

Even though she was a girl, she was definitely not a little girl, absolutely not.

“Aaa… look, the carpet is all wet…”

Just like Yuu, she was sixteen years old. A pale steam from the bath could be seen above her semi-long hair as she wiped it with a towel. She was dressed very lightly with a simple shirt and knee-length pants. The girl then went on both knees and gently brushed the little girl’s hair.

That was not important, really. She appeared to be in a hurry and had forgotten to wipe herself properly, and as a result her shirt was sticking to her body and her skin was visible.

From where Yuu was, he could only see her back, but the nape of her neck and her shoulder let out a nice fragrance. As a boy of his age, seeing that wonderful sight was a pleasant experience. If he bent his body a little he might be able to see more of it.

“There, raise your hand and do a banzai. Say banzai!”

“Uuu, I won’t be able to watch Rasupu-chan”

And while they were doing that― by the time they knew it, the anime opening theme song (1 minute 30 seconds) had nearly ended― and Yuu only noticed that after he finished watching the scene of a girl wiping the body of a little girl.

After collecting himself, Yuu opened his mouth.

“W-Well, Kugimiya-san…”

“Nn? What is it?”

The girl― Kugimiya Miharu replied without averting her attention from wiping the body of the child.

Even though he was haunted with bad feeling, he had no choice but to say it.

“Kugimiya-san too… I mean… I suggest you to wipe yourself too, I think…”

“Ee?”

”*Cliiiink*”…. somehow the sound of Miharu’s neck turning can be heard.

While staying where she was, Miharu looked down at her awkward appearance, then turned around. Her face remained expressionless but she was clearly trembling.

“Why… are you still here?”

Didn’t you tell me to stay still? Was the answer that floated above his head.

While desperately averting his eyes, he replied with fast tongue.

“I get it, but Kugimiya-san, you should hurry up and take off your clothes or you will get cold. You came here in that outfit in a hurry right? I won’t think of anything that would break your heart or violate your body, but I cannot avoid this situation, as I’m trying to explain this is, you know…. An accident.”

Without any warning, Miharu took the towel on her hand and *Slam* wrapped Yuu’s head with it to cover up his vision. The wet towel did not cause much pain though.

“If it’s an accident then please don’t look even further. Go out!”

Although it was clearly an unreasonable request, when he peeked through the towel, he saw Miharu’s eyes trembling as it let out tears. There was no way he could protest against that.

Okay okay… He said while leaving the living room after accepting the compromise.

“Wait.”

But he was stopped by Miharu.

When he fearfully turned around, the settled voice appeared to be coming out from the head that was hiding behind the sofa.

“Well, Kasugai-kun. That was, I mean…. I was wrong. I’m sorry. Let’s be careful and don’t repeat it again”

And then while watching their “daughter” whose eyes were glued to the TV screen, she continued.

“I’m her mother and Kasugai-kun is her father. But, you and I are…. not like that, not at all”

“……I know.”

They had been repeating this conversation over and over, he knew that.

He understood, but…

The current situation they were in was hard to explain, what Miharu wanted to say was that it lied in the nature of the problem.

While deeply thinking about that, Yuu finally left the living room to the hallway.

It was just a week ago that this place was still filled with nothing but darkness. But now,

“Eh? Mom, where is dad? Let’s watch this with all of us together”

“We will call him after I have calmed down.”

From the living room he had just left, the voice of a mother and her daughter can be heard.

They were probably the strangest pair of mother and daughter in the world. That girl is definitely her daughter. But that mother… is pretty much a stranger.

That’s right.

Everything began from the night of that spring. Two months ago, ever since his unbelievably reckless 《Marriage》 with Mifa in 『Cradle to the Glaive』…

“My life… became bugged.

## Translator’s Notes and References

1. ↑ It’s based on ancient Germanic sword ( ). 2. ↑ Based on the name of an angel/Watcher from the book of Enoch

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### 008. Terminus

Chapter 1: Input

“Then, see you tomorrow”

Homeroom came to an end as the teacher left the class with a refreshing smile, then the class, 1-C , started to get noisy.

Kasugai Yuu took no attention to any of the topics the others were talking about and stood up while holding his bag.

He didn’t particularly stand out or anything. He wore his uniform normally, though the color of his undershirt did violate the school rules it was still okay, at any rate he was just a normal obscure sixteen year old boy.

After the sunset outside met his eyes── which was certainly beautiful── he went ahead to the exit.

“Ooi, Yuu!”

The one who called him was a boy who stood out more than him. His hair had a light brown color and was also pretty tall. While only facing his face Yuu replied,

“What is it Kouta?”

Yuu responded to his friend. Itono Kouta. They’ve been friends since elementary school. Although their appearances were alike he was more of a spirited guy that goes well with innocent and pure people.

“It’s been awhile, do you want to go to the arcade? Do you remember that person from middle school you beat up in a fighting game? She said she wanted to face you again for revenge”

From the looks of it, there were two guys from the class waiting for Kouta. They often chatted together with both of them during break time, but…

“…Sorry. I’m not really in the mood”

“I see. Well, can’t be helped”

Kouta easily nodded and left the classroom along with the other two.

“Then see you later”

The smile Kouta left as he departed made Yuu’s heart ache. As a friend since middle school, he understood Yuu’s “circumstances”. To be taken care by a friend, so pathetic.

Even so, he just didn’t feel like having any foolish commotion with them. And while pitying his boring self, this time he finally went off to leave the classroom── but was once again stopped by an acquaintance.

“Fuyufu…”

“If you isolate yourself too much, your relationship with others will worsen”

Kudzuchi Fuyufu.

She was a girl who would perfectly fit wearing a S-size uniform, a small-sized petite girl. She was even shorter than Yuu who was shorter compared to an average guys’ height. Yuu looked down on her head that seemed like a doll wrapped with sleek black hair.

But in contrast to her small physic, her facial expression was that of a grown-up. And despite having a pretty cute face, she’s giving off atmosphere that hard to get close in.

“People call that 『Loner』”

And this part of her who loves to say things too much must also be noted.

“What up with that suddenly?”

“Nothing”

As she said that, the light in her eyes showed the cold color of condemn.

“It’s been a month since we entered high school. And in this crucial time, I couldn’t help seeing the kid from the neighborhood I used to play with losing even more friends than he already is, so I came here to warn you about it. I’m so kind right?”

There were some parts he couldn’t let go but he understood it. He wasn’t mad from what she said── since it was the truth── but the word “kid from the neighborhood” caught his attention.

Just how long do want to pull back our relationship from elementary school? He would retort.

“And what about you, do you have any friends?”

In response Fuyufu let out a casual yawn, reminiscent that of a cat.

“On the weekends we’re planning to go window shopping, eat sweats in the café, and taking flirty and sparkly pictures in photo booth, the three of us in total. Unfortunately they’re all girls”

…It was frustrating, but it didn’t sound like a lie. Fuyufu appears to be unfriendly but she has some nice sides as well, and she also has the kind of talent to build a good relationship with others.

Yuu who failed to counterattack could only stand still while looking down at the floor quietly.

“Then stop caring about me, just go and have fun”

“Eh? Those girls are busy with clubs so I just came here to play with a loner who seems to have nothing to do though?”

Oh sorry, could it be you haven’t notice? As she looked into his face with a pitying look. Against that, Yuu could only clench his fist and hold down his frustration. His effort was worth some praises he thought, but that was an impossible demand to make.

He let out a sigh. It was his mistake for thinking that Fuyufu would cheer him up.

“Sorry but I don’t have any time to spare. Try someone else”

He said as he started walking. This is what you would call running away. He knew that it was impossible to win against Fuyufu verbally, if they continued who knew when his heart would break.

“Ah…”

Fuyufu’s voice from behind sounded awfully weak.

But she didn’t chase after him.

When he clearly saw that, he increased his speed and walked off.

Yuu’s back slowly disappeared from the hallway, and she couldn’t even bid him a farewell

“Haaa…”

With an expressionless face, Kodzuchi Fuyufu let out a sigh. It felt like tears were flowing up, but she managed to hold it in. It wasn’t like she was sad or anything, she was just a little nervous.

As the tension left, complaints started pouring out of her mouth.

“Idiot… that shut-in brat“

She knew that he was still shocked about his mother but it has been a year since then, he should’ve noticed his childhood friend’s attitude by now. It was just…

“Even though I did the trouble to comfort him”

“““No, no, no… you’re not comforting him at all!”””

Retorted from the group of three girls in softball and table tennis club uniforms who were watching over Fuyufu from afar.

Around 10 minutes away from the major private railways near the school, inside the famous market district there was a quiet station building.

And from there he exited the market district, and after around 20 minutes of walking he arrived at his destination. They say that half a century ago the real estate agent purchased this area all together and turned it into a residential area, but because of the low birth rates there has been a lot of vacant spaces.

At the back of that residential area right above the hill, stood a big house.

It was surrounded by grassy fields and woods, the house that looked dark and pale even in daylight was rumored to be haunted by the children of the neighborhood.

And in front of the haunted house, Yuu inserted a card key and typed in the password of the electronic lock. *Pssssssh*… the sound of air pressure escaped through the cylinder.

He opened the door and entered the house. The evening sunlight passed through the corner of the door. He closed the door from behind and the sounds from outside were severed and disappeared into the hollow.

This is the place that Kasugai Yuu returns to.

“…………”

He didn’t think of anything in particular. After tossing some raw ingredients he brought from the market into the fridge, he walked straight to the living room.

He randomly threw his blazer and bag onto the floor and sat on the sofa while still wearing his uniform. His『CtG』 exclusive terminal, Rumeil, was on top of the table and was left charging.

After putting the familiar device onto his head, he pressed the start switch. A blue light shined from the device, showing that it was working. *Nnnnn*… The low startup sound somehow tickled his stomach.

And then, a song could be heard──

His consciousness started to fade away, melting and changing….

In a few seconds, his consciousness would no longer be in this world and have had made a journey to another world.

◇

It was at that moment a mail notification icon was seen on the corner of his vision and an attack from an axe was made.

Ignoring the mail for a while, he then quickly swung down his single-edged sword, a seax, onto the enemy’s nape.

“Keh……!”

The one who let out the low death throe voices, along with its head on the floor, was the Goblin monster. What was left from the remaining body was just an unsightly pile of meat──

In common RPGs they’re the typical small fry monsters and are treated no different even in 『CtG』. It was an opponent that even a beginner player could win in a one-on-one fight. But on the contrary, you need considerable amount of skill to win against a large number of them.

Yuu (Clamp) watched over the dead corpse from above── and the next moment, large amounts of blood started flowing out of the wounds and some splashed onto the wall. The blood that dyed the wall appears to be sprayed out from the dead body.

”’CUT OFF!”’

”’SINGLE BLOW KILLED!!”’

As a special effect of the result of his attack, some words were displayed with the shed blood, it was a system called Blood Descript. It was said that the system was added by the graphic designer, and Yuu honestly thought it was a bad taste. But if this didn’t exist, some players would feel something was lacking.

“They sure have a good (bad) hobby…”

He muttered as he watched over the surroundings. The passageway of the deserted house was filled with the smell of mold and blood coming out from the Goblin corpses lying on the floor. Even though it was a corpse, by the fact that it had lost all its HP it made it look like nothing but a dead mannequin that lacked vividness and animation.

And in the corner of his sight was a blinking icon. By swinging his line of sight he pulled it to the front. If it was a normal mail he would’ve opened it after he finished the quest, but the color of this icon was red── designating that it was an “Emergency”.

There was still one more Goblin lurking within the deserted building. But there shouldn’t be a problem if it doesn’t attack from a blind spot. While resting his back on the wall, Clamp opened up the mail.

He stared at it for a while.

“What the heck is this?”

It’s incomprehensible. It was from Mifa whom he 《Married》 with after defeating Megalon Evis. Her name was even written as the “Sender”, and a ring icon was shining next to her name.

But no matter how many times he read it, the contents of the mail was simply too abrupt and impossible to understand. Well, anyway, it said she wanted to contact him.

“Any at rate, I have to reply…”

As he said that, he sensed a presence. But there was no figure of a monster in his field of vision── and at the moment he looked up, the Goblin that was hiding above jumped at him!

Being caught completely off guard, he couldn’t afford to swing his sword or even dodge. That’s why Clamp did neither.

He casually let go of his sword and caught the Goblin empty handedly. Even though it was short, the muscular Goblin was heavy and he got pushed down by the momentum. As he was being nailed onto the floor, he took a deep breath and then shouted

『Snatch !』

After usage of the 《Snatch》action, a notification sound of its success echoed through the building along with a burst of blood.

At the edge of Clamp’s vision was a message saying:

What happened afterwards was Clamp kicking the Goblin’s body while simultaneously equipping the hatchet and attacking the goblin with it. It was strangely unlike him to be so impatient (or to be under pressure, if unrelated to sentences below).

──The 《Marriage》 he did just to achieve his goal.

──“It was just inside a game” but…

He couldn’t have not been curious. That’s right, the mail

“It’s from Mifa!”

When he split the Goblin head as if splitting a watermelon, the mail that was left open got dyed in red by the gushed out blood.

◇

Within the churches that scattered throughout Dragons’ Cradle, you could find a mysterious mirror, when you went inside it you will arrive at the “Terminus Cradle”. The world spheres that consisted in 『CtG』 are all connected together in this relay world. It’s what you would call the starting point of all adventurers.

On the blue velvet floor nine mirrors were lined up, this place was the lowest layer called the Parnassus room. As a place for all the players that come and go all the time, it had the size of an event hall.

Boarding the elevator that hung at the middle will take you up to the market area.

Stores are sectioned in an orderly manner, regardless of the stalls large varieties of merchandise were lined up, from medical herbs to machine guns, items from various worlds were being traded here.

“This place is messy as always…”

It was an overwhelming sight no matter how many times you saw it. The center of 『CtG』 service was done by NPC’s (Their appearances were like other player, but their character was controlled by the program) who are in charge of the shops lined up around here.

And at the corner of the market area, there stood a facility called Guild Hotel, a facility that was often rented by particular communities as gatherings and meeting spots.

And at one of those rented facilities, inside a small room managed by the guild 【Labyrinth Troupe】 a girl was waiting for his arrival──

“What… Is that? ……What?”

Seeing what Mifa was holding, Clamp couldn’t help but ask twice. He even forgot about Mifa who was holding the thing in question. Unable to hide his surprise, his hands were trembling in shock.

“Errrmm…”

The thing wrapped in pale colored cloth, the thing that was resting on Mifa’s lap was…

A baby.

She had the same hair color as Mifa, and the same eye color as Clamp.

The figure that was wrapped in fluffy and soft babywear appeared to be less than a year old. She blinked and looked at Clamp with her strangely powerful eyes, while holding onto Mifa’s finger with her marshmallow-like round hand with the lightness of cotton.

Mifa, who wore a mixed expression of tears and laughter lifted her head and said,

“Somehow, a baby… was born”

………………

He has never heard about this. Never. It was true that he had the 《Marriage》 event with Mifa but, even so…. You know, they never did anything that could make a baby appear, and a system like this didn’t exist in 『CtG』 in the first place.

Even so…

The moment he saw the figure of the baby, the feelings of guilt paired with anxiety (or worries, your choice) instantly froze his body. Somehow Fuyufu’s face appears in his head, delivering a cold stare of contempt and disgust,that image was planted deep inside of him.

“K-Keep yourself together! I’ve been in panic from quite a while ago!”

“Aa…. Sorry. This is quite an unexpected situation…”

Because she made a loud voice earlier, the baby’s gaze switched back to her. The baby’s reflexive actions were all too abrupt and sudden. Mifa flinched and let out a fake smile. The baby was emotionless but opened her mouth curiously.

T-That’s right. First we need to calm down. Clamp took a deep breath.

Calmly── Lets handle this situation calmly. Let’s first sort out the known and unknown stuff, we need to first understand the current situation. There’s the phrase “DON’T PANIC!” in the best-selling 『CtG』 strategy book , 『CtG Hitchhiker’s Guide』 (unofficial), wasn’t it. [1] First of all, let’s hear what happened.

“Aside from the baby… what is that big thing?

“Aaaa── ….”

Mifa didn’t answer for a while. She glanced at “that big thing” while clumsily soothing the baby in her arms. Clamp followed her gaze and then,

“This child is the daughter from the two of you”

The one who said that… Said that… Was… A stuffed doll.

On top of the two resting purpose beds in the cramped room, was a huge mushroom stuffed doll. It had limbs although it was a mushroom. Its width was as wide as its height and its face looked like it was doodled by an oil pen. That thing was the『CtG』 mascot named 『Kinokino』Kinoko [2] based on an existing monster in the game. However, its size varied from fifty centimeters to 1 and up to 6 meters.

And that giant mushroom had certainly just spoke.

”*CRASH!*” The sound of Clamp hitting the wall of the hotel.

“It spoke!? I’ve never heard of a Kinokino that could speak!”

Clamp once again panicked like before but for a different reason. In response, the Kinokino gentlemanly lowered its head.

“Non. My name is Payakino, a Nanny NPC”

“Nanny…?”

“Oui. To take care of children born from the 《Marriage》 Event is my function as well as my duty”

Why it speaks like a monsieur even though it’s a nanny? It has high-pitched voice, or more like, it sounds synthesized. Its gender is also unclear. No, more than that…

“Wait a moment, I never heard that a baby would be born after 《Marriage》”

Yuu got lost in thought a bit, but if he believe in what this person said, then this NPC prepared by the system will answer it all.

The doll── Payakino then explain.

“Not knowing what will happen. That is the thrill of a RPG”

It’s a mushroom who loves saying whatever it wants.

But that sounds fair. It’s not like everything about the event is written on the manual, and considering this is an ultra-rare event no wonder that an unexpected thing like this would happen.

He was about to ask another question, but was interrupted by Mifa.

“I’ll explain first. Along with the time this baby appeared”

Mifa’s story didn’t go too well with her hair constantly being pulled by the baby, but summarizing it briefly it goes as follows:

When she logged-in as usual── she arrived at the Japanese-styled world, Bushido Grave southern church── And there stood Payakino that deliberately lowered its head in front of her.

Witnessing this mushroom…… thing, Mifa was truly startled, presumably more than she should have. Furthermore that mushroom was carrying a baby, and just like that it claimed that the baby was Mifa’s.

At first Mifa thought that there must’ve been some kind of mistake, but Payakino knew in great detail about Mifa and Clamp, furthermore it had the 『CtG』 digital signature of Imagine Ekphrasis corporation that was shown in the extended manual.

In short── The pair of players was randomly given a child to raise and have it grown. But if either of the players refused, the event will become invalid and so on.

Naturally, this was not the kind of situation that can be simply solved by herself, Clamp’s opinion was also required and so she called him to this hotel──

“──what do you think?”

Against Mifa’s gaze after she finished the story, Clamp groaned.

“How… even if you say so”

It was a bit problematic. Clamp tried to look for information about this system he never heard of before, but…

“You know…. I think it’s okay to raise her”

Mifa was unexpectedly up for the idea. Was *** just his imagination?

The baby then naturally switched her gaze to him.

Their “daughter” seemed to like Mifa’s hair texture and continued to play with it.

Cute. He simply thought that.

Even though it looked like she was playing she didn’t show a smile, could it be because she doesn’t understand emotions yet, or that the Artificial Intelligence (AI) was just poor? Yuu who had never taken care of a baby before couldn’t reach a decision. That’s why he spoke what he thought.

“……But, won’t it be troublesome? Raising a child”

“You think? From what I read from the manual and heard from Payakino, we can just ask for all the knowledge and skills we need for it, and Payakino will also take care of her when we’re logged out. :If you’re too busy I’ll try to raise her alone… and, isn’t it okay to not think about it too much?”

She smiled comfortably.

“This is just a game after all”

The reason he agreed with that, was it because of Mifa’s optimistic way of thinking? Or because of the guilt of having the baby disappear when he refused? Or that he just simply wanted to finish this event to the end? Even he himself was unsure.

But, on the contrary to Clamp’s nodding, Kasugai Yuu felt uneasy and had worries about this strange chain of events.

The criteria aside, only those who are perfect with each other must marry, was that truly the right way of thinking. Even that person will one day regret that she chose the wrong partner. However an NPC baby was born without warning, it felt slightly off from the 『CtG』 developer’s typical unscrupulous surprises.

It came from Kasugai Mana’s game philosophy, Yuu’s mother who continued to work for Imagine Ekphrasis in the third development office of 『Cradle to The Grave』 as the lead developer till the day of her death.

“Let’s give her a name!”

Clamp, who was thinking while staring at the floor, got called and he returned his gaze to Mifa in a hurry.

“Name?”

“Yes. This child still doesn’t have a name. We have to give her one”

Mifa held out the baby to Clamp when she said that. The baby’s pitch black pupil looked straight to his eyes.

Uuuu…. He received the baby while trembling.

The baby that was now resting in his arms was unexpectedly soft and terrifyingly light. It was much lighter than the cat Fuyufu kept in her house.

The part where the gravity center did not changes when remained idle might because the lack of data inputted. And also the baby stayed the same even on Clamp’s clumsy hand, instead of just simply meek it felt like it was lacking something.

──This child… did not possess a full human body. That was natural. NPC’s are just people with a human body but not a human brain, let alone this baby that was just recently made.

He felt that.

He felt that really well.

Together, he wanted to blow life into this empty vessel, into the empty existence. Just like dolls that we treat as if having a personality.

He recalled back his childhood days as he thought about it. It was a time when Kasugai Yuu played with his first friend. What he did that time was, playing house.

It was just like the current situation. The girl from that time named the doll. Yes, the name was──

“How about… Haruha? This child’s name”

It was a name that was taken from my memories. Although the baby in question didn’t have any reaction in particular,

“Hee…?”

Somehow Mifa opened her eyes wide, not blinking at all.

“……? What about it?”

“Aaa……… unn, nothing. I think it’s a good name. :Haruha…… Haruha-chan huh. Nn, it has a cute sound to it”

After that she continued to repeat, Haruha, Haruha, again and again.

She seemed to like the name as well, the baby── Haruha was then returned to Mifa’s arms.

While embracing the small body, Mifa narrowed her eyes gently and formed a broad smile with her mouth.

Clamp who felt something in his chest diverted his eyes.

And then the two… No, three of them, along with Payakino with its featureless face, continued to watch over the baby in delight.

And thus the two players who were wandering in the world of 『Cradle to The Grave』, Clamp and Mifa, were linked together by Haruha’s arrival. Her birth was just too sudden and treated very lightly.

The time for them to learn about the meaning of that day, that moment, was still far in the future.

◇◆

Two months have passed in a flash after that incident.

Every day they visited the guild hotel in Terminus Cradle── Not the hotel rented by 【Labyrinth Troupe】, but the one prepared by Payakino── Mifa and Clamp’s first and furthermost job was to talk with Haruha.

According to Payakino that resides at the corner of the room, the first thing Haruha needs for her growth was “Words” and after that is “Experience”.

Both of them simply had conversations with Haruha who continued to cling at them. They also did information exchange as part of their small talk.

When they were tired talking, they showed some replay videos. It was part of the Ramiel purchase bonus called private data storage, it would automatically record images in time of in-events.

This ended up affecting Yuu’s real life. He would often be absentminded and would be reminded by others, like in this instance at the school hallway.

“Yuu”

“Ueeeuwawaaaa!!? F-Fuyufu…?”

“…What is it? You look strangely in a good mood I thought. And your reaction just now is like that of a man being caught having an affair”

“No way, that’s absolutely not, right?”

“Why are you asking yourself…? Well anyway, :……Is something happening recently? You seems to be awfully want a hurry to go back”

“Nothing in particular… I’m just busy”

: “Hmmm… Even so you appear to be way more energetic than before”

That might be true, he thought.

When Fuyufu pursued the reason, cold sweats started leaving his skin. Why did this happen? He tried to not think about it.

Payakino said, due to 『CtG』’s system ──embryo’s effects or whatever── Haruha’s growth was accelerated. She became larger at an incomparable speed compared to normal children.

In fact, Haruha learned how to talk in a very short amount of time.

“Mommy!”

There was the figure of Mifa, raising her fist high to the air, taking a guts pose along with Clamp who was sitting down, depressed.

“Next say “Father”, please”

He patted Haruha’s head, which has extended a considerable length. It had a ticklish soft feel. Haruha rings her throat several times, letting out a“Auuu” sound while burying her face into his chest like a mole.

Mifa also had some changes happening in her private life.

Previously, she logged-in around 8:00 to 9:00 at night and would log-out after midnight, but ever since Haruha was born she would appear in Terminus Cradle at six o’clock. There were also days where she even showed up earlier than Clamp.

When asked why, she answered with,

“……It’s also because I want to meet Haruha, but stuff happened and I no longer have to do club activities. Because of that I now have time to spare”

Her answer was a bit worrisome, but…

She said clubs, so it means she was either a high school or junior high school student── He thought a little.

After two months Haruha had already earned the body and mind of a two year(s) old.

“Maybe it’s about time we should show her the other world spheres”

Following Payakino’s advice, they took Haruha outside. Since they were bringing a child, they only roamed around the cities to guarantee her safety.

For example the White Keter Imperial City in Dragons’ Grave. From afternoon to midnight, millions of players are flooding this giant city and within such mess the small Haruha continues to cling to Mifa’s arms while being simply being stunned.

They thought bringing Haruha who was an infant would stand out, but that didn’t appear to be the case. Thinking back, baby NPC’s normally exist in this world, and babysitting part-time jobs was one of the classical early quests.

However Haruha, unlike normal “predetermined sloppiness” baby NPC’s have── doesn’t wet herself or cry in the middle of the night. She doesn’t even need to sleep or eat to begin with.

In the historical world, Bushido Grave Oedo capital, they watched the fireworks sparkling in the sky on a houseboat sailing above the waterway. Right on his side was Mifa wearing a relaxing light blue Kimono [3] , while singing a song in a clear beautiful voice.

It was a song he had never heard of before, and it didn’t appear to be one of those stereotyped songs from the game.

“………Do you like singing?”

When he asked, Mifa blushed a bit.

“Well, yeah, but it’s just a hobby. I can’t let out a loud voice at home so I practice here”

From her way of talking, it seems she played this game as a replacement for a karaoke box. Indeed, you don’t need that much money to use the rental terminal (Ramiel), and it was way cheaper than going to a karaoke. Unsurprisingly, people with home-related circumstances numbered quite a lot.

“It’s a foreign folk song I arranged myself…… I’m sorry if it’s bad”

Mifa who shyly said that let out a modest singing voice in the sparkling night, her skill was truly great and made her words from earlier sound like mere modesty. Hearing that, he spoke what he had in mind,

“Your song, I love it. I don’t know much about songs but it shows how clear your feelings are or something”

The transparent-like singing voice, as if fast-forwarded, lost its pitch and shook the moment Clamp saw Mifa’s bewildered eyes.

After replying “Thanks…” with a blank look, Mifa resumed the song. And behind those words of hers, her face appeared to be shrinking.

(Eeeh? Did I sound like flattering…?)

As he thought about it, a warm sensation rode on his knees. It was Haruha. Daddy, daddy, she said in a lisp, like a little creature she was stirring restlessly above his knees.

Small. Round, wherever you stroke her. It was soft like a full-body cushion. She tried to stand wobbly but easily fell, and let out an “Uuu~” while staring at him curiously.

──Ultimately, she was cute.

That must be because she wouldn’t cry in quirky timing, her diapers wouldn’t suddenly be “that”, and she won’t barf out her lunch, since she didn’t have any of that, she was purely cute.

A daughter that won’t cause trouble to her parents, it might truly be an ideal child to have.

But not seeing her sleeping and crying faces made Clamp (Kasugai Yuu) feel something was lacking. Mifa might be thinking the same thing as their eyes met each other.

But if compared to parents who were suffering from parenting their child, they couldn’t really ask for such luxury.

Their wishes might never come true, but.

As Haruha slowly grew and learn more words, she began to show more emotions.

“……Daddy, Mommy, you’re slow!”

That day── A month after Haruha’s birth.

With her five-year-old figure, Haruha made Clamp and Mifa kneel in a Seiza position [4] in front of her.

In the usual hotel room. Haruha folded her arms together. It was amazing how a baby who used to be so round and small became……… so grown up and dazzling. And beside her was Payakino deliberately playing with a shinai [5] , swinging it back and forth.

“You two said you’d come as soon as possible!”

Haruha’s enraged voice sounded similar to Mifa’s. And her awkward tone of her voice reflected an innocent childishness.

“The soy sauce at the market was on sell… and it was very crowded”

“I-I’m sorry… something little happened in the house”

The two of them earnestly apologized with a silky voice as if reading a script.

“Ah, look Haruha. I brought throwing knives. See, it has cute engravings on it, it’s small and light so even girl can easily use it!”

Clamp took out the throwing knives from his item box and showed it. It was within a small six blades set, and it was also popular as both an accessory and a decoration.

“Really? A weapon for a souvenir, that’s why boys are no good”

After staring at Clamp with eyes of contempt, Mifa turned to Haruha with a smile.

“Look Haruha, equip this 『Crimson Tree』 Mommy brought for you. It’s a Kimono armour sold in Bushido Grave!”

“Haruha won’t be fooled with presents!”

Various items were presented to please her but it seems that Haruha’s displeasure won. *Tch*, Clamp was mad at his own lamentably.

Haruha’s item storage was already filled full with presents like a children guitar, canned slimes, dragons’ bones (fake), and mechanical dolls from the two of them. The small Haruha used to be unconditionally happy from their present and that made them want to give her more.

“You two just overdid it!”

With a sullenly sigh, Haruha sat down on Mifa’s knee.

Her mind’s growth seemed to be slower than her body, even though she would often walk around by herself, Haruha was still a spoiled mole. She loved playing with the weapons Clamp and the others brought for her but she loved hugging Clamp and Mifa even more.

“Haruha…… waited a long time you know”

That’s why her eyes looked very lonely as she stared at the both of them while twisting herself in Mifa’s arm.

That’s right. Haruha had always, waited.

Not just waiting together with Payakino at daytime. Even though she had a place to sleep, as a resident of 『CtG』,the action of “Sleeping” did not exist within her. So at day and night, she continues to wait for Clamp and Mifa fully awake the entire time.

From now, let’s give up soy sauce sales and protect your promise. Said Payakino through its mind while beating Yuu (Clamp) with its shinai.

“Hiyaaa!?”

Screamed Mifa as she saw the head of a Kobold [6] fly up into the air. The monster’s face that appeared was suddenly cut by Clamp as it came across── Critical Hit!!

The blood splashed in a flashy manner and formed letters. Mifa avoided the bloody shower so it didn’t hit the lantern she was carrying. After that she weakly let out an amazed voice,

“Ughh…… it’s how amazing you’re fine with that. A severed head…… even now I’m still not okay with it. And those that walk with two legs are especially scary”

Mine area of Dragons’ Grave. “It’s about the time for Haruha to learn about battle, take her with you and show her the drill” Following Payakino’s advice, Clamp and Mifa are currently previewing low difficulty quests for the plan in the future.

Subjugation quest 【Tunnel Kobold Extermination】 was what the name implied. A quest to hunt a certain number of Kobolds within the back of the mine, it was a quest for beginners.

While wielding his blood dyed sword, Clamp illuminated the surroundings with his lantern. It was then Mifa asked,

“Is it because you’re a boy? Are you type who likes zombie movies?”

“It’s not like that, but…”

Letting out a troubled voice, Clamp tried to come out with a proper answer.

“You often say it too right. This is just a game, you said”

“Even though it’s this real?”

“Exactly because it’s this real. Having my strength increased making me able to perform amazing movements, every time I perform superhuman-like skills through semi-automatic combat I feel an ascertained difference between my actual self. :The strong me right now is not actual me. That’s why I can properly separate both”

“Not your real self huh…”

Clamp who was being wary of his surroundings did not see Mifa who was looking down in bitterness. Half consciously, Clamp spoke what he had in mind.

“The more realistic a virtual reality becomes, the more it decreases the player’s external sense to the real world. It was my mother’s theory, that’s why this game──”

“Mother?”

Clamp let out a bitter face as he realized his own mistake. And it was a face that was unthinkable coming from that composed self-confident “Clamp of Scarabaeus”. Something inside Mifa started being fueled.

“So your mom plays game too. What kind of person?”

“this isn’t important right?”

But his rejection by not wanting to face her face, instead did nothing but lure her interest even more. Mifa was just that kind of person.

“It’s okay right. We’re husband and wife for one”

While continuing to plead, Mifa clung to Clamp’s empty hand. Mifa then confirmed her victory after realizing that Clamp had just stopped his breath.

“Why are you so flustered? This is just inside a game isn’t it?”

Clamp who got a point taken groaned, and while being upset he said,

“Come on, let’s look more into the back”

And they begun to walk while Mifa kept hanging onto his arm.

After a while, the dim light of the lantern started to fades away, Mifa let out a little gasp and they continued to walk through the dark tunnel.

They walked little by little, the heat coming from the snuggled up pair made them grow restless. But that heat was not the heat coming from the lantern’s flame or magic. That’s why it wouldn’t cool down no matter how much time had passed.

“It might be just a game”

The one who speak after that was Mifa.

“Just a game, but Haruha is cute, right”

“……That’s right”

The moment Clamp formed a smile with his mouth, Mifa held down her chuckle.

“You’re just like me……”

After holding back her laughter she let out a smile, and the remaining heat disappeared.

“What happened Yuubocchi [7] ? Thinking hard like that is very unlike you”

“What the heck was…… that? It sounds like some derogatory term coming from a fairy tale”

“Sounds like a name from a fairy right? A person who’s always alone = could be a strange creature that only I can see, that is 『Yuubocchi』”

“It sounds pretty scary…”

He was in the cafeteria during lunch break when Fuyufu called him out.

Even though he got his savings that his mother left behind, he couldn’t afford wasting money when there was a future to think about. On the other hand, because of 『CtG』 he doesn’t have much time to make lunch, so he’s been living off one bread a day.

However a little while ago in 『CtG』, he was in the middle of talking with Haruha But lost consciousness and was forced to logged out── In other words “Sleep Failing” ── caused by his lack of sleep and declining health. In order to spend more time with Haruha, he began to eat properly and also eat healthy food every day.

That’s why, in order to get an inexpensive meal every day he goes to the cafeteria, and naturally eating together with Fuyufu becomes a daily occurrence. He stared at Fuyufu who was sitting on the other side of the table with her Kitsune Udon [8] ,and let out a terribly vague question,

“Fuyufu, do you think there are hearts dwelling inside computers?”

“What’s up with the out of the blue question?”

Maybe because her emotions were bland, but Fuyufu appeared to be spacing out but even so her academic score was pretty high. Unlike Yuu who only played games, Fuyufu read a lot of books.

After sipping her udon while raising her hair so that it didn’t get into the soup, she answered,

“It depends on your definition of “heart”, but it’s impossible to create self-consciousness through programs and calculation, this is a theory I heard before. Something about quantum brain theory or whatever”

“But doesn’t that only apply to current computers?”

Fuyufu responded with a“You mean?” face. Yuu also felt that he had became too stubborn. While pointing at her with the chopsticks he used to stab his fish hamburger with , he continued.

“It’s 『CtG』. You know, the computer used for that is known for having stronger capabilities than any other. If it has that much power, won’t it be possible to create a human-like mind?”

But Fuyufu unceremoniously shook her head.

“It’s not the problem of capability or processing power. It’s the nature of the problem itself. No matter how fast it calculates, even a computer that can respond to a diverse amount of situations, would still give the same result as any other computer. Even if it can create the same entrance and exit as a human, it won’t able to create the same maze inside. The “Heart” is that maze. If you want to create the same thing…… there’s no other choice but to give those computers flesh and blood as well”

After saying it like a javelin, she continues.

“Or could it be, Yuu, you heard something about it? The computer used in that…… did you heard that from your mother?”

Fuyufu let out a face of regret as she said that. It might just be a slip of tongue mentioning his mother, but it was impossible to say that he didn’t care about it.

“Could it be, a one-in-the world machine exists somewhere…… no way, I’ve never heard anything about it. Even if I heard about it I wouldn’t know”

“That might be so”

Because of the abrupt agreement, the conversation stops for a while. Over three quarters of the seats in the school cafeteria were filled with students bustling. Within that environment, the distant they had that allowed them to distinguish the sound of dishes, that distant just like old time ago.

In contrast to Yuu who fell silent, Fuyufu opened her mouth after she finished swallowing her udon.

“Yuu…… did something happened in that game?”

His heart jumped. Words spoken can’t be taken back. Fuyufu persisted with her gaze.

“Could it be…… Non Player Character, is it? Did you fall in love with one or something? That’s why you asked stuff about the heart and all……”

It wasn’t a direct hit, but it was a blow that managed to graze his neck. Even so,

“Of course not, it’s not like that”

It wasn’t a lie so his voice was straight. But Fuyufu continued to press on the matter.

“…………Really? Then why do you look strangely happy recently?”

“I-It’s just your imagination”

Somehow an image of Mifa tilting her head mumbling “Nn? Nn?” appeared on his head. It wasn’t her. She was not a NPC, much less a girlfriend. She was something else. The thing that happened in the mine was just her messing around.

Fuyufu suspiciously stared at him and then averted her eyes in displeasure.

Fuyufu stayed silent after that. After she silently finished consuming her udon, she took a paper napkin and started folding it.

“……Yuu. Do you know why I don’t play that game (『CtG』)?”

“Eh…… Because you’re not interested in it?”

She had always been like that. No matter how many times he recommended it, Fuyufu had never laid her hands on 『CtG』. When Yuu became a teenager he gradually became addicted to the game his mother helped develop, and ever since then his distance with Fuyufu slowly grew larger and larger. But.

“Wrong”

Incorrect. Fuyufu abruptly stood up, holding her tray and turned away. And then while showing her back, she told the correct answer.

“──It’s because I hate it”

After seeing the small back go off?, he dropped his eyes to one of the paper cranes left on the table. As if harboring the same displeasures of its creator, it was directed straight at his direction. He naturally leaked a sigh.

It seems he had offended her somehow, but he couldn’t figure out why. It was pathetic. It was always like that. Kasugai Yuu would never be able to understand others’ feelings unless said out loud.

Speaking of not knowing, his question towards Fuyufu still didn’t provide a satisfying answer.

(──No matter how high-spec the computer is, it can’t bring the“heart” to life. Then, is Haruha who express’s so much emotion also a… “Fake”?)

But Haruha was clearly different compared to other NPC’s. Even though the NPC’s in 『CtG』 possessed surprisingly large amounts of actions, it was simply piles of numbers of normal behavior patterns. If you continued to talk to them, you would feel an inevitable sense of Déjà vu. At first Yuu also thought that Haruha was one of those kind of things.

However Haruha did not feel or smell like a program at all. Every day she showed various different expressions on a whim and it never stopped changing── he had never seen her showing the “same face” at all. It might be that she changed as she grew, creating a new behavior pattern each passing day.

But there was certainly moments where such a trick couldn’t be explain. That was probably because she had what was called wisdom.

“Daddy, what is that?”

It was in the usual hotel room where she asked that.

This time Clamp was facing the item 『Parchment』──A paper── he spread on the table. Mifa was late because of some errands she had in the real world, so he was together alone with Haruha.

He folded the parchment paper and created a shape.

“It’s Origami [9] . I’m making a 『Yakko-san』”

“Origami? Yakko-san?”

Haruha climbed the table with her own body and peeked at what was in his hands. He attempted to give an answer to her bright sparkling eyes but── it was unexpectedly hard to explain.

That’s why he just continued to fold quietly and finally completed the “Yakko-san”.

When it was presented to Haruha, she received it curiously. She sat on top of the table and inspected it closely.

Looking at her like that reminded him of the young figure, Fuyufu, and Origami was a play they learned together. The first time he finished making one she also look at the paper crane he made just like her.

“What is, this?”

“What do you think this is?”

The reason why he returned the question was because he recalled back the conversation he had with Fuyufu before. Can Haruha, who was born from a computer, “feel” shapes?

Haruha did not answer immediately. She just continued to stare deeply at the “Yakko-san”, and then answered.

“Is this… Haruha?”

It was the time for Clamp to be troubled now.

“Nnn…… half correct. That is the paper model of a person who used to work as a servant [10] . Look, it has legs and arms right? In other word it’s a doll”

“A doll…”

Haruha looked at “Yakko-san” for a while and then stroked her head with her finger. Then all of a suddenly she looked up.

“Haruha want to make one too. A more, bigger one!”

The girl’s hands were moving like magic.

She only saw Clamp making it once, but she folded the papers with terrifying precision without any hesitation. Open and by the time he noticed, “Yakko-san” was already completed.

He had heard that an origami had a mathematical structure, and this was precisely that. Even 『CtG』, which possessed a lot of mechanical skills, didn’t have one called origami auto-folding. Nevertheless, the skill that Haruha possessed── was certainly a mechanical skill.

As if proving that his hunch was correct, Haruha once again folded another “Yakko-san” in an instant, it was identically the same as the previous one. Rather than the same work, it was more of a copy.

(As I thought…… she’s different from us)

It was an obvious thing, why was he disappointed in realizing it now? It was a strange story. What operated Haruha was『CtG』 and the thing that operated that nothing other than a computer, accomplishing small things like this was not surprising at all.

──However, Haruha’s hand stopped as she worked on the third one.

Opened and folded again, after some trails and errors “Yakko-san” was finally finished, but somehow it looked strangely different from the previous ones, its head was a little too big.

“? This is……”

In response to the confused Clamp, Haruha let out a warm fufun voice and a smile, and then she asked.

“What do you think this is?”

“Nn…… could it be, Payakino-san?”

The one who answered that wasn’t Clamp, but Mifa who appeared out of nowhere. Haruha sharpened her mouth saying “It was a quiz for Daddy!”, Mifa replied with a sorry and lifted Haruha’s body up and put her down onto the floor.

“Sitting on the table is bad”

“But then I won’t be able to make origami”

Rather than mother and daughter, both of them looked more like sisters. He then returned his gaze towards the four origami on the table.

There were two big “Yakko-san”, one mushroom-like thing, and one small “Yakko-san”.

Needless to say── It was himself, Mifa, Payakino, and Haruha together.

““Is this… Haruha?””

““A doll””

He recalled back Haruha’s words.

Clamp── Kasugai Yuu, felt hatred towards himself.

(Why did I think like that? “As I thought…… she’s different from us”?)

Even though he bad mouthed Fuyufu who denied the personality that was born from this game, he had just treated Haruha like an object. But she put him in. Within the origami family, the figure Clamp was in there.

She was…… she such a child. Furthermore,

Being taught only the concept of “Origami”, Haruha created a mushroom-shape by herself. She could create “free ideas” from given information. No matter how splendid an artificial intelligence was, there was no way it could do that.

Mysterious, strange, but helplessly cute “daughter”.

Haruha.

(How should I treat this child?)

Recently, because he prioritized meeting Haruha, he had neglected his goal to fully complete 『CtG』. Raising a child was also not an event that was a part of it.

Whatever happened, he must play through everything in 『CtG』.

The more he liked Haruha, the more troubled he became.

◇

“Ahahaha”

But strangely, he no longer worried about his concern when he looked at Haruha’s smile.

Two months have passed since Haruha was born. She had quickly obtained what human’s called the physique of seven-year-old.

“It’s shaking. It’s shaking, daddy!”

Just a while ago she was walking like an awkward doll but was now running around in the carriage like an energetic cat.

Western-styled world Sphere “Gunman’s Grave”. The powers of firearms in here were multiple times stronger than in any other Spheres, this was a world for Gunman.

Starting from the capital city, you would find huge railways connected to various locations across the towns and villages in this world, it was essential for traveling in Gunman’s Grave and was a tourist attraction. It was a large locomotive that you wouldn’t be able to find anywhere in modern Japan, and the views outside the shaken carriage were magnificent as well.

Today was a public holiday in the real world, so Clamp and Mifa entered 『CtG』 during the day. Since they had a lot of time to spare, they asked Haruha where she wanted to go and she answered that she wanted to try riding a train.

And so, the three of them boarded the train and enjoyed the scenery from the window. It was wilderness as far as the eye could see. From a distant you could see a wild Land Worm (A large roundworm-like monster) being hunted by a couple of cowboys with their monster rifle.

When he was captivated with this virtual landscape, Mifa stood from her seat and yelled at Haruha.

“Haruha, don’t do that, you’re bothering the other guests so please calm down” “Okke~!”

Haruha waved the sleeves of her red Kimono while noisily replying the word of her mother. It was a present from Mifa made in Bushido Grave, ependymal (upper garment) armor.

It was Haruha’s first “dress up”.

“She’s quite energetic”

He leaked out a smile seeing the scene of this mother-daughter exchange.

The border passages in the carriage were divided into two rows. Sitting right on the other side of him and Mifa were a kind-looking elderly couple.

From the small talk they had before, this couple wanted to enjoy their leisure time after retirement but they were worried about their health if they actually went on one…… eventually they decided on going to the virtual world instead. They both loved each other’s easy way of thinking and they were a very harmonious married couple.

“That young lady in the Kimono, whose little sister is she?”

“Ha, haa…”

Clamp and Mifa’s replies were inevitably ambiguous. They couldn’t help but to speak humbly when talking to older people. Even so, if they answered honestly it would definitely sound more like a lie.

Unaware of their confusion, the elderly couple spoke in a merry voice as if saying “this is the main topic”.

“Could it be, the both of you are a couple?”

“”Ah, no, definitely not””

This time, the both of them slammed the table and stood up, and simultaneously answered. Both of them were certainly a married couple in『CtG』 but not a tiny bit of a “couple” even once.

The old lady seemed to be a little disappointed. And the husband next to her rebuked with “Don’t be so thoughtless” and changed the topic.

“Using a travel PC, even old people like us and that young lady can go on a trip without worry”

Travel PC (Player Carrier) was one of 『CtG』’s unique systems that allowed youngsters and even elderly to experience the virtual world. They did not receive any damage from battle or a player attack. It was commonly known as “Travel” and even players below twelve years old could essentially dive into the game.

In 『CtG』 body damage and endurance value (HP) were valued from an entirely different concept. Body damage and wounds received will slowly heal and regenerate even when the remaining HP was low, but if all of the HP was completely gone it would be an automatic game over. But in case of the Travel PC, their HP was infinite and would never receive a game over in battle

“I still intend on staying as an active gamer. But playing on a normal avatar is bad for my heart or something and this wife of mine won’t let me”

“But dear, this is different from a video game you know”

The wife’s words were then interrupted. Before they knew it, Haruha had appeared beside her, pulling her sleeves. Haruha looked up at the old lady, and curiously said,

“Haruha is not a Travel PC?”

As she just said, while being a child Haruha was not a Travel PC. That’s why Payakino told them to watch over her very carefully.

However, from the eyes of people who didn’t know the circumstances it was a mere violation of the terms.

“Hn? But, kid at your age──”

“But Haruha is……Mogyuh!?”

“N-No! It’s not that! This kid doesn’t really know how the system works so!”

Mifa let out a fake smile as she forcibly held Haruha to prevent her from saying anything further. The elderly couple was then easily convinced and stroked Haruha’s head, in exchange Haruha narrowed her eyes happily.

It was a pretty intense situation thinking of an excuse surrounding Haruha’s circumstances that even her own parents hadn’t fully understood yet.”

The weather outside was good and the scenery that was spread was also beautiful, they were blessed with a cheerful companion in the journey. Mifa, and also Haruha seemed to be in a good mood as well.

I’m glad we came here── this was the praise he wanted to earn for today’s holiday trip in the afternoon.”

But all of a sudden, the train took an abrupt break in the middle of the wilderness.

In a way, this could be called a well-executed train robbery.

The railway was blocked by a drove of large Land Worms, it was a good thing that the train stopped at the right time.

But the safe box that had been placed on the wagon collapsed afterwards.

The strength of the security NPC’s were nothing great, and could be easily overwhelmed by a player. It must have been going according to the plan so far. But the safe was empty inside. It seems they were given false information from the mischief of other players.

And then.

The four angry robbers boarded the carriage Clamp and the others were in.

“Okay, don’t move! Frankly saying, I’m really strong!”

The one who shouted throughout the train was a bearded man who seemed to be the leader of the robbery. He appeared to be old due to his beard, but his voice was unexpectedly youthful. He must be at the age of a young adult.

“This is a robbery collecting funds for conquering Marionette Grave. We’re on a completely different level compared to those who are just playing around! Got it!?”

What the man said “Marionette Grave” was a newly released world Sphere, a world of cyberpunk. In order to conquer it, expensive equipment was essential. Within groups of inpatient players, there were people who dared to cross the dangerous line in order to collect funds just like this.

Seeing through AR mode, all information was filtered other than their level, and around their shoulders there was a red placards (tag) floating above them. If someone tried to attack someone in public facilities he/she would receive a 《Criminal》 red tag, and they will be registered as a target of a subjugation quest for a period of time .

As expected from those who wanted to be on top, their levels were certainly higher than Clamps.

“Listen, we will collect 1/3 of your money after this. If you quietly give it to us, we won’t kill you. Not a bad deal right?”

Penalty given when dying was “Losing half a of all gold in possession”, it was certainly not a bad deal. More than anything, even though the pain was reduced, dying in this overly realistic 『CtG』 world would give quite a fear until until used to. It was quite a valid threat in its own way.

The other three men under the bearded man walked through the cramped passage ways and started collecting, each of them threatening their prey with their guns.

“H-Hiaaaa….. D-don’t shot! I will die!”

One of them pointed his gun at a girl wearing a nun (Sister) outfit who sat nearby. All the other robbers were one tier lower than the bearded man but still a higher level than himself. They were also considerably stronger than Mifa as well.

(Maybe… No, don’t think about resisting……)

Peeking at Haruha who was hugged tightly by Mifa, he let out a sigh. If he was alone he would think of resisting and would prepare to gamble a Game Over, but now he had Mifa and Haruha with him.

Seeing the passengers being obedient, the bearded man licked his lips in delight. The color of his pupils appeared to have brightened and it seems he had activated the AR Mode vision.

“First of all, in order to not let anyone do anything strange in the middle of collecting money, we will be taking some hostages. :………The first one will be that pseudo Sister, and who’s next. No matter how much they resist, we can’t really make a Travel who can’t be killed as a hostage”

Somehow he got a bad feeling, and it was a hit.

As if licking the passengers within, the bearded man shot around with his gaze, and his eyes stopped at Mifa.

“Oi, you woman there, you’re not a Travel right!”

Being called, Mifa screamed in response. Clamp’s waist was floating above the seat.

(This is bad…!)

It was a frustration he had never felt before, to have lost his composure.

But that anxiousness was not because of Mifa.

“No, Haruha don’t!”

By the time they realized, she had already escaped from Mifa’s arms.

The girl in red Kimono── Haruha left the passage, and faced the bearded man around seven meters away.

The bearded man, the other robbers, and the passengers must have all realized after Mifa raised a scream. The bearded man looked at Haruha as if he had just inhaled poisonous gas.

“Oi…… what is it brat. I don’t have business with a Travel──”

The bearded man’s words were interrupted.

sharply.

He then noticed a Throwing Knife stuck on his shoulder.

“Oooh….?”

It was a unique sensation of 『CtG』. Because of the system, the pain was changed to a slight sense of discomfort so you wouldn’t feel any actual pain. But that’s why the sensation of cold metal transmitted through his flesh could be clearly felt── passing beyond the realm of pain, he was haunted by an illusion of being a corpse.

And then the bearded man saw. The young girl in red Kimono, slowly come close and threw the second knife.

So casually, so agilely, and without hesitation.

Now to his flank. As if being sucked into the gap of his bones, the sharp blade continued to invade inside until it reached the handle.

“──Hey”

The voice who called for the bearded man was from no one else, Clamp couldn’t recognize it for a moment. This cold and sharp piercing voice.

“Why?”

Realizing that the shining Throwing Knives on Haruha’s hands were his gift, for the first time he recognized the owner of this penetrating cold voice.

The bearded man finally realized the opponent who attacked him was, he then glared at Haruha with wide open eyes and pointed his automatic gun at her.

“Why do you do this?”

But Haruha was undaunted. Her large unwavering eyes, as if being sucked in pushed the bearded man to his limit. He pulled the trigger of the gun.

“W-What── You… shitty brat!”

*BANG*. The sound of the gunshot from the bearded man’s hand. Even though it was in a virtual world, no one would stand watching a scene of a kid being shot.

However, Haruha was unharmed.

The sleeves of her red Kimono were fluttering like a flower petal. With one rotation, it seemed as if she was dancing.

In that moment, while throwing knives with both of her hands she dodged the bullets with incredible swiftness. It was as if knowing where the bullet was going in advance, truly a bland miracle.

The knives that we thrown pierced the bearded man’s right shoulder, receiving damage on his leg the bearded man fell on his knees and laid on the floor. If he felt pain he would be screaming, but fortunately that did not happen. But then he turned his gaze towards Haruha── and his anger turned into fear.

In both of Haruha’s hands, the next set of knives had already appeared. A small sized weapon like Shuriken [11] that could be hidden under your sleeves could be replenished/equipped immediately if you had a skill called 《weapon sleeve》.

The shadow from her bangs covered her face to her nose. The only thing seen on that face was just the cold light from her eyes, but that stare of hers appeared to be showing nothing but apathy to the bearded man.

That knife, those eyes…

With no mercy or hesitation, the girl showed the blade in her hand. In a way, it was really child-like. Because she was a child, she could beat down her opponent without showing any anger.

The girl’s movements had reached the front of the bearded man’s face. The cold wind was cut by the knife, this time the knife changed objectives from throwing to slashing.

“Haruha, was looking forward to this you know!”

And then.

Haruha stared at the intruder who interrupted her holiday with all her might, and naturally let out a condescending voice.

“Mommy and daddy said that we would have a lot of fun. Haruha was looking forward to it!”

The face seen from the shade was no longer a cute spoiled mole. Her face── her face had clearly exploded with anger.

“A lot! :Haruha endured a lot! :and finally! Finally! :It’s finally!! It’s finally the day when we will play a lot! :but why!? Why don’t you understand? Is old man stupid!? :Why? Haruha said, why? Why would you do such a mean thing!?”

It was a child’s impeachment yelling to children for children. She believed that breaking her “Promised holiday” was nothing but pure evil and did not doubt that even slightly, it was the unconditional trust she had for her family and the world. And now all of that was crushed, due to that it also enhanced her childish emotions and caused an explosion inside her.

Naturally, the bearded man didn’t understand what she meant. He just listened to her while being dumbfounded. He turned his head left and right searching for an answer but all he got was a stare from the girl in the nun outfit.

Compared to the bewildered man, Haruha is way way younger. She was way too young to understand other people’s position and circumstances. That was why she was so straightforward, selfish, and merciless.

“A thing like this──”

The blade in her hand, as if sliding from the sky, sliced the man.

“Is bad you know!”

The blade tore across the bearded man’s neck and formed a cross, the blood spraying out vigorously formed the Critical Hit!! words on the ceiling.

In that opportunity.

“W-What the heck is this brat!?”

The other robbers who couldn’t react properly to Haruha’s overly imposing actions finally moved.

The first to react was the person who stood right beside the bearded man, he pulled out his revolver but was then interrupted by the nun woman from earlier.

In nearly the same time, the tall robber who was right in front of Clamp raised his rifle and aimed at Haruha. His aim was quickly blocked by Mifa who had jumped out of her seat, but there was no reason for him to re-adjust his aim. He pulled the trigger and──

That moment, Clamp moved as well.

While pushing down the tall man, he simultaneously took his gun. Along with a 『Snatch!』 notification sound, the message saying

You stole item “Automatic M1905” [12] was displayed.

“Agh, bastard!”

“I won’t say sorry”

Sorry── before he finished saying that, he started shooting down every bullet available in the magazine, the guy might’ve not even caught the word he said earlier. After around five shots, the guy’s HP drops to zero and his body turned into a lifeless mannequin.

After he shot out every bullet, Clamp instantly threw the gun and stood up.

Then.

His eyes met a big-framed robber aiming his rifle at him. The gun was pointed straight at his head.

“”……………Haha””

Feeling tension between each other, both of them exchanged a maniac smile.

The robber then changed into a serious look after a moment and pulled the trigger.

There was not enough distance where he could simply avoid all the bullets; and if he got hit like this he wouldn’t be saved. Normally he would get a Game Over in this situation, but.

The bullet missed. No, the prey (Clamp) just disappeared from the place the robber aimed at.

“……He disappeared? How? Did he logged-out because of an external influence?”

“Nope── Got you”

The moment after that word was heard, the disappointed robber’s torso was blown away onto the air.

Clamp who had returned back into a shooting position instantly shot him with a Sawed-off shotgun [13] . The robber who got shot and shredded into pieces, was clinging onto an unattended seat and glared at Clamp.

“What the heck with that instant warping…… was it the connection lag that has been happening these days?”

Clamp didn’t answer him and walked off, ignoring the robber. The robber’s eyes brightened, a sign which shows that he was trying to check Clamp’s player status.

“Clamp……? Are you…… are you that “Clamp of Scarabaeus”? ………Wait, if so your level is too low──”

“Then you got the wrong person”

Not waiting for the robber to be convinced, Clamp bombarded the rest of the shots inside the shotgun. The mannequin that lost its head rolled on the floor.

Looking at the surroundings, the last remaining robber was turned into a mannequin, he must’ve been taken down by another passenger.

The mannequin that used to be the bearded man, suffering from its miserable fate had its entire body pierced with knives. The blade sunk deeply inside and its lower half was drowned in a sea of blood flowing from out of its neck.

And at the end of this sight, the girls were there. Clamp’s “Family”.

Mifa who had trembling shoulders held Haruha tightly, and Haruha who questioned her mother’s action.

When his eyes met hers, she showed a bright golden smile.

“Daddy! I beat him down with the knife you gave me!”

Other than a forced smile, what else could he show?

“Hey…… that kid isn’t a Travel PC?”

(Here it comes……)

The first thing everyone asked after everything settled down was that. Of course, it was about his “Daughter” who was in the middle of the room being held by Mifa

“She appears to be an elementary school student no matter how I see her……”

The man’s voice that was representing the other passengers was strong. A non-Travel PC under the age of thirteen was against the law.

“Well…… You see, this kid is──”

He wanted to cover it up but wasn’t able to come up with a good lie. Kasugai Yuu wasn’t particularly smart or had a foul mouth, he was just a simple high school boy.

He might as well have spoken the truth.

Haruha was a baby born as a part of a 《Marriage》 event. That was why he didn’t have to worry. Because she wasn’t a human, but.

──Terrifying. It was not a joke.

He was convinced. Haruha was not a human, only an existence within the game. That was the truth. But once it has been revealed, how will others treat Haruha from now on?

An NPC that could think, create, and possess human emotions. There was no need to recall back the conversation he had with Fuyufu, Haruha had easily exceeded the limit of an artificial intelligence. She was an impossible existence.

Clamp and Mifa thought she was cute, but that was only because they had been with her for a long time. But in the eyes of other people, as an errant object she was a subject of their curiosity and fear.

Fearful. They were afraid to be in contact with a non-human like Haruha. They were afraid to be targeted by her. If everyone learned the truth about Haruha, could Clamp and Mifa treat her the same way as before? Would they wake up from this dream?

Still── it was too early to think like that. Just a little bit more, please let her be as what she is now.

At the same time Yuu reached his conclusion.

“Haruha is── this kid is……”

Mifa stood up and began talking. Clamp reflexively put his hand on Mifa’s shoulder. Her voice was shaking.

Mifa put her hand on Haruha’s head who didn’t get the situation. Mifa declared in a loud voice.

“This kid is… is not───ach!!”

…………………………

And there was silence.

Well, of course. These were truly troublesome words── and if said with a big voice pushed with only courage it was natural. In addition, the beautiful girl, Mifa, had called out very desperately.

“No, not about that…”

The player who had asked about Haruha perplexedly let out a word of denial.

They became silent again. It was an atmosphere where everyone goes quiet.

Except one person, Haruha, who watched over the hard faces of the adults restlessly.

It was not that she was stupid or dense (My child is clever and intelligent you know), and not even because she was young. She just simply didn’t understand how “Special” she was. When Yuu thought about that he somehow felt a bit sad, and tears seemed to be flowing out.

And within this situation…

Out of the blue, the door of the vehicle was suddenly opened. It was the entrance that was blocked by the robber from earlier. Naturally, everyone’s attention concentrated there── They were all amazed.

“Well, hello and hello~”

Because, somehow a giant mushroom had just entered the carriage.

──It was as you expected. Payakino lowered its head as if it was a cowboy hat.

“AAaa-! It’s Payakino-san!”

The first one who raised her voice was Haruha, and she dived into it, with all her might onto the stuffed-doll body. The Nanny NPC caught the cannonball-like girl.

“Bonjour. Monsieur mon ami”

And then somehow, it spoke out a greeting that sounded like it was coming from the TV version of a “Detective Poirot” [14] rather than actual French . Imitating that, Haruha repeated the word “Monsieur mon ami” over and over.

Everyone within the carriage── Even Clamp and Mifa── were taken aback, and on behalf of the elderly couple the husband opened his mouth.

“Haa…… So, who are you ……?”

“Me?”

And then Payakino, while saying “Well up’n go” rose Haruha up and tossed her into a big bag. And from inside, the muffled voice of Haruha could be heard── “Waaai! I’m inside a bag!”

Everyone’s eyes went wide wondering what had just happened, and then the mushroom shamelessly introduced itself.

“I am the wilderness kidnapper, Paya The Kid!” “Eh?”

Not waiting for anyone to respond, Payakino turned backwards and jumped onto the back of the horse waiting outside.

“Yeeehaa~ go Silver Star!”

Riding the horse, it quickly disappeared in an instant. ──

………… ………………

While carrying the bag that had Haruha inside.

“”AAAAAAAAA!!! SHE GOT KIDNAPPED!!?””

Finally understanding the situation Clamp and Mifa screamed in unison, and their voices echoed throughout the wilderness…

About an hour after, everyone had gathered in the usual hotel room.

“……Well anyway we’re saved”

Just a while ago they were frustrated from having their travel interrupted, but now Haruha was glaring at the card in her hand while learning how to play old maid with Mifa, Clamp was lowering his head against Payakino.

“Honestly, I’m out of options in those kind of situations”

After that event, they left the carriage pretending to chase over Paya The Kid, and regrouped back with Haruha and Payakino who had returned earlier. They managed to leave the scene without answering anything…… maybe, he wasn’t really sure.

Payakino unceremoniously assured him.

“What are you talking about? This is a part of my job as a Nanny NPC. You don’t have to worry about it, everything happened today will be taken care by people above so it’s okay. They should’ve erased all evidence, not even a dust left”

“Thank you… but, it sounds kind of scary”

Anyway, He would learn from this matter and avoid having any naive thoughts like before.

“May I ask….. how should I treat Haruha from now on?”

“How, you mean?”

“When she grows bigger, she can go out without being suspected as a Travel PC anymore. But, when that time comes we…… what should we do?”

Indeed. Haruha possess an ability to perform independent actions, in the『CtG』 world she was a “free” being. She needed protection for now, but in the future she would have to be independent enough to act on her own.

──What will happen when Haruha no longer needed “Parents”?

It was not explained in the extended manual given by Payakino.

“I see. Your worry is understandable, but it’s okay to consider it more carefully”

“Carefully…… even if you say so, Haruha has already grown so big. She would probably reach our age in merely half a year”

“About that──”

Payakino’s words were cut.

Who knows when she showed up, Haruha was clinging onto Payakino’s arm. From the looks of it, Mifa was putting away the trump cards back into the item box, and taking out a cursed music box she recently got in exchange.

“Hey, Payakino-san…”

Clamp who had his eyes taken by the sight of Mifa letting out a sigh with downcast eyes, missed Haruha’s words to Payakino.

And thus, he began to regret missing it later──

“How long will Haruha be able to be with daddy and mommy?”

Biiiii──────────────

──iii.

The electronic’s noise reminiscent the buzz of insects that vibrated throughout the room.

In a certain apartment, the corner of the dimly lit room was filled with trash and had soon surpassed the furniture.

The item that was making the noise, belong to a device worn by the man, the owner of the house.

It was the terminal-Ramiel, used to play 『Cradle to The Glaive』. The message “Malfunction” was displayed repeatedly on the semi-transparent surface of the visor.

The error sound would absolutely not stop. However the man did not react to the sound ringing right next to his ear.

He just loosely folded his back on the chair and let the foam on the edge of his mouth to accumulates and fall.

Biiiiiii──────────────

The electronic buzzing continued to vibrate inside the small room. And the man’s body in the middle was similar to maggots on a pile of dead meat.

Forever and always……

This man was then found fainting in the middle of playing an online game and was taken to the hospital by a family member who had discovered him. It was reported on news the day after. However, there were no eyewitnesses at the moment of his death.

In real life he had a clear face with no beard at all, but his appearance in the game was completely different.

That was why no one would know that he was the robber at the train at Gunman’s Grave who had his throat slashed by a certain girl.

## Translator’s Notes and References

1. ↑ Reference to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 2. ↑ (茸) is Japanese for mushroom. 3. ↑ Kimono (着物) is a Japanese traditional garment. 4. ↑ Seiza (正座, literally “proper sitting”) is the Japanese term for one of the traditional formal ways of sitting in Japan. 5. ↑ A type of bamboo/wooden sword, often used for sword training in Japan. 6. ↑ Based on yet another Germanic mythology ( ). 7. ↑ It’s combination of Yuu, the protagonist’s name, and the word “bocchi” (ぼっち) which means “loner”. 8. ↑ Otherwise known as Fox Udon, it’s hot udon with sweetened deep-fried tofu pockets topping which known to be Japanese fox spirit favorite food, hence forth, “Fox”. 9. ↑ An art of paper folding in Japan, it frankly means “to fold a paper”. 10. ↑ It’s written as 奴(やっこ) or Yakko, it is the name/title for servant of Samurai family from Edo period. 11. ↑ Traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing. 12. ↑ . 13. ↑ A type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel ( ). 14. ↑ Referencing the fictional character Hercule Poirot.

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### 009. Terminus

Chapter 2: Output

A week after Haruha got caught up in the robbery and kidnapping incident by Paya the Kid.

Kasugai Yuu lacked sleep.

Surviving school while half asleep, he was finally returning home. Walking through the residential area under the early summer sunset, he lets out a yawn with his throat trembling resulting in tears coming out of his eyes.

“That game again? I’m amazed that you can continue without getting tired of it”

The one who said that in an amazed voice was Fuyufu, who walked by his side. Since their houses are in the same residential area and she didn’t have any club, they occasionally return home together like this.

“It’s a good game”

Yuu answered with a downcast face. Although Fuyufu was no longer watching his face, he did that to hide his facial expression.

“Well… of course, since it’s “your game”. But, just be careful. News about people fainting in their houses due to unknown reasons are spreading.”

Once she said that, he remembered Kouta saying the same thing as well. He said, “This is happening throughout Japan, which is bad. Actually I have low blood pressure, I hope I’m okay.” But Yuu doesn’t remember much because of his drowsiness at the time.

But, the parting words left by Fuyufu, under the sunset sounded strangely sharp── which like always── unearths pain to Yuu.

“You’re Yuubocchi, a loner after all, you will die”

(Don’t say stuff like die….)

Fuyufu making him depressed through her words is a usual occurrence, but more so with today’s emphasis on the word die. This is due to the fact that the word reminded him why he lacked sleep and how his anxiety began.

The reason he lacked sleep was Mifa.

Since five days ago, Mifa did not appear in『CtG』for some reason. Every day was then spent to comfort the lonely Haruha.

(What happened…?)

If it was only a day or two, it just might have been that the net-café she frequented was undergoing maintenance, however it passed a timeframe which made him worry. The last time she was seen, she acted like her usual self and played with Haruha like any other day, and it didn’t seem like she got tired of the game or anything.

The only logical conclusion was that something must have happened in her private life.

(Could it be that she’s sick…? Maybe bedridden right now?)

It could be something worse than a cold or it could be related to the fainting incidents Fuyufu was talking about… and with that thought in mind, his worries worsened which led to even more negative thoughts. Thinking about it won’t help.

It is a common case in the online community. A person disappears without saying anything and there is no method of learning about their circumstances. The problem was that Mifa, whom he plays with, was just not a simple acquaintance. But if he were to describe their relationship── it was far too complicated to say.

“Come to think of it, I’ve been meeting with her nearly every day ever since I met her…”

It was about time he arrives home. More often than not, once Yuu reaches home, he usually greets Haruha and then.

“Will Mifa show up today?”

“I’m here daddy!”

He felt something strange when he saw a light grey van parked nearby.

People who come to Yuu’s house are usually those from the postal delivery or courier service, or someone from his father’s side of the family. But their family car is red, and they would normally give an advance notice before coming. There was no new message whatsoever on his mobile terminal when he checked.

The sliding door of the van opens, and a little girl jumps out from it── “I’m here daddy!”

Without even the need to hear her words, he already knew the girl’s name.

“Haru…ha…?

It was Haruha. Even though her hair color was a bit lighter and the clothes she’s wearing was similar to those worn by elementary school children, she was undoubtedly Clamp’s daughter.

Her dazzling smile overflowed his whole body. The little girl nodded with all her might.

“Yes, I’m Haruha”

…. …. …

Aaah, a dream.

Well who can blame him for thinking that? This happened right in front of Yuu’s house, not inside the hotel in『CtG』which Clamp frequently visits. Even more, Haruha who is a resident of 『CtG』, a virtual world, is here in the real world.

Speechless, Yuu was about to place his hand on his forehead, when suddenly Haruha inquired.

“Daddy is daddy right?”

“Errrr. Yeah. That’s right”

“As I thought. You look a bit different, but Haruha knew immediately!”

Nodding with a triumphant look on her face, Haruha clung onto Yuu’s pants. The sensation felt was slightly more awkward as compared to when she did it in 『CtG』.

But it was undoubtedly done by the spoiled hugging mole Haruha.

“…Haruha. Emm, how… did you come here?”

He curiously asked while subconsciously stroking Haruha’s head. Haruha innocently enjoyed the sensation and narrowed her eyes while letting out the sound “nfufufu” with her throat.

“Nn? Haruha doesn’t really know”

“…Is that so. That… is quite troublesome”

“Let us explain about that matter.”

The voice came from the car from which Haruha appeared from. Looking into the car, there were three unfamiliar faces. They exited from the car in order and lined up in front of Yuu.

Two of them wore suits, a man and a woman.

The man was around his thirties. He wore round elongated sunglasses. Combined with a dry all-black attire, he was emitting an aura that didn’t match a person with a respectable occupation.

Meanwhile the woman looked young. She appeared to be around her twenties but also had an air of someone resembling her teens. With long casually tied hair and a smile that reflected her intelligence, she can be classified as the “woman secretary” type.

And the last among the three was a girl. Unlike Haruha, she was not a child. She appeared to be of around the same age as Yuu, wearing a sailor uniform with a face of a diligent girl. In contrast with the composed pair of adults in suits, her tension could be clearly seen with the way she was standing.

Looking further, she undoubtedly was a stranger. But there was a feeling of familiarity, which unlike with Haruha, came about due to déjà vu. A feeling which he could not shake off easily.

“Could it be…”

He stared at the girl consciously. Even as the girl’s pupils were shaking like a punching bag, she returned his gaze with upturned eyes. While Yuu felt that doing so was indecent, he continued to stare at the girl.

“The person…is Mifa?”

Unlike Haruha, her face was not exactly the same as in the game. Although she has an appearance of a respectable and diligent individual, however unlike the Mifa in-game, she had too much of a plain and mature image. But what convinced Yuu was that her age and height appeared to be the same and above all, Haruha appeared here. It was those two reasons.

The girl looked away without answering.

Eh, I was wrong? If so, then could it be that my question was upsetting? Thinking like that, Yuu got depressed, however an answer came from the person below.

“That’s right! She’s mommy!”

Haruha answered, which then prompted Yuu to switch his gaze back towards the girl. With her clumsy steps, Haruha, who was about to tumble, was caught by the girl. Gently but surely.

──It’s Mifa. No doubt about it.

Even with confidence of their identities, it actually left Yuu even more confused. These two girls, whom he met almost every day in 『CtG』 for the past few months, were somehow present in front of his home in real life. Furthermore, one of them is his virtual daughter, which of course shouldn’t exist outside of the game.

Naturally everyone’s gaze turned towards the man in sunglasses who opted to explain the situation.

The man let out a grin which certainly left a terrible impression.

“Well talking while standing is tiring. May we continue this talk inside your house?”

Yuu then led everyone to the living room which was often his sanctuary to connect to『CtG』

Feel free to sit wherever you like, he said, and the three of them sat in front of the table. Excluding the sofa, the number of cushions were barely enough for everyone so they had to line up in an orderly manner.

Along with Haruha who was clinging to him, he brought out iced tea from the refrigerator. Bringing out enough cups for everyone, he then returned to the living room.

“I’m sorry, this is all that I have here.”

With the nuances and formalities of “You don’t have to bother drinking it.” Yuu then placed the tray on the table. The woman in-black then raised her waist and poured the tea into the cups and handed them out to everyone. Meanwhile, Haruha rested herself on Mifa’s knees.

First, let us settle the main matter── the guy with the sunglasses stood up.

“Well then, we will introduce ourselves. My name is Niiro Mansei. I am part of the Yashiko Ministry Subsidiary Organization… well, as an underling, to set things straight.”

As he introduced himself, he presented his business card. On the upper left corner of the card, beside the organization name, it was written there “Human Equilibrium Institute” along with “The seventh senior researcher Niiro Mansei” which undoubtedly was suspicious. And there was also the fact that he didn’t take off his sunglasses even inside the room. Was that a new trend?

“Next is… this woman, she’s your mother’s acquaintance.”

While she was being stared at, the woman in-black let out a smile.

“Pleasant to meet you, Kasugai Yuu-kun. My name is Haijme Hidari”

“What do you mean by my mom’s… mother’s acquaintance?”

“I am involved with the Imagine Ekphrasis『Cradle to the Glaive』development. But I was just temporarily transferred from the institute so I am not exactly a full-time employee. And I’ve been indebted a lot by chief Kasugai.”

What was then the relationship between this human-something institute and the game company? Although the urge to ask such question was undoubtedly strong, he wasn’t able to ask it directly.

For now, he wanted to hear an explanation about a certain “problem” he had always thought of all this time.

Yuu’s gaze turned to this girl. She’s “Mifa”, the girl who has Haruha on her knees.

Once again their eyes met. She seemed to have been watching him for quite a while. But the moment their eyes met, she quickly averted them as well.

Unable to speak for herself, she had Hajime introduce her.

“Her name is Kugimiya Miharu-san. She’s in her first year of high school just like you. And, just as you expected, she’s the girl who played the character named “Mifa in『CtG』.”

“a… nice to meet you, I’m Kugimiya”

When she finally spoke, Miharu quickly covered her face under Haruha’s hair. Looking at her, one can quickly note that she’s pretty shy, especially in front of strangers. It boggles the mind to think that she’s the same person as that Mifa, who talked to Yuu so bluntly when they first met.

“My name is K-Kasugai Yuu…!”

But it was not just her. Yuu stiffened up due to the tension.

Why was he so nervous? To put it simply and of course with Fuyufu’s interpretation, he’s a loner. Honestly speaking, he was sociable enough for a normal high school student. He could crack some light jokes with girls from his class, at the very least.

The reason why he was so nervous might have been due to the fact that Mifa, whom he 《Married》, was on the other side or maybe because Miharu’s appearance was breath-taking, or just maybe because the thought of Fuyufu staring deeply at him was floating on his mind.

But before Yuu was able to pinpoint the source of his nervousness, another “problem” raised her hand cheerfully.

“Haruha is… Haruha?”

“Why are you not convinced?”

This time, he was able to answer back normally. Straightforwardly, Haruha let out an “ehehe” laugh like she usually does. She had to politely speak because of the pair of adults present and due to her wanting imitate Miharu’s manner of speaking.

After a feeling of relief, Yuu directed his gaze towards Niiro so could ask questions.

“Stuff about Kugimiya-san and Haruha… you will explain it right? And also the reason why you all came here.”

Niiro smiled and laughed. As serious as he was, only his mouth was smiling.

“That’s for certain. Well then, I will talk first about Kasugai-kun’s cute little girl Haruha. We still haven’t talked about the details to Kugimiya-san as well.”

Miharu nodded seriously.

“To sum it up, Haruha-san is a person born in the world of 『Cradle to the Glaive』and came to this world.

…What the heck was the old man saying? He thought, however Yuu was not a Yuubocchi so he understood the roundabout explanation.

“…No, no. No way, that…”

“Hmm, I wonder how to explain this.”

Responding to Niiro’s gaze, Hajime took out a notebook from her breast pocket. She then ripped off a page to write something quickly on it.

“Listen, Yuu-kun. Imagine it first.

The build engine used to make the world of 『CtG』creates an endless realistic virtual world. It is arranged as a game under the system’s control but once that “control” is taken off, it would be able to perfectly produce the authenticity of the real world.”

Real World ● ≒ ○ CtG

“Did you keep up at this stage?”

It was a well-known fact, he nodded. Hajime smiled and wrote “OK” on the paper.

“Well then, in order to go into 『CtG』, players would have to create an elaborate avatar. An avatar that has an equal or greater bodily function compared to their own.”

Real World ● ≒ ○ CtG OK

Player ■ → □ Avatar

“That’s right. There is a function to cut off pain and appetite, but there is an option to have it matched to your real body as well… my Mother once said”

“Yes, exactly. Then, this is OK as well.”

Hajime nodded in satisfaction and wrote the third line on the paper.

“As you can see──naturally this situation can also occur.”

Real World ● ≒ ○ CtG OK

Player ■ → □ Avatar OK!

Human ◆ ← ◇ Avatar OK!! ←It’s here now!

………………?

……Nnn? Eh?

Does it really work… like that?

If human and player characters were considered as equals then an NPC (Non-Player Character) would have the possibility of becoming a human in the real world. Yeah. It’s logical in a way…

………………

Nononononono.

Because the logical was so simple, he was almost convinced by it however it was such a long stretch. And to begin with,

“Then what about the body? In any case when a human goes into their avatar, their body is prepared on the other side, but not the other way around. It’s impossible.”

“It’s not that hard to create actual human flesh you know.”

He said so easily. Taken aback, Yuu glanced at Niiro. He was not even smiling, it was that terrifying. It seemed that it was common sense for them.

It was true that news about how medically creating cells has been advancing and spreading in recent years which might have implications in the future that allows people in the future to breed by reproducing and splitting somatic cells. Emphasizing “in the future”, Yuu never heard of stories or even gossip about people succeeding in creating an artificial human body before.

“……It’s news to me.”

“Yeah, of course, revealing this to the public will incite critics and harsh inquiries. Well, what is important now is that “we can at least prepare a human body” as you can see.”

It was of course an unbelievable tale, but the very presence of Haruha confirms this. No matter what… no matter what, he couldn’t see that the little girl present was fake.

Before he was able to sort out his thoughts, Hajime resumed the talk.

“But, even if we are able to create a body, the “heart” would not be present. And eventually, we formed a partnership with Imagine Ekphrasis, which led to the current project.”

“Project?”

“Yes. The government will be the funder and investor for the new Imagine Ekphrasis generation game development, which on our end, will also lend stuff like computing infrastructures as well. In exchange, we can use their game world to study 『the way to create a new human』── so far that’s our plan.”

And then── Hajime and Niiro’s gaze turned to Haruha. Haruha, on Miharu’s lap, received their stares and somehow still managed to wave at them. She probably didn’t mean anything by that.

“And the first success sample is Haruha. An Artificial Child created in 『CtG』whose mind was transferred to a human body and now is here with us in the real world. That’s her.”

“But I heard that computers didn’t have the capability to create human consciousness…”

Yuu rebutted as he recalled the conversation he had with Fuyufu in the past. The mixed feelings of being unable to believe and not wanting to reject Haruha’s existence stole the strength from his throat.

In response, Hajime answers with a smile. At the corner of her eyes, there was an uplifting expression which she showed for the very first time.

“The Nephilim type computer used in 『CtG』 is completely different as compared to any existing ones. It is one of those machines that has the capability to create infinite possibilities and to create a human from within.”

“I don’t really understand, but… why are you entrusting such amazing stuff to a game company?”

“In order to have this system operate with utmost secrecy, we had no choice but to have Imagine Ekphrasis, which is the largest national net game manufacturer, possess it. Under what circumstance that led to this, unfortunately we cannot answer it now.”

A computer that can only be operated by a game company…what?

There were still lots of questions that remained but before he was able to spit it out, he understood that it would have just been a waste of time. There was no other choice but to believe what they said for the time being and continue on with the conversation.

“Then why do you want us… Clamp and Mifa, to take care of Haruha?”

With all the facts that were presented, in a way it can be said that this was the most absurd doubt he had, and Niiro answered it instantly.

“We tried various ways to create a Hadzar… a new mankind as you can call it, and as one of our attempts, a plan was proposed to create the mind of a baby on its fresh state, pick up the best-fit and suitable couple with the computer, and entrust the baby to them and have them raise it. Technically we could have created her in the adult form right away but the artificially synthesized personality she has is… a bit poor.”

His explanation was subtly convincing, and at the same time it wasn’t. The issue itself was just too vague and Yuu couldn’t come up with anything to respond to it. Finally, the last question was asked.

“Then…… what do you want us to do with Haruha?”

“Anyhow, the same as before.”

Niiro easily answered back but Yuu couldn’t understand what he meant.

“Same as before, you mean… Haruha will return back inside the game?”

“No. Based on the various databases we had, it’s believed that the personality created in 『CtG』in the state of a teen is still relatively unstable, unable to fully adapt to the real world. Hence from now on we will have Haruha live in the real world as a human here alongside the two of you.”

……………………

It took a while

For him to understand.

Haruha would live as a normal human from now on. This left an unsettling feeling but he had no reason to object.

In here──he meant in the Kasugai household.

You──he meant with Yuu, naturally that would have happened if she stays in the Kasugai household.

And the two of you──that would mean, probably……

“W-W-What do you mean!?”

Miharu shouted as soon as she understood the scenario. Her voice was so loud that it echoed throughout the house, and at the same time it was a refined rick voice. Just a little while ago, she only uttered faint sounds which were as quiet as a mosquito. Niiro and Hajime were unsurprisingly shocked as well.

“I-I-I was surprised…… seeing Haruha here in the real world, and then you people suddenly show up saying that you will provide her a place to stay so that’s why I came along the way here……”

Yuu then saw that her mouth was trembling. Her face vividly red.

“IT’S IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO LIVE WITH A GUY!”

It was subtly shocking, being said so frankly.

“Please wait a second. Even I’m troubled being asked to do so suddenly”

Yuu was in his impressionable age. Simply put, it was just too absurd of a request.

To suddenly live together with a girl of his age an also…… with Haruha who was born from a game, just how the heck was he supposed to live with them?

“First of all, how did it become like this?”

Niiro answered the question frankly.

His answer, in contrary to the oddities of topic, was very sensible.

“Isn’t it normal for family members to live together? Especially when the child is still so young.”

“Kugh…………”

It was the final blow for Yuu. He had no right to object.

Yuu turned his gaze towards Haruha. The child, who was born from the game, appeared to be completely clueless, returned his gaze with a blank look. Her pupils’ were── like a mirror.

“After countless number of failures, Haruha is a child who finally obtained a human body. Her personality, information or data, is impossible to reproduce. We wish to cherish her as well. And for that, we think that it’s best to provide her with the most familiar environment from the game. And the most important factor of her life is the two of you, her 『Parents』”

He couldn’t say anything against that argument. Not to brag, but Haruha was yearning for Clamp and Mifa wholeheartedly. Was it really okay to betray her feelings?

“Fortunately, we didn’t have to provide a new house since the Kasugai household has a lot of vacant rooms and it’s quite far from the neighborhood. And since it’s the house of a developer, it has all equipment required to use 『CtG』.

That’s why we wish for all of you to live here together. Can you understand that?”

“But that……”

Miharu who let out a loud voice earlier lowered her head. No wonder. She appears to be an extremely shy girl, to live together with a person of the opposite sex she just met today, was out of the question.

But.

“……I got it. I, don’t mind”

Yuu voiced his acceptance. Niiro probably examined what relationship Yuu had with his mother and used that to his favor. If you had to call it despicable, it’s despicable indeed, but more than that, his pride of not wanting to run away worn him out.

“That part of you, you must have inherited that from your mother”

“Because of that I ended up playing a game filled with bugs though”

Hajime was just flattering him──he simply thought──and he coldly replied. In fact, the game his mother made so far had large amounts of bugs in exchange for an abnormal degree of freedom it provides. There were also some internet urban legends that said that several debuggers were sent to the hospital because of it, but as a matter of fact, Yuu knows that many of the staffs collapsed in the middle of debugging the previous installments of 『CtG』.

Ultimately, there were also some that collapsed and never woke up…… with that in mind, he turned and faced Miharu.

“……But Kugimiya-san, you don’t have to force yourself. Your family won’t allow that right?”

He tried his best to be as gentle as possible, but Miharu’s shoulders trembled in shock.

And then everyone’s gaze faced Miharu. Since Yuu, the master of the house──but to be exact, it is managed by his uncle──had accepted, everything depended entirely on her answer.

Haruha, who didn’t understand the conversation at all, turned her body happily on Miharu’s lap. Yuu didn’t see her face, but he could easily guess the expression she made. It was that. That clingy upturned eyes she shows when Miharu was about to log out from 『CtG』.

“Won’t Mommy want to be with us?”

Miharu abruptly turned her head away, after Haruha hugged her chest tightly.

…………

……Looking at it now he noticed that Miharu’s breasts are bigger than “Mifa’s” and it didn’t seemed as if his eyes were fooling him or whatever, but normally won’t girls usually enhance part of their bodies when creating an Avatar (provisional figure) but it might just be his selfish assumption.

“Eh? Mommy, your boobs are bigger than the usual.”

……Yup, it was just a false assumption. Thanks to Haruha’s chattering, he was able to break free from the infinite chain of delusion based on pre-notions. Once again, thanks Haruha.

Attaining new wisdom, Yuu’s eyes started to sparkle──which had warmth── and that gaze was quickly spotted by Miharu.

It was enough to have her almost crying face flushed even more, but her lips started to tremble as well.

“a…………”

If this was a manga, this would be the scene where cold sweat starts to flow out, but for starters, he would be able to recognize that he felt a chill on his spine.

“No, that, I mean, this is just a misunderstanding──”

It turned bad at this rate. As Haruha’s beloved daddy, he couldn’t let Miharu scorn him……well, it’d be awkward. As a normal high school boy, Yuu has something that resides in the center of his body, known as a beast shouting the word “love”, and it would do various things regardless of his will, which he needed Miharu to understand……no, impossible. Yup, impossible indeed.

Yuu was frustrated, unable to express anything, not even an unsightly excuse, but the words Miharu said next, was beyond his expectations.

“I-I will live with Haruha too!”

“Ee? Are… are you sure?”

Not only did she appear to be forcing herself, she also said that right after Yuu’s disgraceful behavior, her action was unmistakably a strange one.

However, with Miharu’s next words, the wall of misunderstanding was taken down in one fell swoop.

“Because I cannot let Haruha live together with Kasugai-kun! Friends from my school said that men are lascivious beasts screaming “love” from the center of their body all year long! It will surely be a bad influence to this girl!”

Saying all that she wanted, she held Haruha tightly, then glared fiercely at Yuu. That stare of her was honed as sharp as an owl, letting out an aggressive aura of distrust.

“Well~, it seems you have made up your mind.”

“I’m glad it was solved quicker than I thought.”

“Haruha……Mommy will protect you, alright?”

“Mommy, it’s a little painful……”

In the lively living room, the visitors started commenting what they had in mind.

Yuu felt like crying a little.

After that, they began talking in detail about the “life” they will have after this. What they’ve discussed were as follows.

First, Haruha and Miharu’s living expenses will be covered by Niiro and his people, to the extent of them not having any inconvenience. It counts as part reward and payment for participating in the program, so they don’t need to hold back on anything.

First, while Yuu and Miharu were at school, Hajime will be present in the Kasugai household to care for Haruha.

Next, Yuu is Haruha’s father and Miharu is Haruha’s mother, but even so both of them are mere strangers, so please discern to what is known as “moderation.” (Miharu’s demand)

And lastly.

“Lastly, for the sake of having Haruha to live in the house, we must give her a Japanese name.”

“How about this?”

Hajime took the memo sheet from before and wrote the name on the other side of it.

『Kasugai Haruha (春日井 春羽) 』

Yuu and Miharu, and then Haruha peeked at the paper and looked at each other.

“I think it’s good. It matches her image……What do you think, Kugimiya-san?”

Yuu wondered a bit if, she was going to say something like “I don’t like it! using Yuu’s last name!” however,

“I think it’s good too, it sounds cute and nice.”

She liked it. He felt relieved, especially because there was a foul atmosphere a while ago.

“This is Haruha? Is it cute?”

Meanwhile Haruha herself didn’t understand it. Much less the word “Wing”, Haruha who didn’t have an idea of what seasons are, was unable to see the word “Spring” as anything other than a symbol.

Yuu was wondering how to explain it to her, but without thinking so hard, Miharu talked to the “daughter” while embracing her.

“This “Spring” you see, is something warm, soft and pink colored, just like Haruha. I will teach you about it eventually.”

……When talking to Yuu, her attitude was so cold and hard which shook his beliefs, but Miharu’s expression when talking to Haruha was unmistakably Mifa’s.

Yuu somehow became a little happy.

It was the status quo filled with anxiety and embarrassment, but somehow he felt that this will turn out well──

“Nee, Mommy.”

While holding her stomach, Haruha looked at Miharu. Miharu’s face stiffened.

“W-what is it? Is your stomach in pain or something?”

“No. It feels cold.”

“Aa, that must be because she drank the tea earlier.”

Come to think about it, Haruha was still not accustomed to eating and drinking in her human body. There were senses in 『CtG』but not the sense of digestion──It was possible to eat food and drink but it will instantly disappear once it enters the stomach──,that’s why the sensation of “having something in the stomach” didn’t exist.

“In here, when eating or drinking something will directly accumulate in your stomach. That’s why drinking something cold will make your stomach cold.”

“Hmmm…… but somehow my legs are tingling.”

“Legs?”

Behind Miharu was showing a blank look, Hajime started to shout in a hurry.

“This is bad! That’s maybe because, she wants to go to the toilet!”

It appears as if an angel passed.

Yuu and Miharu held Haruha on both sides and rushed to the toilet.

And so, the girl named Kasugai Haruha arrived in the real world.

At the same time, Kasugai Yuu’s carefree and lonely single life came to an end.

And Kugimiya Miharu’s gloomy daily life was noisily blown away as well.

The story of the most bizarre family in this world finally started.

◆

“……Now you are finally able to go to the toilet alone”

”Yes, I’ve mastered it!”

“Excellent. Then lastly wash your hands”

A training session is being held in the Kasugai household’s absolutely normal toilet. After helping Haruha wear her skirt, Kugimiya Miharu praised her.

”For the next time and after, go in by yourself okay”

After she said that, she once again looked around the toilet. She was a bit worried about the place where a boy lives by himself, but it’s surprisingly well taken care of and she was able to use it without hesitating.

(In game he’s a person of logic, could it be that he is a meticulous person?)

While thinking that, she let go of her hand from Haruha’s and opened the toilet door. And── right outside, Kasugai Yuu is waiting. *Gulp* as if something is stuck in his throat.

Involuntarily, she observed him from the head to the tip of his feet.

He doesn’t appear to be a boy with any special features on him. It might be because he is wearing a school uniform, but he’s not the type of person who wears any accessories or anything to begin with. His form (Clamp) in 『CtG』 where you can easily change appearances, excluding gender and height, he doesn’t have that much differences compared to his real self.

“……What?”

It can’t be helped, but the voice she tried so hard to speak with was really stiff.

“Well, I was wondering do you know how to you it … you see…”

In contrary, Yuu let out a troubled voice. This part of him is different from when in the game. He’s shaking from waist down, something completely unthinkable coming from the always calm and composed ‘Clamp of Scarabaeus’.

“It’s fine. It appears to be from the same maker used in my house”

“Haruha has mastered it too! Since its embarrassing if Haruha still don’t know 『Pee』 and 『Toilet』 after all!”

Haruha’s innocence when she happily reported to her “daddy” makes Miharu’s head hurts. She knows that it can’t be helped, but should she teach her to be embarrassed first……?

And her eyes met Yuu’s who was thinking the same thing. He is Haruha’s “father”, and also the man she first met.

“…………Kuh……”

Diverting her eyes, she looks towards the living room. Then she realized.

“Eh? Where is Niiro-san and Hajime-san?”

“Saying that they have some paper work to do they hurriedly left. Hajime said she will return at night though”

“They left us with Haruha that soon!? What will happen if she got sick and──”

“Well. The thing on Haruha’s neck….. a choker? They said they monitor her health condition through it. And they have other people from the institute on standby in case of an emergency as well”

“I-Is that so. Well if that is the case……”

The conversation stops there.

They don’t know what to talk about. Even though in game they are close friends who often talk about stuff like how to raise Haruha and often had light quarrels when deciding the destination they are going to.

Even so, the person in front of her is undoubtedly a stranger. And probably the same goes for him.

Furthermore, this stranger is a man.

Since she was originally a shy person, under her mother’s policy, Miharu was enrolled to an all-girls school and for this several months Miharu hardly interacts with men of his age in real life. In middle school she had the opportunity to talk with men, but recalling back the conversations she had were mostly for business and formal matters.

Just, how to deal with this somewhat hard and stiff creature? She agreed to live here under the momentum she had a little while ago, but it seems that she should’ve been a little more cautious about it.

“? What is it, mommy daddy?”

“Ah, I was just thinking what we should do from now on.”

The scene where Miharu gently pats the confused Haruha looks familiar. It was the scene he has grown accustomed to within the past two months. Just a little his nervousness lessens. Even though it’s just a little.

“……Aa, that’s right. Haruha, do you want to watch TV?”

“Teevee?”

Haruha’s eyes turned round.

After that, the round eyes of hers, became captivated by the TV.

The first thing that showed up was a broadcast of a news program of street interviews in a major city. Surprisingly or not, it did not impress Haruha much. In 『CtG』, that kind of scenery is not nil after all.

But then, the anime that shows up after that instantly caught her attention.

The proud and hugely popular show for girls from kindergarten to teenagers, a magical girl anime 『Revive! Mystical Priest Girl Rasupu-chan 5』. The original『Mystical Priest Girl Rasupu-chan』 is a classic girl anime that has aired for over 15 years, when she was little, Miharu also often watched the series.

The setting for each characters changes every year, but the important established atmosphere never changes. Ah that’s right, there was that moment where Resupu-chan seduced a handsome male guest character with Shiberia Magic, but then he was stolen by a love rival and then they had a magic battle to fight for him, and after that they reconciled under the sunset by the riverside…… even though Rasupu-chan already has a boyfriend.

Like that, while looking at the screen over Haruha’s shoulder, Miharu was immersed in nostalgic feelings.

“When I was little, I was as innocently passionate with this, just like Haruha right now”

“Eh……? This is innocent? Lastly the boyfriend Rasupu-chan kept came to pick her up at the riverside saying 『L-Let’s go home. I-I made delicious borsht. Okay? 』it was somewhat swelling my heart, it made me cry a bit……”

Yuu, who also watching somehow pulled out a painful face. That was supposedly the sweet part, but he doesn’t understand girls’ subtleties at all.

“By the way…… is it fine if you don’t go home, Kugimiya-san?”

“Am I a bother?”

She unintentionally let out a worried voice, and Yuu quickly denied it in a hurry.

“N-No! I don’t mean that. I just wondered if your parents will get worried. Even though you said okay, you will still need preparations right? Like a change of clothes…… and such”

“Then no problem”

Miharu then exits to the hallway and returns to the room along with the luggage that she left at the corner.

“Guitar case?”

She placed the oversized guitar case in front of the confused Yuu. It has a quite old dull brownish-yellow color, the metal part of it still seems to be fine, but the corners are already worn-out and the fibers are exposed.

“The insides do not contain a guitar. I put my clothes and personal belongings in here”

Although she wasn’t being suspected, she still opened the lid to show the insides.

Inside contains a mobile terminal, charger, Ramiel (『CtG』 terminal), dairies, laptop, detective novels, and a toothpaste set wrapped with clothes and a towel as replacement of the cushion.

And somehow inside, her underwear that she folded randomly are put on plain sight.

*SLAM!*

The lid was closed at near lightning speed, and instantly blew wind to his face.

“Ee, errmm….” “Please…… don’t, say anything……!”

Yuu was probably trying to give some kind of follow up but he was stopped by Miharu. Naturally this time, Yuu isn’t the one at fault, but being comforted by him will just makes her feel miserable.

(……I was planning to show him my good side, but I made a mistake instead…… as I thought, living together with a boy might be impossible)

The feelings of shame and self-loathing made her go silent.

“Well…… but, why do you put your stuff inside a guitar case?”

Luckily she still has energy to respond to Yuu who kindly changed the topic for her.

“……Because it was sudden, I could not get a proper bag when leaving the house. Then I found this in the storeroom”

“I see. So Kugimiya-san got taken by Niiro and his man too”

“No──”

Miharu hesitated. It’s not something that could be easily said to a stranger. It might change the way he sees her right now.

However, she cannot afford to keep secrets from the resident of the house she will be living in. As a matter of fact, it’s related to the situation they’re having right now.

That’s why Miharu honestly told her current situation.

“Actually, I ran away from home not long ago”

Because they didn’t have time and energy to prepare food, they got dinner through the neighboring family restaurant’s delivery service.

Unexpectedly, Haruha was okay in eating anything. She’s fine with most vegetables. But somehow she ended up leaving the asparagus, well that part might just be her preference. At least they won’t have to worry about food from now on.

However, her eating manner doesn’t go so well, she cannot handle a fork and spoon well and would often spill her food. Her clothes ended up having sauce stains.

Miharu who take care of Haruha from the side appeared to be a little troubled.

Although she was very skillful in game, the same could not be said in here. Compared to a normal elementary school student, her movement is like that of a robot. Because of that,

“Ouh!” ──*Crash*

Somehow along with a shout, with the fork she was holding, she hit an iced tea cup and spilled it. Although Haruha herself was safe, along with Miharu both of them were soaked wet. Yuu quickly went to the washroom in a hurry. He was probably looking for a towel or something. Haruha, with blank eyes, looks at Miharu who was standing next to her and spreading the light sweet smell of straight tea [1] .

“Eh? Mommy is under 《Wet Status》. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine but…… my clothes are soaked”

She’s all wet from her shirt down to her skirt, the muddy feeling on her lower chest feels disgusting. Fortunately or not, she didn’t take off her water-repellent sailor uniform.

“It will get pretty in three minutes”

Haruha was trying to cheer her up by telling her about the rule of 《Wet Status》 in 『CtG』, in respose Miharu let out a troubled laugh and stands up.

“Ahaha…… In here (reality), we must wash this before it becomes a stain”

She spreads the folds of her skirt, took out a paper napkin and let it absorb the tea. I wonder does this goes under normal laundry…… while thinking that and raising her head, her eyes met with Yuu who just returned from the washroom.

While holding a brand new towel, he shows an expression of being taken aback as if seeing something unbelievable. Wondering what he saw, Miharu looked at her own appearance── her hand that was holding the hem of her skirt quickly stops. She stopped. And froze like a stone.

Realizing that the part of her Y-shirt that got stained by the tea became transparent she stiffly stopped moving, her body convulsed into spasms, and her face turned red as if stained by blood.

While both Miharu and Yuu were unsure of the next following behavior each other will make, the culprit of the entire thing Haruha stood up. She looked up at Miharu’s body from below, and then stretched out her small hands, and *puff, puff* hit Miharu’s breast with it and excitedly reports.

“Mommy, as expected, Mommy’s boobs are bigger in here compared to there (game)!” Yuu just silently saw off Miharu take the change of clothes and went to the washroom. Later he hears a wallow scream from the other side of the door, but Yuu understands her feelings and just let it be.

Shortly after, the figure of Miharu wearing a gym uniform ── because it appears to be “a clothes that is fine dirty” ── returned to the table. She didn’t try to look at Yuu’s face directly, but with a very quiet voice she said “Thank you very much for the towel”.

Haruha was eating right beside Yuu while Miharu was not present, but when she returned Haruha instantly went to her side. It felt a bit lonely, but in game Mifa was more actively taking care of Haruha so it can’t be helped.

And Miharu herself, even though being ashamed like that, she unconsciously took care of Haruha’s sticky mouth that was busy munching on the food.

──Kugimiya Miharu. Without any ulterior motive, she’s a good kid, maybe.

She was a bit harsh towards Yuu, but rather than because of Yuu himself, it’s more like her vigilance towards males in general. He begins to think of her as a kind and diligent girl. The gap between her personality and Mifa (Avatar)’s was quite confusing, but it is just another case of a quiet person suddenly becoming bold on the net, such a typical story.

By why is such a kid, running away from home? Even though she went as far as to tell that she’s running away from home she still hasn’t told Yuu anything in detail.

──A “daughter” who came from inside a game and her “mother” a diligent-looking girl who ran away from home.

(Two women with various circumstances, both are harboring in my house. Quite hard-boiled…… I would like to say but it feels something is missing)

Leaving that worthless delusion inside his head, Yuu rests his chin with his hand. And then, he throws the fried egg hamburger into his mouth. It was soft-boiled.

“May I use the bath? And if possible, the washing machine too”

“Eh…… yeah, of course”

After than exchange, Miharu and Haruha entered the bathroom prepared by Yuu.

Haruha who doesn’t understand the concept of a bath ── After all, inside the game, no matter how dirty you become it will get clean in a mere three minutes ── raised a question “By bath you mean that? The thing with Goemon-san?” eagerly with her eyes, in cases like this it’s better to let her experience it head first so Miharu went in with her.

Right before they closed the sliding door in the dressing room, Miharu said with the sharpest eyes she ever showed.

“……If you dare to peek, I’ll drag Haruha away and leave this house immediately”

“Really I won’t”

The moment Yuu returned to the living room after he annoyingly replied so ── His heart became hard to control.

Just now he realized that he’s too late to notice this peculiar situation, of which a girl whom he first met is taking a bath in his house. By no other than Miharu herself, their consciousness of each other is rapidly emerging.

While he sits on the sofa in the living room and randomly watches TV, he heard the sounds of “running water” from the bathroom. And mixed along with it was the cheerful voice of Haruha who’s having fun, and occasionally the sound of Miharu raising her voice.

It’s that hugging mole Haruha after all; she probably tried to hug Miharu in the bathroom and troubled her.

……………… Yeah. ……………………This is awkward.

It’s not like he had any desire to do anything blameworthy that would make Miharu worry, but even so to be composed in this situation, is an entirely different case. Even Yuu, who was always playing 『CtG』 outside school, still has interest in the opposite sex like a normal guy would.

He thought he might as well wait in his room on the second floor until they finish taking their bath, but it will be inconvenient if anything were to happen in the bathroom and he could not deal with it as fast as possible.

While worrying endlessly on the sofa, Hajime Hidari returned.

“Hee, Haruha-chan already went to the bath huh. I should’ve bring her a change of clothes”

What Hajime, who just arrived in the living room, was wearing wasn’t a suit from the afternoon, but a summer sweater and a skirt under a lab coat; it was questionable to say the least. Moreover she’s wearing glasses she didn’t wear back at the afternoon. Not only that, the atmosphere around her had completely changed judging from her gestures and way of speaking.

Being anxious by the older woman’s sudden frank changes, Yuu decided to ask.

“I’m sorry……. could it be, it’s bad to put her in water?”

Hajime lightly laugh and shook her hand.

“Of course not. I said it right? Haruha-chan is a human. She’s made from very similar genes to ours and was composed of a similar composition, that’s why her color, voice, taste, and smell are very familiar right?”

Certainly, whether it’s eating or watching TV, Haruha was able to properly react to it. She did say that it feels tingling when eating pepper, it means that her tastes are pretty much that of a human.

“To put it in another way, just like a human, if her body is dirty and not washed it will be bad for her health. Ah, but for now don’t leave her alone for most of the time, especially when walking on stairs or taking a bath.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Haruha’s mind still hasn’t gotten used to that body. No matter how great a gamer is, it’s normal to be confused when playing a new game for the first time. For that kid, her body here (reality) is her avatar (incarnation). Her awareness to her own muscles and nerves are still not linked well yet.”

Indeed. So that was the reason why Haruha’s movement here felt so awkward compared when she’s in game. It might be close to the feeling of having to walk after spending long time bedridden at hospital.

“Well, she should be able to adjust after several months. She’s human after all”

The smile Hajime made after feeing assured was── very charming.

He averted his eyes for some reason as if to hide his embarrassment and to relieve his sense of discomfort he asked.

“…… Somehow Hajime-san’s personality changed from before”

“Well of course, I’ll have to put on a mask in front my boss. To put in other word, it’s a facade”

Hajime mischievously smiled and suddenly pressed her face close.

“If you have any request, I’ll put on any face you like”

“Eee…. eh….!? No, err──”

He unconsciously lost his balance and his breathing becomes rigid. It was suffocating.

But then, Hajime easily pulled back, and raises one finger with a straight face.

“Well a reaction from a high school student might be like that, but Yuu-kun is a papa, so I expect you to be more firm”

“I, I will keep that in mind……”

Exhausted, he sat down on the sofa, and muttered weakly.

That’s right…… at any rate he is Haruha’s guardian, he should behave as one, both physically and mentally. While putting that determination he directs his gaze towards the bathroom.

And, there was…

Miharu who appears to be watching that conversation midway, and in contrary of her soft warm skin that just came out of the bath her eyes were very cold.

And then, next to her was Haruha wearing Miharu’s one-piece shirt, delivering an innocent gaze and completely having no idea of the situation.

In that very moment, for the first time of his life, Kasugai Yuu felt a sudden impulse to commit suicide. What Hajime brought for Haruha wasn’t just a change of clothes.

It was Haruha’s personal Ramiel (『CtG』 Terminal).

That was completely different from Yuu’s. Miharu’s was also different but it was beyond that.

When talking about normal Ramiel, regardless of its version, the specification is always that, of a visor that covers the upper half of the user’s face. But this thing is a capsule about the size of a small bed. Unlike normal Ramiel you do not wear it to use it, but rather go inside the device, lie down, and close the top cover, it’s reminiscent of some kind of medical equipment.

The word “Yotsura Artifactual Laboratory” and “Anthropic Code Transfer System” were printed on top of the eyeball-like red lens front cover. The “for HAL/Ha” at the end might be referring to Haruha’s name.

In contrast to its appearance that seemed to be packed with lots of metal parts, it was quite light, but even so, it took the combined strength of Hajime, two researchers (maybe) she brought, and Yuu to lift it all the way to the corner of the living room. When it was finally over, Yuu and Hajime’s shoulders were drenched from their sweat.

“Actually I must teach you how to use this by today but…… I’m tired so let’s do it tomorrow”

Is it okay to be so loose, he thought but,

“And, the important Haruha-chan herself seems to be sleepy”

Come to think of it, Haruha who got bored waiting was now resting her small head above Miharu’s lap.

Yuu and Miharu looked at each other.

It seems Haruha, who came out of the virtual world, can sleep too.

……Well, like that Haruha happily started her first time sleeping, but…

This is problematic.

“……………………………………”

“……Zzzz~……Nnyaa~……”

“………………………………”

Within the dark room illuminated by the pale light of night-light. [2]

Above Yuu’s not so poor or gorgeous bed that he has used ever since elementary school.

Along with Haruha who lets out cat-like voices while sleeping in the middle, Yuu and Miharu were silently conscious about each other’s presences.

To put it in another way, they cannot concentrate on sleeping because of the other person’s breathing, motion, the close distance between them, and the rustling sound their clothes made when they move.

As it was early summer, they’re using a towel blanket instead of a Futon [3] , so even though they “sleep on the same bed” it’s ultimately not “sharing a bed”. But, besides Haruha who’s a child, it’s surely not a normal situation for two high school students of the opposite sex to be in.

Even though they carefully made sure not to see each other’s eyes, the desire to see Haruha’s sleeping face won, thus repeating the circle of accidentally seeing each other, averting their eyes in a hurry, and repeat. And to make it worse, the desire to do it again gets stronger each time.

Even their thoughts to peek through their half-open eyes were the same.

((Just why this happens……!?))

After Hajime and the others left, Yuu was planning to sleep in the living room after taking a bath. As the only usable bed in the Kasugai household at the time was just the one in Yuu’s room. There is also one in his mother’s room, but it’s in the same state before her death ── which was buried under tons of books and documents ── so it cannot be used unless they spent the whole day cleaning it.

……Although, he planned to keep his mother’s room as it is, so tomorrow maybe they will just order a bed or a futon, and clean up the spare room that’s currently used as a storage room and use it.

Anyway, there’s no way he would have Haruha and of course Miharu as well to sleep on the sofa. For today the two girls shall sleep in Yuu’s room instead, and he will do his best to delicately do the bedding for them.

On the other hand, Miharu was regretful.

“I’m sorry. To have Kasugai-kun to sleep on the sofa and all……”

“It’s fine. It’s not like we can have Haruha to sleep by herself”

“But then Kasugai-kun will……”

But she cut her own words, because saying that would mean to show her distrust towards Yuu himself. And within such a subtle atmosphere.

“Neee, nee……”

The one who raised her voice while tightly hugging Yuu’s leg was none other than their beloved princess Haruha. She’s wearing the summer pajamas she received from Hajime, and now she was rubbing her own sleepy face. Her appearance was unduly cat-like.

Haruha who was puzzled by the sensation of being sleepy for the first time obediently listened to Miharu’s explanation “It’s okay. To sleep is a very good thing” and loosened her mouth. Suddenly wanting to, Yuu stroke Haruha’s head.

“Sorry to make you wait Haruha. The bed is ready, you can sleep now”

“Let’s sleep together daddy”

Miharu tried to talk to her out of it, but unexpectedly Haruha shook her head.

“Haruha wants to sleep with daddy too!”

The place.

Is frozen.

“N-No, no, that is a bit…”

“Tha, that’s right Haruha. We are, not like that, so things like that──”

In a hurry the two of them tried to answer [4] , but their words were unexpectedly broken.

On Haruha’s face, a certain emotion was shown within her drowsiness. Right below the shades of her eyes was the color of despair, the kind of feeling that a normal child shouldn’t have known.

“But…… 『Sleep』 is the thing where Haruha can’t see, feel, or understand anything right?

Daddy and mommy might…… disappears when sleeping”

──That’s right. Yuu and Miharu faced each other. For Haruha, to experience sleep is both fun but also an anxious thing. It’s different from Yuu and Miharu who accept it as a normal occurrence. Everything is the first time for her, the only thing she can unconditionally trust are just her daddy and mommy.

Once they’ve understood that, there was no option to refuse.

Thus, on the absolutely not wide bed they formed the word river [5]

………………

An hour had passed since they turned off the light. There was Yuu lying right besides Haruha who was letting out a proper sleeping voice, but he couldn’t sleep at all. Even though he was so tired, he still hasn’t reached the entrance of sleep.

The reason was simple. Because he knew that Miharu is awake. Every one minute she would move slightly, and every thirty seconds she would let out a sigh. But even so it’s not like he could do anything about it, because his heart beats fast as he felt their body heat transmitted through the mat.

First of all, Miharu who appear to distrust man that much is lightly dressed. Since this is early summer, it can’t be helped that she gets hot, but why a tank top and short pants. Just by moving a little, that plump exposed legs of her would enter his field of vision.

Maybe because she was in the middle of running away, thus she doesn’t own any bulkier pajamas but…… seeing how low her guard is sure is worrisome.

(This is bad…… the more I think about sleeping the sleepier I get)

Like this, Haruha who had fallen asleep so peacefully sure is envious. The moment he glanced at her, Haruha rolled over and clung onto him.

“……Nyuu……”

Not sure whether she’s awake or not, maybe she’s having a dream, while repeatedly moved her mouth she buried her face tightly into Yuu’s chest.

The presumptuous petite angel who knocked his belly was just like a doll, but, the certain warmth she has was pretty hot. She’s a human after all, recalls Hajime’s words.

It’s such a weird story. Even though they’re all human, there was a man like Yuu, a woman like Miharu, and a kid like Haruha. Furthermore, even Yuu himself who had become like this, was once just like Haruha who’s small, doll-like, and very dependent of her beloved parents.

……It might be not much of a difference now. Yuu let out a bitter smile and stroked Haruha’s hair. Haruha pulled her lips as if getting tickled.

“……daddy……”

Unconsciously, he hugged her back with all his might.

But, she will undoubtedly wake up from it so he put up with it. Although he cannot deny that he almost lost his composure seeing the skirt getting wet by Haruha’s droll.

“……Really, Haruha is really a hugging mole”

He tickleed her ear with a whisper. Turning his eyes, there was Miharu smiling warmly at them,

Very naturally, he was able to return with a smile and low voice.

“Her first “sleeping together” partner is me”

Within the darkness, Miharu’s feelings were transmitted clearly.

“………But, she called 『mommy』 first so it’s me”

“That’s right. Within the bygone days maybe such a thing did happened”

Yuu who’s showing his composure for grasping tonight hegemony (?) in hand, and frowning Miharu. In such scene, Yuu felt a bit more assured.

“At first I thought your personality is completely different, but you’re like Mifa from times to times”

“Aa……”

Suddenly Miharu was at a loss of words. It feels like she is regretting something.

It’s dark so it’s hard to see her expression. But, he was able to see her hesitatingly rubbing her legs together at the corner of his eyes.

“……. It’s really weird right. Being a Net Benkei [6] ”

“No. 『CtG』is an RPG after all, it’s normal to act”

“It’s a bit different from acting. I’m usually like this…… so I adore those who have a bright personality like Mifa. I can’t change even if I want to in front of a person in flesh, but I can when being Mifa in『CtG』. Unlike me who is just all talk, who is bad at talking and shy, who is bad at facing boys. And unlike me…… who can only listen to her parents”

Her voice was very small and vague, probably as to not wake Haruha up. Even so, thanks to the quietness of the room, and the close distant between them, he was able to clearly hear her voice.

He was able to hear what he failed to from before.

“And even so, you ran away from home?”

“………I did say runaway but, all I do is just walking around staying at friends’ houses. Depending on which house they might’ve contacted my mother. My revolt is only that far”

“Is your house strict……?”

“There are some special circumstances so my mother started to manage my life. I entered an all-girl school because my mother said so, and just a while ago, she made me quit the chorus club in that high school because I came home late.”

……So that’s why her time in『CtG』 increased. He feels pathetic to feel happy without knowing that. But setting that aside, the reason why her guard was so low was probably due to her being accustomed with an all-girl living style, he thought.

“And then, this time she told me to stop playing 『CtG』…… Well, it’s my fault to do an all-nighter and overslept though. But, at least just this, I don’t want to stop doing just because she told me so”

“……Because Haruha is there right”

Miharu, even in this darkness, clearly and strongly nodded.

“That’s why I ran away taking a Ramiel with me…… but it’s not certain that there is a corresponding line in my friend’s house, and even if there is one I would feel bad to borrow it. In the end, I couldn’t log-in in these few days”

This is just Yuu’s imagination but there is no way the reason “I have a child in game so there is no way I can stop!” would pass through with such a strict mother. And even if she says it there is no way her mother would understand. Even Yuu himself wouldn’t understand anything until he actually interacted with Haruha.

And because of that, Miharu is grieving over her actions.

Objectively speaking, it’s about a child who rebelled against her parent who have been taking care of her for all her life and selfishly running away from home just because of a useless online game. Talk about being ungrateful.

Even so. No, exactly so.

Even if it is just Yuu alone he wanted to be her ally. He thought.

He still hasn’t heard anything about whether her mother knows that she’s here or not at the moment, and then Haruha shook her body.

“……nn……uuh……”

He was relieved that she didn’t wake up, but it seems that they have talked too much.

While he’s looking at Haruha’s hair, he whispered to Miharu.

“Let’s just sleep shall we”

After replying with “Yes” Miharu slowly closed her eyes while stroking Haruha’s head.

Yuu closed his eyes shortly after and strangely, his consciousness sank smoothly into slumber. Was he finally used to this situation? Did his body use up oxygen from that conversation and his brain requests a rest? Or……

As he thinks about that, his consciousness was slowly sucked into the night and bed by the gravity.

But it was interrupted as he realized he hasn’t entered 『CtG』 at all today.

──Kugimiya Miharu is weak in the morning.

Maybe because she has low blood pressure or something. A while after waking up, her memories before sleeping were jumbled together and she forgets what she did. Today is exactly like that.

“Nnnn………nnuu……”

Waking up in a fragile state, she stretched out while ringing her throat.

In the past few days, she has been living in her close friends’ houses, so she wasn’t surprised when waking up in an unfamiliar room. But,

(……Whose house was I staying at yesterday? Ton-chan? Koro-chan?)

She couldn’t remember. What enters her blurry vision were “I’m not sure which color should I pick, for now I will just buy black or gray colored stuff”-like furniture, it was a boring dark room.

(It’s like a boys’ room……)

It was a tidy room. It’s not like there is just a few stuff in the room, but most of it was placed neatly on the shelf or above the desk. And on the shelf there are plastic models lined up.

“As I thought, really boy-like──”

As she sloppily ruminate the room through her eyes── she got interrupted by a murmur.

Besides the bed Miharu is sitting on, a girl is sleeping. She has fluffy hair and cuteness that undoubtedly will convince you that she’s the world cutest, most beautiful girl.

And, right beside that gem-like girl there was a very mediocre-looking boy sleeping. And that boy was wearing a T-shirt and knee-lenght half-pants which is known to be the rudest display to show to a woman.

Her head boiled up── and she remembers everything in that moment.

That’s right…… yesterday, “daughter” Haruha came out from the game and they started to live together in “the daughter’s father’s” house. And then, due to Haruha’s request the three of them slept together…… She recalled that she had an embarrassing talk before sleeping but couldn’t exactly remember what it was.

After this, just what kind of face should I wear when facing Kasugai-kun…..? It feels like they had a pretty chaotic distance against each other from the beginning.

And speaking of Kasugai Yuu, he’s hugging Haruha with a very loose face; it doesn’t seem he will wake up any soon.

Looking around, there was a digital clock displaying “Sat 0908” on the bedside. Yuu’s school should be off on a Saturday──In Saturday Clamp appears in『CtG』 right in the morning── so maybe it’s time for them to wake up. Since it will be bad for Haruha’s education.

Even so, to brutally wake up an Angel from her peaceful first sleep in her life is just too much for Miharu to bear. First of she should just wake Yuu up.

If she raised her voice she would wake Haruha up too── she hesitates. Probably it has been over six years since the last time she ever touched a sleeping guy. But, it will be problematic for their life in the future if she gets embarrassed over things like this.

(That’s right. Compared to Russhy (Super-scary even though it’s a Pomeranian [7] ) from the neighbor, a boy or two is nothing……!)

While encourage herself, she gingerly placed her hand on Yuu’s shoulder. No reaction.

It can’t be helped so she tried to use more strength but it doesn’t seem to do anything. ……and even so,

“Somehow this is scary……”

When touching Clamp in『CtG』 it was always through a thick layer of clothes. But to directly touch it like this sure gives an uncomfortable feeling.

Come to think of it again, his physique is not that block-like but his arms and legs are way more masculine that hers, it looks kind of heavy. His toe looks like gravel. She recalls the drawing lesson she had during art class in junior high where she was told to imagine girls as plants and boys as mineral.

(Were boys all like this……?)

She tries to recall back when she hit her father’s back when she was young, but it was so long ago that her memory went foggy.

As if trying to look beyond his shadowy face, she looks directly at the boy’s face. It’s different from Clamp’s the calm and firm imprisoned face or his unreliable troubled-like face. Kasugai Yuu’s sleeping face looks slightly like Haruha’s, it was very defenseless.

Unable to escape her drowsiness she unconsciously moved her finger and touched the hair on Yuu’s cheek.

“Nnn……”

Her eyes met Yuu’s eyes who woke up while letting out a tired voice.

“……eeh? Ku….. Kugimiya-san……?”

It seems Yuu is quite a morning person and immediately recognized Miharu’s existence. But, even so, however you look at it, this situation appears like ── nothing but ── Miharu stroking his head while looking at his sleeping face, and to swallow this situation is an entirely different case.

Miharu panicked in various ways. Her face turned red, and the advanced language skill action to explain will indefinitely fail her. But to stay silent in this situation would just nominate her as a strange person. That’s why, she gathered all her courage into her throat, and let out a word of excuse as if pouring it all out,

“A, aim chorry!”

She bit her tongue.

“……? Eh?”

Because of all the commotion they made, Haruha finally woke up and opened her eyes.

And then, the sight in front of her during her first memorable moment was.

The figure of her father with a question mark floating above his head, and the figure of her mother who looks like she was about to cry

“……nnniya?”

After that they started the discussion over the alarmed zone, for now the misunderstanding between Miharu and Yuu has been cleared. (To sum it up the truth “It turned out like that when I tried to gently wake you up” has been recognized as sounding strangely like a lie)

While Yuu was preparing a simple breakfast, Miharu was dressing up Haruha on the bed.

Accompanied by the morning sun that dimly entered the room, she combs Haruha’s hair. No matter how disordered your hair became, it can be set straight in an instant in 『CtG』, so this was a fresh new sensation for Haruha. While having her hair straightened, Haruha was happily humming the Rasupu-chan theme song, Miharu modestly spoke.

“W-Well Haruha…… It’s about the sleeping together with Kasugai-kun you see”

As expected, her voice was stiff. She was able to sleep yesterday, but it was right after that incident this morning, she can’t do it anymore.

(As a boy Kasugai-kun is not that scary…… but, sleeping with a boy is just too much for me)

Sorry Haruha, but from today onwards, she will convince her to sleep with only just the two of them.

But right before she started her persuasion, Haruha stopped humming and said.

“Hear~, Haruha you see~. Today~, when waking up~, in the morning~──”

Her lisp voice over her shoulder was melting like butter.

“Haruha was hugged, by daddy!”

To be exact, it was Haruha who first hugged Yuu, but from her perspective Yuu was the one who couldn’t let her go.

“Haruha sure~, daddy is~. When waking up, if Haruha is not there, will be sad, and scared…… so *squeeze*, he grabbed Haruha”

Haruha placed her small fist on her mouth, and “Kufufufu……” happily laughed. After that, she loosened her face.

“Really, daddy sure is childish”

………………This is bad. To show such a good smile, like hell she was able to say that it was the last time to sleep with daddy.

The morning sunlight that passed through the window created a small sunny spot on the bed, in the room there was Haruha who was in a great mood for awakening in the best morning, and Miharu who lost her strength and dropped her shoulder.

It was the morning of a certain mother and daughter.

◆

After Yuu and others finished their breakfast, Hajime Hidari showed up in front of the Kasugai household entrance.

“Yaayaa! Good morning! How are you guys?”

it could be because there was no Niiro today, she’s in ‘glasses onee-san’ mode right in the morning. While feeling something like heartburn, Yuu passed through the living room.

”Somewhat fine. At least Haruha is energetic as always”

“Right. Haruha sleeps and wakes up properly”

“Gufugh!? ……t, that certainly looks like it” said Yuu while staggering over a good tackle by Haruha, who had changed into cute children’s clothes. Hajime looked at Yuu and Miharu sequentially.

“Well then…… I will have to make some adjustments on Haruha’s end. I think it will take around half a day. You guys may go out in the meantime”

“Go out…… You mean with Haruha?”

“Yes! Like a date.”

“NO WAY!” answered Yuu and Miharu in unison — causing them to look at each other.

“Do you hate it that much?” they both thought.

While smiling, Hajime offered a proposal as she looked at the two.

“Then go run some errands. You need to buy various necessities whether if it’s for Haruha or not. Yuu-kun has school on weekdays, and Haruha is busy with school transfer among other stuff. It will be a problem if you don’t do it while you can”

She was certainly right. But,

“Is it okay to take Haruha out here and there? Because…… it has only been a while since she came out”

“That’s why we will have you use the car to move around. The driver is from the institute, so he can carry out various errands to some extent, and besides──”

Hajime paused and mischievously closed one of her eyes.

“Both of you are the best couple chosen by the Nephilim Computer which created that 『CtG.』. Both of you are her parents, and she is counting on you so be proud of yourselves”

Several minutes and meters from the national highway later, Yuu and the group walked to the supermarket chain stores.

It would be easier if they went to the general supermarket near the station, but it will be very problematic and awkward if they happen to meet an acquaintance from the neighborhood. That’s why they went all the way to a place where students don’t visit that much. It’s indeed an unfamiliar shop but…… just thinking how bad it would be if they meet Fuyufu, this is not a problem at all.

The person from the institute who drove them all the way here ──who, by the way, was a very kind-looking man── said that he will wait in the parking lot. Along with Haruha who was holding hands with Miharu, the three of them passed through the entrance.

The store lets out the atmosphere of a typical suburb. It’s a two-story building but it’s profusely wide. There is a foreign cinema at the back probably because the management materials are from Tebiro [8] .

Miharu, who curiously surveyed inside, asked casually.

“Do you come here often?”

“No. It has been two years since the last time I came here”

Yuu wanted to say that he used to come here with his mom in their car. But he didn’t.

“It didn’t seem like it changed that much. They should have most household goods provided here”

The first thing they would have to get would be clothing and bedding leaving groceries for last. Food, clothing and shelter they say after all. As for the funds, they have the card Hajime gave them so they should have quite a bit of excess money.

“Well then…… first let’s find a bed and make a order. We might forget about it later” Yuu proposed.

Miharu’s face turned red.

“Eh? You’re saying we should change to a double bed?”

“No. It’s not like we can sleep in the same room forever, so I think we should buy a bed for Kugimiya-san too”

“………………of course”

Since this morning, Miharu has been confused over various things. She squatted down, groaning, while being hugged by Haruha who’s acting as a tranquilizer.

“Ohh~, what is this place?” said Haruha as she restlessly walked through the store with her sparkling big eyes.

『At nine o’clock yesterday evening, a woman who lost consciousness in a room in the Tokyo residential area was discovered by a family member. The woman was immediately taken to the hospital, and it seems that her life is not in danger, but the cause of the syncope is unknown. According to the doctor there is no problem in the woman’s health condition……』

The large TV on display was showing today’s news. Yuu didn’t stop walking, but somehow it caught his attention. It’s the incident that Fuyufu mentioned before.

『This kind of fainting incidents also have been occurring at various other places in the past few weeks, the cause of this unexplained fainting is unknown and the number of victims within the country has reached over thirteen people. Although it still hasn’t reached a serious level yet, those who are living alone are advised to frequently contact other people as an effort to minimize the damages that might occur from these incidents』

“……Maybe it’s time to call uncle after a long time.” Yuu thought.

“What a scary story” said Miharu anxiously. And then Yuu suddenly remembered “That’s right……. I’m no longer alone now.”

“Daddy! Haruha found something cool!” reported Haruha to Yuu who was taking a break on a nearby bench. Miharu was looking for clothes to buy while Yuu, being a guy, became inevitably bored.

He was sitting beside Haruha, but the moment he took his eyes off her, Haruha took off and went somewhere. She came back holding a colorful box about the size of a concrete block.

“Fufufu”, she giggled as she looked inside the box. Through it’s window [9] Yuu saw the doll inside, and inside of the box 『Figurine Mystical Priest Girl Rasupu-chan 5』was written. It appears to be one of the good characters from the anime Haruha watched last night.

“Isn’t this for sale!? Don’t take it without permission!”

“Aww~……” said Haruha as she frowned.

It was very unlikely for him to get mad at Haruha who was showing a dissatisfied face like a spoiled kid. He held her hand and had her guide him back to where she found the box. Fortunately, it was from the nearby toy store and they were able to promptly return it to the shelf. Since there were piles of similar box lined out, it seems to be a popular product.

“Haruha. In stores like this, you must pay with money”

“Stores goods are bought from a product list, right? And dropped items are free to take, right?”

“……That is only inside the game. Here you must put item you like inside the basket, and then buy it by hand from the employees there. If you don’t do that and take it outside, you will become a thief. Thieves are bad people”

“I must use a harsh tone when saying this” thought Yuu. Haruha pouted as she looked at the Resupu-chan figure regretfully.

“But daddy, you often steal stuff, right?”

“Don’t say things like that….. and it’s just inside the game, like taking a weapon from a monster, or dealing with the robbery incident that time”

“Come to think of it Kasugai-kun, when fighting Humanoid (Artificial Human) you often beat them by 《Snatch (steal)》 their weapon, right?” said Miharu as she showed up from behind. She’s holding stuffed paper bags on both her hands. It seems she finished purchasing clothes.

“Why do you keep on doing such bothersome things?”

It was the first time Yuu realized that Miharu’s mouth would smoothly work when the topic is about the game. The same goes for Yuu as well.

“Well, even though it seems like a bothersome thing, it’s still a technique. Stealing the enemy’s weapon while empty handed, and then, in perfect timing, activate a semi-auto attack; it’s a style that relies heavily on preliminary actions. It’s a distinct specification of『CtG』I say”

Yuu used the word “specification”, but it was not mentioned in any official announcement so it fell under the vague line of either is it a bug or not. In other words: a hidden trick. The requirement of this is that the opponent must equip a weapon and you must go empty-handed. If you fail to steal their weapon you will be in a huge pinch, and first of all it’s a technique most player don’t know about.

“Huh? But Kasugai-kun, even though the opponent uses ranged weapons you still forcefully try to steal it, isn’t that just a hobby of yours?”

“Daddy is just trying to show-off”

Yuu averted his eyes as he was unable to say anything against Miharu’s and Haruha’s continuous attacks.

“To be able to beat down the opponent instantly is cool” Yuu thought. That’s why he relies so much on it. The players who would level up their 《Snatch》skill for such reasons would be most likely just Yuu.

“A-anyway…… unlike in game, you mustn’t take stuff from shelves and pots. Understand?”

“Ehh? From pots is bad too?”

Somehow, that was the part Haruha was shocked about.

“Yeah, you mustn’t break things either”

“Just what……”

Ever since RPGs, especially the middle-age fantasy ones, reached the 3D era, pots at roadsides and indoors were objects that were free to inspect and break. People may selfishly examine it without permission and freely take miscellaneous items from it although these are not just the only items you can get. It is a daily routine and an important factor that prevents players from losing their willingness in investigating towns and villages.

In this world where rummaging and breaking pots is forbidden, for Haruha who is literally a brainchild of the game, this is a paradigm crisis.

“The… then, what can Haruha break?”

“I’ll buy her a bubble warp later” thought Yuu at that moment.

Right after that, Miharu returned to the topic at hand.

“……By the way, what were you looking at?”

“It’s Rasupu-chan”

Haruha, who surprisingly got over her depression fast, pointed at the 『Figurine Mystical Priest Girl Rasupu-chan (5)』.

“It’s amazing, you know? She’s doing her deathblow pose”

Because of how pushy Haruha is, Yuu once again took the item and looked at the description.

Just like what Haruha said, despite being palm-sized, the position of her body perfectly replicates the Shiberia super deadly poison pose. Truly a gem of a item. But, after realizing something he returned it to the shelf.

“Haruha…… I’m sorry but it’s written here 『For fifteen years old and above』. In this world, Haruha is around eight, so you must be older to buy it”

In response to Yuu’s explanation, Haruha, as if dying, asked a question with her pure eyes.

”Why can’t Haruha buy anime toys for little girls?”

“Yeah… Really, I wonder why……”

Why would a figurine of a currently airing anime aimed for little girls be a merchandise for fifteen-year-olds? Yuu, feeling helpless, was unable to answer her question.

How can they cheer up Haruha? She already had her shoulders lowered, feeling down from the pot incident and more? At times like this it’s best to leave it to Miharu who is also a young girl at heart.

“H-here Haruha. This one is okay for three-year-olds and older”

What she found from the shelf was a soft Rasupu-chan vinyl doll. It’s a set along with a rival character called Fu-Nyanchu which is cheap, but very unrefined, and the only thing moveable was its shoulder which can only rotate in a circular motion. Moreover, its face doesn’t look like the real one at all. It’s reminiscent of a voodoo doll used by ancient people as an object of worship, it has a distinct appearance of a dopey person or of someone spacing out.

Yuu made a bitter smile.

“Well, Kugimiya-san. I don’t think that……”

“Uwaa────! A battle set────!!”

“E-e-eh she’s overjoyed!?”

After saying “I’ll get this for you” and passing the doll to Haruha who let out cheers with her sparkling round eyes, Miharu whispered to Yuu in a pleasant voice.

“Still, quantity over quality”

“…… was I this simple when I was young……?”

As he thought, Haruha’s personality is way younger compared to her physique. From what he remembered, Fuyufu and his cousins were more impertinent when they were at the same age as Haruha right now.

Moreover Yuu himself was a child who would say harsh and heartless words to others──

『It’s okay that you did not visit me one the day you promised me a month ago. …… but mom, do you understand the meaning of the words “promise” and “lie”? Could it be that you remembered it wrong and mixed up their meanings? …… learn Japanese right already』

…………Just remembering it makes him loathe himself.

Compared to Haruha who was cheerfully looking at the toys on the shops with Miharu, Yuu was thecomplete opposite. Maybe the reason why Yuu accepted Haruha easily was because he hoped she would become a child who would love her mother in exchange of himself.

And to that thought── he shook his head.

“No…… isn’t that exactly what a playing doll is?” thought Yuu

He let out a small sigh, and carried their shopping. It wasn’t that heavy.

“Well then……. Maybe it’s time for us to go back. It feels kind of bad to keep people waiting”

It took around two hours for them to finish buying the needed household goods and groceries, including having lunch at a random store at the food court.

“Aww~…… we’re going home now?”

Haruha who was happily helping Yuu by pushing the shopping cart appears to be unhappy. She expressed her dissatisfaction by hitting the cat paw-pattern cushion she picked herself earlier. But, Miharu then said “Well, hmm……” with a weary voice out of fatigue and nodded.

Unexpectedly, Haruha (excluding the case in the toy store) no longer takes off anymore as soon as you take your eyes off her.

However, every time something catches her interest she would grab either Yuu or Miharu’s arm and drag them here and there. As her guardian, it’s very exhausting. Even so, they have to keep an eye on her no matter how often they tripped and fall.

Even though they were just shopping, Yuu is still not used to handling a child and quickly became both physically and mentally tired. In the end he went outside through the parking lot and walked through the busy passageway.

The girl who was walking right in front him recognized his awfully familiar face. The reason for their meeting with Kodzuchi Fuyufu on that day was a very simple one.

She got invited by her friend from the Table Tennis club to watch a mania-aimed B-rate movie which didn’t screen in major cinemas. They had that friend’s older sister, who was at that time searching for a job, to bring them there with a car. Thanks to that, Fuyufu, her friend, and her friend’s sister ended up giggling from the depths of their lungs after watching the action splatter movie 『The Goblins’ Pipeline Grand Strategy』.

After that, they parted with the friend’s sister who wanted to take a nap in the car. The two then walked to a clothes store at the super market to spend time. It was then when the encounter took place.

Why is Yuu, who always caged himself inside the house playing 『CtG』 when not attending school and shopping, is here in such a suburb super market? If that was the case, Fuyufu would think that Yuu was shopping with his uncle whom she was acquainted with. But…

Yuu was, walking alongside a girl.

The girl, who appears to be bashful, is around the same age as Fuyufu and Yuu.

Yuu was pushing the cart and right beside him was that girl, who was talking about a shampoo brand or something. They’re undoubtedly acquainted with each other, and they’re shopping together. …………Shampoo? What? Eh???

“No…… way……”

*Crack* … As her body was about to fall, along with the floating mark inside her heart started to rotate, her friend swiftly took hold of her. As expected of the table tennis club, her legs are very agile and reliable.

“Fuyu-cchi! Keep yourself together!”

“To think that Yuu-bocchi [10] is walking alongside a person other than me……”

“That’s what you were so shocked about!?”

“Kugh…… could it be, that woman also possess the devil eye that is able to see ghosts?”

“What’s up with that setting!?”

Hearing the loud voice of her friend, Yuu turned his body to their direction.

“F-Fuyu!? Eh? Aa…… wha, why are you here……!?”

He let out an unusual panicked sound which was very unsightly. He was like an adulter that was caught cheating.

And the girl in question was hiding behind Yuu as if frightened.

Seeing that figure of her hiding behind Yuu’s shadow made something deep inside Fuyufu’s body go “ciiiiing” as if it was letting out a metallic sound──

“Well, well! Isn’t that Yuu-kun from Kasugai household I’m seeing here?”

With that clearly out-of-character way of speaking and hardened-like smile, she made a big pause. “Uuugh…” Yuu cried out through his throat, but then he produced a fake smile clearly knowing that running away was not an option.

“Y-yo, yoo. What a coincidence” said Yuu.

(……….The heck was that?) she thought.

He’s acting different from normal. Usually he would be stubborn like a child and boorishly try to run away from Fuyufu. But, strangely today he is a bit different…… as if he does not want to show his bad side to the people with him.

“I see. As I have guessed, that woman is that kind of person to Yuu” she thought while keeping that creepy smile of hers on her face, as she started making a restless sound.

Fuyufu had stopped scolding Yuu about playing too much CtG since his mother died. Who would have thought he would dare get a woman without her knowing…

“Yeah… what a coincidence.. Who would have thought that the prefecture-level ranked loner Yuu would be walking around with such a lovely girl in this faraway place as if he’s trying to escape the eyes of his acquaintances as if in the middle of pulling an affair?”

“……Don’t expect me to butt in anything about the loner-whatsoever-thing that you said”

It’s so typical of Yuu to say that, even though he went as far saying he won’t butt into anything. It’s hard to think that this guy whose previous life was most likely a sandbag would be popular.

── I see. So this is what people say as that kind of thing.

“『Dating Site Regulation Law』as its cover-up name would be too fancy”

“What did you just say!?”

“Then tell me, just from where did you get acquainted with that woman? Weren’t you always locked up in your house──”

“Well… from the game!”

“Game……? Could it be you pick up girls in 『CtG』 and hook off in an offline meeting or something?”

“Offline mee..? N-n-no! Mommy and daddy… you see… are《married》 inside the game!”

“Married… Married you said──”

After repeating the word carefully── she noticed that the person she was talking to switched from Yuu to the one with a more youthful voice.

And as she looked down, she saw her skirt was being grabbed by a small hand.

It’s a girl. A girl around the age of eight with a fluffy hair and very innocent pure eyes……

“D-Don’t, Haruha!”

For the first time, that woman raised her voice. She quickly grabbed and embraced the girl called “Haruha” and kept her from saying anything more.

“E-Erm…… I’m sorry. She says weird stuff; she’s a child you see……”

The child protested, “It’s not weird!” while flopping her feet, but she was silenced with the woman’s puffed breasts.

But it doesn’t matter. If the child won’t talk, she can just get the answer directly from the woman who sealed the girl’s mouth.

“So, who are you?”

“Aa…… u, I, I”

The woman suddenly went silent. Even though she moved quite vigorously when she stopped that child, when it’s about herself she becomes completely weak.

“W-Well, you see, I’ll explain this later, so──”

“Shut up, Loner. Sandawara star has no relation with lightning magic attack you know”

“At least make it understandable!”

Yuu let out a grunt right from his stomach, but she ignored that. Fuyufu felt something. “This woman must reveal her own identity. Something. Right! A premonition!” she thought.

That’s why, she introduced herself.

“I’m Kudzuchi Fuyufu. I’m… a neighbor of Kasugai Yuu”

And then her introduction── this forced the woman in front of her to react in a way beyond her imagination.

“Ee…………Fuyu, fu…… -san?”

The woman showed a stunned expression, then her pupils slowly dilated, and then dulled hollow. In the same manner, Yuu’s face turned pale.

And then, the woman smiled as she stood up. It was the kind of smile that forces a tingle on her cheek. That somehow reminded her of the nitroglycerin smile faced Yuu at first. She switched back to Fuyufu and then politely lowered her head.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Let me introduce myself, my name is Kugimiya Miharu.”

And then, the final blow.

The little girl ── Kugimiya Miharu, said while smiling awkwardly:

“Due to some complicated situation, I’m currently staying at Kasugai-kun’s house. It was nice meeting you, Fuyufu-san”

・ ・ ・

It took around three minutes for Fuyufu to regain her consciousness.

“Haa!?”

“Fuyu-cchi! It seems you’ve finally regained consciousness!”

It seems that she lost her consciousness while standing. Her friend wiped her sweat as she let out a sigh of relief.

“Where are Yuu and the others?”

“Someone was waiting for them that’s why they left earlier. He said “I’ll explain this later! Though…… wonder what was that about?”

She somehow remembered Yuu saying that in a very serious tone. Seeing how desperate he was, they really might be in a circumstance where he can’t say anything yet.

But still… just what kind of situation is that shut-in in, to make him take an unfamiliar girl into his house. Moreover……

In order to calm down her confusion, both of them sat down on a bench near the nearby comfort room [11] while drinking canned coffee. Her friend, who’s sitting next to her pouted.

“But still, Kasugai-san sure is cruel. Even though he has Fuyu-cchi already…”

“……Yuu is not that kind of person”

“That again. It’s not about that, didn’t they say that they suddenly started living together? Or more like, I thought Kasugai-san is the one who has feelings for Fuyu-cchi──”

“Really, it’s not that”

After she let out a little grunt, they went silent for a moment.

It’s really not that. All she was was Yuu’s friend since childhood, and also her first friend as far as she can remember. Every time they see each other, Yuu’s mother would say “Please get along with Yuu”. Their relationship is just that. Their inseparable bond gives birth to a small flower. It’s really just that.

But, whether it is a misunderstanding or not, the fact that her friend was made for her sake is the truth, it was embarrassing but at the same time, it made her glad.

“Haa!!” exclaimed Fuyufu

“Eh?” responded her friend in surprise.

“I wanted to eat a large serving of parfait at the food court but I can’t eat it all. I’ll treat you so help me”

“If you give me all the pudding I’m in”

Her grin turned into a smile and they stood up. And in front of Fuyufu, a small boy showed up, appearing to be rushing to the toilet. Seeing that,

She remembered. The child, who was with Yuu and Kugimiya Miharu, if she’s not mistaken,she was called…

Haruha.

That name meant “small flower” and it was from her memories with Yuu.

Before they entered elementary school, the two of them often played house. It was the name of the doll Fuyufu was always carrying around. That’s right. Fuyufu said it’s name proudly.

“Haruha.”

The doll is now kept in her closet, and the memory of “Haruha” was driven to the corner of her memories. And now, she showed up here and was able to grab her skirt.

──Moreover, that Haruha, what did she say when she called Yuu and Kugimiya Miharu?

Something is wrong.

“……Just what is happening around that idiot?”

At the corner of Fuyufu’s view, at the electronics department, the words “Merchandise advertisement! 『CtG』 -use terminal bargain starts this week!” were displayed.

◆

”Well, I’m sorry for having you to come back here in a hurry. That car will be used by the institute you see”

What awaits them when arriving at the Kasugai household was, Hajime Hidari wearing relaxing light clothes while sitting cross-legged, appearing to be typing something on the large-type Ramiel from before with her laptop.

“But still, it might be good timing. The setup will be over soon”

“We can finally, go inside the game?”

While her parents were busy sorting out their luggage, Haruha who was empty-handed went to hug Hajime’s back.

“Guuuuh~…… that’s right. Because Haruha-chan has a special body, a special device is required. We will perform tests from now, both of you heads on and prepare──”

Hajime turned around, and at the other side of her sight was── a heavy atmosphere, that makes you picture the *rumble rumble rumble* onomatopoeia in the air, has been fostered.

Yuu and Miharu are sorting out each of the things they bought. Yuu is sorting out groceries and electrical products, while Miharu was sorting out clothing, both of them were silent, not just words, they won’t even glance at each other.

“……Eh? What? Did something happen?”

Even though they had quite a nice atmosphere before they went out…… she asked Haruha, the girl who’s their daughter, and she turned her gaze upwards.

“Somehow, on our way home daddy met a neighbor or something, and then mommy got mad”

It was somewhat hard to tell, but for now she recognized it as a fight.

“Well, this is surely a rocky start”

For these kids and for this project (humankind). Hajime made a bitter smile and stroked Haruha’s head.

“Well…..”

While tossing several foods into the refrigerator, Yuu opened his mouth.

“If you have something to say, please say it”

Although his words are requesting, somewhere within it the nuances of yielding is blurred in.

However, after removing the tag for the clothes she’s going to wear Miharu,

“Nothing. There is nothing”

She flat out said.

A few minutes after their encounter with Fuyufu, since the moment she declared that she’s living in the Kasugai household, Miharu has been silent the whole time. Even though she would smile and talk normally with Haruha, each time her eyes met Yuu’s she would avert her eyes. It was just like the first time they met.

Yuu intends to understand the reason why she’s so mad though. It might also be about Haruha’s name. But, regardless whether to apologize or stay silent, he’s too anxious to check with words and unable to put it into action.

That said, even if he went out of his way to ask, it feels like she won’t answer anyway, in the end he stayed silent.

“Daddy……”

While thinking that, Haruha who’s holding the newly brought cat paw-pattern cushion shows out of nowhere right beside him.

“Nn? What is it Haruha”

“Hidari-chan said, the preparation is finished so go ahead and go inside the game”

“Roger. I’ll go as soon as I am finished sorting this out”

Even though he already said yes, Haruha remained standing there. She’s tightly embracing the cat paw cushion while standing. While thinking of something, Haruha faced him with upturned eyes.

“Nee…… did daddy have a fight with mommy?”

It was rare for her to whisper. Back when they were inside the car he was too busy watching the outside views to care, but clearly she would be suspicious that things are getting weird.

Yuu softly stroked Haruha’s head, and made a smile in a hurry.

“It’s not a fight”

◇

──That’s right, it’s not even worth calling it a fight.

“I think”

Several tens of minutes after that, within a hotel room at Terminus Cradle.

There was the figure of Clamp sitting on the floor, and the figure of Mifa staring down at him.

“To think that you named your own daughter after the name from the girl you like…… it’s just sick isn’t it?”

Mifa’s eyes were as heavy as an iron ball. And that mouth of hers, speaks so well, as if venting all the anger Miharu had been building up till now. Just like the sleeping story ── although calling it that is a bit misleading ── Miharu told herself, Mifa (she) is the figure who can straightforwardly speak the words Miharu couldn’t say by herself.

In contrary, today Clamp is exactly that of a frog being stared down by a snake. But “Just say all that you want to say” was Kasugai Yuu’s wishes from the start so it can’t be helped.

“Ee, errr…… it seems you’re misunderstanding something, Fuyufu is not like that──”

“But anyways, you still brought up the name from another girl right?”

“Uuuh…..”

“It’s not good you know”

“Yes……”

“You’re a hopeless man you know”

“Certainly……”

“Say “Aim chorry”, come on”

“Ai, Aim…… chorry……”

It was Clamp who lowers his head each time Mifa speaks.

“Daddy and Mommy are doing something right?”

There was Haruha who was quietly listening to her parents’ conversation from outside the room. She was able to take a peek at Clamp who was gradually sitting lower and lower on the floor, but the distance between them prevents her from hearing much.

『It’s something that frequently happens in every household in this world』

Naturally Haruha restlessly looked around as she suddenly hears a voice ringing inside her head.

“? I can hear Hidari-chan’s voice?”

『Ehehe, this is the function of this special Ramiel. While I’m outside, I can see everything Haruha is seeing』

“If you went that far, Hadari-chan should just go inside the game too”

『I wanted to, but I also have to keep track of Haruha-chan’s body. How is it? To “return to your hometown”? 』

Haruha tilted her neck.

“Nnn…… somehow, everything feels so clear. And moving becomes so easy”

『Certainly. The body of you Hadzar are optimized in that world, the difference of the outside world is just too big to cover. 』

“You mean?”

『All information within “CtG” is purely made of Anthropic Code (Human Space Notation)…… Well, you can just think that the air in that world is clear. And because of that, if Haruha-chan did not breathe that clear air every few days it will feels like your breathing is being jammed by something. Be sure to remember that. 』

“Like being mad because Haruha can’t break pots?”

『……It has nothing to do with pots though, but the nuance is close maybe』

She didn’t get it, but she decides to do what she was told to. After all, Hidari is a good person (benefactor) who allows her to meet with her daddy and mommy.

As she thought about that, Clamp, who finally finished his conversation with Mifa, returns with a tired out face. Peeking inside, Mifa is still inside the room puffing her cheek. It seems she’s complaining while leaning on Payakino.

Haruha then rushed to Clamp. But, she stopped before hugging him like she normally would.

“Haruha. What did Hajime-san said?”

It seems that Yuu had been told about the communication function.

“She said, if Haruha don’t go inside the game, it will get hard to breathe”

“? You mean it will be bad if you don’t regularly go inside『CtG』?”

“It seems so”

It seems I will have to hear about this in detail later…… while thinking that Clamp stretched his hand, intent to stroke Haruha’s head, but that hand was caught by Haruha’s hands.

“Daddy”

“Nn?”

“If Daddy and Mommy are fighting, Haruha will……”

She had something to ask and she opened her mouth, but suddenly she became afraid. Her throat stiffened and she fell silent.

“Haruha?”

“Uunn, nothing. Errm, are you going somewhere?”

“Aa. It’s a currently-ongoing quest, and it will expire soon so I’ll have to go”

“Haruha will go too!”

“I’m sorry Haruha. I want to be alone for a bit. Play with Mifa today”

While looking troubled, Clamp peeped at Mifa who remained in the room. Haruha then clenched her small fist tightly.

“Is it really, a fight……?”

Her voice was trembling. Her two most important people are in a conflict with each other. She doesn’t know what to do.

The anxiety feels like having cold water flow down her spine. Wonder how much of that showed up through her face, Clamp went down on his knees in a hurry and held Haruha’s shoulder.

“Like I said, it’s not. Really, I’m just in a hurry. ……Actually I, have to play through this entire game, no matter what”

“Play through… entire game?”

Clamp nodded deeply, and it seemed like he came out with something.

“That’s right. I’ll say this to Haruha, the reason why I’m so fixated with this game. The thing, that I never told Mifa or anyone.”

“Mommy doesn’t know?”

“Aa. Because it’s not something I want to talk about. But, Haruha is special That’s why; keep this a secret from your mother”

◇

A while after.

The figure of Clamp of Scarabaeus was at the Gunmans’ Glaive frontier town church.

At the end of the wilderness of a deserted town, is a place with no characteristics other than being the capture point of a nearby armed bandits’ fort.

Still the reincarnation mirror that leads to Terminus Cradle was stationed inside the church, and Clamp was taking a rest in that humble place. The mirror was placed at the spot where a cross or an object of worship would usually be in a real church, and he rest his back on top of one of the facing settee there.

Just now he had finally finished his quest and was just about to go back, but now he wanted to be alone.

There are lots of things to think about. First off, a reflection.

(……I don’t even know what a proper 『Parent』 is and why did I end up being one?)

Just remembering what he did to Haruha would upset his stomach. That’s right── when a child seeing adults having a quarrel that he/she can’t interfere, he/she won’t be mad or sad, but be worried. Realizing how thin their existence is.

And there Yuu, who should know that more than anyone, showed an ungraceful behavior towards Haruha and upset her. From her perspective, the two of them are lacking awareness to the fact that they’re adults as well.

The definition of adult and child is connected, for example when there are person at the age of 10 together with a five year old inside an elevator, that person will be the “adult”. The current Kasugai household is exactly like a “child and child elevator”.

But he acts firmly inside the house “House”…… he thought at least.

(But still…… how will I explain it to Fuyufu when I’m back in the real world? Niiro-san said that he will make a fake scenario about Haruha and Kugimiya’s circumstances but I haven’t hear anything about that yet)

“……And I didn’t think Kugimiya-san would be so angry”

He sighed maddeningly. He wasn’t able say anything against Fuyufu’s stuns or about Haruha’s naming, but Yuu himself still had something to say.

“Wasn’t she (Mifa) who said 『This is a game after all』at first?”

Moreover there’s no way to expect that the child developed a personality and arrived in the real world. If only they knew that in advance ,they would think about that more seriously.

However, there is no meaning in talking about it now.

For Yuu and Miharu, that little girl is Haruha and just Haruha<– Daniman1: These two “Haruha” are written differently, first in Katakana referring to Haruha in the game world and the second in Kanji is referring to Haruha in the real world –>, there is no way they can come out with any other name now. Even Miharu who strongly criticized it didn’t say anything about changing her name.

That name, that symbol, that word possess a special meaning inside their hearts.

It’s such a strange story. A child who was born from inside a game suddenly shows up in the real world and a day had already passed since then. Normally it would be impossible, an event that looks like fantasy by common sense. But even so, somehow they managed to start their life, with Haruha who don’t know anything about real life, and with Miharu whose personality is the complete opposite in game.

Speaking of troubles, he will have to think of an excuse for the grumpy childhood friend, and a way to shorten his distance with the grumpy “daughter’s mother”. Of course after that he will have to think about taking Haruha to school and about Miharu’s house circumstances, there is undoubtedly a lot of trouble to take care of.

But even after considering Haruha’s origin and circumstances, this is still too idyllic.

As he thinks about that, the small door of the small church opens.

Looking at the direction of the door, a black shadow slowly takes form and a familiar figure is seen. The familiar figure then approaches him with a familiar voice.

“Yaa, what a coincidence”

Coincidence sure is coincidence, but it’s also somewhat given. A sister (nun) showed up. But she’s just wearing sister-like equipment, it’s not like she’s an actual sister. She shouldn’t be that far from Clamp, she’s a common player.

Clamp answers as he dug through his memories.

“You’re from the robbery incident──”

“Yes. I’m glad you remember me”

Of course he remembers. That scene of the day which Haruha did during that robbery wasn’t something he can simply forget. And to add on, her color edited clothes were all RGB zero── she’s wearing all black.

And── somehow she has unforgettable eyes. A dark golden like a melted tiger’s fur, a pupil that makes people who sees it become restless.

“I’m really grateful when you saved me that time, thank you very much”

It was a sweet voice that sounds like a slight lisp despite her polite tone of speech.

“But I’m didn’t……”

As he gets troubled replying ── since there is a high probability that the topic will lead to Haruha ── the girl arrived in front of Yuu.

She’s a distinctive girl with silver long hair peeking out from her veil and a sharp face contrary to her easygoing expression.

“Is something wrong?”

The girl who tilted her head looks very similar to Haruha. No, it’s not like her facial features are alike….. but, softly, her otherworldly atmosphere and her distance towards reality is just like her. If Haruha was a little bit older she might look like this. That trait of hers makes you believe that…

“Well…… a bit, you remind me of someone I know”

The girl faintly smiled and sat down on the seat right next to Clamp’s. And then, she once again introduced herself.

“My name is Memento Copellia [12] . Please call me Meme if possible”

Clamp introduced himself back. Mement said “Clamp of Scarabaeus huh” curiously. She must have changed her sight to AR mode and read Clamp’s tag. It reminds him of the time when he first met Mifa.

It really feels like long ago……as his thoughts pulled back to its original direction, Memento speaks out a noise-like sweet voice.

“Hei, Onii-san. If you happen to have, time would like to have a little talk with me?”

“A talk?”

“Just a small talk”

Clamp nodded without hesitation. It does sound a bit too sudden, but it might be good for a change of pace.

Memento then touched her lips with her finger and started the story.

“Does Onii-san know about 『Pandora Box』?”

He doesn’t know much but he had heard of it before. It’s one of those Greek mythologies.

The god who was angry that humans discovered the technology to control fire gives a box to a girl named Pandora in order to torment humankind, the god told her “You mustn’t open this box no matter what” but the girl then opened the box out of curiosity. And then all kind of disasters from inside the box pops out and humankind who peacefully lived came to an era of suffering. But inside the box there is one single “Hope” that was left──

It’s more or less like that. There is also some heresy but Yuu don’t know more than that.

After Clamp answered what he knows, the girl nodded and continues.

“You know, Meme always thought about this. There is 『Hope』 left inside the box right? Could it be that there was only 『Hope』 inside the box from the very beginning?”

“Eh? But, since catastrophe happened when the box was opened won’t it be logical to think that there is disaster inside it too?”

“That is the god’s trap. In order to torment humans who obtained the wisdom to use fire, the god blessed another wisdom for them”

“Knowledge…… you mean?”

“It’s hope. Surely humanity at that time didn’t know what hope is and spent each day aimlessly. And then the foolish Pandora opened the box and the people came to understand the concept of hope”

“Sounds pretty good I think”

“That’s right; hope itself is a great thing. But, as the concept of hope is born, at the same time, a 『not a hope』 twin is born. If people don’t know what hope is they won’t know the evil of the calamity. People who know hope can see it. Feel it. Aaah, this is 『not a hope』. For example when there is a victim of a natural disaster, those who know what hope is will just think of it as『Aaaa, it’s just a normal work of nature』. But, those who know hope will think『Why am I having such misfortune?』 So the disaster that came from the box is in fact just the awareness of misfortune of people who were drowned in luxury. The world does not have defects from the very beginning, all harm and mischief only exists inside a human’s head. Ignorance is bliss. If people remained insensitive they won’t know the concept of hardship and pain, but with his power god took it from them. That’s right, this world is polluted with 『Hope』”

“Huuuh…… that was a pretty interesting interpretation”

It was his honest impression. If you are supposed to understand a lesson from this myth it will be, “No matter how hard this world is to live in, hope is always there (that’s why don’t give up)” or maybe “Because there is hope people do futile things” he thought. But, based on her exegesis, having wisdom has both merit and demerit.

“But from that way of thinking, it’s such a disaster that the world becomes a place of humans resentment”

Clamp was genuinely impressed by the unique insight that girl had. Memento then smiled and nodded, and then shook her head.

“That’s right. But Onii-san, Meme thought. Thankfully because Pandora opened the box, the plain world is now exposed to the human’s hatred. The world that was nothing, became the『Enemy』that humanity must overcome in order to obtain a better life. If the world has feelings, won’t it be happy?”

“Will it be happy…… being directed with hatred?”

To Clamp’s doubtful question, Memento lowered her head a little. Her veil sways by the discolored air of the wilderness town.

“Onii-san thinks like that because you know what yourself is. Meme felt really happy when knowing what Meme is”

The girl laughed as she said that. Yuu unconsciously smiled seeing her, it was a smile filled with happiness.

But, as expected he doesn’t get what she meant. Clamp shrugged.

“To know oneself, even I don’t know such philosophical stuff. Then what are you, Memento?”

“Meme?”

The girl pointed at herself with blank eyes. That simplicity of hers really reminds him of Haruha.

“Meme is…”

And then, with a pure innocent face like Haruha’s, the conversation comes to an end.

“This kind of thing”

*Woosh*

A sound of wind was heard from the back of his right ear.

Softly, without any herald, it was the sound of Memento’s terrifyingly smooth knife getting stuck on the couch.

But Clamp had no idea what just happened. More than that, he can’t even let out a groan. To be exact, he can’t move at all.

It was because his throats was penetrated by the slender knife and got pinned to the chair.

“Kg…… agh…… uh……!”

Clamp was confused.

He can’t understand. An unbelievable thing just happened. Of course, he just received a sudden attack, but more than that, more than anything.

It hurts── it hurts!?

Even though they’re inside 『CtC』 where all six senses are reproduced very closely as if it was real, since this is still the form of a game, all sensations of pain are fully cut. Since there is no way the player would able to withstand the pain of being cut by swords or burned by magic.

That’s why immediately after the damage took place, the pain will be converted to a slight sense of discomfort and making their limbs slightly harder to move as a handicap…… or it was supposed to.

The sensation of pain is rushing through his entire pulse and his neck feels like its melting. Even if he tries to budge, the intermittent pain would kill the brain’s command to move. Along with the wet liquid spilling out from his wound and the edge of his mouth his body slowly losing its strength──

He glared at Memento Copellia with his eyes. That gaze of him was to ask about the unnatural pain he’s feeling, but it seems that the girl was misunderstanding something. And then, the answer she gave afterwards further confuses Clamp.

“Why is Meme doing this? It’s The Palimpsest…… no, to think that you’re not informed of anything even though you’re Haruha’s guardian”

Memento knew Haruha. And judging from her words she knows more than Yuu.

“Meme is a Hadzar who couldn’t become anything. And thanks to Haruha Meme was able to be reborn. But Meme still worries”

Hadzar── it’s the name of the new humanity that was born from the world of『CtG』 Niiro talked about it before. Within his consciousness that was dominated by pain and confusion, Niiro’s vacuous smile and Memento’s innocent voice overlaps.

“Why Meme became Meme. In order to make sure of it, Meme will, that’s why──”

Memento’s words still continued, but at that time Clamp ── Kasugai Yuu’s consciousness was already drowned into the turbid water. The heat from his wounds turned cold form the air, and the back of his eyes were dyed in tides of darkness as his vision darkens──

Within the pitch black water. A mute spark was scattered.

“Artgh──Gahkgh!”

Kasugai Yuu awoke.

He puked out a substance that was stuck to the back of his throat ── it was something very cold ── and he violently cough. His wide open eyes were overflowing with a glistering light and his consciousness wildly writhed inside his brain.

Don’t know. I don’t know anything. I can’t think of anything. My heart. My heart, my heart just.

His entire body beats. It’s twirling. Inside his head was dominated by the beats and he can’t think of anything.

Who is it? What? What, what, what happened? What happened to me? What should I say to Fuyufu? No, I was stabbed. It hurts, it shouldn’t be like that! That’s right mom! It’s not I didn’t intend to──

“KASUGAI-KUN!!”

His confused mind and body was saved by that voice. It slowly returned. Focus.

The information reflected through his retina matches his senses; he’s lying in the middle of the living room, he recognizes Miharu, Hajime, and Haruha who were looking at him.

Hajime’s face slowly turn from pale back to her merry self, even though the air-conditioning is on, she’s drenched in sweat. On the carpet where his hand is, was some syringe lying ── it seems they took it all off ──

Haruha’s facial expression was hidden by her hair. But, the small hand on Yuu’s leg appears to be trembling.

And then, Miharu who pulled back Yuu’s consciousness── is pouring out tears.

Eeh……? H couldn’t help but be surprised by the unbelievable reality in front of him, Miharu was still crying. The drop of her tears falls, and Yuu’s mind finally reaches his mouth.

“Kugimiya, -san……?

In front of Yuu’s dry voice Miharu wiped her tears with her hand and sniffled. And then she shows a smile.

It’s clear that she’s forcing it, and that smile of hers looks like it is about to break down any moment, but it looks very appealing in front of Yuu’s eyes.

“I’m glad…… ah”

But the next words coming from the girl’s beautiful smile were hardly pleasant.

“Kasugai-kun, you just died”

## Translator’s Notes and References

- ↑ Alternative term for black tea, a tea that doesn’t include lemon, milk, sugar, or any other additions. Just a plain tea.

- ↑ In case of confusion, it refer to the dim light from a lamp.

- ↑ Futon is traditional Japanese bedding, yeah, you people know it already. I’m sure.

- ↑ The original line ”あわてて履行不能の因果を含めようとする二人だったが,” roughly means that the two were trying to explain that they aren’t a couple. In which case, for Haruha, that can’t be the case since in her understanding the two are married and gave birth to her. 履行不能の因果 basically mean “an established fact that impossible to happen” which referring to their circumstances (Yuu and Miharu aren’t a couple, but give birth to Haruha). I can’t find a way to translate this line properly, so I omitted part of it. – daniman1

- ↑ The posture of a family sleeping together are believed to resemblance the Kanji for river (川) where the child is in the middle.

- ↑ Netto Benkei (ネット弁慶) is Japanese slang referring to a person who has strong personality in internet. Altered version of Uchibenkei (内弁慶).

- ↑ A small dog of a breed with long silky hair, a pointed muzzle, and pricked ears

- ↑ Tebiro, Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture 248-0036, Japan

- ↑ The window here probably refers to the clear plastic you see on one side of toy boxes

- ↑ Yuu’s nickname given by Fuyufu, refer back to chapter 1.

- ↑ Apparently it’s another name for toilet

- ↑ I guess it’s a reference to this ->

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### 010. Terminus

Chapter 3: Interaction

The sudden separation Kugimiya Miharu had with her father happened close to her 10th birthday [1] .

It was not a separation by death like that of Kasugai Yuu and his mother however. It was just a common case of divorce. Her mother had not told her the reason why though and. It was not a rare occurrence in Miharu’s household at the time. If it was something her parents didn’t want to tell her then that was that.

As a result, Miharu lost her father without knowing anything, and. like a “good kid” Miharu was at that time, she didn’t even have the courage to inquire about it.

After that she didn’t meet her father even once. Even though she thought she would meet him immediately after the divorce. Miharu was very fond of her mild father, more than her overly strict mother, that feeling of for her was certainly strong.

However, after hearing the truth from her cousin in a family gathering, that feelings of hers withered. Her cousin had whispered “Because Haru-chan will be sad hearing it” with sympathy.

──In reality the reason for the divorce was because her father had fallen in love with another woman and was unable to break his relationship with her.

It was because of that, Miharu was unable to trust any man no more.

To be exact, she had been already afraid of people in general, but her fear towards men was now more than that. It was because the man who used to treat Miharu so kindly had ended up loving another woman more than his own wife or daughter.

From what she had heard, her father and mother met during high school and married after dating for 1〇 years [2] . She didn’t know whether it was true or not, but from what her father had secretly told her, that was only when her mother had told him that she wanted to marry her first love. So wonderful── thought Miharu, who knew nothing about romantic relationships at the time,. it was her luck and fortune to be born under the love of her parents.

Yet,… such a wonderful man like him ended up breaking his own family.

It was wrong.

Miharu thought. She was a person who wanted to always be with the person she loves. To fall in love with a person who will always stay by her side, was something everyone, like her, wished for.

It will just be painful if it’s not.

Since then, Miharu committed to her mother. Her cousin was wrong. It was her mother who was sad and that was why she would always listen to whatever her mother said. Thus, Miharu obediently went to an all-girls school. It was not like her mother thought that it would keep her away from men, but at least it was a place that would be completely unrelated to her father’s wrongdoing.

It was right after she passed the entrance exam, Miharu was shocked as she heard her mother said that she would be marrying a man she met at work. Miharu was in dismay, so great was her dismay that she found it strange herself. She couldn’t understand her mother. She knew that her mother broke up with her father. Her father was the bad one. But, why was it then that her mother tried to tie up with someone else after breaking up with her father? She kept asking herself but in the end, Miharu couldn’t even understand her own mother.

In the end, Miharu was all alone. She was able to make some friends at school, but at home she was all alone, while her mother was with another person. It was not balanced and she was afraid. Miharu didn’t have the courage to go out, and instead she started playing 『CtG』 where she could interact with various kinds of people while inside the house.

Miharu, who became “Mifa” in the virtual world tried to be someone different from her original self. Someone who could express the emotions that she was unable to show in the real world. “It was just a game after all” she had told herself, and under that spell, “she” became bolder than she ever was. The girl who was timid in the real world found herself making a lot of acquaintances quickly. She felt comfortable to be able to be surrounded by a lot of people in this world.

When she was helping the guild 【Labyrinth Troupe】, where a girl she knew belonged to, she first met Clamp. Her first impression of him was actually less than favorable. Even though he was the same age as her, he was quiet and barely said any words. It was as if he was mocking her. However it was more than just that, the way he silently reject people and created distance felt like Miharu herself.

But, if she befriended with such person, Miharu felt that she won’t be alone anymore. The moment when she spoke to Clamp with that feeling in her chest── finally, Mifa, Miharu, was no longer alone.

She had a treasure she shared with him-Haruha- and knowing that the person liked the same thing as her, she was able to believe that person even if he’s a man. They grew closer little by little. Calmly yet also impatiently. He was very skillful when playing game, but on the other hand, was very clumsy when dealing Haruha or her.

Clamp.

She had met the Clamp in real life and for all his pretentious like figure, he was actually dull looking. But, he was very kind, and more so he was sincere when facing Haruha and Miharu. The “hunch” she had since the day he gave the name Haruha to that girl in 『CtG』 pretty much hit the mark.

Kasugai Yuu.

I’m not like my mother. I won’t be sad. She thought.

But, he, already── ◇ An hour had passed since Clamp went off and Mifa, who complained about Yuu to Payakino, received a request to log-out from Hajime through Haruha.

Miharu and Haruha, who didn’t know why they were called back into the real world couldn’t believe the scene they immediately saw after removing their Ramiel.

It was the scene of Hajime piercing Yuu, who was lying on the floor, with a large pistol-shaped syringe on his chest.

“Eh……what did you do Haru──”

“Quiet. I can’t concentrate”

Hajime’s expression was unrecognizably serious. The greasy sweat on her forehead was shining like red scales under the sunset.

After she carefully finishes the injection, she pulled out the syringe with terrifying precision and appropriately threw it away. Then, she took out a pad-shaped electrode from her bag and pressed it against Yuu’s chest.

“Errm…… what……?”

“It stopped.”

Hajime answered frankly as she began to operate what appears to be the controller of the electrode.

*Zap!* It made a twitching sound and Yuu’s body faintly bounced. It was like seeing a filature doll. But even after being shocked by the electricity, Yuu’s thin eyes remained closed and did not react at all.

Before she realized it, Miharu’s legs began shaking.

“Eh? Kasugai-kun? Eh? Why?”

Just a little while ago he was reprimanded about the case with Kodzuchi-something inside the game. Miharu’s anger was real but frankly saying, it was just as simple as that. Even so── even so, why did it become like this?

Within these past two months, the face that looked like Clamp’s which she met in 『CtG』 every day…. that sleeping face that made her heart beat just this morning… is different. *This face is completely different. This is…… this is like—

“He got killed inside 『CtG』”

In contrast to Miharu who was in the pinnacle of a hypnotic state, Hajime’s voice was very businesslike. Miharu couldn’t understand the meaning of that answer, but that voice convinced her that it’s “the truth”.

“I’m sorry……. I didn’t expect that not just Haruha but also Yuu-kun to be targeted”

Miharu nearly shouts.

(WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!?)

──is what she wanted to say, but she desperately held it in. No. There’s something more important to say.

“Just hurry up and save him!”

“That’s what I’m doing.”

Hajime’s voice remained calm. She sounded reliable but at the same time, it made Miharu want to let her outburst explode and slap her. She was in verge of panicking.

It was all too sudden. A Ramiel should’ve met safety standards and would not emit any strong signals, as a matter of fact, over a year had passed since 『CtG』 start running and there has been no health issue reported other than light dizziness. At least that was the case when Miharu checked it on the net before she started playing.

Yet, Yuu is dying in front of her eyes. All of the sudden her new everyday life that had just begun is leading towards its end.

Again…… again, she will be separated from someone without knowing anything. And this time, it’s in a place where she can’t go even if she wanted to. What came into her mind was a simple rejection.

No.

No no no!

It had only been a while since we first met but.

In the beginning we met as Mifa and Clamp, instantly got married, started raising a child as if playing house, we pushed our love onto Haruha as if she was our child, also he said that he loves my song.. when I first met him here, he was unreliable but also very kind…… and seeing him die while we’re still fighting is just unbearable.

First of all, Miharu still had a lot of things to say to Yuu. Wasn’t it Yuu who said “Just say all that you want to say”. It will be troublesome if he died now.

“Kasugai-kun, you don’t know right…… you don’t know why I was angry right!?”

The words which she couldn’t say while being Mifa, they fell like flakes of snow. They fell along with her tears.

“When we were giving a name to Haruha, I was really surprised when Clamp said 『Haruha』. I was shocked thinking that you might know my name── Miharu. But soon I realized that it was just a coincidence…… but, then, I started to think that coincidences might be 『Fate』.

We met in 『CtG』 and held a strange marriage, then give birth to our very own child…… all of those special things were fated, then the person inside Clamp might be my destined… that”

But after saying all that, she got mad all of the sudden.

“And then…… why? In the end, YOU JUST GIVE HER THE NAME YOU GOT FROM THE GIRL YOU LIKE! WHERE IS MY FATE!? COME ON AND SAY SOMETHING!”

Hajime activated the device once again. Yuu’s body began coughing violently like a caught fish.

As if gushing out all of her feelings, Miharu called Yuu.

“KASUGAI-KUN!!” ◇ Thus Kasugai Yuu revived.

He was then carried to the hospital by the car that Hajime had called, and there he received a medical examination for the very first time in his life. No abnormalities── in fact far from it, he was actually “fairly healthy”. By the time they received the result of the inspection, it was already night.

“Explain……. you will do it right.”

Just to be sure, Yuu had been told to stay in the hospital room for the night. Within the small private room, Yuu and Haruha, along with Niiro, the three of them talked. Yuu was lying on the bed, while Miharu was sitting on a chair, right next to the bed, holding Yuu’s hand. Meanwhile, Niiro was leaning his back on the door.

Haruha and Hajime should be resting on the bench at the hallway. Hajime had already been relieved from the tension by the time they reached the hospital, while Haruha…… was still stunned and silent . When she first arrived, she was still being dragged along by Miharu.

It should have been the adults’ obligation to explain the cause of this incident.

Niiro, who still did not want to take off his sunglasses like always, let out a dry voice.

“Currently, there is a dreadful Player Killer rampant in 『CtG』”

Come to think of it there was something like that on the 『CtG』 news line.

But.

“Player Killers…… they are people who attack other players inside the game, right? I understand that Clamp got beaten up by one of them,

But, why did Kasugai-kun end up like that?”

Miharu questioned harshly, and her voice was shaking. Probably from fear, or perhaps, anger.

“That’s because the one who killed Kasugai-kun wasn’t human.”

“……What was that?”

Memento Copellia. She was obviously not emotionless. However, the emotions she kept inside and the actions she displayed outwardly did not particularly match. Such a girl was similar to Haruha.

She had pierced Clamp’s throat while she was still smiling.

Just by remembering it, it brought back the pain he felt back then onto his uninjured neck. From what Hajime said, the pain still lingered in his conscious .

Niiro took out a mobile terminal and projected a figure of a girl on the air. She was now wearing different clothes which gave her a different impression, but, she was definitely still Memento.

“She── Memento is the first generation of Hadzar. A human born within 『CtG』”

“Isn’t that just like Haruha……?”

“That’s right. She was born from the exact same nucleus, or core should I say. However, the method we used to develop her personality differed greatly. Memento was an approach from the outside, while Haruha was an approach from within. Simply put, Memento was born in that form from the very beginning. By physically analyzing a pre-existing body and memories we tried to create a complete human from the start.”

“Such things are possible……?”

“We succeeded to some extent. It was a major breakthrough at the time and Memento was able to think normally within 『CtG』.

She was also able to move as freely as she wanted. However, no matter how many times we carried out an emotional response test, her results were always poor, She simply wasn’t able to develop proper emotions. It would have been fine, if what we aimed to do was to create a robot, but our, the Human Equilibrium Institute’s goal is to find a way to create a new human. She will continue to remain incomplete if we left her like that.

The resulting hypothesis is that there is defect in the Virtual World’s building capacity and so is unable to reproduce the 『something』 that makes human, human. It is most likely a factor that simple machines are unable to perceive.

That was the case──and thus someone proposed an experiment to give a real body for Memento and in the end we decided to go ahead with the experiment.”

So far, other than their education, she was exactly like Haruha. Eventually Haruha safely obtained a body in real life and became Kasugai Haruha. But Memento, she…

“The experiment was a failure. No, you can say that it was partially successful.

During Memento’s transfer to the body, due to some unknown reason, her mind caused a rejection and as a result we had to 『discard』 the body. We managed to salvage Memento’s mind but…… as Kasugai-kun had seen, she became a madman.”

“And why did Memento became a player killer?”

He asked, but more or less he had already guessed the answer. The Pandora’s Box story that Memento talked about. The allegory she made── that all things in this world, the moment it opposed hope, it will no longer be a hope.

And so Niiro answer with the name of the “hope”.

“It’s Haruha-san. Haruha who was raised by the most ideal pair determined by the Nephilim Computer, whose mind was carefully developed from the fetal stage, and was able to develop emotion that Memento was unable to.”

Miharu’s grip tightened as they that held Yuu’s arm.

“Our plan was to have Haruha-san to at least develop human characteristics to a certain degree.

Haruha-san succeeded, which meant there is no more reason to keep working on Memento. That’s why, we isolated her from 『CtG』, and took her in as a sample. By that time, her mental state became severely unstable.”

“So in the end, she rebelled huh?”

He said coldly. He had no reason to be angry for Memento’s sake. But, wasn’t this like being told “You’re no longer needed so just sleep forever,” by her own parents?

Because of Haruha’s “success”, Memento was labeled as a “failure” and lost her own worth. Memento herself wasn’t at fault, but due to the sudden change in situation, she went from being a “major breakthrough” to just “mere data”.

What an unreasonable story. But that unreasonable feeling now landed on this hospital room. It was because, Niiro’s mouth, when he talked about Memento, was…. smiling, happily.

“Yes. Even though twisted, she still has a personality. That’s why she showed resistance towards the measures we took to seal her will ── it would have be interesting if that was not the case.

By establishing herself as an error, it seems Memento arrived to the conclusion, 『I’m an error so I must make mistakes』. And then the error Memento chose to make was to bring chaos to the world of 『CtG』”

“If so why did she become a Player Killer?”

“The reason is simple. It is just her most efficient method to overthrow 『CtG』.

Just like what Kasugai-kun had experienced, Memento’s attack also impacted the players’ self in the real world. That is an ability acquired from the evolution of the seed known as Memento. By giving a suggestion through gaze and pheromones, she can give a strong stimulation to her opponents- an ability to generate a fake signal to the opponent’s brain. On Kasugai-kun case, the small stimulation from having his avatar’s throat stabbed was processed as pain pain when the signal entered the brain. And what stopped his heart from functioning was the result of the amplified image of 『death』 coming during game over. Since it’s a signal that was not originally present within the game, Ramiel’s Block system didn’t react to it.

We call that ability as Shim – Stimulat [Psudo Senses Poison], or 『Eyes of Svengali [3] 』.”

“……So my body mistook the small shock from being hurt in game as something that『would kill me』.”

“It made you think that “I’ll die”. You can say it’s like an absolute placebo effect.

Well then── what will happen if she continues to do hunt players with that power I wonder?”

Certainly, it was an easy to guess result.

“People like me will continue to be taken to the hospital. And then 『CtG』will be closed sooner or later.”

“Precisely. A month ago, right when we confirmed that Haruha-san had finally acquired emotion, Memento disappeared from our eyes with some kind of method. After that elusive disappearance, presumably, she wonders around randomly killing players. Fortunately there are no serious cases like Kasugai-kun so far, but honestly speaking, imagine Ekphrasis fell under constant watch from the police.”

“……So the recent fainting incidents were the work of Memento?”

“Despite one case due to gas poisoning, most of them are. Currently we managed to reassure the people above in order to prevent the name of 『CtG』 to be revealed to the public . However, it won’t last long. Of course, we’re putting effort on capturing and isolating Memento. However Memento, who simply does not know what exhaustion is, continues to move around and because she is not logged in or anything, we cannot do an immediate search on her.

“………Will 『CtG』 be closed?”

If they let Memento run rampant uncontrolled, this incident will be revealed sooner or later, and game closure will be inevitable. No matter how large the content it has, prioritizing safety over a mere game is a common sense that even a heavy user or the son of the developer Yuu knows well.

Niiro nodded but then raised one finger.

“There is only one way to prevent that. In order to reliably stop Memento, we just have to kill her in 『CtG』. When that happens, Memento who can’t log-out will have nowhere to go and will be tied-up, making it easier to us to isolate her. That’s why…

We must defeat Memento. With Haruha’s help”

Silence.

Those dozen seconds of silence. Was something that was brought by anger that inhibits rational thinking. And then, the thing that broke the silence was also anger.

“Don’t say such nonsense!”

Miharu’s strong words were so loud that it was clear that she had forgotten that they’re in a hospital.

“Kasugai-kun nearly died you know! And you’re telling us to send Haruha…… that small child to fight against such an opponent!?”

Niiro was unfazed. Miharu’s desperate actions were easily repelled back by his reply,

“I’m sure Kasugai-kun had already realized it but Memento is strong. It is because her thoughts are fully optimized in the world of 『CtG』. To Player [Human], operating an avatar is like talking in a foreign language whilst Memento is a fluent native speaker. There is a world of difference.”

In fact, even Yuu, who was a veteran in 『CtG』 controls, was easily killed by Memento without even able to react at all. Memento’s speed and accuracy were far superior to that of a human being.

“However, if it’s Haruha-san── if it’s Haruha-san, whose mind operates the same way as her, she should be able to compete against her. And among those who we can mobilize currently, Haruha is the only Hadzar who can fight Memento.”

“Is it possible for Haruha to fight people like Memento──”

I don’t think so. Even though he told himself that, the doubt didn’t last forever as the scene of Haruha brutally murdering the train robbers played within Yuu’s mind,.

“Still…… still I cannot approve that. No matter how strong Haruha is, even if 『CtG』close down because she didn’t fight…… it’s ridiculous to expose the child to such dangers for a mere game!”

“Tha, that’s right! What happens if she dies!”

Yuu resolutely objected and Miharu backed him up. It’s a natural action for parents who take care of their child after all. However…

“Yes. She will still die, Haruha-san I mean, if 『CtG』is terminated”

The situation they’re in was not under the “natural” standard that applied for everyone.

“…………Eh? Wh, why, is that?”

“Haruha-san obtained a human body and became a normal child. However, just like what we had mentioned earlier, Haruha-san’s mind is synchronized to the world of 『CtG』 with higher syntax purity than the real world. If she continues to process foreign information from the real world, errors will continue to pile up, and then she will die within, which we estimate, a week’s time.”

They couldn’t react at all against the dire facts Niiro spoke of in an indifferent tone.

“In order to prevent that, Haruha-san must periodically go inside 『CtG』. By having her spend time in a clear world, it will give her more ease in processing data, and she will be able to adjust her body to match with all the errors she accumulates through her time in the real world. A dialysis of mind should I say.”

This time Yuu was the one who got furious.

“To hell with that! You people should just take responsibility and maintain her through 『CtG』 ‘s computer right!? No matter how huge the cost will be!”

“We would like to do that if possible, but it’s not. The scale of the virtual world that we must maintain in order to do maintenance on Haruha-san requires over ten million users to be connected. Even though we have the country backing, it’s something impossible for us to do. Thus our modus operandi had to be covert .”

“? What are you saying? Isn’t it easier to do it with less people connected…”

Then he remembered as he said that── what did Fuyufu say?

『It’s not the problem of capability of processing power. It’s the nature of the problem itself』

『Even if it can create the same entrances and exits as a human, it won’t able to create the same maze inside. The “Heart” is that maze. If you want to create the same thing…… there’s no other choice but to give those computers flesh and blood as well』

And thus the performance of the computer that operates 『CtG』 improves as the number of connected Player [Human] increases.

──Could it be…

“Is it…… a human computer?”

He suddenly blurted. Miharu blinked with a blank look on her face, and Niiro── smiled, letting out a rather refreshing grin.

“Correct. The identity of the Nephilinm [Giant type] computer that constructed the world of 『CtG』is a performance operation system that uses the connection between the flesh of human and its network to work.

“The consciousness and the body of people, down to the last cell and gene, are made into a database calculation device. With that device, we arranged the responses we got from it and managed to observe the same world that was observed by humans from the moment of their birth.── that’s right, even the human mind as well. In other words we managed to observe the memories of humanity.

“A dream of a person might be full of absurdity, but if we mix and match the dreams of several of tens of thousands of people then the absurdity will be filtered out, which means the more the number of the user the more closer to absolute reality we get.

Eight thousand people are needed just for a simple start-up and we have that amount ready on our end. To put it in other words, that is as much as we can manage.”

So that’s why they say it could only be operated by the game maker. It made it clear as to why they kept secret of the computer’s specification. It would be hard to think that there would be a million people who would want to put their own body inside a machine.

──A human computer that manages an online game in order to achieve its goal- to maintain its performance level.

And if it cannot maintain its performance, Haruna will die.

“How could this be happening……”

Not only was his daughter an online game addict, but she also shared the same fate as it.

The following one hour was a Q&A time that needed not to be described in detail. Yuu and Miharu, who understood the reason, was still reluctant to expose Haruha to danger and raised issues, and Niiro, kept on reassuring them that there is no other way to solve this problem other than to have Haruha fight Memento. It endlessly repeated itself.

But then, the person who settled the barren dispute was none other than the person in question herself—Kasugai Haruha.

Haruha, who came inside the room along with Hajime spoke with a severe expression for the first time.

“Haruha will do it. Haruha will defeat that Memento,”

She must’ve heard the situation from Hajime. Naturally, Yuu and Haruha desperately tried to stop her. She might be the strongest existence in 『CtG』, but Haruha, whom they both know. Is an innocent, spoiled, lonely girl-a small child who they knew since she was born.

“Haruha have decided already.”

But, Haruha at this time was intently firm. Even though she would occasionally pout, she would always listen to Yuu and Miharu, but for the very first time Haruha went against them.

The dissimilar girl equilibrates from collection of observations of human computer. The round eyes of hers are filled with the color of iron, and Kasugai Haruha sentenced in a cold voice.

“Daddy, mommy. Don’t follow Haruha. It will just be a burden. If that happens, Haruha will go back home”

‘Go back home’ was the line Rasupu-chan’s mother often said when scolding her resourcefulness father── it’s not even laughable. On the contrary, Yuu and Miharu became haunted with the color of despair in their eyes.

Which house……did she meant?

Everything went fast by the time they made their decision.

Everyone quickly went back to Kasugai house ── although it was a bit forceful, Yuu was allowed to be discharged ── and Haruha laid her small body in the capsule shaped Ramiel.

At first Yuu thought it was like some kind of medical equipment, but after hearing the machine’s soft humming echo through the room at night, it looked like a black coffin. Somehow the two soft vinyl dolls Haruha brought with her looked creepily like a grave goods.

“Around ten minutes ago Memento was seen by surveillance Non-Player-Character [NPC] in a tavern at Gunmans’ Glaive frontier town. She’s possibly looking for a prey tonight.”

“The game internal state can be viewed on this display”

In front of the provided monitor were Hajime’s still-depressed face with Yuu and Miharu’s gloomy faces all lined up. On a different spot there was the ever calm Niiro pushing the Ramiel switch and as if singing along the start-up sound, the sunglass man speaks.

“Well then, shall we watch over her. In this world where your daughter shall train to be the strongest gunman.” ◇ ──An acrid smell of burned dust.

Looking at the vast view, the gentle sky and harsh wilderness will greet you.

What can be heard across the winds are the whistling of adventurers heading off to the unexplored.

In this land everything is decided through guns and courage.

One person shall grasp glory in their hand while the other shall sleep with their gun on their tomb.

In here, the gun smoke drift enough to choke on your own tongue. The amount of gun cartridges rolling on the ground equals to the number of victories and corpses.

This is the dream horizon of the gunmen.

Its name is: Gunman’s Glaive── Cheech [4] fulfilled his dream.

Ten years or more had passed since he diligently worked as a salaryman in a medium-sized company immediately after his college graduation. Ever since then, it had become his dream to quit his job and work in a stylish bar on the streets.

However due to his weak will, his savings won’t increase, and by the time he was about to succumb to resignation from being the company slave, he met 『CtG』. And by the end of his miser play for few months, he finally set his feet on a tavern at one of the towns in Gunman’s Glaive.

It’s near the prime location of the transition point church. The store came with Clerk NPCs included in the set. And now, he is finally able to accomplish his many year dream to become the moody owner and bartender of a bar.

But his hopes quickly burnt up on the first day of the reopening.

The store is currently wrapped in a full blast dangerous atmosphere.

Excluding one of seven costumers all of them were men, they have scary face and don’t even try to hide their gun belt. It’s not a rare sight in Gunman’s Glaive if that was just the case, it all because these people are wearing a worrisome face despite being on a gathering place.

“Mr. Bartender, are you aware of the recent player killer case?”

Within such sight, the only female guest smiled and talked to him. It was a girl arround her mid-teens. She had a pretty face but for some reason, she wore a black dress which left a strong impression on others.

“Yeah, Thing that flowing on the news line right? More than thirteen people were taken down by it or something.”

Cheech replied with a smile. He’s not a lolicon [5] , but he liked this more than dealing with the stiff and rough men-costumers.

“From what someone said, it happened in tavern like this one. There were six costumers. And everyone got killed in an instant.”

The girl took a sip of the hot milk she ordered, and continued after licking up the remaining white residue on her lips with the tip of her tongue.

“The culprit enters the store and wonder around, and finally she says,

『Who is human?』

The NPC clerk unhesitatingly answered 『me』. But, it’s not an answer a person will give when being asked so suddenly. All Players [Humans] tilted their necks and said『Eh? What does she mean?』.

And then, in the next moment, everyone’s necks were torn apart. All six of them, almost simultaneously.

──The black culprit is a gunman using a Revolver [large revolver] with a terrifyingly fast shooting speed, and the culprit seems to wonder around killing just player character.”

Cheech swallowed his breath involuntarily. He thought the story itself was just an exaggeration but the girl’s tone of voice that spoke of this massacre drama was too indifferent… it was as if she was telling the story truly down to the core.

“……And what happened to the employees── the bartender?”

“Aah, the NPC bartender was safe. Saying stuff about receiving chips or something.”

“Is, is that so…… so the bartender didn’t die,”

“Why──”

As if taking place of Cheech who went back to polishing glasses, one of rough costumers opened his mouth. The girl went “Yes?” and turned her body to face him. The man imperceptibly stood right behind the girl.

“Just how did you know about the state of the scene where everyone got killed? An NPC shouldn’t have the ability to speak that much.”

In that instant, Cheech went “Ah!”, and remembered that this was a game world. Where the dead can speak.

“Oi oi, you. Isn’t it obvious that the rumors are coming from the revived killed players.”

“No, that’s impossible. It was three days ago the six of them got killed in the tavern. Those six people are all members of our guild and ever since then they got sick and went to hospital, they haven’t logged in ever since.

There shouldn’t be anyone who has heard about the incident from the victims.”

The man let out a voice containing anger against the girl who still had a floating smile on her face.

“After that we got the testimony saying there was a black robed girl who came out of the tavern on the time estimated to be when the incident took place── it exactly matches your features”

“Wha, wait a second! Isn’t it way too unreasonable to label her like that!? There’s no way this kid is the player killer──”

Cheech leaned on the counter in a hurry. The six men already took out their handguns and rifles and aimed at the girl. The girl shrugged and raised both of her hands.

“That’s right, I’m the culprit”

It surely doesn’t sound like a gag.

The speechless Cheech was left behind, and the girl slowly rose from her chair while keeping both of her hands raised.

“So, what about it?”

Her voice was way beyond having any sense of guilt. The black girl gave a clear smile along with provocation and ridiculing words. Her burning golden eyes seemed to be laughing.

The first man who called her over pressed his handgun on the girl’s forehead and then threw out what most have likely been his last question, as if daubing her with his heart.

“Why do you kill other players? Is it to show off your power, or maybe you’re doing it as a prank?”

“No way, it’s not for such stupid reasons.”

“Then what?”

He exerts more force on his finger that pulls the trigger. The moment the girl says her answer, a hole will show up on her breast── but even though it’s just a game, the image shown in his mind made Cheech’s body tremble.

But, if this happened in the real world, he would’ve shown a more ungraceful reaction.

“That’s because──”

That moment── two handguns [Dillingersmall] [6] pops out from the girl’s sleeves. She’s using the skill 《Sleeve Weapon》, a skill that allows the user to pull out small types of weapons into their hand without being bound by the laws of physics.

Every single man who aimed at the girl was not caught off guard however. In fact, all of them instantly open fired.

But, the girl’s formidable shooting rapid-fire was beyond what she claimed to be. The Dillinger’s small bullets that were shot hit three of the men which disturbed all of their fire as they tried to avoid the remaining bullets by rolling on the floor.

There was also a man who went stiff when he got shot on his shoulder. As he was about to stand up, she delivered one last shot on his face. She then restrained the remaining while using that man, who muffled a scream from severe pain, as a shield.

The girl then discards her Dillinger’s that were out of ammo and unsheathed her main weapon.

It was a jet-black revolver equipped with a flat square barrel, something he’s never seen in real world. On the side of this disproportionately large barrel that is being held by a girl was the engraving of a snake warping around a land tortoise. The silver coating on the gun shines an intimidating light.

『Ｉ．Ｅ． Genbu』. It bears the name of its maker Ｉ．Ｅ．[Imagine Ekphrasis], a revolver with special power in 『CtG』.

What happened after that was simple. Very simple in fact.

A continuous firing, aimed at the necks of the six in a single line. The roar-like overloading muzzle flashes and the thick iron plate increased the heat of the air within the tavern.

Red gunfire and red gunfire. By the time it all flakes off and disappears…

Six bodies of headless mannequins were lying around in vain.

In just mere moments, the bitter sweet smell of liquor changed to the pungent smell of gunpowder, Cheech’s tavern had turned into a bloody garden. All NPC clerks’ knees where soaked in blood as their legs trembled.

“Errrm…… why am I killing other players was it?

And the girl who started the tragedy dutifully answered the question.

“Those who expose their throats and barks── it’s just a simple providence to hunt such animals to death. Do you understand? Dear meat head.”

That smile of hers was truly graceful, and that’s exactly why it was so terrifyingly dreadful.

It was five minutes after the girl massacred all of her pursuers when she finished drinking her leftover hot milk from earlier. Meanwhile, Cheech is killing his breath while hiding behind the counter.

“Well then…… shall I go”

The girl’s footsteps moved away. Only after hearing the creaking sounds of the swing door did Cheech finally raise up his hips from the floor. His sigh of relief loosens his mouth.

“Tha, that’s right…… the bartender didn’t die──”

Was what he wanted to say, but couldn’t. It was because his head that was now above the counter was currently pressed against a muzzle. Without even a need to look up, he heard a cheerful voice.

“Last time, the bartender was a NPC after all”

You’re a Human [Player] so I’ll kill you. That what she meant.

The sound of the hammer clicking into place stained through his head. This is a game after all so it’s not scary, he tells himself… but this is the first time I experienced what it’s like to have my brain blown……. Like hell I can stay calm!

The moment Cheech was about to shout, the situation took a big turn.

The swing door was opened wildly and a small figure appeared.

The small figure lowered the guitar case on her left hand and pulled out a truncated horizontal two-barreled shotgun with her right.

Along with the sound of gunshots, the body that was holding down Cheech trembled and collapsed. Her back was bruised by the sudden shot.

The newly-arrived guest drops her guitar case to the ground, and shot the girl’s head with the handgun she pulled out with her now empty left hand.

Two bullets were casually shot as if just sprinkling insecticide. *SPLASH* the bloody letters Head Shot Killed!! were splattered as if sweeping the floor.

He was surprised at the fact that the demon-like girl got defeated so easily, but knowing that the girl who did that appears to be less than ten years old surprised him more. Why is she not a travel PC [Player Character]── the idea to ask that simple question wes washed away by the overwhelmingly strange situation. Simply, he stared at the child in awe.

The hazel cloak shines as if it banked fire into the dimly lit store. Her face which is cute and lovely matches her young age, but her expression was simply too cold.

“E, erm, young miss……?

He timidly called. The girl looked down the corpse [mannequin] she made in apathy and talked. She spoke with a lisp voice.

“Where is Memento?”

“Memento……?”

“A girl wearing black clothes. She must have been here.”

“Didn’t you beat her down just now?”

“This is not her”

When he looked at it── it certainly is not. He couldn’t see it when his head was pressed against the gun, but what the mannequin is wearing isn’t a black robe; it is a waiter uniform Cheech is familiar with.

“No way…… isn’t she Marian?”

She’s the clerk NPC he took over when he brought the store. Why would Marian turn a gun on her employer….. no, more than that, the voice from earlier was certainly the black girl’s…… it was Memento.

And then.

“Pleasant to meet you, Star princess [Pretty princess]. I thought it was about time for you to show up.”

The next voice he heard was from that girl [Memento]. But, it was extremely strange.

“However, isn’t it just somewhat too violent to shoot me all of the sudden like that, even though we finally meet.”

The one who spoke was an NPC waiter, Jhon. A youth set with a cheerful personality. And from his mouth, he let out the exact same voice as Memento.

“Jhon, why!?”

While pointing the store’s ‘self-defense use’ rifle which he possessed towards the guitar case girl, she spoke, either to Cheech or the girl.

“Meme’s 『Svengali』 can only give a fake sensation against humans. However if it’s against NPCs who don’t have genuine self-awareness, I can manipulate their every limb as if they were my own”

Cheech couldn’t get what she meant but it appears the little girl understood it. And unsurprisingly, she stares at Jhon with a lit ice fire [7] on her eyes.

“Memento…… where are you now?”

“Waiting right outside, Haruha”

“Is that so”

The girl who called Haruha then struck Jhon. Heart, neck, and forehead── the three key points in 『CtG』 were shot through in an instant, and lastly she blasted him with a shotgun. The mannequin face that pops out like pine cones bounced to the wall and fell to the floor as if it was dancing.

After shooting all the bullets she had, the girl unsparingly dumped her exhausted guns and walked out with her out-of-place guitar case. She then squatted and opened the lid of it which revealed all the tightly packed guns and magazines inside it.

Cheech was dumbfounded watching the girl chambering the first bullet into a retrieved handgun, but when Haruha was about to go outside, he hurriedly tried to stop her.

“W-wait young miss! Just how many NPCs do you think are in this town? No matter how strong you are, if you’re doing it alone you might……”

He thought she would ignore him, but the girl glanced back at Cheech and showed an innocent smile.

“Thank you. But Haruha will be fine, Oji-san [8] .

Haruha will surely kill all who dared to annoy daddy or mommy”

Meanwhile Memento is waiting all alone in front of the tavern waiting for her to show up.

Different to the real world, the Gunman’s Glaive’s current time is noon. The sun above their heads was shining violently on the midday.

The place where the tavern is standing is what is known as the profane “Church Road” which is the aorta of this town; usually it’s flooded with passersby and horses. However, in this moment, there’s only Memento seen on the street. There seems to be a lot of people watching from inside the buildings, but no one dared to come out. They were afraid of becoming one of the corpses [mannequins] lying on the street.

A strong wind blows through the frozen air of fear.

The tavern swing door quietly opened and the opponent Memento was waiting for appeared.

Soft hair, an atmosphere of a transient world wrapped within her childishness, and a gaze that sank in the shadows. She dropped the guitar case that hung on her shoulder and a dull sound echoed as it hit the ground.

The girl then pulled out two strange guns with both of her hands.

It has a realistically unimaginable symbol of a phoenix engraved on its red metallic slide filled in with gold that shines fiery. It’s a game-original automatic pistol similar to Memento’s Genbu, 『Ｉ．Ｅ．Suzaku』. It’s a crimson gun of destruction with tremendous firing capability.

The grip changes depending on the player’s hand size, which appear to be really unbalanced for a girl who is not even ten years old yet, and the silhouette on both of her hand looks…

“Like a monkey wearing mantle.”

“Haruha is not a monkey.”

She dutifully answered and stopped her step. The distance they had is about ten meters. From both girls’ vision, they were able to see each other’s eye moisture.

As if to respond to Haruha who stopped her leg, dozens of people showed up from inside the store facing the street and alleyway. Every one of them was equipped with guns or axes. It’s not necessarily out of place but the appearance of old lady in an apron holding a rifle gives a unique intimidation.

It’s all of the NPCs under Memento’s control. They were surrounding the young girl in a large number.

However, showing no interest to the surroundings, the girls begin their conversation.

They talked about things that cannot be conveyed through their eyes. At least up to that point the two, the girls’ dialogue──

“I know it, Haruha”

“Why did you hurt daddy?”

“Haruha who was raised by humans and became human”

“Even though daddy did nothing wrong.”

“Haruha who is a real human, unlike Meme”

“Mommy was scared.”

“But, Meme couldn’t understand the difference.”

“…… you made them cry……”

“What’s the difference between Meme and Haruha?”

“………… Haruha will…………!”

“If, there are no differences.”

“What you did, a dozens times more.”

“Haruha must not be here as well.”

“Haruha will make you, pay.”

““That . is . why””

““Die””

The wind blows and the red mantle wildly flutters.

Simultaneously, all the NPCs controlled by Memento pulled their triggers, and along with the sound of nonsensical explosions, Haruha’s mantle was torn like firecrackers.

But at that moment, the Haruha’s figure had already part ways with the mantle and began running on the ground. And while rushing through the legs of the lined up NPCs, she shot their heads from low angle. Blood spouted from the bullets that penetrated through their jaws up to their brains, and as if taking an uppercut, their heads were thrown up into the air. However, unlike boxers, they just kneeled as if praying and never moved again.

One after another the blood splash soared to the high sky and descended, red flowers bloomed on the ground just like fireworks that turnaround the heaven and earth.

Head Shot Killed !! Head Shot Killed !!

Head Shot Killed !!

Head Shot Killed !! Head Shot Killed !!

(Memento! The one who hurt daddy! ──Kill!)

Her sharpened malice took form; her instinct drew a slaughter straight line through calculation on her sight. That was the rail spread by the world for Haruha. It’s something that only those who were naturally born with understanding of virtual world providence and law can use, maneuver of revelation.

That small body was swept away along with the wind killing the entire group.

It blew like a violent storm.

It took away the false human nature from the dolls [NPC], and built a row of hollow mannequins in an instant.

While slipping through the enemies’ legs, she blew up their gastrocnemius in a close distance, she pulled the rifle of the enemy in front with her elbow and shot it to the enemy on the side, she then kicked the wall and grabbed on the enemy’s neck with her knee and break his upper body with a cartwheel.

After finally getting rid of NPC bodies that covered Memento from her line of shot, she pulled Suzaku’s trigger with great accuracy. However, the attack was stopped by a big man with an axe wherein the bullet hit his knee instead.

──But she won’t stop. Haruha discarded the gun without hesitation and pulled out knives from both of her sleeves.

Using the knee of NPC as stepping stone, she cut through deeply into his neck. Without stopping she climbed up his body and jump in an instant, and after cutting her way out of the enemies, she arrived at the spot where she left her guitar case.

That moment, her eyes met with Memento’s on the other side of the herd of NPCs. On the other side where the burnt smell of heat distorted the air, she let out a joyful smile. Haruha just returned the gaze and unlocked the case.

And, from inside she pulled out the third, and fourth Suzaku slide and combined it together, with great dexterity as she loaded the first bullet…

The killing resumed.

◆

“This is… amazing”

Niiro’s heavy sigh broke the long silence.

In the Kasugai household living room, the four watches Haruha’s fight earnestly through the screen without even wiping their sweat. However from what Yuu observed, it seems each one of them fell silent for different reasons.

Just like what he said before, Niiro was only watching to measure the potential of the experimental body his people created.

Sitting next to Yuu, Miharu was worried about Haruha more than anything as she was surprised seeing her fight. She kept her voice from leaking by covering her mouth with her hands.

Meanwhile, Hajime’s reaction was hard to distinguish; even though her lips loose up close to a smile, her face was clearly pale. Could it be that her position as a researcher and her personal feelings are conflicting with each other?

And finally, Yuu was clenching his teeth due to his own pitifulness.

He cannot stand in the stage where Haruha’s life is at stake. It also does not change the fact that this is the fight that determines the fate of this game, the fate of his mother memento. While his chest was being filled by the bashful thought, the pain Memento engraved into his body and the words Haruha left became a chain that took away strength from him.

(Even though I must be the one who protect Haruha……)

『If that happens, Haruha will go back to home』

In the end, she said that. He disappointed the person he must protect. But, he also said the same thing to his mother who often leaves him for her work. And eventually he stopped informing her about class observation day and sports day because she won’t come anyway. He also won’t even try to consult to his mother when he was troubled about something.

He didn’t know that being given up by someone was this painful.

This might be the consequential punishment for his helplessness. Because he had given up, he lost his mother, and now he might lose Haruha, too. As the feeling of nausea reaches his neck, Hajime spoke.

“This is as if…… she isn’t Haruha-chan”

She then cleared her throat, probably because her voice was huskier than she thought. It sounded painful for Yuu as he felt the disconnection between the “Haruha” that fights ferociously on the screen and the “Haruha” that he knew. A child who doesn’t need them, a child from “other side”……

But, the one who denied those words── the one who strongly denied those words was, Miharu.

“No. She is unmistakably, our Haruha. Just look at the screen closely”

““…………?””

Unsure what she meant, Yuu and Hajime watched over the screen Miharu was pointing at── there displayed the close-up figure of Haruha shooting a gun. They both squinted their eyes to look more closely. Haruha was there. The upper half of her face was covered in shadow. The only thing they can see was the wild muzzle flashes, but……

“Ah!!”

He then noticed, his eyes opened wide, and then shouted along with Hajime.

““Aa, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa────!””

Everything became obvious when he noticed that──

““The muzzle flashes became cat’s paws───────!?””

“S-Since when did she customized that……”

As Hajime wiped the sweat under her chin Miharu nodded deeply and smiled.

“She may be young but she’s a girl after all. Being fashionable is a given”

Is it……? He thought.

“Haha……”

He couldn’t help but to laugh noticing the cushion Haruha placed on top of the sofa also has animal paw pattern. It’s all connected── she is Haruha. No matter how powerful or fierce she became, she is unmistakably the same Haruha who wet Yuu’s shirt with drool this morning.

And then.

That Haruha, was shot and blown off in the other side of the screen. ◇ Three remaining NPC’s are left. And finally Memento takes action.

*Shooosh* with a smooth motion akin to that of a ghost, she came close behind Haruha in an instant. Against the giant NPC in front of her, Haruha pierces through its stomach and lung with a knife, and finished it with a shoutei*. Swiftly, she pulled out Suzaku and shoved it back to where Memento is.

Memento had already pulled of her big black gun. Both of their guns’ paths didn’t cross with each other. Memento’s gun aimed Haruha’s forehead, and Haruha’s gun aimed Memento’s heart── in a close distance, both of them ready to kill their target.

It’s what was called a Mexican standoff… but,

The girls pulled the trigger without hesitation. The violent roar broke the silent space and the image of two girls distort within the sound and heat. The two flutter along with the stimulations of gunshots, and the bullets that were shot hit Haruha’s cheek and Memento’s flank, they managed to scrape off a piece of their opponent’s skin and spilled their blood. However, the two didn’t stop.

Guns exchanged fire.

The murderer’s recklessness took away the threat of gunpowder [Prometheus].

The two clashed each other’s fist to prevent their opponent from getting the chance to aim. The battle of the girls who were innate of the ground of the virtual world was so elaborate and without even a moment of hesitation. All of the actions they made were simply done to defeat their opponent.

Perfectly and infallible – the two inevitably equally matched. It’s believed that it will stay that way── but.

The situation will eventually lean to Haruha’s side.

(Mustn’t lose…… mustn’t lose……! If Haruha loses──!)

Haruha’s strong will and purpose further accelerates her top speed. She gradually pry open her line of fire, for each time she succeed she optimize the algorithm of victory.

And she finally reached it. She finally had her opponent’s small key point under her line of fire. On the deadly trajectory that pierces through Memento’s heart, her muzzle stopped!

At that instant, Haruha’s body was blown.

“Ah……?”

Her shoulder was pierced by a bullet shot from the side. That small body that very light compared to that of an adult, soared like a leaf, and fell on the ground like mud.

What she was able to perceive while helplessly rolling on the ground were that dozens of NPC had appeared in addition to the two left. It seemed while Haruha was focusing on her fight with Memento the second wave had shown up.

Haruha who fell dramatically was quickly surrounded, and she is looked down by Memento with a thin smile.

“Just a half-step more. Very unfortunate isn’t it, Haruha?”

While she held down her shoulder, she glared up. With a Hadzar restraint strength she was able to withstand the pain, but she can’t raise her arm in this condition.

“……For sure, Haruha will beat you up. Haruha won’t let you end 『CtG [This place]』”

“Well indeed, if Haruha will not defeat Meme, Haruha won’t able to sustain her life after all”

Against Memento’s point, Haruha answered,

“……It doesn’t matter what will happen to Haruha”

She abandoned it.

That child was always full of curiosity and was interested in everything. However, against word [name] that provides that small body of hers a place, she easily let out a voice warped in contempt.

Memento narrowed her eyes. It was the word that she, a person who earnestly seeking for self-definition up to now, couldn’t believe. Is it that? Is it the difference between a failure [herself] and a success [Haruha]? If that is the case, then the next question Memento will deliver shall lead her to the answer she seeks.

“If it’s true── then for what reason, is Haruha fighting for?” ◇ 『Because this was the place where mommy can sing as she likes』

In response to Haruha’s words.

Miharu was stunned; the hands that were holding her scream up till now had dropped from her mouth.

“Haruha…… just for that reason──”

『And also, this is the place where daddy will bid farewell with his mommy!』

In response to Haruha’s next words.

Yuu recalled the old story he told to Haruha as Clamp this (today basically) noon.

『The reason I’m playing this game is, to have a talk with my mother』

『Daddy’s mommy?』

『That’s right, she’s your grandmother. She had already departed to heaven though』

『She died……?』

『Yeah, that’s why it’s impossible to meet her anymore. I can’t talk to her anymore…… though, I hardly talked to her when she was still alive however. Even way before I obtained my sense of discretion she had always been busy with her work, and during the day I would stay in Fuyufu’s…… the girl we met this noon, house. I was neglected I suppose. And also, the present she gave me on my birthday or on Christmas, would always be the games she made at work. She said that it’s the one before it opens for sale in public, in other word the beta version. It’s full of defects and at times I got sick of it』

『Did she gave a huggy wuggy……?』

『Aaaah…… very rarely, I guess』

『That surely is lonely』

『That’s right…… and because of that, I don’t really like my mother. Even on the very rare days she gets a break she won’t say anything to me…… and while things stayed like that, she died』

『To die, is that right…… scary stuff』

『Yeah, it’s scary. And what’s scarier is at the day of her funeral, a person who claimed to be my mother’s friend told me. “Your mother makes game for your sake”. It was because I don’t have a father, and because mother has to go to work she can only rarely take me out to play. But it’s her wish to show the world to me, so that’s why she made it with all her might, a wide world where even a child [me] can safely have fun adventuring in various places. ……..I’m sure in her eyes; her unsociable son is nothing but a weak and small kid like Haruha. And the last game she made is, this “Cradle to the Glaive”』

『So this is…… This place, is the world grandma made……』

『Stupid isn’t it…… Me and my mother. She worked hard for my sake and created this amazing world but all I wanted was actually just a simple world where I can be with my mother. In the end she didn’t get anything. But, also, I can’t even tell that to her. Because of that she remained unknowing to my feeling and I also stayed unknowing that all her hard work was for my sake. Both of us sure are bad at talking, we sure are a bad combination. But, exactly why, the only thing I can do is to fully accept all her hard work. The world my mother left behind, a world she prepare for me ── I have to accept every single bit of it. Because that is the only funeral I can give to her』

『Funeral……? What is that? 』

『That means…… To give farewell wholeheartedly to his/her very important person 』

It’s natural you can say, Memento couldn’t completely understand the reason Haruha gave.

『……I don’t really got it, but in other word’s Haruha is fighting for the sake of Clamp and Mifa, the two who raised Haruha?』

『That is right. The only thing Haruha has is just daddy and mommy』

『They are just an existence to tune Haruha up to shape. They’re just humans amongst the large pile. So the thing that Haruha, who is a very rare existence, is betting her life to protect is just their freedom? Even to bet your own life? …… What the heck is with that? Stop speaking nonsense』

Memento was clearly confused. Even so she kept smiling.

Haruha is different. Her expressionless face quickly crumbled as she vigorously shouted.

『It’s not nonsense! Daddy and mommy would give Haruha a hug when Haruha asks to, and they also sleep with Haruha when Haruha asks for it, and if Haruha did something bad they would get mad for Haruha’s sake! Even though Haruha is not their real child they will give a lot ── a lot of love and huggy!』

Ignoring Memento who was confused as to how to respond, Haruha lowered her head from fatigue.

『And such a kind daddy and mommy are fighting…… Even though they were always smiling in the game. It must be because Haruha went there (to real world) and troubled them……』

What’s shown in Haruha’s eyes wasn’t sadness but the color of determination.

『That’s why……. That’s why Haruha is a bad child, a fake daughter like Haruha doesn’t matter at all. What matters is to protect daddy and mommy’s important place, nothing more』

Niiro then spoke to Yuu and Miharu who pulled out their Ramiel.

“Are you two sure? She said she will go back home though”

Miharu ignored him. And Yuu answered with a sharp canine voice.

“I don’t care less”

In fact, Kasugai Yuu was furious.

Towards Memento, Niiro, Haruha── and moreover, himself. ◇ “──Regardless, its Haruha’s lost. And then, the tool that couldn’t fix an error is an error itself…… what a mess”

Memento loosely lifted her gun and aimed between Haruha’s eyebrows.

Haruha stared straight into the gun muzzle without hesitation. Her arm still couldn’t move. If she tries to stand all the NPCs surrounding her will open fire. If she is killed by Psudo Senses Poison [Shim – Stimulator], Haruha’s body in the real world might suffer some serious nerve abnormalities. She might die.

But no problem. Haruha’s winning condition is just to neutralize Memento. Other than that, nothing else is important.

With this close of a distance, if she’s able to throw a knife a moment right before the shot, and redirect the impact done to her skull by the hit of her knife, it will pierce through Memento’s throat and break her cervical spine.

(I’ll die, and kill her)

And it will be all over. She will save the world of 『CtG』 that Yuu and Miharu need, and they won’t be troubled because of Haruha. A rational result. She will kill all fake humans who harassed her parents. Kill everyone, along with herself.

That is, the only cold equation (method) that shown to Haruha by this beautiful world”

Memento pulled the trigger and Haruha took out her last blade out of her sleeve.

And then.

The bell rang.

The pencil-like bell from the small church’s bell tower rang loudly right behind Memento

““Eh…………””

Strangely, Memento and Haruha stopped their movement. At exactly the same time, their gazes were drawn to the door of the church. The mirror house connected to other worlds.

And what emerged from that door were, the two people imagined by the artificial girls.

Clamp wearing unsuitable heavy armor, and Mifa dragging a large rectangular guitar case with his help.

Haruha’s family shows up, they stepped firmly on the vector known as determination.

While still aiming her gun at Haruha, Memento exaggeratedly shrugged her shoulder.

“Thank you for accompanying me that time, Onii-san. Didn’t think I would see you again”

“Well, I agree”

Clamp and Mifa stopped dozens of steps away from the large number of NPCs, Memento and Haruha. The thrown guitar case made a sound as it hit the ground.

“What business do you have?”

As she asked, Memento commands the NPCs and directed their gun towards Clamp and Mifa. Clamp answered regardless.

“We came to pick up our Haruha”

When her eyes met Clamp’s, Haruha’s pupils shook as if frightened.

“And while we are at it, Memento, I will kill you”

“Can you? It’s 3 against 22”

“You counted wrong.”

Mifa said frankly, and Memento went “What?” voicing her puzzlement. Against it, Mifa voiced a strong voice that Haruha never heard before. She was angry, seeing Haruha got hurt.

“It’s a mistake thinking that there are just three of us.

──Lie down, Haruha!”

As soon as she shouted, Mifa and Clamp threw themselves towards the ground.

And then, the lid of the guitar case left on the ground was blown away. It was blown away high into the sky.

Since it stayed in the sky so comfortably── by mistake Memento looked up. And all the NPCs that were connected through her thoughts follows. Conversely, Haruha obediently followed Mifa’s instruction. In that single moment of less than a second, they’ve achieved their goal.

From inside the guitar case a stuffed doll-like thing uproariously emerged. That stuffed doll has an umbrella, arms, a scrabbling-like face, and is holding a multi-barrel machine gun

──As all of you’ve already guessed. It is the brave figure of sire Payakino holding a Gatling gun like the one in a western massacre scene.

“──LET’S PLAY [9] ”

The mushroom heartlessly declared and began the slaughter.

Usually it’s used with a turret, but Payakino lightly swung the large gun, and the NPCs lives were reaped like cutting weeds by the bullet shot through the rotating barrels. The wildly splattered blood became a fog that dyed the air with its red color.

“Oi, what the heck is this Kinokino [10] …… something that big exists?”

“T-This is total mess……”

All of a sudden the onlookers who were watching from afar started whispering to each other.

“Ufufufu……. that is the wilderness kidnapper Paya The Kid”

“You sure are late with the news!?”

Those who explained with the know-it-all face was the familiar elderly couple.

But enough about that.

What was left after it ran out of bullets was the crispy reverberation in the air and the mass of shattered bodies of mannequins.

And standing right in the middle of that nightmarish burning hell is the figure of Memento standing perfectly unharmed. However, she couldn’t help but be separated from Haruha.

That’s why, what Haruha saw after the gunfire is the figure of Clamp squatting right by her side. She didn’t see Mifa’s face. Because, the moment she raised her body, she got embraced by her.

“Daddy, mommy…… why……?”

“Sorry that we’re late”

Looking for traces of wounds on her, Clamp stroked Haruha’s cheek. It tickles. Haruha twisted and averted her eyes.

“Haruha said don’t come right! ……what if, you die again?”

“Because I’m too weak, I made you force yourself. But, it’s alright now”

“Even though, Haruha said Haruha will go back home……”

“You will. Your home is… our house right”

“……hic……”

Her father’s words and her mother’s warmth loosened her stiffened body.

“That’s why”

Then Clamp made a strict face and stared into Haruha’s eyes. After that, he hit Haruha’s head with his firm fist. Since they’re inside the game Haruha didn’t feel any pain. But, pressure of his “seriousness” spread through her head.

“Don’t ever say 『not their real child』 again. If you say that, at that moment”

That scolding mouth then crumbles into a cry.

“I’ll cut our parent-child ties.”

Haruha’s determination that did not collapse even in front of her death… was unceremoniously shattered.

◆

“She is crying……”

Hajime muttered in surprise as she peered into the cradle-type Ramiel Haruha is in.

And immediately, she found the reason.

Hadzars who were born in virtual world will grow without doing the normal action of human baby── eating, sleeping, and also crying. It because consuming nutrient and sleeping is needless in this virtual world to sustain a life. And they gain wisdom without need to rely on others.

And Haruha who seemingly spoiled child is not an exception. That’s why when an “enemy” like Memento showed up she didn’t rely on Yuu or Miharu but tried to protect them instead.

And the tears shed by Haruha who don’t know what cry were happy tears.

And against that strange, bizarre, blessing moment, Hajime was trembling. ◇ “Well then”

Clamp slowly rise up and glared at Memento.

“It’s already night in Real World [Other side]. Let’s end this quickly”

Memento excessively opens her arm.

“Do you think you can really with your family── including that mushroom?”

“What a nonsense I’m hearing. Figure it out Cyber girl [Toy head], I alone, am enough to deal with you”

That moment, Memento’s face that was showing a confident smile earlier turned expressionless. Whether that expression was anger, aghast, or maybe something else, no one knows.

The girl opens the revolver cylinder and inserts a bullet through the displayed submenu screen.

“A duel huh. Interesting isn’t it, gunslinger”

Those who are armed with guns [Gunslinger]. The reason why Memento calls him that was presumably because of the four disposable guns ironically resting on Clamp’s both side and thigh holsters. Weapons stored in a sheath or holster has merit to be equipped without taking it out from the item box. But, replacing magazine when running out of bullet is clearly way more economic, including the shotgun on his waist, there are no player who would carry five guns all at once.

“Mifa, raise my status with your song skill. Payakino, protect both of them”

“Daddy, Haruha will take care of her──”

Haruha tried to stand up in a hurry but Mifa won’t let go of her. Clamp stroked Haruha’s head and walked around Memento.

Mifa then gently admonish Haruha who restlessly squirm.

“Haruha. For now let’s just trust Clamp…… our Kasugai Yuu-kun”

She hugged Haruha’s head, and looked at him together. Clamp’s back that walked in a circle with Memento as the center.

“That person looks a little bit cooler in game right?”

What stopped Haruha weren’t Mifa’s words or her strength, but maybe the faint heat mixed in that voice.

Mifa’s clear singing voice rides the wind through the land of wilderness town, and soars into the distant sky.

──That name is 『The Perfect Gamer』. Lightly gallant, lyrics devoted with trust and prayer to their beloved ones.

As his entire physical ability rose by the singing voice, Clamp took out a shortened double-barreled shotgun from his waist, and asked Memento.

“Memento. Do you know why I’m called Scarabaeus?”

“? No. What about it?”

“I see── then it’s my win”

In the moment when he floated an irritating smile on his face, Memento aimed her gun with out of context behavior and opened fire. The sound of gunshots that was like the roar of a god beast violently shook the atrophied town of tragedy and disappeared into the other side.

Memento saw it. The world of 『CtG』 is the world of determinism for Hardzar. She is able to accurately predict the definite future of next few seconds. That’s why she was able to see the future where the bullet will blow off Clamp’s neck and add a new mannequin to the pile.

But.

The bullet didn’t hit Clamp. More than that, Memento lost sight of Clamp. She lost it along with the future she saw.

Hence, the fact that she was able to avoid the direct hit shot from the side was due to her pure reflex and nothing more. However, she wasn’t able to completely avoid the shotgun from the blind spot, and she received a scratch on her shoulder. Drops of blood are falling. ──Graze Hit!

“I said don’t get carried away!”

Clamp’s voice was heard from slightly different place from the direction of the shotgun. He is slowly walking around Memento.

Memento was confused── she couldn’t understand. What happened just now was, something beyond this world’s Law of Physics, something impossible to happen.

Clamp had moved 6 meter away in an instant. Memento herself has unfeasible speed, but this is way beyond that. A skill or item that allows teleportation to such distance does not exist in 『CtG』. Gunman’s Glaive in particular, the item that allows a similar feat is just 『Rut of Journey』 which allows warping to the church.

“O, oi…… isn’t he that Clamp of Scarabaeus? You know, the one on ranking list”

“The guy who has an abnormal score in game completion with short play time, the one who was suspected to be using cheats? But if that is the case isn’t his level too low, and I’ve never heard that cheat being doable in 『CtG』”

The onlookers start whispering to each other, but they’re off the mark. Currently there is no phenomenon of data modification or such. That’s the conclusion. And that is exactly why she can’t understand.

“What did…… you do?”

That truth must’ve humiliated her, however Memento was smiling. In mist of confusion she was smiling. Meanwhile Clamp nonchalantly answers.

“Scarabaeus. Because it’s too absurd, I don’t use it in PVP. But, it’s a different story against the opponent who dared to hurt Haruha. Without hesitation or mercy, I’ll crush you with all I got”

“…………Hmmm”

This time Memento attacked using her legs instead of her guns. She unsheathed the knife that she had on her hip, and instantly appeared right in front of Clamp’s chest. The moment her blade launch onto his heart, the menu screen in front of Clamp disappeared ──

And the figure of Clamp disappeared as well.

(Again──!?)

This time she quickly rolled on the ground and escaped from the incoming shot. As expected, a shotgun blast then passed by the place where Memento once was.

By the time she stood up and directed her gun, Clamp who was five, six meters away from her discarded his shotgun and pulled out a gun from the holster on his side. It’s a very common, orthodox type of automatic pistol in Gunman’s Glaive.

Memento shot regardless. Bullets from Clamp’s gun don’t have much power in it. Even if they hit each other the possibility of Memento receiving fatal wound is zero.

The bullet Memento shot was again inexplicably dodged by him. But unlike before, this time Clamp only teleported several centimeters away. He staggered a bit, receiving the shock from Genbu large-caliber bullets.

However, what struck Memento was a further absurdity.

The bullet shot by Clamp’s gun lost its target as well. Memento’s swiftness and reflex to dodge that bullet in such short distant was indeed way surpassed Clamp’s ability.

But, that bullet that should’ve been from a standard handgun grazed Memento’s left shoulder── and loudly blast the wall of the bar behind her. Brush aside the scream of the bartender from inside the bar, that bullet strength is beyond normal. Memento’s shoulder that was grazed had been broken and is now loosely hanging down.

This power is like, the armor piercing ammunition shot with large-caliber rifles to fight large monsters. Obviously, it’s not the strength that would come from a mere ordinary handgun.

Thus, that ordinary gun is most likely not a normal gun at all. That gun flew away from Clamp’s hand and began floating in the air.

When an automatic pistol has finished firing, it would discharge its cartridge, but that mechanism had stopped midway. Specifically, its overly large cartridge is stuck by the slide cover and is unable to complete its function to the end, morbid sound endlessly ring and it stays in the air.

Abandoning his now unusable gun in the air, Clamp pulled out the same type gun from his holster. It’s nothing special, his ridiculous multiple-equipment is simply for the convenient use of that one-time-only gun.

“This is…… That’s right! This is──”

And after all that, Memento had finally understood. The reason why Memento couldn’t understand Clamp’s absurd behavior, the handgun that stays in the air ignoring the Laws of Physics, and then the meaning of the nickname of Scarabaeus──

“This is… a bug!!”

◆

Bug. It’s the word used to refer to insect [bug] wriggling in obscurity and causes problem or defect within a program.

“……so that’s why”

Hajime Hidari pulled up the 『CtG』 game control part of the source code with the terminal in her hand, and she finally found out the cause of the strange phenomenon caused by Clamp.

Niiro then delivered a puzzled gaze and she straightforwardly explained the mechanism in question.

“First of all, about Clamp’s teleportation-like action……

The teleportation item, 『Rut of Journey』 has a rewind function to return the player to their original coordinates in case of error in order to avoid the problem that occurs in the middle of teleportation, and to do that it records the variable of the area where the player was in before the teleportation was executed. This variable is obtained during the final confirmation of the item usage, and will be deleted when cancelled, but if you open a menu that has a higher response priority than the item and closes it in a particular order and timing, the variable deletion sub-method will not get overwritten and the variable information alone will remain.

And then, after walking a little he uses the 『Rut of Journey』, proceeds to the menu, to the usage final confirmation screen, and pulled out the logout screen while pressing cancel. As a result, along with the error from the teleportation access, an error code will be reported to the system── and he will be teleported back to his original position”

“Too long…… in short, what happened?

“A simple coordinate bug! By acquiring the coordinate information on the spot he once stood on, he will be able to instantly teleport there at any time…… In other word, a trick [11] !”

“A trick! To think that such a thing also exists in this modern day. Then, the rifle bullet from that handgun too?”

“A bug too. There are two ways to load bullets into the magazine, doing it manually or through the menu screen in a batch. For the latter, the compatibility check between the gun and bullet is not done through the virtual world physical calculation. It’s instead handled by 『CtG』 game system. The set property determination is a combination of two digit alphabet and six digit numbers ── like 『GB000001』 or 『RB030103』 for example. It’s done with reference to these ID.

However an armor-piercing bullet data ID was scraped and re-implemented later in the middle of production. Apparently during that input, what originally was to be 『RB020013』 ended up as 『 B020013』, in an incorrect format.

And the program that determines whether or not the bullet is usable, treated the blank as a wild card and processed it to be usable, and thus, the powerful handgun bullet with ID 『GB020013』 is able to be loaded onto any possible gun.

Although, as you can see, as a result of defying the law of physics, the gun ended up like that after one shot”

“……Thus Scarabaeus, huh”

Niiro laughed quietly.

“What a fateful parent and child”

Dung Beetle [Scarab] [12] is the scared symbol of the sun god in ancient Egypt, and the figure of it has been engraved on amulets and trinkets as well.

Scarab, amulet of insect. A boy who protects his precious one with insects [bugs].

Clamp of Scarabaeus.

That is the nickname given by the veteran players on a whim knowing about Clamp’s playstyle of using bugs, and strangely Yuu himself came to like it and did not remove the tag. The subtly silly tone it has felt fitting to him.

Playing games his mother made when he was young had become a part of his life, and for Yuu who had played various prototype versions of game before its release, bugs are as natural as air to him.

At first he simply felt amazed and irritated by it, but as he encountered more of it, he figured it out, why such things happen, and eventually he was able to somehow predict various internal mishandlings of it. Those were, his mother’s simple mistakes, he thought. In there, his mother who was often absent from home, was present.

After that he would enter his mother’s absent room, find a memo with a program processing flow plan written on it, and open the programming guide filled with sticky notes── He was able to objectively perceive his mother’s game ideas and bad habits, and began to find gaps within it and read it through like a kind of paranoid behavior.

It might just be a distorted affection, that by finding defects in his mother’s work he tries to seek revenge against her.

In doing so, like an anteater that attacks the nest of ants, he was able to find large number of bugs inside his mother’s game. He would report bugs that affect the game progress like in-game currency or big bugs that changes the parameter by an abnormal number and have it fixed by the management boards. However, he won’t report bugs that were more complicated or extremely difficult to reproduce, and make it his own thing.

A secret treasure he won’t pass to anyone. The jewelry of Scarab. His mother’s fragment.

What’s left in his mother’s game, what’s left in Yuu’s relationship with his mother.

The remaining wound [bug] is now giving Yuu the power to protect his new family. ◇ “It sure was powerful”

Upon understanding Clamp’s identity, Memento had finally escaped from the confusion.

“But it means nothing if it dosen’t hit, and Meme won’t let that happen”

Even though it’s an irregular bug gun, as long she knows the type of its bullet, avoiding it won’t be a problem. As for his instant teleportation, she still doesn’t get its principle but she understands its rule. Clamp was most likely planning to end the fight by disrupting Memento with his instant teleportation then shooting her with his bug gun. But, there is nothing more tragic than to miss in such a situation.

By the time he missed with his first shot with his bug gun, Clamp’s defeat had already been determined.

“It’s the end──”

She directed her gun towards Clamp and pulled the trigger without hesitation. And just like before, Clamp’s figure disappeared. But, after he teleports, Clamp can hardly move. Considering all patterns up till now, that teleportation bug would only teleport him to somewhere near the area before he teleports.

If it only has such a short range, she can kill him by the moment he reappears── that was what Memento thought. But.

0.3 seconds had passed after Clamp’s disappearance.

His face… appeared right in front of Memento.

“…!?”

She became confused once more. Memento had accurately memorized all of it. There is no way Clamp could be right in front of her. How can he teleport here? Did she predict the teleportation condition wrongly?

In reality it was another bug that “Made the player invisible for an instance when he/she opened the 『Remove all equipment』 menu and closes it at the exact moment when choosing the option“. It doesn’t do any good by itself, and it was just a trivial problem that would most likely be ignored even if it got reported.

However, it was a daunting task to identify for Memento who had been shown coordinate bug teleportation over and over. And it is exactly because Memento can assess the situation in a split second that she got confused.

Psychological bug combo. Memento had been artfully trapped in it.

But.

Even so Memento’s victory won’t waver. Even if Clamp fires the bug gun in such a close state, she would fire even faster than him. Their speed is simply far too diffrent from each other.

But, however.

The next moment, Genbu had disappeared from Memento’s hand.

『Snatch !』

At the synthetic sound of 《Snatch》 succession, Clamp raised his battle voice in the closed space, and the jet-black gun moved to his hand.

The moment Clamp had disappeared he threw away his gun and became empty handed── with that he fulfilled the condition to use the《Snatch》 skill.

It was because he did not underestimate Memento’s competence, he understood that even if he manage to get an opening in that close range it would just end as a suicide attack. How does he understand that? That was because Haruha had showed Memento’s potential to the limit in the middle of their fight.

That’s why, all of his actions up till now, was just foreshadowing for this single moment to take away her gun from a close proximity.

(I will win! Win and talk to Haruha! Not apologizing or scolding, but── 『Thank you for thinking about us』!)

Even so.

Even so, Memento did not doubt her own victory.

The next moment after she recognized that her gun had been stolen, she would unsheathe the small gun [Derringer] from her sleeve and shoot Clamp in the face, before he would be able to do anything with the stolen gun── Memento can do that.

But, however.

Even so.

The girls, the girls of Clamp’s family, was already convinced. Of who win this duel.

『Stealing the enemy’s weapon while empty handed, and then, in perfect timing, activate a semi-auto attack; it’s a style that relies heavily on preliminary actions. It’s a distinct specification of 『CtG』 I say』

The two did not forget the words Kasugai Yuu once said.

Memento couldn’t predict that it wasn’t a legit move, but a bug.

Clamp had already directed his gun towards Memento at a distance of less than a meter. At nearly the same time Memento’s derringer already had Clamp in its line of fire. Mifa and Haruha, shouted with all their might.

““Got it————-!!””

The triple roar of gunshots overwhelmed all sound and wind in the city

It was from the revolver-only high-speed continuous shooting skill, 《Fanning》. Its action to repeatedly fire bullets while pressing the trigger was said to be similar to fanning a fan.

──『Ｉ．Ｅ．Genbu』 the most powerful handgun in Gunman’s Glaive. The remaining three shots bombarded Memento’s stomach in an instant. The overwhelming firing sound and ignition flame was more of an explosion than a gunshot.

Then, as the roar’s aftermath was sucked into the vast dry land and faded away, all that remained was silence. The conclusion of the duel produced a solemn air.

The next sound heard after that was the short sound of Clamp’s gun hitting the ground. Only after he heard that sound did he finally recognize his victory. His noisy heartbeat had finally calmed down, and the wind that was absent during the gunshot had finally returned as the victor was decided.

Following the flow of the wind, Clamp looked down upon the girl.

“……Guns sure are great…… a tool for humans to kill another human. Unlike Meme who couldn’t even find her own living purpose……”

The black girl [flower] bloom that blooms from the other side of Haruha [Hope].

Memento’s stomach was shot and her upper and lower body had broken off.

Her kneeling lower body collapsed and had already turned into a mannequin, and her upper body that had lost its other part has both of her hand open, resembling the number ten [13] .

That figure of her was like a Origami “Yakko-san” without its Hakama [14] . A handpicked, doll.

“……In that regard, Meme is an error after all…… because Meme is an error, Meme can’t even accomplish bad things……

The blood flowing out of the huge wound on her stomach formed the words “Near Contact Shot!” on the ground. Clamp felt exceedingly bitter and was about to step on the blood letters to break it, but as he thought that would mean to stain Haruha and Memento who were the incarnation of 『CtG』, he stopped.

“You won, Haruha. Your belief stays true till the end. Meme will obediently sleep”

“Memento, you…… was it your plan from the very beginning to lose against Haruha, who is a 『Success』, and become a 『Failure』?”

She was born to be a human but couldn’t be one in the end── for Memento who had lost the purpose of her own existence; her only remaining desire was to get a clear definition of what she is. Even if that answer is garbage.

Clamp approached Memento, got on his knees and shook his head.

“But that is wrong. The one who defeated you was me. Using all the cheats at my disposal”

Memento’s throat trembled. She tried to raise her head and laugh, but couldn’t.

“If that’s the case, then the one who will stand in the line of fire will be Onii-san instead of Haruha. But no. Haruha made Onii-san protect her…… that is the power of a human. Haruha, who became human, is different from Meme, who couldn’t become a human……”

“………………”

“But now, Meme is happy…… thank you, thank you…… Onii-san”

“I didn’t do anything praiseworthy I think”

“But Meme, thanks to Onii-san, Meme lost, and Meme has been established as 『A trash who can’t win against old humanity』 you know? It is way worse than losing to Haruha. Lower. Narrower……… aah, like spit spat by a drunkard on a garbage dump nearby a toilet, it felt really pleasant like having my head trampled thoroughly on the ground……

Aaaah, good…… it sticks…… the definition sticks…… no more, no more need to look down, no one will need Meme…… a…… Meme…… Is relieved……”

Memento’s words felt really hollow, and it melts in ecstasy like the haze of dawn. Clamp didn’t force himself to understand her, and replied so frankly.

“…… I have no idea what you’re saying”

“Of course, that is natural……… Meme is an error after all”

Shortly after, her body turned into a corpse [mannequin], and somehow appears to be really pleased.

◆

“Good job. We have successfully captured Memento and deactivated her. Let’s go back before the commotion starts to spread”

Hajime reported through the red lens-shaped parts on the Ramiel that Haruha was lying on and let out a huge sigh. On the monitor displaying Gunman’s Glaive, there were the Kasugai Household residents running away from the cheering onlookers.

Haruha was smiling and happily running away. It was a face she didn’t show when she was fighting Memento. Feeling relief, her cheeks loosened up.

“And who would have thought that Kasugai-kun defeated Memento and not Haruha. Also, what a great doll hunting [Blade Runner] wasn’t it”

Even though they were both smiling, Niiro Mansei’s smile was somewhat horrifying.

“But still, this is problematic. It’s hard to decide whether this is a result coming from Haruha’s potential or an irregular result coming from Kasugai-kun’s unique player qualities. Just how should we take this result and make it into data…… no”

Trouble trouble, he repeatedly mumbles, his voice was bouncing pleasantly. He must be thinking about the chaotic daily life that will happen from now on.

Hajime depressingly sighed. Her eyes naturally swung to the black coffin [Ramiel] Haruha was sleeping on.

This incident with Memento is only the beginning. The infinite world connected to that coffin will eventually turn into a battlefield.

The start of the selection stage of Hadzars who obtained the criterion known as Haruha.

Now that it had passed the prototype stage, from now on, the curtain to the supremacy phase choosing for the superior mankind successor will rise. Not just Yuu and others, even unrelated general player will be involved.

Hadzar. The future Bride [Eve].

Even Hajime couldn’t predict how will each of these girls, who were about to be awakened with bizarre powers, fight in this battle of survival. The future no one knows.

But, that is okay, she thought.

In order to skillfully and endlessly stimulate the player’s adventuring heart a game would present them with darkness, the more darkness in front of them, the more people will be tempted to step forward.

No matter how dark and deep that darkness is.

Mankind no longer has the time to stand still.

## Translator’s Notes and References

- ↑ Somewhere between her 10-19th birthday.

- ↑ Again, did not specified.

- ↑ One who manipulates or controls another through some mesmeric or sinister influence. Just in case you don’t know and too lazy to look for it.

- ↑ Another name for weed, or to smoke weed. Named from Cheech Marin (from cheech and chong).

- ↑ Pedophile.

- ↑ The term derringer is a generalized misspelling of the last name of Henry Deringer, a famous 19th-century maker of small pocket pistols.

- ↑ It literally saying “Ice fire” (氷の炎) which doesn’t make slightest bit sense to me.

- ↑ Literally means “old man” or “uncle”, but I suppose it’s better to keep it because it sounds cuter, considering it’s Haruha who’s speaking.

- ↑ Payakino said this in English, or should I say, Engrish(Yes, Engrish(Poi)T.T)

- ↑ I think it means mushroom…. (Poi)

- ↑ 裏技 (Urawaza) often translated as “secret technique”, “special move”, or “hidden skill”. Though in this case, it means “a trick/method that no one knows of”

- ↑ The word for “Scarab” and “Scarabaeus” is spelled same in Japanese, although the two are essentially about the same thing.

- ↑ Ten in Japanese is Juu (十) or like a plus sign (+).

- ↑ A type of traditional Japanese trousers. Like the long skirt Shrine Maiden (Miko) often wear, you know what I’m talking about.

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### 011. Epilogue

## Epilogue: I'll play till the end for your sake

That night, Kodzuchi Fuyufu was feeling depressed on top of her bed.

The reason for her depression rested upon the box in front of her. The Ramiel package for 『CtG』 use was quite bland. Just recently, a new version with improved usability and new design changes had been released so the price of the old ones dropped and sold for nearly half price. But even so.

The pocket money she planned on not using till next year had all been blown away from buying that. Unless she takes a part-time job, she won’t have any money to even go out.

“……My funds are ruined because of that idiot.”

Fuyufu was not a loner so she usually doesn’t talk to herself that much. Even that mumble of hers were actually directed to her white cat, Quan. The cat had lain, curled up into a ball on top of Fuyufu’s knee. She was wearing her pajamas.

While stroking Quan’s back, Fuyufu picked up the Ramiel package.

──She hated the device so much.

Like this one, there were plenty of game devices that Yuu’s mother had made games for as their launching title. Then, each time a new release came out, Yuu would disappear from Fuyufu’s sight. It’s always been like that ever since they were young.

He would often complain about his always-working mother, but he would always be looking forward to the result of her work. That was the kind of boy Kasugai Yuu once were.

When she was still in the lower grade of elementary school, Fuyufu’s body was very weak and she would often stay inside her room. On many occasions, Yuu would visit her and tirelessly complain about his mother. From listening to his complaints, Fuyufu would get tired and quickly rest on her bed and go to sleep. Despite that, when his mother presented him a new game, Yuu would go crazy about it and end up not visiting her.

I’ll ask my mom so Fufuyu can have the game as well, so will you play with me── like that, he had proposed to her once, but she flatly refused. She didn’t really know the reasons as to why she was opposed to the idea that much, but somehow she just felt resentment to the idea.

In Fuyufu’s room, there is the memento of Yuu’s mother, the『Cradle to The Glaive』 terminal(entrance).

After many years of witnessing his mother complex issues, Fuyufu understood very well about Yuu’s feeling for 『CtG』. That’s why she planned to let him play it till he was satisfied. It would be good to let him gradually ease his sorrow, and it might actually be better to let him alone for the mean time. She had thought.

However, as a result of that, Fuyufu met a dubious girl named Kugimiya Miharu and a strange child calling herself Haruha.

And these mysterious who-know-from-where girls appeared to be living in the Kasugai household.

That’s it! Waiting won’t do any good. Even if I continue to wait, Yuu won’t come to this room anymore.

And that Haruha kid also said──『Mommy and daddy… you see… are 《married》 inside the game!”』. And currently, the only game Yuu would be playing is nothing but 『CtG』. Whatever was happening must be related to that game.

Thus Fuyufu opened the Ramiel box akin to the myth of Pandora’s box. Disaster and chaos might befall Fuyufu’s world as she opened the box to seek the truth of Yuu’s current situation. But.

“He was the one who invited me to play the game to begin with── I will surely make him take responsibility for this!”

And as if to voice its agreement, the cat cried “Nya~” after her.

◆

That night.

Kugimiya Miharu was staring at her own face in front of the washbasin mirror.

The Kasugai household was drowned in silence. For Miharu, having silence in an unfamiliar house brought a strange sense of discomfort throughout her skin.

There was the figure of Miharu who had just taken a bath with freshly dried hair. Her face inside the mirror. While gently stroking her cheeks with her palm, she closed her eyes. It was as if to firmly root her decision she had made in the bathtub into her body.

About her mother, her father, Haruha, and Yuu.

With Yuu and Haruha putting their life at stake, Miharu also made a decision. No matter how precious they are, it’s not like they will always be together forever. It is after all natural, she knew that but she just couldn’t accept that maybe.

That is why── like that. She opened her eyes, and once again looked over herself in the mirror.

“In order to not regret this”

Miharu walked towards Yuu’s room.

◆

That night, Kasugai Yuu was very tired.

──Long. Today sure was a long day.

Woke up, ate a simple breakfast, went shopping, met Fuyufu and made a ruckus, played the game and died once, listening to a ridiculous story about a human computer, watching Haruha’s fierce fight, then battled Memento who cornered her, somehow still managing to teleport away from the onlookers, and when he return to real world he ate a cup ramen for dinner, and had a shower.

Finally, Kasugai Yuu’s helplessly long day was over. The day had made his heart and brain run wild, enough for him to feel uncomfortable in the room he had lived in for nearly ten years.

“It was surely long……”

Above his familiar bed, Yuu let out a big sigh. With the strings of tension finally cut off, his exhausted body tried to relax itself.

He had calmed down right about now, but before, right after he logged out he had vomited everything inside him due to the overwhelming tension he had experienced, moreover he strained his nerves more in order to not let Haruha notice. Even eating dinner took all the energy he had left; it certainly didn’t feel like he won at all.

And Haruha, who Yuu was finally able to protect, was now sleeping right next to him. She curled up like a cat and with her twig-like fingers she grabbed hold of Yuu’s shirt. When he tried to fix the sifted towel blanket, she let out a sweet “Nyuu” sound.

──No matter how long today had become, if it meant he was able to see such a sleeping face then it’s a cheap price to pay.

(I always wonder what this girl really is but……)

A strange child born from inside his mother’s game. People involved with the country said that it was the product of a top-secret plan “ to create a new human race”. In matters of killing, they’re the strongest being in the virtual world.

They were shown the fact that in merely 2 days── Haruha was “something” that was completely different from him. A child, whose purpose of existence was unknown to him.

But, even by admitting that, his heart had already made its decision. In there, there was Haruha, Miharu and him and he felt that it wasn’t bad.

This feeling might be like the one he had towards his own mother. Even though he didn’t know anything about her, even if he was often irritated by her, in the end he didn’t feel bad about it.

It means, he loves Haruha. He loves his mother.

He was finally able to admit such a simple thing.

That was why, after all that had happened, he had to face everything straightforwardly.

(Me, who was running away from Haruha, couldn’t possibly say goodbye to mom)

While talking to himself inside his head, he was speaking to the small finger holding his shirt.

“I’m sorry Haruha…… I really am good-for-nothing. Even though I knew you from the moment you were born, I couldn’t even understand your feeling.”

“Me too.”

The voice came from the just-open door. It was Miharu, who had left Haruha with Yuu and went to the bathroom to prepare for going to sleep. In a pajama she just bought today, she appeared to be more restless than before.

Regardless, the pajama she was wearing was a summer-use with thin fabric. With her being bare from the knee down, her leg looked really smooth and bright, she was pretty enough to make Yuu embarrassed just by looking at her.

“Haruha will surely still feel uneasy after returning back from the game, we mustn’t make the atmosphere worse than this”

Miharu came near the bed. She appeared to be hesitating as she curled her toe. Miharu steeled her will and climbed onto the bed.

The need to uphold the promise of “the three of them sleeping together today” she made with Haruha overwhelmed her own resistance towards the idea. Yuu straightforwardly respected her and her feelings for Haruha. But even so, it didn’t seem he would be able to get used to the feeling of having another person on the bed for a while.

After peeking at Haruha’s sleeping face, Miharu covered herself with the towel blanket and lied down.

“Well then, I’ll turn off the light.”

After receiving a faint voice of agreement, Yuu turned off the light with the remote control. Just like last night, a beautiful river was drawn below the pale moonlight.

For a while, only the sound of Haruha’s sleeping breath and Miharu’s restless sound of rustling clothes was heard. From what it seemed, Miharu and Yuu were naturally unable to sleep for a while.

Around five minutes later, after they continued to feel each other breaths, Miharu muttered.

“This morning…… Haruha said to me. Daddy is so spoiled that he always hugged her when sleeping”

She wasn’t expecting any reply as she said in a small whisper. Yuu looked at Haruha’s carefree sleeping face and replied with a smile.

“Regardless of what happened this morning, right now, I’m just feeling a bit worried. Will Haruha suddenly disappear?…… What will happen from now on? There will most likely be troublesome things happening while maintaining 『CtG』”

This time they had some room to deal with the unexpected things, but when it came to the complicated matters, even Kasugai Yuu, Clamp of Scarabaeus, was completely powerless as he was out of the loop. That was what scared him more than anything else.

“…….But, perhaps, that is just natural. No matter how close the person is, they will one day disappear…… that is why, we must cherish it”

Miharu called it common sense── but those words pierced through Yuu’s heart. As he had given on trying to communicate and suppress the feelings he had…and one day his mother died just like that.

I don’t want any more of that. While carefully making sure not to wake her up, Yuu embraced Haruha’s head.

Even though they had only become a family for only two month, this hugging mole was putting her life on the line for Yuu and Miharu’s sake so I have to protect her no matter what. He simply thought so.

As he smelled a strange fragrance and opened his eyes, Miharu’s head was right in front of him. She also wanted to huddle with Haruha and inevitably end up closing to Yuu. Even though she should’ve used the same shampoo as him, he wondered why she smells so good.

Yuu was unable to properly react, and Miharu then spoke.

“……It’s okay.”

“Eh? W-what……?”

Considering the situation he was in, his voice sounded shrill. Miharu had buried her face under Haruha’s hair so he couldn’t see her expression.

“Come to think of it, at first I was just half-serious in raising a child, so I won’t blame you anymore concerning Haruha’s name. I’ll support you. Your relationship with Kudzuchi-san”

He was about to immediately deny it, but recalling back Miharu’s word from before, he couldn’t. No matter how close the person is, someday they will disappear……

The face of his petite-expressionless-but-also-good-in-taking-care-of-others childhood friend vividly floated in his mind.

Settying aside whether he wanted to date her or not, Fuyufu was unmistakably a precious person for him. Their mothers were old friends, so both of them had always been together before they were 10. She was like a mix of older sister, little sister, and best friend.

And now, because of his stubbornness their relationship became distant.

He certainly had the desire to get close to her like before or maybe perhaps beyond that. Furthermore, it’s something that he would never attain if he let the chance go by.

“That’s why, don’t worry.”

Surprised by the whispers from Fuyufu in his imagination, he returned his gaze towards Miharu in reality. Miharu raised her face from Haruha’s hair and looked at him. Then she spoke.

“I’ll keep this a secret from Kodzuchi that we slept together.”

I wonder why.

The moment he heard those words. The moment he felt the trembles in Miharu’s eyes. This simple sharing of the bed for rest, somehow felt wrong. His chest tightened and his heartbeat raced faster and faster with each passing second. It was painful.

Around ten years ago, he took a nap along with Fuyufu side by side. There was also the time where he had a sleepover at her place and slept in the same futon. Thanks to these flags, she became interested in Yuu even now. The girl whom he was closest with, or rather used to be close with, and wanted to get close to. Kodzuchi Fuyufu.

Now in place where Fuyufu used to be in, was a different girl. A person whom he had a temporary marriage with. “His daughter’s mother”. Shy, afraid of strangers, has strong wariness towards men, but strangely nice when talked to. Kugimiya Miharu.

And the one who was sleeping between Miharu and himself was his “daughter” who was born in the game world, Haruha. While having her name derived from Fuyufu, she was the strong clamp that connected Yuu and Miharu together. Spoiled, but the cutest in the world, new family member.

Fuyufu, secret crush, Miharu, wife, Haruha, daughter of Miharu and him.

…………

……What the heck is this?

What an overly complex situation. From now on, it seemed Hajime would hang around in the house, in the neighborhood── in the neighborhood where Fuyufu lived in, there was no mistake that strange rumors were bound to spread around.

That’s right. Once again, they will have to properly explain this to Fuyufu to clear up the misunderstanding. He must tell her── “Somehow I ended up living together with my daughter who was born inside the game” ── this crazy truth. He couldn’t imagine what kind of reaction she would give though (too scared to think).

His distance with Miharu was also a problem. A big problem. There were also times where he couldn’t guess what was on her mind, and she was also too defenseless. Even though she said she would support his relationship with her, it’s not like his compatibility with Fuyufu was that bad. And the case with Miharu’s school transfer also caught his attention.

And finally Haruha. From what Hajime said, there also a plan to have her attend elementary school. Even today, where they got to be together the whole day, were filled of troubles. He couldn’t even imagine just what kind of things would happen when he and others and Haruha started to go to school.

Of course, with the case of 『Cradle to The Glaive』 and the Hadzars.

……So confusing.

A, deadly, confusing daily life was about to begin.

In such situation, while comforted with the warmth of Haruha, Kasugai Yuu recalled back certain words that were said.

It was one of the very few times he remembered what his mother said.

『Listen Yuu. Even if things don’t won’t work out in school, don’t you blame God. In a way, God is the one who programmed the world. Of course, if there was something wrong, people will put all blame on him but── But still. There is no program without a bug after all』

── Like you’re the one to talk. He said with a youthful child-like laughter.

### 012. Terminus

Epilogue

That night, Kodzuchi Fuyufu was feeling depressed on top of her bed.

The reason for her depression rested upon the box in front of her. The Ramiel package for „ÄéCtG„Äè use was quite bland. Just recently, a new version with improved usability and new design changes had been released so the price of the old ones dropped and sold for nearly half price. But even so.

The pocket money she planned on not using till next year had all been blown away from buying that. Unless she takes a part-time job, she won’t have any money to even go out.

“……My funds are ruined because of that idiot.”

Fuyufu was not a loner so she usually doesn’t talk to herself that much. Even that mumble of hers were actually directed to her white cat, Quan. The cat had lain, curled up into a ball on top of Fuyufu’s knee. She was wearing her pajamas.

While stroking Quan’s back, Fuyufu picked up the Ramiel package.

──She hated the device so much.

Like this one, there were plenty of game devices that Yuu’s mother had made games for as their launching title. Then, each time a new release came out, Yuu would disappear from Fuyufu’s sight. It’s always been like that ever since they were young.

He would often complain about his always-working mother, but he would always be looking forward to the result of her work. That was the kind of boy Kasugai Yuu once were.

When she was still in the lower grade of elementary school, Fuyufu’s body was very weak and she would often stay inside her room. On many occasions, Yuu would visit her and tirelessly complain about his mother. From listening to his complaints, Fuyufu would get tired and quickly rest on her bed and go to sleep. Despite that, when his mother presented him a new game, Yuu would go crazy about it and end up not visiting her.

I’ll ask my mom so Fufuyu can have the game as well, so will you play with me── like that, he had proposed to her once, but she flatly refused. She didn’t really know the reasons as to why she was opposed to the idea that much, but somehow she just felt resentment to the idea.

In Fuyufu’s room, there is the memento of Yuu’s mother, the『Cradle to The Glaive』 terminal(entrance).

After many years of witnessing his mother complex issues, Fuyufu understood very well about Yuu’s feeling for 『CtG』. That’s why she planned to let him play it till he was satisfied. It would be good to let him gradually ease his sorrow, and it might actually be better to let him alone for the mean time. She had thought.

However, as a result of that, Fuyufu met a dubious girl named Kugimiya Miharu and a strange child calling herself Haruha.

And these mysterious who-know-from-where girls appeared to be living in the Kasugai household.

That’s it! Waiting won’t do any good. Even if I continue to wait, Yuu won’t come to this room anymore.

And that Haruha kid also said──『Mommy and daddy… you see… are 《married》 inside the game!”』. And currently, the only game Yuu would be playing is nothing but 『CtG』. Whatever was happening must be related to that game.

Thus Fuyufu opened the Ramiel box akin to the myth of Pandora’s box. Disaster and chaos might befall Fuyufu’s world as she opened the box to seek the truth of Yuu’s current situation. But.

“He was the one who invited me to play the game to begin with── I will surely make him take responsibility for this!”

And as if to voice its agreement, the cat cried “Nya~” after her.

‚óÜ

That night.

Kugimiya Miharu was staring at her own face in front of the washbasin mirror.

The Kasugai household was drowned in silence. For Miharu, having silence in an unfamiliar house brought a strange sense of discomfort throughout her skin.

There was the figure of Miharu who had just taken a bath with freshly dried hair. Her face inside the mirror. While gently stroking her cheeks with her palm, she closed her eyes. It was as if to firmly root her decision she had made in the bathtub into her body.

About her mother, her father, Haruha, and Yuu.

With Yuu and Haruha putting their life at stake, Miharu also made a decision. No matter how precious they are, it’s not like they will always be together forever. It is after all natural, she knew that but she just couldn’t accept that maybe.

That is why── like that. She opened her eyes, and once again looked over herself in the mirror.

“In order to not regret this”

Miharu walked towards Yuu’s room.

‚óÜ

That night, Kasugai Yuu was very tired.

──Long. Today sure was a long day.

Woke up, ate a simple breakfast, went shopping, met Fuyufu and made a ruckus, played the game and died once, listening to a ridiculous story about a human computer, watching Haruha’s fierce fight, then battled Memento who cornered her, somehow still managing to teleport away from the onlookers, and when he return to real world he ate a cup ramen for dinner, and had a shower.

Finally, Kasugai Yuu’s helplessly long day was over. The day had made his heart and brain run wild, enough for him to feel uncomfortable in the room he had lived in for nearly ten years.

“It was surely long……”

Above his familiar bed, Yuu let out a big sigh. With the strings of tension finally cut off, his exhausted body tried to relax itself.

He had calmed down right about now, but before, right after he logged out he had vomited everything inside him due to the overwhelming tension he had experienced, moreover he strained his nerves more in order to not let Haruha notice. Even eating dinner took all the energy he had left; it certainly didn’t feel like he won at all.

And Haruha, who Yuu was finally able to protect, was now sleeping right next to him. She curled up like a cat and with her twig-like fingers she grabbed hold of Yuu’s shirt. When he tried to fix the sifted towel blanket, she let out a sweet “Nyuu” sound.

──No matter how long today had become, if it meant he was able to see such a sleeping face then it’s a cheap price to pay.

(I always wonder what this girl really is but……)

A strange child born from inside his mother’s game. People involved with the country said that it was the product of a top-secret plan “ to create a new human race”. In matters of killing, they’re the strongest being in the virtual world.

They were shown the fact that in merely 2 days── Haruha was “something” that was completely different from him. A child, whose purpose of existence was unknown to him.

But, even by admitting that, his heart had already made its decision. In there, there was Haruha, Miharu and him and he felt that it wasn’t bad.

This feeling might be like the one he had towards his own mother. Even though he didn’t know anything about her, even if he was often irritated by her, in the end he didn’t feel bad about it.

It means, he loves Haruha. He loves his mother.

He was finally able to admit such a simple thing.

That was why, after all that had happened, he had to face everything straightforwardly.

(Me, who was running away from Haruha, couldn’t possibly say goodbye to mom)

While talking to himself inside his head, he was speaking to the small finger holding his shirt.

“I’m sorry Haruha…… I really am good-for-nothing. Even though I knew you from the moment you were born, I couldn’t even understand your feeling.”

“Me too.”

The voice came from the just-open door. It was Miharu, who had left Haruha with Yuu and went to the bathroom to prepare for going to sleep. In a pajama she just bought today, she appeared to be more restless than before.

Regardless, the pajama she was wearing was a summer-use with thin fabric. With her being bare from the knee down, her leg looked really smooth and bright, she was pretty enough to make Yuu embarrassed just by looking at her.

“Haruha will surely still feel uneasy after returning back from the game, we mustn’t make the atmosphere worse than this”

Miharu came near the bed. She appeared to be hesitating as she curled her toe. Miharu steeled her will and climbed onto the bed.

The need to uphold the promise of “the three of them sleeping together today” she made with Haruha overwhelmed her own resistance towards the idea. Yuu straightforwardly respected her and her feelings for Haruha. But even so, it didn’t seem he would be able to get used to the feeling of having another person on the bed for a while.

After peeking at Haruha’s sleeping face, Miharu covered herself with the towel blanket and lied down.

“Well then, I’ll turn off the light.”

After receiving a faint voice of agreement, Yuu turned off the light with the remote control. Just like last night, a beautiful riverThis thing -> 川 again. Refer back to chapter 2. was drawn below the pale moonlight.

For a while, only the sound of Haruha’s sleeping breath and Miharu’s restless sound of rustling clothes was heard. From what it seemed, Miharu and Yuu were naturally unable to sleep for a while.

Around five minutes later, after they continued to feel each other breaths, Miharu muttered.

“This morning…… Haruha said to me. Daddy is so spoiled that he always hugged her when sleeping”

She wasn’t expecting any reply as she said in a small whisper. Yuu looked at Haruha’s carefree sleeping face and replied with a smile.

“Regardless of what happened this morning, right now, I’m just feeling a bit worried. Will Haruha suddenly disappear?…… What will happen from now on? There will most likely be troublesome things happening while maintaining 『CtG』”

This time they had some room to deal with the unexpected things, but when it came to the complicated matters, even Kasugai Yuu, Clamp of Scarabaeus, was completely powerless as he was out of the loop. That was what scared him more than anything else.

“…….But, perhaps, that is just natural. No matter how close the person is, they will one day disappear…… that is why, we must cherish it”

Miharu called it common sense── but those words pierced through Yuu’s heart. As he had given on trying to communicate and suppress the feelings he had…and one day his mother died just like that.

I don’t want any more of that. While carefully making sure not to wake her up, Yuu embraced Haruha’s head.

Even though they had only become a family for only two month, this hugging mole was putting her life on the line for Yuu and Miharu’s sake so I have to protect her no matter what. He simply thought so.

As he smelled a strange fragrance and opened his eyes, Miharu’s head was right in front of him. She also wanted to huddle with Haruha and inevitably end up closing to Yuu. Even though she should’ve used the same shampoo as him, he wondered why she smells so good.

Yuu was unable to properly react, and Miharu then spoke.

“……It’s okay.”

“Eh? W-what……?”

Considering the situation he was in, his voice sounded shrill. Miharu had buried her face under Haruha’s hair so he couldn’t see her expression.

“Come to think of it, at first I was just half-serious in raising a child, so I won’t blame you anymore concerning Haruha’s name. I’ll support you. Your relationship with Kudzuchi-san”

He was about to immediately deny it, but recalling back Miharu’s word from before, he couldn’t. No matter how close the person is, someday they will disappear……

The face of his petite-expressionless-but-also-good-in-taking-care-of-others childhood friend vividly floated in his mind.

Settying aside whether he wanted to date her or not, Fuyufu was unmistakably a precious person for him. Their mothers were old friends, so both of them had always been together before they were 10. She was like a mix of older sister, little sister, and best friend.

And now, because of his stubbornness their relationship became distant.

He certainly had the desire to get close to her like before or maybe perhaps beyond that. Furthermore, it’s something that he would never attain if he let the chance go by.

“That’s why, don’t worry.”

Surprised by the whispers from Fuyufu in his imagination, he returned his gaze towards Miharu in reality. Miharu raised her face from Haruha’s hair and looked at him. Then she spoke.

“I’ll keep this a secret from Kodzuchi that we slept together.”

I wonder why.

The moment he heard those words. The moment he felt the trembles in Miharu’s eyes. This simple sharing of the bed for rest, somehow felt wrong. His chest tightened and his heartbeat raced faster and faster with each passing second. It was painful.

Around ten years ago, he took a nap along with Fuyufu side by side. There was also the time where he had a sleepover at her place and slept in the same futon. Thanks to these flags, she became interested in Yuu even now. The girl whom he was closest with, or rather used to be close with, and wanted to get close to. Kodzuchi Fuyufu.

Now in place where Fuyufu used to be in, was a different girl. A person whom he had a temporary marriage with. “His daughter’s mother”. Shy, afraid of strangers, has strong wariness towards men, but strangely nice when talked to. Kugimiya Miharu.

And the one who was sleeping between Miharu and himself was his “daughter” who was born in the game world, Haruha. While having her name derived from Fuyufu, she was the strong clamp that connected Yuu and Miharu together. Spoiled, but the cutest in the world, new family member.

Fuyufu, secret crush, Miharu, wife, Haruha, daughter of Miharu and him.

…………

……What the heck is this?

What an overly complex situation. From now on, it seemed Hajime would hang around in the house, in the neighborhood── in the neighborhood where Fuyufu lived in, there was no mistake that strange rumors were bound to spread around.

That’s right. Once again, they will have to properly explain this to Fuyufu to clear up the misunderstanding. He must tell her── “Somehow I ended up living together with my daughter who was born inside the game” ── this crazy truth. He couldn’t imagine what kind of reaction she would give though (too scared to think).

His distance with Miharu was also a problem. A big problem. There were also times where he couldn’t guess what was on her mind, and she was also too defenseless. Even though she said she would support his relationship with her, it’s not like his compatibility with Fuyufu was that bad. And the case with Miharu’s school transfer also caught his attention.

And finally Haruha. From what Hajime said, there also a plan to have her attend elementary school. Even today, where they got to be together the whole day, were filled of troubles. He couldn’t even imagine just what kind of things would happen when he and others and Haruha started to go to school.

Of course, with the case of „ÄéCradle to The Glaive„Äè and the Hadzars.

……So confusing.

A, deadly, confusing daily life was about to begin.

In such situation, while comforted with the warmth of Haruha, Kasugai Yuu recalled back certain words that were said.

It was one of the very few times he remembered what his mother said.

『Listen Yuu. Even if things don’t won’t work out in school, don’t you blame God. In a way, God is the one who programmed the world. Of course, if there was something wrong, people will put all blame on him but── But still. There is no program without a bug after all』

── Like you’re the one to talk. He said with a youthful child-like laughter.

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## 02. Volume 2

### 001. Prologue

That renowned master and artist the Demiurgus hides it away, causes it to vanish behind life’s make-believe. We, to the contrary, love its abrasiveness, its unruliness, its rag doll ungainliness. Behind each gesture, each movement, we like to see its exertion, its torpor, its sweet ursinality.

Bruno Schulz [A treatise on mannequin or The Next Book of Genesis], Station Yukio Kudou, Heibon Company Library, [all Schultz’s novels] 2005

Relative translation to [マネキン人形論あるいは創世記第二の書]: Mannequin’s theory or The Second book of Genesis

In the middle of the rain.

Young Kasugai Yuu walks alongside grown up Kasugai Yuu while squeezing his hand.

What wonders him wasn’t the fact that there were two of him, but his awareness of the texture of his own hand. He never experience what was it like to have his own hand pulled by himself before, he should never have.

Think, think, think.

Then her memory, the hand that his young-self knew was his mother’s.

Remembering his mother’s hand, he begins to reimagine what he holds with his hand, and created new sensation.

By the time he did, his young-self transformed. This time it’s a hand that he once held before.

Kodzuchi Fuyufu

With a younger body just like when she was in elementary school, she was wearing black colour children’s clothes like the colour of the dark rain.

During the early years of elementary school, her body was weak and Yuu was asked by her mother to accompany her to and from school. To prevent her from falling, they walked together while holding hands.

As time passed, their position got swapped and Fuyufu, who had become healthy, was the one who pulled Yuu’s hand.

It might also still be the case.

Fuyufu’s hand that Yuu held was only that of her younger self.

Because, Yuu doesn’t know the sensation of grown-up Fuyufu’s hand—

──This dream will most likely appear under the back of his eyelids. By the time he opens his eyes, the figure of young Fuyufu disappeared, and the gentle sunlight and familiar ceiling greets his eyes.

It’s good that he woke up, but the aftermath of the dream weighted down his head. His young self, young Fuyufu, Fuyufu’s hand, Fuyufu’s fingers……

He can feel his cheek burning up thanks to the unusually vivid dream he had.

(….Could this mean that I wanted to touch Fuyufu?)

It’s hard to think that it’s a physiological issue or anything; it might just simply be a result of frustration.

Having bad thoughts right away in the morning he directs his eyes to the side── It felt like his heart was about to stop.

In front of his eyes was a girl’s sleeping face.

She wasn’t his childhood friend whom he just saw in his dream. Fuyufu was indeed a short-haired girl like a Zashikiwarashi but the girl in front of his eyes has long hair, in contrast to Fuyufu’s small and slim body, that girl has average height and considerably well-rounded and rich body.

Their faces were only dozen centimeters away from each other, and he can see her lips trembles with a small sigh.

An early summer morning

A quiet morning.

Between two bodies in the same bed, a languid heat was in the air. Excessive sweat flowing out. His throat went dry. He experienced a small fever.

Kugimiya Miharu

She was the girl he began to live together with for the past week. Actually last week was the first time he met her, and from that moment they immediately lived together.

However, they had spent over two months together in another world…..

Regardless, they weren’t in a relationship that forces them to live together. The reason why they ended up sleeping together like was thanks to a certain person with complicated circumstances.

As if trying to prevent each other from rolling off the bed, Miharu’s finger was resting on Yuu’s hand. As soon as he recognizes the warmth he quickly pulled his hand in a hurry.

(Why is this other person’s body so hot……?)

While holding down his shock ── also the fact that the one in front of him wasn’t Fuyufu makes his sides hurt ── Yuu tried to raise his upper body without waking up Miharu. It will be problematic if she wakes up now. Furthermore, the “circumstances” that forces them into this situation somehow wasn’t in the room.

Miharu has a tendency to distrust the opposite sex which also directed towards Yuu. In this situation where that girl isn’t here, for them to be together alone in the same bed was nothing but a problem.

Fortunately Miharu slept deeply; even if he tries to talk to her she will just reply with gentle breathing.

Miharu was the one who chose that brand new pajama so it should match her own size, but it appears that she feels cramped as she heavily breathes up and down── and by the time he was consulting his brain while averting his eyes from her...

“Daaaaaaddy~~!!!!!”

The main culprit of why Yuu and Miharu have to sleep together came in while shouting in a cute energetic voice.

In front of the left-open door. A child imposed a stance, raising a shout of victory.

“Haruha was able to go to the toilet alone!”

“Nnn…. U…..”

The moan responding to the clearly loud voice was from none other than the awakened Miharu.

Several seconds later, Miharu screamed after becoming aware of the solidified Yuu who was in a position of peeping at her face. Haruha lively blinked her eyes and stared blankly, still holding her pose.

Kasugai Haruha

She wasn’t born in this world. She is one of artificial intelligence, Hadzar, born in the world of the endless reality role playing game『Cradle to the Glaive── otherwise known as『CtG』.

Shortly after her birth, Haruha was soon entrusted to Clamp, Yuu’s avatar, and Mifa, Miharu’s avatar.

The two were the pair who triggered the《Marriage》event in the game, an event that can only be triggered by the pair who are determined to be the most ideal by the computer operating『CtG』. All was to determine which couple was most suitable to be Haruha’s parents.

And Haruha who rapidly grew under Clamp and Mifa’s parenting received an artificial body as an experiment held by the “Human Equilibrium Institute” institution and appeared in Yuu’s house in the real world.

In order to watch over Haruha who is both physically and mentally unstable, Yuu and Miharu end up living together with Haruha in Yuu’s house. The three of them sleeping together was also part of Haruha’s mental care.

A week had passed since the beginning of their new awkward life.

For the past week, Yuu attended to school like always, Miharu was left to clean up Kasugai household storeroom and prepare her own room, and Haruha would play with Miharu with some toys or inside 『CtG』──

“….Ho-how is it?”

A familiar uniform along with Miharu who he was also familiar with. But it’s the first time he has ever seen the two together as one.

“Aa…..”

Yuu, who had been preparing a simple breakfast in the living room, was having trouble giving comment on Miharu who had just dressed and was coming down from her room on the second floor.

Miharu was dressed in the uniform of the school she will go to starting today. She had an anxious face, but it’s hard to guess what worried her.

“Mm….. That’s…. a proper uniform huh”

“……You’re so random…..”

Miharu’s anxiety quickly changed into dissatisfaction. But lisping is like the trend for high school boys; it’s unreasonable to blame him for that.

Nevertheless, it only been a week since they first met face-to-face. To him she is “his daughter’s mother”, something that he can’t fully comprehended. As a result, he couldn’t figure out the right distance to take.

Who saved hesitant Yuu from Miharu’s stare was Haruha who had been waiting for the breakfast, sitting on a cat paws’ patterned cushion.

“So cute! Mommy is great!”

She ran with unstoppable vigour to hug Miharu. Miharu bent down and caught her with her breast, and Haruha buried her face into it like a mole.

Miharu blushed, narrowing her eyes, while stroking Haruha’s head who hugged her tightly.

“Thank you, Haruha.

Today, I’ll also go to school, so be sure to watch over the house with Hajime-san, okay”

Hajime Hidari, one of the Institute’s staff in charge of managing Haruha, would come to the Kasugai household during the day and take care of Haruha. She should come today as well.

Haruha stayed silent, and rested her head in Miharu’s care.

Yuu became a little uneasy. Haruha was extremely terrified of being separated from Yuu and Haruha. Just sleeping alone made her anxious, enough to make her want the three of them to sleep together.

“Haruha, are you okay?”

When Yuu called out, Haruha replied cheerfully with her usual carefree playful face.

“I’m okay! After Haruha saying “See you”, Haruha will hear “I’m back” later. Haruha remembered the drill!”

“….. Is that so? So watching over the house is an easy task, right?”

“Haruha had mastered it all”

Yuu felt slightly hot as he looked at the figure of Haruha who was tapping her breast through her pajama with an all knowing-look.

A daughter, who was born just two months ago and should only exist inside a game.

This feeling was probably different than those normal parents had. This child grew up this much in merely two months, and she grew even more after the incident where she put her life at stake for their sake.

Compared to that, I’m── thought Kasugai Yuu.

I’m still unable to get over my mother’s death for the past six months, and just this morning I also see a dream of my younger self, just what person am I?

I’m a child, a parent, a man, and a high school student.

But I’m not an adult.

He sighed all by himself, and apologized to Miharu, who was pouring milk for Haruha, inside his heart.

You look great── while getting sick of himself for being a coward who can’t even say a single honest impression.

Obtained life in the virtual world, the seed of the new world, the Hadzar girl who obtained an artificial human body, Kasugai Haruha.

The only son of one of 『CtG』 developers, the boy who became Haruha’s father, Kasugai Yuu.

Triggered 《Marriage》 event inside 『CtG』 along with Yuu’s avatar, the girl who became Haruha’s mother, Kugimiya Miharu.

Their daily life adventure will continue today as well. Continue like the definition of life itself.

Then.

Yuu and Miharu went off to school, and Haruha was left all alone, bored, watching over the house.

The curtain for the second chapter of the seed of the new world shall rise.

### 002. Terminus

That renowned master and artist the Demiurgus hides it away, causes it to vanish behind life’s make-believe. We, to the contrary, love its abrasiveness, its unruliness, its rag doll ungainliness. Behind each gesture, each movement, we like to see its exertion, its torpor, its sweet ursinality.

– Bruno Schulz [A treatise on mannequin or The Next Book of Genesis], Station Yukio Kudou, Heibon Company Library, [all Schultz’s novels] 2005

Relative translation to [マネキン人形論あるいは創世記第二の書]: Mannequin’s theory or The Second book of Genesis

In the middle of the rain.

Young Kasugai Yuu walks alongside the grown up Kasugai Yuu as he squeezed his hand.

What wondered him wasn’t the fact that there were two of him, but his awareness of the texture of his own hand. He had never experience what was it like to have his own hand pulled by himself before, he should never have.

Think, think, think.

He then remembered, the hand that his younger-self knew was that of his mother’s.

Remembering his mother’s hand, he began to reimagining what he held with his hand which created a new sensation.

By the time he did, his younger-self transformed. This time it’s a hand that he once held before.

Kodzuchi Fuyufu

With a younger body just like the time when she was in elementary school, she was wearing children’s clothes which were black in colour, like the colour of the dark rain.

During their early elementary school year, her body was very weak. So Yuu was asked by her mother to accompany her to and from school and they always walked together so that she doesn’t fall.

As time passed, their position got swapped and Fuyufu had become healthy, which resulted into her pulling Yuu’s hand instead.

It could also still be the case that Fuyufu’s hand that Yuu held was only that of her younger self.

Because, Yuu doesn’t know the sensation of grown-up Fuyufu’s hand—

──This dream would most likely appear under the back of his eyelids. By the time he opened his eyes, the figure of young Fuyufu disappeared and the gentle sunlight and familiar ceiling greets them.

It’s a good thing that he woke up, but the aftermath of the dream weighted down his head. His younger self, younger Fuyufu, Fuyufu’s hand, Fuyufu’s fingers……

He could feel his cheek burning up thanks to the unusually vivid dream he just had.

(….Could this mean that I wanted to touch Fuyufu?)

It’s hard to think that it’s a physiological issue or anything. So it might just simply be a result of frustration.

Having bad thoughts right in the morning, he directed his eyes to the side── and for a moment it felt like his heart was about to stop.

In front of his eyes was a sleeping face of a girl.

She wasn’t his childhood friend whom he just saw in his dream. Fuyufu was indeed a short-haired girl like a Zashikiwarashi [1] but the girl in front of his eyes had long hair. In contrast to Fuyufu’s small and slim body, this girl had average height and considerably well-rounded and rich body.

Their faces were only a dozen centimeters away from each other, and he could see her lips trembling with a small sigh.

It was an early summer morning

And a quiet morning.

Between these two bodies lying in the same bed, a languid heat was in the air. Excessive sweat was flowing out. His throat went dry. He experienced a minor fever.

Kugimiya Miharu

She was the girl he began to live with together for the past week. Actually he first met her only last week, and from that moment they immediately began to live together.

However, they had spent over two months together in other world…..

Regardless, their relationship wasn’t so intimate that they had to live together. The reason why they ended up sleeping together was all thanks to a certain person with complicated circumstances.

As if trying to prevent each other from rolling off the bed, Miharu’s finger was resting on Yuu’s hand. As soon as he recognizes the warmth he quickly pulled his hand away in a hurry.

(Why other person’s body is so hot……?)

While trying to hold down his shock ── also the fact that the one in front of him wasn’t Fuyufu makes his sides hurt ── Yuu tried to raise his upper body without waking Miharu up. It would be problematic if she woke up now. Furthermore, the “circumstance” that forced them into their current situation somehow wasn’t in the room.

Miharu had the tendency to distrust opposite sex which was also directed towards Yuu. In this situation where that girl wasn’t there, for them to be together alone in the same bed was nothing but problem.

Fortunately Miharu slept soundly. Even if he tried to talk to her she would just reply him with her gentle breathing.

Miharu was the one who chose the brand new pajama. So it should match her own size. However, it looked like she feel cramped as she heavily breathed up and down── and by that time he was consulting his brain while averting his eyes from her.

“Daaaaaaddy~~!!!!!”

In that cute energetic voice, the main culprit of why Yuu and Miharu have to sleep together came in while shouting.

In front of the left-open door, a child imposed a stance, as she raised a shout of victory.

“Haruha was able to go to toilet alone!”

“Nnn…. U…..”

The moan responding to the clearly loud voice was in fact came from no other than the now awakened Miharu.

Several seconds later, Miharu screamed after becoming aware of solidified Yuu who was in the position of close enough to him peeping her face. Haruha on the other hand, lively blinked her eyes and stared blankly as she still held her pose.

Kasugai Haruha

She wasn’t born in this world. She was one of the artificial intelligence, Hadzar, born in the world of the endless reality, a role playing game『Cradle to the Glaive』── otherwise known as『CtG』.

Shortly after her birth, Haruha was entrusted to Clamp, Yuu’s avatar, and Mifa, Miharu’s avatar.

The two were the pair who triggered the 《Marriage》event in the game, an event that can only be triggered by the pair who are determined to be ranked the most ideal by the computer operating『CtG』. All done to determine which couple was the most suitable to be Haruha’s parents.

And Haruha who rapidly grew under Clamp and Mifa’s parenting received an artificial body as an experiment held by “Human Equilibrium Institute” institution who appeared at Yuu’s house in real world.

In order to look over Haruha who was both physically and mentally unstable, Yuu and Miharu ended up living together with Haruha in Yuu’s house. The three of them sleeping together was also part of Haruha’s mental care.

A week had passed since the beginning of their new and awkward life.

For the past week, Yuu attended to school like usual, Miharu was left to clean up Kasugai household storeroom and prepare her own room, and Haruha would play with Miharu with some toys or inside 『CtG』──

“….Ho-how is it?”

Familiar uniform along with Miharu with whom he was familiar with. But it was the first time he ever saw the two together as one.

“Aa…..”

Yuu who had been busy preparing a simple breakfast in the living room was having trouble commenting on Miharu who had just dressed and came down from her room on the second floor.

Miharu was dressed in the uniform of the school she would go to starting from that day onwards. She had an anxious face, but it was hard to guess what worried her.

“Mm….. That’s…. a proper uniform huh”

“……You’re so random…..”

Miharu’s anxiety immediately changed into her dissatisfaction. But, lisping is like a trend for high school boys. It would be unreasonable to blame him for that.

Nevertheless, it had only been a week since they first met face-to-face. Hence, to him she is “his daughter’s mother”, a fact that he couldn’t fully comprehend. As a result, he couldn’t figure out the right step to take.

Then, hesitant Yuu was saved from Miharu’s stare by Haruha who had been waiting for the breakfast while sitting on a cat paws’ patterned cushion.

“So cute! Mommy is great!”

She ran in with unstoppable vigour to hug Miharu who bend down and caught her with her chest where Haruha buried her face into it like a mole.

Miharu blushed as she narrowed eyes while stroking Haruha’s head who hugged her tightly.

“Thank you, Haruha. Today, I’ll also go to school. So be sure to watch over the house with Hajime-san, okay”

Hajime Hidari, one of the Institute’s staff in charge of managing Haruha, would come to Kasugai households and take care of Haruha during the day. So she should come today as well.

Haruha stood silent, and let her head rest to Miharu’s care.

Yuu felt a little uneasy. Haruha was extremely terrified for being separated away from Yuu and Miharu. Just sleeping alone made her anxious enough to make her wanting the three of them to sleep together.

“Haruha, are you okay?”

When Yuu called out, Haruha replied cheerfully with her usual playful carefree face.

“I’m okay! After Haruha saying “See you”, Haruha will hear “I’m back” later. Haruha remembered the drill!”

“….. Is that so? So watching over the house is easy task right?”

“Haruha had mastered it all.”

Yuu felt slightly hot as he looked at the figure of Haruha who was tapping her chest through her pajama with all knowing-look.

A daughter, who was born just two months ago and existed only inside a game.

This feeling was probably different than what a normal parent would have. This child grew up this much in merely two months and was still growing even more after the incident where she put her life at stake for their sake.

“Compared to that, I’m──” thought Kasugai Yuu.

I’m still unable to walk past my mother’s death for the past six months, and just this morning I also saw a dream of my younger self, just what person am I?

I’m a child, a parent, a man, and a high school student.

But I’m not an adult.

He sighed all by himself, and apologized to Miharu, who was pouring milk for Haruha, from within his heart.

You look great── while getting sick of himself for being a coward who couldn’t even say a single honest impression.

Obtained life in virtual world, the seed of new world and the Hadzar girl who obtained artificial human body, Kasugai Haruha.

The only son of one of 『CtG』 developers, the boy who became Haruha’s father, Kasugai Yuu.

Triggered 《Marriage》event inside 『CtG』 along with Yuu’s avatar, the girl who became Haruha’s mother, Kugimiya Miharu.

Their daily life adventure would continue that day as well. Continued like as if it was the definition of life itself.

Then, Yuu and Miharu went off to school leaving Haruha all alone, bored and the house under her care.

Hence, the curtain for the second chapter of the seed of this new world, shall now rise.

## Translator’s Notes and References

- ↑ A demon in Japanese Folklore, stemming from Iwate Prefecture. More info:

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### 003. Terminus

The Boy Who Attracts EVIL

- Part-0

- Part-1

- Part-2

- Part-2.5

- Part-3

- Part-4

- Part-5

- Part-6

- Part-7

In the morning classroom one month away from summer vacation, the topic of final exams and schedule for vacations shakes the class with the shrill noises of students.Shortly before homeroom begun; Yuu was laying his cheek on top of his desk as if he let his consciousness be cradled on it. Throughout the week, due to his various duty and exam study, Yuu is lacking sleep.

“Oi Yuu~. For the English passage, we only need to study till the part where Ted will have surgery in the gas station right?�

The one who spoke to him while not reading the mood at all was Itono Kouta. As a friend who had known him from middle school, his high school debut with dyed brown hair looks so painfully soothing. That’s him, one of the few friends that Yuu had.

Yuu answered without hiding any of his drowsiness.

“I thought it ends at the scene where Aregura sees a weird lizard. If you’re unsure, just check in the summary site through the school LAN�

“Is that so?� As he said that, Kouta sat down on the seat in front of Yuu. He rested his chin on the backrest, and continued to talk to Yuu who continuously emitted the aura of “please let me sleep�. It maybe because of his simple innocence, but his behavior feels so refreshing.

“Somehow the teacher is late today�

When Yuu tapped the {{Furigana|single plate|monolith }}-type terminal placed on the corner of the desk, the default display of the Holoskin [1] and the current time is shown. It sure had passed the usual time for homeroom.

“Did something happen?�

Yuu had no words to answer Kouta’s restless question. If he answered, it would lead to the catastrophic question of “why do you know that?�.

Then Yuu went silent, and Kouta (without permission) later confirmed his doubt about the English passage with Yuu’s terminal, in mid of that, the answer for his question arrived in front of the classroom.

“My name is Ku-Kugimiya Miharu……�

A transfer student who transferred in this overly subtle timing right before the exams naturally caught everyone’s interest.

“Kugimiya-san transferred here from her school in Kansai because of family circumstances�

While the homeroom teacher Higuchi-sensei straightforwardly told the reason for her transfer ──which was not exactly a lie──, everyone in the classroom noisily exchanged gazes. The girls, meanwhile, were looking at the boys going “Uoooo!!� in a way like seeing a koala in the zoo while grasping their fists.

It was Yuu alone who, when he saw Miharu, stiffened like a mirror. It appeared she noticed him and so she occasionally sent a restless gaze at him.

Natural as it is, the fact that both of them are living together is a secret to everybody in the school. They also can’t afford to let Haruha be known to the public. The submitted residential data is also a forged one made by Hajime.

Because of that Yuu couldn’t openly help her, and the only thing he could do was give a �CtG� hand sign “do your best� each time their eyes met.

“……There are only a few more days before the summer holidays, so it is nice if we can get along well. P-pleasant to be here�

Taking account of how timid she was, to be able to say that without biting her tongue was a great accomplishment.

Shortly after the homeroom class was over , Miharu was instantly surrounded. She didn’t even have the chance to sit on her chair.

“Where do you live!?�

“Do you have a boyfriend back there? Long distant relationship?�

“Do you bring a lunch box? Let’s eat together �

“Have you decided which club you want to join? Want to look for a mountain analogy in the holy mountain club!?�

Among the girls were a group of aggressive student who surrounded Miharu and bombarded her with questions and club recruitments. Even guys and girls who are not that aggressive seemed to be turning their ears in order to hear even a little about the newcomer’s personal information.

To answer the barrage questions, Miharu groaned and answer one at a time.

“E, erm…. err, I’m boarding in one of my relative’s house……�

To be precise it is “the house her father’s uncle is managing� but in broad sense it’s not a lie.

“I don’t have any boyfriend……�

She is a respectable girl, but strangely don’t have any experience in dating (it seems).

“For lunch…… I heard there is a student cafeteria here so……�

Miharu can cook some simple food, but having the same launch box as Yuu is a bit too much, and to cook both differently would take too much time and be too uneconomical.

“I-I don’t have any plans to join any club�

Miharu had a reason to ensure her time playing �CtG�. Haruha’s condition forces her to regularly login into the game, and Miharu herself wanted to train her avatar to protect her there.

──Like that, Miharu dutifully answered, but the rapid questions, club recruitments, and advices didn’t show any glimpse of stopping soon much like those talk-loving aunties in the neighborhood.

Her eyes then met Yuu’s and he delivered hand signs── “Follow-up� “Go� “?�.

In exchange, Miharu lightly shook her head. Before going to bed yesterday, she remembered, considering the oddities of her transfer time she wanted to get used with the class fast.

But contrary to her will, and putting account her shy personality; her capacity had already been overwhelmed too its limit.

The continuously increasing comebacks soon turn ambiguous, and the atmosphere of the surrounding girls felt uncomfortable.

“Ah, sorry we, all of the sudden……�

“We just can’t read the mood right……�

The lapped refraining words gradually became distant ones.

“No, not at all, not at all you see…… Ermm�

Miharu’s restlessness caused a panic. She must’ve pictured the future of herself facing the summer break without getting well with the class and then be forgotten soon after. Yuu who’ve seen lots of Miharu and Mifa’s expressions know that.

As expected, he should’ve just gone as a lifeboat for her no matter how unnatural it would be.

It was when Yuu about to stand from the chair, there──

*Foosh*

As if darkness had just descended, the atmosphere in the classroom stiffens.

Naturally, everyone’s gazes gather towards the classroom entrance. There stood a female student from the nearby class. Right behind her there was three other girls standing, the identity of the intruder was Yuu’s childhood friend with petite clam face.

Kodzuchi Fuyufu.

No one knew why silence fell upon her arrival. Could it be because of the strange force that girl had?

Or maybe, it was because Miharu who was on verge of panic went frozen in an instant.

“Oh, Yuu, it’s Kodzuchi-san�

Kouta, who was sitting on Yuu’s desk while observing the transfer student, said in teasing tone. As a friend from middle school, Kouta roughly knew about Yuu and Fuyufu’s relationship. However, Yuu, who was confused by Fuyufu’s sudden invasion, was unable to react to his friend’s mockery.

Well, there’s only one person in this entire school who would be the target of this mysterious pressure that Fuyufu emitted silently.

Who? No other than the transfer student, Kugimiya Miharu.

As if her dismay a while ago was a lie, she walked towards Fuyufu and showed a cool and collected smile.

“So you’re Kodzuchi Fuyufu-san�

“And you’re Kugimiya Miharu-san�

The moment they exchanged that normal but bizarre greetings── the entire class went,

*shock*

It was like the static sound of rushing electricity.

One of the students who happened to be at the place later testified──

ã€�Come to think of it, the moment the two met face to face, something was torn. ……Scissors. That’s right, like a scissor. Each time the two blades cross paths, something in the middle will be destroyed── That’s what I saw from those twoã€�

Casual-light, textured, long hair, a rich figure, and a large grin on her face.

Having contrasting appearances from head to toe, Kugimiya Miharu and Kodzuchi Fuyufu simply face each other in silence. It was just that, but the amount of mysterious Doppler Effect created by those two girls shook the morning classroom.

“Ouch… ah, my lips got cut�

“Does this mean those two’s presences distort the space and deliver atmospheric pressure……?�

The girls who were surrounding Miharu a while ago wiped their sweat in shock.

“No, that’s just idiotic ……�

Yuu finally open his mouth and retort, but the girls, who were putting on lip cream in a hurry, didn’t hear him.

“………Mmmn, this atmosphere, could it be──�

“D-do you know this, Rokkaku-san the historian woman !?�

Meanwhile, a dowdy glasses girl spoke like she figured out something, and Kouta prompted for the answer.

The glasses girl── Rokkaku Hasuko from the History research club let out a trembling voice in astonishment.

“Yes, this atmosphere is precisely… Uwanariuchi�

�Uwanariuchi� is……

A custom surrounding marriage that was held from middle age Japan to Edo era!

It was a custom where when a husband parted with his ex-wife and immediately took in a new wife, the ex-wife would raid the new wife’s house with an advance notice. At that time, numbers of women were called in accordance to their identity on both offensive and defensive sides. The picture depicted from the brawl of both sides was the sight of a women battle!

Although it’s a way to pull out an arbitrator before the settlement, it’s known to bring out causalities due to the overwhelming heat of the participants. Scary!

By the way, �Uwanari�, one of Kabuki Jūhachiban with the motif of Uwanariuchi, is a play that depicts the love and hate relationship between two woman against one man. [2]

“Uwanari…… what an awesome textually. A guy sandwiched between two girls…… so enviable!� [3]

Kouta moaned with slightly red cheeks as he looked at the word Uwanari that Rokkaku wrote on the optical blackboard with a pen-shaped device.

In contrast, other class members who were listening to Rokkaku’s explanation by her side easily shook their hands.

“No no, Itono-kun. After the war, [4] women and stockings have become stronger. If he got sandwiched like that, he’ll be minced meat, minced meat you know� [5]

‘Hee, is that so, minced meat huh,’ by that time, Yuu’s heart was already half-dead.

He glanced towards Kouta and then he realized.

“Uhee…… B-but, wait a moment. It’s certain that the atmosphere they’re having is that of a conflict. But, this should be their first meeting. I was in the same middle school as Kodzuchi-san, so I’m pretty sure that’s the case.”

“That…… I don’t know. But both of them know each other’s names…. they must have dark circumstances that we can’t even imagine !”

*gulp* the sound of gulping came from all sides who are witnessing the standoff between the two girls in silence. Then finally, Fuyufu opened her mouth.

“Pardon for my rudeness earlier”

It must be the day after Haruha appeared in the real world, the time when they met in the supermarket. At that time, Miharu revealed the truth of her living together with Yuu which made Fuyufu speechless and frozen in place. (Set that aside, it was the first time Yuu ever saw Fuyufu become speechless)

“I was just surprised seeing a person with courage as big as the first person in humanity who ever ate a sea cucumber�

Fuyufu glanced at Yuu when she said “sea cucumber�. Yuu’s heart then sunk into the deep sea.

Against that, Miharu tilted her neck as she clenched her fist in front of her own face.

“And so you bothered to come all the way here to greet me. Thank you very much. ──And also, Kodzuchi-san, didn’t your precious dog run off and get lost? Your face doesn’t look that well, are you okay?�

Miharu glanced at Yuu when she said “dog�. Yuu then sees a vision of himself wearing a collar and living inside a dog house.

“No need to worry, first of all I didn’t even have a dog. But── that’s right. If I happened to have such a mongrel, then I must castrate him so he won’t bother the neighbors and other ecosystems right�

“What a coincidence. I also thought the same thing from the bottom of my heart�

The conversation of the two was only exchanged between themselves. But, the will within those words ignored the law of sound wave physics and deflected painfully towards a certain boy’s nether region.

“We might unexpectedly go well each other�

“Indeed. I would like to be friends with you�

………………

Ufu……Fufufuu………

Fufuffuffu…………

Cloudless sky. In the morning classroom illuminated with fresh sunlight, only the hollow laughter of Fuyufu with an emotionless expression and Miharu with a mask-like smile echoed.

The ghost mansion-like classroom continued like that until the teacher came and forced them to scram.

â—†

The class for 4th period was P.E.It was shortly before noon, the yellow sun on the cloudless sky shone brightly emitting such strong heat that it was literally screaming the word “summer�. So strong, that it hammered the students’ shoulders to the ground.

However, the heat was nothing for Miharu, who was now under the shadow of the roof hanging from the dressing room, but the same couldn’t be said for the boys who were recording the scores for high jump on the field.

“Haa…â€�

Sighing, breathe tingled with the smell of chlorine and her swimsuit soaked── was Miharu, after she finished her swimming trial for 50 meters not too long ago. She now appeared to be exhausted.

Both of her legs and arms had gone numb after having to furiously hit the water so many times and she still felt the feeling of being inside the water remained within her head. Spacing out, she stared at the small puddle at her feet that made from the water dripping from her bristles and swimsuit.

(I’m tired…… I like swimming though, but)

Swimming class right on the day of her transfer. Not to mention that her body still hadn’t settled in with the environment yet, needing to wear a swimsuit that was adjusted in a hurry felt strangely tight and really uncomfortable. Now relaxed and sitting on the rocky poolside, she closed her mind and body.

Being shy of strangers, with the addition of transferring at a highly irregular time, Miharu was suffering from mental fatigue. It might also because she steeled herself, not wanting to show such disgraceful display in front of Yuu.

In such predicament, she still managed to feel a person’s presence and raised her face up.

“Uu~…… it sure is hot right?�

She was being called by the girl who appeared to have just finished her swimming trial and was now removing the goggles that was hooked on her head. For a moment there, she couldn’t recognise who it was because she was of a different classroom and had different attire. However, she then remembered the owner of that slightly nasal voice. It’s Nogi Nao from the the class committee. She crumpled down right beside her like as if she was about to fall.

“Are you tired? Well, a pool class straight after transfer can sure is tough.�

Her straightforward attitude puzzled her. Since this morning, Miharu received nothing but overly polite treatment from everyone in the class. It was as if they were interacting with a executive from a mafia or something. Not knowing the reason why, Miharu became diffidence, but at that moment Nogi was open heartedly talking to her.

“No, I’m fine……�

Miharu’s answer was really awkward. When she was being Mifa she was able to actively interact with others, but when she returned as Miharu, this happened. It was a vicious cycle where her own self-hatred gradually ate away her courage.

Nogi’s smile did not waver however, but it appeared she was having trouble as to what to say next. And as if panicking, her eyes wandered everywhere.

“Aaa……Errmm…….Ah�

Then her eyes stopped. She was looking towards the ground field where the boys were doing high jump.

“Because today’s grade will go straight on their report, the boys are serious. Usually they’re lazier about it.�

“Aa…… to make up for their poor grades huh�

The pool is located on the hill. One could simply look down at the field through the fence. When she looked over where Nogi’s eyes were facing, it certainly seem like the boys were waiting in line, serious and without whispering to each other.

“Ah, it’s Kurino-kun’s turn!�

The one who cheered was one of the girls who talked to Miharu this morning. Alongside her friends, she pointed her finger towards the boy who was about to do the high jump. As if like a signal, the boy started his run-up.

Despite being showered with attention of the onlookers, he managed a brilliantly executed jump over the bar, good enough to impress the eyes of amateurs. With great posture and movement, he landed on the mat and comfortably rested on it.

“Yahoo! As expected from track and field club’s star!�

The girl from before ── Tsukami-san ── cheers. She must be his fan.

In contrast, Nogi let out a calm voice.

“Fumu, Kurino-kun huh…… Handsome Guy Spirit [6] rating── 72 points I suppose.�

“Wha!? ── why Nogi! Kurino-kun is the star hope of track and field club, he has good looks and personality, he should get a solid 88 points right!?�

Tsukami did not let that remark pass by. It appeared she didn’t like Nogi’s scoring of him and as a result, she glared at her demonically. Nogi received the stare calmly, and Miharu, who was sitting on her side, shrugged. (But still, her modesty of not giving 90 points sure is cute, Miharu thought)

“Hmph… Look at the truth Tsukami. Kurino-kun sure is a good fine thin macho man. But, he is also the person who claimed that he got the worst score in the intermediate test; don’t forget that he is a shameful macho man.�

“I-Isn’t it cute though?! Or more like he is an athlete so all that matters is his speed! What do you want, a Savannah Puma that can calculate trigonometry or something!?�

Doesn’t that mean you’re treating him the same as an animal…… is what she wanted to say, but weak-minded Miharu lacked the courage to speak. Nogi ignored her and continued scoring the other guys.

“Oh, next is Ishito-kun huh. 81 point�

“Wha, why is such a delicate weak boy receiving a higher score than my Kurino-kun!?�

“He is not yours you know~�

“Aa~, but I also like Ishito more. Glasses boys are hot�

By the time she noticed, the girls who were waiting for their turns joined them and started holding a boy rating competition.

Naturally, Miharu, who had just transferred today, was unable to catch up to them and largely ignored the conversation── and then…

It was Kasugai Yuu’s turn came for high jump.

“Aa…………�

It appeared he didn’t notice her. From afar it appeared he was a bit tense. He was currently checking the condition of his sport shoe.

(Kasugai-kun, good luck……!)

She soundlessly cheered for him and involuntarily clenched her fist.

He was the only person Miharu knew ── excluding that certain Kodzuchi-something── in this school, and also, the person who knows about Miharu herself.

Earlier, during the break, he had stood at the hallway and waited for her to come out from the toilet to give her a strange advice “Our class, well, is a little bit noisy and filled with a bunch of irresponsible students, they are quite noisy but they’re harmless. So just take it easy.� Honestly, it was hard for Miharu to respond to.

She was certainly troubled as to how to respond, and not even sure if she was able to do it properly, but she felt a bit more comfortable thanks to him.

──Miharu had a secret ally. That fact became a cushion that softens the damage of her negative thinking.

When she returned her attention to the field, Yuu still hadn’t taken his turn. The student before him had failed to clear the bar and the mat position was being shifted so it took time to prepare. Yuu rushed to help.

“Kasugai-kun huh……�

Naturally, his name was also put onto the chopping board named ‘gossip’. The score Nogi, who was sitting right beside her, gave, deliberately rang in her ears──

“66 points, give or take.�

*Twitch*

Miharu felt her own cheeks cramping.

“Oo, Chairman. That sure is a harsh score you gave.�

“Nnn~…… His looks and attitude is not that bad though. He is also the most calm amongst the boys.�

“Yeah�.

“Well, how to say it… that is all he’s got.�

“Ooou, straight to the point.�

“Ahaha, that might be right~. He always goes home immediately after school and his private life is a complete mystery.�

“Unfriendly…… well not so much, but he sure is a little dark. He is not like that right now, but after school, he always wear such a depressing face, right~�

“And recently he also appears to be lacking sleep and all.�

“Or more like! Because Kasugai-kun told that idiot Kouta some exam test tips. Kurino-kun’s rank fell you know! Talk about needless favor!�

“That’s some unjustified hostility you know……�

As if they were at a shooting range, snapshots fired at Yuu were gradually being thrown into Miharu’s ears.

And the ‘first impressions’ spoken by her classmates unceremoniously swept away Miharu’s hesitation.

“……Is that so?�

“Eh?�

The first one to react to Miharu’s murmur was Nogi, who was right nearby. Her face showed delight upon hearing Miharu finally taking interest in the topic.

“What do you mean?�

“That person… Kasugai-kun, I had talked with him for a bit.�

“Ah, come to think of it, his seat is right beside yours.�

That’s right, for whatever reason Miharu’s desk ended up right beside Yuu’s. But this sheer coincidence surely helped her. If she’s with Yuu, she won’t feel as nervous anymore.

They had both slept next to each other every day after all. Therefore, in the matter of Yuu, she was the one who knew him the best among the girls in the class. Even Kodzuchi Fuyufu wouldn’t know that Yuu have a mole on his inner tight.

That small pride filled Miharu’s weak heart and allowed her to speak clearly like when she being Mifa.

“Yes. He surely does look a little bit clumsy but he is kind towards me. And even though he looks sleepy, he is still willing to help his friend to study for a test, doesn’t that mean he is a good, caring person?

Even now, look, he is going to help them fix the mat.�

The girls stopped and looked at each other pondering. They were recalling memories of him.

“Aa~…… come to think of it, when I spilled my juice in the classroom he helped me to clean it.�

“C-certainly he does seem to get along with Kurino-kun.�

With Miharu’s protest as a trigger, the girls’ opinion wavered, and the girls started exchanging glances with each other, trying to dig up more information from each other. ──Meanwhile, Miharu’s likability towards Tsukami, who was still focused on Kurino, gradually increased──.

Miharu felt glad and loosened up her face. It felt like she was being praised. Feeling her fatigue eased all of the sudden; she curled her toes.

(As I thought, like Clamp, she is the type to make a wall around herself…… Ever since I ran away from home I had no time to put on a façade)

Once she thought that way, Tsukami started to look a bit embarassed. She felt like laughing straight from the bottom of her chest.

──Thus.

Like a finance share, once it started to rise, people will start to invest in it more and more, likewise as the topic heated up, the girls’ voices began to show more and more interest towards the man in question.

“……Erm? He might unexpectedly… be a high quality man?�

“Now that you mention it, his face is my type.�

“He sure gives the vibes that he will do anything for his girlfriend�

“Not long ago, Itono said that his mother was a game creator. Isn’t that cool?�

“Ah, one time, during lunch break, I woke up Kasugai-kun who fell asleep to inform him that our next class was in a different classroom, and then he said �Thank you [7] � with a sleepy voice…… he was pretty cute. Kyaaaaaaaa~kawaiiii!�

“Ouh? What a very interesting event�

……………………

It was Miharu who said in a cold voice.

With a steel-like smile, she had immediately stood up.

Nogi went “?� as she looked up at her. However Miharu ignored her, and spoke as she looked at Yuu who had just finished fixing the mat.

“Therefore, that thing is only 40 points.�

�EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!?�

The girls’s united reaction towards Miharu’s re-evaluation of Yuu echoed throughout the poolside.

“I-it got lower…… really, from our conversation, it actually got… lower�

“Are you sure about that, Nogi-san?�

“Y-yeah……�

“The �Ya� in kindness is also �Yuu� in inductiveness� [8]

“So the�Ya� in kindness is…… �Yuu� in inductiveness…..!�

Nogi repeated to herself as if she was just struck by lightning. She wasn’t sure but it was probably better not to pry too much into it.

“People like Kasugai-kun worry about others too much and couldn’t make any decision by himself.

For example, let’s say you ask Kasugai-kun �What do you want to eat for today?�. His answer would be──��

Right before P.E during classic literature class, because her seat was right beside Yuu, she asked him �What should we do with tonight’s dinner?� through a note paper. Likewise, she then wrote �What do you want for dinner?� on the same paper, and his answer was,

“�Anything is fine�! Is that even an answer!? And then, when I made the food as I liked he ended up making a subtly reluctant face! Unbelievable!

That’s right── if you end up dating man like him, you will end up experiencing �If you don’t like the special spicy croquette from the supermarket in front of the station then say so from the beginning! �situation every day!

And because he was always like that, he will surely never confess to his childhood friend whom he liked, and will continue stretching his relationship with her and irritate everyone around him!

In the end, he will end up an idiot [9] who gives the daughter he had with another woman the name from his childhood friend! Yeah, that’s for sure!�

Miss-good-styled Miharu stood up with her exquisite swimsuit figure. It appeared that her tirade was haunted by the sense of crisis approaching.

“That…… that idiot huh…… well, it certainly is idiotic…. Huh..�

Nogi hurriedly nod up and down like a Akabeko [10] After watching them in silent, Rokkaku Hasuko, who was still wearing her swimming goggles, then said,

“I was thinking about Yuan Shao and Liu Biao�

Yuan Shao and Liu Biao are characters from �The Three Kingdoms�whose indecisive personality brought idiotic fatal flaws to both of their ruled domain.

Under their lead, the girls exchanged feverish whispers……

“A, amazing…… unlike us who can only make vague guesses…… just by merely sitting next to him for a day, you can make such specific and detailed observation as if you’re living together with him!�

“Are you a master? A love master?�

“The strength of her word was on a different level, it’s very convincing…… that’s right, 40 point.

Kasugai-kun got 40 point, 40 point equals to idiotic Kasugai-kun!�[11]

Like this.

Miharu receive acknowledgement and strange status within the class, whilst Kasugai Yuu had finally taken a jump. Barely jumping over the bar, he made a smile of satisfaction.

â—†

“Nnn~………�Kasugai household living room. Hajime Hidari was lying down and her throat rang like a frog on the sofa that Yuu or Miharu usually sat on when going inside �CtG� .

On top of her plump thin belly was a laptop displaying the biometric data taken from Haruha’s choker in real time. This psychedelic screen showing bizarre amounts of information might look like some kind of Avant-grade art to other people’s eyes, but Hajime is able to accurately grasp all of the information on it.

(As expected, with the absence of her �parental figure�, her mental stability greatly decreases…… this is bad, considering her condition get this bad on the first day. It might be impossible to have her go to elementary school for the time being)

She muttered inside her heart and shut down the laptop. After she moved the laptop to the table, she loosened her limbs and looked at the ceiling. As a woman who appears to be around the age of a college student, her appearance right now is what you would call untidy.

Since she was not under the gazes of her boss or colleagues, she was able to laze around, however her dissoluteness is notably remarkable today. Luckily neither that adolescent boy Yuu or no-nonsense Miharu are currently absent, her light clothes of summer sweater and tights are scattered on the floor.

Meanwhile.

Her observation target, Haruha was currently lying on the table watching TV.

Since she had already finished watching all episodes of her favorite�Revive! Mystical Priest Girl Rasupu-chan 5� up to the latest one, what she was watching now is a morning rerun of a period drama called�Kojyuurou Katanagoyomi Wanderer-Arc�.

However, Haruha whose mental age is way younger than her appearance seemed to be bored of the show excluding its sword fighting scene, and out of the blue she tried to stand up,

“Ouh�

“Gfuu!?�

As expected she abruptly jumped and did a body press on Hajime.

Regardless of her mental age her body had the mass of an eight-year-old. For Hajime’s body that has no abs in particular, the striking force from the impact wasn’t a joke.

“*cough*…… ha, Haruha-chan? What’s up all of a sudden?�

When she asked with puffed cheeks, Haruha buried her face into Hajime’s belly and answered.

“Don’t know�

“Then don’t jump out like that okay……�

“Somehow, Haruha feels itchy…… Haruha wants to break pots�

Born from a game, Haruha’s emotional expression is still a bit confusing. But it seemed Yuu and Miharu have gotten considerably used to it however.

Hajime tried to interpret it in her own way, and while stroking Haruha’s hair she asked.

“Are you bored? Want to go inside �CtG�?�

Usually during this time of the day, along with Miharu she went inside �CtG�, playing with the Nanny NPC Payakino, and having fun by doing some simple quest. But Haruha unenergetically rose up and shook her head.

“Somehow, Haruha can’t pull out the energy……�

(Well…… she certainly is lonely alright)

While letting out a small sigh, Hajime opened the notebook while holding Haruha. Her non-mental statuses are extremely high. With this.

“After I finish putting away my remaining work and eat lunch, do you want go outside and play�

“? Is it okay?�

“Yeah. Since now you can walk normally without falling over after all.

Let’s play outside till it’s time for Yuu and the others to return and go to pick them up�

Haruha’s cloudy face instantly wrapped in light. She then happily clung on Hajime’s chest.

“Thank you Hidari-chan!�

“Hey hey…… if you want to be spoiled do it with Miharu-chan instead�

As Hajime peeled Haruha off her while holding back her laughter, Haruha stared at her with a blank wondering look on her face. When she asked “?� with her eyes, Haruha reported with a loud voice as if she had made a great discovery.

“Hidari-chan is bigger than mommy, but has smaller boobs!�

Hajime threw Haruha to the carpet in silence.

â—†

The student cafeteria that was said to be made as a hobby by the first principal who did carry out his role as a chef once, is as always crowded with many students.Since it was right before the final exam, there were students who had their meal alongside student-use tablet above the table and eat while reading their textbook or notebook in the same time. Meanwhile, there were also some groups happily talking away foolishly, either not taking the tests seriously or just being defiant.In midst of all that, a pair of a boy and a girl was being shrouded by the subtle atmosphere.

“……Just what are you trying to do?�

The one who asked that was a boy who still seemed to be confused whether or not to eat the cheapest meal listed on the corner of the menu, the drippy rice bowl (average prime) [12] he ordered. He was class 1-C’s Kasugai Yuu.

“What?�

The one who answered back was, the girl who was currently facing him as she pierced her grilled mackerel meal with her chopstick. She was class 1-B’s Kodzuchi Fuyufu.

This girl who was still emitting some bizarre intimidation force ever since that morning, and as usual looked a bit sleepy and low-tension, was childhood friend of Yuu.

Yuu added small amount of soy sauce onto his rice bowl and then roughly stirred it together.

“What I was trying to say is, why did you come after Kugimiya-san?�

Fuyufu did not answer. She just simply appeared to be concentrating in extracting small bones out of her mackerel. Then she flat out replied.

“So you’re not together with Kugimiya-whatever huh?�

“She is with other girls from the class. It is best for her to get used to with everyone as soon as possible.�

The person in question actually planned to eat in the cafeteria. However, she got caught by some of the girls and forcibly taken away somewhere by them the moment lunch break began.

Tsukami who appeared to be the leader of the group said

“Master! I’ll treat you with a Sara-Udon bread [13] (but without its plate) but I have something to consult with you, please!�

Somehow, she seemed to be respected by them so it was very unlikely that she would be bullied.

Yuu put down his chopsticks, and opened his mouth as he stared at Fuyufu.

“……You see Fuyufu. I’ve explained this to you before, Kugimiya-san and Haruha are a part of a social experiment…… well, it’s basically about having those who have trouble with their family to live in one house for starter. But there are also observer-like people inside the house. So there is nothing dirty about it or anything.�

That was the setup they had established. If a third party comes to even inquire about it, this setup allows them to guarantee and establish a public benefit corporation without any actual entity as a cover up.

……Considering the fact that Haruha had become Haruha [14] , Yuu had prepared himself for the moment to reveal the truth. However, they were still under the control of a quite dangerous {{Furigana|authority|thing}}. Yuu and Miharu couldn’t run away from them with Haruha, and Yuu did not want to involve Fuyufu into all this.

“For once, this is a private experiment. So it will be lot of help if you don’t speak a word about this to others.�

“I’m not an Esper who can read other people’s minds though.�

Fuyufu did not lock her eyes with Yuu and say something that did not match the conversation at all.

“But Yuu is an incompetent fool who can’t even properly lie.�

“……It’s not a lie……�

“Heee. So from that social experiment-whatever,�Haruha�suddenly shows up?

What an awesome probability equal in a Planck scale? [15]

First of all “Haruha� was the name Fuyufu gave to her doll when she played house with Yuu when they were kids. Yuu hunched it, but it did seemed like Fuyufu still vividly remembers it.

Both annoyed and delighted by that, Yuu answered while trying his best to control himself.

“Tha…… that’s right. What an amazing coincidence!�

Seeing how Yuu was still being persistent about it, Fuyufu sighed as she locked her eyes with him.

“Like always, you’re a stubborn person. Did you forget that you ended up eating soggy cage all thanks to that boring pride of yours?�

“Wasn’t that when we were still in….. third, no, second year of elementary school? Just stop remembering old stuff.�

“I just can’t forget that kid’s boiled stupidity-looking crying face. Pfffft. Stop it. Don’t make me remember such laughable stuffs during my meal.�

Despite pretending to laugh while pressing her lips with the point of her chopstick, Fuyufu’s face still bore no expression. Although she was clearly mocking him, that gesture really made her look cute, he thought and he missed his chance to fall back. There was no way he could win.

Yuu gave up trying to persuade her and finally directed his chopstick towards his drippy rice bowl── when suddenly, he heard a small voice.

“……You sure used to cry a lot back then.�

“Well…… I was a little kid after all.�

“Is that──�

She didn’t finish her sentence.

For a while after that, both of them silently moved their chopsticks. By the time both of them were done eating, Fuyufu spoke.

“So you only eat that for today huh.�

Recently, Yuu often ate the daily special meal that had both high price and quantity. It was simply because he needed a lot of energy to deal with Haruha. However that day was an exception. There was a reason why he ate the cheap and small drippy rice bowl and he normally answered her question.

“Ah. Looks like I’ll be having that Soiren Mart super spicy croquette for dinner after all. For now, I don’t want to eat anything heavy.�

“……Mmnnn�

Yuu looked up because he felt that Fuyufu’s voice was a bit cold. And that, was just his thought.

Fuyufu who had already finished her meal faster, put her tray to the side and took a pose. She then laid both of her elbows on the table for rest and put her hand together right in front of her face. He had seen that pose somewhere. It was a pose made by a veteran detective in the middle of an interrogation in a police drama.

“Yuu, who usually hates spicy food decides to eat that hellish croquette for dinner. ──In conclusion, he is matching his food choice with someone else’s.�

“N-no, that……�

“Even though you dared to lie to me, you seem to be quite obedient towards that transfer student.�

As if she had pinned something, Fuyufu’s eyes stopped in motion. There was no violence in her stare. But, it felt as if it would suck anyone who got in contact with it. *Bzz* she was clearly displeased.

But despite all that, Yuu was still a “daddy�. So he couldn’t afford to be a child forever.

“To-…… I just wanted to have some spicy stuff today, that’s all!â€�

As he said that, he grabbed a bottle of a pepper that was in a set on the table.

“I’m not going be a kid forever so my taste also changes! Look!�

As it is, he poured the pepper onto his remaining drippy rice bowl. His pitiful display was just sad and maybe because of that ── or simply just taken aback by his action ── Fuyufu easily broke her pose and let her small body rest on the seat’s back.

“……Well, I don’t care anyway because that lie of yours will soon be easily exposed after all.�

And below that definitely not so big table, Fuyufu gently kicked Yuu’s shin with her leg. Despite not being that painful, Yuu still released a gaze of protest and Fuyufu return it with a challenging glare.

“Like always, wasn’t it?�

While feeling his instep getting stepped on by Fuyufu’s toe, Yuu could only turn his eyes away.

She’s right. Fuyufu had always exposed the truth behind Yuu’s lies. That’s why, in a way, Yuu felt relieved. As long as he had Fuyufu by his side, his lie would always be set correct. But….

…. this lie is one lie that he must hold on till the end, just for Fuyufu’s sake.

â—†

Hidari and Haruha arrived at the arcade.Located right in front of the station somewhere between Kasugai household and Yuu’s school, it occupied one of the corner spot of the shopping mall’s amusement facilities which was targeted for the resident of eastern housing complex.

It was a bit too modern to call it pastoral, but at least it was an idyllic sight.

And standing in front of the store,

“Wow, this place becomes fancier every time I visit�

Hajime muttered as she stretched her stiff shoulders since she hadn’t driven a car for quite a while. In the arcade that was targeted for all ages, the walls and benches were painted in pleasantly warm colours.

(It was kind of ironic seeing a hangover place for game-loving people painted in colours that were used in a school or a kindergarten)

She then remained silent and looked down to the child who was standing by her side.

She was Miss Kasugai Haruha in her Outing clothes coordinated by Miharu. While her legs were spread wide resembling the kanji for “person� [16] , her mouth was half-open as she looked around the place.

Hajime at that moment, lost to her curiosity and asked,

“This place is the infamous Hall of Fame, otherwise known as ‘The Arcade’. How is it Haruha? As a person who was born from a game.�

“It’s jumbly jumbly.�

“Well, that’s the good part.�

Is that so~…… Haruha was really impressed as she restlessly ran her eyes all over the places. From state-of-art arcade machine to ultra-longtime seller crane game, she was surrounded by varieties of game machines for the first time in her life.

“Yuu-kun and Miharu-chan just sent a mail saying that they will stop by here after school. Until then, let’s wait in a café or something�

“Okkie~�

Haruha’s face brightened the moment she heard the name of her parents. She then cheerfully nodded and turned around to the arcade.

“Still, it’s jumbly jumbly.�

Judging the shine in her eyes, it looked like she understood what Hajime meant who let out a sigh of relief and smiled as she passed a piece of card to Haruha.

“Hmm? What is this?�

“This is your purse. You can play the game after you plug this into the machine.�

Similar to when Yuu used credit card for shopping, Haruha immediately understood everything after hearing the explanation about the arcade mechanism. Hajime felt satisfied and sent Haruha, who was about to burst with curiosity, out there.

“I’ll wait on the bench over there. So have fun playing.�

And then, Haruha was thrown into the herd full of games.

“Ooo…… It’s sparkly�

While folding her arms seriously, she challenged the rock-paper-scissors that featured a prize to the winner. It’s a game where you play rock-paper-scissor against a cute lovely mascot in stereoscopic video and receive candy for each constitutive wins.

Haruha still hadn’t fully grasped the concept of common sense. But since she was good at reading, she instantly understood the system of the game. However, the card which ultimately became Haruha’s budget, only had 1000 yen in it.

“In here, a person can’t live when they run out of money…… which means money is like your HP [17] .�

It’s something Yuu told her once.

Haruha fortunately hadn’t experienced “hunger� yet. So sensuously, she still didn’t knew what it meant to be poor. However, she was excited for being entrusted with something similar to money that Yuu had cherished all the time.

“Being wasteful means game over. So Haruha must be good with this and help daddy out.�

At that moment, she remembered that she once tried to “Submerge a bottle in bath to increase its volume of water to reduce water expenses�. She had learned to do that from a TV program but eventually got yelled. Turned out she shouldn’t have done that while the Cola was still inside the bottle.

After thinking for a while, she decided to ignore the rock-paper-scissor game. She could play it with Yuu or Miharu at home anyways, and that sounded many more times enjoyable.

“Wonder if there are more games worth my time.�Haruha said, as a small boy probably four years old and a preschooler, in front of her ran pass her.

You shouldn’t run. It’s dangerous.

Haruha suddenly remembered what people usually told her. Perhaps, it might be beneficial to say them to that boy.

But, she didn’t.

Haruha couldn’t really move her body properly in real world because she was not a normal child born there. So it might end up being useless for real children ──

However, as she thought of that the boy lost his balance and almost fell.

“Aa!�

She instinctively cried, but suddenly, a woman dashed forward and caught the boy. From the looks of it, she seemed to be his mother.

The boy then held the hand of his mother, turned towards and said,

“I’m sorry for scaring you, Onee-chan [18] .�

With these words, he left with a smile.

Haruha then waved her hand and said “Bye-bye…�.

(……Should I have said it to him back then……?)

To her, he was a complete stranger. However, if he had gotten hurt, it would have made her heart goes muzzy. Unlike in �CtG�, where “things to do� would be listed right in your head, she was completely clueless on how to do so in real life.

“It’s so jumbly-jumbly.�

While feeling really hazy, Haruha went on exploring until she finally came across an irresistibly attractive game to play.

It was a crane game where you had to catch a cute little stuffed doll. It was called �Sheep Pot�, which was filled with a series of stuffed doll based on deformed sheep. Looking through the window one could see all the insides mixed in together like ingredient of a Nabe [19] .

“This looks fluffly-fluffy. Haruha will get this as a gift for Mommy.�

Miharu and Yuu should be surprised by receiving a present from Haruha and that would praise her for sure. And then the two of them would give Haruha a big huggy──

Motivated by her own delusion, Haruha pulled the footstool that was next to the machine and immediately insert her card.

For 100 yen, she could play only once and for 200 yen, she could play 3 times. But it was okay if she failed several times, and if it was too hard then she could just play other game. So, relying on logic as she always did, Haruha faced the mountain of stuffed doll.

──However Haruha was not aware that once you started playing it, it would not be easy to stop…

Several minutes later.

Haruha’s face turned blue as she looked at her own card.

──Her very important budget only has about a 100 yen remain in it just from merely playing a simple crane game.

At first Haruha tried to catch the doll from the very top, thinking that it would be easy. But it turned out it didn’t go so well. She managed to get close to getting it but in the end, she couldn’t get it into the hole.

After her 100 yen + 200 yen of 4 turn failures, Haruha finally realized that her current dexterity would be insufficient for this mission. But no matter how high the risk of losing was, her desire to give Miharu a present was just too strong for her to just give up.

As result, Haruha fell straight into the Arcade’s trap of money-wasting and continued to recklessly challenge the close-to-unwinnable game.

This crane game…… for Haruha, was exactly a swamp. A man-eating…… swamp!

“……It shouldn’t be like this……?�

If Haruha still had the money she wasted on the crane game, what more could Haruha do? She could have tried the one where Haruha had to fight crocodiles, or the one with a drum, or the one where cards shows up── Haruha could no longer play those games she wanted to play after this……

Then, she lost all her strength and sat down on the footstool she stood on. After that, she tightened her grip on her near-empty card. The lightness of it was exactly that of a splurge.

“This is, poverty……�

“You’re exaggerating�

A voice from above. It was not Haijme. It was an unfamiliar voice.

Haruha raised her blank fast and saw a girl looking down at her. She appeared to be younger than Yuu and Miharu. She was a short haired girl who was wearing a sports jumper [20] that hung above her uniform.

“…? Who are you?�

In �CtG� you could change to {{Furigana|Extend|AR}} mode to see other person’s name and simple status, but in the real world you couldn’t see other person’s information tag no matter how good your eyes were.

While playing with her dyed red tress the Jumper girl dodged the question and asked back.

“Which one do you want?

She directed her sharp gaze inside through the crane game window. Still clueless, Haruha climbed on the footstool and pointed the stuffed doll she was aiming to get up till now.

“Errm, that?�

“Geez…… you can’t even get that huh?�

The girl then set-in her own card. Then, she casually operated the control stick that Haruha was struggling with and easily got the stuffed doll. Two in fact.

“There�

She said as she passed the doll over to Haruha. Those two dolls were the “Glasses Sheep�, a glasses-wearing sleepy-looking sheep, and the “Brush Sheep�, an expressionless sheep with a brush on its mouth.

“Ah…… for me?�

“You suck at so much that it’s irritating. Have that and go home.�

This time, it was Haruha who spoke towards the girl.

“Oh traveler, please tell me your name.�

“No…… I said you’re an eyesore.�

“But mommy said it’s not good to accept an item from a stranger.�

On hearing the child’s argument, she came to the conclusion that it would end up being troublesome.

“It’s Sakura…… Kanna Sakura. Studying in second year of middle school.�

The girl unwillingly unveiled her identify.

“Sakura-chan huh!�

Haruha grabbed the stuffed dolls one at a time in each of her hand like a cheerleader pompom, and gave a dazzling smile in return.

“Thank you, Sakura-chan!�

“………You’re welcome. Now that you know my name, scurry off home now.�

“Aa, Haruha is Haruha. Here is Haruha’s business card.�

She took out a card from her pochette. So even kids nowadays have business card huh…… Sakura thought as she receives it── she groaned.

“No…… You should never give your lost card [21] . to others you know.�

“But adults give these thing that has name on it to others you know?�

“That’s completely different thing……… Ah, that’s it. I’ll go somewhere else.�

Sakura replied as she held down her sigh.

To put it straight, Sakura was the master of game.

For starters to increase her mental focus, she cleared the slot medal game with her eyes closed. She hit all the crocodiles within one sweep, and she landed a Jolt Blow [22] on the punching machine── although for whatever reason she used her non-dominant arm for this ──

Once she had warmed up she, through Holo Skin and entire touch display, played various 2D to 3D game making her name become recorded on many new game national rankings.

And now, she was about to make a new record on a popular fighting game series──

*Clash*�　*Swoosh*�　�Sieya��

“Yah! Toh! Ah, he flew! He’s a Sumo-san but he flew [23]

“………………�

*Bam*�*Bam*�*Bam*�　�Here I go��──Dogaa�　K.O.!

“Yay! Sakura-chan’s & Sumo-san’s win again.�

“……………………�

You Win !　Perfect !!

“Haaa~…………�

Against the CPU-only boss character that was known to be “Too strong� before it got balanced by the developer, Sakura displayed an overwhelming victory, and with her ears she heard to cheering of a child.

“Sumo-san is strong�

“I’m the strong one here! That Sumo wrestler is just a shitty unpopular character!�

She was able to stubbornly ignore her comment with concentration, but by the time she had won, she had reached her limit. Sakura stood up and turned around. Then yelled at the girl who was watching her playing the game and comment every single second.

On her lost card, the name “Kasugai Haruha� was written, a child around the age of an elementary school kid.

Haruha without hesitation, faced her with sparkling eyes.

“Once Haruha is older, Haruha want to be a Sumo-san.�

“Listen to me!?…… or more like, what are you doing like, following me like a goldfish poo [24] .â€�

“Haruha’s game level is really low so Haruha will follow Sakura-chan who’s good with game and get her half experience point. There is nothing to care about.�

“Just stop! You can get only part of EXP by simply joining in battle only in an RPG!�

“But, Haruna got the trick now�

Haruha then tried to move her hand quickly which in the end, only looked like nonsense.

“That’s definitely just in your head……… Eh, oh well. I’m tired somehow.�

After losing her energy due to continuous session of playing games, Sakura sat down on the bench that was kept nearby.

“Haruha brought some snack from home. Haruha want to share it with Sakura-chan. Here, lets share-shary.�

Haruha dug the pochette hanging on her shoulder, and pulled out two individually packaged chocolate buns. With her doll-like small hand, she gave one of to Sakura.

“Ah, you see, share-shary is something Mommy says when eating. It sounded weird so Haruha always laughed. Pupupu�

Haruha began to laugh reminiscing what she just said. Sakura perfunctorily grabbed the bun and delivered a glare at the girl below her.

“………You’re, in elementary school right? Then, why are you here all alone?

“Haruha don’t go to school.�

“Oo, ouh…… is that so?�

Sakura’s face stiffened. It could be something she shouldn’t ask, so maybe that’s why following word failed to come out.

However, Haruha who had just unwrapped the wrapping paper of her chocolate bun spoke the words, was something beyond worse Sakura could imagine.

“Haruha, Haruha is not a human after all.�

“…………No no, you’re clearly a human.�

Looking at her again, the only thing that was eye-catching about her was only her bright flaxen hair. At least, she was way more normal in comparison to Sakura who had dyed her bangs. ……No, there was something familiar about those thick eyebrows…… Agh, can’t remember. Either ways, she didn’t look like an evildoer.

“But Haruha can’t eat things like asparagus. When Haruha chew it, Haruhra goes uggeee�

What she just spoke frankly didn’t make any sense.

“……You can’t eat asparagus. So how does that make you a non-human?�

“Because, Daddy and Mommy can eat it�

………………

For a moment, she pressed her finger on her temple and started thinking. She thought about it, but in the end she still didn’t get it.

“Wha…… wait a moment. Isn’t that completely normal? Things that you can’t eat but that your family can eat. It is a simple personal preference because even I can’t eat raw tomatoes�

Haruha, who was about to take another bite of her bun, suddenly froze and blinked her eyes in surprise.

“……Eh?�

“Eh?�

Both delivered “I don’t know� question mark through their line-of-sights to each other.

The strange child then spoke in stunned weak voice.

“Human who can’t eat human food is still a human……?�

Instead of scratching her own head, Sakura scratched Haruha’s hair who in turn squinted her eyes feeling ticklish.

“Yes, human! Or more like, it’s human-like! ……In fact, a person without any dislikes is weird.�

“Whoaaa, is that so~…… Thank you Sakura-chan! Haruha now remember that IF-Method [25] is no good!�

The scales have fallen from one’s eyes, was the idiom used best to describe Haruha at the moment.

“No, you……, haven’t you ever seen anyone having likes and dislikes before?

“Eh? No?�

Being told so frankly, Sakura couldn’t help but slam her face into her hands. Just what kind of life this kid had been living that made her to grow up this way? Restless but carefree, full of curiosity but naïve, endlessly cheerful but subservient, and somehow thinks that she’s not even a human……

(What the heck is she…… an idiot? What a strange girl I ended up with……�

Maybe I should run away, she thought on one side, as both of their eyes met. Haruha’s interest diverted back to Sakura.

“Sakura-chan’s wearing school uniform. But why you’re here?�

Haruha’s circumstance was pretty confusing to address, so it was more convenient that she diverted the conversation elsewhere. Sakura on the other hand, answered brightly.

“Well it’s obvious, I’m ditching school. For a delinquent like me, going to an arcade in this time of the day is natural.�

“Delinquent? Delinquents are good with game?�

“Of course, it’s obvious. It’s not so nowadays but back in the old days, arcade was the gathering place for the outlaws. In other word, delinquents are the master of games.�

“Uoooh~�

While being deeply impressed, Haruha devoured the bun in her hand as she raised her head.

“Haruha’s Daddy is also strong in game.�

Then she lifted her eyebrows and displayed a fearless grin ── with puffed cheeks however ── and continued.

“Super strong�

“I see…… super huh. So strong that you had to say it twice. Well, doesn’t matter though but that smile of yours is annoying……�

Ignoring Sakura’s weak voice at the end, Haruha said

“Even against Memento, Daddy went like…… bang bang baaan! And defeat her. He is the best�

With heated voice, she went on talking about how she was proud of her father.

“……What game are you talking about?�

“It is �Cradle to the Glaive�. We always play it�

“Aaah, �CtG� huh. I also have an account for that…… or more like, aren’t you a Travel? I don’t know about this Memento monster thing, but it’s obvious you can’t win.�

Travel {{Furigana|PC|Player Carrier}} in �CtG� is an avatar that can’t attack in exchange of not getting damage, player who registered under 13 years old will forcefully have this avatar. But this girl looked like she didn’t understand such rule.

(But still…… this kid’s father, even if he’s very young he must be over thirty years old right? What the heck is up with him boasting his skill in a game in front of his daughter?)

That’s what she thought, but his daughter was really happy. So, it didn’t matter, maybe? At times like this, she must act like an adult and speak accordingly. “Well, having a father who would play together with you is gre──�

“Sakura-chan is strong too, but not as much as Daddy~�

“What did you said you pipsqueak?�

Take back that previous statement. Sakura was really not the person who would lose to a father bragging about his gaming skill in front of his kid who was already this big. She then tried to give her a headlock [26] , but Haruha just happily let her do it to her out of joy. What a tough child?

“……Listen, kid. For the past three months, I’ve only lost in a fighting game match once!�

“Did you lose to other delinquent?�

She clicked her tongue and released Haruha’s head. Then she roughly devoured the chocolate buns into her mouth.

“……He is not a delinquent though……just someone with a dumb face── that’s right, he has eyebrows just like you! He is a guy though. Aaah~…… just remembering him sickens me.�

This time she knead Haruha’s eyebrows with her finger, but Haruha instead closed her eyes comfortably.

“Unya……n? Why are you so mad?�

“Well…… I lost to a person who used filthy tactics in a fighting game I am most confident at ── I hate people who use such turtle-like tactics in those kind of games ── And then he── my opponent…… after he won, displayed an annoying face and said�Thank you. It has been a while since I normally had fun playing game�. He was kidding right? What the heck was with that�Normally had fun�crap? Just what game is not normally fun? Is he saying that I’m just an average level opponent?�

That was the unforgettable seed of anger for the past three months. Even though he won, even though he easily took away something from Sakura’s heart, he looked very lonely and his thanks at that time didn’t sound like a lie.

After so much humiliation. And yet,

“And yet, he never showed his face ever since. So, I can’t take my revenge. I tried to look for him around the store nearby, but couldn’t find him…… what a playful bastard.�

After all her complain, Sakura felt relieved as she shut her mouth. Just why did she talk so much in front of a kid she first met?

However, when she glanced towards Haruha, for some reason she nodded with a know-it-all face.

“Haruha know Sakura-chan…… Haruha too will be sad not meeting someone Haruha want to meet. Daddy too, looked sad when unable to meet his Mommy�

Appearing to be reminiscing something, Haruha downheartedly dropped her shoulder. Sakura didn’t know what she was thinking, but at least she knew that Haruha was having some terrible misunderstanding.

“I just want to fight him again, not to me──�

She was suddenly cut off before she could finish,

A child’s feverish body temperature and odd weight, then rested on her knee. Haruha had slowly stood up and hugged her.

“……Wha, what are you doing?�

“When Haruha feel lonely, Mommy and Daddy would give a hug. Sumo-san looks lonely so Haruha will give a hug to him too.�

“What a misunderstanding you’re having here!?�

Sakura’s scream unleashed due to being firmly held by unexpectedly strong small young girl, was drowned in the immeasurable electronic sounds of the arcade ──

â—†

“You didn’t stretch your leg�“……What?�

It was four o’clock of the summer afternoon, yet the day was still bright. The evening sky emitted heat strong enough to melt a candy, and the humidity seeped through the ground.

Kasugai Yuu was heading to the Arcade Hajime had instructed him to go to. He had been there before with Kouta and others, so he was able to move his footsteps without hesitation.

The one walking by his side was the Transfer student ・ Kugimiya Miharu. In order to hide their relationship, they exited the school differently and then regrouped in front of the station. And the first word spoken after that was “Your legs were too low�. What does that mean?

Still not getting used to her uniform, Miharu was motionless for each few steps she made.

“During PE in the fourth period. When you did that high jump, your body had passed through the bar, but you didn’t stretch your legs and end up failing�

“Kugh…… did you see?�

“Yes�

During that time, the girls should be swimming at the pool. And come to think of it, you can see the schoolyard pretty well from there.

“You have enough jumping power but your form is bad. If only you can fix that, you can jump as well as Kurino-kun�

While pointing her finger at Yuu, she began coaching him. There was no trace of tension like the one she showed back in class. Just like in their house── the Kasugai household, Miharu was perfectly relaxed now. She was probably just venting all the frustration accumulated from being surrounded by the girls for the entire day.

It’s not like he was not pleased by that, but what she said was just too unreasonable.

“Well, Kurino is the track and field team ace after all. It’s natural that I lost to him. I’m satisfied with just breaking my own personal record�

“And because of that, your records are always half-assed. On your last jump you thought you won’t make it and just gave up outright. It was shameful you know�

“……What does my jump has anything to do with that?�

“That……�

Miharu shut her mouth and swung her eyes left and right. After needlessly idling with her mouth, she finally found her answer and said it.

“That’s── because, you’re Haruha’s daddy after all。 Haruha’s shame is my shame�

“Okay, okay… I get it�

“Wha!? What the heck is with that sloppy answer! ……That’s why you──�

Then Miharu blatantly said an unexpected thing.

“Called a 40 point-worth boy by the girls in the class!�

“Eh!?�

Obviously, that was something he cannot let pass by.

“What the heck is that!? Am I hated that much?�

“Tha-that’s right? You were said to be indecisive, idiotic, and something like that.

……Well, I casually do some follow-ups though. Like, the �Yuu� in inductiveness is also �Ya� in kindness, and such……�

Miharu who was stubbornly avoiding eye contact and pouring sweat was certainly suspicious, but it was unlikely that she would say such unruly random lies.

He was certainly not popular, but receiving such a low rating was surely depressing. Yuu heaved a sigh and lowered his head down.

“Well I am aware that I’m not that close with the girls…… but hearing the cold hard truth head on is pretty harsh. Uhaa, depressing�

What Fuyufu calls “Yuu-bocchi� [27] is no longer a joke now. But rather than being hated by the girls in class, it’s more about how Fuyufu would be more snarky; just imagining that makes Yuu heave a sigh.

“………But still, I’m relieved�

“Eh…… I knew it, Kasugai-kun, could it be you’re the type who likes being despised?�

“What do you mean by that!? Don’t act like Memento now!

Being yelled at, Miharu depressingly replied “Then why do you like Kodzuchi-san?�, but he decided to ignore it. Talking about Fuyufu [her] would make this conversation unnecessarily confusing.

After coughing, he rephrased his words.

“Kugimiya-san, it appears you’ve become quite accustomed to the class, enough to talk with other boys’ right? Since you looked pretty unwell this morning, I’m glad. As expected of Mifa I suppose�

He was aware of how embarrassing his remark was so he avoided eye contact by only facing forward, but there was no response from Miharu at all. Curious, he glanced to his side and saw no one, turns out she had stopped walking and was holding onto a telephone pole with her hand behind him.

“Wha, why �Remorse� pose?�

“Nothing…… it’s just a self-loathing stroke, please leave me alone�

Miharu then quickly walked off and became completely silent.

(As always, I can’t understand her……)

Several months had passed since they first met in the game, and one week has passed since they started living together in the real world. Still, he couldn’t understand what she’s thinking. Furthermore, she is his daughter’s mother, an “instant family�. But at least he knew that she’s not a bad girl……

(Well…… but, I guess that’s how it is)

Yuu’s parents were similar in some sense; he doesn’t even know how they got married in the first place. The only thing Yuu, their child, knew was that nothing good happened after their marriage.

(Just because we’re family, it doesn’t mean that we always get along well with each other)

Remembering his mother like that makes him feel less depressed.

Regardless of what he said, he felt saved by Miharu’s presence── as he was thinking about that, they’ve arrived at the shopping mall where their destination, the arcade, was.

“Ah! It’s Daddy!�

Shortly after they set foot into the arcade, they heard a completely familiar peppy voice.

As they swung their eyes to the direction of the voice, they saw Haruha who was sitting on a bench and was now running towards them. She ran towards Yuu and Miharu quickly. Haruha had considerably gotten accustomed to the real world, but her running form still looked dangerous.

As expected, her small body tripped midway and was caught by the two of them in time. They gave her a scolding mixed with sighs of relief.

“It’s not good Haruha, you shouldn’t run in places with lots of things like this�

“Yeah~. There was a kid who was about to trip�

“If you thought about that then why did you run……�

“Un, sorry�

Haruha admirably apologized, and the Miharu’s stern face slowly crumbles into a smile. She knew that she was being too easy on her, but her face makes her feel bad to scold her.

──They’ve been separated from since this morning till the afternoon. Naturally Miharu’s desire to spoil her was stronger than anger. Watching the puppy-like Haruha and Miharu while grinning, Yuu then remembered something.

“……Come to think of it, where is Hajime-san?�

There was no figure of the woman who emailed them this location anywhere nearby. Once he looks around inside the youngster-filled arcade── what he found was a completely different person.

It was a girl around the age of a middle school student wearing a Jumper over her uniform. Somehow she opened her eyes and mouth wide and glared at Yuu.

Yuu then opened his eyes wide. He knew that Jumper.

“Eh, you’re──�

“I found you, you runaway bastard!�

*Zap!* with the vigor of lighting, the girl pointed her finger at him. Haruha titled her head in wonder.

“Daddy, you knew Sakura-chan?�

“? Haruha, you knew that girl?�

“Un! Haruha played with her not too long ago!�

“You were just one-sidedly following me around right!?�

From the girl’s loud shout, Miharu shivered and embraced Haruha.

“I-I’m sorry! This girl, erm…… not used with lots of things so…… Ha, Haruha, I said you mustn’t trouble people you don’t know right?�

“But Haruha knows her. Haruha showed her business card and learnt her name from her�

Haruha said “Right~� asking for an agreement from the girl, but she ignored her and went back to glaring at Yuu.

“That day…… ever since that day you defeated me in �Ultra Battle Era�, the game where I was known to be peerless in the neighborhood! I had shed much blood and tears undergoing an intensive training, in order to defeat you!�

The girl declared passionately. Miharu then asked with a tiny voice.

“Is that so……?�

“Yeah…… she is the middle school kid I fought with when I went to the arcade with Kouta and the others. Well, she was very strong! Her dynamic visual acuity and reflexes were way beyond human level. I did win, but my HP was close to zero at that time, it was really close�

“……Sounds fun�

Miharu sounded subtly frustrated, but it couldn’t be helped since it was indeed fun. At that time Yuu hasn’t met Mifa and Haruha yet, and he was obsessively devoted to �CtG�, so a fighting game was a good change of pace.

For the first time in a long time, he remembers what it meant to “play a game�. That’s why, for Yuu, it was a beautiful memory to remember……

But it appears the other side didn’t think the same way.

“My name is Kanna Sakura! Today I shall finally have my revenge!

Hehehe…… I shall remind you, I’ve completely analyzed your character, Push Yasokichi, in the past three months! It means your underhanded trick of using that unpopular character won’t work anymore!

“Wha……!?�

“What happened, it appears you got a hit there! Your face is completely pale!�

Roasted by the girl’s unimaginable enthusiasm, Yuu placed his hand over his mouth.

Pensively, he told her.

“……Sorry. Actually my character is…… Canadian Mask the Canada Hero�

“Then what was my entire three months for!? Then why, at that time you used Push!?�

“Well, I didn’t have any particular reason or anything…… I mean, Push’s lower large kick feels tempting, doesn’t it makes you feel like trying it out once in a while?�

“Like hell!�

“……I’m sorry, somehow�

“Don’t apologize you bastard!

Sh*t…… argh, it doesn’t matter now, come on let’s fight!�

Sakura was half-crying. Yuu also felt guilty for somehow wasting her three months of effort for nothing.

(What should I do? I do feel wanting to fight in a while, but today……)

“Daddy, Sumo-san is good at fighting games! Haruha says go for it�

By his side there was Haruha with shining eyes hoping to see Push Yasokichi. But this girl’s identity has some circumstances to take care of.

Thinking the same thing in mind, Sakura looked at Haruha with a suspicious face.

“……Oi kid. Why do you call this guy your dad?�

“Nn? After Haru──chrough�

Before the idiotically honest Haruha answered, Miharu silenced her from behind.

“A, ahahaha…… we’re this girl’s relatives. We’re just playing house�

Haruha flopped her legs in objection, but she quickly succumbed to submission in a matter of seconds to the softness of Miharu’s breasts. Usually Miharu was a timid person and a poor talker, but when it comes to protecting Haruha, she would react instantly on instinct and with great force.

“Ha, haaa…�

Rather than being convinced, it appears that she felt overwhelmed by Miharu’s breasts that had manage to bury Haruha’s entire head in one go.

Yuu found a chance in that. The rhythm he had when he used the Push Yasokichi’s ultimate deathblow “Pegasus Rolling Kawazugake� during his battle with Sakura reverberated in his head──

“──Well then, it appears our Haruha had caused you trouble so thank you!

This is just something I forgot to eat when I was hungry though, but take it!�

While babbling something quickly with his mouth, he took out something from his bag and forcefully placed it in her hand. Sakura said “Eh? Ah…� and reflexively received it before looking down on what was now in her hand.

It was another chocolate bun.

“Well, this actually makes me thirsty though……�

──But by the time she looked up with a bored face after receiving the same thing twice…

Yuu and Miharu had fled from the area while carrying Haruha with them in a hurry.

……………………

She collapsed on the floor and could only weakly wave back at Haruha who waved at her while being carried like a bag.

“HE RAN AWAY AGAAAAAAAAAIN!!!!�

Kanna Sakura’s scream dissolves in the electron roar and high-pitched force of the surrounding, and accelerated the rhapsody of the evening arcade.

â—†

“Well, good work. It was hard right�Shortly after they returned back home to the Kasugai household, Hajime greeted them with words of appreciation as if it was other people’s business.

Hajime showed up shortly after the incident and drove them home back to the Kasugai household.

“After all this was the first time Haruha ever interacted with ordinary people alone. I wanted to watch over her without interference for as much as possible. Thanks to that I was able to gather extremely useful data�

At the very least, she confirmed Sakura’s identity and determined that “She has an arrest record but no criminal record, and was not allowed to have propensity of danger.�.

“Well, naturally we didn’t think that she was Yuu-kun’s acquaintance

Well well, the world sure is a small place�

Hajime crossed her legs and started entering information into her laptop. She must be entering the results of Haruha’s communication skill or interpersonal stress test or something.

While putting on an apron in preparation for making dinner, Yuu directed his grim eyes towards Hajime.

“It’s not a laughing matter. What will you do if Haruha’s identity got exposed?�

“Its fine~, no one will believe her anyway. Even if she said that she was a child born in a game, all adult would say she played too much game or something�

“Well you’re right though……�

The person in question, Haruha, was currently taking a bath together with Miharu. When he listens carefully, he could hear the sweet ping-pong ball-like voice. She must be reporting today’s events to Miharu.

Naturally, his eyes shifted towards the two sheep stuffed animal dolls happily lined up on the table. Those were the “presents� Haruha gave to Yuu and Miharu.

That’s right, for the first time, Haruha “went out� without their presence. His mouth that was about to bitterly scold Hajime involuntarily loosened.

“Well, it’s good that Haruha is having fun�

“What an overly-doting father you’re�

“That might be the case�

Yuu couldn’t figure out what was the intention of the human equilibrium institute that Hajime is in, but Yuu had already made up his mind to be a doting father to Haruha. All for the girl who needed him, laughed with him, willing to bet her life for his sake, and giving him a present like this.

No matter how non-standard of a child she is, his reasons to do anything for her continued to increase each passing day. That’s why.

(I must also once again say thanks to that junior high school student for taking care of Haruha……)

Next time she demand a match, this time, without running away, he will stand and receive her challenge in full force. As a gamer, and as parent who had his daughter taken care of by, he has the obligation to give thanks to Sakura.

But.

He was worried. Just why was that girl so stubborn about games.

â—†

Along with the curtain of the night, a thin shower fell.Kanna Sakura who brought no umbrella had to return home all drenched wet and her anger towards her mother who welcomed her at the door increased. Back home early, broke curfew, and had forgotten to bring her folding umbrella, it was a disaster.

“I didn’t do anything that would make father look bad�

“You, it’s not what I──�

She ran from her mother, who scolded her while holding a stew pot, and jumped into the bathroom.

She carefully wiped and folded her Jumper, and took off the rest of her clothes similarly. After washing herself a little she sunk herself into the bathtub.

The pleasant hot water melted her cold body and makes her say “Fuhaaa~~� out of comfort.

“……What a terrible day today……�

It was all okay for just coming to a secluded arcade she frequently goes to, but her mood was quickly ruined when she was followed by a self-proclaiming non-human brat, and also, she wasted most of her pocket money in the end.

Furthermore, when she finally found her nemesis claiming to be that brat’s relative, in the end he ran away. A sudden golden opportunity was wasted.

And to top it all off, it rained and she got wet thanks to it. She is cursed.

……or maybe not, strangely she didn’t feel tired at all. It feels like she saw Haruha’s innocent smile that was stuck in her head floating above on the ceiling. She remembers the time when she got jealous seeing a neighborhood kid own a puppy when she was little.

(That brat, despite being so small she sure is energetic……)

Maybe she was like that when she was her age. That might be the case. No, just recently she was also like that.

Ignoring the onlookers she continued to practice Judo, and as a result of her effort she was known as a genius.

That side of her is no longer in her, but in exchange she reigned across the country as a top ranker in many games. She never fights any top players who had their names on the magazine, but excluding those monsters, she has the pride of being the strongest.

But to put it in another way, that is the only thing left remaining for the current Sakura. She was running in an invisible rift, chasing after the shoulder she unconsciously touched. That vision was engraved into her consciousness.

That’s why she wanted to get it back, by defeating Kasugai Haruha’s “daddy�.

He managed to run away today, but it’s not like she gained nothing from it. What Haruha said──

�It is “Cradle to the Glaive�. We always play it�

It’s a big game. Furthermore there is information that he defeated Memento-something, an enemy. If she read through the news log, she might be able to find him in the large world of �CtG�.

Sakura then stood up from the hot water and clenched both of her fists and hit them together.

“When it comes to this �CtG� or whatever, I’ll do it! I’ll find that guy for sure and settle my scores with him!�

From the direction of the hallway, a loud yelling voice was heard.

â—†

At the same time.And with the same objective.

There was another girl looking for Kasugai Yuu in �CtG�.

Sitting on her bed in the dimly lit room, there was Kodzuchi Fuyufu with the�CtG�-use headset Ramiel in her hand.

Dressed in thin pajama, she was stretching her sloppy thin legs. The weak cooling (wind?) hitting her body right after a shower felt pleasant.

A week has nearly since Fuyufu started playing �CtG� she hates so much. After understanding her avatar and system controls and grasping the overall game world, she finally reaches the stage where she can begin pursuing her goal.

“……The heck is social experiment�

Remembering Yuu’s face when he “explained� for the second time back during lunch break makes her grumble. Her face that usually lacks expression is now showing clear discontent like a child.

──What a blatant lie, he is just messing around, he is hiding something.

It’s certain that he has some big circumstances in his hand, but it’s certainly not on the same level as what Yuu said to her. That was what her intuition told her from continuing to watch over Yuu all this time; she also felt that there was something otherworldly about that Haruha kid.

And the information she gathered in �CtG� matches her intuition.

“I’ll catch his tail and show him a thing or two for sure�

The rain outside the window broke the silence of the dimly lit room. The fluffy buzzing sound made her recall that day in her mind.

It was the day of Yuu’s mother’s funeral. It was quiet and heavy.

Under the rain, Fuyufu had decided── she won’t lie to Yuu anymore.

“Please…… please don’t ever lie to me anymore�

A “lie�, like the time when he refused to shed any tears after his mother’s death.

Quan, the house pet, cried in a grieve-like thin voice.

### 004. Terminus

## Santa Sangre

- Part-1

- Part-2

- Part-3

- Part-4

- Part-5

- Part-6

- Part-7

- Part-8

- Part-9

- Part-10

- Part-11

- Part-12

- Part-13

It felt like being in the sea of emerald green. It was the color of the sunlight passing through the transparent leaf, shining down from the cloudless sky shrouded by only the tree branches. Depending on the location, the color would change to blue, red or green, and strengthen the effect of elemental magic that shared its color.

“──In green places like this, wind and thunder elemental magic will be stronger.�

They were in the square right before the entry point, the church, which was one of 10 worlds in �CtG�. While looking up at the spreading sea of leaves above them, Clamp began to describe this bizarre sight.

──This is a world sphere with mysterious plants throughout the land, “Wizards’ Glaive�

It was a world of magicians where most magic-classified skills were banned. However, it was filled with difficult quests and dungeons that could only be cleared by mastering those remaining available magic spells.

The light passing through the layer of tree leaves gave many complex shades of green depending on the thickness of the leaves. As a consequence, it hypnotically attracted visitors. The world itself was literally a natural kaleidoscope of a fantasy world.

Kasugai Yuu’s avatar was Clamp, the adventurer. The group, which he was the leader of, had arrived to one of the town in Wizards’ Glaive, Raiankarydi.

Clamp was wearing swordsman-like equipment, just like he did in Dragons’ Glaive, but instead of armor that favored physical defense, he was dressed with a cape. He was a bit depressed after being compared to as “A Snufkin [1] but without the coolness� by Mifa.

And while looking at Clamp’s whole body from head to toe,

“Ahahaha, Daddy turned green. Like a poison slime.�

Haruha let out cheerful peals of laughter.

“But Haruha, it’s the same with you.�

He looked down at his daughter as he pointed it out. For her, she was wearing the same equipment when she fought in Gunman’ Glaive, but by dyeing it black through color edit, she now looked a lot like a small young witch. Naturally, Haruha, the witch girl, was also lightly dyed green.

“It’s true! We all green, we all great!�

While saying it like a slogan, Haruha rubbed together her ‘green’ hands. For Haruha, who was born from inside the game, her avatar in this world was literally her ‘real’ body. She was able to move her body more smoothly compared to the time she was Kasugai Haruha in real world.

From behind, someone placed a hat on Haruha’s head. It was a large brim pointy hat often used by witches in fairy tales. Looking through expanded mode, he saw the tag �The Wicked (replica)� marked on it.

“Ehehe, they sell this area-limited item here so I bought it�

The one who bashfully said that was Mifa, who, all of sudden, had bought the hat in question out of impulse from a nearby stall.

Mifa is Miharu’s avatar, but compared to Clamp and Haruha who behaved similarly to their own self in reality, Mifa behaved very differently, giving a very different impression.

Her blonde hair blended in with the sunlight passing through the canopy as if she was like an idol on stage. Furthermore, her avatar’s bright expression and lively way of talking was nothing like the real Miharu. At first, Yuu was puzzled by the gap between Mifa and Miharu.

Today in particular, she edited her costume black to match Haruha’s own black and it made her look more mature…… somewhat.

Haruha loosely opened her mouth and looked up at Mifa.

“Mommy, you look like NP Witch.�

NP Witches were computer-controlled witches and one of the enemies appearing in the game. They wore a black mantle and the matching pointy hat which “really� fit their real life counterpart.

“We’re match now” -Mifa

“That’s right, you look cute, Haruhaâ€� – Clamp

“Haruha look like a witch right?” – Haruha

“This is a world sphere with mysterious plants throughout the land, “Wizards’ Glaiveâ€�── The world of magicians.”

“We’re match now.�

Mifa then put on the same hat and 《Equip》 it. With this, the hat would never fall off on its own unless she received above a certain level of shock or deprivation effects.

Haruha 《Equip》 the triangle hat as well and checked her own appearance through the status window in front of her ──In there, she’s not dyed green──. Comparing her image with Mifa, she blushed. Whether in game nor not, the girl loved to imitate her parents.

Then Clamp who had just perused the map screen and confirmed their current location suddenly got pulled from below.

“Daddy, Daddy, Haruha looks like a witch right?�

“That’s right, you look cute, Haruha�

‘Ehehe’ giggled Haruha as she produced a smile, and then returned to Mifa in a good mood.

“He said we cute, Mommy!�

“Eh? Ah……�

They unconsciously looked at each other── Clamp and Mifa couldn’t say anything.

Yuu did think that Mifa in a witch outfit looked cute, but to say it that bluntly to the person face-to-face would have given off a very different meaning compared to the meaning when said to Haruha.

They had been able to comfortably talk to each other during the time when they only knew each other through their avatars over the internet. But now both of them are living in the same place.

The first to open their mouth was Mifa. She covered her eyes with her hat and stammered,

“Tha, thank you……�

“No…… unn, well…�

……………………

“──W-Well then! What is the thing we’re trying to investigate here?�

“Aah. They were often witnessed in the forest in this area──�

Knowing full well that she just blatantly tried to change to topic, Clamp gladly followed suite. In reality, their reason to be here wasn’t just to play around.

“They’re �Ghosts� that aren’t recognized as either player or NPC.�

â—†Part 2â—†

Over a week had passed since the day Miharu started to go to the same school as Yuu. It was also the day Haruha met Kanna Sakura.Their lives began to change little by little. That was, the nature of their uncommon daily life.

While preparing for the upcoming test, Yuu visited the nearby arcade during his way home from school at least once a day. Somehow he felt the need to be Kanna Sakura’s opponent, but it’s not that simple to meet her again.

Despite going to the same place and at the same time when they first met, he couldn’t find her. All he got was just the feeling of guilt when he discovered the name SKR, a Push Yasokichi-user, in the game’s high score list.

Why did he search for her like this? It might have been because, Sakura from that time── looked like himself before he met Haruha and Miharu. A game was not something to be played with such a grieving face; he wanted to say to that face of her.

And commenting on Yuu’s behavior,

“I don’t mind about the thing with that middle school student, but what are you going to do with that Kodzuchi-girl? ……The two of you look awkward in front of each other.�

The one who said that was Mifa.

Miharu tend to refrain from saying too much, but in �CtG�and as Mifa, she showed no hesitation to say what she wanted to say. To add on top of that, she didn’t even try to hide her hostility towards Fuyufu. And yet, she was always interested about Yuu and Fuyufu’s development in their relationship.

(Kugimiya-san did say “I’ll support you�, but……)

Miharu herself had no intention in getting along with Fuyufu. It also appeared that Fuyufu felt the same way. In short, they had bad chemistry with each other. They always glared at each other every time they met in the hallway or on the way to school. Unfortunately, Yuu was in a delicate position where he couldn’t support either of them.

His childhood friend who had always been by his side from afar versus his “daughter’s mother� whom he 《Married》 inside the virtual world. For Yuu…… having either of them as enemy was not an option.

That’s why── all he can do was to prevaricate the topic.

“Like always. But, that’s okay. Being suspected by her…… is common practice�

“Mmnnn……�

Mifa appeared to show a lack of interest. At first glance, she appeared to be acting normally in front of Yuu despite his relationship with Fuyufu…… but, somehow she seemed to be regretting something.

“More than that, are you going well with the class? From what I see, you seem to be liked a lot.�

“…………Somehow they recognize me as a romance master…… Ah, I’ve restored your point up to 50.�

He had absolutely no idea what she meant by that, and she said nothing more. Miharu herself appeared to be occupied by her weird title.

It seemed that she got along well with the girls in the class, but it looked like she still didn’t have a friend whom she could talk to casually.

“Haruha is stronger than a raging whale!�

“This is the pulling overarm throw [2] !”

“Kyaaaa~~�

Meanwhile, Haruha was happily doing sumo practice with the NPC Nanny, Payakino. Haruha happily screamed as she was thrown by Payakino, the giant mushroom stuffed doll. It’s Haruha’s favorite activity recently. (By the way, ever since Hajime hurt her hip from playing sumo with Haruha, doing it in real world is now forbidden.)

“Next time Haruha meets Sakura-chan, Haruha will show her Haruha’s sumo skill!�

“First of all, you need to solidify the basic and enhance your skill.�

For the sake of her reunion with Sakura, Haruha was fired up. She sure liked her a lot despite having only played for a few hours together. Although, it’s still a mystery as to why she called her Sumo-san.

Believing the person whom she only played with once as a friend── such childish innocent thought. Her belief that she will meet Sakura again reminded Yuu of his own childhood self that he had forgotten.

(Since when have I become this tactless……?)

Right now, his only friend whom he could talk to comfortably was just Kouta. It’s not like he wanted to become popular, but he felt that his current lifestyle forced him to avoid others.

(No wonder Fuyufu got irritated.)

Ever since he started taking care of Haruha, he was able to view things objectively by himself.

And in the middle of such fresh and peaceful days, that man had appeared out of the blue.

Niiro Mansei, a high-ranked researcher of “Human Equilibrium Institute� who used �CtG� to create Haruha and entrusted her to Kasugai household in the real world. He’s a mysterious slim man in black who wore fake smiles below his round sunglasses.

“Well, actually regarding �CtG�, we have a potentially problematic topic at hand.�

While sitting straight and entwining his hands together, he brought out the ominous topic. He was well aware that he made Miharu his enemy during his last “favor�, so he came in when Miharu and Haruha went out for shopping.

“……So what do you want by telling us this?�

“Well well, please listen to me first. You will know soon enough.�

Niiro remained calm, but his forcefulness wouldn’t take no as an answer. He had easily crushed his escape option of saying “I don’t want to get involved so I won’t listenâ€�.

“For starters, the first problem. It is something reported by the players.

In the vicinity of Raiankarydi in Wizards’ Glaive, we’re hunting an unknown group.�

“Unknown……?�

“Yes. Their appearance is that of a normal avatar, but when inspected through extended mode, the texts were all garbled up and we couldn’t get anything. ──Aah, by the way do you happen to know what this is about?�

“Why do you ask me that?�

“Aren’t you the best person to ask about �CtG� bugs?�

“……I don’t intent to be one, and I don’t know any such bug.�

“As expected, this is quite a problematic matter. They are neither a player’s avatar nor an NPC, an existence uncontrollable by the system. We have the duty to immediately clarify their identity and to find out what created them. You understand why right?�

Of course. If such unknown existence went rampant in large quantities and interfere with the game’s controls, it will certainly harm Haruha who must periodically log-in into�CtG�to sustain her life. However, Yuu yelled in an irritated voice,

“Then…… why do you tell me all of this? You people should just──�

“Yes. About that, I’ll explain to you after I talk about one more thing.

Well then, the second problem. This was brought up by the user’s family, not the user themselves. I wonder how to say this……. it’s more abstract compared to the previous one.

Their personality changed. Immediately after playing �CtG��

“…………It’s not just their imagination?�

“The changes are extreme. One day their personality changes all of the sudden. And each one of them changed differently, there are those who become more cheerful and there are those who became gloomier. Amongst them, there was also a kid who had locked himself inside his room for 3 years suddenly becoming sociable.

We’ve received over 10 reports of these cases, and considering the potential crisis we may have to face, we can no longer ignore this.�

“You are saying �CtG�can modulate a person’s mental state?�

“Needless to say, normally it can’t. In order to prevent itself from making any chemical changes to the user’s brain or spinal cord, Ramiel is equipped with many layers of safety mechanisms.

But still, Kasugai-kun. You know there are exceptions for this.�

“Memento Coppelia……�

A personality created in the virtual world like Haruha. Memento was a prototype who failed in the real world and ended up with a corrupted mental state. She had the ability to bring physiological impact to the player’s real body in the real world. However, she was eventually defeated by Clamp.

With her ability to bring divergence in an instant, she managed to kill Yuu once.

“That’s right, an ability that Hadzar acquired on their own── we call it the Absolute Unit Evolution [Man-Mod] .

In Memento’s case, she activated the activity of the person’s mirror neurons, and exploited their communication strengthening ability and caused them to experience strong reactions towards pain. Just like hers, if it’s something that causes a non-existing phenomenon then there was a possibility it was able to bypass the safety lock.

Therefore, there is a possibility of the existence of another team experimenting Hadzar possessing a Man-Mod that we are not aware of.�

──Finally.

Finally he got to the heart of what it was about.

“Are you planning to have Haruha face another Hadzar?�

Only a Hadzar could defeat other Hadzars as both possessed overwhelming fighting power in the virtual world. Therefore, he had used Haruha to deal with Memento. But.

“The one who defeated Memento was me. If there is a need to fight other Hadzars, from the start, you should have let me──�

The boy tried to place his hand on his chest, but the man in glasses stopped him.

“Just calm down for a second. It does not necessarily mean you have to fight. First of all, we’re still not sure whether it’s the work of a Hadzar or not, and it’s not like all Hadzar is like Memento, we might be able to talk this out.

For the time being, we ask you to investigate this matter.�

“It doesn’t have to be us right……�

“──Sure, we can just leave the management to our staff. You’re right. However, we have a promise to be not be directly involved in cases with a Hadzar’s involvement. On other hand, people from the institute are forbidden to blindly interfere until we confirm the involvement of a Hadzar.

Therefore, we request Kasugai-kun and others, who’s on the boundary line of general users, to investigate this case.�

Niiro Mansei adjusted his sunglasses with his middle finger and it casted off a faint ── very faint, close to non-existence ── smile for the very first time.

“Do you understand?�

â—‡Part 3â—‡

──Like hell I know you bastard! He thought, but it’s the truth that he has no option but to accept his proposal if he wanted to consider Haruha’s safety. And even if it’s not, it doesn’t change the fact that this is urgent.Haruha should be a precious sample for Niiro, but even so he still tried to have her fight Memento despite her questionable chance of winning…… In the end, Yuu and Miharu had no option but to protect her by themselves.

Later he talked about it with Miharu and she replied with “Just investigating right……� while making a frown and agreed.

As he reminisced the event, Clamp was walking through inside the forest where the “ghosts� were reported to be seen. As he had expected, the landscape was stained by the green light passing through the semi-transparent leaves clouding [3] above. As he pushed through the cotton-like soft undergrowth, he advanced to the center coordinates of the sightings.

It was like a mirror maze where all you see are just trees, leaves, and grass, but fortunately this is a game world. No worries about getting lost since you can just simply open your map and check your current location there. Even their footsteps are recorded.

Throughout the Wizards’ Glaive, Yellow Brick which is a shining yellow brick road spreads across the place. Just by walking on that road, your Spirit Point [Skill Point] , which you use to use skill and magic skill, recovery rate will increase, therefore this in this World Sphere where the usage of magic is essential, most adventurers chose to travel on this road. [4]

However, the “Ghost� Niiro talked about seems to be hiding deep in the woods, far away from the road, which enforces the strangeness in the situation.

In such a sinister forest,

““Payapayapayapaya Gyafun♪ Gyafun♪

Toady’s lunch is… what, hoi♪ (hai♪）��

There was the happy and carefree singing voices of Mifa and Haruha under the sky of the sea of tree.

““After the rain, the mushrooms go boom♪ (boom♪)� [5]

While holding Mifa’s hand, Haruha pushed her tempo and loudly sang, following Mifa. Haruha loves to imitate MiharuMifa, and she used the guitar case she got from Miharu when Miharu ran away from home and made it into her toy box. Among all thing, to sing along with her is her favorite. With a strong infectious smile, she lightened Clamp’s stiff legs.

By the way, the song that they sang was �Ugo☆Ugo Fever�. It’s a funky soulful song written by Payakino by making full use of its songwriting routine.

At first glance, they look like a pair of mother and daughter witches ──Or more like, sisters── enjoying a picnic. But, set aside Haruha, Mifa was actually exercising her skill. She used magic using a singing voice called 《Curse Song》.

《Curse Song》 is about singing to match the fixed songs ──It doesn’t matter what the lyrics are, but like a Karaoke rating system, depending on your voice volume and intonation, the effects subtly changes── as such, the desired effect achieved from simply singing is divided into two types. The one Mifa was currently using is the latter, to detect presences depending on the range of her voice──

“Nn!　……《Soundwave Search/Song》 [Active Sonar] reacted to something!�

Mifa and Haruha’s carefree song abruptly stopped and changed into a tense voice.

“This reaction…… large numbers of people are currently fighting!�

Following the direction of Mifa’s line of sight, he saw a flash on the other side of the dense forest.

Just like what Mifa said, the plaza-like woodland they arrived at was filled with lots of people. However, the sight in front of them weren’t exactly what you would call a fight.

It was like a dispute between same or equal numbers of people ──around one, two, to three people──, if you look at it like that it looked like unilateral violations.

Both sides have strange appearances. Those on the winning side were wearing matching masks and cloaks that covered their whole body, making it hard to distinguish between them. The only obvious characteristic distinguishing them was just the numbers drawn on their mask.

Meanwhile those on the losing side each wore different individual mantles and a hood that covered their faces. The only common point between them was just their covered faces.

While the masked man went forward, defending themselves from the swordsman’s counterattack who was aided by defense magic, they overwhelmed the hooded group with magic attacks by the rear guard.

The hooded group tried to do the same and made a counterattack but the gap between their cooperation was far too huge. The attacking big swordsman was hit by a lighting attack and defeated; his legs were instantly cut off and rolled on the ground. And the bloody letters Cut Off! Stained the green world.

As he watched over the battle from a distance under the shade of a tree, Clamp leaked a puzzled voice.

“……Bingo, it’s the �Ghosts�. But, what is the meaning of this?�

Once he changed his vision to AR mode, he abruptly reached half of his goal. They’re the strange group with garbled name and simple status window. The problem is,

“The losing side is the one with corrupted display…… a bit unexpected�

As Mifa just said, the one getting defeated easily was the “Ghosts�. No matter how you look at it, the suspicious ones were those people in masks, but at very least they’re just normal players as seen through the display.

To be honest, it felt a bit anticlimactic. In the worst case, he thought that he would have to face a group of Hadzar. The movements of the people wearing hoods have too many individual differences and none of them surpass the power of a normal human player.

In that sense, the masked group’s bizarrely rounded tactics [Manuver] was way more eerie.

(……Are they just a simple bugged NPC or a player with a broken display? If that is the case I would like to leave it to the administrator, but…… who the heck are those people in masks?)

It’s hard to decide. At this rate, the hood group will likely be massacred, but it’s hard to imagine one will die simply from being killed in game, so it’s not a big problem. It won’t become a reason for Clamp and his family to intervene.

As he felt Mifa’s gaze of agreement, he will decide their next move── But then.

“Aa…..�

The Sound of a small voice from the side. It wasn’t Mifa. Along with Mifa, Clamp lowered his line of sight.

It was Haruha watching the masked group curiously. But now, the only thing in her eyes was one of the members of the hooded group. No, that hooded person was hit and blown away by the masked group’s attack, and she was looking into that person’s face.

That face.

That was the face of Kanna Sakura, the person Yuu had been looking for a while now.

The moment she realized that, Haruha’s figure had already disappeared from their protection.

The masked man marked with the number �４� had a duty to carry.

As the man who had mastered large varieties of magic attacks, he was the rearguard and attacked with 《Electric Arrow》 [Bolt Dash] , a magic attack with excellent power and a fast cooldown that surpassed its cost performance. Its only weakness was that it had a short and narrow attack range, but he compensated for that by having the vanguard swordsman to trump the enemy. As a result, his enemies amusingly fell onto the ground.

Once again, the lightly-armored girl was blown away and her hood fell. It revealed the face of their enemy. Naturally, it’s a familiar face, and the man delivered the final blow without hesitation.

They are “Ghosts� [6] . An existence that must be erased.

However.

“Saaaakuuuuraaaa-chaaaaan~~!!!�

The targeted girl was pushed down by a little girl who jumped at her and the man’s light bullet missed its target and hit a tree behind them.

�4� wasn’t the only one who was taken aback by the strange intrusion. Everyone who participated in the fight stopped their movement. A kid appeared all of a sudden in the midst of combat. Not only was her presence out of place, but the fact that they didn’t notice her until she approached them confused them.

“You, you’re… Haruha, from that time?�

From the way she called her name, it also appeared that the “Ghost� also knew about the kid. Meanwhile the kid rubbed her cheek against the girl’s breasts as if she wanted to crawl into them. [7]

“We finally meet! Haruha has mastered Sumo!�

She uttered nonsense, but one thing for sure, it’s okay to ignore what she just said. No matter how you look at it, she’s just a child who wasn’t even 10 years yet, if that was the case, she should be a Travel PC who can’t interfere with combat.

My attacks won’t be interfered with by her, so I can just ignore her and mop the floor with these “Ghosts� ── �4� thought. Naturally, the other masked men thought the same.

The masked swordsman �22� then swung his sword at the “Ghost� who was occupied with the little girl. There is no need for him to aim in this position.

“Wait! That kid is──�

The sound of a voice was heard from afar. This time, the presences were clear. Two people were running desperately pushing through the grass. They’re a swordsman-like guy and a girl who was wearing the same triangle hat as the earlier kid. Looking through the AR Mode, their names and simple stats were displayed; they’re just common players.

“I beg you, please back off for a moment! Don’t lay a hand on that kid!�

The witch-like girl was begging, but the words from the guy after her was a sincere urgent warning.

“Do you all want to get killed!?�

�22� ignored him and swung his sword. But, his blade missed its target.

His wrists that were unprotected by his gloves started sporting blood. Because of that, he lost his strength and his attack missed. Since when did he get cut, both �4� who was slightly away from him and naturally �22� himself had no idea.

If only they knew, they would have at the very least, put more effort into their defense.

But in the end �22�‘s body was ripped to shreds and he went down on his knee above a pool of blood that was flowing from his own body. If you got seriously injured in �ＣｔＧ� you will continue to recover like a vampire in an anime as long you still have Endurance Point Hit Point left, but you will still lose your strength temporarily when you bleed from injuries on your vital points. And then.

His fallen head was hit with a roundhouse kick, as his head twisted in a strange direction �22� turned into a Corpse [Mannequin] in an instant. Under Ramiel specification, no matter how many HP you have left, if your brain or spinal cord was damaged and can no longer maintain its connection, it will be treated as a game over.

It just felt too unsatisfying, hollow, and shallow to call it a fight── like an unfortunate accident that is overwhelmingly common. Like a pointless disaster.

In other word, just an unreasonableness commonly referred to as fate.

The one who accomplished that was the little girl who released herself from the “Ghost� girl all of a sudden── the kid known as Haruha.

She indifferently swung the knife stained with �22�‘s blood and tainted the green ground with red droplets. Seen through the shadow from underneath the brim of her hat, was the glow of her pupils.

Then, she turned her back to the confused the “ghosts�, and spoke to the masked men.

“Hey�

It was said in a light voice, lacking of any kind of hostility or malice.

“Why did you hurt Sakura-chan?�

�CtG� is a game that allowed battle between players, so there was nothing wrong── to answer like that is common sense. But, �17� who was in front of Haruha did not answer. Because it would be a lie. That’s why, he gave an honest answer.

“They are not human.

They are not supposed to be he──�

He failed to finish, �17�’s tongue was pierced with a blade deep into the base of his tongue and into his mouth, sewn down to his throat. Haruha who threw that knife then climbed up �17�’s bended body like a flight of stairs then produce a red light ball with her left hand and hurled it into �17�’s open mouth.

It was 《Exploding Fireball》 [Fireball] , elemental magic that will create an explosion upon landing. Its power is not a big deal, but when it explodes in narrow spaces, it will create an impact that was multiple times stronger.

Before �17�‘s back landed on the ground, he had already turned into a mannequin. His head swelled up all over the place and its insides was blown to shreds, there was no trace left of its former shape.

“Y…..you, are you really that kid from that time……?�

After she expressionlessly defeated the second guy, Haruha faced the “ghost� girl who spoke in an idiotic voice, smiled.

“Haruha, is strong in this game�

──This kid is nuts. And, apparently he had angered that strange kid.

Under their united awareness, all the vanguard swordsmen gathered around the girl and �４� and the other magicians shoot 《Bolt Dash》 magic all at once. Her left and right are blocked; there was no way for Haruha to avoid the incoming 《Bolt Dash》.

That was what it should have been. But.

The next moment, the swordsmen on Haruha’s left side were struck by knives on their thighs and their posture broke, and the swordsmen on the right side wondered── what just happened, all of them were defeated, their calves were torn, their waists were pierced, and their throats were slit. [8]

The enemy’s agility was not unusually high or anything. Just that her swift movements, passed through the gap of his senses, exactly like that of a well-executed magic trick…… as such.

All the lightning bolts lost its small target and disappeared once it passed its maximum range. The small Haruha’s figure disappeared into the grass like a snake. Then the second time she emerged, she pierced one of the bent swordsman’s throat with a knife and pulled out another knife from her thigh, then she hit the pommel of the knife that was in his throat with a palm heel strike and further added to the number of mannequin she made.

“Kugh……�

He instinctively groaned, �４� switched his skill. It’s a magic that took longer to chant [charge] than the one he had used earlier, but the rectilinear and poor to changes 《Bolt Dash》 won’t be able to catch that kid.

Other masked men connected to his will concentrated their sword and magic attacks on Haruha in order to buy time.

There was no need for words in their cooperation. Their absolute trust and genuine camaraderie makes a world without lies possible.

Haruha had shown extraordinary poise so far, but as expected she couldn’t handle the simultaneous attacks from all sides and gradually retreated as she stained the chasing masked swordsmen with blood.

Meanwhile �４�‘s skill finally charged. It’s a high-level attack 《Lightning Whip Attack》 [Lightning Whipper] he mastered when he was still adventuring alone. As the name implied, it’s a magic that created a lightning whip and wrapped itself onto the enemy. Not only does it have a wide area of effect, no matter how small or agile the target was, it’s impossible to avoid.

It rests on his hand, the band of lighting released the sound of heated oil. Simultaneously his allies retreats from the rays, and then he swung it up.

“Nngh!�

Along with a silent yell he swung it at Haruha. Above the young girl, the phantasmagoric lighting approach!

That moment, Haruha.

Thrust a knife into the stomach of the falling swordsman──

And threw it.

Naturally, it wasn’t, the swordsman’s body.

It was something thin, long, crimped, and wavy. That’s why it entangled with the lighting whip, and while emitting a nasty burning smell it sealed the whip’s movement. While entangled with the lighting, it was thrown in a rough and unexpected direction.

──Human’s guts, are said to have five times the length of the person’s height.

“Wha……!?�

Seeing his trump card avoided in the most unexpected way, for a moment, �４� couldn’t decide on the next move to take. He might have been able to hit Haruha if he shook it off by force. But, he failed to do that.

──Through the gap he made to use 《Lightning Whipper》, the triangle hat little girl approached with frightening speed. Stepping on 《Fireball》that she casted, she shot forward through the air, she used the recoil of the explosion and came at him like a storm caused by devil.

The last thing �４� recognized was the gooseflesh chill coming from his entire body when the tip of the knife that was thrust through the eye hole of his mask hit the surface of his eyeball.

Around the same time. Clamp and Mifa who ran into the battlefield had failed to prevent Haruha’s recklessness.

But they were also attacked by the masked swordsman. It was just one person; she had ignored Haruha from the very beginning, like a boxer, using a leaning posture she rushed at Clamp.

The number marked on her mask is �44�. Looking through AR Mode, her avatar name is Yusra, gender ♀ [Woman] . She must be aiming for parity since her level is equal to Clamp.

“Wait, we have no intent to……�

Fight, but even if he said that she wouldn’t listen. After all, at that time Haruha had already slaughtered scores of the masked men. There is no way she would spare Clamp and Mifa who were clearly connected to Haruha

Sure enough, no questions asked, the masked Yusra attacks. Unlike other masked men, she was not using swords or magic, but rather her fists.

Clamp managed to avoid it, but his cheek was hit and the blood splashing from the impact took form; Graze Hit ! . It was a fighting skill known as 《Meteor Fist》 [Knuckle Shoot] , it created bullet of fists in succession. It has speed equal to a professional boxer’s jab, there is no other way to avoid it other than using his intuition to work out where the bullet was aimed according to the angle it was fired.

“Kugh……�

There is no room for negotiation as expected. And against a dangerous opponent such as her, holding back meant death. And it’s not like he can log-out leaving Haruha alone in this situation.

(There is no way I can leave Haruha all alone!)

By the time he noticed he was told off by Hajime. “Well well, if you feel danger I can bring you back here� ── and such. Do you want to let other player get killed by Haruha!?

He clicked his tongue inside his mind and unsheathed Single-edged Sword [Scaramax] from his waist── at the same time, he blocked the second fist with the fuller part of his sword. Yusra’s fist seen up close, her shining red gauntlet cracked.

As it is, Clamp and Yusra began a fierce face-off at close range. They’re both too close to each other for Mifa to enter the fight or provide support. Mifa spoke from afar.

“Aaagh come on! What should I do here!? Do you want an assist song or something?�

“Mifa, you stop Haruha and learn about the situation from that middle school kid! There is no way of telling whether it’s good to fight them or not like this!�

The only thing certain here was that the avatar who had the face of Kanna Sakura is Sakura herself. That would explain her reaction when she saw Haruha. Why she’s a “Ghost�, and why she was being attacked by suspicious masked men, as long they don’t know why they won’t able to settle this matter.

They are not “Husband and Wife� for months for nothing, Mifa immediately understood and headed towards the rampaging Haruha. Yusra did not chase after her. For some reason, she aimed for Clamp alone from the very beginning.

“──You!!�

She took a back step away from the barrage of fist, and shoot through the repelled attack. Just like her opponent’s, it’s a high speed piercing skill that is impossible to perform manually. Either to avoid or block, it forces her opponent to break their posture and retreat ── such a underhanded trick

“Uuowaa!?�

And he fell along with the goofy scream of his own. His arm was taken, and he was thrown with what you would call a Judo one-armed shoulder throw. Being hit with an unexpected counterattack, he was helplessly thrown to the ground.

The reason why he couldn’t expect that was because skills with specification of “Once the requirement is met and activated, you will able to ignore the law of physic and automatically catch your opponent and throw him/her� does not exist in the game command. Throwing technique skill-specific preliminary action ──taking a fixed stance── did not occur. It was completely manual, in other words, he was thrown by the player’s martial arts.

Getting hit by weapon-less manual action won’t decrease his HP, but he will still receive the impact from it. Receiving a nasty blow on his back, he tried to wake up while enduring his clogged breath, and once again faced Yusra who charged at him with semi-auto high speed strike.

That time Clamp── smiled.

(She is amazing! This fighting style, not even mother who created the system would possibly expect this!)

A hybrid of the game system skill’s unrealistic high speed strike and flexible martial arts the player herself mastered in the real world. She mixed those two high level skills in harmony. Like a new type of martial arts.

(Discovery! This is a discovery! With this, one can revolutionize the game even if they aren’t one of the developers! Furthermore, her Kinetic visual acuity and reflex are way beyond normal level. She can become an amazing ã€�CtGã€� player!)

Wearing the face of a suspicious person, while dedicating a feeling of gratitude he was driven by the desire of wanting to get beaten by her. No, he’s not a pervert. For him, she is the benefactor who thought him a “Way to enjoy this game� that he didn’t know. Kasugai Yuu’s awareness of “Must play through �CtG�� is that strong.

But, he can’t stay happy from finally meeting a worthy opponent forever. Right now Clamp is not a unresponsible [Solo] adventurer, depending on the identity of those “Ghosts� it possibly won’t be a play [Game] anymore.

“I’m sorry but…… I must go to where that kid is. I’ll have to defeat you now�

He tightened his expression and provocatively declared. Yusra remain unshaken and rushed in. Clamp swung his sword with his right hand──

And he cut off his own left wrist without hesitation.

“Kugh!?�

From the wound on his wrist an excessive amount of blood gushed out. The splashes hit Yusra’s mask, and the blood formed the word Self Hit!, taking away her vision.

Clamp came close to Yusra who reflexively stopped her movement, and struck her mask with the pommel of his sword. Furthermore, as she staggered and bent down he brutally kicked her. He then stepped on Yusra’s shoulder as she lay on her back, and pressed the point of his sword to her neck.

By that time his left wrist’s bleeding turned black and started recovering while consuming his HP. He was able to retain his consciousness from the rapid blood lost, and he delivered words of apologize unfitting for the current situation.

“Haruha…… our child, I apologize for what she has done. I’m sorry. And do me a favor, shall we make a deal here?â€�

Yusra, the �44�, ignored his offer. But, for the first time she spoke. Her voice was dry, not showing any trace of her feeling.

“Like always…… that crazy fighting style of yours�

Certainly it was a “crazy� way to fight. Even though senses of pain is decreased in this virtual world, one would usually feel hesitant to cut oneself just to take away their opponent’s vision. It’s exactly because Yuu, who could separate this amazingly real virtual world as “just a game�, this can be done without preparing in advance. However.

“Like always, you mean……?�

Without answering, Yusra took away her mask. And what was under the easily taken off mask was.

The face of Kanna Sakura that he saw earlier.

“Eh……?�

Bewildered, he instinctively pulled his sword. “Yusra� did not miss that chance and held the point of his sword with her gauntlet and stood up, as expected while he was still being hesitant she took distance.

Then once again Yusra created a fighting pose── then lowered her arm. When she looked at it, all the masked men were already wiped out by Haruha’s tyranny. Those several remaining then retreated. Haruha was held by Mifa, it appeared she was stopped from chasing after them.

“……I will back off for now�

Yusra then followed the other masked men and retreated with a back step. Although it was muffled by the mask, her voice was that of Sakura. But, her scarce voice intonation brought a severe sense of discomfort

“Again, let’s play again�

And, eventually.

Until her figure disappears from Extend AR vision effective range, Clamp just stood there stunned.

â—†Part 4â—†

“So……How was it?�

“Well…… I think my grades will drop more than what I got in the intermediate test.�

One dawn after the bizarre event at the green sea of trees── Kasugai Yuu and Kugimiya Miharu were taking a rest in their classroom.

After that incident, all the “ghosts� had vanished from their sight while they were unable to decide on whether to go after the masked men or not. They searched for them for two hours, but in the end, they got no luck and it was already midnight outside by the time Hajime brought them back to real world.

After that while listening to the sounds of her breathing, Yuu carried the half-asleep Haruha to bed. Then, he instinctively held her lonely-looking hand which resulted into him end up studying on the bed because she wouldn’t let go of his hand. Thanks to all that, this youthful high school student seriously lacked some sleep.

The first day of year-end test. For whatever reason, the subject that day was math which was too much for the current two to handle. Miharu who had just transferred to the school, received some “consideration�. But only to some degree.

“You sure have it nice, Kasugai-kun. You’re good at science right?�

“Well, not much. At least not, much compared to those who actually are.�

Thanks to the fact that various incidents were happening in �CtG�, his head were going nuts for constantly thinking about the masked men and numbers all at the same time. While holding down a yawn, Yuu stood up from the seat. Since it was a test day, students were free to go home in the morning.

“For dinner I’ll──�

“Master~. Let’s go home~�

Miharu was about to say something to Yuu, who had already held his bag over his shoulder. However, the moment she heard the voice she immediately shut her mouth and faced away into the opposite direction.

The voice belonged to her classmate, Tsukami Yatoko who was a cheerful girl and had taken liking to Miharu ever since the day she transferred in. Although it was still a mystery to Yuu on why she was calling Miharu her “Master�.

“Aah, Tsukami-san�

“Let’s study for test at �Ruso Garden�. Nogi and Rokkaku said they will come too.�

Actually, Nogi Sunao and Rokkaku Renko were waiting right behind Tsukami. By the way, �Ruso Garden� is a well-known chain of restaurants famous for its delicious omelet rice.

“Forgive me. But I must go back home early today……�

“Eeeh~…… Master’s family sure is strict. Then, let’s go to the station together.�

The reality is, she just wanted to go home early just to play with Haruha. So she told her classmates that the curfew at her house is strict. Although, from what Yuu heard, Miharu’s mother is a pretty strict person anyways. So technically speaking, it’s nothing new to her.

In reserved manner, Miharu bowed down to Yuu. Then Tsukami raised her hand at the same time.

“Well, goodbye, Kasugai-kun.�

“Bye then, idio….. I mean, Kasugai-kun�

Since this past week, there have been many cases where girls had mistakenly called him “idiot� [9] ── Following the bizarre chain of events, same thing happened with Higuchi-sensei once who was the homeroom teacher ── but Yuu decided not to let it get to him. He didn’t feel like crying because he didn’t think about it.

(Kugimiya-san sure has it tough……)

Girls in Yuu’s class are considerably nice people. But for a shy person like Miharu to maintain her relationship with them, it wouldn’t be easy if they learn about her secret with Yuu or Haruha.

A person with two lives. It’s not that rare in this Rube Goldberg’s [10] construction of human society.

Will he thinks all that, he exits to the hallway. At that moment, he murmured the thing that been on the back of his mind since last night.

“As matter of fact, can a single person split into two?�

“Sakura� and Yusra. Not only they have the same face but somehow, “Sakura� recognized Haruha’s face and Yusra recognized Yuu [Clamp] ’s. There was no way that it could be just a mere coincidence.

But by allowing them to escape, he had lost a valuable clue. However, there was still something to gain. It’s something Yusra said.

�Let’s meet again�

Yuu felt a strong premonition in those words.

Right in the afternoon, his legs led him to the arcade as the sun shone brightly above. But it didn’t take him more than 20 minutes to reach that place from school. The first time he came to this place was shortly after the day he was enrolled in high school. Worried about Yuu who was depressed and still hadn’t blended in with the class, Kouta had dragged him there for some change of pace. Unlike the arcade where Haruha had all her money sucked dry by a crane game, this one had a net café installed at the larger stores facing the national hallway.

On the second floor of that shop, Yuu had met that girl at the competition housing corner and had achieved a narrow but a miraculous win.

“So you came.�

Kanna Sakura. Her appearance was practically the same as around a week ago when she was playing with Haruha. However, she wasn’t wearing her boyish jumper and instead was in a neat and clean sailor uniform.

She sat on the hard sofa that was near the entrance of the shop and then looked up at Yuu with an equally hard gaze.

After they logout from the game the other day, Hajime went to investigate about her. But from the info she got, in real world Sakura didn’t show any suspicious behavior and she’d been attending school for the past week without absence. However, that day she left school early and ended up there.

“Yesterday, you were our only clue.�

“As for me, Haruha was the only clue in order for me to contact with you guys. So I waited. But then I realized that you will eventually come here anyways.�

There were no signs of roughness and lacking of composer like the last time. Her voice was simply calm and polite. Although, she did sounded a bit emotionless which made him miss the cheeky side of her.

There was an aura of Discomfort. But, she really was the Yusra with whom he fought with. Therefore, his conviction deepened.

“Does that mean…… that you will tell me about what had happened, I mean about your changes, about those your �Ghosts� that look like you?�

“Yes. Ikui Librium wishes to meet you. That means I want to you to meet Ikui Librium. I’m certain that she will be able to grant your wish.�

“Ikui…… you say?�

“She’s our leader. By the way, are you alone today?�

“……I just wanted to deal with you myself.�

Yuu did not wanted to have Haruha and Miharu involved in problems related to �CtG�. His sense of duty as the son of the man who created �CtG� and his simple wish of not wanting to be Niiro’s puppet, are what drove him to think that way.

“Is that so?�

Sakura simply replied and stood up. Then she walked inside the shop── not exactly, but she headed towards the net café and Yuu hastily followed her.

“He-Hey. What do you want?�

He was taken to a private room by Sakura who had already secured a place for both of them. It was the first time Yuu visited this type of store where it felt like a self-study space in the library equipped with a simple slide door. Just with a big sofa and table for two and a big TV connected to a laptop and──�CtG� terminal [Ramiel] .

Sakura, who had taken a side on the sofa, had already started attaching her Ramiel. Her appearance with a headset visor and a choker looked like the attire of a slave receiving some punishment.

Since he recognized her as Haruha’s friend, he saw her as a kid. Still, he couldn’t help but be nervous being alone with her in a small space. Dressed in summer light clothes, it was evident that she was doing some sort of sport, as her faintly muscled limbs shone on the black sofa.

Regardless if she was aware of Yuu’s subtle consciousness of her or not…

“Please wear yours too and login. I’ll be waiting for you at the Raiankarydi church.�

…Sakura pressed her Ramiel’s power switch and jumped into the world of ã€�CtGã€�.

â—‡Part 5â—‡

There’s no need to wait, Clamp was at Raiankarydi the last time he logout. As a result, he shows up directly inside Rainankarydi church.

The one who faced him unsurprised was the girl he fought last night, Yusra. She wore a �44� mask with beak-like nose and a plain cloak.

Today she doesn’t appear to have any intent to fight, so he decided to ask her as a greeting.

“……That clothes, won’t you get confused with your comrades?�

“There aren’t much people who would mistake an index finger as middle finger.�

She replied with ambiguous answer. That’s certainly true, and come to think of it he’s not really sure how his brain can distinguish a finger from another, but as a matter of fact he can easily move his five fingers independently without trouble.

Clamp remained silent, and as a respond, Yusra quietly walked away. Without hesitation, she exits the church and traverses her way to the inside of the green forest away from the yellow brick road.

Clamp couldn’t help but to feel uncomfortable being together with her in this empty forest. Even if he tries to ask her about those “ghosts� or another “Sakura�, everything will be answered once he arrives to where Ikui-something is — that’s why…

“May I ask?�

Clamp asks something completely different.

“Kanna Sakura, why are you so obsessed in doing rematch with me…… Kasugai Yuu?�

It’s something he had been wondering all this time. Her relentlessness wasn’t normal, just like Yuu’s obsession with �CtG�.

“………………�

After a considerably long silence, she replied.

“If I’m not desperate, my lie will be exposed.�

“Lie?�

“I do Judo.�

She suddenly went out of topic, but he continues to listen in silent. As someone who was thrown by her yesterday… it’s something he wanted to know.

“When I was way younger than Haruha, I trained in a Judo dojo where my father was in when he was little. At first, I’m simply happy being able to move my body and roll people who were bigger than me, and turned out that it seemed I have talent and everyone praised me and was proud of me because of that. Eventually, I start to think I’m special among those in elementary school level.

Then, as special person, I must work hard to meet others’ expectation.

As a result, blessed with luck, I was able to win in a national tournament individual match when I was still a freshman in middle school.�

“Amazing……�

“──Many have said the same thing. I was happy — being expected and trying to live up to it. But, it all ended one day.

During practice, when I was tired and at lost in focus, I got injured… and it’s incurable. I was able to recover enough to the extent it won’t cause a hindrance in my daily life but, I can no longer do harsh exercise.

My life ended once at that point.�

“……That……�

It’s easy to line up words of denial but, it’s not a problem that a mere 16 year-old kid can say something about.

While he’s still wondering, Sakura [Yusra] indifferently continues the story.

“For example, like getting injured from protecting a friend from bad guys, it might be nice if my injury have that kind of cool meaning. I might be able to be proud of it. But, it’s different. I just simply getting injured from practicing too much. I felt it that time — a slight sense of discomfort, but I optimistically think it’s something normal… then just from a little mistake, it broke.

I reap what I sow…… such plain, common, and nothing but a stupid careless mistake, only worth of a faint sympathy, and there’s no one to blame…… just from that one failure my life crumbles, nothing left.�

All Sakura wished for was a meaning in her crushed dream.

It’s not like he doesn’t know how she feels. Yuu himself was dumbfounded when he lost his mother all of the sudden. There were times when he thinks of intangible things like following proper procedures before dying. Lacking any of that, won’t that make her death completely meaningless? He thought.

But if there is meaning in it, it is…… no, it’s about Sakura now.

“What strange was, everyone else, did not change.

Even though I’m no longer the same person as I was before, my parents, my friends from school, and everyone from the dojo, still treats me the same.�

“Well, doesn’t that mean they’re being considerate of you?�

“Yes. But, to put it the other way, it’s just simply that. My near 10 years of hard work and everyone’s expectation… it’s not their business so it can’t be helped, but my own sense of loss didn’t match theirs.

I don’t hate them for that. Just, my own worth that I believed in and other people’s expectation is completely different from each other, my head went black. Everything that gives meaning to my life were all…… just misunderstanding.�

……Just maybe, Sakura just wanted to apologize. She wanted someone to look more heavily on her failure and blame her.

The face of Memento Coppelia who defined herself as an error and naively continues to commit sin to receive punishment flickers in his head.

“Ever since, I start to skip school and go outside playing games.

My father who was worried about me, bought me a Ramiel, and I was moved the first time I played �CtG�. I was able to move my body as much as I want without worrying about getting injured. I was hooked for a while, but, exactly because it’s so realistic I was able to feel its faint different with reality. It clearly reminded me of the fact that I won’t able to freely move my body like this in the real world. I immediately feel empty, and my play time gradually lessens.

After that, I start to play fighting game.�

Finally it all connects……. But on other hand, Clamp felt oddities in her calm and objective manner of speech up to this point. Let alone the fact that it’s coming from Sakura who let her emotion taken better of her in past.

Yusra’s voice continues to flow indifferently.

“It has the right sense of distant. It’s way different from reality, there’s always someone to fight, and I was able to vigorously use my eyes and hand.

And, just like Judo, it seemed I have a talent for it. As long I figured out the rule and theory of it I’m undefeated, and people will start to praise me as I rise up my rank── to sum it up, it felt great. It was a perfect replacement.

But, for it to be a replacement is nothing but a lie.

That’s why, in order to not notice that lie, in order to feel good, I desperately play games. Just like Judo that �I must absolutely do�, by playing games with all my might, I’ll be able to think the two as the same thing.

Yet, one day, I lost to a person who lacks of motivation.�

“Eeerrmm…… if it’s me you’re talking about, it’s not like I’m not motivated or anything……�

“Then that means, I lost to a both timid and frivolous person, or should I say, to a servile guy.�

……If I apologize here my image in her mind will get worse, Clamp thought, so he continue to listen silently.

“Ever since, every day I go to the arcade and do CPU fight using Push Yaoskichi, fight Push Yasokichi using Push Yasokichi, analyze Push Yasokichi, and train myself with Push Yasokichi to master Push Yaoshiki… but everything all went to waste.�

“Sorry…… really, sorry……�

“It’s okay. I didn’t want to meet you either way.�

“Eh……? But, you──�

“The truth is I was afraid of losing again. I was afraid to lose the �replacement� I just found. But, even so, if I run away from you, then I will notice my own lie.

I was looking for you while hoping to never meet you again.

In other words, I was lying.�

Kanna Sakura, the girl who had lost the thing she devoted her whole life to from early age, play �CtG� and other competitive games in order to fill the emptiness in her heart.

As result she became timid and was afraid to lose it once more, and it makes her obsessed with win and lose… and Yuu had threatened that by fluke. That’s why she must pretend to chase after Yuu.

“……If we fight once more using my main character, you will surely win.â€�

Even though he doesn’t think so, he had no option but to say it.

“You’re a genius. Your great Kinect visual acuity, reflex, area grasping ability…… you have talents that normal person won’t able to beat. I won against you because I just happen to have a nice timing. One out of thousand chances, you will win.

Your skill blows and manual throwing technique was amazing. You’re…. even if you’re not obsessed with games, you’re still a person who can open the new door to unlimited possibilities.�

That’s why there is no reason for you to think so hard. That was what he wanted to say.

“Don’t mind that anymore.�

Easily.

“It’s already over, after all.�

She cut it off. As if, the story of the girl known as Kanna Sakura, never existed to begin with — she cut it off.

In fact, the current Yusra, had severed herself away from the past she has spoken of. Her behavior and tone of voice were nothing like those coming from the girl he met before. Whatever happened, there’s no way she could change so much in merely a week. Is she still even connected to her, that one more “Sakura�?

After that, Clamp finally reached the place where he can find that answer. Deep inside the sea of trees, abruptly stand, a strange building.

Its appearance, including its outer wall and floor — the entire surface of the tower were made out of transparent crystal. Inside the transparent tower up to its glass and hierarchical structures, group of players in mask lined up, and their gazes were directed at Clamp.

Although it’s a bit too late, Clamp cringed.

Looking back at Clamp, Yusra present the crystal tower with her hand and gently introduces──

“Welcome. This is �World without Lies�, Crystal Hotel.

This is our 《Crystal World》 ideal fort.�

â—†Part 6â—†

Meanwhile, at that time──“Nnnn~…… I’m fine I said. People in the house I’m staying at and everyone at school are being nice to me.�

�Really~~? If anything happens, you can just go back home… okay? I’ll try to convince your mother. Just like with the Chorus Club, I can──�

“My mother had nothing to do with it…… Also, how about yourself, Koro-chan, didn’t you had a fight with your boyfriend, what happened after that?�

�Well well, Haru-chan…… don’t remind me please.�

“Aah~…… What was it about again?�

�Well…… he made fun of me you know. Remember Nishiyama from our class? That mantis-like girl. Recently, Sano-kun said he want to buy a new computer and so he consulted about it with that girl who seems to know a lot about it.

Then, he irritates me, when I ask Sano-kun to teach me about the computer, he instantly said “It’s impossible for you.�. That might be true, but talk about being unsociable……�

“I SOOOOO GET THAT!!!!�

�Uwa!? What happened all of the sudden?�

“Mommy, your voice is loud.�

“All guys are like that.

……There’s this one guy who fell in love with his childhood friend, and that childhood friend of his has a really bad personality. Also, he’s a pervert, not to mention he is also being chased by Yankee-like middle schooler, and each time I try to do something he always try to run away and leave me alone with our child. Well, of course I can’t fight as good as him or Haruha, but still!

And today, he went off somewhere without saying anything. He did sent a mail saying �I’ll likely be late today.� but come on, why didn’t he just call?! Doesn’t he understand that I’m worried…….!?�

�We-well Haru-chan, calm down! Okay?! �

“…..What, you’re saying I can’t complain too? What’s up with that? *hic*�

�Half-crying all of the sudden!? Or more like, who’s he? Your boyfriend, Haru-chan?�

“He’s not! That idiot is not my boyfriend!!!�

“Mommy, what happened? Want to eat a snack?�

�That’s enough, and moreover, what’s up with that child’s voice I keep hearing!?�

──And like that, she finished the phone call with her friend from back home while she fold the laundry in the living room.

After she vent off all of her stress, Miharu stood up along with her newly discovered determination. And without any meaning, Haruha imitates her and stood up.

Yuu who sent that plain mail still didn’t come back. He went to meet Kanna Sakura to investigate the strange phenomenon. It’s just Miharu’s intuition but she’s most likely right. He was worried about Sakura so much even before they got caught up in this incident. There’s no way he would let her off so easily.

Making doubly sure, after she make Hajime confess (with long mental stare), she managed to confirmed that Yuu checked about Sakura’s whereabouts yesterday.

Three months had passed since she became his partner in both game and real world. Reading Yuu’s mind is “easy-peasy� for her now.

He must’ve kept this secret from Miharu because he himself is not sure what’s case is all about. Occasionally, she can feel that Yuu is treating her the same way as a child [Haruha] .

It’s true that she had a hard time making a friend in school, and during the fight with Memento in �CtG� she didn’t do much but still, she’s at the same age as him, and she trained enough so that she can give Clamp a help. There’s no way she can allow anyone to treat her as a child anymore.

When it comes to this, all she has to do is to show her good side.

She will show it to him ─ Yuu, who had left her and Haruha alone to have a secret meeting with that girl. The secret of those masked men and those “ghosts�… Miharu herself will reveal it all.

Well, it won’t be that easy though……

â—‡Part 7â—‡

──She thought.In just within an hour, Mifa had already encountered the “Ghost� group.After that, she logged in into �CtG� and walk her way to Raiankarydi to gather some information. It was then she heard a mosquitoes-like cry from the alley.

“Thank goodness…… those people from yesterday came.�

It was pair of hooded “Ghostsâ€�. She saw them back in the middle of yesterdays’ commotion.

There were a group of two, a pretty big girl and a petite girl whose braids sticks out from her hood. The braids girl seemed to be a little down, hiding behind the shade of the big girl.

“We’re sorry for yesterday…… but, we must run away from the Clerics at that time……�

But the one who actually talked was the braids girl and the girl who’s acting as her shield appeared to be frightened as she looked at Haruha who’s obediently holding hands with Mifa.

Miharu herself had no intention to bring Haruha along with her, but she insisted to follow her. It will be problematic if something like yesterday would happen again but,

�Sakura-chan, she looked like she was in trouble so Haruha must help her.�

Haruha was unwilling to back off and it’s hard to say no when she said she wanted to help her friend. Miharu herself hate it when Yuu pushes her out of the loop, so it’s impossible for her to do the same to Haruha.

In the end, she brought her along after Hajime agreed to “Even if you aren’t facing a Hadzar, I’ll log you out when fight like yesterday happens.�, but,

“Ermm…… we’re in trouble actually, so we wanted to enlist the help of OKG.�

“Ooo-kee-jii?�

But the one whom the “Ghost� girls talked to wasn’t Mifa, it was Haruha who rolled her eyes over the unfamiliar word.

Thus Mifa and Haruha were taken to the “Ghosts� hideout.

They call it a hideout but it’s just a place surrounded by dense bushes that cannot be seen from outside. In the river side of the forest, inside ─ there were dozens of “Ghosts� waiting. Each one of them has a garbled text as seen through AR mode.

Their eyes were directed to Mifa── and moreover, to Haruha. Their glares were filled with vigilance. Mifa hold Haruha tightly with her arms.

“Errm, before anything else…… can you please explain to us what’s going on?�

She talked to the pair who brought them here. The big one is Anzu, and the braids one is Ren. But faster than either of them, the first one who opened her mouth was,

“It’s Sakura-chan!�

As if to respond to Haruha’s cheers, “Sakura� from yesterday lower her hood and reluctantly walks in. Mifa made a smile in a hurry.

“You’re Kanna Sakura-san from that time…… right?�

At the very least, her appearance and agile gestures were like hers from the other day. That “Sakura� is now standing in front of them wearing a hooded cloak and default clothes as her initial equipment.

When she first met her in the arcade she was like a sharp blade, but now, she was like a timid girl who had her fangs taken off her. She looked over Mifa and Haruha with her eyes, then she ask out of wariness.

“…………Just what are you people? At first, I thought you were just a group of weirdo playing house…… but you aren’t a normal player right?�

“But Haruha is Haruha……?�

The first one to answer was the young girl under Mifa’s arms. Her voice was trembling. “Sakura�‘s cautious eyes easily loosen up in respond.

“N-No…… I knew that, but that’s not the point.�

She’s a good girl. Just like what Haruha said longwindedly when they were in the bathroom, Kanna Sakura is a nice girl. From the fact that she did not change her avatar appearance, it’s clear that she has a simple mind. She’s practically a stranger to a Miharu Mifa , but it felt like meeting an old friend to her.

“Just like what you said, we’re players with a pretty strange circumstances. But, we have no intention to fight you, Haruha’s friend. Absolutely no.

Please believe me.�

While embracing Haruha’s stiff body, she said it with outmost sincerity. Then “Sakura� whom she eye contacted with catch her breath, and looked away awkwardly.

“……It’s okay. Regardless of the outcome, you guys helped us. Even if you’re an enemy, there is no way the situation will get worse than what it is now.

I’ll tell you what you wanted to know.�

“Thank you.�

“Sakura� then began explaining, and she directed her gaze toward Haruha.

“But still…… I suspected it, but to think that you’re that OKG…… you’re so slow [11] back in the Arcade.�

“Oookeeegiii?�

Haruha and Mifa blinked in surprise. She heard that a little while ago… is that some kind of code?

“What is that?�

“It’s short of O.K.G [Over Kill Girl] .

People talked about it here and there…… a story about a kid who slaughtered dozens of rampaging NPC at Gunmen’s Glaive. A cheat enabling a Travel to attack, a physical debug system prepared by the administrator, things like that… it became hot topic in various bulletin board.

Well, and eventually, she’s named massacre killing little girl [Over Kill Girl] . When I first heared it, I thought it were just nonsense… but once I see her with my own eyes. I’m convinced, that she’s certainly an OKG.”

“Y-yeah……. just like what the rumor said, it was a really brutal fight, completely ignoring the rules….”

Anzu stiffly nodded from the side. It was just known as a rumor, but it seemed to be spreading pretty far and become well known.

“O…… our kid became an urban legend……!”

Miharu [Mifa] who doesn’t check the forum other than system-related ones hold her head over the astonishing fact, meanwhile Haruha in question hold Mifa’s hand and loosely smile, then twist herself shyly.

“Ehehehe…… you made Haruha blush *blush*.�

“No, we’re sooo not praising you……�

“But, don’t OKG sounds like an idol in a TV. Idol sing and dance?

When Haruha is bigger, maybe Haruha can be an Idol with Mommy? Mommy will sing, and Haruha will be doing the handshakes.”

“What happened to being a sumo player, oi.”

“Sakura� then kneeled and flicked Haruha’s forehead with her finger. She looked over Haruha who happily closed her eyes with one left half-open, and then she raised her head and said.

“Come to think of it…… he’s not with you today? That guy who you called Daddy?�

“Daddy still hasn’t come back from school. He said he will buy me a Choko no Egg [12] . He might be troubled for not finding any in stores.

But Haruha need one more Rasupu-chan figurine to complete the collection, so Haruha is looking forward for that.�

Choko no Egg is an egg-shaped chocolate snack with a small toy inside. Depending on the timing, it might be flying off the shelves……. Sorry for Haruha, but Yuu probably forgot about buying it already.

“Sakura� made a no sense face, and Mifa carefully answered.

“That person…… Clamp is investigating about other the thing.�

She had a problem deciding if it is okay to tell her that that he went to visit Sakura in real life. “Sakura� herself meanwhile did not suspect a thing.

“Is that so……. I actually investigated him, Clamp of Scarabaeus. He wasn’t as famous as OKG, but I heard his name every once a while.�

“Ah, I heard that he killed a player killer named Memento-something with a strange suspicious techniques ……�

The one who said that was Ren. It’s clear that she’s still scared as her voice was trembling. “Sakura� nodded shallowly.

“Haruha said that her �Daddy� defeated that Memento, and thanks to that I was able to find him. With this I’ll be able to get revenge on the humiliation he did to me back in the Arcade, I was happy…… but it doesn’t matter now.�

It was the first── tearful face “Sakura� ever shown. As she walked over to “Sakura�, Mifa asked.

“Tell me what happened. Why among the masked men, you were there?�

“Sakura� began to talk after she shorted out her memories.

Kanna Sakura who login into �CtG� to look for Clamp of Scarabaeus started training herself for the upcoming rematch, in other words, increasing her avatar── Yusra’s level by participating in battle and doing quests.

In middle of that, she found herself in Wizards’ Glaive, and in there Yusra met the guild known as 《Crystal World》.

All of their members wear a strange mask that cover their upper half face, from what she heard in the city, the guild was formed few months ago.

Initially, they were like a religious group, but due their overly eccentric former guild master, †Noah†, they barely gathered enough people and many players thought that they will eventually be disbanded soon.

�Each one of you is not aware of the true value of this world! Humans are nothing but animals. Therefore, no matter how hard you discipline your mind and spirit, once you’re reduced to poverty, you will return to be a mere mindless beast. Injury, illness, old age, all of it will affect and physiologically interfere with your mind and undermine your virtue.

However! In this virtual world, we won’t bear the burden of physical bidding, allowing us to stabilize our mind to the fullest! Not filching to pain or summit to pleasure, as long as we straighten our mind and abandon our greed── we will be able to create a world without lies, the true real world!

That’s right, a completely transparent world, 《Crystal World》! Now, let’s advance on a quest of truth in this new world with us!�

But, regardless of how advanced the virtual world is, majority of �CtG� players are those who seek for unusual and strong stimulation. There are only few people who took interest in his insight.

In middle of that.

The moment a certain girl joined the guild, the tide changes. This girl who were preaching on the street playing no heed to day and night suddenly appeared in front of †Noah†, and right after listening to his speech, she said.

�A world without lies.

Well then, your wish shall be granted. Everything will be okay if you become Iku. Everything will go well if everyone becomes Iku.�

Ikui Librium Gepetto. [13]

That was the name of the blue haired girl. She’s around 16 or 17 year old. She has a slender body like that of a young tree, and has somewhat an androgynous appearance. Her standing figure with thin robe hanging on her shoulder makes her looks younger.

That time, Ikui did something. In 《Crystal World》, they call that act as “disproportionation�, and no outsider even aware of it till now. And so, everything changed.

After that, 《Crystal World》 began to engage in fortune telling in the streets of Wizards’ Glaive. Ikui’s fortune telling is infallible, especially when dealing with costumer with human relationship issues, she was able to give them satisfying answers. In the past, †Noah†’s reputation was not exactly favorable, but through the young player’s reviews and words, his name was spread.

Thus, avid costumers gradually become a member of 《Crystal World》 guild. And 《Crystal World》 that finally raised enough funds from dozens of member bought the Guild Base Building ・ Crystal Hotel and made it their headquarters.

In the Crystal Hotel built inside the deep forest of Wizards’ Glaive, 《Crystal World》 continue to do fortune telling and “disproportionation�, and further recruiting more members. Starting then, the guild members started wearing a mask with pointy nose and call themselves as Cristal ・ Cleric.

Yusra learned about 《Crystal World》 when a player whom she met in a subjugation quest before talked about it. She was that big girl, Anzu. She’s a big fortune telling fan and she invited Yusra to go with her to the Crystal Hotel.

The fortune Yusra asked to Ikui Librium was to know the whereabouts of Clamp of Scarabaeus. But, Ikui then made an absent-mided eyes and stare at Yusra’s face. Her whisper was like a small bell.

�Do you wish for a lie?�

ã€�? …….No, I hate liar.ã€�

Won’t that be unfair, Yusra answered, and Ikui nodded. Then, she stretched her hand slowly. White, white, a ghost-like hand.

�Well then, I shall grant that wish of yours, then you may come. Everything will go well if we all come. �

Ikui’s fingertips touched the tip of Yusra’s nose── then Yusra lost her consciousness.

By the time she woke up, she found herself in Raiankarydi church. She woke up in the same restart point as when she gets a game over, but that should only happen after she logout once. She can’t understand why she was thrown there.

Furthermore, all of her equipment disappeared and she’s wearing the default plain clothes, somehow she can’t change to Extend AR Mode…… and moreover she can’t activate menu screen. In other words, she can’t logout by herself.

A surprise one after another, the other players in the church were staring at her with suspicions ──the next thing she realized was that her status menu was garbled and people suspected her for modification──.

(What? What happened, to me?)

Thinking that 《Crystal World》 just fooled her, Yusra once again went to Crystal Hotel. But, standing right in front of the said place and was blocking her way was── Yusra.

Not only she have the same face, but she wear exactly the same equipment she lost, and moreover her semi-auto martial art skill and manual control fight style combination was unmistakably something that she herself develop after many trails and errors.

In the end, Yusra was killed by the same-faced Yusra.

Again, she got teleported back to Raiankarydi church. She didn’t even get a game over.

Later Anzu appeared in the church wearing a plain default clothes just like her, and she met some people who provided her with information. They identify themselves as the victim of 《Crystal World》, just like her.

�Ikui Librium ・ Gepetto of 《Crystal World》…… She is, a monster who have the power to split avatar in this virtual world!�

“──Splitting…… an avatar?�

Mifa ask back, but it’s not like she didn’t believe them. In fact, it’s exactly why she was stunned. It’s an unbelievable story for a normal player, but Mifa and her family knew about Memento who has the power to enhance human stimulation.

But “Sakura� ── no, Yusra did not think so and let out weak voice.

“We’re not lying. He…… Clamp also saw her right, erm, myself?�

“Yes. I believe you, it’s why I’m taken aback. But, how can such thing happen……�

“Don’t ask us. We’re the one who wanted to know�

Yusra glanced at Anzu and Ren, and then continued her story.

“After that, Anzu and the others, along with those with the same circumstances hide in the woods and go from place to place regularly…… if we stay in the city, people will mistake us as a cheater, and sometimes the people from 《Crystal World》 will be there to recruit people.

Those people always attack us each time we met, probably hate the fact that we have the same face. Same goes for yesterday. Even though they’re just a split of us……�

“But, even if you’re killed you will just return to the church right?�

Then it’s all okay, said Haruha, attempting to reassure them── Yusra got mad and yelled.

“It’s not that simple! We don’t even know what kind of thing we are!? We’re not even sure if we can safely return back to the church next time…… not to mention, no one in the real world would even know what happened to us!�

“I’m sorry……�

The one who obediently apologized was Mifa. Haruha made a surprised face and was frozen in place. Yusra saw that and let out weaken voice, calming down her own anger.

“Maybe because some data got broken we can’t pass the church reincarnation mirror, meaning we can’t even escape from Wizards’ Glaive……�

“Can’t you report that to the administrator?�

“We don’t know…… there are some victim who reported through player whom they acquaintance with, but there’s still no reply.�

……That probably because the human equilibrium institute or the other institutes above them ignored those reports, they have given priority to all Hadzar-related cases. But unlike continuous fainting incident Memento caused, this case did not go on public, because there aren’t any victims.

After all, Sakura in the real world still act normally and went to school. At the very least as long she doesn’t show any problematic behavior, they won’t do any active investigation.

“……Four days had passed since I was first trapped. There are also some who are trapped for months, and I might be too and yet, the other players are even aware of what is happening.

That means… it doesn’t even matter whether we’re there or not, no one outside will even talk about us……�

Yusra then lie down as if surrendering, and her body formed the word of “Big� [14] .

“But before of even thinking of a way to go home, more importantly, do we even have a place to go back to?�

She leaned her face towards her elbow, as if she was about to cry.

But in this virtual world… you can’t cry.

â—‡Part 8â—‡

“Pleased to meet you” it was Ikui Librium’s first words.

……What is starting? As he thought of that, [15]

“Iku is not familiar with the concept of first meeting. It is Iku’s wish for you to understand that this way of speaking is the result of Iku trying to avoid making any false remarks.�

She continued to explain. Her voice was smooth like a seamless slate. As weird as she sounded, he could strangely still understand the rough meaning of her words. In other words, because she tried to be as literal as possible, her speech ended up like that.

The 《Crystal World》 that aimed to create a world without lies.

Clamp was taken to the top floor of Crystal hotel. Looking down, the entire surface of the floor was made of transparent crystal plate.

30 meters or greater above the ground. In this room that was traversed directly from the birdcage-like elevator, one could feel the diamond colored light passing through the roof of the trees.

Despite the enchanting layout of the room, the room itself was not that big. The room can easily be filled by fifteen adults, although there were just six of them it already felt cramped enough.

Ikui then sat on top of the bed at the corner of the room, from her side appeared a magician-like man wearing a mask with the number �1� on it, along with two masked warriors from both his sides. As Yusra sealed the exit route, Clamp faced Ikui by himself.

De facto leader of the 《Crystal World》 guild, he came here to investigate Ikui’s identity…… or he was, because he had already achieved that from the moment they met face-to-face.

The only girl who did not wear a mask in this crystal tower, Ikui Riburium.

Wrapped by a thin translucent robe and possessing a neutral, graceful face, this girl who appeared to be somewhat absent and faraway was absolutely nothing similar to the innocent Haruha or the cruel Memento.

But, all of them let out a unique air; their mysterious purity and blade-like dangerous atmosphere are precisely what they all have in common.

There’s no mistake. She is──

“That’s right. Iku is a Hadzar. A product of �A method to produce new humans��

Once again, she answered before he could even ask, he couldn’t help but feel chilled from her behavior and action.

No matter how you look at it, the timing is too good. Almost as if──

“That’s right. Ikui’s Absolute Unit Evolution [Man Mod] is to figure out the wish of a human within Iku’s range of sight�

Man Mod. Niiro once talked about it, the name of the unique ability that Hadzars possess.

“A-Are you saying you can read minds……?�

Surprised, he tried to brace himself, but it didn’t seem to bother her even in the slightest bit.

In contrast Ikui remained expressionless, which made Clamp suspect whether she was sleeping with her eyes open or not.

Just how far she can see through him, he still doesn’t know.

“No. The only thing Iku knows are just wishes�

“Therefore Ikui Librium is able to grant those wishes without hearing their words�

The one who said that was the �1� masked magician. Looking through the extend mode, his name tag spelled †Noa†. He spoke in a flat tone like Yusra and Ikui, but this man alone sounded like he’s in a play.

Clamp sighed. He don’t know just how powerful Ikui’s ability is, but it’s clear that she’s a Hadzar and her mind-reading is not a simple magic trick. This will surely be a troublesome negotiation.

“……First of all, tell me what you want. Why do you want to meet me?�

“Understood. Iku’s, in other word, Hadzar’s owed wish is to become a Neo Primate and enter the stage of self-replicating.

Iku is aware of the fact that you’re the �Parent� of the first successful incarnated unit, Haruha. And to be able to meet the human who was able to make that happen is Iku’s wish.�

Ikui’s response was unnaturally smooth; enough to make you think that she’s a nice obedient girl. It was unexpected that she knew about Yuu, but come to think of it Memento also knew about him, could it be that Haruha’s “parent� is a famous figure among the Hadzars.

And, judging from the way she easily said the word Hardzar in this situation means that Yusra and other members are also aware of the existence of Hadzar.

Is it okay to let people know about this…… he thought, but that is Niiro’s job to think about. Clamp should just continue his own work.

“So….. What do you want to do after seeing?�

“No. There is nothing to it. It was just a simple wish of Iku to see you in person�

“If that is the case, then──“

“Your wish is to hear the answer of your question. Iku shall grant that wish of yours�

Clamp shut his mouth. To speak in this situation is just idiotic. Also, he wanted to know the identity of the “Ghosts� and the relationship between “Sakura� and Yusra.

But his wish, was not granted.

“No. Iku does not possess the mean to grant that wish�

“Oi! Could it be, are you saying that you don’t know the reason why a lookalike of Yusra over there became a �Ghost�!? There is no way such a coincidence would happen──�

“We are also puzzled by the existence of those ghosts�

Again, the �1� †Noa†spoke. Clamp quickly glared at him.

“But it seems that you guys have an idea of what is the cause�

“Somehow, each time Ikui Librium performed �Disproportionation� on a new comrade, they showed up at the church. We do not know what they are, but since they have the same appearance as us, we call them �Ghosts��

“……What is disproportionation?�

“To make people unable to tell lies anymore�

The one who answered from behind was── Yusra. Clamp turned 90 degrees backwards.

“I don’t get it…… does that have anything to do with Ikui’s mind-reading power?�

Indeed, there is no way you can say lies in front of her. Is it some kind of seminar done to warn new members who just joined 《Crystal World》 to not lie. If that is the case, it’s not that hard to understand why Sakura’s personality change so much.

But, †Noa†denied it.

“Ikui Librium has one more power. That is the power to unite our wishes into one and bless it�

“That’s right. Iku’s wish is everyone’s wish.

Therefore, if everyone became Iku there will be no lies�

Ikui faced Clamp with her pale eyes. Even now she looks sleepy and powerless, but she appears to be unshaken by anything. Clamp was entwined by her stare.

“Then…… in other words, what do you mean?�

“Every action that we, the 《Crystal World》,  take is a result of mutual agreement�

Yusra griped her own hand then opened it slowly.

“All of us act to accomplish the same purpose, and are linked for the same purpose.

There are no lies in each of these fingers�

“Does that mean that you were all taken under Ikui’s will……?�

Doesn’t that mean they have been brainwashed! Clamp unconsciously grabbed hold of his sword, but Ikui unceremoniously shook her head.

“No. It’s the other way around.

Because, Iku’s wish is their wish. We aim to accomplish the goal that everyone shares. Therefore, if Iku transfers herself into them, that wish will become everyone’s wish. There will be no need for anyone to lie.

And, that consensus shall be the key to a world without lies�

“I don’t know what happened, but Kanna had turned into a completely different person!�

“Right. To get rid of her lies, we cut off the unnecessary parts of her.

It’s just like the origin of this virtual world. In order to have multiple wills to cross without conflict; those wills must be rounded up together like the stones on a riverside. The pile of round stones must be lined out with no gaps, and eventually it will become one single rock. One lump of rock is solely just one on its own, therefore no lies can be done within.

That is, the way to create a world without lies�

If you mix together dozens of egos together then try to pull out something out of it, what you get will surely be an innocuous and uncharacteristic personality. Under the name of peace and unity, the participants of this ritual were reduced and changed into a plain personality just like Sakura.

Then he realized. Niiro had said it already, the cause of the “Ghosts� appearances and personality change cases, is undoubtedly her.

Somehow, Haruha’s sparkling smile passed through his mind.

“──That is worse than lies! They’re throwing their selves!�

He yelled as anger had gotten the better of himself, but Ikui did not react. Her blue eyes did not flinch even a bit.

And then she easily said.

“That’s right. However, isn’t it hard for you to say so many lies?�

To Fuyufu, who was always by his side longer than anyone else, he kept the secret of Haruha and Miharu.

To Miharu, he failed to tell her about his undecided feelings towards Fuyufu.

To Haruha, the girl whom he wanted to protect, he couldn’t help but feel powerless in front of her existence.

And then── to his mother who died before he was able to tell her about his true feelings.

Their faces became a sharp knife and pierced his chest.

His breathing, throbbing, and movement, stopped.

Inside the room surrounded by four walls made of crystal, the clear sunlight refracted and distorted his vision like a kaleidoscope, it teared up his eyes.

And as if entering into the gap of his confusion, Ikui’s hand approached Clamp’s face. Precisely like a crystal, like ghosts, those small opened finger were crystal clear──

“Kugh……!�

Clamp violently slapped that hand of her.

“?�

Although getting roughly rejected Ikui’s expression did not change. No, to say the least her face looked slightly puzzled. However she stayed indifferent.

Irritated, he yelled.

“Mind your own business…… I’ll deal with my own problem myself�

“That is not possible�

The one who arrogantly said that were †Noa†, and the two swordsmen who were standing by Ikui’s sides.

“Wishes that are not yet normalized will only cause distortion�

“Personal happiness can only move, not spread�

Without giving signs or receiving any sign, the swordsmen casted 《Acceleration》 [Accelerate] to each other. Although it only has a short effect duration, it’s the skill that creates a ball of light that generate attraction force within the range of the user’s vision.

While being pulled by the force the pair unleashed slashes that cut both of Clamp’s legs before he was able to react.

It was not just fast, but at the same time, their attack covered up the weak points of the other which prevented Clamp from even defending himself. That is the meaning of uniting wishes into one. Like grabbing things with five fingers, without the need to think they all move in conjunction to accomplish a shared objective without failure.

(Did Haruha really kill all of them in one sweep……!)

Unable to do anything as he got both his legs cut off Clamp fell onto the floor, and Yusra quickly locked his shoulder joints from behind. Meanwhile his other hand was pressed between his body and the floor, he couldn’t move at all.

“Every time you always unsettled me…… so you too, should become Ikui Librium�

“You…… are you really okay with that!�

“All the pain I had when I was injured with this incurable injury, and the suffering I had when I chased after you, is all gone. I was saved�

“That is──�

He wanted to say something to Yusra, but he couldn’t finish his words. That was because it was hard to breath as his back was pressed so hard, and it also because he’s unsure whether it was okay to deny the fact that Sakura was saved by being taken in by Ikui.

Me too…… if I become just like them, will I be freed from the regret I have when I lost my mother?

As his mind was caught in the middle of hesitation and confusion, all of a sudden, Ikui sat by his side. Her blue eyes and white hand. It took tens of seconds to logout through the menu, it’s impossible to escape from the virtual world in this situation.

Clamp’s scream filled the entire room.

“Kugh…… what do you guys want to do with all this!?�

“Eventually all players will become Ikui Librium, and this virtual world, will become a utopia free from any contradiction and suffering�

The one who answered was †Noa†, and naturally no one voiced any denial. †Noa†’s dubious representation aside, that is certainly their consensus. Everyone is aiming for the same purpose; therefore this is a world with equality and no discontent.

In this world of �CtG�, and with Ikui’s power, that is possible.

“………Geez�

Clamp sighed. What Niiro Mainsei said proved no help.

“Again, in the end, she is not a person who we can peacefully talk this out with�

Ikui who was about to touch Clamp suddenly pulled back her hand and took a step back. Yusra, and the other three look at her in confusion.

And then, before Ikui was able to explain the meaning of her retreat.

The hidden bomb that Clamp was hiding under his clothes explodes.

â—†Part 9â—†

After that Clamp died and logged out safely, and Kasugai Yuu’s consciousness departed back to the real world.

The vision of a cloudy world displayed over his Ramiel visor as he opened his eyes. While fighting the unreasonable pain spreading over his guts, he took off the visor.

What he first saw was the unfamiliar net café’s small two-room. Not even an hour into the game and he was already dead tired, and the overly cold air conditioner makes him feel sluggish.

By his side, Kanna Sakura had also taken off her Ramiel. She still wore the same apathetic face as before, but a faint color of condemnation could be clearly seen in her eyes.

Yuu apologized as he return his Ramiel to the charger spot.

“I’m sorry, for getting you caught in that explosion along with me�

To deal with the Hadzar-related cases like this one, he had prepared something to force-logout himself before it’s too late, and it was that expensive and powerful bombs. The other guys aside, Yusra who was standing near him wouldn’t have survived that. He ended up making her pay a needless death penalty.

If he use the instant teleportation caused by the coordinate bug that he used during his fight against Memento, he wouldn’t have to take such aggressive action. But just the other day, the management team had already fixed that bug.

But the similar “When placing item on the field directly from the item box and activating a magic shortcut, the coordinate data of the previously placed item will remain� bug still hasn’t been fixed, it seems no witnesses from his fight against Memento reported that.

Since it was his emergency trump card, it became a great setback for the “Clamp of Scarabaeus�. He planned to give up on it, but when dealing with opponents like Ikui, he couldn’t help but to rely on it.

(……Ahh, oh well. I was cheating to begin with)

As he thought about that, Sakura said no words of discontent, and just simply asked.

“Why did you run? Why did you run away from the words of salvation, where no one possess any ulterior thought, and all with your memory and will still intact�

It’s hard to explain the obvious. They just physically aim to create a world with no lies, and what’s wrong with that. As he thought about that, he stood up.

“Dunno. Maybe……�

He recalled the crying face of a young Fuyufu. What he recalled was a crying face from long time ago, but his present self is smiling.

“I don’t hate lies. I think�

He wasn’t very sure himself, but, he answered so.

Yuu then exited the room. Now that he had learnt about the existence of Hadzar, her power, and her objectives, he must report this to Hajime.

For whatever reason, Sakura did not stop him at all. She just simply watched over him.

As he left, he left one word for her.

“At the very least, I like the you whom I met back at the arcade more�

Sakura did not say anything, however, just a little she regained the atmosphere of her past self as she faintly replied.

“…………Again, I lost to him�

â—†Part 10â—†

That night.

Hajime Hidari was troubled.

The Kasugai household’s living room was filled with a threatening atmosphere.

Sitting in front of the table were Yuu, Miharu, Haruha who was sitting on Miharu’s knee, and Niiro Mansei sitting face-to-face to Hajime. It’s supposedly the time to report all the information they’ve gathered so far…… however.

Yuu and Miharu strained the atmosphere of this meeting. Miharu was mad at Yuu who went by himself, and Yuu was mad at Miharu who went to �CtG� to investigate without permission.

“Well, both of you…… you two are putting the cart before the horse here, getting angry over worrying each other like that�

It’s troublesome to let this be prolonged any longer ──these two always drag things out when they fight, it’s really annoying── therefore, Hajime bluntly said.

However.

“We’re not fighting.

It just, not only did she make such careless contact with an unidentified party, when we met she proudly said �Welcome back, I’ve looked into the case for you� and the likes, then gets into a bad mood all by herself, this hard worker Kugimiya-san.�

“Eh? Hmph, not only did he invite a middle school girl he just met at the arcade to a private room-date, despite ending up as a perfect example of the common expression�Mummy hunter become the mummy�, he acted like an overbearing husband and impassively ranted �Just leave such things to me, you just have to worry about house chores or something�, isn’t this just a hysteric caused by such a chauvinistic Kasugai-kun?�

………………………………

Despite sitting side-by-side, these two high school student refused to even lock eyes with the other, it’s scary. Anyway, it’s scary.

(Geez, isn’t this just a simple married couple quarrel……)

Hajime placed her hand against her forehead and sighed, she decided to cut short to persuasion.

“If you continue to be like that, Haruha-chan is going to be troubled you know. In Married couple [such] quarrel, a kid won’t be able to decide who the right one is and end up being troubled by it�

Once the two quickly reflect on themselves after knowing that their fight would hurt Haruha, so she thought it would be effective, but.

After hearing her own name, Haruha raised her head and went “Eh?� then frankly said.

“Well, it’s… normal?�

………Ah is that so. Hajime became convinced. She might’ve just been simply sick of dealing with Yuu and Miharu.

“Daddy and Mommy are always fighting! Haruha can’t deal with it anymore, Haruha says that to them. They still sleep together at night though, so it’s okay.�

In the end, Haruha got used to it. Exactly because they fight often and made up as often that she is convinced that they will stay in a good relationship even if they quarrel from time to time.

“Those words are kind of misleading though……�

The two quickly averted their eyes and blushed.

Hajime got really irritated, but she decided to ignore it.

“Well then�

Now that the atmosphere had taken a turn for the better, Niiro who had been silent for a while opened his mouth.

“Taking account of all the information you two have gathered so far, we can finally see the outline of this incident�

Yuu and Miharu’s eyes switched direction to Niiro. Haruha lowered her head and made a troubled face.

“First off, about Ikui Librium Gepetto’s ability, just as the person herself said, it’s safe to say that her power is a power to read other person’s desire.

It’s a masterpiece known as the reception-type Hadzar created by a team other than us.

By sensing the neural cells emitted from a human body within her field of view, and decrypt it’s meaning crafted within it, she is able to accurately read what the other person is thinking and wants to do�

“Ermm…… in other words, she’s able to read people’s mind……?�

Miharu asked as she clung onto Haruha.

“It depends on your definition of mind. All she should be able to read are the real-time images of the mind, the person’s constant desires, and his/her future actions, she shouldn’t be able to read other person’s memories or his/her trauma that the person himself/herself is unaware of�

“So, reading his/her desire huh……�

“In contrary to Memento who interferes with her opponent’s empathy ability, she’s an individual who possess tremendous empathy herself. She’s able to accurately read other person’s desire after all, she possess overwhelming advantage against people who fight with their brains or instincts.

However, she doesn’t interest me much�

“Why? It sounds like a ridiculously useful ability to me�

Yuu genuinely asked, but the answer was obvious for a person like Niiro and Hajime.

“What our team pursues is a new human that has both intelligence and emotion, and is able to resonate with the current human. Does Ikui Librium whom you met fits such a character?�

“……No. Even including the fact that she’s a Hadzar, she appears to be just an existence that merely grants other people’s wishes and desires…… well, her method aside�

Yuu then crossed his arms together, and Hajime shrugged her shoulders a little in respond.

“I’ve also read my share of the report, Ikui is, ever since she generated from the form of a little girl she’s able to read the desire of people around her.

Not to mention as a Hadzar she possess a weak sense of self, being raised in such a condition had blurred the boundaries between herself and other people within her mind. In the end…… she failed to develop self-consciousness. �I� is a sense of being �No one else� after all.

That’s why when she grew to the equivalent of a 10 year old, they did not conduct incarnation experiments into the real world. It was obviously impossible. Even now, she’s using part of Haruha-chan’s data to stabilize herself I suppose�

Precisely because she knows about that, she tried to approach Yuu who became Haruha’s “Father�.

“Therefore Ikui confuses herself as the human she came across, and behaves according to their consistent actions.

And, the things that all humans…… no, organisms, have in common are self-replication and breeding. Originally, it can simply be fulfilled by giving birth to a child……�

“But Ikui decided to increase the number of people who share the same thoughts as herself huh. Why did she do such…… an outrageous thing?�

“We won’t know unless we ask the person herself, but surprisingly, it might be because of a simple reason like one can’t give birth in virtual reality such as �CtG��

She frankly said. Yuu and Miharu instinctively looked at each other and blushed. Haruha looked at them and titled her head in confusion.

“But Haruha was born in game right?�

“You’re special in a lot of ways after all, Haruha-chan�

Hmmm, Haruha appear to be completely unaware of that. Her eyes were glassy and she looks sleepy. Come to think of it, since Miharu returned early she did not take a nap today.

Yuu lightly cleared his throat and asked a question.

“But, is it possible to change a person’s personality?�

“Taking account of her original ability, perhaps by electrical activity she forcefully tuned the desires and the decision making part of the brain of the person she touches and synchronizes it with herself. It’s similar to when an electric eel discharges electrical currents and shocks its prey’s muscle to disable its body I suppose.

I would name it �Fahrenheit 451�.

……By understanding the function of a person’s nerve pulse, she is able to control that person huh? Fumu……�

On behalf of Niiro who stopped in the middle of his explanation to think, Hajime took over the conversation and continued.

“I don’t think it will last long though, so they must be taking�Treatment� and get tuned on a daily basis. �CtG� doesn’t allow long-term login periods, so maybe they can be cured with medicine or something�

“Come to think of it, it says stuff about currency or something. I see, so there is a way to heal them huh……�

Looking at Yuu who was patting his chest in relief, Hajime refrained from saying “There might be a way to cure them, but there is no guarantee that they can be cured�.

“──Ermmm�

Miharu spoke stiffly.

“I still don’t understand anything about the �Ghost� case yet. If the power of that Ikui person is to change other people’s personality, then what exactly are the �Ghost� people who appeared at the same time?�

The one who answered her was Niiro who had just finished thinking.

“We need to verify it first, but there is one hypothesis we can conclude from it.

It’s most likely a bug. However, it’s different from the software-related ones that Kasugai-kun’s mother was involved it. It’s a bug that’s caused by the hardware�

“By �CtG� hardware you mean, that thing that is processed by the user itself……�

“That’s right, the Nephilim Computer.

As you might have already know it works with a horribly fuzzy processor, therefore it’s able to reproduce the reality of the real world, in this case, things become willy-nilly over its awfully flexible specification.

It’s assumed that the players who got tuned by Ikui had instantaneously got their brain wave patterns changed. Unable to cope with these rapid changes, the �CtG� system treated the previous and current brain waves as different avatars and works it so that the second ego can exist at the same time.

“That…… but, those �Ghost� are not as awkward as NPCs and possess feelings, intelligence…… and memories too though?�

Miharu seemed to be not convinced as she once talked with the “Ghost� and felt their human touch as Mifa. Hajime has also seen that scene through Haruha’s Ramiel, so she fully understands why Miharu was confused. But.

Hajime took out a notepad and drew an illustration of a deformed brain inside a small walking doll.

“To put it simply Nephilim Computer is a giant brain where the wisdom of a hundred thousand people are fused together, and the common existence known as souls are given avatars to walk inside it.

And if that Nephilim mistakably recognized one person as two, it might create a second avatar that possess the knowledge and memories of the original person. Of course the �Second one� does not possess a flesh body in the real world that is connected to Ramiel that serves as the gate to the game system, so it can’t deal with the software of the game program, therefore it becomes an entity unable to be recognized by the system. It might also be the reason why the data is broken when they were seen through AR Mode�

“A bug created from the unique device known as the Nephilim Computer and the unique character known as Ikui Librium Gepetto…… Ah, rather than an insect it is�

The thing that closed the conversation was Niiro Mansei’s dry voice that somehow got on others’ nerves.

“Truly, a ghost�

â—†Part 11â—†

As she took a hot shower, she enjoyed the tickling sensation of sweat falling from her skin.Kanna Sakura then laid down on the bed in her room, spreading her limbs wide to relax and allowed herself to surrender to exhaustion like a doll.

Her room was small. When she was younger, she liked this smallness that reminded her of a secret base. The fluorescent lamp she just replaced constantly shone with a white color. The rest of the luggage that couldn’t fit inside the room was taken to the loft made by her father, but even now it appeared to be almost at bursting point.

Her bookshelf was buried by a cover.

Sakura, whose instinctual drive had been altered by Ikui Librium, did not feel boredom and did nothing. But as she had no orders to execute, she was on standby.

The only things that flowed in her head were Kasugai Yuu’s face, when he said he liked her painful self better but denied the fact that the current her was saved, and also Haruha’s innocent smile.

Recently her mother looked more worried than before, when she looked at the current her who was calm and no longer behaved in a problematic manner.

She glanced at her bookshelf. Naturally, she did not see the randomly lined up certificates and trophies nor the unevenly lined up game walkthrough books.

It was because it’s was under a cover.

â—†Part 12â—†

Several hours ago.Miharu was drying her hair in the dressing room. Her gloomy expression covered by her long hair.

The dryer that she just randomly switched off was a dryer called Perl Pink, a product clearly targeted for women, which she found placed behind the washstand mirror. After receiving the permission from Yuu, Miharu and Haruha used it to dry their hairs ever since.

It appeared to belong to Yuu’s mother. It didn’t appear to be used often, and he said it’s practically new so he didn’t throw it away. However, it’s likely that even if it’s broken, Yuu wouldn’t throw it away. Somehow, she thought so.

It’s a proof. The proof that Yuu’s mother, who lived here, did not spend her days here. Miharu touched it, and inside her head she imagined the figure of ── He showed her a picture of her before ── Yuu’s mother using the dryer just like her right now. It made her a little happy. It made her feel like she was a person of this house.

On the other hand, she felt a different sensation when she was at her real mother and father-in-law’s house. That, certainly, was pain instilled into her chest.

(I wonder what Kasugai-kun thinks of me when I use this dryer.)

Right now, that was what she wondered the most.

Then, she felt that she started to understand a little more. The thing she heard at the living room, about the dreamy world, in which the Hadzar known as Ikui Librium, talked about.

(But, to know what everyone else is thinking…… is scary)

She let out a bitter laughter and her breath hit the steamy mirror that was clouded by the steam of the bath, further fogging it.

In the end, the 《Crystal World》 incident that happened in �CtG� could not be resolved immediately.

Seeing the suffering Sakura, Miharu felt very unhappy. Since there was a possibility that they were able to discuss things out with the team in charge of Ikui Librium, she was told to wait for a day or two── after being told that, she just couldn’t say anything more.

It’s the best to be able to resolve things peacefully. If they ended up having to fight like they did against Memento, Haruha and Yuu will surely do something reckless. Of course she will try to stop them, but this pair of father and daughter was pretty stubborn themselves.

Not to mention OKG Haruha had been asked by the “Ghosts� to help them on a raid against Ikui.

Things might return to normal once Ikui, who’s clearly the cause of all of these, was defeated── that was the remaining ray of hope the “Ghosts� had left. But, the power of 《Crystal World》 member way surpassed theirs. No, with their inhuman level of perfectly coordinated attacks they were even able to defeat groups composed of skilled players out there.

In the face of such desperate situation, OKG and Clamp of Scarabaeus appeared in front of them.

Due to Yuu and Haruha’s personality, they wouldn’t be able to refuse their request in such a situation. Especially if the person who asked them was Sakura.

But Ikui Librium, depending on how you looked at it, might even be a more dangerous opponent than Memento. If they messed up, Clamp and Haruha might end up getting caught by the 《Crystal World》.

If that was the case, then it’s better to rely on Niiro and his men.

But the depressing part was that she couldn’t tell the “Ghosts� Yusra and her friends the detail of the situation. After all, if the original Yusra and her friends returned to normal, just what would happen to those “Ghosts�? Everything depended on the Nephilim Computer whim; there was no guessing what it would do.

Would they simply be annihilated? Would they remain to exist as irregular existence? Would their memories be merged with their real body?

She didn’t have the courage to say such irresponsible things like “We won’t know unless we try�. Yuu had said “……I’ll go explain things to them once we know what exactly will happen� and Miharu was determined to go along with him when he did.

In addition, Hajime said she would try to construct a program that would allow their memories to merge. But she also did say to not expect too much, hence there’s nothing else to do but to hope.

Brooding, she headed to the second floor bedroom–Yuu’s bedroom.

The dark room was only lighted by the nightlight and filled with the smell of other people that she was not used with yet.

Although she had already adapted to living in the real world and able to take care of the house alone during daytime, Haruha still insisted on having the three of them sleep together at night. She seemed afraid of losing her consciousness in the dark and waking up only to find that the two of them were no longer there with her.

Once, Haruha was so shocked when she woke up in the middle of the night finding no one (as Yuu went to the toilet), she started bawling.

Because it took some time for Miharu to dry her hair, she told Yuu to go upstairs and accompany Haruha to sleep first. She thought that they might be sleeping at the moment so she silently approached the bed. But then.

“Ah, Mommy……�

Yuu was quietly making soft sleeping sounds while Haruha alone, who wore cute pajamas while hugging a wool stuffed doll, opened her eyes.

How rare.

Usually she would immediately fall asleep once she buried herself onto the bed.

“You can’t sleep?�

“Nn…… can we talk?�

Miharu climbed onto the bed as she watched over Yuu’s sleeping face. Not as easily as Haruha but he would fall asleep faster than her, and would usually let out a snore. When he’s asleep, his face looked more childish than normal, but maybe that was because he’s tired and his cheek appeared to be harder.

In a hushed voice, she told Haruha.

“It’s okay, but Kasugai-kun is sleeping so we should speak quietly okay?�

“Okay.�

As Miharu laid down and covered herself with her towel blanket, Haruha rolled her small body and hugged her. She buried her head into her breasts that was wrapped in sleepwear.

“What is it?�

Maybe it was to prevent her voice from leaking out, but Haruha cupped her mouth with her hand as if whispering

“You see……�

*psss* *psss*, the small voice that came from her mouth tickled Miharu as it rang inside her breast. She smiled and smelled Haruha’s hair that smelled strangely differently from hers.

“Haruha……, is Haruha hated by Sakura-chan?�

For a moment, she didn’t understand what she meant, but then she realized that she must be worried about the time when she said some insensitive things and got yelled by Yusra in the virtual world. Now that she mentioned it, she did seem to be a bit lifeless lately.

“Haruha is scared when sleeping, but Sakura-chan said she’s fine to die on the other side- that she should not have existed.�

“Unn…… is that so?�

“Haruha, is not a person from that side, so Haruha doesn’t know.�

That moment she saw Haruha’s wilted flower-like face.

For a little.

Just a little, Miharu thought,

If that “Ghostâ€� Yusra disappears, wouldn’t she forget what she said to Haruha that time…… such horrible thoughts.

(Won’t that make me an idiot parent……)

She tried to stop thinking about it and shook her head to the side.

“……Of course not. Even I’ve hurt someone else before.�

“Mommy too? But Mommy is so nice!�

“Haruha, your voice. Too loud.�

Haruha gasped and covered her mouth with the stuffed doll as she looked over Yuu’s direction. He didn’t show any signs of waking up.

To make sure he’s asleep, Haruha was about to pinch Yuu’s nose but stopped right before she did. After Miharu told Haruha its okay through her eyes, Haruha once again faced Miharu.

“Mommy is such a kind adult, so there’s no way Mommy would trouble others.�

“Even I’m still a kid. After all, I also have a mother.�

“Ee……? Ah, that’s right. Mommy is Mommy’s mother‘s child after all�

“Yes. That’s why even I…… am not doing well at school.�

Haruha appeared to be in shock. Yuu and Miharu are humans who were born in the real world after all, so she believed that it’s because they are adults that it was okay for them to go outside.

“I lied to my classmate…… errm, friends who study alongside with me I mean.�

She kept secret of her relationship with Yuu and she couldn’t resolve the misunderstanding the love-story loving girls were having. Not to mention, she couldn’t also let anyone know about Haruha.

Can such a liar-self make new friends? Even if she could, could such friend made under so many layers of lies be considered a friend?

All of these reminded her of her father who disappeared from her sight for the sake of a woman other than her mother. Her father who lied to his family and marriage. As a daughter of such a person, Miharu wanted to live as honest as possible. But in the end, she became a member of said family of liars.

Probably, because she herself was such a liar, she couldn’t trust other people, suspecting that they were lying to her. She suspected them to be like her father who disappeared all of the sudden and her mother who found other people who are more precious than Miharu. She was afraid of being betrayed by anyone she loves.

Maybe she wouldn’t have to worry so much like this in 《Crystal World》, the world without lies.

“Lie……? Lie is something other than the truth right?�

“Yes. Somewhat, it is like that.�

It’s lonely to be alone. [Editor’s note: HRNNNGGHHHH!]

But, she’s that afraid to be so close to others that they could look into each other’s hearts.

She wanted others to accept Yuu.

But, at the same time she didn’t want them to get close to Yuu.

Fuyufu was a good partner for Yuu, who’s a nice person albeit quite sloppy.

But……

But when everything was the truth then everything was also lie. Inside Miharu’s heart there was also a ghost like Yusra, it might find its main self to be shameless.

“……I’m, bad with socializing with other people after all, and when I’m in trouble, I lie. Haruha who can get along with Kanna-san so fast is way better.�

*Squeeze* Haruha hugged Miharu.

“You see, Mommy. Sakura said this once.�

A person who is strong against anything is creepy. It’s more human-like to have weakness. No matter what Mommy did to her friends, Haruha, will still love Mommy�

“……Thank you. I’m proud of Haruha who, even though you said something terrible to Kanna-san, is repenting about it.�

Miharu then hugged Haruha as well. Miharu’s who was a small girl was completely wrapped by her arm. When she was little, Miharu was also a kid who could burrow herself into her mother or father’s arms.

That’s right. If both Haruha and I were children, then we could just grow up together. Yuu…… might get left out. However, he would surely catch up in a hurry.

With such whimsical thought, her heart naturally calmed down.

“Let’s meet Kanna-san again and apologize to her.�

“Unn!�

“Then, let’s sleep shall we. We must wake up early tomorrow after all.�

“Kaaay~……�

Haruha obediently nodded and Miharu stroke her head as she closed her eyes.

(I should work hard too……)

The darkness of the summer night made her sweat. And so she loosened the button of her sleepwear.

──It’s not that he opened his eyes, but Kasugai Yuu heard Miaru and Haruha’s conversation. He heard from the boundary of dream and reality.

It was raining over there. He heard Miharu and Haruha’s whispering voice alongside the sound of the rain.

Hated…… scary…… die…… Mommy is so nice!

Haruha’s lisping voice. She had quite a large vocabulary and her pronunciation was not bad, but it’s only been a few months since she was born. Even though she knows the word, she still doesn’t fully understand it yet.

Come to think of it, when Fuyufu was little, she knew a lot of words but her pronunciation was that of a kid.

“Listen, Yuu-kun. It’s simple. Because the chocolate Manjuu I’ve been saving disappeared, and Yuu-kun’s hand are all sticky, so…�

Starting then, Yuu’s lie no longer worked on Fuyufu. That’s why he could easily lie without any worries. Fuyufu’s mother, on the other hand, was such a kind person that she would innocently accept whatever he said to her. He couldn’t carelessly lie to her out of playfulness. �A snack disappearing by itself? How curious, I wonder if a cat came and stole it?�. By the way you mustn’t feed chocolate to cat.

And with that lie he had said out of whim to Fuyufu’s mother, he made Fuyufu cry once. It was the first and last Fuyufu’s crying face he saw. That time onwards, Yuu was determined to never make Fuyufu cry ever again. It was such a painful experience that Yuu too, also cried about.

A face is crying. Rain. All of the sudden, the scene changed. It was from just a while ago. Not even a year into the past.

The pouring rain became curtains that covered the temple corridor they were trapped in, 15 years old Fuyufu, who wore her middle school uniform as replacement of morning clothes, talked to Yuu.

�Why didn’t you cry?�

Then he realized.

It’s about Kanna Sakura. Today this noon, when Yusra talked about Sakura, the thing he failed to hear properly, he’s reminded of the sense of incompleteness. That thing abruptly took form in that dream.

He might be able to figure it out if he talked with Sakura. The answer to Fuyufu’s question that he couldn’t answer that time.

Yuu probably needed to ask about it.

──Did you, properly cry?

�Then, let’s sleep shall we.�

Maybe because his worry had disappeared, Miharu’s whisper reached his ears and his consciousness fall into darkness.

Come to think of it, I still haven’t apologized, for making Miharu cry.

â—‡Part 13â—‡

In the dark.

*Groowwwlll*

The elevator descends and made sound like a growling stomach.

And then the light turns on. Like spotlight, it stretch from above and light only a spot in the darkness.

“I’m the seventh division chief, Niiro Mansei�

The one who stands below the shaft of light was a man in black who refuse to take off his sunglass even in the dark. He is the researcher who led the production of Haruha in the Human Equilibrium Institute, and also responsible in its management.

Within the pure darkness that cloud over one’s sense of distance, Niiro’s rusty voice echoed.

And as if to answer to it, the second shaft of light tear the darkness.

“It’s rare to hear a call from you instead of the Department of Human Relationship [16] ”

The figure lightened by the light was that of an old man in a white coat. He’s clearly not Japanese. Brown skin and dark-red curly hair, and his eyes were covered by his knife wounds-like wrinkles, he appears to be quite skinny but he’s a sharp old man.

“I thought you have no interest in my humankind?�

His voice was tenacious like a rolling muddy dumpling [17] . It has the force to stop one’s breath.

“No, Maharl. I expect a lot in Ikui Librium’s ability, as something that will contribute greatly in Nephilim control system improvement�

“What I’m creating is the new humankind. Though it seems you are too fixated on inheriting the current humanity feeling and hate how I use the Gepetto-type�

“If you don’t connect human’s body, intelligence, and all their feeling together there won’t be any proof of human remain�

“There is no need for those that inherits earth to inherit humanity�

Niiro shrugged and Maharl rolled his eyes. The two of them are not free. The two of them are regarded as genius of their own kind, and in the same time they think themselves to be slightly more superior compared to others.

Without that much of arrogance, there’s no way they can create new humanity.

Maharl insert his hand into his white coat pocket and wriggle his finger like spider.

“Let me hear your business. Weren’t you busy managing Haruha and the S Type together?�

“You know right? Ikui have gone too far lately. The 《Crystal World》 she been raising is starting to rise some rumors�

“Hmm. It’s different to Memento’s case. Ikui Librium is just providing those who come to her a place to rest, there is no victim�

“That is the matter of perspective�

“I did hear that we’re receiving some inquiries, but I’m not informed of any complaints though?�

“Because of Ikui Librium, the �Ghosts� that appears in �CtG� are lamenting�

“I heard of them, but won’t they disappear once we restart the system. They are nothing but mere foam of cache you know�

Niirou’s team has reached to that conclusion already. To restart Nephilim Computer, it’s needed to make preparation several months in advance and large amount of personals and it also comes with high risk. It’s something they want to avoid if possible.

“Even though it’s just simple restart, there’s no way we can do it each time a �Ghost� appear. Also, if the number of those�Ghosts� keeps increasing, there is no telling what malfunction Nephilim will do with all those emulation being put into their resources

Also, the more human get tuned by Ikui Librium, the more chances outsiders to learn the truth. When that happen,s it might hinder our plan�

“It’s the Department of Human Relationship’s job to stop that from happening right. That shows how important this work is�

The old man took out his both hand out of his white coat, and spread it together like wings.

“Listen, Niiro-kun. This is a chance. Possibly the last chance to recreate this humanity that had reach stalemate state and leading towards its own self-destruction�

If Ikui Librium becomes the new world seed, all human in earth will cooperate together in conjunction to accomplish the same objection.

It’s not that they will become standardized like machine or lost their individuality you know? Like how ant born from the exact same gene, each will live accordance to their environment and divided into either work ant or queen ant. Just, we’re making them aware of their position as being a member of a group.

By reviving the ancient language, Ben Yehuda [18] manage to unite a country, but Ikui Librium will return human back to their previous form before they even acquire language, they will attain a more advance form�

“But then Human physiology and sensibility won’t be maintained.

Not only giving up the survival by genetics, if you abandon the inheritance of Culture [meme] [19] it won’t be human anymore. Compared to Ikui’s cells, even the �Ghosts� are more worthy to salvage�

The sound of Niiro’s voice was somewhat all over the places. But, his gaze towards the old man remains unshaken as if it was frozen in place.

Maharl laughed as if coughing.

“HAH! Well, you’re stubborn as it is. Then, what would you do?�

“As what we had agreed, we will do selection on Ikui Librium who refuses to accept improvement through repetition of failures.

By battle between Hadzar�

“Very well──�

The old man’s reaction towards the declaration of war was short.

“Come�

Finally they negotiate. Under the worse agreement.

“Well�

──In the darkness after the old man had left, Niiro Mansei muttered.

“Though I do understand why he so obsessed with the unification of will�

“Eeeh?�

“Maharl’s homeland is under exhaustion after a lot of partition because of a long civil war, and because of the overly frequent conflict between the government and anti-government, the entire country is filled with spies and guerrillas, no telling when and where you will be stabbed both physically and socially.

As result every one of them become paranoid, and what happened was storm of lynches and betrayal, aiming to attain victory faster than others. Maharl who was going and back from his research institute at other country was accused as traitors and he lost his family at the time�

“That sure is… bitter. What a tragedy. A cruel story like in fairy tale�

“Maharl must’ve thought the same. Humanity must be reshaped down to its core. That’s why he’s trying to turn the world into like Ikui Librium, where no hatred can be born�

“Wonderful! Thinking it like that, won’t that make us the bad guy?�

“But we will do it. He and Haruha will surely lend us their strength. Kasugai-kun feels indebted over what happened in �CtG�, and fortunately it seems a girl who is deeply connected to him also got caught in this incident�

“Aaa……Again, I’ll be able to see Onii-san in action……�

“That’s right. He will surely try to prevent Haruha from fighting Ikui Librium. But, the only reason Kasugai-kun was able to fight equally against a Hadzar was because he’s using the unpredictable bugs. His affinity towards Ikui who can read other people’s train of thought is the worse.

Even so do you think he can win? You�

“Of course, it’s certain.

Onii-san will surely humiliate her by proving she’s unqualified to be the new humanity and kill her�

Inside the darkness of �CtG� isolated space, a silver hair drips like a thread. The girl who was talking to Niiro raised her white face.

“After all, he’s Meme’s dear prince on white horse who crushed Meme’s spine with its hoof�

Memento Coppelia who somehow wears girl uniform of Yuu’s school, innocently blushed out of love, and let out a trembling sound that melts into ecstasy.

“……Aaaa, I wonder what kind of brilliant trick he will use to slaughter Haruha’s enemy this time?â€�

### 005. Terminus

“Yaa…wwnn….”

“Sleepy?”

It’s the second day of the final exams, and the school was filled with the gloomy screams of the students.

Meanwhile, Fuyufu was sitting in the corner of the school cafeteria during its shortened business hours trying to hold down a big yawn. Having seen her in the spot, Yuu decided to call her from behind.

After taking a sideward glance, Fuyufu wordlessly redirected her eyes back to her terminal screen.

“It sure is rare.”

Fuyufu was wearing glasses. She started wearing one entering third year of middle school, and only wore it during class. It seems she’s in the middle of studying for the exam.

Speaking of rare, it’s also rare for Fuyufu to stay up late studying. Normally she would properly listen to the lessons in class and remain composed even during this time of the year.

Unable to bear the awkward silence, Fuyufu faced Yuu and asked,

“…Do you need something from me?”

“Aaa…… well, how should I say it… I have something to talk to you about.”

Despite feeling a bit embarrassed saying that, Yuu sat in front of Fuyufu face-to-face.

Just a hunch, but he knew. Ikui Librium. It didn’t seem the negotiations Niiro talked about would work well.

As someone who had faced her directly, he knew that there’s something similar between her and Memento. She’s not as violent, but their behavior as intelligent being was similar. She never once hesitated, and was willing to do anything to achieve her goal. But it’s hard for him to believe that a heartless person like her was related to Haruha.

Before the situation changed any further, he must make his decision.

“Fuyufu… what do you think a lie is? Is it something that is better not existing?”

“……As random as always. Don’t you have to study or something?”

“Not really.”

Although he said as such, he knew he would have to face makeups for his weak subjects.

Fuyufu then moved towards him and said,

“That.”

“? ── Nnn!? ”

He ended up letting out a strange voice as his nose was pulled by Fuyufu.

“Look, your nose grows.”

“Just what are you doing?”

Yuu bent his back and managed to escape from the grasp of his childhood friend. In contrast to the confused Yuu, Fuyufu’s stares were cold.

“Have you heard of Pinocchio? A doll cursed to have his nose grow every time he lies.

──You were lying right, when you said you didn’t have to study.”

“Uuh……”

Unsurprisingly, she saw through him.

“Since you were little, Yuu…… every time something bad happened, you always come to me asking for advice.”

Yuu did not answer. In other words, he did not deny that.

Around the age of 10, Yuu had a fight with his friends at school, grumbling about how he couldn’t win in games, about his mother, and the fact that every time he found things got hard, he would always come to rely on Fuyufu. Sometimes then, Fuyufu would talk about the stories from the book she read.

And as he listened to her, he would feel relaxed.

“And in the end you always fall asleep, it irritates me.”

“I’m sorry…… I won’t sleep anymore, okay.”

When he’s tired, listening to Fuyufu’s stories helped him to sleep peacefully. To add, Fuyufu seemed to be enjoying her time quoting the words she got from the books she read. So he thought it was okay.

“Well… that’s okay though. It’s not the first time you acted like that after all.”

Fuyufu then switched her terminal into sleep mode, took off her glasses and faced Yuu.

“……First off, let me ask, what do you think a lie is?”

“That is…… something that is not the truth, maybe.”

“Then what is the truth?”

“A-A fact……?”

“Then what is fact?”

“……Reality? No, it’s basically the same── then, something that actually happens, something that is actually experienced, maybe?”

“Still too weak of an answer. If you put it that way, misunderstandings and illusions are neither truth nor fact. But, for the person itself it’s not a lie, not a false.

── So a fact is?”

“………A matter…… that everyone, without exclusion, recognize as truth…. h-how about that?”

“Then, everything other than that is a lie, is that what you’re saying?”

“Errrm, if it’s not the truth and unclear…… yes, a lie.”

Yuu nodded and Fuyufu followed suit.

“Then that’s your answer and nothing else.”

Somehow── Yuu felt restless.

“Wait, but, how about tricks, swindles, or betrayals, or lies to escape from reality… there so many of them. Do you think we are better off without them?”

This should have been an unnatural question, but Fuyufu replied instantly.

“Those are lies used as tools to fulfill one’s motive, right? It’s the same as when someone uses a glass ashtray as a murder weapon in a murder suspense drama.

It’s not about what’s wrong, but rather when it becomes wrong.”

Yuu was confused. He understood what Fuyufu was trying to say. But, he was misled by what the 《Crystal World》 referred to as a “World without lie”. As he thought about it, he asked again.

“But…… there’s also 『mistake』 in lies right? Don’t you think the world will be a better place without misunderstandings and misconceptions──”

“Yuu.”

She called his name and Yuu slowly stopped his tired tongue from moving. Then he realized that hearing Fuyufu defending the existence of lies disturbed him more than it should.

After patiently waiting for Yuu to settle, Fuyufu quietly continued.

“There might be some misunderstanding between you and your mother, Yuu. Maybe you two weren’t able to fully understand each other. But that was maybe because both you and your mother were just simply lying to yourselves, unable to honestly say that you two wanted to be with each other.

But, this sadness of yours comes from the death of your mother, not because there’s fault in both of your ways.”

Fuyufu should already know why Yuu came to see her. Even if she didn’t know about the incident in 『CtG』, she knew what the words that Yuu wanted to hear the most.

So that’s why he spoiled himself to her. [TL: Originally それに甘えて、逆らった。, though I’m not sure what it supposed to mean in this context.]

“But if it’s not wrong, then how come both my mother and I live such lonely lives?”

“If your mother was still alive, the two of you would surely laugh over that misunderstanding and would get along with each other after that. I guarantee it.”

“……How come you can be so sure about it?”

“After all, both of you love each other. I’ve been by your side for a very long time now so I know.

Those feelings are what are important, that’s why even now you still love your mother, right? If it’s truly a mistake, if you truly don’t feel that way, you wouldn’t try so hard to remember her, much less be troubled by it.”

“………Fuyufu”

Fraying around the edges, he let out a miserable voice. Even so, Yuu simply continued to look at Fuyufu.

“To sum it up…… what you are trying to say is……”

He felt embarrassed over what he had just said. Fuyufu averted her eyes and said.

“No lies and no mistakes──

Trying to be perfect in a relationship is bullsh*t is what I’m saying.”

Kasugai Yuu let out a huge laughter, totally ignoring the publics’ eyes.

It’s precisely what she said.

But during all this time, Yuu did not notice.

That one female student was watching him. A girl with her friends, who just happened to be there to buy a green tea that only sold at the vending machine at the school cafeteria.

She was Kugimiya Miharu.

The other three did not notice Yuu. But as they played with with their newly bought canned drink, they noticed that Miharu had just simply stopped walking.

After she opened her can, Tsukami asked.

“What is it, master?”

But the one she asked was disorientated, confused after seeing Kodzuchi Fuyufu happily talking with Yuu with such a defenseless face that she had never seen before. Miharu could only flinch, reacting to Tsukami’s voice.

Tsukami was startled.

“…!? W-why do you look like you are about to cry?”

“Aa, no…… I’m okay.”

After finally getting hold of herself, Miharu hurriedly walked with a quick pace. What kind of face was I’m making? What made me so nervous? The canned green tea she had in her hand suddenly felt cold, so she put it in her bag.

Tsukami, Nogi, and Rokkaku looked at each other and then followed Miharu.

After finally arriving to the shoe locker, Miharu finally stopped.

“What happened? Is there something wrong?”

Tsukami asked worriedly. She was seriously concerned for her. Hearing that, Miharu felt pain in her chest.

“Tsukami-san…… Nogi-san, Rokkaku-san. Do you mind hearing me out?”

“Eh? Aa, yes…”

Feeling something was wrong, the three of them then stood side-by-side and waited for Miharu’s words.

Miharu took a deep breath, exhaled, then timidly told them.

“A-Actually, I… am not a love master”

“Wha-……!?”

Her confession was a shock to Tsukami.

“W-What do you mean, master……?”

“I mean…… I never, had, a boyfriend… or anything like that.”

“Eeeeh!? T-Then, what about that time when you talked about 『100 bad things about my boy friend』 or when you accidentally said 『I don’t know what to do with that when cleaning the bath』 and others, all of those were lies!?”

“Actually, I’m really bad dealing with men……”

“Aaah, come to think of it you barely talk with the boys, don’t you?”

“I’ve seen you talk with Idiot-kun, but well, your seats are close to each other so it’s inevitable, I guess.”

Nogi and Rokkaku seemed to accept her confession rather easily. But Tsukami was different.

“What didn’t you tell us sooner……?”

She asked as she stared at Miharu.

“I-I’m sorry for kind of deceiving you girls……”

Miharu apologized, but Nogi gave her a hand-chop.

“There’s no need to apologize. To be blunt, it’s also our fault for having this misunderstanding.

Tsukami aside, we somewhat figured that out ourselves.”

“I-Is that so……?”

“We had our doubts when we saw you, Kugimiya-san, avoiding boys every time you pass by them on the hall. It’s unlikely such a timid girl would date a guy so far as to live with him. To add, your stories kind of messed up. From time to time, you talk about a kid and all.

Or more like, it’s hard to believe that a guy, who would name his child after the name of his ex-girlfriend, and who you said is a girl with a really bad personality, would exist.”

Rokkaku smiled a little and fixed the position of her glasses.

“Eeeh…… if you knew, then just please say so!”

To begin with, Nogi and Rokkaku weren’t as angry as Tsukami. After knowing that, all the tension left Miharu, but then another fear struck.

Could it be that her friends were making fun of her inside as they listened to her eventful life stories ──Although it’s mostly complaints about her life with Yuu ──. That might had been the case.

As she thought about that, she got worried. But she also realized that although tiring, she enjoyed all of those times she spent with them, and because she was so afraid of losing it, she didn’t even try to clear the misunderstanding.

Her past-self would most likely stop there and let the misunderstanding continue. But now as she had Haruha who looked up to her, standing still was no longer an option.

“Errm…… if you knew from the start, then why did you let me talk about it?”

Nogi and Rokkaku then went “Eee…..” and looked at each other. Then, they both laughed.

“After all, it’s seemed interesting of course.”

“Yes. I really like that weird couple that comes in Kugimiya-san’s stories.

It makes me want to cheer them on.”

It as if she got lifted up to the sky. Miharu unconsciously stood on her toes. So this was what it felt like being happy, she thought.

“W-Well, my Kurino-kun is not as awful as master’s boyfriend (provisional) though.”

“Like we said, he’s not yours.”

……………………

And so the topic got derailed, and they ended up taking about how Tsukami would get Kurino, who only thought about the club rather than her. In the end they didn’t talk about the exam because Tsukami wished to forget about it.

“Oooh, so there’s that! As expected from master, so tricky!”

“I’m neither master nor tricky……”

She felt a strange pain in her chest when she witnessed that scene back in the cafeteria, but as if someone had just pulled out the big nail that was piercing her chest, she now felt slightly bit better.

◇Part 2◇

“……So you’re saying that I’m a fake created by the『CtG』 computer?”

That night.

Haruha, Clamp, Mifa, and one more person went to the spot where the “Ghosts” were hiding. They said that they regularly changed places, but they hadn’t moved elsewhere since yesterday.

Clamp and three others took Yusra somewhere else, away from the rest of the “Ghosts” and briefed her on the truth of this case.

By the way, the rest of the “Ghosts” were circling around one of Clamp’s conspicuous companion.

A moving and talking giant mushroom doll.

“C-Could it be you’re that famous wilderness kidnapper, Paya The Kid!?”

“I heard he got petrified by a Basilisk in the desert, though.”

“Indeed, something did turn into a stone and was scattered──”

Payakino made sure everyone was looking at itself before it continued.

“The Basilisk, it was!”

BOO!

With the stylish mushroom joke, the “Ghosts” who had only little exposure to entertainment ── even though they were in a game ── in their life burst out laughing.

Yusra listened to their laugher from afar and changed her wording.

“In other words, we can’t go back…… or more like, to begin with, we never had a place to return to…… is that it?”

“Yes…… I’ve met Kanna in the real world, but her personality is different.”

Clamp decided to reveal everything and talked about the stuff that happened in the real world. At first, he thought she would be mad, but it looked like she seemed rather relieved instead. She didn’t say it out loud, but she’s happy that her family won’t be worried.

After that, Clamp moved on to the main topic.

“But there is a way to fix it. According to those who created Ikui, it’s possible to return those victims back to normal with Ikui’s power.”

“There is no way she would do that right……”

“That’s why we have to defeat her.”

Yuu(Clamp)’s tone was of one which Sakura(Yusra) had never heard from him before. A sharp and heavy tone.

“I’ll explain the details later, but if Ikui is defeated by a force weaker than her, her willpower…… no, her identity will be lost. When that happens, she will surely acknowledge that you guys are the victims and return you back to normal.”

That was what Niiro Mansei had told him after he had just returned from school, the method to solve this case. In the end, the negotiations ended in failure ── what a useless old man, Yuu thought ──, but it appeared that he managed to make a deal in which Ikui would return all the players she recruited back to normal.

But of course, that only applied if Haruha managed to win in a battle against Ikui.

“When that time comes…… what will happen to us?”

“『CtG』 will be able to register you and your main body as one individual, and you will… disappear. But, it’s possible to pass on your memory to the main body.

In a sense, it will be like getting back your body.”

Transportation and integration of memory. It’s possible through the technology Haruha used to pass her personality to her real world body. According to Hajime, who spent all night making preparations for it, the chances of it succeeding was very high, even higher than when used by Hadzar.

Quite unexpectedly, Yusra believed him very easily. The days she spent trapped inside a game was quite unbearable it seemed, as the lack of need to eat and the sensation of being immortal can even drive someone insane.

“It’s just…” Yusra looked down.

“Do I even have a place to return?”

“What do you mean?” asked Mifa.

“The other Yusra…… though I’ve only seen her from afar, looked very quiet and calm, and isn’t as rough as me.

In the real world, rather than a sulky faced and half-assed person like me, a person like her who can get along and be friendly with others is better.”

“That……”

Mifa was about to say something but she stopped. She, in the real world was very timid and had no confidence. She understood Sakura(Yusra)’s feelings more than others, as she was a person who behaved the opposite of her counterpart in 『CtG』just like her.

“Especially in my family where my father was an active police, it’s better for a troublemaker daughter like me to never return.”

Yusra tried to smile, but she failed and it came out awkwardly instead.

Yuu recalled Sakura’s past that he heard from the other Yusra. She had lost the thing she poured her life into and was trapped in negative emotions stemmed from how miserable she was.

As someone who knew about her circumstances, Clamp was the one who should had spoken out first, but the first one to move was Haruha.

“Tooouh!”

She jumped and hugged Yusra all of the sudden. Yusra lowered her hips in the process. Haruha then placed her hand on Yusra’s ear and whispered.

“You see, Sakura-chan.”

She spoke in a low voice, she wanted to do a secret talk. Clamp and Mifa looked at them with blank faces.

“What is it…… just speak normally.”

“It’s a secret talk so no.”

“Secret……?”

“Un. Actually, Haruha is not daddy and mommy’s child.”

“Well, of course……”

She accidentally said that loudly, but then she realized. Just what she is. Why she acted as the child of these two high school student. Even though her skills were so awful in the real world, in this virtual world she’s the unstoppable OKG.

There’s no way she’s just a ‘normal’ child.

“Haruha was born inside this game, Haruha is daddy and mommy’s fake child. That’s why, Haruha thought it’s impossible for Haruha to become Sumo-san or idol in the future.

But it’s no good to say that. Daddy said he will no longer by daddy if Haruha say that. Haruha want to continue to be daddy and mommy’s child, so Haruha must behave like a real child.

That’s why, Haruha’s lies are secret.”

“You…… you think, such thing…… is actually possible?”

Her story was hard to believe, but in a sense, Yusra herself was just like her, a person who had no connections with the real world. Then, she remembered.

『Haruha, Haruha is not a human after all.』

『But Haruha can’t eat things like asparagus. When Haruha chew it, Haruhra goes uggeee』

In matter of fact, Haruha was not human, but she worried so much about having food that she didn’t like. Rather than thinking that as a simple personal preference, all differences she had with others made her believe that she herself was not human.

And such clumsy girl was now trying her hardest to cheer up Sakura(Yusra).

“Daddy and mommy said they will be with Haruha even if Haruha is not a human. Daddy and mommy would accompany Haruha in bed, and even when they want to study for exam, they will still hold Haruha’s hand…… Ah, but daddy forgot to buy Haruha a Choko no Egg.”

Strange. Even though the story was cut halfway, she got what Haruha was trying to say.

“That’s why, unlike Haruha who is not a real human, a real human like Sakura-chan will surely able to go back home.

For sure, Sakura-chan’s daddy and mommy will do huggy wuggy with Sakura-chan.”

◆Part 3◆

“It feels like eavesdropping so I’m not sure whether to feel bad about it…” Haruha spoke in a low voice so that Clamp and the rest wouldn’t hear, but it was loud enough for the two people near her in the real world to hear. The black coffin-like Ramiel Haruha is currently mounting on has the function to project all her actions for observation purposes. Of course, it also includes her voice Hajime felt slightly guilt, but Niiro was smiling out of amusement. “Hajime-kun, have you heard of Frankenstein’s story?” “Eh? Aaa…… I’ve only seen the movie about it” To be precise, it’s the story about a student named Frankenstein who used human corpses to create an artificial human. But, after seeing the monster he has created, Frankenstein felt regret and decided to run away leaving the monster alone. Abandoned by his father, the monster felt lonely and chased after Frankenstein and asked him to create another one of his kin. But after Frankenstein rejected his request, the monster went and killed all of Frankenstein’s friends and loved ones── “In that story, the monster did not kill Frankenstein’s loved ones for revenge. Rather, he did so because he wanted to be forgiven by Frankenstein” “? What does that mean?” “The monster has no parents, a person who serves as his guide, so he doesn’t know how to forgive or how to love someone. The only thing he knew was the thing that his father did to him, and that was to isolate him. That’s why he killed Frankenstein’s family and made him alone. What the monster wanted was to be forgiven by Frankenstein. With that, the monster will be able to learn the act of 『Forgiveness』 from his father. But Frankenstein hated the monster. Therefore, the monster was unable to earn forgiveness from the father he pined for the most, and continue to suffer as he disappears” Unsure of whether it was really that kind of story, Hajime couldn’t find the connection between it and the talk Haruha and Yusra had a while ago. Knowing full well what Hajime was thinking, Niiro continues. “What Haruha attempted to do is the opposite. A monster such as herself was forgiven, so there’s no way a decent human like her would not be forgiven. Her way of thinking is too simple, it’s clear that she has not fully understood the concept of being human, therefore she’s so interesting. Well, well──” Niiro laughed as he played around with the bridge of his sunglasses. “She sure is a lovable monster” ◇Part 4◇ “……That’s enough” Yusra interrupted and stretched her back. Her sigh falls on Haruha’s head. “I get what you wanted to say, but you’re making no sense” “You sounds weird, Sakura-chan!” “Look who’s talking…… or more like, come to think of it, unlike you I’m a delinquent. Even if I don’t have a place to go back to, I’ll just do as I like and wonder off somewhere” She said cheerfully and placed her hand on Haruha’s head. Haruha looked up to her with a blank face. “You know; you are definitely unfit to be a sumo player” “Unn……” “But, maybe you can be an idol instead” Haruha made the brightest smile yet. “Aa…… un! Haruha will do her best to practice handshaking!” “Oi, go apologize for that stupid misunderstanding about being a idol!” Haruha pursued Yusra to hug her and Yusra tried to peel her away. Clamp and Mifa glanced at each other and smiled. It seems their child finally made a friend. ───The “Ghosts” showed various reactions regarding their current situation after they were informed by Yusra. There were those who couldn’t accept that they’re the fake one, and there are those who were relieved that they’re not troubling their parents. But most can’t even decide how to react to the situation. Later, after hearing Clamp’s request, around 40% of them agreed. Looking at the number alone, only a few dozen were willing to cooperate. 『Please cooperate with me to defeat Ikui, in the other word, to takeover Crystal Hotel』 That was his request. The “Ghosts” original plan was to have OKG(Haruha) to kill Ikui, so it also works in their favor. 『Ikui Librium is basically a hacker who illegally used hypnosis and did Avatar replication, but since the administrators doesn’t have any evidence they can’t make a move. Clamp and his group made a promise with Ikui, if they able to defeat Ikui who’s hiding inside Crystal Hotel she will return all the victims back to normal and disband 《Crystal World》』 That’s how that scenario goes. It’s a lie to have them to cooperate without telling them about the Hadzar. It’s painful to keep secrets in this situation, but Yuu was already determined to do anything to protect Haruha’s life. But since it’s still quite an unbelievable story, no one believed them, but around 40% of the “Ghosts” thought that they didn’t have any other options so they choose to cooperate. It’s way more than what Yuu predicted. It seemed that a lot of “Ghosts” believes that even if this is a trap, things won’t get any worse. Well then…. As far as they know, the target Ikui Librium has never stepped foot outside Crystal Hotel since the first time she started recruiting people. Hajime said it’s too bothersome to confirm, but she hypothesized that Ikui who stayed inside 『CtG』 24/7 has already deeply rooted herself inside that transparent fortress. Their victory condition is to defeat Ikui, and their defeat condition is failing to defeat Ikui before the deadline. Since Ikui confined herself inside, there’s no other option but to raid her place. Haruha offered to go in by herself, but was refused instantly. Everything will end if Ikui got her hands on Haruha, so having Haruha to serve as the vanguard is not an option. To begin with, a《Crystal World》 warrior is practically invincible in indoor places like Crystal Hotel thanks to their perfect formations and linked movements. Even with Haruha’s strength, it’s uncertain whether she can win against their number. “I have a plan” After looking at the face of their allies── Not just Yusra, but also Anzu and Ren is among them── Clamp voiced his scheme. “We will first cause a distraction inside and charge in, as the rest of you hold back the masked men, I will go straight to Ikui and defeat her” “……What a plan, Ikui can read minds can’t she…….?” Ren with her braids hanging from underneath her hood expressed her concern. “Forget about getting inside, they should be able to read our minds just from getting close to the building” Clamp nodded and ascertained. “The only one who can read minds is just Ikui. That’s why there’s a way. So everyone, please hold back the masked men for me till I defeat Ikui.” After that Clamp explained his plan in greater detail and adjusted it alongside the others. By the way, “……He’s wicked as always.” That was Yusra’s first thought after hearing Clamp’s plan. Mifa nodded in agreement. The “Ghosts” who had their armor stripped off them were given equipment Clamp bought with his own money, and they adjusted themselves with their new weapons and equipment. Haruha was allowed to participate under the condition of only supporting from the rear. ──Thus, the curtain of the fight between Haruha and Ikui Librium, and their kin will now fall. ◇Part 5◇ ──If a shadow passed through your body as you looked at the moon above, it’s undoubtedly her mischief. The vast forest swallowed by iridescent light was the reflection of ancient time, the entrance to infinity. That was a place filled with overwhelming force of magic. You were tied by its law, and she had casted her spell on you. She, who was playing under the moonlight, would soon be referred to as a witch. And you, who were enchanted by her, would be laughed by the fairies and feel discomfort. It was the seeker of truth’s dark night. The night of pilgrims’ memorial vigil festival that mystified the world. That was the magicians’ other side of the rainbow, Its name was Wizards’ Glaive── The next day. Brandt, a masked swordsman with the number『41』 and also a member of《Crystal World》, exited Raiankarydi’s church. Using a teleportation item to teleport himself to the guild base, he then hurriedly entered the Crystal Hotel. Brandt was a college student. After receiving an e-mail delivered from the Ramiel to his mobile terminal, he left the evening laboratory and hurriedly logged into 『CtG』with the Ramiel at the boarding house. In the mail was the news that the hotel had been attacked today and that he should solidify their defenses. The sender was †Noa†, the number 『1』, under Ikui Librium’s orders. Brandt’s thoughts were simple. Just do what he felt. Ikui Librium’s thoughts were supposedly the mix of a vast number of different individuals’ desires; the final piece for humanity’s ascension and the holder of truths. And he who synchronised with it was able to take the best course of action in any situation just by relying on his intuition. As long it’s not unreasonable, he would obediently respond to Ikui Librium’s calls. He would simply execute any orders without a second thought. To remind himself of that, he put on his mask. The moment Brandt arrived, 32 of 《Crystal World》 members had already assembled. They must’ve arrived here earlier to station themselves as guards. Crystal Hotel was a four story high long tower with a 400 square meter sized ground floor. There were no gates. It’s because, regardless of whether they were a guest or enemy, there was no need for them to reject anyone. There were also no kinds of furniture inside, but on the ground floor there were training dummies made of wood lined up. Anyhow, since the floors were also made out of crystal, just by looking up, he could see the situation above. There were eight people on the third floor. He could see the footwear of his comrades and their long-nosed masks. And on the fourth floor, which was the highest floor of the tower, was their leader, Ikui Librium, her aide, †Noa†, and two of their highest leveled magic warriors. Brandt heard from †Noa†, the number 『1』, that Ikui Librium was Hadzar, who was a miracle existence who obtained a body in this virtual world and if she ever got a game over she would not be able to return here. Also, if they lost her, they wouldn’t be able to maintain 《Crystal World》anymore. The frustration of not being able to show result in collage, the feeling of inferiority towards his more talented underclassman, and the strong pressure from his teachers; this place had saved him from all of those. That’s why; Brandt must protect the key to this equilibrium crystal world no matter what. In this world without lie, the concept of truth didn’t exist. That’s why, it’s so kind. “………Something is coming.” Murmured the girl with the mask numbered 『44』, Yusra. Hearing her, he pulled himself together. In the direction of where she was looking, pass the front side of the hotel’s crystal walls, dozens of Avatars showed up. The majority of their displayed data seen through AR Mode appeared to be broken. They were “Ghosts” that were born after they synchronized with Ikui Librium. It seemed that Brandt’s “Ghost” was not among them. He didn’t know why but all members of 《Crystal World》 felt hostility towardS the “Ghosts”. They instinctively wanted to destroy them, especially their own “Ghost”. Because of that, they had fought against them several times already, but this was the first time the other side chose to attack first. So, it seemed that today’s raid was about them. Brandt stopped thinking any further and proceeded to take action as the number『41』── though all he did was just holding his weapon. Crystal Hotel was much sturdier than it looked. To begin with, the strength of《Crystal World》 depended on how Ikui Librium was able to immediately anticipate and counter even the opponent’s most bizarre of strategies. That’s why there was neither need for uneasiness nor room for lies in this transparent chamber. With a crystal-clear mind, Brandt began to chant the 《Acceleration(Accelerate)》spell in preparation to repel the attackers… But then his whole torso burst open and flew off. That moment── In other words, the moment 『41』’s upper half swelled up like a pumpkin and exploded, the masked Yusra heard the screams of the masked『1』, †Noa†, who was supposedly be protecting Ikui Librium, but had just now come down by elevator. “Everyone, distance yourselves from those who just now arrived from Raiankarydi! There are some kind of explosive hidden inside their body!” However when that comment was made, Yusra’s mask was already dyed red by the fresh blood of their comrade. 『41』’s remains looked akin to a sticky anemone. “H…… human bomb……!?” “Great── it’s time to go!” Under Clamp’s command, all members of the Ikui subjugation squad dashed and entered the Crystal Hotel. Out of the blue, the crystal clear glass tower that was beautifully reflecting light a few minutes ago were now dyed red with blood. It’s all because the Avatars who unknowingly entered the tower with a bomb planted somewhere within their body exploded one after another. “Oaaah…… I did ask for their cooperation, but this is way too gruesome……” The “Ghost” Yusra clamped her mouth with her hand to hold herself from vomiting. Approaching closer to the tower, she could see the bits of brains and organs sliding down the bloody wall. It must have been the remains of corpses of people that recently leaned on it. The trick to it was surprisingly easy. All they had to do was, just wait for a masked avatar come out from the Raiankarydi church and ambush them. Afterwards, with ‘item installation coordinate’ bug, they planted a bomb trap within their bodies that would explode when magic was activated. Normally one would notice when a bomb was planted within their body. But due to 『CtG』 specification, the condition of one’s stomach was based upon the player’s body in the real world so no one would realize when anything was put within their virtual stomach. All that was left was to let the《Crystal World》 members to get into battle fervor. Since they’re within Wizards’ Glaive ground, there was no doubt that all the players here could use support magic. The biggest advantage of this method was that people who brought the trap themselves had no knowledge about it so even Ikui Librium wasn’t be able to sense it. Frankly speaking, among the 30 people stationed within the hotel, only 5 of them had the bomb planted within them, but it’s enough to bring 《Crystal World》 into panic. The moment Yusra rushed into the hotel, she could see that the remaining masked men were dumbfounded. They had just witnessed the lifeless corpses(mannequin) pieces of their fallen comrades that was drowning in the sea of blood disintegrate with the explosion. Before the opponents could recover, Clamp and Mifa quickly advanced up to the upper floor. After they defeated the masked men hindering their path, they climbed aboard the elevator leading to the top floor. “Dammit!” But, because of that, the masked man recovered instantly. Before, they couldn’t move, they were paranoid over who planted those bombs and what triggered them to explode. However, it was nothing compared to the fact that they’re now in the dire situation where Ikui was going to be killed. That realization itself reminded them that there was no time to waste dumbfounded. “I won’t let you……!” The shadow that chased after Clamp and his friends was the mask number 『44』── the real Yusra. She tried to get into the closing elevator door with bullet-like speed, but… Suddenly she was tackled from her side and taken down before she was able to reach the door. “Your opponent… is me!!!” Wearing the exact same equipment as the real one, the “Ghost” Yusra wore a savage and maniacal smile on her face and fell into a stance. “With you as my opponent… finally, I won’t have to run away from anything in this game anymore, right!!?” Provoked, 『44』 stood up. “Ghost” Yusra could feel a strong hatred flaring up behind the mask. There were people prepared to ambush them on the third floor, but the elevator Clamp and others rode went pass the third floor and safely reached the top floor. On the third floor, Payakino, who bravely clung the outer wall like a slug, wielded a witch-ish broom and used it to defeat her enemies. Despite being awfully outnumbered, Payakino put up a good fight thanks to the tremendous impact of the element of surprise. It looked like Payakino was able to hold them down for a while. The instant the elevator door opened, Mifa whispered. “In here, I can help, so I’ll go too.” Since the door opened immediately, Clamp had no time to think over what she said. Though he might have anticipated that she would say that. And, the one waiting for them on the top floor was their target Ikui and the two bodyguards who cut off both of Clamp’s legs the other day. They had already unsheathed their swords. The two bodyguards had already cast their 《Acceleration(Accelerate)》 magic. Aided by a pair of lightning orbs, the two of them were ready and charged straight towards Clamp and Mifa. The bodyguards were both experienced players and were of course many levels higher than Mifa and even Clamp. If they take even a step outside the elevator they would instantly had turned into minced meat. “………” In such situation, Ikui, who might’ve read Clamp’s thoughts, opened her mouth. “One should not go.” Those words were for the two knights and were why Clamp stepped outside without even waiting for her to finish her words. Reflexively──because Ikui failed to stop them in time──The two knights rushed forward. The one who took the next action was none other than the person standing diagonally behind Clamp, Mifa, who had just finished her magic chant(charge).. What she cast was the same 《Acceleration(Accelerate)》 that the knights cast, but was directed towards Clamp. The orbs of lightning that exhibited great buffing effect ran towards Clamp. And the《Magic Reflection(Reflect Magic)》 that she cast on Clamp in advance repelled the bulbs and they flew in all directions. And that support magic hit one of the knights. Naturally the knight paid no heed to that. Not only did support magic not give any damage at all, it was actually increasing his speed── but, in the next moment. “Nngh!?” The knight, whose movement got accelerated beyond his imagination, couldn’t control his direction and hit the wall before he could attack Clamp. *Crash*… the heavy noise from the impact echoed. He hit the wall headfirst, broke his neck and became a lifeless corpse. The other knight drove towards Clamp, but the attack he unleashed was stopped by Clamp’s single-edged sword(Scaramax).. He might have been startled from the unexpected loss of comrade. Mifa once again used 《Acceleration(Accelerate)》 and like before, it was repelled by Clamp. The knight who he was fighting with couldn’t avoid it. Therefore, he reflexively took a back step. But that was a mistake. “What!?” Having only managed a half-assed escape, Clamp, who did not let the chance slide, quickly penetrated the base of his neck with his blade. That was when Mifa had casted offensive magic in the form of wind blades, crippling the rest of his endurance value(Hit Point) and turning him into a mannequin. Ikui, who had till now just watched her two guards being defeated by such bizarre methods, muttered as she read what’s inside Clamp’s head. “I see. You’re utilizing the bug that allows the same magic to overlap with each other. Same instances of support magic normally won’t overlap with each other, but the magic that got reflected by 《Magic Reflection(Reflect Magic)》 has a different registry ID to non-reflected ones and so the game takes it as different kind of magic and allow it to overlap.” 《Acceleration(Accelerate)》 was a magic that require considerable amount of skill to begin with, overlapping it would make one accelerate as fast as a race machine. And of course, being in such a state, one would be driven into a panic and caused an accident. It’s obvious that no one would cast support magic on their ally who had 《Magic Reflection(Reflect Magic)》 on, so no one who played the game normally would figure this out. (I’m amazed how he found these bugs one after another…… He said it’s due to his mother’s programming habit though.) Thought Mifa as she let out a sigh. “Iku thought the same. But Iku did not think that Kasugai Yuu’s attachment to his mother was anything remarkable.” Receiving unexpected agreement, she got Goosebumps. She heard about her already, but it’s amazing how she was able to read other person’s thought so accurately. Even now, could it be she’s reading all countermeasures they prepared for her…….? “Well then……. Check!” Along with Clamp’s shout as he faced his sword towards Ikui, Mifa felt even more nervous than the time she fought Memento. Not yet. The crucial part started now. “Ukyaaaa!?” Anzu had a large build, but her scream was cute. Not long ago she was wildly crushing the enemies with the hammer she wielded, but once the 《Crystal World》 members got hold of themselves again, she was quickly pushed back. (Still…… I don’t want to die.) After hearing that not only their body but also their sense of self were actually fake, getting a game over without having a real body was scary. They were reminded of how important it was for 『CtG』 to be a game that “no matter how realistic it was; you can go home anytime”. The dimly distorted world seen through her narrowed eyes, Anzu recalled the face inside the mask of the person who tried to break her head open was her own face. It’s clear that the current her was trying to kill the past her. When she was still in kindergarten she thought of becoming a magical girl and by the time entering elementary school, she’s aiming to become a pastry chef. It changed every single time, and now…… what was her dream again? Wasn’t it normal for her “Ghost” self to end up just like her other dying dreams? Anzu felt composed and closed her eyes. But no matter how long she waited, the final blow never came. The knight that was attacking Anzu had turned into a neck-less mannequin. There’s no need to think who did it. It’s that girl, even now that girl was massacring both in and out of Anzu’s field of vision. The girl was wearing a witch’s pointed hat, black clothes, and wielded two hatchets with her tiny little hands. The figure of her dyeing the clear crystal tower with the letters of blood in a flash was like that of a small black whirlwind. The only reason why they were able to fight equally on the first floor where they lost in both quality and numbers was thanks to none other than this girl. (Amazing……. She really is the OKG!) Finally overcoming the worse, she was impressed. But, even such Haruha was not invisible. “Haruha-chan, watch out!” The moment she shouted, it’s already too late. Along with the knights who were holding Haruha back, they were hit by powerful electric shock. Mask number 『１』. It was †Noa†’s work. Haruha seemed to have retreated with a jump but it should’ve dealt damage to her. She dropped one of her axes and dropped to one knee. She glared at †Noa† expressionlessly. “That’s not good. Even though this is a game, it’s wrong for a kid like you to fight. A kid is born to be loved, protected, and grow. That’s the truth. Let alone to do such scary surprise attack(lie)” Despite saying so, †Noa† still attacked her. To Anzu, what he did was nothing but eerie. It’s also strange how no one had ever seen his “ghost”. Could it be that he had this kind of twisted personality like the rest of 《Crystal World》 to begin with? (But Clamp, who nonchalantly carried out a plan using human bombs, was also a problem I think.) †Noa† stepped up and presented his hand to her. “I heard that you’re an equal existence to Ikui Librium. But, you won’t be able to grow properly in this lie-filled world. You must return to our side before your heart gets changed by the chemical reaction. Let’s become Ikui Librium just like us and live in the world of crystal.” “……Why don’t you understand?” Answered Haruha without a single bit of anger or malice. She just simply wondered from the bottom of her heart, her voice sounding hollow. “You people hurt Sakura-chan you know? You know, Sakura-chan is very good with games, she even gave Haruha a sheep doll, and it made mommy really happy, Sakura-chan also tried her best to defeat daddy, and she taught Haruha that delinquent is strong and cool.” †Noa†── couldn’t understand what she’s saying. Anzu couldn’t either, but she somewhat got what she was trying to say. Yusra, whom Anzu first met as a fellow newbie, continued to support her till she could play by herself. Yusra was a very blunt and clumsy girl, but she was also very kind and good with taking care of others. Yusra was that kind of person. “Haruha…… hates you people.” Haruha stood up. “To do the same thing with that kind of people── Haruha, can’t stand it, it’s sickening!” The fight between two Yusras had inevitably become a long battle. “Ghost’s” stats were equal to their counterpart and it was the same for their equipment. Knowing full well the strengths of each other, the two felt hesitant to stand forward. As if they had forgotten that they were in a virtual world where there’s no pain, the two were awfully anxious. Losing was not an option. Both of them hated each other. She wanted to be praised, she didn’t want to be hated, and in doing so she overdid herself and destroyed her own dreams, therefore she hated such an obedient self. She directed anger to everyone, she rebelled needlessly. In doing so, she refused to acknowledge her own powerlessness and could no longer enjoy the game that she liked. Thus, she hated such an annoying self. Neither of them would stay sane unless they beat the other person. There can only be one! ──That was the conclusion Yusra had reached as a “Ghost”. Therefore, Yusra moved in a desperate rush. The other her reflexively intercepted it and launched a counter. That’s when she grabbed the arm of her other self. “Aagh…….” “You’re really naïve huh…… even though we are inside a game, you are always like that.” That’s why, she was able to predict her attack. It was a battle of wits. And so she was able to catch “her own” shoulder ── The shoulder that was injured in the real world ──, and detached it’s joint without hesitation. The abnormal sound of her ligament tearing, which should only ring from inside her body, was played inside her head. Even though she shouldn’t feel any pain, the eyes inside that mask were wide open…… Did it hurt? It was painful even for a “Ghost” after all. But the “Ghost” lied to that pain. To change and to grow up she could just lie to her current self. After that, that lie would become the truth. Then, with her strongest offensive Fist skill, Yusra crushed the face of her other self. ──Meanwhile, as Kanna Sakura’s fight with herself finally reached a conclusion. Clamp and Mifa were at their wit’s end. They have used up all possible methods to defeat an opponent who could read other people’s mind like in a fantasy novel or manga. Thinking of nothing but a brick wall── except, they couldn’t move while doing that. Trying to overwhelm her by the sheer number of moves── except, they’re no match for Hadzar’s battle prowess. Attack her with a wide AOE (*Area of Effect*) magic or bombs that targeted the entire room── except, she would quickly figure it out and take cover behind Clamp and Mifa’s bodies. Using hypnosis to forget their own plans and wait till that plan was ready to be executed── except, they didn’t have any method to hypnotize themselves with. Presently, after being casted 《Acceleration(Accelerate)》 on him by Mifa, Clamp simply swung his sword furiously. Unsurprisingly all of his attacks were completely blocked. Ikui loosely held her wand and indifferently stopped attacking. “There will always will be a few milliseconds of lag before the human body can move in response to the signal sent by their brain. The same applied even in 『CtG』. But Iku can see that signal. And with Hadzar’s processing speed, Iku can plan countermeasures to any actions that is intuitive .” “……It’s not that you can read other’s minds, but you live in a different flow of time compared to other humans, is that what you’re saying?” Clamp clicked his tongue. So it meant, to her, it was like playing a winning game. Ikui heard that with her unchanging, expressionless face. But, she did not ignore it. “That’s right. It’s accurate to think that the time Iku sees is different compared to other people. But, the same applies for the current humanity. Since the speed of light is finite, the person that another person sees is actually younger than they currently are, therefore a human is a lonely creature that cannot share the same time with others. But Iku’s disproportionation unifies their brains, nullifies that lag, the lie of time.” Ikui’s power to unify human beings’ thoughts might be the only solution to unify the time differences between people. But… “It’s so complicated that I don’t get it but…… isn’t trying to fill up that gap of lag is what makes people grow right!? Once you try to think of the other person, you should be able to know even things 10 years ahead! That’s right── the feeling for others can surpass time itself!” Said Mifa strongly. Clamp couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m amazed you aren’t embarrassed saying that…….” “I-It’s not embarrassing! After all, when I thought that Haruha will sleep 3 minutes after getting into bed, she really did. I also know that when you start becoming conscious of my eyes, you will go to the toilet the minute after, Kasugai-kun──Geez, just why do you act so embarrassed like that── It’s va…. valuable scientific data right!” Insisted Mifa. Miharu couldn’t help but feel affection for Haruha who continued to worry about Yusra so much that she couldn’t sleep. Therefore, there’s no way she would admit that her daughter was inferior to Iku. “”If that is the case, then all you have to do is to be one step ahead of her.” But, no matter how much she worked her imagination she wouldn’t be able to predict Ikui Librium’s movement. Ikui wielded her wand like a spear and played around with Clamp’s sword, all the while poking at Mifa’s staff. Then the two of them flinched, and were hit by the shockwave magic, 《Shot Blow》. It was not that powerful but they were blown off far away. The same thing happened repeatedly, and the two were defeated despite their two-on-one advantage. Ikui had low attack power and unlike Haruha or Memento, she didn’t attack their weak points, so they were able to survive without receiving a fatal wound. It’s not that she’s going easy on them, but it’s because Ikui was determined to “Disproportionate” them. Her aim was not to defeat Clamp and Mifa. Ikui was calm. She delivered a powerful stare that was enough to intimidate her enemies. She’s the complete opposite of Haruha who let her emotions control her. Clamp took a deep breath as he held his single-edged sword(Scaramax).. (This situation… has deteriorated.) Ikui’s main goal was to separate the two of them and disproportionate either one of them. That’s why as long he continued to stay by Mifa’s side, she wouldn’t go for the kill. But, doing that won’t fully prevent her from killing them. As long as one of them received a game over in one way or another, she could just take out the remaining one. And they did not have the option of retreating. They couldn’t just simply use the same tactics twice after all, if they did they wouldn’t even be able to face Ikui like this anymore. And the team below who were holding back the enemy should already be at their limit. (I wonder what Haruha is doing right now……) What came to his mind was a small girl who had just recently became his family. It’s hard to imagine that she would lose to a normal human, but he couldn’t help but to feel worried. Haruha’s main body was now in the real world, so even if she got a game over she wouldn’t disappear. But, if Clamp lost her and let Iku and her 《Crystal World》 run loose, sooner or later they would cause a disturbance and the administration team would have to shut down 『CtG』. If that happened, Haruha could no longer regularly log-in to『CtG』 and her life would be in crisis as she couldn’t clear up all the information processing errors she got from staying in the real world. He couldn’t afford to let himself lose here. “Why?” Ikui tilted her head a little. “Why are you obsessed over fake connections? You two are not connected to Haruha by blood or even have any social obligation towards her. To begin with, she’s just a fake child whom was forced on you two by the institute that is still hiding the truth.” Clamp and Mifa did not answer. Just read our minds as you please. Even if their meeting with Haruha was arranged by someone, even if it was just for the convenient of others, and even if she’s not biologically or artificially Yuu and Miharu’s child…. Still, thanks to that lie, Yuu and Miharu were able to meet Haruha. She happily talked to them, jumped into their arms, and in the end they were able to smile together alongside her bright smile. He began to understand the meaning of “It’s not what is wrong, but when that becomes wrong.” the phrase that Fuyufu had said. Lies were── “What is not right.”, “What is not truth.”, and “What is different.” were the greatest obstacles in communication, but at the same time, a form of possibility that surpassed the reality. And that could only be established if there was someone else who possessed a heart that was different from your own. That’s why. Even if it’s sometimes sad, even if it’s sometimes painful, even if it’s sometimes cruel, and even if it’s sometimes messy. Yuu wished for a world where there were others. That moment. A person was climbing the stairs. Reflexively, he thought it was Payakino who defeated the rest of 《Crystal World》 reinforcements. It’s not. It was someone who shouldn’t appear here. That’s why, to Yuu, and Miharu, it was precisely… “You’re lying…… right?” It was Ren. A petite girl who was among the herd of “ghosts” hiding in the forest. She participated in this crystal hotel conquer battle. Usually, she hid under the shadow of Anzu. But Ren wasn’t a “Ghost”. Her status data seen through AR mode was not garbled and her name and status were displayed normally. And right now, she took off her hood that she used to wear and exposed her face. Her black hair flowed out and fluttered right on top her shoulder. On her face lay a pair of eyes that saw through everything. ──She looked quite different because of her long hair, but there’s no doubt that she’s Kodzuchi Fuyufu. “Fuyufu!?” Yuu(Clamp) yelled at her, but Fuyufu(Ren) ignored him and marched forward. Her cloak fluttered, revealing her armour that perfectly matched her body-line and the wavy dagger in her hand. “Follow me, Yuu!” There’s no need for explanation. With her wavy dagger (Kris Naga), she aimed at Ikui’s waist── Naturally, Ikui Librium noticed that. Her field of vision expanded throughout the entire area of the transparent tower. And then she figured it out, Ren’s──Kodzuchi Fuyufu’s plan. By deeply investigating Kasugai Yuu’s personal information and that child, she managed to link herself to the Memento and OKG incident. As she continued to look for Clamp in CtG, she noticed the similarities between the Memento incident and the current bizarre phenomenon where people fell into a coma in real world. Sniffing out the rumours concerning 《Crystal World》, Ren disguised herself as a “Ghost” to collect information and waited for Clamp’s arrival. Putting aside the fact that it’s related to “Haruha”, there was no way Yuu would simply allow the guys do weird things in the game his mother made. Fuyufu herself had no intention of forgiving Ikui who caused troubles for the “Ghost” in Yuu’s game. That’s why, she waited for Yuu to knead a plan to defeat Ikui who posseses the power to see into people’s mind. And now, by revealing herself at this moment, she finally executed her plan. The reason why Ikui Librium did not prevent her scheme was because she had doubts as to whether it’s possible or not. Fuyufu’s plan was── to make Yuu confused. On top of that, she planned to defeat Ikui together with Yuu’s help who’s in a confused state. With that, there’s no way Ikui would be able to read their precise movement and they should be able to find an opening. It’s reckless. It’s tactless. It’s absurd. However, Ren believed that “No matter how confused he become, Yuu should be able to do it.” from the bottom of her heart. In that regard, there was not a single lie in her heart. That’s why Ikui found that incomprehensible and decided to deal with it face to face. She’s determined to show how much she could read through both Ren and Clamp’s thoughts. Ikui Librium stared with her insightful eyes that were able to see deep inside a person. And the images of Clamp’s thoughts flowed into her── ──By the time she noticed, she, Ikui Librium, had vomited blood. While being held tight (TL note: Fuyufu/Ren use ( ) on Ikui) by Ren from behind, she was stabbed by Clamp’s single-edged sword(Scaramax). Alongside Ren who stopped Ikui’s movement, Clamp’s blade pierced through Ikui’s heart. Double Hit ! Critical Hit ! On the crystal wall behind the two girls who were pierced through, copious letters of blood were displayed. “──Got you” “…………?” She couldn’t comprehend what just happened. “Why… why… why were you able to pierce through Ikui while lusting over the girl you live together with?” No, judging from the motor orders given from his brain to his muscles, it should be easy for her to avoid him. But, because she was busy tracking the explosive thoughts inside Clamp’s head, she couldn’t move. Could it be that the thought of understanding Kodzuchi Fuyufu’s intent and the answer to it is mixed somewhere inside that chaotic torrent of thought? “……Are you two also an eq(Iku) (TL note: EQ as in Emotional Quotient also known as Emotional Intelligence.) ?” “No, we’re not. Like hell I can understand what Fuyufu is thinking about. But…… if there’s something I can say about it.” Clamp gouged in his sword and rapidly reduced her HP. Then he continued. “It’s 『familiarity』.” It felt kind of stupid to continue so he stopped── but maybe just like Mifa said, the feeling of wanting to understand someone else might be able to exceed even time. Ren’s body had already turned into a fibrous corpse. Ikui’s body too started to turn into one. Because she relied on her absolute danger avoidance skill, she did not enhance her strength or defense. As her consciousness fell alongside her blood, Ikui Librium let out a sigh and cursed. “Like hell…… I can read that………!” That time. All the masked warrior on the first floor of Crystal hotel stopped moving. The united thoughts itself had no connection to Ikui’s survival. But, all member of 《Crystal World》 felt the disappearance of Ikui Librium. Similarly, the “Ghosts” and Haruha stopped moving. The fight was over. “Just what……” The number 『１』†Noa† who barely survived with just one leg and an eye faced towards the ground with regret. “Now, it’s no longer possible to spread 《Crystal World》’s teaching……” Anzu who somehow managed to survive approached him and asked. “But, if it continues like this, you…… I mean we, will just be a multiplying machine.” In other words, a slave of a gene that wished for nothing but self-replication. Though it might sound good in a way. “If we turn into a machine, we can live on without being betrayed or having to betray someone. No one will fight over the feeling of likes and dislikes. And even if a war is to happen, all we need to do is to adjust the irregularity and everything will end comfortably. Ikui Librium was a messiah who could turn humans into machine while maintaining their intelligence.” †Noa† was the only member of 《Crystal World》that fully accepted Ikui’s power while maintaining his original personality. Therefore, he might be the first human to receive Ikui’s copy. As she looks down at the despairing man, Haruha, who was still holding her blood drenched Hatchet, said. “It’s more human-like for a person to hate something.” “Oi, I’m the one who said that first. Don’t steal it.” Replied Yusra who had fallen on the ground by her side. Back at the top floor. “Mifa!” As Ikui’s body had fully turned into a mannequin confirming that the battle already ended, Clamp called to her desperately “Y-Yes!?” Since Fuyufu(Ren)’s appearance, Mifa who was shocked the entire time let out a stupid voice. “What? Is it not over yet?” But Clamp quickly called out the log out option from the menu screen. Even though it would give him a penalty for using it inside a building. “Sorry, but, handle the rest okay!” Leaving that, he disappeared in a hurry. She didn’t even have time to properly bid farewell. Miharu(Mifa) quickly figured out what he meant. Even though it was only through her back, that girl made contact with Ikui as she received a game over, he must be going to her place in the real world to check on her condition. “………………” Overwhelmed by fatigue, she fell. “Ahaha…… even in here I became tired due to helping Kasugai-kun……” Even though she should hurry up and meet Haruha, she couldn’t stand up properly. She couldn’t help but hate herself. In a sense, Yuu’s action to check on Fuyufu’s condition as soon as possible was right. It’s wrong to feel shocked over it. In-spite of that…… ──*poof* A very soft hand rested on Mifa’s shoulder. She looked up and saw Payakino, who just reached the top floor, and its face. It’s the face that earnestly looked after Haruha in CtG alongside Mifa and Clamp. Their one additional family member. Looking at it made her feel assured. Though it might just be because Payakino got hit by fire magic just now, it was emitting a savoury smell. ◆Part 6◆ The first time she was ignored by Yuu was during their second year of elementary school, right at the start of summer vacation. At that time, Yuu and Fuyufu were classmates. When Yuu was spacing out in his seat, she tried to ask about his schedule for the holiday. Shortly afterwards, she realized. He’s hiding something. So, she pursued him as usual. When they were young, Fuyufu would always expose Yuu’s lies and force him to tell the truth, that was their way of communication ── That’s what Fuyufu thought──. But, at that time, Yuu went through and played innocent. Instead of carelessly lying that he wasn’t hiding anything, he just stayed silent no matter what Fuyufu said to him. He ignored her. Fuyufu was furious. Mad, she said she won’t play with Yuu anymore. Yuu looked surprised── but in the end he didn’t apologize. For three days, the two didn’t say anything to each other. Losing to their mothers’ demand, the two were together on their way to and back from school, but the two stayed silent and wouldn’t even exchange greetings. And sure enough, Yuu stopped coming to Fuyufu’s room. Even though I’ve been taking care of him like my little brother, does he have any complaints now? Or has he become embarrassed talking to a girl in class? Does he, hate me now? Lunch break. Fuyufu was watching Yuu happily playing with the other boys at the playground and thought as such to herself, but she couldn’t find an answer to it. And then on the third day. Fuyufu, who continued to worry for three days straight, suddenly felt sick in the middle of class, went to the toilet, and vomited. She cleared all the mud that was overflowing in the cup that was her heart in one go. The last time she ever vomited out of stress was when she first enrolled to this school, this made it the second time. Even though she was finally accustomed to group life, this happened. The homeroom teacher who was worried about her accompanied her to the toilet, but her voice of concern sounded very annoying at that moment. When she exited the toilet, she met Yuu. It seemed like he came to check on her condition without permission. But Fuyufu didn’t say anything. Yuu too, didn’t say anything. Since the next day was a holiday, Fuyufu felt relieved. She didn’t have to meet Yuu. The truth that she previously found boring now eased her heart. However, her mother who was secretly preparing lunch looked puzzled. “Yuu-chan is not coming…… I wonder what happen?” Just why did she think he will come, she asked her mother but as expected she played dumb. But her mother wasn’t as stubborn as Yuu, and maybe because she was feeling worried about Yuu she easily leaked out the truth. She gave Fuyufu the cake she baked last night and a paper wrapping box with a ribbon on it. Her mother said it’s a birthday cake and a present. The present was a box set of books, bound by a hardcover that Yuu bought with money he saved little by little. It’s the box set of the series Fuyufu read once at the nearby library, but there’s only the first volume there and the series itself didn’t have any E-Book releases. “Every day Yuu-chan was looking at second hand book store sites and told me after he finally found that.” Fuyufu didn’t forgot her own birthday but she barely cared about it. Her parents rarely celebrate her birthday with a party and only settled with giving her a cake. Probably because her body at the time was weak, she hated to think that her birthday was “something special”. That’s why, she didn’t realize. Yuu just wanted to keep the existence of the present a secret until the day of her birthday, just like what her mother proposed. And Yuu’s lie that she couldn’t expose had taken the form of a clumsily wrapped ribbon. To tell the truth, she couldn’t remember what happened after that. According to her mother, she suddenly took the cake and left the house without a word. And when she chased after her, she found her collapsed in front of Kasugai-san’s house. Luckily the plate did not flip over and the cake was saved, though the second sponge layer of the cake flew off from the shock of the fall the and landed on the ground. At that moment, Fuyufu remembered that Yuu was sitting in front of the gate. Since he told his mother that he will go and celebrate Fuyufu’s birthday beforehand, he had no option but to go, but since it’s awkward to meet her at the time he chose to just sit outside. Still lying on the ground, Fuyufu raised her head and yelled at Yuu. “Why didn’t you come!?” Still sitting, Yuu looked a bit dumbfounded but he answered. “But…… don’t you hate me?” She still remembered that she had goosebumps at that moment. “Such a thing──” What thing, Fuyufu didn’t finish. Just that, she knew that her eyes were teary at that time. And when she glared at Yuu, she realized that it was the same for him. Then she cleared her throat. And, the two of them started crying loudly at the same time. Yuu’s mother, who noticed what happened, and Fuyufu’s mother lifted up their children respectively, but the two didn’t stop crying. How did this happen? The two asked, but both Fuyufu and Yuu didn’t answer, they couldn’t. Because, they didn’t know themselves. That’s why, the only thing she clearly remembered was, when both of their mothers were busy clearing the cake that fell, the taste of the lower half of the cake that she ate in Kasugai’s house living room. Quickly after that, she got tired and fell asleep. ──Ever since that day Fuyufu was no longer afraid of lies. That’s why, if it’s the two of them, they might be able to win against Ikui Librium. 3 weeks ago, Kodzuchi Fuyufu started playing 『CtG』 as Ren. And in merely the first 2 hours of playing, she quickly confirmed that Kasugai Yuu and Clamp of Scarabaeus is the same individual. During their first year of elementary school, Yuu who had just learnt how to use a dictionary app searched for the word “Kasugai” and got “Clamp” as a result. “Awesome! Look Fuyufu, I’m in the dictionary!” he happily reported to her. Well, it ended up as an embarrassing thing to remember, but ever since, Yuu would always name his character Clamp in any game he played. Knowing that, Fuyufu looked at the list of Clamp’s achievements from the bulletin board log and searched for the word “Marriage” and “Children”. And what she found was that the player known as Clamp of Scarabaeus who defeated the player killer, Memento, who was rumored to possess the ability to drive players whom she killed into a comatose state in real life. And during the same incident, he’s reported to have come in contact with a little girl, the Over Kill Girl, a player who annihilated all NPCs in the town. (However as for the NPC massacre part, it’s suspected that the true culprit is The Kidnapper of the Wilderness, Paya The Kid.) And to add on, it’s clear that in the past several months, Clamp had been playing together with a girl named Mifa. Mifa…… 『Pleased to be your acquaintance. My name is Kugimiya Miharu』 Miharu. It’s that woman. I’m sure of it. Clamp, OKG, and Mifa. I’ll surely unravel their secret! And to observe the《Crystal World》 that will surely attract Clamp, she decided to infiltrate the “Ghosts” that started appearing at the same time. The “Ghosts” can’t use AR mode so all she had to do was to just randomly match her story with theirs and be wary of witnesses when she logged out. No one suspected a thing. And when she dealt with Mifa and her friends, she would pretend to be a “Ghost” by adjusting the position of her AR tag and hide her status behind it. In the end, she couldn’t figure out the identity of Clamp’s gang, and thanks to her efforts of hiding her identity as Ren, she managed to fool Ikui and beat her. Thinking it would surprise Yuu, she decided to show up at that moment, the moment where Fuyufu shouldn’t have been there. And in spite of the circumstance, he would surely figure out her true intentions and act accordingly. Fuyufu thought so. And so, Clamp pierced his sword through Ikui and Ren, who held onto Ikui, together and lead to the demise of《Ctystal World》. In the end Ren got a game over and── ──Fuyufu opened her eyes, finding herself lying on top of the bed she had been using ever since elementary school inside of her dimly lit room. She turned off the power of her Ramiel, that was displaying the game over penalty info and count down timer to be able to login again, and took it off her head. She smiled. What is Yuu doing I wonder. Is he still in 『CtG』? Either way, he must be confused now more than ever. He thought he hid himself pretty well, but Fuyufu found out about him. To top it off, he was saved by her right in the most desperate of situations. (With this, Yuu won’t able to raise his head in front of me anymore……) She can’t hold down her grin. Now that it had come this far, it won’t be hard to force him to confess everything about Kugimiya Miharu and “Haruha”. Yuu might be calling in right about now. She thought and pulled out her phone, but her phone was off. She then remembered that she turned it off herself, thinking it would be bad to receive a call while she’s pretending to be a “Ghost”. Well, he will surely say something tomorrow. When that time comes, she thought of playing stupid. As she was thinking that, the house front door chime rang. Eh? Without a moment of pause, she heard the sound of her mother answering the door── 『Ara, long time no see Yuu-chan. Ah, could it be the call from before was from Yuu-chan? I’m sorry, I was cooking──』 『I’m sorry auntie! Fuyufu’s room is the same as before, right?』 『Eh? Yes…… but she said not to come in……』 Her mother’s voice faded away and she heard the sound of footsteps in exchange. It’s approaching fast, with great force too…… The footsteps quickly reached the second floor and stopped in front of Fuyufu’s room. For the first time in her life, Fuyufu swiftly pulled the thin sheet of her bed and closed her legs. Her room was pretty hot and she never thought anyone would come in so she’s dressed in a sloppy manner that she wouldn’t dare to show to anyone. And without even a knock, the door was opened wide. And there stood Yuu, who was breathing heavily. The hallway was dark at the moment so she couldn’t clearly see Yuu’s expression. “Eh? What……?” She let out an idiotic voice, very unlike herself. It’s clear why he came here. But, she didn’t think he would burst into her room all of a sudden. Even though he had stopped coming all this time. Yuu didn’t answer Fuyufu’s question. He entered the room without a word, and dropped to his knees on top of the bed where Fuyufu was. The bed that she had been using since she was little sunk and shook. Fuyufu suddenly felt afraid witnessing such strength, weight, and shaking. And involuntarily──he grabbed Fuyufu’s wrist, that seemed as though they were going to push him away for self-defence. It hurt. But, she wasn’t weeping because of the pain, just that she realized what she thought hadn’t change had changed. “You……” While panting, Yuu finally said a word. “Why, why did you do such a thing……?” How many years had it been since the last time he had been sitting on this bed. That aside, now that they’re this close to each other she was finally able to see Yuu’s expression. He’s making the same face he made that day when she dropped her cake. The tears that were accumulating in his eyes finally flowed down his cheeks. Yuu cried. Strength left her stiff body. She realized it was her fault. “You must’ve heard it from Yusra and others right, Ikui wasn’t an ordinary opponent. If I failed, you might change…… I didn’t want that to happen” She more or less guessed it. When he refused to tell the truth to Fuyufu, it must be because he didn’t want her to get involved with dangerous stuff. But, she didn’t think he would make such a face. She didn’t think he would cry. That alone, she didn’t expect. Now that her trembling throat calmed down, she asked back. “Why…… why do you make such a face?” “That because…… I was afraid. All of a sudden you did such a thing, and to beat Ikui you might try to drag her down along with yourself, when I think so I……” “Even though you didn’t cry when your mother died. I’ve never seen you cry ever since.” She might be saying that out of mischief. But Yuu quietly gave an unexpected answer. “……That time, I thought I didn’t have the right to cry. I was a bad kid who didn’t even realize that his mother was dying…… and since I didn’t cry when my mother died I thought I mustn’t cry over anything else.” “And even so, you cry now?” “……Haruha, she cried.” Yuu loosened his grip that took hold of Fuyufu’s wrist. “Haruha…… that kid you mean?” Yuu nodded and she smiled, and after that he finally told her the truth. That he caused a 《Wedding》 event with Miharu(Mifa) in 『CtG』. And shortly after that, Haruha was born and they raised her inside the game. And one day, all of a sudden, Haruha shows up in the real world, and along with Miharu, the three of them started living together. In order to protect Haruha, they fought Memento. That moment, Haruha whom had never cried before cried── And Yuu who saw that was finally able to cry again. After he finished telling everything he calmed down, and averted his eyes out of embarrassment. It seemed he finally realized what he just did in her room and the vulgar appearance she was currently in. After hearing everything, Fuyufu narrowed her eyes. “Is that so.” She extended her hand naturally and reach out to Yuu’s head. “O, oi!” “So after raising Haruha, you finally learned how to cry again huh, Yuu.” And also, how to go inside her room too. It’s a bit frustrating that she managed to do something she couldn’t do, but she must thank that child for it. That weird child who was born from a game and possessed the name of the doll she had. Yuu, who had his head on Fuyufu’s chest, said nothing in response and stiffened. Not in a strange sense, but it was just naturally like this. If Yuu’s mother was still alive. she might’ve done the same, she thought. The insects outside the window started crying and some time had passed. Yuu finally said something in a tense hoarse voice. “……Fuyufu? Could it be Ikui did something to you──” “Thank You.” “Eh?” She wouldn’t say it twice. Because Yuu might not miss it again, so she remained silent. After that, once again the insects started crying. And the two of them became one with the shadow of the night for a while. All until they realized that they were watched by Fuyufu’s mother, who was watching them with sparkling eyes, together with Fuyufu’s father, who was wielding a metal bat while emitting strong killing intent. 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### 006. Terminus

“Yo, welcome.” Memento Coppelia, wearing the school uniform of Kasugai Yuu’s school, wrapped with a restraining belt, which is a clearly strange-looking outfit to be in, happily welcomed the newcomer. In the middle of the jet-black space,a wall-less classroom appeared mysteriously. In that place, Ikui Librium appeared. Somehow she wore the same uniform as Memento, but without the restraining belt. “There are plenty of seats left, but given the opportunity would you like to sit next to Meme?” Within the classroom there were 30 seats lined up, and Memento was sitting right in the middle seat. “Look, same as you I was also killed by Onii-san. Meme’s stomach were torn into two, like──” Ikui was unable to answer Memento. Then all of a sudden, a figure appeared on top of the platform-like spot within the space. It’s an old man who was called as Maharl by Niiro. “Oho, our teacher has arrived. Better hurry up and get to your seat” Memento felt a little happy that her remark was ignored by the old man. Maharl dutifully open his mouth. “You who had been defeated by Haruha is now a reserve. Therefore, I’ll have you spend your time in this isolated pace.” “Won’t you dispose off or seal me?” Maharl nodded easily to Ikui’s apathetic question. It’s simple to guess the flow of this conversation just by visualizing the face of the person she’s talking to, but there was no need to do that. “Normally it should be the case. Your existence has been marked by the Population Control Board. However, Niiro Mansei said he wanted me to entrust you to him as a sample.” “Is that so…” “In other word you will no longer under by supervision. Do you have anything to say?” Ikui hesitated. Maharl raised his eyebrows. This abrasive attitude means? “……I met some interesting people. To love, to not be separated, to hate, to be hated, to be together, to have one’s own feeling reach another, to not be not touched by others, to not go away── and much more, all of their emotions, all of that which are not lies, moreover it all intertwined with each other in a complicated fashion. It is something that Iku couldn’t read; they are people who Iku can’t understand…… Iku finally met ‘someone else’.” Ikui appeared to be blushing. And because of her clothes, she appeared to be a simple clumsy kid. Maharl closed his eyes. “Is that so. Self-consciousness is the power to explore the heart of a personality different from one’s own, to identify the similarity and differences of one’s own heart, all in order to communicate with others. You finally encountered those who you can’t read with your ability for the first time, and by showing interest in those people you finally attained a sense of self, it seems.” Niiro must be interested in this. If she proceeds like this she might be able to grow like Haruha, to a stage where she would attain emotions close to that of a human. However, that means she will lose worth as Maharl’s experimental body. That’s why Maharl turned his back to Ikui who had no words left to say. He still has the mission to create a Hadzar, based on Ikui Librium data, that has higher adaptability. Ikui silently saw off the human she first met when she was first born in this virtual world. “Niiro-kun.” When Maharl speaks, Niiro’s figure appeared by his side. “Yes?” “About, Ikui Librium. May I continue to observe her progress from here on?” “Of course.” After that final exchange, the old man and Niiro’s figures disappeared. No one knows where they went. Ikui faintly sighed. “So Iku-san can read a human’s heart huh~” Now that the adults finally left, Memento once again started to talk. “That’s right. However, I was just shown the limit of that ability.” “How about Meme? What kind of bug is crawling around in Meme’s head?” “………” Ikui squinted her eyes and looked at Memento── after that, she shook her head. “It’s all messy and cluttered.” Ikui then sat on the seat next to Memento’s. ◆ Days passed. The Kasugai household was in the middle of summer vacation. Yuu and Miharu, who had just returned from shopping under the scorching sun, found a pair of unfamiliar sneakers at the entrance. “So she came again……” “It’s okay right?” “I didn’t say it’s a bad thing though.” Yuu felt a bit conflicted, but Miharu was straightforwardly happy. The two later entered the lightly cooled living room and heard an electric sound echo inside. “Hrmm? Galaxian Axe won’t show up?” “It’s hard to time it after doing a big punch. Beginners should start small. Small I tell you!?” In front of a large TV in the living room, Haruha and Kanna Sakura sat alongside each other and played a game. Playing a retro “Television Game” with Yuu’s mother’s treasured console game collection from the storeroom is one of Kasugai household trends. To begin with, it all began after Yuu accidentally said “I have the early version of that console fighting game in my house”, and Sakura couldn’t help but to search throughout the house to find that. Ever since then, Sakura continued to visit the Kasugai household to play using various excuses. Especially since starting summer vacation where she comes to visit every day. Unlike the “Ghosts” and 《Crystal World》members, Sakura who knew about Haruha’s circumstances was in an odd position. That’s why; Hajime and the human equilibrium institute said that it’s better to keep her under their protection. In other words, they’re monitoring her. By the way, thanks to Sakura being Haruha’s playmate, Hajime can comfortably rest on top of the sofa. In a slouching position Hajime faces her laptop, doing her job at incredible speeds considering the sloppy position she’s in. She might just simply want to relax, now that she doesn’t have to take care of Haruha. “We’re back~” “Ah! It’s Daddy and Mommy!” Haruha who was looking at the controller instead of the screen quickly raised her head in excitement and ran towards them. Since he entered the room a minute faster, Yuu opened his arm wide to welcome her── but she suddenly changed direction and hugged Miharu instead. “Wha, why……?” While burying her face into Miharu’s chest, Haruha flatly answered. “Because, Daddy, you’re sweaty.” It was really hot out there so it can’t be helped right…… as he thought so, Yuu collapsed. So, Miharu is okay……. Is it because she’s a girl……? Miharu glanced at him giving an triumphant look before dragging Haruha to the kitchen. “Senpai. Stop weeping and fight me instead. Haruha doesn’t make a worthy opponent at all” Sakura was clearly trying to hold down her laughter and Yuu frowned. “……You’re a girl after all so don’t do such a thing” Sakura is skillfully lifting the controller cable with her toes and Yuu pointed it out about her. It appeared that she didn’t have the habit of wearing socks indoors. “Come on~, don’t say such a father-like thing~” Sakura is “His daughter’s friend”. So, he might end up saying it in such a manner because of that. “Or more like, is it okay for you to be here? Though, I’m grateful that you’re playing with Haruha……” “It’s okay, it’s okay…… My friends over at school are busy with their clubs at noon.” “Ah…… sorry.” He apologized as he recalled Sakura’s injury. But, “It’s okay. Somehow, it’s all okay, now. Now I can proudly say I’ve grown that I’ve done what I wanted to do. That’s why, I’m looking for the next thing I want to do” She doesn’t sound like she was acting tough. Not that it justifies it, but Sakura might have had something in her mind after the 《Crystal World》 incident. She also appeared to be purely enjoying herself playing the game. Yuu felt saved a bit. “Is that so…… But, you must behave yourself in another person’s house, okay?” He pulled Sakura’s leg and took the controller. “Fueeee!?” Sakura let out a cat-like voice and quickly rounded up her toes. “Wha, what’s up with that. Don’t let out strange voices like that!” “Y-You touched me all of a sudden……. Stop it.” For someone who is practicing Judo she appeared to be hypersensitive. Yuu paid no heed to that and sat in front of the TV. “Well, I’ll be your opponent, but don’t be mad at me if you lose okay” “You sure speak well, even though Senpai’s winning percentage is lower than mine” Sakura quickly stood up and opened the versus menu── But then, the entrance bell rang. “Yes, yeeees~, Haruha will pick it up~” As Haruha come running from the kitchen Sakura intercepted her and stopped her from going. After he praised her by saying ‘Nice play’, Yuu stood up and headed towards the entrance. He didn’t recall ordering anything, and if it’s a neighbor that has business with him, it would be problematic if someone other than Yuu comes to greet them. During weekdays, Hajime would thoroughly pretend to be out. ──An unknown girl appeared on the intercom screen. She appeared to be as old as Yuu, but he had no recollection of her at all. She might be Miharu’s friend who came to ask about her though…… That aside, Yuu tried to talk to her over the intercom. “Yes, is something the matter?” To answer his voice, the camera screen displayed the face of the girl. Even over the camera, the girl’s confident, aggressive personally could be felt. As expected he doesn’t know her── but she appeared to be familiar. And then the girl spoke through the intercom and produced a high-pitched voice. 『Haruha, the first successful unit of New Humanity. In other word, my daughter. I came to pick her up!』 Share this: Share on X (Opens in new window) X Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Like Loading...