Glitch Street (4)
Before I knew it, Sensei and Hina had pulled ahead.
Left behind in a daze, I hurried after them so I wouldn't fall behind.
…My chest was throbbing.
It was a painful triangle relationship.
Hina admired Sensei, and Sensei trusted Hina more than anyone else. I was just the extra stuck in the middle.
This makes me the villain who stands in the way of the two of them.
My body staggered. My steps unconsciously faltered. The reason to move forward was shaken.
What should I do?
I like Hina. I don't want to yield to anyone.
But what if Hina doesn't like me? The worst-case scenario.
If Hina ends up hating me till the end, then I,
“Makoto President.”
Hina suddenly called out to me.
She had walked far ahead and now turned back, stopping to wait for me.
“If you just stay behind like this, it's troublesome.”
Hina was waiting for me.
“For now, I want to hear your opinion too.”
Hina needed me.
Just that alone saved me from Hina.
I regained the driving force to move forward with pure love.
“O-of course! If you want my opinion, I'll tell you.”
I closed the distance with Hina. I wouldn't be left behind anymore.
Maintaining my dignity as Makoto, I proudly straightened my shoulders.
“They seem to get along well.”
And Sensei smiled happily while looking at us.
He looked as if he was enjoying eye strain.
“S-Sensei!? What are you suddenly saying!”
Hina protested to Sensei with a startled face.
“Hina, you've been glancing at Makoto since earlier, haven't you?”
“That…! If we stay too far apart, we can't communicate smoothly. It's unavoidable.”
Hina looked at me with a cold gaze.
It was filled with dissatisfaction that I had caused unnecessary misunderstandings.
Hina is taking care of me…!
But even Hina's cold gaze was a reward. Nutrition for pure love.
Photosynthesis for plants, Hina synthesis for me.
“I hope the two of you get along well.”
Sensei tried to connect the two who kept bickering.
“Ugh.”
Hina had a troubled expression, her gaze wandering.
She wanted to fulfill the request because it was Sensei's words. But at the same time, she looked uncomfortable. Because the other party was Makoto.
“Alright, if it's Sensei's request, I'll consider it positively. As the leader of the Pandemonium Society, I have a vast capacity for tolerance, after all.”
I answered Sensei before Hina.
I bit the bait. It was an irresistible proposal.
“If Sensei says it that much, I can't refuse… I'll think about it.”
Hina maintained a cautious attitude toward me. She didn't hastily determine her stance.
Even if Sensei mediated, the disliked person wouldn't change quickly.
“It's Sensei's advice. It can't be a bad word, right? Or are you really against it?”
I cautiously probed Hina.
With a slightly provocative tone, I stimulated her. My heart pounded. I was tense about how she would react.
“…I didn't say I hated it specifically. It's unnecessary meddling.”
Hina glared at me displeasedly.
Then she turned her head away from me.
Oh no. I said something unnecessary-!?
The attitude seemed to indicate a drop in favor toward me. The culprit was my slip of the tongue.
“By the way, Sensei, has Trinity's matter been sorted out?”
Hina, who had taken her gaze off me, brought up the main topic to Sensei.
The topic shifted to supplementary classes.
“If it's about supplementary classes, I asked Sensei first. It seems to have been resolved, so you can rest assured.”
“President Makoto, I don't remember asking you a question?”
I could participate in the conversation without hesitation.
Naturally, since I had a connection with supplementary classes.
…Hina's reaction was cold, but anyway.
I won't let the two of them chat intimately.
Even so, I am Sensei's rival. The rival in love.
Even if I only hate Sensei unilaterally, I'm still a rival. I'll interfere with the two somehow.
…Heh.
Somehow, this triangle relationship felt warm.
It's strange. Just a moment ago, my chest was painfully throbbing.
Now, my heart felt warm and melting.
But on the other hand, I was scared.
Could I protect Sensei and Hina from the dark clouds of the Eden Treaty?
Sensei will be fine. Sensei has Hina.
Hina was the same. Hina had Sensei.
They were a relationship where they saved each other.
Even if it's bitter…
It was a painful fact, but on the other hand, I was relieved.
Even if I failed, the two would be okay. That was certain.
So I,
Would oppose the narrative of the Eden Treaty in my own way.
♤
The night before the joining ritual.
The time had come. I would finally meet with Saori for the last information exchange.
Saori conveyed the coordinates of the aircraft I would inherit.
I informed Saori of Hina's movement route for the joining ritual.
This should be the end-
I had no intention of sending Saori off willingly.
Arius' D-Day was the joining ritual day, i.e., tomorrow, but for me, it was tonight.
I had ambushed Problem Solver 68 nearby.
When I sent a signal to Aru, Problem Solver 68 would ambush Saori.
Soon, Saori appeared at the rendezvous point.
“Remember your death.”
In the darkness, Saori told me the password.
Memento Mori.
A proverb pondering that the death of existence is inevitable.
“All is vanity.”
Vanitas. I answered Saori with the empty phrase.
Soon, Saori revealed herself.
“As I forewarned, I'll tell you the handover coordinates of the aircraft you'll board.”
Saori immediately delivered the business.
I didn't delay either. Immediately, I leaked Hina's movement route to Saori.
Of course, it's a lie.
A fake to cause confusion in the operation.
Rather, the fake that wouldn't be delivered was advantageous.
Yeah, rather, the one that won't be delivered to Arius is better.
I also thought so.
I needed to subdue Saori here to make the next operation easier.
“Then, I wish you good luck on tomorrow's scheduled operation.”
I bid farewell to Saori.
The operation would start from the moment Saori left the current location.
Following my instructions, Problem Solver 68 would move.
“Ah, yeah. Before leaving, there was one thing I forgot.”
But Saori approached me one more step. The distance between us narrowed.
“She left a message for you.”
“What do you mean?”
The existence Saori referred to as “she” was uncomfortable.
Suddenly, I felt uneasy about the situation.
“Be warned not to play with fire beyond the threshold.”
A saying I had heard sometime.
It was a warning left by Gematria to me.
Beatrice…!
Clang. Saori's assault rifle made a metallic sound. Like a ferocious beast baring its fangs.
Only then did I realize.
The trap wasn't prepared by me alone. Saori was also aiming at me.
“-!”
The gun muzzle pointed at me.
But my response was late.
Bang. The shot pierced my abdomen.
“Gah…!”
Tadada. The shots continued to pour out. Ruthlessly battering like testing the durability of the body.
“Hanuma Makoto.”
It was an act with the will to kill.
The ammunition was quickly depleted, but the firing didn't stop.
“Disgusting Gehenna lackey.”
The gun muzzle, after reloading, fired again.
Tadada. I was hit by dozens of bullets like a target.
“She said you would be the most unnecessary obstacle to my plan.”
Breathing was difficult. I couldn't take a deep breath. The fatally wounded abdomen burned hot.
Students in Kivotos can secure survival despite numerous hits.
But there is still a limit to durability.
If concentrated fire continues until death,
If I suffer fatal shock from excessive bleeding from wounds,
If I fail to breathe properly and suffocate from oxygen deprivation,
I will lose my halo.
“Ha… hah… ugh…
It was my mistake.
I didn't know Saori would personally try to kill me.
I would die like this.
Like the Kivotos custom, my halo would be destroyed.
I didn't think my head would turn from losing too much blood.
I had a premonition.
That the thread of consciousness would soon break.
If I had known, I would have told Hina that I like her…
I wanted to say it someday.
And Saori, to me, who had become a wreck from the gunfire,
“Remember your death, Makoto.”
She pronounced the final judgment.
Bang.