Chapter 38 "The Tuning of the Wind Festival Kite"
The faint orange light emitted by the backup battery‚ like a dying gasp. It traced the inorganic white walls‚ stretching the four awkward shadows long‚ as if they were "foreign objects (bugs)" cut off from the world.
In the air‚ the stinging rejection of the disinfectant that had completely become familiar over the past few days and the raw smell of the mud we had brought in were layered thickly‚ like 'strata of survival records.'
「……Grrrrrrrrrrnnnnn!」
The one who rudely tore through the sanctuary’s silence was the heavy bass note my stomach played as today’s first rumble.
I placed my numb left arm (marshmallow state) on my knee like a beloved stuffed animal’s pedestal‚ rubbed my belly with my right hand‚ and peered at Momiji-chan’s face as she sat up on the neighboring bed.
“Hey‚ Rin-chan. My ‘happiness energy tank’ is so empty it feels like it’s started flowing backward. If this keeps up‚ I’ll burn myself out as fuel…!”
When I let out a pathetic voice‚ Rin-chan‚ who had been inspecting the tool bag in the corner of the room‚ shrugged her shoulders in the same way she might restart a heavy machine.
Her mud-covered black jacket had its sleeves torn off to tie us together‚ and on her exposed white shoulder‚ the red rope marks from yesterday’s continuous 140-kilogram “life” haul were painfully and more proudly engraved than anyone else’s‚ like condensed sunset.
“…Relax. Burning you would be less efficient than shredding some spare circuit board over there. …Here‚ it’s the ‘old civilization ration’ Haru found. Before you waste oxygen‚ gratefully let your stomach accept it.”
What Rin-chan held out was an aluminum pouch of emergency-use biscuits with the label peeling off.
Keeping my immobile left arm on my knee‚ I snatched it with my right hand and bit the corner off vigorously with my front teeth. The crisp‚ dry crackling sound echoed pleasantly deep in my ears‚ like the beat of life.
“…Statistically speaking‚ one bag of those biscuits can maintain Nagisa-san’s ‘excitement index’ for exactly thirty minutes. …Please accept it.”
Still crouching on the cold floor‚ Haru-kun ran his unwavering pen across the page of the waxed waterproof notebook ‘Day 3.’ His ash-silver wavy hair sharply reflected the orange backup light‚ shining silver like a detective exposing the truth.
“Completely accepted! Haru-kun! This biscuit just class-changed into ‘Legendary SSR Honey Toast’ on my tongue! A sweet wind is blowing all the way into my brain!”
The moment I innocently stuffed my cheeks‚ it happened.
Suddenly‚ from deep inside the tower came a crushing sound—“CRRR… KRRRRRRRRR!”—like the bones of a giant monster being shattered from the inside‚ a sound that stroked the back of my heart directly.
My right bare foot‚ which had lost all sensation and lay thrown on the concrete floor‚ felt an ominous physical vibration crawling up from beneath the skin‚ as if the system’s ‘delete’ was reaching my soles‚ tingling my nerves in reverse.
“…Vital signs… noise.”
Momiji-chan on the bed pressed a hand to the exoskeleton (splint) on her chest as if protecting it and furrowed her porcelain-like face. Her vivid red hair‚ like sunset‚ swayed as if frightened by the irregular tremors.
“…I have detected a decisive fluctuation at the structural critical point. …Rin-san‚ the legs of this observation tower are beginning to buckle under the external pressure from the system’s ‘initialization.’ They can no longer endure.”
Haru-kun solemnly closed his notebook and pierced the monitor readings with cold eyes.
“…The ‘sanctuary’s’ expiration date has arrived‚ huh.”
Rin-chan gripped the heavy tool bag until it creaked and stood up silently. The defiant smile on her lips was sharpened like a knife that could slice the world‚ gleaming in the orange death-light.
“We secured enough time to save Momiji and repair this ‘life.’ …But if the system called the world is coming to delete us along with this coordinate—”
Rin-chan stared arrogantly beyond the protective glass at the dark sea where a mad torrent swirled and declared‚
“I’ll hack and rewrite the ‘rules’ called physical laws this time—on the wind. …Everyone‚ prepare to escape. We’re abandoning this sinking ‘vertical dead end’ right now and evolving into the free ‘people of the water.’”
“Accepted! Then this ‘extra-large Mudwater Float’ class-changes into the coolest pirate ship in the world starting today!”
I forcibly converted the sharp pain in my right foot where the tourniquet bit in into “forward energy” (repair)‚ stood tall‚ and raised the half-eaten biscuit high like a trophy of victory.
The dead silence of the sanctuary was vividly repainted by the heartbeat of the “festival” called escape.
The heavy iron door closed with a cold “CLANG” behind us‚ and we finally left the ‘sanctuary.’ The inspection passage leading to the lowest level of the observation tower was‚ for us “single entities (structures)‚” an oppressively cramped space like forcing our way through an overstuffed‚ long spring roll.
“Hyau… sorry‚ Momiji-chan. My marshmallow arm is turning into a bit of an ‘annoying cushion’ right now…”
I forcibly pulled my numb left arm closer with my right hand and squeezed it tightly between Momiji-chan’s slender back‚ who lay on the transport sled‚ and my own chest.
On the ‘transport sled’ hastily made by repurposing a medical bed frame‚ Momiji-chan let the ill-fitting IV tube ‘exoskeleton (splint)’ on her chest creak with a “kyuu…” sound. She had completely entrusted every bit of her small life to my chest as I held her from behind.
“…No. Nagisa… san… you’re so… warm… I can hear… your heartbeat… directly… through my back…”
A heated yet fading breath leaked from Momiji-chan’s slightly upturned lips‚ sweetly and painfully tickling my collarbone.
Through the thin medical gown came the heartbeat of a little bird desperately pulsing against the merciless world. The inorganic‚ hard rejection of the splint on her chest contrasted with Momiji-chan’s soft‚ hot bare skin‚ vividly “syncing” deep into my nerves.
“…Nagisa‚ Haru. Focus on your footing. If the center of gravity shifts even one millimeter to the left‚ this sled will catch on the slit and stop. Do not deviate from the physical laws (rules).”
From the rear‚ Rin-chan‚ who was pushing the entire sled frame with us into the narrow passage‚ sent a low‚ dominant‚ sharp voice.
I didn’t need to turn around to know. The heat from her exposed shoulder pressed against my back—swollen bright red from yesterday’s heavy labor—transmitted with a violently scorching temperature that could burn through the cold passage air. Her sweaty‚ earnest presence pushed firmly against my back‚ as if to escape the end of the world.
“Roger‚ Leader! My right foot is doing its best job right now as a ‘high-performance sensor and anchor’!”
I converted the heat I felt from Rin-chan on my back into propulsion (repair) and forcefully pressed my right bare foot‚ where the AC adapter bit into the flesh‚ against the ominously wet floor.
A brain-searing pain shot through me. But that very pain became the “sync signal (access code)” that held us together‚ filling my consciousness with a vivid excitement index.
“…Nagisa-san‚ that step with your right foot. Statistically speaking‚ it is an off-calculation thrust (torque) that completely surpasses the static friction coefficient. …Accepted into my internal ‘Day 3.’”
At the very front‚ Haru-kun‚ who was crawling along the floor while protecting his broken right foot‚ spoke while biting down on the flashlight. His precious notebook was safely tucked deep in the oversized parka’s pocket‚ and both hands functioned as powerful “beast legs” to crawl across the cold concrete.
A narrow inspection passage with no escape.
My body‚ Rin-chan’s‚ and Momiji-chan’s were packed tightly together in a single file line with the density of survival.
Rin-chan’s rough breathing brushed my ear‚ Momiji-chan’s small tremors melted into my chest’s heartbeat‚ and toward the light Haru-kun carved ahead. We advanced toward the sea of muddy water as one indivisible “life form.”
Behind us‚ the observation tower let out another death-rattle-like scream: “KRRRRRRRRR!”
The cold‚ merciless gastric juice called the system’s ‘initialization (format)’ was already right there‚ trying to delete the ground beneath our feet.
“…It’s coming. Brace for impact. …Nagisa‚ do not let go of Momiji… not even a single part of your life!”
“I know! I won’t spill even one grain of our ‘extra-large deluxe future’!”
I forcibly hugged my numb left arm—which hung heavily as if it were no longer part of me—with my right hand. Together with that paralyzed arm‚ I “locked” Momiji-chan’s trembling warmth with my entire body.
The hot body heat transmitted from our pressed skin‚ where the boundaries between the three of us and one had dissolved and merged.
Abandoning the former peace (sanctuary)‚ we were desperately racing through the dark‚ narrow birth canal toward true evolution into the ‘people of the water’—muddy yet with noble will.
On the raft ‘Extra-Large Mudwater Float’ at the lowest level of the observation tower‚ tossed by the raging torrent‚ we “single entities (structures)” spread out all at once the “treasures” we had stripped from the sinking sanctuary amid the storm’s spray.
“All right! When I spread this blackout curtain‚ it looks just like the ‘super-giant crepe batter’ from a candy castle! I’m going to top our ship with the tastiest wind ever!”
With my right hand alone‚ I dragged the water-heavy cloth and forcefully tied it to the steel rack post that served as the raft’s spine. I used my numb left arm (marshmallow state) as a “stationary weight” on the cloth and clenched the knot tight with my back teeth. My right bare foot dug its toes deep into the cold grid gaps of the rack‚ fixing the sharp pain from the tourniquet in my brain as the solid feedback of an “anchor fixing pin.” As long as this pain signal didn’t cut off‚ I could still remain here as part of this single entity.
“…Nagisa‚ secure the end of that curtain to the IV stand post. Listen‚ this isn’t just cloth. It’s the ‘sail membrane (membrane)’ that forcibly converts the violent pressure differences caused by the system’s ‘initialization’ into physical thrust.”
Rin-chan‚ her shoulders moving dynamically under mud and sweat‚ barked sharp orders while biting down on a precision screwdriver. She forcefully bent the aluminum post of the IV stand with her knee‚ creating “ribs” one after another to form the kite’s frame. Her fluid handiwork was arrogant and cruelly precise‚ as if she were playing chess against an invisible wind god and aiming to seize checkmate.
“…Hydrodynamic calculations complete. Nagisa-san‚ tension the IV tube at that angle. My prediction is that the downdraft blowing down from the western ‘black wall’ will reach wind speed 22 meters in thirty seconds.”
At the edge of the rack‚ Haru-kun crouched while protecting his broken right foot and ran his pen across the waterproof notebook he had taken from his parka pocket without hesitation. His gray eyes coldly pierced not the raging muddy water surface but the “invisible paths of energy” swirling in the sky above.
“Wind speed 22 meters!? Haru-kun‚ that’s a level that’ll send my excitement index shooting through the stratosphere!”
“…Correct. Please accept it. This ‘uncertain violence’ is the only ‘asset’ we can hold right now. Rin-san‚ angle adjustment complete. All systems ready.”
On the transport sled‚ Momiji-chan made the exoskeleton (splint) on her chest creak softly with a “…kyuu‚” raised her face as if enduring one fierce cough. Her sunset-red hair was disheveled by the storm wind‚ and her trembling fingertips pointed to the irregular waveforms on the monitor.
“…It’s coming. The data waveform just reversed sharply. …Nagisa… pull… the left rope…!”
Momiji-chan’s sanctuary called “observation” connected directly to my right arm.
Using my only movable right hand and the jaw strength that could crush my back teeth‚ I pulled the IV tube with all my might. The tube screamed with tension—“GRRR… GIIIII!”—and the black blackout curtain spread wide into the dark sky like the wings of a giant crow.
“Obey the ‘rules’ called physical laws. This storm is also part of my rudder!”
Rin-chan forcefully pushed the circuit board in as a lever and physically locked the makeshift variable mechanism with a heavy metallic “CLACK!”
At that instant‚ the awkward “kite” swelled explosively as it caught the reversing wind head-on‚ and the entire raft leaped forward with a “THUD!” impact that felt like it had broken through the wall of physical laws.
The pitch-black sail pieced together from the sanctuary’s junk.
It was the vivid banner of rebellion for us ‘people of the water‚’ turning the very despair of the world’s end into fuel (gasoline) to move forward.
“Look‚ Rin-chan! This raft looks like the coolest ‘flying snack’ in the world right now!”
Our ‘Day 3’ was now accelerating toward the unknown horizon‚ leaving behind the echoes of the sinking sanctuary while keeping the rhythm of the raging wind.
The moment we leaped from the observation tower’s iron door into the center of the muddy torrent‚ our vision was painted over by raging silver-white spray and the enormous shadow of the “black wall” devouring the world from the western sky.
“Hyaaahhhhh!? Rin-chan‚ we’re getting swallowed whole by a ‘super-giant soda tsunami’!!”
I desperately clung with my only movable right hand to the steel rack post that formed the central axis of the raft ‘Extra-Large Mudwater Float.’ At my feet‚ the plastic bottle cushions that had once been our “legs” screamed “mugyuu‚ pekon!” every time they collided with concrete debris‚ desperately maintaining buoyancy.
“…Shut up‚ Nagisa! Don’t let a single finger leave that post! Haru‚ spit out the magnetic deviation correction values‚ hurry!”
Rin-chan’s shout from the rear‚ as she held down the makeshift engine rudder with her whole body‚ was almost drowned out by the storm’s roar. Beneath the water‚ the ventilation fan screw transplanted from the library spun at full speed‚ turning the black muddy current white with foam‚ but it was all it could do to keep the hull from capsizing in the face of the wind’s violence. Her mud-covered‚ sleeve-less black jacket shoulders moved violently as she literally fought the absolute physical law (rule) of water pressure with brute force.
“…Impossible! The magnetic needle has been completely ‘deleted’! Periodic magnetic pulses are trying to burn out the compass contacts…!”
Haru-kun‚ crouching in the corner of the raft‚ shouted back while guarding the waterproof notebook in his parka pocket. His gray eyes‚ fixed on the raging water surface‚ had completely lost the logical “path” that should have been there and were on the verge of “accepting” the despairing numbers.
“…The hacking (overwrite) can’t keep up…! The wind’s runaway is exceeding the engine’s output limit…!”
Rin-chan’s slender arms were shaking violently from physical overload.
That was when the “hero detection sensor” sleeping inside me caught‚ for just an instant‚ the most “delicious premonition” within the storm’s despairing noise that brushed my ear.
(…Ah‚ that wind just now. It feels like the strawberry on a parfait about to roll off… like the candy god is beckoning‚ “Next‚ this way!” I can smell it!)
“Rin-chan! No need for calculations! My ‘excitement index’ is saying there’s an extra-large parfait in stock thirty degrees to the right!!”
“…Nagisa‚ what the hell are you— at a time like this—”
“Trust me! The only ones who can repair our ‘tomorrow’ are my nose and your arms‚ Rin-chan!”
I forcefully twisted my right bare foot—where the AC adapter tourniquet bit into the flesh—into the narrow gap of the raft’s iron frame. A silver-white pain pierced straight through my brain. But right now‚ this pain was the ‘final bolt’ that kept me connected to this “single entity” life form.
With my only movable right hand I grabbed the IV tube rope‚ shielded the trembling Momiji-chan on the sled behind me‚ and pressed close to her lovingly. I used my numb left arm (marshmallow state) as a weight and leaned my body deeply toward the direction of the raging wind.
Through the thin medical gown came her scorching high fever‚ burning with desperate life. The metallic creaking vibration of the exoskeleton (splint) desperately sucking in life echoed directly against my spine.
(…I absolutely will not let this heat cool. …I won’t let delete happen…!)
I dug all five fingers into the rope until they turned white from lack of blood and yanked with everything I had—the “throat of the wind.”
“Go oooooon!!”
In that instant‚ the awkward black sail (kite) perfectly seized the ‘wind pocket’ my intuition had pointed to.
——GWOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!
The pitch-black curtain sail membrane swelled with explosive‚ bursting mass‚ and Nagisa’s seized wind thrust and the ventilation fan screw’s driving force connected perfectly (synced) with spark-like precision.
The raft ‘Extra-Large Mudwater Float’ began gliding across the peaks of the reversing high tide with an explosive acceleration that felt like it had hacked the physical laws (rules).
“…Magnetic cycle reversed! Wind speed and heading… perfectly match my statistical ‘solution’! …Accepted!!”
Haru-kun’s voice of astonished joy echoed through the storm.
“…Hmph. Then I’ll dominate even that runaway wind (rule)…!!”
Rin-chan roared‚ her exposed shoulders trembling. She seized the “wind path” I had carved without the slightest deviation‚ linked it with the ventilation fan at full rotation‚ and locked the rudder toward a single vanishing point.
My weight spread the sail‚ Rin-chan’s dominant power bent the rudder‚ Haru-kun’s logic pierced the world’s bugs‚ and Momiji-chan’s life continued radiating scorching heat and tremors from the center of us all.
The four of us were now leaving the sinking world of despair far behind.
We cut the center of the black sea cleanly in two and raced toward the festival horizon we had repaired with our own hands.
The tremendous acceleration’s aftershock slowly receded from deep in our ears‚ carrying a definite heat.
Our raft ‘Extra-Large Mudwater Float’ had slid down the peak of the raging high tide and was now gliding leisurely across the tea-brown water surface that had regained calm‚ its black sail (kite) fully pregnant with wind.
“…Haa… Hey‚ Rin-chan. This black sail is doing an amazing job! It feels like we repaired the world’s furious sigh into our own ‘express train ticket’!”
I slowly pulled my right bare foot—forcefully twisted into the gap of the raft’s rack grid—out with trembling fingers. The leg where the tourniquet (AC adapter) had bitten deep ran with a flesh-tearing hot aftershock‚ as if every bone in my body was protesting at full volume‚ “No more rides on the scream machine!”
I quietly looked back at Sector 14’s observation tower where we had been just minutes ago.
The former “sanctuary” had been completely swallowed by the cold gastric juice called the system’s ‘initialization (format)‚’ losing its boundaries and silently sinking to the bottom of the deep waves.
“…Don’t get attached. That place is already an irreparable ‘past log.’ …Haru. Give me current ground speed and projected course. Not a second’s delay.”
Rin-chan casually secured the makeshift engine rudder and stood up‚ shaking the shoulders of her tide-soaked black jacket. Her mud- and sweat-covered profile‚ illuminated by the pale twilight‚ looked proudly like a solitary captain opening a new sea no one had ever seen.
“…Wind speed steady at 15 meters. Ground speed stable at 25 kilometers per hour. …Statistically speaking‚ the probability of us being caught by this ‘world bug’ has now dropped to 0.5 percent or less at this very moment. …Accepted.”
Haru-kun opened the waterproof notebook he had taken from his parka pocket like a holy relic‚ spread it on his knee‚ and added one final overwrite to the ever-changing survival probability graph‚ mixed with relief. His ash-silver wavy hair was swept by the free wind across the sea and danced like silver threads.
“…Nagisa. …I can see the path of the wind. …We really… became the ‘people of the water‚’ didn’t we.”
In the center of the raft‚ on the transport sled‚ Momiji-chan quietly murmured as if in prayer. Immediately after‚ the exoskeleton (splint) on her chest creaked with a faint metallic “…kyuu‚” and she took one thin‚ loving breath of the new world’s air.
Her sunset-red hair swaying in the sea breeze softly tickled my cheek. I sat down beside the sled‚ placed my numb left arm (marshmallow state) on my knee as if handling something fragile‚ and gently laid my only movable right hand over her translucent‚ slender one. To “sync” my body heat with her tremors.
“That’s right! We don’t need land ownership anymore! The entire sea of the world has been repaired into our ‘extra-large food-tasting course’!”
I saw Haru-kun add the final stroke with unwavering penmanship to a new page of the notebook‚ as the only ‘definition’ proving this voyage was not mere drifting.
‘Day 3: Voyage Commencement. We abandoned the sanctuary and obtained “wings” that turn nature into power. The living sphere of the single entity (structure) has now expanded to the infinite horizon.’
I gazed straight at the distant western horizon. The ominous “black wall” still loomed there unchanged‚ but our shadow—with its pitch-black sail spread proudly—overlapped solidly as one on the sea and powerfully tore through that curtain of despair.
“All right! The pirate ship’s maiden voyage was a success… so next I want a huge helping of ‘festival’ as a topping for the captain’s stomach! Rin-chan‚ Momiji-chan‚ Haru-kun! My belly and back are about to stick together and turn into ‘thin rice crackers’!!”
“…Hmph. Your stomach’s black hole is more bottomless than any storm’s pressure difference.”
Rin-chan sighed as if exasperated yet somehow satisfied‚ Momiji-chan let out a small laugh like the sound of a bell‚ and Haru-kun gave a quiet nod of acceptance.
Our four-person “festival” on the muddy water quietly yet noisily began right here.
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