Chapter 42「Insulation Wall Construction (Wrapping the Cruel Truth in Warmth)」
「Shu‚ shugoooo……。……Puha. Nfuu……っ。No matter how many times I breathe it in‚ this 『Momiji-chan Special Extra Oxygen』 feels like it’s sparkling and washing out the depths of my lungs. It’s the best……」
I plopped down heavily on the asphalt and sucked in the “sweet wind” exhaled by my homemade oxygen concentrator‚ as if pushing it all the way into the flattened corners of my lungs.
The rusty stake I had hammered in with brute force yesterday.
Right beside our “boundary line (wire)‚” a pale blue curtain of static electricity continued to eerily repel the world’s initialization process with an “I’m not taking your call” attitude.
However‚ even with oxygen‚ it couldn’t fill the black hole in my stomach.
And…… because the air had cleared up‚ the “reality (error)” that I had forgotten in the feverish haze of oxygen deprivation began to sting my skin little by little.
「……Hya‚ hyauっ！？ C-cold……。It’s like a penguin who messed up the air conditioning temperature setting has moved into our 『house』 without permission……」
The cold air rising from the wet asphalt slipped through my pink parka and came directly to shave away my “survival value (HP).”
My right foot‚ still bare after giving my shoes to the raft.
From the thigh where the AC adapter was biting into the flesh downward‚ the cold and intense pain short-circuited‚ and I couldn’t even tell if it was “cold” or “painful” anymore.
Only an inorganic heaviness remained there‚ as if it were no longer my own body.
「……You’re noisy. Just because the atmospheric oxygen partial pressure has stabilized‚ don’t let your brain relax too……っ」
Right beside me. The King‚ who had been sitting to keep the exhaust heat from the magnetic engine from escaping‚ pierced me with sharp eyes while faintly trembling her injured shoulder.
「……Rin-chan……。My 『starving alert』 has finally been updated to 『absolute zero warning』……」
I hugged my numb left arm tightly with my right hand and stole a glance at my partner beside me.
A sleeveless black jacket.
The proof that she‚ who had become our “single pillar” guiding us‚ had continued to pull us up from the bottom of the mud.
Pale blue sparks of static electricity cast flickering shadows on her red skin‚ which had been managing the heat of a single body without a wink of sleep.
「……Ah. Rin-chan‚ your shoulder—the clothes are slipping again……」
Still sitting‚ I crawled over and drew my body closer to her.
The swollen‚ red-purple mark of strain oozed from the gap in the torn fabric like an irrepressible scream.
「……Don’t touch it.……Body heat will escape.」
Rin-chan let out a low word of refusal. However‚ her voice lacked just a little of its usual “power to rewrite the world.”
I extended my fingertips and gently touched the boundary line (border) between her feverish scar and the skin exposed to the cold night air.
「……っ……」
What reached my fingertips was the scent of sweat and iron. And an overwhelmingly intense “main engine heat” that felt like it would burn me.
The moment I touched the hot swelling‚ the “weight” she had carried yesterday flooded back into my brain in reverse.
One hundred and forty kilograms. The total mass of our lives.
She had supported it all with those slender shoulders alone and carried us here without taking a single step back. That maddeningly firm will pulsed back through my fingertips.
「……Sorry. We’re still…… this heavy‚ huh……」
「……Don’t say stupid things.……It’s your 『mass (anchor)』 that is barely supporting my calculations……」
Rin-chan roughly grabbed the hood of my parka and forcibly pulled me toward her hot neck.
「……If you have time to chatter‚ steal some of my heat (resources) at least.」
Contrary to her rough words‚ the heat haze rising from her bare shoulder gently melted my cheek and my nearly frozen boundary line.
At that moment. From behind us‚ on the transport sled‚ a faint but definite vibration of life echoed.
――Kyuu……。
……Kyuu‚……。
The exoskeleton (splint) attached to Momiji-chan’s chest let out a satisfied sigh-like sound in time with her now-regular breathing.
「……Record updating. Day 4‚ 06:24 AM. Confirmed gradual decline in one body’s core body temperature.」
A little distance away. The detective‚ who had been squatting and scribbling with a pencil in his waterproof notebook‚ raised his pale face damaged by oxygen deprivation and quietly announced.
「……Survival probability improves significantly with each 1°C rise in core body temperature.……Strongly recommend provision of acceptable (accept) soup.」
Taking Haru-kun’s words as the signal‚ our stomach repair grand operation to repaint the freezing morning into a “festival” began to move.
「……Kyurururu‚ Gyurururu!! Hey‚ can you hear it? My stomach is now doing a perfect imitation of Haru-kun and chanting 『Immediately accept (accept) the main dish!』……！」
I dragged myself across the asphalt‚ cradling my numb left arm with my right‚ and moved toward the magnetic engine.
The heart of one body that had been “relocated” from the raft to land continued to repair the malice of the western 『black wall』 into heat that warmed us‚ while scattering pale blue static electricity.
「……Compared to the synchronization noise of magnetic pulses‚ the dissonance of your stomach is nothing but an error.……But before that 『black hole』 exceeds its critical point‚ I’ll fill it physically.」
Rin-chan‚ body trembling slightly‚ took out a dented aluminum pot from the tool bag.
It was the one I had picked up once and hidden in the corner of the sled as treasure (junk).
「Waa! That pot has finally been hired as a full-time 『stew cooking staff』! But how are we going to make it simmer without fire？」
Still on my knees‚ I peered curiously into the engine casing.
There wasn’t a single drop of lighter fluid left‚ and there was no such convenient thing as a stove here.
「……Kneel before the rules called physical laws. Fire is nothing more than an outdated‚ incompetent definition of energy.」
Rin-chan raised the corner of her mouth boldly.
She firmly pressed the aluminum pot against the top part of the engine block with the strongest magnetic induction—the “hot iron plate” where heat haze rose from Joule heat.
「……Haru. Induction current frequency control？」
「……Currently 120 Hz. Heating efficiency of the pot bottom by eddy current is stable at 88%.……Day 4‚ 06:32 AM. Self-sufficient cooking energy production started.……Accept (accept).」
Haru-kun reported in a trembling voice while writing formulas in his waterproof notebook.
At that moment‚ the pot itself resonated with the magnetic pulse and began emitting a high-frequency scream-like sound: “Kiiiiiiin……！”
Pale blue sparks danced between the pot bottom and the engine. The precious drinking water inside began to boil violently in response to the engine’s roar.
「Amazing! The pot is dancing to the rhythm of the magnetic engine! This is exactly the grand opening of 『Cyberpunk Indoor Cooking』！」
I snapped my right hand (it slipped again‚ though) and watched the bag of freeze-dried food that Rin-chan was putting into the pot.
From the crumpled bag‚ mysterious dried vegetables and meat pieces fell into the pot with a rustling sound.
It was the last “feast” we had brought out from the sanctuary (observation tower).
――Kyuu‚……Kyuu‚……。
「……It smells good.……Somehow‚ it’s like the magic potion being made in the picture book I read long ago.」
From on top of the sled‚ Momiji-chan leaned forward to gaze at the pot where steam had begun to rise.
The exoskeleton (splint) assisting her breathing was making small “kyuu‚ kyuu” sounds in a rhythm as if excited.
「That’s right! This is the highest-grade magic potion for repairing my 『tomorrow』！ Right‚ Rin-chan！」
「……It’s just stewed preserved food. Before you dream‚ hold that metal spatula that’s serving as a ladle.」
Rin-chan held down the pot‚ which was about to shift from the engine’s violent vibration‚ with her bare hands without minding the scorching heat.
Every time she moved her arm‚ the red-purple scar visible through the jacket’s gap pulsed darkly‚ and she slightly furrowed her brow at the rubbing fabric.
I watched the side of her face as she forcibly tensed her swollen shoulder muscles and clenched her back teeth to endure the pain‚ feeling my chest tighten.
I crawled closer and placed my numb left arm with a “thud” beside the handle of the bright red hot pot.
「……Ouch‚ wait no. My marshmallow is now a premium 『pot holder』‚ after all.」
「……Helpful.……Just a little more.」
Before long‚ white steam rose from the aluminum pot‚ illuminated by the pale blue static electricity emitted by the engine.
Soup simmering with a gentle “kotokoto” on the engine block scattering sparks.
It was one of the “warm miracles” we had created with our own hands in this cold‚ initializing world.
Rin-chan carefully poured the golden liquid into a rusty metal cup she had taken from the raft’s storage.
I received the cup carefully with both hands (supporting the numb left hand with my right).
「……Fuu‚ fuu.……Itadakimaasu！」
The moment I let the hot liquid flow down my throat‚ my brain’s “happiness gauge” shot straight past the event horizon.
「……っ……、Delicious……！ It feels like new logs of the world are being directly written into my empty stomach……！！」
The heat spreading slowly from my core was not just calories.
Every time the hot liquid passed my throat‚ it felt like my frozen peripheral nerves were crackling back to life (reboot).
It was the taste of one body’s “festival‚” repairing and mixing together Rin-chan’s dominance‚ Haru-kun’s analysis‚ Momiji-chan’s heartbeat‚ and my own heat.
「……Accept (accept)‚ possible.……My body temperature also rose by 0.8 degrees.……It’s delicious‚ isn’t it.」
「……Fufu.……It really is warm.」
Both Haru-kun and Momiji-chan put their mouths to their respective cups and for the first time let their mud-stained faces bloom into defenseless smiles like children.
However‚ in the midst of such the sweetest festival time.
After Momiji-chan looked at her empty cup with lingering affection‚ she slowly turned her gaze toward the 『black wall』 towering in the western sky.
「……Puha. Ahー‚ my stomach cells have just completed 『miraculous reconstruction work』！ I can hear them all applauding at once……」
I wrapped the empty rusty cup with both hands and pressed my cheek against its remaining warmth‚ like lingering scent.
The terror of oxygen deprivation that felt like my lungs were being ripped out by the world earlier faded away like a distant nightmare.
Inside the boundary line. The pale blue sparks from the magnetic engine and Momiji-chan’s rhythm of life (system clock) filled the small sanctuary on this asphalt with the definite temperature of “life.”
However‚ it was right when we were about to doze off in the fleeting warmth.
「……Everyone. Now that the soup has warmed our bodies‚……there is something I must tell you.」
On the transport sled. While swaying her sunset-like red hair in the compressor wind‚ Momiji-chan turned her gaze toward the 『black wall』 in the western sky.
In her eyes burned the sharp “light” of an administrator who had continued to watch the world’s logs from the observation tower.
――Kyuu‚……Kyuu‚……。
「……Ah‚ this……」
As if overlapping Momiji-chan’s voice‚ the exoskeleton (splint) on her chest let out an inorganic physical sound.
It was an eerie creak‚ as if the repair parts assisting her breathing were measuring this very heavy air.
「……What is sinking this world is not mere natural rain.……This is a physical delete process by a 『system』 with will.」
「Delete……？ You mean deletion (delete)……？」
I gripped the cup that still retained the soup’s heat.
The warmth I had loved so much just moments ago was slowly being rewritten from my fingertips into an unknown “chill.”
The eerie pulsation emitted from the 『black wall』 slammed the needle of my 『hero detection sensor』 in the completely opposite direction from the previous “happy state”—into the color of absolute rejection.
「Yes. The sudden negative pressure inside buildings‚ the liquefaction of the ground—everything is initialization (format) to erase 『unnecessary data』……。
And the confirmed schedule until this initialization is completed is……」
Momiji-chan cut her words and looked at each of our faces.
Her translucent white skin‚ illuminated by the pale blue static light‚ trembled as if it might disappear like noise at any moment.
「……One year remaining. That is this world’s 『best-before date』.」
「……One year……」
Beside her‚ Rin-chan‚ who had been managing the exhaust heat of the magnetic engine‚ gave a slight twitch of her body.
Her sharp eyes narrowed as if piercing the shadow in the western sky.
The fingertips of the one who had declared “Prostrate yourself‚ world” and hacked even the world’s malice trembled faintly while gripping the edge of the cup so tightly it turned white.
「……Record……updating. Day 4‚ 07:04 AM.……Officially grasped the world’s 『delete schedule』.」
A little distance away. The detective‚ still squatting and stabbing the blank page of his waterproof notebook with his pencil‚ announced in a flat yet somewhat trembling voice.
「……The unrealistic propaganda the government had been spreading……has now been accepted (accept) inside me as statistical 『truth (log)』.」
Haru-kun hugged the notebook to his chest and tightly closed his gray eyes.
His ash-silver messy hair stood eerily on end from the lingering magnetic anomaly.
「Three hundred and sixty-five days left……。……Our deadline of death has been confirmed.」
Outside the boundary line (wire)‚ the western 『black wall』 continued to wriggle eerily as always‚ and cold rain poured down relentlessly.
The leftover soup that had been warm just moments ago began to congeal darkly like heavy oil at the bottom of the cup.
One year. The cruel time limit until our unstoppable footprints are completely erased from this land.
That heavy silence was slowly but surely trying to erode our newly repaired “home.”
「……One year‚ huh. Ahaha‚ it feels like the world gave me a 『one-year free pass for premium parfait』……っ！」
I stirred up the sanctuary air that was about to freeze in silence with a deliberately loud voice.
Still sitting heavily on the asphalt‚ I hugged my left arm—the numb marshmallow arm—tightly with my right hand.
The intense pain from the AC adapter tourniquet on my right foot was striking my brain more sharply than before‚ but right now it sounded like a powerful drum rhythm saying “I’m still alive！”
「……Nagisa？ Did you hear what was just said？ We only have one year of grace left……Haru has just accepted the statistical 『death』.」
Rin-chan‚ shoulders trembling beside the magnetic engine‚ pierced me with sharp eyes.
I could see her red-purple rope marks pulsing darkly as if sharing the despair.
「I heard it！ That’s exactly why it’s time for repairs！
If we have a whole year‚ my 『festival engine』 won’t allow us to leave this as just a 『shelter』！
It would be a waste if we don’t repair it into the best 『party venue』！」
With a crawling motion‚ I pulled over the bag of “treasure (junk)” that had been shoved into the corner of the transport sled.
What I took out was a crumpled roll of aluminum foil I had found in the remains of the observation tower’s kitchen‚ and a bundle of half-hardened duct tape.
「……Nagisa-san. What exactly are you trying to redefine with that junk？
The cooling rate of the outside air continues to exceed the current heat generation of one body by 0.4% each time.
The unacceptable limit for freezing to death is in 120 minutes.」
Haru-kun slammed his waterproof notebook on his knee and presented hopeless numbers.
His ash-silver hair stood even more eerily from the moisture and magnetism.
「That’s why we’re going to 『wrap』 the room！
Rin-chan‚ let’s make a 『magic insulation dome』 to keep the magnetic engine’s heat from escaping！」
Still sitting‚ I spread out the aluminum foil with a flutter.
The rain was being repelled by the boundary’s barrier‚ but it couldn’t block the cold wind blowing in from the sides.
We would reflect the Joule heat of the engine—the spark of our lives—with this silver wall and trap it inside.
「……Insulation efficiency improvement through heat reflection‚ huh.……Very well. I shall add this 『silver barrier (aluminum shield)』 to the rules called physical laws.」
Rin-chan raised the corner of her mouth boldly. She instantly hacked my intention and began driving the thin steel rack poles cut from the raft into the cracks in the asphalt as the dome’s framework.
「……Haru‚ send me the stress dispersion simulation results.
Nagisa‚ don’t just paste that thin foil as is. Add duct tape reinforcement in a grid pattern along the points Haru calculated.
……We’ll rewrite 『paper armor』 into 『barrier』.」
Following the coordinates (logs) provided by Haru-kun‚ I awkwardly applied duct tape backing to the back of the foil.
Mere junk gradually transformed into eerily sturdy “scales” through the wisdom and logic of the three of us.
「Yosh‚ my marshmallow arm is on duty today for the second time as a 『super premium fixing jig』！」
I placed my immobile left arm with a “thud” on the silver sheet meant to reflect the engine’s heat.
Since I had no sensation‚ neither the coldness of the metal nor the vibration of the sheet flapping in the wind reached my brain.
I simply continued to help Rin-chan fix it to the poles with duct tape‚ using it as a heavy‚ soft meat weight (anchor).
「……Don’t move.……That overheated arm of yours looks like it’ll tear the sheet……っ」
Rin-chan leaned over my left arm and reinforced the foil seams with duct tape.
The heat mixed with sweat and impatience rising from her bare shoulder brushed the tip of my nose.
That heat seemed as if it would burn away the death sentence itself.
「……Hmph. Very well. Until the moment the world sinks‚ I will dominate the temperature (rules) of this miniature garden.」
「……Day 4‚ 07:18 AM. Thermodynamic repair of one body’s survival zone started.……Accept (accept).」
The sound of Haru-kun tapping his notebook echoed like hammer strikes driving the framework of our new “home.”
We were now gently wrapping the “one year” called despair with the silver warmth we had created with our own hands.
「……Nfuー‚ so warm.
Hey‚ look Rin-chan.
When you look at this silver foil dome from the inside‚ it feels like we’ve been trapped inside 『premium aluminum foil grilling』.
I wonder if we’re going to be slowly steamed and become delicious parfait toppings……」
Inside the “silver sanctuary” we had built with our own hands‚ I finally relaxed my tensed shoulders.
A makeshift insulation wall built using the guardrail stake as the base‚ poles cut from the raft‚ and aluminum foil.
Outside‚ the cold rain continued to beat the asphalt as always‚ but inside this pale blue static curtain and silver dome‚
the residual heat from the magnetic engine had nowhere to escape and enveloped us in golden warmth.
「……Listening to your analogies makes me worry about the sugar concentration in my brain.
However‚ the heat reflection efficiency is better than expected. The boundary line (border) with the outside air is completely following our logic (hack).」
Right beside me. The King‚ sitting in the position directly receiving the engine’s exhaust heat‚ finally raised the corner of her mouth in satisfaction.
The red-purple rope mark engraved on her neck looked a little gentler and calmer‚ illuminated by the dome’s warmth.
「……Record updating. Day 4‚ 07:46 AM. Accepted (accept) the establishment of steady insulation state in one body’s survival zone.」
In the corner of the dome‚ the detective‚ still squatting and scribbling in his waterproof notebook‚ quietly announced.
There was no longer any eerie standing of his ash-silver messy hair.
Only the orange light of the engine and the blue light of the barrier mixed together‚ sacredly framing his profile as a “witness of history.”
「……One more year.……Statistically it’s a hopeless number‚ but in the face of this warmth‚ it is nothing more than 『unprocessed data』.……We have no intention of stopping this record.」
Haru-kun hugged the notebook to his chest and turned to look at Momiji-chan.
――Kyuu‚……Kyuu‚……。
「……Yes.……I believe it too. If we continue to repair this warmth‚……the world surely……has not ended yet.」
On the transport sled. Momiji-chan‚ whose cheeks had regained a soft flush (cheek) after receiving oxygen and heat‚ smiled gently.
The exoskeleton (splint) assisting her breathing played a physical sound like a sigh of relief.
「That’s right！ With a whole year‚ we have to repair this 『house』 into the world’s most colorful party venue！
Next‚ how about painting over these inorganic silver walls with the colors of us four‚ Rin-chan！」
「……Acid-resistant paint refinement‚ huh. Very well. I have no intention of letting the domain I dominate be dyed in the color of some unknown system.」
At Rin-chan’s exasperated yet powerful voice‚ I hugged my immobile left arm tightly with my right hand and exposed my right foot‚ which throbbed with pain‚ to the engine’s heat.
Outside the boundary line‚ the western 『black wall』 continued to wriggle eerily as always.
However‚ the heat of the “one body (structure)” inside this silver dome continued to shine as the strongest bug that could not even accept (accept) the world’s initialization process.
Because our festival preparations have only just begun.
Chapter 42 Complete
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