「……Nfuー.
We are now the most luxurious 'silver paper baked wrap' ingredients in the world.
It feels like we're being slowly steamed by the residual heat of the magnetic engine……」
Inside the silver insulated wall.
I plopped down heavily on the asphalt and tightly hugged my own marshmallow arm — my numb left arm — with my right hand.
The inside of the silver cocoon had already warmed up enough that every breath made my throat feel moist and lukewarm.
「If I measured the sugar concentration in your brain right now‚ it would surely show an abnormal value higher than the current temperature.
……But the heat reflection efficiency is as planned.
The border with the outside air is completely following our logic (hack).」
Right beside me.
Rin-chan‚ positioned directly in front of the engine's exhaust heat‚ lifted the corners of her mouth in satisfaction.
The reddish-purple mark engraved on her white shoulder was the very "price" paid by the mud-covered rope.
Every time the orange light hit it‚ a black shadow swayed inside the wound as if pulsing.
The moment she adjusted her jacket‚ the fabric touched it and Rin-chan's eyebrow trembled ever so slightly.
「……Day 4‚ 08:42 AM. Recording‚ updating.」
Haru-kun‚ who had been scribbling with a pencil in his waterproof notebook in the corner of the dome‚ suddenly stopped his hand.
His ash-silver messy hair stood on end‚ reacting not to magnetic anomalies but to an ominous atmospheric disturbance.
「……Strange.
Unexpected 'impurities' have started mixing into the atmospheric composition sampling data.
……Nagisa-san‚ can your 'nose sensor' detect anything?」
「……Sniff sniff……Ah. It's sweet like burnt sugar‚ but it tightens the back of my throat……This is definitely a dangerous smell……」
What crept in through the gaps in the dome was a sticky chemical burnt stench that forcibly overwrote the lingering warmth of the soup from earlier.
On the transport sled‚ the exoskeleton (splint) on Momiji-chan's chest creaked with a small「……Kyu」as if crying.
That tremor spoke on behalf of the anxiety deep in her chest.
「Confirmed rapid rise in acidity. The system's 'initialization' has moved to the next stage.」
Haru-kun‚ still in a crouched position‚ tore off a small piece from the edge of his notebook and held it out through a gap in the silver wall.
――Sizzle.
With a small sound‚ the edge of the paper fragment curled and turned black.
When it returned to Haru-kun's hand‚ it was so brittle it crumbled at the touch‚ like charcoal — no‚ like the remains of "deleted data".
「……This is not just rain. It is the system's 'dissolution process (strong acid rain)' that physically melts unnecessary data.……I reject acceptance of this environmental error.」
「World-san! Stop licking the house we worked so hard to make with your slobber……！」
Looking up‚ sounds like「Patch… Patch…」— as if burning metal — began to fall on the surface of the silver cocoon.
Every time a sound echoed‚ black spots seeped into the aluminum foil's luster‚ and from there corrosion spread like thin threads.
「……The world intends to repaint my territory‚ does it?
I have no intention of allowing such arrogance.
……Nagisa. Haru.
We're repainting it. Right now.」
Rin-chan grabbed the heavy tool bag and stood up.
While proudly exposing the scar on her shoulder‚ her eyes held the overwhelming light of a ruler determined to paint over even the world's malice with her own colors (rules).
「……Danger danger! Before the wrapping melts‚ we have to 'overwrite' it with our own colors！」
Still sitting on the asphalt‚ I lifted my numb left arm with my right hand and accepted the pulsing of the tourniquet (AC adapter) on my exposed right leg as a countdown to counterattack.
Even now‚ acid rain was hitting the silver wall with patch patch sounds‚ and black corrosion spots were slowly expanding their territory.
「Hmph. Kneel before the rules known as physical laws.……I will create the strongest 'film (shield)' right here that rejects dissolution (delete).」
Rin-chan lifted the corners of her mouth fearlessly.
She forcefully pressed a dented aluminum pot onto the top of the magnetic engine — the "hot iron plate" where shimmering heat haze rose from Joule heat.
Into the pot‚ she threw medical gowns taken from the sanctuary (observation tower) and thick vinyl book covers picked up in the library.
「……U‚ ugh.……Rin-chan‚ this smell……It's like burnt sugar is crying…….
My head is getting fuzzy‚ and the sensors in my stomach are beeping strangely……」
What began to fill the dome was a cloyingly sweet yet piercingly sharp burnt plastic stench that stung the back of the nose.
The gowns and vinyl heated on the high-temperature iron plate lost their shape‚ bubbling up with eerie bubbles as they melted and collapsed.
The rising smell of sweet burnt and piercing plastic instantly washed away the sanctuary's disinfectant odor.
Every time that raw smell entered our lungs‚ the fact that we were "alive" in this world was carved in as an intense log.
「……Binder (fixative) melting confirmed.
……Adding baking soda.
The system's dissolution process is strongly acidic.
By granting alkali neutralizing ability with sodium bicarbonate‚ we will redefine this paint as a 'barrier' against delete.」
Haru-kun held his waterproof notebook like a shield and‚ in that posture‚ poured white powder into the pot.
The moment the baking soda reacted with the hot resin‚ it foamed violently with a shwa shwa sound‚ white steam rose‚ and the paint was repaired into a tough viscous liquid.
「Okay‚ next is the 'soul topping'! First‚ my 'blue' from the illustrated book I rescued from the library that day！」
With my right hand‚ I threw a lump of blue ink I had scraped from the back of a poster into the pot.
「……If you follow my rules‚ the 'soot (black)' accumulated in this exhaust port is the core of domination.」
Rin-chan unhesitatingly dropped the jet-black soot she had scraped from the engine gaps into the pot.
「……I offer the 'green breath' left behind by the burnt circuits at the end.」
Haru-kun put the powder into the pot as if it were an offering.
After that‚ he gently reached toward the transport sled.
――Kyu‚ …….
「……My color of life too……Mix it……」
Momiji-chan‚ who had only just regained oxygen‚ held out a red scrap of cloth along with her trembling breath.
Haru-kun enveloped it with both hands as if receiving the tremor itself‚ and sank it into the pot.
The footsteps of the four of us became vivid colored powder‚ bubbling and mixing together into one inside the hot resin.
「Look‚ Rin-chan! The finest 'rainbow slime' has been cooked！！」
Inside the dome. Reflecting the engine's orange heat light and the border's bluish-white sparks‚ the pot pulsed powerfully with a sludgy seven-colored luster.
It wasn't just paint. It was proof of rebellion — the body heat of us as "one individual" melted together.
「……Day 4‚ 09:18 AM. One individual's color (log) refinement process‚ completion confirmed.」
Haru-kun wrote powerfully in his notebook.
「……This color is a statistical 'signature' that we existed here.……Acceptance‚ completed.」
「……Ouch‚ wait no.
My marshmallow is going to work as a 'shield of protection' today……」
Still sitting on the asphalt‚ I pulled my numb left arm closer as if hugging it with my right hand‚
and gently pressed it against the side of the pot filled with boiling rainbow slime.
A faint「Kii……」sound of metal ringing from the heat transmitted faintly through my arm.
It was hot. Probably a temperature a living arm couldn't endure.
But thanks to the nerve compression on that cliff‚ my left arm refused even to "accept" temperature.
The cold‚ heavy left arm (anchor) that had lost sensation and motor function firmly held down the aluminum pot — which was about to shift from the engine's vibration — using only its physical mass.
「……Nagisa. If you smell skin burning on that arm‚ purge it immediately.……I will not allow any more irreparable errors in my management area.」
Rin-chan slightly trembled her injured shoulder while holding an awkward brush (hake).
Her gaze fell on my left arm for a moment‚ then returned to the wall. That stubborn‚ clumsy kindness that refused to acknowledge pain as pain.
「I'm fine！ Look‚ my right hand is full of energy.……Yotto！」
I grabbed the makeshift brush I had made by sharpening a piece of a fallen sign with my right hand‚ and neatly trimmed the bristles with my mouth.
Although the back of my nose was filled with a cloyingly sweet burnt smell‚ a sharp sour plastic taste stabbed the tip of my tongue.
It was a cacophony that could glitch my five senses‚ but even that was now a topping of "the taste of being alive".
I gripped the brush in my right hand tightly once more and looked up.
「Okay‚ Haru-kun! Final check on the color mixture‚ please！」
「……Roger.
Dispersion rate stable at 97%.
Nagisa-san‚ please fill the 'bottom thirty centimeters' with blue in that posture.
Rin-san‚ drop black from above.
One individual (structure) painting process — beginning.
……We will engrave this moment into history.」
Haru-kun held his waterproof notebook like a shield‚ knees drawn up‚ and issued sharp instructions.
The three of us simultaneously slid our brushes onto the silver wall.
――Sizzle.
That was when it happened.
From outside the dome came that ominous sound‚ like licking silver paper all over‚ accompanied by the sweet smell of burning sugar.
「……I-It's here！ World-san's 'Delete Tongue' has come to melt our wrapping！」
「……How cheeky. Try licking it off if you can.……I will overwrite the color (rule) of this wall right at this moment！」
Rin-chan swung her brush with intense movements.
Sweat dripping from her exposed shoulder touched my cheek hotly.
Outside‚ the system's initialization (acid rain) tried to melt the silver wall‚ while inside we desperately slapped on "our own colors" with our clumsy limbs.
Every second was a dead heat where lives were at stake.
At that moment‚ I could tell Momiji-chan's pulse (clock) on the transport sled was sharply jumping with fear and tension.
Her chest's agitation transmitted directly to my marshmallow arm holding the pot as small but intense physical vibrations like arrhythmia‚ through the synchronized engine's magnetic pulses.
Right leg.
From the thigh where the AC adapter bit in‚ red error-like pain jumped up at regular intervals with「Zuki‚ Zuki」.
That rhythm shook all the way to my chest.
（……Ah‚ this……I can use it……）
I stopped "rejecting" that pain.
I accepted it not as mere damage‚ but as a metronome ringing deep inside my body.
Zuki. One stroke at that pain signal. Zuki. Scoop up the next color.
Repairing the intense pain into a "metronome‚" my brush began carving intense blue trails onto the silver wall with powerful strokes.
「……A‚ ahaha！
Rin-chan's 'black of domination' is sneaking into my blue……！
At this rate‚ my blue parfait is going to turn into not black sesame but a 'dark hotpot'……！」
Still sitting on the asphalt‚ I bent my upper body as far as I could and swung the brush.
Inside the awkward silver cocoon (dome).
The "bottom half" blue and green of me and Haru-kun.
The black and red of Rin-chan and Momiji-chan dripping from above.
The four colors collided right at my eye level‚
and began writhing at the border like living creatures.
「……Be quiet.
Your blue is disturbing my order.
This border line — is a place I decide.」
From above‚ Rin-chan's slightly flushed voice came down.
Looking up‚ Rin-chan's standing shoulders were pulsing with heat-flushed reddish-black light.
「……Ngh……F‚ a……」
Every time Momiji-chan's fingertips touched‚ a suppressed sigh leaked from Rin-chan's throat.
The moment the cold gauze touched her flushed skin‚ white steam rose‚ and faint static electricity light swayed the shadows of the two.
「……Rin.
Let's paint together. With this pain.」
Momiji-chan supported Rin-chan by holding her back and layered her brush.
Black and red mixed‚ and hot colors ran across the wall in sync with their breathing.
（……Whoa…….
Their black and red are entering deep into my chest…….
Hot and painful……But I can't look away……）
「……Nagisa-san. This is not the time to be distracted by 'someone else's heat'.
The system's deletion process — its speed is jumping up.」
Haru-kun's voice cleanly pushed aside the sweet heat.
――Crack……！！
A sharp sound of silver paper burning and tearing ran outside.
Strong acid rain pierced the aluminum‚ and purple light stabbed thinly through pinholes.
That single streak traced our throats like the tip of the Grim Reaper's tongue (Delete Tongue).
「……I won't let you！
My 'pain metronome' hasn't stopped yet……！」
The beat carved by the tourniquet on my right leg echoed directly deep inside my body.
The pain commanded the next movement.
Zuki—— one stroke at that instant.
Zuki—— slamming color to seal the hole.
The edge of my vision swayed with bluish-white heat.
Even so‚ my arm moved as if pulled by the pain's beat.
I scooped up the hot rainbow slime from behind the melted hole in the silver wall.
With its full weight‚ I slapped it onto the wall with a splat and overwrote it.
「……Hah‚ made it……！
0.12 seconds…….
……I accept this victory as 'official history'……」
Haru-kun slammed his notebook and engraved our rebellion into certain history.
Blue‚ green‚ black‚ red.
The four colors intertwined at the border‚ writhing as heated vortices.
The aluminum's reflective light and the melted resin's luster overlapped‚
filling the inside of the dome with a sacred light like a muddy church stained glass.
「……Nfuー‚ it's complete. Look Rin-chan‚ our awkward silver paper cocoon has class-changed into the world's flashiest 'marble chocolate secret base'……」
I set down the brush and sat deeply on the asphalt.
The inner wall of the dome had blue and green crawling up from below‚ black and red dripping from above‚ violently mixing at the border lines‚ illuminated by bluish-white static sparks‚ radiating a sacred light like a muddy church stained glass.
――Shuuuu…….
The moment acid rain touched the slime‚ it burst with a shwa and turned into white mist.
The mist sparkled with colored light as it spread‚ tightly wrapping the dome in a warm colored membrane.
The sound of dissolution stopped‚ replaced by the heat of the surviving colors filling the air.
Rin-chan wiped her sweat and then smiled in satisfaction.
「……This is good.
Something like a 'Delete Tongue' will not be allowed to step even one foot into my territory.」
The red scar engraved on her neck‚ illuminated by this rainbow light‚ looked proudly calm like a medal telling the history of rebellion.
「……Recording completed. Day 4‚ 11:32 AM.」
Haru-kun closed his waterproof notebook and quietly caught his breath.
「……This individual (structure) has achieved overwriting against the dissolution process with its own 'color'.
The system-side processing could not keep up‚ and this point has been fixed as — a complete 'singularity'.
……History acceptance‚ completed.」
Momiji-chan smiled in relief upon hearing those words.
「Acceptance……I'm glad. This color is the very 'body heat' of us living through today.」
On the transport sled.
Momiji-chan‚ whose cheeks were dyed cherry blossom from regained oxygen and heat‚ smiled gently.
The exoskeleton (splint) assisting her breathing played a soft physical sound like a sigh of relief.
「That's right！ This isn't just graffiti. It's our four coolest signatures to teach the system 'There are humans here！'」
I tightly hugged my immobile left arm with my right hand and exposed my right leg‚ where sharp pain ran‚ to the engine's heat.
Even the cruel one-year shelf life felt like nothing more than a preparation period for a festival inside this rainbow sanctuary.
「Alright！ The painting work was a great success too‚ so next let's go find a more delicious 'real parfait' in this colorful house‚ Rin-cha——」
Just as I was saying that.
「……Huh？」
My gaze was suddenly drawn to the remains of the aluminum pot at my feet.
A little of the sludgy rainbow slime still remained at the bottom of the pot.
It was——
Unrelated to the surrounding rain sounds‚ vibrating with small‚ eerie concentric circles.
「……Hey Haru-kun. The leftovers in the pot……are they shaking a little……？」
It wasn't the sound of acid rain hitting the dome.
Through the asphalt I was sitting on‚ a low‚ heavy resonance that shook my bones directly crawled up.
――Zuzuzu……‚ Zuzuzuzuzu…….
「……Confirmed abnormal spike in the ground's resonance frequency.」
Haru-kun looked up‚ clear terror coloring his gray eyes.
The system judged that the "upper" delete had been rejected and immediately began "lower" dismantling — ground liquefaction (format).
It seemed our festival would not be allowed to stop even for a second.
Chapter 43 Complete
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