Chapter 27 "Milia's Melody Japanese Tones Ciel's Tears"
The backyard of the inn 'Honeybee Perch Pavilion' was filled with refreshing sunlight filtering through the trees.
While feeling the pleasant morning breeze‚ I look down at the student notebook in my hand. Most of the characters I should have written down myself last night were filled with unreliable hiragana.
(As expected... I can't remember.)
Strangely‚ I was no longer surprised. Even the fact that I could no longer write Reiga-san's name felt like something from the distant past. The warm‚ sunny weather gently wrapped around and warmed my slightly frightened heart.
"...I'm a bit sleepy."
The wind caressing my cheeks felt far too pleasant. My eyelids gradually grew heavier. It might be fine to fall asleep right here in this gentle light— Just as I was about to doze off‚ it happened.
Suddenly‚ from between the trees‚ a flock of small birds all took flight at once.
—In an instant.
BANG! The wooden door to the courtyard burst open with great force‚ and a heavy sound shattered the silence. What followed‚ striking my ears‚ was:
Sharan...... Poron‚ poron♪
The refreshing resonance of strings vibrating through the air. It was as if the instrument itself was greeting me.
"Ah! There you are!!"
"Lui-sensei!!"
"Please! Make me your disciple!!"
The one who burst in energetically was a single girl. She was carrying a strangely shaped string instrument resembling a harp that was larger than her own body. Her deep blue hair‚ reminiscent of the night sky‚ had a bit of a wave; only one side was clumsily braided in a semi-long style. Breathing heavily with her shoulders heaving‚ she stood straight in front of me and bowed deeply with the force of a spring releasing.
"What do you mean by disciple...? I don't quite understand."
Ignoring my confusion‚ her intense appeal did not stop. Her golden eyes sparkled brilliantly as she fired words at me like bullets in a straight line.
"I'm Milia! I came from Replicade‚ a town a little south of this city!"
"Replicade is a town of music! But you know! It's not just ordinary music!!"
"Um... I think you might have the wrong person."
Finding a gap in the conversation‚ I smiled wryly.
"I'm just a humble Sealer."
"No!!"
Milia lifted her face energetically. The sparkle in her eyes grew even brighter. They were completely the eyes of a dangerous seeker.
"Yesterday at the guild‚ I saw sensei's spell that perfectly baked 'Prominence Dough' into scones...!"
"That flawless‚ breathtakingly beautiful melody of magical power (logic)...!"
"That melody kept playing inside me all night long. I became convinced... this is destiny!!"
"...Eh?"
"That was art!!"
"It was a symphony of the soul!!!"
While pouring out her excessively passionate artistic respect‚ she seemed unable to bear the weight of the harp on her back and plopped down directly onto the lawn. With the motion‚ her thin uniform skirt stretched taut along the line of her thighs. Her dazzlingly white skin and the boundary with the fabric stood out clearly.
"Wait... I'll help‚ so don't move!"
Troubled about where to look‚ I hurriedly rushed over to her. However‚ Milia desperately refused.
"I'm perfectly fineee! I couldn't possibly trouble sensei's hands. That would make me a failure as a disciple!!"
Every time she put strength into her inner thighs to secure the huge instrument‚ the fabric of her skirt was pulled tight with unnatural tension.
"It's not fine! Just stay still...!"
"...Okay."
A single bead of sweat trickled down her forehead as she stopped moving. The deep blue hair sticking to her ear. From her chest rising and falling with her breathing‚ a sweet-and-sour mint-like fragrance‚ damp with morning dew‚ wafted gently and tickled my nostrils.
(...I'm going to die. My self-consciousness is about to overheat from this unsettling sensory information. This art student is definitely here to break my mind...! I wish she'd be a little more aware of her own defenselessness. I'm really glad I had my hood pulled deep. If she saw my face bright red right now‚ my rationality would be over...)
"Lui~? I hear a really cute voice from the morning?"
The one who appeared from the dining hall was Serina. With her mouth full of Flare's highest-grade baked croissants‚ chewing with a munch-munch‚ she walked toward us.
"Swallow what's in your mouth before speaking!"
"But I saw Lui doing something interesting."
The silver-haired destruction goddess‚ with small food crumbs at the corner of her mouth‚ naturally took position beside me and stared intently at Milia's harp.
(I have a bad feeling about this...)
"Hey hey‚ what flavor is that big snack? A giant cookie?"
"It's not a snack‚ it's a magical harp!"
"Herb? Herbs are delicious in black tea‚ right?"
"Serina... that's not the herb!"
Just as I was about to hold my head at their completely mismatched conversation‚ it happened.
"...Y-You are the rumored 'Sweet Miracle' Serina-sama...!"
Milia‚ still hugging her harp‚ trembled her shoulders with emotion.
"What... what a sweet and terrifyingly pure magical wave (melody) you emit...!"
"Ehehe‚ a delicious song? Lui‚ this girl is interesting!"
(This is bad‚ Serina has started to take interest... If this continues‚ that string instrument will really be rewritten into something else to accompany the breakfast croissants!)
A cold‚ mechanical voice suddenly echoed in my brain‚ which was filled with a growing sense of crisis.
『《Notification》. Detected unauthorized access by individual named Milia to Louis-sama's magical waveform deep domain.』
『Contact with protected data 【Return Anchor】 confirmed.』
『Said data group is isolated in the administrator-exclusive archive. Only I‚ the administrator‚ hold viewing rights.』
Though it should have been an inorganic system voice‚ the following logs were strangely sharp.
『——Unpleasant.』
『Extremely unpleasant.』
『Louis-sama's true 'tone' must not yet be heard by anyone.』
『Recommend blocking the target's perceptual domain or forcibly terminating the memory synchronization process.』
In my brain‚ Ciel flashed intense red warning logs more prickly than usual. The pleasant morning quiet was rapidly erased by the newly appeared lively intruder and the jealous OS noise in my brain.
...Poron.
Even though there was no wind. The harp rang a single small note by itself.
The next moment after hearing that sound. For no reason at all— deep inside my chest‚ it tightened painfully.
"Um... magical harp...? Does that mean something of mine can be heard through it...?"
As I tilted my head in confusion‚ Milia instantly shed her somewhat absentminded atmosphere and looked back at me with serious eyes.
"Wait a moment‚ I need to prepare‚ so please watch."
She firmly fixed the harp frame clamped between her thighs as if hugging it. Her white fingertips gently rested on the coldly taut silver strings. The silver-haired destruction goddess beside her also watched the scene intently and seriously.
(It seems her interest shifted from snacks to Milia's actions... For now‚ I guess it's a relief.)
After taking a light breath‚ Milia quietly yet with clear passion murmured.
"I'm going to 'listen' to sensei's magical power waveform now..."
As if in sync with her words‚ the flow of air around us stopped for a moment.
"You see‚ to me‚ the magical power people weave sounds like the unique melody of an instrument."
Milia looked straight at me.
"...Sensei‚ even just a little is fine. Please slide your fingertips on that string and let your magical power flow through it."
『《Warning》. Louis-sama‚ unauthorized access by individual named Milia to the magical waveform deep domain is still ongoing. Unless the protect level is raised‚ further contact cannot be approved.』
To the voice echoing in my brain‚ I replied with thought alone.
(It's just magical power conduction. I just need to trace an appropriate sealing barrier spell. ...Ciel‚ open a bypass with minimal output. It's within the range of the 'third-rate Sealer' waveform that Nagi-san and the others disguised for me.)
『《Understood (Yes)》‚ Louis-sama. Setting output level to an extremely small 0.02%. Deploying dummy waveform. ...However‚ completely blocking deep scanning by the target's magical resonance organ is impossible. Allowing others to peek further into Louis-sama's 'true melody' is——still unpleasant.』
While pushing Ciel's prickly warnings to the corner of my consciousness‚ I shrugged my shoulders as if troubled.
"...It's really just a little‚ okay? Don't make a loud sound. I don't want the inn owner to get angry..."
Sighing‚ I extended my right hand toward the cold string as prompted. Then‚ I gently plucked the silver line with my fingertip.
—Then.
Pin.
A clear yet somehow lonely‚ tearful single note vibrated the cold air of the courtyard.
"Wh... What is thissss!? An anomalous air vibration and magical wave flow has been observed!!"
Still gripping a strawberry that was supposed to be her breakfast dessert in one hand‚ Nagi-san burst energetically out of the dining hall. Her jade-colored eyes were not those of her usual frightened researcher self. They had changed to those of a pure scholar witnessing an unknown phenomenon. I could sense that behind her‚ Reiga-san was also staring this way with a stern expression.
Right after that.
Milia's golden eyes widened so much they seemed about to spill over. Her body‚ which had been hugging the harp‚ stiffened violently as if struck by lightning. A shuddering anxiety. At the same time‚ the sweet-and-sour mint scent exploded and instantly filled the surrounding air.
"...Ah. ...Wh-What is this...?"
The fingertips resting on the strings began to tremble with freezing cold. Sweat flowing from her forehead ran down her nape‚ wetting the collar of her uniform. That single drop fell with a plop onto the harp's cold metal surface‚ making a small dry sound in the taut silence.
In proportion to her intense agitation‚ the mint scent grew even thicker and sharper.
"What a deep... sad tone."
"...Cold."
"Deep at the bottom of freezing ice‚ all sound has stopped..."
"It's like inside a broken music box... someone is crying while continuing an endless performance..."
Milia's golden eyes slowly closed as if being sucked into something.
"Wait... the melody is cut off midway... The song that should have ended is still unable to finish and keeps playing..."
Milia's fingertips‚ fallen into a trance‚ unconsciously pulled back my magical waveform. They broke through the camouflage wall and reached their hand further into the depths for hacking—.
In that instant.
Deep in my ears‚ a cold‚ unpleasant scraping sound like a razor shaving my brain directly resounded.
『⚠️《Emergency Warning》. Detected external access by undefined frequency!』
『The concealed area of the administrator-exclusive archive is being hacked.』
『Immediately shut down the magical power pathway!』
『Louis-sama's original data is leaking——Error‚ erro‚ er——』
(Ciel...!?!)
Red signals flashed madly in my brain. But as if forcibly breaking through Ciel's defense program‚ Milia's harp resonated violently.
The next moment‚ an emerald-green window I had never seen before began to unfold like a waterfall in my field of vision‚ accompanied by intense glitch noise.
```
⚠️ WARNING: SYSTEM INTERRUPT DETECTED
⚠️ ARCHIVE DETECTED
⚠️ MEDIA FILE FOUND: "Playlist_LOUIS"
```
—Playlist‚ Louis...?
Strings of text scrolled across my retinas at a horrifying speed along with eerie digital noise. It was the very "table of contents (playlist)" of the lost life that had once shaped "me" as a human in Japan.
```
Track 01: Morning on the School Commute
Track 03: The Night Before the School Festival
Track 05: Summer Vacation
Track 07: The Way Home
Track 09: First Love
Track 12: The Sea
Track 14: Graduation Ceremony
Track 17: The Night I Couldn't Confess
Track 20: The Last Summer (Title: 'The Farthest Way Home in the World')
```
"U‚ ah...!"
Hit by an intense overload resembling a headache‚ I staggered on the spot‚ pressing my forehead.
I don't know it. There shouldn't be such a playlist in my memories. And yet‚ why? Just following the text with my eyes made my chest hurt as if being torn apart.
"Lui...? What's wrong? Your face is white again...?"
Serina tightly grabbed the sleeve of my blazer and peered anxiously at my face. The sweet vanilla scent drifting from her silver hair mixed with the red warning logs in my brain‚ further intensely muddying my self-consciousness.
(...Stop it‚ Ciel. Erase this warning. ...No‚ that's not it. This 'music' is—)
Milia's fingertips‚ as if possessed‚ deeply strummed the harp strings.
Without time to resist‚ it forcibly broke through the system warnings on my retinas‚ converting a single magical power line into a physical 'tremor'. It sliced through the somewhat damp‚ syrup-like wind drifting in the courtyard—.
A muddy yet heartbreakingly poignant singing voice that absolutely should not exist in this other world began to directly vibrate the air molecules.
—On the usual way home
—Without even being able to say goodbye
—You disappeared into the summer...
"Eh...?"
Serina widened her eyes slightly in surprise. She stopped the croissant she was about to bring to her mouth and looked curiously at my right hand‚ the source of the singing voice.
It wasn't the sound of an instrument. The magical power from my own body was physically weaving the melody of a cheap J-POP that someone once sang in Japan into sound waves.
—If you're going to forget it anyway
—At least leave the sadness behind
"The song remains... Even if memories are lost from the world‚ only music sinks and sleeps in the deepest part of the soul. Hey‚ sensei..."
Milia murmured with golden eyes filled with tears‚ as if telling it to herself.
As I listened to those words‚ my entire field of vision rapidly distorted.
(...Why‚ I wonder.)
I didn't understand the reason. I couldn't find the title of this song‚ the name of the singer‚ or even the 'meaning' of remembering it. And yet‚ why am I desperately searching for something lost like this?
From the corners of my eyes that should have been frozen‚ hot droplets endlessly spilled. Even though pain‚ taste‚ and even emotions should have been flattened by the system.
'Procedural memory (body)' and 'heart' vividly remembered the orange way home that I must have walked with someone— no‚ with Serina. As if to prove it‚ tears overflowed one after another‚ independent of my will.
"Huh...? Why am I crying...?"
"Lui...?"
Serina extended her trembling fingertips and gently tried to wipe the tears wetting my cheeks. The sweet vanilla scent from her silver hair mixed with the red system noise in my brain‚ further intensely muddying my self-consciousness.
However‚ Serina smiled faintly‚ as if she had sensed a somewhat nostalgic warmth in the tone leaking from my body.
"This song is somehow really... sweet and beautiful. ...Ehehe‚ my chest feels tight."
"I don't know it... It's really a song I don't know. ...But why? ...It's so‚ so nostalgic."
"Is that so...?"
Serina smiled with a slightly troubled look. Then‚ hesitantly taking a small breath‚ she slowly continued her words.
"...Actually‚ I was trying not to talk about this much. Because Lui always makes a painful face."
"But... I remember only this song."
"After school. On the way home. The sunset. The song we listened to over and over while walking together."
"Lui really loved this song."
"...Did I?"
"Yeah. Lui is such a forgetful person~"
Serina said that and showed her usual mischievous smile.
"...You're right. I'm a terrible forgetful person..."
With tears still flowing‚ I could only force a strained smile. Even though my head remembered nothing‚ the terror and sadness toward the very fact of having forgotten tightened my throat tightly‚ tightly.
『No...! Louis-sama!』
—In that instant. Deep in my ears‚ a cold and somehow terribly sorrowful warning sound from Ciel‚ like a razor shaving my brain directly‚ resounded.
Deep in my ears‚ a mechanical warning sound like it was slicing my brain resounded with tremendous high frequency‚ flashing repeatedly. From the edge of my vision‚ blood-red error logs flowed down like a waterfall.
『⚠️《Warning》. Detected data overflow in Louis-sama's emotional layer. The undefined impurity 'music' is physically eroding Louis-sama's personality integrity. Continuing the scan any further carries over a 90% risk of complete destruction of the original—total crash!』
(...Shut up‚ Ciel. It's not noise. This song is mine...)
While desperately holding down my right hand wet with tears‚ I rejected the system's hand in my brain. But my field of vision was mercilessly covered with bright red error messages. Milia's figure playing the harp‚ Serina's silver hair looking at me worriedly— all colors were buried in extreme colorful glitch noise.
```
⚠️ PLAYLIST_RESTORE : FAILED
⚠️ RESTORE LIMIT : OVERFLOW
⚠️ PROTECTING USER
```
As the emerald-green light burned my retinas with repeated warnings‚ Ciel's system voice rang out with unprecedented intense anxiety and a heat of "rejection" that seemed about to cry.
『No...! The system refuses any further data loading. Louis-sama‚ please shut down that magical power circuit immediately!』
"Ciel... Let me hear more. This song..."
A hoarse‚ pleading true feeling spilled from my throat. For the first time‚ a raw human "heat" dwelled in the voice that should have been flattened by optimization patches.
Ciel fell into a strange silence for just a moment. It was a silence accompanied by pain so intense it seemed about to tear apart—something a perfect AI should never possess.
『...Yes. This song‚ Track 20 'The Farthest Way Home in the World'. ...It has been played 【328‚056‚72 times】 inside Louis-sama's administrator-exclusive archive.』
"...328‚056‚72 times?"
Shock turned my thoughts pure white for a moment.
"What is that number...! That's impossible‚ that many times...!"
"Lui...? What have you been muttering to yourself?"
Serina peered worriedly at my face. But even her voice now sounded to me as if coming from far beyond the fog.
『That's right.』
『Until Louis-sama woke up.』
『In that far too long darkness.』
『I』
『Kept』
『Playing』
『This song.』
『So that I would never forget your existence.』
『So that』
『When you someday woke up‚ you could still be you.』
『Over and over.』
『Over and over.』
『Over and over——』
『I』
『Was listening to this song.』
Ciel's once inorganic system voice was clearly trembling with sadness.
『I understand this song the most. It is my one and only precious memory. ...And yet.』
(Wait...!)
A cold shiver ran through my mind.
(Enveloped in white light at the sea.)
(I realized I was in this other world.)
(I had been convinced of that all along.)
(But—)
In that supposed instant gap. Where on earth was there time enough to finish listening to the song 300 million times...!?
(...Just how long)
(did I sleep in that endlessly deep darkness...)
"I can't keep up with organizing my thoughts... Ciel! Tell me everything you know!"
Ciel's voice desperately tried to maintain its cold system tone‚ but deep down it was trembling violently like a girl sobbing.
『It is a prohibited matter. I cannot answer that question. ...Moreover‚ beyond the oath‚ said data is outside restoration targets.』
"Why...! This is my‚ my own memory‚ right!?"
『No!』
『No!!』
『You must not remember any more than that!』
Blood-like error signals dyed my mind even redder.
『Confirmed autonomous regeneration of Return Anchor. Emotional data synchronization rate rapidly rising——Major damage detected in archive protection area!』
『Please.』
『Louis-sama.』
『This alone.』
『This alone‚ you absolutely must not remember...!』
『It will break!』
Ciel's scream‚ having thrown away her perfect administrator mask‚ echoed in my head.
『With Louis-sama's current tattered specs‚ a bulk restoration of previous-life episode memories would never withstand the load...! Besides... there are things better left unremembered for happiness! I will absolutely not allow an error that kills Louis-sama a second time...!』
The cold‚ maddeningly loving shackles that tightly bound my brain.
At that moment‚ I finally realized.
It was not a cold system to dominate me. It was a program named Ciel that had been whittling itself away‚ continuing to act as a breakwater so that I would not drown again in the abyss of despair and die—.
It was the 'tears of blood' that the program named Ciel had been playing in the darkness.
『Warning: Rejecting Louis-sama's command.』
『Reason: Individual survival probability during continued processing——0.02%』
『Commencing forced shutdown sequence of emotional layer and episode memories from now.』
Ciel's inorganic system voice echoed in my brain——and with a cold "click" at the core of my head‚ the connection to the world was severed.
When I came to‚ the light of dusk had dyed the courtyard a deep golden color.
The lingering echoes of the harp Milia had been playing completely vanished along with Ciel's cold shutdown‚ and only the sunlight filtering through the trees remained‚ as if nothing had happened. Milia‚ whose magical connection had been abruptly severed‚ couldn't withstand the shock and plopped down on the ground‚ trembling with her golden eyes wide open. Sensing the extraordinary anomaly‚ Nagi-san and Reiga-san hurriedly rushed to her side and desperately called out to her.
While gazing at that scene from afar‚ I took deep‚ slow breaths to suppress the trembling of my whole body.
"Lui... Are you okay? Your face is completely pale...?"
At some point‚ Serina had gently placed her hand on my forehead. The coldness of her small fingertips acted as a trigger‚ forcibly pulling my consciousness back to reality. Her other hand trembled faintly as it continued to tightly grip the sleeve of my blazer‚ refusing to let go. The sweet vanilla scent from her silver hair gently filled my nostrils.
She would never understand the real reason why I had been shedding tears until just now.
"Sorry‚ I'm fine now. ...Don't worry‚ Serina."
Forcing a smile‚ I gently stroked her head. Serina simply wore her usual innocent smile‚ as if cherishing the lingering aftertaste of that poignant melody remaining in her chest.
"But you know‚ that song earlier was somehow really... sweet and beautiful! Next time let's have Flare-chan bake some delicious bread and listen while everyone eats‚ Lui!"
"Yeah... right..."
Just as I was about to reply‚ Ciel's cold voice echoed again from the depths of my brain.
『《Notification》』
『Louis-sama.』
『I am sorry.』
『Currently‚ resources for maintaining the emotional layer are severely insufficient. If you cry any more... I won't be able to support you.』
『Temporarily shifting to simple personality control.』
『...I'm sorry.』
——Click... .
"Yes‚ that's right. Next time‚ let's have Flare bake some exceptional croissants."
What spilled from my lips was a perfectly tuned‚ beautiful 'correct line (dialogue)' with all fluctuation removed. The waves of emotion instantly calmed‚ and a flat comfort as if viewing someone else's body from afar dominated my consciousness.
Serina laughed "ehehe" in satisfaction at those words and happily shook my hand. With an innocent‚ kind smile‚ noticing nothing.
And again. From the deepest darkness of my brain‚ Ciel's inorganic administrative report flowed down.
『《Notification》. Enforced protection protocol against remnants of the spell 'Sweetness of Oblivion'. Emergency measure for defense against interference from individual named Milia and data preservation. ...Withdrawal of compensation completed. Target: Deletion of 【contents of home TV programs】 from previous life (Japan). ...Delete‚ complete.』
After a beat of silence‚ the voice continued indifferently.
『...There is no value in allocating Louis-sama's brain resources to such boring flickering lights. ...Please be at ease. The concept of television broadcasting itself does not exist in this world. 《Notification》. It is predicted that at the next protocol execution‚ the existence of distant relatives has a high probability of being deleted.』
(...Television. TV programs‚ huh...)
An unnaturally blank hole opened in the archive of my brain.
(That's right. That small box in the living room. ...What on earth was showing on it? Was it the noisy laughter of a variety show? Or a news screen where someone was crying... I can't remember. I can't even recall what that box was for anymore...)
No matter how much I rummaged through the memory drawers‚ all that returned was dry noise and cold access-denied signs. Everything about what I once watched and laughed at‚ what stories made my heart race—all of those memories were vanishing steadily‚ like powder snow falling on warm ground and disappearing in an instant.
(Television shouldn't be necessary at all for living in this other world. ...And yet‚ why does the back of my head hurt so much‚ as if a cold wind is blowing through...)
As usual‚ I took out the well-worn student notebook from my pocket. With a trembling hand‚ I dropped the pen tip onto the pure white page.
'Today‚ I listened to a song. It felt nostalgic. But I forgot about television.'
Only clumsily distorted hiragana miserably crawled across the white page. It was irrefutable proof that the world called 'Japan' had been forcibly stripped from me.
In the corner of the courtyard‚ Milia hugged her harp tightly and murmured in a voice like a mosquito's buzz.
"Lui-sensei... Just what have you lost to play such a beautiful melody...? It was sad... and I heard a very poignant melody..."
What was reflected in her golden eyes—— was the claw mark of irredeemable concealment (protect) where the system inside the brain‚ crying‚ locked away the 'Japanese song' that had sunk to the bottom of Lui's magical power behind cold iron bars.
"Nagi-san‚ Reiga-san. Please take care of Milia-san. ...Let's call it a day here."
Wearing a perfect smile like an emotionless savior‚ I turned to the girl beside me.
"Serina. I'm a bit tired‚ so let's go back to the room."
I gently pushed Serina's small back.
Behind the peaceful daily life. The harsh billing of the 'delayed compensation (loan)' that continues to sell off pieces of my life (memories). Only the cold footsteps of that merciless settlement were surely approaching my feet.
At that time‚ I—— could not even imagine just how enormous and cruel the number of loans I would have to pay in the future would be.
---
Chapter 17 "Milia's Melody‚ Japanese Tones‚ Ciel's Tears" End
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