Chapter 47『Soil Repair (The First Seed Left in the World)』
Outside the dome‚ the wind crossing the sea of mud continued to carry the merciless cold of winter. Yet on this side‚ separated by a single resin wall‚ the gentle heat from the magnetic engine slowly caressed the air‚ nurturing a morning that was just a little softer than yesterday. The world's season was still winter. Even so‚ inside this small dome‚ a definite spring was about to be written by the hands of four people.
It was a quiet awakening.
The 'Tongue of Deletion (Strong Acid Rain)' that had been eroding the world until yesterday had vanished as if it were a long nightmare‚ and the sea of mud‚ now turned into a mirror surface‚ gently reflected the multicolored dome. I poked my face out from the dry cloth I had used as a blanket‚ rubbed the collar of my baggy white T-shirt‚ and slowly woke up.
Through the slightly opened gap in the curtains. In the corner of the dome‚ Haru-kun‚ wrapped in the same white cloth‚ sat hugging his knees and quietly opened his waxed waterproof notebook.
Flip—.
The modest sound of turning a page. The timeline for 'Day 5' that he had written with trembling hands yesterday glowed faintly under the morning light that had begun to shine in. Below it‚ he moved his pencil.
——'Morning'.
Just two characters. Despite it being such a simple log‚ the gray eyes of the boy gazing at his own profile were mysteriously warm.
Haru-kun's notebook had been different until now. The first thing he checked when turning the page was survival rate‚ remaining pure water‚ food reserves‚ and predicted time until the next deletion. Data solely for surviving and not losing a single day — that had been everything to him.
But today was different.
He put down his pencil and slightly raised his face as if thinking for a moment.
「……Well then」
Gentle morning light streamed in. Haru-kun's gentle voice spread like ripples inside the multicolored dome.
「Everyone‚ are you awake yet?」
「Yeees! It's a special deluxe wake-up morning for everyone～!」
I stood up energetically‚ flapping the hem of my shirt with a pat-pat‚ and vigorously pulled open the curtain that had been partitioning the space with a whoosh. The closed sanctuary was thrown open all at once‚ and warm air began to circulate gently. On the transport sled‚ Momiji-chan was rubbing her eyes lovingly‚ and next to her‚ Rin-chan was squinting her slender eyebrows as if dazzled.
Haru-kun's gaze traced us as we woke up one by one‚ and his expression suddenly softened.
「What should we do today?」
At those words from Haru-kun‚ I couldn't help but widen my eyes and stand frozen in place.
「……Ah」
That's right. No one was worried about "whether we can survive today." The collapse of the world‚ the system's surveillance‚ the terror of the Tongue of Deletion — none of it came up from anyone's mouth now.
Instead‚ what filled our hearts right now was.
What should we make today? What should we eat today? Who should we laugh with today?
Only logs of such human 'life (assets)' schedules.
「Nfuー!」
I hugged the treasure that had been placed on the corner of the crude table with great care.
「Today is the day we make a new home for these children!」
In the center of the wooden frame. With a plop‚ a small clump of soil rolled. The beloved fragment of life that I had desperately torn from the boundary line of the sinking land at the edge of the sea of mud. Next to it‚ Haru-kun lined up the vacuum-packed bag of seeds that he had protected with his life from the residual heat of the observatory.
Both were still exactly as they had been yesterday. Nothing had changed. And yet‚ yesterday and today‚ the world looked completely different.
Yesterday‚ this soil and these seeds were nothing more than fuel (cost) to be consumed solely for survival. But today was different. These were 'gifts (assets)' to be passed on to the unseen tomorrow.
Rin-chan folded her arms‚ the sleeves of her white T-shirt peeking out‚ and quietly nodded.
「……First‚ the soil.」
「Yes.」
Haru-kun also tightened his gaze and nodded.
「To maintain the plant growth cycle‚ the mass and nutrient content of this soil are overwhelmingly insufficient. However‚ mixing in the mud from outside is logically impossible due to the residual strong acidic contaminants.」
「Then!」
I raised my right hand high toward the sky.
「Let's squeeze out everyone's special deluxe wisdom! Let's create the biggest paradise farm in the world‚ right from here!」
Inside the dome‚ the small laughter of the four people burst together with the filling morning light.
Carrying the warm pulse of life (system clock)‚ the silent sea of mud slowly began to carry a new future called today.
On the crude table‚ a small clump of soil had been placed. The four people wearing matching T-shirts naturally formed a circle around it and sat down.
Yesterday‚ Nagisa had desperately torn this from the boundary line of the sea of mud‚ burning her bare feet — the only handful of 'living fragment of earth' in this sinking world. When I looked at it again under the bright light of the dome‚ its desperately small amount stood out painfully.
「……Overwhelming resource shortage.」
Rin-chan muttered with a stern face while rolling up the sleeves of her slightly ill-fitting T-shirt.
「This is nowhere near enough for a free-refill parfait farm……」
Nagisa also gently wrapped the single clump of earth with her right hand‚ drooping her shoulders and swaying her blue hair dejectedly.
「As soil mass to germinate plant seeds and continuously cultivate them‚ we need at least five times the current amount.」
Haru-kun calmly presented the numbers while smoothly drawing a simple diagram (model) with his pencil on the waterproof notebook on his lap.
「Furthermore‚ there is a fatal problem (debuff).」
「Problem?」
On the transport sled‚ Momiji-chan tilted her head‚ swaying her sunset-like red hair.
Haru-kun looked up from his notebook and turned his gaze toward the other side of the dome's resin wall — the silent outside world. The sea of gray mud. An inorganic water surface that stretched endlessly and completely rejected the existence of life.
「The sludge spreading out there has been turned extremely acidic by the 'Tongue of Deletion (Strong Acid Rain)' that poured down for a long period. At the current pH level‚ the cells would be destroyed the moment the seeds are planted‚ making plant growth logically impossible.」
「So the mud that's rotting out there in abundance can't be used as is.」
Rin-chan furrowed her slender eyebrows in annoyance.
「Yes.」
Haru-kun quietly nodded.
「To nurture life…… we need to repair (repair) the land itself with our own hands.」
For a moment‚ a quiet air flowed inside the multicolored cocoon.
The soil mass was overwhelmingly insufficient. Yet outside‚ there was as much mud as the world could swallow. But it was contaminated by the system's malice and would kill life if used as is.
「……In other words」
The one who hacked the silence was the ruler of physical laws. Rin-chan‚ still with her arms folded‚ smirked fearlessly.
「We just need to fix it.」
Her black eyes pierced in sequence the electrostatic coil sitting in the corner of the dome‚ the porous water purifier‚ and the preserved can of 'baking soda' that had gently washed our bodies‚ shining sharply.
「If it's a strong acid bug‚ neutralize it with alkali. I'll just overwrite the environmental data with my logic (rules).」
With just those words‚ light returned to Haru-kun's eyes as well‚ and he nodded deeply.
「……I see. We still have plenty of baking soda left. If we neutralize the outside mud with baking soda water and repeatedly wash it with pure water from the purifier to remove salt‚ the soil environment should improve to a certain degree.」
「Furthermore‚ by using the exhaust heat valve of the magnetic engine to apply warm air‚ we can greatly shorten the drying process time (clock). Not a bad cycle.」
「See?」
Rin-chan smiled proudly with the face of the manager of a proud main engine.
「The world is still broken‚ but our junk doesn't lie.」
At those words‚ Nagisa's eyes sparkled with multicolored light.
「In other words‚ in other words!」
She stood up energetically. The hem of her baggy white T-shirt fluttered like a flag of joy.
「We're going to special deluxe repair the poisonous mud-san into life-giving soil-san!」
「That's right‚ idiot Nagisa.」
「Yaaay!」
Seeing Nagisa jumping around energetically‚ Momiji-chan shook her slender shoulders and giggled.
「Fufu…… Fixing even the land itself. Everyone really is an amazing 'repair shop'.」
At those gentle words‚ Haru-kun thought for a moment and once again gazed at the sea of mud outside the window that had declared complete silence.
「……We don't have the power to fix this world itself.」
It was the quiet‚ honest voice of an observer who had continued to face the system.
「But」
He gently stroked with his fingertips the 'Day 5' timeline that he had begun carving with his own hands yesterday‚ as if cherishing it.
「For the small portion we cut out from the system…… we can repair (restore) it little by little with our body heat.」
No one answered. Instead of words‚ the gazes of the four people wearing matching white clothes naturally gathered on the small clump of soil placed in the center of the table.
Until yesterday‚ it had been nothing more than a survival resource meant to be consumed solely so that we ourselves could live today. From today onward — it was the 'first seed (asset)' of hope to be newly passed to the bottom of this sunken world.
Inside the dome protected by multicolored resin walls‚ our small junk workshop was quietly‚ yet with definite heat‚ about to start its first project to welcome new life.
This small world enveloped in the soft morning air. A small vacuum pack was gently placed in the center of the table made of junk. It was the 'seeds of civilization' that Haru-kun had risked his life to bring back from humanity's last observatory.
No one had opened the seal yet. It was simply there. Just that alone made the four people's hearts beat strangely high and warm.
「……I'll open it.」
Haru-kun nodded and carefully broke the seal of the package with his dirty fingertips.
Rustle—.
The sound of the dry film‚ which had stopped time for hundreds of years‚ gently melted into the silence of the dome. What rolled from the bag into his palm were truly modest‚ beloved grains of the future.
Round ones. Long thin ones. Ones harboring jet black. Ones with a pale brown like sunlight filtering through trees.
Shapes and sizes each hiding their own inherent possibilities — variables of the future.
「Waaaah……!」
I couldn't help but lean forward. Ignoring how the collar of my baggy T-shirt slipped down‚ I left my numb left arm (marshmallow) gently resting against the raft's support and brought my face closer by pulling the table with my right hand.
「So cuuute! Everyone has a different face!」
「Seeds don't have faces.」
Rin-chan immediately jabbed with knife-like sharpness.
「They do!」「No」「They absolutely do!」「No」「They dooo!」「Idiot Nagisa」「Ehehe!」
At the exchange that sounded like children's bickering.
「Fufu……」
Momiji-chan‚ still leaning her upper body on the transport sled‚ made her exoskeleton (splint) creak pleasantly and shook her shoulders lovingly. 「You really are good friends.」
While gentle laughter enveloped the dome‚ Haru-kun dropped his serious gaze to the waterproof notebook on his lap.
「The storage condition is extremely good.」
His gray eyes scanned each and every piece of the future on the table with observer precision.
「These round ones are leafy vegetables. These thin ones are root vegetables. And these are legumes.」
The tip of his pencil smoothly ran across the blank page‚ drawing concise sketches.
「The average germination rate is estimated at over 85%‚ cold resistance is moderate. In simulations of required moisture and sunlight conditions——」
「Stop.」
Rin-chan sighed as if exasperated and cut off Haru-kun's words. 「If you explain everything‚ the day will end and night will come. Match my logic (rules) processing clock.」
「……My apologies.」
Haru-kun cleared his throat a little shyly. At his usual serious demeanor‚ I couldn't help but laugh out loud.
「Okay okay!」
I raised my right hand high again.
「There's no need to hesitate! Let's plant everything‚ without leaving any out!」
「Rejected.」
Rin-chan answered immediately.
「Whyyy!?」
「Did you forget the calculation from earlier? The absolute amount of soil is insufficient.」
「Muuu……」
I puffed out my cheeks as much as possible‚ swaying my blue hair in dissatisfaction.
「Even a parfait is lonely with just strawberries! It's the various toppings that make it a special deluxe!」
「Right now‚ survival rate takes priority over decoration.」
Rin-chan‚ with her arms still through the sleeves of her slightly ill-fitting T-shirt‚ declared with the face of a cold main engine.
「Prioritize calorie efficiency and growth speed. Concentrate our limited capital (resources) on the varieties that can be harvested the soonest.」
「Eeeeh…… That's so un-dreamlike……」
「Dreams alone won't fill your stomach. Face reality‚ idiot Nagisa.」
Our clashing opinions.
「But」
In between them‚ a voice like a clear water droplet fell. It was Momiji-chan who spoke.
Her slender‚ beautiful fingertips extending from the white fabric gently touched a single seed resting on the table.
「……Each of these children worked hard to survive until here in that dark place.」
Her voice was soft like spring sunlight.
「So…… I want to give each one a chance to live.」
No one replied right away. A gentle‚ modest silence flowed inside the resin wall.
Haru-kun gazed at the sketch in his hand. Rin-chan fell silent with her arms folded. I blinked my eyes.
And then.
「……You're right.」
Slightly swaying his ash-silver wavy hair‚ Haru-kun slowly nodded.
「Statistically as well‚ securing diversity rather than concentrating all resources on a single variety will provide better risk dispersion against future environmental mutations (bugs).」
「……In the end‚ you settle it with statistical logic again.」
Rin-chan snorted‚ exasperated yet somehow happily.
「Yes.」
Haru-kun also slightly relaxed the corners of his mouth‚ and his expression softened a little.
「However‚ this time…… my calculation model also agrees with everyone's 'hearts'.」
At those words‚ my eyes sparkled with multicolored light.
「Then!」
I raised my right hand high once more.
「Let's make new homes for everyone!」
Lined up on the junk table were small possibilities of different shapes and colors. Once they were humanity's food. Resources (costs) consumed solely to survive. Calculable numbers of survival rates.
But now‚ they were more than that.
They were beloved little 'futures (assets)' that the four of us‚ wrapping our body heat in matching white fabric‚ would carefully nurture on this sea of mud.
「Haru. How much portable resource (food) do we have left?」
Rin-chan asked Haru-kun. The special deluxe soup of dried noodles and dried vegetables that had been our only proper staple had been completely finished last night‚ with the four of us laughing and saying 「It's delicious」 without leaving a single drop.
Haru-kun closed his waterproof notebook and checked the bottom of his bag.
「The daily reserves we recovered from the observatory were almost depleted by yesterday's dinner. What remains now is emergency rations that provide only the minimum calories for life support — about one month's worth of compressed biscuits. They provide nutrition‚ but they can hardly be called delicious.」
「I see.」
Rin-chan lowered her black eyes for a moment‚ then immediately raised her face.
「Haru‚ distribute today's portions to everyone. We'll start the project after putting the minimum fuel into the system.」
I grabbed the hard block with my right hand and took a big energetic bite.
「Delicious! Haru-kun‚ saying it's not delicious is a huge mistake! Snacks are absolute justice no matter the time!」
「Don't eat a whole day's worth in one meal‚ idiot Nagisa.」
Rin-chan glared sharply.
「……It's the assumed calorie (cost) for one day.」
Haru-kun sighed wearily.
「Fufu…… Nagisa-chan‚ you'll upset your stomach.」
Momiji-chan smiled bitterly as if troubled.
「Moo. I know!」
In truth‚ the biscuits were hard as stones‚ dry‚ crumbly‚ and tasteless. Yet none of the four voiced any complaints. Because they had carefully etched into their hearts the memory (log) of the warm special deluxe soup they ate yesterday and the warmth of the table they shared together.
「Now‚ let's resume the repair work.」
Haru-kun swallowed the biscuit with his dry throat and quietly announced.
The mud neutralized of its acidic bug with baking soda and washed many times with pure water had been slowly dried by the exhaust heat of the magnetic engine‚ accumulating into a small mountain of soil on the table. It was by no means a lot. A small‚ endearing cradle of life that could be completely held in one's hands.
Yet‚ its gentle brownish gradation was completely different from the inorganic mud color we had seen outside the dome until yesterday. It was not the cold gray that erased the world. It was a warm 'earth (asset)' repaired humanly‚ protected by everyone's wisdom and hands.
「With this…… it should be fine.」
Haru-kun nodded in satisfaction. 「The nutrients are not sufficient‚ but the soil environment necessary for the initial germination is ready.」
Rin-chan also lightly pressed the repaired soil with her fingertips to check its hardness.
「The water retention rate isn't bad either.」
Her black eyes narrowed slightly in satisfaction. 「……For our junk‚ it's a pretty good system build.」
「Yay!」
I thrust my right hand high into the sky. The hem of my oversized white T-shirt fluttered as if responding to the joy.
「Then let's plant them! Let's plant everyone's future!」
Watching that innocent smile‚ Momiji-chan smiled softly.
「Yes.」
Her sunset-like red hair swayed in the warm air of the dome that harbored spring. 「Please take care of them‚ Nagisa-chan.」
「……Eh?」
I widened my eyes. 「Wah‚ I'm the one planting them?」
Momiji-chan quietly nodded. 「The one who brought this precious soil back from the sea of mud without giving up…… was you‚ Nagisa-chan.」
Haru-kun also smiled softly and nodded. 「I think the first patch (field) in this world should be completed by you‚ who are the core (core) of our individual (team).」
Rin-chan also snorted awkwardly with her arms still folded. 「No objections. Hurry up and do it‚ idiot Nagisa.」
A short remark. That was all. Yet deep within those blunt words‚ there was surely an absolute trust as partners.
「…………」
I smiled shyly.
「Ehehe……」 I scratched the chest of my baggy white T-shirt with my right hand. 「Somehow‚ I'm getting special deluxe embarrassed.」
Muttering that‚ I slowly approached the small patch of earth on the table.
Haru-kun carefully took out a single seed from the vacuum pack. Placed in his palm‚ it was so thin and fragile that it seemed like it would fly off to the other side of the world if someone blew on it. Yesterday's me probably wouldn't have believed that such a trivial grain really held the timeline of the future inside it.
I slowly held out my right palm. Haru-kun carefully entrusted one grain of the future to me with his warm hands.
Plop.
A very slight mass. Yet there was an overwhelming body heat‚ as if a definite 'pulse of life' had been entrusted to it.
「Nfuー……」
I gazed at the single grain in my right hand.
「Nice to meet you.」
I didn't even know who those words were directed at. Was it to this grain of the future? To this place enveloping us? Or to the unseen timeline of tomorrow? Naturally‚ that prayer-like whisper had simply spilled from my mouth.
With the index finger of my right hand‚ I made a small depression in the repaired soil mountain. There.
Plop.
The smallest and surest future in the world quietly landed.
I gently covered it with a blanket of soil. I didn't do anything crude like pressing it down hard. As if cherishing a young child. Gently. Really gently.
「Good night.」
I smiled. 「See you tomorrow.」
No one clapped. There wasn't even any cheering. The four of us simply gazed with affection at the modest swell of earth breathing in the center of the table‚ holding our breath.
The sprout had not yet emerged. No change appeared in the log. Outside the dome‚ it was still barren gray‚ and the merciless winter wind continued to cross the sea of mud.
Even so.
Inside this cocoon protected by the multicolored resin walls — a definite single grain of spring that no one could delete (delete) had been planted.
The variables (seeds) of the future had not yet sprouted. Of course not. This broken world system was not made kindly enough for plants to spread green leaves in just a single day.
The pale light of dusk gently dyed the dome. Outside the resin wall‚ the merciless winter wind still caressed the sea of mud‚ and low gray clouds flowed by. The world had not changed at all.
Even so‚ only the inside of this cocoon was enveloped in a mysteriously gentle body heat.
I crouched in front of the small patch of earth created on the crude table.
「You're still sleeping‚ huh.」
I peeked at the surface of the soil lovingly and chuckled. 「Sleep a lot and grow up special deluxe big‚ okay?」
Rin-chan‚ who had been watching nearby‚ shrugged her slender shoulders.
「There's no way it would grow in a day or two.」
「Muu.」
I puffed out my cheeks. 「I know that much.」
「Then don't make a face like you can't wait‚ idiot Nagisa.」
「But but‚ I want to meet them soon.」
「……I can't say I don't understand the feeling.」
Rin-chan dropped her black eyes to the small swell of earth. 「That's exactly why you shouldn't rush it. Don't forcibly distort the processing clock of the future (system).」
At those words‚ I widened my eyes a little. Eventually‚ I smiled softly‚ happy at her awkward kindness.
「……Yeah.」
Haru-kun closed his waterproof notebook and spoke gently.
「Statistically as well‚ germination takes several days. Right now‚ the act of 'waiting' itself is an important work process (buffer) for us.」
「Waiting is work too‚ huh.」
I nodded deeply‚ impressed. 「Haru-kun's junk engineering is special deluxe deep.」
「Plants can't be controlled according to human schedules (timelines)‚ after all.」
At that serious remark‚ Momiji-chan softened her porcelain cheeks and smiled gently. 「That's why…… plants are wonderful.」
The four of us lined up and gazed at the small patch of earth set on the crude table.
The soil was quiet. No sprouts. No leaves. No flowers. No visible changes had been updated at all.
Even so‚ beneath that warm soil‚ there was definitely one small life sleeping.
Haru-kun opened his notebook once more. He gripped his pencil again and added the final log of the day called today to the blank timeline.
Only the quiet sound of the pen stroking the paper gently echoed inside the dome.
——'Day 5'
He pondered a little affectionately. Then‚ slowly but with definite pressure‚ he wrote the characters.
'Planted the seeds.'
That was all. In the timeline until yesterday‚ it would have been filled with cold numbers that shaved away life's HP — required water volume‚ food remaining‚ survival rate‚ danger level. But today's log was different.
Just five characters. With only that‚ their world was sufficiently fulfilled.
Haru-kun closed the notebook.
With a soft pat‚ the quiet sound vibrated our eardrums. At that moment‚ our day called today also gently drew to a close.
Outside the multicolored resin wall‚ winter's malice still enveloped the world. But inside‚ the small spring nurtured by the four of us and entrusted to the soil was sleeping.
We still didn't know tomorrow's weather. The survival rate the day after tomorrow was probably incalculable.
Even so‚ we already knew.
That the future (system) was not something to simply wait to be deleted. It was something to entrust with our own hands into the earth today.
Night deepened. Pale moonlight gently illuminated this small greenhouse. The modest earth and the sleeping variables (seeds) of the future still showed no visible changes.
Beyond the dome‚ the winter wind slowly crossed the silent sea of mud. The 'Tongue of Deletion (Strong Acid Rain)' that once carried death was no longer falling anywhere. Faintly reflected on the water surface for an instant was the afterimage of the old land that should have sunk.
Without anyone noticing.
The world was beginning to breathe again‚ little by little.
Around that time. As for me.
「Nfuー! Parfait mountain range～……!」 「Add more whipped cream……」
While resounding with such grand sleep-talking throughout the dome‚ I was happily munching on a special deluxe parfait in the timeline of dreams.
（Chapter 47 『Soil Repair (The First Seed Left in the World)』 End）
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