【名無しさん】
2026年7月31日
6時7分8秒
| Chapter 30: Steam on the Rooftop and the Accusation in the Black Notebook
The moon had risen high, and the forest was sunk in deep silence. The woods that bustled with birdsong during the day now held only the sound of the night wind rustling the treetops, melting into the depths of darkness. A small hill from which one could look down on the warm lights of the inn 'Honeybee's Perch Pavilion.' A lone girl was sitting on the large rock at its summit. She wore a black parka, and on her lap rested a well-worn black notebook.
Her short black hair, with the hood removed, swayed faintly in the night breeze. Not a single trace of girlish innocence remained in her profile illuminated by the moonlight. What was there was the face of a warrior bearing an excessively heavy reality and having resolved herself with cold determination.
The girl—Shio—lowered her gaze to the last page of the notebook and let out a small sigh. Then, as if cutting off a prayer, she gently closed the notebook.
「……No matter how many times I think about it, this is about the limit.」
To the murmur that escaped like a soliloquy, a dry laugh returned from the depths of the grass.
「Keke… You’re making one hell of a difficult face, Shio.」
With a light hop, a small shadow jumped onto the rock. It was her partner, the small dragon resembling a yellowish-brown lizard—Nigari. He sat down beside Shio and made an exaggerated shrug as he tried to peek at the black notebook.
「You write in it so diligently every day. Haven’t you gotten to know more about that guy than he knows about himself?」
「Yeah.」
Shio gave a short nod and tapped the cover of the notebook lightly with her fingertip, smiling self-mockingly.
「The information is all here. But—we’re still missing the decisive factor.」
「Decisive factor?」
「A surefire way to stop that so-called Savior.」
「Didn’t you say yourself before that even if you fed him reality, it wouldn’t save him at all?」
At Nigari’s pointed remark, Shio turned her gaze toward the inn. The warm light leaking from the second-floor window looked terribly gentle—and therefore all the more cruel—within this completely warped miniature garden.
「If he learns the truth, he’ll either keep using his power until he completely breaks… or, in the worst case, his heart will shatter right there. That has no meaning. It’s not the ending I want.」
A heavy silence fell for a while. Only the wind crossing the night forest blew between the two. Eventually, Nigari spoke up quietly.
「Then what? Even if you manage to stop that Savior, what are you going to do afterward?」
Shio did not answer. Nigari continued speaking indifferently while still looking up at the night sky.
「The god who’s gone berserk and is destroying the world—Serina—will stay exactly as she is, right? If the Savior is stopped, this world won’t last much longer.」
「……Yeah. You’re right.」
Shio nodded with a self-mocking smile.
「Right now, that Savior is exhausting himself to support the world. It’s ironic, but that’s also an undeniable fact.」
Nigari shrugged coldly.
「Kuk… So no matter how much we struggle, this world is already doomed.」
At that remark, Shio gently closed her sanpaku eyes.
「Yeah. If the Savior completely breaks and disappears like this, that idiot god will end the world. No matter which way it falls, the only thing waiting in the not-too-distant future is ‘total extinction.’」
The night wind blew coldly through once again. Only the black notebook on her lap reflected a dull light under the moonlight. Nigari lay on his back on the rugged rock and glared at the moon in the sky with an exasperated look.
「……This is not the kind of thing I want to think about seriously. So, what are you planning to do?」
Shio remained silent in the darkness for a while. She was not searching for an answer. She had already run thousands, tens of thousands of simulations in her mind, and she was simply putting into words the only ‘worst correct answer’ that remained at the end.
「The only thing left is to make that idiot god realize it.」
Nigari raised one eyebrow quizzically.
「Make her realize it?」
「She has no choice but to become aware of her own rampage and stop it herself. There is no other path.」
「……But.」
Nigari turned only his head toward Shio while still lying down.
「That’s the part I understand the least. She’s a god, right? Didn’t she create this miniature garden because she wanted to live peacefully with the Savior in this world? Then why is she destroying the world herself? It’s a contradiction.」
「I hit the same wall.」
Shio lowered her gaze to the black notebook.
「But the more I investigate, the more unnaturally that contradiction stands out. It’s as if—」
She paused, then scratched the worn leather cover hard with her slender fingertip.
「Only the god herself is unaware of the fact that she is destroying the world.」
The usual frivolous smile completely disappeared from Nigari’s expression.
「……Is that even possible? A god not knowing what she herself is doing. Normally, that shouldn’t be possible.」
「But if you don’t think that way, nothing makes sense.」
Shio answered immediately without hesitation. The surrounding trees rustled ominously, and a short silence fell between the two. Eventually, Nigari muttered in exasperation.
「So even if you just shove reality in front of the current god, that alone won’t save the world, right?」
「Yeah. That’s why there’s an order to things.」
Shio nodded slightly.
「First, she needs to accurately understand the current situation. Who exactly is destroying this world. And—what the Savior continues to bear on his shoulders. All of it. After that, the god herself will have to think about what comes next.」
「Keke… In short, you’re forcing her to the starting line.」
「Yeah. Nothing will begin unless she stands there.」
Shio hugged the black notebook tightly against her chest. The dry rustle of fabric echoed faintly in the night air. There was no longer any hesitation in her sanpaku eyes.
「That’s why—I’m going to meet her directly and talk.」
Nigari widened his lizard-like eyes.
「……Directly?」
「Tonight.」
「Tonight?」
「After dinner. The location is the rooftop hot spring at the inn.」
For a moment, Nigari’s thought process completely stopped.
「…………Hey, wait.」
「What?」
「The rooftop hot spring…」
Nigari slowly looked up at Shio with eyes as if he were seeing something unbelievable.
「That place… is the women’s bath, you know?」
Shio froze all movement.
「…………」
Absolute silence for several seconds. Only the cold night wind passed between the two without saying anything. Eventually, Shio awkwardly scratched her cheek while unnaturally averting her gaze.
「……That’s right.」
「You…!」
Nigari couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.
「You’re a girl, aren’t you!」
「Haha… Sorry. I forgot about it until just now too.」
Shio also laughed awkwardly along with him.
「Don’t forget that! It’s about yourself!」
Nigari rolled around on the rock, holding his stomach and laughing.
「Can’t be helped. Lately I’ve been moving around in male disguise more often.」
「That’s not the issue with gender at all!?」
The sound of the two laughing melted into the darkness of the night forest. For just a brief moment, it was a gentle and kind time where they could forget that the world was on the verge of destruction and that the Savior was continuously shaving away at himself.
However, that warm atmosphere did not last long. Shio slowly erased her smile and hugged the black notebook tightly to her chest. As if imprinting its weight once more onto her own heart.
「……If this doesn’t work.」
Shio cut her words there. It was an extremely low voice. Yet the unspoken continuation held not resignation, but only a sharp, blade-like resolve that could cut a finger if touched.
Nigari also erased his smile, hopped down from the rock, and stood beside Shio’s feet.
「Shall we go?」
「Yeah.」
The two began walking toward the inn where light leaked from the windows. The moonlight in the night sky stretched their two shadows long across the ground and faintly illuminated their backs. Only the black notebook held in Shio’s arms looked heavily and deeply sunk, as if she were carrying someone’s entire life.
Night. White, soft steam rose from the open-air bath set on the roof of the inn 'Honeybee's Perch Pavilion.' The bath, skillfully constructed using large natural stones, was as spacious as a small pond. The clear hot water continuously pouring from the spout rippled in a smooth silver under the moonlight. From the surrounding trees came the ceaseless, pleasant chorus of summer insects. Every time the night wind blew gently, the steam flowed slowly like a veil, faintly blurring the starry sky.
「……Haa.」
Leaning against a large rock, one woman let out a breath. It was Nagi. Submerged up to her shoulders in the hot water, she slowly melted away the fatigue of the day that had built up. It was a peaceful time with no one to disturb her, which had finally arrived after helping with cleaning at the inn she always stayed at during the day.
「Today… I got a little tired…」
She murmured to no one in particular. Lately, her work with the guild’s official records had been busy. Today, thanks to Rui-sama taking the initiative to help clean the inn, it had been much easier—but during the work, an inescapable ‘sense of unease’ had continued to linger in Nagi’s chest.
The moment Rui-sama picked up the broom.
（……Huh?）
He had frozen in confusion for just an instant, as if he couldn’t remember how to use the tool he was holding. It wasn’t the first time she had witnessed such a puzzling sight. When wiping the floor with a rag or changing the water in the bucket, his movements would unnaturally cut off here and there and stop in bewilderment, like a toddler touching tools for the first time. A strange unease, as if puzzle pieces were slightly missing from inside him.
「I’m probably overthinking it… right.」
She forced a weak, bitter smile as if telling herself, and gently closed her eyes. There was no way that the excellent and rational Rui-sama would do something like that. The warm water gently enveloped her stiff body, and her complicated thoughts slowly unraveled.
——It was then. From the changing area came the light humming of a girl.
「Hum hum～♪」
A familiar, bright singing voice like sunlight. Nagi turned her gaze beyond the steam and slowly opened her eyes.
「……Serina-san.」
She reflexively started to call out but immediately reconsidered. The open-air bath at this hour was as wide as a pond, and fortunately there were no other guests. If she hid behind the large rock, it wasn’t unusual for them to spend time without noticing each other.
（Well… tonight I feel like soaking in the bath slowly by myself. Serina-san probably feels the same. I’ll go with that.）
Having decided so, Nagi quietly moved deeper into the shadow of the natural stone so as not to be seen. Soon, a pleasant splash of water echoed.
「Aah～……」
A sigh like the ebb tide, sounding utterly happy.
「What a nice bath～」
Serina casually tied her long silver hair behind her and happily submerged herself up to her shoulders. Just by looking at her expression, one could tell that today she had walked around town with Rui-sama, eaten delicious sweets, and laughed a lot. It was the perfect ending to a fulfilling, happy day.
「I really like this inn.」
Serina muttered to herself, gently stirring the water’s surface with her fingertip and letting a soft, adorable smile spill out.
「The food is delicious, and the bath feels so good…」
She looked up at the clear night sky’s moon.
「And Rui looked like he was having so much fun too.」
Just saying his name naturally brought a smile to her face. Watching her pure figure from the rock’s shadow, Nagi’s heart also softened a little, and she found herself smiling faintly.
（They really get along so well…）
Watching the two of them warmed the depths of her chest. They looked far beyond mere traveling companions—like family who had been together for a very long time.
Such a peaceful time flowed gently along with the steam enveloping the open-air bath. The water’s surface rippled slowly. The insects continued their chorus. The night wind rustled the leaves of the trees. No one present even imagined that this peaceful time would end in just a few minutes.
——And then. Another set of footsteps approached from the changing area.
……Tap.
……Tap.
Steady stride. Heavy footsteps without any hesitation, ruthlessly cutting through the silence. Nagi casually turned her gaze that way. But the moment she clearly recognized the figure,
「……Eh?」
She involuntarily held her breath. It was an unfamiliar girl. Short black hair that melted into the night darkness. A slender, toned body. And an extremely cold, ruthless aura that felt out of place in this peaceful open-air bath.
The girl glanced around once, then naturally stepped into the bath.
——Splash.
Only the dry sound of water melted into the night’s silence. At that instant, a cold shiver ran down Nagi’s spine for no reason.
（……Who is she……?）
Just another guest at the inn. That should have been all there was to it. Yet the unease in her chest wouldn’t stop. Only an instinctive discomfort that couldn’t be put into words spread like small but definite ripples, like a drop falling on the water’s surface.
On the other side of the bath—Serina noticed the girl’s presence and broke into a bright, blooming smile.
「Good evening!」
The innocent voice rang out into the night sky. The girl slowly raised her face. Her amber sanpaku eyes looked straight back into Serina’s clear blue ones.
And then—.
「Good evening!」
A carefree, innocent voice bounced beyond the white drifting steam. The black-haired girl raised her face. For an instant, her amber eyes reflected Serina directly—but the next moment, they narrowed gently as if the tension had been drained away.
「Yeah. Good evening.」
It was a calm, quiet voice. The kind of relaxed way of speaking unique to someone who had been on a long, harsh journey. Serina let out a relieved smile.
「Thank goodness. You really are a guest! At first I thought you were a ghost!」
「……Am I really that shadowy?」
The girl—Shio—slightly softened the corners of her mouth.
「Ehehe, sorry.」
Serina laughed while sinking up to her shoulders with a splash.
「But you know, it’s really quiet at this hour. I get surprised when a pretty person suddenly comes in.」
「I see.」
The girl also slowly submerged her body into the warm water.
「Nice bath.」
「Right!」
Serina’s face brightened like a blooming flower.
「I love the bath at this inn! It’s wide, the view is beautiful, and the night sky feels so close! The food is delicious too! …And the sweets are delicious!」
Only the last part had a slightly higher tone. The girl involuntarily let out a small snort through her nose.
「So that’s what it comes down to.」
「Yes!」
Serina proudly puffed out her ample chest.
「Sweets save the world!」
「I see. That’s quite a grand statement.」
「It’s true, you know?」
Serina gently stirred the water’s surface with her fingertips.
「Eating delicious things makes you happy. When you’re happy, you smile. When you smile, the world looks brighter. That’s why sweets save the world.」
The girl looked up slightly at the starry night sky.
「……There’s that way of thinking too.」
「Right?」
Serina nodded in satisfaction.
「Are you a traveler?」
「Yeah. Something like that.」
「Where did you come from?」
「A faraway place.」
「Fufu.」
Serina giggled cheerfully.
「That doesn’t really answer the question, does it? You’re quite the mysterious traveler.」
「It’s not that I have many secrets.」
The girl replied flatly but clearly.
「There are just many things that wouldn’t matter even if I told you.」
「……?」
Serina made a slightly puzzled face. But she didn’t dwell on it. Travelers each had their own circumstances. More than that, the calm atmosphere the girl carried felt strangely comforting to her right now.
Meanwhile, from behind the large rock—Nagi held her breath and quietly watched the two.
（They’re not acquaintances… I see.）
It seemed to be their first meeting. Even so, a very strange atmosphere flowed between them. They weren’t arguing or on bad terms. Yet—she could sense something like invisible ‘thorns’ lurking in the edges of their words.
（Is it just my imagination……?）
Nagi tilted her head in confusion. However, the unease in her chest showed no sign of disappearing.
Serina continued speaking cheerfully.
「By the way! May I ask your name?」
The black-haired girl lowered her gaze slightly in thought, then
「……Shio.」
answered shortly.
「Shio-san! I’m Serina! Nice to meet you!」
A completely unclouded, carefree smile bloomed. Shio’s amber eyes watching that overly defenseless smile flickered sharply for just an instant.
（……She really hasn’t noticed anything.）
But that was only natural. The last time Shio had appeared before Serina, she had worn the hood of her black parka deeply and acted completely like a boy. She had hidden her hair, changed her voice, and never once shown her real face properly. There was no way the god smiling innocently before her would realize she was the same person as that “foul-mouthed black-parka brat.”
Shio let out a small, deep breath from the bottom of her heart.
（……Perfect. I’ll shove reality right in her face all at once.）
All the wasted time explaining her identity could be skipped. There was only one purpose for coming here tonight. It wasn’t to chat or introduce herself. It was to thrust ‘reality’ at this unaware god. That was the only reason she had come.
Serina, completely unaware of the girl’s dark resolve, simply smiled while looking up at the night sky as if dazzled.
「The moon is beautiful tonight.」
「Yeah.」
Shio also looked up at the sky.
「……It really is beautiful.」
A short silence. Only the sound of summer insects melted into the night darkness.
——And then. Shio slowly returned her gaze to Serina. The gentleness that had been in her amber sanpaku eyes until a moment ago vanished coldly, like the tide receding.
「Hey. Serina.」
「Can I ask you just one thing?」
「Yes?」
Serina tilted her head curiously. Shio paused heavily for a beat, then asked in an extremely cold voice.
「……Do you know」
「how exactly your wishes are being granted—?」
With just that single sentence, the warm and peaceful atmosphere enveloping the open-air bath began to change decisively and soundlessly.
Deep silence. Only the cries of summer insects heavily filled the night air. Serina tilted her head curiously.
「Wishes……?」
「Yeah.」
Shio nodded and continued flatly.
「Every time you wish for something, sweets fall from the world. …You think that’s the end of it, don’t you?」
「……Isn’t it?」
An extremely innocent question. At those words, Shio let out a small but heavy sigh.
「It’s not.」
Saying so—she slowly unwrapped the waterproof cloth she had placed on the edge of the bath. What appeared from inside was a single black notebook.
「This……」
Serina widened her clear blue eyes.
「Is it a diary?」
「No.」
Shio shook her head.
「This is an observation log.」
She opened the notebook. There, fine writing was densely packed with meticulousness that excluded all emotion.
『Japanese Kanji usage rate 91%』
『Next day 89%』
『Day after 87%』
『Observation target avoiding compound words』
『Significant decrease in pen pressure』
『Increase in typos』
She turned the pages indifferently.
『No reaction to pain』
『Cannot recall previous world’s address』
『Complete forgetting of lyrics once heard』
『Unable to record dream content in brain』
Furthermore, Shio took out another—slightly older, familiar small notebook, opened a page, and showed it.
「……Eh?」
Serina’s expression froze completely. What was written there was—.
『Today I baked bread.』
『Everyone was laughing.』
『It was fun.』
A diary written only in awkward hiragana, as if by a young child. The lines of the characters trembled awkwardly, and not a single kanji existed. With each turned page, even the number of characters cruelly decreased as if being ground away.
「This is Rui’s recent writing. …Is this what you call ‘cute handwriting’?」
「……!」
「He’s forgotten. How to write characters, and even about the world he came from.」
「Eh……?」
That Rui. The one who diligently kept a notebook every day, read difficult books, calculated complex spells, and even cooked perfectly—was now only able to write like a young child?
「Lies……」
The terribly trembling voice that leaked out. Shio neither denied nor affirmed. She simply thrust the cold facts forward.
「I continued observing. Once, twice, ten times, a hundred times… Every single time—the result was exactly the same.」
She roughly closed the notebook with a snap.
「You wish for something. The world turns into sweets. He uses magic to suppress that rampage. And—something precious is immediately deducted from his life.」
One breath. The cold night wind greatly shook the white, heavy steam.
「No matter how many simulations I ran, it was the same.」
Serina shook her head desperately as if rejecting it.
「That’s…… that can’t be……! Because Rui is…… always looking so happy every day…… and laughing together with me……!」
「Yeah.」
Shio nodded quietly, yet terribly cruelly.
「He is laughing. Because he’s hiding the truth from you.」
That single sentence pierced deep into Serina’s chest, far colder than the warm hot spring water.
「He didn’t want you to know until the very end. That’s why he laughs. That’s why he hides. That’s why he bears everything alone. That’s all there is to it.」
Serina’s cherry-colored lips began to tremble slightly.
「……No. That’s not true. Rui…… wouldn’t have any reason to hide something like that from me……!」
「He does.」
Shio answered coldly and immediately.
「Because you laugh. He’s selling off pieces of himself just to make you laugh.」
Complete silence. No one could even speak. Behind the rock, Nagi pressed both hands strongly over her mouth, letting out a silent scream.
（Lies…… Rui-sama, all this time, shaving himself away like that……）
Events from the past few days flashed violently through her mind. His unreliable back awkwardly handling cleaning tools. His slightly troubled, clouded smile. Small forgotten things. The habit of asking her to repeat words multiple times. Yesterday. The day before. The small points of unease that had been scattered now connected into one cruel line inside Nagi’s brain.
（No…… that can’t be……）
Her whole body shook violently. Her breathing became rapidly shallow. Without realizing it, strength flowed into her fingertips gripping the rock until they turned white from lack of blood.
Meanwhile—Shio turned her gaze to the small wooden box placed on the edge of the bath. Serina’s gaze was also helplessly drawn there. Inside was a high-class bath additive with pink liquid and a sweet scent. The rich aroma of flowers and honey wafted along with the steam.
Shio silently picked up the small bottle. She gripped it tightly in her right palm.
「——《Salt Change》」
A small magic circle flashed sharply for an instant between the gaps in her palm. The next moment. The pink sweet liquid that had been sloshing inside the bottle transformed with a gritty sound into ugly white, crude crystals.
「Eh……」
Serina gasped. The sweet fragrant liquid was no longer in the bottle. What was there was a distorted glass bottle packed full of crude, hard white rock salt.
「This is」
Shio held out the small bottle filled with rock salt in front of Serina.
「This is reality 《salt》.」
The rich sweet scent of flowers and honey had vanished from the open-air bath in an instant. What came instead was a dry, intense smell of salt that stung the back of the nose. That inorganic scent mercilessly dominated the surrounding air.
「This smell…… no……!!」
Reflexively, Serina cried out while covering her nose and mouth with both hands. Her instincts violently rejected the scent of that reality.
「As I thought……」
Shio looked back at Serina with cold amber eyes as if piercing through her.
「Because you innocently wish for things. He desperately holds this crumbling miniature garden together.」
Her amber eyes narrowed in terrible pain.
「In exchange, he continues to shave away his own life even now. A world that’s nothing but sickly sweet pretending no one gets hurt…… is obviously abnormal no matter how you look at it!」
Serina—could say nothing in return. Words wouldn’t come. She didn’t want to understand. She must not understand. Only the boundary deep in her chest was slowly collapsing and creaking with unpleasant sounds.
「……No.」
It was a terribly trembling voice. Serina desperately shook her head from side to side as if rejecting it.
「That’s…… not true. Rui is…… so energetic…… laughing every day…… together with me……!」
She couldn’t continue. Something she had relied on deep in her chest was silently crumbling. But she still couldn’t believe it. She absolutely didn’t want to believe it.
「There’s no way I can believe a story like that……!」
Shio nodded quietly, without anger.
「Yeah. At first, I couldn’t believe it either.」
She neither shouted nor pressed. Her tone was endlessly flat, and therefore all the more cold.
「That’s precisely why I observed again and again. I recorded the facts in this notebook again and again. I thrust reality at him again and again.」
She gently closed the wet black notebook as if cherishing it.
「The result—never changed even once.」
Serina bit her lip hard as if enduring something about to overflow.
「But…… But……! Even so……!」
Shio looked beyond the white drifting steam, as if evading Serina’s gaze.
「You don’t have to believe it.」
「……Eh?」
She involuntarily lifted her wet face. But Shio didn’t look at Serina at all, and muttered as if entrusting her words to the night wind.
「I didn’t come all the way here just to make you believe right now.」
At that cold remark, Serina’s slender shoulders trembled slightly.
「Then…… why did you come to tell me something like that……!」
Shio let out a short breath.
「Because no one can be saved if they don’t know.」
That was all. A precise, flat answer. The absolute conclusion reached as a harsh observer. And for the first time here, Shio looked straight into Serina’s clear blue eyes.
「If you think it’s a lie」
One beat.
「Tomorrow morning. Try it at breakfast.」
Serina’s eyes shook violently.
「Try……?」
「Yeah. Salad, bread, anything is fine. Just innocently wish in your heart, ‘Become chocolate.’」
「……」
「The world will definitely turn into sweets exactly as you wished. And then—」
Only Shio’s voice fell heavily and deeply into the night’s silence.
「The smell of burning precious life (memories) will come from every pore of his body.」
Just those worst words made the rising steam feel suddenly as cold as ice. Serina completely lost her words. Nagi, hidden behind the rock, also froze with her mouth covered and couldn’t move an inch. No one could say anything. Only the sound of summer insects continued to echo unchanged in the unknowing forest.
Eventually, Shio shrugged her shoulders slightly.
「……That’s the end of the talk.」
They thought she would stand up. Both Serina and Nagi were convinced of it. However—.
「Haa……」
With a splash, Shio sank deeply back into the water up to her shoulders. She rested both arms on the edge of the bath and slowly closed her eyes, looking utterly comfortable.
「Nice bath.」
A far too natural and unadorned remark. It was a carefree statement that clashed terribly with the frozen atmosphere. Serina could only stare at her profile in a daze.
「……Eh?」
An unintentionally absentminded voice leaked out. Behind her closed eyelids, Shio smiled faintly and ironically.
「I’ve done everything I can. From here on, it’s not my job.」
The night wind blew past. The white steam slowly flowed between the three who remained frozen.
「By tomorrow morning, you’ll understand everything. Until then—」
Her amber eyes opened once and looked up at the starry night sky. Countless twinkling stars. The quiet moon. A peaceful, falsely beautiful sky.
「……At least let me soak in the bath slowly for now.」
Saying so, Shio closed her eyes again as if falling into a deep sleep. There was no relief on her profile. No sense of accomplishment at having fulfilled her purpose. Only a deep resignation quietly seeped through—that she had exhausted every means available to her.
Serina could not move a single step from that spot. In her head, the memories recorded in that black notebook flashed back again and again. Those awkward childish characters. ‘The world changes.’ ‘Rui loses.’——. Only those cruel words repeated endlessly in her brain like a curse.
（Lies…… There’s no way…… But……）
Her heart pounded wildly. Breathing was painful. The hot spring water should have been so warm, yet only her own body was slowly freezing from the core.
Meanwhile—behind the large rock. Nagi tightly clenched her trembling fingertips so hard it hurt.
（Rui-sama…… You’ve been all alone in such loneliness the whole time……）
Her chest felt as if it were being violently torn apart. Thinking back now, that boy’s gentle smile and his usual phrase “I’m fine” were all painfully forced bravado he had layered on while secretly vomiting blood behind the scenes, just to reassure those around him.
The moment that terrifying conviction crossed her mind, Nagi trembled with regret and bit her lip so hard it bled.
The night was quiet. Far too quiet. As if the world itself were holding its breath, quietly waiting for the arrival of the irreversible cruel ‘truth’ that would come the next morning.
（Chapter 20『The Steam of the Rooftop Bath and the Black Notebook’s Accusation』・End）
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