Ch.202IF Side Story – And the Two Lived Happily (56)

“Hero, I’ve heard your break time is already over.”

“…Huh?”

The wind brushes past my cheek.

Beads of sweat are carried away by the breeze.

“Time is of the essence, what are you doing…?”

Despite being backlit, those unmistakably clear golden eyes look down at me.

“You’d better get up quickly. There’s still much to be done…”

White hair sways gently.

A nun’s habit, with a displeased expression.

Ah, this is a dream.

And with that realization, everything disappears.

The blue sky, the green grass.

Even Eila, who was standing before me.

An empty, white space.

“……”

It’s hard to imagine now, but when we first met, Eila didn’t like me.

Just… following orders from above, reluctantly spending time with me… that kind of feeling.

She didn’t hide it and showed it openly, so naturally, it was difficult for me to have positive feelings toward her.

I’m the type of person who can only return kindness after receiving it first.

But now, we who were once like that… have become so precious to each other that we can’t be without one another.

I wonder how our past selves would react if they could see us now?

I don’t know about Eila, but I’m sure I would definitely like it.

Or would I?

Maybe I’d hate it.

I don’t know.

It’s my own past, yet I don’t know.

Too many things have changed.

So what matters is now.

The happiness of this moment.

Well, time to wake up from this dream.

***

The first thing I noticed was the sharp, distinctive smell of antiseptic.

“…An unfamiliar ceiling.”

I moved my body while saying that line I’d always wanted to try.

I felt a slight pull in the muscles around my abdomen and checked, but there was no visible external injury.

“It’s healed.”

“Yeah. It was fascinating.”

“…How long have you been there?”

“…Since ‘An unfamiliar ceiling’?”

So from the very beginning.

“Is that how you react when your only brother, who had a hole in his stomach, wakes up?”

“What are you saying? It wasn’t that serious.”

“…Wasn’t I almost dead?”

I clearly remember having a hole in my stomach with blood pouring out.

“For someone like you, it’s just a minor injury. No, how should I put it…? It’s ambiguous.”

Jimin scratched her head.

Or rather than scratching, she was rubbing it.

Bandaged and blunt…

Huh?

Bandages?

“What happened to your hand?”

“Oh, this?”

She speaks casually, as if it’s nothing.

“It’s broken. I got trapped under debris.”

“Trapped? How did that happen?”

“Don’t you know? When I came to, it was already like this.”

Her tone was light.

As if she might float away, infinitely casual like when chatting with friends.

“This is all. I’m one of the lucky ones.”

Though she’s smiling, there’s a shadow in her smile.

What must have happened for her to be able to say such heavy words so lightly?

“It’ll heal soon. If worst comes to worst, I’ll pay good money—”

I placed my hand on her head and stroked it a few times.

It felt somewhat stiff.

Unlike Eila, does she not take good care of her hair?

…The fact that I’m comparing her to Eila even in this situation shows how far gone I am.

“You did well.”

Even if I’m a useless brother, this much should be okay, right?

As I continued stroking her head…

“W-what are you doing?! Are you crazy?”

She responded with rough gestures and an intense reaction.

“Ugh, that’s creepy…”

I didn’t expect her to dislike it that much.

Watching her pat her crown as if something dirty had touched it makes me a bit angry.

“So what happened to you? What happened while I was in the dungeon that got you a hole in your stomach? And what about sis? She’s nowhere to be seen even though you’re injured…”

Jimin’s voice trailed off.

Her lips parted and closed repeatedly.

As if hesitating to bring something up.

Finally, she speaks.

“…Did something happen to sis?”

There’s a strangely confident tone in her voice.

Instead of answering, I said a name.

“It was Eila.”

“Huh?”

“The one who put a hole in my stomach. It was Eila.”

No answer came back.

Just a gasp as she drew in her breath.

“…Did you cheat on her or something?”

“……”

I got up from the bed and prepared to leave.

“I’ll explain the details as we go.”

“…Where are you going?”

“To someone who might know the most about the current situation.”

***

Our destination was a place Jimin knew well.

The neighborhood where our house used to be.

We walk past the pile of debris.

“So that’s why the recovery work is being delayed.”

On the way, I heard about what had happened while I was unconscious.

Even though less than two days had passed, the density of events could be believed to have occurred over a week.

The collapse of numerous infrastructures, the loss of some leadership.

The resulting chaos and the organizations meant to prevent it unable to move easily due to political checks and balances.

Simply put, it was a mess.

People were using their energy in the wrong direction, trying to shift blame rather than doing what needed to be done.

“Not easy, huh.”

“Right. …So now it’s your turn.”

I could feel her gaze on the back of my head.

The promise was that after she told me what happened while I was unconscious, I would tell her what happened to me, so her reaction is natural, but…

I don’t know anything either.

“I’ll tell you when we arrive.”

“What business could you possibly have in these ruins…”

“We’re almost there.”

“You said the same thing earlier.”

“This time it’s true.”

That was because I got confused about the way earlier.

“Come down.”

“…What is this, really?”

She carefully steps onto the stairs.

It’s dark, but not so much that we can’t move.

“……”

“Why are you suddenly stopping?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Cement debris and dust are unnaturally placed.

Did someone pass through here?

From a rough look, it wasn’t just one person, but two or three.

…Three people.

Somehow, that number reminds me of certain people who lived in the same building.

“W-what is this?”

“…Was it already opened?”

When we reached the bottom, we saw a corridor with artificial technology that shouldn’t exist in the basement of ruins.

Since I had seen it before, I wasn’t too surprised, but Jimin seemed different.

“…Why is something like this in the basement…”

She keeps looking around while following behind me.

Rather than curiosity, there was a strong sense of wariness.

The atmosphere was tense, as if she might draw her sword at any moment.

“Don’t worry too much. The person is… strange, but not dangerous.”

“…Well, that’s reassuring.”

The ominous atmosphere subsided.

The corridor ends, and a bright interior comes into view.

“Ooh~ You came? And today it’s a different girl? Did you replace her~?”

A languid, draining voice.

“By the way… you’re quite late~? It’s been a while since I sent the message.”

“…Is there no internet here?”

A sly smile on the face of a beautiful girl with long straight hair.

But remembering that an old man’s soul is inside her makes me want to vomit.

“I was busy~! Well, actually I know! My roommates have been watching TV all day!!”

“Roommates?”

“People you know too. They’re sleeping in that room right now!”

A small finger points to a door across the way.

Ah, those three from downstairs.

“Well~ it doesn’t really matter, right? You just came to hear the results from me anyway, didn’t you?”

The persistently sly tone makes my irritation rise.

I thought about knocking her out and just taking the data, but I calmed myself down.

“…Can you wake them all up?”

“…Huh?”

If it’s related to Eila, they can’t be completely uninvolved either.

***

Research lab—that would be the accurate description.

The surrounding machines make hissing sounds, and some strange liquid bubbles.

In the middle, the doctor rummages through something on the desk, while we sit huddled together waiting.

An awkward silence hangs in the air.

Some show displeasure at being suddenly called out from sleep, while others give looks suggesting they’re waiting for the explanation they want.

Receiving those gazes, I opened my mouth to break the silence.

“…First of all, what I’m about to tell you is about Eila.”

“…What happened to sis?”

The orange-haired kid asked in a surprised voice.

“Honestly… a lot of it will be hard to believe. Still, I’d like you to listen. …Since Eila was close to all of you, I think you should know.”

“…Why are you building up suspense like this?”

Lime-green eyes gleamed behind sunglasses.

I felt various gazes on me.

So where should I begin?

I took a deep breath and slowly opened my mouth.

“For now, Eila is… missing.”

“…What?”

“Huh?!”

“…Missing?”

“…!”

Half shouted, half muttered.

But everyone shared the emotion of shock.

“Everyone remembers the dungeon from a few days ago, right?”

Everyone who heard me reacted intensely.

Worried responses asking if she got caught up in that incident.

For a moment, I couldn’t continue.

But… if I had intended to hide it, I wouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.

Taking advantage of the momentary lull, I spoke again.

“She wasn’t caught up in it.”

“Huh? What do you suddenly mean—”

“The current Eila is the one who created that dungeon in the middle of the city.”