episode_0077

“Vine, well. It’s exactly what you know. So tell me what you know first.”

“Transfer the data of Vine measured in Eden to my phone.”

“It’s annoying, but. Okay. Other than that?”

“First of all, nothing in particular. Hmm… Is there something that Binnie likes?”

“Why? Are you going out together to have fun?”

“Yeah. I already said it in the group chat. But I personally want to benefit from it.”

“What the… Sigh. What can I do with the points I earned from Binney?”

“If not now, then when will we be able to become friends?”

“You already seem close. Even though Bindo is a bad friend, he knows all about you. And you too, Bindo.”

“That’s a little different.”

“It looks to me like we’re already close on the other side.”

“I don’t know. Anyway, I just want to get closer to you. Besides, I have my responsibilities.”

“What the. Do you think you beat Binnie up like that to make her body look like that?”

“No. You all know that hitting won’t do that.”

“Yeah, you can’t damage a monster’s body like that just by hitting him. So, it’s not your fault.”

“No, it’s my fault. I mean, well… I did a lot of wrong to you.”

“That’s right. What a big mistake you made.”

“Yeah… Haa. If I had defended her a little more back then, Binney wouldn’t have been treated like that.”

“What?”

“No, rather than defending, should I have done relief? That I took it out earlier. Should I have taken it out earlier?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but wouldn’t it be better to use the present to make things better rather than regretting it now?”

“You’re right. Still, humans regret it.”

“I’m a freak, so I don’t know. Let’s go quickly and think about what to do first.”

“The law says that even monsters are human. Haa. What? You want me to tell you what you like first?”

“I don’t know either. But he likes cute things.”

“What?”

“Really. At first, you left your room as if it were a real man’s room, but then you looked and it was full of dolls, right?”

“I didn’t see it last time I went?”

“There were so many that I put most of them in another storage. I told him to take only the one doll he thought he really needed, but he got angry and didn’t buy any dolls after that. He even threw his favorite doll at me.”

“When did that happen?”

“Not even a month before you invaded?”

“Did you return that doll?”

“No. I couldn’t return it.”

“Do you have it now?”

“Yeah. I’ll give it to you later. No, I have to take it out now.”

Ellis quietly took a box out of the bedside cabinet.

It was one of the boxes I had asked Blanc to move. It was a light box for its size.

Blanc had no idea there was a doll inside.

In that box, which I thought was at best bedding, there was a doll filled with Binette’s tastes.

“Doll, is there only one? Inside?”

“No? There are a few more?”

“Where? Show me too.”

“Um… First, this big carrot doll and… the shark doll. The other things are in another box. I’ll take them out later if you ask me. I put them deep inside.”

“You put them all in there…? That much?”

“It’s Eden’s technology. If you know, you’ll get hurt.”

“What the heck… What the… If you have that kind of power, shouldn’t you have used it for something helpful rather than evil?”

“Didn’t I say this before? All of Eden’s technology is just a tool to achieve the boss’s ideal world. That’s it. Without the boss, all of these technologies would be meaningless.”

“You or me. Right… Yeah. It would be more constructive to discuss which doll is cuter.”

“Wait a minute… Put a carrot like this… and hug a shark like this… and voila.”

“… I’ll bring my phone.”

“There are parts of the vagina that wake up when you touch them while they’re sleeping, and there are parts that never wake up when you touch them. If you move your arms carefully, it’s easy.”

As if to confirm that what she said was true, Ellis lifted Binney’s arm and dropped it, playing with it as if it were a toy.

Then, when he saw Binette hugging the shark doll tightly with her arms as if she was really trying to hold it dear, he picked up his cell phone and started taking pictures of it.

In the few seconds before Blanc brought out his phone, he took over a hundred pictures of Vine.

All photos taken at different angles and under different lighting conditions. These will all be divided into Ellis’ hard disk and SSD and will be backed up twice and triply, becoming valuable data.

Blanc followed Ellis and took a few pictures, then put his phone back in his pocket, seemingly satisfied.

Even though the two people were making such a fuss, the blanket was slowly moving up and down as if it had no intention of waking up.

For a peaceful afternoon, the two went out of the room to get a moment of happiness.

The room was filled only with the sound of the girl’s breathing.

No malice, no plot. Just the sound of pure breathing.

* * *

I feel like I’ve forgotten something.

I felt like I was missing something important.

Long ago, when I was a student.

Both my mother and father left for work early, so I was alone.

I looked at my watch; it was 8 o’clock.

40 minutes left until perception.

I quickly washed up, brushed my teeth, changed my clothes, and went out.

When it was already late, there was no one on the bus wearing a school uniform.

The moment I checked my phone, I was wondering if I was really late.

Saturday, OOth day of the OOth month.

It felt like that on days when I didn’t have school.

When you miss something, trip over something and go to school like an idiot.

No, if you think about it…

Is this the feeling you had just when you first woke up?

Was this ridiculous nonsense just an excuse for my tiredness?

I guess I was really tired. I was trapped in these strange thoughts and was floundering around.

… I never woke up and panicked, so that’s why. I even ended up oversleeping today and causing trouble for the people living here and my employer.

Even worse, I ended up making Ellie worry for nothing.

There is nothing wrong with my health.

Right now I’m just mentally exhausted. Physically, there’s nothing wrong.

…no.

It’s not good to rationalize like this.

That’s right.

Can my life, from the time I left Eden until now, really be considered a smooth life?

No. From the moment I entered Eden, could I have considered my life to be smooth?

The story of a boy who was more ordinary than anyone else, getting caught up in an accident called a dimensional rift, being chased by people, and then being saved by the boss.

Who would believe that this happened to an ordinary person?

From that day on, the adjective “ordinary” became something that didn’t suit me at all.

For me now, defeat, worst, trash, debtor… would be the right clothes.

Or, what.

Like a magical girl’s pet.

Wouldn’t that be my modifier?

Since neither Blanc nor Ellie came into the room, I just continued to have strange thoughts.

…wait for a sec.

Mr. Shark…?

Mr. Shark, you must have left it at headquarters…?

Oh, no way… Could it be that Ellie was taking care of it…?

A cozy, soft, squishy shark doll that Ellie brought me when I was doubting myself.

When I couldn’t get all my memories back, I ended up naming myself Mr. Shark, and I’ve been calling myself Mr. Shark ever since…

I gave all my dolls to Ellie because she was making a fuss about graduating from the dolls…

Oh, then. Ellie remembered. And, until now.

Somehow, I felt like I could sleep comfortably without even dreaming.

…although it has lost some of its original scent after being locked up in Eden for a long time.

That’s something I can take care of.

What, there were carrots too…?

What day is it today?

If such happy things happen in a row, something bad must happen…

Because whenever something good happens, something bad happens…

Well, I guess you don’t have to worry about it now.

Getting my scent on Mr. Shark is a higher priority.

So I buried my face in Mr. Shark’s stomach and was rubbing my buttocks for the first time in a long time.

How did Ellie know I was up and come up?

“You’re up. Do you like the gift I prepared for you?”

“… Ah.”

“What?”

“Good… Ah… ”

“Right? How did you sleep without this for a while? Huh? Our Bine, without the doll, you have nightmares all the time. It’s heartbreaking.”

“I slept well even without it… ”

“Then give it back. I’ll leave it at headquarters.”

“… ! I hate it… !”

“Hey, just kidding. Are those two enough for now? Get your body together and come down. I have something to talk to the kids about.”

“Okay… but, what time is it now…?”

“It’s already setting. It’s a little past 6:30.”

“What…?”

“Arin and the others are all gathered here, so you just have to come. Food has already been ordered, so don’t worry.”

“Ugh, uh… ”

“Wash your face. There’s a trace of spit on the corner of your mouth.”

“… Hey!!”

Ellie’s laughter, buried in my anger, reached my sensitive ears.

Then, Ellie left the room, telling him to come down.

Sigh… drooling…

I peeked at the corner of his mouth, hoping it was nothing, but there was nothing left.

How did Ellie find out about this…!

So, I was trying to get off the bed and push Mr. Shark aside.

“… Wet?”

ah.

This isn’t what it meant to have my scent on Mr. Shark.

Eight, I don’t know. Let’s go down and see.

Oh, right. I have to wash up and go.

It’s more embarrassing to show this to Arin than to Ellie…