Ch.162Chapter 24. Flesh (7)

Sanae Suzuki hadn’t been a teacher for very long.

She had just shed her rookie status and thus was able to become a homeroom teacher. She had passion for her job and, since this was her first time as a homeroom teacher, she was determined to do her best.

“Ms. Suzuki, it must be… difficult for you in many ways.”

But that was the phrase Sanae Suzuki heard most often during the past year.

Being a teacher isn’t always easy.

Being a homeroom teacher responsible for students is naturally even more challenging. Some teachers even disliked taking on homeroom duties.

Still.

When Sanae saw other teachers happily chatting with students who came back to visit years after graduation, she wanted that too. How wonderful was that? These could have been just fleeting relationships lasting only a year, but they remained important parts of the students’ lives, meaning they had been excellent mentors.

That’s why Kotone Kurosawa’s existence was something that concerned her in many ways.

Not in a bad sense, but literally. She was in a much more… special situation than the other children.

“…”

No teacher said “it must be difficult” to Sanae Suzuki as she stared blankly at her desk.

Some people become teachers just to make a living, and some lose their passion after teaching countless students over many years.

But among all teachers, few have witnessed the death of a student in their class.

Even if there were such cases, it rarely happened in one’s first year. So nobody knew how to approach her.

Most teachers were practicing social virtues when dealing with Sanae Suzuki.

They were simply leaving her alone until the atmosphere improved.

Of course, that didn’t mean Sanae could spend the whole day doing nothing.

“I… see.”

Sanae said to the woman sitting in front of her.

The woman had entered the staff room without warning and taken the conveniently empty seat next to her.

And then she had said:

“There’s a possibility that Kotone is still alive.”

What should one say to someone like that? Sanae didn’t know.

She didn’t appear much older than Sanae. Of course, that was just her appearance; in reality, there might be quite an age difference. Sanae was in her mid-twenties. Even considering that, she still looked young.

“…Ah.”

Only after responding did Sanae realize that the person in front of her was the mother of the deceased child.

As Sanae tried to stand up abruptly, the woman, Kagami Kurosawa, grabbed her hand and made her sit down.

“I didn’t come here to be comforted.”

“…Yes.”

Sanae had been about to say “you must be heartbroken,” but got cut off midway, and found herself nodding at the woman’s inexplicable charisma.

Actually, this visit had been expected. Sanae had expressed her wish to meet her.

She hadn’t been able to attend the funeral despite being Kotone Kurosawa’s teacher. She had wanted to visit, but this woman had immediately said “I’ll come tomorrow” when she called.

Was this what she wanted to say?

For a brief moment, Sanae thought Kotone’s mother might be denying reality due to excessive grief.

But she quickly changed her mind. This person wasn’t that devoted as a “mother.” Sanae remembered the scene when she visited Kotone. The emptiness inside the house.

The child had started showing more expressions after making friends, but still occasionally appeared precarious. From a child psychology perspective, the cause was likely Kagami Kurosawa sitting right in front of her.

She had tried various institutional methods to resolve the situation, but somehow failed every time. The most shocking was the principal’s words. When told not to approach that household anymore, she wondered if the Kurosawa family was a special family like the Yamashita family in the same class.

…And after that, she had focused on talking to and managing the child at school.

Sanae was wondering if even that had been a mistake.

“You don’t need to feel sorry for not attending the funeral. There wasn’t actually a funeral.”

“…”

“In fact, there’s no body. Strictly speaking, the current situation is closer to a ‘disappearance’ or ‘running away’ than a ‘death.'”

“But, I definitely…”

“Yes, you would have received some notification. Probably a ‘system error.'”

Sanae stared at Kagami with a blank expression.

If that expression were put into words, it would be “what on earth are you talking about?” Of course, it wasn’t something to say in front of a mother who had lost her daughter. People often realize their mistakes only after something happens, and if the person in front of her thought so, it was somewhat fitting.

“Ma’am, then—”

“Yes, so I have a favor to ask you.”

“…Please go ahead.”

Sanae tried to maintain her composure as she spoke.

Even if the other person had some mental issues, it wasn’t something Sanae could solve. That was a psychiatrist’s job, and Sanae had no right to forcibly recommend it.

“How much attendance has Kotone missed? Enough to be held back?”

Looking at Kagami Kurosawa, who asked with such a nonchalant expression as if inquiring about a problem child’s school life, Sanae felt a strange sensation.

“…No, not that much. If she missed about a third of school days, there would be an issue, but Ms. Kurosawa hasn’t missed that much. But ma’am—”

“I see.”

After hearing Sanae’s answer, Kagami spoke with what sounded like relief.

“Then it means Kotone can continue her school life normally when she returns.”

“Yes, that’s certainly true, but—”

“Yes, I understand. That seems sufficient.”

Kagami stood up without waiting for a response.

Then she slightly bowed to Sanae.

As Sanae hurriedly stood up, Kagami smiled slightly and said:

“Then, please… take care of my daughter in the future.”

“Ah, yes, I’ll do my best—”

As Sanae awkwardly bowed again, Kagami nodded and simply left.

Sanae blankly watched Kagami’s back as she quickly disappeared.

When she turned her head again, the other teachers in the staff room were looking at her.

Some just shook their heads and sat back down, while others shrugged.

Most reactions seemed to say “that woman is crazy.”

Sanae too, well, she would express it more moderately, but still—

She couldn’t help but agree.

*

With this, the school wouldn’t stop Kagami from walking around campus.

Of course, only as long as she stayed within the areas Kotone normally moved around. And Kagami had no intention of doing otherwise.

She didn’t think there were no government people at school. But to such people, Kagami would have just looked like a crazy woman.

And what she was about to do would add some credibility to that impression while also serving her practical interests.

Kagami headed to the literature club room, just as she had during her previous visit. She remembered the location.

Students still at school glanced at Kagami, but they didn’t seem particularly concerned. They probably assumed any adult confidently striding through the school must be affiliated with it.

How careless.

Of course, the most careless person had been Kagami herself.

She climbed to the top floor without hesitation and flung open the literature club room door without knocking.

And she met eyes with someone she didn’t particularly want to see.

“…Gasp.”

Among the three, the one on Kagami’s left inhaled sharply. Kagami remembered her name too. Kaoru Kaneko. Kotone’s club senior. The child across from her was Izumi Ikeda.

And the child between them, unable to properly stand up with tears all over her face, didn’t need to have her name recalled deliberately.

“…Ah.”

It was unclear what had happened just before, but whatever it was, it had been a very difficult time for the child in the middle.

Her eyes were suddenly drawn to the paper and coins on the desk.

Kagami frowned but didn’t say anything. They probably just wanted to try something. Blaming them for that wouldn’t be very productive.

“…Yuka Yuuki.”

Kagami spoke in a flat tone.

To the child in the middle.

“There’s something I’d like to ask of you. Do you have time now?”

“…”

Yuka, who had been staring at Kagami with her mouth slightly open, slowly nodded.

“Good. There’s no need to hide anything from the people here, so I’ll just speak openly.”

Kagami continued speaking slowly with her hands in her coat pockets.

“You know I have two ‘daughters,’ right?”

She had no intention of revealing the most important information.

At least the keyword “resurrection” should not be passed on to those who might be monitoring Kagami.

Isn’t it a fascinating word? Even if it’s a word that can’t be applied to them, there might be people who would want to apply it to themselves somehow.

She didn’t want the hassle.

“That daughter is not in contact with me. She seems to be following the request to hide Kotone very well.”

When Kotone’s name was mentioned, Yuka’s face became terribly distorted. Kagami shrugged and continued.

“You should be able to find her.”

“…”

“You knew that Kotone was… changing somehow in the final moment, right? That’s why you tried to take her and run away.”

Kagami looked carefully into Yuka’s eyes.

It would be a lie to say there was no hatred.

Even if it wasn’t this child’s fault, it was the same. Kagami wasn’t a positive or broad-minded person. She wasn’t righteous enough to be kind to someone who had killed her daughter, whether intentionally or accidentally, just as she was beginning to feel affection for her.

However, she was just postponing that judgment for now.

If Kagami could resurrect Kotone, she wouldn’t mind forgetting about it.

If not, she would never forgive her.

…Most of that unforgiving feeling came from self-loathing, but Kagami chose to ignore that fact.

“So, please find Kotone and Koko, whether by using that ability or the Yuuki family’s information network. And I’d like you to protect them with that power of yours.”

“…”

Yuka quietly looked up at Kagami. She still looked as if her soul had left her body.

“Aren’t you going to ask why?”

Seeing no response, it seemed she didn’t even have the presence of mind for that. Kagami frowned. Would it be okay to just ask like this?

…She decided not to make value judgments. She intended to do everything she could right now.

“…”

Ah.

Could it be that she wasn’t asking for a reason because she already knew what Kagami was going to say?

“I don’t want it to fall into someone else’s hands. And, yes. It’s not right for her to just be lying around anywhere, is it? She should at least be cremated.”

Blink.

Slowly, Yuka’s eyes seemed to return to normal.

“Whether you do it or not is up to you. If you don’t, I’ll find another way.”

“…I’ll do it. I’ll do it.”

For the first time, Yuka responded properly to Kagami’s words.

Kagami nodded to her.

“Good. This time… please take care of my other daughter.”

I don’t like it.

But separate from that, I can trust her. Because of how she reacted in that situation.

However.

“This time, please make sure the blade is pointed in the right direction.”

She couldn’t help but say that.

She couldn’t trust her, but separate from that, she didn’t like her.

“…”

Yuka’s face hardened.

Yes, she would need to steel her heart.

If things go as planned, both of them would be in great danger the moment they succeed.

*

“See, isn’t it pretty? What did I tell you?”

Kuro said as we floated on a ship in midair.

As much as I hated to admit it, I had to agree.

I was already troubled by seeing the children like that, and Kuro was making me even more irritated by avoiding my questions and talking in circles.

But unfortunately, my heart was now racing with astonishment.

Is this how astronauts feel when they go into space? Although this was somewhat different.

The dream world was what some conspiracy theorists on Earth dreamed of. A world spread out on a flat land, not on a round planet.

I didn’t know where it was coming from, but at the edge of the world, seawater was falling endlessly downward like a waterfall. It had the atmosphere of Niagara Falls that I’d only seen in videos, but it was much more massive.

A magnificent waterfall falling from the edge of an endless flat horizon stretching left and right.

And water droplets vaporizing upward from that violent movement. Creating a wall-like fog.

It was a magnificent sight, but equally frightening.

I was glad I had put aside the thought of whether we would fall if we continued. The ship, which had sailed along the current to the edge of the waterfall in a world without waves, simply kept moving forward. Literally, it was sailing through the air even though there was no sea.

“Think about it. Without gravity, of course it just keeps moving forward, right?”

“But I’m breathing. If there’s air, shouldn’t friction gradually slow us down?”

Besides, isn’t it gravity that makes planets round? Since the world is three-dimensional, not flat, gravity should naturally form three-dimensionally, directed toward the heaviest point.

“Don’t get caught up in the details. It’s a dream, right?”

“Then don’t bring up common sense in the first place…”

But, perhaps because it was the dream world.

The feeling of sailing with the stars in the sky as a backdrop wasn’t so bad. It also felt good that the bow was pointing exactly at the moon.

Anyone who has looked up at the night sky must have thought about looking down at the world from a high place?

And the dream world is like that too.

Not a round Earth, but something that looks like it came out of a fantasy.

Seen from space, it looked like a huge mountain cut from the ground and flipped upside down. Could there be another world on the underside of the dream world?

I turned my head again to look at the moon.

There was an old movie like this.

They loaded people into a giant cannon and fired them toward the moon. It was a black and white film, and I think it was the first SF movie to depict a trip to the moon.

Isn’t that what we’re doing now?

From ignoring the laws of physics to being shot toward the moon in a sense.

“…”

…Huh?

“So what happens to us?”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re sailing straight toward the moon. Is this safe? How do we land?”

“Oh, that.”

Meow.

Kuro let out a cry.

“Don’t worry too much. You won’t die.”

“No, I’m asking what happens?”

“If you’re too worried, there’s a way to go back.”

“How?”

“Um, by swimming through the air from here?”

“…Wouldn’t I fall if I left the ship?”

“Meow.”

“Hey.”

I knew it was a joke, but it was still annoying.

“…It seems like we’re speeding up?”

Was it after becoming aware of it? Somehow the ship seemed to be gradually accelerating as we got closer to the moon.

“I told you.”

Kuro answered as if responding to my concern.

“There’s this thing called gravity. What do you think happens when such a big moon is nearby?”

“But I thought this was the dream world?”

“Have you ever flown around in a dream world without gravity?”

Maybe some people have!

I haven’t, but!

I was about to shout while firmly gripping the edge of the increasingly fast ship, but by then my hair was already violently fluttering in the wind.

Well, it’s strange that there’s wind on the moon in the first place.

*

Contrary to my concerns, the ship, as if equipped with some magical device, effortlessly raised its bow and landed softly on the moon’s surface like a helicopter.

“…”

“Okay, okay. I’ll apologize. That’s enough, right? Meow.”

Kuro laughed after I hadn’t spoken to him for a while because I was upset.

That makes me even more annoyed.

“…So?”

But I couldn’t just keep acting like this. There was a reason we came here.

A reason I still didn’t know.

“What am I supposed to do here?”

“In this world, creatures live on the moon too.”

I suppose so.

Given that I’m breathing perfectly fine on the moon, it wouldn’t be strange if such things existed.

Maybe there are moon rabbits?

Kuro looked up at me, wagging his tail, and said:

“They’re like toads with tentacles instead of heads, and they’re really fierce.”

“…”

I carefully pushed aside the image of rabbits that had appeared in my mind.

“I’d like you to help calm them down. What do you think?”

“…”

Well, that’s…

Not something I particularly want to do.

“We have plenty of time anyway, right?”

Is that a reason to do this?

I thought as I ran my hand down my face.