Instantly after coming into contact with Hyuga’s gaze, the woman who had been huntingme downand covering me retreated away from me, fled into the back room corner, let out a high-pitched squeal, and started to shrivel up and shudder.

It looked as if she was terrified of the genuine one who had surfaced, screaming inarticulately.

[She’s a fake me, created by you.]

“Me…?”

[A lot of explanation is required but I have a time limit as well.]

Hyuga remarked, helping me to stand by lifting me off the ground.

[So, I’ll be brief… I have something I really want to tell you… about that day too.]

That day―

“…Hyuga… right… you… I-I did…!”

Words were getting through―With a sense of guilt that transcended my happiness, I clutched the small Hyuga’s shoulders firmly as if to cling to her.

“Whatever I said, it’s too late now…” I spat out as if to tell myself.

The words stuck in my throat as I hesitated whether I should say them.

Despite my conflicting feelings, I felt obliged to say it, face it, and cease trying to avoid it. I must face… what I ran away from that time.

“Back then… I! Because of what I… did to you, that awful, horrible thing… you…”

What an insensitive guy I was. All I did was cover for myself and caused you to feel bad about yourself. I didn’t believe in you…

“After your death, I tried desperately to forget about you… and shifted the blame to you, claiming that it wasn’t my fault.”

No more cover-ups, I was going to honestly confess everything about myself that was harsh and unfair.

“Having lived a life of irresponsibility, and at my age, finding myself awakening to the same powers as you, I realized for the first time how you felt… and finally decided to believe what you were telling me…”

And then… I started to develop a sense of guilt that came too late.

“I felt like an idiot… for hoping to apologize to you, even though everything was already too late…”I continued to speak to Hyuga while choking and stammering.magic

“…You’re already dead…”

[Senior…]

“It’s too late… I know you may think it’s too late or you may think I’m just trying to make myself feel at ease… but…”

Please let me just say this.

“I’m sorry… for not believing in you… I’m sorry… for hurting you so terribly that you wanted to die… I’m sorry… I’m sorry I couldn’t save you… all this time.”

Hyuga seemed bewildered, but I nonetheless grabbed her by the shoulders and gently hugged her.

“I don’t have this kind of qualification… you can pummel me if you wish.”

When I announced this, she indeed shoved me.

“My bad… I knew it.”

[W-Woah… Hey, I’m really throbbing right now.]

Ah―

[Senior, you’ve become more aggressive after not seeing me for a little while. Seriously, you surprised me.]

When I wondered what she was going to say while she was in a pose that shoved me away, Hyuga’s eyes were nonplussed as she remarked something completely out of the ordinary and unpredictable.

“You… were you listening to me just now?”

[I did. You were sniffling so much that I couldn’t follow what you were saying at some points, though.]

…

I instantly stopped crying.

I wondered what to say next… Seconds ago, the atmosphere wasn’t like this.

“Why are you smiling like that, don’t you despise me?”Without a single complaint, you said such mundane things and laughed.

Weren’t you furious with me? You died in such a way.

[Why must I be mad at you?]

Huh…

…What!?

“I mean! We had a fight back then! I called you a liar, and you―you died.”

[Um… why am I supposed to be dead over something like that?]

“What!?”

[No, something like that is not going to bring my life to an end.]

S-Something like that―!?

Like some old lady, Hyuga put her hand on her cheek and flapped her other hand in front of her eyes. My whole body trembled and my head wobbled from the bombshell remark she had unloaded on me.

[Senior, are you okay?]

How could I possibly be okay? What in the world was going on?

“Then… what are you… suffering from to the point of committing suicide if it wasn’t caused by that incident!”

[It wasn’t suicide.]

“What―!?”

[I didn’t have any intention of committing suicide.]

Hyuga mentioned that while shrugging.

“It wasn’t… suicide…”

Although she stated so unreservedly that it was not a lie, I felt as if I had been slapped from all directions, up and down, left and right, having been informed for the first time that what had been dragging heavy in my heart and what I had been desperately trying to face was merely a misunderstanding.

“Please tell me.”

It wasn’t my fault. I had no time to be rejoiced by that and asked Hyuga, whom I had reunited with, about the truth of that day.

“Was it murder if it wasn’t suicide? Or were you the victim of any unpleasant conduct, like bullying? You were adored by everyone, so why did you have to meet your end like that?”