Chapter 75

1.

Reality is different from fiction.

That sentence is particularly meaningful to me, someone who has only ever experienced this world through the lens of fiction.

It was a warning. A kind of warning I always give to myself, reminding that I must never lose my sense of reality — and it’s also the sentence that forms the foundation of my beliefs.

I dream of being a hero, and I live by principles that emulate a hero’s actions. However, this ideal of a ‘hero’ is something that is far removed from reality.

Thus, I must always live while maintaining a sense of reality. Otherwise, I might someday find myself blindly chasing an ideal without realizing whether I’m stepping into fire or thorns.

Realistically, and ideally.

In a manner that aligns with my aspirations, without straying too far from reality.

In order to achieve what I desire.

And, quoting something I heard in a vision— in order to save myself from hell, I must comprehend and contemplate both sides.

Just as humanity sought wisdom because it feared the unknown, I too must acquire the wisdom necessary to understand these two incompatible realms.

Only with that can I dream of and pursue my goal of becoming a hero in this hellish reality.

That’s why I always ponder:

What’s the biggest difference between fiction and reality?

What is the most crucial thing to consider in reality?

To that, I would answer this way:

“…Variables.”

Unlike works of fiction that follow a single script or storyline, in reality, it’s impossible to shape the future exactly as you wish; unless you’re an omnipotent god.

Thus, variables are what I always keep in mind.

And this situation is no exception.

All the more so since I once viewed this world as a piece of fiction, I need to pay even closer attention to such nuances.

Why did Binah appear in the city of Abidos?

Why did the terroristic Automata launch an assault on the surface?

Why has the attack occurred at this point in time?

Could it be because I was there?

That’s far too convenient an explanation.

If my presence causes problems, would they disappear if I were gone? No. This situation isn’t about creating a new issue—it’s simply about advancing something that was supposed to happen later.

Binah was supposed to eventually appear in the form of a ‘total war’—but at a time further in the future.

For some reason, she showed up in this era, and now we’ve even seen never-before-seen terroristic Automata in Abidos.

Every result has a cause.

There are reasons behind every outcome.

Hence…

“There must be a cause that has accelerated the timeline.”

That was my conclusion.

It wasn’t hard to deduce the culprit.

There are two candidates—or rather, both must be the culprits.

“Kaiser, and Gematria.”

The existence of a unit capable of deploying terroristic Automata. The presence or absence of the Dodecagramaton Brigade of Kaiser PMC, which would have suppressed Binah if events followed the original timeline.

Is this the result of the two parties cooperating?

Or…

“Could it be that their separate purposes coincidentally aligned?”

Though it feels too coincidental to attribute this to variables within variables…

‘They likely didn’t collaborate, though Gematria might use Kaiser.’

After all, wasn’t it the Black Suit who approached Kaiser in the first place?

… .

I don’t know. The only thing I’m sure of now is that there are at least two hostile forces in this city.

For now, it’s enough to leave things this way.

“Hmph.”

The situation has become incredibly complicated, but what I have to do is simple.

I need to gather strength.

Recruit allies, grow as a person, procure equipment, accumulate funds, gather intelligence—

Even though a short rest might be necessary now that one incident is over, the ultimate tasks remain unchanged.

Plus—

“I need to find out the truth about that vision I saw earlier.”

Matters I had somewhat glossed over before now require deeper investigation.

The contents of the vision—judging from what I suspect—likely relate to my ‘mystery’. It could possibly even reveal why I lost my name and why I became possessed by Kiburatos.

“An ideal world, and a singularity…”

Words that automatically contort my expression.

Talking about some unknown person’s ideal world or soul just made me irritable and annoyed.

While I was internally airing out my frustrations with a sigh, my extrasensory perception alerted me to someone approaching—zing!

I didn’t raise any alarm.

Because I had a rough idea of who it was, I simply maintained my expression while looking toward the door as the footsteps approached.

That’s right. The problem right now isn’t about those things.

What’s happening beyond the door is the real issue.

Creak—

And with that, the door opened to reveal a young girl.

A devilish girl, dressed in what you’d usually only see in games—pink pajamas accompanied by a yellow cardigan draped over her shoulder—stepped into the room.

Unlike her usual demeanor, her appearance and outfit gave off the impression of being unusually delicate, causing me to involuntarily catch my breath. I widened my eyes and immediately noticed the fluffy white hair that fell past her waist, her drooped demon wings, and the four horns jutting from her head.

Cute. And endearing.

As the realization hit me that one of my favorite characters was standing before me, an involuntary gasp slipped from my lips.

Soon, she fixed her luminous purple eyes on me and spoke.

“Hey, hi. Were you waiting for me…?”

“…”

Sorasaki Hina.

She appeared in only her pajamas.

As if suggesting…

That she intended to sleep with me from here on.

“Um, Hina, are you really going to sleep together?”

“…Did you change your mind?”

“No, it’s not that… I just think it might be uncomfortable for the two of us.”

“I’m fine. In fact, I want to sleep with you.”

“Excuse me?”

Teacher. Don’t say things like that suddenly.

I stared at Hina in confusion. Is this a green light?

Upon realizing the ambiguity of her words, Hina, too, seemed flustered and began flailing her hands.

“Ah, no, I mean…! This is my first time sleeping with a friend like this, so I’m just looking forward to it…!”

“Oh.”

Thank goodness. I might have had trouble sleeping otherwise.

“Still, I’m glad it’s you for the first time.”

“…”

Hina, please. Don’t test me like this.

“Alright, good night, Hiiro.”

In an instant, all the worries that had been crowding my mind disappeared.

The most dangerous opponent had arrived.

Not physically, but emotionally.

2.

Why exactly has it come to this?

The reason is simple.

As the day progressed and we spent the evening sharing the same house, naturally, the topic of sleeping arrangements came up.

Initially, I offered to sleep in the living room, but Hina refused saying it wasn’t right to make a guest and a patient like me sleep there, and even declared she would sleep in the living room herself.

However, since I couldn’t just let that happen, we went back and forth in a minor argument until we reached the current situation: we’d sleep in the same room together.

But now,

Having reached this moment, I realize just how fatal that decision was.

Didn’t they say your body stiffens when hit with too much shock? I’m experiencing it live right now.

“Why… are you like that?”

Hina in her pajamas looked at me innocently, tilting her head in confusion at my rigid reaction. My heart tightened at the sheer cuteness of each and every one of her actions. With great difficulty, I managed to open my mouth.

Suppressing the surging emotions,

“…Hina, can I touch your hair once?”

“Eh, uh… umm, it’s, okay to touch it, I guess…?”

A request uttered while trying to control the swelling desire.

A simple yet somewhat embarrassing request to touch the fluffy hair that I wanted to feel just a little.

Fortunately, Hina readily consented.

“Thump thump-”

In a relaxed and irresistibly cute manner, Hina moved her bare feet, making soft sounds, and approached me. Her eyes seemed heavy with fatigue as she came closer to the bed where I was sitting.

Insane. Absolutely adorable.

As Hina grew nearer, the smaller figure in my field of vision seemed to expand, and my heart began pounding louder, not from excitement—well, okay, that too, but not in a physical sense.

After all,

“…If your favorite character is moving and alive right in front of you, anyone would react like this.”

Hina is the protagonist of my ‘Blue Archive.’

Just the fact of sharing a room with her and the ability to touch her hair is a dream come true, so this happiness is off the charts.

It’s lethal.

I might explode from all the joy.

Attempting to suppress unnecessary thoughts in my mind, I calmed my excitement as much as I could. My heart rate slowed down a little thanks to this effort, but the moment I caught a whiff of Hina as she drew closer, it quickly began racing again.

‘Shit. I’m losing it.’

Had I been a man instead of a woman, would I have been able to endure this situation?

… .

I don’t know. I can’t be sure.

And just as I was contemplating this,

“Floomp-”

Hina sat down beside me, causing the bed to dip.

The slight weight that tilted my body indicated how close we were thanks to the soft mattress. I couldn’t help but look into Hina’s eyes.

“…”

“…”

Purple eyes meeting blue ones.

Hina’s face had turned red from some time now, and most likely, mine matched hers.

A strange silence stretched between us, filling the gap.

The instant I swallowed, unconsciously, we both remained silent, locked in each other’s gaze.

“…”

“…”

What could Hina be thinking right now?

Even in battles where I’ve fought, I’ve never felt as nervous as I do in this moment.

Should I not have suggested touching her hair?

Is something unusual about to happen here?

Various thoughts raced through my mind. Though it felt like minutes had passed in my head, it was only a few seconds in reality. Gathering my thoughts, I broke the silence.

“Um… shall I touch it then?”

Ugh. I just asked like some pervert.

“Uh-huh… Do as you like…”

“…”

Though my mind inwardly recoiled in horror, Hina turned her back to me, offering her white hair without hesitation.

Teacher, don’t respond like this!

I had no choice but to close my eyes tightly, then slowly extended my hand and began stroking the hair covering her back. It was thin and incredibly soft.

Although it was similar to my own white hair, it felt different.

Hina’s hair was softer—warmer perhaps.

“Feels really smooth…”

“Kee-!”

“…”

“…”

Hina flinched after hearing my muttering, but I ignored it and continued brushing her hair. Like handling something precious, I did it very slowly.

“Swish-swish-”

After experiencing—let’s call it that—Hina’s hair for a moment, my gaze settled on the side of her head.

Horns.

An organ unique to demons.

“…I wonder if I should touch them.”

Before I acted recklessly and got myself into trouble, I decided to ask first and opened my mouth.

“You, stop…”

“Huh?”

“It’s… it’s enough, right? So…-”

Suddenly, Hina declared a work stoppage!

I was left dumbstruck, my mouth agape.

She seemed confused by my reaction, halting her words, fidgeting a bit, then shyly pushed her head toward me again, her face flushed.

“Ha-heh.”

I smiled as I stroked Hina’s hair again.

This time, I didn’t focus on her back hair but gently touched her bangs and around her horns, treating her hair with care.

As expected, it was soft and well-taken care of, though there was still some dampness from her recent shower.

Sweeping her bangs a little, I found Hina’s enchanting gaze looking up at me from her wide, adorable eyes.

I couldn’t help but smile as a reflex, which made her shyly lower her head.

I wonder if we’re too close. Still, I didn’t stop there.

“Hina.”

“Uh… mmh…”

“Hina?”

“Wh-what is it?”

“Um… do you mind if I touch your horns?”

“Huh? My horns?”

I nodded in response to Hina, who instantly turned a shade of red I’ve never seen before, covering her horns with her hands and slightly pulling herself away.

What is this? Is it really that embarrassing to touch her horns?

“Sorry. Did I ask for something too unreasonable…?”

“No, that’s not it… It’s just… now it feels a bit sensitive, no, sorry! Touchy, yeah! Touchy time!”

“Ah, I see.”

I didn’t know that.

I guess horns also have sensitive periods.

Understanding her words, I nodded in acceptance and resigned myself to letting go. Though it was disappointing, I thought I could ask again when it’s okay.

“Um… are you satisfied now?”

“Hehe. Extremely.”

“Well then… that’s good.”

It’s strange. Doing something that makes me this embarrassed actually relaxed my tension.

Maybe redirecting our focus away from the situation of sleeping together helped ease the atmosphere.

“Then, should we start for real now?”

The tension’s finally released, I discarded the awkward ambiance, smiled brightly, and spoke to Hina.

“…What for?”

“Hoho, when girls have a sleepover, there’s something we naturally have to do, isn’t there? Truth or dare, of course.”

“Truth… or dare… oh, right…”

…Well, my information comes from manga and novels, so I’m not entirely sure if this is standard fare.

Nevertheless, what better way is there to close the distance between friends? Especially for girls.

“Umm, it sounds familiar. I heard kids do it during school trips when sharing a room.”

“Hehe. So, let’s act like normal girls this time and get closer?”

“Okay…!”

Just as I expected, Hina accepted my proposition with enthusiasm, her eyes lighting up, indicating her interest in these kinds of activities.

I grinned as I crawled under the blanket and opened it for Hina.

“Come on in, young lady.”

Hohoho.

Now, let’s get closer—both physically and emotionally.

Even without glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs, I’m sure we each have our kind and gentle neighbors.

“…Pfft. You’re strange, your tone.”

“Hey now. You’re different too, talking like this compared to when you’re head of the disciplinary committee!”

“That’s…! If you’re going to point that out, Hiiro…!”

Thus, the curtain rose on the first night of our cohabitation with mutual roasting.

3.

At that time.

“Head of the disciplinary committee? She’s a tough opponent. What do you think, Himari?”

“Shh, be quiet, Chihiro.”

That was Himari’s reaction after learning that Hiiro was staying at the head of the disciplinary committee’s house.

Himari, who dotes on her juniors, couldn’t help but worry about Hiiro, though… whether it’s purely concern is debatable.

“…Don’t worry too much. He’ll be back soon. They said he’s resting and recuperating from his injuries, right? It won’t come to what you’re imagining.”

“Hmm, but what if Gehenna discovers Hiiro’s identity and refuses to let him go…”

“Phew.”

Listening to Himari’s anxious outburst, Chihiro shook her head. Times like these really make her think that even her title as a genius prodigy is useless.

“Didn’t Hiiro even defeat Binah?”

“…”

That silenced Himari. She must’ve realized herself that Hiiro doesn’t have the skill level to be easily captured by Gehenna.

Still…it is unsettling not to hear from him yet…

“All the electronics must’ve been fried, so there’s nothing we can do about that.”

“…”

There’s no way to make contact, phone or anything, after all.

Chihiro gave a wry smile at the dejected Himari.

“Anyway, don’t worry too much about it. Hiiro will surely reach out soon in some way. It’s getting late, so you should sleep, Himari.”

“…Alright. Thank you, Chihiro.”

“Not at all.”

With that, Chihiro ended her conversation with Himari.

“…Even someone as popular as Hiiro has his struggles.”

Chihiro muttered that under her breath and clicked her tongue.

I can already foresee Hiiro’s distant future.

Living a life where females—not males—are the ones attracted to him.

“Hm.”

“Well, none of my business.”

Hehe, Chihiro laughed as she made her way to her bedroom.

It’s time to call it a day.

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