Classmate wa Isekai de Yuusha ni Natta kedo, Ore dake Gendai Nihon ni Okizari ni Narimashita - Chapter 115

Chapter 115: The Ruin, Part 2

That night, after the accident during the cultural festival, I—Juri Ikoma—was hospitalized for examination.

I don’t really know what kind of accident it was, but apparently, many other teachers and students were also admitted to this hospital.

But what I was concerned about was something completely different.

“You don’t have the luxury to waste time like that. If you understand, then go study.”

That was what my mother told me the last time we met. She told me not to go to the cultural festival and to focus on studying.

I felt bad for Kyori-chan, but I decided to skip the festival and do as my mother said.

The last thing I remember was sitting at my desk, determined to study.

And yet, somehow, I ended up going to school for the cultural festival, got caught in the accident, lost consciousness, and now I’m lying here in a hospital bed.

Why did this happen? Why did I go to school in the first place? I can’t remember any of it.

I thought I’d try looking up the accident on my phone, and though I had a slight headache, I managed to sit up—only to realize too late that my mom had confiscated my phone. I sighed.

She probably already knows I’ve been hospitalized.

Which means she’s also likely furious that I didn’t follow her instructions and went to the festival anyway.

…No matter how I try to explain, she’s not the kind of person who listens. So, as usual, I’ll just have to keep apologizing until her anger passes so I can avoid any more fear and pain—

(Is that really okay?)

That thought suddenly popped into my head.

Clearly, it’s better not to rebel against my mom and just do as I’m told. That’s how it’s always been. And yet…

I remembered someone who bravely fought terrifying enemies in a dream to save me—someone who struggled desperately to help me.

Thinking of them made me question if just going along with everything was really the right thing.

I know it’s foolish.

Just because I saw something like that in a dream, now I think I can fight like them too? That’s way too ridiculous and reckless.

And yet…

(…Maybe it’s better to regret doing something than regret doing nothing?)

As I was thinking that, the hospital room door suddenly burst open.

“Juri!”

The person who appeared—my mother, Sanae Ikoma—shouted as she rushed toward me.

I instinctively covered my face with my arms, fearing she might hit me.

But the pain I was expecting never came. Instead, I was met with the scent of her perfume and the strong warmth of her arms wrapping around me.

“I’m sorry…! I’m so sorry…! I pushed you too far…”

She cried as she held me tightly.

――― I later heard that I had gone to the school like a sleepwalker.

When my unconscious body was brought to the hospital and my mother was informed of what had happened, she finally realized how much she had pushed me.

I didn’t know any of that then. I knew it might be cowardly, but I felt like maybe now I could speak my mind. So I gathered my courage and began to speak.

“…Mom, I can’t be like you. I’m scared of men, I’m bad at talking to people, and honestly, I don’t really care about getting back at that person.”

My mom just held me and listened.

…It was terrifying not knowing what kind of expression she was making. But I knew I couldn’t run away here.

So I desperately continued.

“So, um… I can’t become the person you want me to be. I’m sorry—”

Before I could finish, my mom pulled me into a tight embrace again and, through sobs, began to speak.

“You don’t have to apologize, Juri. I’m the one who should be sorry… for not listening to you.”

“Mom…”

I couldn’t remember the last time my mom spoke to me so kindly.

That thought brought tears to my eyes, and I cried. I cried a lot.

My mom cried too, maybe even more than I’d ever seen.

After that, we calmly talked about what to do from now on—without getting emotional, just peacefully.

When our talk ended and my mom left the hospital room, I was finally able to fall asleep with a clear and peaceful heart—for the first time in a long while.

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◇◇◇

“At least that wraps things up, right?”

“I see… I’m glad.”

It was 8 p.m., in the living room of Kyori’s apartment.

Hearing my report, Kyori let out a relieved sigh.

After returning to the real world, we immediately contacted Alicia and her group to clean up the situation.

First, with the sensory link restored, we used drones to put all the students and teachers—except Kyori and me—to sleep, then implanted false memories about a gas leak accident fabricated by Alicia’s organization.

We also altered the memories of nearby residents. Any social media posts were erased, and the disappearance of the school was erased from existence.

As for those who treated Ikoma-senpai like a servant, we gave them a slight sense of guilt, and we made sure her mother was now willing to listen to her seriously.

We also erased their memories regarding the "Thorn" to avoid future complications.

The final issue was whether Ikoma-senpai and her mother would reconcile, but it seems that went well too.

With that, I think we can say the incident has been mostly resolved.

Of course, we’ll remain on alert in case anything happens.

“So… what caused this whole incident?”

Now that things had settled, Kyori asked.

In response, I pulled out what used to be an Ikai Crystal from my pocket and placed it on the table.

“That’s…?”

“This was the root cause. The mastermind used it to manipulate Ikoma-senpai’s thoughts and activate her ability remotely.”

“May I… touch it?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. I’ve already removed all the effects.”

Kyori picked up the crystal and examined it.

The Ikai Crystal—it was similar to the one from the Hero Suit Incident.

And considering the thing that had possessed Ikoma-senpai, I think it’s safe to assume the mastermind here is the same person or organization as before.

Looks like we’ll need to re-investigate the Hero Suit case too… I’ll need to talk to Alicia.

Oh, right.

“…Sorry, Kyori. We had to cancel the cultural festival.”

Due to the fabricated large-scale accident, this year’s festival was cancelled.

She’d been looking forward to it, so I felt terribly sorry.

“N-no, it’s okay! I mean, after what happened, it couldn’t be helped!”

“Even so, I still want to make it up to you. Is there anything you want or want to do?”

“Make it up to me… hmm…”

Kyori fell into thought.

Just as I started to worry I’d upset her—

“U-um… would it be okay if I asked you for one thing?”

“Y-yeah, anything.”

She took out her phone, operated it, and showed me the screen.

It was the website of an amusement facility near the station—the one Rentarou and the others had invited us to before.

“I’d like to go here… just the two of us. Would that be okay?”

“Y-yeah…! Of course, that’s totally fine.”

“Thank you! Then let’s figure out our schedules right away!”

Her face lit up as she opened her calendar app.

Things had been rough, but we somehow managed to reach a happy ending.

So for now, I’ll just enjoy my time alone with Kyori to the fullest.

With that in mind, I pulled out my own phone to check my schedule.

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◇◇◇

A rooftop of a high-rise apartment near the station.

A single boy appeared, shivering slightly from the cold.

“Man… it really gets chilly at night.”

“Then why not pick a warmer place for our meetings? We’ve been doing this for almost two years, and I swear you say that every time.”

As he muttered, a shadow cast by the rooftop light took the shape of a woman and began to move on its own.

“This is the only place I can talk with you comfortably.”

“What about your house?”

“No way. I don’t want to be in the same space as those guys.”

He opened the warm canned coffee he bought from a convenience store and took a sip.

“Are you sure it was okay to give away both Ikai Crystals? You could’ve used them better.”

“I told you, right? It’s a game—to see whether people who are pushed to their limits or those who go mad with power break more interestingly. These crystals are key to that.”

“…Hmph. Well, I helped because I believed it’d be worth it. Don’t disappoint me.”

“Of course. I won’t let you down.”

The woman-shaped shadow shrugged in response to his lazy attitude.

The boy ignored her and walked to the edge of the rooftop.

“How about your side? I heard the Hero has already established a complete control structure?”

“He’s drowning in it. In the last battle with the Demon King’s army, he used weaklings as shields—just as we hoped.”

“Oh? Then I’d better step up my pace too.”

He grinned at the report.

The shadow woman, seemingly satisfied, returned to being his shadow.

“Well, I’m heading back. I’ll come again if anything changes.”

“Yeah. Later, Ashera…”

Once her presence vanished, he finished his canned coffee and incinerated the can with black flames.

“Let’s keep this interesting… Shuu…”

What reflected in the boy’s eyes then… was pure madness.

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