As Lin stood on the rooftop, pondering how to find the Monkey's Paw and use the final wish, he suddenly felt that the scenery before his eyes was somewhat strange. He couldn't quite put his finger on what kind of strangeness it was; there was no deviation from the Nagazora City in his memory, yet he felt a slight sense of incongruity.
Glancing at the neon lights in the distance, a flash of inspiration struck his mind, and he realized what was wrong. The clock tower was gone.
In the previous three cycles, that clock tower had been a landmark-level structure, so prominent that one could see its towering silhouette just by looking up, no matter where they were.
Lin, who had been prepared to wait for the twenty-four hours to pass, felt an indescribable sensation rise in his heart. He leaped down from the rooftop, grabbed the edge of a window on the floor below, and then let go, reaching the ground in just a few seconds. Without hesitation, Lin chose a road leading out of the city and broke into a run.
Suppose... someone intended to trap them here, and Yama could leave simply by recovering her power through the passage of time, or they could leave after exhausting the three wishes—how would one keep them here?
If keeping them here didn't conflict with providing a way to leave, the opponent would find a way to prevent Yama from leaving through her own power. And that method would be...
Lin walked through Nagazora City at night once again, but this time, he was alone; Yama was not quietly following behind him. The starry sky overhead had changed, and he had reached the edge of the city.
The size of this bubble world was roughly that of one Nagazora City—Lin had confirmed this in the last cycle. But now, as he looked at the road stretching outward and then back at the city that appeared no different from usual:
Has this bubble world... expanded?
...
"My friend... where are you going?"
Eden, exuding a noble aura comparable to the banquet itself, called out to Lin, who was sneakily trying to slip past her. He had been laughing and chatting fluently with others, yet he avoided her as if fearing a plague when passing by. Thus, Eden was somewhat curious as to why this Lin—who was so different from before—was dodging her.
Lin gave a dry laugh and turned his head: "I'm... going to the restroom."
"The restroom is that way," Eden pointed in a direction.
"I prefer a higher-class restroom."
"Vil-V said she renovated the restroom to be fully automatic; it's quite high-class."
"..."
The corner of Lin mouth twitched; he couldn't maintain the smile. He wasn't avoiding Eden, but rather the person beside her.
The empty-handed nun looked at him with a light, hazy gaze through half-closed eyes.
Eden had run into Aponia after the banquet began, and the two found each other quite compatible. Eden's philosophical aesthetics shared certain similarities with the theology Aponia believed in, and Aponia was very interested in the different countries and scenery Eden had seen. One could say they were like old friends meeting for the first time; it was foreseeable that another member would join the small circle of Elysia and Eden in the future.
"Lin... are you very afraid of me?" Aponia showed a faint, ambiguous smile. She could tell Lin was actually avoiding her. It had been the same back in the Deepest Place; after Lin woke up, he fled the area rapidly, as if staying near her for a moment longer would trigger a disaster.
Cold sweat trickled down Lin forehead, his expression rarely stiff: "How could that be... it's just... well... since you and Lin have such a good relationship, I felt I shouldn't use his appearance to deceive your feelings."
Prometheus, standing behind him, curled her lip in disdain.
"Is that so? Then why are your legs trembling?"
"This..." Lin leaned against a nearby table, steadying his shaking legs, "I'm so happy that I can't help but want to dance."
"The sweat..."
"My heart beats faster when I see you, so it made my sweat glands secrete a lot of sweat."
Being silver-tongued was one of his great strengths, but Aponia, who should have been easy to fool, did not let him go. Her quiet, ethereal eyes remained fixed on Lin.
"If you don't mind, let's chat for a while."
Eden also seemed to have noticed Lin unusual attitude specifically toward Aponia. She didn't speak but opened a bottle of red wine she had brought, poured it into a glass, and handed it to Lin.
"Today is a wonderful day, isn't it? My friend?"
"Heh... yeah." Lin took the glass with a forced smile and took a small sip. It was obvious he was still very tense; his toes were pointed toward the door, indicating a complete mindset of wanting to escape.
"Lin... do you have nothing you want to say to me?" Aponia voice felt like it was echoing directly in his brain, and the faint, undetectable trace of resentment in her tone made Lin swallow hard.
"I suppose I do..." Lin smiled bitterly. "Well... Aponia, if possible, if you have any needs in the future, you can just tell Lin directly."
"I don't understand."
Lin looked into her eyes, and his smile was on the verge of collapsing.
"Just don't secretly take advan—I mean, you can embrace him openly. You are good friends, after all. It doesn't matter how many 'good friend' embraces you want to share with him." Lin weighed his words carefully.
Nuns were supposed to be pure, at least in the eyes of many. Aponia appearance certainly met the standard; if she were to run for the title of the purest nun of the century, she could win the crown based solely on her pure and holy exterior. But this nun had too many little schemes. She was not as simple as she looked, and she often used undeniable reasons to achieve her goals in a way that left others unable to object. Sometimes, she even went so far it was blatant. Many would call it a "gap moe," but Lin felt the gap was a bit too wide.
In short, it was better to prepare for the future now; otherwise, with "his" simplicity, he might get groped by this nun without even realizing it.
"...Yes, I will." Aponia face showed nothing as she nodded with serene composure.
Lin breathed a sigh of relief, prepared to finish the wine and leave, but Aponia immediately followed up with a question: "Lin, when can he come back?"
"...Soon." Lin took a deep breath and smiled. "He will return when he is supposed to return, neither early nor late."
"Then... what about you? Where will you go?"
"..."
This was the first person who had asked where he would go. Everyone else asked where Lin went and how he could return, but no one had asked where the current "Lin" would be once the original Lin came back.
But from the very beginning, Lin hadn't wanted anyone to ask him this question.
"I will return to where I should go—a place suitable for someone like me."
He raised his glass, smiled at Eden and Aponia, and then tilted his head back to drain the wine in one gulp.
Smiling.
Smiling...