"Hmm..."
After the drinks were over, Ai and I headed home, leaving Aqua behind. As soon as we arrived, Ai went straight to her room and fell fast asleep.
Since I wasn't particularly drunk, I was having a second round of drinks by myself on the second floor.
In that moment, goosebumps began to crawl all over my body. I turned my head toward the source of the sensation.
"...Don't you think entering someone's house as you please is a crime?"
"My, my. I'm sorry, but since I'm not human, I'd rather not be treated like one, you know?"
"Sigh...."
The being who drops a massive bombshell on me every time she visits—whether I should call her a 'God' or what—her presence was never exactly a welcome one for me.
"So, what kind of bomb did you bring this time?"
"Calling it a bomb when it's for such a frail girl... aren't you being a bit harsh?"
"Frail, my foot. If you were truly frail, I should have finished you off back then...."
"You still say such terrifying things so casually, don't you?"
Before I knew it, the girl had taken a seat opposite me. Reluctantly, I handed her a drink I had brought to share, rather than the alcohol I was drinking.
"Oh? I thought you hated me?"
"I don't hate you. But I don't like you either, so just take it and drink."
This wasn't a lie. I didn't hate the girl in front of me. Though it was unlikely I'd ever grow to like her either.
"Fufu, should I say I'm honored?"
"Search me."
After that, neither the girl nor I said a word; we simply gazed at the night sky. The one who broke the silence first was the girl.
"Did you know?"
"What are you talking about?"
"If you didn't exist in this world... those children you love so much, Aqua and Ruby, would have had another half-sibling."
".......I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop dropping bombs so casually."
I figured the information the girl was sharing was likely from the memories I had forgotten. In fact, most of the memories I once had of the original plot had faded away.
"Now then, a quiz! I said Aqua and Ruby have a half-sibling, so who could it be?"
The girl looked at me like a host of a quiz show. I had no choice but to slowly organize the information currently in my head, and soon, a hypothesis emerged.
"...Himekawa Taiki."
I was surprised that the name slipped out of my mouth so suddenly. The girl also looked slightly taken aback for a moment.
"To think you'd get it in one go~"
"It just came out, but I can't believe it's actually the right answer."
"So, how did you come up with that boy's name?"
I felt the girl's gaze drilling into me, as if she were urging me to explain my reasoning. I soon spoke.
"....Aqua asked me for a favor once. He wanted me to investigate the backgrounds of every member of the Tokyo Blade cast. In the results of that investigation, the person who felt the most anomalous was Taiki-kun.
Taiki-kun's father was Uehara Seijuro, and his mother was Himekawa Airi. Among them, I had a bit of recognition regarding Airi-san.
Of course, the records state that both of them committed double suicide when Taiki-kun was five years old, but....."
"But?"
"In reality, it was Kamiki Hikaru.... while having an affair with that damn brat, she probably met the man named Seijuro. If you look at the results, the victim wasn't Airi-san, but her husband, Uehara Seijuro."
As soon as I finished speaking, the girl hopped down from her chair.
"Ahahahahaha!!! Correct! But unfortunately! There's no evidence!! There isn't a single shred of evidence regarding the man you hate so much and want to kill, Kamiki Hikaru! Even what you just said is merely your own speculation!
Even if it were true! How tragic that there's no proof!!"
"Yeah..... it's truly tragic.... I mean it....."
Kamiki Hikaru.... that bastard was born with a talent for thoroughly hiding his crimes. That's why even our side hasn't been able to find any information.
"Still, it's quite impressive~ To think you'd figure that much out with just fragmentary information."
"Well, I'm someone whose job is exactly that in the first place."
Unable to overcome the frustration, I picked up the hard liquor I had brought to sip slowly and downed it straight from the bottle.
"Phew...... Really. It's so frustrating I feel like I could die."
"Hoo~ Then, do you know what your son is going to do?"
".....Who knows. He'll probably try to test Taiki-kun using the information I gave him. For now, that's about the extent of what Aqua can do."
"Well, I suppose that's true~"
With those words, we fell silent again.
"Do you know? How Aqua and Ruby ended up being reincarnated?"
"....Not really. Wasn't it you who reincarnated them?"
"Hmph~ What do you think?"
".......I don't know."
Indeed, I knew absolutely nothing about how Aqua and Ruby were reincarnated. I had no way of knowing if the girl standing before me had personally reincarnated them or not.
"Well, maybe it's better for you not to know for now~"
"It's not like you were planning on telling me anyway, right?"
"It's just that 'for now,' even if I wanted to tell you, it would be difficult~"
"For now.... huh."
I had to assume that this girl was also bound by some kind of restriction.
"Phew..... the position of 'God' seems like a fairly troublesome one."
"It really is~ We don't even have the right to intervene in every little thing~ Or so I'd like to say, but um..."
Suddenly stopping mid-sentence, the girl's face fell into deep thought. Watching her, it wasn't a pleasant sight; for some reason, her expression seemed to hold a coexistence of irritation and sorrow.
".....Ah~ That almost turned into a bothersome affair, didn't it?"
And then, as if she had finished contemplating on her own, she clapped her hands together with a sharp 'pop!' and smiled brightly at me.
"Hey. Hoshino Yume. What do you think about the idea of parallel worlds?"
"...Parallel worlds? Where did that come from all of a sudden?"
While most people might think parallel worlds don't exist, unfortunately, I wasn't one of them. In fact, this very world I was currently in had been nothing more than a manga in the world I came from.
"Aw~ It's just a normal question. So, what do you think?"
".....I believe they exist. In the first place, since I myself was reincarnated into this world, it's not particularly strange to know there are other worlds."
"Right~ That's exactly it~ I can do something about the other kids, but as for you, even I can't touch you~ That means there's someone much~ much~ higher than me behind you!!"
"Didn't you say that last time too? So, I think it would be better to get to the important part, don't you think?"
I couldn't believe she was dragging her feet like this, unlike her usual self. Was it something uncomfortable to talk about?
"Um... Hey, Hoshino Yume. If the most precious person around you were to die, what would you do?"
".......What?"
The moment those words left the girl's mouth, I lunged at her from my seat, but...
"Calm down."
"Kh!?"
Suddenly, it felt as if my body was being crushed downward, and I was forced to stand frozen on the spot.
"What... are you... doing...!!!"
My mind was a mess because of what she had said. It felt as if she were mocking my desperate attempts to protect my precious family.
Despite being suppressed, I tried to force my body forward. I could feel a severe shock being dealt to my muscles and bones throughout my entire body, but I couldn't stop.
I had to hear the information that just came out of that damn girl's mouth, no matter what.
Even if I were to die right here on this spot.
"Goodness.... how scary, how scary. Could you please calm down? I said 'if.' It was a 'what if'."
".......Ptooey!"
At her words, I slowly let my mind settle. However, it seemed my body had already been pushed too far; I felt as if everything was creaking, and blood naturally trickled from my mouth.
After spitting out the blood, I tried to check my physical condition, but...
"How you even tried to move in that short time.... your internal organs are twisted, and your legs were on the verge of muscle rupture, you know?"
"...Injuries of this level heal quickly."
"Well, I suppose that's true~ Since your body is one I can only think of as being loved by a God~ Although I'm even more surprised that you've trained it so consistently!"
"Phew.... So, what was that talk earlier? Are you saying someone around me is going to die?"
With my memories remaining so ambiguous, information from this girl was more important than anything else.
"In the first place, as long as you're here, who would even want to touch those around you? I'd appreciate it if you were a bit more aware of your own position~"
"Kh... then... I'd be grateful if you'd stop talking in circles and just tell me."
Even in this moment of conversation with the girl, a part of my heart was gripped by a constant sense of unease.
"Right. I was talking about parallel worlds earlier, wasn't I?"
"...Yeah."
"Countless worlds exist. But among them, worlds where Hoshino Ai survives are extremely rare."
"....."
"In most of them, there is a fate where she is murdered by someone. However, that doesn't mean she absolutely dies in every world.
There are certainly worlds like this one where someone is by Hoshino Ai's side, protecting her.
But that 'someone' is someone other than Hoshino Yume."
"I suppose so."
"Yes, I'm glad you're quick on the uptake. Now, even I am not permitted to look into other worlds. However, memories from exactly one world have flowed into me."
".....What... kind of memories....?"
An inexplicable dread washed over me, and goosebumps broke out all over. Even though I hadn't heard a word yet, my body was trembling instinctively.
"Hoshino Aquamarine... whom you treasure and cherish so much... dies."
"..............Gah!?"
The moment I heard those words, I collapsed on the spot. No, even 'collapsed' was too graceful a word; I fell and tumbled unsightly onto the floor.
"A... wha... whaa..... A-Aqua... dies... you say...?"
In my utter shock, I couldn't even speak properly. The girl looked at me with pity.
"....Don't worry too much. That world is a different one. It's true it's Hoshino Aquamarine, your precious son, but..... he's no more than a stranger to you."
"A... aaa.... Aaaaaaaa.....!!!!"
Aqua.... Aqua.... Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua-Aqua....... Aqua... dies?
My brain understood it. The Aqua who died must certainly be the Aqua of another timeline. Or perhaps the Aqua of the original story. But.....
"Khuh-hk...!!"
As if to deny that Aqua's death, tears began to flow from my eyes. But the drops that fell weren't clear water... they were crimson droplets.
"...Is it that painful for you? Even though it's nothing more than the business of another world? Even though he isn't your child?"
Are you so in despair that you're shedding tears of blood?
"I... I... don't... know... I don't know either.....!! My head understands it....! But my body! My soul doesn't understand!!!!"
"Why does that boy have to die!?"
"Was it for the sake of Ai's revenge!?"
"Or because he couldn't prevent Ai's death!! To protect Ruby, his only remaining precious sister!?"
"Even if that's the case!!!"
"Are you saying a child who hasn't even reached adulthood is allowed to die...!!!"
"Is that...!! The will of God!?"
I knelt before the girl and cried out in despair.
The girl, who received my outcry with indifference, soon began to stroke my hair gently.
".....I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking straight."
"Heh... heh... Heaaaaaaaaaaaagghh!!!!!!!!!!"
I was truly glad that Aqua and Ruby weren't here right now and that Ai was sleeping.
Because I never wanted to show them this hideous side of me.