Oomi
Aochi-san was looking at me with a puzzled expression. I couldn’t blame him—after all, I’d just blurted out, “We’re four to four to one.”
“What are you talking about?”
As expected, kindhearted Aochi-san hadn’t noticed.
“What I mean is, we have to fight. You and I, Silent-chan, and Ululu—that’s four. Oze-san and Rhone-san, Kaori-san and Mamoru-kun—that’s another four. The Harvester is neutral.”
Aochi-san pressed a hand to his face and shook his head.
“How long have I been asleep? What the hell happened?”
♢♢
It all started with Oze-san.I had just finished a warm shower and was sitting on my bed, spacing out, when the door opened almost at the same time as a knock.
“Hey, at least let me answer before you open the door.”
I was sitting there half-naked, flustered, and quickly grabbed the towel blanket from the bed to wrap around my shoulders and body.
“Then you should lock the door. Don’t get so embarrassed—you’re the one making it awkward for me.”
Oze-san averted his eyes as if it didn’t matter to him and sat down in the chair across from me.
“What do you need?”
“I’ve got something important to tell you.”
“Just me?”
If he was coming all the way into my room, it must be a private matter.
“Actually, I went to Aochi’s room first… but he was fast asleep, so I came here. Speaking of which, his door wasn’t locked either. You two are way too careless.”
Still looking down, Oze-san spoke.
“Sorry.”
I apologized reflexively and waited for his next words.
“…”
Why isn’t he saying anything? Barging in like this…
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Oze-san?”“Sorry, it’s hard to say. I’m leaving for the new world tomorrow. Aochi is staying here. You… haven’t been decided yet.”
Oze-san exhaled as if he’d fulfilled his duty and lowered his shoulders.
“What do you mean? How can you say that so definitively?”
“I heard it from Rhone.”
“Rhone-san is the Harvester on the other ship! That has nothing to do with us!”
I forgot myself and raised my voice. What did he mean, Aochi-san would be left behind?
“Calm down. I just… want you to come with me to the new world.”
Just stop talking—I don’t want to start hating you, Oze-san. I forced myself to answer, aware of my uneven breathing.
“No. I’m staying in this world. More importantly, what’s going to separate you from Aochi-san? And what do you mean, I haven’t been decided?”
A long silence followed. Since boarding this ship, this was the first time I’d felt the waves this much—more than during the thunderstorm.It was also the first time we had fallen so completely silent.
Not moving a muscle, I waited for Oze-san’s next words.
“…Sorry. I can’t tell you.”
“…Please leave.”
My voice came out colder than I expected. I had suspected Oze-san might be leaving for the new world—that part didn’t bother me. But Aochi-san staying here being “decided” was something I could never accept.
“Oomi, listen—”
I grabbed Oze-san’s arm as he tried to cover it up and pulled him to the door. In such a small room it was only about a step and a half, but the much taller Oze-san looked at me in surprise and said:
“You’re stronger than you look. Come on, just hear me out a little longer—I think you’d understand.”
“I don’t want to hear it!”
Why do I have to be so needlessly perceptive? I couldn’t see everything Oze-san was about to say, but fragments of the scene came to me, dragging up things I didn’t want to remember. If only there were a storm outside right now—then I wouldn’t have to think about any of this.
“Please…”
Oze-san’s pleading voice struck my ears like a blow. Unable to stand it, I slammed the door shut.
I could sense he lingered there for a while.
Leaning against the door in a daze, I felt a faint vibration on my back.
It wasn’t Oze-san; I knew that much. I turned and gently opened the door.
It was Silent-chan.
♢♢
“That’s when Silent-chan told me that sleeping was the same as suicide. So I rushed over to wake you up, Aochi-san.”
Aochi-san was uncharacteristically expressionless, his well-shaped lips poised as if about to speak, yet perfectly still.
“So where is Silent-chan now?”
“…I just panicked and came straight here. We split up at the door, and I haven’t seen her since.”
“Then what about Oze?”
Aochi-san’s voice sounded mechanical, like in the other ship’s interior—or maybe it was just my own guilt making it sound that way.
“Oze-san… is on the other ship.”
“Why?”
The flat tone still felt like an accusation.
“…Silent-chan told me one more thing: while we’re on a different ship, we can’t be killed by the blades that grow from ourselves. In fact, when Silent-chan came here, she fell sound asleep and nothing happened. So she said Oze-san probably went to the other ship. By now, he might be happily off in dreamland.”
That last line must have sounded sarcastic. I could feel myself falling further out of favor with Aochi-san. I searched his expression nervously.
—And sure enough, I could see suspicion in his eyes.
“Aochi-san, I just—”
“Four to four to one… how did you get that?”
Asked quietly by Aochi-san, I once again cursed the calm sea at the beginning of night.
Unable to bear it, I stood and looked out the window.
From here, all I could see was the sea. It made my resolve waver. I had to look at the other ship to steel myself.
“Aochi-san, shall we go to the dining room? I’m hungry.”