“Wow, thanks, Mom...”
“I’m a princess from a world that was constantly at war, after all. You can’t be a warrior without walking hand in hand with death. Show me how you do it.”
I knew I was pretty strange, but as it turned out, my parents were even stranger. It’d just taken me 16 years to realize it. I probably could’ve gone my whole life without knowing, but I was honestly glad to know now.
Boom!
Just then, the robot punched a giant hole in the golem’s torso. Time was up.
“Okay, let’s go!”
▽
We could hear the sound of the golem collapsing behind us as we ran.
“Mom, please take the doctor and go on ahead!”
“All right!”
Mom then used her magic to awaken the breeze around her and lift both her and the doctor up into the air.
“I’ll make sure to convince the me in this time line!” called the doctor.
“Thanks!”
“We’ll be waiting for you!” she called once more before flying off with Mom.
That left the three of us: me, L, and Dad. The road was smashed up with gaping holes everywhere, making it impossible for a car or even a bicycle to get through. All we could do was run.
“Hey! Wouldn’t it be faster to just use the particle relocator and get there instantly?!”
“You’re the one who said it wasn’t for human use, L! Anyway, our goal is to lead that giant robot towards Laputa! It won’t follow us if we just teleport away!”
If we moved outside its range of perception, it would probably just start rampaging like the other robots had when they were trying to find me. That would mean using the particle relocator was a last resort. But until things came to that, we’d just have to run.
Creeeak!
We heard the giant robot turn to come after us as soon as it defeated the golem. It had spotted us running away immediately. I glanced over my shoulder and saw its chest transforming with all sorts of loud clanking. Its chestplate split and slid to both sides to reveal a strange, cylindrical barrel... Wait, was that some kind of gun? Oh, crap!
“It’s a beam!”
“Eek!”
So that’s how it’s gonna be?! Damn! Come on, then!
Violent words filled my head, but there was hardly anything I could do.
“L, use your barrier!”
“As if I could block something that big!”
In the middle of L and I yelling at each other...
“Goodness gracious. Seems my little boy still needs Daddy’s help...”
My dad suddenly made a U-turn.
“D-Dad?!”
“Don’t worry. You kids just go on ahead.”
He placed his hand on his sheath and stood at the ready as the robot fired its beam. The flash of light was so bright that I couldn’t even see what happened next.
“There we go.”
My eyes were burning even though I’d had them shut tight, but I could hear my dad’s voice just fine. When I could finally see again, Dad was standing right there safe and sound.
“Your father... He just cut the beam,” L informed me in a rather astonished voice.
“Hm? What are you two standing around in a daze for? Hurry up and run already.”
“R-Right!”
At his urging, I took off running again.
“But, Dad, aren’t you kind of ridiculously strong? Is that the power of your sword?” I asked him once he caught up.
“That’s part of it, but thanks to your mother’s magic, I’m able to bring out 100 percent of its power. You see, her awakening spell has amplified my own strength several hundred times right now.”
That was cool and all, but then he made sure to add on that if he used it too frequently, it would shorten his lifespan.
“Well, now’s not the time to be worried about that!” Dad shouted, glancing behind him as we ran.
Whirrr, clank!
With earth-trembling footsteps, the giant robot was finally pursuing us. This was where things would really get tough.
Thud, thud...
Just like its build, the robot’s stride was massive. That said, it was relatively slow... just as the doctor had said it would be. Before we started this fleeing act, she’d told us several things in advance, including...
“Rekka. There’s one thing you should know while you’re running away from the extremists. Their weakness is...”
Apparently, they couldn’t kill anyone in the past other than me. No, it would be more accurate to say they didn’t want to. They were from the future, meaning there was a certain overlap between my world and theirs. Anything that happened here had the potential to change the future. That much was common sense, but in that sense, the hardliners were the same as the moderates in that they wanted to cause as little damage here as possible. Well, at least they were going for minimal loss of life. Killing anyone other than me could have serious consequences.
If you killed someone here and now, their children would no longer exist in the future, and neither would their grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so on. But it wouldn’t just affect people directly involved, either. For example, if they killed me here and now, I wouldn’t be able to save any of the heroines that needed help in the future. And that didn’t apply to just me, and it didn’t apply to just life-threatening cases. Think about people who were motivational or emotional support for other people. Think about mentors and those who are there to help others change their lives. If you took out any one of those people, it had rippling consequences. That’s why the hardliners had focused their goal and were targeting me alone.
It made sense, thinking back on it. The robots hadn’t attacked anyone before they saw me, and they only went after me even when other people were around. They were very careful not to harm anyone else. And that’s why the giant robot was moving so slow right now—it was running multiple sensors to make sure no one was in its way. It seemed the hardliners had even sent the smaller robots first to chase away as many people as possible.
“What about me, then? They fired that beam right at me... I thought they were only after you, son?”
“You’re a Namidare too, so maybe they just consider you collateral damage?”
“That’s so mean...”
Dad and I joked around a little, but we never stopped running. It had only been five or so minutes now, so we still had two-thirds of the way to go.
“Wait... Whoa!”
The road was extremely uneven, making it hard to even run, but we kept pushing forward. The next obstacle that would befall us was a group of the smaller robots cutting us off down the road.
“There were more?!”
I thought Mom had defeated them all. This must have been a backup squad they had on standby in case something like this happened.
Whirrr, clank!
Worse yet, the giant robot was now closing in quickly.
“Rekka, I’ll slow down the guy behind us, so you go on ahead.”
“But, Dad...!”
“Don’t worry. This isn’t a death flag.”
Dad laughed off my anxious look and turned towards the giant robot. His posture was different than when he stopped the beam earlier. He was now challenging the towering robot all by himself, and I knew my dad wasn’t the type to back down. I knew because I was the same way. All I could say to him now was...
“I’m telling Mom on you if you die!”
“That’s terrifying,” I heard Dad reply before I lost sight of him.
He’d charged straight into the punch that the giant robot sent into the ground, but I couldn’t afford to wait and see the aftermath. I had to turn around and keep running. We needed to widen the distance between us as much as possible... The next hurdle would be the smaller robots in front of us.
“Damn it!”
“Out of the way, idiot!”
I dodged what I could and L blocked what she could, but we both kept running. Forcing my poor, tired heart
to keep working, I took deep breaths to keep oxygen pumping through my veins. Ah, damn it all...
This wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough at all. I was the weak link holding everyone back.
“Tch! This...!”
L tried to make up for my shortcomings, but she was approaching her limit. We hadn’t even made it halfway to our goal yet!
“Oh, no!”
One of the robots reached their arm around L’s barrier and attacked me from behind. Worse yet, its other arm was coming around front. I was pincered in place with no escape.
“Take this!”
“Hyah!”
Just then, Yulia and Yorun leaped over the fence and deflected the robot arms with their axe and hammer respectively.
“What are you two doing here?!”
“Eyes up, Rekka!” Yorun shouted sharply.
While I had been distracted by the two of them, another robot was preparing to fire its beam at me. L was behind me, and I knew her barrier wouldn’t make it in time. I concentrated all my strength into my legs, prepared to make a desperate leap to safety. But then...
Snap!
I could see a girl jump up on top of the robot’s head.
“If slashing doesn’t work, let’s try stabbing.”
It was President Momone, armed with a glowing wooden sword she stabbed down into the robot with a smirk. It must have severed something inside, because the beam never fired after that.
“President Momone... What about the refugees?!”
“I left them to my grandfather and some couple claiming to be mages.”
Ah, she must mean Satsuki’s parents. President Momone then descended from the robot’s head and began running alongside me.
“The robots all started heading your way after you separated from us, so the refugees should be perfectly safe now.”
That was great to hear, but...
“Then why did you come back, Prez? If you were able to get to safety, then you should have gotten as far as possible!”
“Fool.” President Momone nudged me lightly in the head with her sword. “As if I could run and leave you behind.”
“That’s right!” Yorun jumped in.
“Honestly... You make us all worry too much,” Yulia added.
President Momone then nodded and asked, “So, why are you running right now?”
“To defeat the big guy back there,” I pointed and answered.
“I see. I don’t know what you intend on doing, but I assume you’re basically leading it into a trap?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“How far is it?”
“Just a little further.”
“Then we’ll help you out a little more. This has something to do with that bloodline of yours, doesn’t it?”
“It’s dangerous, President Momone.”
“I can see that. Anyway...” President Momone trailed off for a moment, then grinned with a laugh. “You played decoy for us earlier, and I always repay my debts, you know?”
There, she turned and waved to Yulia and Yorun.
“All right, you two! Let’s go!”
“Got it! Come on, Rekka. Let’s go!”
“Follow behind me!”
The three of them took a triangular formation surrounding me and took turns blocking the robots’ attacks. L also used her barrier to defend us against the beams. She had a little more freedom and power now that President Momone, Yulia, and Yorun were here to defend us against everything else.
Whirr-clack! Whirr-clack! Whirr-clack! Whirr-clack!
But just as I started to think we were getting an edge, another robot emerged from the right.
“Tch...!”
If any more enemies showed up, we’d simply be overwhelmed. We’d never make it... What should we do?
Just as I was thinking that...
“Here we go, meow!”
“Ai?!”
A whole clowder of nekomata appeared out of nowhere, charging straight for the robot reinforcements.
“We can do this, meow! We have to protect Rekka, meow!”
“What does she think she’s doing?!”
I started to charge right after them, but President Momone grabbed my shoulder.
“Don’t.”
“But...!”
“You saved them earlier too, so let them repay the favor. Don’t worry, though. They’re not fighting; they’ll just run around in circles to distract the enemy and buy us some time. I told them not to do anything too dangerous.”
It seemed our nekomata backup had been President Momone’s work. The enemy had prepared reinforcements, and so had she.
“Wait...”
Everything was connected. Even though I was the only one who’d regained my memories, it wasn’t like the girls were any different. Who was it that had written them off, thinking they weren’t strong enough to make a difference in this story? Who was it that they were protecting right now? I was an idiot for underestimating them.
“All right, let’s go!”
I tossed my fears aside and focused that energy into my legs. We’d reach Laputa soon enough. Now... Where was that giant robot? I glanced over my shoulder as I ran.
“Rekka! Watch out!” I heard Dad yell.
Bwoosh!
A wayward portion of a split beam grazed the top of my head. It must have been one my dad cut in half. It continued flying past me after it grazed me and impacted the road up ahead. It melted the asphalt like butter, leaving behind a massive crater roughly ten meters in diameter. Not even an Olympic athlete could jump that... We had no choice but to take a detour around it.
It was too bad we were now sandwiched between the giant hole and the giant robot behind us... Not to mention all the smaller robots we’d yet to take out. Moving forward was impossible, and turning back was life-risking. But I knew standing still wasn’t the answer!
I pumped my brakes, coming to a stop to look for another way... when all of a sudden President Momone grabbed me by the shoulder.
“Keep running!”
“Huh?! But...!”
“Just believe in us and run!”
I didn’t have time to argue. I believed in her. I believed in all the girls.
“Hiyah!”
I took a sprinting leap towards the hole and, of course, after several seconds in the air, I began falling.
“What?!”
Or so I thought. But just as I began to fall, something pulled me upward with a tug. Who could it be? The only heroine who could fly right now was...
“Wait, Poppy?!”
“Hnnngh!”
Poppy had grabbed me by my sleeve and was flapping her little wings with all her might. But looking closer... I realized it wasn’t just her. Dozens of fairies had grabbed on to my clothes and were lifting me up. Poppy had probably gone and gathered her friends for my sake... To save me should the worst come to pass. I was inarticulately grateful. And slowly but surely, we reached the other side.
“Poppy! Fairies! Thank you! You saved me!” I shouted to them in gratitude.
“Hee... Hee... Just do your best from here!” the worn-out Poppy encouraged as she saw me off.
It was about then that L appeared next to me via the particle relocator.
“What about President Momone and the others?” I asked.
“I filled them in on your plan. They’ll watch out and withdraw when they need to.”
If we were talking about President Momone, I knew I could trust her.
“All right, then all that’s left to do is run!”
“That’s all we’ve been doing!” L yelled angrily, but ran along with me anyway.
There were no longer any residences around us, only fields and empty lots. I could see small mountains ahead. And, at last, we arrived at our destination—a giant pit.
“Hahh... Hahh...”
We still had a little further to go, however. I continued to run, heading for the bridge at the back of the pit. And just as I reached the other side...
&nbs
p; Whirrrrrr!
The giant robot came flying at us in a single leap. L and I were the only ones here now, so it was free to attack as it pleased.
Ka-thud!
The ground rumbled as it landed.
“Ah... W-Wah!”
I reached out and caught L, who had trouble regaining her balance after the shock wave. It wouldn’t be funny if we got caught now after coming all this way just because of a little stumble.
Whirrr, clack!
The giant robot’s head looked down at us. I took out my cellphone and called Mom.
“Now, Mom!”
“Got it. Don’t get caught in the crossfire.”
Our exchange was short. There was nothing else to say. I looked up... up past the robot’s head. It hadn’t noticed yet since it was always looking down at us, but far above its head was an anti-gravitational device amplified by my mother’s magic. That’s right; it was the former island of Laputa made to fly again. And it was currently falling back down towards the pit.
“Wait... isn’t it kind of slightly off to the side? Like, it’s coming right at us?!”
“WHAT?!”
L and I hurriedly scrambled away from the edge of where Laputa had once crash-landed. Several tense moments later...
Whirrr...
The falling Laputa crash-landed for a second time, this time right on top of the giant robot. Like I said, the story this time was a simple test of power. So in order to defeat something large, we just needed something larger. And we’d ended up crushing it!
“Ugh, bleh! I got dirt in my mouth!”
“We’re both covered in it.”
L and I had both been blown away by the impact of the crash landing, and it took a good deal of coughing before the dust settled. I looked back up behind me to see that the island of Laputa was once again the mountain of Laputa... although slightly askew from before.
“L!”
“What?”
I lightly lifted my right hand in silence. L probably knew what I was trying to do, but she didn’t respond immediately. However, after a pause...
“Hmph!”
Clap!
L smacked my hand violently, making our awkward high-five echo throughout the foot of the mountains.
I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse: Volume 14 Page 10