“To start, I think I’d prefer whichever is quieter... In more ways than one.”
“Huh...? Okay, well, let’s go check out the auxiliary building then,” I suggested, wondering what she’d meant.
“It wouldn’t exactly be quiet anymore if you ran into the other heroines, now would it?” R said, shaking her head in exasperation as she floated behind me like usual.
But as I’d expected, the auxiliary building wasn’t quite as crowded. The main attractions here were exhibits that various clubs had put together, so it didn’t have the same pull that the main building did. Which, incidentally, was probably why there weren’t any food carts or anything over here either. I was worried Mio might get bored quickly, but she seemed to be enjoying herself more than I thought she would.
“Wow, this embroidery’s so detailed...”
Right now, she was in awe of the display from the arts and crafts club.
“Do you do any needlework yourself, Mio?”
“I’d like to, but I don’t really have the time... Oh, but I do love sewn things like stuffed animals.”
“Heh, yeah, I can totally see you with one of those giant teddy bears.”
I was casually joking around a bit, but Mio’s eyes lit right up.
“I have one of those at home! It’s huge!”
“Ah...”
It seemed I’d hit the nail on the head. All I’d said was that I could picture her with one, but Mio was smiling just as big and bright as could be.
“I hug it when I go to sleep at night.”
I bet that must be adorable. Just imagining Mio cuddling with a stuffed animal made me feel warm and fuzzy. After putting any and all weird thoughts out of my head, we took our leave of the arts and crafts club room. We then headed down the hallway, wondering what we should do next, when all of a sudden...
Knock, knock!
“What was that?”
It sounded like someone knocking on the window, but we were on the third floor... Dubious, I turned to look at the window.
“Bwuh?!”
“Hiya, Rekka!”
As luck would (unfortunately) have it, there was a dumb angel flapping her wings on the other side of the window as she rapped on the glass.
“Rachelle?! What are you doing here?!” I flung the window open and yelled.
But she didn’t seem the slightest bit concerned.
“Weeell, I detected some rich love energy coming from this direction, so I just happened to wander over here,” she said, casually putting her hand on her face.
That was honestly where I wanted to plant my fist right about now with ten times the force, but in order not to make a scene, I held myself back. Speaking of making a scene...
“Look, Rachelle, someone’s going to see you like this.”
“It’ll be fine! They’ll just think I’m a cosplayer or something.”
“And how exactly are you going to explain the flying part?”
“Won’t they think it’s a magic trick or something?”
As Rachelle continued to spin whatever optimistic nonsense was convenient for her...
“H-Huh? Is that... an angel?!”
Mio saw right through her. On top of being annoying, Rachelle really was hopeless.
“Argh, fine! Just get inside already!”
“Oh, you’re inviting me in? Don’t mind if I do!”
Rachelle then entered through the window, which was bad enough as it was, but at least she was standing like a normal person now. As long as she wasn’t flying, maybe we could actually sell people on the whole cosplay thing. It would have to do...
I placed a hand against my forehead and sighed.
“Um... R-Rekka?”
“Oh, sorry, Mio. This is your first time meeting Rachelle, right? As you can see... Well, she’s an angel.”
“Nice to meet you! I’m Rachelle, the angel of love and passion!”
“O-Oh, um... It’s nice to meet you too.”
Mio seemed a bit taken aback by the overly-friendly angel.
“You really are surrounded by extraordinary people, Rekka...”
“No, not Rachelle. She’s just extraordinarily stupid.”
“Personally, I think that’s what makes her cute,” R interjected.
But that was easy for her to say when she wasn’t the one who actually had to deal with Rachelle. She went on rampages way too easily.
“Jeez, I’m begging you... Just behave yourself today, okay? Otherwise the disciplinary committee is going to kick a sketchy character like you right out of here.”
“Oh my gosh, Rekka, you are so mean! How could you say something like that to a sweet angel like me?”
“...What are you getting at?”
“Teehee, I thought you’d never ask!”
With a giggle, Rachelle started to open her shirt. I immediately turned to look away, but a familiar face caught my eye.
“P-Poppy?!”
“Hello, Rekka!”
It was the little fairy I’d met in the mountains with Satsuki and the others at the family barbeque. What was she doing here? Moreover, what was she doing hidden in Rachelle’s shirt?
“I spotted her loitering around the building by chance, and when I talked to her, I came to find out she was a friend of yours too, sooooo... I brought her along with me!” Rachelle happily gushed, apprising me of her side of the story.
“Okay, that explains why the two of you are together, but what are you doing here at the school, Poppy?”
“Um, it just seemed like a lot of people were having fun over here, so I just... came to check it out.”
“Fairies do love festivities, after all!” Rachelle added with a grin.
“So the festival managed to attract both of you, albeit for very different reasons, huh?”
“Like I said, Rekka, you really are surrounded by extraordinary people...” Mio said in awe as she poked at Poppy with her finger.
“Heehee!”
It must have tickled, because Poppy began giggling happily.
“How cute...”
It seemed her reaction tugged at Mio’s heartstrings, too. But anyway...
We decided to keep strolling around the festival as a group of four. Mio was a given, but Rachelle and Poppy also had to keep their real identities a secret here. I was worried about Rachelle blowing it in particular, and it would be much easier to keep an eye on her if she was nearby.
“Wow, so you’re an idol, Mio?”
“Yup. I’ll even be doing a little show later. Will you come see it, Poppy?”
“Of course! That sounds like so much fun!” Poppy replied brightly to Mio’s invitation.
Currently, she was secretly hiding under the brim of Mio’s hat. Fortunately Mio was pretty short, so it was unlikely anyone would see her this way, but the two of them might give it away if they got too excited.
“Hey, uh, Poppy? Could you lower your voice a little?”
“Oh, I’m sorry!”
At my warning, Poppy muffled her mouth with both hands.
“Aww... How cute.”
Mio seemed even more enchanted with the little fairy, and she let out a small sigh of wonderment. She’d really taken a liking to Poppy. And Poppy seemed pretty content as well, as she continued chatting with Mio cheerfully. All in all, there was a wonderful, harmonious energy to our group... There was just one idiot who couldn’t read the room.
“Auuugh, Rekkaaa... I don’t feel much love energy in this direction. Let’s go that way instead!” Rachelle griped.
There weren’t all that many people in the auxiliary building, so there wasn’t enough love energy—in other words, carnage—here to satisfy her, which led to her complaining nonstop about going to the main building. To be honest, she was the entire reason I didn’t want to go there... But since I was showing Mio around the festival, it was only inevitable we’d end up there eventually.
“Hey, look, a fortune teller’s shop. Wanna go in?”
I tried to delay the inevit
able as long as possible by pointing to a nearby attraction and suggesting we check it out.
“A fortune teller, huh...?”
“Not interested in fortunes, Mio?”
I actually really wasn’t much interested in that kind of thing either, but I thought Mio might be.
“I was once a guest star on a show where a famous fortune teller did a reading for me...”
“Yeah?”
“It was all staged.”
“Oof.”
“All my reactions were decided beforehand and everything.”
While she’d done her job—it was for work, after all—she’d had conflicted feelings about fortune tellers ever since.
“Then let’s go find something else to do.”
“No, that’s okay. It’s up to the individual whether they believe the fortune or not. And as long as it’s with you... I think I might want to do it.”
I could hardly make out what she said there at the end because she was mumbling so much, but it seemed she’d resolved herself to go see the fortune teller after all.
“So... shall we go in?”
“Sure.”
“Hmph!”
Rachelle was the only one who didn’t want to, but we outvoted her.
School festivals were one of the biggest events in high schoolers’ love lives. Throwing an angel that incited jealousy and preyed on the ensuing carnage into the mix would spell disaster for everyone. I’d have to watch her like a hawk as soon as we went to the other building.
Dreading all that, I stepped through the dark curtains hanging over the fortune teller’s door. I was greeted with silence. The interior of the room was dim, and all the windows had been covered with blackout curtains. The only source of light was a lone candle placed atop a desk in the middle of the room that was draped in a purple tablecloth.
There was only one person present... I think? Even when I rubbed my eyes and looked again, there was only one person—the fortune teller presumably, based on the way she was dressed—sitting at the aforementioned desk.
“Welcome to my shop,” she said.
How should I put it...? Her outfit was so unique that it made Rachelle look plain by comparison. It was of an exotic, vaguely Arabic design with only sheer material covering her legs, which left her thighs and calves visible even through her clothes. She was also covered in accessories from head to toe, all of which were extravagant enough that they’d be against the school dress code if this were any normal school day.
But the most eye-catching feature of all was her hair illuminated by candlelight... It appeared to be all seven colors of the rainbow. Radiating from the top of her head was a gradient of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. She had the perfect mystical look you’d expect from a fortune teller, but did she really have to go all out like this just for the festival? Must be pretty gung-ho.
“Have a seat,” she said, beckoning us towards the desk.
There were exactly three open seats, which was perfect for... us...? Wait a minute, were there chairs there a minute ago? Maybe I’d just missed them because it was so dark, but it seemed like they’d appeared out of nowhere. Was it just my imagination?
“Um, thanks...”
It felt awkward to stay standing, so we all approached and took a seat.
“Did you come seeking any knowledge in particular?”
“Hmm...”
I hadn’t really come in here for me, so I couldn’t think of anything.
“What about you, Mio? You seemed like you wanted your fortune told about something earlier.”
“Ah, um... Yes, I... Um, if you would...”
Mio turned to the fortune teller and leaned across the desk to whisper something directly to her. She was probably telling her what she wanted her fortune told regarding, but why couldn’t we hear it too?
“Understood,” the fortune teller said with a nod before taking out a small crystal ball.
It was almost made like a pendant, connected to her necklace by a gold chain. She swung it gently from left to right, and it glinted in the candlelight, catching all of our eyes.
“I can see it...” the fortune teller murmured as she watched us from the other side of the crystal ball.
At this point, I belatedly noticed her left eye was a different color than her right. One was blue, and one was green. Her odd eyes looked at me and Mio in turn.
“The results are favorable between you two.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes. However... What is this, I wonder? It seems Rekka over here has multiple connections with the opposite sex... The same kind of connections that you desire, Mio. And there’s quite a number of them, no less.”
“I already knew that...”
Mio had looked so happy at first, but now let out a heavy sigh.
“As for you, Rekka...”
“Yes?”
“You have terrible luck with women.”
“I’m well aware...”
I sighed just like Mio. But... grim results aside, I guess the fortune telling was pretty accurate so far. Was this fortune teller just that good? I had no real idea what the metric for fortune telling skills was.
“Hey, what about me? What’s my luck like?” Rachelle inquired, raising her hand and waving it enthusiastically.
“Let’s see...”
The fortune teller started swinging her crystal ball once more...
“Yeah. I’ve had enough of this.”
And then suddenly changed her tone.
“Huh?”
Without any explanation, the fortune teller leaned back in her chair and said...
“For now, only Rekka Namidare should remain in the room.”
And those words seemed to have a mysterious power to them. Suddenly she and I were the only ones in the room. Everyone else had disappeared.
“M-Mio! Rachelle? Poppy?! Where did you guys go?!”
“Oh, don’t worry. It’s not like they’re dead,” the fortune teller reassured me unconvincingly upon seeing my panic.
“You! What did you do with them?!”
“Take a seat.”
“Don’t mess with—”
Just then, something caught my attention and made me look around at my surroundings carefully. Everyone was gone... Including R. Whether it was in other worlds, outer space, or even the past, she had always stuck with me. But now she was gone.
“...”
Seeing that, I finally understood that something was very, very wrong. This stood out even among all the other strange situations I’d been wrapped up in over the past couple of days.
Ah, damn it... That’s right. I see now.
It was only then that I realized it. While I was helping out with the festival committee, I’d seen the master list of all the events, displays, booths, and exhibits that were part of the festival. And a fortune teller’s shop wasn’t on it. This very place should have raised red flags from the start.
“What’s wrong?” the fortune teller asked.
“...”
I took a moment to calm myself before engaging the fortune teller. Since I had no idea who she really was or what she wanted, I’d have to get some information out of her before anything else.
“So, who are you?”
“Come to think of it, I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Touko Iwazu. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rekka Namidare.”
The fortune teller—Touko Iwazu—offered me her hand with a smile. I shook it silently and calmed myself once more.
“...You seem to have some kind of business with me. What are you after?”
“Very good. I’m proud of you for staying cool and collected. It wouldn’t be any fun otherwise.”
“I can’t say I find this fun at all.”
“Oh, it’s very fun. A normal human would be panicking by this point. Some of them just go into denial. But not you. And I find that very exciting,” Touko said happily. “I don’t just mean today, either. With both the bomb threat and the bo
dy swap, you were able to accept the situation and diligently work towards overcoming it.”
There, she flashed a smirk.
“So that was all your doing too?” I asked in response.
It seemed I had been her goal all along. I felt badly for dragging Mio and the others into this, but moreover...
“Making the girls disappear from the room, swapping Hibiki’s body with mine... Just how are you making these things happen?”
“Cutting straight to the chase, I see.”
I guess she wasn’t going to answer me so easily. Or that’s what I thought, but then...
“Well, whatever. I’ll spell it out for you,” Touko said readily. “I wield the power of words, you see... So what I say can shape the very essence of reality.”
“Wh-What?”
The power... to shape reality?
“By simply articulating my desires, I can change the perceptions of people around you, launch unplanned fireworks, swap minds and bodies, instantly erase people, and much, much more... I dare say I can do anything.”
“What the hell...?”
I’d fought a rather wide variety of enemies before, but someone who could straight-up bend reality to their will? That was just unfair, although it did make a certain amount of sense. All the strange, unexplained incidents recently... She’d willed them to happen.
“Was that cursed game your doing too?”
“Game? What are you talking about?”
Was she playing dumb? No. She’d been upfront about her power already, so there was no reason for her to lie now. Which meant... she really had nothing to do with the game? I guess that didn’t matter right now. I was getting the information I needed, but there was still one thing I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
“So you have the power to do anything and everything... but why would you go through such lengths to come after me? What’s your reason for that?”
That was what I really wanted to know now. What would someone who could do anything want from me? But upon hearing that question, Touko grinned.
“Rekka Namidare, I challenge you.”
“Challenge?”
“The nature of said challenge is up to you. Challenge me at anything you like; just make me lose at something before the festival is over.”
I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse: Volume 13 Page 11