“Can we wait for her to go back until then?”
“Of course not. Harissa’s really looking forward to this.”
“Hmph.” R puffed out a single cheek in a pout.
And actually, looking at her then, I realized her expressions had gotten a lot more... I don’t know... expressive lately. Back when we first met, she was practically emotionless. She was still weird, and still a boob-obsessed pervert, but she was quite different now. Was it because of all the TV shows and movies she’d been watching?
“I was going to get some manga and light novels to read. Can you make do with those?”
“I’m willing to try new things, but I won’t be able to read them at night, right? They didn’t have electricity or anything in that world.”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
R didn’t need to sleep, so the whole reason I’d bought her a portable TV was so she’d have something to do at night. But since I was going to be visiting Harissa’s hometown, I’d be staying in someone else’s house. It would be rude to ask for a light all night so R could read.
“And the TV is one thing, but having you turn all the pages of a book for me is going to get annoying. My hands are small, too.”
“That’s true... I’d even have to hold the pages down for you while you read.”
The TV was convenient because all I had to do was hit a button to turn it on for her to watch it. That wasn’t the case with a book.
“I guess you’ll just have to go without.”
“I guess so. Way to be useless, Rekka.”
“Don’t say that.”
I guess even artificial life forms didn’t want to give up their entertainment. I hated to say it, but this time she would just have to make do. If I started spoiling her, it would have a bad effect on my everyday life. Anyway, we kept chatting as we turned into an alley.
“Is this the right way?” she asked.
“It’s a shortcut,” I said.
“I’ve never been here before.”
“It’s narrow and dusty, so I only come this way when I’m in clothes I don’t care about getting dirty.”
I was dressed pretty casually—an old T-shirt, jeans, and sandals—so I didn’t have any problems walking down the old alleyway with its cracked pavement. It was a shortcut I’d found in elementary school. The rows of buildings and walls made it hard to see where you were going, and the path took so many twists and turns that it was all too easy to get lost if you didn’t know the way. I know I did the first time I was there. I cried and cried until I finally made it out.
“Rekka, Rekka, isn’t the station that way?” R asked, pointing to an intersecting alley as we passed it.
I was impressed that even though she’d never been here before, she hadn’t lost her sense of direction.
“That’s a dead end. You have to take this past the empty lot up ahead.”
Two more turns after that and we’d be right in front of the station.
“Is this really a shortcut?” she asked skeptically.
“Probably,” I said and looked away.
“What?”
“You know how when you’re a kid, you think you’ve found a really cool shortcut to somewhere... but then when you get older, you sometimes realize that it wasn’t much of a shortcut at all?”
“Nope. You lost me.”
That was weirdly depressing... Did that only ever happen to me?
My shoulders slumped as I passed by the empty lot. I actually didn’t know why the lot was empty, but it was plenty big enough for a game of soccer. Since it was summer now, the weeds and grasses had all grown high. If you cut through the lot, you could actually hop the brick wall on the other side and end up right in front of the station, but I felt like I was a little too old to do that. But as we started to walk around it...
“Augh...”
I heard a small moan from somewhere nearby.
“Hm? R, did you hear that?”
“No? But if you did, why not check it out?”
Yeah, she definitely heard it... But it sounded like somebody in pain. I couldn’t just pretend I hadn’t heard it. I went back up the road some and into the empty lot.
“It must have been coming from over here.”
There was a house on the left side of the lot, but it was too far away for the voice to have come from there. The voice was also quiet enough that it couldn’t have come from inside. That meant it had to have been from somewhere in the lot.
The lot was filled with tall weeds, but there was something of a trodden footpath from the entrance to the center of the lot where the kids would come and play. There were also several large pipes toward the back of the lot near the wall. I followed the path to the middle of the lot, but there was no one there.
“I don’t see anyone,” R said.
“Maybe they’re behind the pipes, or hiding in them?”
I decided to give the pipes a look.
“Let’s see...”
I checked each of the pipes in turn, but there was no one there, either. I even looked behind them and still didn’t see anyone. Had I just imagined the voice? I looked up to scan for any possible hiding spots I might have missed... just in time to see a girl appear from the street.
“Hahh...! Hahh...!”
She was clearly panicked, like someone was chasing her. She dashed into the lot and turned to look towards the street. When she whipped around, her long, black hair fluttered, and I saw her earrings glimmer in the sun.
“Hey, excuse me.”
“?!”
Apparently she hadn’t seen me standing over by the pipes, and it was only when I said something that she realized I was there. She looked totally shocked to see me.
“I-Is something wrong?” I asked.
With how she was staring at me, I couldn’t think of much else to say. She frowned without answering, but then her demeanor changed. She seemed resolved to do something, and she walked towards me with broad strides.
“Stay put!”
“Huh?”
Suddenly she grabbed me and dragged me towards the far back of the lot.
“Hey, that’s a dead end. There’s a wall...”
I tried to stop her, but...
“Don’t struggle!”
“Uwah!”
She pulled me hard, and I lost my balance. We both slammed face first into the wall... Or at least that’s what I thought was going to happen.
“Huh?”
The impact I was expecting never came, and when I opened my eyes, we were in a narrow alley.
“...Huh?”
I recognized this street... I turned around to see if I was remembering things right, and sure enough, there was a brick wall right behind us.
“Is this...”
The other side of the brick wall? It sure seemed like it. I could see the sign for the station at the end of the street. It was almost exactly as I remembered it from jumping the wall as a kid. So, did that mean... we’d gone through the wall?
“Hey, are you okay?”
I gasped a little and turned around when I heard the girl speak.
“Did you do that?” I asked.
“Forget about it...”
Yeah, that’s not exactly the kind of thing you can just forget about...
“What’s your name?”
“Me? Rekka Namidare.”
“Rekka... Rekka, huh...?”
She ran her fingers through her hair as if she was thinking about something. I was just about to ask her what was going on, but she suddenly threw her arms around me.
“Huh? Wh-What are you...”
Th-Those breasts!
“My name is Ellicia, and I’m being chased by scary men. You should run away so you don’t get caught up in this.”
“You’re being chased?”
She certainly was acting like it.
“If you’re in trouble, I can help...” I said.
She didn’t seem to expect my offer, because she looked quite surprised for a m
oment before shaking her head.
“No. Just get away from here,” she repeated. “Got it? You have to get away.”
“W-Wait!”
She started to run before I could stop her.
I quickly went after her, but by the time I made it out to the main street, she was gone.
“...What was that all about?”
I stood there for a second in shock at what had just happened. The way we’d gone through that wall... That definitely wasn’t a normal power. But she’d looked human. Was it magic, then?
“Was she a heroine?”
“So it seems.”
“Can she use magic, too?”
“Who knows?”
As usual, R wouldn’t tell me the important stuff.
But was I supposed to go after this girl? If she could go through walls, it would be hard to catch her. I wanted to try and think up something, but she’d been insistent about getting away from here. I dropped into the bookstore for a moment and pretended to read a book. Sure enough, shortly after, a man in black showed up near the alley entrance. He had a big scar on his face, and even with his jacket on, I could tell he was pretty built. Yup, that definitely looked like a scary man.
He let his gaze wander for a minute, then ran off to the right. I briefly thought about chasing him, but decided against it.
“Aren’t you going to go after him?” R asked.
“Nah.”
I’d lost sight of Ellicia in an instant. The man was probably just guessing where she’d gone. And besides, I was more concerned about where she was than that man. Lucky for me, I had a friend who was great at finding people.
“We can use Satsuki’s Magic of Omniscience to figure out where she is. That’s more certain and probably faster...”
But then something crossed my mind.
“Crap! I never actually finished checking out the empty lot!”
I quickly headed out of the bookstore and back to the empty lot.
I’d gotten so caught up in the chase with Ellicia that I’d forgotten all about the noise I’d heard coming from the empty lot. If someone was lying there hurt, they were probably in a lot of trouble. I’d search the whole lot this time just to be sure, although if it was really just my imagination and I was hearing things after all, maybe that would be for the better.
I went back around the alleyway, and when I arrived at the lot, I came across a girl in a crimson dress with a matching parasol.
“H-Huh?”
“Hmm?” The girl turned toward me. “Do you perchance need something from me?”
There was an elegance about her as she ran a hand through her bronze hair and looked up at me. Her face made her look younger than me, but her mature expression made me think I was dealing with someone older.
“No, just... When did you get here? To this lot, I mean.”
“I only just arrived.”
“I see.”
Then the voice couldn’t have been hers. But then something else crossed my mind. I turned to R.
“No, it doesn’t look like she’s a heroine.”
After just running into one, I guess I assumed I was in for more trouble. It turned out I was wrong though, which meant that the girl in the red dress was probably just a passerby.
“You.”
“Who? Me?”
“Yes. I answered your question. In exchange, will you do me a favor?”
I looked away.
“You see, I’m in a bit of a hurry...”
“Don’t worry. It won’t take long.”
She beckoned for me to come closer. I felt like it would be rude to ignore her, so I reluctantly approached.
“So, what do you want me to do?”
“Let me ride on your shoulders.”
She smiled and pointed at the ground, clearly expecting me to kneel down. Well, if that was all she wanted, I figured... why not? I got on my knees and leaned forward some for her. The hem of her dress was all I could see for a moment, and I could feel the smooth fabric of it rub against my hair as she climbed on.
“You don’t need to grab my legs, thank you.”
Once I felt her tiny body lean up against the back of my head, I braced myself and slowly stood up. She was as light as she looked, so lifting her wasn’t a problem.
“Approach the wall, please.”
“Sure thing.”
I did as she asked.
“I’m sorry, this will get your shirt dirty,” she said as she stood up on my shoulders.
It was an old shirt, so I didn’t really care what happened to it, but I was definitely curious about what she was going to do from here. I thought about asking, but suddenly the weight on my shoulders was gone.
“I couldn’t cross this wall alone, so thank you. I am grateful for your assistance.”
I looked up and saw the girl looking down at me with a smile. I guess the favor was being her stepping stool...
“What are you going to do up there?”
“Nothing of importance, truly. I’m in the middle of a game.”
A game? Was she trying to chase after a cat or something? Well, it sounded innocent enough.
“You, however, seem as though you were looking for something,” she said.
“Yeah.”
“Is it perhaps the person lying in the grass over there?”
“Huh?”
The girl pointed over to a particularly thick patch of overgrown grass. It was too dense and tall for me to see anything, but she must have had a better vantage point up on the wall.
“Thanks, that’s a big help.”
“I’ve done nothing to earn your thanks. If anything, I owe you for helping me. You’re a good person. Perhaps we’ll meet again. Farewell for now,” she said before jumping down onto the other side of the wall.
It was only a brief encounter, but she seemed pretty memorable. Granted, that was true of most girls I was meeting lately.
“Oh, well, I guess...”
I then pressed on and went to investigate the area she’d pointed out. I found a girl who looked like an elementary school student lying on the ground. She was so petite that the grass had completely hidden her. There was a big hat on the ground next to her. I figured it was probably hers.
“Hey, are you okay?”
I lightly slapped her cheek, and she moaned in response. It was a good sign. She was alive, at least. She didn’t look badly hurt, either.
“Are you sick or something?” I asked.
“No, she’s probably just tired. Let her rest and eat something, and she’ll be fine,” R answered.
“Shouldn’t we take her to a hospital to get checked out just in case?”
“Rekka, Rekka, Rekka... You would believe some local doctor before you believed me, a product of future technology?”
“Hmm...”
R was probably right there. It was almost never useful, but she was a multifunctional being from the future.
I was wondering what to do next, when suddenly...
“Help... me...” the girl said weakly. “Rekka...”
Shocked, I stared at her blankly.
“How did she know my name?”
I knew better than anyone that Rekka was a pretty uncommon name. And I’d never met this girl before, either. I’d only stumbled on her by chance, so how did she know my name? It was all so bizarre that it made me wonder...
“She’s a heroine, isn’t she?”
“Yup. This one’s a heroine.” R nodded. “Good things come in threes, don’t they, Rekka?”
Ugh...
“Oh, but in your case, this happens all the time, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess it does...”
I looked up into the summer sun and wondered what I was about to get myself into.
Chapter 1: Intersecting “Stories” (July 20th)
Harissa was surprised to see me back home so soon. She was surprised to see the girl I was carrying on my back, too, but when I explained what had happened, she knew it was more of t
he usual.
I laid the girl down on Harissa’s bed and left her in Harissa’s care. I then went into my room to get my phone. I would have called Satsuki on the way home, but I’d left my phone on my desk thinking I wouldn’t be gone all that long. I’d have to be more careful about that in the future.
I opened my address book and called Satsuki. It only rang a couple of times before I heard the click of her picking up.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Satsuki, where are you right now?”
“The library. I was going over some material from the first quarter.”
She was studying on the first day of summer vacation? I was honestly shocked. It wasn’t all that important, though, so I shrugged it off and moved on to the heart of the matter.
“I need your help. Can you come by my place?”
“All right,” she said, suddenly sounding serious. She must have been able to tell something was up. “I think I can be there in 20 minutes. Does that work?”
“Yeah.”
“All right, I’m on my way.”
I closed my phone and sighed. Now I’d be able to find Ellicia, the girl who could go through walls. But that wasn’t enough on its own. She was being chased by that man with the scar. If I caught up with her at the wrong time, I might have to fight him. I would need some way to protect her if I did. I hated to say it, but I was weak.
After a few more quick phone calls, there was a knock at my bedroom door. It was Harissa, who’d come to let me know that the girl had woken up. I thanked her and followed her back to her room.
“Can I come in?” I asked when we got to the door.
“Sir Rekka, this is your own home, so you don’t need to be so polite.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
But I still felt like I should ask.
Harissa’s room smelled really good. She wasn’t the type to buy much, so most of the furniture in it was still my parents’, but there were little things here and there that Satsuki and Iris had given her. It was very much a girl’s room now. Even though it used to be my parents’, I felt my heart starting to pound as I approached Harissa’s bed... And yeah, I know how perverted that sounds.
“Oh...”
The girl was already sitting up, and she was clutching the big hat I’d found her with against her chest. She flinched a little when I walked over to her.
I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse: Volume 7 Page 3