I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse: Volume 7

by Namekojirushi

  “Rekka! Listen to me!”

  Tsumiki ran over, being careful not to fall off Lea’s back, and took a Tupperware container out of her backpack. She opened the lid, and a horrible darkness swirled up from inside like a monster.

  “Is that dark matter?”

  Evidently Lea had left some leftovers.

  “Can you use this to replenish Corona’s magic?”

  “Huh?”

  I was astonished at Tsumiki’s sudden suggestion.

  “Lea always used this to restore her strength. Corona’s not human, so I thought maybe...”

  “But Satsuki said your dark matter was powerful cursed poison, right?”

  “Wolfsbane is deadly poison, too! But if you use it right, it can be medicine. Energy that’s too powerful is bad for the human body, but I think Lea can eat it because she can handle much more energy than the average person!”

  Wow, I hadn’t ever thought of that. Every time you got a prescription, it came with specific instructions. And she was right. Taking too much medicine or taking it the wrong way was basically poison. Maybe they were more related than I’d thought.

  For one thing, if it was pure poison, how could it really restore Lea’s energy? That couldn’t be explained away by her having bad taste in food. There had to be some reason that the dark matter had that effect on her.

  The Spirit King and Corona were at a standoff right now, but considering her condition, Corona was at a disadvantage. If I was going to make a decision, if I was going to do something to help her, it had to be now.

  “Corona!”

  “What?!”

  “This’ll probably be the most shocking thing that’s ever happened to you, but please don’t let it drive you insane!”

  “What?!”

  “Did you really have to go that far?!” Tsumiki screamed as I shoved the dark matter into Corona’s mouth.

  The next moment...

  “GWWAAARRGHH!”

  Corona let out an unearthly scream as flaming dark energy burst forth from her hands. Everything went black for a minute, but then the darkness and the light were both gone.

  “Lea! Now!”

  “Right!”

  Lea had been flying even as the Spirit King and Corona were fighting. The soldiers had kept their distance from the magic, so they were a good distance away from us, too. And now that we had the chance, Lea accelerated to make a break for it.

  Before long, the spirit soldiers broke formation and began to chase after us. Since their plan to destroy us with the light magic had failed, they’d switched to attempting to capture us.

  “If they have sylpheeds with them, won’t they catch us?”

  The sylpheeds were faster than Lea was.

  “Maybe, but I can deal with normal spirits with my water magic. The problem is the Spirit King.”

  As Lea shared her concerns via telepathy, Corona woke up from the faint she’d fallen into after eating the dark matter.

  “...We won’t have to worry about that for a while. That spell takes an enormous amount of mana. With the mana spring dried up, if the Spirit King falls prey to Ghostdemon sickness, this whole world is doomed. He can’t take any risks... Gah! I can still taste it!”

  Between the magical showdown and the dark matter in Corona’s stomach... I wonder which duel was worse. I felt pretty bad.

  “Corona, thank you. You saved me. And I’m sorry.”

  “No, we were lucky... The Spirit King was probably holding back so I would survive. I’m sure he wants to question me about the spring. Of course, I didn’t honestly expect to survive that taste...”

  Corona’s face was paler than I’d ever seen it before, and she let out a dry laugh. The whole experience had probably left a bad taste in her mouth, in more ways than one.

  “Jeez... You could give me a little credit,” Tsumiki said.

  “You saved us. Thanks, Tsumiki.”

  This time, her idea had saved us. If it hadn’t been for that, who knows what would’ve happened...?

  Just as I was trying to find a way to make her feel better... Mio suddenly fell forward, collapsing at my side like she was in serious pain.

  “All these people... All these people chasing me...”

  “W-What’s wrong, Mio?”

  “My head...”

  “Another headache?”

  Hmm, Mio had said she’d had a headache once before... That’s right, it was when I’d asked her if she knew my name. That was when she’d recalled some of her sealed memories. But when she’d remembered things about being an idol after talking with Tsumiki, that hadn’t happened. There was no headache then.

  No, wait... When I’d asked her about my name, she’d remembered being pushed off a building. That was one of the things about her story that didn’t make sense. But the fact that Mio Kotozuka was the idol MIO wasn’t exactly a big secret.

  Maybe her headaches were related to the significance of what she was remembering? Mio had lost her memories because of Yang. We knew that much. So it made sense that he would choose the most important or incriminating memories to seal away. In other words, what she was about to remember was...

  “Uwaaaaah!”

  “Mio!”

  She grabbed her head with her hands and passed out against me.

  Side Story 3: Satsuki Feature (July 24th)

  Three days had passed since the alliance with Nartessia had been formed. She’d invited the group to a Margaret family mansion outside Japan. Since they’d be working together now, it seemed like a good idea to get to know each other a little better.

  Yang’s organization was a group of psychics. Of course, preparations would be needed to take them down. But...

  “How long is she going to keep me waiting?!”

  “Mistress, calm down.”

  “How can I stay calm? It’s been three days! I keep asking when we’re going on the attack, and I keep getting vague answers! She’s insulting us!”

  Suzuran was trying her best to calm her down, but Rosalind’s patience was at its limit. She sat back down on the sofa, but kept complaining.

  “Wouldn’t it be better for us to just get Ellicia back on our own?”

  “If we run off now, we might end up making an enemy out of the Margarets. Can we save Ellicia with both groups after us?”

  Hibiki sighed, but she was tapping her fingers against her crossed arms, too. She was upset, as well.

  There are servants and mages everywhere here, so I haven’t been able to use my magic. Nartessia wants her treasure back, so there’s no reason for her to betray us, but...

  But it didn’t feel right to just sit around doing nothing. When she was caught up in stories with Rekka, there was never time for anything like this. It was incredibly rare to spend days preparing for something in this fashion.

  Maybe this was what the norm was supposed to be like rather than the chaos that surrounded Rekka, but... the fate of the world hinged on this story. Satsuki was uneasy. She would feel much better to have this solved already.

  What’s Rekka doing now, I wonder...?

  Her thoughts wandered to her absent childhood friend. It had been four days since he left, and he still wasn’t back.

  If I can’t use my Magic of Omniscience, I can’t tell what’s happening to him. I had Tetra stay home in case there was a problem and he needed to come back another way than using Hibiki’s gloves... but I’ve heard nothing. Shirley will be back tomorrow, I guess, but...

  In the end, the Margarets spent yet another day “preparing,” and night fell without the group having a good idea of where things stood. They all went to their rooms hoping that tomorrow would be the day something happened.

  Satsuki laid down on the bed and sighed. There was a Margaret family maid outside her room, and chances were good she knew magic. If Satsuki tried to cast a spell, she would surely act quickly. Or perhaps she’d just observe to see what she was doing.

  Maybe I should’ve stayed in Japan with Tetra. But Chelsea’s probably
in an awkward position here after running away from home. She probably couldn’t stop anything Nartessia wanted to do. If Nartessia’s up to no good, then everyone who doesn’t know magic is in danger.

  Satsuki reminded herself of the reason she’d come. She’d been doing that every night before she went to bed lately. She’d come with the others in order to protect them... and that was probably the right move, but...

  Had she made a mistake somewhere? Was there another choice she could’ve made? Such doubts kept running through her mind.

  “I wonder if Rekka worries like this...”

  If he made a mistake and screwed up, tragedy could befall him and everyone he was helping. A few days of worrying like this had been enough to wear away at Satsuki and keep her up at night. When she thought about the pressure her childhood friend must be under... Satsuki bit her lip unconsciously.

  “I need to at least do what I can.”

  She reminded herself of that, but still couldn’t think of anything she could do. Lying in bed wrestling with such thoughts rather than sleeping, Satsuki suddenly caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. It was the first time she’d ever seen it before, but Satsuki recognized the purple mark like a windmill under the person’s left eye.

  “Elli...!” She almost yelled, but put her hand over her mouth.

  This was enemy territory for Ellicia. Of course, she’d told Nartessia that they wanted to protect Ellicia, but that didn’t mean it was a good idea to announce her presence. Satsuki got out of bed as quietly as she could manage and approached the girl.

  “Um... Ellicia?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Good. I’m glad you’re safe,” Satsuki said with a sigh of relief.

  She had lots of questions, but she needed to let the other girls know about this first.

  “Can you wait here? I’ll go get the others.”

  “No, there’s no need for that.”

  “Huh?”

  Before she could ask what was going on, Ellicia grabbed her wrist.

  “You’re Satsuki, aren’t you?”

  “How... did you know my name?”

  Satsuki knew about Ellicia, but she’d never met her before. Of course, Ellicia hadn’t met her, either. Even if Hibiki had told Ellicia about her, she shouldn’t have been able to recognize her like that.

  “Yang showed me your name and appearance with his telepathy.”

  “Huh?”

  “Yang read the memories of that Hibiki girl, so he knows that you’re childhood friends with Rekka, the boy I gave the earring to.”

  “Um...”

  For a moment, Satsuki had trouble keeping up. Ellicia had gotten her personal information from Yang... Why? Yang had captured her and taken her back, so how was she even here?

  “What did you...”

  “...come here for?” was what she meant to ask, but before she could finish, a swift fist struck her in the solar plexus. It was Ellicia who hit her.

  “Why...?”

  “The organization is gone. The Margaret clan’s magic destroyed our headquarters.”

  “Ah...”

  Satsuki tried to say something, but the darkness was coming so fast that she couldn’t. But before everything turned black...

  “So I’m going to follow Yang’s plan... and destroy the world.”

  The last thing Satsuki heard was Ellicia’s emotionless declaration.

  Epilogue

  After we escaped from the spirit soldiers, we headed for the gate to the demon world.

  “Ugh...”

  “Mio, are you awake?”

  Mio had finally woken up. She’d been passed out the whole time we were fleeing.

  “Is Mio okay? Should I land for a minute?”

  “No, I’m fine.”

  Mio politely refused Lea’s offer, and she put her hand up to her forehead. She stared into the void as if trying to find something lost in her mind.

  “Rekka... I remember.”

  “Huh? Remember what?”

  “Everything.”

  “Really?!”

  So, the headaches were somehow related to her sealed memories. She’d said something about people chasing her earlier. Was the similarity to what was happening right now what had triggered it?

  “What did you remember?”

  Whatever the answer was, this would be a critical key in solving her mysterious story. I gulped and waited for her answer.

  “We have to hurry! We have to hurry back to Earth, Rekka!”

  “M-Mio? Calm down...”

  The tiny girl suddenly grabbed at my clothes and started to shake me. If I didn’t stop her, we might both fall off, so I grabbed her by the shoulders to calm her down. Looking at her, I could see the abject fear in her eyes.

  “On the last day... of my concert tour! On July 27th! Something terrible will happen to Earth!”

  It was an ominous prophecy from the mouth of a pop star.

  —To be continued—

  Afterword

  Hello again to everyone who’s continuing from volume six, and greetings to everyone who’s beginning with volume seven.

  I’m writing this at the end of the year, and while it feels like a lot’s happened this year, when I look around my room, I see that the only thing that’s changed is that I have a few more books, figures, and Blu-rays. Turns out I was just imagining it. I still haven’t even upgraded to a smartphone...

  Now, on to the usual thank yous. Nao Watanuki, this is our first book with four new heroines in it, so thank you again for your wonderful character designs. To Nanbu, my editor; Koji Hasegawa, the manga artist; and the editing and sales staff at HJ Bunko, thank you all. Also, to all the bookstores that put my books on the shelves and to the readers who buy them, I hope you’ll continue to enjoy the Little Apocalypse series.

  I’m Nao Watanuki, the insert art illustrator.

  This is my first afterword of the new year!

  This rough illustration is of Yang. He looks tough, but parts of his outfit match Ellicia’s.

  Also, drawing this kind of macho, manly guy is a rarity for me. I had fun coming up with “fantasy world” type elements for this art.

  Since I like fantasy, however, the modern idol MIO was a challenge. She just ended up with hearts everywhere. I hope she looks like a dazzling pop star, though.

  Bonus chibi character in New Year’s mode. (It’s currently January 5th.) Here’s Mio in her kimono.

  To Mr. Nameko and my editors, I know we still have part two waiting, but good work on this.

  I’m happy everyone enjoyed Little Apocalypse throughout 2013. I’m sorry my handwriting is so bad, but thank you for reading this afterword!

  I’m looking forward to your kind consideration in the new year.

  Nao Watanuki

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  Copyright

  I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse: Volume 7

  by Namekojirushi

  Translated by Adam Lensenmayer

  Edited by Megan Denton

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2013 Namekojirushi

  Illustrations Copyright © 2013 Nao Watanuki

  Cover illustration by Nao Watanuki

  All rights reserved.

  Original Japanese edition published in 2013 by Hobby Japan

  This English edition is published by arrangement with Hobby Japan, Tokyo

  English translation © 2018 J-Novel Club LLC

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of
any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.

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  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  Ebook edition 1.0: March 2018