"Okay, why don't we all have lunch!!"

"...Meep!"

"Ahahaha!

It's been a while since it's been all five of us!

This really is how it has to be~!"

"Hear, hear.

Come on, you too, Kei-chan!

Bring your desk over~!"

Satoko brought her own desk over as well, grinning broadly.

...Even knowing nothing had been resolved... this exchange was pleasant, and made me remember how fun it used to be.

"...I can't have Rika... making a bento for me forever."

"...I don't mind.

...I have fun making your bento."

Rika-chan's such a good girl.

Having such a good friend must be so reassuring...

"...I put the big steak in mine,

and the burned one in Satoko's,

so if it was just Satoko it would be so sad, so very sad, nipah~.☆"

I take it back.

...Well, hmm.

...She's Rika-chan, after all.

"Hey, come on, look!

I've got omelette rice today~

Mushrooms and stuff are delicious! Delicious! Hau!"

"I say it every time, but your craftsmanship is splendid.

You could become a wife whenever and not have a problem!"

"A, a-a-a-a-a-a-a wife, a wife~~♪

Eaaating~ a wife~♪

Hau~~~~!!!"

"Using the word 'wife' is totally forbidden around Rena.

Please don't say it again."

"...I'll think about what I've done. A little."

"By the way, what's in your lunch, Mion?

It looks different again today—we're all waiting in anticipation!"

"It's a rich assortment of side dishes left over from what my uncle brought last night.

The stew looks really great, huh?

The color of the radishes too—really good, right?"

"...Wow~ It looks delicious."

"Stew tastes best when it's left overnight!

This looks like it would be really good!

...And so there'll be none left for Satoko.

I'll eat it all and tell you what I think, so just be quiet and watch."

"W-W-What was that?!?!

Hand over my portion too!!"

Elbow!

Punch!

Headbutt!

I'll use my knees too, orryahh!!

"Oh-ho-ho!!

At close range like this, my advantage is unwavering!

Hmm, Keiichi-san, the daikon in your portion tastes really good!"

"...Damn it... Coming right for me from the start and using a combo attack...

How humiliating..."

This little exchange... how long had it been?

...It looked like they'd ended up going with the 'wait and see' approach... but maybe her uncle had realized he'd gone a little too far and would dial it back now.

...If her treatment improved a little... would that be a good thing...?

Satoko was grinning wider than I'd ever seen as she chomped down on her mouthful of the daikon she'd plundered from me—did it really taste that good?

Satoko was somewhat cute like that...

and just as I'd done many times, I grabbed her head and started petting it...

Catch...!

Smack... flip-flop, clatter clatter...

"......Huh...?"

"......Satoko...chan...?"

...It was so sudden... that for a moment, I didn't know what had happened.

The back of my hand... was stinging.

......Umm...

I went to pet Satoko's head...

and then she...

hit my hand...?

"...W...What's wrong, Satoko?"

Satoko was... scratching at her head... as though a pimple or something had appeared on it and become itchy.

...It was so sudden... and so unprovoked... that I didn't understand what happened.

"...W-What's wrong, Satoko?"

At some point... her body had been covered in a thin layer of sweat... and her breathing had turned ragged.

When I... pet her head,

did she not like it...

was that what it meant...?

"...Hey... Did you dislike... being petted...?"

Once again... slowly... I held out the palm of my hand... and brought it close to Satoko's head.

...The instant the palm of my hand touched her head.

...There was a shock like static electricity, and Satoko began to howl...

"Hyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!"

Thud, slaaaaam!!!

She grabbed my arm in both hands... and as if flinging off a snake trying to cling to her... as if trying to throw away something dirty... she threw it violently.

...It happened too suddenly for me to react.

I hit the desk behind me, and both it and I fell to the floor.

The classroom... fell deathly silent.

As Satoko bellowed... it sounded like she was in the throes of death... and she unsteadily backed away.

"Ugh... ughooooehehhhhhh...egh...!!!"

Then... she threw up the food she'd just eaten.

She vomited it all back up.

Splish splat!

The sound of Satoko's vomit hitting the floor rang through the classroom.

"...A... Are you okay, Satoko... You seem sick..."

"...Eeeeeeeeeee-aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!"

I reached out a hand... and she swatted it away with all her might.

With such extreme strength that I fell onto the floor again.

Satoko put both hands on her head as though protecting it, groaned some more, and took a few steps back.

...And then, she began swinging both hands around.

...Students in nearby seats were forced to evacuate.

...She grabbed anything within reach... bento boxes, chairs,

threw them, tossed them,

and flung them about.

"Wait, stop it, Satoko!!

W-What... What's wrong with you?!"

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...!!!"

She screamed out as if Mion's words had caused her physical pain.

...No one... spoke a word to her.

All the students were withdrawing behind us... leaving Satoko alone in the corner of the classroom.

Around her... there were desks and chairs all over the floor... bento lay scattered... It was terrible.

...All I could hear... was Satoko's ragged breaths... and the voices of the cicadas.

"...Ah...

........ah.............ah...

I... I'm sorry......"

The strings of tension loosened around Satoko...

And maybe she suddenly grew scared of her own actions... because she started trembling... and gave a word of apology.

...But nobody knew just who that apology was directed towards.

...So... for now, I decided to answer as everyone's representative.

".........N-No, it's fine... Are you all right...?"

"...I...

I-I...

I'm

s

o

r

r

y

I'm

s

o

r

r

y

...I'm

s

o

r

r

y

I'm

s

o

r

r

y...

Hee... eee... aaahh..."

Our words didn't match each other at all.

...Satoko hugged her shoulders... and back, back she went...

Bang!

...She ran into the locker with the cleaning supplies in it.

Even that made her give a little yelp.

...The impact caused the bucket atop the locker to fall, making a loud sound... and that scared Satoko most of all.

She almost jumped out of her skin, grabbing a bunch of the curtain in her hands.

...Nobody... spoke to her.

...They could only look... not even remembering to blink.

"...Ooh... ah... aaahh...

I'm sorry, I'm sorry...

I'm sorry, I'm sorry... It wasn't me it wasn't me... awahhhhh... ah..."

...Satoko...

what......

what on earth...

I stood up... took a step away from everyone... and approached Satoko.

"...What...... happened..."

"I said, I said...!!!

I don't know, I don't know!!

You're wrong, you're wrong... Please stop, please, please forgive me... aahhhhhhhhhhaaahhh... ahh... ah..."

"Just... just calm down...

...Satoko... Do you know who I am...?"

"No more, no more... I hate this I hate this... ee... eeee!!!"

Every time I took a step forward, she grasped the curtains more tightly... and cried out.

"...Satoko... it's me... it's Keiichi.

Don't you recognize me?!

I would never... ever hurt you!!"

"Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!

Waaaaaaaahhhhhh!!"

"Come on, calm down...!

It's all right... I'm your friend...!!"

"Help... help meeeeeeeeeeee!!!

I don't wanna be scared... it feels bad... no... I don't... waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!"

Suddenly, my shoulders were grabbed and I was dragged backward.

...It was Rena.

"...Sorry, Keiichi-kun!

You get a little farther back!!"

After pulling me back, she ran towards Satoko in my place...

"...It's okay, Satoko-chan, there's nothing to be scared of...!

Please... don't worry!"

"No, no, no... No more, no...

No more of... of that...

wahhhh, ahhh, uuhhhh...!!!

...Nii-nii... Nii-niiiiii!!

Help me...! Help meeeee!!

Nii-nii, help meeeee... waaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!"

...As she gripped the curtains... and kept calling for Nii-nii... she continued to wail about being forgiven for something... and to be saved from something.

......What... what is......... this...

"...............Urgh... gh...!"

Mion gnashed her teeth and groaned... and there were tears... falling from her firmly closed eyes.

"...What the hell... what is this...

...Didn't... didn't this all come to an end yesterday...?

Weren't we... supposed to go back... to our old lives...?!

Mion... Mioonnnnnn!!"

"...............Urgh... mmgh!"

Craaaaashhh!!

...There was a crazy sound.

...Rena had taken the cleaning supply locker... and kicked it down to the ground.

Everyone stood surprised... at Rena's unexpected act of brutality.

...After that... Rena embraced the bawling Satoko from behind............ and started crying with her, stifled.

"...Rena... What's wrong..."

"............Sorry.

...Keiichi-kun... be quiet for a minute."

"...What is it now?

...What happened...?!

What did Satoko tell you?

What did you hear?!"

"Shut the hell up!!

I told you to shut your mouth, asshole!!!"

Rena's raw, hostile emotion hit me like a brick.

...It was no more than a momentary howl of emotion for Rena... but it was more than that for me.

...She had shown me... what was behind all that emotion... what was in her heart.

"............ooooh..."

"...Satoko...

chan......"

"No, no, no, no... no more, no more... waahhh, wahhh......"

"Forgive us... We couldn't do anything for you... Forgive us..."

"Wah... waaaahhhhhhhh!!

Nii-nii...!

Nii-nii!!!

Nii-niiiiiiiiiiiii...!!!"

"...I'm sorry...!

I'm sorry!!

...oooooh...!!!"

Forgive us... for being unable... to do anything.

Rena's words... made me feel as though... the blood vessels in the back of my head were suddenly all turning to ash.

...My vision grew distant... blurred with grey... and the world... lost its color.

......I thought... I thought we could save Satoko.

...But... though I knew it'd be the sooner the better... I thought there was no time limit... for doing that.

...I never even dreamed... that we could be too late...!

I... I'd been making a huge mistake.

...I thought Satoko could be hurt... but never that she'd break.

...It was... such a huge mistake!!

People... they break.

...Thinking that they don't... is absolutely absurd!!

We... We needed to save Satoko.

...We needed to save her before she broke.

...That fatal lapse in awareness... had brought this on.

Whose fault was it?

...That went without saying.

...Mine—no, ours.

...We all took on the duty of saving Satoko... but we were negligent to the point of laziness.

In that sense... this was the inevitable result.

Even if this didn't happen today, and it happened tomorrow, or the day after, or next week... we would have just sat around doing nothing until that day...!!

So this... this was... the obvious result!!

...I slumped... down to my knees.

......Just as Mion... and Rika-chan had done.

...And I, too... closed my eyes tight... and couldn't stop myself... from sobbing...

"...W-What is all the noise about?!

...Wait, what's happened?!"

The teacher came... and her face screwed up... at the terrible spectacle before her.

The instant she realized the teacher was here, Satoko went through another complete change.

...She wiped her face with the curtains... and, like nothing happened, smiled.

"Houjou-san...?

What on earth is going on here?!"

"...Hoho, hohohohohohohoho!

I just... got into a little squabble with Rena-san is all.

We went a little crazy over our lunches.

...Right?"

Rena didn't nod in reply...

But then... since Satoko wished it... she nodded without strength.

...The rest of the class... couldn't keep up with her extreme changes.

...We all just... stared... in a daze.

"...Oh-ho-ho... It was just a little... horseplay.

I scared everyone out of their wits.

Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho..."

Satoko... would probably sweep the whole thing under the rug.

...For what?

...Her heart is torn to pieces... so what... what else...?!

You... wanted your Nii-nii to help, didn't you...?

But... unfortunately for you... Satoshi... doesn't ever intend on coming back!!

...It's never that easy... He won't just conveniently show up and save you!!!

So... you don't have to wait for him anymore!!

You can cry, beg for help... and you can run away!!

Wohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

"...We......

we can't do anything...!!"

Mion... suddenly said.

...She spoke then... those few words that had tormented me countless times.

Those words were a spell, and when I heard them.

......My whole body... suddenly regained its calm.

...My emotions... all slipped away like they'd never been there... like a wave departing.

And then... the world's color flipped inside-out!

My field of view expanded.

My head grew remarkably cold, and I felt like my mind's volume had grown even wider than the classroom we were in.

At the time, my soul was doubtlessly no longer in the small, petty vessel of my head, but floating in the air a little bit above it.

It was... a mysterious feeling of release.

...I broke free of the cramped confines of my skull... and stretched out my roots... in all directions... as far as I wanted to.

...It was a strange feeling... and one I'd never felt ever before.

...An odd... sense of exhilaration.

My sharpened senses...

caused me to transcend!

My mind was sharper than a knife's edge... and I immediately decided that spending the time to let myself be crushed with grief would be an absolute waste.

...I erased all the garbage information from my brain.

I expelled the pointless emotions presenting obstacles to action.

"......Mion.

...You curse it all you want.

Curse our powerlessness as much as you want."

"......Huh...?"

...If I could have taken back what had happened by crying about it, I'd have cried all day.

...But the fact was, this was how things had turned out.

I couldn't take back what had happened.

...The top priority, then, would be to prevent the situation from worsening further and to sever the chains of misfortune.

...Until today, I'd been looking at things so narrow-mindedly I could scarcely believe it.

To save Satoko, the only thing to do was to save Satoko—that's the only thing I thought about.

...I didn't allow myself to realize the most basic, direct, and certain way of removing the source of Satoko's unhappiness.

No... Actually, I realized it yesterday.

But as for the means, I'd relied on some stupid curse from some dumb deity... I never considered carrying the task out myself.

I would

obliterate Satoko's uncle

.

There were plenty of ways to do it.

This was a task that held infinite methods.

Ironically, the method of saving Satoko required mostly money,

but the method of killing that man pretty much took no money at all.

I could kill him with the least amount of investment.

The least amount of money suited him.

It was only the weight of his life.

I kept eliminating needless, worthless information from my head, replenishing it with only the knowledge I'd need to achieve my goal.

I used every cell in my brain to think about how I'd kill him.

The way I killed him didn't matter.

I would allow any method, from whatever time and whatever country, as long as it ended in a quick and certain death.

If I were to have an additional condition, it would be to not get caught.

Removing him was an act designed to return the peaceful times we had with Satoko.

If I was arrested in exchange for the removal, then we might as well have killed each other.

With only him gone, we'd go back to our normal lives.

That was my supreme objective.

My ultimate goal.

Kill him, definitely.

But definitely don't leave evidence either.

Two alternatives at odds with one another.

The condition of not leaving a trace back to me automatically narrowed the number of murder methods.

No witnesses was an absolute must.

Fortunately, given the right time in Hinamizawa, there would be nobody around.

I mentally reconstructed the land around Satoko's house.

...The number of pedestrians, different at different times.

The movement algorithm of the neighbors.

Would I lure him out, or charge at him?

What would my weapon be?

When and where would I carry this out?

Where—it needed to be somewhere I wouldn't leave a trace.

When—it needed to be as soon as possible, for Satoko's safety, without wasting even a millisecond.

This is absurd—completely absurd.

When I thought about it this way, it struck me how easy the act of killing was.

If I could leave evidence, if I was just going to kill him, anyone could easily turn into a murderer.

But our reason prevented that.

It told us doing so would get us arrested for sure.

In the end, being arrested by the police was the final thing preventing people from committing homicide.

(Absurd!)

If you went all the way out into the very middle of the ocean, you wouldn't leave any trace at all—anyone would drop those they hated into the depths if they knew that!

It was all too easy to simply remove him.

I could leave class right now, grab a metal baseball bat or something from the schoolyard, go to his house, and attack him.

Estimated time would be 25 minutes.

If I wanted us to kill each other, it wouldn't even be minutes—I could do it in 1500 seconds.

I knew just how much his continued existence depended on me.

He was nothing—I could expel him from this world within just 1500 seconds after making up my mind.

From when I decided what to do, he only had 1500 seconds.

Actually... if I ran full speed to his house, that number would go down even further.

But he was alive.

He was still part of this world at this very moment, having torn Satoko's body and mind to shreds.

Why?!

Because I was letting him live.

I was permitting him to live, so he was alive.

If I rescinded that permission, he would be evacuating this mortal coil within 1500 seconds.

...You think I'd let you live to breathe even 1500 more seconds of air?

...I'm taking that permission back—right here, right now.

You'd better thank me for letting you live until today.

However, I actually need more than 1500 seconds.

I'm not just gonna end you—getting back our old lives is far more important.

...It's only you I'll be cleanly cutting out of this world.

They won't find a culprit.

I'll forget that I dirtied my hands on the likes of you as naturally as I brush my teeth before bed.

So to do that, I'll make a special exception for you and give you more than 1500 seconds.

I'll give you special permission to keep on living as you have until I can construct the perfect plan for your murder.

Wait, Keiichi.

You can't let that time go to waste.

Yeah, I know.

I'll kill him quickly.

I'll remove him with certainty.

I won't even waste much time to perfect that plan.

...Think back—tomorrow is Watanagashi, isn't it?

Last year on the night of Watanagashi, her aunt died.

Her head was busted open by some deviant, and her brains splattered everywhere.

That's it—he's someone who deserves to be given death on the night of Watanagashi.

Hey, Oyashiro-sama.

You call yourself a guardian, but you didn't protect Satoko.

Cursing Satoko's family for the dam stuff is your own business, but now you've made Satoko unhappy when she didn't have anything to do with it.

...I, Keiichi Maebara, hereby denounce you, the guardian deity of Hinamizawa, a failure.

We don't need YOU.

Go back to the deepest, darkest part of your shrine this year.

Besides, if you had just cursed and killed both her aunt and her uncle last year, none of this would have ever happened!

The curse this year—it's not on you.

I'll be the one deciding.

It won't be the Three Families controlling the serial deaths behind the scenes—no, not some vague people who I can't tell if they're buffoons or not—this time, I'll be the one to deliver divine judgment.

So don't get in my way, just watch...

Stay quiet and watch.

I'll obliterate him.

I'll wipe him off the face of the earth.

I will... stomp out his very existence!!

Go away!

Disappear!

And die!!

I'll tear your heart apart just like you did to Satoko!!

I'll have your blood as payment!!!

W

h

o

o

o

o

o

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

r

r

r

g

g

g

g

h

h

h

h

h

h!!!

"...Keiichi-kun... Are you all right...?"

Rena, Mion... and Rika-chan were looking after me.

...Had I fallen to the floor...?

"...You surprised us. You suddenly fell down.

...Were you having a nightmare?

You were moaning..."

"Shut it.

...Quit squeaking at me like that."

"......!!" "...Eep...!" "........."

My friends gave a start and backed away.

"............What?"

Rena and the others... they exchanged glances, unsure of what to say... and stood confused for a few moments.

"...W... Was that... your voice, Keiichi-kun?"

"......Of course it was."

Rena gulped firmly... and opened her mouth.

"...For a second... Keiichi-kun... your eyes were... really scary."

"...My eyes...?

Probably just a trick of the light.

...Don't waste my time."

"......I... I'm not mistaken.

......I've never seen... those kind of eyes before."

...What were these guys talking about?

...They've all been too scared of me lately.

"......You are Keiichi Maebara-kun...

right?"

What... was Rena saying?

...Who else do I look like except Keiichi Maebara?

...The look I gave her seemed to speak quite eloquently to those irritated thoughts.

She understood, and quickly apologized.

"...I-I'm sorry.

...Don't worry about it!"