Chapter 97: Chapter 2.1
Epilogue and Prologue
"I see. So one global crisis has ended."
On the other end of the line, the girl gave a relieved sigh.
"Yeah. It's been a week, but apparently the seal on Seed is holding." In the corridor of a certain small hospital, I leaned against the wall.
One week ago, we'd tackled a worldwide calamity in that city taken over by plants. Siesta, Hel, and I had fought Seed; we'd ultimately won but at a heavy cost.
Hel, Nagisa Natsunagi's second personality, had infused the red sword with her own mind and the power of the seed inside her and sealed them into the tree with Seed. That tree still towered there, like a watchtower over mankind.
"Excellent work, Kimihiko," said the girl on the phone. "You chose a route for the future that even I couldn't foresee, and you saved the world magnificently. As a Tuner, you have my gratitude. Thank you."
Even through the call, and the nine thousand kilometers between us, I could tell she was bowing.
"...I didn't do anything."
It was true that one global crisis was over, but I hadn't been the one to end it. The sacrifices of Siesta, Natsunagi, and many of our comrades had done that. And finally, it had been Hel who'd put Seed to sleep with the passion she'd inherited from her master.
Had she been happy in the end? I thought about it as I gazed at the great tree. The dead can't talk, which is why the living should respect that silence. We shouldn't speak on their behalf.
Even so, I thought in spite of myself. Hel's life had been a constant search for love. I couldn't help but hope she'd sleep peacefully in the shelter of that tree with Seed, who had finally learned—or rather, remembered—what it meant to feel emotion.
"You're the one who really had it rough, Mia," I said, shifting the topic to something else.
As the Oracle, Mia's Tuner role was to foresee the world's crises, and she'd helped Siesta fight against Seed for years. She might have even more
history with him than I did. Now that their score was finally settled, she'd returned to that clock tower in London.
"So did you. And? How are your injuries?"
"Oh, I'm well enough to talk on the phone."
That said, Seed's tentacle had ripped into my side. I could easily still have been hovering between life and death. The effects of the seed I'd swallowed seemed to have lingered, though. Thanks to its astonishing powers of recovery, the wound had almost healed over. Seed might have extracted it, but, for better or for worse, maybe some of its effects would stick around.
More importantly, right now...
"If I had to say, Siesta took more damage."
On the battlefield, Ouroboros had bitten Siesta's neck and inflicted a large wound. She'd been transported to this hospital, and as of today, she'd finally recovered enough to be allowed to have visitors. The fact that it required some time to heal despite Siesta's unusually strong powers of recovery showed how bad the bite had actually been.
"I imagine she'll heal more quickly if you pay her a visit, then. Through the power of love, you know," Mia joked.
"Is that another prophecy?"
"Women's intuition."
...Oh, is that right? Telling her I'd see her later, I hung up.
When I reached Siesta's hospital room, I took a deep breath outside the door.
I'd just reunited with my former partner after a year apart, and due to the situation, we hadn't been able to really talk before. Now that we did have the time, what should we talk about? What should I tell her? I couldn't gather my thoughts properly, but I opened the door anyway.
"Hey, how are you feeling?"
For a private room, it was pretty big.
The Ace Detective was sitting up in the bed by the window, dressed in a hospital gown.
"I can't believe you recovered first. I must be losing my touch." Siesta turned to look at me. The morning sun's light shone against her pale silver hair, and she had on a playful smile. I didn't know if you could call this "fine," but she was feeling well enough to kid around, at least.
"Charlie's here too, huh?" I spotted the blond agent in a chair near the bed.
She must have come to visit Siesta, but she was heavily bandaged herself. "...? What's up, Charlie?"
Charlie still hadn't spoken. She seemed restless; she kept stealing glances at Siesta, then letting her gaze fall to her hands. She'd always been really attached to the detective. I wouldn't have been surprised if she threw her arms around Siesta in joy, but...
"Yes, that's what I expected too at first." Realizing what I was actually asking, Siesta answered for Charlie. "Apparently seeing me again for the first time in so long has made her shy, and she doesn't know how she should act around me."
"M-Ma'am! Please don't say it!" Charlie kept her eyes riveted on her knees, but her face flushed apple red.
"Charlie, are you a lovestruck maiden or something?"
"Sh-shut up. You know I can't help it." Whatever this was, she had it bad. Even when she snapped at me, her heart wasn't in it. "I mean, I had no idea a miracle like this could happen. ...Well, of course I believed, and I planned to do what had to be done. Now that it's actually come true, though, I don't know what to do...," she murmured softly, clenching her fists.
"Come here."
Watching her beloved apprentice, Siesta spoke to her gently. Charlie's shoulders flinched, and she slowly looked up.
"I'm sorry for making you sad." Apologizing to Charlie the same way she'd apologized to me, she gently stroked her head.
"...Mgh. Ma'am, Ma'am...!"
Charlie's eyes opened wide, filled with tears. She clung to Siesta, crying like a child.
"Yeesh. Just be honest about this stuff to begin with, wouldja?" After I'd watched them for a little while, I smiled wryly and went to change the flowers in the vase by the window.
"...You're the last person I want to hear that from, Kimizuka." Charlie's sharp ears had caught my murmur; she poked her head out from within Siesta's arms and glared at me.
"You two haven't changed a bit. Can't you get along a little better than that?"
"There will never be a day when Kimizuka and I get along!" Resting her head on Siesta's lap, Charlie started insulting me.
"I thought we'd started to understand each other a little."
"It's possible to understand something logically and still be physically unable to stomach it."
"Sorry, Siesta. I guess we're exactly where we were a year ago."
If this incident hadn't been enough to bring us closer, it was never gonna happen. Sighing, I sat down on a stool near the bed.
"Heh-heh!" Unexpectedly, Siesta's lips softened into a smile. She stroked Charlie's hair. "It's okay. It's been a long time since I got to see both of you doing your banter routine."
""It's not a routine, Ma'am!""
Charlie and I spoke in unison, then glared at each other.
In the middle of our mudslinging contest...
"I really wish you wouldn't hold these fun little parties without me!"
It was an idol with pink and white streaks in her hair and an eye patch over her left eye: Yui Saikawa had arrived.
"Yui!" Charlie sat up with relief. ...But her gaze was focused on Saikawa at a lower angle than usual.
"Hey there. You okay now?"
"I'm just perfect! ...Actually, that would be a bit of an overstatement, but I'm doing well!" From her wheelchair, Saikawa flashed us a peace sign. Her legs were fine, but she wasn't strong enough to walk yet. Noches, the maid formerly known as SIESTA, was pushing the wheelchair. She'd been taking care of everyone for the past week.
"You always look so at home in that maid uniform." "And you always notice the same things, Kimihiko." I see. I knew she wasn't complimenting me.
While Noches and I were talking...
"This is the first time we've met in person, isn't it?" From the bed, Siesta gave Saikawa a gentle smile.
"It's nice to meet you, Siesta. I'm Yui Saikawa, the world's cutest idol!"
From her wheelchair, Saikawa gave her very best elevator pitch. Siesta had known about Saikawa and had been working to protect her from the shadows, but this was their first time meeting each other in person.
"I'm told I caused you a lot of trouble. I'm sorry." A slight shadow fell across Saikawa's smile, and she bowed her head. Saikawa's parents had once funded SPES's activities.
"It's nothing you need to apologize for, Yui." Siesta stroked Saikawa's hair. "And thank you for staying with my assistant while I was gone."
"Siesta..." The two of them locked eyes, and then... "Yes, honestly, taking care of Kimizuka was an awful lot of work. I massaged him, I cooked for him... He may not look it, but he can be quite a baby. There were times when I had to hold him tightly..."
"Quit making stuff up." "Ow!"
I karate chopped Saikawa's head. Her eyes teared up. "But I wasn't..." Her mumbling didn't make much sense to me, though. Siesta gave me a cold look, and I got the feeling she'd muttered a certain word starting with "p," but since there was some conveniently loud construction work going on outside, I didn't catch it.
"Still, I see." Siesta's eyes softened, and she looked at me. "So these are your current companions, Kimi."
In addition to Siesta, there was Saikawa, Charlie, and Noches present in the room. And although they weren't physically here, Mia and the redheaded policewoman probably counted, too.
Compared to a few years ago, I definitely had more friends and gained more precious things. Right now, I'm able to think that from the bottom of my heart...or I should have been. However, there was one person who wasn't here, so I shook my head.
"There's one more. If we left her out, she'd be madder than anyone." When
they heard that, Saikawa and Charlie both looked down.
Nagisa Natsunagi.
Alicia's heart had been transplanted successfully, and the primordial seed's order had brought her out of her dormant state. Then, during that final showdown, Hel had permanently sealed her own mind. It wouldn't have been odd for Natsunagi's personality to wake up and take her place.
But a week had passed, her injuries had been thoroughly treated, and she still wouldn't wake up. She was asleep in a different hospital room all by herself.
"I haven't forgotten her, of course. I couldn't possibly forget," Siesta said.
Her eyes were closed.
However, when she opened them, she said:
"And so, Assistant, let's go on a journey to save our friend." She held out her left hand to me.
"But how?" Was there anything we could do?
As I hesitated, Siesta said, "There's someone we still need to meet and talk to."
...Oh, right. That individual was deeply involved with our current situation, but he hadn't yet made an appearance. Over the past week, I'd tried to make contact with him several times, but he'd never shown himself.
From the way Siesta was talking, though, a meeting had been arranged.
There were a ton of things we'd have to discuss with him.
"In that case, if you're ready, shall we go see him?" Even though Siesta was still on bed rest, she sat up as she spoke. "...The underground doctor who saved all our lives."
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