Chapter 53: Why not show it?
From a young age, Morofushi Sora'aki read a wide variety of books, and in those books, parallel worlds and time travel were just fantasies and conjectures that had not yet been proven.
Leaving aside the existence of parallel worlds, he had more or less determined the purpose of those missions—but what is the system, and what is Little Stone?
Morofushi Sora'aki wasn't a particularly curious person, but he genuinely couldn't understand why Little Stone did these things... no, perhaps there was no reason at all.
After all, stones aren't human. We shouldn't use human thinking to contemplate non-human beings under any circumstances.
"Isn't this normal? Similar things often appear in comics, like Shenron who can grant wishes by collecting all seven Dragon Balls..."
"No, Nozaki-kun, a more fitting example in this situation would be Aladdin's lamp, wouldn't it?" Sakura Chiyo said.
"But neither of these can be considered inanimate objects, right? And the former requires collecting all the Dragon Balls, while the latter also has limitations, like only three wishes or something?" Mikoshiba Mikoto said, stroking his chin. "If I had to choose, I think the Holy Grail is the most suitable example!"
"The Holy Grail possesses immense power, and fulfilling wishes requires no price… Ah, there's also the possibility of the Holy Grail War and distorted wishes! Hmm? If that's the case, then there must be a price to pay, right?" Mikoshiba Mikoto fell into deep thought.
"In light novel comic, the kind of wish-granting machine that's purely good and doesn't maliciously distort things..." Based on her experience, Sakura Chiyo thought for a moment and said, "It's either a perfect ending, or everyone is a good person, but due to various reasons, such as differences in ideals, a tragedy is created?"
"...They were all good people, but it ended in tragedy?" Nozaki Umetarou picked up his pen thoughtfully, but Sakura Chiyo instinctively stopped him, saying, "Wait! Nozaki-kun! Don't forget you're drawing a romance comic—are you really thinking of creating a bad ending for Mamiko and Suzuki-kun?!"
Morofushi Sora'aki sat at the low table, watching the three of them bickering. He glanced at his schoolbag lying to the side, the amulet hanging on it looking like an ordinary ornament.
The system may be at fault, but the Little Stone he later picked up at the shrine did not show any malice towards him.
It even fulfilled many of his willful wishes—such as his desire to study with his friends.
Perhaps in an attempt to answer Morofushi Sora'aki's question, this time, instead of traveling to another world while sleeping at night, Morofushi Sora'aki had a dream.
Morofushi Sora'aki was fully aware that he was dreaming, a very strange feeling. He was clearly in a dream, yet he possessed his own consciousness and knew perfectly well that this was just a dream—one that had nothing to do with him.
The world in the dream has a distinct sense of illusion and futuristic technology, and areas beyond a certain limit are blurred and indistinct.
The world is characterized by cool-toned high technology, featuring trains that seem to float in mid-air and large, mysterious airships that drift through the sky.
But in the next instant, the calm was broken, and a magnificent, silver-white greatsword appeared in the previously still sky.
Then, as if glass were shattering, the intact silver-white greatsword fell, the dream was broken, and the once complete world began to disappear from the edges.
Just then, Morofushi Sora'aki heard a neutral, inorganic voice.
[To be precise, it's communicating with you through the power of the remaining fragments; it's the essence of that power.]
That wasn't a speech directed at Morofushi Sora'aki, but rather at an illusory shadow that Morofushi Sora'aki couldn't see.
This is just like what was done with the stone slabs in the past, only it echoes a strong desire, realizing an ideal in this way.
But this is, after all, residual power; it can only piece together beautiful things, but cannot be truly solid.
[The world is pieced together from the memories of those who have passed away, those who are alive, those who are about to be born, and those who are no longer in this world. It is a world created by those who hope to exist and the visions they yearn for.]
I have said that I pray to connect all hearts.
I am the embodiment of your human prayers.
"Humans." Morofushi Sora'aki suddenly realized a point he had been overlooking all along.
The system... no, to be precise, is a small stone, or should be described as a slab—a remnant or fragment of a slab.
From the very beginning, the system fulfilled more than just the wishes of Morofushi Sora'aki.
What Morofushi Sora'aki didn't know, but the most obvious thing, which should have been noticed from the beginning—the desire for Morofushi Sora'aki to have friends—was not Morofushi Sora'aki's own wish from the start. At that time, Morofushi Sora'aki didn't care at all what friends were.
He does indeed fulfill the desires of the world, but because of his own lack of power, he cannot satisfy everyone.
"I was right, you really don't have such an all-powerful wish-granting machine." Morofushi Sora'aki was standing, but everything in front of him was pitch black—not the kind of black where you can't see anything, you can still see everything and see yourself clearly.
There was nothing around him; his feet weren't even touching the ground, but were suspended in mid-air.
"Because they lacked power, they needed me to do those tasks. Because I was curious, they told me the answer." Morofushi Sora'aki blinked. "So, this world is an illusion?"
This is a common trope in comics: the protagonist possesses something, but then the ending suddenly reverses, revealing that the world is actually fake, and these stories are just a dream of the protagonist. If this kind of ending wasn't foreshadowed from the beginning, it sounds like a poorly executed ending, as if the plot couldn't be controlled or was chosen simply to conform to certain values.
And just as someone had asked a similar question before, Morofushi Sora'aki heard a reply that was not directed at him, but which was indeed an answer to his question.
You always try to sum everything up in one sentence, but that's not the case.
[This is not a fabrication or illusion, but the real person you know.]
"The system once said that the world I exist in is fragile. You are not the system, and everything you do is to make this world stable, right?"
As if he had received a satisfactory answer, Morofushi Sora'aki touched the earring on his ear, which had not yet fully healed. The slight stinging sensation made him open his eyes from the bed.
"It's Saturday today." Morofushi Sora'aki leaned against the window, staring at the already bright sky.
He needed to return books to the library. Morofushi Sora'aki put the books from his desk into a bag, told his mother while eating breakfast, and then headed out with the bag after finishing his meal.
After arriving at the library, Morofushi Sora'aki got into the habit of spending some time there. He picked up a book of miscellaneous essays and stood next to the bookshelf. After reading the entire book, it was almost lunchtime.
There was a convenience store near the library, so Morofushi Sora'aki borrowed a few more books and headed towards the store.
On a shelf not far from the convenience store, there were several new cat and dog food products. Morofushi Sora'aki habitually tore off a few bags of cat treats hanging there, then sat down at one of the convenience store's seats with a heated rice ball in his hand.
Before he could even take a couple of bites, Morofushi Sora'aki heard a familiar voice. He looked up and met the gaze of Morofushi Hiromitsu, who was looking in his direction.
Morofushi Hiromitsu was also a little surprised: "Sora'aki? What are you doing here... Ah, are you here at the library?"
Morofushi Sora'aki nodded: "What about brother?"
"You've all been quite busy lately, haven't you? It just so happens that everyone is free today, so we've decided to get together." Morofushi Hiromitsu answered the question with a smile; he had indeed mentioned this at the dinner table earlier.
Morofushi Sora'aki took a bite of his rice ball and responded.
Seeing the Morofushi brothers talking, Hagiwara Kenji hesitated for a moment, then asked Furuya Rei, "Should we go over there?"
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he always felt that Morofushi's younger brother didn't seem to like seeing him.
At this moment, Date Wataru casually walked over and hooked his arm around Morofushi Hiromitsu shoulder: "Isn't this Morofushi-nii? Good afternoon, can we sit here with your brother?"
There are still seats available elsewhere, but since everyone's already at the convenience store, there's no need to specifically sit elsewhere. That would seem odd.
"There's no one here." Morofushi Sora'aki replied.
So the group sat down, and Matsuda Jinpei belatedly realized and asked in surprise, "Didn't we come here to buy water?"
It's one thing to eat convenience store sandwiches and bread when you're working because it's too much trouble, but to make the same choice when you meet up today is a bit strange.
Upon hearing Matsuda Jinpei's words, Morofushi Sora'aki looked up at Matsuda Jinpei.
Matsuda Jinpei was quite different from the last time they met. Perhaps because of his bomb disposal work, he often faced choices, and his demeanor had become much more composed. He also had a pair of sunglasses hanging from his collar.
Sunglasses? Morofushi Sora'aki's memory suddenly went astray.
In the Beastified World, Matsuda Jinpei also wears sunglasses—he didn't have them at first, but after meeting Hagiwara Kenji, they appeared on Matsuda Jinpei's face at some unknown time.
The memories that should have been cleared up suddenly split apart. Actually, Matsuda Jinpei didn't dislike those jelly energy bars shaped like cat treats. He only refused them at first because Morofushi Sora'aki's attitude was too much like teasing a cat.
Or perhaps it was because of the unique nature of that world that Matsuda Jinpei was accustomed to this kind of food from the very beginning.
With practiced ease, Morofushi Sora'aki handed the cat treats he had just bought to Matsuda Jinpei: "Here, your favorite snack."
Matsuda Jinpei, who had just sat down, was taken aback, somewhat unable to react: "Huh?"
After realizing what Morofushi Sora'aki had said, Matsuda Jinpei's face showed even more confusion: "What?"
"..." Morofushi Sora'aki blinked slowly and said, "Where are your cat ears and tail? Why don't you show them?"
Honestly, since it's a beast-infested world, why can't they always show their ears and tails? That way, he can definitely tell them apart clearly.
Matsuda Jinpei was so confused he could practically circle the Earth, when he noticed the subtle expressions on the faces of his friends beside him: "Wait a minute? What's with those looks from you guys?!"