4-112: Not a Memory

4-112: Not a Memory

“A true natural, huh. Anyway, why don’t you sit and eat already.”

Upon seeing Shinichi tilt his head, Monica shook her head and urged him to take a seat, prompting Shinichi to place a giant plate right in front of them.

“Want some?” Shinichi asked.

“Nah, I’m full,” Myuhi said.

“Same. Just looking at that is enough to make anyone full. Don’t mind us and help yourself though,” Monica said.

Don’t mind if I do, Shinichi shrugged as he folded his hands to say grace and resume eating. That was food easily enough for dozens of men.

“Itadakimasu!”

At first, they were astounded by how gluttonous he was, but that soon turned into a wry smile, and they found themselves just watching him warmly. He had noticed that too, but he was more preoccupied with filling his stomach. Not that it took him much time, of course.

“*Gulp... Thank you for the food!”

“That was fast!”

In less than 10 minutes, the mountain of food before him disappeared, and he put his hands together to thank for the food. A surprised voice resounded, but Shinichi ignored it as he made a satisfied face.

“Here. Hand towel,” Myuhi said.

“Thanks,” Shinichi said.

Myuhi was already used to his antics, so she just chuckled and handed him a towel. Monica looked at that oddly, but only for a moment before saying what she had on mind.

“So you can speak those words properly, huh.”

It was unthinkable given how forceful he had been yesterday, but Shinichi just laughed.

“Because I can do it. Whether it’s saying grace, or thanking someone, or apologizing, these are things that I can actually do. For someone incompetent like me, doing the things that I can is the least I ought to do.”

He said in a somewhat spineless manner. Monica hadn’t expected him to sincerely answer like that, so for a moment, she found herself blinking her eyes before nodding with a smile.

Or so at least until Myuhi spoke up anyway.

“...He’s only like that when it’s convenient for him, though.”

“Ah...”

“...It’s annoying, but I can’t deny that at all.”

When he made a bitter face and said that, the two girls laughed. Was it really that funny to see him troubled and sulking, though?

“Fu fu... Ah, right. Let me return this,” Monica said.

After laughing for a while, Monica took off the crescent pendant on her and handed it to Shinichi.

“Right.”

Shinichi accepted it and put it on himself.

As he fingered it to confirm that it was back on his neck, a question came.

“Hey, Icchi, in the end, what is that? It’s you we’re talking about, so there’s no way it’s just a pendant, right?

What kind of mysterious power does it have?” Myuhi asked.

There was an emotion that betrayed her words, but regardless, Shinichi flicked the pendant and laughed.

“...Actually, it’s a prank someone pulled on me.”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s...”

To answer or not to answer. It wasn’t something he needed to go out of his way to mention, and since he hadn’t responded to a similar question from her before the encore, it felt wrong to bring it up now. When he casually glanced at Monica, though, she returned his look with a wry smile and a nod. It seemed she had seen through the reason for his hesitation and, in her own way, gave him permission to continue.

“...Well, we have time, and it’s not that big of a story, so why not.”

He masked the odd sense of embarrassment by lightly gripping the crescent-shaped object. By now, there was no trace of the fragile sensitivity that would make him tremble when recalling that moment. Maybe it was because he’d become desensitized, having seen that incident every night in his dreams.

“I’ll skip the details, but this is a keepsake. I received it from a benefactor who was on the verge of death. She told me never to give it to anyone.”

“That’s...”

“...”

Both Myuhi, who had spoken out, and Monica, who had fallen silent, seemed taken aback by the situation Shinichi had described so bluntly. Their expressions, filled with uncertainty, seemed to ask if this was really something they should be hearing.

Even though they had heard it was a keepsake, they likely hadn’t imagined it was something handed over at the very brink of death.

Shinichi ignored their reactions though with a hint of amusement and continued with his story.

“And the person responsible for that person’s death was none other than me.”

When he recalled what he had done, he felt that even those words didn’t quite capture the gravity of it.

This caused him to stop speaking, as if those words were insufficient.

“Icchi?”

“Anyway, things got pretty chaotic, but once it all settled down, I started having the same doubts as you. After all, being told not to hand it over made me wonder if someone was after it. So, I decided to thoroughly investigate what kind of backstory this thing might have, but...”

“But?” Monica and Myuhi asked.

“It turned out to be just a pendant,” Shinichi said.

“Huh?”

“Made by a run-of-the-mill craftsman, it was a cheap trinket that could be found at any roadside stall.”

“Hah?”

“Moreover, it was a mass-produced item. After desperately holding onto it for months, the sight of so many lined up for a child’s pittance almost made me faint.”

Shinichi looked blankly into the distance as he recalled the pitiful him from back then. He looked as if he could fade to white at any moment, and the two ladies sympathetically wryly smiled.

“Ah... My condolences?”

“Thanks, I suppose. Anyway, I investigated it for a long time to see if there might have been something to it after all, perhaps a power or a mechanism of some sort, but in the end, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

“Seriously!?”

“For real?”

“Yeah, so I thought maybe there was another meaning to it. I figured maybe it held some sort of sentimental value or memory, but...”

“But?”

“Turns out she had impulsively purchased it just two days before the incident. Isis had a bad habit of collecting cheap trinkets from roadside stalls. And the pendant just so happened to be one of her hauls.”

A completely ordinary pendant. No powers, no mechanisms, no backstory, and no sentimental value whatsoever.

That twist left the girls with their jaws ajar, and Shinichi laughed, as though to say that that was exactly what he wanted to see from them.

However, those expressions quickly turned into suspicion.

Both ladies were thinking of something different.

Myuhi seemed to grapple with why someone would entrust such an object at the brink of death, while Monica wondered if he was telling the truth.

Well, he could understand. He himself had pondered the same questions.

He was well aware of both of their concerns, as they were questions he himself had once faced.

“Seems like the both of you have something on your mind, but I reckon in Monica’s case, you’re more bothered about the voice that you once heard?”

“Huh? Oh, so that wasn’t just my imagination? It felt like someone touched my shoulder and told me to calm down. The voice sounded feminine and really gentle. She told me that everything would be alright,” Monica said.

“Sounds like something straight out of horror, but okay. You sure it doesn’t have any powers?” Myuhi asked.

“Positive. Though I’ve heard that voice countless times myself, and others too when I lent it to them as a talisman. It’s a mystery, really.”

With the divine powers he possessed, Shinichi found it puzzling that nothing came to light when he truly “looked” at the mysterious pendant, which had caused strange phenomena multiple times already. The key effects it offered were merely words of reassurance for mental stability or warnings against hallucinations and illusions.

If there was indeed something unknown even to Shinichi, it would be the delicate imbalance between its concealment ability and its subtle effects.

Moreover, unlike when it was lent to someone else, when he wore it, its effectiveness seemed to diminish, adding to the peculiar nature of the situation.

However, something else caught Monica’s attention, and she wore a smile as though she’d discovered something intriguing.

“Others, huh? So what number does that make me?”

She asked, as though to imply that he only lends it to women. Perhaps she worded it as such, going as far as to ask for her rank among his women, to be seen as an adult older sister, but she was still too green behind the ears. Shinichi wasn’t one to be shaken so easily.

“Who knows? You’re the first person to find out it’s a memento, though.”

He didn’t lie and say that she was the only woman he’s ever lent it to nor did he give her a false rank. Really, it would be more apt to say that he simply didn’t rank the women he liked. Of course, he could have just dropped the question, but a woman he liked was asking, so he felt that he needed to respond sincerely in some manner.

“...”

“...”

As a result, one of the women made an astonished face, while the other became red faced. Neither said anything, and for a while, they just looked at each other.

“See, Mo-chan? He’s always like this. Even if he has to dodge the question, he’ll make sure to tell you in a roundabout way that you’re special to him.”

“A bad man. A very bad man. I knew he was going to throw a jab, but it still came harder than I expected. Moreover, it seems that he really only lends it to women. He didn’t deny it at all,” Monica said.

The two girls glared at him while pouring out criticisms, but Shinichi took it in a different direction.

“Come to think of it, it has been nothing but women. I’m actually realizing that just now. Don’t tell me you’ve been picking them out?”

Shinichi grabbed the crescent moon necklace and eyed it suspiciously. He wasn’t joking. He was genuinely considering that that might have been the case. That’s why a sigh naturally came from somewhere.

“A natural airhead in the strangest of places.”

“Who get drawn into his own world for the strangest of reasons; what a troublesome guy.”

The two women grumbled among themselves, but the tone behind their grumbling was gentle, not a hint of rejection for the boy.

Interestingly enough that gave them an aura just like that of a pair of older sisters watching over a young boy.

“Ah, going back to the topic...” Myuhi said.

“Hmm?” Shinichi said.

“Was it because it had such a strange power that she entrusted it to you?”

Myuhi wore a face that seemed to say that she could understand if so, but Shinichi, who returned to reality, immediately shook his head and his hands, as though to say that that absolutely couldn’t be the case.

“I get that,” Myuhi said. “And the person has already passed, so it’s all speculation, but given how the pendant is what it is, I can’t think of any other reason why she might’ve given it to you.”

As he fiddled with the crescent moon by his neck, a complex mixture of emotions surfaced on him.

Smile.

Exasperation.

Longing.

Regret.

Gratitude.

Irritation.

Affection.

And finally, frustration.

“Well, she got me in the worst way possible. I used to cry often over trivial things when I was younger, but that was the first time I was made to cry by someone else. If it were when they died, that would be one thing, but I was made to cry again several months after they had already passed.”

Even though he was so sure that he’d cried all of his tears out the first time around.

“She made you cry? Twice?”

Myuhi couldn’t believe it, but Shinichi nodded. And when he remembered that day, his face was filled with satisfaction, a satisfaction that quickly turned into that of defeat.

“She warned me not to do anything stupid.”

“Don’t tell me...”

“Yeah. It was pretty dangerous. I was about 80% responsible for their death, and my benefactor just had to die right in front of me. Of course, i wanted to kill myself.”

The girls went solemn. Shinichi laughed to try and cover up the bitter feelings, but apparently, it was in vain. Perhaps, the two women had imagined the sight of them losing their benefactors themselves.

“I knew in my head that that would just make their deaths pointless, but even then, I couldn’t stop the thoughts. It didn’t help that I was a complete mess after the incident.”

In the end, his rampage would eventually be stopped by a certain factor. Though Isis’s intentions were not involved in that, he still wonders what would have happened if he hadn’t been entrusted with the necklace at that time.

There’s no point in pondering such a “what if,” but he couldn’t confidently say that he would’ve been fine without her pendant.

“Maybe she knew that would happen, that’s why she insisted on entrusting it to me. It didn’t matter if it was just a temporary fix. If it could give me a reason to keep my life and mind intact until I could recover enough to uncover the truth behind the necklace, it was enough.”

During the incident, Shinichi had been too overwhelmed to even say anything clever, yet despite all that, she made a life-threatening effort to save him, hoping that he could remain unchanged even in the future, and she did it with such a thoughtful gesture(prank) too. She did all that while she was dying, and even right at the very end, she made sure to smile.

“What’s troubling is that’s the third time she’s saved me... Seriously. Don’t go keeping people in debt when they can’t pay anymore, you fool.”

“Icchi...”

Once, when he had wandered into another world and nearly died on the streets. Twice, when he was saved from being used as a vessel for the resurrection of an evil god. And now. Yes, this would be the third time. He was just too indebted to that sister.

“As a result, I am eternally in her debt. I never did manage to catch up to her.”

As if voicing a grudge, he held up the crescent moon pendant and cursed at it. But seeing his expression, Monica smiled gently, and with a mix of questioning and certainty, she said.

“It sounds like you wanted to be seen as equals.”

Shinichi was momentarily caught off guard, but he quickly let out a snort with a hint of awkwardness and a bit of embarrassment.

Even if he pretended to be something more than a monster and called himself an evil god, he was for now still human.

He has merely inherited some of the powers, abilities, and knowledge of an evil god.

If one had to, he could be referred to as a ‘pseudo-demigod’ at best.

Even though the ‘real thing’ can’t enter the world’s inner realm, if a fallen evil god of that caliber existed in a perfect state, not even he would be able to guarantee his own victory.

Revealing himself before knowing the extent of what ‘the Serpent’ was capable of was truly nothing short of foolish on his part.

──You knew it would become troublesome, yet you didn’t bother to hide yourself at all! Moreover, not only did you bless the Songstress, you even blessed those girls too! There’s no covering that up. Seriously, you’d rather fulfill some girl’s heart than expose the enemy. Just how dumb can a person be?

But he couldn’t help it.

He didn’t want to lose something so beautiful.

He didn’t want to see those children cry.

He didn’t want to see those girls who thought so fondly of him hurt.

In an instant, the boy’s feelings passed on to the illusionary woman.

──You were always impatient. Time and time again, you try to balance things out by directing the repercussions towards yourself.Even though you’re so clumsy, somehow you’re really good at that. Honestly, it’s almost impressive in a way.

The ghost woman laughed dryly, but Shinichi couldn’t help it.

While there were ways to conceal things and protect Monica at the same time, Nameless would have ended up paying the price.

Several of them would have died for sure.

When he thought of that woman trying to laugh off the death of her comrades, he couldn’t help but snap his fingers.

He knew that that would make things more troublesome, but Shinichi couldn’t stop himself.

Even though the power he possessed was not one that should be wielded so emotionally, he still did it anyway.

His was a great power that if wielded without wisdom would ultimately crush the small spark he wished to protect.

That’s why he wasn’t allow to make the slightest mistake, not the identity of his opponent, or the situation, or the strength he mustered.

He needed to focus solely on the situation that only he could confront.

A failure to do so would lead to the tragedy and lamentations of powerless people.

So he desperately acted as though he could maintain control, but it was undeniable that he was struggling.

Because there were times when he couldn’t hold back.

Just like this time.

So, he braced himself for the harsh evaluation that was sure to come.

──Well, I’m sure you’ll be struggling a lot even after this, but good luck.

──Hah?

But in the end, what he was waitnig for didn’t come, and Shinichi was left stunned. A crescent moon smile turned to him.

──Hmm? Oh? Were you expecting to be scolded, you spoiled child?

──Wha!? After provoking me thoroughly, you say that!?

──Because your problems are basically always the same; they just vary depending on the situation. Honestly, I’ve grown bored by now.

──Bored? If things go poorly, I’ll have to fight a god!

──Hmm? So, what?

──Hah?

──Since you feel like fighting, then you probably don’t plan on losing. And besides, you’re not the type to back down just because the enemy is powerful, right?

This was truly what it meant to be taken aback.

Yet he actually found himself agreeing with her.

He couldn’t quite understand it himself, but somehow, the frustration and pressure he felt just a moment ago had been significantly blown away just by talking to her.

But it would be too frustrating to admit that so easily.

──You speak as if it doesn’t have anything to do with you.

──I mean it doesn’t? Ahaha!

──Right... I remember now... You were this kind of person!

She was a wicked person who stirred things up out of curiosity and then left it to the parties involved while enjoying the surrounding surprise and confusion from a distance. The more Shinichi remembered the details, the more he wondered why he even considered her his first love.

──Even if you praise me that much, you won’t get anything from me. Teehee.

──I’m not praising you!

The ghost received his heartfelt cry with a beaming smile and laughed heartily.

──Fuhahaha! Struggle and ponder, oh youth! No matter what you choose, there’s no escaping it. Whether it’s the path your heart desires or a rational choice, it all comes down to the situation. In fact, it’s common for both to be right and both to be wrong. The truly worst part is being cornered and not being able to decide, effectively abandoning everything. But of course, you won’t let that happen, right?

‘I’ll give you that much,’ the ghost seemed to say with that somewhat haughty expression on her.

Ah, seriously, this woman...

──Whatever the outcome, you’re just going to sulk anyway, so go ahead and indulge yourself. Don’t worry, there are plenty of women to comfort you! In that regard, you’ve done pretty well!

The exaggerated thumbs-up and the beaming smile both irritated Shinichi to an extreme degree.

──Damn it... Give back the feelings of admiration I had for you!

Shinichi yelled back in frustration, only for her to continue giggling. Perhaps, the sight of him struggling was satisfying enough, but the ghost just kept laughing until finally she was gone.

“Damn it, that woman! Even after dying, she just does whatever she wants!”

The complaints he had when she left faded away along with his feeble voice. Still, it was that capriciousness that saved him in the past. She had recklessly put her life on the line, selfishly saved him, and then selfishly died for him. To this day, her figure remained etched in his memories.

“...Tch.”

He suppressed the urge to cry out meaningless sentiments with a click of his tongue and released the moon pendant he had been gripping so tightly. As he tucked it away in his clothing, he turned to the voices of the girls behind him.

It seemed they were still engaged in a secret conversation and were huddled closely together, whispering about something.

However...

“...Maybe we should... Tie up... Make cry... Threaten...”

“Whip... Isolate... Ship off...”

He was startled by the ominous vibes that wafted through the words he overheard. However, he quickly composed himself and moved the empty plate that lay between them.

The two girls shot him puzzled glances, but he ignored them and with a fluid and natural motion ───── lay down.

“...Huh?”

“...Hah?”

For a moment, the two women wondered what he was doing and let out their voices dumbly.

On Myuhi’s right knee, on Monica’s left knee, on each of those was placed a head.

“...Lap pillow?”

“Double?”

“What else could it be? Anyway, let me sleep for a bit.”

Shinichi spoke as though nothing could be more natural as he laid himself on the lap of the two girls, treating himself lavishly to the softness of the two women.

“The slight difference in softness between the two laps is pretty nice,” Shinichi said.

“Huh. Wait a moment, why are you deciding to be given a lap pillow all on your own!?”

For a moment, Monica found herself being dragged by Shinichi’s momentum, but then she got her wits about her and protested. But Shinichi’s head that was moving on her lap was quite ticklish, so her face turned beet red. Moreover, to keep her from pushing him away, Shinichi told her the magic words.

“In that case, just consider it as one of my rewards.”

“Uu, that’s not fair...”

Sure enough. Monica couldn’t find it in herself to turn him away right after telling him to demand more from her.

But of course, one of the two ladies had nothing to do with that.

“Hey, wouldn’t that mean I’m giving a lap pillow for free?”

“If you don’t like it, then I’ll move.”

“Hyan!?”

As Shinichi said that, he moved his head along with his fingers, placing them in such a way that they were just teetering on the edge of touching her thighs over her clothes. It was so sudden that Monica couldn’t help but cry out.

“I’ll just have the Songstress take care of me then.”

Monica found herself turning to Myuhi with a beet red face seeking help, eyes somewhat tearful as she seemed to plead not to leave her alone. And Myuhi was not so cold blooded as to be able to ignore someone’s plight. In fact, a strange sense of duty began to sprout within her to prevent this man, Shinichi, from ruining this Songstress any further. Perhaps that’s why.

“Sheesh... Just do what you want.”

She resigned herself to her fate, her face too beet red. It was curious if Monica even noticed that Shinichi’s fingers were caressing Myuhi in the same way as he had done her. Regardless, whether it was out of embarrassment or shame, Myuhi too found herself smiling with a crescent moon smile at the face of the man lying on her lap.

“You really are a sexually harassing demon.”

“I can’t believe the naughty boy turned out to be such a perverted boy.”

The two ladies decided to counterattack as such, but...

“In that case, shall I act in a way more fitting such a deviant title?”

When Shinichi said that with a grin, the two women immediately fell silent. The shade of red on them grew intense. It was curious what it was that they were imagining.

Shinichi laughed from the depths of his throat, but really, he was exhausted. And when the two ladies felt his weight bore on them fully, their gazes turned into that of suspicion. Shinichi met their gaze. His gaze as he looked at them was that of longing, like someone entranced by the stars in the heavens, yearning for something just out of reach, it was a gaze that held an unspoken emotion that could not be put into words.

“Huh?”

“Puh.”

Myuhi was confused, while Monica laughed. Ignoring the further bewilderment of the former, Monica let her cheeks soften, the flush of embarrassment completely gone from her face.

“You really are a brat, aren’t you? You pull a prank, then run out of strength. If you want to be spoiled, why not just say so?”

She spoke in a teasing tone, calling him an “attention-seeker,” but her gentle eyes conveyed a kind of affection, as if she found his inability to express himself endearing.

“...Well, excuse me for being a troublesome brat.”

Shinichi retorted sulkily, having been effortlessly called out, but his cheeks were similarly relaxed, accepting her gaze.

“Hey, I didn’t go that far. I see you’re not denying it though.” Monica smiled mischievously and reached out her hand by reflex.

Those slender hands that have been groomed to perfection brushed the black hair of the boy.

“Can’t deny it, can I?”

Shinichi seemed to accept her caress, so Monica happily suggested.

“Oh, right. For your reward, so long as you pay attention to who’s looking, how about I give you the right to be spoiled by this big sister?”

“Don’t need it.”

“Oh, my, how stubborn.”

“I don’t have a hobby of being spoiled by an older sister.”

“Oh, really? Well, that’s fine too.”

“Mn.”

Monica blinked her eyes several times, then in a roundabout way, she said that she understood. As the two decided on his compensation like that, the Songstress and the boy shared a laugh.

Meanwhile, he felt another pair of eyes looking at him. So, he turned to her, and upon seeing her expression, said.

“Aren’t you going to do it too?” “!?”

Was it because she had not intended to watch from so close?

Was it because the person herself did not understand her own loss of composure? Was it because she did not want to lose to the mutual understanding between Monica and Shinichi? Was it because she met his eyes? Or was it because—

“...Good grief, what a bad man you are.”

“A bit too late for that.”

—She didn’t want him to think that she didn’t want him to desire her?

The boy saw through it all and enjoyed her white fingers as they came to caress him.

Myuhi’s face was not at all looking in his direction, but there was no hiding how happy she was now. It was to the point that Monica was both astonished and charmed by her. Meanwhile, Shinichi let out a breath and quietly closed his eyes.

──Really, all that’s here is a no good man.

Although he couldn’t sleep, just the comforting presence next to him was enough to lessen the heavy weight he carried on his shoulders and heal him.

For a moment, the softness, warmth, and gentleness of these two women made him forget about his problems. At the same time, he resolved himself to solve those problems no matter what.

So he let out a gentle breath and enjoyed to the fullest the lap pillow provided by these two beauties.

That was the reward given in the backdrop of the concert after the battle.

As for whether that was luxurious or austere, that was a matter to be decided by a person’s sense of value, but surely, not one of those who feared Masquerade could possibly imagine it,

that the source of his momentum was in fact this warmth.