Chapter 33 - Inflation
"...I see."
I understood the general flow of things.
Given those circumstances, the mental shock must have been considerable.
It wasn't hard to understand why she might impulsively jump in front of a train.
However, I still didn't have any corroborating evidence.
I felt bad for doubting her, but I had to confirm the facts.
"What is the other Ayako-chan doing right now?"
"She should be at school. ...She said she wanted to act like nothing happened, so she'd spend her time normally."
One Ayako-chan was weakened, while the other was acting cold and detached.
Human beings were truly mysterious creatures.
"...Um."
"Hmm?"
"You probably feel like the other me is a horrible girl, don't you? But I understand. I hate myself the most, so I think that's why I'm being so cold to myself."
Nakamoto-san, please don't hate the other me, she's not a bad girl—she offered a very peculiar kind of self-defense.
Two versions of the same person were in conflict, and the victim was defending the perpetrator.
Since the perpetrator was also herself, I suppose it made sense.
Listening to it made my head feel like it was getting tangled up.
"Can I have Ayako-chan's phone number? The other one has a smartphone, right?"
"Ah, yes."
If I could hear the other Ayako-chan's voice, it would prove that the duplication was real.
Modern conveniences were so handy. As I was feeling proud of myself, that whispery voice hesitantly pointed something out.
"...But, I don't think she'll answer."
"Ah."
Would a high school sophomore girl actually pick up a call from a number she didn't recognize?
Especially one with a personality quieter than average.
"That's impossible."
So what now?
I could go check Ayako-chan's school right now, but that was a hassle.
"Hmm, oh yeah."
Suddenly, the image of Rio came to mind.
The uniform she wore was definitely from the same school as Ayako-chan.
Her older brother, King Leo, wore a uniform from a school with a much lower deviation score, so there was likely an academic gap between the siblings.
...Though just by the fact that he had advanced to high school, the brother was still more educated than I was.
"Can you tell me Ayako-chan's class?"
"Class 2-1."
I opened my SNS app and immediately moved my fingers to send a message to Rio.
I started to type a humble message like, 'I have something I'd like to ask of you, would that be okay?' but then I stopped.
This wouldn't work. She didn't respond well to that kind of tone.
Because she grew up with a mother who had a weakness for men, Rio's father figure had changed constantly since she was young.
On top of that, she was an extreme beauty. Apparently, most of her stepfathers had taken a fawning attitude toward her.
Since entering middle school, she had increasingly been subjected to looks filled with ulterior motives.
Due to this background, Rio absolutely hated 'pathetic old men who try to suck up to her.'
She wouldn't obey unless it was a resolute, stubborn old man—a strong father figure.
In that case, the appropriate text was—
'Go to the toilet right now, take an embarrassing photo, and send it. Within two minutes.'
Phew.
That should do it.
Even though there was a police officer just a few hundred meters away, that was some serious bravado.
By the way, this was just a greeting. I didn't actually want a lewd selfie.
Her attitude softened more when we started interactions like this.
That was all.
I'd delete the image that got sent later anyway. Besides, she sent them every day without me even asking.
Surrendering to the sense of fulfillment from a job well done, I leaned back against the sofa.
Two minutes passed in a flash.
I stretched and took a short break. I let my mind drift into a void of nothingness.
Perhaps invited by my relaxed atmosphere, Ayako-chan finally began to take a sip of her drink.
While we were relaxing like that,
'You have a new message.'
The notification appeared.
I tapped it silently.
'Nakamoto-san, you're amazing. How did you know exactly what I wanted to do most?'
Seeing the emojis full of heart marks, it seemed she was quite pleased.
When I poked the address at the bottom, a selfie image that, as usual, gave the middle finger to local ordinances appeared.
Wait, you can do that much with a necktie? Since she could be this creative in just two minutes, high school girls were not to be underestimated.
'Go to Class 2-1 and confirm if a student named Ayako Otsuki is properly at school. I'd appreciate it if you included a photo.'
I sent the concise instructions.
'What is that girl to you, Nakamoto-san?'
The response was incredibly fast. It was so fast it was scary.
'She's the child of an acquaintance.'
'Hmm. Is she the type to pretend to go to school but ditch somewhere? Were you asked to keep an eye on her?'
'Something like that.'
The way her mind naturally jumped to the behavior patterns of delinquent students made me realize once again that she really did have a bit of yankee in her.
Just because her hair was black, her inside was a gyaru... or rather, closer to a sukeban. I suppose that's a dead word now.
'It's hard to enter an upperclassman's classroom. Plus, Class 1 is for the college prep track people. If someone like me goes to peek in, it'll probably cause a stir.'
'Make it work somehow.'
'I'll make sure you compensate me properly later. Is that okay? Let's go somewhere together. No?'
'Just do it. Can't you listen to what I say?'
'...I love that...'
'Do it.'
'Yes.'
I'm actually the type to be henpecked by women, I thought, feeling an indescribable sensation.
Exhaling deeply, I turned my gaze back to Ayako-chan.
The only daughter of the bookstore (or is it two daughters now?) who had messed up my schedule was in the middle of slurping through her straw.
For a moment, our eyes met.
But she immediately looked away. Her cheeks were slightly flushed.
Sitting like this, she looked like nothing more than a shy girl.
She couldn't even meet my eyes.
Maybe she was a very cute girl. If only I could turn a blind eye to her fetishes and bizarre nature.
Was it okay to describe a girl as cute when you had to ignore those two things? It felt like she belonged in the same group as a handsome serial killer.
"...It's embarrassing when you look at me."
That said, as far as I knew, Ayako-chan had never actually laid a hand on any evil deeds.
Just because she held something murky inside, if she could lead a peaceful daily life, she was no different from an ordinary person.
If a person who caused no actual harm was in trouble, I should lend a hand.
It wasn't because I was a Hero; it was a vent for the fact that I was hardly ever helped when I was in that other world or this one.
Because no one lent me a hand, I would help people instead.
By doing so, I could indulge in the illusion that I was saving my past self.
In short, it was self-satisfaction.
"Nakamoto-san."
"Hmm?"
"Lately, you've been working as a magician, haven't you?"
"Ah, yeah."
"I was surprised."
Well, anyone would be surprised if an acquaintance suddenly started appearing on TV.
I would be too.
"...I watch you every day."
"Thank you."
"Yesterday, you appeared on three channels for a total of forty-two minutes and nineteen seconds, didn't you?"
"A-Ah, thank you."
Ayako-chan put the straw to her mouth and sucked with a loud slurping sound.
"...Nakamoto-san, are you the type of person who cares about your reputation on the internet?"
"I try not to look at those things. It's probably mostly insults anyway."
"...It's okay. If I find someone saying bad things about Nakamoto-san on anonymous message boards, I guide them to click on links with viruses..."
What's wrong? She's talking more than usual today.
For Ayako-chan, who was supposed to be playing the perfect innocent girl in front of me, this was a rare slip-up.
"A-Um."
"What is it?"
I was acting composed, but my honest feeling was that I didn't want to hear anything scarier than this.
"...I love you."
[Affection Level of Party Member Ayako Otsuki has increased by 9999]
[Party Member Ayako Otsuki's feelings toward Keisuke Nakamoto have changed from 'Obsession, Desire to Collect' to 'Love, Desire to Collect']
[Ayako Otsuki's Affection Level has reached a level where sexual intercourse and marriage are possible]
[Do you wish to designate Ayako Otsuki as your spouse?]
Hey, System Message-san. Or rather, Elsa.
Are you really sure it's okay to put this girl in the position of my second wife?
First of all, 'Desire to Collect' is out of the question.
What does it mean to collect me? A Nakamoto Collection? The ring of that is seriously sinister.
"In what sense do you mean 'love,' I wonder?"
"...As a man."
[Affection Level of Party Member Ayako Otsuki has increased by 9999]
Is it seriously going to increase by 9999 each time? The numbers are so big it's scary.
"Haha. What's gotten into you?"
"...Because... you were kind to me... today."
[Affection Level of Party Member Ayako Otsuki has increased by 9999]
"...I... am like this... but... I thought... I'd try to live."
"T-That's good to hear."
[Affection Level of Party Member Ayako Otsuki has increased by 9999]
A notification for a new message appeared on my smartphone screen.
It was Rio.
When I tapped it, the short phrase 'She was there' appeared.
The image sent with it was a two-shot photo of Ayako-chan with a stiff face and Rio attempting to secure her with crossed arms.
It looked like nothing more than a delinquent girl shaking down an honor student, but it was evidence of a great achievement.
'Well done.'
After typing a short reply, I looked up at the ceiling.
The Ayako-chan drinking a beverage in front of me, and the Ayako-chan who was just captured at school.
Two Ayako-chans existed at the same time.
The multiplication was real.
"But why?"
I couldn't read the goal of the person causing this incident at all.
After doubling two people famous as geniuses in a row, why did they suddenly move to doubling just an ordinary high school girl?
The mystery only deepened.