The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria
Book 5: Chapter 7

Kazuki Hoshino 09/11 FRI 5:48 PM

I smell peppermint. To me, it’s synonymous with being in Maria’s apartment.

I lift my head from the bed to check the time. The screening of the first movie, Breaking of Close Ties, should already be coming to an end.

I hold a conclusive advantage. Daiya is imprisoned within the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes, and it’s designed so that when all the movies are finished, Daiya will relinquish his Box. All I need to do is wait for time to pass.

That’s no reason to get sloppy, though. This is Daiya, after all.

Daiya can use his Box within the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes, and I’ve learned his Box controls other people. With that ability, Daiya could manipulate someone into launching an attack on us.

“Kazuki, help me carry the food,” Maria says.

I make sure I’m wearing the right expression. I can’t allow her to realize I’m acting in secret. That’s why I can’t slip up and let the tension show.

I deliberately try to relax my face.

I stand up and head to the kitchen. Maria smirks at me.

“Why do you look like such an idiot?”

“…Huh?”

“Now that Oomine has returned as an owner, even you must know the danger we’re in? Yet, here you are acting like a fool.”

“Sorry.”

I relax. Maria thinks I’m the same as ever.

The dishes are plain, and on them are hamburg steaks Maria and I made together. Maria never had much interest in cooking, but even she’s become quite the accomplished chef these days. She doesn’t exactly look at home in an apron, but the thought doesn’t feel strange anymore.

“Kazuki.” Maria calls my name as I hold a plate in each hand. “There’s a leftover cherry tomato from the garnish.”

A mischievous grin appears on her face. Maria holds it out at me. My hands are still full.

“U-uh…?”

“Eat it. Don’t put the plates down.”

Don’t put them down…? Still holding the dishes, I lean forward and eat the cherry tomato between her fingers like a baby bird pecking at its food.

Her fingers themselves go into my mouth, too.

All she does is smile smugly, though.

She pulls off the stem and slides her fingers free.

“You’re an idiot,” she says as I chew away.

“…That’s pretty harsh, when you’re the one who made me do it.”

“You’re an idiot because you just did what I wanted without saying no,” she retorts, still smiling, then turns away from me and back to her work.

I return to the other room and set the hamburg steaks on the table.

“……”

Believe me, I know what’s going on.

I’ve created this happy setup by deceiving Maria. I’m taking advantage of her total faith in me to go behind her back. I’m betraying her.

But I had no other choice.

I want to be with Maria forever.

That’s not her wish, though… No, that’s not it. She believes she isn’t allowed to wish for such a thing.

Maria calls herself a Box and wants to grant the wishes of others, and she prioritizes other people above herself. No, “prioritizes” is too weak a word for it. She seeks to make others happy by sacrificing herself, to the point she doesn’t seem to care about herself at all. She follows strict rules for herself and becomes “Aya Otonashi,” who exists solely to grant wishes, in an attempt to erase “Maria Otonashi.”

I cannot let that happen.

That’s why I will kill the “Aya Otonashi” within Maria.

But it’s too early to allow her to find out about my plan. If she did, I’m sure she would leave me. I have to keep her in the dark until an opportunity arises.

Still…

…will that time ever come? How long do I have to keep lying?

“Kazuki.”

My body goes rigid. Her call was timed so perfectly, it feels like a rebuke for my deceit.

“The rice is ready, so take the bowls in there.”

“O-okay.”

“…? Is something wrong?”

“Oh, no… Nothing.”

I don’t think I’m particularly good at hiding things. I can’t hide the changes within me forever. The day it comes to an end is almost here.

“Then hurry up and come get the rice bowls.”

“Okay, I’ll be right—”

My phone buzzes. I pick it up right away.

“……”

It’s a text from Haruaki.

Yuri Yanagi is up to something.

It’s a straightforward message, no emoji or anything. I’m sure he must have typed it in a hurry.

Yuri. One of the people under Daiya’s control—one of his pawns—has taken action.

“S-sorry, Maria! Something came up.”

“…? What’re you saying? Is it so urgent you can’t even eat?”

“Sorry!”

Without waiting for her approval, I rush out the front door. I hear her calling for me to stop, but of course, I can’t. I quickly jump into the elevator and shut the door so she can’t follow me.

This’ll make her suspicious, probably. She may even piece together that my unexpected errand is Box related.

But I told her that tomorrow would be the day we take down Daiya.

And Maria believed me.

“……”

Holding my chest as it aches with guilt, I start a call to Haruaki.

I’m heading toward Haruaki.

As I run through the night, I suddenly recall a conversation I had with him in the park.

“I used to like Kiri.”

Haruaki told me that the day after Daiya returned to school.

Immediately before, I had been telling him about Boxes. I had made up my mind to fight Daiya, and I’d decided that to that end, I needed to reveal everything to Haruaki. Night was falling, right after the children playing there had gone home. As he listened, Haruaki jumped on a swing that had been squeaking mournfully after being abandoned.

“—”

Even after I finished explaining, Haruaki didn’t say anything for a while, simply swinging in silence. For some time, the swing’s lament was the only sound.

He was going so hard, I wondered if he was going to do a full 360. As I watched, I was sad that I had no other option but to bring Haruaki into this. But I had reached this conclusion after serious deliberation, so I had no regrets. Or so I was telling myself.

That’s when it happened.

“I used to like Kiri.” Out of the blue, with no context whatsoever, Haruaki answered me with an admission that he once had feelings for Kokone.

“Huh…?” I was surprised.

But as soon as he said it, I understood. It made sense.

Haruaki had rejected all those baseball endorsements from powerful schools trying to court him, and he’d come to ours, which had no prospects of reaching Koshien, the biggest national tournament for high schoolers in Japan. He was good enough to reach the pros, and yet he had sacrificed his future. I knew that. Maria had learned as much back in the repeating world, and she had shared it with me.

I had always wondered why.

But there it was.

Haruaki had chosen the same high school as Daiya and Kokone, even if it meant giving up on his dreams and future. I have no idea if it was because he wanted closure for his romantic feelings, or if he was thinking of something else, but he hadn’t had a choice.

The swing had come to a halt. Haruaki climbed up on top of it and kept going. “But you know what? I don’t feel that way at all toward the new Kiri. I dunno, it’s just that before, she was so vulnerable and fragile. Like she’d really be a mess without someone there to keep her safe. I wanted to protect her.”

He pushed the swing lightly again. It gave a shrill scree-screech.

“I was so full of myself. A superficial sense of resolve isn’t enough to let you take care of someone else.”

His tone was light.

However, things like that are hard to say. They don’t come out unless you’ve been taught by experience.

“Do you really not feel anything for Kokone anymore?”

“Nope. That’s why I’m fine with the idea of you and her going out. You’re a good match.”

I didn’t know if that was how he actually felt or not.

All I knew was that Haruaki gave thought only to certain girls. While Haruaki had never said as much, the truth was that he was the ace of our baseball team, which meant he was popular with girls, particularly from other schools. More than a few had professed their feelings for him, and he had actually gone out with several of them. But all those relationships had been short-lived, and nobody was confessing to him anymore as far as I knew.

All I could do was guess at what his feelings were when he dated them, what led to those breakups, and why girls stopped pursuing him.

But the reasons are most certainly connected to Kokone and Daiya.

“What about Daiya?”

“Huh?”

“You don’t think it would be good if Daiya went out with her?”

Haruaki didn’t answer right away. He stopped pushing the swing and waited for it to slow down. Before it stopped completely, he dropped down with a “Hup!” and then told me plainly, “I don’t.”

“Why? Of all people, those two—”

“Daiya can conjure up the deeper resolve that I couldn’t.”

What’s wrong with that?

As if he could read my thoughts, Haruaki smiled wanly and said, “That’s why they won’t be happy.”

I didn’t understand what he was getting at immediately.

“It’s not love. It’s not a proper relationship.”

I knew nothing of how the three of them had lived before, so I couldn’t feel the full weight of what he was saying.

I did know someone who resembled Daiya, though. Someone who would sacrifice their own happiness for that of others.

So I intuitively understood that the relationship between them was a mistake, that it was over.

“Let me ask you this, then. Why did you give up on Kokone? If you don’t think Daiya is good for her, then why do you need to hold back?”

“That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m not holding back at all. I thought I told you; there’s no need for me to protect her anymore. I’ve already had a change of heart.”

“…Kokone got strong enough that she doesn’t need someone to keep her safe?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Huh?”

“She’s as weak as ever. People don’t change that easily. But there’s no need to protect her anymore. I mean—”

As Haruaki spoke, the look on his face was one I had never seen before.

The emotion there was something different from anger or hate or pity. Haruaki was wearing a smile.

“—Kiri is already broken.”

I would later come to comprehend the emotion in Haruaki’s smile.

It was the smile of one who had given up.

The place where I’m planning to meet Haruaki is that same park where we had our talk. It’s about a two or three minute run from the apartment complex where Maria lives. Unlike the last time, the sun has already completely set.

Haruaki and Yuri are sitting on a bench bathed in the light of the streetlamps.

“Kazuki…”

Yuri looks up at me with teary eyes. I feel some pity for her, but those tears don’t hold any special emotions for me. After all, up until just recently, I’d had more than enough of her disingenuous tears. I’m quite familiar with what she’s done to her tear ducts.

Yuri is sitting quietly on the bench. She isn’t being restrained in any way. According to what I heard on the phone from Haruaki, she had complied with his orders simply by speaking to her.

“Haruaki, I just wanna make sure—what was Yuri doing again?”

“Like I said on the phone, she was loitering around near Maria’s apartment building. She didn’t seem to be particularly crazy or confused. She even explained what’s going on. Daiya gave her an order and told her to look into what you and Maria are doing.”

“Okay.”

This much I expected. If Daiya were to attempt something from within that movie theater, I figured that all he could do would be to use the people under his control to learn more about the two of us.

All the same—

“Yuri, are you okay telling us about your orders from Daiya?”

I mean, doing that is disadvantageous for him.

“Yes, it’s fine. This is just a maybe, but I don’t think this Box has that level of power over me.”

My chest aches at the word “Box” coming from Yuri’s mouth. Even though she had forgotten about the Boxes themselves, Yuri did remember the existence of these things that had brought her suffering. Even though she would begin to beat herself up again if she remembered in detail.

But right now, I’ve got too much to worry about to sympathize with her. Anyway, let’s get her talking.

“Yuri, can you explain things in a bit more detail?”

“Yes… Oh, but there’s one thing you need to be careful of. I can’t keep anything hidden from Oomine. If he gives me the Order to talk, then I have no choice but to tell him anything he wants. So please choose the topic carefully.”

“Got it. I understand.”

Still, I have to wonder if it’s okay for her to say that much. So Daiya might have used his Box on her, but she isn’t necessarily his ally.

“Yuri, Daiya controlled you to make you dig up intel on me and Maria, right?”

“That’s correct. We received a Command to investigate what you did to Oomine, and what you plan on doing next. We were also told that anyone with information was supposed to come into the Box where Oomine is.”

“Daiya is saying to come into the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes?”

Does that mean anything Yuri learns isn’t automatically conveyed to Daiya?

“What are these Commands like for you? As far as I can see, your mind seems to be in pretty good shape. It’s not like being brainwashed, is it?”

“You’re right. It’s completely different from brainwashing. Still, I don’t think I can disobey.”

“How compelling are the Commands? What happens if you don’t heed one?”

“…Let’s see. I don’t know exactly what happens if a Command is ignored. There may not even be a penalty. But either way, it cannot be broken.”

“It’s absolutely impossible for you to resist the orders?”

“Yes. And I’m sure that applies not just to me, but to all the other Subjects, too. It feels like…my spirit has been taken hostage. Disobeying a Command is like throwing your life away, in a sense.”

“So that’s how it is… So why didn’t you resist when Haruaki stopped you? Wouldn’t that be disobeying? How were you able to do that?”

Yuri lowers her gaze uncomfortably at my question.

“If Haruaki weren’t your friend, I might have tried to fight back or run away.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Command is to investigate the two of you. So if I get caught by your friend and wait for you, it still counts as following orders since you might show up.”

Does that mean Yuri is trying to say…?

“The Command is still in effect?”

By interacting with me directly, she’s creating a situation where she can gain intel.

Yuri gives a small, apologetic nod.

“But please believe me. I think you already see this, but Oomine hasn’t robbed us of our minds. All he can do is give orders we absolutely have to obey. I’m still me.” Yuri takes me by the hand and looks me in the eyes as she says, “I’m still on your side.”

I can feel the warmth of Yuri’s hands.

My face flushes warm.

…Okay. I can’t tell if she’s trying to sway my heart deliberately or not, but that just shows this is indeed the same old Yuri.

“There’s something that’s been bugging me.”

Haruaki finally breaks his silence and asks Yuri something.

“You aren’t the only one trying to find something out about Hosshi, are you? Does he have others under his control working on it, too?”

Yuri has been saying “we” for a bit now.

Sending Yuri alone to gather information would make for unreliable results. If he can, I’m positive Daiya would send out the same Command to multiple people.

Yuri squeezes my hand tightly at Haruaki’s question, then answers.

“No, I’m not. I think he passed along the Command to all the Subjects.”

“All…of them?”

“Yes, all of them.”

What does that mean? I’m pretty sure we have quite a few Subjects among the students at our school alone.

Are all of them shadowing us…?

“…How many Subjects are there?”

“……Nearly a thousand.”

“A thou—!”

I stop short without thinking.

I imagine it—the sight of one thousand people in this park, surrounding me, pressing in, jeering at me to spit it out, to confess.

I think back on the video I saw on YouTube of a group of people in the streets bowing their heads to the ground and sobbing, like they were swearing allegiance to Daiya.

There were probably only ten or so people at most, but that still made enough of an impact to warrant coverage on TV. It was enough to make Roo ask aloud when she saw the video if someone like him could change the world. Others likely had the same reaction, too.

Still, it’s conceivable that all Daiya did was make a Command to the tune of “Bow down before me and weep.”

That was all it took for him to get that much influence.

And Daiya can do that same thing to one thousand people.

I saw something similar about group psychology once on television. If a group of people started looking up at the sky, though there was nothing in it, how many would it take before total strangers started looking up, too?

The answer was three. If three people look up at the sky, a fourth will think there is something there and look up as well. Then if someone else sees the original three plus the one, the fifth, too, will be caught up in the effect and turn their eyes to the sky. Eventually, a whole bunch of people will be looking at a perfectly ordinary sky.

Because of three people.

So what about a thousand?

For example, one thousand people could all rush into the same restaurant and create a surge in its popularity. They could also bully them online if they found a blog that offended them. No…even those conjectures are on the mild side. You wouldn’t need even a whole thousand to pull those things off.

The power of a thousand is beyond anything I can conjure up in my head.

What’s worse, it’s not like the number of people he can Control maxes out at a thousand. Daiya can make it even bigger.

Yeah, I see it now. The strength of this Box.

It’s no exaggeration.

Daiya’s Box has a power great enough to change the world.

And now—

—he’s using that power for the sole purpose of taking me down.

I can’t keep the tips of my fingers from trembling.

“…Hey, Yuri, how detailed were these latest Commands? From what you’re telling us, Daiya didn’t give instructions about each and every aspect of how you fulfill it, right?” I ask, fighting down my anxiety.

“That’s right. He didn’t give us a lot of details, so each one of us is carrying out the Commands according to our own methods and judgment. But we can’t do anything that would go against our own morals. We obey by doing what we believe we’re capable of and using the means we think is the best. I don’t know which apartment Otonashi lives in, but I do know she lives in that building, at least. That’s how I was able to get close like this,” Yuri explains.

“…Um…” I think on what she said. “So you’re saying that even if you did know the location of Maria’s apartment, you couldn’t smash the window and break in because you think it’s wrong?”

“Exactly.”

If so, does that mean people are actually limited in terms of what they can do under Commands?

I relax a bit—or start to, but then I shake my head. No. I can’t relax. Yuri being Yuri, she might not be able to, but others might not have any problem with it.

…There are people who smash windows and invade homes even without Commands, after all… Like Maria, like Maria, like Maria.

“I understand why you were hanging out in this park. Remind me again—you said you were able to make it here because you know the location of the building, right? Which would imply that other people who don’t know won’t be showing up here?”

“Correct. Others won’t be arriving.”

“…Subjects can’t share information among one another?”

“No… There is a feeling like we’re connected somewhere deep within our consciousness…but our thoughts are not linked. So I can’t share the fact that I know the location of Otonashi’s apartment building.’”

“But come on,” Haruaki interjects, frowning. He had been silent for some time. “Even without special abilities, you can still use your phone, can’t you?”

Yuri’s eyes widen. “Th-that’s exactly right. Why didn’t I notice that? …Oh, what should I do…? I can…do that, too…”

Her voice begins to tremble, and the color leaves her face.

“Now that I know, I have no choice but to do it.”

She pulls out her mobile phone.

“Huh?”

What is Yuri doing? She can’t be trying to make contact…? She just said she was on our side.

Despite that, she really is here pulling out her phone. Her eyes are wide, and her lips are quivering.

She’s trying to trick me.

She isn’t so kind as to pause for me in my confusion. Yuri types out a text, gets ready to send it, and then—Haruaki restrains her with her arms behind her back in a full nelson.

“Ungh…!”

The phone falls from Yuri’s hands.

“Damn! Sorry, Hosshi! My bad!”

“…U-um?”

“Don’t you get it, Hosshi? Yuri told us about Crime, Punishment, and the Shadow of Crime, even though it doesn’t help Daiyan. She can probably also oppose him a little. She’s trying to help us. But she can’t stop herself from completing the Command to the best of her ability. Isn’t that right?”

Gazing at me with tearful eyes, Yuri gives a small nod.

“He’s right. Oh… Wh-what should I do…?”

“You’re not strong enough to fight me, so I could always keep you pinned, you know?”

“N-no, even if you can stop me, it’s probably no good. You see, the idea of keeping in touch with the others just never occurred to me, so I’m sure someone else will think of it. If one of them can pinpoint Otonashi’s whereabouts, they’ll definitely contact others. After that, it’s simply a matter of time. The information will spread and spread…!”

“Ugh, I get it. That makes sense… Hosshi. One of the Subjects might already have Maria’s address as we speak. Don’t you think you oughta hightail it outta here?”

“B-but……”

This is Maria we’re talking about. If we do that, she’ll figure out I’m fighting with Daiya over a Box. This, too, is something I need to avoid at all costs.

Could we even get away, though?

I mean, a full thousand people are on the hunt for us.

A thought pops into my head, and I check the Internet for my name.

The results of the real-time search make my face go pale.

RT: [Please Share] Kazuki Hoshino and Maria Otonashi, second-year and first-year students at XX High School, respectively, have gone missing. At six PM,Kazuki’s older sister discovered a letter that appeared to be Kazuki’s suicide note and went looking for the two, but she has yet to find them. Please contact her immediately if you find these two students. Kazuki Hoshino’s address is—

“Wha—?”

What the hell is this?

They’ve even put my address up online. When I check the page of the original poster, I see no tweets before this one. They obviously made this account to write this. And that tweet isn’t the only one; they even have pictures of me and Maria, as well as Maria’s motorcycle on there.

Considering Maria’s appearance is also hard to ignore, the tweet has already spread quite a lot in a short time. Some people doubt its credibility, but they don’t matter. A search for missing persons warrants spreading the word, regardless of whether the intent behind it is benevolent or malicious.

At this point, it’s reasonable to assume Subjects have seen this tweet.

I reflexively raise my head and survey the area.

There’s a female office worker strolling along while staring at her phone, a middle-aged man walking his dog, and a middle school student with a hat on sitting astride his bicycle.

And as my gaze passes over the middle schooler, our eyes meet.

…He might be one of the ones looking for me. He could have seen that tweet. He could be one of the Subjects. It’s not crazy to think this kid could call those other thousand people to come and trap us.

As the thoughts run through my mind, I lock up, unable to move.

Fortunately, the kid looks away from me, not appearing particularly suspicious.

“—Ugh.”

I can’t believe I’m afraid of a normal middle schooler looking at me…

…All the same, I can’t write off my reaction as an overactive sense of self-consciousness. There are indeed plenty of Subjects nearby. Plus, they’re average people, indistinguishable from anyone else. They’re not in uniforms like policemen.

Just being outside like this is exposing myself to danger.

“…Hey, Yuri.”

I suppress my fear to ask a question.

“You said this ability can’t violate your morals, right? So let’s say Maria and I were to hole up in her apartment—would you not be able to force your way in?”

“I wouldn’t. But there may be some unethical people among the Subjects… No, there definitely are, unfortunately. And at least as far as I know, some of them are like fanatical believers in Oomine. I don’t think they feel guilty at all about following his Commands. So I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t mind breaking into the apartment…”

So does that also guarantee that people might see this tweet, show up at my house uninvited, and put my family in danger?

“You and Otonashi…may even be tortured…!”

She’s about to cry, but still she thrashes and struggles against Haruaki’s arms. So she can send her message.

I’m sure she truly doesn’t want to relay the information. But by all appearances, she can’t stop herself. Maybe it’s that she doesn’t feel any guilt about the act of using the phone itself, setting aside what comes after. If not, then Yuri would never have been able to investigate us to begin with.

That is the compulsion of the Commands.

“…How can I…?”

A crowd of a thousand is after us. Each one of them is exercising their wits to catch us and learn what they can.

It’s just a matter of time. There’s no way in hell we’ll be able to hold out until the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes runs its course.

…Yeah, and that’s not even the worst of it. The stage where this mass of people is sniffing around for information on us is the easy part.

My point is that if Daiya never gets any intel on us, he’s not going to continue with the same Command. He’s fighting against the clock. Once it gets down to the wire, he’s not going to have time to waste on the slow and steady methods. This Command is, at most, Daiya’s opening attack. An initial wait-and-see, just a means to an end.

“Hey, Yuri.”

Without any developments, Daiya is sure to pursue an even more certain means of escaping the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes.

In other words—

“If he gave a Command to kill me, what would you do?”

—he would consider murdering the owner.

That would be an unmistakably immoral act. An act that would be impossible, as I understand it from how the situation has been explained to me.

Nevertheless…

“I would kill you,” Yuri replies matter-of-factly.

“…Why would you be able to do that?”

Even as the question leaves my mouth, I think I understand the answer.

“No matter what it is, the actual Commands must be carried out no matter what. Our individual morals don’t matter. The current Command is ‘Find information on Kazuki and Otonashi,’ for example. We have to obey it, but coming up with the means to do so is up to our own discretion. For me, breaking and entering is a criminal act, so I won’t do it. But if, say, the Command itself was ‘Get into Otonashi’s apartment,’ then I would have no choice. Ethics wouldn’t come into play there.”

Making Commands that are more specific displays the true power of Daiya’s ability to Control. The only reason the current Command is vague is because he is uncertain of the situation.

I’m sure Daiya’s desire to avoid murder is all that’s keeping him from just doing it at the moment. Once he’s backed into a corner, he may very well resort to such a method.

If it comes to that, then I will have all those people after my life.

At this rate, I have no choice but to do something.

As for the play I should make—

“……Yuri.”

Her arms still restrained, Yuri lifts her head and looks at me.

“I’m going to fill you in on everything that’s going on with us right now.”

“Huh?” Haruaki says. “Hosshi, you sure about that? The Subjects who figure something out go back to Daiya, right? You know he’s gonna really go on the offensive if he starts learning stuff!”

“But this is my only option… That, and I’m fairly certain Daiya can make a decent guess as to what’s going on with me and Maria anyway. So I’d prefer to feed him just enough to let him think he has what he needs to break out.”

That will keep the option of murdering the owner off the table.

“I have one other reason, too. I want to send Yuri to the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes.”

“Huh?” Still in Haruaki’s arms, Yuri stares in shock.

“I could be wrong, but you hate Daiya, don’t you?”

Yuri’s eyes remain wide for a moment…but then she seems to get what I’m driving at. Her mouth turns upward slightly. “Yes, I do.”

Perhaps because she knows she is going to get information, Yuri stops struggling. She continues to speak with an expression akin to joy.

“Oomine killed me in that murder game, and it’s because of him you had to see me in such a terrible state. I’ll never forgive him for that. If I happen to find any of his emotional scars, I’ll rub rock salt into the wound. I’ll make it so painful for him that he passes out and then kills himself.”

…Uh, you know…I’m not asking you to take it that far. You scare me, Yuri… You freaked out Haruaki so much he accidentally let go.

“…A-anyway, you’re with me, right?”

“Yes.”

Her skittish nature aside, Yuri is quite tricky and shrewd. She also can have nerves of steel when push comes to shove.

Essentially, she’ll be a Trojan horse.

If I can get her near Daiya, she will slow him down for me.

Thus, I explain to Yuri about how I’m deceiving Maria now.

I tell her that in order to enter the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes, she needs to head to the mall. She replies she already had a sense of that after Daiya used Crime, Punishment, and the Shadow of Crime. When she explains in more detail, it becomes apparent that Crime, Punishment, and the Shadow of Crime doesn’t belong to just Daiya; Yuri can also be described as an owner.

After learning this, something occurs to me.

For some reason, I think, This is kind of like Maria’s Box.

How, exactly? If you asked, I’d find it hard to answer. If I had to put it into words, I guess maybe the best answer would be that they have a similar feel.

Though born of powerful emotions, they are cold and somewhat brittle, and they don’t seem to have a point. They’re Boxes with no discernable meaning to me.

Perhaps because I had the notion, I think something.

Oh, what if—the one who truly understands Maria isn’t me anymore?

What if it’s Daiya Oomine?

I shake my head.

What the hell are you thinking all of a sudden?

I should be contemplating Daiya’s next move instead.

“Hey, Hosshi,” Haruaki says. “Daiyan will go after Kiri.”

Yeah, that’s it. I agree.

That’s why the one I need to protect now—

—is not Maria, but Kokone.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.