Why Did You Die at the Harbor?

Tuesday. Fortunately, none of my classmates said anything about Toramari-san, but that was after another day in which I didn't speak to anyone except when necessary.

I had come to Takanashi-san's house.

A large truck was parked in front of her house. The reason was that—

"All right, all right!"

The parts for the Kenning that we'd commissioned from a local factory had arrived.

As the factory workers used a forklift to unload the cargo from the truck, the plant manager glanced toward Takanashi-san.

"Thank goodness we had a forklift. Still, that's unusual. Other than the big farms, there aren't any homes around here with one."

"It is more convenient to have one."

"I see... Your clan is really serious about making golems, then."

Apparently satisfied by her matter-of-fact answer, he nodded deeply.

Master stood beside him with a slightly nervous, sweaty smile.

"Thank you. Truly."

Then, all of a sudden, the plant manager bowed his head to Takanashi-san with a solemn expression.

As I wondered what was going on, I noticed faint dark circles beneath his eyes when he raised his head.

"Business has been bad lately... The parent company hasn't been paying us, and our factory was on the verge of closing. ...Thanks to this job, we've managed to keep our heads above water."

"No, we are grateful that you delivered everything so quickly."

"Haha. Most of the parts were things we had left over, and with a little ingenuity on the molds, they were easy enough to make."

He scratched his helmet-covered head self-consciously in response to Takanashi-san's expressionless reply.

Then he turned toward Master.

"Inoue-san, I'm sorry to you, too. Even though I'd been avoiding your shop, you still arranged this job for us..."

"Not at all. This has really helped us, too."

"Thank you... Truly, thank you...!"

Somehow, perhaps his factory really had been in a dire situation.

As the plant manager wept like a man, Master wore an extremely awkward expression. Even though they both benefited from this, she apparently still felt guilty about lying to him.

"W-well! If we keep thanking each other, we'll never get anywhere, so let's leave it at that. Please come visit our shop again, Plant Manager-san."

"Sorry. That's impossible."

The plant manager raised his head and replied flatly and decisively.

Huh? At a time like this?

"No! I'll be turned into a useless person! I'll become someone who can't live without maids! I'll be finished as a human being!"

"Please, not the nude modeling! Anything but the nude modeling! And especially not drawings involving some guy! I have a wife and kids! The last thing I need is my naked body displayed in front of the factory!"

"The mascot costume... The mascot costume in the window! In the window! ...Aaaaaah!"

Then the factory workers suddenly went berserk.

What should I do? I can tell exactly which one is talking about whom.

"I'm truly sorry, but I won't be able to visit Inoue-san's café... Well, not for a while longer."

"Yeah... Well. It can't be helped, I suppose."

Hey, could it be that the neighbors don't visit that café not because Master is an ability user, but because of the idiots in our clan?

"Then that's that! Call us anytime you need something! We'll take it on right away! See you!"

"Yes. I'll transfer the payment to the designated account."

"All right! See you! Good luck developing that golem!"

They carried the parts into the garage, then fled as though escaping.

"...Master."

"What is it, Yahiro-kun?"

"I think we should lecture those perverts at least once."

"They're not bad kids... They're not bad kids!"

Master quietly looked away.

Coddling them isn't enough... Though I can't exactly say much about other people myself.

"More importantly, it's time for some fun tinkering, bay-bee!!"

"Oh, you were here, Riko-senpai."

"You noticed just now!?"

When I turned toward the fake gyaru who had suddenly shouted, she was making an expression no woman her age should ever make.

No, I was the one who wanted to be surprised.

"I'm needed, aren't I!? I'm in charge of the programming, aren't I!? I'm essential! I'm an important person! Worship me!"

"But according to the schedule, wasn't that work supposed to happen tomorrow or the day after?"

"Don't sweat the small stuff!"

Seeing Riko-senpai make an unnecessarily dramatic face, I asked something that had suddenly occurred to me.

"Um... Riko-senpai, do you not have any friends? Are you bored?"

Could she possibly be one of my kind?

"Huh? No, I have friends. We just don't hang out every day. This is a video from yesterday, when the four of us entered different songs at karaoke and somehow all picked the same one."

On the smartphone Riko-senpai held out, four high school girls, including her, were happily enjoying themselves at karaoke.

Oh. Okay.

"Phew..."

"...Wait, did you just faint without saying anything!?"

That was bad. The sheer force of the damage had made me lose consciousness for a moment.

Why... Why were we so different, even though we were both ability users? What had gone wrong? Environment... talent... arrogance...

"Hey, Otaku-kun, are you all right? Did something really upsetting happen?"

"Riko-senpai."

"Y-yeah. What is it?"

"How do you make friends...?"

Huh, that's strange. Why was my vision blurring so much that I couldn't see straight?

Still, I could clearly tell that Riko-senpai was making an incredibly awkward expression in response to my question.

"Um... Maybe start by talking to the people around you?"

"And what if they avoid me...?"

"...Sorry. Nothing comes to me on the spur of the moment. I guess you could keep trying to interact with them."

"Yeah, that's what I thought..."

From beside us, Master clenched both fists and encouraged me.

"C-cheer up, Yahiro-kun! If you don't give up, a path will surely open up!"

"Thank you, Master..."

"If you want, you could invite some of your classmates to our shop! I'll do my best to entertain them!"

"No, a shop that leaves people with psychological trauma is a bit much."

"Sorry, Grandma. I was thinking the same thing."

"..."

As Master wore a somewhat wounded expression, Takanashi-san approached with a tablet in one hand after checking the parts.

"Perfect, Master. Thank you for introducing us."

"Y-yeah... Don't worry about it, Takanashi-chan..."

"Oh. That aside, what happened to Master and Yahiro-san?"

"Don't ask, Miyucchi. Sometimes people need to quietly brood."

"Huh...?"

I shook my head at their exchange, forcing my thoughts away from that unpleasant subject.

"Sorry for making things awkward. Anyway, Takanashi-san, do you think this will be enough to repair the Kenning?"

"Yes. We will need to replace several frames with the spirit wood Yahiro-san grew, but it should operate without issue."

"That's good."

"Still, that's amazing. Wooden parts mixed in with metal components... Is it romantic, or just tacky?"

"As a field modification, I believe it is excellent."

"Miyucchi... If you use words like 'field modification,' all I can say is that I'm satisfied!"

"Huh...? That's good, I suppose?"

Takanashi-san tilted her head at Riko-senpai, who was giving a thumbs-up.

Yeah. Takanashi-san doesn't need to understand.

And the phrase "field modification" really is that appealing, Takanashi-san...!

Also, Riko-senpai really is one of us.

Despite her confusion, Takanashi-san headed toward the back of the garage and took the Kenning out of her Item Box.

A machine with a wooden frame hastily attached in place of its left leg appeared on both knees.

"A battered humanoid robot is great, isn't it?"

"I understand..."

"No, isn't the fact that it's battered a problem...?"

Takanashi-san looked exasperated as we nodded deeply to each other.

Sorry. But it's romantic.

"Anyway, if we're talking about why you're here today, why are you here at Miyucchi's house too, Otaku-kun? Are you bored?"

"Hey, Riko!"

"Oh, I didn't mean it was bad for you to be here."

"No, please don't worry about it. I have a proper reason to be here."

I shook my head with a wry smile at Master and Riko-senpai, who both looked slightly flustered.

I might have made them worry too much. My school life wasn't actually as painful as they seemed to think.

I could spend my time quietly, and that was enough. It was peaceful, so I was satisfied. Satisfied, I was...

"Really?"

"Yes. I actually tried making a magic item for Takanashi-san, and I wanted her to look it over."

"For me?"

I nodded at Takanashi-san's bewildered expression.

After she nodded back, I set the backpack I'd been carrying on the workbench and took out a small shield.

"I made this from the leftover wood we used to repair the Kenning."

By my own admission, it was an ugly shield. It had mana in it, but it was crooked and uneven. It had merely been put together with nails and glue, and even a kobold could probably break it in a few hits.

But the true value of this shield wasn't its raw strength.

"Oh, oh. This shield is absolutely covered in handmade charm... Huh? Is something attached to the back?"

"Yes."

I nodded at Riko-senpai as she picked it up and examined it.

I had made and glued something resembling the scroll holder on the sword belt of my Spirit Armament to the base of the grip.

"You put a 'Psychokinesis' scroll in there and activate it."

"I see... So you block the enemy's vision with the shield while using 'Psychokinesis' to do something? Or perhaps entangle the enemy's weapon."

Takanashi-san clapped her hands in apparent understanding, and I gave a small shake of my head.

"No. I was thinking of using a somewhat special 'Psychokinesis' scroll in it."

"Special?"

"Yeah. Can we move out to the garden?"

"Huh...?"

After the four of us moved into the garden, I raised the shield.

"Riko-senpai, could you throw some of the garden sand this way? I'll block it with this shield."

"Heh... I get wanting to try it out before explaining it in detail! Leave it to me!"

Riko-senpai nodded smugly, scooped up some sand with her hand, and threw it at me without delay.

"Take this! My Quick Ball (Sand)!"

Did she just say "parentheses" herself????

Anyway.

I activated the scroll loaded into the shield against the incoming sand.

The 'Psychokinesis' spell normally creates an invisible arm. But this was different.

An oval membrane appeared, conforming to the shape of the shield, and blocked the sand.

"Huh? Wasn't something weird just now? When it caught the sand, something kind of rose up."

"Yeah. Something like a membrane appeared in the air and stopped the sand...?"

Riko-senpai and Master spoke in voices mixed with surprise and interest.

That made me feel a little better. Apparently, I wasn't completely useless after all.

"Actually, I altered the writing on the scroll just a little."

"What do you mean?"

"I explained this to you before, Master, but the 'Psychokinesis' scroll creates an invisible hand and moves it for ten seconds."

"Huh. Kinda lewd."

"Shut up, fake gyaru."

"I'm not fake, you loner!"

"Now, now, both of you calm down."

"My apologies."

After dipping my head slightly to Master, whose brows had drawn together in concern, I continued.

"It's a useful spell even as it is, but I wondered if I could change its shape."

"So you made it into a shield."

"Yes."

In fact, I had been experimenting with partially rewriting scrolls since two years ago—the 'Day of Regression.'

I hadn't been able to work on it in earnest because of entrance exams and other things, but I had continued experimenting little by little.

"There were many failures and misfires before this, but I've finally managed to deploy the shield stably."

"Wow. I don't really get it, but that's amazing. How much defense does it have?"

"I don't know exactly what kinds of attacks it can block, but... at the very least, it was strong enough not to break even when I hit it as hard as I could with my sword."

"Huh. That's pretty impressive, isn't it?"

"It is. You worked hard, Yahiro-kun!"

"Heh-heh..."

Being praised made me happy, but I was becoming even more embarrassed.

Feeling my ears grow hot, I looked toward Takanashi-san, who had been silent the entire time for some reason.

"If you don't mind, I'd like Takanashi-san to hold it. It has no recoil, so I think it would be fairly easy to use. And if we changed its size, I think it could also be used as equipment for the Kenning."

"..."

"Yahiro-san."

"Huh? Oh, yeah."

Just as I was beginning to feel a little frightened by Takanashi-san silently staring at me, she strode over and grabbed my shoulder with surprising force.

Takanashi-san's beautiful face and enormous breasts came right up beside me, and my heart began pounding.

"Why did you die at the harbor?"

"Huh? I don't know. I'm a different person."

What was I supposed to say to that?

I could more or less guess the reason. Most likely, my parallel-world self had become self-destructive.

He couldn't think of a reason to live. He was exhausted by everything. He probably thought it would be fine if it all ended.

Even so, the reason he fought... Or perhaps, just as I became that way because of the Lycanthrope spiritual disaster, the Yahiro Kota of the parallel world had done something foolish too.

Well, I don't know. It's all speculation.

"...I see."

After thinking for a moment, Takanashi-san released my shoulder and took one step back.

Then she nodded several times.

"I understand."

"Um, what do you understand...?"

"Yahiro-san."

"Y-yes."

Her strangely serious, amethyst-colored eyes pierced straight through me.

In response, my back naturally straightened. She was about to say something important.

"Please do your best not to die."

But what she said was something that went without saying.

"Uh, right..."

For some reason, she seemed to think very highly of the 'Psychokinetic Shield.'

I assumed other ability users also partially rewrote scrolls, though.

Well, I wouldn't know. I'd never met anyone else with an ability to create scrolls, and there were so few ability users to begin with that I couldn't tell much from what was online either.

For some reason, Takanashi-san was breathing heavily through her nose, so Master and I could only tilt our heads in confusion.