Chapter 123
(...What does this mean? An email at a time like this?)
Nishino checked his status screen over and over, but the sender was definitely listed as Ichinose Natsu.
Was it a coincidence?
No, it seemed far too convenient to be a coincidence.
(Either way, I won't know until I check what's inside.)
He tapped the unread email and checked its contents.
"...What is this...?"
He couldn't help muttering the words aloud.
It began with, "Dear Nishino Kyoya-sama," and was packed with so much text it practically covered the entire status screen.
A flood of words appeared, so dense that the scroll bar looked like a tiny sliver beside it.
Frankly, just reading it was exhausting. That was the kind of email it was.
(I-is this some kind of code...?)
It was an understandable reaction, but for the sender, this was just an ordinary email.
It would take an average person an hour to read, but Nishino finished it in just a few seconds.
Then he let out a long sigh.
"What... is this...?"
He muttered the words again.
The email from Ichinose Natsu.
It seemed to answer all the questions he'd been pondering just moments earlier.
Why hadn't her name appeared on the list?
Why was another name displayed where hers should have been?
And why had she emailed him at this exact moment?
All of it had been explained in detail—and with an absurd amount of unnecessary text.
(I see. The unpleasant predictions really do tend to come true...)
Even so, Nishino's thoughts were settling down.
He'd been confused because he lacked information. Now that he had it, he was regaining his usual composure.
(Now, what should I do...?)
Nishino thought it over.
If what was written here was true, there was something he needed to confirm first.
"Hey, Nissy, what's with the serious face?"
"Rikka..."
As she spoke to him, her blonde side ponytail swaying, Nishino deliberately put on a smile. A sarcastic one.
"...Were you waiting for me to finish reading?"
"Huh?"
"Don't play dumb. Honestly, at a time like this... Haha, you got me good. You knew everything, didn't you? And you still helped them. So that person really was that important to you... more important than I was."
"W-what's wrong, Nissy? What have you been talking about this whole time...?"
As Rikka tilted her head, Nishino gave a wry smile.
"Kudo Kazuto."
"...!"
Her reaction was dramatic.
Nishino didn't miss the way Rikka's expression stiffened.
"I knew it... You knew, didn't you?"
Rikka turned her face away.
"Nissy... Um, I..."
"Don't be so wary. I'm not angry. If what's in this email is true, then I understand why you acted the way you did. I really do."
"What's going on, Nishino-san?"
"What's with those serious faces, you two?"
Perhaps noticing their expressions, Shibata and Goshogawara approached them as well.
Nishino turned toward them.
"...I got an email from Ichinose-san."
"From her? Wh-what did it say?"
Shibata seemed oddly eager to hear more.
"No, before that, there's something I want to check. Shibata, Goshogawara-san, look at your email lists. Is Ichinose Natsu's name there?"
At his request, the two of them checked their email lists.
"...Huh? It's not there."
"It's not on mine, either..."
"Then, do you see the name Kudo Kazuto? It should probably be near the beginning of the list, around where the people you met after arriving at City Hall appear."
"...Yes, it's there."
"Yeah, I see it."
"I see..."
That settled it.
What Ichinose Natsu had told him was true.
"N-Nishino-san, what does this mean? Why isn't her name on the list? And who is Kudo Kazuto? What happened to her...? Did something happen to Ichinose?"
Nishino hesitated for a moment over how to answer, but decided to be honest.
"Ichinose is safe. Well, she should be, anyway."
"What do you mean by that—?"
"Shibata, let me cut to the chase. The person we were talking to until this morning wasn't Ichinose."
"...Huh?"
"Kudo Kazuto. That's the real name of Ichinose-san—or rather, the person we treated as her."
The moment he said that, the two of them opened their eyes wide.
"Wait, what...? Huh? What are you saying, Nishino-san? Stop making weird jokes. That's really not funny."
"It's not a joke. Apparently, that was an appearance created with a Skill."
"No, but... That's..."
Shibata leaned back, his body recoiling as if he couldn't believe it.
Then he turned to look at Rikka.
When he saw her silently nod, Shibata was stunned.
It seemed to have come as quite a shock to him.
"Rikka."
Nishino turned to her again.
Her shoulders jumped.
"I told you, don't be so wary. I'm not angry, okay?"
"But, um..."
"If I'm angry at anyone, it's not you. It's myself, for being so useless..."
"Huh...?"
"Never mind. Anyway, I'll ask you directly."
Rikka swallowed audibly and grew serious.
"Is he—Kudo Kazuto—someone we can trust?"
"Yes."
Rikka nodded without the slightest hesitation in response to Nishino's question.
"...I see."
Even so, Nishino couldn't help feeling a little lonely about it.
He let out a quiet sigh.
"...I'm jealous, honestly."
He couldn't help feeling a little jealous of a man who'd earned her trust so completely in just a few days—or even less.
(...I'm such a petty man.)
He understood that this wasn't something he should be thinking about in the current situation, but that didn't mean he could simply set his feelings aside.
People think with reason, but act on emotion.
(Well, whatever. If I haven't earned enough of her trust, I can build it up again.)
Either way, the other side had already made the first move.
Now that things had come to this, he already understood what the best course of action was—and what he needed to do.
He hated that he understood it.
Nishino looked at the three of them.
"Everyone, I need to talk to you. This is important, and it concerns what we do from here on out—"
With that, Nishino began explaining the contents of the email he'd received from Ichinose.
Meanwhile, in a room in an abandoned building a short distance from City Hall.
Ichinose Natsu let out a sigh.
"Whew... I guess that'll do for now..."
Looking utterly exhausted, Ichinose stared at her email screen.
Before Kazuto left City Hall, he'd asked her to do something.
One of his requests had been to persuade Nishino and the other students to join them.
"Neither Kazuto-san nor I even noticed that the email list displayed people's names..."
She'd only learned about that yesterday.
The person who'd told her was her best friend, Rikka.
While Kazuto was gathering information on his own, Rikka had filled Ichinose in on what had happened while she was separated from Nishino, and they'd also discussed how useful email could be.
The email list displayed a person's real name.
That information had come as a complete surprise to both Kazuto and Ichinose.
They hadn't known at all—or rather, they simply hadn't noticed.
Naturally, Kazuto and Ichinose had panicked.
After panicking and thinking it over, they had discussed it at length and reached a conclusion: rather than let the others suspect them unnecessarily, it would be best to explain everything properly and ask them to join their group.
(We're going to need allies for the battles ahead... Just like Kazuto-san said.)
The email she'd just sent.
When she heard that the Self-Defense Forces had been wiped out, Ichinose was convinced Kazuto's prediction had been right.
The Giant Ants, and the massive Golem.
It was nearly impossible for them to defeat either one on their own.
(That's why we need to act in a way that lets us adapt whether the plan succeeds or fails...)
If they succeeded, they'd gain a safe base. If they failed, they could use what they'd learned to prepare for when they secured a base of their own.
It was a harsh way of looking at things, but Ichinose agreed with Kazuto's reasoning.
Either way, they would need allies outside their group.
(People who understand our situation and can still work together with us...)
Nishino fit those conditions perfectly.
Unlike the people they'd met at City Hall, she and Kazuto already had a good sense of what Nishino and the others were like. And given that Rikka was her best friend, this was unquestionably the best option.
All that remained was to make sure the other side wouldn't refuse.
She could have asked Rikka to persuade them, but Ichinose wasn't quite confident enough to rely on that alone.
(Aka-chan did a great job handling the timing.)
The timing of the email had certainly not been a coincidence.
It was Aka, disguised and keeping close to Rikka, who'd arranged it.
Apparently, Aka's clones shared their senses, allowing them to share information with one another in real time. That was why Aka had been able to pick the best possible moment.
(Still, Nishino-kun must be pretty crazy smart if he could figure all that out from just that email...)
She'd thought he might be more suspicious, but instead, he'd understood everything so readily that she was the one who'd been surprised.
His mind worked too quickly, and his judgment was too sharp.
She'd written a lot in the email, but even so, he'd managed to make his decision that quickly.
(Ricchan said Nishino-kun had the Job 'Commander.' I wonder if that has something to do with it...)
A person's Job and Skills were influenced, at least to some extent, by what kind of person they were.
He might have already been smart to begin with, and his Skills and Job could have made him even sharper.
(And they'll have their own goals, too...)
Well, that was give and take.
There was no point in working together unless they could both make use of each other.
(For now, the only question is whether I'll be able to handle this. That's all...)
To puke or not to puke. That was the question.
Even Kazuto, the person she'd come to trust, had seen her throw up all over the place.
There was no guarantee she wouldn't repeat that disaster.
She had to brace herself.
"Woof!"
As she was thinking about that, she heard the voice of her precious, precious dog, Momo, behind her.
"Momo-chan, good work. Are you okay?"
"Woof!"
Momo nodded and showed her the "results" she'd brought back.
Seeing them, Ichinose's smile widened.
"Yeah, that's plenty. I think this should be enough."
"Woof."
She gave Momo, who'd worked so hard, a good cuddle and buried her hands in her fluffy coat.
Ah, so soothing.
But at the same time, she felt a little lonely.
(Kazuto-san, I hope you come back soon...)
Even though they were keeping in touch by email, that was a different matter altogether.
(Until recently, I was used to being on my own...)
But now she found herself thinking it was only natural for him to be by her side.
She drew Momo close and buried her face in her fur.
Momo squirmed as if ticklish.
"Whiiine?"
"...It's okay, Momo-chan. It's not like I'm lonely or anything."
As if she'd seen right through her thoughts, Momo gave her cheek a lick.
It was as though she were encouraging her to do her best.
"...Yeah, you're right. Kazuto-san's doing his best, too. We have to do our best as well."
"Woof!"
After steeling herself, Ichinose looked at the things spread out before her.
She was about to try out the new Job and Skills she'd obtained from the gacha.
In a worst-case scenario, this might become her trump card.
That was why—
"We have to make this work, Momo-chan."
"Woof!"
With renewed determination, she got to work.