Chapter 40
He is late.
By the time he arrived at the curry shop where the children were fostered, it was already surrounded by layers of cordons. The dusk was gloomy, and the needle-thin rain could not wash away the burning smell of gunpowder in the clean air. The gray building was charred, and the black smoke left by the explosion had not yet extinguished.
There were only a few policemen in explosion-proof suits guarding the scene and taking notes. The onlookers had already dispersed. The news of the explosion would be suppressed immediately and it was very likely that it would not even be published in third-rate newspapers. It would only become a topic of conversation after dinner.
Staring at the half-destroyed gray apartment, Kono Seiryoshi's mind went blank.
...He has been here.
Before the trial period of partnering ended, he heard from others that Oda Sakunosuke often came here to eat, so he wanted to try his luck since he was not in a hurry at work that day.
Unfortunately, Oda Sakunosuke was not in the store at the time. When he was about to leave, a small head suddenly appeared from the direction of the second floor.
"Are you here to look for Odasaku?" Seeing him nod, the boy overcame his shyness in front of strangers and excitedly clenched his fists, "Then you must be a member of the Port Mafia, so handsome! I want to join in the future!"
Before he could answer, his shaking head was hit lightly by someone, "You should say hello before talking to others, the same applies to the Mafia." Oda Sakunosuke came out from the second floor and nodded at him, "Wait a minute."
…
Kono Seira moved his stiff legs and walked inside when he was stopped by a policeman who noticed him. "It's dangerous here. Please don't approach casually."
He came back to his senses as if his sleepwalking was interrupted, and asked in a very soft voice: "Excuse me...are there any survivors?"
The policeman looked at the absent-minded boy in front of him. His thin clothes were soaked by the rain mist, and his eyes seemed to be soaked in a layer of mist, which would break if shaken lightly.
He showed a heavy and reluctant expression and shook his head.
Asking unnecessary questions will not change what has already happened, but will only add to the burden.
Kono Seiryoshi lowered his eyes and apologized to the police.
--
He walked aimlessly on the bridge.
It was the time for people to get off work, and the streets were crowded. The sound of car horns and pedestrians talking mixed together, breaking up the reflection of the setting sun in the puddle.
He knew that Oda Sakunosuke was not in the house, but he also knew that he had nowhere else to go.
They were all once entangled in this world by precious things, but when the cherished things were ruthlessly destroyed, the hopeful future was also wiped out, leaving only an ending of self-destruction.
Kono Seira couldn't help but think - if he could have come earlier, if he had found out about Oda Sakunosuke earlier, if he had been discharged from the hospital earlier, would he have...
[Please don't think so.]
The system's calm electronic sound echoed in my mind.
[This is the original trajectory of this world, which neither you nor I as outsiders can change.]
In the eyes of passers-by holding umbrellas, the boy who was walking slowly on the bridge suddenly stopped, and his pale face became more delicate and fragile in the residual light of the setting sun. Some people cast curious or concerned glances at him, wanting to ask if he needed help, but before they could say anything, they were frightened by the cold and gloomy expressions on their faces and left awkwardly.
"…What does this mean?"
The wings of the light ball floated quietly, and another CG played in the consciousness space.
The system should not and cannot interfere with the changes in the world line, but this is an established and completed fact, and it is okay to reveal it to the contractor.
The Special Forces, the Port Mafia, Mimic, Ango Sakaguchi, Osamu Dazai, and Sakunosuke Oda.
Two years of planning, a soul longing for liberation, a friend betrayed, a loud explosion, and the final gunshot.
After a brief dizziness, Kono Seiryoshi's closed eyes reopened.
[Beyond the world line constructed by the choices made by the contractor, there is another original trajectory. The two have nothing to do with each other. They can be entangled with each other, but they cannot cross and merge.]
The light ball continued: [Some butterfly effects will be corrected, but the original trajectory cannot be changed in theory. The consequences of forced modification will only result in losses for both sides.]
[For example, during the first year of confinement in the underground, if you agree to use your supernatural powers to fulfill the wishes of your predecessors - "rule the port mafia forever" - and something like that, this will be irreconcilable with the conflict of the established future, and I'm afraid your vitality will be drained on the spot.]
Kono Seiryoshi lowered his head and held the bridge railing tightly, his fingertips turning white from exerting force. Only this could provide him with a little support.
"……I see."
Unlike his shaky figure, his heart was unusually calm. The records that he had read dozens of times every time he woke up at midnight came to his mind. He paused for a moment and quickly found a suspicious point in the initial explanation.
"You said that in the eighth year of confinement, I used my special ability to achieve my own destruction, and the excessive energy fluctuations caused the world line to collapse."
"But the truth is - this is not just caused by the supernatural power, but the "impossible things" that the supernatural power achieved conflicted with the world line, which led to the disaster in Yokohama."
The light ball recognized this statement and returned to the original topic: [The track that Oda Sakunosuke participated in has ended. It's not your fault. Although it is cruel to humans with emotions, I still want to tell you to give up and stop wasting your energy.]
“…No,” Kouno Seiryo slowly stood up, “Let me think about it.”
The rain has completely stopped, the diffuse light mist has also dissipated, in the distance the water and the sky are connected by a line, and the sunset is about to fall.
He gazed deeply into the sunset, as if if he focused hard enough he could imprint the last rays of the setting sun forever on his irises.
"Oda Sakunosuke will die today, and the part of the world line he participated in will end... Then wouldn't it be better if I could fill in the gap?"
"Look, I'm going to leave sooner or later anyway, so the world line created by my choices is useless, right?"
The light ball was stunned: […Contractor, what are you talking about?]
Kono Seira gently raised his head, the wind blew his hair apart, revealing golden eyes as calm as the setting sun: "I will not change Oda Sakunosuke's death. The wish I want to realize with my special ability is that they can live again."
His special ability can only realize impossible things, and the resurrected dead happen to be one of them, but this obviously goes against the established trajectory of the world line - no, their trajectory has ended.
The ball of light fell silent.
This is simply playing a tricky word game, and it does not have the authority to judge whether this is true.
"Think about it," Kouno Seiryoshi comforted it with a relaxed tone, "It would be great if it could be realized. The worst result is that my energy is exhausted and the world line remains the same. This-"
"Isn't this what we wanted to do in the first place?"
He gently stroked the wings of the light ball, and his tone was a little more coquettish and intimate than when he was chatting with friends. "Please, give it a try."
--
Outside the blood-stained villa, stood a ghostly figure.
He was completely hidden in the darkness. The bandage that was wrapped around his face disappeared, revealing his entire face. The last rays of sunset were cut at his feet, and in the twilight, his unclear eyes trembled suddenly.
Kono Seiryoshi paused, then sighed helplessly at the system: [This is what you meant by the established trajectory cannot be changed.]
Dazai Osamu, who was supposed to be on a business trip, realized the truth behind his deliberate transfer, and rushed back, but only saw his friend for the last time.
After calming down his heartbeat which had been speeding up due to his haste, Kono Seiryoshi started walking again.
When passing by Dazai Osamu, his gaze paused on the former for a moment, then slowly retracted.
He narrowed his eyes and said in his usual voice, "Can you wait for me for half an hour?"
In fact, it only takes a moment for the special ability to be activated, and it doesn't take that long to get the answer to success or failure, but Kono Seira was a little worried that he would be exposed, so he deliberately talked for a little longer.
During the long silence, Dazai Osamu's pale lips trembled, and finally he nodded lightly.
Pushing open the wooden door full of bullet holes, Kimino Seiryoshi saw Oda Sakunosuke sleeping in a pool of blood. The latter had a calm face, like a tired traveler who had been wandering for a long time and finally returned to the resting place of his soul.
He walked forward and touched the blood that was beginning to coagulate with his fingers.
"It's very cruel to force someone who has decided to leave to stay. Will you blame me when you wake up?"
Drops of blood slid down his fingertips. Even though there was no answer, Gongye Shengliang still showed an apologetic look on his face, as if the person in front of him was looking at him with disapproval.
"...But," he seemed to recall some happy memories, and his lips curved upward, "This is a deal where you can only make money and not lose money."
The moment the system informed him of the result, the long-sealed memory was unlocked, and Kono Seiryoshi remembered the time when he was imprisoned in the underground prison of the Port Mafia - the detention room.
The first wish he made with his supernatural power was to transform his body into a container for supernatural power, and from then on time would stop forever at that day.