Dead silent. That’s how the mall was after Ayumu escaped. The nutcracker soldiers she created and turned back into normal mannequins.

  It was silent and very messy.

  The floor was riddled with craters, cracks, and rubble. Not to mention, blood. Nonsensical blood sprayed by the wooden puppets.

  The lower floors were doing a little better. Some cracks here and there, shards of glass from shattered display windows. The farther I got from where we fought, the cleaner things would be, with the first floor being mostly untouched.

  “Iroha!” A group of four girls gathered near the plaza on the first floor. Carol and Hecate had finally arrived, and they were discussing things with the other two when they spotted me. Too bad they’re too late. Katja was having a hard time moving when Narumi carried her out of the fight, but she was now standing on her own.

  “Why are you here?” Carol approached, followed by Hecate. “Where’s Ayumu? We’ll take over from here!”

  “What she said!” Hecate nodded, and the two of them got right in my face. “Are you hurt? It’s okay… Leave it to us!”

  “Uhmm… Actually… It’s over. Ahahahahaha…” Patting their heads calmed them down. “I’m not sure if we can call it a win, but we’re not in danger anymore. Ayumu escaped.”

  I suddenly felt something soft against my arm… Ignoring the conversation, Narumi sneakily nuzzled against my arm.

  “She escaped?” Katja kept some distance and spoke with a reserved tone. “Where to? We were here the whole time, so we should have seen her… Can’t rest while she’s still at large.”

  “I don’t think we’re gonna catch her, but it’s probably okay… She created a portal and escaped. The portal closed right after, so we shouldn’t see her again right away…”

  “You mean you managed to drive her off…? That should be an acceptable outcome…” Katja sorted through things when Carol cut her off.

  “She opened the portal herself? Are you sure about that? Since when is that a thing people can do?”

  “It wasn’t exactly her… One of the monsters she created opened the portal for her. At least that’s what it looked like…”

  “What kind of monster was it?” Hecate asked. “That’s a power that transcends every monster we’ve faced up till now. If she’s capable of creating monsters like that, we’re going to have a lot of problems in the future…”

  Katja heard a lot about portals from Ayumu that she had yet to tell the others. “Actually, turns out the subject of portals is more complicated than we thought… There’s a lot that we either weren’t told or that the PSF hasn’t figured out yet… Ayumu said the portals actually connect to a different world…”

  Sorry, Katja… She thinks she’s telling Carol and Hecate something new, but… we all know… Even Narumi caught some bits and pieces when we were hiding.

  “Oh…” Carol cringed and glanced at me and Hecate. “Sh- she told you that?”

  “She did… And some other stuff, but I don’t know how much of it is true. We’ll talk about it later.”

  “That’s probably a good idea…” I then turned to Carol and Hecate. “Sorry for making you rush all the way here for nothing… This thing wouldn’t have turned into so much of a mess if I hadn’t rushed so much… Sorry…”

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  Neither was expecting an apology, and the one most surprised was Katja. “What are you saying, Iroha? I was the one who gave the order! I’m the one to blame…”

  “Maybe… But I encouraged you… I was completely on board when you said to move out right away. I could have stopped you…” I was so scared of hesitation creating problems that I was completely blinded. There’s a limit to everything, right? One can be too reckless…

  “You can share some of the blame if you want, but it’s still mostly my fault…” Katja hung her head. “After leading us into that, you shouldn’t have wasted your energy on saving me… You could have focused on capturing Ayumu… Oww!”

  With her head lowered and shoulders slumped, she was in the perfect position to receive a chop from Carol.

  “Can someone take this idiot to bed? She hurt her head and can’t stop saying stupid shit now…”

  “Th- that’s not true… I didn’t-”

  She shrugged theatrically before turning back to Katja, who was rubbing her own head. “Do you even hear yourself? They wasted their energy saving you? What should they have done then, huh?”

  Katja stayed quiet.

  “Well, you three could rest for now.” Hecate then looked me up and down. “And you, Iroha, you need to wash off that blood. You definitely can’t go outside looking like that.”

  From the plaza, we could see a couple of exits out in the distance. It was hard to make out, but I could see crowds gathering outside. The curious among the people that evacuated stayed behind near the entrances.

  “The PSF’s there holding them back together with the cops. Mall security helped keep the situation under control at first, but it’s out of their hands now.” Spoken like she had seen it from up close, Hecate explained the situation. “The underground has been completely closed off by the PSF, so we can leave through there. That’s how Carol and I entered.”

  “Fine by me, but… Aren’t they gonna stop us?”

  “Nah… Don’t worry about it. They have their hands full.” Carol waved dismissively when she suddenly snapped in place. “H- hey! Narumi?! Since when have you been clinging to Iroha?! Let go!”

  “Huhh?” Narumi tilted her head, then let go, surprised. “Oh…! Sorry… Ahahahaha! Iroha looked like a pillow for a second.”

  “Hey hey hey! No, I don’t! With how much I’ve been moving lately, there’s no way!”

  “Well…” Hecate looked closely at me. “I’d be inclined to agree if not for the fact that you’ve bathed in blood. You’re clear.”

  “You’re doing it on purpose, aren’t you? That doesn’t make it any better!”

  …

  What a long day… I still can’t believe Ayumu was the one making monsters…

  Back in the dorm, we all took the rest of the day off to rest after everything that happened. The day turned to night, and now I was relaxing on the couch…

  It’s possible to be too reckless… And I’ve been too reckless… If it was just me, it would have been fine, but others are getting involved now… I could have protected Katja from Ayumu… I could have protected Narumi… from herself…

  Since when do the decisions I make have such a huge impact?

  Also, I ended up missing the closing ceremony, didn’t I? From a learning standpoint, if there’s any day when it’s fine to skip, it’d be today… Summer vacation, huh? I wonder if I can catch up on games?

  My head was in a daze, and I hadn’t noticed there was someone sitting with me on the couch. I hadn’t noticed, but someone certainly did.

  “Narumi! You’re clinging to her again!”

  “Woah… When did that happen?” Narumi sat up straight after Carol’s accusation. She was clinging, really?

  “Seriously, what’s wrong with you today? Did something happen between you two- Hey! Again?! You’re doing it on purpose!”

  Narumi wobbled back and forth for a moment, but in the end, her head ended up leaning against my shoulder.

  “Argg! I can’t handle this right now! I need a shower…” Carol stomped her way out and pointed at me before leaving. “Iroha, get rid of her before I come back! Go put her to bed or something.”

  “Ahahaha… Why are you talking like she’s a child…?”

  “Isn’t she? Have you seen how she’s acting? I can’t tell who’s worse. Katja or her.”

  “Katja?” Now that she mentions it… Where is she?

  “Yes, Katja… Hecate’s putting her to bed.”

  “Ahahaha… Saying it like that too… Is she also a child?”

  Carol rolled her eyes. “Obviously… Didn’t you hear her saying you should have abandoned her? Absolutely stupid. So stupid that only a child could come up with something like that.”

  “If you put it like that…” I started…

  “I completely agree!” Only for Narumi to finish the thought, brimming with energy. For how distracted she was acting, she sure was paying attention.

  “Right?” Carol grinned smugly. “We’re all on the same page. See you later if you haven’t gone to bed yet. And Narumi, let her go already.”

  Carol disappeared into the hallway with that, but Narumi had no plans to let go off my arm.

  “So… What about us? Should we go to bed? Also, why are you being so clingy? Are you trying to annoy Carol?”

  “It has nothing to do with Carol…” She pouted. “I don’t get why she’s being so fussy…” Right… She didn’t know about our relationship. “I’m only doing this because we talked too much about me and my past… Now I’m stuck thinking and thinking about it. Holding you is the only way to make it better.”

  “Uhmm… But aren’t you clinging a bit too much? There’s no way it makes that much of a difference, right?”

  “You’re the one who asked me to think and said I could dump my problems on you!” Narumi clung harder. “You were the one who encouraged me, so I need to stay with you today…”

  “Okay… If it makes you feel better, I won’t stop you. Just don’t do it in front of Carol.”

  Narumi nodded into my shoulder and went quiet. So she’s having a rough time now, huh? Is there anything I can do for her? I don’t think she did anything today that would make her feel guilty, so… is it just about the past? Guess all I can do is stay with her.

  “Iroha… Can we sleep together?”

  Hmm…?

  “Wa- what?! Are you serious?”

  “I need to… Otherwise, I won’t be able to sleep. You promised.”

  “Did I…? I’m not sure I promised that much…”

  “You did! I know what I heard! You’re coming with me! I’m definitely not letting go!” She held my arm even tighter.

  “Alright! I get it! I’ll do it…” This is a different order than usual… I’ve slept with the others, but that’s only after we started dating. Narumi and I don’t have anything going on… “It’d be hard to explain if we were spotted, so let’s go now while they are busy.”

  “Sure!” Narumi pulled me up from the couch, and we left the living area. She flicked the lights behind us for the night and dragged me off with her.

  This time, it’s not like that, is it? It’s just to help her feel better…