Chapter 58

There were four people left for Kisara to get revenge on. The only time to confront her about this was when she appeared as the Tendo Killer. “Rentaro, I’m getting nervous. Do you think my outfit’s all right?” When he looked, he saw Enju turn around once for him. She was dressed up in her best clothes, wearing a brightly colored dress. It was an understatement to say she looked lovely, but he didn’t want to tell her that directly, so he just said curtly, “Well, it’s probably fine.” And then, Rentaro also looked at his own clothes. He was wearing a pure white formal suit that he had worn before, for another ceremony. Rentaro and Enju were on this train headed to Tokyo Area’s First District, where they had been invited to the Seitenshi’s palace to attend a decoration ceremony. This time, Enju was also with him. Rentaro thought he knew that he had taken heroic actions, but it was still hard for him to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling he got when he was called a hero. Apparently in war, those who ordered the deaths were the ones who benefited, but the real heroes weren’t people like Rentaro. The real heroes were those who threw their lives away and died glorious deaths without even having their names made known. They were people like Midori Fuse, Shoma Nagisawa, Nagamasa Gado, and a great many other civil officers and self-defense force troops. Not Rentaro. Shoma and Midori were both gone. They had already gone past the boundary to the world beyond and now existed there. Rentaro would never be able to see them again in this life. He himself would likely also have to make a decision soon to live or die. Rentaro shook his head. He was glad at least that the Family Register Revocation Law had been rejected in the National Diet. The danger still remained that they would look for a chance to present it again, but this could be called a modest victory for Rentaro and the others. On a different day, he had been cross-examined by Enju about how he had knocked her unconscious without permission during the fight with Aldebaran. She cried and hit him and finally bit at his head, and he couldn’t get her off no matter how hard he pulled. They finally struck a deal after she made him swear by the “pledge” the teary-eyed Enju wrote in messy letters. “I will not face the enemy by myself.” “I will do everything with Enju from now on.” As he was being made to read the pledge with such conditions written into it, Rentaro realized that he was crossing his fingers where Enju couldn’t see them. If another time came when only one of them, either Enju or him, could be saved, he would do the same thing to Enju without hesitation. That was his own way of showing his path to the one he loved who was too close yet too far away. Rentaro Satomi did not know how to show Enju Aihara his love in any other way. He checked the time. At this rate, they were cutting it close on whether or not they would make it to the ceremony on time. If he was even a minute late, it was obvious that Kisara would nag at him at the Seitenshi’s palace again, so he definitely wanted to avoid that this time. But just then, there was a clang, and the train suddenly slowed down, and the grips all shook at once. An announcement was played inside the train. “There has been a passenger injury before the Tokyo Area District 3 station. The train will be stopped for a while.” They were definitely going to be late now. Rentaro noticed that he had clicked his tongue without realizing it. Just then, Enju murmured in a faint and forlorn voice, “Rentaro, why do people jump…? Are they in pain? Are they having a hard time? Isn’t there anything we can do for them…?” Rentaro was shocked. Just now, he had been more concerned about the train being late than about a person’s life. He hugged Enju close with a shaking arm and buried his face in his chest, closing his eyes tightly. “Wh-what’s the matter, Rentaro?” “I’m afraid of myself. I’ve become numb to the deaths of others. Enju, please stay with me forever. Please don’t leave me.” Enju smiled with mixed feelings. “Don’t worry, Rentaro. You and I will always, always be together.” • Enju Aihara has a Gastrea virus corrosion rate of 43.5% • An estimated 520 days left until shape collapse