Chapter 119

“But you fought hard. And because you did, we have a clear path to the City of Ruins. So tell me one thing, will you?” Menou reached out and pressed her hands firmly into Maya’s squishy cheeks. She hadn’t promised she wouldn’t get mad. Menou’s lovely eyes narrowed as she leaned in closer. “How could you do something so reckless?” The girl with Hakua’s face was berating her. For some reason, the sudden show of anger filled Maya’s eyes with tears. It must have been because Menou squeezed her face so roughly. Maya thought up excuses while she tried to speak. “Because…I…” Not long ago, she wouldn’t have been able to answer honestly. But Menou had come to her rescue like a hero. If that was all, then Menou’s shared similarities with Hakua might still have given Maya pause, but Sahara’s words had given her courage. “I was…lonely.” Quietly, timidly, she laid bare the fragile feelings deep in her heart. “I got betrayed a thousand years ago, and now Manon is gone, and my mom is dead, and there’s no reason for me to go back to Japan anymore… I felt so alone, and so sad…” She wanted to feel important. If this world didn’t need her now that her mother and sister were gone, it wouldn’t matter if she disappeared. That’s why she’d hoped to see Hakua, talk to her, and settle things once and for all. “I just wanted someone to need me… I thought if I could beat Hakua, everyone would finally have to admit I was useful, even if I turned into a Human Error! I wanted to prove…that there was something I could do by myself!” Tears streamed down Maya’s cheeks. She stood there sobbing, baring her soul. “Is that really so wrong?” Sahara had accepted Maya’s feelings but refused to offer a solution. Would Menou be able to find an answer for her? “…Maya.” Maya looked up with a mixture of hope and worry, watching closely as Menou searched for the right words. She seemed someone pleading for salvation. “That loneliness will surely follow you for the rest of your life. If you only trust in other people’s kindness, if you’re always looking for someone to save you, then you’ll never escape that sadness.” Menou’s words were far from gentle and comforting. If anything, they were more like a reprimand. “I think the loneliness in your heart must be like the guilt in mine. It’ll haunt you forever. There’s no way to resolve it. I know it’ll be hard because you don’t like being lonely, but I promise it’ll be all right.” Menou spoke as if she were addressing herself as much as Maya. She tapped the hole in Maya’s dress. “Because you’re strong.” The words she offered the girl weren’t coddling, comforting, or even compassionate. “You have the strength to make anyone turn and face you. There’s no need to wait around and count on their kindness.” Maya had the ability to find someone who’d stay with her and get them to look her way. Even on this short journey that she’d joined without permission—Menou, Sahara, Abbie, Michele, and Hakua had all been at the mercy of this child’s whims. “So, Maya. Please don’t give up on this world, even after all it’s put you through.” Menou’s voice softened, and she gently patted Maya’s head. “It really needs you.” Suddenly, it all struck Maya as very funny. Menou’s speech was pretty and precise. Convincing, too. But just like Sahara, Menou didn’t offer to take care of Maya or be her support system. A thousand years ago, Hakua saved Maya and gave her a place to belong. She’d done it so naturally that the weak Maya hadn’t needed to express her thanks. Hakua had spoiled Maya as much as she wanted. As a result, Maya was still a dependent child when she wound up alone. But Sahara had given her a necessary push. Menou had put real trust in her. This group of somewhat awkward companions, so different from her friends of a thousand years ago, was so endearing that Maya found herself oddly glad. “You really are…such a silly group.” “…What do you mean?” “Exactly what I said.” With an even expression, Maya offered her pinky finger. “I suppose I can accept that and let you off the hook. In exchange, will you make me a promise? Pinky swear that you’ll work with me. We’re going to fight side by side from now on.” “Yes, of course. I’ll be counting on you.” Menou and Maya linked their pinky fingers. “Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.” It was the same chant Maya had recited with Sahara not so long ago. But this time, there was no need for a curse. “Pinky promise!” The two girls exchanged their vow while releasing the gentle hold of their fingers. “Ha-ha,” Abbie laughed quietly while listening in on the pair’s conversation through one of her insects. She was carrying Sahara on her shoulder, having dug her out of the rubble and retreated from Michele. Recently, Abbie had been formulating a theory about the Starhusk. After her battle with Michele, she was certain. That remark about its destruction being a side effect erased all doubt. However, she didn’t intend to tell Menou. Not for the moment anyway. Whether intended or not, the Starhusk was still a weapon that could inflict serious damage depending on how it was used. “I’m glad I let that awful creature follow me. If it were just li’l Menou and me, the situation would be much too stable. She certainly stirred things up nicely.” Maya had only been able to tag along because Abbie had pretended not to notice the girl was hiding in her shadow. While tolerating Maya’s presence was unpleasant, Abbie had to admit that she’d produced results. “Thanks to her, li’l Menou was forced to use Time a lot more. It was certainly worth ceding that territory to Momo for what I got in return… It won’t be long now. Just hang in there a little longer.” With a gentle smile, Abbie stroked the gear mark on her abdomen. “Soon we’ll destroy this whole stupid world,” the conjured soldier muttered with determination. Sahara, who had one eye cracked open, quietly closed it and continued pretending to be unconscious on Abbie’s shoulder, wishing with all her might that she hadn’t heard anything at all.