Chapter 152

Shortly after leaving the holy land and before she met Abbie, Menou reflected on her life. At first, it was only so she could write down her memories. Now that she had a Pure Concept, she was going to start forgetting things. She would be faced with the same circumstances as all the Otherworlders she had killed in the past. Perhaps this was punishment for taking all those innocent lives—though if so, it was much too light. At any rate, she was only recording the events of her life now because she knew she would lose them. But strangely, putting her experiences into writing helped her sort out her feelings, too. She’d thought the path she walked in life was only stained in red. But when she looked at all of it together, she found herself thinking something else: “You know, it really hasn’t been so bad.” And most recently, when she parted ways with Momo in the holy land, Menou had whispered something in her ear. “You don’t need to risk your life.” Menou didn’t want Momo to do anything dangerous for her sake, but as she started to write down what she’d said, her pen paused above the paper. “This might make Momo try even harder.” Her comment might fire Momo up, even though that wasn’t her intention. In which case… Menou guessed what Momo would do and started to write it down—then changed her mind. “Knowing me…it’d be best not to spell it all out.” As Menou looked at her life objectively, she realized something. Once she started losing her memories, she would probably reject anyone who tried to lend a helping hand and save her. She was almost certain of it. She thought for a moment, then tacked on something else instead. A warning not to let Momo catch on to her memory loss. She nodded to herself. Much better. That certainly seemed like something she would write. No doubt her memory-less self was going to resist. She would try to sacrifice herself again instead of seeking help from anyone. So there was no point in warning her future self if she wasn’t going to listen to her past self’s advice anyway. She was better off deceiving herself. If she wanted to reach a future that couldn’t be achieved by sacrificing herself, she couldn’t rely on her own future self. Instead, she entrusted her future to the person she trusted most in the world. “Knowing Momo, I’m sure she’ll find a way to save me.” With absolute faith and a little bit of scheming in her heart, Menou touched the ribbon in her hair and smiled.