“Okay, time for school to start!” Mitsuko Torii said, her voice loud as she drew out the words of her announcement.
“They said an asteroid hit the Earth, but it seems to have all worked out. Good news, huh?”
She laughed, and for the first time the students laughed loudly too.
“I guess it was the Demon King that brought the asteroid, huh?”
“And Brave died trying to lessen the damage?”
The classroom was filled with voices.
“But you know, I thought I was a goner when I saw the asteroid hit. I don’t know when everything went back to normal,” Mitsuko said, not particularly interested in the topic.
They seemed to be at the point several days after Akuto had come to school. Akuto and Junko had joined the class midway, and from the things Mitsuko was saying and the curious gazes of the students, they were able to figure out what was going on.
Many people didn’t realize that they’d died.
They knew something was wrong, but the world was the same as ever, and there was none of the suffering of war. Their lives hadn’t changed in any way, so there was no sense in realizing that they were dead. What really surprised him though, was how his classmates treated him.
His magical power hadn’t changed at all, but none of them seemed to fear him as the Demon King.
The class was on ordinary magic, and for Akuto, it was very simple. It felt good to see the jealous looks the other students gave him, but it felt even better to be treated like a human.
“You’re amazing, new kid. That explains why the class rep is so obsessed with you. She’s your fiancee or something, right?”
“H-Hey! Stop it!” Junko shouted, her face red, but she buried her face in Akuto’s shirt in embarrassment.
Maybe all they’d gone through had made her love deeper, because now she was making no effort to hide her feelings. Akuto, of course, didn’t mind at all.
“I think we should get used to being together a little more,” Akuto said with a smile. Their classmates looked on, shrugging as if they realized there was no point in making fun of them.
“I’m never going to get used to being around a dangerous guy like you,” Junko said, trying to hide her embarrassment. The classmates moved away to give them their space.
After class ended, Fujiko Eto, who’d heard the news, came running up and jumped at Akuto with terrifying speed.
“AKUTO! I MISSED YOU!” she said, forgetting her normal good-girl act.
For Fujiko, this meeting was a long time coming, and it was natural that she would cry. But for the students, it looked like she’d suddenly gone insane.
“H-Hold a second, Fujiko...” Akuto stammered. Fujiko seemed to regain control of herself. She adjusted her uniform, and coughed loudly enough for the students around her to hear.
“Ahem... Sorry. Akuto is an old friend of mine. Our houses were next to each other, and we would always go into each other’s rooms from the second floor window...”
From the look of the wink she was giving him, this was probably something she’d made up.
—I guess it’s just like when Keena rewound the world.
Akuto realized that everything was just like Lily had said. The memories of the people who were most involved in what had happened hadn’t changed. Anybody else had either had their memories erased or altered. And Fujiko had arrived here ahead of the others, and realized that her memories were different than those of the people who’d come later.
“But still, Fujiko...”
“Aww, Akuto... You know you used to call me ‘Big sister’ when we were alone...”
Her voice got louder when she said the last part, so the people around her could hear. This was, however, news to Akuto. There were screams from both the boys and the girls, and no attempt was made to hide the other students’ jealousy.
“H-Hey, get off me, Fujiko...!”
Junko leapt out from the circle of students, and things seemed about to get even more complicated. But Fujiko just smiled and put her arm around Akuto’s, and then said something even more incredible.
“Oh, Hattori. I mean, Junko. We need to get along here. Polygamy is normal in this world. And Akuto is worthy of having at least four or five wives!”
✦ ✦ ✦
