▽
Roughly two hours later, R was back in her demi-material form thanks to the help of the doctor and Yuuhi. But unlike before, neither the doctor nor L nor Yuuhi could see her. She really was only perceptible to me now. That was an attempt to make her as close as possible to me, which was an attempt to increase the odds of her being able to pass through the world barrier with me. If we screwed that up... Well, no one wanted to think about that. Let’s just say the higher the chances of success, the better.
“All right. Time to go.”
Yuuhi pressed the same secret button in her jacket, tearing open the rift between worlds. I tried asking what the rift really was, but...
“Do you remember the world-box metaphor I used earlier? The world-boxes aren’t necessarily right beside one another. This rift, then, is simply the empty space between the boxes where nothing exists.”
Her answer was both very simple and very mind-boggling.
“Okay, everyone. I’ll be seeing you.”
“Come back soon, Rekka!”
“Farewell, Sir Rekka!”
When I waved goodbye, several of the girls called out to me and waved vigorously back. Seeing them like this, I knew... I knew that I had to return home safely.
“...”
Meanwhile, R was watching L from beside me. L was quietly staring back, though she couldn’t see R anymore. Even if R said something to her now, her words would never reach L’s ears.
“R...”
“No, it’s not a problem. Besides, we’ll be back. There’s no need to go triggering death flags excessively,” R said coolly as she pulled down her hat.
But just as we set foot into the rift...
“......back, you stupid little sister!” L shouted after us.
✦ ✦ ✦
