He’d begun sprinting almost on pure impulse.
It’s pretty likely that a meteor will have iron in it! If I can get it to come to me…!
His heart pounded wildly in his chest, and not simply from the physical exertion.
This was hopeless. This was reckless. He was going to die. Fear threatened to drag him to a standstill. Even so, he didn’t stop for a single second. An emotion far more powerful than fear drove his feet forward.
I’ve got to protect them all!
That was the only thought coursing through his being.
Is that it?!
Something glimmered in the sky. As soon as he spotted the thing, it grew steadily larger in his vision. It did not take him long to determine that the meteor was headed straight toward him.
Am I really capable of catching it?!
The meteor steadily drew closer—it made the earlier meteor, the one that had knocked him unconscious, look like a pebble. To make matters worse, the magnetism was making it hurtle toward him at a faster-than-average speed.
This was hopeless. This was reckless. He was going to die.
The timid bugs around him buzzed as they took flight.
Ignoring it all, he braced for impact. Just you see… I’ll catch it!
Then, it crashed.
He was not conscious of the moment of collision. The only thing he felt was the sensation of his body being ripped apart. In reality, however, his limbs were still firmly attached to his body. Miraculously, he had even managed to catch the meteor. A wave of heat blew his clothes off, but that was minor in the grand scheme of things.
“Urk!”
The meteor hadn’t lost its momentum. He could feel the weight of it bearing down upon his body. If left unchecked, the meteor was bound to crush Rentaro along with the school.
I’m not…strong enough…! Rentaro thought, gritting his teeth.
Right at that moment, however…
“Aijo,” yelled a voice.
“Rentaro,” yelled eight voices. This was followed by scattered shouts of “-kun,” “-chan,” “-senpai,” and “-sama.”
“Your voices give me unlimited power!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Power coursed through Rentaro’s body. With a grunt of exertion, he successfully stopped the meteor in its tracks. The girls hurried over to him.
“You dummy! You big, old, pea-brained fool! What the hell did you do that for?!” Karane whacked Rentaro repeatedly, though there was hardly any strength in her blows.
“You could have died, Rentaro-kun!” Hakari’s hands trembled slightly as she gently clasped his arm.
‹’Twas a miracle you survived.› Tears poured down Shizuka’s face, her body trembling more than usual.
“My heart almost shattered at the mere thought of your potential death, Aijo Rentaro.” Tears also leaked from the corner of Nano’s eyes as she clasped a hand to her chest.
“Not even medicine could’ve brought you back to life, aye!” Kusuri wept, her voice seriously distraught.
“There’s no point if you lose your life, Rentaro-senpai!” Kurumi glared at Rentaro. The corners of her eyes were teary, but she refused to let them fall.
“I’m so sorry!” Hahari bowed her head deeply, her expression bitter with self-reproach. “I’m supposed to be the adult who takes care of things, but everything somehow ended up in your hands.”
“I deeply apologize for not possessing the ability to catch a meteor!” Like her master, Mei bowed in a show of deep remorse.
“I’m sorry for worrying you all!”
Rentaro lowered his own head in return. He felt genuinely awful about causing his girlfriends such agony. Nevertheless, his eyes burned with a strong will when he finally looked up at them.
“But…if this happened again, I’d do the same thing all over.”
His girlfriends were dumbfounded.
“I’d do anything to protect the girlfriends I love! And I also promise that I will always return to you!”
The reaction this time was a little more giddy.
“Whoa, you’re saying you love us?!” Karane’s eyes glittered with anticipation.
Hakari was much the same. “Did getting hit by a meteor again restore your memories?!”
Sadly, however, Rentaro shook his head slowly in apology. “Sorry, I didn’t end up remembering anything!”
‹It is nothing to fret over.›
“The idea that a shock can cure a condition is, ultimately, a folk remedy,” Nano said.
“Then leave it to Kusuri’s medicine, aye!”
“My laboratory will also lend its assistance!” Hahari insisted.
“Yes, my lady,” said Mei. “I will make the arrangements.”
“But, well…just like Hakari-senpai said, it’s not the worst thing in the world even if his memories don’t come back,” said Kurumi.
Rentaro was so moved by their words that his tears threatened to fall. But he held it in.
“The truth is, I have a confession to make. I…wasn’t lying to you all, but there is something I didn’t mention.”
The girlfriends tilted their heads in confusion at this sudden, apologetic display.
“I thought it was super weird, so I kept quiet about it. I mean, I’m amnesiac… As far as I’m concerned, today’s my first time meeting you all.” Rentaro clenched his fist tightly. “But from the moment I laid eyes on you, I had feelings for you. I loved you so much, I could barely hold it in! My memories might have been wiped, but my feelings never disappeared. I’m certain of it!”
The girlfriends’ faces flushed beet-red at Rentaro’s blushing confession.
“I’m really sorry that I’m a useless boyfriend who can’t even remember you all…but if you can allow me…” Rentaro straightened his posture, his expression serious and intent. “I hope you and I can start dating again!”
With his head still bowed low, he reached his hand out toward his girlfriends. Silence reigned for a moment. Then, everyone responded in unison.
“But of course! Gladly!”
“I swear, if you don’t make me happy again, I won’t give you the time of day!”
‹Let us sally forth once more!›
“I was just as inclined to ask you.”
“Let’s fricken gooooo, aye!”
“I’d love to start with you all over again, Rentaro-chan!”
“Let’s eat again together sometime.”
“As you command.”
But their moment was swiftly interrupted.
Da-duun!
A strangely familiar jolt ran through Rentaro’s brain.
“Sorry…let me retract part of what I said.”
The girlfriends exchanged bemused glances. What part was he talking about?
“I love you all way, way, way, way, way more than I did moments ago. Because I now have my precious memories of you!”
The shock was twofold.
“I can’t believe I managed to forget all of our precious memories! So, I think I should cut open my stomach!”
Rentaro whipped out his old friend, the dagger, and the girlfriends scrambled to hold him down.
“Don’t you freaking dare!”
“But anyway… I wonder why I lost my memories?”
“Because a meteor hit you on the head, duh.”
Karane delivered a quick and snappy retort, but Rentaro shook his head to it. “I can say this for certain now that I’ve remembered everything, but I would never forget my beloved girlfriends just because a meteor hit me!”
It was possible to interpret Rentaro’s declaration as nothing more than delusional ramblings lacking any firm basis in reality, but…
“Besides, I still had my memories for a while after I got hit,” Rentaro continued.
“What?” His girlfriends again tilted their heads in unison.
“Right after that, I felt sleepy all of a sudden. It was when I woke up that my memories were gone…”
The mystery of this inexplicable incident only deepened. But, well…
“Hey, as long as you remembered in the end. All’s well that ends well, right?” said Hakari.
Her words had a clear effect on the group. “I guess she’s right,” they all thought.
The group instinctively headed back to the rooftop. Nobody even had to suggest it.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Huh, so he reclaimed his fate through his own strength of will.”
A certain somebody watched the Rentaro family from the shadows.
He was a weird dude on national watch lists—just kidding, he was the God of Love. In his hand was a document detailing Rentaro’s destiny. Until just a short while ago, the “soulmate” column had been blacked out, but now, it clearly showed the girlfriends’ names.
Indeed… Not even this silly novel would make Rentaro lose his memories without a reason. Or throw in a meteor without any foreshadowing.
“I wondered what would happen if his soulmates’ names got blacked out due to various circumstances…”
When the names were tampered with, the individuals ceased to be Rentaro’s soulmates. Thus, he lost his memories of ever meeting them.
So, when Rentaro met the girls in his amnesiac state, he was unable to love them in return and make them happy. No, far from it. Their situation invited misfortune and disaster. One thing led to another, and a meteor came hurtling down to fulfill their fated doom. Yet, by reconnecting with his girlfriends, Rentaro had been able to reclaim them as his soulmates.
“He is no ordinary fellow, to be sure,” said the man with a deity-like bearing as he clapped his hands. So far, so regal, but he just had to open his mouth and continue. “This was just as emotionally moving as when Chihiro took the quiz to turn her parents back into humans! Bravo!”
Not too long ago, the god had spirited away his attention at work to watch a certain movie for the first time. During the penultimate scene, he yelled out “Bravo!” and broke out into applause. This caused his cup to topple over, spilling coffee over the names of Rentaro’s soulmates. So yes, dear reader, now you know what the various circumstances were.
Figuring that there was a genuine possibility that Rentaro would set fire to the shrine if he caught wind of the truth, the god swore silently that he would keep his lips sealed forever.