Another week passed before Kaguya opened her eyes.
Many things happened during that week. First and foremost, the Extermination Bureau’s deception was exposed.
The Extermination Bureau was no more than an experimental setting for the development of new weapons—that truth was revealed to the rest of the organization, which quickly threw the Bureau into chaos.
After being confronted by the fact that their whole lives had been nothing but pretend, many of the Bureau’s soldiers lost control and resorted to rioting and violence. The others, particularly Azuma and Charon, managed to quell the unrest, but Bureau morale suffered greatly. For all intents and purposes, the Extermination Bureau had been effectively dissolved.
Meanwhile, a change occurred in the way they fought the heroes. They now knew that what Azuma had done was effective—how he had pierced Kaguya with his cross.
Silver was what worked against the heroes. There was obviously no silver in the Chronoses. Standard weapons, meanwhile, were generally made primarily out of materials such as iron and lead. More importantly, silver did not cause rebounds.
There was no more need for Chronoses.
Once the mistaken assumption that only Chronoses could work against heroes had been undermined, their value drastically plummeted. The people inside those weapons could finally be laid to rest.
The few dozen Chronoses currently in existence—with the exceptions of Rindou’s brass knuckles, Koyuki’s anti-materiel-class rifle and handgun, and Azuma’s katana—were destroyed. They had used their own Chronoses to destroy them.
That included the ax the Director had occasionally used, finally freeing the young girl who was apparently trapped within.
The Extermination Bureau managed to find equilibrium by changing its name and structure. The ostensible military system was abolished, and participation was made voluntary. Its ranks, which originally numbered quite high, dropped by half, and even the members of Charon began to leave, one after the other. Before long, everyone besides Azuma, Koyuki, Haru, and Rindou had moved on.
After picking through Inspection’s databanks, Haru had expected something like this. While she saw no reason to announce her suspicions, she had seen the Extermination Bureau’s end on the horizon.
“It will all be clear soon,” she had said. Although Azuma only heard this from Koyuki after the fact.
All this happened in a week’s time.
“You found out who killed the Director?” Sitting in his own room, Azuma furrowed his eyebrows at the report he had just received. He was in the middle of a call. “You found them…? Who was it, in the end?”
“Oh, I forgot you hadn’t been informed yet,” the person on the other end of the line said. It was Mari. “It was someone from Inspection, just as expected. The very same person who sent Haru Takanashi into Charon. They were likely worried about someone finding out the truth, that Chronoses were sentient. The person’s name was—”
Azuma exhaled deeply and sank further into his chair. It was the same person who had once urged him to transfer Kaguya.
“That was impressive work, uncovering all of that. How did you manage to do so in such a short period of time…?”
“It was Major Mirai’s doing…” Mari’s voice grew just a little softer. “She was like a dog with a bone when it came to this…”
Mirai’s tenacity in avenging her old friend had surprised even Haru.
In the end, everything came out, even the details of that photograph.
The photograph in question, discovered by Kaguya and Mari, had been taken by an ordinary layperson but had later been found by someone at Technical No. 1. The reason that it remained after every other document and record had been destroyed was likely just an oversight, due to the loss of Technical No. 1 amid all the chaos.
“I guess things will also be wrapping up for us soon, then…”
“There are still Goddesses and heroes remaining out there, so it won’t happen immediately… But it shouldn’t be long now. I heard talk, actually, that Charon is going to be dissolved in the near future.”
“Dissolved is probably too strong of a word. But there isn’t much of a need for us anymore, is there?”
An awkward silence from Mari ensued.
What Azuma said was true. Now that they had identified a clear weakness in the heroes, there was no need to rely on just Charon any longer. As for what that meant for Charon—well, Azuma was under no obligation to explain that to Mari.
“Putting all that aside, I assume you actually have a different reason for calling, Ezakura?”
“Oh, y-yes. You remember that Kaguya finally woke up a little while ago, correct?”
Of course he remembered. He had never felt so relieved in his life as when Mari had told him the news.
“Well, as it turns out…she’s lost her memories. Completely.”
“Her memories…?!”
“All of them. She has zero episodic memory from before she fell into the coma. At first, she didn’t even know her own name…”
“I…see. Even though I came out fine…”
“I think it must be some kind of defense mechanism. Kaguya went through a lot of painful experiences. Honestly, I was worried something like this might happen someday.”
Mari’s voice, over the line, sounded so sad that even Azuma could sympathize.
However…
“On that note, there’s something I wish to discuss.” Mari’s tone suddenly undertook a drastic shift. “Since she was lucky enough to forget things—I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that. But since she’s lost her memory anyway…could we just pretend like the last few months at Charon never happened?”
They could concoct false memories for her—for just that period.
“I understand. We’ll do as you say… Believe it or not, Warrant Officer Ezakura, you and I agree on that point. I was thinking the exact same thing.”
There was no need for Azuma and the others to drag Kaguya back into their ranks. No one wanted to get her any more wrapped up in things than she had already been.
“We’ll pretend she’s just a stranger, someone we would have never met, let alone exchanged two words with. I was thinking of proposing the same thing. Let’s just leave it at that.”
“That makes things easier, then…”
Mari’s request for Azuma and the others was as follows: They were to act as if Kaguya’s experiences up until now did not include the several months she had spent at Charon. Instead, they would pretend that she had been in a coma that entire time.
“I want you to promise,” Mari said. “Promise you will never see Kaguya again. That you will pretend like none of this ever happened. I know what I’m asking is terrible, but—”
Mari’s voice grew even more serious than before.
“—I just can’t watch her do this to herself anymore. I know you all know what I mean.”
He did. Azuma knew very well.
“That means…this will be our last time speaking together as well. Technical and Charon were never supposed to be involved in the first place. So let’s call it a day.”
“Yes… Let’s.”
If they really had Kaguya’s best interests at heart, this was the right choice to make.
Azuma had made a similar decision several months ago. But that time, Kaguya had returned to Charon on her own. This time, however, her memories were gone. There was no way the same thing could occur.
It truly was farewell this time.
“I’m sorry for all the trouble we’ve caused up until now. For you, for Kaguya, and for the Director.”
“No, Kaguya’s presence at Charon was necessary. I understand that now.” Despite her previous sharp tone, Mari’s voice grew soft. “Is there anything you want to say to her by way of good-bye…?”
“That’s not like you. What’s wrong? You’re not feeling sorry for us, are you?”
“Of course not. But I understand now how much Kaguya needed you all. I just thought there might be something you wanted to say.”
“But if you gave her a message from us, it might cause her to remember things… It’s better if we just keep our good-byes to ourselves.”
“Well,” said Mari, sounding a little regretful. “If you say so. I plan on disposing of any possible links on this end anyway.”
“Yes, as do we. I’ve already gotten everything in order.”
“That’s good to hear. I know I can trust you to keep your word. Farewell, then.”
And then she hung up the phone.
Azuma deleted all their relevant contact information, just as Mari had requested. Kaguya’s. The Director’s. The documents and terminals in the room had also been scrubbed in advance.
“Wait. There was one more piece…,” Azuma muttered, remembering.
After dealing with the other documents, Koyuki had mentioned one last piece of paperwork she had apparently found in a desk drawer in Kaguya’s room. But it was just a single sheet of fairly low importance. Azuma planned just to tear it up and place it in the repository’s shredder box.
They decided to pretend the bottom bunk had always been Haru’s, thus eliminating any evidence that Kaguya had been there at all.
For his own part, Azuma made up his mind to forget all about Kaguya.
Made up my mind…? Who am I kidding…?
No, he realized. He needed to forget her.
He set his terminal down on the table, letting go of any last faint connections.