“Kou... were you reincarnated?”
At first, Kouki just looked at his feet. He looked uncomfortable, like a child who’d been caught doing something wrong. But then he raised his head and nodded.
Every member of personnel in the command center was staring at him in astonishment. I remembered the way that Kouki had always known when something was dangerous and wrong without me ever having to teach him.
I should have realized it before now. Why didn’t I?
“Sorry! I know I’m late. What’s happening?” Shuuichi entered the room from the entrance nearest the gate. He was armed and out of breath.
I raised my hand to silence Shuuichi and then turned back to Kouki. “What happened to you in your previous life?”
“I died,” he said bluntly.
I should have guessed. Now I see why he’s always trying to deceive us. I’m sure he doesn’t want to talk about his own death. Especially not in front of his friend...
I smiled in an attempt to put my son at ease, and then I turned to the soldiers that Shuuichi had brought with him.
“Take Shingo with you and take refuge on G-88,” I ordered them. “The safe zone that we discussed with the Merkava Kingdom should be ready by now. Take Alice and Aikawa with you too. Security should be S-class. Mobilize an entire brigade if you have to.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
The soldiers immediately sprang into action as I turned back to Kouki.
“Kou, thank you for sharing your secret with me. I won’t ask any more questions. But don’t forget: I love you, no matter what happened in the past. Whatever you’ve been trying to accomplish, you don’t have to do it alone anymore.”
“But I’m not trying to accomplish anything...”
Kouki was still putting on a brave face, and I couldn’t help but take him in my arms.
He was always like this. He takes on everything himself. All the misfortune and sorrow. But not this time. This time, I’ll be there for him.
“There’s a break room here inside the command center,” I told him. “Go rest for a while. I’ll come up with a plan to help Anton. Come back when you’ve had time to think things over.”
“Okay...” Kouki left quietly without saying anything more.
Now I need to explain this whole thing to Shuuichi. And then I need to inform all of our personnel. But how will I tell them? I hope none of our staff members will be rude enough to ask Kouki awkward questions.
“Miki, tell me what’s going on,” Shuuichi demanded. “Why’s everyone here look so tense? And you don’t look well either. What’s wrong?”
“Kouki was reincarnated. Basically, he died and then was reborn with all of his memories.”
“Huh?! Can that happen? You’re talking about life after death.”
I’d thought it was impossible myself. But if our son had been reincarnated, that would explain everything.
I urged Shuuichi to calm down, and then told him about the things Kouki had been keeping from us.
“Do you understand? If I’m right about this, he came to this world from the future. Actually, based on the equation he derived, I think he’s from the future of another very similar world.”
“What makes you think so?” he asked.
“He can predict things that are going to happen in the future. When he was hurrying to develop the eighth-generation model, it was because he knew Alice would be kidnapped. The roaring device used in G-88 must have been something he was planning from the very start. Our son has seen the future.”
“Couldn’t those things have been a coincidence?”
“Shuuichi, did you ever scold Kouki when he was very small? Maybe small things like, ‘always look before you cross the road,’ or ‘don’t play with my lighter’?”
“Well, obviously... I... Come to think of it, no, never.”
Because Kouki already knew. He knew what would make us angry and what he wasn’t supposed to do. He knew because he’d already died countless times.
“We’ve talked about the day Kouki was born, haven’t we? The way his eyes were devoid of emotion.”
“Right.”
“I think he must have died countless times. So many times that he didn’t have much emotion left. Can you imagine how many times someone must have to experience death to become like that? If I had to do everything all over again every time I died, I couldn’t take it.”
When he spoke about bargaining chips, Kouki told us about an assassination plot using polonium, I added silently. I can’t guess how many times he’d died already by then, but it must have been an assassination method that they used on Kouki himself. This also explains how he can fly his powered suit. Shuuichi said it wouldn’t normally be possible, but Kouki was driven to it by sheer desperation. It was the only way he could survive. He must be slowly losing his mind, but for what cause?
“What is it that Kouki wants?” I muttered to myself.
“What he wants?” Shuuichi said suddenly. “Well, I know the answer to that!”
Shuuichi’s confidence surprised me. I doubt he has the answer I’m looking for, but it can’t hurt to hear him out. Kouki is Shuuchi’s son, after all.
“We didn’t tell you at the time, but me and some of my subordinates took Kouki to a port town called Flonne in the Merkava Kingdom. It’s a big place. All the soldiers know about it because there are some decent brothels there. Obviously, I didn’t take him to a brothel or anything, but we had a barbecue on the grounds of a church in the town. It’s a port town, so there’s a good market there, and you can find a lot of good meat, fish, and wine. Well, we made so much noise that some of the locals came over to see what was happening, and we invited them to join us.”
“Is this story going somewhere?” I asked.
“Keep listening. We’d brought too much food, so we shared it with everyone who joined us. Then some knights showed up because they were worried that the locals might have been disturbing us. But then the knights joined us too, and it turned into a party. It was like race didn’t exist. Humans, demonic people, beast-like people, elves... they were all eating the same food and drinking the same wine. When Kouki saw that, he said, ‘This is the world I wanted.’ He sounded really happy.”
“So you think Kouki’s objective is...”
“That’s right. It’s really not that complicated. His goal is, ‘A world where everyone can live happily.’ I’m sure it’s a dream he’d be willing to go on dying for. But it’s meaningless without Kouki there to enjoy it. Without Kouki, not ‘everyone’ is happy. Let’s change Kouki’s goal a little.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“A world where everyone can live happily,” Kouki included. I smiled. I can think of nothing better... The only way to free Kouki from his suffering is to create a world that he can accept. I don’t know what happened to us in the worlds Kouki has lived in up to now. If there are worlds where we’ve supported Kouki, then I’m sure there are also worlds where we never realized he needed us. But regret won’t help anyone. This time, I’ll create a world where Kouki can live happily!
“All right. Let’s get to it. Disengage the security protocols and have the political affairs team from the PR department gather ASAP. Have the military department on standby and ready to sortie. This could lead to a small-scale battle on Russian territory, so tell them not to carry anything that could tie them to Noa.”
“Leave it to me,” Shuuichi said confidently. “You do the thinking and I’ll do the fighting. It’s always worked for us up to now. This time’s no different.”
Shuuichi gave me a salute as he made his casual remarks, and I couldn’t help but smile. He rarely saw his own son because he was always working, but Shuuichi was always there for Kouki, and I’d never regret marrying him.
As long as Shuuichi’s by my side, I know that things are going to work out.
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of an anti-intruder alarm system in the base.
“Where’s the alarm coming from?!” I exclaimed.
“Analysis in progress!” an operator called back. “...It can’t be! It’s coming from an emergency escape route. The location is right above us. I don’t believe it... This activation code is...”
“Who?!”
“OF-7-001. Kouki is activating it manually.”
I felt dizzy.
Why must he always act alone? We know his secret now, so why didn’t he talk to us? We have to stop him.
“Mobilize the Hakone base suppression team!!”
Shuuichi and the men he’d brought with him saluted in response, and then they ran off to carry out my orders.
We have to stop him before it’s too late...
I began biting my nails again as the shrill sound of the alarm continued.