Once the fissure completely enveloped the world, Claire’s surroundings drastically changed. Melia was alive again, and by Claire’s side was another me.
“Mother, this maid is very strange. She keeps prattling on about liking me,” Claire said.
“But isn’t that good?” Melia asked. “The only other maid who’s managed to like you thus far is Lene.”
“That’s different. This maid is—how do I put it…? Peculiar.”
“How so?”
“I don’t quite know how to explain.”
“Oh, my… So you’re finally of that age.”
“N-no! It’s not like that, Mother!”
“Heh heh…”
Claire grumbled about me while Melia, perhaps knowingly, teased her. The scene before my eyes was of an impossible reality.
“Miiiiss Claaaire!” my in-world self called.
“Eek!” Claire shrieked.
“What’s that frightened look for? C’mon, it’s time to go to school! Lene’s waiting for us.”
“I’m coming, I’m coming, so let go of me! In the first place, by whose leave do you dare touch me so brazenly?!”
“Would it be better if I touched you affectionately?”
“Absolutely not!”
“Pfft, ha ha,” Melia laughed. “Have a good day, Claire. Take care of her, Rae.”
“Leave her to me, Mother-in-Law!”
“Who do you think you’re calling Mother-in-Law?!” Claire barked. “Enough! Let’s be off already!”
“Aww, don’t leave me behind, Miss Claire.”
This calm, worry-free life had to be the ideal world in Claire’s imagination. Perhaps it was a bit conceited of me to assume her ideal world would include me, but I did feel that by now, I had become an irreplaceable part of her life. Of course, the fact that Melia was here was the most telling factor.
Claire must have longed for peaceful days like this. Even I would love nothing more than to spend my time peacefully with her in such a way. But even so…
“Miss Claire. Please, wake up.” I faced Claire and called out to her. I had to bring her back, no matter how happy she was here, no matter how perfect her world became. This was all fake, and a very real world still needed her.
But no matter how I walked or ran, I couldn’t move any closer to Claire. Something about the space in this world worked differently.
The scene before me began to gently shift. My in-world self began to grow more detailed and vibrant as her bond with Claire deepened. Manaria gave us her blessings, and eventually, we became a publicly out couple.
Then, one day after classes…
“Miss Claire…can I…?”
“Do you have to ask? You’ll spoil the mood.”
As the afterglow of sunset shone into the classroom, Claire and my other self stared lovingly into one another’s eyes.
“Whoa—wait, wait, wait! What do you think you’re doing to my Miss Claire?!” I exclaimed to deaf ears.
The girls were seconds before kissing.
Unacceptable. Claire’s lips are mine alone. Not even a fake me can be allowed that privilege! I thought.
But they continued to draw closer.
“Nooo! Stop, stop, stoooop!”
“Calm yourself, Rae Taylor,” said a person shrouded in black.
“Whoa?! Demon Queen?”
“As much as I hate to admit it, you’re the only one who can save Miss Claire now. Pull yourself together,” she said with a sigh. She must have done something, because the kissing scene was frozen moments before their lips could make contact.
“Thank you, Demon Queen… Wait, what’s up with you? You’re not looking so great.” The Demon Queen was in quite a sorry state, looking even worse than she had after our battle. TAIM must have done something. In various places, her body was covered in something resembling computer static, and she occasionally shook and blurred.
“There’s no time to worry about me. Listen carefully, Rae Taylor: Miss Claire has been hacked by TAIM. She’s used Miss Claire’s desire to create a peaceful world to trap her within this stagnant one.”
“Seriously? Okay, but what can I do?” I asked. I couldn’t pull off something like hacking. I wasn’t completely computer illiterate, but my knowledge only extended as far as things like word processors and spreadsheets.
“Don’t you remember what Her Holiness said?” the Demon Queen asked. “This is the world of the mind. It operates by an even stranger logic than the world of magic. Here, the strength of your feelings is everything. Miss Claire is trapped in a false cage and is fully willing to spend a stagnant eternity together with a fake Melia and a fake you. The only one who can break her free is the real you.”
“But…why me? Why not you?”
“Because eternity has worn away my heart. My feelings for her can no longer break her free from the Loop System. But you’re different, aren’t you?”
Yes, I was different. When it came to Claire… “My feelings for her could defeat even God.”
“Good. It may look like your voice isn’t reaching her, but in truth, her mind is connected to yours. So shout. Shout as loud as you possibly can.”
“Thank you, Demon Queen.”
“If you’re to thank me, do it after you take back Miss Claire.”
“Right!” I replied with vigor. I turned back to the couple about to kiss and shouted at the top of my lungs. “Stop right there!”
I let my rising anger take control of my body and stomped over to them. My clothes somehow changed to that of the Royal Academy uniform as I ran up—and dropkicked my other self.
I smiled, satisfied, as I watched my fake self fade to nothingness. Nice.
“Eeeeek?! Wh-what do you think you’re doing?!” Claire yelled, staring at me as though I were a stranger.
“That’s what I should be saying, Miss Claire. How dare you even think about kissing somebody other than me!”
“What nonsense is this? Who are you? Do you understand what it means to stand in the way of me, Claire François?” Claire folded her arms and raised her chin, a classic pose for her, as she glared down at me. This kind of treatment was really a reward when you were in as deep as me—but now wasn’t really the best time for jokes.
“Miss Claire, can you remember the name of the person you were trying to kiss?”
“Huh? Why should I bother answering your questions?”
“Oh, what’s that? You can’t answer my questions? How strange. After all your grandstanding, you turn out to be a coward.”
“You have some nerve, trying to provoke me. Very well, I’ll entertain your silly question. The name of my beloved is…um…” Claire’s face paled. It appeared she couldn’t remember. She clearly wasn’t herself. Her mind was being manipulated, most likely by TAIM. Now it made sense—Claire might have given herself up to the Loop System like TAIM said, but only after her mind had been fiddled with.
“Miss Claire, this isn’t where you belong,” I said. “Try to remember, there’s a place you’re meant to return to!”
“Nh…gh!” Claire backed away, looking greatly shaken. One more push ought to do it.
“Enough!” a voice yelled.
“Mother?!”
Melia appeared out of thin air to stand between us with her arms spread. “Don’t make my daughter suffer any more! Please…no more,” she said in tears.
“Mother, get back! It’s dangerous!” Claire yelled.
I wasn’t about to attack Melia, of course, even if she was a fake. How could I when Claire had already lost her once?
“I will not move! I’ve failed to remain by your side once already! This time for sure, I’ll protect you until the end!”
“What are you saying, Mother?! Just get behind me!” Claire stepped before her crying mother. A violet glow emanated from Claire’s body. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re not laying a hand on my mother! I’ll do away with you at once!” she declared as four glowing crests appeared from her body—her Magic Ray.
“Miss Claire, please come back to your senses!” I begged.
“You had your warning.” A beam of light shot forth from one of her crests. I hurriedly moved to dodge. The pope had explained that this was quantum space, so this wasn’t really magic, but I doubted I’d enjoy taking a hit.
Why did I have to fight Claire when I was here to save her? This couldn’t be right. There had to be something I could do to get Claire to return to her senses. “Have you forgotten me, Miss Claire? It’s me, Rae! Rae Taylor!”
“I know no such person. The only people I need are Mother and my beloved. Now leave this place,” she replied.
“I refuse!”
“Then I’ll remove you myself.”
Another beam of light fired. I barely managed to dodge out of the way.
“You’re good at scampering about, I’ll give you that… But how will you handle this?” she said. All four of her crests began to glow. I’d had trouble enough dodging one, but there was no way I could handle all four, and not even my tungsten carbide barriers could block Magic Ray. Was this the end of the line?
“Disappear,” Claire demanded as she fired her third barrage. Beams approached me from four different directions—
But they never reached me.
“Are you here to get in my way too?” Claire asked.
“It’s not like you to become TAIM’s puppet.” Standing before me with her arms spread was the Demon Queen. “Though they’ve faded, I also once harbored strong feelings for you. Don’t think I’ll be defeated easily.”
“I don’t know what nonsense is spilling out of your mouth, but it’s clear I’ll have to do away with you too.” Claire aimed all her crests at the Demon Queen.
“Ngh…!” the Demon Queen groaned in pain as she took another Magic Ray barrage head-on. I watched as one of her arms flew off.
“Demon Queen!”
“Calm down, this body isn’t real. The damage is just being represented on my quantized body in a way we can understand.”
“Then the damage is real!”
“But it doesn’t hurt. Rae Taylor, you need only focus on what you must do. Hit her with the strength of your feelings.”
“Right!” I closed my eyes and focused back on a scene from the past. There was only one thing I needed to think about right now—bringing Claire back.