“…A fox,” I said.

“Yes, a fox with a pale doll-like girl. I found him standing in front of me, wearing a fox mask.”

Holding a blue parasol, he observed the room with a smile. He stroked the bloodstained table with an animalistic gaze, and whispered to him.

“If you’re grieving over the death of your family, I’ll undo it,” Haruhiro and I said at the same time.

Haruhiro’s smile widened. Wearing an expression unbefitting of a child, he spread his arms wide and indicated his family, as though introducing them.

“And this is the result.”

A typical family scene, run by a puppet master.

He spoke with a clear, sonorous voice.

There was madness in the way he told the story.

“They look so real, huh? This is what he gave me after I calmed down. I wished for a family that laughed together again, and this is what I got. It’s ridiculous. A joke. A childish trick!” he exclaimed, his eyes opened wide.

Roaring with laughter, he threw his head back like a puppet whose strings were snapped. Rocking his chair, he continued.

“Still, I had fun at first. I really enjoyed it. I was extremely happy just to see their smiles once again.”

Grief touched his voice once more. But it soon faded away. He glanced at the scene in front of him with pure disinterest.

“My grandmother was scared at first. But she eventually came to grips with it. Apparently it’s easy for people to stop their brains from thinking. I mean, she accepted this ridiculous situation.”

His tone was indifferent, as though the matter was not related to him. What I saw earlier flashed in my mind.

His grandmother was already dead.

“How did she die?”

“Oh, so you did find her. It happened yesterday. I couldn’t take the farce any longer, so I ended up destroying it, then she got a heart attack. I did feel really bad for putting so much burden on her. But I’m glad she didn’t suffer too much,” he said softly.

The hint of sadness in his voice was terribly heavy.

He destroyed it. I glanced at the dead sitting on the table.

He was most likely referring to the scene before us. As soon as the boy rejected it, the family died by cutting each other’s throats, reenacting the tragedy.

“Morbid, isn’t it? I understand. But I still kept it. Do you know why?”

Haruhiro fixed me with a viscous gaze. There was a beseeching light in the depths of his eyes. A light tinged with insanity. It felt like a drowning man was wrapping his arms around my neck.

Slim fingers blocked my airway.

“The Lord told me that if I fulfilled certain conditions, he could make this real.”



I knew it.

My stomach knotted up, and I shudered. I must not listen to what he would say next. But I didn’t move. There was no point in running away.

Not listening was tantamount to rejection.

Whether I knew or not, the results would send me to the pits of despair someday.

“You’re a stranger, Odagiri-san, so you may not be the right person to ask.”

He slowly picked up the bread knife.

The long blade glowed like an executioner’s axe.

“The Lord said that a person named Odagiri would definitely help me. Because he loves helping people.”

The fox’s words pierced my ears. I clenched my fists tight, my fingers touching the disfigured scar on my palm. The baby spun wildly in my stomach. I swallowed back a scream as I stroked my belly to calm her down.

Asato…

Haruhiro gave a big smile. Holding the bread knife in his hand, he said the last thing I wanted to hear.

“Odagiri-san. Will you die to save me?”

How far could one go to help others?

How far should we go?

There was a crash. I realized that my left hand had hit a plate, causing it to fall to the floor and break into pieces. Haruhiro was staring at me with the bread knife still in his hand. His smile remained. But if I refused, it would definitely vanish.

My death might fulfill the conditions, but what he’d receive from the fox would be nothing but an imitation. It wouldn’t change the fact that his family was gone. But it should serve as solace regardless.

The boy before me was broken.

But he could probably live happily with a well-made imitation.



Once I was gone, he would be happy. My death would bring back happiness that was perfect as a sphere. I thought I saw the words written on the paper appear before me.

Hallelujah.

“Odagiri-san,” Haruhiro pleaded.

I took a deep breath. Sweat trickled down my cheeks. I suppressed the rapid beating of my heart. I remembered the numerous incidents in which people died because of me.

I always thought I should die for someone else.

I breathed in and out.

Gasping for air, I managed to wring out an answer.

“…No.”

“What…?”

Haruhiro cocked his head, confused. The smile faded from his face. His broken expression stung my chest, but I couldn’t agree to what he wanted.

Never.

“Come again?”

I mustn’t.

“There’s someone I have to save,” I said. “And until I save them, I can’t die, no matter what. Besides, I… I can’t lay my life down for others.”

I had to save Shirayuki. She fought for me, and I couldn’t turn my back on her. If my death would lead to her own death, then I would continue to protect myself.

Besides, I’d never really sacrificed myself for anyone before.



And that would remain true in the future.

I just wanted to help others for as long as I lived.

I acknowledged Uka’s existence. Then I thought about helping people whom I would be involved with in the future. It was a self-centered, self-gratifying way of thinking. I just wanted people to applaud me. I just wanted to feel good about myself. And many died as a result.

Nevertheless…

“In case you haven’t heard, I’ll give it to you straight,” I said. “I probably deserve to die, sure. But I’m not dying in this obvious trap. Even if it means saving someone, I’m not offering my own life.”

Haruhiro’s face twisted a little. Staring at his shattered expression, I continued on.

“Besides, the dead should stay dead.”

The dead do not come back to life. Tragedies can’t be undone.

You can’t cover up the grief you’ve gone through with deception.

How was momentary hope different from new misery?

So I…

“I’m sorry. I can’t help you.”

Please, walk with your own two feet.

Sorrow is something you carry on your own.

Clink.

The bread knife fell to the floor. Haruhiro’s face remained stiff and expressionless, frozen like a motionless doll. His wide-open eyes were quivering, and wet, reflecting my figure like a mirror.



Then, his lips twisted into a grin.

Flesh wriggled as he bared his teeth.

A raucous laughter came from within.

“Hahahahahahaha! Okay. I understand. Grownups are so scummy. Spewing sanctimonious bullshit, but when it comes down to it, they can’t actually help. What a fucking joke! The Lord told me all about you, by the way, and it made me sick. So this is what I get, huh? Yeah, yeah. I get it. I don’t really care.”

He picked up the bread knife. Biting my lip hard, I stood up and took a step back, ready to run at any moment. He could cuss at me all he wanted. I couldn’t say anything to deny his accusations. But I wasn’t about to change my mind.

I want to help Shirayuki. I want to save her, no matter what.

People have to live on, even in the face of death.

Meager amount of solace means nothing.

Abruptly he tossed the knife. It slid across the table, bouncing off the dishes. Blood splattered all around. Drops of coagulating blood stained the tablecloth.

“How about a compromise? It was the Lord’s second suggestion,” he spat. He was regarding me with contempt. “If you can’t kill yourself, then kill Mayuzumi Azaka.”

I didn’t see this one coming. My eyes widened.

Kill Mayuzumi Azaka?

“You hate her, don’t you? She’s of no use to anyone alive, is she? She laughs at others’ misfortunes and takes pleasure in tragedies.”

He smiled. It was clear that the fox told him something about her. I stared at the bread knife blankly. Its blade was pristine, silently waiting for my answer.

Mayuzumi Azaka.

Where did she go?

“You can do it, can’t you? To you, the lives of others are insignificant compared to yours,” Haruhiro said with a smile.



I clenched my fists. Right as I was about to answer him, I heard a familiar voice.

“How rude. Just putting it out there: I’m not going to let myself get killed by the likes of Odagiri-kun. I’d rather get eaten by wolves in the woods. Then again, Japanese wolves are extinct.”

Haruhiro turned around with a smile on his face.

The closed door rattled. I realized then that it was locked. Then, a large shadow appeared on the frosted glass.

A big, red, round shadow.

“I should follow Yusuke-kun’s example every once in a while.”

The shoddy sliding door toppled forward. Fragments of glass scattered everywhere. Mayuzumi kicked the door down with her rubber sole and stepped inside, treading over the shards with what looked like combat boots. Her red parasol was open behind her.

A beautiful color jumped into my vision. Mayuzumi scowled at the scene on the table, then her bored gaze went to the fridge. Ripping off the paper, she studied the words written in red crayon.

“I see,” she muttered softly.

She let go of the paper, and it fluttered down to the floor, drifting softly.

Mayuzumi turned to Haruhiro and flashed a cat-like grin.

“Sorry to bother you,” she said. “But can I ask you a question?”

She was wearing the smile of a beast tormenting its prey.

“Who are you?”

The words sounded familiar.

Words I wasn’t supposed to hear right now.