Chapter 21 (1/2)
Chapter 21: Resignation
The wind blew fiercely on me
In Tokyo Bay, especially in the Chiba area, there weren’t a lot of places that provided shelter fro was reduced to debris, so the wind flew freely upon the lands In fact, some of the debris had been further reduced tobranch office, a s inland of the bay, stood in plain view of the sea
Around thirty years ago, that very place was known as the new urban center, where e-scale event facilities once stood Businesses in the city had flourished, and the city itself had been quite active Back in the day, one could have easily guessed that this new urban center was expected to beco people talk about it Well, even if the it wasn’t technically the capital yet,about it, that forehead girl, Tsurube Asagao, would probably say so superior even from way back Chiba was always at the top, truly the best! However, the glory of Chiba, and even the world itself, had long since crumbled away
It was all due to the war Radiation, intense blazes, blood, and corpses— everything ie The bay started to protrude more and more inland until many places eventually ended up beneath the sea It is said that in the rubble underneath the sea, the relics of human history lie dormant
The accomplishments of humanity were burned away in the crimson flames, and the memories of them were reduced to mere pieces of dust, only to be bloay by the same wind I currently felt
Eventually, when this nightmare was finally over, the <world> awoke
Right before the war began, the technology for “cold sleeping” was developed Children were put into a hibernation-like sleep and stoay Those children would soon becoirls we are today
Twenty years ago, hureat losses but temporarily won the war The unknown enemies, cleverly dubbed <unknowns>, were repelled away, and humanity arbitrarily declared that the as over A period of false peace soon followed However, hued this peace They were unable to co with each other
Although we didn’t knowthe period that followed, except from some hearsay, the fact that there were still battles to this day meant the as definitely not over
So, that’s e’re here The defense cities of Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Chiba were built by the teovernment in order to enclose the Tokyo Bay, where ht there -who could fight there- consisted only of the boys and girls who had woken up from the cold sleep
A side effect of going into this cold sleep was the manifestation of supernatural powers These supernatural powers, called the <worlds>, saved humanity from their inevitable destruction They included pyrokinesis, telekinesis, telepathy, flight, and even supernatural strength At the sa to do with the battlefield For example, there were some with the ability to brew delicious coffee, instantly kno , or know tomorroeather In other words, <worlds> also included some useless abilities
People who possessed these useless <worlds> capitalized on their skills in non-military branches, and they too helped build the foundation for humanity’s continued existence Unfortunately, they were like replaceable cogs, or even the lubricating oil for those cogs that were used and throay Without having the chance to use their abilities to the fullest, they continued to support the never-ending war from the back lines
I was one of those replaceable cogs As a single cog in the systee, I continued to work every day
Beforewith the military branch, I waited for Urushi+bara to arrive in the coazed out at the sea while I waited
The seagulls cried out far in the distance Catching sight of any animals in the city was pretty rare The defense city of Chiba was ho plants and held the food for pretty ion Consequently, sanitary conditions were strictly enforced, and in general, aniister a pet, people had to fill out numerous application forms, and the pets were required to pass medical inspections Since the process was extremely troublesome, most people didn’t bother with it
The seagulls cried out in unison, and I gently listened to them All of a sudden, however, I heard some footsteps from behind me
I heard a voice saying, “It’s been a while since I’ve met with Natsume…”
“Me too,” I replied without turning around “Haven’tout”
I didn’t have to look to see who it was There weren’t a lot of people who called out to me in such a kind voice, especially outside But, it wasn’t as if she was an angel calured she wasn’t even particularly interested in holding a conversation with me
“Though, that ti,” I added on
Tsutsujigaoka Renge walked up until she was side by side with uess you could say that,” she said in an extre voice “From the time ere in the military branch, we’ve been low rankers in soroups”
In response, I turned aze towards her— she tried to brush it off with a slistened as it gently reflected the glow of the sunset It was as if she had a halo, and without thinking I averted els They were unconventionally beautiful and pheno without a hint of despair in them
I recalled soel, Kasumi Got it? Until you can hear my voice, no s and prophets, my words are absolute!
The sky was the very definition of red itself The sunset was repulsively beautiful, as its very beauty seemed ominous In contrast, her dark, black hair sees Even now, her cheeks were tinted with the afterglow of the sky Her hair seeht, with the color siht in front and the darkness behind, so she stood right in the middle of these two extrehtest rese, and looked as if reality was mixed with illusion
Though, the person from my memories did not have her smile
“By the way, thanks,” said Tsutsujigaoka
I shook ain “For what?” I asked This ti away
She tensed up and let out a nervous laugh “I feel you are always looking out forup for ht?”
“Is it?” I questioned Well, I was no doubt shameful myself
But, I think coaoka was better off as a transfer She wasn’t getting threatened constantly by Urushi+bara, the other girls looked out for her, and she’s friends with our boss, Tsurube Asagao Wata her his bad side With that being said though, it seeaoka didn’t think that way
“It really is,” she said depressingly as she looked doards “Everyone’s saying all sorts of things”
I wondered who she was referring to It could be the people fro branch, or other branches as well It could even be the people from the military
The military branch was by far the most disconnected out of all the branches, as they were an elite group that only allowed in a certain percentage of people from the overall population They exercised distinct power and authority with their utterly violent weapons People felt all sorts of things about theood will, fear, terror and hatred were all but a ss
That branch was a completely different beast compared to the rest They alone stood at the top, and they alone flaunted their successes That’s why they interacted only with each other and held contempt for others On the other hand, the other branches were ether stood at the bottoht, and revered them
I’ve alondered which place was best suited for the people ere transferred out of the military branch After all, they were once people who stood at the top The military may have been completely different than the rest, but transfers were different even within the military itself Even so, this fact alone did not make them similar to those below
It was indeed evident that Tsutsujigaoka Renge and I were irregulars to this city Even if our military affiliation was forcibly ripped away frorace continued to be carved in our bodies After all, people who transferred out of the military were branded as pitiful little sheep— ere the baby birds ere unable to stay with the flock, unable to fly onwards That’s why, the “everyone” Tsutsujigaoka was referring to was probably actually everyone and not a specific group of people
“That’s why I’usa That’s why… I have to say aoka said as she smiled “You paired up with me in the military, and this ti near you”
Indeed, Tsutsujigaoka and I sure shared a lot of experiences together It’s been about a year since orked as a sniper-spotter pair in the military, and from there, we pretty much followed the sa the sa different No ether into the future, fundamentally, ere two different people
I scratched aoka “That’s just saying stuff in hindsight,” I said “Even if it wasn’t me, even if I wasn’t there, you’d still be loved by everyone, Tstutsu… Chutsujiga… Tstsukakushi+chuchujiga… Chuchu… saying your name is too hard”
I fu it properly in the end I rarely did say her na it was still quite difficult
She laughed nervously, blushi+ng “I-It really is! Sorry!! It’s soh for even me to say…” she said as she coiled and uncoiled her hair with her finger She then looked straight at e is fine! Actually, please call e!”
“Renge, huh? It is easier to say, and I won’t have to worry about fu quickly to hide irls so casually, after all In fact, I don’t even recall calling anyone by their first name
Renge had a big smile on her face “Yes!” she exclaieted around nervously for a little bit She elanced upwards at me and continued on “Can I call you Kasumi then too?”
“Feel free to,” I replied
She reached her hand out timidly “Then… Then… Kasumi it is!”
I couldn’t stop looking at her long and slender fingers, her smooth skin, and her delicate wrist I hesitated a little bit because of that, so I was late in shaking her hand As I reached out to shake her hand, I heard someone honk their car horn I turned around and saw a box car revving up, with its front and rear of the careverywhere around the car, and from a distance, the car could have easily beenboat This vehicle would have probably been considered a relic even in the past
“What an interesting coht to myself
I heard soet on!”
“Okay,” I replied Renge turned around as well, just as Urushi+bara stuck his head out of the