Chapter 126: Neither by Magic nor Science
—I don’t remember how I got back home.
When I came to, I was lying in my own bed.
What woke me was the vibration of my phone, notifying me of a new message. With my heart still completely numb, I picked it up out of habit and checked the screen.
There were messages—several of them—filled with concern for me. But none of it registered in my head.
As I scrolled down, the one that caught my eye was a fresh message from Hisui.
It contained only one sentence.
—Thump.
My heart began to stir.
『Do you want to know how to save Alicia?』
Hisui had summoned me to a shrine late at night.
The main hall was lit, and in the center of the decorated tatami room, Hisui sat alone in front of the god, dressed in white and vermilion shrine maiden robes, kneeling in silent prayer.
“Hisui!”
I called her name, and she quietly turned to face me.
“...Alice, you came.”
Her voice was even flatter than usual—utterly without inflection.
“Is it true you found a way to save Alicia!?”
I ran up to her and demanded answers.
There was a way to save Alicia. That message had lit a fire in me. I called Hisui right away, and then pedaled here as fast as I could.
Right now, I was still in the same clothes I had on earlier—just threw on a coat over my slightly rumpled sailor dress.
“...Yes, it’s true.”
Hisui spoke flatly, without emotion.
“Please, tell me!”
—There was still time. I was sure of it.
Even if her consciousness had vanished, I could still feel Alicia’s soul lingering in this body. And if anyone could see souls, it was Hisui. She should be able to understand my condition better than anyone.
“If you learn this... your life will definitely be thrown into chaos. Even knowing that, I don’t know if it’s right for me to tell you…”
“Even if I learn the method, whether I go through with it is my decision. So no matter how hard it is, I’ll take full responsibility. Besides, I’ve already survived traveling to another world, a change in gender, and all sorts of things. I’ll get through this too. I know I will.”
“I don’t think Alicia would want to be saved through this method. The reason I never told you before is because I was certain she’d try to stop you if she found out… Even so?”
No matter what she said, my resolve didn’t waver.
“Yeah. Tell me. Alicia saved my life… and if I can save her, I’m willing to give up anything—everything—except this life. So, please—”
“...I knew you’d say that.”
Hisui closed her eyes and let out a quiet sigh.
“There’s one condition.”
“...A condition?”
“I want you to make me your girlfriend.”
The unexpected words left me speechless.
I do care about Hisui. Just like Alicia said, maybe one day I could end up in that kind of relationship with her. But right now, my heart was so full of thoughts of Alicia, I had no room to think about anyone else.
“I’m sorry… I can’t return your feelings, Hisui.”
This was the second time I had turned down Hisui’s confession.
But even after hearing my words, her expression didn’t change.
“I know how much you care about that girl... So I’m fine with being second to Alicia. Even if it’s just until she comes back.”
“That’s not okay...”
There was no way I could still be in love with Alicia and love Hisui at the same time. I wasn’t that good at handling things.
If we became lovers under those circumstances, it would only hurt Hisui in the end.
Besides, saying “just until Alicia comes back”—that kind of relationship is far too convenient. You couldn’t really call that being lovers.
“It’s not not okay. If I tell you how to save Alicia, you’ll definitely go through with it—and you’ll get hurt. I can’t stand just watching you suffer alone like that. That’s why I’m asking you… Please, let me stay by your side and support you.”
Hisui looked straight into my eyes as she spoke.
“But…”
“I care about Alicia too. She’s an important friend to me. That’s why I can’t just dump everything on you and pretend it’s not my problem. If you can’t accept this condition, then I can’t tell you how to save Alicia.”
Hisui’s resolve was unwavering.
I hesitated.
I couldn’t imagine this kind of relationship would be good for her.
But if not accepting it meant I couldn’t save Alicia…
“…Alright.”
I gave Hisui my answer.
I didn’t fully understand why she was being so adamant about this.
But even so—I wanted to save Alicia.
Even if this choice might end up hurting Hisui.
“…Thank you. I’m happy. I became Ikuto’s girlfriend…”
Hisui clasped her hands over her chest, speaking with deep emotion.
Seeing her like that made my chest tighten with guilt.
“I’m sorry. I love you, Ikuto…”
“Y-Yeah…”
I couldn’t bring myself to meet her gaze.
“Don’t worry. I’m the one who wished for this kind of relationship. So you don’t need to feel guilty… No matter what happens, I’ll be with you. So it’s okay—just trust me.”
Hisui gave a soft, gentle smile.
“Now then, I’ll tell you how to save Alicia.”
“…Yeah.”
First and foremost—I had to save Alicia’s life.
…Everything else could wait until after that.
“It’s not actually a complicated method. You just have to create a soulless body within Alice’s body, and then use a soul-manipulation tool, the Soul Manipulator, to transfer Alicia’s soul into it. That’s all.”
“That’s all? You make it sound so easy… But that’s impossible. Neither magic nor science can do something like that. There’s no way—”
If a soul is removed from the body, it disappears.
Then, just prepare a vessel inside the body.
It made sense in theory—but if such a thing were actually possible, no one would be struggling like this.
“It is possible.”
But Hisui stated it plainly.
“You don’t need magic or science. With the way you are now—the you that’s become a woman—you can do it.”
“W-What… do you mean?”
I was completely lost.
I couldn’t understand what Hisui was saying.
“A child.”
“Eh…?”
“A child—or to be more precise, a fetus. You’ll create one, Alice, and transfer Alicia’s soul into it. Souls take root the moment a heartbeat begins, so it has to be before that.”
A… child?
Pregnancy. Birth.
Functions unique to the female body.
I knew that much. Health class had covered it.
“H-How am I supposed to…?”
The words slipped out before I could stop them, and Hisui gave me a weary look.
There’s no way I didn’t know.
But I didn’t want to accept it.
I wanted to believe there had to be some other way.
“It’s obvious… intercourse. Sex.”
What Hisui thrust before me was an unforgiving reality.
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