Final Chapter: A Road Full of Twists and Turns End

So then—where should I even start explaining this?

It’s been about half a month since that incident, and Academy City has changed a lot.

The biggest change was the weakening of the Dark Side.

The "Right Seat of God" mass assault incident, the disappearance of the "Windowless Building," and the scattered battles that followed across the city were enough to drag Academy City’s underbelly into the light. And, uh—what was it called again? Something like the “Anti-Norm” faction. A whole class of criminals was arrested in droves.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the Dark Side vanished overnight. The "Kiharas" are still around, and even organizations like "School," "Item," and "Member" will eventually have to face judgment for what they’ve done. But at least... how should I put it… it feels less likely that we’ll see another “This city’s darkness won’t allow any happy endings! Gyahahahaha!!” anytime soon.

Well, yeah, it’s still a problem we’ll have to deal with, but all things considered, I’d say things wrapped up pretty well.

And as for us personally—

"As for me, I believe granting students the right to vote is still premature."

"...And by that, you mean?"

Lately, we’ve been getting more chances to talk with Academy City’s higher-ups.

"First of all, there’s the issue of the abandoned Child Errors. The other day, while working on a campaign for the juvenile detention escape trial event, I happened to meet a student who’d been sent to Academy City as an ‘abandoned child’—an infiltrator planted by another organization for espionage purposes."

The one speaking was Monaka Oyafune, a member of Academy City’s Board of Directors.

In this city, students make up the majority of the population, yet most of them don’t have voting rights. Oyafune-san has long been concerned that, despite being a city built for children, most of its policies cater to adults. To put it simply, she’s been leading a movement to give children political representation.

She even appears in the “official history.” She’s truly an incredible person. Since coming to this world, I’ve been studying at least the basics of how society works, and her name shows up constantly.

"If we’re to establish voting rights for students, we’ll inevitably face problems like these. Should the abandoned children be excluded from suffrage, then? That would only accelerate discrimination against them. I agree with the spirit behind student suffrage. However..."

"...You mean we’ll be facing ‘problems with no clear answers,’ right?"

"Exactly."

Basically, since we’re considered part of this city’s future elite—the top students, the public faces of Academy City—we’ve been invited to more “student opinion exchanges” with people like Oyafune-san.

Honestly, I think most of them just want to use me as a PR tool. You know, the “clean, down-to-earth student who can even stand as an equal to that famous Level 5 esper.”

"And that’s not all. Students are heavily influenced by their parents. For instance, I myself have deep ties to the Blackguard Conglomerate. You needn’t look as far back as the regent politics of Heian Japan to see the concern—external organizations could end up exerting greater influence over Academy City. Even without that, politically motivated crimes within the city would surely increase."

That’s how I ended up having a Q&A-style discussion with Oyafune-san for a political news site, about the increasingly heated topic of student suffrage. Afterward, at her request, we stayed behind for a more private, in-depth talk.

"I see. That’s perfectly reasonable."

"Once again, I do believe students’ voices should be reflected more in politics. However, granting them suffrage outright would cause too many complications... at the very least, we should focus first on building the proper foundation for it, don’t you think?"

"...That’s an excellent point."

Oyafune-san murmured softly, almost to herself.

"The fact that you can identify so many potential drawbacks to student suffrage—does that mean, Blackguard-san, that you’ve been thinking about student involvement in society for quite some time?"

"...Well, only in the sense that it’s something that’ll inevitably concern us sooner or later..."

Still, thanks to having gone over the topic in my head with Reicia-chan, my thoughts were fairly well-organized. Times like this really make me appreciate the convenience of having a dual-personality system like ‘Square Face.’

Oyafune-san watched us with a pleased smile before saying—

"But it’s perfectly fine for the proposal of student suffrage to have numerous flaws, you know."

She said it with surprising cheerfulness.

"What truly matters is showing that there is a path for students to participate in politics. And the fact that you, Blackguard-san, took the issue seriously and identified those hurdles yourself—that means you’ve already begun outlining what students must overcome to take part in this city’s politics."

"...Ah."

Only then did I realize she’d been evaluating us the entire time.

She’d deliberately left gaps in her argument—to see how deeply we understood the issue. …Jeez, that’s terrifying. So this is what the adult world’s like, huh…

"If I made you feel pressured or uncomfortable, I apologize."

Even that fearful realization, she seemed to anticipate, smiling apologetically.

"But really, when a girl young enough to be my granddaughter faces me with the same ideals in her heart, well—this old lady can’t help but get a little excited."

"…A frightening thought, but—very well, bring it on."

Even though Reicia-chan seemed a little overwhelmed, she still replied with her usual defiant confidence. From now on, we’ll have to keep stepping into places like this. Might as well gain as much experience as we can while it’s still relatively safe.

Well, whatever the case—

Things around us had undoubtedly begun to change.

So anyway—it’s now October 30th.

Before the grand opening of the state-of-the-art juvenile facility known as the “Second Juvenile Detention Center,” a “Prison Break Trial” event was held to demonstrate its supposedly perfect security system. Somehow, we got roped into being the promo characters. Just when we thought our job was done, the inmates started rioting, and the ringleader ended up hijacking Touma-san’s Dragon Strike—the jaw of the Dragon King (why though!?). Long story short, it’s been a lot—but we somehow made it to the end of the month in one piece.

That said, even with the month’s end approaching, peace of mind was the last thing we had.

First off, the world was in absolute chaos.

The incident where all four members of “God’s Right Seat,” the Roman Orthodox Church’s most secretive division, invaded Academy City—only to be defeated—had sent shockwaves through the entire magic side. And if that weren’t enough, the commotion revealed to the world that the worst magician in history, Aleister Crowley, was still alive, and that his fortress—the “Windowless Building”—had completely vanished without a trace.

From the magic side’s perspective, sure, some of their most powerful agents had been crushed, but they’d also discovered weaknesses in their opponent’s camp. Things were falling apart—but they also saw opportunity. Now’s our chance! That kind of attitude.

In short—

It looks like World War III might actually start.

Last night, the Eurotunnel connecting Britain and France was bombed.

…I mean, we figured “God’s Right Seat” would stay quiet for a while after taking that much damage, but when you think about it, Vento-san, Terra-san, Acqua-san, and Fiamma-san are all technically still alive.

If that’s the case, then the “Eurotunnel bombing” that “God’s Right Seat” secretly carried out in the original timeline happening again isn’t that far-fetched. Which means a coup in Britain could easily follow—and if that happens, well, there’s nothing stopping a third world war from breaking out.

By the way, how do I even know all this? Well, sure—partly because I still remember the original timeline.

But on top of that, I’ve recently picked up a certain connection who won’t stop blabbering about this stuff unprompted. Thanks to them, we were able to start preparing long before Touma-san and Index set off on their whirlwind trip. Not that I want to thank that person, though…

“Hey.”

And as for other changes in our immediate surroundings—

“Hey, could you stop ignoring me already?”

I said that…

“We’re roommates, after all. Not talking at all feels kind of lonely.”

“You’re so noisy! Every time I acknowledge your existence, my brain gets flooded with too many things to question!!!”

…Yeah. We got a new roommate.

Their name’s Aleister Crowley.

………………………………

“Why are you casually enrolled in Tokiwadai!? Why are you in a girl’s body!? How do you even have the nerve to show your face in front of me again, Aleister Crowleyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!”

“Hahaha. Comes with age.” (Clearly not planning to explain anything.)

The person in question was a girl who looked about middle-school age, with sleek silver hair flowing to her waist. Her green eyes curved into an amused smile as she looked straight at us. That’s right—somehow, Academy City’s director-general, Aleister Crowley, had turned into a girl and transferred into Tokiwadai Middle School.

And to make things worse, she was that connection I mentioned earlier—the one who wouldn’t stop talking about predicting the movements of the magic side.

Thanks to her, we’d secured a ticket to accompany Touma-san and the others on their trip to England. But honestly? Because of her, both Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san got dragged into going too. In short, she made everything ten times more chaotic. Whatever happened to that “great plan” of yours, huh?

“Well, jokes aside,” Aleister suddenly said with a serious look, “the ‘Windowless Building’ has outlived its usefulness.”

“The core functions were barely extracted in time, but the place itself is gone. There’s nowhere left for me to reside. No facility in this city could surpass it as a base of operations. …So I figured, why not accompany the biggest irregulars in the city? It’s the most efficient way to bury all risks and complications under ambiguity, don’t you think?”

Every word was pure, self-serving nonsense.

And the worst part? She’d actually used that nonsense to bulldoze through the paperwork and officially become my roommate. Who would’ve guessed my single dorm room was foreshadowing this?

That, I could almost live with.
(Actually, no, I couldn’t.)

But the real problem wasn’t that Aleister became my roommate. It was that—

“So. Are you done packing yet? We’re probably leaving for England today or tomorrow. I’ve already finished my preparations.”

Yeah. Somehow, she’s also been cleared to join the trip to England.

I honestly don’t even know what to say anymore.

…How did things end up like this?

Before I realized it, everything around us had completely changed.

《…Looks like peace has finally disappeared from our room too.》

After that—

Having escaped from the room where Aleister was, we stuck to our original plan and sat down on a bench in a small park in District 7, gazing up at the sky.

《The “original timeline” is broken, everything’s in ruins, and honestly, I’ve completely lost track of what’s going on anymore.》

《That’s hardly new, is it not?》

《…Yeah, fair point.》

Now that she mentioned it, even back during the Daihaseisai Festival, the so-called “original timeline” had already stopped being reliable. Kamijou-san showed up… the “Dragon” appeared… Seriously, what was that all about?

《Anyway, the real problem right now is Aleister.》

Leicia-chan sighed inwardly as she said that.

《If she’s turned into a girl, then it’s clearly an attempt to make herself into a heroine, don’t you think? What now? We’ve got yet another rival on our hands!》

《There’s no way, in any possible universe, that Touma-san ends up together with Aleister. Not a chance.》

I mean, come on. She’s still a perverted old man on the inside.

《The outcome isn’t what matters. What’s dangerous are her intentions. I’m sure she thought something like, “Since the foundations of everything have collapsed, I’ll take advantage of Kamijou Touma’s tendency to rescue any woman-shaped being in distress,” and that’s why she became female! But just having that guy involved in anything romantic—ugh, it’s nothing but noise! Simply put, she’s in the way!》

《You’re… not wrong.》

I couldn’t really argue with Leicia-chan’s frustration.

Still, things had already turned out this way. There was no point in dwelling on it. What mattered was moving forward and doing our best with what we had.

《In the end, let’s make it so we can say, “It’s because Aleister was around that we were able to reach the best future.” Like last time, remember?》

《That particular case was far too unique to use as precedent, wouldn’t you agree?》

《Anyway. Let’s switch gears. Because today’s—》

I stopped mid-sentence and looked straight ahead.

At the park entrance, I saw the person we’d been waiting for appear.

《—a date with Touma-san, after all.》

As we watched the spiky-haired boy waving energetically in our direction, we slowly rose from the bench.

Yes.

The world around us was beginning, little by little, to change.

"Yo, long time no see."

Waving casually, Touma greeted us. I returned the gesture with a small, polite bow.

"It’s been a while. Come to think of it, this is the first time we’ve properly met since that incident, isn’t it?"

"Well, a middle schooler and a high schooler don’t get many chances to run into each other."

"Even so, thank you for what you did back then."

When I smiled at him from beside him, Touma scratched his cheek awkwardly, a sheepish grin forming on his face.

"It’s not really something worth thanking me for. Honestly, the ones who did all the real work were the others. I only helped out a little at the end."

"If we’re talking about contribution, shouldn’t we also consider the emotional aspect, not just the practical results?"

I said it in a tone meant to gently scold him for being so unrefined.

"I have no intention of ranking debts of gratitude, but thanks to you being there, my heart felt so much lighter. You should be at least a little aware of that, Touma."

"…You think so?"

Touma scratched his cheek again, looking uncertain. Well, expecting him to be self-aware about that sort of thing was probably asking too much. Any more of this, and he’d just start feeling down.

"Anyway, time is limited. We should get started, shouldn’t we?"

A “date”—though, to be fair, this wasn’t one of those outings meant to deepen a romantic bond between a man and a woman. The word “date” was Reicia’s idea; it didn’t really match the reality of the situation.

The real reason we were going out today was to prepare for an upcoming summons from the Anglican Church—possibly coming as soon as today or tomorrow. Touma didn’t speak English, so he wanted to buy a phrasebook before traveling to England.

"Still, it’s amazing, isn’t it—what did you call it again? ‘Knowledge from another history’?"

Right. The fact that I’d given Kamijou Touma information based on predictions about the coup in England and other events basically meant I could no longer hide the existence of my “knowledge of the True History.”

So, I’d already explained it to Touma, Index, Misaka Mikoto, and Shokuhou Misaki. It had been a very long explanation—and honestly, I wasn’t entirely confident they fully understood.

"…It’s not really something to be proud of, though."

I lowered my gaze slightly as I spoke. Even though I’d more or less given up on keeping it secret, deciding to tell them openly had been a difficult choice. From their point of view, it must have sounded like, “I already knew all about you before we met, and I decided to befriend you because I knew what kind of person you were.” That’s… pretty unfair. I wasn’t worried about being hated for it, but the guilt lingered all the same.

"A world without me… the ‘true history.’"

That phrase carried a kind of idealized weight for me.

A world where Kamijou Touma stood at the center of history, diving headfirst into countless incidents—getting hurt, struggling, and still cutting his way forward with that right hand of his. I was fighting to seize a future just as bright as that one—a happy future that wouldn’t lose to his history.

But…

"…Honestly, it’s overwhelming."

That path was beyond great—it was monumental. He stopped the coup in England, ended World War III, saved the Magic Gods trapped in an infinite hell… a future that brilliant.

Of course, my resolve to claim a “happy future” just as radiant hadn’t dimmed. But that didn’t make the goal any smaller. To reach it, I’d have to be ready to go against the entire world if I had to.

"I don’t know how amazing the ‘me’ you saw in that history was," Touma said, walking beside me.

"But if the one you saw really was the Kamijou Touma I know, he’d tell you that’s wrong."

Those were words only Kamijou Touma could say.

"Up until now, I’ve just been struggling through it all. Even without my memories, I couldn’t stand to see someone crying for help—so I clenched my fist, fought, and somehow things worked out. Doing that again and again made me feel like I was building who I was… that’s the kind of guy I am. Wasn’t the Kamijou Touma you know the same?"

"…"

"So there’s no way he’d ever call the history he lived through an ‘ideal.’ Actually, no—he wouldn’t even think he made that history himself. Thinking that history exists because of your influence—that kind of arrogance means something inside’s already twisted."

Before I realized it, we’d both stopped walking. Touma looked down at me, his expression calm and steady.

"Who decided that the history you know—the so-called ‘true history’—is even true? The Touma in that world probably struggled, made mistakes, and still stood proud of the path he walked. You liking that history—I bet that’d make him happy. But still…"

Then, gently—thunk—Touma’s right hand rested on my head.

"Don’t go measuring the path he walked with words like ‘true’ or ‘right.’ I doubt he fought and suffered all that just for something like that."

"…Yes."

When I looked up and nodded, Touma smiled kindly.

"So, how about it? Did that kill off a little of your self-doubt, Miss ‘Confidence Issues’?"

"…Yes, thanks to you!"
"Though knowing Shiren, her lack of confidence is a lifelong condition. Please take care of her when that happens, Touma."
"H-Hey, Reicia!"

Ugh, she makes me sound like some kind of emotional wreck who’s always moping over the same things…! …Wait, am I actually like that? No, come on, I’ve grown a bit, haven’t I? At least my worries are evolving over time… right!?

《…Shiren, what are you doing? This is a good atmosphere, you know. Touma’s even getting flustered from the silence. If you make a move now, a virgin like him would fall instantly.》

《Way to ruin the mood, Reicia!?》

Seriously, Reicia has no sense of delicacy sometimes. It’s honestly a problem.

《Look, I’m trying to understand romance a bit more, okay? But I’m not really into that whole ‘make them conscious of you by doing such-and-such’ kind of thing! I’d rather take it slow—something natural, built up through ordinary days together!》

《And how many of those “ordinary days” do you think you’ll get, you hopelessly romantic virgin!? Your schedule is packed tighter than a combat mission log!! You think you can survive this cutthroat romantic battlefield with that naïve pace!? You’ll end up living on baumkuchen, I swear!!》

《We’re not even speaking the same language when it comes to romance, Reicia!!》

A “Baumkuchen Ending” — that bittersweet heartbreak where you get a slice of cake as a wedding favor from the one you loved — that part I could handle.
But why the hell do I have to live off Baumkuchen!?

《…That’s why you finally worked up the courage to use the England trip as an excuse to invite Touma out shopping. Even if you’ve got knowledge of the ‘True History,’ using that as a pretext for a date? Only we would come up with something that ridiculous.》

《How naïve. There’s no guarantee that the path we found is the only answer. Even without any so-called ‘True History,’ there are always those who’ll crawl through the mud to reach their own conclusions. For example…》

"Found you…"

"And just what do you think you’re sneaking off to do, huh, you two?"

"Wait, if this England trip involves me too, then leaving me out is totally unfair!"

《…Like that—girls in love with love itself.》

When I turned around, two classmates stood there, out of breath, with a pure-white sister in tow.

"This sneaky girl always slips away the second you let your guard down!"

"Oh, come on! A little scheming like this counts as a cute prank in my book, nothing more."

"And seriously, if you’re going shopping for the trip, we could’ve just tagged along! It kinda hurt being left out, you know!"

"Ah, I’m really sorry about that…"

Before I knew it—

"Ugh! I knew this would happen! I was watching quietly from the sidelines, and of course it turns into a circus! Fine then—no reason for us to stay quiet anymore! Move out, G.M.D.W.!!"

"Isn’t openly admitting you were spying on their private time… a bit risky?!"

"Tch. For the record, I was against it. But when it’s an all-girls squad, a man’s opinion only goes so far…"

"Baba. Hate to break it to you, but no one’s listening to your excuses anymore."

The G.M.D.W. members — our usual crew — began showing up one after another. Seriously, how long had we been under surveillance?
Yeah… I really do need to upgrade my airflow detection to cover private zones too.

My head started to ache just thinking about it, and over the rising commotion I could still hear voices like—

"Now, now, everyone, calm down. Problems only happen because you all keep fighting until it’s one-on-one. We could just reform Academy City’s laws and legalize polygamy instead. I could make that happen, you know."

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU ROTTEN GENERAL DIRECTOR!!!"

I launched a flying kick without hesitation — and I’m certain I was in the right.
Here I am working my butt off to help manage civic rights, and this bastard just—

"(…Hey. Does this mean even the General Director’s a rival now?)"

"(We’re really running out of variety at this point, huh…?)"

"(Knowing Touma, I’m not even surprised anymore.)"

"Wow, you girls have so much energy. I can’t keep up with you middle schoolers anymore — high schoolers like me are too old for this."

"That ‘girl’ you’re talking about is Aleister, you know."

"Eh!?"

Touma flipped out — literally. The spiky-haired boy toppled backward as the silver-haired General Director closed in on him. The Railgun and the Queen of Control glared and sparked in warning, while the gluttonous sister somehow ended up chomping on the poor spiky-haired victim.

Watching that whole chaotic mess unfold, I couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

《…Haah. So this is how it ends up, huh.》

My other half — my inseparable partner — let out a soft, musical laugh.

《Oh? You don’t like it like this?》

She asked, her voice lilting almost like a song.

《What do you think? About the future we’re walking through together? This world. This possibility. It’s anything but calm, but still—》

《Come on, you already know my answer.》

Laughing together with the girl beside me, I dove straight into the happy, noisy chaos ahead — the same bright, ridiculous world as always.

Final Chapter: I Don’t Know Anything About Predetermined Harmony  - Theory_"was"_Broken.
Final Episode: A Road Full of Twists and Turns — Best_Future.

The Villainess Who Rose Again
End.