Season 2 Bonus Anime Episode "To Us 1000 Years Later" (Part 2)

Season 2 Bonus Anime Episode "To Us 1000 Years Later" (Part 2)

"Don't say things I don't understand."

Sumire cut her off bluntly in a private room at a yakitori restaurant.

Mana was secretly indignant. It had taken her quite a bit of courage to say it. No one wants to hear something like, "My friend might be able to use magic."

"I know what you're trying to say, Sumire-san. You must be thinking I was crazy, don't you?"

"I thought Kaya's role wouldn't have many scenes left, so I thought it would be okay if you were hospitalized."

"...That was harsher than I thought...!"

For a moment, Mana seemed about to give up, but she pulled herself together, straightened her back, and continued.

"Listen. I have proof."

★

8:55 AM on a certain Sunday.

Shinohara Mana was sinking into the depths of despair she'd never experienced in her life.

Today, the cast of the "The Runaway Wizard" anime was scheduled to meet in the morning for an event. 

She sets two alarms. She left home early so she'd arrive an hour early. She did her best to stay awake even on the swaying train. As a reward for herself afterward, she even bought a limited-edition salted butter roll from the bakery inside the station. And yet...

From the mountains behind the station, she could hear the chirping of birds and the sound of a river flowing somewhere. A lone taxi was parked in the station rotary, but the driver looked bored as he unfolded a newspaper. The refreshing morning breeze blew across the platform.

Mana looked up resentfully at the sign bearing the name of the station.

"Oume Station."

No matter how many times she looked at it, it always said that. Mana looked over the email once more.

"Meet at Oumi Station tomorrow at 10 AM."

Oumi and Oume. 

Why are there two stations that look so similar within Tokyo?

It's true that she had noticed that the scenery was gradually becoming less and less urban. However, according to the transfer information app, it takes about two hours to get from Oume to Oumi. Even though the names are so similar.

She looked around to see if anyone else had made the same mistake, but Mana was the only one on the platform.

She had just explained the situation to the producer over the phone. He sighed loudly and said, "Okay, I'll do something about it. Just get here somehow."

She was scared. What did "just get here somehow" mean?

Remembering that she hadn't had breakfast yet, she took out some bread, thinking it would taste good. However, it didn't look appetizing at all. The bread, which should have been fluffy, looked more like clay or something.

And then, just as Mana held her head in her hands once again, she suddenly looked up and saw Kamishiro Yunoha, who played the role of "Wizard-chan," standing right next to her, staring at her.

As always, she had a soft smile on her face.

Mana almost brushed her off for a moment, then took a second look.

"Yunoha-chan!?! Why are you here!?"

"It seemed like Shinohara-san was in trouble."

"Hehe," Yunoha laughed shyly. In an instant, Mana felt like she could forgive everything. Maybe this is what she had lacked earlier, Mana thought, and then she realized something important and stood up.

"Yunoha-chan! You're the main character!"

"Yes. I am the main character."

Yunoha puffed out her chest. Mana grabbed her small shoulders and shook her violently. Yuno's head shook back and forth violently. She could hear a "Wait..." sound, but that was too much for her.

"What's would they do if the main character is late?!"

"It's not only the main character who is late..."

Mana choked up, then regained her momentum.

"It's not like that! I just got off the train! We won't make it in time!"

"It'll be fine."

Yunoha smiled brightly. Seeing that smile, Mana hoped, "Maybe there's a way..." But then, Yunoha's words caught Mana's off guard.

"Just pretend this is Oumi."

"See? I thought so! It's not fine!!!"

"No, no. Now, just close your eyes and pretend you've been tricked."

Mana ended the conversation, turned away, and pretended not to hear. She was in no mood for that.

Yunoha then crossed her arms, looking confused. Then she stroked her chin with a nod.

"Let's do this. First, give me that delicious-looking bread, Shinohara-san."

"Huh? What? This?"

She handed it to her anyway. She wasn't feeling hungry.

"Then I'll receive it as your payment. Now, close your eyes."

"...Nothing's been solved...!"

And then, in desperation, Mana closed her eyes, then opened them again...

It was the blue sea.

Staff members were everywhere, preparing for the event. Equipment was being carried in the loading dock, and staff were checking the script under a makeshift tent. In the distance, they could hear the sound of speakers checking.

Mana pulled her cheek in tight. Her cheek stretched more than she'd expected, and the dull pain reminded her that the place she was in was real.

"This wasn't a dream."

Spotting Yunoha chatting with the director in the distance, Mana ran over to her at full speed. It was probably the fastest she'd ever run.

Mana grabbed Yunoha's shoulders and shook her back and forth violently. Yunoha's head shook back and forth violently. She heard a voice say something like, "Wait... wait..." but she didn't have time for it.

"Yunoha-chan!!!! Why are you here!!!"

"Of course she's here. She's the main character. Come on, stop it."

The director interrupted from the side, sounding exasperated. Mana stopped shaking her, and after a moment of dizziness and staggering, Yunoha puffed out her chest.

"Yes, I'm the main character. So it's only natural that I'm here."

"No, something is wrong! It's not natural!!!"

"Calm down, Mana. I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Director!!!!! Shut up!!!!!"

"Okay."

The director nodded immediately, keeping a straight face.

Mana then repeatedly asked Yunoha, "Weren't we at Oume Station earlier?"

But Yunoha just smiled softly, looking embarrassed, and shook her head, saying, "Are you dreaming?" 

No matter how many times she asked the staff or the director, she got the same answer.

"Kamishiro-san? She was here from the beginning, weren't she?"

"She was here even before the meeting time."

It was like she was dreaming.

★

Sumire, still staring at the yakitori touch panel, slashed away.

"You're dreaming, right?"

"No, I'm not! There's more to come!"

★

Just as Mana was about to give up and leave to report her arrival to the producer,

Somehow—yes, really, somehow.

Mana turned around.

Yunoha was munching on the bread she was holding with relish. The wrapper had the name of Mana's nearest station printed on it. It was a limited edition butter roll that could only be purchased there.

It was the bread Mana had given her at Oume Station.

★

Sumire's finger, which had been sliding across the touch panel, stopped dead.

Then, her gaze slightly averted from the touch panel.

"What's that... scary..."

"Of course! Don't you have something like that, Sumire?!"

Mana leaned forward and stared intently at Sumire's face.

"There's no way..."

Sumire started to speak, but stopped.

Her eyes wandered, and she put a finger to her mouth.

"Ah."

"There is! You do have one!"

"No, no, no, that's not it. It's not like that."

Sumire frantically waved her hands, trying to straighten herself, but she still felt uneasy. Mana stared at her again. Perhaps succumbing to the pressure, Sumire sighed and spoke.

★

~Sumire's Story~

The other day, she was suddenly overcome by dizziness and collapsed in the studio hallway.

Sumire says that Yunoha woke her up. She was poked and prodded.

When she opened her eyes, Yunoha was crouching in front of her, peering at her. She smiled and said, "Ah! Sumire-san, good morning." And Yunoha staggered away.

Afterwards, Sumire left work early and went to the hospital, where her chronic illness had vanished as if by magic. It was a disease she had had since childhood and was said to be difficult to cure completely.

She underwent many tests. She was hospitalized for a week for the tests. It was the first time she had undergone so many tests since her illness was discovered as a child. Nurses were rushing in and out, the doctors were holding their heads in confusion, and her personal doctor asked excitedly, "Can I report this to the academic society!?"

The director and producer came to visit her, and Sumire heard her own voice announcing, "I don't know why, but I'm cured of my decade-long illness," as if it were someone else's.

Since then, she has had one re-examination after another, and it seems that her frequency of hospital visits has not decreased.

★

"...No, no, that's not true. It was just a coincidence."

Sumire thought deeply as she repeatedly tapped the "Yakitori Platter" column on the touch panel and pressed the order button. Mana glanced at the number "15" displayed on the order column.

There were only two of them there, so who was going to eat that?

"Well, I asked the other staff, and apparently Yunoha had been in Oumi since the beginning. She was smiling nearby while the producer was on the phone with me."

"It's pretty weird to be smiling in that state."

"That's true, but... smiling after seeing someone collapse is pretty.... uhh..."

A heavy, silent silence reigned over the room.

The two of them stared blankly at the 15 yakitori platters that were arriving at their table one after another, but as they continued to eat, they began to calm down a little.

"So, I wanted to investigate a bit."

"You're just imagining it. Besides, how would you investigate?"

"...I'm sure she wouldn't say, 'I can use magic,' but... The best thing would be for her to actually use magic in front of me. But there's no way I could do that..."

As she spoke, Mana thought to herself, "I sound like a detective about to die after having her name written in a notebook."

"Besides, they chose her because they said she was like the main character in the anime, right? So, maybe her personality is like that too."

"So what?"

"What if she used magic that came with a price just because we were in trouble..."

"What should I do with my junior who's talking about magic? The hospital I go to has a psychiatric department. Should I introduce you to them?"

"No! I just want to make sure there's nothing wrong with it!!"

Mana raised her voice, and Sumire looked troubled. Then she sighed deeply.

"Well, I guess I'll just put up with you for a little while. So, what are you going to do?"

"I think the moment I say, 'Maybe Yunoha-chan can use magic,' people will think I'm crazy..."

"I'm glad you've done some self-analysis."

Unable to bear Sumire's astonished gaze, Mana looked around, trying to change the topic.

"...Oh, that reminds me! Wasn't there someone who said, 'Wizard-chan came to this world from another world?' I feel like I've seen that opinion somewhere before."

"Stop trying to cover up your own weirdness by bringing up even more weirder people."

"I wonder why that person thought that..."

"Hey, are you listening?"

★★★

"Come to think of it. You're not using magic here, are you?"

As we were both poring over the guidebook, the hero suddenly said that to me. He spoke with a certain confidence. I'd heard him say it a few times before, so I casually averted my eyes.

"...I try not to use red, you know?"

"Don't use any! Whatever the color is!"

"But the princess said, 'It's okay,' too..."

"...Where and when she ever said it was okay!?"

"The princess is inside me, you see."

"That's a fake, so you should get rid of it immediately."

The hero gave me a look that said, "Now, I'm going to scold you," so I retreated behind the sofa. Then, using the guidebook as a shield, I prepared to barricade myself...

The hero looked troubled, and after a brief silence, spoke to me in a gentle voice.

"You see, there's no magic in this world, and it'd be chaotic. Besides, I don't want to cause any more casualties like me. You know, you're... easily misunderstood... right?"

"Then it's okay!"

I looked up from the guidebook and puffed out my chest. That's because I was incredibly confident. What the hero was saying was probably that the people around me would worry even more.

But this time, it'll be okay. Because...

"Well, no one here can tell whether my lifespan is being shortened, right? There's no research team from the royal capital here, you know? Plus, to do that, I'd have to prove that magic exists, and that using it shortens my lifespan, which is impossible to happen in this world"

That's right. I'm a woman who can learn.

There's no way that someone in this world could prove something like this. After all, I don't know how I could prove it myself. But if there was, that person would surely be someone who could think outside the box.

However, it's also true that my conversation with the hero had made me a little worried.

I took out the results of my detailed examination, which I had haphazardly tossed into a desk drawer, and looked through them.

Um, where's the "My remaining lifespan" column?

...Yup, it's not there. It seems that the tests in this world really can't measure remaining lifespan.

I've won!

I know what to say in a situation like this.  

"My forces are overwhelmingly ahead." 

Indeed, the imaginary princess inside me was also holding up a piece of paper with "Victory" written on it.

"What are you looking at?"

"They said I had to get a health check before I could work. They said my numbers were weird, so I had a thorough examination..."

"...Was there something wrong?"

"Hmm. They explained things like metabolism and energy efficiency, but I didn't really understand."

Remembering what the doctor had said, I added:

"They said something like 'Your output as a living organism is too stable.'"

"Is that a good thing? Or a bad thing?"

"The doctor was also shaking his head."

Um, what else was he saying? I'm sure...

"They said my cells were really old. Measurements suggested they were in the triple digits."

"Is that really okay?"

Seeing that it wasn't in the four digits, it seemed newer, but even I didn't bring that up. I brushed it off with a laugh, saying, "Oh, I see," but I wonder if that was really the right thing to do. Well...

"My skin age was 15, so I guess it all ended up okay."

"Is that okay...?"

But then, under the pretext of a thorough checkup, I was taken to the biggest hospital in the area and tested over and over again. So now I hate needles. I didn't know where to store the numerous test results I received, so I just threw them in a locker at work.

...Oh, that reminds me. I saw Sumire-san at the hospital the other day.