Chapter 6: Miracle

Miracles did not exist.

"Uaaaahhhhhh!!!"

A scream—something between a shriek and a wail—tore through the air, a sound unimaginable coming from the girl she normally was. Mayu clutched the cold body against her chest and cried out. She—Aina—had not made it through the night.

My mind refused to accept it.

When I had seen those bodies tossed away like garbage, without anyone even bothering to bury them, I understood instantly that they were truly dead—that they had already shifted from living beings into mere objects.

But this… this one… Aina… For a moment, I still wanted to believe she might be alive. My mind rejected the idea that she was gone.

Because she had been alive just yesterday. Right up until the moment she shielded me from that explosion.

We trained together, ate together, complained about the instructor together—together, together, together… It had only been a little more than a year, but it was enough for her presence to become an “ordinary” part of my daily life. Wake up, head to the training grounds: the crappy instructor is there, Minato-senpai is beckoning with that scowly face to come run with him, and sleepy-eyed Aina-senpai is being dragged along by a fed-up Mayu-senpai. On days off, I’d teach Misaki and Saori the things I learned from the military, put them through drills, and feed Hiyori snacks as always.

Every day was the same. It was supposed to continue being the same.

And yet it all collapsed so suddenly. If a new daily life is beginning, then how can something so precious—once missing—never return again?

I don’t want to believe it. I don’t want to understand it.

But reality is cruel.

"…Ah."

The moment my hand brushed that cold, unmoving one, the truth hit me.

That energetic, impossibly loud, painfully enthusiastic girl—who slapped my back so hard it hurt whenever she tried to cheer me up, who complained to the instructor when I got hit and ended up getting beaten even worse, who got us all punished after the instructor caught her smuggling canned food she’d stolen from headquarters so we could eat together, who ate some weird fish we caught from the river and spent an entire day sick from it… Our stupid, stupid everyday life. But those stupid days made this bleak place feel a little brighter.

And now she’s gone. That everyday life is gone forever.

"Ah… ahhh…"

In my previous life, I had experienced the deaths of relatives, family, people close to me. But it seems no matter how many times I go through something like this, I will never get used to it—especially when someone disappears right before my eyes.

Tears spill down my cheeks.

That day, we spent our precious time honoring our fallen comrade. Time was not on our side, not when we were isolated. But for us, it was something we could not skip.

"There. That’s good."

A simple grave—just a pile of stones, with her beloved rifle stabbed into the top like a makeshift cross. Even if it’s smashed apart later or dug up and desecrated, having it there makes all the difference. For Aina, who died, and for us, who were left behind.

"…Are you finished?"

"Yes."

Our squad leader had been standing a short distance away, silently keeping watch. I’m grateful he gave us this time.

"All right. Normally I’d say we should start scouting the area and resupplying, but the situation has changed."

"What do you mean?"

"Just now, the radio announced that our Student Council has surrendered."

"What!?"

Minato-senpai shouted in shock.

But this outcome wasn’t exactly unpredictable. The front line was in shambles, and then there was that weapon. No matter how used to fighting we were, we were still kids unfamiliar with “death.” Combat was just an extension of our games. We weren’t soldiers prepared to die.

Whether that thing was being mass-produced or not, even fewer than ten would be a threat. We could bathe in an entire magazine’s worth of bullets without dying, yet one hit from that thing and we were done.

"Apparently, sometime soon, our little ‘princess’ will be handed over to them as a prisoner."

"…Then that means the Student Council… we…"

"Yeah. It’s over."

The princess.

I’d seen her once. For Arius, she stood out terribly—dressed in an extravagant outfit that made her look like an actual princess. But she didn’t act stuck-up. More like… a bird in a cage? No, too fragile—like she might break if touched. I can’t find the right expression, but something like that. Even to us filthy kids, she’d offer her hand, smile adorably, all of it.

Back then, I thought she was only for show, but maybe that wasn’t completely wrong. Her role in the Student Council was to guarantee its legitimacy. Arius’s Student Council presidency had always been hereditary. So the ones who inherited that bloodline were placed at the top and used to govern Arius. Maybe the higher-ups planned to let the Student Council President lead properly, but the only remaining person with that bloodline was that young girl. I’m sure she and the higher-ups both struggled a lot.

Anyway, to bring it back around—she was the essential piece that made the Student Council “the Student Council.” Taking her meant stripping us of that legitimacy, and after that… natural collapse, absorption, or extermination. None of the endings were good.

"Now then, putting our organization’s situation aside because it really doesn’t matter anymore—"

"…You really don’t care?"

"The real issue is deciding what we should do next. Everyone, give me your opinions."

The squad leader had been doodling something on the ground. He added an X to one side and a circle to the other before lifting his head. …Was that supposed to be a map? It had a very… creative sense of direction.

"Yes."

"Mayu."

"We should immediately gather whatever forces remain, rescue the Princess, and then strike enemy headquarters."

"…"

"Mayu, you need to calm down. If you honestly think we can pull that off, then you’re not seeing reality."

"Minato…! So what then!? You want us to just surrender to those bastards!? To the ones who killed Aina!?"

"Yes. Realistically speaking, we have no chance of winning against them as we are now. And even if you talk about gathering the remnants—how exactly do you plan to do that? Do you think anyone will follow us after seeing the state we’re in? What you’re asking is basically, ‘Come die with me for the sake of revenge.’"

"Even so…! Surrendering to people who could do something like this won’t end well either!"

"Maybe, but it’s still better than throwing our lives away right now."

"Minato!!!"

"Both of you, knock it off."

Their heated argument stopped when the squad leader stomped his boot against the ground.

"I’ve heard both of your opinions. But Kou. I still haven’t heard yours. Speak."

"Eh—ah… y-yes."

Suddenly being called on, I fumbled for an answer.

Minato-senpai and Mayu-senpai. I understood what both of them meant. The anger at the thought of surrendering to the people who killed Aina-senpai. The fear of not knowing how they would treat us afterward. And also the practical reasoning that throwing ourselves into a suicidal revenge attack was pointless, and that surrendering now might be the only realistic way to survive.

I understood both sides. But because I understood both, I couldn’t believe either one was completely right.

Then what should we do? I wasn’t smart enough to answer that instantly.

If only this were a game. All I’d have to do was pick from the choices the developers provided.

"Hmmm…"

"…"

I twisted my thoughts around and around. Then—I felt the squad leader, the one who had just called on me, meet my eyes for a brief moment.

In that instant, yesterday’s memory flickered through my mind.

The squad leader had spoken to me under that strangely beautiful moon.

"…Outside."

"Huh?"

Outside. Outside Arius. I had never even considered it before. I had no idea what was out there. Our lives began and ended inside this dim, suffocating place called Arius. We never had the chance—or the freedom—to think about anything beyond it.

But if we could get out… if there was a place outside for us…

I———

"…Let’s run. Outside. Let’s escape Arius entirely. From the war, the hunger, from everything festering inside this place… What if… we did that?"

———I want to go there.