Chapter 53: Epilogue

After that, the Fourth Deep Calamity completely subsided, and the regions it had occupied were liberated as well.

I—Akegami Sora—was recovered safely despite being completely battered, and apparently the people fighting across the various battlefields managed to finish off the remaining Deep Calamities too.

Thinking about how relieved I was that everyone had made it out safely, I lay there in bed.

Maybe because I went through all this, I don't spiral into depression out of nowhere like I used to anymore.

Maybe it's because I chose to save Mahiro of my own accord.

"Sora-san, are you okay?"

Nagisa-kun, still holding my hand, looked at me worriedly. Back then, I'd pushed my power too far once again, and it felt like my body was about to tear itself apart, so now I was practically bedridden in a condition close to hospitalization.

Of course, since treatment was necessary, we still had the Connect Link active.

"I-I kind of turned everything into a huge mess because of me..."

Mahiro lay in the bed beside mine. Apparently, she was undergoing treatment as well, since she'd been affected just as badly as I had.

Though unlike me, she wasn't connected through a Connect Link.

"Mahiro-chan, recklessly charging in like that is a huge no-no!"

Sitting beside her was Iijima Kanon. From what I'd heard, she'd practically threatened the instructors and staff at the training institution who tried to stop her deployment before forcing her way out anyway. Wasn't that a little excessive?

Especially when her body hadn't even fully healed yet.

Maybe she really had been that worried.

"Not just Mahiro—Kanon's pretty extreme too."

"Still, I believe defeating it was only possible because you two were there. But if you don't learn moderation, your bodies won't survive."

Reina and Kisa had come to visit us too.

Everyone really had done their best.

Kisa seemed to be smiling genuinely now, from the bottom of her heart. Unlike in the original story, she also wasn't aggressively pursuing Nagisa-kun anymore.

As for Reina, with the Fourth Deep Calamity—the thing that drove her to become a Curse Seeker—finally gone, she was apparently able to return to her hometown for the first time in a long while.

She said everything there had been destroyed, but somehow it still felt nostalgic to her.

"I really wish you'd think about the people getting dragged around by all this too."

Even Hohana, despite sounding sarcastic, was probably worried about us.

Classic tsundere.

Apparently, Hohana had been anxious about whether she truly belonged as part of our team. Honestly, she could've just told us.

Though we definitely would've teased her to death over it.

And so, while things seemed to be wrapping up nicely, our team was surprisingly placed on temporary leave.

Part of it was because of the massive battle we'd just gone through, but there was another issue too.

Nagisa-kun.

Originally, a Connector can support up to five Curse Seekers. But in our case, I had transformed into Abaddon, and on top of that, he was maintaining a Connect Link with Mahiro after she transformed into Mega Therion.

That meant the strain on Nagisa-kun became overwhelming.

Honestly, he ended up in terrible condition this time.

Because of that, he wouldn't be able to deploy for a while while he underwent treatment and recovery.

Though apparently, he'd still keep the Connect Link with me active during that time.

There were other options, like linking me with someone else, but then my past would flow into them too... and besides, Nagisa-kun insisted he would handle it himself.

Well, I am happy he's willing to do that.

I just don't want him pushing himself too hard.

And then there was one more thing.

Mahiro also became one of the special Curse Seekers. Due to the nature of her skill, the powers of the Deep Calamities she'd absorbed still remained inside her, leaving her in an absurd state that even the higher-ups apparently weren't sure how to handle.

Apparently, she could even use part of the Beast-type Deep Calamity powers without installing them.

What kind of condition even is that?

So because things were complicated, they'd apparently decided to handle her together with me as a set.

Is that really okay?

"Still, I'm sad about having to part with Mahiro-chan."

"N-no, um... sorry for causing trouble because of someone like me..."

"Hey now, if you keep putting yourself down like that, I'm gonna smother you with hugs! Hurry up and turn fluffy already!"

"You're asking the impossibleee..."

Mahiro flailed helplessly as Iijima Kanon clung tightly to her.

Honestly, wasn't this girl basically being treated like a toy at this point?

Well.

In other words—

Mahiro officially became our newest team member.

Our team had become pretty ridiculous. If we ever went all out, Nagisa-kun ended up suffering for it, so we couldn't really fight at full power very often.

There were still more stories left in Runheli, so things would continue from here, but...

Will everything really be okay?

At this point, things had diverged so far from the original story that it had become a complete mess.

What happens from here on out?

As I thought about that, Nagisa-kun's hand suddenly slipped free from the one I'd been holding.

Ah, maybe we don't need to stay connected today anymore.

Just as I thought that, something touched my head.

A hand?

Wait... was he petting me?

I glanced sideways.

Nagisa-kun was gently stroking my head.

Huh?

Just like that, he ran his fingers through my hair as though combing it.

"N-Nagisa-kun?"

"...Ah, sorry. I just kind of did it without thinking."

"What do you mean, 'without thinking'...?"

"I was just thinking your hair feels really smooth, Sora-san."

W-Well, I had started putting more effort into hair care lately.

Though honestly, that was mostly because Reina kept forcing me to.

...That said, maybe my hair had naturally been smooth to begin with.

No, wait, more importantly, what is this?

And he still wasn't stopping.

It was kind of ticklish.

Embarrassment made my heartbeat quicken slightly.

Tap.

This time, his hand touched my cheek.

Then he slowly traced along it.

"N-Nagisa-kun!?"

I jolted reflexively.

When I looked at him, he was watching me with an oddly amused expression.

"Sora-san, your skin's surprisingly soft."

"Th-thank you... wait, no, that's not the point! What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

My cheeks felt hot.

I was pretty sure my entire face had turned red all the way to my ears.

"I just kind of felt like touching you."

I lost my words.

He just... felt like touching me?

Why?

Questions spun endlessly through my head while something hot raced deep within my chest.

"...What exactly are you two doing?"

Nice one, Hohana! Save me!

"I just felt like touching Sora-san a little."

"H-Hohana, help..."

When I silently begged for rescue with my eyes, Hohana sighed and walked over.

"What do you mean you 'felt like touching her'?"

"Huh? I mean exactly what I said. ...Though now that you mention it, why did I feel like touching her?"

"How should I know? Maybe you're in love with her."

Hohana tossed the words out carelessly, but Nagisa-kun's eyes widened slightly.

"Ah... I see. Maybe I really do like Sora-san."

"Miiih!?"

A strange noise escaped my mouth before I could stop it.

He finally let go of me, but my heart was pounding too hard for me to care about anything else.

"...Right. Well, congratulations, I guess."

"H-Hohana! Don't abandon me!"

My cries went unanswered as Hohana walked away.

"Huh? Sora-chan's totally red. What happened?"

"Most likely Shinozaki Nagisa's fault."

"I picked up the audio earlier with Sound Wave, and it sounded suspiciously close to a confession!"

"A c-confession!? Sora-chan with the protagonist...?"

Everyone around us was making a huge commotion, but none of it properly registered in my ears.

I couldn't even look Nagisa-kun in the face anymore.

"Sora-san, didn't you once say dating me would be half-serious?"

When I looked up, I saw Nagisa-kun smiling mischievously.

"U-Um... maybe serious?"

"What do you think?"

That's unfair.

I'm still someone whose male and female selves feel mixed together, like I haven't fully become one complete person yet.

So why is my heart beating this fast?

"...I think touching people without permission is kind of perverted."

Since I had no idea how to answer, I glared up at him instead.

Honestly, I was so embarrassed I probably looked close to tears.

"Then... can I touch you?"

"...I mean... I guess that's fine."

He pulled me tightly into an embrace.

Completely enveloped within Nagisa-kun's chest.

The places where our bodies touched felt warmly comforting.

Being like this made me feel safe.

Honestly, I don't think it would feel this way with anyone else.

And if that's true...

Then maybe that means exactly what I think it does.

I could still hear everyone noisily freaking out around us, but somehow none of it mattered anymore.

I focused only on the sound of the heartbeat reaching my ears.