Chapter 36: Facing the Same Direction

He had been touching Kanon's head, but slowly lowered his hand and met her gaze.

"Kanon, could you deactivate Pure Land of This World?"

"Y-yes..."

As she lowered the Kannon statue she had been carrying on her back, what stood there was simply an ordinary girl, the sort you could find anywhere.

At the same time Kanon deactivated her ability, I could feel her presence that had spread throughout the world disappear.

"Huh? What? What happened!?"

Hibari, who had been watching the scene, cried out in surprise.

"...Kanon, you have no intention of attacking anymore, right?"

"Yes."

When I spoke to her, Kanon gave a small nod.

Beside her, he also nodded as if affirming her answer.

"I see. ...Thank goodness."

I'd believed he would be fine.

But this was already completely outside the scenario I knew. There was a different kind of tension in the air now.

"Shota! Are you okay!?"

Hadzuki arrived a little later, approaching him with a sword in one hand.

As she cautiously watched Kanon, he slowly shook his head.

"Hadzuki, it's okay now. I've finished talking with Kanon."

He already seemed to trust Kanon. He was convinced that she would no longer hurt anyone.

Hadzuki looked just a tiny bit displeased by that, but she nevertheless sheathed her sword.

"Oh, Kanon. Your eyes are back to normal."

"Huh? ...Oh. I didn't consciously change them back. ...Perhaps my eyes won't ever turn red again."

The red eyes that symbolized Ascension Flyout had returned to normal. The realization made me breathe an inward sigh of relief.

If that was the case, perhaps people would be willing to accept that Kanon was no longer a dangerous existence.

"Rest easy, Ambitious. Her eyes will never turn red again. As someone who went through the same experience, I can guarantee it."

Victoria, who had experienced Ascension herself, declared it with certainty.

There was probably no reason to doubt her words. This wasn't her usual attempt at looking cool; these were words based on her own experience.

As we continued talking, a figure approached us.

"──Kanon!"

The figure running toward us was Seika from the Sugar Squad.

"Thank goodness! You're safe! Thank goodness... thank goodness...!"

Seika, barely able to catch her breath as she approached, immediately embraced Kanon.

"S-Seika...?"

Kanon looked confused, apparently unable to understand why Seika was so distraught.

She looked genuinely surprised by this unexpected behavior from someone she had never been able to fully trust.

Seeing this, Shota spoke up.

"Kanon. I wasn't there when those things happened in your past, so there's nothing I can say about them. ──But I don't think Seika-san's concern for you just now was a lie."

"I... suppose you're right."

I had no idea what kind of conversation the two of them had shared through synchronization.

But right now, they seemed to trust what the other was saying very deeply.

"Kanon. There are a lot of things I'd like to talk about, but for now, let's head back to the school. It's still dangerous here."

Even though the ruler of the Special Zone, the Calamity God, had been defeated, we were still in the heart of the city.

If enough time passed, it wouldn't be strange for the "Invasion of Fiction" to begin approaching again.

At my words, Kanon narrowed her eyes slightly and nodded.

"Yes, you're right. ...In that case, I suppose I should return as well."

We all turned in the same direction and began our return.

Just then, Kanon approached me and quietly whispered into my ear.

"I won't lose to someone like you."

...What was that supposed to mean?

She kept glancing toward him with flushed cheeks, looking every bit the heroine she was meant to be.

【BOG Commentary】It's Gacha Timeeeeeee!

"Hello, everyone! This is Emotional Potaku. It's finally here! Kanon's release! The long-awaited gacha that all you Anchors have been waiting for after clearing the Extra Chapter! Naturally, I've been waiting for this too, so let's pull!"

・It's a festivaaaaaal!

・I've saved plenty for this day.

・I survived with only a mortal wound.

"Now, Kanon-chan has a rather unfortunate past of getting absolutely demolished by everyone in raids around the New Year..."

・Says you.

・Potaku-san, you streamed the raid for eight hours, didn't you?

"Anyway, she's a boss character, but after all sorts of twists and turns, we've finally been given the opportunity to recruit her. Well, I'll let you experience the details yourselves or watch the archive... Now then, let's get straight into the gacha!"

I moved to the now-familiar gacha screen.

"No unnecessary buildup! My stash of gems is ready! Let's go!"

……

Several dozen minutes later, I was slumped in front of my phone.

"...Hey, Kanon. Do you maybe hate me?"

・LMAO

・Well, after beating her up that much...

・Your voice is shaking so much it's hilarious.

"Damn it, this is weird... I'm almost at the pity. Is it actually possible to go this long without getting a single UR? Is someone messing with my gacha rates?"

・Kanon hates you, Potaku-san.

・Your device is functioning normally.

・You have a magic card, you know.

"Last ten-pull... If I don't get her with this, I'm not going to have money for food next month... All right! Let's go!"

A flash of golden light caught my eye.

When the guaranteed-UR animation appeared, I let out a bizarre monkey-like screech of joy.

The comment section erupted just as excitedly. It was the payoff for all those countless disastrous pulls.

Eventually, with a flashy animation, she appeared.

『Salvation Kanon, I have come to extend a hand of salvation to this world. ...Are you someone who seeks to save the world?』

The girl held out her hand with a gentle smile.

"WOOOOOO! Finally! She's finally here! Kanon!"

・Congratulations!

・That was a long battle...

・Congrats, congrats!

When I openly expressed my excitement, the viewers responded. I really liked this sense of unity during moments like this. I guess it's similar to everyone getting hyped together at a live concert.

"All right, then! Time for the long-awaited character showcase!"

I moved to my My Room and set Kanon as the active character.

She appeared on the home screen with a calm smile.

『Hello. Is there anything troubling you? If there's anything I can do, I'd be happy to help.』

"Her voice is so ridiculously refined... And her expression is way softer than when she was an enemy. I like it."

・Love her voice.

・Has she mellowed out?

I tapped around her face, and Kanon's cheeks turned red.

『W-what is it...? Y-you're awfully close.』

"What!? She's totally acting all flustered around me!? She's so cute!"

Her voice was unbelievably gentle compared to when she had been a raid boss.

I tapped her again.

『Raika-san... I-I won't lose to you, okay!?』

"What!? A heroine race has broken out behind the scenes and I didn't even know about it! Damn, being this popular is suffering!"

・Huh?

・It's not about you.

・She absolutely hated you during the gacha.

"All right, Kanon's cute, so let's level her up. ...Oh, wait, does this need some new materials? ...Ahh, guess we're farming."

・Let's do our best together.

・New materials are a blight upon civilization.

And so, for a while afterward, I found myself running around desperately gathering the materials needed to level up Kanon.