Extra 4

While the men were having a drinking party at El Coyote Cojo, a separate gathering was taking place at a private room in a traditional café operated by Dragon Tail in the Zipang district.

Next to the organizer, “Watashi-chan” a.k.a. Kagura, sat “Ore-kun” a.k.a. Jug, who wore a guilty expression. To the left sat Rebecca and Lucy, and to the right sat Victoria and Vally.

Delamain was also present, seemingly there to serve, showcasing his identity by donning a butler-maid uniform.

Helping him was the café’s owner, Sasha, who was arranging popular items like chocolate cakes shaped like black cats and strawberry shortcakes on the table.

"Alright, since Rebecca-san and Lucy-san’s whining is starting to get on my nerves, we’re holding this girls' meeting to sort things out!"

"…That’s a bit harsh, Watashi-chan. Well, I mean, this is probably my fault, but… Honestly, even if you say that to me, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do about it…"

"Fuu… yeah, it’s our fault we didn’t make better use of the time you gave us. But still…! When you two flirt that much, it's frustrating on our end too! Could you be a little more aware of your surroundings?!"

"…Hm? No, I thought we were keeping it toned down in public…?"

"Ugh, come on, you knew exactly what you were doing!! You and him!! You’re both hopelessly clueless with all the stuff you’re doing!!"

At Lucy and Rebecca’s girlish roars—"Gaooo!"—Jug simply blinked with a row of question marks over her head, and everyone else just shrugged.

It wasn’t surprising that Jug didn’t get it. After all, her and David’s relationship resembled that of two elementary school kids who were just very close—caring for one another, trying to make each other happy, respecting each other—an endless loop of mutual affection.

To them, it was just normal behavior. But from an outsider’s view, it was an overwhelmingly sweet couple dynamic—like coating condensed milk-kneaded sugar in more sugar, frying it, and sprinkling even more sugar on top.

And they weren’t even married, just dating. It was like drowning in an endless ocean of sugar with no land in sight.

Setting up shop next to David’s gun store to try and get closer to him had been a good idea, but getting caught up in the unfamiliar business side distracted them from their original goal—that was their biggest failure.

…Well, one could also say they overdid it trying to get on the good side of David’s mom, Gloria.

"Fufufu… truly a case of the schemer drowning in their own schemes… sigh"

"Yeah… we were the ones who fell in love with someone already taken in the first place… sigh"

Once Rebecca and Lucy finished venting their frustration, the sweetness of the cake began to soak into their worn-out bodies.

The reason David’s affections hadn’t turned toward the two of them was, quite simply, a matter of how they interacted.

Rebecca's bashful, competitive attitude made her come off as a weak tsundere, while Lucy tried to play the seductive big-sister type, but in a weirdly cool way.

Neither approach could win out against Jug’s smile—the kind that radiated a heart-melting “gap-moe” charm with a perfect score and beyond.

David had, of course, noticed it. But the way it was so clearly calculated to make him confess made it feel forced, and ultimately, it just didn’t sit right with him.

He was honored to be liked by both of them, but what mattered more was that he liked Jug more. That was all there was to it.

…On top of that, once he started falling for Jug, his entire sense of attraction had gone through several rebuilds.

Seeing all those different sides of a girl he liked, who treated him like a buddy, had melted his brain.

"By the way, what exactly do you two do together?"

"Mm… Did we really do anything in particular?"

"You two always hold hands like lovers when you’re next to each other, and when David begs for a kiss, you calm him down by kissing his fingers."

"You do your shopping together by default, know each other’s preferences inside out, and split takeout meals to feed each other."

"…Isn’t that just normal?"

"“That is NOT normal!!”"

Everything they did wasn’t just a typical couple’s behavior—it was basically newlywed behavior.

Rebecca and Lucy, who had been watching this dazzlingly sweet dynamic for so long, were already emotionally knocked out.

Victoria, meanwhile, revered Jug as her personal savior and no longer viewed her as a sexual being. She was busy jotting down notes from the conversation to turn them into a new Jugra Legend.

Sasha, who had returned with cocktails, noticed this and whacked her on the head to stop her—this had become a regular routine.

Sasha, who often had to be the brake on the always-overboard Victoria, gave a small bow and placed the cocktails on the table.

It was a vodka cocktail with a bit of Nicola added.

After setting the drinks down, Sasha returned to the kitchen to continue preparations.

"Hm? Ah, this is a David Cocktail, huh. Did I ever tell you about it?"

"I remember it from when I was inside Onee-chan. I spent every day soaked in subculture, so I picked it up then."

"David Cocktail? What’s that?"

"Hmm… There’s this bar called Afterlife run by Rogue, and it’s a traditional cocktail made under their custom. Though, in this world, it shouldn’t exist since I prevented that from happening."

Jug sniffed it, recognized the vodka and Nicola, and explained the name that came to mind.

『Jug, your explanation is incomplete. Aside from Lady Kagura, only David and I have heard your death-wish chip, remember?』

"Hm? Oh, right. Since we’re drinking, might as well come clean—I'm what you’d call a reincarnator. Mm, this is kinda carbonated. That guy hated fizzy drinks… was this meant as a jab?"

"Don’t derail the conversation, Onee-chan. She came from a world where our world is a game or anime. So she had limited knowledge of the future."

"…I see. So those strangely preemptive actions were because of that setup. Claire told me that the tradition at Afterlife was to name cocktails after those who became legends. Which means… in the world you knew, David-kun did something huge and died, didn’t he?"

Valley’s sharp observation was directed at Jug, who turned her head away nonchalantly—only for Delamain, sitting in the direction she turned, to feed her a bite-sized piece of shortcake.

"This shortcake's really good. Bringing in a Japanese company was definitely the right call."

"Don't try to change the subject. You told Vincent and the others, didn’t you?"

"Of course I didn’t. Besides, this isn’t something I want to brag about, so—no comment."

Jugra, whose sensibilities leaned more masculine, wordlessly leaned back against Delamain behind her, clearly signaling she was out. She made an early escape.

Naturally, that left Kagura—the other half—under the spotlight of curiosity.

Sticking out her tongue like a cartoon mascot from some sweets shop, she tried to play it off, but a small hand gripped her shoulder firmly, not letting her get away with it.

"Talk. All of it. Properly."

"Eep... Honestly, I think you'll just regret it, but... do you really want to hear it?"

Seeing Kagura’s playful expression harden into a dead-serious one, the two of them sensed something truly outrageous was about to drop. Even so, they nodded, feeling this might be their only chance to hear it.

"Well, I guess it can't be helped. This is about a different world line—a world that’s almost exactly like this one. In that world, Gloria-san dies in an accident, Pilar-san gets killed by a cyberpsycho vagrant, Maine-san goes cyberpsycho and self-destructs with Dorio-san, Kiwi-san betrays everyone and gets discarded and killed, Adam crushes Rebecca-san to death, and David-kun ends up dying as a limbless torso. Oh, and Sasha-san throws herself off a building in a dramatic suicide. Also, in that world, Onee-chan doesn’t exist."

As Kagura rattled off death after death, the expressions of the two listeners and Vally gradually twisted in horror—and so did Sasha's, who had been secretly listening in.

They now understood why Jug hadn’t wanted to talk about it. Guilt and regret gnawed at them.

Precisely because Jug had seen such a nightmare future, she kept taking reckless, tightrope-like actions—ones that somehow produced miraculous results.

...Even if, as a price, her own existence would disappear.

In a way, she was the one who built the legend. But she had wanted to keep that hidden, to never brag about it—because once they heard, they’d realize they could’ve been saved, and that thought would haunt them.

That’s why she kept silent, not out of pride, but kindness. And now, they understood.

"...It’s all a 'what if' story. If I hadn’t met David that day in front of Arasaka Tower, I probably would’ve done things differently. I never meant to gain this much power. I could’ve stayed just a ripperdoc offering support. That possibility existed too. In the end, I was just using everyone. Don’t forgive me. Don’t thank a monster like me who got people killed for selfish reasons..."

"Aah geez, I forgot Onee-chan has the emotional resilience of a civilian... I’m sorry, Onee-chan, I thought it’d be a good thing..."

Kagura, eyes welling with tears, hugged Jugra tightly—who had finally unsealed her long-dead emotions.

The girl talk session dropped to sub-zero in atmosphere instantly.

While Delamain silently held Jugra from behind in a kind of quiet therapy, Rebecca and Lucy were absolutely dying inside from the awkwardness.

In the middle of this heavy air, Victoria suddenly widened her eyes and took Jugra’s hand.

"But you’ve saved lives too. I was saved by no one else but you. So please, don’t only regret. As one of the people you saved, let me express my gratitude—from the bottom of my heart. I’m truly glad you were there."

"...You sure got eloquent. Haaah... this is why I didn’t want anyone to know. It kills me emotionally..."

Jugra’s eyes, revitalized by Victoria’s soul-piercing sincerity, slowly lit up again.

It was a touching moment—but Sasha alone saw through Victoria’s ulterior motives.

She’s definitely planning to write a new chapter of the Jugra Legend.

And probably scheming to sneak herself in there as a major player, too.

And she wasn’t wrong—this is exactly how the fanatical devotees who revered Jugra as a god thought.

"Well, anyway, that’s enough of that story. Alright, we’re done here! No more! This dessert’s gonna taste like trash if we keep this up. Next topic, someone give me one."

"Uh, then... romance talk, maybe? ...Ah, I’m sorry."

"Don’t apologize so seriously!"

Kagura had thrown the topic out there abruptly, but aside from Jugra, no one had a partner. And Rebecca and Lucy were both in love with David.

"There just aren’t any other good guys... Maine’s got Dorio, my shitty brother’s a non-starter, Falco’s an old man, and every guy in the 《Jackals》 is married. ...Ugh, I wanna start over from the beginning..."

"Besides, your biggest rival is Lucy-san, right? In that world line, she was his girlfriend."

"You’ve gotta be kidding me... Wh-where did I go wrong?"

"Don’t start flexing out of nowhere! And if that story's true, only you and Falco even survived!"

"Umm, you met him while he was doing a pick-socket job. You brought him in, and Maine told you to look after him. You two got closer, started bonding over talk of the moon..."

"Waah?! Wh-why do you know that—wait, now the whole story just got way more credible?! Eh, then my past too...?"

"Don’t you ever dive into the Blackwall again."

Jugra’s warning, born of pure kindness, made Lucy collapse to her knees.

That was information no one else in this world should’ve known. It was the moment Lucy’s soul truly understood: Jugra did know the parallel world—and had fought like hell as a savior.

Should’ve just done it like this from the start, Jugra thought with a sigh.