Epilogue─A: Laugh, and March On

* * *

It was apparently three days later when I opened my eyes.

"Munch, munch."

The first thing my senses registered was the crisp sound of someone chewing fruit.

"...Mm."

"Mnyah!"

When I opened my eyes, through my hazy vision I saw a small girl with beige hair, sneaking bites of a peeled apple. Her name was... Koshiba Nyao.

"Kotoyorozu-san! You're awake!"

"Ugh... where am I?"

"Please keep the apple-stealing thing a secret from the seniors."

No, that wasn't really what we should've been talking about.

"I mean, these are the ones Mef-senpai prepared, right? She was amazing, you know. Seriously, she was here from morning to night. Kept taking care of you nonstop, Kotoyorozu-san—gyah!"

The one who delivered a chop to the back of her skull was a tall, brown-skinned girl... whose cheeks were slightly flushed.

"Koshiba. You're overwhelming the patient."

"But but! If I don't make sure to earn some goodwill here! You should know how much Mef-senpai worried about Kotoyorozu-san, doting on him like a newlywed wif—gyah!"

"Seriously, be quiet. Seriously, be quiet, Koshiba. Seriously, be quiet."

"Myaa! Stop chopping me over and over!"

It seemed I was in a hospital room. White curtains, white private room. Oh right. The same room as when I'd first arrived in Fructus.

When I sat up, Mef supported my back and said, "Don't push yourself yet."

"Mef... th-thank god... you're safe..."

I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I found myself hugging her.

"Eep!"

"I'm so glad... really glad... th-thank you... thank you so much..."

"I-I understand, so please! The, um, hugging! There are, um. People watching!"

Watching Mef turn beet red, Koshiba murmured:

"She doesn't seem entirely displeased, though."

"Seriously, be quiet!"

I came to my senses and let go of her.

"...Whoa."

A wave of dizziness hit and I collapsed back onto the bed.

"Obviously?"

A sudden voice, and when I looked toward the window, Koito-senpai was floating outside.

"You, honestly. You were a complete wreck, you know? Stay in bed."

Koito-senpai climbed in through the window (Mef scolded her a little), then gently stroked my forehead and smiled warmly. When those thin, cool fingers ran across my skin, the tightness in my chest somehow melted away.

(What was that... someone did this for me once, a long time ago.)

It was a strange feeling—nostalgic, the kind that made you want to cry.

"You can relax now. I took care of the scary thing. Thoroughly."

So that Apocalypse was defeated by Koito-senpai. Thank god.

"...I'm sorry, if I hadn't opened my big mouth..."

"Hm? What?"

"About taking the sub. If it had been you instead of me, Koito-senpai, none of this would've—"

Before I could finish, Koshiba burst out laughing.

"Ahaha! No way. I read the report, and if the Captain had gone, it would've been over in the deep sea. You never would've reached the root of the Apocalypse. This person is useless en route."

"Besides, the Captain's firepower would have destroyed the subspace entirely. We absolutely should not have let her come along. She's always so sloppy and hard to work with."

"Hey! My cute little juniors are being awfully harsh!"

The fact that they could roast her this freely was proof of how much they trusted her. Somehow, that made me a little happy. Koito-senpai continued, her gaze still gentle.

"—Thank you. Thanks to you, the world's lifespan got a little bit longer."

Koito-senpai gently stroked my forehead again. The pleasant sensation captured my thoughts completely.

* * *

I was discharged a full week after that.

After completing various procedures, paperwork, and greetings, it was nighttime by the time I left Azure Academy.

(The starry sky in this city is ridiculously beautiful.)

This city in the clouds, thousands of meters above the surface, had nothing to obstruct the stars. Like the desert sky I'd seen on TV as a kid—irresponsibly beautiful.

"Yo."

A voice. The one voice I'd been dying to hear all week.

"...Luna-san. You didn't visit me. Not once."

"Mm. Well, whatever, right? You had plenty of visitors."

That was true. All kinds of people had come by, one after another.

Ter-senpai brought games to kill time. Along with an incredibly businesslike get-well kit from Von-senpai.

President Elif came with a bouquet of white flowers. After chatting up a storm, it turned out she'd been playing hooky from work, and angry student council members dragged her back.

Koshiba dropped by to sneak fruit whenever she had a spare moment. Mef came every day, fussing over me with one thing after another, which really helped. Koito-senpai snuck in through the window after visiting hours to watch old Japanese anime together.

"But the one I wanted to see most was you, Luna-san."

"Ugh... why do you have to be so honest about everything... hahhh, embarrassing."

I'd known from the start that she was safe. We must have become deeply connected. I could vaguely sense what the other was doing, where the other was.

"...I didn't know what face to make, okay?"

Okay, she'd said. And her cheeks were tinged with a faint blush, and she wouldn't even meet my eyes. That was probably because I'd become her "User."

"What are you saying at this point? We literally became one the other day."

"Shut up! I keep telling you, I'm actually pretty delicate! I'm seriously into shoujo manga and everything, even looking like this! —Huh? Who are you calling 'mild-delinquent on the outside, total scrub on the inside'? I'll deck you, brat."

"Please stop being emotionally unstable."

For Luna-san, it had been a really big deal. Well, thinking about it now, she had made some pretty intense confessions. Like "die with me" and "give me everything you are."

"Huh? Why are you half-smirking? Are you mentally replaying my 'LOL Unhinged Meltdown Greatest Hits' right now? Should I take this to court? With a sledgehammer, maybe?"

"Wh—how did you know!?"

Apparently we really had become one in body and mind. Yeah, that was actually pretty terrifying when you thought about it. But somehow, if it was with Luna-san, I figured it was fine.

"Come on. ...Forget all that. Let's go."

"Huh?"

"The dorm. Koito's squad is setting up a welcome-back party for you. I'm here to pick you up."

The whole dorm was throwing me a welcome-back party. Come on, seriously.

"...You know, you should really not walk around with that dopey grin. People will think you're a creep."

"Ugh... was it showing?"

"Hehe. Big time."

I mean, come on. The whole dorm was throwing me a welcome-back party. Wasn't that super youth-like? Just like a light novel, right? I couldn't help but grin.

"Also, I'm staying at the dorm starting today."

"Oh? Really?"

"I mean... obviously... my Mast... Master-chan is there, after all."

Luna-san looked away shyly.

I didn't want to read her mind. I just wanted to savor this moment.

"So where were you living until now?"

"Hm? Y'know, around. Inside pipes. Cracks in the ground."

"...Are you a small reptile?"

But yeah. This person fundamentally couldn't trust anyone anymore. That's why she'd never stayed at the dorm, and why she'd tried to keep her distance from me. Even so, in the end, she chose to walk alongside me.

"Come on. Let's go home—Master-chan."

She tugged on my sleeve and started walking.

(We'd probably go on even more terrifying adventures from here on out.)

But if I was with her, I had a feeling I'd be laughing at the end.

"So what's this 'Master-chan' thing anyway?"

"Someone like you is way too young for 'Master.' 'Chan' is more than enough!"

She huffed and averted her gaze. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey, then maybe I'll start calling you Luna-chan."

"...Huh? Gross. ...Huh? Gross. Absolutely not."

Harsh.

"Oh, but... if you just dropped the '-san' and called me 'Luna'..."

"Are you serious?"

"O-obviously I'm kidding! A brat calling me by my first name with no honorific? No way. Don't think you can just go full hu—" She stopped herself. "Just because you're my User doesn't mean you get to act all husband-like. That's exactly why you're 'Master-chan,' got it? Geez."

"...Husband?"

"Wh—! No, that's not—! Idiot. —Okay, here comes the fist. My serious fist is coming out right now."

* * *

Someday soon, the world would end.

But no matter how deep, how dark the depths of despair this place might be—

We would always, always keep reaching for those beautiful stars.

Laugh like idiots. That was the code of warriors who turned their blades against the Apocalypse.

Laugh and laugh, and overcome this eternal fate.

—The beginning of the greatest adventure!