I Really Deserve to Die.

"Where's Raiden Mei?"

Sirin countered with a question.

"Mei went to the place where they observe the Kishin. She isn't at the hotel right now."

"What's so interesting about a pile of incomprehensible machines? Forget it, never mind her."

Sirin shook her head and said, "Yae Sakura thinks going out with us would ruin our fun, so she decided not to come."

"...Because of her ears?"

"Yeah."

Sirin nodded, then said unhappily, "She clearly said they were just decorations."

Leaving her here alone didn't seem appropriate.

Kiana lowered her head and thought for a moment before saying, "I'll go persuade her. It might work."

"Forget it for today."

Sirin grabbed her as she tried to leave and said, "She just turned me down, using the excuse that someone had to stay at the hotel and watch the sea. If you really want to take her out, wait until after we kill the Whale Monster."

"Huh? Watch the sea? What is there to see from here?"

Kiana couldn't understand.

"That's why it was an excuse."

"..."

She really had no idea what to say.

Kiana stopped talking as well. She went back to get the key card, then took the elevator downstairs with Sirin, and the two of them left the hotel together.

The hotel had been built beside the sea. There wasn't much going on nearby, and the attractions weren't suitable for them either, so they hailed a taxi by the roadside and went straight to the city center.

"Hm? You have a phone? If you have one, why didn't you add me?"

After getting into the car, Sirin noticed Kiana sending a message to someone. She frowned, looking somewhat displeased.

"Mei gave it to me before she left."

Sirin pondered this, then asked, "You still haven't obtained a legal identity, have you?"

Kiana hadn't said so explicitly, but their previous conversations had included mentions of other worlds, Aeons, and Paths.

Izumo had almost no records of such things. Every one of them proved that Kiana's origins were far from ordinary.

Kiana froze for a moment. She glanced at the driver in front, then looked at Sirin speechlessly.

Was this something they could casually discuss in front of a stranger? Wasn't she worried that the driver might turn at the next corner and take them both to the police station?

She was about to say something to brush the matter off when, in the lane to their left, a car speeding past them suddenly exploded after traveling a dozen meters.

Fortunately, the driver slammed on the brakes and avoided disaster, keeping them from being caught in the sudden blast. After the explosion, the other car burst into fierce flames.

Kiana, who was sitting near the left lane, was badly startled by the sudden accident. When she turned her head, she also saw a small object fly away from the site of the explosion.

But it was too dark, and she was inside the car, so she couldn't make out what it was.

The roadside Sirin stamped her feet angrily. The large area ahead of them had already been cordoned off.

The explosion had caused a chain reaction. For example, the car they had just been riding in had been rear-ended as soon as it stopped.

Since the sudden explosion had forced the cars to brake, quite a few vehicles had been rear-ended.

After being hit, the driver obviously couldn't keep driving. He wasn't going to accept the fare either, and didn't even want any money. He simply let them off by the roadside and went off to argue with the other drivers.

At last, they had managed to go out without Raiden Mei or Yae Sakura around, leaving only the two of them.

And then a traffic accident had happened halfway there.

What terrible luck was this?

There was something strange about the exploded car. It had burned incredibly fast. Now, all they could see was a blackened frame.

"Looks like we can only walk to the intersection ahead and hail another taxi."

"This explosion isn't normal."

"Hm?"

Sirin glanced over and dismissed it. "How could it burn that quickly under normal circumstances? That car didn't look cheap either. It was probably some kind of vendetta killing."

"But when it exploded just now, I saw something fly out. It flew away."

She was certain she hadn't been mistaken. It had definitely been something about the size of a pigeon. She hadn't seen exactly what it was; by the time she noticed it, the thing had already flown out of the flames and disappeared.

The vendetta killing had nothing to do with them. The local police would handle it, but Kiana wondered whether it had been a Kishin.

However, she had never seen a Kishin that small, which was why she was curious about what it had been.

"Something flew away? Are you sure you didn't see it wrong? Maybe it was just a bird passing by?"

"It flew out of the flames."

Kiana was certain of what she had seen.

"...Now that's strange."

Sirin had dealt with Kishin often enough to be sure this hadn't been their doing. What normal Kishin had that kind of brains?

Besides, what would it have been for?

To kill an ordinary person at a specific location just to cause panic?

"How about this? I'll have someone look into that person's identity."

They could see whether there was any possibility of a vendetta killing.

If there was, then someone else had probably used special means to assassinate the victim. If there was no possibility of assassination, then they would have to consider many more factors.

"Good idea."

Kiana withdrew her gaze from the damaged car and scanned the surroundings.

The street was unfamiliar. It wasn't as prosperous or luxurious as the area around the airport and hotel, but the lively streets could still be glimpsed through the alleys.

"There seem to be quite a few stalls over there. Why don't we look around? Or do you want to go to the city center?"

Sirin glanced over and said, "Let's look around here, then. I'll tell someone about this while we're at it."

"Sure!"

They passed through an alley into a narrower pedestrian street. There were quite a few street stalls along the roadside, as well as people who had come out to shop.

There weren't particularly many people.

Most of them had probably gone to watch the excitement.

Kiana dragged Sirin around to look at the stalls. In the end, they found a barbecue restaurant, ordered a pile of skewers and two bottles of drinks, then sat down outside.

"All right, I've finished explaining everything. We should know what happened soon."

"Good thing I have you to help."

Kiana gave her a perfectly timed compliment.

"Haha, it's nothing."

Sirin said that, but she couldn't stop smiling. It was obvious that she liked being praised.

"Do you want me to help you deal with your identity as well?"

Remembering what they had discussed in the car, Sirin asked her this.

"Would it be troublesome?"

"It's just a matter of saying one sentence. What trouble could there be?"

Sirin shook her head and said, "Too many people have suffered from Kishin disasters and become victims. I can just make up a background for you."

"Then I'll leave it to you."

It might not be needed for long, but having one was better than having none. Without proof of identity, she really couldn't do anything.

"It's nothing."

Sirin lowered her head and picked up her phone again, exchanged a few messages with someone, and handed this matter over to them as well.

"So you aren't from Izumo, are you?"

This time, Kiana answered readily. "No."

"A world even farther away than Takama-ga-hara?"

Sirin looked up at the night sky and asked curiously, "What are the worlds outside like?"

"Hmm..."

Of the places Kiana knew, there were the space station, Jarilo, the Xianzhou, and Penacony.

"The worlds outside are vast. There's nothing you can imagine that doesn't exist somewhere in the universe. Take Penacony, for example. It's known as the 'Star of Festivity' and is located in the Asdana system. The leakage of Ido created its unique environment. It's a famous dreamscape in the galaxy."

"A dreamscape?"

"Yeah!"

Kiana smiled and said, "If we get the chance in the future, we can go there together. There are also vacation planets, and planets covered in snow year-round where people struggle to survive."

"It's fine if you like exciting adventures, too. The universe is never short of injustice. If you want, you could even make a career out of being a hero."

"Who would like an exciting life of adventure?"

Sirin's mouth twitched as she gazed longingly. Going outside to save the world? At present, she only wanted to retire on the spot.

Saving Izumo was already difficult enough.

Once they had exterminated all the Kishin, she would retire immediately. From then on, she would never do this kind of world-saving again.

Seriously!

"You seem like exactly that kind of person, though."

Someone who specialized in saving worlds that needed saving, just like Izumo?

"No."

"You're not?"

"I'm not the kind of person who goes around looking for worlds to save."

Izumo was different.

Because this was Mei's homeland.

That was why she hoped Izumo could continue on.

Sirin gave a noncommittal reply. "Then after we exterminate all the Kishin, let's go see that Star of Festivity you mentioned. The land of dreams... I can't even imagine what kind of world it is."

"Hello, your barbecue is ready."

A server suddenly appeared, carrying a large plate of barbecue and placing it on the table.

"Thank you."

Kiana's eyes lit up at the tempting barbecue. She had already put saving the world and everything else behind her. Eating came first!

"You're welcome. Please enjoy."

Kiana picked up a skewer that looked especially delicious and handed it to Sirin with a smile. "It's a place where you can eat unlimited barbecue and drink unlimited beverages."

"...Now that you put it that way, I suddenly don't look forward to it anymore."

Sirin's retort was sharp.

"Oh, come on."

Kiana took a bite. It tasted great, and she happily narrowed her eyes. As she ate, she said, "It's hard for me to describe because I haven't actually been to Penacony myself. If we get the chance in the future, I'll take you to Penacony to see the Grand Gala, okay?"