The Girl Who Saw the Ending

"At the same time, apart from the two I have designated, no one else is allowed to enter the Student Council."

"This request is far too demanding..."

"You have no right to bargain."

Kitagawa Ryo put his right index finger to his lips as a gesture of shushing.

In this way, the second step of the plan was also successfully completed.

Chapter 41: The Girl Who Saw the Ending

"Speaking of which, when Ryo was acting in the play, did he ever think about bringing any of the characters in the play Resurrection?"

Sakayanagi Arisu naturally asked her question. She was sitting upright in Kitagawa Ryo's room [408], with an open book on her lap and her cane leaning against the side.

It was around six o'clock in the evening when Sakayanagi Arisu knocked on Kitagawa Ryo's door about twenty minutes ago.

"The characters in the play never existed, let alone could be Resurrection."

Kitagawa Ryo put down his book and casually replied:

"Are we going to Resurrection Hamlet and send him to the mortal world to fight for the Holy Grail?"

"To rebel against the beautiful uncle?"

Today, Sakayanagi Arisu seemed uninterested in Kitagawa Ryo's witty remarks. She stared into Kitagawa Ryo's eyes and said:

"Then let me put it another way."

"Which character in the play do you think shouldn't die, or rather, which character would you prefer to live on?"

Sakayanagi Arisu to ask him about this. If it were Karuizawa Kei or Shiina Hiyori, Kitagawa Ryo probably wouldn't be surprised.

So after thinking about it carefully for a while, he shook his head and said:

"No."

"Why?"

Sakayanagi Arisu wore a half-smile, a fake smile that she was quite adept at, with the corners of her mouth turned up but her eyes showing no real joy.

"Because death is also part of character development; often, it is through death that a character's personality can be better revealed."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded and added:

"Life is only given to us once, and that's precisely why the choices made to give up one's life for one's beliefs, for someone, or for something are all the more memorable."

"Life is everyone's last asset."

Sakayanagi Arisu replied thoughtfully:

"Indeed, it is often said that it is precisely because death only happens once that we are moved by those tragedies."

But then she flashed a mischievous smile, her slender fingers brushing against her lips:

"But what about in reality?"

"Everyone has someone they want to Resurrection, right?"

"Although everyone knows that life and death are irreversible, people still often pray for so-called miracles."

Sakayanagi Arisu gave a slightly bitter smile.

Yes, I will.

Kitagawa Ryo replied simply, recalling many long-forgotten moments from the past, including the last photograph Hotaru left for him.

So why do people live?

"Because when someone dies, the living will be sad."

Kitagawa Ryo stared at Sakayanagi Arisu. She was probably the petite girl Kitagawa Ryo knew, and the way she hugged her knees made her look even smaller.

"Unfortunately, everyone dies."

Sakayanagi Arisu murmured to himself.

Even if one exerts all one's efforts, acquires all one's knowledge, and leaves behind all one's achievements, the only outcome awaiting one is still death. If the end is death, an end that wipes out everything, some people would find it extremely tragic, and such a life would be almost meaningless.

Knowing something, feeling something, gaining something, losing something, seeking something—even knowing that there is a realm of zero that will eliminate everything waiting behind, human will still cannot escape the fate of death.

That is an insurmountable boundary, signifying an absolute end.

"Even though we know we'll die and lose everything, even though we know this very well, why do humans still want to survive?"

Sakayanagi Arisu only had a vague impression of her mother, since she was just beginning to remember things when her mother passed away, and most of what she knew about her mother was told to her little by little by her father.

According to his father, his birth was the result of his mother's insistence.

Ultimately, it could even be said that all three people's lives were ruined.

Father, mother, and herself.

In a sense, Sakayanagi Arisu's birth ended her mother's life and took away the only wife her father had ever loved in the world, a wife he still hasn't forgotten. However, her father still used all his strength to raise her, giving her the best education and love.

Sakayanagi Arisu clearly understood his mood.

When she was a child, she had already keenly noticed the struggle in her father's tone when they went to the White Room together.

They are merely imprisoned in this facility and constantly used to extract data.

I remember my father saying this while a slightly pained expression appeared on his face.

That's why Sakayanagi Arisu asked the question so bluntly:

"Father, do you dislike this facility?"

"I think that was just the beginning of an unfortunate situation."

After confirming her father's thoughts, little Sakayanagi Arisu had already made her own decision:

"Rest assured, I will sabotage this plan for you. I will prove to you that genius is not created through education, but determined at the moment of birth."

I cannot lose to any of the children nurtured in this facility.

[Having inherited superior genes, I must stop this.]

For a long time afterward, Sakayanagi Arisu grew up with this aspiration in mind.

Kitagawa Ryo did not answer Sakayanagi Arisu's question immediately, so Sakayanagi Arisu began to ask and answer her own question.

"Is it governed by DNA? Is it for a person? Or for someone's love? Or for certain things? To take it a step further, is it the will of God? Or the will of the universe? There are countless reasons that could be found, and each one might even be correct."

Sakayanagi Arisu placed her right hand on her chest, where she had inherited a lesion from her mother.

"What is Ryo's purpose in living?"

She turned her gaze over there; this was the first time Kitagawa Ryo had seen Sakayanagi Arisu display such an attitude.

Noticing Kitagawa Ryo's questioning gaze, Sakayanagi Arisu smiled and softly began to speak about something else:

"Actually, just a few months ago, during the summer vacation of my third year of junior high school, I secretly went on a trip by myself. After changing trains several times, I finally arrived at the beach. Because my father didn't allow me to go to such dangerous areas, it had been several years since I last saw the sea."

Sakayanagi Arisu showed a slightly forlorn expression:

"I went to that place many times when I was little. Back then, I could run around the beach a few times and feel the waves crashing on me."

"Now that I'm older, I even have some difficulty walking alone on the beach; walking sticks aren't very effective on sand."

Doesn't that sound ironic?

Kitagawa Ryo followed her gaze and saw the cane that she never let go of. Perhaps to Sherlock Holmes it was an ornament or a weapon, but to Sakayanagi Arisu it was the tool that supported her as she walked.

"The sun hat I was wearing was also blown off by the wind; it was a gift from my father."

"Even a five or six-year-old child should be able to easily retrieve it."

"But I can't do it."

"I just quickened my pace and was almost overwhelmed by a wave of dizziness. Luckily, there were some sun-shaded benches on the beach, so I had to go there to rest."

Sakayanagi Arisu took off her white beret and placed it on the coffee table in front of her.

"I just watched helplessly as that hat was blown into the sea by the wind."

"This is the other hat my father bought for me later."

After finishing her story, Sakayanagi Arisu put her hat back on her head.

"At that moment, I was thinking about the question I had just asked Liang."

Why do people live?

The meaning of life—that's probably one of the truths that everyone is searching for.

Philosophers have been pondering this question since ancient times.

In his previous life, Kitagawa Ryo had seen many patients in the intensive care unit. Those patients had to endure excruciating pain every day and still insist on treatment. Even though they were in extreme pain, they still wanted to survive.

"The meaning of life, when condensed to its extreme, boils down to nothing more than birth, death, and suffering."

Sakayanagi Arisu stood up. She didn't seem to care about Kitagawa Ryo's answer; she was simply sharing some of her thoughts and confusion with him.

Before leaving the room, she mischievously ruffled Kitagawa Ryo's hair, who was sitting on the sofa.

"Liang, open the door."

Around 11 p. m., Kitagawa Ryo's door was knocked on again, accompanied by a low knocking sound.

Karuizawa Kei entered the room with practiced ease, having mastered the art of sneaking into Kitagawa Ryo's room at this hour, making remarkably little noise.

Kitagawa Ryo was about to go to sleep, was only wearing his pajamas. He seemed to have just washed his hair, as it was a little messy. He yawned and slipped on his slippers as he found a pair of indoor shoes for Karuizawa Kei.

"It's so late, is there anything you need, Hui?"

"Can't you come if there's nothing wrong?"

Karuizawa Kei made a face, her small nose twitching slightly:

"Did Liang make dessert tonight?"

I baked a tray of cookies, would you like some?

Kitagawa Ryo sighed. He had planned to keep them as snacks, but he hadn't expected Karuizawa Kei's nose to be so sensitive.

"OK."

Karuizawa Kei excitedly agreed as she turned on the living room light.

"Click"

Karuizawa Kei ate several pieces in one go, taking two bites at a time, before slowing down:

"You could open a shop with the skills to make cold dishes, and it would definitely be a hit."

"Eating too much at night will make you fat."

"It was just once."

Wiping the crumbs from the corner of her mouth, Karuizawa Kei gulped down another bottle of water. The girl's throat trembled slightly, and her slender neck, exposed by her posture, was revealed. She reached out a hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, revealing her delicate and lovely earlobes through the almost golden strands of hair.

"Hmm? What's wrong? Why are you staring at me?"

Karuizawa Kei put down the bottled water in her hand, blinked, and a smile curved her lips.

"It just feels like watching you drink water is like watching someone about to die of thirst."

"Drinking water in small, steady sips is the fastest way to replenish your energy."

Karuizawa Kei chewed on another cookie, feeling the sweetness spread slowly across her tongue.

"Speaking of which, I became the class monitor of Class B today."

With a hint of boasting, there was a subtle sense that Karuizawa Kei's tone implied, "Come on, praise me!"

"Choosing a class monitor on the very first day? Your Class B is being far too hasty."

"No, the students in our Class B are all very cute, and it was the homeroom teacher who specifically asked me to come, so it just went smoothly."

Karuizawa Kei recalled the Matoba after she was called away for a private talk by Hoshinomiya Chie, and she carefully chose her words:

"Our homeroom teacher seems to have considerable hostility towards the homeroom teacher of Class 1-A."

"She practically told me to target Class A."