"Did we forget anything?"
"No, we've got everything."
After making sure they hadn't left anything behind, the two of them walked side by side back toward the hotel.
"This must be the first time in years we've gone on a hot spring trip together."
Walking along a path lined with blooming hibiscus, Kitagawa Ryo spoke with a hint of wistfulness.
"Mm. The first time."
Sakayanagi Arisu answered as she walked beside Kitagawa Ryo.
Naturally, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, as though nothing had ever changed.
Even though it was their first time.
"The play we saw this afternoon was interesting, too."
Arisu was referring to the Shakespearean masterpiece Oedipus Rex, which the two of them had watched together at the theater that afternoon.
"What exactly did the Sphinx's riddle mean?"
She tilted her head, her silvery-white hair fluttering gently in the breeze.
"Is it the riddle about what walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?"
Kitagawa Ryo slowed his pace. The gentle evening breeze carried a sense of ease.
"Mm. In the play, Oedipus's answer was 'man.'"
"The Sphinx is a monster, with a lion's body and a woman's face. It represents fear and temptation."
"But after Oedipus solved the riddle, it fell off a cliff and died. For a monster that had devoured countless people, it died surprisingly easily."
Arisu seemed quite interested in the topic.
"I think it was meant to say that 'as long as people understand themselves, they can overcome temptation and fear.'"
Kitagawa Ryo offered his interpretation:
"Ancient Greek plays often emphasized the glory and greatness of humanity, praising people's courage and will."
"But in the end, Oedipus Rex still couldn't change anything. Just as the oracle foretold, no matter how much he struggled, he was destined from birth to kill his father, marry his mother, and fall into tragedy."
Arisu sharply countered Kitagawa Ryo's argument:
"Even if people understand everything about themselves, their struggles are still futile. That's why Oedipus Rex blinded himself and chose exile."
"Sometimes, not seeing the truth and failing to understand the situation might be what makes us happy."
The corner of Arisu's mouth curved upward. Seeing the puzzled look Kitagawa Ryo gave her, she lightly smoothed her wind-tousled hair, stepped forward twice, then stopped and turned to face him. She leaned forward slightly.
"Right, big brother?"
Kitagawa Ryo's breath caught. Embarrassed, he scratched his cheek.
"Didn't we agree you wouldn't call me that anymore?"
"You're lying."
Arisu stepped closer to Kitagawa Ryo. Though she was shorter than him, she seemed to have the upper hand.
A hint of amusement glimmered in her amethyst eyes. She slipped her right hand through the opening in Kitagawa Ryo's shirt and placed it over his heart.
"Your heart's clearly beating faster."
"If you think my faster heartbeat is because I'm lying rather than because of what you're doing, then you're being too subjective, Arisu."
Arisu seemed dissatisfied with his answer. She pressed her hand against him and pushed him back two steps.
"You're making that face and still trying to brush me off? If you're going to do that, at least try convincing yourself first."
Arisu ran her hand through Kitagawa Ryo's slightly messy black hair. Rising onto her toes, she leaned forward and pressed him against the railing by the roadside. Their position was rather intimate, but fortunately, there were no other tourists on the path at the moment.
"Then you don't have to say anything. If you want to move, explain yourself clearly. Don't move."
Kitagawa Ryo had just tried to escape the awkward, rather helpless position, but Arisu's words quickly pinned him in place again.
"Is that so..."
His heart wasn't merely beating faster; it was pounding at full speed. Kitagawa Ryo even felt as if it might leap right out of his throat.
"You want me to call you big brother."
Only then did Kitagawa Ryo belatedly realize the strange obsession Arisu harbored for him. On one hand, she was his frail, docile little sister, as gentle as a pet; on the other, she was... a god who controlled his thoughts and actions without restraint?
Kitagawa Ryo had taken it upon himself to define her that way.
Oedipus Rex's fate was an inescapable tragedy decreed by the gods. Kitagawa Ryo's fate, too, had been decided by Arisu. He had no way to leave.
"Mm. I hope Arisu will stay by my side forever."
Kitagawa Ryo only had to look at Arisu. Her eyes and smile had captured him with ease.
"Big brother, I'm right here."
"Mm."
"So you don't have to go anywhere."
"Mm. I won't go anywhere. I'll always be with Arisu."
Kitagawa Ryo told himself over and over that he was happy now.
"Big brother really did manage to grant my wish and completely defeat that Ayanokoji from the White Room."
Arisu rested her hand on Kitagawa Ryo's head.
"Here's your reward. First—"
She deliberately drew out her words, like a preschool teacher coaxing a little child.
"A head pat and a nuzzle."
Kitagawa Ryo gave the answer before Arisu could. He basked in her embrace, drunk and drowning in warmth.
"You smell like a lot of other people."
Arisu rubbed the tip of her nose against his.
"Only my scent is enough."
"And then—"
"A hug."
Kitagawa Ryo reached out and wrapped his arms around her slender shoulders, squeezing her as if he wanted to melt into her body, like a child clutching a long-awaited toy.
He felt a strange sense of fulfillment, as though he were offering himself up as a sacrifice to a god.
Throughout the six years Kitagawa Ryo could remember, Arisu had occupied every moment. She appeared in every carefully planned future. Kitagawa Ryo and Arisu's fates had long since become intertwined, like a thorn lodged in his heart.
"What's the last one?"
Her sweet words still lingered by Kitagawa Ryo's ear.
"A kiss."
His lips touched Arisu's, and then he kissed her.
On the final day of their vacation, Kitagawa Ryo and Arisu climbed the lighthouse by the sea together. The white-haired girl set her cane aside and leaned against the railing like a statue, gazing intently at the sea and the harbor.
"If you're far enough away, even two parallel lines that never meet can look as if they overlap to the naked eye."
Kitagawa Ryo looked toward the distant sea, where the horizon met the sky, and spoke.
"But no matter how far they extend, the distance between them never gets any smaller."
He frowned as he gazed at the deep-blue sea. Something stirred the strings of his memory.
"What's wrong?"
Arisu turned and looked at Kitagawa Ryo. Her deep-purple eyes were a familiar sight to him after all these years, but now something about them seemed faintly out of place.
"Nothing."
Kitagawa Ryo suppressed the strange feeling inside him, because Arisu's left hand had already taken his right.
Her small hand slipped easily into his palm. It seemed as though the slightest pressure would break it, or make it melt away like freshly fallen snow.
"There won't be a worst-case scenario, right, Arisu?"
"...Mm."
She held Kitagawa Ryo's left hand and lightly scratched the palm with her little finger.
"In another month, Ryo will enter Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School with me, right?"
"Chairman Sakayanagi already told me about it."
"Mm."
Arisu suddenly gave him a sly smile.
"I heard it's a completely closed-off school. For three whole years."
She stepped back and spread her arms like a bird about to take flight—as if she wanted to say something.
"I'm looking forward to it."
"Ryo."
There were no unrelated people here. A world that unfolded after someone's existence had been utterly erased was the best possible ending.
That was what Arisu believed.
Karuizawa Kei's Autumn Lie
Chapter One: Karuizawa Kei's Autumn Lie
[Congratulations, player! You have achieved the "Single-minded" achievement. The final score for this chapter has increased by ten points.] [Single-minded: Remain devoted to the female protagonist of this story throughout a single simulation.] [Congratulations, player! You have achieved the "Masterpiece" achievement and obtained one permanent talent slot.] [Masterpiece: Defeat Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, an important character in the story, in a single simulation.] [Permanent Talent Slot: The player's initial talent slots have increased by one. You can now draw seven initial talents.] [Congratulations, player! You have achieved the "Double Girlfriends" achievement. This achievement is now unlocked, and no further rewards will be issued.] [Double Girlfriends: Earn the affection of two important female characters in a single simulation.] [Congratulations, player! You have achieved the "Salvation" achievement. Ichinose Honami's initial affection has increased.] [Salvation: Clear the first chapter, "Ichinose Honami's Summer Time Rendering," with the hidden ending "Salvation."] [Congratulations, player! You have achieved the "Ten Years of Pooper Scooper" achievement. The "Pooper Scooper" talent has been upgraded to purple quality and automatically retained as a permanent talent.] [Grand Pooper Scooper (Purple): You have a clever, well-behaved pet cat that understands people. Lately, though, you've felt that something is off about the way it looks at you. (But it's still just a cat. Perhaps you could call it "Hotaru"?)] [Congratulations, player! You have cleared the first chapter. Drawing a reward corresponding to your score rank.] [Congratulations, player! You have received the reward item: Self of Ichinose Honami.] [Self of Ichinose Honami: Before each simulation begins, randomly upgrade the quality of three talents. (Gold talents cannot be upgraded further. This includes initial talents and permanent talents.)] ["I don't want Ryo to walk ahead of me someday, and I don't want him to follow behind me, either. I want us to walk side by side."] [Current highest score: 100 points] [Two simulation attempts remain for the first chapter. Since your final score in this simulation was 100 points, the remaining two simulations will be completed at the 100-point score rank by default, and the rewards will be issued. If you keep this reward until you clear all chapters, the Mysterious Prize will be doubled.] [The player has chosen not to claim this reward for now.] [The player achieved a perfect clear in this simulation and retained all talents.] [All talents have been made permanent.]
Before you continue