380. Just Another Night

There were buildings on both sides, but suddenly, a patch of blue jumped out and instantly filled the entire field of vision.

We can see the sea.

Many passengers exclaimed in amazement and took out their phones and cameras to take pictures.

It was a very pleasant sight.

Unfortunately, this did nothing to improve the mood of the three of them.

The three of them got off at the Kamakura High School stop.

Because there were too many people in the car, I didn't want to stay any longer.

After getting off the bus, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"The scenery here is still so beautiful. Mai- chan, you pass by here to school every day, it must be very comfortable for you, right?"

"Well enough."

Mai wasn't particularly excited.

This was a view she was already used to.

She said, "I don't usually get off at this station. I go straight home after school, so I'm not very familiar with this area."

Yukino nodded, understanding that Mai had no friends, and wasn't surprised by her reaction.

Let's go.

The three of them walked slowly along the road in a straight line.

To the left is a cluster of buildings, and to the right is the long coastline of Shichirigahama.

It's April now, and the water is still quite cool, so no one is swimming, but there are quite a few people enjoying the scenery.

Shuya and the others walked to Shichirigahama Station, and further in was Hachihara High School, Mai- chan's school.

But instead of going that way, they crossed the road and headed towards the sea.

After descending the steps, the three stood on the beach.

The vast sea was gently rippling.

The sea breeze was refreshingly cool.

The beautiful scenery somewhat eased the three's bad mood.

Mai pursed her lips and took the initiative to change the subject:

"Shuya, you mentioned before that you encountered a strange woman here, right?"

Yukino tilted her head. "The future wife Inoue- kun was talking about? Is she a real person?"

"Ah---that one. I haven't seen him since then."

Shuya put his hands on his hips, a look of reminiscence flashing in his eyes. "Shoko Makinohara claimed to be my future wife. Ha, she was quite an interesting woman!"

After Rena's death, Shuya go out for walks to improve his mood.

On one of his visits here, he encountered a woman with long, straight black hair, Shoko Makinohara.

Thanks to her words of comfort, Shuya's mood improved considerably, and he cheered up again.

She knows Shuya very well and knows how to persuade him.

"... But you actually believed that 'future wife' thing? Maybe she's just a fan?"

Mai asked.

"Because that's what she said."

After a pause, Shuya shouted towards the sea, "---This is all the choice of Steins; Gate!"

Why are you yelling so loudly?

Mai looked displeased, and the people around her also looked over with concern.

Yukino, puzzled, "Is there anything special about that sentence?"

"You wouldn't understand, huh? Kokoro, you certainly wouldn't understand, would you?"

Yukino frowned. "Who is Kokoro?"

"Is he having a fit of teenage angst?"

After Mai finished speaking, she said, "... But, is time travel really possible?"

"Who knows? But my future wife's abilities certainly aren't omnipotent; they must have significant limitations."

"Why?"

"Because—if her abilities were omnipotent, Rena wouldn't have died. I would definitely go back in time and crush that damned fox."

Mai, puzzled, "Wasn't Rena- san's death said to be fate? Can it be changed?"

Shuya sneered:

"Over the past few years, I've come to understand that things like life, death, and fate aren't so simple. Seeing an aura of death doesn't necessarily mean you'll die."

"The so-called death that defies destiny largely refers to interfering with the process using supernatural powers."

"?"

Mai and Yukino didn't quite understand.

Yukino hadn't thought about these issues either.

Shuya said, "Think about it. Technology and medicine are constantly advancing. Diseases that used to be fatal can now be easily cured."

"For example, in ancient times, even a common cold or tetanus could be fatal, but now it's curable. Some diseases that were certain death in ancient times are not necessarily fatal in modern times. So the fate of death has always changed with the times."

"If saving lives and curing illnesses triggers Curse, will there still be doctors in this world?"

"Saving people without involving supernatural abilities will not trigger Curse."

"I think Rena was completely tricked by that sly fox. With the current level of medical technology, Rena could have been saved back then."

"There is supporting evidence that the Quintuplets were able to be born unharmed because they were capable of giving birth on their own, and it has nothing to do with what the dead fox did, so they are not Curse."

"In short, if my wife could travel through time at will, that dead fox would be doomed... even though he's dead now."

That's the most infuriating thing; you want to get revenge but have no one to retaliate against.

"..."

Mai and Yukino fell silent.

Mai didn't quite understand these things, but Yukino thought about it for a while and felt that Shuya's idea was too idealistic.

First of all, the premise is flawed. It should be noted that transferring a person's life force can be used to treat external injuries, and this would not lead to Curse.

Since the Fox God and Rena are Curse, it means that Rena's body does indeed have a problem.

She guessed that there was a high probability that the Quintuplets were born safely, but that Rena suffered some aftereffects during the process, which led to her later death.

Therefore, the Curse was triggered when the Fox God transferred life force.

Of course, this is just speculation; even if Yukino is quite certain, it's not 100% certain.

Besides, those are all things of the past, and we'll never get the answers.

Shuya willing and hopes to think in that direction; that's his freedom.

Everything is already beyond repair.

Compared to what Yukino had thought, Mai was surprised and said, "Shuya, you... you actually talked about Rena in detail in front of us, aren't you going to get angry?"

"..."

Shuya scratched his head. "I've reflected on my actions."

He looked at Mai: "I shouldn't have done that that day, I'm sorry."

"Wait, why are you suddenly so serious? Okay, I guess I was a little off too."

Mai accepted his apology.

Shuya said, "Um... I have something to say after this matter is over."

"That's enough, Mr. Inoue, don't say any more."

Yukino acted decisively, interrupting his flag-planting.

"... That was close."

I almost said it out loud.

... It's all because of adding too many voice-overs.

Shuya shook his head.

Mai vaguely felt she had guessed what Shuya, and her expression was very conflicted.

Yukino didn't think much of it; she didn't care about any of that.

They remained silent for a while, simply listening to the sound of the waves and people.

It's dusk.

The sun is setting.

Mai, trying to make conversation, asked, "Have you contacted that Ms. Shoko Makinohara?"

"You can look for it, but it's not necessary."

Shuya the Way.

Yukino nodded. "Regardless of any limitations in her abilities, the fact that she appeared before Inoue -kun and claimed to be his future wife means that she and Inoue -kun were destined to meet, whether he looked for her or not, it was already decided."

"So, no matter what I do, I'll still run into her, so what's the point of my efforts?"

Shuya shook his head and uttered a typical lazy bum's statement.

Section 409, Page 380: Just Such a Night

Mai said, "... Speaking of which, Shuya since he met Shoko Makinohara."

Shuya shrugged. "Well, I talked to her a lot back then. I guess my thinking changed or what..."

"Yeah."

Mai gave a brief reply.

Yukino did not respond.

They don't know Shoko Makinohara, so what can they say?

They didn't even fully believe this person actually existed.

After spending some time at the beach, the three of them went back.

To save time, they flew directly back to Fujisawa, bought daily necessities and dinner ingredients, and then returned to Mai's house.

Mai and Yukino and cooked in the kitchen.

Shuya remained sprawled on the sofa, watching TV.

He didn't think much about solutions at that moment; he just wanted to go to school tomorrow and see what happened.

He had visited Mai- chan's school many times.

I mainly went to see her.

She even went into the school several times, and had met some of the Half-Monster and Monster in the school a few times.

It's not unfamiliar to me.

Asking them for information is also part of tomorrow's plan.

Well, I'll leave everything to tomorrow's Shuya; I won't think about today's Shuya.

After sitting for a while, a sumptuous meal was ready.

Both of them were excellent cooks, and he was very satisfied with the meal.