Chapter 18

Silence, silence.

"Damn it!" Nobara Kugisaki covered her burning face. "H-how can he say something like that!" Flirting without any intention of committing was just rotten behavior!

"No, I think..." Maki Zenin pushed up her glasses. "He really should finish what he's saying."

Whatever the case, putting it that way was far too misleading.

"He said something so seductive, so why doesn't he feel a thing?!" Kasumi Miwa's cheeks were burning too. "That's just unfair!"

Seeing Kasumi Miwa looking so bashful, Mechamaru's face turned green.

Aoi Todo, utterly clueless about romance, looked baffled. "He wasn't talking to you. What are you blushing for?"

"Hah, how would someone like you understand?" Momo Nishimiya rolled her eyes at him.

Mai Zenin nodded in agreement. "All he has in his head are Takada-chan and muscles, after all."

Meanwhile, Mizuki Tsujimura sat rigidly upright, because Ayatsuji-sensei beside her was truly terrifying. The oppressive aura around him was practically turning into-what did that other world call it again...? Right, a cursed spirit!

Tch, Ayatsuji-sensei was always like this. Did he think she couldn't tell? He'd definitely fallen for him! That was perfectly normal, so why couldn't he just be honest?

"Are you thinking something terribly rude?" Ayatsuji Yukito asked ominously beside Mizuki Tsujimura's ear.

"I was thinking Ayatsuji-sensei must be a tsundere... No, nothing at all!"

After that day, Ayatsuji Yukito kept wearing a sour expression. An Xinyi couldn't understand why he was angry.

"Did I say something that upset you?" An Xinyi apologized sincerely. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to tell you how I really felt."

Who wanted to hear that?!

Ayatsuji Yukito's expression visibly soured further.

An Xinyi could only become even more attentive in trying to please his traveling companion. They traveled to many places, and An Xinyi always found ways to make their journey comfortable and pleasant.

They surfed together in the ocean, and Ayatsuji Yukito was even knocked over by a wave. To spare him the embarrassment, An Xinyi jumped into the sea himself. In the end, they both swam back.

They climbed the highest mountain together. Amid the wind and snow, An Xinyi was a steadfast presence, holding Ayatsuji Yukito's hand as they made their way to the summit, step by step.

They wandered bustling streets and alleys together, drifting through the aromas of all kinds of food until they were too full to eat another bite.

They saw magnificent palaces, the majestic Great Wall, and towering pyramids together. Humanity always seemed capable of creating miracles.

They even reached the ends of the earth, where the dazzling, magnificent auroras were even more beautiful than the fireworks they had once seen.

Short on money, they even performed on the streets a few times. An Xinyi, a jack-of-all-trades, could always find well-paid temporary work. Ayatsuji Yukito also happened upon several major theft cases and earned some money by solving them.

They traveled to so very many places...

That day, An Xinyi and Ayatsuji Yukito walked through the streets of a neighboring country. People strolled leisurely along the riverbank, and lilting music drifted from somewhere unknown.

It was evening when An Xinyi stopped and turned sideways.

He gazed at the streets beneath the setting sun, the lilting music echoing in his ears, and suddenly fell into a trance.

"Why aren't you..." Moving. Ayatsuji Yukito trailed off, pressing his lips tightly together.

"It's nothing." In the sunset, even the tips of the young man's hair glowed faintly gold. He raised a hand to wipe the hot tears from his face, his smile gentle. "Nothing at all."

"I just remembered something that wasn't very important."

It looked so familiar... So beautiful...

But that was the Little Prince's planet, the home that haunted his dreams... Not something a counterfeit like him could hope for.

In the end, he wasn't that Little Prince.

"What does that matter? You're 143, not anyone else!" Chūya Nakahara was genuinely frustrated with him. He already knew he was different from the other An Xinyis, so why was he still struggling within that vicious circle?

"I'm afraid it's because the feelings he inherited run too deep," Osamu Dazai couldn't help answering, though a trace of alarm crossed his face. He hugged himself involuntarily. It was terrifying. Just how profound must those feelings be that 143 couldn't escape them no matter what, and would even willingly sink into them?

It was far too frightening for a coward like him.

"Idiots! All idiots!" Ranpo Edogawa was nearly beside himself with anger.

Mori Ougai narrowed his eyes. That Zero really was a strange existence. Was he dead, or was he alive?

Fyodor could barely stand Nikolai Gogol's endless cutting remarks anymore. If this continued, he would kill the man as soon as they got out.

"I want to travel with An Xinyi too!" Nobara Kugisaki clenched her fists. He was so considerate, and he could do absolutely anything!

Those beautiful places, those bustling cities-that was the kind of journey everyone ought to take once in their life!

And most importantly, she wouldn't have to pay for it herself!!

Nobara Kugisaki shed tears of poverty.

All the women nodded in unison, along with some of the men.

They couldn't help discussing whether they should take a trip like that someday. It looked so tempting!

"How wonderful! Satoru-chan wants to take a trip like that too~" Satoru Gojo swayed from side to side, cupping his face in his hands.

"Shut up, you lousy teacher!"

"In the end, I have nothing."

That was what 143 said.

Whether it was this body, his various abilities, or the memories that formed his personality, they all belonged to the collective An Xinyi, to Zero. None of them belonged to 143.

"But I suppose I still have one thing left."

"Something too insignificant to mention."

Yes, this alone he could be certain of. As 143, there was only one thing he possessed-

His love for this world, for humanity, and for Ayatsuji Yukito.

Those feelings weren't inherited from Zero or the other An Xinyis. They had welled up within him during this journey, as he saw the mountains, the sea, the streets, the crowds, and the person beside him.

That love belonged to him.

Just like every other An Xinyi, he had fallen irrevocably in love with this world that wasn't his.

It wasn't the rose in his memories, only a similar rose, beautiful all the same.

But those weren't his memories either. He was merely a counterfeit Little Prince, and the only rose he had met was this similar one.

There were no other roses. This was the only one he had fallen in love with.

So wasn't it only natural to die for it?

Even if this love was so similar, it was still his-143's own unique love.

That alone was enough. That alone satisfied him.

Ayatsuji Yukito had a bad feeling. He hugged the repaired Mei Misaki tightly. "What are you planning to do?"

"It's time for me to go."

An Xinyi stood with his back to the setting sun, his whole body seeming to glow.

Ayatsuji Yukito's breath caught.

"Every journey has an end. Ours ends here."

He was serious.

Ayatsuji Yukito realized it immediately, then tightened his grip on Mei Misaki.

Should he ask him to stay?

Should he be angry?

He'd promised to show him all the beauty in the world. Why was he breaking that promise?

Besides, as his traveling companion, he hadn't said it was over.

But Ayatsuji Yukito couldn't bring himself to say it. He had never been the sort to cling to someone.

Besides, hadn't it already been decided? The end of their journey was the deadline for solving the mystery.

He hadn't solved it.

This time, he had lost.

He had always been sharp-tongued and merciless, yet in the end, all he could force out was, "You liar."

An Xinyi looked faintly wistful. His eyes were like a bottomless lake, revealing only the shimmering ripples on its surface.

"I'm sorry. But I still have to go."

He had already decided.

"I truly enjoyed traveling with you."

That was precisely why he had made up his mind.

"But every journey has to end sometime."

He would accept his fate.

"Don't be sad. Don't grieve."

Because he had never thought of giving up on him.

"If I had to put it into words-"

"Like fireworks, this was a 'once-in-a-lifetime encounter.'"

It was an encounter that happened only once in a lifetime, a bond that came only once in a lifetime, and a flowering that bloomed only once in a lifetime-the sole miracle across 143's countless cycles.

For you, it was a short journey. But for 143, it was his entire life.

Only that journey was 143's life.

But like fireworks, once it had bloomed, it would eventually dissolve into the night sky.

An Xinyi drew a deep breath and smiled. "Goodbye. At the very end, let me see you smile, all right?"

No crying, 143, An Xinyi silently encouraged himself. Just as he wanted to see Ayatsuji Yukito smile, he should show Ayatsuji Yukito his own smile too.

If possible, I hope that when you occasionally remember me, it's my smile you remember.

Ayatsuji Yukito fell silent. A once-in-a-lifetime encounter?

Holding Mei Misaki tightly, Ayatsuji Yukito raised his head, the corners of his mouth slowly curving upward. Even his smiles usually carried a hint of mockery, yet at this moment, he looked gentle and sad.

As he looked at An Xinyi, a sudden intuition rose within him. Perhaps he would never have another chance to solve this mystery.

Because he would never see him again.

"Pfft-" Was that the sound of someone coughing up blood over a tragic ending, or the frustration of seeing all her favorites killed off? Nobara Kugisaki pressed a hand to her forehead. "Can't we get a happy ending for once?!" Nothing but knives to the heart!

Satoru Gojo crossed his legs. "For An Xinyi, a happy ending is basically impossible." His personality and his responsibilities made sure of that.

Nobara Kugisaki stared coldly at her no-good teacher. "Nothing good ever comes out of your mouth. Can't you say something nice?"

Satoru Gojo clutched his chest like a delicate beauty. "How could you say that to your handsome, dashing teacher? That's so mean. Satoru-chan's heart is breaking."

Bleurgh-all of Satoru Gojo's students pretended to throw up.

Meanwhile, even the oblivious Kenji Miyazawa noticed Ayatsuji Yukito's terrible mood. He was about to loudly declare, "That's just what cows are like when they're angry back in the countryside," when Kunikida, the Armed Detective Agency's dutiful mother hen, clapped a hand over his mouth and saved his life. Otherwise, Another would definitely set its sights on him once they got out.

Naomi Tanizaki was crying her eyes out, clinging relentlessly to her older brother.

Ayatsuji Yukito scoffed, and the oppressive aura around him suddenly eased.

He looked at the screen and thought mockingly of himself: in the end, what did any of this have to do with him? It was merely the story of another Ayatsuji Yukito.

Still, Murder Detective, that might have been more convincing if you'd loosened the hand that was about to shred your beloved doll's clothes.

"Thank you. Goodbye."

Thank you for giving me a smile.

But we'll never meet again.

An Xinyi turned away. Until then, he had kept smiling. He maintained that smile as he walked away, step by step, and never looked back.

If he looked back and saw the sorrow in Ayatsuji Yukito's eyes, would he regret it?

No, he wouldn't.

It was precisely because he loved him so deeply, because he loved this world, that he had chosen to do this.

But... it still hurt a little. Just a little.

Warm liquid fell silently, and An Xinyi even kept the smile on his face.

So this was sorrow.

You're incredible, Zero. How did you endure such painful feelings through countless days and nights?

"Hey," An Xinyi said upon returning to his starting point, the place he had first left. "DD, time to get to work."

That journey, worth remembering, was enough.

143 had fallen in love with this world.

143 had fallen in love with the humans in this world.

143 had fallen in love with that boy.

In this contest of love, 143 had suffered a crushing defeat and lost everything.

Because that love was enough to make him brave any danger and die a thousand deaths without hesitation.

Even if it meant doing what he had once been most unwilling to do, even if it meant completely casting aside everything that made him 143.

143's innate individuality, everything that made 143 unique-he gave it all up.

Because he finally understood.

Why Zero and the other An Xinyis would exhaust everything they had for humanity, trampling everything they were.

Because of love.

Just like the love that had welled up within 143.

Yes, he truly was the An Xinyi most like Zero. That was why Zero had never stopped him.

Zero understood better than anyone that as long as he was still An Xinyi, he would inevitably fall in love with this similar rose and walk the same path.

Even if he was merely a counterfeit Little Prince.

143 returned to being An Xinyi. From then on, throughout countless cycles, there was only An Xinyi 143.

It was a very strange feeling. When he looked at the mountains, the sea, and the countless people of the world, he no longer felt that heartfelt curiosity and anticipation, because he already knew everything by heart.

But one feeling grew deeper and richer still.

Like the other An Xinyis, he worked hard, spent his life, and devoted everything he had to humanity.

Only occasionally, as he walked through familiar streets, would he remember that miraculous "once-in-a-lifetime encounter."

An encounter that happened only once in a lifetime? No. For him, it was the only one across countless lifetimes.

Just that once. There would never be another.

That alone was the life 143 had lived.

That was the love he would never forsake.

He would protect this world.

And so, in the end, I was still heading toward a tomorrow without you.

An Xinyi 143 & Ayatsuji Yukito: "Like fireworks, a once-in-a-lifetime encounter"-the cycle of reincarnation ended.

The record had been overwritten.