Chapter 189 Something is wrong

"Hmm..." Shidou made a slight groan and then opened his eyes. It seemed that Shidou was lying on the bed, with his left cheek sunken into the pillow, preventing his left eye from opening. His left arm must have been pressed under his body for a long time, so he had no feeling at all.

"Hoo..." Shidou yawned sleepily, turned over in bed, lay on his back, and then slowly sat up.

As he was freed from his own weight, his left hand, which had lost all feeling, began to feel numb. Shidou frowned and said, "It hurts so much...", then looked around blankly.

There was nothing strange about it. It was the room I usually slept in. The walls, floor, ceiling, and furniture were familiar to me.

He must have been very tired yesterday, so he rarely hung his uniform jacket on the chair. At this moment──

"...Strange?" Shidou felt something was wrong and blinked.

He had no memory of how he climbed into bed yesterday. What day of the week was it today? He remembered that before he fell asleep—

"...!" He pieced together the fragmented information in his mind, and finally recalled the scene that expanded before his eyes before he lost consciousness.

The blazing streets, the pouring light Shidou suddenly looked down at his own body.

There is no bloody hole in the chest...

Shidou heaved a sigh of relief. No matter what, it was an indisputable fact that he had saved his life. Shidou heaved a sigh of relief... he always felt that my brain was empty, as if he had forgotten something...

Shidou shook his head and frowned, then he walked to the window of his room and looked outside - the view was wide and the weather was very good.

"…I always feel like something is missing…"

Then, he looked further ahead --- what was spreading out before my eyes was the familiar residential area of ​​East Tengu in Tengu City. Looking to the right, I could see the huge apartment building where the spirits lived standing tall.

"Hmm... Really, is this the side effect of [Twelfth Bullet]? But... this time it's all thanks to Tokisaki-san, I didn't expect that she would come out to help me in a critical moment---" Shidou muttered to himself.

The "familiar scenery as usual" in Shidou's eyes. The houses and streets lined up in rows all remained the same.

"Ha... Origami's inverse was also successfully prevented..."

Then, as if he suddenly thought of something, his pupils suddenly shrank, and then Shidou left the room without even closing the window, and went downstairs with a momentum as if he was going to roll down the stairs. Then he rushed directly to the living room and opened the door with a loud "bang".

Perhaps frightened by the sound, the petite girl sitting on the sofa in the living room watching TV──Kotori widened her round eyes like acorns even more and looked in the direction of Shidou.

"Oh? Brother, what's wrong with you? You're so energetic so early in the morning." She was a lively girl with long hair tied into two ponytails with white ribbons. She seemed to have gotten up earlier than Shidou and had already changed into her uniform.

Hearing his sister's leisurely voice, Shidou shouted loudly: "Kotori...! Are you okay?!"

"...What?" Shidou shouted breathlessly, and Kotori tilted her head as if she was confused.

"...Brother, did you fall asleep?" Hearing what Kotori said, Shidou suddenly shook his shoulders.

However, it is understandable that Shidou would do such a thing.

Because in his memory at that time, in the "original world", he could not confirm whether Kotori and the crew on the battleship were safe after Fornaxinus was shot down by Origami.

"...Kotori, what day and month is today?"

"Huh? Of course it's November 8th." Kotori looked at Shidou with a worried look.

But for Shidou, Kotori's reaction was the best report. If Shidou remembered correctly, that date was the day after the reversed Origami destroyed the town.

"--Ah--" Shidou walked to Kotori with a tearful expression and hugged her tightly with both hands. Faced with Shidou's sudden action, Kotori was so panicked that her eyes rolled back and forth.

"ah!"

"Kotori...Kotori...! It's really...that's great──"

"Ah! Ah!" Kotori kept waving her arms and legs. Shidou was kicked in the abdomen by Kotori and fell to the ground.

However, now even this pain makes me miss it, and my heart is filled with a sense of accomplishment and peace of mind---

"...Brother, what's wrong with you? You look a little weird." Kotori frowned suspiciously and said this while hugging her shoulders.

The world must have changed since five years ago. From her perspective, as she has been living a changed life, Shidou's behavior must have seemed extremely strange.

"…Let me ask you, Kotori. If I said I changed the world yesterday, would you believe me?"

"Eh?" Kotori's eyes widened, then frowned: "Brother, what are you talking about? Are you daydreaming again?" Then she scratched her chin with her fingertips and said this to him. That look is not so much that... she can't believe what Shidou said, but rather that she doesn't understand what he is talking about.

But──it's fine like this. Shidou smiled bitterly and waved his hand.

"Um - sorry, I seem to be a little sleepy. I'll make breakfast right away, wait for me."

"Oh... okay..." Kotori nodded, still looking puzzled. Shidou shrugged slightly and went to the bathroom to wash his face.

I have to find a time to report to Kotori about the world-changing event. After all, as the name suggests, it is a major event that rewrote the world. Considering the future, I must also inform Ratatoskr.

However, Shidou's experience sounded like a ridiculous dream. How should he explain it to them? Shidou scratched his cheek and groaned.

"Well, forget it, let's prepare breakfast first---" Shidou muttered to himself, scratched his hair, and then subconsciously turned around and called out: "Kotori, go to the next door and shout..." As he was speaking, Shidou was suddenly stunned...

And Kotori also heard a puzzled voice from outside: "Huh? Brother, what are you talking about? How can our house be next door?"

Listening to Kotori's words, Shidou blinked blankly...

"Yes... our house... how can there be a next door?" Shaking his head again, Shidou suppressed the discomfort, unfamiliarity, and inexplicable sadness in his heart and started cooking.

After finishing breakfast with Kotori and getting ready to go out, I saw a familiar girl standing in front of my house.

"Oh, you're here, Shidou! Good morning!" A beautiful girl with long hair as black as the night and a pair of crystal eyes waved at Shidou energetically - she was Tohka, Shidou's classmate and neighbor.

"Oh, Tohka, good morning. Sorry, have you been waiting for a long time?"

"No, I just went out too. It's just a coincidence!" Tohka said with a smile on her face. Seeing her innocent look, Shidou couldn't help but laugh.

"Hmm? What's wrong with you?"

"No...don't worry about me, this is for you." Shidou said and handed the lunch bag in his hand to Tohka.

In the morning, when Shidou made lunch for himself and Kotori, he also made one for Tohka. This has become Shidou's daily habit. Since he got up late today, Shidou originally wanted to use the welfare club to solve lunch.

"Ohhh...! Thank you, Shidou! I remember we were having that today. What Is that something?" 

However, after hearing Tohka's next words, Shidou tilted his head in confusion.

"Huh?"

"Hmm...? Isn't it? I remember you said this during the time sharing yesterday..." Tohka frowned and put her hand on her chin, as if she was trying to recall something.

Shidou then realized that although he had no recollection of ever saying such words, Tohka might have heard them from Shidou.

This world is the world after Shidou saved Origami's parents five years ago, and Origami did not reverse the situation. Therefore, Tengu City was not destroyed, and Shidou and others lived their daily lives as usual "yesterday".

However, Shidou, who was still in five years ago a few hours ago, had no memory of this world before "yesterday".

Judging from the attitudes shown by Tohka and Kotori, the original world doesn't seem to have changed much, but there should be other trivial matters like this that Shidou doesn't know about... It would be better to confirm with everyone as soon as possible.

"Ah... I'm sorry, Tohka. We ran out of ingredients, so we changed to another dish."

"Hmm, I see. But you don't need to apologize, because whatever Shidou cooks is delicious! So, what dish did you change to?"

"Oh, I made three-color rice, scrambled eggs and peas. Oh, and red braised pork belly---"

"Actually...actually...! This is such a great dish!" Tohka's cheeks flushed and she said excitedly. She seemed to be very satisfied with the changed dishes, and then suddenly remembered something and asked: "By the way, what is Red braised pork belly?"

"Haven't you eaten it before? Why... would I make this?" Shidou was stunned again. The name he wanted to blurt out had no effect on his memory. And this "Red braised pork belly"... he couldn't remember why he made it...

"Ah, brother learned this from TV last time when we were watching the food channel, right?" said Kotori, tilting her head.

"Ah... yes... is that so? It seems... right." Shidou nodded, his tone a little uncomfortable, and the feeling of disobedience in his heart became even stronger.

"I see---"

As she said that, Tohka started dancing with her lunch bag in her arms---

At this time, Shidou saw two figures walking towards him from the direction of the apartment.

"Haha, what a beautiful morning. You've come out especially to greet me. Thank you for your hard work, my servant."

"I agree. Good morning, Shidou, Tohka." They are Yamai Kaguya and Yamai Yuzuru, identical twin girls. At first glance, they are so similar that it's hard to tell them apart, but a closer look reveals subtle differences in their hairstyles, facial features, and their tragic body shape differences that make people think it's a prank by God.

"...Hmm? Shidou, were you thinking about something very rude just now?" The slender girl with a competitive expression──Kaguya hugged her shoulders and narrowed her eyes. So Shidou hurriedly shook his head.

"How...how could that be? I didn't think about anything."

"Are you serious...? If you dare to lie to me, you will be committing a heinous crime."

"Advice. You think too much, Kaguya." This time, the sexy girl, Yuzuru, who had her hair braided into three braids, put her hand on Kaguya's shoulder and said so.

"But, even though it was only for a moment, I saw Shidou's gaze moving back and forth between my and Yuzuru's chests."

"It's an explanation. As long as you're a man, it's a natural reflex."

"...Hey." This is just a hindrance. Shidou's face was covered with sweat and his eyes narrowed.

"I see. You had a physical reaction to my charm. Haha, then I'll let you go. There's no such cruel thing in the world as resisting Yamai's charm."

"I agree. That's right. Even if Kaguya usually fantasizes about doing something evil with ...., not everyone has such thoughts."

"I...I don't have any delusions about …..!" Kaguya shouted with a red face.

"What did you say," Shidou asked feeling something was definitely wrong around here why did everyone's words feel so disconnected in his head? They should have said someone name but why can't he hear it.

No, it shouldn't be like this...

Perhaps seeing Shidou's reaction, Kaguya and Yuzuru showed puzzled expressions.

"What...what's going on, Shidou? You look like you've seen a ghost..."

"I agree. I feel like I've aged a lot overnight." With Shidou between them, he frowned and said this. Shidou shook his head perfunctorily.

"No, nothing. Don't worry about me. You'll be late if you keep making trouble." After saying that, Shidou swallowed his saliva, then suddenly turned his head and looked at an open space next to his house. His head suddenly felt dizzy.

Seeing Shidou's reaction, Kaguya and Yuzuru looked at each other, sighed and shrugged at the same time.

"Hmph... I'm tired of trying to hurt you. I'll let you go for Shidou's sake. But this won't happen again. Anyone who wants to expose my darkness better be prepared to be touched by the hand of the god of darkness."

"Laughing. My darkness. Is the darkness referring to the diary that Kaguya hid under the bed?"

"You…why do you know that?!"

"Run away. Yui-sensei is leaving first." After saying this, Yuzurui waved to Shidou and Tohka and ran towards the school.

"Wait a minute! Hey! Seriously, how do you know that?" Kaguya wailed, chasing after Yuzuru. Although her spiritual power was sealed, she was still a wind spirit, right? The two of them disappeared immediately.

And Shidou's eyes were still fixed on that empty space---

Suddenly he asked in a daze: "Kotori, there...should there be another house there?"

"Hmm?" Kotori raised her eyebrows --- "Brother, are you sick? You have been acting a little abnormal since you got up this morning."

"Ah... is... is that so? Sorry, maybe I was confused after sleeping..."

After passing through the school gate, Shidou took off his shoes, changed into indoor shoes, walked through the corridor, climbed the stairs, and came to the classroom of Class 4, Year 2.

"..." However, when Shidou was about to reach out to open the classroom door, he suddenly stopped.

Besides the fact that he didn't know how to talk to the girl who was supposed to sit on his left, Origami, there was another reason… He always felt like something was missing…

The person most affected by the changes five years ago is undoubtedly Origami. Not only will she have memory discrepancies on small things like Tohka did, but it may also lead to even bigger changes.

As for the feeling of something being missing... Shidou felt more confused---

"Shidou, aren't you going in?"

"Oh...oh...sorry, sorry." Hearing Tohka say this, Shidou exerted force on his hand that was placed on the door.

Then, I pushed open the door with a strange feeling of uneasiness and excitement.

But── "...What?" Shidou pushed open the door and looked into the classroom, sighing with a wry smile. No one sat to the left of Shidou's seat. It seemed that Origami had not come to school yet.

Shidou felt a little embarrassed that he had prepared himself mentally in advance. He scratched his head, sat down in his seat, and took out the textbook and notebook for the first class from his bag.

Then he looked up and saw the back of a student sitting in front of him...

His brows knitted instantly, and he felt the urge to drive the student in front of him away... This position doesn't belong to him... For no reason, Shidou just had this feeling---

So, he subconsciously raised his hand and patted the shoulder of the person in front of him--

"Hmm? Is there something wrong?" The student in front of him turned around and looked at Shidou with a puzzled look. It was an ordinary face. The moment the other person turned around, Shidou's heart shrank slightly. For some reason, he subconsciously thought that the student in front of him should have an extremely handsome face...

"Huh..." Shidou exhaled, forcibly suppressing the throbbing in his heart---

"It's okay..." Shidou smiled slightly awkwardly at the classmate in front of him.

"Oh." The classmate shrugged and turned away.

"…What's wrong with me?" Shidou muttered to himself, raised his hand and slapped his face twice.

Then, he turned his gaze to the seat on his left. It was an empty seat, and it belonged to Tobiichi Origami...

"Haven't you come yet? Wait a little longer..." Shidou whispered again---

However, after waiting for a while, Origami still didn't come to school.

"Hmm..." At this moment, Tohka suddenly made a bitter face.

"Hmm? Tohka, what's wrong with you?"

"Hmm... I feel like something is missing... It's a strange feeling. When I think about it my heart started to hurt."

"…Is there something missing?" Hearing what Tohka said, Shidou's eyes moved slightly. But before Shidou asked Tohka back, the school bell rang around.

The door of the classroom opened immediately, and a petite woman wearing glasses walked in holding a roll call book. She was the teacher of Shidou's class, Ms. Okamine Tamae, commonly known as Tama.

Shidou put his eyes on Teacher Tamae's face, a little absent-minded---

"Shiodu-san? Is there something on my face?"

"...!Ah, no, no." Tamae asked Shidou with a puzzled look, and Shidou answered her in a panic.

Tamae cleared her throat and started calling the names. Shidou's name was near the front, so he was called quickly.

"Shidou-san."

"arrive!"

Shidou immediately responded to the teacher's call and looked towards the still empty seat on the left.

Shidou cast his eyes back to the row in front of him, shook his head, trying not to think about that, and then he turned his head again to look at Origami's position---

"The class meeting has already started, but Origami still hasn't shown up. Is she not coming to school today? Or is she just late on rare occasions?" While Shidou was thinking about this, Tama continued to call out the students' names one after another.

"Okay, Tonomachi-san is here... Next is... Nakahara-san?"

"——Huh?" Hearing the name called by Tsubaki, Shidou couldn't help but let out a surprised sound.

But it's not surprising. If you call the names in alphabetical order of surnames, regardless of gender, the next student after "Tonomachi Hiroto" should be "Tobiichi Origami." Even if you are absent, your name will still be called.

The sound Shidou made seemed to be louder than he imagined. Tama looked at Shidou with a surprised expression.

"Hey, did the teacher call me wrong?"

"That...that..." Shidou stood up on the spot with a "click".

However, Shidou hesitated whether to speak out his inner doubts.

Because one thing instantly flashed through his mind - what happened in the original world, when Origami "transferred" to another school.

However, he couldn't learn anything by keeping silent, so Shidou made up his mind and asked, "Teacher, what happened to Origami?" His heart was pounding.

In the original world, Origami "transferred" to another school because she was poached by DEM Industry. Origami in this world no longer hates elves, so this situation shouldn't apply. Shidou knew it very well, but he still had the thought that Tsubaki might say something he didn't want to hear──

"Hasn't Tobiichi already transferred to another school?"

Tama's answer was completely different from what Shidou expected.

"──Origami...classmate? Who is that?" Tamae said with a stunned expression.

"What──" Shidou opened his eyes wide in shock and looked around.

Because Shidou suddenly stood up and said such words, the whole class focused their attention on him, but... everyone showed a puzzled reaction to the name Shidou said.

"…Origami? What is that, a person's name?"

"Ah..." The classmates started talking to each other. Shidou looked at the classmates one by one, and felt his breathing becoming faster.

No one seemed to be joking. No one knew the girl named Tobiichi Origami.

"...Ahh──So that's how it is──" Shidou took a deep breath and relaxed all the strength in his body, letting his hands hang down limply.

——If you think about it carefully, this is not unimaginable. The possibility of this happening is very high. However, perhaps deep down in Shidou's heart, he does not want to face this possibility.

Since young Origami and her parents survived the fire, it is normal for the family to find a new home to move to. She may still live in another Town, or she may move to another place like the Itsuka family. In this case, there is no guarantee that she will attend the same Raizen High School as Shidou in the original world.

Five years ago, Shidou changed history and successfully prevented the tragedy that had happened from happening again.

But that doesn't mean that all history will change according to what Shidou wants.

All things that exist in the world are connected by an invisible thread.

Based on what Shidou accomplished, the world will inevitably produce phenomena beyond its purpose.

"...Teacher, I'm sorry. I made a mistake. Please continue calling the roll." Shidou said calmly and slumped in his chair.

Seeing Shidou's expression, Tamae cast a worried look at him for a while before continuing to call the roll.

"..." Shidou listened to Tamae's voice calling his name in a daze, staring at the position in front of him without saying a word.

——There shouldn't be any problem. Five years ago, Origami's parents who should have died were saved, and Origami no longer hated the spirits.

Origami must be living happily somewhere in this world. This ending couldn't be better. If you ask for more, you might be punished by God.

To Origami, the original world was abnormal. She, as a girl, must live in a gentler world, and must grow up to be a girl who is loved by more parents. That's right. That's enough.

The world──should be like this Origami should have a happy ending. Shidou let out a long breath and quietly looked at the back of the boy in front of him. For no reason, he feels like he isn't the person that changes the world someone else did it.

"Tohka?"

At this moment, Shidou voice suddenly came his tone contained doubts but also contained worry about Tohka.

"Um...what is it, Shidou?"

"What's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell...?"

"Eh...?" After hearing Shidou say that, Tohka realized that

——Tears were dripping down her cheeks onto the desk.

"Ah... Tohka wiped her tears with the sleeve of her uniform and replied to Shidou: "I'm fine."

Seeing Tohka like this, Shidou frowned, but perhaps he thought that since Tohka said that she was fine, it would not be a good idea to ask further, so he did not say.

"Why..." -- Why am I crying? Did I... forget something important?" Tohka muttered to herself.