EXTRA CHAPTER — The Salvation Arc

"Now then. Before we organize the situation, there's something we need to confirm."

Our triumphant return after defeating the god of calamity was anything but refreshing.

Fantasia High School, with dawn approaching, was quieter than usual.

The Bluffers gathered here had all done their part to clear a path toward the Calamity God. By now, they were probably resting their exhausted bodies.

A heavy atmosphere filled the silent room.

Even so, I had to ask.

"Do you want to stop Kanon? Or do you intend to wait for her salvation?"

No one answered immediately.

Victoria, who had suffered severe injuries, and Hibari, who had been completely out of strength for quite some time, had already been taken to the infirmary.

Those remaining were the three members of the Fox Squad standing on exhausted legs, the four remaining members of the Sugar Squad, and the protagonist himself.

We hadn't reported the matter concerning Kanon to anyone yet.

I planned to carefully make the report to the adults myself.

For now, we needed to organize the situation and get some idea of how we should respond.

To do that, the first thing I needed was to confirm what they wanted.

"...Is it really possible? To remake the world with the power of the Bluffers."

Hadzuki was the first to speak.

She had probably taken numerous attacks while fighting on the front lines, but she was still standing tall.

Her sharp eyes, as keen as a drawn sword, were fixed on me.

"Normally, I'd say it's impossible. But Kanon is an Ascension Flyout survivor who broke through her own limiter. Honestly, we have no idea how much power she possesses. It wouldn't surprise me if she could do just about anything."

Within the realm of imagination, human potential was limitless. Bluffers──those who turned the power of imagination into reality──could theoretically do anything.

If they stopped caring about their limiters, and if they could continue living even after going insane, perhaps there really was nothing they couldn't do.

The game I knew had never mentioned that possibility.

There were only two known fates for those who underwent Ascension: returning to sanity or dying. Beyond that, I knew nothing.

"...I see. If even Raika doesn't know, then I suppose nobody does."

After saying that, she thought for a moment before continuing.

"Still. It would be a lie to say that I don't find the idea of a 'world without lies' appealing."

She was probably still trying to organize her thoughts. After that, Hadzuki fell silent, her expression troubled.

Considering that she valued purity and honesty, I couldn't say I didn't understand why she'd feel that way.

I said nothing.

The next person to speak in the increasingly heavy atmosphere was Mana.

"Raika. I've organized my thoughts about what Kanon said. It might help us make sense of the situation, so may I share them?"

"Yeah. Go ahead."

To be honest, I was confused myself.

Mana's ability to remain calm even at times like this was genuinely reassuring.

"Creating a 'world without lies' by bringing all of humanity to enlightenment. The logic itself seems sound. Humans who have eliminated desire would no longer engage in social behavior as we know it. If there were no competition, vanity, or romance, there would be little reason to lie."

On this point, at least, she seemed to share my assessment.

"However, I don't think it can be dismissed so simply. From the way Kanon spoke, it seems she has also anticipated people resisting the remaking of the world. For her alone to bring down the current social order would require an enormous amount of effort. And I find it extremely unlikely that the ruling classes who maintain that social order would simply choose to abandon their worldly desires."

For people who were satisfied with their lives, the most important thing was preserving the status quo.

Dressed in an expensive suit, sitting in a plush executive chair while working, chatting with their family, drinking expensive liquor.

Anyone capable of throwing away such a life could probably be called a saint.

"The militaries of various countries have been severely weakened fighting 'Invasion of Fiction.' But I don't think they'd be at a disadvantage against individual Bluffers. Unlike 'Invasion of Fiction,' conventional weapons are effective against Bluffers. Machine guns, cruise missiles, even poison gas could all be deployed. I don't think Kanon could possibly prepare countermeasures against all of them."

A practical assessment, just as I'd expect from Mana.

The reason we Bluffers were sent to the front lines was simply because we were the only effective means of attacking "Invasion of Fiction."

In a contest of strength or endurance, it was only natural that militaries consisting largely of adult men would have the advantage.

"Based on all of that, I believe that even if Kanon attempts the salvation she described, she will ultimately fail... though this is only speculation, since we don't know the extent of Kanon's abilities."

With that, she fell silent.

Even though Mana had reached a conclusion, she didn't seem confident that her answer was correct.

She still couldn't shake the concern that Kanon's power might exceed anything we could imagine.

"Then, may I speak about Kanon?"

The one who spoke was Shinken Seika of the Sugar Squad.

She was a girl wearing shrine maiden clothes, giving off a refined and pure impression. Her black hair was cut straight across, and her dark eyes were slightly narrow.

In battle, she skillfully wielded an Azusayumi bow.

Like a daughter of a shrine should, she was a girl who took pride in being a shrine maiden.

"You Fox Squad members haven't had much time to interact with Kanon. I attended the same West School as Kanon. If you want to understand her, I think you need to know at least a little about what kind of person she is. ...Besides, I want you to know. I want you to know what kind of path she walked to get here. How she came to be where she is now."

Everyone in the Fox Squad silently nodded.

They all shared the same lack of knowledge about her.

Our gazes gathered on Seika.

"──The description 'saint-like' is probably the most fitting way to describe who she is now. She became obsessed with helping people, to the point that she neglected everything else. She fought on the front lines as a Bluffer, and at school she listened to the troubles of various Bluffers. ──But she wasn't always someone who worked herself to the point of obsession like that."

Her words sounded nostalgic, as though she were remembering the past.

Unable to casually interrupt, we remained silent and urged her to continue.

"The cause of her change was undoubtedly that incident. Three months ago, an incident occurred in which every member of Kanon's squad except her was killed."

She said the details were unknown.

While exploring the Ancient City, the squad was attacked by an unconfirmed "Invasion of Fiction."

The squad was wiped out in a surprise attack, and Kanon, the sole survivor, defeated the enemy after a difficult battle.

Since there had been no witnesses, there was no information about what had actually happened beyond Kanon's testimony.

"We were worried about Kanon's mental state. Someone who was already obsessively devoted to saving others had gone through something so horrific. We wondered how badly it would affect her. ...But she was disturbingly normal."

There was no way we could have been reassured by that.

She smiled calmly as usual and worked diligently as usual. That was precisely what made it so abnormal.

"From that point on, she became even more obsessed with saving people. She volunteered to hunt down 'Invasion of Fiction' that appeared in residential areas, ventured deep into the Ancient City, and achieved more results than anyone else. We were all worried about her, but Kanon simply said, 'I've found my purpose,' and continued putting herself in increasingly harsh situations."

There was a sense of helplessness in Seika's eyes──the helplessness of someone who had been unable to do anything.

"Perhaps I should have spoken to her properly. But no one knew what was really going on inside her. Everyone from her original squad who had been close to her had died in that incident."

"..."

The bonds between Bluffers within a squad were strong.

They entrusted each other with their lives and fought together, after all. It was only natural.

"...Didn't the Anchor from West School talk to Kanon?"

The person who asked quietly was Shota.

"The Anchor who originally worked with Kanon died during the incident. It seems the Anchor of her new squad was unable to form much of a connection with Kanon. Kanon herself had never wanted to show anyone what was inside her, to begin with."

Not every Anchor was capable of truly connecting with their Bluffer.

Building a relationship with an adolescent girl was difficult enough as it was. He was doing a fairly good job as an Anchor.

"By then, there was no one left who truly knew Kanon. So I wasn't all that surprised when she took action like this. I was surprised, however, that Kanon explicitly said, 'I'll kill you if you get in my way.' ...Whatever else may be true, she was never someone who believed it was acceptable to hurt people."

As though to indicate that she'd said everything she needed to say, Seika closed her mouth.

For the first time, I thought about Kanon's history as I'd heard it.

I had simply assumed that Kanon, who hadn't been here, was living happily somewhere beyond my knowledge.

But she'd never walked a path that could be called happy.

I didn't know whether Kanon's suffering was somehow my fault as an irregularity.

Perhaps, in the original story, dying at the hands of the "Formless God" had actually been the happiest ending she could have had. For someone whose mission was to save people, perhaps that had been the best possible ending.

Meaningless what-ifs went around and around in my head.

Trying to judge whether someone's life had been good or bad was a pointless endeavor. But as someone who possessed knowledge of the original story, as someone who had broken the existing storyline, I couldn't help but think about it.

"Hey, what do you think?"

It was probably because my heart had been shaken.

Without saying anything specific, I'd ended up asking him a vague question. This kind of uncertainty wasn't like me at all.

He looked at me with mild surprise, then after a moment, he began to speak.

"I don't think I can believe everything Kanon says. Even if she says she'll lead everyone to enlightenment, I just can't really imagine a world where people don't lie."

He seemed skeptical of the ideal Kanon had proclaimed.

"Besides, I think Kanon should talk things through with us more. I want to have more conversations with her. I want to understand her, even if only a little. I might not be able to fully understand her way of thinking, since I'm just an ordinary person, but even so, I don't want to give up on talking to her."

Those were words befitting someone who had sincerely faced the hearts of Bluffers all this time.

The sight of him speaking so confidently felt strangely dazzling to me.

"Besides, I don't think I'm particularly attracted to a 'world without lies.' ──Because wouldn't it be lonely if I could never hear Raika's lies again?"

"............"

For a moment, my mind went completely blank.

I tried to come up with some suitably sarcastic remark, but no words came out.

A different kind of silence descended upon the room.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Hadzuki clutched her head and spoke.

"Shota... Raika froze up. Do something and get her working again."

"Huh? How!?"

A hand waved back and forth in front of my face.

"Raika? Hellooo, Raika!"

"──Well, we've heard everyone's opinions."

"Oh, she's suddenly back."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mana staring at us with an utterly unimpressed look.

It didn't exactly feel like the right atmosphere for a serious discussion anymore.

For now, I decided to wrap things up.

"Well, now that I have a general idea of everyone's values, I suppose we should get some rest. I'll compile the report and submit it tomorrow."