Side Story – Feeling My Age, So I Decide to Poke In

The preliminary research was done using the terminal.

Lounging in my usual poorly constructed room, I glanced out the window and noticed the sun had long since set. I'd left the Hitaka residence quite a while ago.

Shirasagi Park might be a small amusement park, but thanks to steady efforts, it apparently sees decent crowds on weekends.

I figured it would be smart to pinpoint which rides Youta likes ahead of time.

With that, the checklist was complete.

As a break, I did what had become routine by now—checked Youta's corruption rate.

Currently: 43%.

…For some reason, it had dropped significantly.

Could it be the influence of his family?

Maybe something happened while he was out with Hoshiko.

Either way, it was clear he was making progress.

Even after updating the data file with the new corruption rate, I still had time to kill.

Come to think of it, she mentioned something about a regular report.

Might as well let Reona know.

I pulled out my terminal and selected her number.

◆

"Now this is rare—you calling me?"

That’s the first thing out of my mouth.

The publishing company I work for is neck-deep in a deadline rush. We’re smack in the middle of a glorious death march.

I’d just started a break and was ready to hang up on whoever it was, depending on the caller.

But the name flashing on my screen was unexpected.

Amurta—Haruto.

Curiosity got the better of me, so I answered.

"You were the one who insisted I make regular reports, Leonia."

"Idiot. You're always the one telling me not to use real names. …Is this your idea of payback?"

Even though I was the only one in the office right now, you never know who might be listening.

We do have the power to alter perception, but it’s not as strong as a Sacred Beast’s.

If someone has enough suspicion, they can see through our disguise. And if that happens, we’ll be hunted across the world.

The idea that a journalist investigating “Legion Brigade” turned out to be a high-ranking member of that very group? Not exactly a funny punchline.

Honestly, the only reason I got hired here was because they valued the knowledge I “happened” to have.

After the organization fell, I played the role of a freelance writer and leaked just enough intel to get scouted.

"…Maybe I’m just feeling elated."

I meant it as a jab, but Haruto’s response caught me off guard.

In other words—

"You pulled it off, huh?"

"Yeah. We’re moving to phase two this week."

Ever the straight-laced type, he explained it to me.

An amusement park date, huh? So youthful.

—Not that I’m old or anything.

But still, the woman reflected in the glass looked pretty worn out.

I thought being a career woman might be interesting, but there’s only so much makeup can hide when you’re this exhausted.

I don’t want to believe that’s really me. Honestly, the workload in this world is worse than any evil organization.

It’s basically just a hobby at this point… Maybe I should just quit.

If I sold off the Legion Brigade’s tech, I could live out the rest of my life without ever working again.

That’s how advanced that world was—no, used to be.

Haruto seems to be scraping by doing just that, though he keeps it contained to things that won’t affect this world too much.

Still, the more I listened to Haruto talk, the more something started nagging at me.

"Say, can I ask you something?"

"…What?"

"Are you trying to turn Luna back into that Youta kid? Or are you trying to get him?"

I know it sounds like I’m just teasing a kid in the middle of his first romance, but this is serious.

Inviting him to a meal, taking him to an amusement park—does he want a boyfriend or something?

And on top of that, it’s a tour of nostalgic locations?

They’re still a man and a woman, after all.

"Of course I want to turn him back into Youta. What are you talking about?"

"…Jeez."

I sighed.

Haruto has always been emotionally tone-deaf because of how he was born.

Spending over a year with Luna helped a little, but when it comes to matters of the heart, he’s probably less aware than a grade schooler in this world.

But I guess I can’t blame him.

Haruto—Amurta—is a clone of a certain individual.

He was supposed to be nothing more than spare parts. But somehow, he developed self-awareness and became his own person. From there, he quickly rose through the ranks to become an executive.

He doesn’t even know what his parents looked like. He has no concept of family.

Because he never had one to begin with.

Still—while his lack of common sense is a flaw—he’s brilliant.

If it came down to a fight between me and him, I’d lose all ten out of ten times. Maybe with Kongou backing me up, we could hold our own.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been chosen to infiltrate as Silver Witch, the legendary magical girl of the Shirogane Division.

"Didn’t you say you were going back to your world?"

"…Yeah. Once Youta’s back to normal."

How diligent of him.

There’s nothing left in that world.

They advanced their science too far and triggered their own downfall. The planet itself is drained of life.

By now, it’s probably nothing but a wasteland.

That’s why a small group of survivors became the Legion Brigade—to search for energy that could revive their planet.

Otherwise, no one would take such a high risk as interdimensional invasion.

But that was all a lie spun by Savalos.

He said he wanted to save the planet, but really, he was just after the power to control all dimensions—the “Seed of Darkness.”

When we figured that out, we defected and joined forces with Luna to bring him down.

"You do realize what you're trying to do is incredibly cruel… don’t you?"

“—That’s why it has to be after we turn Youta back.”

I let out a sigh before I can stop myself.

In Haruto’s mind, once that Youta kid is turned back into a guy, things with his family will smooth over.
He’ll make up with the friends he drifted apart from.
He’ll get together with the girl he originally liked and ride off into a happy ending.

That’s the script, apparently.
And then—that kid won’t need me anymore… or so he thinks.

Honestly, I don’t know much about Youta.

But even I can tell that while things might work out with family, friends are a different story. It’s just not happening.
You can’t just ignore a broken bond and pretend everything’s fine.

From what the investigators reported, some girl in his class already has it out for him, hostility plain as day.

Even if he remembers everything on his own, there’s no way there won’t be lingering resentment. And even if, by some miracle, things do get patched up, it’d take time. He’d definitely need someone to lean on till then.

Planning to leave him, yet ending up as his support—how’s that supposed to work?
And on top of that, he still wants to turn him back into a guy.

…Not that I’d say it out loud.

He’s young. Let him struggle and figure it out himself.
Well, depending on how things go, I might help clean up the mess.

“—Are you listening?”

…Crap. Got lost in thought.

“More or less.”

“Then I’m hanging up.”

“Wait, hey. You really need to stop dumping everything on your subordinates. Those kids have lives too, you know.”

“…Yeah, I know.”

Haruto answered curtly and ended the call.

…Maybe because I’m a former executive, I get asked for advice a lot—especially from women who used to be part of the organization—but this time was just too much.

‘Amurta-sama was seen with some unfamiliar woman!’ Like some crazed fan or something.
Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. The guy was a rising star while still young.

But before I knew it, they started saying stuff like ‘That side of Amurta-sama is totally valid too!’
And even worse, ‘Honestly, he doesn’t seem reliable. He’s fine to look at, but no way I’d date him.’ Just brutally honest.

I seriously can’t keep up with them.

Sigh…

Just talking to them is exhausting.
I came here to take a break, and now I feel even more drained. Must’ve gotten hit by all that youthful energy.

…Guess I’ll just head back to work.