Chapter 61…
To Run or Not to Run
Leave Me Alone
I ran through the residential area still wearing my Star Armor.
Normally, I don’t like to move around in this form unless I’m fighting, but this time was different.
A gigantic scorpion had appeared—and then vanished somewhere.
Leaving a divine conceptual being on the loose was an extremely bad situation.
However, it shouldn’t have gone far yet.
I focused on the faint traces of star energy it had left behind to search for its location.
That thing was most likely the conceptual being of Scorpius—
a manifestation of concentrated star power taking form.
But why did a conceptual being of one of the twelve constellations, Scorpius, appear now?
What was its goal?
No, before that—there’s still so much I don’t understand about these constellation concepts.
Maybe I can learn something from this incident…
While I was deep in thought and moving along, I suddenly heard a scream again.
Judging by the volume, it wasn’t far away.
Thinking that, I dashed toward the direction of the scream.
I’d already been aware of the stares since leaving the high school,
but at this point, I couldn’t care less.
Turning a corner in the alley, I finally found the scene I was looking for.
A blonde girl wearing the Seibou High School uniform was being attacked by the Scorpius conceptual being.
Its tail was just about to strike down on her again.
I kicked off the ground and leapt forward, passing by the side of Scorpius.
Landing between it and the girl, I grabbed its tail to stop the attack.
But my stance was poor, and the tail’s tip brushed against my right arm.
A deep crimson stain began to spread across my Star Armor.
I quickly cast an anti-toxin spell—without chanting.
Getting poisoned and ending up in danger again was the last thing I wanted.
I needed to finish this thing quickly.
I began to weave words for a powerful spell.
“O fire, symbol of human civilization—grant me your mighty power!
Become a flame that burns even the raging Scorpion’s star!”
Flames roared to life from both my hands.
Since I was holding Scorpius’s tail, the flames naturally turned on it.
The crimson stain and the flames mixed together—it was hard to tell which was poison and which was fire.
Even though it was a conceptual being, it seemed to feel the heat.
It thrashed violently, swinging its tail left, right, up, and down in an effort to shake me off.
I could have just let go,
but using large-scale magic in a residential area was out of the question.
So I held on tightly and continued to burn the tail.
My body swung through the air as the tail whipped around.
I could hear the sound of the wind cutting past, feel it brushing against my armor.
But I didn’t let go.
Once the power sustaining Scorpius ran out, victory would be mine.
After several dozen seconds of holding on,
the tail suddenly whipped hard from head to rear.
The force was too strong—I lost my grip.
My body was flung away by centrifugal force, rolling across the ground.
…Damn it.
I had expected to be thrown, but not backward like this.
I scrambled to my feet, but now Scorpius was between me and the girl.
At this rate, she was in danger.
…Should I risk aiming a spell at its legs?
But just as I thought that,
Scorpius began to glow crimson—and melted into the ground, vanishing completely.
Silence returned to the neighborhood.
I couldn’t feel its star energy anymore.
…Looks like it escaped completely.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, my Star Armor faded away.
Using the anti-toxin spell must have drained the last of my star power.
Well, the battle’s over anyway, so it’s fine.
Though my right arm still aches a bit.
I’ll deal with that later.
For now, I walked toward the girl.
The blonde girl was already standing.
Actually… I felt like I’d seen her before.
“Are you hurt—”
“…Why did you save me?”
I almost blurted out “Huh?” but stopped myself.
It’s not like I did it for thanks.
But when you ask about someone’s injuries and they snap at you,
you can’t help but think “What?”
I was about to say “Would you have preferred I didn’t?”
when a loud voice called my name from behind.
Seems the others had caught up.
“Finally caught up—oh, it’s already over…”
“Masato, you okay—wait, Sayama?”
“Hirahara…? What, you’re with him too?”
Hearing the name “Sayama,” I finally remembered.
The blonde girl was Suzuho Sayama—
the one who came to call Shiro during the sports festival.
Seibou Academy doesn’t technically ban dyed hair,
but hardly anyone actually does it.
That’s why her blonde hair had stood out.
…So she was the one Yui tried to stop from fighting earlier.
As I traced back my memories in silence, Sayama turned on me.
“So? Why did you save me?”
“…I didn’t save you. I saved someone who was being attacked by a monster.
What, did you not want to be saved?”
Sayama didn’t reply.
Instead, Yui snapped, “Why are you being so hostile!?”
I just said, “I’m only stating facts.”
I wasn’t trying to pick a fight.
If anyone was, it was her.
After several seconds of silence, Sayama finally muttered,
“…I never asked to be saved.”
Shiro shot back immediately.
“Come on, Sayama, you were about to die! That’s not something you just say!”
“Doesn’t matter. Dying would’ve been better.”
“What are you saying!?”
Yui’s voice echoed through the neighborhood.
“Dying would’ve been better,” huh.
Hearing that, I spoke without thinking.
“…If you really wanted to die, you’d choose something certain—like jumping off a building or hanging yourself.
Why rely on being killed by a monster, something uncertain?”
“Masato, what the hell are you saying!?”
“If you don’t choose those, maybe it’s because you’re afraid to die.”
“Shut up! Just leave me alone!”
Sayama’s anguished scream rang through the residential streets.
I could feel her anger—
but at its core, I sensed a different kind of flame burning.
And I couldn’t suppress my own anger either.
“Fine. Do whatever you want.
I don’t care what happens to you.
But if someone’s being attacked by a monster, I’ll save them—
no matter who they are, even if they’re someone who says they want to die.
Besides, you don’t actually want to die, do you?
You’re just sick of everything, that’s all.”
“Shut up!!! What do you know about me!?”
Sayama shouted, then ran off.
Her angry back disappeared around the corner.
…If she’s being targeted by Scorpius,
are we going to have this kind of exchange every time?
As I sighed at the thought,
I suddenly felt pain on the back of my head and shoulders.
When I turned around, Yui and Shiro were glaring at me furiously.
Without pause, Yui yelled, “What were you thinking!?”
“What do you mean?”
“Sayama’s words were bad, sure, but what you said was awful too!”
“Huh?”
“You don’t tell a suicidal person something like that!”
Hanayama, who had caught up behind them, joined in.
…Did they not hear what I said after that?
I sighed and decided to explain.
“Like I said, Sayama Suzuho—or whatever her name was—
she doesn’t actually want to die.”
“‘Huh?’”
“Her eyes weren’t the eyes of someone ready to die.
They were the eyes of someone who still hasn’t given up.
She won’t kill herself.”
If she really wanted to die, she wouldn’t have run away from the monster.
Running away means she still wants to live.
Besides, I’ve met people far more broken,
people who had truly given up on life.
Compared to them, Sayama still has ties keeping her here.
Yui, however, wasn’t convinced.
“No, you can’t know that just by looking!” she protested.
…There’s no point arguing this.
I sighed again and said quietly,
“Every person born into this world has some kind of purpose—great or small.
And until that purpose is fulfilled, you can’t die, even if you want to.
You’ll keep on living, no matter how much you wish you hadn’t survived that day.”
“…What kind of logic is that? That’s just hindsight.
If something happens to Sayama now, it’ll be your fault, you know!”
Even Shiro was saying that now.
I let out a faint laugh. “She won’t die.”
“How can you say that so confidently…?
Anyway, I’m going after her.”
“I’ll go too.”
“Do what you want. I’ve got something to take care of.”
They kept complaining as I turned away.
Ignoring them, I started walking home—
—my right arm still tingling faintly.
