Please Tell Me How to Remember Love - Chapter 3 Part 6

Chapter 3 Part 6

It was a coincidence that Aoi managed to notice it.

“Huh? Aoi, isn’t that the middle schooler who used to follow Satou-kun around? I haven’t been seeing her for the last few days, so I thought she stopped, but is she starting to follow him around again?”
“What?”

A few days after Takayuki and Karin’s meeting at the cemetery.

When Aoi was leaving the school with her friends, this anomaly happened. Karin, who had no more reason to be around them, was hanging around the school gate restlessly.

“Sorry, you guys, you should go ahead.”

Once she noticed this, she couldn’t ignore it.

After saying some quick words to her friends, she dashed toward Karin’s direction.

“Kuramori-san?”

“Hyah!”

When Aoi called out to her, she let out an unusually high-pitched voice. It seemed like she was so absorbed into her thoughts that she didn’t even notice Aoi approaching her.

“M-Miyama-san…”

“What’s wrong? You have an unusual expression on your face. Like a housekeeper stumbling across the homeowner having an affair.”

“W-Well…”

“So, what’s wrong? It’s great that you became more expressive, but if you don’t clearly say what’s going on, people will misunderstand.”

After being prompted by Aoi, Karin let her gaze wander for a bit before resolving herself to answer.

“Miyama-san, Reina-san went to meet with Satou-san. Do you know something about this?”

“…Huh?”

Aoi tilted her head after hearing Karin’s words. Takayuki didn’t tell her about this. Well, he didn’t have any obligation to tell her about anything in the first place, but even so, an uncertain feeling rose in Aoi’s heart.

“From your reaction, it seems like you don’t know. This morning, Reina-san seemed unusually restless, so I asked her about it. She didn’t seem to plan to tell me anything, but in the end, she told me that she wanted him to guide her to her old school. Since the whole thing sounded suspicious, I secretly followed her and ended up here…”

“I haven’t heard about any of this…”

Aoi said in an discouraged voice.

Unamused, she sulkily pouted and began to complain in her heart over the fact that if it was Reina, she wouldn’t need a guide as she could just get into the school unnoticed. That was when she realized something.

“Strange. If that’s all they’re doing, then there’s no reason for him to hide this from me since I can recognize Himuro-san too. While it’s true that he has no obligation to tell me anything, he should still do it anyway to prevent me from misunderstanding his intentions…”

“M-Miyama-san, calm down… Reina-san is pretty and it’s normal to be worried in a situation like this, but she is a sensible person, she won’t do anything weird!”

Aoi muttered her thoughts out loud as Karin tried to calm her down. Her muttering didn’t express the real reason why she was worried, though. While it was true that she didn’t like this development, her instinct was screaming at her that something was wrong. Recently, Takayuki had been asking Aoi about her plans and earlier today, he even reported his schedule to him unprompted, telling her that he would be hanging out with Minoru, but it seemed like his report was a false one.

And above all, Yui’s words about how Takayuki was hiding something from her still haunted Aoi.

“Kuramori-san, if you don’t mind, would you like to check up on them with me?”

And so, Aoi decided on a simple way to confirm everything. Going to their secret meeting place and confronting them directly.

“Eh, is that okay? I-I mean, I’m wearing another school’s uniform…”

“You don’t need to worry about it. I have a lot of friends here, so they won’t think of anything if they were to see you with me. Even if they stop us and ask, I should be able to pull one over them. It’ll be troublesome if a teacher were to find out, but that’s still manageable. As long as you can walk straight and smile proudly, we should be fine.”

“Smile proudly… I’ll do my best…”

And so, Aoi and Karin went back to school to look for their partners. If nothing ended up happening and both of them were just needlessly worrying, then they could just bow their heads and apologize.

But, Aoi knew that it was just wishful thinking.

*   *   *

Takayuki and Reina’s secret agreement had started a long time ago.

It began back when they first discussed a way to help Rinko with her love life. Back then, after Takayuki left in a bad mood and everyone broke up the meeting, he went to meet up Reina at a certain family restaurant.

Reina used ‘Hiiragi Sojiro’s will’ as bait for Takayuki to bite. She texted the bait to him when he went to use the restroom at the coffee shop. After that, Takayuki became upset and he didn’t even need to fake his bad mood to trigger the reason for everyone’s breaking up the meeting.

Because of this, he had already known Karin’s identity long before she revealed herself to him back at the cemetery. And of course, he had already known about his grandfather’s will.

“Thank you, Takayuki-kun, for facing Rin-chan properly. Thanks to you, she’ll be released from her guilt.”

“You don’t need to thank me. I mercilessly rejected her plea for my own selfish reason.”

Both of them were currently inside an unused classroom.

The sunlight lit up the classroom, as the tiny dust inside reflected its light. No one was there except for the two of them. Takayuki chose this place because it was a distance away from the other students who were busy with their club activities. He managed to get the key from a teacher who owed him a favor, Iwanaga Shuzou. While he seemed to be a stubborn teacher that prioritized discipline above all else, he was actually someone who put his ego over everything else. That was why it wasn’t difficult for Takayuki to get the key under the guise of ‘cleaning the old classroom.’

“I wonder about that. If you were as terrible of a person as you suggested, you wouldn’t even think about going to the cemetery to meet her to begin with.”

“Nah, I just went because I don’t want Miyama to see me in a bad light. I don’t think I did something that qualifies me as a good person back then.”

Reina with her cheerful smile and Takayuki with his blunt responses. Both of them were facing each other. All the chairs and desks were at the back of the classroom, so there was nothing standing in between them.

“More importantly, are you sure this is the right place?”

An empty classroom where no one could find you. A quiet place to see the sky being painted in an orange hue. This was the place that Reina chose, the place for her to spend her last moment in her life.

“Yes. This place has changed, but it feels good to be dying in a place filled with good memories, don’t you think so? That’s why, Takayuki-kun. Can you please use your ability on me?”

Yes. Reina had chosen to end her love and as an extension, her immortality.

The agreement between the two of them was simple. In exchange for Reina providing information about Karin to Takayuki, the latter would use his ability to eat her love away. She wanted to use his ability to erase her long-lived regret.

“I still can’t erase this regret even after all those years have passed…”

“…While I don’t mind using my ability on you, not telling Kuramori about this matter is a little… I don’t know, I still feel that it’s inappropriate.”

“Hehehe, says the person who didn’t tell Miyama-san about this matter.”

Takayuki let out a frown after Reina pointed that out. He was about to retort, but Reina’s fleeting smile made him clench his lips shut.

“I’m sorry, that was mean of me to say. Compared to yours, my reason is pathetic. I’m just a weakling who’s too afraid to say goodbye to Rin-chan. But, I need to do this. I don’t want to back down at the last moment and say that ‘I want to live with Rin-chan for a while longer…’”

“Have you at least given her a note? Don’t tell me you haven’t left her with anything.”

“Yeah, I left a whole notebook filled with my words to her.”

“Don’t you think that’s too much?”

In the quiet classroom, only their conversation could be heard.

“I guess so. Anyway, if Rin-chan failed to find the note, can you bring it to her? I’ve sent you a text with a picture of it and its location.”

“Sure sure.”

“…And, if she ended up holding a grudge on you over this, please forgive me.”

“It’s fine. It’s part of our deal anyway.”

As their conversation died down, they knew that it was time for them to end everything.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

To Takayuki’s straight question, Reina smiled and replied.

“Right… I’ve lived for a long time, but I still have a lot of regrets. All the time, I thought about all the things that I missed and ended up feeling remorseful and sad about it. It’s pathetic. Also, I’m really scared of dying…”

Her lips trembled, but she tried to act like usual.

At her words, Takayuki closed his eyes before making a frown. Donning his mask as a ‘monster,’ he reached out his hand to use his ability.

“You don’t need to worry. I’ll eat your unfulfilled love. It’s as easy as taking candy from a baby. Now, rest in peace…”

As his fingertip was about to touch Reina’s forehead.

“Wait!”

His movement was stopped by a word of restraint he didn’t expect.

Immediately after, he turned his face around to see, only to be stopped by something that rammed into his face with a great force.

“Mngh!”

It was a school bag. A familiar one at that. The force that the bag carried made him lose his footing. Without missing this opportunity, a figure jumped out from outside the classroom to tackle him.

“Oi– Mmph!”

Without hesitation, the one who tackled him pinned him down and pressed his mouth with their hands. Now, not only was he unable to move and speak, he was also unable to retaliate with force.

“Satou-kun, I’m really angry right now, so be quiet, or else I won’t be able to hold myself back against you. We’ll have a talk later, okay?”

Because the one who pushed him down was Aoi, who was wearing her beautiful smile.

It was at this moment that he realized that his plan had failed. ‘How did she find out about it? How much did she know? How could she figure out that we’re here? Was it a blunder to not lock the door from inside? But then again, if I locked it and a teacher passed by, it would be hard to explain myself to them.’ Such thoughts appeared in his mind.

Eventually, he gave up. He chose to stay quiet in this situation, knowing that even if he were to do something here, he’d still end up as the villain due to the agreement he had with Reina.

“Rei-Onee-chan! Why…why did you do this to me?!”

And above all, he didn’t want to interrupt the moment between the crying Karin and Reina.

*   *   *

Karin knew. She knew what kind of condition needed to be fulfilled so Reina could be released from the witch’s contract. In the past, she asked her about this matter a lot, so she managed to figure it out by herself. And she also managed to figure out that if Reina’s unresolved feelings…her love were to disappear, she would cease to exist.

Karin knew. Nothing lasts forever. Even if Reina was an immortal being, there would come a day where they’d have to part ways. That was why she wanted to stay by her side for as long as possible until that day finally came.

“Reina-Onee-chan, do you hate me?”

However, there was something that Karin didn’t know. It was the reason why Reina was looking for the love-eating monster.

“No, of course that’s not the case, Rin-chan…”

So, Reina spoke to her, like a mother caring for her child who was clinging to her like glue.

“I don’t hate you. Rather, I love you…and that’s why I have to part ways with you now…”

“But…why?”

She told Karin, who had long dropped her mature facade, the secret that she had been hiding from her.

“Soon enough, the common sense of this world will erase me from existence. I’ll be gone, not leaving anything behind, not even any memories of me.”

The hopeless truth that she couldn’t exist forever as she was someone who wasn’t supposed to exist.

“You know about my ability don’t you, Rin-chan? It isn’t an ability that lets me live forever, rather, it only postpones my death until I get rid of my unfulfilled desires. That’s why, if I cling to this life indefinitely, the world will punish me, chipping away at my existence little by little until one day, no one will be able to remember me and I’ll disappear from this world completely.”

“B-But, if it’s me! I-If it’s us—”

“There’s no exception to the rule. Even if it’s you or Miyama-san, both of you will eventually forget about me, albeit the speed of it is way slower than normal people.”

Karin grabbed Reina’s shoulders as she spoke out the cold truth, trying to deny her words.

“There’s no way! I’ll definitely remember you!”

“Then, let me ask you something. When was the last time you ate my ice cream?”

“Don’t mess with me! Of course I remember that! It was a month ago, right?!”

“You’re wrong, Rin-chan. It was yesterday. I made one for you the day before yesterday too.”

“…Huh?”

But, no matter how hard she tried to deny it, the truth wouldn’t change. Reina gently patted her in the back, trying to comfort her.

“The reason is because you have a lot of precious memories to keep, Rin-chan. Maybe you’re selectively trying to remember the most precious ones so you won’t ever forget about them. But there’s a limit to that. Unless I finally pass away, you’ll keep losing those memories. If one day I disappear, even you will forget about me completely.”

Gently and cheerfully, she tried to hold back her trembling voice as she made a plea.

“Sorry, Rin-chan, but I don’t want that to happen. I don’t want you to forget about me. I want you to remember me. That’s why I have to go now, before I disappear from your mind.”

Karin didn’t know what kind of answer she should say to her plea.

Perhaps, if Karin were to insist on her selfishness, Reina would be tempted to stay until the moment she disappeared. However, in that case, Karin would end up forgetting about her most important family member in this world. Her memory of Reina would disappear into oblivion and she would be unable to get it back. That outcome would be more painful for Reina rather than just letting her pass right now.

Karin knew. She already knew what kind of answer she was supposed to give here.

But, she lacked the courage to say it out loud. She was unable to bear the pain she had to suffer to put her thoughts into proper words. Instead, she lamented how cruel the world was to her, even though she tried her best not to lose someone that she cared so much about.

At that moment, a light ringtone reached her ears, coming in like the light of salvation.

“S-Sorry…”

Hurriedly, she took out her phone and looked at it.

Even if it was spam mail, she didn’t care. As long as she could escape this situation for a while, she’d welcome any kind of text that her phone received.

“…Ah.”

Unbeknownst to her, that mail was a miracle rained down upon her.

The sender of the mail was Kashiki Minoru. The subject of the mail was ‘progress report.’ Attached to the mail was a certain painting that was in the middle of being colored. Nothing could describe this situation better than a miracle.

It was the proof of Himuro Reina’s existence.

And this is when Karin learned, though the world was cruel and the truth was cold, miraculous coincidences existed.

“A..hahaha… I knew it… Rei-Onee-chan… Minoru-Onii-chan is awesome, isn’t he?”

“…Yes, yes he is…”

When Karin showed her the picture, Reina looked into her eyes, smiled and nodded.

She wasn’t alone. Ever since she lived with Reina, she had never been alone. This fact gave her courage.

“It would be a shame if this painting never got finished.”

But, she still felt embarrassed to say it out loud in front of Reina, hence she used those words as an excuse. She wiped away her tears, averting her gaze and donning her usual facade back to hide her embarrassment.

“That’s why, you should say your goodbye properly before you go, Rei-Onee-chan.”

She believed that one day, when the painting was finished, she would be able to accept this sadness that she felt.

*   *   *

“Now that the problem over there is done, it’s your turn to come up with a good excuse for me, Satou-kun.”

Too bad reality wasn’t as sweet as a drama. While a miraculous coincidence could save someone, there was always someone else who got sacrificed for that.

Case on point was happening with Aoi and Takayuki.

“I understand the reason why you agreed to use your ability, I won’t make a fuss about it. You’re the only one who can help her, so it really can’t be helped. The thing I’m angry about is the fact that you’re making such a big decision without consulting me. I can’t just let that one slide.”

Aoi looked down on Takayuki with a beautiful smile on her face. Although she had already removed her hand from his mouth, enabling him to speak freely, she was still mounting him, leaving him unable to move as he faced her wrath head on.

“I don’t have any excuses to make. She didn’t ask me for help. This was a transaction between the two of us. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

But, even under this circumstance, Takayuki still refused to yield.

“Am I not your partner?”

“Just because you’re my partner doesn’t mean I have to tell you everything.”

“But, I was involved in this case from the very beginning!”
“Even so, there’s no need for you to be next to me when I’m using my ability on Himuro.”

“You heartless man!”

Aoi spoke out in anger, not dropping her smile.

However, Takayuki didn’t waver. He looked calm and detached.

“Oh my, what happened?”

Seeing this exchange, it was Reina who felt troubled. Just a few minutes ago, she managed to face Karin properly and now all she had to do was to let Takayuki use his ability on her. But since those two got into a fight instead, she couldn’t do anything. If she were to come forward and ask them, Aoi wouldn’t be so heartless to not let Takayuki use his power, but it still felt awkward for Reina to actually do that while they were still quarreling. Not to mention that the cause of their quarrel was the agreement that she made with Takayuki.

“Leave this to me, Rei-Onee-chan.”

As Reina was about to open her mouth to mediate between the two, Karin called out to her. Her eyes were still red, but she had already wiped her tears off her cheeks.

“Can you do it, Rin-chan?”

“I can. You don’t need to worry about me, just watch.”

When she saw Karin’s resolute expression, Reina let out a happy smile.

Maybe Karin was just trying to show off to Reina, bluffing so that she could pass on without any regrets, however, her figure as she puffed her chest proudly looked way stronger than back before she wiped her tears away.

“Both of you, stop. I don’t want to see your lovers’ quarrel here.”

““…What?””

Then, Karin began to talk.

Despite herself being younger than them, she interrupted their quarrel without any hesitation.

“First, Miyama-san! I understand your feelings. I know you’re angry because he kept things hidden from you. You know that he’s doing it for your own good, but you just can’t accept it because you think he doesn’t trust you enough, am I correct?”

“T-That’s…”

“If that’s the case then say it clearly! It’s d*mb to expect him to understand your feelings. Just say that you feel sad and lonely when he hides things from you! Say it while you still can so you won’t end up with regrets afterwards!”

She said all those for Aoi’s sake.

Karin experienced far more sadness than Aoi ever did, but she was still able to muster the courage to say what she wanted. In this situation, she was far more mature than Aoi was.

“F-Fine! Yeah, I’m sad and lonely because you didn’t discuss such an important decision with me beforehand, Satou-kun…”

Once Karin finished pointing that out, Aoi could no longer put up her pretense. She broke her smile and told Takayuki her true feelings with a small voice.

Likewise, Takayuki also broke his expressionless face and let out a wry smile.

“As for you, Satou-san. Well, it isn’t like I have the right to speak because this is mostly me and Reina-san’s fault. But, you were being wary of me, weren’t you? In that situation, if you were to let Reina-san pass on, not only would I end up holding a grudge on you, but on Miyama-san as well.”

When she started speaking to Takayuki, Karin let out a bitter face.

“So, you decided to not tell Miyama-san about it. That way, I’d only be holding a grudge on you and you alone. Am I correct?”

“…Rather, I did it because if I were to consult about it to her, there’s a chance that she’d spill the beans to you much earlier than this.”

“That’s a fair concern, but above all…”

Even if it was something painful or embarrassing, it was better to speak it out loud than holding it to yourself.

“You don’t want to involve Miyama-san in this. You’re practically trying to end Reina-san’s life, after all. Unlike you, she hadn’t experienced the pain of seeing someone dying in front of her. That’s why you did all this, am I correct?”

Karin said as she stared right into Takayuki’s eyes.

“After all, you wanted to be a hero for her.”

Her words, which outshone the dazzling sunlight, reached not only Takayuki, but Aoi as well. The latter was puzzled by her words at first, but as she understood their implication, her face reddened for a whole different reason than before.

“Not really…”

But, Takayuki’s bitter expression didn’t change.

“If I were a hero, I wouldn’t be in this situation. I wouldn’t make her sad and I would have done a way better job.”

He forced himself to smile.

“Even so, I have no regrets. If I get the chance to redo it, I’ll do the same thing again. Even if she ended up hating me, I’ll still do it. I don’t want her to carry this kind of heavy burden with her.”

An answer filled with arrogance and pride. Not with love but with ego.

However, his heart was in the right place. He didn’t even bother to hide behind the word ‘hero.’

“…Dummy.”

Aoi struggled in agony for a while before saying that to him. With a bright red face, she squeezed all her emotion in that single word.

“I know I am.”

That was the moment where his usual irreverent smile was back.

“…And you two are supposed to be the older ones here.”

Watching their interaction, Karin let out a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, next to her, Reina was watching those two’s interaction with a sad smile on her face, but Karin failed to notice this.

*   *   *

“When summer comes, you should sleep with the AC on, okay?”

“Okay.”

“If Minoru-kun keeps treating you like a little sister, all hope of dating him would be lost, so you should try to be aggressive enough to give him a surprise kiss, okay?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Whenever you feel sick, seek help immediately. Minoru-kun will help you if you ask him. Then, you can use your illness as an excuse to get closer to him.”

“Oh, jeez, this is your last moment and you’re still nagging about my love life! Don’t you have something more important to say?”

“…Hehehe, I love you, Rin-chan.”

“I know that. I love you too, Rei-Onee-chan. You’re like a real family to me…no, we are even closer than a real family, don’t you think?”

“Yes.”

No tears flowed as they said their final goodbyes.

After they finished their last exchange, Takayuki spoke out.

“Do you have any more regrets?”

“No. No more regrets.”

“Me too. If I regret anything then wouldn’t all this be useless?”

Both of them let out a smile, Reina with her usual gentle smile and Karin with her forced one. Nobody was tactless enough to point the latter’s smile out though. 

And so, the end of the girl called Himuro Reina had come.

“I’m counting on you, Takayuki-kun.”

“Got it.”

No more words needed.

Every word that came out of his mouth would be useless. And so, he extended his hand, touching Reina’s forehead with the tip of his finger.

“Take care, Rin-chan.”

And he invoked his ability, the power to eat love.

Even against another person who had an ability like him, his power worked just fine. It ate up all of the regret, all the feelings that Reina failed to convey for many years. And after the shimmering ‘love’ was completely devoured by Takayuki, the girl named Himuro Reina ceased to exist.

As if everything that just happened was a lie, there were only three people inside the classroom.

Three people and a silver pocket watch, facing against the sunlight.

“It tastes sweet like a melting ice cream, there’s also a sour taste like a lemon. Like an ice cream, the taste melted away and disappeared quickly. It’s the taste of kindness and regret.”

It was Takayuki who broke the silence. As usual, he muttered his thoughts about the taste of the love he had just devoured.

“Her love was foolish, but at the same time, it was pure…”

He added those words as a final touch in a soft tone. His words acted as a final push.

“U-Uuu… Waaaahh….!”

Like a broken dam, Karin’s cry broke out inside the classroom.

She poured her tears, like a heavy rain heralding the start of summer.

She held the silver pocket watch close to her heart, as if she was trying to engrave the memories she had with Reina deep into her heart so they wouldn’t get swept away by her tears.

This time, Kuramori Karin was able to say goodbye to her precious family.

*   *   *

At first, Reina didn’t have a good impression of Karin.

“Who are you? A thief? Trespasser? Whoever you are, if you don’t get out of here quickly, I’ll call the police.”

Even though she was crying just a moment ago, when she saw Reina, she immediately glared at her menacingly. She talked big, but her legs were shaking so much.

She was feeble, like every kid you could find in the world. There was really nothing special about her. Merely someone who believed her fate as a victim and mourned her misfortune without trying to change anything in her life.

Seeing her made Reina almost vomit. After all, the person that she loved died for this kind of person.

But, at the same time, she was the person who Sojiro gave his life for and she didn’t want his efforts to go to waste. She resolved herself to at least make her healthy enough to be able to stand with her own two legs.

Thus, their relationship started. Not from compassion, but a calculated act of kindness to satisfy Reina’s own desires.

That was how it started and that was how it should have ended. But, over time, a warm feeling was born in Reina’s heart.

“Reina-san! Reina-san! I made a friend!”

By the time Karin’s sullen face was replaced by her natural smile, Reina’s heart was already overflowing with warmth. Whenever she saw that smile, she could feel her heart melting.

And it was because of this Reina tried to run away from her on that day. She was afraid that this would turn into her weakness, no it already had turned into her weakness, she was just too afraid to admit it. Using ‘a monster like me can’t stay next to her’ as an excuse, she ran away so that Karin would end up forgetting about her like everyone else did.

However, things didn’t develop the way she wanted to.

“I don’t care if you’re a monster! Rei-Onee-chan is my family! That’s why, please don’t leave me on my own again!”

At that moment, it was already decided that Reina would have this kind of end. By the time she understood the overflowing emotion in her heart, her death was already set in stone.

Rather than dying as a maiden in love, Himuro Reina chose to die as Kuramori Karin’s family.

*   *   *

“Heya, Little Mermaid, Himuro Reina.”

After the long flashback ended, Reina saw the witch right before her eyes.

Looking around a little, she realized that she was inside the same classroom as before, though the sun had already set. Then, came the question, she was supposed to die, but how come she’s still here?

“Ah, I didn’t do anything. You are here because you broke free from our contract and resolved your regrets through the power of love. Let’s say that this is a grace period that the world itself bestowed upon you.”

The witch was carrying an old looking lantern. Its light made the witch’s cat-like smile visible.

“Though, it will end in a few minutes. I figure that it’ll be better if I were to accompany you instead of letting you sit by yourself in the darkness, that’s why I came here.”

“Oh my, is that so? The world is truly tactless, isn’t it?”

“Well, who can blame it. Your case is rare, people couldn’t just die so easily when they want to, after all. Anyway, aren’t you bored? Can I ask you some questions? Treat it like a survey if you may, though I can’t give you any rewards, it’s just a means to pass the time.”

“Hmm… Sure.”

The witch happily asked Reina, who was still wearing her gentle expression even after her death.

“After going through that kind of life, in the end you decided to abandon your love and die. You were unable to fulfill your love and it disappeared like a bubble, do you have any regrets?”

Her question sounded exactly like the devil’s.

Asking the dead about their unfulfilled regrets, reminding them of the past they wanted to forget. It was inhumane, but it befit her as an inhuman being herself.

“You’re still as foolish as usual, Witch.”

However, Reina kept her calm even after hearing that question. She treated the witch like an old friend that was pulling a prank on her.

“How would I ever regret loving Rin-chan?”

The answer came out naturally. With a triumphant smile, Reina spoke.

“If you wish to learn about love, you need to understand at least this much, you know?”

“…Hehehe. Good grief, I’m out of my game today, it seems.”

Hearing the answer, the corners of the witch’s lips hung up like that of the Cheshire Cat’s. She seemed to like that answer.

“I’ll buy you something as an apology for that boring question. What do you like as your last food in this world?”

“Ice cream.”

“You really love ice cream, don’t you?”

“Hehehe, I used to eat it a lot back when I was mourning Sojiro-kun’s death.”

“That kind of diet is harmful for you, you know that?”

They talked to each other in that dimly lit classroom. The two of them had only talked to each other for a brief period of time before this, not even for half a day long, but the way they talked about the old days made it feel like they had been friends for years.

Inside a dark classroom at night, a place that was more than likely to give birth to a ghost story, Himuro Reina talked with the witch until that moment finally came.

Her death.

After a long, long moratorium, she finally passed.

Before summer arrived, before the dawn arrived, she died without leaving a single ash behind.

Her previous identity as an immortal being couldn’t stop her death.

But, she managed to say her goodbyes to her loved ones and she had an old friend sending her off.

And more importantly, she wouldn’t be forgotten by the people she cared about.

Such was the life and death of the girl called Himuro Reina.

TL: Iyo

ED: Iyo

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