I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

—I've forgotten when it started, but lies became his most convenient tool, and he could conjure up masks that were more real than the truth at will.

Like an actor with a different script, he can become a different person more naturally than anyone else, as long as he wants to.

Thus, the moment his footsteps rang out, his flawless acting completely transformed him.

"But have you considered my feelings, Zou?"

A gentle smile gradually appeared, but an indescribable loneliness and bitterness welled up in her eyes.

Tenkuji Yu walked up to Tachibana Kanade, and as her gaze grew increasingly incredulous, he slowly extended his trembling hand, bent down, and carefully embraced that slender, delicate figure as if she were a glass sculpture, not daring to use too much force.

He took a deep breath, and his unsteady, hoarse voice sounded low in her ear.

"We haven't seen each other for so long, yet you're leaving me again... How can there be happiness in such a future?"

"Rather than a world without you, I'd rather disappear with you..."

As he finished speaking, his arms tightened around the girl, a mixture of pain and longing in his embrace. He clenched his teeth to suppress his rising emotions, his cheek pressed tightly against hers.

As if they were about to completely melt into the twilight, the two nestled together, leaving only a thin shadow on the ground.

Subconsciously resting her chin on his shoulder, Tachibana Kanade stared wide-eyed, letting her body sink into that familiar warmth, her mouth slightly open but unable to utter a sound.

The distant horizon seemed to be pulled closer in an instant, and the ever-present rooftop breeze was quieter than ever before.

It was so quiet that the sound of a heartbeat, which hadn't been heard for a long time, suddenly began to beat rapidly from my chest again.

—Is it my own heartbeat or his?

Tachibana Kanade blinked, and a string of tears couldn't be held back. The urge to cry was almost like a dam breaking, and the world was forced to become a blur.

Has he come back? Has he remembered?

From the moment she witnessed his death, this endless journey has lasted far too long... so long that she has almost forgotten how blissful it felt to be held in his arms.

'Yu...'

She simply called his name in her heart, as if she had returned to those days before everything happened, when she was simply in love with him.

The familiar temperature, the familiar force, and the familiar, comforting scent.

Even after hundreds of years have passed, those familiar things have never left me; they have only been temporarily forgotten.

Despite tears streaming down his face and soaking his clothes, Tachibana Kanade couldn't help but squint his eyes and smile with immense happiness as he gazed at the warm, distant sky that enveloped the two of them.

She had been looking forward to this moment ever since the trial began.

There are so many things I want to say to him, and so many thoughts I want to express to him... If I could stay by his side forever, even if I had to become a ghost that only he could see, perhaps it wouldn't matter.

Swallowing back the sobs that welled up in his throat, Tachibana Kanade smiled quietly and raised his arms as if to hug him in return.

Then, she slowly pushed his shoulder away.

"Thank you for bringing back wonderful memories."

"…Kana?"

Seeing the puzzled look in Tenkuji Yu's eyes, Tachibana Kanade gently shook her head, placed her palm on his chest, and said softly, "You are him. No matter which world you are in, you will always be my favorite Yu, and that will never change."

"But you didn't remember, did you?"

Like a lovelorn boy whose heart had been broken by a bad woman, Yuu Tenkuji opened his mouth slightly, his breathing somewhat disordered, as if he wanted to say something in rebuttal.

But in her clear, mirror-like bright gaze, his wavering and uneasy expression gradually returned to calm, and he slowly composed himself, letting out a sigh as if giving up.

"...My acting skills should be perfect."

Why was it exposed so quickly?

Logically speaking, it should be much harder to see through someone playing themselves than someone else. Even if there is a tiny flaw, the full-power "emotional transmission" should be able to cover it up...

So it's not that she's too incompetent, but rather that she has eyes that can see through all lies?

"Nothing is perfect."

Kanade Tachibana wiped away the tears on her face. Looking at him, who seemed unable to let go, she couldn't help but chuckle and say, "Most importantly, you and the Yu I know have different heartbeats... I think you haven't even remembered your memories of this world yet, have you? Was it Sora who told you about me?"

So she simply sat cross-legged on the ground, propping her cheek up with one hand, and answered her guess with a helpless look.

...As expected of my girlfriend, whom I taught; her ability to apply what she's learned to new situations is comparable to his.

Moreover, being able to deduce so much just from the sound of a heartbeat, achieving what I couldn't do, makes it seem like even a perfect acting performance wouldn't be a loss.

It's unclear whether this ability was granted to her by the Light Orb or a 'miracle' she possessed herself.

Why do this?

Pressing down her school uniform skirt, Tachibana Kanade crossed her legs and sat elegantly on the floor tiles in front of him, not caring whether they were clean or not, just tilting her head slightly and looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"I guess you could call it repayment." Sitting up straight, Tenkuji Yu met her gaze frankly. "After knowing how much you've done for me, even though I still can't remember anything and it's hard for me to empathize, I just can't accept it so easily."

That's why I wanted to pretend to be him from the original timeline, to give Tachibana Kanade a comforting hug, and also to hope that she would think it over carefully. If she just disappeared like this, not only would Kasugano Sora, who is still alive now, be pitiful, but wouldn't the person from that timeline also be pitiful?

After all, sometimes forgetting is more terrifying than dying.

"I don't know if it's too late to ask... but Tachibana Kanade, have you thought about it?"

Looking into her eyes, Yuu Tenkuji said earnestly, "Once you disappear, there will be no meaning for me to strive in that world line, and even the reason to face death will cease to exist—all the memories, all the time, the things that only you remember, will all disappear completely because of you."

Even so, are you going to abandon the past again?

Tachibana Kanade nodded slightly, and to his surprise, there was no wavering or hesitation in his eyes.

"I had already made this decision the day I entrusted everything to Xiao Qiong."

She said calmly, "If you're always stuck in the past, you'll never see the future."

Yuu Tenkuji retorted, "Do you think doing this will allow you to see the scenery of the future?"

“Xiao Qiong will check for me. I trust her, just as she trusts our research findings and has worked hard to get to where we are now.”

Tachibana Kanade faced his questioning gaze with composure, her pale golden eyes gleaming with a stern and resolute light.

"They should have faced death, but they continue to exist as ghosts. They should have disappeared, but they regained consciousness in dreams."

"If I hadn't encountered so many miracles, I should have left this world long ago. Clinging on here shamelessly won't help my future at all..."

"I'm afraid of being forgotten, but I'm even more afraid that my existence will hurt others."

She gave Tenkuji Yu an apologetic look: "So, I'm sorry."

"Farewell, Yu."

The moment the words fell, the minute hand of the clock tower, bathed in twilight, pointed straight to the twelve o'clock position.

It's 5 PM, time has come.

"The host has not completed the trial within the specified time. The progress is being reset. Please prepare."

In the distant horizon, darkness spread swiftly like ink staining white paper, and the setting sun disappeared helplessly below the horizon, plunging the world into darkness.

But upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that it is not night, but a pitch-black space that devours the entire city like a black hole, like a gradually shrinking sphere, rapidly collapsing and disappearing inward from their center.

The city had long since fallen silent, and in the world that was about to be revisited, it seemed that only he and Tachibana Kanade remained alive.

After only a brief moment of surprise, Yuu Tenkuji withdrew her gaze from all around and, as if nothing had happened, continued to stare into the eyes of the girl in front of her.

"I've said it before, I didn't want to stop you from disappearing, and I had no intention of trying to keep you."

Li Hua tilted his head slightly—this is the very end, why is he still saying all this?

Yuu Tenkuji raised a finger, ignoring her questioning gaze, and said, "First of all, according to Sora, I have a very good relationship with you outside of the trial, that is, in reality. You and Iroha are both juniors I value the most."

She quickly understood what he meant, smiled helplessly, and said with a mature and gentle gaze, "Don't worry, this time only 'me' and everything related to 'me' have disappeared. The 'ordinary me' that you and Ayaha knew, was not affected in any way."

So after she disappears, a new Tachibana Kanade will appear in the new world, continuing to be their friend without knowing anything about it.

The two's memories of Kanade Tachibana will also return to normal.

All of this will be like the doodle torn from the notebook; except for Kasugano Sora, the system administrator, no record of her will ever appear again in any corner of the world.

"Really? That's good."

Yuu Tenkuji nodded, then extended his second finger.

As he had said before, his eyes remained calm, showing no sign of wavering despite the impending disappearance of the undead before him.

Tachibana Kanade can understand.

As long as it's not someone he cares about, Yuu Tenkuji is always so indifferent.

“Again, Qiong actually asked me to stop you from ‘playing the disappearing act again’... Unfortunately, it turns out I can’t convince you at all.”

"Yes, I'm sorry." She lowered her head and apologized softly, as if she were also saying it to the person who wasn't there.

The black tide that had swallowed the entire world had now surrounded the last area, namely the Soubu High School right beneath them.

However, while it was devouring the school, someone somehow interfered with the system's operation, and the black tide's progress suddenly slowed down. It slowly spread from the school gate toward the playground, and it was estimated that it would take some time before it reached their teaching building.

Ignoring the approaching darkness around him, Tenkuji Yu stared at the crown of her head and solemnly said, word by word:

"So as compensation, I will watch over you until the moment you disappear."

"I will watch you disappear and see you off until the very end."

Chapter Seventy-Two: Choices and Desires

Tachibana Kanade slowly raised her face, her clear eyes revealing confusion.

"Compensation? There's no need for that, and it wouldn't matter anyway..."

"Yeah, it doesn't matter."

Tenkuji Yu reached out his hand to her.

I don't know if it's the lingering memories or the control of instinct.

Looking at that slightly upturned, somewhat bewildered, adorable face, despite knowing that men and women shouldn't touch each other, he still couldn't help himself...

He flicked her forehead hard with his finger.

With a loud and solid "pia" sound, it struck the target.

"...?"

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.