The comments section all think I'm a really good person.

From somewhere unknown, the theater owner's narration began.

"The swordswoman could not break free, so she gripped the Nichirin Blade tightly in her hand."

Asagami Shinku's breathing quickened as she realized she was still gripping her Nichirin Blade tightly.

Her breathing had become unsteady, and the veins on her right hand, which was gripping the knife hilt tightly, were bulging. Her teeth were almost grinding to powder.

The view in front of me was swaying, and everything was already blood red.

"Yagawa...you idiot, stop biting everything!"

Asagami Shinku was quite weak. The massive blood loss and intense pain had brought her to the brink of mental stagnation, but even in her dazed state, she still remembered that it was best not to kill her classmate here.

What if Yagawa really is dead?

The theater was eerie, and what I thought was just acting seemed to have become reality... Damn it, Yagawa was even gnawing on his own shinbone.

She raised her Nichirin Blade high and, almost as if venting her anger, brought it down viciously!

—"The swordsman severed his own left leg and escaped."

The detached narration continued, accompanied by Asagami Shinku's anguished roar, bringing this brief scene to a complete end.

The theater was plunged into darkness.

The horrifying bloodstains on the floor were quickly cleaned up by Baseball Cat, who was carrying a mop and bucket, as the actors were escorted out of the theater.

Everything that just happened seemed like an illusion; the deliberately severed leg and the thick, bloody smell from the ghost's mouth had both vanished without a trace.

She immediately collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Asagami Shinku and Yagawa Mari returned to their original state after entering the theater and were escorted out of the theater.

Nana Oba didn't clap; she simply rested her chin on her hand, her eyes filled with deep disappointment and frustration.

Without her classmates around, Karen Aijo is able to ask Nana Ohba about the true purpose of starting this theater.

She stated in a declarative tone, "Banana, you are collecting everyone's [shining]."

"...Sorry, is it obvious, Karen-chan?"

Nana Oba no longer needed to put on that villainous act, so she softened a lot.

She smiled wryly, but Ai Cheng Hua Lian still noticed.

The puppet show we just tried out didn't get the "shining" it deserved; it was just an attempt to get the stage working.

"But why?" Karen Aijo was very confused. She subconsciously moved closer to Nana Ohba and looked into her eyes. "Is this the director's instruction?"

Nana Oba gave a somewhat forced smile.

She recalled some of the things she had seen in this underground laboratory when the theater was set up.

Although he was born healthy, he suffered many hidden injuries from those experiments, leading to that regrettable conclusion.

The director's body doesn't have much time left.

She wanted to do something.

142. Karen-chan, you'll help me, right?

People from the North don't really care about their bodies.

Even if you really die, it just takes a little more time and effort to rebuild your body.

For her, the death countdown hanging over her head was simply a timekeeping tool.

But the Silver Garden character cards seem to think otherwise.

Sometimes, preserving the character card's autonomy doesn't seem like a good thing.

At least in times like these, it seems a bit troublesome.

The story dates back to the day when the underground theater had just opened, and Nana Ohba was working with Carol and Tomoe Shiraki to process the remaining data from the underground laboratory.

Because the way Kita Kirihara was opened was quite appropriate, the data was preserved very completely, and even the brain tissue of Kita Kirihara was well preserved and still fully usable.

The more these two highly knowledgeable researchers investigated, the more suspicious they became.

It's not that the information here is strange, but rather...

...They saw Kita Kirihara's information.

Because of the information gap between the character card and the original form of North Cleric, everyone only knows that North Cleric was born from one of the three starter families in this world and had a less-than-pleasant past, but they know nothing more specific.

I thought that after the director returned to her own world, she would be able to live a good life, but things didn't go as planned.

Kita Kirihara's file clearly states that she had undergone numerous experiments, and her physical condition had long been severely damaged.

Not only were there hidden injuries, but there was also the damage from drugs in his early years. In order to hide his ability fluctuations, he also underwent craniotomy to remove part of his brain.

The director appeared to be unharmed, but in reality, she was likely nearing the end of her life.

If I don't take good care of my health, I probably won't be able to get through this winter.

However, the people of North Che didn't care at all.

She even thought that she would lie to Saki Koizumi and say that she was going on a trip, and then recreate a body sometime later.

The original body that the system returned to her was indeed in poor condition, but it wouldn't affect her daily life... In fact, judging from her current state, she was no different from an ordinary person.

It's just a matter of vitality.

No matter how you type it in, it will only leak light out like a bamboo basket full of holes.

The director didn't want to waste unnecessary energy on herself, but the cast members who were interested in her came to her door to express their protest.

Nana Ohba went even further, stating that she wanted to find a way to prolong the director's life.

“There’s no need to waste time on this kind of thing. You’ll have to change bodies sooner or later anyway.” Kita Kirihara didn’t quite understand.

Then, Talulah cut him off: "But you allow everyone to move around freely."

"...I mean, move freely within the limits that allow the plot to continue. Right now, the issue of fuel is more important than me."

“The Silver Garden, which operates freely, has decided to find a way to prolong the BOSS’s life—wouldn’t that work?” Nana Ohba pleaded. “Besides, wouldn’t that make it easier for you, Director, to integrate the plot?”

"...?"

"Previously, Director, you didn't give Silver Garden a specific goal, did you? Most of them were vague and just short scripts that were improvised."

Nana Oba knew that Kita Kirihara hadn't come up with a more concrete arrangement yet, and intended to keep the Silver Garden temporarily detached from the Tower and the Association, making it a third party.

However, this cannot continue indefinitely.

The Silver Garden needs a clearer goal and a strong external driving force to leave a deeper impression on the audience.

However, Kita Kirihara hadn't figured out what to do yet, so he decided to let the character cards explore on their own.

Kita Kirihara allowed the character cards to move freely and create stories, which is why.

The character cards have now found the goal they want to achieve together.

“Because everyone likes Director Nana, they would never just stand by and watch you die, so they all put in their own efforts… How about this kind of plot?” Nana Ohba smiled.

Kita Kirihara sensed something was off: "Isn't this too much of a center for me...?"

Is this some kind of weird, green-themed website featuring adorable, promiscuous content?

She always felt a little embarrassed to use such a script.

“But, Director,” Nana Ohba said, pressing Kita Kirihara’s shoulder and chuckling, “we’ve always revolved around you.”

"...Now that you mention it, it's true."

“You are our leader, and also our family. In another sense, I am you, and you are me. We should naturally revolve around you, and you should naturally lead us,” Nana Ohba said softly. “And occasionally, let yourself benefit as well.”

“…Okay.” Kita Kirihara’s ears turned red at some point. Faced with the warm feelings conveyed by the character card, even though he knew that Ooba Nana was just fooling him, he still agreed because it would make the show more entertaining.

Although changing bodies would be much more convenient, it would also take Kita Kirihara further and further away from her original goal of "becoming human again".

Once you've experienced such convenience, you'll treat your body as a consumable, making it difficult to protect it.

They will lose their correct understanding of life and death, and they will also lose their ability to protect themselves.

The character cards, including Homura Akemi's, do not approve of Kita Kirihara's reckless behavior, especially since constantly changing bodies would also cause wear and tear on the soul.

Having experienced so many worlds, Kita Kirihara's memories have already been largely erased. Further erosion would only push the director further away from her original self.

This is why the character cards, even though they knew Kita Kirihara could change bodies, were unwilling to let her give up so easily.

Now, in places that Kita Kirihara hadn't noticed, the character cards had reached a certain consensus.

The main purpose of the Silver Garden is to protect the leader, whose days are numbered, and to fulfill the leader's wishes.

Therefore, Nana Ohba sets up this underground theater to collect the "shining" of the national members and transform it into enough energy to allow Kita Kirihara's life to continue.

The live stream camera moved in front of Nana Ohba, capturing her conversation with Karen Aijo.

Nana Oba answered Karen Aijo's question: "You know, right? That person's life is coming to an end."

“…Ah.” Karen Aijo let out a short gasp, her expression becoming complicated. “I know, so Banana, you…”

“For her life, I must collect this [Shining].” Nana Ooba lowered her eyes and said softly, “You will help me too, right? Karen-chan.”

The information was half true and half false, but it was both Nana Ohba's own wish and a necessity to attract the audience's attention.

143. That's a little scary, Miss Northcutt.

【What does this conversation mean?】

[When Banana said "that person," was she referring to Ahara, or the boss of the Silver Garden?]

I think it should be A-Yuan, because when she mentioned "that person," she glanced in A-Yuan's direction.

[It's highly likely to be Ahara, because Banana only started preparing for the theater's setup after obtaining this underground laboratory, and Ahara's body is indeed...]

[A-Yuan's physical condition is indeed very bad, as mentioned before in the school clinic, he has many old injuries]

[And he's been to this lab before; maybe he was a test subject like Rin.]

In other storylines, Ahara returned too late and had little chance to contact the remaining forces of the three main families. Moreover, she died of illness midway through the story, and no one knew what illness she had... Now it seems that it was probably a side effect of the experiment.

[Because the other Silver Garden routes didn't access the underground laboratory, they didn't know why Ahara's body was in such poor condition, let alone how to save her.]

[And here, Banana learns the truth that her companion Kita Kirihara doesn't have much time left, which is why she plans to use this theater to try and prolong her life?]