My youth story cannot be a knight war

[After a forensic autopsy and evidence collection, all possibilities of homicide were ruled out. The police confirmed that the death was a complete suicide and cleared Zaimokuza of murder suspicion, but he did not feel any joy at having his innocence redressed.]

[——Because according to the forensic autopsy, the time when this person committed suicide was the day when Zaimokuza first visited him, or even the same day.]

【After this incident, Zaimokuza was finally able to conclude that there must be some horrible conspiracy behind the accident.】

[But what he really couldn't imagine was what kind of shady plot could make the insider choose to commit suicide without hesitation on the first day of being visited by others in order to conceal the truth, without even the slightest desire to live? ]

[Although Zaimokuza still hopes to find out the truth, he no longer dares to look for those who know the truth, fearing that he will implicate them. ]

[And now, no matter how strange the process is, a corner of the truth is about to unveil its mysterious veil in front of Zaimokuza. ]

[After entering the laboratory, Hikigaya Hachiman walked in front of him and headed towards the huge transparent cube, taking out the mysterious card holder from his white coat as he walked.]

[All the researchers around him stopped their work after seeing him, and stared at Hikigaya and the card holder in his hand with fervent eyes, their eyes were filled with curiosity and greed and jealousy that could not be concealed.]

[The desire to explore is for the truth that will be revealed to oneself and others, while greed and jealousy are the reluctance to not be the glory of grasping this truth.]

[“Let’s get started, Assistant Hikigaya!”]

[Professor Martin rudely pushed away a researcher standing in front of the table, and stared at Hikigaya who was looking up at the cube with an unbearable look.]

[“Let us welcome this moment together! Welcome this great moment of uncovering the truth of the world with our own hands! This supreme honor belongs to all of us present here!!!”]

【"""oh!!!"""】

[The researchers present, regardless of their positions, waved their arms and roared together, and the enthusiastic atmosphere filled the entire laboratory.]

[In such a place filled with a fanatical atmosphere, the only person who never changed his expression was Hikigaya Hachiman. ]

[He is like a wise man standing on a cliff, looking down at the various forms of life in the world. No matter joy, anger, sorrow or happiness, it cannot touch his detached heart in the slightest, nor can it make his indifferent face, which has never changed, show any emotion.]

[Hikigaya quietly raised his head, staring at the huge cube that completely enveloped him, and muttered to himself.]

[“Finally, it’s time… I’ll be there soon.”]

[For the first time, his eyes, which always seemed to be without any emotion, showed some emotion other than indifference, but because of the angle, no one saw it.]

[It was a deep tiredness, and a sense of relief from seeing through everything. ]

【“——”】

[At that moment, he seemed to whisper someone's name, then he held the brake in one hand and slowly raised it toward the huge cube.]

【boom--】

[When Hikigaya aimed the card holder at the cube, the originally transparent surface of the cube suddenly vibrated for a moment, and a dazzling white light spread out from the center of the cube to the surrounding areas, and the different numerical lines on the computer screens of all the tables around suddenly rose at the same time, soaring straight up at an alarming speed.]

[The alarm of the research institute immediately buzzed, and the red light shone on everyone's face, illuminating their suddenly changed eyes.]

[“Professor, something seems to be wrong. The energy response is too high! It has far exceeded the maximum value we originally expected!? This——”]

[“Go on! Leave it alone!”]

[One of the researchers seemed to realize that something was wrong, and tried to persuade Professor Martin, whose authority over the experiment was second only to that of Hikigaya Hachiman, to stop, but he refused without hesitation.]

[Professor Martin's eyes were no longer clear as before, and he stared at the shining cube with a dazed look. Deep in his eyes was an extreme madness that was suppressed by reason.]

[Every successful scientist is a potential madman. There is often a fine line between genius and madness. This is not nonsense, but an objective evaluation of these people. The desire for knowledge occupies the first place among all the desires in their brains.]

[For these madmen who have devoted everything to science, when a chance to visit the door to the real world appears before them, they are willing to give up everything in exchange for a ticket to enter.]

【Professor Martin is such a person. His reason has long been driven away by the excitement of knowing the truth. Therefore, he who was originally cautious now completely ignores the dangers that may arise from continuing, and suppresses all objections with a wave of his hand.】

[“But! The energy supply has reached its limit. If it continues to operate at overload, this laboratory may explode violently!”]

[“Open your eyes and see clearly! We will be able to redefine this world soon! What’s the point of a possible explosion!?”]

[“Soon, we will become the new writers of the scientific community and write a new history! For this honor, what does it matter if we die!?”]

[The researcher wanted to say something else, but Professor Martin, who had already lost his mind, grabbed his collar and stared at him intently.]

[Looking at those eyes that were completely filled with passion and madness, the researcher was completely stunned by the other party's terrifying spirit and no longer dared to say even a word of opposition.]

[Hikigaya Hachiman ignored what was happening behind him and stared calmly at the glowing cube.]

[“——Now, it’s time.”]

【Buzz——————】

[“Hmm!?”]

[“What’s that sound? It never happened in previous experiments!?”]

[“What, what is that? Something has appeared!”]

[After Hikigaya finished speaking, a strange noise suddenly sounded from the cube, resonating in the entire laboratory at an extremely high frequency.]

[Everyone in the laboratory, including Zaimokuza who was blocked outside by the mirror, covered their eyes with their hands in pain.]

[What is going on?! ]

【Zaimokuza covered his ears tightly. He felt that the sound was just like an awl, digging into his brain along his ears. For a moment, he felt a splitting headache and was completely unable to think.】

[In this sudden change, unlike the researchers who looked painful, Hikigaya Hachiman remained calm, but made another move instead.]

[He used his other thumb to hold the notch of the card holder and pulled out a card.]

[“Wait! Assistant Hikigaya, what are you doing!?”]

[A premonition of great danger suddenly climbed from the soles of his feet along his cervical spine to his brain. This sense of danger was so strong that it was like a giant python entwining his body, and it woke up Professor Martin, who was originally completely dominated by fanaticism.]

[He looked at Hikigaya who had drawn the card and pointed it at the cube. This strange move that the opponent had never made in previous experiments made Professor Martin feel for the first time that the situation seemed out of control. He immediately changed his expression and shouted.]

[“What the hell is that! What on earth do you want to do? Stop it now!”]

[However, Hikigaya Hachiman didn't pay any attention to the shouts coming from behind him, nor did he have any intention of stopping. ]

【"bring it on--"】

[Hikigaya points the card at the glowing cube, facing the glass surface that glows brightly again because of his action.]

[His eyes narrowed slightly due to the strong light, and his drooping eyelids covered his eyeballs at the back, but they could not hide the emotions in his eyes.]

[That is the ultimate madness.]

[At the moment before achieving his goal, Hikigaya Hachiman no longer needed to hide anything. 】

[This situation is unexpected to others, but it is exactly what he wants. ]

[A sentence full of religious feeling came out from Hikigaya's mouth, echoing throughout the entire laboratory, making everyone's eyes widen. ]

[…I offer here everything I have, my bones, my blood, as a sacrifice.]

[“Break through the boundary between reality and illusion and come to my side——”]

【“With me, ■■■■.”】

25. Interlude (3K)

[The entire laboratory was completely out of control at this moment. Many people realized that the development of the situation had completely exceeded the control of everyone present, and they fell into great shock and anger and panic about the unknown. ]

【Especially Professor Martin, who was originally the most immersed in it, realized that he might have made a big mistake unintentionally, so he pushed aside all the researchers in front of him and ran towards Hikigaya Hachiman who was standing in front of the cube, roaring.】

[The old body rapidly secreted adrenaline under the stimulation of the sense of crisis. The old man who had lived in the laboratory for many years ran at a speed comparable to that of a professional athlete at this moment, and stretched out his palm towards the hand that Hikigaya raised the card, wanting to snatch the thing that caused this situation from his hand. ]

【But it's too late. 】

[When the old professor's hand was about to touch Hikigaya's shoulder, an incomparable light burst out from the cube, and the laboratory was completely covered by the blazing white light.]

[Everyone had to scream and stretch out their arms to shield their eyes before this light, otherwise their eyes would be blinded by this light that was as strong as the sun.]

[This subconscious action made them miss their last chance. ]

[In the center of the light, a huge and twisted shadow is gradually taking shape——]

【when.】

[The time displayed on all computer screens in the laboratory was frozen at the same number at the same time, and even the hands of the quartz clocks hanging on the wall stopped at the same moment.]

[The minute hand, still in its original position, swayed gently left and right, unable to move even a fraction of a second to the left. It was frozen in place and unable to move at all.]

【This is the final scene.】

【——Snap. 】

[A small crack emitting white light appeared on the mirror surface, then spread to the front glass at an extremely fast speed, and finally shattered with a loud bang.]

[The broken mirrors still reflected the scenes just now, whether it was the back of Hikigaya Hachiman, Professor Martin's panicked eyes, or the confused and uneasy expressions of the other researchers, all of them fell to the ground like falling stars, and then turned into light and disappeared into dust.]

【“…”】

[The noise in his ears disappeared at this moment, Zaimokuza slowly put down his hands that were blocking his ears, and stared blankly at the dark mirror in front of him.]

[“What the hell is going on???”]

Chiba Prefecture, Sobu High School, health room.

"Well!!!"

At the same time when the piercing sound rang out on the light screen, everyone in reality covered their ears in pain, enduring the strange echo like scratching a blackboard with fingers that kept roaring deep in their brains.

Therefore, they did not hear what "Hikigaya Hachiman" in the light curtain said next.

When the sound faded away, Yumiko Miura, the most extroverted person present, started to attack.

"What's going on!? What an awful sound!"

Miura Yumiko said quickly with her brows furrowed almost protruding. She only felt an indescribable irritation rising from the depths of her heart after hearing the voice, and she felt an unbearable disgust physiologically.

"What did Future Hachiman do... What happened at the end of that experiment?"

Zaimokuza shook his head, as if to expel the voice that still lingered in his mind, and turned to look at Hikigaya beside him in confusion and said.

"..."

Faced with his and other people's questions, Hikigaya remained silent, with a very wrong expression on his face.

Rather, his facial expression had remained strange ever since he saw his future self appear on the screen.

Hikigaya had always believed that the reason his future self died before the story began was simply an unfortunate accident caused by the experiment, but the scene that appeared before completely overturned his guess.

Everything that the future "Hikigaya Hachiman" on the screen did after he appeared in the dream memory of "Zaimokuza Yoshiki" was as if the words "problematic" were engraved on his face, and every action and behavior was unpredictable to the viewers.

Moreover, Hikigaya, who is good at capturing the subtle changes in other people's eyes, also keenly discovered that when an accident happened, unlike other panicked people in the laboratory, the other party's eyes and expressions all revealed a meaning similar to "It's finally here".

Regarding these abnormal behaviors of the couple, Hikigaya had a bold guess in his mind.

"Could it be that my future self..."

Did he already know that the experiment would go wrong? Even... including the fact that he would die?

This matter is completely inexplicable from a logical point of view. Since the future Hikigaya Hachiman knew that there would definitely be an accident in this experiment, why did he allow the experiment to continue, and as the chief engineer, he did nothing?

Unless that's what he wanted.

This guess made Hikigaya frown tightly, and he supported his knees with his hands and squeezed the waistband of his school uniform into a ball. The messy folds of the clothes seemed to reflect his troubled heart.

——If his guess is true, it means that the tragedy that occurred at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the future, which caused the deaths of many researchers, was not an accident at all, but a complete man-made accident!

It could even be that he is the mastermind behind all this in the future!

Reason told Hikigaya that this was most likely the truth, but his emotions made it impossible for him to accept this highly likely hypothesis.

Because he simply couldn't imagine how it was possible that his future self, knowing that the experiment was bound to get out of control, would still deceive everyone including his teacher, putting their lives in danger, and ultimately leading to the tragic deaths of so many innocent people?

Hikigaya does not consider himself a good person, and his ideological bias is considered by his instructor Shizuka Hiratsuka to be dangerously antisocial. Now he also admits that some parts of his personality do hide a certain degree of excessive radicalism and flaws, and this is an irrefutable fact.

But he never thought that he was the kind of cold-blooded person who would disregard the lives of others or even push them to death for his own purposes, and his future self would have no reason to do so.

If he really did this in the future, then what was the difference between him and a murderer who regarded human life as worthless? Was he really still...Hikigaya Hachiman?

If I really had to find a reason for my future self to do this...

"..."

His sister's brilliant smile flashed through his mind, and Hikigaya, who was originally conflicted, immediately fell silent.

This was the fact he had never dared to admit, but he had to face it.

If I really lose my sister in the future like "Hikigaya Hachiman" in the light curtain, what kind of person will I become?

Hikigaya didn't know, or he didn't dare to think deeply about this question, because he was afraid of coming up with an answer that would scare even himself.

Wait? When his thoughts wandered to this point, Hikigaya, who was originally daydreaming, suddenly woke up. This series of events almost made him forget his original purpose.

——I continued to look at the light curtain in order to find out the cause of my sister’s death in the future. Compared with this matter, other things were simply insignificant.