VIP room.
Everyone sat in a circle. Those without seats—Selesia and a few others—leaned against the wall. Silence weighed on the air, all eyes fixed on the two "guests."
One was male. Black short hair, eyes sharp as blades. His outfit was distinct: armored shoulders, breastplate, a coat long enough that walking the streets he'd easily be mistaken for cosplaying.
The other was female. A dark green school uniform, long slim legs wrapped in black stockings. Pink hair tied into twin tails with ribbons.
The girl looked visibly nervous. Her whole body stiff, head bowed under the stares, fingers fidgeting against her thighs. Now and then her eyes darted toward the door, as if planning escape. Compared to her, the man seemed calm—though his eyes kept straying to Selesia.
And Selesia's own gaze toward him was complicated, filled with words she couldn't bring herself to say.
These two were the latest Created to appear. The man had found—perhaps approached—Selesia and Kanoya Rui. The girl, Meteora had discovered.
When Meteora encountered her, the pink-haired girl had been leading a lost child by the hand, wandering, asking strangers where the nearest police box was. Hoping to find the boy's parents. Just that was enough to show she belonged firmly on the side of "good."
Kikuchihara Aki compared their faces with the photos on file. After confirming their identities, she spoke in a formal, deliberate tone.
"…In any case, welcome to this world, Mr. Charon Seiga, and Miss Hoshikawa Hikayu."
Her expression didn't waver. But the tiny pause in her words revealed she wasn't as calm as she looked.
Charon Seiga—the male lead of Elemental Symphony: Vogelchevalier. From the same world as Selesia. Her partner.
That explained everything. Why he recognized Selesia on sight, why he'd called her name. Why Selesia had faltered, shaken the instant she saw him.
And the girl—pink twin-tails—was the reason the entire room had gone silent, unsure what to say.
Hoshikawa Hikayu. Not a character from a novel, manga, or anime. But the heroine of the game Stellar☆Galaxy.
That alone was surprising. Meteora herself had been from a game. But the real shock—
"…Never thought it would be…"
Matsubara's voice and face both showed how conflicted he felt. "A galgame character."
"…And an eroge heroine."
Nakanogane Masaaki supplied, with painful bluntness, voicing what everyone thought.
But—this was not something to say out loud.
"Nakanogane-san!"
Mariné snapped, glaring at him like a teacher scolding a hopeless student. "What are you saying in front of kids?!"
At once, everyone's gazes turned… toward Van Gogh.
"Eh? Eh? Ehh?"
Her face was blank with confusion, as if fat black question marks were floating up above her head.
"Yuna… we're the same age. So why am I always treated like a child?"
She looked at Shimazaki Yuna in utter puzzlement.
"Uh…"
Yuna thought hard, then cautiously answered, "Because… you're small and cute?"
"…Awuu…"
Meanwhile, Hikayu, the actual subject of this discussion, had gone scarlet—red as a monkey's backside. Her embarrassment reached its limit. And then—she burst into tears.
Loudly.
"Uwaaaahhhh!"
Mariné promptly punched the culprit, Nakanogane Masaaki.
"Why…"
Through her tears, Hikayu stammered, "Why does everyone know me? A-and… does that mean… you all know about me and Makoto too…?"
"Makoto?"
Rui tilted his head, unfamiliar.
Kikuchihara explained. "The protagonist of Stellar☆Galaxy."
Expression flat as ever, Meteora added, "To her, this must feel like having her diary read aloud to the world. An accident, really. I sympathize."
Her words made the others—Selesia, Rui, even Yūya—shift uncomfortably, lips twitching.
And Hikayu wept even harder.
Think of it like that character from another novel—Natsumi, whose self-loathing was so strong she disguised herself as a tall, glamorous onee-san every appearance. When she thought Shidou Itsuka had glimpsed her real self, she wanted to destroy him utterly. When she realized the whole world knew, she'd wanted to explode and drag everyone down with her.
Hikayu now stood in a similar position. The difference—she had no special powers. Nor that level of self-destructive psychology. She didn't want to drag the world with her. She just wanted to die.
The scene was a mess. Still, Matsubara tried to steady himself.
"In theory, it makes sense. Characters with high recognition… high popularity… appear."
"But so far, every Created had some fighting ability. I thought that was part of the rule too."
Rui muttered.
At that moment, Yatouji Ryou abruptly rose to his feet. His eyes were evasive, face red in a way that didn't feel right.
"I'm going back to work."
That was all. Without another word, he left.
"…What's with him?"
Matsubara frowned, displeased with Ryou's aloof, uncooperative nature.
They had tried many experiments with Meteora—ways to raise their Created's strength. It required cooperation between Creators. Matsubara and Ryou had clashed constantly, their visions irreconcilable, nearly coming to blows.
Rui leaned back, hands behind his head. "I thought this would boost our side's power, but one of them has no combat strength at all…"
"Doesn't matter."
Yūya sneered. "Our gap with them was never going to be bridged by one or two more bodies."
"…True enough."
Selesia lowered her gaze, conceding.
"For now, contact her Creator—no, for a game, the developer."
Meteora's eyes shifted to Kikuchihara.
Hikayu's matter set aside, that left Charon.
Witnesses had seen a giant mecha flying. Rui had been blamed. But clearly, it had been Charon.
Which meant—unlike Selesia, Charon had arrived with his [Vogelchevalier]. At full strength.
"Selesia's mech is gone. But yours is intact, isn't it, Charon? Bet it's awesome. How about letting me pilot it sometime?"
Rui's eyes shone. He'd wanted to try Selesia's [Vogelchevalier] for ages. A magic-based mecha, unlike his sci-fi Machina. But Altair had destroyed it before he'd gotten the chance.
Now, another [Vogelchevalier] pilot stood before him. Rui's enthusiasm reignited, expectation glowing in his gaze.
Charon blinked, stunned. Then turned to Selesia.
"Selesia… your [Vogelchevalier] was destroyed?"
"…N-no, it's fine. We'll repair it."
She fumbled nervously.
To have the past dragged out—especially in front of him—her face twisted in frustration. In her mind she was already grabbing Rui by the cheeks and yelling, Do you even know how to talk?!
Like Selesia, Charon too had encountered Altair. But where Selesia's [Vogelchevalier]had shattered instantly, Charon's survived untouched. …Oh, and in Selesia's case, a random Mizushino Sōta had appeared at her side.
With Selesia's invitation, Charon naturally joined their side. The one feeling most pressure was Matsubara. Two of his characters had now appeared. He didn't know whether to feel proud—or crushed.
Yatouji, watching his unease, leaned over with mock sympathy.
"Want to trade?"
"No thanks. You suffer your own sins. You're the one who made Magane."
"Hey, she's a villain! Villains are supposed to be as twisted as possible. But twisted with charm. I couldn't just write a cowardly blob who hides from the hero party for centuries until they die off. No presence. No dignity. That wouldn't prove the heroes' worth at all!"
"Then you succeeded. For her to manifest here proves she had enough recognition. More popular than your protagonist, even."
"Then why… why do they all love a Chaotic Evil?!"
Yatouji clutched his head, despairing.
Matsubara mocked him, but soon his own headache returned.
They needed to design new powers for the Created—powers that would gain recognition, be accepted. Now Charon had joined. That doubled Matsubara's workload. Some of his drafted ideas might need to be scrapped entirely.
Why… why are they always from my story?
He sighed, then muttered, "At least Charon's a hero. If another villain like Magane, or worse—FGO's Goetia—showed up, we'd be doomed. I don't want Human Incineration in this world. We don't have Chaldea. We don't have Gudako."
Then—Van Gogh spoke.
"…No. That won't happen."
Clutching the milk tea Yuna had bought her, she glanced timidly at Matsubara.
"Chaldea… can't come here. Altair's power can't reach that place. They can't… cross into this world."
The room fell silent. Eyes met, uncertain.
Mariné ventured, carefully: "…Van Gogh, can you explain? Why are you so sure Altair can't summon your characters? Do you have proof?"
All eyes turned. Van Gogh trembled. Lowered her head.
Then laughed.
Not joy, but a cornered laugh. Nervous. Resigned.
"Ehehe… Because I never created a story. I only drew events that already happened. To turn them into manga for others to see. And those originals—they won't permit forgeries. They won't allow 'fakes' to be made. Because… to mock the Master, to mock that journey of pain and bonds—that would be an insult."
Not creation. Recording.
"What… do you mean?"
Faces hardened across the room. The weight of her words pressed heavy.
Van Gogh opened her mouth to continue—but Yuna suddenly hugged her.
"Van Gogh. Don't trouble everyone."
Then she faced the room, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, sorry. She's always like this. Always lost in fantasy, can't tell it apart from reality."
Instantly, tension eased.
"Ah… so that's it."
"Say so earlier."
"I used to do the same as a kid. Pretended a stick was a holy sword, swore I'd slay demons."
"It's fine, Yuna-san. Van Gogh's still young. It's cute, really."
They accepted Yuna's words without hesitation.
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