Destruction is not the end; nothingness is.
What kind of person is Chikujouin Magane?
Capricious, delighting in others' misery. Her motto is "Laugh and Enjoy." Everything she does, she does to satisfy her own pleasures—it's just that the things she enjoys happen to be rather vicious.
She loves to lie, claiming she'd feel uncomfortable if she didn't lie every minute.
She loves this world's delicacies, and enjoys drinking milk.
She loves using lies, tricks, and manipulation to deceive, frame, and murder people—and takes pleasure from it.
Her actions have nothing to do with good or evil; they're only meant to twist events toward something she finds interesting. She loves events created by herself, loves events created by others; visible outcomes are enjoyable, but unpredictable outcomes are naturally even better!
"A Chikujouin Magane like this might unleash monsters to murder others, savoring the instant of vanishing lives and despairing screams—but she'd absolutely never destroy the world."
"She undoubtedly loves this world. She hates boring, unchanging things, loves what is interesting, loves a world that constantly births interesting events, loves humanity that endlessly creates fascinating stories."
Matsubara Takashi was also a creator, so he quickly grasped Anazuma Tenkyuu's meaning.
"I think I get it now… So, from her point of view, humans are toys, and the world is her built stage. She might break a few toys from time to time, but she'd never destroy all of them at once along with the stage itself."
Anazuma nodded. "To Chikujouin Magane, nothing could be worse than losing all interesting things forever. She deeply values the continuity and constant change of the world. I can confidently say, if we truly face an enemy attempting to annihilate the world, Chikujouin Magane would undoubtedly stand on our side. Anyone who dares threaten her amusement would be her enemy."
"Urgh… having her join our side… Let's pass on that."
Although Matsubara had never met Chikujouin Magane in person, they'd treated her as a hypothetical enemy for months, thoroughly studied her through her original works, and after grasping her personality, Matsubara could only politely decline.
"I know exactly what you're thinking…"
Anazuma's face turned exceedingly grim. "Even after rationally concluding Magane wouldn't side with those monsters, and might even help us against them—fear is still fear… If she actually joined our side, I'd never sleep soundly again."
Even Chikujouin Magane needs reasons to kill; she follows a certain pattern… entertainment.
In other words, as long as Magane finds you "boring," you're safe. There's no worry of being killed by her.
At first glance, this condition seems tough; indeed, it's far from simple, but it's achievable… for anyone except Anazuma Tenkyuu himself.
Anazuma had keen self-awareness in this regard. As Magane's Creator, if someone compiled a ranking of "people Magane cares about," Anazuma would unquestionably be first place—an overwhelming, landslide first, surpassing second, third, fourth, and fifth combined.
Being the fixation of a pretty seventeen-year-old high school girl didn't make Anazuma feel honored; it only made him feel utterly doomed.
"But, this doesn't add up."
"What's on your mind now?"
Matsubara curiously watched Anazuma sit upright with a thoughtful expression.
"Since learning Chikujouin Magane came into this world, I've been terrified—my meals taste bland, I can't sleep well, always worrying she'd suddenly come knocking… but she never did. She still hasn't."
"Shouldn't you be relieved instead?"
"Yes, I'm glad about that—but it makes no sense!"
Anazuma slammed his hand on the kotatsu, raising his voice. "I'm her Creator! She's been in this world so long, yet she hasn't tried to find me even once?"
"So… do you want her to come find you, or don't you?"
Matsubara's expression was deeply complicated.
It felt exactly like a couple in a long-distance relationship. The guy finally moved to the girl's city for work, but once she learned of this, instead of coming to see him, she vanished without a trace, leaving the guy fuming in frustration.
"So then?"
Expressionless, Matsubara rested his cheek on his hand, curious. "What's your theory?"
Silence, for a brief moment.
Until Anazuma slowly parted his lips, breaking that silence.
"She's dead."
He could think of no other possibility.
If Chikujouin Magane didn't know this world's truth, didn't realize she was fictional, perhaps she'd carry on as usual—killing people for fun, maybe even traveling abroad.
But the moment she learned she was merely a character in this world's stories, she wouldn't doubt her existence; she'd simply find it fascinating and immediately seek out Anazuma Tenkyuu.
Yet, she hadn't.
Anazuma hadn't seen Magane even once in all this time. She had completely vanished without a trace.
Something must have stopped her.
Failing to notice the world's truth, being unable to locate her Creator, mistaking someone else for her Creator… none of these possibilities seemed plausible to Anazuma.
A manipulator approaching demonic levels of cunning, knowing exactly what lies to tell whom—Magane herself is deception incarnate wearing human skin. Practically no Created could avoid being tricked by her; caution was meaningless, for she'd turn even your caution into a component of her deceit.
A person like that, not seeking him out—Anazuma could only think of one reason… she was no longer in this world.
"Either she was sent back to her world, or someone killed her."
"Then who do you think could kill her?" Matsubara stared intently at Anazuma, asking seriously. "Would it be Military Uniform Princess's faction?"
Immediately, without hesitation, Anazuma answered:
"They can't kill Chikujouin Magane."
His voice was quiet, yet precisely because of this, his absolute confidence shone through.
In his understanding, even someone as godlike as Alicetaria, or Altair with her carefully designed abilities and stats, couldn't kill Magane.
"If it's not Altair's group, then who? Who has that power—to kill Chikujouin Magane?"
"…Those monsters, or rather the entity that summoned them."
Anazuma's words held conviction rather than mere speculation. "Magane wouldn't permit the destruction of such an amusing world. The mastermind behind those monsters is undoubtedly her enemy. Magane possesses abilities even trickier than Altair's and the intellect to fully wield them. Maybe she posed a threat to that hidden boss and was directly eliminated."
Heat flowed trapped beneath the kotatsu, somewhat scalding their feet. The television played dull programs neither paid attention to.
Outside, the sun tilted westward.
The cartoonish clock's second hand moved swiftly.
Unnoticed, all the mandarins vanished from the plate, leaving only scattered peels, faintly fragrant.
"All this… is just your speculation, right?" Matsubara said suddenly. "You're lacking solid proof."
"Just my intuition."
Anazuma wrote mystery novels; of course he was sharp. But solving mysteries required evidence, clues—yet he'd been stuck here under protection, unable to go out and gather any. His only clue was his understanding of Magane herself.
Precisely because he lacked evidence, his thoughts remained mere "conjecture."
"Don't even dream of avoiding work just because you guessed 'Chikujouin Magane's already dead.'"
Matsubara shot Anazuma a cold look. "Don't slack off. Even if Magane really is dead, you still have to come up with a weakness for her."
"..."
Okay, Anazuma admitted, he'd indeed entertained the tiniest hope of precisely that. If he could confirm Magane was really gone, he wouldn't need to burn brain cells like Matsubara and the others. He could relax.
Though he clearly understood the slim chance of that wishful thinking succeeding… if he didn't try, how would he know? Just like he wasn't absolutely certain of the guess, "Magane has already been killed by the hidden mastermind."
"Oh, we're out of mandarins already..."
Anazuma stared at the empty plate, turning to Matsubara. "Want some more? I've still got some mandarins, and there's milk in the fridge."
"Oh, sure, thanks."
"No need to be polite—we're friends, aren't we? Stay right here, I'll go fetch you some mandarins."
Despite his casual tone, Anazuma wore an expression of deep reluctance and anguish leaving the kotatsu—as if leaving not a kotatsu but his beloved wife.
Matsubara didn't watch Anazuma leave, just listened to his footsteps fade away. His attention drifted toward the TV, currently playing his own anime, Elemental Symphony of Vogelchevalier.
Watching the lively Selesia and Charon on screen, Matsubara felt deeply surreal. He could talk to these two daily now, eat meals together…
"Ah, Matsubara-san, so you were hiding here!"
Hearing Marine's accusing voice, Matsubara snapped out of his daze.
…Wait. Why did she sound accusatory?
Confused, Matsubara turned, spotting Marine standing with arms crossed and looking irritated—and behind her, Anazuma grinning wickedly.
"Honestly, Matsubara-san, I was searching everywhere for you! Instead, you're slacking off here? There's so much work left! I wouldn't have known if Anazuma-san hadn't told me!"
What? Wait. What?!
Matsubara was utterly dumbfounded.
Hey… wasn't I here to catch Anazuma slacking? Why had I suddenly become the slacker being caught?
I swear to god, Anazuma, you shameless traitor—!
"…Marine-san, let me explain, I really wasn't slacking—"
"Oh? Still denying it?"
Marine grew even angrier. "The warm kotatsu, mandarins eaten clean—are you saying you didn't eat them?"
Matsubara couldn't deny it—he had eaten mandarins.
"Plus! If you're denying it, why's the TV playing your anime? Anazuma-san never watches that!"
Only the one falsely accused knows how truly unjustified they feel.
Behind Marine's back, Anazuma's grin stretched to his ears—a villain's triumphant face.
This damned guy… truly worthy of writing mysteries, truly worthy of being Magane's creator—utterly shameless!
…
Such a chaotic dream…
A complicated security check at a library…
Jumping into a cave, plunging into a lake…
Asked by a classmate if I'd dated my deskmate…
Taking off clothes to bathe, realizing I'm female, yet strangely unfazed…
A magic circle teleporting me into chaotic battle, facing an impossibly strong enemy leader—nearly unbeatable.
Damn, that dream was exhausting…
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