Seeing that he had frightened Megumi, Haizaki knew his goal had been achieved and prepared to leave.
"I'm just an ordinary high school girl."
"All special personnel say that. They all claim to be ordinary people," Haizaki replied calmly.
"Then you are too. Earlier, when you answered Aki-kun's question, you said—you're just an ordinary person."
Megumi did not intend to let things end so easily.
After witnessing Haizaki refuse to leave his name for Kasumigaoka-senpai, she guessed that if she missed this chance, she might lose all trace of him.
Even she herself did not know why she had this feeling.
"Are you provoking me? Mocking me?"
Haizaki smiled faintly. His slightly teasing manner was the kind that easily provoked dislike.
But that was exactly the reaction he needed.
In his previous life during the Disaster Apocalypse, Haizaki and Megumi had only been companions struggling to survive.
In the end of that life, he had already repaid the help Megumi gave him.
He had given her his own slot in the Ark Project as thanks for nearly a year of assistance.
Haizaki had the confidence to say he owed her nothing.
"I'm only stating facts I know. If that made you angry, I apologize."
Megumi lowered her head and apologized in a flat tone. It gave the impression of lacking sincerity, but Haizaki knew this was simply her nature.
"In that case, I accept your apology. Then let us part ways here."
"Sorry, please wait."
She still did not let Haizaki leave.
Megumi raised a finger and pointed at the bouquet Haizaki was holding in his left hand.
"Forget-me-nots. Give them to me… okay?"
This made Haizaki pause. Why did Megumi suddenly want the flowers in his hand? And didn't she know these were meant for Utaha?
Even if Utaha hadn't accepted them, there was no way he would give them to her.
"I'm sorry. They already have a recipient."
Haizaki refused. He could not give the forget-me-nots to Megumi.
"I know. That's why I want to help you deliver them to the person you meant to give them to—Kasumigaoka-senpai."
She had no intention of taking possession of the bouquet.
She just wanted to help.
Just to help.
"You… don't plan to appear in front of senpai again, do you?"
How sharp.
Megumi.
Indeed, he would not appear before Utaha again in the near future.
The longer the contact, the more likely problems would arise.
He also needed time to digest the information and knowledge from Solitary Apocalypse, and to prepare for the next apocalyptic world.
"Please give them to me. I'll help you deliver them to Kasumigaoka-senpai. Otherwise, they'll be sad too, won't they?"
Megumi pointed at the forget-me-nots, then extended her hand toward Haizaki.
Her expression showed little change, as though she did not care about Haizaki's scrutinizing gaze.
In the end, Haizaki placed the bouquet into the girl's hands.
Letting Megumi help was not a bad option.
He couldn't exactly take the forget-me-nots back to Chiba. As for throwing them away… that would truly be a waste. After all, he had spent considerable effort trimming them the night before.
"Thank you for the trouble."
Haizaki thanked her softly.
"Is there really no sense of familiarity at all?"
Perhaps because Haizaki had handed over the flowers, Megumi brought the topic back again. Clearly, she did not want to give up so easily.
Or perhaps this was her final struggle before letting go.
"I think it's just an illusion. For example, if a strange boy suddenly told you he felt familiar with you, how would you react?"
Megumi tilted her head slightly, thought for a moment, then answered.
"If it were you, I'd think we… have some kind of fate."
"And if it were another man?"
"So far, you're the only man who's made me feel this strange sense of familiarity."
Not just familiarity, but something deeper—a sense of indebtedness.
Megumi felt as though she owed the man before her something.
In her heart arose an impulse to make amends, to compensate.
Looking back at the girl's calm eyes and waterlike expression, Haizaki understood that continuing this conversation was meaningless.
Megumi was, in her own way, quite stubborn.
"I feel no familiarity toward you, so we have no fate."
"That's a pity. I thought you might feel the same way I do."
Perhaps because of Haizaki's clear response, Megumi chose to accept it.
"My name is Megumi, a second-year student in Class B at Toyogasaki. May I know your name?"
For the first time in her life, she asked a strange man for his name. She felt a bit shy inside, even though her expression did not change at all, as if she were doing something perfectly normal.
"As thanks for me delivering the forget-me-nots to Kasumigaoka-senpai for you?"
And doing so as a condition for repayment—something she would never have done to a stranger in the past.
But at this moment, she had no choice.
She had a feeling that if she missed this chance, it might be forever.
"Next time we meet, I'll… tell you."
He gave her the same answer he had given Utaha.
He would tell her next time.
However…
His daily activities were not in the Toyogasaki area, nor even in Tokyo. The chance of meeting again was extremely low.
Megumi stood in place, watching the man who waved and walked away with his back to her.
She quietly felt the heartbeat in her chest.
"There really is something… different."
The first abnormal situation in her life.
It wasn't love at first sight, but rather similar to witnessing Kasumigaoka-senpai's state—like amnesia mixed with lingering nostalgia.
Megumi's grades were not outstanding, but her basic logical thinking remained sound.
From her initial probing until now, she was certain that Haizaki knew her and understood her—
Yet deliberately avoided her.
There was undoubtedly a problem here.
"What exactly… do I owe you?"
It felt like a debt she would never be able to repay.
In the distance, the otaku Tomoya had almost witnessed the entire scene. Though he hadn't heard their conversation, their actions alone were enough to fuel his imagination.
Combined with the earlier scene between the man and Kasumigaoka-senpai, his creative drive surged uncontrollably.
After the encounter with the beret-wearing girl beneath the cherry blossoms, the male lead clearly had an unknown relationship with Toyogasaki's school idol, Kasumigaoka-senpai.
This was practically a born protagonist.
Perhaps at their next reunion, a third heroine would appear.
Tomoya made up his mind—he would create the greatest galgame in the world.
If he failed, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
...
At noon, Haizaki ate a simple lunch at a restaurant somewhere in Tokyo and prepared to begin his next course of action.
Haizaki had originally planned to fabricate the identity of a "mysterious person" and hand over a large number of internal photographs taken of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier stationed in Japan to the Eastern Union's joint embassy in Japan, in order to establish initial contact with the Eastern Union and build a preliminary relationship.
However, what worried him more now was whether the Solitary Apocalypse had had any influence on the initial world.
Using the channels available to him, he searched for information on the military bases of various countries that he had visited in the Solitary Apocalypse world.
None of them showed signs of intrusion, stolen items, or anything else worthy of attention.
Considering his own situation, and the fact that there was no need to rush into contacting the Eastern Union or other countries, Haizaki ultimately decided to postpone plans related to foreign nations in the initial world.
At present, he still could not ensure his own safety.
Making contact rashly would only bring him enormous risk.
Aside from that, the only thing he needed to do in Tokyo was to exchange gold for cash.
...
At a certain gold shop in Tokyo, Haizaki was speaking with a female clerk.
"Sir, are you sure you want to sell gold to our shop?"
The clerk wore a doubtful expression.
"Yes. If it's not possible, I'll leave right away…"
This time, Haizaki only planned to sell two kilograms of gold.
Even though gold smuggling was rampant in Japan, caution was still necessary.
He tried to present himself as a short-term tourist who had smuggled a bit of gold just to make some extra money.
"Please wait a moment. I'll contact the manager immediately…"
This was clearly not something a part-time clerk could decide. Someone of higher authority was needed.
Five minutes later, a middle-aged man in a suit entered the shop's reception room.
The two began negotiations. After verifying that Haizaki's gold bars were of extremely high purity, the manager's face broke into a smile.
"Sir, our shop is willing to buy this gold at 4,500 yen per gram…"
"Alright."
The middle-aged manager froze for a moment. He hadn't expected Haizaki to agree so decisively.
He secretly regretted not offering a lower price. This was money—money that could have gone into his own pocket as profit.
"Then, sir, would you like cash or a bank transfer?"
"Cash."
Two kilograms of gold amounted to a total of nine million yen.
"Please wait ten minutes. We'll prepare the cash for you."
After the manager left, the female clerk entered the reception room.
Seeing the smile on the manager's face earlier, she already knew the transaction had gone through.
She just didn't know the amount involved.
"Sir, this is my business card. If you have business in the future, you can contact me. I'll reach out to the manager and make the arrangements for you…"
The clerk smiled as she handed Haizaki a business card.
"Alright."
However, when he took the card, her hand accidentally brushed against his.
At first, Haizaki thought it was an accident, but after seeing the handwritten signature on the back, he suddenly realized something.
He glanced curiously at the clerk beside him.
She still wore a gentle gaze and a sweet smile. Meeting his eyes, she smiled even more brightly.
She did not shy away from his scrutiny.
Luck?
No—it was probably the power of money.
Five minutes later, the manager handed Haizaki a yellow envelope containing nine stacks of ten-thousand-yen bills.
"If you have more gold to sell, you can contact me directly…"
Haizaki accepted the manager's business card.
The gold shop manager was unaware of what the clerk had done earlier.
"Mm."
"Ms. Yamada, please see the gentleman out."
"Understood, Manager."
Facing the clerk's subtle hint, Haizaki responded normally.
Although the clerk was fairly attractive—above average in looks, with light makeup making her face appear more refined and fair—overall, she was indeed a girl with a certain charm.
If it were another man, he might already be contacting her tonight to do the sorts of things people like to do.
Unfortunately, this time her target was Haizaki.
He felt nothing toward her. All he wanted was to return to Chiba.
...
Haizaki boarded the JR Chūō–Sōbu Line, heading toward Chiba. He was expected to arrive at Chiba City Station in about an hour.
As the train began to move, Haizaki glanced back in the direction of Toyogasaki.
The matter concerning Utaha had, for now, come to an end.
With a soft snap, Haizaki closed his wallet.
In the end, he still did not remove the photo of himself and Utaha from inside.
After all, they had agreed—without her consent, he could not take it out.
The train's television was playing an entertainment program.
"Sakurajima-san, what are your thoughts on your next film? Will it still lean toward—"
At the center of the screen was the currently popular star—Sakurajima Mai.
In his previous life, Haizaki hadn't paid much attention to Japan's entertainment industry. He had only passively heard classmates discuss Sakurajima Mai, the new generation's popular high school star.
He had thought he would never have any connection with her, but after the Disaster Apocalypse broke out, things changed.
Haizaki had contact with the idol named "Sakurajima Mai" in reality.
"Hello, Sakurajima-san…"
Leaning back in his seat, Haizaki watched the girl on the screen.
She displayed her beauty effortlessly.
Long black hair, a rabbit-shaped hair clip adding a touch of cuteness, snow-white skin, and exquisitely refined features bordering on unfair.
Every smile and frown radiated astonishing appeal and charm.
She truly lived up to the word "star."
Compared to the version of her he remembered from the apocalypse, it was like seeing two completely different people.
Haizaki still clearly remembered what she looked like when they first met.
Her long black hair had been stuffed under a black cap. Loose gray-blue men's clothing concealed her feminine curves. Her fair face was covered in mud, and an unpleasant stench clung to her body.
If not for an accidental sound that betrayed her gender, Haizaki might have thought she was a man.
Even now, he vividly remembered her cute reaction when he pointed out that she was female.
Like a startled rabbit, afraid that he might pounce on her.
Yet even that innocent girl knew how to protect herself in the apocalypse.
"Goodbye…" he murmured softly.
What suited Mai best was still the dazzling stage beneath countless spotlights.
So, let peace continue forever.
...
-----
Give me your stones or the mouse below will bite holes on your clothes.
…ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ