Love You Fourteenth Day: 01 [Militza Carax] ★ (90) (Patreon)

Inside the cave, Militza hung her head and let out a weary breath.

(Has it been four days since then? I wonder how many of them are still alive.)

It seemed about a quarter of the students had been hunted on the first day.

Yes... they were literally "hunted."

Hennebari, whom she'd met on the second day, had told her he saw [Scar] digging a hole near the party venue to bury bodies. He said the corpses of students and TV station staff lying nearby easily numbered over ten.

Apparently, in the beginning, there were students with the nerve to challenge [Scar], but without security bots or riot gear, they stood no chance against that monster without a plan. To begin with, it was doubtful that any of the students here had any real combat experience.

They were likely already buried, or had become lumps of flesh coldly waiting for burial.

It wasn't as if Militza had been idle. While on the run, she had tried to access the sealed-off chronoship several times, but... just as [Scar] had declared, the power itself had been cut, making access impossible. No matter how much hacking knowledge Militza possessed, or what backdoors she had built into the mainframe, if she couldn't connect physically, there was nothing she could do.

She couldn't imagine a medieval person like [Scar] being capable of such a feat, so it was almost certain that Kyouka Kuribayashi was holed up inside, cooperating with her.

She had also tried to force her way onto the ship, but she couldn't even put a scratch on the sturdy outer hull, built to withstand deep-sea pressures. All she could do was watch in vain as the paint, chipped from being hit with rocks, automatically repaired itself with nanomachines.

...It was around noon on the second day that [Scar] started leaving portable rations and water in random places for the students to find.

Of course, it wasn't an act of mercy. It was a vicious trap. And everyone was dancing to her tune, just as she intended.

From around the third day, ugly fights began to break out among the students over those supplies, especially the water. There were even cases where, in their extreme mental state, the disputes escalated into murder.

That was why Militza was now alone with Violette. She couldn't trust anyone anymore.

Angelique, who wasn't with them, had apparently been killed on the first night. Bruikin, one of the people who had been with them until the day before yesterday, had told them.

That lecherous childhood friend of hers had quickly given up and gathered some willing participants to indulge in a final orgy. It seems that's where [Scar] attacked them.

(What kind of twisted integrity is that? Well, I suppose it's just like Angelique...)

Sighing, she pressed her fingers to her temple.

(Thinking about it this way, she never once wavered from who she was, did she...)

Probably ever since she first learned of it in elementary school. Angelique's actions were always based on carnal desire. In that respect, she had lived a remarkably straightforward life.

(Looking at it from another angle—no, even without looking at it from another angle—wasn't she actually an incredible person?)

While energetically engaging with various men and women, she maintained a wide circle of friends, and properly kept up her relationships with Militza and Violette... and on top of that, she had consistently maintained top grades in her studies. Unlike Violette, without any special favors to boost her scores.

(We were as close as sisters for so long, yet maybe I never truly saw her for who she was.)

Militza mocked herself, leaning her back against the cool rock wall.

...Incidentally, Bruikin, the one who had brought news of Angelique, had been abandoned by Militza and the others yesterday.

He had gotten a scratch during a fight over food, but he wouldn't stop screaming "it hurts, it hurts," so they left him behind because he was a nuisance.

He wouldn't even be useful as a shield if they were attacked. By now, he had probably been tortured to death by [Scar].

(Speaking of nuisances...)

She raised her gaze and looked across.

On the opposite wall of the cave, Violette was hugging her knees and crying.

"To think Angelique is dead... Angeliqueeee..."

"Violette, you're wasting precious water with those tears. Get a hold of yourself."

At Militza's words, Violette sniffled and responded.

"...Militza. Help is coming, right? My father will send help, won't he?"

"Yeah, of course. It'll come for sure. So, we just have to hold out until then."

A lie.

Militza no longer believed that help would come.

A rescue mission would also involve time travel. If they were coming, they would have been here much sooner.

It wasn't that they couldn't come; it was that they weren't coming. There was probably a reason for it.

(And there's probably a meaning to this tragedy, too.)

Militza was sure of it. It wasn't an analysis based on logic. Just a gut feeling.

(Lately, it seems I've started to feel things without calculating them.)

Was this change of heart because of her interest in [Educational Operations Studies], or was it because she was in charge of that profit-averse boy, [Lightblade]? Militza herself didn't know.

(But whatever the case, I have to survive this for now.)

She would survive and wait for an opportunity. She would aim for the moment they rebooted the chronoship, somehow hack into it, and seize control.

(There's still a chance.)

Even Kyouka, inside the chronoship, couldn't stay hidden forever. If she didn't activate the mainframe, the food synthesizers and water purifiers wouldn't work.

Unlike a passenger liner, the chronoship was in the category of a scientific research vessel. The loss of all power sources, including numerous backups, or the simultaneous failure of multiple sub-frames, was neither anticipated nor legislated for. Therefore, the amount of emergency supplies was limited, and it was hard to imagine they could live in there like cave creatures for years.

(Besides, there's no way Kyouka can return to the 27th century anyway.)

After doing all this, the death penalty would be unavoidable if she returned. Even if she tried to escape to another era, travel to a future that diverges from the original timeline is impossible.

It was a system designed to prevent, by any chance, interference with the "propose, guide, monitor, warn, and attack" system of the "Future People." All current time machines were built so that new spacetime coordinates could not be set without a government-approved key.

It would be a problem if she gave up on time travel and simply moved around in the chronoship... but at that point, there was nothing Militza could do about it.

(In any case, I need to focus on surviving.)

Just as Militza closed her eyes to recover even a little bit of her strength.

"Aaaahhhhhaaaaaaaa!"

The two of them heard a ghastly scream.

They couldn't tell whose death cry it was. Not even if it was a man's or a woman's. But the problem was that the voice had come from a place not so far away.

"Noooooo! I can't take it anymore! Why do I have to go through this!?"

"Why, you ask..."

Militza was dumbfounded by Violette's moan.

(Isn't this all your fault to begin with?)

Coming up with a stupid plan, punishing Kyouka and causing this situation, and throwing the students into a panic with a careless remark. Everything, everything started with you.

Militza was assaulted by a burning sensation spreading from her back to her shoulders.

(She's hopeless.)

Yes, I'll leave her behind. She's just dead weight. She's useless. Militza reaffirmed this.

If she used Violette as bait, she should be able to distract [Scar] for a while. In that time, she would somehow escape and bide her time.

It might be worth betting on gathering the surviving classmates once more. Persuading them would be difficult, but it was always better to have more "decent fighting power."

(So, I'm leaving her behind.)

I'll abandon her. Use her as a decoy. Violette, both physically and mentally, can't keep running any longer. That's about the only use she has left.

Besides, this is all her fault to begin with. She's reaping what she sowed. An arrogant, selfish, insufferable little girl with an overinflated ego. You giant fool of a girl who can't even clean up her own messes!

Yes, I should abandon this woman here. It's okay to abandon her.

So...!

...Militza let out an especially loud sigh.

(...But even an idiot like this is still my friend, huh...)

No matter how stupid she was. No matter how angry she made her.

No matter how base she was. No matter how much trouble she caused.

Still.

The time she spent with Violette and Angelique wasn't a lie.

(...Maybe I should have acknowledged that sooner and faced Violette with all my heart. If I had, maybe, just maybe, I could have stopped her somewhere. Much, much sooner.)

"Militza?"

Smack!

Militza forcefully cupped the face of the sniffling, bewildered Violette in both hands.

"Get a grip! Violette! That's right, you're Violette Deneuve! An arrogant, selfish, low-brained, idiotic girl with way too much pride! So you'd better toughen up!"

Staring into her eyes, she roughly tousled her auburn hair with her fingers.

"I feel like... you're saying some really horrible things about me..."

With an expression between crying and laughing, Violette responded to Militza.

"Violette."

"Yeah."

"[Scar] will surely find this cave soon."

"Yeah..."

"So when she comes in, you're going to hit her with this rock, with all your might. I'll draw her attention first. You match my timing and strike as hard as you can."

Militza handed a rock to Violette while holding one for herself.

"But I've never hit anyone before."

"Neither have I. But [Scar] is human too. If we hit her, we can take her down. We should be able to manage."

Violette nodded awkwardly.

"Now, hide in that hollow over there. When I give the signal, we attack at the same time."

"O-okay. I got it."

"Good, stay hidden."

...After a short while.

They could hear [Scar]'s humming, as if she were enjoying something immensely. And they could tell it was getting closer.

Hiding their breath, the two of them tightened their grip on the rocks in their hands.

"Let's do this."

"...Yeah."

Militza and Violette.

Their first and last battle was about to begin.