Can Someone from a Tradition-Ridden Village Pull Off a Narou-Style Story in a Modern Dungeon? ～The Higher Being Behind Me Is Way Too Much of a Final Boss～ - Chapter 49: So This Is Two Volumes’ Worth of Sora... (Patreon)

-Thank you DCRangeRange, Dean Dexter and Cannedbread -The battle against the Unlit Shrine had ended, and Senano borrowed a room and calmly finished writing the report.

On the terminal spread out over the tatami were the course of the battle, the disappearance of the Aberrant Entity, matters that could not be observed ―― every necessary item, listed without excess or omission.

No emotion was included.

The fear felt that night, the trembling that came when looking up at the sky, none of it was even written in the “supplementary notes.”

That’s fine, Senano thought.

What was being submitted to the Enri Agency was a record, not regret.

"...Whew, finished."

After adding a signature at the end, Senano closed the terminal.

Outside the window, Shiome Village quietly breathed in the midday light.

Several hours had passed since then, and Senano and Ei spent that time in the village.

They had a simple breakfast at the harbor, looked at dried fish in a souvenir shop, and Ei looked back at the sea again and again.

"I’d like to come again. Next time... when nothing’s happening."

"That’s the hardest wish for an Enri Bearer."

As they exchanged such idle words, time slowly passed.

Shortly before noon, a pickup bus for Enri Bearers appeared at a stop on the outskirts of the village.

Unlike an ordinary vehicle, its body was plain white.

The windows had been processed so the inside couldn’t be seen from outside.

Even if the villagers didn’t know what it was, its appearance alone made it clear that it was a vehicle carrying something.

Just as Senano and the others were about to board it, they heard someone calling out.

"Hey!"

The one calling out was Ogawa.

Beside Ogawa, Okawa stood with a straight back, staring at Senano and the others.

"So you’re really heading home, huh. How about at least one more night? Maybe some fish?"

"Fish...!"

"If we stay any longer, we’ll be treated as tourists next. Strictly speaking, this is still our graduation exam."

Beside Senano, who shrugged, Ei drooped in disappointment.

Ogawa gave a wry smile, and Okawa quietly bowed.

"...Once again, let me thank you. The thing that bound this land for so long has finally ended."

"We still don’t know whether it’s completely over. It’ll probably need to be observed for a while. But... for now, this should be enough."

Okawa lowered their eyes for just a moment, then nodded deeply.

After hesitating a little, Ei stepped forward.

"...Um, thank you very much. All of you were protecting this village all along, weren’t you?"

At those words, Ogawa scratched their head as if embarrassed.

"I didn’t mean to protect it. I just didn’t run away. I didn’t intend to fight."

The fact that they had continued observing didn’t change.

As if showing respect, Senano and Ei also bowed.

Eventually, as if to bid them farewell, the bus door quietly opened.

Senano boarded first, and Ei looked back just once.

"...Fish."

The sea of Shiome Village swayed gently under the midday light.

As if the darkness of that night had been a lie.

"Well then, shall we go?"

"Yes..."

"You can have a little of those sweets we bought as souvenirs."

"Yes!"

Once the two of them took their seats, the bus set off without a sound.

Outside the window, Okawa and Ogawa grew smaller.

Ogawa waved, while Okawa remained standing perfectly upright until the very end.

Ei watched them for a while, but eventually leaned back into the seat and let out a small breath.

In Ei’s hand was a local rice cracker.

"...I’m tired."

"I imagine so. Good work."

The bus entered the mountain road, and before long, Shiome Village vanished from view.

The Unlit Shrine was no more.

But that didn’t mean nothing remained in this land.

Even so, Enri Bearers head to the next place.

As they always do.

『All right, tomorrow is a femboy!』

『Yes. (Adaptation)』

Yes, as they always do.

■

The white vehicle disappeared beyond the mountain road.

The sound of its engine melted into the roar of the tide, and before long, it couldn’t be heard at all.

All that remained at the stop was the light of a summer afternoon and the lukewarm wind blowing up from the sea.

"...They left. Now the average age just shot way up again."

Ogawa muttered that and lifted the brim of their hat.

Okawa, arms still folded, sighed at Ogawa’s behavior and silently looked toward the mountain.

Then it happened.

"――Ah, there they are!"

A voice came from the bottom of the slope.

When they turned around, they saw Minako running toward them, out of breath.

Minako’s bright blue jersey was wet here and there, and droplets of water fell from the tips of their hair.

"...Minako, you’re late. Or rather, where have you been until now?"

Okawa said with a frown.

"S-Sorry, Squad Leader! I just... well..."

Minako’s gaze wandered as she searched for words, then she pointed toward the sea with her thumb.

"...I fell into the sea."

"Huh?"

Ogawa let out a stupid-sounding voice.

"My foot slipped... You know, seaweed grows on rocky shores, right? And then, before I knew it, splash."

It was an extremely plain excuse.

But Minako’s tone was bright as usual, and her smile didn’t look forced.

Okawa and the others looked at Minako’s wet sleeves and the faint trembling still remaining in her body, understood that Minako really had fallen into the sea, and asked nothing more.

"...You’re the same as ever."

Saying that, Okawa laughed lightly.

"Haha, my bad!"

Minako smiled back.

Then Minako stood beside the two of them and stared at the mountain road stretching into the distance.

The bus was already out of sight.

"They left, huh."

Minako murmured.

"Yes. Because everything those people had to do is over."

Okawa’s voice was low and quiet.

Minako nodded slightly and turned her gaze toward the sea.

The midday sea shone with an expression that knew nothing.

As if it had swallowed up everything, the abnormality of that dawn and the memory of the sky splitting open.

"...The sea was cold."

Minako said it as if it were nothing.

It was an excuse, and at the same time, it was also a statement that conveyed only the fact that Minako had come back alive.

Perhaps the two of them didn’t fully understand the intent behind those words. After hearing them, they looked at each other.

Then they tilted their heads.

"For now, why don’t you go back to your room and change?"

"Will do."

Even as they said that, the three of them stood side by side, seeing off the bus’s destination, though it was no longer visible.

Summer in Shiome Village was only just beginning.

Wrapped in the hot sunlight and the roar of the tide, its slow daily life would probably continue as if nothing had happened.

However, it didn’t seem like Minako would be able to immerse herself in that gentle afterglow.

(...It had gotten abnormally strong. Isn’t that thing even worse than during the Harmel Incident?)

Sorayodo no Oohito.

The sensation of being looked down on by that sky itself still remained cold in the depths of Minako’s chest.

Minako hadn’t been killed.

That alone was close to a miracle.

But ―― there was the cursed content that had been forced onto her.

"...Squad Leader, do you read romantic comedy manga?"

For now, Minako decided to start by understanding the blueness of the sky.

■

No record exists.

No memory exists.

The fact that Sorayodo no Oohito and the Tide-Weeping Shrine Maiden fought was not engraved anywhere in the world.

The observation satellite SKY-9 fell silent, ground sensors showed normal values, and from the minds of those involved, even that blank itself had been scraped away.

However.

Only those who had evacuated to the 『Anti-Recognition-Disaster Specialized Shelter』 in the deep underground layers of the Enri Agency knew of that event.

The walls were thick, information-blocking syntax overlapped in countless layers, and only this space had been severed from the world.

Here, they could remain without forgetting “what they had seen.”

"...Don’t screw with me."

A rough voice fell into the silent shelter.

One of the Enri Agency upper management, a man of such standing that there was no need to call him by his title, approached without even trying to hide his irritation.

"How do you intend to explain this matter, Shin'en Doushi?"

At the end of his gaze was a man sitting in a chair, looking the same as always.

He had not removed his mask. But his tone was as calm as ever.

"Explain? An event that remains in neither records nor memory?"

That only poured oil on the fire.

"Don’t play dumb! We know! We know that Sorayodo no Oohito engaged the Tide-Weeping Shrine Maiden in combat!"

His fist struck the desk.

But the sound rang out strangely lightly.

However, it was more than enough to make the discontent everyone present had been holding explode.

"Who was it that said it could be managed before?"

"Who judged in the report that it was under control?"

"Who permitted the existence of the pseudo-medium?"

"――All of that was me."

Shin'en Doushi admitted it readily.

That attitude only amplified the other man’s anger further.

"...Then this is simple. This incident was the result of your failure to manage it properly. There should be no need to wait for Enshu-sama’s judgment. You’ll be disciplined."

For an instant, the air in the shelter grew tense.

But Shin'en Doushi remained seated deeply in his chair, still wearing a faint smile.

As always, the expression hidden behind that mask couldn’t be known.

"You thought it was being managed, didn’t you?"

It was a quiet question.

"...What did you say?"

"Sorayodo no Oohito had certainly responded to us until now. It limited its interference, optimized the results, and settled matters without destroying the world."

Linking his fingers together, Shin'en Doushi continued.

"But that was not because it was being managed."

The man from upper management fell silent.

"We were merely being tolerated. It was observed, used, and still it simply didn’t become angry."

"...Absurd. We have, many times――"

"Successful experiences gave birth to arrogance."

Shin'en Doushi said calmly.

"It’ll probably be fine again this time. There haven’t been any problems until now. Sorayodo no Oohito can be controlled."

Whose mouths had those words come from?

Everyone present had an idea.

"But this time was different."

Shin'en Doushi raised his gaze.

"Sorayodo no Oohito even seized control of the observation satellite."

"...!"

"It caused a battle that would not remain in the world, and even so, it did not kill us."

What that meaning indicated was clear.

"It wasn’t that we neglected management."

Shin'en Doushi stated it plainly.

"The very premise that it could be managed was mistaken."

Silence.

The man who had stormed in yelling slowly let out a breath.

"...Then what are we supposed to do?"

That question was not a pursuit of responsibility.

It was born from pure fear.

"The same as before."

Shin'en Doushi returned to his usual tone.

"Maintain the necessary distance. Don’t touch it too much. Don’t trust it too much. But ―― don’t discard it either."

"You think that’ll be enough?"

"It might not be."

That is exactly why, he added.

"Next time, don’t think you’re managing it."

No one in upper management argued against those words.

Outside the shelter, the world continues turning calmly today.

With a face that says nothing happened.

But only those here know.

They know that Sorayodo no Oohito still has not done anything to humanity.

『Oh, so the humans here can remember. Interesting!』

Yes, it is still only watching, and has done nothing.-Thank you DCRangeRange, Dean Dexter and Cannedbread -