Chapter: 147. Returning to Kawano City
Summer quietly arrives without anyone noticing.
When Nagi and Kanade said goodbye to the Inoue family, the two elderly people did not insist too much on keeping them; they seemed to have known all along that they could not live in this small town for long. However, in the end, the warm-hearted old couple still expressed that “Nagi and Kanade are always welcome to come back.”
On the day Nagi and Kanade boarded the train leaving the small town, it was also the first day of summer vacation for students.
Summer and summer vacation.
These two words held a special meaning for Kanade.
In his childhood, when summer came, it meant he had more time to be with little Nagi. Before little Nagi started elementary school, every summer vacation, she would come to find him to play every day, giving him a reason to leave that oppressive home.
Even after little Nagi went to school and became a child star, she would still seek him out on her rare days off during summer.
So for Kanade, whenever summer and summer vacation came up, the first thing that came to mind was the beautiful times he spent with little Nagi.
But this beautiful symbol lasted only until the first year of middle school.
At that time, he could never have imagined that that summer would be the last peaceful summer he would spend with little Nagi.
After the Nanase Island incident the following year, he didn’t even get to experience the arrival of summer before leaving Kawano City, leaving little Chi for the first time.
And this year, after a long-awaited reunion, they found themselves caught in a situation of forced escape.
“If only we could return to that summer back then,” Kanade thought quietly while sitting on the train, looking at the lush scenery outside the window.
Beside him, Nagi, who gently leaned against him, seemed to notice Kanade’s current thoughts, slowly moving her body closer and wrapping her arms around him, as if trying to let him truly feel her presence.
“L-Little… Sakura?” Kanade paused for a moment, almost slipping up but finally corrected himself to say Nagi’s current alias.
“It’s summer~,” Nagi’s bright, beautiful eyes met Kanade’s gaze.
“This summer, we can finally create even more lovely memories together~.”
Nagi’s bright and optimistic attitude swept away the gloom in Kanade’s heart—
—Yes, even if this summer isn’t peaceful, as long as we can be together… we can create many wonderful memories.
—And there are countless summers for both of us.
—In the end, we will definitely welcome the future happiness we dream of.
“Yes… So what does Little Sakura want to see next?” Kanade perked up, placing his hand on Nagi’s shoulder and gently hugging her back.
“Yes! Yes! I want to see the snow scenery in Tokyo!”
“I don’t think there’s a Tokyo in this world where it snows in summer,” Kanade replied promptly.
“Tsk, that selfish child, Tokyo…”
“Aren’t you the selfish one!?”
“Then let’s compromise a bit and go to Antarctica to see the snow scenery.”
“Where’s the compromise in that!? The distance between these two places is too far!”
“Huh? Don’t you know, Subaru-kun? Actually, Antarctica is right next to Tokyo! You can get there in no time if you take the Ginza line!”
“What kind of alternate universe Tokyo is that!?”
…
Watching Kanade’s silly banter, Nagi silently smiled to herself.
—As expected, even after all these years apart, Kanade-kun hasn’t changed…
—So even if I’m not by your side in the future, it should be fine, right?
While smiling, Nagi gently buried her head in Kanade’s embrace.
Kanade-kun, during this last journey before our eternal farewell, will the beautiful memories we create along the way be enough for you to endure a lifetime of loneliness and solitude?
…
…
The old train carried the two on their “final” journey.
Meanwhile, at the back of the train.
The air was filled with a mechanical humming sound.
A drone, the size of an adult’s fist and gleaming silver, slowly ascended.
As blue lights illuminated the surface of the drone, it seemed as if a layer of glass suddenly covered it, completely blending into the surrounding environment.
Optical camouflage mode.
Next, more drones emerged and entered optical camouflage mode one by one, maintaining a safe distance while following closely behind the old train.
The cameras on the drones penetrated the iron shell of the train and locked onto the two targets inside.
The state-of-the-art camera systems at the forefront of technology transmitted the captured data from the train and the targets back to the temporary command center nearby.
“The target has been confirmed to have left Shite Town and is currently not exposed.” In a temporary command center set up not far from Shite Town, personnel from the Special Organization SEMA monitored every piece of information relayed from the drone.
Following the certification of ACE Midrash, it is highly likely that the legendary “phantasmagoric creature – the End” is present next to Kanade.
Those who had previously faced the End were well aware of the challenges posed by that phantasmagoric creature; in its presence, inorganic materials are far more useful than organic ones.
Thus, they invested heavily in the latest technological advancements of the Special Organization SEMA.
In front of them, a cutting-edge computer integrated and predicted the data returned by the drones, collaborating with systems from various cities to build a new advanced network that forecasted the target’s path and every possible course of action.
Of course, in addition to monitoring the target’s movements in real-time, there was one other thing they had to remain vigilant about.
“A13 report, no clouds detected near area A13, no indication of rain for the time being.”
“B3, no issues detected in area B as well, that’s all.”
…
Numerous personnel from the Special Organization SEMA, equipped with the latest portable devices, spread across surrounding areas, using their instruments, keen eyes, instincts, and insights to monitor the weather above.
Do not go out on rainy days.
For psychics of the old era, this was a rule that must be observed.
Any psychic who disregarded this rule never fared well.
“When are we going to take action?” One young psychic sitting in front of the command center screen couldn’t help but ask a superior next to him.
At this moment, they had already locked onto the target and were fully prepared.
Even the ACE-level psychics had gathered in this small command center, with no less than a dozen present.
Even in the frontline against phantasmagoric creatures, this level of combat capability was ample for a major operation.
Yet they had been holding their position since last night.
If they were discovered by the target and lost their drone’s tracking, that would be counterproductive.
Thus, the young psychic was quite anxious.
“This is not up to us to decide; we need to wait for new orders from headquarters.”
“But if this continues, the target might escape…”
The superior, another psychic, did not respond to the young psychic’s concerns but silently walked away.
At the same time, his lips moved slightly, as if murmuring to himself: “If that happens, it would be great because that way we would all survive.”
Whether it was the potentially evolving “phantasmagoric creature – the End” or the one suspected to defeat all phantasmagoric creatures of this era, “Hoshigami Nagi.”
These were the enemies this psychic was eager to face.
Meanwhile, Adam on the other side of the Earth shared this same thought.
Clearly, a foe of this level was no longer something an ordinary ACE-level psychic could handle.
Moreover, “X-level” psychics could not be dispatched where the presence of the “End” was suspected.
Therefore, strictly speaking, among the large group tracking Tsukimi Kanade and Hoshigami Nagi, only ACE Midrash had the fighting power.
Thus, Adam waited.
Waiting for the detailed investigation report on “Hoshigami Nagi” from SEMA, regarding her background; only when Adam instinctively flicked through it did he realize how outrageous it all was.
Whether it was the fact that she came into contact with extraordinary power at the same time as Tsukimi Kanade.
Or being affected by the End during the past Nanase Island resurrection incident.
Even the day Kanade awakened his powers and the End re-emerged, she was at the center of that disaster.
Just this alone would be enough for SEMA to heighten their vigilance towards her, expending more resources to monitor and investigate her.
Yet it seemed as if something in the past distorted everyone’s perception, preventing them from realizing the connections and implications behind these events, causing them to continue believing that Hoshigami Nagi was just an exceptionally “ordinary” girl.
Until ACE Midrash’s report poked a sharp needle through this bubble, a wave of dissonance struck everyone.
Hoshigami Nagi was far from ordinary; whenever Kanade experienced extraordinary events, she was always by his side.
The best proof was that in the more than two years since Tsukimi Kanade left Kawano City and Hoshigami Nagi, he had been living a peaceful life, but once the new semester began and Hoshigami Nagi also arrived at Ark Academy, incidents like the killing of the Moon Academy professor, infiltration events within Ark Academy, Kanade’s awakening, and the reappearance of the End taking advantage of fragments, alongside the invasion of the Infinite Academy by phantasmagoric creatures, all occurred.
It seemed that every serious extraordinary disaster had her involvement.
—————–
“By the way, your birthday is coming up soon, right, Little Sakura?”
“Eh? Is it? So many things have happened lately that I can’t keep track, hee hee…” Nagi said shyly, scratching her head and giggling.
“Birthday…?” For a moment, a lonely and regretful expression flashed across Nagi’s face, but she quickly revealed a happy smile: “To celebrate my birthday today with Subaru-kun is just wonderful~.”
However, Kanade did not miss this small detail.
At the same time, he understood why Nagi had shown such an expression.
Because Nagi had spent every birthday throughout her life at home with her family.
And her previous reaction clearly reminded her of her family.
It suddenly struck Kanade that this seemingly strong and perfect girl in front of him was, after all, just a lonely child missing her family.
The cheerful demeanor she intentionally displayed was likely to prevent him from feeling guilt or worry about her, right?
With this thought in mind, Kanade inadvertently placed his hand on the pocket containing the rings.
—If only for just one day, just for that birthday.
An audacious thought suddenly emerged in Kanade’s mind.
“Um, Little Sakura… do you want to go back to Kawano City on your birthday?” Kanade quietly asked while placing his hand into his pocket, tightly gripping the box containing the rings.
