LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 399
In my opinion, my face doesn’t give off as sharp an impression as I thought it would.
I thought that I had a somewhat sharp appearance, just like Kagami, and while Kagami’s eyes were a bit sharp, I inherited at least some of that sharpness.
However, Kagami had never gotten angry at me, and I believe I grew up with a rather round personality. So, even if my eyes are somewhat sharp, there’s not much hostility in my face. Everyone around me treats me comfortably.
Maybe that’s why that head’s face didn’t look scary at all when just glancing at it.
Phew.
But for some reason, that non-scary face made what that head was doing strangely out of place. It was a bit… how should I say, scary.
“Wow!”
The head jumped off the railing, scattering those “school uniform bundles” connected beneath its neck.
“Eek.”
“Eeek.”
Perfect timing—the police hiding over there got startled. The head turned around at the sound, but didn’t show any intent to attack the police uncles in uniform.
I sighed at that.
How it managed to stab, I couldn’t tell. The slime slid off the railing and plopped onto the ground. Well, I did see something like a human head inside that translucent body. I couldn’t figure out what it was made of though.
If I break that head, will it die?
“Uwoo?”
The head tilted it at me. Then, it seemed like some droopy cloth-like things beneath its neck puffed up as if air was blowing into them. Its body expanded like a balloon taking on a human shape, eventually matching my current form.
But that school uniform and the plastic raincoat on top would probably just be clumps of flesh. I couldn’t understand the principle behind it, though.
Thud.
With its arms spread wide, resembling a gymnast struck the final pose, the head—or rather, the thing that resembled me—landed on the ground and strangely grinned at me.
“Wow!”
“……”
I looked at Yuka.
Yuka was staring blankly at the head.
“……Huh?”
A woman made that sound.
When I turned my head, I saw her tilting hers in confusion.
Her eyebrows slightly furrowed, it seemed this was unexpected for her.
“……What on earth happened while I wasn’t looking? You didn’t happen to know about this place, did you? No, that can’t be…”
“Candy.”
“Excuse me?”
“I only gave her a few pieces of candy.”
Yeah.
If that girl really was my “sister,” as that woman said, then there must be some connection to Kagami. There had to be a reason why Kagami ran away with only me.
She might have seen me as a person. If I hadn’t randomly thought of such a thing, I might have asked Yuka to bear-with-me.
Or maybe I wielded my knife directly.
“Why on earth did you think she would listen to you?”
I deliberately tilted my head towards the woman to ask.
To speak frankly, although it was a bit chilly, I was sweating cold bullets. Even though that thing had joined us and we defeated a couple of slime-like creatures, I still couldn’t tell what cards the lady was holding.
There were unseen things, and more slimes. It wouldn’t be odd if she had the power to control that girl. After all, she seemed to have intended to “use” her somehow.
“……”
The woman was quietly gazing our way, seemingly deep in thought.
Phew.
However, there was one presence here that clearly didn’t intend to give her time to think.
That girl, who had been trembling since she realized the woman was here, seemed to have regained some of her body, and was now moving much more aggressively.
To be precise, I couldn’t even track her movements with my eyes.
“No…!?”
Yuka reflexively shouted while wielding her sword.
One slime got hit again. The one next to it as well. Precisely attacking its head, the girl resembling me stopped the movements of the two slimes.
And her eyes turned towards the woman—
In the blink of an eye, she was holding something transparent with her hair. She was basically walking with her hair as well.
“……”
The woman looked up at that mass.
“Uwoo.”
“…Haha.”
The woman chuckled.
“Hahaha! So that’s what it is!?”
She was doubling over in laughter, as if she found it absurd. Even while the masses were tearing each other apart.
Though the girl resembling me was being torn up here and there, the torn flesh would reattach. Conversely, the unseen things were bleeding profusely. Since I couldn’t see them, I couldn’t grasp the exact situation, but it didn’t seem like either of them held an advantage.
“From the very beginning, from the very beginning…!”
The woman’s laughter had now turned hysterical.
“…Hah. Mr. Waitley.”
The woman said.
“Let’s retreat for now.”
“Where to…!”
Hearing that, Yuka took a step forward, but with a loud bang, the woman disappeared.
“Wow!?”
The thing that was fighting also vanished, and the creature resembling me fell forward.
It flattened momentarily then slowly returned to my form like a slime that had been smashed into the ground, raising its head.
“Uwoo…”
And while looking in the direction the woman had disappeared, it made that sound.
It sounded unmistakably like a child’s voice.
“……”
The goosebumps stopped.
The Yōkai was now gone. Perhaps the corpses of the slimes would slowly vanish too. The police uncles were groggily getting back up. Their expressions were all dazed.
The girl resembling me slowly rose and looked at me.
As I looked at her, many thoughts crossed my mind.
In fact, I might be a being just like her. Perhaps I was born formless like that and would not have been treated as a person.
That child spoke. It seemed she could think as well.
I had no idea what she had sustained herself on, living atop that dilapidated house’s roof. But, unlike me, she probably spent her time being scared of the nearby people, with no one to take care of her.
“…What should we do now?”
Yuka said.
For the first time since meeting Yuka, I felt like I heard her mumble something flustered in this situation.
Indeed.
What should we do?
“Uwoo?”
That girl, sensing our gazes, tilted her head while looking at me.
*
“Alright then, I’ll call you Koko for now.”
“Uwoo?”
“Koko.”
I pointed at her, the one I decided to call Koko, and said, and she tilted her head.
“Koko?”
“Yeah, Koko.”
“Koko!”
“Koko.”
“Koko!”
Hmm, this feels like it might never end.
In the shaking car, I pointed at myself and said, “Koto Ne.”
“Koto Ne!”
“Yuka.”
“Yuka!”
“……”
When I pointed at Yuka, Koko repeated Yuka’s name once more. Yuka looked at us with an incredibly complicated expression.
Koko was still wearing her school uniform. What else could I do? I couldn’t show my naked self in front of Yuka.
While there were not many people in good physical condition, there was someone who could drive, so we decided to take them with us.
There were other refrigerators in the remaining rooms of that house. However, I decided to seal them for now rather than absorbing all those masses, as I didn’t know how she’d turn out.
While there were residents who peeked out after hearing the gunshots, it seemed most had been trembling inside their homes. According to Yuka, from the moment the slimes appeared, the area had likely become a “nest” already.
Once they entered that nest, a disconnect with the surroundings occurs. In light novels, this was why people didn’t remember fighting Yōkai in broad daylight.
“…But that girl, do you really plan to take her with us?”
“……”
I thought about many things.
Is bringing her with us the best option? Or would it be better not to take her?
I couldn’t easily come to a conclusion. In our house, there was Kagami. If I understood that Kagami might have another daughter she left behind, I’d know what would happen.
However, at the same time, I couldn’t let the government people take her away. In the end, I ended up insistent that I would protect this girl right there.
Wasn’t that building owned by Kurosawa? I’m also Kurosawa. So she’s also a Kurosawa, I said.
I mentioned that we’d observe the more precise outcome a bit longer. Since it would have to be reported to someone higher up.
And for that brief moment, I was able to protect her.
Yuka still wore a reluctant expression.
However, leaving her protection to Yuka didn’t make much sense in various ways either.
So, in the end, I couldn’t reach a decent conclusion, and we headed home.
“…By the way, what’s that name?”
“…It’s a temporary name.”
I could only respond like that to Yuka’s question. After all, I couldn’t say it’s Koko because she initially appeared with a giant nose.
*
“Koto Ne!”
Kagami, who had been waiting in front of the house, ran over with a bright smile, seeing the car stop.
We had spent longer than usual. How long had Kagami been waiting outside?
Standing alongside Dad with a shawl draped over her shoulders, she brightened up and ran toward me—
Only to stop in her tracks upon seeing Koko getting off behind me.
Koko looked just like me.
“Koto Ne?”
“Koto Ne!”
When Kagami called my name, Koko held her voice high again.
Kagami and Dad were frozen. And Koko tilted her head in confusion.
Yuka stepped down from behind.
In this incredibly awkward situation, I seriously pondered what to say.
And I couldn’t come up with anything at all.
Um.
This is a disaster.