V4Ch4: Part 2

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Translator: Soafp

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Once I arrived home my mother greeted me, her head tilting slightly in curiosity, then she flashed a smile.

“It seems like something good happened for you, Towa, something you genuinely feel good about.”

“Yeah… Something did. I managed to reconcile with a childhood friend.”

Just saying “childhood friend” should let my mom know who it is.

My mom’s eyes widened briefly in surprise, but then she quickly smiled and gently patted my head.

“Hey, why are you patting my head?”

“Fufu, isn’t it nice? Lately, everything seems to be going well for you, Towa. It’s all because of the results you’ve been pulling in.”

“… Yeah, I think I’ve been working really hard these past few months.”

“You sure have. I think you’ve been doing incredibly well.”

My mom didn’t press for more details and instead hugged me tightly.

…Ah, being embraced by my mom like this really calms me down… It’s oddly comforting, almost like my head is floating… All my exhaustion just melts away.

“W-wait a minute. Towa, your face is really red?”

“… Eh?”

My face is red…?

Could it be because I’m embarrassed by my mom hugging me…?

“…I’ll touch your forehead.”

My mom’s hand touched my forehead, and the cool sensation felt pleasant.

“Mom… Could it be?”

“Yes, you have a high fever. Go lie down in bed right away.”

“… Alright.”

I let out a deep sigh and headed to my room.

Using the thermometer my mom handed me on the way to my room, I measured my temperature. It wasn’t just a small fever; it was quite high, and as soon as I realized this, my body started trembling uncontrollably.

“… S-so cold.”

And then a sudden wave of chills hit me.

Aside from the discomfort of my whole body tingling, my head was spinning and I felt nauseous.

“Cough… Cough…”

It’s gotten to the point where the cough won’t stop… Damn it.

“Really… I finally had a good talk with Shu and felt so relieved, but why does this have to happen now?”

“Towa, I’m coming in.”

“Yeah.”

“How’s your fever?”

“It’s quite high.”

“I see… Then you’ll be taking the day off tomorrow.”

“…I figured that would be the case.”

“But isn’t it fine? It’s not bad to stay home and rest while your classmates are studying. Oh, but I wonder if Ayana-chan will feel lonely.”

Setting aside the first part of her words, Ayana would probably feel lonely, but I don’t want to worry her more than necessary… Come to think of it, it’s been quite a while since I caught a cold.

“Knowing Ayana, she might be unable to concentrate in class because she’s worried.”

“You’re saying that, Towa? But yeah, that seems likely! She might even leave early because she can’t bear it anymore.”

“Well…”

It’s hard to deny.

Well, it’s not like I’m too unwell to make a phone call, so before going to bed, I should call Ayana to let her know about catching a cold and briefly talk about Shu.

“Mom, I’m fine now, so I don’t want to worry her about catching a cold.”

“Sick people shouldn’t worry about others. But that’s true… Anyway, I’ll bring some rice porridge over later.”

“Thanks.”

And then Mom left the room.

Until Mom brought the rice porridge, there was nothing… no, I couldn’t do anything. Not only was my body hot and making it hard to sleep, but I was also feeling unusually down, whether due to the cold or not.

“… Haa.”

And I’ve been sighing repeatedly since earlier.

It’s weird… I can even say that myself. Is it because of the cold?

“Towa, can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

With rice porridge in hand, Mom entered the room again. She saw me struggling to get up due to joint pain and offered her hand… Today, Mom is exceptionally kind.

“Hey, do you think I’m unusually kind today?”

“Hmm… You figured it out pretty quickly?”

“It’s because it’s you. Always overwrite the ‘always kind’ information.”

“Haha… Yeah, that’s right. Mom is always kind.”

She laughed heartily and then tried to feed me the rice porridge, despite my protests.

She didn’t have to go that far, but Mom wouldn’t budge.

In the end, I let Mom feed me everything.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“You’re welcome. Since you probably won’t be hungry, I’ll make something light for you later.”

“Thanks a lot.”

“It’s okay… Fufu, Towa looks so fragile today, maybe because of the cold. It’s quite refreshing.”

Well, it’s because of the cold.

I don’t want her to be satisfied with such things, but Mom kept saying how cute I am and patting my head before leaving.

Honestly… My mom really loves me too much, it’s troublesome.

It’s not troublesome in the literal sense… I’m just troubled by how much she cares about me in a good way.

“… Alright, I’ll call Ayana.”

Even though my body still felt hot and my head was foggy, eating the rice porridge helped me regain some energy to a certain extent. However, I still felt intense chills, so I wrapped myself up in the blankets and called Ayana… but she didn’t answer even after waiting for a while.

“Maybe she’s in the bathroom… well, these things happen.”

Come to think of it, it’s strange for her to usually pick up after just one ring of my call. My head is starting to feel fuzzy… Maybe I should just go to sleep soon.

I always want to hear Ayana’s voice, but today, perhaps because I’m weakened by this cold, I long for her voice more than ever… or maybe I’m just terribly lonely.

“… I’m feeling anxious.”

I said it out loud and understood… Oh, this anxiety is from earlier this morning.

“What… what is this feeling?”

My body began trembling more strongly… Is this really just a cold? Could there be some serious illness hidden beneath it all?

“… It’s cold.”

Am I… am I really this weak of a person?

At that moment, just when I was waiting anxiously, she finally called me.

“Ayana…?”

“Hello, Towa-kun? I was in the restroom, so I missed your call… Is something wrong with your health?”

“… Why?”

“I don’t know… Maybe. Your voice sounded a bit weak, and also, it’s just my intuition.”

“Haha… As expected of you.”

Truly, Ayana notices everything.

Her words and voice brought me relief, and not only did it lessen my loneliness, but it also eased the chills a bit.

“I’ve caught a cold… My temperature is quite high.”

“Even so, you called me!? I’m happy that you called, and it’s wonderful to hear your voice before going to bed! But please prioritize your own health!!”

Ah… I immediately understood that she was really angry.

Yeah… Even if it’s just a slight fever, with such a high temperature, I shouldn’t have called.

“I’m sorry… I just felt unusually lonely and anxious… I really wanted to hear your voice, Ayana.”

“… Well, if you put it that way, I can’t really tell you strongly to go to bed.”

“I’m really sorry… I actually wanted to talk about a lot of things, and I intended to finish today by talking about them.”

“I see… It does concern me… concern me a lot!”

“… Haha, I guess I should wait until I recover.”

Unfortunately, I can’t keep worrying Ayana any further, so I’ll just rest for today.

“I’ll end up taking the day off tomorrow… So Ayana, please don’t worry too much because I’m just down with a cold, okay?”

“When school ends, I’ll come visit you, okay? Maybe… um, if I can’t bear worrying, I might leave early and come over.”

“No, that’s…”

“Please forgive me. I’m sure my mom and everyone else would say the same.”

“…………”

It’s Ayana we’re talking about, so I expected this. But… I’m still happy… that she cares this much, that she prioritizes me.

“In this case, I don’t think I should be happy… but… Ayana, I’m happy.”

“Fufu, I’m almost certain I’ll come, so I’ll contact Akemi-san in the morning beforehand. But… you seem much weaker than usual, Towa-kun… I’m sorry!”

That time must be when I had the accident… From Ayana’s perspective, it means that I seem very weak right now.

“You don’t need to apologize. Well then, Ayana, thanks for today.”

“No, no, I’ll definitely come tomorrow! … Um.”

“Yeah?”

“If you find it difficult to sleep soon or wake up in the middle of the night feeling lonely… please feel free to call me. Don’t think it’s a bother, okay? I just want to reassure you, Towa-kun.”

“…………”

Unconsciously, Ayana seemed to be thinking about me. Her voice sounded more anxious than mine, who called because of anxiety. After hearing her voice like this, I couldn’t say I was lonely.

“Thank you, Ayana… but if you say that, I might not be able to.”

“W-well… that might be true!”

“I really feel relieved and grateful. I think I can sleep well tonight.”

“Is that so? That’s good… but! If you really feel lonely, please call me, okay? I won’t say I’m awake all the time, but if it’s you, Towa-kun, I’ll wake up!”

“That’s definitely the case, isn’t it?”

“Well then… see you tomorrow. Good night, Towa-kun.”

“Good night, Ayana.”

With that, the call ended, and quietness returned once more. The anxiety and loneliness I held in my chest resurfaced, but Ayana’s voice lingered in my ears, canceling them out to some extent.

“Should I sleep while this feeling remains… Fuwaa”

Welcoming a big yawn that signaled the arrival of sleepiness, I closed my eyes.

---

Since I was reincarnated into this world, I’ve been having a lot of dreams. I can’t count how many times I’ve thought that—though maybe saying that it’s that important or that unimportant would be going too far. I see things in dreams, whether they’re important or trivial, and I remember them.

And apparently, today’s dream was the worst nightmare I’ve ever had.

“Towa-kun, goodbye.”

“Towa, goodbye.”

Ayana and Mom disappearing right before my eyes—it was such a damn shitty dream.

With sad expressions, the two of them disappeared into white smoke… I tried to reach out to them in an instant, but my hands cut through empty air, not allowing me to touch them.

“Towa-kun…”

“Towa…”

“Yukishiro-kun…”

“Yukishiro-senpai…”

Seina-san, Shu, Iori, Mari, and others I’ve met in this world—all of them were disappearing right before my eyes.

It wasn’t just people—this house where I live, this town, all of them were disappearing.

“What the hell is this…”

The scene before my eyes mercilessly wounded my heart, creating a gaping hole.

I just wanted to touch something, so I reached out… but as if rejecting me, everything disappeared.

“Ayana… Mom… everyone…?”

And then, everyone was gone… everything was gone.

I felt like everything I had built up, everything I had acquired, all the precious things had been mercilessly taken away from me… I woke up with that worst feeling.

“Eh!?”

When I opened my eyes, what greeted me was the ceiling of my room.

The sun was already up, and I could hear the chirping of birds from outside the window… I slowly got up, realizing that I was sweating profusely.

“…Feeling nauseous.”

My pajamas were sticking to my skin and it felt disgusting… and not just that, my body felt overwhelmingly heavy compared to yesterday.

“Where’s the thermometer…”

I picked up the thermometer placed beside my pillow and measured my temperature… indeed, it was quite high, to the point where I dryly chuckled.

“Even worse than yesterday… no wonder I felt so miserable.”

Actually, could this stickiness on my skin be because I didn’t take a bath yesterday…?

I wanted to take a shower… but my body felt so heavy that I didn’t even want to do that.

However, I wanted to relieve the dryness in my throat, so I went out to the living room, enduring the chills.

“Good morning, Mom…”

“Good morning, Towa… you look really pale!?”

“Yeah… seems like it’s gotten worse.”

Mom came over with a changed expression, but I had to stop her from getting too close just in case I might infect her with a cold.

(… Mom.)

Mom was right in front of me… and I felt so relieved because of that.

I almost felt like crying because Mom was here, probably because I remembered that damn nightmare… though no tears actually came out.

“It’s nice that you care whether I’ll catch it or not, but you can’t stop a mother from caring about her son in this condition, can you?”

“Ah…”

She put her hand on my forehead with a thud.

The cool sensation of her hand felt so good that I almost lost consciousness for a moment, but I managed to hold on somehow.

“We’re going to the hospital. Even if it’s just a cold, I want to be sure you’re okay.”

“…I understand.”

Mom immediately informed her workplace that she would be late, and after a while, I headed to the hospital in the car she drove.

The diagnosis result was just a cold.

Even though the severity of symptoms can vary from person to person, this time it seemed I caught a particularly nasty cold… truly unlucky, seriously.

“Towa, if anything happens, please contact me immediately? Ideally, I’d want to be there to nurse you all day.”

“I’ll be fine. Well then, Mom, good luck at work.”

“…Alright. I’ll see you later.”

When I came back from the hospital, Mom said she would take the day off to take care of me, but it was me who initially refused.

I’m a high school student, after all, not a kindergarten or elementary school student.

I can’t believe I’m at this age and still having such a bad cold, but it’s pathetic to have Mom take care of me around the clock.

“…Towa… Towa…?”

“Have a safe day, Mom.”

“Ugh… I’m off…”

After seeing Mom off, I quickly returned to my room because I wanted to lie down immediately.

“Hmm?”

I lay down on my bed and picked up my smartphone.

There was a morning greeting from Ayana and a message asking about my condition.

“She messaged quite a while ago… I should reply.”

I replied, saying I’m fine and there’s no need to worry.

I knew she was quite worried about me from yesterday’s state, so I didn’t want to cause her any more concern by telling her that my condition had worsened.

“…Fuu.”

Without waiting for a reply from Ayana, I closed my eyes.

I felt so drained… sleepy… lethargic… As I tried to drift off to sleep again, that uneasiness began swirling in my chest once more.

It felt like a whisper in my mind telling me it’s not safe to sleep… but I couldn’t resist the drowsiness—my consciousness drifted far away, and I distinctly heard a sound like something crumbling away.

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[Third person PoV]

“……?”

The young man suddenly woke up.

“Eh… Why am I like this?”

He was puzzled to find himself asleep with his head on the desk, but quickly reasoned that it happened occasionally.

“…Did I doze off?”

On the desk in front of him, the desktop computer was still on, showing traces of casual web browsing.

“I managed to sleep like this… Impressive.”

He marveled at how he could sleep in such a position, yet sighed heavily at the thought of the electricity bill possibly increasing.

“This feels… unsettling.”

He muttered to himself. There was an inexplicable sense of discomfort lingering within him.

This place was his home, his familiar environment—his room, as his memories confirmed without doubt.

“Well, I’ll get over it soon.”

With that, the young man began his day, which swiftly passed by.

Throughout the day, he couldn’t shake off… couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Ultimately, the unsettling feeling never left, and it haunted him relentlessly, preventing him from concentrating on anything else.

“Senpai? Is something wrong?”

“!?!”

Lost in thought, he had forgotten about the woman beside him.

“Seriously! You’ve been like this all day, haven’t you? Even when I call out to you, you’re somewhere else. Is everything really okay? I’m genuinely worried.”

“…Sorry. It’s nothing.”

She was his junior—a young woman with long black hair, a well-defined face, and a figure that highlighted her curves distinctly… especially her ample ch*st. If she were to playfully press her body against his, it would be quite troublesome.

(Why does she even bother paying attention to someone like me?)

Come to think of it, had he ever met this girl before?

He couldn’t help but imagine how she might cry if he said something wrong. Yet, it didn’t seem so strange for her to be by his side.

“…………”

“What’s up? Why are you staring at me like that… Hey?”

“…………”

“I-it’s getting embarrassing… but I’ll forgive you if you’re like this, Senpai!”

As he stared, the young woman blushed and fidgeted shyly.

Even such a gesture seemed adorable, adding to her charm, and the young man couldn’t help but acknowledge it.

(She reminds me of someone… Who was it?)

Although he wondered if there were another beauty like her around, he couldn’t shake the feeling of wanting her to be by his side, feeling as though he had vowed to keep her there forever.

(I… I…)

Who did he want to be with…?

Who did he want by his side…?

“Senpai?”

[Towa-kun?]

Suddenly, the image of the woman in front of him overlapped with someone else, and the young man widened his eyes in surprise.

He almost reached out his hand instinctively, but stopped himself, apologizing to the bewildered woman and trying to maintain his composure.

“I feel like something’s off with Senpai today. Maybe you should rest a bit?”

“…You might be right. Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. Rest when you can, do your best when you have to… And when it gets tough, don’t hesitate to rely on me. Because that’s how we are, right?”

“…You…”

“So please, come back to me… I’ll be waiting.”

With those meaningful words as a farewell, the young man parted ways with the woman. After finishing all his errands, he returned home and time passed again in that room where he had awakened earlier.

“…”

He recalled the voice he thought he had heard while talking to his junior.

“Towa…?”

Towa… The young man knew that name. Not as someone he knew personally, but merely as a character’s name from a game stored in his memory.

“Surely it’s here…”

Living alone meant there was no need to hide it, so he quickly found it among the items near his computer.

“‘I Was Robbed of Everything’… and the fan disc.”

It was an eroge that the young man had become deeply engrossed in. Calling it just an eroge would be disrespectful; it was a game that captivated him with its story and characters.

He especially adored the heroine Ayane Otonashi and had played through both the main game and the fan disc multiple times.

“Towa… and Ayane.”

As he spoke the names of the characters from the game, Towa and Ayane, a strangely fitting sensation accompanied by lingering echoes settled in his ears.

Driven by an inexplicable force, the young man launched the game once again.