V4 Prologue: Town where snow falls

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Translator: Soafp

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[Unknown girl PoV]

[TL: For those who have read the WN, I think you know where this is taking place.]

The snow began to fall gently. I looked up at the gray sky. Wanting to touch the snow, I took off my gloves.

Softly, snowflakes piled up on the palm of my hand and faintly disappeared.

I drew footsteps on the pure white canvas. — Fun. But sad.

The moment of excitement was fleeting. I quickly snapped back to reality.

Just walking, trying to deceive my heart about to be crushed by loneliness and anxiety.

Adults passing by as if they don’t see me at all.

Hurrying away from the piercing cold to seek warmth.

No one noticed me. My cries for help went unheard. A cruel world.

I feel so faint in this world that it seems like I could disappear. I resent my own faint existence.

It’s been nearly thirty minutes since I lost Mom. At first, I searched frantically, but now, tiredness sets in, and I’m starting to lose feeling in my feet. I feel the urge to sit down right here and now.

Maybe I didn’t because I knew I might not be able to stand up again.

Tears welled up slowly. I shouldn’t cry. If I cry—Mom will get angry.

Mom won’t forgive me for getting lost. Being scolded is inevitable. Melancholic.

Alone, left behind in this white world. Trembling in fear.

Suddenly, I felt a gaze. Turning in that direction, an older boy was observing me intently. Not doing anything, just watching. Like observing a goldfish swimming in a fish tank, that kind of gaze. Our gazes met briefly, but the boy remained unresponsive.

Unsteadily, I found myself moving towards the boy. I’m not sure why, but I wasn’t afraid.

Perhaps because only the boy noticed me, his expressionless face made me feel at ease.

A strange feeling I’ve never felt before. My chest naturally warmed.

As I stood next to him, I simply held onto the edge of his clothes.

“Are you lost, by any chance?”

I nodded calmly in response. It was reassuring to have someone understand.

“Uwaa, what a pain.”

He seemed obviously displeased. Yet, despite his words, his demeanor remained calm, almost kind.

“Should I ignore you, or should I pretend I didn’t see you?”

Aren’t they the same? I thought, but the boy seemed torn between the two identical choices.

“Well, whatever. It’s almost time for my appointment with Sekka-san. By the way, do you know why the adults didn’t help you? Quiz time.”

I shook my head. I had despaired because no one reached out to help me.

Was there a reason for that? Simply because everyone dislikes me?

“Because they’re hypocrites!”

He pointed sharply, answering. I didn’t understand the meaning of hypocrites.

“Right… So, how about this? Have you ever been taught by your parents, school, or the adults around you to greet people properly?”

I nodded. It’s even on the report card. I learned that greetings are essential.

“But then, strangely enough, when you really observe, you hardly see those adults actually greeting anyone. Of course, there are exceptions.”

Is that so? Have I never seen my parents—greet anyone?

“Have you ever seen those adults who say, ‘if someone’s in trouble, help them’ actually helping someone in trouble? Stop lying to children!”

It felt like he might be right. Even now, I’m in trouble, and no one helped.

If that’s the case, what should I believe in?

“Look around you. The adults’ right answer is to ‘pretend not to see.’ You’ve gotten smarter.”

That’s reality. As the boy said, just troublesome. The reasons are only that much.

Formality remains just that. Acting as the heart desires—such a thing is impossible.

“For example, usually, mothers who complain about fathers and instill insults, yet when something happens, they team up with the father and act righteous, scolding the child. A good-for-nothing who gambles and gets into debt but acts high and mighty as a father figure. They say play outside if you’re gaming, and if you play outside, they complain about the noise from the ball. It’s truly lamentable.”

Is the boy carrying some excessive stress? I became worried.

Maybe he hates adults. My grip on his clothes instinctively tightens.

“School is a nest of irrationality. You shouldn’t trust your teachers or your classmates, okay? To begin with, people who became teachers right after graduating from university have little social experience and no common sense.”

A clergyman. That’s what I unconsciously called the schoolteacher, believing them to be a person of character.

I trusted those words without even considering whether they were true. But they are, right?

“What I’m trying to say is—”

A rubbing on the head. A warm hand like sunshine.

A gentle warmth gradually envelops my heart that was cold just a moment ago.

“Don’t lose to adults or absurdity. Instead of waiting for someone’s help, think of a solution. Don’t fear being alone. Remember, being alone makes you strongest.”

But that feels terribly sad, doesn’t it? Isn’t such a world lonely?

“Well, I think if you have someone you can trust, you can rely on them. Like Sekka-san. She smells nice, she’s beautiful, she’s kind, she’s big, and she’ll take a bath with me.” [TL: Boing boing]

Is that person important to this boy? Then who is important to me?

We walk hand in hand. It seems like we’re heading to the police building.

“Eh, me? I’m Yukito Kokonoe, a guy who doesn’t forgive hypocrites. Only when you’re really in trouble, you can rely on me.”

I can see the police building. Who’s there with the police? Mom?

Mom glares at me intensely. Fiery, intense anger. I’m scared and step back.

“My child was taken away by a strange man! — Kikyo!? Are you okay!? You, did you take my child! Return her, give her back! That child is my precious—”

My mother, rushing over, slaps the boy hard, sending him crashing down.

A high-pitched sound echoes as the fallen boy carves a track in the snow.

Several hurried police officers pull my mother off the boy she hit.

My mother screams abduction. Stop! She shouts, but nobody listens.

I desperately try to explain, trying to clear the misunderstanding, with feeble words.

Because the boy just brought me here, that’s all he did.

But why does he have to face such unreasonable treatment!

My mother regains a bit of composure. I was scared. Scared of what she’d say.

Yet, I keep repeating, resisting. It’s my fault. I was the one who got lost.

“I will remember this.”

The boy, now standing up, murmurs quietly.

“When you do something wrong, you have to apologize. That’s what I’m taught. But adults never apologize. Even if they realize they’re wrong, they make excuses and justify themselves. Don’t trust lying adults.”

Without a moment to hold him back, the boy dashes away. Silence reigns.

The boy disappeared. — In those eyes, a deep, dark sadness lingers.