Editing Kami-sama no Inai Nichiyoubi:Volume5 Chapter2 (section)

===Part II===
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"So warm…..."

<i>Ha…</i>Ai let out a hot exhale into the air. Her breath was white even though she was indoors. The fireplace had just been lit, and the temperature was similar to the outside. Thanks to this, the tea tasted very good.

The steam from the tea permeated through the silent room. Ai sipped the tea, which had a lot of sugar in it, and the warm liquid slowly melted under her chest and mixed with her blood.

The others too kept warm in their own ways. Jullie drank the whisky he procured from somewhere in large gulps, mother and daughter embraced each other to keep warm, and Alice was energetically running around to limber up.

"Damn, it’s still hard as always."

Alice was beating on the chimney cap with a fire poker. He managed to poke one off, but the other was tough to remove.

"Do you need help?"

"I’m fine. The guests should sit. This is the landlord's job.

Alice took a piece of burning wood, seared the bolt, and used the thermal expansion to bang it open again. After that, he continued to toil around—removing the cloth shielding the dust from the furniture, shoveling away the snow in front of the back door, and setting the mailbox on fire.

"…I guess I should help after all."

Ai finished her tea and stood up. This time, Alice did not bother to stop her. For starters, Ai took the cup to the sink. The water supply seemed to be working and there was a faucet, but naturally, she could not use it as the water was drained. She put the cup there, returned to the room, peeled off the cloth covering the furniture, cautiously folded it inside to keep the dust out, and took it outside to dust it off.

"Ugh~, it's cold."

It happened when she was brushing off the third piece of cloth.

She saw a silhouette beyond the front door, at a small yard from the entrance.

"Ah, Ai, just in time. Open up."

"Miss Dee?"

Ai wrapped the cloth  and laid it on the chair deck. She scamped quickly across the slightly snow-covered ground to open the gate.

"Thanks, you helped me out here. As you can see, my hands are full."

She held up her hands, and there was a pot and a basket.

"You need to heat up the pot again. There’s sandwiches in the basket."

"Eh? Th-thank you so much!"

Ai thanked her and picked up the items . The pot and the basket were both heavy.

"E-erm…"

"Hmm?"

Dee looked at Ai curiously, and must have read the confusion in her eyes.

"Oh, this?"

"It's cold!"

The fingertips, chilled by the outside air, touched both cheeks. Ai was unable to resist as she was confused, and was holding items in both hands..

"Miss Dee…you have…a body."

"What are you so surprised about? Any ordinary person would have one, right?"

Dee giggled. But Ai was not in the mood for that, for her cheeks were being pinched away.

"Erm, Miss Dee, why—"

"Well, I don't know, either."

She said and turned around.

"…Are you going back?"

"Yeah, mama and papa are waiting for me at home."

"Ah…I see…?

"Yeah, see you later."

With that, Dee left.

Ai stood there, alone.

"‘Mama and papa are waiting…’ she said."

Ai had no idea as to why she had mumbled that.

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Inside the pot was potato and onion soup, and the ingredients of the sandwiches were sausages and boiled cabbage. There was more. In the innermost section of the basket were two apples as red as Celica's cheeks.

"Here, Mr. Alice."

"Thanks."

Ai peeled the apples, cut them in half, handed them to Alice, and threw the peeled skin and the other waste into the fireplace. The apple peel bubbled and turned into black charcoal in an instant.

A spring clock that was just resuscitated clang away, and next to it, the calendar had remained stuck at September for 14 years. Underneath it was a pile of newspapers and magazines that were bundled together.

Surrounded by these items, Alice looked quite at ease as he munched on the apple

"Actually, I’m sorry about this."

He said abruptly, and took another bite.

"I dragged you guys along without telling you anything, and I’m still unwilling to say anything more. Even I feel it’s awful. I don’t think I can explain much further in the future though."

"……"

Ai did not answer, and prompted him to continue.

"So I'll tell you why I can't explain."

Alice finished the apple, threw the core into the fire, and turned to Ai with a serious face.

"There are two reasons why I can't explain just like this—first of all, I don't trust myself. "

Ai did not know what that meant. But,

"…Please continue."

"Thanks—well, there are a few things I can say though—somehow, this world feels similar to that tower. This place feels like one that’s created by someone’s wish."

"Yep, I can kind of see that."

Ai looked around.

This space is probably a mutation, or if not, an inferior version of the ‘World Tower’. There are many differences, but the atmosphere is very similar. It’s also a space that was created by someone's wish…and like the Tower, I guess there should be some people who created this place?"

"Who do you think it is?"

Alice asked happily, like a teacher who was teaching an intelligent student.

"But first, I have a question—was this world isolated fourteen years ago?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"Of course I can tell. There are so many hints already."

Ai pointed to the calendar she had just seen, and to the newspapers.

The calendar hung on the wall, still showing the month of September. The newspapers that were used to wipe the dust off were dated 14 years back.

"The isolation loops annually, right?"

The reason was the old newspapers. The old newspapers had been stored since July 28, 14 years ago, but the pages were so sharp that one could possibly be cut by them.

The date in this world was the second day of April.

"Oh, I stand corrected. It's probably not exactly one year. To be precise, it should be two weeks shorter than a year."

"Why do you think so?"

"It's this seasonal difference. It's early summer out there, but it's still winter here. Is the date in this newspaper correct? If so, I can calculate it…erm, it's exactly two weeks short."

"60 points. Strictly speaking, it’s exactly one week. The remaining difference is caused by something else."

"Scar. Would you like some more tea?"

"Thank you, Julie, I shall have some."

"Two spoonfuls of sugar, right?"

"Yes."

The adults gave up on thinking and drank their tea to relax. They looked happy.

"One last question. Tell me which other people entered this world from the outside like us."

"Everyone but the members of Class 3-4."

That was the answer Ai had expected.

"It’s obvious who’s the culprit. The one isolating this world and keeping Class 3-4 in it.

"Is it themselves?"

"You're always just slightly off, huh?"

Alice smiled happily.

"Metaphorically speaking, it’s a cage made of people. This is the kind of world it is. Everyone from class 3-4 is a prisoner, a convict, and the cage . It feels like everyone was chained to each other, back to back in this cage. That's how it feels."

"…Hmm."

"But no one knows why we did it. Nobody remembers."

"You all made the wish, and you can’t remember?"

"Yeah, so I was thinking that part of our wish was to forget about this.."

"… Woah, that's troublesome."

"Yeah. We didn’t know we’re trapped. It’s a most terrifying cage."

"But still, it’s the place you wished for, isn't it…?"

"Well, yeah."

Alice nodded begrudgingly.

If this was the same place as that tower, Ai could not do anything. Interfering with other people’s wishes on her own volition could not be considered as saving ‘everyone’.

But,

"I don't like it here."

Alice pouted, his mouth seething with rage along with utmost displeasure.

"Like, this got to be a joke, right? You've got to be kidding me. I love those guys in class 4, and I want to be with them, but I how it’s like here. Why is my life tied to this place? Are you kidding me? I don't know if it's God or whoever did this, but I just want to curse our. Don’t fulfill our wishes just like that, and like, it’s a complete crapshoot, seriously—what's so funny?"

"It’s nothing."

So Ai said, but she could not stop herself from smirking.

"It’s just that you’re the Mr. Alice I know of."

"What's that about?"

Alice suddenly pouted as if he was lowered a peg, and stopped lashing out.

"…Anyway, I'm part of the system here, and I can say I’m the lock that wants to unlock itself. But no matter how much the lock wants to unlock itself, it will try to fulfill its function...that’s why I didn’t give you the information. I'm the least trustworthy person here."

"……"

"That's the first reason. The other reason is that…ahh, I'd appreciate it if you'd hear me out without being unhappy about this."

"W-what now?"

Ai braced herself to see what he would say.

"Well, you know, actually, I don't expect much from you."

"Huh?"

"…No, that's kind of easy to misunderstand…like, I do have expectations. I think you can save us. But it's only as good as the others."

"The others?"

"Yeah."

At that moment, Julie brewed a pot of tea. The adults took a sip..

"Didn't you meet people other than class 3-4 in this world just now? They’re all people that I brought here because I believed in them."

"…I see."

Ai was slowly grasping the situation.

In other words, while it was her first time saving Alice, she was not the first helper Alice sought. For him, it was a common event bringing in outsiders to destroy this space.

Ai sipped her tea, feeling a little gaudy about it. She did not truly understand this feeling. She was not angry, but yet it felt like it, and it was a little different from disappointment. It was a strange feeling.

"—By the way, how many people have you brought in here so far?"

<b>"Thirty-five thousand, six hundred and ninety-five."</b>

"What?"

It was enough to build a town.

"Most of them are just here as an experiment, though."

"…What do you mean?"

"Well, I just wanted to see how many people I could fit in there. If this space has a limited capacity, I thought I could cause it to burst."

Upon those words, Ai remembered the rumors Julie mentioned before they arrived.

"Are all those mysterious disappearances…"

"Yeah, I guess it’s me, though I don't know where the 100,000 number came from—I didn’t force them, of course. I explained it to them and brought them here when I was sure they were fine with it..

"Haha."

Ai was very impressed.

"Mr. Alice, you're really serious, aren't you?"

"Always has been. I’ve been planning seriously the entire time. I’m counting on you, but I won’t rely on you."

"……"

"I've seen thirty-five thousand six hundred ninety-five people fail. I won’t be able to believe that the 35,696th one will succeed…I know it’s harsh, and I’m really sorry about it."

"No…"

Ai could not say she did not understand those feelings. In fact, she would praise his resilience since he could still move forward even after all the setbacks. However, Ai herself,

Was not relied upon by Alice.

This made her a little disappointed and depressed.

"…And I'm so obsessed with information because there’s an 'enemy' in this world."

"Enemy?"

"Yeah—it's Dee."

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<i>Dee changed,</i> Alice said.

"She used to be like me, trying her best to destroy the world, but she changed her mind…she didn’t want to go to the outside world. She said she’d rather stay in this world with us class 4 members instead of returning to that hellish world."

It was not difficult to empathize with that sentiment.

""So she's trying to obstruct me…you better watch out too, because she's probably trying to kill us now."

"…Ahh, so that's why you were so wary of Miss Dee just now?"

It was the same with the clothes and this dinner. Fortunately, Ai and Scar determined there was no poison, so they were safe.

"She's really changed…the old her wouldn’t have dreamed about killing anyone…now she's called the ‘Witch of the West’, and trying to destroy humanity."

"……"

"This is why I didn’t give you information. I don’t want Dee to know what I tell you. It’s to save the savior after you."

"…"

"I know it's terrible. I feel bad about it. But I'm desperate, too."

<i>I'm sorry.</i> Alice lowered his head.

Ai too felt it was cruel of him, that he was dishonest and bad.

But...

She could not say such words to a desperate person.

"Please raise your head, Mr. Alice."

Ai called out softly.

"I'm fine. I don't care about that. I can gather the information on my own. You can fight as you like. Regardless of that…"

Ai smiled.

"I'll help you."

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"Wake up~ Ai~ It's morning~ Wake up~!"

<i>Klank klank klank. </i>The banging of the frying pan could be heard, and Ai cussed away as though she was cursing all living things, and with the movements of an overweight cat, she rolled her buttocks back under the blanket.

But the sound of the pans never stopped, and in fact, it approached her. The volume increased. A frying pan should stay in the kitchen and cook an egg or something.

"I've already made that."

The frying pan spoke.

"Who's the frying pan? How rude.

And with that, Dee stuck the bottom of the cold steel onto Ai's cheek.

"Hyah!"

She woke up with a jolt.

She flipped the blanket aside, sat upright, and looked around the room. It was a guest room with only a bed and packed luggage lying around.

For a moment, she lost track of where she was.

"…Are you awake?"

[[Image:Kamisama v05 Illustration 04.jpg|thumb]]

Next to her was Dee, holding a frying pan and a ladle, wearing an apron over her uniform.

"M-Miss Dee!?"

Ai sat up and held up the shovel that was propped up next to her.

"Oh, nice reaction. I’ll have it a lot easier if you’re that easy to wake up…"

"Wh-What are you doing here?"

"What…to make fried eggs?"

She flipped the pan around.

"I’m saying that you guys can't do anything on your own anyway. I came to help you. Breakfast is ready."

"…………"

"? Why are you staring at me like that…is there something on my face?"

"…You seem calm for some reason, Miss Dee."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you feel very poised."

"Well, I am."

Dee tapped the floor with the tip of her slipper.

"You're up, right?"

As if to preempt Ai, Dee said.

"Hurry, go wash your face."

And so Dee simply left the room. Ai sat blankly on the bed for a while…

"—It’s going to be worse if you fall asleep again."

"I-I'm up."

Ai said to the head that was glancing aside at her, and hopped off the bed.

She followed Dee down the hallway. To her right was a staircase leading to the first floor, from which she could hear the voices of Julie and the others along with and smell the delicious aroma. Tempted as she was, she looked to the left

"Alice, are you awake?"

She saw Dee knock on the door in annoyance.

"Miss Dee?"

"What? If it's about my body, I’m not answering"

"I’m not talking about that…"

"?"

Ai looked at the ladle, the frying pan and the quizzical face in turn.

"Did you come all the way from home to cook for us? From home?"

"So what? Just so you know, this is something I’ve been doing the entire time…"

"Ah, I see. You've been doing this for a while?"

"………"

There was nothing sarcastic in Ai’s words, and she merely felt that she understood. Dee however straightened up like a cat caught by the tail, and opened the door before her as if to escape.

"Alice, wake up!"

"Woah, it’s messy."

The room was filled with magazines, clothes, balls, bicycle wheels, and the walls were covered with books, posters, and tapestries. Even the ceiling was no exception as it was crammed with plane models, world maps, and there was nary a space.

Well, to put it, it resembled a boy's room.

Alice was lying down in the middle of them, asleep like the rest of the junk around him. Like Ai, he continued with his futile resistance.

"Alice~ wake up~!"

"………Five seconds…"

"Alright, you said it. It’s a promise. One, two, three, four, five! Hey, five seconds up. Wake up."

"I can’t wake up…you idiot…mnya."

"Mmm!"

<i>Bam bam bam!</i> Dee slapped the frying pan with her ladle.

"What’s with the noisy frying pan…why are you here? Your place is in the kitchen. … Go home and make some fried eggs…"

"What are you talking about, Mr. Alice, you idiot?"

"Yeah. You’re right."

Dee gave an indescribable look between Alice and Ai. Why was that so?

"You're~annoying~, Dee, you translucent idiot! Go ahead, make as much noise as you want. That’s all you can do is make noise. I’ll just pretend not to hear you. Ignored. Don't underestimate my desire to sleep. You can never wake me up if you can't physically attack me..."

The frying pan and ladle as a demonstration to show how to make pilaf using his face as a grill.

"Are you awake?"

Dee showed a very radiant smile.

"…………………Yes."

For a moment, Alice had no idea as to where he was. He immediately nodded.

"Go wash your face."

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After washing their faces with cold water, they brushed their heads that resembled some bird from paradise. Ai's blond hair was immediately restored after one stroke, but Alice's short hair was still sleepy, and remained curly, only giving up on resistance when it was doused in cold water.

Ai scrubbed her teeth while fighting her sleepiness. In the mirror before her was another face giving the same look while brushing his teeth, albeit with a height difference of 30 centimeters.

"Hurry up, you two!"

A voice echoed from the kitchen, accompanied by the sound of dishes being washed, <i>"bku bku"</i> and the two answered so.

Ai turned around to look at the kitchen, and found Dee washing dishes over there…she had a feeling the latter was just going to stick around and not move. She looked up to Alice, <i>is this fine? </i>wanting to ask him, but it seemed he too could not decide, for he brushed his teeth looking as though ‘he was brushing with glue instead of toothpaste’.

Ai ignored Dee for a moment, gurgled loudly, and spit out the water.

"So Mr Alice…you’re a lot older than me…"

Ai wiped her mouth with a towel, remembering the conversation of yesterday.

"I guess so~"

Alice spat out foam as he answered. As he spoke, a few toothpaste bubbles flew from my mouth and slowly fell.

After that conversation, the group went to bed early to prepare for the next day. At that time, Ai thought a little in bed.

Fourteen years ago, Alice was sixteen years old, which meant that he should have been thirty years old, about the same age as Julie.

And yet, the man before here clearly did not look like anything other than a boy.

Ai had known of another person like that.

The immortal Hampnie Hambart.

"Speaking of which, my memories only last up till three years ago."

"Eh?"

"There's a phenomenon here called 'reset'. If a member of class 4 suffers a fatal wound that can't be recovered from,  that person will be reset to the initial state. I’ve died at least three times now."

"That’s—"

"Well, unlike Hampnie Hambart, I don't have any memory after I die, so I don’t know the exact number."

Ai heard something more shocking before she could react.

"!You know my dad!?"

"I've only met him once."

Shocked as she was, it made sense when she thought about it. It was not surprising that they had met, as they were both ageless.

"—No, I don’t think it’s just once. Maybe three times…or four…I don’t know. Maybe more."

"? What do you mean?"

"The current me has only seen him once, but he's seen me many times. He said that whenever I reset, I could look for him if I heard of an immortal like him. We never got to fulfill our objectives, but he’s acting as my backup memory, so it really helped me out a lot."

Ai wanted to know what they had talked about, to see how they were talking to each other.

"So, well, I was very happy to hear that he died. It’s not for me to say this , but thanks."

"No, that’s…"

She really did not do anything to be thanked.

"But I'm surprised…that dad went along with such a troublesome thing. I’d think he'd ignore you after the second time. …"

"Eh, it seemed he killed me once, and did this as an apology."

"Eh?"

"Well, technically it was a half-kill, but the ‘reset’ triggered first, and I disappeared right before him…"

"That's…I'm sorry about that…"

"You got nothing to apologize…speaking of which, he never apologized to me once. He even said ‘you’re the one yapping about being immortal, so I wanted to see if it’s for real. I only caused your heart to stop, and then you disappeared. You cause me trouble’."

"………Once again, I'm really really sorry."

Ai bowed her head and cursed her late father, <i>Dad you idiot!</i>.

So Mr. Alice, you’re now fifteen years old?

"No, I'm sixteen now. Didn't you wish me a happy birthday the other day?"

"Ah."

Ai remembered the birthday party in the wilderness, the one she had persuaded Alice to hold even after Alice rejected, saying ‘it’s not necessary’.

Back then, she did not know that Alice could not age. She did not know how Alice actually felt back then, what he was thinking, to experience his 15th birthday for the third time..

"That made me happy."

Alice simply said.

"You're right. I can't become a monster. If I become a monster, even if I'm released from here, something won’t be right."

"……"

"I can't kill anyone. I can't let anyone kill me either. I can’t have a single reset. I need to free everyone with a correct, decent manner, and then—"

Alice smiled and said,

"I want to be seventeen."

Ai nodded.

"That’s why I’ll have to go to school first."

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