Editing Kami-sama no Inai Nichiyoubi:Volume4 Chapter1 (section)

===Part IV===

The sun was setting, and the group began to pitch their night camp.

"Ai, it's getting dark! Come back!"

A huge, strange rock suddenly appeared in the wilderness, like a landmark.

Ai climbed to the top of it and watched the sun set. To the west was a sea of wilderness, and behind her was a shadow that was elongated, causing the night to make an early appearance on the red earth.

"Ai? Uncle’s calling."

Dee, the only one who accompanied her to such a high place, called out with concern.

"Ai?"

"……"

"Ah! Wait!"

With a huff, Ai suddenly jumped off the ledge as if to throw herself down. She landed one level below, ran down the slope of another two levels, <i>plop!</i> And landed onto the ground again.

"…………What's up?"

Julie asked, letting out a sigh instead of grumbling.

"Nothing."

Ai muttered to herself.

"Really, it’s nothing."

"……"

The big man looked at Dee, w<i>hat's going on?</i> The ghost shook her head, <i>who knows?</i>

Ai sat down in front of the fire and raised her hands towards it. It was the midst of spring, but dusk remained a little chilly at dusk. The flames burning in the red light seemed strangely surreal, and did not seem very hot, to the point where she felt she should be fine if she grabbed it.

"Don't."

Alice was seated opposite Ai as he said. One had to wonder what insight he had to realize something was amiss. Ai looked at him for a moment and then replied honestly, <i>Yes.</i>

Julie stoked the firewood in silence, and the three of them fell silent, as though blending in with the wilderness around them.

Soon, the cans were spouting steam. Julie brewed some tea, and filled everyone’s cup.

Julie had been working on the car, Alice had been making the fire, and Ai had been slacking off. This was the break everyone had after they were done.

Nobody said anything. Only the tea dwindled.

"The air is…heavy."

Dee drifted around looking like a deep-sea fish that had been washed ashore. Unlike her usually flighty movements, she was moving as heavily as a cumulonimbus cloud.

However, no one retorted. Dee had no choice but to start cleaning up her own mess.

"…Hey, Ai, are you that concerned about Gravekeepers?"

The topic that the two men had cautiously avoided, the ghost simply said.

Ai, immersed in a sea of thoughts, just looked up and answered flatly, "Not really."

Dee was not pleased with that answer. If it was not that dire, why did Dee have to mention that the mood was heavy? Dee was not going to let this slide, depending on the answer.

"I'm thinking about Miss Scar."

Ai said.

"I was thinking about Miss Scar, and why she left Miss Celica behind."

"…There’s no way you’d know why. Who knows what a Gravekeeper is thinking."

"Not really."

"Eh?"

The three of them looked up in confusion.

"I'm sure Miss Scar wants to become a Gravekeeper… just like I used to be. …"

Scar disappeared because she wanted to return to being a Gravekeeper again. This reasoning was almost absolute in Ai's mind.

Scar had been uncomfortable with herself ever since she obtained Celica. She was worried about her changed mind and body.

Ai remembered her old self. When she was in the village, she had to insist every second "I’m a Gravekeeper", lest she be suffocated. Her old self was such that she wanted to be a Gravekeeper so badly.

Scar was just the opposite; she loved Celica and was soothed by the weight in her arms, but there were times when she would look at the baby with fear in her eyes, with bewilderment, towards the being that had inexplicably changed her.

<i>Perhaps it was a matter of time. </i>So Ai thought to herself. Just like how her village was destroyed. It was a matter of time until Scar’s emotions would be split into two. No matter how well Julie did, no matter how much she loved her baby, Scar would have exploded like this someday.

Just like Ai did at that moment.

Ai gazed out into the wilderness, and imagined the sight of Scar who was ahead of them. She thought of the group of Gravekeepers with identical faces carrying shovels. Among them, Scar was alone, with a worried look on her face. She was concerned about the wound she had on her right eyebrow, which nobody else had, and doubted if she was a fake.

Just like Ai did at that moment.

"…………………"

Ai eventually fell silent again, and reverted back to staring at the flickering fire.

"…I don't understand you at all…"

Since Ai was unwilling to talk, Dee said with a pouting look on her face.

"This is stupid…."

She gestured a kick at a stone in the air.

"Say, Ai."

"Yes? …Is there anything else…?"

"Let's have a chat."

"We have something to discuss?"

"Not discuss. Chat. Chat."

"? What's the difference?"

<i>It’s completely different!</i> Dee raised her index finger like a teacher and clicked her tongue profusely.

"Why why, isn’t this Miss Ai? Can I sit next to you?"

"H-huh. Thank you Miss Dee… What's with the little skit?"

Dee, in a gentlemanly motion, swooped down, sat on the stone,

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

"It's almost night…"

"Non, non, non."

Dee waved her finger in front of her and clicked her tongue repeatedly.

"Ai, this is a 'chat'. No serious retorts allowed. Don't worry about whether this conversation makes sense, or whether it’s right or wrong. Even if it’s raining, you have to say ‘I guess so’, or elseIf you can't say 'yes' even when it's raining, you won't survive, will you?"

"I-Isn’t that strict?"

"It's fun once you get used to it—It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

"You’re asking again!?"

"It's a, beautiful day, isn't it?"

"So-so demanding…yeah, it is. Nice weather…to the point where Gravekeepers are raining."

"No no no. No need for sarcasm or anything."

"Th-This is tough…"

The futile conversation continued for a while. It seemed Dee was completely enthused about chatting, her questions and answers were all inappropriate. Ai, who was serious by nature, answered earnestly at every single turn, but every single line was nitpicked. It was thanks to the conversation that the mood eased slightly. Dee got increasingly enthused, and began to drag Alice and Julie in. It was then that Ai first learned that Alice and Julie had the same favorite food. Hamburger.

It was during this time.

"When's your birthday, Ai?"

Dee asked.

"Birthday?"

"Yes."

"Not yet. It's in the summer."

"Oh, really…………………………………"

Dee became very quiet.

"Ah—erm, when's your birthday, Miss Dee?"

"Me? It's New Year's for me. Exactly that day."

"Woah! That's nice."

"It's not nice at all. Everyone celebrates everything at once. I've never had a proper birthday party."

"I see. Well, that's definitely annoying…"

"Isn’t it? That's what I envy Alice for. It’s nice how he doesn’t have anything near his birthday. But because of this, I always…almost…forget…"

Midway through, Dee's face gradually turned pale, and then eerily white. <i>"?"</i> Ai wondered what was going on, but followed Dee's lead and directed the topic to Alice..

"When is your birthday, Mr. Alice?"

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Yesterday."

"Yes?"

Ai's mouth dropped open, <i>I must have misheard something,</i> so she thought.

"Eh?"

"I said, yesterday."

<i>Snap, </i>the sound of the firewood snapping could be heard.

"Huh?"

The sun had set.

Night had come.

"Huuuhhh<nowiki>~~~~~~~~~~~~</nowiki>!?"

And Ai exploded.

"Eh? Wait, eh? What's that about!? I never heard about that. I! Never! Heard! Anything! About! That!!!!"

<i>That<nowiki>~~~That~~~That~~~</nowiki></i>…the word echoed through the wilderness.

"W-why!? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well, nobody asked."

"Ababababababa."

"Miss Dee!"

<i>Abababababa. </i>Ai glared at Dee who was on a random spiel. It seemed the latter had forgotten about it.

"But still! You should at least hint a little!"

"Who cares about that anyway?"

Alice gulped down the rest of his tea in disgust and stood up.

"Old man. Is there some work to be done? I'll help out."

"Please wait! I'm not done with you yet!"

"We’re already done."

Alice waved off Ai’s hand that was tugging at his hem.

"I said it’s fine. What's the problem?"

"B-but it's your birthday, right?"

"So?"

"Shouldn’t you be like, Happy Birthday? It's an important annual festival, you know?"

"Maybe, but who got the time for that?"

Alice said it rather brazenly, with no offense intended to anyone in particular.

"I don’t really care about my birthday. I mean, I’d have forgotten about it if I hadn’t been asked."

"What did you say?"

The shock erupted through her head. Back when she was in the village, Ai would casually mention this a month before her birthday, to the point where others would even say, <i>That's annoying!</i>

"Ahhh~! Dammit~! Just shut up!"

Alice finally snapped back, as though in defiance.

"You know, it's not that I don't want others to celebrate it for me, too! I want presents! I want cake! But now’s not the time for that!"

Alice waved his arm and pointed at the wilderness. Celica was there, looking for her mother, and Scar was beyond there. The car was always running low on food, and they had nothing to waste on.

"I'm going to save the world!"

Alice declared, his eyes reflecting the flames of the bonfire.

"I'll do whatever it takes to do that.

……What's my birthday got to do with it?"

Muttering, Alice checked the gun on his hip and ventured into the wilderness. It seemed he assumed that if he had nothing to do, he should at least go hunting.

Ai grabbed the hem of the departing school uniform.

"Let go."

" …No."

"Let me go."

"Don’t wanna…."

Alice crudely shook off Ai's hand, who stumbled for a moment, took a step back, and then,

"……… Oi."

[[Image:Kamisama v04 Illustration 04.jpg|thumb]]

She clung to Alice's back.

"You can’t…Mr Alice…, you can't do that."

"Ah?"

"You can't cut that kind of thing off. …

Ai knew. She knew of someone who became a shockingly sharp blade by disposing of all these vague things one after another. Cursed with an immortal body, the only dream he pursued was death. She knew that Hampnie Hambart admired the will of monsters…and tried to become one.

Alice's current attitude was exactly like him. It was the attitude of a monster who would discard everything for his own ends. It was the attitude of a monster.

"You can't do that. You can’t just discard them…let’s celebrate your birthday together."

Ai hugged the black school uniform tightly, and the already tattered clothes were like the skin or an unknown beast. Her tears wetted it, and she hoped those words would turn the monster back into a person, just like in the fairy tales.

"How old are you, Mr. Alice?"

"…Six…teen."

"I see. Mr Alice, it's your sixteenth birthday. Congratulations."

"………"

Ai whispered her congratulations word to Alice's back and moved away.

Alice did not run away anymore.

"Please let us celebrate with you. We shall bake a cake, arrange candles, and celebrate your sixteenth birthday."

Ai went before Alice, whose face was obscured by his bangs, unable to be seen. Ai did not mind however, and beamed at him,

"Okay?"

"……"

He did not reply, but he did not refuse either. Ai's face lit up.

"Mr. Julie!"

"Hmm?"

"Can you make a cake?"

"Of course.."

Julie gave a wry smile as he took out flour from the food bag,

"The eggs and vegetables are about to expire. Let's have a feast today."

"I-I’ll help too!!"

Dee was teary-eyed for some strange reason as she flailed about, as if to say, <i>I can't remain like this.</i>

"… Even so, you can't touch any object, right?"

"But I want to help! Let me help!"

"Okay okay okay…babysit Celica for me, then."

"Yes!"

Everyone was suddenly busy. Julie checked their groceries load, <i>apupu, </i>and Dee caused Celica to laugh with a serious face.

Ai tried to hurry over, and on her way, she took Alice's hand, who was still in the darkness of the wilderness,

"Mr. Alice, come here."

She sat him down on the birthday seat, the warmest part of the fire.

"Please wait a moment. We’ll be right back!"

"……"

"Hmm? What is it?"

Ai put her ear to Alice's mouth. It seemed like his voice was quaking, and he was misty-eyed. But Ai pretended not to notice.

"Thanks…" Alice muttered quietly.

"Yes!" Ai replied.

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The cake did not expand at all, and there was not much cream or decoration, which made it seem like a failure. In addition, the candles used were thick ones for emergency use, thirteen of them, burning on the cake. It did not look like food in any case.

There was meat, vegetables, and fish on the menu, but they were all on the verge of spoiling or dried out, and thus not particularly tasty.

Still, the evening was wonderful.

It was as good as any birthday party Ai had ever seen.

Alice was initially reluctant, but after seeing the dishes being served one after another, as well as Ai and Dee causing a ruckus while celebrating, his expression gradually softened.

Julie played the harmonica, which he rarely did, Dee showed off her crystal-clear voice, which she also rarely let people hear, Ai was frustrated that she was the only one who did not have such skill, so she sang loudly anyway. Celica appeared to enjoy such a joyous atmosphere as she fooled around while holding up the milk-filled bottle. Alice toasted his cup with Celica’s bottle, and finally sat down in front of the cake.

His face was smiling In the candlelight.

Then the candle went out.

Ai had a vision there. She saw her father, her mother, the villagers, and all the people she had met on her journey. Living, Dead.

Julie lit a lantern, and the vision disappeared, leaving only four people.

But that did not diminish anything.

Ai clapped her hands and congratulated Alice for the umpteenth time.

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The party ended quickly.

The flames were extinguished, the dishes were wiped down with bread, the last bit of tea was downed, and the group went to bed at an almost normal time. It was Alice's condition for holding the party.

Ai was wrapped up in a blanket next to Celica. She looks at the passenger seat, where Alice was, reclined to the max, looking east. He looked as though he was waiting for the sun.

(…It’s the same as yesterday…)

Ai thought.

(…I wonder if he was waiting for the sun last night as well? He’s anxious about the stillness of the night, waiting for the sun to show…just waiting along on his birthday …)

Ai looked at his sidelong face, and firmly believed her intuition was correct.

He was really just like her.

He truly was someone who wanted to save the world.

"…Mr Alice…"

"…Hm?"

She whispered to him.

"…Why do you want to end the world?"

"……"

Alice did not answer, and Ai stared at the passenger seat for some time, remaining in an uncomfortable position.

"…I can't say right now …"

"…I understand…"

"…Sorry…"

"…it’s fine…"

Just hearing the words ‘for now’ was enough for her.

"… Good night…."

"………Goodnight."

Ai buried her face into the blanket and did not wake up until morning.

They would finally catch up with Scar the next day.

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