The lunchtime chime rings.
　That's the signal that the bullying is about to begin--.

　I buy bait for Saeki and Kida at the store, deliver it to the classroom, and finish my lunchtime routine first thing.
　Just like that, for the first two years of high school, I'm their slave.
　I can't admit that I'm an oppressor. So I pretend they're my friends and act out a relationship that's on the edge of being able to excuse that I'm not being forced into it.
　These are meaningless days, and I don't even know who I'm making excuses for.
　But I can't help it.

　I sat down and waited until the reverberations of the chimes died down that day. Unusually, they didn't say anything to me. In fact, they didn't even get involved, and the routine never started.
　I don't know if it was just today. Strange things can happen.
　But it doesn't matter anymore to the invincible me, the invincible man who has come to this day.

　I got up from my seat and walked out of the classroom and down the hallway.

　There's a five-layered structure of torment - a victim, a perpetrator, a spectator, and a survivor.
　Victim, perpetrator, spectator, bystander and observer.
　In other words, the idea that there is no one involved in the abuse.

　But the reality is different.
　Everyone thinks they are irrelevant.
　Whether they realize it or not, it doesn't matter. It's just that it's fun. It's the same as in entertainment.
　That's why I'm not going to the vending machines, I'm going to the rooftops.

　I've heard that in many schools, the rooftops are already locked up and sealed off to prevent students from entering. But in this high school, it's always open to the public.
　So that's what it's all about--.

"If you ever get tired of living, you can always jump off....

　Maybe I'm not normal, maybe I'm not normal, maybe I'm crazy, maybe I'm crazy for muttering these things.

'But it's not me that's crazy, it's this world...'

　Trying to say it aloud doesn't change anything. At the end of the fence, on the other side of it, the sky is much bigger.
　I climbed over the fence to the other side of the fence, looking at the same view as usual. I looked up at the sky, closed my eyes, and then took a deep breath.

　Inside the fence, I could see some students eating lunch and chatting happily with their friends. They looked at me with dirty sideways glances, whispered uncomfortably, and then hobbled out of the roof.
　Yeah, they're a crappy bunch.

　The sky is gray as usual.
　The school building, the ground and the asphalt are all the same color as usual. I wanted it to be a different color just for today, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
　I close my eyelids slowly, watching it all go down.
　My feet are slumped. I lift my heels and slowly try to keep my weight in front of me....
　I felt an unfamiliar floating sensation, just before my body was about to leave the ground. But I would get used to it directly.
　And when I get used to it, I'll be dead.

"...What...?

　My feet had left the ground, but they hadn't left the ground. They were apart, but my right hand was still connected to the inside of the ground. I wondered if my clothes sleeve had gotten caught in the fence.

Don't die...

...Ichijo.

　Before I knew it, Ichijo was outside the fence. He grabbed my right hand and grabbed the fence with his other hand, holding it together.

'You can't die, Hidaka-kun........'

Why would you...

　It wasn't even a question for Ichijo.
　It was a vague, objectless question.
　I don't know what it means or why Ichijou is in front of me, and the fact that he's holding my hand desperately, I don't know what it means or why.
　But for some reason, my vision seemed to moisten........

　Take my hand - said Ichijou in a voice that showed no trace of hypocrisy.
　The fence creaked.

''........Let go.''

Hidaka-kun!

　Ichijo didn't let go of my hand and yelled for me to grab it.
　But then Ichijou's hand left the fence. My feet, which were on the edge of the cliff, left the ground too, and we were slowly moving away from the rooftop, or so I thought.
　But as soon as the unaccustomed floating sensation began, it was stopped again by something else.

''Guh........''

　I heard a voice from above as people stepped and strained.

''Ichijo don't let go!

　My mind is blank.
　Why, of all things, is this guy here........
　It was Saeki. Just like Ichijo, he grabbed Ichijo's hand with one hand and held onto the fence with the other hand, holding it together. Then Ichijo grabbed my arm.

'Saeki, why are you here?' And Ichijo.

'Don't give me any leeway, d*mn it.

　Saeki's face turned red and he bit his back teeth, as desperate as a single stripe.

'Don't ... what the hell is that? You all have no idea why. You disrespecting people's resolve........

"Sorry," said Saeki. 'There's no turning back now...'

....

It's either the end of the world or it's the end of all of us.

Saeki, you're not going to wear a mirror? .....

　-- Saeki's hand left the fence.

　They didn't make sense until the very end.
　I don't know how they can be so desperate for others.
　As for Saeki, isn't he the main culprit? I don't understand....

　But that doesn't matter anymore.
　The reason why it doesn't matter anymore is because I've gotten used to the feeling of floating.
　By the time we get back to the land, I'll be out of the raw. Reluctantly, I'll take the two of you along for the ride.
　Goodbye, my daily life....

　People are afraid of what they don't understand.
　They reject it. Hurt them. They kill.
　But that can't be helped, because each one of us is special. That's why people will never understand each other.
　But even if we weren't special, I don't think we would ever understand each other. That's because I couldn't understand even life, which should have been so close to me, because I couldn't understand it.
　I've come so close to the end of life and death, and yet I still can't understand both. So, once that happens, I have no choice but to completely cut off the relationship.
　You have to separate yourself from this unknowable realization of life that is entangled even in the middle of a floating feeling.
　That's why I've decided to throw myself into this death that no one can understand.

　It's not that I wanted to die, I just didn't want to live. No one will know the difference.
　But that's okay, the world won't end....

　Masamune Hidaka is going to die.







It's worked it's worked, Your Majesty!

'So we have succeeded at last!

　I wonder where I am....

　When I came to, I found myself standing upright in the middle of a very large room with no idea where I was. It was the same feeling I had when I was alive.
　In front of me was a man with a crown, a woman in a white dress, and an old man with a walking stick, all jubilant about what had happened. It feels like a trinity, like a king, a princess and a wise man.

　There were Ichijo and Saeki on either side of me. They have a serious look on their faces, or rather, a mysterious atmosphere.

''Saeki, you've seen the world mirror, haven't you?''

Yeah. So are you.

Well....Hidaka-kun used his left eye as well, didn't he?

Well, I suppose that's what it is.

　It felt a little noisy behind me.
　When I turned around, I saw some of my classmates there. There seemed to be roughly more than ten of them.

Welcome, brave men and women, welcome. I am Johannes Graysberg, the 47th King of the Graysberg Kingdom!

　The king introduced himself in a pompous manner. Then he said he had something to apologize for and began to tell us why he had called us here. He said that we were summoned by some kind of magic to summon the heroes, and it seems that the suicide attempt failed. The suicide attempt seems to have failed.

''Ichijo is crazy, why is Greberg prospering, or rather, when we're being summoned?''

I've been wondering the same thing.

'That's why you're a mirror of the world. If they sent it to the other four, they would have changed it from this country, which was the biggest problem.

Anyway, Hidaka-kun, can you say status and whisper?

What?

　Just when I thought they were having an unintelligible conversation, Ichijou suddenly said so.

'Status. That brings up a status screen at the front.

You....

Apparently, Ichijo has lost his mind due to the aftereffects of his suicide. On the surface, he appears unharmed........but that means Saeki is too?

"Hidaka-kun, please, trust me.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

　It looks like I'm in trouble, I'll just do what he says.
　The king and the princess were staring at me as if to tell me to cut down on my private conversation, so I obeyed, saying "status" as quietly as possible. Part of me did as I said out of guilt for taking them on the road.
　Immediately after, I heard a buzz, like an old computer starting up, and a translucent monitor appeared in front of me. My mind went blank.

'Lies, right...'

　I think I'm losing my mind, too.

Can you look at the "State" and "Title" sections?

'Well the monitor could be operated with a finger. 'Ah, there it is.'

What does it say?

Is your condition normal and your title a hero?

　When I answered that, Ichijou sighed, as if relieved for some reason.

'It's okay, Saeki, we're succeeding.

　Saeki smiled. They're creepy guys with eye contact. When did we get so close........

''--Please be quiet!

　The princess's voice echoed through the hall. And it was clearly meant for me and the two of us. A sharp gaze stared at us.

'Princess, may I have a word with you?' said the old man on my right. 'I overheard a few conversations, and it seems that these men, though they are from another world, somehow know about their status.

You want status? .........Does that mean that the rest of you are too?

　To the princess's question, the rest of her classmates, besides us, said, "Status? What's your status? Do you see that a lot in video games? They murmured to each other, "Well, I guess we're the only ones who know about it.

"I suppose they are the only ones who know about it.

Is that so? I see, that's very strange.

　The king, the princess, and the wise men all turned their cold gazes on Saeki, Ichijo, and me at once.
　They're looking at me as if they're going to kill me at any moment. I don't even know where I am, but what is this situation....

"Hey Ichijo, isn't this bad, can't you change this situation?

Don't worry... you can trust Hidaka.

You should have left after your exile and gone looking for yourself.

I'll be fine.

Heh ... all right. I believe in Hidaka.

Hey, why don't you just say you believe me--

　I squinted my eyes as if I was suddenly hit by a light from the side. I felt something imminent and turned my gaze towards the throne. A blue light source filled the vision in front of me.

''Eh.........''

　--die.
　I don't know what it was, but it was a reflex. Immediately after, I saw a glittering blade in my vision. When it cut into the center, the blue light source bisected, and the light that was about to hit me was drowned out in the air.

'No way........is that a brave man's sword!

　The princess was exaggeratedly surprised.

"How can an alien world use a different kind of magic, different from the lore?" exasperated the king.

"Saeki, cover me!

　With the golden sword in his hand, Ichijou said that.

''-- 《Divorcade of Flame (Divorcade)!

　A huge ball of fire appeared above Saeki's head. It managed to hold up its left hand like a squadron. Was it Saeki who started this fire?
　My mind goes blank and I don't know what's going on.

'Guards, seize those men!

　The princess's face, which should have been ladylike, was ugly and twisted like a prairie. She was screaming like a roar and shouting to be restrained. I didn't do anything........

''Saeki, protect Hidaka-kun!

You don't know what you're talking about. We're still level one!

Oh that's right.

Hey, Hidaka, you can't even use powerful magic?

Huh, what, magic?　Oh, this was magic!

"Saeki, Hidaka-kun doesn't know anything.

But hey, you can't do that, okay?

''And there's no abyss dwelling in him now, Hidaka-kun is gone.

I know that.

I had a feeling Ichijo had said something awful, but considering the content, it was probably due to the after-effects.

''What are you doing, guards, let's get those people, quickly! --

The king rose from his throne.
Guards in silver armor gathered with a shuffling sound from the pillars visible here and there in the hall. We were easily surrounded.

Drop the sword!

　One of the guards held his spear to threaten Ichijo.

Lift the spell!

　One of the guards thrust his sword at Saeki, threatening him.
　I can't do anything but stand in the middle of those two and shake my legs. They are talking again in secret, talking about incomprehensible things, and then the guards threaten me again.

''-- 《Lightning》!

　Suddenly, the guards around him lit up and screamed out.
　Then Ichijou was startled for a moment, but then he smiled in relief.

Looks like it's working.

'Looks like,' laughed Saeki.

　There was a rumbling of the earth and suddenly the roof of the hall came off. I'm not sure if it's a tornado or not, but something with black wings passed through the blue sky above.

''........A dragon?''

　The hulking body seemed to be unmistakably a dragon. I've seen it in games. And suddenly I saw what looked like a shadow jumping down from its back.
　The shadow descended and gradually became clearer and clearer. It's a person, it looks like a woman.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

''Masamune........''

　She was a beautiful girl with light pink hair. She came down over my head and said my name.
　I was so overwhelmed by her shiny skin, her dainty, inhumanity, that I couldn't speak.
　She held out her hand and I couldn't help but open it too. Then I caught her in an embrace.
　I wondered who this person was. She looked at me with moist eyes.
　She looked somewhat sad when I was silent, and that's when I

Who are you?

　She looked more sad and wiped her tears away.

'I'm Toa ... Toatrica.

Toatrica?

　It's a beautiful name. It's as if it symbolizes eternity........



　She still looked somewhat sad when I said her name. Then she laughed, trying to hide her expression.

'Sorry about the interruption,' said Ichijo. 'I appreciate you coming to help me. But, Toatrica-san, things don't look good for you.

Don't worry. They're here.

Where did the demons come from?

　The blonde princess appeared behind Toa, holding a dagger around her neck.
　But Toa was unfazed and smiled. A moment later, something attacked the princess's body and took her far away. She couldn't follow it with her eyes, and the next thing she knew, the princess was bound in the hands of a large rock.

''Princess!''

　An old man near the throne was doing something with his cane. Instantly, a tree root protruded from the ground. 'Wait for me, Princess! The old man jumped on the tip of a root that stretched out from the ground and twisted in the air, and approached.

''-- Ice Weird!

　A blade of ice, dancing wildly like a leaf, suddenly appeared and severed the roots. The old man lost his balance and fell from the roots to the ground.

　There was the figure of a silver-haired female knight.

''Your appearance ... a White King Knight?''

"It's a pleasure to know the White King's knight. Lord Wizard of the Forest.

Oh, you little impudent girl. You have a fine rapier. Do you want it on me?

It's an ice crystal rapier. It will freeze the trees in the forest, right?

"Cat food!

　A small girl's fist cracked into the old man's jaw.
　The girl suddenly appeared in sight and the old man, perhaps caught off guard, was punched away, unable to take a passive hit.

''Your master will be protected by Nem!

　A white girl with cat-like ears raised her fist in victory in front of her.

'Aries! ...Albert! .....

　The king is pissed off in front of the throne.
　He descended the stairs on the platform with a thud and made a large sand-colored spear appear in his right hand with a kind of magic.

''-- 《Holy Light (Saint Shine)!

　Suddenly, a ball of light shot out through the king's stomach. Blood dripped from his belly and rolled down the middle of the stairs, causing the king to fall to his stomach.
　On the stairs was the figure of a beautiful blue-haired woman. She was holding a white staff in her hand.

'Master Masamune, I'm so glad you're safe.