I Came Back but the World is Still a Fantasy!?

“Three of us immediately tried to approach him, pretending to be acquaintances or busybodies. However…”

“However?”

“I’ll send you the video later, but the target got away.”

“He got away?”

Myuhi eyed her suspiciously, startling Ruby, so she hurriedly continued to explain in detail. Apparently, every time the team tried to approach the boy, his pace would quicken, and he would maneuver through crowds, corners, and even take advantage of traffic signals to evade them.

Such behavior wasn’t limited to their team. He seemed to react similarly to anyone who genuinely tried to approach him with good intentions. From the perspective of the boy, who seemed to be mentally absent, this behavior appeared not just strange but eerie, as if his body were moving on its own, independent of his consciousness.

“It’s that man we’re talking about, after all, so it’s not impossible. But wait, if so, then could it be that I’ve been played by that shameless fox?

While shocked that Shinichi could do something like that so easily, Myuhi realized that there was no need to panic in the first place. In the end, that woman might have instigated her to move on her behalf. When she thought of that, she couldn’t help but imagine that woman with that voluptuous body laughing at her.

“That woman, I’ll remember this… So, why was the Songstress the only one able to touch him? Did he save her from an incident or something?”

“N-No, I don’t get it either, but when Monica found him, she yelled at him, then she forcefully grabbed him by the arm and led him to the church.”

“He didn’t run away from her?”

“This was also recorded, and I shall send it to you later, but… Our three personnel that kept attacking the target were also shocked at how easily she was able to drag him. My deepest apologies,” Ruby bowed her head.

She had been instructed to secure the target, yet the target was secured by someone else from right before their eyes. Normally, she ought to be scolded, but given the situation and the target, Myuhi found it difficult to get mad.

“It seemed as though the target couldn’t notice her existence or actions.”

“Even though she yelled at him, grabbed him by the arm, and then dragged him?”

“Yes. At least, that’s how it seemed.”

Unbelievable, Myuhi thought. But if there was video evidence, then that was likely the truth. She had sneaked up on him so many times, only to be found out. He even toyed with her, but she had no choice now but to accept it.

“Okay, I’ve got the gist of the situation. It’s hard to call it a good job, but you did do your best on such short notice. Thank you.”

“We’re your subordinates in the first place, so please use us as you see fit.”

“Fu fu, I’ll do just that then… Still, that guy sure has a strange charm to him. There’s the young lady of the Padyuel, the Sword Saint, the exorcist priestess, and now the songstress.”

He clearly wasn’t doing it on purpose, so how did he keep attracting all these women to him? Was he fated to be with women with special power or standing or influence?

Presently, Shinichi had no interest whatsoever in the Songstress, and the Songstress was just unusually hostile toward him, but there was no telling how their relationship would be like from here on, so it was still too early to judge.

However, given how they’ve met, the coincidences surrounding him were just too convenient. The fact that he was aware of that and sometimes used it to his advantage was both reassuring and frightening.

“Don’t worry, Commander. You’re more than a match for them!”

“…Wait, Ruby. What do you mean by that?”

It was curious how Ruby took Myuhi’s momentary silence, but she continued speaking. She even clenched both of her fists, though Myuhi couldn’t understand why.

“Commander, you have a loveliness to you that the other girls don’t have! You should attack with that! Don’t worry, we all support you!”

“Don’t tell me you’ve been looking at me like that this whole time?”

Myuhi’s face twitched, but Ruby just responded as though nothing could be more obvious.

“But of course! We have lots of that womanly expression you made back in Osaka in our shared folder!”

“W-What!? Delete it! Delete all of those now! I knew you people were watching, but I didn’t know you’d take it so far! Delete it!”

“That’s why when he went missing and you panicked and told us to go find him, we realized that this was it. The commander has found the love of her life, and we all unanimously decided to give you all of our support!”

“N-No wonder you were in such high spirits!”

Before she knew it, she’d apparently been lumped in with the rest of Shinichi’s girls by her subordinates. To think that that was why everyone was so spirited while undertaking her orders that mixed public and private matters.

(They were a terrorist organization by the way)

Myuhi was dumbfounded. Just whose handiwork could this be? Really, she wanted nothing more now than to flee from this messed up reality.

“…Allow me to confirm, but— That’s what everyone thinks?”

“Yes!”

“Good, very good, you girls! What kind of punishment shall I hand out for failing to complete your mission!?”

“Eek!!”

“Evidently, we need to straighten up that lax attitude of yours,” Myuhi said with an angry voice while grabbing that invisible head in front of her. There was so much power behind her hand that the thought of crushing Ruby’s head actually crossed her mind, but a voice called out to stop her.

“Myuhi onee-chan! Are you doing fine up there!?”

“Are you done?”

“────Oh, yes. It’s all good. I’m going down now!”

Apparently, some of the children were worried about her because she went up but had been silent since. She responded to her in her normal voice, but she didn’t miss that ‘cute…’ remark from the head in her grasp.

“Die for awhile!”

“W-Wait, commander, gyaah!?”

With a powerful blow, she crushed Ruby along with her intercom-type translation unit.

“If your unit does something unnecessary again next time, I’ll do this to the rest of the unit too. I have new orders for you, so wait there after you retrieve Ruby.”

After receiving their unanimous agreement – albeit with a trembling voice – Myuhi let out a sigh and got back down. Then she led the girls that came to pick her up and went back to the chapel. The scene here hadn’t changed at all from earlier. She found her eyes drawn.

Children surrounded Shinichi and his smug face, while the songstress frowned as she glared at him with hostility, and the Sister and the other children watched all of that together.

Myuhi wore a smile as she watched that scene with a gentle gaze and a tinge of jealousy.

This was an air that she’d been curious about since becoming involved with him. And before her was a place with just that sort of air.

The children here had their own circumstances that led to them living here, but at the very least, right now, they seemed happy and at peace.

That’s why Myuhi fell in love with this scene. The fact that he could be a part of that was like a miracle.

If he wished for it, he could probably become a part of that world too, but he didn’t.

Once someone has crossed into their world, there were bonds that they couldn’t cut no matter what.

Yet the more they treasured such a thing, the more they yearned for such happiness, the more they wished to approach it.

That’s why, Myuhi hoped that he would – at the very least – be able to rest here.

───Yet as though to mock her wish, in the next moment, a terrible impact shook the entire chapel.