The sun had completely set, and I walked alongside Arisa down a path illuminated by streetlights. It was a residential district tucked away from the main street, so there were almost no passersby; it was so quiet that it was hard to believe we were in the middle of a city.
"Geez, I'm much stronger than you, Kaito-san. I even carry around a stun gun with nasty voltage and other weapons that are probably legally questionable for self-defense, so you really didn't need to go out of your way to walk me home."
"There are way too many things I should probably point out there... but well, I’m doing it anyway, just in case."
She had already completely returned to her usual self. I gave a wry smile at Arisa as she spoke in her characteristically relaxed tone.
"By the way, Kaito-san, aren't you thirsty? Because I am."
"...Come to think of it, I still haven't paid the reward for that delicious dinner."
"As expected of Kaito-san! You're so quick on the uptake."
Arisa was indirectly asking me to treat her to a drink, but that was a small price to pay—or rather, this had become something of a routine for us.
Whenever Arisa came over to my place and helped with dinner, I would always walk her home. Along the way, she would mention being thirsty, we’d buy drinks from a vending machine, and we’d chat for a while at a nearby park.
Stopping at our usual vending machine, I bought a café au lait for Arisa and a low-sugar canned coffee for myself. We moved to a small park that offered little more than a bench and a slide to provide a bit of privacy.
We sat side by side on an old wooden bench and gazed up at the sky together.
It was a city sky where the bright Stars were hidden from view. While gazing at the scenery that felt familiar yet somehow lonely, I sipped my warm coffee, feeling the brush of the cold night wind.
The silence was broken only by the distant, faint hum of the main street. Into that quiet air, Arisa spoke softly.
"You know... this is nice."
"Yeah?"
"No, I just... I was just thinking about how fun every day is lately. Talking for ages about things that don't matter, getting worked up over silly stuff, having little incidents here and there, but still being surrounded by people I care about... I guess this is what you'd call happiness."
"...I suppose so."
Just as Arisa said, every day felt truly fulfilling. Walking to school while having trivial conversations with her, chatting excitedly with everyone in the lab, planning for upcoming events... they were truly happy days.
"...Riri-senpai and Lidi-senpai will be job hunting next year, and we won't be university students forever. Our environment is bound to change, and our paths might end up diverging. You never know what the future holds... but it would be nice if happy days like these could just keep going."
"...Arisa, you were planning on becoming a journalist, right?"
"Oops, you forgot the 'Super.' I'm going to be a Super Journalist. Well, it's true that being a journalist has always been my dream, and I've prepared for it. But you never know, do you? Lately, I've started seeing a bit of a different dream too."
"...A different dream?"
I tilted my head and asked her to clarify, prompted by her gentle tone. Arisa turned toward me with a bashful smile, then returned her gaze to the night sky before continuing.
"...Watching Akari-san makes me think that being a Full-time Housewife might not be so bad. Well, you see, I am a Transcendent Beautiful Girl who can handle cooking perfectly, so I'd make delicious meals and wait for my Boss to come home. On days off, I'd make bento boxes and go out with my beloved Boss, laughing together... Lately, I've started thinking that would be wonderful too."
"...I see."
"Well, shall we get going?"
She stood up from the bench, and as she tossed her empty can into the trash bin and smiled, I found myself captivated by her. How should I put it... it was strangely embarrassing. I was becoming intensely aware of her as a woman.
Following her lead, I also put my empty can in the bin. Just as I started toward the park exit, I felt a slight impact against my back.
"Kaito-san... please just stay like that. Don't turn around."
"..."
Arisa lightly pinched my clothes, her face buried against my back. My heart skipped a beat at her words.
"...I'm not rushing you for an answer. Or rather, I don't have the courage to hear an answer yet, so I'd appreciate it if you'd wait until later."
"...Arisa?"
"Well, just think of it as a kind of job hunting. I won't rush you, and there's no deadline... If someday, Kaito-san... if you think it might be okay to give me an 'Unofficial Offer for Permanent Employment'... please let me know. If you do, I will... I will choose that path."
Her voice was small, but it reached my ears with perfect clarity. I understood exactly what those words meant.
"...I'm truly glad I met you, Kaito-san."
"Arisa..."
"A-Ahaha, I said something weird, didn't I? Sorry! Come on, let's go!"
"Ah, hey!"
"Hurry up! I'm going to leave you behind!"
As if flustered, Arisa cut the conversation short and began walking ahead of me with a forced, cheerful energy. Gazing at her small back, the emotion that surfaced in my heart was... an unspeakable sadness.
Why? I should have been happy... so why did it feel like I was about to cry?
When Arisa said earlier that she wished days like this would continue forever, I hadn't been able to agree with her. "I feel the same way"—I simply couldn't get the words out of my mouth.
It was as if another 'me' inside my heart was screaming that this was all wrong.
But what was it? Somehow... deep in my heart, I had a sad, unshakable certainty that the future where Arisa's new dream came true would never arrive. And that felt overwhelmingly tragic.
Suddenly, as if guided by instinct, I looked behind me. Naturally, there was no one there... but I felt as if, until now, someone had always been standing there.
Someone who would help me if I was in trouble, and laugh with me if I was having fun... a precious someone who should have been right there.
An uncontrollable anxiety and a sense of dissonance washed over me. Shaking my head as if to drive the feelings away, I hurried after Arisa.
Serious-senpai: "...Wait, isn't Arisa's Heroine Power incredibly high? Especially the fact that she's a resident of a World of False Images seems to be boosting her Heroine Power even further..."
???: Smugly proud
Serious-senpai: "You're so annoying!"