Part 118: The limitaions of Titor's time machine are revealed

My objective is to be on the lookout at that suspicious westerner's street stall. I had Suzuha take separate action, because I thought it might disappoint her if it ended in vain.

I hide a little bit away from the street stall and peek in an inconspicuous way. At the bequest of my stomach, I offer energy bars and soy milk.

I've already waited two hours. I forgot to ask exactly which time the suspicious character appeared, so I started the lookout before the sun set, but it's already 8 PM and the street stall shows signs of closing shop.

At about this time, the pedestrian traffic lessens in Akiba. Did it end in vain? Did that Master trick me with false information? It's when I finished impatiently slurping the soy milk that...





"Mm... is that...?!"

I quickly jump out of cover.



"Ggh, Okarin?!"

When I call him, Daru's so surprised that he almost jumps, but I'm the surprised one here.

"You! What are you doing here?!"

"I'd like to ask the same to you..."

Master looks at us with suspicious eyes, and decides to change locations in the meantime.





"...Well, yes way."

So that's how it is. So the suspicious character Master told me about was Daru. Which reminds me - Master did unintelligibly describe him as a judo practitioner, or a pro wrestler, or a balloon... he was talking about his rotundness...?

"Confusing bastard!"

Gh, so this was a fool's errand?! At least I didn't bring Suzuha along.

"So, why try to counterfeit them?"

"No, it's not like I was going to counterfeit, you know?"

"Sure seems like it, though."

"Hm, it's basically, better safe than sorry. If we don't find Amane's old man, she'll be pitiful. So then, I'll show her the badges I made, and, well, lie that her father was here..."

"So you'll give her false hope, huh."

"You don't have to say it like that, you know? In this world, there are two types of lies: Bad lies and gentle lies!"

"What eroge did you learn that from?"



"So is it no good? The plan to create a fake Titor?"

"Do you really think that will make Suzuha happy?"

When I deny him, Daru puts on an unexpectedly brooding expression.

"Amane said 'don't tell anyone', but... Okarin, I'll tell you this."

He has a big mouth, as usual. I'm a little shocked, but he seems dead serious, so I'll listen to this.

"When I examined the time machine, I heard this from Amane..."





"...What?"

At first, I couldn't understand the meaning of what he said.

"Nonsense. The time machine of the Titor that I know could travel both ways."

"Did you actually see it?"

"It's not like I saw it, but..."

"Okarin, in the first place, when you say Titor, do you mean that guy who appeared in 2000? I haven't heard or seen anything about that Titor."

That's right. The Titor I know and Suzuha Titor aren't necessarily the same person. The time machine's structures are roughly the same, but there's the discrepancy of one being a Chevy and one being a satellite on the outside.

"Then, really...?"



"So, for example, what if she goes to 1975? She can't come back here to 2010?"

"To get back here, she'd have to live for 35 years from 1975 in real time."

Eh... seriously?

"So that means that Suzuha's time machine can't go back to 2036?"

"Didn't I just say that?"

"Then isn't it defective as a time machine?!"

"Right. She said that time machine was incomplete."

Incomplete... you say...?

"It looks like Amane's old man reverse-engineered SERN technology and made it himself in secret... since her old man was killed by SERN, it remained incomplete, yet it can still leap to the past no problem. Suzuha said that and laughed..."

"...Is that story for real?"

"She said it herself. I think Amane was seriously not lying."

"..."

"So anyway, in this era, if she doesn't meet her old man before the time machine repair's over..."



So that's why he was going to counterfeit the pin badge, to show traces that Suzuha's father was here...

"...But counterfeiting isn't good after all. A lie is a lie."

"If we don't get caught..."

I drive my thumbs into Daru's temples to get him to stop.

So why? I try asking myself. Certainly, Suzuha might get sad if she can't meet her father, but that's none of our business. My top priority should be to save Mayuri. I shouldn't let my emotions carry me away. I should be more rational, more logical. He who runs after two hares will catch neither.

But...



Now I fully understand the meaning of that smile. I feel tightening deep within my chest.