Part 124: The loop draws tighter

I push down on the pedal and begin to ascend the Harumi Bridge with the sea breeze blowing. The spokes rhythmically revolve, reflecting rays of strong sunlight. Sweat oozes out of my every pore, but it's not unpleasant. It's actually quite healthy. It somehow reminds me of running around the school grounds back in my elementary days.

"Feels good, man!"

"Hwooh, hee, why do I have to tag along for this?"

"Same... here... haah, hwooh... I mean, the wind's too strong..."

"Daru's kinda chubby, so I think he needs to exercise more!"

"Fat neckbeard master race..."



She's riding her favorite bike, nimbly turning the pedals.

"The scenery sure is nice."

From here on Harumi Bridge, you can see Tokyo Bay clearly, and far away is the Rainbow Bridge. What you see in the surrounding reclaimed land is not willy-nilly residential areas, but the extremes of either huge skyscrapers or vacant land. Leisurely traveling here from Akihabara shouldn't take more than 2 hours. I actually knew how surprisingly close it was when I returned home to Akiba by nonstop bus after ComiMa, but I never thought I'd come here by bike.

Everyone except Suzuha is using rent-a-cycles. I proposed this cycling activity as a change of pace from the search for an unfindable pin. Of course, I already know who the pin belongs to, and who Suzuha's father is, but I dare not tell anyone. If at all possible, I want to spend these two days in peace and delay Suzuha's time travel. That became my current goal.

"I actually thought it was going to be a waste of time until we left, but people are creatures who need to spend time like this every now and then."

"Making the Time Leap Machine was... more fun... for me..."

"Hi, hikikomori are the strongest... Today, today is proof..."

"You two are all worn out, ehehe..."

"How sloppy. You won't survive like that, you know?"

In contrast to the composed Suzuha and Mayuri, Kurisu and Dare are exhausted. I know the distance between Akiba and Ariake, so I preserved my physical strength well.

"W-Where's some water?! Still no vending machine?! I could kill for a glass of water!"



I reply mechanically.

"You, you serious...? I can't, it's impossible..."

"Okarin, you sure know your stuff. Have you been here before?"

"Yeah. Many times."

Yes, I've been here many times. Many times, I've gone this way.



I feel like I'm past 10. I'm endlessly repeating the same loop, as usual.

Moeka's attack? Mayuri's death? Those things won't happen for all eternity.

Today, we're once again off on an adventure on rent-a-cycles.

"Big Sight is right ahead if we keep going straight. We should be there in about 10 minutes."

"Break before that..."

At last, Daru seems to have used up the last of his strength. While still on his bike, he rests his upper half on the guardrail that divides the roadway and the footpath. There, I turn and park next to Daru's bike.

"That's dangero--"



Thoughts too dark to be my own suddenly slipped into my mind.





Would the expected happen?

Would this sloppy body of Daru's get caught in the truck's body and get sent flying like a rag doll? Would his head or arm get blown off and his crimson blood gush everywhere? Would Suzuha, Mayuri, and Kurisu scream after witnessing such an event?

That might be interesting too.



If I go back to the start of the loop, Daru won't even have a scratch. It doesn't matter how much blood he gushes, or how far his entrails come out.

Moreover, everyone needs a little spice in their life. An encounter with a splatter scene is necessary to arouse one's own survival instinct by invoking fear. If I keep soaking in these lukewarm days, I'd lose my motivation to seek peace.

As far as these two days are concerned,

I am God.



"Woah!"

An ear-piercing car horn. Daru hurriedly lifts himself from the guardrail.



Daru clumsily falls off his bike and lands on his rear.

"Th-That was close!"

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Are you hurt?"

Kurisu and Suzuha stop their bicycles and help Daru get up.

"Wawah, that truck's awful!"

Said truck already crossed the intersection after the bridge and has become a tiny speck.

"Hah, what a shock. The hell's wrong with that truck?! Don't screw with me, I should have checked the number! Then I could be like 'Reported'!"

"Nothing actually happened, so there really isn’t any point in reporting it, you know?"

Everyone says this and that while helping Daru up. As for me, I'm staring at my own hands.

I'm glad it ended as a funny story, but...



I chose this two day loop so that nobody would get hurt. So that I could prevent Suzuha's time travel without Mayuri's death.

Just now, contradicting the very purpose of this refuge loop, I was ready to let Daru die. I didn't even give it a second thought.

"...Okabe Rintarou?"

When she calls my name, I reflexively cower. Suzuha's eyes question me. There's no way she could have noticed my dark emotions back there. I know that, but still can’t shake the feeling that she can see right through me.

"...You look pale."

"Wait, Okarin, you're more shook up than I am. Something wrong?"

"Uh, ahh... Well, if our supah hakah died, it would be disastrous for our lab!"

I use a purposefully extravagant tone to cover up my guilty thoughts, and start pedaling.

"Break time's over! Let's go!"



Nobody can escape my subjectivity.

This world exists as long as I wish.

So does Mayuri.
And Daru.
And Kurisu.
And Suzuha.

A space where everybody can sing in harmony.

A place where nobody stands between life and death.

A 48 hour eternity.

I am the Creator of this paradise.

There's no mistake about that.