Part 143: The timeline shifts in an unexpected direction

Faris ordered a sandwich.

"So, does Kyouma have another method in mind, nya?"

"This is only a bet, but..."



"So, we're not going to cancel Faris's first prank mail, nya?"

"That's how it's gonna go. We win as long as I get the IBN 5100 back. As long as that happens, we don't need to kill your dad--"

Right as I say that, the employee comes to us with our sandwich and drink. She's making a startled face at my words.



The employee forces a smile and heads back inside after my lame excuse. I turn back to Faris.

"So, we can end things quickly if we change the D-mail's contents to something like this: 'Don't ever let go of the IBN 5100 until you pass it on to Okabe Rintarou.'"

I think we can only send the D-mail back 10 years at the most, because cell phone mail didn't become widespread until then. Rukako's mom's pager was a special case, but even that was still limited to the 1990s. So, I think it would be impossible to tell Faris's dad in 1975 anything like "buy a crapload of IBN 5100s and keep them until 2010".

"But, but, back then, papa's company was down and he didn't have any money, nya. I think there's nyothing you could say to stop him from selling the IBN 5100 if he needed money to save meow."

Faris says so with a troubled face and restlessly stuffs her cheeks with egg sandwich.

"That depends on how you write it, right? If you make it seem like it's related to the first D-mail, then your dad has to find another way. If he's a retro PC collector, then he should have plenty of other PCs he could sell, right?"

"He wouldn't get enough money with those, nyan. Back then, the IBN 5100 was the only one people would pay outrageous prices for every neow and then."

"Then this is something only you can pull off. I'll say it again: This is only a bet."

And you might also call it an escape. A bet to escape the same responsibilities as God.

"How much will the world line change? What will the new world line bring? I don't know the answers, either. It may become a world where neither Mayuri nor your dad can be saved, but it may also be one where both can. I'm not confident either, but I can't leave things the way they are. I can't let Mayuri die. I can't let your dad die, either."

It's a gamble. Sink or swim. I'm asking Faris if she's okay with that even when two lives hang in the balance. I don't want to have to do this, but I couldn't think of any alternative.



"...Really?"

"I know that you're trying to save papa, nyan. I want to give you my thanks, nyan."



"Don't... Don't tease me."

"But I'm not teasing you, nyan."

Faris pouts her lips in a cute way.

"Does Kyouma hate women like meow?"

She peers at my face with upturned eyes.

"Th-That's MayQueen+Nyan²'s number one popular maid for you, huh. She sure knows how to flatter her customers..."

"...I don't like it when Kyouma dodges meow."

Now she's dropping her shoulders with a sad face. Don't tell me that was a real confession.

Faris is cute. My inner securities are also largely fading away. I don't feel bad about being told I'm loved. I am a man, after all. My heart would sway if such a cute girl were to confess to me.

But this talk is for times of peace. Now isn't the time to think about such things.

"Faris... Join me in my gamble. It'll come out all right... believe me."



Faris looks a little downhearted, but after a deep breath, she's smiling again.

"...Take meow with you, Kyouma. Let's send that D-mail, nya."

Our strategy is set. Will we hit the jackpot or a land mine? Not even God knows.



Mayuri talks intimately with her, but Kurisu just keeps reading with an unconcerned look.

I told the three of them that I'd explain later - though I don't know if we'd get the opportunity, seeing as we're changing the past - and head with Faris straight to the experiment room.





Faris's staged kidnapping ten years ago became a problem when her dad sold off the IBN 5100. This is a 'second threat mail' written to prevent that. Its time of arrival is one hour after the first D-mail. I set the timer and give Faris a glance.

"There's no turning back."

"It would be purrfect if I could remember Kyouma even if the world line changes..."

I don't know how that will turn out, either. This isn't like Suzuha's case where we returned the warped world line back to normal. We're warping even more. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are even more changes than the complete annihilation of moe shops from Akiba.

"Even if you forget, I will remember."



I hold Faris's hand just as she asked. I activate the Microwave.

"Go for it, Faris."





Video: D-mail Sent







"Wha...?!"

The summer sun fills my disoriented vision.



"This is..."

Sudden teleportation. I realize I'm standing at Chuo Dori. Animate is in front of me.

...Animate?! I check my surroundings.

"All the moe shops... are back..."



That was clear from occurrence of Reading Steiner.

Faris is nowhere to be seen. Just until now, we were standing right next to each other, holding hands, yet she vanished. Did her very existence also disappear?

No freaking way. I refuse to accept that. Did my fortune turn out good or bad?

For now, I should examine this world line.



I ask her the big favor of letting me inside. There, the Divergence Meter is in good shape.



The first digit is blank. It now reads ".27349%." Is it broken, or is there some sort of reason?

Anyway, better make a note of this number on my phone. After I tore apart our memories with Suzuha, I checked to make sure that the number was above 0.4%, so that means it went pretty low.

But the biggest question is that missing 0.



Video: Who are you?

(No music in the video.)

Nae tries to hide herself behind the sliding door, firmly peering at what I'm doing. She's leaking an even bigger aura of fear than usual. I feel like I need to calm her down somehow or else she'll tattle on me to the manager later.

"Sorry for the sudden intrusion, but I'm done here. By the way, your old man showed me the way here."

Even after I tell her my excuse, she still looks like she's about to cry, and she still doesn't come any closer.

"Who... are you? Please, get out already... If you don't, I'll call the police. And my daddy's really, really strong."

"...?"

What is this eerie feeling?

"What do you mean, 'Who are you?' How mean. We see each other occasionally. I rent out the second floor of your old man's shop, right? Did you forget?"

"D-Daddy, save me..."

"Nononono... wait a sec."

"If you do bad things to me, I'll bite off my tongue and die..."

"Look, I won't okay? More importantly, do you really not remember who I am?"



"So, we've never met?"

Now she nods deeply.

"...I'm... sorry about that. I know your old man. I'm done here, so I'll just leave."





I think a 0.2% change is quite large. When I sacrificed Suzuha's memories, it only changed 0.07%, and I thought that was a dramatic change. It's not strange for there to be a large change in relationships. I probably don't know the majority of what events happened in the past.

And besides that...



To me, that was nothing but pure horror. To save Mayuri and Faris's dad, we made a past-changing wager. To have lost the existence of everyone in that wager except Faris is...

Unbearable. No, that can't be true. There's no way everyone got annihilated. I'm sure they still exist. My phone's just broken, is all. Yeah, that's probably it.

Inside of me, a contradiction is born. Obviously, my circumstances have greatly changed, but I don't want my relationships with the lab members to have changed in the slightest.

I keep chanting this desire in my head like a whining child.



Once I get in, Mayuri should cheerily greet me, and the other two should greet me lazily. I climb the stairs to the second floor wishing just that.

But then I realize how optimistic I had been. The second floor has become a vacant room...