Challenge: The Fool with the Surname Okayamine

Chapter 216 Neighborhood Arc: "Ode to a Girl"

"We've arrived. It's already night, so let's rest here."

The building resembled a lone moth-attracting lamp standing in the wilderness. Its structure resembled an extremely stylish design apartment, and the interior was unexpectedly modern, with a television and a plush sofa in the living room.

"Oh my gosh! I'm finally back after a week!"

As soon as he entered the room, Hijikata Masami, his eyes gleaming, rushed in and headed straight for the small room where he slept.

"Ah! Hijikata-nee! You haven't taken a shower yet!"

"No need, I didn't do anything today. I'll wash it after I get up tomorrow!"

With a bang, the door was locked, and now only Kurumi, Hibiki, and Rion were left inside.

Perhaps based on the tragic fate of idols who had challenged this place and disappeared in the past, Rion, who was the ruler at the time, learned from the experience and set up a surveillance station, which was put to good use for a period of time.

"Sigh, Kong Wu will stay here to keep watch, but that won't stop people from using their spiritual power here. You can also take a shower here!"

Kurumi looked puzzled after hearing Rion's words.

"By the way, I've never really paid attention to why we sweat."

"Perhaps it's because this is a world where as long as you believe, it can come true."

"I'm an idol, I don't sweat and I don't need to go to the toilet!"

Hui Lili and Rin Meng proudly puffed out their chests.

"Wow, this person genuinely believes it! Not a drop of sweat! That's amazing!"

After touching Rion's body, Xiang found that, just as Rion herself had said, she hadn't broken a sweat despite walking a long distance.

It seems there's no need to go to the toilet.

"My idol is amazing."

"Right? I'm amazing, aren't I! I'm an idol, but I can't sing! There's no way... I can't sing..."

Suddenly, Rion Meng became depressed and started acting strangely in the corner of the room.

"Kurumi, she was proud and self-destructive, and in the end she became melancholic."

"...Um, I suddenly had a thought. If you weren't an idol, would you sweat?"

"Ah!" "Ah!"

After Kurumi pointed this out, Rion immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

"...I can't believe it, I can't believe it, I can't believe it, I can't believe it, I've started sweating too, and I'll definitely start going to the bathroom too, because I'm not an idol anymore."

"Yes, yes, is anywhere itchy?"

Hibiki dragged the listless Rion to take a shower and washed her hair.

"The bathroom is so spacious, it's wonderful."

Kurumi washed off the dirt from her body before the other two and leisurely took a bath by herself.

It feels like it's been a long time since I've felt this relaxed.

"call…………"

"Waaaaah, I...I actually..."

"They say three girls make a drama, but one is just muttering to herself, while the other is simply enjoying her bath. It's quite peaceful here~~"

"Isn't it supposed to be you, Hibiki, taking on all three roles?"

"I'm not that noisy!"

"Are you being noisy?"

"Please be quiet."

"Ugh... that's so unreasonable. But seriously, you two both have great figures!"

"...Because I'm an idol, and idols have to keep their figures in good shape."

Hearing the praise, Rionmu perked up slightly. Her previously hunched back seemed to straighten a little.

"Hehe. However, you're slightly inferior to me."

Kurumi's casual joke caused Rion to curl up again.

"That's right, my figure isn't as good as the average person's... I'm the Water Saint... Toilet Paper..."

"Kurumi~~ She still hasn't cheered up~~!"

"This is really a headache..."

It seems that her psychological trauma is still very serious.

After showering, Rion sat in the corner of the room, hugging her knees, and dozed off. The two, having finished their showers, changed their spirit costumes into pajamas and decided to go to bed.

(Unbeknownst to anyone, the envelope that Wuming and Caiyan wrote when they left had long been carelessly thrown into the trash can by Rinemu, who had just arrived.)

There is a double bed on the second floor, but no other beds, only a sofa.

Shall we decide with rock-paper-scissors?

Kurumi shook her head and refused after hearing Hibiki's suggestion.

"We're both exhausted, let's sleep together."

Goodnight, Kurumi—

As Hibiki said this and was about to crawl into bed, Kurumi suddenly spoke to her:

"...Hibiki, are you alright?"

What do you mean by that?

Kurumi's eyes were serious. Judging from Hibiki's experience, the level was eight, meaning she was extremely serious.

"Emptiness. I call myself that because of your remnants, don't I?"

"……Yes."

“When I listened to you recount your past, you were also born from nothingness, and then… you planned to avenge ‘her,’ and you eventually succeeded.”

"So, I guess I've achieved my goal... I feel much better now."

Hibiki's target of desperate revenge—the ruler, the "Puppet Master"—has disappeared. No, it was Hibiki who defeated her.

Revenge is over, dreams are realized.

In other words, she has no purpose or hope now.

"That's why I asked if you were alright, and whether you would return to nothingness—"

Hibiki slowly shook his head and pressed his index finger against Kurumi's lips.

"It's okay, Kurumi, because I'm happy right now. Just being with you makes me incredibly happy and excited. Every day is full of excitement, so I don't feel empty and empty."

"……That's good."

"Are you worried about me?"

"How could that be? What if you suddenly disappear halfway through? Wouldn't I be lost and have no one to lead me out of here?"

"What do you mean by being lost..."

"I hardly remember anything before I came to the neighboring world, and even the names of the most precious people in my life are blurry. I only remember that I once lived in the real world, and... fought."

Have you ever fought?

"Yes, fighting against something... very illogical."

That helpless, hellish, surreal object, regardless of where 'we' are...

No matter the timeline, he never forgot his murderous intent towards "her".

However, the cause was based on—I think it was—

"Kurumi?"

A calm voice pulled Kurumi back to the present from the past.

"If you force yourself to look back on the past, you won't be able to escape it."

Is escape impossible?

"Yes, there's no escaping it. Because I used to do that all the time."

Looking back.

A longing to hold on to what has been lost.

But that's all in the past. The past is for remembering, not for clinging to.

Even if I cling to it, I can't recall the feeling of that touch; I only feel emptiness.

Kurumi listened to Hibiki's words and murmured sadly:

"That's true. But I lack even the past now."

Kurumi can't even hold onto the past anymore.

I always try to recall it when I fall asleep.

His words, his face, and the memories we shared.

Even so, if one can see that person in a hazy phantom—one must keep running in the present.

However, Hibiki wouldn't allow Kurumi to do that. No, she wouldn't allow herself to do it.

"...That's really strict."

"It will be a long journey to achieve your dream. So let's talk about the journey ahead while we sleep."

"Okay, can you tell me what kind of places are up to Tiphareth, the sixth realm you've reached, and how I should deal with them?"

Xiang struggled to stay awake and kept talking.

Kurumi Tokisaki possesses exceptional combat abilities, far surpassing those of quasi-spirits. She is comparable to...

Perhaps only Cang can keep pace with it.

However, if Kurumi uses her ultimate move seriously, the chances of Ao being defeated are still quite high. The strongest and most evil troublemaker, Kurumi, still has hidden bullets in her [Zafkiel] technique yet to be unleashed.

However, Kurumi Tokisaki still finds it difficult to leave this neighboring world.

The ruler, as the name suggests, is the one who rules over a territory. The rules formulated by the girl are fickle, unreasonable, and diverse.

This Ninth Realm must be the most powerful of them all. The power of idols is everything here, and even Kurumi would find it difficult to overcome this obstacle.

So Hibiki taught her how to fight and solve those problems.

"For example, how to use spiritual power to generate a feeling of fullness when you are starving in the wilderness."

"For example, how to unlock a door when you're imprisoned."

"For example, how to unleash more spiritual power when you reach your limit."

This is the proper state of this neighboring realm. It is a way of life that is possible only because it is a soul without a physical body.

He will thoroughly teach these techniques.

Soon after, as sleepiness reached its peak, Hibiki reluctantly told Kurumi:

"Let's continue every day, let's talk every day, let's teach every day, so that Kurumi won't be defeated by this world halfway through."

Kurumi wasn't sure if she had answered Hibiki, but she nodded nonetheless.

In order to meet in the other world, I slept until dawn.

The next morning, Kurumi woke up under the bed.

Looking in the mirror, judging from the faint footprints on his cheek and Hibiki's sleeping posture, he seemed to have been kicked out of bed by Hibiki in the middle of the night.

"...Good morning (gunshot)."

Kurumi decided to shoot first.

"Ah—! Why, why, why did they suddenly start shooting?!"

"It's just my way of saying good morning to you who's sleeping in."

"Ugh! Why did he suddenly start yelling like that first thing in the morning!"

"This time might not be the case," Kurumi replied with a broad smile to the trembling Hibiki.

Good morning, you two! Alright, we're about to arrive at the "Cradle of Dreams" today!

By morning, Rion Yume had fully recovered and even felt incredibly energetic.

"Ah, there's milk! Milk!"

"—It's incredible that there's milk even though there are no cows."

"Because this is a world that caters to material needs above all else. The only things that don't exist are cats, dogs, and the opposite sex."

"...There really isn't a cat...uh, it's okay."

For Kurumi... this is the most disappointing fact in this neighboring world besides his absence.

"Milk and stuff, it's not important at all. Ah, but I still want to drink it, it can help with breast enhancement."

“That’s obviously just baseless gossip, Miss Huili.”

"If you firmly believe it, it usually comes true. My breasts! They will definitely get bigger!"

Five minutes later, the two waited for Rion Yume outside the surveillance station with sighs.

"Your bosom has really grown bigger, Miss Hui Li."

"That's outrageous. Rion's breasts are probably around 200 centimeters long."

"Miss Huili keeps crying and saying she wants to shrink, wants to shrink, but does that really work?"

"I think so."

Ten minutes later, Rion came out with her eyes swollen from crying, and stood tall.

"W-How is it? Pretty perfect figure, right?"

"It's just right, I guess."

"You seem a little thinner than when I first met you."

"No way! It's gotten too flat this time! Wait, I'll go make it bigger again."

The two grabbed Rion's arms tightly, forcing her to set off.

"Let go of me!"

"You're so noisy. By the way, how much longer until we get there?"

Without thinking twice, the two of them pulled Rion forward.

"Let me think... once I climb the slope, I should be able to see everything..."

Halfway up the slope, Rion finally gave up and started walking on her own. Since arriving at the monitoring station, there had been no other pseudo-spirits in sight, and even the hustle and bustle of the central district of the Ninth Territory had completely disappeared.

After they stopped talking, a silence fell over the area. The two people other than Kurumi seemed afraid of the atmosphere and chatted incessantly about trivial matters.

Kurumi asks a question:

Are you all so afraid of silence?

"Of course I was scared, terrified! Can you believe it was completely silent?"

"I actually dislike noise... but I do somewhat like the hustle and bustle of a celebration."

"You're really strange. Because no sound means no survival. Since I can't make a sound, I'm not qualified to survive..."

Rion Yume started to feel depressed again, so Hibiki quickly changed the subject.

"Kurumi, do you like the noise and chaos of the festival?"

Kurumi's face immediately darkened upon hearing this question.

"Um, Kurumi?"

"I'm sorry, Hibiki. I have no memory of participating in the festival, so I can't answer you. It's just a natural thought, please don't mind it."

"Oh~~ I don't quite understand the situation... but you've had it tough too."

After Rion, who had unconsciously perked up again, told Kurumi this, Kurumi showed a somewhat surprised expression.

"Kurumi?"

In response to Hibiki's question, Kurumi shook her head and answered:

"No, it's nothing. Yes, it's not easy for me either... in every way."

"Everything will fall into place once I can sing! Okay, we're almost there. Soon we'll see the 'Cradle of Dreams'!"

Rion started running; Hibiki followed behind her with a wry smile. Kurumi arrived somewhat late, perhaps lost in thought.

The two people who were running up the slope stopped and stared at a certain scene.

"Cradle of Dreams"—a place whose name sounds beautiful, but in reality, it is a vast ocean of nothingness that accepts death and annihilation.

...So Kurumi originally thought it would be nothing more than a dark sea, or a barren land like Mars with craters everywhere, like the Tenth Realm, and she didn't think she would be surprised.

However, reality surprised her.

Kurumi first comprehends the image that comes into view.

Halfway there, we passed a giant mountain, a roller coaster track that looked like a giant snake; a dilapidated Ferris wheel missing carriages everywhere; a carousel with peeling paint, the white horse turned brown; a mascot that had deteriorated with time and become ugly; and weeds growing on the asphalt road, like pimples.

It's not even a cradle of dreams anymore; it's practically an abandoned dream playground.

"An amusement park...?"

He murmured softly, without moving an inch.

"It seems so."

Li Yinmeng murmured, her feet also standing still.

Of course, there are no moving objects in the amusement park, except perhaps when the wind blows.

It's just that the Ferris wheel cabins creak.

It wasn't a cemetery or a funeral site, yet the ruins of the amusement park exuded...

An unusually dense aura of death.

"...Shouldn't we go?"

"I have a good idea. Kurumi and Hibiki, go get the 'Voice of the Moon' first."

"Oh, and what about you?"

"I'm on standby here, responsible for communication, and calling for help in case of an emergency!"

"In other words, it means doing absolutely nothing, right? (Gunshot)"

After Kurumi fired the first shot, Rionmu tearfully agreed:

"I go."

"Kurumi, don't just shoot all the time... That shot this morning has left me traumatized..."

"This is the fastest way when time is precious. Okay, let's go."

Kurumi takes a step forward—Hibiki, helpless, also steps forward.

Finally, it was Rion's turn to cautiously lift her foot.

No one remembered that there was someone else in the house who hadn't come over...

Hijikata Masami, who had just opened his eyes after oversleeping, was thinking: "???"

"Ah! Where are they?!"