[Condolences: Imadegawa Seido died in a plane crash on February 22]

【……】

Taking a taxi to take Imadegawa Chisaka home, Narumi searched the Internet for information about the Imadegawa clan on the train back to the rental house.

The index finger clicked on the news on the phone, turned two pages, and then turned off the screen.

The right hand holding the mobile phone hangs slightly, and the tilted mobile phone screen reflects the neon lights on the street outside the tram window.

He looked away from his phone's screen and looked at the street, where the evening lights were set against the sun.

The train passed unhurriedly, and the scenery framed by the windows kept jumping from lamp to lamp.

Chaotic thoughts also flickered with the scenery.

Imadegawa Chisaka is an angel.

That's what he thought until today, at least.

But when the healed wounds bloomed again before his eyes, and he saw with his own eyes what Imadegawa Chisaka said, "White fog can't save people", the word "angel" became ironic.

……

People die and cannot be resurrected.

That's why there will be awe and respect for death, and there will be thoughts and remembrances of the living for the dead.

People are powerless in the face of death, so it is easier to accept fate.

Angels can heal all wounds, but they cannot raise the dead and turn back time.

It is closer to the point of changing fate than the world, but it is also more difficult than the world to accept the facts that have happened that cannot be changed in reality.

If the price is that no one will hear her voice and see her presence after that.

No one in the world will remember her anymore.

It can also be explained by [what cannot be understood by the world, destined to endure loneliness].

so

The angel's ability to heal wounds is only an illusion, but they live day and night in silence that is not observed by the world.

And what is she living for?

If there really is a god in the world, it is the so-called god who made Imadegawa Chisaka experience all this,

The girl in its eyes is probably just a trapped beast in a fighting cage.

The trapped beast lives to escape from the cage, to live for the hope of returning to the forest or seeing its relatives again.

If it didn't give the trapped beast hope of returning to the forest, how long would the trapped beast live?

Or rather,

If you don't meet him who happened to be in a car accident,

How long can Imadegawa Chisaka endure loneliness and silence?

Walk out of the station, walk up the ramp that has been lit up and head back to the rental house.

After washing, he dragged his somewhat tired body and lay down on the bed, and then looked at the ceiling in a daze.

He considers himself a selfish person who may sometimes do things that are not beneficial to him in order to satisfy his spiritual needs. But in the vast majority of cases, they prioritize themselves.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have managed to alienate Imadegawa Chisaka, who saved his life, from himself because he didn't want to pay the price. I won't accept the 1 million yen "salary" that I can get just by helping to buy groceries and pay utility bills.

Just as the audience at the Colosseum doesn't really care about the life and death of the trapped beast, the person who can't be observed is not himself, so why care......

……

“……”

Clicks (Lights that have been turned off come back on)

Click (the door of the rental house is locked)

Tick (Taxi stops next to the street)

"Shibuya Shoto District, trouble."

"Understood."

……

The taxi stopped in front of the gate of Imadegawa's house.

Narumi saw Imadegawa Chisaka standing next to the [Imadegawa] door number in front of the door with a soft white light, quietly waiting for him to open the door, and after he got out of the car, he got into a taxi.

“…… Well? ”

"Shinkansen." The girl whispered.

The driver was unmoved, but looked at Narumi Yu with some confusion.

He sat back in the taxi and told the driver what Chisaka had said to Imadegawa.

"Understood."

The driver didn't ask much, and the car started slowly and drove off the street.

"Fighting Beast Cage, Trapped Beast...... While I agree that the analogy is apt, I still don't understand how you connected me to the beast. ”

The girl, who seemed to know everything about him, frowned at him and looked at him with a bit of questioning in her tone.