Chapter 2: How to Save a Broken Girl

The next day, the school was naturally closed.

Except for those who had already taken leave, everyone else had collapsed. It became national news, and it seemed like police and media personnel were gathering at the school.

I learned all this from my mother.

On the other hand, I couldn’t bring myself to watch TV, so I busied myself with knitting and unraveling ‘Guiding Thread Silvate,’ facing the unease in my heart. And then—I got a call from Irena-san.

Unable to stay still after receiving the call, I decided to head to Nina-chan’s house.

I pressed the room number at the entrance of the beautiful apartment building I had visited many times before.

After a while of waiting, clear sound came from the intercom.

“Oh, sorry. Itsuki-san, I’ll open it now.”

“He came!? Itsuki did!?”

“Wait, Nina. Calm dow—”

Before Irena-san could finish her sentence, the sound cut off.

“I wonder if Nina-chan is okay…” 

I thought as I pressed the familiar elevator button. I had been visiting Nina-chan’s house for over a year now, so even the building manager recognized me.

I rang the intercom outside the room after passing through the inner corridor.

Immediately, the door creaked open.

“Excuse me.”

“Sorry for bothering you, Itsuki-san.”

“No, it’s okay.”

The face that appeared from inside belonged to Irena-san, looking very tired. Dark circles had formed under her eyes, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she hadn’t slept a wink since yesterday.

“Anyway, what about Nina-chan?”

“It’s Itsuki! You came!”

“Wait, Nina. A little calmer—”

Before Irena-san could respond, Nina-chan came running from the corridor.

Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes were red from crying.

She rushed towards me.

Anticipating her arrival, I caught her without falling backward.

And then, as I held onto Nina-chan, she hugged me so tightly that I could hardly breathe.

“I’m so glad…! So glad. Itsuki came. You know, I thought maybe Itsuki wouldn’t come anymore. Because when I opened my eyes, Itsuki wasn’t there, so I thought maybe he was tired of me…”

“It’s okay.”

Saying that, I gently stroked Nina-chan’s back as her breathing became shallower.

That was all I could think of to do for her.

“Itsuki-san, please come in.”

Irena-san said so, and I tried to enter the room, but Nina-chan still clung to me tightly.

“Nina-chan, if you don’t let go, I can’t come in.”

“If I let go, Itsuki will go somewhere.”

“I won’t go.”

“…No. I won’t let go.”

Since it seemed inevitable, I reinforced both arms with ‘Guiding Thread Silvate.’

Then, holding onto Nina-chan, I entered the room.

As soon as I entered, I was greeted by a chaotic interior.

The stylish room, once filled with Scandinavian furniture and all white, was now just a remnant of its former self. The sofa was overturned, the curtains torn, and the table split in half.

“What happened here…?”

“Nina went berserk.”

Irena-san muttered, clearly shocked by the state of the room.

“Nina went berserk… for real?”

When I asked Nina-chan, who was still clinging to me, silence was the only response.

It seemed like she didn’t want to talk about it.

Well, if she didn’t want to, that was okay too.

“But I’m glad. I calmed down after Itsuki-san came.”

Saying so, Irena-san clapped her hands, and fairies about knee-height suddenly appeared. They quickly set about fixing the overturned sofa and sewing the torn curtains. The room started to tidy up rapidly. As for the table that was split in half, I wondered what would happen to it, but it began to disassemble into pieces. It seemed like they were going to discard it.

Or maybe…

They left it as it was because Nina-chan would go berserk again if they cleaned it up.

Fairy magic sure is convenient.

As I thought about that, Nina-chan suddenly looked up.

As she did, she grabbed my hand and tried to leave the living room.

“W-Wait! Where are you going?”

“To my room. To practice magic.”

“Practice… Are you sure it’s okay to use that… magic?”

When I asked Nina-chan, she gently shook her head.

“Because you’re by my side, Itsuki, right? If I don’t teach you magic, if Mama uses magic instead of me, then I have no value, right…?”

“That’s not true, Nina-chan.”

“I want Itsuki to be by my side. But if I can’t give Itsuki value, then I have no reason to live!”

Nina-chan’s face contorted as if a switch had been flipped.

The moment it twisted, she burst into tears.

“Because I laughed at Papa. Everyone was dying, and I laughed! I have no reason to live. I must… die…”

“Nina-chan!”

The voice I unintentionally let out grew louder, causing Nina-chan to momentarily stop crying.

I thought, “Uh-oh,” but deliberately lowered my voice and continued.

I’ve seen Nina-chan trying her best right before my eyes.

I’ve seen her trying to overcome her trauma more than anyone else.

Confronting her own past and weaknesses, she tried to become stronger.

“The one at fault is the monster, not Nina-chan.”

Death is absolute.

Mercilessly, unconditionally, it befalls anyone.

I still dream about it now.

The day when my ordinary life came to an end.

That suffering, pain, and helplessness, I can still easily recall them.

“Nina-chan, who’s not at fault, shouldn’t die.”

That’s why, no matter what happens, I oppose ‘death.’

“Then, Itsuki… will you stay by my side?”

“Of course.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re friends.”

I had no other answer, so I said that.

Nina-chan slowly welled up tears in her eyes… and when they overflowed, she began to cry intensely without stopping.

Feeling powerless, I held Nina-chan’s hand tightly.

I decided to stay by her side until Nina-chan fell asleep from crying.

That was all I could do, I thought.

So, I just waited for her to cry herself out.

Two days later, I received an invitation for a hot spring trip from Irena-san.

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