“…Sorry, did I break your ribs?”
After about five minutes, his grip loosened, and Hariu moved away, looking down.
“No, they just cracked a bit, so it’s okay.”
“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t even consider your ribs…”
Well, it’s not something you would normally think about, so it’s fine.
Hariu wiped his face roughly with his sleeve and then smiled with a somewhat relieved expression.
“I’m fine now. Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay. If you need it, you can always lean on my chest.”
Geez, I’m not that well-endowed, you know!
“That’s, um… ah… I’m really not in a position to say anything. Yeah, sorry, forget it.”
Huh? Yeah? I guess. Well, you’re like a cutting board, after all. Yeah.
“Anyway, you seem to have sweated a lot, so I’ll clean you up.”
I took out my duster and do a ‘Cleaning” with pofupofu. If I do it too, it’ll be like covering up the evidence. Yeah. My apron isn’t wet.
“Thanks.”
Hariu closed his eyes for a moment as if he was making a decision, then looked at me and said.
“Maito-san, can you erase my memory?”
…Yeah, I understand. I know it would be the best solution.
But whether I can actually do it is another question. Plus, there are several significant issues.
“I don’t know if I can do it, but shall we try?”
“Yeah. Even if it doesn’t seem possible, it’s okay if it can’t be done.”
Alright then, let’s try just looking at his memories.
…I’ve never shared memories with someone like this before, so I don’t know what to expect.
As usual, I headbutt him to “share” and enter the mysterious space.
…However, somehow, I can sense that Hariu is feeling unsettled and confused right now. The information is all jumbled up, and he can’t seem to sort it out.
Seeing fragments of unorganized memories… Yeah, it’s no wonder he feels like this.
To me, it’s just someone else’s issue, so anger is the first emotion that wells up… But for him, it must be beyond anger, right?
As proof of that, tangled up here and there, an unpleasant and overwhelming presence looms large.
…As I tried to grasp the tangled memories and pull them apart, the moment I touched them, various things flowed into me, and I had no choice but to let go.
Overwhelmed by the experience, I ended up withdrawing.
“…How was it?”
When I opened my eyes, Hariu’s anxious eyes were right in front of me.
…How could I say I ran away and came back!
“I was running low on MP, so I came back. Once I recover, I’ll try again.”
I took out a mint extraction from my pocket and drank it. Alright, I’m feeling a bit more determined now.
With renewed determination, I attempted the “sharing” again.
Once again, I entered the mysterious space.
And then, I observed the memories I had touched earlier.
…These are deeply intertwined.
As I traced the connections, I realized that these memories were directly linked to emotions and sensations, causing them to spread.
…In that case, if I untangle these connections, even if the memories themselves don’t disappear, at the very least, the moment they are touched… they might not propagate anymore.
Alright, I should detach once and ask Hariu about it.
And so, I detached for the second time.
“I’m back. I went to check something, so let’s talk.”
Now, touching on the content of the memories itself would be too insensitive, so I tried to organize my thoughts and construct my words carefully.
“I think completely erasing the memories would be too risky.”
“I see. Yeah, sorry about that.”
“That’s why I think it might be better to sever the link between the memories and the associated emotions or sensations. Since they’re tangled up, I’ll try to untangle them. If it still feels painful, we can reconsider, okay?”
“Can you do it?”
“Probably. But there might be some risks or things that could go wrong, so I wanted to discuss it with you first. How do you feel about it?”
I still don’t fully understand what’s going on or how things ended up this way, but toying with someone’s memories is a big deal.
I’m not well-versed in this area, and the fact that memories can be visualized and manipulated like this is beyond comprehension. It’s uncharted territory, and the risks are unknown. Whether we can solve the problem or not is also uncertain.
It’s a gamble, and I don’t think it’s something I should be doing in the first place.
“Okay. Please, do it.”
…But he seems to be suffering so much that I think it’s one possible choice to make.
“Alright. I’ll give it a try.”
Touching that thing, it’s not like I can be too prepared.
Alright. Let’s “Share”!
…Now then. How should I untangle this dark, sticky mess?
If I had cornstarch, I’d sprinkle it all over, but unfortunately, I don’t have any. …I could probably manage with just a broom, but the problem is that I can only bring myself into this mysterious space, and at the moment, I don’t have a broom with me.
So, I have no choice. I’ll have to untangle it with my bare hands.
Alright. Here we go.
…Until now, what I felt during “Sharing” was an overflow of information and memories.
This is the complete opposite… an overflow of emotions and sensations, accompanied by pain, fear, and agony. It’s overwhelming, and I involuntarily let go. No, I can’t do this… it’s too much.
The pure pain and fear I felt when I “died” might have been easier to endure. I could handle that.
…But this, it’s sticky, bitter, and unbearable.
Even the memories hidden behind the stickiness are bitter and agonizing.
It’s too painful to touch directly, so I tried convincing myself that it’s not mine but rather belongs to Hariu. It’s not my pain to bear, so I shouldn’t suffer. With that in mind, I attempted again, but this time, I was somehow blocked from touching it just before making contact.
…I guess that’s the nature of “Sharing.” I can’t just treat it as someone else’s problem.
It’s an inflexible skill in a weird way. It’s frustrating.
I observed the tangled memories again and searched for a place where I could touch without enduring too much of the entangled emotions and sensations.
With determination, I tried once more.
…Hariu endured it. He’s enduring it now. I won’t accept that he can do it while I can’t.
I grasped it.
A considerable amount of time seemed to have passed.
I somehow managed to untangle and separate the entangled emotions and sensations.
Once separated, the memories that were dark and sticky earlier have solidified, and touching them no longer brings suffering.
…If this doesn’t work, I’ll be devastated.
I wiped my tear-streaked face with my hand. Humans apparently relieve stress by crying, so I guess it can’t be helped.
…I’m really exhausted. After I detach, I’ll go to sleep.
Once I detached, my vision felt strangely unstable, and when I wiped my eyes, I noticed they were wet.
…It seems I was crying too. Well, I guess I’m just being too loose with myself?
“Maito-san…”
…Oh, Hariu is here too.
“I’m sorry. You’re right, ‘Sharing’ means you’re also affected, and I caused you pain. I’m truly sorry.”
First, let’s do something about these tear-streaked faces. No, I’m the same.
Since we both look a mess, I cleaned us up with the broom.
“How are you feeling? I did what I could. I’ve done it.”
“Yeah, I understand… It feels distant now. It’s more like I’ve organized things, and when I remember, it’s like, ‘Oh, that also happened,’ and it’s just a memory. It’s become pure memories, I guess.”
I see. So, can we say that we’ve genuinely sorted out the trauma?
It feels like we rushed through it quite a bit.
“Is there anything abnormal? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine now. It was really tough until a while ago, but now I feel okay. I feel relieved. There doesn’t seem to be anything abnormal, at least for now.”
Right now, there might not be any abnormalities, but that doesn’t mean they won’t arise later. For now, it seems like things went well, I suppose?
…However, once I felt relieved, I became incredibly sleepy. Oh no, this is bad. I’m really sleepy. Oh, no, this is really bad. Ahh…
“…Maito-san, are you okay?”
Ah, there’s a futon here in an unexpected place.
…When I woke up feeling uncomfortable, Hariu was using my stomach as a pillow while sleeping.
…His bad sleeping posture is back, which means he slept without being haunted, right?
I checked the time, and it was already morning. …Yeah, I probably slept soundly, right?
I looked around to make sure I wouldn’t wake up Hariu, and it seems everyone else was also sleeping with their futons set up nearby.
Oh, did I fall asleep without reporting? I’m sorry.
Putting that aside, I skipped dinner yesterday, and I’m quite hungry now. I want to make breakfast, but… Hariu looks so comfortable sleeping there, and I feel bad about disturbing him. Using that as an excuse, I decided to go back to sleep. Goodnight.
When I woke up feeling lighter, Hariu also woke up.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning. Sorry, it seems I used you as a pillow, Maito-san.”
“Yeah, I slept really well, so no worries. …Are you hungry?”
“Yeah, I’m starving.”
Great, then let’s get breakfast ready.
While I was preparing breakfast, everyone started waking up.
“Good morning. …Hariu, are you feeling better now?”
“Yeah, Maito-san helped me sort things out. Now when I recall the memories, it’s more like, ‘Oh, that happened, huh?'”
Hariu briefly explained what happened last night. …He didn’t explain everything, and that’s fine; some things are difficult to talk about. I’ll just keep silent about it too.
Everyone seems to have regained their appetite, so I managed to prepare breakfast.
Since we skipped a meal and some of us are physically exhausted, like Hariu, I decided to make a light breakfast porridge for easy digestion.
“By the way, what should we do about the prisoners’ meals?”
“We haven’t given them dinner from last night either, now that you mention it.”
“Let’s starve them to death!”
Toriumi is all fired up with enthusiasm.
“No, that’s not allowed. Besides, we haven’t made the Elixir yet.”
Indeed, it would be troublesome if they die, so our policy is to keep the prisoners alive, not kill them.
We could also consider putting them in the ‘Sleeping Cocoon’ to keep them contained.
“There are things we need to ask them, like their connection to the life (physical) forms.”
Ah, right. …Those who had their lives taken out won’t die, I suppose. Wasn’t that the premise?
“And we also want to know about ‘Ashes of the Abyss’ and their involvement with other causes.”
That’s true. It’s highly likely they have information about that.
“And if they know anything about other students or classrooms, we should extract that too.”
…Hmm.
“So, after breakfast, it’ll be time for some exciting interrogation.”
“Yeah.”
…As a breakfast conversation, especially in the morning, this is quite grim, isn’t it?
“…Sorry, did I break your ribs?”
After about five minutes, his grip loosened, and Hariu moved away, looking down.
“No, they just cracked a bit, so it’s okay.”
“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t even consider your ribs…”
Well, it’s not something you would normally think about, so it’s fine.
Hariu wiped his face roughly with his sleeve and then smiled with a somewhat relieved expression.
“I’m fine now. Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay. If you need it, you can always lean on my chest.”
Geez, I’m not that well-endowed, you know!
“That’s, um… ah… I’m really not in a position to say anything. Yeah, sorry, forget it.”
Huh? Yeah? I guess. Well, you’re like a cutting board, after all. Yeah.
“Anyway, you seem to have sweated a lot, so I’ll clean you up.”
I took out my duster and do a ‘Cleaning” with pofupofu. If I do it too, it’ll be like covering up the evidence. Yeah. My apron isn’t wet.
“Thanks.”
Hariu closed his eyes for a moment as if he was making a decision, then looked at me and said.
“Maito-san, can you erase my memory?”
…Yeah, I understand. I know it would be the best solution.
But whether I can actually do it is another question. Plus, there are several significant issues.
“I don’t know if I can do it, but shall we try?”
“Yeah. Even if it doesn’t seem possible, it’s okay if it can’t be done.”
Alright then, let’s try just looking at his memories.
…I’ve never shared memories with someone like this before, so I don’t know what to expect.
As usual, I headbutt him to “share” and enter the mysterious space.
…However, somehow, I can sense that Hariu is feeling unsettled and confused right now. The information is all jumbled up, and he can’t seem to sort it out.
Seeing fragments of unorganized memories… Yeah, it’s no wonder he feels like this.
To me, it’s just someone else’s issue, so anger is the first emotion that wells up… But for him, it must be beyond anger, right?
As proof of that, tangled up here and there, an unpleasant and overwhelming presence looms large.
…As I tried to grasp the tangled memories and pull them apart, the moment I touched them, various things flowed into me, and I had no choice but to let go.
Overwhelmed by the experience, I ended up withdrawing.
“…How was it?”
When I opened my eyes, Hariu’s anxious eyes were right in front of me.
…How could I say I ran away and came back!
“I was running low on MP, so I came back. Once I recover, I’ll try again.”
I took out a mint extraction from my pocket and drank it. Alright, I’m feeling a bit more determined now.
With renewed determination, I attempted the “sharing” again.
Once again, I entered the mysterious space.
And then, I observed the memories I had touched earlier.
…These are deeply intertwined.
As I traced the connections, I realized that these memories were directly linked to emotions and sensations, causing them to spread.
…In that case, if I untangle these connections, even if the memories themselves don’t disappear, at the very least, the moment they are touched… they might not propagate anymore.
Alright, I should detach once and ask Hariu about it.
And so, I detached for the second time.
“I’m back. I went to check something, so let’s talk.”
Now, touching on the content of the memories itself would be too insensitive, so I tried to organize my thoughts and construct my words carefully.
“I think completely erasing the memories would be too risky.”
“I see. Yeah, sorry about that.”
“That’s why I think it might be better to sever the link between the memories and the associated emotions or sensations. Since they’re tangled up, I’ll try to untangle them. If it still feels painful, we can reconsider, okay?”
“Can you do it?”
“Probably. But there might be some risks or things that could go wrong, so I wanted to discuss it with you first. How do you feel about it?”
I still don’t fully understand what’s going on or how things ended up this way, but toying with someone’s memories is a big deal.
I’m not well-versed in this area, and the fact that memories can be visualized and manipulated like this is beyond comprehension. It’s uncharted territory, and the risks are unknown. Whether we can solve the problem or not is also uncertain.
It’s a gamble, and I don’t think it’s something I should be doing in the first place.
“Okay. Please, do it.”
…But he seems to be suffering so much that I think it’s one possible choice to make.
“Alright. I’ll give it a try.”
Touching that thing, it’s not like I can be too prepared.
Alright. Let’s “Share”!
…Now then. How should I untangle this dark, sticky mess?
If I had cornstarch, I’d sprinkle it all over, but unfortunately, I don’t have any. …I could probably manage with just a broom, but the problem is that I can only bring myself into this mysterious space, and at the moment, I don’t have a broom with me.
So, I have no choice. I’ll have to untangle it with my bare hands.
Alright. Here we go.
…Until now, what I felt during “Sharing” was an overflow of information and memories.
This is the complete opposite… an overflow of emotions and sensations, accompanied by pain, fear, and agony. It’s overwhelming, and I involuntarily let go. No, I can’t do this… it’s too much.
The pure pain and fear I felt when I “died” might have been easier to endure. I could handle that.
…But this, it’s sticky, bitter, and unbearable.
Even the memories hidden behind the stickiness are bitter and agonizing.
It’s too painful to touch directly, so I tried convincing myself that it’s not mine but rather belongs to Hariu. It’s not my pain to bear, so I shouldn’t suffer. With that in mind, I attempted again, but this time, I was somehow blocked from touching it just before making contact.
…I guess that’s the nature of “Sharing.” I can’t just treat it as someone else’s problem.
It’s an inflexible skill in a weird way. It’s frustrating.
I observed the tangled memories again and searched for a place where I could touch without enduring too much of the entangled emotions and sensations.
With determination, I tried once more.
…Hariu endured it. He’s enduring it now. I won’t accept that he can do it while I can’t.
I grasped it.
A considerable amount of time seemed to have passed.
I somehow managed to untangle and separate the entangled emotions and sensations.
Once separated, the memories that were dark and sticky earlier have solidified, and touching them no longer brings suffering.
…If this doesn’t work, I’ll be devastated.
I wiped my tear-streaked face with my hand. Humans apparently relieve stress by crying, so I guess it can’t be helped.
…I’m really exhausted. After I detach, I’ll go to sleep.
Once I detached, my vision felt strangely unstable, and when I wiped my eyes, I noticed they were wet.
…It seems I was crying too. Well, I guess I’m just being too loose with myself?
“Maito-san…”
…Oh, Hariu is here too.
“I’m sorry. You’re right, ‘Sharing’ means you’re also affected, and I caused you pain. I’m truly sorry.”
First, let’s do something about these tear-streaked faces. No, I’m the same.
Since we both look a mess, I cleaned us up with the broom.
“How are you feeling? I did what I could. I’ve done it.”
“Yeah, I understand… It feels distant now. It’s more like I’ve organized things, and when I remember, it’s like, ‘Oh, that also happened,’ and it’s just a memory. It’s become pure memories, I guess.”
I see. So, can we say that we’ve genuinely sorted out the trauma?
It feels like we rushed through it quite a bit.
“Is there anything abnormal? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine now. It was really tough until a while ago, but now I feel okay. I feel relieved. There doesn’t seem to be anything abnormal, at least for now.”
Right now, there might not be any abnormalities, but that doesn’t mean they won’t arise later. For now, it seems like things went well, I suppose?
…However, once I felt relieved, I became incredibly sleepy. Oh no, this is bad. I’m really sleepy. Oh, no, this is really bad. Ahh…
“…Maito-san, are you okay?”
Ah, there’s a futon here in an unexpected place.
…When I woke up feeling uncomfortable, Hariu was using my stomach as a pillow while sleeping.
…His bad sleeping posture is back, which means he slept without being haunted, right?
I checked the time, and it was already morning. …Yeah, I probably slept soundly, right?
I looked around to make sure I wouldn’t wake up Hariu, and it seems everyone else was also sleeping with their futons set up nearby.
Oh, did I fall asleep without reporting? I’m sorry.
Putting that aside, I skipped dinner yesterday, and I’m quite hungry now. I want to make breakfast, but… Hariu looks so comfortable sleeping there, and I feel bad about disturbing him. Using that as an excuse, I decided to go back to sleep. Goodnight.
When I woke up feeling lighter, Hariu also woke up.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning. Sorry, it seems I used you as a pillow, Maito-san.”
“Yeah, I slept really well, so no worries. …Are you hungry?”
“Yeah, I’m starving.”
Great, then let’s get breakfast ready.
While I was preparing breakfast, everyone started waking up.
“Good morning. …Hariu, are you feeling better now?”
“Yeah, Maito-san helped me sort things out. Now when I recall the memories, it’s more like, ‘Oh, that happened, huh?'”
Hariu briefly explained what happened last night. …He didn’t explain everything, and that’s fine; some things are difficult to talk about. I’ll just keep silent about it too.
Everyone seems to have regained their appetite, so I managed to prepare breakfast.
Since we skipped a meal and some of us are physically exhausted, like Hariu, I decided to make a light breakfast porridge for easy digestion.
“By the way, what should we do about the prisoners’ meals?”
“We haven’t given them dinner from last night either, now that you mention it.”
“Let’s starve them to death!”
Toriumi is all fired up with enthusiasm.
“No, that’s not allowed. Besides, we haven’t made the Elixir yet.”
Indeed, it would be troublesome if they die, so our policy is to keep the prisoners alive, not kill them.
We could also consider putting them in the ‘Sleeping Cocoon’ to keep them contained.
“There are things we need to ask them, like their connection to the life (physical) forms.”
Ah, right. …Those who had their lives taken out won’t die, I suppose. Wasn’t that the premise?
“And we also want to know about ‘Ashes of the Abyss’ and their involvement with other causes.”
That’s true. It’s highly likely they have information about that.
“And if they know anything about other students or classrooms, we should extract that too.”
…Hmm.
“So, after breakfast, it’ll be time for some exciting interrogation.”
“Yeah.”
…As a breakfast conversation, especially in the morning, this is quite grim, isn’t it?
