“…What the—!? Don’t cry! Don’t cry! Er, what!? Sorry! Were you scared? Were you scared? I’ll apologise! Don’t cry like that… But where are Mummy and Daddy? Hey, where are they? Are you lost…?”

　Haruka Momotsuki couldn’t tell what was running down her cheeks.
Cold, yet lukewarm.
When it reached her lips, it tasted salty.
It kept flowing, wave after wave.

“F-First, let’s calm down.
My name is [Serebryaniy Adamov]… Ah, sorry, don’t cry like that!? It was a long time, wasn’t it!? Sorry! [Sere]! Just call me [Sere]!”
“…I’m not crying.”
“You are crying!? There, calm down. Have some juice…”

Haruka Momotsuki nodded.
Urged on by the silver-haired girl, Sere, she drank the strawberry milk.
It was surprisingly sweet. Sweet enough to make the tears recede. She felt reassured. Comfortable.

“…Hmph…”
“G-Good! You’ve calmed down…!”

Sere breathed a sigh of relief.
A lovely scent wafted softly from her white dress.

“…Are you alright? Shall we go together to where your Papa and Mama are?”
“…They’re not there. I don’t need it.”
“Eh?”
“Because I’m alone.”
“Ah, ah, I see…”

　Something was wrong with her.
Haruka Momotsuki sensed something amiss within herself.
Was it the Magus Engine malfunctioning? Just seeing that girl with a face resembling an enemy —and then crying? That could only be a glitch.
She should get it serviced when she got back.
No, perhaps she should return immediately.

“…Well then.”
“Ah, yeah… Wait, wipe those tears! It’s dangerous!”

　She tried to walk away.
But Sere grabbed Momotsuki Haruka’s sleeve.

“…!”

The hand had indeed grasped her sleeve.
Her missing right arm.
The scar from the magical cyberware currently under repair, following the recent battle with the [Pisces Witch].

“…Where are you going alone? Um…”
“To visit a grave.”
“Is it in Tokyo?”
“Yeah. It’s a communal cemetery, so it’s just a short bus ride.”
“…I see.”

Sere released her grip on the sleeve.
But then, she clasped her remaining left arm tightly with both hands.

It was a gentle touch.
A slightly cool, young girl’s hand.
　They stopped Momotsuki Haruka in her tracks, then wiped away a tear.

“…Can I come with you too, big sis?”

＊

The thought of refusing was drowned out by strawberry milk.
She wasn’t supposed to think in the first place. The girl named Momotsuki Haruka. She simply obeyed orders and acted, thinking no further. She wasn’t permitted to think.

　Fundamentally, she was only going because Kimoto Yuki had told her to ‘go visit the grave’.

“Eh? Buying flowers? There’s a good shop, I’ll show you the way!”

The destination wasn’t a restricted area, nor the site of a mission.

“You don’t know where to buy crisps…? R-right. Shall we go to the convenience store together!”

So, there was no reason to refuse.

“Eh?! You’ve no money?! The transfer came through… Oh, right! You spent it on strawberry milk on the ferry! Vending machines cost money, you know?! Oh, for goodness’ sake… Right, let’s have one together.”

I’m glad I didn’t refuse.

The plan was just one bus ride at first.
But buying a single flower, plus crisps and cola, meant it was already dusk.
　Because there wasn’t enough money in the device for the bus fare.

“We’re here! Haru-chan!”
“…Yeah.”
“It was a long and arduous journey…!”
“Sere was noisy, wasn’t she?”
“That’s harsh.”

The Communal Graveyard.
Located on the outskirts of Magus City Tokyo.
By sunset, the shadows of the skyscrapers recede, leaving a place bathed in the glow of the setting sun.

　A vast, flat expanse of green.
At its centre stood a fountain and a stone monument.

‘Those who fought in the Third and Fourth Great Wars’
‘Victims of the Hakodate Decisive Battle’
‘All those involved in the founding of Magus City Tokyo’

　The successive wars piled up so thickly that erecting memorials for each became a bother. That’s precisely why Magus City Tokyo has only one large memorial.
Beyond that, anything else would hinder urban development, so only the graves of the wealthy remain.
Memorials exist online too.
There’s no need to insist on the real thing anywhere.
Yet this place —it’s merely coordinates where humans without corpses are said to rest.

“…Thanks.”
“Ugh.”

Haruka Momotsuki offered her thanks.
Had Sere not guided her, the flowers, the crisps, the cola —something would surely have been missing. She felt gratitude was necessary without needing to think about it.

“…Yeah. It’s fine.”
“Yeah.”
“So, whose grave are we visiting?”
“【Fuyumi Shizuki】”
“?”
“…Ah…”

She thought.
Who was it?
What was it?
Fuyumi Shizuki meant something to Momotsuki Haruka.
Thought was forbidden. Emotion had been excised. She had to drink strawberry milk. But she didn’t understand. She had to think. She had to find an answer.
She had to 【think】—

　She drank the strawberry milk.

“…I don’t know.”

The plastic bottle was empty.
No tears fell. No answer came. She wasn’t thinking at all.

“I see.”
“Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. Yeah, I’m glad we could visit the grave.”
“Yeah.”

But.

“Haaah… I’m kinda knackered. Let’s have some crisps. And a Coke… Oh, no glass. Er… Oh well. We’re girls, after all.”
“?”
“Here, you can have a sip first.”

The slightly flat Coke fizzed and popped in her mouth.