ABFR 38

Chapter 38

The Meaning of Love (3)

I frowned slightly as I watched Green jump lightly off the back of the ray after sinking it down to the floor.

Just as Green had said, the area in front of the exhibition hall we had been heading toward was strangely quiet. No, they had lowered the barricade, so they must have received the news that a Gate had appeared outside and taken measures to protect the people inside.

According to Green, however, another Gate was appearing inside this barricade as well.

And if a monster suddenly appeared inside a sealed space that had been created to temporarily serve as a shelter so that enemies from outside could not get in…

A foreseeable hell would break loose.

That was probably why Green had decided to take charge of this place first.

I had no idea how Green planned to get through the barricade and deal with the situation. Perhaps he might even destroy the barricade to evacuate the people.

But in any case, Green had said it was best to leave this place to him, so I had to find something else I could do.

“Then, since I also need time to travel there…”

“First of all, don’t just rush over there. Think of a concrete plan, let me check it, and then go. Didn’t you hear what I said earlier? If you’re dating a psychopath, take responsibility and make sure he doesn’t get released into society.”

“P-Psychopath? I’m not one. He’s just a little screwed up, that’s all.”

“Wow… I guess that’s why you’d date a psychopath.”

“……”

Even if I could curse him all I wanted, somehow it felt unfair when someone else cursed him.

It couldn’t be helped. Even while grumbling, Railey Kraha was my boyfriend, so I clenched my lips with an irrational sense of injustice before looking back at the barricade.

“How are you planning to get in here?”

“We have to break it.”

“There are monsters all over outside, too. Won’t people be in danger while evacuating?”

“Actually, this exhibition hall has a separate emergency exit, and they haven’t completely blocked it off yet, so we could enter through there.”

So he had even figured out where the emergency exit of the exhibition hall was.

I couldn’t tell whether it was because he was the son of someone involved or because Green had spent the past two weeks so thoroughly preparing for everything, but I simply nodded and continued listening to his explanation.

“If we evacuate the people that way, as time passes, there’s a chance they’ll encounter the monsters pouring out of the other Gate that we’re supposed to deal with. And once people are trapped between both sides, the number of people doing crazy things will increase, too. So it’s not a very good option. The people have to be evacuated this way anyway. I’ve already found the safest route.”

As he said this, Green casually tossed a museum map with one route marked on it toward me. Then he slowly reached out and placed his hand on top of the barricade.

Fluorescent material similar to what had flashed in Green’s eyes poured out from his palm as if it had been attached to his hand, then began seeping into the barricade.

“Still, the good thing is that among all the humans here, I can concentrate the attention of the person most likely to enthusiastically throw someone else away as a shield onto me. So if I handle things properly, there should be almost no civilian casualties.”

……?

“Anyway, don’t worry about this side, and focus on making a plan for the other Gate—”

“Wait. Hold on.”

I abruptly interrupted Green’s calm explanation and grabbed his wrist, which had already transferred what looked like green circuitry across the entire barricade.

“Is this the exhibition hall where your father is?”

“……What else could it be?”

“No, f*ck……”

So this was what Green had meant when he kept saying that the casualties would be minimized if he took responsibility for the Gate here.

If Green’s father was the kind of person who harbored such unreasonable hatred toward him, then the moment he decided that throwing someone else to the monsters would allow him to survive, Green would be the first person he would choose as the sacrifice.

As Green had said, if the priority target could be limited to one person among countless others for someone who would casually sacrifice an arbitrary person depending on the circumstances and timing, then naturally, dealing with the situation would become easier.

But did that mean this kid had to accept all of it as if it were perfectly normal?

His father, who was trying to preserve his own life by offering his son as prey.

Green himself throwing that father in front of his eyes to be eaten by monsters in order to protect everyone else.

Was he really supposed to calmly accept all of that?

At least, I didn’t think so.

“Fine, Anonymous Green. I’ll take care of the Gate here, so you go to the other one. What does the future look like in that case?”

“I know you’re feeling sympathy for me, but didn’t I just tell you that me staying here produces the best result?”

“I’ll handle the Gate here somehow. You said you could struggle to hold back one Gate and buy us some time anyway, so go deal with the other one you’re worried about. Do I still die in that future?”

“……I don’t know.”

“Check it quickly!”

But even when I urged him, Green only made a strange expression and didn’t give me a proper answer.

Then he answered again with a complicated look on his face.

“I don’t know. I would never recommend that you stay here. You look exactly like the kind of person that some piece of human garbage would choose as the first sacrifice.”

“……So because this is entirely my own choice, you can’t see the future?”

“That’s probably it.”

“Didn’t you say that you could see the future resulting from a choice I’d already made?”

Green firmly closed his mouth.

His eyes behind his glasses began to sharpen as he stared at me, almost as if he were glaring.

“Because I have the power to act however I want if I don’t agree with you. I could lock you up somewhere safe again and go inside by myself, or I could ignore you and go in with you and deal with this place first. Damn it, though, in the latter case, that piece of trash would also see you as an easy target and run wild…… Are you really that pathetic-looking?”

“Hey.”

“Anyway, if I’m with you, I’m more likely to be seen as an easy target than you are, so your life won’t be in danger. I don’t think that option is so bad either. In other words, what you suggested is an ‘unknown future’ that I can only see once I properly agree to it.”

But what Green himself had asked of me earlier was precisely that ‘unknown future.’

As if resigned, Green lowered his gaze.

“……You’re really hopeless. Fine, I understand for now……”

And perhaps it was only after he resigned himself to it that he became able to see that future.

Green’s expression became increasingly distorted as he glared at me before finally adding in an irritated voice,

“I can see that, in that case, I can hold back the other Gate in a similar way. But I still can’t see the future of this Gate. Do you understand what that means? It’s not a good sign.”

“Ah…… So I might have to make another choice once I get inside? And depending on that, the future could change drastically? My life is still hanging by a thread?”

“That would be the meaning.”

“Then f*ck it. It’s still better than seeing a future where my death is certain. Hurry up and go to the other one. Ah! Wait, wait. It’d be nice if you could deal with just this wall before you go. I can’t break through it myself.”

“……”

Perhaps he had resigned himself to it but still hadn’t fully accepted it, because Green crossed his arms with an unhappy expression.

But he didn’t resist for long.

Or perhaps, whether he managed to persuade me or not, whether I persuaded him or not, the fact remained that this barricade had to be broken anyway.

After setting us down, the ray that had been half-sunken into or melted into the floor floated back up. Then it slammed into the barricade, which was still covered in something like green electricity.

The impact itself didn’t seem particularly strong considering the creature’s enormous body.

But at the point where the green patterns drawn across the ray’s body touched the green patterns spreading across the barricade, they suddenly began flashing simultaneously, as if resonating with each other.

Then, in an instant, the barricade exploded into pieces with a tremendous boom.

Whatever Green had done, the shattered fragments swelled up as if being filled like balloons by the patterns drawn on the wall, then dropped harmlessly to the ground with a pop, rather than spreading around or falling on anyone.

“I’ll leave a small one with you. If the future starts going badly in real time depending on your choices, I’ll move it to give you a signal. Even if it can’t do that, it’ll protect you at least once. So be as careful as possible.”

Meanwhile, Green quickly climbed onto the ray again and spoke with his eyes still narrowed.

Just as he said, a tiny ray flew over, flopped onto my shoulder with a soft plop, and clung to me in a surprisingly cute manner.

“I don’t think anything good will come from meeting that man, so I’ll go first. If something happens, prioritize your own safety. And don’t release a psychopath with superpowers into society.”

“Yeah, yeah. And I told you, he’s not a psychopath.”

At my words, Green muttered something like, “Ugh, you’re blinded by love……”

He clicked his tongue and quickly headed somewhere else.

Judging by his direction, he seemed to be heading toward the remaining Gate, just as I had told him to.