She didn't die. Utaha was still alive.
Only now did he finally remember the issue of time.
The time in the Northern Capital of the Eastern Union, where he was, was one hour behind Tokyo time.
So everything had made it in time.
That was truly wonderful.
At this moment, Haizaki was overwhelmed with emotion. As long as Utaha was still alive, that was enough.
...
In a residential home somewhere in Tokyo, a black-haired girl wearing thin sleepwear woke up.
"I didn't die…?"
"Why would I say didn't die…"
Utaha sat up, pressing her temples with both hands. Only then did she feel an indescribable sadness welling up inside her. Her cheeks were wet with tears.
"I had a nightmare…"
But why wasn't it fear or panic, but instead an inescapable sadness and reluctance?
Her heartbeat was normal as always, yet the emotions conveyed from deep within her made her feel inexplicably confused.
What exactly had happened?
Why did she react like this? Why were the tears at the corners of her eyes and the aching reluctance in her heart spilling out uncontrollably?
"It feels like I had a very, very long dream…"
She closed her eyes and tried to recall it. Vaguely, there seemed to be the figure of a man, but no matter how hard she tried to remember, there was nothing.
Empty—her mind was completely blank.
Her gaze fell on the ring finger of her left hand.
An amethyst ring.
She froze.
Where did this ring come from? When had she put it on? Who had put it on her?
She couldn't remember. There was no impression at all.
Utaha racked her brain, but there was no memory whatsoever, as if someone had secretly put it on her finger while she was asleep.
At that moment, her phone rang.
An incoming call from an unknown number.
Her thoughts were interrupted.
"Hello?"
Still puzzled by her inner reaction, she casually answered the call, speaking in a standard tone.
But on the other end of the line, aside from the sound of a chair colliding, there was no other sound at all.
After waiting for a full minute, she chose to hang up.
Yet why did her heart feel so heavy?
"Probably a scam call," Utaha thought so.
But the vague, lingering feeling she couldn't describe left her feeling stifled and uncomfortable, utterly confused.
And the tears at the corner of her eyes…
Looking at the crystal-clear tear she wiped from her eye with her index finger, Utaha felt a wave of confusion, followed by sorrow.
"What exactly… is wrong with me?"
Could just a dream make her cry?
Was it such a sad dream?
...
Haizaki maintained his posture of holding the phone for a full five minutes.
The call had already ended long ago, yet Utaha's face and voice continued to surface in his mind.
Even though he had returned to the original world, Haizaki felt more as if he were in a dream, unreal and illusory.
Had he… really come back?
World traversal—
Haizaki felt a dreamlike sense of unreality.
Was it real or not? Had he truly returned?
"It's over…"
More than three hundred days and nights spent together with the girl had finally come to an end.
He had already been mentally prepared the moment he realized the assistant was Utaha, yet now…
Haizaki placed his right hand over the left side of his chest. The tense, frantic heartbeat gradually returned to normal.
"Everything has already passed…"
From the moment the "Overtime Human Civilization Salvation System" was activated, the ending had already been decided.
Utaha had forgotten him.
Perhaps… that was for the best.
"Utaha, then…"
Haizaki's gaze stopped on the digital clock on the desk.
April 2nd, 6:08 a.m.
He still had one unfulfilled promise to Utaha.
He still needed to fulfill their agreement on the 4th.
The best choice was to give up and never contact Utaha again, but…
He couldn't do it.
At this moment, the emotions surging in Haizaki's heart made it impossible for him to end things just like that.
"Hah…"
Half an hour later, after sitting quietly and emptying his mind, the emotions of life and death finally faded. Haizaki began contacting the "Trans-Spatiotemporal Civilization Salvation System."
"Pepper, initiate mission settlement…"
"'Solitary Apocalypse' has ended. Apocalypse difficulty: one star. Calculating reward points and experience."
[Main Mission One]: Survive for three hundred and sixty-five days. (Completed)
Reward: 1000 points, 50 experience. Choose one skill freely from the following options.
— Close-quarters combat skill D-rank
— Bioengineering technology D-rank
— Hacker intrusion skill D-rank
[Hidden Mission One]: Assistant survives. (Completed)
Main mission rewards doubled.
[Hidden Mission Two]: Keep the existence of the 'Trans-Spatiotemporal Human Salvation System' secret from the assistant. (Completed)
Reward: 500 points, 50 experience.
Assistant's contribution rate to the user's survival in the 'Solitary Apocalypse': 21.8%.
Reward: 300 points.
(Solitary Apocalypse world is a one-star apocalypse; reward coefficient is 1.)
The following is the comprehensive settlement reward:
2800 points, 150 experience, choose any two skills.
"Current experience meets the requirement for permission upgrade. Would you like to upgrade?"
"Yes."
D-rank permission upgraded to C-rank. Remaining experience: 50.
"Please select the skills you require from the following."
— Close-quarters Combat Skill D-rank
— Bioengineering Skill D-rank
— Hacker Intrusion Skill D-rank
"Please choose skills…"
Two out of three.
Hacking skills were a must.
As for the remaining one, naturally…
"I choose Hacker Intrusion Skill D-rank and Bioengineering Skill D-rank."
There was a significant difference between bioengineering and medicine, but at least with bioengineering knowledge, he would no longer be as helpless as before when facing Utaha's illness.
After making the decision, Haizaki immediately felt as he had when he first obtained the aircraft piloting skill—his mind seemed to be stuffed with something, and a great deal of unfamiliar knowledge appeared in his consciousness.
It felt miraculous, mysterious.
And now, there was still one more thing he needed to do.
Return to the 'Solitary Apocalypse' world.
"May I return to the 'Solitary Apocalypse' world?"
"C-rank permission holders may spend 100 points to return to the 'Solitary Apocalypse' world and gain five minutes of free activity time. For every additional ten minutes beyond the limit, 100 points will be consumed."
"Is there a weight limit…"
"Item weight must not exceed one hundred kilograms."
D-rank was ten kilograms; C-rank was one hundred kilograms?
"Can living biological units be carried?"
Haizaki suddenly thought of this.
"C-rank permission holders may carry one biological unit. The biological unit's weight is included in the total carried weight."
So it really was possible.
With one hundred kilograms, his things would not be a problem.
The photo album Utaha entrusted to him, her novel manuscripts, and other materials,
as well as the hard drives and other items collected over the course of a year.
"Spend 100 points. Return to the 'Solitary Apocalypse' world."
The sensation of weightlessness returned once more. After a moment of disorientation, Haizaki returned again to the 'Lonely Apocalypse.'
The familiar room. The air was filled with the unique scent of a girl—that scent belonging to Utaha, the scent Haizaki yearned for and was captivated by.
He could almost see the girl in the bed, smiling faintly at him.
"I'm back."
This place had already become his other home.
Touching the familiar bed, his heart filled with longing, Haizaki finally began to focus on the task at hand.
Five minutes was not enough time to do much.
The computer, notebooks, handwritten manuscripts, photo album, and the picture frame on the desk.
Haizaki then ran back to his own room and stuffed everything into his backpack in one go.
Two backpacks, completely full.
There was even gold and firearms.
However, the only thing he could not find was the amethyst ring. Haizaki spent a full minute searching but still did not find it.
Considering the chickens, ducks, and geese on the first floor and the five-minute time limit, Haizaki could only temporarily give up on continuing to search for the amethyst ring.
He quickly ran downstairs, tore open the feed bags, and large amounts of feed scattered across the floor.
Then Haizaki immediately opened the door and released the chickens, ducks, and geese.
"Even without Utaha and me taking care of you, you must live on tenaciously. Now, you are free…"
Haizaki contacted the system sprite, Pepper.
Return.
Haizaki disappeared.
The chickens, ducks, and geese showed expressions of surprise.
A living person had vanished.
"Cluck cluck cluck…"
The wide-open door, feed scattered all over the ground—they were completely free now. They could truly let loose.
No longer needing to live in fear, afraid of being eaten.
...