E-Everything… w-what does he mean by that? That’s so vague… he can’t possibly be talking about ‘everything’, right?

“Y-You’re lying. There’s no way you people could do that.”

“What do you know of us?” he asks me.

“I…”

My body is shaking. My heart is beating faster. I feel hotter. I feel sweat going down my head. If I could run now, I would do it, but there’s much yet to know.

W-Who is this man?

Then I think clearly and rationalize the situation.

 He hasn’t shown anything… so far he’d only been saying stuff without any proof or evidence to warrant it.

After thinking that, my body calms down although part of me remains cautious in the chance that he hold the truth.

“Why should I fear you and your people? How do I know that everything you said right now isn’t a bluff?”

“Hmm… you’re really stubborn, aren’t you? But I suppose if you weren’t so stubborn, you wouldn’t have gotten so far. I guess I have nothing but admiration.”

“You’re dodging my question. Stop talking roundabout and tell me the answer I want.”

“Huh. Surprising attitude for someone who is compatible with sloth. Then again, your sinful traits are not always on full display.”

He’s spouting nonsense…

I stand up and leave my meal.

“We’re done here.”

Just as I walk and pass through him, words come out of his mouth.

“Life imitates art.”

Hearing that rounds some memories.

Who said that again? I’ve heard that somewhere.

“To quote Oscar Wilde, ‘Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life.’”

I turn around and from the looks of it, he hadn’t come to look at me at all. It was almost like he knew the words to get me and that I was supposed to be the one to seek him, when it was he who initially sought me.

“Mankind has created all sorts of ways to express man in art, be it through sculptures, paintings, plays, or to hit closer to home… anime.”

“What are you-”

“Man has sought art. In that desperate search for the beauty in art, they imagine it, imitate it… become it.”

“Are you saying…”

“What has happened in this world… we, of the ‘Meta-Narrative’ brought upon a name – 芸術界化成 (The World’s Artistic Transformation).

“芸術界化成…”

“I finally have your attention,” for once, he actually looks my way (without opening his eyes, of course) and utters, “Seems there is more to talk about.”

Having felt played and read, I feel an anger well up in me. But to lash out on him would be foolish. Besides…

…I do have questions to ask him.

Reluctantly, I follow the exact directions he told and return to my seat.

“You mustn’t let your food go to waste, you know? Be thankful for the food you are given as it is a gift from God.”

I take a bit out of my meal and drink to spite him.

“…What is 芸術界化成?”

“I apologize… Could you be a little more specific?”

“What made the world as it is, right now?”

“That… we may never know.”

“What?! You’re contradicting yourself! First, you sa-”

“It’s merely a theory. There is absolutely no way to confirm it unless you ask Him.”

Then why bother telling me if it’s speculated only?

“…You spout a lot of nonsense.”

With a great sigh, I figure I may as well ask it if he went through the problem of telling me.

“Fine… what is this theory you speak of?””

“The theory we and the other crafted, proposes that the people of the world sought art.”

He changes his position, putting both his arms on his lap. Must have gotten fatigued.

He continues, “War, conflict, death… people wanted to escape from it all. With that, people turn toward art. Beauty, perfection… and above all, unrealistic. Obviously, there is realistic art, but you should know what I’m trying to say. The art found in our land mostly come in the form of anime and manga. There are other forms too and perhaps those are represented in their own way.”

“Are you saying… that the will of the people turned the world into a canvas?”

“Well, something to that accord. But if something such as will would be powerful enough to hold such power, a lot of different things should have come into fruition by that alone, wouldn’t it? So, we thought that God, hearing the cries of the people gave them the chance. One of them, or possibly more than one… we can’t know how many appointed ‘authors’ there are. Though one member opposed to that haha. Another one abstained.”

“…”

I am left speechless. The way he says it makes sense… I can imagine it.

“So, a part of us actually did chalk it up to the will of people. Perhaps stronger than ever before. You know, since the population is increasing and that increases the power of will. Though again, this is simply a theory.”

“You people haven’t been able to prove it?”

“Prove it?”

He chuckles. As a result, I tilt my head slightly and wonder what he finds funny.

“As I said… unless you had the power to ask Him, it is impossible. This topic does not delve upon the topics of science at all! Everything that I’d discussed is unscientific in nature, so I believe it would be impossible to completely verify it. Even so, it does lay the framework. At the very least, it helps us comprehend it a bit better, though it’s possible that the truth be further than we propose.”

“I guess there is merit to that theory… assuming there is credibility there… these authors… what exactly happen to them?”

“Can’t say. All that we can say is that you can say they turned Japan into their stage and that they are the director, and we are their actors.”

“Is that why you people are getting me to quit? Because you act on behalf of the Author? Did he give you a message to stop me?”

But that makes no sense. Why go to indirect methods when he can simply erase me out of existence?

He heaves a great sigh.

“Take a bite.”

“Uhh… okay.”

I do as he asked, and he speaks up afterward.

“We are not acting on behalf of the author. We do not even know if there is one or numerous ones existing out there.”

“Then-”

“Hold on a second, I’m revealing way too much information here aren’t I? Aren’t you satisfied with what you extracted from me?”

“What I want to know is your reason for stopping me. You’d basically built everything leading to the reason and stop now? Come on, just tell me, then let’s see if we can work things out.”

“Haha, as expected of my friend! I’m glad you are reasonable.”

“Only if it’s within my ability obviously.”

The atmosphere around him seems to have loosened. I might have mistaken my impression of him, though that doesn’t change the fact that he claims to know everything about me, so a bit of cautiousness remains.

“Hmm… I wonder if they’ll get angry with me for revealing so much. I think I may have blabbered; they might kill me later. But! We’d gone this far, so we might as well get to the point.”

I take a sip of my drink.

“What we’re trying to do… is prevent fate.”

“I’m sorry what?”

“Fate.”

“Fate?”

“It’s simple. You, Kibe Takayuki-san, are not meant to have this awareness. By interfering with the storylines of the others, you are resulting a catastrophic entangling of fates. The author right now was bold enough to make almost everyone a protagonist, but somehow the universe is always able to correct itself. With you in the picture and spreading your influence, you don’t know how big of an impact it results later.”

“The Butterfly Effect.”

“Exactly. So in order to prevent anyone else’s fate from being ruined, we are stopping you from becoming what you shouldn’t. To become a main character. To start a story. You must throw all those away for the sake of others.”

“…”

I look at the food I have. It’s almost empty.

Sacrificing my own fate… for the fate of others…

My mood is brought down. Unlike earlier, I felt fear, instead now, it was replaced by the feeling of guilt.

Am I ruining the fates of others?... If I continue to do as I act right now… will that mean they won’t get to reach the conclusion of their stories? Moreover…

I murmur to myself so lowly that I doubt anyone other than me could hear.

“…Is it valid for me to mess up the lives of others, simply for my sake?”

For all my life, I know I’d been a selfish person. But a life has great bearing.

What will result from my actions?

“Think deeply, Takayuki-san,” he utters my name, “Think of the greater good. Think not only for yourself, but for others.”

I look at my drink and see myself on the Mocha Coffee, reflecting my dull face through the brown lens of the drink refracted by the drink, and I avert my gaze from it. Once again, to challenge thought he speaks once more.

“Choose wisely, Takayuki-san. Will you pursue Pride or Humility?”

Pride. Or Humility. Will I choose myself? Or others?

I’d ignore him if I was talking about a few people here… but who am I affecting? Am I dooming my sister’s love story? Will I bring ruin to my parents’ relationship? In what way…

I wish I could dismiss it all. But I wasn’t so selfish as to ignore the people close to me.

Those four…

In my mind, I see a glimpse of the four boys I’d been hanging out with.

“Sin or Virtue. Pride or Humility. Choose,” he speaks once more.

I laugh at myself.

“Of course. The answer is obvious, isn’t it?”

Why did I ever think I could ever become someone? It’s so obvious. It’s been told to my face a couple of times.

I was not needed by the world. If I remove involvement of myself… and return to who I was before all this… maybe… that’s for the best.

“If I… pull out right now… you won’t do anything to me, my friends, or my family, would you?” I ask him.

“Rest assured. We will remove any involvement of us from you and will leave you alone. We will never appear in your life ever again. As your friend and a representative of the Meta-Narrative, I assure you that.”

“Then-”

ブーブー (Buzz. Buzz.)

I feel my phone vibrate from my right pocket.

“Ah.”

So, I take it out to see who’s calling.

Damn it. I forgot to turn off the mobile data.

Once it was out in the open, I see that it was my dumb friends calling. Looking at his face, he waves telling me to answer the call. Making sure, I also check at my surroundings to see if I would make a commotion, though, luckily, no one was paying any attention to me aside from the one in front of me. So, I answer the video call.

“What the heck?! Why are you guys calling right now?”

The screen is split into four and each four screens show the exact same place – the bathroom.

Isn’t lunch break over?

“Woah! Kibe, long time no see!” Madoka greets me.

“Un,” Takashi comments.

“Why are the four of you in the bathroom? It’s long past lunch,” I query.

“We were wondering why you hadn’t been going to school? As your friends, we’d worry,” Masaru answers me.

“Hang on! Is that a café, Kibe?!” Katsuro wonders looking closely at my background.

“Wait, for real?” Madoka wonders, “Oh, it is! Kibe’s on a date!”

“Hey! Don’t just assume stuff! And I was just fatigued from school, I’ll probably get better tomorrow,” I answer them.

“Kibe’s coming back! Yes!” Katsuro cheers.

“Also, couldn’t have one of you went instead of 4? I also think if you four were coming to the same place, then y’all could have just shared a phone.”

“We care about you, Kibe!” Madoka utters.

“Haha, it may have been counterintuitive, but we just wanted to greet you our own way. In fact, I told them that same thing,” Masaru tells me.

“I’m hanging up, I’m busy right now. Rest assured, I’ll make sure to come tomorrow,” I tell them.

“Un. Welcome back… Kibe,” Takashi speaks up.

After that, one by one, they disconnect from their phones. This time, I make sure to turn off my mobile data and keep it back in my phone. Yet again, I come face-to-face with the man in front of me.

“You’re coming tomorrow? If you’re pulling out, wouldn’t that mean refraining? Ah, I suppose it could mean coming back to school. It doesn’t necessarily mean to interact,” he tells me.

“I just remembered something,” I tell him, “If the Author chose everyone else aside from me, to have only the Mob Character role… why am I forced to give up yearning to become the Main Character when everyone else is?”

His eyebrows furrow deeply, intensifying his expression.

“Is that your answer?”

“Everyone else has a higher role than me… everyone else. Don’t you think that’s a bit too unfair? If everyone else is given an extravagant dinner while I get a piece of bread, do you expect me to simply take it? Of course, I’m going to complain! And if the person who served that dinner won’t do anything for me, I’m going to do something about it myself!”

“Do you know what path you’re choosing? You’re being utterly selfish.”

“Yeah, I’m being selfish. But I see nothing inherently wrong with being selfish. I’m only acting like this because I believe I deserve more than what I got. The others will simply have to make do.”

“Why… you’ll discard the greater goo-”

“Just because it’ll benefit the rest of the world… you’ll disregard my wants and desires?”

He becomes enraged and slams the table

“You don’t understand!”

“Do you understand the weight of being alone?! Being ignored?! Being disregarded?! Being forgotten?! Being a mob character?! Have you ever felt to be what it’s like to not exist?!”

He sits down and composes himself. I speak to him once more.

“I’ll do what I want and that’s final. What that desire is… is to become a Main Character.”

“You… do you understand what will happen? The fates of the people you interact with… will you accept responsibility for the results of their fates due to your actions?!”

“I can’t.”

He raises his voice.

“That is pur-”

“Because I do not have the power to do so, at the moment. Right now, as I am, I can barely do anything, so what more will the burden of others do?”

I shake my head at my own weakness.

“I’ll become a Main Character and gain that right.”

“You… You do understand we’ll try to stop you, right?”

“HAH!” I mock his threat, “AHAHAHAAHAHAH! I’m not afraid. I, Kibe Takayuki, aim to experience everything in this world. Surely, I will come to meet all sorts of people. I will fight. I won’t back down.”

My eyes had a red glint. It showed full determination and commitment to the choices I made. I won’t bend to the will of others. I will come out on top. I will win.

“You don’t understand what you’re getting into. Reconsider your choices!” he tells me.

“You know… you’ve been taking me for a fool this whole time. What do I don’t understand? What can I possibly can’t take? Only time will tell. Only when I experience it will I truly know. I’ll take it on. I’ll take it all.”

“You… you’re insane, friend.”

“Despite all that, you have the courage to call me friend huh? Also-”

I finish my meal as he watches(?) in disbelief.

“…I see. So you’ve made your decision.”

“Hey, I’ve got a small question. If you truly knew everything… to commit to the reason of nipping the bud… why didn’t you stop me from the very beginning?”

“…Because of your actions. Your actions have ironically caused us to identify you.”

“What sort of action did I commit so heinous?”

“Not heinous. The only reason we’re keeping you at bay is simply because she gave us good word of you. She came to us because of you, but because of her we declared you to be the prime anomaly.”

‘She’?

“Who’s that person?”

There was a slight pause in his reaction. After around 3 seconds, he chuckles and stands up.

“What? Are you going to take care of me, right here, right now?” I question.

“No… I’d simply gotten bored of the café. It’s about time we wrap this up.”

“I agree.”

I stand up in agreement for once, then leading the way, I go ahead and open the door to go out and he holds the door to get out himself.

He looks at the sky.

“Hm, it’s gotten cloudy. Doesn’t seem it’ll rain with that much, though,” he mutters.

“Are you people going to stop me?”

“Yeah, naturally.”

“Some kind of ‘friend’ you are.”

“I’ll try to put in a good word with them. If you’re lucky, you might be monitored, at best.”

“When will they appear?”

“I’m just a landmine for information, aren’t I? Be thankful,” he looks to the right, opposite the way to my home, “Who knows? Judging from what I’m about to tell them… we’ll simply watch, for now. Maybe if you succeed, we’ll confront you personally. Perhaps way earlier, but I cannot tell.”

“Is that so? I’m looking forward to it.”

An awkward atmosphere builds between us, which lets us halt the conversation for a bit as the people pass by with their own lives.

“Responsibility is not a concept to be taken light of. Do you swear by your words?”

“I wish I could say yes confidently for this… but I feel like I’m going to go through a lot. But whatever punishment lay… I’ll take it.”

“You said those words. I’ll make sure they won’t be light and that you won’t be able to run away.”

Finally, he departs, and I turn left to return home.

“Haha!” he laughs out loud, “How rude of you not to ask my name throughout all this!”

I turn around.

“Oh right, that’s true.”

“Ah, no matter. We’ll meet again someday. I swear by it. Let’s meet each other in the far future, Kibe Takayuki-san.”

END OF EPISODE 55