My girlfriend was an ancient weapon… yet, before I realized it, I had already forgotten about it.

---

Today was the day I’d been looking forward to for a while now. It was the day of our long-awaited date in the amusement park. It might have been a pretty generic choice… but what really mattered was not the place itself, but who I was going to be there with.

And it was my mysterious, although incredibly cute girlfriend. Her entire being was shrouded in mystery, to such degree that I had never seen her face.

Yes, that’s right. Despite being my girlfriend, she never showed her face to me. In fact, she never showed it to anyone, as far as I was concerned at least. At this point, it wouldn’t be all that impossible for me to believe that she didn’t have a face.

Okay, okay. I was only joking, but still, there was no denying that she was extraordinarily mysterious.

On her face, she wore something that resembled a welding helmet, except that it was all white and cute. While it had a small window enabling her eyes to see, it was tinted, so I couldn’t hope to see even as much as a small fragment of her face that had to be the cutest thing in the world.

Moreover, she wore a white costume all over her body. It was somehow integrated with the mask, so one couldn’t find the smallest gap between them. As a decoration, two antennae were sticking out of her snow-white hood, resembling a ladybug’s.

Cutting through its center, there was a zipper, which suggested that it was only a costume and not her real body (although there would be no plausible explanation for that). It looked oversized, which highlighted her tiny and frail figure. Her chest was barely visible, but it was one of the things I liked about her.

“W-we have arrived, Makoto-kun...”

Her voice was, naturally and unfortunately, muffled by the weird mask she was wearing, but I could still make out most of its properties, including its liveliness.

“Y-yeah.”

I was a middle schooler in my first love ever. We hadn’t known each other for very long, so it was only natural that we were embarrassed. But to be honest, I loved her cute, wavering voice. I didn’t want it to ever change.

“So, where should we go first…?” I voiced, although I wasn’t really expecting her to respond. I just took a look at the pocket map I was given at the entrance. “What about the merry-go-round, Nanami-san…?”

“L-looks like a good choice…” her voice had not the slightest bit of resolution in it.

Well, I didn’t mind it. Or rather, I loved it. Actually, I loved everything about her. She was the cutest thing in the world, that was beyond any doubt.

---

Before I knew it, it had already become evening. I guess I had been having so much fun that I had lost track of time… but it was only to be expected. And so, the end of our date was steadily approaching… but I didn’t want it to end yet.

“S-so, how did you enjoy today, Nanami-san…?”

We were currently inside a cabin on the Ferris wheel. Through the windows around us, we could see a beautiful view of the entire amusement park and the city surrounding it. We were slowly progressing towards the top, and as the park’s closing hours were approaching, it was the very last attraction we were going to try out today.

“I… I really enjoyed today, Makoto-kun…” she said with her small voice.

“I… I see. That’s good…”

Being closed in this small cabin together with her and no one else certainly was putting a lot of stress on me.

“B-but… there is something I have to tell you…”

Oh? Was she going to reveal something to me? For a split second, I might have been excited about this, but some immense nervousness overcame me shortly after.

Because… it might have been everything. The closed cabin was a good spot to reveal something to me. It might have been a love confession. Or a face reveal. Or… everything, honestly.

“Y-yes…?” I asked shyly.

That girl wore a strange, white costume all over her body. Her face was covered with a white mask that might have been cute… but beyond a doubt, her actual face was way cuter, no matter how it truly looked. It was a weird thing about her, that caused most people to keep away from her, but it had a wholly different effect on me.

She had a lot of secrets. Some of them would be revealed to me at some point, but others… well, I myself had some things I wouldn’t tell even her. Every human person had, I guess…

“About… all of this…” she vaguely continued. I had no idea what she meant by ‘all of this’.

“Wh-what…?” my heart skipped a beat.

The world around us… I never thought about it in deep. At school, I heard about some philosophers that pondered about the point of life long, long ago, but I never did so myself. Needless to say, my knowledge was pitiful compared to them, so there kinda wouldn’t be any point to that… but, at that moment, I realized something.

Or rather, my current way of seeing the world was utterly destroyed, devastated, cut into pieces, blown into air, burned alive, thrown off a building, or just abruptly changed.

Because, at that moment, everything came into a stop. The Ferris wheel, having brought us to the very top, suddenly stopped midair. But my mind immediately realized that something was wrong. The abrupt stop should have pushed my body into the seat, yet nothing like that happened.

Actually, I didn’t feel the wheel stopping, but I knew that it stopped. The view outside the window that I’d been gazing into had stopped moving as well.

I did not stop, and neither did that girl.

Moreover, an immense loneliness filled my heart. It was just so empty, it genuinely terrified me. Luckily, all I felt was a short afterimage of that fright, as it was all soon filled with something so fluffy and warm, that I was sure I was the happiest person in the world.

“…” when I looked at that girl, I couldn’t make out anything. Her face was covered by that mask, which prevented me from seeing any emotions. But one odd sign appeared—something I had never seen before. Her antennae let out a faint, blue glow.

“Makoto-kun…” her cute, muffled voice called out to me as she stood up.

“Y-yes…?”

“I-I am not…”

There was no need for explanation. I understood everything the moment it all happened. It wasn’t a failure of the Ferris wheel—it wasn’t the only thing that stopped. Because, the entire world just stopped, leaving an exception only for me and her.

“I-I’m sorry that I couldn’t tell you that earlier, but…” I had never heard her so stressed… but it was so incredibly cute. I wanted to embrace her right now. “But… I am not human.”

…

“I know.”

“Huh…?” she looked at me from behind the mask, and even that way I could notice her surprise.

To be exact, it wasn’t completely true. It was more like… something in my mind just allowed me to believe it. It was all plausible, taking into account all that mystery that surrounded her and that strange phenomenon that happened right now.

“You just… stopped time, right?”

That’s right. The time wasn’t flowing in the world anymore, but the two us were not affected by it.

“You can stop time, huh? Well, that’s impressive,” nonetheless, I was surprised.

Because… even though it entirely destroyed my outlook on the world, I could somehow ignore it at the moment. Perhaps it would all kick in once time started flowing again, but I could ignore it for now. No, it was more like my mind was allowing me to ignore it.

“Makoto-kun…”

“Your antennae… are glowing.”

When I pointed it out, she used her hands covered by the white costume to touch them, trying to hide them from me. Even though I couldn’t see her face, I somehow knew that she was embarrassed.

“I… I don’t like it. Because something… terrible happens every time they do that.”

“Really?”

She possessed a power that enabled her to stop time… which was, beyond a doubt, an incredibly powerful thing that could be used in different, dreadful ways. But I didn’t know if she had any other powers…

The antennae letting out a glow was, most likely, an indicator of her using her supernatural powers. Since she said that something terrible happens then…

It meant that they had been used in dreadful ways.

“Yes. And something terrible will happen soon, as well…”

Maybe… the world was going to end along with our date? It wasn’t all that unbelievable now. But honestly… I wouldn’t mind it, as long as I was together with her.

“Wh… what is going to happen…?” I couldn’t hide my curiosity.

“I… cannot tell you. But I have to tell you something…”

Maybe she had a reason for that, so I decided not to question her any further.

“What you’re seeing right now… it’s me. The thing you think is my mask, it’s actually my face. And what you think is a costume, it’s my skin…”

“Then you’re really fluffy.”

“M-Makoto-kun…”

“As I thought. You are really cute.”

“…”

I liked showering her with compliments. It always brought out the cutest side of her.

“B-but… I have to say goodbye to you, Makoto-kun,” her voice might have been irresolute and small, but it was clearly serious.

And… the thing I feared the most, it became reality...

“Wh-what…?” my voice lacked spirit.

“My lifetime is nearing the end… I should have been sealed away long ago… but there was some bug in the system, and I awakened in present time...”

I had no idea what she was talking about. Sealed away? Bug in the system?

“Because… I am actually a weapon. I was created a long, long time ago, and I have eradicated this world numerous times. Y-you could even call me… an incarnation of evil.”

This cute girl, an incarnation of evil? There was no way I could believe that. Why would anyone design a weapon this lovely and fluffy? No, her explanation made no sense. Did she have chuunibyou or something?

“N-no way… You’re… kidding, right?”

“You humans have nuclear weapons now, so you may imagine me as one. Only that I am possibly way more dreadful…”

Was it… that dreadful? And it was all contained in that incredibly lovely girl?

“I’m exploiting the way this world was made to make it bend to my will. And that way, I could stop time for us. I can as well… read your thoughts, anywhere and anytime. O-of course I wasn’t doing it…”

She was… that powerful? W-wait, so she could technically read this text?

“In a similar way, I can modify matter freely, and easily cause this world to collapse…”

“N-Nanami-san… but isn’t it kind of amazing? If it’s true, then you’re basically a god…”

I found that thought unbelievable. My girlfriend, a god? It was a story straight out of a manga.

“T-There is nothing amazing in it. If I could, I would have gotten rid of those powers… but this is the one thing I cannot do. But… now, my existence is going to end… M-Makoto-kun, I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I had a really good time together with you, and I hope that you too…”

So… it was the end already, right?

“…”

“Don’t worry. Everything will be alright. Mako—…!”

Abruptly, I stood up from my seat and directed myself in that girl’s direction. I opened out my arms and took her in a tight embrace. Her face looked like a mask, so I had no idea what I should have aimed for, but I touched the place where a human would have its mouth with my lips, and gave her a kiss.

I had no idea how a real kiss felt like, as it was my first. But what I could say for sure, was that it definitely didn’t feel like I was kissing a thing. Her body, despite not being human, was as warm and fluffy as it looked. Similarly, the kiss felt absolutely real—her lips weren’t there, but I felt it being returned to me, just like it should be.

“I… love you. No matter if you’re human or not, I will love you forever.”

Her face wasn’t there, but…

She smiled. It was the brightest and truest smile ever.

“M-Makoto-kun… I will never forget about you, even if I’m not here anymore. And… I love you too.”

The warmth in my arms… I didn’t want to ever let go of it. My eyes teared up. It was the best feeling ever, but at the same moment, the worst. I didn’t want to lose her… but I couldn’t do anything about it.

“Goodbye, Makoto-kun…”

At that moment, all my senses were cut off.

---

“The park is going to close soon. Please head to the exit promptly.”

The sky was dark. It was summer, so I didn’t feel any discomfort despite wearing merely a t-shirt.

I was standing in the middle of a nearby amusement park. What was I doing there? It was no fun being alone, and I didn’t really have any friends to bring with me, let alone a girlfriend…

Yet, I had lots of fun today. I had no idea how, but it was true. So, I guess you could have fun at an amusement park on your own…

Without questioning anything, I headed to the exit just as the message repeated through the speakers was telling me to.

Wasn’t I forgetting something?