At present, the number of students at Homurahara Academy was sparse.
Due to the two monster attack incidents a week ago, Fuyuki City had essentially been designated a dangerous area.
Even though, in this consciousness world, the city automatically recovered after a monster attack and memories related to the monsters were corrected, the fact that Fuyuki City had suffered massive damage twice in a short period couldn't be changed. That was immutable.
To avoid being caught in another sudden disaster, some students and their families had left Fuyuki City—though, in this consciousness world, there was nowhere for them to escape. Leaving Fuyuki City meant their existence would vanish.
As a result, the number of students at Homurahara Academy had indeed dwindled. In Naoki's class, only about ten students remained.
Additionally, due to the two previous attacks, many refugees had emerged in Fuyuki City. To accommodate them, Homurahara Academy had allocated part of its grounds to serve as a relief post.
"It's like a scene before the apocalypse." Naoki said with a soft sigh during a class break, sitting by the window and looking down at the long line of people queuing for supplies. "Even though this is a dream-like world that'll vanish and collapse once the meteorite is destroyed, this kind of scene still feels uncomfortable."
"Then, shall I rewind this world?" Manaka asked. "If Naoki wants, I can reset Fuyuki City to before the first monster appeared."
Manaka was capable of such a thing. In fact, repairing the damage caused by previous monsters and correcting people's memories was her doing. She could fully restore the city if she wanted. Back then, she only refrained from completely fixing the world for the sake of sufficient realism.
"No, no need. It'll all end soon anyway, so there's no point in doing something unnecessary."
Turning his gaze away, Naoki pulled out his phone and opened the browser. As expected, the internet was flooded with news and information about the meteorite. Observed just this morning, the latest updates showed it was hurtling toward Earth, almost certain to collide within twenty-four hours.
Its impact point: right in Japan. Given the meteorite's scale, the resulting tsunami could very likely submerge the entire country.
[Japan will sink in twenty-four hours]—such messages had spread through everyone's minds. If one went to Fuyuki City's port or the highway exit now, they'd likely see a sea of people and gridlocked vehicles.
Not wanting to sink with Japan, they wanted to leave.
Whether at the port or on the highway, their thoughts were the same. Those left in Fuyuki City were either people unwilling to leave or those unable to.
For example, those who had lived here for decades, or those who had accepted the coming apocalypse and resigned themselves to fate.
Naoki had seen such scenes countless times before, albeit on TV.
"Am I destined to save the world? Whether in parallel worlds or the real world, why do I have to do this even in a dream?"
"Who told you to be the Holy Sword Wielder? Whether willingly or not, as the one with the Holy Sword, you'll always be on the front lines when the world faces a crisis." Artoria said with a smile. "Even in a consciousness world, it's the same."
"I know, I'm just getting a bit sentimental…"
*DING-DONG*
At that moment, the bell rang loudly in the classroom. The students scattered in various corners quickly returned to their seats. Soon after, Fujimura Taiga rushed in from outside—
"There's an emergency announcement for all students!"
As usual, brimming with seemingly endless energy, Taiga remained overly optimistic even in this apocalyptic atmosphere.
"The world's going to end!"
"Wasn't that already discussed at this morning's meeting, Tiger?"
"Don't call me Tiger!"
Taiga almost reflexively retorted but didn't explode this time. Instead, she calmly swept her gaze over the remaining students in the class. Then, in a rare moment, she set aside her usual naivety and smiled with utmost seriousness.
"But that has nothing to do with us. Even if the world is ending, we mustn't despair. What we need to do now is make the most of our remaining time before the world collapses, right?"
"Due to school arrangements, after this morning's final lesson, I, as a teacher, have to help out downstairs. You all should go home too. Normally, in times like this, continuing lessons is unnecessary. The school says so too."
"But I'm a teacher. Teaching students, imparting knowledge—that's my duty as a teacher! So now—take out your books, everyone! We'll continue our last lesson. That way, even if we die crushed by a meteorite, we can go to the next life without regrets… Wait, where were we in the last lesson? By the way, where's my teaching material!"
"Teacher…"
"Tiger…"
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Taiga's rare seriousness stunned the students momentarily. Hearing her final sentence, some couldn't help but laugh.
"Tiger, you forgot your teaching material for the last lesson?"
"Be serious, Tiger. You ruined the atmosphere you worked so hard to build!"
"By the way, the last lesson was Japanese History, and this one's Math. Tiger, at least know what subject you're teaching."
"So annoying! Everyone, be quiet! Study on your own for now—I'll be back with the teaching material!"
Before finishing, Taiga's silhouette darted out of the classroom and vanished, the second half of her sentence still echoing from the hallway.
Watching this somewhat dramatic scene, Naoki couldn't help but give a wry smile. "Classic Taiga. Even facing the apocalypse, she's the same. Though this is a manifestation of my memories, I bet the real-world Taiga would do the same in this situation."
"By the way, Naoki, you and Fujimura-sensei are old friends, right?"
"Yeah, high school friends. We just never met up after graduating. Even when I returned to Fuyuki City a few times, I never saw her, mostly due to lack of opportunity and time." Naoki said as he stood. "But after all this, I kind of want to meet my old friends."
"Where are you going?"
"To the sky."
Pointing upward, Naoki smiled. "I'm heading to outer space for a bit to meet this so-called [doomsday]—letting it come on its own isn't my style."