"Well, you've really had a tough time these days."
Mei: "I didn't feel it was tough."
Rinji: "I think I can still hang on."
For Mei, being treated as a "nonexistent person" didn't matter at all. For Rinji, it was nothing but bliss.
When the plan was suddenly abolished, Rinji's face was full of displeasure.
Still, thinking it over, even if he wasn't a "nonexistent person" anymore, he could still slack off without worry, since the teachers couldn't contact his parents anyway.
Back at Shuchiin, things hadn't been this free. Even if he didn't listen in class, he had to keep his butt glued to the seat, or else
Kaname would drag him into the office or report him to his mother.
But here at Yomiyama North Middle School, no one could contact his mother.
He'd written Isaac's number down in the guardian's section, and even if they called, Isaac's attitude would almost certainly be to let him be.
After all, Rinji's father was someone who had never taken class seriously, dropped out before finishing high school, and was a bona fide slacker. He wasn't about to care if his son paid attention in class.
Besides, there was no point. If Rinji was going to learn something, he already knew it.
From the day the "nonexistent person" plan was scrapped, classmates started talking to Rinji and Mei again. After class, Naoya even walked straight over to them.
"Still can't believe it. Even after adding a second 'nonexistent person,' the plan did absolutely nothing."
"I think it's just because you acted too late," Rinji said.
"Now that you mention it, you and Misaki are kind of alike. Your actions are always a bit mysterious."
Naoya half-joked.
"You two aren't secretly the 'dead one,' are you?"
Hearing that, Mei smiled. "Maybe you're the 'dead one,' Teshigawara."
"Haha, no way…"
Rinji: "Want me to punch you and make you the dead one for real?"
"Hey hey, I was only joking…"
Wham!
Before he could finish, a fist had already struck his face.
Of course, it wasn't Rinji who hit him. It was Akazawa, who had just walked over.
"Stop spouting nonsense. Every year the 'dead one' is someone from Yomiyama. Rinji isn't even Japanese, so he should be the first one ruled out." Akazawa frowned.
"I get it, I get it… but that punch really hurt."
Naoya covered his face in frustration.
Ignoring him, Akazawa turned to Rinji.
"Takamine, since you're a professional, have you found any leads?"
"I tried to get people outside Yomiyama to investigate, but unfortunately, no information can get into the city. For now all we can do is damage control," Rinji said. "Or… maybe do something that forces the curse's hand."
"I see…"
"Takamine."
Just then, class representative Yukari walked up.
She looked at Rinji sitting at his desk and bowed.
"Thank you very much. If not for your help, I wouldn't be alive."
"Oh, I just happened to see it."
"And… I'm sorry. At that time you were still a 'nonexistent person,' so I never thanked you properly."
"I told you, it's fine."
Rinji waved it off, signaling Yukari not to worry. Then he stood and walked toward the door without another word.
"…"
The others looked at each other. Then Akazawa asked Mei, "You've been spending time with him, right? Has he always been like this?"
"I don't know him that well, but probably not."
Mei shook her head.
"But… I think he genuinely doesn't want to get too close to you all."
---
"Daddy, I'm home."
"Oh, how was school today?"
"As if it could be fun."
Rinji tossed his bag on the sofa and flopped down.
Looking at Isaac in the kitchen preparing food, he said, "Dad, I think sending me to Yomiyama North was a mistake."
"Hmm? Trouble with your classmates?"
"It's not about that. You know I don't belong to this era…"
"Speaking of, when I was at the hospital today, that girl Fujioka Misaki mentioned you. Why don't you visit her sometime and put her at ease?" Isaac laughed.
"Dad, are you even listening? I don't belong to this time. I come from twenty years in the future. Someday I'll have to return to my own era." Rinji frowned. "I can't get too close with people here."
"You're overthinking things."
"This isn't overthinking. Even if I make friends here, what then? When I leave, are they supposed to wait twenty years for me?"
"Hahaha, fair point."
"Same careless as ever," Rinji muttered, turning his head away. "Besides, if a person from the future does too much in this era, it could affect the future."
"The future won't change."
Isaac stopped what he was doing and turned to face Rinji lying on the sofa.
"Whatever you do in this time is already part of the future."
"Huh?"
"Ever heard of determinism?"
"…Dad, you mean Laplace's principle?"
Determinism wasn't just 'cause and effect.' It was the belief that the universe was governed by causal laws, and that at any given moment in time, only one outcome was possible.
"That's just a hypothesis… wait."
Suddenly something came to him. Rinji asked, "Dad, remember the meteorite shard I gave you?"
"Yeah, I still have it. Why?"
"…What do you plan to do with it?"
"I don't find anything special about it, so I was going to take it to the research department for analysis. If they can't figure it out, I'll just pass it on to the next leader when I retire." Isaac smiled.
"…"
At that moment, Rinji recalled the report he once saw in the research division, and the identical meteorite shard in Sousuke's hand.
His arrival in this era had been inevitable from the start.