"This girl named Fang Qiu writes remarkably well — the imagery is vivid and compelling. No wonder the Traveler and Miko both gave her their approval."
Ei sat in the void, her expression serene and undisturbed, turning the pages one by one.
Within the Euthymia, time flowed on in its slow, unhurried way.
Before long, she had passed the halfway point of The Eternal in her hands.
In the story, the great ship had struck an iceberg. The hull was torn open — a massive gash carved clean through by ice. Freezing seawater surged in without mercy. The Eternal was going to sink.
The passengers scrambled for survival. In an instant, the full spectrum of human virtue and ugliness was laid bare for all to see.
"A ship dares to call itself eternal," Ei murmured, her brow furrowing slightly as she read. "Is this the extent of what Miko thought would inspire me? Did she even read this book — or did she simply see the title and recommend it on a whim?"
She considered setting it aside. But in the end, she kept reading.
After all, this young woman named Fang Qiu did write quite well. And however little The Eternal had to do with the concept of eternity — beyond its title, the two things had almost nothing in common — the book itself was worth reading on its own merits.
Very well. She would treat it as leisure.
So she continued.
Time moved forward. Ei turned the pages, one after another, as the story pressed on. She read quickly — even reading with care, she moved through text faster than most.
The Eternal sank. Jack and Rose floated in the freezing water. Jack helped Rose onto a wooden board and stayed behind — alone in the cold sea. He had given her the chance to survive.
In the end, Jack sank forever to the bottom of the ocean. Rose carried his final wish with her, and she lived on.
The book drew its curtain on a single line: My Heart Will Go On.
Silence.
After a long while, Ei lifted her gaze to the sky within the Euthymia. A faint shadow of loneliness surfaced in her violet eyes — and then, just as quickly, it stilled into calm.
"I should go for a walk."
She let out a deep sigh, raised her hand, and swept it aside. Everything before her shattered like reflections in a broken mirror, dissolving into nothing.
She returned to the Shogun's body.
The great hall of Tenshukaku blazed with light. She rose and made her way out onto the terrace.
Beyond the terrace, there was only quiet. The last traces of those sakura-colored fireworks had long since faded and vanished. The people of Inazuma had dispersed. Before Tenshukaku, nothing remained but an empty stage.
The wind stirred, and strands of violet hair drifted with it.
"What a noisy wind," Ei murmured softly. "Miko... you went to all that trouble just to use that young woman's books to tell me something, didn't you..."
She gazed at the sky for a long, wordless moment. Then she reached for the second book.
Your Lie in April.
This one, it seemed, was set in Inazuma.
Facing the wind, Ei turned back the cherry-blossom-pink cover. The story of April began.
—
At that same hour, the izakayas of Inazuma City were packed to the rafters.
The music competition had ended. The grand fireworks had faded from the sky. Many people simply needed a drink.
Beyond the izakayas doing explosive business, a long queue had once again formed at the doors of Yae Publishing House.
"Lady Guuji herself said she'll release a manga edition and a deluxe novel bundled with the music competition's soundtrack disc sometime soon — so what's the rush?"
"If you're not in a rush, then why are you in line?"
"I already have Your Lie in April and The Eternal — I'm here for Writing Novels in Inazuma. Think you could let me cut in?"
"Cut in?"
"Obviously. Cut in line. What else?"
"I refuse."
"This is actually my first time reading a novel — so what kind of story is Your Lie in April, anyway? Listening to all that music just now, it sounded so... sorrowful."
"It's an exceptionally good story. I strongly recommend you read it. Even the Traveler said so."
"Hold on, brother, you're misunderstanding me. I'm not asking whether it's good or bad. I'm asking whether Your Lie in April is a sad story or a happy one."
"It's an exceptionally good story. I strongly recommend you read it. Even the Traveler said so!"
"Okay... are you a gramophone or something? You only know how to say one thing?"
The crowd before Yae Publishing House buzzed with cheerful noise.
Meanwhile, inside one of the nearby izakayas, at the table furthest from the door —
"Come then. A toast — to the complete success of tonight's music competition."
Yae Miko raised a bowl filled with sake, smiling her calm, unhurried smile.
"Cheers!"
Lumine and Paimon clinked their non-alcoholic drinks against hers with equal delight.
"What a shame Yoimiya had to go home to be with her grandfather, and Ayaka had to stay behind to handle the post-competition arrangements. We can't all celebrate together."
Paimon wiped her mouth clean, then tilted her head in mild confusion. "By the way, Miko, what did you mean by 'complete success'? Do you just mean the event went smoothly?"
"Of course not. What would be worth celebrating about something as simple as that?"
Yae Miko smiled.
"Then what for?" Paimon asked, puzzled.
"Why, for recommending Fang Qiu's two novels to my dearest friend, naturally. Without good books to read, she spends every day weeping and wailing inside the Euthymia — oh, the poor dear."
Yae Miko plucked a piece of Fried Tofu with her chopsticks, popped it into her mouth, and laughed behind her hand.
"You're saying you organized this whole music competition just to recommend Fang Qiu's books to Ei?"
Paimon blinked, then planted her hands on her hips with an air of great confidence. "Oh! I get it! You did it to help broaden Ei's thinking — to give her new perspectives on the question of eternity! After all — My Heart Will Go On!"
At that, Lumine also glanced toward Yae Miko, waiting for her answer.
"Pfft. Of course not."
Yae Miko's smile turned playful. "Don't you find yourselves the least bit curious? About what kind of interesting reaction Ei might have after reading that young woman Fang Qiu's books?"
"You mean you want to see Ei be sad?" Paimon asked, confused. "But she's a god. A god who's lived that long — surely she wouldn't be moved to sadness over a mere novel."
"The longer one lives, the more certain things accumulate and settle in the heart. And the deeper that sediment runs, the more easily Fang Qiu's writing finds resonance there — especially when there is something one has never been able to forget. Even the most unbreakable bedrock, worn down across centuries, across millennia, will bear the kind of scars that her books can speak to."
Yae Miko smiled. "And besides — I never said I wanted to see Ei be sad."
"Not sad? Then what kind of reaction are you talking about, Miko?" Paimon pressed.
"Has it never occurred to you," Yae Miko said, "that Fang Qiu's two books are, in the end, about the very same thing?"
"The same thing? What same thing? They're completely different stories," Paimon said, tilting her head.
Lumine, however, said nothing. She simply furrowed her brow slightly — as if the answer had already quietly formed itself somewhere in her mind.
"They are both about moving forward," Yae Miko said. The smile faded from her face. She turned her gaze toward Tenshukaku, her eyes deep and still. "Moving forward — after an immeasurable weight of grief. Your Lie in April is about that. The Eternal is about that too."
____
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