Only I know that this world will end – 044 | Sousaku – 創作

At the Izakaya

"Excuse me, two draft beers. Also, a serving of edamame (green soybeans) and an egg roll. And an order of skewers, if you please."

Akira was brought by Nao to a Japanese-style pub in a corner of the downtown area.
Nao quickly placed her request with the waiter who had come to take their order.
Akira stared at the clerk silently, and when he was sure he had left, he turned to Nao and opened his mouth.

"……Uhm."
"What?"
"Why did you suddenly decide to go out for a drink?"
"…………No reason. I just wanted to have a drink with you. ――Oh, and. It is not Nao Nanase, the company's boss, who is here now. You know what I mean? "

In other words, instead of the boss-subordinate relationship they shared at work, she wanted each other to act as the senpai-kouhai who have known each other since junior high school.
I guess that's how it is, Akira thought.

"…………So? What did you mean earlier?"

Nao took out her personal cigarette case from her bag, picked up one of the cigarettes, and turned her attention, staring at Akira.
Perhaps she was asking permission from Akira, who did not smoke.
Akira sensed this and gave Nao a small nod.
Nao put a small smile on her lips and took a cigarette in her hand, put it in her mouth, and lit it on the tip.

When you were left alone, working overtime...... you suddenly stopped moving abruptly. After a while, I thought you started to move, but then I saw that you were just looking like that. If you don't think it's crazy, then what was it about?"

Nao slowly exhaled the purplish smoke, then turned her attention to Akira and spoke.

"That earlier was……"

Muttering, Akira stammered.
Then, as if to escape Nao's staring eyes, he dropped his gaze to his hands and thought.

(It's easy to tell people that I died and I'm back in the past again―― that I'm in a time loop. But that doesn't mean that she will believe my story. Even if I told her everything here, there's no way she'd believe me――――）

"Ichijou."

Akira's thoughts were drowned out by the words of Nao, who called out to him.
Looking up at Akira, Nao exhaled loudly and continued her words.

For some reason, you joined our company a few years ago, and we've known each other for a long time, since junior high school. So, I think I know you to a certain extent."

Then Nao said, pausing once to break off her words.

"It is a bad habit of yours to be more tight-lipped on important matters. …………What in the world happened? The world is ending? Monsters? You weren't joking about that, were you? "

It was then that the draft beers that had been ordered were brought to the table between the pair.
Nao kept her mouth shut until the clerk walked away.
Then, after making sure the clerk had departed, she again addressed Akira.

"That―― those words, what was the meaning of them? "

Nao stared intently at Akira.
Akira shifted his gaze hesitantly, clenched his fists once, and slowly let his words out.

"That was……just as the words said."
"As the words said? "
"Yeah…… Chief Nanas―― Ahh, excuse me, this was supposed to be more personal. Nao-san."

Akira rephrased his words in response to Nao's eyebrows, which twitched.

"Nao-san, if I told you that I've been…… in a loop――no, that I've leaped through time, would you believe me? "
"……Time leap? You? "
"Yeah."
I would normally say, "I don't believe you." ...... but from the look on your face, you're not kidding, are you? "

Akira gave a small nod in response.
Nao smoked her cigarette once and continued her words.

"What proof do you have? "
"……Evidence, you mean."

Muttering, Akira pulled out his phone.
――00:47 a.m.
At this hour, it would be time for a thread on a message board site about a dragon being found in China.

"Then, in a few minutes, there should be a thread on the bulletin board site's Live Status channel, with images, about a dragon being found in China."
"……A dragon? "

Mumbling, Nao pulled out her phone.
Perhaps she was browsing the bulletin board site.
Nao showed no reaction for a while.
However, as time passed, Nao's eyes gradually widened. A thread was started on a bulletin board site.

"――――――Jesus Christ. I never thought it would really…… be just as you said it would……"

Nao eventually let out a loud sigh and retorted as she put away her phone.

"……If you want more proof, wait until 1:12 a.m., and this time there will be a tweet on social media saying that they saw a goblin. And that, of course, comes with a picture."
"…………No, thanks. The look on your face is enough for me. Perhaps those words really will happen, too."

Muttering, Nao looked at Akira.

"Ichijou. You……were saying that the world was ending, that there were monsters, that――It's because of the time leap, is that correct? "
"……Yes, it is."
"I see."

Nao made a complicated expression as she thought about it and slowly smoked her cigarette.
She then pushed the cigarette into the ashtray to extinguish any remaining embers, reached for the beer mug in her hand, slurped its contents, and opened her mouth to speak.

"How many times have you gone through that now? "
"It's the fifteenth time."
"That many?"
"……Yeah."
"Monsters…… that's what you said, right? Was that referring to the dragon found in China? Or were you talking about another one…… like the goblin you mentioned or some other monsters? "
"Both. ……At this very moment, monsters are appearing in this city, or even all over the world. Those monsters will attack us, humans. Monsters are creatures that eat people."
"But we have the Self-Defense Forces in this country. There are police and even the riot police. The appearance of man-eating creatures will soon be a problem. Just the mere appearance of a bear in town is enough to cause a big commotion. If it's in this country ...... even in a town, if there appear such monsters, at the very least the Self-Defense Forces are going to come out."
"Yes, the Self-Defense Forces will move. By 3:00 a.m., the monsters are sighted all over Japan, and with their appearance, and the proportional number of human casualties, the government issues a state of emergency and decides to mobilize the Self-Defense Forces."
"If so, then."

Nao voiced her opinion. But soon, those words were countered by Akira's remark.

"But the Self-Defense Forces will be defeated by the monsters. ……Monsters are not just animals. Only some monsters can be defeated with firearms. Firearms don't work against truly monstrous creatures. They're just toys."
"Guns don't work? Hey, Ichijou. Even that is too much."

Nao chuckled at Akira's words.
Even if everything Akira said was true, she could not believe that there was such a thing as a creature for which firearms were ineffective.
But her smile soon faded.
She was shocked when her eyes met Akira's, who was staring at her in hopeless despair, without saying a word.

"……Do you think it's a lie? "

Quietly, Akira interrupted.
It was a flat language, devoid of any emotional undulations.
Nao gulped down the contents of her beer mug as if to escape such reality, then later opened her mouth.

"……Is that, for real? "
"Yeah."
"Really and truly, firearms don't work on monsters? "

Akira gave a small nod in response to the repeated confirmation and opened his mouth.

"As I said earlier, firearms are still effective against some monsters. ……But there are monsters――monstrous creatures that are immune to it even in this city, like a minotaur. Nao-san, you shouldn't think of monsters in terms of human common sense. Please expect that in a few hours from now, all conventional wisdom will be shattered."

Nao said nothing in response.
Just having a complicated expression on her face, she slurped the contents of her beer mug once more, took a cigarette out of the cigarette case, and lit it.
She must have been confused by what Akira was talking about.
Akira knew that Nao smoked cigarettes, but he thought it was just on a casual basis. So, while being slightly surprised to see her reach for a cigarette at such short intervals, he continued to stare at her, as if to study her.