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COMRADES RETURN TO THE WATER'S SURFACE

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*****

Several ghosts had disembarked the train, Berta had been hauled away, and the Interworld Train departed once again.

After repeating the process of parting with ghosts at several more stations, the passenger cabins had become considerably quieter.

However, Rob’s work was not yet finished.

「――If you're who you say you are, you know why I fought, right?」

「How should I know?」

Rob shouted that in response to Harlequin’s unreasonable demands.

He had, in fact, heard the full story of Harlequin’s life, from just before he was summoned until the moment he was killed in action. But Harlequin claimed that just writing that down wasn't the truth of it, so he didn't know what else he was supposed to do.

「It wasn't just about a sense of duty or wanting to protect people I was close to. There was more to it. It was deeper, more fundamental. I want to leave behind why a low-life like me ended up fighting.」

Harlequin had apparently been the spoiled son of a slightly wealthy merchant before he was summoned. He wasn't particularly talented, but he had used his money to get into university, where he spent his days lazing about and playing around.

「...Specifically?」

「I don't even know myself.」

Harlequin puffed out his chest, completely unashamed.

「Give me a break.」

「You should be able to write it. Someone like you... Wait, don't you dare go drinking! If you're going, I'm coming with you! Let me drink!」

As Rob fled, Harlequin chased after him.

(It feels like I've gained an extra Rob...)

Arcelia, having overheard their exchange, thought to herself as she organized the interview records she had received from the passengers in each carriage into a book-shaped terminal.

***

A few days later, the Interworld Train arrived at its next destination.

『We will shortly be arriving at the 910th World, Calvarese Sea Sector.』

It was already late in the day. Rob had continued talking with Harlequin, but he had hit a complete dead end. Hearing the announcement, he looked out the window.

Outside, there was a world of endless, mirror-like water.

The sky was blue, dotted with clouds that were perfectly reflected on the surface of the water, which was devoid of a single ripple.

The Interworld Train ran just above the surface for a while before coming to a stop.

Only the station name sign, the platform, and the Interworld Train stood alone atop the vast expanse of water.

As usual, Arcelia began her explanation.

「There used to be a large island here, but it submerged about a hundred years ago. The land has been unstable ever since, and since it would be too costly to constantly move the coordinates set for the station, it seems this is how they settled on things. We will stay here tonight and are scheduled to depart tomorrow around noon.」

In this world, which had almost entirely submerged, the people lived on the few remaining islands. Because the islands frequently submerged and rose again, the people had built their civilization while repeatedly migrating by ship.

Nowadays, even local investigators found it difficult to arrive on time due to the weather and tides, so the Interworld Train’s visits to this world were primarily for tourism, as it was one of the few places in the multiverse with such a vast water surface.

「......」

And this was Harlequin’s home.

It had already submerged, and the people who once lived there were scattered to who knows where.

Because of the vast amount of time that had passed, many of the ghosts had no one waiting for them, and Harlequin was no exception.

When Rob happened to glance at Harlequin, who was sitting opposite him, the ghost was playing it cool, shrugging his shoulders as if to say it couldn't be helped, despite being a ghost.

「...Just hurry up and move on to the afterlife.」

「I haven't had you write it yet! There's still time!」

Harlequin was the last of the ghosts.

But unlike before, there was no emotional parting between Pamela and the ghost. Harlequin just kept pestering Rob.

「Geez, you're so clingy.」

「I'm a ghost, after all.」

"You're noisy," Rob muttered, fleeing the cabin.

***

――Kapapapapa.

Patrasche, the mechanical platypus—nicknamed "Pashe"—was paddling along the surface of the water. Size aside, it didn't look entirely unlike a toy duck bobbing in a bathtub.

「Are you having fun?」

Nearby, Rob sat on the edge of the platform, casting a fishing line into that mirror-like ocean.

He thought a clockwork golem like that would sink, but it was swimming. Since it was a machine that couldn't be called structurally sound, forcibly turned into a golem with magic, it had become a golem that Rob could no longer understand, neither mechanically nor magically.

Rob focused on the tip of his fishing line.

Even though he had run away, he was thinking about Harlequin, wondering what to do.

Harlequin sat down next to him and cast his own line. If not for Pamela’s unique ability, it would have been a strange sight: a fishing rod floating in mid-air.

「...It's impossible, isn't it?」

「Don't say that. There's still time. We can do this.」

「Why me in the first place?」

「I heard your story in the lounge. About slaying the Demon King, about what came after, and about your life before you were reincarnated.」

「...」

「I thought we were similar. A carefree college student gets summoned, carries a country on his back and fights, and although what happened after was a bit different... in the end, you ran away so you wouldn't have to kill the soldiers you once fought alongside, right? Then we're the same.」

「...Similar, huh.」

「――Hey, you've got a bite!」

At Harlequin’s voice, Rob instinctively pulled the rod.

The rod bent with a snap; the line pulled taut.

It was a simple rod, just the pole and line borrowed from the Interworld Train, but it was a state-of-the-art rod from an advanced world.

Its strength was such that it didn't matter if Rob pulled with all his might.

A massive fish shimmered beneath the surface.

It was a stout, clumsy-looking shadow with a strangely large head.

「No, not there! To the right! No, wait, to the left!」

「Shut up, you stupid ghost!」

While irritated by Harlequin’s haphazard cheering, Rob felt the fish’s movements through his fingers and eyes.

Thanks to the augmenting effects of his ability, his eyes were somewhat better than average, and he was resistant to curses and poisons. Using this, he predicted the fish’s movements.

He predicted the exact moment the fish was about to leap from the water and yanked it out.

The fish, its leap utilized against it, flew spectacularly through the air and struck Harlequin dead-on.

「Ngh! I can't see! Is this the Demon King’s conspiracy? A ploy? If I'm going to be blinded, I'd rather it be by a pretty girl!」

Harlequin’s face was completely engulfed by the fish’s massive head.

Naturally, there were fish that could interact with ghosts, even among these.

「So this is what you meant by 'similar'...」

Watching Harlequin scream, "Help meee!", Rob let out a sigh.

***

That night.

For a rare change of pace, Rob was staring hard at some paperwork.

He was comparing the interview records Arcelia had created for Rob with the ones Pamela had created for Harlequin.

「...I guess that's what it was, huh.」

With a grimace, Rob began typing into his handheld terminal, as if recalling something.

***

The next morning, Rob and the others were on the platform.

The cool morning water reflected the sunlight, shining brilliantly.

Harlequin was reading the interview record Rob had written the night before. Next to him, Pamela watched him with a look of concern.

The Interworld Train would be departing shortly. This was the last chance.

「Nn~~. Still not quite there.」

Rob was about to retort to that careless and subtly arrogant tone, but Harlequin cut him off.

「――But, this one line is good. So, I have no more regrets.」

Harlequin threw himself into the water without hesitation. He sank to the bottom of the sea, and gradually dissolved.

The human soul dissolves into the sea, washes away its sins, rises to the heavens once more, and returns as rain. That was the primary religious view of this world.

「...Was that just flattery?」

Rob glanced down at the report.

『――Even if I couldn't become a good person, I wanted to be righteous. That's why I fought.』

It seemed this part was close to the core of Harlequin’s character.

But it was actually Rob’s own feelings from the past, completely unrelated to Harlequin.

Based on Harlequin’s words about them being similar, and the similarity in their backgrounds—which Rob had actually checked—he had simply remembered his own past self.

On the verge of death, he had agreed to a question from a god-like entity without thinking, and had been reincarnated and summoned.

But in the end, he was just a college student who had been on the verge of failing at job hunting. He was just an ordinary college student—a bit sloppy, frequently cutting corners.

He had made many mistakes in the world he was reincarnated into, too.

There were people he hated, and times he had cursed them. There were times he had struck them. He had often overreacted and killed people. He had killed those who betrayed him, and he had once severely disciplined soldiers who had gone out of control. During the war, he had been overbearing. As Arcelia often points out even now, he had likely engaged in harassment as well.

He was by no means a good person. He was aware of that.

And yet, that thought had truly existed within him.

That was what had made Rob write that line.

Looking to the side, he saw Pamela tearing up.

It seemed they had finished their goodbyes the night before, so she was barely managing not to burst into wailing sobs.

Rob reached out to stroke her head, aiming for those fluffy wolf ears that were perfectly placed, but stopped himself, realizing what he was doing. He looked at Arcelia, who was nearby.

Arcelia looked up at Rob for a long moment, then gave a single, firm nod.

Relieved, Rob let out a breath and ruffled Pamela’s hair.

Perhaps that was what broke the dam; Pamela let out a flood of tears and rushed over.

Straight to Arcelia.

Rob wandered his hand in the empty air, then stared into the depths of the sea where Harlequin had vanished.

For some reason, he felt like he was seeing off a comrade-in-arms.

At the same time, a sense of accomplishment was beginning to sprout within him.

***

The Interworld Train departed once again.

Incidentally, Pamela seemed to be heading back to headquarters and was assigned a small cabin for authorized personnel, similar to the train's security staff.

「Come to think of it, how much further is it?」

When Rob asked, Arcelia answered without even looking at her terminal.

「We will reach the final station in about five stops.」

It seemed the journey, which had felt long and short all at once, was about to end.

Rob realized, quite suddenly, that he felt a bit disappointed about it.

*****

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