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To escape the red glow of the traffic control light, I turned onto a random street. "I don't care anymore," I thought, proceeding haphazardly. If I didn't scatter breadcrumbs on the path I'd taken, it was getting iffy whether I could even find my way back to that park.
I do sometimes reveal this thoughtless side of me, huh? Oh, you say I'm always like that? Shut up.
Around the time I started feeling suffocated from walking aimlessly, and my back began to stoop, suddenly, with a jolt, my baggage—I mean, Maa-chan—got heavier. I tried tugging, but she wouldn't budge. Maa-chan's feet were trying to stay put of their own accord. The sound of her feet dragging to a halt stopped.
Turning around, just as I asked, "What's wrong?" a green light jumped into my eyes. The upper floors were pitch black, but on the first floor of the building, the only one with lights on, a bookstore was open. The faint smell of mold wafted from it. Inside, a tired-looking old guy was resting his chin on his hand, half-dozing while watching TV.
"Something about this bookstore?"
I asked Maa-chan's face, which still looked half-asleep. Maa-chan, still in a daze, pointed at the bookstore's dirty sign and started wheedling, puffing out air carelessly. "Buy picture book~. Mii-kun read it, umm, you promised~, uhh, before."
Sounds like a super impromptu promise, though.
"A book, huh. Yeah, but, I don't have any money. Dinner's more important, right?"
"Nope, nope~," I waved both hands. I really didn't. What am I gonna do from tomorrow?
...Well, it's already decided, though. I'll just do the same thing as last time.
"Maa-chan doesn't need fooood. Want picture book!"
She tugged hard on my jacket sleeve. Whoa, a child's reasoning. And she didn't look like she'd back down. Since she just woke up, her selfishness felt even more... starkly simple. But I didn't want to spend extra money either. In that case...

"...........Alright. Wait here a sec."
I painstakingly freed my sleeve from her grip. "Uuuh~," Maa-chan yawned, standing stock-still on the road, making me anxious, so I guided her under the bookstore's light and had her wait there.
"Don't go with strangers even if they invite you!"
Maa-chan said what I was about to warn her. "Yeah, yeah," I replied.
Just how many strangers were inside the store anyway?
I entered the shop. The inside was a bit chilly, yet brightly lit, giving it a somewhat mismatched impression. The old guy mumbled "Welcome" without looking up. He seemed to be prioritizing sleepiness over business, which was convenient for me. I headed straight for the picture book corner. ...Hey, there are porn books displayed in the good kids' picture book corner. What the heck is this? Looking closer, the next shelf was also crammed with porn books. "A porn-specialty store?"
To think such a pink-tinted store existed quietly in this remote countryside. I was about to be shocked, but this wasn't the time to be impressed by such things. Come on, isn't there at least one picture book mixed in by mistake? I scanned the shelves from top to bottom as if licking them. And then, at the very bottom of a shelf, as if pushed aside, there was a picture book.

What do you know, there's something that looks like an unsold leftover. I knelt, pulled one out, and hid it under my jacket with a nonchalant face. I can't pay, but Maa-chan wants a picture book. So, thinking rationally, this is the only way, right? If there's another option, I wish someone would tell me. No, never mind.
I don't want to have regrets.
But to dabble in wrongdoing this easily... a good number of screws in my head must have come loose.
Well, can't be helped. It's too late now; I even broke down a door this morning.
With the book still hidden, I calmly walked out. "Thank you very much!" the old guy called out dismissively, so I gave a nod. Sorry, I'll come back to return it when I become a billionaire, I muttered internally. By the way, what's the minimum threshold for a billionaire? I don't know, so I guess I can't return it.
So it seems the bookstore old guy will just have to give up, too bad.
"......Here, picture book."
I handed the book I'd acquired to Maa-chan. The cover had a fancy goat and wolf. And a boy making a ruckus loudly was drawn beside them. It was probably the commonly known fable of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." I'd picked it randomly, so I hadn't scrutinized the content. Receiving the picture book, sleepy Maa-chan's eyes softened.
"Ah, this is a picture book Maa-chan doesn't know. Mii-kun, your taste is gooood~."
"Gooood," she purred, praising me. It didn't feel bad. In fact, I was quite proud. Before the satisfaction gained for free, I didn't feel a speck of guilt for shoplifting the book. Elated, I took Maa-chan's hand again and started walking through the night town once more. Convenience store, convenience store... There isn't one, damn it. I don't need a tofu shop.
Maa-chan, walking while clutching the picture book preciously to her chest, let out an obvious sound of question.
"Hmm?"
"What is it this time-uh?" I turned back, fake-foreigner style. My cheek was about to twitch, thinking it was her next request already. But it didn't seem to be that. Maa-chan kept tilting her head, looking at me and the nighttime streetscape.
"Hmm-moo."
"Something happen?"
"Nnn-nnn. Never miiind. More importantly, Mii-kun, let's read the picture book, quick!"
She shook her head loosely, then urged me on. My wariness about her next request hadn't been too far off the mark, it seemed. I watched the taillights of a departing car with my eyes and opened my lips.
"After we eat, okay? If you're hungry, you can't sleep at night."
Though I doubted that applied to Maa-chan. In her case, if I left her alone, she seemed like she'd keep sleeping without eating anything and starve to death. That part of her is also irresistible, though.
"Then~, hurry~."
"Yeah, yeah. ...Ah, fine. Maybe it doesn't have to be a convenience store."
I'll just find some cheap-looking diner that's obviously selling itself on low prices and go in. It might even be cheaper than buying rice balls and sandwiches at a convenience store.
I walked along the sidewalk by the road for a while, feeling a vague chill as a police car passed by, and wandered through the town.

Then, I found a diner that seemed to fit my compromised conditions. A sign with a girl with a Kintaro-like hairstyle holding a bowl of rice caught my eye. Light trucks and bicycles were parked haphazardly in the parking lot.
"Is this place okay?"
I checked with Maa-chan, just in case. Maa-chan nodded briefly with an "Un," and pulled my hand, wanting to go in quickly. She seemed to want to finish dinner fast and move on to the picture book reading. Respecting her wish, I was drawn into the light spilling from the entrance. Unlike the bookstore earlier, the entrance was an automatic glass door.
"Welcome~!"
The difference from the bookstore was also apparent in the energetic greeting. A briskly moving middle-aged female clerk welcomed us cheerfully. It seemed to be a self-service diner; yellow trays were stacked at the entrance. I took two, one for Maa-chan, and went around the table where the side dishes were placed.
I went for a cheap option: a large serving of rice and a small plate of squid rings. This should be enough to fill me up. Wondering what Maa-chan would do, I looked beside me to see her holding up a spoon she'd procured from somewhere, not food. For some reason, she offered it to me.
"Here, Mii-kun's spoon."
Maa-chan had placed a plastic spoon on my tray. There are chopsticks, though.
"What, am I being treated like a complete kid?"
"Hm?"
Shrugging, Maa-chan pouted. Guessing she was dissatisfied at not being praised, I patted her head. "Mmph." Her dissatisfied face relaxed somewhat. But in its place, she tilted her head.
(I don't know if I'm being gentle), I peered into Maa-chan's face as if to draw out her question. The fabric of her hoodie covering the sides of her face flickered at the edge of my vision. Maa-chan narrowed her eyes like a cat, and...
"Nyaa~."
She made some kind of meow. It was cute, so I thought I'd forgive everything just for that.
My sins, my stupidity, my straying ways, all of it—their meaning was in this moment. Convinced of that, I might be one of the people with the highest chance of finding happiness.

After stuffing our cheeks with rice at the diner, getting a little lost on the way back and incurring Maa-chan's anger, calming her down, getting bonked a few times, by the time we returned to the park we'd played in during the day, the clock hands showed past eight-thirty. There was no sign of any previous occupants on the grounds; it was deserted. My feet crunched, perhaps on fallen leaves. Autumn insects chirped here and there, and with every step, I scanned the air, wondering if brown bugs were flitting about. Unfortunately, what was floating around were some white, thread-like things.
I see them sometimes, but I wonder if it's dirt in my eyes or something.
"Let's read the picture boook~!"
"Alright, alright. Well then, after we sit down."
I hurried towards a bench. It was about the only place illuminated by a streetlight.
Maa-chan spun around as if sliding with a "thump!" and plopped onto the bench. She banged on the wooden planks, urging me to sit. I obeyed and sat down beside her.

The wooden planks of the bench were cold against my butt. The harsh reality that we had to spend the night here made me feel slightly dejected. I can sleep on the ground if I have to, but I can't bear to make Maa-chan sleep outside.
"Ta-da!"
Maa-chan vigorously opened the picture book, so much so that the edge made an unpleasant ripping sound, but she handed it to me. It seemed I was the reader. Taking it, I looked at the first page inside.
"...Hmm."
It seemed to be an original picture book, an arrangement of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." A Japanese author's name was written. I was ignorant about illustrators, so I didn't recognize that name, but I did recognize the name of the person who came up with the original idea.
"Kai Shouko," it was written in hiragana, maybe because it's a picture book, but she should be a female novelist. I'd only read her debut work. Her style was full of overly complex expressions, as if her goal was to confuse people, and I couldn't bring myself to like it. Stories, for crying out loud, should be as simple as picture books.
"Umm, so, a fair while ago..."
And so, in the night park, I began to read the picture book aloud.
To summarize the story, it went like this.
First, there's a boy who cried wolf in a village. Next, there are sheep. And then, there were no wolves. The wolves had been hunted to extinction by humans. All that remained were the peacefully living villagers, the sheep, and the boy.
The boy was bored. The villagers no longer got surprised by any lie he told. Lying was the boy's reason for living, but any lie he came up with was quickly seen through by the villagers. The boy had an easy-to-read personality, and that's precisely why he enjoyed deceiving people.
The boy thought. If he couldn't deceive humans, he'd deceive sheep. The boy skinned a hunted wolf, wore its hide, and jumped into the pen where the sheep lived. At first, the sheep were all startled and scattered in confusion.
The boy was delighted. For the first time in a while, a creature had appeared that was surprised by him. The boy got carried away and repeatedly wore the smelly wolf skin to startle the sheep. The villagers noticed the boy's prank and warned him, but there was no way the boy would listen; in fact, he got even more carried away and jokingly attacked the villagers too, exasperating them.
The boy had a very enjoyable time. But just as the wolves had been wiped out, all things eventually come to an end. The sheep had gotten used to the wolf. Precisely because the boy who cried wolf was harmless.
The boy became bored again. If the sheep wouldn't be surprised, it was foolish to wear the wolf skin and get all smelly while moving around. The boy threw the wolf skin away in the forest and reluctantly decided to live normally.
At that time, the boy hadn't realized his mistake. The boy's job was to take care of the sheep, and working under the cold sky from early morning was incredibly tedious. However, that was the only job he was given.
As punishment for startling the villagers with lies, the boy was made to do hard work. It was his own fault, but honestly, the boy wasn't very repentant. He thought that if it was hard but fun, it was better than not being hard and not being fun.

The boy was foolish, and even then, he still didn't realize. When the boy went to tend to the sheep, the sheep all reacted at once. They stared at the boy and made strange noises. The boy tilted his head at this oddity. But he didn't realize. Because the boy had worn the wolf skin every single day, its gamey smell had clung to him. The boy had now become a human reeking of wolf, truly a wolf boy.
The boy finally realized the cause of the sheep's surprise and caution. The sheep had feared the boy in wolf's skin, thinking they might be eaten if they got too close, even if he was harmless. But now, standing before them was the weak boy himself, who struggled even to take care of them. The sheep were perplexed that he smelled of wolf, and then became hostile. The boy sensed this and tried to flee, but it was too late.
The boy was attacked. By the sheep. It was unknown whether it was revenge for their comrades eaten by wolves until now. Or perhaps self-defense. Whatever their motive, the sheep attacked the boy as a group and pushed him down. Then, they rammed him from all directions, crushing the boy. Engulfed in the sheepy smell, the boy struggled desperately. He cried for help many times, but the villagers were still sleeping soundly, and no one noticed. No, even if they had noticed, they wouldn't have believed the words of the boy who cried wolf. After all, the wolves were already gone. There were no other creatures near the village that would attack the boy.
In the end, the boy was killed by the sheep. The boy's corpse was moved along with the flow of the sheep, dragged out of the pen, and abandoned in a place where none of the villagers would notice. Of course, the villagers noticed that the lying, noisy boy was gone, but they dismissed it as one of the boy's pranks.
However, after a while. Wolves that were about to be exterminated by humans in another region fled to the vicinity of the village. The wolves were drawn by the smell of blood and flesh emanating from the boy's corpse and appeared in the village.
And after devouring his flesh, they discovered further prey beyond the pen. It was the sheep, who didn't immediately flee even upon seeing the wolves. A pack of wolves, whose hunger could not be satisfied by the boy's corpse alone, attacked the sheep all at once, and the village suddenly became noisy. The villagers' screams rose soon after.
.........
In the end, the boy, by summoning real wolves, had done more than startle the villagers; he had made them grimace in terror. After that, the boy continued to leave only his "name" in the village.
"...The end."
"Ehh, it's over!? What happened?"
Maa-chan found fault with the ending of the picture book I'd finished reading. Naturally, there were no more pages.
"Weren't they exterminated again? The village seems to have survived."
"Whaaat~," Maa-chan's eyebrows shot up. It seemed she would have preferred the wolves to prosper.
"From the perspective of pro picture-book reader Maa-chan, it's quite an amateurish work, isn't it?"
"Is that so~. We should've picked a different one."
I'm not going to ask what a "pro picture-book reader" is.

Also, I don't know if it's rare for picture books, but there was an afterword at the end. Author: "Moderation is best in all things. If you don't age your manjuu buns in moderation, you'll end up hospitalized with food poisoning." There was a funny illustration of a woman collapsing onto a bed, going "Guhe~," just like me.
"But~, Mii-kun's reading was pretty good, so I'll forgive it."
"Hehe," Maa-chan giggled. Thank you for your praise, I bowed my head respectfully.
Maa-chan made a peace sign and thrust it towards me with enough force to poke my eyes out.
"Today was all Mii-kun, part two."
"Yeah, that's right. And it was all Maa-chan too."
"Mhm, mhm," Maa-chan nodded, satisfied. Her cheeks puffed out as if she were trying to devour all her dreams at once.
"It'd be nice if tomorrow is like this too."
What I'd spent today in was a world of just the two of us. A life where the day revolved around just Maa-chan and me.
This is surely the only thing she desires. Something so simple that not just an elementary schooler, but even a kindergartener could understand if it were put into an equation, is born from the human heart, which should be exceedingly complex.
Without being disgusted by the mysteries piling up again, I just exhale. Am I going to continue this kind of life every day from now on? Supposing we were financially permitted, would my world consist only of Maa-chan, where we just gaze at each other, and things go round and round? ...Well, how about that?
Right now is an emergency, a situation where I can't even afford to mention things like fun or hardship, and even taking that into account, I still can't quite agree. Certainly, today was remarkably calmer compared to yesterday, and I just let myself be led around by Maa-chan, forgetting what I'd done up until now. Perhaps if I continued that tomorrow, I might be liberated from various things.
No matter what, Maa-chan is my salvation. Probably, no, definitely.
But if I forget everything, for Maa-chan I might remain Mii-kun, but for me, the Mii-kun within would cease to exist. I want to stay here as myself.
I can't live in this town with a calm face while "Yatsu" is on the loose. But once that's over, living in the world of just the two of us that Maa-chan desires wouldn't be bad.
This is the unvarnished, true feeling of "Mii-kun."
Closing the picture book, I make a resolution of sorts. Well, resolve is something you cultivate as needed, and it's enough if you can use it up on the spot. If my feelings are going to surge and calm down moment by moment anyway, I might as well go along with it.
As I was immersed in such a commonplace conclusion, staring blankly into the depths of the park...
"But, moo~"
Suddenly, Maa-chan started unreservedly patting my body. Her smooth, cold fingertips tickled as they caressed my skin, which was both ticklish and pleasant. Maa-chan continued her patting. Can I pat too? I couldn't ask. Maa-chan's eyes looked somewhat heavy.

"It's straaange~, so strange!"
"Eh, what's that? A song?"
"Nooo~," Maa-chan denied, shaking her head violently from side to side, so much that I started to pale, thinking it might come off. Her hair flew about. It looked like she was dancing.
As I watched her, I suddenly felt a chill. A premonition of inexplicable, disgusting origin. It felt like shivers, no, like my back itself had turned into a caterpillar, rubbing against my clothes. The area around my waist felt hot, and my knees felt like they could buckle at any moment. An unplaceable, tingling itch raced across my skin. It was like when you're waiting for a test you have absolutely no confidence in to be returned, and names are called one by one, my turn gradually approaching. I felt the same sense of impatience and repulsion from Maa-chan, and sweat broke out.
And then, Maa-chan said.
"Yup."
".......Eh?"
"Why has Mii-kun been using his right hand since yesterday?"
For a moment, I didn't understand what Maa-chan was pointing out. Right hand? Well yeah, I use it, but...
"The recent Mii-kun, see, holds Maa-chan's hand with his left hand~."
As if to say, "You don't get it~," Maa-chan puffed out her cheeks. Then, "Like this, like thiiis," she grabbed my left hand and swung it around. My attention, toyed with just like my swinging left arm, made my eyes unsure where to look, and a whirl of questions spun around me. Ah, eh, umm, wha, what?
"Bubbuh~"
As if to say, "Incorrect!" Maa-chan made her unique sound.
And then, a shadow, dutifully arriving from the entrance, suddenly disturbed the air of the park that had been wrapped in silence.
Hah... hah... hah...
Hah, hah, hah, hah...
Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah...
Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah...
Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, haa, haa, hh, ha. Gbeh."
He fell. "Yatsu," breathing heavily, tumbled sideways as if his feet slipped the moment he reached the park. The sound of him scraping against sand and dirt echoed in the park, where only we were present. He'd hit his side without breaking his fall, and as he staggered to his feet, he coughed violently, as if his breathing had caught. His left hand shot out to support his body, which was about to fall again, his fingers scrabbling at the ground. Covered in wounds from head to toe, his breathing was rougher than a pervert's; even though it was a familiar face, I couldn't help but wonder what the hell he came here to do.
Messy, grimy hair. A jacket disheveled from constant running, the color of the dark circles under his eyes was terrible.
Clenched molars as if biting back his breath, bloodshot yet dull eyes.
His whole body was grimy as if he'd waded through muddy water, and in the night, it looked as if he were drenched in blood.
"...........I see."
Looking at him, there was just one thing that made sense.
The guy who'd tumbled in was, unnaturally...
His "right arm" was hanging limp.
And then, he thrust out his left hand, which was gripping something.
In the way he thrust it, I saw "Nagase Tooru's" left hand.

"Finally, fo~und my happy eeend. Give Mayu back, you bastard!"

Chapter 10: revival - Lies for Ages More -
From that day, my world narrowed further from the town.
Around the time I grew used to that narrowed world.
Around the time I started forgetting the hobbies of the person I killed.
Rumors from the world outside reach my ears.
The names that appear in those fairy tales are all ones I know.
Ah, the world exists outside too, and those people are still there, I laugh.
While dreaming up various endings for the half-heard fairy tales.
To the beautification committee member, still fighting unsightly battles in a distant world, I ask.
Senpai, are you feeling happiness while still being dirty?

"Street interview, don-don-pafu-pafu~! What were you doooing~? I was runniiing~!"
Roaring with the momentum he'd run with, swinging his only working left hand through the air. From an outsider's perspective, I'm a suspicious person harassing a couple on a date in the park, which isn't far off. But it's a different kind of love.
Oh, hey there. It's me. Edase XX. Amano XX. The protagonist, finally here!
"Rainy days, windy days. *Pant, pant, pant,* with ragged breath. I'm here, you bastard!"
I yelled. For the past two days or so, I'd been in a certain Mr. Forrest state, just running endlessly, so maybe as a rebound, my voice is overflowing. My surging emotions easily surpassed their usual limits.
Sugawara Michizane, who was holding Mayu's hand, narrowed his eyes at me. Since encountering him at the shrine a year ago... no, wait, a few days ago my right arm was cut in broad daylight, wasn't it? Oh well. Anyway, it's him.
He's thinner than before, his neurotic look more pronounced. He's trying to cover his face with the hood of his lame-ass hoodie, but he's evil. True evil is using the ignorant for your own convenience—hey, wait, if I think about it calmly, doesn't that apply to my usual self? This is my own damn fault.
Sugawara opened his mouth. His voice, like the fluttering of a gnat's wings, ephemerally crossed my ears and vanished into the night. 【I didn't think you'd come before the police or anyone.】
"I told you, our love is different. Love transcends the walls of time, physical laws, and even talent." That's a lie, though, I secretly stuck out my tongue.
Mayu stared at me blankly, dazed. It's been a few days, but she's lovely. Sleepy, though.
As I approached the two of them, I pointed at Sugawara with my left hand.
"Anyway, where the hell did you pop up from? You should've just stayed quarantined."
【What's the big deal? Batman villains break out of the hospital too, right?】
"I wouldn't know, Western stuff is outside my interests. Well, whatever the logic or motive. Not questioning the process of things that are already happening is my virtue. The only problem right now is that you're here. I'm grateful beyond words that you've taken care of Mayu until now, so give her back. Because I'm grateful, hand her over."
It's kind of like a drunkard rambling on, carried by momentum, but anyway, I'm making my demand.