I Became the Childhood Friend Who Commits Sui**de

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There was one fact I had been overlooking.

That was my existence.

I have a memory of encountering the science teacher.

The meaning behind it was quite simple.

It could be that this is not the first time.

“······.”

Of course, I can’t be sure.

Longinus said that since the world is all interconnected, it’s also possible for future events to influence the past.

But it’s true that there is a possibility it could unfold that way.

Who was the science teacher I met?

Is he also me from the future ten years later? Or is he just a device created to align causality?

If he really is me…

How many times has the world repeated itself?

The fact that it keeps repeating suggests a failure in the plan.

Then the reason might be related to the disappearance of the science teacher along the way.

The problem is that nobody knows what happened to him during that gap.

Hana, who peeked into the Akashic Records, might know, but it doesn’t have much meaning since I can’t explain it to anyone else.

In the end, does this mean I have to face it directly?

That’s fine.

Nothing has changed.

I’ve reaffirmed my goal.

What I have to do is only one thing.

To maintain the existing flow without causing any variables.

Ultimately, the moment Hana becomes a goddess.

I will use the three sacred relics.

That was the entirety of the plan.

What happens after that, I also don’t know for sure.

However, if you combine what Longinus and Hana taught me, it suggests that the fate of a girl having to die as a savior for humanity will be completely erased.

In other words, conversely, if the plan fails, Hana’s death is an inevitable fate that cannot be avoided.

“Don’t tell anyone about this book’s story. Not even Hana or my past self.”

That was the conclusion I reached after much contemplation.

How many times has Hana’s attempt at salvation through time travel been repeated?

I don’t even know.

This might be the first or countless attempts.

This fact must remain known only to me.

If someone else realizes it and variables occur,

If that causes me to give up on returning to the past, then from that point, there would be no going back.

This might not be the first time.

But this will be the last return.

Well, I’ve made that vow.

I will make you happy.

Even if it means sacrificing everything I have.

*

This might not be the first return.

Arriving at such a conclusion made me naturally realize something.

That simply watching from the sidelines will never lead to success.

I once thought I could just let events flow as they originally did without interference.

That was an incredibly arrogant judgment.

If left alone, events will never proceed according to the existing flow.

If Hana cannot become a goddess, I cannot return to the past either.

It doesn’t just mean a simple failure of a plan.

Since the world is interconnected, my inability to return means it creates a contradiction with the current moment where the science teacher exists in the past ten years ago.

So, what will happen then?

I can’t jump to conclusions, but surely some change will occur in my current self.

Perhaps I might disappear from this world like I evaporated.

That’s why there’s a strong possibility that the science teacher vanished partway through.

The conclusion is simple.

I must not just stand by but actively engage as much as possible.

Let it flow according to the existing course.

Looking back, it was an ironic situation.

Usually, in these clichés, one has to try their best to twist the flow.

On the contrary, maintaining the flow is the goal.

But on the flipside, it is rational.

Since I have already traveled back to the past, the enormous variables will inevitably jostle the world’s flow. Maintaining that will be the more challenging task.

My thoughts drifted.

Maybe it was because I was staring blankly at the night sky like before.

It was a scene that brought back old memories vividly.

Not knowing the exact time, I started waiting a long while ago.

Fortunately, I knew the location for certain.

On the rooftop of this dormitory.

Hana is going to attempt suicide.

Of course, if she dies here, the story gets twisted.

So I have to stop her from dying.

However, making an overt attempt to stop her would be problematic.

First, Hana needs to be hospitalized to meet the science teacher.

Moreover, encountering her here could lead to unforeseen variables.

I need to do it secretly so that she doesn’t know.

That was the only way.

Probably not only this time but it will need to be like this in the future as well.

So I deliberately waited below instead of on the rooftop.

I planned to catch her right as she fell.

I kept glancing up at the rooftop and gazing at the night sky blankly.

As my neck began to stiffen, I finally spotted Hana.

A girl leaning against the railing, looking up at the sky just like me.

Her gaze was empty.

Yet, there was a hint of lingering emotion within her.

I felt an intense longing.

I knew at once who she was thinking of.

For Hana at this moment, the absence of Sophie seemed to be a pain that could not be compared to anything else.

Soon the girl cautiously climbed over the railing.

In a situation where letting go of her hands could mean falling instantly.

“······.”

I couldn’t even dare to imagine how she felt.

Her heart, slowly crumbling amidst countless trials, had completely shattered.

I never expected to witness such a scene right beside her.

The regret that had coiled in my heart only grew.

Why hadn’t I realized it sooner?

Saying I’m sorry is far too late now.

You have already carried too great a pain.

I want to rush over now and hold you back.

I want to comfort you so that you no longer feel sad and be by your side.

I want to run away to a faraway place where no one can find us.

But on the other hand, I have already realized.

Just doing that wouldn’t end the problem.

The fate of a savior is too dreadful and powerful.

It was not something that could simply be avoided by running away.

In the end, the only way to bring you perfect happiness is this.

That’s why, with a breaking heart, I waited for you to fall.

But for some reason, Hana did not fall.

She kept gazing at the sky even after letting go, and finally clutched the pendant around her neck.

Slowly, the light began to return to her eyes.

Though they still held traces of longing, something bright began to show alongside it.

Seeing that scene, I couldn’t help but feel awe.

Even in such a moment, you overcame it.

In a situation where it wouldn’t be strange to give up, you embraced your broken heart and revived yourself.

“······.”

That was remarkable.

Yet, at the same time, I felt confusion.

Certainly, in the original flow, Hana fell from the rooftop.

I had visited her daily in the hospital, so that truth was undeniable.

But why?

Could it be that this too is a variable caused by my return to the past?

In that moment of chaos,

I clearly gazed upon the scene with my own eyes.

A thud.

“…Huh?”

Hana’s bewildered murmuring.

At the same time, the body of the girl, drawn by gravity, falls downward.

It was no longer time to simply watch.

Leaving the filled colors of my head behind, I lunged.

Caught her successfully!

But perhaps due to the impact of the fall, she seemed to have lost consciousness.

“Why…?”

Upon confirming her condition, I doubted the unbelievable sight before my eyes.

I was certain I had caught her softly, so why was that?

The girl’s body was in such a bad state that it made me wince.

Was it because of the impact from the fall?

No. Even so, it doesn’t make sense.

This was a level of injury that defied the laws of physics.

While she didn’t seem to be in danger of losing her life, her wounds were still quite severe.

First, I decided to treat her using the sacred relic.

Indeed, something felt off.

The treatment was barely effective.

If it had been completely ineffective, I might have doubted if the sacred relic was malfunctioning.

But even though the sacred relic was working fine, Hana’s injuries were hardly healing.

‘It’s as if this injury must remain.’

“······.”

Right now, it’s more important to focus on Hana than to harbor doubts.

I immediately made an anonymous emergency call. She should be taken to the ER within minutes.

I looked up.

Indeed, the mastermind behind this incomprehensible situation must be that guy from earlier.

Hana did not leap off on her own.

Judging by her falling pose, someone must have pushed her from behind.

And at the moment Hana fell, I saw it.

The blue eyes peering down from the rooftop.

I briefly left Hana and hurriedly made my way up to the dormitory rooftop.

There was no one there, just an empty space where I stood alone.

It had already vanished without a trace.

My head was spinning with confusion.

What the heck is going on?

It was a dark night, so all I could distinctly see was the color of the eyes.

But the silhouette hidden in the darkness was so familiar that no one else could come to mind.

But no matter how I think about it, it doesn’t make sense.

Surely, Sophie, who should have died, is how…

Looking down at me from the rooftop?