Character Story 8: The Happiness Equation

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Scene: An underground cave.

Kyaru
Good. Good, good...

Kyaru
Ah, hey, don't move! Do what I say, seriously!

Kyaru
Wah!? That was a shock... Don't call out to me from behind so suddenly!

Kyaru
You didn't give me any warning!

Kyaru
Huh? You said something to me?

Kyaru
Ahh... Sorry. I was concentrating so hard, I guess I wasn't hearing anything around me.

Kyaru
It was wrong of me to get upset, wasn't it?

Kyaru
Anyway, did you need something from me?

Kyaru
As you can see, I'm in the middle of work, so I can't keep you company, okay?

Kyaru
Or, don't tell me that you've gotten addicted to gambling?

Kyaru
"Monster races"... Business seems to be lively. Even though this has been going on for a few days now, the customers keep coming.

Kyaru
Landsol doesn't really have much entertainment, does it. That's all due to Her Highness's government...

Kyaru
There's no opportunities for people to relieve their stress, so it's a really depressing environment.

Kyaru
As long as all that dissatisfaction doesn't explode into a rebellion...

Kyaru
Her Highness really doesn't care about the feelings of commoners. She doesn't even listen to people around her...

Kyaru
But whatever. As long as Her Highness does what she wants...

Kyaru
And also, it's not like telling you all this will change anything...

Kyaru
Leaving that aside, I'm in the middle of training this monster, so don't get close. If I can't keep control of the monster, it might go wild, and you'll end up hurt.

Kyaru
Yeah. My employer told me to get some new monsters, so I'm training them.

Kyaru
That's my job, you know.

Kyaru
In the end, my real job is in the imperial palace, but that job has been pretty idle lately.

Kyaru
Her Highness seems to have some large-scale operation in mind, and she seems to be in the middle of preparing.

Kyaru
So I've had more time than I know what to do with, and I've just been spending it all on this job lately.

Kyaru
But I still can't control monsters that are too strong.

Kyaru
I have to work harder... And then, I'll show everyone that I can control any kind of monster at all.

Kyaru
Wha? Don't pat my head!

Kyaru
You think I'm diligent? Ugh, don't you treat me like a kid! I mean, you're older than me and all, but still!?

Kyaru
Huh? This monster... This serpent has a keen sense of smell, so if it smells a good scent, then it'll be in a better mood?

Kyaru
Why do you know something like that? This monster is pretty rare, isn't it?

Kyaru
Huh... For whatever reason, facts about these sorts of relatively inconsequential monsters have been coming to mind, like magic.

Kyaru
Maybe your memories are starting to come back little by little.

Kyaru
It's true. Whenever I get some of this monster's preferred food, it becomes more obedient...

Kyaru
A good scent, huh... I feel like I have magic for that.

Kyaru
Let me give it a try. Thanks for the advice!

Kyaru
... Hm? You're offering me a sandwich? Why?

Kyaru
You... You wanted to bring me a snack while I was working hard, so you came all this way out here just for that?

Kyaru
W-Why are you being this kind to me?

Kyaru
N-No, I'm happy, but... I don't deserve to be treated this well by you.

Kyaru
I know that saying this won't change anything, but you're actually being crueler than you realize.

A light shines.

Kyaru
Eep!? You're glowing again!

Kyaru
(Ooh... Her Highness did tell me to look thoroughly into this mysterious light.)

Kyaru
(But this is such a strange phenomenon that there's no way I can be that carefree about it, is there?)

Scene: A dream. A anime goods store in Japan.

Kiruya
Hmm... Ah, there it is!

Kiruya
Ahh, I looked everywhere... And I finally found it. You can't find these kinds of second-rate magazines near my house.

Kiruya
I've been running all over the place, and finally, I have it.

Kiruya
The fact that none of the normal shops have it, but an anime shop like this has it -- what's with that...?

Kiruya
Maybe this store just picked it up because they had nothing to lose.

Kiruya
Well, "that person" is the developer of Astorum...

Kiruya
Of the people who are interested in them, probably a lot of them are also interested in these things. So that's why it's with the strategy guides.

Kiruya
The price is... w-whoa, it's pretty expensive.

Kiruya
It's a specialized journal, after all. There aren't many copies printed, so they have to set the price high to turn a profit.

Kiruya
Dammit, you capitalist pigs.^[1]

Kiruya
One, two, three... Nice, I can barely afford it.

Kiruya
Ahh, but if I buy it, then I won't have any money left for train fare, will I? And walking back home from here would be awful!

Kiruya
... Eek!?

Kiruya
You scared me! Don't tap my shoulder all of a sudden, or I'll kill you, okay!?

Kiruya
What is it? I'm not a shoplifter -- I was going to buy this normally!

Kiruya
Oh, you're not an employee... Wait, you? You're...

Kiruya
W-What do you want? I already repaid you for the train fare, didn't I!?

Kiruya
Don't talk to me all relaxed -- beat it! Shoo!

Kiruya
Or could it be... You're also after this magazine?

Kiruya
No way, I found this one first! It's mine -- you got a problem with that!?

Kiruya
No? You just saw someone you recognized, so I can just talk normally?

Kiruya
What's with you, acting like we're friends, even though I can count the number of times I've talked to you on one hand!?

Kiruya
Huh...? I've been standing in front of the magazine section for a long time, so I've been bothering you?

Kiruya
Sorry, I'll get out of the way. I've already got this magazine, so I don't need to hang around this store any longer.

Kiruya
Oh, you're looking for an Astorum-related periodical? It's this one -- hang on, let me get it for you... Here!

Kiruya
Heh... You're still playing that game, huh?

Kiruya
You're a high schooler now, so you should've grown out of games and stuff.

Kiruya
... Don't I play, too? No, I stopped a while ago. I only played because I was curious, okay?

Yuuki
1. "And here I was hoping I could play together with you, Kyaru."
2. "But you seemed to be having fun playing."

Option 1.

Kiruya
Kyaru? Oh, that's the name I was using in Astorum...

Kiruya
When I was entering my name, I accidentally typoed the two letters.

Kiruya
My name is Momochi Kiruya, see. Kiruya...

Kiruya
I was secretly using my parents' Mimi, and I got flustered and entered my name as Kyaru.^[2]

Kiruya
My real name is pretty cute, I think. But Kyaru has also kind of grown on me.

Option 2.

Kiruya
Eh... Well, I mean, it was kind of fun, you know?

Kiruya
But playing those kinds of online games takes up a lot of time.

Kiruya
I have to study, and I also have my part-time job, so I can't log in much.

Kiruya
And while I wasn't playing, new content kept being added to the game, so I couldn't keep up... At some point, I felt like I just stopped bothering.

End of branches.

Kiruya
Anyway, I never played games much to begin with.

Kiruya
It's just that this game was made by the developer Mana, so I was curious about what was in it.

Kiruya
You don't know about Mana? I guess that means Mana isn't too well-known to the general public...?

Kiruya
Look, it's this person. They're the developer being interviewed in the magazine I'm buying, and there's a photograph of them.

Kiruya
I really wanted to read this article, so I've been looking all over for this issue.

Kiruya
There's hardly any information at all about Mana -- they're like a mystery person.

Kiruya
This is a really rare face-to-face interview with them.

Kiruya
Huh? You're asking me if I'm a fan of theirs? Um... I guess you could say fan...?

Kiruya
... When you compare Mana's face to mine, do you notice anything?

Kiruya
Isn't there some similarity? You don't think so? Just say that there is!

Kiruya
This person might be a distant "sibling" of mine. Well, that is, if you believe what my mom has to say...

Kiruya
They're quite important to me.

Kiruya
Within my crappy life, this brings me just a little glimmer of hope.

Kiruya
The idea that this godlike person might have the same blood as me... You could call it faith.

Kiruya
... Hah. I don't know why I'm talking to you about this.

Kiruya
See you. If there's nothing else, I'm going to buy this magazine and go home.

Kiruya
Bye bye! I probably won't see you again.

End of dream.

Ames
All right, good work.

Ames
Hee hee. Kyaru seems to have mellowed out just a bit.

Ames
The first time you met, she was completely focused on fighting with you. It was pretty scary.

Ames
She might have a bit of a temper, but her original nature might still be in there somewhere -- maybe just that of a normal girl.

Ames
When I look at the Kyaru on "this side", I especially think so.

Ames
But, "Mana"... That's a surprising name to hear. I wonder how it's connected.

Ames
I could make all sorts of conjectures, but I can't help but have an unpleasant hunch about it.

Ames
Who is Mana, you're asking... "Senri Mana" is... an entity that you can't very well overlook.

Ames
The perpetrator who once destroyed the world... The true name of Kaiser Insight, the wielder of the Seven Crowns, is Senri Mana.

Ames
... Curious. I'm going to investigate a few things, so we'll end this dream here.

Ames
If I discover anything, I'll let you know in another dream.

Ames
Though, it's a dream, so you'll forget most of it once you wake up.

Ames
But there should be something that remains, too. When the time comes, if you use this sixth sense of yours, you might be able to avoid a crisis.

Ames
Though, you might not be able to take things so easy anymore...

Ames
This peaceful stretch of your life might be even shorter than we'd thought.

Ames
Be careful. Even though all I can do from here is give you warnings...

Ames
I'm still your ally. Now, in the past, in the future... Always.

End of Ames conversation.

Kyaru
Nice! Yuuki, did you see that just now?

Kyaru
This high-level serpent obeyed me perfectly!

Kyaru
I really can do anything if I try! Her Highness will definitely praise me for this...

Kyaru
... Yuuki? Are you all right?

Kyaru
According to Her Highness, when you're have your mysterious dreams, it shouldn't do your body any harm, but...

Kyaru
Do you need healing magic or anything?

Kyaru
What's wrong? Why do you look so scared...?

Kyaru
You'll be okay. I don't know what's happened, but... I know that you're a good person.

Kyaru
You definitely won't end up in sorrow. So there's no need for you to worry.

Kyaru
As long as you work your hardest, your dreams will surely come true. As long as you do your best, then nothing is impossible. That's what I believe.

Kyaru
There will be difficult times, and painful times, but... Right now, things are happy.

Kyaru
That's the way things are in this world, for certain.

Kyaru
Anyone can be happy, as long as they face forward and try their best.

Kyaru
Me, you, and everyone else.

Kyaru
That's true, isn't it? So, please... Say that it is.