Volume 4 - CH 8

〇 Future

“I’m home.”

Welcome home, Kouki kuuuuuuuun !”

After finishing business at the Phoenix HQ and returning to my home/studio, the adult Shinobu……no, Shinobi hugged me with great force.

“Didn’t you go back to the past……?”

“I was sent back by Hikari chan～she said it was too much trouble～”

“Kouki senpai memories are too buggy to exist, even though the agent is consistent to a certain extent. If I’m not mistaken, I should’ve sent her home with two robot goddesses. Well, I’m a high school student with adult memories, so I’m sure I can manage.”

I see….So you are all alone at home. Even though there’s Hikari, I still feel uneasy. I wonder if he’s doing well, the high school me.

“You’re saying that the agents are here too?”

“Yes !”

“I’m back in my own time !”

“I’ve been here for 40 years !”

“This time period is not so bad !”

Whoa…..what’s with the four agents’ bodies sticking out of the tank…..weird. Let’s see, an agent who has been with me for a long time and an agent who was originally in this time. Then there’s A, who came from 40 years later and is now in this time, and the original A….it’s complicated. And it’s really hard to tell them apart because they’re not ragged at all because of Hikari’s makeup.

“Now this is the question ! Which agent has been with you the whole time!”

“Eh……? Maybe she’s not here…..?”

「「「「「Very correct ！！！！！」」」」」

Whoa, another agent appeared….. such a creature……? I mean, somehow I figured it out, and I’m scared too…hm?

“Who’s the other one then !?”

“I’m from another era. Well then, goodbye.”

“Did you come all the way here to say that !?”

The second agent from the left disappeared into the water. What are these guys, seriously……

“I’m a machine, by the way.”

“No, to me you’re a human…..a friend.”

「「「「「 Geez….Kouki sama……」」」」」

“You don’t have to be embarrassed at the same time. And those from another time line, don’t come back.”

It’s really tiring……. Even though I’m already tired from dealing with the higher ups.

“Senpai, did the deal with Phoenix go well?”

“I think so. As long as I didn’t make any mistakes…my opponent is the head of a big company…..there must be a hole.”

But in the meantime, the contract is a no-lose deal for anyone. I want to believe that…..the other side won’t dare to break it.

“Them Kouki kun, when are you going back to the past～?”

“I wonder when. It depends on Phoenix, but it will take at least a week or so.”

“Then we can be lovey-dovey until then～!”

“Rather than that, I want to shoot a video !　Shinobu senpai went back in time, so it’s been just the two of us who have been shooting video for the last few days !”

It seems that for various reasons it will take some time for me to go back to the past. Even if I’m putting aside the video. The contract is a prerequisite. I can’t make a move until that’s done.

“But you have to hurry～ Daiki kun is going to use this opportunity to attack, right～?”

No. I’m free to decide which era I’m going to return to, so there’s no problem.”

“But Senpai, it’ll take a long time for you to return….though I don’t really remember.”

Come to think of it, Hikari did experience all of my actions. There’s also Shinobu in the past, but she didn’t know that we’re the people from the future.

“I asked the agent to decide what time I would return. I’ll leave a little time for sure.”

“Why～? Why didn’t you do it right after Daiki kun set you up～?”

That’s right. It would be more efficient that way and I would be able to sabotage Daiki’s operation. But.

“I’m not going to stay in the past forever. I’ll be in trouble if I don’t do my best as a high schooler.”

Hikari comes from the future to the past and stays there. That’s Hikari’s goal……to live a normal life and become popular.

But I’m different. Saki betrayed me, Daiki set me up, and I accidentally flew into the past. And the future has changed. So there’s no reason to stay in the past any longer. Except for two things……victories over Saki and Daiki. Once that is done, there’s no need to dwell in the past.

“For the next ten years of my life….it’s me at that time who will survive. And yet, if the future me solves everything,…… I probably won’t be able to reach a happy future.”

That’s why, the past me….the original me, has to do it. I don’t want to be rich. I just want to survive. To win against Daiki, to triumph over Saki. The only way to avoid a future filled with humiliation, I  have to do it as a high school student.

“So the time for me to go back to the past is after the original me defeated Daiki once. So I’ll go back and finish Daiki off. After that……my story is over. No, it’s the beginning.”

The agent told me the time. The rest is……

“……Hm?”

Is it my imagination? The door to the house was opened and it sounded like someone was walking in. But I’m sure I locked the door properly….. But contrary to that memory, the door to the living room opened.

“Y…..you’re…!”

There was…..!