ould probably tilt her head in confusion.

If some secret government organization or Hyakki Yakou realized what was going on, they might send in a large attack unit.

But not even that would work.

Majina had calculated it all out and realized that wouldn’t work. That was why he had started his plan to turn the 150 million people of Japan into zombies, use the boosted power of the citizens to restrain the Bloodstained Zashiki Warashi, and finish her off with Mei’s stable Ver. 40 power.

There was no other way of restraining the Zashiki Warashi by force.

No matter what anyone tried to use – even a ton of NBC weapons – physical attacks were meaningless. Even if they tried to use the occult, some almost amusing coincidences would occur and devilish miracles would coincide to neutralize it all.

That was the Ver. 39.

That ruler of destiny was more unstable than Majina’s completed Ver. 40, but that gave her the instantaneous maximum power needed to win.

She was a messenger of ruin that would reign supreme and remain unharmed even in a battle against seven billion people.

“..”

But Majina had said something else.

I had driven him back even though he was protected by the Ver. 40, so he had told me to watch as the world came to an end. And he had suggested I might have a power different from his.

I was the closest person to the world’s ruin.

I was her boyfriend.

Did that mean I alone had some power that might stop the Bloodstained Zashiki Warashi?

I looked down at the smartphone screen again.

I did not even need to check a news site. Every blog and banner ad was talking about the same thing. Every link led to word of the coming ruin.

“..Yukari.”

“What is it, Shinobu?”

Her voice sounded like a tolerant older sister and like an ignorant little girl.

I placed an arm around her head and gently stroked the back of her head while I whispered into her ear.

“I will protect you. No matter what happens, I will always be on your side.”

I made that obvious announcement as I read the text on the smartphone.

It said the following:

“Is the world’s worst plan about to begin?

“All five standing member-nations have voted to censure the network made up of Japan and the six other air pockets. Experts say the result of this vote is extremely likely to influence all member-nations. If the vote in a regular session has the same result, it is possible the corresponding nations will be forcibly ejected from the UN in a truly unprecedented case.

“A forcible ejection from the UN means the erasure of all promises made in any war treaty exchanged using the UN.

“As the UN itself was meant to monitor and apply pressure to Japan, Germany, and Italy as the losers of World War Two, military commentators say this possible ejection will be especially meaningful and dangerous to Japan.

“If all war treaties based on the UN are abandoned, there is even a fear that those countries can be attacked without a declaration of war, strategic weapons such as nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons can be used against them with reckless abandon, their POWs can be tortured or slaughtered, and their public and private property can be seized via military intervention. Simply put, there is a possibility that all war crimes will become allowable.

“It depends on which country you ask, but some say they have already entered the coordinates for six of Japan’s major cities. If those foreign safety measures are removed, there is even a possibility of ballistic missiles immediately firing from the nuclear submarines blockading the ocean.

“The military is a massive source of employment and the weapons and ammunition they use can create a large amount of consumption. Some countries might be searching for a war not to defeat an enemy but to kick-start their own economy. Looking at it that way brings on a whole new kind of fear.”

I hadn’t even needed the impatient Nekomata to tell me anything.

Global ruin was already at seven billion people’s throats, so this was no time to be averting my gaze.

This time between lovers had been something like creating fleeting memories as a farewell ritual.

I held the Zashiki Warashi’s head close as I brought my finger to the screen and operated the smartphone.

I closed the browser filled with strange news, started up a photo album app, and focused on a picture I had seen not long before.

It was a drawing from when I was young.

It was drawn in crayon on construction paper.

The sun was red and the leaves were green. The perspective and colors were a complete mess.

There were humanoid figures drawn there. The one with red clothes and black hair was probably the Zashiki Warashi. Other figures looked more like animals. I had thought this was just a product of my imagination, but it really had happened. Some of them were scribbled out with black crayon and some I had no clue what they had originally been.

They formed a circle with smiles on their faces and some messy writing was positioned above their heads: We’re All Friends.

“That’s right.”

I only had to say that once.

My recharging period was complete and naptime was over.

I recalled what I had to do.

Now, then.

Let’s get the final battle started.

Shared Memory 1

There were a few things that the Zashiki Warashi in a red yukata found truly surprising from the bottom of her heart.

For example, an event from the past. When Shinobu had been only as tall as her waist, he had once come home with bruises not just on his face, hands, or feet, but across his entire body.

“I won’t apologize,” he had said while clenching his teeth and squeezing the shoulder straps of his black backpack. “I won’t apologize to Miyano!!”

He had seemed to have gotten into a fight with a classmate. The standard course was for his father to come out, drop his fist on the boy’s head, show him pictures from the deep sea fish encyclopedia, and throw him in the dark shed, but this time Shinobu had refused to give in.

When his father had raised his fist, he had bitten the man’s arm. No matter how much the man had swung him around, the light of anger had not left Shinobu’s eyes. Shinobu’s mother had realized the normal methods were not going to work this time, so she had patiently gotten the whole story out of him and he had finally explained.

“I can’t forgive Miyano for what he said.”

“What was that?”

“That Nee-chan isn’t really part of my family since she’s a Youkai! That’s what he said!! I can’t forgive him even if he was joking!!”

“Oh.”

The Zashiki Warashi and Shinobu’s mother had exchanged bitter looks.

It had been well known within Noukotsu Village that a beautiful Zashiki Warashi lived in the Jinnai house. And with the exception of Shinobu and his childhood friend Nagisa, she had refused to show herself in front of the brats that made a fuss about seeing her out of pure curiosity.

The rest had been the standard fare.

Shinobu had seen nothing wrong with talking about how she would take baths with him and sleep in his futon, so the other boy must have been jealous. It was a variant on how young boys would sometimes tease the girl they liked.

“I won’t forgive anyone who insults Nee-chan! I’ll protect her!!”

They understood the situation now, but they could not ignore the fact that he had raised a hand against his classmate. His grandfather had ultimately grabbed him by the collar and chucked him into the shed out front. The boy normally flailed around and made a fuss, but this time he had only puffed out his cheeks and accepted his punishment without speaking a word.

After locking the shed, his father had smiled bitterly at the boy’s behavior.

He had waved his hand around a little and looked down at the bite mark on his arm.

“That snot-nosed brat has got some fight in him now.”

“Of course he does. He’s your son and my grandson.”

Halfway through the night, as young Shinobu had leaned against the dusty shed’s wall with nothing to do, he had heard something moving. He had looked over and seen his overall small grandmother’s face poke out.

“Shinobu, Shinobu.”

“Oh, gramma! ..Hm? How did you get in here?”

“I’ve learned a lot of secrets in my long life. But more importantly, you must be hungry. I made you some rice balls.”

“Sigh. Living a long life must be convenient. Nee-chan got in here sometime too!”

“Oh?”

His grandmother had looked down and seen the sleeping Zashiki Warashi in a red yukata curled up like a cat at the boy’s feet. He had stroked a hand through her long black hair.

“She was playing with me earlier, but she must have gotten tired.”

“Is that so? Then try not to wake her, Shinobu.”

His grandmother had smiled as she objectively analyzed the situation.

It had looked like the Youkai had snuck inside to comfort Shinobu, but it had probably been the exact opposite. Shinobu had gotten into a fight over her, so she had been worried that she had become a burden to him. She had likely come to ask him about it, realized there was nothing to worry about, and then relaxed in relief.

Simply put, she had the thought processes of a young girl despite having lived for centuries.

“Shinobu, you like salmon rice balls, don’t you? There are plenty of them, so eat up.”

“Huh? But should I really be eating rice balls when I’m being punished?”

“That male reasoning doesn’t matter. I think it would be much more shameful if you didn’t feel any anger when someone made fun of someone who lives with you.”

“Yeah!”

“But make no mistake. Your anger may have been right, but that doesn’t make up for hitting your friend. I used to be known as Wild Kaguya of the Inland Sea, but that was because I got that part wrong. Everyone feels pain if you hit them and that’s true for human and Youkai alike. It doesn’t matter if the wound is large or small. That doesn’t relieve the pain and fear they feel.”

“..”

Young Shinobu had given a troubled look with the triangular rice ball in both hands.

After some silence, he had lifted the rice ball to his mouth and spoken.

“I’ll go apologize to Miyano tomorrow morning.”

“Yes. You do that.”

His grandmother had rubbed his head and he had bitten into the rice ball with a huge smile on his face.

Then he had spoken to her again.

“But I wasn’t wrong. Nee-chan really is part of our family!”

“..”

“Gramma?”

“I’m sorry, Shinobu, but I’d sworn I wouldn’t lie to you. I just don’t like the idea of ‘kind lies’.”

It may have been the apologetic tone to her voice that had stabbed so sharply into his young heart. Rather than a glistening knife forcefully stabbing into him, it may have felt more like a plastic straw pressed against the center of his chest until it pierced through.

His face had visibly clouded over, but his grandmother had continued with a smile.

“Shinobu? Do you think the two of us are family?”

“What are you talking about? Of course we are!”

“I see. Thank you. But the thing is, I wasn’t part of the Jinnai family when I was born. Do you remember your aunt’s house in Setouchi? That’s where you had so much fun after seeing the ocean for the first time. The truth is, that was where I was born.”

“Hm? Hmm???”

“Ha ha ha. In other words, even if you aren’t family to begin with, there’s a way to become family.”

“What’s that? How do you do it?”

She had rubbed his head and answered his innocent question.

“It’s simple. If you and the Zashiki Warashi get married, no one can say you aren’t family.”

After eating so many rice balls, Shinobu had been overcome by sleepiness too. His well-prepared grandmother had held out a bottle of water and his tooth brush, so he had brushed his teeth, wrapped his arms around the Zashiki Warashi who had gone to sleep ahead of time in accordance with her “usual habit”, and drifted off to sleep.

Finally, after Shinobu had set sail for the world of dreams and his grandmother had left the shed, the Zashiki Warashi in the red yukata had lifted her eyelids just a little. She had gently wrapped her arms around young Shinobu and breathed a quiet sigh as she thought back on the previous conversation.

Finally, she had spoken a few words.

“Honestly. You didn’t need to tell him that.”