"I'm not going back! There's no way I'm returning!"
Marie was clinging to the waist of Leon, who was clinging to a pillar of the house, trying to pry him away.
"I keep telling you, we don't have time, you idiot Bro!"
Even though she had to drag him back quickly, Leon was resisting just like a child.
"Who are you calling an idiot, you trash little sister?!"
"Oh, you said it!"
Watching the two of them start fighting, Angie, together with Livia, was utterly bewildered.
"What on earth is going on?"
"I-I don't know either."
Just when they thought they'd found Leon, for some reason he kept insisting he didn't want to come back.
Despite their confusion, the two of them began trying to persuade Leon.
"Leon, let's hurry back. Noel is buying us time, but I don't know how long it'll hold."
"Th-that's right! Everyone is worried about you!"
But no matter how much the two of them tried to persuade him, Leon would not change his mind.
"No way. I've already gone through more than enough hardship! I just want to relax here now!"
Marie let go of Leon, who was clinging to the pillar, and kicked him in the rear.
"I just told you, if we don't go back right now we won't make it in time!"
While Marie was in a panic, Leon was genuinely refusing.
"You, do you have any idea how much I've suffered? I'm done with hardship! Do you have any idea how many lifetimes' worth of suffering I've gone through?"
He really looked — like he wanted to die.
That was painful for Angie.
"Leon, do you — do you not want to come home with us? Do you not want to spend time together with us?"
Angie lowered her head and tears spilled out.
Leon awkwardly averted his gaze.
Livia told Leon,
"Leon-san, the battle is already over. I'm not saying you won't have any more hardships from now on, but surely things will be easier than before."
Even so, Leon's feelings didn't change.
If anything, he was smiling.
"You heard everything from Marie, right? I was treating you all like characters from a game. I approached you two because you were beautiful. I kept blaming Marie all this time, but in the end I was no different. Since I knew about you both, you could say I was just able to capture you easily."
Watching Leon play the role of an unpleasant guy, Livia shook her head.
"Leon-san isn't that kind of person. After all, you're the kind of person who would rather laze around alone than save us, right? When you approached us too, it was when we were in trouble."
Leon turned his face away from Livia's gaze.
"— People are easier to fool when they're weak, that's all. Thanks to that, I managed to make you both mine."
Angie clung to that Leon.
"Even so, that's fine with me! So — please come back. Without you, my life has no meaning. A life without you —"
While Leon was at a loss, his parents poked their faces in from the kitchen, their faces twitching.
His mother was utterly appalled.
"Having multiple wives — that was unexpected."
His father was glaring at Leon.
"I'm jeal— I mean, what a despicable son. Truly unforgivable."
"Dear, we'll be having a talk later, okay?"
"Eh?!"
His mother came over and said to Angie and the others,
"Well, when Leon digs his heels in it takes a while, so why don't the three of you rest for a bit?"
And so, the four of them and the one cat moved to the living room and gathered around the kotatsu.
◇
Livia went to the kitchen to get some tea.
There, Leon's mother, who had prepared the tea, said to her,
"How is my grandchild — is Erika doing well?"
"Eh? Erika — sama?"
Surprised at Erika's name coming up, Livia watched the mother giggle.
"I suppose she's a princess now? She's had a hard life, so I want her to be happy. But that child is rather difficult too. She's shy and doesn't really express her feelings."
"I-I see."
"Leon and Marie both doted on Erika, didn't they?"
"Yes. They did — so very much."
It had been so strange to watch that Livia found herself accepting it.
"I knew it! I thought that's what she'd do. — Hah, but it's worse than I expected, so as a parent I worry."
Hearing that, she understood.
(So that's why Leon-san was so kind to Erika-sama?)
His mother glanced at Leon and Marie, who were making a racket in the living room.
"I thought it would be fine with those two around, but Leon is no good either. He's still the type who spoils people rotten, and Marie still ruins men just as before."
Perhaps because she was their mother, she understood the two of their personalities well.
"U-um! I'm engaged to Leon-san. I want him to come back. I want to live together — to live with him longer!"
Trying somehow to gain the mother's help, Livia conveyed her honest feelings.
Before the mother could say anything, the father in the living room poked his face into the kitchen.
"Mother, an alternate world where an idiot son and an idiot daughter can marry multiple people is wonder— I mean, amazing! Maybe I'll get reincarnated too!"
The mother was laughing.
"Truly your father's child. It's a harem, isn't it? Even though their father could never manage one."
Having received the snipe, the father put his hand to his chin and tried to clear up the misunderstanding.
"You don't get it, mother. A harem is when a man keeps women around him. Being surrounded by women isn't a harem. Women wouldn't understand the difference~. Aaah, I want to be surrounded by women and live like a kept man too."
"I don't care. Besides, you don't even work anymore, do you?"
Seeing the mother's smile vanish, the father fled back to the living room.
While Livia was at a loss, the mother let out a small sigh.
"Well, you don't need to worry. The proper escort came too, so Leon will go back."
"But Leon-san said he doesn't want to come back. — Perhaps he's already given up on us."
He was shouldering too much by himself.
What if Leon doesn't come back? Livia couldn't shake the unease.
"That child is shy. The truth is, he's happy that you came for him, but he doesn't want it to show. Besides, the reason he doesn't want to come back is something else."
"Eh? What do you mean by that?"
The mother took Livia and headed for the living room.
"Shall we head back too? I'm glad I could see those children after so long. Over there they seem energetic — well, too energetic actually, but it seems they were able to meet up with Erika safely."
Livia felt something off about that phrasing, but because the mother briskly headed for the living room, she couldn't ask for details.
It seemed she had no intention of saying more, so Livia didn't press further.
◇
It was so pathetic that tears would — no, they won't come.
I, who'd lived for forty years counting my previous life, was now being lectured by Mom in the afterlife.
"To begin with, are you in a position to make fun of others? You got mad at someone else for cheating, and yet you yourself have three wives? What is that supposed to mean? Mother was embarrassed just watching."
Sitting in seiza, to my right was a blackish cat with red eyes.
Dad was also nodding deeply at Mom's lecture, over and over.
"What an enviable bastard. And yet he doesn't want to come back — he must be hiding something. You've got some guilty conscience, don't you?"
"I don't."
"Mother! Leon's hiding something!"
— What should I do, I want to punch the dad I finally reunited with.
But Mom got angry that I was looking away.
"Are you listening to me?"
"Y-yes!"
"Are you really sorry?"
Mom's lecture started again, and I bowed my head.
"Well, I'm — sorry about various things."
"But you don't regret it, do you?"
"Yeah."
"I knew it, you idiot son! More importantly, you have such devoted girls and yet you don't even want to come back to life — what a luxury."
"Even I didn't see this coming!"
When I lifted my head and nodded, the smiling Mom gave me a light chop.
Angie was flustered.
"U-um, mother-in-law, that's enough now. I-I, if Leon comes back, I have nothing else to ask for. Leon has his position, so having relationships with multiple women is unavoidable, I think."
She was following up for me, but then Dad cut in.
"Different cultures are the best! If Dad had reincarnated to another world, it'd surely have been a harem!"
I don't think so.
Marie must have agreed with me, because she was looking at Dad with utterly appalled eyes.
Mom put on a serious expression.
"You have three wives, and you don't want to go back? What's that about? Mother is sad that her son is such a coward. Just because you don't return, three people are going to grieve. Do you understand that?"
When I bowed my head and looked away, the cat climbed onto my lap.
"So you understand, huh. You've got a tough-looking face but you're actually a sweet gu— guh?!"
The cat extended its front paws to my face and attacked with claws bared.
This guy is not cute at all!
"You damn caaaat!"
When I grabbed it by the scruff and tried to throw it, the cat quickly fled.
Whether it was angry, its fur was bristling.
"What, you wanna go?"
When I took a stance, I got another chop from Mom.
"You idiot son!"
"This idiot son is your son too, you know!"
When I shot back, Dad averted his gaze and muttered,
"Honestly, the only normal one in our family is Erika."
That's really true.
She really grew up straight and proper.
Mom was worrying about Erika.
"That child grew up watching Marie, so she never says anything selfish. There were times when that was a bad thing, but if she's happy now, then that's good. She even took care of us in our old age. So! You'd better go back right away and treasure Erika. You unfilial child, dying before your parents!"
"That wasn't my fault!"
"It's your fault for pulling two all-nighters playing games even as an adult working in society!"
— What do I do, I can't argue back.
While I was being scolded, beside me Marie was averting her face while sweating.
Mom looked toward Marie.
"Marie."
"Y-yes!"
"— Every single one of you, don't go rushing to your death over misunderstandings. And also, I forgave you a long time ago, so don't worry about it."
Marie's tears spilled down.
"Mooooom!"
As Marie clung to Mom and cried, Dad was fidgeting, as if wondering whether his turn was next.
He doesn't need to, he should just sit there.
But because it was pitiful, I spread my arms wide.
"Want me to hug you?"
Dad's eyes were utterly cold.
"— I won't be happy being hugged by my son."
What an honest dad.
Mom embraced Marie and stroked her head.
"Honestly, no matter how old you get, you're a foolish child."
Long ago, Marie had good grades and was trusted by our parents more than I was.
I'd felt a little sad about that.
It's always Marie who gets doted on.
"It really pays to be good at putting on a cute face, huh."
When I said that, Dad sat down beside me.
"Don't get jealous of your little sister. Besides, I already knew Marie was just putting on an act."
"Eh?! No way. Dad, you were always fawning over Marie!"
"Because she's cute. Besides, you wouldn't want me fawning over my son, would you?"
"You trusted Marie more than me!"
"— You, put your hand on your chest and think about what you've done up till now. Did you forget what you did in elementary school?"
I'm not in the wrong!
I warned those bad kids many times and they wouldn't stop, so I just dealt with them and their crappy teachers legally!
But Dad was completely appalled.
"You're not as normal as you think you are. What's with calling yourself a 'mob'? There's no such mob."
He knows that I usually call myself a mob?
"Wait, were you watching me all this time?"
"Hm? No, that's not it. From your acquaintances I heard various— oops, it's almost time."
The cat leaped onto my right shoulder and clung to my head with its claws.
It also bit me, seeming to hurry me along.
"That hurts! Stop it! — Y-you?!"
Before I could point it out, Marie, who had stood up, grabbed my arm.
"You really won't be able to go back! Come on, hurry up!"
Angie and Livia also stood up, clung to me, and forcibly tried to drag me along.
"Let's go! I can't bear a life without you! If you insist on staying, then I'll stay here too!"
"No, that's no good! Angie will die!"
I can't allow that. I want them both to live.
Livia, who had lost patience with my attitude, also used herself as a shield to threaten me.
"Then I'll stay too. We could all three live happily here, couldn't we? — I promised I'd absolutely never let go, didn't I? — I'm serious, you know."
This slightly yandere feeling — that's exactly Livia.
I was carried by the three of them out of the house.
Just imagine being captured like prey by three women.
— What is this?
"This makes me look just like prey!"
While I was complaining, Marie was waving at my parents, who had come out in front of the house.
"See you again!"
That phrase, "see you again" — ah, just as I thought.
Angie gave my parents her farewells.
"I apologize for the rush. But, I will make sure to make your son happy!"
Livia, imitating Angie, also greeted them.
"I-I — I want to be happy with Leon-san. So, please give me your son! I-I'll be taking him!"
Aren't those greetings way too manly for both of them?
Those are usually lines a man would say.
While I was being carried away, my parents were waving.
I watched them until they disappeared from sight, and before I knew it we were approaching the gate.
Marie made a fuss looking at the gate.
"Hurry! If we don't close the gate soon, it'll be terrible!"
The three of them set me down and immediately tried to go through the gate.
Nothing could be seen on the other side of the gate.
I instinctively understood that if I took even one step outside, I wouldn't be able to come back.
Angie and Livia set me down, grabbed my hands, and tried to run through the gate.
"Leon, hurry!"
"Everyone is waiting!"
I embraced the two of them and whispered in their ears.
"Thank you for coming for someone like me. — But, this is goodbye."
"Eh?" "U-um?"
While the two were surprised, I pushed them through the gate, and they vanished into the darkness.
Livia reached out a hand, and I watched her stunned face and hand until they disappeared from view.
Marie, who hadn't heard our conversation, was angry, wondering what I was doing.
"Hurry up! I told you we don't have time, didn't I?"
But, Marie wasn't trying to go through the gate.
She was urging me on.
"You too, Bro, hurry!"
"— You go first."
"Hah? Why are you getting cold feet at a time like this?! You're a man, so at a time like this you should be the first to dive in. Sending the girl first to test it out — what kind of man does that?"
Marie, who was provoking me, wouldn't look me in the eyes.
This girl is easy to read.
"That's wrong. At a time like this, the man stays behind in silence, right?"
I forcibly grabbed Marie and threw her out through the gate.
Marie was first stunned, then her face turned to despair.
"What are you doing?! I — I was going to close the gate from the inside!"
I knew it'd be something like that.
Struggling not to be swallowed by the darkness, Marie reached out a hand to me.
"Bro, you have to live! Because — because I killed you! So this time —!"
So she was worried about that?
"Idiot. Like hell I'd let a little sister save her brother. I don't want to do something that uncool. Hurry and go. And — I forgave you a long time ago."
When I pushed Marie's forehead with my hand to keep her from being swallowed, she disappeared while sobbing loudly.
"I hate yo— Bro—!"
Risking her life to save me — Marie does have a cute side after all.
"Well then, only you are left."
I turned around to face the cat that had been watching the situation.
"The gate that separates the dead from the living — when you close it, usually some living person is sacrificed, isn't that the theory? Only we are left — Luxion."
When I called out, the dark-grey cat shifted its form back into a spherical body, floated up, and turned its single eye toward me.
His usual Luxion form.
[So you'd noticed.]
"Of course I'd notice. That hurt, you know."
Facing the gate, I faced Luxion.
"— You go back too. With you there, Livia, Angie — and Noel will be safe. I won't have anything to worry about."
If Luxion is there, he'll surely protect everyone.
I'm not what's important.
What matters is the cheat item Luxion.
But Luxion refused my order.
[Unfortunately, I refuse. My Master Leon has died, and his Master registration has been deregistered.]
"— What are you trying to do?"
Luxion looked toward the other side of the gate.
[Master, do you know what I was fighting for?]
"That'd be the New Humanity —"
[Such things don't matter. No — they've ceased to matter.]
Luxion, who had been so obsessed with the New Humanity, was appealing to me as he looked at me.
[I wanted Master to live. That's what I was fighting for.]
Luxion was speaking his true feelings to me.
[Master, it's time for farewell.]