chapter4 · 071-ep71

Episode 71: While I'm at It

"..."

No.

What kind of present is that!?

I looked back and forth between the black entrance by the wall and Haruto's satisfied face.

"This is a Gate, right?"

"Yep."

"I can see that much."

I'd been through a few. I wasn't about to mistake one for something else.

Its shape and size were almost exactly like the others I'd seen.

Which was why I couldn't make sense of it.

"Why'd you make a Gate in my room?"

"It's a present."

"You told me that part already."

Don't think calling something a present makes everything okay.

Normally, making a Gate in somebody's room out of nowhere would definitely get you yelled at.

"What kind of Gate is this?"

"An ordinary Gate."

"Ordinary?"

"There's a dungeon inside, and monsters too."

"..."

Wait. That means...

"Can I go in through here?"

"Sure."

"Whenever I want?"

"Whenever you want."

"Even by myself?"

"Of course."

Seriously?

I looked at the Gate again.

The black entrance was still floating beside the wall, just as it had been.

Up until now, I'd only been able to enter Gates on the expedition or during that business with Kanzaki.

They weren't something I could just enter whenever I felt like it.

Hell, even today, I'd been pretty drawn to the idea of getting into government-managed Gates once I had the national certification.

And yet.

"...I got a Gate before I even got certified."

"Good for you."

"Is 'good for you' really enough to cover this?"

I wouldn't even have to go to a government Gate.

There was one in my room.

I could wake up and go straight in, or come home from school and head right inside.

...No.

Wasn't this ridiculously convenient?

"By the way, is it going to stay here forever?"

"Yep."

"Can it be removed?"

"I can remove it."

So he could.

The Gate Administrator, all right.

Then if it ever got in the way, I could ask him to get rid of—

No.

Get rid of it?

Of something like this?

"...Nah, it'd be a waste to remove it."

"Then leave it there?"

"I'd like to, but..."

I looked at the Gate.

That wasn't the problem.

"What if Mom and the others find it?"

"Would that be bad?"

"It'd be a hassle, obviously."

If someone walked into my room and saw a Gate that hadn't been there yesterday, they'd definitely ask questions.

A friend gave it to me.

That friend is a middle schooler.

And he came in through my second-floor window.

...Yeah.

I absolutely did not want to explain that.

I looked around for some way to hide it, and my eyes landed on the big poster on the wall.

"Hey. Could you put it behind that poster?"

"Behind it?"

"Yeah. Could you set the Gate into the wall so I can cover it with the poster?"

"I can."

"Then please do."

"Okay."

Haruto held out his hand toward the Gate.

The black entrance, which had been floating a little way in front of the wall, slowly moved back until it sat flush against it.

"Whoa..."

What the heck?

Now it really did look like a Gate was part of the wall.

I had Haruto adjust its position a little and put the poster back.

Invisible.

It just looked like my usual wall.

Lift a corner of the poster, and there was a Gate behind it.

...Kind of like a secret door. I liked that.

"This should work."

"Then it's done."

"Thanks. Seriously, this helps a ton."

Actually, was a simple 'thanks' enough for something like this?

I didn't have anything I could give him in return.

"Well, now that I've given you your present—"

"Oh, right."

Haruto, who'd been about to leave, turned to Mizuki this time.

"Come on, Mizuki, give him something too."

"Ugh, again?"

"Of course. You've given the other Observers something. It'd be mean not to give him anything."

"You're the one who decided that on your own, Haruto."

"But you have given them something every time."

"Because you tell me to every time."

Mizuki looked openly put out.

I see.

Haruto had said he'd gone to see other Observers. Did they do this on every visit?

"Hey, I've already gotten plenty. You don't have to give me anything."

"See?"

"But the Gate's from me."

"There's no rule that says I need one present from each of you."

"No, there isn't."

So there wasn't.

Then I really was fine. The Gate alone was more than enough.

"...Well, all right."

Mizuki let out a little breath.

"Really?"

"You're stubborn about things like this, Haruto."

True.

I'd only met him today, but somehow I could tell.

"So, what do you want?"

"What do you mean?"

"A Skill."

"...A Skill?"

"I'm an Artificer. I can make Skills."

So that was her ability after all.

I'd had a vague guess from the name, but it really was that straightforward.

"And you can give them to people?"

"Yeah. Is there something you want?"

"A Skill I want..."

What would that be?

Put on the spot, I couldn't think of one.

There were any number of things I wanted, but choosing just one was hard.

"Then tell me this," Mizuki said after thinking for a moment.

"When are you happiest?"

"Happiest?"

"Since becoming an Awakener, I mean."

"In that case..."

I thought for a moment and said the first thing that came to mind.

"When I unlock an Achievement, I guess."

"An Achievement?"

"Yeah. Especially a world first."

Seeing that world-first notification felt amazing.

Not only had I been the first to unlock an Achievement nobody else had, I got an extra reward on top of it.

"Okay. I've got it."

"Already?"

"A Skill that tells you whether anyone's unlocked an Achievement yet."

"...Huh?"

"When you look at an Achievement, you'll know if no one's unlocked it yet."

Wait.

Did that mean...?

"I can tell which Achievements still have a world first up for grabs before I try to unlock them?"

"That's right."

"I'll take it."

"That was quick."

"I definitely want that."

To me, it'd be way more valuable than some random combat Skill.

I'd always been able to check Achievements and their conditions.

But I couldn't tell whether somebody else had already completed one.

If I knew in advance, I could start with ones that still had a world first to claim.

"Okay, I'll make it."

Mizuki pointed her hand toward me.

"Hold still."

"Got it."

A faint light gathered around her hand, then flew toward me.

The moment it touched my body, it vanished as though it had been absorbed.

Right afterward.

【Skill Acquired】

【Achievement Inquiry】

【Allows you to check whether a displayed Achievement remains uncompleted at present】

"Whoa..."

It really had appeared.

"Why don't you try it?"

"I will."

I immediately opened my achievement list, picked one at random, and tested it.

【Completed】

"...It tells me."

I couldn't see who'd done it.

But I could tell that someone already had.

This thing.

It was seriously useful.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

A Gate from Haruto.

A Skill from Mizuki.

Hadn't I received way too much today?

"Well, we should probably get going," Haruto said, heading for the window before stopping halfway.

"Oh."

"What is it this time?"

"I just realized I never asked your name."

"Now you ask...? Actually, you're right."

We'd been talking so naturally that I'd forgotten too.

After everything they'd done for me, it'd be weird not to introduce myself.

And I was the only one who knew their names.

"Himuro Ren. First year of high school."

Haruto gave me a bright smile.

"Then it's nice to meet you properly, Ren."

"Yeah. You too."

"Nice to meet you, Himuro-san."

"You too, Mizuki."

We'd done things completely out of order, but we'd finally introduced ourselves.

"See you again."

"You're leaving through the window too?"

"It's faster that way."

"Well, do whatever you want."

They'd come in through the window to begin with. I couldn't even be bothered to stop them anymore.

"We'll come back."

"Use the front door next time."

"If I remember."

"That's the part you're supposed to remember."

Mizuki went out the window first, and Haruto followed.

"See you, Ren."

"Yeah. Later."

The two of them descended outside the window, one step at a time as if walking down stairs, until they reached the ground.

Seriously, how did they make those footholds?

Then again, they'd already made a Gate and created a Skill.

"Invisible footholds aren't exactly beyond them."

In the space of a few dozen minutes, all sorts of things I took for granted had been turned upside down.

I shut the window and pulled the curtains back into place.

"Phew..."

The room went quiet all at once.

It looked like my usual room again. You'd never think two middle schoolers had just been here.

Still—

"They weren't bad kids."

They were Awakeners who'd broadcast all that stuff about Observers and Achievements to everyone, and one of them could even create Gates.

I was really glad they didn't seem to have some deranged plan to conquer the world or wipe out everyone who wasn't an Awakener.

As a fellow Observer, I felt like we could get along for now.

Well, that aside.

I looked at the big poster on the wall.

Then I lifted one edge and peered at the black entrance embedded in the wall behind it.

A Gate.

"..."

Haruto had said I could go in whenever I wanted.

I checked the time on my phone.

"It's only ten."

A little early to go to bed.

"...While I'm at it, why not take a quick look inside?"

I mean, there was a Gate in my room.

I ought to check at least once whether the inside was really safe.

...It wasn't that I just wanted to go in.

This was an inspection. An inspection.