Foreword: I… may have started playing Honkai Star Rail. So… uh… yeah. Oops?
Anyways, there's a pretty long Afterword section at the end, and this feels like one of those episodes where people do a lot of talking, so I'll try to finish up here really fast. As you might have noticed, we now have art! For the story! It was drawn by hyperiondaylily, who's done some genuinely fantastic pieces (whomst I recommend checking out on Twitter if you're interested). I'm super honored and happy to have art for the story, so big thanks to them!
Alright, that's everything. Here's the chapter. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 11
That's why, in the end, this is his only answer.
"Hikigaya." A voice made me look up from the ground, and my eyes met Deimne's as his head poked out from the doorway, followed by the rest of his body emerging.
The two of us were currently in the hallway outside of Twilight Manor's dining hall, which had been turned into a temporary command post. I had been sitting next to the entrance, waiting for Hermes to arrive and doing my best to blend into the background of people rushing in and out of the room delivering status updates to Deimne, who was doing whatever a familia captain normally did in times of crisis.
"Hermes is almost here. The meeting's about to start." I nodded in acknowledgement, shifting from my position to walk into the room, pausing only when I realized that Deimne hadn't finished talking. "We've just received information about all of the people at Dian Cecht Familia's pharmacy right now. Maris Hackard is projected to make a full recovery without any problems."
Hackard would be alright. At that, I felt some tension ease off of my shoulders. Hackard's situation hadn't been clear–I knew that Loki Familia had healed her and shipped her off to Dian Cecht Familia, Deimne had told me that, but I hadn't seen her since returning to Twilight Manor and talking to Deimne about the situation. But she would be alright.
With that out of the way, I made to start moving.
But Deimne hadn't finished.
He stared at me with a surprisingly earnest gaze that stopped me in my tracks. "... Hikigaya. I never said it back then, but I'll say it now. Thank you for listening to my unreasonable request."
"No need to thank me." The words that came out from his mouth should've been high praise, but I didn't need it.
After all, in the end everything had evened out; Hackard had received prompt medical attention, which I hadn't been able to provide, while I had investigated something Deimne hadn't been able to follow up on. We had filled in for one another's blind spots, and that was that.
The pallum paused. "Even so… placing the life of your friend in someone else's hands and accepting their request takes a lot of trust. More trust then what I had given you."
I couldn't tell where Deimne was going. Something as abstract and nonsensical as "trust" had never been part of the equation between us. The situation had been a simple comparison of what we could or couldn't do, and our interests had happened to align, along with our respective strengths and weaknesses.
Trust implied closeness, and it implied the idea of betrayal–neither of which were possibilities between the two of us.
Was he concerned that he might owe me a favor, or that I might hold things over his head? That wasn't out of the question, but Deimne was a logical person. There was no dispute as to the nature of the transaction between the two of us.
"That doesn't matter." I shook my head.
After all, it wasn't like I had followed after Evilus simply because Deimne asked me to. Deimne had promised that Hackard would be safe, and I had my own reasons as well. No matter how you looked at it, it wasn't a matter of trust.
"... If you say so." Deimne nodded slowly, before turning around and heading into the room. I followed behind him.
As I walked in, I automatically recognized well over half of the people sitting at the table in the center of the room. Loki was now the one adopting the Gendo Ikari pose, back hunched over and fingers interlaced as she glared at the other side. Next to her, Alf and Landrock seemed calm and serene, though part of the dwarf's head and body were covered in bandages that said enough about the fight he had been through. Wallenstein sat at the very end of the lineup, eyes staring intensely at a fixed point somewhere on the wall. Loga and the Hiryutes were absent.
On the other side, Hermes gave a carefree smile as he idly twirled the hat in front of him, while next to him, Andromeda looked as if she was currently undergoing a migraine and Louie was shaking in her seat. Hackard wasn't present, but that was expected.
But Loki and Hermes Familia weren't the only two groups in the room. On a third side of the table, there was a blonde man dressed like an aristocrat, cravat and all, calmly sipping from a glass of wine while a black-haired elf with red eyes stood behind and to his right. From the bishounen aura that was radiating off of him, it wasn't hard to tell that he was a god, while the elf… I recognized her.
Filvis Challia. Alias: Maenad. Level 2. Nickname: Banshee, the party-killing elf.
Among the adventurers of Rivira, there were a few unspoken rules. One of them was this: "If you value your life, don't party up with Filvis Challia." It was common knowledge that every single person who had partnered up with the elf had died a gruesome death. I had actually seen one of the few times the elf had returned from such an incident, covered in blood and looking like a living corpse.
And if it was Challia, then the god next to her that she was with and the faction they were representing must've been…
Dionysus Familia. Rank: D. Type: Dungeon Exploration. Members: 80-something. Majority of members were either Level 1 or 2, including the elf in front of me. Highest cleared floor: 28th. Number of floor bosses cleared: 6.
It sat comfortably in the upper half of Orario's middle-line familias, but compared to the S-ranked Loki Familia, they weren't anything worth mentioning… but neither was the supposedly F-ranked Hermes Familia, which was currently at the table right now. Dionysus and Challia must've been involved with the situation, one way or the other.
I scanned the room, but there was no trace of a figure covered in a pitch-black cloak. Fels hadn't shown up, but I hadn't expected them to. It was possible that they were just invisible, but with 3 Level 6s at the table, it seemed unlikely that they'd go unnoticed. They probably hadn't come.
As we walked up to the table, Hermes gave a jaunty little wave, while Andromeda nodded curtly at me as I sat down next to them. Deimne, on the other hand, walked to his spot at the center of Loki Familia's side and placed his hands on the table.
"Alright. Let's get started, shall we?"
~~This is a Line Break~~
–6 hours after the battle.
At the center of where the incident had occurred, 3 separate familias from extremely different parts of Orario met up to discuss the current events and exchange information about the situation.
Or, rather, that's what it looked like before the meeting actually started.
"Actually, Loki, if you don't mind telling us–"
"Before we start, I'd just like to ask–"
As Deimne began to talk, Loki jumped up, suspicion clear in her features as she dramatically swung her finger at the opposing side.
"–why is Dionysus Familia here?"
"–how the hell are you involved with the situation, huh?"
Their questions rang out at the same time, echoing through the room simultaneously. Deimne's reserved voice was politely inquisitive while Loki didn't even bother with formalities, cutting straight to the center of things in her (near) trademark Kansai-ben.
"–Oh."
"–Ah."
Even their responses were synced together. There was a bit more staring between Deimne and Loki before Loki sighed and seemingly acquiesced.
"He's with us, and involved." Loki hooked a thumb at Dionysus confidently. "He knows about what's going on, so–"
"Wait, Loki. Allow me to say it." Dionysus held up a hand. His voice was smooth and rich, befitting his bishounen appearance. "It'll sound better coming out of my mouth, after all."
Even if his obvious ploy for trust was rather naive in its assumption that his honesty would endear either Loki or Hermes to him, he did sound completely sincere, at least. And Loki had technically vouched for him, meaning she had heard some sort of explanation from him already. It was possible that the Dionysus of this world was actually a kind and honest sort of god, but I could ask Hermes about it later.
"Like Loki, and if I'm correct, Hermes as well… I was also investigating the existence of the plant monsters." His gaze slowly swept around the room, examining each and every one of us in detail. If I had to guess, he was probably attempting to probe for a reaction of some kind, using the literal divine intuition he had. "A month ago, some of my children were killed."
And just like that, any semblance of humor that had existed in the room immediately disappeared.
On the other hand, it didn't seem as if any of us were the murderers–Dionysus hadn't focused on any of us in particular. Though he definitely could've just been hiding his reactions, there wasn't any point in not exposing the murderers here–not unless he believed both Loki Familia and Hermes Familia to be in alignment with the red-haired Tamer and their side. Which, given his current participation in the meeting, was unlikely.
"There's evidence that you can find if you ask the Guild, but the quick explanation is that the killer approached them directly and broke their necks–" he made a snapping sound with his fingers "–just like that. One of my children was Level 2, while the others were Level 1."
Which didn't say too much about the situation, all things considered. Since the enemy had at least 3 Level 5s and a Level 4, a single Level 2 wasn't going to be anything more than a minor roadblock to them. I probably could've done the same thing if I really wanted to.
"I launched my own investigation into why they had been killed, and in the midst of that, I was able to find something that pertained to the reasons behind their deaths." As he spoke, Dionysus reached into one of his pockets before pulling out an item and placing it down onto the table–an oddly-colored, familiar-looking Magic Stone. "I'm sure you all know what this is."
I recognized it, as did probably everyone else at the table. Andromeda's eyes widened noticeably, and I felt her gaze flick to me, lingering for a brief moment before it returned to the oddly-colored Magic Stone sitting in front of Dionysus.
"This was–" Dionysus's hand clenched tightly into a fist before he took a deep breath and slowly relaxed again. "This was found near the bodies of my children. And in investigating the monsters and their connection to the murders, I ended up heading into the sewers, where I met Loki, where we ended up agreeing to an alliance. Of course, I didn't think that we would be convening this soon, but…" he trailed off for a bit, glancing around the table. "... well, recent events forced my hand, I suppose."
"And there it is. Y'all can trust him," Loki said as she looked at the rest of us. She looked like she wanted to add the words "as far as you can throw him", but in the end, she ended up settling for a sigh as she sat down again. "... at least for now. As for you…" her next words seemed to be directed at my side of the table, and Hermes specifically. "What's your excuse, huh?"
Hermes had a smile on his face as he gave a vague shrug. "Welll… I can't claim to be the best at making excuses. Maybe it'll be better to you coming from Braver's mouth, instead?"
Deimne began to explain. Loki Familia's executives had been on their way to the Deep Floors, stopping by in Rivira for a quick exchange when they happened across the murder of Hashana Dorlia, a Level 4 adventurer. In looking for Dorlia's killer, they came into contact with Louie, who had been the holder of Hashana's package, and me, who Hermes had sent to back Louie up. We were then attacked by the red-haired Tamer, who had blended into Rivira's populace, leading an army of the plant monsters– Violas. After Deimne and Alf had driven her off and wiped out the rest of the Violas, we all made our way to the surface, where we had been in the process of meeting Fels, the quest's issuer–and then Twilight Manor was attacked.
"So, Loki, as you see…" Hermes's lips had curled into a sharp grin as Deimne recounted the events of the last 24 hours. "It's quite clear that my interest in this is just one of concern for my children, who were unjustly dragged in. Just like dear old Dionysus, hm?"
I didn't think it was even possible, but Loki's eyes narrowed even further as she projected raw killing intent at Hermes, who continued smiling back without even a change in expression. Dionysus, on the other hand, looked rather solemn and pensive, eyes fixated on the Magic Stone still on the table.
"... tch." But in the end, Loki broke the staredown and looked away from Hermes, leaning back into her chair. "Do what you want." She turned her eyes on Deimne. "Don't suppose you still have whatever it was they were after?"
Instead of responding, Deimne pulled out a bag and upending it over the table, scattering shards of transparent green crystal across the table's surface. "This is all we have left, I'm afraid. The creature in the orb escaped during the confusion, and we tried to recover what we could, but…" he shrugged helplessly.
I watched as across the table, Challia shuddered with disgust, while Wallenstein's gaze became unfocused as her hand reached out.
"Aiz." A quiet word from Alf stopped her in her tracks, causing Wallenstein to retract her hand as Deimne kept talking.
"–housed within it, but during the attack on the manor, it broke free and was promptly captured by the red-haired Tamer."
"... evis… " A whisper from Wallenstein had Deimne turning towards her.
"What did you say, Aiz?"
"That red-haired woman… her name is Revis." Her voice sounded soft but certain. "I… heard the man with the skull call her that before we started fighting."
"... Good to know." Deimne nodded. "I think it should go without a doubt that not only was the orb the focus of their attack, but that rather than securing the orb, they were more focused on obtaining the creature housed within it. Once the creature entered Revis's grasp, she was immediately called for a retreat, leaving only the monsters behind. And it's important to them–enough that they openly attacked us to attempt retrieving it."
Deimne was right. Few organizations had the resources to go up against Loki Familia, and even fewer were willing to oppose them. Whatever the orb was, it was enough to warrant what amounted to an open declaration of war on Loki Familia–and the rest of Orario.
There was a long silence in the room.
"How bad is it?" Next to me, Andromeda spoke out, glasses glinting in the light as she directed her gaze at Deimne, who sorted through the stack of papers at his side before pulling one out.
"Raul and Aki are in the hospital, as are Arcs, Cruz, Rakta, and most members of the 2nd string. Their injuries are serious, but for the time being–thanks to swift treatment–haven't been life-threatening." Loki Familia's 2nd-string… meaning their Level 3s and 4s. Nord and Autumn were still alive.
"But…" at this point, Deimne let out a breath. "Including Orba and Lloyd… Loki Familia's lost 14 members." Orba and Lloyd… I knew those names. They were in Loki Familia's 2nd-string as well–both of them Level 3.
Next to the pallum, I watched as Landrock closed his eyes and Alf let out a sigh. There was a moment of silence at the table before Deimne continued.
"In terms of broader casualties, we don't have a final count yet. Ganesha Familia is still cleaning up the aftermath, so I only have a preliminary report here. It's hard to say for now–I have the current numbers, but they're probably not the full picture. Right now, around 130 civilians were killed during the attack, with another 240 or so injured. 59 unrelated adventurers from assorted familias were also killed when they presumably encountered Evilus, along with 21 more wounded. The buildings along both sides of North Main were completely destroyed during a chain explosion–" at that, I watched as Louie winced from next to me, a look of regret crossing her face. "–but only a few people were caught in the explosion, so thankfully most of the costs are in financial terms."
"That's… significantly better than what I expected." Andromeda's voice carried a trace of surprise. "I would've thought that the casualties would've been much higher, especially since we were caught off guard."
"Yes." Deimne nodded. "The reduction in casualties is in large part due to Ganesha Familia. With their previous experience in dealing with Evilus as well as their increased strength compared to 5 years ago, the amount of casualties is well below half of what they could've been, especially with the element of surprise the enemy had. The civilians also knew enough to hide and stay out of Evilus's way despite the suddenness of the attack, which further reduced casualties as well. Aside from the adventurers and civilians who were in the enemy's path, it seems that their goal was entirely focused on retrieving the orb… unless I'm wrong?"
"I was Updating my children when the attack happened." Dionysus shook his head as he sighed, staring at the table. "I just had the familia bar the gates to our home's entrance and assume defensive positions. No attackers ever came, though, so you're most likely correct on that point."
"Well, you already know that Lulune-chan, Maris-chan, and Hikigaya's part in it, of course!" Hermes put on a winning smile as he gestured at both me and Louie, before turning towards Deimne. "And of course, I do have to thank you for your swift action, Braver. Without your fast thinking, I'm sure that Maris-chan's life would've been in danger–you have my gratitude." Sweeping his hat off of his head, Hermes bowed low towards Deimne, even as his smile thinned and his eyes glinted.
He was planning something. I wasn't sure what, but Hermes was probing Deimne, looking for something. All Deimne did was nod back, responding politely with how it was nothing, before the rest of us moved on.
"... Evilus, huh?" Loki rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Thought that bunch had already been sent back, though."
"From what I recall, I believe that the adventurer known as Gale Wind was responsible for their collective demise… especially after the 27th Floor Nightmare, no?" Dionysus offered as he looked at Deimne.
"While I can't say for sure as to whether or not they were completely destroyed back then, given the current state of things…" Deimne's voice sounded hesitant. "I can say for sure that after Gale Wind's rampage, only 1 or 2 reports of Evilus ever cropped up afterwards. Even if there were remnants, they shouldn't have been able to move at the level they did today." I'd have to talk to Lyon later. She would've already caught on to Evilus's appearance, and letting her know about the current situation would be better than keeping her out of it.
"And that's all thanks to those Tamers, you're saying… ?" Dionysus's eyes flicked towards the Magic Stone, still sitting on the table in front of Deimne, who nodded.
"The majority of the numbers against us were the Irregulars–both the Violas, which appeared during Monster Feria, as well as the Virgas, which we encountered during our most recent expedition." Deimne's explanation was met with raised eyebrows from everybody, Loki most of all.
"Woah woah woah, hold on. Yer saying you ran into those things in the Dungeon?!" Her voice was full of surprise.
Deimne only sighed. "Things have been too busy, so this is the first time you're hearing about it now, Loki, but yes. On our way to fulfilling Dian Cecht Familia's commission, we were attacked by those monsters–the Virgas–and pushed back to the 50th Floor. During that battle, Tione managed to acquire one of the creatures' Magic Stones, and it looked very similar to this one." He nodded in the direction of the Magic Stone on the table.
Similar Magic Stones–and the way both the Violas and Virgas had responded to the sheep-skulled Tamer's calls… I had heard of Taming before. It was a long, drawn-out process–and even then, tamed monsters wouldn't follow precise commands the way the Violas and Virgas had, acting in complete accordance with the man's orders.
I would've pinpointed it as Taming magic… but the red-haired Tamer, Revis, had done the same thing at Rivira, summoning the monsters that had been hiding with a signal. Tamed monsters simply couldn't do something like that–they would revert to their original nature if they weren't in the presence of the Tamer, which was why Ganesha Familia always had cages during Monster Feria. Something as complex as following verbal commands to the letter or waiting until a signal was triggered was impossible.
This was something different–most likely, something specific to those monsters alone. Was it possible that they had been spawned from the same source? It certainly seemed likely, especially with the strangely-colored Magic Stones that both of them possessed. Or maybe it was the strange Magic Stones that had allowed them to be commanded like that to begin with–or it could've been a magical item made by someone with the Developmental Ability of Enigma, like Andromeda.
There was no use thinking about it now. I turned my attention back to the meeting, just in time to catch the tail end of Deimne's conversation with Dionysus and Hermes, promising to give them whatever information Loki Familia had on the new monsters when they had the time.
"... !" As Deimne spoke, however, he seemed to suddenly realize something, eyebrows rising incredulously before he quickly smoothed out his expression and turned to his right. "Aiz. Do you remember that thing from the 50th?" At that, the blonde girl stiffened before nodding.
Ignoring Loki's grumble of "There's more? Of course there's more", Deimne continued to speak.
"Aside from the Virgas, we also encountered another creature when we were pushed back to the 50th Floor."
Wallenstein took over at this point, beginning her report of a monster that was more akin to a Monster Rex than a normal monster, with a female torso as its upper half and a Virga body as its lower half. Not only could it spit the Virgas' acid, but it could also deploy clouds of exploding pollen and, according to her, was adequately powerful in close-quarters combat as well.
It made sense, and lined up with my previous guess as well. If the creature in the crystal orb was indeed a "seed", as the red-haired Tamer had called it, then the "plant" that it would form through assimilation with bare flesh very well could've resembled whatever Loki Familia encountered on the 50th Floor. The creature had even tried to fling itself at Wallenstein at Twilight Manor.
Fels wasn't here, but they very clearly knew something about the orb. I'd have to ask if I saw them.
"–don't have too much information as of yet, but it's possible that if the enemy has both Violas and Virgas under their control that they might have another one of those things as well. Not to mention the high-Level Tamers at their disposal. But… that's not the main problem." There was a grimace on Deimne's face; his brows were creased in an uncharacteristically solemn expression. "... Valletta Grede was there."
The name wasn't familiar to me, but around the table, many stiffened. Both Alf and Andromeda's eyes were wide-open with shock, while Challia looked violently ill, like she had just been punched in the gut.
"For those who don't know, Valletta–alias, 'Arachnia'–was one of Evilus's main executives and their main strategist. She was one of the orchestrators behind Orario's dark age 15 years ago, and during that time, existed at the top of the Guild's blacklist." Deimne sighed. "I have no doubt that once the Guild is informed of her survival, she will once again return to the very top of that list."
Andromeda looked pale and vaguely queasy as she spoke. "I thought she died in the 27th Floor Nightmare. But… if that's the case…" the unspoken question lingered in the room, even as Andromeda trailed off. … was it possible for anyone else to fake their deaths?
"It's hard to say at this point in time. I only recognized Valletta–but it's possible that she might not be the only Evilus executive to have survived for all these years." At Deimne's words, Landrock shifted before clearing his throat and moving to speak.
"Haven't been idle, either. There was someone else pinning me down, during that battle. Blonde hair, wielding cleavers. Not Level 6, or even 5, but the lad was enough to stop me from moving carelessly with those vines snaking about the place. Never seen him before–and he's more than a match for Raul or Aki, I wager." He was talking about the blonde man who had been fighting him–the same person I had fought underground.
Though that only led to more questions. If even Landrock had recognized him as being equal to Nord or Autumn, how had I managed to escape? Even if he had been unarmed and had willingly taken injuries, he was still a Level 4. There was something more to it–another thing I'd have to revisit later.
"It's safe to assume that they've been recruiting, then." Andromeda's glasses flashed in the light as she pushed them up. "I assume that the Status Thief I provided has already been put to use?"
"Yes. With the prisoner that Hikigaya's acquired, we've managed to gain some more information about our enemy." Deimne's gaze swept around the room, focusing on Loki, Hermes, and Dionysus. "Does the name 'Thanatos' ring any bells?"
It sounded familiar–at least, more than Grede's name had. I had definitely come across the name before, back on Earth. A god of death under Hades, or something like that… had it been Saint Seiya? Or had it been another series? Well, it didn't matter all that much which show it was, so long as my guess was right. I was pretty sure it was Seiya, though.
Loki only shrugged in response to Deimne and everybody else's stares. "Don't know 'im. Not from mine."
Dionysus was the next to speak, hand rubbing at his chin. "The name is familiar, but I can't quite place it. I can say, for a fact, that he is one of ours, though."
Hermes continued to gaze up at the ceiling thoughtfully, leaving only silence in the room.
It didn't look like I had much of a choice but to talk. It wouldn't hurt to guess, at the least; maybe Dionysus or Hermes would be able to tell me if I was right or wrong.
"I think I've heard of the name before." As soon as I spoke, all eyes in the room snapped to me. "Thanatos is the god of death, right?"
"Nah. That'd be Hades." Loki was the quickest to respond. "And that old bastard's never bothered to come down here. Thinks he's too good for the rest of us and our 'mortal affairs'." She let out a "hmph" right after, clearly miffed.
"No, Hikigaya's right." It was Hermes that spoke this time, and he shot me a smile, even as Loki flipped around to glare daggers at him. "Old man Hades runs the Underworld, but Thanatos works under him–one of the gods of death, in charge of handling souls. I haven't seen him since I came down myself–that's why it took me a while. I was trying to remember when he came down, but I don't think I know. Must've been a while ago. I can tell you for a fact that he never made an official familia, though. Would've caught up with him otherwise."
"Thanatos Familia. Either they're a new addition to Evilus that joined in the past 5 years, or they're one of the holdovers that just never showed up until now. It's highly possible that other gods might have survived, or gone into hiding." Deimne scribbled something down on one of the parchments in front of him, before nodding. "Loki Familia will look into it."
"Hey hey hey, are you saying you don't trust me?" Hermes held up his hands, a tinge of mock-offense entering his voice. "Hermes Familia's good at finding information, don't you know?"
"That's exactly why I want you to focus on something even more important, Lord Hermes." Deimne gave Hermes a brief, reassuring smile before reverting back to his serious expression. "This meeting is to gather leads for information, yes–but I'd like you to focus on finding out who Evilus's current sponsors are. Because if I'm not wrong… they're most likely one of the top familias in Orario."
~~This is a Line Break~~
"So…" Hermes scratched at his head as he processed what Deimne had said. "... not only will I be investigating any familias B-Rank and up, but also just about any familia in Orario that might have the ability to acquire Inferno Stones? You weren't wrong, Braver. This really is something more important than just Thanatos Familia. I'll get it done. You have my word." With that, Hermes stood up and donned his hat, presumably about to leave the room and begin investigating.
"Hold yer horses for just a sec, Hermes." Loki's voice stopped him, though. "Finn ain't done yet. Yer gonna be missin' out if you leave right now. After all…" she turned her gaze over to Deimne, who hadn't moved. "You wanna know how they did it, right? –How they got the monsters onto the surface, that is." At her words, Hermes paused, before sitting back down in his chair.
"Yes." Deimne wasted no time. "Disregarding their origins for now, since there are no ways of investigating how they came to be–that still does not explain how the enemy was able to transport such a large number of them unnoticed to Orario's surface in such a short amount of time. There are 2 possibilities." The pallum held up one finger. "1) They already stockpiled monsters at some undisclosed location, and simply released them all at once, or–" another finger was ticked. "–2) They were able to successfully smuggle a large amount of monsters into Orario in a short amount of time. But regardless of either method, that would still require moving them out of the Dungeon."
I knew what Deimne was building his conclusion towards. We had discussed it when I had returned to Twilight Manor, prisoner in tow.
"Using the entrance at the Tower of Babel is out of the question. Even without Ganesha Familia's recent presence from Monster Feria, no one would be able to slip even one of those monsters past the Guild inspectors who are already there normally. For them to be able to move such a large amount without attracting any attention at all in the past 5 years… there's only one answer." Deimne paused for a moment before continuing. "There's another entrance to the Dungeon."
There was a moment of silence. I waited for the expressions of disbelief or shock that might've come from Deimne's statement, but there were none, only faces lined with grim resignation.
"Hikigaya." Deimne motioned at me, and I relayed my own experiences to the room: following Evilus into Daedalus Street, finding the secret entrance within an empty house, the underground base, and finally the fight and escape from Evilus's rearguarding forces, as well as the collapse of the tunnel that ensued.
"An underground base, eh…?" Loki mused thoughtfully, hand on her chin. "Might be worth looking into. Though that just leaves more questions than answers, as usual. Tch…" she clicked her tongue. "How much shit did those bastards get to under the table while we weren't noticin'?"
"More than we will ever know, I would suspect." Dionysus was the one to speak this time. "If the enemy truly resides in an underground base, then it must connect to the Dungeon. Hikigaya… right?" His eyes turned towards me. "You said that the Evilus members split into various groups upon entering Daedalus Street. That would imply the existence of multiple entrances and exits, all existing in that area, no?"
I nodded, and the blonde-haired god turned towards Deimne. "I am willing to assist in efforts to search the area. My children may not be high-Leveled, but please allow me to contribute in reinforcing your manpower."
The pallum nodded in response. "Since you offered, we'll be making use of your familia then, Lord Dionysus. We can discuss specifics later, but for now, I'd like to place priority on searching not only Daedalus Street, but the sewers as well. You mentioned that the Violas showed up there–we'll be needing your expertise to navigate the area. If I'm not wrong, there might be 1 or 2 entrances to the base there as well."
I would have to employ Spider's services, most likely. Neither Deimne nor Dionysus were bound to be familiar with Daedalus Street's layout, and I wasn't, either. Spider's abilities would be crucial to searching the area, most likely–even if he was conducting a search separately from their efforts.
"There's one last thing we need to discuss, then." At last, we had reached the end of the meeting. "The figure known as 'Fels', who was responsible for issuing the quest that involved securing the orb and delivering it to them–someone who works with the Guild."
"The Guild?!" At Deimne's words, Dionysus's eyes narrowed and he stiffened, leaning in towards the pallum.
"At least, that's what they say," Deimne responded. He shrugged. "I've only met them once, so I can't claim to have the best of reads on them. But I don't think they're lying, in this case."
"If they really are from the Guild…" Dionysus's expression had transformed. Where he had looked amicable and calm earlier, he now looked not only serious, but hostile. "I don't think–"
"Oi, Dionysus. Cool it." It was Loki's voice that cut through the other god's words. "I already said I'd look into it, yeah?"
"... very well." Dionysus closed his eyes and acquiesced, leaning back in his chair as he relaxed.
"Hey now, it wouldn't do us any good to suspect our own allies, right?" Hermes grinned as he spoke, and both gods turned to him, staring silently at him for a long while. I could almost hear both of them thinking Like you're one to talk.
It wasn't wrong to be suspicious of Fels. They had only appeared once under mysterious circumstances, claiming to work for some nebulous cause of good while dressed in a black cloak and covered from head-to-toe in black armor, sounding like they were talking through a fan. If there ever was a Generic Final Boss™, Fels would've fit the role perfectly.
Dionysus's distrust of the Guild, however, felt more personal than simply suspicion. I didn't have much to go on, but I felt pretty certain about that.
"In any case…" Deimne cleared his throat, continuing as the 3 gods fell silent. "It's clear that Fels is after the orb, which aligns them with us for now. Even if we're not clear where their real allegiances are, I think that at the very least, we should treat them as a temporary ally for the time being. If you're approached by them, at least do your best to hear them out and discuss it with us. It's better for us to approach any problems together as a group rather than being divided and vulnerable." The last sentence seemed to be directed at Dionysus, but Deimne pressed on without a change in demeanor.
"That's everything. Thank you all for coming. Meeting adjourned." At those words, the tense atmosphere seemed to lighten a little.
Dionysus was the first to move, standing up from his chair and solemnly bowing towards the group. "I must admit that having your support is reassuring, Braver. I look forward to working with you in the future. In the meantime, if I should chance upon anything else, I shall contact you." With that, he nodded and strode out of the room, Challia silently trailing behind him.
Hermes was the next to leave, springing to his feet as he dramatically donned his hat and tiped it at Deimne, like he was some sort of cowboy. "What he said. It's a pleasure, Braver. We'll be in touch~"
As he turned to leave, I followed, filing out of the room behind Andromeda and Louie. We walked through the ruined halls of Twilight Manor, past the fresh battlefield of the courtyard littered with smoke and rubble, before at last arriving onto the street.
"Whew! That was quite the meeting. I'm beat!" Hermes's voice was cheerful as he turned to us. "I'll be heading back to the inn. You coming?" The question was directed at both me and Louie.
Louie nodded, but I shook my head. Beyond updating with Hermes after the most recent battle, which could wait, there wasn't anything else. There wasn't a particular point in heading to the Traveler's Inn right now.
Right now, things were at a crossroads. We had a grasp on the enemy's identity, their capabilities, and even their location–but all we had right now were hints, leads that needed investigating. Before the enemy made another move, or Fels issued another quest, I had plenty of time to do other things aside from investigate, things of more importance.
Restocking and repairing was one thing. Talking to Spider was another. I considered both options before discarding them as a 3rd option presented itself. There was something pressing that I had to deal with.
During that battle at Twilight Manor, Maris Hackard had come back. Even though she knew the risks, even though Dian Cecht Familia would've been safe, Hackard had made the choice to come back.
And either knowing or not knowing the situation, she had thrown herself in front of the acid that should've hit me. She had made the choice to prioritize my life over hers.
–Why?
I hadn't questioned it at the time. I hadn't had time to think about it, at the time. And now that I did, I wasn't liking the answer.
Slowly, I turned westwards, beginning the walk towards Dian Cecht Familia's pharmacy.
~~This is a Line Break~~
What was my relationship with Hackard?
5 years had passed since we had met and I had joined her party, and she was still here. 2 years had passed since we had been reduced to a 2-man group, and she was still here. She was still diving into the Dungeon with me, fighting with me, and adventuring with me.
But that simply raised the question of why.
She was Level 3. There were low-ranked familias who didn't even have adventurers at Level 3. Even in a familia like Hermes's, Hackard was strong enough to rank right below the officers like Andromeda and Falgar Batros, who were both Level 4. She could've joined the familia's 1st-string if she wanted to.
So why was Maris Hackard still sticking next to Hikigaya Hachiman, journeying into the Dungeon with me as a two-man party, rather than joining Hermes Familia's main expeditionary force?
I knew the answer to that question, though. It was the same reason why I hadn't left, either. It was why I had never gone back to only adventuring by myself again, even after what had happened.
I wasn't sure what Hackard meant to me. There wasn't any discernible way of quantifying it, and it would've been pointless to try. But I had stayed with her all those years for a reason. And it was that same reason that had led me here.
"Hello there. Welcome to Dian Cecht Familia. How can I help you today?" The girl that greeted me at the counter had long, silvery hair that went down to her waist, and she was dressed in a nurse-like uniform. I recognized her.
Airmid Teasanare. Alias: Dea Saint. At Level 2, she was the best healer in Orario and captain of Dian Cecht Familia. Most likely, she was the reason behind Hackard's full recovery.
Dian Cecht Familia might've claimed to operate a pharmacy, but it was more similar to the hospitals that existed back on Earth. Not only did they sell potions and medical supplies, they also provided medical care to patients that urgently needed it. And in that regard, they had rooms where some patients stayed–at least for the duration of their treatment.
"I'm here to visit Maris Hackard."
Teasanare dipped her head in understanding, turning to look at something on her right. "Maris Hackard… that should be Room 4. It's to the hall on your left." I nodded at her in thanks before turning away from the desk, walking down the hallway, and stopping in front of the door labeled "4".
I paused for a moment, stopping to gather my thoughts before putting my hand on the handle, pushing it down and walking in. The room was fairly spacious, with a bed, a bedcabinet, and a small chair and table set in the center of the room. Hackard's sword and partially-melted ruined armor had been set to the side, leaning against the wall.
Hackard herself was lying in the bed on her side, arms splayed out and legs crossed over one another, clearly sleeping. A line of drool trailed from her mouth down the side of her face and into a small stain right underneath, and her expression was completely relaxed.
As I entered the room, however, her eyes snapped open, her gaze flicking over to me as I closed the door behind me. Her expression lit up almost instantly, even as she let out a yawn.
"Hikitani! You're here!" Hackard grinned before easing an arm under her body, using it to push herself into a sitting position as she lifted her legs out over the side of the bed. She seemed fine enough, though the bandages wound around her arms and legs and peeking out from under her shirt proved otherwise.
"Yeah." I set down my stuff before sitting in the chair near the table. "How are you feeling?"
"Well, Airmid said that I'm healing up without any problems! So long as I don't do anything stupid in the next couple of days, I'll be good to go!" Her smile was carefree as she flicked a cheerful thumbs-up at me, but it quickly turned to a more serious expression. "What about you?"
"Some injuries, but nothing serious. It'll heal on its own." I had been somewhat splashed by the acid during the battle at Twilight Manor, but it hadn't been as serious as Hackard's injuries. I had bandaged myself and applied salves to my injuries after returning to Twilight Manor, and there hadn't been any problems since then.
"Is that so? I'm glad." Hackard's shoulders relaxed, and some tension left her body as she slumped forward with a relieved sigh, a smile crossing onto her face. "At least you're okay." And yet, despite her words, an unsettling feeling began to spread.
–I had seen that expression somewhere before.
It was the same face she had when she jumped in front of the acid for me and almost died. I hadn't been able to understand the look on her face, back then.
I did now.
It was relief. The expression Maris Hackard had on her face when she had prioritized Hikigaya Hachiman's life over her own had been relief. Relief that he hadn't been hurt. Relief that he was fine.
Relief.
Hackard's words echoed through my mind yet again. Why won't you realize that there are other people who care about you?
But it wasn't that. It wasn't simply about realizing it or acknowledging it. If that was all I could do, then I wouldn't be here, sitting in front of Hackard right now, checking up on her even though I already knew she would be fine.
–I had been asking myself the wrong questions.
The questions I had been asking shouldn't have been whys. They shouldn't have been ruminations on the nature of the relationship between the two of us, trying to weigh pros and cons like there was an equation I could somehow manage to balance out. After all, in the end, relationships weren't things of logic or efficiency. Hadn't I learned that already, all those years ago?
I didn't need to logically examine my relationship with her, or ponder on its significance or what it meant to me. All I needed to know was that she mattered–that Maris Hackard shouldn't have had to be the one paying for the outcomes of Hikigaya Hachiman's decisions and mistakes. That Maris Hackard shouldn't have been expressing relief at the fact that Hikigaya Hachiman had turned out fine while she had been the one getting hurt instead.
What I should've asked myself was, "Can our current relationship continue?" Could I keep allowing this dynamic between us to persist? Could I keep allowing Hackard to be dragged into situations where she would get hurt because of my choices?
So now, I had to ask myself. Could I accept that?
"Hackard…" The words came out easily. I knew what my answer was, after all. "... let's end it here."
Hackard blinked, confused. "What? What're you talking about?"
I looked her in the eyes and steeled myself. "Let's dissolve the party."
As the words registered, I watched as Hackard's eyes widened and she wobbled before steadying herself.
"You can't." Her voice shook dangerously, as if it were on the verge of breaking, but I continued. That was the only thing I could do now. I had already made my choice, so all that there was left to do was to see it to the very, very end.
"Face it, Hackard. It's over." I wouldn't accept any other outcome. Not if it meant that Maris Hackard would end up getting hurt because of my choices and my mistakes.
Hackard's hand clenched, scrunching up the bedsheets beneath her fingers, before she spoke. "Why?"
"You know why." We both did. It was hard to ignore Hackard's half-melted armor sitting in a pile in the corner of the room.
"That's not true. I can take care of myself." Hackard's voice wavered, but she took a deep breath, steadying herself before continuing. "Things were just beyond our control."
I thought about the way I had seen Hackard topple to the ground, the way the flesh had melted off of her back. I thought about how close to death they had been when we had found them.
The circumstances hadn't been in anyone's control, not even Deimne's or Loki's. But that would be how things went, moving forward. Evilus's capabilities were still largely unknown, so engaging with them meant putting lives on the line. But even if that was the case, even if doing so entailed similar dangers–that was my risk to take, my choice to make. It wasn't Hackard's, and it shouldn't have been. She had only been dragged in because of me.
I opened my mouth to reject her argument, but she plowed on. "–Besides, everything turned out fine in the end, right? We're still here."
Yes. I had to concede that in terms of results, Hackard had succeeded. As someone who prized efficiency above almost everything else, I couldn't deny that her methods had worked. Neither of us had died, and both of us would be fine.
But that was only because Deimne had intervened. And even then, even with Loki Familia's power behind us in that battle, Level 4s like Nord and Autumn had nearly died. Level 3s like me and Hackard had died. If Deimne hadn't been there, if he hadn't used that elixir on her, Hackard would've died in that courtyard, right then and there. And Deimne wouldn't always be there.
It was a result, but it was a fluke, and nothing else. It wasn't something I could trust or accept.
"All we did was get lucky, Hackard." At my words, she flinched. "We can't rely on luck to save us the next time this happens. I'm not taking any more chances. Let's end it here."
It was awhile before she spoke again.
"Is it…" Her next words were almost a whisper. "Is it because I'm weak?"
"No." That wasn't it at all. "It's just…" I faltered as I grasped for the right words. It wasn't about whether Hackard was strong or not. It wasn't about luck or chance, either. Those were just excuses.
I could come up with as many logical explanations as I wanted, but ultimately, there was no tangible reasoning that I could use to convince either Hackard or myself of my decision. At the end of the day, I was just being driven by my own selfishness.
"... I'm not risking anything else. That's all."
There was a long silence after my words.
"... Coward." Hackard's voice was bitter and broken, and she sounded like she was on the verge of tears as she glared at me. "You're just running away."
This time, I was the one who looked away.
"We're adventurers, Hikigaya!" Her shout echoed through the small room. "It doesn't matter how much you can do by yourself if you're dead! Even if Chris…" Hackard's voice trembled, but she kept talking. "Even if Chris made the wrong choice, that doesn't mean that you're making the right one, either! Death isn't something you can run away from! All we can do is take care of each other and try our best to survive!"
–Hikigaya. Take care of them, alright…?
My eyes widened as, for a split second, Hackard's words overlapped with someone else's. An old promise I had made resurfaced within my memories.
What would Schwartz have said? Would he have agreed with my choice? Or would he have rejected my selfishness, like Hackard?
I opened my mouth to respond, but Hackard wasn't finished. "Is it that you find my care for you unacceptable somehow?!"
"..." I paused, trying to formulate an answer that she could accept. But before I could say anything, Hackard exploded.
"It's my choice, Hikigaya! It's your choice to leave us all behind when you don't want us to get hurt, but it's my choice to run ahead to your side because I don't want you to get hurt!"
She wasn't wrong. But even so–
Maris Hackard's choices were ones that I could not accept anymore, no matter what.
–The answer's one only you can arrive at, after all.
Hermes had said that. And in the end… this was the only answer I could come up with. I could think it through as many times as I wanted and take it as far as possible, but my answer wouldn't–couldn't– change. I couldn't accept another outcome that put her in danger due to my choices again.
–Hikigaya... for once in your life, please, please... try to take into account how other people feel about you.
And that was why I couldn't let it continue. That was why it had to stop.
Perhaps it was despicable.
After all, if I had trusted in myself, then I wouldn't have pushed Hackard aside like that. Uncaring, unfeeling, spouting only logic and reason and hiding under those words because that was all I knew how to do.
Maybe that part of me would never change.
Hackard's fierce glare crumbled, and her shoulders slumped as she looked down. A drop landed on the twisted bedsheets. Then another. And then another, and another, before I finally looked away.
"..." There was nothing left for me to say. There was nothing left I could say.
Slowly, almost mechanically, I rose to my feet and picked up my equipment. The quiet sounds of Hackard's tears were my only companion as I left.
~~This is a Line Break~~
As I stepped out of Hackard's room and closed the door behind me, from to my right, Andromeda spoke.
"Even if I can understand why… I can't approve of this."
While keeping my eyes forward, I replied. "I don't need your approval."
"I know."
"... Take care of her."
"I will. Just… take care of yourself." Her voice was quiet.
"..." I didn't have anything else to say.
Slowly, Andromeda's footfalls softly faded from my ears as she entered the room I had just left, the door closing behind her with a soft click of finality.
~~This is a Line Break~~
A long time ago, I'd wished for 'something'.
The cookies. The manuscript. The tennis match. The texting problem. The summer camp. The fireworks festival. The culture festival. The trip to Kyoto. The student council election. The Christmas event. The confrontation in that room that smelled of tea.
For that 'something' I wanted, I had done many things.
I had scorned it, laughed at it, feared it, yearned for it, changed my meaning of it, hid away from it, discarded it, reached back out to it, grasped it, treasured it, and had it taken away from me in the very end.
What was that 'something' that I had wished for?
Even if I remembered what it was I had asked for, the meaning in those words had inevitably become lost in translation during those long years in-between.
It didn't matter what you did. Even if you hid it away or pretended it would last forever without giving a thought to the future, it would disappear.
No matter what happened, things would change. With it, ideals and relationships would change as well. Some of them would bend and some of them would break, and some of them could never be repaired again.
That was why people compromised. They quietly accepted the fact that their dream would never reach its full realization and settled for less than the desired result.
Somewhere along the line, I had decided to compromise, too. I had settled into a sort of normalcy within this world and even though I hadn't acquired the 'something' that I had longed for, I had still acquired something.
This something could not have been the 'something' I had wanted. It was 'something else'–the sort of thing that was doomed to disappear, something that never could've extended beyond mediocrity. It was something born of necessity and little else.
But despite that–I had treasured it. Even though it wasn't the 'something' I had yearned for, I had clung onto it, nonetheless. And after what had happened, I had decided that no matter what happened, I couldn't throw away that 'something else' I had acquired in order to achieve my goals.
That 'something' had meant something to me, a long time ago. And because of that–
Even though it was an impossibility.
Even though I had already chosen to give up on finding it here.
Even though I knew it didn't exist, even though I knew that what I had was nothing more than poison, even though I knew that I could never acquire it, even though I had already forgotten why I had even chased after that 'something' so desperately back then–
I couldn't let go of that 'something else' I had acquired. And yet, because of that–
No matter how close I was.
No matter how much I changed.
No matter how desperately I wanted it–
I couldn't bring myself to truly accept that 'something else', either.
All I could do was reach towards it and pull away, time and time again and again. Caught between the two, all I could do was compromise–all so that I wouldn't lose that 'something else' I had treasured. And in the end, in order to protect that 'something else' from being irreparably broken, I had left it behind.
Was it right?
Was it wrong?
There was no way to know. All I was sure of now was that even that 'something else' that I had tried so hard to desperately protect was gone forever. The only thing that was left was the fleeting sensation of having once held something in my hand and a feeling of lingering wistfulness.
What had that 'something' meant to me? Why had I chased after it so desperately back then?
I had forgotten a long time ago.
Afterword: If you read all the chapters at once, welcome! If you've been following me for a while, welcome back.
Hahaha, I've always wanted to use that intro.
Hmmm, it's the end of Volume 2. It's been 1411 Favorites, 1787 Followers, 121,854 words, and about 3 and a half years since this story first began.
I'd like to thank everyone for their support so far for reading my humble little series. When this story started out, I never expected it to be as wildly successful as it is—at least, in my eyes. I expected it to end up like many, many other fanfictions out there—
That is, dead and abandoned.
… I think that's why Volume 2 turned out to be such a mess.
Okay, so to explain.
When I started writing Volume 2, I actually didn't have much of an idea as to what I was going to write about. I think the actual, original train of thought was "It should start at canon - at the point in time where Volume 1 of the actual series starts."
I went into Volume 2 running on pure momentum, which flagged pretty hard as soon as the New Years' (in 2021) came around, as is evidenced by my updating consistency… which just, y'know, spiraled downhill from there.
One of the problems I was faced with this volume was figuring out where to put Hikigaya. I could've gone Sage and With Death's route and stuck him with Bell, but I felt like that didn't have as much potential for storytelling, considering I had always planned for Hikigaya to be Level 3 by the start of canon.
I mean… he's Level 3. That's a lot of problems taken care of, especially considering Hikigaya's mindset in regards to dealing with potential issues. Liliruca Arde and the Soma Familia? Say no more. The Minotaur? Just let him whip out that silver sword and… oh dear, it's already dead.
You get the idea. That's like, 3 volumes of conflicts and plot down the drain. That stifles Bell's development as a character greatly, along with everyone else's, and even though there is a way to write that type of story where they develop differently and separately, I don't think I'm skilled enough to write it to a passable–and more importantly, enjoyable–level without leaving a bad taste in people's mouths, including my own.
Therefore, Hikigaya quite literally sidestepping the plot was necessary.
So then, where to put him?
The conflict of Sword Oratoria was much closer to his power level, so I decided to put him there. However, I found that actually drawing Hikigaya into the conflict was difficult without giving him a legitimate reason. After all, Hikigaya isn't the type of person to actively seek conflict; rather, he actively attempts to avoid it. As a result, I had to either entice him in-story with something he couldn't resist or forcefully create a conflict that would drag him in.
Hence the delivery mission during the Monster Feria, which went downhill, fast, into the escort quest, which also went downhill, fast. I actually didn't plan it out as well as I should've, since my brain was just like "yeah, you did Volume 1 in 3 months! Volume 2? Piece of cake!"
Except Volume 2 actually took 3 years, so yeah... no.
Another problem that messed up my writing was the internal conflict presented within this volume.
One of the things that Wataru Watari does so well and presents so brilliantly in Oregairu is the "internal conflict"—the stuff below the surface. There are emotions, complicated puzzles of tangled relationships and ideals, and all of that is parsed through the dialogue and revealed to us through Hikigaya's narration and monologues. There's internal tension that builds into breaking points which are "external" conflicts that serve to convey and release these tensions—the events that Hikigaya 'outwardly' participates in. For example, the Cultural Festival, or the Kyoto Field Trip, or the Christmas Party.
Unfortunately, I am absolutely terrible at that. As a result, Otherworldly tends to take the opposite approach—using "external" conflicts to further drive the "internal" conflict. I tried my best to build the tensions within Hikigaya's group… duo… thing… (I mean, it's literally just him and Maris…) to a breaking point with each situation throughout the volume and either force him to fold or double-down on his choices.
And knowing his personality, you can see how that turned out.
As a result, the process was frustrating and slow, and it kept getting bogged down because I had to think about it thoroughly and make sure I was consistent with what I had planned, what I had written, and what I was going to write. I hope that the "internal conflict" that Oregairu beautifully executes at least landed well and hit hard in Otherworldly.
Tell me what you think!
–Several readers have pointed out the fact that "Hikigaya continually taking L's throughout the volume" doesn't make for an enticing read. I'm… sort of… sorry…?
It's kind of hard to explain, but the flow of conflict in Volume 2 means that Hikigaya (and the rest of Orario as a whole) is kind of stuck reacting to the events, given that no information at all was given to them beforehand about the situation. After all, they didn't know about the Violas, they didn't know about Revis, they didn't know about the orb or even the fact that Evilus still existed. It stands to reason that with so much behind the scenes that nobody knows about except the enemy, our heroes are going to accumulate quite a large number of Ls before they start taking Ws. I do agree that taking this many consecutive losses isn't very fun to read, though… so sorry. Hopefully things turn out better? I mean, this is technically only the 2nd volume out of what, in Sword Oratoria, was a 12-volume conflict, after all. And they DO have a leg-up on their canon counterparts, because they have a better grasp of the enemy's size and scale!
But at the end of the day, they're still trying to figure out how many cards the enemy has up their sleeves, after all… and Enyo? Wait, who's that? (lol)
Anyways, onto the second-to-last part of this long-winded Afterword. Another thing I messed up!
… The timeskip.
Yeah, you heard me: I dun big goof.
I think one of the biggest problems that I didn't realize at the start was that things happened during the timeskip. Reading back, it feels like I just snapped my fingers and said "Alright, 5 years have passed", and that was that. But things should feel like 5 years have passed, right?
I was more into the "current moment" of things at the time, and as a result I was slowed down a lot by trying to also flesh out the incidents during the timeskip, since all I had in mind was "Well, he loses his entire party aside from Maris, thus establishing the relationship they have today."
But how? And why?
Those reasons are absolutely crucial to developing Hikigaya's thoughts and monologues here. He's loath to talk about it, but it comes up, it influences his thinking, his choices, and his ideals, and you can definitely see how that messed up my momentum and my writing, because I had to take my time to try and flesh it out and develop the incidents before using those incidents to plot out Hikigaya's monologues and decisions in the later chapters of Volume 2. Hopefully it all worked out for you readers and everything makes sense.
Anyways, I think that going forward, I'll try to take breaks in-between volumes so I don't accidentally make big mistakes that'll slow me down. Starting NOW, in fact! It'll probably be, I don't know, 2-3 months, at least? I need to do some planning and get back into the pace of things. And probably prepare a couple of chapters in advance. And… prepare for finals… haha…
And as always, I am continually grateful for your support. I hope that you will continue following me on this journey as I take my next steps as a writer. Here's to a better, smoother publication in Volume 3.
With regards, possibly considering getting a beta reader so I stop procrastinating,
Oreo the Cookie