Why was R talking about the stuff my dad said? “What gives you the right to talk about my bloodline?”

“You’re the person most responsible for causing the War of All. I’ve researched you and everything else concerning the Namidare bloodline.”

I don’t get any privacy, huh? Wait, more importantly...

“What’s the War of All?”

“Just what the name implies. A war that involves everything. I’m unable to tell you most of the details.”

“Why?”

“Because they’re deeply connected to my mission.”

“Saving the future, was it?”

“Yes. Your father, Jigen Namidare, told you about the Namidare bloodline, right?”

“Yeah.”

“At this point, I expect you don’t fully believe it. But please understand, before I continue, that everything you heard is true.” R seated herself in a formal pose in mid-air.

“In the future I came from, Rekka Namidare was involved in many stories, and saved many, many girls at the center of them. Heroines, you might call them.”

“Heroines?”

“Princesses of fantasy kingdoms, mysterious transfer students, that sort of thing. Almost every story has a heroine, right?”

Well, that was probably true.

“By the way, Rekka.”

“?”

“You’re indecisive, and you don’t know how to deal with girls, do you?”

“Bwah?!” Where did that come from? I almost yelled. The boy in glasses next to me was looking at me funny.

“W-Well, I guess I’ve never had a girlfriend. Does that matter?”

“Of course it does. In the future, you will save countless heroines, and cause them all to fall in love with you. But you never actually do anything about it. In the end, the girls you ignored will start a massive war over you, the War of All.”

“Really?”

“Really. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here, and the War of All wouldn’t have taken place.”

“Wait a second! He told me that when I grew up, the stories would stop involving me!”

“Even if you’re no longer being caught up in stories, the girls you save don’t simply cease to exist, you know? Nor do their feelings for you. You know, you’re a lucky guy to have all those girls in love with you.”

“...”

“I told you, you don’t actually need to type out the ellipsis.”

I was freaking out so much, I couldn’t think of anything to say. You have to understand, I’ve got a delicate heart.

“Wait, why is there a huge war? It was started by a bunch of girls, right? How did it get so big?”

“You’re very naïve, aren’t you? The records show that you saved several hundred heroines. As I just said, I can’t give you the details, but many of them were involved with the typical sorts of stories you’d see in a manga or light novel. So imagine that. Imagine if all the different characters from all the different manga and light novels started fighting. What would happen?”

“I imagine the earth blowing up about ten times over.”

“Yes. It’s something of a little apocalypse, you might say.”

Of course, I didn’t know that any of this was true. It was all just a hypothetical. But it was a fact that R was right here in front of me.

“I want to make sure you’re not some kind of hologram. Can I touch you?”

“Certainly. Touch me wherever you like.” R subtly stuck out her chest. Did she want me to touch her there?

“A handshake is fine.”

“As you wish.”

Shake-shake. I was able to touch her. It was true that only I could touch, see, or hear R. Did that mean the stuff about the Namidare bloodline and the War of All was true, too?

“My mission is to bring you and one of the heroines together, and thus end the War of All before it starts. I’ll be watching you every minute of the day until you finish your mission, so hurry up and seduce someone, please.”

“Seduce?!” R’s voice was so calm when she said it that I couldn’t stop myself from shouting.

The boy in glasses next to me, as well as the teachers, were all staring. It hurt.

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