Epilogue 2

Hiyori: Well, that’s all I have to say regarding this safe. Now we just have to find out if that key really goes to it.

Nagisa: ...Hiyori-kun, what do you think is in the safe?

Hiyori: How am I supposed to know? It’s not very heavy at all.

And it doesn’t make any noise when I shake it around, so it’s probably not any gold or precious gems.

Fufu. Don’t tell me you’re scared to open it?

Nagisa: ...I might be. I don’t know what sorts of secrets Father hid inside.

...It must be something He intended to tell me once I turned twenty.

Hiyori: We won’t know unless we open it.

But if you really don’t want to know, then you don’t have to force yourself.

You can still be happy without knowing what is inside the safe.

There’s no need to pry open what just may be Pandora’s box, right?

Nagisa: ...Still, I want to know what Father left behind for me.

...So I will open it. Even if it causes the future to be filled with calamity.

Hiyori: Okay. If that’s what you want, then I won’t stop you.

But don’t worry. No matter what lies in wait for us, I’m right here with you, Nagisa-kun.

Even if disaster rains down on the earth, there is hope left inside the box. Let me be your hope, okay?

Nagisa: ...Thank you. Hiyori-kun.

Hiyori: Well, now that we’ve decided, let’s get to it!

Of course, we still don’t know if this key even goes to the safe yet—

Nagisa: ...Don’t worry. It opened.

Hiyori: That’s good. After all this anticipation, it would have been just awful for it to not open.

Since the key worked, that means that suspicious person has nothing to do with Gatekeeper, right?

Nagisa: ...It is pointless to try and discover who that man was at this point. However, I think he had connections with the Priest.

Hiyori: Well, that name takes me back.

By “the Priest,” you mean the man who tried to take your place during SS last year, right?^[1]/p>

Nagisa: ...I think it is because the Priest loved Father, and he was driven mad trying to be loved in return.

...And especially because it was around the time of Father’s death.

...Perhaps the Priest was also looking for a shadow of Father, gathering up whatever remains he could find of Him.

...In any case, the matter of the Priest has been settled.

...Even if I wanted a resolution, I will likely never get a chance to meet that person again.

Hiyori: True enough. Anyway, focus on the safe for now.

What is this, a picture and a letter? The picture is of a pretty lady and an older man.

Nagisa: ...It is Father.

Hiyori: Your father? You mean to say that man is Godfather?

Nagisa: ...He looks somewhat younger than how I remember his face, but there is no doubt that it is Father.

Hiyori: Wow... I’ve only ever heard stories, so I had no idea what Godfather looked like. And here he is.

But in that case, who on earth is this lady?

Hm? Actually, look here. There’s a tear on the photo.

Oh! There’s no way—Nagisa-kun, give me one moment!

Hiyori: Sorry to keep you! I found it.

Nagisa: ...The picture of me as a child.

Hiyori: There are tears on this photo, too. And just like I thought, they line up perfectly.

Are you holding hands with that lady? It’s hard to tell because of where the tears are.

Then who in the world is this person?

Nagisa: ...I do not know. I have no memory of her.

...But, I cannot help but feel that this woman and I are connected somehow.

Hiyori: What does the letter say? There might be some answers in it.

Nagisa: ...I see.

......

Hiyori: What is it? Is it okay for me to know what it says?

Nagisa: ...Don’t worry. There is nothing written here that would cause trouble for you.

...Instead. It contains the answers I have been searching for all this time.

...Hiyori-kun. I have wondered before whether there is a possibility that I have no biological parents.

Hiyori: No parents? Ahaha, then how would you have been born?

Nagisa: ...From what Shaka-san said, there is a possibility that I was created in a test tube.^[2]/p>

Hiyori: Shaka-san was saying some stuff right out of a sci-fi.

So you’re what’s called a test tube baby? Even with all the advances in science, I still think that’s a bit far-fetched, don’t you?

Nagisa: ...Despite that. I could not deny the possibility.

...I used to believe that the world in which Father was involved was one such that inhumane acts were committed without remorse.

...So I am happy that this letter disproves that idea.

Hiyori: Then I take it that you do have a real mother?

Nagisa: ...Supposedly, the woman in this photo is my mother. It seems that she has ties to Father’s hometown.

Hiyori: I thought so. She looks just like you, Nagisa-kun.

But... then why were you living with Godfather?

Nagisa: ...It says there was an incident of sorts that caused Father to take me into his care.

Hiyori: An incident? That seems pretty serious.

Nagisa: ...The details are unclear in the letter, so I don’t know. However, I assume that it was an accident or a tragedy.

...Because of that, my mother died, and I seem to have suffered a severe mental trauma.

Hiyori: Does that mean it would be hard for us to stomach even as adults?

Nagisa: ...Probably. There may also be concerns regarding the spell Father cast on me; revealing the truth could affect it negatively.

Hiyori: A spell...? Here we are again with the fantasy words.

Nagisa: ...I was apparently in a critical condition back then. Father described it as being dead while still alive.

...Father wanted to help me somehow, so he turned to the Priest.

Hiyori: The Priest is showing up in this story, too?

Nagisa: ...Using a secret technique similar to that which was performed on Shaka-san, the Priest erased my memories.

...In doing so, it seems that I was finally capable of “living.”

...But entirely erasing a person’s memories entails reducing them to an infant who knows nothing.

...Because an infant is an innocent, unspoiled creature who must seek protection to merely survive.

Hiyori: Wait, so that’s why you were like that when I met you?!

Nagisa: ...If Father’s letter is to be trusted, then that is what happened.

...I also did not know anything about my past until now.

...But if Father did that for me, then I am happy.

Hiyori: Why would you be? It’s like you were robbed of all the memories of your mother.

I think causing someone to lose their memories of the family they love is an unforgivable disgrace.

Nagisa: ...It is certainly lonely to not have memories of my mother.

...However, I would not have been able to live if He had not done that.

...Father did everything He could to save me. And after I had lost everything, He stood by me and showed me the brilliance of idols.

...I was reborn, having received the love of my Father and God.

...Father’s love for me was real. Knowing that fact makes me happy.