Crown 22

Hiyori: Over here! I had the car wait out back! Use it to get out of here!

Nagisa: ...That is very convenient.

Hiyori: You need to be prepared for anything, always!

Nagisa: ...Yes. That’s right. However, is that really the car you procured?

Hiyori: What? I said it was, so obviously it is!

Look, that’s the car! I’ve already given the chauffeur and address, so stop hesitating and get in! You have to run!

I’ll go back inside and buy you time until you escape! And I’ll try to disrupt the investigation, too—

Nagisa: ...You won’t come with me?

Hiyori: Huh? Of course not! I didn’t do anything wrong!

Nagisa: ...It is interesting that you would say something like that now, at a time like this.

...No. You have always acted with good intentions, I suppose.

...By which I mean that for you, your own happiness is the highest priority when it comes to justice.

Hiyori: ...?

Nagisa: ...However, that happiness is constructed only by exploiting and ruining the happiness of others.

...I refuse to accept that; I refuse your justice.

...Do you believe my objection is just the practical joke of a spoiled child?

...I wonder if you would scold me like you used to, “Reverend.”^[1]

Hiyori: ...?!

...? What? What are you saying, Nagisa-kun?

Nagisa: ...Please don’t speak using Hiyori-kun’s face or voice anymore.

...It is more unpleasant than I had expected. You are, forever and always, repulsive, disgusting, and disgraceful.

...Thank you. Because of you, many emotions sprang forth within me.

...Anger, loathing, a desire for vengeance. Negative emotions that one would rather not exist.

...But in my lacking them, I was incomplete as a human.

...Because you made them bloom within me, I finally feel that I have become human.

...No longer just a beautiful doll, but a human like all the people I love.

...So thank you, “Reverend.”

...I am grateful, from the bottom of my heart.

Hiyori: ...!

Hiyori: (What? My body is collapsing! The form is losing its shape!)

(I can’t maintain the appearance of Tomoe Hiyori!)

Nagisa: ...As I thought, you really were disguising yourself as Hiyori-kun, “Reverend.”

...Of course, I noticed immediately, dare I say.

...You made the judgment that using Hiyori-kun’s likeness was most suitable to manipulate me, so you disguised yourself as him.

...But you have misjudged the strength of the bond between him and me.

...That was your folly.

...In times such as these, Hiyori-kun always takes my hand.

...He reassures me like that, while he takes me to a place where we can be safe.

...He is a dependable “big brother” to me.

...That was our promise. It was the pact we made when we first met.

...It was his vow. And Hiyori-kun has never forgotten it, nor ever broken it.

...He is my most beloved companion, my friend, and my family.

...Every word you spoke and action you took was an insult to him.

...So I will repeat myself: That was your folly.

The Priest: ......

Nagisa: ...When Father was still alive, you often impersonated Him and served as his body double to handle his public-facing duties.

...Rather, you were my divine Father’s voice and representative.

...Thus, you became his “Priest.”^[2]

...You excel at transforming yourself into others.

...You use costume, performance, drugs, and even self-hypnosis to become someone else.

...It seems that this time you even utilized hologram technology derived from the SSVRS to perfectly disguise yourself.

...Like skinning someone to wear their hide, you plastered the likeness of others onto yourself.

...But no matter how much technology advances, you can never truly become someone else.

...Flawless mimicry is impossible.

...The difference is in the touch, in the feel of someone’s hands.

...That is why you avoided touching me as much as possible.

...But no matter how hard you try, your mask will fall off.

...Of course, you already knew that.

...But this time, you had no choice but to act in this way.

...I made every preparation for it. I used every measure at my disposal to drag you out.

...That’s exactly why it was so easy to lure you out and reel you in.

The Priest: ......