Chapter 57: Little Kaede: Wait, I'm In This Too?
On the surface, the dinner table was perfectly peaceful.
Nobody spoke. Everyone simply lowered their heads and ate.
Underneath that calm exterior, however, Saku had already stuffed the girls full with an absurd amount of information.
Most of it had nothing to do with them personally, but that didn't stop anyone from listening with great interest.
Futaba was paying especially close attention.
She didn't know the "Petite Devil Kohai" who could supposedly predict the future, but one thing was becoming increasingly difficult to deny.
Saku really did know pieces of the future.
Even if only fragments.
「If you ask me, Futaba's problem ultimately came down to a lack of confidence. Does she seriously not realize how pretty she'd look without those glasses? She has absolutely no idea how attractive she is.」
「Managing to mentally wear yourself down so badly that you split off another personality is honestly impressive in the worst possible way.」
「Sure, by the end of the story, Sakuta helps her reconcile with herself. But from an outsider's perspective, did she really change anything?」
「Maybe her rational side was simply strong enough to suppress the restless part of herself, and that's why the problem disappeared.」
「After all, rational Futaba knew about the doppelganger almost from the beginning, yet she still let the other Futaba run wild.」
「So what if she was actually using her other self as a pressure valve? Let the duplicate do everything she normally suppresses, release all that stress, then absorb everything back afterward.」
「Once the pressure is released, the symptoms temporarily disappear because she isn't tearing herself apart internally anymore.」
「That would mean she treated the symptoms without ever truly solving the underlying problem.」
[Precise roast detected. Roast Points +280. Current total: 3,440.]
Saku's final interpretation sent a chill through everyone listening.
It was only a theory.
Yet the more they thought about it, the more unsettling it became.
Using a doppelganger and Adolescence Syndrome itself to relieve psychological pressure?
That was terrifying.
And ruthless.
Almost unconsciously, several girls at the table began looking at Futaba differently.
They had all thought she was just plain and ordinary, but it turned out she was exactly as she seemed—a woman with a mind as deep and complex as a mountain range.
What a frighteningly calculating person.
Futaba felt wronged.
'I never thought anything like that!'
...Then again, Saku was talking about her future.
She couldn't exactly prove that she'd never reach such a conclusion.
If she truly split into two selves, one extremely rational and the other extremely emotional, then Saku's theory wasn't impossible.
Futaba could easily imagine her hyper-rational side seeing straight through the nature of the problem.
And if Adolescence Syndrome became something that could actually be exploited...
Would that version of her refuse?
Probably not.
Worse, Futaba could even imagine rational-her using the other personality to release all the impulses she normally suppressed, then asking Sakuta to help clean up afterward.
After all, Azusagawa Sakuta cared deeply about his friends and had a terrible habit of helping people whenever they were in trouble.
If Futaba were his friend, he wouldn't ignore the situation.
With him involved, she could retrieve her other half while letting him help minimize the consequences.
Futaba suddenly stopped feeling quite so calm.
A version of herself operating purely on rational efficiency wouldn't necessarily concern herself with sentimentality.
Which meant...
That frightening theory really could happen.
She suddenly found herself a little afraid of her hypothetical rational self.
Fortunately, she now knew this possibility existed.
That gave her time to prevent it.
She already knew the future, the cause of the condition, and even the method that supposedly resolved it.
If she still couldn't change anything after being given that much information, Futaba felt she might as well become an NPC.
「Speaking of split personalities, I suddenly remembered someone else.」
「Azusagawa Sakuta's younger sister, Azusagawa Kaede. Or rather, the personality currently known as Little Kaede.」
「That poor girl developed a split personality after suffering school bullying, and what happened to her was also the direct trigger that led to Azusagawa Sakuta developing Adolescence Syndrome.」
...
Little Kaede: 'Huh?!'
'He knows about me?'
'He really knows about me?!'
At that very moment, Little Kaede was curled up on her bed, listening to Saku's thoughts with a complicated mixture of fear and happiness.
Part of her was terrified that someone had somehow seen through to her true self.
Another part felt strangely happy that someone was paying attention to her at all.
Those emotions tangled together until she abruptly pulled the blanket over her head and screamed into it.
"Aaaaah! This is so embarrassing! And scary!"
Just then, her bedroom door opened.
Light from the hallway spilled through the gap into the dark room, stretching across the carpet and reaching all the way to her bed.
Sakuta stared at the blanket-wrapped lump that was his younger sister.
His expression became strange.
"Kaede, what's wrong?"
"Nothing at all, Onii-chan!"
Her brother really was a good brother.
Unfortunately, he was also rather pitiful.
His future girlfriend had been stolen away by some strange older boy.
Still, that was fine.
He still had her.
After all, Little Kaede loved her brother more than anyone.
Originally, she'd planned to comfort Sakuta after his rejection today.
Unfortunately, Saku's inner voice had been providing so much information that she'd become completely absorbed.
The Petite Devil Kohai.
His bespectacled female friend.
Anything involving her brother naturally demanded her full attention.
What Little Kaede hadn't expected was that Saku would eventually start talking about her too.
Sakuta listened to his sister's muffled voice coming from under the blanket and sighed.
"If nothing's wrong, why are you hiding?"
"Nothing means nothing! Onii-chan, go away. I want to be alone for a while."
Sakuta scratched his cheek.
He couldn't figure out what had gotten into her.
Still, he didn't push.
Girls occasionally had days when they felt strange for reasons boys didn't understand.
"That's weird..."
He muttered quietly.
"I didn't think this was around the time Kaede usually gets moody."
Still confused, Sakuta carefully closed the door behind him.
"Whew..."
Little Kaede finally emerged slightly from beneath the blanket.
"That scared me to death."
Then her expression turned serious.
"No. This is about the future. I need to listen carefully."
She clenched the blanket.
'Pervy big brother, make sure you explain everything properly!'
Saku's inner voice soon continued.
「Come to think of it, the Little Kaede who exists right now was actually born after Azusagawa Kaede suffered school bullying and Adolescence Syndrome created a second personality.」
「Unlike the original Kaede, Little Kaede's entire world revolves around Azusagawa Sakuta.」
「That's why she's probably the person who loves Sakuta more than anyone else in the world.」
「But she shouldn't have much time left.」
「Because of the continuous treatment, the split-personality symptoms are gradually disappearing. And that means Little Kaede, the second personality, is approaching the end of her existence.」
「That part of the original story absolutely destroyed me. I genuinely loved Little Kaede.」
「Should I interfere?」
「But if I save Little Kaede, what happens to the original Kaede?」
「Now I kind of understand that helpless feeling the protagonist had in the original story.」
「Still, your boy Saku isn't the same. I'm not the type to blindly accept that there's only one answer.」
「So what if they're two personalities? Why does anyone have to choose? I'll save both.」
[Valid roast detected. Roast Points +40. Current total: 3,480.]
Saku didn't dwell on Little Kaede for very long.
As far as he was concerned, this wasn't some impossible dilemma.
If there was something he could do when the time came, then he'd do it.
Simple as that.
His bowl happened to be empty by then.
Saku raised his head and only now noticed that something about the dinner table felt strange.
Everyone was eating very...
Mechanically.
Calling it elegant no longer felt accurate.
They looked almost like people chewing through expensive delicacies without tasting any of them.
As though all this delicious food had suddenly become difficult to swallow.
Saku frowned.
"If you're not enthusiastic about eating, there's something wrong with your attitude."
He looked around the table.
"What's with all of you? Why does everyone look like you've got something weighing on your minds?"
"Hurry up and eat. It's getting cold."
Seeing them continue to move sluggishly, Saku picked up the serving chopsticks and began placing food into everyone's bowls.
"Come on."
"Eat more."
"Don't hold back!"
Only then did everyone finally snap out of their thoughts.
Without needing to discuss it, they silently returned their attention to dinner.
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