June 30, the last day of June.
Five days had passed since Haizaki ended his trip.
There was still no change—life continued in the same mechanical routine.
The only difference was that Haizaki had been thinking about how to properly talk things through with Utaha.
He was a man. He could be more open, more generous, more proactive. Unfortunately, over the past five days, he had not found a suitable opportunity to sit down and have a proper conversation with her.
He had even made slight adjustments to his schedule, hoping to "accidentally" run into her.
However, over the course of five consecutive days, he had not encountered Utaha even once.
His plan had fallen through, turning into nothing more than an illusion.
Utaha seemed unwilling to see him and was consciously avoiding him.
This made him sigh inwardly.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
Five days—no, even two months—of accumulated pressure had been consciously suppressed and restrained by the girl. But with his five-day trip away, those suppressed negative emotions had finally reached the brink of collapse.
And his cold attitude that night had been the fuse that ignited the emotional explosion.
The girl's emotions were like explosive powder, instantly erupting into flashing flames.
But at her core, she was only a seventeen-year-old girl.
Slender, fragile, sensitive—she possessed all the emotions of a girl.
When the façade of strength could no longer be maintained, her emotions finally fell into the abyss of collapse.
At the very moment when she needed comfort the most, he chose to keep his distance. He chose to stand still and respond with "coldness."
No wonder she was avoiding him.
Haizaki shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
Turning around, going downstairs,
He made a decision—
Tonight, when he returned,
He would find Utaha and have a proper talk with her.
An open and honest conversation.
If it didn't work out, then so be it.
The broken promise to Utaha in his previous life…
In the end, she and "her" were not the same person anymore.
...
12:10 p.m. Haizaki finished his weighted cross-country endurance training and firearms practice.
Sitting under the shade of trees, he enjoyed the lunch from his insulated container.
After eating, he leaned against the tree trunk and closed his eyes to rest briefly.
At 2:00 p.m., Haizaki walked toward the fighter jet parked on the runway.
Today was his eleventh flight.
The weather was clear, the sky a vast blue.
The wind was light.
A perfect day for flying.
Haizaki once again completed the pre-flight preparations.
Everything was ready.
"Fuel levels sufficient…"
"System self-check normal…"
"Preparing for takeoff…"
Haizaki moved skillfully, increasing the throttle. The roar of the silver fighter jet grew louder. Once the instrument readings reached the required values, he decisively pulled up.
The feeling was the same as always—no different from previous training.
The fighter jet shot into the sky like an eagle.
He looked forward to his "aircraft piloting skill" reaching a C-rank evaluation from the system.
...
Focused on the instrument data, Haizaki gripped the control stick tightly, maintaining balance.
His mind recalled aviation-related knowledge. To improve piloting skill, simple acceleration, deceleration, and turning were far from enough.
Ten flights, including long-distance journeys of over two thousand kilometers at immense personal risk, had familiarized him thoroughly with the aircraft.
Now, he felt completely at ease, like a hunting falcon soaring through the sky, enjoying the freedom.
"Dive…"
The jet plunged downward, then rapidly changed direction.
He could now freely pilot the aircraft, but Haizaki understood that more advanced skills required actual combat. Only real combat could significantly improve skill.
But combat was far too distant for him.
Although aerial knights would be the main force against the disaster creatures, Haizaki was very clear about his own role. He would not be heading to the front lines to fight them.
The jet continued forward at high speed. Feeling the exhilaration of speed, Haizaki was in good spirits.
The lingering gloom and irritation in his mind regarding Utaha eased considerably.
Then—suddenly—the engine sound diminished, and the aircraft instantly lost a massive amount of thrust.
Haizaki froze. His face turned pale in an instant.
This was an emergency of emergencies.
The "engine flameout" mentioned in the flight manual.
Pull up—pull the aircraft up and maintain balance…
Haizaki exerted all his strength on the control stick, his body reacting faster than his thoughts.
Then, with his right hand, he forcefully pulled the ejection handle. The canopy detached from the aircraft, and Haizaki was violently ejected into the air.
In his ears was the piercing hiss of air friction.
Am I going to die?
Even he couldn't help but think it.
The parachute deployed, a bloom of fabric appearing in the sky. The sudden pull drastically slowed his free fall.
Only then did Haizaki recover from his stunned, short-circuited state.
He was alive—he had just brushed past death.
"Hah… I'd already considered the possibility of a crash, but actually experiencing it is still terrifying…"
His heart pounded violently, filled with intense lingering fear.
"If I died… would she be sad?"
Thinking back to the figures that flashed through his mind during the crash response, aside from people he knew in his previous life, the one who appeared was Utaha—the person he had spent the most time with during the "Solitary Apocalypse."
If he died, Utaha should still be able to survive for another ten months, until returning to the original world.
However, Haizaki guessed that the girl might not discover his death in the crash until a month later.
That shut-in girl really might be like that.
Thinking about it, Haizaki couldn't help but laugh.
He made a decision.
When he got back, not only would he ease his relationship with Utaha, he would also make a promise with her.
If anything happened to him, she had to persist and live until April 4 of next year.
As long as she lived to that day, everything would be over. She could return to the life she longed for.
"Hiss—"
This was his first time landing with a parachute. He had studied the relevant knowledge beforehand, but mistakes were still unavoidable in actual execution.
His landing posture was incorrect. His left foot was injured—his ankle was sprained.
Enduring the pain in his left foot, Haizaki took out a dagger and cut the parachute cords, then retrieved a positioning device from his gear.
Global communication networks and power systems had nearly collapsed, but at least the satellites overhead were still functioning.
After confirming his current location, Haizaki headed toward the nearest road. As long as he could find a vehicle, he could get back as quickly as possible.
Facing a distance of over two hundred kilometers, Haizaki estimated that he wouldn't make it back before sunset.
"Not sure how long this injury will take to recover…"
Aircraft No. 8 was the first fighter jet he had ever flown, but its engine had suffered a shutdown failure. For that, Haizaki could only lament his bad luck.
"Compared to my foot, I'd rather it had been my hand… no—better yet, no injuries at all."
It hurt.
With every step forward, his left ankle sent tearing pain through his body. If he could, he really wouldn't want to walk—but right now, he could only rely on himself.
The only gain from this accident was that his aircraft piloting skill had reached C-rank.
...