02 The Most Happy Nightmare 5
Adjusting his tie, Jin and Rei exit the house together.
A few figures resembling students are visible.
The hour of school commencement, perhaps.
A boy with a drowsy expression catches Jin’s attention for no clear reason.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all.”
Fourteen or fifteen years old. Judging from his clothing, a middle school student.
Still, a face Jin does not recognize.
Had he been older, perhaps there would have been some connection as a trainee. But this individual has no connection to Jin whatsoever.
Lacks vitality.
A doubt arises—was it really like this? A faint amusement surfaces at the thought.
What does one know about someone else’s vitality, or whether they’re not like that? The question itself feels absurd.
“Hey, Higata!”
“Huh…?”
“You look pale. Like your soul’s been stolen.”
“Huh…?”
A figure resembling a friend rushes over, speaking quietly before moving away.
Jin’s gaze followed the direction of the one who had turned back to look, and Rei mirrored that line of sight.
...Curious?
No. Not that. Just... felt like I’ve seen this before.
Is that so? Then it’s fine.
Rei took Jin’s hand as she spoke.
Number unknown. The feel of her ring on his fingers.
Each time he registered it, the unease remained.
This sensation—like he’d touched it somewhere else. Somewhere different. He couldn’t say where, and that left him silent.
Moving against the flow of students toward their destination.
Picnic. Jin recalled the warmth of it.
Last time was before Rei started working at the university—over five years ago.
An impulsive decision, but one he now considered a good idea. To enjoy something again after so long.
Today, he needed joy. No matter what.
"Hey, Jin."
"What?"
"Are you happy right now?"
"What's with that sudden question?"
It really was sudden.
He frowns, puzzled, trying to discern the intent behind the abrupt inquiry.
"Something about you today… you seemed off. Like you were looking at something strange… different."
Jin lets out a faint, self-aware smile.
Indeed, today was strange.
His gaze kept being drawn to subtle dissonances he usually ignored.
But that had nothing to do with this—probably.
"Of course I'm happy."
He gently squeezes the hand he's holding.
"There's no happiness greater than this."
She responds by pressing back, her grip firm.
Their hands remain clasped.
Like a drowning person clutching at something solid.
"Yeah. I'm happy too."
Even as she says it, a faint regret lingers in her words.
Ah, but…
The regret is one Jin understands. He does not speak of it, but moves forward with quiet resolve.
He buys flowers along the way.
Even on the移民 ship clusters with developed logistics, this remains one of the most commonly purchased items from physical stores.
Items with strong scent, or information that cannot be digitized, are often sold in stores.
Yet few still buy fresh flowers. In the Third Fleet, this is the only physical shop.
Mio selects the same flowers as always.
The shopkeeper is the same as always.
Without a word, arranges them into a proper bundle.
"Shall we?"
"……Yeah."
The conversation naturally dwindles.
They walk side by side.
He closes his eyes at the sound of children’s voices from somewhere nearby.
No matter what. Today, it lingers.
"……Huh?"
Halfway down the path, Jin recognizes a familiar face.
"That one…"
"What is it?"
"An acquaintance."
The person wears military uniform.
Mio notices it too, immediately.
The other party appears to have noticed them, approaching slowly.
"Captain Tozawa."
"Lieutenant Sasamori. Long time no see."
"Yes, it has been a while."
Lieutenant Sasamori Kou.
Jin and he belong to different units, but both are pilots in the Defense Force.
The reason for their presence here is clear enough. Neither mentions it.
Jin’s attention, however, turns to the companion behind him.
"Lieutenant. And this person—"
"My wife."
"May Sasamori. Nice to meet you."
A woman whose grace was fitting for the word.
May, standing slightly behind Kou, bowed with a quiet dignity.
Beside her, a young girl mimicked the gesture—likely her daughter.
The grip on her hand tightened.
"Jin Tozawa. This is my wife, Rei."
"Nice to meet you."
They exchange greetings.
"First time meeting Lieutenant Sasamori’s wife. Have you met Rei before?"
"Yes. Captain. I believe we met about three years ago."
"Long time no see, Captain Sasamori."
For the past year, their missions had not overlapped, so there had been no chance to meet.
The two shared the commonality of being excellent pilots, which led to relatively frequent encounters.
Not quite close enough for family-level camaraderie, but enough to exchange greetings when they met.
No chance to meet—Jin thought—since he hadn’t seen Jake in a while.
Perhaps since the opening celebration, when he’d first started running the restaurant.
That time had been a mistake—thinking, along with Rei, that dining out once in a while wouldn’t hurt.
He had forgotten the presence of someone who would naturally attend Jake’s celebrations.
An accidental encounter. There, with Rei.
Since then, he’d avoided Jake’s establishment.
Afraid of seeing her again.
"——wants to conduct joint training."
“Hmm… ah. Understood.”
His focus had drifted slightly.
Repeating the information he’d barely caught.
“Yet your superior is remarkably diligent—uncommon for these times.”
“Train whenever time permits. We’ll be counting on your efforts again this time.”
“Not at all. It’s a relief not to let our skills lapse.”
Jin thought the officer’s excessive training regimen—likely for Kou’s sake.
He was competent. Undeniably gifted. The potential to be called an ace.
Yet, lacking real combat experience. The talent remained unfulfilled.
One final barrier.
One last shell not yet broken.
Perhaps breaking that last barrier required something fanatical.
Without hunger, people do not grow. A hunger for greater strength within oneself.
In that sense, Jin thinks, I may no longer be capable of growing beyond this.
Having already learned the limits of strength alone, there is no overcoming that kind of failure.
Or perhaps Kou is the same.
Once one believes strength is not absolute, growth ceases.
Even superficial refinement continues, but not at the core.
While Jin and Kou speak, the women appear to be engaged in their own conversation.
"Still, chicken meat, I suppose. Low in calories, high in protein. Optimal for building the body."
"I see..."
"Cube food automatically compensates for such factors, so it's easy to overlook... but building the body requires many nutrients."
"An enlightening lesson, Lord Ling."
"Please, don't call me that... May-san."
From the fragments overheard, it seems to be a discussion about nutrition.
An element easily neglected by Third Fleet citizens, who store everything in Cube food.
Jin tilts his head. Could a woman named May really speak like that? An odd thought, though the dissonance felt strange even with a stranger.
After speaking for a while longer.
The Sasamori family departs.
Watching their backs.
Jin’s gaze lingers on the silhouette of Kou’s wife, May.
A profile, calm and smiling as she speaks with Kou.
“…Jin?”
A humid stare.
“Staring at another man’s wife—doesn’t quite sit right.”
“No, it’s a misunderstanding. Not that.”
“Like that kind of woman?”
“My type is someone like Rei.”
Straightforward in his affection, Jin speaks the thought he’s held since earlier.
“No, just… I didn’t expect the wife of Lieutenant Sasamori to be like that.”
“…You’ve never met her before, have you?”
“That’s right… but it’s just… the image I had was different.”
The image in Jin’s mind had, for some reason, been unrestrained.
Even combining what he had heard from Kō, such an image could not have formed.
Some other person’s information must have become mixed in somewhere.
"Sorry. It’s nothing. Forget it."
"You really do feel off today."
Perhaps.
A strange sensation clings to him. What is this dissonance?
And the cold he’s felt since morning.
His left hand is cold.
That his right hand is warm feels like an anomaly.
This sensation—everything feels disjointed. What is it?