35 Now, more than ever.

Just a little.

Jin felt tension in those words.

Not only because of the reply he expected—but because they marked a step forward, new for him.

A farewell to his past self.

Simple, nothing more.

He was aware, after all, that he had mostly acted dishonestly regarding this matter.

“Huh… Well, I guess it’s fine.”

Sharon nodded with a wry smile, as if anticipating another request.

Even knowing she was being easily persuaded, she couldn’t help laughing at herself.

“Um… I was wondering, what kind of room would you prefer?”

“My opinion won’t matter much. You two are the ones who’ll be living there, right?”

“Ah—no, that’s not what I meant.”

Jin scolded himself for speaking so roundaboutly.

“Will you… live with me?”

It took several seconds for the words to penetrate Sharon’s mind.

They reached her brain, yet she still hesitated, unable to gauge their true meaning.

“Um… what do you mean by that…?”

“I’ve waited quite a long time—truthfully, I’m surprised you haven’t lost patience by now…”

Sharon had said ten years.

But most of that time, Jin had remained unchanged. Unchanged, unable to change.

Could one sustain feeling toward a partner who offered no response?

That was something Jin could not know.

“I wanted to take your hand—eight years ago, when you reached out to me.”

A fairly serious resolve, on Jin’s part.

And on Sharon’s, the long-awaited answer to eight years of longing.

Yet Sharon replied.

“…Thirty points.”

“What?”

“Thirty points. I don’t expect sweet words from Jin, but I’d like a little more passion. Try again.”

“Try again? You…?”

Jin lets his shoulders slump at the words—too much, too much indeed.

A confession like this—could it not be a lifetime trauma for some?

He has no right to judge others, after all.

"Eight years ago, I had no island to return to. You made me wait long enough. So try harder to give me something worth satisfying."

As Shirley said, the waiting had been real.

Jin resolves to meet that demand.

He sets his mind to challenge the limits of his own vocabulary.

"By the way, if your confession is worse than Higata’s, I’ll laugh for life."

"Eh? Wait a second, what’s that supposed to mean?"

Jin stutters, startled by the sudden revelation.

Had he heard this on the battlefield just days ago—perhaps he would have been shot down by Harold.

If Harold wanted to exploit Jin’s reaction, he should have said it earlier.

"You know, youth is wonderful. Passionate, single-minded confessions... just hearing about it makes my heart race."

"Your words aren't youthful at all..."

"I won't stop until I'm satisfied!"

Jin spoke, as if stepping on a mine.

"I like you."

"Too ordinary."

"I love you."

"A little more creativity, please."

"I want you."

"Hmm, that's decent. But still not enough."

"There's no one else for me—no, scratch that."

"Hmm, good you stopped. I could tell that was a lie. So, points reset to zero. Try again from the beginning."

"Wait—was this point-based all along?"

Jin frowned at the rule revealed too late.

How many points were needed to win? And how many did he have now?

"If you give up, I'll accept it if you keep saying 'I like you' until I'm satisfied—quantity over quality."

"Then you'd make me say it for a whole day."

"Eight years' worth of that—shouldn't I be allowed a little more than that?"

No way.

Can't stay in this room forever. To spend an entire day like that—

continuing to say "I like you" to Shirley nonstop while working.

What kind of punishment is this?

Even I'm not that eager to spread a new rumor across the ship.

"First time we met, I thought, 'What a strange head this one has.'"

Shirley listens in silence.

"No, sorry. At first, I—still do, sometimes, actually."

Jin doesn't see Shirley's fist clenching tightly.

"Jake and I dragged you out of class. Instructor called us the delinquent trio—though I—"

Recalling those four years.

The brightest period of Jin's life.

The moment when the darkness that had held him captive finally broke loose.

At a time when he had not yet noticed the contradiction he would later feel.

"It was fun. Probably the first time ever."

For Jin, who had spent all his life in the facility with nothing but hardship, it was a series of firsts.

The two who had given him that experience were, of course, special to him.

"Remember why we started back then?"

"...I haven't forgotten. I couldn't forget."

After all, it was a kind of rebirth for Sharon.

The day the girl who cared only for machines first took interest in the world beyond.

"Because everyone else started, so I did too, kind of."

Their voices overlap.

They both laugh—this odd, trivial beginning.

There had been a time when couples seemed to be multiplying.

Something like, "We should start too," casual and light.

Jin had thought that was normal.

He hadn’t thought much about it. That was how things were.

Sharon was worse.

He had thought that, if they were together, he could endure electrodes implanted in his head.

There was no justification.

"But I didn't know how to love another person."

He had only recently understood that.

"Given that, it was only natural that you would leave me. You said you lacked confidence—but that’s probably not it."

Jin had failed to give Sharon confidence in herself.

Sharon had always been the youngest, accustomed to receiving, never to reaching out first.

In the end, both of them were still inexperienced.

"But I—I think I’ve known how to express it since that time. I loved you."

Not necessarily beside you.

Always near. Never truly gone.

A presence as ordinary as air.

Something expected, simply there.

"Can you be beside me again?"

Shirley does not take the hand extended toward her.

Reason says it is unnecessary to hear.

That the words and thoughts of Jin now are enough.

No need to reach back into the past.

No need to compare oneself to someone who is no longer present.

Still, Shirley asks.

"Then, between Master and me— which one is more important?"

To that question, Jin replies.

"If you weren't certain, you wouldn't be asking this now."

Master is still important.

But that is a memory placed in the prime seat of a treasure chest— not something one can claim now.

"Then, between me and Mio?"

"...That is difficult."

"Wait."

"If I had to choose between the two of them and sacrifice one, I think I'd choose to be a father."

Because Jin has seen.

A world where one chooses to be a husband.

At the grave where only regret remained.

But even if it were reversed, it would be the same.

Such a choice—no matter which path one took—would surely bring nothing but regret.

"Because of that, I won't let it happen. I won't weigh you both on a scale."

That was Jin's resolve.

Once it came to that, Jin would already have lost.

So he would not allow it.

And besides,

"I'm not alone."

There are people who lend him their hands.

And above all—though it galls him—Jin must admit:

"Mio can't be protected by me forever."

One day.

Someone will surely take care of Jin's greatest treasure.

"Still, if you'd have me, take my hand. Stay with me."

Sharon shakes her head.

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible. Not even a single point on the scale of girlhood."

Jin lowers his shoulders. Seeing that, Sharon smiles.

"Zero points from a girl's perspective—more like negative points, really."

Saying that, Shirley clings to Jin.

Softly. Enveloping.

"I'm such a lightweight... even this much makes me ecstatic."

"Sayin' 'even negative is okay' feels a bit too much of a bargain."

Saying that, Jin returns the embrace.

Gently—softer than before.

"Sales are only for regulars."

They exchange a joke.

Always like this.

Even as relationships shift, the distance remains nearly unchanged.

"I'm heavy, you know."

"Apparently, the world says so. To me, it's just right. I'm not exactly light either."

"Is that so? Then we suit each other, I suppose."

"...Yeah."

He looks. Then lowers his lips.

Not from Shirley. From himself.

"Choosing a room. I'll send over a suitable date."

"Ah. Thanks for that."

Suddenly, regaining composure, they recall this is the girl’s room and separate their bodies.

The duty shift still has ample time remaining.

“Yet you’ve just barely survived, Jin. If you’re unsatisfied… I might report to Mio-chan that she received such a lackluster confession.”

“What a terrifying punishment you’re suggesting…”

As he speaks, he opens the door.

“Ah…”

Mio and Edelweiss, pressed against the door with ears to the wood. Guards watching them with subtle, tense glances.

“………………Edelweiss! I’ll show you around the ship!”

“Hm? Mio-sama. That’s just now—”

“Just do it!”

Leaving those words behind, they move off again in a slow procession.

Watching their backs, Jin and Shirley—

“……So embarrassing…!”

They writhe in shame, having been witnessed from start to finish.