Chapter 313: Madness Without Purpose

—Yes. I’ll go mad.

It came to Inugami Renji sooner than expected, two weeks after they’d stranded in this bizarre mirrored world.

(Meal? There’s food.)

(Entertainment? Even if it’s written in mirror script.)

For now, his companions could survive without issue.

But eventually, everyone will realize it.

There's no escaping from here.

that we are pitiful little lambs kept in this enormous cage.

Only the dog noticed it.

No, to be precise, it was him and his partner—only Amata Kōon.

Nevertheless, 光音 was,

Just wait, and eventually the weather at sea will improve.

Yet, despite being optimistic, he knew the reality of an ordinary dog bite.

In the end, miracles don't actually happen.

So he decided to go mad in secret.

He locked all the rooftop doors, so his companions wouldn't worry.

To be able to laugh with everyone as if nothing had happened, once everything was over.

First, he stripped off all his clothes and stood completely naked.

Then he roared like an animal. "Uhyoouooooooouououou!"

Afterward, he thought the following.

In the end, the sight of rainbow-colored soft ice cream being forcefully, desperately squeezed out in rhythm with the tanuki's drumming was beautiful—especially the moment it was sucked into the mouth of the deity of the Reticle constellation, which was truly breathtaking.

In the celestial gathering where the gods reside, merely handing out vegetable salad—colorfully adorned with various carrots—falls to the lowly servants, not the kind of thoughtful move a desirable man would make.

It goes without saying that spaghetti carbonara is the most delicious food in the world, and here I declare that it shall soon become one with the cosmos.

Come now! Those who believe all problems can be solved through sex,

the time of joy and triumph has arrived.

Let humans and beasts unite, and raise children born from double-door refrigerator-style wombs.

Inside their intestines lie delicacies such as frozen shrimp pilaf—rather tasty indeed—so be sure to guard them well against thieves.

And he stood on the edge of the rooftop, thinking, "This is it," as he urinated on the "zombie."

He was a man with a balding head and a plump, round body—so much so that one could easily imagine he'd taken up more space than others in life. This, they said, was his punishment.

With a dull, echoing sound—shiny bald head reflecting light, reaching out pale, white hands toward me.

That's it, that's it! Tastes good, right? This is part of a human too! Give it a try!

Renji let out a loud laugh there. He was in top form. It felt as if the daily stress was melting away, soft and gooey, under the warm sunlight—just like a frozen dessert.

As if he'd become a wild beast, he turned his gaze toward a red female figure drawn humorously by his friend Takaya Kōichi, just a little while ago.

After staring at it for a while, he began to feel a strange, rising urge.

Yet, comforting himself with a drawing made by his friend felt too hollow, and suddenly, he collapsed.

Lying flat on his back, he screamed toward the cloudy sky.

"Damn it... my breasts! Hehehe... breasts, breasts..."

Just then.

A girl clad in pitch-black armor landed nearby—like an angel or a demon—right where he lay.

"Oh? What a cute little sex symbol we have here?"

"Ah... h-hello... w-what do you mean by 'symbol'?"

The armor worn by the angel—or demon—vanished like magic upon landing.

At the same time, another girl, seemingly carried on her back, stepped lightly onto the ground.

To Renji, the sight looked as if the girl had split into two.

"Hmm. So the sex symbol is multiplying. Then I'll give one to someone among our allies—fairly, like in Othello."

Behold. In the realm of imagination, such miracles are effortlessly possible.

Renji was in the best of moods. Over the moon.

It's not even been long since I decided to go mad in the morning, and yet here I am, face to face with such vivid hallucinations. And these hallucinations are two beautiful girls, probably longing for my seed. Isn't this just too convenient, like something out of an erotic manga?

But he is no dreamer either.

He was the kind of person who sought realism even within imagination.

After a brief hesitation, Renji selected the slender woman in a tank top, quickly stood up, and began saying “ku” as the syllable formed.

“Um, sorry…”

She stared in surprise at Renji’s bare-chested state before replying.

“Eh… what?”

“Can I… have sex with you?”

“Huh?”

“No, I mean sex. The physical union between a man and a woman.”

“Eh?”

“Eh?”

“…No, I don’t want to?”

“Eh?”

“Eh?”

"Why aren't you a convenient woman for me?"

"I mean, I don't know what to say to that..."

"I'm just worn out. I have plenty of time, but I'd rather keep the ritualistic formalities between men and women to a minimum."

"...Look, you shouldn't bring up something like that right at the start. I think it's better to get to know each other first, don't you?"

"That's ridiculous. Then why did you come out here in the first place?"

"Well... I came to rescue you, of course?"

"Idiotic. No one can save us."

"That's... well, uh, ha ha... it depends on how hard everyone tries, I guess..."

"No matter how hard we try...! You're just an illusion! Even I... can't do anything about it!"

Renji shouted, tears welling up in his eyes.

It was the first time he'd ever voiced such a complaint, after tirelessly striving to be the leader all along.

Frankly speaking, everything happening now could be called a tragedy.

All of Renji's actions at this moment were an attempt to hurl every ounce of madness—perhaps even the pain he'd inflicted on his comrades—into the void.

"I... I'm not really cut out to be a hero... I'm not the kind of person who should be relied upon by everyone... I've been so, so afraid all along..."

"S-so... that's how it was..."

"Then, please take care of me!"

And he collapsed right there, face-down on the ground.

Kneeling, bowing his head to his hallucinations—feeling a masochistic pleasure in this humiliating situation. If only someone would step on the back of his head now, it would be absolutely perfect.

From the moment I laid eyes on you, I’ve been drawn to your body—specifically, that tightly toned waist. I’d love to run my tongue along your silhouette. Please, take that into consideration.

"Eh, eh, eh... You really said something incredibly weird just now..."

Unfortunately, my imagined partner seems to lack sadistic tendencies, leaving me utterly stunned.

"……Uh, um, this is… trouble… Even I didn't expect this turn of events…"

Then, I felt a sudden tap on my shoulder.

Looking up, I saw a different woman with glasses looking down at me, her face twisted into a frightening smile.

"What's the matter? I was talking to the other guy over here."

In that instant—

"Y-you damn pervert!"

The sharp slap of a whip-like palm strike slammed across Renji's face.

"Gyafun!"

He cried out, but then thought to himself—

—Wait… Could it be… are these people actually real?

And that was it.