"Th-then, can we come too?"
Just then, Alice spoke up again.
"You're not afraid of dying?"
Makoto was a bit surprised, 'Was this white-haired girl set on me?'
"Aunt Mana is sick and can't do anything, and Erina is a Tsundere who has never taken care of anyone. I think it's better if I come along, so Nishikawa-kun doesn't find them troublesome and kill them later."
"Who's a Tsundere!?" Erina protested indignantly. "T-Taking care of someone, I, I can do it."
"Then let me ask you, do you know how to prepare foot-washing water? Do you know how to massage someone's feet?"
Her cousin's rapid-fire questions left Erina speechless.
'Massage someone's feet?'
'How could I have ever done something like that? I had heard plenty of guys at school wanted to lick my feet, though.'
"See, you don't know how to do anything."
Alice spread her hands. "With you and Aunt Mana like this, how can I feel at ease? I have to come along too."
"C-Can you do it, then?"
Erina asked angrily.
"Of course. I washed my mother's feet when I was little. What about you..."
Here, Alice suddenly stopped herself and quickly shut up. She had forgotten that Erina's mother had left her when she was young.
Behind them, Soe and Leonora watched but didn't stop their daughter's decision.
After all, as their daughter had said, their family wasn't familiar with any of the superhumans present. It wouldn't be a good fit to team up with anyone else.
They could only stick with Makoto, even if the mortality rate was higher.
After all, without him, they'd probably die even faster.
"Alright, teams are set. Dismissed."
Makoto waved his hand.
"Makoto, I'll miss you."
Airi threw herself into Makoto's arms again, standing on her tiptoes.
Makoto leaned down.
Smack!
"Makoto, don't worry about us. Go do what you need to do."
Marina followed.
Smack!
"Sensei-kun, I won't forgive you if you forget me."
Smack!
Utaha bit Makoto's lip hard, also grabbing his hand and rubbing it against her thigh for a moment.
By the way, her black stockings had been torn to shreds yesterday.
"Don't rush. Only act when you're confident. I can wait."
Megumi wrapped her arms around Makoto's waist and pecked him on the corner of his lips.
One after another, the other players watched in stunned silence.
'Will this ever end...'
After a full fifteen minutes, everyone had said their goodbyes.
The last to say farewell was Yu. He stepped forward and said: "Senpai, I want to make a contract with a Devil."
Yu hadn't chosen to team up. He had decided to strike out on his own, believing that having protection from superhumans would make him complacent and hinder his growth.
Hearing this, Makoto, who was wiping the numerous lipstick marks off his face with a handkerchief handed to him by Alice, paused.
The others also looked at Yu with disbelief.
"Are you serious?"
Makoto asked.
Yu nodded: "I've been thinking about it for a long time. Ten years is just too long. If I reach a point in my training where I can't improve further, I want to try making a contract with a Devil to become stronger. I also want to fight alongside you, Senpai, to battle the Control Devil."
Makoto chuckled: "If you want to fight the Control Devil, you'd need to make a contract with a pretty powerful Devil."
"Is the Gun Devil strong enough?"
Hearing this, everyone fell silent again.
"Focus on getting stronger first."
Makoto said after a moment's thought.
"Yes!"
Yu bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle. "When we meet again, I'll work hard to be able to help you, Senpai."
With that, Yu turned and left. Watching his retreating figure, even Eriri, who had never exchanged a word with him, couldn't help but remark: "His determination is on a completely different level."
Back when Tomoya had been deemed by Iruka to have no talent for becoming a Ninja and was forced to leave the Academy, he had given up.
But compared to Yu, Eriri suddenly felt that her childhood friend's willpower was far too weak.
After all, that parasite gave up after one failure.
Yu was the complete opposite. He was desperately trying to become stronger!
"Eriri, let's go."
Just then, Sayuri, who had finished saying her goodbyes to Makoto, came over.
"Oh."
Eriri responded and prepared to leave with her family.
But immediately, she noticed a problem.
Her father wasn't bringing Tomoya.
"Hey! Eriri! I'm still here! Eriri!"
Tomoya, who had just been crying his eyes out over Megumi's farewell kiss, desperately called out to his childhood friend.
Eriri looked at her parents questioningly.
"Eriri, do you want us to end up like them?"
Sayuri pointed at the isolated Kudo Family.
Eriri immediately understood her mother's meaning, but seeing Tomoya in such a pathetic state, she felt a bit of pity.
"We've done enough for him. From now on, it's up to him to survive."
Sayuri sighed.
If Tomoya had shown a little more ambition and achieved something, she wouldn't have minded setting him up with her daughter.
But coveting the woman of Makoto? No one could save him from that!
"Eriri, don't waste your efforts on someone whose heart isn't with you. Including those years in the Ninja World, you've known him for over fifteen years, haven't you? After all this time, haven't you realized what his feelings are for you?"
Sayuri's words were the final straw for Eriri.
Seeing Eriri's silence, Tomoya became even more desperate. He scrambled on his hands and knees, a pathetic sight, his voice filled with despair: "Don't, don't go, don't go, Eriri! I, I love you! Really, I love you! Save me, please save me!"
He cried so hard his face contorted. The self-proclaimed creator persona was gone, leaving only a begging, pitiful wretch.
Seeing this, Makoto couldn't help but laugh.
Utaha, the Aizono sisters, Yumiko, and the others, who hadn't yet gone far, all showed looks of disgust.
Even Megumi, usually so calm, silently shook her head.
"It's too ugly, Aki-kun."
Hearing Tomoya say he loved her, Eriri, who should have been happy, instead felt an unprecedented disappointment. It was the accumulation of fifteen years of expectations, finally shattering completely.
She gave him one last look of deep disappointment, without a trace of lingering attachment, and turned away with her parents, leaving decisively.
Tomoya froze in place, his outstretched hand hanging in the air, grabbing only cold air.
Eriri's figure grew smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared from view.
Before long, the abandoned Tomoya had screamed his throat raw, leaving only hoarse gasps.
He looked around blankly at the ruined, devastated city, as if seeing his own heart.
Just then, a stool was placed beside him. Tomoya turned stiffly and saw Makoto sitting with his legs crossed, watching him with amusement.
Like enjoying a farce about to end.
"Wh, what do you want?!"
Tomoya screamed hoarsely.
"Nothing. I just want to see how your story ends."
Makoto said cheerfully.
Just then, Erina and Alice came to Makoto's side, one on each side. Erina held half a watermelon she had found somewhere, awkwardly scooped out a spoonful with a spoon, and carefully brought it to Makoto's lips.
Alice pressed herself against Makoto's back, providing a lap pillow for his head while her small hands massaged his shoulders somewhat clumsily.
The scene of his dreams seared into Tomoya's eyes.
At that moment, the distance between them was so close, yet so far.
Just after his dream goddess, Kato Megumi had left, Makoto now had two more girls by his side who were in no way inferior to Megumi and Utaha.
Comparing that to his own sorry state, covered in flies and even rats gnawing at his body, Tomoya could only shed tears of blood, staring fixedly at Makoto.
Unbeknownst to him, his behavior only made Makoto more pleased.