ARM Backup/Surge Concerto/Light Novels/Yuuki Nei Life Logging Vol. 2 After Story

== Extra   Return~ World Line a~ ==
“Whaaah!”
Ion was engulfed by a pure white
world. There was no up and down… nor left and right. 
She
was dumbfounded and couldn’t do anything as the black speck that had appeared
in front of her rapidly expanded and swallowed her up.  No, perhaps it was more accurate to say that
she had flown at high speeds to the distant edge of the pure white world. 
The
pure white world disappeared into the distance behind her, and the darkness
left in its place became her entire world. 
“Uwaah!?” 
Suddenly,
she flopped down under the pull of gravity.
What
had happened? Had the spaceship broken down? Or was there a hardware accident
like a meteorite strike? In any case, it was clear that there had been an unexpected emergency. 
Ion
immediately grasped her head and leaned forward. She braced herself, anticipating
a shrill alarm and violent tremors. However……
“…………”
5
10
seconds…… 30 seconds…… And a minute…… No matter how much time passed, she
didn’t hear a single sound, much less felt a crash. 
You
could always hear some sort of sound on the bridge of the ship. The fact that
it was dead silent was abnormal in and of itself……        
(Did
I die just like that?)
She
didn’t feel pain or anything else wrong with her body. Ion slowly got up and eased
her eyes open.
“I’m
alive… right?” 
The
bridge and the expanse of space beyond the tempered glass should have been
there before her.  But in reality, it
was a pitch-black world where she couldn’t even see the light of the stars,
much less the bridge…… Ion immediately realized she was somewhere other than
the bridge of the spaceship.
“Where……am
I?”
She
looked around nervously. 
The world she had thought was
pitch-black was in fact, faintly illuminated by a white light from above. She
started to get an impression of her surroundings as her eyes adjusted to the
dark……
She
was in a spacious room that appeared to be long abandoned, with run-down
folding chairs and tables thrown in the corners.
(Noelia
Laboratory?) 
But
she immediately shook her head and rejected the thought. It was too narrow and
barren to be the lab. 
6
She
happened to look up at the ceiling where the light was shining through, and
could see a large white star through the small window. 
“The……moon?”
It
was something she hadn’t been able to see in a long time. The planet Earth’s
sole satellite, which shone with a beautiful yet cold radiance.  Ion knew what it was, as well as its
name……
“It’s
the moon!” 
As
soon as she recognized the moon, her memories leading up to this point came
flooding back. 
Ion
and Nero had headed towards the center of EXA_PICO in the ship in order to
return to Earth from CIEL.  They had
eventually heard from the ship’s system that the conditions were right, and
immediately after thinking “We can finally go back to Earth!”, her vision was
engulfed by the white world, and had led to where she was this very moment. 
It
had been so sudden she didn’t know what had happened……
She
closed her eyes once more, took a deep breath, and slowly let it out.  After putting her right hand to her chest
and calming herself, she opened her eyes again and looked around the moonlit
room. 
“This
is where I was stabbed by Nouma……”
Nei Yuuki had been repeatedly
pierced through the chest with a screwdriver by the Bot-controlled Nouma, and
had lost her life in this room.  Afterwards,
her soul had been transported to CIEL by the activated Genologic
Machine. 
And
when she dropped her gaze and looked down at her body…… It was not the familiar
body of Ion…… Ionasal.kkll.Preciel
that met her eyes, but the original vessel her soul had belonged to.  The body of Nei
Yuuki. 
7
“My
body……” 
Ion……or
rather, Nei Yuuki, lightly
stroked the back of her left hand with her fingertip.  The feeling of her fingertip gliding
across her skin and the ticklish feeling on the back of her hand were proof
that it was her body. 
“I
made it back home……”
*squeeze*…
Nei hugged herself close.
Earth,
which she had dreamed of returning to, but had given up on. 
Her
true body, which she had told herself she would never be able to lay hands on again.
She
was breathing in Earth’s air for the first time in 5000 years.  Touching her own body for the first time
in 5000 years……  
*sob*……               
The
corner of her eyes felt hot, and an endless stream of tears spilled out. 
“I
made it back, everyone……”
Delta,
Cas, Sarly, Nay, Shirotaka,
Kanon, Renall, Nero……  The faces of everyone who had worked
hard so Ion could go back to being Nei came to her
mind one after another.  She clasped
her hands in front of her chest, overcome with feelings of gratitude she
couldn’t put into words.
8
“I……
I really made it back to Earth, dear……”
Poroppo~♪
“Uwaah?!” 
The
unexpected melody brought her back from her thoughts. 
“What?
What?!” 
It
felt like the sound had come from her body.  She felt around in a fluster, and a
device with a large screen covered by a soft case fell out of her pocket. 
“Wh-wah!”
She
twisted and danced around, and managed to catch the device! 
“Ah,
my phone?!” 
Now
that she knew that the device was her phone, Nei
remembered that the sound just now had been her email tone.
“Oh
yeah!  What’s the date?!” 
She
had managed to make it back, but what if it was decades later, like in the
story of Urashima Tarou……  She faltered with her phone, anxious at
the thought. 
(Now……h-how
did I get the screen to display again?)
She
tried pressing the buttons along the side of the phone, but nothing displayed
on the screen. 
“H-huh?  That’s not it……maybe here?”
Despite her struggles operating her phone
for the first time in 5000 years, her wallpaper and the date displayed on the
screen the instant she touched the button on top. 
9
<April
21, 23:50>
Wasn’t
that a little after the point in time she had been taken away to CIEL?......
Nei had spent over 5000 years (though she had been in a
state of sleep for most of it) on Ra Ciela as Ion.  Yet not even seconds had passed when she
returned to Earth.
“Now
I’ll be able to restart……”
A
sigh of relief escaped her mouth upon learning she had returned at the best
possible time.  She wiped away the
tears she had shed and composed herself. 
Nei had finally been able to progress to a <world where
her soul wasn’t taken away to CIEL> after 5000 years!
“That’s
right, what about Nero……?”
Nero,
who had been taken away to CIEL just like Nei.  She had also headed to the center of
EXA_PICO with Ion so she could return to her own world.  Nei was able
to return, but did Nero make it? 
She
looked around the dim room in search of Nouma.  That silver robot with shining red eyes
who had driven Nei into this basement was nowhere to
be found.
If
she was safe, and Nouma wasn’t there, then that
meant……
“We
did it Nero……we made it back.”      
10
Nei had returned to right after the point in time she had
been sent to CIEL, so Nero should have returned to the moment she had been sent
to CIEL as well.  The fact that Nouma wasn’t there was proof.  Bot, who had been controlling Nouma, no longer had any need to interfere with Earth to
save Nero. 
Nei looked up at moon once more, illuminated by its light. 
“Everything
is truly over now.” 
The
past where she had been wounded by Bot had vanished, and she wouldn’t be
targeted again either.  Looking
back, her numerous experiences that had stretched on for far too long, and yet
had ended in an instant flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern. 
“Goodbye,
Ion.  Ionasal.kkll.Preciel……”
She
bid farewell to the part of her that was Ion to give herself a sense of
closure, so she could live her true life as Nei Yuuki. 
“I’ve
got to hurry home.  Aya-chan and the others must be worried……” 
She
turned around and pushed open the rusted door leading out of the basement.
And
just beyond the door…… something like a crude doll was sitting with its back
turned in the middle of the dark passageway, shining gold in the moonlight. 
“!”
How
could she forget the one who had saved her time after time? 
“Yumekichi!” 
11
She
rushed over to Yumekichi and picked him up.  It wasn’t entirely clear because of how
dark it was, but she could immediately tell that nothing was broken.  She couldn’t find a single scratch on his
moonlit gold exterior either.  
“I’m
back, Yumekichi.”
Nei spoke to him while lovingly stroking his head.  An old screwdriver was clasped in his
hand.  There wasn’t a single drop of
blood on it, of course.  And the Genologic Machine near where he had been sitting was still.
“Can
you see?  I made it back home……”    
Unsurprisingly,
there was no response from Yumekichi.  Even so, she continued to talk to the
person who had existed inside him.
“You
were protecting me long before we met in that room.  Over and over again,
in different forms……”
She
hadn’t realized it 5000 years ago, but now it was clear.  The person who had manipulated Yumekichi, leaving behind their kind heart…… was the person
from a parallel world she had met in CIEL. 
The person who had believed and worked together with her to the end. 
She
switched him on, just in case.  His
eyes glowed blue, and he entered standby mode, but he didn’t enter the AI-based
autonomous mode.  
“That’s……right.”
They
were no longer by her side……
12
A
deep loneliness gripped her heart at the thought. 
“I
know, I won’t cry.  I can’t cry
after finally making it back to my world.” 
If
Nei had merely had a superficial relationship with
them……  She probably would have
broken down in tears.
But
that wasn’t the case.  Not after
they had seen all of her heart……  They had accepted all of her, even the
negative parts that were afraid of parting ways and refused to fully trust
them.  And Nei
had accepted them, despite her heart being revealed to them like she had feared
more than anything else. 
What
could be happier than being able to form such a deep relationship with someone,
even if they may never be able to meet?
(Our
hearts won’t be torn apart just because we’re from different worlds.  We are always connected……forever and ever.  Right?) 
She
was lonely, but she brought her right hand to her chest once more, cherishing
the warmth in her heart. 
“Hehe.  Are you thinking about me right
now?”  
She
picked up Yumekichi once more and hugged him
close.  
“Thank
you, Yumekichi…… Terminal-san…… Earthes……”
She
hugged him tighter.
“Thank
you……dear.”
13
***
“I’m
back. Yumekichi, Nouma.” 
Nei greeted Yumekichi and Nouma on the rack where they were sitting side by side as
she arrived home from university, and set the large
bag on her shoulder down on her desk. 
Life
on Earth after 5000 years.  She had
automatically adopted some of her habits from Ra Ciela
at first, and made a lot of mistakes.  But she got a feel of living on Earth
again in a few days, and was now spending busy days
enjoying the mix of nostalgia and novelty. 
“Huh?”
She
looked over at Nouma and tilted her head.
“I
feel like something is…… Ah!” 
She
looked around the floor…… and hurriedly picked up the fallen piece of paper she
noticed in a corner of the room.  She
put a fresh piece of tape on it, and stuck it back
where it belonged……on Nouma’s head.  Written in neat handwriting on it was
the message “Don’t go arbitrarily making things, Aya-chan!”
“I
wonder if the wind blew it off?”
Bot
hadn’t ever manipulated Nouma in this world.  But Aya had visited Nei
worried about the future, opened up to her about her
troubles, and built Nouma similar to how she had before.  Their relationship had also turned out
much like how it was in the past she was familiar with.
14
“I
wonder if Aya-chan will next come to visit after
summer vacation starts.” 
Nei poured sparkling water from the bottle she had taken
out of the refrigerator into a cup, and enjoyed the
feel of the carbonation as it went down her throat.  Golden Week was over, and she was
parched from jogging home in the early summer-like weather. 
“Now
then.  Let’s finish before dinner!”
Nei transferred the Genologic
Machine from the rack to her desk, took out a number of
parts from her bag, and lined them up next to it.  They were new parts for the Genologic Machine she had borrowed the Robocon
Club’s equipment to manufacture. 
She
sat down in the chair, removed the exterior of the vacuum tube radio-like
machine with practiced hands, and replaced the unit and substrate inside with the
new parts.
She
had been exposed to many cutting-edge machines on Ra Ciela,
and had made an Earthes-class robot herself, so the Genologic Machine was no longer a mystery to her.  Even though there were still many
materials she couldn’t get on Earth, it wasn’t that hard to modify it so that
it was safe using the knowledge and experience she gained on Ra Ciela.
And
when the sun was setting, dying the sky orange……
“Alright!
The “Modified Genologic Machine” is complete!”
She
picked up the identical-looking Modified Genologic
Machine, and spun around while jumping for joy, expressing her delight with her
entire body.
15
The
remodeled Genologic Machine lacked the ability to
send the user’s soul to Ra Ciela, and had a greatly
reduced output.  But it was more
than enough for her purpose.  And
that purpose was……?
“Then,
without further ado……”
She
flipped the Modified Genologic Machine’s switch
without hesitation.
The
vacuum tubes on the exterior shone, and the various analog gauges began to
move.  Their needles soon stabilized, and informed her that it had started properly.
“Now
then……  Ah, I forgot the mike……”
Having
realized something was missing, Nei hurriedly took
out a retro-style desktop mike that matched the feel of the Genologic
Machine from under the desk.  She
placed it on the desk facing herself, and plugged in the
cord at the end to the port on the back of the machine. 
“Ahem……  Hm!   Aaa-, aaa-……”
Several
of the needles moved with her voice. 
She confirmed that the audio input was working properly, then put her
hand to her chest, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly to calm herself……
*click
click*!
She
reached for the rotary switch on the front of the Genologic
Machine and turned it two clicks to the right.
(Oooh, I’m nervous……)
16
A
gentle expression despite her stiffness…… 
that seemed to be gazing at some place far in the distance rose to her
face.
(What
should I say?   There are a lot
of things I want to tell them, but I can’t send that much……)
She
was able to calculate the interdimensional communication channel frequency she
had used to converse with them by utilizing records left behind in Yumekichi’s core unit. She then built a transmitter for
sending voice data to their terminal using the Genologic
Machine’s interdimensional communication device that could transmit positional
information as a basis!
(I
wonder if they’ll listen to this message?
What
will they think if they do? 
I
hope they’ll be surprised…… and then delighted……
Ah,
maybe they’ll be a bit angry when they listen to it because they might have been
eagerly waiting for me to do something all this time, so they’ll be like “you’re
late!”)
Nei held back a smile, and slowly opened her mouth……
“To
my beloved.  Hello dear.  Are you doing well?  Thanks for watching over me to the-“
<END>