Act 4: Curtain Up
“The next stop will be our last for the afternoon~”
As always, the fluffy-winged guardian Excia’s older sister stood at the front, leading the tour group toward the final destination.
Hinata-chan and I trailed slightly behind the others—
just far enough to whisper in private.
“That’s how Rui-chan and I became friends.”
What Hinata-chan told me was the story of how she and Rui first grew close.
And hearing it, I thought—
—Wait, wasn’t my influence way bigger than I thought…?
Let me quickly summarize the flow of events.
- I told Hinata-chan, “To make friends.”
- Yuri ensued.
- I ended up wedged between them (or at least, that’s how it looks).
—Wait, is this some elaborate suicide attempt…?
As I stood there dumbfounded, Hinata-chan looked up at me with damp eyes.
“You… really don’t remember at all…?”
“N-no, I do remember saying, ‘Try to get along with someone who isn’t dazzled by flashy things’… but I had no idea that was Utsurugi-san…”
“Rui-chan was already famous for being beautiful back then, you know… You really are such an onii-san.”
She gave me the same disappointed look one might give a hopeless person—as if to say, “You really don’t care about anything outside your own interests, huh?”
Huh…? My dignity as an older brother is… crumbling…?
“Hina?”
I glanced up to see Rui, who had been walking with Tsukumo, turning back to look at us.
“It’s nothing! I’m coming now!” She turned back to me. “Onii-san, we’ll talk more after the tour, okay?”
“Yeah, got it. Thanks.”
Before we could arouse suspicion, she hurried to catch up with the group ahead.
The girls were now chatting happily among themselves, so I fell silent, lost in thought.
What I needed to consider now was their relationship in the original story.
Chronologically, the progression of Watayume went like this:
Chapter 1
The story begins with Hinata-chan becoming the winged guardian Excia and being paired with Rui, who was already renowned as a “genius.”
At this point, Hinata-chan admired Rui, who was excelling in their training school, but Rui barely acknowledged her existence.
The chapter depicts Hinata-chan struggling to keep up with Rui, who solves cases on her own without regard for their partnership as Excia.
Near the end, while pursuing a separate incident, Rui encounters the serial killer Izayoi the Alluring Night.
After a fierce battle, Rui nearly lets her escape—until Hinata-chan arrives late and defeats her, securing the victory.
Rui thanks her with just a single line, marking a small but meaningful step forward in their relationship.
This concludes Chapter 1, which was Watayume Volume 1.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
Chapter 2
This is where their relationship takes a major leap forward. The focus shifts to Rui and Hinata-chan growing closer, both professionally and personally.
Along the way, Rui’ past is explored.
Her childhood, unless my memory fails me, was nearly identical to this world’s Rui—with one key difference:
Whether or not they became friends in elementary school.
In Watayume, there was no mention of elementary school.
Naturally, neither the readers nor I had any idea they even attended the same one.
The only hint of their past was a brief scene where Hinata-chan harbored a one-sided admiration for Rui in training school.
As they gradually opened up about their pasts, their bond deepened.
They weren’t just Excia partners—they were also high school classmates.
They stopped by dessert shops on their way home, tried karaoke for the first time—normal, age-appropriate fun.
Hinata is the one who makes her go along, and Rui is the one who learns how to do it.
Rui, who had never experienced such things before, silently but eagerly devoured her first crepe with a twinkle in his eye.
At karaoke, she revealed her love for music and stunned Hinata-chan with her singing.
These everyday moments, paired with Rui’ backstory, made her feel real—like you could almost hear her breathing.
Especially the soft smiles she showed despite her distrust of people—they hit hard.
It was impossible not to fall for her after seeing that.
I did. Every other reader did.
Her first-place ranking in the popularity poll proved it.
The perfect heroine, Rui, and Hinata-chan worked together to defeat Gouki the Brute, a key member of Nega-Messiah.
By defeating an enemy neither could have beaten alone, they became irreplaceable partners—and Chapter 2 came to a close.
This arc spanned Volumes 2 and 3.
“…Yeah, I’m remembering a lot now.”
For something I last read eighteen years ago, I recalled a surprising amount.
But organizing it like this dredged up even the finer details I’d nearly forgotten.
On the flip side, several things had already diverged from the original.
First: Gouki the Brute Steel Demon—who should have been the greatest enemy of Chapter 2—had already been defeated by Hinata-chan.
……This was my fault.
Second: Izayoi the Alluring Night—who was supposed to appear in Chapter 1—never showed up.
In the timeline of Watayume, this was likely about a month earlier.
Around the time I endured that heavenly hell of going to the shopping mall with Hinata-chan and Rui.
The reason Izayoi didn’t cause any incidents was probably connected to Gouki the Brute Steel Demon’s rampage.
She’s the type of villain who has to be the center of attention—so she must have hated sharing the spotlight with Gouki in the news.
……Which, again, means it was my fault.
And finally—
Hinata Soehi and Rui Utsurugi.
Their relationship wasn’t just progressing—it was already complete.
——This was my fault too…!
Conclusion: Everything was my fault. Q.E.D.
If I’d intended to wreck Watayume’s plot, even Zhuge Liang would’ve been impressed by my “divine scheming.”
But I didn’t mean to.
“…Am I an idiot?”
In my mind, a mini-Kushina stared at me in utter disbelief.
I shook my head, dispelling the thought.
Honestly, if this hadn’t caused any problems, I wouldn’t have minded.
Rui’ murderous intent? Their overly close friendship? Fine, whatever.
But the real issue was that my meddling might be stealing Rui’ smiles.
That was unacceptable.
What kind of fan would I be if I took away my oshi’s happiness?
Forget “I won’t get between you two.”
The top priority was fixing whatever was troubling her—nothing else mattered.
…Well, if the murderous vibes stopped too, that’d be a bonus.
“Alright.”
Time to restore my oshi’s smile—
“Heeere we are~! This is the [Sky Corridor]!”
“Whoaa, amazing!!”
“So pretty!”
WHOOOA!! SO COOOOL!!!
THE [SKY CORRIDOR]!!!
IT’S GORGEOUS!!!
“—Wait, NO! Focus!”
The mini-Kushina in my head sighed in exasperation.
◇◇◇◇◇
The upper floors of the 10th Branch were divided into two towers.
One was the [Star Tower].
It housed the branch director’s office, vice-director’s office, and secure storage for important artifacts and documents.
Of course, this wasn’t public knowledge—I only knew from Watayume.
This was the tower we’d been in earlier.
The other was the [Moon Tower].
Unlike the cluttered Star Tower, its interior was simple—
the entire structure was a sanctuary dedicated to the god who bestowed Lux, the gift of talent.
This was why I’d once called the 10th Branch “not a castle, but a grand cathedral.”
And connecting these two towers was the [Sky Corridor].
“Still… this is incredible.”
The corridor’s side walls were entirely made of reinforced glass, offering a panoramic view of Oura’s cherry blossom-lined streets.
That alone wouldn’t be unique—any tall building could offer a similar vista. But there was one sight only visible here.
The Sky Corridor wasn’t just a single bridge.
Multiple walkways crisscrossed in a three-dimensional web.
Its beauty and intricacy—though slightly unbefitting of the Excia guardians—resembled a spider’s silk.
And this network of “threads” was collectively called the Sky Corridor.
“Niisama… this must’ve cost a fortune… I’m jealous…”
Tsukumo muttered in a trembling voice.
I thought she was shivering from awe—but no, she was once again agonizing over construction costs.
“Heh, but we creatures of darkness deserve only an ant’s nest…” I dragged along my “cousin” who had started defending herself with such suspiciously edgy lines.
As we caught up to the lagging group, Rui suddenly snatched Tsukumo away.
Naturally, I received nothing but icy glares in return.
“Why can’t we go outside here?”
“We could go out from the main hall earlier though~”
“Hmm~ You know how skyscrapers create those strong wind currents? It’s really dangerous with all that swirling wind~”
Mixing in some Q&A like this, we chattered noisily while making our way through the corridor.
At the dead end before a door, the lead girl spun around to face us.
“Alrighty~ Our fun sky journey ends here~”
“Ehhh?”
“It’s over already…?”
A chorus of disappointed sighs rose from the children.
I understood how they felt—the view had been breathtaking, after all.
But this was the endpoint of the Sky Corridor, the entrance to the Moon Tower.
The woman holding a mini flag labeled [Sightseeing Tour] smiled warmly.
“Welcome to our sanctuary~”
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