Outside the window, the sun was shining brightly, and below was the glowing magic circle carpet.
But Totsuka's eyes were pitch black.
She clearly remembered how much effort her Master had put into establishing Club, and how excited she was after its success. She had also created countless beautiful memories within this association...
And now... to disband it just like that, how could Totsuka possibly accept it?!
"Master! Why!"
"I want everyone to be free to do what they want... You too, Totsuka..."
"No... I cannot accept this death!"
Totsuka lunged forward, her knees hitting the magic stones without feeling anything. She grabbed Rikka's shoulders, her voice already tearful.
"Master! Didn't you say that to find the invisible boundary line and go to the other side of the boundary line, this association was indispensable, death!
Saying you want everyone to be free to do what they want... What Totsuka wants to do most is to continue exploring with Master in this association, death!
Master!!! Master!!"
Totsuka broke down. Her heart refused to admit that her proudest and most beloved Master had fallen so low. She desperately shook Rikka's shoulders, but tears streamed down her face.
She couldn't accept it... She couldn't accept it... Even if sorrow and unwillingness had devoured her heart, making her incoherent and her body unsure of what to do, she still refused to let go of Rikka... She wanted to be here, she wanted to be with her Master.
How difficult it must have been for Rikka to make this decision. She loved Club, and she also wanted to be here again, to create more beautiful memories... with everyone.
But she couldn't, because... this was abnormal, and she was now a normal person.
Is this the best way? Why wasn't she happy at all?
Rikka remained silent, not even daring to look at Totsuka's face. She was afraid she would cry too, and that wouldn't do. It would make Yuta, it would make her mother sad...
Nibutani couldn't stand it anymore. This wouldn't solve anything. Seeing Rikka and Totsuka like this, her heart ached too. She walked forward, grabbed Totsuka by the back of her collar, and dragged her out.
She didn't object to Club disbanding. They hadn't done anything substantial anyway, and joining the drama club was much better than staying here. Her goal was just the dark scripture in Totsuka's hand... Although she was quite regretful about Club disbanding, it was just regret.
What she was truly worried about was Rikka.
Dragging Totsuka out by the back of her collar with one hand, Totsuka wasn't cooperative while being dragged by Nibutani... Her heart had already broken, her faith had been shattered, and everything she had done seemed meaningless...
She screamed, wailed, and struggled, but it was useless. What dragged her was not just Nibutani, but also Rikka's shattered fantasy and the cruel, indifferent reality, leaving her powerless, unable to break free, unable to escape.
No matter how loudly she screamed, no matter how tragically she cried, she couldn't cross the barrier between fantasy and reality to call Rikka back.
Nibutani dragged Totsuka out and ran into Yuta, who was coming in... Yuta was a step late. He had just submitted the application to disband Club to Ninomiya Nana Teacher. From now on, Club truly no longer existed. They needed to clean up the club room within three days for the next club to use.
Although Yuta didn't know what had happened, seeing Totsuka, who was crying so hard her voice was hoarse, he could roughly guess what had happened... Perhaps, this news was indeed a bit hard for Totsuka.
In just a few weeks, the Master she had followed for two years was gone, and the club room that had given her freedom was also gone. She had lost completely...
"I say... isn't it a bit too much to force it? You too... Takanashi too... Togashi, think carefully..."
Nibutani's face showed some sadness. As she passed Yuta, she said this disjointed sentence, then continued dragging Totsuka away...
"Let go of me! Let go of me, death!"
"Stop it!!"
Listening to the gradually fading wailing, Ikenouchi Maki glanced at Fang Wuwei. She knew Master cared about these people the most, and she even felt a little heartache, but Master... seemed indifferent?
Fang Wuwei silently glanced out the window... This was bound to happen, it couldn't be avoided. If it was avoided now, it would still happen in a few days...
Totsuka was dragged by Nibutani to the stairwell. Since it was difficult to drag someone down the stairs, Nibutani let her go there, but she didn't expect Totsuka to stand up and try to run back as soon as she was released...
Unfortunately, she couldn't get past Nibutani. Nibutani was tall and strong, more than a head taller than Totsuka. If she really wanted to restrain Totsuka, she wouldn't need to exert much effort. It used to be just playing around, but Totsuka was now powerless, held tightly in place and unable to leave.
Unable to run to her Master, Totsuka still struggled, but even when she used all her strength to move forward, Nibutani, who was holding one of her arms, was like a deeply rooted tree. She couldn't even make Nibutani move half a step. She realized for the first time how strong this fake Morisummer was...
Looking at Totsuka, who was crying disconsolately, a strange pang of heartache arose in Nibutani's heart. Seeing that ordinary methods couldn't stop Totsuka, Nibutani grabbed Totsuka's shoulders and pulled her into her embrace...
Totsuka struggled at first, but as Nibutani's arm wrapped around her head and gently stroked it, she realized that Nibutani was no longer simply trying to stop her...
"Good girl... good girl..."
Feeling the gentleness on her face and the warmth that completely enveloped her, Totsuka stopped struggling... Nibutani's hand gently stroking her head instantly calmed her heart... For some reason, in her embrace, Totsuka felt a sense of security and comfort...
"You... don't meddle, death..."
Although she said that, Totsuka's hands tightly embraced Nibutani, refusing to let go, burying herself desperately into Nibutani's embrace. Her loud wailing turned into soft sobs, and she quietly stayed in Nibutani's embrace, no longer struggling.
Nibutani also understood that what Totsuka needed most at this moment was only comfort. She didn't resist Totsuka, who was squirming in her embrace, and showed her compassionate side, smiling and continuously stroking Totsuka's head, which calmed Totsuka even more.
Something began to sprout in Totsuka's heart.
........................
"What? You want to form an association too?"
Ninomiya Nana Teacher put down the homework in her hand and looked up at the three people standing obediently in front of her: Fang Wuwei, Ikenouchi Maki, and Koushou.
"Yes, Teacher, Rikka's association has been disbanded, but we also need a new association."
"Yeah, yeah~ I still want to take a nap~"
"Wherever Master goes, I go."
Looking at the somewhat stubborn trio in front of her, Nanase Teacher really couldn't refuse. This was a student's right, but how could she not know what these three children were thinking?
"Rikka finally returned to normal, graduating from that... chuunibyou thing. Are you going to drag her back?"
"Teacher, believe me, she will regret it. Rather... she will grow, truly grow, instead of living under the gaze of others."
Looking at Fang Wuwei's exposed eye, Ninomiya Nana Teacher once again felt the maturity of the East... She took out an association application form from the drawer and handed it to him. She had many questions she wanted to ask. Rikka's behavior during this period also made her a little confused. As someone who had been through it, she could see that Rikka was not very happy, but she found it inconvenient to ask, which was why she so decisively approved Fang Wuwei's association application.
"Teacher, may I ask, if it is successfully established, our club room will be..."
...Besides your previous club room, there's nowhere else in the school we can give you now."
Ninomiya Nana Teacher and Fang Wuwei reached a consensus.