After Reaching the Happy Ending, I Was Locked up by the Extremely Possessive Heroines I Had Conquered - Chapter 57.1: Satori is There Even at the End of the Escape

Chapter 57.1: Satori is There Even at the End of the Escape

The train pulled into Toyohashi Station about fifty minutes later.

As I stepped onto the platform, the distinctive cry of cicadas hit me hard. These were a type of cicada that did not exist on Black Tide Island.

“Still, there are surprisingly few people.”

Compared to the bustle of Nagoya, it felt almost eerily quiet, with a nostalgic atmosphere hanging in the air.

Even so, since it was a Shinkansen stop, people kept streaming through the gates without pause. Passengers boarded and alighted nonstop, and the beep of IC cards echoed through the station.

“…This should have been a totally familiar sight.”

In my previous life this would have been an everyday scene, yet everything felt so fresh that I was surprised at how excited I was.

I must have been completely dyed in the marrow by island life.

Getting used to that lawless, insane place was the last thing I wanted.

“Hick-hick-foo… hick-hick-foo…”

I imitated Mahiru’s abdominal breathing to calm myself, then pulled it together and headed for the Shinkansen ticket machines.

I needed an express ticket along with the base fare ticket.

Just to be sure, I checked my wallet and bought a ticket to Tokyo.

I hesitated for a second, but I had no intention of getting off anywhere along the way anymore. So Tokyo was fine.

Still, just in case, I decided to play it extra safe.

“Who would’ve thought my first green car ride would turn out like this.”

—The Shinkansen green car.

If I rode in the green car, even if Satori got on the same train there would be no problem. A regular reserved-seat ticket wouldn’t let anyone board the green car.

If someone tried to sit there anyway, it would be fare evasion.

In other words, my plan was perfect.

Feeling certain of victory, I smirked to myself, bought snacks and coffee at the kiosk, and passed through the gate in high spirits.

Then I went down to the platform just as the train I wanted pulled in.

—The Shinkansen Hikari.

The green car aisle was perfectly quiet. The carpet was thick, and the lighting seemed a little warmer than in the regular cars.

The basic layout was the same, but every detail of the interior gave off a hotel-like luxury and careful design.

As expected from the green car. I felt a thrill inside as I headed to my assigned seat.

I had reserved seat 6B in car 8—an aisle seat.

I checked the ticket and walked over, only to find someone already sitting beside it.

That in itself wasn’t a problem, but there was one very clear reason this was a huge problem.

“…………………………………………Huh!?”

For a moment my breathing stopped.

The person already there was someone I knew all too well.

Smooth silver hair. A white dress that wrapped her body, a girl so beautiful she drew every eye around her.

—Why is Satori here!?

I couldn’t process it.

She had seen me off at Nagoya Station. There was no way she could have gotten ahead of me.

Yet here she was, perfectly calm.

She gazed out the window as if she had known from the beginning that I would board this exact train.

This didn’t make sense. It absolutely didn’t make sense.

Had she teleported?

And on top of that, she was sitting precisely in the green car, in the very same car, in the seat right next to mine. That was something impossible without precognition.

Wait a second.

Was I being bugged? Or maybe tracked by GPS…?

Both were completely possible. In fact, that was the only explanation.

Because she was Satori.

“Nh…!”

Sweat poured from my entire body.

It streamed like a waterfall from my forehead down my cheeks. My breathing grew shallow, and my heart pounded hard.

—Alright, first I need to run.

Thinking was useless. The priority was to get out of her sight.

Even if she knew my location, as long as I was on the same train she shouldn’t know exactly where I was.

So I had to go as far away as possible. Anywhere, even an unreserved seat, as long as it was far.

I headed toward the deck area for now, and just then the old flip phone in my pocket rang.

A call?

I hurriedly pulled it out and pressed the answer button without checking who it was.

“Hello, is that you, Senpai?”

It was Toa’s voice.

In that instant all the strength drained from my body.

“Hello, it’s me. Akira.”

“Senpai!”

The moment I identified myself, I heard her happily call my name.

Just that lightened my heart, but unfortunately I wasn’t in a state where I could relax.

“Toa, are you safe?”

“Safe? I’m just riding the Shinkansen, so I’m fine…”

“Is Mahiru okay too?”

“Mahiru-chan is… the same as always.”

“I see. That’s good.”

It seemed both of them were safe. They hadn’t been chased by anyone in a hat or ambushed by a silver-haired girl. I was truly relieved.

“By the way, Senpai, where are you? We’re almost in Tokyo and you still haven’t come back.”

Even over the phone I could picture her pouting in dissatisfaction.

I hesitated for a second but told her the truth.

“Sorry. I’m still in Toyohashi.”

“Toyohashi? What do you mean?”

“Well, a lot happened…”

While enduring Toa’s intense questioning, I explained the situation.

Satori had appeared inside the train car. I had been forcibly dragged off at Nagoya Station. I thought I had escaped, only to find her on the exact same train again.

Even as I explained it myself, I almost started pitying my own misfortune, but I kept my emotions out and told her what happened as simply as possible.