UPDATE TERBARU

New Epilogue

“We went to Grandpa and Grandma's place together for New Year's, right? When we were alone, they told me, ‘Don't let the rug be pulled out from under you’.”

Inside the quiet laboratory, I am on a call with my brother.

“I was like, ‘I'm a grown woman now, are you still saying things like that!?’ It totally freaked me out.”

“Well, that person will be like that until he dies. I got an email from him for the first time in a while the other day, so I just replied with ‘Osu!’ (Sup!).”

“Could it be about Noi-kun?”

“Yeah. Seems he still hates that it's confirmed he won't get grandkids.”

“What the heck~”

We laughed out loud together, confirmed our meeting plans, and ended the call. Ten years have passed since then. I became a researcher, and before I knew it, I had even obtained the title of Director. Perhaps deeming that I had become independent, the long sermon emails and rude continuous calls from my mother have died down, and all that remains are minor complaints when we occasionally meet.

Black Onyx is still active as ever. Big Brother is living with Noi-kun. Rai-san says he wants to see various countries, and seems to be traveling constantly when he's off. Roka became a super popular influencer, and now she's a presence seen in advertisements all over the city as a brand ambassador. Mami graduated from university, married the boyfriend she'd been dating since high school, and became a mother of twins. Everyone has their various hardships, but whenever I hear their updates they always seem happy, and I feel glad from the bottom of my heart.

“Whaat are you grinning about? Did something good happen?”

Yachiyo's face appeared in close-up on the propped-up tablet. It seems her live stream has ended.

“Welcome, right on time.”

“Of course ☆ Huh? Where is everyone?”

Yachiyo peers at the situation here from inside the screen, as if looking through a peephole. "Everyone" refers to the staff members belonging to this lab.

“It's a bit early, but I had them go for lunch. It looks like it'll be a long haul today, so I need them to rest properly.”

“As expected of the industry's unusually ‘white’ (ethical) laboratory.”

“Well, I'm taking my share of rest too.”

“……Is today going to be long?”

“Probably.”

“Is it finally time~~?”

“Yeah.”

The two of us gazed at the avatar body lying on the bed. Prototype Number One ﹃Kaguya﹄, built at a rapid pitch. Today is the day of the first activation experiment.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting for ten years.”

I say to Yachiyo while staring at Kaguya lying on the bed.

“Compared to eight thousand years, it's the blink of an eye~~”

……But, I don't want to make Yachiyo wait anymore.

“Iroha, is your heart pounding?”

“Nope. Prototype Number One assumes failure after all. It feels like... a process to know what isn't going well! I have to fix it at explosive speed and increase what it can do more and more.”

“I see~”

Yachiyo fell silent for a moment, and,

“Thank you, Iroha. For giving birth to Kaguya.”

She said so in a rarely serious tone.

“It's just like a fairy tale~~. The old man (Okina) who found Princess Kaguya inside the bamboo, really gave birth to Kaguya ten years later, and they lived happily ever after ☆”

“Ah, that! Just so you know, I haven't forgotten that you called me an old man ten years ago.”

“That was eight thousand years ago for Yachiyo so I forgot~~”

Voices laughing keta keta mixed with the humming of the equipment filling the laboratory. It shouldn't be possible, but it looked as if even Kaguya on the bed was smiling.

“……Thanks to Yachiyo, I was able to make it this far.”

“Yachiyo too. I chased after Iroha, and came all this way.”

“We were both chasing each other, fufu……”

Leaving those words, I carried the empty coffee cup to the sink. While lightly rinsing it, Yachiyo's humming could be heard cutting through the sound of water. I didn't intend to wash it that thoroughly, but because I wanted to listen to the song just a little longer, I applied detergent to the sponge.

“──Precious melody is──flowing──to your heart──”

What a clear singing voice. It nestles close to my heart and removes all anxiety. Like the sound of waves, like the sound of a beating heart.

Gentle, warm, comforting Yachiyo's singing voice.

That is probably what I sought in my mother. Now that I have cut off my dependence on my mother, I understand; to me, Yachiyo is──.

“Thank you, this time it's my turn.”

I said that in a voice no one could hear.

Immediately after, the intercom rings.

“Ah, I wonder if everyone from the lab is back?”

“Well, who knows?”

As it turned out, betraying Yachiyo's expectation, what appeared on the intercom monitor was,

“Iroha—, we're here!”

Roka, who has become even more beautiful.