I transferred to the other world, on the ocean.
Of course, I was at a high enough altitude so I didn't fall right into the sea.
Then, along with the bacteria brought with me, they headed to Earth's ocean.
Leaving the bacteria behind, I returned to my room at the Monthly Apartment via another world.
All mission completed.
Bacteria that got into lungs and caused inflammation probably weren't that big of a deal.
But just to be safe, I wouldn't risk leaving them behind in the other world.
It's probably a common bacteria on Earth, but it would be safe to throw it away at sea.
…I did consider about them being transferred to the crater of a volcano, but that's a bit scary, so I decided to move it to the ocean.
It would be a disaster if I transferred too low and fell due to the heat and volcanic gases, and if I was too high, the bacteria would spread without falling into the crater.
First of all, since there was hot air, it would be carried up into the sky by rising air currents and dispersed. There's no way they'd fall into the crater…
Anyway, it's over, it's over!
Probably I would wake up at the same time as usual in the morning, to see Sabine-chan and Colette-chan off, and then went back to bed…
"I'm off now!" (Sabi-Colé)
"Take care!" (Mitsuha)
"Please take care!" (Katie)
After being seen off by me and Katie, Sabi-Colé duo went to the academy.
Katie, who usually spoke in a rather sloppy manner, couldn't help but use strange words when she was on duty and seeing off Her Highness in front of me.
She was no fool either. She knew the time, place and occasion.
I had already informed the two of them at breakfast that the mission was completed.
As expected, they said that they wanted to follow me or that they wanted to stay up and wait until I got back, but to avoid that, I decided to write an post-action report.
Well, of course they both knew that much, but…
As long as there were no witnesses to this mission, no one should be able to find out.
An elderly person recovered from an illness. …but that's it.
It's not a disease where everyone who got it would die. It wouldn't be surprising if she recovered.
And there were no traces of miracles or paranormal phenomena, and no contact with me. There was no record of me ever visiting her.
Recovery wasn't instantaneous with a miracle potion.
Even though the bacteria are gone, the inflamed alveoli[1] would not instantly return to normal. So, since she would recover slowly, it wouldn't be that unnatural.
…probably.
But even if things went well this time, aspiration pneumonia[2] seemed to be more likely to happen again.
This is because, it was due to age and physical condition, people were more more likely to choke and their resistance to bacteria was weakened.
The study abroad period of the two of them was 3 months.
Once that's over, we would leave this town…
"Kaizuki-chan said that her great-grandmother's condition has improved… Kaizuki-chan happily said that she is recovering well." (Sabine)
A few days later, they both returned home and happily reported this.
"…yeah, that was good…" (Mitsuha)
It's not like we didn't have any chance of winning, but there was a chance we wouldn't have been able to.
Even if the bacteria were gone, the damage to the alveoli was too great to recover.
If it was swallowed again or bacteria got into it, it would happen again.
There were many other possibilities for failure.
"…I won't be able to do it next time. Ah, their families…their parents and brothers and sisters are separate, good?" (Mitsuha)
"…uh, yeah…"
"I understand. I'm sorry…"
Sabine-chan and Colette-chan seemed to be able to tell from my appearance that "This is really no good," and their demeanor was puzzling.
If it's for the sake of their family and the people of the territory, I didn't mind being a little reckless.
...But it's no good meddling with complete strangers, especially on Earth, in matters that involve human lives, not in their world.
I'm not God…
"It's already been almost a month since their study abroad days started… I was really nervous, thinking something might happen, but it looks like it'll all go off without a hitch…" (Mitsuha)
I muttered this while working at my monthly apartment.
I was not talking to myself. Lorena, who was on duty, was with me.
I was working on a laptop today, so it didn't matter where I work.
So, when I did that kind of work, I tried to do it at my monthly apartment as much as possible.
That way, if something were to happen to the Sabi-Colé duo, I would be able to react faster, and I would be able to act as someone to talk to when Lorena and Katie would be bored alone during the day.
I was doing this with good intentions, thinking that the maids who could not go out in preparation for rescue requests via wristwatch-type communication devices were bored out of their wits.
…I didn't think about which was more relaxing for the maids, being able to relax by themselves or having their employer, a noble, with them all the time.
"Mitsuha-sama, do you know the Spirit of Word?" (Lorena)
And that's what Lorena replied.
"…there's a concept like that in you wor... country too…" (Mitsuha)
Today, I went shopping by myself in my town…the town where my parents lived in Japan.
No, I had to show off that I was still living at home, so I had to go around buying groceries and other things at nearby supermarkets and shopping districts….
Well, I would take what I bought to the Monthly Mansion, and either cook it myself there or give it to Katie and Lorena to use in their cooking, so if the four of us ate it, it would be gone in no time.
I also used alibi tactics, such as transferring in the evening, turning on the lights, and coming back around 11pm to turn them off.
If you don't make it clear that you live here and that you didn't die alone, your worried neighbors might come and show up with the police if you leave for an extended period of time without notice.
Having your neighbors care about you is both a blessing and a hassle.
…well, that's a luxury problem, yeah.
As long as I was in Japan, even if something happened to the Sabi-Colé duo, I could get in touch with them, or via Katie or Lorena, who were staying at the monthly apartment, so it's no problem… But then, I got a call on my smartphone, kita~!
This was not for communicating with Captain or the scholars. This was the one I signed a new contract with so that I could receive contact from Katie and the others at any time.
…of course, not under the name Mitsuha Yamano, but under a different name.
Therefore, the only calls I received were from the Sabi-Colé duo or the Kati-Loré duo. No one else would call me.
Except for strange cold calls and scam calls pretending to be from young women.
Even as I was thinking about this, my hand automatically took out my smartphone and pressed the answer button.
"Give me a summary of the emergency!" (Mitsuha)
Yes, when Sabine-chan and Colette-chan were with me, I had said that Katie and Lorena could contact me for minor matters, but when they were not…, only in cases of urgency level 4 or higher.
I had also told Sabine-chan and Colette-chan that phone calls would only be accepted during lunch breaks and after school, and only in emergencies.
And now it's class time.
…In other words, it's an emergency.
"SSA! Repeat, SSA!" (Lorena)
Lorena's voice could be heard from the smartphone.
The SSA declaration was not from Katie, who was a bit clumsy, but from Lorena, who was firm.
Subject importance, S. …Sabine-chan or Colette-chan, or both.
Risk level, S. …life is in danger.
Urgency, A. …it seems like we have a few minutes to spare, but it's unclear when the situation will suddenly change.
I checked my surroundings.
There were people, but no one was watching me.
Considering the level of risk and urgency, safety margins should be thrown away.
Transfer!
Translation Note
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulmonary_alveolus
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspiration_pneumonia