I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse: Volume 3 Read online

  “Listen, Kokomo.”

  “What is it?”

  “If you ever have to fight against a really scary enemy again, what will you do?”

  “I know exactly what I’ll do. I’ll grit my teeth and fight them with everything I have.”

  I smiled in relief—or maybe it was just a normal smile—when I heard how quickly he answered. I hadn’t been that worried to begin with.

  “I see. Okay, well, maybe we’ll see each other again someday. Of course, that might mean you got caught up in another weird story.”

  “That doesn’t bother me at all!” Kokomo said, looking kind of sad. “I hope we do meet again someday.”

  “Yeah. See you around.”

  And so I finished my bittersweet goodbyes with all the characters from this round of stories. That night, Kult’s blue door sent all three worlds back home.

  ▽

  The next weekend...

  I was waiting for Hibiki outside a room at a university hospital in the next school district over.

  “...”

  Her friend had woken up from her coma. I’d gotten the news two days ago. And just like I promised, I came with her to the hospital.

  Hibiki had almost given up and gone home several times on the way here. Each time, I pushed her forward until she finally went inside her friend’s hospital room. That was almost an hour ago...

  “Yeah. See you soon.”

  But now the door opened from the inside and Hibiki came out. She glanced my way and walked right past me. I followed without really saying anything.

  “...”

  “...”

  We walked silently down the hallway for a while, then down the stairs, past the front desk, and out of the building.

  Only then did I finally ask, “How’d it go?”

  “Well... She says I can come see her again.”

  “I see.”

  I hadn’t done anything rude like listen in on their conversation, so I didn’t actually know what had happened. But looking at Hibiki’s face now, the answer was obvious.

  “Even someone like me... can have friends, huh?” Hibiki whispered to herself reverently. “Hey, why do you think that is?”

  “Only she knows that,” I said. “But... her desire to be friends with you probably far outweighed any concern she had about you being dangerous, right?”

  “...Is that a roundabout way of complimenting yourself for all the girls in your life?”

  “I didn’t mean it that way!”

  That was absolutely not what I meant!

  “I think you could let it all go to your head a little more, Rekka. Particularly if that drives you to hook up with one of the heroines...”

  Shut up, R.

  As always, she was floating in the air around me. Deciding to confront my lineage head-on instead of running eventually included facing her future and the “War of All.” Maybe it was time to start taking what she said seriously...

  “Doesn’t every man want a harem of his own?”

  ...Or maybe not.

  I sighed and scratched my head as I walked with Hibiki to the station. She lived nearby, so it was where we would part ways.

  “All right, I’ll see you later,” I said.

  “R-Right.”

  “Call me again if you ever need help,” I said as I waved and headed into the station.

  “W-Wait!” Hibiki grabbed me by the sleeve.

  “H-Huh? What is it?” I staggered a little and turned around.

  “L-Listen...” Hibiki was unusually mumbly. “Th-Thanks! ...For today, I mean. For coming.”

  “What, is that all?”

  I guess she just wanted to thank me for going with her to the hospital. But I’d promised her I would. It wasn’t that big of a deal. Even so, she didn’t seem like she was done yet, because she didn’t let go of me.

  “Can I... come to your place once in a while?” she asked, looking up into my eyes.

  “Yeah, sure. We’re basically relatives, so come over whenever you want.”

  “I see... Yeah, you’re right.”

  “Is that all? I think my train’s coming soon.”

  “O-Oh, and...! And...!”

  I guess she still wasn’t done...

  “R-R-R-Re...”

  “Re what?”

  She was trying to say something but was tripping over her words. Her face was getting redder and redder. Was she embarrassed because she was having trouble talking right? Before long, her face was as red as a ripe tomato, but then she closed her eyes tight and took a deep breath.

  “Re-Re-Re-Rekka!”

  She said my first name.

  “Yeah, um...” I almost asked her what she wanted, but then I realized something. “Huh? Didn’t you say you were too embarrassed to call boys by their first names...?”

  “—!”

  A moment later, it felt like a bomb exploded in my gut.

  “You really are an idiot!” she yelled, and then ran off.

  That little... She really didn’t have to punch me in the stomach.

  “You haven’t grown up at all, huh?”

  R looked down at me and sighed as per her usual.

  ▽

  I spent the weekend feeling like someone had jammed a heavy rock in my stomach.

  But come Monday, my kitchen table was loaded with the breakfast that Satsuki had made for me. There was rice, kimchi, natto, root vegetable soup, and then spinach salad. The soup was leftover from the Otomo household’s dinner last night.

  “Let’s eat!”

  “Dig in.”

  Satsuki, Harissa, and I sat around the table, talking about nothing in particular.

  Harissa finished eating first. She got up and put on her apron as she went into the kitchen. Since Satsuki had made breakfast, it was Harissa’s turn to make lunch. It sounded like a lot of extra effort to have two people making separate meals, but they had worked this out, so I wasn’t going to say anything. The last time I did, I got my cheek pinched for my trouble.

  After breakfast was over, I got ready for school.

  “Rekka, you’ll be late if you don’t hurry.”

  I could hear Satsuki’s voice from the front hall. It wasn’t that late, but she’d known me long enough to know that I would take my sweet time without any motivation.

  “Yeah, I’m coming.”

  “Here you go, Sir Rekka.”

  “Thanks, Harissa.”

  I took the lunch Harissa prepared for me and put on my shoes in the front hall.

  “Did you forget anything?”

  “Of course not.”

  Satsuki really was naggy, but she opened the front door for us. And outside, I saw a scene I knew quite well.

  It was time for school.

  These stories, the bloodline of the Namidare, even going to school... Once I decided to accept them, they became a part of what was normal for me.

  “Okay, we’ll see you later.”

  “Bye!”

  Harissa watched us go as we headed out the front door.

  —Fin—

  Afterword

  This is the third volume of the romantic comedy that’s currently trying to win the world record for “most worlds saved.” Hello again to those of you who’ve been reading since Volume 2. And to all of you who bought all three at once, it’s nice to meet you.

  This series began in June, and I’ve managed to put three books out before the end of the year. This is all thanks to you readers who support me.

  We met a new heroine in this volume. She’s a little different than the ones we’ve seen before... and that’s what Volume 3 is about. Rekka faces a bigger challenge than ever before.

  By the way, for the covers for the first two volumes of Little Apocalypse, Rekka is surrounded by heroines with a “what have I gotten myself into?” face that might make you a bit jealous. This time, he’s covered in wounds and looks like a total mess... but he’s also got a bright smile on his face. If you want to find out what happened to him, please
read the story.

  Come to think of it, when Volume 2 came out, I went with my editor and a salesperson to visit some bookstores. When an author visits a bookstore, he goes to introduce himself and promote his work. All the bookstore employees I spoke with were great people, and some of them were really strong supporters of Little Apocalypse. It was really encouraging.

  Also, I signed a bunch of books. Thanks to those of you who found them and picked them up. My hand hurt when I was signing them since the title’s so long, but I’d love to get another chance to do it again! (He said, looking at the editor and the sales department.)

  Lately, I’ve really wanted to get a cat.

  I had two of them at home when I was a kid, but I am catless now. I’d love to have another one. I mean, I’d like to have one around, not just as a pet. I’d love to have it sleep next to me on my futon. Or maybe hop up on my keyboard when I’m writing so I can’t work.

  But yeah, I love cats. I have a lot of cat stories. I’ve had a soft spot for them ever since I was a kid. Even before I started elementary school, I just loved cats more than anything. But I was allergic to them.

  “Huh? Isn’t that a problem?” you ask.

  Yes. That would normally be the end of any talk of cats, but being a cat lover just seems to be in my DNA...

  As a kid, I would play with them and pet them. I did it even though I had allergies. I pet those cats more than anyone’s ever pet cats before. If I saw a stray, I’d chase after it and cry when I couldn’t catch it. Whenever I went to the house of a friend who had a cat, I’d pet it. My face would get all red and swollen, but I didn’t care. Man, I really do love cats.

  And then one day, a stray cat came into my house. I don’t know if it was hungry or if it was running away from somebody, but just when I was closing the door, it zoomed in at an incredible speed. And then it started rubbing up against my legs and meowing. Of course, I was overjoyed. I began to pet it and pet it and pet it and pet it and... Huh? My eyes didn’t hurt.

  Evidently that was the end of my cat allergies.

  Maybe touching so many cats had helped me develop antibodies or something. I don’t know. I never went to a hospital to get it checked out. But after that day, I could hang around cats all I wanted. And so the story had a happy ending. Well, anyway, I might be moving next year, so I’d like to find a place that lets you keep pets.

  Oh, and also, Hobby Japan’s webcomic site, Comic Dangan, will be running a Little Apocalypse manga. By the time you’re reading this book, I think they should be up to chapter 2, maybe? It’s another Little Apocalypse story, this time by Koji Hasegawa, so please check it out.

  Lastly, my acknowledgments and thanks. I thought that since there was only one heroine this time, the character design would be less work... But in the end, it turned out to be the same number of pages as always. And so once again, a big thank you to Nao Watanuki, who always works so hard on the character and item designs. Thank you so much. When I saw the second illustration at the start, I said to myself, “That’s it! Volume 3 is as good as done!”

  And thanks again to my editor, Nanbu, who I always cause so much trouble for. This time was the first time I got the “is the draft ready yet?” call, and it terrified me. V-Volume 4 will be ready on schedule! I promise!

  And thanks to everyone at HJ Paperback’s editing and sales department who worked so hard. Thanks to the designers who always get the title design done, despite its ridiculous length... Thanks to the bookstores that put this book on their shelves. Thank you all very much.

  And lastly, thanks to all of the readers who picked up this book. I can only write Little Apocalypse because of you. Thank you all so very, very much. I hope you’ll continue reading.

  And I hope to see you in Volume 4!

  I’m the artist for the insert pictures, Nao Watanuki.

  Once again, I’ve been given the chance to speak with you all.

  Sorry for this slightly creepy afterword page. For Volume 3, here’s the rough image for Zolphiakd! When I heard about spears that poked holes in people, this was the image I came up with. Not very creative, huh? Kult and Hibiki had very detailed character descriptions and it was fun to imagine what they might look like. I’m just a bit sad that I couldn’t show my design for Kult’s capsule, which had a beard symbol on it. Oh, also I think Hibiki looks really good in her school uniform. What do you think, Nameko...!

  Thanks for reading my terrible handwriting.

  I’d like nothing more than to get a chance to see you again!

  Thanks to both Nameko and the editing department!

  -Nao Watanuki

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  Copyright

  I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse: Volume 3

  by Namekojirushi

  Translated by Adam Lensenmayer

  Edited by Megan Denton

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2012 Namekojirushi

  Illustrations Copyright © 2012 Nao Watanuki

  Cover illustration by Nao Watanuki

  All rights reserved.

  Original Japanese edition published in 2012 by Hobby Japan

  This English edition is published by arrangement with Hobby Japan, Tokyo

  English translation © 2017 J-Novel Club LLC

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.

  J-Novel Club LLC

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  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  Ebook edition 1.0: May 2017