Rebirth From Ordinary Person To The Strongest Chapter 140: How to Save a Broken Girl

The day after, school was naturally closed.

In the first place, aside from the teachers and those who were absent, everyone else had collapsed. It even made the national news, and I heard that the police and dia had gathered at the school.

I'm the only one who ca out of it okay, but the dia didn't co near thanks to the efforts of the

Kamizuki

family and the cleanup team. They kept our information hidden, spun a plausible cover story, and maintained strict control over the details.

That's what my mother told .

anwhile, I couldn't bring myself to watch TV, so I kept weaving and unweaving

Silveit

, facing the haziness I felt in my chest. Then suddenly, a call ca from Irena, asking to co over.

As soon as I answered the call, I felt restless and decided to head to Nina's house.

I pressed the room number at the familiar entrance to the spotless apartnt complex.

After a brief holding tune, a clear voice ca through the intercom.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Itsuki. I'll let you in now."

"He's here!? Itsuki's here!!?"

"Calm down, Nina, just a little—"

I heard Irena's voice cut off at that point. As I hit the button for the elevator I'd ridden so many tis, I wondered to myself if

Nina was okay.

I'd been visiting Nina's place for over a year now, so even the manager recognized .

Passing through the inner corridor, I rang the doorbell.

The door promptly opened with a click.

"Excuse ."

"I apologize, Itsuki, for asking you to co out like this."

"No, it's okay."

The one who greeted looked like an exhausted Irena. Dark circles had ford under her eyes, making think she hadn't slept a wink since the previous day.

"Anyway, how is Nina…"

"Itsuki! You ca!!"

Before Irena could reply, Nina dashed down the hall toward . Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes were red, likely from crying.

Without stopping, she threw herself at . I knew she'd be coming, so I managed to catch her without falling backward.

I caught her, but then she squeezed tightly, as if she couldn't let go.

"I'm so glad… I'm so glad you ca, Itsuki. I thought you might not co to see anymore. When I opened my eyes and you weren't there, I was afraid you'd finally given up on …"

"…I'm here."

As she took shallow, quick breaths, I gently stroked her back.

That was all I could think of to do for her.

"…Please, co inside, Itsuki," Irena said.

I started to step inside, but Nina, still clutching tightly, wouldn't move.

"Nina, I can't co in if you don't let go."

"…If I let go, you might disappear."

"I won't leave."

"…No. I won't let go."

Seeing that I had no choice, I reinforced both my arms with

Silveit

.

Then I carried Nina in my arms and walked into the room.

As soon as I entered, I was greeted by the sight of a ss. The usual clean, white, Scandinavian-style decor was barely recognizable. The sofa was flipped over, the curtains were torn, and the table was split in half.

"W-what happened here?"

"Nina threw a fit."

As I was still in shock at the ss, Irena let out a quiet sigh and explained.

"Threw a fit…really?"

When I asked Nina, still clinging to , she didn't respond.

It seed she didn't want to talk about it.

"Well, I'm glad you ca. Now that you're here, she's finally calm," Irena said, clapping her hands together. At that mont, dozens of fairies appeared, and imdiately got to work righting the furniture, stitching up the curtains, and, within monts, tidying the room. The broken table, it seed, was beyond saving—they began dismantling it instead. Apparently, it was trash.

It made sense now. They'd probably left the room as it was because Nina would just destroy it again if they cleaned it. Fairy magic sure is handy.

While I was thinking that, Nina suddenly looked up at , grabbed my hand, and started dragging away from the living room.

"H-hey! Where are we going?"

"To my room. I'm going to practice my magic."

"Practice? Are you sure…you can still use magic?"

When I asked her, she quietly shook her head.

"Because if I can't use fairy magic, Itsuki won't stay with , right? If I don't have magic to teach you, or if my mom's the one casting magic, then there's no point to …!"

"No, that's not…"

"I need Itsuki by my side. If I can't give you any worth, then I have no reason to live!"

Nina's face twisted as if so switch had flipped inside her. Then, in the next mont, she started crying uncontrollably.

"Because I laughed when my dad died. I laughed when I watched everyone else get killed! I have no reason to live! I should just…"

"Nina!"

My voice ca out louder than I intended, making Nina stop crying for a mont.

Regretting my tone, I softened my voice and continued.

I'd seen Nina work hard with my own eyes.

I'd seen her try to overco her trauma, more than anyone else.

She had faced her past and her weakness, and she was striving to be strong.

"It was the monster's fault, Nina. Not yours."

Death is an absolute.

It cos without rcy, without condition, to anyone.

To this day, I still have nightmares about that day—when my ordinary life was torn away.

I rember it all too easily: the pain, the helplessness, the overwhelming suffering.

"There's no way soone as innocent as you deserves to die, Nina."

That's why, no matter what happens, I reject the idea of

death

.

"So, will you…stay by my side, Itsuki?"

"Of course."

"Why?"

"Because we're friends."

I couldn't think of anything else to say, so I told her that. With tears pooling in her eyes, Nina started to cry again, even harder this ti.

I didn't know what else to do, so I just held her hand as she cried.

I stayed by her side until she cried herself to sleep.

That was about all I could do.

And then, two days later, I received an invitation to a hot spring trip from Irena.