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The heart-wrenching, sobbing cries of a young girl echoed unpleasantly through the room.

“Hic… I’m s-so sorry… Onii-sama, Onii-samaa… I’m sorry, hic, I’m so sorry…”

Iris—who had finally regained consciousness while her soiled clothes were removed, her body washed, and fresh, clean pajamas put on her—was now crying while held tightly in Sol’s arms.

But… something was off. Would he… would Yanagi really cry like this?

No matter how I looked at it, Iris was in no condition to be acting. If that was the case, was this way of crying—wiping away the large tears streaming down her face with her palms and sobbing like a child—something Yanagi was actually doing? She looked like a complete stranger… just like a normal girl who’d just entered her teens, exactly her current age.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

.

After laying Iris, who had fallen asleep from crying, down on the bed, Sol and I stepped out into the hallway. Sol, who had been deep in thought for a while, spoke up first.

“Considering what you just said about Iris’ condition up until now, and seeing how she just behaved, there’s one thing that comes to mind.”
“Really?”
“…Multiple personality disorder. It’s not my area of expertise, and I’ve only seen it a few times, so I might be wrong, but…”

With that preface, he explained the following: People inherently possess multiple personas that they switch between depending on the situation or the person they’re interacting with. Furthermore, our minds inherently possess the ability to simultaneously hold multiple perspectives and emotional states across different self-states. Because of this, in most cases, these self-states share perceptions and memories. In other words, everyone possesses what is known as a multiple self-state.
However, while it’s usually easy to switch between these different self-states, this process may fracture when a person experiences psychological trauma. When subjected to severe stress, for example, as a form of self-defense, the mind may sever those shared perceptions and memories and create an alternate personality to escape reality—one that tells itself, “This isn’t real; this isn’t happening to me.”

“That means, Yanagi… Iris from earlier, who looked just like an ordinary girl, is actually a dissociated personality created by separating the part that suffered severe trauma at that time and attributing it to a girl named Iris… is that right?”
“Yeah, probably… I think the part of him that comes out as the primary personality, my Onii-chan, is alleviating his PTSD by convincing himself, ‘Since I was originally a man, there’s no way that could happen to me,’ and treating it as if it were someone else’s problem.”

Come to think of it, back when she wasn’t going out and was only hanging out with us, she didn’t seem all that bothered by those memories. It really was as if it had nothing to do with her.

“But given the situation back then… when she was surrounded by multiple people and exposed to all those stares, her fear grew out of control, and the ‘Iris’ personality—which carried that fear—came to the surface…”
“So that’s what caused that panic… But what about the rest of the time? Even before reaching that state, she seemed to be struggling with various things, didn’t she?”
“That… I think it’s probably chronic. Onii-chan’s PTSD is something he’s been tormented by for over a decade.”

Even though it had gotten worse, it was still just an extension of what he’d been dealing with all along. In other words…

“So this latest incident is a new, separate psychological trauma… is that it?”

The incident immediately after he became a girl… or maybe, the very transformation into a girl itself. Without being able to accept that fact, being tormented in a situation of inescapable terror and despair—where she nearly lost her virginity—that sudden, intense stress had created a new psychological trauma.

“The problem is… if that becomes chronic… it might be bad.”

That reaction had been extremely violent. If that became the norm, and days went by without her mind ever getting a moment’s rest, there was no telling when she would reach her limit. She was already in such shambles after just one incident—it was obvious she’d run out of strength soon.

“Besides, the fact that the male part makes up the majority of the ‘intact portion’ is also a problem. Right now, I haven’t fully accepted my own body yet, so I’m managing somehow… but Iris’s current body is completely that of a girl. Her bodily functions, and probably the chemicals circulating through her body, are all those of a girl. I suspect that the more she gets used to that body, the more the balance of power will likely shift toward Iris. I think the one who’s in danger, the one who has no real footing, isn’t the Iris personality, which was supposed to be a refuge, but rather Onii-chan’s… the Kuga Yanagi personality.”
“So… if things continue like this—”
“I think there’s a possibility that someday everything will be completely replaced by Iris… The personality known as Kuga Yanagi will either disappear or shrink to the point where it’s barely recognizable, and only that scarred Iris will remain…”

Cold sweat trickled down my back. I couldn’t imagine we had that much time left.

“Then what should we do?!”
“I don’t know! I’m the one who wants to ask that!!”

As I frantically demanded an answer, Sol shouted in a rage, spitting out the words. He was biting his finger until it bled, looking truly frustrated.

“…Sorry. I should’ve known you’re the one who’s most worried.”
“I’m the one who should be sorry for losing my cool… but one thing I can say for sure is that every time those symptoms flare up again, Onii-chan’s personality will likely be swallowed up a little more… That’s how intense that state of shock is for Iris.”
“So, does that mean the only thing we can do is either cure those symptoms… or protect her so that something like that doesn’t happen again?”

The best-case scenario would be to restore her consciousness and return her to her normal state, but there was a high risk that even the slightest misstep could lead to irreversible consequences, and we had no idea how to treat it. In that case…

.

Before I knew it, I was walking alone.
A building made of crystalline objects with a texture like ice.
If I recalled it correctly… one of the annexes to the royal palace in the capital of Nordglacier looked something like this.
Right in front of me, a well-built, dignified man who looked to be in his late twenties to early thirties was walking while escorting someone.
She looked like she was in her teens—perhaps his sister or daughter? Her overall appearance didn’t seem much different from that of the man I saw earlier.
As the two of them walked affectionately side by side, they suddenly turned their gaze toward me.

……

…………

………………Why?

Why are you here?

You look much younger than I remember, but there’s no way I could be mistaken.

Your face—the face of the you who was stabbed while protecting me, yet still smiled to put my mind at ease.

Even though my memories of the incident are almost gone, that image is seared into my mind.

—Mom!!

—Wait for me, tell me why you’re in this world?! Answer me!!

I walked as fast as I could, but I couldn’t catch up to the two of them walking side by side.
Mom was walking slowly, yet for some reason, the distance between us wouldn’t close.
And yet, she maintained a position neither too close nor too far away, as if guiding me somewhere.

.

Where am I?

I felt like I’d been walking down a long, long spiral staircase.

In the pitch-black darkness, a small, bruised little girl was sitting.

Hugging her knees as she cried, the girl let out occasional sobs.

—I’m sorry.
—Why are you crying?
—Because I’m making you disappear.
—Me? …Who are you?
—I am…

Just as I reached out to see her face, I suddenly realized something.

That hair looked familiar. It had a faint rainbow sheen… Is that me 僕, no, me 私?

When I came to, the girl who should have been sitting right in front of me was gone.

……Is it 私 (僕) who’s gone? Or is it 僕 (私)?

.

“……Huh. Where am I?”

Before I knew it, I was lying in a room with a familiar ceiling. I felt something wet trickling down my cheek and soaking my pillow.

I was pretty sure I’d bumped into someone on my way home… but my memory went blank after that.

I felt like I’d been in some strange place… but the moment I woke up, my memories vanished in an instant, and now I couldn’t remember a thing.

“…You’re awake.”
“Re…Rage-san, and Sol-niisama, too. …What’s wrong? Why do you look so worried?”

For a moment, Rage tried to say something but stopped himself. As I tilted my head, puzzled by his hesitation, he let out a deep sigh and reluctantly began to speak.

“…Starting tomorrow, let’s take a break from treating victims.”

For a split second, I didn’t understand what he meant.

“…Take a break? Why?”
“We can’t just stop taking on requests altogether, so we’ll probably be away more often, but I’ve already told Miranda-san that you need to rest for a while.”

Sol looked away and announced this with a pained expression. It seemed they had already made their firm decision.

“W-wait a minute! Why are you talking as if it’s already been decided?! Is it because I collapsed? B-but, look, there aren’t really any problems anymore…”
“There is… a problem.”

With his fist clenched tightly, Sol began to explain—and the two of them spoke about what was happening to me.

…I didn’t really understand what they were saying. No, I did understand, but I was refusing to accept it. If this kept up, would “I” disappear…?

“It’s just a possibility, after all. Once you’ve calmed down, let’s figure out a solution together… So please, just rest for a while longer… It’s for your own good.”

At those words, all I could do was nod blankly.

*—I’m sorry.*

I felt as if someone had whispered something in my ear.