53 - Isekai Waiting Blues (Final)

We finish all the codexes (… codices?).

The artifacts are all gone now.

Alex and I stand outside the club room door, a marker in my hand.

On the door of our club, reads:

ISEKAI WAITINGRITERS CLUB

Alex shakes his head. "… Somebody exports this story to plaintext, they're just gonna see 'Isekai Waitingriters Club'."

"Yeah," I say, beaming with pride. "Ain't it grand?"

"… You're not even listening to me, are you?"

"Ha ha. Yeah, true. But last night's meatloaf was kinda dry, if you ask me."

"(… Alright, fuck this.)"

*

About a week after we finish, we see Sunny and Moeka off at the gates.

Both of them off to their own separate parallel worlds. No idea what awaits them on the other side.

Moeka gives me one last crayon drawing. I see her off with one last headpat.

I shake Sunny's hand, wish him a nice reincarnation.

And then Alex, Valerie and I wave goodbye, as the two of them pass into the gates.

Into the next world beyond.

*

Valerie decides to leave, a while after that.

On the day of her departure, I catch Alex and Valerie sitting together on a bench, outside in the courtyard.

Valerie with her head on his shoulder.

I watch them for a bit, from the window.

Then I leave them alone.

*

"You're not doing that thing, where you look like you're about to say something emotional, but then you just make fun of my smell, right?" says Valerie, standing before the gates.

I smile.

I walk up to her, and drag out the dramatic tension for as long as I can.

And then—

I put my arms around her, and hug her tight. "… It was nice getting to know you, Valerie. (… Himawari Viola will never be my oshi, though.)"

I let her go.

Alex and I wave at her, as she walks through the gates, to her isekai world.

"Smell ya later," she says.

*

Alex decides to go, too, not long after Valerie.

We hang out in the club room a bit.

He's finished all his games, that he wanted to get through.

We play a bunch of Kami Hand, for old times' sake.

Oh, yeah—I can finally do the infinite wall kick spam.

"See?" says Alex. "Told ya you'd get it."

*

At the gates, I say, "Alex, I have a confession to make."

"… What's that?"

I rub the back of my head. "… I never played K*miN*zo. I just watched the anime. It only covered one route. … I watched the VN opening online."

Alex stares at me for a bit. Then smiles. "… You're such a poser."

"Yeah." I smile back. "… Yeah."

He waves goodbye, as he steps through the gates.

I wave back.

And then he's gone.

*

It's weird being in the club room by myself.

I sit at the table, for a bit.

It's so quiet.

I look at all the codices we wrote, neatly arranged on the shelf.

I decide to read them all again.

One more time, before I leave.

*

"Odd-kun," Advent tells me, shooting an apple off a tree. "Look! I got my luck back!"

"I see that," I say. "I'm glad."

*

"Odd-kun!" says Kaya, as I visit the twins in their medieval kingdom next. "… Are you staying long?"

I shake my head. "Not this time."

Saya puts her hands on her hips. "Well, you're not piloting the Hoshi-no-ken again, in case that's what you were thinking."

I smile at Saya.

"I'm happy to see you two sisters getting along," I say. "Really."

*

"Odd-kun … I never …" says Lumo, "… thanked you … for the birthday … party."

I pat Lumo's shoulder. "… And I never thanked you for taking care of all of us, in the village."

*

One last time, the fictional characters thank me—and the rest of the IWC—for finally writing their stories.

… Oh, believe me, there are a lot more than Advent, Kaya/Saya, and Lumo.

I only showed you the four characters that you would know.

*

Jessica sees me off, at the gate.

"So—you actually did it," she says. "You gave them all their own proper stories."

"How come," I ask, "… you couldn't do it yourself? If the answer was so simple?"

Jessica smiles at me. Yes, that same corporate smile. (… One I'm actually going to miss, I think.) And she says, "Ara … A fictional character cannot create."

I wrinkle my forehead. "You mean—"

"Yes, Odd-kun. I'm part of a different story, too. I'm part of the Unwritten."

I nearly fall to the floor. "Then I'll write you right now!! Tell me your backsto—"

Jessica cuts me off. "—There's no need, Odd-kun. I'm not going anywhere. I still have to oversee this place. Mr Eyepatch—Mr E—"

"(… Mystery …)"

"—Mr Entropy—isn't getting rid of me that easily."

"… You know, you never actually told me what this place is."

She smiles. "It's a world between worlds. Point Parallax is not necessarily what it looks like, right now. The island. … It's an empty canvas. A blank page. It's whatever its inhabitants make it. It could be … an office. A school. Even an entire fantasy village. Think of it as … An empty screen in a word processor, the cursor blinking with possibilities."

At that, I can't help but burst out into sudden laughter.

Jessica tilts her head. "… What's so funny?"

"… 'A blank page, a cursor blinking with infinite possibilties—and we choose to write more isekai.'"

Jessica smiles, a bit more strained than usual. "I don't know why that's so funny."

"… That's okay. … That's okay."

We stand around a bit, awkwardly.

Then, me: "… We used to be funnier, huh?"

Jessica: "I suppose so. … Want me to beat you up one last time? I can dust off that iron skillet. For old times' sake. Or the aluminum bat."

"How about a kiss on the cheek instead?"

Her face darkens. (Still smiling, though.) I can't tell if it's a bit or not.

"Kidding," I say. "… Kidding."

We stare at each other for a long time.

Then Jessica asks me, "Ready to go, Odd-kun?"

And …

Yeah.

You know what?

I am.

I really am.

I think I'm ready to see what's next.

[ ISEKAI WAITING BLUES - END ]

July 21 2025 - September 28 2025

Thank you for reading.