Diary Entry A (1)
That very night, I ensure that Raito and Kuguri are sleeping soundly before waking up from sleep mode.
Night vision mode: ON. Conducting a scan within a radius of 10 kilometers in all directions.
The dimly lit dorm room becomes clear within my line of sight and I can hear crows cawing near HAMA House. Other than that, I did not detect anything else unusual.
I pick up the memory chip on my bedside. Master had given it to me that afternoon.
“Apparently, it had fallen into the gaps between the furniture. Because of the complicated wiring systems, it was overlooked for a long time,” They then tell me. The police had the contents of the memory chip checked, but ruled that it contained nothing of importance. Thus, classifying it as a ‘personal item’.
“Sorry, Kinari-kun. I was at the scene with them so I kinda had to take a little peek… Most of its content reads like diary entries written by your dad.” Learning that it was Father’s diary, I feel a little ‘tense’. Master continues to speak, though with difficulty.
“They’re entries about your deceased… Um, your older brother, Azekawa Kinari-san1. That’s what I think they are, anyway.” They add, “I’ve only seen the first few bits at the start, so it might just be me jumping to conclusions!” Noticing that Master is growing more uncomfortable, I give them my deepest gratitude for their consideration and kindness.
They must’ve been worried on my behalf about this newly-presented information, though it did not feel ‘painful’ at all. No matter what it is, I will gratefully accept anything regarding “Azekawa Kinari” while he was still alive. I want to know as much as I possibly can.
Unlike before, this is not because I believe that the purpose in my existence lies in becoming “Azekawa Kinari”. Rather, I believe that by searching for the differences that connect me to the Original, it would bear fruit to “Azekawa Kinari’s”2 way of living. One that is mine, and no one else’s.
Finding my own way of life is both what Father and Master wish for me to do. I, too, wish to live like that. It does not matter how many years or decades may come to pass, I wish to stay by Master’s side in hopes that one day they’d shower me in praise.
Therefore, “Azekawa Kinari’s”3 way of life is…
By knowing others, you get to know yourself. I think of this phrase as a very human-like act.
If I were to speak of my thoughts right now, Kuguri may as well laugh and say, “That puppet says such strange things.” In response, Raito would reply, “Isn’t that fine? Other people are mirrors that reflect ourselves, after all.”
Whenever I voice my desired way of life in front of my roommates, the two of them would surely find themselves disagreeing with one another. Other than muscle communication (as Raito had dubbed it), they do not talk to one another very often, especially on Kuguri’s part. Their tendency to argue through me is the most favorable option at hand.
After all, I am currently carrying out the Ev3ns Friendship Operation.
However, this time, I wanted to thoroughly check the data on the Original by myself. Thus, without telling either of them, I sneakily awoke in the dead of night.
Perhaps this could become a ‘secret’ too?
With all of this in mind, I open up the slot hidden underneath my neck and insert the chip.
The data stored within the chip wasn’t very much, so I was able to quickly install all of the files.
Real Name: Azekawa Kinari4.
The text files I read begin with these words.
Blood Type: O
Favorite Food: Omurice
Disliked Food: Pickled Radish
(※Correction: It seems that he has overcome this a while ago as he had eaten every last piece when we ordered food delivery for dinner the other day.)
Current Happenings: He has made some close friends recently. Kinari prioritizes going to karaoke with them over hospital checkups. Last year, they went to a summer festival together.
These days, when I talk to him, all of his answers seem forced. If I try to advise him on any subject, he stops listening partway and makes a beeline for his room when he decides he’s grown tired of it. It’s also why I resorted to talking to him about one thing at a time instead. I don’t even know if he is listening to me properly. Do I find it challenging to deal with him because he’s going through teenhood?
…It appears that these are diary entries written by Father—the Developer, about the Original. Additionally, I summarize that these records span from the Original’s high school days to the days nearing his death.
“...Close friends. Like Tao, perhaps?”
I suddenly recall that I heard some anecdotes about the Original from him.
Fellow Ev3ns member Kinouchi Tao had said that he was classmates with the Original. That he met him through a mutual friend, and went to karaoke several times with the group.
“...Why did Father separate this text data into a different memory bank?” I muse, as I had been given all that was deemed necessary about the Original from childhood to death, in hopes that I would become a perfect recreation of him.
Such is why I could not comprehend the reason behind the Developer intentionally isolating data from this specific period of time.
However, as I was browsing through the text files I had downloaded, a certain log catches my attention. Even someone like me whose emotional capability isn’t very strong, forgot to breathe, because—
[On Kinouchi Tao’s Funeral]
——was written there.