Infinite Regressor, Chapter 425 - I’m an Infinite Regressor, But I’ve Got Stories to Tell

Here we have a person named Kurosawa Touka. "Touka-chan! I'm heading out for work!" "..." Unfortunately, there was only one person left in the world who still called her by that name; she was an endangered species. In fact, just a few months ago, there were two people on record who called her by that name. There was a woman named Sena. She was Kurosawa's girlfriend. And, simultaneously, she was also the girlfriend of three other women. The bedroom. Kurosawa murmured as she looked down at her smartphone. "That beastly woman..." No matter how much she thought about it, this was a breach of contract. Who could have imagined that her first same-sex relationship (also her first relationship, by any standard) would turn out to be not a bipedal mammal, but a four-legged reptile? This is why people hate reptilians. Kurosawa realized anew as a member of humanity, gaining a deep lesson from it. "And I was the fourth one...!" Even harems had their limits. Who ever recognizes the fourth heroine? Even if you asked the Japanese to name the party with the fourth most votes, they'd hesitantly answer, "Uh... the, the Communist Party?" To make matters worse, Kurosawa Touka (黒沢 灯花) carried a series of glamorous tags as a heroine: #mentally_frail #gloomy #sinister #jealous #hikikomori #no_friends. While she might have a cult following among the extreme minority indulging in the incurable disease of secondary heroine syndrome, her chances of winning an election supported by their leagues were next to zero. So, Kurosawa chose the path typically taken by politicians who lose elections. "I shall... become a hikikomori." Yes, she would shut herself away. In truth, Kurosawa expected this choice would create societal ripples. After all, wasn't she becoming a recluse as the victim of a four-legged same-sex love scandal? And yet, the reaction around her was: "Oh. It has finally come." -? Kurosawa's mother accepted her daughter's declaration of hikikomori with a surprisingly composed face. "Okay. Rest. Get plenty of rest. But if six months pass, then you need to return to school or start a part-time job." -? "If you don't get a job, I'll kick you out of the house. Touka-chan." -?? Not the slightest bit of hesitation! As if it were a natural destiny, predicated on physiognomy, that her child would evolve into a recluse, predicting such an eventuality years in advance. Yes. Sadly, to the parents across the Japanese archipelago raising young ones these days, hikikomori and NEETs were no longer unfamiliar alien species. The older generations, who had been flabbergasted and caught off guard by the "ways of the trash life," had all gone extinct, out competed in the survival game. Now, only the Young and MZ-savvy parents remained, having mastered the art of "countering the trash life." "Touka-chan! You need to come out and see your mom off to work! Otherwise, you won't have meal money for today!" "...Go-Goodbye." "Yes. In two months, you'll have to get a part-time job. Start preparing yourself mentally." "Mom, you have plenty of money..." "But that's my money, not yours." "......" "Labor has its dignity. You'll understand once you work. Oh, I'm going to be late for my meeting! Take care, love you, Touka-chan!" With a loud smooch on the cheek of her dismayed daughter, the mother rushed out in a flurry. Uhh. Left alone, Kurosawa rubbed her cheek roughly and had to accept the situation. 'My mom's mental fortitude is too strong...' Once again, Kurosawa, defeated by the battle strength of her single-parent, career woman mom (a former underground idol, now a VTuber office staff member), retreated to her hideaway in gloom. "Sigh." 2.5 square meters of solitude. Even the sigh she just let out had no way to escape and hovered in the air. Yet, Kurosawa had never thought of this room as small. Could it be because of her high school days, when she ran away and roamed with the Tokyo kids, dozing off back to back in cramped hotel rooms? -Anonymous: This is dangerous. The "Flower of Rumor" was delivered to me too. Or was it because she could experience the thrill of connecting to a broader world just by turning on her smartphone? -Anonymous: Flower of Rumor? Whichever it was, Kurosawa found herself nibbling on the bait from the boards today as well. -Anonymous: Haven’t you heard? It’s a flower delivered indiscriminately anywhere with the shipping cost covered by them, even internationally. -Anonymous: Isn't that just an urban legend? Who trusts things from someone without proof? -Anonymous: Look, you fool. Before long, a photo was uploaded. Kurosawa unconsciously murmured as she looked at the image. "Huh. What’s up with that flower?" It was a flower excessively beautiful in its red hue, making it hard to believe it existed in reality. Kurosawa always thought she shared absolutely no similarities with her mother aside from their looks, except for one - a shared interest in flowers and plants. "It’s not a Lycoris... Might it be a peony variant? No, no, it’s too delicate. And why do the petals have a purple tint? Eh. This must be an AI-generated image, right?" The consensus among the board users was similar. -Anonymous: Not again... Aren't they tired of this? -Anonymous: Can they stop forcibly importing memes trending overseas like the Italian Brain Rot? It’s neither funny nor moving. -Anonymous: It's impossible to stop. A VTuber mentioned on their stream yesterday that they, too, received the "Flower of Rumor," making waves everywhere. -Anonymous: Don’t spread what was said in a members-only (メン限) session without permission! -Anonymous: From animals to plants. It was funny to see how foolish people’s thought processes unfold. Intrigued, Kurosawa began browsing through various communities using search terms like "Flower of Rumor" and "Udumbara." After breaking up with her girlfriend, she had abruptly cut off from X, logging back in after a long time. "Wow. What is this? It’s really famous?" Indeed, whether it was that she was somewhat late to the news, "Flower of Rumor" was already a hot topic everywhere. "As expected, it doesn't seem like AI..." Murmur. "The angles are too varied for AI-generated pictures. Some individuals even revealed their faces for verification... This is genuinely strange." If it were the usual, she would connect to the vast sea of the internet, dedicating her time to undermining VTubers from rival companies to the one her mom belonged to (something her mom was unaware of). But today... "But this flower is so beautiful..." For some reason, Kurosawa found herself devoting all her attention to gathering information about the "Flower of Rumor." It felt as if she was under a spell. 'There must be others interested in it like me.' She put her smartphone down and turned on her computer. Diving deeper into the abyss of information, she traced the tip of the iceberg down to its roots. A trick she picked up during her days as a runaway. 'Ah, this cool sensation.' It was time to return as an internet detective, Kuro (黒). How many hours had gone by like that? -Anonymous: Despite being international, it seems all shipments originate from Korea. Found it. -Anonymous: Korea? Holding her breath, Kurosawa typed quickly on her keyboard. -Anonymous: Yes, Busan, Korea. My girlfriend is Korean, so I looked into it through a local contact. They found identical flowers at a flower shop in Busan. -Anonymous: Any verification photos? -Anonymous: That's not possible. More importantly, I suspect it's tied to a high-ranking politician in Korea. It's connected to the mayor of the city I mentioned, Busan. It's dirtier than expected. "Politician?!" What is this... This was a real urban legend. -Anonymous: I don't get it. Why would a Korean politician send flowers to Japanese people? -Anonymous: Agreed. -Anonymous: Isn't this a biological weapon terror or some cult activity? -Anonymous: From what I know, there haven't been documented cases of harm. It might be too early to say, but it seems there aren't any adverse effects. -Anonymous: Do we know which flower shop? A pause. -Anonymous: Tangga Florist (唐家花園). Another pause. -Anonymous: Not only Japan is receiving them. It's more intense in the US and China. Cases are reported simultaneously worldwide. -Anonymous: From my personal view, the speed at which such live flowers spread without inspection is unusual. -Anonymous: Therefore, while they seem like live flowers, I conclude they're actually artificial. Artificial. Such a beautiful flower, yet artificial? -Anonymous: Literally the Flower of Rumor, or perhaps the legendary Udumbara flower (優曇華の花). "..." Her information-gathering concluded with that. "Sigh." Slumping forward, Kurosawa lay her upper body over the table. The energy that had kept her investigating non-stop for hours vanished, enveloped entirely by a deep exhaustion. "For it to turn out to be an artificial flower that looks real... This is the worst kind of letdown ending." Is this as far as it goes? A bitter smile crept onto her face. 'It’s an ending fitting for someone like me.' She had no dreams. Having parents who pursued their dreams more passionately than anyone, yet she, herself, felt like the wick of a candle that had never even been lit but had already burnt out. She thought that perhaps love would bring change. In doing so, she ended up with an extraordinarily unusual romantic experience. But did it change her life? Probably not. Trash. 'I'm hungry.' She felt like having pizza. Recently, her genetic heritage from her mother was preparing a rebellion around her waist, grumbling, "Hmm, the previous owner burned calories doing dance and song practice around this time, but this new owner isn't," but pizza was hard to resist. She ordered Domino's Pizza using the money her mom transferred in the morning. Shortly afterward, after confirming the footsteps of the delivery person were fading away, she opened the front door. "...?" Next to the familiar pizza box, there was an unfamiliar box just sitting there. "What's this? A delivery for mom?" Unable to be helped, as she was about to perform the ultra-dutiful act of bringing a parent's package into the house herself, Kurosawa hesitated. [Tangga Florist (唐家花園)] Because those characters were distinctly marked on the box. "........." Thump thump. Her heart pounded wildly. She needed to start a part-time job soon, so she couldn't completely forget how to converse with people. For that reason, she had been deliberately talking to herself as practice, but even that habit pressed pause at this moment. "Huh." She quickly brought the box into the house, making sure no one could see. Bang! Realizing she left the crucial pizza outside, she hurriedly returned to fetch it. Bang. "Huh." Pizza wasn't tasty once it got cold. Hardened pizza cheese was truly the worst crime. But was the pizza important right now? "Huh." Kurosawa hurriedly grabbed a pair of scissors and began to cut through the cardboard box with care, her hands trembling slightly, in case there was something precious inside. "Eeeeeeh?!" And then she saw it. "No way?!" Inside was a single red flower. Delicately placed inside a clear plastic bottle. "No way! No way, no way! It can't be! Is it real? Is it genuinely a live flower? No no, they said it was artificial." She touched it. "It feels like a live flower?!" She sniffed it. "The scent is amazing! Wait, this isn't artificially created? No, but... This is unbelievable. I've never encountered a flower with this kind of fragrance!" It was a fragrance crafted in hues of seven colors, a scent once allowed alone for only one person in the world. Though for current Kurosawa, she had no way of knowing that. "Wow..." She placed it on the table, and forgetting to eat the pizza, Kurosawa just blankly stared at the Udumbara. "Beautiful..." Why was that? "Oh, right! Pictures! I have to take pictures!" From the very first time she saw it in photos on the internet today, why did this flower... Make her heartbeat dance so? "...Huh?" She wasn't sure. It felt like there had been something very sorrowful. That she would disappear somewhere. Unable to ever meet her beloved mom again. Forever and ever. Forever unable to meet. "......" Despite hearing apologies and thank-yous every day from her mom. She found herself unable to ever reciprocate similar words. "Um, now... To take a picture..." No one can save her. Even if they wanted to, it's far too late. I wanted to become someone I wouldn't be ashamed to say, "I love you," to. That kind of feeling. Kurosawa Touka felt such a truly peculiar emotion. "..." She put her smartphone down. Although she took a picture, she didn't brag about it anywhere. Upon reflection, she realized there were no friends left to share it with anymore. 'My flower.' Kurosawa stroked the petals. 'It doesn't exist in this world. People call it fake, say it's artificial. But still, since it's a flower that came to me, I can call it whatever I want, right?' Somehow, Kurosawa felt she knew the name of that red petal. 'Touka (灯花).' That day. "Mom." "Yes. I saw a pizza box. It's good to exercise on days you eat heavy food like that. Otherwise, you'll gain weight instantly." "I want to return to school." "......" "And I'm planning to study abroad in Korea." "What?" "Well, honestly, I don’t necessarily have to study abroad, but they say exchange programs are the easiest way to work part-time abroad. Or, I could just get a work visa." "What?" "There's a flower shop I really want to work at there. I didn't realize before, but... it turns out if it's flower-related, I can truly immerse myself in it." "What." "But first, I'm going to check if the flower shop I want to work at even exists. That's why I've already booked a plane ticket to Korea. I'm leaving in a week. Oh, I'm really risking all my savings now..." "What." "If it doesn't work out, I might as well debut as an idol like you did when you were young. Isn't your agency recruiting VTubers? How about a mother-daughter VTuber duo? I think it would really take off." "What?" Kurosawa Touka didn't know. In fact, she wasn't the only one who found a red flower at the front door that day. A week passed. Time moved forward. On that day, not a single person foresaw a future beyond their control that would make their head explode. On that day, Kurosawa Touka pulled her hood low, avoiding any eye contact with crew members as she boarded the plane. On that day, her mother tilted her head in curiosity upon seeing a red petal fade and be replaced by a single blossoming plum flower in her daughter's room after she left for her journey. That day was... June 17. -The one who was an impostor. The end.