Chapter 18: The Soul

-Meanwhile, in front of the gates of Phoenix Gakuen-

『...so? D’you think you can explain yourself now?』

Whilst making his way back to the infirmary, the 'man in black,' Saito Junichi, muttered under his breath with a somewhat sharp tone.

Naturally, if one were to see him mumbling to himself, then they’d most likely think he was crazy. That being said, it was obvious that the boy was not talking to himself, but to the entity that dwelled within his mind.

『Aren't you going to deliver the supplies now?』

The entity---《Cross》 asked, surprised by the sudden inquisition despite the fact that the youth should be prioritising the task at hand.

Yet-

『It's not like you can't talk while we walk.』

-seeing how Junichi’s suggestion was entirely reasonable, 《Cross》 decided to no longer resist as he prepared himself to explain.

『Alright, so what do you want to ask?』

『First things first, what are you?』

『You don't beat around the bush, do you?』

『Would you rather l be vague with my questioning?』

『You got a point there.』

While many would feel somewhat uncomfortable by the bluntness of Junichi’s questioning, 《Cross》 chuckled, finding his directness not only amusing, but quite refreshing.

Nevertheless, since now was actually an opportune moment for the entity to describe its situation, 《Cross》 dropped the pretences as he ultimately resigned himself to the youth’s demands.

『Alright, I'll tell you.』

『So? What the hell are you?』

『Do you know the concept of parallel worlds?』

『What, you mean the theory of the existence of other worlds similar to this one?』

『Yeah...that one.』

『I can already guess where this is going, but continue…』

Junichi urged the voice in his head, entering the main building, his footsteps echoing through the corridor with an unhesitatingly steady rhythm.

『I am from such a world. Another Earth, so to speak. In my world, we are heavily dependent on the power of ［Souls］.』

『［Souls］?』

『In this world, when humans are faced with problems they solve it by working together.』

『... let's go with that premise for now.』

Junichi felt conflicted as he reluctantly agreed with 《Cross》. Sensing this, the entity was undoubtedly intrigued. However, instead of pressing Junichi for more details, 《Cross》 decided against probing further as he continued with the explanation.

『In my world, however, we do something more extreme.』

『Extreme? Don't tell me you fuse together or something.』

Junichi sneered, sarcasm dripping from his words as he threw out a jest out of sheer whimsy.

That being said-

『...you're not far off, actually.』

『Oi, oi. Seriously?』

-since he wasn’t expecting for his joke to hit so close to home, the youth was stunned, halting his advance as he frowned in disbelief.

『We would connect our souls in order to solve our problems.』

『H-how would you do that?』

『Hm...I'm not too sure of the details myself.』

Despite the somewhat apprehensive Junichi being unable to fathom just what had to be done to accomplish such a feat, 《Cross》 simply shrugged off the important question like it was no big deal as he continued on.

『But my point is, we use the combination of our souls to generate power, fight, and even make us smarter.』

『……so basically, this ［Soul Power］ is like a substitute for electricity, only it has more uses?』

Although he was unable to grasp the vague points of the entity’s explanation, Junichi was more or less able to follow along with the conversation as he sought for clarification.

However, in doing so-

『...what's electricity?』

-《Cross’s》 response made it perfectly clear to Junichi that he was better off asking someone else for answers.

That being said, since a half-baked explanation was better than none at all, the youth decided to ask one more question regarding a unique matter which piqued his interest.

『You say a combination of souls. Does that have anything to do with our contract?』

The moment he asked thus, Junichi could detect an incredibly subtle smirk forming across 《Cross’s》 invisible face.

But alas, instead of pointing it out, the youth simply decided to start walking again as he allowed the entity to resume his teachings.

『Connecting souls is a basic skill required in our world. If you can't do such a basic thing, then you would have no chance of surviving in my world. However, the act of connecting souls is not that simple.』

『What do you mean?』

『When connecting souls, you share your existence, becoming a single entity.』

『...okay, so is the difficult part a concern of trust, or something else?』

With his quick wit, Junichi was able to insinuate, what he believed to be, the true reason for why this soul connection was such a difficult matter.

If one was to share their existence, it is not hard to imagine that memories, experiences, and skills would be collectively received by all parties involved.

This fact in and of itself was not strange. After all, Junichi’s ［Contract］ with 《Cross》 was currently allowing the two to access the other’s memory to some degree.

Now, although Junichi was forced into it, he wasn’t particularly displeased with the current situation. Not thrilled, but he wasn’t going to throw a tantrum or anything.

That being said, if someone else were in his position, there was no guarantee that they would trust 《Cross》 with their existence.

Thus, a certain amount of trust is required to connect souls.

And it was with this line of thinking which Junichi possessed while asking 《Cross》 of the difficulties regarding soul connection.

『Well, you're not wrong. However, there is a more important factor to consider.』

『Which is?』

『Compatibility.』

『Compatibility?』

Junichi echoed, urging the entity within him to continue.

『In order to be able to connect souls, the participants' souls need to have a certain compatibility rate. Should the compatibility rate be poor, the souls will not be able to connect.』

『...so what determines the compatibility rate?』

『...I am not too sure, as I don't often connect…』

《Cross》 candidly stated, a hint of spite or derision hidden within his voice.

Of course, the entity didn't have to tell Junichi the reason for this lack of connection.

After all, Junichi had already associated 《Cross》 with the phrase lone wolf.

『However, it is to be expected that, in the rare case that souls are identical, that the compatibility rate would be at its best.』

『Hence why you chose me…』

Indeed, Junichi did seem like the best candidate for 《Cross》 to form a contract with, considering the circumstances.

However, 《Cross’s》 explanation raised a vital question.

『If what you say is true, then…』

Taking a deep breath, the dark-haired youth scratched the back of his hair, narrowing his emerald eyes as he directed his gaze towards the ceiling (and presumably the invisible entity) before dropping the question.

『How did you know it was me?』

Although Junichi and 《Cross》 looked identical, it cannot be denied that Junichi’s appearance was average.

While his build was a little thin and relatively tall, anyone who saw him would describe him as any average high schooler. Even if his hair was somewhat unkempt, the boy’s appearance was undeniably closer to the mean than any of the standard deviations.

Of course, there was always his special eyes. That being said, even if Junichi’s right eye had a direct connection with the entity, 《Cross》 would not have approached Junichi unless he was 100% certain.

Which meant that there was a method in which 《Cross》 used that would allow him to obtain this 100% certainty rate.

Now, the most obvious possibility was that this entity spied on the youth.

However, Junichi dismissed that thought entirely.

After all, if someone had been observing him………Junichi would have already detected and eliminated them.

『...let's just say it's my special ability.』

『Hey, didn't you say you would answer my questions?』

『I'll answer the rest of them later. Don't you have someone waiting for you?』

Unexpectedly dodging the question, 《Cross》 simply shrugged before redirecting the conversation back towards the present.

After all, by the time they finished their discussion, Junichi was already standing right in front of the infirmary door.

Which meant that the time for talk was over.

『...whatever.』

Although Junichi held some misgivings, he decided to drop his curiosity in light of what lay before him.

Junichi couldn't keep Shiori waiting any longer.

And so the dark-haired boy opened the infirmary door-