Part 1

Empty SEKAI

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1

Mizuki

Listen

And that was the first music video I'd ever made...
2

Miku

Listen

I see...
3

Luka

Listen

So you discovered the music Kanade and Mafuyu had made, as well as Ena's art, during a time when you didn't want to go to school?
4

Miku

Why didn't you want to go to school, Mizuki...?
5

Luka

...
6

Luka

(I suppose she couldn't help but ask.)
7

Luka

Listen

(Which is only natural...
Mizuki goes to school only when absolutely necessary, while talking about it like everything is normal.)
8

Luka

(Which means whatever issue Mizuki was dealing with before still hasn't been resolved...)
9

Luka

(However...)
10

Mizuki

Listen

Why...? Well, a lot of reasons...
Most of all, it just felt like such a drag...
11

Miku

Listen

I see...
12

Luka

Listen

(I'm guessing we would've gotten a real answer if whatever this issue is had already been resolved...)
13

Luka

And what happened after you sent Ena that message...?
14

Mizuki

Listen

Oh, after I sent it...

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15

Mizuki

Listen

See you again, Miku, Luka.
16

Miku

Listen

See you...
Thank you for telling us that story, Mizuki, Ena...
17

Ena

Listen

You're welcome.
We'll see you later.
18

Luka

Listen

We were treated to a very interesting story today...
19

Miku

It was nice to learn more about everyone.
20

Luka

I agree. However, it also raised more questions.
21

Miku

Listen

Is this about Mizuki...?
22

Luka

Listen

Yes... Remember when you asked Mizuki about not wanting to go to school, Miku?
23

Miku

Yes...
There were a lot of reasons and it became too much of a drag...
24

Miku

Listen

Are you wondering what Mizuki meant by “a lot of reasons”, Luka...?
25

Luka

Yes. Well, there's that, and...
26

Luka

Listen

Mizuki gave us a fairly quick answer and didn't seem to think much about what to say.
27

Luka

I can't get that out of my mind.
It felt like Mizuki was giving us a preprogrammed response to your question.
28

Miku

Pre...?
29

Luka

Listen

Like how you teach a robot to move and behave.
30

Luka

But I understand your confusion.
To be a little more precise...
31

Luka

Listen

After being asked the same question so many times, instead of going through the trouble of coming up with something to say each time, one may rather use a boilerplate response, like a robot.
32

Luka

Mizuki's response was so brief...
On the surface, it sounded like Mizuki meant it. But upon closer inspection, it felt like a preprogrammed response.
33

Luka

At least, that's what I heard.
34

Miku

Listen

Oh, I see...
35

Luka

Listen

Hehe. I may be reading into things too much.
36

Luka

However, I'm also convinced that we won't know how Mizuki actually feels unless we do.
37

Miku

Right. I think I know what you mean...
38

Miku

Listen

But I'm still a bit surprised...
39

Luka

Hm?
40

Miku

Because you didn't ask Mizuki anything, even though you always seem to have a lot going through your head...
41

Luka

Listen

Yes, well...
42

Luka

(I may've asked something if I hadn't overheard what MEIKO told Ena that one time.)

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43

MEIKO

Listen

Feel better through talking...
44

MEIKO

Would that actually work?
45

Ena

Listen

Huh?
46

MEIKO

Listen

Sometimes, talking can make things worse.
47

Ena

Listen

Make things worse? What do you mean...?
48

Ena

Listen

You must've already been aware of how Mizuki felt about talking, MEIKO, and how it probably wouldn't have helped.
49

MEIKO

I haven't actually talked to Mizuki about this, so I don't actually know for certain...
50

Ena

Listen

That's fine.
51

Ena

Listen

Because of what you said, MEIKO, I've decided to be patient and wait until Mizuki's ready to talk.
52

Luka

(She'll wait until Mizuki's ready to talk...)
53

Luka

Listen

(Ena's decision gives Mizuki less inclination to actually say anything.)
54

Luka

(I can't say if that's a good or bad thing for Mizuki... However, for some reason, it seems like there's been progress...)
55

Luka

(Could it be because Mizuki never really met anyone until this point who was willing to simply wait?)
56

Luka

Listen

(That may be why it feels like things haven't stagnated.)
57

Luka

Hehe...
58

Luka

(People are so interesting...
Mafuyu in particular, but also Mizuki, Kanade and Ena.)
59

Luka

Listen

(I'm looking forward to seeing where their choices take them.)