Amelia Watson's Another Worldline: After the Time Loop, It's You
Amelia Watson, the time-traveling detective, finally escapes the endless time loop. She thinks she's found the perfect, peaceful worldline to settle down in—until she realizes her next-door neighbor and new partner is Iris, the girl she was absolutely forbidden from getting close to in any other timeline!
Amelia knows the rules. In every single loop she's experienced, the cool, perfect, and secretly obsessive detective-in-training Iris has confessed her love for her. And every single time, that
Amelia Watson's Another Worldline: After the Time Loop, It's You - Sunrise and the Clock That Begins to Move
The road back from the abandoned bowling alley was strangely quiet.
Watson Amelia walked alongside Iris Ashford along the embankment of the Misogi River. The eastern sky was just beginning to pale. Morning mist hung over the river's surface, faintly reflecting the orange light. The excitement of defeating the Time Devourer was ebbing away, like a receding tide. What spread through her chest in its place was an indescribable warmth—and a touch of embarrassment.
Her right hand felt just a little heavy.
She looked down. Iris was holding Amelia's hand. With her bandaged left hand, hesitantly, but unmistakably. Amelia squeezed back. Iris's shoulders gave the slightest jump.
"...Does it hurt?"
"It's fine. When I'm touching you like this, senpai, I feel like even the pain disappears."
"Can you stop saying embarrassing stuff like that so casually?"
"Why would I? It's the truth."
Iris tilted her head. Her glossy black hair, long enough to reach her waist, swayed smoothly with the motion. Only the braid on the right side was starting to come undone. Her eyes, still a little red from crying, held a silver light in their depths—shining gently, like stars before dawn.
(Really, this girl is—)
Amelia couldn't help but laugh.
"There's a bench, see? Let's sit for a bit."
A single old wooden bench sat alone on the riverside path. The two of them sat down side by side. Iris wrapped her arm around Amelia's and rested her head just slightly against her shoulder. A faint, sweet scent of shampoo drifted up.
For a while, Amelia said nothing, just watching the river flow.
(Earlier, when I jumped into the rift at the abandoned bowling alley...)
(I genuinely wanted to protect you.)
(But—)
Scenes she had witnessed countless times across those four thousand loops flickered through her mind. Iris, crying as she burned the evidence. The moment Amelia tried to stop her, and couldn't make it in time. And then, the sensation of the world resetting to the beginning all over again.
When I get close to people, they end up unhappy.
I must not let anyone like me.
That was Amelia's ironclad rule.
"...Hey, Iris."
Her voice trembled, just a little.
"Yes, senpai?"
"Do I... even have the right to fall for you?"
Iris's body twitched.
"Four thousand times. I looped four thousand times, and I couldn't save anyone. And in all of those... you—to protect me—you always went out of control. You destroyed yourself."
The words spilled out, as if a dam had broken.
"Even in this worldline, my presence is messing up your Chrono-Sense. The closer I get to you, the more the true history's memories inside you awaken—and maybe... maybe I'll end up making you suffer again. And yet, I still—"
She couldn't finish.
Because Iris's slender fingers had gently touched Amelia's lips.
"Senpai."
Iris straightened up and looked directly into Amelia's amber eyes with her own silver ones.
"You don't need any 'right.'"
Her voice, there in the morning mist, was so very calm.
"Even if you couldn't save someone, that doesn't make it your fault. You kept fighting without giving up, four thousand times. That's not something just anyone can do. I... couldn't do it."
"...Iris."
"So, if you say you need a right to be with me... then please, give me the right to stay by your side. That's more than enough for me."
With her bandaged hand, Iris squeezed Amelia's hand back.
"If you ever try to leave me again—"
A strong light kindled in her silver eyes.
"This time, I'll chase after you. Thousands of times. Tens of thousands of times. Until you give up on running away. Forever."
It was too direct. An overwhelmingly straightforward declaration of affection.
Amelia's face flushed hot instantly. She could feel herself turning bright red all the way to her ears.
"...A-Alright, I get it. I won't run anymore. I give up."
"...Really?!"
Iris's face lit up brilliantly. It was the kind of smile that looked like the morning sun had risen all at once.
"B-But that doesn't mean, you know, that we're... lovers or anything yet! We're partners! Equals! Work buddies!"
"Yes, I understand. But—"
Iris brought her face close to Amelia's ear.
"I do plan on becoming your lover eventually, senpai. So it's not a problem."
"What the heck?! What do you mean, 'plan on'?!"
Amelia couldn't stop herself from snapping back. Iris giggled softly and rested her head on Amelia's shoulder again.
"I look forward to working with you from now on, senpai."
"...Yeah. Same here."
For a while, the two of them sat like that, watching the river flow.
—Just then.
*Clatter.*
A small metallic sound rang out, and the silver pocket watch tumbled from Amelia's pocket.
"Huh?"
Amelia leaned forward from the bench and picked up the watch. The crack was still there on the face, as always. But—
The second hand was spinning backwards, even though no one was touching it.
*Tickticktickticktick—*
At more than ten times its normal speed.
"...Senpai, that's—"
Iris's voice went tense.
Amelia clutched the watch, frozen in place.
(The Time Devourer definitely vanished.)
(But—why is it still moving?)
(And this reverse rotation...)
Something cold ran down her spine.
The eastern sky was turning golden with the sunrise. The start of a new day. It was supposed to be a peaceful, calm morning. And yet, the watch in Amelia's hand kept ticking away at an abnormal speed.
"...It's fine. Let's go home."
Amelia shoved the watch into her pocket and stood up. She deliberately made her voice bright, so Iris wouldn't notice.
"...Senpai."
Iris looked like she wanted to say something, but when Amelia put on a smile, she didn't press further. She just squeezed Amelia's hand back, tighter than before.
Still holding hands, the two of them began walking the path back to their apartment.
Night had fully lifted, and soft morning light streamed into the shared hallway of Corpo Mizunashi.
Amelia and Iris stood facing each other, hands still clasped.
"Really, I'm counting on you from now on. Partner."
"Yes, likewise. Senpai."
They exchanged a firm handshake—right at that very moment.
"Oh my, oh my, oh myyy!"
A shrill voice rang out from the direction of the stairs.
It was the landlady, Kurusu Chiyo. Though past seventy, her back was perfectly straight, and her graying hair was tied back in a single bunch. Apparently, she had been cleaning the common areas since early morning. Holding a mop in her right hand and a bucket in her left, she stared at the two of them with sparkling eyes.
"At last, at last, you two youngsters have become *that* kind of couple!! Ahh, what a wonderful thing for an old lady to see first thing in the morning!"
"N-No, you've got it wrong!! We were just shaking hands as work partners!!"
Amelia hurriedly let go of Iris's hand. But it was already too late.
"Now, now, there's no need to be shy. Holding hands, coming home in the morning, faces all red like that—anyone could see you're in *that* kind of relationship."
"I'm telling you, this is—"
"We're... not quite there yet."
Iris murmured quietly. She didn't deny it. In fact, her cheeks were faintly flushed, and she was smiling happily.
"Why aren't you denying it?!"
"Because I plan on us getting there eventually."
"Oh my, oh my, oh my! You have my full support, dear! I might even consider raising your rent for you!"
"Please don't!!"
Kurusu Chiyo descended the stairs with a broad grin, leaving behind a murmured, "*Fufufu*, ah, youth."
Amelia slumped down into a crouch in the hallway.
"...Why does my life turn out like this?"
"We're lucky to have such a good landlady, aren't we, senpai?"
Iris gently patted the crouching Amelia on the head.
"This is all your fault, you know."
"Yes, it's all my fault."
Breakfast was homemade by Iris.
From the apartment's small kitchen drifted the sweet smell of onions sautéing in butter. Despite favoring her bandaged left hand, Iris moved the frying pan deftly with just her right.
"Hey, don't push yourself when you're injured."
"This is to make sure you have a delicious breakfast, senpai. Something like this is nothing."
"No, it's definitely something. Don't cook when you're all wrapped up in bandages."
In the end, Amelia helped out, and together they made scrambled eggs, toast, and a salad with cherry tomatoes. The breakfast spread out on the low table was steaming hot.
"...This is amazing. What the heck, this is ridiculously good."
Taking a bite of the scrambled eggs, Amelia's eyes went wide. They were fluffy, yet soft and creamy inside, with the fragrance of butter gently wafting through her nose. The seasoning was perfect.
"*Fufu*, making you say it's delicious, senpai—that's my greatest happiness."
"Stop! Don't spoil me any more than this!"
"Spoiling you is my job, so please give up. Here, say 'ahh.'"
"Don't 'ahh' me!! I can feed myself!!"
Exchanging banter like a comedy duo, the two of them polished off their breakfast.
After the meal, Iris brewed coffee. Enjoying the aroma, Amelia looked out the window. The morning sun had fully risen, dyeing the town of Fuchigami in gold. It was a peaceful, calm morning.
—*Brrrrring.*
Her smartphone rang. The screen read: 'Yarimizu Hayato.'
"Hello?"
"Watson-san, good work. This is Yarimizu."
The voice on the other end had its usual serious tone. But there was a sense that some of the tension had eased.
"First, allow me to thank you. All five victims from this case have returned safely to their families. There are no issues with their health, and they are currently under observation at Fuchigami Central Hospital."
"...Thank goodness. That's really great."
Amelia felt relief from the bottom of her heart.
"Your deductive reasoning and initiative have left me in awe once again. Honestly, your stock within the station is skyrocketing. I've also been entrusted with a message from the Chief: 'Unofficially, we request your continued cooperation.'"
"Oh? That stiff Chief said that? That's rare."
"However, Watson-san."
Yarimizu's voice suddenly turned dead serious.
"Those occult-like explanations in the report you submitted—'time rifts,' 'Time Devourers,' and so on—I've naturally removed them from the official report. Surely it was some kind of optical trick, or perhaps a case of mass hypnosis at work. I can't make heads or tails of it myself."
"...You're still on about that?"
"Of course. The only things I believe in are evidence and the law. Expecting me to believe something as unrealistic as time rewinding itself is simply unreasonable."
Iris, who had been listening beside her, visibly clouded over.
"Excuse me, let me talk to him."
Iris snatched Amelia's smartphone.
"Yarimizu-san!!"
"Eep... Y-You're Ashford-san?"
"Senpai is always serious!! The time rift, the Time Devourer—all of it really happened! If you don't want to believe it, fine, but don't you dare get in senpai's way!!"
"U-Understood. I'm sorry. I won't get in the way. I'm truly sorry..."
She could practically see Yarimizu trembling on the other end of the line.
"...Well then, good work."
Iris hung up the phone with a click. Then, she let out a sigh.
"...Don't yell at a detective, you."
"But he made fun of you, senpai. That's unforgivable."
Iris was still pouting a little. But she looked so adorable doing it that Amelia couldn't help but laugh.
"Haha... Well, Yarimizu-san is just naturally like that. He doesn't mean any harm."
"...Even so."
In the early afternoon, the two of them visited the used bookstore Urashima-dou to wrap up the case and organize their information.
They were in the underground archive at the back of the shop. It was a dim room filled with the smell of old paper. The bookshelves lining the walls were crammed full of handwritten research notes on temporal anomalies and ancient documents from the Edo period. The shop owner, Ujiie Nodoka, was a thirty-four-year-old antiquarian bookseller and a peripheral collaborator with the
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