Make Them Love Me Or They'll End The World-Chapter 141: Damn You.

The current state Kentaro found himself in was… Mentally heartbreaking. He sat at the kitchen table, forehead pressed against the wood, rhythmically smacking it again and again. Each thud vibrated through the apartment, and with every strike, his frustration only grew heavier.

"Damn, damn, damn. Why. Why. Why." He muttered between dull thuds.

"If you're going to slam your head into something, at least let me do it for you," Yura deadpanned, one cheek resting lazily against her palm.

"I don't think I want to see that." Serica's voice was quieter, almost thoughtful. She tilted her head as if examining some curious new specimen. "For some reason, when he does it… It hurts. I didn't know feelings like that even existed."

Kentaro froze mid-thud and slowly raised his head. His eyes were half-lidded, bloodshot from lack of sleep, his expression caught somewhere between exhaustion and disbelief.

Tenka had left earlier to speak with Haruka about what to do next. One by one, the Alberlines had cycled back to Halcyon for testing, until finally Aria, the last to be checked, had returned and plopped herself quietly on the floor in front of the TV.

Kentaro sighed. "At least it's more peaceful now," he muttered. But almost immediately, his brow furrowed. "But it feels weird when Serica's this calm… And Yura's turned into a genuine bully."

His gaze drifted to Aria, who immediately stiffened under his eyes. She held his stare for only a fraction of a second before her shoulders hunched and she quickly looked away, as if eye contact itself burned.

"…She's shy," Kentaro realised, eyes softening. "She hasn't really spoken much since this all started." But he didn't press. He looked down at his hands, resting uselessly on the table.

The silence that followed was thick, almost comforting in its stillness. And then... 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Bzzt.

His comm buzzed. Tenka's voice filtered in, calm but firm.

"Hey, Kentaro. You holding up okay?"

"Yeah," he replied, though his tone betrayed him. "Though it's hella awkward."

"I can imagine. But listen, good news and bad news."

Kentaro's heart skipped. He stood quickly, pacing toward his bedroom. "Please. Tell me the good news first."

Tenka sighed, and that sound alone told Kentaro not to expect much.

"The good news is… Whatever happened to Serica and the others is reversible. From the scans we've done, it's almost identical to what happened with that chef and his crystal. When we matched the girls' body scans, we discovered they've also got something implanted. A sort of crystal embedded in them."

Kentaro's grip tightened around his comm. "No way… So, to get their memories back, we need Shaula to remove those crystal things?" Sweat trickled down his temple.

"Pretty much. And that leads to the bad news. Without Shaula's help, nothing changes. We can't physically move the crystals ourselves. So…" She trailed off. She didn't need to say more; Kentaro already understood.

"…We have to win the competition. And on top of that, figure out which one is the real Shaula."

"Exactly." Tenka's reply was soft, but heavy.

Kentaro stopped in front of his mirror. His reflection stared back, puffy eyes, veins red with fatigue, jaw tight with strain. "Understood." His voice tried to sound confident, but even Tenka could hear the fear underneath.

"Listen, Ken," Tenka added quietly.

"What's up?"

"Just know… I'm with you."

His lips twitched into a faint smile. "I know. And I'm glad I have you."

The line cut.

Kentaro exhaled, long and heavy. Reality came rushing back. Serica, Yura, and Aria, the versions of them sitting just a few meters away, weren't the same anymore. In theory, it was like starting all over again. The only small grace was that fragments of their old selves remained, little cheat codes. They remembered that they lived here. They remembered who Kentaro was. But anything deeper, anything that truly mattered, was gone.

Kentaro dragged himself into the kitchen. "…Dinner," he muttered. "Food fixes everything."

"Hey, Yura. Want to help cook?" He asked carefully. Normally, she would insist on it. Normally, she would push him out of the kitchen entirely.

Yura raised a brow, lips curling into something cruelly amused. "Me? Cook? Who do you think I am, a commoner?"

Kentaro blinked. "…Sorry I asked." He shuffled back toward the counter, reaching for his apron.

"I can help… if you don't mind?"

Kentaro's entire body froze. Slowly, his head turned.

It wasn't Aria.

It wasn't Yura.

It was Serica.

The same Serica who had once nearly burned his entire apartment complex down trying to "boil water."

"No! no, no, no." He raised both hands like she was pointing a gun at him. "Honestly, it's fine. I've got this covered. I only asked Yura to test her memory."

Serica blinked, her expression wobbling between surprise and hurt. "…Oh. I see. You don't want me to cook with you." Her voice cracked, and a single tear slipped down her cheek.

And with that tear, the room temperature plummeted.

"What the, it's freezing!" Kentaro muttered, shivering as frost began forming across the counters.

His comm buzzed again. Haruka's panicked voice shouted through.

"Ken! Whatever you did, fix it! Serica's emotional output just spiked; her readings are off the charts!"

"Shit, I forgot this happens!" Kentaro yelled.

"ICE WOMAN! CONTROL YOURSELF AT ONCE!" Yura bellowed, pointing dramatically.

"Yes, please. My hands are cold," Aria mumbled, deadpan as ever.

"But he said no!" Serica cried, hiccuping through her sobs. "It hurts, it hurts my chest, and I don't know why!"

Kentaro ran forward, careful to stop short of the spreading ice. "Okay, okay! Serica, can you help me cook?"

Her head shot up instantly, eyes bright. In that moment, it was like her old self peeked through. "Hmm!" she nodded eagerly. The temperature snapped back to normal, the frost melting in seconds. Aria fetched a bucket and began sweeping the slush while Kentaro and Serica started "cooking."

Or rather, Kentaro survived Serica's cooking.

Burned eggs. Blackened rice. If there was a way to set something on fire, Serica found it.

"I'm sorry, Kentaro," she sniffled, shoulders slumping. "I don't know why I thought I'd be better this time."

"No, no, it's fine." Kentaro's smile twitched but held. "Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, right? How about this? Can you open these cans of sweet corn?"

Serica perked up, determination shining. "Yes! I can do that!"

Kentaro sighed in relief. "Thank god. At least she can..."

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

The scream tore through the apartment.

Because Kentaro had forgotten one small but crucial detail. Alberlines weren't normal girls. They had inhuman strength.

So when Serica pressed the can opener, she squeezed just a little too hard.

Corn and spicy brine exploded everywhere, splattering the walls, coating the counter, and drenching Kentaro's entire face.

"My eyes! Why does it burn?!" Kentaro howled, stumbling blindly.

"I'M SORRY!" Serica cried, rushing forward for a towel, only to slip on the juice she'd just spilt.

"W-WOAH!" she shrieked, arms flailing wildly.

Kentaro, blinded, staggered backwards. And then...

YANK.

Serica's hand caught the waistband of his pants.

Gravity did the rest.

His trousers hit the floor.

"Wha-" Kentaro barely had time to react before Serica, in her fall, lifted her head. And her face collided with something no innocent girl wanted shoved in her line of sight.

Her eyes went wide.

Yura gasped, leaping to her feet and pointing an accusing finger. "MY, MY! HUMAN, YOU TRULY ARE VILE! EXHIBITING YOUR ELEPHANT IN FRONT OF HER LIKE THIS!"

"AHHHHHHHH!" Serica screamed, scrambling upright, cheeks blazing. She grabbed for the counter in her panic, only to seize the handle of a scalding-hot pan.

CRASH.

The pan tumbled straight onto Kentaro's backside.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" His scream shook the building.

"BAHAHAHAHA! NOW THAT'S KARMA!" Yura doubled over, laughing so hard she nearly fell off her chair.

"…Will he be okay?" Aria muttered, inching closer, her cheeks faintly pink from the earlier "incident."

An hour later…

"What the hell happened here?!" Tenka stood in the doorway, eyes twitching. "I leave for one hour, and Kentaro's ass is bandaged up like he fought a dragon."

"Yes." Yura crossed her arms, smirking. "Indeed. The beast thought it amusing to expose his elephant to Serica during a commotion."

"WHAT?! HIS WHAT?!" Tenka's entire face ignited red.

"No! It wasn't like that!" Serica cried, head smacking the table. "I slipped, grabbed his pants by accident, and um, I'm sorry…"

Tenka stood frozen, speechless. On the coffee table, Kentaro lay on his stomach, pants gone, his entire lower body wrapped in layers of bandages, ass sticking comically upward.

"I… I have no words," Haruka muttered through the comm, listening in.

Eventually, Tenka prepared dinner herself, muttering angrily under her breath. Kentaro managed to sit at the table, gingerly lowering himself onto a cushion.

"This is good, Tenka! I didn't know you could cook this well," Kentaro said, shovelling food into his mouth.

Her cheeks flushed. "O-Oh… Well, you never asked. I practised… In case I needed to make food for you."

Aria blinked at her, tilting her head innocently. "If you love someone, why don't you just tell them?"

Tenka choked on her food. Kentaro froze mid-bite, ears turning red.

"H-Hahaha… Let's just change the topic, shall we?"

But Yura wasn't letting go. "Heheheh. Humans and their pointless love. It only ever leads to sadness." Her smirk was cruel, but Kentaro knew, even in this altered state, that Yura's bravado masked loneliness. She would love to be loved.

Tenka's brows twitched. "Oh, I see. So when you confessed to Kentaro over and over, that meant nothing, right?"

"Ngh! Fool, I would never!"

"But you did," Tenka said sharply. "I remember. Even if you don't."

Yura shot up, hand sparking with Dominance. "Don't try me, woman."

Tenka didn't flinch.

"WOAH, CALM DOWN! Actually, this is perfect, Yura!" Kentaro yelped, holding his hands up.

Yura huffed, plopping back down. "Hmph. Fine. But tell your friend to watch her tongue."

The tension eased. Kentaro exhaled and, finally, asked the question weighing on him since the beginning.

"…Yura, Serica, Aria. Please. Tell me, what do you remember?" His voice was soft, but his gaze sharpened with resolve.