Chapter 1 – Kata Yakisoba, Not Enough Water

Back when he was in the early grade school, Kashiki Minoru fell in love for the very first time in his life. It was love at first sight.

The person he fell in love with was an older girl. With pure white hair that reached her back, jewel-like red eyes and a cheerful smile that looked alluring to the eyes.

“O-Onee-san! C-Can I draw a picture of you?”

And so, Minoru tried his best to approach her. Even back then, he knew that he was a talented artist. With that in mind, he thought that if he could present her with a really good drawing of her, he would be able to reciprocate his first love.

“Oh my, that makes me happy~ It’s been so long since anyone offered something like this to me. But, I’m sorry. Before you could finish that drawing, I’m sure that you’ll end up forgetting everything about me.”

The girl let out a gentle smile as she declined Minoru’s advances.

If Minoru was a little older, he might have understood that she was indirectly rejecting him. Alas, he was too young to know such subtleties.

“Don’t worry, I won’t forget you! I’ll draw a picture of you, Onee-san! I promise!”

With a bright red face, Minoru denied the girl’s words.

‘If I could draw her a good picture, she’ll accept my love, for sure!’ With such an unfounded belief, Minoru single-mindedly tried to draw his first love.

And three days later, he completely forgot the older girl’s existence.

* * *

Back when he was in middle school, Minoru fell in love for the second time. It was love at first sight.

The girl he fell in love with was a girl with snow white skin and plump chest. She was older than him, probably a high-schooler. Dressed in an old-fashioned sailor uniform, her smile was pleasing to the eyes.

“Ah, um… I… I’m a member of the art club and I’m looking for a model… Do you mind becoming my model?”

He was still experiencing his puberty. After putting up enough countermeasures, Minoru mustered all his courage and called out to the girl he fell in love with.

“Fufufu, a model for a painting? I’m sorry, but I have to refuse your offer. You’ll end up forgetting about me in three days anyway.”

The girl smiled pleasantly and rejected his request. Minoru was already in middle school, so he knew that she had just dumped him. Nevertheless, he decided that this was something that he couldn’t give up on. Her attitude displeased him. She could just give a clear rejection to the modeling offer he made, yet she tried to convince him with a nonsensical excuse.

“That won’t happen. I promise that I’ll never forget you and I’ll finish the painting properly.”

To that, the girl said nothing and let out a sad smile.

Minoru didn’t understand the reason behind that smile. What he understood though was that if he managed to finish the painting, surely something would happen between the two of them.

After a week filled with agony, Minoru had already forgotten about the person he fell in love with.

* * *

During the second year of high school, Minoru fell in love for the third time. It was love at first sight.

The girl was around his age. With pure white hair that reached her back, jewel-like red eyes, snow white skin, she was dressed in an old-fashioned sailor uniform.

The moment Minoru saw her smile, he knew that he had fallen for her.

“Sorry to call you out suddenly. I want to paint something, can I ask you to be my model?”

Perhaps it was because he had already matured somewhat after becoming a high school student, he didn’t feel embarrassed at all when he asked her that request. Rather, he didn’t even try to hide his fondness for the girl as he faced her honestly and told her what was on his mind clearly.

“…Things like this do happen, don’t they?”

With a dumbfounded smile, the girl said in resignation, “Can’t be helped.”

“Sorry, I can’t be a model for you. I’m not qualified.”

“…Not qualified?”

The girl said to Minoru, who responded by tilting his head. He didn’t realize that this was the third time that they exchanged the same words. Well, rather than describing it as he ‘didn’t realize,’ it was more like that he ‘didn’t remember.’

With a cheerful smile, mixed with resignation, she said,

“If I can’t even make you remember me, how could I be a model for your painting?”

Once again, the words that he heard fell into obscurity.

* * *

There was an urban legend.

Of people unable to remember the face of the person they talked to just a few minutes ago. Of people unable to remember the face of the person that helped them out of a sticky situation on streets. Such insignificant phenomena blended into everyone’s daily lives. Strangely enough, despite people being unable to remember anything, the phenomena was passed as an urban legend.

‘Dareka-san¹Leaving it as dareka because ‘who is it-san’ doesn’t sound as good. If you have any suggestions for the name, you can tell me.,’ they named the legend as such. Because none of them was able to remember the person’s name.

* * *

“Are you telling me that you fell in love with an urban legend?”

“Yeah.”

Toward his friend’s absurd words, Satou Takayuki let out a genuine word of disbelief, “What?”

It was currently June, spring had started to pass. Even in this part of Tohoku, where people would still spend their days staring at the cherry blossom, the increasing temperature was still noticeable. In the afternoon, the heat didn’t fade away. Students usually would either go indoor to escape it, or seek the protection of the shades. Takayuki and his friend, Kashiki Minoru, were no exception to this rule. They were hanging out in a corner of the hallway, where the sun ray couldn’t find its way to their skin.

“Well, that sounds romantic, but I don’t think I can relate with someone who falls in love with someone who doesn’t exist.”

“No, she exists. This might sound ridiculous to you, but it was her who called herself by that name.”

Minoru threw a serious gaze at Takayuki.

The boy was of medium height and had shaggy hair. His face looked ordinary and plain. There were noticeable features in his face, but those features didn’t make him stand out from the rest of the crowds in any way.

That was Kashiki Minoru, the ordinary high school boy that you could find anywhere. Or so he might seem. Except that Takayuki knew better than to believe that notion. Despite his appearance, he was an oddball, an ‘art idiot’, who was still scribbling through his sketchbook even as they were having this conversation.

“I fell in love with her at first sight. She was beautiful, among the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen. I immediately asked her to be the model for my painting as an excuse to get to know her, but she turned me down…”

The reason why Takayuki lent him an ear earnestly like this was because it was rare for this idiot to be infatuated with someone to the point that he asked the girl to be his model. Normally, even when he were to ask someone to become his model, it was only to satisfy his artistic need. There was no room for any kind of other emotion to enter his heart.

“Think about it from her perspective. Someone she doesn’t even know asked her to be a model for his painting, obviously she’d refuse you.”

“I know, that was my bad, I’ll do better next time, but the thing with her is that, what you said wasn’t the only reason why she rejected me. She told me that she couldn’t become a model for me because I won’t be able to remember her.”

“Someone that can’t be remembered by others… An urban legend… Hmm… I can think of a few rumors related to that. Anyway, what did she call herself again?”

“‘Dareka-san’ the minor character. Have you heard of her?”

Takayuki stopped to think about Minoru’s question before nodding his head.

“If I recall correctly, there’s that rumor going on in this part of the city. There’s a mysterious monster who appears in front of someone in need and helps them out. But, no one was able to remember its voice, name or appearance. That’s why everyone called it ‘Dareka-san.’”

“Yeah. She told me that she’s ‘Dareka-san.’”

“…Are you sure she wasn’t just using that story as an excuse to dump you?”

“I thought so too at first, but…”

For a moment, Minoru stopped talking. Even the pencil in his hand, which had been moving during their conversation, had stopped.

This was an unusual reaction coming from him. As far as Takayuki knew, Minoru was someone who hated bushing around the bush, so it was rare to see him stop talking mid-sentence. And it was even more rare to see him stop doodling with his pencil.

“I don’t remember.”

“Hm?”

“…I don’t remember what she looked like. It happened three days ago. All I could remember was the fact that I fell in love with a girl around my age.”

The words came out slowly from Minoru’s mouth, but it managed to convince Takayuki.

Logically speaking, it would be hard for anyone to forget the appearance of the person they fell in love with. Moreover, the encounter happened only three days ago. It wasn’t far-fetched to assume that the phenomena had something to do with a supernatural entity.

“Even now, I could feel that my memory of her is starting to fade away. It’s as if that part of memory is being erased by an eraser at a fast pace.”

After letting out a mutter in a strained voice, Minoru looked up. With a pained expression, he pleaded to Takayuki.

“I know that you won’t believe my story, but–”

“I believe you.”

“Huh?”

A normal person wouldn’t believe him. They’d treat his words as either a lie or just thought that he was daydreaming. After all, even Minoru himself wasn’t sure whether the event actually happened or not.

Even so, Minoru still sought Takayuki’s advice. Mostly because of how desperate he was. There was also a part of him that believed Takayuki wasn’t an ordinary person. Rumors surrounding him, both false and real, were too numerous for a high school boy. There was something in Takayuki that made Minoru think that he wouldn’t just dismiss his words as incomprehensible ramblings.

“I believe your story, Minoru. You fell in love with a girl from an urban legend. She dumped you for a reason that you failed to understand, so you want me to figure out what that reason was and to help you to get to know her better. Is that it?”

And to his surprise, Takayuki believed him so easily. He even went out of his way to offer his help to him.

“You actually believe me?”

“You don’t seem to be lying to me. Your feelings…look real to me. That should be enough of a reason to help a friend out, no?”

Takayuki responded to Minoru’s dumbfounded face with a fearless grin.

Seeing that smile, Minoru let out a sigh of relief.

“I see. I’ll be in your care then. Despite how you look, you’re a kind guy, Takayuki.”

“What do you mean, ‘despite how you look,’ you fucker?”

Takayuki, who looked like a real delinquent, kept his grin even as he swore at his friend.

“Well, there’s a matter that I have to prioritize first, though. So, I can only help you after that matter is done.”

“…See? I knew it. You’re just too kind. You’re the type of person who’d lose your money because of your kindness.”

“Shut it. I’m not like that anymore. Besides, it isn’t like I’m on my own. I have a reliable partner now.”

At Takayuki’s blunt words, Minoru let out a chuckle.

“I see. I never expected to hear those words come out of the mouth of a lone wolf like you… But, are you sure that you guys are only partners? You two are too close. Are you sure you two aren’t lovers?”

“We’re partners.”

“Really?” Minoru asked with suspicion after hearing Takayuki’s calm reaction.

“Do I look like someone who can get a girlfriend?”

“…No comment.”

‘I really wish that I could feel the slightest feeling toward someone, though.’ Takayuki secretly thought.

* * *

Dusk, the time when all the heat had subsided.

Miyama Aoi, the pretty black-haired girl walking next to Takayuki, seemed to be in a good mood.

“Hmm ~ Hmm hmm ~ ♪”

The girl was humming a song. She looked so happy to the point that it wouldn’t be a surprise if she started skipping her steps.

“You seem to be in a good mood, Miyama.”

“Hehe, it’s because I could finally work together with you, Satou-kun~”

When Takayuki called out to her, a charming smile bloomed in her face as she turned to face him. It was the smile that could bewitch every boy in his adolescence. Even the member of the same sex as her could fall victim to the same smile… Maybe…

That was how pretty her smile was. The girl had long raven colored hair and she looked mature for her age. But her smile brought the innocence in her, showing how much trust she had for the boy next to her. A normal boy of her age would definitely fall in love with her after seeing that smile.

“What work? We’re just helping one of my friends out in Fukuyama. For free even. Good grief, you’re such a handful, Miss Honor Student.”

But, even after receiving Aoi’s smile in full force, Takayuki’s composure didn’t change. His cheeks didn’t turn red and his tone was as curt as always whenever he talked with her.

“Hehehe, Satou-kun~”

Aoi gently reached her hand out to Takayuki, who had an irreverent look on his face and intertwined her right hand with his left hand. It was the so-called ‘lover’s hold,’ a way for lovers to express their affection in the form of holding hands.

“Have, you, tried, to, look, in, the mirror?~ Hehe~”

“Agh! Ow ow! My fingers! My four fingers are being crushed all at once!”

But, for Takayuki, the so-called lover’s hold was nothing but a punishment.

“I get that you’re trying to help that girl. She’s having trouble answering a confession from a boy and he’s a delinquent, right? But, don’t you think trying to sneak into the boy’s school to do it is a little excessive, if not, outright foolish?”

“No, he dyed his hair blond, but he isn’t a delinquent. I wouldn’t find that out if I didn’t try to talk to him. To talk to him, I had to sneak into his school. In other words, my action was neither excessive nor foolish.”

“Look here. Sneaking into other people’s school with that kind of appearance, are you trying to start another bad rumor about you again? Can’t you be more mindful of your own actions? If it’s information that you need, you have yours truly to help you with it.”

Punishing him by holding him with the lover’s hold was Aoi’s favorite method of punishment. From the outside, it looked like they were just a couple having fun. Not to mention that it would put her into the best position to reprimand him without getting strange gazes from their surroundings. As a result of this, though, a rumor of them being a couple had started to spread around, but Aoi wouldn’t find out about this until later.

“I-I did it out of habit, okay?! S-Sorry!”

Meanwhile, from Takayuki’s perspective, the punishment was a harsh one. Not only that he had to receive the physical pain from having his fingers crushed, the emotional damage he received from Aoi’s lack of sense of distance was quite significant to him. When it came to dealing with him, she seemed to ignore the gender barriers completely and would either act spoiled or fawn over him without a care in the world. While he felt quite happy to be treated like this, it was still hard for him to deal with her actions sometimes. All he could do was to pray that everything would end soon.

“If I wasn’t there, you would’ve gotten yourself into unnecessary trouble. Reflect on your actions properly, okay?”

“I understand. From now on, I’ll make a written report and submit it to you before I do something.”

“You don’t need to be that extra, just tell me beforehand like a normal person! Also, why are you so quick on apologizing and reflecting? It’s a little off-putting.”

“From my experience in the past, if I’m not so quick on apologizing and reflecting, you’ll just get angrier at me.”

Takayuki stared at the distance as he said that, which prompted Aoi to bump him lightly on the shoulders before continuing her words while sulking.

“A-Anyway, thanks to me we managed to find out more things about the boy! I also managed to find out about his true feelings toward the girl friend of yours thanks to my question! I was useful, wasn’t I?”

After her spectacular speech, Aoi loosened the grip on Takayuki’s hand and sent him a glance. As if he knew what she wanted from that eye contact, Takayuki let out a smile.

“Of course you were able to do well, that much is a given. Me being there was only a hindrance to you— Ow ow!”

When her partner started demeaning himself, Aoi forcefully strengthened her grip on his hand again.

“What are you on about? It was because you were there that I could act with a peace of mind. Humbling yourself too much only made you sound spiteful instead of modest, you know?”

It was clear that she didn’t want to hear those words coming from Takayuki’s mouth.

“M-My bad, my bad! I just worded it badly! What I meant to say is that, of course you were able to do well! You’re my reliable partner!”

“…Do you really mean it?”

“Yeah, I mean it. I’m glad that you’re there to have my back, partner.”

“…Hehe.”

Aoi’s cheek reddened slightly as she finally let Takayuki’s hand go.

“Was I helpful to you?”

“Y-Yeah, of course.”

“Do you think I’m strong?”

“S-Strong? I-I guess so, yeah.”

“I’m the number one partner in the world, right?”

“Huh? What kind of question was that? W-Well, I can say that you’re reliable, though.”

“Hehe~”

“Thank God that was enough to fix your mood…”

Takayuki still didn’t understand how that little exchange managed to get her in a good mood. Nevertheless, he felt relieved by the outcome.

“Well, as long as I’m your partner, you’ll never find yourself in trouble! You can count on me like one two three and I’ll be there²I can’t find the English equivalent of this proverb: 大船に乗ったつもりで and this is what came to mind, sorry.!”

“Sure, sure, please continue to take care of me, partner.”

“Hehe~ My presence made your face-to-face counseling easier, didn’t it?”

“I can’t refute that. Having extra hands really helped me tremendously.”

Aoi was so happy that she was practically gloating. Though, one couldn’t argue that her words were false. After all, for Takayuki, Aoi was the most reliable partner he could ever have.

“By the way, you have another face-to-face counseling coming up, right? The client asked specifically for it this time.”

“Yeah. If they didn’t outright scam me, the client this time should be a middle school girl that lives in this neighborhood.”

“Imagining you meeting a middle school girl feels wrong somehow.”

“I know. That’s why I told them to bring along an adult with them, or else I won’t meet them. I also told them that I’ll be bringing you with me. Is that okay with you? Sorry for dragging you to deal with my personal problem like this…”

Takayuki knew the answer she’ll give him, but he asked that question anyway.

“It’s okay for you to refuse me. At the end of the day, I knew the person through the internet. We’ve talked to each other for a while, but that doesn’t mean this meeting would be a safe one. There is still a chance that the other party is a scammer with malicious intentions, after all. I’m prepared to deal with that possibility, but you can never be too cautious. For your safety, it’s still better for you to not go with me.”

Aoi brushed off his words of concern with a dismissive “Are you an idiot?”

“You said it yourself, it’s better to have extra hands. If things come down to it, I’m probably the one who’ll get you out of the sticky situations.”

Smiling mischievously, Aoi continued her words.

“I know you said that out of concern for me, but you know who I am. I won’t hesitate to call the police if I need to. Honestly, it will be safer for you if I were to go with you, Satou-kun. So, stop nagging me and just bring me along.”

“…I’m no match for you, Miyama.”

Takayuki responded to her cute smile with a wry smile.

“Hehe, that’s a given. Or else I wouldn’t call myself your partner!”

They threw another smile at each other as they walked down the orange-tinted path.

The distance between the two of them was farther than lovers, but closer than that of friends.

* * *

“Nice to meet you, Satou Takayuki. I’m Kuramori Karin, your fiancee.”

Takayuki was confused.

Not because the other person referred to him by his name, though. After all, even if they never actually met in real life before, they had exchanged each other’s personal information prior to the meeting, that included their real names.

He was baffled because the middle school girl in front of him referred to herself as his fiancee.

“…Hm? Sorry, I might misheard something. Can you repeat your words?”

“I’m your fiancee.”

“I see.”

After double checking, her words remained the same.

Her nonsensical rambling was too much even for Takayuki. If the other party wasn’t a middle schooler, he would definitely have bailed out of the restaurant already. Also, there was another reason why he didn’t run away. The girl came by herself, so he would feel guilty if he were to leave her. And so, he convinced himself that there was a deeper reason why the girl said those nonsensical words to him and tried to continue their talk.

“Uh, username ‘Bell,’ Kuramori, right? I told you to bring an adult with you, didn’t I?”

“I did. My guardian is sitting in a different seat, just in case. I haven’t trusted you completely yet.”

“I see.”

Takayuki was still in a state of confusion because of Karin’s words, but he still managed to discern her appearance.

Bobbed black hair, eyes full of caution as she observed his movements. If it wasn’t because of her wearing a middle school jersey, it would be easy to mistake her as a grade school student due to her petite figure.

He secretly gave her the nickname, ‘Runaway Zashiki Warashi³A Zashiki Warashi is a yokai in the form of a little girl with bobbed hair. It lives in people’s houses and usually plays pranks on them. It was said that if you manage to see one with your own eyes, that’s a sign that you’ll be visited with good fortune.’ and nodded his head.

“Alright, let me double check. We’ve never met prior to this meeting, right, Kuramori? I can tell from your jersey that your middle school is nearby, so there’s a chance that we might have passed by each other without me noticing.”

“Don’t worry, this is our first meeting.”

“And you told me that you’re my fiancee?”

“Yes.”

“Despite that, you don’t trust me completely?”

“Yes.”

She didn’t seem to be trying to pull one over him as she earnestly replied to his questions.

“…I came here because you told me you need consultation over the matter of you ‘liking an older boy next door, but since he already has someone in mind, I want to help him with his love life.’”

“That one was a lie.”

Karin said with a blank look on her face.

Takayuki quietly glanced at Aoi, who was sitting next to him.

“Hehehe…”

She was smiling so radiantly that if someone were to take a picture of her smile and put it on a magazine’s cover, it would fit in perfectly.

Except that it was clear she wasn’t in a good mood. On the contrary, Aoi was in a really bad mood.

“Oi, Partner.”

“You don’t need to say anything, Satou-kun.”

And so, Takayuki made a decision and made eye contact with her. Understanding what he meant, Aoi took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

““Let’s go home.””

“Eh?”

They immediately got up from their seats and were about to go home as they declared.

“U-Um, wait a minute, please! Why are you leaving already?!”

Puzzled by their reactions, Karin broke her expressionless mask and hurriedly called them out to keep them from leaving.

“I mean, we came here for the consultation, since that’s a lie, there’s no reason for us to stay.”

“Correct. Also, I have no reason to trust you anymore since you deceived Satou-kun like that.”

“Aren’t you curious as to why I declared myself as your fiancee?!”

“…I mean, middle schoolers do that sometimes, I guess.”

“Why are you treating me like a brat?!”

“You are a brat, though.”

The two of them casually dismissed Karin’s attempt to make them stay.

Karin’s words might be strange, but she wasn’t the most outrageous person that Takayuki had to deal with. That was why he decided that it would be best if he just accepted that she deceived him and went home quickly.

“…Ugh. That’s…”

The two of them were already about to leave, as they gave the hesitating Karin side glances. Since in the end she didn’t say anything else to them, they decided to ignore her and leave.

“Oh my, sorry about that. Please excuse Karen-chan’s rudeness.”

But a girl came out and blocked their path.

““!””

Both of them were surprised by the mysterious girl’s appearance for several reasons.

The first reason was the fact that they failed to sense the girl’s presence before she called out to them.

The second reason was because the girl was beautiful. It was surprising that they didn’t notice her beforehand even though she was that pretty.

Long white hair, looked as smooth as silk. Bright red eyes akin to a pair of jewels. Peeking out from her old-fashioned sailor uniform was her snow white skin. However, despite the pale color of her skin, her chest looked so healthy to the point that even a member of the same sex would be attracted to it.

“Sorry for not introducing myself first. My name is Himuro Reina. I’m this child’s mother.”

““Mother?!””

Hearing Reina’s introduction made the two of them yelp in surprise. Reina looked like she would be in high school. She didn’t look to be in the age to give birth to Karin.

“Rei-onee-chan!”

Without missing a beat, Karin rushed to Reina’s side and raised her voice in protest with a bright red face.

“Oh my, Karin-chan, don’t raise your voice in a public place like this.”

“Uh, sorry, Reina-san? May I know why you referred to yourself as her mother? Appearance-wise, you look like more of her sister instead.”

“That so? Then, let me reintroduce myself. I’m this girl’s guardian. I guess you could call me her older sister.”

Seeing the sight of Reina smiling and bowing graciously stunned both Aoi and Takayuki.

“I apologize for this child’s rudeness. She got ahead of herself and acted in a way that displeased you. But, can you please at least listen to what she has to say?”

“Ah, um…”

While Takayuki was still in a state of confusion, Reina made Karin, who stood next to her, bow her head down together with herself.

“C’mon, Karin, quickly apologize. Sorry, she loves to put on airs. Ever since she became a middle schooler, she has become so feisty.”

“I’ll apologize! Please, just stop!”

The sight of the two of them bowing deeply drew countless stares from inside the restaurant.

“Um, Satou-kun, sorry, but…”

“Ah, yeah. I’ll listen to what you two have to say, but we should move to a different place first.”

Aoi and Takayuki decided to accept their apology, albeit with reluctance. After all, it was better to talk in another place rather than staying there and drawing unnecessary attention.

* * *

“I didn’t get threatened to proclaim myself as your fiancee, Satou-san. But, someone asked me to make sure that you live a decent life.”

“So, who is this ‘someone?’”

“I can’t tell you that. But, that person is my benefactor, so I can’t bring myself to refuse their request. I decided to observe your life first and determine if the life you’re living right now can be considered decent or not. If yes, then I’ll slowly disappear from your life. If not, then as your fiancee, I’ll do my best to guide you to life a decent life.”

“…Hearing a middle schooler saying all those things sounds really weird to me.”

The four of them left the restaurant and went to a nearby coffee shop to talk. Perhaps because it was the opening time, there were no other customers beside them.

“I apologize for deceiving you and calling you to come here, but I didn’t do that for shit and giggles. I’ve readied myself enough to take the necessary actions.”

“Necessary actions?”

“For example, if I conclude that you’ve been living a decent life, I’m prepared to pay remuneration.”

Takayuki listened to Karin with a dubious look on his face, but suddenly, the latter took out something rectangular from her pocket and handed it over to him.

It was a bankbook. On closer inspection, he saw that the bankbook was under the name of ‘Kuramori Karin.’

“Will everything in that bankbook suffice as remuneration?”

“Oi, Miss Guardian, teach this middle schooler the importance of money and personal information.”

Takayuki gave Reina a sour look, but Karin interrupted him with a protest.

“Excuse me? That’s bold coming from someone who made a living from meeting up with random people on the internet. Besides, I earned all that money myself.”

“That’s bold coming from an idiot who willingly threw her bankbook to someone she had just met.”

After letting out a sigh, Takayuki turned his glance at Reina.

“You called yourself her guardian, shouldn’t you scold her at times like this?”

To that question, Reina responded with a gentle smile.

“I’m just respecting her resolution. Can you please bear with it for a while?”

“…Tch.”

Takayuki bluntly clicked his tongue as he opened the bankbook.

After seeing the highly suspicious number of digits in the bankbook, he closed it again promptly. Then he convinced himself that there was no way a middle schooler could have that much money in hand and that he was only seeing things the first time. So he opened the book again.

“…Whew.”

After he finished double checking the book, he threw it forcefully to Karin’s bosom and shouted,

“Oi, Miss Guardian!”

“Yes~ What is it?”

“There are too many digits on that book! Don’t make a middle schooler carry around something like this! You, don’t throw this amount of money just for a remuneration or whatnot! Treasure it more! Besides, why are you showing this to someone you just met? Are you out of your mind?!”

Takayuki was so upset that his voice cracked in the middle.

“Satou-kun, calm down. You’re getting caught in their pace right now. Besides, we’re in a public place, you’ll be a nuisance to the shop owner.”

“Cough!”

After Aoi rubbed his back, Takayuki finally regained his composure.

“…Now that I think about it, this whole affair is strange from the very beginning. Referring to yourself as the fiancee of someone you just met is strange enough, but she went as far as showing her bank account too. What’s up with that?”

As he calmed down, he gradually managed to realize the strangeness of the situation.

“If what you were saying about the fake consultation was true, Kuramori, then I assume it isn’t ‘Baku’ who you have a business with, but me, Satou Takayuki. Is that correct?”

Takayuki was late in noticing that fact because they had exchanged their personal information prior to this. From the beginning, Karin never once referred to him as ‘Baku,’ the persona he used as a love consultant. She also never introduced herself as a client, rather, she told him that she was his fiancee.

From this juncture, Takayuki assumed that she was aware of his personal life before they even talked to each other on the internet. She was aware of his side gig as a love consultant, so she approached him by disguising herself as someone who desperately needed love advice. All those were simply preparations so that she could call him out to meet her personally.

“But, Satou-kun, you’ve never told anyone that you did this as a side gig, right? Or at least, you’ve never told anyone that wasn’t close enough to you.”

Takayuki’s previous question led Aoi to the same conclusion as him.

In other words, both Karin and Reina somehow managed to know the information that they shouldn’t know long before they tried to contact him.

Someone who was close to him was involved in this matter.

“Oi, you two. How did you two know that I run a consultation service on that account? Only a handful of people were supposed to know that.”

“I knew it from someone else, of course. However, I promised that person that I won’t give out their name to you, so don’t even bother asking me. Even if you were to assault me here, even if you were to do p-pervy things to me here, I won’t say anything!”

Seeing Karin showing her determination with flushed cheeks made Takayuki let out a deep sigh.

“Haah… There’s no way I’m going to do that, you idiot!”

“I’m not an idiot!”

Karin sent him a deviant gaze, but Takayuki couldn’t be bothered with her anymore. He turned his gaze to Reina, who looked even more mysterious than Karin did and asked her a question.

“Oi, Miss Guardian, do your job properly. If you call yourself a guardian, then rein in that idiot properly. It’s your job to discipline a brat that doesn’t know her place.”

“Oh my, are you getting angry?”

However, Reina’s relaxed expression didn’t change even after receiving Takayuki’s angry words. Instead of being frightened, she let out a smile, as if she was remembering that something like this once happened in the past.

“Hehehe~ You’re a good kid, aren’t you? Getting angry on behalf of others like that. That part of you is similar to Soujirou-san when he was young.”

“!”

Hearing that name came out of her mouth, Takayuki widened his eyes involuntarily.

Because that name was the name of someone he held dear in his heart. Her knowing that name meant that she wasn’t just a random person who happened to know about his love consultation gig.

“Oi, you… Who the hell are you?”

“Oh my, haven’t I introduced myself before? My name is Himuro Reina. I’m this child’s guardian.”

Even though Takayuki’s tone changed to be even more serious than before, Reina still hadn’t dropped her smile.

“If you were to treat Karin-chan a little nicer, perhaps my mouth will loosen.”

“…I still won’t accept this whole fiancee bullshit. Nor will I receive the remuneration or whatnot. At most, I won’t drive her away, I guess.”

Seeing her carefree attitude, Takayuki decided to give in.

However, the two girls in front of him were too much of an enigma for him to be ignored. Especially Reina, who managed to steal his attention. He didn’t want to accept their demands, but in the end, he decided to watch the situation unfold as a compromise.

“That’s enough for us. We only need enough time for Karin-chan to determine what kind of person you really are. If you want to, I can act as your fiancee in her stead.”

“Rei-onee-chan?!”

At the unexpected betrayal of her guardian, Karin yelped in surprise.

After indulging herself with Karin’s reaction, Reina continued,

“I’ll promise you this, Satou Takayuki. As long as you face Karin-chan properly, I’ll answer any questions that you might have. Even if you forget this promise of mine.”

* * *

After Reina and Karin left the coffee shop, Takayuki sat there in silence.

“Satou-kun, are you okay? You’ve been quiet for a while now.”

“…Ah, I’m fine.”

“Ever since she mentioned this ‘Soujirou’ person, you’ve been acting strangely.”

Aoi worriedly asked him. After a brief period of hesitation, Takayuki opened his mouth.

“It’s nothing, really. Soujirou is… My grandfather from my mother’s side. He’s someone that I admire and love.”

“Your grandfather? The same grandfather that inspired you to become a hero?”

Aoi vividly recalled that rainy day. The day when she barged into his room when he was afflicted by a cold. With apples in her hands, she remembered taking a closer look at the boy’s room for the very first time.

She remembered the conversation she had with him. About the reason why he chose to become a hero, or rather, why he felt that he had to become a hero…

“Yeah. I was surprised to hear my grandfather’s name come out of her mouth.”

“I see. That’s a normal reaction, though. After all, he’s someone that you hold dear. That girl… Huh?”

Aoi nodded her head at Takayuki’s words. But she suddenly tilted her head in confusion midway through her sentence.

“Miyama?”

“…Satou-kun. Can I ask you something?”

Eventually, she decided to ask Takayuki a question that was bugging her.

“Kuramori Karin’s guardian. What was her name again? Also, did you remember her appearance?”

That question sounded like a bad joke, but Aoi was being genuine when she asked that question.

“Sorry for the strange question. I’m surprised at myself too. I can’t believe that I was so inattentive and forgot about someone that I had just talked with just a few minutes ago.”

“No, it’s okay, Miyama, don’t fret about it. But still, I know that ‘phenomenon’ exists, I just never expected that I would get to experience it this soon.”

“Um, Satou-kun?”

Contrary to the confused Aoi, Takayuki let out a fearless grin. His smile indicated that he was pleased with the unexpected encounter. But at the same time, he also realized that the problem he had to tackle was increased by one.

“There’s an urban legend. Whenever you talk with a certain someone, you’d end up forgetting about them. Name, appearances, everything about them would be forgotten.”

Takayuki and Aoi’s gazes met.

“Apparently, my friend had fallen in love with said urban legend.”

“He fell in love with an urban legend?”

Aoi widened her eyes when she heard his words, which prompted Takayuki to let out a wry smile.

“Yeah. I have a friend who fell in love with it. He said he fell in love with someone at first sight, but after a while, he forgot all about them. The dude asked for my help to find that person. I’ve been wondering how I should start looking for them, but never did I expect that I’d find them so easily. The world is small, huh?”

“…So, this is just another love consultation?”

“Yeah, the usual thing.”

As they exchanged words, Aoi’s confusion slowly faded. The situation was complicated for her, but seeing his expression, she realized that there was no need for her to hesitate.

“That’s why, help me out again this time, Partner.”

“Sure. That’s what I’m here for.”

After all, she was his partner. No matter how bizarre the case he had to tackle, Aoi would help him without any hesitation.

* * *

“I’ll be in your care from today onwards.”

“Best regards~”

Next day, after school. Takayuki caught the sight of Karin bowing deeply while mingling among the female students near the school gate.

“Don’t mention it. From now on, I’ll follow you around from after school through the nwight—”

The girls she was together with were Aoi’s group of friends. They did all sorts of things to her from patting her head to playing with her cheeks, treating her like a little kitten.

“Ah, Satou-kun! Is this girl an acquaintance of yours? Is she your little sister?”

“So cute~ She reminds me of a Zashiki Warashi~”

The girls were already accustomed to dealing with Takayuki, who looked like a delinquent. Handling a middle schooler with a sour look wasn’t hard for them.

“S-Sto– Mmgh! Stop playing with my chweeks!”

In fact, they completely ignored her glare. She tried to resist them, but her resistance only prompted them to mess with her even more. Besides, to them, her resistance only made her look even cuter.

“…Raaaah!”

“Sorry, you three. This kid is a shy one, so can you three please stop?”

After squirming for a while, Karin finally managed to break free and began to threaten the girls with her roar. The latter didn’t happen until after she hid behind Takayuki though, despite her proclaiming that she didn’t trust him just the other day.

Meanwhile, Takayuki just wanted to get out of the situation quickly, so he decided to lend her a hand.

“Fine~ Since you asked us nicely, we’ll stop teasing her.”

“If Satou-kun got mad at us, Aoi will get mad at us too after all~ I’m so jealous. How could you two be so close to each other?~”

“But, today is our time to borrow Aoi! We’re going to have so much fun in karaoke so that you’ll get jealous at us, Satou-kun~”

“Sure, sure. Tell Miyama that I said hello.”

After seeing the girls off, Takayuki called out to Karin, who was still hiding behind him.

“They’re gone already, middle schooler.”

“By the way, I’m not a shy girl.”

“Don’t lie. Did you think I wouldn’t notice just because you acted so pompously yesterday?”

“Yesterday, I came prepared… Today… It was just a bad matchup…”

Karin didn’t seem to intend to hide her displeasure from him as she glared at him after she came out from behind his back.

“Since you hang out with those horrible people, I’ll have to deduct some points from your overall score.”

“You’re using points to evaluate me? Whatever. Where’s Himuro? Is she hiding again today?”

The moment he mentioned Reina’s name, Karin’s eyes widened in surprise.

“H-How? How did you manage to remember Reina-san?”

After seeing her reaction, Takayuki managed to conclude that his assumption wasn’t wrong.

The other day, right after they parted, Aoi forgot everything about Reina. She remembered the flow of the conversation and Reina’s attitude toward Karin, but she forgot about everything else.

From her name and her appearance. She even had trouble trying to remember her gender, albeit she barely managed to do it.

However, Takayuki didn’t forget a single thing about Himuro Reina.

“Oi, oi, why do you act as if it’s a strange thing that I remember her? Is there something wrong with that?”

“Ugh…”

After Takayuki pointed that out while grinning at her fearlessly, Karin realized that she had messed up. This also confirmed Takayuki’s assumption. Of the fact that there was something up with Reina and the fact that Karin was unaffected by the memory loss.

“Well, I know what you’re thinking and what kind of questions you have in your mind for me. Unfortunately I’m not nice enough to give you the answer you want.”

Also, Takayuki had already planted a countermeasure against her if she were to act oblivious. But, of course he wouldn’t show her his hands so easily.

“…As expected, I can’t let my guard down against you, Satou-san. That person was right. Alright, I’m going to raise my guard up a stage so you won’t be able to pull one over on me ever again.”

This much hostility from her was within Takayuki’s prediction.

Both Karin and Reina’s existence was practically an enigma to him. Somehow, Aoi’s memory was altered because of them. Though, he wasn’t sure if they did it intentionally or not. And so, Takayuki decided to pull Karin’s aggro on himself.

“Heh, so what will happen when you raise your guard up a stage?”

“I’ll have to prepare for it first. You’ll know the details soon enough, so just prepare yourself.”

“I see. I’ll look forward to it.”

Seeing Karin declaring that with sharp eyes, Takayuki’s smile widened.

It was one thing if he was facing Reina, but it was Karin that he was facing. What could a brat like her do to him? Asking that question to himself, Takayuki found himself to be interested in finding out about her next move.

* * *

“I apologize for intruding in the middle of the night. I’m Satou Takayuki’s fiancee, Kuramori Karin.”

A few hours later. The moment Karin came to his doorstep, dressed in plain clothes, Takayuki realized that he had been utterly defeated. He expected that she’d start her move at school and attack his life socially from there, but that didn’t happen. Instead, she came right into his house and declared that she was his fiancee. This unexpected development gave him a massive headache.

That wasn’t even the worst part of it. It was Takayuki’s mother who received her. By the time Takayuki came to the front door after hearing her voice, she had already introduced herself as such.

“It’s been a long time, Auntie. Do you remember me?”

“…Ah! Karin-chan! Oh my, it’s been a long time! How have you been? You’ve grown up since the last time I saw you!”

“As you can see, I’m doing well. It’s all thanks to you and grandma taking care of me back then.”

A strange sight greeted Takayuki at the front door. Karin, looking well-behaved while letting out an affectionate smile, was having a friendly exchange with his mother. Moreover, his mother seemed to be familiar with her as she showed a welcoming attitude toward the middle schooler who claimed to be his son’s fiancee.

“Due to personal circumstances, I’ll have to intrude on your son for a while. That’s why I decided to come over and give my greetings to you.”

“Jeez, you don’t need to do that! Ah, Takayuki! Come over here! I didn’t know that you and Karin-chan knew each other! Since when?”

Takayuki, being the good son that he was, obeyed his mother’s words. He didn’t try to hide his distrust toward Karin as he made his way to the front door though.

“We don’t really know each other though… Anyway, good evening?”

“Sorry for the unannounced visit. I hope you’ll forgive me for barging into your parents’ house like this.”

“Uh, okay?”

“What are you dawdling around for? She’s a guest! Take her to the living room quickly! I’m going to prepare the tea and the cakes!”

Karin let out a smile before stopping Takayuki’s mother who was moving busily.

“No, you don’t need to. I’m just here to say hello. I came here by car and they’re waiting outside, so I can’t stay for too long.”

“Really? That’s too bad. By the way, Karin-chan, if you ever get into trouble, you can ask this idiot for help. He might be an idiot, but he’s still my son, you can rely on him.”

“…Yes, I understand. I’ll do that when the time comes.”

After bowing deeply, Karin left without erasing her smile.

“So, Takayuki, what kind of relationship do you have with her?”

A little while after Karin disappeared from their line of sight, Takayuki’s mother asked him that question. She wasn’t trying to interrogate him, it was simply a question to satisfy her curiosity, nothing less.

“We just met each other, so I guess we’re acquaintances? Also, she suddenly proclaimed that she’s my fiancee or something. Do you know anything about that, mom?”

“Fiancee, huh? …Well, I know something about it, but it isn’t my place to say it. If you really want to know, go and ask her yourself.”

“Hmm… Got it.”

“Also, Takayuki.”

With a serious expression on her face, Takayuki’s mother continued her words.

“If possible, I want you to face that girl… Kuramori Karin properly. It’s for your own sake too.”

Takayuki didn’t understand what his mother’s intentions were when she said those words. But, he understood that the connection between him and Karin was way deeper than he previously thought.

* * *

A few days after Karin started following Takayuki everywhere.

“Haah… What should I do?”

“Get away from me, that’s what you should do.”

Aoi visited her bad friend, Amami Yuzu’s room. Despite the latter clearly showing her displeasure, Aoi didn’t care and kept on rubbing her face on the girl’s side.

“But Yuzu, don’t you think the case this time is really strange?”

“I’ll listen to you, so just get away from me.”

“Yuzu is so cold!”

“Your body temperature is too hot. Don’t you realize that it’s almost summer?”

After Yuzu tried to forcefully peel Aoi off her body, the latter complied and went away quickly. Not because she wanted to, though, but because there was a precedent that a heavy book would find its way to her head if she didn’t obey her.

“So, what is it this time? Well, knowing you, this must be related to him again.”

“Yeah, it’s related to Takayuki-kun.”

Yuzu called out to Aoi without even taking her eyes off the book in her hands. In turn, Aoi began to speak. Yuzu might seem listless and her curt words might give one the wrong idea, but she listened to Aoi’s random whining properly.

“So it’s another stalker problem? How the hell did you guys keep running into stalkers?”

“Is it stalking when the stalker announces to you that she’ll follow you around whether you like it or not?”

Aoi then started to explain the problem to Yuzu while changing the narration so it would be more believable to hear. That meant, hiding the part where they had to deal with the so-called urban legend.

To summarize, she told her about Kuramori Karin, a middle schooler who kept following Takayuki around while claiming to be his fiancee. In spite of that, she didn’t seem to like him at all. Instead, she showed clear hostility toward him.

There was also the matter that she somehow was always able to find him whenever he tried to sneak out.

“Honestly, rather than Kuramori Karin herself, I think the problem lies in the source of her information. I don’t know how she managed to do it, but she somehow managed to find out not only about his personal information, but also his plans for after school and his recent activities. Where did she get her information, I wonder? Could it be that she was using magic?”

Aoi muttered that lightly. She was serious when she said that. After all, she knew that the supernaturals and magic users existed in this world. It wasn’t far-fetched for her to think that some kind of magic was involved here.

“Silly Aoi. Did the heat turn your brain into a mush?”

However, Yuzu rebuked Aoi’s words harshly.

“Stop putting in your delusion into your train of thoughts. At that point, you’d better just stop thinking about it altogether.”

“Ugh… Look, I don’t believe that they’re using magic or anything… It’s just, if I were to listen to Satou-kun’s words… That thought isn’t really far-fetched…”

Aoi accepted Yuzu’s venomous words, but she couldn’t help but feel perplexed. The problem she was facing wasn’t simple by any means, but Yuzu made it seem like she didn’t need to think about it too much to find the solution to the problem.

“I can find the answer if I know more about Satou-kun’s past, but I don’t know. That girl always managed to be one step ahead of him. It feels as if Satou-kun is the one who’s actively giving information to Kuramori Karin’s collaborators… Huh?”

As she tried to sort out her thoughts, she remembered something. There was something that Takayuki told her when they talked just the other day.

“Um, Yuzu. I somehow came to a dumb conclusion, what do you think I should do?”

“Who knows. Just do whatever, I guess.”

“…Okay. I’ll double check first.”

After receiving the indirect encouragement from Yuzu, Aoi immediately took action. To confirm whether her thoughts led her to the correct answer or not, she sent a message to Takayuki.

[Satou-kun, can I ask you something? Do you make reports about your daily activities to someone?]

[Yeah. I’ve been doing that since middle school. Why do you ask though?]

Aoi took a deep breath. Then, with a forced smile, she screamed.

“That idiot!”

To her dismay, her previous assumption was correct.

* * *

Next day on lunch break. Aoi managed to lure out the person that was the most likely to be the culprit after hearing the information that Takayuki gave her. She invited that person into the end of the hallway, far from the bustling atmosphere of the classrooms and cafeteria. It was near the staircase leading toward the locked rooftop, a practically deserted spot whenever lunch came around.

“Calling me out to a place like this, I wonder what kind of business you have with me, Miyama-san?”

The person she called out was Takayama Yui.

A first year student from a different class than Aoi and Takayuki. She had light-colored hair and was wearing plain looking silver rimmed glasses. The girl had a fair face, but thanks to the way she dressed and the expression she was wearing, she gave out an overall plain impression. That made her able to easily blend into the crowds without anyone noticing.

But, Aoi knew Takayama Yui was someone that wasn’t as unremarkable as her looks suggested.

“There’s something I want to ask you about Satou-kun, Takayama-san.”

After all, Takayama Yui was Takayuki’s partner in the past. In other words, she was her predecessor. Even though Aoi practically dragged her to a deserted spot like this, she didn’t seem nervous at all.

“Huh, what do you want to ask me? I’ll do my best to answer all the questions you have for me, Miyama-san.”

“Don’t worry, I only have one question for you.”

“Really? I can tell you all about Satou’s weaknesses though. From his fetishes, his dark history… Oh, right, there was this time when he got banned from a zoo because of the thing he did…”

“Wait, what was that? Tell me more about it.”

Aoi realized she said the wrong thing as she quickly shook her head and corrected herself.

“A-Ahem! Ignore that please. Anyway, Takayama-san. I heard that Satou-kun reported all of his daily activities to you, is that true?”

“Yeah, it’s true, but why do you ask?”

Seeing Yui answering her question without batting an eye, Aoi’s expression hardened.

“I-I don’t think that’s an appropriate thing to do! Y-You two aren’t even lovers! N-No, I mean, even if you’re lovers, that is still inappropriate!”

“I see. You got a point there, Miyama-san.”

Yui replied to Aoi’s words with an awkward smile while nodding her head mysteriously.

“But, do you think anything less will be enough to restrain that idiot?”

“Ugh!”

“The thing is, if I didn’t go this far, I’m sure that he’ll do something really stupid. Actually, let me tell you what happened before I told him to report his daily activities to me.”

“…What happened?”

“That idiot almost went all the way to Tokyo to chase after another idiotic classmate of ours who ran away from home because they didn’t want to live in the countryside. I managed to convince him to not do it and told him that it was better to leave this matter to the police. Barely managed to, by the way. He had already prepared enough money to go to Tokyo by himself.”

“Oh, jeez…”

“Now do you understand? Nothing good will come out of it if I were to let him run wild by himself, Miyama-san.”

Hearing Yui’s words, Aoi involuntarily covered her face with her hand.

That really was something that Takayuki would do if he were to be given the chance.

“Ever since then, I’ve been monitoring all of his daily activities even though I really don’t want to do it. I don’t enjoy doing it, it’s embarrassing. But, what can I do? If I don’t do it, he’ll keep on doing stupid things.”

“I have to agree with that…”

From the tone of her voice, it was clear that Yui was being sincere. As Takayuki’s current partner, Aoi knew better than anyone that Yui’s concern wasn’t baseless and she could completely relate with her.

And so, Aoi decided to change her approach. Besides, she didn’t call her here to make her stop monitoring Takayuki’s life, but to talk about the matter regarding Kuramori Karin.

“I understand your pain well, Takayama-san. Anyway, can I take it that you know about everything that Satou-kun did?”

“You can. Why do you ask?”

Yui dropped her answer matter-of-factly.

“Then, Takayama-san, I’m not trying to be rude, but do you know a middle schooler by the name of Kuramori Karin?”

Aoi knew that the girl in front of her wasn’t a normal girl by any means. She was sly enough to be able to dodge a straightforward question, so beating around the bush wouldn’t work on her. That was why Aoi didn’t get to the main point immediately and asked her another question as a groundwork so she wouldn’t be able to escape.

“Of course. I’m the one who provides her with information about Satou.”

Without any pretense, Yui revealed her deeds.

Facing Aoi’s momentum, she didn’t get swept by it, instead used it as if it was her own.

There were no traces of guilt in her voice. She said her words straightforwardly as if she was just having a normal chat.

“Can I ask you why you did that?”

“Yeah, of course. We are working together. I guess you could call us accomplices. We have different reasons, but we share the same goal. We complement each other well, so to say.”

“The same goal?”

“I can’t elaborate on that for now.”

She managed to overturn all of Aoi’s expectations. Even when Aoi tried to pressure her with both her smile and question, Yui’s composure didn’t shake. Her words flowed smoothly without any trace of hesitation.

Aoi tried her hardest, but Yui was like an unshakable wall. With frustration, she decided to change her approach.

“So, Takayama-san, can I assume that everything is within your expectations since you freely gave me the information about your cooperation with Kuramori Karin?”

As far as Aoi knew, Yui would only show her true feelings in front of Takayuki. That was why she decided to throw this obvious bait at her.

She knew more than anyone that Yui would never take this bait. The sole purpose of it was to stall for time.

“Well, I guess the fact that you know about this is a little troubling… Both for me and for you, Miyama-san.”

“Huh? Me too?”

“Yeah. You’ll have to deal with the headache that will accompany you afterwards. I genuinely suggest that you drop this matter, it’s for your sake after all.”

However, Yui managed to give a straightforward reply from an angle that Aoi didn’t expect.

“Well, despite me trying to come clean like this, I’ll still have to provide an explanation to Satou-kun, but I believe that he won’t blame me for doing it. Honestly, I’d rather he blame me, but it’s him we’re talking about. Instead of blaming me, he’d rack his brain trying to find out the reason behind my actions and end up doing something stupid because of it. From my experience, that never led to anything good and he’ll end up troubling everyone. Do you understand what I’m trying to say here, Miyama-san?”

Unlike earlier, Yui laid her emotions bare for Aoi to see.

There was a bitter smile on her face. She didn’t even bother trying to hide her manipulative tendencies to make sure that he wouldn’t go haywire.

“I suggest that you don’t tell Satou about this, Miyama-san. Well, of course you can just dismiss my words as an incomprehensible ramblings, it’s fine, I won’t blame you for that. I have my ways to rein him in when it comes to it, though it might be a little troublesome.”

“…You became quite talkative when it comes to him, huh, Takayama-san?”

“…”

“Oh, you aren’t even trying to hide your disgusted face, huh?”

Aoi could sense a whirlpool of emotion on Yui’s face. The latter was keeping her silence, but her expression made it look like she was swallowing a bitter pill.

It seemed like the relationship between the two of them was too complicated to be defined by love and hate.

“Anyway, Takayama-san, am I correct to assume that the reason why you told me everything is because you’re confident that I won’t tell Satou-kun anything, especially if it causes him to run wild?”

“Yeah. Also, trying to hide it from you is useless. You’ll find out about it anyway, it’s just a matter of time.”

“If that’s the case, then I’ll keep my mouth shut. In exchange, can I ask you another question? Your cooperation with Kuramori Karin, is it for Satou-kun’s sake or not?”

“…As if.”

She denied Aoi’s statement.

“Obviously not. If I were to do this for his sake, then that would make me a good person, no? I might be an idiot, but I’m not a selfless idiot like Satou. There’s no way I’m going to do something for someone else’s sake.”

She said with a sneer.

Through the lenses of her silver-rimmed glasses, she gazed at Aoi. There was a slight hatred in that gaze.

“Miyama-san, I’m a villain. I’m doing this to satisfy my own desires. How my actions will affect Satou, I couldn’t care less, nor do I care about what he thinks of me. I won’t change my ways.”

With pride, she declared as such.

But there was something that Yui failed to realize. It was because she had only been talking about Takayuki that she failed to realize it.

“…I knew it. You were Satou-kun’s partner after all, huh, Takayama-san?”

The way she proudly declared herself as a villain was similar to the way Takayuki proudly declared himself as a hero.

“…Who did you call his partner?!”

“Ah, you just blushed.”

As Yui began to sulk, Aoi began to feel a sense of familiarity with her.

* * *

While Aoi was occupied with her personal investigation, Takayuki was being followed by Karin.

From the day she made her declaration, Karin never missed a single day to follow him around. She boasted that she did it to make sure that Takayuki would be unable to hide anything from her, but her actions unilaterally caused a certain rumor to spread.

“Oh, ‘The Faithful Dog’ is here again!”

“She’s so brave, isn’t she? Satou-kun taught her the ABCs of being a delinquent well!”

“I heard that middle schooler is a black belt in karate.”

“She’s been following him around like a baby bird! That middle schooler got guts, I tell you!”

Naturally, as she followed Takayuki practically everywhere, the attention she received was immense. Recently, the students had been calling her ‘The Faithful Dog’ because of the way she waited for Takayuki at the school gate every day. Some of the female students even talked with her almost every day.

“…Ugh…”

And because of that, waiting for Takayuki became torture for her.

As Takayuki had pointed out, Karin was a shy person. If she could prepare herself, she could handle everything that came to her, but those girls never gave her enough time to prepare herself mentally.

It was to the point that she lost almost 1 kg of weight because of the stress she received from dealing with those girls. Nevertheless, Karin didn’t stop.

“Oi, Dummy, are you okay? You’re looking more haggard each day.”

“Stop calling me Dummy.”

Takayuki was aware of Karin’s deteriorating health, that was why he obediently came to the school gate every day instead of trying to run away from her.

“Gee, I don’t know. After seeing you pushing yourself to do something stupid like this, it’s hard to not call you Dummy.”

“I’m not pushing myself.”

“Don’t lie. I know you’ve been forcing yourself to smile ever since you came to my house the other day. How many layers of sheep’s clothing are you even on?”

Takayuki knew her well. It might not have been long since the first time they talked to each other face to face, but they had been talking to each other on the internet for months. Karin, or rather, ‘Bell,’ was always like this. Once she decided to do something, she’d stubbornly stick to her words.

“This much is nothing. What, do you want me to visit your house in the middle of the night again?”

Even after Takayuki pointed out her poor condition, Karin was still acting stubborn.

“Stop saying dumb things like that.”

Seeing her acting like that, Takayuki sent her an exasperated look.

He could find nothing from his mom regarding the matter of Karin calling herself his fiancee. However, it was clear that something was going on between the two of them. For the time being, he decided to not pursue the matter and just endure the current treatment he received.

“By the way, I thought every middle school in this city made it so that joining a club is mandatory? Why aren’t you with your club? How do you have the free time to follow me around every single day? Look, I don’t know what your circumstances are, but it’s clear that you’re pushing it.”

Though he decided to endure, that didn’t mean he’d hold back on his words.

“Why are you pushing yourself so hard to fulfill this ‘loving fiancee’ role or whatnot?”

“I told you I’m not pushing it. I’m only doing what’s necessary.”

But, Karin wasn’t an easy opponent for him. She always had the right words to reply to Takayuki’s sharp questions. Her face might be pale, but her eyes were unwavering as they met Takayuki’s gaze head on.

“I promised that person, I’m going to do this to the best of my ability. No matter how reckless or impossible this seems like, I will never give up.”

“I don’t understand. Are you implying that person wants you to try this hard just so they can fulfill their wish?”

“…No, I don’t think so.”

At Takayuki’s words, Karin’s composure faltered. Her emotionless face was replaced by a melancholic look. However, before Takayuki could understand her change in expression, Karin already spoke out her next words.

“I’m doing this on my own. It’s just me being selfish.”

“…I see.”

Receiving a strong-willed gaze that swept away Karin’s melancholic look, Takayuki almost averted his gaze. Actually, if at that moment he didn’t remember his mother’s words, he might have already done that. That was how much of an impact her gaze had on him

It was as if the promise she made to her savior was worth more than her own life.

“If that’s the case then, at least take care of your health more. If your condition gets any worse, you won’t be able to follow me everywhere again.”

“You don’t need to worry. I ate enough supplements for my nutritional needs.”

“And your guardian didn’t say anything about that?”

“She scolded me and told me to ‘eat properly’ everyday. Though, I don’t see the point.”

“…Seriously?”

‘What a stubborn brat,’ Takayuki thought as he let out a deep sigh.

Regarding the issue of her calling herself his fiancee, Takayuki reached a dead end. He didn’t have any clue on where to start and it wasn’t like he could just force her to answer him. Therefore, he decided to put the matter on hold and work on another matter.

“Fine. Follow me, Kuramori. We’re going to eat.”

“Yes… Huh?”

First thing first. Fixing the pale-looking middle schooler’s bad eating habit.

* * *

“This place has a great vegetable hot pot. I have a feeling that you’ll get an upset stomach if you were to eat heavier food, so eat some of these instead, Kuramori.”

“…I appreciate the concern.”

Takayuki and Karin went to a restaurant not too far away from school. It was a small restaurant, but every corner of it looked neat and clean. There wasn’t a single stain on the table.

However, the restaurant looked like the place where businessmen would love to visit after work. It was an intimidating place for students to enter.

“I’ll tell you this. If you’re trying to fix my eating habit by bringing me here, then don’t bother. I can’t eat as much as other people even if I want to. That’s the kind of constitution I was born with.”

“That sounds annoying. You must have a lot of troubles whenever lunch break comes around, huh?”

“Pretty much. Lunch break is hell for me. It’s the toughest thing I have to endure in my whole life.”

“It’s that bad?”

Being brought to a place she was unfamiliar with, Karin was in a state of alert. Her words were curt and she didn’t let herself lean her back on the chair.

“Relax, Kuramori. The restaurant isn’t open yet, there’s still a full hour before it opens, so just relax and enjoy your meal.”

“I see. So that’s why they hung the ‘closed’ sign in front of the building. But, if it’s closed, how could you barge in and order like normal?”

“It’s the power of ‘connection,’ middle schooler. This is how the world works. Hahaha!”

“Don’t tell me such a distasteful thing with that smug face, high schooler.”

Seeing Takayuki let out a dubious looking smile, Karin sent him a glare.

“Well, I’ve already talked to the owner, so don’t worry about it. She lets me come here anytime as long as I give her a word beforehand. It’s nothing dubious, she just let me do it because I’ve been taking care of her children a lot.”

“…Then, if I were to leave without ordering anything, I’d become the bad guy here, huh?”

“Don’t worry about the money, it’s my treat.”

“I’m not worrying about that. I have more money than you, I have no reason to worry about it. Also, unlike you, I even paid my taxes properly. Getting a meal or two here is nothing.”

“Really? I can’t relate with paying tax or whatnot. That sounds amazing, though.”

Facing Takayuki’s gaze that was filled with respect, Karin’s nose twitched a little.

She was still glaring at him, but his words made her feel proud of herself.

“I-It’s nothing much… Anyway, we have some time until the food arrives, so I’ll give you some tips on how to get more money and how to manage it properly.”

Despite her glare, she started talking happily about money making experience.

“Understood? People who complain that they’re unable to save money are usually people who don’t understand the importance of bookkeeping.”

“Bookkeeping, huh?”

Being experienced in the field, Karin shared her knowledge without any hesitation. Meanwhile, Takayuki listened to her words intently while giving her brief replies here and there.

“Ah, the food is here. Why don’t we talk while eating? So we can finish the food before it cools down.”

“Good suggestion. It’ll be rude to the cook if we were to let the food cools down, so I’ll follow your suggestion”

“‘Kay.”

Perhaps because they had been internet buddies for so long, their conversation was smooth. It seemed like as long as the topic of her being his fiancee wasn’t brought up, they could have an amicable conversation.

“To summarize, the key is on how to manage your spending. Do you understand?”

Eventually, as they were close to finishing their meals, their conversation came to an end.

“I see. I learned a lot today. Thank you very much…”

“Don’t mention it. This much is just common sense.”

Perhaps because she was satisfied with her meal, Karin’s complexion had returned to normal.

Of course that didn’t mean she became healthier in a heartbeat. It was more like, after eating a proper meal, she finally managed to release some of the strain in her body.

“If there’s something else you want to ask me, just ask away. Whether I’ll answer it or not, it’ll depend on your attitude, though~”

Because she was feeling better, Karin unknowingly let those words slip out of her mouth. Completely forgetting the possibility that Takayuki would ask her about the matter of her declaring herself as his fiancee.

“I see. Then, can I ask you a question? …No, can I ask you a favor?”

“A favor? Do you want me to lend you some money?”

“No. It’s related to your guardian, Himuro Reina.”

“…Hmph.”

However, after hearing Reina’s name being brought up, she became alert once again. Karin then asked Takayuki about the intention behind his words.

“Let me tell you this first. I can’t tell you much about Reina-san. Especially to you, someone who’s somehow able to remember her… By the way, I’m just making sure. Do you remember what Reina-san looks like?”

“A beauty with big racks. White hair, pretty red eyes.”

“You could get away with it if you only mentioned the second half of your sentence… Whatever. So, what exactly do you want to know about her? I won’t answer if you ask me about her circumstances, though.”

Seeing Karin’s curt attitude, Takayuki responded with a wry smile.

“No, I’m not asking about that. You see, my friend said that he fell in love at first sight with someone, but he couldn’t remember the person’s appearance. I’m just wondering if that person is Himuro or not.”

“Hm… Reina-san’s beauty is otherworldly, so it isn’t far-fetched for someone to fall in love with her at first sight… In a circumstance like that, it’s hard to think of anyone other than her to be involved…”

Karin complimented her guardian, not in jest, but sincerely.

“Mhm. That’s why I want to make the two of them meet each other.”

“I see. But, you realized that Reina-san has special circumstances, right? It doesn’t affect you for some reason, but people tend to forget everything about her. Honestly, I don’t see the point of making them meet each other since no matter how strong his love is for her, he’ll end up forgetting about her anyway.”

“Logically speaking, you’re correct. But, he’s my friend…”

Takayuki let out a soft smile as he shook his head after hearing Karin’s words.

“I always thought that he’s just a simple-minded guy who only has painting in his mind. This is the first time he talked about something like this, you see? Even if he’ll end up forgetting about her in the end, I want to do my best to help him.”

“…Even though all your efforts will be wasted in the end?”

“Maybe so, but we don’t know what the future holds, no?”

At Takayuki’s comeback, Karin wrinkled her brows. She muttered her answer not long after.

“Fine, I’ll help you out, but under one condition. Let me meet this friend of yours. I can’t decide whether it’s okay for me to help you out or not before I meet the person in question first.”

“Got it. ‘I’ve already made some arrangements, come over quickly’ …Alright, done.”

“Done?”

“Ah, I was texting him– Woah, he replied already. ‘I’m on my way, wait for me,’ he said.”

“Now? I haven’t even prepared myself, you idiot!”

Due to the unexpected development, Karin became flustered. However, it was part of Takayuki’s plan all along.

This restaurant was well known because of its vegetable hot pot. Why was it so popular? Because the quality of the vegetable used for the hot pot. And the ones who supplied those vegetables were the family of Takayuki’s dear friend, Kashiki Minoru. Since they were friends, Takayuki knew that around this time, Minoru would be helping his parents out to deliver their vegetables to the restaurant.

Takayuki managed to time it right as the moment he struck a deal with Karin was the moment Minoru finished doing his errand.

“Don’t you think this is too sudden?”

“You don’t need to worry, Kuramori. I’ll accompany you, so no matter how shy you are, you should be okay.”

“I’m not shy.”

“Then, you’ll be okay.”

“Grr…”

Karin, who had to eat her own words, was clearly upset. Though, she didn’t try to run away, much to Takayuki’s surprise. At that time, both of them heard the sound of the door being opened.

“I saw your text, Takayuki. Was it true? No, that was a stupid question. There’s no way that you’d lie to me at a time like this.”

Minoru, who had just finished his errand, entered the restaurant.

He was still dressed in his work clothes as it had only been a few minutes since he had done helping out to deliver the vegetables. Despite that, there was no dirt or dust on his work clothes. It was proof of how meticulous of a person he was as he made sure that he was in a presentable state before he entered the restaurant.

“I’m not lying, yes, but don’t put that much trust in me… Anyway, this little fella over here…”

So far, everything had gone according to Takayuki’s plan. He managed to make Karin and Minoru meet.

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

However, that was the end of it.

Things went outside of Takayuki’s expectations as both Minoru and Karin saw each other’s faces. They muttered a question in a low voice.

“Rin? What are you doing here?”

“…That’s my question, Minoru-onii-chan.”

It appeared that those two had already known each other.

* * *

A few days later. Takayuki, together with Minoru, Karin and Aoi, was walking together from school.

The time was a little before dusk. The four of them were walking together to a certain place. All of them had left their schedule open for the day. Minoru took a day off from his club. Takayuki and Aoi went home like usual. Karin skipped her club like a delinquent.

“Hehehe, I really can’t take my eyes off you, huh, Satou-kun? I left you off for a day and you already created another mess.”

“Please, don’t give me that angry smile of yours, Miyama. Besides, I didn’t do anything this time. Things just somehow ended up this way…”

Walking next to Takayuki, Aoi was giving a clear ‘I’m mad’ vibe.

“Haven’t I already explained it to you over the phone yesterday? I didn’t know that those two knew each other.”

“But, how? Surely he has heard the rumors about Kuramori-san once or twice before this?”

“It would be weird if he was aware of those rumors. That guy had zero interest in anything other than his painting.”

Takayuki and Aoi were talking to each other, but their gazes wandered to a certain pair of people, walking a short distance away.

Minoru and Karin. The two people, a boy and a girl, with a considerable age gap, were talking to each other as if they were siblings.

“You got even thinner than the last time I saw you, Rin. Are you sure you’re eating properly?”

“I’m on a diet, Minoru-onii-chan. Also, asking a girl about her weight is bad manners, so, reflect on your actions.”

“Stop talking nonsense. You’re like a little sister to me. It’s normal for me to be concerned about your well-being.”

“…Ngh…”

“Anyway, I understand your feelings. What they said was right, love blinds people. Since you’re gunning for Takayuki, you’d have to fight for his affection against a lot of people. I’ll do my best to support you.”

“Wrong. You came to a completely wrong conclusion.”

Minoru seemed to be lecturing Karin, meanwhile the latter was retorting to every word that came out of his mouth. It was easy to mistake those two as actual siblings. Though there seemed to be something going on between the two.

“Are you thinking about the same thing as I do, Satou-kun?”

“Maybe. But, unless that brat is actually asking me for help, I won’t do anything about it. I don’t feel like actively trying to help out someone who isn’t even my friend.”

“You said that, but you treated her to a meal just the other day.”

“I didn’t even get to do that. That brat insisted on paying for the food herself.”

Hearing Takayuki saying those words, Aoi turned her gaze to his face.

“Satou-kun, you might not realize this, but you’re more good-natured than you think. Just the other day, I had a chance to talk with Takayama-san. I heard from her that you’ve caused her a lot of troubles and most of them came from the fact that you tried too hard to help out someone who isn’t even your friend.”

“I can’t say anything to that. If that’s what Takayama said, then it’s definitely true. Actually, there’s one thing I can say. ‘I’m sorry.’”

With his eyes downcast, Takayuki uttered those pathetic words. He wasn’t trying to crack a dry joke. To him, Yui’s remarks and complaints were never wrong despite how much they annoyed him.

“Then, Satou-kun, what would you do if Takayama-san is doing something bad?”

The reason why Aoi asked him that question was to confirm Yui’s words.

“Something bad, huh?”

At her question, Takayuki pondered for a few seconds before answering in a light tone.

“There’s nothing that she does that is bad. I’m not calling her a good-natured person, not at all. It’s just, she’s aware how inefficient it is to do something that is deemed as immoral by society. Doing that will only earn her ire from her surroundings, which is pointless. That’s why she’s always acting in a straightforward manner to achieve her goals. In short, whatever it is that she’s doing, she’ll never do anything that could be perceived as ‘bad’ by other people.”

Despite the light tone, the trust that he had toward her was heavy.

“But, if there’s a moment when she’s actually doing something bad, then that must be because there’s something she has to accomplish no matter what the costs are. If that time were to come, before doing anything else, I’d want to hear the reason why she’s doing that.”

“…I see.”

“Oi, what’s wrong with you? You were the one who asked me the question, why do you look so grumpy?”

“Hmph.”

Looking at Aoi’s reaction, pouting and turning her head away, Takayuki seemed confused.

However, Aoi wasn’t doing it involuntarily. She actually made sure that she looked cute while she was at it. The fact that she had such lenience meant that she wasn’t really in a bad mood. She was just jealous over the fact that Takayuki held Yui in such high regards.

“Minoru-onii-chan, are those two dating?”

“No they aren’t, Rin.”

“…Why is she acting like that in front of someone she isn’t going out with?”

“There are rumors about the two of them going out and there is clearly something going on between the two of them.”

Karin, a middle schooler, sent an exasperated look toward Aoi, a high schooler.

“We’ve arrived. This is my house. The extremely pretty girl you fell in love with lives here, Minoru-onii-chan.”

The four of them arrived at an ordinary looking house. Some parts of the house looked old, but there were parts of the house that looked like they had been renovated just a few years ago.

“Here? Really, Rin? I’ve visited your house often, but I don’t remember ever meeting that person here.”

“People have their own life, Minoru-onii-chan. You guys just miss each other often, that’s why you two haven’t met each other until recently.”

“Is that how it works?”

“Yes. That’s how reality works.”

“…Really? Uh, I don’t know…”

Minoru tilted his head in confusion, but Karin managed to talk him out of it.

Seeing the situation made Takayuki feel conflicted. However, there was no reason for him to interject here. So, he just watched their sibling-like interaction.

“Let’s put all the trivial matters aside. Minoru-onii-chan, it’s finally time to meet her. Are you ready?”

“Yes. I’ve come up with a line to propose to her.”

“Jeez, calm down!”

‘It can’t be helped.’ Karin’s sigh seemed as if she was saying that. She then urged him to go inside.

“You worry too much, just go in. Reina-san, I’m home! Today—”

Then, just as Karin entered the house, rushing footsteps could be heard from inside.

“Welcome home, Rin-chan!”

“Mgh!”

Being buried in between two huge mounds, Karin had difficulty breathing.

That hug was like a surprise attack. As soon as the footsteps were heard, a pretty white haired girl, Himuro Reina, appeared and hugged Karin.

“Hehehe, how was your day? Did it go well? Were you able to talk to your friends at school today? Was everything going well with Takayuki-kun? If things get tough, you can talk to me, okay? Seriously, you are always pushing yourself!”

“Mmph! Ngh!”

“Oh my, what’s wrong? Usually, you’d always hug me back despite your complaining.”

“Mmph!!”

Reina proceeded to pat Karin’s head. At this moment, she finally noticed the presence of the other three people.

““…H-Hello.””

Takayuki and Aoi greeted her, albeit they were feeling a little awkward after seeing that scene. Meanwhile Minoru was standing there, frozen. His eyes were wide open and he couldn’t mutter a single word.

“Oh my, hello! It’s rare for Rin-chan— Ahem! Karin-chan to bring someone home!”

Seeing the reaction of the three people, Reina let out a soft smile.

It was as if her previous silly mannerism didn’t exist.

“Rei-onee-chan! I told you to stop doing this when we have guests! Stop making me feel embarrassed, jeez!”

But Karin, being in the middle of her puberty, couldn’t hold the same composure as Reina did. Up until this point, she had been putting on a mature facade, but as soon as her guardian ambushed and pampered her at the door, that facade crumbled away. This scene looked more natural if anything though, as in the first place, it was rare for a middle schooler to act maturely.

“Sorry, Karin-chan. I’ll make you some ice cream later to make up for it, okay?”

“I-I’ll accept that— Wait, that isn’t what I’m talking about, Reina-san!”

“Sure~ Anyway, what’s the occasion for everyone’s visit today?”

After she was released from Reina’s embrace, Karin fixed her posture and explained.

“Satou-san and Miyama-san are just tagging along. The one who’s having a real business here is Minoru-onii-chan. He wants to meet with you.”

“Oh my, really?”

When Karin sent Minoru an urging gaze, Reina turned her attention to him.

However, Minoru had been freezing on his spot since a while ago. There were so many emotions going through his mind to the point that his brain couldn’t keep up.

“Oi, Minoru, are you okay? Is she the one you’re looking for?”

Calling out to him, Takayuki grabbed his shoulders. After a rough shake, he finally came together. Minoru shook his head before turning his gaze toward Takayuki.

“…I just remembered. Yeah, she’s the one I’m looking for. Sorry, I was out of it for a second, Takayuki.”

Minoru acted as if his memory had come back again. This confirmed Takayuki’s hypothesis. As long as he hadn’t completely forgotten about Reina, his memory of hers could come back if he were to meet with her again.

But, Takayuki didn’t say what was on his mind. Instead, he gave Minoru a slap in the back.

“I see. Then, what are you waiting for? Tell her what you have in mind.”

What Takayuki needed to do right now wasn’t to solve the mystery behind Minoru’s lost memory, but to give his friend the push he needed.

“Oww… Seriously, did you really have to hit me that hard? …Well, thanks to that, my mind is clear now…”

Minoru frowned because of the pain he received, but he was still able to give Reina a resolute look.

“We…met again. Do you remember me?”

“You are Kashiki Minoru, right? It’s hard to forget a weirdo who suddenly asked me to become his model on our first meeting.”

“W-Weirdo? W-Well, I guess you could call me that. Though, compared to an urban legend like you, I’m nothing.”

“I guess so, huh?”

In contrast to Minoru who was tense, Reina looked relaxed. She looked like an older woman trying to tease a younger child.

“You should understand everything now. For some reason, it’s easy for people to forget about me. That’s why I can’t be a model for your painting. Because you’ll end up forgetting about me before you could finish your painting.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t forget about you.”

“Hehehe, what a liar.”

“I’m not lying. I will never forget you. If you agree to be my model, I’ll be able to finish the painting… Because…”

Minoru closed his eyes for a moment. Then, with a determined look, he told Reina about his feelings.

“I love you. I’ll never forget you because I’ll love you.”

* * *

Hearing the powerful sounding words of confession, the other three gulped and focused their attention on those two.

“I see.”

In response to the confession, Reina’s expression wasn’t bright. Her soft smile was filled with a hint of sadness.

“I’m sorry, Minoru-kun. The truth is, I already have someone that I like.”

Her words were clear and the tone of her voice was soft, but it managed to cut off Minoru’s hope entirely.

“I…see…”

He barely managed to respond to her words. His voice was trembling.

After receiving such a clear rejection, Minoru looked like he was about to fall to his knees. The emotional damage he received was immense.

“…Can I say something?”

“What is it that you want to tell me, Minoru-kun?”

However, despite feeling like he was about to cry at any moment, Minoru didn’t stop talking. A normal person would stop and give up at this point, but that wasn’t the case for Minoru.

“I’m fine with giving up my love for you, but, if you don’t mind, can I still paint you?”

“Hmm… First of all, I’m warning you, I won’t change my mind. No matter how wonderful your painting looks, I assure you, it won’t be able to move my heart.”

“…Even so…”

Minoru gathered his courage and spoke out his next words to the bewildered Reina.

“I want to paint you. I have to paint you. I don’t know why, but it feels like it’s something I have to do.”

To those who knew nothing about the real circumstances, his action made it seem like he had an unhealthy obsession toward her. In fact, Takayuki and Aoi were both giving him bewildered gazes. But, Karin, who knew about the circumstances, sent him a lonely gaze. Meanwhile Reina had already erased the smile off her face and showed him an exasperated look.

“Haah… Do whatever you like. I’ll keep you company until you forget about me.”

“…Thank you. I promise I’ll finish your painting.”

And so, in front of Reina, Minoru promised her, completely unaware that this was the third time he made the same promise to her.

His action was swift. After declaring that to Reina, he immediately went home to paint. Since that was the case, Aoi and Takayuki had no reason to linger around anymore, so they were about to leave, but Reina stopped them.

“I want to apologize on behalf of myself and Karin-chan for causing you trouble last time. If you two don’t mind, can I offer some sweets with tea as an apology?”

Her sudden hospitality made the two of them wonder if she had an ulterior motive for doing so. But, they sensed no hostility from both her and Karin. And so, they decided to oblige and entered the house while keeping their guard up.

“You know, Kuramori? It feels weird to be served tea by the person who dumped your friend just a few minutes ago.”

“From my perspective, it feels like I’m seeing the older boy who lives next door getting dumped by my own big sister. If you two leave, the atmosphere will get even more awkward with just the two of us here, you know?”

“I mean, technically speaking, this matter has nothing to do with me, but if you insist, sure, I’ll stay around for a bit.”

Aoi casually looked around her surroundings while Karin and Takayuki were talking. The living room they were in was a small Japanese-styled room, but the tatami mats looked fairly new. The room was neat and clean, but Aoi felt a sense of discomfort while observing it. There was something lacking from it. Signs of life. It was as if no one ever lived in this place other than Reina and Karin.

“Thanks for waiting. Hehehe, I brought some yokan since we rarely received guests. G ahead, eat up, we still have plenty more in the back.”

However, before Aoi could voice her doubt, Reina had already returned from the living room with a tray in her hands. On it were sweets and teacups, their number matched the number of the people present in the room.

“Um, you don’t need to go this far… Can you just receive us normally?”

“No, I can’t do that. Karin-chan troubled you enough, didn’t she? Following you around and proclaiming that she’s your fiancee. Take this as an apology for that. I didn’t tell her to stop and I never planned to, but with this, know that as a guardian, I feel guilty for her inappropriate behavior towards you.”

“Oi, Kuramori, is she for real?”

“Nom nom…”

“This brat is eating the yokan before her guests…”

Karin was stuffing her cheeks with yokan like a squirrel. Meanwhile, Takayuki sent her an exasperated look.

Seeing this scene, Reina let out a soft smile.

“…I guess they got along well enough now, huh? Or else, she wouldn’t act unrestrained like that around him…”

Aoi muttered in a small voice as she saw the peaceful scene in front of her. Slowly, the discomfort that she felt started to fade away, buried by the banters of the two people in front of her.

* * *

“Thank you for visiting us, you two. Feel free to visit again in the future.”

Aoi and Takayuki left Karin’s house after being sent off by Reina’s deep bow in front of the entrance.

They walked side by side as the street turned darker and darker as time went on.

“Do you remember everything, Miyama?”

“Yes I do, Satou-kun.”

A short time after leaving Karin’s house, Takayuki asked Aoi that question.

It was to determine whether Takayuki’s countermeasure was effective or not.

“Himuro Reina. A girl with long white hair and bright red eyes. A pretty girl in a sailor suit.”

“Yeah, that’s correct. I knew it, it has something to do with our perception.”

The conclusion was, the countermeasure worked perfectly. Some time had passed since they parted ways with Reina, but unlike before, Aoi still retained her memory.

“If you perceive her the same way you perceive me, as someone who’s connected with the supernaturals, you won’t be affected by the phenomenon.”

“But, I don’t think this method will work for Kashiki-senpai.”

“True. It only works if you believe in supernaturals to begin with, so it would only work on people like you, Miyama. With that in mind, I’m assuming it is also the case with Karin too.”

Walking through the darkened street, Takayuki and Aoi continued their conversation. The content of the conversation was the memory loss phenomenon that everyone had whenever they came in contact with Himuro Reina.

Takayuki was able to resist this effect due to him being connected to the supernaturals. Since that was the case, as long as one was connected with it, they should be able to resist the effect as well. And so, since Aoi was connected with Takayuki, as long as she was able to perceive Reina the same way as she perceived Takayuki, she should be able to resist this effect as well. That was the countermeasure the two of them thought of and it was proven to be effective.

And since that was the case, that also meant Karin was somehow connected to the supernaturals as well.

“The speed of the memory loss probably depends on the strength of one’s feelings about Himuro Reina. The stronger their feelings toward her are, the slower the speed is… Actually, Minoru told me that it took a while for him to forget about her after he fell in love with her. Though, he ended up forgetting about her in three days anyway…”

“From Kashiki-senpai’s case, even when he forgot about her, he doesn’t seem to forget his feelings toward her. Even so, holding feelings for someone that you can’t even remember is tough.”

“It would be nice if he could just perceive the supernaturals, but I doubt he’d be able to understand the logic behind it quickly. And even if he could, that won’t solve all his problems…ugh, this is tough…”

Both of them exchanged their words about the current situation and it didn’t seem like anything could work out for the best. It seemed to be almost impossible for Minoru to not forget about Reina.

“Satou-kun, do you think she’s intentionally erasing everyone’s memory of her?”

“No, I don’t think so. It’s probably similar to my ability where you don’t really have a choice on the matter. I mean, think of it, if she can erase people’s memory at will, why would she erase every random strangers’ memory as well? Doing a lot of work for no reason.”

“I guess so, huh… There’s also the way she looked at Kashiki-senpai…”

Aoi approached Takayuki and grabbed his hand, holding it to a lover’s hold.

“I feel sorry for them. There’s no way that their relationship will end on a good note. That was a brave move of her, trying to distance herself from him so he wouldn’t unnecessarily get hurt…”

“Not giving in to your partner’s threat is also a brave move, you know? Also, you’ve been punishing me in this way a lot lately…”

“Well, this is the only punishment that wouldn’t hurt your reputation.”

‘Hehehe,’ Aoi’s mischievous laugh shone brightly among the dark surroundings.

Boys his age would be easily charmed by that laugh, especially considering that their hands were locked to each other. But Takayuki didn’t even bat an eye at it.

“But, thanks to you doing this to me regularly, there are rumors going around that we are dating, you know?”

“D-Dating?!”

“Ouch… If you were so embarrassed by that, why the hell did you even start doing it in the first place?”

“Hmph…”

Aoi’s face reddened as she turned it away. The hand that had been holding Takayuki’s just a few seconds ago, was now clasping her other hand tightly.

“Miyama.”

“What is it, Dummy?”

“Thanks for worrying about me. But, you know, Minoru is my friend. I know it’s wrong to stick my nose into his affairs, but I want to stay by his side until the very end.”

“…Even if you got hurt as a result?”

Her cheeks were still red as she gave Takayuki a reproachful glare.

“I’ll worry about that when we cross that bridge.”

Without running away from Aoi’s gaze, Takayuki replied to her with a fearless smile.

“Well, at least I know that my trustworthy partner will lend her shoulders for me when I feel like crying.”

“…Idiot.”

“Hahaha, I’m joking. I won’t shed tears easily, I’m still a man, you know?”

“Hahaha, if you bow your head and say ‘Miyama Aoi-sama, please have mercy on me,’ I’ll pat your head and comfort you.”

“Sorry, that will never happen, so erase that smug look from your face.”

After that, Takayuki’s back was repeatedly hit by the red-faced Aoi.

* * *

Kashiki Minoru started to draw for a simple reason.

Back when he was in preschool, he drew a portrait of his favorite teacher and that teacher praised him for it. It made him proud, so he started to draw more from then on.

Though he didn’t remember whether the portrait was actually good or not. The teacher could have only given him empty flattery, but that didn’t matter. To young Minoru at that time, the praise was enough to motivate him to start drawing more.

“Can you draw me this character?”

“Minoru-kun is really good at drawing!”

“Amazing! Can you draw this one next?”

By the time he became a grade schooler, his drawing had improved to the point that everyone around him recognized him as a ‘good artist.’ Drawing had become his trademark to the point that his friends would often ask him to draw various anime characters.

At his age, just being able to draw was enough for everyone around him to put him on a pedestal.

Attractive, charismatic and athletic. Just having one of them would make you popular. But Minoru managed to be popular without any of those traits, so it was understandable that he’d want to hone his skills as much as possible.

Though, if there was one bad thing about Minoru, he didn’t have a good memory.

This was why he failed to remember the reason why not only he tried to draw ‘good pictures’ that were well-liked by everyone, but also simple sketches and compositions that he was particularly weak at drawing. The reason why he spent most of his allowance on art supplies.

Minoru was unable to remember the reason why he desperately wanted to finish a certain drawing.

“See? I told you. You won’t be able to remember me until you finish drawing me.”

All he could remember was the vague words a certain someone said to him.

He kept painting for so long, just to prove that person’s words were wrong. To prove to that person, whose name and face he had long forgotten, that he could finish that drawing.

In middle school, he realized that his talent wasn’t anything special, but that didn’t stop him.

Even when he was clearly beaten by a certain ‘monster’ in the same club as him in high school, he still didn’t waver.

It wasn’t pretty ideals that kept Minoru from shelving his brushes away, but his stubborn pettiness, something that he would never say out loud with pride.

“I’ll never forget you because I love you. That’s why, I’ll definitely finish your painting.”

The reason why he decided to paint Reina was also because of this stubbornness. At first, painting her was merely an excuse that he used to get closer to her, but that was no longer the case. A different feeling bloomed inside Minoru’s heart. He wanted to do something about the words of resignation she uttered. His stubbornness was the source of his motivation to carry out that goal.

* * *

Back to the present. In front of Minoru was a blank canvas.

“…Ugh.”

His pencil was on his hand, yet the pointy lead failed to find its way to the white canvas. Meanwhile, time was running like water.

It was not like he forgot what Reina looked like. He managed to preserve her figure and form by visiting her every day. In fact, he could perfectly picture her in his mind even when she wasn’t present by his side. The lovely smile that she presented was clear in his memory.

Despite that, the pencil in his hand failed to turn the Reina in his memory into a beautiful painting. Minoru found himself unable to move. Whenever he tried to paint anything other than Reina, he was able to do it with ease, but whenever it was Reina he tried to draw, he became like this.

“It’s time, Kashiki-kun. Go home.”

Before he realized, his club time was over and it was time for him to go home.

Hearing the words came out from his taciturn advisor’s mouth, Minoru staggered to his feet and began to clean up. The clean up didn’t take long. This was a given, as he ended up not painting anything on the canvas.

It was the third day after the day he declared to Reina that he’d paint her.

* * *

“I knew it. Okay, hear me out, Minoru… You see, Himuro Reina’s existence can never be recorded in anything. Not pictures, not paintings, not even videos…”

The fourth day, after school. When Minoru was walking to his clubroom with gloomy steps, Takayuki quickly stopped him and dragged him to Karin’s house.

There, with Reina’s cooperation, Takayuki showed him the results of his experiments.

It was regarding the true nature of the urban legend, ‘Dareka-san.’

“This case is something that defies logic, got it? This isn’t a you problem, it’s just the way it is. In fact, even if I were the one who’d try to paint her, I wouldn’t be able to do it, even with Kuramori’s help. Tell me, Himuro, are you doing this on purpose?”

“Oh my, that’s so mean of you to accuse me like that. Do I look like such an evil person?”

Minoru began to think about Takayuki’s and Reina’s words.

‘It’s impossible, you said? Then, what should I do? Should I just give up?’ He thought. Somehow, they made him feel irritated.

“That’s why, Minoru, you need to change your mindset. What you’re trying to paint isn’t a ‘human being,’ but an ‘urban legend.’ It will be impossible for you to draw her if you keep thinking in the realm of common sense. To paint her, you need to have the mindset that you’re a great painter trying to achieve the impossible. If you can’t do that, then you would never be able to even paint her hair.”

Hearing those words, Minoru scolded himself inwardly for his own pettiness.

Even though the person he wanted to paint was someone that he loved, he was unable to come up with that idea himself. He was about to voice that thought, but he immediately swallowed his words. Trying to suppress his self-deprecation, Minoru bit his lower lip and spoke.

“Got it, leave it to me, Takayuki. I swear I’ll become the best painter in this world for her. At least when I’m painting her portrait.”

“Um, hearing your promise feels a little burdenful for me, you see…”

However, his promise was rejected without a second thought by the person he promised to.

That was what happened on the fourth day.

* * *

The pencil ran across the canvas, creating an outline of Reina.

Takayuki’s advice worked wonders. With the mindset of him being a great painter constantly drilled into his mind, Minoru managed to pick up his pencil and filled the canvas with the lines he envisioned. The memory loss’ phenomenon had subsided somehow and he managed to remember Reina’s appearance.

Even so, Minoru’s expression wasn’t bright.

“…Shit.”

He let out a swear word as he erased the lines that he had just drawn, clearly he wasn’t satisfied with them. Drawing, swearing, erasing. The three activities made a cycle, turning the once pure white canvas black and unusable.

While he managed to draw the outlines of her appearance, the more he drew her, the more he felt that his drawing didn’t match the Reina that he remembered.

“It’s still not enough?…”

Minoru let out a loud sigh as he drew a big ‘X’ over the outline that he had previously drawn.

The other members of the club, who had been watching him, followed suit and let out a deep breath, as if they had been released from the tension.

Originally, the other members were busy painting their own paintings in the clubroom. However, the uncanny vigor that Minoru had when he faced the canvas in front of him drew their attention. Actually, they were overwhelmed by it.

Most of the club members were vexed by this, but none of them dared to come forward and ask him the reason why.

“Kashiki-kun, Kashiki-kun. Are you stuck in a rut?”

Though, there is an outlier who blatantly laughed at him and called him out.

“For someone who’s so good in drawing portraits, you seem to be struggling, hm?~”

“…I’m busy. Can you tease me about it later, Akanashi?”

Akanashi was a petite female student wearing overalls. Combine her height with her bob-cut hair and baby face, it was easy to mistake her as a grade schooler. Despite her appearance, the words that came out of her mouth were filled with arrogance.

“You look like a fool trying to paint in the air. You seem to be trying to draw something that you can’t draw but your stubbornness keeps you going. It’s not a bad thing per se, but is your stubbornness the only reason you’re doing this?”

“!”

Not only were the words filled with arrogance, they also hit where it hurts.

“Hehe, look at that face, I’m right on the money, aren’t I? Anyway, hear me out. ‘If you can’t paint, just try to paint’ is an effective method for painting something in general, but I can tell that what you’re trying to paint is an important thing to you. That method won’t cut it. Instead of relying on it, you should think about it once again from a fundamental level. Think about the reason why you started painting in the first place. Also, if you’re worried about what the other person might think when the result turns out to be bad, then just tell them, ‘So what? I’m not good enough, okay? Fuck you.’”

The arrogant smile on the girl’s cute face struck Minoru’s heart. Her words pointed out exactly what he was worried about.

“That’s new. I never knew you’re able to give other people advice, Akanashi.”

“I was asked by my cute kouhai, that’s why I even bothered to do that. I’ll do anything to make them feel indebted to me, even if it’s something I don’t usually do. Though, if my advice was wrong, I won’t take any responsibility.”

After she finished giving her advice, the female student called Akanashi returned to work on her own painting.

Before this, he felt depressed, but after hearing that advice, life returned to Minoru’s eyes. Standing tall in front of a new canvas, he ran his pencil across it.

“I’ll give my thanks to you after I finish this painting.”

On the fifth day after his declaration, Minoru finally managed to remember the reason why he started painting.

* * *

The sixth day. Minoru decided to skip school and stayed inside the garage of his house. He went as far as to kneel down in front of his parents and asked them to tell the school that he was sick.

That was how serious he was about finishing the painting.

“It’s fine. I can do it.”

Muttering that to himself, Minoru picked up his pencil.

The words weren’t only from his stubbornness, but it also came from his desire to keep his promise to Reina.

He wanted to draw her smiling. To surprise her, holding the finished painting in his hand, puffing his chest out proudly and throwing her something along the lines of ‘how’s that?’ And more importantly, if he was able to finish the painting, he wanted it to be the trigger to wipe out the sad smile from her face.

Yes. The real reason why Minoru wanted to paint Reina was that childish. He only wanted to make the person that he loved happy.

Even if in the end, he wouldn’t be able to be together with her, it would be enough as long as he knew that she was happy.

“It’s fine… It’s fine… I can do this…”

He could feel a sharp pain in his heart, but he decided that the pain wouldn’t be enough to stop him. Enduring the pain, he turned it into motivation. The more pain that he felt, the more vivid the picture he envisioned in the canvas.

Actually, Minoru hadn’t forgotten about Reina at all even though it had been a full day since he had last seen her. Instead of trying to meet her again, he spent his time scribbling through the canvas, finishing most of the rough sketch that he had in mind. If all went well, he planned to finally pick up his brush by the end of the day.

“Alright, let’s do this!”

While enduring the pain, Minoru started to draw. His determination was clear as he even forgot to sleep and eat.

He never stopped drawing. Occasionally, his pace would slow down, but he didn’t stop. Minoru spent all day concentrating on his drawing, save for the time when he had to quench his thirst or went to the bathroom. And before he realized it, it was already the seventh day.

* * *

“Oi, Minoru. Your parents told me to feed you with something somehow– You, take a bath first– No, get some light meal first.”

Morning of the seventh day. Takayuki’s voice brought Minoru to his senses.

Seeing him in plain clothes made Minoru remember that today was a holiday.

“Alright… But not now… I have to finish this first… After I’m done with my sketch, I’ll eat as much food as my stomach could allow… Can you wait for me?…”

“…I can, but what are you trying to sketch without a pencil in your hand?”

Minoru realized that his pencil wasn’t in his hand when Takayuki pointed it out to him.

‘That was strange.’ He thought as he tilted his head. After all, he had been holding one just a while ago. Then he realized that all the pencils around him were in pieces.

“Right… I couldn’t sketch because I ran out of pencils… That’s why… That’s why… No…”

Minoru muttered something incomprehensible for a while, but he quickly came to his senses as he let out a wry smile.

“Takayuki. I can’t do it. I can’t paint her.”

“That so?”

“I made a promise to her, but I can’t fulfill it. Even though I was so close…”

“…I see.”

Next to Minoru, who was struggling in anguish was a nicely drawn sketch. However, the ‘face’ part of the sketch was missing. He was unable to draw Reina’s face.

“I almost finished it, but I just couldn’t continue it. The reason why I started to paint her was to make her smile, to paint her beautiful smile… But, something inside me stopped me from doing so… My ugly selfishness and jealousy… Thoughts like, ‘maybe if I can finish this painting, she’ll agree to go out with me.’ Or, ‘why are you going this far for someone who doesn’t even look at you?’ Even stupid thoughts like, ‘who is the person that she has in mind? Will she look at my painting together with that person?’”

Minoru spit out those words frustratingly as he brushed off his hair.

It was his own feelings that made him unable to continue the painting. The lingering attachment he had toward her that had been gnawing at his heart.

“Why am I so pathetic?… I thought I’m a better person than this… I’m not saying that I didn’t have any ulterior motives, not at all. But, I genuinely wish to make her happy. I thought I’m able to kill my feelings for that reason…”

Minoru lamented on his own incompetence.

“Takayuki, it hurts. It hurts so much. I know that if I were able to endure this pain, I’d be able to keep my promise to her, but it’s so painful…”

“…Then, just stop. You don’t need to go this far. You’re heartbroken either way anyway. Even if you give up now, no one will reproach you.”

At Takayuki’s kind words, Minoru shook his head. Without any hesitation. Despite the wry smile that he wore and the awkward movements of his hand as he scratched his head.

“Takayuki, that’s just wrong. There’s someone who’ll reproach me if I were to give up now. Myself. I’d live with self-hatred toward my pathetic self who couldn’t even fulfill a simple promise. That’s why, even though it’s painful, I have to continue… Seriously, why am I this weak? If only I were stronger, I’d definitely be able to kill my feelings and…”

Minoru spat out his selfish words, as if he was praying for a miracle to happen. Too bad for him that the miracle he wished for had already happened.

The fact that he was able to get this far to complete Himuro Reina’s painting was already a miracle in itself. As a payment for that miracle, he had to endure the pain he was currently experiencing. No more miracles could have happened. His wish could never come true.

“…Are you sure about that?”

“Huh?”

But, miracles weren’t the only way to grant Minoru’s wish.

There was something else, something much more different than a miracle.

“If you were able to abandon your feelings for her, are you sure you’re able to fulfill your promise to her? Can you really finish that painting?”

Minoru was being questioned by Takayuki, who carried a different atmosphere than usual.

Like a demon, or perhaps an angel. The expression on Takayuki’s eyes made one think of him as a being that was created to test people.

“…”

At this unusual sight, Minoru was unable to say anything.

‘What are you on about?’ Normally, he’d be able to brush him off with those words. However, Minoru couldn’t do that. He knew that if he were to say that to him at this moment, the conversation would be over right there and then.

“Yes, I can.”

That was why he answered Takayuki’s question seriously.

“If I were able to throw this feeling away, I’m sure I’ll be able to finish the painting.”

Hearing Minoru’s answer, Takayuki asked him another question without averting his gaze.

“Even if you’ll never get that feeling back?”

It was clear that he didn’t ask that out of curiosity. He was testing Minoru’s determination. That was why Minoru didn’t run away. To show his resolve, he answered with his true feelings.

“Honestly, I’m scared… I’m afraid that I’ll never regain those feelings… But, at the same time I know that this outcome is inevitable. That person… Reina… Already dumped me… I can’t stay infatuated with her forever. I have to move on. One day, I’ll forget this feeling ever existed anyway and since that will be the case, I might as well forget about it now. Even if I have to erase this feeling, I want to fulfill my promise to her.”

The answer that came out of his mouth was one that filled with all the courage he could muster.

Normally, those kinds of words would never come out of his mouth. But, the one in front of him was Takayuki. Minoru knew that he was experienced in dealing with matters concerning love relationships since he was a consultant. He also knew that Takayuki was able to solve the most hopeless cases and heal the broken-hearted people while he was at it.

“That’s why, Takayuki… Tell me, what should I do?”

He knew that this was absurd. A part of him scoffed at himself for doing this even. Nevertheless, he asked Takayuki that question. Above all, he wanted to change the currently helpless situation.

“You don’t need to do anything special. Just let me fool you this once.”

What came out as a reply though, was a light answer alongside his usual fearless grin.

“Fool… Me?”

“Yeah. You just need to take my words seriously and accept whatever it is that I’m going to do to you. Don’t worry, I’m just going to cast some ‘magic’ on you. It won’t take long.”

Minoru tilted his head in confusion, but followed his instructions anyway and prepared himself. There weren’t many things to prepare though, as Takayuki only asked him to lean his back on the chair he was sitting on and focus his gaze forward.

“Is that it?… Uh It somehow feels underwhelming…”

“What did you expect? I’m not going to take out some dubious crystal balls or chant some long spells. Everything will be over in a jiffy, Minoru. I don’t need to do dubious stuffs just to cast my ‘magic.’”

As Minoru sent Takayuki a confused gaze, the latter’s fingertip touched his forehead.

And then, he triggered his power.

“Eating someone’s ‘love’ is as easy as taking candy from a baby.”

In order to eat his love and make his wish come true.

“So spicy, my tongue is going numb. It seems soft at a glance but the core is harder than it looks. It tastes like kata yakisoba that doesn’t get enough water. The taste of willpower and passion.”

Takayuki muttered those words with a wry smile.

No one but Takayuki could hear those words. The chirping of the birds coming from outside the garage covered them from any prying ears. After this, everyone’s everyday life would continue as if nothing had happened. Even if his power wasn’t in line with what everyone knew as ‘common sense,’ it wouldn’t change anything in the grand scheme of things.

His power wasn’t one that could change the world, but it was one that could change someone’s heart.

“Alright, your parents told me to make you stay asleep, but I guess I can’t fulfill that request. Take this as a special service since we’re friends, okay?”

Takayuki then shook Minoru’s shoulders, who fell asleep while laying on the back of his chair, trying to wake him up.

In his heart, he prayed that his ability could at least be useful for his friend.

* * *

When Minoru finished his sketch, he realized that he had forgotten something.

After spending the strange surge of vitality that he received, he felt somewhat empty. As he tilted his head to the side while wondering what was the cause for this feeling, his stomach let out a roar.

“…Hm? Ah, right, I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday’s lunch… Wait, I haven’t taken baths either. What the hell have I been doing?”

His shoulders shuddered at his own stupidity as he tried to stand up. After sitting for a long time, his body was stiff, so he stretched lighty before going to get his food.

“I’ll have to give Takayuki-kun my thanks for persuading this idiot.”

At the dining table. Minoru was heartily devouring his first meal of the day, much to his mom’s dismay.

When she mentioned Takayuki’s name, something clicked in Minoru’s mind. Earlier this morning, Takayuki came to check on him out of concern. At that time, they discussed a little about his painting and he gave him some really good advice.

Thanks to that, Minoru managed to finish the sketch that he had been struggling to draw for so long. His mom was right, he had to give his thanks to Takayuki later.

“Well, it’s still only a rough sketch…”

After showering, he went back to the garage.

He wasn’t planning to finish the painting now, though. Minoru planned to clean up the canvas before some stray cats came and messed it up. After that, he would be taking a break for a while.

“…Huh? Who are you?”

That was when he found out that a girl was standing in front of said canvas in the garage.

“Oh my, hello. Nice to meet you.”

“Eh? Um… Nice to meet you?”

When Minoru called out to her, she greeted her with a gentle smile. It happened so naturally that he couldn’t help but return her greetings.

“Sorry to interrupt you so suddenly. When I passed by, I saw you working really hard on this painting, so I was curious to see what it looks like.”

“Ah, I-I see. U-Um… Thank you?”

The girl had white hair and bright red eyes. Her appearance looked beautiful and somewhat nostalgic to Minoru. He tilted his head. This should be their ‘first meeting’, but he felt a strange feeling of deja vu.

“Hehehe, that’s funny. I should be the one who’s thanking you.”

“Huh?”

When he heard her giggles, Minoru finally noticed something. The girl looked so similar to the sketch that he had drawn. Even though the sketch was supposed to be something that came from his own imagination, it looked so alike to the girl that if she were to sue him for using her face without permission, he’d have no proper argument against it.

“By the way, is this painting finished?”

“Ah, no. Rather, it barely began. I still have to actually paint it, waiting for the paint to dry, add more layers to it and so on.”

“Oh my, what a shame. I bet it’ll be a really beautiful painting when it’s done.”

Were the words uttered because she felt proud due to how pretty she looked on the painting? Or was it a genuine compliment from the girl? Maybe it was mere sarcasm? As Minoru was contemplating that, the girl turned on her heels and walked somewhere.

“But still, thank you, Minoru-kun. You kept your promise.”

She turned around to give Minoru a last dazzling smile before walking away with a light step.

“…I…see…”

After the girl walked away, Minoru sat down in front of the canvas while muttering.

“I finally kept my promise, huh?”

He didn’t even understand what he was muttering about. Nevertheless, the satisfaction that he felt was real.

After all, the happiness in the smile that the girl gave him was genuine.

* * *

“Everything turned out well, didn’t it, Rei-Onee-chan?”

“Yes, yes it did, Rin-chan.”

After leaving Minoru’s house, the white haired girl returned to Karin’s house, which was located nearby. She could say with confidence that she managed to part ways with Minoru cleanly, but now that she was at the front of her own doorstep, the embarrassment caught up to her.

“Whenever Minoru-Onii-chan is painting something, you have the habit of watching him secretly.”

“Hm hm? What are you trying to say?”

“Nothing. But, if you’re doing this out of concern for me, I’ll tell you that it’s unnecessary.”

Karin, who had been waiting for Reina while standing near the entrance, said that while sulking. In response, Reina happily hugged her with a bright smile on her face.

“Hehehe. I’m sorry. I know that I’m meddling unnecessarily, but you know, I’m doing this because I love you so much, Rin-chan.”

“…Hmph.”

“Hehehe, you don’t need to be shy~”

“…I’m not. Those people are here, Rei-Onee-chan.”

“Oh my.”

Hearing Karin’s words, Reina slowly turned her gaze toward her back.

There, Takayuki and Aoi were looking at her with a serious expression.

“What can I do for you? Ah, about Minoru-kun, once again, I’d like to thank—”

“Himuro Reina. You met her, didn’t you? The witch.”

In response to Takayuki’s blade sharp question, Reina’s smile didn’t fade. But, she slowly let Karin go before turning around to reply to him.

“Hehehe, yes, I did. Just like you did, Satou Takayuki-kun.”

Then, she took out a silver pocket watch and showed it to him. In response, Takayuki showed her his red hair clip.

No explanation was needed. They both understood that they were showing each other the medium they used to summon the witch.

“Seriously, I never woulda expected that there’s someone else who signed up for this shit.”

“Oh my. You think you’re a special case?”

“Yes. I’m a special kind of idiot, you see? Normally, I’d expect that I’m only one of a kind.”

“H-Hahaha… I guess you have a point.”

The two of them shook hands after they put away their mediums. However, this was by no means a sign of friendship.

“Once again, nice to meet you, Mister Love-Eating Monster.”

“Likewise, Forgettable Miss.”

Two people, both with powers that defied common sense, spoke and smiled at each other.

Both were keeping check on each other.

“Thank you for all the help you’ve given to Reina-san. Also, I’m sorry that I’ve been causing trouble for you.”

“Hehe, I’m not so petty that I’d hold a grudge on you after you’ve apologized like this. You’re with me, right, Satou-kun?”

““…U-Um, what?””

However, the tension between the two immediately dissipated as both of their partners started to converse amiably between themselves.

And thus, the two people connected with the supernaturals had met. And the unorthodox coming-of-age story had begun in earnest.