The light in the library dimmed and brightened with the movement of the clouds, casting shadows of the old redwood bookshelves like rows of iron bars.
Waiting for Haruka Kondo’s reaction, Koharu Miura replayed the thoughts she had just formulated. Submitting early or delaying…
These two extremes of time management were not due to Arisa Kiyono’s capricious personality.
On the contrary, being able to finish class work early on some occasions indicated that Arisa Kiyono was punctual and orderly by nature.
The other students had simply misunderstood her—though that was a reasonable assumption under the circumstances.
Koharu Miura gently rubbed the cool desktop, letting her thoughts cool slightly.
“Miura.”
It was then that Haruka Kondo spoke.
“Since that person can grasp every detail of that girl’s life at school—”
Haruka Kondo looked at Koharu Miura.
“—we have to find the student in her class.”
“That student?”
Koharu Miura replied, “You mean the one in Arisa Kiyono’s class who’s been watching her?”
“That’s the only possibility. Otherwise there’s no way they could know Arisa’s movements to such an extent.”
Haruka Kondo said, “Our next step is to find that person.”
‘This was indeed the conclusion I reached myself.’
Koharu Miura agreed internally.
‘But the problem lies here. I had no connection with anyone in Arisa Kiyono’s class before, so I couldn’t start an investigation. I had no standing or reason, and couldn’t possibly identify the stalker. I had thought of a baiting plan—meeting Arisa at the store and pretending to clash with her—but after that failed to produce results, and before I could follow up, I lost contact with Arisa. And now, only now, am I talking about this again with Kondo-san.’
“Kondo-san.”
Thinking this, Koharu Miura spoke up, “Since Kobayashi-san is Arisa’s classmate and did notice something strange about her, perhaps the stalker’s actions left some traces?”
Koharu Miura looked up at Haruka Kondo.
“Kondo-san, could you ask Kobayashi-san to go a step further? Let her investigate in the class, or compile a list, to see if anyone might be a suspect?”
To Koharu Miura, this was the most logical next step. The plan had developed to this point, so this step was only natural.
But contrary to Koharu Miura’s thoughts, Haruka Kondo did not nod immediately. Not only that, her face didn’t show agreement.
The girl who was always impetuous, always ready to rush into trouble, now fell into an odd silence.
Koharu Miura looked at Haruka Kondo in confusion.
‘The chestnut-haired girl across from me is looking at me with such a complicated expression. Her usually spirited face has lost its excitement and is covered in a deep shadow.’
“…No.”
After a long pause, Haruka Kondo forced out these two words.
Huh?
“Why?”
Koharu Miura was stunned and asked in surprise, “This is the fastest way to pinpoint the target…?”
‘If we don’t start with Kobayashi, who is in the same class as Arisa Kiyono, no matter how outgoing or sociable we are as outsiders, it will be too difficult to investigate the daily life of a student who barely interacts with anyone else in her class.’
“Koharu Miura, have you forgotten what happened to you yesterday?”
Haruka Kondo lowered her voice, a hint of anger creeping in.
“Those people have already targeted Arisa Kiyono, her companions, and now you. If we let Kobayashi investigate and get involved in this, won’t that put her in danger too?”
Koharu Miura froze.
‘I never considered that.’
The chestnut-haired girl stared into Koharu Miura’s eyes.
“Kobayashi is just a regular soccer club manager. She doesn’t even know what’s behind this, and she has nothing to do with our investigation. If you ask her to investigate those dangerous people, do you think she’ll end up the same if they notice? Will she get the same threatening texts? Or will she be confronted on her way home?”
Koharu Miura was left speechless by Haruka Kondo’s barrage of questions.
She frankly admitted her oversight.
“I… I did overlook Kobayashi-san’s safety.”
Koharu Miura’s heart skipped a beat.
‘I was so immersed in the sense of solving puzzles and fixing the plot that I subconsciously treated Kobayashi as a tool I could use at any time. Even if this is a false world, every moment I spend here, I treat it as real. Because I see the friends and family around me as living beings, not strings of data, I can keep myself intact in this false world and not lose the will to leave. Only then can I avoid breaking down and survive here. No matter what I’m going through, from their perspective, Kobayashi is a real person. There’s no reason to drag an uninvolved person into such danger.’
“I didn’t think it through, Kondo-san.”
Koharu Miura’s long hair fell forward, hiding the complex emotions in her eyes. “You’re right. I encountered such danger on the platform myself. There’s no reason to make innocent people take that risk.”
Haruka Kondo’s fierce demeanor softened slightly.
Her tone returned to a stiff calm.
“I’ll do this myself.”
“Huh? But how—”
“I can use the excuse of finding Kobayashi or going to the soccer club’s social events to show up frequently in front of her classroom. If I really need to investigate, I’ll use my own eyes.”
Haruka Kondo paused, her tone growing extremely serious.
“As for Kobayashi, I’ll make sure she stays as she is. I’ll only use the information she already knows. I absolutely won’t have her do any dangerous investigations. As long as she doesn’t know and doesn’t get deeply involved, she should be safe.”
Koharu Miura looked at Haruka Kondo, an indescribable feeling welling up in her heart.
‘This is Haruka Kondo. Arrogant, fiercely possessive, but when it comes to the people she accepts as companions, she has an almost pure, obsessive integrity. Whether it’s her childhood friend Sou Kanzaki, me as her supposed rival, or her friend Kobayashi. That purity… Is that what I’ve lost, thinking the way I did just now?’
“I understand.”
After a moment, Koharu Miura looked up and smiled. “Let’s do it your way, Kondo-san. Regarding Kobayashi-san, if it’s convenient, could you ask her for the exact date on that class statistics table? Once I have the exact date, I can cross-reference it at the school archives or the student club union without needing her involvement.”
Haruka Kondo nodded. “I’ll handle the minor details about the date.”
She stood up, her chestnut-red hair catching the dim library light in a sharp arc.
“Miura, I’ll say it again. It’s enough that someone like me is caught up in this. Since you see me as a ‘suitable person,’ don’t try to drag any more innocent people into the mire.”
Watching Haruka Kondo’s retreating figure without looking back, Koharu Miura sat there for a long time without moving.
‘Suitable person… huh.’
Koharu Miura lowered her head and looked at the LIME interface open on her phone.
‘Haruka Kondo is protecting the Sou Kanzaki she considers “pure” in her own way, and she’s also protecting those innocent companions. As for me… am I a little too scheming?’
Outside the window, a deep wind blew, making the tree shadows sway unsteadily across the library floor.