Chapter 96 - Breaking Through the Neighborhood Labyrinth (4) (1/2)

We passed through the side of the house and headed down the path through the rice fields. Suddenly my smartphone started to ring.

I took the smartphone out of the inside pocket of my school uniform in a hurry and checked the screen.

“Mikuma?”

The screen displayed the incoming call as “Mikuma Yunno @ Still Growing”.

It came with a picture of Mikuma’s chest taken with clothes on.

It was probably one of Saeki, the devilish cat girl’s, pranks. I didn’t know how to change it so I left it.

I tapped the green receive button at the bottom of the screen and put it next to my right ear.

“Hello, Mikuma?”

“Kunpei-kun! Are you okay!? What about Aoi-chan and the twins!? Is Shouhei-kun also with you?”

A loud voice that was rare for an adult like, Mikuma Yunno as she continued to talk.

“Y-yeah. I’m fine. I haven’t confirmed it yet because I’m not at home, but I heard that Aoi and Shouhei are okay.”

“That’s good… have you seen what’s on the internet? It’s an uproar right now. I was worried, so I skipped class.”

It was a serious voice of relief.

I’m thankful for her concern.

“No, we didn’t have the time to browse the internet. What’s it like?”

“Emergency alerts, SNS and tweets of isolated people and victims. It seems like the police and fire department are also in confusion. It’s full of information and I can’t tell what’s real or what’s fake.”

I was confused even when I’m at the scene.

“Wait, is Kunpei-kun… outside?”

“Eh? Ah, well I was planning to go home…”

“You idiot!! What were you thinking!? There have been monster sightings!!!”

Woah!

Mikuma shouted with a voice even louder than previously.

“Aoi-chan and them are safe, right!? So head to an evacuation shelter! Or else Kunpei-kun will be in danger!”

It was a slight trembling voice.

Was she crying?

“M-Mikuma. It’s okay. Officers Doggy is escorting us.”

“I’m not okay! ! If something happened to Kunpei-kun, what would Jaja-chan and Nana-chan do?? Kunpei-kun isn’t alone anymore, you know!?”

“No, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, don’t cry. My bad.”

“I don’t like it either. Really, please think a little, before acting… I beg you.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry?”

I didn’t know what to say other than sorry.

I lowered my head to Mikuma, who was not in front of me.

Wow. I made her cry.

Shouhei has been mad at me for similar things from the past, but I haven’t improved at all, huh.

“I will evacuate immediately. I will contact you when I arrive at the shelter. It’s okay.”

“… I don’t believe it.”

Eh?

“I don’t trust Kunpei-kun. I’ll call again, so be sure to pick up the phone.”

U-um, Yunno-san?

Why is your voice so low?

It’s scary.

“Promise that you will pick up the phone.”

“O-oh…”

“Your voice is too quiet! You have to pick up the phone!”

“Y-yes! I’ll definitely pick up the phone!”

A powerful forcefulness was emitted from the speaker. I couldn’t go against it. Well, I didn’t have to go against it, I corrected my posture and answered in a loud voice.

“It’s a promise! Where are you now!?”

“Um, a rice field near the market, 2 blocks away? A short cut from the national highway to the prefecture road. It goes to where we went shopping before.”

“Got it. Two blocks away, right? I’ll call you back soon! It’s cruel if you don’t pick up!”

After saying that, the presence of Mikuma disappeared from the speaker. It’s cruel?

What is?

Well, I’ll understand after she calls later.

Even so, that was scary.

“Aniki? Was that your girlfriend?”

“No, idiot. Also, why didn’t you just escape earlier?”

Kusaka, who was walking in front of me, turned around.

“No, no. I can’t just leave my Aniki behind and run away.”

“Idiot. You couldn’t do anything about it even when you were there. I already told you in the beginning, right? I can’t look after you. Since you didn’t escape first, I also missed the timing to escape.”

“Sorry…”

Did I say too much?

But it’s the truth.

I wanted you to escape as far as possible while I was buying time.

What you do would differ drastically depending on whether there is someone there you have to protect or not.

Of course, there are more things that two people can do than one.