Chapter 6 (1/2)

Day 18: …

”… Well then, let's talk again tomorrow”

'Yeah, call ht'

After leaving those words, the phone line was easily severed

I let out a light sigh, pushi+ng the 'End Call' marker on the screen

… Quite soe of Akira as a Mary-san in training I don't know my specific tiotten considerably closer to him

I doubt there'sto hi to reach the place that person lives

Shaking s that haven't stopped since they departed Nagasaki

Step by step, step by step One foot in front of the next, like passing a thread through a cloth, each step takes ht endless at the start, before I noticed it, I had gone down more than half of it

When I look to the sky, I see the sun sink That very o before the evening lights dissipate from the western sky

Night… froularities

The sun's de the darkness conceive all ht of night is barely any different from that of day, but even so, there isn't even any space to question the fact that it exists for existences such as me

…But I wonder why it is To be perfectly honest, the current ht

The sun sleeps, the town sleeps, the people sleep… in that time, all alone, unseen by any, my feet continue on to some point far, far away I can't see it, but I' away

Is this 'Anxiety'?

… How peculiar When I was once a being that clad itself in the very notion, co it myself

”… It's all Akira's fault”

I quietly mutter what's on my mind

… That's right, this is surely Akira's fault It's because the tiht, this silent night interrupted only by the bugs' cries and the wild birds' caws got to be so boring to me

The question hit me

To me, just what sort of person is he?

”… The target A big brother who plays with me A friend”

And the words that followed on were tucked in en

When I first er I made my resolution, and I acted solely to make sure that resolution wasn't a lie

… But the current ed just a little since then

”… He's too loose, that person”

Right, loose… and kind If I wanted to express that person in words, those are quite likely the ones that hit the mark

Still end, in these past feeeks- for better or worse- I've received Akira's influence, and changed just a little frorowth, though

Of course, if I think of it as an irregularity, ever since I got around to talking to that person, perhaps I've groeaker, in a sense

I mean, when I started off this journey, I never felt the loneliness of the night roads to such an extent I could say I wanted to becos were all I needed to press onwards, walk on

But now, I get the feeling soed in my desire to beco in a way that I can stick out my chest and tell Akira, 'I didfor the sake of the happiness I get from the crude words of praise he'd toss me afterward

… Only teeks left Teeks is barely any ti with Akira, but even so, the words I want to tell hi

It was only after those thoughts that I noticed I was sighing

I look up as I walk under the sky on the verge of darkness

Another step forward, another into the distance

As I go on, the surroundings gradually grow dimmer

Fewer and fewer people pass s sounding their songs through the forest; the rustle carried by the wind; the occasional sound of passing cars… that's all it's become

A lukewars the sort of air to ht frown

Because I'ularity, I won't tire no matter how far I walk, and my body cannot be dirtied I don't have any need to eat food, and I' on my own… and yet

”… I want to hear his voice”

I wonder why being alone has become so lonely

Words sole me to frantically cover my mouth

”T-that won't do, that won't do! At this rate, he's just going to tease ain”

It's right tiularity's style or dignity, or that sort of thing The way things are going, Akira's going to end up laughing

Shaking off a sigh, don'ton and on and on… It was there that I noticed a certain so

… I'll go and meet that person, but ill I do after that?

I'll beco that's already been decided, I have no intent to rethink it… but what else?

To me, this is the most fun I've had in my life, and at this very moment, I'm satisfied

In that case… when I can no longer speak with that person, what can I do?

”… Thinking over this sort of thing will just be a bother to that guy as well”

I try saying those painfully obvious words

I e su the hundreds of suularity The fragiven time, I'm sure that within that person, that's all I'll ever end up

”… That goes without saying”

But, the but in o away

I've talked soularity likeat all The reason being, as the nas

To humans, there's no doubt our existences are a hundred le plus

For exas stand, because Akira associates hi his afternoons… no, when I useor reading a book, so I'm not really sure about that

I give just a slight laugh; I know I still have a long way to go

Step by step, one foot at a time, I continue to walk The sky has already turned pitch-black

Terribly hazy and unreliable, the cloud-concealed ht path

I wonder what Akira is doing right now I fire to peek on his with clairvoyance

… because it would be terrible if he was in the bath or so a peep of precisely that scene Of course, I cut it at once, butto hiain

… Of course, before that coood But that part is Mary-san's special privilege

”… Mn”

As I thought over such a thing, a strong wind suddenly blew The wind that sucked up the heat fro me reflexively stop and turn my face

… Thefor su about this? It's impossible for me to come doith heat stroke, and I don't sweat either, but even so, hot things are hot In regards to that field, as I thought, this ularity

I let out a sigh as I begin walking anew

At the saht stop

”Eek!?”

… Are those… eyes? Floating in the darkness, two s straight at me

”… W-what could it be? Do you need so from me?”

Even if I moved a little to the side, the eyes looked at me

Even when I tried taking soht jumps up and down, they looked at me

Even when I tried erasing my shrunken presence, they looked at me

”W-what do I do… eyes? And eye, irregularity?”

There's no doubt an existence of only eyes would have to be an irregularity But did such a peculiar irregularity really exist…?

As I thought and observed it, the entity showed its true colors

”It's just a cat…”

I hung my head in disappointment

… The true form of the eyes was a pitch-black cat The sort that was so very easy to overlook, whose brilliant black body was right at hoht

”I need to get a grip on myself…”

I wanted to hold my head

No matter how hard I eularity For me to take a cat for a kindred spirit, just how immature could I be? I even have clairvoyance, an ability specialized for seeing

… If you'll take my excuses, when taken by surprise, the reactions of a huularity or animal aren't too different Yes, let's leave it at that

”On a night walk? You're pitch-black, so you have to be careful you don't get in the way of cars”

I crouched down andit

Whether the cat understood my words or not, naa, it cried

And perhaps it lost interest inits forepaws to clean its face After that, unaa, it gave a yawn,sound in the back of its throat

… As I watched over such a phenomenon, a certain question sprouted within me

Perhaps Just perhaps

… Could the cutest lifeform in the world possibly be this lifeform called a cat?

”… Nyaa”

I tried saying Unaa? She purred and tilted her head

I i in the area and present it out before Ms Cat