Vol 1 Chapter 7 (2/2)

I fixate my eyes

In front of me is the street surrounded by skycrapers, with crowdsa blur

Auely see a ure, a stark contrast to the sun, shocks me

For that person’s–

“Yo, feeling well?”

“Y-you’re from back then…!”

The black-robed guy fro several meters away from me

He’s facingfrom the sun rays

“Looks like you’re doing well here I’m relieved Bye then”

“Wait!”

The black-robe guy boards me politely, and turns to leave, but I stop him,

I never thought I would be able to you again Afteryou, I have a lot of questions to ask Who are you? How did you get Hikari YuI want to say is…

“Thanks!”

“…!”

I shout out at the fleeting figure that’s ostensibly ht and crowds

This is how it should be, right? I lost half ained self-confidence as a result From today on,as I’m with Hikari Yumesaki–

“…I never thought you would thank me Have you matured somewhat?”

“Thanks to you”

“But you’re only saying this now nobody knoill happen in the future”

“…I’ll wait and see”

“Wisely put You’re the right choice after all”

I can’t see his expression under the headdress, but I can hear a clear chuckle that sounds different fro of which, is that your character designation? I reht? I don’t have any right to say that though

“See you then, Sakaain”

“Wait Now that we meet, I want answers”

I stop the person in black robes fro back

This is so I want to know no matter what

“Why did you choose me?”

:…”

I ask this question while facing his back

After some silence, he slowly speaks,

“You want to know?”

“Sorta”

“Don’t you often say that you want to die?”

Ah, uess

“But after saying that 10,000 tih”

“Answer me properly!”

“Hahaha!”

The laughter echoes high up towards the sky

With the white clouds in the background, the black robes ic one

“This is what that girl wished for That’s all”

“Hm?”

“Didn’t you promise before? You have to protect her well”

“…”

This–

“That’s all And I shall say goodbye for real”

Once those words ended, the black robes turn to leave

I feel like I met that person before, the once with the out-of-season muffler by the side…

“……Hm…?”

I look down and rack my head for an answer, and when I frown

A clear voice passes through, and entersbreeze

–Your hair is pretty long, don’t you think?

“Eh–”

I instinctively liftwith heat

The buildings are reflecting the su my vision

“…Huh?”

With a bitter look, I bid farewell to that black figure that’s no longer there

It feels souess?

“…Did I just come back?”

I stand in front of my house, my shoulders slumped

Kazeshi+ro again sends another mail

“Speaking of which, Hikari toldit over”

And written under those words are,

“It’s good if you can open the second desk drawer!”

Why is it that she’s doing this in such a roundabout way?

Feeling haphazard, I return back to my room and sit down I remember it’s the second desk drawer

I guess it’s just soain, and open the draithout thinking much–

“–Ah”

I gasp

And stare hard

There’s a letter inside

The simple envelope and letter are exactly the same as the envelope and letter in my childhood memories

“Don’t tell me–”

I open the letter with tre hands, and scan the contents written on it,

“Are you feeling well?

I suddenly recall the past, so I tried writing a letter

I’ll be glad if you will reply me

I still remember the promise

From Harumi Miyamoto”

……

…

And below the letter is a note Hikari Yumesaki wrote to me, “that pen-pal of yours wrote a letter, and I opened it without permission Sorry~ remember to write a reply!’

“My ied for some reason, huh?”

It’s been several years, and from these words, it feels like she’s very different fro

Miyairl with short hair and a alice band who savedat the campsite The initial iirl filled with life It seeh? Well, a letter can be written in any way, and I do remember that she entered a famous elite school in Kansai I don’t reuess we’re in coues I haven’t contacted her in quite a while, and I do feel delighted that I received her letter again after so long

But at the same time, I feel a little disappointed

“There can’t be that sort of coincidence, right?”

I recall the words the black robes guy just said

–This is what that girl wished for That’s all

–Didn’t you promise before? You have to protect her well

“…”

After hearing those words, I had an instant suspicion if Hikari Yumesaki’s true identity is Miyamoto

But this is impossible

The envelope clearly states that the sender’s address is in Kansai, and the name’s completely different There’s no way they can be the same person

“I have to write a reply after this”

Saying this, I cautiously fold the letter carefully and put it in the desk Maybe I’ll read it again

And so, leaving aside the letter

I continue on with the note Hikari Yuy because the e’s an absolute joke

“And now, the true identity of the discovered treasure is…the bonds of the comrades you just met! DON”

“What don!? Is this all you want to say after all these?”

I felt angry at that instant, but it seems like it’s unnecessary

“That’s a joke The white puzzle’s finally complete! Clap clap clap!”

This nostalgic topic cause ive a wry smile I pick up the white puzzle placed in a corner of the room

Written on it is:

“I do feel embarrassed if it’s panties, but not if it’s swimsuits!

In other words, what this , I think

I think that panties is a work of art of seeking the invisible

In other words, Sakamoto’s a panties alien

Dostoyevsky!”

The above words were erratic and vague

I nearly throw it into the trash can, but luckily, she wrote in a corner of the puzzle ‘read it sideways! Read it sideways!’

“What, password (TN: Original has the hiragana pa,su, wa, a, do, パ，す，わ，あ，ド at the beginning of each line I did a redux version of underlining some words there)?”

I enter the word into the computer, and open the heart-shaped folder titled, ‘s’

There’s just one single docu else Once I open the file–

“Eh–”

I’m left speechless

How is this possible?

The white memories awaken in me

The girl crying on the opposite river bank that day

The long black hair was briht at me

The sight of her holding a panda plushi+e with tears in her eyes appears in my mind

The white dress unbefitting of a campsite

The vague memories form a silhouette in my mind

–Polaris Princess! Wait right there, I’ to save you! I promise this in the name of In the name of Autumn Moon!

But in the end, I was unable to save her That was–

“Thank you for saving me

The hero of , Autumn Moon

From Polaris Princess”

The impish voice of hers, which I never heard before, echo in my mind

That’s probably just ination