All around him were strangers.
Adults, high school's brother or sister, and families were all walking around
with smiles on their faces.
Chihiro is the only one who is alone.
The amusement park is supposed to be
fun, but it's not fun at all.
Mom, sis!
He called loudly but he can't find
them. Still――
――Chihiro's a boy. He needs to be
strong.
That's what he was told all the time.
So, he tried his best. But eventually he became inconsolable and started to
cry.
He couldn't stop crying and kept calling
his mother and sister, wailing and crying.
Some people came to him, but he
couldn't stop crying.
**a
「Chihiro」
He doesn't know how long it was.
Finally, someone called his name.
He quickly ran to his sister, who was
a middle school student at that time, and hugged her tenderly. This time, he
started to cry out of relief, but his mother and sister gently calmed him down
and he finally calmed down.
When he looked up, Chihiro saw her.
He saw his sister hugging Chihiro,
with his mother at his back, her eyes not looking at Chihiro.
She was staring blankly somewhere far
away.
The memory of those eyes of his
sister remains in is mind much more than the loneliness of being alone now――.
* * *
「Chihiro, wake up」
「Mmm...」
In his sleep, he heard his sister's
voice in his ear.
「Wake up, breakfast is ready」
「...mmm」
Is it morning already?
Shrugging off the morning fatigue,
Chihiro opened his eyes and woke himself up. Within a minute or two, the
drowsiness clears and he wakes up refreshed.
His physical condition had almost
completely recovered.
He sat up in bed and looked down at
himself.
There were traces of liquid here and
there on his skin, and his clothes were scattered on the floor.
（...I wonder how many times my sister
made me come last night...）
His thoughts catch up with him.
And last night's lewd acts come back
to his mind, causing a deep sigh to escape from his mouth.
As expected, it was too much of a
mess.
Fortunately, thanks to the [Sleep
Enhancement], he is completely free from fatigue and the aftermath of the
pleasure, but on the other hand, he is not feeling any anger. It may be because
he has a habit of giving up on everything concerning his sister.
Thinking back, from the beginning to
the end, he could not suppress his voice, let alone ejaculate, as Kaede made
him do. Hopefully the surrounding rooms did not hear it.
Anyway, he puts it behind for now and
looks back at Kaede.
She looked neat and tidy.
She is still wearing only a blouse and
underwear, but her hair and skin are clean as if she had taken a shower.
「Breakfast? Are there any ingredients?」
There must have been only seasonings
in the refrigerator.
Then his sister, who is eight years
older than him, answered nonchalantly.
「No. I mean, take a shower and get me
some breakfast」
「...Oh, I see」
He understood.
Chihiro gave up his protest, since
anything he said would be useless and time would be wasted. After a quick
shower and change of clothes, he went to a nearby hamburger store to get the
morning menu.
Without Maria and the others around,
eating out is the only option for them.
Perhaps his cooking skills are
getting rusty.
Although he was not a good cook in
the first place, he can still cook for himself, but since he has not cooked at
all for the past few months, he must be even worse at it.
Not only cooking, but also cleaning
and washing are hardly done these days.
Thus, the girls hold the lifeline of
his real life. Maybe the "Master's behavior" that Maria advises him
to behave like, is becoming a part of him before he knows it.
「Here you go」
「Thank you」
Kaede pays for this meal.
They each proceeded to eat their hamburgers
in their own way. During this time, there is hardly any conversation. If there
is no one to talk to, Izumi Kaede is a human being who talks very little.
**b
「Sister, what are you doing today?」
「I'm going to look around the festival
a bit, take care of a few things and then I'm going back. I don't think we have
time to say hello again」
「I see. ...Well, take care of yourself」
「Hmm. I'll take that as a courtesy」
And then the conversation is cut
short. Well, actually, it's almost a courtesy call. In fact, part of him is
relieved that she has left.
Some time later, when they were about
to finish their meals, Kaede said something to him.
「Chihiro, are you familiar with the
name [Absolute]?」
「Absolute?」
Chihiro frowned and tilted his head
at the unfamiliar word.
As he recalled, the word must mean
"absolute" or something like that, but since it is a name, it must be
the name of something.
It could be a common name or title
given to a person, a thing, or a group.
Since Kaede dares to mention it, it
must not be a manga story or something like that. Just to be sure, he tries to
search his memory seriously.
「...No, I don't know it」
He had never heard the name before.
「Is something wrong?」
「No, nothing. It's just a side thing」
「Well...」
He did not know how much he could
trust her words.
When he stares at her, unable to make
up his mind about her attitude, she speaks plainly.
「...[Mind reading], huh...」
「......」
When Kaede talks to him like that, he
can't help feeling that she is making fun of him. But Chihiro kept silent and
sharpened his gaze.
And Kaede just let out a breath.
「Let me tell you an analogy」
「Eh?」
Did she just distract him?
For a moment, Chihiro thought so, but
then he was puzzled by the next words.
「Would you use your power of [Mind
Reading] even if you faced a criminal-murderer, a madman, or an evil spirit of
the mountains and rivers （魑魅魍魎）?」
「...What's so sudden?」
「It's just a side thing. It's the same
thing as before」
Thinking back what she said.
Compared to the previous question,
this one was easy to answer.
「I will use it. Even if the other
person is not a normal human being. No, I think I will use the power of [Mind
Reading] precisely because he/she is not a normal human being」
「I see」
Kaede nodded and said nothing more.
She changed into a suit and left the
room without further mentioning the name [Absolute] or explaining the meaning
of the two questions.
**c
「Then, see you later」
She left only short words and the key
to the dormitory.
What in the world was that all about?
Sighing, Chihiro packed himself up
and left the room after checking the main gas valve and other things to make
sure the room was safe for a long absence.
Fortunately, there was still some
time before the morning HR.
First of all, Chihiro picked up his
smartphone to fulfill the promise he made yesterday.
* * *
「...Isn't this position a bit
uncomfortable?」
「Yes, it's very forced. But there's no
choice. There's no other way」
Suzu replies to Riko's blabbering.
The two of them - or rather, all of
Chihiro's associates, except for new member Yotsuba - were in the 1-C changing
room, the last room in the corridor lined with first-year students' classrooms,
where the school festival is held.
First of all, Suzu was lying down on
the floor of the room. Her arms and legs are spread lightly on the floor, and
her hands are touching Chihiro and Aika, and her legs are touching Maria and
Riko.
Hana, the lightest of the members, is
sitting on Suzu's stomach.
This is because they cannot talk
slowly unless they do so.
