Murakami saw everyone fall silent.
Kon alone moved. She lightly punched her left palm with her right fist.
"I see."
"I-is that really our only reaction, Kon!?" asked Murakami. "Are you okay with that?"
"It would be pretty funny if he started holding too much back like Yuki-kun."
"Nooooo! Are you trying to kill me with sorrow!?"
Kon's ruthlessness could be a problem at times. But...
...Oh?
Murakami realized something about Jinsei's comment.
"If holding back as much as Yuki has would make you sad, Jinsei, does that mean you do in fact want to keep everything in the open?"
"Well, yeah. ...Wait, what's that look supposed to be, Yuka!? It's new, I'll give you that! But anyway." He turned toward Murakami. "For example – and our relationships are different, so this isn't meant as a comparison – when I'm with Sekai or Dai-chan, it helps me be the best version of me I can be. It's like a big plus to my strength."
"And it is the same for me with Yuki or Kuruma-senpai. So..."
If I were to lose anyone, the sense of loss would be devastating.
But Murakami kept that last part unsaid. He sensed that this was not the time for that and that it would be best to let Jinsei talk about himself for now.
Their relationship was the same in both directions, so...
"If I didn't have Sekai or Dai-chan, it would be a pretty major minus to my strength, taking it down close to zero."
"Th-they aren't going anywhere."
"Right, right. I get that. And I've also got Mom and the others, like that guy...was his name Sumiharu? So I wouldn't go all the way to zero even in that hypothetical."
"D-did you have to insult me in the middle of that!?" asked Inukai.
"Sumiharu, that's only a plea for your attention," insisted Oshiro.
"Incredible," they all muttered, but Murakami also understood what Jinsei was trying to say.
He opened his mouth to respond to his thoughts.
The first thing he mentioned was something he too had experienced.
"If I lost Yuka, it wouldn't just take me down close to zero – I'd probably have to change who I am. I'd have to change myself even if everything else stayed the same."
.
Murakami nodded at Jinsei's words.
He had not forgotten back when he had shown signs suggesting he wanted to completely move away eventually. That plan had likely been a way of changing himself.
He had vaguely realized what he was planning, so he knew some people planned to go with him and he must have been nervous about what he would decide about them once they were away from here. That was why he had shown him the answer to that.
If Jinsei did something like that, he would actually be able to support him in something other than strength.
But...
"That is not going to happen now."
He needed to say this now.
He had a lot of thoughts on the matter, but that was all he could say.
Talking about a now-defunct hypothetical would only serve to show off his own loyalty, but this was Jinsei and Kon's time. As someone connected to others, he wanted to focus on guiding his words.
Plus, he wanted to hear this too.
Because he had once truly seen what these types of people were like and changed himself because of it. So...
"If you lost Kon, you would not just drop to zero, you would end up in the negative? Is that what you are trying to say?"
"So changing yourself while everything else remains the same would be a negative thing?" His former class representative thought about that for a bit before nodding. "You would be throwing out all the pluses you already had and starting again from zero, so I guess that would be negative when you focus on the difference."
But...
"You would need to assume you could never again gain the same kind of pluses again."
.
Yeah, thought Jinsei.
He had thought about this a lot around the same time last year.
He had wondered what he would do if his future did not work out.
"In my case, I would be giving up on creating a place Yuka could live in and figuring out what else I could do."
They had discussed something similar to this recently.
He was standing on the stairs, so he walked firmly into those thoughts instead of letting them fade away.
He let his mouth say what it would while guessing this was probably what he needed to say.
"Becoming someone else gets all of you involved too. So I may have gone for the looser goal of 'creating a place where Yuka could have lived if she was still fine with me' and I bet we would've kept adding more onto that. Like creating a place where my children could be happy."
Or...
"Maybe I would have thrown all that out, apologized to all of you, and started working at the Main Red Lightning. Or if I really didn't want to apologize, maybe I would've gone over to the other city and looked for a job there."
"Jinsei. I do not like the sound of that option."
"Then," he said while turning Murakami's way.
Their relationship was built on the foundation of being people who knew about others, but...
"What would you do if I didn't know anything anymore?"
"I-I would not let it happen a third time. Two is enough and I would not have actually lost you, so..."
"You would have made that option something you did like the sound of?"
"Wh-why are you just assuming I would go with you?"
He shook his head.
"I'm not talking about me this time. Kuruma-san and Yuki need you way more."
The wolf's eyebrows shot up and he blushed.
"That is a separate issue."
That response brought a question to Jinsei's mind.
...Huh?
His reaction suggested he had not expected this at all. But that would mean...
"Oh, right. You were busy with other things when this came up."
"Eh!? When were you talking about this!?"
Kon raised her hand.
"Logically speaking, wouldn't it be while you were away?"
"That isn't what I meant."
With a smile of resignation, Murakami chose not to argue with Kon and instead glared at Jinsei.
"Jinsei, um..."
"Oh, Mura, this didn't happen when you were fully in our group," said Suzaku. "It was when Yukicchi still went by his other name and Kuruma-san had some worries. And Jinsei said he wanted to take some time to discuss it with you later."
Life: "Umi, I did think that, but wasn't it you that led me in that direction last night?"
Umi: "What difference does that make? Now, hurry up. Mura is waiting."
He's a major plus for me, he thought.
...And I guess it doesn't make a difference.
"Kō, I promised to help you out with Yuki before, remember? So I was thinking of doing it then."
"Then please do. There are things only you can say, now that Sekai-san is the way he is."
"Sure. I mean, there's a lot of this stuff that I can only talk to you about."
He received Murakami's approval, so he took a breath and got back on topic.
"Anyway, setting aside any issues about holding back too much, I feel like I've managed to get a better grasp on myself, or like I've regained a part of myself."
.
Seiji listened to Jinsei speak.
He was talking about it in a roundabout way, but he seemed to have already made up his mind on the inside.
He had never been the type to speak his heart. That was why he could inspire such surprise, joy, and even tears, but Seiji was impressed with his recent change that allowed him to talk about these things more often.
He felt like the things Jinsei said made him worried about him more than anything, but that was fine since they could all work through this together. Suzaku-kun and Murakami-kun should be able to handle it. I think. But Kunichika-chan's engine has been warming up lately, so that could be a threat too. And Kon-chan has been adding a turbocharger to it all. I hate that I can only do so much as someone who came in rather late to all of this, but I'll do what I can.
However...
"So, well, if I could do fun stuff like that with Yuka, outside of the weirdness of it all, it would be a huge relief, is I guess what I'm saying. Like I've been accepted by something I need in my life. Or maybe I'd feel more happy and proud that she wanted to do that kind of thing with me?"
That comment earned a response via transmission.
...Kaori-san?
Class Rep: "Um, Kirikari? This is a bit of a tricky issue and I am hoping you can see it in a different way, but..."
Seiji kind of got what Kaori was trying to say.
...It is, isn't it?
He gave her mental response in advance of Kaori's explanation.
Class Rep: "If anything...isn't that the heroine's point of view?"
.
Artist: "That is useful information. I don't draw you often since your proportions are odd to draw at times, but I want to make up for that by doing it right when I do do it."
Class Rep: "I-I actually predicted you would say that! I really am gradually learning how this place works!"
Kiyome: "You do have strong feelings for Mizukami-dono, don't you?"
Shōgi Boy: "Hm? First I've hear 'bout this sorta thing. Is that true, Fuyushi?"
Class Rep: "A-are you trying to kill me, Mizukami!?"
Kage: "Oh, damn. I really need to let off steam, but I can't in this kind of area."
.
"Anyway."
Kunichika heard Jinsei speaking.
"Maybe I shouldn't say this out in the open, but you're all on my side, so I'll say it anyway."
"Do not worry, Jinsei," said Kon. "I am on your side."
"Y-you're the worst enemy I've got!" After looking over at Kon, he looked to all the others and scratched his head. "With Kon, I feel so damn lucky that I can just be with her all the time. That really would be enough if it's all I could get, but if I could also do fun things with her, well, that would only deepen our relationship, which would bring a bunch more relief. I mean...I know relief and happiness aren't a one-way street and it would make me happy to know Kon feels the same way."
"Suzaku-kun, Kō-kun, this heroine is attempting to justify his desire to grope my boobs for reference."
"Well, um, uh."
Kunichika smiled as she watched their exchange.
"And what's wrong with that?" she said. "It really does make it sound like the two of you are one in spirit. This kind of guy can avoid needing to become someone else and it proves to him he hasn't drifted into the negative range...while Kon can feel the same. And with Umi-kun and Murakami-kun, he can know he has someone to add to his strength no matter who he is, which can again be mutual."
"C-could you not drag us into this?" asked Murakami.
"And what about you, Kunichika?" asked Suzaku.
Kunichika brought a hand to her mouth and thought about the sniper captain's counterattack.
"Good question," she said. "Listen. He has the strongest relationship with me in both senses of the word."
Seiji immediately nodded, so he must have known what she meant. Suzaku and Murakami spread their mouths horizontally in wonderful looks of displeasure.
Kunichika herself decided to explain herself with a hand on her cheek.
"If this kind of guy is going to do fun things with people, who do you think he will be most compatible with? Why me of course!"
"K-Kunihcika!" shouted Murakami. "What are you saying!?"
"Oh, but just think about it. The two of us came from the same place. That gives me an advantage that some stranger could never hope to match. You could say I am 1P and he is 2P!"
"Yuu! Yuu! But we're very different people."
"The adjustments they made for 2P seem to have been for the worse, you dummy. But when it comes to hair, skin, mindset, and enjoyment, mine are the closest to yours. In fact, you feel so perfect in my arms because it almost feels like holding myself. Sometimes I even think maybe that is me in my arms."
"Then what if I was a girl, Yuu?"
"Why, that would be absolutely perfect as far as physical compatibility goes."
Suzaku and the others frowned and Kon hesitantly raised a hand.
"Kunichika, could you go easy on us in your assessment here?"
"My, my, if you insist. But remember this: If you even try to compete amongst yourselves, there is a part of me you can never hope to match."
So...
"Make sure to focus on what you yourself can do best."
.
This is about what I would expect from them. Especially when I remember how much time she's been spending with Misaki, thought Kimura as the waiters brought over some large bamboo strainers.
"Hey, Kitazoe, the udon's here."
"Eh!? Motoharu-san is!?"
"Not that udon!" everyone shouted back.
Meanwhile, Kimura pointed at the four bamboo strainers placed at the top of the stepped terrace.
"So what do we do with those, Kitazoe?"
"Oh, right! Um, you pour water in from the top like this...see how it's flowing through the bamboo placed down the center there? You pour the water down there and then pour in the udon from the strainers."
"Oh, so it's like nagashi somen but with udon."
Kimura noticed everyone's eyes on her.
They were all giving her curious looks, telling her to give it a try.
...Well, as a manager, I suppose I can go first.
You just do it the same as nagashi somen, right? she wondered while readying her chopsticks. The water was already flowing down the bamboo. It was a little dirty, but she placed her chopsticks in the water to prevent any mistakes.
"Okay, Kitazoe, I'm ready when you are."
.
"Right! Here goes."
Kitazoe grabbed the udon with bamboo tongs that resembled a fork and released them into the water. Kimura moved her chopsticks forward to catch them.
"Oh?"
The chopsticks easily broke on contact.
Before she could do anything, the udon had passed by everyone.
"The udon moves so fast!" said Murakami with a gasp. "Oh, but not that fast. I still saw everything that happened."
"Sumiharu!"
Inukai leaped into the air and side-flipped to land atop the flowing water. He prepared to catch the incoming udon on his chopsticks, but...
"Oh?"
The current was too great for him and he was washed away.
"Inukai! Inukai was just swept away with the udon!" said Suzaku. "Jinsei! Stop taking photos!"
"Are you sure you aren't speaking some strange new language?" asked Kimura.
In the end, Kon's arms held up a bamboo strainer at the final defensive line where the water fell away and caught it all.
Kon carried over the strainer of udon and Kimura accepted it.
"There, that's how it's done," she said.
"Liar!" they all replied.
She had to frown at that one.
"Yeah, well what else am I supposed to do when trying to scoop it up normally breaks the chopsticks?"
"Um, Kimura, the menu does list metal chopsticks!" said Kitazoe. "But they cost 300 yen each!"
"I'm not paying for that."
But what am I supposed to do? she wondered while grabbing a new set of chopsticks. Next to her, Kanzaki spoke up while sharpening her chopsticks with a rubbing motion.
"Shall I cut it for you?"
"I'm not sure what you mean, but I'm pretty sure doing it would leave us on the run just like Akasora-san."
"Then," said Murakami. "I think what happened was due to your poor technique." The wolf swung his right hand. "When you stick your chopsticks into flowing water and move them against the current, the weight of the water works against you. Kimura, you seem to hold your chopsticks toward the top, so yours were probably already bent a bit above the water's surface. And then you add the weight of the udon on top of that."
"Yes, they were broken by an udon counterattack," added Kanzaki.
How is this a conversation I'm actually having? wondered Kimura as Murakami readied his chopsticks and called out to Kitazoe.
"Zoe, could you send some down?"
"Right!" replied Kitazoe before some udon was launched from above.
Now that it's not me doing it, I can see just how fast it is, realized Kimura while the udon sent water spraying into the air on its approach to Murakami. The spray clearly passed him by and continued on down.
But then...
"There, that is how it is done."
At some point, Murakami's chopsticks had scooped up the udon.
"Huh?" Kimura realized her voice had escaped her mouth. "How did you do that? Didn't it pass you by?"
"Yeah. And I scooped it up from behind. From behind, the udon has already parted the water, so it barely affects your chopsticks at all."
"But can anyone but you actually pull that off?" asked Kurauchi.
Kanzaki and Inukai both raised their hands.
"Hm," said Inukai. "It would seem the three of us need to be on udon scooping duty."
"Th-that completely defeats the purpose of this!" protested Murakami. "It's supposed to be a party!"
"Senshi, I know you can do that, so why did you not raise your hand?"
"I'm too hungry to bother."
Yeah, that sounds like Senzai, thought Kimura before hearing a voice from above.
"U-um, I feel like I'm stuck on launch duty up here," said Kitazoe.
"Is that a problem?'
"I-I made the reservation, but I won't get to eat any of it like this!"
"Hm," said Jinsei. "Okay, Zoe, you can eat straight from the strainers up there."
"How sad would that look!? Besides, why don't you do it instead!?"
"Zoe, provoke Jinsei too much and he really will do it, so please stop before this gets much worse."
"Umi-kun, I'm having a hard time figuring out whose side you're on!"
"I have an idea." Kon raised her hand. "This sounds like a pain, so how about you bring those large strainers down here so we can all eat it normally?"
"B-but that rejects my identity as the one who made the reservation!"
"You've built your entire identity around that?"
"You don't have to ask that out loud."
"If we eat it normally, what do we do about this water flowing down the middle?" asked Jinsei.
"Can't we think of this as an udon shop with a constant supply of drinking water flowing down the center?" suggested Murakami.
"Wh-why did I even bother making us a reservation here!?"
Their director was never satisfied. But then an unexpected hand rose into the air: Oshiro's. He already had his Trigger activated and was ready.
"This water is connected to the river, so I can block some water from here. I hate to act as a replacement for Sumiharu, but shall I weaken the water's current?"
Kimura saw everyone respond with hopeful nods. Then Kitazoe spoke from up above.
"Oh, now that you mention it, you can set the current strength up here! It's on 'artillery' right now, so I'll lower that to 'training'!"
"Go at least three levels below that!"
Everyone yelled back up at Kitazoe while Kimura separated her new chopsticks.
.
"This is a nice change of pace."
Senshi held his chopsticks between his teeth and pulled with his arm to separate them. He had a bowl of udon sauce in front of him, but...
"Back home, we always ate hot udon, but they have a lot of iced varieties here."
"I've never heard udon described as 'hot' and 'iced' before."
"Come to think of it, what is the opposite of 'chilled' called?"
"Udon is ordinarily eaten warm," said the Secretary seated across the bamboo waterway. "So it doesn't require a qualifier like chilled udon does."
"Maybe, but I have my doubts."
"Come to think of it," said the Suzaku Squad Captain while scooping up some udon. "The Far East has a strong culture of washing things in cold water, so we see value in chilling things. I think that is why we emphasize that something is 'chilled' to make it sound nicer."
"Coming from you, I see no reason to doubt it."
"Wh-why do you doubt me but not her!?"
"Probably because you've given her reason to doubt you," said a voice from the sky.
Senshi looked up to see the Arafune Squad Duo walking along the road's path. They already settled back into the norm, so they were casually walking to them.
They're pretty quiet when they do that, he realized before the Arafune spoke up.
"We've finally caught up with you. ...There isn't an entrance fee, is there?"
"Nope! We have two empty seats set up for you, so go ahead!"
"Sure thing."
Arafune moved swiftly around the area. It was a slight twist here and that Senshi did not expect.
The full rotation that came after reminded him more of a landing. Senshi understood how hard it was to move with larger muscles, so seeing Arafune do this made him proud. When trying to move between many things at once, it was annoying when your body got in the way.
Hence the full rotation that forcibly shifted them so they would not hit anything on their way over.
"There."
Moving right behind the seats with just enough space between them for their arms was impressive.
It was a blessing to see technique like that displayed on an everyday basis. Senshi was briefly reminded of some underground sections and his everyday life there. And once those two were standing there with their elbows pressed together...
"Is everyone here now?"
"No, Hokari. The Former Captain Duo."
White Fox: "Why would we be there, dammit!"
"Umi? Were those two busy or something?"
"Eh? Yes, Kimura and I spoke about this. They will be having dinner with a group later. That's also why Kimura and Kanzaki aren't eating much here."
I see, thought Senshi.
He had seen the way Yuki and Minoru showed themselves. They had been involved with important battles a few hours earlier, so they must have already eaten. And with that came less of a need to eat between then and their dinner.
...Of course, this is only my opinion as someone who does not know what exactly they had gone through.
"Murakami, what kind of fights were those two in exactly?"
"Yuki had fun going back to being himself, and Minoru helped me out by flying around the area."
I see, thought Senshi while deciding not to think on this any further.
But more did arrive via transmission.
White Fox: "Anyway, I'm arranging for some upkeep to the branch office. If you want, I can send someone over to pick Kimura and Kanzaki up."
Manager: "That would be good for later. I'll make sure the two of us are in the same spot, to make things easier. I just hope that you aren't using Mitsuteru for that upkeep. I would have to tell Kageura and Kitazoe then."
White Fox: "The Yagura Branch has made an exclusive contract with his family's business! It's part the of the job!"
...Why do I get the feeling they are getting the worst part of that contract?
Senshi cut that line of thought short because some udon was coming, but while they were enjoying their time there...
"Someone is coming. Someone we were waiting for."
He heard some footsteps. Everyone was here and there were other customers further away, but...
...One set of footsteps is from someone untrained in combat and the other is from someone still early in their training. Also...
Senshi looked to their surroundings.
Everyone was waiting for the udon, readying themselves to scoop some up, or giving warning looks to those downstream of them, but they were all silent.
That meant they were focused on the other sounds surrounding them.
"Oh? You're all already here? We would absolutely love to join you."
The new visitors were a green haired and a red haired boy.
The former wore a white shirt and long tights. The latter wore a kariginu shirt and shorts.
"Now," said the green haired while holding up a hand with a smile.
She had pulled something from her pocket.
"I want to thank everyone for helping Xeno in saving me! My sister told me that this was a good way of showing gratitude! Hello, everyone!"
.
Lilith had brought Xeno along like she had promised.
Everyone imagined where the discussion would lead about the two of them, but first...
"We'll be discussing that next, but...what do we do with the udon?"
"This system of eating is not very compatible with a meeting, is it?" said Arafune while snatching up the launched udon at his own pace.
Kimura gave Lilith and Xeno an excuse ("Sorry. We only just now got started, so we aren't ready yet."), but Lilith was excitedly holding her hand high and Kimura felt like she had embarrassed her. At any rate...
"Zoe, were you ever planning to eat any, or are you just going to keep sending it down the bamboo all night?"
"I want to eat! I do! But I can't figure out when to head down while serving up enough for everyone!"
"You leave me with no choice then," said Murakami while pulling out his Trigger.
The change to his trion body was made, sp once Murakami gave some instructions, two shields headed toward Kitazoe. Triggers are really convenient, thought Arafune.
"Anyway, this allows Zoe to join us too. The former captain duo must be watching and I imagine we can get a link to anyone else, so now would be a great time to see what got sent in from Pyrínas."
Suzaku responded by opening a display.
It contained the memo they had received from Pyrínas a few hours ago.
It said...
[...They are not bad people. Make sure to remember that.]
Arafune looked to the green-haired girl while reading that text.
"This memo says that the two of you are not bad people, even when there is a lot of mystery surrounding the two of you," Kimura said to Lilith. "And Pyrínas is hoping that we make sure you are both fine by the end of this."
That much was true since they both now had come directly in front of them.
...Appearance, hm?
That would be more than enough to say they had guts. Not showing up would make them seem even more suspicious than they already were.
Showing up in front of them meant they had resolve.
If they were standing in front of them all, then they were ready to face each of them.
What Kimura said next suggested she understood that.
"Can you tell us what exactly is going on with you, Lilith?"
.
Murakami observed Lilith's reaction.
She tilted her head and spoke.
"We are having a discussion with my brother's friends and other people he happens to know."
Murakami understood what she was getting at. So...
"Are you saying that you just want to talk to your brother's friends instead of talking about yourself?"
"Is there something to talk about when it comes to us? Lilith thinks everything is already known."
That was true enough. And Lilith's expression was one of resignation.
She probably wanted to help Border out as much as she could.
...I doubt she is lying about this.
She would gain nothing by earning their sympathy and she probably was not that skilled a negotiator.
She excelled at something completely different.
When speaking with complete strangers, it was safest if she feigned indifference.
But she had a weak point.
...Herself.
She could feign indifference when it came to things beyond herself, such as other people and the other side. She could treat them as mere "things". But she could not do so when it was directly related to herself.
Her emotions seeped through and her shell of indifference crumbled away.
You could say she excelled at being an observer but had trouble being part of the action.
This was a good example.
She probably saw herself as "on their side" after everything that had happened, but that made her current position a challenge for her.
Another attack had come to them while she and the boy next to her had been in the city.
There was no way they could just view this as a coincidence.
And she could not simply ignore her own position. So...
"Then what will we do, Kimura?" asked Murakami.
"Right." Kimura nodded. "We will take this as a chance to speak with the sister of Yagura's guardian."
Senshi's eyebrows rose at that and he lifted his chopsticks.
"You aren't going to just view them as outsides in all of this after all?"
"We would end up having to deal with more than just them if we did, so like I was thinking, we will talk about this as people to people here."
Senshi nodded in response.
"If you have options, then I will leave it with you. Sorry for the unnecessary question."
"No, it's important to make sure everything is on track. ...Is this okay with you too, Yagura's guardian's sister?"
Lilith relaxed her shoulders and nodded.
"Yes, that will make this easier for Lilith as well."
So...
"Lilith would prefer if anything regarding out original home be kept until later on, when we both know what to do."
Murakami nodded at that. Suzaku recorded the statement and Akashi nodded as well.
Since Lilith placed a hand on her chest and nodded as well...
...That statement has become "official".
They would ask about anything she knew in the near future.
Black Wolf: "This is a major step."
Manager: "It's too soon to relax, but it does open up our possibilities. It's a good thing."
"Anyway," said Kimura as she turned back toward the green haired girl. "Let's be careful about this entire conversation as well."
And Kimura asked one more thing.
"Yagura's guardian's sister, is your partner on your side?"
.
"Eh?"
Lilith was confused by the sudden question.
Xeno stood by her side. Well, Xeno was not saying anything, so they could not actually do much right now.
...So, um, I'm not sure what to say when they use that title...
She felt someone touch her fingers.
It was Xeno. He was trying to hold her hand.
"–––––"
He pulled his hand back once and she made the mistake of reaching out without thinking what that meant.
Just as he reached out again, she did the same.
He ended up reaching too far and grabbing her wrist.
But he still squeezed and looked over at the Miden girl.
"You want to know if I'm on her side? Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be? I'm not a stranger. What else would I be?"
Lilith gasped when she heard it.
...What can I even say?
They were trying to define their own relationship instead of leaving it up to the laws, traditions, or customs.
This is so refreshing.
Once she accepted what this meant, she responded. Oh, dear. I think I'm smiling.
"Yes, that is correct. Xeno is on my side."
She said it with confidence.
"Ohh," said the Miden boy with a hat on his head while the Miden girl nodded.
"Then we can share the information we got from Yagura's guardian with that foreign boy."
Lilith realized what that question meant.
Miden was trying to accomplish something through this conversation.
...How thoughtful.
She understood the implications. And since she could fully agree with it, she nodded back at the Miden girl. And...
"Xeno, can you take a look at this?"
.
Lilith created a trion display and passed it to Xeno. He casually accepted it and opened it with a flick of his wrist.
He let it hang down from his hand as he viewed it.
"Hm?"
Then he held it sideways and muttered "oh". He did not notice that everyone was focused on him.
He moved his face in close to the display and squinted before finally tilting his head.
"Here, you can have it back. ...What the heck is it?"
After taking it back, Lilith asked him a question.
"What did you think?"
"What could I think?" He looked to the side and spread his mouth horizontally. "It was just a bunch of numbers. Don't look at me if you want some math done. I couldn't make any sense of it."
The person who responded to him in a troubled tone of voice was not Lilith.
"Right," said the Miden girl. "I see. Then we will take that letter, Lilith. Kon, can you go and get it? Please accept it 'in secret'."
"Oh." A Miden boy raised a hand. "Yuka, can you pass it to Kō? I think that would be best."
.
Xeno did not understand what was going on.
He did not know why it was happening this way, but it seemed like Lilith was giving the display to Miden because he had failed to read it. Although he was not entirely certain of that either.
...What is this?
He watched as a different Miden girl put her hands under the table and Lilith handed them the display.
"Hey, wait. Should you really give them that? It's yours, isn't it?"
"Xeno, you are not supposed to say that out loud here."
When she gave him that troubled look, he could not just back down.
He felt like he had caused a problem just now, but he hated feeling like the only person who did not know what was going on.
He was younger than everyone else, so he did not want them to make fun of him or use his ignorance to manipulate him.
The first Miden girl must have realized how he felt because she spoke to him.
"We aren't making fun of you, Xeno. Your opinion of that display is the same as Lilith's."
"Huh? You mean she can't read it either?"
"Not quite." His partner smiled. "Lilith can no longer read it."
"Huh?"
He could tell that was a lie, but...
...She's using my answer, but not out of pity. That must mean...
"Um, so does my opinion become our opinion?"
"It already did. Right, Yagura's guardian's sister?"
"Yes! Lilith have never said a word about whether or not I could read it."
That would mean the same thing about whether she could read it now.
...So she never said if she can or can't read it.
And once he said he could not, it was assumed that she could not either.
"So whether or not she can read it was up to me?"
No, that was not it. Not quite.
...It wasn't up to me. They made it up to me.
He wanted to understand all this, so he groaned in thought. And...
"Wow~ Ji-chan, Xentaro is having trouble."
"Fine, I'll help him out. ...Hey, Xentaro and his partner, c'mon over here next to us. There's an open spot upstream of us, so pull up some chairs."
"Hey, you can't just cut into this conversa-"
Xeno felt a tug on his hand and looked up to see his wife lifting his wrist.
"Let's go, Xeno! It looks like fun!"
He did not like this. It made him feel like he was being used and he could not at all understand why. But...
...Well, that just means I've gotta grow up so much they can't take me so lightly.
He still had enough confidence left to think "just you wait until next year" at them. So...
"Fine, then. But tell me this. What would you have done if I could read it?"
"I'd have let this idiot read it."
The girl's immediate respond caused everyone to freeze, but she spread her arms and explained.
"You all know more or less what would happen then, don't you? He might have even lost the display or had it taken by the guards as circumstantial evidence. But one thing's for sure: he wouldn't be able to read it. He'd make terrible excuses that ruined our meal and might even haunt us for the rest of our lives. I'm sure of it."
"I'm almost afraid to ask, but what would you do then?" he asked.
The boy wearing a hat and the one next to him covered their ears.
"Okay, Kimura, you can tell him now."
"You two sure are quick to defend yourselves. ...Anyway, Xeno, if the idiot couldn't read it, the rest is simple." The Miden girl lifted her chopsticks and moved them as if grabbing at the air. "That would make the letter worthless trash, so I would have kindly taken it off your hands."
.
"Huh?"
Xeno tilted his head because he again did not understand what the Miden girl meant.
"But that letter is valuable, isn't it? Why would it be worthless if that idiot couldn't read it? Is he a god or something?"
He protested, but...
...Wait.
He felt like what he had just said was connected to all this.
The idiot shouted over as if to help him understand.
"What would you do if that happened?"
"Well, I'd say it wasn't true. I'd say I could read it and it had value since I knew what it said."
"But I wouldn't be able to read it."
"Then I'd just have to tell you what-"
It finally clicked for him.
...Oh, so that's it.
He understood now. If the idiot could not read it but he could and wanted to prove its worth...
"You couldn't determine its worth unless I told you what it said."
"Exactly," said the Miden girl. "We would demand to 'see the product' you were trying to sell us."
So...
"You would have to read the display to us."
Yes. If he could read it but that idiot could not and he wanted to prove its worth, he would have no other choice.
Miden would never accept its value unless he let them know what it said.
That would make for a safe negotiation, but it carried another problem.
...It would put us and the Wanderers' trion soldier in a bad position.
They would have essentially given up on negotiating after revealing their bargaining chip to Miden.
His partner must have realized he understood now because she spoke up too.
"Yes. In that case, Lilith would have demanded you keep the contents of the letter to yourself."
I suppose so, he thought while thinking about her circumstances.
"Hey."
"Yes?"
"Don't you intend to side with us?"
"Lilith can't really answer that right now."
Then, he thought. What about as my partner?
He was holding her wrist. If that was her palm, she could have squeezed his hand in response. But...
"I'm on Mi-... On that man's side."
Earlier in the morning, he had confessed, been accepted, and been helped by a lot of people. He had known what that meant when he accepted it, so his partner must have as well. He trusted her.
So what would that mean in this case?
"You don't have to demand I keep the contents of the letter to myself."
"Really?"
"Yes. Because I saw the display and I'm willing to say it was worthless. So..."
He pointed at the display he had accepted from his partner earlier.
They are saying it was that trion soldier's message, but Lilith probably sent them something really important because they helped me earlier.
But if I say that, Lilith will have a harder time giving it to them. I don't really trust them, but I trust in the help they are ready to give. That should be enough.
So I have to say this since I'm on her side and I can speak on her behalf.
"We don't need that display. I read it and it's a bunch of nonsense. But," he said while tugging on his partner's hand and walking toward the seats they had been offered. "Give us some food to eat. It's worth that much."
.
"Are you done now?" Arafune asked with his hands still over his ears.
Murakami nodded in response.
Maybe I shouldn't be surprised, thought the wolf as he accepted the letter from Kon.
"That worked out thanks to Jinsei's assistance and Kon's demeanor."
"Kon-kun's been dealing with Betsuyaku-kun a lot, so we can pass it off as an accident on her part due to spending so much time with him and lecturing him on his own accidents."
It scared him how plausible that sounded. But anyway...
"This does mean none of us directly accepted it. ...Now, Kimura."
"Hey, idiot, why did you have it sent to Murakami?" Kimura asked Jinsei.
But the idiot and Kon were fully focused on eating udon.
"Eh? What? Gah! Th-that's gross, Yuka! Don't use your arms after they've been touching weird things like that display!"
"Heh heh heh. The tears of the vanquished are the sweetest of nectars to the victorious."
"Um, Kon? Your nose is running..."
After Suzaku's warning, Kon slowly turned around, held one side of her nose, and produced a sniffling sound.
After a bit, she turned back around like nothing had happened.
"Did you say something, Suzaku-kun?"
"No, um, if you're fine with that, then never mind."
Apparently she was fine with it.
"Um, Jinsei? What am I supposed to do with this display?"
"Eh? Oh, nothing really. It's just that you've got the biggest connections to the Yagura Branch, so that means those people who were really involved with what happened."
"You're overthinking this," replied Murakami with a bitter smile.
He stood up and looked over to see Lilith shrugging with a bitter smile of her own.
"These kinds of relations are a tricky thing, aren't they?"
"Only at first. Once Border gets used to you, we get way lazier about these things."
"That sounds much nicer, actually."
Murakami held up the display that girl had given them.
Everyone was watching him, but he started by making a special transmission. And then...
"Oh... So that's what is says."
Fixing something new in place, he sent it in a mass message to everyone.
[...For the time being, my sister will be living with me. ...Please accommodate her and her partner.]
"...It seems that I have gotten involved with something strange."
Pyrínas nodded at his own words as the front door opened.
A boy with a scarf appeared with a brown-haired boy at his side.
The brown-haired boy waved with a low grin.
"Hey there, Pyrínas. We've got some things to talk to you about."
He nodded to the two and greeted them.
"...I have been told as much. ...So shall we start, Yagura-1?"