The person who likes me is a yandere.

"Haha, I had forgotten that we couldn't get out."

"Oh, haha, Asuna is so forgetful."

If you want your first kiss, it's best to choose the day you say goodbye.

It was incredibly awkward to be left alone with that girl on a rooftop under the blazing sun right after we kissed.

The chance to escape came when the debate competition ended and the mentoring session began before students went home. The students should all have returned to their classrooms downstairs.

I shamelessly yelled from the rooftop, "Help!"

Then Asuna and I were saved.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Disappearance

Then Asuna and I were saved.

When we returned to class during our pre-home tutoring time, Asuna and I, who had been missing since lunch break, were subjected to ridicule as if we had eloped.

When everyone asked what we did on the rooftop, I replied that I found a balloon with a letter of misfortune tied to it, my dental filling fell off while eating glutinous rice balls, and my phone broke… After hearing me say this (of course, the kissing was a secret), everyone burst into laughter and asked me what I was saying that was so ridiculous. It really was ridiculous.

Baba Garden—the oil-absorbing paper maniac—was jealous of the situation where Asuna and I were locked on the roof. She said, "You bastard!" and made a gesture as if to hit my shoulder, which made me panic immediately.

"Wait, Baba-en! No matter how you intend to attack me, please wait until tomorrow. Forget about hitting my shoulder; you could easily knock my skull in half with a flick of your forehead, or slice off a piece of skin with your Zen meditation staff. If you don't want to be the perpetrator, don't touch me today."

I left the school after saying that.

We were originally planning to do some shopping with Asuna today, but we postponed it. I wonder what will happen in the large supermarket. If we want to eat, we'll also get some dry food and bread.

Because I'd been gossiped about all day, I decided to leave school with Asuna. It's reassuring to have someone who understands my bad luck by my side.

Nothing bad happened on my way home that I had mentally prepared for.

It's worth mentioning that the "misfortunes I'm mentally prepared for" refer to things like losing all my property and being in mortal danger.

Because my luck was unbelievably bad, I was extremely cautious. I gave up taking the school bus and walked nearly five kilometers home.

If my riding on the school bus causes the bus's gasoline to explode, I get involved in a bus hijacking, or the bus plunges into a ravine—even if there isn't one on this street—it's no joke. Not only would it cause trouble for me, but it would also likely bring trouble to those around me.

Asuna and I strolled home together.

I kept an eye out for cars veering onto the sidewalk and looked up for falling meteorites. Also, because I didn't take the bus, it took me twice as long to walk home as usual.

The only bad thing that happened on my way home was that when I helped my grandma pick up the ten yuan she had dropped, I was mistaken for a thief and she beat me with her cane. For that to be the end of it all, I was incredibly lucky.

When I got home, I breathed a sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from my shoulders.

There are still seven and a half hours left in the day.

I don't plan to leave home, and hopefully nothing else will go wrong.

I thought Qiong had already arrived home, but she was nowhere to be seen.

As I rolled up my sleeves in the living room to check for bruises where the old woman had hit me, Asuna spoke up:

"...Um, Qianyu. Xiaoqiong might come back first."

Why would you think that?

"The area under the sink faucet is a bit damp... She must have come back and washed her hands first."

Asuna has such sharp eyes. Her observation skills are like those of a girl who runs a family detective agency... she is!

"No, judging from how unlucky I am today, it's also possible that the water pipe burst or the faucet broke... Oh, speaking of water pipes, the toilet is clogged and needs to be fixed."

I wanted to change clothes before calling the service provider. When I returned to my room, I saw my alarm clock lying on the floor near the entrance. Why was it here? It's usually on my bedside table.

I usually listen to the sound that Hinata recorded in the alarm clock she gave me when I wake up.

Since I didn't hear it today, I inadvertently, really for no reason, played the alarm clock's message.

"Sorry. I just wanted to check this morning... You held Xiaoqiong, right?" "Yes, that's right." "So everything's fine today, right? Qianyu, if anything unlucky happens to you, tell me. I'll protect you... Ah, it would be terrible if Xiaoqiong heard us talking about this... Goodbye."

……What's this?

This is a conversation I had with Asuna this morning. Why would something like this exist?

"Hey, do you think I should choose a female ninja outfit, a Chinese cheongsam, or a cheerleader outfit as loungewear today? ... Also, if I choose a cheerleader outfit, I'll tie my hair in pigtails."

Asuna came to my room. These seem to be clothes for cross-dressing, but will these clothes appear more often than yesterday's nurse outfit?

Regardless of what Asuna chooses for her loungewear.

I mentioned to Asuna the mystery of why our conversation this morning was recorded in the alarm clock.

Asuna struck her signature detective pose.

"...Well, generally speaking...it's probably most likely that the alarm clock got infected with a virus, causing the artificial intelligence to go out of control and record whatever it hears."

"That's impossible."

...Miss Asuna, you have completely and utterly mastered the title of mystery detective.

I pondered the design of this alarm clock. Pressing the record button on the back should erase the audio that was just recorded.

Ah, I see.

"I knocked this alarm clock off the table this morning. Did I accidentally press the record button?"

Although the chances are slim, I wouldn't be surprised if I encountered anything today.

"But putting the recording aside for now, why was the alarm clock left on the door? Did Asuna put it there?"

"No. I try my best not to touch anything in this house. The only thing I've moved in this house is Qianyu's heart."

"Please don't be shy, make yourself at home. And when have you ever had feelings for me?"

"...It's neither me nor Qianyu...is it Xiaoqiong?"

"Huh? Wait a minute. If Sora put it here... does that mean Sora heard the message?"

Asuna and I stared at each other in silence.

If Qiong hears the message on this alarm clock, things will get really bad!

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, our faces turned ashen.

"...Has Xiao Qiong discovered her constitution?"

"This is truly bad luck! The secret I most wanted to keep was discovered by the person I least wanted to know... It's all because of bad luck! Waaaaaah!"

My heart sank into an abyss.

"Where did Xiao Qiong run off to after hearing this?"

"I don't know. I have absolutely no idea. Anyway, let's call and see... Ah, my phone is in pieces!"

“I know Xiaoqiong’s phone number. We exchanged it yesterday.”

Asuna took out her phone—because it was out of battery, so she plugged it in first—and called Sora.

"………………No one answered. Her phone was off. I don't know if Xiaoqiong's phone was broken or if it ran out of battery while she was hesitating about whether to charge it—"

"That's a lie. She's not like me or Asuna. Sora turned off her phone on her own. Although I don't know if Sora discovered her special constitution just by hearing the message... Anyway, let's go find Sora now."

"Okay, leave it to me. Finding people is a basic skill for detectives."

Asuna took a map out of her uniform pocket. It was a world map.

"...Could you please narrow down the search area to Japan, or rather, to this town?"

Asuna and I fought our way out of the house.

Since I don't have a cell phone, we agreed that I would contact Asuna using a public phone approximately every hour. We split up to look for Sora.

The eccentric detective, who is probably even worse at finding people than the average person, and the unluckiest man today, can't find Sora no matter how hard they look.

The nearby convenience store.

park.

Fast food restaurant.

bookstore.

library……

I searched everywhere Qiong might have gone, but I couldn't find her anywhere.

...Did you go to a friend's house?

If that's the case, then I have no choice but to surrender. I don't talk to Sora at school. I don't know which girl Sora is closer to.

No, probably not.

Qiong isn't the type of person who wants to be with someone when she's lonely. As her older brother, I know that.

Qiong must be alone somewhere.

An hour has passed since the search began.

I tried to run home, but Qiong didn't come back.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: A Little Promise

I used a public phone that I finally managed to find to contact Asuna.

"How is it? I haven't found it here. It seems that Qiong hasn't gone home either."

“Oh, I see. I can’t find Qiong anywhere either… Youth Science Museum, Golf Driving Range, District Office’s Citizen’s Canteen…”

How do you choose a location?

"Next, I'll go look around in the ruins of the hospital in the suburbs. Goodbye, Luo, Qianyu."

She hung up the phone.

While I'm grateful that Asuna was willing to go to the haunted place alone to find Sora, I'd better not have too high expectations of her.

Asuna, take care.

While searching for Qiong, I continued to suffer misfortunes.

The child ran towards me and smeared the ice cream he was holding all over my stomach. This was just the beginning.