This is not the date I wanted.

"Hoo~ What are you calling me for~ Koto-ri-chan?"

Patting Kotori's shoulder from behind, Niya blew a breath of cool air against Kotori's neck and asked in a sinister tone.

From Shidou's perspective, he could clearly see that after Kotori shuddered violently, her face turned ashen at a speed visible to the naked eye.

“—Ghost aa ...

After screaming, Kotori quickly ran behind Shidou, grabbing his sleeve and trembling.

"Ah~ So satisfying! Kotori-chan, your reaction is so adorable. You're such a big brother-loving sister! Thanks for the treat!"

"Eiya, you..."

Looking at Nia who looked very satisfied, Shidou's forehead was covered with speechless black lines.

"Hey, we meet again, shao--uh-huh!"

Just as Nia was about to say hello to Shidou, suddenly, a paper fan "slapped" towards Nia's head, forcing her to make the chicken sucking rice posture.

"Ouch - that hurts, Bili-chan."

Covering his head and squatting on the ground as if he was defending himself, Erya complained to the people behind him in dissatisfaction.

"What? You're allowed to pretend to be a ghost and scare Kotori-chan from behind, but I'm not allowed to hit you on the head with a paper fan?"

Meng Yue asked back unhappily.

"Well……"

Erya was speechless for a moment.

"Really are……"

Sighing helplessly, Mengyue put the paper fan back into her backpack, took out a comic book and a marker, and handed them to Erya.

"Take it, write 'Thank you Miss Liangyi Mengyue for your support' and your pen name on the cover, and then give it to me."

"...I've been a cartoonist for so long, but you're the first fan to ask for my autograph in such a condescending manner, Bili-chan."

Erya felt the corners of his eyes twitching.

"By the way, isn't this the new publication I'm going to sell at my stall today? The official opening is at 10 o'clock, Bili-chan, you..."

"Well, as a return gift for taking care of a drunk cartoonist last night, I don't think this little bit of privilege is too much."

Meng Yue said as if it was a matter of course.

"Well! All right..."

After all, he was in the wrong, so although he was a little reluctant, Erya still signed it honestly.

"Well, thank you very much for your long-term support--"

Erya handed over his autograph book in a voice that was emotionless, as if he was just going through the motions.

"Yes, it's my favorite comic. Please keep doing your best in the future."

Meng Yue took the signature, nodded and replied. Then, she extended a hand to Erya with an indifferent look on her face.

"What?"

Erya asked in confusion.

"Nine thousand five hundred yen, please."

"Why should I have to pay for selling my new publication?!"

Ben Tiao Erya felt like he was going crazy. What is this? Does Bilijiang think that just because they are his fans, he can do whatever he wants?

"Who was the one who said he would treat everyone at the stall yesterday and then got drunk and passed out?"

With her amber eyes silently staring at Erya, Meng Yue asked calmly.

"Forehead."

Erya's body stiffened involuntarily.

"Who do you think paid for that 10,000 yen note last night? Your comic book is 500 yen a copy. Did I calculate it wrong?"

"..."

As if he remembered what he said yesterday, Erya turned his head away guiltily, with sweat breaking out on his forehead.

"Well, well - look, didn't I sign it? I'm a famous cartoonist after all, so an autograph should be enough to repay you..."

"Are you planning to sell your autograph for 9,500 yen?"

"...Okay. You win, Bili-chan."

Meng Yue had said this, and if he hesitated, Niya would be disqualified as a cartoonist. Niya took out his wallet dejectedly and handed the money to Meng Yue.

"Mengyue. Isn't it a bit too cruel for you to do this?"

Looking at Niya who had started to mutter things like "What the hell is this world?" and began to doubt her life, Shidao couldn't help but feel that Mengyue's way of collecting debts was a bit excessive.

"Will it? I think it has to be this way."

Looking back at Erya, Mengyue sighed softly and spoke softly to Shidao.

"Shidao, if one day, you are suddenly diagnosed with terminal cancer by a doctor. And then everyone around you suddenly looks at you with sympathy and pity, how would you feel?"

"This……"

Shidou was speechless for a moment.

"Niya... is much stronger than me and you think... so, it's fine this way."

Qing patted Shidao's shoulder, Mengyue walked forward a few steps, turned around and waved to the three people.

"I'm sorry, Shidou, Kotori-chan. I'm going to go to various areas to compete for spoils, so I won't be able to help with your stalls. You should do your best in the match against Nia."

After saying that, Meng Yue turned around and left.

"gone."

"Let's go..."

Kotori and Shidou muttered at the same time.

"Well, Bili-chan is still the same. No matter what happens, her rhythm will not be disrupted."

As if she had recovered from the blow, Nia sighed, then struck a very strange pose towards Shidou and Kotori and laughed triumphantly.

"Haha - what a boy, Kotori-chan. The convention hasn't even started yet and my comics have already been bought by fans. If you keep taking your time, the competition will be over before it even starts."

"Eiya... Actually, we..."

Just when Kotori was about to say something, Shidou suddenly grabbed her and shook his head silently.

(That’s right. Just like Meng Yue said, what Erya needs now is not sympathy or pity.)

When a rabbit dies, the fox mourns. When people see others approaching death, they feel sad, pity, and sympathy for them. This is natural and very simple.

However, to the parties involved, these things are nothing.

——Yes, that’s right, you will die soon.

——You are no longer from the same world as us.

——Sorry, this is all we can do.

These emotions undoubtedly only emphasized to Honjo Nia that an extremely cruel future was waiting for her.

What Shidou and the others want to convey to Nia now is not this.

"We must win, Kotori!"

Hearing Shidou's words, Kotori was stunned for a moment, but soon she understood what Shidou was thinking.

Standing up from behind Shidou, Kotori looked directly into Nia's eyes and made a firm declaration.

"Just wait and see! Honjo Niya! Our work will make you admit defeat sincerely!"

20 If I were told I would die today

==============================

March 12, 31:7.

“Ah… It hurts so much…”

Sitting in the crowded bus, Honjo Niya's face looked as haggard as a withered old tree.

The mixed air of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide emitted by the bus was extremely stuffy, and the crowd in the bus was so packed that it seemed as if it was going to burst the space. Even while sitting in her seat, she could feel a tremendous pressure that made it hard for her to breathe.

Although there is also the option of taking the subway, based on past experience, Erya knows very well that the subway line at this time will be even more terrifying than the bus. First of all, let's not talk about whether she can buy a ticket. Even if she gets in, she will probably only be able to float in the crowded crowd without her feet touching the ground.

Well, having said that, the reality is that taking the bus isn’t much better.

(If I had known this earlier, I would have asked the editor to pick me up.)

Erya couldn't help but think regretfully. When she woke up in the morning, her editor had called her to urge her to hurry to the venue. She had originally planned to drive her, but today was probably the worst morning Erya had ever been in since she was born. Although she didn't lose her temper or start a quarrel, she just coldly refused and hung up the phone.

(What on earth am I doing…)

Erya couldn't help but sigh. At that moment, the bus encountered a red light when passing through the intersection, causing the driver to stop hastily. The passengers in the car also swayed forward slightly due to the inertia caused by the brakes.

Although it was just a tiny shake, for Honjo Niya, it was as if the whole world was turned upside down.

“Ugh—”

A disgusting taste came out from the depths of his throat. Erya quickly covered his mouth and made a slight and hoarse retching sound.

"Want a bag?"

At this moment, the brown-haired girl standing next to her seat handed her a plastic bag at the right time and asked lightly.

"No... just retching."

Erya shook his head gently, rejecting the other party's kindness. He should be thankful that he had no appetite in the morning and didn't eat anything, or that he had almost vomited everything last night, otherwise Erya would have vomited out the gastric juice along with the food.

"Oh……"

After a brief reply, the girl didn't say much, but just stood silently beside her, separating her from the crowded crowd.

Under normal circumstances, Erya would definitely tease him by saying, "Your boyfriend power is so high that 80% of young boys would be ashamed of themselves." But now, Erya didn't even want to say "thank you".

Not for any reason, because if it weren't for this girl, Liang Yi Meng Yue, I would be able to go to Comic Colosseum with a very refreshed mood today.

——Today you will turn around out of despair and be killed.

It cannot be changed, it cannot be avoided, it is an ending that is destined to come.

Last night, the girl announced to her this extremely cruel future.

Turning his head to look out the window on the other side, shops, streets, trees, pedestrians, all kinds of scenery passed through Erya's eyes.

(No, maybe I'm leaving them.)

For a moment, Erya had the illusion that he was on a one-way train to the underworld, and everything in front of him was just a revolving lantern.

Now, I want to ask you a question. If someone suddenly told you that he had seen your future and that you would be killed tomorrow, would you believe it?

I don't believe it. This is the answer. Unless it is an extremely special case, most people's reactions are like "Is this person sick?", "Is he talking nonsense? Is he kidding me?", "This is some kind of religious pyramid scheme." Generally speaking, Erya would also sneer at this.

Unfortunately, Erya happens to be that "extremely special" case.

The angel who knows everything, "The Whispering Book", and the angel who predicts the future, "The Dawn Sage", are both miracles that transcend human common sense. The future they observe cannot be explained by something as gentle as "possibility", but is a truth with absolute authority.

The scene of that unknown hand piercing through my chest still seems so real when I think back on it.

Even now, Erya couldn't help but want to complain. If it was a peek into the future, why couldn't she see a future like "ten SSR cards appear in ten consecutive shots"? She would definitely be so happy that she couldn't close her mouth.

If she didn't know that angels have no independent consciousness, Erya would even suspect that the Whispering Chapter was teaming up with Mengyue to take revenge on her and lock her future in a dead end.

If not for this, perhaps today would just be a very common "special" day for Honjo Nia.

(What am I thinking about...)

A feeling of self-loathing came over him. Erya looked at himself in the car window and frowned unhappily.

It was she who proposed the experiment of connecting with angels. The other party had clearly rejected it from the beginning and emphasized the risks involved. It was she who repeatedly asked and even used some coercion to force the other party to compromise. So no matter what happened afterwards, it was only her own fault.

The person who was wrong was not Meng Yue, but herself. She had known this for a long time, but even so, she still couldn't treat Meng Yue without complaining.

The fault can be put on someone. Although it is an extreme idea, only by thinking this way can Honjo Nia not collapse now.