Around six in the evening, at twilight.
In Japan, this time of day has another widely known name—the Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits.
In Onmyodo (the way of Yin and Yang), it's considered the time when demons and spirits are most likely to appear, increasing the chances of encounters between people and apparitions.
As Chisato walked out of the Isshiki residence and turned back to glance at the second floor, Iroha was leaning by the window, waving at him.
The setting sun cast its slanting rays on her flaxen hair, scattering dazzling particles of light.
Judging by the radiant smile on her face, she was clearly in an excellent mood—like someone who'd just had their favorite meal or checked off a long-anticipated sightseeing destination.
Her joy was overflowing.
From this angle, the usually familiar Iroha gave Chisato a strangely unfamiliar impression.
Not like a monster or anything—more like a humanoid creature from a different system entirely.
She had small symmetrical horns on her head, and from the center of her lower back sprouted a completely black tail ending in a pink heart-shaped tip... or something like that.
"…Seriously… what was I even doing all afternoon…"
Chisato waved back at Iroha, then casually turned and walked along the sidewalk toward the station.
Earlier that afternoon, he'd been defenseless against her unique whining and clinginess.
After carrying her back to her room, she'd taken advantage of the situation and made even more demands.
Using her "sick girl" identity as an excuse, she asked Chisato to dry her still-damp hair after a bath.
Afterward, just as he was about to leave—his original purpose already fulfilled—Iroha clung to his sleeve again, using the same tactic, and wouldn't let him go.
She made him stay and watch an entire tearjerker movie with her on a laptop, leaning together at the head of the bed.
Halfway through, she leaned in repeatedly, using the emotional plot as a reason to cry and seek comfort, finding excuses for various kinds of physical closeness.
When the movie ended, she claimed she needed to vent her sorrow and dragged him into a game of Old Maid.
The loser had to stick Post-it notes on the other's face. Naturally, this involved even more physical contact.
As a result, when Chisato left the Isshiki house, his body had somehow picked up Iroha's scent.
He sniffed his collar, then his sleeve, and let out a quiet sigh.
What is this?
Isn't this just a perfectly normal date between two people who have feelings for each other?
He placed his right hand over his heart and applied a bit of pressure.
Why couldn't he have been more firm and simply said no at the time?
He asked himself this, but in the end, couldn't find a clear answer.
Sigh—
Forget it. Let's head to Fanfare first.
The girls from Kesshoku Band should've been practicing all day. He could buy some fried chicken to reward them.
The next morning, Iroha rang the doorbell at Chisato's house.
"Senpai, thank you so much for taking care of me yesterday. Thanks to you, I recovered quickly. I made some cookies myself to thank you!"
When the door opened, there stood Iroha, back to her usual energetic self, holding out a beautifully wrapped package of cookies with both hands.
As Chisato looked at her, his gaze drifted to the door across the hall.
Half open, behind the door to the Yukinoshita residence, Yui peeked out, her face full of cheer, giving a big thumbs-up.
Chisato smiled. He understood—this meant the rift between Yukino and Iroha had been perfectly resolved.
He reached out and accepted the cookies.
But this time, when Iroha asked for help with her homework as a pretext to stay, he told a small lie—that someone else was home—and rejected her request without leaving any room for negotiation.
Iroha, who had come full of passion and hope, thinking their ambiguous and perfect time yesterday had set the stage for more progress, pouted and turned away gloomily.
However, the visit wasn't a total waste—she still gained something.
She went to the Yukinoshita house and, just like she had done with Chisato the day before, explained to the two senior girls that the reason she hadn't reached out was due to being bedridden from illness.
Yukino and Yui already knew the truth, but they accepted her explanation smoothly.
With the misunderstanding cleared, their relationship returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
Later, during a break in their group study session, Iroha chatted with Yukino—who had grown quite close to Chisato—and learned a shocking piece of news.
"…Senpai Yukinoshita, did you just say that the girl who was always with Chisato-senpai, Touma Kazusa, gave up her studies and went abroad?"
"That's correct."
"But why would she suddenly go abroad? How long will she be gone?"
"I only overheard some of it while Suzumiya-kun was on the phone. I don't know the details, just the basics."
Yukino gave her answer, then picked up her cup of tea and took a small sip.
She returned her attention to her phone, enjoying the daily pet content from a favorite blogger.
Meanwhile, Iroha was still reeling from the news.
Kazusa had gone abroad—for some unknown reason.
But what was certain was that she was no longer by Chisato-senpai's side. That meant one less rival, and her own chances had risen because of it.
In any case, it was a piece of very exciting news!
Iroha turned her head, gazing in the direction of the Suzumiya household through the wall, a bright gleam in her eyes as her lips curled into a confident smile.
She made up her mind.
She would show herself as even cuter, even smarter than before—more proactive but subtle in leaving traces of her presence in his daily life.
If she could pull that off, then no matter how guarded Chisato-senpai was, one day, her wish would come true.
…
Mid-month. August 16th.
Today was important—the first official commercial performance undertaken by Chisato and the members of the Kesshoku Band.
The venue was a summer festival in Tsukiji, Chuo Ward.
As the name suggests, the area was reclaimed land built to relocate the Honmonji Temple after it burned down in the Great Meireki Fire that destroyed much of Asakusa.
Afterward, commercial centers, facilities, and residential areas sprang up around the temple.
Today, the area had become well-developed.
The event was a summer festival called the Cooling Festival, aiming to be the tastiest, most eco-friendly, and economically sustainable summer festival in Japan—touted as the best in the country.
People in Japan love attaching grand superlatives like "No. 1," "sai-kou," "ultimate," and "most" to everything they do.
Just like the fireworks show that Chisato and Kazusa had attended previously in Jingu Gaien, which proudly proclaimed itself "Tokyo's most spectacular fireworks display."
Chisato had seen so many of these he was used to it by now. Besides, he wasn't going to the festival for fun this time.
Still, not everyone shared his mindset—others clearly had their own plans.
"…I told you guys before—these are stage costumes! You were supposed to put them on after arriving at the venue!"
Chisato, who had shown up at Fanfare early that morning, was met with the sight of Kesshoku Band's members already dressed in yukatas.
Nijika, Ryo, and Hitori—all in yukata and wooden clogs.
It was one of the performance requirements, meant to better fit the atmosphere of the festival.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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