Even though I’d unleashed my power with impressive momentum, Kurumi and I never actually collided. The reason was simple: both Kurumi and I were in a situation where we couldn’t afford to move carelessly.
“Ara ara, this is a problem. I can’t exactly make any reckless moves, can I~?”
“...............”
I’d already bound Kurumi with telekinesis. If I wanted to, I could twist her apart and kill her right here. But it was a dangerous situation to act rashly in. That was because Cheolsu and Younghee, lying on the ground, were being held hostage by Kurumi. I ground my teeth as I watched the countless hands reaching out from the shadows and gripping the two of them.
The one small relief was that Kurumi couldn’t move carelessly either. She had a gun trained on me, but her finger still wasn’t on the trigger. She knew it too. If she moved even a finger, she wouldn’t get out of this unscathed either.
“This isn’t a chicken game. What a pain.”
“Ufufu. Still, this is a little troublesome~ I only meant to play a little prank, and I never expected things to get this big~”
“...You really are insane, aren’t you?”
I was horrified inwardly by the way she called killing people a prank. I turned my head and looked at Yoshino, hiding around the corner. She was terrified, and I added that I’d definitely protect her before glaring back at Kurumi.
“I recommend you leave quietly without touching those two. Then I won’t touch you either. You don’t want to make a scene here any more than I do, right?”
“Ara~? Negotiating all of a sudden... Could you be planning to stab me in the back~?”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to do something like ‘I got youuu!!!’”
“…………Huh?”
“What?”
Kurumi made a strange face for a moment at my words. But only for a moment. Soon she smiled again and spoke.
“Then let’s do that~ I only came to Korea to have some fun, after all~ I don’t really want to cause a fuss either~?”
As she withdrew the hands reaching out from the shadows, the guns in Kurumi’s hands vanished, and I lowered my outstretched left hand, releasing the telekinesis. Still, just in case, I kept my bones aimed at her. I narrowed my eyes at her smiling face.
“Besides, I only teased you because I found you interesting, and I never expected things to get this big~”
“Teased?”
“Ufufu! I didn’t do a~nything to those two~? I just happened to find them collapsed when I came by~”
“Then why did you come into this alley in the first place? It’s narrow and filthy, so normal people wouldn’t even care unless they were deliberately coming here. And after everything you’ve done, you expect me to believe that?”
Remembering that she’d killed ten thousand people, I snapped back at her nonsense. Kurumi burst out laughing.
“Why do you think I came here~?”
As if she were asking me to solve a riddle, Kurumi left only that incomprehensible line behind and disappeared into the shadows.
Only silence and the sound of rain settled into the alley. Keeping watch in case anything happened, I reached toward the two people lying on the ground. Using telekinesis, I pulled Cheolsu and Younghee over and laid them down on the pavement.
“Th-these... people...?”
“They’re my friends.”
Answering Yoshino’s question, I grabbed Cheolsu and Younghee by the shoulders and shook them.
“...........Ugh... what?”
“Cough! Cough! What the hell. Is this the sky?”
Like they’d just woken up, the two of them opened their eyes and spoke. They still looked dazed and hadn’t fully come to their senses, but they didn’t seem to be hurt, so I muttered that it was a relief and let out a sigh.
○○○
“You really don’t remember anything?”
As we walked, the two of them nodded in response to my question.
“I remember going into the circus to watch the show. But after that, I don’t remember anything at all.”
“We didn’t even know there was an alley like that there in the first place. We’re the ones who want to know why we were lying there.”
I told the two of them that they’d been found collapsed in the alley, leaving out a few key details. Cheolsu and Younghee were extremely shocked by what I said, and when I asked what had happened afterward, they just said they didn’t know and repeated their earlier answer.
“Do you remember a girl who looks like this? Black hair, one red eye and one gold eye, an odd-eyed girl, and really, really pretty. For reference, she’s Japanese.”
“Who’s that supposed to be? Younghee. Did you see her?”
“Nope?”
I brought up Kurumi’s appearance and asked again, but all I got was another answer saying they didn’t know. This was irritating. My two friends had suddenly collapsed for reasons they themselves didn’t understand, and on top of that I’d run into Kurumi in an alley, of all places, when she was someone I’d really rather avoid. I was in a pretty bad mood.
“But why is it already 7 o’clock? It was definitely around 6 when we were at the circus, wasn’t it?”
“It was 20 minutes.”
“Anyway. If it’s around 7 now, that means we were unconscious for about 40 minutes.”
“Forty minutes...”
Come to think of it. Why had Kurumi left Cheolsu and Younghee alone for forty minutes? If her goal had just been to eat them, she could’ve finished it in an instant. Besides, the circus where they’d been was some distance away from that alley. She dragged them into the alley and just left them there for forty minutes?
“Ufufu! I didn’t do a~nything to those two~? I just happened to find them collapsed when I came by~”
Frowning, I remembered the words Kurumi had said just before disappearing.
Could it be... that what she said wasn’t a lie, but the truth?
“Ah... I don’t know.”
I sighed at the situation, which still gave me no answer. Whatever. When I went to Tengu City later, I’d run into Kurumi naturally anyway, so I could just grab her then and interrogate her. That should sort itself out somehow.
With that thought, I put the rest of it off for the future.
“But that girl is super cute. Is she your little sister?”
“She’s an acquaintance from Japan.”
At Younghee’s question as she looked at Yoshino, I gave the same kind of vague answer I’d given to Jisoo.
“If you knew such a cute girl, you should’ve shown her to us~”
“Ah, she’s really shy around strangers. She’s doing her best even now.”
“I see~ Sorry, big sister~ If I’d realized right away that that rabbit doll was yours, I would’ve asked that person to give it back immediately~”
“They said they were going to take it to the lost-and-found anyway since it was a found doll. We probably should’ve checked there. Well.”
Probably because she was so cute, Younghee was showing a lot of interest in Yoshino. But Yoshino seemed to find that attention overwhelming, so she stayed glued behind me and avoided eye contact as much as possible, while Younghee kept trying to redirect her attention and asking Yoshino all sorts of questions. For the record, Younghee didn’t know Japanese, so I was translating everything for her.
“Haneul~ We’re here~”
Cheolsu said that and pointed ahead. About three meters in front of us, I could see the lost-and-found center. Yoshino, walking along behind me, brightened into a much more cheerful smile and squeezed my hand, while Younghee cheerfully said she’d go get it and dashed off quickly.
I saw her talking to someone standing in front of the center. And a moment later, Younghee walked back from the lost-and-found center with a confident stride, holding up the white rabbit doll we’d been looking for, Yoshinon, right in front of our eyes.
“This is it, right?!”
“Ah... yes!”
Yoshino quickly took Yoshinon from Younghee as she held it out. Murmuring that she was relieved, Yoshino slipped the Yoshinon she’d received from Younghee onto her left hand, and all three of us smiled warmly as we looked at Yoshino.
And at that moment.
“Yoo-hoo~. Hell~o, everyone~.”
“Eh?”
“Huh?”
“Ah.”
Yoshinon’s mouth moved, and a shrill voice came from it. At the same time, Cheolsu and Younghee stared in shock, and I watched the scene with a wry smile, letting out a dry laugh inwardly.
Right. I knew about Yoshinon, so I could stay calm like this, but from Cheolsu and Younghee’s perspective, it would look like Yoshino was doing ventriloquism. Of course they’d be surprised.
“H-Haneul! D-did she just do ventriloquism?!”
“Ahaha... well, you see...”
Just as I was making up another suitable excuse for the shocked Cheolsu and Younghee, Yoshino, after having a brief conversation with Yoshinon, walked over to me and tugged at my waist. I turned my head with a “Hm?”
“Hey there, mister! Did you help our Yoshino?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah. My friends helped too, though.”
“I heard everything~ Our Yoshino wants to thank you, so could you lower your head for just a moment~?”
“That much is fine. But you’re Yoshinon, right?”
At my question, Yoshinon opened her mouth wide and spoke with high energy.
“That’s right! Yoshinon’s name is Yoshinon! I’m Yoshinon! How’s that? Cute name, right?”
“Yeah, it’s cute.”
When I answered that, Yoshinon giggled, and Cheolsu and Younghee standing behind us murmured that it was amazing ventriloquism and marveled at it.
“But what’s your name~?”
“My name is Kang Haneul.”
“Kang... Harel?”
“Kang Haneul. I’m Korean. For reference, the two behind me are Kim Cheolsu and Kim Younghee, from left to right. They’re both my friends.”
“Aha~ So that’s what Korean names are like! How interesting~”
“Hey, Haneul. You were calling our names earlier, so what did you tell her?”
“I introduced you two.”
“But you already introduced us earlier.”
“There are things like that.”
Cheolsu gave me a slightly suspicious look, glancing back and forth between me and Yoshinon.
“But Haneul! Could you lower your head already? If you keep standing like that, our Yoshino won’t be able to give her thanks~”
“Ah, sorry. So, Yoshino. As for the thanks, what do you want to do—”
It was the moment I apologized and lowered my head at Yoshinon’s words.
Just as I was about to speak, my thoughts stopped at the warm sensation I suddenly felt on my lips.
Cheolsu, standing behind me, stared wide-eyed with his mouth hanging open, and Younghee’s eyes went wide as she muttered, “Oh my...”
“Ta-da~ The thank-you was Yoshino’s kiss~ Hey, hey, how do you feel right now~? Hm? How was it? What did it feel like~?”
“......................”
Looking at Yoshino’s face, flushed red, I stood there with a dazed expression.
Yoshinon seemed to be saying something, but I couldn’t hear a single sound anymore.
Right now, all I could do was keep repeating the same thought: ‘What did Yoshino just do to me...?’
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