"Thank you." Nino whispered, then stood up with Itsuki's support.
It was then that Itsuki realized what she was doing and nervously said, "Nino, did you just hit your head? How is it? Is it serious? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
Nino could tell that Itsuki was genuinely worried.
"Don't worry, I'm fine."
Her mood suddenly improved. Even though she was interrupted by Itsuki this time, it wasn't too much of a problem; she didn't have to confess her feelings today.
Nino glanced at Haruto, who was playing with his phone beside her, and couldn't help but smile slightly.
'Don't think that by staying silent, you can pretend nothing happened. Just wait, Kuromori!'
Haruto: "😐"
Itsuki patted Nino's head, saying, "Phew~ I don't have a bag, but it's fine, though it would have been a hassle to take it off."
Everyone who's ever bumped their head knows that the sharp pain in that moment feels like your head is going to split open. The pain gradually subsides, but it takes time to completely go away. During this time, Nino had to endure the lingering pain.
After Haruto replied to a message, he said, "Let's go, let's find Miku and then head out."
"Wait." Nino suddenly called out to Haruto. When he looked over, she whispered, "My legs are numb."
Itsuki suggested, "Nino, if your legs are numb, you can jump a few times and the numbness will go away quickly."
"I don't want to." Nino shook her head, then stared at Haruto with wide eyes.
She knew that if Haruto helped, she wouldn't have to suffer as much, and she'd be fine in no time.
"It's nothing."
Though she said that, Nino hesitated and kept glancing at Haruto.
Haruto raised his eyes and waved her over, "Nino, come here."
Nino stepped closer in one stride, lifting her head to look up at him.
Her slightly red eyes made the usually strong girl appear a bit more vulnerable.
"Kuromori, what are you going to do?"
Haruto paused for a moment, then said, "Give me your hand."
"My hand?" Nino hesitated briefly, extending her hand. "My hand is fine, but my legs are numb."
"I know." Haruto took Nino's hand and said, "Your legs are numb due to poor blood circulation, so massaging your hand helps too."
"Oh~"
Nino pursed her lips, her eyes fixed on their hands.
Haruto's hands were large, his nails neatly trimmed, and his fingers looked very slender. It would be a waste if those hands weren't used to play the piano.
Nino stared at her own hands again.
Her hands were slender, and her nails were very pretty. Although she had nice hands, compared to Haruto's, her nails looked much shorter!
Nino couldn't help but scratch the palm of his hand and then raised her head, proudly staring at him.
Haruto: "😐"
He wanted to report her; he suspected Nino of harassing him!
And the evidence was solid!
Haruto was speechless. Nino had always liked to challenge him, but it had only been a month, and she was really starting to tease him!
"Alright."
Haruto turned to look at Itsuki and couldn't help but cover his forehead.
"Itsuki, stop eating."
Didn't Itsuki just say she wouldn't eat here? She had secretly eaten a piece of chocolate earlier, and now she was secretly eating biscuits?
No wonder she was gaining weight so quickly!
"Huh? Are you done?"
Itsuki's face flushed slightly, and she quickly put the biscuits away. Noticing them staring, she explained weakly, "Because being hungry makes me feel weak and dizzy, so I had no choice. I ate a few biscuits."
Her reasoning was sound, and Haruto couldn't argue with it.
Some people indeed feel dizzy, confused, and weak when hungry due to low blood sugar, so eating on time is essential.
But Haruto knew very well that Itsuki was in perfect health!
Of course, it was possible that Itsuki would feel weak, confused, and dizzy when hungry.
Haruto couldn't complain and could only ask, "Are you full?"
Itsuki hesitated, "Almost?"
She even phrased it as a question?
Doesn't she know whether she's full or not?
Haruto glanced at Nino, who was taking out a small mirror to fix her makeup, sighed, and said softly, "If we don't go to Miku, she's really going to cry."
❀❀❀
At this moment, Miku sat hugging her knees, looking sad and hiding in a corner.
Beside her was a girl who was chatting with her.
This girl was also a tourist, but unfortunately, she too had gotten separated from her friends, then ran into Miku.
So, the girl quickly decided to stick with Miku.
Then the two of them became frightened together.
When they got here, they were both exhausted and could only stop to rest.
The girl patted her chest: "Oh my God, what was that just now? It floated right at us. Was that really a ghost?"
"It's so scary."
Miku hugged her knees tightly, her expression very sad.
Itsuki went too far.
She really dragged Haruto and ran off, leaving her behind, and she ran so fast.
That was too much.
And Haruto was reckless too.
He didn't even know how to come here to find her.
Miku was so tired and also hungry.
They should've been out by now, right?
The girl looked at Miku: "Nakano-san, are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
Miku gently shook her head: "It's just that my legs hurt."
The girl stuck out her pink tongue and said, "Actually, that's normal. I also feel like my legs are still trembling."
"But..." The girl held her chin and said seriously, "There can't possibly be anything supernatural in this world, so everything that happened must have been an illusion."
"It's just that the mechanism is so cleverly designed that we can't even see it. So don't be too scared!"
"Mm."
Miku softly nodded, slowly calming down.
Ghosts and such couldn't exist in this world, right?
Even though she often saw people talking about "supernatural phenomena" on the internet, some even mentioning the "end of the world." with many people disappearing and so on...
But it was all just coincidence, right?
If this world truly had those "supernatural" phenomena, how could it be so peaceful?
"Right."
The girl suddenly remembered something, clapped her hands, then quickly grabbed Miku's hands.
Is she an idiot?
Miku slightly curled her lips, "Are you alright?"
"It's fine, it's fine."
The girl quickly waved her hand and gave an awkward smile: "By the way, Nakano-san, have you been following some of the hot topics online?"
"It's that Demon Summoning event that's been really popular lately."
"Yeah, I saw it too."
Miku nodded softly. This event had been going on for a while. As time passed, it had sparked a lot of debate online.
It was impossible not to know about it if you had internet access.
"What a coincidence!"
The girl tapped her fingers between her brows and lowered her voice: "I think it's all too much of a coincidence, the number of people who have gone missing, and the news reports fit perfectly."
"So, I think there must be a big secret behind all of this."
The girl suddenly stood up and began taking off her clothes. Miku's eyes widened, and she quickly stood to stop her: "Miyamizu, what are you doing!"