"No, Mom, let me explain..."
"I'm not causing trouble! I didn't skip class for no reason; I had a good reason to ask for leave!"
"Don't tell Dad! He'll just lecture me again! Anyway, just trust me..."
"Okay... okay... I'll explain everything when I get home..."
"Yes..."
Inside the bubble tea shop, Utaha rested her chin in her hand, watching with interest as Eriri tried to explain herself to her angry mom over the phone.
After Eriri hung up, Utaha couldn't help but laugh, "See? That's what happens when you slack off on your studies."
"Mind your own business!"
Eriri snapped back, clearly frustrated.
She was in a bad mood. After the second period, Utaha had coaxed her into asking for leave, claiming she didn't feel well.
They left the school separately and met up outside the gate, where they changed out of their uniforms at a nearby clothing store.
To avoid being recognized, they also put on hats and masks before heading to the bubble tea shop near Houjou University Attached High School.
Everything has gone smoothly so far.
But then Eriri's homeroom teacher, being responsible, called her parents to inform them about the leave, which led to her mom's phone call and the scene that just played out.
"Just wait, you won't get away with this either." Eriri said, gloating.
Utaha gave her a disdainful look, "Don't lump me in with you. I'm always ranked first in our year, so even if I skip school, my parents wouldn't say a word."
She showed Eriri a text exchange with her mom.
[Utaha: Mom, I've got something to do, so I'm taking a leave of absence. I'll be home later tonight.]
[Mom: Be careful. Dad will be late tonight too. We'll have dinner together when you get home.]
Eriri slowly clutched her chest, feeling the sting of humiliation. This situation was the perfect example of "shooting yourself on the foot."
Satisfied, Utaha put away her phone, took off her mask, and sipped her bubble tea.
"Do we really have to sit here? It's so hot."
After sitting for another ten minutes, Eriri wiped the sweat from her forehead with a tissue for the third time.
"Didn't we already agree that this spot gives us the best view of the school gate? School's about to let out. If everything goes according to plan, we might see the person who appeared in our dreams soon."
"We could stand under the tree in the shade by the gate. It's closer and we'd get a better look."
"Sure, if you don't mind being seen by him when you spot him."
Eriri crossed her arms, pretending not to care, "So what if he sees me? I'll go right up to him and ask what's going on."
"You talk big, but you're all talk."
"I'm serious!"
"Sure, sure... The bell just rang. Keep an eye on the gate."
As the bell rang, the previously quiet school began to bustle with activity, and students started to leave through the main gate.
The two girls focused on watching the gate, not talking to avoid distractions.
But after twenty minutes passed, and the crowd at the gate thinned out, they still hadn't seen the familiar figure they were looking for.
Eriri relaxed slightly, lowering her mask a bit to reveal her nose and mouth.
Utaha reminded her, "Don't get lazy. Maybe a teacher kept him after class, or maybe he went to a club meeting. We should be ready for a long wait."
"I know."
Eriri refocused on the gate, but she wasn't as tense as before.
"So, have you thought about what to do if we actually see him?"
"I haven't. That's not my main concern."
Utaha shook her head.
"After what I told you at noon, I kept thinking about why such things happen and tried to analyze the reasons behind these inexplicable events from a scientific perspective."
"And then? Did you come to any conclusions?"
"I wish it were that simple." Utaha sighed in frustration.
"But I did come up with a certain hypothesis, which you should be quite familiar with."
"Familiar with?"
"Yes, the ability you often use when drawing those humiliation-themed comics—hypnosis."
"… Are you joking with me?"
"I'm not joking. Hypnosis is a real technique. Professionals use certain methods to make people enter states completely different from their usual ones."
"For example, in everyday life, psychologists often use hypnosis for patients with psychological disorders."
"They use eye contact, voice, gestures, or medication to provide psychological suggestions, helping patients release negative emotions and then fill them with positive ones to achieve therapeutic goals."
"You mean, we were hypnotized? That's why we had those dreams?"
"It's just a hypothesis based on the available information..."
Utaha suddenly stopped talking. When Eriri was about to look at her curiously, Utaha spoke again.
"On the left side of the school gate, walking alongside a girl."
Eriri immediately looked over and was stunned the next moment, her blue eyes widening.
Even though she had prepared herself mentally before coming, seeing the person from her dream in reality left her momentarily shocked.
"Is that the person from your dream?" Utaha asked with a flat tone.
Eriri watched the person walking away and slowly nodded.
"Yes… it's definitely him..."
The body shape, appearance, walking style.
The decades-long companionship in the dream, so clear and vivid.
Neither of them noticed that their originally calm expressions were shifting towards anger after seeing the person and noticing a stranger girl beside him.
"He's getting farther away. What should we do?" Eriri was anxious.
Utaha coldly snorted. "Now that we've come this far, of course, we should follow him."
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