After seeing Kazusa home, Chisato, as he said in the restaurant, didn't push to enter for a cup of tea.
He returned her bag and took out a small bottle of spray from his own bag.
"It's best to spray this on the injured area after your bath. You'll feel much better by morning, and you should be fine to move around tomorrow."
"… Got it."
"Then, I'll be going. See you."
After relaying the school nurse's message, Chisato said his goodbyes without hesitation.
"Where do you live?" Kazusa asked him.
"Hmm?"
"It's late to go home alone. Take a taxi."
Kazusa took out her wallet, pulled out a 10,000-yen bill, and pressed it into Chisato's palm without saying a word.
Chisato looked at the money in his hand, then at Kazusa's face, which showed an air of undeniable certainty.
He spoke earnestly, "If you want to support me, 10,000 yen isn't nearly enough. You'll need to pay more."
"What nonsense! This is just payment for the time you wasted on me after school. Go home by taxi. If you have an accident on the way, I'll have to explain it to the school nurse!"
"It's only seven o'clock. What do you think, that high school boys are so prone to accidents?"
"Anyone can get into trouble. It's easy for someone who just looks good to say that."
"...!" Chisato held his breath. His fists were clenched tightly.
This was the second time this person had mocked him with such words.
But her comment about him being all show—could it be that, in some way, she was acknowledging his appearance?
Seeing it from another angle, his mood suddenly brightened.
Meanwhile, from a distance of ten meters down the street, two sneaky figures were crouched behind a small mailbox, whispering to each other.
"Hey, what are they talking about? Why is that woman giving him money?"
"It sounds like they're discussing something about support."
"What?!"
"Shh! Don't be so loud."
"That can't be right! They're still students; how could they talk about such dirty adult topics?"
"I don't want to believe it either, but I did hear that word, and he also said…"
"Said what?"
"That the money isn't enough."
"No way! Absolutely not!"
"Shh!!! I told you to keep it down!"
"But… it's impossible! How could he willingly be… be involved in such things!"
"I don't know exactly what you experienced in your dreams, but you have to understand this is reality. Not everything will follow what happened in your dreams."
"But even so, this is… this is too shameless! Ah! He returned the money! It turns out things aren't as we thought!"
Back at Kazusa's house, Chisato said, "No need, I can easily take the train home. I'd be wasting my monthly pass if I don't use it. See you tomorrow."
Chisato declined the money and left without saying more.
Even if he wasn't taking a taxi, couldn't he at least have kept the money without saying it out loud?
He previously mentioned being short on cash, and now he refuses the money—what a stubborn idiot!
Kazusa angrily clutched the returned money in her hand and walked into the house with a cold expression.
A moment later, Utaha and Eriri emerged from the shadows, quickly catching up to Kazusa as she left.
As they passed Kazusa's house, Utaha glanced at the mansion and noted the surname on the plaque.
Afterward, Chisato went through the usual process of ticket inspection and boarding the train, getting off at his familiar stop.
Throughout the journey, he remained unaware of the two small tails following him since he left school.
He acted as usual and walked home.
The two behind him waited quietly after seeing him enter his home, then withdrew around the corner.
The tension gradually eased, and both sighed in relief.
Following someone was exhausting both physically and mentally, and the fatigue hit them like a wave once they relaxed.
Utaha took off her hat and used it to fan her face.
She suggested, "Let's not rush home. Let's find a place to sit, organize the information we've gathered, and discuss our next steps."
Eriri, rubbing her sore back, nodded in agreement. They walked into a nearby café.
Utaha stirred her coffee and began summarizing, "The main takeaway from today's action is that we confirmed the person from our dreams does exist in reality."
Eriri nodded.
"And he seems perfectly normal, nothing unusual or noteworthy. He's just like any other student you'd see on the street."
"Of course, since we only followed him for a few hours, this conclusion might not be entirely accurate."
Eriri nodded again.
"Our goal today was just to get a preliminary sense of his reality. Now that we've achieved that, I think we can end today's action."
"As for his connection to our dreams, we've obtained his school and home address. We'll have plenty of opportunities to investigate further. What do you think?"
Utaha expressed her thoughts and looked up at Eriri with rare sincerity.
Eriri was taken aback. She had never seen Utaha show such a look before. Was this the expression of someone fighting on the same side?
It felt a bit unusual, but what she said was indeed correct.
So, she nodded once more.
"Okay, let's call it a day. Head home and rest up. If you have another vivid dream tonight, we can exchange information tomorrow within acceptable limits."
Utaha finished her coffee, yawned, and stretched lazily.
Eriri glanced at her empty cup and asked, "Are you going straight home now?"
"Yes, I'm exhausted after being out all day. I'll shower and go to bed right away."
"I see. Then I'll head home too."
"Sure, I'll take care of the bill."
"…" They said their goodbyes in front of the café and each took a taxi away from the location.
Kasumigaoka Utaha, sitting in the backseat, told the driver, "Just drive around the area and come back."
"Ah? Okay."
Though confused, the driver complied.
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