It is surprising to see Ashley and Rhealyn walking together.
They are going in the same direction, so there is no way to help.
Their distance from each other is great, as if they are denying the other's existence.
As they were about to leave the park, they noticed a man blocking the gate.
The two girls realized something was wrong right away, but they did not take any action for the time being.
Looking at each other, it appears that they are thinking the same thing.
Ashley takes the first step, and Rhealyn follows her.
They wanted to pass the man, and they succeeded.
Both of them assumed that they were overthinking things, but as they were about to walk out the gate, they were surprised to see the man blocking the gate in front of them again.
They return from where they saw the man.
Both girls are perplexed, but after seeing this evidence, they know the man in front of them has something to do with it.
…
(Wrine Pov)
A dog with a sword in its mouth?
What exactly is going on?
Analyze, Wrine, Analyze.
Okay, now calm down.
If I am not mistaken, this breed is a Shiba Inu.
A mutated Shiba Inu?
The rumor is inaccurate.
It is not a mutated monster, but a mutated animal.
Is this the one who started the incident?
"Human."
"What the—You are talking?"
"Obviously, Human. If I am not, how are you going to explain everything right now de gozaru?"
The first thing I do is take out my short sword and form a fighting stance.
This is my back-up sword.
I do not want to appear as if I am hiding something, so I leave my main sword.
"What do you want?"
The dog is cute, but I decided not to make a move for the time being and instead asked about his purpose.
"Human, have you seen a man with no shadow de gozaru?"
"No, I haven't."
"I see. If you find the man with no shadow, I will give you a satisfying reward de gozaru."
"Really?"
"Yes. Anyway, have a nice night de gozaru."
The dog just walked away.
I now realize that the dog is not a mutated animal, but rather a familiar pet.
Someone must have been looking around for the mutated monster here a month before the incident occurred.
Anyway, thanks to the familiar dog, I was able to temporarily forget my problem with Ashley and Rhealyn and can now focus.
A man with no shadow.
I need to find him so that I can receive my reward.
That reward must have been the reason for the rumored student's success at his school.
…
I am not only fat, but also weak.
Despite this, I am not bullied because of how intimidating I am.
My eyes are so narrow that when others look at me, they move away from me.
I realized this late, which is one of the reasons I am trying to act.
Looking in the mirror, I adjust my eyes to make myself appear approachable.
It eventually bears fruit when, despite my introversion, people no longer find me unpleasant to talk to.
Unfortunately, I am also not someone you would want to be friends with because I am the one trying to distance myself from them.
People are impatient, so they eventually give up out of respect.
…
I am not sure why Ashley accepted my offer the day I saw her other personality dominate her body on the rooftop.
I am no idiot.
Although I "accidentally" blackmail her, Ashley's act is more than just an act.
I assumed it was because I had messed up the sequence of our relationship, but that was not the case.
I have no idea—I mean, hard evidence—why she is so affectionate toward me.
It is just a conjecture, but I believe (60%) she, like me, is a dreamer.
A person who experiences prophetic dreams.
There are many more conjectures in my head, such as she came from another world or parallel universe (10%), but what makes more sense but is even more unbelievable is being a regressor (30%).
Anyway, those are just random thoughts, and I must continue my search for the man without a shadow.