Chapter 141: Was there no direct answer?

A week is a time that sounds like it could be full of stories.

Of course, this was what Higashigo Mimi originally envisioned. As a Black Goat renowned in the Calamity Society, Higashigo Mimi didn't have much free time—especially in the years before the Salvation Ranch was destroyed. Even her seemingly leisurely time was spent hiding and enduring pursuit.

As for the strange events… although Higashigo Mimi hadn’t actually been involved, she had heard about them from Tsukino and Chiya. Therefore, she knew very well that before Aurora mysteriously disappeared along with the Hyakki Yagyō incident, Tsukino, Chiya, Ohma Kokichi, and sometimes even when they teamed up to run dungeons… cough, to investigate the strange events, time was of the essence; they were constantly on the go, dealing with the strange occurrences.

So, she had originally planned to listen to a rather long story, but unexpectedly...

"Wait a minute," Miyako Higashi said in surprise, "Did you skip some parts of the story?"

Why does the story suddenly jump from the first day in that world to the last day?

“We did skip some,” Tsukino and Chiya said honestly, “but it’s not important.”

"What?!"

This was originally a very ordinary explanation, but Wang Ma Xiaoji seemed to be greatly shocked after hearing it, and his whole body turned visibly ashen.

What's going on...? Wait a minute, could it be...?

Upon seeing Ouma Kokichi's appearance, the thought of "what's going on?" only flashed through Tsukino and Chiya's minds for a second before they immediately realized the reason for the other's expression.

Just as he expected, the next second after he seemed to freeze and turn pale, he suddenly reached out and grabbed the arm of the black-haired boy beside him, tilted his head back, and tearfully accused him: "Kazuma Kozuki is so mean! Weren't those days important to you?"

Well… he really was crying his eyes out, no exaggeration whatsoever. Because at just the right moment, a tear had already clung to the corner of each of Wang Ma Xiao Ji's eyes, and even his voice carried a mix of surprise, grievance, disbelief, and feigned composure.

Noticing the tightening force coming from his arm, Tsukino and Chiya subconsciously lowered their heads, then unconsciously stared at the purple-haired boy's tearful eyes, forgetting to look away for a moment.

Tsukino and Chiya were well aware that everything Ohma Shokichi was displaying was an act. But even if it was an act, it was still part of Ohma Shokichi's performance. Moreover, compared to Ohma Shokichi's equally habitual wailing and crying acting, this appearance could be described as pitifully aggrieved.

...However, precisely because they knew it was acting, Tsukino and Chiya didn't feel any pity for him. Instead, they felt more appreciation and a subtle sense of joy.

What they admired was his effortless acting skills. Although sometimes Oma Kokichi would deliberately make clumsy moves that were obvious to everyone, like now... Tsukino and Chiya were well aware that if Oma Kokichi wanted to, he could make sure no one noticed anything amiss.

To be honest, Tsukino and Chiya admired this ability. He had also made similar efforts in this regard, but ultimately realized that he was still easily deceived... specifically referring to the man who called himself Yangming, who could discern his true thoughts through various subtle clues.

This is also why he ultimately chose a good way to solve this unfavorable situation once and for all—he can't be a perfect actor, but at least he can always maintain the same attitude, which is just as good as not letting people see any trace of his true thoughts.

And with a hint of subtle joy in their hearts... could it be said that they have unknowingly developed a tacit understanding in their interactions? Before Ouma Kokichi had even officially started his performance, Tsukino and Chiya had already guessed what the other was going to do next, and it turned out to be true.

Wang Ma Xiaoji still held onto Tsukino and Chiya's arms, clearly not done playing yet: "Do you think our week can be so easily ignored? What's done is done. Do you still want to pretend nothing happened? We did so many things together that we'd never tried before!"

Wait a minute, isn't this a bit too ambiguous? It doesn't sound wrong, but it's also easy to misinterpret...

However, after regaining their senses, Tsukino and Chiya still had no intention of looking away. So, instead of paying attention to Higashigo Miya's possible expression after witnessing Ohma Kokichi's performance, they followed their hearts and calmly gazed at those purple eyes as always.

“I don’t mean to ignore what happened that week, but those things had nothing to do with the supernatural, so I skipped over them and didn’t talk about them.”

Tsukino and Chiya knew that Ohma Kokichi was aware of this as well, but he still explained it earnestly.

"Although that world is a fictional world, I don't think it's impossible to continue some of the actions and habits from that time in this world."

"...What does Wangma think?"

The purple-haired boy blinked and looked back at him. The two tears that had welled up in the corners of his eyes were long gone, and the slightly aggrieved expression on his face had also vanished when Tsukino and Chiya began to answer seriously.

He stared silently at Tsukino and Chiya for a few seconds, then suddenly released his grip on their arms, took a few steps back, sighed, and said regretfully, "Ah...that's why I said Tsukino and those expressionless faces are definitely the most boring. So dull~!"

...No direct answer?

Tsukino and Chiya glanced down at the spot on their arms where Ohma Kichi had grabbed them. Just as they were about to say something, they heard Higashigo Miya's quiet voice, which had been watching for a while: "So, what happened next?"

The sound successfully drew the attention of Tsukino, Chiya, and Ohma Kokichi.

Mimi Higashigo had long since lost the gentle and shy demeanor she displayed in class. Instead, she openly scanned the two boys with a suspicious gaze, then, as if suddenly remembering something, added her own words.

"Oh, by the way, don't get me wrong. When I asked what happened afterward, I didn't mean to ask what embarrassing things you did together that week... So let's skip that part and get straight to the strange stuff."

"About this..."

Tsukino and Chiya nodded, readily picking up where they left off. They began to recount the dream they had on the rooftop, and how, afterwards, they and Ouma Kokichi encountered a girl on the rooftop with whom they couldn't physically touch, and could only watch helplessly as she jumped off the building.

After saying this, Tsukino and Chiya paused their conversation. At this point, they had arrived at the end of the secret passage, in front of the enormous door.

This was a truly enormous and heavy door, seemingly requiring at least two people to push it open. However, neither Ohma Kokichi nor Higashigo Miya showed any intention of stepping forward.

Neither Tsukino nor Chiya seemed inclined to ask for help.

The black-haired boy, his face calm, reached out and placed both hands on the door. Then, with a seemingly exaggerated loud bang, the door was successfully opened.

All three of them saw the view on the other side of the door.

It seemed like nothing special, just a room that looked empty, with the cement and pillars peeling off, as if it were still under construction.

"...Then, instead of waiting for school to end, we went straight to that abandoned shrine to investigate. I followed the route in my dream, and then I arrived at a..."

None of the three were surprised by what they saw behind the door.

As someone who was once... no, in the future, hidden here by Kamukura Izuru, Hyuga Hajime is very familiar with the structure of this place and has told Tsukino, Chiya, and Ohma Kokichi about it.

As Tsukino and Chiya continued recounting their experiences in that world, they walked towards a corner of the room. There, they found a makeshift elevator.

"If I could, I really wouldn't want to take the elevator," he thought to himself. These cramped spaces with no way out are often among the most dangerous places in haunted locations. It would be unbelievable if something didn't happen.

But now that we've come this far, why should we suddenly back down?

After manually opening the elevator door, the three of them stepped inside without hesitation.