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My eyes flicking from what could easily belong in some famous panorama painter\'s oeuvre to the wall-mounted analogue clock inside the classroom, I started to pack my things, going unnoticed as the rest of the class upheld the last of their needed concentration.

It\'s about time.

Ring~!

Following the resounding toll of the bell that signified the end of the lesson, the teacher swiftly brought the lecture to an end and dismissed the class, wrapping up for the day.

Many students relaxed and slumped down in their chairs the instant the lesson ended. Others stretched their stiff bodies from the intense all-day studying and began conversing with their friends... Or, simply got up, packed their bags and left the classroom.

The latter is what course of action I would usually take, but today, there was something I had to do.

Something important.

There are clubs for people to go to, but not everyone has joined one yet, so there are still a number of students who end up either going home or going out with friends the moment the school day concludes.

Speaking of which, there are only a couple of weeks left before I have to hand in a club application form. Although I said I would probably join the Cooking Club, I still haven\'t decided which one I\'m actually going to join, but... Well, it\'s only a club, so it\'ll be fine either way.

"Aight, guys! That lesson has me aching for some food! Shall we go?"

Yuu Shimura announced loudly as everyone who was supposed to be going came over to my desk.

...No, but why do they have to come to mine? Ah, do they think I won\'t go over to them, so they\'re coming to me instead...?

The logic isn\'t wrong.

"Sure~! Looks like everyone\'s ready, right?"

Izumi asked while taking turns looking at each person in the group. I would have thought it\'s not something you need to think that deeply about, but apparently I was wrong.

As Tarou Fushigimi stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he tucked in his chair, I called out to him as the group was about to leave.

"Wait."

Halting, he turned around and tilted his head, making an expression as if a question mark was floating above him.

"Hm? Is something wrong?"

"Don\'t you want to invite your sister? She\'s in 3-A, isn\'t she?"

"What? Why would I invite her?"

"The more the merrier, right? Why not, don\'t you get along?"

"No, nothing like that... Alright then, let me text her."

It only took a little bit of persuasion for him to give in, but I wasn\'t surprised. With a short pause, he said so and, after typing a quick message on his phone, the two of us joined up with the others and informed them that she would be joining us.

One-by-one, they each had a question to ask.

"You have a sister?"

"Yep. I never told anyone because nobody asked, but we joined at the same time."

―Yuu Shimura.

"Oh, I knew it~! I thought I had seen your surname somewhere before, and it turned out to be Atsuko-san from Class 3-A, huh~!"

"Wait, you know her? I\'m surprised you noticed, though."

―Izumi Yamazaki.

"I hope you don\'t mind me asking, but she\'s in our year, so are you twins?"

"That\'s right, haha."

―Shizuko Aikawa.

"Oh, wait... No, yeah, that\'s the girl who scored one point above me in the finals last year!"

"Ahaha..."

―Tatsuki Iwamoto.

Aside from Chihiro Suzuki who was still ill, everyone who was present in the class group chat on the day I joined it was here. Including Tarou Fushigimi\'s sister as her replacement, it would be seven in total.

As we waited by the entrance of the school for the final party member to join us, I happened to recall the twins\' admonishments from yesterday.

...Hm. Better to placate them than be needlessly criticised again, I suppose.

Without putting much thought into it, I sent a text to the two through my smartphone―a simple text that said I\'d be coming back later than usual today, but not to worry about it.

Fortunately, I had already provided them with their own smartphones when they enrolled in school, so they should be able to read my message any minute now.

This way, they shouldn\'t be so anal about today\'s inevitable late return.

"Hey, sorry~! Did I make you wait long?"

We already knew the identity of the student who called out to us without an introduction. As the dark-haired girl approached us with an apologetic smile plastered on her face, her drooping eyes flickered between each of our faces.

For some reason, it felt as if her gaze lingered on me ever-so-slightly, jerking her stare away the moment she met my eyes.

Not long after everyone introduced themselves, we began making our way to wherever our destination was, which turned out to be a café roughly a ten minute walk away.

Jingle~!

A lively chime rang out as we entered the humble diner. Choosing a suitable table that could fit the seven of us, I sat down on the end of the side with a bench attached to the wall. On my right was Shizuko Aikawa and opposite me was Atsuko Fushigimi.

The rest of them already queued up at the counter to order, so it was just the three of us.

"Are you not ordering, Shizuko-san?"

Atsuko Fushigimi was the first to talk. Talking as if they had been friends for months, she struck up a conversation so casually.

...I didn\'t know they were already so close.

"Oh, not today, no. I\'ve got to practise cooking later since I skipped club today, so I\'m holding back on eating too much~"

"I see. Are you big into cooking, then?"

"Yes, though it\'s probably a good thing I enjoy it so much because of my little brothers, fufu~ Speaking of which, Itou-san, are you still thinking of joining the Cooking Club?"

Suddenly, she turned to me and asked. Did she still want me to teach her some stuff?

"I guess."

"I don\'t mean to put any pressure on you, but I\'m still keen on learning from you, if you don\'t mind it."

Well, we\'ll see.

"Wait, you know how to cook too?"

Atsuko Fushigimi asked me with raised eyebrows. Connecting our enigmatic gazes together, I replied simply.

"I know a lot of things."

"Oh... Well, that\'s to be expected of the school\'s Rank 1, right? Maybe I can get you to teach me as well some time?"

"I wonder about that. Perhaps there\'s a chance."

"I look forward to the opportunity. You\'re a friend of Tarou, so surely you can get me a friend\'s discount, right?"

"I wouldn\'t exactly call us close. If you want to be taught a lesson, I\'ll gladly do so, but you have to be aware of the cost that comes alongside it."

"Hmm~♪"

Our back and forth ended as she hummed with her head resting on her chin and a cryptic smile highlighting her face, staring at me mysteriously.

"Yo! You guys not ordering anything?"

Arriving at the table with a buttered croissant and some bottled apple juice, Yuu Shimura sat down beside Atsuko Fushigimi. With him, the rest of the group also joined.

When everyone had gathered, eating and drinking the various foodstuffs and beverages they had purchased, the conversation flowed seamlessly through a variety of topics ranging from school-related subjects to personal quandaries and gossip.

For the most part, I remained silent to only listen and observe. However, despite not talking unless asked a question first, the constant furtive glances coming my way from Atsuko Fushigimi during the entire discussion were hard to overlook.

I would have had to be utterly oblivious to my surroundings to not notice it, and every time I looked at her to see what the problem was, her eyes flashed away as if she was never looking my way in the first place.

Eventually, I had enough.

"―Yeah, exactly! That\'s why I-- Oh, Itou-sensei! Where\'re ya going?"

Standing up from my seat without prior warning, I turned to Yuu Shimura who asked me, and stated my purpose bluntly.

"Home."

It had been over an hour and a half at this point, so it wasn\'t unreasonable to want to leave. As the rest of them gave their farewells at my departure, I didn\'t fail to catch the Fushigimi brother and sister glancing at each other.

That\'s right.

Your precious Concept of Truth is making his escape right in front of your eyes.

What will your decision be?

Putting my bag over my shoulder, I threw away the container of the water I ended up ordering and exited the café, causing the bell to chime melodically once again.

Pausing the instant I stepped foot outside, I felt a harsh gust of wind sweep against my face. Perhaps because of this gloomy autumn weather and the glum clouds that loomed overhead, threatening to start drizzling down with rain at any moment, there weren\'t many people out.

The sun I watched set earlier in the day was nowhere to be seen, obscured completely by the sullen sea of grey clouds above, causing the previously picturesque sky to appear dim and melancholic.

What beautiful weather, huh.

Walking away from the café, I walked through a series of alleyways until I arrived at a desolate place nobody would be able to simply stumble upon. Stopping in my tracks in the middle of such a dark and shady space, I fiddled about with my smartphone for a couple of minutes and put it away.

Then, I didn\'t have to wait long before a pair of voices called out to me in deep, panting breaths.

"Haa... Ah, there... Atsuko... There he is..."

"Fhoo... Just in time..."

Turning around, I stared apathetically at my two pursuers.

"...You followed me."

Atsuko and Tarou Fushigimi were there.