As time passed,

The sky was dyed a light yellow, signaling the arrival of dusk.

Because they had walked for a long time,

Chiaki Chihara took the initiative to stop and rest.

She sat on a bench by the roadside and rubbed her sore calves.

"I haven't had so much fun in a long time!"

Chiaki Chihara held an ice cream with glutinous rice balls and red beans in her hand. She was in a good mood as she shook her legs.

"But it's a pity … If I knew that I was going out to play today, I wouldn't have dressed so casually."

"The main thing is to have fun." Akaji crossed his arms and leaned back on the bench.

"But after playing for so long, I'm a little hungry …"

As Chiaki Chihara spoke, she suddenly moved her body and slowly moved to Akaji's side. She raised her head.

"So … I'll bring you to a place later!

It's definitely a great place!! "

Akaji did not move. Probably because she was very close to him, the girl's warm breath spread by his ear, tickling him.

It was like being rubbed by a cat that suddenly got close to him.

"Okay."

It was as if he had already decided on the answer, and his brain had not reacted.

His body answered first.

The red-haired boy looked at the girl beside him, and the latter looked back at him with anticipation. Her golden eyes looked as if they were soaked in honey.

Wait.

Golden?

"What's wrong?"

Chiaki Chihara looked at Akaji curiously, probably because she saw the puzzled expression on his face.

At this moment, the golden light of the setting sun shone on her face.

The color of her eyes was naturally dyed with the color of the setting sun.

"I'm fine." Although he felt a strange sense of dissonance,

Akaji still showed something.

Was it the same feeling as before …

"Ah.

Speaking of which, you still don't know about me, right? "Chiaki Chihara stood up slightly, and naturally put some distance between the two of them.

"About you?"

"Mm." Chiaki Chihara raised her head slightly, her golden eyes fusing with the color of the setting sun.

"After all, I …"

The rest of his words seemed to have disappeared into the air, drowned out by the vibration of his phone.

Chiaki Chihara snapped out of his daze and picked up his phone in a flurry. Soon, he saw a call from Chiaki Chihara as well as a series of missed calls.

… Whoosh.

Because she had been playing outside in the afternoon, her phone had been in her bag the whole time. She was so happy that she had accidentally forgotten that the phone in her bag was vibrating. Now that she looked at it, they were definitely worried!

"Your family called?" Akaji asked.

"Ah, yes."

Chiaki Chihara looked at the phone screen with a complicated expression. Although he was nervous, he still picked up the call …

"Hey …"

"Well, very good. It seems that you still know how to answer the phone."

Gokusen Kanazane's voice came from the other end of the phone. It was the voice that Chiaki Chihara did not want to hear the most right now.

"Sorry … I was out with my friends and forgot to pay attention to my phone."

Chiaki Chihara's voice grew softer and softer. In the end, he fell silent.

"Do you know how worried we were!

We almost went to the Modern Realm to look for you! "Gokusen Kanazane's voice was very serious.

"Even if you wanted to go out to play, you should have told me!

If you didn't tell us and didn't come, it would have made us very worried! "

"I'm sorry …"

Chiaki Chihara said as her fingers tightened around the phone.

She still …

"I'll …"

Too bad.

"If it's convenient, can you give me your phone?"

Akaji, who was sitting at the side, suddenly spoke and reached out his hand to Chiaki Chihara.

"Let me explain."

Chiaki Chihara looked up at him. After hesitating for a while, he handed the phone over.

"I'm Akashiji Seijuro, Chiaki Chihara's classmate."

After Akaji took the phone, he said solemnly, "Chiaki Chihara is with me.

"Qie Hara Chiaki is with me. I invited her to Sensō-ji after the gathering.

I didn't have time to tell you before, I'm sorry. "

The other end of the phone was silent for a moment. Suddenly, there was a sound of metal scraping and talking. Akaji moved the phone away slightly and another person's voice came from the other end.

"Hello, I'm Chiaki Chihara's uncle."

The person who answered the phone seemed to have changed. The voice seemed to be a little calmer.

"You're saying that you brought Chihara to Sensō-ji?"

"Yes." Akashiji Seijuro said seriously.

"You didn't make an appointment in advance, right?" The person on the other end continued.

"Why did you bring her to Sensō-ji?"

Akaji put the phone close to his ear. He looked at Chiaki Chihara who was sitting silently and said,

"It's probably because Qihara-san looks so depressed, right?"

Chiaki Chihara was stunned for a moment. She looked at Akashiji Seijuro with some surprise.

"Setsubara told me about Sensō-ji not long ago, so when I saw that Setsubara was in a bad mood, I invited her since I was planning to go to Sensō-ji," Akaji continued.

"Although I don't know what happened, as Qihara-san's friend, being able to help her relax a little can be considered as me doing something for her, right?"

The other end of the phone was silent. After a while, a voice came from the other end, "I understand.

"I understand. Tell Qianxiao to be careful."

He paused for a moment and continued,

"Thank you."

Chiaki Chihara trembled as she watched the entire process. If she guessed correctly, Gokusen Kanazane in This Pill was probably going to explode. Yeche and Hasebe would probably tear down the house. Hopefully, the stronger Odachi would be able to stop them.

"Okay."

After confirming that the other party had hung up the phone, Akaji put down the phone and returned it to her.

"So, you said you were going to bring me to a place, right?"

"Yes!"

Chiaki Chihara stood up from the chair. She hesitated for a moment, but still carefully pulled on Akaji's sleeve.

"I'll bring you there now!"

— — —

There was a small street next to Chiaki Chihara's house.

Usually, there weren't many people here, but surprisingly, it wasn't deserted.

Most of the Shimotsuke residents had lived here for a long time, so they had developed a lot of feelings for this street. Every evening, they liked to take a stroll here, which made the street much livelier.

"Here you go!"

Chiaki Chihara handed a box of octopus balls to Akaji. She still had three boxes in her hands.

"Take it as an apology for accompanying me for the whole afternoon ~ ~ The octopus balls here are super delicious!

When they're roasted halfway, add the mojito and seaweed, and the taste blends together!

It's super blissful to eat them!! "

Looking at Chiaki Chihara's serious expression, Akaji smiled slightly and took the box of octopus balls.

"If it's the cherry blossom festival every year, this place will be even livelier!

There will also be beautiful fireworks … But it's nice to be quiet like this. "

"Did you come here often when you were young?"

In Akaji's impression, he rarely came to this kind of place.

Many things took up his time, so he rarely had the time to come here to play.

"When I was young …"

Chiaki Chihara took a bite of the octopus ball and seemed to be deep in thought.

"Nope.

I lived with my family when I was young. "

"Family?"

Akaji suddenly remembered that at the beginning of last semester, his family seemed to have held a demon slaying ceremony.

At that time, Chiaki Chihara seemed to have been pestered by her so-called brother …

Hanakaion family, that seemed to be the name.

"Yeah.

But that was when I was very young, "Chiaki Chihara quickly finished the box of octopus balls and quickly opened another box.

"At that time, my mother went to be an interrogator, so I lived with my family until my mother suddenly disappeared.

As the successor, I obeyed my mother's wishes and inherited her Honmaru. "

After swallowing the octopus ball, Chiaki Chihara was silent for a while and suddenly said:

"Hey, do you know about This Pill of Darkness?"

"This Pill of Darkness Fu Mourning God?" Akaji said and frowned slightly.

"That kind of Motonaru should have been eliminated in general.

Only a small portion will be purified by the Government of the Hour. "

"But there is no lack of well-hidden This Pill of Darkness," Chiaki Chihara put down the small box in her hand and looked at Akaji with a faint smile.

"And at that time, because of the government's distribution error, I mistakenly entered This Pill of Darkness."