?


    I continued walking. And as I walked, I could hear and feel Kinoshita''s hurried footsteps catching up to me. Without stopping my legs, I cleared the dirt off my hands by rubbing them together and nced at her. She seemed anxious, her eyes darting around as if searching for a way out of the situation.


    "W-Wait, Mizuhara," she said, finally managing to keep up with me.


    I slowed down slightly, waiting for her to catch her breath.


    "Where do we go."


    "Um, I guess... karaoke?" she suggested hesitantly. "I''ve hardly ever been to karaoke, and I don''t want to go alone."


    "Sure," I straightforwardly replied, not really caring one way or the other.


    "..let''s go then," Kinoshita said, her voice much calmer now.


    And thus, we proceeded towards the Karaoke building, with the gazes of those who had been watching us quickly shifting back to their own activities. The fleeting nces from the curious onlookers lingered momentarily, only fixating on what caught their attention.


    *


    As we arrived at the Karaoke building, we walked in silence, taking each step without saying a word to each other. I noticed Kinoshita''s lips parting several times, but no sound escaped them.


    As we approached the entrance, it swung open to reveal a group of people leaving and clearing the way for us to enter. I walked through the open door, with Kinoshita following closely behind.


    "Wait."


    However, before I could take another step, someone called out, causing me to halt in my tracks. I recognized the voice immediately, being the perceptive person that I am. I turned around slowly, my eyes locking onto the figure who had spoken.


    Hinode Takumi, the vice president of the student council.


    He greeted me with an outstretched hand and said,


    "Mizuhara Ayato, I know this may bete but congrattions on passing the midterms."


    "Thanks foring here just to say that. Then, see youter," I replied, eyeing his hand warily.


    Naturally, I wasn''t dense enough to think that a student council member hade all this way just to extend congrattions, I was not one to take risks. There was a chance that he had no ulterior motives, and I''m taking that.


    As much as possible, I wanted to avoid any unnecessary entanglements with the student council. Thebyrinthine court system that governed this institution was alreadyplicated enough without any added trouble.


    He slowly lowered his hand, realizing that I wasn''t going to return the gesture.


    "U-Um…" Kinoshita stammered, seemingly unsure of what to say next.


    "As you can see, I am quite upied at the moment."


    "Well, Otoyama should have been the one to be in here, but he had other duties to attend to," he exined, as if to justify his presence here.


    It appeared that he was not here of his own ord.


    "You have an exceedingly verbose method ofmunication," I observed.


    "Do I?"


    I turned around, directing my gaze towards the entrance of the karaoke. Kinoshita, looking perplexed, emted my movement and swiveled on her heels to face the same direction.


    "Why don''t we go in the karaoke together?"


    I heard Hinode''s voice break through the silence in my mind, interrupting my thoughts.


    "Sure," I replied casually, not bothering to turn back. "But I don''t know about my friend here," I added, motioning towards Kinoshita.


    Kinoshita''s expression fell a little at my words, letting out a soft sigh. Hinode''s sharp gaze immediately shifted to her, making her fidget with her dress.


    "U-Um, I mean, I''m okay with it…"


    "Then, I suppose it''s alright if Otoyama joins us," Hinode remarked. "Though, maybe not today...or maybe today," he added.


    Hey, I thought Otoyama have other tasks to handle.


    "Um, sure…"


    Hinode scratched his chin, pondering for a moment.


    "Why don''t we head in now. We''ve been chatting for a while."


    "Sure," I agreed, not really caring either way.


    I took the lead towards the entrance with Kinoshita following closely behind. I grasped the handles of the door and pushed them open, revealing a familiar scene. The reception area was sparsely popted, with only a few people waiting in line.


    Kinoshita followed me as I made my way to the back of the line, with Hinode trailing a few steps behind.


    As we reached the front desk, I requested for a room.


    "Could we have a room." I asked.


    "One room for three thousand points, is that okay?"


    The staff confirmed the price and I agreed. After queuing up, we received the key for Room 04, which was ced on the reception table.


    Silently, we made our way down the hallway towards our booked karaoke room. The design of the hallway was quite unique if I see it again, with doors on each side leading to adjacent rooms. Our room, Room 04, was located directly across from Room 03.


    Each side of the corridor was nked with a series of numbered doors, with ours being located directly across from Room 03. The rooms on one side of the hallway were odd numbered 01, 03, 05, 07, and so on, while those on the other side werebeled 02, 04, 06, 08, and beyond.


    It was an interestingyout.


    We had barely arrived at our room, conveniently located near the reception area, when a sudden and jarring noise rocked the hallway.


    I whirled around to locate the source of the sound, my eyes settling on the room behind us: Room 03. Its number te had fallen off and was now lying on the ground, its digits obscured from view.


    "..ow…that…."


    Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the te holder was actually maic, its edges marked with telltale bumps indicating the presence of a ma.


    "W-What…?" Kinoshita''s voice trailed off, her eyes wide with confusion as the metallic tter reverberated through the hallway.


    The ma might not have been strong enough, and perhaps someone mmed the door hard enough to cause the te to fall.


    "It seems that someone inside mmed the door a bit too hard," Hinode impatientlymented.


    I turned back to open the door, which swung open easily thanks to the handle''s design. I opened the door to reveal a spacious room, replete with cushioned seating and soundproof walls. Hinode was thest toe in and shut the door behind him.


    Without wasting any time, he grabbed the tablet and started tapping on it, though I could tell he wasn''t too eager to sing.


    After a few taps, he paused for a moment, before cing the device on the table and settling himself across from us.