Hmm?
He's leaving already?
Does it have to be this fast...
Miko's eyes widened involuntarily; she clearly hadn't expected Kaito to leave so quickly.
After all, not much time had passed since they arrived here. Moreover, throughout the entire process, the exchange between Kaito and Ei consisted of merely a few short sentences.
"Then I will take my leave first."
Just as Miko was wondering if Kaito was really going to leave, Kaito spoke those words. Afterwards, he turned around and walked towards the exit.
If you were only going to say this little, you might as well have said it back at the hot spring.
Silently watching Kaito's retreating figure, Miko couldn't help but complain in her heart like this. There was no helping it; these two really exchanged so few words that it felt completely unnecessary to come here.
And at the same time, her gaze couldn't help but turn towards Ei, who was still sitting in her seat. She felt that Ei should continue asking some questions or something. But until Kaito walked out, Ei remained sitting motionless in her original seat.
Although Miko herself wanted to call out to stop Kaito, seeing that Ei hadn't moved, she didn't call out either. After all, if Ei didn't intend to stop Kaito, then she certainly couldn't do so.
However, saying that, Miko still couldn't help but ask Ei, "Ei, aren't you going to ask a few more questions? Just letting him leave like this?"
Then, as if she thought of something, Miko continued, "Don't think I know a lot, okay? There are a bunch of things about that guy that even I don't understand."
Because she suddenly thought that Ei might be preparing to ask her, Miko quickly expressed that she didn't know much. There was no helping it; she didn't want Ei to think she knew but was deliberately withholding information. Of course, there were indeed some things right now that she wouldn't say and couldn't say.
"So what if I ask? Do you think he would tell me?"
After Miko waited for a while, Ei finally spoke.
That seems true too...
Hearing Ei's answer, Miko suddenly felt it made a lot of sense.
"He probably... wouldn't... but you still have to try. After all, that concerns Makoto."
Although Miko felt Ei's words made sense, she felt one still had to try. But she quickly thought of another possibility.
Ei wouldn't be wanting me to ask, right?
"Miko."
Just as Miko was thinking about that possibility, Ei called her name.
She quickly responded, "What is it?"
For some reason, Miko couldn't help but feel a bit nervous at this moment. She was worried that the matter between her and Kaito had long been seen through by Ei. If that were the case, she would be in deep trouble.
"When was the first time you met Makoto... or rather, Acheron? Did anything happen?"
She actually asked this question...
After listening to Ei's words, Miko felt slightly relieved. At least, the matter wasn't what she had imagined. However, regarding this question, should she answer truthfully? Or... make something up?
Thinking about this question, Miko fell into thought. But even so, she quickly spoke up: "Let me think."
Saying this, Miko put on an appearance of recalling something. But in reality, she was thinking about how to answer this question.
Forget it... Better to be half-true and half-false... That seems more realistic...
After thinking for a bit, Miko decided to describe her first encounter with Acheron using a mix of truth and fabrication.
"At that time, I saw her appear by chance. At first, I thought she was Makoto, so I communicated with her a bit. Then she said she wasn't Makoto, her name was Acheron, and she didn't know Makoto. After that, she left. Later, I found out she knew Kaito, and the two even had that kind of relationship. That's about it."
After finishing, Miko looked at Ei's back, seemingly wanting to see if her words had aroused any suspicion in Ei. However, Ei remained sitting in the seat. Miko, looking only at her back, really couldn't discern anything and could only wait for Her to speak.
It had to be said, at this moment she couldn't help but start getting nervous again.
"Then you must have asked Kaito about Acheron, right?"
After being silent for a while, Ei finally spoke, asking this question again.
"Of course I did."
Miko responded quickly, then she paused and continued, "But that guy only said she was his girlfriend, and maybe she just happened to look quite like Makoto."
"Just happened to?"
After Miko finished answering, Ei seemed to be muttering to herself and asking Miko at the same time.
"Yes, but at that time I felt things definitely weren't that simple. Especially Acheron's name. You should still remember her full name, right? Ei."
"Mn, I remember."
Under Miko's gaze, Ei nodded.
Regarding Acheron's full name, She naturally remembered. There was no helping it; She really found it hard to forget that kind of name, and it seemed to contain very important information within it. Perhaps the truth of why Makoto was still alive was hidden in her current name.
Life and death were unsolvable problems for Her, but for other existences, perhaps it wasn't so.
"Then... Ei, what do you plan to do?"
Now Miko really wanted to know what Ei would do next. Although she knew Ei would definitely go find Acheron again, she wanted to know Ei's specific approach. After all, even if She was going to find Acheron, there had to be a concrete plan.
And regarding her question, Ei did not give an immediate answer. This made Miko increasingly curious, wondering what exactly Ei was preparing to do.
"If you don't know what to do, Ei, how about I go see if I can call her over?"
Seeing Ei not answering her for a long time, Miko thought for a moment and then tentatively asked Her this.
"Are you very familiar with the current her?"
This time Ei stood up and turned her head to look at Miko.
"I feel like we count as familiar."
For the sake of caution, Miko used "I feel like." However, regarding her answer, Ei obviously didn't have much confidence. After all, even if Miko was really familiar with the current Makoto, that was familiarity between them, and had nothing to do with Her.
"Actually, we are somewhat familiar regardless. Just now I was sort of..."
"I am not suspecting whether you are familiar with her, it is just that she is not familiar with me and does not remember me at all. If you call her over like this, I fear she may not necessarily be willing."
Not waiting for Miko to finish speaking, Ei expressed her own worries.
"Then you should get familiar with her."
Regarding Ei's worry, Miko said this with great confidence, and then she continued, "Anyway, just don't be like before where you didn't talk much."
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