Chương 42: 42: The Consensus of the Victims

Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't answer, but her reaction only confirmed to Eriri that her guess was right!

Eriri felt a strange sense of relief. This relief was odd but very real. It turned out she wasn't the only one experiencing this.

This realization made her feel a subtle sense of camaraderie with the woman she found extremely annoying.

This was something that would have been impossible before, but now, in this situation, it was definitely happening.

"I'm guessing you also..."

"Also what?"

"Meaning... one whole night... seven... seven... Never mind! It's nothing!"

Eriri covered her face, unable to speak openly about such an embarrassing topic.

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at her with a disdainful expression and said,

"Stop wasting time, you spoiled princess. If you keep up this act, the lunch break will be over."

"It's not my fault you didn't clarify things from the start!"

"Is this really the main issue? Do you really want to discuss such trivial matters here?"

"Of course not…" Eriri's voice lowered significantly.

After confirming that Kasumigaoka Utaha seemed to have had a similar experience, she explained why she had lied,

"You see, when I woke up this morning, I thought it was just a dream…"

"It was indeed a dream!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha's emotions suddenly became intense. Her flushed face seemed to be trying to convince herself rather than Eriri.

After all, she hadn't experienced such a dream last night.

Eriri found Kasumigaoka Utaha's reaction bewildering.

Her princess-like temper made her frustrated, and she was about to argue back when Kasumigaoka Utaha quickly apologized, "I'm sorry for overreacting. Please continue."

Eriri felt like she had been punched and then patted on the head, creating a very uncomfortable feeling of being stuck between emotions.

She reassured herself that discussing the important matter was more crucial than quarreling over trivialities with this annoying woman.

"I initially thought it was just a dream, more real than other dreams. But until I heard the conversation among those girls after leaving the classroom, I still believed it was just a dream."

"So, you changed your mind after hearing their conversation, meaning their discussion made you think that such a coincidence was impossible?"

"Exactly. Their conversation made me think that such a coincidence couldn't happen."

"What do you mean?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had only heard part of Eriri's lie from outside the classroom, had missed many key details.

"The person they were talking about matched almost all the features of the person in my dream."

Eriri paused, then looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was also looking back at her.

"Could there really be such a coincidence in this world?"

"..."

The two of them, staring at each other from such close proximity, had surprisingly serious expressions in their blue and wine-red eyes.

"So that's why you deliberately lied about finding something, to extract information about that person and, by extension, find out which school he attends."

Eriri nodded and looked towards the southeast, where the Houjou University Attached High School was located.

"…At least we now know the area where that person is. With that information, whatever actions we take next won't be as aimless as a headless chicken."

"Hmph~"

"Why are you laughing?"

"Nothing, I just think you handled this very well."

"Of course, I've always been smart!"

"Yeah, except when it comes to your grades."

"You annoying woman! Can't you go a day without teasing me?"

"Sorry, it's a habit. I'll try to work on it."

"That just makes me even angrier!"

Their argument didn't continue, partly because they both had something on their minds, and partly because Eriri's stomach growled at an inopportune moment.

Utaha didn't tease her about it this time. After their banter, Utaha frowned as if deep in thought about something important.

Eriri opened her lunchbox and glanced at the person next to her. "Hey, have you had lunch yet?"

"Thanks for asking, I already ate."

"Um… about the question I asked earlier."

"What is it?"

"You also had that kind of dream, right?"

"We've talked this far, and you're still asking that?"

"I just want a definite answer."

Utaha nodded.

"So, what was your dream about?"

"If you tell me first, Sawamura, I might share some details with you."

'No way I'm telling you. Fine, don't tell me then.' Eriri sulkily started eating.

"Now that we know which school that person is at, what do you plan to do next, Sawamura?"

"What do you think? I'm going to find him. If he really is the guy from my dream… I'll confront him and get some answers!"

Utaha didn't agree with her approach.

"Confronting him face-to-face isn't a wise move. If someone has done something wrong and hasn't been caught, they're not likely to admit it."

"So, what do you suggest?"

"For now, we should stay quiet. The other person might not know we've noticed something's off. What we should do next is investigate discreetly, see if we can find any more clues, instead of rushing out and exposing ourselves like fools."

"…"

As much as she hated to admit it, Eriri had to agree that Utaha's suggestion was more sensible.

"But before that, there's something important I need to confirm."

"What is it?"

"You remember what that person looked like in your dream, right? So you must also remember his name?"

"Yeah."

"Then tell me, what's his name?"

"His name is… Wait, why don't you say it first?"

"Because I asked first."

"You've already used that excuse."

"Oh, fine…"

Utaha pressed her fingers to her forehead and sighed. "Do you have your phone with you?"

"Yes."

"Let's both type in his name on our phones and show each other at the same time. That way, there's no problem, right?"

"Okay."

They both took out their phones, typed something, and slowly revealed their screens to each other, watching each other's expressions.

[Suzumiya Chisato]

At this point, Utaha gave up on the slim hope that it might have been a coincidence. She suggested, "Let's go to Fushimi High after school to investigate."

"But after school, we have to discuss the game."

"Knowing that what's happening to us isn't just a coincidence, are you still in the mood to talk about that?"

"You're right…"

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