'...... Huh. Too much going on. ......'

　I lay down on the living room sofa and sighed lightly.
　The room is very quiet. The room itself is soundproofed, and the elevated location of the room is far from the hustle and bustle.
　Between the sunset and the night, the soft darkness of the room was dimly lit by the lights of the city that was still not sleeping.

　When I came home, Rin was gone.
　It was because she was on a two-day business trip.
　I knew it, but I felt lonely somehow.
　I've been living alone for many years now, and I thought I was used to living alone.
　I wonder if I've grown accustomed to the warmth of human skin in the short time of a week or so.

'Rin, chan......'

　I miss you. As soon as I felt that way, I naturally called out her name.
　I shifted my position and sank into the soft sofa.

　Let's go to sleep. Then Rin-chan will come home 'tomorrow'.
　Perhaps I was more tired than I thought, but it didn't take long for me to fall asleep.


☆


'You can't get in touch with Nana?

'Yes, I have!

　I frowned at the noisy voice of the lights coming from my ear, exhausted from sleeping in the car all night.
　Because of the prolonged event and the fact that I participated in the launch, I ended up returning home in the morning on the third day instead of the planned two days and one night.
　I don't mind that, but it was quite hard for me because I don't have much physical strength.

　Nevertheless, the contents of the early morning phone call from Tohi were not something I could ignore.

'What's the current situation?

'You know we went to Fierce together the day before yesterday and worked on the distribution until about seven o'clock at night, right?

'Yeah, I was watching in between.'

　I know that Nana and Toka arrived safely at Pheasus while I was doing things at the event site.
　I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it.

'My friend at the round table told me that she wanted to invite Sukuna as she promised a few days ago, so I reluctantly contacted Nana-sama, but I couldn't get through.

'How many times did you call?

'About 20 times, I think.　I sent her a message, but she didn't seem to be logged in to WLO either.

'I see. ......'

　To sum up Light's information, he hadn't been contacted since the night before last, all day yesterday, and until this morning.
　I'm sure it's strange that she can't be reached for that long, even if she was working all year round.

'Light. From your point of view, did you notice anything strange about Nana?

'Nana-sama is always nice. It's just that she seemed to be absent-minded a couple of times during the delivery. It's not that she was playing too rough, it's just that her mind wasn't in the right place.



'Yes, ......, I understand. Don't worry too much. At least he won't be able to do anything about it.'

'I'm not worried about that, but ...... when I remember the tears I cried that day, I'm afraid they'll disappear again at any moment.'

　I understand why the light is worried about Nana.
　I understand why you are worried about Nana, and I also understand that your worry may not be wrong.

'Well, it's mostly just that she forgot to turn off her phone. I'll call you if I find out anything, but for now, you should sleep. You're not asleep, are you?

"Ugh, ...... how do you know that ......?

　In fact, why would you think I wouldn't know?
　You can tell even through the phone that she's tired and her voice has changed.

'You can tell by listening to my voice. If you're so worried about me, why didn't you call me earlier?

'Lynn, ......, I'm sorry.'

'It's okay. Anyway, just leave it to me. I'm sure it's no big deal.'

'Please do. I'm going to bed. ......'

'Okay, okay, bye.

　I put the dead phone in my bag and think about what happened.
　I'm not sure if I'm 100% sure that I don't have anxiety, although I did tell the light that way.
　I'm not worried about her getting hurt or sick, but about the very reason why I invited her to WLO.

　I don't just want to play games with her.
　I invited Nana to WLO with one more purpose in mind.


☆


　Oh, this is a dream, isn't it?
　I thought vaguely when I saw "Nanaka (me)" in front of me.

　I tried to touch her, but she slipped away and I couldn't touch her.
　That's why I thought this was probably a dream. I can't imagine why I'm dreaming like this.

　Nanaka (I), cowering in front of me, was crying quietly.
　It's like a mirror image of me, but the fact that I'm wearing a school uniform means that it's probably me from junior high school.
　It's been about seven years since then. As Toka-chan and Rin-chan said to me a while ago, yes, it's true that my appearance has hardly changed at all.

　I wonder why she is crying.
　When was the last time I cried?

　Oh, right. I think it was when my mom and dad died in an accident.
　I still remember it well because it was so sad that they died.


　A turning point in my life. For the first time, the world seemed to change, including the fact that I had to keep my distance from Rin.


　But was ...... really the right thing to do?


　The moment I thought that, I felt my dream waking up.
　As if refusing to remember, the scenery was vanishing into a blur.
　As it was fading away, my eyes met with Nanaka's (me), who was crying.
　Her eyes were so empty that they seemed to reflect nothing at all.

　She had a burning passion that was so strong that it choked her.


☆


　When I returned home from the event, I found an empty house waiting for me.
　It's a good idea to take a look at the website to see if you can find any useful information.

'Haha ...... I knew it.'

　I sigh again as I look at Nana sleeping on the sofa with her flickering phone on the floor.
　By the looks of it, she must have been asleep since the night before last.
　I let out a second sigh because the result seemed to ridicule the worried light, saying that she simply didn't get it because she was asleep.

'Nana, it's morning.

　I shook her shoulders and her body twitched. She sniffed for a moment, and then, perhaps recognizing me by my scent, relaxed her slightly stiffened body.
　I sighed three times at his unwillingness to get up, and sat down next to Nana, who was curled up on the sofa.

　I sat down next to Nana, who was curled up on the couch. The car that my father had made for me. It was as well-equipped as a VIP room, but being in the car all night could be tiring.
　And I was driving all the way back home after two days of events, trying to get back as soon as possible for Nana, who was probably feeling lonely because of the long delay.
　I thought it was okay to be a little angry with her, since she was sleeping without a word of encouragement.

　You'll be able to see the traces of tears on Nana's face as she curled her fingers to give him a light pin.

'............ So, I guess you're right.'

　With anger dissipating, I unrolled my fingers.
　I had a hunch that life at WLO would be more stimulating for Nana than I had imagined.
　The 'now' Nana is shedding tears. I'm sure I'm the only one who understands how shocking this is.

　It's a sign. It's proof that the lid on Nana's memory, which is tightly closed, is coming loose.
　I don't think that lid is going to open right now. But it had come to the point where all he really had to do was pull the trigger.

'To be honest, I kind of wish I could just forget about it forever.

　Nana forgot ...... No, the memories she has locked away are extremely limited. It is a very small memory, less than a day in time.
　But at that time, Nana was so broken that she had to lose that tiny memory.
　So, out of self-preservation instinct, she locked up the memory.
　And thanks to the loss of those memories, Nana has grown into the bright Nana she is today.


'Huh...... Lynne-chan......?'

'Yes, sleepyhead.'



'You're early. I thought you'd be back at night.

　Nana, who woke up somehow, said in a fluffy tone that showed no sign of her brain working.
　The way she shakes her head to shake off her drowsiness is like an animal, but it's really cute that she's almost losing her sleep because she sank into the sofa.

'I even came home rather late.'

'Hmm?'

'It's not that I'm early, it's that you slept too much. More than a whole day.'

　When I said this, Nana looked at the home screen of her phone on the floor, and then her eyes widened slightly.
　But she didn't seem too shocked and collapsed back into the sofa, using my lap as a pillow.

'You can't help it if you've fallen asleep. ......'

'Well, that's true...'

'So, I'm going to have another sleep...... gulp.'

　I stroke Nana's head as she instantly falls asleep for the second time, probably because she was so sleepy.
　If Nana wants to sleep, it means that there is something that she needs to recover from.
　Physical problems are almost inconceivable, so Nana's mental health must be under strain in some way.

　At any rate, I'll send a message to Light to let him know I'm okay, and I'll let myself fall asleep.
　Unlike a physical ghost like Nana, I'm an indoor person. I'm sleepy partly because I was woken up early by the light, and partly because I'm sleepy because Nana is sleeping so comfortably in front of me.

　There are some things that are bothering me, but for now, things are going well.
　I surrendered myself to the sleepiness that was slowly coming over me, hoping for the door to her memories to finally open.