The traffic light ahead turned red. Haruno slowly pressed the brake, temporarily averting her gaze from the rearview mirror, just listening to their conversation.
At the same time, she looked down at her phone on her lap, observing various information on the screen, and quickly replying to several messages.
Regarding the high school girls in the back seat who claimed to be victims, chosen only by a mysterious existence to approach Yuu—although the notebook that couldn't be torn, burned, or would return itself if thrown away, lent sufficient credibility to that reality-defying testimony.
Haruno kept contacting her subordinates, asking them to investigate Utaha as soon as possible. By first mastering her various pieces of information, it would be easier to gain an advantage during future interactions.
Believing her words didn't mean believing in her.
Of course, all of that was just minor business conducted on the fly—the most important thing was still Yuu lying in the back seat, sleeping soundly like a vegetative patient.
"Tenkuji-kun, he's really okay, right?"
Her younger sister had asked countless times in a very fragile-sounding tone.
"Relax, didn't the notebook already write it? He'll be asleep for a while, we just need to protect his physical body in the real world, and he'll be fine after he comes out of the exam."
Utaha also didn't know how many times she had answered. Although she looked a little tired, seemingly worried about family feelings, her tone tried to remain patient.
"Although this notebook is very suspicious, at least so far no mistakes have occurred. Just consider this a mission clue—like playing a game. You must have played games, right? He now has to leave the screen to do other things, and the mission the system gave us is to protect his character from getting hurt. Other than that, there's nothing to worry about."
"Even though you say relax, this isn't a situation that can be explained just with the word game... Isn't there a way to wake him up faster..."
Yukino was still very disturbed. She occasionally turned to the back seat to look at Yuu, whose hands and feet were tied to the seat. Her furrowed brows couldn't be released, her lips almost bitten to leave marks from anxiety.
"Ah, that's enough..."
Utaha's expression changed slightly, as if she couldn't take it anymore. She massaged her eyebrows. Her once polite tone gradually became direct and sharp.
"Yukinoshita-san, I was just giving an analogy, don't you even understand this? Are you too worried to be coherent, or did your reading comprehension score never pass?"
"Kasumigaoka-senpai, of course I understand what you mean. I just wanted to discuss solutions..."
"Making me keep repeating what I've already said, that's what you call discussing solutions? Haha, if this were in front of a literature teacher, they'd surely die of annoyance at the podium."
"..."
Although Yukino glared at her unhappily, the black-stockinged girl remained indifferent, brushing her long hair over her shoulder, and sporting a mocking smile.
"Of course I know the current situation is completely different from a game—don't you see it's written in the notebook that if this gets messed up, not only will he be in trouble, but so will I?"
"I've been threatened with a death cycle and a future that will never return. The pressure I'm facing is far greater than yours as an outsider. Moreover, I don't like your boyfriend at all, but somehow I got dragged into it and have to do so many things for him—others aren't complaining, what right do you have to make a fuss here when you haven't even remembered your past memories?"
Snorting coldly from her nose, Utaha spoke increasingly loudly, staring at Yukino firmly: "So, either you shut up and take care of him, or go home and cry hugging your blanket... Don't worry, we'll handle the rest."
"You—!"
Yukino's teeth unconsciously clenched tight. Her expression was cold and her gaze sharp, as if she wanted to say something in retaliation.
However, seeing Utaha's unwavering eyes, she couldn't utter a single word of rebuttal other than clenching her fists tightly. She lowered her head with a reluctant face, her slender shoulders trembling slightly.
(No memories means no right to speak? How pathetic...)
Haruno thought emotionlessly. The traffic light ahead turned green. She pressed the accelerator, turning onto a street she had just visited that morning, amid a brief silence in the car.
She had no intention of defending her sister now.
Although she noted this insult, if there was an opportunity in the future, of course she would retaliate against this sharp-tongued Utaha for her sister's sake.
However, what the opponent said was not wrong. The current Yukino, who had experienced the morning's events and been struck by this sudden shock, had become mentally very fragile, even unable to think calmly enough.
She could only indulge in useless worries, asking repeatedly like a jumping clock hand, unable to help with anything, completely helpless—this was no longer the usual Yukino. Masuzu even seemed more rational than her. Having an outsider able to awaken her with a reprimand actually saved her energy.
At the same time, Haruno could secretly gather deep information that Utaha didn't voluntarily reveal—for example, Utaha's situation might be very similar to Yuu's now. These were things her subordinates couldn't find, and it also allowed her to understand more about Yuu indirectly.
If it were Yukino before today, perhaps she could have responded more maturely and reliably than herself, right?
After all, Yukino was the one who made Yuu decide to face his feelings, doing something others couldn't, and even facing the end of a relationship with an open heart for Yuu's sake.
Haruno admitted that she probably wouldn't have such courage.
Unfortunately, the current Yukino was completely helpless. As her sister, she almost couldn't bear to see it, it's just that she didn't have the time and energy to give her a little love guidance, otherwise, how could an outsider be allowed to scold her sister?
(Well, even if I can understand...)
She sighed silently. Seeing the scenery outside the window receding, Haruno remembered the events from a while ago, and she couldn't bear to blame her sister.
Because, if talking about panic, during the time she cut a half-hour journey to under ten minutes, running multiple red lights, her panic was no less than Yukino's.
Rushing to the apartment, seeing her lover lying alone on the ground, sleeping soundly as if suddenly dead, surrounded by pale girls, Haruno also felt a devastation as if she was about to faint and die.
It's just that she used all her strength to suppress the despair that felt like the entire world collapsing because of him, into the deepest part of her body.
And with a composure as if all emotions had been erased, she forced the words "What happened" out of her throat.
Because she knew what to do now.
Because she knew what she shouldn't do.
If he wasn't there, her fragility was meaningless, just an emotional outburst. So she had to calm down immediately, turn worry into concrete action, to be the strongest and most trusted support for him.
Then, when Yuu woke up, Haruno would make him remember all her kindness through tears and smiles, make him flustered trying to comfort her, and with this guilt and gratitude, bind him tightly to her side.
In this way, her success rate of monopolizing Yuu in the future would increase tremendously.
—Right, instead of worrying about his safety, it's better to think about how to use this incident to create the greatest advantage after he wakes up.
This was Haruno's maturity, this was Haruno's cunning.
This was—
Her lie.
"What can I do, my sister is already so embarrassing, the older sister has to try harder..."
Her white-knuckled fingers slowly loosened from the steering wheel.
The corner of her lips lifted. Haruno laughed mockingly, and with slightly trembling fingertips, she adjusted the rearview mirror—that way, she wouldn't see Yuu lying supine like a corpse in the back seat.
Then, letting out a slightly trembling breath, she forced herself to divert her thoughts, contemplating and reorganizing the information Utaha had given them.
For example, that notebook recorded various notes about their relationship with Yuu, but only Utaha could see it, having no intention of guaranteeing others' privacy at all...
For example, they could see the missions and clues the notebook gave Utaha, but couldn't see what was written behind the rewards, and the other party also had no intention of being honest with them...
For example, she also retained memories of the last mission, and the power outage in the building at that time was caused by her attempt to rewrite Yuu's destiny of being stabbed in the chest...
All sorts of things. Until Haruno realized, the car was already parked in front of Tenkuji's house.
Immediately sending the sleeping Yuu home, and informing Sora as soon as possible, was also a decision Haruno made considering Yuu's personality, and because of the presence of outsiders beside him so she couldn't act selfishly.