Chika sat frozen behind the desk, her heart hammering against her ribs as she stared at the identification card left lying on the polished wood. Her professional mask didn't just slip—it shattered.
"Wait..." she whispered, her fingers trembling as she pulled the card closer under the warm lobby light.
The name was the same. The face was the same. But everything else was... wrong.
The Discrepancy
| Detail | The "Deadbeat" (Known) | The Guest in Room 4 |
| Birthplace | Jakarta | Pemalang |
| Birth Date| September 28, 1995 | June 25, 1991 |
| Build | Athletic/Lean | Panda-like/Soft |
| Age | 30 | 34|
"He's older... and he's not from Jakarta," Chika breathed, her mind racing. "And his build... he's more like a panda now. The Agung we knew was always so sharp."
She didn't hesitate. She grabbed her phone and initiated a high-priority group call to every member of Aqours. The ringing didn't last long; at 11:30 PM, they were all awake, likely feeling the same prickling tension that had been hanging over Numazu all day.
"Chika?! What's wrong? Why are you calling so late?" Dia's voice came through first, sharp and alert.
"Everyone, listen to me," Chika said, her voice dropping to a frantic whisper. "He's here. He just checked into the Ryokan. But... girls, I don't think it's him. I mean, it *is* him, but it's not the 'Agung' who left us three years ago."
"What are you talking about, Chika-chi?!" Mari's voice joined the line, tinged with a mixture of hysterical hope and simmering rage. "He's there? At the inn?!"
"I have his ID right here," Chika said, her eyes wide. "The birth dates don't match. The birthplace is different. And his body... he looks different, like a panda. But he has his memories! He almost called me 'Chika-chan' before I cut him off! Dia, Mari... please tell me you've heard something from the others. Is there *any* information from u's or the Nijigasaki girls? Because something impossible is happening in Room 4 right now!"
The silence on the other end of the line was heavy.
"Chika..." Dia finally spoke, her voice uncharacteristically quiet. "I just received a message from Eli-san. They are on a Shinkansen right now. They're coming with the children. And she mentioned something... something about a 'brat operator' and a 'thirteen-year jump'."
"A jump?" Riko's voice piped up, sounding breathless. "You mean... the man at your inn might be the Agung from *before* everything went wrong? The one from a different timeline?"
"I don't care if he's a panda or a god!" Mari's voice suddenly surged with a terrifying, billionaire-class resolve. "If he's in Room 4, do not let him leave! I'm sending the Ohara security team to discreetly surround the Ryokan. Dia, get the car. We're going to the Takami Ryokan *now*."
Downstairs in the lobby, Chika looked up at the ceiling toward Room 4. She felt like she was standing at the epicenter of a collapsing reality. The "Deadbeat" was a ghost, but the man upstairs was a living, breathing mystery who was four years older and carried a completely different history.
"He's not a ghost," Chika whispered to the empty lobby. "He's a glitch."