——After bidding farewell to his father, Subaru walked slowly through the familiar streets toward home, sorting through his tangled emotions as he went.
A swell of feelings rose in his chest as he walked.
Wandering outside during daylight hours was something he hadn't done since he'd started skipping school. But the scenery, which he must have walked past countless times, looked different now — and not just because he was feeling the warmth of the sun for the first time in a while.
"Well, it's not like a school-truant kid can just stroll around under the broad daylight so brazenly."
He'd become the talk of the neighborhood — getting picked up by a police officer was the last thing he needed.
Even Subaru, who harbored a subconscious desire to be hated by both his father and mother, apparently drew the line at being detested through a police incident.
Every road around the house was brimming with memories.
He walked through the quiet — or rather, simply deserted — residential neighborhood, feeling those memories with the soles of his feet as if tasting and confirming each one. By the time the sting of dried tears on his cheeks had faded, he finally arrived at the gate of his home.
He drew a breath and held it.
The countless emotions coursing through his closed eyes — he swallowed them all down.
"I'm home."
He opened the door and called the words inside.
He waited for a reply, chuckling at his own nervousness. But the expected response never came. Frowning in puzzlement, Subaru slipped off his shoes and stepped inside. His gaze wandered, searching for his mother, who should have been there— "…Ohaei."
—Standing in front of the refrigerator, she turned around with mayonnaise still dangling from her mouth, greeting Subaru as he walked in.
"…I'm home."
His earlier tension evaporated on the spot — Subaru's shoulders sagged, and he managed a wry laugh as he answered.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ "You said 'I'm home' and I didn't answer, so I got worried something happened!" his mother protested.
"Something did happen! Look — Mom's personal mayonnaise was empty. So I was secretly siphoning Dad's mayonnaise… Come to think of it, you and Dad have started sounding alike lately. I can't tell the difference over the phone."
"You're jumping topics, but the point is you couldn't tell us apart, so you were hiding. Well, if you're going to hide, I'd appreciate a little more sneakiness."
Having confronted his mother in the living room after the mayonnaise extraction incident, Subaru puffed the deflated container back to shape and set it upright on the table.
Naoko tilted her head as she watched.
"Don't tell Dad, okay? When you eat Dad's mayonnaise, you get to taste your favorite mayonnaise flavor AND Dad's flavor at the same time. It's a two-for-one deal!"
"That sounds like testimony from someone who licks a recorder! Combining two things you love doesn't make them the strongest — are you in elementary school?"
"So what happened to Dad? Did you leave him behind? When did you get fast enough to abandon your own father?"
"To begin with, there's no way I could beat Dad in a race… Wait, that can't be right."
He started to retort on reflex at his mother's question, then swallowed the words back down.
When was the last time he'd raced his father? Back then, Subaru had watched his father's retreating back — growing ever more distant as the man left him behind without a shred of mercy — with a heart full of frustration and a touch of admiration.
But that was years ago now. Surely if he compared speed with his father now, he wouldn't be left behind like that — in fact, he probably wouldn't even lose.
Admiration alone had ballooned until Kenichi's presence inside Subaru became impossibly vast. But letting that distort his judgment of the man's true nature would save no one.
"In the end, everything about me was half-baked, wasn't it?"
He leaned back in his chair with a creak and stretched wide. Seeing this, Naoko covered her mouth and laughed.
"What? Something funny?"
"You just reminded me of Dad. He used to do the same thing — stretch his spine against the back of the chair. Sometimes he'd get too enthusiastic and flip the whole thing over."
"Your gestures are starting to match his too, not just your voice. Whether that's a good thing or bad… I can't say."
"I think it's a good thing. —You really are his kid, after all."
*Thump* — his heart gave one hard beat, and Subaru barely suppressed a groan rising from his throat. At his stiff expression and wide eyes, Naoko blinked her sharp gaze — so similar to his own.
He breathed through his nose and quickly quelled the flutter in his chest.
"If I stay too long, I'll just be left with a pile of regrets…"
He stood up. Naoko looked up at him with puzzlement in her gaze, and Subaru scratched his cheek with a finger.
"Hey, there's something I want to ask."
"Sure, go ahead."
Naoko's carefree expression betrayed not the slightest awareness of his hesitation or inner turmoil — her eyes kept flicking to the mayonnaise. She was probably driven by the same impulse to get that condiment into her throat as she was to hear the rest of her son's story.
Her utter predictability completely deflated his tension, and Subaru broke into a small laugh.
"—Where did you put my school uniform?"
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ He slipped his arms into the ironed dress shirt, then fed his legs into the neatly pressed slacks. Buckled his belt and stood before the mirror, struggling slightly to fasten the dark green tie. Then he pulled the navy blazer on over everything.
"Student
He examined his finished reflection in the full-length mirror and exhaled like someone who'd just completed a job well done.
Staring back at him was a school uniform he hadn't put on in a embarrassingly long time. It was a blazer type, and he'd always hated it — every morning, the hassle of tying that tie shaved a precious minute off his sleep.
Two years and then some, tying it every day, and he'd never gotten any better at it. It still looked awkward somehow, and knowing this might be the last time filled him with mixed feelings.
"Should I make it perfect since it's the last time, or just do it the usual way?"
Even as he said it, the answer was already decided.
He flicked the puffy little end of his tie with a finger, left it looking characteristically clumsy, and turned away from the mirror. He surveyed the room once, then picked up his school bag.
From any angle, he now looked every inch the model high-schooler heading to class.
"Too bad homeroom's long past and third period's probably already started. Waking up this late, with the sun fully up — 'model student' doesn't even begin to cover it."
He scratched his head with a wry laugh, stretched on the spot, and headed for the door — then, just before leaving, he turned back as if remembering something.
For Subaru, who had never once moved since the day he was born, this room was the only place he could truly call "my own." He'd been given it when he started middle school, and had spent nearly six years sleeping and waking within these walls. —This, too, was probably the last time.
"————"
Without a word, Subaru simply bowed his head quietly.
He poured six entire years into that single gesture.
When the long, long bow was finished and he raised his head, Subaru straightened his clothes briskly, turned his back on the room, and pulled the door shut behind him with a click.
He descended the stairs to the first floor, where Naoko had been waiting in the living room. Her sharp eyes went wide with surprise.
"Oh my. When you asked where the uniform and shirt were, I thought maybe you were going to burn them, so I got all sorts of preparations ready… What a waste."
"When your son asks where his uniform is, your mind jumps to burning?! And by 'preparations,' you mean… potato chips and skewered franks?"
At the spread of food laid out on the table, Subaru was struck speechless by a level of maternal anticipation that exceeded all his expectations. Naoko, meanwhile, showed no awareness whatsoever of her son's horror. She looked him up and down from head to toe.
"Mm-hmm, it suits you! When you dress up like that, your eyes sort of cancel out and you look a little calmer."
"You are actively robbing me of my composure as we speak!"
"Why are you so on edge? Want to lick some mayonnaise to calm down?"
"I'm not in the mood right now…"
"Yeah, figured."
The mayonnaise being offered — the lid marked with an "S" to indicate ownership — was pushed back. Subaru refused, and Naoko nodded as though she'd known exactly how he'd respond.
"Because you don't really like mayonnaise that much, do you, Subaru?"
"————"
"You only ate it because Mom and Dad loved it so much. You just wanted to eat it together with them."
Naoko twirled the S-branded mayonnaise on the table as she spoke. Subaru was choked silent by surprise. He stumbled, drew a breath, then let his lips tremble.
"W-Why would you… something like…"
"So, Subaru — if you had to choose between the world and mayonnaise, which one?"
"Obviously the world…"
"See?"
"Your analogies are terrible!! What's with the smug 'see'?! The kind of person who picks mayonnaise over the world doesn't even like mayonnaise — they just hate the world!"
He tore into Naoko's wildly off-target remark, panting with the effort, and glared at the mayonnaise on the table. Then he sniffed quietly.
"…How long have you thought that?"
"For a long time. Dad and Mom get so upset when our personal mayonnaise runs out, like the world's ending. But you never did."
"Despair at being held to such high standards, I have."
His mother's words left him deflated. But inside, his feelings were anything but calm.
Subaru was an unapologetic mayonnaise fiend. No lies there — when it came to condiments, nothing else came close. Karaage, obviously, with mayonnaise. He was even the type to spread mayonnaise on mayonnaise-flavored potato snacks.
But why did he cling to mayonnaise with such devotion?
"Because I wanted to taste what the two of them were enjoying so much — the same way they tasted it. Man, I really was a mama's boy, a daddy's boy, and a family boy, all rolled into one."
"Want me to add 'Super' to that?"
"Super Family Complex — Super Famicom — shut up!"
They exchanged meaningless banter, and Subaru shook his head with a long sigh. Then, with great ceremony, he picked up the mayonnaise from the table.
"Here goes."
"Mmph — delicious! Real, authentic mayonnaise after all this time — nothing beats it! The artisanal stuff made with natural ingredients is nice, but mayonnaise loaded with synthetic colorings and loaded with health risks — THAT'S the real deal! That other stuff is just mayonnaise in name."
He squeezed the nearly full bottle directly into his mouth. The sharp, tangy flavor passed over his tongue, and a searing heat ran through his throat and chest.
This was what mayonnaise addicts loved beyond all reason — the mayonnaising.
He wiped the white residue from his mouth with the back of his hand, then grinned at Naoko's astonished face.
"I may be no match for the two of you when it comes to loving mayonnaise, but I'm still a devoted believer. I swear it on every single cap I've ever finished."
Incidentally, the closet in his room held every mayonnaise cap Subaru had used up on his own. The quantity was extraordinary — 776 of them. And with this now-empty bottle, number 777.
"Triple seven. Put it in my closet later, would you?"
"Oh, three sevens — how auspicious! Dad was over the moon the other day with four sevens."
"The scale of our love differs literally by an order of magnitude!"
Naoko accepted the bottle with a cheerful smile. Subaru looked less than satisfied — his sense of accomplishment somewhat deflated — but he quickly composed himself.
"Well then… I should probably get going."
"Oh, if you're stopping by the convenience store, I want cream puffs. Pick some up."
"Could you at least let my appearance spark your imagination before you speak?!"
He threw his arms wide to present himself. Naoko laughed, saying "Joke, joke."
"Going to school now? Mommy's happy, but… won't you stand out too much? Why not leave what you can for tomorrow?"
"Could you stop crushing your son's motivation at the source? I'm already the type who's harsh on others and easy on himself, thanks to my thoroughly spineless attitude."
"If you really were that kind of kid, Mommy wouldn't have had nearly so much trouble."
His self-deprecating remarks were met, as always, with Naoko's airheaded response. Then, narrowing her eyes, she said "Up we go" and stood.
"Well then, let me go grab my jacket. Wait here for me."
"Wait for you — don't tell me you're coming with me?! 'Recovering shut-in, accompanied by parent, first day of school' — that's the level of a punishment game!"
"I'm not going all the way to school. Just to the convenience store down there — to pick up mayonnaise and cream puffs. You shouldn't be so clingy."
"Huh!? It sounded like you were asking me to come along!"
Shouting at the incomprehensible turn of events, Subaru watched his mother respond with a breezy "Yes, yes" and head toward her room. He was being dragged along for the walk and would end up going to school with her escort part of the way.
"No, no… give me a break. Seriously."
Even as he grumbled, Subaru's cheeks relaxed with relief.
He was acutely aware — even as he confronted his own weakness — that the moment of saying goodbye to his mother had been pushed just a little further back.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ "Walking side by side like this with you — it's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Has it? At night, I feel like I go along on shopping runs pretty often."
"Hmph. Given the flow of our conversation just now, obviously I meant during the day. You have to think about what's really being said — read between the lines."
"The one person I should NOT be receiving a lecture on reading between the lines from is you, Mom!"
Naoko Natsuki's inability to read a room was without equal — truly world-class in its stubborn obliviousness.
This was a shared consensus between Subaru and Kenichi within the Natsuki household, and in practice, when talking with Naoko, figurative language or humor went completely over her head nearly one hundred percent of the time without explanation.
Moreover, she herself had no awareness of this whatsoever, and had zero comprehension of her own spectacular brand of airheadedness — which made conversations with her impossibly stressful.
Even knowing all of this, though, Subaru enjoyed talking with his mother.
"It was nice having warm weather today. What did you talk about with Dad?"
"Oho — conversation with Mom, level one: the first half and the second half are completely unconnected. You're not doing it on purpose, but still… let's see…"
As they walked side by side on the road to school, Subaru tilted his head at her question.
If he explained the details of his conversation with Kenichi, he'd end up having to talk about his own embarrassing inner world, his complexes, and the fact that he'd burst into tears. That was something he'd done in the heat of the moment, thinking it was just for that place. Revisiting it here didn't feel right.
And so.
"Not much, really… Ikeda's story, some old memories, that sort of thing."
"Ah, Ikeda-kun. He won a huge horse-racing payout, moved to Thailand, got scammed by his young local wife, lost everything, and ended up working brutal manual labor while getting deeply tanned."
"That tragic second half is the first I'm hearing of it!"
"Illicit money never really stays with you, does it? He sent a letter saying his body's having a hard time, but his heart feels fulfilled."
"He's been hardened by experience in an unknown land, Ikeda… Not that I'm any different!"
A man whose situation wasn't far removed from Subaru's own — the only difference being whether it was another world or another country. Unexpectedly finding a kindred spirit, Subaru quietly wished Ikeda well.
Naoko tilted her head at her son.
"So, hearing all those stories gave you the will to go to school?"
"Yeah, well, in short, I guess. I realized I'd been thinking about all sorts of reckless things, and hearing about it gave me a chance to look back. And…"
"You decided not to try to do everything the way Dad does."
"————"
As Subaru tried to wriggle away with a vague answer, Naoko pressed him without mercy.
Her side profile wore the same smile as always, and her sharp yet gentle gaze hadn't changed at all. So perhaps her words carried no such intent. But even so, for Subaru, it felt as though she'd seen right through him.
In front of the silent Subaru, Naoko walked along, swinging both hands as she spoke.
"You've always been a hard worker, and you happened to be good at all sorts of things. And Dad was into way too many hobbies, so there were all sorts of opportunities… You must have gotten exhausted."
"M-Mom… how much did you…?"
"Listen, Subaru."
The inner truth he'd hidden even from himself — the fact that his mother spoke as though she'd always known it left him utterly at a loss for words.
She called his name, and he looked up. She'd moved ahead and stopped in front of him, looking straight into his eyes.
"People always say, 'Children watch their parents more closely than parents think.'"
"…………"
"But the reverse is true too. Parents watch their children far more closely than children realize. Mommy watches you far more closely than you think, Subaru."
He could only stand there, stupefied.
The futility of having believed so thoroughly that he'd successfully concealed everything — when in fact it had all been spinning his wheels. And above all, the shallowness of his posturing as someone in solitary isolation, convinced that no one could possibly understand his suffering.
"When you were little, I even inserted suppositories, so I've seen everything down to your rear end. The only thing Mommy hasn't seen inside your body is your internal organs."
"I'm sorry. We were having a good moment there — I didn't need the natural disaster."
And on the subject of internal organs, not even parents or siblings had many opportunities to see those. Subaru, as it happened, had been fortunate enough — or unfortunate enough — to have had such an occasion.
Regardless.
"The mayonnaise, the reason I shut myself away…"
"If Mommy could have done something about it, she would have. But anything I tried probably would have made things worse. However—"
She gave a small smile and continued, fixing her eyes on Subaru's dark pupils.
"Someone who wasn't Mommy or Daddy managed to help you. I think that's a wonderful thing. You should be grateful to that person."
"Yeah. That person showed me how hopeless I really was. And that same person told me that hopeless me wasn't just hopeless. That's why I can stand here now, facing the past — facing Mom and Dad."
Having been made to recognize his own foolishness, having had that foolishness affirmed — Subaru could now stand here.
Oh, truly.
"You two are incredible. I don't deserve you — not by a long shot."
"But you're not going to give us away to anyone, are you?"
"That goes without saying. It's not even a question of whether I deserve it. If I have to choose between giving you away and keeping you even if I don't deserve it, I'll keep you. And then I'll build up my worth to match."
"Mm-hmm — you really are his child, after you."
How much those words meant to Subaru.
His mother, who knew the depths of his heart that he'd never shared with anyone, surely understood that. And if she was saying this now, knowing full well— "Am I doing it right? Am I being a good child of his?"
"You're fine. After all, half of you is Mommy. If you got cool enough to fill up Dad's half, the quota would be met."
"I'm well aware that the genetic contribution of my half that's my own mother is the weaker one!?"
"So if you get Dad's half looking good… then the remaining half can just be Subaru, can't it?"
Unfazed by Subaru's grumbling, Naoko offered her answer.
Hearing it, Subaru was left speechless — dumbfounded.
"You don't have to become exactly like Dad. If you were identical to Dad in every way, there'd be two of him and Mommy'd get all flustered!"
"A woman torn between her husband and her son — is this an erotic novel?!"
"Oh, stop it already!"
"Guh—pah!?"
His flustered remark earned him a playful punch to the face.
The surprisingly solid right hook knocked him sideways. Rubbing his aching jaw with tears in his eyes, Subaru watched Naoko turn on her heel as if presenting her back.
"So what I mean is, Subaru should just be his best Subaru self."
"You wrapped that up nicely, but there's a little blood—"
"Speaking of blood, does licking an iron pipe taste like blood?"
"That's a pretty specific scenario to wonder about… Wait — Mommy conversation, level two! I've suddenly lost the thread of the conversation."
It would be pointless to explain here, with painstaking care, that the iron content in blood was chemically similar to the material in iron pipes. Answering such questions earnestly only led to "Why are you talking about something else?" and the frustration of being scolded for no reason.
And so, ignoring the context entirely.
"Just be my best self, huh."
"Exactly. You can want to be like Dad all you like — but be Subaru."
Naoko seemed satisfied with the conclusion they'd reached. Then, without warning, her feet stopped ahead of him. She turned and pointed to the right fork in the road.
"Well, Mommy's convenience store is this way, so I'll leave you here. Will you be okay on your own?"
"You don't have to worry that much… it was pretty bad back then, yeah."
It wasn't Naoko being overprotective. Subaru had truly been a pitiful sight — from a mother's eyes, he must have looked heartbreakingly inadequate. So Subaru reassured her.
"I'll be fine. What I need to do and what I want to do are perfectly aligned now. There's no reason left to shut myself away."
"Good. That's good to hear. Then — do your best."
Naoko nodded as if relieved by his answer. Then, with light, bouncing steps, she turned right at the fork. Subaru's path was left — and here was where he parted from his mother.
It was a farewell. And one that would surely be far, far longer than his mother imagined— "Mom—!"
He couldn't bear to watch her retreating figure in silence. Subaru called out in a loud voice.
Naoko, who'd been skipping along in pursuit of mayonnaise, stopped and turned her whole body toward him. He burned into his eyes the sight of his mother — exactly as always, unchanged.
"…Ah—"
He was about to speak the words of parting, and hesitated.
If he didn't tell her here and now, his mother would never know just how long their separation would last. Subaru, too, would never have the chance to see her collapse in tears — the mother he'd never meet again. If he didn't want to leave his mother with a tear-streaked face as his final image of her, wasn't it better to stay silent?
That self-deception — disguised as consideration for both himself and her— "—I have something I have to do. That's why this will be a long goodbye."
Natsuki Subaru's heart would not allow it.
At his words, Naoko fell silent. Before any reaction could form, Subaru pressed on.
"I'll be far away. I probably won't be able to contact you. I'm sure I'll cause you all sorts of worry. I can't promise I won't do dangerous things — in fact, I'll probably be in the thick of danger, trying to save a helpless kid."
He spoke faster. He listed facts. The words he wanted to say kept spilling out.
"I know Mom and Dad will worry again. Yesterday, I was right where you could see me, but now I'll be somewhere beyond your sight. But wherever I am, I'll be thinking of you both, and I'll never forget you…"
"Subaru."
"I won't ever feel like I don't want to be your child anymore, and I won't do anything that would make me hate myself. I know it's a lot to ask — to say 'watch me go with peace of mind' — but I…"
"Subaru."
He was losing track of what he was even saying. His mother's voice called him back.
He looked up, and she was standing right in front of him. Then— "Subaru. —It's going to be okay."
"It's… going to be okay?"
"Mommy understands what you're trying to say. So you don't have to try so hard to find the words."
"You understand, but… how can you…?"
"Because I'm Subaru's mommy."
—What a thoroughly illogical reason, and yet one he could never hope to argue against.
Heat surged behind his eyes. He'd felt this sensation barely an hour ago.
How many times would Subaru have to cry like a child? How many times would he have to shed tears before he forged an unbreakable steel heart, unmoved by anything?
"Th-This is so… pathetic… crying like a baby…"
"If crying when you want to cry is lame, then every baby ever born is lame."
"That's not what I mean…"
"I know, I know. In front of Mom and Dad, Subaru will always be their little boy, no matter how old he gets… So when you want to cry, just cry."
The world blurred. Tears spilled over. He wiped them with his sleeve, hiding his face from his mother. Naoko respected his stubbornness and didn't peek.
Instead, she slowly, gently patted his short-haired head, standing on tiptoe to reach him.
"…I'm sorry, Mom. In the end, I couldn't do a thing for either of you…"
"I didn't have you because I wanted you to do something for me. I had you because I wanted to do something for you. I wanted to love you, and that's why Mommy had Subaru."
—If it was love like that, Subaru had already received more than he could ever count.
"If you want to do something for Mom and Dad, just pass those feelings on to someone else. And if that person is someone you love, and you have a child together who you can love as well… Isn't that the best?"
"…Yeah. That sounds like the best."
"Right. Mommy's never really wrong, you know."
Naoko smiled with satisfaction and teased his bangs with a finger.
Then she pressed gently on his chest to push him back a step, and looked up at his face from below.
"If you cry so much your face gets all scrunchy, you'll look even more like me — weird and all."
"…You can't just use your own face as a reference and get away with saying that."
"Well, I'm confident it's the face Dad loves. So just like Mommy's confidence — Subaru can be confident that Dad loves you too."
"That's only about the face part, though!"
He rubbed his eyes hard with his sleeve, leaving them bright red, but managed to stop crying.
To have bawled like a baby, bared his true feelings, been comforted, and now feel lighter — it struck him as absurd.
"Oh, man — all I do is cry. So pathetic."
"There's nothing wrong with crying. When you were born, you cried like crazy. Everyone starts out crying so hard they're a mess. You go through all sorts of things, and you cry at all sorts of moments."
"————"
"And if you cry a lot, but in the end you can smile — then everything's okay. What matters isn't the beginning or the middle. It's the end."
"So as long as the result is good, everything's fine?"
"That's not what I mean. This is homework from Mommy."
He'd probably never get the chance to check the answer.
She extended her farewell, dressed up as a homework assignment. Subaru took it and held it close to his heart. Someday, when he found the answer, would the day come naturally?
A farewell scene that could be called neither stylish nor clean.
Both his mother and father, their son having shut himself away only to vanish to parts unknown — instead of harboring resentment, they smiled and sent him off.
Truly, he'd been blessed with parents beyond his worth, an environment beyond his worth, and a place he'd loved.
"—Well then. I'm heading out."
"Go on, do your best."
He shook his head, and one last time forced his cheeks into a smile.
Leaving that awkward grin for his mother to see, Subaru turned his back and walked away.
He was well along the school route now — all that remained was to reach the end of this fork in the road, then head up the hill, and the school building would be waiting— "Oh, right. Subaru, Subaru — I forgot."
Behind him, that deliberately ditzy voice reached him.
He nearly stumbled in exasperation, then turned around without hiding his deflation.
Wondering what on earth she could possibly bring up at the very last moment, Subaru watched his mother raise her hand.
"—Off you go!"
With those words, she gave a small wave and smiled.
—The last night before he'd been summoned to another world. When he'd headed out to the convenience store, his mother had called out to him the same way. But that time, Subaru had been in a foul mood and pushed open the door in silence.
"————"
So this was his chance to wipe away that day's regret.
Mommy conversation, advanced level — no matter how far off-topic the conversation wandered, it always arrived at the perfect answer in the end.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, a genuine, unforced smile spread across his cheeks.
"—I'm off!"
His voice rang out, bright and clear, echoing down the school route.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ The school building was empty. Subaru approached the shoe lockers through the entrance, opening a door whose fit had gone stiff from disuse. He swapped his outdoor shoes for indoor ones, tapped the soles against the floor, and stepped into the hallway with a sigh.
Subaru was in his third year, class six out of eight. Seat number twenty-two — counted as a mixed male-female roll.
The third-year classrooms, the senior year, were on the first floor. He walked along the corridor with the staircase to one side.
Footsteps on linoleum echoed through the silent hallway. Subaru kept walking, heading for his classroom.
He arrived at his destination without much delay. He stood before the door and took a deep breath.
"————"
He gripped the handle, slid the door open— The moment he did, he braced for accusatory glances to focus on the student who'd arrived so incredibly late— "You're earlier than I expected."
That didn't happen.
Beyond the opened door, the classroom was lined with empty seats as far as the eye could see. The only occupied seat sat right in the center.
And the person sitting in it turned toward Subaru — chair and all.
"Welcome back. —What did confronting your past bring you, I wonder?"
The "