Chapter 36: A Story That Wasn’t in the Novel

When the door opened, a cool air flowed out from inside.

The house was surprisingly quiet.

I thought I could faintly hear soft classical music playing somewhere, but I hardly felt any human presence.

I fiddled with my hands for no reason as I took a step over the door.

‘…The house is completely huge. Even footsteps echo.’

The floor was made of polished marble, and a chandelier hung from the high ceiling.

A space that was so well-organized, a structure without any disorder.

It felt as if the design of this house itself was a space that demanded perfection.

Aya naturally entered and took off her shoes.

I followed suit and carefully entered.

And it was that moment.

I heard a light ‘thud’ from upstairs.

I reflexively looked up.

Then, I saw the second floor, which could be reached via a staircase with luxurious embossed patterns.

“My sister’s room is on the second floor. Let’s go up.”

“Okay…”

I followed Aya up to the second floor.

Every time I took a step, I felt the floor echoing subtly.

And…

I found the cause of the ‘thud’ sound I heard a little while ago.

When Aya opened the door, long platinum blonde hair, spread out on the floor, was softly disheveled.

The room was quiet.

A room where warm sunlight streamed in through a slightly opened curtain.

But in that, Senior Reina was leaning weakly on the floor.

“Sister.”

“Oh, uh… you’re here?”

“Are you collapsed again?”

“Yes… I have no strength.”

Yukikawa Reina.

Senior slowly raised her eyes.

She smiled softly as usual, but that smile was somehow lacking in energy.

I felt like my breath stopped for a moment.

Even though I had met her a few times and was acquainted with her, it was shocking to see her like this in front of me.

Because I had always seen her sitting or standing healthily when I met her at school.

But now, Senior… was lying on the floor, speaking weakly.

She doesn’t have a contagious disease, but her body is weak.

She, who was called ‘everyone’s angel’ and comforted people…

Was in a state where she was almost lying on the floor at home.

“Sister, are you okay?”

Aya pretended to be calm and helped Senior Reina up.

But, I could tell.

Aya’s shoulders were very slightly, subtly stiff.

I kept my mouth shut, quietly watching for no reason.

Only then did Senior seem to notice me, and she brought that mysterious gaze to me.

“The friend you brought…? Ah, you’re Miss Kurosawa.”

Senior’s eyes curved softly.

“Yes, I’m Kurosawa Rina.”

I quickly greeted her.

Then, Senior smiled slightly and replied.

“Miss Kurosawa, it’s really been a long time since Aya brought a friend other than Mizuki.”

“……”

Aya didn’t answer, and slightly turned her gaze away.

In that strange silence, I didn’t know what to say.

But one thing was certain,

As I felt in the infirmary last time, there was an indescribable distance between Aya and Senior Reina.

I silently looked back and forth between the two.

“Since Rina came to see you, let’s go to the drawing room.”

Aya spoke in the midst of tension, and Senior lightly smiled and nodded.

“Okay, then let’s go there.”

Aya, awkwardly supporting her sister.

And… me, a guest who can’t do this or that.

The three of us went down to the first floor.

While going down, I inadvertently looked around.

I couldn’t tell if this was really a house where people lived or a palace.

A space where old Western architectural style and modern design were harmoniously mixed.

Under the huge chandelier, expensive paintings and ornaments were neatly placed in the hallway.

The carpet on the marble floor was so soft that it swallowed the sound every time you walked.

‘…This house, is it really okay for me to be here?’

I felt half admiration and half burden inside, and quietly followed Aya.

Soon, we arrived at the drawing room.

A space with luxurious sofas and tables.

Soft sunlight streamed in through the large windows, and an antique bookcase was located on the wall.

‘Wow… this is the drawing room. It’s bigger than my room…?’

All of this was unfamiliar to me.

But Aya and Senior Reina acted so naturally as if it were too familiar.

“I’ll bring some tea.”

Aya spoke softly and got up from her seat.

Then she naturally went out to prepare refreshments.

I confirmed that Senior was seated, then glanced at Aya and carefully sat down.

“Miss Kurosawa, what brings you here?”

“Ah, that… Let’s talk together when Aya is here.”

“Yes, that would be good.”

It would be better to give Aya a chance than for me to unnecessarily step forward.

The gaze of Senior, who was looking at me with a faint smile, was so similar to Aya’s that it felt burdensome, but I endured it.

Not long after, Aya brought the black tea.

Perfect black tea in a luxurious teacup.

Faint steam rose above the cup, and the refreshing scent of black tea spread.

‘…Did Aya brew this herself?’

Aya usually drank iced tea or convenience store black tea.

But it was the first time I saw such formally brewed black tea.

The moment I realized that fact…

My face flushed red.

‘Ah, Aya formally brewed black tea…! This is something… something…!’

I was making a fuss inside, but soon I sensed a cool atmosphere and came to my senses.

Aya and Reina.

Even while drinking tea, the air between the two was strangely cold.

Senior Reina still had a soft smile, but Aya’s gaze was unusually cold.

I instinctively held my breath in that gap.

“So…”

Senior Reina opened her mouth first.

It was a soft voice, but it was a voice that wrapped around the opponent.

“Rina, why did you come?”

Senior looked at me and asked quietly.

However, it was Aya, not me, who answered.

“The night market.”

Aya’s firm voice cut through the space.

I felt a chill run down my spine for a moment.

It felt like the quiet atmosphere until just now had frozen in an instant.

‘Ah… this is Aya’s original appearance.’

I felt unfamiliar with Aya now, perhaps because I only remembered Aya who had a subtle atmosphere towards me recently.

But Aya in the novel was originally a cold beauty who exuded this kind of cold atmosphere.

Senior lightly swept the teacup with her finger and slowly smiled.

But there was no emotion in that smile.

“…If you came to talk about that, you should be prepared to hear it.”

Senior slowly put down the teacup.

Unlike the scent of black tea that spread in the drawing room, the atmosphere was getting colder and colder.

“…It was when I was in the first year of middle school.”

A quiet yet soft voice echoed in the space.

Senior slowly began to recall the past, as if looking at a distant place.

“Until then, the night market was one with Takamori Academy.”

“……”

“Every year when the spring festival was held, the performances and booths prepared by the students inside the academy, and the night market participated in by Shirasaki Street. The entire Takamori area became one festival venue.”

There was a faint nostalgia mixed in Senior’s voice.

“But…”

Senior paused for a moment, and lightly rolled the teacup with her fingertips.

Even in that subtle movement, Aya’s gaze revealed a cold guard.

“Let’s stop talking about the old days. You asked why Shirasaki Street and Takamori Academy split up, about the night market, right?”

Aya asked directly in a voice without emotion.

Senior quietly sighed and lowered her gaze.

Senior looked like she was having a hard time even breathing.

“Yes, that… as everyone knows, it was because of a power struggle.”

Senior’s voice was still calm, but somewhere cautious and careful.

“Our academy’s alumni association and the Shirasaki Chamber of Commerce were originally deeply cooperating. But, gradually, their interests began to diverge.”

“What kind of interests?”

Aya’s question was blunt.

It was so sharp, I thought, shouldn’t you not talk to your sister like that?

But Aya’s gaze was so intense that I couldn’t dare to intervene in these sisters’ relationship.

“The alumni association wanted to limit the influence of outside merchants to maintain the academy’s reputation, while the Shirasaki Chamber of Commerce wanted to actively utilize the academy’s festival to revitalize the local economy.”

Senior quietly took a sip of tea.

“And in the end, the conflict between the academy’s board of directors and the chamber of commerce executives grew… and the academy side officially decided to exclude Shirasaki Street under the pretext of ‘independent academy event’.”

Aya maintained a calm expression, and this time asked another question.

“Was that just a simple power struggle problem?”

Senior seemed to avoid eye contact for a moment.

Did Aya’s words hit the mark?

“……”

At that moment, I felt a strange sense of incongruity.

Senior Reina is saying that it was all about the power struggle… but it didn’t seem like that was all.

“At that time…”

It was when Senior opened her mouth small.

“What… happened at that time?”

When Aya asked persistently, Reina put down the teacup.

Senior’s eyes shook subtly.

“Aya.”

She said in a soft but firm voice.

“Don’t you know too? That what happened at that time wasn’t just a simple power problem.”

I reflexively looked at Aya.

But Aya’s expression didn’t change at all.

“So, what exactly happened?”

Aya asked again without a single waver.

Senior exhaled heavily.

“…That day, I was performing at the night market.”

“Eh, performing?”

It was a story that wasn’t in the novel.

So when I inadvertently asked back, Senior Reina smiled slightly.

“Yes. It might be hard to believe now, but in the past, students used to step up and perform on stage during the night market. I played the piano as a student representative.”

“……”

“But… that day, there was an accident during the performance.”

Senior’s voice was quiet, as if she was carefully hiding something.

“What accident?”

Aya frowned slightly.

At that moment, I felt a strange sensation.

‘Aya… didn’t know this?’

Aya is a person who knows everything.

She had already grasped all the information she was interested in.

But now, seeing her react to the word ‘accident’, it meant that there was an event that even Aya didn’t know about.

“It was just… a simple stage equipment problem.”

Reina deliberately put on a nonchalant expression.

However, I could tell.

That it wasn’t a ‘simple’ matter.