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I woke up at 8:00 a.m. While still a bit drowsy, I stretched my arms and confirmed the situation.

“Thank god Kotori isn’t sleeping right next to me.”

I can imagine her actually doing that, after all. Entering the room without permission and crawling under my blanket, I mean. As a countermeasure, I moved the bed to block the door. Maybe I’m too cautious.

“No, being overly cautious should be the standard.”

It’s the adequate level of caution one should have against someone from the twelve families. Since they tend to go overboard. Am I the only one who thinks they should have more self-awareness? Even I wouldn’t do something like constructing a concert stage or a new bathroom extension.

“First, put it back in place.”

I drag the bed back to its original position. It might scratch the floor, but Kotori would probably forgive me for that. It’s for my own safety, so it can’t be helped. After all, everyone puts their own safety at precedence. I don’t want any surprises when I wake up.

“Now then, today’s plans are…”

Today I plan to head to Hadzuki’s secondary residence. The reason I’m not going to the Hadzuki residence is because Hadzuki has already gone back to his secondary home. This residence is in the same district as the academy. In other words, I’m going back to the scene of the crime. It’s going to be really dangerous.

“I wonder how that thing I requested for is going.”

I changed and tied my hair back, returning to my usual attire. I’ve evaded my pursuers this long, so the disguise probably won’t be effective anymore. I was even informed that they’re even examining the faces of any people they find suspicious. Check when in doubt, I guess.

“Kotone! Are you alright!?”
“I’m already done, so yeah.”
“Kuh! If I was only faster, I could’ve seen her changing…”

Your desires are showing, Kotori. This probably isn’t the first time she came to this room. I know that she struggled with the unopenable door. So I was actually right with my countermeasure.

“The Shimotsuki sisters are?”
“They still haven’t left their room. As for me, I had a lot of things to do, so I haven’t slept!”

So that’s why you’re weirdly energetic. I won’t ask what exactly you had to do. I have a hunch that I’ll just deal damage to myself. There’s so much I can think it could be, I just can’t narrow it down.

“Morning, you two are up early.”
“Good morning, mornings are such a pain.”

The Shimotsuki sisters arrived at around 9 a.m. They look so sleepy, where have the hyperness they had yesterday gone to? They don’t seem to be good with mornings. I woke up late yesterday, so I wasn’t able to see them like this.

“Morning Aya, Rin.”
“Drinking coffee while reading a newspaper, I really can’t see you as anything other than a working adult.”

That’s rude. I couldn’t help it, there was a newspaper left in the room. As a functional member of society, sometimes you can’t keep up with other people unless you have enough information. While you can get most of the necessary information on the internet these days, the paper medium still has value.

“Now if only Sister Kotone was wearing glasses, she’d be the perfect being.”
“Isn’t Rin a bit weird today?”
“She’s always like this in the mornings.”

I don’t quite understand her energy right now. Aya is just as usual, but Rin seems to be fighting her drowsiness. While the two are still eating their breakfast, I should contact him. Today is the most important day for me, after all.

“Kotone, what are your plans today?”
“I’ll greet Hadzuki and just go straight to the Kisaragi house.”
“You’re not going to Nagatsuki’s place?”
“My schedule was ruined thanks to a certain someone, so it’s impossible now.”

Had things gone as planned, I could’ve gone to Nagatsuki to give my greetings. Of course, without any prior appointment. But my schedule was ruined on the very first day. The stay at the Shimotsuki residence was unplanned, after all. Aware that I’m referring to her, Aya looked away.

“I wanted to go to your place too, but we really do need to go home soon.”
“We have to entertain the visitors. It’s really tiresome, though.”

So they actually had the intention to do that. I’m honestly grateful that they came along with me to the Fumidzuki family and I’m really glad that they won’t be tagging along today. I have no intention of bringing them to my family home and I don’t want people hearing about what we’re going to discuss at Hadzuki’s place.

“I don’t have to do that, so lucky me.”
“The same would’ve gone for me had I been allowed to live on my own.”
“I’ll absolutely prevent that from happening.”

Sparks fly between the sisters again, but in my opinion, it’s impossible for Aya to live alone. It’ll be possible if she has the support of her family, but I don’t believe Sherry would be so soft on her. Rather, she’ll probably say something like use this experience to improve your singing.

“I-”
“Like I’d ever allow Kotori to live alone by her lonesome!”

It feels like it’s been so long since I last saw Kotori’s father. From Kotori’s heavy sigh, she probably dreamed of living alone, as to keep as much of a distance away from her smothering father. I do feel like she can handle living alone.

“You’re only complicating things dear, so shut up.”
“But it’s Kotori’s future-!”
“Our child is at least capable of thinking about the future by herself. Regardless of what you think of it.”

The madam then left dragging the stupid father outside with her. This has become a common sight in the Fumidzuki family, but we’re not weird for finding it natural, are we? I don’t believe they’ve shown such a shameful sight to people outside of the twelve families, though.

“I’m really looking forward to your future, Kotone.”
“I’m just anxious about it. I guess too many things have been giving me stress lately.”

Though I plan on resolving one of those today. Some slight drowsiness is nothing compared to my excitement for today. I only came up with this during the field trip, but it’s still among the goals I want to achieve. And having a goal is a good thing.

“What are you clenching your fist for?”
“It’s part of my goal for today.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“Punch my father. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Everyone’s looking at me like I’m a weirdo. I’m aware that my goal is weird. They probably couldn’t have expected it to come from someone of the Kisaragi family. Our familial relationships are extremely twisted, after all.

“Do you have any mode of transport?”
“I’ve asked Hadzuki to handle it. A car should arrive to pick us up in a bit.”

I contacted Hadzuki after finishing breakfast. That’s when I asked for a ride. Kotori looks a bit saddened, but I really can’t extend my stay here for another night. Most of all, I don’t want to stay in a dangerous place like this for an extended period of time.

“Same as us, huh. I was thinking of dropping you off if you didn’t have any.”
“I’ll be alright. By the way, Kotori. What happened to my bodyguards?”
“Come to think of it, I haven’t checked. I’ll inform them to wait by the entrance later.”

I’m really curious about the “doghouse” she mentioned yesterday. I’ll just ask the bodyguards about it later. For some reason, I feel like Kotori treats my bodyguards really coldly. I wonder what’s her problem with them.

“Today is the last of the first three days. Time to pour all effort into this.”
“I think you’re putting effort in the wrong direction.”
“That’s just normal for Sister Kotone.”

I don’t think I normally wander around without any idea where I’m going, though. I just set a clear goal and make a beeline for it. There are times when the goals I have are weird, but that’s not out of character for me.

“Well, I suppose it’s goodbye for now.”
“I’ll go see you at the cafe later.”
“I’m coming too.”
“This time I’ll definitely go!”

It’s not like we won’t see each other until the new term starts. I’m generally at the cafe working, so it’s easy to find me. And on our end, it’ll increase our sales, so it’s greatly appreciated. I’m a tolerant enough employee to permit some antics.

“What happened to you guys?”
“We were thrown into a doghouse.”

They’re covered with fur and some trails of dried saliva. I didn’t know that Kotori had a dog, but maybe she just didn’t talk about it. I have absolutely no idea why Akira’s group was thrown into a doghouse, though. They really smell, so it’ll be necessary to have them change.

“I’ll ask the driver to stop by somewhere suitable. We can’t really go to one of the twelve families’ residence with you guys looking like that.”
“Thank you. Just what did we do to deserve this?”

I have no idea either. It’s something only Kotori knows. In the end, we decided to stop by a nearby bathing establishment. When was the last time I had such a relaxing soak? I can’t recall myself being completely relaxed these recent days.

“The visit at Hadzuki’s won’t end up like Fumidzuki’s, will it?”
“Don’t worry. I don’t intend on having you accompany me either. You’ll probably have to wait outside.”

It concerns my secret, so I don’t plan on having anyone else present with me. As for why I asked for Hadzuki’s help, it was because I believe he’d keep my secret private. I now owe him a favor, but I’m sure he won’t ask for something too extreme.

I mainly traveled wearing a cap even inside the car, but we haven’t seen any signs of the pursuing security team. They must’ve thought that we’re nowhere nearby and expanded their search range. That helps us out a lot, but I’m getting a bad feeling about this.

“Welcome, Kotone. Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year to you as well. We only have a short time left together this year, but please take care of me.”
“I have zero plans of keeping it short, you know.”

I know we can still see each other until graduation, but I’m sure we won’t be able to meet as frequently as before. I’d really appreciate that, since I won’t get dragged into any troublesome situations, but he’ll stay out until graduation, right?

“My family isn’t present, but come inside. After all, I’ll need some space to show all the documents.”
“So was the thing I asked for all done?”
“I used a lot of connections to investigate Okita Souji’s case, you know. This won’t come cheap.”

What I requested Hadzuki to do was to investigate my death. Since I don’t know any of the details, this was something I wanted to learn the most. I’m sure it’s bothering Kotone as well. Is the truth simple and concise, or is it complicated? Either way, it’s a thing of the past.