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Hiiragi should have injured her neck, so I was worried if it’s alright to move her head to search the shelves, but she isn’t showing any signs of pain at all. She has an inhuman pain tolerance as usual.

“Man, it’s been so long since I stowed it away, so it’s pretty hard to find it.”
“Take your time. I’m not really in a hurry.”

My promise with Kaori is for tonight. As long as she can find it by then, I don’t really mind. I can visit the Kisaragi residence another day if need be. What I’m worried about most is if Hiiragi gives up finding it.

“I remember hiding the photo inside something, but I completely forgot where I kept that one.”
“Where did you hide it?”
“Our graduation album.¹”
“Why did you mix it in there!?”
“They say hide the trees in the forest, right?”
“It’ll be found out immediately, damn it!”

Sure, they’re all pictures, so they fit in that sense. But it’s a picture of a high schooler and an elementary schooler together, it’ll absolutely stand out from the rest. I know that Ani’s graduation album isn’t normal, but it’s still completely out of place.

“No one would come to my house just to look at our graduation album, you know? Most would come to drag me outside for something.”
“Or watch your antics and think about how you haven’t changed a bit.”

In the first place, a graduation album is something you usually forget until you happen to see it. Ani doesn’t even remember where he kept it. You basically only find it by coincidence during general clean-ups.

“Oh, there it is. Ta-da! The graduation album that, for some reason, has our feats and exploits all recorded!”
“The physical proof of our humiliation.”
“It’s the crystallization of our photography team’s efforts. There are even some of which I have no idea when they even took it.”

Practically the only decent photo they took was of the final class photo. And the mug shots. Other than that, the photos are that of the class challenging the limits of humanity, running wild, and their other weird antics. Ani and his class had a really ridiculous school life, in my opinion.

“Seriously, why is there a picture of you being hanged in there?”
“Moreover, it’s of the first time it happened. Timewise, this should’ve been taken the day after the opening ceremony.”

As for why Hiiragi got hanged the day after the opening ceremony, I’m pretty sure it’s because she did something stupid that caused the other classmates to be angry at her. If I remember, it was something that was significant enough to negatively affect the class’ reputation in the eyes of everyone at school.

“That was the very moment your public image as Hiiragi was decided.”
“I was just going with the flow, though. Isn’t it awful how everyone’s so mean to me?”
“You reap what you sow.”

I know they had a tough time persuading the teachers. It was a negotiation with Ani and the faculty, which ended in coercion. Recalling it, it was just an overall terrible situation. Mostly to the class adviser’s mental health. The coercion method was weird to begin with.

“Hmm, the photo of Souji and Kotone should be on the third to the last page.”
“That’s a pretty random page to hide in.”
“The first and last pages are the easiest ones to open to, right? I can use my brain when I need to, you know.”
“Then use it more to find a better hiding place. Why in the graduation album of all places?”
“I just thought it wouldn’t be found that way.”

She opened it to the page where the photo is located. And as I thought, it looks completely different from the others, standing out like a sore thumb. Did she seriously think this wouldn’t be found out?

“See, I found it on the first try.”
“If you’re hiding something, it isn’t good to find it easily, isn’t it?”

As expected, it’s impossible to understand the logic of a lunatic. I stopped thinking about it and verified the photo. It shows Ani wiping Ane’s mouth inside a family restaurant. Without any other context, they just look like two close siblings.

“So, how much sweet talking did this require? ”
“Stop making it sound inappropriate.”

Even if you asked me how they got so close, I really can’t explain. They just talked about why they ran from home and then stayed together due to similar objectives. Also, they somehow ended up playing around town.

“Well then, I’m taking this photo.”
“For free? Isn’t this where you should present an equivalent exchange?”
“I bought you cream puffs, didn’t I? Which are now inside your stomach.”
“This is this, that is that.”
“The hell you mean by that.”

I wasn’t expecting her to give it to me out of the goodness of her heart, which is exactly why I brought a gift. I know that if you ask a favor from a member of the rogues den, they’ll definitely want something in exchange. And Hiiragi is no exception to this.

“So, your demands?”
“I want to borrow Kotone’s strength.”
“Mine?”

Not Ani’s, but Ane’s? That’s unusual. I genuinely assumed that with the rogues den, they’d only rely on Ani for help. Why does she need Ane’s help? I don’t see Hiiragi to be the type to win people’s grudges.

“The truth is, I’m being targeted by a troublesome individual. So could you chase ‘em off for me even just for today?”
“It’s rare to hear you speak like that.”
“That person is honestly real trouble for me. By the way, even with Nako and I working together, we couldn’t win.”
“The hell is that monster?”

Someone that couldn’t be defeated by Nako and Hiiragi combined—I can’t imagine someone like that at all. They’re the strongest spear and shield of rogues den, for crying out loud. And only a monster or worse can defeat those two. Even within Ani’s memories, I can’t find anyone who’d qualify for that.

“So I was thinking that, since you’re also of the twelve families, you might be able to deal with them.”
“Who are you up against?”
“Yayoi.”

It was so unexpected, I didn’t have any words. I have no clue why Nako and Hiiragi are acquainted with Yayoi of the twelve families. Even from Ani’s memories, I don’t remember even hearing anything relating to that. Still, with Yayoi being their opponent, then it certainly is possible for them to lose. After all, Yayoi is the strongest in terms of physicality.

1. Lyly: Unlike with usual yearbooks, Japan’s graduation album only contains pictures of the graduating students from all their years, not only this year

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