join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for hundreds of additional chapters and over a dozen stories
"You can let me help." Kitahara Makoto lowered his voice, "But I don't want a foot massage. Kita-san has to give me a universal voucher."
"Eh?" Kita Ikuyo blinked blankly, "Universal voucher...what's that?"
"It's simple." Kitahara Makoto explained in a low voice, "If someday I want Kita-san to do something, as long as I take out a universal voucher with Kita-san's autograph, Kita-san must agree to me."
Kita Ikuyo quickly covered her chest, her face flushed, and she looked at him warily: "Kitahara-kun isn't trying to do something indecent to me, is he?"
"Please rest assured, it definitely won't violate laws or morals." Kitahara Makoto raised his right hand, looking righteous, "When I make a request, if Kita-san feels it's unacceptable, she can absolutely refuse."
"Mmm..." Kita Ikuyo hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed, "As long as it's not anything excessive, it's fine."
Kitahara Makoto smiled: "Then it's a deal."
"..."
After giving out a universal voucher while feeling dizzy, Kita Ikuyo felt like something was off.
Wait--
Looking at Kitahara Makoto's smile, Kita Ikuyo finally realized.
It was for Kitahara-kun's innocence, so why was she the only one anxious?
The discussion concluded.
Kitahara Makoto followed behind Kita, returning to the three girls.
"Nijika Nijika, Kitahara-kun agreed to help!" Kita Ikuyo smiled brightly, "This time, your relative will definitely be found."
Ijichi Nijika looked up, clasped her hands together, and said softly,
"...Then I'll leave it to Kitahara-kun."
In those future fragmented scenes, Kitahara Makoto indeed had the ability to exorcise. If he could find the missing relative, it would naturally be for the best.
Since she already knew the future, she definitely wouldn't let that terrible future happen!
As soon as she found her Older female Cousin, she would immediately keep her distance from Makoto-kun...no, from Kitahara-kun, and never see him again!
Kitahara Makoto nodded gently, and asked,
"Senpai, please explain the situation first."
"Okay."
Ijichi Nijika raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, and said softly,
"The missing person is my Older female Cousin. She's still a university student and came to Tokyo from out of town to study, renting a single apartment. About a week ago, an elder suddenly called, saying they couldn't reach my Older female Cousin. I specifically went to my Older female Cousin's apartment, and there was indeed no one inside. Even the fruit on the table had already grown mold."
Kitahara Makoto asked curiously,
"You didn't call the police?"
"We did." Ijichi Nijika nodded, "After the police reviewed the surveillance footage, they could only see my Older female Cousin last entering an abandoned, unfinished building. She never appeared again after that. But the police have searched the entire unfinished building three times and still haven't found any trace of my Older female Cousin."
"Spirited Away!" Kita Ikuyo said from the side, "It must be a Spirited Away incident!"
Kitahara Makoto said unhurriedly,
"Someone disappearing into thin air is certainly strange, but it's not necessarily Spirited Away, is it?"
"Because my Older female Cousin has always liked mysterious things since she was a child. After her disappearance, I found her notebook in the apartment. It recorded an urban legend, seemingly about being able to enter a mysterious world through an elevator..." Ijichi Nijika looked up, clasped her hands together, her eyes full of anticipation, "Now there are no other clues. My Older female Cousin's disappearance might really be related to a mysterious event, so I'm asking Kitahara-kun for help."
"If it's a mysterious event, I might be able to help." Kitahara Makoto said softly, "Otherwise, I can't do anything."
"That's enough~"
Seeing Kitahara Makoto agree, Ijichi Nijika secretly let out a sigh of relief, and a sweet smile involuntarily appeared on her pretty face, like the bright and warm spring sunlight above her head.
Kitahara Makoto's gaze subtly sharpened. In the fragmented scenes of the future, Nijika had shown an even brighter and more beautiful smile than the one before him...
However, Kitahara Makoto felt no stir in his heart.
His heart was now as cold as a knife that had been used to gut fish for thirty years.
The future of being cut down by a cleaver and dying young, must be rewritten!"Cough…"
Ijichi Nijika lightly coughed, quickly reined in her smile, and turned her pretty face away, saying,
"Then everyone, please wait for me for a bit. I'm going home to grab my notebook."
"Eh?" Kita Ikuyo quickly looked over, "No practice today?"
"Practice is postponed until tomorrow. It's the weekend anyway." Ijichi Nijika jogged away, turning to wave, her golden side ponytail especially bright under the sunlight, "Everyone, wait for me to come back."
"…"
There was nothing more to say after that. Ijichi Nijika went home to get her notebook, while Kitahara Makoto and the three girls returned to the small theater. Kuzu Ryo was playing on her phone, chin propped, expressionless and rather lazy. Bocchi-chan didn't dare to speak when outside, only occasionally sneaking glances.
Kitahara Makoto, meanwhile, found an opportunity to get a signed all-purpose voucher from Kita.
Half an hour later, Ijichi Nijika returned.
Kitahara Makoto followed behind the four girls, boarding the train and heading straight for the unfinished building where his Older female Cousin last appeared.
The journey was silent.
By the time the five arrived at the unfinished building, the sun was already setting, and birds were returning to their nests.
"This is the place." Ijichi Nijika exhaled lightly, "I've seen the surveillance footage of my Older female Cousin's last appearance. She entered here and never came out."
Kitahara Makoto looked up to observe the unfinished building in front of him. The main structure was mostly complete, but the doors and windows were largely unsealed, and he didn't know why it had been left unfinished: "Can the elevator inside still be used?"
"That's right, the elevator has already been installed." Ijichi Nijika nodded, "But for some reason, this building was ultimately abandoned. It seems only a few families were unwilling to accept the fact that it was unfinished and have moved in to live… Let's go in."
Kitahara Makoto and the four girls walked into the building. Perhaps it was the approaching evening, but the stairwell felt quite eerie and cold.
There was naturally no light in the stairwell, only the elevator flickering with a faint red glow.
"It feels a bit scary." Kita Ikuyo widened her eyes, looking left and right, "It looks like a good place for ghosts to appear."
Bocchi-chan didn't even dare to speak anymore. She hid completely behind Kita, her only wish now being to turn into a cat and hide in Kita Kita's backpack.
Yamada Ryo was silent, but she had quietly grabbed Nijika's sleeve.
Only Kitahara Makoto remained calm, following behind the four girls as they stepped into the elevator.
There was light inside the elevator, which made the four girls collectively sigh in relief.
"Next, we just follow Older female Cousin's diary…"
Ijichi Nijika took out her diary, reading from it as she began to operate the elevator.
Kitahara Makoto curiously glanced over. The operation was quite complex, like going up a certain number of floors first, then down a few, and then everyone had to turn their backs when stopping on a certain floor… It certainly seemed like the real deal.
The elevator swayed and creaked, going up and down.
Several minutes passed before Ijichi Nijika finally breathed a sigh of relief: "It's almost over. Once the elevator reaches the top floor, all the steps will be complete."
Yamada Ryo crossed her arms, complaining expressionlessly:
"Going back and forth in an elevator to enter another world feels like nothing more than a chuunibyou's delusion."
"Being in the elevator for so long is uncomfortable." Kita Ikuyo clutched her chest, standing pitifully by the elevator door, "And I'm hungry too… Eh?!?"
As she spoke, the elevator door quietly opened, and Kita's disbelieving gasp escaped her lips.
Looking at the bizarre sky outside the elevator, like a Monet painting, Kitahara Makoto's face also showed a look of shock.
"Good heavens, we really entered the otherworld?!"
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence: 9 Reader for hundreds of additional chapters and over a dozen stories