"There are really a lot of people on the playground. By the way, where did Nakano Yu disappear to?"
Inside the classroom, Yotsuba leaned against the window, her eyes shining as she watched the crowd on the playground outside.
She liked times like this, mainly because she did not have to attend classes and could freely move between classrooms.
"As for Nakano Yu, he said he was going to find someone, but I'm not really sure."
Ichika thought for a moment before speaking. Her feminine intuition told her that Nakano Yu had something very urgent to do, but he had not told them. Still, Ichika did not mind; in her opinion, it would only take a few more days to win over Nakano Yu, as long as… she could gather the courage.
"Miku looks like she's not feeling very well."
Nino sat beside Ichika, her gaze falling on Miku, who was silently hugging her arm, and said.
"Mm… I'm fine."
Miku nodded, said that, and looked out the window.
In Miku's field of vision at that moment, a full moon, several times larger than the sun, hung above the azure sky.
She could feel the ancient aura radiating from that full moon, and the terrifying power that far surpassed what humans could handle.
Nakano Yu, you must come back quickly.
At that moment, Nakano Yu was sitting cross-legged on the rooftop, frowning as he looked at the phantom image of the full moon high in the sky:
"The moon… is it Tsukuyomi? But… I can't find him."
From the moment the sports festival began, this moon had appeared, but… it seemed that the students could not see it, which made Nakano Yu somewhat confused.
The arrival of a heretical god always brings ominous disaster, but at present the appearance of this heretical god had only resulted in the emergence of a gigantic moon in the sky, visible only to a few as a mere projection, without any impact on the current world.
Moreover, his range of perception had already covered a large area including Shuchiin Academy, but he simply could not find that heretical god, even though he was somewhat affected by that giant moon above his head.
"Nakano-kun, are you done looking?"
Just then, Ryuju Momo's voice sounded from below the rooftop.
Hearing that, Nakano Yu looked down and saw Ryuju Momo sitting on her small bed with her arms crossed.
A few days ago, Ryuju Momo had requested from Shinomiya Kaguya the right to use the rooftop. Naturally, that was with Nakano Yu's help; otherwise, even if Ryuju Momo was the daughter of the Dragon Pearl Group, it would not have been so easy to make Shinomiya Kaguya give in.
With a flash of his figure, Nakano Yu arrived at the rooftop stairs and said:
"I'm done, I'm done. I'll go down first."
He waved his hand and left, not waiting for Ryuju Momo's response.
Watching the young man leave, Ryuju Momo then lazily stretched out on the bed, looking at the azure sky, but saw nothing, and her eyes were even momentarily blinded by the sun's rays.
"How strange."
She murmured to herself, turned over, reached out to pull the teddy bear beside her, and dozed off.
Leaving the rooftop, Nakano Yu walked listlessly down the corridor. The corridor was now very crowded; today was the sports festival, and at the same time the day when Shuchiin Academy was open to the public.
Some people from outside the school and students from Toyonosaki Girls' High School had come, making Shuchiin Academy very lively. What somewhat comforted Nakano Yu was that, compared to the long skirts of Shuchiin Academy, the uniforms of Toyonosaki Girls' High School looked much younger and fresher.
However, Nakano Yu at that moment had no mood to pay attention to school uniforms or anything like that; he was now completely focused on where that heretical god might be.
That phantom moon was only a projection, Nakano Yu could feel that. Although it had the aura of a God, the heretical god was definitely not on it.
"Sigh, this is really troublesome."
Sighing, Nakano Yu scratched his head. He wished he had the ability to locate the heretical god, or the ability to summon him to himself.
"Nakano Yu? Why such a frown?"
Just then, a figure hurried toward Nakano Yu, abruptly stopped when she saw him, and asked worriedly.
"Kiyoura Setsuna. I'm thinking about something. And you, why are you in such a hurry…"
Hearing that, Nakano Yu looked toward the source of the voice and saw that it was Kiyoura Setsuna, who was carrying a pile of documents, and began talking with the girl.
"Mm, I have to submit the financial expenses and the attendance list for this sports festival to the Student Council. After all, the sports festival is one of the few days when Shuchiin Academy is open to the public, so there are quite a lot of people from outside."
Kiyoura Setsuna panted lightly, holding the documents with one hand, while with the other she tucked her sweat-soaked hair behind her ear.
"I can't chat now, Nakano Yu, I have to go. I'll come find you later!"
Glancing at the time on her watch, Kiyoura Setsuna finished her sentence and hurried off again.
Seeing the girl rushing like that, Nakano Yu did not stop her.
"Well, never mind, let me return to the classroom first."
Shrugging, Nakano Yu knew that worrying now would not help. Maybe, like last time with Amaterasu, it would reveal itself after some time.
When he returned to the classroom, there were not many people inside at that moment; most had gone to the playground to watch the competitions. Nakano Yu had no interest in games or anything like that.
He returned to his seat, rested his head on the desk, and without knowing when, fell asleep.
"Hey, you, can you hear me?"
"Hey~"
In his half-sleep, Nakano Yu heard someone calling.
Hearing that, the young man opened his eyes, but was surprised to discover that he was in a desolate world.
There was no sky here, only an endless starry night. The ground beneath his feet was full of craters, as if it had been bombarded by a rain of meteors.
"This is…"
Nakano Yu got up from the ground, murmuring. He wanted to speak, but realized he could not make any sound.
Frowning, Nakano Yu observed his surroundings, but when he turned around, he was startled to see a giant azure planet floating in the starry sky behind him.
"What the hell?! Am I… on the moon?!"
The moment he saw that azure planet, Nakano Yu was stunned, and countless alpacas seemed to stampede through his mind.
He remembered that he was sleeping, right? How did he suddenly end up on the moon?
Could it be that this was the heretical god?
Thinking of that, Nakano Yu suppressed his excitement and expanded his perception outward, wanting to see whether the heretical god had summoned him, but his hope soon faded. Nakano Yu felt nothing.
There was only desolation, and no one in sight.
"Hey, can you send me back?"
Just then, an ethereal voice echoed in Nakano Yu's mind.
Hearing that, the young man immediately became alert, observing his surroundings, but found nothing.
As he wondered what was going on, a large gate suddenly appeared in front of Nakano Yu.
The gate resembled a miniature torii, and at its entrance was a shining silver abyss, which looked incredibly mysterious.
Looking at this suddenly appeared torii, Nakano Yu was naturally cautious, but just as he was about to move away, a terrifying suction force burst out from the torii in an instant.
That force was as if countless hands were pulling at Nakano Yu, trying to drag him inside.
In response, Nakano Yu's eyes turned cold, his lips moved slightly. Although he did not speak, the golden light radiating around him clearly showed that Nakano Yu had used his avatar…
But the golden light, the moment it appeared, suddenly disappeared, and was immediately replaced by a silver glow that enveloped the young man.
"What's going on?!"
Under the influence of the silver glow, Nakano Yu felt sudden dizziness, his legs suddenly lost strength, and he was directly sucked into the torii.
"Nakano Yu? Nakano Yu? Wake up, they're about to light the campfire."
In his half-sleep, the young man heard a familiar voice calling him.
Opening his eyes, he realized that Kiyoura Setsuna had appeared beside his desk at some point.
He turned to look out the window and saw that it was already past noon. The last traces of the sunset hung precariously in the sky. The giant moon had disappeared, replaced only by a pale crescent moon on the other side of the horizon.
"Is it already this late?"
Rubbing his eyes, Nakano Yu murmured. It seemed as if he had slept for a very long time, but… he did not feel that way at all, as if only a single moment had passed.
A sense of distortion of time overwhelmed him, making him feel disoriented for a moment.
"Nakano Yu, get up quickly, the campfire party is about to start."
Seeing that Nakano Yu had woken up, Kiyoura Setsuna smiled and, as she spoke, took the young man's hand herself.
"The campfire party, huh? Let's go."
Allowing Kiyoura Setsuna to lead him, Nakano Yu walked out of the classroom. The corridor was already empty, and the orange-yellow glow of the sunset streamed through the windows, illuminating the passage.
Through the window, Nakano Yu could see that the campfire had already been set up on the playground, and a crowd was constantly gathering in front of it, just waiting for it to be lit.
Led by Kiyoura Setsuna, the two of them quickly arrived at the playground, pushing through the crowd all the way to the very front.
"Nakano Yu! Here, here!!"
Just then, Yotsuba's voice reached his ears.
Hearing that, the young man turned and saw the four sisters, without Miku, gathered together, looking at him with smiles.
"Yotsuba!"
When she saw Yotsuba, Kiyoura Setsuna waved at the four sisters and led the young man over to them.
"Seriously, Nakano Yu slept so long that he almost missed the campfire party."
Looking at Nakano Yu, Nino said with a slight tone of reproach. Although she said that, she still stepped forward and intimately slipped her arm through his.
"Where is Miku?"
Somewhat surprised by Nino's behavior, Nakano Yu looked around, not seeing Miku, and asked.
"Miku had something to take care of, so she went home earlier."
Ichika explained indifferently, then patted Nakano Yu on the shoulder:
"Nakano Yu, don't worry about her! The campfire will be lit soon, we almost missed it!"
Listening to Ichika's words, Nakano Yu felt his unease increasing more and more. That feeling of discomfort was on the tip of his tongue, but he simply could not say it. Why was this… like this?
"Hey, Nakano Yu, I heard that couples who hold hands in front of the campfire stay together forever and grow old together! Do you believe that?"
Kiyoura Setsuna leaned against the young man, her voice full of tenderness, her cheeks slightly flushed, as if shy.
"Kiyoura Setsuna, when?"
However, Nakano Yu did not answer her question. Instead, he said something strange; it was a sentence in the form of a question, but it sounded more like he was speaking to himself.
"Hm? Lighting the campfire? Soon, they're already preparing over there."
Hearing that, Kiyoura Setsuna looked at Nakano Yu in confusion, froze for a moment, clearly not understanding what the young man meant, and then slowly explained.
However, Nakano Yu was not satisfied with her answer.
Looking at Kiyoura Setsuna, his voice grew colder and colder:
"Kiyoura Setsuna… no, Tsukuyomi, when did you drag me into this illusion?"