"Furude-san and Houjou-san are absent today because they both have colds.

The weather is changing, so it's easy to get sick!

Make sure you cover yourselves when you go to sleep.

Okay?"

"""Okaaaaaaay!!"""

"Hauu.

They live together, so I guess they caught it together...

Rika-chan is supposed to perform as a shrine maiden on the day of Watanagashi... I hope she'll be okay. I hope."

"We're planning to have lots of fun at the festival...

I hope they recover by tomorrow somehow.

Hey, do you want to go see them on our way home?

Maybe we can bring something healthy for them to eat, too."

"We don't need to.

By the way, can you two stop by this ol' man's house today?"

Mion usually enjoys ideas like bringing people food when they're sick.

...For whatever reason, she was a little curt today.

Actually, she's been acting a little different since this morning.

Even when I talk to her, her thoughts seem somewhere else...

Now she's asking Rena and me to stop by at her house.

"Your house, Mii-chan?

What for?"

"Well.

...I need to talk to you about something important.

I can't tell you right now, though."

Mion seemed calmer than usual, which told me that it was about something very serious.

There are always lots of patients running into the clinic just before lunch time.

Because of that, lunch time at the clinic is always later than normal people's.

It's just a short break, though.

Our afternoon shift begins right away.

The staff were enjoying their break, eating their delivery lunches.

They can eat basically anywhere they want, as long as the patients can't see them and it's not a place we need to keep sterile.

Because it's hot and humid, the meeting room with its air conditioner ends up being a popular place.

The staff all eat their takeout lunches there.

As I'm the director of this clinic, they might feel uncomfortable eating with me around.

So I usually eat my lunch in the director's office out of consideration for them.

Today I ordered lunch from a soba shop.

I got an extra large.

...An extra large serving of morisoba, that is.

...For whatever reason, they just call the dish an extra large.

That makes ordering it complicated, since if I order an extra large and a kitsune udon, they'll just deliver an extra large kitsune udon instead.

But is this really a large?

It looks more like regular size to me.

As I recall, the owner of the restaurant has hurt her hip, so she must be having a hard time keeping things running. I was still thinking about that when Takano-san came in.

She was carrying a really large size order in her hands.

Apparently she ordered a regular morisoba and I grabbed the wrong one by mistake.

...Ahh, what a hassle.

"Hee hee, it's easy to confuse them, isn't it?

They should use some kind of mark, you know."

"I agree.

For example, they can put a flag like the one on a kid's meal that says 'large size'."

"Pff... ahahahahahahaha."

Takano-san must have liked that idea.

She laughed for a while.

"Would you like to join me?"

I invited her to sit on the sofa.

"Are you sure?

Thank you. But could you turn the air conditioning down just a little?"

"Sure, sorry about that.

Here we go..."

Come to think of it, I haven't really talked too much with her.

We were rather distant from each other, partly over the guilt of the organization becoming the Irie Institute.

So with that and our respective positions, we had a taciturn agreement not to pry too deeply into each other.

Since our attitudes towards our research are different, we've never mingled before.

So chatting over lunch is a good way to get closer to her.

I wonder what she likes to talk about while eating?

I guess I should start a peaceful conversation. I don't want her to go off about something like tapeworms.

We're having lunch, after all.

And while I tried to come up with a topic, she started talking instead.

"A flag on a kid's meal...

That brings back memories.

Do you think they still have those flags, though?"

"I don't know.

It's one of those things that endure,

so it's possible they will keep having flags on kids' meals even in the far future. Maybe even an in-flight kid's meal on a space ship will have a flag on it."

"Hee hee hee.

That sounds interesting.

I wonder if kids will collect those flags even in the future..."

"Flags?

Did you collect them?"

"Oh, didn't you do that when you were a kid?

Collect the flags from kids' meals."

"No way.

When I was young, only rich kids could have meals like that.

My family couldn't afford it."

"That's not true.

My family was poor, but when we went to the mall, we had our lunch at a restaurant there.

Hee hee, at the time, for me to go to a mall meant having a kids' meal.

So whenever my parents went to the mall without me, I'd get very upset."

"Hahahahahaha...

Your childhood sounds very happy."

"...But.

When they went to the mall without me one day, they got in an accident and died.

...Until I got a call about it, I was really upset with my parents for going to the mall without me, and I was sure they were having a meal there by themselves.

As it happened, I only needed one more flag to make my collection complete.

Collecting twenty of them was my goal.

I was so upset that I couldn't complete my collection...

...That's awful, huh?"

It must have been horrible to lose her parents at the age when she was still interested in collecting flags from kids' meals.

...It's obviously still a painful memory for her.

"...I see.

I didn't know.

...By the way,

is that why you became a doctor?"

"Huh?

Hee hee, why?"

"Oh... well.

I aimed to become a doctor because of reasons involving my family, so... I thought the same was true for you too."

"I earned my medical license because it was necessary to draw closer to the Hinamizawa Syndrome.

It might be rude to put it this way, but I only obtained my license as a byproduct of pursuing my research."

How interesting.

...Even when she was still at medical school, she already knew about Hinamizawa Syndrome.

"...By the way, before I took on this job, I didn't know anything about the syndrome.

...Where did you find out about it?

I was told you read something about it while you were looking into the late Dr. Takano's documents.

I'm impressed that you already started to research it while you were at school.

Studying took up all of my time while I was a student... that's really incredible."

"Hee hee hee.

Actually, I became familiar with Hinamizawa Syndrome long before that."

What does she mean?

How old was she when she first found out about the syndrome?

In fact, why did she become familiar with it at all?

"Just like Satoko-chan and Rika-chan, I didn't have any relatives.

So I was sent to an orphanage. It was a horrible place.

You remember how there was a flood of war orphans back then?

I was in a truly awful orphanage built solely to gather up those children and bring in government subsidies.

When I escaped from there, I was rescued by my grandfather,

Dr. Takano."

"...So you actually lived with Dr. Takano?

...I see. Now I understand why you were familiar with his research documents at a young age.

But why do you keep it a secret?"

"...Well, political reasons.

It's one thing to request funding for research on a mysterious disease, but it's another thing to request it for a research project of my late grandpa's."

"I see...

Finally a question is answered.

The admiration you've shown when discussing Dr. Takano was always more than just respect for a fellow researcher.

...Still, since you respect him that much, he must have been a wonderful doctor with many genuine virtues."

"...I don't know about genuine virtues...

He died alone, of an illness, with nobody around to understand him.

He preferred being alone, which was a bad habit of his. That's why he couldn't find anyone who would support him."

"Still, he had you for an excellent assistant, didn't he?

...Speaking of which, your family name is read the same way his is, isn't it?"

"Yes. It's not my real family name.

I took my grandfather's out of respect.

I actually wanted to write it the same way, but I thought it could get complicated when explaining it to my client, so I ended up using different characters."

......Now I could see the connection between their two last names.

That also revealed the connection between first names, Hifumi and Miyo too.

She doesn't need to tell me anything more than that.

She lost her parents when she was young, and Dr. Takano took her in and loved her as if she was his own child. To show her love and respect, she decided to call him her grandfather.

Now I know.

That's the reason why she's devoted herself to researching Hinamizawa Syndrome.

I now understand how she must feel, knowing her research is soon to be terminated.

Rika-chan had said that she was hurt.

Although I didn't know anything about it, I may have said something to hurt her before.

I only cared about treatment and extermination, and didn't care about anything else until today.

She must have considered that blasphemous towards her grandfather.

Now I know why she became aggressive every time I expressed how I felt.

After she was told that her research would be terminated,

she stayed up all night and gathered up lots of documents.

She went to Tokyo and requested an extension without depending on anyone else...

and that request was rejected.

The documents she used are now in a box in the underground storage.

She must have exerted a lot of effort to put them together. Even someone without any knowledge of our research could easily understand what she was trying to say.

However, it looked like some of those documents weren't even opened.

...And some had marks that told me they weren't treated the way documents are supposed to be.

...I'm sure some pages had absorbed her tears without me ever knowing.

I heard from Tokyo that Takano-san had left a terrible impression with the board of directors.

It's not easy to overturn a bad impression.

In other words, she can never request an extension on her research ever again.

I was there when she found out about it.

I was there when she found out she could no longer continue her grandfather's research,

even though she must have promised him

that she would complete it.

"...Are you going to continue researching on your own after the Irie Institute shuts down?"

"By the time the Irie Institute closes, the Hinamizawa Syndrome will have been eradicated.

Should I preserve the pathogen in a petri dish, kidnap someone, and infect them to research it?

On my own?

Without equipment, funding, or a lab?

Should I continue the research, holed up in a study filled with the smell of formalin and never recognized or acknowledged by anyone, just like my grandfather, all so someone else can ridicule it?

What would you have a loser like me, who lacks the youth and energy anymore... do to continue it?"

"............"

Tomitake-san once told me that the Irie Institute was supposed to be the Takano Institute.

But our clients didn't like the idea of a young woman heading the facility, and that's why I was invited.

...That explains why she's been unfriendly since the day we met.

......It must have been blasphemy to her to see me go on about Hinamizawa Syndrome and decide on a research plan according to my values and morals.

To Takano, the syndrome is her grandfather.

She must feel his presence when she's researching it.

That's the reason why she often stays at the Institute until late at night, though it makes the Mountain Dogs annoyed, as they serve as security here.

"...Would you like to drink some of the soba broth?"

"Ah... yes,

please."

Her shoulders look fragile to me for the first time.

...And now I'm sure of Rika-chan's story.

Takano-san holds an indescribable sadness within her.

And if someone approached her, pretending to understand, she just might fall for it.

Because of my position, anything I say to her will only hurt her more, probably.

Sometimes, words can harm people no matter how they're used.

But, the fact that I still spoke up showed how little experience I had in life.

"...We could, at least, give the research you'd like to pursue a little more of our future budget.

We managed to gain another three years from them at least.

So we can give those three years our best--"

...It was all a slip.

Even as I spoke, I started to regret trying to say anything.

"I appreciate the sentiment.

...But it's even harder to watch someone fall ill and waste away over three long years."

If I remembered right, Dr. Takano came down with acute dementia, and chose to commit suicide while his mind was still functional out of despair at his inability to continue his research further.

My verbal slip had made her remember a painful memory, and hurt her even more.

"He went into a coma, and I had to make a decision as to whether to turn off his life support or not.

......Hey, Director Irie.

If you were the doctor in charge of that patient, who would you have pull the plug?

You wouldn't pull the plug yourself, would you...?"

Takano-san asked me that as if it was a normal question.

She's only expecting to hear one answer.

"......If I was put into that position...

...then when the time came...

...I'd probably let his remaining family do it..."

"That's what I thought.

Hee hee hee.

There's no way someone wouldn't be there for their family's final moments.

......So I will be here for the final moments of the Hinamizawa Syndrome.

No matter what."

Someone knocked on the door, and I heard the voice of one of the other staff members.

"Director, afternoon shifts are beginning.

Please get ready."

"Oh, okay.

I'll be right there."

"I'll clean up.

Why don't you go?

Lots of elderly people are waiting to chit-chat with you.

Hee hee."

Takano-san laughed... but I know that laugh was trying to conceal her anguish.

I'm not close to her personally, but she is my partner here at the clinic.

I have been trying to avoid getting close to her, but maybe that was a mistake.

If I had listened to her more...

maybe I could have eased her pain a little.

But it's too late.

Tomitake-san is conducting an investigation to prove her innocence.

Is she guilty or not?

Either way, her heartache remains.

After Irie left, Takano sat down on the sofa again and stared at nothing for a while.

Then she got up and picked up the phone on the desk.

"........This is Takano.

Is Okonogi there?

.........It's me.

I was going to ask you to start on the 20th, but please begin observing R today instead.

...Eh? What difference does it make?

Or are you going to tell me it's too hot to start today?

......Yes, please do.

We only have five days.

You had better be careful. More than careful, okay?

...Yeah, alright."

"Okay.

Goodbye..."

Okonogi put down the phone and sighed.

Although it's his job to do whatever Takano wants, he couldn't help but complain about getting such an order on such an extremely hot day.

Of course, if he complained, Takano would spit back twice as much reproach.

Okonogi was sitting in the office of Okonogi Gardeners, a dummy company.

As it happened, they regularly did gardening in Hinamizawa, if only so that nobody would get suspicious to see their uniforms and van around.

"...Good grief, I give up.

Call in Nightingale and Skylark. Their vacations are cancelled.

The princess has given us the order to start observing R today.

We'll have to move the schedule up by three days.

The first day was Heron, right?

Go with a group of four, including one telephone observer, one telephone backup, one residence lookout, and one residence backup.

Heron Leader, you'll be at the command post.

Also, we're stepping up our sabotage of the telephone station too.

That would have been Nightingale's job, but it'll take a whole day for them to get here,

so we'll use Phoenix instead.

Phoenix 7, gather up a construction team and finish by tonight.

Can you do it?"

"Of course.

My men are well trained."

The Mountain Dogs are different from a regular battle unit.

They're a technical squad formed from specialists in different fields of espionage.

There were covert operatives for sabotaging telephone stations like Okonogi just ordered,

ones for wiretapping, intelligence gathering, information manipulation, establishing networks in public institutions,

and many others in various specialized fields.

They belong to the Self Defense Force. Some are from fire departments, some are from police departments, and some are civil engineers.

...Of course, they have some experts in combat as well.

Okonogi is one of those combat experts, and he didn't expect too much from the engineers.

...While they had all gone through the same basic training, what they were capable of was child's play compared to what an expert can do.

Okonogi is the leader of a unit made up mostly of members who can't even do a hundred push-ups.

...Really, that was the only complaint he had.

He'd rather have been put in charge of the Bloodhounds.

But somehow, he became the leader of this strange unit, maybe because of his cautious yet courageous personality.

Since combat was his expertise... Okonogi wished deeply for combat.

During the kidnapping incident five years ago, the plan was for the resisting 'criminals' to leave the hostage behind on the scene and run after the police stormed in.

He recalled the extremely frustating memory of his combat with that plainclothes officer.

That fat old man was acting so arrogantly, but he could have taken him within a matter of seconds.

He could have just broken his neck.

He could have turned him around,

and snap!

It would have been so easy for him.

He remembered a young policeman too. He shot him in his shoulder, but he could have shot at his ear.

He was told to go easy on them, so that was the best he could do.

He'd thought of firing a second shot, but there just wasn't time. So the last shot he fired was that reluctant one.

Okonogi couldn't believe that such a pathetic battle was his last combat job.

Regardless, he had continued to train so that he was ready at any time.

Now that the operation had begun, he was hoping there would be a battle for him to fight.

He didn't even need to fire a shot.

He didn't even need to punch anyone.

All Okonogi wanted was a battle that satisfied his pride. Nothing more.

"Yes, one moment please.

...Commander, there's a phone call for you.

I don't know if it's for the commander or the president, though..."

He's also the president of Okonogi Gardeners.

Because of that, the members of the Mountain Dogs often call him that.

"Just a minute, I'll get my accent back.

Ahh, ahh...!!

Ahh, and the, what? Really?

How about that, huh?

And who is it anyway?"

"It's a woman.

She says her name is Nomura.

She's asking for President Okonogi."

"......Then that's for the Commander.

I'll take it in my office.

Please transfer it over."

Rattle, rattle, crash!

I heard a noise, which sounded like many buckets crashing down.

It's probably a noise from one of Satoko-chan's traps.

According to her Trap Map, anyone going near the wiretapping shack will set off a trap that makes a loud noise.

...That must have been it just now.

I scouted around the shack last night before the girls left.

The shack is very secluded, and is located in a blind spot where nobody is likely to go.

...So this noise means something important.

It means they've started their observation of Rika-chan.

I can't let them notice the girls aren't home.

They'll definitely call and come by to confirm they're here.

So I have to make sure they think the girls are sick in bed and that they don't hear the phone or the doorbell.

The curtains are closed, so they can't see what's inside of the house.

But to be certain, their beds are stuffed to make it look like they're sleeping.

However, I have to be even more careful from now on.

...I can't let them notice that I'm staying here.

For that matter, I have to make sure I can act when something happens.

The phone rang suddenly.

Just as I expected.

They're calling to see if anyone's home.

They're already aware that they didn't go to school, so they're probably assuming that they're home, sick in bed.

...I'm sure they want proof of that.

The phone rang for a long time,

which convinced me that it was indeed a call from the Mountain Dogs.

If there was no answer on the phone, then the next step would be to come by the house.

They'll pretend to be a mailman or a neighbor and knock on the door.

But I don't even need to answer it.

If the girls are too sick to answer the phone,

then they won't notice a knock on the door either.

The increased hassle means a higher risk of discovery, but... on the other hand, it also proves our enemy is closing in on us.

It was actually better for me, since I could measure the severity of the situation.

Besides, Irie is our ally, and he already knows Rika-chan is somewhere else.

...He's supposed to tell them that he came by because he heard Rika-chan and Satoko-chan missed school.

And that the two of them were in bed and should be left alone for a while.

He's supposed to say that.

...They won't doubt Irie.

They will believe him.

...You could call this an advanced level of mutual deceit.

They believe that they're deceiving Irie, but in reality, Irie is deceiving them.

However, they're professionals, and we're bunch of amateurs. Well, not me, at least.

...Actually, maybe I'm not an exception.

I don't know what they've got until I come face-to-face with them.

Our conditions aren't even.

...We're leading by a tiny bit because we made the first move.

Once that's gone, we don't stand a chance.

I promised Rika-chan that I trust her unconditionally.

So even without proof, I'm ready to fight.

But I can't beat this conspiracy by myself.

And to gain help from the others, Tomitake has to find proof.

Tomitake is in charge of our first attack.

...That means he's in the most danger, too.

It's understandable that Rika-chan kept warning him to be very careful.

He should have started his investigation as early as last night.

...If that's the reason why they've begun observing Rika-chan...

I can only pray for his safety and the success of the investigation.

I heard a voice.

...Irie had arrived.

"Satoko-chan, Rika-saaaan, I'm here to give you an examination~~~~!!"

I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and a quiet knock.

"...I'm alone, don't worry."

"We have to keep it down.

This house is already under observation."

I let Irie in and closed the door quickly.

"How are you?

It must be getting hot in here, since you can't open the windows, huh?

I brought something for you."

He handed me a plastic bag. It contained ice cream, cans of juice, some snacks, and even beer.

...Well, this obviously isn't for Rika-chan.

I feel he's being a little careless.

But I am grateful.

"So how is everything?"

"I heard a noise from the wiretapping shack earlier.

And the phone rang for a long time shortly afterwards.

I'm sure they found out that the girls missed school today and called to check.

Has anybody asked you to come check on Rika-chan?"

"Yes.

Takano-san told me to go check, since they missed school and haven't come by the clinic."

"......Hmm,

I knew it."

"Do you think she's suspicious about their absence?"

"No.

I think it has something to do with Tomitake-san starting his investigation.

Even if it doesn't, this may give him a chance to find out something."

"...Either way, it's already begun, hasn't it?"

"Yes, more than likely.

I don't know if our enemies are Takano and the Mountain Dogs

or somebody else.

Either way, that somebody has started to take action."

"I can't help but think of the series of mysterious deaths.

......The first two years were just coincidences.

...But starting with the third, I think Takano-san became intrigued... and started expecting something to happen on the night of Watanagashi."

"...Watanagashi is the day after tomorrow.

...It'd be the perfect opportunity for them to do something.

......She's aiming for Rika-chan on the fifth year running...

This Takano is a frightening woman."

".........What Rika-chan said about Takano-san,

I think it's all true.

...I just found out today, but she was adopted by Dr. Takano, the one who discovered Hinamizawa Syndrome."

"The same pronunciation, huh...

I see."

"...To her, continuing to research the syndrome was like a promise she made to her beloved grandfather.

...But as the project will be terminated...

it's almost like they're spitting on his grave."

"That's exactly what Rika-chan said, isn't it?"

"...Yes.

......Also, Takano-san said something else.

She compared a dying patient in a coma to the project that's going to end in three years.

She says that family members have the right to turn off the switch of the life support machine."

"...............

If the project is being terminated anyway,

Miyo Takano, who considers herself a family member of the late Dr. Takano,

should be the one to terminate it."

"......Yes.

I think that's what she meant."

We're gathering the circumstantial evidence we need.

Takano is, in fact, our enemy.

Irie had been reluctant to accept it yesterday, but now he believes what Rika-chan said is true.

"We need Tomitake-san to find some proof that shows Takano-san is planning something.

...Then we can call in a subjugation squad to arrest all of those involved."

"Takano has the Mountain Dogs working for her.

This squad can down even them?"

"Yes.

I don't know anything about them, but there's another unit called the Bloodhounds. They're a combat unit, deployed in the case of a true emergency.

The Mountain Dogs are more of an intelligence unit for covert operations, so they'll likely be far outmatched."

"...If this subjugation squad was organized to counter the off chance of rebellion by this secret research institute... then they must be quite powerful.

...So you're saying our conditions for victory are summoning these Bloodhounds into Hinamizawa?"

"That would be correct...

However, my one concern is that the emergency manual contains passages authorizing the massacre of the village to preserve secrecy.

I'm still worried that even if the Bloodhounds are brought in, they'll destroy all evidence, including the village itself, which wouldn't be any different."

"No, they wouldn't.

If the enemy's intent is to trigger the execution of the emergency manual, that doesn't make sense.

If this conspiracy is caused by faction infighting, then Irie Institute's clients will want to resolve the conflict quietly.

They're sure to raid the enemies and settle everything while the villagers are still confused as to what's going on."

I know this because I've done similar jobs myself.

They'll pass through like a gale and complete their operation swiftly.

And a unit capable of pulling that off against the Mountain Dogs must be very powerful.

"We'll just have to wait until we hear from Tomitake-san..."

"Yes.

This will be a battle of endurance.

But once it lights up, it'll become a blitzkrieg.

...This'll be a hard battle with rapid shifts in pace.

It's reassuring to us that you're in the enemy's midst, but at the same time, you are in a very vulnerable position.

Please don't let your guard down.

The moment we decided to be Rika-chan's allies, we became their enemies."

"......I understand."

The phone at this house is, of course, being wiretapped, so Irie has to come over to communicate with me.

But that won't work in an emergency.

A telephone is still better in that case.

For those instances, I've put together a memo for Irie.

There's a method for communicating over a phone that's been bugged.

It's something I came up with out of necessity once.

"What is this?"

"A method for calling me in case of an emergency.

Please make sure the enemy doesn't get ahold of it.

If you're in danger, swallow it."

"The phone's being tapped, so how can we make a call?

If you pick up the phone, even if you don't say anything, they might get suspicious."

"We can communicate even without me picking up the phone.

There's a little trick to it, but we can at least send across what's important.

And you are the only one who can do it, since you'll be the first person who notices the enemy's movements."

"...A-Alright.

Then how do I do it?"

"It's in the memo.

Let me explain briefly. We'll use the ringtone.

When you make a call, normally you won't let the phone ring over a minute.

We'll use that to communicate. If the phone rings for a minute, that means 'it's dangerous, leave'.

If the phone rings for a minute and a half, that means 'it's an emergency, head to the Sonozaki residence'.

The difference is in those thirty seconds.

You can look at the memo for other messages you can send.

But please memorize these two, at least.

My life depends on it."

The message that lets me know my life is in danger is the shorter call.

But if it's too short, I'll get it confused with regular phone calls.

That's why to signal me, he's supposed to hang up the phone within three seconds first, then place the emergency call.

The reason why I used such a large difference of time is to make sure there's no misunderstanding.

The tones the caller hears and the rings the receiver sends out are a little different.

I don't want that little difference to change the message, which is why they had to be thirty seconds apart.

"A short ring first and one minute means run.

A minute and a half means to head to where Rika-chan is...

Okay, I got it."

"It's a little troublesome, I know, but this is just for emergencies. Please remember it."

"Yes, I understand.

When danger strikes, I'll handle communications."

"Also, one more signal I want you to remember.

......It's not a very good code, but please don't forget it just the same.

For this one, you don't need to do one short ring.

You just need to let the phone ring for over three minutes.

It's probably best to just place the call and leave it."

"What does that mean...?"

"Contact in danger.

Further contact impossible."

"......So that's...

...to tell you that...

...I'm in danger, then."

"Yes.

In case of an emergency, call this house, leave the phone off the hook, and hide somewhere safe.

...Even so, it's very hard to anticipate when you yourself will be in danger.

You'll lose your chance to call while you're thinking, 'I'm still fine', or 'I'm probably fine'.

If you sense something odd, that's an emergency.

Knowing the seriousness of the conspiracy, they won't hesitate to kill us.

Please be very careful."

"I-I understand.

But if that happens, what are you going to do?"

"It depends on the situation, but I'll probably leave this house.

If you are in danger, then Rika-chan is in danger too.

I'll head to the Sonozaki residence and join Rika-chan.

...But this is only in the worst-case scenario.

I'm not sure if it will actually happen, so don't be nervous.

Relax, okay?"

"...But also be very careful, right?"

"That's right."

Irie nodded deeply.

...It's almost time.

Something is about to happen.