"Wow, Mion never keeps her appointments...

I mean, honestly."

"Ahahahaha.

Making my sister the standard for everything will get you in trouble."

"Mm?

You're a little unsteady.

You didn't get much sleep last night either, did you?

Don't try to hide it!

You definitely went home from school early."

"Ooh, too bad!

I've been at home all day from the beginning.

I'm smarter than my sis, after all."

"Hey now...

I don't think you can call playing hooky 'smarter'..."

"You should finish your errand first.

We don't have that much time.

...We're going to the library, right?"

"Yeah, thanks.

My mom had to return some books by today.

...Is the library far?"

"No, it's right nearby."

I meant it when I said we didn't have much time.

I had to hurry a little.

I was just going to talk to him on the phone, but I ended up coming all the way to Okinomiya.

After our talk, Keiichi would slowly head back to Hinamizawa on his bicycle.

I'd have to rush back there while making sure I didn't run into him.

Otherwise, I couldn't make it on time for the meeting.

Maybe I could be a little late, but since I needed to hear everything they were going to discuss, I didn't want to be.

This was the Shishibone Public Library.

It was sizeable, filled with a collection of moldy, smelly books.

But they did have air conditioning, and it was quiet. It was the perfect place for when you wanted to be alone.

After Satoshi-kun disappeared last year, I came here a lot to think about various things.

This was where

I first met Takano-san.

I didn't want to run into her with Keiichi in tow...

But then I remembered that she was already dead.

The first floor of the building was occupied by government offices.

The library itself was on the second floor, so we had to walk up a huge staircase to get there.

I tasted cool air on my skin as soon as I walked through the automated door.

Unlike outside, it was very quiet in here.

The room temperature was both comfortable and suitable for books.

I could smell the scent of old pages...

"All libraries smell the same..."

Keiichi walked up to the return table after he said so.

Because it was a weekday, there was hardly anyone around.

It really was very quiet.

I was going to chat about some ordinary things,

and then move on to the main subject.

After Keiichi returned the books, I invited him into the inner section of the library.

Keiichi knew Mion well, but he didn't know me at all.

He showed an interest in our life story.

This was exactly where Takano-san told me about the true history of Hinamizawa a year ago. I was about to tell Keiichi about things that were very similar to that.

Did God have a sense of irony?

"...Now that you mention it...

That toy store looked like it was managed by relatives as well.

Does that mean they operate Angel Mort too?"

I told him the reason why the Sonozaki family was so powerful in this area.

I assumed that since Keiichi came from the city, there was a good chance he couldn't even begin to understand how one old family could literally control an entire area.

Unless I explained to him how powerful the Sonozaki family was, he wouldn't understand what kind of danger was barreling toward him.

"The family is particularly strong in finance and real estate.

Even a lot of members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry either have the last name Sonozaki, or are their relatives.

There are Sonozakis in the city council and the prefectural assembly too, since they have the Okinomiya area giving them strong electoral support."

"...Wait a minute.

...This is all... escalating pretty quickly.

Your relatives operate shops in downtown Okinomiya, and they're especially strong in finance and real estate...?

On top of that, a lot of people in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry are relatives, and there are even some elected to local offices...?"

Keiichi counted with his fingers. He was clearly surprised to hear all that about the Sonozaki family.

It seemed he was flexible enough to accept even something that sounded outrageous to him.

He was starting to understand things, although slowly. The way he viewed Shion Sonozaki was changing little by little too.

That should be enough background information. Now I could go on to explain about Mion Sonozaki, the successor.

Then I'd change the subject, like Takano-san did with me.

I'd go on to talk about the curse of Oyashiro-sama and then the series of mysterious deaths...

"So then...

...The Sonozaki family, it's... it's pretty famous in this area...?"

"Yep.

Crazy, isn't it?

Nfu fu fu fu!"

A fat man with a cigarette suddenly cut into our conversation.

Ooishi?

Why was he here?

"Hello!

Good afternoon.

Are you on a date today?

Ah, what I would give to be young again."

"If you thought we were on a date, then why are you bothering us,

Ooishi-san?"

What timing.

It couldn't be coincidence.

I knew this man too well.

He was crafty, sly, and clever.

His presence here just can't be a coincidence.

Did he see us somewhere in town and follow us?

But why?

Did he need something from me, Keiichi, or perhaps the both of us?

From what I could guess, I didn't think it was me that he wanted something from.

It was almost like he was trying to keep Keiichi away from me.

Ooishi was aware I gave false testimony to protect Satoshi-kun last year.

Maybe he didn't think he could talk to Keiichi if I was around.

Why did Ooishi need to talk to Keiichi?

It must be about the incident from yesterday.

I'm sure there were plenty of plainclothes officers at the festival, so they had to have seen who was last with the victims.

In other words, Keiichi and me.

But Ooishi knew I was hard to deal with.

That was why he was focusing on Keiichi at present.

Why did he have to show up at a time like this?

"Maebara-san, right?

You're one tough guy.

Two-timing the Sonozaki sisters, are you?"

"No, I... I'm not two-timing anyone..."

Keiichi looked at me, hoping for assistance.

He blushed. The way he panicked reminded me of Satoshi-kun.

That aside, this wasn't going well.

Ooishi might even start talking about my relationship with Satoshi-kun.

I didn't want him to, nor did I want Keiichi to have any preconceptions.

Ooishi took a quick glance at me.

His eyes told me something.

He was purposefully talking about the things I'd rather not talk about.

He was basically telling me to leave or he'd continue on to something that was worse than what they were currently talking about.

He didn't use words, but his eyes clearly communicated that anyway.

Damn that big fat weasel...

"Ah, I'm sorry, Kei-chan.

...I really do need to get to my job."

"Huh?

Oh... you do?"

I realized that I wouldn't achieve anything like this, even if I stayed longer, so I used my part-time job as an excuse to leave.

Ooishi looked at me and grinned.

Damn it...

He won today, but I'll win next time.

"Wait... Didn't you have something to talk about today,

Shion?"

"Yep. I'll see you later...

Oh, I'll give you a call after I'm done.

It'll be okay to call at night, right?"

"Yeah.

Probably okay."

"Then I'll talk to you later tonight.

Bye!"