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After hesitating for a moment, the girl finally mustered up the courage to ask:

"do you like me?"

puff--

Thankfully she hadn't drunk any water, otherwise Narumi would have definitely sprayed it all over her face.

Narumi coughed lightly as if he had a stitch in his side, and glared at him irritably: "If you want me to go to jail, just say so. Don't think that just because I'm a minor I can escape legal punishment."

"No, no, that's not what I meant!"

Misaka Hatsuka quickly waved her hand. Thanks to her older sister, who always read all sorts of strange romance novels, she somewhat understood what Narumi was worried about and knew that she had asked a question that was both strange and difficult to answer.

Even so, she still wanted to get the answer she had been longing for from him—

"This has nothing to do with the police, it's just between the two of us... Do you like it or not?"

Her timid eyes tentatively peered at his expression.

Despite her tomboyish, handsome, and sunny appearance, she now showed a hint of nervousness and shyness typical of young girls.

Or rather, it was an atmosphere that felt like a confession.

Narumi rubbed his temples as if he had a headache—he really didn't understand why Mikasa Hatsuka, whom he had only known for less than ten minutes and who was interacting with him as an older sister, would ask such a difficult question.

Surely he's not trying to be his sister's wingman, is he?

After a brief pause, he offered a subtle answer that would not hurt anyone and contained no lies.

"I guess I like it. After all, I had a lot of fun these past few days."

Sanjiao Chuhua immediately broke into a happy smile.

As if she had received confirmation of their relationship, even though the person he liked wasn't her, she still gazed at Narumi with shining eyes, her expectant heart moving one inch closer to him with each step.

"What if I said I wanted you to take me to Tokyo?"

Narumi was speechless for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh.

"Go to Tokyo? Isn't that your sister's dream? Why are you the one suggesting it to me?"

"Just tell me if you can or can't you!" she stamped her foot, looking somewhat hesitant.

Narumi remained noncommittal: "Let's talk about it when you're older."

Panicked by his obviously perfunctory attitude, Mikasa instinctively grabbed his sleeve, looked into his eyes pleadingly, and blurted out a lie: "Actually, like Mikasa, I also want to become an idol in Tokyo!"

“But Mom and Dad probably won’t leave this island, and everyone in town says there are a lot of scammers in Tokyo who prey on kids like us from the countryside…”

Narumi remained unmoved, simply expressing agreement: "That's right. So what?"

Her tender, soft cheeks seemed to be filled with the colors of the setting sun.

Summoning her courage, Mikami Hatsuka opened her eyes wide and spoke her wish frankly and earnestly: "So, after we get to Tokyo, could you please take me in... and us?"

Narumi did not answer immediately.

He silently asked the system in his mind:

[System, after returning to the original timeline, will their memories be reset?]

System: [Yes.]

Is there a risk of recovery?

System: [Yes.]

【You... never mind, you don't have that. What are the conditions for restoration?】

System: [Once you return to the original timeline, the host will naturally understand.]

Before I regain my memories, will my current words and actions affect them?

System: [No. Their lives will continue along the original timeline.]

"I understand. You may leave, Your Excellency."

system:【……】

Under the girl's anxious gaze, Narumi sighed and then gently flicked her forehead.

"If you're really determined, then start studying hard now... If you ever get into a high school in Tokyo, I'll buy you a house to live in."

Since it's just an empty promise anyway, this level of commitment won't cause him any psychological burden now that he has undergone some transformation.

The girl, inexperienced and easily fooled, was so easily charmed that she was practically jumping for joy.

"Really? Then it's a promise! You absolutely can't go back on your word!"

Narumi nodded, his eyes filled with helplessness and gentleness, smiling as if he were coaxing a child: "Okay, it's a date."

Misaka Chuka chuckled happily for a few moments before realizing that if she didn't leave soon, her older sister might see her.

So before leaving, she decided to do something that would not be forgotten and that she would not regret.

Step, step—

Like the rustling of grass leaves, followed by the soft sound of footsteps.

"MUA~"

Taking advantage of the boy's momentary lapse in attention, the girl grabbed his neck and planted a strong kiss on his cheek.

Then he put his hands behind his back, smiled, and slowly backed away.

"Big brother, this is our promise seal! I will definitely come to Tokyo to find you after I graduate from middle school!"

"...Huh?"

As if only now realizing what had happened, Narumi touched his cheek in astonishment, momentarily speechless.

Of course, this wasn't due to any feelings of attraction or shyness—

He simply never expected that the seemingly harmless and cheerful girl would be so arrogant and blatant in attacking him...

Could this be a gene inherited from the former housekeeper of the Toyokawa family?!

"Also, my name is Mitsuba Hatsuka, not the Hatsune Miku you like!"

"Next time we meet, please don't confuse us again, okay? You silly brother!"

Seeing Narumi's dumbfounded face, Mikasa chuckled smugly.

The next moment, she darted into the town, which was gradually being swallowed by the night, carrying with her the glow of the entire island's sunset.

Only after that slender figure completely disappeared did Narumi regain his composure, looking up at the dim streetlights that were crackling and flashing.

His lips drooped, and he heard his own sigh again.

"Fate is truly something no one can predict..."

[Phase Two: Better to Know Than to Long For – Achievement Completed.]

Phase Three: The Promise Was Out of Reach – The Achievement Has Been Made.

I temporarily blocked the system notifications, but I couldn't dwell on it for long.

The phone in my pocket suddenly vibrated.

There's only one contact on this phone, so you don't need to guess who sent the message.

Narumi turned on the screen, and his expression changed slightly.

First, the name that hadn't been corrected caught my eye, and then came the short message she sent.

Misaka Hatsuka: "Sorry, I suddenly feel unwell and have to go home... Stars, we'll look at them later."

A moment of silence.

Narumi closed his eyes wearily, took a deep breath, and then exhaled heavily with a sense of helplessness.

I got up and moved away from the streetlight.

He took a step forward, completing the second half of the sentence he had just murmured—

"Moreover, there are always more troubles than you imagine."

Chapter Twelve: If I die in front of him, can I become his white moonlight?

"Huh, huh..."

Run to the supermarket as fast as you can, find the key, and then run back as fast as you can.

Even if breathing burns my lungs, even if sweat stings the corners of my eyes.

Misaki Miku didn't dare slow down for a moment, afraid that Narumi might change her mind and not go to see the stars if she waited too long.

—At that time, she had already made up her mind.

Under a sky full of stars, I want to tell him how I feel.

We must move forward from this tragic life, and together with him, transcend the past and embrace a new future.

the most important is……

We absolutely cannot let this separation become a final farewell.

Leave a mark, leave an agreement; leave a trace, leave a promise.

I must leave this tiny island that can't accommodate me in the near future, and go to see him—

No matter the cost, she was determined to become that moth drawn to the flame.

Even if the final outcome is to be burned to ashes.

But at least for now, she is bathed in the warm and happy firelight, no longer surrounded by the cold and lonely emptiness.

That's good.

Yes, that's good.

As long as I can stay by Narumi's side, I don't care what I become.

To put it bluntly, Miku Miku in her triangle only wants to be his possession.

She just wanted to cast aside her self-pitying melancholy, curl up peacefully in his arms, and stop worrying about where she should go.

That was the only refuge and support for the despicable and helpless girl in this life.

So, filled with hope for the future, she ran as fast as she could, giving it her all.

But in that blood-red twilight.

I saw another version of myself, and there was a scene of me affectionately kissing him on the cheek.

"How...how could this be..."

Miku Miku's eyes widened.

His pupils shrank to pinpoints in disbelief, and his dim, yellowish eyes trembled and swayed.

In that instant, she seemed to hear the sound of something breaking.

I can't breathe, I can't think.

Just watching the two of them chatting and laughing from afar, a deep rift, accompanied by a sharp, stabbing pain, began to spread from his chest.

"I...don't want to...no..."

The mournful cry, barely a gasp, was squeezed out from trembling, cracked lips and then scattered in the cold sunset.

My mind went blank, and my gaze went unfocused.

The girl slowly moved her limp legs, but instead of rushing over to question them about what they were doing.

Driven by instinct, with a bewildered and helpless expression of despair, they retreated step by step until their backs slammed against the cold, hard wall...

Finally, he turned and fled into the darkness, the destination of which he himself did not know.

-

Even today, the girl continues her monologue on the stage of despair.

She gazed at the distant starlight and murmured to herself—

Yes, I understand.

The sins committed should be repaid.