As the final school bell struck across Tracen Academy, four students gathered once more.
This time...
They met beside the iconic fountain near the academy's main entrance, adorned with statues of the Three Goddesses.
The moment they gathered, Grass spoke.
"I think it's best if we use the remaining daylight to ask around."
"Perhaps someone saw Urara before she disappeared."
She looked at the others.
"And to make our search more efficient..."
"I think we should split up."
"That way, we can cover a much larger area."
"¡Sí!" El nodded enthusiastically.
"And we should hurry!"
"Students are already leaving the campus!"
The trio nodded in agreement.
All except...
King, who stood silently while lost in her thoughts.
Her doubts and guilt were once again threatening to consume her.
Until—
"Don't worry too much, King. Urara'll be fine." Grass gently reminded King as she looked up and was startled.
"I-I'm not..."
Grass chuckled softly.
"Of course."
"But I'm certain we'll bring Urara back safely."
"So..."
"Let's not dwell on the worst possibilities."
"¡Sí!" El raised both thumbs.
"Let's pour all our hearts into this!"
"Maybe Urara will hear our determined heartbeats and find her way back to us!"
At that, King couldn't help but sigh.
"Yeah... I suppose you're right."
Another voice joined in.
"Exactly."
Sei lazily folded her arms behind her head.
"Just think of it as another game of hide-and-seek."
"We're simply the seekers."
"And Urara's hiding somewhere." She shrugged.
"We'll sniff her out sooner or later."
Grass smiled before clapping her hands lightly.
"She's right."
"But first..."
"I think it's time to assign our search areas."
"That way, we won't get confused, accidentally cross paths, or search the same place twice."
Grass then turned toward Sei first.
"Sei."
"Could you search the northern part of the campus?"
"Roger that."
Grass then looked at El.
"El, you'll take the east wing."
"I'll search the west side."
"¡Entendido!" El replied with another thumbs-up.
Finally...
Grass turned toward King.
"And..."
"King."
"I'd like you to stay around this area."
"I don't want you pushing yourself too hard."
"Especially with your leg still recovering."
"B-But I'm fine!" King immediately protested.
"It's only a scratch."
Grass gently shook her head.
"But for runners like us..."
"Our legs are more precious than anything else."
"So no matter how minor an injury may seem..."
"We should always treat it seriously."
She then smiled reassuringly, "And..."
"We don't want to see you risk your future over something the rest of us can easily cover."
"B-But—!"
Before King could continue, Sei casually cut in.
"You heard her." She shrugged.
"Just listen for once, King."
"It's better for you and your career too."
King gritted her teeth upon that remark.
A part of her desperately wanted to search farther.
Longer.
As if exhausting herself could somehow make up for what she had done.
But...
After a long sigh...
"Fine..." She gave up on resisting.
And the others exchanged relieved glances.
"Then it's settled," Grass said with a nod.
"Come."
"We should get moving."
"We only have a little daylight left."
"Let's go!" El declared enthusiastically as she pumped her fist.
The three immediately lowered themselves into a running stance.
Then burst off in different directions across the campus.
But before they had gone more than a few steps—
"W-Wait!" King hollered.
All three stopped promptly and turned around.
There, King stood frozen where she was.
One hand tightly gripped her opposite arm.
"W-What if..."
"What if..."
"W-We can't find Urara?"
She lowered her gaze.
"...What then?"
"What are we supposed to do?"
Silence then settled over the group as the trio exchanged glances.
No one answered immediately.
Only until a moment did Grass speak.
"Then..."
"We'll meet back here by nightfall."
"We'll compare everything we've learned."
"And..."
"If anyone finds even the smallest clue..."
"We'll share it with everyone."
"Then we decide the next step."
King quietly nodded.
"O-Okay..."
With everything finally settled, the group exchanged one last nod.
Then...
They dashed off once more.
Within seconds, Grass, El, and Sei disappeared in three different directions, leaving King alone beside the fountain.
Since her assigned search area was around the academy entrance...
King decided to begin with the footpath leading in and out of the campus.
She then took her first step.
But the moment she did—
Suddenly—
Her phone rang.
King immediately stopped and pulled it from her pocket.
A notification for a new message appeared on her home screen.
King blinked.
And it was from Yuiji.
He was asking where she was, wondering why she hadn't shown up for their usual training.
Only then did she realize...
She had completely forgotten to tell him.
She hesitated.
If she told him Urara had disappeared...
There was a good chance Yuiji would immediately notify the academy staff.
So...
She typed a different reply.
"I'm not feeling well... I think I'll take the rest of the day off..."
A few moments later...
Yuiji read the message and he frowned.
King Halo...
Taking a day off?
Even with a fever, she was the type to force herself onto the track.
Still...
His expression softened.
Perhaps...
Whatever had happened was important enough for her to put training aside.
Perhaps...
Whatever had happened was important enough for her to put training aside.
It must have been.
With a reassuring smile, he simply replied,
"Okay. Take care, King, and be careful."
Seeing the reply, King sighed in relief, believing Yuiji had bought her story.
She then wasted no time slipping her phone back into her pocket.
She took a deep breath to steady herself as she finally began asking around along the walkway...
There, she approached the passing students one by one, asking each of them the same questions.
"Excuse me..."
"Have you happened to see a girl with pink hair tied in a ponytail?"
"About this tall..."
"She speaks rather loudly..."
"And..."
"She's... very cheerful."
One after another...
From every student she could find.
The answers, however...
Were nearly identical.
"Hmm..."
"Sorry, I don't remember seeing anyone like that," said a girl with bright lavender hair.
"Hehe!"
"Maya doesn't think she spotted anyone like that!" replied a girl with long chestnut-orange hair.
"S-s-sorry!"
"I-I don't know anyone matching that description!"
"P-Please forgive me...!" stammered another girl with dark brown, almost black hair, looking as though she might burst into tears.
King quickly waved her hands in a dismissal with an awkward smile.
"N-No..."
"I-It's alright!"
"You don't have to apologize."
"It's not your fault."
So she continued.
She asked...
And asked...
And asked again...
As the minutes turned into hours...
The campus gradually emptied.
The evening sun sank lower and lower.
Yet...
After all those approaches...
After all those questions...
She found...
Nothing.
The search remained...
...fruitless.
As the campus finally stood in its near-empty state...
King sighed.
"W-What am I even doing...?"
She lowered her head.
"Why am I wasting so much time asking everyone the same useless questions...?"
"When I should've been looking for her myself...!"
"Damn it, King! You're better than this...!"
Without another thought, she clenched her fist and lowered herself into a running stance.
Then she pushed off the ground and broke into a sprint.
One path after another.
She searched every corner she could reach.
She looked for footprints.
A forgotten belonging.
Any trace Urara might have left behind.
Anything...
Anything at all.
But no matter how desperately she searched...
Nothing appeared.
Eventually, as more hours passed...
The sun disappeared beneath the horizon.
And night settled over Tracen Academy.
And the result remained...
Unchanged...
...
...
...
Back at the fountain...
The remaining three gathered once again.
Each wore a more exhausted expression than before.
One after another, they shared what little they had found.
Which was practically...
Nothing.
Then Grass looked around and frowned.
"Where's... King?"
"Have either of you seen her?"
Both El and Sei shook their heads.
"Could she have gotten so caught up in searching that she forgot we agreed to meet back here?" El asked.
"Actually... That's pretty likely." Sei shrugged.
"I suppose we just should go look for her."
Grass nodded.
"Sure. Maybe she found something we didn't."
"I agree," El replied.
The three immediately set off again.
As they searched the campus, they called out for her.
"King!" El cupped her hands around her mouth.
"Where are you?! King!"
Grass joined in.
"Are you alright?! King!"
"Where are you?"
Behind them, Sei lazily added,
"And try not to trip over again!"
The three continued calling as they searched the quiet campus.
Until...
They found her.
King Halo.
Curled up on the ground beside a nearby walkway.
Her shoulders trembled.
As though...
She was...
...crying?
The three immediately slowed their pace as Grass carefully approached first.
"K-King...?"
"Are you alright?"
The moment she heard Grass's voice...
King visibly jolted.
She hastily wiped the tears from her face before pushing herself up from the ground, pretending nothing had happened.
"W-What...?"
"What are you all doing here?"
"I-I thought you were searching another part of the campus...!"
"We were," El replied.
"But we didn't find anything."
"So we went back to the fountain like we agreed."
Grass nodded gently.
"And when you weren't there..."
"We became worried."
"We thought something might've happened to you as well."
King quickly turned her face away.
"I-I'm fine."
She tried her best to hide the redness around her eyes.
But...
Sei's eyes already narrowed with amusement.
"Oh...?" she smirked.
"Did we happen to interrupt something?"
"W-What do you mean?!"
King immediately snapped toward her.
"Nothing..." Sei casually whistled, looking elsewhere.
"I-I was just..." King quickly blurted out.
"...Getting some dirt out of my eyes!"
"I swear I wasn't crying!"
"I never said you were," Sei replied teasingly.
"How dare you—!"
Before the two could fall into another one of their usual arguments, Grass gently stepped between them.
"Guys... That's enough."
She then turned to King.
"I think..."
"We should end today's search."
King froze.
"W-What?!"
"But..."
"Why?!"
"We still haven't found Urara!"
Grass lowered her gaze.
"I'm sorry, King."
"But..."
"I think we've reached our limit."
She looked toward the academy gates.
"If Urara truly isn't anywhere on campus..."
"She could be anywhere beyond it."
"At that point..."
"We'll need the staff."
"Or the Student Council."
"We've done everything we reasonably can as her friends."
"No!"
King immediately shook her head.
"We can't just stop!"
"Urara can't be that far away!"
"I'm sure she's only a few miles from here!"
"If we all search outside the academy together..."
"Maybe we can find her before midnight!"
"No, King," Grass said firmly.
"There's a limit to what we can responsibly do."
"If we leave campus without authorization..."
"We could not only disturb the locals..."
"But also put ourselves in danger."
She stepped closer.
"You shouldn't blame yourself for Urara's disappearance."
"It isn't your fault."
"I'm sure..."
"If we inform the staff..."
"And the academy personnel..."
"We'll have a much better chance of—"
"No!" King interrupted again as her fists tightened.
"I... I'm not giving up."
"...Not until I find her."
"Please..." Grass took another step toward her.
"King... be reasonable."
King slowly lowered her head.
"I promised..." Her fists trembled.
"I promised I wouldn't lose her again..."
"...Not like this."
"I promised..."
"I'd find her."
"No matter what."
She raised her head once more.
"If all of you want to end the search..."
"Go ahead."
"But I won't."
"But, King...!" El called out.
Before she could continue—
Sei simply turned around and began walking away.
"Let her be, guys..." She lazily waved a hand.
"No matter what you say..."
"She isn't going to listen anyway."
"We should just stick with the plan and notify the staff."
King then glared at her.
"And here you were..."
"The one preaching that a friend should never abandon a friend."
Sei stopped and turned around.
"Well..."
"We didn't."
"We're simply choosing the most reasonable course of action."
"Unlike someone's stubbornness."
"How dare you—!"
"That's enough!" Grass interrupted firmly, and the two fell silent.
Grass turned back to King as her expression softened.
"King..."
"I know I can't convince you otherwise..."
"Just..."
"Please be careful."
"We don't want you getting hurt while trying to protect someone else."
"After all..."
"Your safety matters just as much as hers."
King quietly looked at her before lowering her gaze.
"I... I'll be fine, Grass."
"I swear..."
"I'll come back."
"I'll come back with Urara tomorrow."
"So..."
"Just wait for us."
With that, King slowly turned and began walking away.
Farther and farther into the distance.
Only when she was well out of earshot did she clench her fist and mutter under her breath.
"And you too, Urara..." She added.
"Just wait for me..."
"I swear..."
"I swear I'm going to find you."
"And bring you home safely...!"