"W-wait a moment!"
Orca stopped me in my tracks.
Thinking I might have been walking too fast, I stopped and turned around to look at Orca following behind me.
"Oh, sorry, was I walking too quickly?"
"No, that's not it...! Why are you going to look for Kanna?"
I froze when I heard that question.
I had too many answers to the question of why I was looking for her, so I wasn't sure which one to give.
Because she was cornered enough to ask me to kill her.
Because she was someone who could barely fall asleep beside me, saying she was scared to be alone.
But I couldn't tell Orca any of this.
These were all personal requests, things that were difficult to share with anyone else.
So all I could do was let out a small groan.
After agonizing over what to say, I quietly opened my mouth.
"Well, Kanna hasn't been feeling well since she encountered that Mysterious Person, so it's dangerous for her to be alone."
"...What?"
No matter how plausible an answer I tried to come up with, it seemed insufficient as Orca just tilted her head after hearing what I said.
"But don't you think there's a reason she wants to eat alone? Kanna told me earlier that she could walk around just fine by herself..."
"You never know. And she might be feeling down about suddenly losing her combat skills. She was so happy that she could improve her grades with the points she earned this time."
"Is that so...?"
Orca tilted her head again.
To be honest, I didn't know why Kanna had suddenly disappeared saying she wanted to eat alone.
That's why I felt even more anxious about it.
Orca held up her Device and stared at me.
She seemed about to contact Kanna through her contact list.
But I shook my head.
"Why not? This would be the fastest way to find her."
"...I already called but she didn't answer."
"Maybe she's eating in the restroom again with her phone on silent?"
"Why would she be eating in the restroom again?"
Orca's gaze wavered.
"That's... I don't know. I just thought she ate there before because she had no friends to eat with."
"...It would be better if she were eating there, but why would she choose to eat there again?"
It was just frustrating.
Why couldn't I reach her when we have Devices?
Even if she was eating in the restroom, why would she go there to eat again?
I simply couldn't understand. She had people to eat with now, and as Orca had said before, if she wanted to eat convenience store bread, we could all go together—yet Kanna chose to eat separately.
I thought we had gotten closer and she had opened up, but was I wrong?
"Still, it could be dangerous like before, so I need to check on her just once."
If I just stayed still wondering why she was acting this way, nothing would change.
Nothing could be protected either.
So I put my hands together to find Kanna, who was afraid of even falling asleep alone.
I hadn't left any special mark on her, so it was a bit complicated, but I thought it would be possible to some extent if there was a connection between us.
Dots of light appeared between my hands.
Just as I was about to connect them, Orca grabbed my wrist.
"Yoon Ha-min..."
Orca's gaze was somewhat cold.
I'm not sure how to describe it, but it was close to contempt.
I swallowed hard and relaxed my hands, causing the stars between them to disappear.
"That's all fine, but let's not drag Kanna out like before. And even if you find her, I won't help you."
"No, I'm not trying to bother her. I just—"
"Whatever it is, there's a line to how much you should worry."
Hearing that only made me feel more frustrated.
I wanted her to understand why I was so worried, but I couldn't just reveal what Kanna had trusted me with to a third party.
I felt like sighing but held it back.
I didn't know what else I could do to convince her.
After hesitating repeatedly, I finally hung my head.
I realized I couldn't persuade her with such limited information.
"Sorry, I guess I was only thinking about myself."
"Good realization. You should consider how Kanna might feel uncomfortable too."
Come to think of it, if she really was eating bread in the restroom, poking at something she didn't want seen wouldn't be good.
I should just assume she'll eat well on her own.
I could ask her on the way home why she ate there again.
I sighed and turned around.
*
I was in the corner of the restroom when I took out my Device to check the time before leaving.
I tilted my head seeing missed calls from Yoon Ha-min and Orca on the screen.
Ha-min had even called three times.
But there were no messages, so I wondered if they were just curious about what I was doing.
Or maybe it was something they needed to see right at that moment.
I wasn't sure, but I didn't want to make a call from the restroom, so I threw away some unused tissue in the trash can and walked out.
By this time, everyone should have finished eating and returned.
If I timed it right and went back to my seat now, it would look natural.
As I entered the classroom...
"Kanna."
Yoon Ha-min was staring at me.
I suddenly realized that because I had to eat slowly, secretly chewing in the restroom, I might be later than Ha-min who ate at the cafeteria.
"Oh, what is it...?"
Come to think of it, I did feel a bit guilty for not telling him directly and instead relaying the message through Orca before running away.
When I asked stiffly, Ha-min let out a deep sigh.
"Why did you eat separately again today? We could have eaten together."
"Ah, well..."
Yoon Ha-min was asking why I went to eat convenience store bread again, and if I ate in the restroom.
Even with convenience store bread, we could have found a decent place like the rooftop if there were two of us.
But I didn't want that.
I just didn't like the idea of making him miss out on eating something delicious or giving up a nice place to sit because of me.
Especially when I was already indebted to him.
And I was too embarrassed to say I was eating convenience store bread because I had no money.
I was sure that if I told Ha-min I had no money, he would offer to help, and that's exactly what I wanted to avoid.
While I did need help, I didn't want to rely on Ha-min for everything.
"I just... kind of missed the taste..."
I made an unconvincing excuse.
Ha-min's expression hardened afterward, but I had no intention of mentioning my lack of money.
I was satisfied with receiving help only for suppressing my trauma.
"Anyway, did you enjoy your meal?"
I tried to smoothly change the subject.
Of course, Ha-min stared at me as if he wouldn't fall for such an attempt.
But time didn't stop for us, and lunch period quickly passed.
When all Academy activities ended and the sun was beginning to set, we were finally able to leave school.
As everyone went their separate ways, Ha-min and I were walking in the same direction.
Normally we wouldn't be walking together like this, but since I was temporarily staying at his place instead of my own home, it was natural.
But that didn't mean we were going straight home.
We had promised to look for the totem yesterday, so we were heading to the bus stop to go toward The Wall to keep that promise.
"By the way, Ha-min, you look a bit tired. Are you okay?"
"...Yeah, I'm fine now."
Ha-min answered while rubbing his eyes slightly.
I was a bit worried since he seemed spaced out for much of the day.
We reached the bus stop and took a high-speed taxi to the area near The Wall.
Just like before when we searched The Wall with only vague information about something we didn't even know the location of, we were about to do the same thing again.
Without any specific area in mind, just thinking we needed to check everywhere the Mysterious Person might have scattered something—it felt overwhelming. But that's how it always is: those who commit crimes can pinpoint locations, while those who protect must live with uncertainty.
The problem was that those doing the protecting had to be more desperate.
As we walked diligently along The Wall, Ha-min spoke up beside me.
"Kanna."
"Yeah?"
"You ate in the restroom today."
"...Uh, eh. What?"
My voice froze, and only a strange groan escaped my lips.
My voice, tinged with bewilderment, faded to silence at the end as if scurrying into a mouse hole.
Even though I knew the fact that I ate in the restroom had been discovered, hearing it from someone else's mouth created a different sensation that made me uncomfortable.
But Ha-min continued as if that didn't matter.
"Is it because you don't have money...?"
And there it was—the very thing I had decided not to tell him.