ch1-ch20 · 009-ch9

Chapter 9: The Scent Investigation

　　The day after, after school.

"Alright, the search for Knight-sama is finally beginning-beginning~!"

　　Kiri was all fired up, cradling her gym bag with Melkid inside under one arm while thrusting her right hand into the air.

"Even if we're searching, do you actually have any leads?"

"Heh heh~, Melkid told me lots last night. Apparently there's no doubt that Knight-sama is in this town."

　　According to Melkid, eiyōso or whatever it's called is really thin in this world—that's normal here—but in places where people from the other world are, it gets slightly more concentrated.

　　And apparently, that's happening in this town.

"Huh~, so the little doggo wasn't just wandering around without a clue~"

"That is correct. I am quite excellent, you see—I had already narrowed down the search range this far!"

　　Melkid was peeking out from the bag with just their face showing. Even with just their face visible, I could somehow tell they were puffing out their chest.

"So, you know Knight-sama's in this town—what do we do from here?"

"........."

"........."

"As I thought~, it looks like there's no lead after all~"

　　Sumi laughed and petted Melkid's chin. You look way too happy about this, you unplanned dog.

"W-well, you see, if we get somewhat close, I shall know. My nose can distinguish between the scents of people from this world and people from the other world."

"How close do we need to get?"

"...About 100 meters in this world's measurements..."

　　That's super close—this isn't gonna work unless we get really near.

　　Which means... we're gonna have to walk around like crazy.

"Well, taking a walk with everyone once in a while isn't so bad, right, right?"

　　Kiri was playing the supporting role for her fellow "act first, think later" friend.

　

"Well, I guess that works."

"Hey, there's this café I wanted to check out~. Let's head that way~"

"Nice~, let's do that"

　　A café that caught Sumi's radar was definitely guaranteed to be good.

　　I was suddenly pumped up and started walking alongside Sumi.

"H-hey, please take this seriously..."

"Yes, the one being helped shouldn't complaaain~"

　　―　◆　―

"By the way, Yamanai-kun didn't show up until the end of school today."

　　I mentioned to Sumi as we made our way toward the café.

"Huh, did he~? Didn't even notice~"

　　Sumi wasn't saying that to be mean—she genuinely hadn't paid attention.

　　She's super nice to girls but basically uninterested in boys. She'll talk normally if they talk to her first, though.

　　Maybe she got sick of all the guys approaching her with obvious ulterior motives.

　　Speaking of being uninterested in boys, Kiri—the type who falls in love with 2D characters—is the same. I mean, if she actually cared about what boys thought of her, there's no way she'd talk so openly about her otaku stuff.

　　So both of them are the type who don't really care about guys.

　　Me? I'm not even seen as a member of the opposite sex by anyone, so what about it?

"U-um, you two, speak of the devil and all that~"

　　Kiri, walking beside us, suddenly stopped.

　　Looking over, there was Yamanai-kun standing across the crosswalk.

　　He was definitely looking this way.

"What do we do, change our route?"

"Ehh, but I can already see the café~. Let's just ignore him and go-go!"

　　Sumi was being assertive and walking ahead.

　　Well, if the person who got mad says it's fine, then I guess it's fine. Let's go.

　　As we tried to cross the crosswalk to avoid Yamanai-kun, he sidestepped to block our path. What are you, a crab?

"Hey, we can't get through. And also, what are you doing ditching school?"

　　Sumi's voice sounded annoyed. Just because she hadn't been paying attention to attendance didn't mean she'd forgiven him.

"Arisuki, come with me for a bit. ...You guys too."

"Hah? What are you saying on your own!?"

"Wait, Sumi!"

　　Kiri grabbed the arm of the angry Sumi and pulled her into our circle.

"H-hey, what're you doing?"

"Melkid says they're smelling the other world from Yamanai."

　　Huh? So does that mean Yamanai-kun is Knight-sama?

　　Wait... no, that's actually pretty shocking.

"N-no, no, that boy is a person from this world. However, I do believe he has definitely had contact with someone from the other world."

"Ehh, so you mean he's an acquaintance of Knight-sama?"

　　I glanced at Yamanai-kun from within our circle.

　　He's just standing there quietly and waiting.

"What do we do?"

"I don't even wanna talk to that guuy~"

"Please manage somehow, Sumi-san. We have finally caught a clue."

　　Melkid stuck both hands (front paws) out of the bag and rubbed them together in a pleading gesture. The stuffed animal's gonna look suspicious if it moves that much.

"Sheesh~, fine~. Then if the little doggo becomes my pillow today, I'll put up with it~"

"By all means! By all means!"

　　They're so happy about it. Seriously, this thing really is a perv.

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