"What's going on? What happened?!"
President Oiwa had just managed to escape the crowd's clutches with the security guards' help when Matsui came over to ask him.
He anxiously looked around, searching for the fetus, and replied, "That 'child' ran off on its own. I don't know where it went."
"How is that possible?" Matsui said urgently. "They shouldn't be able to get far from the pendant and the incense burner. This has never happened before. It should still be nearby, and the burner in your hand is still lit, isn't it? Hurry and find it."
"But..." President Oiwa stared at the incense burner in his hand, his expression strange. "I just can't find it. It's as if the connection has been severed."
The incense burner in President Oiwa's hand now seemed like an ordinary one. The smoke rising from it drifted aimlessly. Before, it should have appeared to him like an umbilical cord connecting to the fetus.
"It must be nearby. Calm the congregation, then search carefully," Matsui said.
"Okay." President Oiwa returned to the stage, raised his hands to quiet everyone, and said, "Everyone, please settle down. The ceremony is over. Miss Suzuki, please return to your seat. Now, I'd like everyone to take part in a special activity: looking back on your lives so far. We need to learn from our mistakes to keep growing. Let's take a moment to quiet our minds and close our eyes, reflecting on the setbacks we've faced. That way, when good fortune comes, we'll be better able to seize the opportunity and stay on the right path. Now, please close your eyes."
After placating the congregation for the moment with a load of meaningless nonsense, President Oiwa hurried around the now-quiet hall, incense burner in hand. He was so frantic that sweat beaded on his forehead, but he still couldn't find the fetus.
Matsui was also searching the hall when he suddenly spotted Inuyama Heita. He wasn't sitting according to the seating order, but in the last row, with plenty of empty seats around him. It looked as if he'd deliberately taken the very last seat. Matsui gestured to President Oiwa to check the area around the boy. President Oiwa shook his head, indicating that he hadn't found a trace of anything—the thing they were looking for simply wasn't there.
After another round of searching, the congregation had grown impatient with "reflecting on their lives." Only then did President Oiwa reluctantly let everyone open their eyes. After a few more team-building games, he finally announced that the gathering was over and let everyone leave.
Inuyama Heita followed the crowd outside, but Matsui stopped him at the door.
"Heita-kun, it's not nice to take other people's things," Matsui said, wearing that same fake smile.
"You... you saw it?" Inuyama Heita was startled. Just as Matsui began to look pleased, Inuyama Heita awkwardly pulled the snacks and candies from his pockets and said sheepishly, "Um... I didn't realize we weren't allowed to take these. I'm sorry. I'll put them back right away."
"You sure took a lot..." Seeing Inuyama Heita's pockets stuffed with snacks, Matsui couldn't keep his expression in check. A vein throbbed on his forehead as he said, "You know that's not what I meant. You saw what happened on the stage, didn't you?"
Compared to a certain someone, I really didn't take much... Inuyama Heita grumbled silently. That person had practically come here to stock up; the mountain of snacks on the table had nearly been cleared out.
"Oh, you mean that?" Inuyama Heita lowered his voice. "That was the first time I'd ever seen anything like it. Wasn't that part of your ceremony? Did something go wrong?"
Seeing that he couldn't get anything out of him, Matsui grew suspicious. "You really didn't do anything?"
"I really didn't do anything. Besides, you're the ones who invited me, aren't you?" Inuyama Heita said innocently. His words were perfectly justified. Someone else had done it, and he really hadn't done a thing. He'd sat quietly in his chair the whole time.
"Forget it. It was just a minor mishap." Matsui forced a kind expression onto his face. He hadn't forgotten why he'd invited Inuyama Heita in the first place, so he tried to persuade him: "Now that you've seen the place, you've also seen how respected and admired President Oiwa is, right? Heita-kun, what if I told you that you could be just as respected? Join us. Join our organization and use your abilities to help others, while earning the status you deserve—and money..."
"But didn't your ceremony just fail?" Inuyama Heita said, pretending not to understand. "I saw that thing suddenly come down here and disappear. Those things are dangerous to approach carelessly, aren't they?"
Matsui irritably argued, "That was an accident!"
"Oh, so it was an accident? What a shame." Inuyama Heita said the words, but his tone was unconvinced, which was infuriating to hear. He politely bowed to Matsui. "I'm really sorry. I'm still a student, and I have a part-time job, so I don't have time for this kind of community activity. I'm very sorry. It's almost time, and I have to go to work, or the manager will scold me. As for joining your organization... I'll give it serious consideration. Goodbye."
"Tch..." Watching Inuyama Heita leave, Matsui cursed inwardly. "I can't believe a brat looked down on me! And this had to go wrong today. Damn it."
President Oiwa came over and asked, "Who was that kid?"
"Just some kid from a family with a bit of money," Matsui answered dismissively. "Still no luck finding it?"
President Oiwa nodded. "We can't find it anywhere nearby. Should we check the other floors? These little things sometimes like to wander off."
Matsui waved a hand. "No rush. There are no cracks in Suzuki's plaque, so the child should be fine. We just don't know where it went. As long as the incense burner is still in our hands, it'll come back sooner or later."
"Got it. I'm off work, then. There's an izakaya with good grilled food, so I'm going to have a couple of drinks. I'll leave the rest to you." President Oiwa stretched and left on his own.
Matsui watched President Oiwa's retreating back, displeasure flashing in his eyes.
After Inuyama Heita left the hall and reached the street, he ran into someone else waiting for him at the entrance.
"Why are you here, Inuyama-kun?" Suzuki pushed up her glasses and asked bluntly.
Before you continue