Soyo Nagasaki Wants to Know the Truth

Know your mom.

Dumbass English.

Those words seemed to show in Nagasaki Sose's eyes. All right, that was just Riki's imagination, but Nagasaki Sose really did look distrustful.

After all, the idea of crossing into another world was hard to imagine...

Nagasaki Sose frowned at Riki, feeling somewhat doubtful herself. She had suddenly appeared here on her way home from school. She hadn't been drugged or knocked unconscious—it had happened in an instant. Riki hadn't even seemed to have time to do something like that, especially since he'd only just finished taking a shower.

Remembering the definition of Riki's muscles, Nagasaki Sose's face flushed slightly. This was the first time she'd seen a boy's body.

So his muscles really were that visible beneath his clothes?

"What are you doing?" Nagasaki Sose asked warily when she saw Riki take out his laptop.

She still couldn't shake the idea that Riki was a kidnapper. After all, she'd heard that being kidnapped by someone you knew was one of the most likely possibilities.

"I'm showing you proof, so you can stop looking at me like I'm a kidnapper," Riki said crossly.

Nagasaki Sose frowned, unsure what proof he planned to show her. She watched as Riki opened a website and even enabled the browser's translation function for her. Soon, she heard a familiar musical intro.

Nagasaki Sose's pupils contracted. That was Kasukage!

But the intro wasn't played on a keyboard—it was a guitar. Why?

She saw comments floating across the screen.

"Starting Kasukage!"

"Guitar Hero Cat has arrived!"

"Cat's getting serious. Sose, don't cry."

"Who is playing my River Song?"

"Oh, heavens above, why have you forsaken me? Sose, don't cry. Even making it to S14 would be fine."

Nagasaki Sose stared in disbelief at the band performing Kasukage on the screen. It was the band she and Takamatsu Akari had formed with three others.

She also saw Toyokawa Sakiko in the audience, wiping away her tears before turning and fleeing the Ring concert hall.

Nagasaki Sose's heart ached. She couldn't help wanting to ask: Why were they playing Kasukage?

The version of herself in the video seemed to feel the same way. After the performance, she walked backstage with her head bowed.

Comments began floating across the screen.

"It's coming (ecstatic)!"

"Cat: Gotta blast!"

"High-impact moment ahead!"

"The good times are here!"

"Why did you play Kasukage?!"

Her onscreen self broke down and shouted the question. Nagasaki Sose couldn't help widening her eyes.

"Do you understand now?" Riki asked her. "You really did come to another world."

Nagasaki Sose pinched her fingers in her usual thinking gesture and pondered for a long time before frowning at Riki. "I can't believe something like this is possible. Does that mean Sakiko went through the same thing as me?"

"That's right." Riki nodded.

"I see. Now I understand what Sakiko said. But I'm special now, too, so you're not quite as rare anymore." Nagasaki Sose gave a faint nod. That way, Sakiko wouldn't think Riki was so special anymore.

What do you think I am, some kind of animal?

"Then I have a question." Nagasaki Sose narrowed her eyes at Riki. "Where does Sakiko usually sleep? Don't tell me she sleeps with you."

She absolutely couldn't accept that!

Chapter Thirty: Nagasaki Sose Wants to Know the Truth

Nagasaki Sose narrowed her eyes at Riki. She finally understood his relationship with Toyokawa Sakiko. In the end, they were only staying together because of an accident. Her earlier guess that they were dating had been completely unfounded.

And with Sakiko's family background, it would've been strange if she'd fallen for Riki.

Nagasaki Sose felt much better. Then she remembered that Sakiko usually stayed here overnight and frowned as she demanded, "Where do you usually let Sakiko sleep?"

What kind of question is that?

Obviously, in my bed.

Where else would she sleep?

"In the bedroom next to mine," Riki answered truthfully.

"Hmph. As you should," Nagasaki Sose snorted.

I really am being looked down on.

Nagasaki Sose was clearly judging Riki with prejudice.

Riki was now thinking about the significance of Nagasaki Sose's arrival. It meant he could still return to Sakiko's world afterward—but could Sakiko still come here?

And there was another question: if Nagasaki Sose stopped crossing over, just like Sakiko, would a new gravity appear? I mean, would a new girl show up?

And then our descendants would multiply without end?

What am I, the Foolish Old Man who Moved the Mountains?

Nagasaki Sose got up and headed for the door. Seeing this, Riki asked, "Are you going out?"

"Of course," Nagasaki Sose replied coolly. "I'm very sorry, but I have no intention of living under the same roof as a boy. I don't know why Sakiko-chan is staying here, but unfortunately, I feel no such desire. You said I'd go back after a while, right? I understand the principle now, so I'll be off."

She still didn't like Riki after all.

Whether it was his constant smile or the way he seemed so close to Sakiko-chan, she hated it all.

Because it reminded her of the old Crychic.

Whenever Riki teased her at Ring and made her angry, or his annoying texts made her puff out her cheeks at home, she'd frown—and yet, the happy memories of their old band would always surface in her mind.

But she couldn't. All she wanted was Crychic.

So Riki, Aine, and Kaname Runa were all unnecessary.

"Goodbye." Seeing that Riki didn't try to stop her, Nagasaki Sose still offered a polite, cool farewell.

Once she stepped outside, Nagasaki Sose looked at the Chinese characters everywhere and the traffic streaming along the road. Faced with this foreign-looking place, she felt a little lost.

Although Riki had told her this was another world, her instinct was still to think she'd arrived in a foreign country. But this place looked nothing like the pictures of the country she'd seen online. For that matter, she'd never even heard of this city.

What city was this, Haicheng?

It looked like a major metropolis, but she'd never heard of it.

Nagasaki Sose hesitated. After all, she was still just a high school girl, and facing an unfamiliar environment made her a little afraid.

"I'll try searching on my phone... Huh?"

Nagasaki Sose stared blankly at the words "No Service" on her phone. That meant she couldn't even get online, so she couldn't search for the information she needed. And if her phone didn't work, there was no telling whether her credit card would, either.

But paper money should work, right?

Nagasaki Sose was about to take some money from her wallet when a passerby bumped her shoulder, making her stumble.

"Don't just stand there in the road! Trying to scam someone?"

Nagasaki Sose couldn't understand what the person was saying, but their angry expression frightened her. She hurriedly stepped back and apologized in a quiet voice.

But as she stepped back, she accidentally bumped into someone else, and panic seized her. Fortunately, they didn't hold it against her.

Still, not being able to understand or read anything made Nagasaki Sose feel surrounded by fear. She even felt a little... scared.

Just like Sakiko had been when she said they were disbanding Crychic that rainy day.

Thud!

Someone bumped into her again. Nagasaki Sose instinctively apologized in Japanese. "Sorry."

"You actually bumped into my handsome face! How are you going to make it up to me? You're a pretty flower, aren't you? In that case, I don't have to keep pretending to be a gentleman."

Trying to scam someone?

His words were vicious enough to make her tremble.

Nagasaki Sose jumped in fright, but then she realized he was speaking Japanese. His voice also sounded strangely familiar. She looked up and saw a face putting on a menacing expression. He was pretty handsome, but his face was the kind that made Nagasaki Sose angry just looking at it.

Riki.

"..." Nagasaki Sose stared blankly.

Come on, give me some kind of reaction.

After that first-rate performance, you didn't react at all—not even with the generosity of your prime minister, Abe.

How stingy.

"What are you doing here?" Nagasaki Sose asked irritably.

"Dinner's almost ready, so I came out to buy some ingredients. When I got downstairs, I saw Nagasaki Sose looking like such a weakling, and thought I'd tease her. I didn't expect to scare her unconscious," Riki said.

"I wasn't scared!" Nagasaki Sose retorted, embarrassed and annoyed.

She had been a little scared just now. A girl who'd only just started high school had suddenly found herself in a foreign country, unable to understand what anyone was saying and unable to get online. Anyone would be afraid. She'd been so nervous that she didn't know what to do.

But when Riki appeared, her nervousness instantly faded. She even felt a sense of security she didn't want to admit to.

"Were you going to buy groceries? In that case, I'll help you. My payment is that you let me stay at your place." Nagasaki Sose folded her arms.

You're just saying whatever you want, aren't you?

Are you after my delectable body?

Riki was very suspicious, but as the saying went, make bold guesses and verify them carefully. After a moment's thought, he decided to agree.

"Can you really cook?" Riki asked.

"At least I'm better at it than you," Nagasaki Sose replied coolly.

Look at you, acting all high and mighty. You think you know everything.

If you can't whip up a full banquet, you're in for a rough time!

"What do you want to eat?" Nagasaki Sose asked coolly as she followed Riki into the supermarket.

Riki thought it over. "Usually, I eat wagyu beef, lobster, and abalone for every meal. Today, I'll relive the old days and stir-fry some greens."

Nagasaki Sose gave him a speechless look, as if he were a hopeless small fry.

"How about this one?" Riki asked, earnestly inspecting the vegetables on the shelf.

"No. This one's obviously past its prime. Get the one next to it," Nagasaki Sose said after a glance.

"How about this one?"

"Hmm... Pick the one underneath."

"Is that enough?"

"Get some peppers, too, to add flavor."

Nagasaki Sose thought it over. Going back and forth with Riki, they quickly picked out everything for dinner. She even felt a little nostalgic. Long ago, before she and her mother had moved into an apartment in a high-rise, she used to go to the supermarket with her mother and pick out fresh vegetables and meat.

What a lovely memory.

Nagasaki Sose glanced at Riki beside her and snorted. The only downside was the guy next to her.

Riki pushed the cart up to the counter to pay. The cashier, an auntie, looked at the busty, brown-haired girl beside him and whispered, "Riki, it's not good to two-time. Why'd you bring a new girlfriend here?"

Riki shook his head. "We're not dating. She's the one who's chasing me. I came to the supermarket by myself, and she followed me. I've turned her down so many times, but she just keeps after me."

The cashier looked at Nagasaki Sose. She'd been listening the whole time, and when their eyes met, she politely offered a friendly smile.

So it really was true.

After they left the supermarket, Nagasaki Sose looked at Riki in confusion. "What were you two talking about just now?"