The short-haired girl had only noticed that her friend looked down. When she learned that her friend had run into one piece of bad luck after another on her way here, she had kept trying to cheer her up.
She hadn't had time to think much about it.
Now that the short-haired girl mentioned it, she realized something was off, too.
"Then why are you so bothered by it this time?"
The ponytailed girl never kept her questions to herself.
She asked outright.
"This time was different from before..."
The short-haired girl murmured.
"Different?"
The ponytailed girl furrowed her brow.
She looked completely baffled.
She couldn't help guessing, "Was this time especially unlucky?"
Was that why her friend was in such a bad mood?
Even her offer to treat her didn't seem to have lifted her spirits much.
If so, she was a little curious about what kind of bad luck the short-haired girl had run into.
The gloom on the short-haired girl's face was plain to see.
She hadn't felt comfortable pressing her friend about what had happened on the way to meet her.
She was trying to cheer her friend up.
That way, perhaps she wouldn't have to ask later. Her friend might tell her everything she wanted to know on her own.
"It was pretty unlucky."
The short-haired girl nodded.
"But I wouldn't say it was especially unlucky... I guess..."
I guess?
The ponytailed girl blinked.
Was she really that unsure?
"Then..."
"I heard a voice."
The short-haired girl suddenly said.
"...Huh?"
The ponytailed girl's eyes widened.
The sudden change of subject left her unable to react for a moment.
"...You heard a voice?"
What did she mean?
"What kind of voice?"
The ponytailed girl looked confused.
"...A voice saying