After school that afternoon.
For some reason, Uesugi Hara couldn't settle down, so he decided to spend some time in the library.
But halfway there, he got a message from Airi.
"Uesugi, help me..."
He checked Airi's location on his Terminal. She wasn't far away.
"Airi, what's wrong?" he asked as he hurried toward her location.
"I... I'm being follo...ed..." Airi's hand was trembling, and she mistyped the word.
Fortunately, Uesugi Hara could still understand her.
"Find somewhere covered by a security camera and stay there. Don't move. I'm coming!"
After sending the message, Uesugi Hara put away his Terminal and raced over.
Meanwhile, Airi...
She could feel the burning, greedy gaze behind her, and her body trembled uncontrollably.
Cameras... Security cameras...
There!
Over there!
Airi had come out to take some pictures and unwind, hoping to shake off the stress from yesterday.
She figured Uesugi Hara had to attend the hearing today, so she hadn't asked him to come along.
But then she'd run into trouble.
The place she'd picked for taking pictures had very few security cameras, which gave the shop clerk his chance.
Naturally, once the clerk spotted her, he couldn't let the opportunity pass. He followed her.
When Uesugi Hara arrived, Airi was standing obediently beneath one of the security cameras in the area.
A small grove and a lake lay nearby. Airi stood under a lamppost on the path between them.
The camera was mounted right there.
"I finally made it." Uesugi Hara spotted Airi in the distance and breathed a sigh of relief.
He saw the familiar shop clerk sitting on a bench a short distance away.
The clerk had his head down, playing with his Terminal, but his attention wasn't on the screen at all. He was staring fixedly at the girl in