Omnibus Anime: My Five Senses Connect with the Proud Daughters of Ten Thousand Worlds Chapter 15

"Uta-chan, don't worry. I've already read the manuscript for your second volume. Trust me, if we just ramp up the promotion this time, sales will definitely pick up. The new content..."

"Now's not the time to talk about that." Utaha Kasumigaoka lightly tapped the table, interrupting Machida Sonoko.

The girl's wine-red eyes stared intently at Machida Sonoko.

"You're not acting right. Haven't slept all night?"

"How could I possibly sleep after suddenly receiving news like this?" Machida Sonoko tilted her head back and gulped down the rest of her black coffee, licking her lips with the tip of her tongue, forcing herself to perk up a bit.

Utaha Kasumigaoka sighed, stopped shaking her leg, stood up, walked around the round table, and took Machida Sonoko's arm.

"Let's go. I can't rest easy seeing you like this. I'll take you home to get some proper rest first."

"Waaah, Uta-chan is such a good person~"

Despite being a working adult, Machida Sonoko now clung to Utaha Kasumigaoka's shoulder like a child, standing up with her support.

The two left the coffee shop. Machida Sonoko opened the umbrella she had brought because the sky looked ominous when they were leaving.

There was still a distance to walk to the station from here, and Machida Sonoko lived quite far away. After only a few steps, Machida Sonoko said to Utaha Kasumigaoka, "Uta-chan, why don't I take you home first? I'll be fine going back by myself."

After all, she was a working adult.

Utaha Kasumigaoka just stared silently at her editor, her determined gaze saying it all.

"Then... let's take a taxi."

Machida Sonoko sighed.

"If we take the train, it'll be too late for you to get home, Uta-chan."

The outrageously high taxi fares in Japan were naturally not a problem for a renowned editor like Machida Sonoko.

Before long, the two women arrived at the high-rise apartment building where Machida Sonoko rented a place, by taxi.

The rain showed no signs of letting up. Pedestrians were scarce on the street, hurrying along. Many office workers, having finished their day, were running quickly with their briefcases held over their heads.

Rumble—!

Another low thunderclap echoed across the sky.

Utaha Kasumigaoka looked up and was surprised to find that, through the rainy sky, she could strangely see a few stars.

Those stars formed a strange pattern in the sky, twinkling with an eerie silver glow.

She wasn't someone with much interest in astronomy, or she would have recognized it instantly as the Pleiades Star Cluster in Taurus.

The Pleiades Star Cluster, which should have been composed of seven sisters, now only had four or five visible stars. It was as if some dark veil was trying to obscure and distort the cluster's brilliance.

"Uta-chan?"

"It's nothing. Let's go."

She withdrew her gaze and followed Machida Sonoko into the apartment building's lobby.

As the elevator began its ascent with a faint hum, Utaha Kasumigaoka tidied her slightly messy school uniform jacket while pondering what had happened at the Fushikawa Library.

Before long, she noticed something was wrong.

Her eyes instinctively flicked upward, and when her gaze landed on the large "19" displayed on the elevator's screen, she was a bit stunned.

Looking again, disbelieving, the girl said with a strange expression, "Is the elevator broken?"

"Huh?"

Machida Sonoko looked over.

"The elevator is going up, right? But why does it keep showing floor 19?"

Upon hearing this, Machida Sonoko also stared at the floor display for a moment and found that the numbers on the screen indeed never changed.

But the fact that the elevator was continuously ascending was undeniable.

"The display must be broken. I'll notify building management later," Machida Sonoko said nonchalantly.

As soon as she finished speaking, the elevator doors opened with a "Ding—" sound.

The moment she stepped out of the elevator with Machida Sonoko, Utaha Kasumigaoka, as if compelled by some force, glanced at the number on the screen again.

19