Even If You (Sakayanagi IF Route)

"It's you!"

A familiar voice came from behind.

A sense of disgust welled up in Oreki's heart.

The only person capable of making him feel this way...

Was one man.

The old man he had seen earlier at the art gallery.

"No... please, spare me! I truly didn't know you had a connection to the Sakayanagi family!"

He grabbed Oreki's right hand and immediately knelt on the ground.

Inexplicable...

Oreki thought to himself.

Furthermore, he felt irritated the moment he heard the word "Sakayanagi" spoken by others.

It wasn't directed at Sakayanagi Arisu.

It was directed at himself.

If he had realized it sooner... no, he had realized it from the very beginning.

Then why hadn't he acted?

He didn't know.

Was it because he thought he wouldn't have any intersection with Sakayanagi Arisu?

"You are a magnanimous person, please spare me! It was that brat Tanaka who made me do it. I, I... I am completely innocent!"

Annoying...

Oreki clenched his right fist.

He was busy right now, and he was in a hurry.

As for being harassed earlier, Oreki had long since stopped caring.

How could an ant possibly be worth his attention?

But now...

This disgusting method of self-preservation had successfully enraged Oreki.

He already had nowhere to vent the resentment in his heart.

The blow he had dealt to Hashimoto Masayoshi earlier was nothing more than a light sprinkle.

It hadn't even been one percent of his strength.

"..."

Oreki didn't hesitate to strike down with one hand.

The result was obvious.

The old man was knocked unconscious.

The world suddenly became much quieter.

A few minutes later.

He returned to the dormitory.

The administrator at the front desk wore a puzzled expression.

He certainly knew Oreki.

The person favored by the young lady of the Sakayanagi family.

Moreover, the school Chairman had specifically instructed him not to interfere with Oreki's affairs.

His importance was clearly extraordinary.

"Um... Student Oreki, right?"

"Yes."

"Are you returning to the dormitory today because you left something in your room?"

"No, I just want to come back and stay..."

"Ah? You... you must be joking. How could I let you stay in such a shabby room?"

Cold sweat broke out on the administrator's forehead.

What was going on?

Was this ancestor trying to make things difficult for him on purpose?

But he remembered, he hadn't offended Oreki anywhere, had he?

"..."

"Oh, oh! You must have forgotten your key, right? Just a moment, just a moment..."

"..."

"Found it! Here you go, please take it."

"..."

Oreki took the room card handed over by the other party.

Setting aside how this administrator even had such a thing.

Just this level of emotional intelligence...

Was already hundreds of times better than that old man.

"Speaking of which, do you know that old man at the art museum..."

"I do, I do! Could he be your..."

"No. I just happened to pass by and knocked him out on a whim."

"Is that so?"

"Over there."

Following the direction Oreki pointed, the administrator saw an old man lying on the ground.

Well.

If he wasn't hallucinating, then it must be exactly as Oreki said.

"Rest assured, I didn't see anything."

"That's not what I meant."

"...You want me to handle the aftermath?"

"Yes. Go ahead."

"But what about Sakura behind him..."

"Has already fallen from power."

"Eh!?"

"Go quickly."

"O-okay."

Watching the administrator scurry away, Oreki turned and headed toward the Sakayanagi residence.

If it could still be called by that name, anyway...

There shouldn't be anyone left in the room.

Although it was empty, the school wouldn't change the room assignment.

Because Sakayanagi's Father was only away for a short time.

It wasn't a permanent departure... probably.

Oreki soon arrived downstairs.

He had been here a few days ago, and had even lamented that nothing had changed at all.

Who would have thought...

"Let's go in."

He took the elevator and pushed open the door.

Almost nothing had changed.

Except...

Oreki was the only one left here.

Loneliness.

So that was it; this was the loneliness Sakayanagi spoke of.

He glanced at the time.

Seven in the evening.

It wasn't too late yet.

Therefore, Oreki decided to think for a while first.

First, Sakayanagi's Father.

He didn't seem to care about Sakayanagi's affairs.

No, that wasn't quite right either.

At the very least, he did his best to satisfy whatever Sakayanagi asked for.

For instance, coming to Advanced Nurturing High School to see Kiyoko, and then settling the score with her.

But...

It was impossible to discern any emotion in Sakayanagi's Father's voice over the phone.

Should it be called a sense of sorrow...

Or...

He didn't know.

Oreki couldn't reach an answer for the time being.

Since he couldn't find an answer, he would set it aside for now.

Let's talk about the reason for Sakayanagi's Father's sudden departure that night.

It was probably that middle-aged man.

Betrayal...?

No... seeking refuge, perhaps.

Since that day, Oreki had not seen the man at the art gallery again.

Had he been sent off to do something in secret?

Perhaps it was related to the "culprit" Sakayanagi's Father mentioned on the phone.

Regarding Oreki's suggestion that the real culprit was the janitor.

Sakayanagi's Father did not question it.

But he still told Oreki not to speak of it.

So...

Had someone been made a scapegoat?

But who?

And for what reason?

"Damn it! There are too few clues..."

Oreki slammed his fist into the sofa.

Then he clutched his forehead, staring at the floor in great distress.

Usually, he would have figured out the answer by now.

But now...

Oreki's heart was completely occupied by Sakayanagi Arisu.

He wanted to rush out of the school gates and go find her.

But that was impossible.

With no connections and no money, there was simply no one who would tell him the location of Sakayanagi Arisu.

The Sakayanagi family owned many properties.

Moreover, a large portion of them were empty.

Searching them one by one was unrealistic.

Not to mention that even sneaking in was a problem in itself.

It was better to honestly start with Kiyoko.

"..."

After thinking, Oreki felt hungry.

He walked into Sakayanagi's room.

The apron was still there.

Oreki put it on with practiced ease.

"Hehe... it suits you well, Houtarou."

"!"

He turned around.

He had just heard Sakayanagi's voice.

But there was no one else in the room besides Oreki.

Had he thought about Sakayanagi Arisu so much that he was hallucinating?

Sure enough...

Only when one has lost something do they realize its importance.

Only then do they realize what it is they truly love.

--To be continue