By the time they left the library that afternoon, the sun had already begun to slant westward. The corridor was flooded with warm orange light, stretching long grids across the tiled floor. Walking over it felt like stepping on melted honey.
Shiina Hiyori walked out of the library with The Black Death Mansion Murder Case in her arms, while Kiryu Yume followed beside her at an unhurried pace. Their shadows lay close together on the ground.
She lowered her head and stuffed the book into her bag. Her fingers suddenly paused halfway through pulling the zipper, and in the end, she could not resist looking up.
"Are you free tonight?" The moment the words left her mouth, her heart skipped a beat. Didn't that sound way too serious? Like some invitation with ulterior motives!
She quickly added, deliberately making her tone light and casual, as if she were mentioning the most ordinary little thing. "I mean, do you want to have dinner at the cafeteria together?"
Kiryu Yume slipped his hands into his pockets and considered it for two seconds. "Sure. It's about dinner time anyway."
Shiina Hiyori gave a quiet response and lowered her head, swiftly pulling the zipper all the way shut with a zip. She looped the strap of her bag twice around her fingers.
As they turned the corner in the corridor, she lifted a hand to tidy the loose strands beside her ear. The gesture looked as natural as though her hair had genuinely blocked her vision. Only she knew that she was afraid he would notice the heat in her face.
The cafeteria was already fairly crowded. Several lines had formed at the card scanners, and the air was thick with the scents of fried food and miso soup. From the serving area came