Aria, who had been walking ahead with her hands inside her pockets, suddenly stopped.
She slowly turned around and raised an eyebrow.
“Hm?”
Shuyong scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
“I mean… if you ran away from your engagement and caused this much chaos, your grandmas are definitely angry right now.”
Shin immediately nodded seriously.
“Very angry.”
Roy crossed his arms.
“Extremely angry.”
Muichiro sighed dramatically.
“Your funeral preparations are probably happening already.”
Aria stared at all of them for two seconds.
Then suddenly—
She smirked.
“Do you all seriously think I would run away without planning where I’d stay?”
Everyone froze.
“…You planned that too?” Suzumi asked.
Aria proudly pointed at herself.
“Of course.”
Then she spread her arms dramatically.
“Tonight…”
A mysterious smile slowly appeared on her face.
“…all of you are invited to Aria’s secret hideout, version 2.”
Shin blinked.
“…There’s a version 2 too?!”
Aria folded her arms proudly.
“Yes.”
Then she grinned mischievously.
“Come on.
Let’s go to that farmhouse…”
She paused dramatically.
“…the one everyone stopped visiting long ago.”
Most of them looked confused.
But Tashinora immediately understood what she actually meant.
It was code language.
Aria wanted to talk to him privately about something important later.
Without questioning further, everyone followed Aria toward the farmhouse.
A while later, they finally arrived.
The farmhouse stood quietly in the middle of a peaceful area surrounded by trees.
The place looked old yet strangely beautiful under the moonlight.
Aria opened the door dramatically and spread her arms.
“Welcome to my temporary headquarters.”
Shin immediately looked around in amazement.
“This place is huge…”
Aria nodded proudly.
“There are plenty of rooms here.”
Then she pointed upstairs.
“Pick whichever room you like.”
Soon, everyone started choosing rooms while joking and arguing with each other.
After some time, everyone finally settled down for the night.
Just then, Tashinora suddenly spoke calmly,
“I’ll take the room beside Aria’s.”
Muichiro instantly replied,
“Then I’ll take the room on the other side.”
Tashinora looked at him blankly.
“…Why?”
Muichiro crossed his arms suspiciously.
“For security reasons.”
“…You mean trust issues.”
“Same thing.”
Eventually, everyone went to sleep.
The farmhouse became completely quiet.
Late at night—
Tuk… Tuk…
A soft knock came from Aria’s room door.
“Come in,” Aria said quietly.
Tashinora entered the room and closed the door behind him.
The moment he looked at Aria properly, he noticed her expression immediately.
She didn’t look cheerful anymore.
She looked disturbed.
Aria sat near the window silently before finally speaking.
“…Today I saw my mother.”
Tashinora froze instantly.
“What?”
Aria slowly looked up at him.
“It was really her.”
Her voice sounded unusually soft.
“She touched my face… talked to me…”
Then her expression slowly became confused again.
“She said today was our last meeting.”
Tashinora quietly listened without interrupting.
“And then…”
Aria clenched her hand slightly.
“She suddenly disappeared.”
A strange uneasiness appeared in her eyes.
“But that’s not the weirdest part.”
Tashinora frowned slightly.
“Then what is?”
Aria looked directly at him.
“You know my teleportation technique, right?”
Tashinora nodded slowly.
Aria’s voice lowered.
“She moved even faster than that.”
Silence filled the room instantly.
For the first time in a long while—
Even Tashinora looked genuinely shocked.
After listening quietly, Tashinora looked at Aria for a few moments.
Then he sighed softly.
“You should sleep now.”
He placed a hand on her head gently.
“Tomorrow morning we have to go home too.”
Aria stayed silent for a second before nodding.
“…Yeah, okay.”
Tashinora smiled faintly and walked toward the door.
“Goodnight, troublemaker.”
“Goodnight.”
He left the room, and silence filled it again.
Aria lay down on her bed and stared at the ceiling.
Then suddenly her eyes widened.
“WAIT—”
She immediately sat up.
“Oh no!”
She grabbed her head dramatically.
“I completely forgot about school!”
After panicking for a whole minute, she sighed and dropped back onto the bed.
“…Whatever.”
Within a few minutes, she eventually fell asleep too.
The next morning, Aria slowly opened her eyes.
She walked downstairs while rubbing her eyes lazily—
Only to find everyone already standing there with bags packed and ready to leave.
Shin waved dramatically.
“Look who finally woke up.”
Aria yawned.
“You all are way too energetic in the morning.”
After some casual talking, everyone eventually returned to their homes.
Aria, Muichiro, and Tashinora also headed back together.
As soon as they entered the house—
Aria suddenly froze.
Someone was already sitting inside.
“…Baki?”
Aria blinked in surprise.
“What are you doing here?”
The moment Baki stood up, Aria immediately took one step back.
Baki crossed her arms angrily.
“How dare you run away from your engagement?!”
Her voice echoed through the room.
“Do you even know how embarrassed everyone became because of you?!”
Aria looked unusually nervous and quickly hid slightly behind Muichiro.
Just then, Elli walked into the room.
The moment she saw Aria looking scared, her expression changed.
“Baki.”
Her voice suddenly became cold.
“This isn’t your house.”
Then she looked directly at her.
“And stop shouting at Aria.”
Meanwhile, Tashinora looked at Aria suspiciously.
“…Wait.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“You’re not scared of anyone.”
Then he pointed at Baki.
“So why are you acting scared of her?”
Aria immediately straightened up and crossed her arms dramatically.
“Scared?”
She looked offended.
“I’m not scared.”
Then she casually pointed at Baki.
“I’m acting.”
Her eyes narrowed proudly.
“Otherwise what do you think?”
She flipped her hair dramatically.
“That I’d be scared of this tiny little Baki?”
Baki slowly turned toward her.
Silence.
Aria’s confidence immediately disappeared.
“…Muichiro.”
“Yes?”
“…Move slightly in front of me.”
Baki narrowed her eyes and pointed at Aria dramatically.
“Today this old lady saved you.”
Then she crossed her arms.
“You come outside later.”
Aria immediately hid behind Muichiro again and peeked out from the side.
Before she could say anything, Muichiro stepped forward with a completely serious face.
“Oh, definitely.”
Then he nodded dramatically.
“Go outside with her.”
Aria slowly looked up at him in disbelief.
“…Excuse me?”
Muichiro suddenly smirked.
“Because the one who’ll end up getting lectured for three hours isn’t Baki…”
He pointed at Aria.
“…it’ll be you.”
Tashinora immediately nodded as if it was a scientific fact.
“True.”
Shin, who had just entered from the doorway, looked confused.
“What’s happening?”
Roy looked toward Aria and shrugged.
“Looks like the legendary Aria is finally facing consequences.”
Aria stared at everyone with betrayal in her eyes.
“…I can’t believe this.”
Then she pointed dramatically at all of them one by one.
“My own people…”
“…have abandoned me.”
Elli sighed while rubbing her forehead.
“Why does this house become a circus every time Aria enters?”