Although I decided to ignore the hallucinations for the time being, simply deciding to ignore them didn’t make them disappear.
The road from my apartment to the university—normally so familiar that I walked it without a single conscious thought—was now filled with sudden ambushes of bizarre visual information appearing at random.
For example, a middle-aged woman walking her dog happened to pass by me.
──────
『Yoshizuka Akie』
Age: 47
Body Fat Percentage: 29.3%
──────
There was no doubt this was a hallucination.
But could a male college student who somehow knew the name, age, and body fat percentage of a complete stranger still be considered ordinary?
And then there was the dog she was walking.
──────
『Yoshizuka Black Meringue Prince III』
Age: 6
Father: Hagiwara Tarou
──────
Again, clearly a hallucination.
But regardless, was it genealogically acceptable for a being named Black Meringue Prince III to descend from someone named Tarou?
Perhaps the dog had originally belonged to the Hagiwara family and was adopted afterward, but had they at least consulted Mr. Hagiwara before renaming him so extravagantly?
Or, for example, the discarded plastic bottle lying on the roadside.
──────
『Empty Plastic Bottle』
Number of Indirect Kisses Performed: 4
──────
At first glance it was merely trash.
Yet perhaps even garbage like this had once served as a prop in someone’s youthful romance.
Well, people could enjoy their life however they liked, but trash should still be thrown away properly.
Or at the very least taken home.
I tossed it into a nearby garbage bin on their behalf.
And then, there was my “childhood friend”—
the same girl who had answered my early morning call with a ridiculous “goodnight.”
I happened to run into her on the way to the university.
“Mornin’~ss, Gouto-kun.”
“Good morning, Meiko.”
The girl greeting me while openly fighting back yawns without the slightest attempt to hide her sleepiness was Nekoyanagi Meiko.
She had the lean, toned physique of what one might call a sports girl, and her hair was tied back into a single ponytail.
Her chest was nonexistent, but her face was cute enough that, apparently, boys had confessed to her back in high school.
Well, none of that particularly mattered.
She was my “childhood friend,” and more importantly, the advisor necessary for me to live an ordinary life.
And regarding her, the hallucination that had plagued me since morning displayed the following:
──────
『Nekoyanagi Meiko』
Height: 157.2cm
Weight: 56.0kg
Three Sizes: B:72 W:56 H:81
Notes:
Descendant of a ninja lineage spanning 700 years.
A so-called kunoichi.
Has sworn loyalty to Kirishiro Gouto.
──────
My eyes unconsciously lingered on the final section.
A so-called kunoichi.
In other words, a female ninja.
And loyal to me.
What in the world was that supposed to mean?
As I stared silently at the information for too long, my gaze happened to settle around Meiko’s chest area.
Meiko narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“What’s with you first thing in the morning? Quit staring at people’s boobs.”
“No. Yours are too small to stare at.”
“They still exist, thank you very much.”
Meiko glared at me with even greater resentment, but honestly, I had bigger concerns.
There was no doubting that this was a hallucination.
Absolutely none.
And yet, at the same time, I was increasingly convinced that the information shown within the hallucinations might actually be true.
Seeing hallucinations wasn’t normal.
Therefore, I had little desire to recklessly question people based on information displayed about them.
However, I did want to determine how accurate these hallucinations were whenever possible.
And if that was the case…
then perhaps using my “childhood friend”—who was fundamentally incapable of betraying me—as a test subject was necessary.
At the moment, it was still a little before first period at the university.
According to Meiko, “ordinary boys you could find anywhere” generally tended not to be late, which was why I always headed to campus with plenty of spare time.
Meaning a slight detour with Meiko would be acceptable.
“Hey, Meiko. I have something I can’t exactly talk about in public. Want to go somewhere nobody can overhear us?”
“What’s with that mood-killing setup? Sounds like some terrible confession scene…”
“In a sense, I suppose it is a confession…”
“Eh?”
The moment I vaguely affirmed her interpretation, Meiko’s eyes widened.
Then she nervously looked around in every direction.
The streets were crowded with people due to the morning rush.
Still, around here, if one avoided the students heading to school and the office workers going to the station, there were probably a few isolated spots.
After hesitating for a while, Meiko spoke timidly.
“T-Then… this way.”
“Mm.”
Following Meiko’s lead, I veered away from the road to the university and headed toward parts unknown.
We passed through mysterious alleys, crossed what were very obviously private residential yards, and walked along routes no normal person would ever choose.
Eventually, we arrived at what could only be described as an urban dead space—a strange empty lot hidden among rows of tightly packed houses.
“I-I don’t think anyone comes here…”
“You know some weird places.”
I had no idea what purpose this empty patch of land surrounded by walls and houses was supposed to serve, but I understood that Meiko had done her best to meet my request.
Which meant I could ask freely now.
“Well then—”
“—Ah, wait, hold on a sec. I need a little mental preparation first.”
“Hurry up.”
“W-Why are you so calm about this!?”
While Meiko worked herself into a frenzy all on her own, I merely worried about the time.
There was still enough time before first period began, but failing to arrive in class on schedule made me uncomfortable.
“O-Okay then… go ahead.”
After taking a full twenty seconds to compose herself, Meiko finally nodded.
And so, I asked directly.
“Meiko. Are you a kunoichi?”
“Yes, I’m also—huh?”
“Huh?”
“………………!?!?!!?!?!!?!?!?”
Meiko had been about to answer automatically without even thinking.
Then she froze blankly for a second.
The next instant, cold sweat exploded from her entire body.
Her face turned deathly pale as she stammered out a response.
“N-W-What are you talking about!? T-There’s no way kunoichi still exist in modern times!? My family totally isn’t some ninja lineage that’s continued for seven hundred years or anything!?”
“So the ninja has been found, then.”
For someone supposedly trained as a kunoichi, Meiko was astonishingly bad at lying.
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