Despite her small and slender body, the girl’s sprinting figure resembled a brilliant star in the darkness.
Beneath the silent night sky, only the wind and the constantly accelerating girl remained.
She drove forward.
Her body extended fully as she swung her arms, almost as though embracing the entire world.
Kazuomi could see little more than a silhouette racing across the track.
Yet the sight overwhelmed him.
“Incredible.”
His eyes followed her unconsciously.
Faster.
Faster.
Could she still—
For an instant, time seemed to stop.
One foot hung suspended in the air.
Then it struck the ground with explosive force.
Time resumed.
Boom!
A second acceleration was not especially rare.
What the girl displayed, however, surpassed any ordinary finishing kick.
It was completely beyond reason.
As though time itself had been cut away—
“What?”
Kazuomi nearly shouted.
What had happened during that instant?
His mind had failed to register it.
Yet something instinctive awakened within him.
His blood began boiling.
Although she was the one sprinting across the track, Kazuomi felt completely immersed in her run.
She was alone upon the course.
Even so, she appeared to be struggling against some invisible opponent.
Why?
The girl sprinted across the finish line.
Kazuomi’s expression gradually became solemn.
He could not understand the restless emotion inside him.
He watched her depart but remained unable to speak.
Something about the sight had been painful.
Kazuomi himself had not been running, yet the girl’s silhouette carried a heavy and indescribable emotion.
She had sprinted with all her strength and run without restraint.
So why—
Why had he felt no joy from her at all?
When Kazuomi returned to Room 412, Koji was leaning against the bed with a beer can in his arms.
“You’re back?”
He spoke drunkenly and released a belch.
I’m back.”
“Didn’t you say you were going to mail something?”
Koji squinted at him.
“Why did it take so long?”
“It was nothing.
I saw something along the way and stopped to watch for a while.”
“Mmm.”
Koji responded vaguely.
Then he suddenly remembered something and shouted:
“Oh, right!
The hot water is running downstairs.
Aren’t you going to take a bath?
It feels fantastic!”
“What about you?”
In his current condition, Koji clearly could not walk normally, much less visit the first-floor bathing area alone.
“I’m not going.”
Koji waved his hand.
“You’d better hurry.
There are only twenty minutes left.”
“I see.
Then I’ll go.”
“Wait!”
Kazuomi had been about to leave, thinking that a bath might help him settle his mind.
Koji suddenly called him back.
“What?”
Kazuomi expected something important.
“The men’s bath is on the right.”
“I wouldn’t make that mistake!”
There truly was no saving this man.
At the Ritto Dormitory, a bedroom door unlocked with a soft electronic beep.
A small girl entered while carrying a bag.
Her short chestnut hair looked light and soft.
Her eyelids drooped faintly, as though nothing in the world interested her.
Her eyes were a beautiful, clear blue, like an open sky.
Yet her brows remained drawn together, and she answered the world with a sharp gaze.
She seemed dissatisfied with everything.
Rejecting everything.
Resisting everything.
She resembled a little hedgehog covered in thorns.
She disguised herself and protected herself.
Adorable, but equally intimidating.
Her skin was pale and smooth like a porcelain doll’s.
Her body was extremely small, with thin arms, legs, and shoulders that seemed almost fragile.
However—
She confronted the world with complete determination.
Without lifting her eyes from her phone, she entered the room.
Student dormitories were also designed for two occupants.
Unlike the staff rooms, however, they did not contain bunk beds.
One bed stood against each wall.
The room was already occupied.
“My!”
Super Creek had already washed and changed.
Rather than tying up her hair as she had that morning, she now allowed it to fall freely over her pale blue pajamas.
Her entire presence radiated maternal warmth.
“I was beginning to worry that something might have happened to my roommate.”
She smiled.
“I never expected my roommate to be Taishin.”
Narita Taishin ignored her.
Without saying a word, the small girl tossed her luggage onto the unoccupied bed.
“Where did you go so late?”
Creek did not appear bothered by her attitude and continued speaking patiently.
“If you return after curfew, you’ll be locked outside.”
Taishin stared at her phone without even glancing toward Creek.
“My, were you out running?”
Creek noticed her condition.
“You should wash while there is still time.
The bathing period ends in twenty minutes.”
“I have already finished, but if you would like help, I can wash your hair for you.”
Super Creek possessed an instinctive desire to care for everyone around her.
That was especially true when the person was small and resembled some wary little animal.
Taishin released a sigh.
She lowered her phone and abruptly stood.
Her expression remained blank.
With no intention of acknowledging her roommate, she took a towel from the wardrobe, placed her bathing supplies in a basin, and walked toward the door.
Only when she reached the doorway did she stop.
“Don’t bother with me.”
Her voice was cool and devoid of emotion.
The words carried a rejection cold enough to keep anyone at a great distance.
Without looking back, Narita Taishin left the room.
Watching her go, Super Creek looked troubled.
She was not offended by Taishin’s attitude.
On the contrary, seeing the girl behave like a rebellious child seemed to awaken something within her.
“My.
What could have happened to Taishin?”
Creek murmured to herself.
Having grown up helping with every kind of work at an orphanage, she was unusually sensitive to the troubles of others.
The more unreliable and difficult Taishin appeared, the more Creek wanted to take care of her.