I met Di Qingdeng in this place.

And Kinoshita Mai happened to appear far away from Chishiya.

If it was a coincidence... then it would be too much of a coincidence.

While the general manager was thinking to herself, Kinoshita Mai, who was walking in a hurry, almost disappeared from her sight.

The director raised his head and looked forward, looking at the beautiful figure that was about to be "engulfed" by the flow of people in the distance, and then looked at the pocket watch in his hand.

In an instant, a strong hesitation appeared on the Souji's cheeks.

This hesitation went away just as quickly as it came.

In just two breaths, Souji gritted his teeth, squeezed Aonto's pocket watch in his hand, and then chased after Kinoshita Mai's back...

…

…

Edo, a certain river embankment——

"arrive……"

While Kinoshita Mai glanced at the embankment in front of her, she lowered her head and glanced at the note in her hand.

"This is it..."

"Mr. Kiryu, I want to go out to buy something"--after using this as an excuse to get permission to go out, after a hurried journey, Kinoshita Mai finally arrived at her destination: a certain land adjacent to the

The Great River of Edo: The embankment of the Kanda River.

Because the embankment is in a remote location, it is rarely visited by people. Looking around, not a single pedestrian could be seen.

But this is another river embankment with quite good scenery.

The area is wide, the terrain is flat, and there are many large trees planted that Kinoshita Mai can't name, and they are growing particularly lush in the current hot summer.

To the east of the embankment, and directly in front of Kinoshita Mai, is the quietly flowing Kanda River.

The rhythmic sound of running water makes people feel calm unconsciously after listening to it.

Kinoshita Mai looked straight at the beautiful embankment in front of her... A faint red glow swept over her cheeks.

——Qingdeng invited me here... What exactly does he want...?

Kinoshita Mai thought to herself, while looking down at the paper in her hand again.

This was exactly the piece of paper Aoden secretly slipped into her palm when she followed Kiryu and others out of the wedding yesterday.

On the piece of paper, there was only a very simple sentence written in neat handwriting:

(Ms. Kinoshita, if you are free tomorrow, please go to AAAA in XX Town at 8:00 tomorrow...)

Kinoshita Mai was so shocked by Aoden's unexpected paper invitation that she was in a trance last night.

Why invite her to this place so suddenly and mysteriously?

Is there something important you want to say to her?

Or do you want to ask her to go somewhere to play?

The information revealed on the piece of paper is really too little... I am afraid that these doubts can only be answered after meeting Qingden at the place written on the piece of paper.

Want to keep an appointment?

This question is not difficult to choose for Kinoshita Mai at all.

In order to clear up the confusion, and also because of... her feelings for Qingden, Kinoshita Mai's heart had been beating violently due to nervousness and anticipation since last night.

A young man asked another young woman out to meet in a secret way by passing a piece of paper... This kind of behavior in this era is very easy to imagine.

——Qingdeng, could he be thinking...

The white Shiraki she witnessed at the wedding of Kondo Isamu and Matsui Tsune, which was so white that it exuded a sense of sanctity, condensed into a concrete shape with fine lines in Mai Kinoshita's mind.

Every time she thinks of this, Kinoshita Mai's face will turn red.

If Qingdeng really wanted to show off to me...

How many children will we have in the future?

When you talk about private meetings, you will think of that kind of thing, then you will think of reproduction, and then you will think of how many children you will have in the future - the imagination of a girl with dreams can always make such a leap at this level.

Out of this association, out of this "what if?" mentality, just before going out, Kinoshita Mai changed into the clothes that she thought looked best, and used the makeup techniques that Kiryu taught her.

I put on a beautiful makeup.

She hopes to greet the important moments of her life with a beautiful image.

When Kinoshita Mai arrived at the place written on the piece of paper, it was about 10 minutes before the agreed time... Because she arrived early, there was no one around except for the trees.

The moment she stepped onto the embankment, Kinoshita Mai felt that her hands and feet were beginning to become a little unruly - she didn't know how to swing or position her limbs.

Kinoshita let out a "ha" sound, turning her inner tension and anticipation into a sound. Then, while pretending to be calm, she stood upright under the shade of a big tree, turning her head and looking around uneasily.

The fingers of his hands folded in front of him were restlessly intertwined.

The white and tender feet without socks are grabbing the flat wooden clogs with red buttons,

At this moment, Kinoshita Mai found a puddle next to her left foot - this was the remaining water from the rain last night and this morning.

The water in the puddle was quite clear, and Kinoshita Mai's pretty face was clearly reflected in the calm water.

Kinoshita looked at the left and right sides, hesitated for a moment, then lowered her upper body, her face close to the small puddle, and used the reflection of the water to arrange her hair to confirm whether there was anything strange on her face.

Just then——

Pasha, pasha...

The sound of light clogs scraping against the ground came from behind.

--coming!

Mai Kinoshita, who thought it was Aoto's arrival, shook slightly, then quickly turned back.

However... just as she focused her gaze behind her, her entire body suddenly seemed to be under "petrification magic". Every muscle in her body instantly became as stiff as stone, even the lines on her face.

They all became tense.

A calm word with a neither salty nor bland tone was like a sharp blade cutting towards Kinoshita Mai.

"...Miss Kinoshita, why are you here?"

Familiar female voice...

For Kinoshita Mai, a female voice has a very special meaning and status...

"Miss Chiba...?"

Kinoshita Mai looked at the beauty in front of her with disbelief, the owner of the female voice just now: Sanako Chiba!

Sanako, who was standing in front of Kinoshita Mai at this time, was in the "form of a noble lady": an exquisite blue kimono, a white obi embroidered with beautiful cloud patterns, and a blue sheath with a blue handle for self-defense inserted into her lower waist.

The waist is low, and the feet covered with clean white socks are pedaling on a pair of flat wooden clogs with blue buttons.

Meeting an unexpected person in an unexpected place... Kinoshita Mai's face was instantly filled with a look of shock.

And the same goes for Sanako.

Although Sanako tried her best to remain calm, the shock hidden in her eyes was vaguely visible.

This silent confrontation with a suffocating atmosphere lasted for nearly 20 seconds.

"Qianye, Miss Ye..."

Mai Kinoshita, who was the first to speak out, stammered.

"You, why are you here...?"

"..."

Sanako did not immediately answer Kinoshita Mai's question.

She pondered thoughtfully for a moment, then raised her hand and took out a piece of paper from the sandwich between her belt and kimono that looked familiar to Mai Kinoshita.

"Ms. Kinoshita, did Tachibana-kun stuff this piece of paper into you too?"

"Eh?"

Kinoshita Mai was startled, and then quickly raised the piece of paper in her palm that was "the same style" as Sanako's.

Not only were the two women's pieces of paper identical in style, but even the content written on them was exactly the same.

"What's going on...?" Kinoshita Mai murmured.

Qingtou... made an appointment with himself and Miss Chiba at the same time?

He wants to attack me and Miss Chiba at the same time... No, how is that possible? It's too outrageous.

As soon as this ridiculous idea popped up in Mai Kinoshita's mind, she rejected it on the grounds that "Aoden wouldn't do such a thing."

"who knows."

When she saw the exact same piece of paper in Mai Kinoshita's hand, a strange color flashed between Sanako's beautiful eyebrows...but this strange color was quickly covered up by Sanako.
To be continued...