After reading the first page, the grandfather looked at it, sighed, and said,
"If only there were someone like him for my daughter… but sadly, there isn't."
Akira was puzzled and thought to himself, "What exactly are your expectations for your granddaughter? What kind of fool would even dare to take that step?"
Kana held the page and said,
"So, this is the first page. Now we need to find the second one. Just like Michel said, the page reveals the location of the next. So… any ideas, Akira?"
At that moment, Akira was trying to find a polite way to say he didn't want to be involved anymore. When Kana asked him directly, he answered that he had helped her find the first page, and that was enough for him—he didn't want to continue the search.
Kana didn't insist. She calmly told him that she wouldn't force him to keep looking, and he could leave if he wanted.
But the grandfather objected—not because he wanted Akira to keep helping, but because Akira was still being punished and had to finish the task.
After school, Akira went to clean the swimming pool as part of his punishment. To his surprise, Kana was already there.
He said, "Did you come to make sure I actually finish the job? Don't worry, I'm the kind of guy who gets things done."
But then he saw her holding the pool-cleaning tools and helping him. She said she didn't like being the reason someone else gets in trouble.
When Akira heard that, he replied,
"Then why don't you take the blame on your own? I don't get why I have to go down with you."
She answered that her grades and her reputation wouldn't allow her to do that. Then she stepped closer and said,
"But I won't let you take the punishment alone."
And she smiled.
He looked at her and felt something stir inside. He didn't know what it was, but he just kept staring at that smile.
From afar, two men were watching. One of them said,
"Fifty years later, they're the ones who found the first page. That means the test we went through will happen again. This was your biggest fear, wasn't it?"
The other man looked through the window and said,
"That girl… she's your granddaughter, right? Then who's that boy?"
The grandfather answered,
"His name is Akira. He joined our school through his own efforts. It feels like time is repeating itself, doesn't it?"
The other man paused for a moment, then said,
"Maybe time does repeat itself… but always to remind us of something."
The grandfather nodded and said,
"I believe in fate and destiny, but more than that, I believe that if a person truly wants to tear down a mountain with his bare hands, and tries despite all odds—and succeeds—then that person has written his own fate."
The man smiled and said,
"Yes… I hope so. But before they could find the first page, they had to find the key. And after reading it, they needed to examine the key and the lock to find the second page. Now I want to see whether they'll be able to find the pages I've hidden or not."
The grandfather said,
"Let's wait and let time tell us."
Finally, the holiday came—the day I usually spend studying a bit and playing video games. But unfortunately, all of that was ruined. Why?
Because Kana threatened me—I mean, kindly asked me to come with her for just this one day. Why do I always end up in this mess?
We went to the café and sat down. When Michel arrived and joined us, we told him we had found the first page and what was written on it.
Michel started acting strange—he looked like he wanted to scream from excitement. He asked Kana to give him the page.
After taking it, he asked,
"Did you find the next clue?"
Kana replied,
"We don't know where the next clue is yet."
She said she brought the page so he could see if there was a clue hidden in it.
Michel answered that the clue is usually in the page or something that came with it.
Kana mentioned that the only other items were the note and the lock in the office.
Michel went silent for a moment and then said,
"We need to go to the school."
Kana called her grandfather to ask for permission, but he said students weren't allowed inside during holidays.
Michel then called me to say he was coming.
We went to school early in the morning—much earlier than usual. I felt like a zombie, walking half-asleep.
We entered the school and searched the place where we had found the book. Eventually, we found the key in one of the drawers.
I was shocked—I had searched that desk many times before and never found anything.
Just as I was wondering how I missed it, Kana mocked me,
"If the idiot had searched properly, we wouldn't have had to clean the pool."
Her words annoyed me.
Michel examined the key and said,
"There are three numbers on this key, and the lock has three numbers as well. This is our second clue."
And so, the search for the second page began.
Michel looked at the lock and inserted the key. But when we looked at the numbers, they didn't seem to form an address or have any clear meaning.
Kana then said that Michel would keep the lock and key to figure out the solution. She took a photo of both and asked Michel to visit her grandfather—maybe he'd know something.
As for Akira and me, we went to class to avoid being late.
In class, I told Kana that I wouldn't take part in the search for the novel anymore, and that I wasn't interested in anything she was doing. I waited to see her reaction.
To my surprise, she agreed. She said she only needed someone to help her find the first page in the library, and now that it was found, I was free to go.
Two weeks passed since that conversation. I thought to myself, "Finally, I can focus on my own stuff."
That is… until I heard a knock at my door.
No need to guess—it was Kana. And Michel was with her.
I asked why they were here.
Michel said he had found a clue and opened a photo album. When I looked inside, I saw a picture of my grandmother holding the same box I had.
It had the same numbers, but the box I have doesn't show any numbers.
I asked Michel about it.
He said that when he saw the picture, he looked up the name and some information and found out that the woman was my grandmother.
He also said he had heard from Kana that I had a box, and he thought it might be the same one.
Michel examined the box and found two faint numbers, though not very clear.
When he saw that the lock had been altered, he suspected someone had tried to cover the numbers. He told me to open the box.
I replied that I already knew what was inside—it only contained some letters from my grandmother, and one from an old friend of mine.
Kana suggested that we should visit my grandmother and ask her about the page.
I agreed, for two reasons:
First, I wanted to know how the page ended up with my grandmother. Sure, she used to be here, but if she had it, why didn't she say anything?
Second, I wanted to see the girl my heart still loves.
A week passed since we made the plan, and now we're on the train.
And already, I can smell the roses she always used to grow.
And every time I smell them… my longing for my grandmother grows even stronger.
---
"I have something important to tell you all.
First, from now on, I'll be releasing new chapters every Friday because I want to focus more on my other novel, Trapped Between Two Worlds.
Second, I'd love to hear your thoughts—do you think Friday is a good day for updates, or would you prefer another day?
And finally, I hope you enjoy the chapter!"
I have a question for you, dear readers.
Do you think the writing style in this chapter is better than the previous ones? I'd really love to hear your thoughts and opinions.