"Hmm, what is it?"
Half-opening her eyes, Sora noticed her older brother intently staring at her feet. Instinctively, she pulled back her cute, pale toes and turned to him, confused.
Still not fully awake, she harbored no suspicion whatsoever. She only murmured, slightly puzzled, "What's so great about my feet...?"
"Don't worry about it—I was just spacing out for a moment." Yuu snapped back to reality, casually pulling up a chair and sitting down. He said, "Your feet are still as pretty as ever. Keep it that way."
"Oh, okay." Sora nodded dumbly, her chin resting on the head of her rabbit plushie, her eyes blankly gazing into the distance.
After more than ten seconds, the girl's pale face slowly flushed red. She scrunched her nose and glared angrily at him before lowering her head and starting breakfast. Her appetite seemed much better than before.
Yuu ignored her reaction, continuing to eat while pondering the Luck-Curse Talisman.
(I don't know if this is good news or not...)
(Sora, who should've stubbed her toe on the table leg, managed to avoid a future where she'd be holding her foot and crying—her misfortune absorbed by me.)
(From a self-sacrifice-for-others perspective, this object could actually be considered a Luck Charm.)
(Let only I get hurt. Let me bear all the misfortunes of others!)
If the scope were limited solely to his sister, Yuu wouldn't mind sacrificing himself.
No matter how much pain came his way—stubbing his toe on furniture or paper cuts—he wouldn't fear it. As long as Sora stayed healthy, everything would be fine.
...Yes, if only this object were truly that simple.
Not to mention whether the bad luck he received would directly affect himself—the written description didn't specify the range or targets of misfortune absorption. If he had to endure all misfortunes from people within a hundred-meter radius, who knew what kind of terrible treatment he'd suffer before the talisman vanished?
"Not very advantageous."
Reaching such a conclusion, Yuu silently sighed and decided to temporarily stop thinking about the charm issue. After all, he couldn't change anything. Ignoring it felt easier anyway.
Just as he thought that, his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.
A message from Masuzu.
"What does she want so early..." With chopsticks still in his mouth, Yuu pulled out his phone, swiped the screen, and examined it carefully.
Masuzu:『Ngik ngik ngik, ngik. Ngik mmm, ngik ngik, ngik oh, ngik ah ngik! Ngik mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm—』
What appeared were characters even stranger and more nonsensical than random code—completely incomprehensible, with no clue as to what she intended to say.
Yuu narrowed his eyes, staring at his phone expressionlessly.
...Masuzu, did she finally go insane?
Or was she in such bad shape that she couldn't type properly? Should he rush her to the hospital?
However, the message was quickly retracted and replaced with several normal sentences in Japanese—
Masuzu:『The previous message contained many typos and omitted words. I deeply apologize. The original text should have been: Can we go to school together? I want to cling to you. I look forward to a satisfying reply.』
With a slightly resigned expression, Yuu swiftly pressed the send button, glancing up to see Sora peeking over from the side.
"What?"
"...Focus on your breakfast. Don't play with your phone."
"Not playing—it's just a friend reaching out."
"A friend? Hah, yeah..."
The brief, awkward exchange ended there. Sora continued eating, while Yuu hit the send button.
Yuu:『Sure, but are you really feeling alright? If you're unwell, better stay home and rest.』
Masuzu:『I'm just a bit sleep-deprived. Thank you for your concern, dear. Your warmth has filled my body since this morning.』
The text conversation ended. Apparently, Masuzu was getting ready to leave.
Yuu put away his phone, sped up his breakfast, and after finishing, placed the dishes in the sink for Sora to wash later.
"I'm off. When you wake up, don't forget to exercise."
"You don't need to tell me, Mother Hen Yuu." Sora's lazy voice drifted from the living room.
Yuu set his school bag beside the shoe cabinet. As he sat at the entrance putting on his shoes, his phone suddenly rang.
It was a call from Masuzu.
"Hello?" Yuu answered, quietly lowering the volume so the silver-haired girl peeking from the living room couldn't hear. "Why are you calling all of a sudden?"
Masuzu didn't answer immediately—she only softly giggled twice, then spoke in a gentle, mysterious tone:
"Hello, this is Masuzu. Right now, I'm crossing the street."
Yuu paused briefly, then reacted instantly: "...Miss Mary?"
Miss Mary was one of the urban legends—a prank caller known for stalking.
She liked reporting her location to unsettle her victims, ultimately appearing behind them and stabbing them to death when they turned around.
As the information flashed through his mind, Yuu tucked the phone between his shoulder and ear, sighing helplessly as he finished tying his shoes.
"You really intend to imitate an urban legend this early in the morning."
"This is Masuzu. Now I'm at the alley entrance."
As if not hearing him, Masuzu continued speaking in a creepy tone, delivering one sentence every few moments:
"This is Masuzu. Now I'm crossing the street."
"This is Masuzu. Now I'm at the corner."
"This is Masuzu. Now I'm at the convenience store."
"This is Yuu. Still at the front door."
"This is..." Masuzu hesitated, interrupted by him—she nearly lost her rhythm. "...This is Masuzu. Now I'm in front of your house!"
"Really?" After putting on his shoes, Yuu stood and looked outside through the peephole. "Nobody's there. By the way, wouldn't it be scarier if you hung up and called again? Though if you did, I might not answer."
Masuzu seemed determined to finish the act, completely ignoring his commentary, continuing her eerie performance:
"This is Masuzu. Now I'm behind you..."
Before she could finish, Yuu shouted without turning around, "Sora, is anyone behind me?"
"Nope, who are you talking to? Some girl?"
Yuu didn't answer her first. Instead, he deliberately asked the person on the phone, "My sister says no one's there. Where are you?"
"..."
"Alright, enough joking. Where are you right now?"
"...At a place very close to your house. You might see me the moment you step out." Masuzu huffed, pouting in her tone.
Yuu ended the call. As he opened the front door, he turned and shouted to Sora, "Don't forget lunch!"
"I know! You still haven't answered my question—who were you talking to just now..."
Without waiting for her to finish, Yuu closed the front door and stepped into the bright, crisp autumn morning.