Tokyo in the early hours.
Mai Sakurajima, wearing only a coat, felt Tokyo's chill for the first time in a while.
Though neon lights still illuminated the streets, their harsh glow offered none of the sun's warmth. Instead, the swarms of moths drawn to the light made her want to keep her distance.
After wandering aimlessly for some time, she spotted a 24-hour convenience store.
As if catching the scent of oden, the temptation of warmth proved too strong. She headed straight for the store—only to be stopped solid by the automatic door.
"Can the sensors not even detect me anymore?"
Her heart sank. Glancing at the oden inside, she hesitated before turning away.
Just as she did, the shop attendant suddenly stood up and walked to the entrance.
Seeing this, Mai Sakurajima, who had been about to leave, stopped abruptly. Watching the shop assistant walk out the door, she couldn't resist raising her hand in greeting:
"Um, can you see me?"
The assistant walked straight towards Mai, making her instinctively sidestep to avoid them.
"So... still invisible?" Mai thought with deep disappointment, then suddenly realised something and glanced at the open shop door.
After a moment's consideration, the girl strode inside without hesitation.
Once in the convenience store, Mai walked purposefully straight to the checkout counter - since the oden was placed right beside it.
She immediately picked up a plastic bowl, quickly selecting stewed radish, tofu, kelp and meatballs before ladling in some broth. Hastily placing a 1000-yen note on the counter without bothering about the exact change, she carried the bowl to the automatic doors to wait.
As expected, the assistant returned with a mop. Seizing the moment they entered, Mai slipped out of the shop.
"Hot hot hot! But... delicious!"
The comforting warmth of the oden finally lifted Mai's despondent mood.
Only with her spirits restored could she calmly reflect on recent events.
"So why exactly did I end up like this..."
It began yesterday, when her manager-mother suddenly, almost hysterically, demanded that she check into a hotel to 'entertain' an important guest. Having been in showbusiness since childhood, Mai knew exactly what this implied and flatly refused - their argument escalating until they'd actually slapped each other.
When both realised they'd gone too far, her mother haltingly explained the truth.
Their talent agency had received orders from their high-level parent company demanding that Mai provide 'pillow service'. Her mother had been contacted directly by the president, even receiving letters from the yakuza.
After her mother's polite refusal, she'd been in a hit-and-run accident, briefly detained, then bailed out.
Even an idiot would understand what was happening within two days, let alone someone as sharp as her mother.
Hence this morning's ultimatum.
After learning everything, Mai drifted through the day in a daze before checking into the designated hotel that afternoon.
How she wished then that she'd never become an entertainer, never attracted such a repulsive VIP's attention.
Perhaps some deity heard her prayer, because something astonishing happened.
An unexpectedly cute girl appeared in the hotel suite.
When this girl checked in as if Mai didn't exist, completely ignoring her greetings, Mai finally realised the truth.
She'd become invisible to everyone.
Discovering this, Mai immediately called her mother - only to find her words went unheard. Most disturbingly, though she'd placed the call, her mother didn't even recognise the number.
The number clearly saved as her daughter's contact was treated as an unknown harassing call.
Only then did Mai Sakurajima realise something was wrong.
The gods had granted her small wish, but perhaps they'd granted it too well.
It seemed the entire world had forgotten her!
Her profile couldn't be found through online searches, despite her Wikipedia page having previously had exceptionally high traffic.
She left the hotel to find her mother, only to discover the rented apartment had changed—where she and her mother had lived together was now occupied by strangers.
What's more, passersby on the street couldn't see her. When she went to find her father, who had separated from her mother, even he couldn't perceive her.
By the time she came to her senses, it was already late at night.
And just moments ago, even automatic doors failed to detect her.
"Just earlier, the train sensors still responded to me..."
Mai Sakurajima muttered softly as she ate her oden.
"So... is it because of that thought that I've become an invisible girl?"
Though it was just a suspicion, Mai couldn't shake the feeling that this state of nonexistence was steadily intensifying.
She even began to wonder—if this phenomenon reached its peak, would even food fail to register her presence, making eating an impossibility?
Though just a thought, fear crept into Mai's heart.
If things came to that, even if she wasn't dead, she might as well be.
Compared to such a life-or-death crisis, the despair she'd felt over the casting couch scandal now seemed trivial.
Being toyed with by a man was still better than dying in such a hopeless way, wasn't it?
"Wait... a man..." Suddenly, Mai realised something crucial.
"That hotel!"
Mai had lost her existence at the Welton Hotel in Minato Ward. If the root cause of her disappearance was something in that hotel—or even in that specific room—then perhaps returning and finding that object could restore her?
The moment this possibility struck her, Mai abandoned all thought of savouring her oden.
She wolfed it down, pulled out her phone to check the map, located the hotel, and hurried towards it.
Though the train had stopped running and she couldn't hail a taxi, luckily, Mai hadn't wandered too far during her earlier aimless stroll.
After nearly an hour, she arrived at the Welton Hotel, slipping past the underground parking guard unnoticed and heading straight for the elevator. She ascended to the 29th floor at top speed.
Only when she stood before Room 2904 did Mai finally exhale deeply. She pulled out the keycard she'd taken earlier, gritted her teeth, and opened the door.
Then, steeling herself, the young girl pushed the door open and stepped inside!