After securing the three newly acquired Obsession Items, leaving the trading location, and preparing supplies such as emergency food, flashlights, and clean drinking water, all that remained was to wait for the right moment to enter the Instance.
The recommendation Mai had given was to enter at dusk.
She had neither asked how Takumi entered Instances nor explained why dusk was the preferred time.
Still, since she had specifically advised it, Takumi intended to follow her recommendation.
After all, providing him with those hints had already exposed her to considerable risk.
If she accidentally said the wrong thing, there was a chance she could end up being dragged into the world of the Instances as well.
Kaguya was naturally anxious about the situation. She would have preferred to enter the Instance immediately, but since Mai had already given her advice, she understood that caution was necessary right now and that she couldn't simply act on impulse.
So after Takumi obtained the Obsession Items, she merely did her best to calm herself down, arranged a meeting time with him for later, and then returned home.
From beginning to end, neither of them informed anyone else about their plan to enter Hayadate Elementary School and rescue Hayasaka Ai.
Not Maki.
Not Chika.
Not even Miko.
Only Takumi and Kaguya were involved.
There were two reasons for this.
First, based on Takumi's understanding, Hayadate Elementary School was not the kind of Instance where greater numbers translated into greater strength.
Quite the opposite.
Because of certain hidden characteristics that he had yet to personally experience, the more participants entered the Instance, the easier it became for things to go wrong.
It was an Instance that required a carefully limited team.
Second, when it came to a Red Moon-level Instance, the help Maki and Chika could currently provide was still quite limited.
Rather than dragging several girls who had never witnessed the true danger of a Red Moon-level Instance into such a perilous situation, it was better to bring only one person.
Well...
To be honest, he hadn't really wanted to bring Kaguya either.
But going in completely solo still made him a little uneasy.
And with Kaguya's personality, there was no way she would accept being excluded.
So, to prevent her from getting herself killed doing something reckless, it was better to keep her by his side.
Strange.
Now that he thought about it, that made Kaguya sound like a husky that would disappear the moment nobody was watching.
Takumi silently mocked the thought to himself as he set off toward the city's swimming pool.
At the same time, he took out his phone and reopened a previous contact.
He had already added Gotō Hitori as a friend and had exchanged both calls and messages with her.
To be honest, he had been quite shocked when Bocchi had actually called him on her own.
After all, in the original story, the girl suffered from social anxiety to such an extreme degree that getting her to proactively contact someone was extraordinarily difficult.
However, once the call connected and he heard the girl stammering nervously for a long time before finally managing to say the name—
"Kita Ikuyo."
—he immediately understood what was going on.
Although his encounter with the Kita Ikuyo possessed by an Aberration had occurred during the now-erased third loop, Takumi had mentioned the red-haired girl when explaining the situation to Kumagai Mai during the fourth loop.
It seemed that while Mai had not gone around publicizing Takumi's situation, because the matter involved Kita, she had still explained some of the relevant details to Hitori.
That was why the girl had finally gathered enough courage to contact him.
However...
Could this really just be another one of the KP's arrangements behind the scenes?
After learning from Hitori that she actually possessed a way to return to Yoruyama Middle School whenever she wished, Takumi couldn't help but think that.
That so-called KP.
The one who had reached out from a hallucination.
The one who had reached out from images originating decades in the past and wrapped a hand around his throat.
The one who had expressed dissatisfaction with his habit of disrupting the script and had declared that it would grant him a ticket to every area within Uncanny Campus.
Could it be that, because of the KP's influence, he had ended up obtaining a method of entering the Yoruyama Middle School area through Hitori?
Takumi didn't let those thoughts distract him too much.
At the end of the day, no matter how dangerous the situation might be, he would have to face it personally. Only by going through it himself could he truly understand what it was like.
Even so, this could be considered the start of another side quest.
If this were an RPG, there would probably be two lines of text hanging in the upper-left or upper-right corner of his vision right now. One, enlarged and bolded, would read:
[Shinomiya Kaguya and Hayasaka Ai's Hayadate Elementary School Side Quest — In Progress]
The other, slightly smaller and not yet selected, would read:
[Gotō Hitori and Kita Ikuyo's Yoruyama Middle School Side Quest]
Though perhaps the latter could be considered the main quest?
After all, according to what he and Hitori had discussed, Bocchi-san seemed inclined to use an Instance ticket and invite several Red Moon-level players to enter Yoruyama Middle School together, rather than trying to sneak inside before the Instance officially opened.
All sorts of messy thoughts churned through Takumi's mind.
Ahead of him, the entrance to the Swimming Pool was already close at hand.
And, of course, so were the two adorable girls waiting outside it, their brownish-purple and blue eyes already fixed on him.
"There's still about twenty minutes before the time we agreed on. Didn't you come a little too early?" Takumi asked with a smile as he looked at Maki and Chika, both dressed casually.
"I only got here a little while ago myself. Besides, I didn't have anything to do after class, so I came early."
Maki slightly turned her head away as she answered in a somewhat evasive tone.
"Hehe, arriving before the agreed time is one of a girl's special traits, you know. Takumi needs to get used to it."
Grinning, Chika swayed her head from side to side and bent forward slightly with both hands behind her back.
That's right.
Takumi was on a date.
A date with both of his girlfriends at the same time.
And they were going to a swimming pool.
The kind of date where they would wear swimsuits and spend time together in the water.
Back when he had been single in his previous life, Takumi felt certain he would have harshly criticized this sort of thing.
But now that he was actually experiencing it himself...
All he could say was that it felt absolutely amazing.
This was exactly what he wanted!
"I've got a feeling Takumi is thinking about something weird again."
Just from the subtle changes in his expression, Maki could already tell he was daydreaming about something.
"Ahem. Alright, alright. Let's head inside first."
With that, Takumi took the lead and walked into the Swimming Pool, while the two girls followed behind him.
The three of them weren't going to the public pool.
Instead, they were heading for a private pool specifically built for wealthy and influential guests.
The facilities there were far superior to those of the public pool, and there was absolutely no need to worry about water quality.
After changing into his swim trunks, Takumi quickly arrived at the pool area. Without even testing the water temperature, he stepped straight in.
Maki and Chika emerged from the changing rooms a bit later.
Maki was wearing a very ordinary one-piece swimsuit.
Chika, meanwhile, had made a much bolder choice—a three-piece bikini with fabric so thin it looked almost delicate.
It had to be said that the difference between their figures was incredibly obvious when seen side by side.
Judging from the defeated expression on Maki's face, she was clearly aware of it as well.
"Hehe, Takumi, what do you think? I specifically changed into this for today."
Splashing water everywhere, Chika jumped right over to his side and asked with a grin.
"Wah! Stop jumping around in the water. It's splashing all over my face."
Maki had just swum over and was still hesitating over what to say when Chika's splash hit her square in the face, prompting a quiet complaint.
Warm water rippled around them, accompanied by the constant splashing sounds created by moving arms and legs.
Completely relaxed, temporarily setting aside all the busy matters awaiting him, Takumi spent the entire afternoon enjoying himself and adjusting his mindset to its best possible state.
Only when evening approached and the sky gradually took on the colors of dusk did the three of them finally leave the Swimming Pool.
"It's a shame Kaguya still didn't want to come out today."
After thoroughly enjoying herself, Chika spoke with a hint of regret.
"It's fine. I've already talked to her properly. The problem shouldn't be too serious. At most, it'll be resolved within three or four days. Of course, the matter itself is fairly private, which is why she doesn't want to tell anyone else."
Takumi knew he couldn't simply brush the issue aside without saying anything.
After all, both Maki and Chika had noticed how unusual Kaguya had been lately.
So he gave them a brief explanation.
"Are you sure it's really okay? Kaguya has been acting very strangely this time..."
Chika tapped her head lightly, sounding somewhat helpless.
"Will there be any danger?"
Sensing the deliberate vagueness in Takumi's words, Maki frowned slightly and looked at him seriously.
"...Well, saying there's absolutely no danger would definitely be a lie. But I can promise that the final outcome will be a good one."
Faced with the concern of a girl who genuinely cared about him, Takumi found it impossible to hide everything, so he gave an honest answer.
"Don't push yourself too hard. That Oba-san of mine is a stubborn idiot, after all. If something really goes wrong, Fujiwara-san and I can still help, at least a little. Don't carry everything by yourself."
Maki clearly wanted to keep pressing him until she learned exactly what was happening.
But she could also see that Takumi had already made up his mind to handle the matter himself.
So in the end, that was all she said.
"Yeah, I will. I promise. Don't worry—I won't force myself."
Takumi nodded gently at Maki and made that promise.
Satisfied with the answer she wanted to hear, Maki smiled and said nothing more.
"It really feels like you and Kaguya have some secret that nobody else is allowed to know. Hmm... but if you've already made up your mind, Takumi, then I can't really say much more. Anyway, see you tomorrow, Takumi~"
In reality, Chika had noticed the problem as well. She had deliberately left the opportunity to ask questions to Maki, and only after Takumi and Maki had finished talking did she let out a sigh of emotion before saying goodbye and leaving.
By then, it was already evening.
After parting ways with the two girls, Takumi didn't hesitate any longer. Taking a deep breath, he slowly adjusted his state of mind as he headed toward the Shinomiya residence. Along the way, he sent Kaguya a message telling her he would be there soon.
There were far more pedestrians on the streets at dusk than he had expected.
Takumi wasn't sure whether there was some kind of event being held nearby or what the reason was, but as he moved through the crowd, he kept bumping shoulders with people every now and then, preventing him from making much progress.
Where did all these people come from?
And none of them seem to be watching where they're going.
At this rate, is someone going to walk straight into me next?
Thud—
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than someone walking past him from the side slammed directly into him with a dull impact.
Takumi himself didn't move an inch.
The other person, on the other hand, nearly fell over and had to stagger around for several moments before regaining their balance.
Yet the person didn't even look at Takumi.
Still muttering to themselves, they continued forward, their eyes completely fixed on their phone.
Faintly, Takumi could hear them saying something along the lines of: "The new match is about to start again, but the referee entering the arena is seriously embarrassing. If they lose this one, they should just kill themselves."
It sounded like someone completely absorbed in some sort of game.
After taking another couple of steps, Takumi turned around.
But he couldn't find the person anymore.
That person felt kind of strange.
Am I just overthinking it?
His phone chimed.
Kaguya had already replied, informing him that she was ready.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Takumi put his doubts aside and continued forward.
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