Takumi had to admit that he had somewhat underestimated the abilities of his two girlfriends.
The fact that they had deduced he was hiding something simply because he hadn't been taking advantage of them as much lately—and had even inferred the likely situation—was genuinely impressive.
He had been hoping to keep the whole matter hidden.
Complaining inwardly, Takumi looked at the two girls seated together on the same sofa and then at Kaguya, who sat opposite them with an extremely unnatural expression.
For a moment, he had no idea what to say.
"So, because Oba-san's maid is trapped inside an Instance, Takumi-kun decided to enter it together with Oba-san."
"The two of you are planning to charge into a high-risk Instance on the same level as Fujihana Middle School."
"And you were going to keep it from both Fujiwara-san and me while acting on your own."
"That's basically the situation, right?"
After piecing together the general circumstances, Maki let out a sigh and looked at Takumi and Kaguya with a complicated expression.
"It was my idea. She only came to me for help."
As he spoke, Takumi checked the time on his phone.
There was still some time before the optimal entry window Mai had previously specified, so they could continue talking for a while longer.
Only then did he relax slightly.
"I see..."
"In that case, can you explain why the two of us aren't allowed to participate?"
Since they were discussing a matter involving life and death, Maki wasn't acting petulant or throwing a tantrum.
Instead, she looked at him seriously and asked the question directly.
And precisely because of that, Takumi knew it probably wouldn't be easy to convince Maki to stay out of it.
Although she often mocked Kaguya for being stubborn, the truth was that in this regard, the two girls were remarkably alike.
Chika didn't say anything. She merely gave Takumi a somewhat apologetic smile.
Unlike Maki, she didn't feel compelled to involve herself no matter what. In her view, if Takumi had made this decision, then he undoubtedly had his reasons. As such, she was more inclined to trust him.
However, Chika's opinion couldn't influence Maki's. To avoid things developing into an unpleasant scene, she had come along with Maki. At the same time, she also wanted to hear what Takumi was actually planning.
"There are plenty of reasons," Takumi said calmly as he slowly explained his thinking.
"The Instance is extremely dangerous. The level of uncertainty is extremely high. And according to the information we have, the information-contamination aspect of Hayadate Elementary School is terrifyingly severe, which means outside assistance like what we had during Fujihana Middle School won't be possible."
"Also, although my primary objective in entering the Instance is to rescue someone, you both know that I have to resolve the core obsession in order to leave successfully. That alone guarantees that this mission will become significantly more difficult."
"Considering that I now possess a certain degree of survivability in Red Moon-level Instances, bringing Kaguya along and rescuing the person we're looking for still leaves some room to maneuver. But if the group gets any larger, it's hard to say what will happen."
Maki sat quietly on the sofa, listening until Takumi had finished speaking before finally raising her head to look at him.
"So, because I'd hold you back, Takumi-kun chose to keep me in the dark and act on his own?"
There was a subtle tremor in her voice, one that was difficult to detect.
"...That may be part of the reason, but it isn't the whole reason."
"No matter how you look at it, this operation isn't actually necessary, and the risks are far too high. Even now, I still don't fully understand what's really going on inside this Instance. The veteran players who do know something all act as though it's taboo to discuss."
"To be honest, if the person we were rescuing weren't Kaguya's friend—and if having Kaguya along weren't useful for identifying her—I would have gone in alone."
Faced with Maki's attitude, Takumi hesitated before explaining further.
"No matter what, this happened because of me. It should be my responsibility to deal with it."
"It's already making me feel guilty enough that Takumi-kun is getting involved."
"If Shijō-san and Fujiwara-san were dragged into this as well, that really wouldn't be right..."
Kaguya lowered her head slightly and apologized.
Yet there was a trace of anxiety hidden in her voice.
Even though she knew they hadn't yet missed the optimal entry window, first they had been attacked by that strange thing that had inexplicably broken into the mansion, a problem only Takumi had been able to resolve.
Then Maki and Chika had arrived.
One delay after another was driving her nearly frantic with worry. All she could do was force herself to remain calm and keep her emotions tightly under control.
"Even so, we can still participate."
"Haven't we already faced danger together countless times before?"
Clearly, that kind of reasoning wasn't enough to convince Maki.
"If we've already decided to build a team, then no matter what happens, we should face it together, shouldn't we?"
"Let me come too."
"There's a mental link between Takumi-kun and me. Gathering and organizing information would be much easier. If danger appears, it'll also be easier to confirm the situation and analyze it. With three people working together, clearing the Instance would definitely be easier."
Taking a deep breath, Maki firmly refuted both Takumi and Kaguya.
Compared to a young girl throwing a tantrum and making a scene, Maki's reaction was extraordinarily restrained and rational.
And that was precisely why Takumi found her so difficult to persuade.
Of course he knew that if Maki joined them, she would be a tremendous help.
After all, Maki had been the first person to enter an Instance with him.
The first person to build a close bond with him.
The partner who knew him best and worked with him most naturally.
But this time, he truly couldn't let her come.
If it had been earlier, Takumi hadn't possessed any particularly concrete reason. He had simply known that Maki would probably try to stop him, so he had planned to keep everyone in the dark and enter the Instance with Kaguya instead.
At worst, he would come back afterward and endure a few scoldings.
But after obtaining the ticket to Baidōsu Academy, and after gaining a deeper understanding of the existence and power of the KPs, he now felt that Maki should absolutely stay out of this.
Takumi strongly suspected that the KP had prepared something inside the Hayadate Elementary School Instance.
And if Maki—the person he loved most, cared about most, and shared the deepest bond with—entered Hayadate Elementary School alongside him...
To be honest, despite having no concrete evidence whatsoever, Takumi instinctively felt that something might happen that he would regret for the rest of his life.
The problem was that he couldn't say any of that out loud.
He knew her stubborn personality too well.
If he used that as his reason, she would only become even more determined to join them.
He needed a different argument.
At that moment, Chika stood up and walked over to Kaguya.
Taking Kaguya's hand, she signaled for her to leave the room with her for a while, leaving the side reception room to Takumi and Maki alone.
After the two girls left, Takumi sat in silence for a moment.
Then he suddenly thought again of the thing that had appeared in the hallway carrying the Baidōsu Academy ticket.
He had never actually seen what it looked like.
But his Blessing had warned him that seeing it meant certain death.
That meant the thing itself had been some malicious supernatural entity, or perhaps a manifestation of an Obsession Item's power.
The KP had delivered the tickets for Hayadate Elementary School and Yoruyama Middle School through reasonable means.
Therefore, this Baidōsu Academy ticket should also possess the same reasonableness.
In other words, although he had indeed obtained the ticket through that supernatural entity, the thing that brought it into the mansion probably hadn't done all that merely to deliver a package.
Was it the mysterious player behind the Women-Face Gang?
The player who possessed Alice's Black Umbrella?
The player who was likely using low-level players to accomplish some hidden objective?
Could this have been a probing move from that person?
"You kept checking the time earlier."
"Entering that Hayadate Elementary School Instance has some sort of timing requirement, doesn't it?"
Maki had already risen to her feet, clearly intending to take action immediately.
"Let's go now."
"I did come here in a hurry, but Oba-san keeps spare supplies here anyway. I can be ready in two minutes."
At that moment, Takumi stood up as well.
Then he reached out and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"No. This time, you really can't come with us."
Takumi lowered his head and met the girl's brownish-purple eyes, his voice unusually serious.
"Once Shinomiya-san and I enter the Instance, there's a good chance trouble will come looking for you and Chika. If neither of you is around, the target might shift to your families and friends instead. So you need to stay behind and deal with that side of things. Right now, for this matter, the only people I can rely on are you and Chika."
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