In the narrow little room, Mai sighed weakly.
"You know, if you keep saying dumb things, you'll actually turn into an idiot."
Ryuya didn't mind her mockery. Between the two of them, there was always this strange kind of tacit understanding—on the surface, it looked like they were constantly teasing and sniping at each other, but deep down, both knew it was never serious.
The two lay side by side on a single bed. The cramped space left them barely able to move.
"Ryuya," Mai suddenly called out.
"Yeah?"
"It's cramped."
Her tone was calm, as if simply stating a fact.
"…Sorry if I'm squishing you."
Ryuya stared up at the ceiling, answering without moving.
"Nothing you want to say?" she asked out of nowhere, the question itself almost meaningless.
Ryuya turned his head toward her. She was so close that he could clearly see the soft, pale line of her cheek—the curve of her lashes long enough to count one by one.
"So many things have happened… It feels like there's a lot I should say," he murmured, gaze drifting away again. "But when the time comes, I don't even know where to start."
"Then say something that'll make me happy."
She meant her mood wasn't great. Ryuya picked up on that instantly.
"With your mood right now, that's kind of a tall order, isn't it?"
Mai turned onto her side a little, facing him. The short distance between them shrank even further.
"Don't you enjoy being teased by me?" she asked, a faint, playful glint in her eyes.
"And the one who keeps teasing me knowing that—such a queenly move, Mai-senpai."
As he said that, Ryuya also turned a little to face her. Their eyes met.
The room fell silent.
Under the same blanket, the two simply stared at each other.
Too close—so close that they could clearly feel each other's breath.
Neither of them looked away. They just gazed quietly, neither speaking.
Seconds dragged on, the silence growing thick enough to make it hard to breathe. Then, out of nowhere, Mai's lips moved.
"Hey… let's kiss."
Her tone was calm—like she was talking about the weather.
Ryuya blinked in mild surprise, but he could feel it—the faint tremor in her emotions.
"So this is you giving in to despair… trying to lose yourself a little?"
He hit the nail right on the head.
Mai fell silent. She didn't scold him for being blunt. She didn't blush or look confused—just stayed quiet, before letting out a small, self-deprecating laugh.
"Go to sleep. Good night."
She closed her eyes after that, as if afraid to look into his—because if she did, he'd see straight through her again.
And that was exactly Ryuya's gift. Whenever she faced him, it was like he could read every flicker of her heart.
Ryuya knew—right now, she was fragile.
But there wasn't much he could do. The only comfort left to him was that he could still see her… still remember her.
"If I cried right now and said, 'I don't want to disappear,' what would you do?"
Her voice was soft—barely above a whisper.
That was what she truly wanted to say, wasn't it? She'd just been holding it back all this time.
Ryuya sighed quietly and didn't answer. Instead, he reached out and gently pulled her into his arms.
Mai's eyes opened again.
What she saw was his calm, clear gaze—steady and warm.
"I'll remember you," Ryuya said softly, his voice gentle yet firm. Then, after a brief pause, he added, "Always."
Mai's eyes wavered for a moment before settling again.
"Even so," she murmured, "I didn't say you could hold me."
"I just guessed you wanted me to," he replied. "So I did."
"That's just what you think," she answered, brushing off the moment with an offhand tone.
And like that, the fragile air between them quietly settled back into silence.
She showed no sign of wanting to leave his embrace.
After another long silence—one that lasted for what felt like dozens of seconds—
"…I still don't want to disappear."
The girl murmured softly to herself.
"I know."
"There are still so many radio dramas and movies I want to do… I still want to feel what it's like to stand on stage and act again. That's why I don't want to disappear."
"Yeah."
"I finally met a reckless idiot who actually dared to get close to me… and I was starting to think maybe… maybe I could go back to school again. So now really isn't the time to disappear…"
The girl in his arms kept whispering, letting all of her truest feelings pour out.
She was scared. Terrified, in fact.
How could she not be?
Ryuya didn't know what to say—he could only tighten his arms around her.
When had he started caring this much about this girl?
When had his heart begun to ache just by seeing her like this?
They'd only met a day or two ago.
Maybe… it was just because she was beautiful?
That was probably part of it—he couldn't deny that.
But there was something else too—something about her loneliness that drew him in.
He still remembered the look of surprise on her face the day he handed her that flyer.
It had felt, for a moment, like she'd stepped right out of a painting—
the kind of surreal beauty that didn't belong to this world suddenly becoming real.
Just moments before, she'd seemed completely detached from everything around her.
And then, all at once, it was like she had fallen back into reality.
She was just like him—someone who chose to play the role of air, someone who deliberately erased their own presence.
From the very first moment he saw Sakurajima Mai, Ryuya had recognized that in her.
The only thing that surprised him… was that she had seen straight through his disguise too.
How clumsy he must have looked through her eyes.
That alone made his impression of her all the deeper.
And then came that so-called summoning ritual—which, in hindsight, had been the real start of their connection.
"I'll never let you disappear."
Ryuya spoke suddenly, his tone soft but firm.
"…Thank you for not giving up on me,"
Mai murmured in response, clearly having heard him.
But then, something in her earlier words caught up to him.
Wait—
Did she just say something about… wanting to go back to school?
Ryuya's eyes widened a little.
"Wait a sec… you said you've been thinking about going back to school?"
He couldn't help but sit up.
Mai opened her eyes again, looking at him in mild confusion.
"Hold on—does that mean you haven't been going to school this whole time?"
"…I did go back," she said softly, biting her lip. "But I didn't talk to anyone. It was basically the same as when I couldn't be seen… no one noticed me anyway."
"Right… you're still a high school student, aren't you? How could I forget something like that…"
Ryuya let out a small, helpless laugh, rubbing his forehead.
"If we're talking about the source of your ability, then as a high school student, school itself is the most likely place. I can't believe it took me this long to realize that."
Honestly, he'd been so caught up in her identity as a famous actress that he'd subconsciously assumed she'd already graduated and entered society.
He'd completely overlooked the fact that she was still in her third year of high school.
Her ability's origin point… was probably right there, at her school.
Looking at the girl in front of him—remembering her fragile but determined expression just moments ago—Ryuya felt a thought begin to take shape in his mind.
The same thought he'd had at the very beginning…
If the source really was her school, then there was nothing left to hesitate about.
It was time to end this—time to finally free her from this maddening curse.
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