The next day, I woke up a little late. I waited for my two visitors while watching TV. When the doorbell rang, it must have been just before noon, I went to open the door. “Hello.” “Long time no see.” Kyoka and Yuusei-kun were standing there in their casual clothes. “You two must be cold. Come in. Come in,” I said while inviting them in. “It’s gotten chilly lately, hasn’t it?” “Yamada, did you start running your kotatsu?” Yuusei-kun asked as he took off his shoes. “Isn’t that a bit early?” “But it’s already November. We are already using ours.” Well, he has a point, that it already get’s cold. “Maybe I’ll bring it out.” “That’s a good idea. Let’s warm up while eating pizza.” As we talked, we moved over to the living room. “Miriam-chan!” As soon as Kyoka entered the living room, she went straight to the cardboard box in the corner and picked up Miriam. “Meow.” “There, there. You missed your big sister, didn’t you?” “Meow.” I fear she’s just trying to say 'Nope, meow'. “Kyoka, don’t steal other people’s cats.” “Tatsuya-san was bragging about her all the time.” Well, I did send you messages like that several times. “Well, whatever. Ruri, shall we activate our kotatsu?” I proposed to Ruri, who was sitting in front of the kotatsu table, staring at the flyer. “That’s a good idea.” Ruri’s lips curled into a smile. Now I knew why she’d been saying recently that it was getting unusually cold. “Yuusei-kun, we’re going to change the carpet, so can you move the kotatsu table?” “Got it.” Leaving that heavy duty task to Yuusei-kun, I went over to the closet. As I opened it and tried to lift the kotatsu futon and carpet out, Miriam rubbed against my feet. “What's wrong, Miriam? Go to your big sister.” As an answer Miriam pointed to the kotatsu table with her tail. Wondering what was going on, I turned around and saw Kyoka sitting on the floor where the kotatsu table had been, staring blankly at the carpet. With slow movements, she picked something up and held it in front of her face, still with that blank expression on her face. It was a single strand of golden hair.

Ah, Monica… Monica had been combing her hair at that exact same spot yesterday. “……” Kyoka stared silently at the golden hair. And we in turn watched Kyoka without saying a word. For some reason, the tension was palpable. Eventually Kyoka slowly turned her head and looked at Ruri. Ruri flinched for a moment, but quickly shook her head. “I had a visitor yesterday. It was an insurance salesman.” Since I couldn't talk about Monica and the parallel world, I quickly came up with a lie. “I see... I'm going to go to the bathroom for a bit.” Kyoka, Killer Kyoka-chan, stood up, threw the hair in the trash, and left the living room. “.........” We silently continued setting up the kotatsu. After we were done, everyone got under it. “Whoa! The kotatsu is done!” Kyoka had returned with her usual smile, not the blank expression she’d had a second ago. “It’s nice and warm.” “Really? Let me see...” Weirdly enough, Kyoka sat down right next to me and got under the kotatsu. She was awfully close... I wasnt sure why, but after getting in, Kyoka took off the scrunchie she’d been wearing. Without it Kyoka’s long black hair spread out, and a sweet, feminine scent tickled my nostrils. She placed it on the kotatsu table. “It’s nice and warm. So what kind of pizza do you want?” “This one.” “I’ll have this one.” When Kyoka asked, Yuusei pointed at the meat pizza, and Ruri chose the seafood one. “Which one do you want, Kyoka?” I followed up. “Hmm, I like the cheese one, but I had it the other day. I think those two are fine.” “All right, let’s go that order. You can order dessert, too.” “Hey, Tatsuya-san, are you trying to make me fatten me up?” Kyoka laughed. “That’s not true. You did a great job studying, so you deserve a prize.” “You’re no fun! All right, I’ll have this one.” That was quick... “Ruri, you can order something, too.”

“I’ll have this one.” Ruri was also just as fast... “Yuusei-kun?” “Can I have this potato?” This kid is going to eat me out of house and home... “Well, that’s all, right?” I took out my smartphone and placed the order. About thirty minutes later, the pizza arrived, and we started our feast. “It’s delicious.” “You’re right. Puuhh... Studying was really tough...” Kyōka answered wistfully. “Finals are in 2 months by the way.” “I don't hate you, Yuusei-kun, but I that part of you is just...” Kyoka stated flatly. “Easy there, easy... You two, just do your best. At least you don’t have to worry about entrance exams.” “Yeah, you’re right.” “The people who are taking those exams started studying in first year.” Third year was hell. I had a lot of fun in my first year of university, though. “You two are going to be Exorcists, right? Are you going to work for the Association, or are you going to work for your families?” “Hmm, I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead,” Yuusei-kun answered. “Really?” That was a surprise. “I have an older brother who will be the succesor. I’ll either help out or work for the Association on my own. Hmm...” So that’s your situation, huh? “Well, you’ve still got plenty of time, so take it easy while thinking about it.” “I will.” Yuusei-kun nodded and resumed eating his pizza. “Ah, I’m going to work for the Association. So we can work together and do our best!” Kyoka seemed like a fitting member for the Association. “What about your family?” “It’s fine, it’s fine. There’s more important things than that stuff.” Really... “Let’s do our best! Miriam-chan, you like having your big sister around too, right?” Kyoka petted Miriam while eating her pizza. “Meow.” “Really? You really like your big sister, huh?” “Meow...” She’s definitely saying, “I never said that, meow...”