Then, one day after school.

A notification popped up on Naoya's smartphone.

The moment he saw the name on the screen, he immediately opened the chat app.

The message from Guest—the first in a long time—sounded somehow tense.

And after a brief exchange, Guest told him just one thing.

They wanted him to come over to their house.

Naoya dashed out of the school without a second thought.

A mix of dread and hope swirled in his chest.

Maybe they were finally going to tell him the reason.

With that thought in mind, he hurried down the familiar path.

Soon, he arrived in front of Guest's house.

Without even stopping to catch his breath, he pressed the intercom.

Before long, the door opened.

In that instant, Naoya's mind went blank.

Standing there was a young man he didn't know.

A face he didn't recognize.

A physique he didn't recognize.

No matter how he looked at it, this wasn't the Guest he knew.

And yet.

The way they cast their eyes down.

The way their shoulders tensed up nervously.

The habit of looking like they wanted to say something, only to swallow the words.

In every single one of those gestures, a familiar shadow overlapped.

His mind wanted to deny it, but deep in his heart, he already understood.

The strength left his hands.

Thud.

The bag he was holding fell to the ground.

Snapped back to his senses by the sound, Naoya muttered in a trembling voice: