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While looking at the building towering in front of her, Akari said.

"Isn't this the headquarters of Yoizuki? If you said you have a matter to attend to here, that means you are…"contemporary romance

"As you can guess, I am a member of this guild. By the way, Hana too."

"Hana too?! Which means, she is also an adventurer?"

"Aa"

When I nodded and replied, Akari showed a slightly surprised expression. But that was just for a moment, before she went back to her usual self. Towards such a her, I continued to say.

"If I'm not wrong, Hana also should be here today. Since you already came, how about you meet her too?"

"Of course, I wanted to meet her, but… is that fine? I'm an outsider to this guild, after all–."

"We don't really mind, you know?"

"Whoa"

"Kya"

Suddenly, a dignified voice echoed from behind, which surprised us. When I turned around, Claire stood there.

In front of us, who were bewildered with her sudden appearance, Claire turned a soft smile towards Akari.

"You are Rin-kun's acquaintance, right? If you'd like, please come inside"

"Y-yes…"

Unlike when she talked with me, Akari expressed her affirmation in a small voice, much quieter than usual. Looking at this, Claire smiled before she opened the door and invited her to come inside, saying "Please come in".

Then, the moment I tried to enter while expressing my gratitude toward Claire, Akari suddenly grabbed my collar and brought our faces closer.

Wait, wait, she is too close.

"Nee, Rin. Who is that person? Or rather, why was such a beautiful person calling you ‘Rin-kun'? Tell me properly."

"Don't have a strange misunderstanding. We don't have that kind of relationship that you are currently thinking about. She is Claire, a member of Yoizuki–"

"Claire?! If we're talking about Claire from Yoizuki, isn't she the genius who is the youngest person to become an S-rank?! I didn't notice it as her face didn't appear in the media, but that's her, right? According to someone who has seen her fight, it is rumored that her appearance, freely manipulating swords and magic, is indescribably beautiful…"

"You sure are in high tension."

"Isn't that inevitable! She is the person I admire, you know?!"

What a shocking fact. To put it differently, from Akari's point of view, she now feels like she just met the star she admired for a long time. If that's the case, I kind of understood why she is in high tension. In the first place, the reason Akari wanted to use swords and magic might be because there is someone like Claire in her generation too.

Still, we can't just stay here forever. As follows, I looked away from Akari, whose eyes were shining, and looked forward. Then, I saw Claire who was staring at me, still with a smile on her face— but, I wonder why. Even though it was her usual smile, it felt unnatural. Somehow, it feels like it could make my spine chill.

"… You two sure are very close."

"Etto… Claire. Perhaps, do you have something in mind?"

"You sure said something strange, Rin-kun. I don't particularly have anything in mind, you know? Fufu…"

"A-ahaha…"

I felt like it's bad to dig more than this. Thus, I, who intuitively understood that, entered the guild while pulling Akari in, just like what should have been done since before.

After that, we headed to the guild's leisure room. There, we saw Hana, Rei and Yui who were chatting merrily. Looks like they already came here long before us. Even Hana seems to have come directly from her school. Well, I guess something like this would happen sometimes.

When I was thinking like that, Hana, who noticed our arrival, looked at us.

"Ah, Onii-chan. You finally come… Eh?"

And with that flow, she noticed the existence of Akari who stood beside me. The moment she saw her, Hana opened her eyes widely.

"Don’t tell me, Akari-chan?"

"Ee. Long time no see, Hana. How are you?"

"Un! I never thought I would meet you at this place. I'm surprised!"

Probably because this is the first time they met in a few years, they seemed a little awkward at first, but soon they started talking happily. Rei and Yui, who seems to feel like they're being left out by the two, displayed a bewildered expression on their faces. And then, they immediately asked me.

"Rin, who is she?"

"I-I'm also curious! She even comes here together with Rin-senpai and seems to know Hana-chan too…"

"Aa. She is Kurumizawa Akari, a friend who lived next to us until a few years ago. They are probably hyped up because this is the first time they meet after a long time."

"… Lives next to you?"

"Doesn't that mean…"

"She is their childhood friend. I see…"

Hearing the words of the two, Claire said at the end. The moment they heard the words ‘childhood friend', Rei and Yui looked at each other.

"R-Rei-chan, what should we do? To think a childhood friend-san suddenly appeared…"

"It's okay, don't need to worry."

"Rei-chan!"

"It has long been decided that the childhood friend will lose in the end1."

"Rei-chan?"

"But, it is also true that recently, the number of works that have them winning is increasing recently. Now, what should we do…."

"W-what should we do, Rin-senpai! I couldn't understand what Rei-chan was saying from a while ago!"

"…. No comment"

"Why?!"

The leisure room became very lively because of that. And in the middle of that, "Gohon." Claire cleared her throat.

"I'm sure you have many things to share with each other, but let's finish our matter first for the time being. I have something to talk about with Rin-kun, so, can you follow me?"

"Aa, understood"

Thus, while feeling grateful over Claire's suggestion, I went to follow her, as if escaping from this place.

1. LOL.

done.co