Last night, a message arrived from Tomoya. The seal of the Eichi Pillar——a geometric pattern shaped like four pillars, pressed in silver ink——sat on the counter of Hekisen-dō. Kawase Taeko handed it to him, and Aosuke carried the envelope back to his classroom before opening it. Inside was a single sheet of paper. No sender's name. Only a date, time, and location, printed in meticulous handwriting. "Suirei Hall, 4th Floor, Information Management Room. 8:15 AM" That was all. The first floor of Suirei Hall in the morning felt busier than usual. The electronic bulletin board in the display hall marked time in four colors of light. Blue, red, green, purple——and at the edge, gray remained static. 【Yanase Aosuke: Unassigned】 Fourth day. Nothing had changed. He passed in front of Hekisen-dō. Today he didn't buy the umeboshi onigiri. His stomach wasn't accepting anything. He glanced sideways at the three colors arranged neatly in the glass case and headed for the stairs. As Aosuke clim