Copo Minase Room 201. The lights were off. The door rang again. Knock. Knock. Knock. Ren ignored it. He leaned against the wall, hugging his knees. His phone lay face-down. He didn't know how many hours had passed since he'd rejected all the calls. The room was dark. Only the streetlight from outside filtered through the thin curtains. That was enough. "[serious]Namba-san" A voice through the door. Silver long hair, golden eyes——he recognized Hikawa Akane's voice. Ren didn't answer. "[serious]You're there. I know you're there" Another knock. Stronger this time. "[serious]My skill, Voir du Cœur——the ability to read hearts——doesn't work on you. It never has, and it still doesn't. I can't hear your inner voice" Ren buried his face in his knees. "[serious]But" A pause. "[serious]I can tell you're suffering right now. This isn't a skill. Skills have nothing to do with it. Because I've been watching you all this time——that alone is enough for me to know" Something stirred inside Ren. (Watching me, huh.) He couldn't laugh. But he couldn't deny it either. It was true that Akane had been watching him. Annoyingly so. Absurdly so. Inside the door, Ren couldn't move. Should he go out? Should he stay? He didn't even know which was right. "[serious]Namba-san" Her voice for the third time. This time, it trembled slightly. "[serious]Please open the door. I'm asking you" Then, a different sound came from the hallway. Thud. Scrape. "[surprised]……Shu-san, why are you here!?" Akane's voice cracked in surprise. "[serious]If you're coming, then so am I. That's all" Dark green short hair. Red on the left, silver on the right——mismatched eyes. Shinomiya Shu stood in the hallway, holding a cardboard box. "[angry]Why are you carrying a cardboard box!?" "[serious]Evidence. All of it. External access logs to the PC. Audio recordings of direct interviews with the accounting staff. Everything's in here" Akane froze for a moment. "[surprised]……Evidence, you say" "[serious]I'm just saying that I'm worried about you too" Shu said it flatly. The moment Akane tried to verify Shu's statement using Judgment Line——his skill to discern truth from lies——she gasped. "[cold]……The red line isn't appearing" "[serious]It wouldn't. I'm telling the truth" "[angry]That's——being too honest!" "[serious]The fact that the red line isn't appearing means exactly that" Akane turned bright red and fell silent. Shu set down the cardboard box and stood in front of the door. "[serious]Namba-san. I need you to listen" Through the door. A quiet voice. "[serious]The embezzlement charge is a false accusation. I have evidence. The logs show unauthorized access to an account under your name. You didn't do it. I can say this with certainty——without a red line" "……" "[serious]I know you're trying to protect someone and carrying it all alone. Even knowing that, I'm still saying it. Open the door" Inside the room, Ren's hand moved. Slowly, he stood up. His legs were unsteady. His knees had stiffened from leaning against the wall for hours. He turned the key. He opened the door. The fluorescent light from the hallway was blinding. He squinted. There they were——Akane and Shu. The moment they saw Ren's face, Akane's expression changed. Red-rimmed eyes. Disheveled hair. A face marked by three days of exhaustion. Akane moved before words could come. "[gentle]……There's nothing for it" She embraced him. Ren froze. He couldn't move. He couldn't say anything. Akane's shoulders trembled slightly. Shu watched and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "[serious]……I also find it difficult when you're not around. The atmosphere falls flat" He let it slip in a near-monotone. Ren looked up. "[sarcastic]……You're really doing damage control with that face right now, aren't you" Shu's eyebrows moved slightly. "[serious]The red line isn't appearing" "I know" Ren was smiling. It wasn't a good smile, but he was smiling. With that, the air between the three of them shifted slightly. ＊　＊　＊ Shinjuku Sanchome. Fourth floor of a mixed-use building. When the door to Dining Bar Lucière——the venue that Marriage Connect rented twice a month——opened, warm air and the orange glow of indirect lighting greeted them. Tsubaki Shiori sat alone at the counter. She was breaking crème brûlée with a spoon. A crisp sound. "[gentle]You've come, Sample-san" "[sarcastic]You're still using that name" "[gentle]It's a habit" Still smiling, Shiori took a bite of the crème brûlée. The three sat down at the counter. Shiori set down her spoon and began to speak. "[serious]The real reason Marriage Connect invited Namba-san to the party" A pause. "[serious]Within a few meters of Namba-san, the Return Skills of reincarnators——abilities carried over from past lives——weaken. In some cases, they're completely nullified. We call this unique constitution the Null Field" Ren went rigid. Akane slowly opened her eyes wide. "[serious]The reason Akane-san couldn't read Namba-san's heart. The reason Shinomiya-san's lie detection never once reacted to Namba-san's words. The reason reincarnators felt inexplicable peace near Namba-san. It's all this" Shu said quietly. "[serious]……I see. That's why my red line never appeared for Ren" "[serious]It's highly likely the skill's accuracy decreased because it was weakened" Ren was silent for a while. "[surprised]……So I'm not nothing. I'm the person who erases everyone else's something?" "[gentle]That's right. You're the only existence that nullifies skills" She said it matter-of-factly. Ren paused. "[sarcastic]……Is that good news or bad news for me? I can't tell" Shu let out a rare breath. "[serious]That's the most honest reaction you've had all day" That's when it happened. Bang——!! The door to Lucière burst open forcefully. Three men entered. Suited. The same faces from the company conference room. Members of Remnant Circle——the radical faction among reincarnators who advocated actively using their past-life powers in this world. "[cold]Come quietly" Man A stared at Ren. "[cold]That Null Field is ours to use. Refuse, and we'll finish what we started with everyone here" Ren instinctively tried to back away. In that instant. Akane and Shu moved forward simultaneously. The two stood in front of Ren. "[cold]……Step aside" "[cold]I refuse" Akane's voice dropped low. The usual "desu wa" was gone. "[serious]We're in the Null Field. Skills are weakened. I know that" Shu said calmly. "[serious]Even so, I'm not moving from here" Man A laughed. "[sarcastic]What can you do without skills" "Do what we can" Akane stepped forward. A swordmaster in her past life——her body remembered those movements. She took Man B's arm. Twisted her body. His balance broke. She pinned him against the wall. No skills, bare hands. But it was a decisive move. Man C tried to move. "[serious]Stop right there" Shu said coldly. "[serious]If you move now, you'll step on the cardboard box at your feet. You'll fall. That's all there is to it" Man C looked down. The cardboard box——containing the evidence——was right in front of his feet. For a moment, Man C's movement stopped. In that gap, Shu closed the distance. Man A tried to move toward Ren. "……っ" Ren started to back away. His feet moved. He tried to run. But he stopped. (If I run——I'll be alone again.) Akane is in front. Shu is in front. With their skills sealed, both of them are in front. Ren took a step forward. Not in the direction of escape. Forward. To stand beside them. In the middle. Man A stopped moving. Ren looked straight at him. "[serious]I'm saying I don't want this. That's all" "……" The stare-down continued for a while. Man A looked at Man B. Then at Man C. Man B pinned by Akane. Man C unable to move in front of the cardboard box. And three people facing him. "[cold]……We're pulling back for today" He spat it out. The three men headed for the door. Just before leaving, Man A turned back. "[cold]There won't be a next time" The door closed. Silence returned to the shop. From behind the counter, there was a soft clink. Shiori had set down her spoon. "[laughing]……I was eating during the fight too, so I managed to finish it" She said with a smile. Akane and Shu looked at Shiori simultaneously. Both wore expressions of disbelief. "[surprised]……Shiori-san, weren't you scared?" "[gentle]My skill weakens in Sample-san's Null Field too, so I was scared. But it was delicious" "Those two things don't go together!" Ren couldn't help but retort. After a while, Ren said to Shiori. "[serious]……I'm not forgiving you for calling me an experimental subject at first" He said it with half-closed eyes. Shiori's expression became serious for the first time. "[sad]……I'm sorry about that" Akane said immediately. "[sarcastic]You should've said that first" "Seriously" For the first time, a truly light atmosphere flowed between the four. ＊　＊　＊ On the way home. On the platform for the Nakano-bound train, three people stood in a line. The night breeze was a little cold. Ren spoke without turning around. "[gentle]Today……thank you" His voice was slightly hoarse. He couldn't say it well, but that's all he said. Akane's face flushed slightly, and she spoke while facing forward. "[serious]I'll stay by Namba-san's side from now on. Even if I can't read your skills" "[serious]……I'm the same" Shu said briefly beside her. Akane immediately turned around. "[angry]Don't put me in the same category as Shu-san!" "[serious]I think it's Ren's decision to make" Akane was speechless. Ren looked at both their faces alternately. "[sarcastic]……Let me sleep for tonight, at least" The train arrived. Ren boarded. The doors began to close. Ren turned back. He gave a short smile to the two of them. No words. That was enough. The train moved. Akane and Shu remained on the platform, watching the train's retreating figure side by side. Neither said anything. Akane became aware that Shu was beside her. Shu became aware that Akane was beside him. The train disappeared into the distance. Only the two of them remained on the night platform. Akane sighed. "[cold]……'I think it's Ren's decision to make,' you said" "[serious]It's the truth" "[angry]I know that much!" Silence. Neither said anything more. ＊　＊　＊ That night, Copo Minase Room 201. He turned on the lights and collapsed onto the futon. Ren picked up his phone. Akane had read his messages. So had Shu. (Today, I stepped forward for the first time.) For seven years, he'd been afraid of connecting deeply with people, watching everything from a distance. A week had passed since the marriage party, full of things he didn't understand. And yet——tonight, Ren stood in the middle. Thinking it was a strange story, Ren set down his phone. He closed his eyes. He could sleep. For the first time in a while. Then his phone vibrated once. It wasn't a LINE message. It was an email. From: Unknown When he opened it, there was only one line. 'I've obtained detailed data on the Null Field. I'll come to meet you directly next. ——MC Representative' Ren stared at the message for a while. MC Representative——Marriage Connect Representative, Mika. The person who had never shown their face at the party was making their first direct move. "[sarcastic]……Are you serious" He muttered toward the ceiling. The drowsiness had vanished somewhere.