A seemingly normal taxi came to a stop on a road.
A girl stepped out of the car, opened her umbrella, and then pulled a suitcase out of the trunk. She waved to the driver in farewell, giving off the impression of a cheerful, outgoing, and pure kind of girl.
She tilted her head slightly, causing the three-strand braid on the left side of her forehead to sway along with her motion.
Her eyes, as blue as a serene lake, scanned the surroundings as if searching for something.
Perhaps due to the bad weather, it was hard to see clearly, so she took out her phone and used a map app to get her bearings.
"One kilometer to the west, huh?"
That was her destination for this trip.
Still, it was kind of odd for a girl to be out on the street at this hour—early morning just after dawn—and in such terrible rain, dragging a suitcase around.
It was strange.
In truth, she didn't want to be out in this kind of weather either, but today, members of the Shinomiya main family were scheduled to visit Lady Kaguya.
On the surface, it looked like a cordial sibling reunion, but based on the intel she received, the one coming was Kaguya's elder brother—Shinomiya Un'yo—and his real target was her.
It's likely that her efforts to gather information on a certain person had caught Un'yo's attention, and now he wanted to extract what he could from her.
Although the Shinomiya main family probably didn't have any malicious intentions toward that person and likely hoped to build better ties with his bloodline's family, there was always the chance something unexpected could happen.
Especially with someone like Shinomiya Un'yo—a man known for his ruthless methods.
So, to avoid meeting Lady Kaguya's brother, she had no choice but to leave the Shinomiya family's Tokyo villa early where she and Lady Kaguya lived together.
Was she abandoning Lady Kaguya?
Not at all.
In fact, if not for this dreadful weather, she would've set out earlier. This was a mission entrusted to her by Lady Kaguya herself—she was to observe Lady Kaguya's fiancé for a week.
So who was this girl, really?
She was the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya family—Shinomiya Kaguya's personal and close attendant. In simpler terms, she was a maid—a private one who had served her since childhood.
Though technically in a master-servant relationship, their bond long ago surpassed that title. They were like sisters. That's why Ai Hayasaka cared more about Lady Kaguya than anyone else.
If she had the power, she would've taken Kaguya away from that stifling world—that birdcage that confined her.
Now that she had gotten information on Lady Kaguya's fiancé from Fujiwara, things became a lot easier. She could directly observe him in person.
Honestly, Ai Hayasaka found herself a little shocked upon learning about Lady Kaguya's fiancé—Yazuki Kiryu. The rumor that he had cut ties with his family and become fully independent? It turned out to be true.
It was hard to believe.
People born at that level of society rarely, if ever, manage to cut ties with their family—it's not something you can just up and do. But he had done it. And he had done it years ago.
He completely lost all support from his family, lived on his own through part-time jobs and other means, and even seemed to be living a free life. He had already escaped the cage and become a free bird.
But in comparison... could Lady Kaguya do the same?
Ai Hayasaka shook her head.
Speaking of which, the reason he enrolled in the elite Shuchiin Academy wasn't to prove he could shine on his own after cutting family ties. No—it was for another reason.
A reason that left Ai dumbfounded and chuckling helplessly when she heard it from Chika.
But that's a story for another time.
For now, she needed to observe this interesting person.
"This rain is crazy…"
If only she had brought a raincoat. An umbrella wasn't much help at all.
Dragging her suitcase, she walked down a deserted road in this awful weather.
Suddenly—
BOOM—!
A loud explosion startled Ai.
Of course, it wasn't the thunder that startled her.
In fact, the loud boom just happened to coincide with the lightning. She was already somewhat used to this kind of weather—it wasn't enough to scare her anymore.
Okay, maybe she still felt a bit uneasy…
But what really startled her and nearly made her fall was the fact that a piece of something—covered in thick, tar-like black miasma—had slammed into the wall beside her. It looked like a fragment of black metal, roughly the size of a ping pong ball.
That thing cracked the wall into a spiderweb of fractures, and soon came a series of crunching and crumbling sounds as the wall collapsed.
What the hell was that? The black fragment looked like shrapnel from an explosion.
"Woof! Woof woof!"
From the other side of the wall, a dog—startled—ran over and began barking fiercely at the creepy black object.
"Woof—grrr!"
Finally, the dog, baring its fangs, bit down hard on it. But what happened next sent shivers all over Ai's body.
The black fragment reacted like it was alive. The tar-like miasma oozed out and wrapped around the dog like a spider's web, rapidly squeezing and invading its body.
In the next moment, the dog stopped struggling. Its body began to bulge and distort, grotesquely mutating like a lump of meat. Then, on its shoulders, something swelled—was that another head forming?
Was it turning into some kind of hellhound? A Cerberus?
Too ugly. Too horrifying.
No, this wasn't the time to focus on that!
RUN!!!
Ai took off, running with all her might. Her face was soaked, it was impossible to tell if it was rain or sweat.
What was going on here? Alien invasion? Demons and monsters? Whatever it was, it was beyond unlucky!
She turned a corner and came to a brief halt.
There—on what should've been a completely empty street—stood a figure holding an umbrella. Though the person had their back turned to her, judging by the build and uniform, he seemed to be a high school student.
"Get—!"
The warning caught in her throat.
Should she tell him? Warn him?
No… At that moment, every hair on her body stood on end. The terrifying presence behind her was closing in fast. If someone else got caught instead, maybe—just maybe—she could get away.
So… she was sorry. She had to be selfish. She had to survive for Lady Kaguya's sake. So she ran right past the boy—and even considered tripping him on her way by.
That should've been the plan. But the moment she rushed past—
"Run!!!"
She suddenly snapped, and like a madwoman, she grabbed his hand and tried to pull him with her.
In the end, her human conscience wouldn't let her go through with it.
Damn it. If there had been a side street, she might have bolted down it and ignored him. But this was a straight road, and she had to pass him.
In the end… she just couldn't be heartless.