Dual System in Daily World

The game continued.

The King's Game had shifted into drawing Joker cards, and the punishment changed from obeying the King's orders to sticking paper slips on one's face.

Hitori, whose expressions were far too easy to read, already had her face covered in stickers—her features completely hidden, making her look rather ridiculous.

Her losing streak made sense, but the fact that Chisato was in the same sorry state was a bit baffling.

He was always clever, so it was odd that he was losing so badly at such a simple game.

Seika, now tipsy, had passed out on the bed after the first round.

Chisato's increasingly distracted behavior—frequent checks of his phone and a lack of focus—was finally noticed and called out by Hitori, who had been watching him closely.

"Um… Chisato, is something wrong?"

Her gentle inquiry drew the attention of the others as well, all now clearly concerned by his odd behavior earlier.

"It's nothing…"

Chisato patted Hitori's head. He hadn't originally planned to share his concerns, but seeing that his answer only deepened their worry, he let out a small sigh and changed his mind. 

Realizing that hiding it would only make things worse, he decided to give a simple explanation.

"The snow's getting heavier. Eriri and Utaha are on their way here, and I'm a little worried about them."

"Now that you mention it, yeah."

Ikuyo tilted her head and looked out the window.

She had been too focused on the game and was still reliving the moment she and Chisato shared the chocolate stick to notice how much the snow had picked up.

"Relax, this isn't some disaster movie. 

That whole 'everyone goes on a trip and then the car breaks down in the middle of nowhere or crashes off the road due to reckless driving' thing—how could that possibly happen in real life?"

Ryo walked over and patted Chisato on the shoulder to comfort him.

"…"

But rather than feeling any reassurance, Chisato's frown only deepened, his silence heavy.

"Idiot Ryo! If you can't say anything helpful, just shut up!"

"Ow—ow, that hurts!"

An irritated Nijika fiercely pinched Ryo's soft side and dragged her away.

Hitori came closer and gently took hold of Chisato's pinky finger.

"It—it's okay, Chisato. We saw it on the way here, didn't we? 

Even though it's a mountain road, it was wide and the incline wasn't steep. There were guardrails all along the way, providing good protection. Nothing bad will happen!"

Ikuyo also snapped out of her daze and quickly sat down on his other side to support him.

"Exactly! And it's the holiday season now. Even though it's past eight, it's not that late—there are definitely still cars on the road. 

So even if something did happen, someone would notice right away... Ah! Wait, no—I didn't mean it like that!"

If Ryo was simply clueless and saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, then Ikuyo was the opposite—overwhelmed by worry and trying too hard to comfort Chisato, resulting in a string of poorly chosen words.

"It's alright. I get it."

Chisato didn't seem bothered. 

Or rather, his heart was so occupied with worry for Eriri and Utaha that he didn't have room to care about anything else.

"Stay here in the room, don't wander off. I'm going downstairs to check things out."

Unable to sit still any longer, Chisato grabbed his coat and headed for the door.

Right now, waiting was pure torture. 

When they arrived earlier, he'd noticed a few taxis parked near the hotel entrance. It was already late, so there might not be any left, but he had to try.

"I'm coming too."

Hitori immediately followed him, determined.

Ikuyo also quickly caught up.

They just couldn't bring themselves to let Chisato, in his current state, go off on his own.

The ones left behind—Ryo and Nijika—gently patted the sleeping Seika's cheeks on either side.

After finally waking her up and explaining the situation, the three of them hurried downstairs to the lobby and regrouped with Hitori and Ikuyo.

Chisato was at the front desk, speaking to the staff.

"How's it looking?"

Upon hearing her sister's report, Seika, now slightly sobered by worry, asked.

Ikuyo explained, "Chisato-kun is explaining the situation to the front desk and asking if they can help call a car to take us back along the way we came."

Seika nodded with understanding and strode over to where Chisato was.

Upon hearing his request, the front desk summoned the lobby manager and began preparing to call a car.

Just then, Chisato's phone rang.

Everyone watched as he quickly took out his phone. When he saw the caller ID—Eriri—a wave of relief visibly washed over him. He answered without hesitation.

"Eriri!"

"Chisato, sorry—we ran into a bit of trouble…"

As Eriri explained, Chisato let out a long sigh of relief.

There had been a problem—but not with Eriri and Utaha themselves.

On their way here, their route passed through several tunnels. In one of them, the car they were in got stuck due to a rear-end accident involving a vehicle up ahead. 

They were stuck in the tunnel for over ten minutes, and during that time, there was no cell signal.

Only after getting out of the tunnel did their phones regain signal, and Eriri called immediately.

When the call ended, Chisato finally felt the heavy weight lift from his heart. He let out a long breath.

"See? Didn't I say it'd be fine?"

Ryo smugly placed her hands on her hips.

This time, Nijika didn't even have to act. Chisato walked over and pinched her cheek himself.

Now that he knew Eriri and Utaha were safe, there was no longer any need for everyone to wait in the hotel lobby.

After politely thanking the front desk and explaining the situation, Chisato sent the four members of Kesshoku Band back to their room. 

He remained behind, though, accompanied by Seika—who insisted on staying with him no matter what.

The two sat on a nearby couch.

While waiting, Chisato bought himself a bottle of coffee from a vending machine and picked out a bottle of warm milk for Seika.

"That's unexpected. For someone who always flirts around with girls, my company president is surprisingly devoted."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Seika realized how wrong they sounded. 

My company president? What was that supposed to mean?

But since the words were already out, there was no taking them back. 

She secretly glanced at Chisato's expression and, seeing no reaction, quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta

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