But whyyyy did we go t’ Aomori in the firss placshe? We went to Hakodato too, so d’you twins simply have a penchant f’ the noooorf?

Um, well…

(I chose Aomori so we could find a way to exorcise Aa-chama… But I can’t say that out loud.)

I’m lookin’ for a guy. Name’s Miura Morozumi.

I went to Hakodate to look for ‘im too.

Hohhhh.

That’s news to me.

‘Cuz I never toldja ‘bout it before.

(I don’t know who that is…)

Is he the person who took you in after you ran away from home? The man who works in law…

Yeah. He’s…a pretty good guy.

He helped me fix your omamori when it got damaged.

My…omamori…?

(The omamori I made just for my dear brother was fixed without me knowing? By someone I’ve never met…?)

Why’re you looking for this person?

None a’ your business.

Huh?

Toi and I are gonna look for ‘im when we got free time, so don’t worry ‘bout it. I ain’t gonna say any more on it.

……

…Mhm, yeah. Right. We can handle it ourselves.

But thanks for the concern, Nagi-kun.

You’re…welcome.

(…Yeah, maybe it’s something that should just be kept between them. Since they’re family.)

……

(I wonder if it has anything to do with that “Oshisha-sama” thing that I heard about during that one drive to Angel’s Eye.)

(If that’s the case, it might be difficult to bring that up to the whole team…)

Okay, got it. Just let us know if there’s anything we can do to help.

Yes, please do. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Out Taurus. Porous.

Yes, of course!

(Yodaka-san’s starting to talk funny again.)

G’luck, you guys. Alright, how ‘bout we keep the drinks comin’?

Here’s your roasted garlic cloves.

Wahoooo! I wonder if I can eat it all in one bite?!

Hey, that’s my order. Don’t even think about it.

Akaton-boo-hoo…¹

Toi, I’ll peel the skin off for ya. Gimme a moment.

…Okay. Thanks.

S’pretty good with the skin on too.

Here… It’s hot, so be careful.

……

…You don’t want it?

…I’ll take a few nibbles of it.

Alright. You don’t gotta force yourself.

Toi, I notice that you haven’t been eating very much tonight.

Ah, I-I’m just not that hungry.

Do you want some of these cooked kaiyaki?² The miso in it is super warm and tasty!

Um, uh…

…Toi.

Oh, are you heading outside, Brother Dearest?

I’m just gonna get some fresh air ‘n’ go to the bathroom. You wanna go with me?

Okay, hold on!

Excuse me, Chief. You can have all of the kaiyaki.

Ah… Got it. Stay warm out there.

They cannot ev’n go t’ the bathroom by ‘emselves?

They’ve been glued to each other more than normal since we got here.

Phew… I-It’s so coooold…!

C’mon, come closer.

Okay.

……

(We’re being watched. Ever since we got here…)

(There’s a small one on top of that roof, and one that I can’t tell the size of from the shadow of that telephone pole…)

I knew I couldn’t go to Aomori without you by my side.

You can sense them too?

Yeah, somehow.

The one by the telephone pole’s probably powerful enough that you can sense it without any psychic abilities…

Well, I ain’t happy to be followed ’round by anything other than you. ‘Specially since I can’t afford to be walkin’ around places that got high spiritual energy like this.

But if we can find Morozumi-san here, we can finally learn how to get rid a’ that demon fucker.

Um… Is there any way you can contact him?

Ahh, well… Nah, I threw away the business card he gave me. Guess I thought it was lame to keep it… Kinda shit some stupid kid would think.

Oh…

But I know he’s based in Aomori.

I ain’t gonna get the other team members involved in this, alright? We’ll go through the study trip like normal and kill Astaroth at the same time.

I’ll finally be able to set you free.

…Thank you, Brother Dearest.

So, uh… Do you want me to find out where Morozumi-san is?

Hah, that demon fucker ain’t gonna tell you where he is if their life’s at stake. Plus…

I don’t wanna make you use their power.

…Okay.

(Brother Dearest hates Aa-chama, after all…)

I’ll wait outside of the bathroom for you.

Alright. I’ll be quick.

*sigh…*

(I love the feeling of walking around in the snow.)

But…I remember Brother Dearest saying that he didn’t really like it a while back.

He said that it’s because the snow’s so pure and perfect, but as you walk in it, you track dirt and mud all over it…

So it just gets filthy and eventually melts away.

……

When I’m with Brother Dearest, I always want to walk on a blanket of pure, perfect snow.

(Because he’s more important to me than anyone else is…)

So the spirit next to the telephone pole…

I guess you’re my rival…