???
1
Character icon
Miku

Where am I...?

2
Character icon
Mafuyu's Mother

You came so close on this test, Mafuyu.

3
Character icon
Miku

It's Mafuyu...!

4
Character icon
Miku

(What's going on here...?)

5
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

I know...

I miscalculated on one problem.

6
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

I apologize for dashing your hopes.

I promise to be more careful next time.

7
Character icon
Mafuyu's Mother

Yes, it is a bit of a shame since you knew how to solve the problem.

8
Character icon
Mafuyu's Mother

You'll need to focus on your studies much more if you really do intend to become a doctor.

9
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

Okay, I will!

10
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

Anyway, I'm going up to my room to review what I did wrong.

11
Character icon
Mafuyu's Mother

Okay. Keep doing your best, Mafuyu.

12
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(Mom looked so disappointed...)

13
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

I need to study...

I have to get a perfect score next time.

14
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(So that I can become a doctor...)

15
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

Let's see... The problem I got wrong was...

16
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

...

17
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(This cake doesn't taste like much to me.

Mom said it was good, though, so it must be.)

18
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(But it's not just the cake.

Everything tastes a little bland lately, even restaurant food and Mom's cooking.)

19
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

I wonder if I'm just overthinking this. Maybe I should do something I like to get my mind off things for a while.

20
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

Wait...

21
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

...What things DO I like?

22
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

Haha. How strange. I must just be tired from studying so much.

23
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

Oh, that reminds me. I still need to listen to that song everyone was telling me about yesterday.

24
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

They said it's really bright and cheerful.

25
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

What exactly is a cheerful song?

26
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

I'm not sure...

27
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

What was it I liked? What did I want to do again?

28
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

Where...is the real me...

29
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(What are the things that I like...?)

30
Character icon
Mafuyu's Mother

We're having beef stew for dinner tonight, Mafuyu. I know it's your favorite. Please have as much as you like.

31
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

Oh...

32
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

Thank you, I will.

Let's eat.

33
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(My favorite...?)

34
Character icon
Mafuyu's Father

Is something wrong, Mafuyu?

You don't look very excited.

35
Character icon
Mafuyu's Mother

Oh, is it by chance not to your liking?

36
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

N-No, nothing's wrong.

I was just thinking about something, is all.

37
Character icon
Mafuyu's Father

Alright, if you say so.

38
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

Oh, here's that book you lent me the other day. It was really interesting.

39
Character icon
Mafuyu's Classmate

Really?!

That's great! I had a feeling you'd like it, Mafuyu! Can you tell me what your favorite scene was?!

40
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

My favorite scene...?

I thought they were all very good, but...

41
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(No matter what I do... No matter who I talk to, I keep feeling that something's wrong...)

42
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(It's as if I'm talking about someone other than myself.)

43
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(Who am I talking about...?)

44
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(Everything tastes bland.)

45
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(Nothing feels interesting.)

46
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(And the things I say that I like are really...)

47
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(So, what does it mean to be me...?)

48
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(How do I find out who the real me is...?)

49
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(The real me...)

50
Character icon
Miku

Oh...

51
Character icon
Miku

Is this a fragment of a feeling...?

52
Character icon
Miku

Based on her desire to find out who the real her is...?

53
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

...

54
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(I've listened to a lot of different songs now, but they don't do what this one does...)

55
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(K's song has such a cold and dark tone to it, but I feel compelled by it for some reason.)

56
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

Why is it that only K's makes me feel this way...?

57
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

None of the other songs have had this effect on me, and I don't understand why...

58
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(I just don't know...

And there's no way for me to learn why.)

59
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(Even if I were to ask someone about this...)

60
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

Oh...

61
Character icon
Junior High School Mafuyu

(Would the person who wrote this song know...?)

62
Character icon
[K]

<Thank you, Yuki...>

63
Character icon
[K]

<I doubt I would've been able to do this without you. It encapsulates what I was hoping to express now thanks to you.>

64
Character icon
Mafuyu

<I see...

I'm glad I could help.>

65
Character icon
Mafuyu

<Can I ask you something, K?>

66
Character icon
[K]

<Huh? S-Sure, go ahead...>

67
Character icon
Mafuyu

<What were you trying to express with this song?>

68
Character icon
[K]

<Hmm...

That's hard to explain...>

69
Character icon
[K]

<A blank sense of despair...?>

70
Character icon
Mafuyu

<Blank...?>

71
Character icon
[K]

<Yes, you mentioned how this song needed to feel more stagnant. That may be the best way to look at this.>

72
Character icon
[K]

<Not a harsh sense of despair, but something more silent and gradual...>

73
Character icon
[K]

<Does that answer your question...?>

74
Character icon
Mafuyu

<I see...>

75
Character icon
Miku

Oh...!

76
Character icon
Miku

Does this mean...?

77
Character icon
Miku

(A SEKAI is ready to be born...?)

???
78
Character icon
Miku

Where am I...?

79
Character icon
Miku

It's so quiet, and there's no one else...

80
Character icon
Miku

It's completely empty.

81
Character icon
Miku

...

82
Character icon
Miku

She wants to find... The real her...

83
Character icon
Miku

I see...

This SEKAI is empty because she doesn't know who the real her is.

84
Character icon
Miku

She must be in so much pain...

85
Character icon
Miku

I want to help her...

86
Character icon
Miku

I don't know what I can do for her...

87
Character icon
Miku

But I'll try doing what I can.

88
Character icon
Miku

You can do it...

Next Chapter: A Quiet Warmth