That evening, Sugi Yui called Katagiri Mai.

Before making the call, Sugi Yui contemplated for a long time, pacing back and forth in her room, unsure of how to approach Katagiri Mai.

She had two voices in her mind.

One was saying it's already late, don't disturb her, talk tomorrow.

The other was saying don't avoid the issue, teenagers don't sleep that early, don't avoid the issue!

So, torn between calling and not calling, Sugi Yui walked back and forth in her small room hundreds of times until she was almost driven crazy by her own conflicting emotions.

Forget it, just make the call!

Sugi Yui forcibly stopped the chaotic thoughts in her mind, dialed Katagiri Mai's number, and explained the situation in one breath, asking for Katagiri Mai's help.

Sugi Yui asked Katagiri Mai to inform her as soon as her father, Dojou Kazuaki, started working from home, then Sugi Yui would visit under the guise of tutoring and seek out Katagiri Mai to assist in finding information on Kuroda.

"I'll probably be rejected."

"How can I convince her?"

Honestly, Sugi Yui had no confidence because she knew this was wrong.

When it's something wrong, she couldn't ask others to do it or help.

"...I understand, no problem." (Katagiri Mai)

To Sugi Yui's surprise, Katagiri Mai agreed.

Moreover, she agreed so readily.

This...?!?!?!

Sugi Yui, who was prepared to be rejected, couldn't believe it and didn't know how to respond.

On the phone, she could only hear voices, couldn't see expressions, and couldn't tell if Katagiri Mai accepted willingly or reluctantly.

Only Katagiri Mai's usual cold and emotionless voice.

This made Sugi Yui feel guilty.

"I-if it's difficult, you don't have to help, Mai!" (Sugi Yui)

As a result, Sugi Yui ended up advising Mai not to help.

"Huh? I'm not forcing myself." (Katagiri Mai)

"...You're really not forcing yourself?" (Sugi Yui)

Sugi Yui asked suspiciously again.

"Yeah, I'm really not forcing myself." (Katagiri Mai)

"Really really not forcing yourself?" (Sugi Yui)

"Yeah, really really not forcing myself." (Katagiri Mai)

After this conversation, Sugi Yui finally believed.

"Then...I'll wait for your notification this weekend, okay?" (Uesugi Yui)

"Mm-hmm." (Katagiri Mai)

Even though they reached an agreement over the phone, Uesugi Yui couldn't shake off her lingering unease after hanging up.

She couldn't help but feel like she had done something wrong.

Or rather, her intentions were good, but she resorted to any means necessary to achieve her goal.

"Ah, so frustrating." (Uesugi Yui)

Uncharacteristically, Uesugi Yui pulled at her hair, flopping down onto the bed.

For her, the mental burden of doing such things was just too heavy.

On the other hand, Chongzong was also not feeling great.

While Uesugi Yui's plan was good, she hadn't thought about what would happen after obtaining Hekida's information.

How to track his whereabouts with that information, how to create a situation where he is isolated, how to extract the information from him.

All of these details were still without a plan.

But Chongzong didn't bring any of this up.

Because he believed it was his responsibility.

That night, the only ones who slept soundly were two innocent little girls.