Shirai opened his arms and breathed deeply as if he wanted to inhale all the scent that Morino had left here into his lungs.

"How long have you been there? Senior Shirai. ”

"I think about it......" Shirai turned around and put his hands in his school uniform pockets, "It's been about two hours." I came here as soon as I got out of school, bought bread on the way, and sat under the tree, and it was as if Komori was going to jump out of nowhere. I just waited there and waited...... As a result, Komori never came out, and it was you who came. What are you doing here? Takakawa-san. ”

"I want to find out the cause of Morino's death." I say.

"For what?" He was a little surprised, "Judging from Komori's usual words, you don't get along with her very well, right?" Ah, by the way, you saved Komori last time, thank you. ”

Last time?

I guess he was referring to the incident where Morino and Sakiya were surrounded by members of the Whisperers. Although I don't know what Lu Dao Senye said to him, things are a little different from what he thought, and I dare not take this thank you seriously.

"Even if I'm not there, Morino will be fine." I say.

He nodded thoughtfully.

"In short, I still want to thank you, thank you for your willfulness." Shirai smiled bitterly, "Komori actually wants to say thank you in person." ”

There are many things I want to ask Shirai, but I don't know what to say for a while.

"Do you know anything about Dao Senye?"

"I know everything about her." Shirai replied without thinking.

"I'm curious, there have been strange rumors in the school, are they all true?"

"Rumors? Ah, you mean Komori drug trafficking, **, extortion? Shirai said casually, as if he didn't care at all about these not-so-nice rumors.

"Do you think it's strange that I'm not angry?" He said, "However, it wasn't like that, and I wanted to be angry, but since I didn't say anything about it, I didn't get angry." ”

"I want to know if it's true or not."

"What do you think? If it's you, you should have made your own judgment, right? ”

"I don't think Morino is that kind of person."

"That's right." Shirai smiled, "Although the rumors are close, they are not like that, just as the unfinished truth is not the same as the truth, and the truth of the fragment is not the same as the truth. ”

Next, Shirai explained to me why Morino joined the mysterious religious organization.

About a year ago, Morino's parents were tricked into joining the Rat Society, and when they were on the verge of bankruptcy, it was the sect that lent a helping hand, so her parents became fanatical believers.

"Because she is a fanatic, she can't bear to let her daughter not be religious. It felt like having a stranger in the house. This has nothing to do with blood, and it is purely a spiritual outlier for Morino. Jesus seems to have said that "I have come to make the world full of strife, and to turn parents and children against each other." ”

"No, I didn't hear Jesus say that." I don't know where he heard that.

Shirai just smiled disappreciatively.

Because of her family's compulsion, although reluctant, Morino still became a member of the sect, and when she wanted to quit, there was no way.

It wasn't because her life was threatened or because she lacked the means to make ends meet, but that alone would have stopped her determination to leave the Order. However, the sect transferred her parents out of the country and threatened them with their lives to keep Morino working for the organization.

Because, they are optimistic about Morino's talent.

"Komori has a talent for making friends, and she can be friends with anyone she wants, whether they are good or not. But don't be mistaken, she didn't mess around. Shirai smiled wistfully, "It's a friend in the true sense of the word." ”

It was a tragedy.

"Yes, what a tragedy, obviously becoming a real friend...... The result is to pull friends into the abyss and have to peddle drugs to them. So, she was in a lot of pain all the time. She has told me more than once that she will never be friends with anyone else. Shirai said lightly.

"But, isn't it nice to be nice with Sakuya?"

"She said that she only had one friend in Sakiya, and no matter what, she didn't want her to follow in her footsteps, so she was always very troubled."

From his words, I can't tell if he knows what happened to Sakuya Michi, will Morino be the kind of girl who will tell her boyfriend no matter what happens, and use her boyfriend as her spiritual support? After all, Shirai knows her past and her scene, and never seems to complain.

"You know, Sakiya quarreled with her." I say.

"Well, I probably know a little bit about it...... "Bai Jing sighed: "It looks like we'll talk for a long time, do you want to go to my house to eat something together?" I have something I want to show you. ”

So Shirai and I left the park and went on the opposite path from our own home, where we bought takeaway beers and snacks at a barbecue stand near his house.

The street was very lively, and the strong smell of roasting incense and fireworks filled the air, and you could clearly smell it even when you entered the neighborhood where the Shirai family lived.

Shirai said the vendors are usually open until 4 a.m., and if they don't close their windows at night, they will be woken up in the middle of the night by the noise.

I took out a cigarette and handed it to Shirai, and although I didn't know if he smoked or not, men usually wouldn't refuse at this time.

Bai Jing said thank you, and took the cigarette. I lit my own cigarette and lit a fire for him, the bright light of the fire jumping on his face, and the swaying light and shadow seemed to deepen his features.

Probably because of the first time he smoked, he took a hard breath and immediately choked on the cough, as if he was about to burst into tears.

"It's bitter and choking." He said, "I really don't understand why anyone likes it, Takakawa-san......"

"Just call me Takakawa."

"Ah, if only you could call me Shirai." Shirai fanned away the smoke that had settled in front of him with his hand, "I really didn't expect you to smoke too, looking at your appearance, you've been smoking for a long time, right?" ”

I nodded and didn't speak.

"You like to smoke?" Shirai asked curiously.

"It's just not resisting." I replied.

"Because you don't resist, you keep sucking? Why don't you choose to quit? If you don't resist, it doesn't matter if you have cigarettes or not, right? ”

"It doesn't matter much." Although the reasons for not quitting smoking are not complicated, the emotional factors are difficult to explain in words, but it is precisely the emotional needs that are the most important point, and if you can't explain this clearly, you will definitely be misunderstood by the other party.

"If you can accept it, why don't you accept it?" I said so.

"I see." Shirai seemed to be able to understand and nodded, "Takakawa, you are the type that is better than nothing." Even if it's harmful, as long as you can accept it, will you accept it? ”

"Smoking isn't exactly harmful."

"Something completely harmful...... It doesn't seem to exist at all, does it? Shirai had a deeply touched expression on his face, "However, it's not something completely harmful, and once it's characterized as harmful, it will be disgusted by people, and I hate this kind of worldly world." ”

He turned his face to me and said very seriously:

"So, you who don't decide whether to accept or not because of the qualitative nature of things is the type I admire."

I looked at him in amazement, not knowing what to say.

In the silence that ensued, I came to Shirai's home.