Because of Tsukasa Kurihara's emphasis, Nishijima focuses on Adachi's state, unconsciously comparing her previous and current states.

Nishijima had seen how Anda had aged before, and although he was old, his spirit was not as dull as he is now.

At this moment, Tsukasa Kurihara is sitting at the bar in front of a small tavern near the ZB building, blowing the cold wind, swallowing a sip of warm wine and quietly waiting for Nishijima's answer.

The stall is located in the alley, just on the side of the street, and a few high stools are placed on the window facing the street, and the protruding window edge is used as a dining table.

There are two busy figures in the tavern, a husband and wife, aged about forty. There are steaming oden and ramen pots, and there is a small barbecue stand and sushi cutting board next to it. On the wall facing the window stood an iron cabinet, with cutlery and wine bottles on both sides.

Because you can see all kinds of things, the stall sake house has an indescribable sense of safety and familiarity, so customers can feel at ease and give their stomachs to the owner, and it also shows the confidence of the chef.

This layout makes the stall tavern very popular, and the couple is honest and honest, and the quantity and taste are above the level, and many diners in the neighborhood will come to eat.

However, since it's winter, an izakaya with a house is better than an open-air one, and the members need to kill time, so the stall zakaya has become a menkozakku sake house.

Now there is a customer in front of the door.

He held his phone to his ear with one hand and tapped gently on the countertop with the other—tapping had become a habit of his thinking.

He listened to Nishijima's sudden realization.

"If it's tired, Andasan is a little out of the ordinary today." Nishijima struggles to recall, "It's easy to get tired, and of course it's possible that it's because of too much work. But in retrospect, it's not that simple, I feel that she is either simply tired, or ······· Getting tired easily? I'm sorry, but I can't quite put together a discourse and can't give any evidence. ”

"Intuition." Tsukasa Kurihara accosted, "Your instincts tell you that things have changed, doesn't it?" ”

"Yes, intuition." If he had to explain something, Nishijima would have to classify it as intuition, because there was no evidence beyond that. She only judged by what she saw Anda.

Tsukasa Kurihara stopped: "For us, intuition is often more important than rational judgment. ”

He paused and suddenly asked, "Senses or reason, which side do you believe in?" ”

"Huh?"

"It's a very simple question, think of it as a random questionnaire about which song you like the most. The kind that you can choose at random without a head. Tsukasa Kurihara said.

Senses and reason, Nishijima never expected that Tsukasa Kurihara would suddenly ask such a question, a question she had never thought about.

"I don't know." Nishijima replied honestly, "But does this question have anything to do with what we're talking about now?" ”

"It relates a lot." Tsukasa Kurihara affirmed, telling her a certain essence of strange talk, "Actually, this kind of thing is idealistic. Descartes knows, right? 'I think, therefore I am'. The only thing I know for sure is that I am doubting, and the 'me' that I am doubting must be in this world. It's the same with weird talk. ”

Tsukasa Kurihara couldn't help but sigh: "The first law of Cartesian philosophy is as beautiful as a mathematical formula. ”

Nishijima was a little dizzy, and Descartes knew that she had heard the name when she was studying mathematics before. But when it comes to philosophy, Nishijima has nothing to do.

But this is the second time that Tsukasa Kurihara has mentioned something about mathematics, in life. It's strange to think about it – weird talk about math. It's weird.

At this moment, at this moment when Nishijima felt strange, Tsukasa Kurihara felt inexplicably palpitating. Following the phone, the picture of Nishijima standing in front of the balcony came to life.

Tsukasa Kurihara felt like he was standing behind her at the moment, looking through the glass as she looked down. Nishijima frowned, his face full of confusion.

"Don't understand?" Tsukasa Kurihara asked.

"Ah, no." Nishijima hurriedly waved his hand, but he shrunk his shoulders and lacked confidence, "I just need a little time to think." ”

"Then why are you so unconfident?"

“······· Well, I don't know very well. Nishijima looked helpless, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and Tsukasa Kurihara, who saw this, suddenly smiled.

The expression on Nishijima's face became even more tangled.

Tsukasa Kurihara didn't say that he could see Nishijima, explaining to her what tiredness meant: "Adachi is tired because she's already on the road to aging. ”

"What?"

Tsukasa Kurihara said succinctly, "After my investigation, tomorrow will be the end of the matter." ”

"The end of the matter····· What do you mean? ”

"Anda, she'll keep looking old." Tsukasa Kurihara replied, "To be precise, I should have become an aging self, and I can't go back." ”

"Can't go back?" Nishijima was dumbfounded, "It means that Andasan will live like this?" ”

"Yes."

"How could it be ·····?"

Nishijima looked back into the room, trying to see Anda sleeping in the room through the various barriers, and saw her ravine-ravine face.

A young girl becomes an old woman.

Something was stuck in his throat, and Nishijima subconsciously shook his head.

"Kurihara-san, can't you do anything about it? Will the things that Andasan have prepared come in handy? Nishijima asked.

"It was just an act of comfort. It's always better to do something than nothing, even if it doesn't work. Tsukasa Kurihara said, "Hang up first." ”

A busy tone came from the phone.

This time, Tsukasa Kurihara called, and in order to determine Adachi's current state, as he expected, things began to develop towards the final climax.

It was just a simple confirmation of the number, but Tsukasa Kurihara somehow chatted with Nishijima a few more words.

But there are also benefits, as Tsukasa Kurihara made sure that he could get to the other side of the phone through the medium of the phone.

Of course, except for the first time, Tsukasa Kurihara couldn't get closer to the person in question step by step like the legend, and he didn't call like he did today to see Nishijima's image.

So my ability is recovering step by step? Tsukasa Kurihara thought to himself.

"Boss, a portion of oden." A girl's voice came from behind Tsukasa Kurihara. This is also the reason why Tsukasa Kurihara chose to hang up the phone.

The girl was a regular visitor to the tavern, as evidenced by the smile on her face as Madame looked at her.

The girl stepped forward and started chatting with the female shopkeeper, talking about tomorrow's Valentine's Day, and teasing the boss and a couple. Tsukasa Kurihara hooked his head and drank next to him.

On the other side, Nishijima, who was hung up, was anxious and wondered what Anda should do.

She didn't feel the situation quietly changing two blocks away from her.

Inside the shrine, the sight of the torii falls on the torii through the obstacle, and the original dark blue torii gate turns pure black, leaving only the cornices of the torii gate with a hint of variegation.

But soon, the last vestiges of variegated color were eroded by the darkness, and the entire torii gate turned into a light-absorbing black silhouette in the night.

Something stretched towards Anda's house.