"When do we leave?"
Standing outside the door with wide eyes and an expectant expression, he didn't know how to respond to that.
As expected, once she eats, she forgets everything...
"Let's leave quickly!"
"...Um, alright. It's been raining since this morning, don't forget to bring an umbrella."
While saying this, Reine winked at Arthas, as if saying 'Leave it to me'.
Shaking his head somewhat helplessly, Arthas watched the two leave.
Several minutes passed like this, just standing there blankly.
Shiori and Kotori weren't at home. It seemed that the girl had been dragged away by Kotori again to undergo some inhumane training.
"Which means I'm the only one at home, huh? Should I... do something?"
Stroking his chin, Arthas pondered. Although he had temporarily promised Kotori, he still really wanted to go to the AST headquarters in Tengu City to take a look.
Although he didn't know exactly where the AST headquarters in Tengu City was, he should be able to find it if he went looking.
Thinking this, Arthas walked out of the house. It was still pouring rain outside. Reaching out his hand to catch the falling raindrops, Arthas's brow furrowed slightly.
The sudden downpour seemed a little strange. If Arthas remembered correctly, the weather forecast was for a sunny day... Could it be?
Arthas suddenly thought that every time Yoshino appeared, it was always accompanied by rain. Could it be that Yoshino had manifested in this world again?
Holding this thought, Arthas gave up his plan to find the AST headquarters and embarked on a journey to find Yoshino.
After carefully sensing for a while, Arthas captured that faint reaction. It was indeed Yoshino.
Although he didn't know why the girl's appearance hadn't caused any ripples in the world, Arthas still planned to find her first.
Before long, on the commercial street, he discovered a familiar back view, and Arthas stopped.
It was a green coat with rabbit-like ears. Without a doubt, this attire was Yoshino.
"The spacequake alarm... doesn't seem to be ringing. Is this another peaceful manifestation like the time with Tohka?" Talking to himself, Arthas walked towards the girl's direction.
Come to think of it, the alarm hadn't rung when he had first encountered 'Yoshino' either.
The time with Tohka could be said to be a coincidence, but if it happened again and again, it couldn't be explained with just a coincidence.
Perhaps there was some ingenious mystery hidden within.
If he could figure it out, perhaps he could solve the problem of spacequakes from the root?
But no matter what, he definitely couldn't let Yoshino run around randomly by herself. It would be troublesome if she encountered the AST members.
Thinking this in his heart, Arthas walked towards that small figure.
Perhaps she had sensed someone approaching.
Yoshino's shoulders twitched almost imperceptibly, and then, like a startled rabbit, she hugged herself and took several steps back, looking at Arthas like this.
"Yoshino, don't be afraid, it's me." Looking at the girl who was clearly frightened, Arthas tried to make the expression on his face more gentle.
"Ugh... Waa waa waa, big brother."
But what Arthas didn't expect was that after he finished speaking, the petite girl, as if she had suffered some great grievance, directly threw herself into his arms and cried.
"Wh... What's wrong?" Holding Yoshino's body with some confusion, Arthas asked this strangely.
"Wait a moment, calm down. Yoshino, tell me slowly, what exactly is wrong?"
Holding the sobbing girl, Arthas asked while gently stroking the girl's small head and comforting her.
And the surrounding rain also seemed to be falling even harder because of Yoshino's crying, almost to the point of being torrential.
"Because... Yoshinon... Yoshinon was lost by me!" Hugging Arthas, Yoshino said, crying and sniffling.
Yoshinon? Arthas was stunned for a moment before he realized that the girl was talking about the rabbit doll in her hand.
Arthas then noticed that the rabbit doll that had been worn on the girl's hand was gone.
"So you're looking for the doll now?"
"Mm..." Yoshino barely stopped sobbing, responding softly.
"Is that so..." Arthas scratched his head. Yesterday, Tohka had taken the doll away, causing Yoshinon's Astral Dress to go berserk.
He didn't know where the doll had gone after that.
Looking at Yoshino's longing eyes, Arthas couldn't help but feel a sense of pressure, but after a long while, he still opened his mouth with a wry smile.
"S-Sorry. I don't know where it is either..."
After Arthas finished speaking, Yoshino showed an expression as if the end of the world had been declared, and squatted down there in disappointment.
And so, she lowered her head and began to sob again... and cry.
"Don't cry, Yoshino. If the doll is gone, then let's look for it together."
Gently stroking the girl's head, Arthas said, taking the hand of Yoshino, who was squatting on the ground and crying.
Hearing Arthas's words, Yoshino slightly raised her head, her face slowly brightening, and nodded forcefully.
"Yoshinon, do you remember where you last saw the doll?"
After Arthas finished asking, Yoshino's gaze wandered around, seeming to be recalling something, and then opened her pale red lips.
"Yesterday..."
And so, Yoshino tightly gripped her hood, covering her face, speaking intermittently as if she was afraid and wanted to hide her eyes.
"Tohka took the doll away, and then I was attacked by a very scary person, and then I went back to the other world."
"About Tohka, she probably doesn't know where your doll is either, because I went home with her, and I didn't see the doll."
"I-Is that so?"
Yoshino said weakly, her eyes welling up with tears again.
"Don't cry. Don't cry. If the doll isn't with Tohka, then it must still be in that place from yesterday. Let's go back and look for it."
Arthas said this, and Yoshino barely stopped crying.
Soon, the two of them rushed to the place where the conflict had occurred yesterday.
The area near the street was cordoned off, and the ruins hadn't had time to be repaired.
The two of them searched together, but unfortunately, they didn't see Yoshino's doll.
It's not here... Then where exactly did that doll fall?
Yoshino was becoming increasingly anxious, and Arthas lowered his head to think.
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