Ai Hayasaka opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Her usually sharp, quick tongue seemed to vanish in an instant. Like a fish flung onto the shore, she could only part her lips, emitting a few meaningless sounds.
For her, lying should have been as natural as breathing. Facing someone like Shinozaki Kumo, she could easily recite the rehearsed lines and deliver just the right explanation.
But this time… it was Shinozaki Kaguya.
Her mistress' gaze no longer carried its usual warmth. It had become cold, distant, and utterly foreign.
And it was perfectly natural. After all, she was a traitor.
As mentioned before, Ai Hayasaka was Kaguya Shinozaki's personal maid. But beyond that, she had another role—she was a spy for the main Shinozaki family.
The main Shinozaki family referred to the household led by the head and his firstborn, Shinozaki Kōkō.
The Hayasaka family had once been prominent, but in a disastrous competition with the Shinozakis, they were utterly defeated. Their wealth was absorbed, and even their exceptional bloodline was absorbed into the Shinozaki clan, reducing them to vassals.
This happened when Ai was still very young.
And the vassalage was not to the relatively powerless Kaguya branch, but to the strongest faction, led by the firstborn, Shinozaki Kōkō.
Kōkō had assigned young Ai a task: become the youngest Kaguya Shinozaki's maid, win her trust, and report her every move. In short, Ai was a spy sent by Kōkō to infiltrate Kaguya's inner circle.
Being a spy required an unbreakable mind and unyielding will. The most important rule was simple: never let personal feelings interfere with duty.
Ai Hayasaka, however, had clearly broken that rule.
No matter how competent she was, she was still just a teenage girl.
Spending day after day alongside the person she was supposed to monitor, Ai had genuinely grown to care for Kaguya.
To Ai, Kaguya was emotionally no different from a younger sister.
Yet as an older sister figure, Ai could not protect her "sister." She was forced to play the role of a traitor, or else the entire Hayasaka lineage would suffer.
On one side was Kaguya, close as a sister; on the other, her true family. Ai's heart was being torn between the two, nearly to the point of shattering.
That was why, seeing Kaguya discover the truth, Ai felt both despair and a strange sense of relief.
Was this torment finally over?
Without speaking, Ai bowed deeply to Kaguya. Then, as if she could not bear to look at her mistress any longer, she spun around and fled, moving with astonishing speed.
The meaning was clear.
At the very moment of her bow, a small spark in Kaguya's eyes suddenly extinguished. Hollow-eyed, she looked like a delicate porcelain doll.
By now, there was no need to subdue the captured subordinate any further. Hara Kei gently stood, brushing a hand over his own.
A crystal-clear droplet traced a path along his hand.
The sky remained bright and sunny, just as Hara Kei had expected that morning.
The source of the droplet was obvious.
Touching it lightly, he could feel the faint residual warmth of a certain maid.
As someone aware of the relationships involved, Hara Kei already had a rough understanding of what had just transpired.
And yet… he had only been invited out for lunch. How had things escalated into this?
…
Ai Hayasaka hugged her knees, staring blankly at the distant patch of pristine white.
It was the highest peak of Sakurajima, visible from nearly anywhere on the island as long as the view was unobstructed.
Under the bright sunlight, its snowy cap gleamed brilliantly, piercing her eyes.
Even so, she couldn't look away. She greedily drank in the beauty, hoping it might soothe the wounds in her heart.
But it was useless.
Beauty, in itself, carried no meaning.
Flowers bloom only to wither, snow piles only to melt, insects chirp only to die after reproducing.
Humans project their own emotions onto them, thinking the scenery is comforting—but that is not inherent to the objects themselves.
Ai didn't even know where she was anymore.
After fleeing, she remembered only rushing into a train station. When she came to, she realized she had unknowingly traveled beyond Tokyo.
Disembarking at a completely unfamiliar station, she wandered aimlessly, like a sleepwalker.
Eventually, she ended up in a small valley.
The place seemed to serve as a dumping ground—discarded furniture, wrecked vehicles, and broken electronics lay scattered everywhere.
And Ai felt much like these abandoned things.
With a strange sense of empathy, she climbed to the top of a mound of debris and sat lightly on the hood of a rusted car, staring blankly at Mount Fuji on the horizon.
She had hurt her mistress and implicated her family. The version of herself desired by both, yet attainable by neither.
Her life felt like a total failure.
Engulfed in negative emotions, unable to free herself, a familiar male voice suddenly called from behind:
"I didn't expect you to actually be here, Hayasaka-san."
The voice was unmistakable—this morning, they had spoken happily.
"There aren't any good restaurants here. You, the local expert, really aren't doing your job."
She turned, and there he was: Hara Kei, tall and composed, stepping across the debris with ease.
"How did you find me…?" Ai's voice carried disbelief.
Hara Kei shrugged, treading carefully over the broken remnants.
"The most recent train departing from the nearest station—anyone with a phone can trace it. As for where you'd get off… for someone wanting to escape, the last stop is statistically the most likely option," he explained.
"Even so, you ended up in 'my territory.' That did surprise me."
"My territory?" Ai echoed, incredulous.
"Yes." Hara Kei easily climbed to the highest vantage point, turning to her. "Welcome to the Department Store at the End of the World."
"This is the name I've given this territory."
..
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