"Good morning," a familiar silver-haired girl sat at the edge of her seat, her legs crossed elegantly as she peered at me with an almost pitiful expression. The soft glow of the library's overhead lamps cast a gentle shimmer over her hair, making it look like strands of moonlight woven together. She rested her chin on her palm, studying me with a quiet amusement. "Did you get a good sleep?"

I blinked groggily, my vision still adjusting as I rubbed my eyes. My limbs felt strangely heavy, as if I had been asleep for far too long. Slowly, I straightened up, taking in my surroundings.

The library stretched out around me in an eerie silence. Tall wooden bookshelves loomed over rows of desks, their shelves packed tightly with books of all kinds. Some aged and dust-covered, others pristine and freshly bound. The scent of ink, parchment, and faint traces of coffee lingered in the air. A few students sat scattered across the room, absorbed in their own worlds. Some were hunched over their homework, scribbling furiously into their notebooks, while others were lost in fiction, flipping through the pages with quiet concentration. The occasional rustle of paper and the distant creak of a chair were the only sounds that disturbed the hush.

"I was wondering when I’d meet you again." The girl’s voice brought my attention back to her. I blinked at her outfit, frilly, bright, and completely out of place for a library. A magical girl cosplay, complete with a pastel ribbon, gemstone accessories, and a frilled short skirt that seemed a little too breezy for the quiet, scholarly atmosphere. She followed my gaze and let out a small chuckle, as if she’d already anticipated my reaction. "Ah, I was attending a Comiket just now," she explained casually, twirling a strand of silver hair between her fingers.

"It looks good on you," I muttered, suppressing a yawn as I leaned against the wooden desk, still feeling the remnants of sleep clinging to my thoughts.

She beamed at the compliment, her eyes twinkling. "Thanks, Mikan."

"So… what is it now, Furukawa Shiro?" I asked, my voice carrying a sluggish edge as I rubbed my temples. "Why am I here?"

Furukawa leaned back slightly, her silver hair catching the dim light of the library, giving it an almost ethereal glow. She tapped a slender finger against her cheek, a knowing smile playing at her lips.

"Straight to the point, huh?" she mused, tilting her head slightly. "Not even a 'how have you been' or 'it's nice to see you'?" Her voice had a teasing lilt to it, but beneath it, there was something else, something unreadable.

I sighed, glancing around at the silent figures in the library. Despite the presence of so many people, the atmosphere felt strangely... detached. It was as if they were just background noise, their actions repeating in a dull cycle, turning pages, scribbling notes, staring blankly at their books. No one looked up. No one reacted to our conversation. It was unsettling.

Furukawa, on the other hand, was vivid. Too vivid. Her outfit, her expression, her presence, they stood out like color in a grayscale painting.

I frowned. "Something feels off," I muttered, shifting in my seat. The wooden chair creaked beneath me. "This place... it doesn't feel real."

Shiro let out a small hum of amusement. "Sharp as always, Mikan."

She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, and clasped her hands together. "You're here because I wanted to see you," she said simply, her eyes never leaving mine.

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Something about the way she said it made my skin prickle.

"...And?" I pressed, my fingers unconsciously gripping the edge of the table.

Furukawa's smile widened ever so slightly. "And because you have questions, don't you?"

The flickering library lights cast long shadows behind her, stretching unnaturally across the polished wooden floor. I swallowed, the air suddenly feeling heavier.

Of course, I had questions. Too many of them. But the biggest one was—

"Did you kill me to send me to that world?" I asked quietly, my voice barely above a whisper, as if saying it any louder would shatter the fragile reality around us. The weight of my own words pressed down on my chest, making it harder to breathe. The flickering light overhead buzzed faintly, casting uneven shadows that seemed to dance around Furukawa's unmoving form. Her eyes, sharp and unwavering, held an unsettling glint, as though she had been expecting this question all along.

Furukawa's eyes gleamed. "Does it matter?"

I immediately grabbed her cheek, my fingers trembling slightly as I leaned in, close enough that I could feel the warmth of her breath against my skin. The dim library lights flickered above us, casting shifting shadows across her face. "Please, no more games," I murmured, my voice thick with desperation. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, my grip tightening ever so slightly. "Do I... still exist... on Earth?"

We were so close that I could feel our noses brush against each other, the faint warmth of her breath ghosting over my skin. The dim library lights flickered above us, casting shifting shadows that danced across her face, highlighting the sharp glint in her eyes. Time felt suspended in that moment, the space between us charged with something unspoken, something heavy.

Furukawa sighed, a soft, almost resigned exhale that tickled my skin. I could feel the warmth of her breath lingering in the space between us, a moment of hesitation stretched thin. Then, with a quiet certainty, she leaned forward. The world around us seemed to slow as her lips met mine, the sensation startlingly real amidst the eerie unreality of the library. The scent of old parchment and faint perfume mixed in the air, and for a fleeting moment, all of my questions, my doubts, my fears, vanished.

"Wh-wh-wh-wha?!" I stammered, my face growing hot as I jerked back slightly, my grip on her cheek loosening. The warmth of her breath still lingered on my skin, a ghost of the moment that had just passed. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, and I struggled to steady my thoughts.

Furukawa's smile didn't waver. If anything, it deepened, her gaze flickering with something both knowing and unreadable. She tilted her head slightly, silver strands of hair slipping over her shoulder as she studied my reaction.

"I will tell you," she said softly, her voice carrying an almost teasing lilt, "but not now. You were still in the middle of something, weren't you?"

The weight of her words pressed against me, mingling with the lingering sensation of her lips, the surreal atmosphere of the library folding around us like a dream I couldn't quite grasp. I swallowed, my fingers unconsciously curling against the smooth surface of the table, grounding myself. What did she mean by 'in the middle of something'? And why did it feel like I was forgetting something important?

"Oh, right. Viola," I said, a creeping sense of unease washing over me. My brows furrowed as I tried to grasp at the fading threads of my memory, like trying to hold onto a dream slipping through my fingers. "Wait, why did I almost forget that?" My voice wavered slightly, my mind racing. It felt as though something, or someone had nudged the thought away, pushing it into the recesses of my consciousness.

"How many luminous gems do you think you collected?" Furukawa asked, her voice lilting with curiosity as she suddenly changed the subject.

"42," I answered without hesitation, my tone firm. "I'll never forget how many of those things I have." Even so, I knew there were still plenty I hadn’t managed to collect while battling those NONO creatures atop the shrine.

Furukawa leaned forward, placing her hands firmly on the wooden table. A soft, almost imperceptible shimmer rippled through the air before countless luminous gems suddenly materialized between us. The radiant stones reflected the dim library lights, casting scattered glimmers across the surface. "I gathered all the ones you missed," she said with a playful smile. "Now you have enough for a gacha roll, so... what do you say?"