To Unfold A Mystery (Hiyori x Kiyotaka Fanfic)

Chapter 10: Saints and Hypocrisy (2)

Hiyori POV

"..."

"..."

"...come on now," Haruka-san frowned. "It's gonna get awkward if you're just going to stay silent. Don't waste my once-in-a-lifetime, formal introduction, okay?"

...I...

...

...what should I say?

"Haruka-san..." I attempted to grapple with the words to utter from my misting mind.

"What you just said..."

Haruka-san tilted her head.

"Is that really a shock?"

I nodded in response.

Haruka-san sighed, before looking away, her eyes drifting towards somewhere I don't understand.

"It was a week ago," Haruka-san said. "I received the novel by the mailbox in the morning, on Tuesday or Wednesday, perhaps."

...received?

"Wait," I stopped her from speaking in the midst of panic. "Please allow me to speak for a moment, Haruka-san."

Haruka-san looked back towards me, raising a brow in question to my interruption.

I know I was rude...interrupting someone when she's in the mood for an explanation, but I need to confirm something first.

"Who was the sender?" I asked.

Haruka-san shrugged. "Not named. The book just sit alone inside my mailbox."

My shoulder slouched in response. It was as expected, but I thought for a moment that I would discover another key piece to resolve the mystery behind this novel...

And then, I continued on to my own method of discovering the novel.

"I also had one of the volume of this novel, but instead of being sent, I discover it in a bookshelf of the library."

Haruka-san gasped.

"What?!" Haruka-san shouted, her mouth gaped open. "So you knew the novel right from the start?"

I nodded. She must have thought I did not know its existence before I received its volume 2 from the mailbox.

"And...you somehow just randomly find one in the library?"

I nodded again.

Haruka-san sighed, before scratching up her head, as if it would scrape down her buzzing confusion.

Her shock was not misunderstood, as I had the same question as hers as well:

Why is it that her novel was sent, when I was able to discover the same series from the library?

The method of our first exposure to the novel was simply different, a difference that was not clarified. Does it mean that it was the same sender who place the novel in a random bookshelf, while also sending the novel over to Haruka-san? If so, was it just a mistake by him for the placement? Or was it some conspiracies we do not know of...

Either way, what purpose is it for the sender to send this novel? And what purpose is it to place the novel at a random, library shelf?

I shook my head, sparing myself over these thoughts of train.

"So..." Haruka-san exhaled. "This...turns into quite a mess."

"Indeed," I sighed, my confusion echoed with hers. "I can agree with that statement."