~~ • ~~

Misaki froze.

She went completely still.

Rooted to the spot.

Her smile vanished.

Her eyes darted left and right, searching for the little figures that had just been right next to us.

But they weren’t there.

Not a single one of them.

My heart began to pound.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

It beat so hard the sound filled my ears.

And because of that, my mind flooded with possibilities.

Too many possibilities.

And all of them bad.

Without saying a word—

I broke into a run.

"Eh— Itsuki!"

Misaki’s voice called out from behind.

But I was already moving.

This festival was built around a four-way intersection.

The main stage was right in the middle.

One road was blocked off for staff and event operations.

That meant there were only three main paths crowded with visitors, games, and rows of stalls.

Three possibilities.

Three directions.

And three missing little girls.

Should I check the outer edges first?

Or the inner section near the stage?

If they got lost, chances are they just kept walking forward.

But if something happened—

I gritted my teeth.

No.

Don’t think about that.

I kept running.

My eyes swept both sides of the street.

Every narrow alley between the buildings.

Every gap.

Every shadow.

Every group of people.

The festival sounds that had seemed so lively just moments ago now felt like a grating noise.

Music.

Laughter.

Vendors calling out.

Everything blended into one chaotic mess.

I forced myself to focus.

I had three clues.

Three voices.

Yuna’s voice.

Mika’s voice.

And Hana’s voice.

If I could just hear one of them—

"YUNA!!"

I yelled.

A few people turned their heads.

Others gave me strange looks.

I didn’t care.

I kept running.

"YUNA!!"

No answer.

I quickened my pace.

The outer edge of the festival finally came into view.

The end of the street.

Rows of lanterns.

The parking lot.

And the main road just beyond it.

Nothing.

They weren’t here.

I immediately spun around.

My breathing was growing heavy.

My heartbeat pounded even louder.

I ran in the opposite direction.

Toward the center of the festival.

Toward the stage.

If they were wandering aimlessly, they would most likely be drawn there.

The crowd was getting thicker.

I had to weave through the masses.

Occasionally bumping into someone’s shoulder.

Occasionally excusing myself to push past.

But I kept moving.

Fast.

Faster.

Halfway there, I threw a glance at the spot where I had last seen Misaki.

Empty.

She was gone too.

Probably searching down a different path.

The stage finally came into view.

Spotlights.

Large screens.

A sea of people.

The tight, uneasy feeling in my chest worsened.

"YUNA!!"

I shouted once more.

Louder this time.

Then—

"Papa!"

I froze.

I stopped in my tracks.

It was Yuna’s voice.

Clear.

Crystal clear.

But from where?

I immediately looked left.

Nothing.

Looked right.

Nothing.

Behind me.

Still nothing.

I forced myself to stand still.

Listen.

My eyes and ears were my only clues.

The bustling festival suddenly felt like an ocean of chaotic noise.

Music.

Conversations.

Laughter.

Footsteps.

All bleeding together.

Then—

"Itsuki! Over here!"

Another voice cut through.

Misaki.

I immediately whipped my head toward the sound.

In the distance.

Through the crowd.

Someone was waving their hand.

High in the air.

Over and over again.

I headed straight toward her.

My frantic sprint gradually slowed.

Getting closer.

Getting clearer.

First, I saw Misaki.

Then Mika.

Then Hana.

And finally—

Yuna.

Still wearing her black-and-white yukata.

Still holding the teddy bear I had won for her.

Still standing there with the exact same expression as a few minutes ago.

The tightness that had gripped my chest finally loosened.

I let out a long exhale.

Without even realizing it.

Turns out they were completely fine...

That was the first thought that crossed my mind.

I kept walking closer.

And only then did I realize—

they weren’t alone.

Bardy Louis was standing right there.

Beside him was a girl I had never seen before.

She had long hair.

A brilliant golden blonde that shimmered under the light of the festival lanterns.

The school uniform she was wearing was clearly not a Japanese one.

The cut was entirely different.

The crest was unfamiliar too.

She stood calmly beside Bardy.

Observing.

As if piecing something together in her mind.

And for some reason—

that girl’s gaze had been locked on me this entire time.

_

"Itsuki!"

Bardy called out to me from a distance.

I raised a hand to let him know I heard him.

Then, I walked over, coming to a stop in front of them.

"Papa?"

Yuna looked a little surprised, noticing my heavy breathing as I approached.

I looked straight at her.

"Yuna."

"Yeah?"

"Next time, don’t just wander off without saying anything."

Yuna blinked.

"Or else?"

I stared at her for a few seconds.

"Or else I’m sticking a GPS tracker on you."

"Huh?"

Yuna’s face instantly twisted in confusion.

Beside her, Misaki held back a laugh.

"That’s going a little overboard," she said.

"No, it isn’t."

"That’s going a little overboard," Yuna parroted, though I doubted a kid her age even knew what a GPS was.

"No, it isn’t."

"Papa’s weird."

"Mm."

Yuna let out a long sigh.

"I’ll tell you next time."

"Good."

Bardy, who had been quietly watching our exchange, finally spoke up.

"Itsuki, are you alright?"

"Yeah."

I nodded.

"I’m fine."

Even though sweat was still clinging to my neck and temples.

And my heartbeat had only just settled down a few moments ago.

But at least everything was fine.

No one was lost.

No one was hurt.

That was enough.

Bardy gave a small smile.

"So this is your daughter."

He turned to Yuna.

"Hello, Yuna."

"Hello."

Yuna replied with a polite little bow.

Misaki, Mika, and Hana, however, still looked a bit lost.

They obviously had no idea who this man was.

Seeing this, I decided to clear things up.

"Let me introduce you."

I gestured toward the blonde man.

"This is Bardy-san."

"My boss."

"The one who gave me my job."

"Oh..."

Misaki’s face lit up with understanding.

She offered a polite bow.

"Good evening."

Mika and Hana hurriedly followed suit.

"Good evening."

Bardy let out a soft chuckle.

"No need to be so formal."

I turned my attention back to Yuna.

"So?"

"Why did you wander off?"

"Um..."

Yuna scratched her cheek.

Then, she pointed a finger at Mika.

"Mika asked me to follow her."

"Hey!"

Mika protested immediately.

"Okay, it was me!"

"And why did you do that?" I asked.

"Because we saw someone with really pretty hair."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh."

"Well, just tell me next time."

"Okay..."

Yuna replied softly.

Only then did I really look at the girl standing beside Bardy.

Long, golden blonde hair.

Pale skin, like porcelain.

And a foreign school uniform I had never seen before.

She had been completely silent this whole time.

Her eyes would occasionally glance at me.

Then dart over to Misaki.

Before returning to me again.

She looked a little nervous.

Bardy smiled.

"Itsuki."

"Allow me to introduce her."

He placed a gentle hand on the girl’s shoulder.

"This is my daughter, Yuria."

The girl looked a little startled at being nudged forward.

Still, she took a small step ahead.

Her shoulders were visibly tense.

Her hands were clasped tightly together.

Then, she spoke.

Her Japanese was fairly good.

But there was a distinct, undeniable foreign accent.

"H-Hello..."

She offered a small bow.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you."

Her eyes flicked toward Misaki for a second.

Then back to me.

As if she were trying to gather her courage.

I gave a faint smile.

"Alright."

"Let me introduce us, then."

"I’m Itsuki."

I pointed at myself.

"Your father’s colleague."

Then, I gestured to Misaki.

"This is Misaki."

"My friend."

Misaki looked slightly surprised to hear that, but she didn’t say a word.

I continued.

"This is Yuna, my daughter."

Yuna raised a small hand.

"Hello."

"This is Mika."

"Hi!"

"And this is Hana."

Hana gave a polite bow.

"It’s nice to meet you."

For some reason, after hearing those introductions, the blonde girl’s expression softened.

Her stiff shoulders visibly relaxed.

As if something I said had brought her relief.

Then, she took another step closer.

And extended her hand.

Offering a handshake.

I looked at her hand for a moment.

Then, I accepted it.

Her hand was cold, yet soft.

A moment later—

the sound of loudspeakers from the direction of the stage echoed across the entire festival grounds.

"Check... check... one, two, three..."

The sound of the microphone test boomed through the speakers.

The crowd immediately began to turn toward the stage.

The spotlights flared to life.

Then, the energetic voice of the MC rang out.

"Welcome to this year’s Summer Festival!"

Cheers erupted from all directions.

"It is now eight o’clock!"

"And it’s time for our main event to begin!"

~~ • ~~