Chapter 3 : The Sender’s Identity

IT WAS FRIDAY after school, one day after the special exam was announced.

Following our previous class discussion during lunch yesterday, there hadn't been any meetings with the class as a whole, so no action pertaining to the exam was taken.

Bearing the responsibility for leading the class, I hoped that Horikita had made progress in her strategies and ideas overnight. I didn't know the details, but she hadn't attempted to get in touch.

There was still a week left, so there was no need to rush. I'd like her to think it through.

"Ayanokōji-kun… umm, do you have a moment?"

Mii-chan called out to me as I was getting ready to leave the classroom alone.

Kei had already made plans to hang out with friends until late this weekend, so she was already gone.

Therefore, I was completely free at the moment and could afford to spare the time.

"What's wrong?"

"I'd like to talk somewhere else if possible... not in this classroom."

Although no students around us seemed to be bothered, Mii-chan didn't seem comfortable here.

From her demeanor, it seemed like it was about something serious.

"I see. How about on our way back to the dorms?"

"Of course!"

With no other reason to stay in the classroom, I grabbed my bag and we headed out.

There was no need to find somewhere empty.

The corridor and entrance were bustling with students after school, filled with noise.

"So, what's up?"

Upon my prodding, Mii-chan glanced around as if to ensure it was safe, then started speaking.

"Do you remember when I was absent from school for a while? It's... embarrassing to say, but it was about Hirata-kun... Well..."

That was from late September, after Kushida revealed in the unanimous voting exam that Mii-chan had a crush on Hirata.

"Did something happen in relation to that?"

"I heard that someone was delivering food while I couldn't go out... "

"I remember. Someone was generously sending you meals, right?"

I recalled when I was asked if I was the one delivering food to Mii-chan.

"I've mentioned it to you before, Ayanokōji-kun, and I wanted to ask for your help..."

"I see..."

A considerable amount of time had passed, but if she was bringing it up now, it meant—

"Did you find out who it was?"

"Uh, I haven't yet, but I think we can find out if we try..."

"We can find out if we try?"

Repeating her words, Mii-chan nodded and started to speak slowly.

Even after mustering the courage to return to school, it seemed that Mii-chan was still concerned about the person who supported her. I thought she had given up on that, but she seemed persistent and wished to express her gratitude.

There were two clues. The first was a note in a bag of groceries, containing only the room number; this hinted that it was a gift for Mii-chan.

If the handwriting was distinctive, it could be a crucial clue. Unfortunately, this was a curveball.

Mii-chan had brought the paper here for me to see, however, it was intentionally written in a way that made it impossible to identify the writer.

"The person who gave you these gifts is quite cunning."

"Indeed."

There was only one remaining method to pursue the piece of evidence.

It was true that all the food was purchased from the convenience store.

Mii-chan had noted every single item she had received.

This meant we could describe these items to the store clerk and find out if any students had purchased the same things.

Asking the convenience store staff was a classic move when trying to find the gift-giver. But as time went by, their memory would inevitably fade, which meant we should move quickly.

I had assumed that Mii-chan wouldn't know about this, but I was surprised upon hearing her answer.

"I tried talking to the store clerk at the convenience store about it as soon as I returned to school."

The response I got back wasn't good.

The clerk Mii-chan asked had just been assigned to the convenience store and wasn't working at the time the gifter made their purchases. The manager who would have been working during that time had been transferred to another store.

A detective would probably look at the surveillance footage, but of course, I couldn't do that.

"I tried asking the girls on my floor as well, but they had no idea. That's when I decided to give up for a while."

When there weren't any clues, there was nothing an ordinary student could do.

"I guess you would've had no choice then."

"Yeah..."

So time passed with the details still unknown.

However, some unexpected information came to Mii-chan, who was facing a dead end.

When she visited a convenience store to shop the other day, a clerk called out to her.

The transferred shift leader and the current clerk working at the school happened to meet, and the clerk remembered what Mii-chan had been concerned about and explained it to him. He hadn't expected it, but because the event happened just before the transfer, he remembered a student who might be relevant.

Consequently, the clerk apparently tried to tell Mii-chan the name of the student that the manager had told them.

However—

"I got caught off guard, or rather, I was shaken by the unexpected news, and I said I'd come back later to hear the details, and ran away."

"You ran away?"

"I... ran away..."

Only Mii-chan would know why she ran away in that situation.

"By the way, when did you hear of this?"

"Um... that..."

Her obvious difficulty in answering indicated that it wasn't very recent.

"...Today is the sixth day."

"You've been running away for quite a while."

"I've... been running..."

She turned red with embarrassment, or rather, shame at her pathetic self.

"I think I should go soon, but... I get nervous... If I don't know who it is, I can just ignore it, but once I know, I can no longer feign ignorance. Most importantly, the person who gave the gifts hasn't come forward, so there's a chance they don't want it to be known, right?"

She must have always wanted to thank the gifter, even if she didn't know who they were.

But since she didn't know their identity, she was convinced that there was nothing she could do about it.

The more time passed, the more she must have thought that way.

"Well, that's true."

They supported Mii-chan from the shadows without revealing their identity.

It wouldn't be surprising if they had reasons to remain unknown.

"What reasons could there be?"

"There could be many reasons."

It would be impossible to narrow down the reasons with the current information at hand.

"Though, I'm sure they're a classmate... I don't have that many friends, but I don't think they'd hide it from me. I can't figure out why..."

Mii-chan seemed to be pondering who among her friends it could be.

Of course, one could hardly expect a stranger to send a gift.

"That's just one of the possibilities— No, never mind."

"What is it? Please tell me."

I hesitated, considering that it might be too much for her, but Mii-chan was eager to know.

"Please tell me."

She asked again, so I decided to continue.

"Sorry to challenge your assumptions, but it doesn't necessarily have to be a classmate. While it wasn't known why you were absent, it wasn't difficult to find out about your absence."

"But I hardly have any contact with people from other classes..."

"That doesn't matter much. A close relationship isn't a prerequisite. And it doesn't have to be a girl."

"Eh, what?"

She looked flabbergasted; she had even less interaction with boys.

"To be blatant, there might be, for example, a boy who secretly likes you, right? It could be a situation where he was worried when his crush was absent and sent a gift."

"Eeh!? What!?"

She nearly fell over in surprise. She tried to remain discreet, but she was drawing attention.

Realizing this, she quickly slowed her breathing but was noticeably flustered.

"It's just one possibility, no need to get flustered."

It might not necessarily be the case. I was just illustrating a possible, yet unexpected reason.

"W-w-w-w-w-well yes, you're right!?"

But she was far from calm.

I guess it was an unnecessary assumption to make.

"Let's get back on track. It would be better to hear your decision, don't you think?"

Even though I mostly had a grasp of her reasoning, I thought it would be better to hear it from Mii-chan herself.

"I'm not sure what to do at this point. Should I find out who it is? Should I thank them?"

"It would be best to make a decision now."

Mii-chan nodded slightly, without much confidence.

"What would you do in this situation, Ayanokōji-kun?"

"What would I do, huh…?"

Though I pondered a bit, I might as well answer honestly.

"I'm not sure if it'll help, but if it were me, I'd want to know who they are. And then, I would decide whether to approach them or not."

"So you're saying there's a possibility you might not thank them even if you knew who they were?"

"That's if it were me. As in the previous example, if the person had no connection to me, I'd hesitate. And there are cases when it's better not to let them know you've been looking into it, right?"

"I guess that makes sense."

They had secretly helped the one they loved.

If she came to say thank you after learning their identity at the store, it would be shocking.

This was the case even without involving romance.

"When the other party wants to maintain their secrecy, it's even more troublesome."

"...Yes."

"Furthermore, whether you can keep quiet even after knowing the person's identity is another matter. From what I've seen, I don't think this approach is right for you, Mii-chan."

"That… Yes…"

If she knew the answer, she'd probably fail to hide her emotions.

"It's not a bad thing to give up."

"Even so…"

However, Mii-chan feels guilty for not being able to thank the person who had helped her.

She was once again reminded of the feelings she had been trying to suppress.

Even if she chose not to learn their identity, her feelings would take a long time to fade.

"Once you open the Pandora Box, you can't close it anymore."

Considering Mii-chan's emotional instability, it was no surprise that she decided to run away.

Furthermore, deciding not to learn of their identity has its own positive aspect.

Knowing the identity of Daddy-Long-Legs[6] will change the perception of the person, regardless of who they are.

[6 : This expression typically means mysterious benefactor or guardian]

"I…"

The troubled Mii-chan took her time to come up with an answer.

"I… I want to know…"

"Even though it might lead to regret?"

"...Yes."

Having decided, there was no room for me to say otherwise.

"Then you should go to the convenience store."

Despite my response, Mii-chan still seemed hesitant, looking my way.

"..."

"..."

The air was filled with a strange tension, but it was clear what Mii-chan was trying to convey.

"Shall we go to the convenience store together?"

"C-Can we?"

Despite having prepared to learn the truth, she seemed unable to go alone.

"I can accompany you. If it gives you a bit of courage, I believe it's worth it."

"Th…Thank you, Ayanokōji-kun!"

With the strongest nod of the day, Mii-chan and I walked to the convenience store.