Service Club? Just like you guys, you want to step into the whirlpool of the band?

"True nature revealed? Are you ready to pry into other people's private lives so soon?"

Yukinoshita Yukino was a little surprised, and couldn't figure out what went wrong that made Ichinose Asaba think of this.

"No... Never mind. You don't have to tell me. I'm just curious about something, so I'm asking."

Ichinose Asaba looked deeply at Yukinoshita Yukino, as if wondering what she was thinking.

Because the more indifferent Yukinoshita Yukino acted and the more she changed the subject, the more certain he would be that it was her who had followed him on Saturday.

After all, he knew what Yukinoshita Inorin 7's father's death (Part 7) was like, and it would be easy to find out using psychological methods here.

"Adolescent boys always have wild thoughts in their minds. It's okay, I can understand. After all, I'm pretty cute."

Just like now.

However, just when he thought he was about to win, things suddenly took a turn.

Yukinoshita Yukino smiled at first, then put on a curious expression and said, "But I can answer this question... I did come out on Saturday morning. Did Ichinose-san see me by chance?"

Yukinoshita Yukino finally told part of the truth, but did not directly admit that she had seen Ichinose Asaba. After all, her story was a mixture of truth and lies, which allowed her to confuse Ichinose Asaba's vision and mislead his inference.

The reason is that stalking is not a very glorious thing, and she was afraid that if she told Asaba Ichinose, she would become defensive and this would cause some trouble to the implementation of her subsequent action plans.

So after comprehensive consideration, she chose to play dumb. After all, she knew that Ichinose Asaba was just suspicious and had no substantial evidence.

"I don't know either"

As expected, upon hearing her confusing remarks, Ichinose Asaba was stunned. This was different from what he had expected. Yukinoshita Yukino actually admitted it? But she didn't completely admit it... This was something he had never expected.

It was just a matter of time. If Yukinoshita Yukino had acted a little more indifferent, he would have been able to confirm that it was her.

But... now... could it be that Yukinoshita Yukino guessed what he was thinking and did this on purpose?

Asaba Ichinose nodded silently in his heart, thinking that it was very likely. After all, Yukinoshita Yukino's mind was very deep, at least psychologically, she was better than any peer he had ever met.

"What kind of answer is that?"

So, the two of them just looked at each other...no one said anything.

As the saying goes, when masters fight, it is often enough to just judge the expression on the enemy's face.

But in the end, Ichinose Asaba still couldn't read anything from Yukinoshita Yukino's expression, but this didn't mean that he had dispelled his suspicions about her.

However, just when he was about to conduct the second round of tests, he suddenly caught sight of a particularly familiar object in his field of vision, which attracted all his attention for a moment, and he unconsciously stopped and looked across the street.

It was a black car, a Toyota.

And the front windshield, which is the ornament inside the car, is a big red amulet, very similar to the one he made by hand before... Later, for some reason, it was given to Nagasaki Miyoko... and Nagasaki Motoyo.

The above two coincidences are the real reasons why he stopped.

"Huh? Why don't you leave?"

Yukinoshita Yukino stopped halfway and looked at January Yi who was standing still with some confusion.

Seeing that Asaba Ichinose ignored her, out of curiosity, she followed Asaba Ichinose's gaze and found that his eyes were focused on a black car a few dozen meters away.

But what's so special about this car?

She looked at it carefully for a long time but couldn't see any clues.

"It's okay... Let's go."

At this time, Ichinose Asaba had caught up, walked up to her and said lightly.

It was a pity that the distance was too far for him to see the license plate clearly. In addition, the car was on the opposite street, and the traffic light in front had turned green. It was not enough for him to run over to take a closer look. If he took out his mobile phone to take a picture... it would seem a bit deliberate, and if the owner of the car found out, he would have to explain himself.

Besides, what if he had seen it wrong? So after considering all factors, Ichinose Asaba decided not to do so.

""

Yukinoshita Yukino looked at him in confusion, feeling a little bewildered.

And so, the two of them walked together towards the next block. During this time, Ichinose Asaba's expression was a little solemn, and he didn't say another word.

The more Yukinoshita Yukino looked at Ichinose Asaba's condition, the more she felt something was strange. Could it be that he recognized the black car?

She couldn't help but think so, and carefully recalled the model of the car, it was a Toyota. As for the license plate number... because the distance was too far, she didn't see it anyway.

"I have arrived"

However, just as Yukinoshita Yukino was still recalling these things, suddenly a word from Asaba Ichinose brought her back to reality.

She stopped and looked, and found that Ichinose Asaba was already standing in front of her on the right. If she remembered correctly, there should be a small old residential building if she walked in from this direction.

Is this the place Ichinose Asaba lives in? It's certainly close to her apartment, only a ten-minute walk away.

"Well, I still have to go a little further."

Having received unexpected information, Yukinoshita Yukino was a little happy, but she did not show it. She just pointed forward lightly.

"Then see you tomorrow."

However, Asaba Ichinose, who was already preoccupied, had no energy to observe her, so he just turned around, waved his hand and left.

"See you tomorrow."

After watching Ichinose Asaba leave, Yukinoshita Yukino also turned around and left.

After returning home, the first thing Ichinose Asaba did was to take off his clothes and take a shower. In the bathroom, he kept thinking about the car he had seen next to the hotel.

Could it be Nagasaki Miyoko's car, or is it just the same model?

Although the latter is more likely, he still feels that the car is familiar. It is an intuition that cannot be ignored.

But after excluding these, the rest is deeply unreasonable, because Nagasaki Miyoko's workplace is in Roppongi, and it is impossible for her to come to a place like Chiba. After all, there is no intersection between the two. If Nagasaki Miyoko discovered his whereabouts and came to Chiba

To be honest, he would rather believe that Nagasaki Miyoko came here for work reasons than the latter, because when he transferred to Chiba, apart from a few people from RiNG, of course, excluding Shiina Riki, the only ones left were the people from PoppinParty.

So... is Nagasaki Miyoko related to these people?

The answer is obvious.

"Headache... Could it be that I'm overthinking it?"

After thinking for a long time, he couldn't come up with anything. Ichinose Asaba had no choice but to put this matter aside for the time being.

Because he now has something more troublesome to do, which is... it's time to "practice the piano".

There was not much time left for him to warm up in a week, so he had to play all the songs he knew and find a relatively simple one among them, which is the so-called trial and error.

If he feels a little uncomfortable during the song, he will change to the next one so as not to waste time.

"let's start"

Thinking of this, Ichinose Asaba wiped the water off her body, changed into pajamas, went straight to the bed and took out the guitar from the case under the bed.

The next day.

After school at Sobu High School, everyone went to the coffee shop they had visited last night as planned, and then waited there for news from Daishi Kawasaki, saying that he had found out the locations of the 711-Eleven and Lawson where Saki Kawasaki often worked.

The distance between the two stores is not too far. They are basically near the commercial street and can be reached in two steps. It seems that Saki Kawasaki also carefully investigated the surrounding area before working and did not go to places too far away.

The most important thing is that there are several bars operating near the commercial street, so everyone is wondering if Saki Kawasaki works there. If so, then they are really lucky!

So, the group took a bus and arrived near the commercial street.

The first stop was the Lawson that Kawasaki Daishi mentioned.

But the result was disappointing because

"I'm really sorry, Kawasaki resigned the week before last, so if you're looking for her, I don't know where she is now."

"I see. Thank you for your understanding. We won't bother you any further."

"it's okay no problem."

This is the ending. Ichinose Asaba first used Hikigaya Hachiman's student ID to prove their student status, and then asked the owner of the store about the whereabouts of Kawasaki Saki, but the other party didn't know either.

There was no other way, so he had to take the three people out first to avoid disturbing the boss's business.

"What should we do? The only thing left is the convenience store up ahead. Do you think the clerk on duty there would know which bar Kawasaki-san went to after resigning?"

During this time, Yuigahama Yui complained quietly.

"I'm not sure, but I have no choice but to go check it out now. Otherwise... I just searched and there are only six bars open nearby... I might have to wait until the evening to find one."

Even... there will be no results.

Asaba Ichinose shook his head and took out his cell phone, showing it to everyone briefly.

"There's no point in talking any more, let's go."

However, Yukinoshita Yukino remained as positive as ever in this matter and did not give in because of this difficulty.

So after she finished speaking, she walked towards the convenience store first.

"Let's go, we'll follow."

Seeing Yukinoshita Yukino say this, Ichinose Asaba could only call on the two to follow.

After a while, the four came to a 711 convenience store.

Outside the door, Asaba Ichinose noticed that the clerk on duty inside was a girl, so he sent Yukinoshita Yukino and Yuigahama Yui over, while he and Hikigaya Hachiman waited outside the door.

"Do you think there's any news about Saki Kawasaki here?"

During the time of waiting, Hikigaya Hachiman was not idle either. He chatted with Ichinose Asaba from time to time.

"Why don't you go in and ask."

How could he possibly know such a thing? Upon hearing this, Ichinose Asaba... rolled her eyes at him.

"Forget it, maybe."

Beep...beep

Suddenly a cell phone rang.

"Wait, I have to answer a call." Halfway through his sentence, Hikigaya Hachiman saw Komachi suddenly calling and immediately pressed the answer button and put the phone to his ear, "Komachi? What's wrong?"

"Angel? Ah, I see. I'll pass on the message."

I don't know what Hikigaya Komachi said on the phone, but Hikigaya Hachiman just nodded, which made Ichinose Asaba very curious.

"what happened?"

It was not until the phone was hung up that Ichinose Asaba asked curiously.

Seeing this, Hikigaya Hachiman didn't hide anything and said calmly, "Komachi said that Kawasaki Daishi made a new discovery. He said there's a store called Angel or something, and the manager called Kawasaki Saki. He overheard this information."

"Angel? Is there a shop with that name in Chiba?"

Asaba Ichinose was a little confused, and Hachiman Hikigaya was also very curious, so he opened his phone and searched.

"Yes, there are two shops open until the early morning. One of them is a maid cafe."

"Let's just rule this out."

Why is there a smell of alcohol in a maid cafe? When Hikigaya Hachiman announced the name of the shop, Ichinose Asaba decisively waved his hand to indicate that he could name the next one.

Hikigaya Hachiman agreed, then said, "I think so too... Then there's only one left... the top floor of the Royal Okura Hotel, the Angel Ladder."

"[AngelLadder]?"

Upon hearing the full name of this store, II Lin II Er Yi Ling Ba Er, Ichinose Asaba was stunned.

If for no other reason, it was mainly because he was somewhat familiar with the name of this hotel.

"What's wrong? Have you been there?"

Looking at Ichinose Asaba's surprised expression, Hikigaya Hachiman was certain that he must have been there.

There was nothing to hide about this, so Ichinose Asaba nodded decisively and said, "I've been there once."

It's just not in Chiba, but in Roppongi...right near Tokyo Tower. Nagasaki Miyoko took him and Nagasaki Motoyo there a year ago to celebrate his birthday.

Does this hotel have a branch in Chiba?

“I’ve really been there.”

Hikigaya Hachiman sighed.

"That's enough. No need to ask anymore."

But Ichinose Asaba ignored him, turned around and pushed open the door of the convenience store, motioning for the two to come out.

"Ok?"