52: Flames of Emotion

“Who… are you?”

Rena, clad in a black ceremonial robe, slowly rose to her feet under the candlelight, her gaze fixed on Tom.
His heart pounded like never before, and he found himself unable to meet her eyes, instinctively averting his gaze.

“I-I’m Tom. Tom! And you… you’re Rena, right?”

“Tom…? I don’t know… I don’t know you…”

Though her voice and face were unmistakably Rena’s, Tom was shaken by the reality that she didn’t recognize him.
His hands trembled, and sweat beaded on his forehead.
Quickly, he tried to refocus, adhering to his usual prioritization.

“I see! Maybe you’ve just lost your memory temporarily.
But it’s okay. I’m just glad… glad to see you safe again… haha.”

Tom let out an awkward laugh, unable to hide his unease at Rena’s memory loss.

“Lost my memory…? You know me…?”

“Y-yeah. We’re childhood friends, and, um…
I love drinking milk with a straw—no, that’s not important.
Anyway, even if you don’t remember me now… I’m just relieved.”

“Childhood friends?
You’re… worried about me?”

As she spoke, Rena stepped closer to Tom.
Perhaps due to her lower-than-usual voice, her cool allure made his heart race.

“O-of course I am!
In that crazy ‘Picture Book World,’ I was desperate to find you, Rena…”

“Me…?”

As Rena closed the distance, Tom instinctively stepped back.
An unfamiliar emotion surged within him, taking control.
This was a situation he’d never experienced before.
As he retreated, his hand touched the cold surface of a mirror.
He found himself trapped between the mirror behind him and Rena approaching from the front.

“Rena… you seem different from usual.
Are you feeling okay? And that outfit… it has a kind of magical, fantasy vibe…”

Desperately trying to look away, Tom couldn’t help but be captivated by her mesmerizing eyes.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed how long and beautiful her eyelashes were, taking his breath away.
His body stiffened, and his face turned red.

Rena silently looked up at Tom.
From the loose sleeve of her ceremonial attire, a slender, pale arm extended, and her innocent fingers slowly reached toward his face.

“Um… Rena…?”

“Look at the mirror behind you.
There’s something written on it…”

“Huh?”

Tom exaggeratedly turned his head to check the mirror behind him.
On its surface, large, ominous red letters were drawn.
They resembled the indecipherable symbols he had encountered at the start of his “Nightmare Journey.”
The sweet rhythm of his heartbeat quickly transformed into a rhythm of anxiety.

“This is… the strange alphabet that appeared when I flipped through that ‘Picture Book’?”

N E D D I B R O F

Rena’s left hand gently rested on Tom’s right shoulder, causing him to let out a small gasp.

“There’s more hidden text on the mirror behind your back… let me read it.”

Tom shifted his body and looked back at the mirror.
There, in blurred, dark red letters, was written “MOT.”

“Eh… MOT… TOM?
Is this my name? What does this mean…?”

“You’re… a member of this organization… one of the forbidden group…”

“Organization? What are you talking about? This is…”

Tom momentarily diverted his attention from Rena’s mature charm, focusing instead on the mysterious letters reflected in the mirror and the meaning behind her words.

The flickering candlelight seemed to respond to Tom’s emotions, quietly yet intensely illuminating the mirror-filled room that belonged only to the two of them.