Chapter 88: The Unspoken Lie and a New Resolve

The photoshoot finally, mercifully, ends. The editor is ecstatic, promising that this will be their best-selling issue ever. In the changing rooms, the professional tension has evaporated, leaving only a shared, profound exhaustion.

LUNA, now back in her simple black dress, gives a polite, formal bow to Rina and Haruka. "It was a true honor to work with both of you," she says, her voice the deep, practiced tone of LUNA. They exchange stiff, professional goodbyes. The wall is back up.

As her handler is packing the last of her high-tech props, I see my chance. I need one more piece of evidence, one final test. My heart is pounding, but my face is a mask of calm.

I walk over to her. "You dropped this," I say, my voice even. I hold out my hand. In my palm is a cheap, generic, blue mechanical pencil, the kind that every student in Japan owns. It is, in fact, the one I was using for my homework last night. It is a complete bluff.

She looks at the pencil. Her eyes, which were cool and distant, widen in a brief, unguarded flash of recognition. It looks exactly like the pencil she uses every day in class. Instinct takes over.

"Oh, thank you so much! I was looking for-" she starts to say, her hand darting out to take it. Her voice is a half-beat higher, softer. It is Aiwa's voice.

She catches herself mid-sentence. Her hand freezes, hovering just above mine. The mask of LUNA slams back into place with a visible effort. Her eyes turn cold again. She slowly retracts her hand.

"-On second thought," she says, her voice dropping back down to its deep, resonant LUNA tone, "that is not mine. I do not use such… common writing instruments."

The lie is perfect. The performance is flawless. But it is too late. I saw it. The instinctive reach, the split-second change in her voice. The truth is out, even if it is unspoken. I just give a small, slow nod, a knowing look in my eyes that I do not try to hide. I close my hand around the pencil and put it back in my pocket. "My mistake," I say quietly.

She just stares at me, her professional composure finally cracking under the weight of my silent accusation. A flicker of pure, terrified panic, mixed with a profound, aching guilt, crosses her face before she turns and is quickly ushered away by her handler. She has lied to the one person who has been kind to her, and the shame is a physical weight.

I watch her go, the chaos of the studio fading into the background. Rina and Haruka are celebrating. Kenji is trying to get an autograph from the photographer. But my world has just shifted on its axis.

The game is no longer about my sister's forbidden love, or Haruka's rivalry, or the pressures of the cosplay world.

The new game is figuring out the mystery of Aiwa Matsuki. Why is a girl with this level of talent and resources hiding in my high school class? Why the elaborate act, with the different voices and personalities? And what is the real story behind that 'Starlight Paladin' pendant?

I do not have any answers. But for the first time, I know the right questions to ask. And I am determined to find out.