Chapter 1: At an Antique Shop

A small antique shop stood quietly in a corner of the town.

The elderly shopkeeper was, as always, silently tending to the merchandise.
Day after day.

The shop was small, and within a month all the care would be finished.
Once it was done, he would start again from the beginning.
For the shopkeeper, that was a fulfilling time.

One day, the man took an ichimatsu doll out of the glass case.
With a feather duster, he brushed the dust from its kimono, and with a comb, he smoothed its hair.

The shop was quiet, with no customers.
The afternoon light slanting in stained the dust in the air a golden color.
Within that light, the man continued his care, speaking gently as he worked.

Rin found herself thinking of that time as something pleasant, somewhere deep in her heart.

Days spent inside the glass case, always looking at the same ceiling, the same shelves.
The unchanging repetition was certainly boring.
Even so—there was a warmth there, called peace.

As the sun set and the shop lights went out.
Within the space that had been wrapped in stillness, a faint shiver ran through the air.

From atop a shelf, a tin clown jumped down.
Clash, the sound of metal joints creaking echoed through the shop.
Strutting around the floor as if it owned the place, that figure was a regular of the night.

From the gaps between the shelves and the shadows beneath the display stands, hushed whispers began to leak out as well.
The clamor of those who awoke at night slowly seeped into the space.

Rin did not find it pleasant, but it was not worth speaking up about. As always, she remained silent.

But—

“…If only that old geezer weren’t around, I could walk around during the day too,”
the tin clown declared in an exaggeratedly loud voice.
In response to that voice, laughter and whispers burst out from all around.

Without a sound, Rin’s gaze turned in that direction.

“Quiet.”

Short. Low.

With that single word, the air froze.
All the surrounding voices stopped at once, and silence fell.

But the clown alone kept on laughing, snickering away.
“An old, unsold relic should keep its mouth shut. …I’ll break you.”
That voice changed into something low and growling, as if it had shed its flippancy.

Rin blinked once, lightly.

In that instant—the clown’s body froze perfectly still.

Gii…—the sound of metal joints creaking.
An unseen force slowly tightened its grip around the body.
As if it had a will of its own—quietly, inexorably.

“St… stop…”

The clown managed to squeeze the words out.

“Quiet.”

Rin said it once more, coldly.

Her gaze was cold as ice.
She could have broken it—but the shopkeeper’s face crossed her mind.

For that reason alone, the force loosened.
Freed, the clown fled back to its shelf without a sound.
Only whispers remained faintly, and the clamor had settled somewhat.

As if everyone were gauging Rin’s mood—
once again, stillness wrapped the shop.

Rin quietly lowered her eyes.
As if nothing had happened from the start.

—That’s fine.