The voice coming from the crow's beak left the two utterly stunned, especially when the deep, familiar tone reached Hoshino Mirai's ears. She froze in place as if struck by lightning.
There was no mistaking that voice.
It was definitely the same one.
But why was it coming from a crow now?
Countless thoughts flashed through Hoshino Mirai's mind, while on the other side, Hoshino Yikui had already snapped out of his shock. His voice trembling, he asked, "Y-you are...?"
"Oh... I forgot to mention. Last time, I was a penguin. This time, I've taken the form of a bird."
The crow spread its wings and tilted its head to examine its own body, seemingly displeased with its current appearance.
"Ahem... H-hello."
After a long pause, Hoshino Yikui finally swallowed his fear and greeted the crow in a hushed tone. After all, crows were often seen as omens of misfortune.
Meanwhile, Hoshino Mirai narrowed her eyes and stared intently at the crow. After a while, she mustered her courage and stubbornly blurted out, "You're actually Su Cheng, aren't you?"
As soon as she said this, the crow tilted its head at her, looking puzzled.
At the same time, Su Cheng, who had been hiding invisibly behind the crow and providing the voice, quietly slipped to the door. Using a voice modulator to mimic an outside tone, he knocked and called out, "Senpai, are you two in there?"
After that, he quickly sneaked back behind the crow to resume his role as the voice actor.
Hearing Su Cheng's voice from the rooftop door, Hoshino Mirai froze, then turned suspiciously toward the entrance. Seeing this, Su Cheng swiftly leaped from the rooftop into a pre-opened window below, then dashed up the stairs five steps at a time to reach the rooftop door.
"Su Cheng?"
Hoshino Mirai opened the door and was shocked to see Su Cheng standing there. She immediately turned back to look at the crow perched on the chair, exclaiming, "Was I mistaken?!"
The crow nodded.
At the same time, Su Cheng at the door put on an apologetic expression and said, "Sorry, senpai, something came up and delayed me."
But as soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly turned his head toward the stairs below, as if hearing something, and hastily explained, "Senpai, someone's coming up to the rooftop. Close the door quickly—I'll go stop them."
"Senpai, the rooftop is closed."
Su Cheng began talking to the air, then pulled out his voice changer to mimic another person's voice: "But I just saw someone go up there."
"Really, it's closed."
Su Cheng's tone grew strained.
"No, I'm going up to check."
A different, unfamiliar male voice replied assertively.
Then, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed up the stairs. Hoshino Mirai quickly shut and locked the door.
Hearing the door close, Su Cheng rushed back to the window he had jumped from earlier and climbed back onto the rooftop.
"That kid just now... I borrowed his body once."
At that moment, the crow suddenly spoke again, offering an explanation.
"......"
Both Hoshino Mirai and Hoshino Yikui fell silent before turning to stare at it.
"Actually, I came to say goodbye this time."
The crow continued, but its next words made Hoshino Mirai's body tremble violently. She lost her composure and demanded, "Where are you going?!"
"Ah..."
The crow sighed, shaking its little head as it looked at her distressed expression. "I can't tell you where. But before I go, please accept my sincerest wish—may you always be happy and blessed."
"You... you're leaving just like that?!"
Hoshino Mirai's beautiful eyes widened in disbelief, her heart filling with panic.
"Yes. Goodbye."
The crow raised a wing in farewell, then took off without hesitation, vanishing into the sky in the blink of an eye.
"Wait!"
Hoshino Mirai tried to chase after it, even reaching the rooftop ledge. If not for Hoshino Yikui holding her back, she might have slid down the wall.
Even so, tears streamed down her face as she gazed at the blue sky, murmuring, "Why did you have to leave... I didn’t even get to thank you..."
Hoshino Yikui gently patted her shoulder and comforted her, "Little sis, don’t be sad. Maybe..."
Hoshino Mirai wiped her tears with her sleeve and sniffled. "Why did it leave like this... I still had so much to say."
But suddenly—
As soon as she spoke, a solemn and majestic proclamation echoed across the rooftop, its voice resonating clearly in their ears: "It seems you are in trouble. Would you like to trade something with me?"
The two were startled and looked around, but they couldn’t find the source of the voice.
They realized—the stainless steel demon had appeared again.
"Yes, we want to trade something."
Hoshino Mirai reacted first, answering without hesitation. She urgently pulled an old phone from her bag and raised it into the air. "Here, take this."
"Unfortunately, I’m not accepting electronics this time."
The voice replied indifferently.
Hearing this, their expressions darkened, especially Hoshino Mirai, who pressed further, "Then what do you want? Money? Jewelry? Luxury goods?"
Right now, she just wanted the crow to come back—to talk to her, to listen to everything she still had to say!
"Hmm... The black stockings you're wearing seem nice. I’ll take those this time."
As the voice spoke, the siblings both looked down at the so-called "stockings," and their expressions turned awkward.
Because they were sheer stockings.
"...You want this?"
Hoshino Mirai bent slightly, pinching the fabric of her black stockings between her fingers, her face flushed with embarrassment.
"Yes. I don’t want 'student-used, like-new' items. I want the same brand, completely new and unopened. Bring them by noon tomorrow."
With that, the voice gradually faded, and the rooftop returned to silence.
"Uh... That demon has some unique tastes."
Hoshino Yikui scratched his head, unsure how to respond. He awkwardly glanced at Hoshino Mirai and asked sheepishly, "Hey, sis... Could you get me a pair too?"
"But bro, we only have one left at home..."
Hoshino Mirai frowned, knowing exactly why her brother wanted them—but they were hard to find.
"Eh~ Then let’s go buy more tonight!"
"They’re hard to get."
"Then just tell me the brand—I’ll go buy them myself!"
………………………………
Su Cheng, who had nearly lost his mind from all the acting, finally let out a sigh of relief. Once the siblings left and closed the door behind them, he climbed down from the window and headed toward the archery club.
Though two issues had been resolved, there was still one more—he had to appease the club president, or this situation would never end.
So, he made his way straight to the archery club.
This time, he wasn’t going to flatter or bribe his way out. He was simply going to apologize for his clever little stunt yesterday.