"This café… there was one just like it in the underground beneath the underground."

  Tsurubami-kun said this as he settled into a red leather sofa.

  I had guessed he’d been somewhere underground—but beneath the underground? What did that mean? A place like a subway, subterranean warehouse, underground parking lot…

  I used to be obsessed with sci-fi stories like that when I was in middle school.

  Had he gone to a world like that?

  I shouldn’t have, but the thought of hearing that story made my heart race.

  I’d wanted to bombard him with questions in the car, but Tsurubami-kun had turned to look out the window and gone quiet, so I stopped myself.

  Then again, maybe I didn’t say anything because I wanted to keep watching his pale hands, glowing in the orange streetlight, and his glossy hair.

  Even though, three days from now, I might not exist in this world anymore… I sure was acting carefree.

  ??

  My brother’s go-to late-night café was about a 20-minute drive down the coast, tucked into a hill along a narrow, one-way road.

  It had such a small entrance, I wasn’t surprised I’d never noticed it.

  The walls were lined with old books, making the place feel more like a library than a café.

  Does my brother usually come here alone?

  With coworkers?

  …Or maybe with someone special?

  Stolen novel; please report.

  The thought made me feel oddly lonely—like my brother had become a stranger.

  "So, you were in the underground world during your disappearance. That’s confirmed, right?"

  My brother took a sip of black coffee and looked directly at Tsurubami-kun as he spoke.

  "Yes."

  Tsurubami-kun nodded quietly.

  There were cups of black coffee in front of the two of us as well.

  I’d wanted to order a mocha, honestly…

  But I didn’t want to seem childish, so I went along with them.

  My brother probably noticed that, but he didn’t say a word.

  “…What kind of place was it? And how did you know it was underground?”

  "They called me a surface dweller, the people there."

  Tsurubami-kun lowered his eyes, seeming hesitant.

  "The underground was… a place a lot like this.

  Except there was no sun.

  Well, something like the sun existed, but it was fake…"

  His words slurred slightly. It made me nervous.

  "Did… did something bad happen to you there?

  I mean, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to."

  He kept staring at the pitch-black coffee like it was a tunnel entrance.

  I was about to change the subject when—

  "Aki-kun… have you ever worn white clothes?"

  Tsurubami-kun suddenly whispered something incomprehensible.

  "What? Why? That’s so random. Of course not."

  "Everyone in the underground wore white clothes."

  I didn’t know what to say.

  Just as I fell silent, my brother spoke in a tense voice:

  "Then that underground place… could it have been a prison for heretics?"

  "A prison for heretics?!"

  I shouted, louder than I meant to.

  Both of them glared at me.

  "Akisumi, keep your voice down.

  We don’t know for sure it was a prison.

  But we wear black as a sign of faith.

  Being forced to wear white clothes… that could mean…"

  I understood what my brother was implying.

  He was starting to suspect that Tsurubami-kun was a heretic too.

  If people found out about that, it could be serious.

  "No, I’m not."

  Tsurubami-kun spoke quietly but firmly, and I felt relieved.

  "More importantly, I need to tell you the reason I was able to return from the underground."

  "Right. That could be a key clue to helping other disappearances too."

  Tsurubami-kun took a sip of his coffee and began to speak.

  Mine was still untouched.

  "I was able to come back… because I escaped from another version of myself."