episode_0376

“What on earth were you doing here?”

I looked around at my completely devastated surroundings and asked.

There wasn’t a single place that was okay.

The iron door was so dented and torn that it was rolling on the floor.

What about the red-tinted floor?

I grabbed Amy and quietly walked out of the building.

“What are you doing? I was looking for your sister.”

A small smile escaped my face as I saw Amy tilting her head and blinking as if to ask what the problem was.

I felt good because it seemed like I was trying hard in my own way.

“If I show you this kind of behavior, won’t my sister be scared and hide?”

“Shine? No way.”

Amy shook her head at his answer.

If I were Shine, I would have hidden and never come out.

I put the fluttering rain down on the floor.

Lane, who had become a nuisance between her breasts, clung to Amy’s leg as if she had something to say to her.

“Amy!”

“Yeah. Rain. You’re feeling energetic today too.”

Amy casually stroked Lane’s head.

When I watched them from a step back, they looked more like mother and daughter than friends.

I didn’t say anything to Lane because I knew he’d run to me and wave his arms wildly if I told him this feeling.

“Yeah. But Jeff said he met Shine!”

At Rain’s words, Amy looked back at me in surprise.

I nodded silently.

The reason I came to District 14 was also to tell Amy directly about Shine.

“You met Shine? Why are you alone?”

I laughed awkwardly at Amy’s question.

Even if he suddenly disappeared, it wasn’t something that could be easily believed.

I started to tell Amy about Shine’s sudden visit.

In fact, the fact that he took the picture was a means to call me out, to the fact that he told me not to look for him.

When I told Amy everything I had heard from Shine, she frowned.

“He didn’t come to his mom, but only to his younger sibling. Is that it?”

Amy seemed very angry at Shine for not coming to her.

I smiled awkwardly and grabbed Amy’s hand.

“But from what you say, I think you’ll come to us when you’re completely ready.”

“I’m worried about that preparation. I told you not to look for it. It’s very dangerous.”

I nodded to Amy’s question.

Then Amy hugged me with a tearful face.

“Is it possible that she left because I wasn’t a good enough mother?”

“That’s not it…”

Sure, Amy was a new mom, but she didn’t lack anything for Shine and me.

It was clear that he had left for other reasons.

“Did you eat?”

“I’m still up early in the morning…”

“Really? Then, do you want to get something to eat nearby?”

“Rice!”

Lane must have been hungry, because he cheered with open arms at Amy’s words.

Rain starts running around wildly, making a fuss.

It was like a protest saying, “Let’s hurry up and go eat.”

“Nearby…?”

I looked around at Amy’s words.

Dust and yellow clouds rising between collapsed buildings.

And unclean and unsanitary buildings come into view.

If I ate in a place like this, I thought I would get food poisoning.

I shook my head with my arms crossed.

“You’ll have to go at least to District 4 to find something to eat.”

“Really…? But still. What if Shine shows up while we’re away…?”

I gave Amy a small smile at her concern.

It was okay, you didn’t have to worry.

My gut was telling me.

If I were to give it a name, I would call it the Good Little Brother Sensor.

Shine, my sister wasn’t here.

“My sister isn’t here.”

“Really…?”

Amy followed me without asking any more questions.

So, after joining Amy, we headed straight to the upper area.

I watched Amy drive and hugged Lane, who was sitting on my lap.

Soft, fluffy, and warm, Rain was like a huggable doll.

Rain, as if he wasn’t uncomfortable, dug into my arms with a strange smile.

“Aren’t you guys too close?”

Amy’s sharp question caused Lane to freeze.

I answered with an awkward laugh.

“Was it like this before too?”

“That’s true, but… I mean, it seems strangely different.”

Rain began to sweat.

The way she peeked her face out from inside her chest and looked at Amy’s face looked just like a frightened chick.

“Oh, right. Mom.”

“Huh?”

I decided to quickly put out the fire.

Because if things continued like this, I felt like Amy would get caught poking me.

Fortunately, Amy didn’t have much doubt about the sudden change in tone.

“Was there a new drug circulating in District 14?”

“Medicine? Hmm. I don’t know. Why medicine all of a sudden?”

It seemed like Amy had only been researching the real Shine.

I shook my head.

“It’s just that I feel like some weird stuff’s been happening in the lower areas lately. Like the sudden massive construction…”

“Construction? By the way, didn’t Jeff say that the place he went to was District 15?”

“Yes.”

“Was there construction going on there too?”

“There too?? Was construction going on in District 14 too?”

“Umm. I was going to do it. But I got into a fight and made a mess of the construction site. I guess I won’t be able to do anything for a few days?”

“Really…?”

It’s even more suspicious that construction is underway not only in District 15, but also in District 14.

I nodded and placed my chest on Lane’s head.

This is something Amy often did when I was little.

At the time, I didn’t know why I was doing this, but it was convenient in its own way.

The weight on my chest was definitely reduced, and I felt refreshed.

The moment I entered the highway, I could see a line of trucks.

It was a common sight, something I would see anywhere, anytime, but for some reason, it felt uneasy.

The highway we just entered serves the role of connecting the lower and upper sections at once.

“There are so many trucks.”

Rain also muttered as he looked out the window at the line of trucks passing by.

The trucks were heading in the opposite direction from where we were going.

This means that materials produced in the upper zone are being transported to the lower zone.

“Rain, can you take a picture of that?”

I had to ask Lane to get up from his seat so I could get my phone out of his pocket.

Rain nodded to my words.

“Okay, I got it.”

Lane took out his chick phone and fidgeted.

Then he started taking pictures one by one.

“How much should I take?”

“That’s okay.”

I took Lane’s phone and sent the pictures to my phone.

When we arrived at the restaurant, I felt like I had to send another photo to my grandfather while eating.

“Do you want a truck toy…?”

I gaped at Amy’s words.

Even though I still have childish tastes, I don’t think I want a toy when I see a passing truck.

Amy smiled slightly at my reaction and turned her head.

I guess he was teasing me.

“That’s not that kid, is it?”

“You still play with dolls by yourself?”

“That, that’s…!”

Oh, how do you know?

I was startled by Amy’s words and hugged Lane tightly.

Playing with dolls was still a secret that no one had ever told or shown.

“Mom knows everything~”

I coughed and turned my head away at Amy’s words.

In times like these, you must remain calm.

If you show a funny reaction, they will definitely try to tease you more.

The car was able to quickly get off the highway.

I continued to watch the trucks pulling onto the highway.

There was more material being moved than expected.

“What should I eat?”

“Me! I’m a hamburger!”

At Amy’s question, Lane raised her hand and shouted.

I said, pressing Lane’s head against my chest.

“Donkas!”

“Hey, hamburger!”

But Rain also raised his head and shouted as if he would not give up.

“Donkas!”

“Sea, ham… huh…”

As I shouted, pressing down on his chest once more, Rain was defeated.

I looked at Amy with a victorious smile.

“Umm…”

Amy looked at me and Lane with a complicated expression.

In the end, today’s breakfast menu was decided based on what each person wanted to eat.

I looked at Rain’s plate.

If the menu had been unified around tonkatsu, I would have been able to taste three different types of tonkatsu with different flavors.

“Joe, can you cut it a little?”

Rain asked me with a reluctant expression.

I guess it seemed like he was coveting my hamburger steak.

As I nodded, Lane cut his hamburger into bite-sized pieces and offered them to me.

While we were all eating together, a message arrived from my grandfather.

With a beeping sound, I took out my phone and checked the message, which contained the information I had requested.

“Did you come to Uncle Perman?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded to Rain’s words and confirmed the information.

This was information about a construction company currently working on a subdivision.

“What are you going to do by checking that?”

“I was just curious.”

I bit my lip in response to Amy’s words.

It’s just simple curiosity.

Why is this construction company building a building there?

And who commissioned it?

I don’t think it has anything to do with Shine.

I’m not sure, but my good little brother Sensor was talking.

After finishing dinner, Lane and I parted ways with Amy.

It seemed like they were going to finish investigating District 14.

“Goodbye Amy!”

Rain waves his hand vigorously as he watches Amy walk away.

I took her in my arms and said.

“Let’s go too.”

“Yeah!”

Rain and I walked along the road.

As it so happened that the construction company I had commissioned to investigate was in this area, I was able to arrive quickly.

A tall building that rises high into the sky.

The [S Construction] logo was large and engraved.

According to my grandfather’s research, it seemed like someone had recently acquired the company.

You said you changed the company’s name too?

I lowered the rain to the ground and headed inside the building.