Chapter 4: "I'm not betting"

Mao Hojo was restless even after the loss was cut.

It is correct to determine the loss.

I know it in my head.

However, in the back of my chest, a weight like lead remains.

Surely it is not a loss.

It's a feeling of being left behind.

Sitting at her desk at work, Mao caught her breath, noticing that her face on the edge of the screen was a little pale.

If it stays like this, it will shake again.

It shakes and moves with someone's words again.

So, have your own words.

Mao opened a small notebook.

Write at the top of the page with a thick pen.

"I'm not betting. I've decided."

When I wrote, my breathing became a little easier.

Bet is luck.

It is up to you to decide.

Next, I made a bullet point of yesterday's events.

I bought it for 10,000 yen.

The next morning - 1,240 yen

The group is "buying more."

I sold it.

・ Loss is 1,380 yen

Just this much.

However, when it is organized, the mind mysteriously becomes quiet.

No explanation is needed.

If there is a "record."

Mao continued to write.

"Rule: Don't believe in 'fixed deadlines' of strangers."

"Rule: Do not express your intention with a stamp (flowed)"

"Rule: Write how to finish before buying."

The moment I finished writing, my smartphone trembled.

from the group.

Even though I decided not to look at it myself, the red circle of the notification sticks in my eyes.

Mao took a deep breath, pressed and held the notification and muted it.

Just turning off the sound made the world a little quieter.

That afternoon, a voice came from the seat next to Mao.

"Mao, you look pale. Are you okay?"

It's Misaki.

The person who pulled her into the group yesterday.

Mao laughs and tries to deceive her, but the corners of her mouth don't go up.

A little lack of sleep.

Investment? (laughs)

Misaki's eyes are strangely bright as she smiles.

the light of the one who wins.

Mao remembers that she was pulled by the light last night.

"Misaki, who made that group?"

Misaki let her eyes swim for a moment.

Um... A friend of a friend?

There is a "teacher" who will teach you for free.

Wow, everyone is getting results.

"Is the teacher showing his face?"

"I didn't put it out.

But my voice is calm and I can trust it! "

Mao's stomach shrinks.

Feeling reliable.

I already knew the fear of being moved by "feeling."

Mao closed the notebook.

"I lost once yesterday."

The smile disappeared from Misaki's face.

What remained after it disappeared was confusion and a little irritation.

"Huh, why?

It's still about 1,000 yen, right?

That's an error.

Teacher, did you tell me not to cut you? "

Don't cut.

The word sounded like a knife.

Mao said quietly.

"Even if it's an error, it's my error."

Misaki said "Hmm" and laughed a little with her nose.

"Mao is too cautious about that.

So you can't change it? "

At that word, Mao's chest hurt.

I can't change.

The same words the teacher used last night.

It's the same.

Speech and temperature.

Mao did not raise her voice.

Being rough reinforces the correctness of the other party.

"You can be careful.

I don't want to bet. "

Misaki shrugged her shoulders and returned to her seat.

Mao felt strangely cold while seeing her back off.

Even though we're friends.

Why do people become "someone's words" so easily?

That night, a message arrived on Mao's smartphone from Soma Narita.

"Are you forced to invite me today?"

- "The other person is bound by" shame. "It is denied in public and isolated."

Mao held her breath.

Misaki's word applies as it is.

"It was done.

I was told "I can't change."

I got a reply right away.

"That's the purpose.

To break "I decided for myself"

Mao opened the notebook and added today's events.

When I write, my heart comes back.

It's strong to have a place to come back.

On the other hand, Narita Soma had a different night.

The third floor of a multi-tenant building in Shibuya.

A small bar without a sign.

The smell of whiskey and old jazz.

Soma sat at the counter and turned the glass.

This is a gathering place of information.

Someone is talking.

Someone laughs.

Someone puts their value on a price tag.

"Long time no see, Soma."

The man sitting next to me patted my shoulder lightly.

Kento SAIONJI.

A man who used to work on the same floor.

His face is fresh, but only his eyes are dry.

"What do you want?"

"Not as much as I need.

Recently, there's been an increase in strange beginner hunting, right?

Are you interested? "

Soma did not laugh.

I hated the way people said they were interested.

Behind interest, there is always someone's convenience.

"I don't hunt."

Even if you are not a hunter, you can pick up rumors.

There is a guy called "Sensei."

You are good at making people trust you with just your voice.

Investment group, seminar, introduction system.

They also take out personal information.

Pull out.

That word leads to Mao's three million.

"Where?"

Saionji carried the glass to his mouth and said casually.

The entrance is always "free."

Everyone knows that free lunch is expensive, but for some reason they eat it.

People are vulnerable to anxiety.

... "What is his identity?"

If you want to know, follow the number.

Someone is sending "advice" via SMS.

That's the back contact.

The front is a teacher, the back is SMS.

Responsible for returning the one who escapes. "

Soma's fingertips became slightly stiff.

SMS of "now selling" that arrived to Mao.

That looked like a warning.

However, trust can also be created in the form of warnings.

Show it to the "helping side" and surround it.

Such a method has existed since ancient times.

Do you know the SMS number?

Saionji raised the corners of his mouth.

If I knew, I wouldn t tell you anymore.

But... there is a place we can trace. "

Where is it?

Saionji hit the counter twice with his finger.

You can t buy a phone number with money.

You can buy "flow."

Used, in and out, same timing.

- You will understand. "

He put down the glass.

The back of my throat is bitter.

It's not whiskey, it's bitterness.

"Why are you teaching me?"

Saionji shrugged his shoulders.

"Come on.

Old debt or just killing time.

Or do you not like someone being hunted? "

His dry eyes shook for a moment.

Soma felt that the shaking was not a lie.

As I left the shop, the night wind cut my cheek.

Soma opened her smartphone and saw the chat screen with Mao.

I can't change.

She was stabbed today with the same words.

The other person is moving people with the same template.

Inspire anxiety, use shame, isolate them.

And take away judgment.

Soma sent only one thing to Mao.

Note, continue.

When the words remain, they don't shake. "

After sending, Soma put his smartphone away.

Free lunch is certainly expensive.

But what's really expensive is not the amount.

Lose your own words.

That is the most expensive.

And now someone is buying it.

Soma looked up at the sky while walking.

I saw a dull moon through the clouds.

Next, end the side that takes away the way to end.