Traveling With a Beautiful Girl - Chapter 55: The Vanished Nanase

Nanase disappeared. Suddenly, with all her belongings.

[Goodbye.]

Just one note left behind. Looking at the words that meant farewell, I muttered to myself.

“What the hell is this…”

I couldn’t afford the time to even clench my fists. I rushed out of the room after just changing my clothes. After checking out and leaving all my belongings except for my valuables, I left the hotel.

The rain had stopped. An annoyingly clear sky as if yesterday’s thunderstorm was a lie. I wished that Nanase’s disappearance was also a lie.

First, I called Nanase.

Knowing it wouldn’t connect. As expected, an inorganic announcement echoed from the phone speaker. “The number you have dialed…”

“…What should I do?”

I answered myself. Why did Nanase disappear in the first place?

There was no need to think about it, considering last night’s incident.

“Let’s talk again tomorrow.”

It was a lie. From the beginning, Nanase intended to disappear from my sight. The words Nanase had written in the note were all of her intentions. I remembered Nanase’s words from yesterday.

“Takahashi-kun, you should go home.”

“Takahashi-kun, you have…a family waiting for you at home.”

I don’t have any. Rather, I am the reason why Takahashi-kun cannot go home.

In that case, I should disappear from Takahashi-kun’s sight.

A simple story.

The Nanase in my imagination said it matter-of-factly with her usual grimace.

“If that’s the case, what does she plan to do from now on?”

To my question, the imagined Nanase,

…you know, don’t you? She smiled sadly and turned her back.

“Is she planning to…die?”

The worst possibility crossed my mind. From the start, Nanase was planning to die.

Even if we parted ways here. I can’t imagine that a few days or weeks after I returned to normal life, Nanase would also return to school, saying “Why are you looking so dazed?”

In the near future, Nanase will take her own life. I was certain of it.

As soon as today…

“This is no joke!”

Something cold ran down my back. I took out my smartphone and searched for news about suicides in the area. Fortunately, I didn’t find any news about a girl of Nanase’s age taking her own life.

The information might not be up on the internet yet. But considering Nanase’s state yesterday and her personality, I thought it was unlikely she would take her life immediately.

It’s just a hunch. It might just be wishful thinking. But even if I assume Nanase is still alive, there probably isn’t much time left.

What should I do? Should I contact the police and have them search for her?

Not possible. What will happen if I do? First, I would have to explain the situation. But I’m a runaway.

They would probably start probing there and there would be unnecessary interrogation. Even if I plead that the girl I was with disappeared when I woke up in the morning and is probably trying to commit suicide, I doubt they would believe me in the first place.

I’m not Nanase’s family and I’m a runaway boy whose statements are not very credible, so the Japanese police are not free enough to start a large-scale search for a missing girl based on my explanation alone.

While I’m beating around the bush, Nanase might depart from this world.

Having thought this far, I came to one conclusion.

“…I have to find her myself.”