"I've checked all the nearby restrooms. Unless Natsukawa-san went to a farther location, or she's hiding inside and not speaking..." Yuigahama said hesitantly.
"Why should we even look for her? She's the one who deliberately disappeared." Since they were using a group call, Yumiko's voice sounded slightly annoyed. "Everyone's having fun, but she sulks and vanishes."
"She's not answering her phone. We don't know where she is. This park area is huge—how are we supposed to find her?"
While searching separately for the missing person, Yukino's voice remained much calmer: "If she's deliberately refusing to communicate, then when she returns, she'll have to apologize to everyone... But we also can't rule out the possibility that she's in danger."
"If we can't find her within half an hour, we'll inform the teachers and park staff. It might become a big problem, but it's the safest approach."
"Don't worry, it probably won't get that bad." Recalling the photo he'd seen through his ability five minutes ago, Yuu slightly frowned and said quietly, "From now on, I'll search alone. You all continue shopping. I'll let you know if I find her."
"By yourself?" Ordinary Girl asked with slight concern. "It's like finding a needle in a haystack. If only Tenkuji-kun is searching..."
"Don't act cool—let us help you." Yumiko was panting, seemingly running. She said irritably, "She's not a stranger! Such a small favor doesn't need calculation!"
"But Yumiko, you just said not to look for her..."
"Shut up! Yui, how dare you, how dare you expose my secret?!"
"Yahahaha~"
Listening to their conversation, Yuu couldn't help but smile. His voice had a power to calm people. Smiling, he said, "As long as I know she's not in the women's restroom, finding her isn't hard for me. Don't worry. Wait until I bring her back and have her apologize to you."
"Yuu, good luck! Make sure you bring Natsukawa-san back safely!" Yuigahama cheered cheerfully.
"She's really troublesome... Fine, the rest of you regroup at the arcade. Ignore this couple—we'll play by ourselves."
"Miura-san, I'll rest at the bookstore. You all do whatever you want."
"No way, Yukinoshita, come with me! I'm not done arguing with you about refusing photobooth photos!"
Yuu didn't listen to the following argument. After ending the group call, he activated the skill
Purple thorns lit up with a strange sound effect. They coiled around his phone. After a flash of electricity, the original LINE interface flickered. A photo appeared on the screen.
---This special effect was unilaterally added by the system. Maybe because he turned off the background music, and he did it to add a bit of presence?
Yuu was too lazy to care about trivial things like that. He didn't stop walking. He narrowed his eyes, carefully examining the scene in the photo.
"Five minutes ago she was still in the restroom, now she's gone... Did she leave on purpose to avoid being found?"
Of course, Yuu wasn't using this ability to spy on Masuzu in the restroom.
The silver-haired, beautiful girl in gym clothes sat gracefully in a closed restroom stall. She seemed to be listening to movements outside the door—this was the scene shown in the last photo.
And the relatively accurate location Yuu received was very simple: the women's restroom in Kiyomizu Scenic Area.
...Well, at least more useful than providing latitude and longitude coordinates.
As Yumiko said, Masuzu was deliberately hiding. She'd vanished without a word.
Yuu had known this from the start. But since he was too lazy to explain the reason, he didn't tell them directly... As for whether it would make them worry, that had nothing to do with him.
All the fault lay with Masuzu. Why should Yuu have to think too much about it? Sobu High had no such rules, let alone Kiyomizu Scenic Area.
As for her motives and thoughts behind disappearing, once he found Masuzu, Yuu would naturally ask her nicely, then bring her back to the group so she could apologize to those she'd troubled and worried.
"The most important thing is—where exactly is the location in this photo?"
He'd originally been in a building styled like the arcade on the shopping street. Now, she'd moved to the edge of a flower garden.
But the problem was, flower gardens were everywhere on this shopping street. He couldn't pinpoint her exact location.
"After all, your power isn't useful, old man." Yuu held his forehead and sighed. Why did he have a power to find people, yet still couldn't find her?
No, he couldn't just give up.
On a trial basis, Yuu activated his ability again. The purple thorns flashed with electricity once more. The screen flickered. The silhouette of a silver-haired girl walking in the rain reappeared as a photo.
No one was around her. He could faintly see a forest nearby—was it near the forest scenic area?
But most importantly, Yuu discovered something new.
"Can this ability be used continuously? If I keep using it..."
An idea flashed through his mind. He reflexively stopped. He didn't care about the strange looks from others who saw him standing in the rain, staring thoughtfully at his phone. He murmured to himself: "No, in episode eight of part three of the anime, Joseph Joestar used his Hermit Purple on a TV. The famous You're Watching Me scene also happened then... At that time, DIO appeared on screen as a video, and even gave hints about Yellow Temperance's later appearance."
If so, could this joke-like power given by the system do the same?
As soon as this thought arose, Yuu took action.
As his intent strengthened, brighter purple lightning flashed across the thorns. The photo was covered in black-and-white static. Faint, ear-piercing static sounds echoed.
After a few moments, the phone screen cleared again. As if he'd just opened a live stream, the silver-haired girl's back appeared on the screen.
Rain soaked her gym clothes. She looked pitiful and weak, yet carried a blurred beauty.
Yuu lightly touched the screen with his finger. He found he could also swipe to change the viewing angle. So he immediately switched to the front of the girl, successfully seeing her beautiful, expressionless face.
Then, though he hadn't opened his mouth, Masuzu's voice came from within.
"I really am just a childish brat throwing a tantrum."
Yuu: "..."
It even comes with inner voice?
He retracted his previous words.
(Old man, your power is truly amazing!)
After admiring it, Yuu pulled out his earphones and connected them to his phone. He prepared to compare the entire park's map to guess Masuzu's location as accurately as possible.
But the next second, a sensation of energy rapidly draining from his body made his fingers reflexively loosen. He nearly dropped his phone to the ground.
Holding his waist, Yuu muttered with a strange expression:
"Just running a live stream, and my stamina drains this fast?"
He, who had been blessed by the system to nearly become a superman, finally felt the kidney weakness he hadn't experienced in a long time...
How to describe it—there was a slight sense of nostalgia.