The phone rang at six forty in the morning.

Takeshi took three seconds to open his eyes and another two to find the phone on the table. The screen showed a number he didn’t have saved. He stared at it for a moment.

’Who could this be?’

He decided that nobody with good news called before seven and answered.

"Fujimoto?"

It was a woman’s voice, direct and without preamble.

"Yes?"

"I’m Merwyn and I need you ready in ten minutes. I sent a vehicle to pick you up."

Takeshi sat up slowly; his brain was only running at half speed.

"Wait. How do you have this number?"

"I have several contacts who help me with that kind of thing. By the way, the car is already downstairs."

Before he could ask anything else, the call ended.

Takeshi stared at the screen for a second, then got out of bed.

He dressed without thinking too much, put on his uniform, backpack, and shoes. He checked his stats by reflex before leaving the room.

[Life: 100%]

[Sanity: 70%]

[Points: 10]

The chat was already active.

[damn it’s ugly getting woken up this early]

[you dress pretty fast]

[poor guy, can’t even sleep in peace]

Takeshi ignored them.

Akari was still asleep, so he closed the apartment door quietly and went down the stairs.

Outside, a black car was parked in front of the building. It wasn’t flashy or particularly luxurious, but it was clean and the engine was running. Takeshi approached, opened the back door, and found Aoi Mizuhara sitting on the other side.

She wore her uniform without a single wrinkle, her hair tied back, posture straight. She had a bottle of water in her hand and looked at him when he got in, showing no sign that she had just woken up.

Takeshi closed the door and the car pulled away.

"Good morning."

Aoi said.

"Good morning."

"Did you eat anything before coming down?"

"No."

Aoi didn’t answer right away. She opened the backpack between her feet and took out a wrapped bar.

"Here. It’s not enough, but it’s something."

Takeshi took it without protest.

They ate in silence for the first few minutes. The car moved through streets that were still lightly trafficked. The light outside was gray.

The chat gave its opinion on the breakfast.

[you’re gonna show up fresh as a daisy]

[what’s that gourmet meal?]

[god has his favorites]

Takeshi kept ignoring it.

"Did Merwyn explain where we’re going?"

Aoi asked.

"She only told me there was a car waiting for me, nothing else."

"She didn’t explain much to me either, just that Nyx needs us with her this morning."

Takeshi processed that. Nyx lived somewhere in the city. Merwyn knew where, and combined with having his cell number, it was enough information to understand that Lansholt Merwyn had access to things most students didn’t.

"Do you have any idea what Nyx’s house looks like?"

Takeshi asked.

Aoi stayed silent for a moment.

"Not in detail, but the Solynmar family has properties in several parts of the city. If Nyx lives alone, it’s most likely they assigned her something in line with what they transfer to her monthly."

"Is what they transfer to her low?"

"Exactly."

Takeshi looked out the window. The neighborhood they were passing through had changed. The streets were narrower and the buildings older. It wasn’t a bad area, but it was clear this wasn’t where the Solynmars lived.

"Merwyn said Nyx would receive half the inheritance."

Takeshi said.

"So sooner or later they’ll have to give her what belongs to her. That makes it ridiculous that they won’t give her a better house."

"It’s not an economic decision."

Aoi replied.

"It’s intentional."

Takeshi didn’t answer.

The car slowed down and turned onto a side street. Takeshi saw that the neighborhood had changed again: houses set apart from each other, small gardens, sidewalks with irregular tiles. Nothing luxurious, nothing that suggested a connection to a company that controlled half the city’s real estate.

The car stopped.

Takeshi looked out the window at the house in front of them.

It was single-story. The exterior paint was peeling in several spots, especially near the roof. One of the window shutters hung crooked, held only by one end. The front yard had grass that had grown because no one had cut it, and the front gate had rust on the hinges.

It wasn’t a ruin. The structure was solid and the main door seemed to work, but it was a house that had gone a long time without attention, and that was visible from the sidewalk.

Takeshi thought about what Merwyn had explained to him the day before. A family with that level of capital could maintain a hundred houses like this without noticing the difference, and they had chosen not to.

Aoi was already getting out of the car.

Takeshi put away the wrapper from the bar he had eaten, opened the door, and got out as well.