"Hey, Anbe! What are you spacing out for?"
"Let's go. The next two mysteries to check off are both in the infirmary. Once we've taken the photos there, we can leave."
At the bottom of the stairs, Shimazaki and Hamano called out to their companion in a perfectly normal tone.
"Just now... didn't you hear it?" Anbe's expression seemed a bit unnatural.
"Hear what?"
"Footsteps... It felt like there was an extra one."
"Huh, really? You must have heard it wrong."
The words of his companion gave Anbe, who had been somewhat frightened, a small measure of reassurance.
Did he really hear it wrong just now?
Or was it just the echo in the empty hallway?
Anbe glanced again at his companions below. Shimazaki and Hamano remained calm as ever, though a bit confused. As for Bando, his expressionless poker face showed no change—normally dull to look at, but now inexplicably comforting in its unchanging nature.
The companions hadn't noticed anything unusual.
