Chapter 98: The Source

Chapter 98: Chapter 98: The Source

The leak stopped being a rumor on Wednesday.

It became a problem.

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A real one.

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Not because more people saw it.

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Because somebody asked a question.

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The right question.

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Who leaked it?

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The discussion exploded immediately.

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Readers blamed publishers.

Publishers blamed competitors.

Creators blamed publishers.

Publishers blamed creators.

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The entertainment industry entered its natural state.

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Chaos.

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Haruki watched from the sidelines.

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For once.

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A conscious choice.

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Because Yui was right.

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Part of the situation belonged to him.

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The rest didn’t.

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Unfortunately, knowing that didn’t make the stress disappear.

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At 10:12 AM, another article appeared.

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This one came from an industry blog.

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The headline felt less dramatic.

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More dangerous.

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Contract Competition Intensifies Around Rising Creator

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Professional language.

Professional analysis.

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Professional damage.

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The article avoided direct accusations.

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Instead, it connected facts.

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Tournament finalist.

Publisher meetings.

Contract rumors.

Reader criticism.

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Nothing technically false.

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The picture it painted looked terrible.

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His phone rang.

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Mizuno.

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Again.

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Always.

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"Good news."

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Haruki immediately became suspicious.

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Very suspicious.

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"What happened?"

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"The leak helped."

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Silence.

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Then:

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"What?"

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Mizuno sounded equally unhappy.

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Which somehow made the statement believable.

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"Yamashita increased their offer."

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Wonderful.

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Absolutely wonderful.

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Career advancement through public embarrassment.

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Exactly how Haruki imagined success.

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The editor sighed.

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Then:

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"Don’t look happy."

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"I wasn’t."

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"Good."

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The call ended.

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Because apparently neither of them possessed the energy required for longer conversations.

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By afternoon, Haruki attended another creator event.

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Not voluntarily.

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Again.

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Sora considered voluntary attendance an optional concept.

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The venue occupied the upper floor of a media building.

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Industry mixers.

Creator discussions.

Publisher representatives.

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Everything Haruki normally avoided.

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The room buzzed with conversation.

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People exchanged cards.

Ideas.

Rumors.

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Mostly rumors.

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The leak dominated everything.

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Naturally.

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Haruki entered.

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Three conversations immediately stopped.

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Wonderful.

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A fantastic start.

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Before the awkwardness could spread further, Sora appeared.

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Like a natural disaster.

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A friendly natural disaster.

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The worst kind.

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"There he is."

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Several creators laughed.

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The tension broke.

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Not completely.

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Enough.

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Sora led him toward a smaller group.

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Akari sat there.

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Suzune too.

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Several unfamiliar creators joined them.

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The discussion centered around industry ethics.

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A dangerous topic.

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Very dangerous.

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Akari noticed him first.

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"You survived."

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"Mostly."

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"That’s disappointing."

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Haruki blinked.

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Akari grinned.

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The joke landed.

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The mood improved.

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Good.

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Very good.

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Then Suzune ruined everything.

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Professionally.

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"Who benefits from the leak?"

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The table quieted.

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Not dramatically.

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Thoughtfully.

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The question changed the discussion instantly.

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Because it mattered.

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Creators focused on blame.

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Editors focused on incentives.

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Different worlds.

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A creator beside Akari shrugged.

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"Competitors."

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Another disagreed.

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"Publishers."

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Sora drank his coffee.

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Then:

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"Someone trying to influence Haruki."

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The statement lingered.

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Because it sounded possible.

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Too possible.

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Haruki frowned.

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"Why me?"

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Several people stared.

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Then Akari laughed.

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Actually laughed.

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The reaction confused him.

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"What?"

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Akari pointed.

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"The leak wasn’t about publishers."

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A pause.

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"It was about you."

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Another.

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"That’s why."

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The answer felt obvious once spoken.

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Uncomfortable.

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Obvious.

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The discussion continued.

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Ideas collided.

Arguments emerged.

Interruptions happened constantly.

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No clean conclusions.

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No perfect lessons.

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Just people disagreeing.

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Refreshing.

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Very refreshing.

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Halfway through the event, Haruki stepped away for air.

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The city stretched below.

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Glass towers.

Traffic.

Evening sunlight.

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Tokyo looked endless.

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A voice interrupted.

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"Kuroda-san talks about you."

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Haruki turned.

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Suzune stood nearby.

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Unexpected.

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The assistant editor leaned against the railing.

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Calm.

Observant.

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Dangerous.

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Very dangerous.

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"What?"

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Suzune looked toward the skyline.

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"You know him as a creator."

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A pause.

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"I knew him as an editor."

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That got his attention immediately.

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Completely.

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Because nobody mentioned that before.

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Not once.

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Haruki straightened.

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"What do you mean?"

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Suzune hesitated.

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The first hesitation he’d ever seen from her.

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Interesting.

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No.

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Still there.

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Eventually she answered.

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"Before he became famous."

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A pause.

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"He worked on projects that disappeared."

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Another.

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"Projects connected to people who disappeared too."

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The evening noise seemed farther away.

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Traffic.

Voices.

The city.

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Everything faded.

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Not because Suzune sounded dramatic.

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Because she didn’t.

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The statement arrived casually.

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As if discussing weather.

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Haruki stared.

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Then:

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"Ghost Project."

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The name escaped before he could stop it.

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Suzune looked at him.

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Actually looked.

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The reaction confirmed everything.

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Not answers.

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Connection.

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A connection existed.

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Before Haruki could ask another question, a notification appeared.

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Hidden Quest Update

Creator’s Crossroads

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Additional Thread Detected

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Ghost Project Investigation:

Unlocked

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Warning:

Not all stories want to be found.

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The notification vanished.

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Wonderful.

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Absolutely wonderful.

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The mystery returned.

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Exactly when his life became complicated enough already.

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Suzune stepped back toward the event.

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The moment ended.

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Not because answers arrived.

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Because questions multiplied.

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The worst kind of progress.

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Later that night, Haruki sat alone at his desk.

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The leak remained unresolved.

The contracts remained undecided.

The criticism remained visible.

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And now Ghost Project moved again.

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Not into the foreground.

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Just enough to remind him it existed.

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Exactly where it should be.

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The manga waited.

The future waited.

The mystery waited.

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And somewhere beyond all three, somebody still knew who leaked the screenshot.

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The question was whether Haruki wanted that answer.

Or whether discovering it would simply create another problem he wasn’t ready to solve.