Free Missing Children by JIN Page B

this, Konoha took the book out and started flipping through the pages. His serious face was completely different from his usual one.
    “H-hey. Did you find something?”
    Even when I asked him, Konoha seemed to be completed engrossed in the book, and was still flipping through the pages.
    Curious about what was in it, I walked up next to him. The moment I saw the page that Konoha had it opened to, I understand why he was so serious.
    “H-hey, isn’t this a……”
    “Yeah, I was surprised.”
    On the open page was a drawing of a huge dragon. There was an English comment written in cursive beside it, but Konoha was more focused on the drawing of the dragon.
    “…… It’s so cool.”
    My shoulders dropped heavily. I was an idiot to have expected anything from him.
    Well, in the first place, it wouldn’t be so easy to just find something. I felt really stupid for getting so excited in spite of this fact.
    As I slumped down with my mood, this time it was Kido that tapped my shoulder.
    “Shintaro, I found something crazy.”
    Wondering what it could possibly be this time, I turned around and saw that Kido was holding something that looked like a sketchbook.
    On the cover, the word “Secret” was written in thick, black letters.
    “Hey now, this is…”
    “Yeah, it seems like they were up to something dangerous……”
    Kido said, and slowly began to open the cover of the book.
    On the page was a rather original drawing of a girl who I supposed was Mary, running around with a sword in hand.
    Was she the heroine of some kingdom? But judging by the crown she was wearing, she could royalty of some sort, too.
    We turned the page.
    This time, there was a drawing of Mary riding a thick-legged creature that looked like a dragon or a lizard.
    Was she trying to stab the dragon-thing?
    Mary had a sword in her hand, but maybe she under some kind of spell. Although she should be in the middle of battle, Mary looked impressive with a huge smile on her face.
    We turned the page.
    On the next page, there was a picture of Mary dancing intensely.
    Some kind of celebration for defeating the dragon-thing?
    But looking at it closely, the dragon was dancing, too. Even though he’d been stabbed with a sword already, what kind of negotiations skills did she use for them to have reconciled already?
    Since a while ago, Kido had been snorting every time she turned the page, and already seemed to be having difficulty breathing. In the end, this sketchbook hadn’t helped us at all.
    “Kyaaaaah! Don’t look at that—!”
    The moment that Mary, who had been staring out of the window, realized we were reading this book, her face went bright red and she jumped up from her seat.
    “Sorry…… Mary…… Heh, hehe……”
    Kido seemed greatly amused by the illustrated adventure, and was on the verge of collapse as she held her stomach in laughter.
    “Th-these are just doodles! So, so…… Aaahh! So embarrassing!”
    Mary screamed while holding her face with both hands. It was probably my imagination that her hair was quivering ever so slightly.
    “That’s pretty amazing to have yourself as the protagonist, though.”
    I commented offhandedly, which only made Kido laugh harder.
    Mary screamed again in embarrassment.
    To think that we’d uncovered this dark past so magnificent.
    I was sure that it was tough for Mary right now, but at the same time, I strongly hoped that she’d grow from this.
    Kido sat down in a chair, and had started to steady her breathing again.
    However, she continued to snicker whenever she thought back on it, making Mary cry out, “No moreee,” each time.
    “Hey, Mary. Is there anything like a diary lying around?”
    Thinking that we’d better start searching seriously, I asked Mary this, and she turned towards me with a glare.
    “I don’t have anything else weirder than this……!”
    “Ahhh, no, not yours! I mean maybe a diary that belonged to your mother or something—I was just thinking, she might have