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Volume 3, Chapter 3 - The Town of Beginnings Part 1

The young swordsman in Catalina’s painting appeared to be the exact likeness of Yasuo, but after looking closely, there were a number of small differences.

The young man in the painting appeared to be

wearing something that resembled a gakuran2.

At the Takeoka high school that Yasuo attended, the uniform for boys was the style that had a blazer.

The youth in the painting had shorter hair than Yasuo, and the way the hair was parted was a little old-fashioned.

“Fufufu.”

Catalina laughed upon seeing Shouko blankly staring at the painting.

“He is the Hero Hideo’s son, isn’t he?” “......”

Thinking about it rationally, saying that Yasuo was completely unrelated to the young man in the painting would be a little far-fetched.

Also, Shouko was aware of just how dangerous it would be for people to discover that 『The son of the Hero Hideo is in Ante Lande』.

“I don’t… know what you’re talking about.” Shouko gulped and tried to evade the question,

even though she realized herself that it was a poor attempt.

Shouko had let down her guard because this woman had saved them and given her shelter and a bed to sleep in.

Was this elderly woman an enemy, or an ally? Shouko wasn’t worried about whether this lady

was an enemy of Resteria, or an enemy of Diana’s. She was worried whether this lady was an adult who was willing to help the two of them, just as

they had wished for. “Where... exactly are we?” “That’s a strange question.”

“We only came over from Japan recently.” “Oh, that’s quite amazing. How did you get

here?”

Shouko did not know of any means of making that trip other than using the Gate Tower.

She couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“It’s like I said earlier. We just found ourselves in this forest before we knew what was happening.”

Hearing Yasuo’s voice from behind, Shouko turned around, and what she saw made her break out in a cold sweat.

Yasuo was standing there, with fatigue clearly showing on his face.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

“Yes. Sorry, I seem to have fallen asleep at some point.”

“It was inevitable, you were so tired, after all.” “......I didn’t realize it when I first came here,

but this really looks a lot like me, doesn’t it?” “You’re right, I thought the same thing as

well.”

Catalina nodded and continued to speak.

“I never imagined that I would get a chance to meet one of the Hero Hideo Kenzaki’s family members. You said your name was Yasuo, correct? Would you be so kind as to tell me the name of your sweetheart?”

“......It’s Shouko. Shouko Tatewaki.”

Shouko was not so incapable of reading that situation that she would lose her composure upon being referred to as Yasuo’s sweetheart in a tense situation like this.

Most likely, Yasuo had run into Catalina in the forest, and asked her for help.

However, thinking about it calmly, it was strange for a woman to be walking around alone in a forest filled with such dangerous beasts.

Yasuo had agreed to stay in her house temporarily for Shouko’s sake, but he had not let down his guard.

“The two of us had been living as usual in Japan. We had made plans to go out together. Right, Shouko?”

“Eh!? R-Right…”

However, even Shouko lost her composure for a second when Yasuo easily called her by her first name, something he had been very hesitant to do before. Even so, she managed to nod.

“We planned to have lunch and opened up our bento, and the next thing I knew, we were inside this forest. There was a massive amount of light. We don\'t know how we ended up here. Where exactly are we?”

“......”

“My father’s name is certainly Hideo… But have you met my father in the past?”

Catalina put on a neutral expression and nodded.

“Please wait here for a little while.”

Saying that, she turned around and left the workshop.

“Tatewaki-san.” “Ha……”

Yasuo walked forward, pulled Shouko by her hand, and made her stand half a step behind him.

Shouko did not resist, and moved to a spot behind him that would not be unnatural, and continued to look up at the painting, when Catalina came back while carrying a large piece of paper.

“Can you read a map?” “......No, I can’t.”

“I see. Well then, look over here.”

Yasuo couldn’t tell if she had noticed his momentary hesitation or not, but Catalina spread out a stiff piece of parchment on one of the tables in the workshop.

“This is the forest that we are in. The cabin we are in is around here.”

The points that Catalina pointed to were almost in the middle of the forest.

There was no way to tell where exactly Yasuo and Shouko had first landed here, but looking at the map it was clear that they had just been heading deeper and deeper into the forest.

“The closest town from here would be this one, Galedeite. Have you heard about it?”

“No, I’ve never heard of such a place.”

The place Catalina was pointing to was located east of the forest.

“Where is the river? When we were in the forest, we saw a fairly large river in the area.”

In reply to Shouko’s question, Catalina traced her finger along the southern part of the forest, where there was nothing written on the map.

“That river is not on this map. This map is quite old. That river was created by Yasuo’s father, thirty years ago.”

“......”

Yasuo managed to control his suddenly increased heartbeat, and somehow managed to

keep a calm expression.

“Created by Dad… Wait, what does that mean? Actually, it’s been bugging me since we first got here, but is this place really not Japan?”

“.........”

Catalina started Yasuo as if trying to gauge his real intentions, but she soon shook her head.

“Didn’t your father tell you anything at all?” “Tell me about what? My father is just an

ordinary salaryman. He works for a company that deals with foodstuffs and makes measurement devices, and I didn’t hear anything about him creating rivers. Nor did I hear anything about him doing something that deserves such a wonderful painting.”

“I see, you really don’t know anything… In that case, I suppose it’s only natural that you are confused.”

“Yeah. And speaking of things we don’t understand, we don’t know what is going on with her eye either.”

Yasuo tried to take a light jab at her regarding the Shii, but Catalina did not show any overt reaction and continued to move things forward.

“In the beginning, I thought she was badly injured, but she insists that she is fine...”

“......I don’t really know anything about that

either, but do you mind if I ask a question?”

“What is it?”

“Before the two of us met, which one of you let out that shout that reverberated throughout the forest?”

Yasuo glanced at Shouko for just an instant, before frowning and replying.

“I think that was me.” “You?”

“I mean, there were these weird and scary wolf- like things and I screamed my head off for a while, so I’m not sure exactly what point in time you were referring to, Catalina-san. However, I can tell you that I was the only one screaming.”

“That’s a little pitiful of you, don’t you think? A man should keep his act together and allow his sweetheart to rely on him.”

Hearing Yasuo’s shameful confession, Catalina’s expression finally relaxed.

“In Japan, the girls are quite strong.” “Yes, I know that.”

Catalina folded the map.

“I’m sure you must be confused after going through a lot of things, but if you’d like, I will escort you to Galedeite tomorrow morning. It will be easier to obtain information in a large town compared to wandering around in the forest, and I think that there are a lot of things that you two will be able to gain from that as well.”

“That would be great. Thank you very much.” Yasuo bowed his head, and Shouko also

imitated him.

“The two of you can use that guest room. Be a gentleman and let the lady have the bed, okay? Also, I’m sure that it must be hard to have your date interrupted by such strange events, but save the adolescence for after the situation has calmed down, okay?”

“Eh? Haa… Okay? Umm...” “......!!”

Yasuo looked puzzled because he didn’t understand what that last bit meant, and Shouko turned bright red after vaguely understanding it. Seeing that, Catalina had a satisfied expression for some reason.

After that, Catalina brought two cups of hot water, a pitcher, and a candle holder with a new candle to the guest room where Shouko had been sleeping earlier and left after leaving them in the room.

“Fuuu… I was so tense.” “Y-Yeah…”

Shouko still looked restless while sitting on the bed, but Yasuo pretended not to notice. He stretched his body and sat down in the chair after picking up the blanket that he had dropped on the floor.

“I wonder what she meant about that adolescence or whatever that she said in the end… Did I hear her wrong?”

“Haa!? You didn’t understand that!?” “Eh?”

“Ah, yeah, it’s nothing...”

Shouko, who had unintentionally raised her voice, struggled to hold her voice in check.

They had introduced themselves as lovers, and had done their best to convince Catalina that they were just victims from another world who were stranded here and had no idea about anything related to Ante Lande.

In that sort of situation, there was only one sort of gentle warning that elderly people would give to a vigorous young couple when they had to sleep at night in a room with only one bed.

“I mean, boys should be better at picking up that sort of thing… oh, never mind. Knowing Yasu-kun, I guess that’s only natural.”

Due to Yasuo’s reaction, it looked like she was the one who had some strange expectations, which only served to embarrass her even more.

Father, Mother, I’m sorry.

“S-So, what should we do from tomorrow onwards?”

“I suppose there’s nothing for it but to stay under Catalina-san’s care for a while. She seems to

know about my father, after all.” “Ah, right, that is...”

“Besides, she looks like a foreigner no matter how you look at her, but I’m glad she can speak Japanese.”

“Haa… Hmm?”

“In any case, I’m glad we didn’t end up as some wolf’s dinner while being lost. Let’s just go to sleep for today. I have no energy left at all.”

“Y-Yeah…”

Was it just her imagination, or did Yasuo say something strange just now?

“H-Hey, Shouko.” “......Eh?”

“Mind if I get into the bed with you?” “............................Eh?”

Shouko blinked once, and the next second, she turned bright red all the way from her toes to the top of her head.

“Ya, Ya-Ya-Ya-Ya-Ya-Ya…...”

“It’s a little chilly, and I think we’ll be warmer if we stack both blankets and sleep under them together.”

“T-T-T-That’s… T-That’s true, b-but Catalina- san said…”

“It’ll be fine so long as we don’t make too much noise.”

“W-W-W-W-W-W-What happened to you? Did you fall in the forest and hit your head or something!?”

The way he was speaking was quite different from the Kenzaki Yasuo that she knew.

He acted like he hadn’t understood the meaning of Catalina’s teasing earlier, but did he get carried away after introducing her as his girlfriend?

Shouko had gone past blushing and was now at the state where she might start giving off red light at any moment, and she started to panic, but–

“What’s wrong? We do this all the time, don’t we?”

“Eeeeeeeeeeh... Ummmmmm… Yasu-kun wha- wha-what do you intend to do…”

“What’s wrong? I’m not talking about intending to do something, this is what I meant.”

“Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-This? H-H-Hang on, I’m not prepared to…”

In that instant, in that room that was only illuminated by candle light, a new strong source of blue-tinged light appeared.

“......Eh?”

It was Yasuo’s Slimphone.

There were some words typed on that familiar blue-tinged screen.

『Your Slimphone battery isn’t dead yet, right? Let’s communicate through text.』

“It’s obvious what I mean, right?” “......Eh?”

Beside Shouko who was sitting on the bed and continuously blinking in confusion, Yasuo was sitting so close that they were just barely not touching each other, and continued to input text using his Slimphone’s flick input keyboard.

『I know where we are. But I don’t want Catalina-san to find out the extent of our knowledge. In the unlikely chance that she’s spying on us, I’d like to talk under the blankets so that it doesn’t look strange. I understand that it might make you uncomfortable, but I promise that I won’t do anything strange.』

“Ah……”

『I’m almost certain that she is eavesdropping on us right now. As far as she is concerned, we are just clueless people who came to Ante Lande from another world, like “Hideo” and “Madoka” did in the past. I want her to assume that we are not thinking too deeply about it.』

“...F-Fine, I d-don’t mind, if that’s what you mean…”

It was true that Shouko was also wary of Catalina, and she understood the dangers that came with being 『The son of the Hero Hideo』.

Shouko was convinced that Yasuo’s request was perfectly justified, and she pulled her

Slimphone out of her bag with dull movements and slowly lay down on the bed.

And then, when the bed let out a slight creak after taking Yasuo’s weight as well–

“.....!!”

At this point, Shouko realized that this was still incredibly embarrassing, but it was already too late to back out.

The two of them lay facing each other on the bed that was fairly narrow, while blushing furiously and holding their Slimphones in front of them like shields.

Despite speaking so calmly earlier, Yasuo was also completely red now that they were actually in the bed together, and seeing that, Shouko also got more and more embarrassed.

“Huh?” “W-What…!”

Yasuo could see that the flame in Shouko’s eye had significantly reduced in size.

Still, the flame didn’t completely go out, so he could see see the red eye of the Shii in the center of the flame.

“......No, it’s nothing.”

Since it didn’t disappear, there was nothing particularly significant about the fact that it had reduced in size.

Yasuo stopped himself from talking further, and let out a large sigh.

“Hiiii… Hey, Yasu-kun, you’re too close, so don’t let out such a large sigh...”

“A-Ah, sorry… that reminds me, I haven’t brushed my teeth…”

Speaking about such things in whispers, the two of them found it hard to get to the main topic.

“A-Anyways, good night, S-Shouko.” “R-Right, good night.”

After exchanging a bedtime greeting for the sake of Catalina who might have been eavesdropping, Yasuo pulled the blankets a little higher around them, and that caused Shouko, who was still nervous about each movement he made, to stiffen her body even further.

“......”

Shouko glanced through upturned eyes at Yasuo, who was desperately avoiding looking at her while typing something on his Slimphone.

『We are currently in a place called the Gaz Commonwealth. The Knights Division of Resteria that Diana belongs to doesn’t have any influence here.』

That was the first thing Yasuo showed her on his screen by typing it out.

Seeing Shouko frown, Yasuo flicked his finger on the screen keyboard a few times as if he had

anticipated her question, and once again turned it towards her.

『I’ve heard about a river that my father was said to have created during the fight with the Demon King’s army. Apparently, it’s called the Hideo Holy Sword River.』

“Pfft.”

Shouko couldn’t help letting out a laugh at that ridiculous name which sounded like something any sane person would object to, and then immediately realized what she had done and went back to being alert after looking at the door of the room.

Since everyone in the Kenzaki family, Hideo included, had the same reaction back when Khalija had first come to their house and told this story, Yasuo was not particularly annoyed by her reaction.

『The river is famous and the water is considered to be holy, and there is supposed to be a church near the riverbank. I think it might be in the town that Catalina-san mentioned earlier.』

After Shouko nodded wordlessly, Yasuo once again started typing on his Slimphone.

“.........”

Shouko suddenly realized that she had been intently staring at Yasuo’s face from up close while he was busy typing, but turning her gaze

away also felt unnatural, so she spent the time until Yasuo finished typing by staring at the back of his Slimphone that was slightly moving back and forth in accordance with the movement of his fingers over the screen.

『I have no idea how far Resteria is from the Gaz Commonwealth, but I don’t think it will be at a distance that the two of us can easily cover on our own. Even if it is a neighboring country.』

Shouko nodded after reading that.

Even if it was a neighboring country, for the two of them who had no means of transportation other than walking, it could not be considered close by any means.

『I think it will be impossible for both Diana and my father to reach out to us without having any hint of our current location. There is no guarantee that the two of them made it to Resteria either. That’s why I plan to reach out to this country’s Knights’ Division sometime soon and reveal myself as the son of the Hero Hideo.』

“!”

Shouko’s eyes opened wide. “There is no other choice.”

After quietly whispering that, Yasuo went back to typing on the phone keyboard.

『Rather than looking for a way to let my father or Diana know that we are here, I think it would be

more efficient to let Resteria, and Diana’s mother in particular, know where we are. The person that Catalina-san mentioned, Erijina Radagast, is Diana’s mother.』

At this point, Shouko started typing on her own Slimphone for the first time.

『In that case, how about asking Catalina-san to reach out to her? It sounded like she knew Diana- san’s mother, after all.』

『That’s still too dangerous right now. We need to wait at least until we reach the town and find a large organization to look after us.』

『Why is that?』

『There is no guarantee that Catalina-san is on Resteria’s side.』

『She said her painting is a national treasure of Resteria, though.』

『Even Khalija-san was a Knight sworn to serve the country. But she still betrayed her country and obeyed the orders from Carnelian. There is no proof that Catalina-san won’t do the same.』

Shouko looked like she still wasn’t convinced, but Yasuo silently pointed at her left eye.

『Back when I first saw her in the forest, Catalina-san showed some surprise upon seeing your left eye, but she didn’t show any trace of fear. I find that to be odd.』

“?”

『In Ante Lande, the Shii are seen as terrifying monsters. It is strange for an ordinary artist to not be afraid of something that can even defeat a Magitech Knight.』

“......”

『Just like Khalija-san, she might know about the Latch as well. Of course, there is a chance that she was not afraid simply because she is actually an incredibly strong magician despite her age, but I can’t let down my guard around her until I know for sure.』

『I see.』

『That is why, from tomorrow onwards, we must appear to be outworlders who know nothing. There are actually more things that we don’t know, and half of the things we do know are still surprising even if we have heard about them before, so I don’t think there is any reason to get worked up about it.』

『What about your mother? She’s famous as well, right?』

“Ah…...”

Yasuo put on a complicated expression for a few moments, but immediately resumed typing.

『Since I said that I didn’t know anything about my father’s life here, I suppose there is no choice but to say that I only know that my mother is a housewife as well. However, it would be

suspicious to try too hard to hide the fact that her name is Madoka, so we need to tell her that if she asks.』

If Catalina was someone who was interested in how the Hero Hideo’s life turned out after the war with Demon King Kaul, she would no doubt ask him 『What kind of person is Hideo’s wife?』

Yasuo was supposed to pretend that he didn’t know that his mother was considered to be a Great Sage, so he would have to pretend that he thought she was just a regular person and a housewife.

If Catalina brought up the name 『Madoka』 on her own, he would have to act surprised and say that his mother had the same name.

If Catalina asked him what his mother’s name was, he would have to reply with 『Madoka』 and then act surprised when she would inevitably tell all about Madoka also being a magician who fought alongside Hideo in Ante Lande.

In any case, if they were going to keep playing dumb, they would need to prepare a large number of lies for when they started talking about Madoka Sugiura, so the sooner they got it over with, the better.

After Yasuo explained that to Shouko, she nodded strongly.

“......Sounds like a lot of work.”

She unintentionally whispered that aloud.

Deep down, Yasuo also agreed with her.

Would the two of them really be able to pull off such an act?

How far could they go with their makeshift lies, against that artist who gave off a feeling of craftiness and intelligence even when she was silent?

“...In any case, let’s get Catalina-san to take us to a large town, and discuss what to do after that once we get there. There’s no point talking about that now. Also, let’s ask her tomorrow if she can help to hide that eye of yours in some way.”

Since there was no problem even if those words were overheard, he just said them aloud.

The fact was that they had no options except to reach out to either Hideo or Resteria.

Unlike Hideo and Diana, the two of them did not possess any means to safely escape from danger, so they had no choice but to rely on Catalina even though she seemed suspicious.

“......Okay.”

Shouko nodded and gripped her own Slimphone with both hands.

『Okay, we should probably go to sleep. I’ll sleep on the floor, so…』

He had finished talking about everything that he wanted to discuss.

Yasuo tried to leave the blankets that had become warm from the heat of both their bodies, but he was stopped by Shouko’s anxious voice and trembling hand.

“W-Wait, Yasu-kun...... It’s fine. Let’s just

sleep together like this.” “Eh!?”

Hearing Shouko say that all of a sudden, it was Yasuo’s turn to go bright red.

“I-If you do anything strange, I’ll give you the same treatment as those wolves from earlier… B- But, you’re tired as well, Yasu-kun, so if I was the only one who got to sleep in a bed, I’d feel bad… Umm… I mean...”

Shouko put her slimphone under the pillow and held his hand.

“I want you to hold my hand. Being alone is scary.”

Being stared at directly with her anxiety-filled eyes, Yasuo unconsciously gulped.

“I-I’m embarrassed by this as well, you know… And now you’re acting like this despite saying all those things earlier that made me want to die from embarrassment… Ei!”

Growing tired of seeing Yasuo just getting flustered, Shouko pulled him by his hand strongly and dragged him back into the bed.

“If you do anything strange, you’ll end up like those wolves in the forest, okay? I’ll bash you in the jaw with my knee, okay?”

“Y-You already said that…...!”

“Y-You just have to hold my hand, okay? I mean, we are supposed to be lovers, right? This way is more natural, right? So...”

“I get it. I get it…!”

Despite Yasuo giving in to her demand, just by holding his hand, Shouko could tell that his whole body had become stiff.

Lying side by side on that bed that was by no means large, Yasuo and Shouko maintained a distance from each other where their bodies were just barely not touching, and their hands grew warm as if they were communicating their presence to each other just through their hands.

“......Ta—”

“......We’re supposed to be lovers, right?”

“...Sh-Shouko…”

“What’s wrong? You called me so naturally by my name earlier, so I was a little happy...”

“T-That was…”

That was because it was necessary, In other words, it was just an act.

However, if they know the weight of a real sword, they will be able to represent that in their acting and make it look more life-like.

While thinking about acting, Yasuo unconsciously remembered the words said by his classmate, Aioi Aoto, regarding preparing for plays.

If you know what the real thing feels like, it will seem more life-like.

If your acting is accompanied by real-life experience, then it will cease to be acting and will become real.

So what were the real feelings in his heart, seeing as he had been able to call Shouko by her name so easily…?

“I felt that… I had to protect you, Sh-Shouko, so… I was able to call you that.”

Yasuo spoke so softly that his words were unclear even though their faces were so close to each other, but Shouko heard it perfectly.

“I’m glad. I’d be even more glad if you could call my name without hesitating.”

Shouko looked just a little embarrassed after saying that, and hid her face behind their interlocked hands.

“...I’m sorry, for things ending up this way.” “It’s not your fault, Yasu-kun. I don\'t have any

serious injuries, and I am still alive. I’m a little scared, but there is a person who is willing to help us out. And moreover… you’re with me, Yasu- kun. So I’m fine.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Yes, I’m counting on you.”

As Shouko said that with a red face and smiled, the fire of the Shii in her left eye suddenly disappeared.

“Sh-Shouko…… the flame in your eye

just…...”

“Yeah. My vision didn’t particularly change or anything, but I thought that might be the case.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure…… Yasu-kun?”

“Hmm?”

“If do anything strange, you get the wolf treatment, okay?”

“How many times are you going to say that...” Yasuo wasn’t able to say anything more than

that.

Shouko pulled him even closer, put her forehead against his chest, and wrapped her arms around his body.

“Good night.” “............!”

Yasuo felt every muscle and joint in his body stiffen simultaneously, and he became incapable of moving.

In front of his chest, Shouko’s head moved slightly.

Yasuo had absolutely no leeway to realize that she was laughing because she found his situation to be funny.

Even though he had been hugged, he had no idea what to do with his own hands that were currently floating in the air.

Yasuo thought about that until it felt like his brain was going to overheat.

His brain was caught between the questions on whether it was okay to touch her, or whether it was a bad idea to touch her, and then it moved on to a never-ending argument in his own brain about what sort of posture he should take to keep from touching her, or in case it was okay to touch her, what parts were okay to touch.

“........Suuuuu……..”

“Wait, seriously?”

And then, Yasuo realized that Shouko had fallen asleep without caring about his dilemma.

Yasuo had thought she was just messing around with him, but he could clearly feel that her arms were leaden as they encircled him.

Shouko, who had used the power of the Shii’s flames to drive away the pack of beasts, must not have fully recovered from that ordeal.

Her anxiety and mental stress from their exchanges with Catalina earlier must have also reached their peak.

She didn’t respond even when he twisted his body a little, so when he tried to push her shoulder a little, she easily rolled away from him and lay on her back.

Even though it was only for a little while, Yasuo could tell that the posture of sleeping on one’s side while embracing another person put a lot of strain on the body.

If he left her in that position, there was a chance that she would not recover her strength by morning, and moreover, his mind would not last.

Yasuo slowly moved Shouko’s hand that was still on his waist back towards her, and put it in a position that would be comfortable for her to sleep in.

After that, Yasuo tried to get up and sleep on the floor as per his original plan, but Shouko was gripping his hand tightly as if she had see through that plan of his.

“Ah.”

If he tried to forcefully free his hand from her grip, he might wake her up.

After a few seconds, Yasuo gave up and once again lay down next to Shouko.

The space available to Yasuo was fairly small since Shouko was sleeping on her back, but there was nothing he could do about that.

“Haa……”

As he gazed at Shouko’s sleeping face from the side, his own eyelids started to get heavier.

Yasuo himself had also accumulated a fair amount of fatigue.

“...I’ll do my best.”

Yasuo, who found himself in the unprecedented situation of sharing a bed with a girl he knew, was unable to resist the will of his body that cried out for rest, and before long he had fallen into a deep sleep as well.

After that, by the time the candle that the two of them had forgotten to blow out had burned down completely, the door creaked open and Catalina entered the room.

Seeing the boy and girl sleeping on the same bed with barely any distance between them, the artist gave a small smile.

“Right then… Is this a coincidence… or perhaps…”

She looked out of the window. “Did someone arrange this?”

Was it the wolves’ will o’ wisps that cut through the darkness far in the distance, in the noisy forest that blended into the darkness of the night?

After glancing at the will o’ wisps that cut across the view shown outside the window, Catalina gently stroked Yasuo’s hair as he slept, and left the room.

“I suppose I should reach out to that person, just in case.”

※