"Ugh… mmph—"
A dull ache in his neck stirred Haruto awake. The pressure on his chest made breathing difficult. As he slowly peeled open his heavy eyelids, the first thing that came into view was a cascade of soft, silky hair.
Whose hair…?
Where am I?
The soft morning light shimmered off the nearby kitchen utensils. Though the surroundings initially felt unfamiliar, as his consciousness gradually returned, the place began to look more and more familiar. With one hand, Haruto gently propped himself up.
"Mmm—"
The moment he sat up from the sofa, a soft moan escaped from the girl in his lap. Glancing down, he saw a delicate body lying atop his legs. Familiar hairstyle. Familiar frame.
It was Mai.
Haruto rubbed his brow with his left hand.
"Haru…to?"
"Good morning. It's already morning. Time to wake up."
"I… didn't go back to my room last night?"
"Clearly not."
Turning his head to the other side, he noticed another girl curled up beside him—Setsuna—sleeping peacefully. Even the slight movement of him sitting up hadn't disturbed her at all.
Looking at the innocent, sleeping face of the girl he loved, he shifted his gaze back to Mai—his future mother-in-law—then glanced again at his legs she was pinning down.
"My legs are kind of numb. Mind letting me sit up a bit?"
"Hm?"
Mai blinked, confused. She hadn't realized she'd been lying on top of his legs all night. But as Haruto subtly shifted, she finally noticed the situation and flushed with embarrassment, quickly sitting up to free him.
Though his legs were numb and tingling, it was still better than the time Futaba Rio completely paralyzed his body during their lab mishap. Compared to that, this was tolerable.
Now seated upright on the sofa, Haruto cast a glance at the still-sleeping Setsuna, then looked back to Mai.
"She's still asleep. I should head back to my apartment. School's coming up soon, and I need to get ready."
He slowly stood up. His legs were wobbly but recovering. After taking a few steps and loosening the stiffness, he crouched down in front of Setsuna and gently pressed a kiss to her soft, pale cheek.
Mai was still a bit dazed from just waking up. Watching Haruto kiss her daughter didn't spark any strong emotion—just a quiet fatigue from poor sleep.
"Be careful on your way."
"I will."
Haruto retrieved his clothes from Setsuna's room, returned to the living room, slipped on his shoes, and exited the Kiyoura residence. The morning was quiet, with no pedestrians in sight. He walked down the stairs, thankful that Sekai hadn't stepped out yet.
Dodging an encounter with her saved him the trouble of explaining things. As he reached his apartment building, he bumped into another resident—a woman wearing a face mask and a coat.
She had long purple hair and paused in surprise upon seeing Haruto in his pajamas and a jacket. Her eyes widened for a moment, then quickly averted as she hurried past him.
Haruto could only scratch his cheek awkwardly.
"…She probably thinks I'm some weirdo, huh?"
He watched her disappear around the corner, sighed, and headed inside. Once in his apartment, he checked the time—still enough left.
He took a quick shower to clear his head, then got dressed. Shirt, blazer, checked the mirror—everything looked fine.
"No issues."
He made a simple breakfast to fill his stomach, then left his apartment again.
Still no sign of Sekai.
"She must've gone to school already."
He thought about their plans for that evening and winced at the lingering soreness in his neck, gently rubbing it with his right hand as he walked toward school. Regardless of how uncomfortable his sleep had been, school was still school.
Since he had spent a bit of time at home, the classroom was already somewhat full by the time he arrived. The moment he stepped inside, he felt the stares. Whispering voices filled the room.
Some girls quickly looked away as he met their eyes, while others hid their faces behind their hands, shyly giggling.
What's going on…?
Haruto furrowed his brow and quietly made his way to his seat.
"Is it true?"
"It has to be. Isn't the name on that book also Miyamizu?"
"He's only been in Tokyo for like three months, right?"
"I go to Shinjuku all the time and never get interviewed. But he… he ends up on a late-night show? That's insane!"
Although whispered, the gossip was loud enough to hear in the relatively quiet classroom. Students who had gone to bed early were now turning to their peers with puzzled expressions.
As more students entered and filled the classroom, the buzz around Haruto only grew. It wasn't until the bell rang for class that the murmurs finally died down—though lingering gazes remained locked on him.
The attention even extended to those seated near him.
"What happened?"
Hinami Aoi, always mindful of her appearance and usually asleep by midnight, hadn't watched the show in question. But she quickly picked up on the strange vibe in the classroom, especially the conflicted, tense expression on her best friend—Eriri.
Curious, Aoi approached a few other girls to ask what was going on.
Someone with a bright personality like Aoi didn't face much resistance.
"Last night on TV, someone saw Miyamizu-kun get interviewed on a late-night show. He apparently wrote a novel too—got praised by that famous host. You know, the one always on TV?"
"A late-night program? I see… Thanks."
Though shocked internally, Aoi maintained her usual calm demeanor. She returned to her seat beside Eriri and casually passed on the news.
"Just now—"
"I heard already. That guy was on TV."
Eriri glanced toward Haruto's seat, then quickly turned away and looked at Aoi.
"I'm surprised. I didn't think Miyamizu-kun had such luck—getting interviewed on TV, and apparently publishing a book? No wonder the girls in class are all looking at him differently."
"Not like it has anything to do with me."
"Really?"
Eriri avoided Aoi's gaze, lowering her head and closing her eyes.
She didn't respond.
Seated at his desk, Haruto could feel the occasional glances cast his way from around the classroom. It reminded him of how it felt when he had first transferred to this school. With one hand supporting his cheek, he turned his head to look out the window at the clear blue sky. Gazing into the vast azure, he began to ponder what might await him next.
Since some people in the class already know, word will probably spread throughout the school soon enough. Among them, a few might recognize my work and even head to a bookstore to buy it. I shouldn't expect much from the boys… but if it's the girls, maybe I could sell a few hundred copies?
Not far away, Itsuki Nakano sat at her own desk, quietly listening to the class chatter about Haruto. She soon picked up on what had happened—how Haruto had been interviewed on a TV program, and how he had even published a novel. Her gaze instinctively drifted toward the boy seated by the window.
There he was, propping his cheek with one hand, a calm and indifferent expression on his face, as though nothing in the world could faze him. The morning sun of early summer, shining through the window, framed him against the sky, giving him an oddly captivating presence.
He's been tutoring me every Saturday, and yet… he's never once mentioned that he writes novels… Hmm…
A tangle of mixed emotions stirred within Itsuki's heart. She had always believed that her relationship with Haruto was closer than that of others. Yet now, she realized that even girls less close to him seemed to know more about his private life. That realization left her feeling strangely off-balance.
The desire to know more about him, to grow even closer to him than she already was—those feelings quietly began to take root in her heart.
Meanwhile, sitting silently at her own desk was Ichika Nakano. After learning the news about Haruto, she glanced his way briefly, then returned her gaze to her desk. She too rested her cheek in her palm, but instead of looking outside, her head remained lowered. Her expression was unreadable, as if concealing something deep within.
Then, breaking the moment:
"Wanna go to the cafeteria with us at lunch, Mister Famous Author?" someone teased with a playful tone.
"Sorry," Haruto replied with a faint smile. "I've already made plans."
"You always disappear on your own during lunch. Don't tell me you've already got a girlfriend?"
Yoshii squinted suspiciously at Haruto.
Haruto didn't answer. He simply smiled again and stood up, calmly walking out of the classroom.
Left behind, Yoshii frowned deeply, turning to his best friend.
"Yuji!"
"No."
"I haven't even said anything yet!"
"With someone like you, who wears his thoughts on his sleeve, I already know exactly what you're thinking—even without you saying a word. You're planning to secretly follow him to see who he's having lunch with, right?"
"Was it that obvious?!"
"…"
Anyone who spent even a short amount of time with Yoshii could easily guess his thoughts just by reading his facial expressions. Whether that made him endearingly pure or just hopelessly dumb was anyone's guess.
Yuji thought about it for a second.
"Honestly, maybe both."
"Even if we find out, what's the point? Let's go. If we don't head to the cafeteria now, there won't be any seats left."
"True! Good point. Let's go, quickly!"
As Yoshii dashed out of the room, Yuji followed at a more relaxed pace. But before leaving, he paused at the doorway and cast a brief glance toward the two girls still sitting quietly in the classroom. A knowing smile crept onto his face.
Watching other people's romantic drama unfold like this… is actually kind of fun.
Haruto, on the other hand, made his way down the hall and eventually arrived at the science lab. As always, he wore his white lab coat. Inside, he walked up to Futaba Rio and stopped in front of her, setting down the lunch box he had brought.
It was a simple bento he had made that morning before leaving home.
"Now that I think about it, I've never made you lunch before, have I?"
"…What's with the sudden weird comment?"
"Love-husband bento?"
"Disgusting."
Normally stoic and composed, Rio couldn't help but react this time. At Haruto's words, an unwanted mental image flashed through her mind—Haruto, naked except for an apron, lovingly making her lunch.
Her expression twisted into visible disgust.
Haruto blinked in confusion.
"Is my bento that gross?"
He glanced down at the neatly packed box, inspecting it carefully. Nothing seemed unusual.
"Ahem… It's not that the food looks bad. It's just… the way you said it. That whole 'love-husband bento' thing—do you even hear yourself? That was way too bold and cringey!"
"Isn't it usually called a 'love-wife bento'? So if a guy makes it, wouldn't it naturally be a love-husband bento?"
"Ugh—!"
Rio slapped a hand over her mouth, visibly pale.
Standing across from her, Haruto watched her with deep confusion.
She looked like she was about to hurl.
What part of that was so offensive? Shows say stuff like that all the time…
But in Rio's mind, Haruto's repeated utterances of "love-wife" and "love-husband" had triggered vivid, unwanted mental images—of the two of them behaving like some lovey-dovey newlywed couple. The thought filled her with intense discomfort. Her whole body recoiled, and she crouched down, almost collapsing.
Alarmed, Haruto dropped to her side and leaned in, his face filled with concern.
"…Are you pregnant?"