The next day, the sun was already high in the sky.
Yoru crawled out of bed with dark circles under his eyes, dragging his heavy, overweight body. His lower half ached from last night, but a cold shower would fix that.
"Ahhh—haaah—"
He yawned loudly. He'd spent the entire night wide awake, thinking things through.
He had nearly drifted off in the second half of the night when suddenly, the image of the golden treasure chest above Utaha's head came to mind.
The progress bar on the golden chest had gone up.
Yoru ran through countless possibilities in his mind and eventually concluded—
It seemed like just being near Utaha would slowly increase the progress bar?
"Forget being near her. Even seeing her from a distance makes me want to take a detour."
"That damn bitch!"
Yoru knew it was impossible. He clenched his fists, his face twisted in frustration.
After venting his anger, Yoru quickly got out of bed—he had things to do today.
As he opened the bedroom door and headed to wash up, he noticed something on the floor by the door: a thick stack of 10,000 yen bills and a small bag.
Inside were eyedrops, throat lozenges, band-aids, and ointment.
Yoru froze, then bent down and gently picked it up. "Mom… Dad…"
He put the things away and went downstairs to wash up.
At this hour, he was home alone.
After washing up, he found the breakfast his mom had left for him and sat down at the table. He ate mechanically, chewing tasteless food as he scrolled through his phone.
School would start again in a few days. Yoru needed to find a place to live before then.
He had a few small requirements for the apartment: preferably close to school, with nice scenery nearby, and access to a free public park.
He didn't need anything luxurious—just a small studio apartment. Something cheap.
He figured somewhere near the border of the Minato district would work.
After breakfast, he took some cash and went out.
Standing at the door, he looked up at the gloomy sky and frowned.
Taking a deep breath, he looked himself up and down.
Still the same fat body—but something felt different.
Maybe his mindset.
He now carried a pressure and hatred he couldn't ignore.
On the way out, Yoru avoided girls as much as possible. He didn't want any trouble.
If something happened and word got back to Shuchiin, he could be expelled.
...
"This one won't work. Rent's way too expensive," Yoru muttered as he boarded another train.
Time passed, and soon it was noon.
He had already visited several apartments. Some had good layouts but poor locations. Others had decent locations but weren't quite right.
The one he had just seen had a great layout and location, but it was too expensive—close to an office area he didn't even need.
"Next one… border between Meguro River District and Minato."
"Close to Meguro Station… there's a big historical landmark park nearby. It's a free tourist spot… Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum is there too…"
"But the address the landlord gave is kinda vague…"
Yoru sat in the far corner of the train car, talking to himself out of habit.
Once he arrived, he headed straight for the residential area near the historical park.
In this area, commercial and residential zones were clearly separated.
The apartment listing didn't give a clear address—only general directions and a few landmarks to look out for.
Yoru spent nearly half an hour wandering around. He came out of a nearby convenience store with a bottle of water and grumbled, "Who the hell is this landlord? Can't even get in touch by phone."
"Guess I'll keep looking," he muttered, grateful at least that it was overcast. If it were sunny, he'd be drenched in sweat.
The neighborhood was spacious, clean, and well-planned. There were roads for cars, bikes, and pedestrians, and plenty of greenery.
It was lunchtime, so the place was quiet. Not a soul in sight.
Just as he turned a corner—
A soft slap hit his chest.
A small girl with long golden hair and bright blue-gray eyes walked right into him.
She was incredibly cute.
Yoru glanced at her and, for some reason, felt an unexpected warmth and familiarity.
He quickly looked away and moved to walk along the wall.
"So weird… why can't I find it…"
Gabriel muttered as she looked at her phone. Sensing Yoru's glance, she looked over.
"So fat!"
She was mildly shocked, then completely unbothered, turned the corner, and walked away.
"Foreign girl," Yoru muttered, then resumed his search.
Fifteen minutes later—
Yoru leaned against a utility pole along the sidewalk and gave up.
"Forget it. On to the next one."
"So tired… whew…"
Just then, a gentle voice called from behind him.
"Ah… sumimasen. May I ask for directions?"
Yoru turned around, surprised, and saw the same cute, foreign girl from before. She was politely leaning forward, smiling sweetly, and looking right at him.
"Uh… wha…"
Yoru was stunned. For the first time in his life, such a beautiful girl had spoken to him—even if it was just for directions.
"Do you know this place?" Gabriel showed her phone to Yoru.
"Huh… wait, you're looking for this apartment too? Are you trying to rent it?" Yoru looked at her in surprise and showed his own phone.
"You too?!"
Gabriel smiled so warmly that Yoru was momentarily dazed, as if her smile could sweep away the gloomy skies.
"Uhh…" Yoru nodded instinctively. He hadn't expected her goal to be the same.
"I came from over there…" Gabriel said thoughtfully, explaining where she had already searched.
They compared notes and realized that between the two of them, they had covered most of the area already.
Now, they had a better idea of where to go.
"Since we're both looking for the same place, want to search together?" Gabriel looked up at Yoru curiously. His huge size was fascinating to her.
She was new to the human world and found everything interesting.
It'd also be faster with two people.
"What…?"
Yoru thought he misheard. He stared at Gabriel, suspicious.
"Come on. We're almost there," she said and turned around.
Yoru stood frozen beside the utility pole, staring at Gabriel's back in disbelief.
Such a kind, cute, and polite foreign girl—she was like a pure angel.
Most local girls would avoid him like the plague.
In Japan, society wasn't exactly friendly to shut-ins like him. Especially not for high schoolers, a group buzzing with hormones and youth.
He had heard that girls in other regions could be even more brutal.
After a moment of hesitation, Yoru followed Gabriel silently.
She occasionally asked him questions, clearly unfamiliar with Japan. Yoru answered them one by one.
Before long—
They found the apartment and the landlord.
The landlord turned out to be a slightly scatterbrained elderly lady, which explained the vague address.