"Tomorrow's already the weekend, huh..." Yoru laced his fingers behind his head and looked up at the sky.
Unless something unexpected happened, he planned to spend it dieting and studying seriously.
Both had become priorities he couldn't ignore anymore.
"Really? Haah~" Gabriel yawned beside him.
"Didn't sleep well?" Yoru saw the gates of Shuchiin up ahead.
"Mm, but I'm okay." Gabriel yawned again.
Last night, she'd tried the game Yoru lent her.
It was so much fun!
(.>?<.)
As they climbed the white marble steps, Yoru and Gabriel were about to part ways and head to their respective buildings.
Gabriel suddenly noticed that Yoru had spotted something unusual.
"What is it?" she stopped curiously.
"Nothing. Just saw a friend. I'll go on ahead," Yoru replied, eyes locked ahead, his face full of surprise and confusion.
Without waiting for a reply, he hurried off.
Gabriel watched him run off, shook her head, and muttered to herself.
Looking at the familiar back ahead, Yoru's heart cried out—this can't be real?!
Were all his assumptions about Eriri completely wrong?
Even though just yesterday...
...
"Did they just forget about me again?" Kato Megumi walked alone, phone in hand, eyes fixed on the screen.
A few days ago—
Some classmates suggested holding a small weekend gathering.
With nothing better to do that weekend, Megumi thought it might be fun and signed up, just to give it a try.
First, she confirmed her attendance in the group chat.
Then she mustered her courage and personally told one of the organizers—her deskmate and the class rep—that she was joining.
This morning, the participant list was announced in the group.
Despite having registered in two different ways, Megumi's name still didn't appear.
Everyone forgot her again.
"Sigh... I guess I won't go."
She turned off her phone and let out a quiet sigh.
She knew her presence was weak, her name was too ordinary, and she had no standout traits.
This time, she'd tried so hard to step out, hoping to make new friends—but once again, it ended in disappointment.
Megumi had stopped expecting much from people.
"Hey, is that you, Kato-san?"
Startled by someone calling her name from behind, Megumi initially thought she was hearing things.
But then she realized...
"It really is you! You remember me, right?" Yoru called out, pointing excitedly to himself.
She turned around with her usual emotionless face—and there it was.
A golden treasure chest floating above her head!
Another one. Exactly like the ones above Utaha and Eriri's heads!
"Eh? You're... Kitakami-kun!"
Megumi's soft lips parted, letting out a long, surprised gasp.
Though her face remained mostly expressionless, her mouth and brows slowly lifted—she was clearly shocked.
To Megumi, who had always been so calm and indifferent, she couldn't recall a time she had ever looked this surprised.
A classmate she barely interacted with had spotted her in the crowd.
And recognized her just from behind—then even called her name.
For someone like Megumi, whose presence was nearly nonexistent, that was beyond unbelievable.
"Phew, thanks again for the other day." Yoru tried to sound natural.
"No need to thank me again—you already did," Megumi replied with a faint smile, her mood visibly lifted.
So just something that small... was enough for him to remember her?
Someone still remembered her.
Kitakami-kun is really nice.
"Uh... um... haha..."
Seeing how adorable Megumi looked when she smiled, Yoru suddenly got flustered.
His mind went blank. He scratched his head, unsure what to say next.
Damn it, idiot! he cursed himself inwardly.
"If there's more you want to say, Kitakami-kun, we can talk somewhere else," Megumi said, reading his awkwardness and letting out a quiet chuckle.
"O-oh, sure, let's find a bench!" Yoru slapped his own head and responded loudly.
Megumi suddenly felt the urge to laugh again—and couldn't hold it back.
She quickly turned around, covered her mouth with her hand, and tried her best not to let the laugh escape.
Yoru followed behind, taking deep breaths while staring at the treasure chest above her head.
Just two weeks ago, he couldn't even talk to a girl properly—but he'd come a long way.
Now that he'd calmed down, he started thinking seriously.
Yesterday, seeing the treasure chest above Eriri's head, he had concluded that the "criminal" must be a bad person.
But now, Megumi—who clearly wasn't a bad person—also had a gold chest.
The two of them barely knew each other.
She had never spoken ill of him.
She never looked down on him.
In fact, she'd even helped him.
She tried to save the fat cat San-san he now kept at home.
So, as he looked at Megumi's back—
The logic that "Eriri has a treasure chest, therefore she must be the criminal" was temporarily overturned.
Which meant Eriri probably wasn't the criminal. And Yoru had hit a dead end again.
But...
That was fine.
If he couldn't get close to Utaha or Kaguya, couldn't he at least get along with Kato-san?
He wanted to find out...
Yoru stared intently at the golden treasure chest above Megumi's head.
It didn't matter why the treasure chest appeared.
What mattered now was figuring out how to open it.
Shuchiin Academy was vast, and many places had stone benches.
Megumi led Yoru to a quiet covered corridor with benches.
One side led to the teachers' office, the other to the library.
In the morning, this area was usually deserted.
"I'll grab something to drink."
Yoru said that, then jogged off to the vending machine at the end of the corridor, organizing his thoughts as he went.
He bought two bottles of milk.
He wasn't sure if Megumi liked coffee, and bringing juice this early in the morning felt odd.
Milk seemed like the safest bet.
"I didn't expect Kitakami-kun to actually remember me," Megumi said, sitting on the bench with a pleasant look on her face, watching Yoru return.
"Here you go, Kato-san." Yoru handed her a bottle of milk.
"Thanks."
She took it, then looked at him curiously as he sat beside her.
"So what else did you want to talk about, Kitakami-kun?"
"Uh... well..."
Yoru fidgeted nervously, sometimes staring forward, sometimes glancing at her.
His eyes were full of hesitation and anxiety.
Megumi was baffled by his odd behavior.