Megumi tilted her head cutely, her eyes widening slightly.
"Kato-san, I was wondering if I could... add you on LINE?"
Yoru asked cautiously, afraid of being rejected.
He was just a fat, low-tier otaku with a bad reputation.
Asking a cute girl for her contact info out of the blue—if she turned him down, it'd be mortifying.
Worse still—
A rejection would mean she didn't want to interact with him at all.
So of course Yoru was panicking.
After asking, his throat bobbed as he waited nervously, watching Megumi's calm expression.
Megumi wasn't as stunning as Utaha or Eriri.
But she was still pretty, and had a great personality.
For any hormone-fueled teenage boy who knew they had no chance with top-tier beauties like Utaha, girls like Megumi were a dream alternative.
After all, top-tier beauties weren't like potatoes in Hokkaido—you couldn't just scatter seeds and grow a field of them.
So, naturally, many would try for girls like Megumi instead.
Early relationships weren't forbidden in Japan, and even prestigious schools like Shuchiin didn't crack down on them.
That's just how the society and values differed.
Iwon't be rejected... right?
Wait—someone as kind as Kato-san probably has people chasing after her already, right?
Yoru turned away, unable to face her. His heart pounded faster.
He never expected someone like Megumi would ever like a loser like him.
But even being friends would be nice.
Crap.
She's probably going to think I'm just a gross, delusional fat otaku.
Regret hit him hard. He lowered his head, clutching it with both hands, shaking it in despair.
"Kitakami-kun, are you okay?"
Megumi pulled out her phone from her bag, looking at him strangely.
"I-it's nothing..."
Yoru shook his head.
"Then go ahead and scan me." Megumi handed over her phone.
Huh?
Scan her?
Yoru instantly straightened up, stunned.
Then, filled with joy, he nodded furiously.
Fumbling with his phone, he scanned her LINE QR code and added her.
"Thank you."
After it was successful, he took a deep breath, overwhelmed with excitement.
"I'm happy too," Megumi said, putting her phone away with a gentle smile.
At that moment—
Yoru looked again at the golden treasure chest above Kato Megumi's head and muttered inwardly:
'As I expected, getting closer does affect the progress bar.'
'But it's increasing way too slowly. Not even 1%—barely a sliver.'
"How's that stray cat doing?" Megumi put away her phone and asked.
"Oh, she's doing fine. I gave her a name—San-san. She's a female." Yoru pulled himself back to reality. As he did, the golden chest above Kato's head slowly faded from sight.
Then another thought occurred to him.
"Why that name?" Kato asked curiously.
"Because it was Wednesday when I found her, and the broken tag on her collar had a number three. So… I went with that." (San is three in Japanese)
Yoru smiled as he explained. Then he added, "Want to come see her this weekend?"
Right after he said it, he regretted it.
He forgot—he wasn't close to Megumi.
A disgusting fat otaku labeled a panty thief, suddenly inviting a cute girl he'd only met twice to his house?
She'd definitely misunderstand. Reject him. Think he had impure intentions!
Yoru's expression froze. His face turned pale.
Megumi thought about it seriously for a moment.
She wasn't planning on going to the class gathering anyway.
So she nodded slightly. "Sure, I'd like to."
"Huh?"
That response completely caught Yoru off guard.
He stood up and looked down at her from above.
At that moment, he felt like there was a holy glow radiating from behind her—pure, dazzling white light!
"Kitakami-kun… is something wrong?"
Megumi looked up and asked cautiously, noticing his odd behavior.
From the beginning, Kitakami had been acting strange.
Such a shame—she wasn't good at socializing, but…
Maybe they really could become good friends.
...
After parting with Megumi.
Yoru leaned against the corridor railing on the balcony and took a deep breath. He couldn't hide the excitement and happiness in his heart.
Once he calmed down, he entered the classroom through the back door.
His seatmate, Yumiko, was surrounded by her usual group, chatting away.
Yoru set down his bag, glanced at the fresh doodles on his desk, and quietly looked out the window.
"Hayato, what was up with the boys' locker room during swim class?" Yumiko's voice was loud enough to be heard even from the front row.
Let alone by Yoru, who was right next to her.
"Nothing, really. It was our first swimming class together." Hayato hesitated, then forced a smile.
He seemed to recall something unpleasant.
Beside him, Tobe, Ooka, and Yamato had similar reactions.
Especially Tobe—he was practically sweating bullets.
Terrifying.
Was that thing even human?
"Oh, it's the weekend tomorrow. Hayato, are you free? Want to go shopping with me?" Yumiko's voice rang out again.
"Yumiko, actually I've got plans this weekend..."
"Again? Ugh~"
Yoru kept his gaze facing the window, maintaining his posture.
A while later, he slowly turned his head and stole a glance at Yumiko out of the corner of his eye.
When she mentioned that swim class, Yoru had nearly jumped.
He had accidentally caught a glimpse of her that day and worried she might come after him for revenge.
She was known as the fiery queen of the school—not someone to mess with.
Yoru's situation at Shuchiin was already on thin ice.
He had to stay out of trouble. Triggering any additional conditions could lead to expulsion.
And expulsion wasn't the same as being advised to leave.
The former was like murder with intent. The latter, manslaughter.
If he got expelled from Shuchiin, getting into a good high school or college would be impossible.
Expulsion came with a permanent record.
"Phew… I think I'm safe."
After watching Yumiko for a bit, Yoru glanced sideways at Hayato and then looked away.
It seemed Yumiko liked this guy.
But Hayato gave off this vibe—he liked her, but also didn't.
Complicated normies. As long as they don't mess with me, I'm fine.
Yoru muttered inwardly.
Half the day passed in a flash.
That afternoon, Hiratsuka stopped by the classroom and told Yoru to visit the faculty office after school.
All afternoon, Yoru kept wondering why.
He couldn't focus in class.
As soon as school ended, he hurriedly packed up and left.
In the teacher's office—
Hiratsuka leaned back in her chair, smoking a cigarette.
Across from her stood a beautiful girl with a white headband, elegant and cold.
Her long legs in sheer black stockings were neatly pressed together.
"Are you sure about this, Kasumigaoka Utaha?" Hiratsuka asked.