'I didn't expect Kitakami-kun to be so considerate.'
'I always thought he was just a shut-in otaku.'
'But... why does he keep staring at me? It's kinda embarrassing.'
Megumi sipped her drink through a straw, her expression still calm, as she looked at Yoru sitting across from her.
It was around noon.
Yoru and Megumi were having lunch at a restaurant near Akihabara, in the Taito district.
"The progress bar… is probably at five percent? No, maybe just four,"
Yoru kept staring at the golden treasure chest above Megumi's head, covering his face with his palm to hide his expression.
They had been together for about three hours.
At this pace, would he need twenty dates to open the treasure chest?
"Kita... Yoru-kun, is there something on my face?"
Kato finally couldn't hold back. She put down her drink and asked shyly.
"Ah? Oh, no... I just spaced out for a second."
"Sorry. Want to stroll around Akihabara after this?"
Yoru was pulled out of his thoughts and quickly responded.
"Sure, I'll follow your lead." Megumi nodded with a calm tone.
The sunlight outside wasn't harsh—on the contrary, it was just right.
After resting for a while in the restaurant, Yoru and Megumi headed out.
They split the bill evenly.
In most parts of the world, dates were either split evenly or alternated with each person treating in turn.
That's the correct way to approach dating.
Akihabara.
The so-called holy land of otaku culture.
It used to be just a street for electronics, but over time, it evolved into a massive anime and manga shopping district.
Yoru and Megumi chose to walk there.
From a distance, they could already see massive colorful billboards and posters hanging from tall buildings.
All over the street, cute girls in maid outfits were handing out flyers, luring people into maid cafes to buy overpriced omurice and coffee.
"Is this your first time here, Kato-san?" Yoru watched her expression closely.
At last, there was a hint of visible reaction.
"Yeah, I've heard about it before, but never visited," Megumi's eyes sparkled as she took in the dazzling anime-filled street. A trace of curiosity emerged.
"Let me show you around and explain a few things."
"I've been here a few times."
Yoru offered enthusiastically.
Megumi looked at him and nodded.
"This is Don Quijote..."
"This ramen place is famous..."
"This store rips off tourists—secondhand figures cost about a third more here."
"All those posters on that column are from Genshin Impact. It's been trending hard lately. I think there's a Genshin cosplay event later."
Yoru led Megumi around the area and eventually stopped at a street corner.
There was a directional sign and a notice board.
Actually, Yoru hadn't told her everything.
Besides the cosplay event, there was also a summer comic exhibition, which included R16 and R18 sections.
Honestly, he wanted to check it out.
"Then let's go see it," Megumi said, not particularly interested, but not opposed either.
She had figured out what Yoru was thinking and went along with it.
"Alright." Yoru nodded.
After a short rest, the two headed over.
The cosplay event was open-air and free to the public.
There was a decent crowd. Yoru was about to lead Megumi in to take a look when he suddenly stopped.
In the crowd not far away, a distinct golden treasure chest was walking straight toward them.
"Who is it?"
"Kasumigaoka Utaha? Shinomiya Kaguya? Or someone else entirely?"
Yoru paused, puzzled, and squeezed into the crowd.
Leading Kato, they brushed shoulders with strangers as they approached the owner of the golden treasure chest.
The girl's outfit was simple and low-key. She wore a white baseball cap, her pale skin glowing under the sun.
"Sawamura?"
"She's into otaku stuff too?"
Yoru stopped as he recognized Eriri walking toward them.
Eriri had spotted Yoru too.
But right now, she had no time or interest in acknowledging him.
She was focused on finding her lost backpack.
"It's all Aki's fault. Damn him!"
"I wonder if he found it yet. I'm doomed!"
Eriri's eyes scanned the crowd in every direction.
She looked at every passerby, every patch of ground, desperately hoping to find her missing backpack.
The bag itself didn't matter.
What mattered was what was inside: one of her heavily used draft sketchbooks as Eri Kashigawa.
That sketchbook was vital.
Yesterday, Eriri had visited her dear little sister, Sagiri, to exchange ideas on improving their art. She'd brought her sketchbook along—normally, it stayed at home.
This sketchbook was her source of inspiration. It was irreplaceable.
What worried her the most was—
She couldn't remember if she had scribbled anything that might reveal her identity.
She thought she hadn't, or had crossed it out, but now that it was gone, she couldn't be sure.
"What if someone familiar finds it, learns my identity, and tries to blackmail me?"
"If people at school find out I'm a doujinshi artist, I'm done for. Dead!"
"I could be expelled from Shuchiin... and my dad's a diplomat! This would be a massive scandal..."
Eriri couldn't even imagine the consequences anymore.
"She's looking for someone?" Yoru was a bit surprised as he turned and watched Eriri vanish into the crowd.
This haughty rich-lady-bitch, wasn't she always snubbing him with her nose in the air?
Beside him, Megumi glanced curiously between Eriri and Yoru.
"Let's keep going, Kato-san." Yoru led her back into the cosplay exhibition.
In the distance, they spotted a classmate from Shuchiin, a blonde gal named Kitagawa or something, excitedly snapping photos of cosplayers—and accidentally stepping on Yoru's foot.
By the afternoon, it was past 3 p.m.
Yoru and Megumi stood by a vending machine, each holding a bottle of cold drink.
"How was today?" Yoru looked at Megumi and asked.
"Pretty good. I had fun," Megumi nodded without hesitation.
"Then let's hang out again sometime." A weight lifted off Yoru's heart.
Just as they were about to leave, Tomoya, still helping Eriri look for her backpack, spotted Yoru.
He suddenly remembered that Friday afternoon— Utaha-senpai had told him someone was following her.
And standing right in front of him was the person suspected of stealing her stockings and panties.
So—
He hesitated, then quickly turned around and blocked Yoru and Megumi's path.
"You're Kitakami, right? The guy who stole Utaha-senpai's underwear?" Tomoya adjusted his glasses and said to the big-bodied Yoru.
He had no good feelings toward anyone who hurt Utaha, and he wasn't afraid of Yoru getting aggressive.
After all, due to pressure from students, the school had already responded as to why Yoru hadn't been punished.
Everyone knew the two conditions Yoru had to follow.
If he attacked Tomoya, he would definitely be expelled.
Tomoya had also heard others say Yoru was easy to push around—timid, weak, and cowardly.