Yoru stared blankly at the unfamiliar boy with black-rimmed glasses in front of him.
He immediately assumed Tomoya was just another one of Utaha's admirers, here to pick a fight.
"I'm Kitakami Yoru. Do you need something?" Yoru replied calmly.
"Are you the one who's been stalking Utaha-senpai?" Tomoya swallowed nervously. He was a bit anxious too.
Yoru's face went blank, the air falling completely silent.
I've been stalking Kasumigaoka Utaha?
What the hell is this?
His mind went blank as he stared at the stranger in front of him.
"Just watch yourself." Tomoya had only been probing.
After all, Utaha-senpai had only suspected Yoru.
He still had to help Eriri search for her bag.
So Tomoya quickly turned and left.
He didn't even glance once at Megumi, who stood beside Yoru.
"What a bizarre guy. Totally rude."
"And Kasumigaoka Utaha is being stalked?"
Yoru finally came to his senses, his expression turning odd.
"His name is Aki Tomoya," Megumi said, frowning slightly.
"You know him?" Yoru looked at her, curious.
"Yeah, we're in the same class, but I don't really know him well," Megumi said, her expression returning to calm.
In his heart, Yoru marked Tomoya with a mental label: rude.
"Forget it, let's go." Yoru shook his head and put the matter out of his mind.
Because of today's cosplay exhibition and release event, the streets of Akihabara were packed with people.
Yoru used his large frame to shield Megumi, pushing their way through the crowd at the cosplay venue, advancing over a hundred meters before the crowd finally thinned out.
"Wait a moment, Yoru-kun."
Just as he was leading the way, Megumi called out from behind.
Turning around, he saw Megumi holding a beige Fanbo backpack, simple in design, but covered in muddy footprints and dust.
"What's that?" Yoru asked curiously.
"I just picked it up… back in the crowd."
Megumi glanced back at the sea of people, surging like waves.
Then she waved Yoru over and opened the backpack.
Looking inside, Yoru saw a book, a pencil case, and a few miscellaneous items.
Megumi curiously took out what looked like a book and examined it.
The cover was made of fine leather, square and heavy—it looked luxurious.
"This seems more like a sketchbook than a book," Yoru commented.
"Really? It does feel high-end." Megumi nodded and opened it.
On the first page was a drawing of a long cylindrical object—it looked like a stick...
Neither of them recognized what it was at first glance.
Then, Yoru was the first to realize, abruptly raising his head.
"This is... this is..."
Megumi quickly shut the sketchbook, her eyes meeting Yoru's in panic. She looked flustered. Her usual calm expression was gone, and her ears turned a faint red.
"This must belong to a doujin artist who lost it here, right?"
Yoru felt weird thinking about it and suddenly broke out in goosebumps.
The two of them remained silent, standing there in awkward quiet.
After a while, Megumi carefully placed the sketchbook back into the backpack.
She muttered under her breath, "What bad luck…"
She then snuck a glance at Yoru's reaction, clearly dying of embarrassment.
"Let's take it to the police station," Yoru suggested.
"Okay." Megumi quickly handed the bag to Yoru, as if it were something contagious.
The two of them, having seen something they definitely shouldn't have, said nothing more on the way.
When they reached the nearest police station and handed over the bag, the officer explained that if no one claimed it within a month, the items would legally belong to Yoru.
"Whew… who would've thought that thing was drawn inside." Yoru stood in front of the police station, glancing at the golden treasure chest above Megumi's head.
The progress bar had apparently risen to about eight or nine percent.
He still had no idea what would happen once it was full.
"Don't say it, Yoru-kun." Megumi turned her head away in embarrassment after hearing that.
At the same time, she thought to herself, "Why doesn't it look like the ones in biology class? It was… so realistic..."
That image refused to leave her mind.
And with Yoru beside her—a boy—she started to feel increasingly uncomfortable.
At a nearby train station in Akihabara, Yoru and Megumi parted ways.
They were taking different trains home.
Yoru came out of the restroom near the transfer platform and waited by the tracks.
Not far away, a group of JK (high school) girls stood together, seemingly waiting for the same train.
"Hey, look over there—isn't that the gross fat otaku?"
"Ew, it is! He's waiting for a train?"
"Should we mess with him?"
"I've got an idea. Let's play rock-paper-scissors. Loser has to go confess to him."
"Huh?!"
Among the girls, the most attractive one, a side-ponytailed beauty named Hayasaka Ai, looked shocked.
The girls with her were, in name, her friends.
At Shuchiin Academy, her persona was a cheerful, outgoing gyaru who got along with everyone.
To maintain that fake image, Hayasaka had no choice but to occasionally hang out with these so-called friends.
"Great idea, I'm in, hehe."
"Me too. Just imagining that gross otaku's reaction when a cute girl confesses makes me laugh."
"Now I'm kinda looking forward to this."
"Hayasaka, you in?"
Someone called out to Hayasaka, who had spaced out for a moment.
"I... I'm in…"
Hayasaka's mouth twitched slightly as she inwardly ridiculed her fake friends for their twisted sense of humor.
The thought of her first ever confession going to someone like Yoru—a disgusting fat otaku—made her eyelids twitch violently.
She had done her research on Yoru: shopping history, habits, everything. She knew him well.
But whatever. It was just a game.
She wasn't actually going to fall for Yoru.
Hayasaka tried to comfort herself.
Rock-paper-scissors!
The JK gyaru group was excited—after all, it wasn't real. Just a silly game, forcing themselves to say one sentence.
"Rock!" Hayasaka chose rock.
"Yes! I won!"
Hayasaka's lips twitched as the gyaru across from her jumped in excitement.
"It's okay. There's still a chance." Hayasaka took a deep breath and turned to her next opponent.
"Scissors!"
In the next second, the side-ponytailed blonde gyaru froze.
Her fair, delicate hand stayed in the scissors pose, and a feeling of helpless despair rose up within her.
…
"By the way, Hayasaka is so pretty. Does she have a boyfriend?"
"No idea, but a lot of guys chase her. She doesn't seem into boys, though."
Hayasaka's fake gyaru friends watched her from behind with mischievous smirks, snapping photos on their phones.
"Yo... Yo..."
Yoru, playing on his phone, heard someone calling him.
He turned around and recognized Hayasaka.
Her pretty face looked stiff, almost twisted.
Yoru froze—there was also a golden treasure chest floating above Hayasaka's head.
'Okay, let's get this over with. Just say it,'
Hayasaka gritted her teeth and shouted internally, then quickly bent forward.
"Kitakami-kun, please go out with me!"
Her voice wasn't loud, but Yoru heard every word clearly.
"Huh?!"
Yoru jumped in shock, thinking he'd misheard.
Just then, a burst of laughter rang out from nearby.
"Don't tell anyone. It was just a punishment game," Hayasaka snapped coldly at Yoru, then ran off.
Only then did Yoru realize he'd been made the butt of a joke. He clenched his fists in frustration.
But… why did someone like Hayasaka, who had nothing to do with him, also have a golden treasure chest?