In a luxurious Simmons bed,
Eriri, dressed in pajamas, lay fast asleep, her brows tightly furrowed and her body trembling occasionally.
Suddenly, like someone drowning, she jerked upright from the bed.
Her clear blue eyes widened in fear, her face pale like she had seen a ghost.
"Whew—"
Sitting weakly on the bed, she exhaled a fragrant breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
She had just woken from a nightmare.
In the dream, someone at school had found her lost sketchbook.
She had accidentally left some identifying information inside—something that could expose her identity—and couldn't remember if she had erased it.
The person who found it figured out who she was:
Sawamura Spencer Eriri.
After school, he followed her home. With her diplomat parents away, he climbed in through the window and used that information to threaten her.
He was a fat, greasy otaku, with long hair covering his face.
Petite Eriri had no way of resisting him.
He pinned her to the bed, grabbed her twin tails, and she couldn't fight back—completely helpless and terrified.
The otaku even spanked her a few times, laughing maniacally. Just as he was about to go further—
She woke up!
The memories of that dream flooded her mind, making her shiver in fear as she recalled it.
"No... that's not real. Why would I dream about that?"
"So weird. I heard the stranger the dream, the more likely it is to come true. That can't be right, right?"
"Was it guilt…?"
Eriri's face turned pale as she swallowed hard and rummaged for her phone on the bedside table.
It was Monday, just after six in the morning.
Eriri sat quietly for a while before she finally calmed down, color gradually returning to her delicate face.
...
At the same time, Yoru woke up.
He brushed his teeth, washed his face, made breakfast and lunch.
He added some cat food and shredded chicken breast to San-San's bowl.
After finishing everything, there was still plenty of time.
Yoru sat idly on the sofa, petting the still-sleeping San-San while browsing the school forum.
There were far fewer posts about him now.
People were slowly forgetting about that incident.
But Yoru couldn't forget what Utaha and Kaguya had done to him.
Of course, the one he hated most was that damned culprit.
Originally, he thought the trail led to Eriri, but it turned out to be a misunderstanding, all that excitement for nothing.
Someone like Megumi couldn't possibly be a bad person, right?
As for Hayasaka, her confession seemed like just a prank—not a bad girl either?
Compared to the first two, the most urgent thing now was to build a good relationship with Megumi and open the golden treasure chest floating above her head.
Yoru muttered quietly to himself.
Then, he came across a video online—the one of Hayasaka messing with him by pretending to confess yesterday.
It was, in fact, the first time he had ever been confessed to… even if it was just a prank.
"Speaking of which, the cake and cookies Megumi gave me are still in the fridge."
Yoru remembered and went to the kitchen.
He opened the fridge and saw the items still sitting there, untouched.
Cakes can't be stored for too long, though cookies can last about a month if sealed properly.
"Maybe I'll ask Gabriel if she wants them. I can't eat them…"
Yoru patted his belly with regret.
He closed the fridge and went to knock on Gabriel's door.
"Good morning, Gabriel. It's me," Yoru called. In his mind, he added, 'Still not up yet?'
"I heard you, just a sec."
Gabriel's voice came from inside almost immediately.
About two minutes later, Gabriel opened the door in a hurry. "Morning. What's up?"
She stared at Yoru, hair a complete mess, clearly wondering what he wanted.
'Was she brushing her teeth or getting dressed? Doesn't look like she just woke up.'
What Yoru didn't know was that Gabriel had stayed up late last night playing the game he lent her. She had already reached the boss stage. This morning, she got up early to continue her progress.
Yoru mumbled inwardly, then said aloud, "Someone gave me two pieces of cake and some cookies. I'm dieting. Want them?"
"Cake? Thanks! Can I just have the cake?" Gabriel yawned as she nodded.
Yoru agreed, went back and retrieved the two slices.
One was chocolate tiramisu, the other a sponge fruit chiffon. Small, delicate, and packed with sugar and fat—absolute calorie bombs.
For someone dieting and working out, they were practically poison.
Yoru handed them to Gabriel and went back to his room.
After browsing the news for a bit, Yoru and Gabriel headed to school together.
"I've reached the boss stage, but I'm stuck."
"That fast?"
"Hehe, I guess I've got talent for games. It's so fun…"
"I think it's super fun too, but I have to quit."
"Hey, Kitakami-kun, what's the most popular game right now?"
From the apartment, through the train ride, and all the way to school, Gabriel enthusiastically chatted with Yoru about games.
It made Yoru feel like Gabriel was a sheltered rich girl who had just started exploring the outside world and its fun things.
She was interested in everything and had low resistance to temptation.
Thinking back to when he first met her—her angelic demeanor, gentle personality—maybe she really was.
While pondering this, Yoru arrived at Shuchiin Academy with Gabriel. They said goodbye and went their separate ways.
Yoru walked to class alone.
"Kita… Kitakami-kun…"
Just before reaching the building, along a path lined with blooming flowers, someone called out to him.
"You're… the girl from the other day, right?" Yoru looked puzzled at first, then squinted his eyes to confirm.
"Yes. I'm Aoyama Nanami from Class 2-A. Thank you for the other day, Kitakami-kun."
Nanami stood beside him, nodding earnestly.
"I washed and dried your raincoat and towel."
"I didn't bring them to school today, but I'll return them after school later."
"Okay." Yoru responded casually.
"Then I won't bother you. See you later."
Nanami glanced at Yoru, trying to gauge his reaction as she spoke.
'Kitakami-kun just looks a bit chubby. He's not gross at all~'
'Actually, he seems like a nice guy. Without him, I probably would've caught a cold…'
'I really shouldn't have judged him with bias before. I even made that face… I'll apologize properly this afternoon.'
After their brief exchange, Nanami ran upstairs, thinking to herself.
Behind them, Kanda Sorata walked slowly, shocked at what he had just seen, barely believing it.
"That was Aoyama-san from our class, right? I'm not seeing things?"
"Why would she be talking to that disgusting pervert who stole a senior's personal belongings?"
Kanda's first thought was that Yoru was harassing Nanami.
Even the guys in school avoided Yoru—let alone a cute girl like Nanami.
Kanda had always harbored a faint crush on her.
Now he was debating whether or not to step in.
Maybe he could help her?