If it had been someone else, Sorata wouldn't have reacted this way.
"Anything else you need?"
Nanami took a sip of water and calmly asked.
"Aoyama, are you seriously going to just believe that fat creep?" Sorata finally snapped out of his daze and continued, a bit more forcefully.
His heart felt uneasy—he simply wanted to warn Nanami to keep her distance from Yoru.
"Why do you say that?" Nanami looked puzzled, clearly not understanding what he was getting at.
"That guy, Kitakami, he's a pervert. He even had the guts to steal Kasumigaoka-senpai's personal items. Don't you know about that?" Sorata pressed, his tone rising in intensity.
"Ah… no…"
"That's just something being whispered around privately. Kanda-kun, don't you think it's a bit much to accuse him like that without any solid proof?" Nanami shook her head resolutely.
"Then why do you think the rumor is about him and not anyone else? And why did the school punish him?"
Sorata saw that Nanami wasn't backing down and started to get more agitated. What upset him most was how Nanami was now mildly scolding him for his words—when he clearly cared about her.
He had feelings for Nanami!
Sorata couldn't accept this.
And deep down, he simply didn't believe Yoru could be a decent guy.
After all, men know men best.
There were plenty of creepy otaku on internet forums. Just being a student didn't make someone safe.
In Japan, it wasn't rare to see news about otaku harassing high school or even middle school girls.
"Wait…?"
Nanami blinked, startled by the intensity.
"Aoyama, you need to understand—Yoru is a disgusting creep."
"He's already got the guts to steal Kasumigaoka-senpai's underwear. What else do you think he's capable of?"
Sorata slammed his hands on her desk, his body language clearly expressing how seriously he took this.
"What if he's already targeted you?"
"And those… those cookies he gave you…"
Sorata stared at the little snack bag in Nanami's hands, his mind racing.
"Giving you food out of the blue? What if he's trying to lower your guard?"
"When you get used to him giving you things, someday he might drug it. Knock you out!"
"You've seen the news about girls who live alone being attacked by perverts, haven't you?"
Sorata's tone was exaggerated, intense, and borderline melodramatic—but he wasn't exactly lying. Incidents like that genuinely happened from time to time in Japan.
Nanami was visibly shaken. Her imagination kicked in, following the scenario Sorata painted.
She remembered when she graduated from middle school and traveled to Tokyo by herself to chase her dream. She'd been scared then.
She had searched online for all sorts of safety tips, trying to learn how to protect herself and avoid falling into traps.
"In any case, Aoyama-san, just think carefully. Just avoid Kitakami for now. That's all I'm saying."
"If he really turns out to have bad intentions, it might already be too late."
Sorata finally felt some relief when he saw her expression begin to show some hesitation.
Regardless of whether he liked her, he genuinely didn't want to see her hurt.
After all, the thought of a fat otaku getting close to a pretty girl? Just imagining it was like something out of a hentai manga.
"Isn't that a bit of a stretch…?"
Nanami chewed the last of the cookie fragments, her face flickering with doubt.
"Look, it's not like you know him that well. Just keep some distance, okay?" Sorata said more calmly.
"This..."
Nanami opened her mouth but didn't speak.
Was it really right to assume the worst about someone just because of a rumor?
She was literally eating the cookies Yoru had given her just now—wasn't it a bit ungrateful to suspect him without evidence?
She slowly set her hand down, her eyes clouded with uncertainty. After a long pause, she finally replied, "I don't think it's that serious… but I'll be careful."
That's what she said.
But deep down, Nanami's thoughts were already beginning to waver…
"If I'm right, Kitakami will come looking for you again. That's when his real intentions will show," Sorata muttered, looking Nanami up and down.
The more he stared, the more he thought—she really is beautiful.
Maybe it's just that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.
"Ah… oh oh..."
Nanami looked a bit dazed, as if she didn't want to continue the conversation.
Seeing this, Sorata could only frown and walk away.
…
Lunch break was almost over.
Yoru and Megumi left the rooftop.
The progress bar of the golden treasure chest increased again.
"At this rate, I'll be able to open the gold chest in less than a month."
Yoru walked behind Megum, muttering while staring at the golden treasure chest above her head.
Spending one lunch break together seemed to raise the progress by about 2% or 3%.
In ten days, that would be 20% to 30%.
If they went out together on the weekend, it could jump by 10% in one day.
Yoru walked down the stairs in a very good mood.
He had arranged with Megumi to chat and have lunch together every day at noon.
Back in the classroom, Yoru finally suppressed the excitement in his heart.
"Hey." Yumiko crossed her fair, beautiful legs and turned to face Yoru.
"W-what is it?"
Yoru was startled and stiffly turned his head.
They had swimming class tomorrow.
Could it be that Yumiko remembered how he accidentally glanced at her that day and was now out for revenge?
Even at school, people who had no grudges with Yoru still found him unpleasant and played pranks on him—stuffing trash in his shoe locker, scribbling on his desk, and so on.
"You helped Yui that day, right?" Yumiko examined the fat otaku in front of her.
"Uh? I guess." Yoru froze for a moment before realizing what she meant.
"Don't expect Yui to repay you for something that small, or else…"
As she spoke, Yumiko narrowed her long eyes, exuding an intense pressure worthy of her title as the fiery queen in school.
Yoru nodded, feeling like he'd just dodged a bullet.
After school in the afternoon, Yoru packed up his things and headed to the Service Club, feeling both nervous and excited.
"The weather's gloomy again?"
Stepping out of the classroom, he glanced up and sighed at the sky.
It wasn't good news for him.
Arriving at the Service Club, he happened to see Yukino unlocking the door and greeted her.
"Yuigahama-san isn't coming today." Yukino opened the door and said blandly.
"Yuigahama-san?"
Yoru looked puzzled.
"Just the two of us in here. I hope you won't get any weird ideas, peeping pervert."
Yukino placed her bag on the desk.
"You're still bringing that up."
"It was just an accident… and besides…"
Yoru mumbled softly without showing any resentment.
After all, Yukino was his tutoring teacher.