Ever since he'd accidentally seen Yumiko's pink panties, Yoru had been living in constant fear.
Two days passed without any sign of Yumiko retaliating or acting out.
This made Yoru feel like something terrible was brewing.
That noon, Yoru was chatting casually with Megumi.
The progress bar above her head—shaped like a golden treasure chest—was more than halfway full.
Yoru saw it but didn't feel much joy. Instead, a faint gloom lingered on his face.
"Yoru-kun, you don't seem very happy lately," Megumi tilted her head slightly.
"It's nothing. Just a bit on edge," Yoru sighed.
"Is it still about being mistaken for the culprit?" Megumi guessed. She also knew Yoru had to rank in the top 30 for total grades this school year to avoid expulsion.
"Pretty much. I just wish they'd catch the real culprit already." Yoru nodded. Thinking about the criminal still on the loose, he clenched his fists tightly.
"Do you have any leads?" Megumi asked curiously.
At that, Yoru thought of Eriri, who always looked down on him with that smug expression. He opened his mouth...
Then gave a dry laugh and shook his head, saying nothing.
"Aw~" Megumi sighed regretfully.
Lunch break was nearly over.
Yoru and Megumi returned to the classroom to get ready for class.
Passing by his beautiful deskmate Yumiko, Yoru sneaked a few glances at her before sitting down.
Nothing happened until school ended.
Yoru quickly packed his bag and headed for the library.
According to Yukino's tutoring plan, he needed to borrow a few reference books.
Shuchiin Academy's library was incredibly grand and classical.
If you didn't know it was a library, you might think it was a small palace.
"Second floor, right?"
The library was a hot spot for students, so Yoru tried to avoid others and made his way to the second floor.
Yukino hadn't specified where exactly the books were—just that they were somewhere in the library.
As for why he went to the second floor, each floor's collection was organized differently.
The first floor was for quiet study, borrowing books, and held mostly manga, light novels, and entertainment magazines.
Above the second floor was where the real books were kept.
Yoru spent over ten minutes looking before finally finding all the books Yukino had requested. He carried the stack in his arms.
He headed downstairs to the borrowing desk.
"Hello, I'd like to borrow these."
The library was staffed by students. As Yoru approached, he felt uncomfortable under the boy's strange gaze.
Once the checkout was complete and Yoru turned to leave, he suddenly saw Kasumigaoka Utaha standing right behind him.
He flinched.
Utaha was staring at Yoru, arms crossed, her deep wine-colored eyes silently observing him.
The stalker incident she'd experienced hadn't been resolved.
After reporting it to the police, the stalker had toned it down for a while, but lately, he was getting bolder again.
With someone watching her from the shadows, Utaha wanted to catch the person—yet she was terrified.
Only after Yoru had walked off did she turn her gaze away.
"I want to check the borrowing records. Is that okay?" she asked the librarian.
The librarian—a male student—was flustered. With the school's untouchable beauty making a request, he instantly became eager to please.
Utaha's recently published volume had underperformed.
By coincidence, the Shuchiin library had a copy of her light novel. She wanted to see the borrowing stats and feedback.
...
Yoru finished borrowing the books and headed straight to the Service Club.
"Got them all." He returned, placing the stack on the long table.
"Kitakami-kun, try the cookies I baked yesterday?"
"Don't worry, I tested them a few times—they're not that bad this time."
Yuigahama pushed a small cookie bag toward him.
"Alright then, I'll give them a shot." Yoru glanced at the two girls in the room, picked up a cookie, and took a bite.
The taste wasn't as bad as he imagined. Decent enough.
"Not bad," Yoru commented honestly.
"Let's take a break, then continue," Yukino said, closing her book.
Yoru nodded earnestly. He didn't even know how to properly thank Yukino.
About an hour passed.
The Service Club meeting ended.
Yoru walked home alone with his bag in hand.
"Wonder how much I've actually improved~"
Feeling the weight of the books, Yoru left Shuchiin and headed toward the train station.
On the way, he was stopped by Yumiko, who stood with a look that said she'd been waiting.
"Mi... Miura-san..."
Yoru swallowed hard, staring at her.
Crap. She's here to cause trouble.
Among students, Yumiko held pretty high status—near the top of the social food chain.
She acted domineering and strong.
Yoru had heard that many boys liked her, but none dared approach, just watched from afar.
"Finally caught you. Come with me."
She pointed to a quiet alley nearby.
Today, she was wearing safety shorts...
"S-sorry. I really didn't mean to..." Yoru nervously shook his head, already apologizing.
"I just want to talk. What, you don't want to?" Yumiko spoke in a commanding tone, glaring at him.
"You fell on your own..." Yoru mumbled under his breath, clearly unwilling.
"Me?"
"Hey, don't look at me with those gross virgin eyes. It's disgusting. Ugh."
"You're still looking?!"
"Can you not?!"
Yumiko looked like a cat about to explode, her face showing both disgust and anger.
Was this guy dense?
She had already warned him to stay away from Yui, and he still didn't listen?
Yoru lowered his head and clenched his fists in anger.
It's not like he chose to see her underwear—it wasn't his fault she fell.
"I said come with me!"
Yumiko turned sharply and growled.
Their thoughts were completely misaligned.
Yumiko just wanted to warn Yoru—the disgusting fat nerd—to stay away from Yui.
Yoru, on the other hand, thought she was here for revenge over the accidental peek.
He knew he couldn't run forever.
After a brief hesitation, Yoru followed Yumiko into a quiet alley behind the shopping district.