By the afternoon, it was already the last class of the day.
The teacher was an elderly woman, seated at the podium and reading straight from the textbook. The classroom atmosphere was dull and loose.
At a window seat in the back row, Kaito kept his head lowered inconspicuously, sending messages to someone.
[Kaito: I'll be home a bit late today. If you're hungry, you can order takeout.]
———
[Living Room]
The green-haired girl, who had been comfortably curled up on the sofa watching a drama on her tablet just a second ago, suddenly flipped over with a "whoosh," inadvertently waking the chubby cat dozing in her arms.
[Mortis: ?]
[Mortis: Onee-chan, what are you going to do?]
Kaito didn't bother hiding it, [I made plans to watch a movie with someone.]
The girl on the other side clearly wasn't ready to give up and kept probing: [A boy or a girl?]
Kaito paused for two seconds.
[Let's just say… a girl.]
[Mortis: ???]
'What the hell does "let's just say" mean?'
'What kind of strange creature is on the other end?'
She suppressed the urge to complain and continued asking: [Then… will you come back for dinner tonight?]
[Of course. It's just a movie.]
Seeing the reply pop up on the screen, Mortis patted her chest and quietly let out a breath of relief.
"Thank goodness… at least it's not Soyo…"
'No! No! No! Isn't that even worse?'
'Doesn't that mean Onee-chan met some girl I don't even know behind my back?'
'At least it would've been better if it was Soyo.'
'Damn it! Mutsumi still hasn't gotten out of school. I don't even have anyone to talk this over with.'
Mortis wanted to stop him, but all she could do was act like a powerless wife, faced with her husband's unfaithful declaration of "I'm going to see another woman, don't miss me," she could only force out a "well, isn't that nice" kind of aggrieved smile, unable to do anything else.
The girl rolled halfway across the sofa with the dizzy Kirara in her arms, burying her face into the cat's soft belly. She whined for quite a while before finally sitting back up and rapidly typing.
[Mortis: Then I want crepes from outside! And I want double strawberries and double cream!]
At the end, she added a cat-poking-head sticker.
———
[Classroom]
Looking at the message on the screen, Kaito shook his head helplessly.
'Eating that much sugar, isn't she worried about cavities?'
But thinking about it carefully, Mortis's body wasn't made of ordinary flesh and blood. She didn't even have normal physiological functions, so cavities probably weren't something she had to worry about either.
'In that case, never mind.'
[Kaito: Noted.]
[Mortis: Love you, heart-holding.jpg]
'As expected, Onee-chan really dotes on me.'
'No matter how many bad women show up from outside, there is nothing to fear!'
The girl happily poked the chubby cat's belly, "Kirara, you think so too, right?"
The cat rolled its eyes at her in annoyance, looking at her like she was an idiot.
Mortis didn't mind. She stroked its back over and over, humming cheerfully.
'No matter who this new girl is… Better eat something sweet to recharge first, only then can I think of a strategy~'
———
Just after finishing his conversation with his sister, the bell rang for the end of class.
Anon seemed to have an upset stomach and messaged him that she went to the restroom first.
Kaito turned off his screen and was about to head to the school gate to wait, but a figure appeared in front of him.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Someone tapped lightly on his desk with their fingertips. A strand of golden hair fell beside his ear, like molten gold cascading down.
"President~"
Yumiko drew out her tone and openly invited him, "Want to go shopping together later? We can pick up the uniforms we'll need for the school festival."
'Do you even understand the value of an official girlfriend?'
Even though they hadn't made it public at school yet, that was only because she kept a low profile.
It definitely wasn't because she enjoyed the thrill of keeping it secret.
Taking a step back, even without showing any couple-like intimacy in front of others, just being one of the only two members of the Supernatural Research Club besides the president was enough to make countless classmates jealous.
As one of the most well-known popular students in the grade, Yumiko usually had to spend a lot of time maintaining her social circles and rarely had the chance to invite him out.
Kaito didn't really want to refuse, but unfortunately...
"Sorry, you're a step too late."
"Huh?"
"I already made plans with Chihaya to watch a movie together."
Kaito spread his hands, "As for shopping together… let's pick another time. I'm free whenever."
"Chihaya?"
Yumiko wrinkled her small nose. She didn't seem angry about being beaten to it, her expression was more curious, "Are you two already that close?"
Kaito thought for a moment. Anon had confessed to him before. Using a more trendy term among young people, it would probably be called "more than friends, less than lovers"?
So he nodded honestly.
"Alright then."
Yumiko shrugged regretfully, her emerald eyes shifting slightly before a sly smile appeared.
"Just shopping won't be enough. I want… an 'extra reward'."
"No problem."
Kaito agreed readily, without even asking what the reward was.
For him, there were very few things in this world he couldn't do.
"Then it's settled~"
Yumiko touched her chin, a bit surprised that the president agreed so easily.
'But… isn't it perfect?'
She tried hard to suppress the upward curve of her lips and waved her hand with feigned seriousness, "I won't disturb your date with Chihaya then, President. Have fun~"
———
'Did I agree too quickly?'
Standing in an inconspicuous corner by the school gate, Kaito fell into thought.
He had a feeling that the look Yumiko gave before leaving carried some deeper meaning.
"Have you been waiting long?", A clear, crisp female voice broke his train of thought.
A pink-haired girl stood gracefully before him, her large, lively eyes curved into beautiful crescents.
She seemed to have secretly put on a bit of light makeup, her lips glossy and hydrated. When she got closer, there was a faint citrus scent.
Anon tilted her head slightly, her smile bright, "Sorry, I took a moment to tidy up."
"It's fine. There's still some time before the movie starts, no need to rush."
Kaito's gaze swept over her jelly-like lips. He didn't know much about makeup, but he felt her face looked so vivid and soft, with a faint blush lingering on her cheeks, it stirred something in his chest.
"That's good," Anon naturally stepped to his side, maintaining just the right amount of closeness, "I haven't gone to the movies with a friend in a long time. Being able to come out and relax like this makes me really happy!"
The two walked side by side toward the commercial street. The setting sun stretched their shadows long across the pavement behind them, like two drops of ink in the same sea, gently spreading, blurring into each other, until, without a sound, they quietly drew close together.
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