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He could clearly see it.
The look in Utaha Kasumigaoka's eyes shifted from initial confusion to utter shock, and finally, sheer terror.
She slowly, stiffly turned her head.
Only to see her mother standing by the door, expression completely blank, staring dead at them. She had no idea how long she had been standing there.
"Good evening..."
Taking a moment to steady her breathing, Mama Kasumigaoka offered Kai a polite nod out of basic courtesy.
"It's getting pretty late, so I should probably head home. I'll properly introduce myself next time, ma'am!"
"Alright. Please be careful on your way back."
It worked out perfectly, there were a few things Mama Kasumigaoka needed to discuss with her daughter in private anyway.
"See you next time, Senpai."
Taking in Utaha's completely petrified expression, Kai chuckled, waved goodbye, turned around, and left.
"..."
'That bastard. He actually just left me here to die alone.'
"M-MOM!"
There was no way around it. Facing her own mother, Utaha didn't dare show a single trace of her usual haughty attitude.
Mama Kasumigaoka fell silent for a moment. If she hadn't witnessed it with her own two eyes, she absolutely never would have believed that her usually elegant, well-mannered daughter could act so boldly. After reeling her emotions back in, she spoke in a deeply earnest tone.
"Utaha, I know you're still young, and it's natural to be curious about a lot of things. But there are certain lines you simply cannot cross. You..."
"Mom!"
Guessing exactly what her mother was about to say, Utaha hastily interrupted her.
"You completely misunderstood! We were just joking around just now. We didn't actually mean any of what we said."
"Are you sure?"
Hearing that her daughter wasn't actually acting as a homewrecker stepping into someone else's relationship, Mama Kasumigaoka finally breathed a massive sigh of relief.
"Of course! You know exactly what kind of person I am, don't you?"
She had no choice. At this exact moment, Utaha could only lie through her teeth.
Fortunately, Mama Kasumigaoka felt that her daughter had always been incredibly independent and sensible since childhood, so she figured Utaha wouldn't lie to her about something like this.
"Then stop casually saying things that can easily cause such massive misunderstandings. At the very least, make sure there's no one else around first."
Maybe this is just how couples flirt nowadays...
Feeling like she was completely out of touch with the younger generation, Mama Kasumigaoka suddenly glanced in the direction Kai had left.
"That boy..."
"His name is Kai!"
"Whenever this Kai-kun is free, you should invite him inside to hang out."
Even though she had only seen him once, as long as it was a normal, healthy relationship, Mama Kasumigaoka had no intention of deliberately standing in their way.
"I know. I'll invite him over when there's a chance."
Seeing that she had successfully managed to placate her mother, Utaha couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
"Ahem, let's drop it, Mom. I've been walking around outside all day and I'm completely exhausted. Just let me rest for a bit!"
Without giving her mother another chance to speak, Utaha quickly slipped past her and bolted straight back to her room.
"That girl..."
Watching her daughter's retreating back, Mama Kasumigaoka shook her head helplessly, deciding she would just have to interrogate her later.
————————————————————
Meanwhile, on Kai's end...
His phone was continuously buzzing with a barrage of furious LINE stickers sent by Utaha Kasumigaoka.
'This is all your fault. Now my mom has the completely wrong idea.'
'Is it really the wrong idea, though?'
'Whatever, it's still entirely your fault!'
Reading her replies, the smirk on Kai's face grew even wider.
He walked the rest of the way home with a brisk, light step.
Perfect timing. He could finally claim the rewards for the three quests he had completed earlier that day.
[Congratulations, Host]
[Reward Acquired: 200,000 Yen in Cash]
[Congratulations, Host]
[Reward Acquired: High School Japanese Literature Knowledge]
[Congratulations, Host]
[Reward Acquired: High School Chemistry Knowledge]
Not bad at all.
He didn't really care much about the cash anymore. At this rate, he would quickly collect the complete set of knowledge packs for every single high school subject.
————————————————————
By the time Kai finally arrived back at his apartment building...
The sky outside had already begun to darken into dusk.
SLAM!
The second he reached the second-floor landing, he saw Sakiko Togawa violently throw open the door to the adjacent apartment and storm out. Tear streaks stained her face. From inside the room, a man's slurred, heavily intoxicated voice was aggressively yelling.
Slamming the door shut behind her, Sakiko didn't care about anything else, her only thought right now was to escape this suffocating place.
"Careful."
Seeing her blindly rushing toward the stairs and completely missing the first step...
Kai, who happened to be walking right past her, instinctively reached out and caught her in his arms.
"I..."
Sakiko had never expected that one day, she would end up being caught in a man's embrace like this.
"I-I'm so sorry!"
Even at her absolute lowest, most pathetic point, Sakiko still desperately clung to her ingrained aristocratic manners.
She frantically wiped the tears from her face, took two steps back, and offered Kai a deeply earnest bow of gratitude.
"It's fine. We're neighbors, after all."
Kai waved it off with a gentle smile.
Only then did Sakiko realize that the person who had just saved her from a nasty fall was the exact same neighbor she had briefly crossed paths with not too long ago.
"There is no hurdle in life that you can't overcome. Don't worry, just give it some time, and I'm sure your father will bounce back."
"..."
Bounce back?
Sakiko couldn't stop a bitter, self-deprecating smile from twisting her lips.
When she had first been forced to leave the wealthy Togawa family estate, she had genuinely believed the exact same thing. But look at them now.
Heavy drinking, gambling, wasting his life away playing pachinko.
She had never imagined that her previously elegant, gentle father would degenerate into something so pathetic. Could a father like that really ever bounce back?
"I'm sorry, I have somewhere I need to be. Please excuse me."
Refusing to dwell on the topic, and absolutely terrified of letting anyone else witness her vulnerability...
After offering a stiff excuse, Sakiko immediately turned to leave. Anywhere was fine. She just absolutely could not stand to be near this apartment for another second.
"WAIT!"
'Since you literally fell right into my lap, how could I possibly let you slip away?'
Besides, wasn't this the exact opportunity he had been patiently waiting for?
"Togawa-san, it's getting pitch black outside. It's way too dangerous for a girl to be wandering the streets alone right now. If you don't have anywhere else to go, why don't you come wait it out in my apartment for a while? It's literally right next door."
"Your apartment?"
Sakiko hadn't expected him to offer something like that. But then, it clicked.
"You know who I am?"
She was certain she had never introduced herself to him. How did he know her family name was Togawa?
"That's because I'm a massive fan of yours."
Kai smiled and casually raised a hand.
"A fan?"
"Exactly. I watched your band's previous live performance. The song you guys played was called 'Haruhikage' (Spring Sunlight), right? It was an absolute masterpiece. I was genuinely looking forward to your next release... but it's a real shame that your band completely dropped off the map after that single song."
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