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Besides.
Megumi Kato genuinely didn't have any particular impression of Yui Yuigahama. At most, they were just classmates who shared the same room.
On the contrary, she held a very distinct, unique impression of Kai—the only person who could consistently notice her existence.
In fact, Megumi inexplicably felt that Kai must have some complex, special reason for doing all this, rather than just purely wanting to be a three-timing scumbag.
Her brain must be broken...
"You really have a wicked personality, Kai-kun."
"Hmm? Why do you say that?"
Having already reigned in her chaotic emotions, Megumi looked up. With her perpetually deadpan expression, she stared straight at Kai and said:
"You know perfectly well that even if someone as painfully ordinary as me went around telling people about this, hardly anyone would actually believe me."
It was the honest truth.
Given her absolute lack of presence, Megumi genuinely believed that even if she told Yui the truth directly to her face, Yui wouldn't believe it. It was far more likely that Yui would just assume Megumi was making things up out of jealousy.
"Hahahahaha!"
Kai couldn't hold back his laughter.
If Megumi hadn't explicitly pointed it out, that thought wouldn't have even crossed his mind.
However, the real reason he wasn't panicking was simply because he thoroughly understood Megumi's personality. Besides, so what if she actually told everyone?
He had transmigrated into a second life. If he couldn't follow his own desires and live exactly how he wanted, completely unburdened by fear, then what was the point of transmigrating in the first place?
"I never actually thought of it that way. Besides, I don't think you're ordinary in the slightest, Kato-san."
"Hmm?"
'Not ordinary? I get completely ignored on a daily basis by everyone around me, and yet I'm not ordinary?'
"After all, you're incredibly cute, Kato-san."
As he said that, Kai tilted his head, looking at Megumi with a warm, genuine smile.
She had her signature bob cut. Even though her face was completely expressionless, her features were delicate and refined. In terms of pure aesthetics, she could easily hold her own against any of the other top-tier anime heroines.
Of course, the main reason Megumi was revered by fans as "Saint Megumi" was her personality. She was widely considered the absolute best anime heroine to have as a girlfriend, or even a wife.
"Are you just saying that to flatter me, Kai-kun?"
Any other girl in this exact situation would probably be flustered, blushing furiously and at a complete loss for words.
But Megumi wasn't. Instead, she just tilted her head slightly, subconsciously assuming he was merely trying to sweet-talk her into keeping his secret safe.
"You really don't need to do all this, Kai-kun. I'm not going to—"
"I'm not!" Before Megumi could finish, Kai smoothly cut her off. "I meant it. You really are incredibly cute, Kato-san. If possible, I'd absolutely love for you to be my fourth boat."
Fourth boat?
As in... his fourth girlfriend?
Even though she knew perfectly well that he was an absolute scumbag, hearing those words didn't trigger a single ounce of disgust or displeasure in Megumi's heart.
"Alright, it's getting late, so I'm going to head back now. You should get home safely too, Kato-san!"
He didn't stick around to pester her. Sometimes, knowing exactly when to pull back and leave an impression was the best strategy.
He waved casually at Megumi, shoved his hands into his pockets, and swaggered away.
Staring at his retreating back...
...a strange, unfamiliar emotion finally began to ripple across Megumi's perpetually flat expression.
"Cute?"
'Does he really think I'm cute?' Even Megumi herself didn't realize it, but as she murmured those words, a tiny, almost imperceptible smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
————————————————————
"Hmm?"
When Kai finally returned to his apartment...
...he found Sakiko Togawa bustling about in his kitchen. He was genuinely surprised—he had assumed she would have already gone back to her own place next door.
"You're back?"
Leaning to the side to confirm it was him, Sakiko went back to cooking and smoothly added, "Go ahead and rest for a bit. Dinner will be ready soon."
Even though he had already eaten while he was out on his date, Kai wasn't about to completely ruin the mood by pointing that out.
"Coming home to a beautiful girl cooking me dinner... have I died and gone to heaven?"
"Stop saying such weird things."
Carrying the freshly plated food to the table, Sakiko shot him a coy, reproachful glare.
————————————————————
How should he put it?
The taste wasn't exactly great. Even Sakiko herself took a bite and immediately realized that some of the dishes were severely under-seasoned.
"I'm sorry. I followed the recipe exactly."
She looked noticeably crestfallen. She had really wanted to cook him an amazing meal as a proper thank you for taking her in.
"It's totally fine, this is actually really good. I can tell you put a lot of heart into it, Sakiko."
It was completely understandable. She used to be a pampered heiress who never had to lift a finger in the kitchen. Having the former young lady of a massive conglomerate personally cook a meal for him was an incredibly rare, exclusive privilege in its own right.
"By the way, is everything okay with your father next door?"
Seeing Kai earnestly tasting every single dish brought a genuine smile back to Sakiko's face. She shook her head and replied:
"It's fine. I left a portion of food over there for him. Besides, for him... as long as he has alcohol, he's probably perfectly content."
When bringing up her father, the smile on Sakiko's face noticeably dimmed. When she had popped back over earlier, she had found him still completely passed out anyway.
"Well then, as a reward for cooking me dinner today, how about I help scrub your back when you take a bath later?"
"No."
She rejected him without a single second of hesitation, rolling her eyes in exasperation.
"Stop constantly saying such weird things, Kai-kun."
"Eh? Is it really that weird? I was actually really looking forward to it."
"..."
Was he really looking forward to just scrubbing her back?
She turned her head away to avoid looking at him, but deep down, her heart was doing joyful backflips.
"Anyway... n-not right now."
Not right now? That implies that later is perfectly fine...
It seemed that ever since he had witnessed her at her absolute lowest, Sakiko's defensive walls against him had drastically plummeted.
"You're so stingy!"
Kai huffed, feigning displeasure. He hadn't actually expected a single line of flirting to work on her anyway.
"Whatever, fine. You might be stingy, Sakiko, but I'm not. So when I take a shower later, you can come in and scrub my back. Don't worry, I won't mind at all."
"...Heh!"
Compared to the very beginning, Sakiko was already starting to build an immunity to Kai's shameless banter.
After finishing the meal, she proactively gathered the dishes, not even bothering to dignify his comment with a real response.
"Oh right, how's your foot? Does it still hurt?" Kai had incredibly thick skin—he didn't feel a single ounce of embarrassment from the rejection. Remembering her injury, he immediately asked.
"It's completely fine now."
Standing at the sink washing the dishes, seeing that Kai hadn't forgotten about her sprained ankle brought a heartwarming smile to Sakiko's face.
'He really does care about me...'
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