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Ever since she had followed Shuya and the others home that evening, Saya Takagi had felt completely out of place.
It was like she didn't belong with them at all.
Even during dinner just now—eating the incredibly delicious meal Shuya had cooked himself—everything had tasted like cardboard in her mouth.
Every time she glanced at Shuya's face, her brain involuntarily replayed what she had seen Saeko Busujima do with him earlier. Her throat went dry, her skin crawled like ants were marching all over her, and an overwhelming urge to run away hit her like a truck.
That urge had only grown stronger. By the time dinner ended, Saya finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Oh?"
Shuya turned his gaze toward the pink-haired girl, curious. "Aren't you and Saeko-senpai friends? Why not wait until she wakes up and ask her to take you home instead? You saw how strong Saeko-senpai is, right?"
Saya nodded.
Shuya was right—Saeko Busujima's strength was insane. Killing zombies was as easy for her as mowing grass in a hack-and-slash game.
But only if she and Saeko were actually friends!
In reality, she had just happened to be standing outside the infirmary when Saeko found her and kindly dragged her inside. Saeko had only claimed they were friends out of pure goodwill.
Truthfully, Saya knew far less about Saeko than she did about Shuya—the guy she had treated as her number-one academic rival for an entire year.
With a relationship like that, how could she possibly have the nerve to ask Saeko for a favor?
So why had she asked Shuya instead?
Even Saya herself hadn't realized it at first. Because she had always seen Shuya as her biggest rival, she had paid extra attention to his every move. Without even knowing it, that attention had quietly turned into a tiny crush.
And after learning he possessed Nen—this actual superpower—her natural admiration for the strong had amplified that feeling at lightning speed.
That was why she held some expectations toward Shuya… even after personally witnessing him and Saeko together.
Of course, Saya herself had no idea that was happening. She simply felt she didn't fit in here.
First reason: she had heard Shizuka explain what Nen was. According to the nurse, even a genius like Saya would need several years of proper training just to awaken it. By then everything would already be over.
Second reason: again, she had zero actual relationship with Shuya. She had no right to demand he share his power with her.
Did that mean she was supposed to do what Saeko had done earlier… those shameless things?
Saya Takagi was proud.
She could never trade her body like that.
And the most important reason of all—
Every time she remembered the scene she had watched between Shuya and Saeko, her eyes involuntarily drifted downward.
That big…?
No way it would fit. Absolutely impossible.
So under all those overlapping thoughts, Saya's first instinct had been to ask Shuya to send her home—back to an environment where she felt comfortable.
What she hadn't expected was that, in a moment of panic, she would blurt out "I'll do anything!"—a slightly shameless line that carried an unintentional probing tone.
Saya said honestly, "Saeko-senpai and I aren't actually friends. She only took me in out of kindness because the situation outside was dangerous."
"You're surprisingly honest," Shuya remarked, a little surprised as he looked at the pink-haired girl in front of him.
Saeko really was kind in her own way.
Or maybe her sense of morality was just too strong?
If Saeko had been even a little more selfish, she never would have spent years beating herself up over accidentally injuring someone in middle school and discovering her own violent urges.
So if Saya had been willing to take full advantage of that "kindness," she actually could have gotten a lot of things.
Even Shuya hadn't expected her to be this straightforward.
Should he agree?
Shuya stroked his chin while looking at the pink-haired girl, then after a moment of thought he said, "I can do it. But I have one condition."
Thanks to Saeko's Reizan feeding him massive amounts of Nen earlier and the fact that he had "eaten" Saeko tonight, Shuya was in an unusually good mood.
Plus, among the three women in the house, Shizuka and Saeko were already in intimate relationships with him, and Rei was at least in the ambiguous zone.
Only Saya felt completely out of place in the group.
Idle hands and all that.
But he wasn't the type to do favors for free.
At the very least he wanted something in exchange.
His first thought was the famous katana from the original story—the one Saeko had received from Saya's father.
Even though Saeko could now conjure Reizan, that original blade still held collector value.
When Saeko woke up and saw the gift he got for her, she would definitely be happy, right?
However, after hearing his words, Saya didn't answer immediately. She froze, lost in thought for a long moment.
Then she slowly placed her hands on her collar. Her face turned beet red as if she had imagined something terrifying.
Saya said in a twisted, embarrassed voice, "I… I'm still a virgin. C-can you… be gentle?"
"You're overthinking this so hard your brain's about to explode!"
Shuya hadn't even reacted yet.
Rei, on the other hand, instantly abandoned any thought of petting the Snowball Beasts.
She let out a loud cry and pounced, tackling Saya onto the sofa.
Rei glared at her with clear hostility.
It was one thing for Saeko-senpai to sneak ahead—she had known Shuya longer and their relationship looked genuinely close. Even though Saeko claimed they weren't dating, Rei still had her doubts. That was why she had accepted what she saw earlier.
But what was this with Saya Takagi?!
Trying to steal him right in front of her too?!
Rei's inner thoughts screamed: I won't allow it! All evil shall be judged in my presence!
"Let me go!"
Saya struggled under Rei's weight, gasping for air.
It was understandable. Saya was a spoiled rich young lady who had never done any real physical training, while Rei had been practicing spear techniques for years. In a contest of strength, she stood no chance—especially when Rei had the advantage of surprise.
"No way!" Rei declared firmly.
"Shuya-kun, help!"
With no other choice, Saya sent a desperate SOS toward Shuya.
"Uh… Miyamoto, let her go for now."
Shuya scratched the tip of his nose. The situation had developed in a direction he really hadn't expected.
Rei looked up at him with resentful golden eyes. "You did all those things to me but you still call me 'Miyamoto.' You won't even say 'Rei' once?"
Shuya broke into a sweat.
What had he even done?
All he had done was play with her two little ahoge for a bit, right?
Changing how he called her was no big deal. He wasn't one of those Japanese people who measured closeness by honorifics anyway.
He scratched his head and said, "Fine then… Rei. Can you let her go?"
"Okay~"
The moment she heard that, Rei's face lit up like the sun after rain and she immediately released Saya.
(Of course, that sunshine was reserved only for Shuya. Toward Saya she still kept the death glare.)
"Haah~ Finally saved."
Saya gulped down fresh air, looking completely wilted. Then she turned to Shuya and asked, "So… Shuya-kun, are we still making the deal?"
Shuya answered bluntly, "Wait, did you two misunderstand something? I don't think I ever said I wanted to do anything like that to you."
"I just wanted to borrow the famous katana your family collects so I could give it to Saeko-senpai as a present…"
"Eh?!"
Shuya's words struck Saya like a bolt from the blue.
The pink-haired genius froze solid.
She… had completely misunderstood on her own?
Saya Takagi, oh Saya Takagi, what the hell was going on inside that genius brain of yours?!
In short—total social death!
Nine-out-of-ten levels of social death!
The shame!
Right now, the pink-haired girl felt an overwhelming wave of mortification crash over her.
If she had a sword in her hands right now, she would have performed seppuku on the spot just to show Shuya how sorry she was.