Lying on his bed, Eriri kicked her slender legs back and forth in the air. Wrapped in black stockings, her legs contrasted against the pure white skin between her short school skirt and thighs, creating a perfect "absolute zone" that involuntarily drew Haruto's gaze more than a few times.
"You should probably head home now, right? You've been here quite a while. Aren't you worried about Sayuri being alone at home?"
"Worried about what? Even if I returned to my time now, I'd still be younger than my mom. A grown woman like her will be fine. The one who needs more looking after is you, not my mom."
Eriri stretched out on Haruto's bed, head resting on a pillow that smelled just like him. She turned over and stretched her arms, only to bump into the wall—this bed was clearly smaller than hers back home.
"How about you consider dating me? Then next year, once we're old enough, we can get married right away. You could move into my house. It's way bigger than this little apartment. When you're tired, you can just crash on my bed. Doesn't that sound nice?"
"You were the one telling me to keep my distance from Sayuri, and now you're the one saying we should be together. I really don't get what's going on in your head."
Haruto had just pulled out his manuscript from the desk, trying to write something, but his mind was completely blank. Eriri's presence had scattered his thoughts. He glanced over at the girl lying on his bed again.
Eriri slowly sat up and walked over to his side. She gently draped her arms over his shoulders, her golden hair cascading down across his shoulder and cheek.
"You're not so different yourself. Always saying you need to keep your distance from Mom, yet never actually pushing me away. Is that all just talk?"
Her soft, fingers brushed across his cheek, her cool fingertips sliding gently along his face. Haruto felt an urge to turn and bite her fingers just to see if she'd yelp in pain.
But that thought seemed too childish. Instead, he raised his hand and gently removed her fingers from his face.
"You should head home now."
"I want to stay over tonight."
"No way."
"I'll pay you 500,000 yen."
"...Still no."
"How about a million?"
"..."
Standing up, Haruto turned to look her in the eye. Her offer made him waver, sure, but he knew one thing for sure—his bed was way too small for two people.
"Sleeping on the floor, then?"
"...I think I'll just go home."
Caught off guard by his words, Eriri went silent. She picked up her bag and glanced back at Haruto, who hadn't moved from his spot.
"You're not even going to see me out?"
"It's not like you don't know the way."
"Hmph."
With a snort, she walked to the door, slipped on her shoes, and gave one last look toward the room—only half of Haruto's body visible behind the wall. Then, without another word, she opened the door and stepped outside.
She hadn't really intended to stay anyway. This was just a test—a way to gauge Haruto's response. And from the way he reacted, it didn't seem like he was entirely against the idea. That was good enough for now.
Leaving his apartment, Eriri figured it was about time to head home.
Just as she was about to head down the stairs, she heard footsteps. Turning her head, she saw a girl she didn't recognize coming up.
Their eyes met. Eriri narrowed hers slightly.
Sekai looked surprised. She had no idea who this girl was, but something about her expression and stare felt... off. Sekai couldn't help but be drawn to her, a strange sense of familiarity settling in her chest.
The two locked eyes but said nothing.
As Sekai walked past her, she noticed Eriri turning slightly to keep her in view. But she didn't dwell on it and continued on to Haruto's door, ringing the bell.
Eriri, watching the black-haired girl with the antenna-like strand walk up to Haruto's apartment and ring the doorbell, suddenly felt her mood darken. She stared silently at the girl from the corridor. For a long time, she stood there, not moving.
She made no effort to stop her, nor did she follow her inside to ask Haruto who she was.
To her, it didn't matter right now. Sooner or later...
"When I was coming up just now, I ran into a girl on the stairs. Is she a friend of yours?" Sekai asked.
"A classmate. She had something to talk about, but she just left."
"I see."
Sekai stepped into Haruto's apartment and walked over to him. He was sitting at his desk. Without a word, she lowered her gaze and glanced at the trash bin—no balled-up tissues or anything suspicious.
Relieved, she smiled gently at him.
"Hey... Haruto..."
Sekai hadn't come with any big reason—just wanted to deepen their relationship a little.
But Haruto, still drained from being thoroughly "used" by Setsuna the night before, had no energy left to spare today. He responded to Sekai's subtle advances with a gentle smile and a bit of affectionate chatting before politely asking her to head home early.
"It's still early, you know. Even if I go home, I'll just be alone. You're alone here too, right?"
"I need to stop by Setsuna's place later. Wanna come?"
"Ugh..."
At the mention of Setsuna, Sekai gave up on insisting. She pouted and hugged Haruto tightly, draping herself all over him, hands pressing against his chest and giving him a nearly suffocating experience. Only after that was she satisfied enough to wave goodbye and leave.
Nearly out of breath, Haruto sat down again once she left, taking a moment to collect himself. He wiped his lips with a tissue and glanced toward the door.
At this rate, he was probably in danger. It was time to draw up a Time Management schedule for himself.
So over the next few days, Haruto created a rough daily schedule and even pulled Mai aside to ask her to spend more time with Setsuna—hoping this would ease Setsuna's growing "interest" in him.
Mai had been surprised at first when she understood Haruto's real reason. Her gaze lingered on his waist for a second, then back at his slightly flushed cheeks. He looked perfectly healthy, which confused her a bit.
"Aren't you supposed to be young?"
Haruto sighed. Apparently, people had some wild misconceptions about youth. No matter how healthy a guy might be, there's only so much he can take from three girls taking turns draining him.
After explaining his situation and that he needed a "cooldown period," Mai nodded in understanding and agreed to the plan.
But—there was a condition...
That night, Mai spent three hours at Haruto's apartment.
From eight in the evening, right after dinner, until eleven o'clock at night—she didn't leave until she was thoroughly satisfied. The price of that satisfaction? Haruto spent the entire Sunday flat on his bed, completely drained and unwilling to move an inch.
Still, as much of a toll as it took, the whole ordeal at least brought one unexpected benefit: it finally forced Haruto into a healthier routine. At the very least, he wouldn't be dozing off during class anymore.
"Shouldn't be many people around."
Uncharacteristically, Haruto found himself at the school library. He wasn't expecting any kind of galgame-like encounter with a girl hidden behind a book corner. No, he came here purely because this place was usually empty—a quiet escape.
He pushed open the library doors and walked inside. Taking a seat at one of the many reading tables, he casually opened the book he'd brought along and began flipping through the pages in silence.
There wasn't much to do at home anyway. Lately, after pushing forward with The Defiled Angel, the story had suddenly taken a turn for the obscure. He wasn't quite sure how to proceed, and figured it might be best to take a break and draw inspiration from other people's works.
He'd been reading a lot lately, but at home, there was always someone showing up—interrupting him, distracting him. So he figured he might as well stay at school for a while and read in peace.He'd head home around sunset—there was still time. Late spring was shifting into early summer, and the sun no longer dipped below the horizon by five. He had plenty of time, no need to rush.
"Come to think of it… when was the first time I really noticed time changing? The way spring turns to summer, summer to autumn…?"
His eyes paused on the page. Thoughts of time drifted into his mind, and Haruto slowly fell into memory. But the recollection was blurry, too distant to grasp clearly. Maybe it was that one time, watching TV, when he realized the sky outside had grown darker earlier than usual.
He shook the thought from his head and returned to the book in his hands, flipping pages in silence. The entire library was still and quiet.
Creak—
The doors swung open with a sudden sound. A figure appeared at the entrance.She wore a white headband, her silky black hair falling gracefully over her shoulders and down her back. In her hands, she carried a stack of manuscript pages as she stepped inside.
She didn't notice Haruto at first. It wasn't until he, seated at a reading table, slowly looked up at the sound, that their eyes met.
"…You again."
"Kasumigaoka Senpai."
"Last time you were borrowing books… and today, reading here again?"
"It's quiet."
His gaze landed briefly on her black stockings and those model-worthy legs. He couldn't help but make a mental comparison to Setsuna and Sekai—feeling slightly bad on their behalf—before pulling his eyes away and diving back into his book.
Utaha noticed his glance and felt the urge to say something sharp, but the way he quickly lowered his head, pretending to read with such intensity… it felt a bit fake.
She walked over and sat down across from him at the same table. Placing her manuscript pages down, she looked straight at the boy whose name she couldn't quite remember.
He wasn't looking at her.
A flicker of irritation surfaced. Maybe it was because of that earlier glance. Or maybe it was his indifference now. Either way, the feeling slowly began to spread.
Sure, she had nice legs. But she wasn't exactly a stranger to being stared at. And yet, this boy… after that one look, he'd gone back to reading like a monk in meditation. Unbothered, unshaken, fully immersed.
She stared at him for a while longer. But when he never looked up again, Utaha's frustration faded away. She let out a quiet breath, picked up her pen, and began writing on her manuscript paper.
The library remained still. Two people, each absorbed in their own world, quietly doing their own thing.
As the sun gradually sank lower in the sky, Haruto finally closed his book and stood up.
He glanced at the girl still focused on her writing. Knowing who she was, Haruto could guess she was probably working on one of her own novels.
He didn't disturb her. Moving as quietly as he could, he made his way toward the door, ready to go home.
But even the softest footsteps echoed clearly in the silent library. The high school girl-author, eyes dry from staring at her writing for so long, looked up—just in time to see him almost at the door.
"Your name."
The voice behind him made Haruto turn his head slightly.
"Did you introduce yourself last time? I forgot your name."
"Miyamizu Haruto. See you."
Without missing a beat, he casually offered his name, then turned and walked out of the library. His figure soon disappeared from sight.
Utaha sat quietly, watching the door for a while. Then she gathered her manuscript pages, tucked them into a folder, and slowly raised her head to look at the sunset outside the window.
Just now pulling herself out of her writing zone, she couldn't help but feel a strange, new thought rise up from somewhere deep inside her.
"Is what I'm writing really okay…?Love… what does it even feel like…?That boy just now—Miyamizu Haruto…"