With group chats and private messaging apps, the number of times friends called each other directly had indeed been decreasing.
Because of that, whenever a call from a friend came through, one would subconsciously wonder: Did something happen? Why are they calling so urgently?
Back to the point—after dinner and a bath, Megumi Kato sat on her bed, just about to start a video call with Kotomi. But before she could dial, her phone rang first.
A glance at the caller ID—it was Yui.
For a moment, Megumi thought that Yui had somehow found out about her relationship with Kotomi. Since Yui also seemed to have feelings for Kotomi, perhaps she couldn't accept it and was calling now to declare war.
"Megumi, good evening. Do you have time right now?"
"I do. What's up?"
Megumi replied with a light smile, though a hint of vigilance rose in her heart as she thought to herself:
Ever since I started dating Kotomi, I've thought more than once about finding a chance to tell Yui and Yukino about our relationship. But every time I discussed it with Kotomi, she would say very seriously that we can't tell anyone yet.
She does have a point. High school life is pretty packed—we're at school almost every day, with fixed schedules. It's not like university, where you can skip campus entirely when you don't have classes.
If we make our relationship public now... even though dating in high school isn't unusual, we're both girls. A relationship between two girls... it would definitely attract some confusion or strange looks.
Keeping it secret and dating quietly would save a lot of trouble.
But... there are so many girls who like Kotomi. If we made it public, it might even scare off those scheming foxes who have their eyes on her.
Unfortunately, Kotomi refuses to let me say anything. Once she gets back from Kyoto, I should find a time to talk to her about it again. Even if we don't go public yet, telling Yui and Yukino a little shouldn't be a problem, right?
That way, I can also test whether Yui has any intention of "wanting to date Kotomi." If she does, then hopefully she'll back off. If not, then everyone wins—and we might even get their blessings.
Although Megumi thought all this in her mind, she was still paying full attention to what Yui was saying.
"Actually, I'm standing in front of a capsule toy machine right now. It seems a bit different from the usual ones."
"A capsule machine? What's different about it?" Megumi asked curiously.
Speaking of capsule machines, I remember Aimi seems to really like them. She once tried to collect a full set and accidentally spent all her allowance. In the end, Kotomi even gave her some of her own allowance. I haven't teased Aimi about that yet—next time we meet, I definitely will... Megumi thought.
"Most machines—you just pay, turn the knob once, and that's it. But this one is different. After paying, you can turn the knob as many times as you want, and when you're done, you just tap it once to get the capsule."
"Oh... I've never seen one like that before. Or maybe it's just because I don't buy capsule toys much. Aimi might have seen one—she was really into them for a while. What happened next?"
"Well, a little girl told me that if I use my lucky number for October as the number of turns, I might get something I like. But I don't know what my lucky number is this month.
"So she said, 'Then you can call a friend and ask them to suggest a number as your lucky number.'
"I thought that made sense, so I called you, Megumi."
Hearing Yui's explanation, Megumi more or less understood.
"I see—you want me to suggest a number... Oh, wait. Kotomi and Yukino should both be with you, right? Is Kotomi there?"
Just as she was about to give a number, Megumi suddenly realized something. Yui was with Kotomi and Yukino. If Yui was playing with a capsule machine, they should be nearby—so why call her instead of asking them?
A possibility quietly surfaced in Megumi's mind.
—Kotomi isn't with Yui?!
Could it be that Kotomi had gone off somewhere alone again?
At that thought, Megumi immediately grew uneasy. If Kotomi were with Yui and Yukino, then at least Yukino would be there to keep an eye on her.
But the moment she imagined Kotomi going somewhere alone, Megumi felt a surge of anxiety—worried that Kotomi might run into danger, or worse, that she might be meeting another girl in secret.
"Kotomi and Yukino are both in the room. On the way back from the hot springs just now, we saw a capsule machine. The prizes are Anpanman figures. I don't usually like capsule toys—they're expensive and you can't guarantee you'll get the one you want—but when I saw it was Anpanman, I couldn't resist. So I went back to grab my wallet and came to try it."
Hearing this, Megumi finally let out a small sigh of relief. After calming herself, she continued:
"I see. I thought Kotomi had snuck off somewhere alone again. She might seem well-behaved most of the time, but if you don't keep an eye on her, she suddenly turns into a mischievous little penguin who likes to run around. What if she runs into a bad person?"
Megumi sighed helplessly.
"Don't worry, I'll protect Kotomi," Yui said with a smile.
What should have been an ordinary sentence sounded completely different in Megumi's ears.
The moment Yui finished speaking—before her voice had even fully settled—Megumi's eyes seemed to frost over, turning cold and distant as she stared at her phone. It was as if she wanted to forge a blade of ice and drive it straight through Yui's heart.
You'll protect Kotomi? Don't joke with me. The one who can love Kotomi, the one who can protect her, the one who can have her, the one who will spend her life with her—can only ever be me.
Kotomi is mine. She has always been mine. No one else is allowed to touch her!
Megumi roared silently in her heart. She almost wished she could grab a blade right now, appear in front of Yui the next second, and force it into her mouth—correcting her word by word, making her understand what she should never say in front of her.
"Megumi? Megumi? Megumi? Hello, can you hear me? Why did it suddenly go quiet? Is the signal bad in the hallway?"
Just as Yui was about to take a step forward to find a spot with better reception, Megumi spoke again:
"I can hear you now. Sorry about that, Yui—must have been a signal issue on my end just now. But, Yui..."
"Hm?"
"Thinking that you can protect someone, or that you're qualified to protect someone... it's better not to have that kind of thought too easily. Saying things like that might trouble the other person."
Megumi spoke softly. It sounded like a gentle piece of advice, yet carried an undeniable force that was hard to resist.
"I..."
Yui opened her mouth, but for a moment didn't know what to say. She felt that since she was Kotomi's girlfriend, wanting to protect her was only natural.
What Megumi had just said... it made her uncomfortable.
Of course, uncomfortable as it sounded, Yui didn't resent Megumi or feel any aversion toward her. On the contrary, she tried to put herself in Megumi's shoes and understand her.
Gradually, Yui felt she understood why Megumi would say such a thing.
In the end, it was because Megumi didn't know that she and Kotomi had already become lovers. She thought they were just ordinary friends, so she was reminding her.
In that case, I should find a chance to tell Megumi and Yukino: "Kotomi and I are already together."
Hehe... I hope they'll give us their blessing~
Of course, before saying anything, I still need Kotomi's approval. Once we get back from Kyoto, I'll find a time to talk to her alone. Just telling Megumi and Yukino shouldn't be a problem, right?
As Yui thought about it, her mood gradually brightened.
"Mm, I understand," Yui said with a smile, not a trace of dissatisfaction in her tone.
"What I said just now might have sounded a bit harsh. Sorry," Megumi apologized.
"It's fine," Yui replied with a smile, thinking to herself: After all, Megumi—you still don't know that Kotomi is my girlfriend.
"That's good. Then let's go back to what we were talking about—the lucky number. Is it fine if I just give you a number?" Megumi asked with a gentle smile, while thinking: Now that I think about it, what I said earlier was indeed a bit too much. Ignorance is no sin. After all, Yui—you still don't know that Kotomi has long since become my girlfriend. No... in my heart, Kotomi is not just my girlfriend, but my future wife!
"Yep, that's right. Come to think of it, this is my first time hearing that you can decide a lucky number like this."
"Same here. I always thought you could only find your lucky number through horoscopes or birthday fortune-telling. Let me think about which number to recommend..."
After thinking for a moment, Megumi said:
"3. How about that?"
"That sounds good. I'll give it a try."
"Then I wish you good luck~ I'm getting a bit sleepy, so I'm going to turn in early. I'll hang up now."
"Okay, thank you so much, Megumi. But can I ask—why did you recommend 3?"
"Because Kotomi's birthday is March 3rd. So I thought I'd try suggesting 3."
"I see. Using the '3' from Kotomi's March 3rd birthday as a lucky number... it definitely feels like it would have lucky magic," Yui said with complete confidence.
Actually, before making the call, Yui had also thought of Kotomi's birthday—March 3rd. But the number she had come up with was 33.
She had originally planned to turn the knob 33 times, but before she could, she noticed a line of small text on the machine: [Note: Maximum number of turns is 20]. So she had no choice but to give up on that idea.
Now that Megumi had said it, turning it three times was also a good option.
Of course it is. Kotomi is my girlfriend—using her birthday as a lucky number is bound to bring good results. Well... if it's Yui, maybe not necessarily. After all, Kotomi is my girlfriend, not hers. Whether this lucky number can actually bring her luck... the chances feel quite small... Megumi thought.
"Megumi, I'm going to try the capsule machine now. Thanks for the suggestion."
"No problem. Good luck."
With that, Megumi hung up the phone, casually tossing it beside her pillow before lying down. Her mind replayed what Yui had said earlier.
—Don't worry, I'll protect Kotomi.
"Tch—!"
The more Megumi thought about it, the more dissatisfied she became. Her hands clenched tightly without her realizing, until after a long while, her emotions gradually calmed. In a soft, gentle murmur, she said:
"Yui... I hope your feelings for Kotomi will always remain at the level of 'friendship.' Otherwise... I will kill you."
...
Harugamo Inn.
After Megumi hung up, Yui didn't linger and walked over to the capsule machine. She inserted three 100-yen coins and turned the knob three times.
Click. Click. Click.
After the three turns finished, Yui pressed down on the knob with a bit of force.
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
The machine lit up with colorful lights, and the familiar "Anpanman March" began to play.
"Yes! How wonderful it is to be alive, even with wounds in your heart. Why were we born? What are we living for? If you can't answer that, I won't accept it! Because we are alive right now, our burning hearts blaze brightly!"
As the song ended, a capsule rolled out of the machine.
Yui picked it up, only to notice something strange—it was different from the others. This capsule was entirely golden, and it couldn't be opened.
Ding-dong, ding-dong!!!
The machine rang out even louder this time, announcing in a cheerful voice:
"Congratulations! You have obtained the Golden Bread of Happiness!"
"The Golden Bread of Happiness? What does that mean?" Yui looked at the golden capsule in confusion.
"Onee-san, you hit the jackpot!"
The little girl holding an empty basket bounced excitedly.
"Huh?! This is the grand prize?!"
Yui was stunned. She hadn't expected that spending just 300 yen on the machine would get her the top prize.
"That's right! The Golden Bread of Happiness! It's a limited capsule that only appears in Anpanman-themed machines. As long as you draw this golden capsule, you get all the Anpanman capsules in the machine!"
The little girl shook her empty basket enthusiastically as she spoke.
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