In the Schale office, the manager stood before a humming machine, watching as black liquid trickled into a container.
Once it reached two-thirds full, he added chilled milk and a bit of sugar. After stirring, the coffee was complete—energizing but not too bitter.
He carried two cups to the desk and placed one beside Yuuka's left hand. He'd noticed a couple days ago that she was left-handed.
"Thanks for your hard work. Careful, it's hot."
"Ah, thank you, Sensei."
Yuuka looked up briefly before returning to her papers, seemingly focused on a difficult problem.
He sat beside her, sipping his warm coffee and returning to his own work. Their cups—identical in design but different in color—felt like a matching set, like something for couples.
Even while working through boring documents, his mind drifted to the past two days.
It was his third day on the job. Thanks to Yuuka, he quickly "relearned" how to process paperwork—perhaps "remembered" was the better word.
Not everything had gone smoothly, though.
Yuuka served as the accountant in her club, excelling at math and related tasks. But when it came to long-winded bureaucratic writing, she struggled and often sought help via a chat app called "momotalk."
Through her phone, he also received remote guidance from a student named Noa, which proved extremely helpful.
Together, they managed to finish all the tasks before nightfall.
When Yuuka proudly declared, "My calculations are flawless," she had looked genuinely adorable.
That night, he took a fully automated helicopter to the General Student Council and personally handed the processed documents to Rin, who was still working overtime.
Then tragedy struck.
He still remembered how Rin's tired eyes lit up instantly. She stood up excitedly, patted his shoulder, praised his dedication to work, and thanked him for his contributions to Kivotos.
Then she shoved several thick stacks of documents from her desk into his arms.
And told him it would be best to finish them all within two days.
Also, completed documents could just be faxed to her—no need to go through the trouble of making another trip.
Though she added that these were originally all Schale's tasks, so he was only picking up the slack.
That was the situation he found himself in now.
He still had to thank Yuuka once again.
After installing the momotalk app and reaching out to his only contact there, Yuuka readily agreed to continue filling in as Schale's duty officer and help handle the administrative work.
Otherwise, given his current inexperience, he might've had to pull an all-nighter.
He sipped the now-lukewarm coffee and felt a warm sensation spread through his chest.
Yuuka.
What a lovely girl.
Just judging by appearance, from looks to figure, she was flawless—every movement radiated youthful energy. Ignoring the halo above her head, it wasn't that Yuuka matched his aesthetic—she defined his sense of beauty.
But more importantly was her inner self. Talented, meticulous, kind-hearted, always helping him without asking for anything in return, and answering his questions gently and patiently…
Could someone who embodied all the beauty in the world really be the "alien" he had once imagined?
Then… what about the others he hadn't gotten to know yet?
He suddenly felt that maybe he could do it.
Starting with Yuuka, maybe he could gradually see all the students as his own kind.
Even if they had traits he still couldn't fully accept... perhaps mutual understanding was possible between them.
When that day came, maybe he could find a true sense of belonging in this strange world.
For some reason, he suddenly opened his mouth and said:
"Hey, Yuuka."
"Hmm?"
He swallowed hard, resisted brushing it off, and instead followed the throb in his chest to ask the question he'd been holding back. In as calm a tone as he could manage:
"I'd like to know... up to now, how do you see me?"
As the final syllable fell, he felt a fleeting sense of relief sweep through him—but it was quickly replaced by a subtle unease.
After all, he'd only known Yuuka for a few days. Was it really okay to ask something like that?
Wouldn't it seem weird?
But he didn't regret asking.
Busy work could distract him from his worries, but it couldn't dispel the loneliness gnawing at his heart.
That loneliness made him crave affirmation—so he could have the reason, and the strength, to accept others in return.
If this continued, maybe he'd go mad? He didn't know.
He didn't even know what he was thinking anymore. With memory gaps and lack of knowledge, he couldn't clearly describe his thoughts.
Was it confusion? Anxiety? Fear?
He didn't know, and didn't feel like sorting it out.
All he knew was that Yuuka had stopped writing and didn't say a word.
The silence dragged on—who knew how long.
Until finally, the scratching of pen on paper and the clicking of abacus beads resumed.
Along with Yuuka's voice, which to him sounded unusually cold:
"Sensei, please don't ask... weird questions like that while we're working."
Focused on the documents in front of him, he didn't notice Yuuka pulling her purple hair over her left ear to hide the faint blush.
He felt a bit disappointed, but surprisingly not devastated. He simply muttered "okay," and threw himself back into the work.
Time flies when you're focused.
By the time he realized, they were already wrapping up.
Looking over, Yuuka was still as precise as ever. And it was only 4 p.m.
With one final push, they got through the last of the documents. While faxing them to the command office, he turned to Yuuka and said:
"Yuuka, thank you for everything these past few days. How about a little celebration tonight? My treat. Any fancy restaurant in mind? Don't worry about the cost—it's totally worth it!"
Surprisingly, Yuuka looked... troubled.
"Eh? Eh... eh?"
After a moment's hesitation, Yuuka shook her head, put on a stern expression, and refused in a lecturing tone:
"You're already an adult. You should manage your spending better. High-end restaurants are expensive. With your current income, you're not exactly in a position to splurge like that, are you?"
So in the end, the celebration took place at a nearby family restaurant—and they split the bill.
The restaurant's owner and staff were talking cats and dogs. Though he still felt a bit uneasy, and had concerns about their cooking and the food quality, the result far exceeded expectations—the food was delicious.
As a bonus, he also got to hear Yuuka lecture him for a while about how "this place has excellent cost-performance ratios, according to my calculations."
After saying goodbye, Yuuka had only walked a few steps toward Millennium Science School when she suddenly turned around and called out to him.
"Um, about the question you asked this afternoon…"
Because she stood in the shadow between two street lamps, he couldn't see her face clearly. Was that intentional? Another calculated decision?
Yuuka took a deep breath and said:
"I think you're… a really hopeless adult. So, so if it weren't for me…"
As she spoke, her voice grew softer, until the last few words were completely inaudible.
He felt a swirl of emotions and tried to step forward, but the moment he moved, Yuuka jumped back several steps in a panic and blurted out a high-pitched "I'm sorry!" before dashing off at top speed.
He stood alone in place, deep in thought, until he finally reached a conclusion—
So, in the end, she must really dislike him.
It made sense. He kept troubling her and said strange things. Of course she would be annoyed.
And the fact that it took her saying it for him to realize… was pretty clueless of him. He should've caught on from how hesitant she looked when he invited her earlier.
As for that "I'm sorry," it was probably just Yuuka being too kind, feeling guilty for disliking him.
Even though he could accept this truth calmly, he still felt a little disappointed.
Even Yuuka couldn't give him the recognition he hoped for. Even Yuuka couldn't be someone he saw as a kindred spirit.
In the end, the problem must lie with him. In this world, he was the one who didn't belong.
…From now on, he'd stop troubling Yuuka with anything related to Schale.
After making this difficult decision, he pushed down his negative emotions, sighed, and turned to walk back toward Schale.
Boom—
A sudden explosion erupted just a few dozen meters ahead. A wave of scorching air blasted toward him. The flash of light in the dark night made him squint, but a second later, his eyes shot wide open.
From within the flames and smoke, a graceful silhouette emerged.
Then, a masked girl stepped out of the explosion, her fox ears on top of her head swaying happily side to side.
From behind the fox mask came a chilling giggle.
"Hehehe…"
He had seen her before.
In Schale's basement.
He hadn't known her identity then, but he had looked it up afterward—
One of the seven escaped prisoners from the Federal Correction Bureau, a delinquent who had committed multiple serious crimes, a fox of calamity whose motives and goals were unknown...
Kosaka Wakamo.