"Haaah..."
The sound of Yuuto yawning widely echoed in the living room of his apartment.
"Belfast, let's go to sleep. I'm completely exhausted," Yuuto said. The two of them had just returned from the island where the meeting took place and were now getting ready to rest.
"Understood, Darling," Belfast replied as she followed him from behind toward the bedroom. Suddenly, her steps slowed down a bit.
"Darling, I want to ask you something. Earlier, during the meeting with the new group members... why didn't you help them when they were made Lord Zelretch's apprentices?"
Yuuto glanced back for a moment. "Ah, that's because I was really enjoying the expressions on their faces. How could I let such great entertainment pass by?" he chuckled as he opened the bedroom door.
Belfast sighed softly. "Darling, that's bad behavior, you know."
"Hehe, sorry," Yuuto replied lightly. "Well, at least they'll be just fine. The door to Hikigaya's world hasn't opened yet, so Zelretch won't be able to try anything funny for now." Yuuto stepped inside and immediately sat on the edge of the bed.
Instead of lying down, Belfast approached Yuuto and began helping her husband take off his upper clothes. "I'm just worried about how Lord Zelretch will train the three of them later," she said with a worried look on her face.
"Relax, Belfast. Zelretch won't put their lives in danger. It seems the old man is really interested in the three of them, especially Hikigaya. Well... though they might have to go through hellish training," Yuuto said as he took his turn helping Belfast take off her clothes to get ready for bed.
"Thank goodness then," Belfast said, sounding a little more relieved.
"By the way... are you going to school tomorrow, Darling?"
Yuuto nodded slowly. "It's been a while since I went to school. I'm kind of curious about how things are over there now. Sensei's magic should have influenced the people there quite a bit by now," Yuuto said. He then looked at his wife, "And you, Belfast? Is there anything you want to do while I'm at school tomorrow?"
"About that, I'm planning to go to your cousin's house. I want to help Mikan. It seems she needs a little extra help managing the house tomorrow, since they just moved," Belfast answered.
"Is that so? Alright, I'll drop you off later while I take Riko to her new school," Yuuto said.
After that closing chat, Yuuto laid his body down on the bed. Belfast followed suit, lying right next to Yuuto, and then hugged her husband more tightly to welcome the night.
"See you later, Darling!" Belfast called out, waving her hand at Yuuto who was starting to walk away with Riko by his side.
"Nee-san, don't cause trouble for Yuuto-san by constantly falling into his arms," Mikan teased Riko.
Yuuto waved back at the two of them. Meanwhile, Riko just walked with her head down, hurriedly turning away and hiding her face.
"Damn it, Mikan... that only happened twice, there's no need to remind me of it," Riko muttered as she walked, holding back her embarrassment.
Remembering the incident from this morning when she once again fell against Yuuto's body and almost kissed him, Riko's face immediately flushed red.
"Three times to be exact, if you count yesterday's incident," Yuuto chimed in, having suddenly caught up to walk right beside her.
Riko jumped in surprise, losing her balance.
"Whoa, steady!" Yuuto exclaimed, swiftly catching Riko's shoulders as she almost tripped again. "You don't want the fourth time to happen right now, do you?" he chuckled, letting go of his hold on the girl's body.
Riko was left speechless. They continued their journey to school side by side. Riko tried to speed up her pace to hide her flustered state, but Yuuto casually kept up with her speed.
"Riko-chan, you're too nervous. You don't need to be that nervous, you know. I'm your cousin, we're family, not strangers," Yuuto said in a soothing tone.
Riko glanced at him briefly, then hurriedly looked away again. 'Damn it, why is it like this? I'm used to being friends with guys, so why do I get nervous half to death when I'm near him?' Riko's mind was in turmoil.
"Riko, it seems you'll be in the same class as me," Yuuto said, breaking the silence.
Riko only nodded slowly.
"Later, how about you invite Mikan to drop by the apartment?" Yuuto asked again.
Riko nodded.
"Oh right, do you want some cake? If you do, I'll bake some later."
Riko nodded again.
Along the way, Yuuto kept trying to chat with the girl. Even though Riko remained silent and continuously responded with just a nod of her head, Yuuto didn't feel annoyed at all. On the contrary, he found Riko's flustered behavior very cute.
'Th-this guy has been blabbering non-stop!' Riko thought, her face blushing even redder. Honestly, she also wanted to reply to Yuuto and chat normally with him, but her brain suddenly went blank, unsure of what to say.
Suddenly, a garbage truck sped past them. The heavy vehicle spewed thick, black, pungent smoke into the air.
"Cough-cough!" Riko coughed while waving a hand in front of her nose.
At the same time, Yuuto abruptly stopped in his tracks. Feeling that something was odd, Riko turned to look and was stunned. Yuuto's usually warm face now looked so cold, rigid, and radiated a dense aura of hostility.
'What? Why is he making that kind of expression? Is he annoyed at me?' Riko panicked inwardly. The girl thought Yuuto was angry because she had been silent and acting awkward all this time.
Riko forced herself to open her mouth. "Ni... Nii-san?" she called out hesitantly.
That quiet call made Yuuto's shoulders give a small flinch. The cold aura around him vanished in an instant. When he turned his head, his signature warm smile was perfectly back in place. "Oh, yes? What is it, Riko-chan?" he asked gently.
Riko blinked in confusion at such a drastic change in expression—as if that terrifying face from earlier was just her illusion. "W-w-what about y-you?"
"Hmmm?" Yuuto leaned his body slightly toward Riko, looking at her gently. "Did you say something just now?"
Riko hurriedly averted her face, which was blushing again. "N-no, it's nothing," she deflected.
"Is that so? If it's nothing, let's continue walking," Yuuto said as he turned around and started stepping forward again. Riko trailed behind him.
Because she was walking behind him, Riko was completely unaware that Yuuto's face, now shadowed by his jacket hood, had darkened once more. His gaze sharpened, observing the surroundings with an unreadable expression. He saw pedestrians throwing garbage carelessly without a shred of guilt. In the display window of an electronics store, rows of television screens broadcasted news about the Japanese government dumping nuclear wastewater into the ocean. On another screen, the news showed massive deforestation in a certain country just to open up land for palm oil and mining.
Seeing all of that, the instincts in his blood boiled. To him, watching humans destroy nature was like watching parasites gnaw at his own body. Something utterly disgusting from the perspective of a planetary existence.
"They are... truly sickening," Yuuto muttered quietly. His tone was as cold as ice.
Fortunately, Riko, who was walking with her head down behind him, didn't hear that dark mutter clearly.
Yuuto and Riko had now arrived and stood right in front of the school gates. On the gate pillar, the name of the institution where they would be studying was clearly written: Sainan High School.
"Well, this is your new school, Riko!" Yuuto said in a cheerful tone, spreading his arms as if showing off the building to the girl beside him. "Now let's go in. You need to go to the teachers' lounge first to report in, right? Come, I'll escort you," he said, getting ready to guide Riko down the school hallways.
But suddenly, Riko stopped in her tracks and gently tugged on the edge of Yuuto's sleeve. "N-no need! I can do it m-myself. You can just go straight to class," she refused, looking a bit nervous.
Yuuto raised an eyebrow, looking a bit surprised by the sudden rejection. "Is that so? Alright then, I'll wait for you in class, Riko," Yuuto said as he turned around to walk away.
But before he got too far, he looked back over his shoulder and shot her a mischievous smile. "Remember, be careful of strangers, okay? Don't accept candy from them!" he teased in a joking tone.
"Hey! I'm not a little kid!" Riko yelled indignantly.
Unfortunately, her spontaneous yell was loud enough to attract the attention of several students passing by around the gate. Realizing the bewildered stares from the people around her, Riko's face immediately turned bright red. She hurriedly bowed her head deeply.
"Who is she yelling at?" muttered one of the male students while staring at Riko in confusion.
"Wasn't she just yelling at the guy who waved at her?" replied a female student nearby.
"Hmm?" The male student frowned. His vision seemed a bit blurry, as if his memory had just been swept away by a thin mist. "Did she... come with someone else?" he muttered dazedly.
"Who knows. But by the way, that girl is pretty cute too, huh," chimed in another male student next to him, quickly shifting attention away from the confusion earlier.
"Yeah, even though her appearance looks a bit tomboyish. But in my opinion, she's even way prettier than Honda-san and Aizawa-san," added the female student from earlier.
Hearing those two names mentioned, their tone of voice instantly became secretive. "Oh right, about Honda and Aizawa... have you guys heard the rumors about the two of them being...."
Faintly, the sound of the students' whispers and gossip could be heard from the direction of the gate.
Yuuto stood for a moment in front of his classroom door. He took a deep breath of the surrounding air. "Even though I've been watching through the puppet's memories all this time, it still feels like it's been a very long time since I physically came here," he muttered softly.
His hand reached out to grasp the door and slid it open. Strangely, not a single person inside the classroom noticed his arrival. Thanks to the presence-concealment magic he activated, his existence was as if erased from their sight. His eyes glanced around the room, carving out a hollow smile, and then he began to walk casually toward his seat.
Mid-step, his hearing caught a conversation.
"Aizawa, Honda... you guys must be going through a hard time, right, experiencing that incident?" said a female student in a sympathetic tone.
Yuuto's steps halted. He turned his head and saw a group of students crowding around Aizawa and Honda's desks.
"That damn Kido. Just because his older sister is a Student Council member, does he think he can just attack girls however he pleases?!" growled a male student.
"We have to teach him a proper lesson when he shows up later!" added another male student, no less emotional.
"Yeah! Just beat him up!" exclaimed a few female students there, joining in to stoke the fire.
Hearing the plan, the smile on Yuuto's lips only curved even sharper. 'Oh... this is interesting,' he thought, amused.
Ignoring them, Yuuto resumed his steps, sat in his own seat, and then calmly took off his jacket. He rested his elbow on the desk, then propped his chin on one hand.
"Let's see what they can actually do," Yuuto muttered in an amused tone.
The short, brown-haired girl sitting in front of Yuuto immediately turned back when she heard Yuuto's voice.
"Eh? Are you... Yuuto?" she asked hesitantly, trying to match the figure in front of her with her memories.
Yuuto smiled warmly. "Hello, Risa. It's been a while," he greeted.
Risa fell silent, staring at Yuuto with an unmistakable expression of confusion. "A-are you... have you always looked like this?" she stammered. "And wait, you just called me directly by my first name, right?"
"A person's appearance can change, right?" Yuuto answered casually.
"But you—"
Risa's words were cut off by a loud shout.
"KIDO!!!"
The shout of a male student shattered the atmosphere. At that exact moment, Yuuto had fully deactivated his presence-concealment magic. Every person in the class instantly turned toward the source of the sound—toward Yuuto, who was now sitting casually.
Yuuto turned his head calmly. His gaze met Honda and Aizawa, who were also staring at him from the crowd. Both girls instantly froze, wearing expressions of deep, profound guilt.
Paying no mind to the tension, Yuuto casually waved his hand at the crowd that had just been busy gossiping about him. "Yo, how is everyone doing?" he greeted lightly.
The classroom fell dead silent. Everyone was transfixed. They stared at Yuuto as if bewitched by an invisible charm. In their eyes right now, the figure of Kido Yuuto looked like a prince from a fairy tale—an existence that was too majestic, too handsome, and shouldn't exist in this boring real world.
A female student pointed at Yuuto with a trembling finger. "A-are you... Kido Yuuto?"
Yuuto smirked, slightly amused at their reactions. "Who else? Have your memories already forgotten me?"
Suddenly, one of the male students there shouted, trying to shatter the charm with manufactured anger. "Kido! How dare you hit girls!" he yelled, trying to sound brave even though his voice trembled slightly. "I'll teach you a lesson!"
He began marching toward Yuuto with wide strides, followed by a few other students trying to tag along behind him.
Yuuto didn't answer the challenge. He remained silent, taking a headset out of his pocket and placing it over his ears. Calmly, he started playing a song.
The angry students kept approaching Yuuto's desk, but suddenly...
CRASH!
One of the students at the front fell hard, his face slamming into the floor after tripping on a banana peel that came out of nowhere.
Meanwhile, the strains of classic music began playing in Yuuto's ears. He slowly raised his hand, waving it gracefully in the air as if conducting an invisible marching band.
♪ "When no-one else can understand me
When everything I do is wrong
You give me hope and consolation
You give me strength to carry on" ♪