The next day, Sobu High was as calm as ever.
When Natsume Yuu stepped into Class 2 F, that natural aura of his that seemed to shut out all worldly noise made him look no different from usual. He wore the same relaxed, detached expression, as if the night before, which had completely changed someone else's world, had been nothing more than a passing dream to him.
"Natsume kun, good morning!"
Yui's lively voice rang out right on schedule. She jogged over to him, her trademark sunny smile shining on her face.
Yet just as she drew close, ready to chatter away like always, her sharp sense of smell picked up something unusual.
A faint yet unmistakable fragrance drifted out from the collar of Natsume Yuu's uniform.
It was not the usual clean, soapy smell that clung to him. It was a mature, sweet perfume, with a hint of seductive warmth, clearly a woman's scent. Yui had never once smelled anything like that on him before.
Her smile froze for a split second.
Her instincts, that uncanny sixth sense of hers, immediately began blaring alarms in her mind. A faint shadow of doubt and gloom flashed through her eyes. Everything she had wanted to say caught in her throat.
"What is it?" Natsume glanced at her, his tone as calm as ever.
"N nothing!" Yui waved her hands in a fluster and took half a step back, forcing a smile onto her face. "I just felt like Natsume kun is… kind of different today."
In the end, she could not bring herself to ask.
That sudden shift was like a tiny thorn lodged in her chest. It pricked at her now and then, leaving her unsettled for the rest of the day.
That small ripple, however, was quickly overshadowed by something even more unexpected.
Between classes, the girl known as the "queen of the popular group," Miura Yumiko, actually walked over to Natsume's seat of her own accord. Her signature golden curls glinted in the sunlight, drawing most of the class's attention without even trying.
"Um… Natsume kun," Yumiko started awkwardly. After all, she had practically no dealings with this "quiet transfer student", "I heard you started some kind of… spirit research club?"
"Yeah." Natsume lifted his eyes from his book and gave a simple answer.
"It's like this," Miura took a deep breath, then pulled a light novel out of her pocket. The author's name on the cover was printed in bold.
Kasumi Utako.
"I am a huge fan of Kasumi Utako sensei! Lately… I heard she has been having some trouble, her mental state is really bad, and her series has been on hiatus for several issues. Yui told me you know a lot about, um… weird stuff, so I wanted to ask if you know anything about what is going on."
Natsume's gaze lingered on the book for a heartbeat. Then, understanding dawned.
So that was how the introduction happened.
"I know her," he replied calmly. "Her problem has already been resolved."
"Eh? Really?!" Yumiko's eyes lit up at once, her voice rising with excitement. "That is amazing! That means Utako sensei can start updating again soon, right?!"
With that firm answer, Yumiko left in high spirits, leaving behind a classroom full of classmates who did not understand any of it, and a Yui whose heart was even more tangled than before.
So… he had already been in contact with that popular novelist?
After school, in the Occult Research Club's clubroom.
As Sobu High's most mysterious and least crowded club, it was still the same as ever: only Natsume, Yui, and Eriri as members. Yukino would occasionally drop by for various so-called reasons, under the pretext of "supervising this improper club's activities."
Today, all four of them were gathered for once.
"As for today's club activity, I will share a case I just wrapped up."
Leaning back in his chair, Natsume decided it was time to give these young ladies, who only half understood curses, a bit of "educational outreach."
He calmly described the curse of the "Red Room," leaving out the client's identity and focusing on how that strange curse used data streams as a medium, distorted space, and forcibly dragged victims into a closed domain.
"…Once the pop up finishes asking its question, the victim dies mysteriously in their own room, and the walls are found covered in their blood."
He recounted horrors that would give ordinary people nightmares using a tone that was almost boring.
"Eww…!" Yui hugged her own arms, face going pale with fear.
"What a disgusting, bad taste curse!" Eriri still put on a brave front with her words, but the way her fingers clenched tight around her pencil completely betrayed how tense she was.
Even the ever composed Yukino had her brows drawn together. She spoke in a low voice, "A curse that uses the internet as a conduit… impossible to guard against, and very troublesome."
The atmosphere in the room grew heavy under the weight of the story.
Just then—
Slide.
The clubroom door was gently pulled open.
A graceful silhouette appeared in the doorway, instantly grabbing everyone's attention.
It was Utaha.
She wore the Sobu High uniform, her long legs wrapped in black over the knee socks that showed off their elegant lines. A languid, sultry smile rested on her lips, and in her hand she carried a beautifully prepared lunch box.
"Oh my, looks like I walked in on your club activities."
Though she spoke words of apology, her feet did not slow. She walked straight over to Natsume's side without the slightest hesitation, completely ignoring the stunned looks on the other girls' faces.
Then, under the shocked stares of everyone present, Utaha did something that turned the air in the room to ice.
She very naturally, very intimately, slipped her arm through Natsume's and pressed her soft body close to his, the motion so smooth it was as if she had done it a hundred times before.
Tilting her head up, she gazed at him with those deep wine red eyes, filled with warmth and meaning, and spoke softly.
"Natsume kun, I brought you lunch. Thank you… for last night."
The words "last night" were deliberately stressed, laden with implications.
Only then did she pretend to notice the others in the room. Her gaze slid lazily to the utterly dumbstruck Yui, Eriri, and Yukino. The corner of her mouth curled in the slightest, unmistakably triumphant smile.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself."
"I am a third year student, Kasumigaoka Utaha." She paused deliberately. Each word that followed dropped like a bomb straight into the heart of every girl present.
"…Natsume kun's girlfriend. Please take care of me from now on."
The moment her voice fell, the clubroom plunged into absolute silence.
Eriri's blue eyes flew wide, her jaw dropping into a perfect O. A strangled "Ha?!" got stuck in her throat and refused to come out.
Even Yukino's eternally frosty mask showed a tiny crack. She stared at Utaha's territorial posture, her gaze sharp as a blade.
The one most shaken, however, was Yui.
She stared blankly at the painfully intimate scene in front of her. The faint perfume she had noticed on Natsume that morning seemed to flood her senses all over again, echoing in her nose as if to drive the truth home.
The color drained from her face in an instant, leaving her paper white. Those eyes that always sparkled like sunlight on the sea grew misty, a shining layer of tears quickly rising as a wave of overwhelming loss and regret crashed over her.
Why… did I not say it sooner…
Inside the quiet room, a silent battle had already begun.