When he arrived at the school, Haruto sat down, slowly folded his arms, and buried his face in his arms. He had a tired look on his face and seemed to have no energy.
Spending time with Sekai that morning had not only taken a toll on his stamina but also left him mentally exhausted. The walk from home to school hadn't helped either. Right now, he felt completely devoid of any motivation—his mind blank, his heart heavy, and a deep unwillingness to engage in anything.
Suddenly, a slender, fair finger lightly tapped his shoulder.
Haruto slowly lifted his head, turning toward the person beside him—
The first thing that came into view was a pair of long, pale legs, leading up to a black skirt. Wrapped around the waist was a light yellow knitted cardigan, and above that, the slightly open collar of her shirt revealed a teasing glimpse of fair skin. Finally, his gaze met her face—no surprises here—it was Ichika Nakano.
"What is it?"
Seeing Ichika standing before him, Haruto's voice was calm, his reaction composed. He was still in that post-exhaustion daze, his emotions steady and unreadable, like a deep, undisturbed lake.
Normally, Ichika already thought Haruto carried himself with a maturity beyond his peers, but today, there was something even more different about him—he seemed even more detached than usual.
"I just came over to check on you. You looked really tired when I walked in."
"Most people wouldn't disturb someone who looks exhausted."
Haruto sighed inwardly. He really wasn't in the mood for conversation right now, but since it was Ichika, he forced himself to respond.
"Are you alone? Your sisters haven't arrived yet?"
"Yeah, I woke up earlier than usual, so I headed out first. They should be on their way soon."
"You didn't wake them up to leave together?"
"Well, about that…"
Ichika trailed off playfully. It wasn't as if she hadn't tried waking her sisters up before, but they had an incredibly strong resistance to early mornings. Even if she barged into their rooms, they'd just ignore her.
And if she resorted to something drastic, like pulling off their blankets… Well, let's just say that would trigger a long, icy war in the Nakano household.
"Interrupting someone's rest isn't very polite, don't you think?"
"..."
Haruto remained silent.
Then why did you just interrupt mine?
He thought about saying it but decided against it.
"If there's nothing else, I'm going back to sleep."
"Don't be like that! It's still morning—you just woke up! As a guy, shouldn't you at least try to be more energetic when a cute girl is talking to you?"
Before Haruto could respond, Ichika suddenly leaned in, resting her arm on his shoulder and pressing herself against him.
The weight of her body against his back was enough to snap him out of his detached state. He opened his mouth, about to tell her to be more mindful of her behavior, but before he could, she moved even closer, her face near his ear.
"Hey, Haruto, how does a girl's body feel?"
Her warm breath brushed against his ear as she whispered playfully.
A tingling sensation ran through him, and Haruto instinctively shifted away. However, Ichika only pressed closer, tightening her hold around his arm and closing the distance between them even more.
"What's wrong? Are you getting flustered?" She teased. "That's strange… You never seem embarrassed when we talk about stuff like this."
Flustered?
Not in the slightest.
Haruto was simply feeling ticklish from her breath against his ear—that was all.
"You're overthinking it. I just can't feel anything through the fabric."
For the first time, Ichika was caught off guard. She blinked, processing his words, then examined his expression carefully.
He was completely calm.
For a moment, she thought she had the upper hand, that she could make him blush—but it seemed she had underestimated him.
Haruto wasn't like the other guys in their class, the ones who would panic at the slightest flirtation. His composure was on another level.
"…Sexual harassment?" she joked.
"You're the one who started it."
Haruto glanced at her with a neutral expression.
She was the one who had leaned in close, whispered into his ear, and made suggestive remarks. And now she had the audacity to play the victim?
Ichika, feeling the weight of his stare, averted her gaze, tapping her finger against her cheek in mock innocence.
"Ahaha~ Well, um… Oh! Looks like Nino and the others are here. I'm gonna go chat with them! Bye~"
Clearly seeing no way to win this exchange, Ichika used her sisters as an excuse and swiftly made her exit.
Haruto watched her retreating figure with a sigh.
He was about to rest his head on his arms again when he felt another pair of eyes on him.
Lifting his head, he met Eriri's cold, scrutinizing gaze.
She wasn't saying anything, but the slight smirk on her lips carried an air of ridicule.
Haruto raised an eyebrow.
Seeing that he had noticed her, Eriri merely smirked wider before turning away.
Haruto stared for a moment, then simply shrugged, lowering his head back onto the desk. He couldn't be bothered to deal with her right now.
Throughout the morning, his focus wavered during classes, though he still kept up. The material was familiar—things he had already learned before—so even if he wasn't fully paying attention, he could still follow along.
During a break, he borrowed some notes from Nozaki Umetaro to fill in the gaps, quickly grasping the parts he had missed.
And so, the morning passed uneventfully.
When lunchtime arrived, Haruto quietly left the classroom on his own.
Watching his departing figure, Hinami Aoi turned to Eriri, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"Lately, he's been leaving the classroom alone every lunch break. Does he have other friends outside of class?"
Aoi knew that Eriri had feelings for Haruto. She had been paying close attention to the dynamic between them, eager to watch their relationship unfold.
In high school, there weren't many exciting things happening. For Aoi, the love lives of others were a source of entertainment. Since she had no romantic interests of her own, she found amusement in watching Eriri's.
"Who knows," Eriri muttered, not looking up.
Her tone was indifferent, but there was a sharpness in her eyes.
Aoi simply smiled knowingly.
Eriri wasn't in the best of moods. She glanced at the curious Hinami Aoi beside her but didn't bother explaining. She already knew where Haruto had gone, and that knowledge only soured her mood further.
If she could, she would have liked to ask him directly—
Why was he having lunch with another girl?
Wasn't she cute enough?
But just imagining herself asking that question to his face made her feel utterly embarrassed. She bit her lip, swallowed her frustration, and stood up without a word.
"Let's go find a place to eat lunch."
Seeing that Eriri didn't want to talk about the issue with Haruto, Hinami Aoi chose not to pry further. Instead, she simply smiled and followed Eriri out of the classroom.
In the quiet, empty laboratory, Futaba Rio watched the boy in front of her. Ever since he had stumbled upon this lab and learned it was her private workspace, he had started visiting her regularly at noon.
"Aren't you going to eat with your classmates?"
She couldn't quite understand his reasoning. She was happy that he came to see her, of course, but he had friends in his own class, didn't he?
Haruto unwrapped his furoshiki, opened the lid of his bento, and saw that it was still warm. Looking up at the girl standing by the podium, he smiled.
"Normally, people eat lunch with their friends. But my two friends are a little… too energetic. Since lunchtime is my only real break, I prefer a bit of peace and quiet. Also..."
His gaze settled on her.
"Aren't we friends too, Futaba?"
"...Well, I suppose. Maybe. Just barely."
"That uncertain, huh?"
"It's not..."
Meeting Haruto's eyes, Futaba's cheeks flushed slightly. She lowered her head, her glasses reflecting the light as an uncertain glimmer flickered beneath them.
She was known as a genius, a specially recruited student, and she had always carried herself with confidence. Yet, when she faced this boy, she found herself feeling nervous and shy.
She feared that he might suddenly disappear—like the wind, fleeting and impossible to hold onto.
"Did you forget your lunch today?" he asked.
"It was just a coincidence… Did you make your bento yourself?"
"Yeah. I woke up early today and had nothing better to do, so I made one. Otherwise, I probably would've just bought some bread or something."
"Wouldn't it be better to wake up early every day?"
"That's not the problem. I just don't like making my own bento all the time. It's not something to be proud of, but yeah… I can be a little lazy."
Hearing that, Futaba had the sudden urge to tell him—If you don't mind, I could make your lunch for you.
But considering how short a time they had known each other, and the nature of their current relationship, she worried that saying something like that out of the blue would be too forward.
Not knowing how to respond, she fell into silence, simply watching him.
Haruto, noticing her sudden quietness, raised an eyebrow.
"What? Do you hate lazy people like me?"
"No, of course not!"
Her immediate response was so forceful that she felt embarrassed by her own reaction. She pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment, then quickly changed the subject.
"Speaking from a quantum mechanics perspective, though..."
"..."
After finishing lunch in the lab, Haruto returned to the classroom. He could feel Eriri's subtle gaze on him but remained unbothered as he took his seat.
With a yawn, he settled in, waiting for the afternoon classes to begin.
"Are you free today?"
After school, just as Haruto was about to pack up and leave, Eriri spoke up. Lately, she seemed to have developed a habit of dragging him out for shopping trips.
Glancing at her, he let out a small sigh.
"I don't have any plans, but we don't have to hang out every single day. Why don't you head home with your friends today?"
His gaze flickered toward Hinami Aoi, then he stood up and walked off without another word.
Eriri, who had been about to follow him, hesitated. Watching his retreating figure, she fell silent for a moment before turning back to Hinami.
"Hm?"
"Let's go home together today."
"Miyamizu-kun, does he have plans?"
"Yeah."
Hinami hadn't been paying much attention to their conversation earlier. She had only noticed Eriri's eyes following Haruto as he left.
"In that case, let's go! I just found out about a new dessert shop. Their sweets are really good!"
Haruto, on the other hand, had no particular plans.
Previously, he had avoided going home too early because he didn't want to deal with Setsuna. But now that last night's situation had been resolved, he didn't see the need to wander around until nightfall.
Still, he realized his fridge was nearly empty, so he figured he might as well do some grocery shopping.
Making his way to the shopping district, he went straight to the seafood shop.
"Fresh saury, three should be enough. Other than that… I'll pass on everything else."
"Three saury, got it!"
Haruto wasn't particularly fond of seafood. The only one he could tolerate was saury, and his favorite seafood dish was simple—grilled saury over charcoal.
After paying and letting the shopkeeper clean the fish for him, he picked up his purchase and moved on to the vegetable section.
"I should buy some fruit, too… Hmm."
Entering the fruit shop, he scanned the neatly arranged display, selecting a few apples and bananas before heading to the register.
Just as he turned around, he bumped into someone.
It wasn't a hard collision, but the person in front of him—a girl—stumbled backward. Her paper bag tipped over, spilling apples onto the floor.
For a moment, Haruto froze. Then, snapping back to reality, he crouched down and picked up the fallen apples.
Handing them back to her, he extended a hand to help her up.
Haruto quickly apologized, his voice calm yet concerned.
"I'm really sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Are you alright?"
The brown-haired girl pursed her lips, her eyes flickering with a hint of panic as she looked up at him. She shook her head repeatedly, waving her slender hands in front of her—an unspoken assurance that she was fine.
— — — —